Yeah, uh huh, I rock. Another chapter! shoots confetti Anyway, next chapter or the one after will be the last. I cut it a bit short. Just don't kill me after you read the next chapter, alright? I HAD to do it! Had to! And… Well, you'll see. But you won't like it.
Chapter 7: Leaping Flames
"Oh, good, you're here," Aelita said when they had finally arrived.
"Which way, princess," Odd said jokingly, bowing. Natalie whacked him upside his head.
"Stop goofing! We have to get going. Who knows what X.A.N.A.'ll do!" They all hurried off, following Aelita.
Meanwhile, the flames were growing. They had soon burned away all the grass around the lamp, reaching upward for more fuel. They caught on a wooden beam of the school, instantly growing in intensity. The beam burned away, ashes falling to the ground, and the roof fell with it. Someone screamed, and Ulrich ran outside.
Sissy, the principal's daughter, had been caught under the falling roof.
"Help!" She screamed desperately. Ulrich lunged, just as another part of the roof began to fall. He knocked the girl out of the way, but was hit in the back by flaming shingles. Sissy stared shocked for a moment, staring at the now unconscious Ulrich. The flames were quickly burning through his clothes, burning his skin. In a quick second decision, Sissy jumped to her feet and ran, screaming, inside the school.
"Help! Help! A boy has been hurt! HELP!"
The party was running for only a few minutes when Jeremy's voice echoed around them, like it had the first time they had entered Lyoko.
"Watch out, guys. There's something approaching." Jeremy pressed a couple of keys, bringing up a page. A small, hornet looking creature transparent wings, a large stinger, and the same strange eye that was on the bowling ball appeared on the page.
"It is some kind of monster," Jeremy said to the other teens. "These guys can fly. Get ready."
"We don't need telling twice," Odd said. He could already see the things. He lifted his arm, taking careful aim, and shoot. Unfortunately, he hadn't had much of a chance to practice his shot, and ended up missing by at least a yard.
"Lemme try," Natalie said, pulling out three arrows. She loaded all three at once. Two of the arrows hit dead on, and the creatures fell from the sky, exploding into data. The last lifted its tail and shot a stinger that hit Natalie in the chest. She was thrown back, but not all that much worse for wear.
"That didn't even hurt…" She muttered.
"You just lost twenty life points, Natalie. Watch it, another hit like that will put you out of commission."
"Life points?" Yumi asked as she pulled out her weapon, a metal fan. She'd had a little practice of using a Frisbee, so she tried throwing it, but missed the target. To her surprise, it whirled around and came back, like a boomerang. She caught it in an outstretched hand.
"Yes," Jeremy replied. "This is just like a game. You get hurt by a monster, you loose life points. You loose them all, poof, you're back here and get to watch the action with me.
"Gotcha, Jeremy," Odd said. He fired one last arrow, and actually managed to hit the monster.
"Let's go," Aelita said. "We have to stop X.A.N.A."
Jim was the first one to hear Sissy's cries.
"A boy? Hurt? Where!"
"Ow-outside," she sobbed. "He saved me, but got trapped under the burning roof."
"Burning?" Jim hurried outside and saw the still form of Ulrich, his back covered in flames. He pulled the boy out from under the part of roof. The back of the shirt he'd been wearing was completely burned away, revealing blackened flesh. If the boy wasn't already dead, the chances of him surviving looked slim to none.
Jim hefted him onto his shoulder and hurried to the Infirmary. The flames were already going down, their target reached. All that could happen now was waiting.
The others, while not taking their time, were oblivious to what had happened to their comrade. They hurried forward as Jim hurried to get Ulrich to a doctor. The tower they needed to reach was in sight, all they had to do was jump on the little moving rocks and cross the ravine, without getting shot to pieces by the hornet things.
"I can get Aelita across," Natalie said from above, "but you guys will have to cover me." Natalie grabbed Aelita's waist and the two jumped into the air. Natalie flew forward, trying to catch the giant bugs off guard, as Odd shot of arrows and Yumi threw her fan. Yumi hit one, and Odd another, but the last one shot a laser at Aelita. Natalie twisted to where the bolt hit her instead, and disinigrated into data. Aelita fell from her arms.
R&R, or you won't see another chapter! Well, you probably will, but that's against the point. JUST PUSH THE BUTTON!
Odd: pushes self destruct button
Not that button! Uh, buh-bye. everything explodes, while you stare at the screen in shock