Chapter 47: Vertigo

Hey everyone! It's me, and I'm back! I know it's been a while, but well, I've just been busy. Anyhow, enough with the excuses, onto the disclaimer!

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko. I also do not own Sia and Rina. They belong to D.J. Scales

Enjoy!

We all just got off the transport into Sector Five. I was currently in my Sage transformation, and ready to get some more data.

"Welcome to Sector Five." Said Jeremy

And we were all on our guard. Who knows what XANA could pull here?

"The wall's gonna open any second now." Said Yumi

And it opened right in front of me.

"Let's go." I said

We ran into the corridor, and the hallway opened up for us.

"Three minutes to find the key. Go!" exclaimed Jeremy

And he really knows how to push it. We're in the middle of the room when the walls begin to cut us off from getting back into the corridor, or going forward for that matter.

"Uh-oh. The doors are in the wrong place." Said Odd

"Here come our old friends." Said Rina

"Creepers. They just can't stay away from us." Said Odd

"Remember guys, the clock is running. I found the key at 2 o'clock directly above Yumi." Said Jeremy

We all either readied our weapons or pulled them out.

"That's a job for a cat." Said Ulrich

A creeper then fired a laser at Odd. Great, we have to be his body guard! Or maybe not, considering that we have our hands full. Just when I finally destroyed another Creeper, Odd got devirtualized! Thankfully, he got the key.

"Nice one." Said Jeremy

Nice one indeed. He got the key while we don't have to listen to any more of his lame jokes for the rest of the trip. Now all that's left is to get on the stupid elevator.

"Now." Said Ulrich

We made it onto the elevator, and soon we got to the terminal.

"I'm connected Jeremy." Said Aelita

"Come on Aelita! We gotta gather the data before the Flying Mantas come. The Mantas are about to hatch in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, now!" exclaimed Jeremy

And here they come! At least, they should be here.

"Hey Jeremy, newsflash, there are no mantas. I don't see any." Said McKenna

"Strange, I can see them on my screen. Stay on your guard; they may come from the other end of the sector." Said Jeremy

Speaking of being on guard, we were getting attacked by a Creeper, and it devirtualized Yumi! I just activated the topaz on my armlet, and the only thing that really changed was my cape. The creeper was about to attack when a shield of light appeared in front of me. Wait a minute; the gem in my armlet gives me specific powers! How cool is that? The topaz must be halokinesis, also known as light manipulation. I then created a spear made from light, and it sent the sucker packing!

"Done Jeremy. You can take over again." Said Aelita

"Okay, I'm on it. I'm programming the vehicles. Sia, Rina, the Overwing and Overboard are for you. I don't have any other vehicles handy." Said Jeremy

"We're still working on yours." I said

"Thanks. It'll do for now." Said Rina

"Hang on princess." Said Ulrich

We started up our vehicles, and I heard the mantas. They're close.

"Okay, the passage is open." Said Jeremy

"Jeremy, we got a problem. We just found the Flying Mantas." Said Matt

"You should be able to lose them." Said Jeremy

"If worse comes to worse, I'll hit them with plan B." I said

"Hang on, what are those?" asked McKenna

"I don't know, but I don't like the looks of them." I said

"Jeremy, they're hatching flying mines." Said Aelita

"Well then, plan B is a go." I said

I noticed that there was a gauge on the topaz, so I made it count by making separate tri-layer shields. It worked, for when the gem timed out, not only did we all escape safe and sound, but I got another gem in the bracelet. It looks like an emerald.

Back in the lab…

"Well, these are codes for XANA's subsystems. I cracked them three weeks ago. Hey, yeah. This one looks like the source code to a virus." Said Jeremy

"Do the words 'anti-virus' ring loud and clear in your brain? Because I say yes. We could just use that to cure me and Aelita of this stupid virus." I said

"That is, if the virus inside the two of you is anything like this one, I might be able to free you both from XANA!" exclaimed Jeremy

"You mean, like soon?" asked Aelita

"Yeah." Said Jeremy

"Okay, rewind. What's going on?" asked Sia

"Long story short, Aelita and I have been infected with a virus that allows XANA to pull our plugs if his plug is pulled. So until we can find an anti-virus, which could be right in front of us, we've been forced to continue fighting XANA." I said

"Oh. That explains it." Said Rina

"Okay, we're out of here. There's a big climbing competition tonight. Gotta practice." Said Odd

"I already told you, I'm not doing it." Said Ulrich

"Really? Why not?" asked Yumi

"'Coz." Said Ulrich

"At least come and watch me." Said Odd

"Come on Ulrich. For once, Odd's found a sport where being scrawny is the plus." Said Yumi

"Hey, I am not scrawny. I've svelte. It's not the same." Said Odd

"You going to it Naomi?" asked McKenna

"No way Jose. I may have liked rock climbing in the past, but that was before my fear of heights." I said

"And to think you survived the Grand Canyon." Said Matt

Don't fall for it. Don't fall for it. Don't fall for it.

"Come on, let little miss 'I'm not an athlete' stay here and work on the anti-virus." Said McKenna

"Okay, you two wanna see me rock climb? I'll give you rock climbing." I said

Later in the gym…

Jim was watching Herb and Odd climb the rock wall.

"Come on, keep it steady." Said Jim

"You should've left your zits down there, huh Herb? They're too heavy." Said Odd

"Della Robbia, I'm gonna…" started Herb

And he fell on the mat.

"I'm the king of the world!" exclaimed Odd

"Okay Naomi, you're next." Said Jim

"Um, do I have to?" I asked

"What's wrong Naomi? Lose your nerve?" asked Sissy

"Oh you're so on Delmas." I said

I walked up to the wall with Sissy on my left.

"Come on girl. Humiliate her, and let's go eat." Said Odd

I looked at the wall and fought the urge to gulp.

"On your mark, get set, go!" exclaimed Jim

Sissy and I began climbing the wall. She initially had the lead because the ones on the bottom were the easiest to have a grip on, but closer to the top, she began to slow down. I may not have the best upper arm strength, but I knew how my rock walls worked. When I reached half-way, I was in the lead, until Sissy grabbed my ankle for a minute trying to pull me down.

"You know Sissy, if you didn't spend so much time in front of your mirror, you could lose a few pounds. How much do you weigh? 150? 180? 280?" I asked

"Why you…" started Sissy

She lost her grip and almost took me with her, but she was the only one who hit the mat, and Jim did not look very happy with her. I reached the top and breathed a sigh of relief. I then saw William make a challenge to Ulrich. Oh dear. I can tell that Ulrich really wants out. I made my descent and walked next to Ulrich.

"You don't have to climb if you don't want to." I said

"Yeah, but it became personal." Said Ulrich

"Ulrich, there's a time and place for your pride, and now isn't it." I said

"Come on, are you encouraging him to be a coward?" asked William

"No, I'm encouraging him to use his common sense, unlike someone I know." I said

I was watching him from a distance, because I got a bad feeling. William usually is a bad feeling.

"What is he doing? Hey, come on Ulrich! Move it!" exclaimed Odd

"Don't pressure him." I said

"If you can beat him, go for it Ulrich!" exclaimed Yumi

"What did I just say?" I asked

"Come on, huh Spiderman. You spinning a web, or did you fall asleep?" asked William

"Oh great. This isn't going to end well." I muttered while pinching the bridge of my nose

"Hey, Stern! What's the matter with you?" asked Jim

That one blew it. Ulrich ended up on the mat.

"Ulrich!" I exclaimed while I ran up to him

"Oh, I get it. A little nap before lunch, right?" asked Odd

"Leave me alone." Said Ulrich

"We've… you've got vertigo, that it?" asked Yumi

"Yumi, he probably doesn't feel comfortable about it." I said

Ulrich then got up from the mat, and then began to walk away.

"Ulrich, wait!" exclaimed Yumi

"Let him chill out a while. Give him time to get over it." Said Odd

"And as for you Sissy, you're coming with me to the principal's office. You have some explaining to do with your father." Jim said as he dragged Sissy away

"Sometimes I'm glad he's my uncle." I said

Sia's P.O.V.

I knocked the door to the principal's office.

"Come in." said Mr. Delmas

I then opened the door.

"Sia, this is another surprise. How is life?" asked Mr. Delmas

"Just fine. Anyhow, I came to inform you that during gym class today with the ninth grade group, I saw Sissy grab Naomi Jones' ankle while they were on the rock wall." I said

"She did what?-!" exclaimed Mr. Delmas

"Grabbed her ankle. If Naomi didn't have such a tight grip on the wall, then when Sissy fell off, she could've taken Naomi with her." I said

"I'll have a serious word with her. If I hear that she does anything like that again, I'll see to it that she takes extra classes. You may go now." Said Mr. Delmas

"It was a pleasure speaking with you again." I said

Naomi's P.O.V.

I decided to go back to my room. Thankfully, my computer had access to the supercomputer, so I took a closer look at the data Jeremy obtained.

"Hmm… looks like the virus he found wasn't everything. It looks like a video file." I said to myself

"Right, is this thing working? Good." Said a male voice

That voice, and the person, it can't be.

"Dad?" I wondered

"Natalie, or anyone who has found the supercomputer, heed this message. Before I go back to my world with my daughter Natalie, there is something you should know. Inside her is a key, a special key. It doesn't connect her to Lyoko, but rather, keeps someone who resides in Lyoko in a special prison that Waldo and I developed. What's in this prison is a weapon, a weapon with the sole purpose to serve XANA. Now the key can't be removed under normal circumstances, and by normal, I mean operating table. Ugh, bad joke. Never saying that again. It's funny how something can sound right in your head but not so much out of one's mouth. Oh, time limit, right. Getting down to business, make sure XANA doesn't get that key, otherwise, it won't look good for the future." Said my father

And the video footage ended right there and then. I tried to play it again, but the video file was gone.

"It must've been a self-destruct video message. Once it's played, you can't access it again. But what's the weapon? What does it have to do with me? What's so important about it?" I wondered

I ran my fingers through my hair out of frustration.

"Come on, think, think, think, think, think. What could it be? A clone. Nah, too sci-fi. Some kind of super weapon? I don't know. What is it?" I wondered

I jumped as I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in." I said

The door opened to reveal Jeremy and Aelita, and they looked like they had some great news.

"We found the anti-virus, and I've already given it to Aelita. All that's left is to give it to you." Said Jeremy

"Were there any problems with the application, because I want to be sure before I get any vaccines." I said

"Nope." Said Jeremy

"All we have to do now is give it to you, and then shut down the supercomputer, and it's adios XANA." Said Aelita

"But not without the others." I said

"Sia and Rina are already at the factory. I just saw them come out of the principal's office." Said Jeremy

"I have a feeling that it involves what happened today in gym." I said

"What happened?" asked Aelita

"Sissy tried to cheat." I said

"Oh." Said Jeremy

"Yeah. Anyhow, I'll head for the factory. I'll see if Sia and Rina could use some help with the computer." I said

They left my room as I was putting on my watch and grabbed my gadgets when I accidentally knocked over a stack of papers. I really gotta get organized. I was about to put them away when I noticed that the drawings of the girl and the prison were on top of the mess. No way. They were just dreams, and that prison can't be real. Can it? I decided to leave the pile alone as I made my way to the factory.

"Nice to see you made it." Sia said as the elevator door opened

"What's up?" I asked

"XANA's launched an attack." Said Rina

"Matt, McKenna, do you copy?" I asked

There was no answer.

"Matt, McKenna, do you copy?" I asked

"This is McKenna. We read you loud and clear." McKenna finally said

"What's happening on your end?" I asked

"We're surrounded by a pack of wolves." Said McKenna

"That must be XANA's attack." I said

The elevator opened to reveal Jeremy.

"Hey, where's Aelita?" I asked

"I'm here." Said Aelita

"Huh? Are you… invisible?" I asked

"Yes." Said Aelita

"Head for the scanners Aelita. I'll see what happened." Said Jeremy

The elevator then went down.

"I'm here Jeremy." Said Aelita

He then scanned Aelita, and I sense a problem with the anti-virus.

"It isn't XANA; it's a bug in the anti-virus! I'll have to deactivate it, but it's gonna take a little while." Said Jeremy

"What about the activated tower? What's the attack?" asked Aelita

"The others are surrounded by wolves. Aelita and I have only two bodyguards, not counting myself. I can't protect my skin and Aelita's at the same time while I have no idea what XANA wants from me." I said

"We don't have a choice." Said Rina

"Alright, head for the scanners." Said Jeremy

I opened up the trapdoor that led down to the scanner room.

"Sia, Rina, and I will go first, since we can see each other, no offence Aelita." I said

"None taken." Said Aelita

"Okay, here we go. Transfer Sia, Transfer Rina, Transfer Naomi. Scanner Sia, Scanner Rina, Scanner Naomi. VIRTUALIZATION!" exclaimed Jeremy

We touched down on Lyoko, and Aelita followed suit.

"Jeremy, I'm here. It's good to be visible again." Said Aelita

"I've programmed the Overwing and Overglider for you four, and the activated tower shouldn't be far." Said Jeremy

Aelita and Rina hopped onto the Overwing while Sia and I hopped onto the Overglider.

"No Scyphozoas in sight Jeremy." Said Aelita

"That's good news for us." I said

"Anyway, be careful." Said Jeremy

We made a pit stop at the cave where I knew there was a tower, and when we reached the tower, it was the same one! Score! Aelita tried to enter inside it, but it was a no go. The tower didn't recognize her!

"What's going on? Jeremy, we've got a problem." Said Aelita

"Don't worry, the Calvary's on the way Aelita. Naomi, look out! Behind you!" exclaimed Jeremy

I turned around and saw the stupid Scyphozoa! I was about to change into my Avatar transformation, but it stung my hand! On another note, Sia, Rina, and Aelita were caught between a rock and a hard place by some Hornets. Nice going XANA. The jellyfish surrounded me with its tentacles and began doing whatever it was doing. I didn't know how much time had passed, but then the Scyphozoa suddenly dropped me, and I felt drained of energy. As that Scyphozoa retreated, another one appeared. I have to do something. I chose a gem at random and slid it in my necklace.

"Huh, I almost forgot about you. As much as I don't like Saïx's claymore, I don't have a choice. I really hope this stupid transformation doesn't turn me into a lunatic." I said

I then saw Odd behind me, followed by Matt. There was no way they were going to get past the hornets that were attacking me right now! Odd then put his foot in the water, and shivered. I saw him plug his nose, and then he took a dip in the water. That was distraction enough for me to take out the hornets.

"You okay?" asked Matt

"No, XANA got what he wanted from me, and I have a bad feeling the worse has yet to come." I said

"Jeremy, how's it going with the anti-virus?" asked Odd

"I'm working on it." Said Jeremy

"Naomi, are you saying XANA has the dimension key?" asked Matt

"No, I don't think so. I think he has something else." I said

"The anti-virus is deactivated. Aelita, you can get into the tower now. Hope this works." Said Jeremy

I saw Aelita get into the tower and it quickly deactivated. No new transformation this time. Then again, I wasn't in the last one I got.

"It's okay Jeremy!" exclaimed Odd

And I took out my frustration on the extra hornets that showed up. XANA got what he wanted, and that girl is going to appear soon.

"Return to the Past, now." Said Jeremy

We went back in time to gym class, and I was on top as Sissy was on the mat. I quickly got back down as William walked up to Ulrich.

"First one to the top. Well?" asked William

"No thanks." Said Ulrich

"You chicken? You have vertigo or what?" asked William

"Yeah. What about it? No worse than being afraid of spiders." Said Ulrich

"Hmm? Hey, how did you know that?" asked William

"I have my spies. Anyway, see you around Spiderman." Said Ulrich

We quickly walked away as Jim took Sissy to the principal

"So, Aelita, what's it like being invisible? I always wanted to be like, you know, Sue and the Fantastic Four." Said Odd

"What I want to know is what's going to happen to Sissy?" I asked

"Detention for 8 hours." Said Rina

"That'll get her to study." I joked

We all laughed at that one, and behind the smile I was wearing, I was worried. Now that XANA has what he wants, what's going to happen now?

Third Person P.O.V.

The doors to the girl's prison began to open up, and she looked towards the light that appeared.

"At long last, I'm finally free!" exclaimed the girl

Oy, that ain't good. It's really going to get harder for the Lyoko Warriors from here on out. Anyhow, please review, and until next time, I'm sakuraphoenix, saying I heart you, signing off for now. Kan dao ni!