New and Improved
Chapter 6: Carthage
I gotta give props to TB3, a member of LF for designing Jim's Lyoko outfit, and to Taelia, also of LF for coming up with the term "Lyokian," which I use in this chapter. And, for all you Star Wars fans out there, be on the lookout for a couple of references to Episode IV.
Everyone else must already be at the factory, Sissi thought. None of her friends were in sight. She passed a bush as she made her way into the wooded area near the facility. She stopped short and glanced around. She had thought she heard someone nearby. Seeing no one, she thought, Oh, maybe it was just the breeze. You're just being paranoid, Elizabeth. Sissi always used her real name when talking or thinking to herself. She didn't know why she did; she just seemed to do it subconsciously, without thinking usually. Ignoring the doubts in her mind, Sissi collected herself and continued into the woods.
Once she was gone, William poked his head out from behind a bush, a little ways from where Sissi had stopped. This looks promising, he thought. She followed Sissi, silently, keeping her just barely in his sights to avoid detection. He jumped behind a tree when Sissi stopped by the sewer lid and took a look around to make sure no one was watching her. Just then, William heard the sound of something growling behind him. Taking his eyes off Sissi, he turned around. There was Kiwi, looking up at William and scratching the ground with his paws. Kiwi continued to growl, a fierce look in his eye. He took a step towards Kiwi, but Kiwi started to yap.
Sissi looked up. "Who's there?" she said timidly. Then she recognized the bark. "Oh, it's just Kiwi." Sissi lifted up the sewer lid and slipped inside and started down the ladder, putting the lid back in its place.
William put up his arms and started to back towards the tree. "Easy, boy, easy." Kiwi started to growl again, and William started to shuffle around the tree, still facing Kiwi. Kiwi didn't move. Once William was around on the other side of the tree, Kiwi had stopped growling. Kiwi walked up to the tree, lifted one of his back legs and urinated on the tree, before walking off. William breathed a sigh of relief and glanced back to where Sissi had been. "Wha? Where'd she go?" He looked around; there was no sign of her. Darn it! That stupid dog distracted me. He smelled the urine. "Ugh! Gross!" Holding his nose, William ran back towards the school, forgetting about Sissi.
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Sissi reached the Factory in due time. Everyone else was already there, including Jim. "Ah, there you are," said Jeremie, smiling. "I was just telling them that I found no activated towers during me pre-trip scan, so this will be purely a research mission.
"Awesome," said Jim. I'll really get some practice using my electrokinesis. Hah!" Jim made a Penchak Silat move, though poorly. Yumi, Sissi and Ulrich chuckled at Jim's ineptness at the martial art. Jim frowned. "What? I'm getting better, aren't I?" Yumi, Sissi and Ulrich all covered their mouths, trying hard to stifle their laughter. Jim had been learning the art from the three of them, mainly Ulrich. He was still a beginner, but he was improving fast.
"All right, guys," said Jeremie. "You all ready?" Everyone nodded.
"I was born ready," said Jim, grinning from ear to ear.
Team Lyoko headed for the scanners. Jim had forgotten how small the scanners looked from the outside. "Uh, Jeremie," said Jim, a little worried. "Are you sure I'll fit in one of those?"
"You did last time, didn't you?" replied Jeremie. "Don't worry; they're a lot bigger than they look."
Sissi and Odd stepped into the two side scanners, leave the center one open for Jim. He hesitated for a moment, then turned side ways and slipped inside. It wasn't as tight a fit as he thought it would be as the scanner was very roomy inside. I guess they are bigger than they look. Jim smiled and prepared for the virtualization process. Suddenly he felt like he was in the air, quite a few feet off the ground, with Sissi and Odd on both sides of him. The three of them fell to the ground and landed softly. They were in the forest region. Jim was now wearing a tan shirt with a red collar, and tan pants. He also had on a breastplate-like piece of armor over his shirt. It had some plates that also covered his upper arms and stop black pads that covered his forearms. Black straps held it all together. He also had some black down the front, with a large "Z" on his chest. Jim felt that this stood for "Zeus", who was a god of lightning in ancient Greek mythology. Jim also had some armored plates on his thighs and shins, held there be more black, straps. He also had a black belt and a black, helmet-like piece of armor on his head. It only covered the sides of his face and the back of his head. The top of his head remain uncovered. Finally, similar to Sissi, he had a Bo staff. This staff could conduct electricity, which came from Jim's electrokinesis, making it a very powerful weapon. When the staff was supplied with power, it could shoot electrical blasts long distances, and it could also be used as a short range combat weapon, whether it was full of electricity or not. Jim took a moment to take in the surroundings before Ulrich, Yumi and Aelita joined Jim, Sissi and Odd, completing the team.
"Okay, guys," came Jeremie's voice "Turn due east and follow the path to the edge of the sector. I'll put in the code for the transporter once your there. I'm not picking up any monsters at the moment, so there's no rush. I'm gonna save the computer's resources and not send your vehicles."
"Just what I wanted to hear," said Jim. "Yah!" Jim fired a blast of electricity through his staff to a tree in the distance. The blast was right on target. "Whoa! I forgot how accurate this thing is." Jim spun around, firing several blasts in a half circle opposite the direction the team was headed. Laughing, he created a large ball of electricity and controlled it with his hands before tossing it down towards the digital void.
"All right, Jim, you've had your fun," said Jeremie. "We don't want to attract any attention. You need to save your energy for when we get to Sector 5. We'll surely run into some monsters there." Jim heeded Jeremie's words and caught up with the rest of the team.
Once they reached the edge of the forest, Jeremie entered the code of "Scipio" and the transport appeared. Jim and Sissi looked up in surprise. "What is that?" asked Sissi.
"It's the transport to Sector 5," said Aelita. "Hold still, now." Jim and Sissi gritted their teeth as the sphere swooped down upon them and scooped them up. They felt themselves being lifted off the ground and carried in the opposite direction they had just been walking. Then they felt the transport picking up speed and before he knew it they had landed. Sissi and Jim took a look around; they were in some sort of spinning dome. So this is Carthage, thought Jim to himself.
"Oooh …" groaned Odd, putting a hand on his stomach. Sissi gasped.
"Odd? What's the matter? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I just get a little sick when ever we come here. Don't worry about me, it wears off."
"Okay, guys," said Jeremie. "The door is about to open. Make sure you get to the switch before the time runs out."
"Switch? Time?" Sissi was puzzled.
"Once the door opens," said Yumi, "we've only got a couple of minutes to find the switch that deactivates the main room's ability to change."
"Yumi's right," said Ulrich. "We all need to work together to find it."
"And with your anti-gravity abilities, we should have no trouble at all if the switch his high up on a wall somewhere," Odd smiled as he said this and Sissi nodded.
"Ah, I get it," said Jim. "This I'll be a piece of cake."
"If you say so, Jim," said Odd.
The arena stopped rotating and the hallway opened across the way. The 6 Lyokians ran across and through the hallway as it opened up the way to the core zone. Jeremie explained the core zone a little more for Jim and Sissi's sake. "The core zone is different every time we come here, so we all need to be careful. Plus, there are some powerful monsters that roam this sector as well, so be on your guard."
"Jeremie," said Sissi. "Is Aelita safe from the Scyphozoa here?"
"No, it can appear anywhere, at anytime, so like I said, be on your guard."
The team reached the core zone and scanned the room for the switch. Jeremie found it first. "Guys, it's up near the ceiling in the southeast corner."
"Oh, this'll be easy," said Odd, winking at Sissi.
Ulrich leading the way, they all made their way towards the corner Jeremie had specified. Aelita spotted it first. "There," she exclaimed, pointing upwards.
"Ah!" cried Jim. He'd been hit by a laser." He whirled around and fired several blasts at the monster, destroying it swiftly. Whoa, he thought.
"Jeremie," asked Sissi "what was that … thing?"
Yumi answered for Jeremie. "A Creeper. They are very powerful, so be careful."
Jim scanned the surroundings and blasted a couple more Creepers to oblivion. "Hah! These things are pathetic," he jeered. "They don't stand a chance."
"That's strange, said Jeremie.
"What is it," asked Aelita.
"I thought there would be more monsters around. I'm not picking up any more, save the Mantas outside."
"Mantas," said Jim, "what are those?"
"Flying mantas," said Ulrich. Don't worry about them just yet. They don't come in here."
"Hurry up guys, you've only got a few seconds left," said Jeremie hurriedly."
"All yours, baby," said Odd to Sissi. Sissi smiled and floated up to the ceiling.
"Now what?" she shouted.
"Just push it in," shouted Yumi in reply. "Hurry!"
Sissi pushed in the switch and the countdown stopped. "Great job, team" said Jeremie. "Now let's get outside so Aelita can do some more research."
"This way!" cried Aelita. She motioned for everyone to follow her. When they came to the elevator, they all got on and rode it up to the computer terminal.
"Wow, that was FUN!" said Jim excitedly. "I love Sector 5 already." Jim noticed that everyone else, save for Sissi was looking around as if expecting something. "He walked over to Ulrich and whispered. "Is this where the Mantas come into play?"
"Yes," said Ulrich. "See up there?" Ulrich pointed to where the Manta's were about to hatch. "That's where they come from." Jim mouthed the word "Oh" and watched the Manta nest, charging his staff. Once the first one appeared, he fired a blast at it. It got bigger. Jim fired another, the Manta got even bigger. Uh oh, he thought.
"Jim," said Yumi, "what are you doing?"
"I—I don't know! It just keeps getting bigger when I shoot it," cried Jim.
"Oh, no!" said Jeremie, a panicked tone in his voice. "It seems the Mantas get stronger when exposed to electricity! Jim, whatever you do, don't shoot them."
"Tell me something I don't know," said Jim bluntly.
The Mantas, there were three of them now, followed after the larger one. As they swooped closer to Aelita, Sissi fired several darts from her staff, all of them striking the larger manta on its eye-like symbol. The manta exploded, and the other two Mantas darted off in opposite directions, startled by the explosion.
"Great shot kid! That was one in a million," exclaimed Odd happily.
"Thanks, Odd," said Sissi grinning. She continued to first shots at the Mantas picking both of them off. Her staff, like Jim's is very accurate.
"Wow," said Jeremie. "I didn't realize they were so vulnerable to Sissi's darts. You're all clear, Aelita! Now, let's get this antivirus and go home!"
"I think I've found it," said Aelita. "I'm transmitting it to you now."
"Excellent. This looks very promising." Jeremie's computer began to beep rapidly. "Oh, no this is just what we need."
"Jeremie," said Yumi, "what's the matter?"
"XANA's activated a tower in the Forest region. I'll call up the transporter and drop you guys off—uh oh—guys, I think XANA's materialized a monster. I heard something strange downstairs."
"Jeremie," said Odd. "Bring back Sissi and I, we'll take care of the monsters."
"OK, Odd. I hope you know what you're doing. Yumi, Ulrich, Jim. I'll send you all with Aelita to the forest region to take care of the tower. I'm entering the code now." The transporter came and picked up the 4 members and Sissi and Odd were materialized back into the real world.
