4-5: Attack from Behind
This is the moment of truth. What follows after will go down in history as something that changed the world. Yeah right! It would be nice, though.
(((-5-)))
The taller girl's fan was out in a moment, ready for action. A Rochster's laser missed her by an inch and she deftly blocked the next shot. Uttering a war cry, Yumi cast her weapon straight at the robot. It sidestepped, but not quickly enough.
The fan boomeranged back to its master and then blocked another barrage. Aelita called out a warning and her friend barely dodged another. The spinning fan arced out and zapped the three remaining Rochsters from existence.
"Well, that wasn't too hard. I didn't even lose any lifepoints." The two digital girls started following the telltale pulsations. "How far is the Tower, Jeremy?" Yumi asked.
There was no answer.
"Jeremy?"
(V)
She hadn't hit him very hard but it still hurt! Jeremy shut his eyes against the bright light. The afterburn of stars and planets continued to swim nauseatingly across his vision and his head pounded. If only he'd been paying more attention he wouldn't have gotten caught unawares! A couple short lengths of cord and wires tied his hands and feet together.
"You children never should have tried to stop me. It was inevitable, you know." Janika was sitting at his console, typing away. Her voice was different... "So many times I came close. So many times I was a hairsbreadth away from destroying you all. I always knew you would slip up one day."
He could hardly hear her over the ringing noise in his ears. The headache subsided and Jeremy looked over. He tried to struggle, loosening the coil wrapped around his wrists. If he could just get free maybe he could stop her before the others reached the Tower and really needed him! He could see what she was doing, and it wasn't good.
"You might as well have tried to fight gravity. Ah, yes, here we are. Your main power grid has some flaws in it, one of which is presently active."
Oh no! If X.A.N.A. used the emergency reboot system, Yumi might be erased! With a growl, Jeremy brought the cord up to his teeth and bit down. He yanked the wires and managed to free his thumb. Just a bit more...there! Hastily, he untied his feet and crept silently up behind her.
X.A.N.A.'s puppet was still busy with the program. She was getting ready to delete the virtualized girl when Jeremy seized her in a choke! His arm braced against her throat, squeezing her windpipe closed. Janika's hands scrabbled at him, but he tried to keep her in the chair. With a lunge, she twisted to the side and broke his grip. She coughed spasmodically, hatred eminent in every movement.
The fiery red symbols that had taken the place of her pupils glared at him murderously. Jeremy picked up the metal bar she had used to knock him senseless earlier. He wasn't going down without a fight!
(V)
"Jeremy, please answer!" Aelita called again.
Yumi shook her head. "I'm afraid we only have a little time left to reach the Tower. We'd better move. Who knows what other monsters are lurking out here."
They followed the path until it abruptly ended. "What sort of trick is this?" the shorter girl wondered. "The pulsations cease completely."
The dark-haired one saw something move out of the corner of her eye. "Aelita, see that stump-tunnel? Get inside. I don't know where it goes but we can't stay here."
Without a word she obeyed, slipping down into the safe dark hole while Yumi battled a trio of Hornets that had shown up. The pulsations! She felt them here. How strange. Aelita hoped Yumi would be able to hold out.
(V)
The bar landed on the other side of the room after receiving a deft side-kick. Jeremy grabbed the other's arm as she closed in on him and swung her around with enough force to wrench her arm from its socket. Janika crashed into the wall before crumpling into a heap on the floor and lying still.
He picked up the earphone and checked on his friends. "Yumi, that Hornet nearest to you is the weakest. If you can just get past it, you should be able to join Aelita. She's getting close to the Tower, but it's being guarded by a couple Blocks."
"Where have you been?" Yumi demanded.
The hologram showed one Hornet vanish and she dove down the tunnel.
"Janika showed up. She hit me over the head. I can't believe she made it here." He cast a glance her way and saw the burned skin all over her body. "She looks like she should be in a lot of pain, but doesn't act like it."
Jeremy snapped back as he saw the girl's arm move.