Someplace in or around China
"Well, look who's awake!" The heavyset man in military clothes nodded toward Jeremy. A being stepped out of the shadows of the door way and turned to the man. It spoke in that same odd dialect. The man frowned and walked over to the lab table nearby. From there, he pulled out a syringe. "Well, my little birdies, I have need of your blood. It will help us achieve our goals, which, I might mention are not in the interest of protecting you." He gave a sadistic laugh and closed in on Jeremy and Verdana.
The factory/Lyoko
"Ulrich, what's going on?" Yumi asked trying to keep her voice controlled. "I have no idea!" Ulrich replied freaking out. He wasn't the computer freak or the computer program, so how should he know what was happening. Odd, meanwhile was scanning the area for the tower he knew should be there. Jordan hopped nervously from foot to foot, while Aelita glanced around looking for any enemies. "Hold on, there's a new group of signals. I've never seen anything like them. They don't even have a name yet, all that's there is a question mark." Ulrich nearly fell out of the chair as he looked at them. "That doesn't bode well, now does it." Yumi added sarcastically. Over three hours of fighting had taken their toll and she knew she had to be getting home soon. Odd scrambled up onto a rock and called back to the others. "I see them! Ulrich is right; I've never seen anything like them. Whoa!" One of the mysterious creatures shot at him, nearly taking off his head and causing him to fall. "You guys had better find cover and now. I'm not quite positive what those projectiles do, but I think they explode!" Ulrich told them as five more projectiles landed in their immediate area. The gang had been standing around the first one curiously, but on Ulrich's insistence, they scattered to various places. Each of them found a hiding spot and sure enough, the projectiles exploded. Out of the explosion, the newly dubbed mini howlers (that's the name I'm giving them, if anyone has a better one I'd like to hear it) came overrunning everything. The group was only safe because they were in the lee of their rocks. These things were crazy and there were always more of them. "If we get caught under them, what'll happen?" asked Odd uncertainly. "Well as far as I can tell, you'll be broken down into a million tiny pieces, digested by every single one of them, and never return. I imagine it would be quite painful." Odd turned away from the others disgusted and very sorry he asked. "Serves you right Odd for asking Ulrich" Yumi said finally having something to get back at Odd with. "Ya know, if we're going to get out of here, we need to get to a tower, preferably a non-activated tower." Jordan was right. In order to save themselves they needed to get somewhere safe. "The flow of mini howlers has stopped, this is a perfect time to escape." Aelita pointed out. They leapt out and sprinted toward the nearest deactivated tower. A new wave of mini howlers followed close behind. Aelita reached the tower, followed by Jordan and Yumi. Right before Yumi entered, she saw Odd trip and fall. She knew in a sickening instant that he wouldn't make it. Then she was inside the tower.
Back somewhere in or around China
Verdana and Jeremy were feeling very dizzy, having had at least a gallon of their blood drawn. "Finally we will succeed my lord. Finally we will have-" The being in the shadows cut him off with a sweep of his hand. Then it spoke and the man replied, "Yes, you're absolutely correct. No need for them to know about our plan. They will know soon enough." The being was driving her crazy. It sounded so familiar, yet it was impossible for her to place. It felt as though she knew it from another life. The being spoke again and the man bustled out of the room. The being stepped out of the shadows. "Surprised to see me, little sister?"