DISCLAIMER: I do not own Code Lyoko…
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Two episodes in two days…YESSSSS! Sweet success! This is Part One of the two-episode 'Out of Time' arc, as I've nicknamed it… And, oh, by the way…only five episodes left following this…until the SEASON finale, of course…
Episode 116: Out of Options (1)
The next morning…
Joey heard a soft knock at his door and wondered who it could be at 7 o' clock on a weekend. He slowly got up, wincing at a sore spot on his chest as he moved to answer it…and was slightly surprised when he saw Jacob's face at the door.
"Hey, Joe, can I come in?" he asked hesitantly as Joey smiled.
"Sure, bro, not a problem," he said as Jacob came in and sat down on his bed. Joey noticed that he seemed a little distant and hesitant, and wondered what was going on. "Okay, you're usually not this quiet; what's going on?" he asked as Jacob sighed and took a long time to think out his response.
"He really doesn't remember…that's good…less I have to explain… I know what I need to tell him, but I can't tell him…" Jacob fumed to himself. "I hate lying to him…gosh; I wish I knew what to do! I…there is something else I can say without lying to him…" Jacob thought as he finally looked up with ambiguous tears in his eyes…
"Joey, today's the anniversary…" he said in a choked voice, holding back a sob as Joey's eyes flickered in recognition and hurt for his friend. He had forgotten…today was the anniversary of Jake's parents' deaths… Jake had never told him how his parents had died, and Joey had never asked; he just knew that today of all days, his friend needed him…
"Shh…" Joey soothed as he held Jacob in a friendly embrace while tears began to stream down Jake's face. "I'm here for you…always…" he whispered.
"I know…" Jacob thought as he realized that saying aloud that today was the anniversary of his parents' deaths had hit him harder than he thought it would… "You're all the family I have, in a way…"
"I want them back…" he whispered as he continued to sob. "I want them back…"
An hour later, after Jacob had calmed down and cleaned up, he went down and shared a quick breakfast with Joey before his friend went off to Computer Science, the only weekend class at Kadic. This left Jacob to sit on his own for a while, but around lunchtime, the others finally appeared in the cafeteria, and Jake slipped over to join them, taking his seat on Aelita's left.
"Morning, guys," he said as he tried to keep the tremor out of his voice, but as soon as he said the two words, Aelita looked at him in an instant and knew something was up.
"You know you can't fool me," she said simply. "What is it?" she asked as Jacob took a deep breath and replied slowly.
"Today's the anniversary of my parents' deaths at XANA's hands…" he said simply, and Ulrich and Yumi smiled sadly, knowing the hurt their friend must be going through, while Aelita put a hand on his shoulder.
"He's taken so much from us…" she said. "That's why we have to win," she reminded him with steely eyes as Jacob saw the firm gaze and nodded as he looked up to face the group for the first time.
"And we will win," he reminded himself as the gang nodded. "What's the plan for today?" he asked Jeremy.
"Um…I'm not sure yet," he admitted sheepishly. "The data we found isn't finished deciphering yet, and won't be for another couple of days. And there's not been any sign of an attack that I've found…" he said, trailing off. Jacob nodded as Jeremy thought for a moment before continuing. "I guess we can just take it easy today…" he finished warily, causing Jacob and the others to laugh.
"Famous last words, Einstein," William chuckled.
"He's right, though; it's a weekend and nothing bad is going on," Yumi pointed out. "Why don't we go out and grab some lunch?" she asked, to which there were numerous nods of approval. "Our usual place?" More nods of approval, at which point Jacob laughed.
"Well, then what are we doing sitting here?" he pointed out as the Warriors headed out for lunch.
As the gang passed the computer wing, the entrance doors were open due to a broken air system. From inside his classroom, Joey heard the gang laughing as they passed by, and wondered, "What are they up to now?" Just then, he was saved by the lunch bell, and grabbed his things quickly, racing out of the classroom to catch up with them.
"Hey, guys!" he said cheerily as he came up beside Jacob. "Where you off to?"
"Oh, we were just going to grab some lunch in town," Odd said invitingly. "You're welcome to join us if you like," he said as Jacob shot him a warning glance.
"Yeah, that'd be great," Joey smiled as he gave Jacob a pat on the shoulder before walking with the gang into town…
At the diner in town, the gang had just gotten their food: salads for Jeremy and Aelita, a massive triple-thick burger for Odd (of course!), a Japanese stir-fry for Yumi, a chicken sandwich for Joey and Ulrich, and a double plate of nachos which Marth and William were sharing (er…devouring).
"Man, this is great…" Joey said between bites as Jacob laughed.
"Always a sucker for food…" he smiled as Aelita laughed. Jeremy smiled at the homey feel of the whole outing, but was startled by a faint buzz and beeping noise from his bag. He jumped, hoping it wasn't what he thought it was, but knowing it was. He very discreetly pulled out his laptop and checked it while Joey wasn't paying attention, and saw on the SuperScan an activated Tower on the Ice Sector Replika. He groaned as he put his computer away and caught Jacob's glance on his way up. Jacob's eyes flickered in frustration, but he nodded as Jeremy stood up.
"Sorry, guys, but we're going to have to cut this a little short," he said in a frustrated tone as Aelita stood as well. "Apparently we're needed elsewhere…" he said, putting a slight hint of emphasis on the word elsewhere. The rest of the gang caught on immediately as they stood up.
"Back at the school?" Joey asked, and Jeremy shook his head.
"No, I…we can't really discuss it right now." Joey nodded in understanding, but was frustrated underneath the façade. His frustration went away when Jacob didn't move.
"I'll pay," Jake said as Jeremy's eyes said a silent 'Thank you'. "And I'm not done yet. I'll sit and walk back with you, bro," he said to Joey, who smiled.
"Awesome," he grinned as Jeremy and the others said a quick goodbye and then raced out, heading for the far side of town and the bridge to the Factory…
Once they were out of earshot and had gotten outside of the diner, Odd turned to Jeremy and groaned, "XANA just doesn't know how to give us a break!"
"I know, Odd; really… The activated Tower's in the Ice Replika. I want as many of you as possible so we can get this cleared up quickly…" He jumped in shock as a laser shot impacted the ground right near his feet. "What the…?" he exclaimed as he looked up in time to see one of the antennas from one of the local radio towers glowing red, and he jumped out of the way as it shot another laser blast at him. As the shots continued raining down, Jeremy yelled, "Run for it!" and the gang did, amidst the cries of the now freaked-out townspeople. When they got to the edge of town, Ulrich and Marth said, "We'll help the rest of the town! You guys deactivate the Tower!" before bolting back into the fray. Jeremy just nodded as the remaining five of them ducked into the Factory entrance and ran for the Lift. Once they were inside, Jeremy said hastily, "I'm sending you guys to the Ice Sector. Deactivate that Tower fast, before anyone gets hurt."
"Got it," the four others nodded as Jeremy got off at the Computer Lab and sent the others down to the Scanners. As soon as he had gotten to the computer screens, he gasped in panic as he saw the Core displays. The first shield was weakening and there were a TON of monsters in the Core Room. As the gang prepped in the Scanner Room, Jeremy came over the intercom and voiced the new plan in a panicked, breathless hiss.
"Change of plans! The Core's under attack too! Odd, Yumi, you two are going to Sector Five to stop XANA from wiping out the Core! Aelita, take William and head for the Ice Replika to deactivate the Tower!"
"Roger," Aelita said as the Scanner doors closed.
Transfer Aelita, Transfer William, Transfer Yumi!
Scanner Aelita, Scanner William, Scanner Yumi!
Virtualization!
Transfer Odd!
Scanner Odd!
Virtualization!
A few moments later, Odd and Yumi virtualized in the Arena; while Aelita and William appeared in the Skid Garage…
"Okay, guys, time to divide and conquer!" Jeremy said as the four Warriors nodded.
"We're on it, Jeremy!" Aelita said as she and William raced to their warp pads.
"Energize!" Jeremy said as he teleported the pair into the Skid. As Aelita appeared in the cockpit, she gripped the controls and activated the com-link.
"Cast off! Full steam ahead!" she said as she released the docking mechanisms and blasted the Skid upwards out of the hangar. She steered the Skid out of the North Pole and stopped for only a brief moment before diving into the Digital Sea…
Meanwhile, Odd and Yumi quickly made their way through the tunnel to the Core Zone, and came out of the tunnel to see a massive chasm with a plethora of floating platforms that were moving about and providing a difficult path to get to the other side. Odd just looked at Yumi and grinned.
"Shall we?" he asked as he leaped onto the first platform, which almost flipped under his weight. "Whoa!" he said as he flailed his arms to keep balance.
"Odd!" Yumi yelled as she shot her arm out and pulled him back to the main ground as he caught his breath.
"Well, that was interesting…" he said as he looked up. "Hey, Einstein, can we have some vehicles?" No answer. "Einstein…?" Still nothing. "Oh, boy…" Odd groaned as he realized they were on their own for the time being…
As Joey and Jacob finished their food, Jacob happened to glance outside, and all of a sudden realized he was hearing the muffled screams of frightened townspeople as he saw laser fire raining down from numerous antennas on top of the city's buildings. He looked at Joey, who hadn't noticed a thing yet, and one word crept into his mind…
"XANA…"
As the Skid blasted out of the Access Tunnel, Aelita quickly punched the lights and hit the thrusters, causing the Skid to rocket forward. Neither she nor William spoke for the longest time, knowing their mission at hand, but all of a sudden, the Digital Sea turned crimson, and out of the mirrors, Aelita saw a trio of Kalamars trailing them in the distance.
"William, do you think you can handle all of them?" she asked worriedly as William locked his steely gaze on the beasts in his mirror.
"Yeah, let me go, Aelita," he said as Aelita, worried, hit the button.
"NavSkid away," she said as the NavSkid released itself from the Skid and William whipped around to face the Kalamars…
"Come and get me," he grunted as the three behemoths launched themselves at him. One of them tried to latch onto his NavSkid and drill into it, but William was quicker and squirmed out of its grasp. He growled and let off a well-timed torpedo that impacted the first one, destroying it on contact. He let out a "Yes", but it was short-lived when something slammed into him, sending him sideways as he screamed in frustration. "Oh, no you don't!" he growled as he let off a second torpedo which blew the second Kalamar to pieces. Just before he could smile, though, he was sent flying by an impact from his left, and he yelled in shock as his NavSkid was sent spinning end over end, lights flickering and controls malfunctioning. When he stopped rolling and looked around, he gasped in surprise… The Sea had turned blue again and he was not anywhere near the Skid that he could see. He pounded his fist on the dash and let a tear drip down his usually stoic features.
"I'm not getting out of this one, huh…?" he asked himself stupidly as he prayed for Jeremy or the Princess to find him, while drifting further and further away…
Meanwhile, Odd and Yumi had finally made it across to the other side of the chasm and raced for the elevator leading to the Core Room. They hopped on and after a few moments arrived at the passage leading to the Key that opened the door to the Core. Yumi ran over and pressed it quickly, and the door creaked open. The pair raced in and was floored by the sight that met their eyes as they looked around. At least a dozen Creepers and a massive swarm of Mantas were positioned strategically around the spiral staircase to attack the shields from every angle. Odd just mouthed, "Crap," and Yumi's eyes glittered in frustration as she watched the first shield give way. This gave her new resolve, and she threw her fans, taking out a Manta and a Creeper, causing the rest to turn and notice the pair of them. They charged their lasers, and Odd and Yumi just looked at each other, knowing they were impossibly outnumbered, and smiled.
"We've got to try, don't we?" Odd asked as Yumi nodded, and together, they charged towards an impossible firefight…
In Kadic City…
"Run!" Marth told an older man as he helped him inside his home while dodging more laser blasts. Once the older man was inside his home, Marth turned to see if he could find Ulrich, who had two burn marks in his shorts where he had been struck by two of XANA's lasers. He found Ulrich in an alley, taking cover behind a Dumpster as lasers continued to rain down on the town…
"They're starting to get the idea," Ulrich panted as Marth nodded. "The problem is, we can't get to the Factory…"
"We're trapped…" Marth sighed as he hoped the others were close to finding a solution and deactivating the Tower…
Meanwhile, in the Computer Lab, Jeremy heard Aelita scream, "I've lost William!" and he immediately panicked.
"What?"
"I've lost William…" she said as a teary edge crept into her voice. "A Kalamar knocked his NavSkid away and I can't locate his signal…" she hissed worriedly as Jeremy started a search.
"I'll find him, Aelita…I promise…" he said softly as he was startled by another alarm. He pulled up the screen and saw the SuperScan blinking. He stared at it in defeat, seeing the blip of an activated Tower in the Forest Sector. Maybe out of force of habit, or out of desperation, he whipped out his phone and rifled off a message containing three words:
To: Jake
Need you. Now!
At the diner, Jacob was finishing his last bites of lunch when he jumped as the building shook violently. Joey noticed this and looked up and out the window just in time to see a pair of lasers striking the foundation beams on the outside of the building, and as the building shook again, Joey noticed the roof cracking under the stress, and he saw the ceiling begin to buckle right over their heads…
"Jacob!" he screeched as he shoved Jake out of the way, and not a moment later, the entire building collapsed under the repeated laser fire. A huge cloud of dust rose up from the collapse, and Jacob groaned as he brushed a coating of rubble off of himself and sat up slowly, his eyes widening as the ruins of the building alerted him to what had happened. All of a sudden, he realized…
"Joey!" he screeched in terror as he began digging through the rubble next to him, trying to find his friend. Joey had just saved his life…he couldn't be… Jacob held his breath as he dug, his fingers growing bloody and sore as he finally felt a handful of curly brown hair in his fingers. He quickly cleared the rubble away and saw Joey's head and torso, but when he tried to clear the rest of the ruins off his friend, he saw a piece of the foundation beam on Joey's waist. He knew it was too heavy for him to move, and he was panicking at Joey's dead appearance as Joey's eyes slowly fluttered open. He wasn't dead!
"Unh…Jacob…get help…" he mumbled amidst the intense pain radiating through his body. He knew he couldn't move, and that his friend was his only hope. "I'll…be…okay…" he tried to gasp out as he let himself stop moving, knowing he had to conserve his strength. Jacob looked terrified as Joey's eyes closed, but he whispered, though in pain, "I won't give up..." and Jacob nodded as he stood up.
"Don't give up on me…Joey…" Jacob whispered through tears as his phone buzzed. He picked it up and saw Jeremy's message. He closed his phone and said, "I'm going to get help. Don't give up on me…" as he ran for the Factory. There wasn't much time…
"I won't…" Joey whispered as he heard his friend's footsteps grow fainter and fainter. At least, he would do his best not to…
Jacob ran faster than he ever had before to the Factory entrance and swung down the rope to the Lift without hesitation. He pressed the button and was in the Computer Lab a few moments later. Seeing a distressed Jeremy, Jacob's eyes widened and he ran over to his friend.
"Jeremy, Joey's trapped in the rubble of the diner and I'm worried he may not last! How are they doing?" As soon as Jeremy shook his head in failure, Jacob knew something had gone drastically wrong… "What's wrong!" Jacob screamed as Jeremy looked up at him with defeated eyes.
"William's lost in the Digital Sea…Yumi and Odd are fighting a war for the Core they can't win…and there's another Tower active to boot…we can't be in three places at once, and even if Aelita goes on without William and deactivates the first Tower, the second one will still keep the destruction going…XANA's finally beaten us…we're out of options…"
"You called me here," Jacob said insistently. "You must have had a plan…"
"Maybe…but it's a long shot…" Jeremy said in a whisper. "Take the controls. I'm going to Lyoko," he said. "I'm the only hope we have at deactivating the other Tower and even having a chance…" he said, trailing off as an idea shot through Jacob's head and he looked intently at Jeremy.
"Send me…" he said, and Jeremy let this register for a moment before gaping in shock.
"Are you crazy?" he shrieked, his voice rising a couple octaves in fury, or maybe panic. "We still don't know if your powers are stable, and if not…then we're all screwed…" he hissed in defeat.
"We may not know, but I'm the only one with enough strength to even have a shot at stopping XANA at this point. No offense, but your skills are needed here right now; not fighting," he said as Jeremy stared at him for a moment before sighing in submission.
"You're right…I'll focus on finding William. I'll send you to the Forest Sector to deactivate the Tower…"
"As soon as I do, send me to the Core. I'll be the most help there if this monster army is as bad as you say it is…" Jacob added as he made his way to the Lift. Before the doors could close, Jeremy added three more words.
"Jacob…be careful," he stressed as the doors shut.
"I will…" he thought as he descended to the Scanner Room…
Jeremy's hands shook as his fingers raced across the keys. This was the biggest risk he had ever taken…sending a Warrior who could feasibly destroy Lyoko and everyone along with it…back with no idea of what could happen… He almost stopped himself from giving the command, but sighed, knowing this was their only chance at victory…
"Transfer Jacob…" he said, his voice shaking.
Jacob shook in nervous excitement as the light ring scanned his body. He was going back to Lyoko! Finally! But he set his gaze to steel as he rose up and felt the wind swirl around him. He knew he had a job to do. He had the weight of everyone's fates on his shoulders…
"Scanner Jacob…" Jeremy said, his voice shaking even more as his finger hovered over the last key…
Jacob closed his eyes as he knew what was about to happen, and before the last wind swept him away and the light enveloped his body, he whispered a silent prayer for strength and hope…
"VIRTUALIZATION!" Jeremy yelled as Jacob felt his body vanish in the flash of light. It…was time…
TO BE CONTINUED…
LW94: I'm not going to say anything like I usually do because it's a two-part episode, except…READ AND REVIEW!