Unleashing Valor
By: Tellemicus Sundance
Trap!
"I'm here!" a familiar voice yelled out from the service hatch.
Aelita let out a relieved sigh. Jeremy nodded as he studied the supercomputer monitor. Their blonde-purple haired friend collapsed on the floor for a moment, breathing very hard and completely drenched.
"What's…going on…guys?" he panted out.
"Xana's created this hurricane," Jeremy said. "But it's very bad because the size and strength of it is unbelievable! It's covering most of western Europe. And from what I can tell, there are several more storms forming over Asia, the United States, Latin America, and Africa."
"So, it's just one planetary-scale attack, huh?" Odd said, forgetting his earlier exhaustion.
"Pretty much," Jeremy growled out. "Where are Ulrich and Yumi?"
"I don't know," Odd answered slowly. "I was walking back to Kadic when the storm hit. I ran here the whole way…Come on, Aelita," there was a deadly serious tone to his voice.
"Right," she said quietly
When the two figures dropped into the digital world, they were unaware of being watched. High up on a rock ledge, a stubby head peeked over at them. It knew what they were here for. Normally, it would've tried to stop them.
But now, watching them fly away on their Overboard and Overwing, it silently hoped for their success.
The trio of towers loomed into sight. A churning red mist shrouded the entire immediate area around them, making visibility moderately obstructed. Aelita and Odd couldn't help but notice this as they approached.
"Are you sure there are no monsters in this area?" Odd called out uncertainly. The flight to the Towers had been unusually quiet and the landscape was as deserted as the desert it simulated. It quickly made even Odd uneasy.
Stopping in front of one of the towers, they looked up at it. The same thought passed through minds; this is too easy.
"No, I'm not picking up any monsters in Lyoko," Jeremy said. He was scanning all of Lyoko for even the slightest disturbance that resembled a monster. "The scans keep coming up clean. There don't seem to be any this in Lyoko."
It was then that something miraculous happened. Odd got an idea. "Hey, Jeremy, did you scan inside the towers?"
"Huh?" the blonde genius was quick to jump to the request. After a moment, it came up clean. "No, I'm not detecting any inside either."
A sense of unease fell over Odd as he watched Aelita walk cautiously forward. Then, leaping to an instantaneous decision, he hoped on to his Overboard and flew straight inside the nearest tower.
A hail of laser fire greeted him upon entry. Throwing up his small shield, he was quick to dodge. The sight of three Flying Mantises was not a welcome sight.
"Jeremy!" Odd called out. "There are Flying Mantises in here!"
"What!" Jeremy cried, shocked. "Aelita! Don't go in there!"
Whether she'd have entered or not would never be none, for at that instant, Odd came flying out. He slammed into her and it threw both of them tumbling. Groaning at seeing his Overboard devirtualize next to him, Odd climbed to his feet aiming at the towers.
A familiar roar tore through the landscape as the pair boarded the Overwing. Aelita flew as fast as the Overwing could go away from the towers. Odd watched in fear and disgust as nine Flying Mantises emerged from the three towers.
"Aelita," Odd said. "we are in serious trouble."
Glancing behind them, she saw how true that statement was. Usually they only fought three of these beasts and it was hard enough. Now the two of them had to fight three times the usual amount. Yes, we are in trouble.
A large shower of laser fire rained down toward them as the Flying Mantises gained on them. Aelita immediately threw the Overwing into evasive maneuvers as best she could. Odd sent several volleys of arrows back at them but not one seemed to connect. With his haphazard footing and the jolting from side to side, Aelita was surprised that he hadn't fallen off yet.
"Aelita," Jeremy called out. "There should be a canyon about two hundred meters away around the next rock outcropping to your right. Go hide there."
"Alright, Jeremy," she said as she put the Overwing into a dive for the surface.
Yumi came upon the ladder with a sigh of relief. As she tossed her skateboard to the side, she saw only one other skateboard and a scooter there. That means one of them isn't here yet, she realized.
Looking up she saw a familiar figure near the top. It was Ulrich. There was something different about him than the Ulrich she'd come to know. He was wearing his familiar green again!
"Ulrich?" she called out. Intending to climb up the ladder, she jumped up on to it. "What are you doing?"
"The manhole cover isn't opening," he grunted out. She could hear the obvious strain in his voice. "It weighs a ton!"
"Here," she said as she climbed up. "Let me help."
"How?" he inquired, glancing down at her.
"Just move," she snapped.
Climbing up beside him, she joined him by bracing one foot on the wall, one foot on the ladder, holding onto the ladder, and pressing her back against the cover. Using the strength that she could muster out of the single leg that was holding her to the ladder, she grunted and groaned as she fought to lift the cover.
It wouldn't budge.
Ulrich watched her for a moment, a strange expression on his face. Then he resumed his own lifting. Straining with all their might, they fought to lift it. Slowly, painfully slowly, it began to rise a quarter of an inch at a time.
(Author's Note) Man! I never realized how needy all of you were! 'Longer chapters!' Jeeze, has anyone ever told you all how whiny you can be:D
Well, here you go. It's only a tiny bit longer. But things are really starting to pick up now. I'll bet the next chapter will be easily 3,000 words strong so try not to complain too much.Just so you know, its taken me four hours (four days) just to write this much! So don't say that I'm not trying!