The Lyoko Viking-16
With another XANA attack done, the boys stood in the computer room beside Jeremie. Sissi solemnly walked around the holo-map with her arms crossed and pout present. "Hey, did something happen between our two geniuses?" Ulrich asked Jeremie.
"Nope, she's been like that for a while. I can't snap her out of it."
"Well anyway, with all these XANA attacks, we really need to get Aelita's antivirus," Ulrich sighed. The elevator door slid open, and the girls stepped in. "How is it coming, Jeremie?"
"I haven't cracked it yet."
"Hey! I have an idea. Why don't we explore the new sector we found? If what Sissi said is true, then there should be some information for an antivirus," Aelita suggested.
Sissi huffed loudly from the opposite end of the holo-map, "But you would have to be there for that to happen. You're the only one that knows what to look for."
"And with the Scyphozoa around that's an automatic no!" Jeremie added.
"Come on, Einstein. With bodyguards like us, she won't be in any danger. And I promise to be careful," Odd swore. Yumi glanced at Sissi, and an idea flew into her head.
"Sissi could come along," She proposed. Sissi's head suddenly snapped up at the mention of her name. When she finally registered what happened, she tilted her head in confusion. "XANA won't be on the attack here on earth. You could figure out your powers, and if anything happens to us, we have another person for emergencies."
Sissi sighed, "She's got a point, Jeremie."
"Don't sound so excited," Yumi muttered.
"I just didn't want to take the risk, but with all of us there, the odds are better. Oh great, now I'm getting all worked up like Jeremie."
"Thanks," Jeremie grumbled. "Okay then. Tomorrow, we'll explore the unknown sector."
The next day, Sissi stood by the school gate when she saw Yumi coming in with both her parents at her side. Sissi caught up with her as Yumi walked through the gateway with a forlorn face. "What's wrong?" She asked.
"It's a long story," Yumi sighed. They walked to the vending machines where she explained the whole story to the rest. Apparently, after coming home late again, Yumi's parents were on her back more, which included walking her to school and back. "The worst part is that I hate lying to them."
"Just tell them that we're fighting in a virtual universe against a demonic artificial intelligence. That oughta reassure them," Odd suggested.
"Dork," Both Yumi and Sissi murmured
"You've gotta get their trust back. I think you should stay off Lyoko for a while," Jeremie said.
"What!? What about the mission? It's tonight, isn't it?"
"Relax, Jeremie will give you the play-by-play," Ulrich reassured.
"Promise," Jeremie smiled, but Yumi still frowned.
Sissi rested her hand on her shoulder, smiling, "Cheer up. If anything, this works out for me more than you think."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want that many people seeing how ridiculous my Lyoko outfit is," Sissi grumbled.
"Hehe, who knows, Sissi. You might actually look like a Dragon Queen," Odd snickered.
Sissi evilly smirked as she leaned into Odd's personal space, "It's a good thing that dragons eat cats." Odd straightened back up and gulped. Everyone laughed as the school bell rang.
Soon day turned into night and the warriors were in the scanner room. Odd and Aelita went first, leaving Sissi and Ulrich. The Dragon Queen looked at the cold cylinder with shaking knees. "What's the matter? Scared?" Ulrich slightly smirked.
"Terrified," Sissi said in a whisper, "The last time I was in here, the place was literally exploding through the roof. Of course, I'm freaking out." She gripped her head as the raging race of thoughts overwhelmed her. Then she felt Ulrich's hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay. We'll be right there with you," he smiled. Sissi breathed in and sighed while her shoulder unconsciously brushed his hand off. Ulrich paused a bit but quickly shook his head, dismissing... whatever just happened.
"Alright, here we go." Sissi stepped into the scanner and closed her eyes, hearing Jeremie say the magic words. She felt utter weightlessness like she was floating. Then she suddenly fell as she landed on her bottom. "Ooff! Is the virtualization always this hard on the landing?" Sissi asked, rubbing her butt. Ulrich offered his hand.
"On the first go, but you'll get the hang of it." Sissi got up by herself, staring around the landscape: the forest sector. "Pretty awesome, right?"
"No, it's more than that. Actually, less than that. Eeeeh," Sissi shook horribly, "How do you deal with no sensation of... anything!"
"Oh, you'll feel sensation, especially when XANA's monsters come out. But I got to say, you don't look half bad, Sissi," Odd said. Sissi looked down at her hands and saw golden bracelets around her wrists. She touched her face and felt a metal crown that dipped slightly into the middle of her forehead. Her outfit was a brown leather Viking type chest plate with shoulder coverings. It had dark pink patches of fur lining the ends around the neck and shoulders. Her forearms had hide arm braces as well, and a leather skirt wrapped around her waist, stopping just around her knee caps. Her feet were covered by brown boots with the same pinkish fur coming out of the top. "Now we can call you Viking girl."
"I wonder what your weapon is," Aelita said. "Maybe you have arrows... or a sword?"
"Can I practice on Odd to find out?" Sissi asked with a seriousness that made Odd gulp.
"Guys, focus! We can worry about Sissi's weapons as we go along. Right now, get to the edge of the sector. I'll program your vehicles. Sissi, do you mind riding with Odd or Ulrich?"
"I'd prefer the overwing," Sissi replied.
"Hmph," Ulrich and Odd groaned. Sissi rolled her eyes while Aelita giggled. Soon their vehicles materialized in front of them.
"Do you know how that thing works?" Ulrich asked. Sissi shrugged, hopped onto the overwing, and took off with ease. "I guess she does."
"Come on, let's go!" Odd zoomed off with Aelita on board. Ulrich quickly got onto his overbike and bolted after them. "Hey, Jeremie, can you figure out what Sissi can do?"
"I'll try. I think it has something to do with her bracelets and crown."
"I don't see a sword, fan, or gun. Maybe these things work like Odd's arrows," Sissi suggested.
"We'll figure out later. We're at the edge of the sector," Ulrich announced. At the edge, Sissi could see the Digital Sea spreading out into the vanishing point. The very sound of the waves below sounded... Digital. The large cable-like connections ran out to parts unknown. "Jeremie, we're ready."
"Alright, I'll type in the code: Scipio," Jeremie said. Soon, the shiny orb flew from the sea and enveloped the team. It zoomed into the entry room and materialized them. The spinning doorway slowed down to a standstill. Sissi was still trying to get her bearings, crashing to the ground upon re-materialization.
"Ugh, that was weird," She grumbled as she stood up.
"It gets weirder," Ulrich replied.
"Look, the doors about to open," Aelita said.
"Come on, let's get going." The doorway opened up and the four rushed into the core room. "Whoa, this place was different from the last time," Odd said.
"The cortex room must change every time you go there," Jeremie hypothesized. The Viking girl scanned the room.
"Jeremie, you said there was a countdown for this room, right? Is there a way to stop it?" Sissi asked.
Jeremie scratched away on the keyboard, looking for the answer. "Come on, come on. Ah! Got it. The cortex room is built like a maze. Look for a key or something."
"Can you tell us where?" Odd asked.
"Go down the hall on your right," Jeremie instructed. The four ran down the blue blocky hall as the blonde typist gave away commands. "Turn right, left, left!"
"We're turning! Geez! Is he always this demanding?" Sissi grumbled as they turned the corner. Suddenly, she dove to the ground, missing a laser bolt. "WHOA!"
"DUCK!" Odd shouted.
"Already did that!" Sissi jumped back up and leaped behind the group in one bound. Just in front of them was a slimy ugly creeper, as Odd called them.
"Wow, these things are tough," Odd said as he shot his arrows at the creeper. While he took care of the monster, Sissi felt a strange shiver up her spine. She spun around and saw a creeper prime to shoot Aelita down. As the laser bolt fired, Sissi jumped into the line of fire, crossing her arms in front. A digital shield formed in front of her arms and deflected the bolt away.
"They're behind us too!" Ulrich shouted. He dashed and sliced the creeper in half. While Odd and Ulrich defeated the creepers, Aelita helped Sissi up to her feet.
"Thanks."
"No, thank you. How did you know that there was a creeper behind us?" Aelita asked Sissi.
"I don't know. I just felt it."
"That's great. But we just know your defense, not your offense. Luckily, there are more monsters to take care of," Odd smirked.
"And there's a countdown to worry about. Make a left down the hall to your right. There's a mechanism somewhere in that room," Jeremie said. The team ran to the new hall and saw XANA's eye symbol on the far wall atop a pillar of blocks.
"I'll get it. Get a load of a real Lyoko warrior, Sissi," Odd smirked.
"Says the one who gets shot at the most," Sissi shot back. As Odd was climbing up the pillars, the Viking got a chill running up her spine. "Odd, watch out! There's a monster around."
"What do you mean, there's no- AHHHH!" Odd suddenly dematerialized before their eyes.
"Noo!" Ulrich shouted as the creeper quickly charged towards them. Before he could get his sword out, it shot Ulrich down in four blows.
"Ulrich!" Aelita cried. Now it was just the creeper and Sissi.
"Sissi, you have to protect Aelita! If she loses her life points-"
"I got it, Brainiac!" Sissi shouted. She charged at the creeper with the only weapons she knew she had: her fists. Dodging the lasers, she slid underneath it and threw one punch. A bright yellow ring shot from her bracelet and launched the creeper over the edge and down the abyss. Sissi got back up and looked down the deep casis. "Well, now we know what I can do," Sissi smiled. Then the walls and blocks started changing.
"Sissi, hurry!" Aelita shouted. The Viking girl ran over to Aelita and stood by her as the walls closed them off. "Jeremie, what do we do now?"
"Don't worry, I'll re-materialize Odd and Ulrich. Come on, come on!" The blonde struggled to figure out the codes, but a beeping red sign alarmed him. "Oh no!" He quickly ran down to the scanners and saw them empty. "Aelita! I can't re-materialize them. The scanners are empty!"
"But that's impossible! Are they lost?" Aelita asked.
"For the moment."
"So there's no re-materialization from Sector Five?"
"Sure there is if we can find the right program, which is probably about as possible as finding your anti-virus!" Jeremie dropped his head in his hands.
"Jeremie, it's okay. Try your best to find the program. In the meantime, get Yumi so that we can get out of here," Sissi said.
"Right, right! I'll get right on it!" Jeremie replied.
"In the meantime, I'll protect you, princess," Sissi smirked, placing her hands on her hips. Aelita smiled back. While Yumi ran to the rescue, Sissi practiced against the wall with her new Punch Rings, as she called them. Pretty soon, Aelita and Sissi could hear a slimy sound moving outside of their box prison.
"Jeremie, can you hear us?" Aelita asked. Sissi shivered.
"It's the Scyphozoa. And friends," she grumbled, balling her fists. "Stay behind me Aelita." The long silence was unnerving until the wall opened up, and the squid-like monster hovered into the room with three creepers. The creepers shot at Sissi. She tried her best to defend Aelita and keep the monsters busy. She jumped over the monsters and launched her Punch Rings right at their heads, defeating two. "Okay, one more to go."
Suddenly, the Scyphozoa's tentacles slapped Sissi to the wall, nearly knocking her out. She quickly jumped out of the last creeper's laser. As for the Scyphozoa, it curled its tentacles around Aelita and started sucking out her memory. Sissi tried to get the big jellyfish to leave, but she was too busy dodging each laser the creeper sent. "Jeremie! Where is Yumi? I need some help here."
"She's on her way. Keep stalling," Jeremie frantically called out. "Wait a minute, it says that you have a super ability."
"A what? WHOA!" Sissi shouted, dodging another laser.
"Try saying Punching Flurry!"
"What?! That's a stupid-"
"Just do it!" Jeremie shouted.
"Ugh, Punching Flurry!" Instantly, Sissi's arms started punching at a blinding pace and threw a wall of Punch Rings at the creeper and the Scyphozoa. The creeper was destroyed, and the Scyphozoa's tentacles were damaged. "Wow, I like this power," Sissi grinned. Then the room changed again, and the Scyphozoa slithered away. "Was that Yumi?"
"Yeah. Girls, take the corridor behind you," Jeremie instructed. Sissi and Aelita ran through the hall and came to a ledge with a spherical wall just ahead of them.
"Jeremie, we're in some kind of mid-space between the outer and inner dome. How do we get out?" Aelita asked.
"Don't worry, Yumi's on the way with the elevator."
"Elevator?" Sissi and Aelita asked. Suddenly, something zoom passed them and Sissi could have sworn she saw something like a Japanese figure on it.
"Yumi, try to catch Aelita. Sissi, you're going to have to jump onto the Elevator."
"Oh, of course, the princess gets snatched up," Sissi grumbled beside the smiling elf. The elevator came round a second time. "Ready? GO!" Yumi snatched up Aelita as Sissi jumped onto the elevator. "Whew, that was close."
"Where are you taking me?" Aelita asked Yumi.
"I have no idea," She answered as the elevator slowed to a stop and opened up to a hallway. The girls ran down it and came to the outer dome. A bluish-black sky of data surrounded the outer sphere. "There's an interface," Yumi pointed out.
"I can access it!" Aelita started tapping away at the interface and researching the sector. "Incredible! It's amazing!"
"What? What?" Jeremie asked.
"The interface is giving me so much data. And it's giving me access to XANA's data! Sector Five is where XANA lives!" Aelita said.
"Aelita, look for the specific de-virtualization code for the sector," Jeremie said quickly.
"Right."
Unfortunately, the victory was short-lived as the sky of data started bulging out some weird-looking manta monsters.
"Jeremie, we're going to need our vehicles. XANA's monsters are here. I'll take Ulrich's overbike," Sissi said.
"There's a problem. I can't do anything when Aelita's using the interface."
"I think I got it. I'm turning it over to you, Jeremie."
"Alright, I'm back in control," Jeremie typed away at the controls as the mantas swam closer to them.
"Jeremie! Vehicles!"
"On it!" Aelita, Yumi, and Sissi got on the overwing and overbike and flew away. The Mantas followed them. Sissi tried her best to keep them at bay, punching the air to give them the slip.
"How are we getting out of here?" Yumi asked.
"The tunnels!" Aelita pointed to the four tubes connecting to the sector.
"But they're closed."
"Wait, what if the tunnels correspond with the rest of the sectors," Jeremie said. A laser struck Sissi in the leg.
"ARGH! Dang it, that hurts! Jeremie we need out of here!" Sissi shouted. The boy typed away at the keyboard, and finally managed to get one of the tunnels opened. "Haha! I knew you were useful for something, Einstein!"
"Uh, thanks?" The team charged to the tunnel, but one of the mantas swung round to block them. One of their arrows shot Yumi down and off the overwing, de-materializing her.
"Yumi!" Aelita shouted. Sissi fired her Punch Rings and destroyed one of the mantas. The two girls smoothly hovered between the two mantas and into the tunnel, popping out of a way tower.
"Okay, now get to a neutral tower and I'll bring you girls in," Jeremie said, typing away.
In a matter of minutes, Sissi and Aelita were back on earth. "Oh my... everything," Sissi groaned, clutching her leg as she plopped to the floor. She crawled onto the floor, panting.
"Are you okay?" Aelita asked. Sissi only raised her hand to give a weary thumbs up. "It's okay, Jeremie. We're here."
"And now I'm entering the new code for the others. Now, all we can do is hope," Jeremie breathed shakily as he set down his headset, ran down to the scanner room, and held Aelita's hand while they waited.
After what seemed like an hour, the scanners popped opened to the three Lyoko warriors alive and well. "YES!" Sissi exclaimed as Aelita and Jeremie went to help them. Guiding them to the elevators, they rode it back up and were surprised to see Kiwi crawl in through at the top. "Uh, Kiwi?"
"What are you doing here?" Odd asked.
Yip, yip, yip!
There with Kiwi was Jim, Mr. Delmas, and Yumi's parents. "Yumi! What are you doing here?" asked Yumi's dad.
"Uh oh," Ulrich muttered.
"Plan B!" Sissi shouted. Aelita, Sissi, and Ulrich jumped out of the elevator with Yumi and Odd while Jeremie pressed the down button. The door closed with Jeremie and Jim inside, going down to the computer room.
"HA! Thought you could outsmart me, eh? What the? What is this place?" Jim marveled.
"Nothing rings a bell, Jim? You've been here before," Jeremie said.
"What are you talking about, I've never been here."
"Well, yes and no. Return to the past now!" Jeremie said as the ball of light spread over them.
Sissi found herself again at the school gate. Realizing what happened, she walked over to Yumi, who was still with her parents, when she heard Yumi say, "I'm in love." Sissi froze in her tracks, widening her eyes.
"Ah, Yumi. I knew there was a reason," Said Yumi's dad.
"Would you tell us your boyfriend's name?" asked Yumi's mom.
"Ah, no. Sorry, I won't mom. See you tonight," Yumi said as she turned to Sissi and walked through the gate.
"Whoa, I didn't think you would tell them that," Sissi commented. Yumi winked with a smirk as they walked over to Odd and Ulrich.
"You're parents seem happy. What did you tell them?" Ulrich asked.
"The truth," Yumi smiled. Sissi just smiled as Ulrich and Odd stood there confused.
Continued...