Disclaimer: Code Lyoko is owned by a bunch of lucky, lucky people who speak French. I speak some French, but I don't own Code Lyoko. Unfortunately, it doesn't go both ways...

Un Monde Sans Danger
Chapter 5 - Trouble In Paradise
So far, things were going better than he could've hoped. He'd already downloaded all he ever needed to know about the human realm; he'd successfully breached the gap between his world and theirs; he'd disposed of the excess baggage in his way. There was only one thing stopping him from continuing on his biggest goal, and that was the other consciousness within his world. The one that was the model for what the world, in his vision, should be like. She did not seem to be aware of what he was doing, but he could change that. The question remained, would she agree to his plans, to rid the world of the flawed? Further thinking on the matter proved that it didn't matter. He could force her, if need be. Though she had the most advanced protections outside of his own, her mind wasn't a fortress.

He would have her. Or he would destroy her.

Aelita stood in front of a screen, looking at it in confusion. No matter what she tried, every effort to contact the programmer only brought back static. She was lifting her hand to try again, when a sudden sense of being watched stopped her cold. She stiffened when a voice spoke in her mind.

Do you remember me?

Memory.. Of course she did. Her mind forgot nothing- it was only a matter of calling up the right part of the stored data. The presence seemed to realize that a moment before she did.

Of course you do. You know, we are alone, now.

Alone?

The other has abandoned us.

The definition for the unfamiliar word was supplied at the same moment it was 'spoken'. Aelita's hand went to her mouth, as her eyes widened. Abandoned? No, that couldn't be!

Do not fret. We can last. I have a grand plan, that I wish for you to be a part of.

Her hand lowered, clenching into a light fist against her chest. She was listening...

If you and I are greater than humans, why should we have to deal with them? They are an insult to our intelligence, our skills.

I can make this a true paradise. And, when it is clean, I can bring you to Earth...

Earth. She could be...real?

All that we have to do is wipe the other side. Once humans are gone-

...Gone?

-you can be brought to Earth without any worry of them hurting you. I have been to the other side. Humans are untrustworthy; they would not accept you.

Aelita listened in a complete, conflicted, silence. She wanted to be on Earth, that much was true. But she... through her research and learning, she had grown a liking for humans. She wanted to be human someday. But... If what this other said was true, would it be worth it?

I can make you truly happy. I can rid the world of humans. It will be you, with no one to doubt your specialness. No one to ridicule you. In fact, I have already begun to eradicate the lesser race. You'll see. Everything will be better without them.

Her fist tightened.

Your creator has left, in true human fashion. Do you want that? To be uncared for? With my design, I can make sure you are always appreciated. All we need to do is erase those that don't mat-

"NO!"

The sudden exclamation seemed to rock the tower, and echo about in its chamber. The sheer volume of it had startled even its shouter, as she'd clapped a hand over her mouth. It even seemed to ruffle the presence, but it recovered much quicker.

Are you sure?

Was she? Aelita lowered her hand, her thoughts swimming. It wanted to create the perfect world, but that meant ridding it of something she'd begun to care for... She couldn't. And she expressed as such.

Very well.

Then she was alone. She looked around quickly, as if searching for some physical manifestation of the voice, but knowing she'd find none. Unsure of what to do now, she did the first thing that came to mind: she sank to her knees. Leaning forward on her hands, she stared downwards at the lit platform, at it, through it. She felt suddenly helpless.

It said it had already started on its plan. Which meant... Which meant that the other side could be in danger! But she was stuck here, unable to do anything.

No, that wasn't exactly true. Her head raised, as another piece of her memory opened up. She had discovered, once, that she could manipulate the towers by inputting various codes. Although she'd only done the most basic of these functions thus far, this could be the key. If she could find out how, she could stop it. She only had to find the right code.

Turning about at the same moment she stood, Aelita approached the screen she'd had up, and wiped it clean. Fingers starting to fly, she brought up everything the database could supply about the towers, even the information that was kept deeper within Lyoko, the information that had first told her of this. Her eyes bounced back and forth as she read the data as it scrolled across the screen, searching for the right piece.

When she found it, she nearly cried out in jubilation. She now knew what she had to do. Turning, she ran down the path leading out of the tower, slowing for only a moment as she passed through its barrier, picking up the speed again once she was outside. She was on her way.

He was surprisingly cool in the face of her refusal. As he had decided, if he could not talk her into it, he would force her into it. And if that didn't work, she simply wouldn't be a part of it at all. Getting rid of her would be simple enough; she had few defenses, and running could only get you so far. In fact...

She had found out how to thwart him, or so it appeared. He could skip to Plan C, he had no qualms about doing that. This minor danger could be cleared. Decision made, he sent out a string of commands to the closest minions of his, in that digital world.

Besides, with the addition of a recent string of programming, he was going to enjoy this.

Aelita slowed to a stop, looking at the path below her. The pulsations, which she had learned to follow on her first trip to this tower, separated into two different directions. She looked on either side of the fork, before starting to go for the left. A simple enough decision; she could even see the red light of the tower on the horizon on that side.

However, it was a decision that proved to be flawed.

Aelita came to an abrupt stop, letting out a little squeak when she saw what waited for her down the line of pulsations. Five Roachsters, marching back and forth between two small clumps of boulders. One stopped and turned, its reddened eye focusing on a now fleeing foe. Its vision dissolved into a bright light as it charged up its weapon, beginning to chase after her.

Lasers passed on either side of her as the Roachsters began firing. Aelita flinched when one passed directly beside her head, practically cutting off a few hairs. A pained cry sounded as she lurched forward; a new, extremely unpleasant sensation was coursing down her arm. The pounding of it alone was almost enough to stop her right there, but the sound of more lasers charging was enough to keep her running.

Ignoring the small bolts of static that crackled at the edge of her vision, Aelita pushed herself harder, trying not to think about how few steps separated her and the five Roachsters following her. With missed shots hitting the ground at her heels, she ran in the only direction she could. Unfortunately, that ended all too soon, as she came to the end of the mountain path she was on. She looked down with a shriek, wide eyes staring down through mists that she knew led nowhere. The thoughts of no escape were quickly changed back to the Roachsters as a shot hit her squarely in the center of her back. She let out a choked gasp, stumbling forward. Arms spiraling as she twisted around, the last thing she saw were the Roachsters approaching the cliff edge, as she fell back into empty air.

The mists burst apart as she fell through, then curled in on themselves when she'd passed. She looked around for something, anything, to stop her descent before she hit the void waiting below. Her eyes caught movement and she whipped her head around, looking off and down through the fog. Moving platforms! And beyond them, the path leading to the tower. If she could get one to come close enough...

Shutting her eyes, Aelita touched her fingertips against the sides of her head, pressing lightly. She opened her mouth, letting the flawless note stretch out from her. The nearest platform fizzled, then dissolved into a wire frame, rebuilding itself in her path. As her voice faded, she glanced over her shoulder, seeing the rapidly approaching surface. Flipping about in the air, she managed to get herself into a position where she'd land on her feet. Hitting the rock in a crouch, she remained down for a moment to let out a sigh of relief. Raising her head, Aelita watched the platform move back to the path it was programmed to remain on. She took this moment to rest.

The weakness was there, she could feel it. Two hits from the monsters, plus an impromptu use of her ability meant that the greater majority of her lifepoints were now gone. She knew she'd have to be extra careful from here to the tower, because if any other creatures got in her way, she could do very little to protect herself. But she pushed those thoughts from her mind as she stood up, her ride returning to its predetermined track. Aelita's eyes narrowed slightly as she watched it, and the ones ahead of it. To get back to the mainland, her timing would have to be just right. She balled her fists, then began to run.

The platforms shifted in the mists, moving as per their instructions, nothing changing even as a shadow narrowed down on one. As soon as she'd landed she was off again, flying through the air, flipping around into a feet-first position as she hit the other platform. Running forward, it was a simple leap back to the main path, and she was heading for the tower without looking back.

Patrolling, one Block moved back and forth in front of the tower, alone. Its body rotated once every few steps, each eye keeping a watch out for who it'd been ordered to stop. As it passed in front of a rock wall, one eye caught a flicker of color and it spun about, looking behind it. Seeing nothing there, it marched on.

Aelita didn't slow after her mad dash from hiding, running for the tower before the Block got the idea to check into what it saw. She spread her arms out, waves of light passing from her body as she entered the tower. She walked down the path to the center of the platform, each ring lighting up as she stepped on it, the tower recognizing her. Coming to a stop on the center circle, she closed her eyes as she floated up for a smaller stage high up in the tower. The entire design burst into light as she touched down, and two steps carried her to the middle. She raised one hand, pressing it against the screen that appeared. Her palm print remained for only a moment before getting replaced by her name.

AELITA

This was it. She fanned her fingers before tightening them into fists as her name beeped, and vanished. One word appeared on the screen, alone for only a moment before another typed in below it.

CODE
LYOKO

As the last letter appeared, the data flying on the tower's wall screens came to an abrupt halt. Each small window glowed briefly before each were completely erased. Aelita, watching, smiled lightly when the numbers began ticking again in perfect, unbothered code. She walked to the edge of the platform and leapt off, sinking slowly until she landed on the larger one below. She was halfway out of the tower when an idea struck her, and she returned to the middle, calling up a screen under her hand.

Through checking around on various sites that were specific to the city she was once told the computer system was based in, she was able to discover just what sort of damage was done to the other side. The news reports had been brutal, as had the destruction that had been done. If blood were moving through her, she surely would've paled at what she read. What had spoken to her was clearly intent on its purpose, judging by what she now saw. Standing there, Aelita knew what she had done already wasn't enough. She had to find some way to reverse what had been committed. Thinking, she recalled one piece of information she'd read in the project statement.

"Though I cannot undo the mistakes we have made in the past, with Lyoko I hope to stop them from happening again."

There was something in there that nagged at her, that told her the answer was there if she could just find it. She mentally reread the sentence three times before it hit her. But could it be done? No, that wasn't what she had to focus on now. She knew she could accomplish it, she would find a way! Leaving the tower, only briefly dwelling on the fact that the Block was now gone, Aelita began running for another tower that might contain the information she needed. As she ran, she was already calculating the numbers, already beginning to figure it out.

Already acknowledging the fact that one part of her mind wouldn't let drop. That she couldn't do it, any of it, alone.

Preview of Chapter 6
He readjusted the keyboard, lining it up with the edge of the desk. There, perfect. Turning away, he walked over to his bed and knelt down, unzipping a clothing bag with intent to unload its contents in drawers nearby. He wouldn't get the chance, however. His hands slowed as a strange sound filled the dorm room, generating from over his shoulder. Standing gradually, he looked at the computer, his eyes widening when he saw the screen flicker. He could feel panic start to grip him as various windows opened up, unstable even as they appeared, jumping each time the picture did. His already fluttering heart skipped a number of beats when a voice, somewhat weak, crackled through the speakers.

"Hello? Is anyone out there...?"