Disclaimer: It takes a talented person to write a good piece of fanfiction...but it takes an even bigger person to actually create the characters and situations that the fanfiction is based on. Thank you Antefilms for letting me pretend that these characters are mine...but we all know the truth...they aren't mine!!
CodeLyokoFan4Ever: Hey violett witch! Thanks! I'm working on it, but I have two stories in process and two coming some time in the near future. If you add it all up, it's about 15 chapters. This one has about two chapters left.
ThessalyD: Thank you! I think I over-exaggerated Jeremie; I'm not sure that in the show he would do something like that.
Nicole: I think you are very confused. If Jeremie returns everyone to the past, the people who died won't come back. Also, if you mean now, it wouldn't make Yumi good again because there is no activated tower. Or is there?
CodeLyoko: Thanks! The new chapter is here, dedicated to you.
Scorpio Serpent: Alright, I'm continuing!
MystDragon2k: Eh, I wouldn't exactly call that a cliffie. Thanks, I'm glad you like it. I'll read your story right away.
GrYfFiNdOr4eVeR98: Thank you!
Warrior Pixie: I really hope you won't explode. Updating is getting hard; school's annoying.
kirsten&catherine: I will update as much as possible; I have two other fics and my life outside the computer.
Trillinka: Thanks. I'm writing as quick as possible, but I've got a problem on the ending. Er, yeah.
Wow, fifteen reviews for two chapters! A record. I love you all!
Chapter 3: Heaven?
"Well, it's nice to see you too," Yumi replied with an arrogant smirk plastered on her face.
"Why aren't you trying to kill me?" Odd asked, confused.
"Well, if you try to remember, I never said I wanted to kill you straight away. I wanted to explain, then kill you," she explained patiently.
"Okay, that's encouraging," Odd drawled.
"Yes, it was the point," Yumi said, amused.
"So what is there to explain?" Ulrich inquired, a bit confused.
"Have you always been such an idiot? I'm here to recruit you for X.A.N.A." Yumi's voice was passive.
"Why?" Aelita asked. "You know that we are against X.A.N.A."
"Do you want to die?" They shook their heads. "I thought not. If you don't join, then you die here and now."
"How? We are virtual! You can't kill us; we just go back to Earth!" Odd exclaimed, confused.
"Are you sure? Hey Jeremie, any bugs in the devirtualization program?" Yumi called out.
Jeremie, who had been silent for the whole exchange, was panicking. "Guys! Don't get devirtualized! You'll be killed for good!" The trio was wide-eyed.
"Exactly. So you are going to listen or die." Yumi smirked in triumph.
"Why are you doing this though?" Ulrich pleaded.
"I'm just doing what my master X.A.N.A. says. After all, he doesn't abandon me; he gives good rewards to those who do well to obey him. There are castles of diamonds here, towers of gold, hearts of light, and of course, exquisite dining. Anything you could ever wish for is here, under the surface. Come," Yumi persuaded, leading them to a cliff. She swan-dived down, falling gracefully. Ulrich, Odd, and Aelita followed, a bit apprehensively, but a bit excited.
As they landed lightly, the three were stunned. They found themselves in a heaven on earth, or in this case, Lyoko. Blue skies, lush grass, shady trees, anything natural beauty could offer. Odd clambered into a tree and accidentally plucked a peach from the branch. Biting into it, he found it sweeter than anything on Earth and devoured instantly. "Mmmm.... I didn't know that you could taste in Lyoko..."
"Really?" Aelita asked. Odd nodded. Ulrich dove into the sapphire pond of water, leaving silvery ripples behind him. Aelita danced around in the grass to the music floating around. However, she felt strange here. Something was wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on it. "Hey Yumi, is it natural to feel like a prickling wrongness?"
"Ah Aelita, you have passed," Yumi paused, and everything vanished. Not popping out of existence, just suddenly not there. Ulrich fell on his head into the cold ice of the polar region. "Oww..." Odd found himself up on an iceberg. Yumi smiled. "But there is more. That was only the beginning illusion. If you pass all, then you will have your heart's desire."
She passed thorough the solid ice wall like Aelita through a tower. The trio passed through, this time a bit more apprehensively.
Palaces of silver, fountains of sapphires, waters of diamond, and of course, a buffet of all you could eat, literally. A mile long of every food you could wish to eat. Anything you could ever want. Yumi appeared next to them. "Wonderful, isn't it?" She sighed in admiration. "You could live here, but you must submit to X.A.N.A."
Odd rushed to the buffet and shoveled in some mashed potatoes. "Wow. Amazing," he mumbled through a mouth stuffed with pork chops, spraying them everywhere. Aelita rushed over to sample the corn. "Oh, simply amazing. It's simply stupendous. I admit, Yumi, working for X.A.N.A. has its perks." She continued to sip some chicken broth.
"What are you looking for, Ulrich? I can show you anything here," Yumi said, smiling.
"I just want things to be like before: you and Aelita on Earth with the rest of us," Ulrich sighed.
It all vanished, popping with a subdued air. They stood in the warm desert region, Aelita and Odd still leaning on nothing. They balanced but in the end, fell over. Yumi, this time, smirked but looked a little shaken. "This time, all will be well." All of a sudden, there was a bright white dome of light, causing them to blink furiously, trying to see. After the initial panicking was over, they found themselves on Earth in their regular clothes and Jeremie running to them, screaming as soon as he got there, "You did it!!! Yumi's back!! You guys did it!!!"
"We noticed, Einstein," Odd remarked dryly.
Aelita flung her arms around Jeremie, squeezing him until he couldn't breathe. "Thanks Aelita, but I do need to oxygen to survive." Aelita blushed furiously and let go.
"I suppose you two lovebirds go and make out somewhere. Me, I'm going to the cafeteria," Odd called as he sprinted to his true love, food.
Jeremie muttered that he was going to go do some work and walked to the dorms. Yumi had mysteriously disappeared, so Ulrich and Aelita walked to the factory. It had become their favorite haunt, and they would often swing down the ropes in a tricks contest. Aelita sprinted and sprung onto the rope and flew down. At the last second, she flipped backwards in an arch, landing in a perfectly balanced crouch. After she finished, Ulrich took a running heads start and swung down the line, twisting around the rope and flipping forwards, resulting in a cement face plant. Aelita giggled at the sight but ran over to him nonetheless. "Be careful!!! You could have died!" she scolded.
"Yes mother," Ulrich replied, a smirk still evident on his face. Aelita slapped it off.
Odd was stuffing his face into a plate of roast potatoes when he tasted a difference. Instead of the warm, homely taste, it was for just a second, a cold, bland indifference. With that, Odd knew something was wrong. He called the others, telling them to meet him at the factory.
Yumi, Ulrich, Aelita, and Jeremie stood there, their stance stiff and alert. "What's wrong, Odd?" Aelita asked, worried.
"The food! It became really weird tasting for a couple of seconds!" Odd cried.
"Just that? I was thinking more important!" Ulrich laughed in relief.
"Ah, but Odd has discovered the answer. You pass, with flying colors," Yumi spat with hissing under-tones.
Blinding light. You could see nothing. They found themselves in the forest region where Yumi had fallen. Yumi and Jeremie were nowhere to be found. Aelita scanned their atmosphere and pointed out, "Look! Pulsations!"
The trio followed the path of 'earthquakes' and saw a glob of fire surrounding a figure.
"A Guardian! But what is it holding?"
Yay!! Cliffie!!! At least, I think. Can anyone guess what it holds? (grins) I have updated! Finally off my shoulders. Review please!