A/N: Many thanks to Star Way, who was not only my 30th reviewer for the story on this site, but also was a BIGBIG help in getting this chapter down :D Thankya!
A/N 2: I apologize for how long getting this chapter out took! Dontcha just love it when everything in the world wants to get in the way of your writing? --;... My computer decided to be evil (as people in the Rockman.exe Online IRC chat can attest to) among other things. But hopefully this chapter MORE than makes up for the silence!
Disclaimer: Here we are, going far, to save all that we love... Ahem sorry. Anyway, Code Lyoko belongs to Antefilms, Canal J, France3, and probably many names I'm missing.
Un Monde Sans Danger
Chapter 6 - A.E.L.I.T.A.
She paced within the walls of the tower, her hands folded at the small of her back, fingers laced. She'd never paced before, but it seemed the appropriate thing to do right now. The problem weighed very heavily on her mind. Not only would she need help in the program she wanted to complete, but she couldn't possibly fight alone, either. Not anymore. She could run from the monsters, and hide, sure... But she'd been hit, and she might be hit again in the future. And if she lost all of her lifepoints... She stopped, shaking the thought from her mind. Still, the base of it nagged at her, pulled at her.
She couldn't do it alone. But she didn't know anybody either.
So...she would just have to find somebody, right? But how...
Aelita whirled about, reaching out one hand and calling up a screen. Small, echoing beeps sounded as her fingers clicked in various commands, the system rushing to fulfill them. Scanning came to mind. A bit of digging, and what to scan and how were answered as well. Her other hand joined her first as she turned to fully face the screen, typing full force now. The computer, the main one, was connected to a network. Scan this network for similar systems, advanced systems, and she might find someone could help. It was a long shot, but if she didn't do anything...
Hello... She pulled her hands back, blinking a couple times. Was that report...correct? Her index finger pressed against the corner of the window, effectively zooming in. It...seemed to be. There was a rather advanced computer system that was surrounded on all sides by other, more mainstream systems. Needless to say, it stuck out pretty well. Choosing the icon on the screen, Aelita called up its registry.
It seemed that the data wasn't lying. And, all the better, it seemed to be nearby, after referencing a map of her own system's building. Beginning to set up a connection, she tried to avoid nervously gnawing on her lip.
She hoped against everything that she wasn't about to make a huge mistake...
It was the middle of the school year at Kadic. In fact, it was the middle of the day, too, and yet one student was in his room behind a closed door. He had a reason, though. This was one Jeremie Belpois, freshly transferred here from another school in the city, when his parents had to move across the country, yet decided that he was to remain behind for schooling. At least it meant he didn't have to give up his friends, the few that he had anyway. And it was because of them that he wanted to get transferred to Kadic, rather than to another boarding school...
Clutching a bundle of wires in his hand, Jeremie walked over to the computer desk that sat at the back of the room. It was pretty lucky that the empty room they supplied had a desk; in fact, setting up his computer was the first thing he'd done. He was about to finish that now, intent on closing connections to the school's network so he could use his system, which he'd always been proud of, to it's full potential.
He crawled under the desk, letting the wire loose to trail behind him. Leaning down on his elbows, he grabbed a small box and stuck the end of the thin cable into the open port. Okay, now he just needed to connect the other end to the back of the CPU... Twisting around, he yelped lightly when he came down on the box he was just working with. It got pulled out and laid to one side, bouncing a little when it was dropped.
Up top, the screen of the previously dormant computer flicked into life. Wriggling out, Jeremie stood and straightened his shirt, glancing at the desk. 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...?"
He backed up, paling as the windows on the monitor began to quiet. When an actual face appeared his fright peaked, and he decided right there to run.
Unfortunately, the door was in his way.
Aelita cringed at a loud thump, watching the human fall back and hit the floor hard. She leaned forward a little, looking on in instant concern. "Are you alright?"
"Y-yeah... I think so." Jeremie pushed himself up to a sitting position, readjusting his glasses. When what was going on struck him, he stiffened and gulped softly, looking over his shoulder with wide eyes. The fact that the strange person was smiling did little to comfort him.
"That's good. I'd hate to be responsible for someone hurting themselves."
"R-really..." Jeremie croaked out, unsure of what else to say. He slowly turned around, rising to his feet, eyes locked on the computer. The computer that someone was talking to him through. Someone with a very digital appearance. He sank into his chair, continuing to look at the screen.
"Is something wrong? You look ill..."
"Huh? Oh, no... No, I'm okay..." Running a hand through his hair, he stared off in wide-eyed amazement. A million questions swirled through his mind all at once, each begging to be asked first. Picking one, he pushed his glasses back up and looked at the screen, gathering his voice before he spoke. "Who are...who are you?"
"My name is Aelita." The girl smiled again; she had a nice smile, Jeremie noted. "And you are?"
"J-Jeremie." Well, that got the name problem out of the way. His next question was cut off before it could be formed when Aelita spoke.
"I need your help."
"My h-help?" He looked at the image on the screen, about as surprised as he could be at this point. "Why do you need..me?..."
"To explain that..." Aelita paused. "I'd have to tell you the situation from the beginning, as I know it anyway. Are you ready to hear it?"
"It doesn't seem like I have any other choice."
"What?"
"Nevermind." Jeremie folded his arms at the edge of the keyboard, leaning on them. He smiled, after a moment. "Go ahead." Aelita smiled in return, and nodded once.
"Alright. Well for starters, I live in a world called Lyoko."
So, she had found a way to reach out to others. He watched the connection, unable to listen in because of a block that she had put up. No matter-- the other end was at a school anyway. What sort of help could she find there?
Still, the connection remained. And the other system was an advanced one, that he could see even through the hazy barrier of the firewall. He just might have to be careful with whoever owned that computer.
Might.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Jeremie said, holding up his hands. One then rested against the computer desk as he leaned forward a little, giving Aelita a skeptical look. "You're saying the programmer just...vanished?" At her sober nod, he sat back in his chair with a soft sigh. "I wonder if..."
"If what?"
"Nothing, nothing," he replied, waving one hand as he sat up again. He removed his glasses, massaging the bridge of his nose with two fingers as he spoke. "I can hardly believe this. Any of it. And yet..." The glasses were returned, allowing him to see the computer screen in complete focus again. "I can't deny what I'm seeing, either."
"So you'll help?" Aelita prodded.
"Well..." Jeremie folded his arms, his eyes closing briefly in thought. "Where is your parent system? If I can see it, I might be able to comprehend the situation better and thus make a decision." He disregarded a voice in the back of his mind that screamed Help her, you idiot! You know enough NOW!, although a second answered Not before he knows everything he can about it. A third voice, one that piped up as he watched her, was ignored entirely.
"Give me a moment, and I'll be able to pull up a map." Her window closed after that, much to Jeremie's brief surprise. Seconds ticked by, before a map of the city filled the screen, scrolling past rather quickly on one longitude line, then a latitude, flipping back and forth between it finally stopped and zoomed in. A soft beeping accompanied a flashing icon, and Aelita's voice spoke, although she did not reappear. "That's where it is located."
"That..." He sat forward, his eyes widening. Was he seeing what he really thought he was? "That's an old car factory nearby!" His voice quieted as he muttered to himself. "How could something as exceptional as all of this be housed in an abandoned factory?..."
"Lower levels."
He blushed faintly; he hadn't realized she was listening. Glancing up, he found the map gone, replaced by her image once again.
"According to a file in the database on Lyoko," Aelita went on, "the location of the system was given, along with why it was chosen. It explained that the necessary components were stored in three basement floors of the factory, accessible only through something called a freight elevator, and a secret code."
"Do you know the code?"
"No, but once you come to the factory, I should be able to let you in."
"Oh." Jeremie sat back, removing his glasses and swiping the back of his hand across his eyes. As he replaced the lenses, he smiled. "I'll do it."
"Really?" The jubilation on her face was unmistakable. Jeremie found himself blushing again as he nodded. "That's great, thank you!"
"So I suppose I'll speak to you again in the factory?"
"Yes," Aelita replied, nodding once. "Although I'd like to be able to contact you sooner so I could know when to access the factory's controls and open the door..." She thought for a moment, but came up with a blank. "I don't know how that could be possible, though."
"I do," Jeremie announced, silently noting that a part of him was extremely glad to be able to help her further. "I have a laptop computer. If we could somehow set up a connection on that, we'd be able to speak with each other between here and the factory." After that explanation a thought struck him, and he gave Aelita a second glance. "Do you...know what a laptop is?"
"Vaguely," came the answer. "I've never seen one, though." She watched Jeremie move away, and she leaned forward to try and get a better view. "What are you doing?"
"I'm getting mine." A few moments later a thin, gun metal colored computer was set on an empty spot on the desk and opened. Jeremie trailed a wire from it to the main computer, looking at the sprite on-screen as soon as he stood up. "Can you transfer the necessary files between the computers, while I study the map? I want to find the quickest possible route between here and the factory."
"Of course." She began right after that, both computers sending out a number of beeps as information traveled over the connection. Jeremie watched for a few moments before bringing the map back up with a few short commands on the keyboard. He leaned forward, resting his chin in his palm as he traced street lines with his eyes. I suppose that would be the quickest way... He sat back, sighing softly as he folded his arms. If only there were a more direct route between here and the factory...
"Done." His thoughts were shaken away at that simple statement from the other, and he turned to glance at his laptop, shutting it a moment later.
"Alright Aelita, thank you." Disconnecting the two computers, Jeremie slid the smaller into a carry case, pausing only to plug in a small headset. "I'll be leaving for the factory now, you can get back in touch with me in a few minutes. Just give me time to leave the schoolgrounds." He stood up and walked over to his door, stopping just a step or two from leaving. He glanced out behind him, mildly surprised to see the screens empty of anything except slowly passing green binary. When the moment passed he smiled to himself and opened the door. After looking back and forth in the quiet hallway, he took a calming breath and ran out, making sure to shut the door behind him.
Yumi Ishiyama headed down one of the outside halls of Kadic, a pair of books tucked against her chest in her arms. She walked alongside her longtime friend Ulrich Stern, who was carrying only a book satchel. Though neither of them spoke, they were both smiling. They, as well as other students, were on their way to the library for a study period. Or rather, that was the plan, until a familiar shape darted out of a doorway ahead of them and began charging across the campus.
"Jeremie?" Yumi paused, looking over at Ulrich after that single word. She turned, watching the student run farther away from the building. She blinked twice, her eyebrows going up.
"Yeah, I think that is Jeremie! Hey, wait up!" The two of them began running after their friend, who thankfully did stop and was now watching them as they came up.
"Yumi, Ulrich! What are you guys doing out here?"
"We've got study hall this period," Ulrich quickly answered when they'd caught up to him. "But if I'm correct, you don't, so I could ask the same thing of you."
"Well uhh..." He was on the verge of answering with "You wouldn't believe me if I told you" when something akin to a gut feeling turned him silent. Although he wasn't one to give in to mere intuition very often, he obeyed a voice tugging at the corners of his mind, and motioned for them to follow him. "Come on. I'll tell you on the way." With that he started running again, in the same direction as before. Yumi and Ulrich passed a confused glance between themselves before taking strides after him, falling in step on either side.
"So what's up?" Yumi asked.
"Believe it or not," Jeremie began, "We're on our way to an abandoned factory to help a girl living in a virtual world parallel to our own."
"We're what?"
"It's true Ulrich," he continued. "She contacted me earlier when I was setting up my room. Her name is Aelita, and she inhabits a world called Lyoko. She said that this evil presence has taken over, and wants to wipe out the entire human race here on Earth!"
"So what can we do about it?" Yumi asked. Jeremie shook his head, sighing softly.
"I don't know, but I'm not going to sit around and do nothing." He came to a stop, looking up at the gates of the school as he took a moment to catch his breath. The others did the same. "That's why I was going to the factory. To be able to grasp the situation better and see what I could do. Except I wasn't expecting to run into you two."
"I feel the same way as you do, Jeremie." Ulrich stood straighter, fixing his friend with a serious gaze. "I know you're not the type of person to lie, so I believe you with all of this. And I don't want to do nothing either when I KNOW I might be able to help!"
"Same here," Yumi agreed with a nod. Jeremie gave them both smiles prior to looking around to make sure they were alone.
"Thanks guys. Now, let's get to the factory, Aelita is waiting." As soon as he said that, his attention was drawn to the case on his back at a soft beeping from inside. "Speaking of, that's probably her now." He and his friends started running again, as Yumi glanced at her side.
"You can speak to her? Now?" she asked. Jeremie nodded in response, as a distinct computer voice said "Connection to Lyoko established" in his ear.
"Jeremie? Are you there?"
"I read you loud and clear, Aelita," Jeremie responded, one hand pushing the microphone of his headset a little closer to his mouth. "I'm on my way to the factory now. I should tell you though, I'm bringing a couple friends of mine with me."
"Your friends?"
"Ulrich and Yumi, they're schoolmates of mine who've also agreed to help." A thought struck him, and he swallowed lightly. "I hope that's alright..."
"Well, I don't see why it wouldn't be," Aelita returned in a pleasant voice. "I'll see you all when you get to the factory, then."
"We'll be there in a few minutes Aelita," Jeremie said with a hint of a smile. He missed the humored glance Yumi and Ulrich passed between themselves, at the tone of his voice. He was too busy running, thinking of the world that needed their help. Of the girl that needed his.
The factory sat in a deafening quiet, a hazy darkness, isolated on its island at a forgotten corner of the city. Footsteps had not permeated this lonely building for a week, but three sets echoed in it now. The small group looked around wide-eyed; it was the young girl who broke the awed silence first.
"It...it looks big from the outside," Yumi said in a hushed voice, "but I had no idea it was this big!"
"So... how do we get down, anyway?" Ulrich muttered, walking to the edge of the floor. He stood a few inches back from it, staring out into the expansive room, which was only half-lit by the loading door behind them. It was through this door that a breeze blew in, which consequently gave him his answer. Something swung in the gentle wind, brushing up against his shoulder; when he looked up, he gasped. "Ropes!"
"What?" Yumi glanced over, walking up beside her friend as he reached out and grabbed a slender shape in the shadows.
"We can use these ropes to get down." He smiled at her as he spoke. "See, if we get a running start, we can swing out and get down there." Ulrich finished up with a point, crouching a little as he gestured towards the lower ground floor.
"That's insane!" Jeremie exclaimed. "First of all, we're up at an ungodly height! Secondly, we don't know if those ropes are secure. And third, have you thought about the abrasions we'd get on our hands? Or the possibility of breaking something upon landing? What if--"
"Then just take a deep breath, wrap your hands in a handkerchief, and watch where you land," Yumi replied, smirking a little. Jeremie grunted, giving her a rather flat look. Faced with that, Yumi had to hide her giggle. "Fine, I'll go first. If I land alright, you boys can follow me down." Sliding her sleeves down further over her hands, she took a few steps back, staring at the gently moving ropes. All of a sudden the stillness was chased away by rapid footfalls, then a jubilant cry as she swung out into midair, dropping from view as she slid down the rope. The air whooshed around her, the sheer exhilaration making her forget about the burning she could feel even through her sleeves. She let out another whoop just before landing, her boots hitting the floor hard and skidding a little. Released, the rope swept back into place, tangling temporarily with another one there. Yumi panted a little, turning and grinning back up the way she came.
"Come on down, guys! It's fun!"
"For you, maybe..." Jeremie muttered under his breath. He gave Ulrich a smile. "Your turn."
"So I figured," the boy returned with a smirk. He slipped off his overshirt, wrapping it around one hand as he walked backwards. Looking at the ropes, he began running, leaping out when he'd reached the end of the floor and getting carried out by the line he'd grabbed. His laugh echoed up from below, though that did little to warm Jeremie up to the idea...
Yumi moved out of the way to give Ulrich room to land, which he did in much the same manner as she. Letting go of the rope, he gave her a wide smile.
"You're right, that is fun." Laughing softly, he put his shirt back on, looking upwards. "Come on, Jeremie! It's just you, now!"
"A-are you sure this is the only way down?" came a reply shout. "I'm sure I can find another way--"
"Probably, but that'd take too long!" Yumi replied. She smiled. "You DO want to see what this is all about as soon as possible, right? And see how you can help Aelita...?" She passed Ulrich a smirk when their friend announced he'd be right down.
Gulping faintly, Jeremie's eyes trailed up the ropes, and back down. As he stared down from the edge of the platform, he reminded himself of what he was here for. He inhaled deeply and stepped backwards, covering his hands with his sleeves. He drew in one more calming breath, before starting to run, his hands grabbing for a rope as he jumped off the edge of the floor.
The next thing he knew, hands were on him, grabbing his arms, though to him it felt like he was still moving. He forced his eyes open and looked around. The rope slipped away as he loosened his fingers.
"So?" Ulrich said expectantly. He helped Jeremie to a more steady standing position, giving him a smile, which the other just stared at for a moment.
"Let's just... let's just go," Jeremie muttered. He started walking across the floor, doing his best to ignore the shaky feeling in his knees. Yumi followed, falling in step beside him.
"Where do we need to go now?"
"Aelita told me that the rooms we need are accessible via the elevator here." Jeremie looked around said elevator as he entered it, while speaking directly into his headset. "Aelita?"
"I'm here, Jeremie."
"Good." He smiled to himself, looking out the front as Ulrich walked in behind Yumi. "We're in the elevator now, Aelita."
"Alright. I'll enter the factory's system now, and bring you three to the computer room."
"Thank you," Yumi said, after Jeremie relayed the message. Moments later, the freight elevator jumped into life, giving a mighty groan as the shutter door slid shut. The entire body trembled, then began sinking.
"I wonder what we're going to see down here," Yumi remarked. She looked up as a small squeal came from the cable wheels past the ceiling.
"No telling," Ulrich said. One hand went out for balance when the elevator suddenly lurched to a stop. "But we're about to find out." A strange beeping sounded in the ensuing silence; seconds later, some mechanism began to whir, telling the door was open. However--to the three's great surprise--it wasn't the shutter door, but instead the right-sided wall of the elevator. It slid up to reveal a wall with a circular mechanism of some sort in the center, which clicked and slid open with a loud hiss, and a few tendrils of smoke. Everyone gasped at what was revealed.
Beyond the elevator was a vaguely dome-shaped room, whose walls climbed up into darkness. The entire space had a noticeable greenish glow. Miles of wires of varying sizes traced paths everywhere, clumped together at one spot, or spiraling up towards the ceiling at another. And from the ceiling was what looked like a mount similar to a crane for a video camera, though this was considerably thicker, and probably hadn't moved in ages, if it even could move. Not to mention that, at the base of the thing were a number of flat-panel computer screens, and a keyboard. In the center of the room was some circular structure, which looked like some sort of projector, with a 3D map of an odd globe above it. A chair on the track around this projector was positioned at the computer.
"What...what is this place?" Yumi whispered, walking inside.
"It...it looks like a computer lab, of some sort," Jeremie replied. His voice as well was hushed, even as he spoke into his headset now. "Aelita? Are you there?"
"I'm here."
The fact that the voice came, quite audibly, from the computer in the room gave them all quite a start, needless to say.
"Jeremie?"
As she called his name, he approached the computer, looking at it with wide eyes. Aelita's eyes tracked him as he moved into view, stopping in front of the chair, but not sitting. Yumi and Ulrich joined him, standing on either side.
"Is that...who you told us about, Jeremie?" Ulrich asked.
"I...yeah..." He swallowed thickly, and nodded. "That's her."
"It's nice to see you again, Jeremie," Aelita said with a smile. "Are these the friends you mentioned?"
Jeremie was only aware he was staring when he was given a light thump between the shoulderblades. Readjusting his glasses, he flashed Ulrich a look and turned back to Aelita, trying to ignore the blush he could feel growing.
"Y-yeah. This is Ulrich, and Yumi..."
"A pleasure to meet you both," Aelita said with a smile; the others returned the same.
"Okay, so we've got introductions out of the way," Ulrich remarked. "Why don't you tell us the full story, Aelita? Jeremie could only give us the barebones..."
"The...what?"
"The basics," Yumi said with a light smile.
"Oh, I see," Aelita giggled. She smiled, then nodded. "Alright, I'll tell you as much of the current situation as I know..."
Abstractly listening, Jeremie watched Aelita for a long moment before he finally turned his head, looking off to one side. He stepped aside as Yumi slid into the chair, moving away from the computer as the virtual girl continued her explanation. Sighing a little, Jeremie let his eyes travel up the walls of the room, tracing the twisted bundles of wires that hung partially in view from the ceiling.
It was about right at that moment that his foot kicked something.
He looked down with a surprised blink, his eyes opening a bit more when he saw a discarded leather-bound book lying near his feet. It wasn't until he knelt down that he noticed stains on the floor, a few shades darker than the overall green color of the rest of the room. And only when he picked up the book and glanced at the page it was open to did he realize just what those stains were.
"GAH!"
"Jeremie?" Ulrich and Yumi glanced over just in time to see him hurriedly drop a book, and take a number of steps back. They glanced at each other, then ran over to their friend.
While Ulrich talked to the boy, Yumi knelt and plucked the book from the floor. She started a little at a sudden shout.
"Careful, Yumi! There's blood on that book!"
"Really?" she asked, blinking. Turning it over, she let out a sharp little sound at seeing the dried splatters across the open pages. "There is!"
"It looks like it's on the floor too, here and there to the elevator," Jeremie said in a soft voice. He wrung his hands, swallowing lightly. "Be careful, that's pretty unsanitary..."
"I've got it under control," comforted Yumi. She glanced at Jeremie, then looked back down as she flipped the book back to the beginning, starting to page through it. "It looks like a...journal of sorts..."
"But what would a journal be doing down here?" Ulrich puzzled, scratching his head.
"A journal is like a log, correct?" asked a voice from the computer. "Then I believe my creator was keeping one."
"That's gotta be it then!" Yumi exclaimed. She skimmed over a page and shook her head. "There's certainly enough techno babble in here for it to belong to the kind of genius it'd take to create Lyoko..."
"Then..." Jeremie muttered. He scratched his chin, looking down at the aging smears that led to the exit. "If this is..." He paused. "...blood, then..." Sighing softly, he closed his eyes. "It doesn't look too good for the programmer..." When his eyes reopened, they were full of resolve as he turned and walked back to the computer, his fists balled lightly. "I've made up my mind, Aelita. I'm going to help you, and Lyoko, in any way I can."
"We want to help too," Yumi and Ulrich echoed.
"That's great!" replied the girl, smiling brightly. She sighed in relief as the smile remained, while she watched all three step back into view. "I know just how you can help, too, although..."
"Although...?" Yumi prompted. Aelita thought for a moment, before nodding once, to herself. She glanced at the group again.
"Well, one of the programs being done right before the disappearance of my creator was one to bring humans into Lyoko. I believe there's a room just below this one, or there appears to be on maps I was shown once. Last I heard it was incomplete, but its system file has been updated since then, so it might be ready by now."
"Here it is! I think," Yumi suddenly reported. She leaned forward a bit, holding the open book in front of Jeremie. "This entry talks about putting humans into Lyoko..."
"You're right about that, Yumi," Jeremie replied as his eyes glanced over the page. He took the book from her, reading a bit deeper. "But it says that someone will have to remain on this side, to monitor the computer."
"Well, that's right up your alley!" Ulrich smiled a bit, clapping his friend on the back. "Yumi and I can go into Lyoko, and you can stay over here to make sure nothing goes wrong." He looked between the others, then shrugged lightly. "Yumi and I can't do it, anyway..."
"You've got a point there," Jeremie agreed. He looked around at the smaller screens of the computer setup, nodding finally. "Alright. Aelita, would you please bring up the specifications for virtualization and open the program? I can take it from there, though I'll need you to let my friends into the room you mentioned as well."
"Right away," Aelita said with a smile. "Ulrich, Yumi, I'll need you two to go to the elevator." Moments later, her image vanished from the computer screen, replaced with one large window of data and several smaller ones. Many of the other screens changed as well, to add additional information to it. Leaning forward and bracing his chin in his hand, Jeremie looked over the report, giving a small thoughtful noise.
"Doesn't look too difficult..." He smiled and sat back, leaning to one side and waving slightly as the others made their way over to the elevator doors. "Good luck you guys. Let me know how it is, okay?"
"Will do, Jeremie," Yumi said with a smile. She and Ulrich stepped into the elevator, and vanished behind the doors, as Jeremie put the journal aside and began to type.
Inside the elevator, Ulrich put his hands in his pockets and looked towards the top of the wall-door, sighing softly. Closing his eyes briefly, he turned to the girl at his side. "Nervous?"
"Yeah, a little..." She smiled a bit, and Ulrich thought he saw the faintest tint of pink in her cheeks before she turned her head. "But it's the good kind of nervous, I think."
"Yeah. Same here." They shared a smile, as the elevator clanged to a stop, and the immense doors opened. Turning to look ahead, they both gasped at the sight of the room beyond.
"Whoa..."
"What is it, guys?"
"You..." Yumi said, having to force herself to raise her voice so the crackly intercom system could pick up her voice. "You've GOT to see this room, Jeremie!"
"Maybe another time. For now, you two need to get virtualized. Aelita says there should be scanners, or similar, down there. Do you see anything like that?"
"Well, if she means these big tube thingies, then yeah we do." Ulrich stepped into the golden light, looking up at one of the aforementioned brass-colored cylinders.
"Big tube...? Forget it. That has to be them."
"So I assume we just get inside," Yumi remarked as she walked into the center of the triangle, giving the domed hole cover in the middle of the floor only a cursory glance.
"Affirmative. Get inside, and I'll... I'll send you to Lyoko." As he said that, two of the tubes opened with a spill of steam and yellow light. Ulrich and Yumi looked at each other, before walking into the ones they each stood near, turning towards the front as the doors shut.
"They're in the scanners," Aelita stated.
"Good, thank you Aelita." Jeremie smiled lightly, as he continued typing. "Initializing virtualization procedure now..."
Yumi looked around in surprise as the light in the scanner suddenly increased, bringing with it a small wind blowing from the bottom. She looked down, as the edges of her clothes and hair began to flutter.
"Transfer, Yumi. Transfer, Ulrich." Empty data cards flashing across the screen were reflected in his glasses. He watched as larger screens opened up, digital impressions of their bodies filling in the blank spaces on the left side of each, from the feet up.
Ulrich watched the ring inside the scanner move up and down his body, before resettling at the bottom of the tube. He couldn't help but gasp faintly when the wind inside increased, little beads of light flowing up with it.
"Scanner, Yumi. Scanner, Ulrich..."
The images of his friends on-screen began to fill in with a slight color, as the data cards gained pictures as well. He swallowed thickly and glanced at Aelita, who nodded. Inside the scanners, the wind practically screamed as the light balls merged together and became a blinding glow. Steeling himself, Jeremie let out a breath and pressed the Enter key; a split second later, the light burst and seemed to swallow the two, erasing any feeling and seeming to take them with it as it faded.
"Virtualization!"
Preview of Chapter 7
"Guys! You're taking a HUGE risk!" Jeremie shouted. He was practically to the point of grabbing at his hair as he watched the icons of his friends fly across the screen. "Just get OUT of there!"
"We're trying, Jeremie!" Ulrich snapped back. He looked behind them at the trio of Crabs clanking after their group. Narrowing his eyes, he skidded to a stop and let his momentum swing him around to face the oncoming monsters. Behind him, the girls stopped and turned.
"Ulrich, what are you doing?" Yumi screeched. "We need to run!"
"Look, just get Aelita out of here." He checked to make sure his sword was clear in the sheath, as the Crabs charged on. "I'll take care of them." Clenching his teeth, he whipped out his weapon and ran for the oncoming monsters.
"ULRICH!"