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Episode 82: Day Of Reckoning
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Tossing and turning in his sleep Jeremie was suffering from a nightmare one that he'd been plagued with for months, he shot forward sweeting through his Pyjamas his fifth pair in as many days; he was constantly blaming himself for what had happened to Ulrich and Yumi, even though it was clear that wasn't the case, but he couldn't help but take the blame, he looked at Dallas's empty bed before he rubbed his face, he stepped out of his bed and walked towards his mini fridge and grabbed a bottle of water, he opened it and downed as much as he could, he wanted to scream out but he knew that was a bad idea, he was about to sit down at his desk but he didn't have the heart to check anything to see if there was any update, he moved back to his bed and sat down, shaking his head almost crying.
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Adam lent atop of the science building the heat was almost unnatural for early September, he had a cigarette in his mouth as he took a puff and blew the smoke into the wind,
"Unusual for you to be here" said Evelyn as she walked towards him, "no reason for me not to be" replied Adam as he flicked away his now finished cigarette before he lit another, "It's boring without Dallas here" he added, Evelyn stood next to him and lent back against the railing "Well Nicholas and Hector aren't exactly chums" said Evelyn as he pinched one of the cigarettes, "I thought that would do it" she said as he lit her cigarette "Nah, the playground scuffle isn't enjoyable to me, I almost miss him" said Adam as he laughed, Evelyn smiled "Well Sissi's starting to lose faith in Ulrich" she said, Adam didn't care though as the wind blew his hair back, "but some news might cheer you up" said Evelyn, Adam darted his eyes towards her, "XANA's next attack shall commence soon, he's beginning phase 2" she added, Adam smiled waiting for the fun to begin.
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Whilst most people would be asleep during the night for a maid in a 24 hour motel sleep was mainly during the day, or because of her sleazy boss whenever she could get it, she was in her late 30's a mother of one and of Hispanic descent, her body was slim with black hair being a maid at the motel was only job she could get after her rough divorce and loosing custody of her son in the process, mainly due to her ex-husbands lawyers, her black hair was tied back as her boss demanded it, not something that was a legal requirement he just found it appealing, but in a way that creped her out, having found a moment that she wasn't required she was standing at the counter reading a novel that was always a favourite of hers, her concentration was broken by the noise of some really squeaky breaks,
"Maria" said the voice of her sleazy boss, "Yes Mr Notley" she said turning back to the office, her boss was far from the most appealing man in the world, he was heavily overweight with a thinning hairline and a bad comb over, his face didn't fare much better with a poorly shaven beard and glasses that would make anyone want to keep their distance, his clothing choice didn't fare much better as he looked like a used car salesman rather than a boss of a motel, "take this to the guest in room six" he replied whilst rubbing his finger in his ear, "What at this time" asked Maria as she closed her book, Notley rolled his eyes "No when it fucking conveniences you" he replied angrily, Maria grabbed the tray and stepped out into the heat passing a truck she didn't recognise as belonging to any guest, she turned back to see a very stocky man with short black hair and a full beard wearing a navy blue jumpsuit walking towards the office carrying a duffle bag, she paid no attention as she walked up the stairs to the second floor towards the door with the refreshments, she found number 6 and knocked on the door, "your refreshments" said Maria but there was no response, she knocked again "Do you want me to leave the food" she asked, then as she was leaning over to place the tray on the ground, she heard the bolt on the door unlock, she stood up when suddenly the man in the navy jumpsuit walked towards her, when suddenly she noticed he was holding a fire axe "Can I help you sir" she asked slightly nervously, then with a yell he swung the axe towards her, the door opened and the axe smacked into the door frame, Maria fell down screaming as the occupant looked at the jumpsuit and pushed him using his body off the balcony causing him to land on a car, "What the fuck, What the fuck" she screamed as she stood up looking down, whilst the car roof was dented inwards, the man was almost unfazed, "what the fuck" repeated Maria but suddenly she found herself moving as the occupant had grabbed her hand "What're you doing" she asked, the figure looked back at her, "shut up" he said almost angrily, Maria found him strangely attractive despite his poor attitude, Maria could feel her heart racing as they descended the stairs, the jump suited man moved to attack them, he quickly grabbed the person in front of her and threw him down to the ground causing him to groan out in pain, Maria rushed towards the office but screamed as she saw Notley stumble out with a massive gash across his forehead and collapse on the ground, quickly thinking she moved towards her truck, it was a two seat cab and had been rundown years before the previous owner had bought it, and now it was on its last leg, after quickly fumbling with her keys she opened the door and stepped inside, turning the key she struggled to start the engine, she looked in the rear view mirror as her attacker turned his attention to her, he moved away from the man on the floor and started walking towards her, she managed to start the engine and reversed towards him, she was hoping he'd move but he didn't flinch as the back of truck smacked into him and he was knocked backwards onto another car, Maria turned and started to drive away, but she stopped as her conscious caught up with her, she stepped out and moved towards the man who was crawling on the floor, "Come on" she said as she grabbed him and helped him into the passenger seat, the man appeared to be concussed, she put him in the seat before shutting the door and moving around the car and getting in but the attacker smashed his arm through the window and grabbed Maria, she screamed as the attacker appeared to try and pull her through the window, the other man in the passenger seat moved and pressed the cigarette lighter down before trying to get Maria free, "HELP" she screamed out but to no avail, then her passenger grabbed the cigarette lighter and pressed it down into the attackers hand and with a small yell he let down and Maria put her foot down and began to drive away, the passenger collapsed again, the attacker brushed the lighter from his hand and took in the trucks license plate before he returned to his vehicle.
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Ulrich and Odd walked towards their first class of the year, annoyingly for them it was a history lesson, and they prayed that it was going to be an easy one,
"So any news from Jeremie" asked Odd as he held his bag behind him, Ulrich shook his head "Nothing so far, I'm praying for some good news though" he replied as they walked into their class room, "Morning you two" said Aelita as she watched them sit down behind them, "Morning Princess" said Odd then as other students poured into the class room they realised something, "Where's Jeremie" asked Odd, Aelita shrugged her shoulders, "I dunno I thought he'd be with you" she replied, the two shook their head, then their thoughts were interrupted as they heard Hector ask "Nicholas you mind if I sit with you" but Nicholas said nothing hoping Hector would leave him alone, but he took it as a yes and sat down regardless, "What's the matter Nicholas don't like our new friend" said Sissi looking back at him, Adam chuckled as well saying "Play nice you two", Hector was confused but Nicholas crossed his arms, Jeremie quickly rushed into the room, and towards where Aelita was sitting "Bad start to the year Einstein" said Ulrich as Jeremie sat down "I over slept" he said embarrassed at himself, "People do that all the time Jeremie" said Aelita placing her hand on his shoulder, "I just couldn't sleep last night" said Jeremie as he turned and faced forward "Its fine Jeremie we're all a bit nervous" said Odd, Jeremie chose not to say anything as he didn't want to say what he really felt, "Anything on the police reports" asked Ulrich quietly as he lent forward, Jeremie shook his head, "nothing but what the police suspect was a gang attack on a motel" said Jeremie as he turned to face them, "Sounds interesting" said Odd half sarcastically, Ulrich looked down a little disheartened at the lack of any news.
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William and Yumi arguably had it worse than as their first lesson was Science and the summer break had done nothing to soften Hertz's notoriously bad temper, and she clearly wasn't happy that she was back at work after the holiday,
"after 5 minutes with Hertz, XANA never seems so bad" said William as he struggled to follow along, whilst many teachers would have an easy lesson to ease students back in Hertz carried on like the lesson never ended, "Yeah I know" replied Yumi as she felt like collapsing at her desk, Evelyn watched for the corner of the room, knowing that XANA was attacking but they were currently unaware of the attack, she grinned knowing as such, "Evelyn is staring at us" said William without even looking at her, "Yeah when isn't she" asked Yumi sarcastically, then she had an idea and had an expression that William knew meant mischief, "What're you" he started but stopped as Yumi placed her hands on her head, "Oh no" said William as he looked towards Evelyn, suddenly a pen on Evelyn's desk began to judder, then Evelyn noticed and grabbed it and suddenly she appeared almost expressionless, "what the…" said William as Evelyn picked up the pencil and threw it at Hertz, suddenly Yumi slumped forward and Evelyn regained consciousness "WHO DID THAT" said Hertz who was now past boiling point, everyone looked at Evelyn who looked around confused, "GET OUT" shouted Hertz, Evelyn was still confused "MISS SCYLA ARE YOU DEAF" she shouted, Evelyn stood up and walked out of the room confused, then she noticed Yumi "What's wrong with Miss Ishiyama" said Hertz whose tone had turned from seething anger to one of calm compassion, William tried shaking Yumi "Yumi wake up" he said worried, Hertz walked over starting to think it was fake, but as she felt Yumi's wrist she felt a slow pulse, "Mr Dunbar take her to the infirmary" said Hertz, William nervously nodded and grabbed Yumi and carried her over his shoulder.
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Maria had been driving for what felt like years even though it had only been a few hours, she pulled over into a gas station as her truck was nearly out of petrol, she looked over at her passenger she'd taken off her shirt to cover him up, she was left in her vest and stepped out, the heat was unbearable as she looked in her purse, there was barely any money inside of it, and she didn't want to wake up her passenger, as she shut the door the passenger woke up,
"The fuck" he said as he stumbled out of the truck, "You should be resting you had a nasty bump" said Maria in a very motherly like way as she moved to help him but the passenger raised his hand "Don't I need a piss" he said as he handed her back her shirt, Maria rolled her eyes as she said "I'm getting petrol don't take long please", the passenger patted down his pockets and pulled out a brown wallet before throwing it to her, "Treat yourself" he said before walking out of to the bathroom, Maria grabbed the wallet and opened it to see several hundred Euros inside of it, "He could have gotten a nice hotel" she said to herself as she started pumping her truck full of petrol, she was getting nervous as she was both tired and nervous that she was being followed, she watched in the distance the car that she recognised as the one her attacker had used, but as she was about to move to get the passenger and drive away the car took a right turn and down a different road, "You really need some sleep Maria" she said as she removed the fuel pump and moved towards the interior, she was still shaky as she looked around, "Can I help you miss" said the cashier causing her to jump slightly, the cashier was a young teen she was probably still in school but was having to support her family, "No, no I'm fine" said Maria as she handed her the money for the petrol.
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Dorothy opened the door to the infirmary as the warriors walked in to see Yumi laying on one of the beds with William beside her, the former smiled upon seeing Ulrich,
"I've never seen anyone just randomly pass out without a hint of trauma before" said Dorothy as she looked at her watch, "You've got 5 minutes" she added as she returned to her office, Ulrich quickly hugged Yumi, Jeremie sat down and asked "Okay what happened", Yumi looked at him "I don't know I was trying to use telekinesis on a pencil and next thing I know I collapsed" said Yumi, Jeremie rolled his eyes as Aelita sat on the bed near Yumi, "You know the use of our powers on earth causes us damage" she said placing her hand on the older girls leg, "but that usually requires continued use, this happened within a few seconds" said William, Odd looked at William and folded his arms, "Well she couldn't have fainted for no reason" said Odd before looking at Jeremie, "Could she" he asked, Jeremie rubbed his chin, "Yumi, William is there anything else you can recall" he asked, William thought for a second, "Well I dunno but Evelyn did move uncharacteristically" he said as he stood up, "What do you mean, why would Evelyn do that" he asked, Yumi looked at him as she said "I was trying to avert her gaze", then Jeremie clicked his fingers as it came to him, "Einstein" said Odd confused, "That's it Yumi's Psychokinesis means she can move objects" said Jeremie, the others barely understood what he was rambling about, "Yeah and" said Ulrich, Jeremie looked at him as he said "her powers evolved, like how you and Odd gained a second power, it's now telekinesis, she took control of Evelyn's mind", the others were shocked at the thought, "is that even possible" asked Yumi as she moved to get out of bed but Ulrich stopped her as he was still scared she was too weak, "maybe, but it clearly means that if Yumi uses it she'll be out like a light" said Jeremie as he felt proud of himself, then the door opened "Okay you guys times up return to class, Yumi needs some rest she's already been through enough" said Dorothy as she tapped her watch, "I'll be back later" whispered Ulrich as he kissed Yumi on the cheek.
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Odd's favourite time, lunch break meant the students had flooded out of the class rooms to enjoy a nice break from all the learning, Sissi's group sat on the benches as none of them were too hungry, but they mostly had other motives, Adam and Evelyn were focused on observing the warriors, whilst Sissi just wanted to watch Ulrich,
"So she miscarried last year" asked Hector as he and Nicholas had their first formal conversation, "Yeah they were both heartbroken" he replied rubbing his head but still keeping his distance, "Damn, that shit is… just shit man" said Hector as he returned his pencil and pad, Adam grinned slightly knowing the truth, Evelyn however still felt some pity towards the two, "Well it happens to a lot of people, I just hope it'll strengthen my chances with Ulrich" said Sissi almost disregarding the tragedy, Hector chose not to comment but he was visibly disgusted, "What're you drawing" asked Evelyn as she looked at Hectors drawing "Oh… nothing much" he said embarrassed at his drawing and covering it up, Evelyn decided to tease him, "Come on you can show me" she said by running her hand on his chest, "I'd er… I'd rather not" he said uncomfortably as he nudged himself away.
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Jeremie was sitting not paying any attention to his food, leaving Odd an ample opportunity to steal his meat balls, he was much more focused on his laptop he was reading through any police reports he could find but nothing was coming up of any interest to him,
"you okay Einstein" asked Ulrich as he sat down next to him, "You've barely touched your food" said Aelita as she nudged up to him to try and distract him, "I'm fine, I just want to find Dallas" he replied, Ulrich knew how important it was, "well any luck" asked Odd with a mouthful of food, "Manners Odd, Christ" said William as wiped the crumbs off the desk, "I'm afraid not, just the normal things, nothing that suggests any trace of Dallas" said Jeremie, Aelita wrapped herself around his arm "I'm sure something will come up" she said, Jeremie was doubtful though, he arguably wanted to find Dallas as much as his Parents, "Any update" said Yumi as she walked up to them, "Yumi" said Ulrich as he stood up, "You should be in bed" said Aelita as she looked at the older girl, "I'm fine I just need to take it easy" said Yumi as she sat down opposite Ulrich with a tray of food, "No update sadly" said Ulrich grimly, Yumi sighed and looked down at her food, little did they know Adam and Evelyn were watching them, "This trick will only work once" said Adam as he pulled out his phone, Evelyn grinned as she watched Adam press a button, the alarm on Jeremie's laptop went off, "This is just great" said Jeremie as he stood up and began packing away his laptop "Activated tower" asked Yumi, Jeremie nodded and with that Yumi grabbed a handful of her food and shovelled it into her mouth "let's go" she said with a mouthful of food.
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Maria put some cheap deodorant into her basket as she hadn't showered in a day and was starting to stink, she looked at her truck not seeing the passenger and was starting to think he might have gone off leaving her alone, she grabbed an energy drink before heading to the cashier,
"Anything else" she asked, but Maria shook her head as she grabbed the passengers wallet, she felt bad spending his money, she grabbed the bag with her items in, the bell from the door rang and as she turned it was her attacker, she let out a scream as she rushed for the door, the attacker turned and looked at her and stepped to block her, Maria bumped into him and was knocked to the ground, she felt like she'd ran head on into a brick wall "get away" said Maria as she began crawling away, the attacker stepped towards her as the cashier hid behind the counter scared, the attacker reached downwards about to grab Maria when suddenly a fist struck him in the face, the passenger had punched him in the face, with a yell the attacker grabbed the passenger and threw him through some shelves, "No" said Maria as she moved towards the exit, but the attack turned and went to grab her but she managed to stumble out of the store towards her truck, the attacker turned back towards the Passenger but he'd managed to crawl away and out of the store, "GO" he shouted as he clambered into the passenger seat, Maria was starting to panic, the passenger getting annoyed opened the door and pulled Maria in "Where are the keys" he asked, Maria looked at him as the attacker noticed her and walked towards them, "WHERE ARE THE FUCKING KEYS" shouted the passenger, Maria panicked as she handed him the keys, he turned them and started the engine throwing the truck into reverse the attacker tried grabbing the door but was pulled to the ground, the passenger flipped it into drive and drove forward running over the attackers arm before driving off, the attack stood up and began to lose quality briefly before he grabbed his arm and snapped it back into the correct position as his eyes flashed the XANA logo before he stepped back towards his vehicle.
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The elevator door opened up and the warriors stepped out into the computer room,
"Any idea what the attack is Jeremie" asked Odd as they moved towards the chair, Jeremie shook his head as he sat down "I have no idea, but I say we get the tower deactivated before XANA can do any damage" he said as he began typing and starting the scan, "One of us should stay behind" said Yumi as she folded her arms, Jeremie looked back "I'll stay, just in case XANA decides to divide and conquer" said Ulrich, Jeremie reluctantly nodded, "Stay safe" said Yumi as she hugged him, Aelita blushed as Odd, William and Yumi moved towards the elevator, "You too Jeremie" she said as she nervously and quickly hugged Jeremie, leaving him blushing and confused as she ran over to the elevator, Ulrich looked at Jeremie as the doors closed, "What was that about" he asked trying to embarrass him, Jeremie kept looking forward as he said "I have no idea" with his voice cracking again, he began typing as Ulrich tried to stifle a laugh, "Stop" said Jeremie his voice cracking again, whilst in the elevator Aelita stood blushing in the corner as Yumi shook her head trying not to laugh whilst Odd and William spoke among themselves "What was that" asked William, Odd shrugged his shoulders completely unsure "No idea, I think…" he started but Aelita darted her eyes at him and scared he didn't carry on, the doors opened, "Okay guys it's off to the forest sector" said Jeremie as he located the tower, Ulrich moved towards the tool box and grabbed a crowbar, "Just in case" he said as he tapped it in his hand "Scanner Odd, Scanner Aelita, Scanner Yumi, Scanner William" said Jeremie as the four stepped into the scanners, "Transfer Odd, Transfer Aelita, Transfer Yumi, Transfer William" he said as he carried on typing "Virtualization" said Jeremie as they felt the blast of air and their blue square outlines appeared and gained detail, The forest sector seemed almost empty and desolate "Funny" said William as he looked around "Seems almost empty" he added, Odd shook his head "doesn't seem unusual to me" he said as he stepped towards William "No I get what he means it seems almost eerie" said Aelita as she looked at the tree tops, then the Over-Wing and Over-Bike spawned "Okay guys the tower is due north" said Jeremie as he looked at Ulrich, "Let's stop this before XANA can cause any damage" he said as he began to pace back and forth "Okay we're on it" said Yumi as she stepped towards the Over-Wing when suddenly the vehicle exploded sending her backwards, "What the fuck" said Jeremie as he began typing, "Like fly's into a web" said Adam almost as if he was speaking through the trees, then suddenly his lightning blast struck the ground, "Get Aelita out of here" said Yumi as she stood up and drew her fans, William moved forward and held his sword "I'll help" he said but Yumi pushed him back, "No, no point in both of us going down" she said almost angrily, William stood staring "GO" she shouted as Adam jumped down in front of them, Odd and Aelita jumped onto the Over-Board, "come on" said Aelita as the two shot forward William jumped into his cloud and followed after them "We can't just leave them" said Odd as he looked back at Aelita, "We haven't a choice, she can defend herself" she replied as a few hornets appeared and began to chase them.
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Adam walked slowly and almost too calmly towards Yumi who in turn was standing with her fans drawn ready to strike him down at her first given chance, he started clapping and laughing, Yumi threw one of her fans but in her anger it was two wide as it returned to her hand
"I Guess that anger runs in the family" said Adam, Yumi threw her fan again this time it was getting closer to Adam to the point he drew his sword to deflect it, "I wonder who has it worse his mum or dad" added Adam, Yumi snapped and as soon as the fan returned to her hand she charged towards Adam swinging them towards him, Adam was able to read her movements and would quickly dodge them, "Pathetic" he said but his ego got the better of him as she turned quicker than he anticipated and using her fan sliced into his face, he screamed as the fan sliced through one eye then into his nose and then into the other, Adam swung outwards with his arm and knocked Yumi down as he held his eyes, "YOU BITCH" he shouted as he swung around, Yumi stood up and watched as Adam stumbled around blindly swinging his sword trying to hit Yumi, "Yumi he's blinded head after the others" said Jeremie as he began typing to spawn the Over-Bike, "You know how to drive it" asked Ulrich as he watched the screen, "I think so" said Yumi as the Over-Bike finished virtualizing, she quickly jumped on and as she gunned the engine Adam suddenly turned in her direction and pulled out his musket and fired, however Yumi had moved away and Adam's shot struck a tree, he let out a scream as his target got away.
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The hornets had opened fire mainly towards Odd, Aelita despite no longer being useful to XANA wasn't being targeted, William jumped out of his cloud as he felt himself getting weak,
"William you need to be careful" said Jeremie as he observed Williams Life points plummeting "I know Jeremie" said William as he looked up, one of the hornets carried on after Odd and Aelita but the other circled around to attack him, "Shit" said William he quickly shouted to Aelita and Odd "KEEP GOING" but he doubt they heard him, William placed both hands on his sword "Okay you bastard" he said as the Hornet came in low and fired at him he blocked with his sword, "Heads up more creatures in coming" said Jeremie as he saw the radar light up, with a familiar growl William turned around to see a Tarantula "Yumi's en-route" said Jeremie as he carried on typing, The larger creature fired at William who blocked with his sword but was knocked back slightly by the close range fire, The Hornet fired at him and William turned and blocked the shot, but then the Tarantula fired, William turned back and was knocked backwards again, "You're getting close to the edge" said Jeremie as he looked at the map, Ulrich rushed to the screen "I'll get ready to head to Lyoko" he said moving towards the elevator, William was knocked backwards again and almost lost his footing and falling over the edge, suddenly he heard the engine of the Over-Bike, he looked to see Yumi get closer, "Okay lets go" said William as he ran forward and swung his sword blocking the next shot which knocked his sword and using the jerked momentum William flipped into the air, he quickly grabbed his sword handle with both hands and swung again slashing through the neck of the Tarantula and lowering his sword he used the explosion to launch himself towards the Hornet, it aimed to fire at him but William swung his sword again and sliced clean through the monster before dropping towards the ground, Yumi sped underneath him and he landed on the rear of the bike looking back towards where Yumi had just come from, "You okay" she asked quickly looking back at him, "Yeah I'm good, how's Adam" he replied, Yumi just rolled her eyes and answered "we didn't see eye to eye".
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Maria had managed to stop shaking, she'd grabbed her filthy shirt and had been laying underneath it, she looked at the passenger his navy blue shirt had been torn slightly thanks to the attack and his forehead had a small cut which was still bleeding slightly, Maria shook her head
"Who are you" she asked but the passenger remained silent, "Why are you helping me" she asked, he looked at her this time but again he remained silent, "Where are we…" she started but he simply and rudely said "You ask too many fucking questions" Maria, rolled her eyes as she grabbed an old magazine and rolled it up before putting it down, she grabbed her box of cigarettes, and was about to light it before realising that the passenger had already lost it, "Oh great" she said before looking at the passenger "you owe me a lighter" she said as she began scratching her head, then she noticed the street sign "Turn right here, my apart…" she started but the passenger spoke up, "that maniac would think of that its best if we kept moving" he said as he changed gears, suddenly there was a massive jerk in the vehicle, Maria screamed as she looked back to see the attacker, he'd driven into the back of her truck, "Oh shit" she screamed as she kneelt down, she looked as the passenger shifted gears again and swerved the truck, "Let me out, let me out" said Maria as she was bounced around, then was a sudden jerk again as the attacker rammed the rear again Maria screamed again as the Passenger seemed to start to crack and loose his cool, he turned the wheel again but this was the downfall as the attack rammed the rear wheel and the truck span out, before the tire burst and with another ram the truck flipped and smashed into the ground and skidded into a telephone poll, the attacker grinned as he watched but this caused him to not pay attention and he collided head on with a semi-truck and was rendered unconscious as a crowd gathered watching the incident unfold.
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Evelyn stood watching the tower as a mega tank and a Krab moved into a guard position, she grinned as she stood ready to fight but that grin didn't last as another Krab moved into clearly with Adam atop of it, she moved over as the creature kneeled down and Adam slid off onto the ground before the monster moved into a defensive position,
"You're as thick as pig shit aren't you" said Evelyn as she looked down at him, "Fuck you" he said as he raised his arm trying to flip his middle finger towards her, "Useless" she said as she heard the noises of the two approaching vehicles, she pulled out her musket and fired a shot into Adam and he devirtulized, Odd pulled up upon the sound of the gunshot, "What the hell was that" said Aelita, Jeremie quickly typed as Ulrich leant in next to him "I have no idea, Evelyn is too far away to attack you" said Jeremie as he leant back into his chair, "What should we do" asked Odd as the Over-Bike and its passengers pulled up "I'd recommend proceeding with caution" replied Jeremie as he lent forward again before turning to Ulrich, "Take the risk head to the scanners just in case" he said, Ulrich smiled and nodded happy to get in on the action, "What do we do" asked William, Yumi looked back at him "like he said play it safe" said Yumi as she began to edge the Over-Bike forward slowly, Odd moved the Over-Board behind them, the two vehicles moved slowly allowing the engines of both vehicles to remain quiet for a stealthy approach, but Evelyn was aware of this and as the silence engulfed the area she turned back to the creatures and said "Stay on guard" before she moved towards the trees preparing an ambush, the two Krabs remained either side of the tower entrance the tank however moved out of sight.
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Maria coughed as she regained consciousness, she was hanging upside down as the fumes of the engine began to flood the cab of the truck, she looked to her side as the passenger laid on the rough she didn't know if the seat belt had failed or if he'd not been wearing it, she was about to unbuckle hers when she noticed the passenger cough as he began to crawl from the cab,
"Hey… Mister Help please" she said, the passenger turned and crouched looking down at her, his face had dried blood on his forehead and his shirt was dirtied and blooded, several people rushed over to both crashed vehicles, but the attack pushed open the door of his vehicle and with blood pouring from his face he spat out some blood and with a click of his neck he yelled and charged at the overturned truck, the passenger who was still knelt down was caught off guard as the attacker tackled him off his feet and into the air before smacking him in to a wall, the passenger found himself dazed and confused as the attacker swung his arms at him knocking him backwards and down yelling at him as he kicked out at the passenger and knocking him back before grabbing a steel pipe from the ground and swinging it towards the passenger, the later tried dodging but most of the blows were hitting him then suddenly he was struck in the head with the pipe, he appeared to be dazed as the attacker grabbed him and went to pick him up but the passenger threw a punch into the attackers face, with a yell the attacker swung again but the passenger dodged to the side and grabbed the arm of the attacker and raised his own into the attackers causing him to drop the pipe before pushing him away, the passenger suddenly took a defensive stance as he held his fists out, with another yell the attacker charged but the passenger spun and raised his leg upwards clipping the attacker in the face knocking him backwards, with another yell the attacker grabbed a man hole cover and threw it the passenger who grabbed it and threw it back smacking the attacker in the gut, he let out another yell before the passenger jumped and double foot kicked him in the stomach knocking him back, another yell escaped the attackers mouth as he charged but the passenger suddenly and violently jumped and planted both his feet into the kneecaps of the attacker causing him to fall to the ground, the passenger looked at the injured attacker, he again moved but the passenger twisted and flipped into the air, raising his leg before Guyver kicking the attacker, getting up off the ground he walked over to the pipe and picking it up and watching as Maria was helped from the truck by some witnesses, the passenger walked towards the attacker and grabbed his shirt and looked at him "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU AFTER" he shouted in his face, but the attacker said nothing but he simply grinned, the passenger noticed something in his jump suit pocket and grabbed it, looking down at the photo and looking at the back, he then grabbed the attacker again "Why do you have a photo of me" he asked but there was no answer "Is this who I am" he asked again but the attacker said nothing and the passenger let go and began to walk towards Maria, when suddenly with a yell the attack tried moving to attack the passenger again but he swung the pipe and turned and swung it so hard that upon impact with the attackers head it exploded as the top of his skull was knocked clean off and his body began to spasm, the passenger threw down the pipe almost oblivious to what he'd just done, he walked towards Maria who remained silent but clearly scared of the passenger she began to move away, the passenger pocketed the photo as he walked away in a different direction, blood running from his wounds and anger in his mind.
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Jeremie sat on the computer, things were moving slowly thanks to stealthy approach the others were taking and he was now just waiting for things to start up again, he'd been monitoring the map but nothing was coming up, Evelyn had clearly gone back into stealth and he couldn't locate her,
"Typical" he said then suddenly he got an alert and clicked on to show a police report, "Great another useless…" he started before he began reading as he noticed a small reference to Winter, "What's he doing involved with a murder" said Jeremie as he rubbed his chin before pulling up the report, the words read out "despite the numerous witness to the attack a clear description has so far been un-obtained, witnesses report has given a clear timeline of events, the now deceased individual was the instigator and his death is believed to be in self-defence, one suspect is missing from the scene whilst another whom we've been able to identify as Maria Ramirez is believed to have been the passenger in the car has been taken to hospital with a severe concussion and is currently in surgery, attached is the only photo of the missing suspect although it is too low quality to be of any use in identification.", Jeremie clicked his fingers and said "No problem" he quickly selected the photo from the report before running it through the super computer, quickly the photo began to clean up showing more clean detail then as it finished it hit Jeremie "No… how can…" he started as he began to stutter, "Ulrich get up here" said Jeremie, whilst on Lyoko the Over-Bike stopped "that's weird" said Yumi as she placed her foot in the ground, she looked at the tower but didn't see Evelyn only the two Krabs "That doesn't look good" said Odd as he moved alongside them, he stepped off the board "Aelita stay back" he added but Aelita stepped forward "I can handle myself Odd" she said slightly annoyed at him, "I don't have enough life points to use super smoke for a helpful amount of time" said William as he looked at the tower, "Only two Krabs that doesn't sound like XANA" said Aelita as she stepped off the over board, then suddenly a lightning strike struck the ground and the blast knocked the warriors away "Shit" screamed Yumi as she drew her fans, Evelyn laughed from the trees as she raised her hand again to fire lightning but Odd quickly grabbed the overboard and held it up blocking the blast, The Krabs then started firing at them, "Jeremie we're pinned down here" said Odd as the Over-Board exploded in his hands, Jeremie quickly began typing "William try and get Aelita out of there" he said thinking of the top of his head, William looked at the Over-Bike, "Tell Ulrich sorry I might scratch his bike" responded William, Jeremie was confused as he looked at Ulrich who entered the lab, William rushed to the Over-Bike, "I'll buy you some time" he said, Yumi was confused as she threw her fans towards the source of the lightning in a blind hope of hitting Evelyn, William revved the engine of the Over-Bike before he shot off forward, Evelyn turned and looked at him and raised her Musket ready to fire, she didn't realise that this exposed her arm and Yumi threw her fan and it sliced into Evelyn's Musket "You Bitch" said Evelyn as she felt the weapon explode in her hand, she drew her sword and jumped down to face Yumi, "I feel sorry for you, but I have a job to do" said Evelyn as she pointed her Rapier forward, "Odd, Aelita head to the tower" said Yumi as she drew her fans, "But" started Aelita, but Odd grabbed her arm, "Come on" he said tugging at her.
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William gunned the engine again as he approached the tower, he noticed the two Krabs as they fired at him, he was quick to swerve out of the way,
"William what're you doing" asked Jeremie, but William didn't respond trying to remain focused on the monsters, then he spotted the Mega tank, "Shit Jeremie, we got a tank" said William as he swerved to avoid its devastating blast, William circled around the Tower with one of the Krabs following him, The Tank turned its attention towards Odd and Aelita and fired, "Guys watch out" said Jeremie as the blast neared them, Odd quickly dived and pushed Aelita down as they avoided the shot, "Thanks for the heads up Jeremie" said Odd as he stood up brushing himself down, whilst in the computer room Ulrich paced back and forth "I doubt he'd do that to some random person" said Ulrich as he stopped and looked at Jeremie, "Besides why doesn't XANA just deactivate the tower if the spectre is neutralized" he added, Jeremie shook his head and returned to the screen "Because it doesn't know that we know" said Jeremie slightly confusing himself, Ulrich stepped forward towards him "so what do we do now" he asked, but Jeremie wanted to remain silent but he said "We need to focus on the matter at hand" , Ulrich was angered by this comment as he stormed off to the other side of the room, back on Lyoko Evelyn jabbed forward with her Rapier but Yumi raised her fans to block the blade, Evelyn tried again as she held her arm behind her back, whilst it was a traditional fencing style Yumi was unfamiliar with it and as such didn't know how to break her defence, then Yumi decided to put her fans away, "Giving up so easily" asked Evelyn as she jabbed forward, but Yumi flipped backwards ending up on her hands "What're you…" started Evelyn as she jabbed forward again but Yumi turned to avoid the lunge but then locked her feet around Evelyn's neck before leaning forward and pulling Evelyn down onto the floor before holding her down by her throat, "Yumi hurry up" said Jeremie, Evelyn tried reaching for her sword but Yumi quickly acted and twisted her feet and Evelyn devirtulized, Yumi stood up composing herself, "Jeremie any vehicles available" she asked, but Jeremie sombrely replied "I'm afraid not", Yumi rolled her eyes and started running "I don't think she could handle the Over-Rider" said Ulrich with a chuckle, then Jeremie's eyes shot open "What" he asked, but Jeremie didn't repeat what he heard as he only said "You don't want to know".
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Odd and Aelita ducked behind a rock, and were firing projectiles, Odd was shooting towards the Krabs whilst trying to avoid William who was still circling around the tower, Yumi quickly ran up but the Mega Tank fired and she dived towards the rock with the others,
"Sit rep" she asked as she drew her fan, "Three monsters but Williams keeping one distracted" replied Aelita as Odd stood up and started running trying to distract the other Krab, "Hey over here you over sized lobster" said Odd as he danced and waved at the creature, but the Tank turned and as it was about to fire, William quickly swerved the Over-Bike and drove straight forward towards the tank, it quickly turned to fire at William but he closed his eyes as the Over-Bike collided head on into the Mega Tank, with an explosion from the bike and William's devirtulization the creature began to spin before it exploded and its remains flickered out of existence, "He's bought us some time" said Yumi as she drew her fans and ran out from behind cover and jumped throwing her fans, they sped towards the previously distracted Krab, it fired a laser hitting one of the fans, but the second prevailed as it sliced into its body and within a matter of seconds the creature exploded, the Other Krab fired at Odd stopping him from attacking but Aelita ran out and held up her hand, an Orb began to generate and it launched from her palm and struck the Krab in the leg, it was engulfed but it wasn't destroyed "Son of a bitch" she said as she stomped her foot in frustration "You need to strike it in a more vital spot" said Yumi as she ran towards the younger girl, "I'll remember that" said Aelita with a wink as she rushed to the tower, the Krab turned and began firing at her but Odd raised both his arms and yelled "LASER ARROW" as he rapidly fired towards the Krab striking its underbelly and causing it to turn around as Yumi jumped up and threw her other fan striking its body causing it to explode, Aelita stepped into the tower and stepped to the centre of the platform she began to rise but as soon as she landed the blue screens descended "What the…" she said, Jeremie smiled as he said "Great job Aelita" but Aelita was confused "Jeremie I didn't deactivate the tower, it just deactivated itself" she said, Jeremie's eyes shot open as Ulrich and William looked at each other "Is that even possible" asked Ulrich, Jeremie shook his head as he leant forward "XANA knew we were onto it" he said, William was confused as he asked "Onto what" but neither Ulrich or Jeremie responded as the later devirtulized the others.
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Everyone had returned from Lyoko and they stood in silence as Jeremie sat looking at the screen, Aelita moved towards him and sat down on his lap to try and distract him,
"Jeremie" she said as she leant into hug him, he moved his hand from the arm rest and began to run his hand through her hair as he became slightly fixated on her, "Well Jeremie, Onto what" asked William, Jeremie turned the chair around with Aelita holding onto him to make sure she didn't fall, "The Tower deactivated by itself before Aelita could" said Jeremie, the others were confused except for Ulrich as he folded his arms and looked down, "XANA's attack had already been neutralized" said Jeremie, the others were now slightly shocked "You know what it was, should we jump back in time" asked Yumi, but Jeremie shook his head, "Yumi you're gonna want to see this" said Ulrich, Jeremie nodded as he typed quickly and the image that he'd enhanced appeared on the screen, "What the hell, what…" started Yumi but she began to cry tears which was a mixture of sadness and joy, Ulrich grabbed her, Odd looked at the screen "What XANA found Dallas?" he said, the image was as clear as Day, it showed Dallas throwing down the pipe that he'd swung into his attackers face, his face was covered with his own blood, "The police have no idea it's him, I had to enhance the photo" said Jeremie, Aelita sat in awe having seen Dallas in the photo, to her though he seemed almost different in his expression, she'd seen him angry before but he seemed different almost cold and empty inside, "Where is he now" asked William, but that was a question that Jeremie didn't have an answer to.
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30 minutes prior the police had descended onto the scene, Cyphers watched as Maria was loaded into the back of an ambulance he nodded as it drove off, he moved back towards the body on the ground, the attackers brains had spilled out after some time and the body was now covered by a sheet and blocked off to stop people from getting close, Cypher knelt down to inspect the scene, he shook his head when suddenly he heard a car pull up, turning around expecting to see another police car but instead a black sedan pulled up,
"What the hell" he said as he stood up moving towards one of his deputies "any idea what a government agent is doing here" asked Cypher but the deputy shrugged his shoulders as the door opened and Winter stepped out and closed the door behind him, "My Name is Winter, that's all you need to know" said Winter as he showed his ID and walked towards the body, "this is a little low priority for some agent isn't it" asked Cypher, but Winter didn't respond "don't worry I'm not here to take away your case" said Winter ignoring the question, "Show me the body" said Winter, Cypher was confused but pulled back the sheet, "The top of the head is over there, along with most of the brain" said Cypher, winter didn't respond and Cypher moved away leaving him alone, Winter looked at the head before moving to look at the brain, "Might be completely wrong" he said to himself as he began to light up a cigarette, then he noticed a small spark, "What the fuck" he said as he looked at the brain stem, "You gotta be shitting me" he said as he stood up and placed the blanket back, he stormed back to his car, "Are you…" started Cypher but he was ignored as Winter stepped back inside and grabbed his phone "Yeah it's me, I'm onto something" he said into it, "No I don't want back up here, no I'm not saying his claim has any validation, but I think I've found a lead" added Winter then he heard something that annoyed him, "No I'm not bringing them into this, when I get back I want a stack of files on my desk, I'm gonna need a team to find Hopper, I need to find that fuck, he's started work again, I'm gonna bring him in" said Winter as he hung up and reversed his car.
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Authors note
thank you guys for reading, sorry this one took a while, there have been a few issues, a heat wave has just hit the UK and I have been burning up, and with the poor fan on my laptop working has been a pain as I'm really uncomfortable a good 80% of the time, my headphones have broken so no music or CDs to listen to whilst writing, this is the first of the seven originals this season, like I said there are only a few because I don't want to stretch this season too much.