Author's Note: Many thanks to my lovely reviewers! You guys rock, as always. I'd like to give a special thank you to aligrl34 and G-Force 4 for reviewing "Mayhem Squared". You make me delighted!! :D To everyone else: thanks for the undying support! You make this all worth it! Now this is a long, action-packed (with evil included!) chapter, so let's start it, shall we? To the chapter...
"Virtualization."
I dropped in a crouch on the forest region's green floor and then looked around. The whole area was filled with tree trunks, most of them not even trees. I waited for Odd and Ulrich and then started running for the tower Aelita was waiting for us at.
When we came into view, she waved. I waved back and came to a stop beside her. "Hi Aelita! How've you been?"
"Fine," she said, smiling sweetly at me. "And you?"
"I guess you could say the same. So, what are we doing now?"
"We are going to travel to the desert region. That seems to be where the pulsations are strongest. Follow me." Without another word, she walked up to the base of the tower, spread her arms out and stepped into the tower. Her body looked as if it was being submerged slowly in liquid as she stepped through.
I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and followed exactly what she did. The sensation was weird but when I next opened my eyes I was inside the tower. The walls were black and blue with information zipping along it. I looked at the platform we were stepping on. It was in the shape of the Xana symbol with its rings lighted up. Once Odd and Ulrich joined us, Aelita stepped to the edge of the platform. Then she looked at us.
"You're going to have to trust me on this. We're going to push off the platform and freefall to the next one. You have to relax and make sure you have fixed where you want to go, or else you might end up in a different place completely." She smiled at us reassuringly and then spread her arms out again with her eyes closed. Then she pushed off slightly from the platform and down she soared.
I looked nervously at the boys. "Wouldn't you like to go before me?" I offered.
"Ladies first," they said in unison, one looking more apprehensive than the next. I sighed and closed my eyes as I stepped to the edge of the platform. Then I pushed off gently and felt myself fall down in the swan dive position. It felt a bit exhilarating but I started slowing as I reached the next platform. I floated gently up to it and touched down. I opened my eyes to see Aelita waiting.
"It wasn't that bad, was it?" she said gently. I shook my head and smiled in return.
Ulrich reached us next. He opened his eyes in a daze as he turned to see Odd come on the platform. Odd opened his eyes and was silent for a moment but then he yelled, "Let's do it again!"
Aelita laughed. "Maybe later. Right now we need to find that activated tower." She walked out of the tower the same way she walked in and we all followed one-by-one. Slowly we were all facing the golden-yellow landscape of the desert region.
I noticed ripples of red in the pathway. "There," I pointed. I watched as they rippled to our left and continued into the distance. "Let's go."
I went first; crossing over the slim sandy bridge that connected the little island the tower was on to the main land. I waited for the rest of them and continued on, following the pulsations, all the while scanning the barren surroundings. Suddenly I stopped and glanced back when I heard Odd give out a cry of warning. Two huge red crabs were crawling their way over to us.
"Get behind me," I said, pushing Aelita in back of me as I turned to face the monsters with Odd and Ulrich in front of me. I snapped open my fan. The monsters stood there silently regarding us, as if daring us to make the first move. I leaned back and whispered to Aelita, "Run."
As soon as she took her first step, the monsters stepped into action. Odd ran over to me as the first one shot and advanced. He ducked from some shots and side-stepped others to reach me. "Yumi," he said hurriedly. "Boost me up!"
I shook his head. "No, Odd. You'll get killed with the backlash."
He shook my shoulders angrily. "Boost me up!" he said more loudly. I sighed and gave in. We ran forward toward one of the crabs. When we got as close as we could, I cupped my hands to make a foot hold for Odd. He stepped into it and I tried my best to give him a boost up as he jumped up himself. He spun around to face the crab's Xana symbol. "Laser arrow!" he yelled and I saw a flash of white speed toward the monster's symbol. It hit the target and the crab staggered for a few seconds. Then it exploded.
"Odd!" I screamed, knowing what would happen. Odd flew back from the explosion and his body de-virtualized.
Meanwhile, Ulrich had used his Triangle to confuse the monster into thinking he was three places at once. Then the real Ulrich jumped out of the formation and up onto some rocks. He jumped onto the crab and stuck his sword in the Xana symbol. He yanked his sword back out and jumped away as the crab exploded.
"Odd's gone," I informed him as we ran after Aelita.
"I know," he said, sheathing his sword again.
Aelita waved at us from behind a sand dune that resembled a boulder. "Where's Odd?" she asked.
"Gone," Ulrich said importantly, "Don't worry though. Knowing him, he's fine. Let's get you to the tower."
Aelita nodded and took off at a sprint again, following the pulsations. They were getting stronger and I saw more of them more frequently. "Its close," she said breathlessly and put on a last burst of speed.
But as we rounded the bend to the spot where the pulsations must surely converge, there was no tower in sight. Instead, there were four humans standing in a tight formation, each of them back to back to another, one facing each direction. The pulsations, surprisingly, converged around them. We slid behind some yellow boulders to watch them.
"Who are they?" Ulrich asked suspiciously. I noticed upon close inspection that each of them had a sword clutched in their hands.
"Whoever they are, I don't think they're good news," I commented.
"Maybe they're here to help," Aelita offered hopefully.
"I have a feeling," I said to her, "that that is not the case."
Ulrich shifted a bit in his crouched position. His scabbard scraped along the sandy ground. All three of us winced as the sound drifted over to the four people standing watch. They were immediately alerted to the sound and all of them turned to face our direction. One signaled to the others and they started forward toward us slowly.
Suddenly, a whizzing sound was heard getting louder every second. Then there was a thud and a crack and the yellow boulder in front of us started to split. It cracked into two pieces and then split apart to reveal us standing there stupidly. I looked down and saw a sword lying in between the two halves of stone.
"Hey, Ulrich," I whispered out of the corner of my mouth. "Can your sword do that?"
"Not that I know of," he whispered back.
"We have been waiting for you." I looked up to see one of the four humans talking. He had black hair that was spiked up in little points.
"You have?" I asked, totally confused.
The boy nodded (he looked only to be a few years older than me). "Why?" Ulrich asked harshly, his voice with a biting edge to it. That was his very serious voice.
"To fight you, of course," said a blonde haired boy that was standing next to the boy who spoke first. He reached out a hand and it started glowing red, as did the air around his face. The sword at my feet glowed red as well and it started hovering in the air. Then the sword flew over to the blonde haired boy who grasped it firmly in his grip and smiled. The smile was almost friendly. Almost.
"Where's the cat-boy?" a red-haired boy asked, stepping up beside his teammates.
"You're lucky," Ulrich snarled. "He was killed when battling Xana's monsters."
"Geez. I guess that makes you even more pitiful." A brown-haired boy stepped up to support his companions. I felt heat rise up into my face in anger. Quick as a flash, I had flicked out my fan and with a flick of the wrist had flung it in his direction. It spun around, its edges glowing red and before the boy could do anything, it hit his hand where he was holding the pommel of his sword. He swore in pain and dropped his sword, clutching his hand while glaring at me. I caught my fan as it sped back to me.
"Let's not waste time on insults," I said angrily. "If you came looking for a fight, you definitely found one, whether you think its pitiful or not."
"Then lets get it on," the black haired boy said, his lips curling into a smile.
Instantly, he rushed me. I knew what he was going to do so I jumped out of the way. But what I didn't expect was that he ran faster than I could see. Faster than the speed of light, I thought. There was no way I was going to beat this guy if I couldn't even see where he was. He stopped, his sword slashing air. Then he pivoted to spot me again, his black hair rustling a bit in a wind of his own making. He disappeared again.
I ran off in a random direction knowing I was buying myself a few seconds. I racked my brain to find something, anything useful. Think Yumi think. You're good at that. Now what to do? I stopped and changed direction. The black-haired boy appeared for a second, seen sliding on his heels to change direction to follow me again. You've read a ton of science fiction books. What to do? Suddenly, I eyes widened as I remember something. Wait, in those books, they used magic to feel what was around them. Maybe...
I had nothing close to magic. But I stopped and stood still anyway, closing my eyes. I lost myself in the surroundings around me. Then I could here the boy's footsteps as he circled around me. I could feel the slight wind he was giving off. He was circling me. I smiled slightly and drew out my fan. Then I opened my eyes and threw slightly ahead of where he was. He ran right into it and he flew back from the impact, rubbing his head bewildered. I caught my fan and sprang away as the red haired boy tried slicing me with his sword. I ran past Ulrich and the brown haired boy struggling back and forth in their sword fight. I also ran past Aelita and the blonde haired boy. They were engaged in a fight using mental skills. The blonde haired boy sent giant boulders of sand at Aelita but she used two boulders to shatter his attack.
I ran a little more then turned in a slight crouch. The boy was almost on top of me in an instant. I opened my trusty fan and was about to try and send it underneath his arms into his chest when he charged forward and the blade of his sword sliced through the inside of my fan. I froze and it was as if time slowed down. I saw the tip of his blade on the other side of my fan and I was washed in a wave of sadness and despair.
"You broke my fan," I said softly. I gazed into his eyes with such hatred that he backed up a bit. But before he could get too far away, I snapped my fan closed, causing his sword's blade to be caught within my fan's many folds. Then I twisted my fan around. He lost his grip on his sword as it spun around. I threw it up and caught it in my hand. Then I put my fan away. He gaped as he watched me advance with his sword. "It's only fair," I said, shrugging innocently. Then I plunged ahead and struck the boy in the stomach with his own sword. He gasped for air at first and then de-virtualized as the blade went through him. "Who's next?" I whispered.
"You!" came the response. The black haired boy had climbed up onto a yellow boulder nearby. He jumped down at me now with his sword outstretched. I caught it and parried in a clash of metal. He charged ahead and I slipped on the sandy ground. As I went down, he instantly took the opportunity to try and pierce me in the head. I rolled away from his sword and got on my elbows. Then I kicked him in the stomach with my two legs and then hopped up to see him stagger away, clutching where I had kicked him. I took the opportunity and rushed up, knocking his sword out of his hand and sending it tumbling into the blankness below. Then I pushed him over as well.
"See you next fall!" I said, waving as he dropped away.
"Impact!" I heard from a little ways away. I looked over to see Ulrich find an opening and stab the brown haired boy in the stomach. The boy de-virtualized immediately. Then a rock flew by in my vision and I watched as it smashed the blonde haired boy painfully.
Aelita brushed her hands together in satisfaction. "Are they gone?" she asked hopefully.
I nodded and stuck the sword I had been using into the ground point first. Ulrich came over to look at it. "You were using that?" he asked.
I nodded. "The red haired guy broke my fan, so I took it from him." I sighed sadly. "My fan..."
"Can be fixed," Jeremy said in my mind.
"Jeremy! Really?" I asked hopefully.
"Of course. Get back to Earth team; you've done a good job. The pulsations turned out to be fake, a false alarm."
"False alarm?" Ulrich asked, raising an eyebrow. "How come it's never happened before?"
"I don't know, Ulrich, but I'm working on it." Jeremy paused and then said, "I'm going to try the materialization program, all right?"
"Shoot," I said in return.
"Okay. I hope this works...materialization."
