Chapter 13
Face to Face at Last.
The three warriors sped at amazing speeds to the area where the unknown object virtualized. Odd was leading the trio, with Yumi close behind and Ulrich taking up the rear. Odd noticed a strange object to his left. He turned to see a familiar threat standing off to the left: a tarantula. The creature was just standing still; it didn't even move an inch. Odd looked at it as he wondered why it wasn't moving. Usually the Monsters open fire with out a moment's hesitation. But this thing wasn't even looking at them. It was facing the same direction that the gang came from.
"Hey, Jeremy. The Monsters aren't even moving. What's up with that?"
"Probably because Xana's dead. And since he was the one controlling them, it's more than likely that when he died, they shut down." Jeremy responded in a voice that sounded like it was coming through a radio.
"Well at least we don't have to worry about those guys." Yumi added as she started to catch up with Odd. "Anything new on the object?"
Jeremy flipped screens as he brought up the location of the unknown object's landing sight. To his amazement, The Object was gone. There was nothing there except the desert landscape and some rocks.
"It's gone!!!" Jeremy said.
All three vehicles came to a stop as Odd almost fell off his board. The three youths looked at each other for a few seconds. Finally Ulrich spoke up.
"What do you mean it's gone?? I thought you knew where it was?"
Jeremy typed in several commands as he surveyed the area. There was not a single sign of the object.
It was almost like it vanished off Lyoko. As Jeremy prepared to type in a few commands, Aelita leaned forward and typed in a few more commands.
"What are you doing?" Jeremy squealed in surprise.
"I got an idea." Aelita said as she typed in a new set of commands. Suddenly the screen color changed from black to red. Jeremy stood in awe, as he watched Aelita type in another set of commands that revealed four green dots scattered throughout the area.
"There it is. Right where we left it." Aelita said as she stepped back, allowing Jeremy a chance to see it.
Jeremy stared at the screen and looked back at Aelita. "How did you do that?"
"It's easy. I figured the Object might have a program to hide itself from our scanning program. So I used a data locater. Any place that the Object has been will be revealed as a green line." Aelita said with a smile. Her smile suddenly faded as she realized something terrible about the newest find.
"Wait! There's four. Wasn't there just one?" Aelita asked as she looked at the screen. Jeremy turned to see that Aelita was right. There were now four lines instead of just one. Jeremy did a quick scan but was surprised when the scan brought up nothing.
"Why can't I scan them? I tried twice now and I get the same thing over and over." Jeremy questioned as he cocked his head to one side.
"Maybe it's because the same program they're using to hide from us is also keeping us from scanning them?" Aelita suggested.
Jeremy looked over all the info on the screen. Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi should be within sight of it any time now. He still felt a little nervous about what was going on, but he knew they had to check this out. He didn't want to admit it, but it could lead to a greater threat than Xana ever was.
"Guys. The object is still there, but now there's four instead of one. Be careful. It could be dangerous." Jeremy announced as the gang got back on their vehicles and started to move in the location of the object.
"You don't think its replicating itself do you?" Yumi asked.
"We're not sure. It could be, but then again it couldn't. Just keep an eye out for anything." Aelita said as her voice sounded a little faint and far away from the mic.
The trio started back to the area again. This time, they were moving a little slower and more cautious than before. Ulrich quickly caught up and stayed behind Yumi, keeping an eye out from the area for anything that might attempt to attack them from behind. Yumi noticed Ulrich was behind her and gave a quick nod as she started to close the distance between her and Odd, as he also noticed how fast they where gaining on him.
After a few minutes the gang arrived at the location where the object crashed. Ulrich slowly stepped off his bike and slowly and quietly drew one of his katanas. Yumi pulled up next to him and slowly dismounted as well. She walked up beside him and looked down in the canyon below. There was no sign of any object. But there was one thing she saw. She pointed out to Ulrich the strange thing that was happening in the canyon below, who also pointed it out to Odd.
"Think we outta go down for a look?" Yumi asked.
"Maybe one at a time, so that way the others can give the one person who goes down there some cover. Just in case something happens." Ulrich suggested.
"Well seeing as how me and Yumi can attack from a distance, maybe you should give it a try." Odd said as he cocked his arm cannon in place. There was a quick snapping noise as he pulled his hand over his arm.
"Okay. I'll go first, you guys cover me." Ulrich commanded as Odd and Yumi nodded in agreement.
The Yellow samurai jumped off the cliff with a silent leap. Yumi watched as he descended rapidly. She watched as he landed safely on the ground. Even though she and Odd were covering him, and even though he could defend himself, Yumi was still worried about him. With the recent turn of events with his family, and now this object invading the supercomputer and Lyoko. How could he deal with all this stress at once? She knew that Ulrich couldn't handle the stress as easily as the others, and with his parents' marriage in jeopardy, Ulrich would have enough problems to deal with. And like his father, Ulrich would try to face these issues alone, without help. Yumi couldn't let that happen. She knew that he would need someone to help him get through all of this, someone at his side. She thought in the back of her mind that no matter what, she would be there for him. She had to.
Ulrich landed on the ground in a kneeling position. He had learned through several jumps off the terrain in Lyoko that kneeling when you hit the ground can't limit the amount of damage you could take. He slowly looked around while he squatted. His eyes moved from side to side, looking for any sign of movement. After a few seconds, he slowly stood up and walked towards the strange area Yumi noticed.
After a while he looked at the strange sight before his eyes. He knew Lyoko was wired, but this was even weirder.
The ground had been smashed into a crater. The ground was attempting to repair itself like the ground usually did when it was damaged. But it was unable to. The ground looked like broken glass with streaks of green running through it at times. In the center of the crater was a large red spot; obviously where the object initially crashed.
Ulrich turned around and motioned for Yumi and Odd, who jumped off the cliff at the same time. Ulrich turned his attention to the surrounding area. He kept his mind focused on one simple fact. What ever caused this crater was still around here somewhere. It could appear at any given moment. Slowly he put his hand on one of his katanas and unsheathed it just a little.
Odd whistled at the sight of the crater. He was impressed with it. It reminded him of a scene off Dr. Shrank.
"Kinda looks like something landed here. But what?" Yumi said as she felt the ground near one of the cracks. "I don't think I ever saw anything like this before." She added as she stood back up.
"Tell me what it looks like." Jeremy said as the voice startled Ulrich a little.
As Odd started to describe it, Yumi suddenly heard a strange noise behind her. She turned around in time to see... nothing. There was only a pile of rocks. She slowly pulled out one of her fans as she walked towards the rocks. She didn't hear the noise again but she kept walking just to be safe. She walked over to the rock and looked behind it. Nothing. It was completely bare.
"It's possible that when this object crashed it might have damaged part of the sector's program for repairing the terrain." Jeremy suggested. "Aelita wants to know if there's anything else that you can see?"
Odd looked around the area. He scanned the sky and the ground and saw nothing at all.
"Nothing on our end. What about your end?"
Back in the lab Jeremy continued to type an almost endless number of programs. He monitored the entire area for any signs of movement, or a monster on its way. The mapping system was a unique piece of equipment. Whenever there was movement in an area, the map would mark it as a possible threat and show what it was and where it was coming from.
Suddenly the screen beeped as a pair of green dots moved to their left, behind a cluster of rocks. Aelita pointed out the object to Jeremy. Jeremy hit a few more keys and the objects came into few. They where standing in a cluster of rocks, directly to the left of the others. The map didn't detect them because one of the creatures moved, causing the other to move as well. Jeremy quickly typed in a few more commands and two more objects appeared. These were slightly behind the cliff and walking towards the edge of it. And another actually appeared to be standing right behind Ulrich.
"Guys we got trouble. There's four objects near your position. Two by the cluster of rocks. Another pair by the cliff. And one appears to be standing next to Ulrich." Jeremy shouted out of alarm.
Odd and Yumi ran back toward Ulrich and the trio made a circle around each other.
"I knew there was something by those rocks. I was waiting for Odd to finish describing the crater to Jeremy, and I was going to suggest we check them out as well." Yumi said.
Odd held out his right hand as he pointed it around, looking for a target. Ulrich drew both of his Katanas as he readied himself for a possible fight. Yumi drew both of her fans as she looked around in the sky and on the ground.
Jeremy and Aelita watched as two of the objects began to make their way to the edge of the cliff. The other two started to come out from behind the rock cluster. But the other one was still in the same area it was when they discovered it was standing next to Odd.
"Get ready. You should see one of them any minute." Jeremy said.
"Jeremy... maybe I should go to Lyoko." Aelita suggested.
"Wait, just hang on."
On Lyoko, Yumi spotted the creature as it came into view from behind the rocks. It turned and stared at her as another one walked slowly out of the rocks as well.
"What the hell are those???" Yumi said in a shocked tone.
Odd and Ulrich turned to face the very same creature as it stared back at them.
"What is it?" Jeremy said through the intercom.
"It looks like a monster. Almost like some one took a Block and made it human shaped." Ulrich said. "Here. I'll send you a video pic."
A screen came on the monitor, revealing two crimson red, human shaped monsters. Aelita gasped as she noticed that they did look eerily similar to a Block. It was almost the size of an average person. And had a strange object on its left hand.
"What do we do Jeremy?" Odd asked.
"Well they haven't attacked yet. But there should be one near where Ulrich was." Jeremy said.
Aelita grabbed Jeremy's shoulder as the object that was near Ulrich's former location began to move. It positioned itself in the middle of the others' circle.
"Jeremy it moved. Get them out!!" Aelita pleaded.
"Guys! One of the creatures moved into the middle of your circle. Get away from there!" Jeremy shouted.
Odd, Yumi, and Ulrich turned to the center to see... nothing. There was nothing there.
"Jeremy, Aelita. We don't see anything." Ulrich said.
"Maybe they're invisible?" Yumi suggested.
"No… it's there, right there!!" Jeremy said.
"You don't get it. We're looking at the center and there's nothing here." Odd said.
Jeremy looked at the screen as he stared at the Object. That's when it hit him. He typed in several commands as the map flipped to a vertical display.
"The Object, it's... ...it's in the air." Jeremy whispered as Aelita put her hands over her mouth.
On the map the object began to descend rapidly. Aelita screamed at the top of her lungs for the others to look out.
Ulrich heard Aelita scream as he looked up in time to see something crash in the middle of the circle.
The impact knocked Odd and Yumi forward a little. Ulrich turned in time to see a face come out of the smoke. The thing was at least seven feet tall. That's when he saw it. The eyes. It was Xana's Eyes.
Ulrich's eyes got big as he stared at the creature's head. It was distinctively wolf like, and almost alien.
The beast growled as the smoke slowly cleared out of the area. Yumi got up. She stood on weak legs as she panned back and forth looking for Ulrich. She finally noticed a large creature, with black and green armor. Her eyes widened as she finally saw Ulrich. He was facing it with a look of both terror and confusion on his face.
"So... did you miss me?" The monster said in a low growling voice. "I know you two can see me. And I know you can hear me."
Ulrich suddenly realized. It wasn't just him this creature was looking at. It was Jeremy and Aelita. The video feed was still on. It was using Ulrich like a radio. That's why he was still standing in front of it.
Back in the lab Aelita stared at the creatures face. She started to shake in fear as she realized that it was the same eyes and voice from her dreams. Jeremy turned and noticed she was shaking badly and was holding her head. Aelita closed her eyes in fear. This had to be a dream. It had to be. She would wake up.
"I WILL FIND YOU AND EXTRACT MY REVENGE!!!!!" The creature shouted as Aelita suddenly screamed in fear from the very words that had haunted her for weeks.
Jeremy jumped out of the chair and walked over to her. "Aelita it's okay. It's okay."
"NO ITS NOT!!!! It's happening. My dream, it's happening."
Ulrich heard enough. He pulled up his swords and took a battle pose as he gave the creature a cold look. "I don't know who or what you are but no one threatens my friend like that."
"I... I am monument to your fears. I am your new God. I am your foe." the beast said as a sudden flash appeared in his hand. A large twisted scythe appeared. He slowly brought it down to Ulrich's face. It came so close that he could see his own face in the reflection.
"I AM XERVIX!!!!!!!" The monster screamed as he swung his scythe towards Ulrich's face. Ulrich blocked it and jumped backward. Xervix grasped the very end of his scythe and shoved it at Ulrich. Ulrich jumped in time to land on the scythe. He ran on the scythe towards Xervix, only to see a black light appear in Xervix's other hand. He pulled it up and fired a black beam at Ulrich. The beam hit Ulrich in the shoulder as it knocked him to the ground. Ulrich felt his virtual form tingle as he heard electrical shocks come from it. Ulrich had dropped one of his swords as he looked up in time to see Xervix bringing the scythe down for a blow.
Before Ulrich could close his eyes, he noticed a purple flash slide by him. It was Odd. "Laser Arrow" he shouted as three yellow arrows left his arm. He stuck Xervix in the arm, causing him to knock his scythe out of his hands. Ulrich felt himself slide the other way as he felt himself lifted in the air. He turned in time to see Yumi. Her head was glowing white as she set him down on the ground. Ulrich ran over and used his toe to flip the other sword into the air and catch it. Odd jumped out of the way of another beam from Xervix as he landed on his hands and pulled off a cart wheel. As he turned he fired another three shots at Xervix. The shots missed as Xervix used his energy beam as a shield to block the blast.
Odd stood up and aimed at Xervix. Xervix turned to see Yumi and Ulrich ready to fight.
"Rule one of revenge. Bring back up." Xervix spoke as he held his hand in the air.
"Sentries, attack!!!" He yelled as crimson laser shots started to fly though the air. Odd turned to see two of the sentries taking aim at him. The crimson red creature raised its right hand and fired three shots at Odd. Odd side stepped from the shots and fired five shots at the sentry. He hit it but it showed no sign of damage.
Yumi threw one of her fans at Xervix. The fan glowed and screamed as it closed in on its target. Xervix brought up his scythe and blocked the fan. The fan hit the scythe's staff and ricocheted back to Yumi. Xervix began to stomp his way towards the pair as he raised his hands again and fired another shot at the pair. The black beam came sailing towards Yumi's head. She closed her eyes and raised one of her fans. The beam hit the fan so hard that it shattered into pieces and knocked Yumi to the ground. Ulrich turned to see if Yumi was okay. No sooner that he did than he heard Xervix scream loudly as he swung the back end of his scythe at Ulrich. The end piece struck Ulrich in the gut as he keeled forward. Xervix then brought his fist up and slammed into Ulrich's back. The blow caused Ulrich to slam to the ground with a tremendous force. Xervix placed his foot on Ulrich's back and held him in place, He slowly brought the scythe done close to his neck as Ulrich grunted and squirmed a little.
"I remember from my earlier version how much trouble you gave me. It feels so satisfying to get my hands on your ridiculous neck." Xervix growled as he prepared to slice through Ulrich's head.
Suddenly a fan hit Xervix in his chest as he reeled backwards. Ulrich took advantage and side kicked the virtual warrior. The impact caused Xervix to lose his Scythe. Xervix stumbled to gain his balance. He looked up in time to see both Ulrich and Yumi flying towards him. They jumped and kicked him at the same time in the chest. The force caused Xervix to fall over and land on his back. Ulrich quickly grabbed his katana and walked over to the creature. He placed the blade at his neck and stood over Xervix and raised the blade over his face.
"And you'll die trying like Xana." Ulrich said.
Suddenly a laser blast struck Yumi from behind. Ulrich turned in time to see a pair of Kankrelats on the hill above them. The monsters fired another volley at Ulrich. He managed to block most of the shots but caught one in his leg.
"Ulrich be careful. You're down to 40 life points." Jeremy announced
Xervix grabbed Ulrich's foot and threw him into a rock. Ulrich bounced off the rock hard and felt his whole body tremble with pain.
"It seems some of my earlier version's monsters seem to work perfectly. Here's another blast from your past." Xervix yelled.
Behind Ulrich an orange gel like substance began to form. The gel quickly moved toward Ulrich in a fast pace. Before long it was right behind him. Ulrich stood up from the point of impact. He was shaking, a clear sign he was about to be devirtualized. He gritted his teeth and faced Xervix, only to find the beast smiling at him.
Yumi finished off the Kankrelats in time to see the Guardian emerge behind Ulrich.
"ULRICH!!!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed.
Ulrich looked toward Yumi in time for the Guardian to grab him. It covered his head first as he attempted to struggle free. Slowly it worked its way down his torso and around his feet. It took the monster only a few seconds to engulf him. Ulrich felt the world around him slip away as he closed his eyes. He tried to fight it but he couldn't. In time he was out cold.
Yumi grabbed one of Ulrich's swords in one hand and held her fan in the other. She flung her fan at Xervix who grabbed it in midair. He threw it back at her. The fan hit her causing her to fall backwards in pain. She stood up in time to see a second orange blob yank her off her feet. She grabbed the sword and tried to whack away at it. But instead the guardian curled her up like a ball. She felt her knees hit her face as she realized she was completely consumed. She remembered the feeling. Like being up some ones nose. Or lying in a pool of oil. She tried to struggle free until she too felt herself fall asleep.
In the lab, Jeremy and Aelita watched in horror as Ulrich and Yumi were absorbed by the Guardians.
Aelita was no longer shaking. She had a serious and angered look on her face. Her fists were closed and were white from the pressure she was putting on them. She knew that there was no time for her childish fear. She made her decision.
Jeremy's faced almost mimicked her. He squinted his eyes in anger as Yumi stopped moving.
"Aelita... I know you don't want to but..."
Aelita interrupted him with a strong and firm voice. "Send me."
"Are you sure?" Jeremy asked.
"It's time I faced both my fear and my father's killer. My father died in vain to kill Xana. And I won't let his sacrifice be for nothing. Now send me."
Jeremy turned around and entered a serious of codes into the terminal. On one of the screens, a scanner door opened up.
Aelita started to run to the elevator when suddenly she heard Jeremy call her name. Jeremy got out of his chair and ran over to her. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye.
"Aelita.... Please be careful. Please come back to me."
"I will Jeremy. And I won't let my dreams come true."
Aelita ran to the elevator and made her way down to the scanner room. She stared at the scanner and growled in frustration. She had to help her friends. She had to.
Odd was having a hell of a time with the sentries. Every time he shot one, the other would fire back in retaliation. He had to reload arrows four times now, at 100 apiece. He didn't have time to see how Ulrich and Yumi were doing with Xervix. He just knew they were fighting harder than him.
"Odd. Aelita's on her way. Hang in there." Jeremy said.
"How's Ulrich and Yumi?" Odd asked.
"They've been captured by a pair of Guardians. Be careful." Jeremy replied.
Odd suddenly ducked down behind a rock. He slowly peeked over the rock and saw that Xervix was just watching the Sentries fire randomly at the rock that Odd was behind. He wasn't attempting to attack Odd, or summon a Guardian to attempt to capture him, nor was he attempting to attack Odd. He just stared at the battle scene, like he was waiting for something... or someone.
"Jeremy, wait.... Don't send Aelita. It's a trap to get her out here. If she comes to Lyoko, Xervix might try to attack her." Odd yelled as several more laser shots flew over his head.
Jeremy heard Odd through his ear piece. He looked at the scanner room screen as he noticed that Aelita had paused in front of the scanner. She turned to face the camera that overlooked the scanner room. She looked into it and nodded her head as she turned and stepped into the scanner.
"We know Odd. But at this point we have no other choice. There's no one else." Jeremy murmured as he watched Aelita visualized on Lyoko. "Please... God... help her."
Odd fired another shot at the sentry. The arrow hit the monster square in the head. The monster stood there for a minute and finally fell over and exploded into pieces. Odd jumped for joy as he saw it explode.
"YEAH!!!! One down. Super Mario couldn't do any better." Odd said as he quoted his favorite video game. However the other two quickly took its place as they opened fire as well. Odd ducked behind a rock as the lasers bathed the rock wall.
"CHEATERS!!!!!! No one likes a cheater." Odd joked as he stuck his arm out from behind the rock and blindly fired at the Sentries.
Xervix took a look over at Odd. He decided that the Sentries could take care of him and hold him in place. And with the brawlers sleeping soundly, they wouldn't cause him any problems.
Suddenly he felt it. He felt a presence he had not felt for years. He looked toward the left.
"She's here. The Bearer is here" Xervix said as he grinned, a wicked smile on his face. Black raven like wings sprouted from his back as he took to the air. Odd watched as he flew in the direction Aelita was in.
"Jeremy!! Xervix is flying towards Aelita!!" Odd yelled.
Back in the lab Jeremy watched as Xervix made a beeline for Aelita.
"Aelita. He's coming." Jeremy said.
Aelita faced the direction Xervix was approaching. Her hands glowed pink as she waved her hand over the star bracelet on her wrist. White angel wings appeared out of nowhere as she took flight.
"I know Jeremy. And it's time I end this nightmare, once and for all."
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Here it is at long last. the fighting begins.
1 thing i have noticed with this fan fic is describing the fight scenes.
Code Lyoko had some awsome fight scenes. and trying to describe it was kinda hard to do. not to mention plan out and describe some new flight scenes and make sure thier where just as awsome as the original fight scenes.
After a long time. (Sorry for the long wait) we get to the fighting. i wanted Xervix's arrival to show a sense of fear and terror the group had with a creature they did not know or could not understand. Plus i wanted to set something up for the next 2 chapters.
plus i felt it was high time Aelita quit being the scardy cat she was and stood up to do a little fighting. Yeah she was a scardy cat in the show. but when she wasnt afraid. she was kicking ass.
Now for anyone who reads this. i need you to review this. i need feedback so i know how well of a job im doing and what i need to correct my future chapters.
do it or..... actually i dont have any threatening jokes for this one.
hey its hard to think of some. a lot of planing goes into these things
Code lyoko and the characters designs and traits belong to moonscoop.
Xervix is property of me