Chapter Sixteen
Aelita stepped out of the tower to find herself totally surrounded by water once more. Fish occasionally swam by, and plants swayed to a non-existent wind. "Are you alright, Aelita?" asked Jeremy. Aelita nodded.
"Yes, I'm fine," she answered. "So far, there are no signs of monsters anywhere nearby."
"Great," replied the blonde genius. "Yumi's on her way." Aelita nodded.
"Hey, Aelita," Aelita turned around to see the brunette.
"Hello, Yumi," she said.
"Anything strange?"
"No," Aelita replied, looking around. "It's the same as last time." Yumi nodded, and the two girls began to descend towards the ocean floor.
"Can you feel the pulsations?"
"Yes, but it's faint."
"You two better hurry up," interrupted Jeremy. "There are seven monsters headed your way."
"Right." Aelita continued to swim her way through the water in the direction she had gone before, Yumi close behind her. They reached the fork, but continued to swim straight.
Yumi looked behind her to see three Sharks, but they did not attack. Rather, they eyed her warily as they swam about in circles. Yumi frowned in confusion, and looked ahead to see four others. They did not attack either.
"Jeremy, what's going on?" she asked, holding her fan ready. "Why aren't they attacking?"
"I'm not sure..." replied the blonde. "Maybe it's a trap?"
"I'm not so sure..."
"Just keep going; the sooner Aelita deactivates the tower, the better." Yumi nodded. Jeremy typed in Orrick's cell's number, and waited for the brunette to pick up. The ringing continued, but no one picked up. Jeremy frowned, his concern for his friends growing, and dialed Od's number.
"Jeremy?" asked Od. "What's going on in Lyoko?"
"Aelita's almost at the activated tower," Jeremy reported. "Have you found Orrick?"
"No, I haven't. Why?"
"I called him, but he didn't pick up."
"I'm sure he's fine," Od replied, but he didn't sound so sure.
"Has anything changed over there?"
"There's been a few earthquakes," Od said, looking around him. "Everyone's shaken up, but fine. Jim's taking this worse of all." Od glanced over at the full-grown man hugging his legs close to himself and sucking on his thumb while softly calling forh is mommy, before looking away. "Trust me, man, you don't want to see this." Jeremy grimaced.
"...Don't worry; I'm taking your word on that." Another tremor wracked the earth, and toppled the blonde onto his butt once again. His cell phone got knocked out of his hand, and disappeared behind a few pairs of feet. "Od? Od! Where are you? What's going on?"
"...Ow..." He grimaced as he sat up. He looked around for his phone, and spotted it by the refreshment table. He stood up, and headed over to his phone. He picked it up and held it to his ear, only to meet the almost hysterical yelling of his friend. He winced. "I'm right here, Jeremy. No need to yell!"
"Oh...sorry," Jeremy said. "I was afraid something happened to you."
"No, just another earthquake."
"Look for Orrick; I have a bad feeling about this."
"Alright. I'll go."
"Call me when you find him."
"...Right..." He hung up his phone and pocketed it. He walked through the crowd once more, looking for a certain brunette who was quick with his feet but slow with his mouth. "Orrick? Orrick! Where're you? Orrick!" The girl he'd fallen ontop of earlier ran towards him, an upset frown on her face. "What's wrong?"
"It's Orrick. He's"
"Orrick? What about him? Is he okay?"
"I don't know. He's unconscious, and he won't wake up!" Od's eyes widened in surprise and shock.
"W-where is he?"
"I found him by the refreshment table, and took him to the bleachers." Od nodded, and hurriedly walked towards the bleachers, the girl following close behind.
When they reached their destination, they found Orrick lying on one of the lower bleachers, his body relaxed as if he was just sleeping. Od stood a few feet away, unsure of what to do. The girl studied his tense figure silently.
"...So you've already been infected...?" Od froze, before slowly turning his gaze onto the girl, who returned in turn kept her gaze steady.
"...What...?"