Heya guys! I'm sorry it took so long, but I have an explanation: First, I started reuploading 'A New Power' onto my deviantart 'FrancistheDragon'. This time an edited and corrected version (why didn't anybody tell me the English was horrible?). Second, I drew a cover illustration for 'A New Power'. You can find the original on my deviantart. Third, I had many other projects going on, including school (A-Levels starting soon and I have to read a lot of books) and our orchestra, for which I have started doing musical arrangements of, mostly, video-game music.
Anyway, enjoy the newest chapter! If any of you have suggestions for background music, please tell me. I have no time and not a stable enough Internet connection to look for good songs. Help is appreciated, also I love discovering new artists.
Rebooting the system
"I already told you, I will not talk to him!" Martin growled, his anger getting stronger.
"But why not?" Aviva yelled back, "He already apologized, what else is he supposed to do?"
"Oh, I don't know, perhaps stop being so weird and go back to the REAL Chris!"
"So now you're implying that Stonebreaker completely changed him, or what? Did you even see what he did to him?"
Koki and Jimmy were sitting behind the table, watching the fighting couple. Both of them had already tried to reconcile them, but both the adventurer and the inventor had just shouted at them to stay out of it, so they did, but they were still worried.
"Are you saying that I'm not taking care of my brother well enough?"
"Well, had you taken better care of him, perhaps all of this wouldn't have happened! You left him behind!"
Martin gasped, remembering that fateful day. "So it's my fault now, huh? Well, if YOU hadn't installed this stupid "security measure" as you called it inside the suits, Yami wouldn't have had to suffer, and we wouldn't have any of the problems we have now!"
This went on for a couple of minutes, the fighting couple didn't even notice Chris and Elliana coming in. Finally, both of them turned around and refused to talk to each other, and every attempt at bringing them back together failed miserably. So everybody just gave up, hoping that time would heal their wounds.
Martin sat outside, throwing pebbles into a small pond. "Stupid Aviva." he growled. "She always thinks she knows everything better!"
"Stupid Martin!" Aviva hissed, as she worked on a new suit for Jimmy that was compatible for the Ultimate Power Mode, aided by Elliana. "Thinks he's so much smarter than me just because he knows more about animals. But he always seems to forget who built these suits!"
Elliana just worked beside her in silence, modifying the suit's structure. She just hoped that it was a grudge that would soon pass. Now that Martin refused to talk to both Chris and Aviva, their team was vulnerable. Zach was taken out for a few weeks, perhaps even months, but the other villains could strike at any time.
A few hours later, they were analysing the Stone to find out how it worked, Martin was in his room, Chris talked about something with Jimmy and Koki was just working on the teleportation device, when suddenly a small earthquake shook the ship, making them fall over. Martin's door opened and he ran in to see if anything had been affected, but they all looked up when they heard a deep roaring sound.
All of them froze when they saw the giant rocks falling form the cliff underneath which they were hiding through the windows on the roof, and they all hid under tables and desks to protect themselves as the rocks smashed their way through parts of the roof.
For a few seconds it was dead silent, all of them had closed their eyes, but then, an alarm started howling. Then another, until the entire ship was filled with blinking red lights.
"The rocks disabled one of the circuits, I can't control the power output anymore!" Aviva yelled, trying to fix the problem on the main computer. "Koki, cut the connection to the power core!"
"I'm on it!" the afro-american woman said, but before she was able to do anything, the teleportation device suddenly went crazy, enveloping everything in a vortex that started to disappear in the device.
Aviva only barely managed to hold onto Martin, who had been able to get a hold of Chris' hand, and Chris was holding onto Elliana who had dug her claws into the main table, but she knew she couldn't hold on forever.
Koki and Jimmy both tried to make their way to the power core, but since it stood freely in the room there was no way they would be able to reach it without being sucked in.
"Everybody, don't let go!" Jimmy yelled. "Humans can't be teleported, so if you land in there, we won't ever see you again in one piece!"
But Elliana knew that her grip wasn't strong enough. Three people plus herself were too much, even for her. Suddenly, Jimmy let go, but he was able to hold onto the power core, even though he couldn't move, or else he would have been caught by the vortex. But he didn't care. The lives of his teammates were on the line, and if he died saving them, his sacrifice wouldn't have been in vain.
"No, Jimmy, don't do it!" Koki screamed, the fear of losing him forever creeping up inside her.
"I don't have a choice! Do you want all of us to die?" He just gritted his teeth and carefully made his way towards the thick cables, a pair of wire cutters in his hand.
Elliana dug her claws even deeper into the metal, but even the table started breaking apart. "Guys, I don't think I can hold on for much longer!" she hissed, her skin slowly revealing the black metal in some parts.
"Just – a bit – further..." Jimmy groaned, trying to reach the cable, but the wind was too strong.
Suddenly, Martin felt Aviva's grip on him getting weaker, until she let go of him, but he still grasped her wrist. "No, don't you dare do that!" he yelled, tears forming in his eyes.
"Martin, I – I have no choice. It's either me or all of us, please, save yourself!" she cried, his grip on her getting more and more loose.
"Aviva, no! NO!" he roared, as her hand slipped out of his grasp and she disappeared inside the ball of turquoise energy that was enveloping the device.
"Aviva..." Elliana whispered, shocked that she had decided to sacrifice herself, but she was instantly able to pull herself closer to the table and somehow managed to drill a hole in the ground with one of her feet to lock herself in place, and secured her grip on Chris with wires that wrapped themselves around his arm.
Jimmy was still trying to reach the cables and finally managed to cut it, but suddenly, his hand slipped and he was pulled towards the vortex. Luckily, the power level dropped before he could have completely disappeared inside, but when everybody else fell to the ground, they noticed that he had lost a leg and a foot.
"Aviva...no, it can't be..." Martin whispered, too shocked to stand up, his eyes staring into the distance. Koki had managed to bandage Jimmy's wounds before he lost too much blood and Elliana had stopped the bleeding thanks to the new medicine she and Aviva had been developing, but it would take time before she could build a replacement.
"Martin, I – I'm so sorry..." Chris said, kneeling down beside him and stroking his shoulder.
"It's...it's alright." he managed to say, before the shock passed and he started crying. Chris hugged him, trying to comfort him, but his eyes were also overflowing with tears.
"I – I just can't believe we – we lost her." Koki sobbed, still taking care of Jimmy's wound. Aviva and her had been very close friends since childhood, and she had always looked up to her because of her inventive spirit. But Martin was the most devastated one.
"I haven't even been able to apologise to her..."
Elliana was the only one who wasn't crying. Not only because she wasn't able to, but because she was still able to feel her presence. It was different though, as if she was on a completely different plane of existence.
She just wanted to tell the others about it, when suddenly the lights went out and the Tortuga went into lock-down mode. They tried to find a way out, but the holes in the ceiling were blocked by the rocks and the doors were too strong. Elliana would have been able to break them down, but she had been weakened by having to hold onto three people, and it could be that these walls were the last things that kept the rocks from crushing all of them.
"What the...what's going on?" Jimmy uttered, slowly rising to sit on the table and trying to move, but falling over again due to the lack of weight on one side of his body.
"I don't know. Chris, can you try to override the system and reverse the lock-down mode?" Koki asked. Chris nodded, but then, a laser cannon came out of the wall and shot, missing him by only a few inches.
"The Tortuga's internal security system! Why is it activating? Who – " the bewildered man whispered, but he was cut off by an all too familiar voice:
"Well, well, well, it seems that we have intruders in our system." the voice said, cold and metallic. Everybody froze.
"No...that's impossible! Aviva?" Martin cried, looking for the source of the voice.
"It can't be..." Elliana whispered. She hadn't been able to pinpoint exactly the location of Aviva's aura, it seemed to be everywhere, but she also felt it cumulating around the main computer.
Every weapon in the entire ship turned on the crew, ready to fire. "Identify yourself, or you'll be destroyed!"
Chris dove underneath the table as the cannons started shooting towards them, and he found Koki who had taken Jimmy with her to protect him.
Elliana tried to take out the weapons while Martin was still out in the open, trying to talk to his friend.
"Please, don't you recognize me? I'm Martin, I'm your friend!" he pleaded, but she didn't seem to recognize either of her teammates.
"Friend? I have no 'friends'. I am the security system of this ship and you are intruders, and my mission is to destroy intruders like you." With these words, a gun started shooting towards his head, but he managed to dive out of the way in time and Elliana instantly shot it, taking it out. But now that Zach had proved to be more dangerous than before, they had also improved the security system, turning it into an incredible weapon. Had they been outside, it would have been impossible for a human to survive its attacks.
"Martin, try to find a way out!" she ordered. 'Meanwhile, I will try to shut it down.' she told him mentally, so the system didn't know about their plan. He nodded, instantly making his way to the roof, followed by a multitude of small capsules that wanted to shoot him, but he managed to destroy most of them with his own cannon. Instantly, he started pushing the rocks out of the way, something that, normally, would have been impossible, but with his arm his strength had been greatly increased.
Elliana was running around the room, looking for the security system's power source. Koki had already told her that it had a separate power source from the main ship, so they would always be able to defend themselves, even if their enemy had already taken out the core.
Finally, in the basement, she found another glowing tube that contained even more tellurium, but before she was able to destroy it, an army of robotic animals crept towards her, all of them with the mission to annihilate intruders like her and protect the system.
"Uh-oh." she said, before hell broke loose.
Martin heard the sounds of fighting coming from down below, but right now, he had his own problems. The Tortuga itself had started fighting back, firing lasers out of its very own walls. He couldn't destroy them because there was still the risk of the entire ship collapsing under the weight of a part of the cliff. There already was a small opening, but if Yami didn't manage to do something soon, he would literally be toast.
Suddenly, a huge robot broke through the floor and instantly spotted him. He swallowed hard and tried to defend himself when it made its way towards him, but it wasn't easy to fight against a giant robot while the walls shot lasers at you. Even his missile only managed to destroy its arm, but it was still able to run after him with no problem.
Just when he thought that it was over for him, the robot suddenly stopped, the light in its eyes going out as it lost power, and even the lasers stopped shooting. He quickly scurried away before the lifeless robot could crush him with its body, and protected his face as sharp pieces of metal flew across the room.
"Thanks, Yami! One more second, and I would have had no chance of surviving." he yelled.
In the basement, she stood between piles of motionless robots, the glass around the power core behind her broken and the suspension liquid flowing out of it. Her leg had been damaged in the fight, but now at least she knew where her limits were. She would have to look into that and improve it where necessary.
But now, they had to focus. "Guys, even if I've been able to take out the power source, we modified it so it would regenerate if it ever got destroyed by an enemy. I think we have five hours, maybe six, so we have to think of something, quick!" she ordered, flying back up with her new wings. "Koki, do you have an idea about what happened?"
"Not really." the programmer said. "I can't access the system at all, the computer repels me every time I try."
Slowly, everything started to make sense. "OK, I have a theory." Everybody faced her. "Normally, the teleportation device would destroy every living being and disperse its matter into the universe. But because the system wasn't working normally, Aviva was instead converted into data and merged with the main computer and thus with the security system. Because of the malfunction, the system is now trying to get rid of an intruder that is part of it, and because that's impossible she turned on us, the only possible intruders she was able to find."
Martin's eyes had started to light up again halfway through her explanation. "So, do you mean she's still in there? Is there a possibility to save her?" he asked, hope filling his heart.
"Sadly, no." Yami shook her head. "There is no way I can gather her data while being here." His head hung low again. "But perhaps there is another way. Koki, you have to help me transform the teleportation device into a data converter. If we manage to link it to the computer, we might be able to modify her data to give her back her personality."
Koki nodded. "I'm on it. Chris, could you hand me Aviva's plans for the device, please?" The young man instantly ran towards the storage room, where he knew she kept all of her plans. He soon came out again holding multiple rolls of blue paper, and Yami started working on the partly broken device with Koki's help.
Meanwhile, Jimmy, Martin and Chris developed a plan of attack. They didn't know what was waiting for them, so they decided to simulate different situations using Jimmy's video-games.
For the entire time, Martin got more and more uneasy. Finally, he spoke.
"Chris, I'm really sorry for everything I've done. I've been a horrible brother, and I accused you of so many things that I know aren't true. I already lost Aviva as I was on bad terms with her, and if I lost any of you I wanted to know that we didn't hate each other. Do you forgive me?" he asked, sadness and truth in his eyes.
Chris started crying. "Of course! I'm so glad Martin, you have no idea..." But tears of joy drowned out his words. They both knew that, would their bond ever disappear, the team could fall apart, so this was extremely important.
Three hours later, everything was ready. Chris, Jimmy and Koki had chosen a weapon in case they would encounter enemies, and they had been able to connect both machines.
"OK, let's just hope this works!" All of them crossed their fingers as Koki started the countdown. "Five...four...three...two...one...ignition!"
The entire Tortuga was filled with a blue glow as the device activated. Everybody had closed their eyes to protect them from the powerful light, only Yami saw how everything disappeared in front of her. Her entire body glowed in a light purple colour, and everybody else in the team started to glow, too, in their respective colours. Then, after something that felt like eternity, she finally felt ground beneath her feet again, and her cameras started to adjust to their new environment.
"Guys...where are we?" Jimmy asked, trying to find words that would describe this new realm.
"If I'm correct, this is the computer's main drive. It should contain all the data connected to its programs, also Aviva's data which we're looking for." Yami answered, looking around. There were some kinds of glowing roads everywhere, but in three-dimensional space. She also noticed that they were all straight or formed a ninety-degree angle, and that they were mostly glowing white with a hint of another colour. "But it will be difficult to –"
"Screw that!" the pilot interrupted her. "Just take a look at us!"
He was right. All of their Creature-Power Suits had been changed into armour glowing in their colours respectively, with white parts here and there. Only Yami still looked like her normal cyborg form, but she noted that her leg had somehow been repaired and that her circuits were glowing stronger. Jimmy's leg and other foot had also been replaced and they were glowing in a bright orange colour.
"Huh. Was that on purpose?" Chris asked, inspecting his new outfit.
"I don't think so." Yami shook her head. "It could be that we are wearing these so our data doesn't just scatter. Since we aren't an installed program, we are much more vulnerable, just like when you forget to save your progress in anything and it's just gone the next time you start it. Anyway, we don't have much time, we have to find her."
"Yeah, sure, but how? This place is huge!" Martin was desperate. He knew he had to save his girlfriend, but even if they managed to pinpoint her location, none of them knew how they would give her back her personality.
BG Music: Sun and Moon Team Skull Battle Remix - GlitchxCity
"Uh, guys? I think she just found us!" Koki suddenly whispered, just before they all saw a blinding ball of pink light coming towards them. Shortly before it reached them, parts of it split off and surrounded them before they revealed insect-like legs, bat wings and huge pincers.
"Did you really think you would be able to escape me, especially by penetrating MY realm?" the voice hissed, while the ball of light started to change forms. The outline of a human started appearing, and soon Aviva stood in front of them. But it also wasn't really her. She, or rather her hologram, was wearing black trousers and boots and a pink jacket with ones and zeros glitching in and out on it. Her hair was in a tight bun and she was wearing space glasses completely covering her eyes, but her face didn't show any expression at all.
"But...Aviva...don't you recognize me? I'm Martin!" he cried, trying to get to her.
Her glasses flashed for a short second. "Scan in process...scan complete. Individual: Martin Kratt. Position: Creature Adventurer. Character: Unpredictable." She frowned. "Level of danger: 6."
He backed up again. She didn't seem to remember anything about them, and when he looked over towards Yami he saw her nod in approval. The cyborg had also noticed the changes, but she didn't know how they would be able to bring her back. Just before she could tell the others, the creatures surrounding them suddenly moved.
"Look out!" Koki yelled, just in time for them to dive out of the way. A couple of their attackers had managed to react fast enough and ran after them while others bumped into each other. But instead of crashing, they merged with the ground and reappeared in front of Jimmy and Martin.
'I see.' Yami thought, evading several pairs of pincers. 'If they are connected to the ground, we might be able to destroy them when we damage it.' Closing her eyes, she changed her hand into a drill and rammed it into the glowing road beneath her. She expected it to shut down or at least repel her, but suddenly she was able to inspect the nearby data.
"Impossible!" she whispered. "I knew she merged with the computer, but not in that way."
"What is it?" Martin asked. "Can you see her data?"
"Yes, but I – I fear it is worse than we expected! Now, she has been turned into an Artificial Virtual Intelligence designed for Virus Annihilation, A.V.I.V.A. for short. She controls everything in here, and if we don't manage to fix her data soon, we won't be able to get out alive!" she explained, trying to rip her arm out of the breach she had created, but the glowing pathway had already started to close itself around it again. "Quick, we have to separate! If we're all together here, she will be able to destroy us even more quickly."
"Well, that's what I call a great plan." Koki said sarcastically, before she ran off, Jimmy right behind her. Martin lingered a bit, looking towards what had once been his girlfriend, but finally turned around and left on a different pathway.
"Chris, you have to go, too! I can handle myself." she ordered, but the man in green armour just fought off some of the creatures that wanted to take advantage of her situation.
"No way I'm leaving you here." he growled, trying to free her. "We have finally managed to become real friends, and I'm not leaving a friend behind!" But he instantly stopped when he heard her plead.
"Chris, go, I beg you! You have already suffered so much, and I don't want to lose you because of me. Martin needs you now more than ever, and without the both of you the team can't exist. So please, leave!"
Still reluctant, he let go and slowly started to run away, but not without looking back. 'Please, stay safe!'
She exhaled when Chris finally disappeared from her view.
"So, did you really think your plan would work? I know exactly that you want all of them to look for my base so you can destroy me, but I'll make sure that they get erased before that happens." the hologram said. Yami furrowed her brow. A.V.I.V.A. seemed to have been able to intercept her communication with the others, which meant that whoever discovered the base first was in great danger!
"But first, I want to know about you. I can't find anything in the database."
'Right.' Yami thought. 'I haven't been part of the team long enough for Koki to add my data to the computer. This might be my only chance!' Grinning, she started to power up. "Let's say that I am a mystery." She just hoped that everybody was far away enough before she released her power and broke free. The hologram was blasted apart, but that wouldn't change the fact that her data was still safe somewhere in that weird world. The road became extremely bright and all of her attackers disintegrated, destroyed by the sudden output of energy. She instantly changed back, but the power was still travelling along the pathway without showing signs of getting weaker.
'Guys, she knows!' she contacted her friends. 'But as soon as you see a bright light coming towards you, you have to jump. It mustn't touch you!' She felt all of them slowly losing hope while they still ran on, now looking out for the light she told them about and for any signs of their former friend.
But even though everything seemed to be hopeless, they had to keep trying! With Aviva and the Tortuga against them, there was no way they could win, let alone survive. So they tried to forget it and do everything in their power to save her.
'Do we even have a slight idea of what the base looks like?' Chris asked the others. He had realized that any information could be intercepted easily by the security program, but right now, he couldn't afford to care about it.
'No.' Koki replied. 'But if you all have your Creature-Pods with you, you have to try and track her energy signature. We already know about it because I scanned her during her attack, I'll just send it into your suits.' After all of them received the data, they started to follow different leads. It seemed that she had travelled all over the place during the short period of time she had been here, but time probably didn't mean much in this universe.
Jimmy was just running along a red pathway, noticing how well his new leg worked and how it always made the ground he stepped on glow orange for a second, when he suddenly got an alarm signal from his suit. He whirled around, just in time to see the pink laser heading for him and dodged, the laser instead hitting the pathway behind him.
"Well, well. A lone intruder. Let's see...Individual: Jimmy Z. Position: Pilot. Character: laid back and easily panicked. Level of danger: 4. An easy target." the hologram said, forming itself in front of him. "Separating just postponed your death, but it can't stop me for long. Thanks to your communication, I was able to find all of you easily, and I will take you out one after the other."
He started sweating, but at the same time, he felt something on his arm. He couldn't see it, but he knew it would be helpful.
"Level 4, really? Perhaps you should rethink that!" he yelled and stretched his arm out. Suddenly, there was a whizzing sound and small arrows of orange energy were fired out of his wrist, ripping a hole into the hologram and damaging the ground beneath it, causing it to flicker.
"Weapons?" A frown appeared on her face. "In that case, you will be updated to Level 7. But you still have no chance against me. This is my domain!"
Sadly, she was right. He was reminded of her power when she sent an electric signal through the ground and shocked him, causing his virtual legs to shatter into a million pieces. He instantly fell over, the single stump he still had being unable to support him. Another shock travelled through his body and he screamed in pain before darkness clouded his mind.
"One down, four to go." A.V.I.V.A. said, her glasses flashing twice, before she disappeared into the pathway leaving his body behind.
"Individual: Koki Bambrick." The young woman froze when she heard the voice behind her. "Position: Technician. Character: stubborn. Level of danger: 8." She slowly turned around, facing the hologram. "I see that you are the developer of a part of my defence program, so I'll have to erase you now."
The pink figure shot her laser at her, but she managed to dodge in the last moment. "Aviva, why are you doing this?" she cried, but she knew that she couldn't reason with her as long as she didn't remember them.
"This is my duty. You trespassed into my territory and intruders have to be destroyed to avoid damage." She charged her laser a second time.
"But we're friends, remember? We both went to the same school, studied technology together and now we invent new devices, usually to help the guys when they get into trouble. Please, you have to remember us!"
She thought seeing the hologram's glasses crack, but before she could be sure of it, she felt a sudden pain in her entire body and blacked out, falling to the ground.
"Only three." the figure whispered and merged with ground, following the signal of her next victim.
He was ready when she appeared in front of him. While he was running away, he had found out that he was able to fly on this plane of existence, so he was hovering a few feet above the ground when she sent her shock-wave to take him out.
"So that's how it is, huh?" The hologram's glasses flashed again. "Chris Kratt, I presume? Your entry is unclear, it says that you were killed. But it doesn't matter, I will make sure that the entry is correct right now."
She aimed her laser at him and shot, but he was too fast. Suddenly, she launched herself into the air, made claws of pink light appear between her fingers and lashed out at him, only missing his new wings by a few inches. But even though she didn't hit him, her power still made his wings flicker and disintegrate, causing him to plummet to the ground. Everything went black for a second, but he quickly caught himself again. But it was too late.
With a powerful stab, the hologram pinned him to the pathway, ready to deal the finishing blow. Chris howled, feeling the claws pierce through his armour. He heard them slicing through the air and closed his eyes, unable to move, hoping that it would be quick.
"Oh, no you don't!" He opened his eyes again just as Yami crashed into his attacker, striking her with a multitude of powerful blows. A.V.I.V.A. was barely able to hold her away as the cyborg unleashed all her anger. "You will never hurt another one of my friends again!"
But before she could defeat her, the hologram disappeared again and the energy travelled along the pathway, too fast for them to see where it was going.
"Thank you for saving me." Chris groaned and stood up but instantly fell down again, holding his arm. Yami rushed over and inspected it when her eyes opened wide in shock.
"No...please, no..." she whispered, and Chris just watched in horror as the area around the wound slowly started glitching in and out and the green glow that escaped it also started covering the rest of his arm.
He completely collapsed in her arms as he felt a sudden lack of strength. Meanwhile, the energy he was constantly losing coloured the pathway in a light green colour, but there was no way they could gather it again without help. They absolutely had to get back as quickly as they could, but then, the others would be trapped in cyberspace forever, not that it mattered with A.V.I.V.A. around.
He had realised it at the same time as her. "...please...save them..." he whispered, but when she tried to contact the others she only got one answer:
"You can't."
He been running for what seemed to be ages before he stumbled upon the structures. All of them looked the same, but he could sense that they were somehow different from one another. He wasn't able to pinpoint it exactly, the feeling had emanated from his suit, so he decided to trust it. As he came closer to one of them, its exterior suddenly glitched, and when he tried to touch it, it vanished, revealing multiple layers of ones and zeros on the inner walls and several dark cubes. But his armour didn't respond to this particular cell, so he tried the next one.
After a couple of tries his armour suddenly started glowing as he was approaching another cell. Again, it looked just like the others, but if his suit reacted to it, it perhaps had something to do with Aviva. But even though he tried to go towards it, his suit tried to stop him, giving off an alarm sound. It was definitely dangerous to go in there, but he had to try.
Just when he started walking around, thinking of a solution, he sensed something oddly familiar. He quickly turned around, stumbling to one side as he lost his balance, but managed to catch himself again just as it whizzed past his ear.
Even without looking, he knew that the shot had embedded itself inside the wall of a cell further behind him. Had he not moved his head, the creature that was crawling right towards him would have surely killed him. It was the only one of its kind, glitching back and forth between different forms, but it was followed by more of the things they had already encountered.
"You have to be kidding me!" he whispered before they opened fire. Most of the shots missed him, but some of them grazed his side and he flinched when his armour deflected another one.
He couldn't stay out in the open for much longer. His armour did offer protection, but his head was an easy target and he didn't think he was able to survive a blast from that thing's cannon. Without giving it another thought, he dove inside the cell and sealed the door behind him.
Its inner walls were also dark, but as soon as he came closer, they started to glow purple. He touched the walls and suddenly, a wave of memories washed over him. They were only glimpses, too short for him to grasp, but he knew they were the memories that had been locked away. He smiled, knowing that he had succeeded in finding her. But he had no idea how to unlock this data to make it accessible to her.
It didn't matter, he had to try it. He was no computer expert like Koki, but he knew a lot about them which he had learned during his studies. But he still wished she was there to help him, he was just way too slow. A.V.I.V.A. could be here any minute now and...
"Well, well, well. Look at what we have here, the last of the intruders." His heart sank. Was he the only survivor? No, she had to be playing with him, that was impossible!
"What did you do to them?" he growled, looking for a way out, but there was nothing he could do. He was trapped.
"The same thing I will do to you." Her glasses flashed, and for a second, he didn't feel anything. Then came the emptiness.
"You made it really easy for me. In here, I can access your data without a problem, and with no memories left, you will just be another program I'll just have to delete."
Memories. They were his only chance. He didn't have the time or the expertise to work on her data, but perhaps there was another way.
"Aviva, please! Don't you remember me? I'm Martin, your..." He wanted to say 'Boyfriend', but after what had happened between them he wasn't that sure about it anymore. After the day Chris had disappeared he had started to change. He had become short-tempered, stubborn and even quicker to act than before.
Sadness washed over him. Perhaps it was too late. He could already feel the memories of his past life fading into black, and even if he was able to stop her, he didn't know whether the others were still alive.
"Martin?" For a short second it seemed like she was remembering something, and suddenly, he noticed a small crack in her glasses growing larger. But then she gritted her teeth and drove her fist into his chest.
His body exploded in pain as his armour broke away, revealing his jacket which instantly started to glow and dissolve into small particles. He gasped for air, feeling himself fall apart, not noticing how the particles started to fuse with the walls. Suddenly, letting out a sharp scream, the hologram flinched and stumbled backwards, holding her head. Martin felt a bit of the pain subside, but he knew he was getting weaker. His armour had started glowing and accumulating the particles on its surface, so when he pushed her further away he left a glowing hand-print on her body.
He stood up, ready to fight her when he suddenly heard her whisper: "No, Martin, no! I can't lose you, don't die!" She tried to grasp the ground with her fingers, clinging onto something he couldn't see. But he was still strong enough to realize that he had somehow caused her to relive her memories of his near-death experience, so he stumbled towards her and grabbed her shoulders, causing her arms to glow.
"Aviva, listen to me. I know you're in there somewhere, you have to fight! For the others. For yourself!" He swallowed. He probably wouldn't survive this, so it was his last chance. "I know I've been horrible towards you and Chris. All these events have, somehow, changed me, and I want you to know that I'm sorry for everything I've said." The energy was starting to tear him apart. "Please, you have to regain control. Without you, none of us will make it." Then, just as he felt himself fading, her glasses shattered, the purple shards dissolving in the air around them. He smiled, before everything was swallowed by darkness.
"Ugh, where am I?" Jimmy mumbled, rubbing his head. It felt like it had been split apart with an axe, but when he saw the glowing path below him everything came rushing back. He sighed when he saw his single leg, knowing that there was no way he would get very far without help. Suddenly, he saw a powerful light in the distance, a mixture of pink and blue, driving a shock-wave in front of it. Panicked, he tried to crawl away but he didn't get very far before it reached him. He closed his eyes, but instead of hurting him he felt it powering up his armour. Now able to use the energy beneath him again it made his leg reappear, allowing him to stand up and run towards the light source.
Koki followed a signal she had received just after the light had restored power to her armour. She knew it was two of her friends, one signal being weaker than the other, but getting stronger by the minute. Still confused about why she was still alive, she suddenly saw two shapes lying on the ground in front of her. As she got closer, she recognized Chris and Yami.
Yami noticed her and started waving when Koki suddenly noticed the green glow emanating from the path.
"Guys, what happened?" she inquired, seeing that Chris was lying on the ground.
"She attacked us and managed to partially damage his armour, but he somehow got stronger after that light appeared in the distance." The girl in purple armour was still careful with Chris, even though he was getting stronger. The green light began to close in on them and finally disappeared inside his armour, closing the hole and giving it back its power.
"I just hope Martin is alright." Chris whispered as the two girls helped him get up and walk towards the strong light.
They had only been able to move slowly because Chris still wasn't strong enough to run, but after a few minutes they saw somebody walking towards them.
"Jimmy!" Koki screamed, running towards her boyfriend. "I'm so glad you're alright."
"Me too!" He hugged her. "Do you have any idea what happened?" he asked after they let go.
"Not really, but the attacks stopped so one of us must have managed to defeat her."
They all looked at each other, realizing it at the same time.
"Oh no. Do you think he's still..."
"I – I don't know. But if there's something we can do, we have to get there as fast as we can!" Chris ordered. He didn't dare think about the possibility of losing his brother, it was too painful.
When they were finally able to see the light source, Jimmy gasped. He could see many dark cylinders floating in front of them, but one of them was shrouded in a strong pink and blue glow. The light accumulated on top of it before forming a pillar that stretched out until they weren't able to see it anymore. Without a word, Chris stumbled towards the cylinder, followed by Yami and the others.
'Please Martin, you have to be alright!'
He was still engulfed by the darkness when he opened his eyes, so much that he was unsure whether he had lost the ability to see. But after some time, he was able to make out the faint outlines of his body. Suddenly, his armour started pulsating with energy, filling the room with blue light. He could see that his chest had stopped glowing and the metal-like structure had almost finished repairing itself. There was no sign of Aviva, but quickly after he had come to, the walls had started emanating a pink glow and he could see that their activity had started again. Soon afterwards Aviva appeared on the ground, almost see-through at first, but her colours becoming brighter by the second.
"A – Aviva?" His voice was raspy, as if he hadn't spoken in days. At the sound of his voice, she stirred and opened her eyes.
"Martin? Is that you?" she asked, weakly lifting a hand to touch him, but he tensed up slightly. It almost felt like her hand was made of water, cold, but also like it was on another plane of existence. He wanted to speak, but she put a finger on his lips. "I heard what you said. And I forgive you. But...but you were hurt!"
He smiled. "I'm alright." But there was sadness in his eyes. He still didn't know anything of the others, and he feared that he wouldn't have the strength to ask her about them. So he just sat there, the blue light that enveloped them both slowly fading.
Suddenly, he heard a sound from outside. It was muffled, but he recognized someone drumming onto the wall. He was scared for a second, fearing that the creatures he had battled before were looking for a way in and prepared himself to fight, but he stopped when the outer shell gave way and somebody tumbled inside.
"Chris?" he asked, stunned, before leaning forward to help his brother get up.
"Martin, you're alright!" the brother in green almost yelled, before noticing Aviva who was still lying on the ground. "Is she..."
"No, she's fine." Martin quickly answered, making the panic in Chris' eyes disappear again. "Where are the others?"
"Chris, what's going on in there?" Yami stepped in, instantly spotting Martin and Aviva. With an inquiring motion towards her, she asked Martin whether she was back to normal, and he nodded. Finally letting out her breath, she went over to check on her while Jimmy and Koki came in.
"Guys, I..." Everybody stopped in their tracks when they heard Aviva's voice. "I'm so terribly sorry for what I've done." She tried to get up, only to collapse again as her body shook with sobs, but no tears were showing on her face. "I – I almost killed you..."
"No, it wasn't you!" Koki knelt down to give her a comforting hug. "Please, don't think it was your fault. You weren't in control!" She shivered, but Aviva didn't seem to have noticed.
Finally, after several minutes, Martin asked the question Yami had feared for the entire time they had been there. "Will she be able to come back?"
After hesitating for a few seconds, Yami shook her head. "No. I'm sorry Martin, but there is no way she can get back into the real world."
Martin stumbled, Chris running over to support him. "But why? Can't we just gather her data and let the transporter rebuild her body? Since it worked with us, why wouldn't it work for her?"
"Because it was the teleportation device that brought me here." This time, Aviva had gotten up and stood next to Yami. "It had been out of control, and the data that made up my body was completely scattered and absorbed by this system. I was lucky that the security system completely absorbed the data that constituted my mind or else I would have been simply gone, even though what it made me do to you was more horrible than anything I've ever seen! I also reckon that it was because of this new data in the system that everything got pear-shaped, that I saw you as intruders or enemies of the Tortuga."
The older brother's voice was dry when he spoke again. "So what is going to happen now?"
"I – I'm not sure." his girlfriend admitted. "I just know that I can't leave this plane of existence. But I'm not confined to this system. If there is a connection to the WK network and one of the Kids has an Internet connection, I could download myself onto any computer, a bit like an intelligent Virus. Ironic, isn't it?" Koki couldn't help but chuckle, earning a glare from Chris. "But sadly, I won't be able to come back." she ended, almost collapsing again.
They remained silent before Yami motioned for all of them to follow her. She climbed out of the cylinder which was now a dark pink colour and walked towards the next junction of two pathways. There, she summoned a purple-glowing hologram of a keyboard which hovered in front of her and typed in a code, causing the junction in front of her to glow and form a pillar of light. Martin took a step back, recognizing their way back home.
"No, I don't want to leave!" he whispered. Chris heard him and turned around, motioning for Aviva to do the same. "Please, I don't want to leave you!" he repeated, taking her hand.
Her smile was sad when she held his. "Martin, you know exactly that it isn't possible. Right now, every single one of us is needed and without you the group would be lost. We already had difficulties when Chris disappeared, and you remember how you felt back then." She took his other hand and looked into his eyes. "I won't be completely gone. I'll still be there, a bit like the new soul of the Tortuga. We will be able to talk and see each other, and I'll always stay by your side."
After hesitating for a second, he nodded, and they embraced one last time. "I already miss you..." he whispered, tears streaming down his face.
When they let go, Yami had already finished programming their destination. Aviva walked up to her. "Koki, Yami, will you be fine being the inventors from now on? I will be able to guide you, but my interaction with the Tortuga itself is limited."
"Don't worry, we'll both be alright." Yami said. "We have experience. But as soon as we're back, I'll work on a body for you onto which you can download yourself." Hope showed in Aviva's eyes, but Yami shook her head. "You won't be able to use it right away because I would need a power-source similar to the one Martin and I are using, and I fear it is unique."
"You're right. Having another machine that consumes Tellurium would make it almost impossible to supply both my body and the Tortuga. But thanks anyway. By the way, what are you going to do about Jimmy's leg?"
The keyboard disappeared. "I don't know exactly. I've got a thing or two in mind, but unless I find out how to solve the power problem I fear he'll be confined to a wheelchair. He'll be anyway until I manage to build a replacement. Guys, it's ready!" she yelled, and Aviva stepped back. One by one they hugged her and said goodbye before stepping into the light and disappearing.
Martin was second to last. He looked at her, unsure whether he would be able to leave. But when she looked at him and waved, he just smiled and left the system. Yami gave her the last instructions to shut the connection down before she hugged her new friend, remembering all the times they had helped each other.
At the last second, she turned around again. "I fear that Zach could plan an attack. If he does, the Tortuga will be in danger, so please make sure you save a copy of yourself somewhere safe, but don't tell either of us. I don't think he is able to access my memories, but the others could be subjected to torture, so it would be safer to keep this a secret." Aviva agreed, and without looking back Yami returned to the real world.
Even days afterwards Martin was still looking grim, but he started to get over it. It helped that he was able to chat with his girlfriend once in a while, and that he had made up with Chris. He had almost forgotten why he had been mad at him, but it was stupid.
"I just don't understand, I've never held grudges that long before." He frowned, crossing his arms. Yami's ears perked up. "Do you think it has something to do with Hikari?"
"I don't know for sure. Even though they're similar, Yami and Hikari both are of a completely different nature. Yami has been with me for a long time, but right now I can't sense her at all."
"Wasn't that settled back when you helped me defeat Hikari?"
"I fear not. She is powerful, and though I managed to make her retreat, she probably won't settle with just being a guest inside my body. I just hope I've been strong enough to show her that she has no right to take over."
Chris nodded, feeling the same. Stonebreaker hadn't shown himself at all ever since their battle, so he reckoned he was defeated. Yami went outside and they both followed her to train.
A few days later, Yami was finishing her design of Jimmy's leg and other foot. He had quickly learned how to move with the wheelchair inside the Tortuga, and she and Koki had made sure to include a few extras to give him back as much freedom as possible. Even without them he was able to fly the Tortuga, and though he sometimes woke up screaming because of nightmares, he handled their loss pretty well.
By the end of the month they got a distress call from one of the Wild Kratts Kids in North America. Apparently, a storm had partially destroyed a group of trees and the Kids had noticed many hatchlings lying on the ground that had been thrown out of their nests. Chris told them what they had to do to keep them safe from predators and Martin added additional advice for how to keep them warm. While Jimmy was flying through the twilight, Koki prepared the suits and Chris and Martin looked for their owl discs so they would be able to spot any hatchlings the Kids might have missed.
"Here, I think that's the last one." Chris said while he carefully put the hatchling inside the basket they had used to gather them up.
"Great! Now we'll just have to return them to their families where they belong."
"Living free and in the wild!" Chris ended the sentence, flying off with the basket to look for the remaining birds.
As soon as they came back, Aviva appeared on the main screen. "Hey guys, did you manage to save them? The kids looked devastated, and it's really cold outside at this time of the year."
Martin whirled around, a smile appearing on his face. "Yeah! Thanks to your Ultimate Owl Power we were able to see incredibly clearly. And we were silent enough not to scare them off. These powers are simply great!"
Aviva blushed, and while they exchanged news Yami popped over into her room to make a plan for her experiments regarding Jimmy's legs. Suddenly, she collapsed, holding her head. Chris must have heard it, because he instantly entered after her and closed the door.
"Yami, is everything alright? Yami, can you hear me?" She didn't react, so he knelt down and grabbed her shoulders. "Elliana, what's going on?"
Finally, she raised her head, making Chris scurry back. There was fear in her eyes, but also something else, something awfully familiar.
The feeling she had thought disappeared had come back, destroying every single defence she had built throughout these last years, consuming the thin wall that separated her from the beast.
"The clan..." she gasped, grabbing her head with so much strength she ripped a wound into her forehead which revealed the dark metal beneath.
"It's back!"
I really hope you liked it! If there are any questions, feel free to ask. I would now like to thank all of the people that commented on my last chapter. You are awesome! Have a virtual hug 'squeezes tightly'. If you have a deviantart, please come and visit! I would love to chat with you people about anything you like.
Anyway, I'm sorry, but because of my A-Levels I won't really be able to write even though I really want to, so don't expect the next chapter to come within the next four to five months. By then, my exams will be mostly finished and I'll finally be able to concentrate on this here.
Bye, and have a very nice day!
GreenxLady (FrancistheDragon)