Chapter 3

The Oncoming Storm

Aelita lay in bed, but she was far from asleep. She was staring up at the ceiling, trying to keep herself from crying. She rolled over and looked across the room, to her desk. On it were mostly pictures, her and the gang, her at some tourist trap, her DJing at a concert, and then a final picture that was turned face down. She knew exactly what was in that small brown frame, but she couldn't bring herself to look at it. Even the thought of it hurt her and brought her to the edge of tears. She rolled over onto her stomach and spotted her spare pillow, stripped of its case and tossed angrily to the floor, and that to made her sad.

She stood and walked over to her computer, which once again reminded her of what the picture contained. Everything in the room reminded her of the photo. Mostly because everything she owned was purchased by the person in the picture. She grunted in frustration and smacked the picture and it clattered to the floor. She turned her computer on and loaded her latest mix. She donned her headset and began to nod to the music, occasionally making a small adjustment to it until the hour overtook her and she passed into a fitful sleep.

She awoke several hours later, but still far earlier than she would have liked. Deciding that she would be unable to sleep any longer she grabbed her bag of bath supplies and headed snuck slowly out into the hall. She quickly moved into the bathroom and entered the showers.

The smell of steam and sounds of rushing water alerted her to another person's presence, but she ignored it and began her own morning ritual. A few moments later she emerged from her hot shower and dressed quickly. She crossed over to the sinks and began to brush her teeth.

She was brought out of her fog by a voice from beside her. "What are you doing up so early Aelita?" When she turned her head she was took a step back for a moment in shock. Standing before her was Sissi Delmas, who was currently either applying or removing some sort of facial cream. "You normally sleep in on Sundays, are you okay? You look like you've not slept in a week." There was a genuine concern in her voice.

She spit into the sink, "Good morning Sissi. I haven't been sleeping well…" She paused, thinking of a good excuse. "I've been having nightmares again."

Sissi finished fussing with her face and then began combing her hair. "Well if you're having nightmares you might want to try and get your sleep patterns in order. You and Jeremie stay up into all hours of the night doing who-knows-what?"

Aelita bristled slightly at the mention of him, but ignored it. "Yeah, you're probably right. What are you doing up so early?"

Sissi smiled, noticing the rapid change of subject. "I'm up around this time every day. It takes work to look this good." She laughed a little, "Not everyone can look as good as you do with no help." She finished combing her hair and then began to floss her teeth. "So, what are planning to do with your Sunday?"

Aelita paused in contemplation, "I'm not sure, doing homework most likely." She laughed awkwardly, still not used to "nice" Sissi. "You?"

Sissi shrugged and went back to her flossing. After a long pause she stopped. "So, that nightmare…" Her expression darkened slightly and she took on a vastly more serious tone. "It was about a car accident, wasn't it?"

Yumi arrived at the cafeteria in time for breakfast. She wasn't eating of course, nor did she have any classes that day, but she wanted to be at the academy today. She walked inside and spotted Ulrich and Odd sitting together, and so she walked over to join them. "Morning guys." She sat down and leaned forward, whispering "I haven't slept, at all. Were we in time?"

Ulrich nodded, "Yeah, we made it."

Yumi let out a heavy sigh. "That's a load off my mind. So where is he? Aelita and he off celebrating or something?"

Odd shook his head. "The Einsteins are fighting. Jeremie exploded after the return trip."

Ulrich took a drink of his hot chocolate and continued for Odd. "He went to the factory and there was something with the computer and then he ran off saying he had to do something, by the time I got back Aelita had gone to bed."

"So, where are they this morning?"

"Jeremie is probably still working on whatever he went off to do. As for Princess, she and Sissi were here earlier talking, but left when we walked in."

"Wait, Sissi and Aelita?" Yumi asked, surprised. Ulrich just shrugged. "Well, weirder things have happened. So what are we doing today?"

Odd finished inhaling what was left of his breakfast and downed his hot chocolate. "I say we head to the factory, that's probably where we'll find him."

Yumi nodded and then shivered. "Is it just me, or is it colder today than it should be? And what happened to the rain, it was raining last night, well, the first time around?"

Ulrich leaned back in his chair, "Yeah, I'd noticed that too. There was no rain after the return trip, and now it looks like the clouds are moving back in."

Odd stood up. "Factory is looking better and better."

"Mail call." Jim walked into the cafeteria, and the door hung open long enough for a chilled wet wind to enter. "Della Robbia, package for you." Jim said as he walked by. "Oh, and this is for Stones, I've not seen her anywhere all morning." He passed him a set of boxes and then moved on to more students.

Odd turned the packages over, there was a small one for him and a half dozen for Aelita. "Who sends her mail? It's postmarked from all over the world!"

"The last time she got something it was Jeremie, come on, we'll leave the packages in her room for her and then head to find Jeremie." Yumi said as they all walked out.

A biting wind picked up as they made their way across campus and clouds began to cover thicker overhead. By the time the had reached the dorms chilled rain was falling in sheets.

Jeremie sat bolt up in bed. His alarm was blaring and he turned to slap it. He was late. Breakfast was halfway over and mail call would have already happened. He leapt to his feet and grabbed his clothes and dressed himself in a flash. He exited his room and began running down the hall. He could hear the sounds of rain pelting the windows as he rounded down the staircase.

He crashed headlong into Yumi and the rest of the gang, sending the packages spiraling to the ground. He leapt up and began to pick up everything. "Why do you guys have these?" He asked. "And where's Aelita?"

Odd stood up and helped him pick up the spilled mail. "Yeah, we're fine, thanks. We're trying to find her actually, she left before mail call."

Yumi helped Ulrich up and then turned to Jeremie. "We're headed to her room now to drop them off."

"I'll go with you guys, I need to speak with her anyway."

Yumi laughed slightly, "Yeah, after she finishes her talk with Sissi."

"What?"

Aelita sat on her bed and watched as Sissi played idly with her hair while she collected her thoughts. "So, you've been having these dreams for a few months now, what makes this one different?"

Sissi sighed, "I don't know, it seemed much more…real to me. The giant teddy-bear one seemed so silly I discounted it. But this one, the car crash, I could almost feel the rain on my face." She raised a hand and touched her cheek. "And I can remember it so vividly. It's so clear in my mind, it's like it really happened."

Aelita was shocked, and shook her head. "This shouldn't be possible…" she muttered under her breath, "What else do you remember? Anything else like that?"

Sissi seemed to be straining to think. She looked down and closed her eyes. "I remember, something about the old factory, and something about Jeremie's computer." She rubbed the sides of her head, "It's there, I can almost see it, but when I think about my head starts to hurt." She looked up, "Don't make a joke about that."

They shared a laugh, an honest genuine laugh. A clap of thunder drew their attention to the window. Rain had been pelting it harder and harder since they had come to Aelita's dorm. There was a flash of lightning and then another clap of thunder, almost at the same time. Aelita winced at the sound. The lights flickered and the room shook as the thunder boomed again.

Another flash and a roar of thunder, and the window shattered inwards. A wall of fire erupted from the ground where the lightning had struck, only to be doused by the rain. Sirens filled the air, echoed by screams as the students fled for safety.

Aelita's hair stood on end and she sniffed the air. A whiff of ozone assaulted her nose. "Get down!" She shouted as she dove to the ground, taking Sissi with her. A fizz-crack followed by roar confirmed her theory, lightning had struck once more. She could feel the heat of the strike on her face and everything in her room was scattered by the wall of air.

She felt someone grab her arm and drag her from the room. She looked up and saw Jim standing over her.

"Stones, you should know better than to stay near a window in…" He was caught off by a roar of thunder, so loud that it shook the building. "Reminds me of …" Another crash. "…I'd rather not talk about it."

Jeremie and the rest of the gang sprinted up the hall, tossing the assembled packages aside in the chaos. "Aelita, are you alright?" He knelt beside her as another crash shook the building. The ceiling cracked slightly and dust fell on them.

Jim started shouting over the storm. "Everyone, take cover, kneel and face the wall. Head count, is everyone here?"

A scream drew his attention. "Milly! Milly isn't here." It was Tamyia. She was in tears, and was clearly out of breath. "She and I were running inside from the storm, we…we got split up. I think she went to hide under a tree or something."

Another flash, and another clap of thunder was followed by a scream. "Somebody help me!" It was Milly, that much was obvious, and she had to be fairly nearby. Children stood and flocked towards the doors, despite Jim's protests, but Odd lagged behind.

"Guys," he whispered and the group gathered around. "Maybe we should head to the factory. I know this sounds weird, but this has XANA written all over it."

"He's right, but I don't know how that's possible." Jeremie ran his fingers through his hair. "I just don't understand how this could be possible. My scan hasn't shown anything and I don't know how XANA would've survived the multi-agent program."

Aelita hung her head. "Alright, lets just get going." She turned and started heading down the hallway. "We should hurry."

Ulrich turned the other way. "I'll stay here, might need someone on the scene."

"Good idea, we'll be back as fast as we can." Jeremie called as he took off running, followed by Odd and Yumi.

Ulrich turned and ran towards he group of people gathering at the door. Jim was holding them back best as he could, but the weight of the student body was too much for him and they spilled out into the vestibule. When Ulrich finally reached the front of the pack he could see a grizzly site. Milly was hiding under a lone tree that swayed back and forth and rain whipped around her. There was a flash of lightning and she screamed again, and curled up into a ball.

She was no more than 30 meters from the building, but the strikes were so consistent that an attempt to reach her seemed impossible. There was another flash and a sizzling noise filled the air. "The lightning is so hot that it instantly evaporates the water on the ground. The air is boiling." Ulrich turned to his side and spotted William standing beside him. "You're thinking of doing something stupid, like running out there and getting her. I've seen that look on your face before."

"If I don't, who will?" There was another flash, just out of his sight arc, he could feel the heat as boiling water splashed the wall beside him. "You've seen what can happen if we don't fight this at every turn."

"You thinking this is…you know?"

"It's gotta be, lightning never strike the same place twice." He scanned the area as another flash went off. He started counting. Six seconds passed, another flash of lighting and crash of thunder. He was buffeted by a searing wall of air. He started counting again, and once more at six seconds there was a flash.

"You noticing the pattern too?" Willaim whispered. "You'd never make it. Even if you are able to avoid the lightning there's still the boiling air, and all the water pools are probably charged by now. You'd probably have to carry her back here too, she's probably in shock."

"Are you saying I shouldn't go help her?"

"No," He smirked, "I'm saying it's going to be tricky."

Ulrich set his jaw and took a deep breath. "I'm going to try." He stepped forward and cupped his hands beside his mouth. "Milly! Stay there. We're coming to get you!"

"Stern, you are staying right here." Jim shouted, grabbing Ulrich's shoulder.

"Jim, you've gotta let me go. I can help her, she might die if I don't." There was a flash.

"I'll go get her." Jim said. "Stay where it's safe." He took a step outside and jumped back as there was another strike. When he returned inside his hair stood straight up. "That's not happening kids. You need to stay here and wait for help."

Tamyia poke her head out the door and shouted into the storm. "Milly, they aren't coming, you gotta come here." Jim grabbed her and pulled her inside, but it was too late.

Milly stood and started sprinting towards them. There was a flash right near her that burned forced Ulrich and William to look away. Milly screamed and stumbled back to her hiding place. Even at this distance they could see her skin turning red from the scalding air.

Ulrich's eyes burned as he blinked his vision back. "We need to get her, now." He looked to William. "I need you to hold Jim back."

William turned to Jim and punched him as hard as he could in the gut and tackled him clear of the door. Six: Ulrich took a deep breath and centered himself. Five: He knelt. Four: He could feel rain spatter his face. Three: The wind roared. Two: There was a cracking noise as the building shifted. One: He closed his eyes and hoped with all his might this didn't kill him. There was a flash and he took off running with all his might.

He juked to the side as a wall of water was flung at him from the strike site. He covered his face in time, but his arm screamed in protest. He grit his teeth and kept running. He jumped a puddle of water and could feel his hair stand on end. He dove and rolled forward and skidded to a stop just under the tree, just in time for another flash of lightning to appear behind him.

He stood and ran over to where Milly was lying in a ball, sobbing to herself. "Milly, I'm here." He rolled her over and gasped. She was burned badly, and when she looked up at him her eyes were vacant.

"Ulrich, is that you? I can't see anything."

Odd emerged from the sewers last as they arrived at the factory. "This has gotta be XANA, it's not even raining here." He turned and looked off into the distance. "It's not even raining anywhere I can see except the school." He ran ahead of the group and leapt out onto the ropes and swung down. The grunting behind informed him that the others had followed.

The elevator descended quickly and they spilled out into the control room. Jeremie shouldered past them as the lights flickered on and he dropped into the chair. His fingers danced across the keys as the holomap opened in the center of the room and spun wildly.

He shouted wordlessly and slammed his fists onto it. "There's no activated tower. None. I'm not even getting a disturbance on the scan." He began running another set of programs. "Head down to the scanners. I'll vitalize you and you can look on Lyoko."

He waited a few seconds and then began running the scanner programs. "I never thought I'd be saying this again, but here it goes. Transfer Yumi. Transfer Odd. Transfer Aelita. Scanner Yumi. Scanner Odd. Scanner Aelita. Virtualization." He put his headset on and entered the codes for the ice sector.

Aelita hated being sent to Lyoko. After her time imprisoned there she couldn't stand it. She couldn't stand the feeling of isolation she felt. She couldn't feel the cool night air. She couldn't smell the stench of metal from the factory. She simply…was.

She landed on her feet in the ice sector. She closed her eyes, trying to feel for pulsations. When she opened them she gasped. "Jeremie, I'm sensing something from all of the towers. It doesn't feel like normal pulsations. It's much fainter."

Jeremie's voice echoed in the backs of their heads. "Then you should head out, your vehicles should be appearing now."

The overvehicles loaded in and they climbed aboard them. The warriors took off towards the first tower.

They arrived shortly thereafter and Aelita entered. The tower's aura was the faint blue hue it always had when not active. While inside it however she felt the odd sick feeling she always did when in a XANA controlled tower. She floated to the upper platform and placed a hand on it. It blinked several times and her named danced across the screen. There was a soft whirring sound, as if the tower deactivated. "Jeremie, was there any change?"

"I'm not seeing anything on my end."

"I guess we should head to the next tower and see."

Ulrich had been sitting under the tree with Milly, waiting for her vision to return. It didn't seem to be coming back at all. He was dully aware of the amount of time that had passed. It was more than enough for Odd and the others to get to the factory, and more than enough time for them to stop this if it was a XANA attack.

The lightning continued to strike all around him. The air was humming from the charge. He was burned in several places where he had shielded Milly from boiling water, or scalding wind. "Milly," he whispered, "we need to go. We're not safe here." He looked over to her. "I know you still can't see, but it's not safe here." The lightning flashed again.

"Okay Ulrich. I trust you." She swayed to her feet, only to have him hoist her onto his shoulder.

He took another calming breath and waited for the next flash. It didn't strike near them, but rather on top of them. The tree that was until now sheltering them from the storm was set ablaze in an instant.

Ulrich closed his eyes and took off as fast as he could. When he opened them everything seemed to have slowed down. He could see the drops of rain falling around him, he watched as they parted from the wave of air smashing into them. He spun backwards, away from the rushing air and continued around it.

He could feel his hair standing on end again and tossed Milly as far forward as he could and stopped. He had just enough time to see her fall into Jim's waiting arms before his body spasmed and everything went dark.

Jeremie was brought away from his calculations by the sound of his phone ringing. He tapped a few keys and brought up the phone console. He noticed it was William. "William, what's going…"

He was cut off. "Jeremie, you need to use the return trip. Ulrich's just been hit."

"But we haven't found any sign of XANA on Lyoko. I know this is crazy, but…"

"But nothing!" William shouted. "Do it or he'll die!"

Jeremie looked down at the keys and after a moment's hesitation he put his hands to them in a flurry of typing. "Return to the past, now!"

A wave of white light enveloped him as he depressed the final key and he closed his eyes.