Episode 69: Cold war
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Adam stood in the harsh cold of the ice sector, his attire made him very out of place, his breathing was heavy, not from a lack of breath but of anger, it'd been a couple of weeks but he was still angry at the loss of his prey, XANA had refused to trust him since his attempted murder of Dallas, he looked at the blue sky as Evelyn rode up to him and dismounted her cycle,
"I'm assuming XANA's worked out all the tricks" Said Adam as Evelyn walked towards the nearby tower, "It's going to throw them for a loop, what we need divide and conquer" she said as she passed into the tower, XANA had been more linnet towards her Ulrich wasn't a priority target anymore and was considered expendable but it still had some anger towards her for attempt on his life, the tower suddenly turned red, sending off an alarm in Jeremie's and Dallas's room the two shot forward with Jeremie rushing to the computer whilst Dallas rubbed his eyes,
"I swear to Christ" said Dallas as he put his feet on the ground standing up "Something's not right here" said Jeremie as he furiously typed, the scan came up blank and no towers were found to be active, "an Alarm Signal and no activated tower" said Jeremie as he moved back towards his bed, "Einstein that can't be right" he said as he sat down again rubbing his head, "I know it's weird" said Jeremie as he collapsed onto his bed.
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Night turned to day, school was yet to start and students were wondering around campus doing their usual routines, Yumi who'd over slept walked into the room, Jeremie and Aelita were looking at the screen whilst Dallas was replacing the side of one of the computer stations, William and Ulrich were playing cards, Odd was raiding the bins like a crazy person throwing Jeremie's discarded notes around
"Morning Yumi" said Ulrich as he looked up from his hand to see her brushing her over grown hair, "are you sure about the alarm last night" asked Aelita as she crossed her arms sceptical "I may have been groggy but Dallas heard it as well" responded Jeremie, Dallas looked towards him, "Nothing physical appears to have any damage and no short circuit signs of any Agent entry" he said as he stood up, before getting sick of Odd's rummaging and kicking the bins "Hey watch it" said Odd in annoyance, William looked over at him "Odd what're you doing down their anyway" he asked, Odd didn't even bother looking up, "I've got to find that DVD to give to TV" he said in a panic, "TV?" asked Aelita confused as to what Odd meant "Yeah Thomas Vincent, he's a massive TV reporter, TV is his initials" said Yumi as she sat down next to Ulrich cuddling up to him "he's got his head up his own ass" said Dallas, Odd then began to panic even more, "Have you seen it" he asked as he looked out from underneath the desk "Which one, I guess our guest is a ghost, or the diary of a machine" asked Ulrich as he placed down a card, "I guess our guest is a ghost" he responded banging his head causing a chuckle from Ulrich, Yumi and William, "If you want me to become rich and famous I absolutely have to give it to TV" said Odd as he stood up, William rolled his eyes "Odd a family exploiting their child on YouTube have a better chance of being rich and famous than you" he said as he drew another card from the deck, Odd started to sulk then he noticed the small pile of cases on the desk "YES" he said with a yell as he found the case he was after, "Fame fortune and glory are mine" he said as he kissed it "yeah like it worked for Tommy Wiseau" said Dallas as he grabbed his jacket.
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With a loud roar mainly produced by the exhaust of a vehicle and not by its engine, a matte grey Aston Martin DB10 pulled up outside the main school building, a car known to the world for its very limited availability the 10 being the model and the number produced, so anyone who could afford one had deep pockets, the doors opened stepping out of the driver's door, one Thomas Vincent, he was an older gentlemen around the age of the Senior Delmas, although he had aged less gracefully, his hair was a medium brown comb back with grey stripes either side of his head, a clean shave and glasses combined with a maroon turtle neck beneath a smoking jacket topped off his sophisticated appearance, he looked around the school with disgust, having both been a former student and because his perceived status above it, his assistant and camera women stepped out, she was a lot younger than Vincent in fact she looked almost fresh out of school, her red hair was cut into a bob and a green turtle neck of a different style than TV's underneath a light brown fur tipped coat, Vincent walked up to the main door where Jim and Delmas were waiting to great him, "My Dear TV, on behalf of both the student body and the faculty I welcome you to…" started Delmas but he was rudely cut off "yes, yes I know cut the crap time is money after all" said Vincent as he turned back toward his assistant and clicked his fingers "Edna" he said in a passive aggressive tone, "My camera women… person women whatever" he said with little to no regard as she carried the massive camera used for such news reports, "whose never on time" he said loudly to belittle her in front of Jim and Delmas who exchanged confused looks with each other, "show up late one more time and you're finished" said Vincent to Edna quietly in a threatening tone, "I've got a hundred and fifty camera men who'd kill to work with…" he started and then for a self-imposed dramatic effected he finished with "TV" he then looked at Jim, "Niko Belic" he said in a mocking tone "park my car out of sight I don't want any kids scratching it" added Vincent as he threw the keys to Jim smacking him in the face before they landed in his hand leaving him confused further.
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School was boring as it usually was the younger members of the warriors were sitting in their science class, Odd was just trying to pass the time until TV showed up, Jeremie and Aelita were of course actually paying attention and were interested, Ulrich was trying to comprehend the what felt like nonsense coming out of Mrs Hertz mouth, and Dallas was staring off into space, Adam who was sitting next to Sissi was staring at Dallas, the anger in his eyes was apparent but no one dared look at him out of fear of being hit, his reputation as the number 2 tough guy proceeded him, Sissi like Odd was waiting for TV but with more vanity stricken reasons, she had a small make up pallet hidden from view then the door slammed open with Vincent and Edna walking in, the former put down a cup of coffee and grabbed his microphone
"Can I help you" said Mrs Hertz as Edna raised the camera, with a forced cough Vincent replied "You can move out of my shot" he then looked at the students, "get a nice wide shot I want to show each of the…" he started before finishing with "students" even though his tone made it obvious what he was going to say, Sissi stood up ready to get her Charm on with Vincent as he turned to the Camera and then in a tone that could only be described as talking through his teeth he said "Do our schools still provide an Adequate future for our youth, when faced with our teachers laxed attitudes we have severe reasons to doubt", Dallas looked at him and knowing the game he was playing decided to briefly dart his eyes towards Jeremie, Vincent began walking towards him having taken the bait, "to see how bad it's become all you need to do its pick out a student at random and ask them his grade point average" said Vincent as he strolled over towards Jeremie and held his microphone towards Jeremie, "you for instance" he added, his smug grin was wiped from his face when Jeremie responded "99.87 out of a hundred", Vincent was infuriated at the near perfect response and behind him Mrs Hertz crossed her arms with approval, "Okay Cut" said Vincent, Edna was caught of guard "I said Cut" he yelled at her as she paused the recording, Vincent slammed his hands down onto the desk and angrily stated "That's too high", he stood up straight and asked "who here has a below 60 average" he looked around to see Odd raising his hand, Vincent's tone changed to one of joy as he believed he'd found a student that was failing "So son you're flunking out of school right" he said as he sat on the desk in front of Odd and held the microphone outwards "Me not exactly" said Odd these initial words disappointed Vincent but he kept rolling hoping for something "But on the other hand" added Odd, these words seemed to entertain Vincent "I do have this DVD to show you" said Odd slightly embarrassed as he raised the case, Vincent was now fed up and moved away loudly proclaiming "This can not be happing, what's with this bunch of…" but before Vincent could finish his words the bell rang leading all the students to cheer and rush out of the class room, Vincent looked both disgusted and angered at the students.
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The group walked out of the science building, Odd had his head held low with his hands in his pockets, Yumi and William walked over towards them having just finished their classes at the same time,
"Hey guys, how was class" asked William as he drank some of his soft drink he'd grabbed from the vending machine "I'm so disgusted TV didn't even want to see my DVD" said Odd in a hump, the others who had seen said DVD tried to restrain their laughter "Is that what it means to be a starving artist" asked Aelita, Dallas placed his arm around Odd's shoulder "Don't worry Odd, I'm sure you could probably get a couple hundred views online" he said with chuckle, this failed to lighten him up, "oh no" said Jeremie as he heard his laptop go off, "the alarm, XANA's gone on the attack" said Jeremie as he quickly opened it and checked the screen, the group moved off as fast as they could, Dallas took up the rear looking around for the dastardly duo in case they were following them, Adam however stood inside the science building and watched them run, then his phone rang "Yes, they've taken the bait, I'll hold back for the main strike" he said as he hung up and put his phone away.
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"Virtualization" Said Jeremie as Odd, Ulrich, Yumi, Aelita and William all materialized in the Mountain sector, Dallas sat against a rock nearby as he watched them to drop onto the Plato, "Lets go" said Aelita as he ran off with a head start, "When did she get so athletic" said William as they followed after her, Yumi was just glad to be able to freely move again and not having to worry too much about the baby, Dallas ran past Ulrich and Yumi not paying any attention to either of them, the tower was in sight at the end of a long pathway with only two small gaps that would require a jump across, Jeremie monitored the screen, the beeping was the only noise being made as Dallas lent forward to watch, then they noticed the radar "Watch it you've got company" said Jeremie as he began typing, Yumi drew her fans and quickly moved up "Aelita stay behind me" she said, William smiled as he drew his sword and grinned ready to fight, Ulrich drew his Katanna whilst Odd cocked his wrists loading a arrow, Dallas simply drew his sawn off and noticing a swarm of Wasps he fired towards them with both shots, the group whilst suffering only minor casualties with 3 hornets destroyed scattered, "Super sprint" said Ulrich as he darted forward to take on the first wave of the creatures "Did anyone bring their insecticide" asked Odd Sarcastically, three of the hornets moved up and began firing up at Ulrich who using his Katanna blocked and deflected destroying one of them, but he suffered a hit from the other two in the process, Yumi having run ahead and being closest to the tower was now the prime target as three of the Hornets were now giving pursuit and were shooting at her, their shots whilst close were missing, and those that were gonna hit her were deflected by her fans, William quickly jumped and spun in mid-air slicing into a couple of the creatures before landing with a small skid "Nice" he said as he ran back towards more of the Wasps to try and take more out, "Yumi" shouted Aelita as the older of the two girls came up onto the jump, fully aware of her actions, the Wasps fired a rapid barrage of lasers towards her, Making the leap Yumi holding her fans out she managed to block the shots, a few were even deflected destroying a couple of them, however her landing was flawed and she came in too quickly and span out coming to the edge, and as she slipped off the edge, but before she could fall Ulrich grabbed her leg and held on for dear life "Hi" he said in a nervous tone as he tried pulling her up, "Ulrich, Yumi" yelled William as he rushed over, the Wasps noticed this and started to shoot, at them, the shots were coming up short but were putting Ulrich on edge, William moved towards them and held up his sword to block the attacks, "DALLAS" he screamed as Dallas reloaded the Sawn-Off, he ran over "Help them" said William, but Dallas looking at Ulrich and Yumi didn't move, "Go" said William, back in the factory Jeremie looked at Dallas, "What's he doing" asked Jeremie, the on earth Dallas got angry and grabbed the mike "GET A FUCKING MOVE ON" he screamed into the mike, the Lyoko Dallas huffed and moved grabbing Ulrich and Pulling him back and as such they pulled Yumi up to safety, "What's your problem" asked Ulrich as he looked up at him from Yumi, but Dallas ignored them and walked off shooting at the Wasps, meanwhile further down the trail some Wasps had begun attacking Odd and Aelita, the Wasps moved in for a low attack attempting to sweep Odd's legs out, but he jumped and back flipped "Laser Arrow" he yelled as he fired a couple of shots, causing one to explode, Aelita moved up to be safer near Odd, the Wasps swarm was getting quicker as they moved up to the Advance party, "Get ready" said Yumi as she quickly stood up and ran towards them jumping and throwing her fans, the Wasp fired a shot, blocking and destroying one of her fans but the second sliced through the creature destroying it, Ulrich and William using their respective powers moved up to follow, one of the Wasps moved to attack Dallas but he ran towards it and jumped performing a two-step bicycle kicking first planting his left foot, then his right, the Wasp was knocked back, then he drew the Sawn off and fired into the creature causing it to explode, Odd watched and was impressed, "Move" said Dallas in a grizzled tone, the three began moving up with Dallas and Odd firing back at any pursing Wasps, neither were trying to hit anything just laying down supressing fire, up ahead Ulrich and William jumped slicing a couple of Wasps, "Nice" Said William as he landed "how many does that make" said Ulrich as he took a quick breather, "more than you" said William with a chuckle, Ulrich shook his head and said "I'm gonna beat you on that", meanwhile the others came up on the first jump, Dallas grabbed Aelita and quickly jumped summoning eagle sense to carry them, and the two landed perfectly but suddenly Dallas collapsed to his knees coughing violently, Odd jumped and turned shooting more arrows catching a Wasp destroying it and throwing another off its path causing it to over shoot Odd as he landed, "What's wrong with him" asked Odd as he moved to Dallas, "I dunno he landed then just started Coughing" said Aelita, Odd quickly put Dallas over his shoulder and began moving with Aelita, "What the Hell" said Dallas in the computer room, Jeremie looked at his ID, "I dunno, has that ever happened before" he asked, Dallas shook his head, "not even over use has crippled me like, even on Lyoko" he responded concerned, "run an emergency scan" he said and Jeremie proceeded to do so.
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Back on Lyoko the Wasp swarm had been thinned out but there still a number of them, Odd and Aelita came up the second jump, they might have been able to make it but with Dallas in tow it was going to be difficult
"Princess we need a small bridge" said Odd, Aelita nodded before dropping to her knees, then suddenly a Wasp appeared and opened fire striking Odds shoulder but before he could retaliate, Yumi's fan curved towards it and slice the creature in half "Thanks Yumi" he said holding his thumb up, the bridge was quickly formed and the group was reunited, Odd placed Dallas against a rock so he and the other able bodied warriors could get ready for the remaining Wasps, "Together" said Ulrich, the others nodded but then to their shock and surprise the remainder of the swarm turned around and flew off "hey you bunch of chickens" yelled Odd after them, lowering his sword William asked "Does that happen often", the others shrugged their shoulders and seizing the opportunity moved towards the tower with William grabbing Dallas, the others had gone on ahead "Well my lady your tower is served" said Odd sarcastically as he thought about lunch, Aelita moved up to the tower when they all got another shock, "Wait" said Yumi as they noticed the aura change from Red to its natural blue "Well what do you know" said Ulrich, William moved forward "Einstein did you do that" he asked, Jeremie was just as confused as the others "no… i… I'm gonna bring you guys back" he said in a state of utter confusions.
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Dallas had been placed in a tower to recover whilst the others were devirtulized and were now standing around the screen watching as Jeremie scanned the tower and made sure it wasn't still active,
"oh No another tower activated in the ice…" he started causing everyone to panic and get ready, but then the scan showed it deactivated, "Unbelievable" he said as he quickly typed, "I don't get this at all" said Jeremie, Yumi looked forward "Could XANA be running out of steam, some of the last attacks haven't required any jumps back in time, its resources might not be building enough" she said, Dallas shook his head "we don't exactly understand how it does that, for all we know it could be stock piling" he said as he rubbed his neck and clicked his fingers, "maybe it's a bug in the super computer" said Aelita as she put her hands in her pockets, Jeremie become slightly concerned at the thought "You lot go to lunch, I'll stay here and try and work this out" said Jeremie as he began to type launching a diagnostic program, "If anything happens I'll give you a shout" he said, Aelita moved forward and placed her hand on his shoulder causing him to blush, "I'll stay with you, with the two of us it'll go faster" she said, he smiled trying not to blush too hard.
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Odd had been looking forward to this day all week, Meatballs and gravy, with mash potatoes, it was Rosa's specialty, and she was serving them with a smile, the warriors lined up to get their food,
"So how come you're not staying at the factory, usually repairs are your job" asked William as he grabbed his try, Dallas grabbed his "Because we don't know if it's a physical failure or a digital one, can't check both at the same time cause it means we could over look something" he said as he placed his tray down, he couldn't eat and just planned to give his food to Yumi, Odd was hungry and ready to get his food, and Rosa was about to serve him but then Vincent cut in line and slammed his tray down, Rosa being nervous at the celebrity in front of her served him first, but Vincent as ever was not satisfied "what's with these little mini servings" he said pointing at his meatballs "Come on cookie don't be shy" he said in a very passive aggressive tone that was playing on Dallas's nerves, "Load up the meatballs" said Vincent spelling it out for Rosa, who nervously obliged covering his tray with them, he walked away somewhat happy, "let me tell you, it's no picnic being a field reporter" he mumbled, Rosa served Odd but he felt disheartened as there were now fewer meatballs for him and everyone else "wait what where are all the meatballs" he asked, Rosa was annoyed as well "on TVs tray" she said, Vincent had sat down by himself and was eating when he coughed up and spat out the food onto the tray "this is awful" he said pushing his now wasted food away.
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Outside in the parking lot Sissi and her group were examining the DB10, it was a rare car and as such was going to attract attention, Sissi looked and rubbed her finger across the side,
"any guy who had wheels like this I'd go out with in a heartbeat" she said amazed at the sight of it, this made Nicholas and Herb swoon with jealousy, whilst Adam and Evelyn couldn't care less, Adam enjoyed his vehicles but he preferred power over price, something he felt the DB10 was lacking, it was one of few things he and Dallas would agree on, "okay I'm outta here I'm starving" said Nicholas as he walked towards the cafeteria "me too I've got better things to do than look at a car that isn't worth the price" said Adam and Evelyn followed him "XANA's ready" she whispered to him, he smiled as he dropped his cigarette, meanwhile in the factory Jeremie and Aelita found an activated tower and were watching to see if the process was going to repeat itself, "its starting up again should I alert the others" said Aelita as she grabbed her phone, "Hang on it might deactivate itself again" replied Jeremie, meanwhile across the city numerous satellite dishes sparked and released the Ooze of XANA which moved into the clouds.
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The warriors sat down with Dallas passing his food to Yumi who began to scoff it down faster than Odd, Ulrich smiled at her,
"Eating for two what do you expect" she said with her mouthful, Dallas shook his head before hearing Vincent yell "is their not any other food in this place", Dallas was getting more and more angry with him by the second "I'm gonna give him a knuckle sandwich in a minute" said Dallas as he turned back to the others "man he's a real dick when you meet him" said William, the others looked at him "what its true" he added, Dallas huffed as he drank some of his Coffee, "it's true, the man gets results and looks good on camera people have tried exposing him in the past, but he sues them for slander, Liable whatever it is and because his lawyer team buts so much pressure on the claimant, they back down out of fear or are sued into oblivion" said Dallas, then he noticed a white speck fall to the floor outside, it then increased and everyone realised what it was "ITS SNOWING" shouted an over excited youngster, everyone stood up except the warriors "in the middle of June" asked Ulrich, everyone else ran outside though despite Jims protests, whilst in the factory Jeremie was checking to see if the tower was truly activated "the sub system seems okay too" he said, but it was still registering "Jeremie the towers still activated" said Aelita, Jeremie's eyes widened "Oh crap bad news, maybe this time XANA really is attacking" he said nervously.
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Back at the school, the students were throwing snow balls at each other whilst the warriors stood around confused at the sudden snow, the wet ground shouldn't have sustained the snow, and it was only lightly snowing,
"Careful" said Dallas as he treaded slowly in his boots "once cracked my elbow slipping over cause of snow" he added, Jim was being cautious as well, "that's enough now, everyone inside" said Jim, before he himself was hit in the face with a snow ball, he turned to face the culprit only to see Delmas of all people standing their sheepishly whistling to himself with his hands behind his back, the snow balls were coming from left right and centre, it didn't matter if it was first years or those close to graduating everyone was enjoying themselves, Yumi felt her phone ring and she quickly Answered "Yes Jeremie" she said, then the mood was ruined as she hung up "XANA's Attacking" she said, Odd who had started to craft a snowball threw his head back in annoyance, suddenly the calm snow fall sped up to a blizzard, students were struggling to stand up right as they were suddenly covered in snow as they were almost knocked to the ground "INSIDE" shouted Jim as loudly as he could, Dallas with his heavy body mass grabbed any student he could that was unable to move, Delmas quickly moved some students to the main building, "KEEP MOVING" yelled Jim as he helped a student who had been knocked down and was being covered in snow, the students and the warriors moved into the basement of the main building, the room had a massive furnace from days before electric heating and boxes full of winter supplies, "We Have to get to Lyoko" said Yumi, Odd Looked at her and responded "I bet the weathers better there", William looked at the freezing cold students as Jim began to light the furnace, "Yumi stay here" he said, Ulrich and Odd looked at him confused, "What" said Ulrich as he went to grab William "Are you crazy" he added, but Dallas blocked Ulrich, "listen we don't know how bad it is out there, and for all we know it's gonna get worse, and Yumi's pregnancy might be compromised" he said, Ulrich was reluctant but nodded, "I don't see Adam or Evelyn" said Odd, Dallas looked around, "okay we grab warmer attire and a weapon" he said.
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Yumi phoned the factory, being underground and in a room with as many advanced electronics the temperature was consistent and had thankfully not changed,
"Jeremie" she said as the window opened "We're stuck at the school because of the blizzard" she added, Jeremie shook his head "XANA's back to its old self" he said as he looked at Aelita, "the guys are on their way" she finished with as she hung up, meanwhile whilst most of the students had been lucky and gotten inside the main building Herb and Yumi were still outside in the freezing cold, Herb tried moving the Gym doors, but they were frozen shut and wouldn't budge a single bit, "Now What" he said shivering "don't look at me" she said, then they made their way towards Vincent's car, which they noticed was unlocked, the two quickly moved and sat inside, the temperature was hardly any better, but fortunately Jim had left the keys in the ignition, Herb tried desperately to start the engine and began wrestling with the ignition, and after a small struggle the engine rumbled and the heating turned on, Herb Sighed but Sissi was only more interested in Vincent's odd choice of Music "Cool, the subtonics" she said as she placed their album into the CD player, the snow storm having blanketed the area died down but the temperature continued to plummet.
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Upstairs in the dorm rooms, Dallas barged into his room and grabbed the Sawn-off loading two shells and a box containing more before grabbing his holster and attaching it around his leg, William grabbed a thick black coat which was fur lined and a snow mask that covered his eyes and face,
"You sure that's gonna be enough" asked Dallas as he looked at him, "I doubt it" said William pessimistically Ulrich and Odd walked up in winter attire, "why aren't you dressed" asked Odd as they moved towards the door, "I can't feel the cold" said Dallas as they made their way to the end of the corridor, meanwhile in the basement Jim started to hand out the supplies to everyone, which included any jackets that they had, blankets that some people had to huddle under and hats, "here you go Mr TV this'll keep your hair nice" said Jim as he placed a pink knitted hat with three red balls atop of it on Vincent's head, Edna laughed at him before noticing Jim's odd attire, it was a French Military jacket with a lance corporal stripe on the arm, but she said nothing, Delmas was pacing back and forth on his phone "very good Mrs Hertz you did very good to take the children to the basement of the science building" he said with a smile knowing the students were safe, Jim moved over to him, "Look Mr Delmas I've found the weather station" he said holding up a small electronic device, "I got this free with my Sumo Mag subscription" he added, revealing he was one of few people who still subscribed to magazines "up here it shows the temperature outside which is 4 degrees and down here it shows the temperature in here which is 37" he said which thanks to the furnace burning away nicely was keeping them from freezing to death, whilst outside in Vincent's car Herb decided to press his luck "you know it's a scientific fact that huddling together will keep us warmer" he said, Sissi's one and only response was to slap him around the face, due to the cold temperature the slap stung a lot worse than it should have.
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Back in the basement Edna turned on the camera and checked to see if it was still operational which it was, this pleased Vincent as he could now report and get a bigger scoop, Edna quickly recorded the students as many huddled together
"Edna stop wasting film" said Vincent angrily, she quickly moved the camera onto him "an Unbelievable deep freeze has taken a hold of the city and what are you shooting" he asked but he didn't want an answer as he pointed the students and said "brats in a basement it's not even PG-13", Edna was getting sick of his treatment towards her and everyone "People expect spectacular TV" he said with another of his pauses before composing himself and saying "from TV" he closed he then lost his calm again and said "Let's get out of his rat hole and go where the action is" Edna folded her arms and put her camera down, "Not with me" she said in a stand of defiance, Vincent was taken aback by these actions, no one had ever had the nerve to do this to him, Yumi who was watching the action was shocked "YOU'RE FIRED" he shouted loud enough for a small echo, Vincent picked up his camera and said "Can't have cold feet on this job" not realising the terrible pun he just made, Jim placed another blanket around Yumi and then quickly moved to intercept Vincent "you can't go outside its 40 below out there" he said grabbing his shoulder to stop him "Where are my keys" asked Vincent in a very impolite tone "I think I left them in the ignition" said Jim proud of his mistake "IDIOT" shouted Vincent as he stormed out of the room, "look who's talking" said Yumi as she shivered violently leading another student to give her a blanket, she wasn't a fan of the special attention but 5 and a half months along she couldn't complain.
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In the DB10 the heaters whilst being on weren't standing up to the temperature outside and the two occupants were now violently shaking,
"I warn you Herb, if you fall asleep I'll slap you again" said Sissi, Herb looked at her scared but then the door suddenly opened and with a massive gust of cold Wind Herb was suddenly awake, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING IN MY CAR GET OUT OF HERE" Screamed Vincent at the top of his nearly frozen lungs, "hey you're not gonna leave us… us in this… blizzard are you" said Sissi scared for hers and Herbs safety, Vincent looked at the two and instead of out of pure kindness and more out of look for his public image said "Fine I'll drop you off, don't say a word and don't get my soft leather seats dirty" Herb moved over to Sissi and the two buckled in as Vincent sat down and released the hand brake, he was made to be moving in this weather but he didn't care, the warriors moved out of the main building to see the area was almost unrecognisable due to the snow they came to the end of the arches when they noticed the DB10 losing control, Vincent tried turning but his control of the vehicle was long gone as he swerved recklessly and crashed into a tree, the airbags deployed "WHAT IS THE IDIOT…" Shouted Dallas as the four moved into rescue the occupants, the car's engine was smoking from the impact and was now buried under some snow, "Dallas can you move it" asked Odd as they tried moving the snow, Ulrich tried pulling the door handle, but the crash had broken the lock, Dallas moved him and with almost no effort pulled the door off and threw it away, "Come with me" said William through his mask pulling Vincent out, but Dallas grabbed him and threw him down before moving to the other side and tearing the door off, Odd grabbed the Unconscious Herb whilst Sissi who was heavily shaken up moved herself and was now shaking violently, "My camera" said Vincent as he reached towards the car, Dallas who was beyond fed up grabbed the Camera and walked around throwing it down near Vincent before drawing the Sawn-off and shooting the camera, the machine exploded into hundreds of pieces, "Fuck you" said Dallas as he grabbed Vincent, "we better get them inside" he added, suddenly and without warning the car exploded, Dallas with enough time pushed Vincent away, the explosion only hit Dallas but the force knocked everyone to the ground, he was thrown and hit a snow bank, whilst the tree that the car had hit was dislodged and fell over, "IS EVERYONE OKAY" shouted Odd as his ears stopped ringing, "I'm good" said Ulrich as he moved towards Vincent who was shaking from fear, Dallas stepped up from the snow bank, he shook his face down, Vincent and Sissi Screamed their lungs off, Dallas looked down to see his left arm had been blown clean off and the endo skeleton was visible "fuck" he said as he moved towards the others "any other damage" he said, Odd pointed at his own face, Dallas's face had taken a similar blast and a good 30% was now missing revealing the eye underneath the skin, "wait where's William" asked Ulrich, then they began to Panic, "Ulrich get them inside" said Odd as he and Dallas moved towards the flaming wreckage of the car, Ulrich nodded and grabbed the others moving as quick as they could "WILLIAM" Shouted Odd with his creating an echo, "WILLIAM BUDDY" shouted Dallas, then he heard a groan and kneelt down brushing snow off of William, "ODD HE'S OVER HERE" shouted Dallas, William was buried in the snow and had suffered a nasty injury to the head, "Come on buddy stay with us" said Odd as he slid over, "Okay one, two, three, one" said Dallas as he grabbed Williams left arm and Odd the right, but they couldn't budge him, William screamed in pain "STOP" he shouted, Odd then moved towards William and brushed away the snow on his legs, "Dallas" he said with a panicked tone, Dallas was horrified, Williams legs were caught and had been caught under the tree, they luckily weren't crushed as the snow had softened the impact, "Right get ready" said Dallas, Odd kneelt down to the dazed William, "We'll have you out in no time" he said, Dallas and Odd pushed themselves against the tree "ready, One, two, Three, One" said Dallas as they tried pushing the tree, but it wouldn't move apart from a small tilt that did nothing to help.
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In the basement the temperature had gotten so low that the furnace was no longer adequately keeping everyone warm, their breaths became more apparent and everyone was starting to shake more and more,
"Sir" said Cameron as he moved towards Jim "Yes Cameron" said Jim as he shivered violently "What's the temperature" he asked nervously scared at the answer that awaited him, "58 degrees below zero outside, 23 degrees in here" said Jim trying to remain positive, but even he knew it was failing, Delmas looked at him worried as he put another blanket around Yumi "how're you feeling" he asked getting worried about her safety "I'm fine" she replied she held her belly knowing that the cold would soon cause more issues, suddenly the door opened and Ulrich moved in with Vincent, Herb and Sissi, Delmas rushed over to his daughter and the two shared an embrace, glad that the other was safe, Herb was laid down and was placed under a pile of blankets, whilst Ulrich rushed to Yumi and hugged her, "Are you okay" he asked concerned, She didn't want to worry him and simply nodded "I'll be okay, you best get to the factory" she said, Ulrich was scared to leave her and quickly kissing her he ran avoiding everyone's eyesight.
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In the factory Jeremie had loaded the news broadcast onto the screen to try and get a grasp of what was going on outsideTop of FormBottom of Form
"A deadly cold snap has engulfed the city, which just an hour ago buried the city under ice and snow, everyone is advised to stay indoors, the authorities have issued…" but then the signal was lost, the TV broadcast was cut off due to the cold, "oh no" said Jeremie as he tried to patch in to any other broadcast but could get any other signal, everything was down, "damn it" he said, Aelita moved forward to comfort him, whilst back outside the school Dallas and Odd were still trying to move the tree "Come on one more time" said Odd, Dallas nodded and they placed all their weight against the tree "One, Two, Three, One" said Dallas and they pushed as hard as they could, the tree budged slightly but it was no use "Confucumas" screamed Dallas as he kicked the tree, Ulrich quickly rushed out "What're you still doing here" he asked before noticing William under the tree "I thought I'd take a break" said William really dazed and confused, "let's try again" said Odd as he moved to the tree, Dallas followed suit and Ulrich joined in "Okay, One, Two, Three, One" said Dallas as they all pushed, the addition of Ulrich was barely noticeable and the tree failed to move, "shit" said Ulrich as he knelt down, "what's the game plan" asked Odd as he stood up looking at the others, "You two go to the factory, I'll stay here and try and help William" said Ulrich as he looked at the blizzard moving in the distance, "we can't just…" started Dallas but Odd grabbed his arm, "okay take this" said Dallas as he handed Ulrich his sawn off, along with the bullets "Just in case of any unwanted pests" he added before he and Odd moved off, Ulrich looked at William and brushed the snow off of him, "William I'm gonna try and get you out of here okay" said Ulrich, William however could barely think or move, "okay… be quick" he said unsure of what was happening.
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"We have no choice Jeremie" said Aelita, as she crossed her arms almost furious with Jeremie, "but that's exactly what XANA's waiting for Aelita, for you to go to Lyoko alone, so it can steal your memory" he responded concerned, "I won't be alone, I'll have Dallas" she said, but she knew this was a thin argument "He's injured and I don't know if you've noticed unstable" he added, Aelita knew he was right, "if I don't go and deactivate that tower the others will die of cold" she said pointing at the elevator "and the entire city with them" she added, Jeremie was struggling to think of an argument "Yeah I guess you're right" he said unable to able to argue further, "I'll launch the process" he added as Aelita walked towards the elevator.
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Back at the school the blizzard had struck, and everyone in the city who was outside was now feeling it, those unlucky to be outside were knocked to the ground, Ulrich was dragging a chain pulley system to William, he quickly brushed the snow off and said
"No sleeping", William could barely hear him though, Ulrich quickly placed the pulley around another tree and then looped the chain underneath the one that was pinning down William, he quickly began pulling on the chain, but it froze quickly in the storm and even when he jumped pulling down with all his weight it wouldn't budge causing him to get angry and kick the snow, meanwhile further up in the forest Dallas and Odd had given up looking for the man hole it was impossible to find buried under the snow, Dallas's movements were getting slower, "This bloody snow" he said covering his face with his arm, "How much further" he asked before he collapsed, Odd noticed and trudged back to him "Come on" said Odd as he managed to get Dallas back up despite his weight, "THE COLD FREEZING THOSE CIRCUITS" shouted a voice through the snow, "Odd get moving" said Dallas as he looked around recognizing Adam's voice "scared of little old me" said Adam as he moved through the blizzard and jumping at Dallas knocking him down, "Believe it or not the X-800 series isn't impervious to snow" said Adam mocking Dallas as he drew his colt anaconda "no series is, we've been unable to fix that little problem" said Adam as he pulled back the hammer, Dallas then grabbed his leg and pulled him down into the snow, Adam quickly kicked Dallas in the face and having lost his gun searched for it in the snow, Odd watched from behind a tree considering moving back to help, but knowing he was needed on Lyoko quickly moved on, "Gotcha" said Adam as he pulled it up and stood up with Dallas Kneeling in front of him, the ice forming on his skin and metal skull, "I'm gonna enjoy this" he added then Dallas smiled as Adam pulled the trigger, nothing happened, Adam pulled it again, he looked it was loaded with bullets, but before he could react again Dallas grabbed his hand knocking the pistol down and pushing him down and grabbing him by the throat, "You might be smart, but that gun won't work in this temperature" said Dallas but suddenly he shut down as his circuits froze up due to going to 60 below he collapsed on the still breathing Adam, "neither will you" he said but as he tried moving he found the heavy machine was impossible to budge, "What…" he said as he tried again, "No… this can't be happening" he said screaming into the storm as the two were slowly buried in the ice and snow.
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Aelita sped forward on the Over-Bike, she was making great speed and progress, the tower was in sight and the area was relatively light, although Aelita knew this meant that the Scyphozoa was nearby
"Careful Aelita Hornets on the way" Said Jeremie watching the radar, "I can't see anything for now" she responded, but then Jeremie noticed something, he'd mixed up the signals, we thought it was hornets because they left an air trail but it wasn't them, suddenly Aelita heard a familiar wail as she saw a distinctive shadow move over her, "FLYING MANTAS" she screamed as they came into view, "but they never leave Sector 5" said Jeremie stunned but over hearing this and riding the lead of the three creatures was Evelyn as she yelled down "Get a load of these", Aelita quickly sped up trying to beat the creatures to the tower, but the creatures were too fast for the Over-Bike, "We have to face facts" she said as she swerved to avoid a low flying attack "XANA is getting more powerful, you better call Dallas in" she said as the creatures wailed again, the three then turned around the tower and faced Aelita, "About face" said Jeremie, Aelita quickly skidded to a halt and then turned around speeding off again, then she noticed the Scyphozoa and screamed driving around it to avoid it.
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In the basement things were getting progressively worse, the heat was dropping even though Jim was throwing more burnable items into the furnace to the point on a regular day it would be past the safety point, Yumi cuddled up in her numerous blankets and held her belly getting worried,
"That's it" said Jim as some heat started to spread to the room, but it wasn't much, however compared to outside this was a god send, Odd had made it to the factory which by now was blanketed in snow, Odd was barely holding on as he made his way through the entrance towards the elevator, "Think warm things" he said to himself, "Tahiti" he said out loud as he reached the elevator, "Sauna, Heat wave" he added trying to think, whilst on Lyoko the now slightly recovered Dallas stepped out of a tower to see Aelita turning to avoid the Scyphozoa, but the Manta's controlled by Evelyn were hot in pursuit, Dallas quickly ran and dived forward extending the baton launching the Over-Rider before shooting off towards the action, The Mantas dared not shoot at Aelita but this didn't stop Evelyn from firing a taunting shot with her musket "whoops I missed" she said with a laugh, then the Mantas flew ahead and dropped their mines, "Mines" said Aelita as she swerved to avoid them.
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Back at the school, Ulrich was still trying to free William but the chains had now completely frozen over and were close to snapping, Ulrich screamed as he pulled as hard as he could, but the chain suddenly gave in and it snapped under the pressure, Ulrich fell forward into the snow, he turned around and quickly stood up trying to brush the snow off William
"Come on stay with us" he said as he did so, whilst on Lyoko the sea of mines quickly encircled both Aelita and the Scyphozoa, Dallas quickly avoided them as they closed off the area and moved in ready to assist, he looked as angry as ever and looking up at Evelyn the hate was visible in his eyes, whilst back in the basement everyone had huddled around the open furnace, the heat was barely keeping them warm but no one was gonna complain when it was all they had, all except for Vincent, he was still grumbling, his car was wrecked and his pride had taken a hit, "I can't believe I'm stuck down here when I…" he started but everyone shushed him, Jim then stretched his arms and stood up saying "okay no sleeping" whilst clapping to get everyone's attention, "Everyone listen up, I'm gonna tell you a little story" said Jim, he knew it wasn't much nor an interesting one, in fact he could barely remember the details himself, but he knew it was going to keep the students awake and that was what was important, "I was once a test subject for the space exploration program" he said.
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Aelita moved towards the giant squid knowing there was no immediate escape from the creature, Dallas looked towards her but he was more focused on Evelyn,
"Aelita what're you doing you're going straight for the Scyphozoa" said Jeremie, but without even thinking Aelita opened her mouth singing and causing a ramp to form, she sped up and drove down the middle jumping into the air, she shot over the creature, but as she came down in on the landing, the squid extended one of its appendages and clipped the back wheel, Aelita quickly lost her balance and fell to the ground skidding towards the wall of mines, Dallas moved to help her but Evelyn fired a shot towards him just missing him, he turned back his anger was no superseding every other thought he had, "bitch" he said in his low tone as he turned around and shot after her on the Mantas, "Aelita" said Jeremie "Behind you" he added as she stood up, she was distracted as the mines in front of her expired and disappeared, but this didn't help as the Scyphozoa lurked up behind her, she quickly started running away from the creature, but it was now pursuing her, suddenly the factory doors opened, Jeremie grabbed a screwdriver scared it was Adam, but a near frozen solid Odd collapsed into the room, his clothes covered in snow, "Odd" he said rushing over to him and carrying him back into the elevator, they descended to the scanner room as the creature grabbed Aelita, Jeremie returned using the ladder to be quick and noticed what was happening, "Transfer Odd" he said followed by "Virtualization", Odd's outline formed and gained texture, he dropped to the ground landing on the overboard, Odd felt better and less cold now that he couldn't feel the temperature "oh no more… ice" he said looking up to see Evelyn and one of the Mantas dart across the sky with Dallas in pursuit, Odd not wasting any time moved forward to Aelita's rescue, the squid quickly began to steal her memory, "Laser arrow" he yelled as he fired numerous shots at its Cranium the creature reluctantly back off from its prey.
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Evelyn was moving as fast as she could but Dallas was enraged, she wanted to annoy him but this had over done it, he was dead set on her and was gaining ground, she looked back and aimed her musket she fired again, but Dallas was too quick and swerved before raising the Over-Rider and bringing him level with her,
"this guy won't quit" she said to herself hoping XANA was listening, Dallas moved forward and jumped from the Over-Rider and landing in front of her, she went to draw her rapier but Dallas smacked her hand down with the crowbar, she screamed at the pain but then was kicked out by Dallas landing on her back, he then planted the crowbar onto the spine section of the Manta, the handle of the crowbar keeping Evelyn's arm firmly in grasp, she screamed before shouting "YOU WOULD'NT LEAVE ME" but all Dallas did was look back before jumping of the creature as it exploded taking Evelyn with her silencing her screams , back towards the Tower Aelita stepped onto the Over-Board and they shot forward "Can I drop you off at the next activated tower princess" he said sarcastically, Aelita smiled and said "I wouldn't say no" as they got closer and in range, "look out behind you" said Jeremie as he spotted the other two mantas on the radar, the two opened fire, their lasers crossing but missing the two, Dallas ran towards the tower as fast as he could, but without his transportation he was gonna take a while.
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Inside the basement things were getting dyer, the fire in the furnace was dying out and Jim was now losing his strength as he struggled to speak,
"So I wake up in hospital… not knowing a th…" he tried to say before collapsing almost frozen stiff, Yumi was scared to move, despite the extra blankets she was gonna freeze soon enough, whilst on Lyoko the Mantas had increased their fire, Odd quickly evaded by first diving and then doing a back flip using the board, the lasers being fired were missing so the mantas decided to fly ahead and lay their mines in front of the tower, "For fuck sake another field of mines" said Jeremie as they covered the path to the tower, Odd narrowed his eyes as he said "Hang on", daringly Odd decided to dive using the Over-Board and manoeuvre between the mines "If we wait long enough they'll DE spawn" said Aelita, odd looked back and yelled "We haven't got time", determined he moved forward, outside the school Ulrich and William were close to death "William come on" said Ulrich as he held his rivals head, "I know I've been an arse but we need you" he added hoping William could hear him but William was unconscious and was covered in snow and ice, the storm had picked up again making the clearing of snow impossible, whilst on Lyoko Odd and Aelita were getting close to the tower but the Mantas weren't going to let them get away, the two flew above the mine field and fired down at the two warriors, "the Mantas are behind us" said Aelita, Odd quickly dodged as best he could, with both the lasers and the mines he was struggling, he quickly found a gap and moved underneath the mines, the Manta's followed and dropped down under the mines, the first one came in too quickly and skidded on the floor destroying itself, whilst the second managed to avoid this mistake and kept firing after the two, Dallas got close enough and fired his sawn off, missing the beast but accidently hitting one of the mines, the explosion kicked off a chain reaction, "Shit" said Dallas but the chain reaction of exploding mines not only destroyed the Manta but cleared a path to the tower, "Yes theirs an open passage" said Jeremie, Odd looked towards Dallas and nodded in approval as he parked up at the tower, Aelita quickly ran inside as fast as she could, Aelita reached the top of the tower enlightening the platform beneath her, whilst in the Basement Yumi was succumbing to the cold and was about to collapse, Aelita placed her hand on the screen the words AELITA followed by CODE LYOKO typed out and the blue screens descended "Tower Deactivated" said Aelita, the cold stopped and the warmer spring air kicked in, the snow began to melt away, Ulrich and William felt the sudden and polarizing change first, but downstairs in the basement the walls keeping the cold in did little to change anything, Odd quickly shouted to Jeremie "QUICKLY RETURN TO THE PAST, WILLIAMS TRAPPED AND DALLAS IS OUT FOR THE COUNT", Jeremie panicked and quickly launched the program engulfing the world in the white flash as he said "Return to the past now".
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Earlier that day Vincent cut in line and slammed his tray down, Rosa being nervous at the celebrity in front of her served him first, but Vincent as ever was not satisfied
"what's with these little mini servings" he said pointing at his meatballs "Come on cookie don't be shy" he said in a very passive aggressive tone "Load up the meatballs" said Vincent spelling it out for Rosa, however this time Odd had planned for Vincent and winked at Rosa who smiled deviously "do you really want it" she asked, Vincent felt like he was surrounded by idiots and said "Oh yeah, what're you deaf too", Rosa like everyone else had had enough and she loaded up a bowl of meatballs and chucked them over Vincent, his head and shoulders were covered in the sauce and meat, which were dripping down his smart blazer and jumper everyone was laughing at him "what the…" he said in utter shock, Odd laughed the most and said "If you're still hungry theirs seconds".
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Authors note
Oh look a chapter that came out the same year as the last haven't done that in a while (Sarcastic applause), this was an easy chapter to write and I have to say writing Vincent or TV has been really fun, I might use him in later chapters, although I'd personally describe him using a four letter word, it makes him an interesting character one who I'd imagine as stealing the show, any questions leave a review I'll respond in due course.