AN: I thank God for this chapter, and I hope you all enjoy. I'll see you again next chapter.

Pagliacci-11.

Chapter 73

The warriors were teetering on near exhaustion. Whatever had transpired in their down time since they'd been in Lyoko had been brought to bear. Thankfully, they had the support of the Jericho units which made things a great deal easier than it would have been without them. By now all of them had lost at least one life and they were on their last one with Aelita having just been redeployed. Yet, to the children's amazement these androids were able to keep focus and as they saw, Sylvia had more than made allowance for their preservation. The Jericho units were healing themselves as they fought from cover and as such, they were able to sustain fire on the enemy and make more than sufficient headway. The turning the citadel into Sylvia's hands was turning into a pure war of attrition that the warriors realized they were just barely winning.

As they pushed forward, the children were amazed at Sylvia's competence in battle. As she continued to fight laying down countless enemy units in her wake, the children realized how fortunate they were not to have her as an adversary. She had saved the warriors at least three times a piece now due to her cloaking ability and proved to be as resourceful a support for the team as she was an assault soldier. Natasha, for her part had deployed some genuine human combatants as well and as good as some of them proved, they were no match for the Warriors' and Sylvia's combined tactical ability.

However, they were running thin on ammunition, but Sylvia had thought ahead and due to how the Jericho units were assigned a savior position over the Lyoko warriors, the warriors didn't need to directly worry about their health in Lyoko. The Jericho units due to how they fought were gaining health for the Lyoko warriors stemming from how many they killed. Aelita herself realized this mid-fight and therefore commanded the rest of the group to conserve their ammunition for when they were truly cornered. However, it was as if Natasha's forces had somewhat accounted for this and so the warriors had been cornered more than once and annihilated. Now, on their final lives, they were making a B-line for the Citadel Claims Core supported by the Jericho units.

Sylvia stood guard in the body of Avalon and said, "Get this done as quickly as you can. There's no telling what else they'll throw our way."

Ulrich stood with her and said, "I don't know, we've seen petard soldiers, elemental juggernauts, super-sprint swordsmen on top of the original troops. That's three enemies that are brand new on top of God knows what else. And we're all down to our last lives."

Sylvia nodded, "That's why I assigned Jericho to you all because I knew it was ramping up to be genuinely serious."

Soon, heavy footfall was heard coming through the hallway they'd just traversed. Sylvia switched over to her pride and joy, an energized rifle and she aimed down the hall, "Stern," she said, "get your weapons reloaded and concentrate fire as best you can. DeVasseur, on me!"

Magali came beside Sylvia on her right and took out her personal favorite weapon an assault rifle with incendiary rounds. She looked at Sylvia, "Majesty, I have Genevieve ready to deploy if you need me to use her."

"She's only good for thirty seconds but she can lay down a hell of a lot of hurt at the same time. Have her ready to pop when I give the command, not until then."

Magali nodded, "Of course, Majesty."

Soon the source of the thudding came into view and Sylvia yelled, "Concentrate fire and hold them off!" she fired first followed by Ulrich and then Magali.

As Aelita interfaced with the Citadel Core, her progress was only at fifty-five percent but if they reached the full one hundred, all enemy presence would be wiped in that last moment so she dedicated all power and focus that she could. However, the numbers continued to grow and while Sylvia, Magali, and Ulrich were doing a very good job at holding them off, there was no place left to run. It was all or nothing at this point.

As Sylvia fought destroying the waves of fanatic zealots, Avalon spoke in her head, "Majesty, the strain is wearing on your body. Let me take over while you rest, and you can come back after ten seconds. You need your strength. There's a lot going on and we've been fighting for five hours."

Sylvia replied, "Avalon, we're so close! If we lose this, God knows what Natasha will do!"

"Majesty, trust me. You made me for this reason, let me help you!"

Sylvia panted, "Alright—do as you need to. But make sure the children don't die."

"You have my word, Majesty."

The eye of Avalon went from blue signifying Sylvia's presence to dark purple. Suddenly Avalon surged forward laying down electric nodes in the sky and then continuing to shred the enemy shields with concentrated energy from his rifle reducing their shielding to nothing instantly before switching over to an incendiary-round revolver that he fired with patience. As he was reinforced with Magali and Ulrich, the enemies fell at a much faster rate than usual. Magali noticed this and realized that Sylvia was gone and, in her place, stood the renowned butcher of the Imperial Royal Army. She was spellbound if only temporarily by the android's grace and skill laying low troop after troop, fighting with the same instinct and ability as some of the best soldiers.

As Avalon pressed on, he cloaked as the numbers began to thin and his health despite the beating it had taken from enemy forces was recovered extremely quickly. Then Magali saw several troops die from a thunderous blast and still more falling from a what she could see as a cloaked fighter to the enemies' right. Avalon then came back into view and steadily walked back to where Magali and Ulrich were maintaining fire and switching to longer-ranged weapons where appropriate to keep enemies at bay. Soon, the hallway was filled from its door to midpoint. How many had fallen, it was hard to tell there had been so many but now as the final soldier fell, the battle seemed won.

Avalon spoke, "Reload all of you. Something tells me this isn't over by a long sight. Not if Natasha has anything to say about it. How's progress on claiming the core?"

Aelita said, "It's at eighty-percent and climbing at two percent every five seconds."

Avalon thought a moment and signaled, "Jericho Unit Four dedicate your power to boosting upload speed."

Immediately one of the Jericho units jacked in and the upload of Aelita's presence to the citadel was boosted by a full ten percent. They were just ten percent away now and soon, Sylvia's presence came back online who looked at Magali, "Where do we stand?"

"Nearly done, Majesty. Once we claim this, we will have regained two citadels and six supercomputers as a result of tonight's operation."

Suddenly, a gentle tap-tap of light feet was heard approaching and the group again prepared for an assault. Soon there came a young man clan in black with a dark blue crystalline accent. Magali aimed her weapon and after she got a scan of his person, she said, "Heavy shield and just as meaty for health. One of Sylvia's elites?"

Sylvia was heard to sigh, "She would save the heaviest for last. I'm friggin' wiped, Maggie."

Ulrich looked at her, "Are you alright?"

"Not really. We've been doing this for four hours and we're all exhausted." She thought, "Avalon, come back. I need you to shoulder the burden. I'm nearly wiped I can't do it as well."

"I understand, Majesty. Rest assured, the children and the objective will be met."

Sylvia disconnected and as soon as she did, she ran to her bathroom and began to vomit profusely. Too much time had been spent in Avalon's digital avatar and as such, she was extremely ill due to overexposure of broadcasting strain.

Avalon came back online, and he summoned one of the Jericho units to him. Then he said, "Ishiyama, stand ready to fight. We're going to need everything we've got."

Yumi came alongside the group and together they formed a firing line. The man looked at them and with a flick of his wrist, juggernaut units along with zealots and traditional troopers came forward in a surge.

Avalon spoke, "Concentrate fire on the heaviest units." As he fired Sylvia's rifles which linked all manner of voltage between targets. Yumi and Ulrich continued to fire as well but suddenly, a massive mech appeared before them.

Magali yelled, "Ulrich, Ishiyama, get under my shield and fire, we're going to buy time!"

Yumi and Ulrich immediately got under the shield and fired into the massive horde. But Magali's mech performed beautifully stripping the juggernauts of their shields with an arc charge and laying into them but so thick was their armor that she had to resort to grenades to fragment the armor and impact their flesh. Ulrich and Yumi also held true taking down zealots before they got too close. But to their shock, the young man who appeared was advancing with the hoard behind a great shield and his shots were reducing Magali's shield to nothing.

At that moment, the young man adjusted his sight ant took out the Jericho unit that was near the core adding to Aelita's progress and with several shots and a blast of light from his right hand, the Jericho unit went down reducing Aelita's progress by ten percent. She now sat at ninety-one percent. She had almost made it. At that moment, the mech's shield broke and the young man pressed his advantage. Magali got out of the mech and let it hold fire on its own as she rushed forward with her energized sword and began cutting her way through the hoard to the young man. Avalon continued to fight clearing out enemies to the left of Magali while Ulrich, Yumi, and their Jericho units supported the right and center.

Soon, Magali reached the young man who whipped out his energized shotgun firing four times into her deleting her. He turned his sights on Avalon who immediately cloaked and circled around to the man's flank. He concentrated fire and fired on a grenade the man carried with him but to Avalon's amazement, the shield survived and the young man focused fire on Yumi with another blast from his hand, she was also gone. Ulrich was overcome by shock and suddenly, losing focus, he too was devirtualized. Avalon pressed forward shooting his shotgun fully into the young man.

Suddenly, a deep hum was heard, and the young man said, "Well done, tinman. Until next time." But with a mighty slash of his sword, he cut Avalon down to half his health. Then with a flash of light the man and all the dead hoard digitally disappeared.

Aelita sighed, "It's done. We just barely made it. Jeremy helped but we're all wiped out."

Avalon approached, "I know it was hard, but you've done fantastically. Go home and rest, your friends will certainly need it."

Soon, the Lyoko warriors were home and immediately, Yumi and Ulrich bolted towards their respective restrooms and vomited. So much exposure to Lyoko, especially remotely, had taken its toll. Even Aelita and Jeremy were horribly dizzy and woozy from the experience. However, both hit upon the solution to make themselves vomit and afterward they felt a great deal relieved, lightheaded, but relieved despite it. But with Ulrich and Yumi terrible pain and soreness greeted them. The pain racked through them, and they hesitated very much to move.

Ulrich's phone vibrated and he saw it was from Jeremy, "Are you sick?"

He replied, "I felt like I was but after I puked, I was better. But I feel like I've been hit by a truck! I'm sore all over."

Jeremy replied, "That's what happens when you up the damage applications between us and Lyoko. We'll see if we've gained enough ground to reverse that effect."

Ulrich grimaced through his pain and said, "I sure hope we did. This fucking sucks! It feels like I did a week of weights straight and just now the pain's setting in."

Sylvia meanwhile was recovering in her room and Nicolette asked, "I take it, no more long missions by remote?"

Sylvia groaned, "To say the very least. Damn, this sucks!" she immediately leaned over and vomited into a nearby pan.

Nicolette sighed, "You shouldn't test the new tech in such a hurry. On the good news side of things, we claimed six supercomputers located in Russia and Colombia respectively. We've bolstered the guard and we've accessed the orbital siege platform with how many that were slain. We're implementing that around the citadel, so it won't be as easily taken."

Sylvia gave a thumb-up and said weakly, "Send the children the stabilization pills. Send someone to deliver them. They're going to need them for the next few days as well as the post-op pain suppressors. Oh, fuck!" She turned and began vomiting into the bucket again.

The next day, the Lyoko warriors looked as if they'd seen death, Yumi and Ulrich in particular and as a result, they were very much half-heartedly in their studies and extra-curriculars. As the warriors rested in a more private section of one of the rec-rooms, they saw Nicolette approaching them with a mid-size brown paper bag in her hand.

She sat down with them, and she asked, "And how do you feel?"

Yumi replied, "How do you think, Mirror Aelita?"

"Well, judging by Sylvia's reaction, you look and feel like shit." Nicolette replied. She handed Aelita the bag, "Pain-pills to help very much localize the all-over body experience you're experiencing now. Also, stabilizers for your equilibrium. Yeah, you feel a bit better after rest, but you'll feel a lot better after this."

Jeremy looked at Nicolette and asked, "So, you were another plant too, another thing to probe the earth, huh?"

"Hey, it worked, didn't it? Thankfully I got all that I needed before you reset everything."

"Why were you so keen to eliminate us?" Jeremy asked.

"Well think about it, it's two-fold. We had our plants in your nation long before you children were an itch in your fathers' balls. So, we were going to appropriate the supercomputer and turn it into our first genuine satellite for our purposes. However, circumstances changed, and my objective was changed by the high council."

"An itch in our father's balls?" Yumi retorted, "You're barely older than us!"

Nicolette scoffed, "Please. I've been around far longer than all of you. I only look like your girl here because my body was reconstructed to be so. In reality, I'm a forty-year-old woman who also served as Sylvia and Natasha's governess. Both Lucius and Barrow were most insistent that a member of the family be there from the beginning to reign in the girls where need be."

"But Sylvia treats you like you're one of her best friends, not a governess." Ulrich replied.

"And in many ways, I am. Sylvia's been through a lot, and she doesn't remember it all. Her memories are that repressed, and we let them come out where need be. She's very much her own person but also a tool of the State not dissimilar from her sister."

"Yeah, I know what that means." Yumi replied, "She's a tool more than she is a person?"

"Aren't we all in our way?" Nicolette countered, "What is a man or woman save for their profession and the self-worth they get from it? If that title evolves in importance, so be it, and all the better."

The children were silent a moment, "Who are you really? What's your actual name?" Aelita asked.

"I cannot tell you, save for the fact you may be compromised. So, Nicolette is all you will know me as."

"But let me ask, how does that work? If you're a governess, how can you still act like someone of Sylvia's age?"

"I act in whatever role I am needed." Nicolette replied, "If governess, then governess. If life-long friend because she killed her last one, then life-long friend. The fact remains I keep the people safe from the animal that lurks in the cage and that includes you." She checked her watch, "Take the pills every few hours, three to four hours to be exact and be sure to have something to eat with them. It makes them far more pleasant."

She got up and she turned to leave when Yumi said, "Nicole, just one thing."

Nicole turned and looked at her and Yumi said, "You're a prisoner the same way Magali is and the same way you act as jailer, the fathers of your empire act a jailer over you. Do you really think you can hide the fact you want to break free of your duties?"

Nicolette smirked, "Who says I want to? It's much better being at the side of power than being powerful. It's much better being a friend to the beast than being consumed by it. if sound council is all that is required to sooth it and turn its destructive energies into productive works of good and betterment, who are you to judge and who am I to grieve? You're only telling me this because you were made with the goal being honestly no farther than a glorified petri dish to perfect soldiers and their resilience. So, why take advice from an intelligent piece of culture?"

Yumi got up and she was about to walk forward when to the shock of the warriors and herself she froze in place. Yumi's face was transfixed as she grew in fear, and she began panting as if truly horrified. Nicolette looked at her coldly, "Now, be a good little girl. Take your medicine and go back to bed." She snapped her fingers and Yumi immediately sat down and while the group looked at her, Jeremy looked back to where Nicolette stood; the girl had vanished.

Meanwhile, Natasha was silently in her apartment mixing a drink when her coded knock was heard at her door. She looked through the peephole and saw Xander calmly standing outside.

She opened the door and she said, "If you're here about the lost citadels don't worry. Despite your lack of performance, it's not a lost cause." She returned to mixing her drink and she asked, "How's Milly's training?"

"Progressing swimmingly. She's a very capable fighter and she is wrestling with a few things ideologically but it's nothing we can't handle."

Natasha nodded and she sat at her table taking a drink before saying, "Excellent. Have her combat ready by next month. I want her unflinching and unyielding."

Xander nodded, "You seem pretty well at ease for losing a quarter of your power."

"Eh, it's what it is. It's not so much been lost as it has been redistributed. Sylvia will be forced to look at things my way eventually and by the time it dawns on her just what's happening, it'll be too late. She'll have to decide for herself what truly matters and if she chooses apart from my vision, well, that's why Milly is being trained."

"Why can't you just broker peace with her? Are you that vain that an outburst from a commoner doctor is getting the better of you?"

"She will serve me or no other. She will obey me or die. I don't care about what she wants. She never knew what she wanted until I started making mistakes then oh lo and behold, she's suddenly a political leader!" Natasha waved Xander off, "No, Xander, I'm not vain. I know what is in her capability innately and what is there simply because I gave her leeway to express a counterview and that's all this is. It is my rightful place to rule, my rightful place to have my time.

Sylvia still operates under the interplay, well let her. I'm working on something that will undo all of that because I'm sick of the council saying what can be done and what can't be done. How they puppeteer both of us and how none of us have true agency under their command. We do as they say, not as we'd wish for the betterment of the people that sadly sometimes needs to be done. No disrespect, Xander, but it's not something a mercenary is expected to understand."

Xander looked at her from behind his mask and replied, "Look, I may be a simple mercenary. But we all are beholden to answer to something or someone, you included and that is why you have issues and people can clearly see that. You love the control, you always have. The thing is you don't want to let go of it and so you're making this play for absolute power. I personally don't care what the fuck you do. I care about the people, and I've killed many corporate bastards just like you who felt they didn't have to answer to anyone and that's what undid them.

So, you either learn how to answer to someone and obey or frankly we will meet again under a different situation, and you will not have anyone to help you against justice that frankly, by the time we meet, will be long overdue."

Natasha looked at him, "Your word is bond. Therefore, a contract is just as binding. You are here to serve me, no one else."

"Na-ah-ah. I don't do that lady. For one, it shrinks my clientele considerably. Second, I don't want to just exclusively serve you because frankly you're an asshole. I don't care how much you pay, there's no cure for you being you. Thirdly, I'm retiring soon. Your father utilized my services when I was but a young man. I am not a house retainer, lady. I serve who needs me and I won't serve a jackbooted asshole who—"

He stopped. He looked down and saw he was bleeding. The bleeding was getting worse, and he looked at Natasha who held a gold pen in her hand. He took out his pistol when Natasha waved her hand, and he froze. The dart that was in him had shot to all the corners of his body shredding his muscles, fat, and nerve endings. Natasha then stood and said, "If you won't serve me, very well. But I won't tolerate scolding from one who is so self-righteous he can't call his lifestyle murder the same way that his adversaries do. So, rather than watch your every move, I've come up with a much easier solution to the problem."

Natasha activated her personal phone and said, "Trojan Horse is regrettably active. Send Pascal now."

Xander's body fell to its knees and Natasha gently lowered him to the floor, "Ssh, dear Xander, you could have been the best, but you had to go mouthing off. Now, ssh, quiet. Count backwards from ten."

She lowered his body to the floor but suddenly his body shook terribly, and a loud beep was heard. Natasha looked puzzled until to her shock Xander gripped her arm, "Fuck you."

At that moment, a small but loud kick was heard at the door's knob and to Natasha's shock, Milly came in and with three shots fired into Natasha's body with a shotgun with the fourth being applied just under her jaw and shattering her skull in fragments.

Milly quickly went over and knelt beside Xander and said, "Teacher, are—you—"

"No, it's too late." Xander rasped, "Go, girl. Help your friends, they need your help. Take my beacon and go to Sylvia, now."

Xander rasped for a moment and then he gave his last breath. Milly took the beacon she knew was in his pocket and she turned its cylinder top vanishing in a flash of light. In a silent room, a man was sitting quietly looking out over the peaceful sapphire sea in the wake of a recent storm.

His phone rang and he gently picked up, "Go."

A voice replied, "High-Commander Barrow?

"Yes?"

"This is Marina Yurlova with the Crimson Guard Mechanized Tactical Division."

"Yes?"

"I've called to let you know that our asset has affirmed the deviation from the interplay and that Aelita Schaffer has been eliminated by Sea-View."

"Thank you." He hung up the receiver and picked up again dialing a number which patched him through to Sylvia's communications station where Nicolette picked up after seeing his line's indicator.

"Imperial Forwarding Station Alpha Assistant Thirteen speaking, unlucky for some."

"It's done, Heather."

Nicolette was stunned but she replied, "Thank you."