The samurai and his clones stood over a slab of desert sandstone etched with a detailed map of the Northern Wastes. In his rare free time the samurai had worked on it to better study and track the movements of the monsters. It had worked superbly. Until now. Now, the samurai could not make any sense out the plethora of lines, landmarks, and pieces of stone that represented monsters. The monsters had stopped their attacks altogether. From what the boy could tell, the monsters had given up on the Northern Wastes. H was so confident of this fact that he had not bothered sending one of his counterparts to patrol the passes. He knew there was no need to. What he could not figure out was why. While it was true that in the last attack, when the krabs had retreated, he may have been able to defeat them and survive, this would not have been the case for the massive army of monsters that was gathering in the Valley Plateau. Normally a gathering of the beasts this large would concern him - if he knew that it had anything to do with him. The samurai's brow furrowed. He was missing something, but what? "What could they be up to?" the samurai muttered, partly to himself and partly to his clones. None of them knew the answer to that question. There did seem to be someone who did know, and they spoke up from behind the samurai. "We can tell you that." The warrior and his counterparts spun around at the sound of another voice, all three of their swords unsheathed in three smooth movements. But what they saw in front of them caused the samurai to lower his sword in shock. Before him was him. Instead of being dressed in yellow and black, though, this warrior was clad in a dull orange mixed with ebony, and unlike the samurai his skin was pale, his eyes maroon, and he bore the Mark of the Desert on his forehead. "Who are you? And who's 'we'?" The samurai demanded, brandishing his katana towards the newcomer. "Perhaps you should be asking that of yourself," the strange duplicate replied with a wave of his hand as he indicated the samurai's clones. "We are not here to fight you. We are here to...talk." The samurai hesitated at this, thoughts racing through his head as he considered the stranger. On one hand he had never met another like himself. This would be a start. But on the other hand this could all be some sort of elaborate ploy. The being standing before him bore the Mark of the Desert after all, the same as the monsters. And on top of that, something felt...off about him. Of course, that could just have been a result of the samurai having been alone for so long. At last, the samurai nodded. "Fusion," he ordered. His counterparts surged towards him, morphing into blurs before colliding and combining with the samurai's body. The warrior stared over at his twisted counterpart. "Alright, talk," he commanded. The newcomer waited a few seconds before speaking. "We have come to seek an...alliance." The samurai eyed the being. "And who, or what, are you to make such an offer?" The stranger's gaze remained expressionless as ever as he gestured to their surroundings. "We are the guardian of this world. All that you see around you is ours...to protect and sustain. It is our creatures that you have done battle with." The samurai's grip tightened around the hilt of his sword. "And what if I decided to cut you down right here and now?" the warrior growled. The stranger appeared unconcerned and spoke again, its tone unchanged. "You would accomplish nothing. This...avatar is but a projection. Destroying it would be comparable to destroying one of our creatures." The samurai narrowed his eyes. He was tempted to test this claim but too many questions whirled through his mind. "Alright," the samurai replied, sheathing his sword. "Let's say that's true, and my killing you wouldn't do you any harm. What makes you think I want to ally with you?" The being paused for a second, as if considering the question. "Self preservation," the stranger said at last. "We have a...common enemy." The warrior frowned. What threat could there possibly be to such a being that it would require his assistance? Still, different questions burned in the samurai's mind more-so. The same ones that had gone unanswered the first time he had asked them. "Well, let's say this is all true. I still don't know who you are and why I should trust you." The samurai challenged the newcomer. It narrowed its eyes ever so slightly before answering in a cold, monotonous voice. "We are Xana."
The geisha edged her way along the side of the mountain. She had nearly completed mapping the entirety of the Three-Line Peaks when she had discovered a small, rugged cliff side trail that ran up the face of one of the towering mountains. This, of course, required that she explore and survey it. Fortunately, she was having more luck doing so than her endeavors with the Tower of Honor. She had yet to learn anything new about the towers' purpose or use. At least there were no new questions, so there was that at least. The geisha was starting to tire of all the mysteries which seemed to pervade every part of her home. She wished that she could just get a straight answer for once. She was drawn from her musings by the familiar sound of hornets, their wings buzzing as they flew. 'Oh, great,' the geisha grumbled silently. 'Just what I need.' Exposed on the side of the mountain, the geisha would be a sitting target. She glanced down the side of the cliff. There was not even a cluster of trees she would be able to grab onto if she fell. The din of the hornets grew closer and more intense. The geisha spotted the swarm as they rounded the mountain's peak. There was five of them in total, but that would be more than enough. The geisha whipped out her fans and readied herself as best as she could on the narrow path. She braced herself for the attack that was certain to come. Only it never came. The swarm of hornets simply flew a few lengths above her head as if they had not even seen her. Yet she knew they had. The geisha had fought them long enough to know their blind spots, and she had not been in one of them. When the swarm had disappeared into the distance, the geisha replaced her fans into her satchel. "Great, another mystery," the geisha muttered as she began to edge her way across the cliff side once more.
Flames rippled into the air as Odd leapt through the fire rings emanating from a nearby blok. Twisting his body and keeping his arms stretched out in front of him, Odd barely managed to make it through unsinged as he landed in front of the blok.
"Hey there," Odd waved in the blok's eye nearest him before raising his right wrist and taking aim. "Laser arrow!" He intoned as the cube-like creature shattered into a dozen rock-like fragments.
"Nice move, Odd," Aelita called from where she and William were dealing with - or rather dodging - a single, menacing tarantula. "But do you want to tell us where exactly this tower of yours is?" Aelita continued even as she tucked and rolled across the snow-covered ground to avoid the tarantula's onslaught of laser bolts.
"Why, but of course, Princess," Odd sang out as he took aim at the tarantula and fired off a few arrows with his usual flare. "It's in the cave right behind the waterfall."
The tarantula shrieked as Odd's arrows impacted. Twisting to face this new irritant, the monster fired off a few energy bolts in Odd's direction before turning back to the far nearer threat of William's massive sword, Zweihänder. Unfortunately, the tarantula was doing a pretty good job keeping the dopplesoldner at bay.
"That's all very nice," William grunted as parried the flurry of laser bolts with Zweihänder. "But how do we get there with this tarantula on our tail?"
"Tourists," Odd admonished with a playful eye roll. "Everyone knows tarantulas are the worst swimmers!" Aelita and William managed to share a confused glance in the midst of the tarantula's attacks. "Follow me, guys!"
Aelita and William began to object but were interrupted by Jeremy.
"You guys might want to do what he says," Jeremy advised from above. "I've looked over the ice cave he's talked about, and I think I know what his plan is."
"See? Even Jeremy recognizes my genius," Odd smirked as he fired off a few more round before turning tail and running towards the waterfall. Aelita and William shared a glance before shrugging and following after as best they could. Jeremy, however, wasn't about to let Odd get away with his statement.
"Might want to save the gloating until after your plan actually works, Odd," Jeremy commented as Odd skidded to a stop by the thundering cascade of water that fell from Waterfall Peak.
"And what if it's already worked before, huh?" Odd huffed as he took aim at the tarantula and laid down covering fire for Aelita and William. "Not so much gloating then, huh?"
"Nope, it's still gloating," Jeremy retorted. "Especially if it's anything like one of your stories where kankrelats and bloks mysteriously morph into tarantulas and megatanks."
Odd's face quirked in embarrassment. Surely he didn't exaggerate that much? Odd was unable to ponder that as a stray laser bolt flew towards him. "Whoa!" He shouted as he crouched to avoid the energy blast. "Hey, watch it!" He yelled at the tarantula, shaking a clenched paw at the monster.
"Be careful what you wish for," Aelita teased the feline as she finally joined him by the side of the waterfall. "It might just take you up on your advice and aim better next time."
"It can try, but it still won't hit me," Odd shrugged as he pointed a claw to a place behind the waterfall, oblivious to Aelita's knowing eye roll at his cockiness. "Here's the cave. The tower's at the very back. You can't miss it."
"I would hope not," Aelita commented as she glanced over her shoulder to where William was backing towards them, taking on the brunt of the tarantula's assault. The virtual elf tore her gaze away from her friend and to the cavern behind the waterfall. Surprise flashed across her face. "Odd!" Aelita exclaimed as she caught sight of the water filled cavern. "How are we supposed to get through the cave? Swim?"
"Of course not, silly," Odd laughed as he stepped behind the waterfall onto an outcropping of ice that extended a short ways into the water-filled cavern. He took one of Aelita's hands and pulled her behind the icy cascade of water. With his free paw he pointed out a series of what looked like miniaturized icebergs that had been out of sight from the cave's entrance. "You jump on the ice floes until you reach solid ice on the other side. But if you fall off, don't worry. All you'll have to do is swim. The water here's not like the virtual sea."
"If you say so," Aelita replied, a trace of nervousness detectable in her voice. "But what about William and the tarantula?"
"Don't you worry about that, Princess," Odd waved off her concerns. "I'll take care of it. Like I said, tarantulas are terrible swimmers!"
A light dawned in Aelita's eyes as she realized what Odd meant by that statement.
"Well, then," Aelita smiled before jumping onto the first ice floe. "You might not want to keep William waiting."
"No problem, Princess," Odd assured the virtual girl with a grin before whirling about and racing out of the cave to help William.
An energy bolt slammed into Zweihänder as William held it out in front of him, one hand on the hilt and one on the false edge. 'Come on, Odd,' William grumbled silently. 'Hurry it up!'
As if he had heard William's silent complaint, Odd soon arrived.
"Laser arrow!" The hybrid shouted as a volley shot forth from his wrists and sliced into the tarantula, who screeched in pain at the impact.
'How much can this thing take?' William thought as the tarantula shook off the attack and resumed its assault on William, though not before launching a few potshots in Odd's direction, all of which were dodged by the feline. "I think you made it angry." William quipped as the dopplesoldner continued to retreat before the monster's onslaught.
"Desperate, more like," Jeremy commented. He did not sound too concerned about William and Odd, though that might have been because neither of them had actually lost any life-points. "It's low on life-points. A few more laser arrows should finish it off," Jeremy reported, but before Odd had a chance to take aim once more, he continued. "Unfortunately, you only have one laser arrow left Odd."
William saw Odd quickly lower his raised paw. Despite this rare instance of rationality, Odd still had plastered on his face his near-ever-present self-confident smirk.
"That's all I need," Odd assured Jeremy. "We just need to get our friendly neighborhood spider into the cave with us."
William rolled his eyes. Aelita must have been showing him around the Internet in their free time when they weren't gallivanting around Lyoko. Nevertheless, William used the distraction Odd was providing by simply being there to withdraw as fast as possible towards the waterfall. Once he had gotten far enough away from the tarantula, the monster was forced to stand up on all fours in order to walk closer. Seizing the moment of ceasefire, William ran after Odd to the entrance of the ice cave. William skidded to a stop when he came to the water-filled cavern.
"Are we supposed to swim?" William asked . He was, in fact, a good swimmer, so if swimming was the only option, he was fine with that. Not thrilled, of course, as he would have to lug Zweihänder. Odd shook his head and pointed to one side of the ice cave.
"Nope, hop on those, don't fall off, and you'll reach the other side nice and dry," Odd told the dopplesoldner before leaping and landing with all fours onto the first ice floe. "Now hurry up before that tarantula gets here! We need it to follow us."
"Alright," William breathed, as he backed up to get a running start. Leaping forward over the icy water, William was surprised that Zweihänder's massive size helped propel him further. Using this to his advantage, William bounded from ice floe to ice floe, smoothly landing before jumping off each ice block an instant later. He had nearly caught up to Odd, who was continuing to leap from floe to floe not unlike a cat, when a familiar roar thundered through the crystalline cave.
"Okay, show time!" Odd announced as he skidded to a halt, claws etching lines in the ice. William skidded to a halt as well, but instead of claws used Zweihänder to counterbalance his own weight and prevent himself from sliding off the ice sheet as it wobbled back and forth.
"What, now?" William asked as the tarantula walked onto the thin ice ledge that extended below the waterfall.
"Watch," Odd grinned as he pointed a claw in the direction of their pursuer. William turned to look at the tarantula, and he could now see why Odd had wanted to lure the monster into the cave.
Deprived of enough room to deploy its leg cannons, the tarantula was reluctantly making its way onto the ice floes. Unfortunately for the tarantula, its legs were not designed with traction in mind. That, added to its weight, meant that the two separate ice sheets beneath its legs began to wobble and tilt inwards. The monster's attempts to regain balance only accelerated the process, and with a frustrated screech it slid halfway into the icy pool below, revealing its symbol to the two Lyoko Wanderers. William did not even have to turn to know what Odd was doing.
"Laser arrow!" The hybrid shouted, and not even a second later a small projectile shot past William and hit the tarantula's symbol. The monster jerked upwards at the impact before its legs gave out from beneath it and it collapse into the ice cold water before exploding.
William rested Zweihänder on his shoulder as he turned to face Odd. "Guess you were right," William told the feline. "Tarantula's are horrible swimmers." Odd grinned in response before leaping onto the frozen ground at the edge of the icy pool.
Aelita stood on the upper platform of the Waterfall Cavern tower. Walking to the center, Aelita activated the tower's interface, placing her hand on the crystalline panel as it appeared.
"How are they doing?" Aelita asked as the tower recognized her and permitted access, which she was quick to make use of.
"Oh, don't worry about them," Jeremy reassured, keys clacking as he too made preparations for unlocking the tower. "They just took care of the tarantula without a scratch on either of them. I'll admit I'm impressed. You guys are getting better. None of you have lost any life-points."
"Well, I guess we've just gotten used to all the fighting," Aelita shrugged as she activated her part of the unlock program. "How's that?"
"Excellent, I'll run my half of the program and the tower should be unlocked in no time," Jeremy replied. Aelita smiled at the enthusiasm in his voice, an enthusiasm that always showed up when his programs worked smoothly and without a hitch. "Alright, there we go! Waterfall Peak is unlocked! I'm getting telemetry from every part of this section. That leaves only four sections left in the Ice Zone left to unlock."
"And what about your theory on Lyoko?" Aelita asked. She was a little nervous to know the answer but at the same time she was excited. If there were other sections of Lyoko then there might be others like her and Odd. And as the human saying went, the more the merrier.
"Yes, I've got some data on it," Jeremy replied seriously. "And from what I can see; Carthage, your forest, and the Ice Zone are indeed all sectors of Lyoko - individual, but ultimately a part of the same virtual environment. I'd estimate there are around five sectors in total."
"Will we be able to reach them?" Aelita asked. She heard the signature clacking of Jeremy's keyboard before his response.
"Yes, I think so," Jeremy replied. "From what I can tell, the activated tower here in the the Ice Zone - or rather Ice Sector is a link to the next sector. I imagine that's why Xana is keeping it active: to block our access."
"Is there any other way to reach the next sector?" Aelita asked, thinking back to the ill-fated expedition into the Blizzard Plateaus.
"Well, there is another way," Jeremy began, his voice faltering. Aelita waited a few seconds for him to respond before prompting him on.
"Yes?"
"Well, the other way you could get to the next sector is through Carthage," Jeremy admitted. Aelita understood his reluctance. Carthage was a dangerous place, full of monsters and traps. And that's not even mentioning the scyphozoa that Xana wanted to use to steal her memories. Still, it seemed a better alternative at the moment than going through the Blizzard Plateaus.
"Then let's do it. Let's go through Carthage."
Jeremy's head jerked up at the central monitor where Aelita's face was displayed. "W-what?" He stuttered, thinking he had misheard.
"You heard me," Aelita affirmed. "We haven't lost any life-points, and there's plenty of time. Why not go to the next sector through Carthage?"
"Are you crazy?" Jeremy exclaimed. "Carthage is just too dangerous! One wrong move and you or Odd won't be coming back! Besides, we already have our hands full with two sectors, let alone three."
"Yes, but Jeremy," Aelita began, pursing her lips. "What if there's another guardian like me and Odd? What if they need our help? You've heard what Odd went through before we found him. I don't want anyone else to have to live like that all alone."
Jeremy's jaw clenched in indecision. He knew he would not be able to win this argument. No doubt Odd and William would be just as enthusiastic, or at least eager, to venture forth into a new sector, each with their own reasons. Plus, he could not deny that on some level he agreed with Aelita. There may very well be other guardians like her and Odd, and despite his chronic annoyance of the blond-haired program, Jeremy was still glad they had come across him. Well, technically he had come across them, but that was just semantics.
"Alright, let's do it," Jeremy said at last. "But if you lose any more than a third of your life-points, we're pulling out."
"Pulling out of where?" Odd's voice came from his comm. Odd and William had finally entered the tower, just in time to hear Jeremy's response.
"We're going to go to the next sector through Carthage," Aelita explained. "We have enough life-points and time to make it."
"Hey, that's cool with me. William?" Odd replied. "Okay then, let's do it." Given William's lack of a verbal answer, Jeremy assumed the older boy had simply shrugged or nodded in response.
"Alright then, if you're all ready, I'm sending you your vehicles," Jeremy announced as his fingers flew across the keyboard. "Head to the edge of the Ice Sector, and I'll enter the code: Scipio."
It was some time later when the trio of wanderers reached the slope leading to the highest point of the Ice Bridges and the edge of the Ice Sector. They were gliding across the landscape on their respective vehicles. Aelita was piloting the overwing; Odd was performing various aerial tricks on the overboard; and William was hunched down over the handles of the overbike. When they reached their destination, Aelita slowed the overwing to a gentle halt; William swerved the overbike to a stop and placed a leg on the ground to stabilize himself; while Odd performed one last loop before bringing the overboard down.
"Alright, Jeremy, we're here," Aelita called up as she stepped off the overwing, an act mirrored by her friends. A second later, the vehicles devirtualized and flickered out of existence.
"Okay, guys," Jeremy reported. "Get ready. I'm entering the code: Scipio."
Aelita, Odd, and William walked to the edge of the icy cliff and stood close together. Equal measures of excitement and fear raced through Aelita as the white transporter sphere, marked with a blue eye of Xana, emerged from the digital sea and enveloped the virtual elf and her friends in a blinding white light as they were whisked away to Carthage and the unknown sector that awaited them.
The light faded as the world spun around and around. A thin column of light emerged from the ceiling and spiraled down towards the floor, signaling the arrival of the corridor. The world spun even more for Odd as a wave of dizziness overcame him, and the strange sensation of nausea in his lower abdomen struck again just as before. The hybrid collapsed to one paw, the other clutching his stomach. William looked his way, concerned.
"Ugh," Odd groaned as the spinning finally stopped. "What is it with this thing that makes me feel so sick? Seriously, what?"
"You mean this has happened before?" William asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, when Odd and I got sent here by accident the last time, this happened as well," Aelita answered for the hybrid. All Odd knew was that next time he was going to vote to go through Blizzard Plateaus. Whatever they might face there would probably be better than whatever this illness was. In time, the feline's nausea dissipated and he climbed to his feet, his body beginning to feel better.
"Alright, let's get going," Odd exclaimed, eager to exit the room. The corridor slammed down onto the floor of the central platform, punctuating his words.
"You have less than two minutes to deactivate the trigger," Jeremy reminded them. "Get going, or Carthage will begin to reconfigure."
Not wasting time, they raced off down the corridor. Odd was lead, racing across the floor on all fours, while Aelita and William ran behind him, Aelita never the fastest runner on Lyoko and William being weighed down by Zweihänder.
Jeremy typed away as he shifted through the information before him. The map of the approaching room was simple. Too simple for his liking. It was comprised of a switch on the side opposite the entrance and a bridge between the two. On either side of the bridge were deep chasms. Falling down those would no doubt be very bad.
"I've located the switch," Jeremy announced as his friends entered the cavernous room.
"Yeah, so have we, Einstein. It's not exactly hidden," Odd replied.
"Be careful," Jeremy warned, still cautious. "I'm not picking anything up on my screens, but knowing Xana I doubt its going to be a walk in the park."
"Don't worry, Jeremy," William assured him. "We'll have it deactivated in no time."
The three wanderers began to run across the bridge. "So much for caution," Jeremy muttered to himself.
Then something caught his eye. The ceiling of the chamber was beginning to collapse behind his friends as they ran. Knowing he had little time, Jeremy shouted into his headset.
"Look out! The ceiling is collapsing! Run!"
At Jeremy's panicked cry, Aelita glanced over her shoulder and screamed as the first column slammed into the bridge. Her fear intensified as the rest of the ceiling was followed in short order. As the columns continued to fall, they began outpacing the virtual elf. Driven by terror, Aelita pushed herself harder than she ever had before as she dodged and swerved out of the path of the megalithic pillars that began to overtake her. Dread filled her as the ground all around her began to darken.
"Aelita!" She heard Odd shout before the feline crashed into her with enough force to send them both flying out of the way of the oncoming pillar. They rolled over each other until finally coming to a stop with Odd laying beneath her.
"Thanks, Odd," Aelita breathed in relief. Odd began to smile back but his face changed from relief to panic. Aelita knew with a sense of dread what was coming even before the floor was covered in shadow. Twisting around, Aelita let out a scream of fear as she raised a hand for all the good that would do. Before the column could crush the two virtual beings, however, it ground to a halt. Odd and Aelita stared wide-eyed at the megalithic pillar as it slowly receded back to where it came. Twisting their heads around, the two saw that William had managed to reach the end of the bridge and press the deactivation mechanism.
"I've tripped the switch," William called out as he walked over to Odd and Aelita, who were still frozen in a mixture of shock and relief. Reaching them, William decided to tease the two guardians. "Now I'm sure you two are comfortable, but we should probably get moving."
Confused at first by his words, Aelita looked down at Odd and realized what the dopplesoldner was implying. She quickly leaped away from Odd and awkwardly helped him up. Fortunately for, Odd remained oblivious to the meaning behind William's comment. If she had been human, Aelita would have be blushing fiercely. She made a mental note to get William back for that, and the look she gave the dopplesoldner as she walked past made it official. William seemed to be having too much fun with her embarrassment, though. to be concerned and simply shrugged.
Jeremy let out a shuddering sigh of relief. He leaned back in his chair as his friends made their way to the elevator and the celestial dome. He knew once they got there they would need their vehicles, but he needed to let his heart slow down first. It felt like it was racing a thousand kilometers per hour and and about ready to burst out of his chest. That was probably one of the closest times he had ever come to losing Aelita. He was more than grateful at the moment for William's presence in their little group of friends than he had ever been before. Without him, Aelita would have surely been devirtualized for good and Odd along with her. Heart settling, Jeremy sat back up and, with a deep breath, began typing in the necessary commands to revirtualize the vehicles.
Odd glanced over at Aelita again, who had her face turned away, and wondered what was up with the embarrassed looks she kept sending his way. Odd could not figure out for the life of him what they were all about. He got that it must have been what William had said earlier, but he just did not understand why. He shrugged the mystery off as the elevator reached their destination. It was probably just a human thing Aelita had picked up, nothing to worry about.
"Alright, Jeremy, we're here," William called out as the trio walked onto the platform leading outside the celestial dome. "Could you send us our - never mind." William was cut off as their vehicles materialized at the end of the platform.
"Okay, listen," Jeremy's voice came over the comm as William swung a leg over the overbike while Odd leaped onto the overboard. "I'm deactivating the third data stream. It will be on the other side of Carthage so get moving."
"Got it, Jeremy," Aelita responded as she stepped onto the overwing and gunned the acceleration. William and Odd followed close behind. Odd glanced over to William as they rounded the massive metallic sphere that was Carthage.
"Hey, why'd Aelita get all funny after what you said?" Odd whispered to make sure his voice did not reach Aelita. William shot the girl a quick glance.
"I'll tell you some other time," William assured the hybrid, adding with a mischievous smirk. "Or maybe you can ask Aelita to tell you all about it."
"Why do I get the feeling that wouldn't be the best idea?" Odd crossed his arms. William grinned and gunned the overbike to catch up with Aelita, Odd following in suit.
"Look out, guys," Jeremy's voice warned. "Mantas at ten o'clock."
Odd glanced around the vast blue, glowing dome, uncertain at what Jeremy meant by 'ten o'clock' and somewhat nervous at the prospect of meeting a group of mantas. He had always had a dislike for flying monsters. But while hornets were annoying at best, mantas were downright menacing.
"There," William pointed out for him, and Odd turned to his left to see a cluster of mantas beginning to hatch from the 'data barrier' of Carthage.
"Uh, are we there yet?" Odd asked as the bulges in the shimmering barrier grew more pronounced, disturbing yet fascinating at the same time.
"Almost," Aelita called over her shoulder as she swerved the overwing to the right and pointed. "There's the data stream. It's already deactivating."
Sure enough, Odd could see the strange tunnel-like current of shimmering blue panels they were headed for begin to disappear.
"Just in time, too," Odd heard William mutter. Looking over his shoulder, Odd could see what the boy meant. Behind them, the mantas had finally hatched and were headed there way, their eerie, shrieks echoing throughout Carthage.
"No time to lose!" Aelita exclaimed as she gunned the overwing and, with William and Odd in hot pursuit, plunged into the aperture the data stream had previously filled. As soon as they had entered the empty data stream, the mantas veered away from the pursuit and returned to Carthage. Odd breathed a sigh of relief before he, Aelita, and William were pulled into the stream of numbers and panels that was to take them to the new sector.
A warrior clad in a black and yellow kimono rested his hand on the hilt of his katana as he surveyed the valley below. The two pieces of cloth that hung loose from his hachimaki fluttered in the breeze as he continued to vigilantly watch the tower that lay in the center of the valley. He glanced behind him once more to ensure he had not been followed.
After agreeing to ally with Xana, the samurai had been instructed to join the force of monsters that was preparing for the arrival of the invaders. The warrior was not about to trust this Xana, however, and so, at the first chance he could find, the samurai had summoned his two clones. One he had sent to act as his decoy among the monsters so that Xana would not become suspicious. The other clone he had sent into the valley below on the opposite side of the tower. When the invaders came through, the samurai and his counterpart would be waiting on both sides.
The samurai's eyes narrowed as the wall of the tower began to ripple and three beings stepped forth. The boy's first thoughts were that they were like him, but he shook away the notion. The 'avatar' Xana had created had also been 'like' him but was obviously not. The warrior inspected the new arrivals. Surely these could not be the ones that had come to destroy the desert? Then again, Xana had said they were merely the harbingers of the destruction that was supposedly to come. No, the honor of bearing the title of destroyer apparently belonged to one named 'Jeremy'. A strange name, but then the samurai hadn't heard many other names, so he really wasn't in the position to judge.
Perhaps Xana had been telling the truth. But perhaps he was not. There was only one way to find out, and that was to hear the other side of the story. He surveyed the small band making their way through the valley, gawking at what they saw. He would need to take one of them prisoner. The one in front did not seem to be a good choice for a prisoner. He was clad in a strange white and cobalt body-suit and on his shoulder rested what had to have been the largest sword the samurai had ever seen - or even imagined possible. The massive blade was nearly as large as its wielder, and the samurai had little doubt that he was a warrior. The first to be taken down in a fight, perhaps, but not good as a hostage.
The second being was perhaps the strangest. This one was clad in a sort of garb the samurai could not identify and flamboyantly sported a variety of purples. On top of that, the boy, if it could be called such, had a large spike of hair that seemed to make up almost a fourth of his height. Stranger than that was the fact that he appeared to have a tail, which would occasionally lash back and forth. Other than that, the creature appeared quite scrawny and a tempting target. But something about him told the samurai there was more to this strange creature than met the eye.
No, the best candidate for being the samurai's prisoner was probably the one in the back. The boy - no, something didn't sound right about that. The being was not a boy, the samurai knew that somehow. But if not a boy, then what was it? He shook his head. That didn't matter. All that mattered was that the pink-clad being was unarmed and near the back of the group. Besides, this being fit the description of the one Xana had instructed to be captured alive. Might as well kill two hornets with one stroke.
With that decided, the samurai signaled with his sword for his double to advance behind the intruders and capture the pink-haired being. That being done, the warrior ducked out of sight as one of the party caught a glimpse of his sword's shine. He then began to make his way down into the valley. Destroyers or not, they were intruders and would be dealt with as such.
Aelita stared around the vast canyon of sandstone as the warm desert sun poured its brilliant light over them. Odd had noticed the glowing orb first, and both he and Aelita had stared at it for a while before William broke in. "You know, it's not good to stare at the sun," he had chuckled. After that, the little group began to make their way through the canyon on foot, having opted to leave their vehicles by the tower for now.
"The colors are so different than Lyo-I mean the Forest Sector," Aelita breathed as she stared at the massive multicolored walls of sandstone. "And the Ice Sector, too."
"Tell me about it," Odd put in from where he was strolling in front of her, William in front of him with Zweihänder resting on his shoulder. "This has to be like the opposite of my home."
"You've got that right," William replied as he glanced around. "How does it look from up there Jeremy?"
There was no response but the slight keening of the desert breeze. A light went on in Aelita's head as she slapped her head in a self-reprimand.
"He can't hear us," Aelita exclaimed, feeling rather silly for having forgotten. "Not until I begin unlocking the tower."
She was about to turn around when something grabbed one of her arms and twisted it behind her back. She let out a squeak of alarm as she felt a sharp blade press against her throat. William and Odd whirled around at the sound of her whimpering cry. Odd snarled when he saw Aelita's predicament, and William hefted Zweihänder off his shoulder menacingly at Aelita's captor. Her two friends were about to advance when a voice stopped them. But instead of coming from her captor, it came from behind the two boys.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
The voice was serious, toneless, and dry, sounding almost unused. The owner of that voice approached from the side. For some reason William and Odd seemed shocked by his arrival. They looked between the newcomer and her captor, confusion written on their faces. Aelita took this time to inspect the newcomer.
He was somewhere in height between William and Odd (that is, if Odd didn't have any hair). He wore a strange yellow and black garb that seemed vaguely familiar to Aelita. Around his head was a small band of cloth that had two strands fluttering in the breeze. His hair was brown like his eyes, and in his hand was held a wickedly sharp sword that Aelita had only seen a picture of in history class. If she remembered the lesson correctly, it was called a katana. It was the sword of a samurai.
"Who are you?" Odd growled at the samurai. The feline was almost on all fours with only one paw raised from the ground with claws extended. His tail was lashed back and forth.
"And what do you want?" William added, brandishing Zweihänder to punctuate his question. The stranger seemed unperturbed by the dopplesoldner's threat, looking the boy up and down before seeming to decide he was not worth the attention.
"Concerning your first question," the samurai began after a moment of silence. "I have no idea. And as for your second," at this the samurai narrowed his eyes and took an aggressive step forward. "It is one I should be asking you, invaders."
William frowned at the samurai's words. Seeing as there was no point at the moment in fighting as long as the samurai's duplicate or twin or whatever he was held Aelita at sword point, William let Zweihänder pull his arm towards the ground, its tip clinging against the hard desert sandstone.
"What makes you think we're invaders?" William asked the strange warrior. The samurai regarded him for a few seconds before answering.
"Because, whether or not you are invaders as Xana says," the samurai replied, ignoring the three shocked gasps from the Lyoko Wanderers at the mention of their enemy. "You do not belong here. And if you are truly allied with this 'Jeremy', then you are my enemy."
"You know Jeremy? Why are you against him, then?" Aelita gasped out against the blade pressing against her throat. The samurai turned his gaze towards the virtual elf, curiosity shining in his eyes for a fraction of a second at the sight of Aelita's pointed ears. Other than that, no emotion showed on his face. He might as well have been a statue for all of the expression he had.
"I know of him," the samurai replied after he had finished studying the girl. "And I know enough to recognize he is a danger to my world. That is enough reason for me to be against him."
"That's ridiculous!" Odd snarled, seeming almost feral. "Jeremy's not a threat to anyone! The only threat I see around here is you!"
The samurai regarded the feline before nodding. "Yes," he agreed, much to Odd's surprise. "I suppose I am a threat. To you, at least. I guess it depends on your point of view."
Despite the calmness of the samurai's words, William could feel the tension in the air between the boy and Odd, who looked like he might leap forward at the samurai any second now. That would not end well for Odd, at the very least, and might endanger Aelita.
"Look," William put in, drawing the samurai's attention to him and breaking up the near tangible tension. "We're not your enemy - and neither is Jeremy. He's not a threat to your world."
"You say 'your world' as if you are not from it," the samurai remarked, raising an eyebrow. If William remembered correctly, that was only the second time the brunette had shown any sign of expression.
"And you say 'my world', as if you're the only one here," Odd snarled in response. The samurai's gaze flickered to the feline coldly before turning back to William.
"I suppose I have grown...used to being alone," the samurai admitted before continuing more harshly. "But that does not answer why you spoke as such."
"I said that because I'm not from this world," William explained, frustration beginning to build in his voice. "I'm from the same one as Jeremy: Earth."
William regretted mentioning he and Jeremy were from the same world as soon as the samurai's eyes hardened and a scowl flitted across his face.
"Then it is little wonder that you should side with him," the samurai accused, brandishing his katana ever so slightly yet still managing a threatening pose with such a small movement. He turned to look at Odd and Aelita. "And you two? Are you from Jeremy's world, too?"
Aelita shook her head as best she could in the circumstance she was in.
"No, we're not," she managed to choke out. The samurai seemed to take notice of her difficulty in speaking and gave some sort of hand sign to his mirror image. The other being let his katana edge slip slightly away from Aelita's throat. The samurai waved a hand for Aelita to continue. She did so with a slight cough. "We're from Lyoko - like you! I'm from the Forest Sector; Odd's from the Ice Sector."
The samurai frowned slightly at this. "Lyoko? Forest Sector? Ice Sector? I've never heard of them." He put a hand to his chin, however, and continued before anyone else could speak. "Although, I suppose I didn't ask for the name of my world...Lyoko, is it? I had gotten used to simply calling it the Desert."
"But there's much more than a desert!" Aelita exclaimed, her hands still resting on the dull side of the katana being held to her throat. "There are four other sectors as well!"
"The Forest and Ice Sectors," the samurai stated, although it might have been a question for affirmation rather than a statement. It was difficult to tell. "And what would this be called," he asked as he gestured with his free hand to their surroundings. "The Desert Sector?"
"Might as well be," William put in. This conversation may have been answering a lot of the samurai's questions, but it was answering none of his. The samurai turned his gaze back on the dopplesoldner as if surprised he had spoken. "We just call them those names because we don't know if they have any official names. The only sector that has a real name so far is Sector Five: Carthage."
The samurai hesitated. He looked almost as if he wanted to ask more questions to his captives, but he shook his head ever so gently, and his voice hardened once more.
"That's interesting," he nodded, but William could detect a trace of suspicion in the samurai's voice. "But for all I know, they are just stories." He paused as if considering something. "Still," he continued. "That is why I have come here: to hear your side of the story. So tell me," the samurai narrowed his eyes in a silent challenge. "What is it?"
Jeremy sat at the supercomputer console with his hands to his forehead as he leaned against the parts of the panel that did not contain the keyboard.
"Aelita? Aelita can you please answer?" Jeremy called again through the comm system. He was beginning to become extremely concerned. From what he could tell, Aelita had just walked out of the tower with the others, apparently forgetting to start unlocking the tower first or even telling Jeremy how long she would be gone. Jeremy could hardly imagine that something bad had happened. After all, that would have probably led to Aelita returning to the tower. Unless they had all been taken out at once...
Jeremy shook his head to clear it. No! He was not going to entertain even a notion of that thought. All of them had full life-points when they had exited the tower. The odds of them all getting devirtualized without at least one of them reaching the tower was fairly small. No, Aelita had probably just forgotten to start unlocking the tower. No doubt she was on her way back right now.
At least, that's what Jeremy hoped was going on as he began to restlessly initiate his part of the tower unlock program in hopes Aelita would respond.
To say Odd was tense and upset would be an understatement. Here Aelita was being held hostage by some fancy dresser with a sword, and William wanted to talk to him! If it wasn't for the fact that the stranger's mirror image was holding that sword against Aelita's throat, Odd would have already leapt onto the newcomer and made sure he regretted messing with them. As William finished explaining to the warrior their side of the story (Odd had to admit there were parts he had not heard before), the warrior glanced around at the assembled group.
"An interesting story," he commented, his composure beginning to really get on Odd's nerves. "Almost as interesting as Xana's."
"And what was Xana's?" Odd snarled. They should get this over with. Guardian or not, this guy was bad news if he was teamed up with Xana.
"That you were intruders," the warrior shrugged. "That this Jeremy of yours was a danger to our world, and that he means to destroy it."
"That's ridiculous," William protested, and Odd had to agree. He would have voiced the same sentiments had not Aelita's expression caught his eye. It was something Odd could not discern, and the hybrid was surprised that Aelita did not jump to Jeremy's defense and deny the warrior's claim.
"Is it now?" The warrior asked as he faced William. "From what you've told me of him, Jeremy does indeed wield the power to destroy...Lyoko, as you call it. Even if unintentionally."
"But he won't," Aelita put in softly. The warrior turned to face her curiously as did William and Odd, drawn by the tone in her voice. "Not while any of us are in here." She looked up at the warrior, a pleading look in her eyes. "Not while you're in here. Xana's a danger to everyone. The only way to make sure he's gone is to shut down the supercomputer - and, yes, destroy Lyoko in the process." Odd felt shock jolt his body. He had always heard Aelita talk about an end to fighting Xana, but he had not imagined it to end like that. Aelita seemed to sense his indecision and shot him a comforting look before turning back to the warrior. "But he would never leave any of us in here. He's already materialized me into the real world. He can do the same to you, and he will if you give him the chance."
"An interesting offer," the samurai replied after a time, hope beginning to flare up in Aelita's eyes. "But this world is real to me, and it is too late now to talk anymore." Hope died in Aelita's eyes as she looked beyond Odd, William, and the strange warrior, who had turned with William to look down the canyon. Odd twisted his head around to see what everyone was staring at. He caught his breath and gasped at the sight of a massive army of monsters approaching them. And at the head of them was what appeared to be the warrior, or at the very least one of his duplicates.
The time for talk had indeed passed.
The samurai watched as the Xana's army of monsters grew closer. He had scouted out the force prior to sending his clone to stand in his place. There were three groups of a dozen roaches with about as many hornets. Those were only the grunts, though. The real bulk was in the two dozen bloks, half dozen krabs, three walkers, and two iron spheres. Individually, or even in their separate groups, they would have been no match for the warrior alone. But, of course, he was not alone.
The vast armada of monsters came to a halt in a semi-circle around the small group, and the samurai stepped forward to stand beside his clone and in front of a pair of bloks, who seemed confused at the fact that there was going to be no need for battle. The samurai gave a quick series of hand signals, relaying his instructions, indecipherable to anyone else. His clones nodded almost imperceptibly.
He turned his gaze back to the strange assortment of beings he had encountered. Both the ones named William and Odd had a look of grim determination on their faces. They knew they would not be able to win, and yet they clearly planned to stand their ground regardless. That alone gained them some respect in the his eyes.
The one named Aelita, on the other hand, was a picture of hopelessness. It had no way to fight, and it no doubt had no lack of certainty that it was going to watch its friends die before its very eyes before being taken prisoner by Xana.
"Why are you doing this?" Aelita asked, her voice a mixture of despair and disbelief. The samurai felt a pang of pity course through him. She had no idea what was going to happen.
"I don't trust you," the samurai said as he brandished his sword. "Fortunately for you, I trust Xana even less."
The samurai whirled around and plunged his sword into the eye of the blok on his right before pulling it out, twirling it in his hands, and spinning back around to backhand stab the blok to his left. Before the two bloks had even exploded, the samurai and his nearest clone had already set on the nearest monsters. The warrior could only hope that he was making the right decision.
William stared in shock as the bloks next to the samurai almost appeared to explode by themselves due to the speed of the boy's attack. The two samurai were quick to attack the nearest monsters but William knew even a warrior as fast and skilled as the samurai would not last long.
"Come on, Odd!" William shouted to the feline, jerking the hybrid out of his shock. "He's on our side! We have to help him!"
The dopplesoldner raised his sword, white energy crawling up the blade. He swung the massive blade just as a group of nearby kankrelats overcame the apparent surprise of the samurai's betrayal. The energy wave from Zweihänder struck the kankrelats head on, and they were unable to launch any attack. Without waiting another second, William joined the battle alongside Odd as he swung Zweihänder left and right at Odd let out volleys of laser arrows. In less than a minute, the four warriors had cleared away most of the kankrelats, bloks, and hornets. But that still left a plethora of other far more powerful monsters to deal with.
Aelita was probably the most surprised at the samurai's sudden change of heart. One instant, a sword was pressed against her throat by what Aelita could now tell was a clone of the samurai, and the next instant that very same clone was in front of her deflecting stray energy bolts.
Despite her friends' vigor and determination, however, Aelita could still see that the battle would eventually go against them. Odd would run out of arrows and the samurai's clones would get devirtualized, as one already had. Without help, they would not be victorious. Fortunately, Aelita could provide that help. Focusing on the ground beneath the center of the army of monsters, the angelic singing filled the air as Aelita channeled her creativity.
The samurai assessed his new allies as he cut through the last of the roaches. There was still a whole army of krabs, walkers, and iron spheres to deal with, and the samurai was not as confident as he initially was that they would be able to defeat the remaining monsters. While the others fought valiantly, they were sloppy and reckless. William seemed to be more of a berserk than anything else, relying on his massive blade to wipe out any and all monsters around him. And while that might work with the smaller foes, it was not as useful against the likes of walkers and iron spheres.
Odd, on the other hand, seemed to have more of an instinct for self-preservation. That being said, the strange hybrid-like boy apparently had a limited supply of his 'laser arrows'. And they had already run out thanks to the creature's ample use of them earlier in the battle. He was clearly not cut out for a long, drawn out battle. And while Odd's current method of clawing at the shells of the krabs was irritating the massive monsters, it did little in way of actual harm.
As for Aelita...
The samurai faltered in his attack against a nearby blok. A strange voice had filled the air with a piercing song. Shooting a glance over his shoulder, the samurai was surprised that the pointed-eared being appeared to be singing with one arm outstretched towards the battle. The samurai might have commented on the use, or rather lack thereof, of singing in a battle except for the fact that he could feel the energy surging through the world around him.
He did not fully comprehend its purpose, however, until the ground in the center of the army of monsters flickered out of existence, spelling the end of the iron spheres and two of the walkers along with half of the krabs and nearly a dozen bloks. Now all that remained was a half dozen krabs, a couple of bloks, and one walker.
The samurai paid for his distraction as an energy bolt from the blok in front of him struck him straight in the chest and sent him flying backwards, his katana soaring from his hand. Skidding across the sand, he groaned and picked himself up, searching for his sword in the process. He had begun reaching for it when the blok loomed up over him, eye glowing with lethal energy.
The monster was unable to bring about what would surely be the samurai's demise as a energy bolt slammed into the side of the blok, causing it to tilt over from the force of the impact before exploding. Looking over to the source, the samurai was surprised to find that it had come from the krab Odd was currently clawing at. The monster had apparently become so irritated at the hybrid boy that it had begun to fire its lasers at random.
'I guess that did come in handy after all,' the samurai thought before grabbing his sword and rushing the krab, which was shrieking in pain.
Slicing through the monster's legs, the samurai took the brief moment to survey the battlefield. His other clone had been destroyed, although it seemed that protecting of Aelita was rather moot as she appeared to be passed out in the sand. Apparently with great power came great strain.
Finishing off the krab as soon as Odd was clear, the two virtual beings turned to where William was dueling with the last walker. Before the samurai could act, however, two rapid blasts from the walker spelled the end of the clearly brave, if reckless, warrior. Scowling, the samurai hurled his katana forward like a spear with a shout of rage. The sword pierced the walker's head and the monster exploded into a shower of grey entrails. With the last monster dead, the samurai collapsed to one knee in exhaustion and respectful mourning.
"Don't worry about him," Odd's voice came from behind him, as if he had read the samurai's thoughts. "It's alright if he gets devirtualized."
It was a good thing Jeremy managed to complete his portion of the tower unlock program or else William might have been stuck the limbo between Earth and Lyoko. And given the fact that both Odd and Aelita appeared to be on their last legs, with only a measly ten life-points left, Jeremy doubted they would have been able to rescue the older boy in time.
"What happened to you guys?" Jeremy muttered as he continued typing in code. Unfortunately, the codes he was using were useless as long as Aelita was unable to complete the unlocking of the tower from her side. The hiss of the door behind him signaled the arrival of William. Jeremy whirled around in his chair to catch sight of William stumbling into the lab.
"William!" Jeremy exclaimed. "What on earth happened to you guys down there?"
"First of all, for the record, it was on Lyoko," William jested. "And second, we met a new friend."
"Then I guess you've got a lot of explaining to do," Jeremy replied, crossing his arms in expectation.
Aelita moaned as she opened her eyes to the gentle blue glow of the interior of the tower. Standing over her were Odd and the samurai. Both seemed relieved, but only in Odd was it apparent.
"Aelita, you're awake!" Odd exclaimed. The samurai held out a hand to help her up. Aelita took it gratefully and pulled herself to her feet. She brushed herself off as she regained her balance.
"What happened?" She asked, her mind still blurry as she looked around. "Where's William?"
"He was...devirtualized?" The samurai replied, shooting a questioning look at Odd. "You're friend says there is nothing to worry about."
"That's right," Aelita confirmed as she looked the boy over. "If William gets devirtualized, then he simply returns to his world. That's not the case with us, of course."
"Of course," the samurai echoed. He glanced around the tower casually with a hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "There was a loud voice asking for you," he spoke again. "I think it was the one you call Jeremy. It was most...disconcerting."
"So I've been told," Aelita replied, shooting a glance at Odd. "He probably wants me to start my end of the tower unlocking program. I presume Odd has told you about it?"
"Yes, indeed," the samurai nodded before adding with some hesitation. "Although, I didn't understand much of it. Perhaps you could explain it to me with a...uh...wider vocabulary."
"Hey," Odd protested. "My vocabulary's wide enough, thank you very much!"
Aelita rolled her eyes before walking to the center of the platform and activating the secondary control console. The samurai gripped his sword hilt in shock.
"How'd you do that?" He asked, eyes wide. Aelita shrugged.
"All the tower's have these interfaces," she replied. "I'm just able to access them, that's all. I won't be able to start the unlocking program from here, but I can find out something that's no doubt important to you."
"What would that be?" The samurai frowned.
"Why, your name, of course," Aelita replied. "It should be around here somewhere...ah, here it is!"
The samurai glanced over the pinkette's shoulder. The girl smiled at the sight of the fierce warrior awaiting his name as eagerly as a child waiting to open a present.
"So, what is my name?"
"His name is Ulrich," Aelita told Jeremy and William as they sat down at the dinner table. "And from what I can tell, he's a guardian like me and Odd, except he's been alone a lot longer than either of us."
"That goes without saying," Jeremy pointed out as he picked at his food. "You said he's in the Ice Sector with Odd, right?"
"Yep, and I'll be joining them once supper's over," Aelita added. She hesitated before continuing. "Any word on your summer plans?"
The two boys shared a regretful look.
"I'm afraid we're going to be gone over summer break, Aelita," Jeremy shook his head. "Our parents aren't taking no for an answer, and besides that, I'm not sure Mr. Delmas would be too thrilled at having a couple of students staying over during the summer."
"So we'll be alone?" Aelita asked. William gave her a reassuring smile.
"No, you won't be," William comforted the pinkette. "You'll have each other; you, Odd, and Ulrich. You'll be fine. You'll see."
"I hope you're right," Aelita muttered before turning back to Jeremy. "What will you be working on over the summer?"
Jeremy pondered the question for a second, a finger resting against his chin. This gave Aelita the time to think on how the question was 'what will you be working on' instead of 'will you be working'. At last he seemed to make up his mind.
"I'll be working on the upgrades and Odd's materialization program," he announced . "Until we gather more information, it'll be pointless to work on the superscan. And I won't be able to work on your antivirus program effectively from my laptop."
"Okay, then," Aelita nodded. "I guess that's that then. You have your projects, and I have mine." She paused as an afterthought came to her. "I wonder how Odd and Ulrich are doing right now."
Ulrich rested his face in his palms as Odd continued to chatter at him.
"Do you ever shut up?" He muttered into his hands. Odd feigned offense at the samurai's words.
"Hey, its not my fault you won't talk!" Odd replied, cheerful regardless. "Besides, Aelita said I should get to know you!"
"Know me?" Ulrich looked up in disbelief. "How are you supposed to get to know me if you're the one doing all the talking? Besides, seems more like she told you to latch onto me instead."
"Come on, relax!" Odd laughed. "I told you, I'm totally cool, and we're going to have to get to know each other eventually. You'll see, by the end of the day, you won't be able to do without me!"
Ulrich rested his face back into his hands with a groan. He was beginning to regret his decision to accompany Odd and Aelita back to the Ice Sector, even if it was much safer than his home at the moment. But made that decision he had, and now all he could do was hope that for however long a day was, it would be over soon.
The geisha walked down the land bridge leading deeper into the Silent Plateau and towards the mountain range's tower. The name for the place had been easy, especially with the fact that the monsters had begun ignoring her altogether. Not that she was complaining, of course, but an explanation would have been nice. Instead, all she was left with was another mystery as she made her way closer to the tower at the heart of the region. As she rounded the side of the mountain, the geisha saw the familiar sight of a tower looming over the surrounding clearing. She began to approach the tower, eager to see if she could get any useful information out of it, when she was brought to a cold stop. Stepping out from behind the tower and flanking it were two executioners. She whipped out her fans in preparation for battle. So much for the Silent Plateau then. "There is no need for that." An eerily familiar voice anchored her to the spot as the geisha spotted a rippling in the wall at the base of the tower. Emerging from the tower was a being that looked almost like herself. She knew this as she had seen her own reflection in the blades of her fan many times before. But unlike her, this geisha had pale grey skin, blood red eyes, and was dressed exclusively in maroon and black. The being approached her with a slow and deliberate stride, and as she neared, the geisha could see the Mark of the Mountains emblazoned on her double's forehead. Stopping in front of the geisha, the duplicate regarded her before speaking once more. "We have been...expecting you. We have much to...discuss.