Look Before You Seek
Chapter 22
Sector 5 felt chillingly empty to Aelita, as there were no longer any monsters to suddenly attack them. She began to notice the little things about it that she hadn't noticed previously, like how every sound echoed, whether it be a foot step or a voice, or even a breath. Sector 5 had the strangest feeling about it, almost as if it was alive. It seemed, now that X.A.N.A. had left, it was holding it's breath, waiting. It was like it knew that something was going to happen, like it knew something that the rest of them couldn't possibly. The whole group felt this spine chilling feeling, and kept on their toes, staying alert for even the slightest of movements.
But they weren't attacked by anything as they slowly walked through the sector. Ulrich walked ahead of them all, his eyes sharply looking in every direction. He hadn't said a word since they had left the tower. Odd might have said something, but he didn't really feel like speaking himself. He was having a weird feeling, like he was trying to watch two televisions at once. The thing that disturbed him the most about this sensation was that it felt strangely familiar, although he didn't remember why. He was finding it difficult to walk straight, and Aelita, who was still clutching his hand, noticed this.
"What's wrong?" She asked, so quietly that Odd wasn't sure if she'd said it, or if he'd just imagined it. He was about to answer, but he started to see things, as though in a dream.
Flash
Aelita was working on the transparent screen that would soon appear in reality, only she appear to be having trouble, as if she was not finding what she was suppose to. Her mouth moved to form words, but he couldn't hear a sound.
Flash
Darkness.
Flash
Hands reached out and pushed Aelita, who tumbled over the edge, mouth wide open in silent terror. She fell down, quickly being dissolved by the darkness.
Flash
A set of eyes, plagued by the symbol of X.A.N.A.
Flash
Darkness.
Flash
"Odd?" Odd heard an anxious voice calling his name, pulling him out of the darkness around him. "Odd, are you okay?" Odd opened his eyes slightly to see a blurred face above him. He blinked a few times, before rubbing his eyes and sitting up.
"Aelita?" He was surprised to hear his own voice sounding so weak. He swallowed and rubbed his eyes once more.
"I'm here, Odd," Aelita said quietly. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"I saw…" Odd began, but found he couldn't continue. The experience was to horrible to put into words. He tried to stand up, but he was to dizzy.
Ulrich was watching him from a distance, still holding Minnie. He felt uncomfortable under Ulrich's stare, although he didn't usually. Maybe it was the fact that he had stayed so silent, never really talked about himself. He hadn't said a word since they left the tower. He seemed to change at times, becoming sort of like a leader, someone who didn't let personal feelings get in the way of a task. Either way, Odd felt uncomfortable under his gaze, as it was cold.
Everyone was suddenly distracted by a low, moaning sound, echoing around them. All three of them searched with their eyes for where the sound had come from, but they found nothing. Aelita helped Odd up before continuing, saying nothing of Odd's premonition.
Ulrich suddenly stopped, as the walls that had been so close to the platform had now opened, leaving the platform open and vulnerable. Although they had only walked a short distance, it had seemed a long way, partly because of Odd's flashes, partly because of the silence, but mostly because of the vibe that kept them from walking to quickly and that kept them alert.
Aelita walked slowly past Ulrich, out onto the open platform. She was now vulnerable to any monsters that might suddenly attack; she was a sitting duck. Odd began to follow her onto the platform, when the transparent screen appeared, and she knelt before it, just as it was in Odds vision. He was frozen, watching her, half in terror, half in confusion and interest, wondering whether it would play out the same.
Odd was too busy watching Aelita to notice Minnie waking, but Ulrich did. After all, it would be a bit hard not to notice someone waking in your arms. But she didn't wake like someone usually would, slowly and restlessly, she woke like a robot might be programmed to, eyes opening, sitting upright.
Ulrich noticed her waking, and gently lowered her to the floor, not wanting her to freak out. But it was him who was freaked by Minnie, who didn't look around in confusion when she awoke, but rose straight away, setting off towards Aelita. Ulrich immediately realized something was off about Minnie, and set off following her.
Minnie didn't hesitate. She could hear Ulrich's footsteps behind her, and she turned to look at him, making him freeze. The eye of X.A.N.A. flickered in her eyes, but he had no time to register this shock before receiving a powerful blow from Minnie's yellow electrical-looking energy shots, flinging him back a fair way, making him loose almost all of his life points.
Odd, who had been watching all this, sprang suddenly into action, preparing to shoot at Minnie. But not wanting to miss and hit Aelita prevented him from shooting immediately. He chose his aim carefully, looking down his arm with one eye, as though looking down the glass-aim barrel of a rifle.
Aelita seemed completely oblivious to the situation occurring behind her, and she continued to work on the screen, with much difficulty. The files were still all there, but they were muddled and misplaced, which made it harder to access them to do what she needed to before Jeremie could continue.
In the material world, Jeremie was watching the screen of the super computer carefully for any monsters that might suddenly appear. He was surprised when Ulrich was thrown back, but he didn't see where the blow had come from, so he could give no warning or advice.
"How are you doing Aelita?" He called to her, as it seemed to be taking longer than usual.
"Everything's mixed up," she said, panicky that she wasn't even half way through the procedure. "It's so confusing, Jeremie!"
"Jeremie, we have a situation down here," Ulrich called out, as Odd was busy aiming, and Aelita knew nothing of it.
"Huh?" Jeremie said, and Ulrich was quick to reply.
"It's Minnie. She's still got X.A.N.A. in her."
"What?" Jeremie shouted, alarmed. "How is that possible?"
"Have you got any ideas?" Ulrich asked, sounding stressed. Jeremie paused, thinking.
"I might," he said. "But it might not work. I haven't tested it yet."
"What are you on about?" Ulrich called, watching Minnie get increasingly close to Aelita.
"I'm coming down to the scanners," he said. "I'm coming to Lyoko."
"Hurry," was all that Ulrich could manage, as he started to run forward, pulling his sword from its sheath. He didn't want to hurt Minnie, but it wasn't really Minnie; It was X.A.N.A.
But he didn't make it in time, and Odd never got a chance to shoot, as they both were witness to Odds vision coming true; Aelita, pushed by Minnie, tumbled off the platform and down into the darkness below, Her scream echoing throughout sector 5.
Okay, A bit of a cliffhanger. So, what will Jeremie look like on Lyoko? Will they save Aelita? Why is X.A.N.A. still plauging Minnie?
Review and Keep reading. Am sorry if I don't update for a while.
OcyTaviAh