8-7: New Code
The summer job is really tough. Approximately two chapters left to go. Stay tuned!
(((-7-)))
They had hardly reached the pathways among the foliage when X.A.N.A.'s swarm of nearly twenty Hornets descended upon them with deadly precision. Aelita snatched the ninja stars back from her friends and threw them unprofessionally at the approaching enemies.
Odd raised his arm automatically before realizing he didn't have his Laser Arrows. Two shots hit him in the chest while he was trying to figure out what to do.
Yumi saved him as she aimed carefully and fired his weapon. He gave her a dirty look as she got both Hornets bull's-eye on the first try. "Beginner's luck," the blonde boy muttered sourly.
"Just go hide somewhere until we need you, Odd. You aren't much help without a weapon."
He was about to make a smart remark and refuse to cooperate when a laser flew past his face. "Uh…I'll just be right over there." He scurried off toward Aelita and grabbed one of Janika's shurikens to attack the Hornets.
Ulrich himself was making little progress with the fan. He couldn't seem to aim it at his enemies. Yumi gritted her teeth as she saw him miss a third time and get hit by a laser for his trouble.
Swallowing a bit of her resentment toward him, she called out, "Throw it like a Frisbee, not a baseball!"
His brow furrowed for a moment before he realized what she meant and then he dodged as two Hornets zeroed in on him. His new tactic sliced them clean in two and he shot an appreciative grin Yumi's way, but she only glared at him before turning back to destroy a trio of troublesome bugs.
Down below, a game of Tag was in order. Samantha continued flying and shooting acid at the agile doppelganger, not noticing that her corrosive goo had struck a large trunk squarely across the base. The wood was consumed immediately and what remained was not enough to support the huge bulk of the virtual tree.
High above the forest floor, the canopy began to tremble and groan. Aelita felt the whole tree tilt slowly as something disturbed its balance. She threw one of her last stars at a Hornet, slashing off three of its larger wings, which sent it spinning off into the deep shade of the trees below.
She spared it a smug smile, saying, "It's wonderful not to be helpless." Then she remembered the danger they were in. "Yumi! The tree is falling!"
Her friend barely had time to look up before the trunk finally snapped under the unbearable weight. The ground pitched to the side suddenly, throwing everyone on their faces. The Hornets flew out of the way, except for one that got caught in the branches and was squished as the falling tree collided with the one beside it.
Odd grabbed Aelita and threw her onto the stable platform ahead of them while Yumi took a flying leap, making it to safety. She glanced back and saw Ulrich hanging from a branch in the broken tree. The large trunk was too heavy to stand where it was and continued to slip below the canopy.
Her anger abated instantly as she saw him in danger. "Hold on, Ulrich!" she shouted, hoping he would. She had to get out there somehow and help him.
The tree jerked suddenly, shaking the desperate Warrior from his grip on the branch. As he was thrown free of his only lifeline, Ulrich's eyes found Yumi's and locked on.
She shut her eyes, concentrating. A red aura surrounded herself and the samurai, suddenly holding him suspended in midair. The tree finally split and collapsed, the wide branches missing Ulrich by a couple meters. The Japanese girl drew him close with her Telekinesis and Odd reached out to help his friend to safety.
He panted, kneeling on the path. "Thanks Yumi. That fall would have hurt."
Her gaze grew stony and distant again. "We just needed you here. Samantha's on the rampage and that squadron of Hornets won't be easy to beat once they regroup."
Odd stepped between them. "We've got to hurry up, then. Who knows what's going on back on Earth."
(V)
Janika saw Nurse Dorothy carry the deadly needle of X.A.N.A.'s venom toward her and struggled, but the result was blazing fire up and down her broken arm. The pain was so intense that she let out a gasp and began spouting incoherent gibberish mostly in screams.
Jim placed a restraining hand on her to keep the green-eyed girl still, but she was beyond scared now and she felt her control slipping away as Bloodlust surged through her veins. The last threads of her sanity unraveled once more and the fearsome being of raw anger and animal instincts broke free.
The gym teacher tore his hand away as Janika's teeth sank into it. Her pupils had narrowed into slits and she lunged for him again. The beast-girl threw herself away from the people around her, ignoring the screaming pain that the merest movement inflicted upon her, though the broken arm was luckily in a sling.
Words—noises!—passed between the humans—enemies!—as she growled and snapped at them, fervent to keep them away from herself. She wasn't sure how long she could keep them at bay, there being so many, but she would try—oh, she would try!
(V)
Jeremy reloaded Yumi's arrows using Odd's profile and it appeared to work. The Hornets weren't much of a problem now that his friends had adjusted to the sudden shock of having new weapons. Hopefully it would work out for them.
But he had other things to do. He'd finally gotten a lock on part of the strange code that had disrupted the link to Lyoko. Everything in it was warped and disarrayed. Luckily he knew how to break it.
He checked on his friends from time to time as they finished off the remaining Hornets and ran along the treetops toward the red-rimmed Tower. They were just descending the trees when Jeremy finished cracking the code.
The first few lines confused him as he translated it. Strange. Apparently Aelita's job to deactivate the Tower had faltered, giving way to an aperture that could be filled by almost anyone who entered the Tower. But why would X.A.N.A make that possible? He wasn't foolish. This was an open wound to him. There must be something else to justify such an action…
Then he found it. For a couple moments he just stared, then he couldn't make a connection to Lyoko fast enough to warn them.
"Aelita! Aelita! Don't go into the Tower! There's a self-destruct command in Lyoko's programming that will delete you if you put in the code!"
They stopped instantly, standing undecided before the Tower. Aelita connected with the interface, appearing on Jeremy's computer screen. She surveyed the code he had translated and agreed on his assessment, but not entirely.
"I have to deactivate the Tower, Jeremy. There's no way I can avoid that."
"You'll be deleted! Aelita, if you do that, you're going to die! I won't let you do this and neither will anyone else."
"He's right," Odd concurred. "We won't let you into this Tower. Mainly because you don't have to deactivate it."
For a moment everyone just stared at him, wondering what he was high on. The panther-Warrior himself knew the instant he had seen with his Anticipation was nearly upon them.
Before he could open his mouth to explain, a loud buzzing sounded behind them, coming rapidly closer. They turned around to see Horthe and Samantha flying straight at them!
This chapter perplexed me for a little while b/c I couldn't decide whether or not to add the bit w/ Janika or just leave that hanging. It didn't really say much, so it was pointless except to fill up empty space, but you get my drift.
Let me try a different kind of poll: I've read a couple versions of Sissy being added to the gang (usually as a nice person) and I was curious to see what kind of Lyoko Warrior you guys think she might be (appearance or weapon or Special Ability). I know I'm gonna get some flamers for this poll!
