Disclaimer: Code Lyoko is copyrighted by Moonscoop.
This chapter was written by me. It was edited by Discordant Night.
I only own Lila. Mary is owned by AeroJester203.
This chapter will switch between Aelita and Lila's POV.
Enjoy!
Déjà Vu
In Aelita's dream
POV Aelita's
Opening the door to an abandoned house, papers fly off the floor as I enter the dwelling. I trail my fingers across the desk that sits by the wall, picking up dust along the way. Walking towards the backyard entrance, I come to a halt.
Three men in black suits stand in the yard, their faces expressionless. My eyes widen as they begin stalking towards me.
I scream.
The dream ends.
End of Aelita's dream
I'm still screaming as I bolt upright from my nightmare. I hear Lila scrambling awake, then footfalls on the ladder.
"Aelita? Aelita what's wrong?" Lila asks frantically, stepping off the ladder and rushing towards me.
"I um – I had a nightmare," I reply sheepishly. Lila arches her eyes, concerned, and I look away. She's always had to help me with my nightmares, and I feel like they're always an inconvenience.
"Are you going to be okay?" Lila asks, putting her hand on my shoulder.
I look to her. "Um… I think so." I murmur. "I'm going to go to the bathroom," I tell her. Lila nods and lets go of my shoulder. She goes to her desk and pulls out her chair. She looks at me.
"I'll be awake when you get back. If you need to talk – I'm here for you."
I smile slightly.
"Thanks Lila," I say smiling. Getting up from my bed, I walk to the door, and close it as I leave.
POV Lila's
Aelita closes the door and I sigh internally.
I grab my diary and its key from the first drawer and set it on the desk, then grab a pen before beginning to write. Opening my diary with the key, I begin writing in it.
Dear Diary,
Aelita is starting to have nightmares again. I'm not sure what to do. I don't know how to give her advice on something I don't fully understand. I tried to in the past. But I'm just concerned… I wish Mary was here. Maybe she'd be able to help Aelita in understanding these nightmares.
I just hope Xana isn't behind them… he's caused a lot of pain. And I haven't asked Aelita about how she's been coping with the death of her future self. I know it's been a while since it happened – but I wonder just exactly what these nightmares are. I hope it's not about her future self - getting shot by Cameron again. I know my father had mentioned a while back Aelita had nightmares about the Hermitage… and given her past I know it wasn't easy. But what can I do? I can't help her at all if these are those same nightmares… ugh…
The door opens suddenly as I'm writing, allowing Aelita to step into the room. I hastily stop writing and slam the cover shut, turning to face her. Taking the key, I lock my diary and place the key back on the desk.
"Aelita… are you okay?" I ask hesitantly. Aelita shakes her head as she goes to her bed. Sitting on it, I get up and go to her, then sit down next to her.
She's trying to search for the right words to find, to explain to me how she's feeling but she can't. She starts crying softly and I then cradle her head to my lap. She continues crying softly, and I begin stroking her hair, trying to calm her down.
Whatever she's dealing with… I'm going to be there for her, I think.
The next day
Outside the cafeteria
We're all outside the cafeteria. Yumi is laying against one of the doors on the steps, Aelita is sitting with her. Jeremy and I are sitting on the next step in front of them. Odd has his arm on against Ulrich's shoulder, and Sissi stands next to him.
"It was day time," Aelita is explaining her nightmare last night, to the surprise of everyone gathered. "I went to go outside, and there were these men in black coming after me. It was horrible!" She shudders.
"You must have had a nightmare," Yumi says gently. "You shouldn't get so worked up. It happens to everyone."
"Yeah, that's right!" Sissi chimes in. "It's not unusual to have nightmares."
"If you say so…" Aelita mutters, trailing off.
"Okay, it's time to get wet. Are you going to cut swimming again Einstein?" Ulrich asks.
"I can't," Jeremy laments, getting up from the step. "Jim has already warned me. 'No more dumb excuses you hear?'
"What about you, Lila?" Ulrich asks.
"Uh huh, come on don't you guys remember? I don't know how to swim," I mention.
"Oh yeah that's right," Odd says, remembering from way back then.
"Why, what happened?" Aelita asks.
"Well…" I trail off, and start to recount what happened.
Flashback
POV Lila's
Jeremy, Odd, and I took our riding equipment. We speeded away for dear life with the Hornets chasing behind us. We soon reached one of the tunnel entrances. The Hornets surrounded us.
"We're trapped!" Jeremy exclaimed.
"You two got any other ideas?" Odd asked.
"Jump!" Jeremy exclaimed, grabbing mine and Odd's hand.
"Wait – I can't swim!" I exclaimed, terrified. It was too late though; Jeremy got both of us into the sewer water. The Hornets weren't chasing after us, and thankfully we were on the shallow end of the sewer. My feet could reach the ground. Odd coughed from the bad smell. He and Jeremy helped me over to a small enclosed tunnel. We got out of the water and climbed into it.
"Come on," Jeremy said, helping Odd up last.
"Jeremy – and I mean this – NEVER do that again!" I exclaimed. "If we had to swim, I would have drowned!"
"Lila I wouldn't have let that happened," Jeremy said. "And besides insects are very sensitive to smells."
End of Flashback
"That must have been scary," Aelita comments.
"It was - in hindsight I may have overreacted, but I'm also medically pardoned for swimming class anyways," I reply. Jeremy starts walking away from us and Odd says:
"We'll finally get to see that athletic body of yours. I can't wait."
Jeremy turns to us.
"You may be surprised. What are you going to do Lila? Are you at least joining the class?" he asks.
"No, I think I'm going to sit this one out today. I mean generally, I don't technically need to attend class – as long as it's nothing too strenuous. But the idea of everyone in their bathing suits…" I trail off. "It just makes me shy and awkward," I finish finally. "I'll be in my room, so let Jim know I won't be there, okay?" I ask.
"Sure thing," Jeremy answers.
Afterwards
At the swimming pool
POV Aelita's
All of us are in our bathing suits, the guys in theirs, too. However, they don't have shirts on… which makes sense I suppose since we're going to be swimming.
Lila was right… this is awkward, I think. Jim is making some speech about our bodies, but I'm not paying too much attention to his speech.
I still feel bad about Lila having to console me last night… sometimes I feel like I'm such a burden to her. She's a good friend… and a good roommate. I'm glad Sissi is with us now… she'd probably be angry with me for waking her up at such a late hour. But she hasn't said a word yet about that… I'm glad she's changed, I think. I try to start paying attention to what Jim is saying to get my mind off of things.
"Which reminds me of when I used to be a salvage diver," Jim mentions offhandedly.
"You used to be a salvage diver Jim?" Nicholas inquires. "Can you tell us about it?"
"I'd uh… I'd rather not talk about it," Jim answers.
Not surprising Jim… you usually don't want to talk about it. I wonder why that is? I think. Jim points to Odd and Ulrich, who seem to have been talking this entire time.
"Stern and Della Robbia, I'm sorry if I've been boring you," Jim says sarcastically. "Alright. Get on deck, let's see what you can do." He gestures at the two of them.
Pain splits my thoughts, stabbing through my head. I wince and grip my temple, bending over as I try to focus past it.
"Are you okay?" Jeremy asks turning to me.
"Uh huh," I reply. I let go of my head, then slowly stand as the pain recedes.
Odd and Ulrich are at their diving spots. They put their arms down by their legs. Jim blows his whistle and the boys make a perfect dive into the water.
As they clear the water, the pain in my head returns in full force, and I cry out as I grip my head once more.; it feels like my skull is trying to explode. I groan in pain.
Inside Aelita's mind
Vision
I'm back in the abandoned house and it's daytime again. Except this time I can see things more clearly and it's the Hermitage. There are the same three men in black are here again.
I squeak out a yelp as I make my way toward the staircase, nearly tumbling down the steps in my hurry to escape. I can hear them chasing me, growing closer with each step. I reach the end of the staircase and risk a glance behind me; more black-clad men are following in stride. My yelp turns into a gasp, and I continue racing towards the backyard entrance.
Afterwards
Inside Lila and Aelita's room
POV Lila's
I cross out another number on MB's laptop.
This laptop really feels impossible… at least I can use this free time to crack MB's code. I've tried so many up till now – I wonder if cracking the code on this laptop is going to be worth it in the end? I think. My phone rings; it's Jeremy. I answer it and hold it up to my ear.
"Jeremy?" I ask.
"Are you in your room? Aelita had a bit of an accident but she's okay."
"I am. What happened?"
"We're not too sure right now but she said she'll tell us when she gets to yours and her room." Jeremy's voice starts to waver. "She… fell into the swimming pool but I saved her. She's okay, she just needs to rest I think," Jeremy replies.
"Okay. I'm here in the room so just bring her here," I say.
"Right," Jeremy says, hanging up.
Afterwards
Aelita sits upright in her bed. I sit beside her, while Ulrich is sitting close to the end of the bed. Odd is there too, lounging at the edge, and Jeremy is sitting on the chair from my desk. Sissi is sitting in the middle of the room on Aelita's chair, and Yumi is laying against the wall next to Jeremy. All of us have our eyes trained on her.
"This time it was much more detailed," Aelita says vividly. "There was still the men in black, but I was at the Hermitage." She shudders.
"The doctor said you passed out from the cold," Yumi says slowly.
"Maybe but what about the visions? Where are they coming from Jeremy?" Aelita asks.
"I haven't the slightest idea, although I am sure it's no big deal. The best thing for you is to get some rest now. We'll talk about it later," Jeremy replies.
"I think that might be for the best," I agree.
Yumi checks her phone, I assume for the time,
"Right, I've got to go. I'm already late," she says before hurrying out of the room.
Jeremy checks his watch.
"We should get going too, or Mrs. Hertz is going to kill us," he says.
"Aelita maybe I can to talk you about this Hermitage place after classes are finished?" Sissi asks. "I know we used the entrance that one time, but I feel like I'm missing some important details."
Aelita nods, and Sissi gets up her chair and looks to Odd and Ulrich. "Come on you two."
"Right. Well, feel better Princess," Odd says encouragingly.
"And call us if you need anything," Ulrich adds.
The three of them exit the room, closing the door behind them.
"I will," Aelita calls after them, then turns to the rest of us. "Lila, Jeremy, you two should probably get going. You'll be just as late as they are," Aelita says.
Jeremy nods, getting off from the chair and I get off the bed. He slings his messenger bag over his shoulder.
"Right, if you're sure," I say. Aelita nods. Getting up, I go to our shared open closet and get my backpack, then shoulder it before heading out. Jeremy sticks behind, lingering by the doorway. Finally, he says, "See you in a bit Aelita. Lila and I will check on you after science class."
POV Aelita's
Waving Jeremy goodbye; he closes the door. I sigh and remove my blanket, then slide off the bed and stand to my feet.
The only way to figure out what these nightmares are is to go to the source… the Hermitage. I've got to get out of these pajamas and go straight there. Jeremy, Lila, I hope you two won't be too angry with me, I think.
In Mrs. Hertz's class
POV Lila's
All of us are sitting in our usual spots in Mrs. Hertz's class. I'm sitting with Sissi, and Jeremy is sitting behind me with Odd and Ulrich sitting behind him. Thankfully Mrs. Hertz ended up being late herself, so the rest of the class is just getting settled in.
"Settle down and be quiet please," Mrs. Hertz's requests. "Open your books to page 99."
"I forgot to check something," Jeremy says. I look at him.
"What's that?" I ask. Jeremy opens his messenger bag and takes out his laptop. He opens his laptop and lets it load, then starts typing on it.
Jeremy's laptop starts beeping; I sigh internally.
Great, that's all we need, I think.
"Oh… no." Jeremy shakes his head "An activated tower. That's what I was afraid of," he sighs.
"What should we do?" Sissi whispers.
"We need to leave," Jeremy answers. Sissi nods and raises her hand.
"Yes Elizabeth?" Mrs. Hertz asks.
"Ma'am I'm not feeling very well. Could I please be excused?" Sissi asks.
We raise our hands and ask in unison: "And can we take her?"
"Elizabeth you may very well be the principal's daughter but unless it's serious we need to begin today's lesson," Mrs. Hertz's reply. Sissi sighs and slouches back into her chair, the four of us put our hands down.
"And Jeremy put that computer away before I take it away," Mrs. Hertz's adds. Jeremy nods and closes his laptop.
Just our luck… I think bitterly.
"She knows I hate being called Elizabeth," Sissi mumbles.
At the crossroads
POV Aelita's
As I make my way down the crossroad, I can't help but feel determined to find out the cause of these nightmares. I continue down the path, my eyes closed as I try to focus in on my dream.
Inside Aelita's mind
Vision
A flash of yellow reveals the three men in black as they appear within the Hermitage. One of them starts walking towards me. The image flashes yellow again, showing the front gate to the Hermitage.
End of Vision
Just as I thought. I guess my assumption was correct after all, I think.
Afterwards
Finally getting to close vicinity of the Hermitage, I look at the abandoned house.
Time to get some answers, I think determinedly.
POV Lila's
I continue writing down notes from Mrs. Hertz's lecture, but I can't seem to focus on it too much.
I really am worried about Aelita… if I could I'd text her on her phone, but Mrs. Hertz's is already in a bad mood. Best not to push my luck, I think.
"Mercury freezes at 38 degrees below zero Celsius at room temperature. It is therefore in a liquid state. We use it in certain devices such as thermometers for instance because it expands with heat," Mrs. Hertz explains.
POV Aelita's
Having passed the front gate of the Hermitage, I continue walking in the yard and reach the steps. I walk up the steps and reach the front porch. I open the door, and it makes a creaking sound.
I enter the abandoned house. For some reason, my mind flashes yellow to a point where the house looked normal. With frames on the wall and the lamp on the desk near the stairwell leading downstairs isn't broken. The memory flash ends and I'm black in reality.
Everything is the exact opposite…Just what happened to this place… and why do I have memories of it? I think.
I walk down the hall as I peer into a room, it seems to be an old study room possibly. I'm not entirely sure. I continue walking down the hall and turn to the living room. Scanning the room, a lot of paper is trashed all over on an old couch, an old table, even in the fireplace. Something curious catches my eyes; a pair of shoes.
They look really old… and they're destroyed. But for some reason, these shoes don't appear to be as old as everything else in here. It seems we missed them the first time my friends and I were in here.
Did… did someone come into the house recently besides my friends and me? But who… who could have known about this place? I think.
My memory flashes again to a much cleaner living room. This time, there's a man with grey hair, a white lab coat, and black jeans. He's wearing brown shoes, and he's playing on the piano. The song sounds… familiar. I walk by the man in the lab coat, and watch him play the piano from behind him as he's sitting in his chair. Tilting my head, I stare at him curiously as he continues to play the song.
I know this song… at least I think I do… I think.
My memory flash ends, and the man disappears. I gasp and try to relax.
"Calm down Aelita," I tell myself.
POV Lila's
I continue to write down notes from Mrs. Hertz's lecture.
"It's a very extremely heavy metal. Which means… what? Sissi?" Mrs. Hertz asks, calling on her; Sissi seems to have been drawing something, instead of paying attention. Which is probably why Mrs. Hertz's just referred to her as Sissi.
"Um… it means – it means that a pound of metal weighs nearly a ton?" Sissi asks, chewing the end of her pen.
Mrs. Hertz's looks at Sissi with disappointment. A lot of our classmates laugh, but Odd, Ulrich, Jeremy, and I don't.
At least she tried... I think.
The bells ring, signaling class is finally at an end. I pack up my notebook and pencil and put them in my bag. Sissi does the same with her materials. Sissi and I get up from our chairs, and Jeremy is the first one to get out of the classroom.
Putting my backpack on, I shoulder it as Sissi does the same with hers and we walk out of the classroom together ignoring our classmates' laughter.
"Warn Yumi, I'll go get Aelita. Meet us at the factory," Jeremy says. He starts walking away from us.
"Right we will," I say. Ulrich and Odd exit the classroom with the other students.
"Where's Einstein?" Odd asks.
"He's going to get Aelita. Ulrich, can you let Yumi know about the activated tower?" I ask.
"Right," Ulrich replies as we start walking in the direction Jeremy did.
"You know… I really am trying to do better in class," Sissi says.
"We know Sissi," I say.
Inside the Hermitage
POV Aelita's
I walk up the staircase. Walking up the stairs, I reach the upstairs and see the old room where we found Mister Puck. The door having been left opened by us. I gasp at the sight of it… something feels different about it. I walk to the room and then reaching it, I enter the room.
The room looks different from what I remember… there are toys on the ground. A white blanket on the arch of the bed, there's a doll by one of the opened drawers. I put my hand on my head.
"Calm down Aelita. Your mind is starting to play tricks on you now," I tell myself.
My phone starts ringing and my memory flash ends, snapping my mind back into reality. Taking my phone from my jumper's pocket, I look at the ID and see Jeremy's name. I press the talk button and I put the phone to my ear.
"Jeremy?" I ask.
"Aelita, where are you?"
"At the Hermitage," I reply.
"But you should be resting."
"These visions are haunting me. I've got to find out where they're coming from."
"Right…" Jeremy trails off. "Anyway listen, you ought to know that Xana's on the offensive. The others are already at the factory. Don't move. I'll come and get you," he says.
"I'm big enough to make it to the factory myself," I protest.
"Okay, but hurry," Jeremy insists. I end the call and put the phone back into my pocket.
Going over to the broken window, my memory flashes and I see the three men in black. I gasp and back away. My memory flashes again and the old man in the lab coat opens the door. I see him clearly now with glasses and his beard.
"Aelita, come quickly," the old man in the lab coat beckons. I snap back into reality.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" I ask making my way to the opened door.
Reaching the doorway, I walk out of the room and I walk to the staircase.
Reaching the staircase, I start walking down. I continue walking down the staircase. Soon reaching the end of the staircase, I look at where I had entered the house and gasp as my memory flashes. The three men in black are in the hallway. I yelp, frightened by them.
I start running toward the staircase leading to the basement, then trip over myself trying to make it down them. At the bottom I look to my right; one of the men in black has separated from the other two.
Gasping, I look ahead and resume in running. I keep running and I reach the end of the basement, and I see a door. I open the door and close it. It seems I'm outside the Hermitage now.
This… this is just like before. Back when I first found this place and I knew about the secret passageway, I think. I look to the passageway leading to the sewers, and just as I do my memory flashes. The old man in the lab coat opens the door.
"This way," he beckons. Running, I go to the door and open it. I run to the staircase that leads down the stairs.
The old man in the lab coat knew about the secret passage way… but that doesn't explain how I knew about it, just like how I knew who Mister Puck was without ever seeing the toy elf before. Do…. I have some sort of connection with the old man in the lab coat and this place? No… I couldn't. That would be impossible… there's got to be a way of finding an explanation to all of this. At any consolation… there's only one person who would know about this passage way. Franz Hopper, he's the old man in the lab coat. He has to be, I think.
Inside the lab
POV Lila's
Sissi and I had placed our backpacks by the wall earlier. Jeremy has his by the chair.
"Aelita should be here soon. Just thirty seconds more and you can head to the scanners," Jeremy says.
"I hope she's okay," I mutter under my breath.
"Yeah me too," Sissi adds.
"What's Aelita up to anyways?" Ulrich asks.
"She said she'd be right over. I should have gone to pick her up," Jeremy says. The freight elevator's doors opens, and we turn to see Aelita has finally arrived.
Good, she's here at last. That's a relief, I think.
"Oh there you are at last. We said midnight on the dot," Odd references.
"Aelita are you okay?" Jeremy asks concerned. I look at Aelita…. She does seem bothered by something. She walks out of the freight elevator and towards us.
"I uh – I had some more visions. I saw a man and it was-" Aelita starts to explain but Jeremy interrupts her.
"Who?" Jeremy asks.
"Franz Hopper," Aelita replies.
"Huh, are you sure?" Yumi asks.
"I know it sounds crazy, but I'm sure it was him," Aelita replies.
"Wait, can we back up a second? Who is this Franz Hopper?" Sissi asks.
"He's the man who owns the Hermitage. We think he has something to do with Lyoko. And he was also a teacher at Kadic Academy," Jeremy explains.
"Hopper? Why do I feel like I know that name?" Sissi asks.
"Huh… how could you possibly know that name Sissi? I mean Hopper isn't exactly common, but there's no way you could have known it. He taught at the school a long time ago. Years in fact," Jeremy replies.
"Maybe I'm mistaken. But then why have visions of this guy?" Sissi asks.
"I'm not sure," Aelita replies.
Odd seems to be thinking about some then points to Aelita.
"What if this is Xana's offensive?" he asks.
I look at Odd…. My father had thought that too. Could he have gotten that idea from Odd? That would be rather surprising.
"What?" Aelita asks.
"I mean these strange visions," Odd replies. Jeremy points to him.
"Exactly. Xana is perfectly capable of stimulating your cerebral cortex through the virus that links you to him, and from that he can psychologically simulate in you an artificial sleep and the involuntary psychic activity that goes with it," he explains.
But if that's true… then why wouldn't Xana try that with me since I'm linked with him and Mary? It doesn't make sense… I mean I know Aelita was born here on Earth and everything. But she doesn't regain her memories for a while now… so… could this really be Xana's attack? I think.
"In short, you mean Xana is showing you free movies," Odd simplifies.
"But why?" Ulrich asks.
"Let's not hang around to find out. Let's go and deactivate the tower," Odd urges. He starts walking toward the freight elevator; the rest of us follow him.
"Before I forget," Aelita says. We look at her.
"There were these shoes in the living room… they were destroyed and they didn't seem as old as everything else in the room, suggesting that someone put them there on purpose," Aelita mentions.
Oops… I had forgotten about those shoes, I think.
"So someone went inside the Hermitage before us? Strange…" Jeremy trails off. He puts his headset on, we walk to the freight elevator and we enter the freight elevator. I press the red button to go down and the doors close.
Afterwards
Lyoko's Desert Sector
Sissi and I are the last ones to be virtualized, landing safely on the desert ground. Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi are on their vehicles. Aelita seems to have been waiting for us, since she isn't on a vehicle yet.
"Better activate my powers while I have the chance to," Sissi says. "Lady Luck!" she shouts. The slots on her bracer spin, then lock in. She smiles at the symbols she has and gets onto her Overbike.
I head for my broomstick and hop on, Aelita climbing on behind me.
"The tower is due north. You're all there now, so don't waste any time," Jeremy says from the computer. Odd takes off on his Overboard, followed by Ulrich, then Sissi. Sissi's Overbike leaves a pink trail behind her, while Yumi takes off on her Overwing. I kick my broomstick into the air and take off, so that Aelita and I can catch up with the others.
Aelita is pretty quiet as we catch up to the others.
"Xana's monsters up ahead! See them?" Jeremy pipes in.
"We'd have to be as nearsighted as you to NOT see them," Odd jokes.
Guiding my broomstick I make a turn with the others as we see a Tarantula, and four Bloks. The six of us group up.
"Odd, Sissi, you two handle the Bloks. Yumi, Lila, and I will take care of the Tarantula," Ulrich decides.
"You got it!" Odd exclaims and takes off.
"Roger that!" Sissi exclaims. She revs her Overbike up and takes off as well. Aelita gets off from my broomstick. Ulrich, Yumi, and I drive off to catch up to Odd and Sissi.
"Ground and air attack. Lila, do you think you can take care of the Tarantula with an arrow while Ulrich and I distract it?" Yumi asks.
"Sure can," I reply. Getting my bow out, I communicate with my broomstick to continue driving without my assistance. Letting it take the wheel, it goes up to the air as Ulrich and Yumi get off their vehicles. Ulrich's Overbike drives away, and I get an arrow out of my quiver.
Channeling my powers, my lightning bolt amulet glows and I start pumping electricity into the arrow as Odd and Sissi begins attacking the Bloks. Odd is using his Laser Arrows and Sissi is launching three blue spades at her two Bloks.
Ulrich starts super sprinting back and forth in front of the Tarantula in order to distract it. Placing her hands on her head, Yumi starts using her telepathy and her body begins glowing pink. The Tarantula is confused as to who to focus on, and I aim my electrified arrow at the Tarantula's head.
This will be over in no time, I think, holding the arrow and I pull the drawstring back.
POV Aelita's
As I hear my friends fighting, I step closer to the edge of the sector. The Transporter Orb hovers from below and I look at it determined.
"Aelita, what are you doing?" Jeremy asks.
The Transporter Orb begins to open up and move towards me.
"Sorry Jeremy, but I've got to find some answers as to where these visions are coming from," I reply. The Transporter Orb opens and scoops me up as it takes me to Sector Five.
POV Lila's
Having defeated the Tarantula and three of the Bloks, a single Blok remains. The Blok fires at Ulrich and he's hit by the laser. He's thrown to the ground as his body begins sparking. Odd and Sissi continue to evade the lasers by flying around the Blok.
"I need a clear shot! Hold still you stupid Blok-head!" I growl, charging my arrow.
Yumi cartwheels in front of the Blok as it tries firing at her. She dodges the lasers by jumping around and then using her hand she jumps onto the Blok's head. It starts moving about, trying to shake her off. Yumi gets her Tessen Fan and opens it, she throws it at the target eye, slicing it in two.
I dispel my electricity and put my arrow back in it's quiver, and return the bow to its hook. Yumi jumps off the Blok and lands beside Ulrich. The Blok explodes and Yumi's Tessen Fan returns to her. She closes it and puts it away.
"Way to go Yumi," Ulrich compliments. He gets up and takes his Katana blade that had gotten stuck in the ground while fighting. He puts it back in his sheath, and I walk over to them. Odd and Sissi use their vehicles to drive back to them. All of us regrouping, Jeremy informs:
"Xana's succeeded. Aelita's gone to Sector Five. You have to get there fast."
"But why would she do that?" Sissi asks.
"Think about it Sissi. If the visions are apart of Xana's plan, then that means Aelita is walking into a trap," Ulrich explains.
"And without us there to protect her, she's all alone. She'll be completely vulnerable to the Scyphozoa…" I trail off.
"I get the picture. Let's go then!" Sissi exclaims. We nod and start running to the edge of the sector. With the edge of the sector close by, we reach it and wait for Jeremy to call up the Transporter Orb.
The Transporter Orb hovers up seemingly from out of nowhere. It opens up and then scoops all of us as it brings us to Sector Five.
Sector Five
Arena Room
The Transporter Orb releases us, and the room begins spinning. Odd groans, probably from his usual nausea from using the Transporter Orb.
It's a good thing you can't actually barf on Lyoko… I think.
The room continues spinning but then slows down. The walls align and all of us start running. We run through the doorway. The walls then open one by one, leaving us a straight path. The walls fully open and Odd is the first one to run in.
"It looks like the corridor is still there!" Odd shouts, running ahead.
"That's because the countdown is still ticking," Jeremy informs.
We continue running along the path, the walls still opening one by one, when Jeremy says:
"Oh no Aelita!" Jeremy's voice is a yell in our ears. "The Scyphozoa has taken hold of Aelita. It's taking her memory!"
"We're almost there!" Ulrich yells. The walls fully open and he super sprints ahead. The rest of us run faster to match his speed. Ulrich reaches the room first and the rest of us then reach it. We can't see Aelita or the Scyphozoa due to the room's floor and ceiling, shifting in block formations.
"Great," Odd snaps. "A leap frog contest. Lila, any visions yet?"
I shake my head.
"No, probably not needed this time since the was still here. Let's just try to get to Aelita, but quickly!" I exclaim.
"Right!" Odd, Yumi, Ulrich and Sissi nod in unison. I concentrate electricity to the soles to my feet, my lightning bolt amulet glows. The five of us start jumping on one block to another; Yumi makes a leap across another block and nearly misses it. She screams but grabs the block and pulls herself up. Odd uses both of his paws as backs up and runs on a block. He jumps off it and yells as he flies across. He misses the edge of the block and using his paws, he grabs onto the bottom of the block.
Sissi is leaping from block to block rather easily as I continue channelling electricity to the soles of my feet. I make my way across the blocks as I continue trying to make my way to Aelita. I hear Odd yell as I look back at him, he was just devirtualized by a ceiling block that smashed him.
"Hurry it up!" Jeremy exclaims worried.
"You think this is easy?" Ulrich yells back.
It sounds like he's closest to me. I've got to make these next leaps count, I think. Backing up, I concentrate a bit more electricity to the soles of my feet. I run and jump into the air. I land on a block, and repeat until I'm just close enough to Aelita and the Scyphozoa. The Scyphozoa continues draining Aelita's memories, and I quickly take out my hunter's knife from its sleeve.
Jumping onto another block that's inches away from Aelita and the Scyphozoa I'm about to slash its tentacles when it suddenly releases Aelita. She looks up at the Scyphozoa then at me. I go to my friend, standing in front of her protectively, then slash the Scyphozoa tentacles.
The giant jellyfish monster screeches in pain before retreating into a nearby room.
Using his super sprint, Ulrich appears at our side.
"Nice timing," Jeremy says,
"Lila's got Aelita. How's Odd?" Ulrich asks.
"He's okay. Yumi and Sissi are finding the key, seems they've located it. Which is good, because you're at the end of the countdown," Jeremy replies.
The floor and ceiling stops moving. The floor and ceiling returns to normal. Yumi and Sissi run over to us, then passing us, Ulrich says to Aelita:
"Let's go Princess."
"Okay," Aelita says. The three of us start running to catch up to Yumi and Sissi.
By the elevator
The four of us are waiting for the elevator. Hearing it approaching, Aelita says:
"Here comes the elevator. Now!"
All of us jump down and land safely on the elevator. The elevator brings us to the entrance of the Celestial Dome. Fixing it's position, the four of us run to the door that leads to the bridge. We start running to the door and it begins to open.
"As soon as you get you to the Celestial Dome, head to the desert sector fast. Okay Aelita?"
The door fully opens, and we run inside.
Celestial Dome
On the bridge
We run onto the bridge and our vehicles are already there waiting for us. Yumi leaps onto her Overwing, Ulrich jumps onto his Overbike, and Sissi runs over to her Overbike. She leaps onto it and I get onto my broomstick that is next to Ulrich's Overbike.
Instead of getting onto one of our vehicles, the data interface pops up and Aelita starts using her hands to touch the interface and start searching for something.
"Aelita, come on. You heard what Jeremy said," Sissi says.
"Sissi's right. We're not looking for any data today Aelita. You need to deactivate the tower in the desert sector," Jeremy reminds her. Ulrich and I look at her.
"Aelita!" Ulrich begs.
"Please Aelita, I know you want answers but now is definitely not a good time," I say.
"This will only take a few seconds," Aelita insists.
"It's one of Xana's traps Aelita. He created these visions to lure you into Sector Five. Give me the controls."
Hearing a noise coming from above, Aelita doesn't reply to Jeremy. Looking up, Ulrich, Yumi, Sissi, and I see the flying Mantas are beginning to hatch.
"Aelita did you hear me?" Jeremy asks. "Aelita?" he asks again. I look at her… she continues to not reply to him.
Aelita just what are you thinking? I think.
"Ulrich, Yumi, Sissi, Lila. drag her out of there by force," Jeremy requests. My eyes widen.
"Are you serious right now Jeremy?" I ask.
"Yeah, what do you want us to do? Knock her out?" Yumi asks.
"It won't be necessary. I'm sure I'll find what I'm looking for," Aelita replies. Ulrich and Yumi looks at each other then nods. Sissi and I look at one another then nod too. Looking up, we see three flying Mantas have hatched. They start flying.
The three of us take off in our vehicles so that we can give Aelita some time to look for the answers she's looking for. Connecting myself to the broomstick telepathically, I let it guide me as I get up. I wobble a bit and the I take my bow off its hook as the Mantas start charging their lasers. Yumi, Ulrich, and Sissi go on ahead.
Taking one arrow, I focus my powers. My amulet glows and I charge it with electricity and nock it. I pull the drawstring to my cheek and let the arrow fly at one of the Mantas. The arrow passes Yumi, Sissi, and Ulrich and manages to hit the target eye on the Mantas head, shocking the Manta and the Manta explodes.
"Nice one Lila!" Sissi compliments.
I put my bow back on its hook, and disperse my electricity, then Ulrich, Yumi, Sissi, and I take control of our vehicles once more. The four of us split into separate directions; Ulrich and Yumi let one manta follow them while Sissi and I let the second manta trail us. As we fly, it releases mines before speeding up.
Sissi takes her baton and grips it, readying herself. Several mines float her way, and she takes a swing at them. A burst of wind sweeps into the mines, knocking one into the other and exploding the pair. I've grab my bow and nocking an arrow, when Jeremy's voice stops me.
"The Scyphozoa has Aelita! Lila, get to her please!"
I return my arrow and bow to their places, then turn to where Aelita is back on the bridge, I see that the Scyphozoa has taken hold of her. Its tentacles pulse red as they once again leech Aelita's memory away from her body. Its tentacles attached to her head.
"I've got this, go to her!" Sissi shouts as she revs up her Overbike and takes off, letting the Manta chase her.
Broomstick, mach speed. Get me to Aelita, fast! I command. The broomstick follows my command and I grip the sides of it, letting it take control as it rockets me over to Aelita and the bridge. As I fly to her, I see Yumi and Ulrich are still dealing with their Manta.
They dodge the now exploding mines as I stand on my broomstick. The broomstick slowly brings me down to the bridge. Taking out my hunter's knife from its sleeve, I jump down and land on the floor of the bridge next to the Scyphozoa, slicing the tentacles as I drop. The Scyphozoa screeches in pain, then releases Aelita and retreats. I put my hunter's knife back in its sleeve and look down at Aelita.
"Are you okay Aelita?" I ask.
Waking up, she looks at me and rises to her feet. I hear the drone of one Manta remaining. Ulrich and Yumi pull up on Ulrich's Overbike. Sissi drives hers over to us.
"I think it's time we leave, and deactivated that tower. Don't you?" Sissi asks.
"Just what I was thinking," Yumi agrees.
Aelita hops onto Sissi's Overbike, while I command my broomstick. The broomstick descends and I climb on. Yumi gets on the Overbike with Ulrich, and all of us take off to the tunnels.
"The tunnels are opened!" Jeremy informs us from the computer. Sissi revs up her Overbike, causing Aelita to yelp and flies to the tunnel. Ulrich does the same with his Overbike, and I command my broomstick to go faster and to the tunnel as well, leaving the last flying Manta behind.
Afterwards
Lyoko's Desert Sector
At the activated tower
Ulrich, Yumi, Sissi, and I watch Aelita slowly walk up to the tower and phase into the tower's "doorway."
Looking up to the tower, I think:
I really do hope these visions were caused by Xana. And I hope my restriction on me not telling the truth about who you are Aelita… won't affect our friendship.
The tower's aura shifts from red to blue.
Later in the afternoon
Inside the cafeteria
Having had some of our lunch, we're waiting for Aelita; she still hasn't arrived yet.
I hope she's going to be okay now without those visions, I think. Aelita soon arrives, and takes a seat with her tray of food next to me.
"Hi Aelita," Yumi greets. "Have you had anymore visions?" she asks.
"Gone," Aelita replies. "Thankfully."
"You see, it was just a trap made by Xana," Jeremy says.
"I guess. But I still would have really liked to know where those memories came from," Aelita says.
"I think Xana must have made the whole thing up," Ulrich surmises.
"Or the memories came from someone else. Implanted in you by Xana in order to scare you," Yumi adds.
"That could be it," Jeremy says.
"It's very strange though. I was really under the impression that I was reliving the events that I was seeing," Aelita explains.
"That however can't be," Jeremy says.
"Yes I know," Aelita sighs.
I wish I could tell you it is possible that you were reliving these events. I believe now this might be the only thing that makes sense… after all you did live here on Earth with Grandpa Schaeffer. One of these days… you'll be upset with me for not telling you the truth. I just know it… I think.
I look at Sissi as she seems to be thinking about something.
"What's wrong Sissi?" I ask her. We look at her.
"Well… even if it's true and that these visions Aelita had, were created by Xana, or by someone else. Why would I know the name 'Hopper'? I mean Aelita, you did say you had a vision of him, right?" Sissi asks.
"I… I did. But how would you know that name Sissi?" Aelita asks.
"I'm not sure. If he was a teacher here at Kadic once then I suppose the only possible reason, I heard his name is from my father. Maybe he knew Hopper," Sissi replies.
"You think your father knew Hopper?" Ulrich asks.
"I honestly don't know. That's what's bugging me," Sissi replies.
"Well in any case Sissi, I definitely think you're just overthinking that name," Odd says.
"You think so?" Sissi asks.
Odd nods. Sissi turns to us and looks at us for confirmation. The rest of us nod too.
There's definitely no way Sissi could even know about Grandpa Schaeffer and Aelita living here on Earth. That… would just be impossible. In any case, if Delmas knew Grandpa Schaeffer… let's just hope he never saw Aelita with him, I think.
Author's Note: Sissi knowing Hopper's name is a reference to the Season 4 episode when Odd accidentally sends a picture of Aelita and Franz Hopper to Sissi.
The old shoes Lila keeps forgetting to take out of the Hermitage is a running gag. Eventually she will remember to take those shoes out of there. Eventually... haha.
I hope everyone liked the memory from the most recent filler chapter of the Adventures of Lila Belpois. Those chapters are canon to Changing Destiny: Lila's Journey!, as I'm sure I've mentioned before. Even though dark saga Lila died, both dark saga Lila and New Adventures Lila share the same memories of everything they've experienced. One of them just lives longer (N.A. Lila).
Lila's electricity powers are different from what I have done in the past. I don't have an exact science to them so they can work in any way. Even though in previous chapters I've had Lila say "My lightning bolt charges," she is referring to her necklace she has which is a lightning bolt. I just don't use lightning bolt necklace because it might become too repetitive. So you'll be seeing Amulet, Pendant, and other synonyms for necklace popping up every now and then.
Until the next update,
Don't forget to review!
LyokoWarrior1994