Chapter 16 A Silent Threat (Killer Music)
A.N. – So, this chapter has multiple point of view changes to focus on the attack. Might be a little disorienting to follow but take as much time as you need. Also, I made a small edit to chapter 11's Plagued episode. Nothing important, but it just adds a little backstory. Check it out if you're interested.
Short Summary – After finding out that they can stop the Lyoko Warriors with their minds, Xana plans to infect them with a larger scale through one thing…music.
Disclaimer – I do not own Code Lyoko or the story idea. I am just a fan of the show, and the idea was submitted by James Marshall.
One week has passed since Xana and Aelita figured out how to stall the Lyoko Warriors. They decided to go the same route but one that was of a larger scale. Aelita returned to the real world to see what could infect multiple people at once. She was passing by someone listening to music. She listened and had a flashback.
20 Years Ago
Aelita was on stage, and she just finished her opening act. The roar of the crowd was more than Aelita could ever imagine. She waved and smiled as the crowd cheered for her and the main act the Subdigitals, came onto the stage and they started their first song.
"The Subdigitals huh? Time to investigate" Aelita said, not knowing that until Xana destroyed Lyoko, the Subdigitals went under the Subsonics. She heard that name from Yumi and Ulrich before, but to her they were always the Subdigitals.
"That has a nice beat to it. What's the name of the song?" Aelita asked the random student.
"It's called Break Away" the student responded.
"Right, by the Subdigitals."
"Close, the Subsonics."
'Right, they went under this name for a while. That's why Yumi and Ulrich always referred to them as that..' "Sorry, I got confused with them and something else."
"Subsonics, Subdigitals. Doesn't matter to me as long as the music is good."
"Does everyone listen to it?"
"Yeah, and it's the bomb."
"Hmm," the student walks away and Aelita has an idea. "Music huh? Then that's our goal."
Aelita disappeared and went back to Lyoko to see how they could pull this off. "I got an idea but an issue."
"Such as?" Xana asks.
"Music is the key, but how do we get them to listen to it?"
Xana pulled up a screen that showed top songs. "This one, Glad When You're Bad. Recently released and has already a record number of downloads."
"Infect it and when someone listens to it…"
"Paralyze them."
"Also, we can use this in a bigger way. Find an access to the sound waves and we can spread it like a virus."
Xana activated a tower to infect the new song.
Ulrich's Point of View
Ulrich was studying for a big test the night before but couldn't concentrate due to Odd listening to a new song, as well as acting like a maniac. "Hey Odd, could you cool it! I'm trying to study!"
"Like it's gonna make a difference Ulrich. You still probably won't get that good of a grade" Odd tells him. He was probably right, but it wouldn't hurt for Ulrich to try to get at least one descent grade. "Why don't you listen to this new song I downloaded over the internet."
"No" Ulrich responded.
"Oh, come on, you got to learn to loosen up. You're so uptight. You remind me of A sometimes they way you act."
"Well at least she has more common sense. I gonna go spend the night with Jeremy, cause seems like him and A think alike."
Odd's Point of View
Odd was acting like he was before. Suddenly, a strange noise came through the headset. Odd got immediately confused and then all he saw was white. After that, his body went limp.
Ulrich's Point of View
Ulrich awoke the next morning and told Jeremy how he talks in his sleep about Aelita. It seems like Jeremy has been dreaming both day and night about bringing her here. He then went to his room to see if Odd even got ready for the day.
"Are you sure you want to check in on him?" Jeremy asks.
"I may still be mad at him, but that's no reason to see him fall or get in trouble. With the way Xana has been acting, we need all we can get on Lyoko at this point" Ulrich explains. Ulrich opens the door and finds Odd limped over with a huge grin on his face. He shakes him a few times. "Odd, Odd! Time to wake up." He still hasn't responded. "Something's not right."
Aelita's Point of View
Aelita returned the next day and hoped to not see a wave of unconscious people. She didn't know how fast it would spread, but according to Xana, this song is super popular. When she got to the academy she saw Odd being loaded and Ulrich jumping in before driving away.
"What happened to Odd?" Aelita asks.
"We don't know. His heart is beating very slowly, but he is completely paralyzed. We think Xana is involved, but it doesn't add up" Jeremy explains.
'So, Xana already claimed one of the Lyoko Warriors. The questions is, is this lethal?'
"We should go to the hospital. Give Odd and Ulrich all the support they need" Yumi says.
"Especially Ulrich. He can't feel guilty for something he had no direct involvement in" Jeremy adds.
The group entered the room Odd was in after the doctors determined he was in a stable condition. Since he wasn't dying, there was no harm to the others seeing him now. They were gonna have to conduct tests on him at some point to see what could've caused this. Aelita had sneaked away to a storage closet and entered Lyoko to find out more about this mysterious virus from its source. As soon as she entered, she heard the pulsations, knowing the tower was in the mountain sector.
"You have a concern this time?" Xana asks.
"More like a question. How lethal is this virus of yours?"
"Not lethal at all. Why do you ask?"
"You claimed Odd last night. His heart has been beating very slowly since."
"It could be an emerging quality in the virus or the part of his brain that keeps him alive isn't paralyzed and that's what's keeping his heart beating. But since his dominant part is paralyzed, he can't bring the heart rate up to a normal rate. It's beating just enough to keep him alive."
"Could it kill him?"
"His whole mind would have to shut down for it to become lethal. If the virus evolves, there's a chance."
Aelita was now torn onto whether to help on watch from the sidelines. Once Xana takes the soundwaves, the world will suffer next. Aelita then exited, now knowing what was going on.
Aelita returns to meet Jeremy communicating with the current Aelita. She quickly closes the Lyoko door before Jeremy or current Aelita notices. She did not want to be questioned about what she was doing.
Yumi's Point of View
Yumi had finished her classes for the day and was passing by Sissi who was looking like she was in a trance. She eventually went limp and fell to the ground. Yumi took off her earphones, heard the music, and started to feel a little dizzy. She couldn't explain it until she covered her ears. After she stopped hearing the music, the dizziness went away. She knew that Xana was using music to his advantage.
Aelita's Point of View
Aelita had returned a few minutes after Jeremy left the closet. She entered into a conversation with the others.
"Aelita's looking into it on Lyoko. See if Xana really is behind this" Jeremy says.
"If Xana is behind this, it means you couldn't do anything to prevent it" Aelita tries to remind him, trying to get him to stop feeling sorry for himself.
"You're right. If Xana is behind this, it's time for him to pay" Ulrich swears as she turns around to Odd. "We'll save you Odd. Just hold on."
Yumi calls Jeremy as the three head over to the factory. "Yumi?" There was a pause. "No, his rate is getting slower and slower. There's a chance it could stop all together."
'Oh no. The virus is evolving. It's taking over his whole brain, causing a shutdown. We gotta move fast and my mind's made up. I'm headed to Lyoko' Aelita thinks to herself.
"Okay, we'll head to the factory. Meet you there." He hangs up. "Yumi thinks using soundwaves to transmit something silently. Sissi just got infected."
"Which means it's only a matter of time before all of us become infected" Ulrich says.
"That's means there is no time to lose."
Aelita Xana was about to take the radio network soon. If everyone falls victim to this, everyone will suffer. They only got one chance or there will be casualties…
Yumi's Point of View
Yumi brought Sissi to the infirmary. She laid her down on the bed. As she does, Yumi hears the same song that put Odd and Sissi in a weird trance. Yumi starts to get dizzy again and covers her ears. "Oh, my head! It's that song!" She then sees the nurse on the floor. "It's the music! Xana's using it like the bugs, only in a more effective way!"
Aelita's Point of View
The three make it to the factory and Jeremy works on connecting to Lyoko. When he does he contacts the current Aelita.
"Aelita, we're here" he reports.
"Better hurry. The pulsations are pretty strong which means I'm close to the activated tower" current Aelita responds.
"Okay, A and Ulrich are on their way." A call from Yumi comes through. "Yumi? Anything new?"
"Jeremy it's the song that's making people unconscious!" Yumi reports.
"What song?"
"That new one that just came out" future Aelita says.
"Yup, that's the one," Yumi answers. "Bad news is that Xana has gained control of the radio waves. He can now spread like a wildfire."
'Considering if this song can prove fatal, this could become very problematic. We are running out of time' future Aelita thinks.
"Okay, then we better move fast. Since Xana can now achieve maximum coverage, we are now on a time limit" Jeremy informs the two as they descend into the scanners. "You're headed for the mountains." Jeremy virtualizes both of them successfully. Both of them land on the plateau.
"A! Ulrich!" current Aelita calls out to them. They head over to her. "The pulsations go this way" current Aelita points to them.
The three run along the path, following the pulsations. They spot the tower close by, but still no sign of Xana. This made all of them uneasy.
Jeremy's Point of View
Jeremy was watching a breaking news report. "Thank you. As soon as the reports came in, we headed into the city and what we've seen is pandemonium. For now, police are unsure how many are infected by the mysterious illness or even what the cause is. There is no direct connection between the victims and right now all we know is that this could prove fatal."
"So far, it doesn't look that way. But considering the memory bug is spread by limited contact, this is definitely more effective," Jeremy realizes something. "So, that's Xana's plan. Regardless of if it's fatal or not, it still paralyzes. He paralyzes all of us and gets what he wants without us helping Aelita or a chance of stopping him! This is really bad!"
Aelita's Point of View
The three of them stand guard as they wait for Xana to emerge. A blok watches them from across the way. Ulrich hears the mechanical walking and looks to see the blok on a rock. "There they are" Ulrich says.
"Yeah and looks like they can climb now" future Aelita adds. She shoots an energy orb and misses. She wasn't trying to miss either. Future Aelita was hit in the shoulder, and she turns to see two more approaching.
"A, protect Aelita, I'll deal with them" Ulrich orders them.
"Good luck!" Future Aelita says as the two head towards the tower. She looks back to see Ulrich frozen by a blok. "Smooth move Xana. Keep him busy' she says quietly. Only problem now, she's on her own until Yumi arrives…if she ever does.
Two bloks block the path of the two and one comes from another angle. The bloks look confused as to what to do. They want to attack, but Xana doesn't want to blast away his assistant. Xana realized maybe this stepped a boundary, but this was a real headscratcher. Suddenly a fan comes and destroys one. Future Aelita fires an orb at a distracted one, destroying a second one. The blok charges up its laser and aims at the future Aelita. Ulrich comes in from behind and stabs it in the eye. He jumps off before it explodes.
"Welcome back to the battlefield" future Aelita tells him.
"Nice job, but you got a few more blocking the tower" Jeremy informs them.
As the three four approach, the bloks notice and go after them. "They're mine" Ulrich says.
"You'll never make it Ulrich" Yumi tells him.
"Don't worry. I got two assistants" Ulrich answers.
The three take off. As they are almost at the tower, Yumi sees the blok approaching. Future Aelita eyes the tower and decides to act.
"Yumi, stall them. I'll get Aelita to the tower" future Aelita informs her.
"Okay" Yumi responds as she readies.
Future Aelita activates her wings and flies up behind current Aelita. "Hang on," she says as she and her current self zoom to the tower. She puts her down gently and lands herself. "You got a lot of people to save." She motions to the tower. She enters and moments later it is deactivated, and time is reversed.
Aelita was in the mountain sector discussing how to go about doing this in the future. This wasn't going to be the last time she fought alongside the warriors. "Next time this does happen, fight me normally. I don't want to raise suspicions among the warriors, especially Jeremy. If they figure out this alliance, well they'll make it even harder for us to reach Aelita. And right now, I'm your best shot."
"What was it that made you fight? And why do you say this like it's gonna happen again?" Xana asks.
"The fatal part. It was okay in the beginning, but then it turned to crisis. Paralyzing is okay, the fatal part pushes it. And even though I'm giving you ideas, I don't know the outcome. I'm looking to stop them, not kill them!"
"And this is my fault?"
"You carry out the attacks. Do I need to draw you a map with a step-by-step instruction manual?"
"I can't always guarantee that every attack will be non-fatal."
"Well, that's too bad. Keep forcing your hand like that, and you'll force mine."
"If you want my monsters to blow you away, then so be it. We'll keep this alliance, but next time you come to Lyoko with them, we'll be adversaries."
"I wouldn't want it any other way" Aelita said with a smile on her face.
A.N. – And so ends this chapter. I didn't know if this was gonna be a two-parter or a separate entity. But this turned out to be a significant length. Next time, we'll focus on current Aelita more than future Aelita. PM me with story ideas if you have any! Don't forget to review with questions or comments! I will respond! Stay safe and healthy out there! As always, till next time! See ya! -lyokowarrior97