Code Total Drama
Disclaimer: I don't own Total Drama or Code Lyoko.
Chapter 36
All was quiet in the Mountain Sector of Lyoko. On a small island that was connected to rest of the sector by a very narrow bridge was a tower surrounded by two large walls made of stone. On the other end of the bridge was a tunnel that led to the other side of the large rocky island. Lilith appeared out of thin air, landing on the ground in front of the tower.
"This'll do." Lilith said, smirking.
"What good will this spot do?" Shadow asked, as he appeared out of the tunnel.
"Look around, Shadow, a narrow bridge, these walls will keep them from finding any other way in unless it's through that tunnel, even with their vehicles." Lilith shook her head. "Your tactics relied on brute strength and we've seen how well that goes. You could at least humour me and go along with trying to be subtle."
Shadow clenched his fist.
"Besides you'll have your chance to get even. They can only come in one direction and they'll have to get through you. Don't tell me the chance to take them out one by one doesn't agree with you in the least?" Lilith chuckled.
She turned to the five Dark Pyramids behind her.
"You, over there! You too!"
The five monsters walked in front of the tower and pointed their weapons at the tunnel. Turning back to the tower Lilith and Shadow watched as the tower's aura changed from blue to red.
Xxx
Team Victory sat in the elimination room as Chris came out with the trophies.
"Tsk, tsk, once again Team Victory sits on the loser bench. What were you thinking when you came up with that name?" Chris asked.
"Just get it over with!" LeShawna snapped.
"Actually there's no elimination today!" Chris announced.
"Why?" Trent asked.
"Well, since both Katie and Sadie left the last challenge we decided this challenge should not count since if we decide to eliminate someone now then the drama will be over faster and we wouldn't want that." Chris said, chuckling. "Instead, I'll be reading who voted for who."
He brought up the cards.
"We have one vote for Lindsay." He picked up another card. "Another vote for Lindsay."
...
"Three votes for Lindsay."
...
"Four votes."
...
"And if this was an elimination ceremony Lindsay would be going home." Chris said.
"What are we talking about?" Lindsay asked, looking up from her mirror.
"...nothing." Everybody said in unison.
"Well, I for one am bored and am going to spend the rest of this crappy day in the Chris Zone." Chris said, opening the door, stepping out into the hall, and looked back at them. "I'd invite you all ,but I actually bought this hot tub with my own money this time so sucks to be you guys!" He snickered and looked forward before the light above him flickered.
"Hm?" He looked up. "Hey Roberto, the light out here is on the fritz again, get your tool box and-"
FLASH!
"AH!-!-!-!-!-!-!" Chris' hands flew to his face as the lightbulb let out a blinding flash of light and shattered. "MY EYES!"
Seconds later Carlos fell out of a nearby shower room, luckily managing to pull his pants on while Kurt came running from the opposite direction...well he was riding a skate board actually. He hopped off before he got to Chris and let the skate board sail off the ground and into Carlos' face.
"OW!" Carlos grumbled, and ran to join them.
"Sorry!" Kurt said before he knelt over Chris. "Chris, hands away, let me see it!"
He managed to pry Chris' hands away. Chris opened his eyes and blinked...and then screamed his usual high pitched scream. "I CAN'T SEE! I CAN'T SEE! I'M BLIND!" He flailed.
Kurt promptly slapped him across the face. "KEEP IT TOGETHER MAN! That light bulb couldn't have blinded you, it would have to be a hell of a lot brighter than that."
"I can't see man! I'm telling you I can't see anything!" Chris said. "It-it's just dark, nothing!"
Kurt looked up. "Carlos, call an ambulance, NOW!"
Carlos already had his cell phone out and was dialling.
Chris however accidently tumbled away from Kurt ,and almost went down a stair case...only for Carlos of all people to grab him and pull him back.
"Let me know when you do that again!" Carlos growled. "And be happy that you're blind or I'd have let that happen Chris!"
Xxx
"Wow! That was actually pretty fun for a challenge!" Bridgette sighed as she sat on her bed.
"I know. It was sure fun to cut up those zombies." Geoff agreed as he sat next to her. "But now we can relax for the next three days right?"
Bridgette giggled as she and Geoff embraced to each to make out, again, when both of their phones vibrated. Bridgette pulled out her phone and her eyes widened.
XANA attack, meet at factory, ASAP.
"We've gotta go now!"
Just as they both stood up Bridgette's light flickered and started to glow brighter.
"Uh oh!" Geoff grabbed Bridgette and buried her head in his shoulder just as the light exploded in a flash of light.
Geoff screamed as he fell down covering his eyes.
"Geoff!" Bridgette fell to her knees as she put Geoff's head on her lap. "Are you all right?"
Geoff lifted his hands and opened his eyes. Blinking a few times and moving his hands over his eyes he gasped.
"Bridge, I can't see!"
Bridgette gasped in horror. Looking up at the now broken and back down at her now blind boyfriend her eyes widened in realization and horror. A knock at her door was heard before LeShawna busted the door open.
"Bridge, we got to go!"
"Geoff's blind!" Bridgette cried.
"What?"
LeShawna, Trent, and DJ ran in.
"The light exploded and blinded Geoff!" Bridgette said, looking down at her boyfriend while tears swelled up in her eyes.
"What about you?" Trent asked.
"Geoff grabbed me and covered my eyes. I didn't see it."
"Guess we know what the attack is. We've got to get the others before they go blind too!" LeShawna said.
She pulled out her phone and sent a message to Gwen's phone.
Xxx
Gwen was relaxing in her room with her sketchbook open and she was drawing when she felt her cell phone vibrate and she opened it to see the message.
"Crap!"
She ran to Cody's room and knocked on the door. Cody opened the door.
"You got the message?" Cody asked.
"Yeah, let's go."
"What about Heather and Courtney?"
"Let's see if they're up to it."
Gwen and Cody ran to their rooms. Gwen opened the door without knocking, shocking Heather, who was sitting down with a game controller? Gwen looked with surprise to see an X-Box 360 and the game Heather was playing.
Dead Space 2?
"Hey! Don't you know how to knock?" Heather asked, irritated and trying to distract Gwen from the game.
Gwen quickly remembered why she was here and held up her phone for Heather to see the message. Hers eyes widened as they read it over.
"I know you're still having second thoughts about this but it's now or never." Gwen said.
Her eyes widened when the light in Heather's room started to build up.
"What?" Heather turned around.
"DON'T LOOK!" Gwen covered Heather's eyes with her hands just as light bulb exploded in a flash of light.
Cody and Courtney ran over, luckily they came after the light exploded. Gwen fell to the ground with her hands covering her eyes.
"Gwen!" Cody shouted as he kneeled next to her.
Gwen lifted her hands and slowly opened her eyes. She gasped as she held her trembling hands out in front of her. Her mouth hung in shock.
"Gwen, what is it?" Cody asked in fear.
"I . . .I . . . I can't see." Gwen stuttered. "That light bulb blinded me with a huge flash!"
"That must be what XANA's doing, he's blinding us!" Cody gulped. "If we can't see, we can't get to the factory, and we can't fight! He can shut down the tower on his own when we're all blind and hit us with another attack!"
"Which means you guys have to get to the factory, preferably some way that's dark or has no lights." Gwen sat up, leaning against the wall behind her. "Get going, I'll be fine here! If I try going I'll end up falling down every flight of stairs between here and the lab."
"Hold on, let's move you out of the hall first." Cody reached down and pulled Gwen's arm over her shoulder.
He looked up and was surprised when Heather had Gwen's other arm draped over her shoulder.
"What? She saved me from being blind!" Heather said when she noticed Cody's stare.
Shaking his head he and Heather helped her up to her feet and into her own room. They walked Gwen over and placed her gently on her bed.
"Good luck." Gwen said.
"We'll make it, Gwen." Cody said as he looked at Courtney and Heather.
Both girls were still afraid but they nodded. They ran out of the room, making sure they did not look at any hall lights along the way. They proceeded carefully, looking down at the floor and keeping their hands closed to their eyes to cover them if XANA detonated another light bulb again. Finally they made it to the lobby where they found most of the others were waiting with them.
"Hey, where's Gwen?" Trent asked.
"Heather's light exploded but Gwen took the full blast for her." Cody said.
Heather partially looked down, feeling guilty for letting Gwen become blind.
"What about Geoff and DJ?" Cody asked.
"Geoff ended up blind too and since DJ can't go to Lyoko right now he volunteered to stay behind and look after Geoff." LeShawna said.
"How can we get to the factory if we have to go through streets full of lights?" Noah asked.
"I don't think it's the whole city." Cody said. "The way I figure XANA must have taken control of the studio's electricity in order to effect all of the lights, which allowed him to brighten them as much as he needs to make us blind."
"So if we cut the power it'll stop, right?" Trent asked.
"Sorry, Trent, but XANA's got his own power source. Cutting the power won't work." LeShawna said. "We have to get to the factory."
"All of us?" Duncan asked, looking at Courtney and Heather.
"All right! We get it! You all know we're scared! But you know what, Gwen just saved me from going blind even though she knew I'd probably say no so I'm pretty much in now, all right?" Heather yelled.
This stopped everyone in their tracks.
"Wow...remind me not to get her mad again," Cody whispered.
"Okay people let's go! Come on!" LeShawna shouted. "We're wasting time!"
That got the team moving once again.
Xxx
The group ran through the forest until they suddenly stopped.
"What are we stopping here for?" Trent asked.
"Look down." LeShawna said.
The new Lyoko Warriors looked down and saw a sewer hatch.
"A sewer! You expect us to crawl through a sewer!" Heather asked.
"It's the only way to get to the factory without going through the city and risk a bunch of exploding lights." Bridgette said.
LeShawna lifted the hatch and jumped down. Bridgette looked at the others.
"Just to let you know, after being on three seasons of Total Drama I think a sewer is easy compared to that." Bridgette then climbed down.
Izzy was the first, followed by Trent, Duncan, Noah and then by Heather and Courtney. They followed Bridgette and LeShawna through the sewer until they came upon a latter and climbed up on the bridge leading to the front entrance of the factory. Running over the bridge they stopped as they saw Bridgette, LeShawna, and Cody jump and slide down the cables into the lobby. Duncan, Trent, and Izzy jumped forward and slid down the cables.
"You two sliding down or taking the stairs?" LeShawna asked, slightly impatient.
"Uh...I'll walk!" Courtney and Noah went down the stairs...and Heather shot past them on one of the cables and landed expertly on her feet.
"Those ballet lessons come in handy, don't they?" LeShawna raised an eye brow.
"That and gymnastics for five years straight." Heather replied.
When the elevator doors opened the new recruited warriors took a good look at the lab. It was smaller than the one at the cottage but it had the same kind of computer, chair, and the holo-map of the virtual world they had become familiar with. Aelita was already waiting for them, sitting in the chair at the computer looking over the map.
"You made it!" Aelita looked up and smiled in relief. "When I heard what happened I was worried."
"Well, we made it. Some of us did." Cody replied. "Gwen and Geoff got blinded and DJ stayed behind to look after them."
"So where's the tower?" Bridgette asked.
"It's in the Mountain Sector this time. No monsters or generals yet." Aelita replied.
"No generals?" Courtney asked since she remembered how tough they were from the last battle.
"No. Probably still recovering." Aelita replied.
"Well, let's go! We need to hurry!" Heather said as she headed to the elevator.
"She's determined. What changed her mind?" Aelita asked.
"Probably because Gwen saved her from getting blind but got blind herself." Cody said.
Cody sat down in the chair and waited for them to get into the scanners. When the door opened Courtney and Heather looked at the scanners.
"If you're still having second thoughts about this now is the time to make up your minds." Bridgette said as she stepped into the nearest scanner.
Izzy jumped into scanner closest to her with an excited look while Trent stepped into the last scanner.
"Transfer, Bridgette. Transfer, Izzy. Transfer, Trent."
All three scanner doors closed.
"Scanner, Bridgette. Scanner, Izzy. Scanner, Trent."
All three girls closed their eyes as a bright ring of light traveled up their bodies and a gush of wind blew through their hair.
"Virtualization!"
Xxx
Bridgette, Izzy, and Trent landed on the rocky ground of the Mountain Sector without incident. They stood upright and took a good look around.
"All right! Izzy can't wait for the monsters to show up! They won't win this time!" Izzy laughed as she spun in excitement.
"Don't get over excited, Izzy. And remember if you fall off into the Digital Sea it's permanent virtualization and your data will be scattered across the web." Bridgette said.
"Got it." Trent said.
"Aye aye!" Izzy gave her a military salute.
Xxx
"All right, who goes next?" Cody asked over the speaker.
"I'll go in next. You guys decide." Aelita said as she stepped into the scanner.
"I'm in." Noah stepped into another scanner.
Duncan looked at Heather and Courtney.
"You coming?"
Heather gulped and walked into the scanner, surprising everyone.
"So, you finally decided." Noah said.
"Whatever. Like I said, I'm pretty much in now since Gwen saved me from going blind. I really don't like the idea of owing her one." Heather replied as she crossed her arms and look away.
"All right, then. Transfer, Aelita. Transfer, Noah. Transfer, Heather."
As all three scanner doors Heather got a small scared look on her face.
"Scanner, Aelita. Scanner, Noah. Scanner, Heather."
Heather closed her eyes as the ring of light like before traveled up her body and she felt a familiar gust of wind blow through her hair.
"Virtualization."
Xxx
"Ow!"
"I guess you still need to get used to this." Bridgette said, a slight smile on her face.
"Hardy, har, har." Heather replied, making Bridgette smile at the kunoichi as she got to her feet.
Noah looked around the Mountain Sector as they waited for the last two.
Xxx
"All right, two more to go. You two ready?" Cody asked.
Courtney looked hesitant but Duncan put a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, if you want to sit this one out that's okay. There's more than enough for this." Duncan said with a smirk.
Courtney shook her head.
"I'm going."
She stepped into the nearest scanner and waited for Duncan to get into the other one. Seeing the last two step into the scanners Cody once again started the virtualization sequence.
"Transfer, Duncan. Transfer, Courtney."
The scanners closed and Courtney got herself ready.
"Scanner, Duncan. Scanner, Courtney."
Courtney felt the wind against her hair as the ring of light scanned her.
"Virtualization."
Courtney closed her eyes as a bright light engulfed her.
Xxx
Duncan easily landed on his feet while Courtney landed on her butt.
"Ow!"
"That's another one who needs to work on her landing." Noah said.
Courtney gritted her teeth as she stood up and looked down at her black ninja dress with gold trimming and the red sash around her waist. She didn't dislike the outfit she wore but at the same time it irked her since it made her look like a princess that everyone called her.
"You all ready?" Aelita asked.
"Just lead the way, Aelita." Trent said.
She nodded and pointed in the direction of a tunnel.
"The path to the tower is on the other side of this tunnel." Aelita said as they headed towards in a light sprint.
"Cody, any monsters?" Bridgette asked.
"Five Dark Pyramids."
They group soon enough saw the tower surrounded by huge wall of stone with only one narrow exit to a thin stone bridge which connected the small floating island to rest of the sector. As soon as they came into view the Pyramids pointed their Eyes as them and charged.
"Watch out!" Trent's shouted.
However his warning came too late as a laser flew out and struck Duncan in the chest. The shot knocked him back and he flew back into the tunnel. The five Dark Pyramids stood on the other side of the narrow bridge began to fire on the others as well.
"Snap!" Noah shouted as they scrambled into the tunnel.
Taking cover behind a few boulders the group could only stay there as the Dark Pyramids continued to fire on their temporary shelter.
"Aw great. First few minutes we're here and we're already pinned!" Duncan said. "Let's get out there and take them out!"
"We can't!" Bridgette replied. "By the time we get close enough we'll be blasted. There's no way we can dodge or block those attacks inside this tunnel or on a bridge that narrow!"
"For those of us who have long range attacks they can try hitting them!" Trent said.
"I'm not so sure about that." Noah said doubtfully. "Let's check if we can get into position."
He looked down at his hands as they turned into laser guns and he stepped out of the boulder they were hiding behind and stood in the mouth of the tunnel. Before he could even aim the Dark Pyramids fired another barrage of lasers at him. Noah barely made it back as he jumped out of the way.
"Nope! That won't work!" Noah said.
"So what now?" Heather shouted over the sounds of the lasers blasting the rock.
"Trent's guitar can create a shield like DJ's. Maybe we can use to make it across the bridge." Aelita said.
"That could work." Trent said, pulling out his guitar.
"Noah, you and Izzy go with Trent and keep the monsters at the bay. Once we get to the other side me and Duncan will rush them and take them out at close range." Bridgette said before turning to Heather and Courtney. "Heather, you and Courtney cover Aelita just in case monsters or generals attack us from behind."
They both nodded, all though they felt nobody trusted them enough to join them.
"Good luck." Aelita said.
Trent rushed out and played the note to activate his barrier just as the Dark Pyramids fired another deadly swarm of lasers at him. They hit the barrier, protecting him from the monsters as they attempted to remove him from Lyoko. Noah and Izzy got up behind followed by Bridgette and Duncan as they started to walk across the bridge. Noah and Izzy aimed and fired their weapons.
Four arrows from Izzy`s crossbows successfully struck one Dark Pyramid while at the same time Noah managed to score a hit against another one. Both monsters exploded in a shower of digital sparks and coding. The three remaining monsters unleashed another stream of lasers at them but like before Trent's shield blocked them.
"I don't know how long I can hold this up!" Trent said as they made it to the middle of the bridge.
"Incoming Mantas!"
That was when the trap was sprung. A squad of Mantas flew over the bridge and dropped flying mines that rammed into the bridge and exploded, shaking it and causing pieces of debris to fall into the Digital Sea.
"Quick, take it out!" Bridgette shouted.
Izzy and Noah fired but it vanished into the mist.
"We might need a little help here!" Noah said. "Bridgette, can't you handle those mantas?"
"On it!" Bridgette raised her arms and fired her energy waves into the fog. After three shots something exploded. But the other two Mantas came down and dropped mines near her. She gulped and covered her face, but then Duncan leaped out, whipping out his sword, which was gathering green fire along its length. He spun it once in his grip and slammed it down. A wave of green fire went out ,and the mines were launched off of the bridge and exploded at a safe distance.
Bridgette was unharmed, as the fire had started spreading out five feet from Duncan, seeming to appear from nowhere after his blade hit the ground. The swordsman stood up and smirked. "I so wanted to test that out."
Courtney, Aelita and Heather watched the progress of the other fighters as they eliminated another Dark Pyramid. The Mantas came down for another attack. Duncan watched one of them as it tried to make a pass rather close to where Noah, Izzy and Trent were. He took off in a sprint ,and leaped into the air.
When he leaped, his feet let out a small trail of green embers right up until he landed on the manta. It went off course ,and its mines detonated harmlessly away from the others. Duncan gripped the front of the manta. "Alright big guy, I'm driving now!"
It flew off into the mist as he fought to control it.
"Aw thanks a lot Duncan-" Bridgette paused as she noticed that a mist was beginning to roll in from the sides of the bridge. "Aw man what now?"
"Incoming! Courtney, Heather, Aelita, behind you!" Cody shouted.
The three women spun around, weapons and powers ready. There was a Dark Krab advancing towards them through the tunnel, and on top of it, perched with her bow ready to fire was Lilith.
"Hello again!"
"RUN!" Courtney extended her staff and Heather drew her Shuriken. "Aelita get to the others, it's safer there!"
Aelita obeyed, but fired an energy sphere over her shoulder for good measure. It bounced off the Dark Krab's armor, and it charged a single laser, but Heather blocked it with one Shuriken. Courtney leaped onto the Krab and swept Lilith's feet out from under her with a single swipe of her staff. "You don't know when to quit Lilith!"
"I just have too much fun with you!" Lilith replied, and pulled a fast one by flipping onto her feet, kicking Courtney off of the Krab as she went. She then fired an arrow at Heather while the Krab raised one leg.
"Courtney, watch out!" Heather shouted, but it was too late.
Courtney, who was on her feet looked up in time for the Krab's leg to cut her into Digital pieces down the middle.
Xxx
The scanner Courtney closed and then opened back up, revealing Courtney as she fell out and collapsed onto the floor. Her entire body felt weak as she attempted to stand up while at the same time a look of frustration was seen on her face for letting herself get taken out so easily while in a small corner of her mind a voice chastised her for skipping out on the training sessions because she was so scared earlier.
Xxx
Heather back flipped to avoid a salvo of lasers and arrows. She tossed two shuriken that cut into the Krab's fore legs. They did not split or shatter, but they began to creak and were stiff when the shuriken hit the joints.
"Nice hit." Lilith leaped off of the Krab and advanced.
Heather backed out of the tunnel to where Bridgette, who finished off the last Manta joined her with her swords ready. "You guys are doing pretty good here."
"What makes you think that you can win this time?" Bridgette asked.
"Well perhaps...that." Lilith snapped her fingers, and two more Mantas suddenly shot out of the fog. Heather gasped and back flipped into the air to avoid being sent flying off of the bridge. Bridgette was clipped by one, dropped her swords, and almost fell over the side, but caught herself on the cliff.
Lilith pulled out a single arrow and walked over to Bridgette while Heather tried to fend off the Mantas and the Krab that advanced out of the tunnel. "Bye-bye Surfer Girl." She raised the arrow...but she looked and saw a flash of green fire shattered the weapon but she jumped back, yelping in surprise.
"Forgot me already?" Duncan shot out of the fog on his new mount, gripping it by the front and tugging on it to direct it. His sword was glowing bright green with fire in his free hand.
Lilith leaped aside as Duncan directed the Manta down and leaped off in time for it to crash and explode on the bridge. Duncan landed, standing across from Lilith ad Bridgette pulled herself up.
"Well that was fun, now to take out the trash." Duncan aimed his sword at her. "I have a few new tricks girlie."
"Well aren't you excited?" Lilith drew an arrow and notched it in her bow.
She fired it with lightning speed, but Duncan's sword spat out a single burst of fire that destroyed the arrow. Duncan grinned. "Like it? My new favourite attack! Well right next to my Berserker Attack."
"Bragging is for little kids." Lilith began to fire more arrows.
"Not falling for that this time!" Duncan began to rush forward as arrows came out of nowhere. He knocked some aside with his sword. Whenever she fired one arrow, he would take a quick look for the portal it would come from and counter it before continuing on his way. When he was close enough he charged fire into his sword and slammed it into the ground. A wave of green fire shot up in front of Lilith. She yelped and backed away, dropping an arrow.
"Well that looks hot!" Lilith frowned.
"Enough with the bad jokes, it's doing a lot more damage to me than you are!" Duncan called to her as he leaped over the fire and landed right in front of her.
They circled one another, ready to fight.
"You know, you're being a little dense about this," Lilith said.
"How's that?" Duncan asked.
"I mean, do you think I'm the only General here?" Lilith grinned. "Unlike Shadow, I plan ahead, and plan what to do if that plan fails and so on."
Duncan cut her off with a stab from his sword. She spun aside, but it cut her a bit. She swiped her bow to the side, and lightly hit him across the faced with it, but he didn't let it slow him down. He swung his sword, aiming at her legs. She hopped up to avoid it and swung her bow down as she descended, hitting him on the top of the head.
Duncan rubbed the top of his head. "Okay...I think I'm seeing a pattern to this now."
"Really?" Lilith asked, and aimed a snap kick at him, but he side stepped it and swung at her stomach. She bent backwards to avoid it and then tried to jam the tip of her bow into his neck, but he caught her hands and held them tight. "Got you now you jumpy little minx!"
"Do you say that to all the girls?"
"No, just the ones I do this to!" Duncan picked Lilith up by the arms and tossed her over the side of the bridge. This action somewhat startled her and she yelped before she vanished from sight.
"...you know she's probably got a flying monster waiting to catch her, right?" Heather asked.
"Yeah, but it stalled for time." Duncan shrugged.
"Not much." Lilith reappeared right behind him with an arrow ready.
Duncan spun around just in time for the arrow to hit him. Instead of draining life points the arrow turned into dark energy. Then the dark energy spread and covered his body. The energy expanded and formed into a clear black cylindrical prison with Duncan inside.
"What the hell-"
"Like it. This arrow homes in on whoever or whatever I target in my mind. Simply dodging it is not enough and not even your sword can shatter it." Lilith smirked. "That cylinder is unbreakable, so that saves me a whole lot of trouble."
Duncan slashed the inside of the tube but it had no effect.
"Can't use your fire without burning yourself in the process and the Berserker is activated when you feel . . . Very upset." Lilith said.
"Stating the obvious?" Suddenly Heather was behind Lilith, who was startled and spun in time for Heather to head butt her right in the face. Lilith stumbled back, but Heather was right on her, pulling out two shuriken. She slashed at Lilith twice, but she blocked the second blow with her bow. They circled, half crouched and like wolves, ready to lunge.
Bridgette rushed over to the prison. She briefly tried to pierce it with her energy waves, but without any success. "I can't get through!"
"Try to get Aelita, or Noah! Maybe they can do something about it." Duncan said.
"On it!" Bridgette hopped on her hover board and shot in the direction of the group, which was currently pinned down by the last two Dark Pyramids and the Dark Krab was attacking them from behind.
Heather and Lilith continued to swipe at each other. Lilith lunged, but Heather smirked and turned invisible. Lilith looked around. "Oh please!"
"Okay then, you asked for it." Suddenly Heather appeared next to her and gave her a fierce punch across the face. But her figure shattered in a flash of light and data.
"You don't have Aelita's second sight and I've set up a barrier that keeps those guys in the lab from seeing through my illusions."
Lilith swooped down like a hawk and tripped Heather and then kicked her into the wall before pulling out a arrow and shooting it at the mountain above her. Heather looked up and saw rock slide fall down on her.
"That's over." Lilith landed and then looked at the bridge where the others were.
"Guys, watch out! There's a Dark Krab coming up behind you!"
Just as Cody finished Izzy felt two hot pains in her back. The attack lowered her life points to fifteen and the Dark Krab planned on finishing her off. But not if Aelita had anything to say about it.
"Plasma Beam!"
She fired her beam of pure energy and it struck the Krab head on. It was vaporized, no digital particles remained of it when the attack was over. Noah had managed to help Izzy to her feet as they hid back behind Trent's shield.
"Well, glad we're all still in one piece." Noah said casually.
"Noah!" They turned and saw Bridgette land next to them on her surfboard.
"Duncan's trapped in some of tube prison created by Lilith. We can't bust him out." Bridgette said.
"And we're not exactly having a tea party ourselves! Those guys are relentless!" Noah said as the Dark Pyramids continued to fire.
Bridgette looked to the last two monsters guarding the tower.
"I'll distract them and you guys rush them." Bridgette said.
She jumped onto her board and flew into the air before anyone could stop her. She flew down to the Dark Pyramids just as they aimed their eyes at her. Her surfboard glowed blue as she rammed into a Pyramid and sent it crashing into the tower, exploding on impact. Izzy rushed out from behind Trent's shield recklessly as she aimed her crossbow and fired.
The arrow flew out and plunged into the Dark Pyramid's Eye before exploding.
"Yes!" Izzy jumped up and down.
"The path is clear now, Aelita." Bridgette called out.
Aelita nodded as she rushed out as Trent lowered his shield and sprinted towards the tower.
"That was way too close." Trent sighed in relief.
"Don't celebrate, Trent. Lilith's coming right at you and . . WHAT THE!"
That was when a figure stepped out of the tower before Aelita could enter it. Aelita's eyes widened as Shadow came out with his sword appearing his hand. He sent a cloud of black smoke at her and it caught before it slammed into the stone wall.
"Hang on, Aelita!" Bridgette shouted as she flew down.
But before she could Lilith aimed an orange arrow and fired. As it flew at the surfer it expanded into a large fire ball. Before Bridgette could do anything the ball of fire engulfed and her virtual body was burned to virtual ashes.
Xxx
Bridgette fell out of the scanners. She slammed her fist against the floor for letting her guard down.
Xxx
Things were not looking well for the remaining warriors. With Shadow in front of them and Lilith behind them they were basically surrounded.
"Well, this is great." Noah said as Shadow stepped towards them.
Aelita stood up and prepared to attack. Lilith pulled out another flame arrow and fired at the group. Trent rushed out and blocked it by playing his shield note.
"You guys help Aelita. I'll take care of Lilith."
Noah and Izzy nodded and rushed towards the tower. Noah turned his arm into a sword and rushed Shadow who blocked with his sword.
"HI-YA!" Izzy jumped and launched a kick but Shadow blocked.
"Shadow Strike!"
A spectre came right out and smacked Izzy away while he pushed Noah away.
"Plasma Beam!"
Shadow dodged by performing his Super Smoke move and Aelita's plasma beam blasted the wall behind him. He flew out and reappeared behind Aelita and tripped her. Aelita rolled out of the way as Shadow brought his sword and shattered the rock ground where she was before. That was when the last two Mantas flew in and fired down at them.
"Energy field!" Aelita shot a sphere of pink energy up that clipped one the Mantas and made it fly out of control before crashing into the wall.
The other one vanished into the fog before anyone else could hit it. Trent played a note and unleashed a stream of lightning but Lilith spun out of the way. It was then small portals opened up around him on all sides. Thinking quickly Trent used his shield note to make a dome around him as the portals launched arrows at him.
However Lilith held out her bow and launched an arrow that shattered the dome easily. Trent quickly played his own fire note and sent a stream of fire out. Lilith teleported out of the way and appeared behind Trent. She quickly launched a fast kick that sent Trent flying forward and dropped his guitar.
"Don't you know you're supposed to watch your back?" Lilith sneered.
"Like you should?" Heather asked, reappearing right behind Lilith and punched her and sending her flying off the bridge, plummeting into the Digital Sea.
"I thought you were gone." Trent said, getting up.
"Luckily I avoided that landslide but it was close."
Before Lilith hit the Digital Sea the last Manta flew out and caught her. She looked up at the island where the fight was continuing.
'I guess we lose this one. I don't have the strength to teleport all the way up there.' Lilith thought as she sighed but then smiled. 'Aw well, this was fun and I can't wait next time they come here.'
The Manta flew away from the battle as Lilith sat down on it and relaxed.
'Good luck, Shadow.'
The sword wielding General stood between the group and the tower. He sneered as he aimed his sword at them. "Alright, who goes first?"
Trent, Noah and Izzy advanced, their respective weapons in hand. Shadow frowned as he noticed something.
"Hey, where'd Aelita go?" Shadow demanded.
"None of your business, creep." Heather said as she drew two shuriken.
"Alright, either way you cut it you still won't get by me." Shadow got into a stance.
"They might not be able to, but I've still got all my life points!"
Shadow looked up and saw Aelita carrying...Duncan! She dropped him, and he landed in front of Shadow, sword drawn.
"Finally, somebody gets me out of that thing." He stretched. "Alright pretty boy, let's go." He charged his blade with green fire.
"Oh great, the punk." Shadow and Duncan began to circle one another.
"You people have no imagination, you know that, right?" Duncan asked.
"Do I care?" Shadow swung at Duncan's feet, but the punk's sword countered the swing and Duncan charged forward, jabbing at Shadow's chest. The general side stepped it and tried to cut upwards through Duncan's sword arm, but Duncan pulled back, and their swords met in a flash of sparks. Duncan began to go on the offensive with several basics slashes and stabs aimed towards Shadow's chest and head.
Shadow retaliated with a combination of his powers and swordsmanship. They countered, blocked ,and dodged each other's assaults right until they were in a standoff.
"You are really starting to annoy me now, kid." Shadow growled.
"Heard that one before," Duncan rolled his eyes. "But have you heard this one?"
Charging fired into the tip of his sword until it was entirely glowing green with energy, he swung. Shadow brought his own blade up, but the moment the two weapons met fire exploded from Duncan's sword and washed over Shadow, sending him flying. His sword fell from his grasp, and he flew head over heels until he hit a cliff face. He began to fall, but Shadow Sprinted to the top of the cliff. He retook his form, kneeling and gasping for breath.
"Like it?" Duncan called to Shadow. "Bye-bye, tell XANA he sucks!"
As the punk taunted him, Aelita rushed towards the tower.
Shadow growled. "I won't let you make a fool of me AGAIN!" He began to transform again.
"Aw hell, not again!" Heather said.
"Did you have to taunt him?" Noah asked Duncan.
"...I'll be honest, I kinda forgot he could transform." Duncan admitted.
Shadow, in his 'true form' launched himself across the gap between himself and the bridge, his wings keeping him in the air. He landed...and the bridge began to crack. It had taken a lot of damage from explosions, lasers, and other attacks.
"...am I the only one who thinks we should get off the bridge?" Noah asked.
"You all are so confident in your ever growing powers, but you never knew we Generals can develop new powers too!" Shadow laughed. "Here's mine. Dark Immolation!" His eyes turned pitch black.
The air around Duncan began to shimmer with some dark haze. The punk looked around. "What the- AH!" He burst into black flames. His life points began to go down by five every second.
"What the-" Noah looked between Shadow and Duncan. "Get him!"
The team rushed forward. Shadow took his eyes off of Duncan and focused in on Noah, who was the closest. The genius lunged at Shadow, hoping to possess him...but burst into dark flames like Duncan. His life points had been more depleted from the battle, so before he hit the ground he was dropped to zero and vanished.
He then sent his tail out and impaled Heather straight through the heart, devirtualizing her instantly.
"Aw man what do we do?" Trent asked as he and Izzy tried to back away from the monster that was slowly taking them down.
"How about THIS?" Suddenly the black fire around Duncan was dispersed as green fire exploded from within the cocoon of darkness around the punk. The Berserker stood up, a snarl on his skeleton face as he looked at Shadow.
He raised one hand...and flipped Shadow the bird. The beast growled and started forward. It reared back one fist and tried to crush the Berserker under it, but Duncan caught it with both of his hands. He slid back a foot ,but no further. He then gripped Shadow's hand and swung him up and over his head. He slammed Shadow into the ground.
Shadow's tail swung Duncan's feet out from under him. Getting to his feet, Shadow tried to immolate the Berserker again, but the air barely shimmered before a pulse of green energy dispelled it. The Berserker stood up and dusted its jacket off. The ridge of its skull above its left eye raised slightly, the equivalent of an eye brow. The Berserker raised one hand and gestured with its index finger, saying 'come closer'.
Shadow obliged, lunging at the Berserker. He opened his mouth, planning to snap the Berserker in half. A pair of green skeletal hands caught his mouth, one to the top and one to the bottom jaw. The Berserker was holding the monster back with his bare hands and keeping its mouth open. The Berserker let out its distorted, cruel laugh and then forced Shadow's head down, reared one fist back, and slammed it down on the top of his head, slamming Shadow into the ground.
Then he pulled himself on top of the monster's neck and began to pummel him with his fists, each blow making the bridge grow weaker under the force of the Berserker's blows. Soon, Shadow was lying on the bridge with the Berserker standing in front of it, picking his sword up and turning his back to it. He pretended to be cleaning the blade of his sword ,uninterested in his fallen opponent.
Shadow looked up, growling. He opened his mouth, revealing the large amount of energy gathered in his mouth. He got on all fours and began to discharge it.
Duncan spun, revealing a large amount of fire gathered into his sword blade. They unleashed their attacks at the same time. They collided, and soon cancelled one another out. When it was over, Shadow and Duncan were back in their normal forms, gasping for breath.
Shadow growled but then Lilith appeared between them.
"Sorry boys, play times over." Lilith jumped to Shadow and knocked him off the bridge where he landed on the Manta.
Lilith jumped onto the Manta and waved to the warriors with a smile.
"See ya, next time!"
They flew off just as Aelita entered the tower. Just a few seconds later the tower was free from XANA's control and Cody activated the Return to the Past.
Xxx
Heather looked up and found herself back in her room. Looking at the TV she found herself in the middle of her game around the time Gwen came in and told her of the attack. Hearing a knock at the door, she got up and answered. Gwen was the one waiting at the door.
"Hey."
Heather was unsure how to answer. "Hey."
"Is this a bad time?" Gwen asked.
"No. Come in."
If anyone was in the hall they probably would have dropped their jaw from seeing this. Gwen came in and saw the paused game.
"So, you've got an X-Box and Dead Space 2?" Gwen asked.
"Yeah so!" Heather said getting all defensive.
"I just found it surprising you would have an X-Box or even game as gory as Dead Space 2." Gwen said with her hands in front of her.
"It's not mine, it's my brother's." Heather said quickly.
"Your brother's not old enough for a game like that even if he had the money. That's your game."
"Whatever! So that's another thing you know about me! It's not like my life's a secret anymore!" Heather turned around her arms crossed.
"It's not a big difference to me despite what you may think, Heather. It certainly would have made little difference even if I had known when I first met you."
"So why are you here?" Heather asked turning around.
"I was just curious as to why someone like you would be into gory and bloody games. You don't have to tell me why."
"Yeah, so why are you asking?"
"Because like I said I'm curious. If you don't want to talk about it that's fine, I'll leave." Gwen turned to walk to the door.
"Wait!"
Gwen stopped and looked over her shoulder.
"What?"
Heather sighed.
"I do it because it helps me take out all the frustration I have for my family, the frustration I have at high school, the Total Drama show with Chris and recently this whole Lyoko thing."
Gwen turned around and watched as Heather pulled out a few more games she knew. These games were just as dark and gory as Dead Space 2.
"I wasn't into them because I liked them but they helped me a lot because I could take out the stress and frustration I had out on anything I was fighting."
"That tough, huh?"
"You have no idea. Those snobby rich girls and those brain dead jocks they like to hang out with, my slacker sister who likes to brag she's in university, my bratty little brother, my cheap dad. The only person in my family who I can even stand being with is my mother."
"Well, at least your parents are together." Gwen said as she sat down next to Heather.
"What do you mean?"
"My parents were younger than the appropriate time to have a kid when mom was pregnant with me."
"Really, how old were they?" Heather asked.
"Early 20s." Gwen said with a sad look. "Dad wanted an abortion but my mom refused and when she was pregnant with my brother they got into a whole bunch of fights and he left when my brother was born. My mom was really emotionally hurt when he left. Things got worse when we heard he ended up in a car crash, cause of death was drinking while driving."
Gwen was silent for a moment and then smirked.
"So we're even now."
"What do you mean?" Heather asked with a confused look.
"I knew the worst parts of your life and now you know mine." Gwen said getting up and walked to the door. "And I heard you did a good job on Lyoko."
"Please, it was nothing."
"If you say so." Gwen walked out of the room.
Heather sighed and then smiled.
"How nice." Heather's eyes widened as the voice that came out of her mouth was not her voice.
It was a cold tone, laced with malice and hatred. A voice she was very familiar with from her last two fights on Lyoko.
"Shadow!" Heather spun around. "Where are you?"
Shadow's laughter echoed around her.
"And you think you're actually smart. It's obvious where I am, little girl. In your head!"
Heather's eyes widened as she attempted to scream but no voice came from her mouth.
'But how? I thought going to Lyoko makes us immune to being possessed!'
"And you would but you and the other girl never went to Lyoko since the first time until today." Shadow's voice replied. "For nearly a week you've avoided it because of your own fears and I thought I could take advantage of that. I am not be able to divide myself like XANA but when I stabbed you I injected a special little program I cooked up into you. When you devirtualized my virus bonded to you like a symbiote, imprinting you with my image. Not like how XANA possess his targets but this will do, my puppet!"
Heather attempted to scream again, she wanted to cry, run, but she couldn't. Shadow had taken control of her body and her mind was trapped behind a wall. She looked at the mirror and smiled. This smile was not one of Heather's happy, victorious or one of her evil smiles she saved for her enemies.
It was the smile of a demon, awaiting the chance to slaughter its enemies.