Chapter 32
We're All To Blame
Light wind blew silently across the school yard. Students and faculty alike stood in a large group, their heads tilted in the direction of the roof of the science building. Many of them were covered in fear, others were confused. Many of the faculty were on their cell phones, calling into the local police force and fire rescue teams.
All the while, a showdown was taking place on the roof of the science building. A young teenage girl hid behind a boy in a purple cat outfit. In front of them stood a tall winged demon-like bird man who stood with two large daggers in his hands. They waited for the first one to make their move.
"Sissi... Just stay behind me, you'll be fine," Odd said as he continued to point his hand towards the bird man.
"What is going on, Odd?" Sissi asked in confusion.
"Extinction, my dear amoeba. It's all about the death of you lowly, dirty, vile dirt walkers," Aether said.
"Who are you?" Sissi asked.
"Why... I'm the one who will cause it all, my dear."
"Sorry, not gonna happen, big bird!" Odd said as he fired a shot at Aether.
Aether folded up one of his wings and blocked it as the laser arrow exploded on the wing's skin.
"Now lets see what kind of fun we can have in this world!" Aether said as he charged towards Odd and Sissi.
Odd fired 3 more shots which barely phased Aether. He wrapped his arm around Sissi and ducked out of the way in time for one of Aether's daggers to slam into the very spot they stood at a few seconds ago. Odd and Sissi slid against the gravel of the roof. They came to a stop. Odd found himself on top of Sissi, who blushed deeply.
Odd stood up and ran over to Aether. He jumped on top of Aether's back and began to swing his fists wildly at the back of the beast's head. Aether reached around and grabbed Odd's tail. He then flung the cat boy across the roof. Odd landed on his feet and ran towards his opponent. Aether stabbed at Odd with his dagger. The boy narrowly avoided the blade and jumped into the air. He grabbed Aether's head and slammed his foot into it.
Aether fell backwards and landed on his back as Odd slammed his feet into the bird's chest. Aether grabbed Odd 's tail and tossed him into one of the air vents, denting it hard. Odd fell onto his hands and knees as he moaned from impact. He attempted to get up, only to be slammed back into the ground by Aether's foot.
Odd squirmed as he tried. Aether breathed in heavily as he gagged a little from the air.
"So this is the air you breathe here... It even makes me sick... Oh well, not like it matters," Aether said as he drew on of his daggers.
"Where is Aelita... And I promise if you tell, this girlfriend of yours will live," Aether proposed.
"OK... Aelita is... KICKING YOUR PARTNER'S ASS!" Odd screamed.
He fired a final arrow at the air vent. The vent exploded and the blast caused Aether to loose his balance. Aether lifted his foot up in time for Odd to roll out from under it. Odd ran over and grabbed Sissi's hand and ran to the edge of the building.
Aether roared in anger as his beak opened, revealing his charging orange beam.
"Sissi... Do you trust me?" Odd asked.
"What?" Sissi asked frantically.
"Do you trust me?" He repeated his question.
"I...I guess," Sissi answered timidly.
Odd squeezed Sissi's hand hard as he jumped off the building with Sissi in tow. Sissi screamed at the top of her lungs as she suddenly felt her feet leave the roof of the building. She then felt a blast of intense heat come from behind her as the laser Aether was charging fired and hit the edge of the building. Sissi screamed loudly as she suddenly felt her feet hit something, her hand still clutching Odd's feline like hand.
Sissi opened her eyes to see that they were both standing on a purple platform that was hovering in midair. Sissi also noticed a soft humming noise coming from the platform.
"Hold on to me," Odd said as Sissi wrapped her arms around Odd's waist.
Odd then hit a small button on the Overboard as it raised into midair and flew away from the roof. Odd heard a loud screaming noise come from behind them. He and Sissi turned to see Aether jump off the building and spread his silver wings. Odd flew right above the crowd and noticed Jim and Principal Delmas staring right at him.
"Great...we're screwed!" Odd hissed.
The Overboard flew over the main entrance to the gate as several police cars entered the main parking lot of the building. Aether flew directly after them, screaming loudly.
"Where are we going?" Sissi shouted.
"We gotta get to the factory. You'll be safe there and we might be able to stop Aether there."
"Odd, can you please for the love of God tell me what is going on?" Sissi demanded.
"Don't worry, I will... Just hang on!" Odd shouted as he flew his Overboard in the direction of the factory.
Sissi heard a loud scream coming from behind her. She turned around fast to see Aether flying rapidly in her direction. His silver wings attached to his arms glistened in the sunlight. Sissi taped Odd on the shoulder. Odd turned around and noticed Aether gaining on them. Odd cleared the front gate of the school as he swerved left to avoid a oncoming truck. Aether flew under the truck to avoid the collision. Odd flew the Overboard down the street, weaving in and out of traffic. Sissi screamed at the top of her lungs as a large semi went roaring by at high speeds. It went so fast that Sissi felt as if she would be ripped off the board. Aether flew past the same truck; his wing slapped the side of the truck's trailer. The force of the blow caused the trailer to tip over and slam onto the concrete. Aether chuckled at the sight of the semi's wreck.
"What are we gonna do?" Sissi yelled.
"Lets play tag!" Odd joked as he leaned to the right.
The board suddenly spun around, facing Aether's destructive path. Odd fired a wave beam into the Titan. The beams bounced off Aether's wings. Odd spun the Overboard around again and hit the accelerator, speeding off towards downtown Amines.
"Oh god, we're gonna DIE!" Sissi repeated over and over.
"No we're not... Trust me, I'm a good flier," Odd said as the Overboard entered the downtown area.
Odd swung down the cobble stone street as many of the people on the street stood in wonder at what exactly they were seeing. Some people pointed and stared in wonder, while others ran in fear.
Aether flapped his arms hard and strong as many of the tables flipped over and flew into the buildings. The wind was so strong that the shoppers and restaurant goers on the street were thrown far backwards with great force that flung into the windows of the local shops. Some of the cars on the roads swerved and ran into each other as the Overboard hovered low to street level. Aether landed on the ground and ran on his legs as he tossed one of his daggers towards the overboard. The dagger narrowly missed the Overboard and slammed into the front end of a car, going in so far that it stopped dead inside of the engine.
Odd turned the Overboard to the left and flew towards a parking lot of the local retail store. Aether jumped into the air and flew towards the Overboard. Aether's beak opened up as the crimson red stream fired out of his mouth. The blast landed right in front of the Overboard, causing it to change course and head straight towards the shopping center. Odd cringed at the site knowing what was about to happen. Sissi peered over his shoulder and freaked out at the site.
"I TOLD YOU WE WERE GONNA DIE!" Sissi screamed at the top of her lungs as the Overboard flew into the glass windows of the store.
Odd veered the Overboard to the left, avoiding the checkout counters and flying straight into the clothing counter. Clothing racks and displays flew into the air as Odd covered and flung his arms out in a attempt to cover his face and protect Sissi as well.
The Overboard flew out of the other end of the store thorough one of the side windows. A load of clothing flew off the kids as Odd finally cleared his vision. He moved out all of the clothing off him as he realized he had a bra on his shoulder. Immediately he tossed it off and stopped the Overboard.
"You OK Sissi?" Odd asked.
Odd didn't hear a single thing from her. He turned around and saw to his surprise that she was gone. Odd looked around nervously, looking for some sign, any signal that Sissi was alive. Odd suddenly heard a loud scream from just above him. Odd looked up in time to see Aether flying high up into the air with Sissi in its claws. Sissi screamed for her life as she wiggled and struggled in Aether's hands.
"What's wrong, insect? Can't fly?" Aether laughed.
Sissi screamed at the top of her lungs as Odd raced behind them trying to catch up.
"Come on...COME ON!" Odd hurried his vehicle as he flew faster.
Aether flew up high above the city's tallest skyscraper, through a set of clouds, and just high enough so Sissi could still breathe. Aether looked down and watched as Odd flew up high enough to meet him. Odd immediately held out both arms as they glowed with fresh ammunition.
"Let her go now, Aether!" Odd yelled.
"...Of course," Aether chuckled.
Aether's claws released Sissi as she screamed at the top of her lungs. Sissi fell like a rock from the sky, screaming and tumbling fast as she watched the world spin around her. She flew her arms out in a attempt to grab something. Tears filled in Sissi's eyes as she knew the end was coming.
She couldn't believe this was happening. She still wanted to do so much. Get married, have kids, and make her father proud of her…
Suddenly Sissi felt a clawed hand grab her as she suddenly stopped in midair. Sissi looked up and saw Odd reaching out to her. Sissi breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her hero.
"I got you Sissi! I got you!" Odd gasped.
Sissi looked up to see Aether falling as well. Odd shot up Aether before he flew down and caught her. He helped her up to the top of the Overboard. Sissi whimpered at what had happened.
"Are you OK, Sissi?" Odd asked as Sissi began to calm down. She suddenly leaned forward and hugged Odd tightly, she then kissed him on the lips quickly as a sign of gratitude.
"Can we go down now?" Sissi asked.
Odd nodded. He turned his face so that Sissi couldn't see him blushing deeply. Sissi wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head onto his back as they sped off towards the factory.
Aether stopped dead in air and flapped his wings. He watched them fly away from him. Why was he having so much trouble? Why was this so hard for him? They were just land walkers, inferior land animals...
"Dirty little creations! No one opposes A GOD!" Aether screamed loudly in anger as he gave chase to them.
He knew in the back of his mind that he would kill them. He would prove himself the superior species.
Ulrich ran through the forest sector at lightning speeds. He tried harder then he had ever had to catch up to the Kidnapper. Up ahead a young woman in green and black armor with a reptilian like face zipped in and out of the virtual trees; the young Asian teen that was his girlfriend screamed in fear as she called out to him. Ulrich knew that they weren't too far from the edge of the sector.
Why was this happening? Why did this A.I. want to replace Yumi? This whole thing was just too hard to swallow. And what about Puck back at the tower? What was happening with him? Could he even be trusted?
Ulrich ran past the final row of trees and made it to the edge of the forest sector. Ulrich stopped dead in his tracks. The site he saw froze him to the bone. Chaos stood at the very edge of the sector, in her hand was a wrapped up, struggling Yumi. Yumi grunted and moaned as she attempted to free herself from the green chains that bound her. She looked up at Ulrich who had a look of fear on his face. She called out to him again…
"Hey, sexy boy!" Chaos said.
"What do you want?" Ulrich demanded.
"I want you... I want you mind, body and soul... and I want to be the only woman in your life... not this Chinese panda."
"Hey you, crazy freak! I'm Japanese, not Chinese," Yumi grunted.
"Chinese, Japanese, dirty knees, TIME TO DIE!" Chaos said as she released Yumi.
Yumi screamed at the top of her lungs as she watched the world around her disappear. The last image she saw was Ulrich running towards the edge, the look of fear and dread on his face.
Yumi realized this was it. Everything was over, she wouldn't graduate, get married, raise kids. This was the end of her life... in the back of her mind she cried knowing she would never see her family, friends, or Ulrich again.
"YUMI!" Ulrich shouted as he jumped for her. But he was too late.
The last image he saw was Yumi falling towards the digital sea before Chaos kicked him back. Ulrich flew a few feet until he landed on his back. He heard a sudden thumping noise from below him, the same sound the digital sea made when some one fell into its fake water. Ulrich laid there, broken. He lost her... he lost Yumi.
Ulrich suddenly felt a small amount of weight on his chest, he opened his eyes to see Chaos sitting on top of him, her cold reptilian face gleamed with the knowledge that she now had Ulrich all to herself.
"Isn't it beautiful, Ulrich?" Chaos asked.. "We are alone... and she is dead... Death is beautiful, but what is more beautiful was the look on her face… fear, sadness and depression... and I bet you two would of made great children too."
Ulrich's face went from depression to instant anger. A large fire began to grow inside him as he felt the rage build up inside him. Ulrich balled up his fist and hit Chaos as hard as he could. His blow landed square in her cheek. Chaos grunted in surprise as she landed on her feet and quickly drew her blades.
"You are gonna die... I don't care what happens to me or the rest of the world. I'm gonna kill you here and now. There has only been one person in my whole life who cared for me... not my parents or anyone. That person was Yumi and I'm gonna make you regret the day you were born!" Ulrich said as he drew both of his swords.
"Oh, foreplay already… we're gonna get along just fine" Chaos teased.
Ulrich jumped into the air and tossed one of his swords like a spear at the monster. Chaos bent her back in a way that would of broken a normal man's back. As she pulled herself back up she threw one of her chains like a spear as well. Ulrich blocked the blow and rolled on the ground. He pounced from the ground like a panther and jabbed towards Chaos.
Chaos wrapped one of her chains around Ulrich's sword and pulled it away. Ulrich jumped into the air and straight kicked Chaos square in the jaw. Chaos fell to the ground but only to be met with Ulrich's hand on her throat. He ran on the ground while holding the monster woman's throat, dragging her on the ground. Ulrich suddenly tossed her into the air as he grabbed his nearby sword.
As Chaos fell to the ground Ulrich lunged at her with his single sword. Chaos spun in midair, her dagger chains flinging to block Ulrich's blow. Ulrich sliced past the chains and jabbed her in the side. Chaos grunted in pain as Ulrich jumped off a tree nearby and flew towards her, preparing for a second strike.
This time though Chaos blocked the attack and head butted Ulrich in midair; Ulrich lost his balance and fell to the ground, his only sword landing a few feet from him. Chaos ran over and jumped on top of Ulrich once more. She wrapped her legs around Ulrich and began to squeeze. Ulrich tried his best to get Chaos to release him, but she was squeezing to tight, he felt as if he was being crushed.
"How did you know I liked it rough?" Chaos gave Ulrich a playful smile.
Ulrich could feel himself getting light headed, a clear sign he was about to lose. He tried his best to hang on, but his life points continued to drain fast as Chaos continued to squeeze harder.
Desprate thoughts raced through his mind. He couldn't do it. He couldn't even avenge Yumi... He had failed. His father was right... he was a failure.
Suddenly, a loud flapping noise came from the edge of the sector. It was so loud it made Chaos release Ulrich who grunted as he was released from the monster's grasp. Chaos walked over to the edge, only to find a young pink looking angel holding Yumi in her arms.
It was Aelita.
Aelita rose from the edge of the sector with Yumi in tow. She landed on the edge of the sector and slowly placed Yumi on the ground. Aelita looked up with anger in her face as she faced the stunned monster girl.
"The chosen one?" Chaos asked.
"Leave my friends alone. Leave my family alone!" Aelita demanded as she held out her right hand and fired a beam of pink energy at Chaos.
Chaos screamed in pain as the orb hit her square in the thigh. Aelita flew towards Chaos, her fist glowing pink as she punched Chaos in the waist. She then flew up suddenly in the air so that her foot caught Chaos in the chin. Chaos flew two feet before Aelita grabbed her by the hair. Aelita twirled her around and flung her hard.
The Titan flew through 2 trees before coming to a halt. Chaos sat up and screeched in anger. She then looked over towards Ulrich who was slowly making his way towards Yumi, who was barely able to sit up.
"If I can't have Ulrich, then no one will!" Chaos screamed as she jumped towards the samurai teen.
Aelita flew between her and the others. Her fist glowed pink once more as she grabbed Chaos's chain. She tugged it hard, bringing Chaos in her direction. Aelita struck Chaos with her pink fist, shattering her shoulder to the point it disintegrated.
Chaos landed on the ground screaming in pain as she held her shoulder.
"This is not over yet... your time will come," Chaos hissed as she got up and ran off away from the trio.
Aelita slowly lowered her arms as Ulrich sat up and crawled over to Yumi. The young Asian girl sat up and looked around her before she noticed Ulrich attempting to reach her. Yumi immediately stood up and ran over to him. The look of relief on his face told the whole story. He had both the look of stress and relief in his eyes as he realized she was safe.
"I thought I lost you," Ulrich said.
"You almost did... Until an angel saved me," Yumi smiled as she glanced up at Aelita.
"It was nothing... really. I mean, how many times have you guys saved me?" Aelita asked.
Ulrich slowly stood up. His legs felt like jello. Ulrich took a minute to find his bearings and eventually began to walk a little.
"How many life points do I have left, Jer?" Ulrich asked.
"Uh...2," Jeremie said over the intercom.
"Wow... you're almost out, aren't you?" Yumi asked.
"Yeah... I need to get to a tower," Ulrich said as the Overbike and Overboard virtualized. Ulrich mounted up on his bike as Yumi jumped onto her sled.
"Wow, that looks awesome Yumi. When I saw Jeremy's drawing of it, I didn't think it would look as sleek as it does now," Aelita said.
"Its my own little speed demon," Yumi said as she revved it up.
Aelita waved her hand over her pink star bracelet. Bright pink wings sprouted from her back as she jumped into the air. The trio of teens sped off in the direction Chaos ran to, while in the distance small flashes and faint noises came from dense forest.
The Black Mustang drove down the ruined streets of Amines. The street was littered with shattered glass and debris from the apparent aerial duel between the bird monster and the purple cat boy. Police and emergency personnel worked diligently in attempt to help any of the injured and tame the few small fires that had broken out.
"So this is what Schaffer was warning us about? Monster things?" Jessica asked.
"Hell, I don't know… Jesus, we find Schaffer's daughter and all hell breaks loose," Travis said as he pulled out his Beretta m9 and loaded a fresh magazine in to the handle.
"We got any bigger weapons than these?" Travis asked.
"No customs wouldn't let us bring the MP5 or anything," George said.
"So is this what Frank wanted us to see? Is this what we have been searching for all this time?" Jessica asked.
There was a small moment of silence in the car as a pair of shadows flew over the car. Travis stuck his head out the window to see a purple flying surf board, complete with 2 teens riding on top of it, followed by a large silver, flying bird like man screaming like a bat out of hell as it chased after them.
"Tell you what... You can ask them after we meet with them... if we can catch them," Travis said as he pulled his head back into the car.
"Are these like aliens? Or superheroes? Or monsters?" Jessica said.
"I don't know... I don't think any of us knows..." George said as he turned off onto the turn pike and onto the interstate. Many of the motorists were pulled over onto the side staring at the amazing site they were seeing.
"Where are the police at?" George asked.
"They don't have a large police force, I think most of them are tied up with the school and the little trail of destruction left from the ace combat deal," Jessica said.
The Black Mustang drove at high speed's to keep up with the midair chase. It swerved in between cars and traffic as the car came within inches of the chase.
"I see the Delmas girl... and that purple cat... girl." George said.
"Uh… actually I think that's a boy." Jessica corrected him.
"Then what is up with his hair?" George asked.
"IS THAT REALLY IMPORTANT? CAN WE FOLLOW THE DAMN KIDS?" Travis shouted as the Mustang drove past a slow moving Peugeot.
Odd glanced down over his shoulder and noticed the black car chasing after them. It had followed them since the school. He looked behind his shoulder and saw Aether still hot on his trail.
"Man I can't shake him," Odd said out loud.
"Odd, where are we going?" Sissi asked as the wind ruffled her hair around her head.
"Do you know that old factory by the river? on the other end of town near the ocean?" Odd asked.
"That run down place?" Sissi asked.
"Yeah... that's where the others are, they can help us," Odd said.
"OK, but what about him?"
"As soon as I get you some place safe I'll take care of him. I wont let him hurt you," Odd said.
Sissi blushed a little at the sound of the words Odd spoke. She smiled a little as Aether screamed loudly.
"There it is!" Odd said as he pointed towards the factory, glistening as the sun set directly behind it.
Puck ran as fast as he could; he held his staff as tight as possible as he weaved in and out of the tree line as the large hulking creature charged after him. He slammed his feet into the ground as he slammed into a virtual tree, shattering it into splinters.
Puck jumped into the air and spun around in midair; he fired a bolt of lightning at the Goliath like monster. The bolt hit Atlas dead in the arm, unaffectedly the charging beast.
"I'm gonna ring your scrawny puny little neck and stomp on your pathetic little body, freak!" Atlas hollered.
"Why so hostile? All I did was try to give you a wedgie," Puck joked as he used his staff to create a wall to try and block the advancing Atlas.
Atlas punched through the wall, sending debris and rubble all over the place. One piece caused Puck to trip and fall onto the ground hard. Puck flipped over to see Atlas raise his foot just above Puck's head.
"Pop goes the weasel!" Atlas said as he slammed his foot onto Puck's head. Dirt flew from Puck's location as Atlas growled in victory. Atlas glanced down to see Puck was still alive, and his foot was just off to his left of Pucks head. Atlas slammed his foot down a second time, only to notice Puck did move again. Atlas continued to try and stomp on Puck's head. Yet every time Atlas tired to hit his opponent, he would move again.
Suddenly a pair of arms jumped onto the back of Atlas as a long gold and silver bar ran across his neck. Atlas freaked out as he attempted to try and grab the enemy behind him. Atlas glanced down to see Puck next to his feet shimmer and disappear. Atlas suddenly felt a large amount of weight hit his back. He lost his balance and finally fell onto his back. Atlas grunted as a large amount of dirt and debris fly into the air. Atlas glanced to his left to see a stone covered Mister Puck standing next to him and smiling.
"Oh I'm sorry, did I forget to tell you that I can not only make myself into stone with the help of my staff, but that I can also make a duplicate version of myself?" Puck said as the rock like material disappeared off his body. "Have a safe trip!"
Atlas slammed his fists into the ground. The force from the impact of his fist caused him to rise up onto his feet and stare down at the small short elf like boy.
"No really... you're dead," Atlas said as he pulled out a large silver cannon from behind his back. The cannon was almost the same size as Puck himself. It was a shiny silver metal with small accents of black on its sides. The barrel hummed and snapped as red energy coursed on its tip.
"Wait, why do you need a cannon? You have like super strength," Puck said.
"Because if I can't reach you..." Atlas said as he pointed the cannon at Puck.
"Oh crap" Puck said as he turned to run.
"Shoot them!" Atlas said as a long red laser fired out of the cannon.
The laser hit the ground next to Puck, sending the small boy flying several feet into a nearby tree. Puck grunted loudly as he slid down the virtual trunk.
"Hey uh... uh... Justin" Puck said.
"Its Jeremy...don't worry, reinforcements are on the way," Jeremy said.
Puck charged his wand; blue energy built up on the tip as he glanced around the tree to see that Atlas had disappeared. Puck slowly looked around for Atlas.
Puck pointed his wand out in front of him as he continued to pan around for any sign of a large armored beast.
Puck suddenly heard another energy beam charge up. Puck looked around for any sign of where the noise was coming from. The noise was loud and sounded close. Puck suddenly realized the noise was from behind him. He spun around in time to see Atlas aim the gun at him; the cannon fired another shot. Puck quickly fired a stream of blue liquid from his wand, which hit the energy from Atlas's cannon. The blue stream hit the laser shot, freezing it into a blue ball of ice. But the ball of ice continued to travel towards Puck. The elf jumped into the air and watched the frozen ball slide directly under him.
Puck landed on his back only to feel a large boot hit him square in the side. He flew several feet in the air; he landed on the ground and skidded into a stump, causing him to wince from the impact.
Puck could barely sit up. He knew he was low on life points and that another hit from Atlas would finish him off. Puck tried to sit up as best as he could. But he didn't have to look far, Atlas stood right over him. He placed his foot square on Pucks neck as he pointed his cannon straight at him.
"No more tricks, no more jokes. Just straight death," Atlas said as the cannon charged up.
Puck tried his best to wiggle free, yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't escape from the hard pressure from Atlas's foot.
A loud whirling noise zipped through the forest. It echoed throughout the entire sector. Atlas glanced around for any sign of the source of the noise. Atlas glanced to his left to see a white circular object fly right towards him. The blade sliced straight through Atlas's cannon at the tip of the barrel. Atlas glanced over to see 2 young teenage girls glaring straight at the giant.
"So that's him?" Aelita asked.
"Yeah... that's him... or it... or...Well, you know what I mean," Yumi said.
Atlas lifted his foot off of Puck and took a defensive posture towards the girls.
"So who is next?" Atlas grunted.
"ME!" a voice said from behind him.
The girls stepped aside as Ulrich zoomed by them one the Overbike. The vehicle flew at high speeds as Ulrich jumped off it. Atlas growled in surprise as the Overbike plowed right into him and shattered into an explosion of virtual pixels.
Atlas flew backwards and landed on his feet as he quickly recovered from the impact. Atlas slowly stood up and glared down at the 4 warriors who stood in front of him.
"Nice to see you again, Aelita," Puck said with a smile.
"Do I really know you?" Aelita asked.
"You haven't recovered all of your memories yet... But don't worry, you eventually will," Puck said.
"GUYS, SHUT UP! THE GIANT!" Yumi tried to say until she was cut off by a charging running giant monster as he plowed through the group.
Atlas grabbed Aelita by the waist as he jumped into the air. He flew a few feet in the air and threw Aelita towards the ground. The pinkette tumbled a little until wings sprouted from her back. Aelita stopped dead in midair as she aimed at Atlas and fired several energy orbs at the hulk. Almost every shot missed as Atlas landed dead behind them.
"Guys, we got a problem!" Jeremy said over the loud speaker. "Chaos is about to enter a tower... if she does, she will go straight to Earth. And William is losing to Tartarus...
If you don't stop those 3, then we will truly lose- Wait!" Jeremy said as a sudden new series of code appeared on his screen.
The codes ran almost the same as the Scipio code but were also linked to a activated tower in the ice sector. Jeremy's skin suddenly froze as he realized what exactly was going on.
"OH NO!" Jeremy panicked.
"Whats going on, Jeremy?" Yumi asked.
"I think I found exactly what Xervix is planing. He is gonna send his Titans to Aelita's old house. He can't send them here because we can stop them... He is gonna give himself a wide advantage."
"You mean… my house in America?" Aelita asked.
"Yeah... Aether must have been a test subject. You guys have to shut down that tower. If Xervix succeeds, he will be in a position were we can't stop him."
"It's do or die, then," Ulrich said.
The 4 warriors regrouped and formed a large circle around Atlas as they stood ready to fight a monster that showed no sign of being defeated.
William jumped to his left as Tartarus slashed at him with his own blade. William was literally on the defense as Tartarus commanded both blades. William was trying to hold his own as Tartarus kept charging and attacking. William was low on life points and weaponless. Yet he had no other choice, he had to stop Tartarus here and now.
"Are you ready to stop fighting your destiny?" Tartarus asked.
Tartarus disappeared into a puff of black smoke as he flew towards William. The teenager jumped to his left as Tartarus reappeared and kicked him in the chest. William fell to his side as black smoke wrapped around his body, so he couldn't move at all. All he could do was wiggle and struggle in the smoky chains.
Tartarus walked up to William. William was raised a few inches in the air as Tatarus stabbed both swords into the ground.
"So... here we are" Tartarus said. "It's been just one fun time, hasn't it? You have been sitting there enjoying life, while I'm stuck in here, in this prison. Its really quite a joy to me right now... because now I can truly return to the world I love."
"Why are you doing this? Why join sides with Xervix?" William asked.
"Because... I was enjoying the world outside and you and your friends shunned me away from that world. I was left to rot, nothing more but a useless doll left in the attic. And then Xervix found me and gave me a purpose... and now I will finally have a purpose again!" Tatarus said as he clenched his right fist.
"But… do you really trust him? How do you know he won't treat you any better then how we did?" William provoked the Titan.
"Because I will join with you and merge with your mind. The same way Xana did with you before he died," Tartarus said.
"Wh- What?"
"Why should you have everything and enjoy living while I am nothing more then a prisoner to this empty graveyard? I have nothing.
On the outside I had friends. I enjoyed the real world, and yet when I even fought for you, for them, I was still looked upon as nothing more then a worthless program. Well, not anymore, soon I will enjoy that world once more... and you will be the prisoner," Tartarus said as he grabbed William by the throat.
Tartarus picked up William's sword and pointed it square at William's throat. William's eyes grew wide as he realized he was about to lose and the others would soon be outnumbered.
"We will be reborn," Tartarus said.
As the Titan pulled back his sword, William suddenly thought of a idea. He disappeared into a puff of white smoke, which swirled around the Titan.
Tartarus swung and stabbed wildly at the smoke, unable to hit anything but the virtual air. The white smoke suddenly focused around Taratarus's head as William reformed and grabbed Tartarus by the head. William then swung down via Taratarus's shoulders and planted both of his feet into his virtual doppelgangers chest. The impact hit Tatarus so hard that he dropped William's sword.
William ran over and grabbed his sword. Tatarus recovered from William's hit and charged towards the white warrior. William noticed Taratarus's charge and also ran towards him. Both came within breathing distance of each other. William aimed for Taratarus's waist as Tartarus drew his twisted black sword behind his head. Both warriors sliced at each other at the same time as they ran past each other. William stopped a few feet behind Tartarus as the Titan stopped directly where he attacked.
Both stood in one place for a few seconds, waiting to see what the other would either do or say.
"We could of worked all of this out. You could have had that life back," William said.
"Please. No one would let a creature like me live among them... I would be a freak and treated no different then I am now," Tartarus said. "I only regret that you won't be there... when the world will be one."
William dropped his sword as a white line shot through his waist...
He had lost.
"We will meet again... in your world," Tartarus said as William disappeared into a cluster of virtual pixels.
Tartarus slowly entered the tower and raised up to the upper level of the tower. He arrived on the central platform as the holoterminal appeared in front of him.
"Are you prepared?" Xervix said over the intercom.
"I am...Will I arrive in France or America like we planned?" Tartarus asked.
"America... I have hacked into the supercomputer there in Waldo Schaffer's old house. The scanners there are still in working condition. Once we all arrive, with the exception of Aether who if the arrogant fool survives his so called fight on Earth, will have to travel across the Atlantic. Once The System is activated, we will snatch it and the children and rule this world."
The screen suddenly fluttered as the words CODE EARTH appeared on the screen. Tartarus then disappeared as pixels building his virtual body dissolved.
At the same time, Chaos entered a tower in the forest sector. Her arm reformed upon entering the tower as she elevated to the upper platform. Chaos placed her hand on holopanel. The panel read CODE EARTH on its screen as Chaos also disappear into a cluster of pixels.
Atlas slammed his fist into the ground. The impact from his fist caused a shock wave to travel towards his enemies. Ulrich dodged to the left as Yumi jumped in midair. She rotated around and tossed one of her fans. The fan zipped through the air and struck Atlas in the helmet, yet had no effect.
Aelita flew down low to the ground, she held out her hands and fired a volley of energy orbs at Atlas. Atlas let the orbs hit him as he merely walked through them. Atlas closed in on Aelita as she flew straight into the air. Atlas reached out and grabbed her, his entire hand wrapping around Aelita.
"How can something so puny be so powerful?" Atlas joked.
Aelita could barely wiggle her hands free. Instead she decided to develop her energy fields. The energy burned Atlas's hands, causing him to drop the elfin princess. Aelita landed in time to have a large boot fly straight into her stomach. Aelita offed in pain as she flew backwards towards the edge of the sector. Aelita flapped her wings widely as she tried to slow herself down from impacting harder. Aelita suddenly felt her body hit a soft yet sticky substance. Aelita bounced up and down a little as she realized she was sitting on a large spider web like structure.
"You OK?" Puck asked as the web dissolved.
"Yeah, thanks... So, what are you?" Aelita asked.
"We can talk later, right now DUCK!" Puck shouted as a large virtual log flew towards Aelita.
Aelita's belly flopped to the ground as the log passed only a few inches from her head. Puck then ran towards Atlas and fired a stream of red liquid from his staff. The liquid coated Atlas's arm. Steam and heat rose from the liquid, causing Atlas to grunt loudly in pain. Atlas then shook the liquid off as Ulrich jumped onto Atlas's back. Ulrich took out his sword and stabbed Atlas in the back. The sword however bounced off Atlas's thick plated armor. Atlas tried his best to shake off Ulrich, who continued to hack and slash at the armor as Yumi tossed a second fan at Atlas. The fan curved down towards Atlas's feet. The fan sliced into Atlas's knee, causing Atlas to drop to one of his knees.
"Jeremy! How many life points does this guy have?" Ulrich asked.
"He's only lost... two," Jeremy replied reluctantly.
"WHAT!" Ulrich said as Atlas finally grabbed hold of Ulrich. He tossed Ulrich into the air and punched him hard, hard enough that Ulrich flew into Yumi.
"What does it take to put this guy down?" Yumi asked. "Jeremy, how is Odd and William doing?"
"William lost. Tartarus and Chaos left the computer," Jeremy said.
"Did you tack their devirtualization signal?" Puck asked.
"Yeah, I did… .I was right, they went to America," Jeremy said.
"What about Odd?" Aelita asked.
"He, uh... is fighting Aether just outside the factory...with Sissi"
"WHAT?" all three said in unison.
Suddenly a crimson beam hit Yumi in the waist. The force of the beam was enough to send Yumi flying through the air. Yumi suddenly saw pixels fly from her body as she realized what exactly was happening... she had been devirtualized. Yumi's body disappeared as the last pixel bounced off the ground.
"YUMI!" Ulrich shouted as he watched the body of his girlfriend vanish.
Ulrich turned in time to block a second shot from Atlas's cannon.
"OK guys... let's take Goliath down." Puck said.
Ulrich and Aelita nodded as Ulrich split into 3 different forms. The three Ulrichs darted towards Atlas. One ran to Atlas's side, while the other jumped into the air and landed on the Goliath's shoulders. Aelita jumped into the air with her pink glowing wings. She flew high above the monsters field of range. Puck broke his staff into two pieces and twirled them around like a pair of swords.
Puck ran towards Atlas and waved his left hand towards the giant. A beam of blue liquid flew straight towards the monsters feet. The third Ulrich landed on Atlas's arm. Stabbing his sword into the Giants arm, Ulrich loosened the cannon. The cannon fell to the ground as Aelita fired a orb at it. The cannon exploded as Aelita fired a second shot at Atlas. Atlas grabbed one of the Ulrich copies and flung it towards Puck. The virtual copy hit Puck in the head as Puck fell on his back. Aelita glanced over at Puck as the copy of Ulrich disappeared. Puck barely stood up as he noticed his body was fluctuating. He looked as if he was a TV program trying to faze out of contrast.
"Puck...You are extremely low on life points... you need to get to a tower," Jeremy said over the intercom.
"No, I'm good... Just got hit by a dummy."
"Puck, don't try it... go to a tower we got this," Aelita said
Puck hesitantly nodded as he ran off in the direction of the nearest tower. Aelita turned to see Atlas fall to one of his knees as the Ulrich behind him cut his calf. Atlas lowered his head towards the ground. The second Ulrich ran up and dropped kick the giant in the head. Aelita backed up a little and opened her wings fully.
Aelita flew towards Atlas, gaining speed as she went. Her hands glowed pink as her eyes mimicked her hands. Aelita held out her hands, balling her fists. Aelita came within inches of the battle. Both Ulrichs glanced up to see a pink speeding bullet coming towards them.
Both Ulrichs jumped out of the way as the pink bullet slammed into Atlas's chest, bouncing off it with incredible speed. The impact ruptured the armor plating. The plating cracked as pieces of it fell off to the ground.
Aelita landed on the ground. As she landed on her feet she fell on her stomach. She could hear Jeremy over the intercom but was unable to move from the amount of force and energy she placed in that attack. She tried her best to sit up, only to fall on her back again. A brown haired boy bent over her and helped ease her back up.
"You did it, 'Lita...You stopped that thing," Ulrich said.
"Yeah but it almost killed me in doing so," Aelita said as she slowly stood up, leaning her weight onto her friends shoulder.
"At least that's one Titan not going to earth," The second Ulrich said as it fused with the Ulrich holding Aelita.
Suddenly Atlas grunted as he slowly stood up on his own legs. The monster was holding its chest as it growled loudly.
"Doesn't anything kill this thing?" Ulrich asked.
Suddenly a black beam hit Ulrich in the back. Devitalizing the warrior on contact. Aelita turned instantly to see the form of her current enemy. The one who had been haunting her for weeks.
"Xervix…" Aelita grunted
"Why hello, my instrument of destruction!" Xervix greeted.
"Forgive me master... I failed," Atlas said on his knees.
"Actually you did well. Now head to the tower. All that is needed is for you to enter and we will be ready for the attack," Xervix said.
Atlas grunted in acknowledgment as he ran off away from the pair. Aelita tried to raise her hand to form a energy field, but she couldn't form the field properly.
"So, so, so… Are you feeling tired?" Xervix said as a army of blocks encircled around them.
"Why...WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?" Aelita shouted as she hunched over a little.
"Because humanity will not live to see the next decade at this rate. I'm only wanting one thing, and one thing only. And that is to guide mankind on the right course... MY course!" Xervix said as he drug his long nail along the body of the nearest block. "And you and your dear boyfriend are a mere catalyst. My very own atom bomb."
"I will stop you... I won't let you harm anyone." Aelita said as she glared at Xervix.
"Oh please, my tiny little jewel. How can you protect the world when you can,t even protect yourself?" Xervix said as he raised his hand.
"It would be useless to try and capture you here on Lyoko... the only way for me to get a hold of you is on Earth... once I acquire the system though be advised... I will be coming for you, and I will have my revenge!"
Xervix lowered his hand as the blocks began firing. Aelita tried her best to block most of the shots as her fists glowed. But after a few moments the glow in her fists disappeared as the lasers finally began to find their marks. Aelita yipped in pain as she collapsed to the ground. After she fell the lasers stopped. Aelita heard a foot land right next to her; she glanced up to see Xervix with his scythe standing over her.
"Revenge is Mine" Xervix said as he pulled the scythe back.
But before he could strike, Aelita disappeared in a cluster of virtual pixels. Aelita watched as Lyoko faded into darkness and was replaced with the walls of the scanner. The scanner's doors opened to reveal a young blond teen gasping and shaking from being so nervous.
Aelita tried to step out, only to fall. Before she could hit the ground she felt the soft gentle touch of Jeremy's hands catch her. She slowly looked up to see him holding her.
"I told you I would come back," Aelita said as William walked over and helped Jeremy hoist her out of the scanner. William handed her a bottle of water as she glanced around the room.
"Where is Ulrich and Yumi?" Aelita asked.
"In the lab... We lost... Xervix, Chaos, Atlas, Tartarus and Aether left the computer... they're here on Earth." Jeremy said.
"We couldn't even put a dent in them this time... why?" William asked.
"I have to go back" Aelita said. Jeremy and William both starred at her in disbelief.
"I have to stop him!" she explained.
"You can't. You have to wait 24 hours before going back to Lyoko. It drains you too much." Jeremy said.
"Remember how Odd was out for a week from it?"
"I don't care, I... I gotta go back. He will come for you... I cant lose you Jeremy, he will come for you," Aelita said.
"We will stop him. We stopped Xana, we will stop him," Jeremy assured her.
"It's no use Jeremy. We lost. Earth is lost...We lost."
"We're not dead yet... there is still one of us fighting," William said.
"Who?" Aelita asked.
Odd flew the Overboard into the back lot of the Factory. Sissi was still clutching for dear life as the board drifted behind a pair of rusty old dumpsters. Sissi poked her head around Odd, glancing into the freshly new night sky. She caught a glimmer of light that at first she thought was a shooting star, until the star landed on the ground. Aether spread his silver wings and tucked them under his arms. He glanced back and forth for any sign of his victims.
"Come out… come out wherever you are!" Aether said as he walked slowly towards the center of the lot.
"This is where you get off," Odd told Sissi, who glanced at him in confusion.
"What are you gonna do?" Sissi asked.
"Gonna show the bird man why cat men are better," Odd said as Sissi got off the board.
Sissi quickly jumped up and kissed Odd on the cheek.
"For both luck and for helping me... Be careful," Sissi said as she blushed lightly.
Odd rubbed his cheek where the young teen had recently planted her lips. Odd smiled a little as he revved up his Overboard.
Aether looked up and walked backwards to see Odd hiding behind the pair of dumpsters. Odd flew at lightning speeds towards Aether. He saw Aether open his beak, a crimson red glow appeared in his mouth as Odd knew what was about to happen. Odd leapt off the board as a red beam of energy struck it, causing it to explode and fizzle out.
Odd then leapt over Aether's head and fired a pair of Arrows at him. The arrows missed their targets as Odd landed behind the bird. Aether turned in anger to see Odd on all fours looking at him with his head cocked to his left.
"PARASITE!" Aether yelled as he flew into Odd, tackling the purple cat. Aether pinned Odd to the ground, holding down his arms as he opened his mouth, preparing to fire.
Odd tried his best to wrestle his way from under Aether;s hold. Odd tried to kick Aether off him, but there monster was to heavy for him.
Suddenly a lead pipe nailed Aether across the face, causing him to loose his charge and release Odd. The red beam cut into the concrete, sending chunks of it into the air. Sissi began pummeling Aether with the lead pipe over and over again.
"Oh, you damn asshole!" Sissi shouted.
As the pipe came down for a 8th blow, a clawed, twisted hand caught it. Aether slowly stood up and took the pipe away from Sissi. He chuckled as he bent the pipe into a pretzel. He then grabbed Sissi by the throat and began to squeeze. Sissi pounded her fist on Aethers arm as the Bird man continued to chuckle.
"Ah come on, little rodent... there is not a thing you can do to stop me," Aether said.
Sissi suddenly poked Aether in the eyes as the monster let out a yipe, dropping Sissi on the ground. Odd suddenly jumped into the air and planted a right fist into the monster's face. Aether stumbled a little as he pulled out his daggers. He twirled and whipped around his daggers as Odd stood in front of Sissi. Aether showed off his skills with the daggers for a while. As he finished, Odd fired an Arrow at Aether.
Aether reeled from the shot. Odd ran towards Aether and jumped into the air, preparing to land a second fist to Aether's face. Aether backhanded the young teen, causing him to fly into a wall. Odd recovered from the hit and wall kicked towards Aether. He jumped into the air and jumped onto Aether's face. Odd punched and punched over and over until Aether fell onto a dumpster. The dumpster flattened like a pancake under the weight of the fighters.
Aether kicked Odd off him as he flipped around, trying to get back up. Odd fired a pair of arrows into Aether's chest. Aether screamed in pain from the impact as his wings forced him back onto his feet. Aether turned to see Odd jump off the wall again and fly straight towards him.
Aether quickly kicked Odd with his feet, sending the blonde teen into the wall; the force was so powerful that Odd found his back stuck in the wall. Odd began to feel the signs of devirtualization; he was running out of time.
Aether fully recovered from the ambush as he walked over and pulled out one of his daggers.
"New packaging, same product, loser," Aether said as he grabbed Odd by the neck.
Sissi kicked Aether in the back as she tried valiantly to save Odd.
"You leave him alone!" She shouted.
Aether glanced down and noticed the small girl standing just short of his waist.
"Oh dear rodent... is this your boyfriend?" Aether joked.
Sissi blushed a little but did not stop attempting to free Odd. Sissi finally stepped back and kicked Aether square in the crotch. Sissi was shocked to see that it had literally no effect on Aether.
"Oh you wanna try to hurt me?" Aether joked as he squatted to Sissi's height.
"Go on... right there, try your hardest," Aether said as he tilted his face so that the left side of his face was exposed. Suddenly a laser Arrow struck Aether in the side of his face, sending the bird man flying backwards onto the black pavement.
Odd jumped down and patted Sissi on the shoulder.
"Thanks a lot, Sissi," Odd said, looking up at her.
Odd suddenly ran past her and tackled Aether in the side. Odd clawed at Aether with his virtual claws. Aether screamed in pain as he stabbed at Odd with his dagger. Odd ducked as a crimson beam cut the ground in front of him.
"Jeremy, you hear me?" Odd asked.
"Jeremy is with Aelita. But I hear you loud and clear," Yumi responded. "Why did you bring Sissi to the factory?"
"Because Aether was gonna try and kill her... I couldn't just leave her there," Odd said.
"OK, we will deal with it later. You got one arrow left. My advice, save it for when the time is right," Yumi said.
"I know just what to do with it," Odd replied as Aether spread his wings.
"TIME TO DIE!" Aether shouted as he charged towards Odd.
Odd jumped into the air and landed on Aether's back. Aether screamed as Odd dug his claws into his back. Aether flipped and tumbled through the air as he tried to lose Odd. Aether rose straight into the air as he struggled to free himself. Odd finally saw a opening and took it. He aimed at the back of Aether's head and fired.
The arrow dented Aether's helmet as he screamed loudly. Odd jumped off as Aether flew into a telephone pole, sparks and debris flew as the bird man landed. The telephone poles sparked and screeched as if lightning had struck them. Sissi gawked in fear as she watched the multi colored sparks fly into the night sky.
Odd slowly emerged from the shower of sparks and smoke. His tail twitched a little as he walked over towards Sissi.
"Man... I am one bad ass," Odd thought as he walked over to Sissi.
"Are you OK?" Sissi asked as she ran up and hugged Odd. Odd blushed from the fact that Sissi was actually hugging him.
"OK...You young man have a lot of explaining to do. First off what was that? And what are you wearing?" Sissi said.
Suddenly a second silhouette emerged from the smoke. Aether spread his wings as the smoke cleared from the area, revealing the monster before them. Odd pulled Sissi behind him as he prepared to take on Aether for round 2.
"You win this round, freak!" Aether said.
Aether jumped into the air and flew away from the factory. Every once in a while he lost a little altitude due to his injuries. Odd sighed a breath of relief as he turned to Sissi.
Sissi stared at Odd as she finally got a good look at what Odd looked like. She found it quite weird that he was not only dressed as a purple cat, he even had a purple striped tail on his backside. Sissi tugged it a little, only to get a small little response from Odd.
"Is this... like your body or something?" Sissi asked.
"No. It's more like a virtual copy," Odd said.
"Virtual copy?" Sissi echoed.
"I'm actually inside the factory. Inside a computer down below," Odd explained.
"Why are you telling me this, Odd? Why is this happening?" Sissi asked.
"Me and the others have been doing this for some time now. But it's getting out of hand," Odd said.
"What are you, like a superhero or something?" Sissi asked as she poked Odd's cat fur coated arm.
"Yeah, we are. Were a team of virtual superheroes."
"But… why are you a cat? I thought you liked dogs?" Sissi asked.
"Oh, I have no idea… it just made me like this," Odd said.
"And why is your symbol Kiwi peeing?" Sissi said as she pointed towards Odd's chest.
"Well Kiwi is my dog and all…" Odd said.
"This is...Wow this is too much... I don't know what to say," Sissi said as she smiled a little.
"To be honest...we need your help," Odd said.
"My help?"
"All hell is about to break loose. That monster and others like her are coming for Aelita and Jeremy. There's only 4 of us who try to protect them but it's slowly becoming a hard task to do. We really need any help... Please, Sissi."
Sissi hesitated a little as Odd held out his hand. She didn't even know what to think of all that had happened. She didn't even want to be here.
"Odd... I don't know..."
"Sissi... fifty years from now when your sitting down with your grandchildren, don't you wanna tell them how you did something with your life? How you actually stood for something?" Odd said as he held out his hand.
Sissi stared at it for a second and finally made up her decision. She slowly and reluctantly took Odd's hand as he lead her into the factory.