Chapter 14
Vengeance from the Past
Xervix flew in a fast towards Aelita. His bat like wings flapped violently as he flew towards his objective. Aelita. Everything he would need to accomplish his goal was in the hands of one small girl. In the back of his mind he thought to himself. Ironic. That someone so tiny, so frail, would hold the fate of the world in her hands. That the planets' very existence relied on her. He gritted his teeth and varnished a toothy evil smile. His metallic skin revealed its cruel shaped teeth as he spotted his target.
Aelita flew towards the battle. Jeremy informed her constantly as to how Odd was holding out. One of her worst fears was happening. It was actually happening. Her friends were being seized one by one. She was in fear of losing them. It was a constant fear of hers from the start. The loss of the only family she had left. She lost her father, and her mother. But she would not lose her friends.
After a few seconds, she saw him. The monster was flying right towards her. She stopped in midair and watched as Xervix slowed down and came to a halt directly in front of her. He looked just like the beast from her dreams. Green and black, with the same Eyes that Xana used. And that voice, its voice sounded evil, pure evil.
Xervix held out his hand as a black beam fired directly from his arm. Aelita dodged just in time for the blast to fly right by her arm. She saw the blast so close that it took up her whole field of vision. She turned to her left and held out her hand. A pink orb appeared in her palm as she stared at the creature.
"Who are you?" Aelita asked.
"Can't you tell?" Xervix said as he pointed at his eyes. "I have been reborn. And I have opened my eyes to the true world."
Aelita fired her energy ball at Xervix. Xervix fell backwards. Aelita thought she scored a hit, only to watch as Xervix rose back up and fired another black beam at Aelita. This one however clipped her wings as she started to fall rapidly. As her wings dissolved, she used what little was left to try and slow her decent. She landed in a crouch position but landed so hard that it took away some of her life points. As she slowly stood up she saw Xervix flying directly at her. The beast flew up to her and grabbed her face. Still flying, Xervix dragged her on the ground. She slowly lost more and more life points. Aelita managed to raise her hand and fire a shot at Xervix. The shot hit his wing causing it to dissolve, sending the beast to the ground. Aelita managed to free herself from Xervix's grasp and slowly skid to a halt on the ground. Xervix hit the ground so hard that he bounced off the ground and skidded to a halt.
Aelita slowly got up. She felt dizzy and light headed, a sign that she was close to devirtualization. She slowly walked over to Xervix. He wasn't moving. She held out her hand and prepared another energy field blast.
"Jeremie? Is it?"
Aelita heard his voice from overhead. All through the fight he had been on the edge of his seat. His fingertips were white from gripping the seat. He was sweating more than he had ever sweated before. He was scared. In the few years he knew her, he had almost lost her several times. He was worried that this time, he might lose her for good.
"I...I don't know. I ran a bio scan on it... it is low on life points but I'm not sure that it's dead." Jeremie replied in a raspy voice.
Aelita slowly approached Xervix. She stopped a few inches from the beast. She kicked Xervix's leg. It didn't move. Suddenly she felt a hard kick in her side. Aelita felt herself flying towards a rock. She hit the rock but felt something soft stop her from hitting it. She turned around slowly to see what had caught her. One of the new monsters, the Sentry, held her tightly. She struggled to free herself, but she couldn't. Her virtual form was extremely weak. She couldn't get free. Aelita looked up in time to see Xervix walking toward her. A cruel smile filled his face. He slowly walked toward Aelita and stopped a few inches from her. Xervix kneeled down and stared her in the face.
His eyes burned bright red as the Xana symbols peered into her small green eyes. He growled and twisted his jaw as he looked at her. Suddenly he stood straight up and looked into the sky.
"If you try to save her, I'll dump the boy and girl into the Digital Sea." Xervix yelled knowing that Jeremy was listening.
Back in the lab Jeremie was about to bring Aelita back when Xervix spoke to him. He was about to hit the key that would bring her back when the very words forced him to stop dead in his tracks. He slowly backed out of the whole program.
"At last we meet. Face to face. Eye to eye. I have waited years for this moment. To look into those innocent, green eyes of yours. And that small childish face. And when I was reborn, I wanted so badly to exact revenge on you. But now I can't, I can't let any harm come to you or that worthless speck of human trash you call your friend." Xervix said as he looked her in the eye.
"You never answered my question. Who are you?" Aelita said in a demanding voice.
Xervix stared at her briefly as he crossed his arms behind his back. He slowly turned and faced the opposite direction.
"Are you listening? Jeremy Belpois?" Xervix yelled as his voice echoed through the area.
"I'm listening." Jeremy said in a firm voice over the intercom into Lyoko.
"Good. Seven months. It's been seven months since I was removed from this world; I was a fractured and incompetent program back then. I was a failed organism. But now I have returned to this world as a god. A complete program that will use this world and the secrets it holds to my advantage."
Aelita suddenly stood straight up while the Sentry still had a hold of her. Her eyes got big and her lip trembled as she uttered the words she never wanted to say again.
"Xana!!! You're Xana?" Aelita said. Jeremy couldn't believe what he heard. He couldn't understand. His multi agent program should have worked. It did work. Then why was Xana still here?
"No, I'm not Xana. Xana was an outdated program. It was a worthless piece of data." Xervix said as he looked at his hand, closing his fist and opening it. "I mean, come on!! Who would send a giant teddy bear or a mountain of food after someone?" Xervix joked as he turned to face Aelita. "I am Xervix."
"What do you want? Revenge?"
"No my dear child. Revenge is a petty human emotion. A flaw in your own physical minds. I want what is right. What is true, and pure." Xervix said.
"And that is?" Jeremy said.
"Humanity is a species that continues to drive themselves towards extinction. I mean, look at you. Terrorism, famine, war. All humanity ever does is continually push their fellow humans to death. You continually destroy your environment and drain your planet of life. And for what? So you can go and create a perfect world? No! You are a sick minded species. All through history there are signs of your immaturity. You creatures are nothing more but parasites. You're embarrassments to nature."
Xervix turned around and stared right into Aelita's eyes. As if he was starring into her soul.
" Your species deserves a painful death. And I will deliver it to them, like an angel delivering Judgment on the damned. I will fix humanity by replacing you with a new species. An artificial species. Not programs, but a whole new type of human. Created and controlled by me."
"I believe you just quoted every super villain in movie history." Aelita smirked.
Xervix turned around fast and threw out his scythe. The blade hit the ground next to Aelita's feet, causing her to squeak in fear.
"Look at you. Your friends are all captured. You're all alone. And what's more is that your precious father isn't here to save you. Funny. It seems that you are a cursed being." Xervix said.
Aelita slowly raised her head. She was staring at the scythe when Xervix started to talk to her.
"Your mother disappeared. Your father died protecting you. And now two of your friends have been captured and are awaiting my judgment. Your cat friend is held down by my new monsters, and soon your whole world will be mine for the taking. And once again, you will be all alone in the world."
Aelita started to shake. She realized that Xervix was right. He was completely right. She was a cursed being.
Xervix walked over and slowly grabbed Aelita by the waist. He slowly began to lift her in the air as she shook more and more. Her eyes showed her emotion. She was afraid.
"Ahh. Is that fear I sense in you child? Hmm yes. I can sense it filling your entire body."
Aelita grunted as she started to struggle more and more to free herself from Xervix's grasp.
"It isn't me you're afraid of. It's the truth of which I speak. Yes. Let your fear grow. Let it consume your soul. Let it fill your heart. Feel it. Yes feel it. Feel the fear. The Fear is the truth. Feel the fear, FEEL THE TRUTH!!!!" Xervix said.
Aelita closed her eyes and screamed at the top of her lungs. She had let Xervix get to her. She was afraid.
Back in the lab Jeremy called Aelita's name. He felt so helpless. He wanted to do something to help.
He realized that it was over. In one hour, this thing had defeated their entire gang. If only I could go. If only I could do something. Jeremy thought as he pounded his fist on the chair's arm rest. His eyes were beginning to water up as he realized that he may lose everyone he held dear. Yumi, Ulrich, Odd... and Aelita.
Suddenly he stood straight up as he remembered. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. Jeremy hoped that it would work.
William tried to work on his homework. He sat at his desk, attempting to work on his math homework.
Math was never one of his best subjects. But it wasn't the homework that was giving him trouble. It was what Yumi said earlier. Was she right? Was he just a risk to everyone around him? He sat up and looked around his room. Ever since he came back from Lyoko, he had tried to make amends with most of his classmates. His grades were actually pretty decent. But was Yumi right? Were his attempts to change only attempts at fooling himself? Maybe she's right. Maybe I am just a huge immature loser. Maybe I am a risk to everyone.
William looked in the mirror. What he saw was a young man who had a second chance in life. Or did he? William saw a mess in disguise. Underneath the clothes and the attempted cool guy attitude, he was a scarred man. He remembered every single thing he did under Xana's control. He remembered all the times he put his friends in pain. The times he ran Aelita to the ground in an attempt to throw her into the Digital Sea . He even remembered the time Yumi tried to reason with him. The pain and sorrow she had on her face. And when he returned, what happened? Yumi left him, he was almost expelled, and what was that the gang had abandoned him, It seemed that no matter how many times he apologiezed, they still wanted nothing to with him.
William stared at the mirror for a minute. Suddenly for a brief second he saw a strange sight in the mirror. It was him. He was wearing a jet black and brown version of his Lyoko form. He had a Xana Symbol on his chest and wielded a twisted version of his sword. He looked at William and stared back at him. William closed his fists in anger as he looked at the mirror.
Suddenly, every single thing he did while under Xana's control came back into his mind. He remembered.
"I'm not you! I'm not! I'M NOT!!!!!!!!" William yelled as he grabbed a book and threw it at the mirror. The mirror shattered into several pieces. William looked down at the shattered pieces of his mirror. He could make out his reflection in the pieces of glass. He sat on his bed and put his head between his legs. Yumi was right. She was completely right.
William's iPhone rang from across the room. William slowly walked over and answered it. He was amazed by what he heard.
"William? William it's me!" Jeremy said in a distressful voice.
"Jeremy? Jeremy what's wrong? Are you OK?" William ask, concerned for his friend.
"I know you don't want to hear this, and I know about what Yumi said, but we need you to come to the factory." Jeremy said.
William suddenly sat up straight. He felt a sharp adrenaline surge through his body. "Why? Why should I?"
Jeremy took in a deep breath as he prepared to say the words he knew that William would not want to hear.
"We turned on the Supercomputer. And now something has attacked us and has captured the others. I know how you feel about the Supercomputer but..."
"You turned it back on? You turned on the supercomputer?" William interrupted. "Why would you even think of turning it on?"
Jeremy took a breath. He knew that William would be angry about the news of the supercomputer reactivating. He tried to place his words properly. "We just wanted to check it out. There's been all the news on the super virus and we thought it might have been Xana. But now it looks like it something else. William... we need your help."
William tightened his grip on the phone. He had never been so angry in his life. He slowly remembered all the acts and deeds he performed under Xana. He didn't wanna risk becoming a pawn again.
"Jeremy I can't... I'm sorry I just can't. I still remember all the horrible acts I did. And I don't think your friends care for me that much." William murmured.
"But I still like you. And so does Aelita. Please Will."
William slowly lowered the phone and shut it off. "I'm sorry Jeremy, I can't help. I'm no good to anybody."
William looked at the mirror that lay broken on the ground. He stared at it for a while and slowly remembered the day Aelita and Jeremy sat down and talked to him
A few weeks after being freed from the clutches of Xana, William was sitting in the cafeteria. He was still down about the ordeal when he noticed Jeremy and Aelita walking toward him. Jeremy was looking at him while Aelita had her head down. William started to get up when Jeremy asked him to sit down.
"Please Will. We need to talk is all." Jeremy said.
"I… I don't think." William said.
"Please Will. We need to talk to you, it's important." Aelita said.
William sat down as Jeremy and Aelita sat down at the table across. Aelita looked at William as Jeremy sat forward, obviously deciding what words he should say.
"You want to start Aelita?." Jeremy encouraged.
"Well I have noticed that since you came back, things have been a little rough for you. And when ever we meet, you apologize for what happened. I don't blame you for what happened to my father, if anything. Me and Jeremy should be sorry for taking you to Lyoko so early and at such a hard time." Aelita said. She slowly looked William in the eye, wondering what William's answer would be.
"Actually, I need to speak with both of you." Jeremy said. "The two of you have been kind of down and out for the past month. I talked to Aelita about it and now I should talk to you."
"Me? Why me?" William asked.
"Because ever since we shut down the supercomputer, you have literally given up on almost everything you cared about. I know that Yumi and Ulrich dating must have something to do with it but you need to move on. Sure, what Xana did to you was a horrible thing, but that doesn't mean you need to punish yourself for it. You both need to forget about the past and move on. Learn from it, and look toward the future." Jeremy said as he glanced back and forth between William and Aelita.
William thought about it for a second. "He's right. He is completely right." William thought.
"I think you're right. Maybe I shouldn't let the past weigh me down anymore." William said. "Thanks guys."
Jeremy smiled as Aelita grinned just a little. "So anyways… we both thought one way to help you forget the past is to hang out with you more than we have. We haven't really spoken since you came back and all and we were wondering if you would like to hang out with us sometime." Aelita said.
William looked at them for a second and nodded. As the two of them got up to leave they called out to him from across the room.
"See you later buddy!!" Aelita said as they waved and walked out.
________________________________________________________________________
William starred at the shatterd glass as he rememberd how they had actually openly apologized to him.
"What am I doing" William said as he reached for the door knob.
Xervix slowly walked over to the now frightened Aelita. She was still trying to break free of the sentry, huffing and moaning the whole time. But the Sentry's grip was strong and firm. She stopped struggling as Xervix walked toward her.
"Struggle all you like child. You're not going anywhere." Xervix said.
"What do you want with me?" Aelita asked.
Xervix raised his hand in the air and slowly lowered it. "You are special girl Aelita Schaeffer. You have a special gift to the world that your parents were afraid of."
"What do you mean?"
"Lyoko was made to hide the secret of Carthage . But what did you think Carthage was?" Xervix asked.
" Carthage was a Military program that the government created to disrupt communications." Aelita said.
"Wrong on many parts" Xervix said as he looked at a puzzled Aelita. Aelita tipped her head to her left as she wondered what he meant. " Carthage is not a Program. It is a Supercomputer."
Aelita stared at Xervix as he walked back and forth.
"No. Franz Hopper's Diary said that Carthage was designed to block Military communications." Jeremy said.
"Yes it was created for that purpose. But it was also designed to hide an important secret." Xervix said staring up at the sky.
"And that is?" Aelita said.
"Your family legacy." Xervix said. He slowly picked up a small rock. "Your father found a very…promising item. He built Lyoko and Carthage to hide it. To hide its location from the world... and you."
Aelita looked At Xervix. "Why me?"
Suddenly there was a loud squirming screech from behind her. Aelita struggled to see what was behind her, but couldn't see it. She realized what that sound was. It was the sound of one of the most frightful things she ever knew. The Scyphozoa!!! If there were words that could describe it, they would be Fear, Violation, Abduction, Sorrow.
"It is your birthright. It is what you were born with. And you are the only one who can use it. But that can be fixed." Xervix said.
The Sentry held Aelita up high as the Scyphozoa slowly drifted into view. It slowly raised its tentacles and prepared to wrap its tentacles around her. Aelita squirmed as she tried to free herself. But it was no use.
Back in the lab Jeremy watched as the Scyphozoa prepared to attack Aelita. He watched as a new object came to view on the screen. It was approaching extremely fast. "lease get there on time!!" Jeremy prayed. He watched as the purple object closed in. He turned his attention to the monitor next to him as he prepared the scanner.
"This will only hurt for a moment. I need a copy of your DNA in order to find the maps." Xervix said.
"What maps?" Aelita whimpered.
"In every sector is a piece of a map. The sectors in Lyoko, when put together, will reveal the Location of Carthage. The maps on Carthage when put together with the maps of Lyoko will reveal its location. And then, you and your friends will be of no use to me." Xervix said.
Aelita began to cry for help as she tried to break free from the sentry. If there was ever one thing that Aelita was afraid of more than Xana, it was the nightmarish monster that drifted before her. She cried for someone to save her. But Xervix snapped her back to reality.
"If your friend in the real world tries to save you, it's deletion for the Boy and Girl!!!"
The Scyphozoa began to wrap its tentacles around Aelita. Suddenly three lasers hit it in its bulb shaped head. It dropped Aelita as Xervix turned to face the attacker. Odd!
"You didn't think a few new bad guys could hold Purple Lightning did you?" Odd joked, as he fired another shot at the Sentry. The laser hit it in the head, causing it to explode. Xervix stared at the cat man and growled angrily.
"Such heroic nonsense." Xervix yelled as he flew toward Odd. Odd fired several Laser Arrows at Xervix. Xervix held out his right hand and emitted a black glow. The shots where deflected in different directions as Xervix pulled out his scythe. He rammed Odd with the scythes blade, and threw him to the ground.
"Aelita, run!!!!" Odd said as he disappeared into an assortment of pixels.
Aelita turned to run as she ran straight into the arms of the Scyphozoa.
Xervix walked over to his scythe and pulled it out of the ground as he turned his attention to Aelita.
"No One will save you now." Xervix screeched as the Scyphozoa began to drain Aelita. Her DNA.
The Scyphozoa poked her with its three tentacles. Aelita felt cold. She felt exposed. She felt no pain. She felt alone, and scared. When the Scyphozoa attacked someone, there was no pain. Only fear, depression, and sorrow.
Aelita's vision blurred as everything went dark. She could feel something in the back of her head. It felt like she was being sucked though a straw. She felt like every horrible thing that could happen, had happened. She was cold, and alone. No one was coming to save her. She wanted to call for help, she wanted to call for Jeremy but couldn't. She couldn't do anything.
Suddenly a large sharp object hit the Scyphozoa in its head. The creature screamed another blood curtailing scream as it released Aelita. Xervix turned in the direction the attack came from and saw a plume of white smoke flying towards him. The smoke lifted off the ground and formed a figure. A fist hit Xervix in the face as he fell over. Xervix scrambled to his feet in time to see the Scyphozoa explode from another attack. Xervix roared as he turned to face the attacker. There standing in front of Aelita was a familiar face. He held out his newly reacquired sword as he pointed it at Xervix.
"No one hurts my friends and gets away with it." William said.