Episode 1: A New Routine (Part 3)
In the same fashion, Jace and Adele's wireframes began to materialize over the virtual landscape, with both successfully landing on their feet on the ground below them.
As they looked at their surroundings, Jace said, "Boy, it's definitely good thing Kevin didn't come with us. This would've left him really nervous."
"No doubt," replied Adele. "I can only imagine if this place was real."
"That doesn't mean you shouldn't treat it any less serious kids," said Adele's father to the group. "Remember, if you fall in the digital sea below, you'll be virtualized forever. You've got to be very careful."
With a frown on her face, Mrs. Belpois shouted, "Jeremie! Don't say that. They can't focus on fighting X.A.N.A. being scared like that."
Mr. Belpois couldn't even begin to apologize before five suspicious blips appeared on his radar headed towards his wife and the kids.
"Heads up everyone, X.A.N.A.'s headed towards you," he said leaning forward in his chair. "Three tarantulas and two megatanks en-route. Your vehicles should be arriving now."
As if on cue, all three vehicles appeared in front of the group, and the four quickly got on board each. Carine lept to the overboard like her father used to, while Jace and Adele rode the overbike together, and Mrs. Belpois took to the overwing she was always accustomed to.
"Let's go kids!" shouted Adele's mother. "Remember, we have to deactivate the tower as fast as possible to stop any more gas manes from blowing up."
Without hesitation, the group sped off to find the isolated rock formation that held the tower.
Inside the students' dorm building, Kevin and Maya sat on opposite sides of a fallen piece of drywall caused by another blown gas mane. One sat with a way of getting out of the dorm easily, while the other sat on a narrow piece of flooring hanging above a deep chasm below.
As he leaned against the imposing wall, Kevin called out to the pink-haired beauty that was his girlfriend saying, "Hey Maya, do you think the others are on Lyoko already?"
"I know they are," she replied. "But right now, I'm more concerned about you. Are you sure there's no way you can get out on your end?"
Looking around, Kevin noted he had no way of getting out short of trying to take a leap of faith over the hole he was scared to jump. Maya then asked if there was any dorm room near him that was open that he could jump to for safety. At first, he couldn't see any room available in the darkness, but as the ceiling light blinked on and off, he then saw what appeared to be an open dorm room he could safely leap to.
"There's a room just hanging on the edge of the floor I'm standing on," he said to Maya leaning against the side wall. "It's close… but…"
"Kevin," Maya called out. "What's wrong?"
He almost didn't want to admit it, but the boy admitted that even with the close distance, he was still too nervous to jump at the risk of falling.
"Kevin, listen to me…" she said in a manner like she did earlier. "I'd be lying if I said I know how it feels when standing from high heights, but you can't let this fear take over you everytime you get near something high-up."
As much as he knew she was right, this was a fear he seemed unable to shake, no matter what type of situation he was put in. But before he could dwell on the thought for long, Kevin heard a noise come from the other side of the wall which sounded boisterous and loud…
"Hello!" said a mysterious voice. "Is there anyone there? Call out if you're in here!"
"Wait, is that…" both teens thought in unison. Right on cue, both teens shouted, "Jim!"
The big-statured gym teacher heard and saw Maya from the distance, and quickly ran over to her. For once, the girl was relieved to see their gym teacher.
"Belpois, what are you doing in here?" he asked sternly. "I told you and all the other students to evacuate a long while ago. Why are you still here?"
"Sir, thank God you're here," she said beginning to tear up. "You have to help. Kevin, he's… he's trapped on the other side of the wall! He can't get out!"
Seeing the fear in her eyes, Jim walked up to Maya, put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly, and then ran over towards the wall that separated them and Kevin.
"Stern! You alright back there?" he asked unaware of his current situation.
Kevin told Jim he was okay, but explained the danger he was in at this moment. He also explained about the open dorm room near him, but he was afraid to jump into it due to the gap below.
"Listen Stern," Jim said trying to speak calmly. "You need to try and jump into that room. Unfortunately, a rescue crew may not make it here in time to get you out, but if you can make it in there, I can get a ladder here to help you get out through the window.
Hearing the word ladder, Kevin nearly became paralyzed with fear again, telling Maya and Jim he couldn't do it. Naturally, Maya and Jim weren't going to let him give into fear again, and so Maya reminded him of how important it was that he escape, lest he leave his siblings, friends, parents, and of course her without him forever.
"I'm not going to lose you Kevin!" she said emphatically through her tears. "You're far too important to me to lose. Please Kevin… try and jump across."
After contemplating between giving into his fear, or surviving, the boy's resolve finally took hold, and he shouted, "Jim, get Maya out of here, and once she is, see if you can get that ladder here."
With smiles on their faces, both cheered Kevin on as he gauged the jump he would need to make. Both stood in anticipation, as they waited to hear if he made it.
Finally, after he prepped himself, the boy took a deep breath, and with the strength only God could provide, he leapt across the gap with his legs outstretched to land on the dorm-room floor.
Making their way towards the activated tower, Jace, Adele, Carine, and Mrs. Belpois prepared themselves for X.A.N.A.'s party of monsters that were likely hiding and waiting for them to arrive.
"Jeremie," his wife called out. "Any sign of how close X.A.N.A.'s monsters are?"
Looking at the map, Jeremie noted they would run into them within at least one minute, so each kept alert of their surroundings.
That sense of anticipation would pay off, as the two megatanks emerged from behind two rocks sitting on both sides of their pathway, and charged up their laser wall to attack.
Acting evasively, both Adele and her mother activated their wings and leapt off their vehicles to take to the skies to fight from the air. Jace and Carine followed suit by leaping from their vehicles and charged at the monsters head-on.
To keep at least one of them at bay, Mrs. Belpois flew from behind and fired an energy field as a distraction. While it's attention was focused on her, Carine ran with speed like a cheetah and leapt into the air to catch a head-on view of it's eye, and fire a quick laser-arrow shot. With the same nimble movements like her father used before, Carine landed on the megatank's frame and let off a quick shot to send the monster flying backwards into a rock, exploding into digital fragments.
As she landed from the recoil of the explosion, the eldest Della Robbia child breathed a sigh of relief saying, "Whew, that wasn't so hard." Just then, she heard a familiar cry come from behind her, and turned around to see three tarantulas walking towards her and the others. "Uhh… kinda regretting saying that right about now."
"Careful Carine," said Mr. Belpois from the holomap room. "You can't let yourself get overconfident. Your father often let his get the better of him, and it often resulted in him being devirtualized more easily."
"Not gonna lie," she said beginning to confront one of tarantulas. "Kinda wish he and Oliver were here to help us."
Meanwhile, as the second megatank prepared to fire, Jace dawned his sword to hold off the laser wall from hitting him. In a flash, the wall surged at Jace, and the boy used all his strength to prevent the wall from moving towards him.
With gritted teeth, the boy said, "That's right you hunk of junk. Just keep your eye on me…"
Unknown to the megatank, Adele and her mother had managed to get behind the monster, and were ready to fire both their respective energy daggers and energy fields to wipe it out.
Looking up, Jace shouted, "Now girls, do it!" And in an instant, both flying heroines launched their energy-fueled flurry at the creature, reducing it to dust.
Swooping down, Mrs. Belpois and Adele met Jace on the ground where the boy lauded their use of their abilities. Adele did the same to her boyfriend for setting them up with the perfect opportunity.
"Hey you three!" yelled Carine from a distance. "You mind giving me a bit of a hand over here? I'm only one girl you know."
Seeing the danger the girl was in, Mrs. Belpois quickly flew over to join her.
At that moment, Adele got an idea and asked. "Hey Jace, want me to carry you in the air?"
Caught off guard, the boy said, "Wh, what? Really? Umm… are you sure you want to? I don't mind taking the overbike."
"I'm sure," she said with confidence. "And besides… I… umm… I kinda have an idea."
Wondering what her plan was, Jace consented to her proposal, and with all her strength, she wrapped her arms around him, and the two took to the sky together.
Surprised, Adele said, "Wow, you're really light. Are you this light back home?"
"Umm, I don't think so," he replied equally surprised at her strength. "I wonder if it's because you're stronger here on Lyoko thanks to your abilities."
"You'd be correct Jace," said Mr. Belpois. "When you're virtualized, you don't just inherit weapons or special abilities. Your strength, speed, and agility are also increased as well to make it easier for fighting."
Both liked hearing the sound of that, and Jace simply let his girlfriend take control, and the two rushed to join the others to fight the remaining monsters.
As the students all gathered outside the dorm, Maya quickly ran as close as she was allowed to where Kevin would be coming out of. Standing with hopeful expectation, Tristan, Yumiko, Oliver, and Katie showed up and informed them that everyone was out.
"Then there's no time to waste." said Maya. "You guys have to head to the factory right now. I'll stay here to help Kevin get out safely."
"Are you sure?" asked Oliver. "A couple of us should stay to help."
Maya shook her head and reminded them of the danger that could still be present on the grounds, and that this way, they can provide backup to the others on Lyoko if need be.
After quick contemplation, Oliver and Katie ran off out of sight of Jim. Before departing themselves, Tristan and Yumiko asked that Maya see that their brother got out okay. With a hopeful nod, the two followed after the other two as quick as possible.
Turning her attention to the danger at hand, Maya shouted out to Kevin from down below, "Kevin! Are you there? Please, talk to me!"
After about four seconds of silence, a voice came from the other side of the wall saying, "Maya! I'm here. I made it!"
Maya's eyes lit up and the pink-haired girl hugged Jim in her excitement. Within a split-second, the girl let go of Jim, and told Kevin to head to the window of the dorm to wait for Jim to come and get him with the ladder in the shed.
Kevin quickly heeded her words, and found the window at the end of the room which he would escape from. But as he undid the latch to open it, the boy's vertigo set back in ridiculously fast, as he realized just how high up he was from the ground below, and he quickly placed his feet firmly back on the solid desktop he was standing on.
Just when the brown-haired boy thought things couldn't get worse, a sudden shaking could be felt from the room he was in; a shaking that felt very reminiscent of the one felt when he became trapped behind the wall. Looking out the window, his suspicions were confirmed, when he saw that another gas mane blew from below the street just outside the campus grounds.
"Oh crud!" he said loudly. "This is not good. At this rate, those manes are gonna blow everywhere around here. Then we really won't be safe. Jace, Adele, Carine, I hope you can get that tower deactivated fast."
Before he could dwell too much, Kevin's phone rang wildly with caller ID displaying his father's number.
"Dad," he answered.
"Kevin," Mr. Stern replied back. "Where are you right now? For the love of God, please tell me you're okay."
The eldest Stern son mentioned he was okay, but he was currently trapped in the boys dorm in an empty dorm room waiting for Jim to come back with a ladder to get him. The boy's father was stunned with the fear of his son being trapped in the dorms, and feared that his brother was in similar danger. But Kevin reassured his dad that Tristan and Yumiko got out, and were on their way to the factory with Oliver and Katie to help the others.
"Phew, that's a relief," said the Stern father. "Listen son, please stay strong. I'm on my way to you now. Your mother will go join the others to lend support."
"Don't worry dad, you don't have to do that," Kevin replied. "I can hold out until the tower is deactivated."
"No son," said his father. "I won't any child of mine be left in danger. I'll be there soon."
At that moment, the call was ended by Mr. Stern. Kevin then began to flashback to a moment his father made a promise to him when he was 8 years old. As he was settling into bed, the boy's father told him that while his own father was not always supportive of him and was super strict in his upbringing, he would never do the same to his own children. While he mentioned his father meant well in his own way, he promised that when either he, Yumiko, or Tristan were in trouble - big or small - he would always be there for them, and wouldn't hestiate to offer them support in the way his father couldn't.
And it was then, Kevin remembered a specific sentence his father said that night, "For just as God's love runs deeper than words, so will your mother's and my love for you three." Remembering those words brought the boy a sense of comfort as the ladder Jim mentioned leaned against the wall to provide him a way out.
As they emerged from the sewer hatch, Oliver and Katie stood in shock at a much more smoked-filled skyline of their city, realizing that the danger just elevated even further.
With a soft voice, Oliver said. "And we thought that storm a while back was bad."
"You're not kidding," added Katie. "Who knows how many more manes just blew up?"
"Let's just hope it isn't too late," replied Oliver taking a hold of his girlfriend's hand. "We'd better get moving."
As they ran into the factory and landed on the grounds, Katie's cellphone rang with Yumiko's number on the other line. As they boarded the elevator, she put her voice in speakerphone.
"Yumiko, where are you?" she asked.
"Tristan and I took off a bit after you left," responded Yumiko. "We just wanted to tell Maya to help get our brother out safely."
"Oh okay," said Oliver with a sigh of relief. "We thought the worst had happened. Are you both still on the way?"
"We are," she replied. "You both go on ahead though. We'll catch up."
Both heeded their advice, and quickly descended the elevator to the holomap floor, immediately greeted by Mrs. Stern and Oliver's father.
As both walked on, they informed the parents of the damage done to Kadic and what happened to Kevin, Mrs. Stern relieved to know her son was okay. Realizing that time was of the essence, everyone quickly boarded the elevator to descend to the factory below.
Narrowly dodging rapid laser-fire from the Tarantulas in front of her, Carine took refuge behind a larger rock where Mrs. Belpois, Adele, and Jace met her. After they landed, each considered how they could destroy the Tarantulas that were blocking the way to the tower.
After quickly deliberating, Mrs. Belpois said, "Okay, everyone clear on what they're supposed to do?" Each nodded their heads, and waited for the Belpois mother to give them the signal to act.
With a quick motion, Mrs. Belpois turned the corner and fired a swift energy-field blast at the Tarantula which was the cue for the kids to act.
As the Tarantula's leg was blown up to knock it over, Carine leapt out from the rock and called upon her shield to protect her, as Jace ran in front of Adele to position himself properly for an attack.
"Come on you mutated freaks!" shouted Carine. "Give me your best shot! I'm not afraid of you." Laser fire continued to target the teen girl incessantly, preventing her from getting a break to fire her laser arrow.
At that moment, Adele quickly called upon her wings again, and took hold of her boyfriend like before to quickly fly overhead. Both Tarantulas didn't have enough time to notice the youngest Belpois girl drop her guardian prince with sword drawn and ready, which quickly plunged into the eye of the one directly in front of Carine.
After the bug blew into pieces, Adele used the moment of distraction caused upon the second Tarantula, and released her triple-form energy dagger to destroy it completely.
But her joy was short-lived as the third Tarantula fired on target and knocked the youngest Belpois daughter out of the air as she was hanging over the digital sea.
Horrified, Jace yelled, "Adele! No!"
"My baby!" added Mrs. Belpois who was quickly shot and devirtualized while her back was turned.
"Quick Jace, save her!" said Carine as she turned her head.
Reacting quickly, Jace ran as hard as his legs would allow him, and the boy quickly lunged out with his hand outstretched to take the hand of the girl he cared most for.
Keeping his eye on her, he positioned himself to grab her, as Carine continued to distract the Tarantula still firing.
"Adele! Take my hand!" shouted Jace as loud as he could. As she stirred awake from the laser shot, and came into her boyfriend's eyeline, the girl quickly stretched out her hand, and grasped it tightly to keep herself from falling to the virtual prison below.
"I gotcha!" he said trying to hold on for dear life. "Hang in there Princess, I'm gonna get you out of here."
Looking below in fear, Adele shouted, "Please Jace! Don't let me go!"
"Don't worry, I'm not letting that happen!" he said emphatically.
Mustering all the strength he had, Jace pulled his girlfriend up to solid ground. As her feet touched the ground, Adele tightly wrapped her arms around her love, not wanting to let him go. But her embrace didn't last long, as the Tarantula that was firing on Carine shot Jace in the back and left her embracing a blank wireframe until he faded away.
"No! Jace!" she shouted in horror.
Rattled with shock, Adele stood frozen in place as Carine called out to her to give her some help. Unfortunately, help couldn't come quick enough as Carine's shield gave out, and the older teen was sent back to Earth, leaving the young teen alone to face the terrifying creature on her own.
As Jace emerged from the scanner, he furiously hit his fist against the side, angry that even as he saved his love from certain eternal virtualization, he was caught off-guard in a moment of weakness.
"Aaagh!" he shouted in frustration. "I can't stand those spiders! I'm gonna make sure I wipe every one of them out next time I see them!"
Walking over to him, Mrs. Belpois wrapped up Jace in her arms to calm him down.
"Calm down Jace," she said compassionately. "You have nothing to be ashamed of."
Still slightly angry, Jace said, "Yes I do. I said I'd protect her, and I couldn't even do that."
Looking at him at eyeline, the pinkette said, "Listen to me Jace. I couldn't begin to thank you for how you protected my daughter. You saved her from the digital sea, and kept her safe from that Tarantula. You did more than even I could've done in a moment like that."
"I… I know," he replied finally beginning to calm down. "I just… I can't bear to think of her fighting all by herself. She needs help Mrs. Belpois."
But the boy didn't have to think long before Mr. Belpois's voice came over the speaker system saying, "Not to worry Jace. Help is on the way."
Suddenly, the door to the elevator opened in front of them, and in came Oliver and Katie ready to offer some assistance to Adele.
"Guys, you made it," replied Jace thankfully. "Quick, go and help her."
"Don't worry Romeo," said Oliver. "We'll help her take care of business."
Once the two disappeared behind the closed scanner doors, Carine arose from her drowsy state, and joined Jace and Mrs. Belpois in the elevator to rejoin the older Lyoko Warriors in the holomap room.
Back on campus, Jim aligned the ladder in the proper position to allow Kevin the opportunity to escape from the dorm room he was in.
From down below, Maya shouted through Jim's megaphone to Kevin, "Kevin, you have to climb down."
In that moment, Kevin looked hestitant like he was when he couldn't jump to the dorm room. And it was even apparent to Maya as she looked from below.
"Kevin, listen to me!" she said. "I know it's a little high up, but you have to try. Try and channel what you were feeling earlier to help you climb down now.
"Please Kevin," she continued. "You have to do this. I'm right here. Just concentrate on me."
In his mind, the fact he could actually see her now was encouraging. Despite her being a bit hard to see from above, the boy took his girlfriend's advice and with a gulp, he began to take one trepidatious step onto the top rung of the ladder.
"That's it Kevin," she said trying to encourage him. "Just one step at a time. You can do it."
Maybe it was only the sound of his girlfriend's voice that was giving him courage, but right now, if it meant escaping certain danger, he'd gladly take her encouragement over being trapped.
As he got about halfway down the steps, the ground began to lightly rumble again like before, which quickly instilled panic inside the older Stern boy due to the movement jostling the ladder around slightly. Everyone around knew that meant another gas mane just blew up nearby,
"Hang on Kevin!" shouted Maya knowing her boyfriend's likely reaction to the shaking. "Once the ladder stops shaking, keep climbing down."
Hearing his love's encouraging words, the boy looked down and realized he was about halfway down, but to him, it may as well have felt like a mile above the ground. Nonetheless, he continued to climb down, knowing time was of the essence.
As everyone continued to support Kevin, Mr. Delmas came running up to Jim and appeared to whisper something into his ear. Maya stood close enough that she listened in on what she could hear, and was relieved when Delmas said police would be arriving in a couple minutes to take them to safety.
In a flash, the oldest Belpois daughter ran towards Kevin as he finally reached the last rung of the ladder. As the two held each other tightly, the boy attempted to kiss his girlfriend, but was stopped by her placing her finger to his lips.
"Save the kiss for later," she said. "We need to move now."
But before the teens could run off, Jim came over and expressed his relief that Kevin was okay, and informed the students that the police were on the way to escort the children off the Kadic grounds to safety. Unbeknownst to both Maya and Kevin though, a greater threat was taking place not far from them.