William P.O.V
Sissi and I were lead to a room that had two beds. We thanked the girl, Kisara, before we closed the door. Sissi put the small bag she had brought with her down on the bed and sat down, rubbing her right foot. I dumped my duffel bag on the other bed and sat down.
"Why are you rubbing your foot?" I asked her.
"I think I stepped on something on the way here," she told me.
"Did it pierce your shoe?" I asked her.
She shook her head and said, "I think I just sprained it,"
I got up and walked over to her and gently took her foot in both my hands and massaged the underside with my thumbs. She gave a small gasp as I passed my thumbs over the sore spot. I smirked and kept rubbing her foot.
"How did you learn how to do this?" she asked me once I had soothed out the soreness.
"I actually did this to Hazel once. She had stepped on a rock while playing but ignored it. It wasn't until Rose noticed that she was limping that Hazel said anything. Rose gave her a scolding but afterwards soothed out the soreness but had me finish because she had to do something real quick that involved running a perimeter around the house for some reason and I guess it stuck," I told her with a shrug.
I stood up just as there was a knock on our door. We looked at each other before I went and opened it to find Kisara standing there.
"I thought you might want something to eat," she said as she held the tray higher.
"Thank you," I told her as I took it from her.
She looked inside and noticed Sissi rubbing her foot. Kisara frowned slightly.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"Y-yeah. I just stepped on something on the way here," Sissi said.
"May I?" Kisara asked me as she indicated the room.
I stepped to the side and Kisara came into the room. She went to one of the small tables that were on the far side of the wall and took out a tube of what looked like ointment. She walked back over and knelt besides Sissi. She rubbed Sissi's foot before she applied the ointment. Sissi hissed in pain and jerked her foot away but Kisara had a firm grip on it.
"Healing Massage," Kisara said as she rubbed her thumbs against Sissi's whole foot.
Her hands glowed and we watched as it seeped into Sissi's foot. Kisara removed her hands from Sissi's foot and Sissi moved it, a sigh escaping her lips.
"That feels so much better," she murmured before she looked up at Kisara with a smile as she said, "Thank you,"
"You're welcome," Kisara told her as she stood up.
"Excuse me," Kisara said as she bowed before she left the room, closing the door right behind her.
I set the tray down on a table with only two seat on it and turned around to help Sissi come sit down when I frowned.
"What's wrong?" Sissi asked me as she noticed me frowning.
"Nothing… it's just that I feel like something is going to happen," I told her.
It was quiet before she said, "Normally, when one of us has a sense or feeling that something is going to happen, it ends up from going to bad, to good,"
"Huh?" I asked as I looked at her, dumbfounded.
"When we were in the shop, that Dolores' husband owns, Ulrich had the feeling that something was going to happen to Yumi and it did. Then they were the ones that saved us by unlocking the power of Purity. Could the same thing apply to us?" Sissi mused.
"Maybe… let's eat something then take a much needed rest- er- nap," I said.
Sissi chuckled before she tried to stand on her own. She stumbled and would have fallen hadn't I caught her. I picked her up bridal style and sat her down on the chair that was built into the wall. I sat down across from her and we took off the dish covers and saw that it was some black beans and rice. A couple of tortillas and two glasses of fruit punch. We ate in silence and once we were done we fell asleep.
Ulrich P.O.V
Yumi and I were lead to a room that had two beds in it. We thanked Mana, the girl that brought us here and dropped our bags on the beds. We sat down on our chosen beds and just sat there quietly when we both suddenly felt weird… make that, bad.
"Oh gosh… why do I get the feeling that something is going to happen?" Yumi asked me.
"I don't know… but it won't happen to anyone we know…" I said.
"Let's hope it doesn't happen at all…" Yumi mumbled.
We both lay down on the mattresses and drifted asleep.
Jeremy P.O.V
Aelita and I were lead to a room that had two beds in it. We thanked Isis and placed our things on the beds. We lay down on our beds and fell asleep.
Odd P.O.V
Marcus lead me towards the Infirmary and showed me a bed where I could put Rose. I lay Rose down on the bed and sat down next to her.
"Would you like something to eat?" Marcus asked me.
"No, I'm all right," I said.
Wow, that's a first, I thought to myself. I just said I didn't want to eat when that's usually all I do,
"Well, since it might take Rose a while to wake up, why don't we chat?" Marcus asked.
Why do I get the feeling he'll ask me how long I've been with Rose and what we have been doing? I thought to myself.
"Sure, why not?" I said.
Marcus sat down on the other side of the bed and faced me. It was quiet before he said, "Ya know, I've been having dreams about seeing my nieces and nephew for the past month. Thought I was finally going bonkers but once I saw them today, I knew it had been a message from my wife, may she rest in peace,"
"Uhm… if you don't mind me asking, what happened to your wife?" I asked.
"I mean, Rose has told me about the two of you being the only living relatives they had left and how close she was to her aunt," I added quickly.
It was quiet before he said, "Claire died ten years ago when that abomination came and almost massacred all of the refugees hadn't she been called back by someone,"
"Abomination?" I asked, fearing the answer.
Please don't say it was a girl, I thought.
"A girl no older than 6 years of age came and like I had stated earlier, she almost massacred all of the refugees down here when she just left, as if called back by someone," Marcus explained.
Didn't I just say to not say if it was a girl? I thought.
"Odd?" Marcus asked after a moment of silence.
I looked at him, tearing my gaze from Rose's prone form.
"Yes?" I inquired.
"How long have you known my eldest niece?" Marcus asked me.
"Well…" I thought back and remembered how long I've known her.
"About a year," I finally said.
"And you've both been going out for how long?" Marcus inquired.
"Uh…" I said, unsure of what to say.
What? Time didn't matter to either of us when we were together which was all the time.
Thankfully Rose saved me.
"We've been going out for 7 months," Rose said as she opened her eyes.
"Rose!" I said as I stood up at the same time as her uncle did.
"Are you all right?" I asked her as I helped her sit up.
"Yes. Just hungry," Rose told me before she looked at her uncle.
"Uncle Marcus," Rose said with a nod.
"Oh, my dear girl!" Marcus said as he hugged Rose.
Rose hugged him back and said, "I'm back home Uncle. I will never leave again until X.A.N.E is completely eradicated from the face of the Earth,"
(If only we had known that she was wrong)
"Uncle," Rose said as she drew back from the hug to look at him with a serious gaze. "What has happened here while we were gone? What has transpired?"
"A lot of things, my dear niece. But that shall wait for later. Right now you and your boyfriend must eat something," Marcus said.
Rose blushed as she said, "Boyfriend?"
"You prefer me saying mate?" Marcus asked to which Rose replied indignantly.
"No! We get that enough from my sisters! Especially Molly!" Rose said indignantly.
Marcus laughed as he said, "So, many years have passed yet you are all the same! Oh, I cannot wait to talk to your sisters and brother again,"
"The time will come, but didn't you say that my boyfriend and I have to eat?" Rose inquired to which her Uncle stood up and left, muttering something about reverse psychology.
It was quiet before Rose broke it by asking a question.
"Did my uncle ask you how long you've known and gone out with me?" she asked.
"Yes," Odd said.
"Thank goodness you saved me when he asked me about how long we've been going out," I said.
"Well time does not matter to us, seeing that we are together 24/7," Rose said as she twirled a lock of hair.
"Well, not exactly 24/7," I said.
"R-right," Rose said with a slight blush.
A rather uncomfortable silence fell between us when Rose shifted uncomfortably. I glanced at her face and saw a disturbed and uncomfortable expression on her face.
"Oh gosh," Rose gasped out before she quickly got out of the bed and rushed towards the bathroom across from her bed.
I stood up and knocked on the door as I said, "Rose? Are you all right?"
"No…" Rose said shakily.
"What's wrong?" I asked, panic rising in my chest.
"Uh… could you call Sandry?" Rose asked me.
"Uh…" I said, dumbfounded.
"No need to. I'm right here," Sandry said from right behind me.
I jumped, startled and turned around to see that both Sandry and Calvin were right behind me. Calvin was starring at me weirdly that I just had to snap at him.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing. I just kinda pictured you jumping and clinging to the roof," Calvin told me.
My eye twitched as I said, "Ha, ha, very funny,"
"Calvin! Stop mocking my boyfriend and Sandry get in here!" Rose snapped.
The three of us stared at the door before we heard the click, as it was unlocked. Sandry opened the door a bit and slipped through before she closed it behind her. Calvin and I sat down before Sandry peeked her head out.
"Enfermera," Sandry called.
A nurse came over and said, "Yes?"
"Puede darle la inyección para parar la necesidad de tener relaciones?" Sandry asked.
"Por supuesto," the nurse said.
The left and came back with a box before she handed it to Sandry who went back into the bathroom. A second later she came back out with Rose, who had her head down, her hair obscuring her face.
"Sorry… Rose got the…" Sandry trailed off, Calvin and I nodded.
"At least we have the shots now," Sandry commented after an awkward silence.
Rose went and sat down on her bed. She was silent before she said, "What are we going to tell our uncle?"
"What do you mean?" Calvin asked.
"He talked about Rita. The six year old… that was her," Rose said as she looked up.
"Rita's growth is decided by X.A.N.E. If it weren't… Rita would be 15 right now," Rose explained.
"Shouldn't we wait a little? See what has happened before we drop the bomb?" Calvin suggested.
"If it is for best…" Rose said before she sighed.
"I really need to work off this tension… I hate being cooped up in places," Rose muttered.
"Think they have a training ground like the ones at the Clan?" Calvin asked.
"Maybe, maybe not," Rose answered.
"Ah, Calvin, Sandry. I knew you would be here so I brought you guys some food," Marcus said as he came into the infirmary followed by Kisara, Mana and Isis, all four holding trays in their hands.
"Kisara, Mana, Isis!" Rose said with a smile.
"Rose!" all three girls said as they placed the trays down and hugged Rose.
"Oh, so glad to see you are all right!" Kisara said.
"Tell us everything about your time in the human world. Is it as great as it sounds?" Mana asked.
"Are there really places where people can see shifters?" Isis asked.
Rose rolled her eyes as she said, "Not all the things that were rumored about the human world are true,"
"Really?" the three girls asked.
"First off, it's not all that great. There is violence and evil in most people's hearts," Rose said as she answered Mana's question.
"And the places where people can see shifters? Doesn't exist," Rose said as she answered Isis' question.
"What does exist are pure hearted people and the place called Zoo where you can see our animal sides, not shifters," Rose told them.
"Wait… so the rumor about shifters having gone to the human world are not real?" Isis asked.
Rose shook her head and Isis' mood fell.
"Don't worry… that just might be in France where I was in… maybe… Mexico?" Rose asked as she looked at her brother.
"Nope… sorry," Calvin said with a somber expression.
"Don't worry, we'll find him once all of this is over," Rose told Isis as she placed a hand over the girl's arm.
"You really think he's out there?" Isis asked with hopeful eyes as she looked at Rose.
"I know for a fact that he is. Why else would one fell empty but the absence of their true love?" Rose asked with a smile.
"If you keep praying that he'll come back, it will happen. You'll see," Rose said as she squeezed Isis' arm.
"Thanks Rose… you truly are a great friend," Isis said with a smile.
"Now, if this conversation is over. Why don't we let my niece, nephew, and their respective partners enjoy their meal in peace?" Marcus asked, interrupting the conversation.
"Right," the girls said before they left the Infirmary.
"Once you're done and after your friends wake up, come down to the Meeting Room so we can talk," Marcus told them before he left them alone.
Rose sighed and reached for the tray besides her when she froze. Her vision became blurred at the sides as if she were witnessing something in the far distance.
Rose saw Kadic Academy and beyond it she saw… an activated tower. Rose heard a screech from behind her and she turned around only to see sharp teeth filling her vision.
Rose gasped and almost knocked over the glass that was on the tray closest to her hand as she flinched. I stopped the glass from tilting over and the other three occupants in the room looked at Rose.
"What did you see?" Calvin asked his sister.
"I-I don't know…" Rose said.
"I saw Kadic Academy and beyond it I saw a…" Rose trailed off.
"You saw what?" Sandry asked gently.
Rose looked at each of them, her eyes troubled as she said, "An activated tower,"
"You saw an activated tower behind Kadic Academy?" I asked.
Rose nodded before she added, "And some creature with sharp teeth. That was what made me flinch once I was out of the vision,"
"Well, let's think about this later," Calvin said, as he thought of what Rose had said.
Rose, Sandry and I nodded and ate our lunch. Both Sandry and Calvin left the Infirmary, taking the trays with them and left Rose and I alone.
"So… what do you think of my uncle?" Rose suddenly asked.
I looked at her and echoed, "What do I think?"
Rose nodded and when I didn't answer, said, "What do you think? Is he an okay guy? A great man? A decent uncle? A great person to talk to when you're feeling down?"
"Oh…" I said as I blinked, unsure of what exactly to say.
"Well… he does seem like a decent guy to talk to if you have problems," I said after a while.
"He doesn't seem… intimidating to you?" Rose asked me.
"No…" I said before I added, "He does seem overprotective of you though,"
"Really? What makes you say that?" Rose asked, failing to notice the suppressed laughter she was trying to hold back.
"Well… he was giving me glares when he thought I wouldn't notice while we-" I stopped short and narrowed my eyes at her as I noticed that she was shaking with suppressed laughter.
"What's so funny?" I asked her.
"J-just the fact that my uncle is still as overprotective as ever!" Rose said between laughs.
"And that is funny, why?" I asked.
"Forget it," Rose said as she waved a hand as if dismissing me before she continued, "You wouldn't understand. It's a family thing,"
"Can't you explain it to me?" I asked her as I arched an eyebrow.
"Nope. You have to be family in order to understand," Rose said with a gleam in her eyes.
"Are you feeling all right?" I asked.
"Huh?" Rose said before she blushed.
"Sorry… it must be the side effect of the injection," Rose said.
I leaned close and kissed her lightly.
"Don't worry about it," I told her as I pulled away slightly.
Rose moved and pressed her lips against mine. The kiss started out slow before it became more heated. I pulled Rose off the bed and onto my lap as I sat back down on the chair I had been seated in as we continued to kiss hungrily.
"Ahem," I heard from behind us.
Rose and I stopped kissing and blushed as we saw the others standing there. Sam, and Sissi were smiling knowingly. Rose was straddling my lap and my arms were around her waist. She stood up and sat down on my lap properly, without straddling my waist and I removed my arms from around her waist.
"So…?" Rose asked.
"So?" Sam asked amused.
Rose rolled her eyes before she said, "What brings you here,"
"And no funny puns or anything," she added as she narrowed her eyes at Sam.
"Just came to see if you were all right, although," Herb said. "Judging by the way you two were lip-locked, I'd say you were all right despite the fact of almost having given up your own life force to save your brother from death,"
We all looked at him in shock. He looked at our expressions and finally broke the silence.
"What?" he demanded.
"Nothing," we all replied.
"Oh, my uncle told Odd and I that once we had eaten and you guys had woken up, to head down to the Meeting Room," Rose said.
"Well? What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Nicolas said as he turned and started to walk out.
"Uh… Nicolas? Do you even know where it is?" Rose called after him.
Nicolas stopped and said, "Uh… ni, I don't,"
We all rolled our eyes and Rose stood up from my lap. For a brief second I thought I saw wolf ears and a tail on her. When I blinked, they were gone.
Huh. I thought I had seen wolf ears and a tail on Rose. Must be fatigue, I thought to myself.
"Well, let me lead the way then," Rose told him as she stretched.
"Do you know the way?" Nicolas asked her.
Rose stared at him as she said, "Yes,"
"I'll explain it all once at the Meeting Room. You all deserve to know already, after all, it has been put off for so long," Rose told us.
We all nodded and followed her through a series of corridors. I noticed that Rose always inclined or moved her head, as she seemed to listen to something. After a while of seeing this I decided to ask her,
"What are you listening to?"
Rose glanced at me as she said, "The Cavern walls and corridors are enchanted to emit a certain sound to main rooms or sections,"
She looked forward and went into the corridor to her left as she continued, "For example the Meeting Room. The sound I'm perceiving is from a song that we all sang in the annual Clan gathering in the Main Town,"
She started to hum before she sang, "Unity, peace, and endless happiness. Let us show our gratitude. Join hands, join powers. Twins sing in unity. Angels sing for peace. All of us sing for happiness,"
As she sang, the corridor seemed to hum a tune that easily went with the song Rose was singing. She stopped singing and the corridor went back to normal. I looked at Rose and saw a small smile on her lips.
"I missed this place," Rose murmured.
"You've been here before?" Ulrich asked.
Rose nodded as she said, "Yes, but it must have been a vision or from someone else in the Spirit World… a girl around my age probably,"
"In it, I sang the same song and the corridors hummed as they did just moments ago," Rose told us.
She stopped short, so suddenly that Yumi almost bumped into Rose hadn't Ulrich stopped her.
"Rose?" I asked.
Rose's eyes were glazed over as she looked at me.
"Beware… the time is nearing," Lillian said through Rose.
"The time is nearing?" we all asked shocked.
"X.A.N.E's true plan… almost nearing… be… on guard…" Lillian said before her control on Rose snapped.
Rose blinked and said, "Weird,"
She shook her head, her hair falling around her before she kept walking. I looked at the others and followed after her. Everyone else did as well.
"Well," Rose said as we came to these huge double doors.
And by huge, I mean huge! The doors were 12 ft tall and around 10 ft in width.
"Here we are," Rose said as she pushed the doors open.
They slowly swung open to reveal an average meeting room. It had a long table with chairs and a wide screen at the opposite wall. All in all, the room was bare. I noticed that Calvin, Sandry, Abby, Hawthorne, Mark, Mary, Atem, Chad and Miko and Marcus were already seated at the table.
Rose motioned for us to follow her and we sat down at the adjacent table. After a while the whole room was filled with more people, mainly around their early 20's and late teens. Only five of the people present were older, around their 30-40's.
"Now that we are all assembled," Marcus said as he stood up.
"I had called the meeting to discuss what has happened in the years that our children have been under the virus sibling's grasp," Marcus continued.
"And the help of a group who have fought against the male virus, very bravely," Marcus added.
"Rose?" Marcus asked and Rose nodded.
Her uncle sat down and Rose stood up along with Mark.
"As my uncle said, this meeting is to inform each other on what has happened on both sides of this impending war," Rose said as she looked at everyone in the room.
"Rose and I will inform you of what X.A.N.E has planned, if it has not been deemed unworthy," Mark said.
"What do you mean 'if it has not been deemed unworthy?'" an elderly man asked with narrowed eyes.
Rose noticed this and said, "Mark and I used to be the keys to X.A.N.A and X.A.N.E's success at getting physical bodies,"
"Used to?" the man asked.
"Not too long ago, we were freed from her grasp for unknown reasons. We are on our guard for we know that X.A.N.E will stop at nothing to gain control of us and make us enslave the human world and annihilate all hope left in our world," Rose said.
"But all is not lost," Lillian's voice drifted through the room.
"Who are you? Show yourself!" the old man asked as he stood up.
"You will not talk to my granddaughter that way," a wise old voice said from the doorway.
We all looked over and saw a man wearing a golden robe and a walking cane in his right hand. He seemed to be in his 90's but that could be because of him being an Eternal. Determining their age was always hard to do.
I froze at that thought. How the hell did I know that?
"Atemu?" Calvin asked as he stood up.
The Eternal looked at Calvin and nodded before he looked at Rose and then at Mark.
"So it seems my granddaughter and grandson have found their power incarnates," Atemu said.
"Power incarnates?" Mark and Rose echoed before they gasped.
We all watched as both of them glowed white and gold respectively before it faded from around them.
"What just happened?" Mark asked.
"My grandson has faded from existence, but has given you his powers for this war to succeed," Atemu told Mark.
"Why give us their powers?" Rose asked, catching on that Lillian had done the same thing with her.
Atemu looked at her as he said, "It was foretold by one of your ancestors that you and Mark would be the ones for the female virus' downfall or up bringing,"
"Wait…" Rose said as she looked at her brother before looking back at Atemu.
"I thought it was twins who would be her downfall," Rose said.
Atemu shook his head as he said, "That only applies to the Eternals,"
"Besides, you were her keys to success were you not?" Atemu asked both of them.
"Oh," both of them said.
"Oh," Atemu said as he looked at our table.
"The Lyoko Warriors too have a power incarnates," Atemu said just as the rest of us Lyoko Warriors glowed.
The glow faded from around us and we just looked at each other before I felt more in control over my powers.
"Whoa," I said as my palms glowed with magic.
"The Ghost Clan's Goddess unlocked power, within you eight did she not?" Atemu asked us.
We nodded and he said, "She helped lessen the pain you would have been in hadn't she unlocked your hidden potential,"
"If you will excuse me," Atemu said before he walked out of the room.
It was silent before Marcus broke it as he said, "Let the meeting continue,"
Mark and Rose nodded before they filled in on what has happened while they were captive and on Rose's part, what has happened in the human world.
We were told that on the day of the raid, the Clans that were affected the most were the Wolf, Witch, Wizard, Ghost, Vampire, and Shifter Clans. Around half the number of people in each Clan made into the Caverns, but the numbers dwindled drastically when Rita came and almost massacred all the refugees but they came back strong with two new twin births.
Rose and Calvin looked at each other before Calvin stood up and said, "Can we have everyone's attention please?"
Everyone looked at Calvin before he started to say, "As you all know, X.A.N.E has creatures that would make the most gruesome things that the Eternals would do to us seem like playthings,"
"What we didn't tell you is that X.A.N.E created new life as well to use as her servants," Rose said.
"New life?" everyone but the teens that were with us asked confused.
"Yes. By that we mean that she used our means to keep our population alive," Rose said.
"Giving birth?" the female representative of the Shifters asked.
Mark nodded and both he and Rose looked at each other before he glanced at me then at Mary.
"Is there something you want to say about these… experiments?" Marcus asked.
"Please do not think this is treason or a sin but…" Rose trailed off then took a deep breath as she continued, "Mark and I… we were the first ones to have had been used to have such a child to be born,"
"The very same child that almost massacred all of the refugees," Mark said.
"Traitors!" the old man from before yelled as he stood up.
"Eliminate them! Before the army of Eternals get here!" he yelled at the Guards that had come with each representative.
"That is enough, Marco!" Marcus said as he stood up, eyes blazing with anger.
"My niece has just said that she was used for that child to be born. She did not conceive it herself, another did," Marcus said as he looked at Calvin for confirmation.
"Yes, that is true. My sister did not conceive the child. An egg was simply extracted from her and the sperm came from Mark. They did not copulate and the proof would be the fact that they are both with their respective mates," Calvin said as he indicated Mary then me.
"Both? Rose has not been able to find her mate in all her 19 years of age," a woman, presumably Mary's mom, said.
"Actually…" Rose said with a slight blush.
Everyone looked at her and she looked down as she said, "I have found my mate…"
A pause before chatter broke out.
"Who is it?" someone asked.
"Is he really from what you thought?" another asked.
"Is it one of the Lyoko Warriors?" someone else inquired.
"How lo-" someone was asking when Rose deemed the questions to be too much as she yelled for silence.
"Quiet!" she yelled.
The room fell silent and she looked up, the blush gone, being replaced with a serious look that made me fall silent. Huh, go figure.
"Yes, it is one of the Lyoko Warriors," Rose said.
"Yes, it is from a descendant of a Cat Clan," Rose continued.
"And it's him," Rose said as she indicated me.
"Odd Della Robbia. The Feline Warrior in the Lyoko Warrior's bunch," Rose said as she looked at everyone in the room.
"I understand none have been introduced, so let me make the introductions," Rose said as she started indicating each of us.
"Yumi Ishiyama, the Geisha Warrior,"
"Ulrich Stern, the Samurai Warrior,"
"Aelita Stones, the Angel Warrior,"
"Elizabeth 'Sissi' Delmas, the Ninja Warrior,"
"William Dunbar, the Fallen Warrior,"
"Jeremie Belpois, the Techno Warrior"
"Ninja?" Sissi muttered.
"Fallen?" William muttered.
"Techno?" Jeremie mumbled.
"Fallen?" the man asked as he looked at William.
"So, he was turned against them? Then that-" the man was saying when Rose slammed her hands against the table top.
Her glare was different from the other ones.
"If you have any rude comments direct them towards me," Rose said as she glared at the man before she looked at everyone else.
"I will not allow dumb people to make what little hope there is left for our people vanish over rude comments or false accusations. I did not come back to my home world to see it fall apart before my very eyes," Rose said.
"If you want to aid us Warriors in this war, then you are free to do so," Rose told them. "But if you do not want to fight, then so be it. I will not force you to fight,"
"If you want to follow tyrants like him then so be it. But I assure you that if you do, it will be your downfall," Rose gritted out.
"Cast your choice now or forever adhere to the consequence of the wrong choice," Rose told them.
It was silent before Abby, Atem, Hawthorne, Mary, Chad and Miko stood up and pointed their arms in Rose's direction as they said, "We hereby swear to follow Rose Mendoza as the Leader for the New Era Army,"
Others stood up and swore their loyalty to Rose… all but one. The old man stood up and pointed a finger at Rose.
"You could have let me lead them to fight, but you had to take the glory away from me just like your mother and father did in the second war!" he told her.
His eyes glowed and Rose did as well, a shield surrounding us just as the man shot electricity towards our direction. It hit Rose's shield and she stumbled back slightly. We all stood up, flashing into our Lyoko Forms with the exception of Sam, Jeremie, Nicolas and Herb, of course.
The man stopped attacking and stared at us in shock.
"You… it's you… but how?" he muttered as he looked at each of us Warriors.
"I saw you guys fade before my very eyes in the first war…" he said in shock.
He looked towards Rose and gasped, as did everyone else in the room. We all looked over at her and gasped in shock at what we saw.
Rose was glowing with an ethereal light as her clothes changed into her Lyoko form with a few alterations. It still consisted of a purple-cropped top and purple shorts outlined in black lace and her purple boots along with wolf ears and tail but the only subtle difference was the transparent lace that covered her abdomen and flowed around her shorts. A tiara was inlaid with her hair, which flowed freely.
"The legendary Wolf," the man said before he gripped his chest in pain.
He doubled over and gasped out, "No! My lord! Give me time!"
Rose narrowed her eyes and said, "Traitor!"
She pointed at the man as she said, "He is in league with the Eternals!"
The man laughed as he looked up at Rose.
"Yes, you are correct. I am in league with the Eternals," the man said.
"What are your plans? What have you done in these years?" Mary demanded as her eyes glowed.
"Your foolish powers will not work on me, girl," the man spat out before he blasted Mary back.
"Mary!" Mark and Mary's mom and her father (?) yelled out.
Mark glared at the man as he growled, his eyes becoming un-human like.
"Spirit Arrow!" Rose yelled as she aimed at the man.
She let the arrow fly but the man grabbed the female representative of the Shifters as a shield. Rose gasped in fear. She couldn't call the arrow off.
"Laser Arrow!" I yelled as I aimed and canceled her attack.
"He, lucky shot but can you attack all these?" the man asked as black orbs formed around him and shot towards us.
Rose still had her shield up and she extended it out to protect us but the attacks weren't what they seemed. One of them hit Rose's shield and she cried out as she was violently thrown back.
"Rose!" Calvin, my friends, Sam, Herb, Nicolas and about everyone else in the room yelled out.
Rose hit the screen with her back and the force of the impact was enough for her to cough out a mixture of both blood and saliva. She fell in a heap a few inches away from the screen as she fell to the ground.
"Energy Field!" Aelita yelled as she threw her attack at the black orbs.
They cancelled out and we all followed suit, quickly getting rid of the on coming orbs. Yumi stepped forward and her fan glowed as it changed into a baton of some sort. She threw it at the man and it hit his hand, making him let go of the woman he had intended to use as a shield.
The baton came back to her hand and reverted back into her Tessen Fan. We all watched in shock but quickly snapped out of it when the man raised his hands and almost everyone in the Meeting Room was forcefully thrown out, with us Lyoko Warriors, Rose, Marcus, Calvin, Sandry, Sam, Nicolas, Herb, Dr. Mendez and Cole, who had come in at some point during the meeting, being the exception.
"I will enjoy destroying you again," the man said as he crouched.
He lunged at us but Calvin threw himself at the now shifted man. The man was a wolf shifter. He threw Calvin off and Calvin's head hit the wall rather forcefully, causing Sandry to cry out in fear.
She rushed towards him and held his unmoving body in her arms. We all got into a fighting stance when a Spirit Arrow whizzed past us and hit the man's right paw. He yelped but quickly tore the arrow out of his paw and growled in Rose's direction.
"Spirit-" Rose was saying when the fatigue overtook her.
She loosened her hold on her bow as she fell to her knees and face down on the ground.
So it seems she couldn't withstand that hit, the man said.
Good. I hope that damages her forever, the man said with a hint of a laugh in his voice.
I growled low in my throat as I crouched, unknown to me that my eyes changed just like Rose and Mark's eyes did when they were very angry.
Oh, so the Cat is getting possessive of his mate, eh? The man asked.
"I wouldn't taunt him if I were you, Marco," Marcus warned the now named man.
What can he do to me? I am the strongest wolf shifter now that your brother is dead, Marco said.
Marcus growled at that.
"Oh?" I said which caused the conscious people to look at me.
"Are you sure you are strong?" I asked.
"Seems to me you could break any minute," I taunted.
Why you! The man said as he lunged.
I did as well and landed on his back before I catapulted off of him. I aimed at him as I was falling back down and shot his back paws. I landed on all fours and stood up.
Marco had fallen on his stomach and was trying in vain to stand up but couldn't as his three paws were useless to him.
"Well, it seems you have become of no use to me, Marco," a voice said as it flowed through the room, giving everyone the chills.
No! My Lord! Marco yelled before he disintegrated before everyone's eyes.
"That was creepy!" Herb said, freaked out.
Rose moaned and slowly opened her eyes as she regained consciousness. I hurried over to her and held her in my arms.
"W-what happened?" Rose asked as she noticed the almost vacant room.
"We had a little spat with Marco," I told her.
"I knew he was trouble ever since I met him, but not to this," Rose said as she indicated the ruined room.
She gasped in pain as she moved slightly. My hands glowed and I could feel her injuries as if they were my own. I healed the wounds that had opened up on her back and soothed out the soreness. My hands stopped glowing.
Once they did so, Rose's right shoulder shined and Sandry gasped, causing me to look at her and gasp as well.
"What is going on?" Jeremie asked as we watched as Rose's right shoulder glowed and Calvin's left shoulder did as well.
Calvin opened his eyes and tried to sit up but Sandry wouldn't let him.
"You just got better thanks to Rose. But I will not let you exert yourself," Sandry told him.
"I'm fine… okay, maybe I'm not fine," Calvin said as he tried to sit up only for him to get dizzy.
"Why don't you rest up?" Marcus said.
"Cal? Have you noted that's all we've been doing since we got here?" Rose asked her brother.
"Yep," Calvin said.
Rose tried to get up but couldn't because she was weak.
"Ugh… that's the last time my mark heals you," Rose said.
"Hey," Calvin said as Sandry helped him stand.
"Can't blame me. These act all on their own," Calvin told her.
"Argue about this later. You need to rest," Sandry said.
Calvin rolled his eyes but let himself be lead out of the room. Marcus snapped his fingers and the room was spotless again. I picked Rose up, startling her, as she hadn't been expecting that.
"Hey! I can walk on my own!" Rose told me.
"Oh?" I said as I let my arm drop from underneath her legs.
Once her feet touched the ground, I felt her legs give out from underneath her. She gripped my right shoulder with her left hand and I smirked.
"Can you walk on your own?" I asked.
She looked up at me and glared as she said, "Shut up,"
"If you two are done bickering like una pareja casada, you can go and rest up for a bit," Marcus told us.
"Uncle!" Rose said as a blush crept up her cheeks.
"It's the truth," Marcus said as he held his hands up in a defensive gesture.
"Ay por dios! Todos me estan haciendo la vida miserable!" Rose said and her uncle laughed as he walked out.
"Are they really making your life miserable?" Dr. Mendez asked.
Rose looked at him and said, "It was a figure of speech…"
Dr. Mendez looked like he didn't buy her excuse.
"I'm sure she didn't mean it literally," Cole told him.
Dr. Mendez let it go and I picked Rose up again as we all walked out of the Meeting Room. Dr. Mendez and Cole left to go find their… mates. We all walked down a corridor that Rose assured us lead to the Library.
"Why are we going to the Library?" Herb asked.
"Oh great, schoolwork always finds me," Nicolas said.
"I said I would explain things about my world to you, and I am. What better place but the Library?" Rose said from her position in my arms.
Rose told us to turn right and we came up to another set of huge doors. Ulrich and William pushed them open with ease whereas Rose had done it with a bit of difficulty. We all walked inside and Rose told me to take her to the table at the very far back of the Library. I set her down on the chair that was in front of a ball, much like the ones medium's use to see the future.
"Sit down," Rose told us as she indicated the remaining chairs.
I sat down next to her with Yumi and Ulrich to her left and Jeremie and Aelita to my right. Sam, Nicolas, Herb, William and Sissi on the other side of the table.
"Well, here goes nothing," Rose said as she passed her hand over the orb.
It lit up and a voice said, "Yes? How may I help you?"
"I would like to see the History book please," Rose said.
"Human? Clan? Old or new?" the voice asked as the light seemed to vibrate as it spoke.
"Clan… what is the difference between the old version and the new version?" Rose inquired.
Two books were displayed in a beam of light that shot upward and were turned this way and that way.
"Hmm… the new version is fuller…" Rose mumbled.
"Why is the new version fuller?" Rose asked.
"Us scribes were in the process of making more history books when we were asked to make this version as well, for when the time comes for human and Supernaturals to live in harmony," the orb said.
Rose stared at the light as she decided which one to use.
"I ask for both," Rose said.
"Very well. One moment please," the orb said before it seemed to download something.
Two beams of light shone separately right in front of Rose and the books materialized in front of her.
"Thank you," Rose said.
"You're welcome," the orb said before it turned off.
Rose reached for the old version and opened it up.
"You know about how we have Clans and such, but you don't know about how we are classified. How we are determined into what Clan we will live in," Rose said.
"At first, our ancestors were full blooded but years prior to the first war, the Eternals attacked young women, de-purifying them in the worst way possible," Rose started.
"We know that much," I said.
"They explained it right?" Rose asked.
We all nodded and she passed her hand over the book. It showed a wolf paw print on what looked like a shoulder.
"This is an example of the classification of Clan Members. When babies are born, they have a birthmark anywhere visible in the body," Rose explained.
"The birthmarks are granted by The Goddess," Rose told us.
She removed her hair from around her right shoulder and showed us her birthmark. It was then that I noticed that we were still in our Lyoko forms.
"Uh… question," I said and everyone looked at me.
"Why are we still in our Lyoko forms?" I asked.
"What?" Ulrich, Yumi, William, Sissi, and Aelita asked shocked before they looked at themselves.
"How is this possible?" Yumi finally asked after a moment of silence.
"I think I might have the answer…" Rose murmured.
We all looked at her and she passed her hand over the book. It flipped to the middle of the whole book and a hologram appeared above it. It depicted someone that looked very familiar what with the clothing.
"Is that you?" Sam asked Rose.
"In a sense," Rose answered.
"This woman is the first ever Lyoko Warrior," Rose told us.
It was quiet before we all asked, "WHAT?"