The Medieval Delusion
Chapter 3
"Jeremy! What happened?"
"William! The Imprisoned One is loose and disguised as you. Are you him, then?"
"No, he isn't. Hello, William."
"You."
"I especially look forward to killing you."
"Hey, Milo, how far away is this place?" said Odd as they walked down the dirt road.
"Far, Odd, very far," Milo shot back.
"Travelers! How fare you?" a deep voice echoed out of the woods. A man in monk robes stepped out.
"Tired and hungry," moaned Odd.
"I am Brother Sam. Sam Which." Odd laughed. Brother Sam and Milo stared at him. "Do you find something funny?" asked the monk interestedly.
"You know, sandwich," said Odd. They continued to stare. "Forget it."
"How fare you, Brother Sam?" asked Milo. "Well, I hope."
"I know you! You are the noble Sir Milo the Skilled!"
"That is what they called me in the military, yes," said Milo.
"My dear boy, the rumors are flying about your valiant mission to save Princess Aelita!" said Brother Sam excitedly. "And your companions, Sir Xanite the Fierce and Odd the Trickster!"
"What know you of us?" asked Milo. "What rumors do fly?"
"That you love the Princess and intend to kill Xana."
"That is true."
"Two mercenaries are looking for you. They call themselves Ulrich and Yumi."
"Ulrich and Yumi!" said Odd. "They are here!"
"Yes, they're inside my house. I gave them shelter for the night. Come meet them, if you wish. I will support you on your mission."
"All right," said Milo. They walked into a small cottage in a clearing in the woods. Yumi and Ulrich sat by a fire.
"Odd! Milo!" said Yumi.
"Yumi! Do you remember too?" asked Odd.
"Yes, I do, but Ulrich doesn't."
"Remember what?" asked Milo and Ulrich in unison.
"Nothing," said Yumi. "Just… Sir Odd and I have fought together before. An occasion of some note. When the wizard Jeremiah was attacked by the Imprisoned One." She said the last words with emphasis and Odd stifled a gasp. The Imprisoned One attacked Jeremy. "We went on to fight on the outer lines while good Sir William stayed behind to defend Jeremiah!"
"Yumi! How is your memory so accurate?" asked Odd. She understood the real question. How do you know all this?
"A magic link that Jeremiah had not anticipated," said Yumi. Again, Odd understood that a way had been left open for Yumi to hear what was going on in the Factory, but Jeremy hadn't known about it.
"Sir Milo the Skilled, might we join you on your quest?" asked Ulrich as he knelt before Milo.
"Of course. I welcome the help."
"I pledge my sword to you then, Milo," said Ulrich.
"And mine as well," said Yumi.
"Allow me to explain the pay," said Milo.
"None is necessary. We leave tomorrow," said Ulrich. "If Brother Sam will house us."
"Of course. Heroes do need their supporters," said Sam. "You must have something to eat."
"I'll just sleep," said Milo.
"All right! Food!" said Odd as he ran toward the table.
"We can do this the easy way or the hard way, William."
"I won't let you hurt anyone."
"I'll kill Jeremy unless he tells me where he sent the disk to."
"Told you… Deep in Factory… You'll never find it… I'll never be able to find it."
"Then how do you destroy Xana in the end?"
"I… Scrap it from terminal… Terminal's locked now… The password… I won't tell… Ah! AHHHH!"
"Jeremy!"
"You dare to strike me?"
"I dare, Imprisoned One, to do anything to save a friend."
"My mind is leagues stronger then yours, human."
"It is. I was never able to fathom your plans. I couldn't tell how you were betraying them. But I do know this: You won't scrap that disk without getting a few people off of it first."
"Obviously true. I need Xana out."
"You also need Aelita."
"What?"
"All this time, I've been thinking. You split yourself into three pieces and you weren't human anymore. But you aren't Xana. You didn't put them into fragments. You kept one. You put one in Xana to make him sentient. That was all you intended to do. But Xana couldn't handle it. He divided you up more. Part of you is in Aelita. That's why Xana never tried to kill her. Keep her off Lyoko? Absolutely. Use the Scyphozoa on her? Great. Throw her in the Digital Sea and make her a Xanadore? Best of all. But never kill her."
"What are you saying?"
"Odd Della Robbia said it once, too, because he realized how important Aelita was to you and Xana. If you get her and Xana here and delete everyone else, I'll kill her. And you and Xana will die too."
"She won't let you."
"On the contrary. If I don't have a weapon, all I have to do is explain it to her and she'll kill herself."
"She always has a part of me in her."
"But it never affects her thinking. And when you die, the last part leaves her. Don't think you can hide. I've been inside your sick head."
"You die now."