Chapter 16: A day early, a day to remember
Location: Time fluxuation, France
A fire ball floated above Cadic Jr. High silently. Eventually it cooled down and the creature dropped to the ground. As it awoke, flames burst from its body again. Lord Sicron arose and surveyed the scene. In the distance he saw his target, the abandoned factory. But Sicron was not known for rushing into things, especially on important matters like this.
"IF I GO IN AND START TRYING TO HACK THAT THING…I MIGHT DELETE AILETA. SO RATHER THAN DOING IT MYSELF, I SHOULD GET SOMEONE ELSE TO PULL HER OUT FOR ME." He sneered to himself. But as strange as it was, a familiar sent filled the air, a familiar blood. Then it came to him. HE'S HERE…THAT ANNOYING HUMAN HAS ONCE AGAIIN INJECTED HIMSELF INTO MY PLANS. WELL, THIS MAKES THINGS MORE INTERESTING." Sicron raised his hands and multiple flames broke from his body. They molded into life forms and quickly became the dreaded Soakians. "GO MY SERVANT" He said pointing to one in particular ", KILL THEM AS YOU WISH IN ANY MANNER, BUT BRING THE SHORT, SMART ONE TO ME. YOUR MEMORY SHOULD IDENTIFY THE TARGETS." The Soakian checked his memory. Yes images of certain humans flashed before him, especially one who seemed smarter than the rest. The creature gave a howl of delight that the hunt was his. It turned and ran for an exhaust vent. The Soakian ripped off the protective grating and crawled into the buildings inner workings.
Sissy, Nicholas, and Herb walked down the hallway on their way to the cafeteria. "You'll see, before this day is done Ulrich will admit how he truly feels for me." Sissy rambled. Herb just groaned annoyed. Suddenly there was a thump. The trio stopped and looked around. "What was that?" Sissy asked.
"Probably nothing." Herb said. "Come on, I'm hungry" Sissy nodded and continued walking. Nicholas however, was not so confident. He walked staring around nervously. THUMP.
Did you hear that?!" He asked.
"No, I didn't. Come on you're being paranoid…" Sissy said, but Nicholas didn't answer. "…Nicholas?" She turned around to a horrifying sight. Through the ceiling came a long tentacle, wrapping twice around Nicholas, once around themouth silencing him, and once around his neck choking him. Nicholas kicked furiously and pulled at the tentacle desperately. "Wha wha wha wha what is that thing?!" Sissy squealed. The rest of the creature slowly came down, suspended by 3 more tentacles revealed to be tails.
"You had to ask." Herb said. The Soakian's feet touched the ground and it turned on its victim. It released its grip on Nicholas's mouth and he started screaming bloody murder…despite that his throat was squeezed shut. The creature silenced him by unloading a wad of acid, right in his face. The Soakian allowed him to drop to the ground, before pinning him with its foot. In his agony, Nicholas managed to open his eyes to see a spiked dagger-like tip on the edge of the Soakians tail come down and split his heart in two. He died instantly.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sissy yelled. She quickly started running, Herb not far behind. Neither of them dared to check if they were being followed. Eventually they reached the cafeteria. Sissy threw the door open and ran to, you guessed it, Ulrich, who was sitting at his table discussing David's knowledge of LYOKO. "Ulrich oh Ulrich something horrible happened!" David quickly looked concerned. He leaned over to Jeremy.
"That didn't happen last time…something's up." Jeremy nodded.
"Sissy I'm really not in the mood for it today…or any day for that matter." Ulrich said in an attempt to get rid of her. At that point Herb finally caught up and slammed the cafeteria door behind him.
"But I'm serious Ulrich. Something…something killed Nicholas!" She sobbing.
"Okay, something is defiantly up." David whispered again. "What killed him Sissy?" David said speaking up now.
"Well, it was some kind of monster." Many students in the cafeteria giggled. "It just…came thought the ceiling, spat acid in his face and stabbed him with one of its tails." David, like all others registered it as gibberish, till the part about there apparently more than one tail.
"How many tails?"
"Four."
"Oh my god no!" David walked over to the door and threw it open. He looked out. "All clear, EVERYONE OUT NOW!" He yelled. Some stood up, just in case.
"What's going on?" Odd asked.
"She's telling the truth." David explained. "Nicholas was killed by a very strong and very smart alien species called-" he was interrupted as the window on the opposite wall shattered and a four tailed monster jumped in "-the Soakians…RUN!" The creature simply watched as the building emptied. Its eyes, ears, thermal sensors, and motions sensors landed on a group of familiar humans. It caught sight of the David as he guided the last people out and slammed the door. David ran over to help Ulrich and Odd drag a bench to block the door. Once they got it in position Odd asked:
"You think that will hold it?" The Soakian dove threw another window several meters to the right of them.
"No." David said as he began running for the forest. "Come on, we need to get to the factory."
"What about Sissy?" Ulrich called trying to catch up.
"Let her come, her body won't slow it down anyway."
"But all animals hut to eat." Jeremy interjected.
"Not Soakians, they hunt for two reasons: because they're told to and just for the fun of it…they're diet consists of fish and plant roots. Now run faster, they can push 80." David called back. Yumi looked back, sure enough, the creature was quickly gaining on them with no effort at all. Soon they reached the sewer drain.
"Eww, I'm not going down there!" Sissy said as Odd began to uncover it. But there was a roar from the monster behind them and Sissy quickly darted down the tunnel. The Soakian breeched the trees just as David closed the drain behind over him. He let go of the railing and dropped to the group below, but he heard the grate getting pulled off again soon after.
"You four." He said indicating to Ulrich, Odd, Yumi, and Jeremy, "start going with the wheels you got. You two will come with me. Since you two can run that fast, I'll carry you." Before they could ask how, he unfurled his tail and wings. He grabbed Sissy and Herb by the wrist and took off. "GO!" he yelled to the others. There was never a time when someone went down that sewer faster. They reached the end and scrambled up the second ladder.
"So, you want to explain those?" Jeremy asked, pointing at his wings.
"Later…" David said as he heard the Soakian climbing up the ladder. They dashed into the factory. As the group jumped for the ropes to slide down, they heard a scream. David turned to see a second Soakian pinning Herb and about to drop its spiked tails into him. David didn't bother using a rope, seeing as he had wings. When he reached the ground he noticed the others were looking around nervously…and he noticed why. There were at least half a dozen Soakians all around them, some hanging from the ceiling, others climbing down the walls, others simply on the ground. "Just back slowly into the elevator." David instructed, "We don't want to stimulate their hunting instinct." They slowly backed into the elevator. When they were all in, David kicked the button and the door closed. They lurched into a downward decent toward the computer room. "Okay listen, I said those things kill when they are told to. Well the one who's telling them to is Lord Sicron. I can't go into detail, but let's just say he's the devil himself. The only way to kill him is to get him in the scanner virtualize him and shut off LYOKO. I've installed a replacement program so that Aileta will be ejected when Sicron is virtualized." David said quickly.
"But I haven't got an anti-virus yet…shutting off LYOKO will…" Jeremy cut himself off.
"Believe me, even if we kill Sicron, you are all going up in smoke. I can't go into detail, but you are basically living memory's…and killing Sicron will destroy you and this entire area within the hour." David said as the elevator halted. The large yellow door unlocked and opened. A small group of Soakians were just finishing their work trashing the place. "…Maybe we should go to the scanner room." David suggested. Without waiting for an answer he pushed the button and the door closed again. They descended another level. This time the doors opened to reveal 3 scanners, all spotless. They began to walk out, but before they could blink, there was a crash. A Soakian broke through the elevator roof and dropped down on Sissy. She screamed unbelievably. The others ran out and watched as the Soakian prepared to rip the life out of her. Before it could begin its work the door closed. An eerie silence filled the room. "And then there were five." David said. He saluted her death by bringing a fist to his forehead and bringing it down to his chest. "Okay…Sicron's probably after you Jeremy, seeing as you can actually work this thing. So stay here. When Sicron shows up, I'll be waiting in the computer room…after I've cleared out the Soakians. Get him in the scanner and leave the rest to me." David instructed.
"QUITE CLEVER YOUNG ONE…BUT NOT CLEVER ENOUGH." The large door was blown clear out. The towering Lord Sicron walked into the room, 2 Soakians followed obediently. "ITS OVER, YOUR PLAN HAS FAILED. NOW NOTHING STANDS BETWEEN ME AND THE ULTIMATE POWER." Sicron said as he smiled his famous ear-to-ear smile. "FORGET HAVING YOU PULL HER OUT…" he said glancing at Jeremy. "I THINK I SHOULD DO THIS MY WAY." Sicron lifted his powerful staff and pointed it at the thousands of cables above that connected to LYOKO's mainframe. Blasts of electricity shot out of his staff and struck the cables. But rather than destroying them, it activated them and it activated the scanner behind David and the others. It opened and Aileta fell out. Jeremy caught her. She looked up with a confused look, but when she turned to see Sicron it became a mix of anger and fear.
"You…" She said.
"You know him?" Jeremy questioned. David realized that this was the real Aileta. Aileta stood up and faced Sicron. The sorcerer looked upon her confused as to why a weak girl would stand up to her…until he noticed a Metroid disc hanging from her belt.
"…MY MISTAKE." Sicron once again shocked the overhead cables with energy. The scanner roared to life again and when it opened the other Aileta fell out. "THAT'S MORE LIKE IT."
"Sicron you sick, demented animal…do you ever give up?" the real Aileta growled.
"MY, MY, HAVN'T YOU GROWN RUTHLESS OVER THE YEARS? WELL I'VE GIVEN UP ON GETTING YOUR POWER, AND YOU'VE TAUGHT ME THAT TORTURE WON'T DO THE TRICK…SO I'LL DO IT THE OLD FASHIONED WAY, HEH HEH." Jeremy had managed to get the other Aileta to her feet. With a wave of his hand, Sicron threw Jeremy away from her. He landed hard and struggled to get up. Sicron began walking toward the scared girl, but David drew his sword and stepped between them. "YOU NEVER DID MAKE THINGS EASY…SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? ATTACK ME, GIVE ME ALL YOU GOT!" Sicron pushed. David stood there, gritting his teeth. He searched desperately for a way out of it. He recalled when Dark Ra grabbed him, his strength was unimaginable. But he was pathetically weaker at the time…and Sicron himself made Dark Ra seem like a newborn child.
"I can't fight you…not yet." David said trying to stall for time. "After all, this is the first time I've met the true you in person…why rush things?" David asked.
"BECAUSE UNLIKE YOU, I AM IN A HURRY TO DESTROY YOU AND THE OTHER SOUL GUARDIANS, NOW MOVE ASIDE SO I CAN TAKE THE POWER FROM THIS GIRL." He said crossing his arms. David ran out of options, save for one…the last thing he'd thought he'd ever have to do. David slowly turned toward the "artificial" Aileta. He laid his empty hand on her shoulder, and looked her right in the eye.
"You have to understand this…I only see one way out of this, and I would do anything to have a different choice, but I can't. Please…please forgive me. And trust me; what must be done is worlds better than you would have to go through if he had his way." He said, saying the word he as if it was poison as he looked at Sicron. It was all nonsense to Aileta, but she felt the sincerity in his voice and knew he only meant good.
"I forgive you…" She whispered. David nodded. David lifted his sword and thrust it right into Aileta's gut. Everyone in the room gasped, even Sicron dropped his crossed arms and looked in astonishment, and his Soakians backed away slightly in confusion.
"IT CAN'T BE…DAVID WOULDN'T DARE DO THAT, HOW CAN THIS BE?!" Aileta's eye's widened as she looked down at the blade that pierced her. Blood gushed from the wound. She looked up at David, his head was dipped, eyes closed, trying to hold back the tears…David's first tears. David pulled his sword out of Aileta. Jeremy ran to her and caught her as she fell.
"Sicron…" David said darkly "are you happy, because of you I just experienced the hardest and most painful experience in my life. You're nothing but a plague, a walking hell. Don't you realize now that simply because of your presence you can't get what you want…just get out of my, and everyone else's life damn it." David shot at him. Sicron stared at him blankly for a moment. He waved his hand and the Soakians at his side disappeared.
"YOU WIN DAVID; THERE IS NO LONGER ANY NEED FOR ME TO REMAIN HERE…ITS OVER." Sicron bowed his head. "I SURRENDER MYSELF, GO AHEAD AND TAKE ME BACK TO ELECTRIFYING." David pulled out and energized his staff. He held it up to Sicron and he was absorbed into his staff. David looked at the end and saw it pulsating. The real Aileta walked up to David and placed a hand on his shoulder. She didn't say anything. David turned and looked in her eyes. They were flooded with tears, probably for more reasons than one. David then looked over to where the others were gathered around the other Aileta…she was dead.