5-6: Car Chase
I definitely need romantic advice. My idea of a cute little love scene is where the girl bats her eyes at the guy after he gives her flowers. Or chocolate, I like chocolate...
(((-6-)))
Jeremy clipped the safety rope to the harness again and slowly made his way up the ladder. Odd leaned up against the side of the sewer and tried to slow his wildly beating heart. As he was waiting, the girl strapped to his back began to murmur in her sleep.
"…I can't…" she breathed. "…Ulrich, don't…Odd is…I like him too…"
The blonde boy's face flushed scarlet in the near-darkness. Did she really have feelings for him?
The computer nerd yanked on the leash for a third time to attract Odd's attention. Her hand squeezed his shirt momentarily, then she fell silent as she lapsed into a deeper sleep. He laboriously rose up the ladder to join Jeremy. They made their way across the bridge and then to the lift.
The kid with glasses was skittish the whole time. He kept looking around, expecting something to jump out at him.
"X.A.N.A. should have attacked us a long time ago. The Tower's been activated too long without doing anything."
"Personally, Einstein, I could care less at this point. Could you just tell me where to put her?" Odd panted. He felt like he was ready to drop any second.
"The scanner. I'd better send you to Lyoko, so you'd better get in one too."
The elevator stopped and he got out. Jeremy logged onto the computer, smiling at Aelita as she appeared onscreen.
"How are things?"
"Not good, Jeremy. There are three Megatanks and just as many swarms of Hornets between me and the Tower. It's in the Polar Region." She opened a program. "This should make your job with Janika easier. I've already reconfigured the absent data into the equation, but you'll have to do the application yourself."
"You're a life-saver, Aelita. I'll finish everything with her and send her your way, but I'm virtualizing Odd now."
It was done in less than a minute and then he turned to the more delicate task of reconstructing his friend's computer layout.
(V)
Odd leaped to the side as two Megatanks fired at once. Another Hornet blasted him and he fell forward onto his face. Aelita pulled him to his feet where he stood weakly.
"Jeremy, I can't do this all on my own. I need backup! Where's Ulrich?"
"I don't know. All I can do is give you fifteen more arrows right now. I'm completely swamped with Janika's program."
The pink-haired girl glanced at him. "I have an idea, Odd. Let's take cover over there where they can't see us."
The two friends took shelter in the small space between a pair of ice pillars. Just as the Hornets were approaching, Aelita knelt down, hands folded. As she sang the single somber note, two images appeared in front of them: herself and Odd.
The copies stood still for a moment before taking off running away from the Tower. Six Hornets fired wildly and a Megatank pursued them. As she was still humming, Odd leaped out of hiding and pounded a few Laser Arrows into the remaining Hornets that were still hovering undecided nearby.
The two other Megatanks caught sight of the commotion and rolled toward them purposefully.
(V)
Blood trickled down into her eye from a laceration on her forehead. Fire consumed the car's front and was beginning to work its way inside. Yumi desperately twisted her hands around to get at the door, but it was locked!
The searing heat blistered her skin as she struggled angrily. This couldn't be happening!
The window beside her cracked as something rammed into it and she backed away. It shattered and a hand thrust through to grab her. Hands still hampered behind her back, she was dragged out, sliding over fractured glass that tore her skin.
The one that had rescued her towed Yumi away from the burning cop car. She looked up into Ulrich's eyes and gave him half a smile. "How awful do I look?"
"Not too bad. Let's get you out of here before that thing explodes."
He pulled her to her feet and they started walking away, but the cop suddenly appeared behind them, enraged.
"What did you punks do to my car!" he demanded. His hands clamped down on their shoulders. "And don't try to play innocent with me."
"Sir, we need to get out of here before—"
Ulrich cut off as he heard the fiery vehicle whine and squeal. With a glance back, he realized X.A.N.A. wasn't entirely finished with them.
"Run!"
Yumi managed to slip out of his grasp and sped away into down the street, but the officer refused to let go of Ulrich until the car was almost on top of them. The dark-haired girl didn't understand how it could still be moving with flames bursting out of the engine and wheels melting from the heat, but it was!
Ulrich darted after her with the car right on their heels. He yanked Yumi into an alley off to one side and their wheeled pursuer screeched to a halt, fire dancing madly inside the cab.
While they were momentarily safe, Ulrich used a metal pipe lying beside a dumpster to bash the lock on his friend's handcuffs. The girl ducked as a piece of red-hot shrapnel struck the dumpster and set the garbage there ablaze. The car continued trying to reach them.
"We can't stay here!" she screamed over the noise of twisting metal and crackling flames.
"That thing'll be after us the minute we leave!" he yelled back.
"We have to give it a shot, Ulrich." Tugging his sleeve, they ran down the alley toward the far end where a brick wall hemmed them in.
The boy locked his hands together to boost Yumi up and over. The wheeled pile of flaming scrap seemed to understand what was going on and left the entrance of the burning alley. It was going to meet them on the other side.
(V)
Janika felt strange. She had been plagued for so long by dreams of terror and misery that the silence was unfamiliar, but blessed. At one point she saw Ulrich and he had touched her cheek, but there was Yumi standing behind him, watching with a hawk's eye.
She had pushed away from him as he leaned closer, thinking of what her other friends would think. She knew it wasn't right. Words passed between them, whispers only, but in the end Ulrich vanished and she appeared in a new corner of her mind.
"Janika?"
She didn't recognize the voice.
"Yeah, that's me."
She felt weird, like she was weightless or invisible.
It was insistent. "Wake up now!"
"I am awake. Can't you see that?"
"Good. Aelita and Odd are in serious trouble. You have to go help them before it's too late!" The voice paused, clearly torn over something. "I haven't worked all the bugs out of your system, but we have no time left."
"I'll help them if I can, but where am I?"
"Well, now you're in Lyoko."
There was a rush of wind and the familiar sensation of being virtualized.
I hope she figures out how to use her new Special Ability pretty soon. Only a chosen few know it right now. Isn't that right, Dan?