A/N: Here is the next installment of my Jerlita Roleswap AU. Hope you all enjoy it~
Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko in any way, shape, or form.
Note: Remember, any episodes not mentioned either as the inspiration for a chapter or just in passing are not part of the AU, mainly because the roleswap makes them useless, and those only mentioned in passing are just filler and/or would be the same no matter who has what role.
!~~~J~E~R~L~I~T~A~~R~O~L~E~S~W~A~P~~A~U~~~!
"As Ulrich deals with two separate headaches: Sissi and Mr. Finson, XANA decides to make a movie of its own."
Episode 8: Lights, Camera, Action
(Based on End of Take & The Trap)
The red-haired woman was backed into a corner. She was the only one of the group still alive, and she had no means of defending herself.
The alien crept closer to her, to her horror.
It pounced, and she shut her eyes, waiting for the pain.
But it never came.
Instead a shot rang out, and a hole was blown through the alien's chest.
With her now covered in the alien's blood (gross), the alien fell, revealing her boyfriend, the one who had previously sacrificed himself for her, leaning against the door frame. It was clear he was injured, but he shot her his mega-watt smile, and she fell into his arms.
The screen flashed with the words 'A James Finson Film', and the credits started rolling.
The student body were in the hall of the Administration Building. Mr. Delmas had a special guest, who wanted to show them his new film, which obviously just ended.
Aelita rolled her eyes into the sky, "Ridiculous. She would've made a better protagonist. She had a much more interesting back story. The writers are completely sexist."
"Agreed," Yumi admitted. "That ending was so cliche."
"Really?" Ulrich asked the two girls. "I thought it was great."
"I thought the special effects were pretty good," Odd added, "but, well, it wasn't scary enough."
"Really?" Yumi asked, a knowing smirk on her face. "Then how come your teeth were chattering? For the sound effects?"
Odd pouted as his three friends began laughing. Meanwhile, the projector was turned off and the lights came back on.
Mr. Delmas cleared his throat, "Dear students, your attention please. I would like you all to give a warm welcome to the director of the film you've just seen, and which we all found very...interesting!" It seems Mr. Delmas had doubts about the film too. "Here he is now, Mr. James Finson, who is honoring us with his presence today to discuss with us his work in the fascinating field of cinema."
Mr. Delmas began clapping, the students following suit, as he stepped back from the microphone. A man with black hair and in very casual clothes (a red t-shirt, jeans, sneakers, and a blue suit jacket) took his place. This was James Finson, a very famous movie director.
"That's right," Mr. Finson said. "And I'm also here to look for locations to shoot my new film! In fact, I heard there is an old factory around here that nobody uses anymore which I'm very interested in!"
But Aelita's mind was focused on something else, "An abandoned factory?" Uh, oh. "He doesn't mean ours, does he?"
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
It was about fifteen minutes later, and Mr. Finson was inside the cafeteria, signing photos of himself and giving them out to students.
Aelita was outside with Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi, sharing her biggest concern. "If this Finson guy finds the supercomputer, Jérémie is in big trouble." His memory was already scrambled due to it being shut down previously. Aelita had no idea what would happen if it was shut down a second time with Jérémie still trapped inside, but she did not want to find out.
Thankfully, the other three understood. "That means," Yumi agreed, "that we absolutely cannot let him film there."
"Agreed," Odd added, "but how to we stop him? He's a big-time movie director with lots of connections, and we're just mere students."
Ulrich seemed to be thinking during this time, "I think I may have an idea."
"Will it work?" Aelita asked, concerned at the current situation.
"You've got nothing to worry about, Princess," Ulrich reassured her.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
In the cafeteria, Sissi was next in line. The guard finally let her pass, and she approached Mr. Finson's table.
Behind Sissi was Ulrich, and watching from outside through the windows were Odd, Yumi, and Aelita. "How come when he says there's nothing to worry about," Odd asked the two girls, "I get worried? And I mean, worried."
"I'm so glad to meet you, Mr. Finson!" Sissi greeted the director a fangirl smile. "I just love your movies! I'm a big fan of yours!"
"Oh, really?" he asked, preparing a photo to sign for her. "Well, I can't argue with your taste! I like my films, too. What's your name?"
"Elizabeth Delmas," Sissi replied, "But if you could write 'To Sissi, a rising star whom I'm going to give the leading role to in my next film', that would be perfect."
Mr. Finson resisted the urge to frown at her audacity, "I think I'm going to write, 'To Sissi, who's got a lot of nerve'!"
"And a lot of talent!" Sissi added.
"Well, I'm very sorry, Miss Delmas," Mr. Finson apologized, though his smile still read annoyed (rather than angry). "But the casting is over. The parts have all been distributed. So, better luck next time, huh?" He held out a photo with his signature on it.
Sissi frowned at being rejected, but took the photo anyways, and walked away.
It was Ulrich's turn, as he approached the table.
"Hello, sir," he greeted. "I'm Ulrich Stern. The factory you were talking about? I was wondering if you'd already been there."
"No," Mr. Finson replied. Ulrich felt hope. His plan could actually work. "But I'm going to start my scouting later today."
He held out a signed photo to the boy, but Ulrich rejected it. "Well, you see, I use that factory as my own private training area, so I actually know it pretty well, inside and out. I don't think you'll find a better guide."
Mr. Finson, to Ulrich's chagrin, chuckled, "My, my, it seems that everyone in this school has a lot of nerve." But then he added, "Very well, Mr. Stern. I accept your services."
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
It was sometime after lunch, once Mr. Finson had finished up his autographing session (thereby freeing up the cafeteria in time for lunch), when Ulrich finally put his plan into action.
He and Mr. Finson were alone in the factory, or so Mr. Finson thought. In reality, Aelita, Odd, and Yumi were keeping watch from above, waiting for Ulrich's plan to work.
"Fantastic!" Mr. Finson exclaimed, finally seeing the location with his own eyes. "It's even better than I thought!"
"Yeah, it looks alright," Ulrich said, "but the trouble is, it's falling apart. Hopefully, the ceiling won't fall on our heads."
"That's great!" Ulrich blinked, caught off-guard by Finson's reaction. "I love a dangerous shoot! That's what I always look for; an actor always works better under pressure!"
Finson walked forward, eager to see the rest of the factory for himself, as Ulrich facepalmed. Was this guy serious?
He'd better try again. He jogged to catch up with the man, "Uh, Mr. Finson, you'd better watch out for your equipment! It's crawling with rats here!"
"Rats? What luck, that's perfect!" Once again, Finson's reaction wasn't what Ulrich was hoping for. "I need rats for one of the scenes in the film!"
Up above, Odd whispered to Aelita and Yumi, "Conclusion: never trust Ulrich when he says there's nothing to worry about."
"Yeah," Aelita agreed. "He tried to gross the guy out, but instead, he's just more excited."
Finson stopped at the lift, to Ulrich's horror. However, the boy kept up an impressive poker face, "You're right, it's a great set. Too bad about all that uranium they stored here for so many years. Maybe one day, this place won't be so radioactive anymore."
"Mm-hmm," Finson said, before asking, "Do you know where this freight elevator leads to?"
"No idea," Ulrich shrugged his shoulders. "It was broken down when I got here." How he managed to keep his calm facade here, when Finson was so close to discovering the supercomputer, Ulrich would never know. "However, rumor has it that when it was working–"
Ulrich was cut off by a metal clang and a ghostly wail. Though it also caught Ulrich off-guard, he was more pleased when Mr. Finson was frightened as well.
"What was that noise?" Finson asked.
Ulrich feigned a frightened expression. "Trust me, sir, you don't want to know."
Meanwhile, still in hiding Aelita and Yumi covered Odd's mouth, motioning him to be quiet. Odd had thrown a rock at the lift and did that wail to help Ulrich's story seem more realistic, but it had almost gotten him caught.
"Is this factory haunted by ghosts or something?" Finson asked. "Is that what you were about to say?"
"I don't know about ghosts, sir, but I wouldn't count it out," Ulrich replied. "And about the lift? Again, you really don't want to know. You run the risk of the same thing happening to you."
Finson groaned, "Alright, as much as I hate to say it, it looks like the elevator will be off-limits." Ulrich successfully resisted the urge to smile. If he couldn't get Finson to give up on the factory, then he could at least get his mind off of whatever the elevator led to (the supercomputer). "But this place just keeps getting better and better than I thought! You seem to know every nook and cranny of it."
"I told you, sir," Ulrich reminded him, "that I use it to practice my Pencak Silat." Which wasn't a lie. That's exactly how he found this factory in the first place.
"Of course, of course," Finson said, before asking, "How would you like to work as a technical advisor on the film?"
Up above, out of sight, Aelita, Yumi, and Odd were crossing their fingers, "Yes, do it. Say yes. Say yes."
"Are you serious?" Ulrich asked. That was a pretty good deal. If he took the job, he could keep a closer eye on this whole project, and make sure the lift really did remain off-limits.
"Of course, I am."
"YAAAAAY!" The hidden trio exclaimed, before turning to and motioning each other to stay quiet. "Shhhh..."
Ulrich really was flattered, though to be honest, he placed himself in this situation, "Well, it would be a great honor, sir, but I don't think Mr. Delmas would ever allow me to miss my classes." He really wouldn't. It wasn't an excuse.
Finson winked at him, "Leave that to me."
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Sissi stood in the corridor leading to her father's office. She had seen Mr. Finson take Ulrich to the principal's office, hearing the man talk about making Ulrich the technical advisor on the film. Seeing this as a chance to manipulate Ulrich into letting her play a part in the movie, Sissi remained close by.
Hervé and Nicolas weren't far away. "Sissi," Hervé was saying, "your father will never let Ulrich miss even one hour of school!"
"I'm counting on it!" Sissi retorted. "This will give me a chance to become a famous actress!"
Hervé and Nicolas didn't respond to that, so she just shrugged them off and left them behind, heading towards her father's office.
Ulrich and Mr. Finson entered the waiting area of the Administration Building.
"Wow, he said 'no'!" Finson was saying. "Incredible! I even promised to put his name in the credits!"
Sissi opened the door leading to her father's office, "Uh, Mr. Finson? Can I talk to you for a second?"
Finson rubbed the back of his head in confusion.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
"I don't believe it!" Aelita exclaimed. "Sissi got a part in Finson's film?!"
Ulrich was with Odd and Aelita in the latter's dorm. It was late afternoon, so Yumi had already gone home.
"Yeah," Ulrich explained, sitting on the ground in front of the pink-ette's computer, on which was Jérémie's interface. "In exchange for convincing her dad to let me skip school."
"Ulrich and Sissi working together on a film!" Odd teased, from his spot beside Ulrich. "This could be the beginning of a great romance!"
"Yeah, right!" Ulrich retorted. "She's going to be a pain in the neck the whole time! She won't leave me alone for one second!"
"Just remember," Aelita calmly told him, "that your real job is to make sure that no one discovers the supercomputer."
"Now, now," Jérémie cut in from Aelita's monitor, "I'm sure it won't be as bad as you're making it out to be, Ulrich. After all, you and Sissi have been friends for a long time, yes?"
"W-Well...yeah," Ulrich replied. "Since primary school, when we were both five. She was my first friend."
"Then," Jérémie tilted his head in confusion, "why the sudden tension between you two?"
"Well," Ulrich explained, "two years ago, I found new friends. And I guess Sissi didn't like that."
Whatever was going to be said next was cut off by several knocks on the door. Aelita reacted straight away and turned on her computer's screen saver to hide Jérémie's interface.
It was fortunate that she was fast, because Sissi burst into the room without waiting for permission.
She was holding two dresses, both different colors and different styles, "Ulrich! What do you think? Which dress should I wear?"
Ulrich turned to his friends with a frightened expression, this one completely real.
Odd and Aelita could only give him sympathetic looks.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
The next morning, Ulrich and Sissi were crossing the bridge to the factory, with Ulrich lugging Sissi's heavy suitcase behind him.
"I can't believe I'm about to become a big star!" Sissi was saying. "And to think that you, Ulrich honey, will be lucky enough to witness the event live! Well, it's a good thing your friends aren't here. They really stick to you like glue, don't they?"
"Not half as much as you do, Sissi," Ulrich grunted, still pulling along whatever Sissi was hiding in her suitcase. "What do you have in here anyways? Bricks? And remember, I'm not here for your benefit. I'm the film's technical advisor."
Sissi said nothing as they approached the entrance, where two guards and Finson's secretary were waiting, the latter seated at a table with a clipboard and a box in front of her.
"Hello!" Sissi greeted them. "Mr. Finson is expecting us!"
"Yes," the secretary checked her list. "Elizabeth Delmas, actress, and Ulrich Stern, technical advisor. I have to ask, though, do either of you have cell phones, by any chance?"
"Yes," Ulrich replied. It was his only way of keeping in touch with the others during a XANA attack.
"Of course!" Sissi sounded slightly offended at the question, however. "How could you think we didn't?"
The secretary pushed the box forward. Inside it, Ulrich could see other cell phones, obviously belonging to the crew and other actors. "I'm afraid I must confiscate them."
"What?!" Sissi immediately cried.
Despite his reluctance, Ulrich took his phone out of his pocket and placed it into the box. "Thank you, Mr. Stern." The secretary turned back to Sissi. "Miss Delmas, your phone, please."
"B-But why?!" Sissi covered her pocket with her hand protectively.
"Sorry," the secretary replied. "Mr. Finson's orders."
Once Sissi very reluctantly handed over her cell phone, the two were let inside.
The assistant-director, the one assigned to show the two kids around the set, took pity on Sissi and explained why Finson had taken away their phones. "During filming, it's not permitted to communicate with the outside world without Mr. Finson's okay," he explained. "It prevents leaks about the script to the media. It's also why we'll be sleeping here in tents, with guards at the entrance. Apart from all that, it's actually a lot of fun."
"Of course," Ulrich asked, "but what if we have to get in touch with, say, our parents? Y'know, in case there's a problem?"
"When you shoot with James Finson, there's never a problem!" The assistant-director replied. "And in case of an emergency, we have first aid responders right here on set with us."
Sissi grabbed Ulrich's arm and pulled him closer, "Cut off from the rest of the world! That's so incredibly romantic! It's almost like being alone on a deserted island!"
Ulrich yanked his arm away from Sissi's grip. Trying his best not to sound too annoyed, he told her, "Sorry, Sissi, but I have a job to do here."
"Yes," the assistant-director agreed. "You are our technical advisor. We'll need your input on where to set up certain props. But first, Mr. Finson wants our attention."
The man led the two kids to where Finson was. Behind him was a large object hidden by a black sheet. Gathered around was the rest of the crew and cast.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Mr. Finson said, once everyone was surrounding him. "It's time for you all to meet the main antagonist of my film! Prepare yourselves for a big surprise!"
He took off the sheet, and Ulrich blinked. It was an animatronic of an alien, one very similar to another film, though he couldn't remember the name of it.
"Don't be shy! Tell me what you think!" Finson said. "It's my best monster yet, right? And to top it all off, I've also invented a way to make him squirt slimy, disgusting threads of goo at the push of a button! It'll knock your socks off, seeing this thing in action!"
Ulrich couldn't keep quiet, "It's very nice. But it makes me think of that one movie with that alien. What's the name of it again?"
But he seemed to have pressed a button, as Finson immediately got into his face, "My creature is unique, young man, and my movie will be like no other ever made, you hear?! One hundred percent original!"
Finson then turned his nose up as if he was actually Sissi pouting and walked away.
Once Finson was gone, a few of the crew behind Ulrich placed comforting hands on his shoulder, with the assistant-director reassuring him, "Don't worry. He's always like that."
Finson stopped his stomping away when Sissi called out to him, "Mr. Finson!" He turned around to face her as she caught up with him. "I'm very anxious to get my script, if you don't mind. I'd like to start working on my lines. You see, we professionals are very serious!"
Finson smiled, "Oh, why, of course! One second." He took out a piece of paper and a pen from his pocket and wrote something down. "Here it comes...there!"
He gave the paper to Sissi, folded, "Thank you!" She opened it, and immediately screamed, "AAAHHH?!"
"Yep! Just like that!" Finson told her. "You'll be the alien's first victim, to show this alien doesn't fool around! Twenty seconds on the screen, yes, but twenty seconds of glory! Gory glory, too! Ah, brave girl!" He tapped her cheek, before turning away from her.
Sissi could only stare at him in disbelief as he walked away, before balling up the paper in anger.
A couple hours later, Finson came back out to see how setting things up was progressing. Ulrich was there, doing his job as technical advisor. Once Finson saw that the cameras and lights were all set up, he clapped, saying, "Good job, everyone! It's time for lunch!"
The crew all went to where the lunch table was, on which was take out boxes, individual lunches for each of them. Ulrich remained behind.
"Uh, sir?" Ulrich reluctantly asked. Finson turned to him. "I'm sorry about what I said. Earlier. Y-You're right. I was mistaken." No, he wasn't. But he needed to remain on Finson's good side in order to make sure Finson kept his word about the elevator being off-limits.
Finson smiled, "That's alright, my boy. I actually wanted to talk to you. You see, I found the deed to this old factory thanks to a friend of mine doing me a favor." Ulrich watched Finson pull out a file from underneath his jacket. "Since you're also interested in the history of this factory, because you know so much about it, I thought you'd like to have this." He gave Ulrich the file. Ulrich opened it and read the name on the deed.
"Michel Périn?" Ulrich asked.
That name sounded familiar, but he couldn't tell where. Like it was on the tip of his tongue.
"Yes," Finson explained. "After the Renault company was forced to cut down their production after World War II, this factory sat abandoned until it was purchased twenty years ago by a history professor named Michel Périn. It seems like he, too, was interested in the history of this place."
"Thank you, sir," Ulrich meant it. Maybe Jérémie knew something? Or maybe the supercomputer had this name listed somewhere on its database? "You said I could have it?"
"Yes. But it's just a copy of the copy that's within the government archives," Finson admitted. "Neither I nor my friend know where the real one is."
With Michel Périn himself, if Ulrich had to guess.
"It's okay," Ulrich replied. "Again, thank you."
"It's my pleasure," Finson said, before nudging the boy over to the lunch table. "Now, let's go get something to eat."
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
That night, once everyone had gone to sleep, save for a few crew members going over the scenes being filmed tomorrow, Ulrich quietly got up and snuck out of the tent he shared with Sissi.
He snuck past the crew members still discussing tomorrow's schedule, and paused when he passed by the animatronic. Judging by how it was electronic, and how big it was, that thing was just begging to be possessed by XANA.
But he hurried along, not wanting to think about it.
Instead of taking the elevator, he took the way via the boiler rooms. He had to update Aelita. Hopefully, she was still awake. If not Aelita, then at least Jérémie, who was always awake, since sleeping was not required on Lyoko.
He contacted Jérémie first, and asked if Aelita was still awake. Jérémie had actually just logged off from talking to Aelita, so he patched Ulrich right on through to Aelita's cell phone.
"Ulrich?" was how Aelita greeted him. He could only hear her voice (which made sense; it was her phone he was connected to). She sounded like she was about to go to bed. "Why are you in the lab? Is anything wrong?"
"Sorry," he softly replied. "Finson took my phone. This is the only way I can maintain contact. No, so far, nothing's wrong."
"Good," Aelita replied. "How's the filming going?"
"We mainly just set up today, and went over tomorrow's filming schedule," Ulrich said. "No one went near the elevator, which is honestly all I really care about."
"Same here," Aelita agreed. "Thank you for your sacrifice, Ulrich. I know this wasn't something you wanted to do, especially after Sissi said she was coming with you."
Ulrich smiled, "It's alright. Anything for you guys. Oh, and Finson gave me a copy of the deed to the factory. The factory is currently owned by Michel Périn."
"Michel Périn..." Aelita muttered. "Why does that name sound so familiar?"
"I don't know," Ulrich admitted. "It's on the tip of my tongue too. I figured you guys could look him up tomorrow. Especially Jérémie. I'm interested to see if anything comes up on his end."
"Oh, you can bet we will," Aelita replied. "We'll keep you posted."
"Thanks," Ulrich said. "I will too."
"Well, well," came a familiar, but very unwelcome voice, making Ulrich turn to see Sissi climbing down the ladder. "So this is your secret. What kind of a weird place is this?"
"Ulrich," Aelita's voice cut in, "please tell me that wasn't Sissi's voice I just heard."
Ulrich took out the earpiece and placed it on the keyboard when he had found it, "Sissi, listen. I can't explain this all to you, but you can't tell anyone about this. I mean it, or else–"
She cut him off, "Or else what? A monster's gonna squirt goopy goo all over my face, huh, Ulrich?"
Not even one second later, something wet and slimy fell on top of Sissi's head. She looked up, as on the computer, Jérémie's voice rang out from the monitor, "Ulrich? I think XANA's woken up. Be careful. Ulrich? Ulrich?!"
Neither Ulrich nor Sissi heard him, however, as both centered their gazes on the alien animatronic, the one created by Finson, perched on the rafters above.
"Ulrich?!" Aelita was also calling out to him. "Jérémie says he's trying to contact you! What's going on?"
"Aelita, help!" Ulrich managed to hear the tail end of her sentence, and he desperately called out to her, "We have a huge problem here!"
The alien roared, the slime in its mouth now spraying at Ulrich.
"Ulrich? What's going on? What problem?!" Aelita asked, sounding justifiably panicked.
Ulrich barely managed to dodge the goo, but the chair was now covered in the stuff. Unable to answer Aelita or Jérémie, Ulrich acted on impulse and grabbed Sissi's wrist, pulling her to the elevator.
Once they were inside, Ulrich pressed the button, and the door closed in the alien's face.
Seeing that they were safe for the time being, the two kids fell to their knees with relief, as the elevator began traveling up.
"So that's your big secret?" Sissi asked Ulrich. "A fancy computer?"
"The boy inside the computer, actually," Ulrich corrected. "We're trying to save him. But if we ever survive this, Sissi, you cannot tell anyone, or else the boy will be in bigger danger than he already is."
He, Odd, Aelita, and Yumi didn't really care about themselves. When faced with the authorities finding out about the lab, they would always consider Jérémie's safety and well-being their top priority.
To his surprise, and gratefulness, Sissi nodded.
Just then, however, the entire elevator jolted, stopping suddenly, but before four loud snaps sounded, and then the cabin, with Ulrich and Sissi inside, began to fall.
The loud crash that occurred when the elevator hit the bottom of the shaft woke up the rest of the crew elsewhere in the factory.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
It was still dark outside by time Aelita had alerted Odd and Yumi to a possible XANA attack. Fifteen minutes after those calls, the three quietly approached the factory, climbing out of the sewers.
There were two guards at the entrance to the factory. The three grimaced as they observed this predicament from the other side of the bridge.
Odd then looked over the side of the bridge, and spotted something in the water. "Care for a little cruise?" he whispered to the two girls.
Aelita and Yumi both followed his gaze. It was a raft, with two oars, that just so happened to be there. They both turned back to him and nodded.
The trio slid down the bank towards the water and the rowboat.
It took a couple of minutes, but they finally reached their trip across the river to the factory's island. The trio climbed out of the rowboat, and Yumi pointed to a trapdoor on the group's right.
"Over there!" she whispered.
The three gratefully slipped on into the factory without anyone noticing.
Odd was about to pull out his phone, but Aelita stopped him, "Sorry, I should've told you before. Finson confiscated Ulrich's phone. You'll have to find him the old fashioned way."
"Right," Yumi said. "I'll do that. You two head for the lab. We'll stay in contact!"
Aelita and Odd both nodded, but before the trio could split up, they heard a voice call out to them, "What are you kids doing in here?!"
Standing there in the open door frame was a very tired and angry looking James Finson. Behind him were two crewmembers, just as tired, but not really angry.
"You heard me!" Finson continued, when the three kids remained silent. "My alien is missing, and you three are my primary suspects! So start talking!"
"Please, kids," said one of the crew members. "It's better to just confess."
"Get to the lab," Aelita whispered to Odd and Yumi. "The monoscan should be done by now." She had run the monoscan to help Jérémie find the tower before she left. "I'll hold him off." She then addressed Finson in a normal voice. "We're sorry, sir, but we just got here. We know nothing about this alien."
"I highly doubt it!" Finson scolded. Aelita then heard two sets of footsteps behind her, fading, telling her that Odd and Yumi were making a break for the lab. "Hey!" Finson called out to them, before turning to his crewmembers. "You two, get them!"
"Run!" Aelita called out her own order, this one to Odd and Yumi.
The two crewmembers, however (and fortunately), were cut off by a large alien animatronic landed right in front of them, having jumped from the rafters above.
"My alien!" Finson exclaimed. "Catch it! Get a move on!"
The two crewmembers made an attempt, only for the alien to use its goo to stick them both to the wall.
Finson groaned, "I guess I'll have to do it myself." He then walked towards it, but Aelita held him back. "Get off me, little girl!"
"You can't control it!" Aelita told him. "Its programming has been taken over and rewritten by an AI that wants to destroy humanity!" She knew it sounded crazy, but Finson was in serious danger if he didn't listen to her.
"A cute story!" Finson retorted, "but get serious here! The only one who can control it is me! It's my creation!"
Before Aelita could respond to that, the alien approached them and sprayed her and Finson with its goop, sticking the two to the wall.
"Hey! Let us go!" Finson was screaming, but his own creation did not listen to him.
Instead, the alien breathed in Aelita's face, letting her see the sign of XANA in its eyes. Then, to her surprise, it licked her cheek, before walking away.
What...? Why did it let her go? XANA had her right where it wanted her.
"I don't get it," Finson asked. He was no longer angry, but rather frightened. "Why did it leave us alone?"
Good question, Mr. Finson. Did it want to get rid of the others first?
"Probably to use us as bait to attract the others," was Aelita's best guess, at least without giving away that there was a supercomputer that housed a virtual world not far from their present position.
"The others?" Finson asked. "You mean, your two friends?"
"Plus Ulrich and a fifth," Aelita admitted.
"But why?"
Did XANA see her as its biggest threat?
"I'm sorry, sir," Aelita apologized. "But I cannot tell you."
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Yumi and Odd were both grossed out by the lab chair being covered in goo. They were grateful that alien thing, which was clearly possessed by XANA, had cut off those guards chasing them. But now they had a brand new problem.
"Jérémie? Come in! We're in the lab!" Yumi had the headset in her ear, but wasn't sitting down. The chair was still covered in disgusting slime.
"About time!" came Jérémie's voice. "I'm following the pulsations now."
Yumi relayed, her and Odd looking at the alert that was currently on the screen, "The monoscan says the tower is the Ice Sector. 58 degrees North, 21 degrees East."
"Got it," Jérémie replied. "I'm on my way." The holomap showed his yellow arrow starting to head in the direction of the way tower that would take him from the Forest to the Ice. "I'll meet you there."
Just then, goo started dripping on Odd's head. He and Yumi looked up to see the alien perched on the rafters, drooling.
"Sorry, Jer, but you won't," Odd quickly said, as the alien leaned its head ever so closer. "The alien is here in the lab."
"It's in the lab?!" Jérémie sounded panicked. "Then forget about me! Focus on yourselves!"
"We will," Yumi replied, as Odd began taking steps backward towards the elevator. "Just don't drag your feet."
She didn't stick around to hear what Jérémie's response was, as she took out the earpiece just as the alien pounced. Yumi held the thing in place with her hands, using all the strength she could muster, as Odd headed towards the elevator.
He pressed the button and the doors opened, but to his surprise, the cables had snapped. The elevator itself was nowhere in sight.
But there was a ladder within the shaft, so Odd headed there. Yumi found the strength to knock the alien back before following him. Odd let Yumi climb up the ladder first, and he quickly followed.
The alien grabbed onto his foot, but he managed to wrestle free. His foot was now cold due to no longer having a shoe on that foot, the shoe having been stolen by the alien, but he kicked the alien in the head, knocking it loose, and climbed up after Yumi.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
At the other end of the elevator shaft, at the very bottom, Ulrich was coming back to reality. Well, the elevator was definitely out of service now, was his first thought.
His next thought was 'Ouch!' as he tried to move his left arm, but couldn't without a sharp pain that felt like agony shooting through the limb and to his brain.
Beside him, he felt Sissi begin to stir as he, very slowly, managed to use his good arm to prop himself up against the wall.
"Uh, what happened?" Once she was fully awake, she became scared. "Huh? What? Where are we? What's going on?!"
"It's okay," Ulrich reassured her through his own pain. "The alien snapped the cables on us. Don't worry. Help is on the way." It was. Jérémie would deactivate the tower and Aelita would launch a time reversion.
Sissi leaned against the wall opposite of his, "This is great! Just great!" He didn't blame her for complaining. It's exactly what he wanted to do. "For once, I have a chance to show how talented I am, and now that mechanical monster has to go nuts! What's more, he decides to pick on me! I don't understand! What did I ever do to that plastic piece of junk to deserve that, huh?!"
"Sissi," he was curt and snippy, mostly because of the pain his left arm was causing. Fortunately, it caught her attention. His arm was definitely broken. "The alien wasn't after you. It was after me. I'm sorry you got dragged into this."
"You?" Sissi asked, before glancing down at his broken arm. "Your arm!" she gasped.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Jérémie exited the way tower and was immediately greeted by ice and stronger pulsations.
Not wanting to stick around and find out if XANA was already waiting for him, he slipped on his goggles and took off, running down the path where the pulsations felt the strongest.
As he was running, he got the alert of five Hornets behind him seconds before he actually heard their wings humming.
But he didn't stop running. He had no weapon, no means of defense, no guard to protect him or take hits for him. He only had his Creativity, which took a bit of concentration to use. Running was his best option.
Four, no, five lives hung in the balance. Ulrich, Sissi, Aelita, Yumi, and Odd are all being chased and preoccupied by the XANA-possessed alien (whatever that meant).
He reached a bridge and began to cross it as they started to fire on him.
They stopped their lasers and began turning around for another attack. "Talk about a reception committee," he muttered.
They began firing at him again, this time from in front of him. He managed to dodge the assault by jumping to the side and using a stalagmite as cover. He climbed up the icicle and began skipping the ones in front of him, eventually using one of the Hornets as a jump pad.
He landed safely on the ground behind the Hornets, but he didn't stick around to find out where they'd go next. He kept running, following the path because that's where the pulsations were leading him.
At the end of the path was a clearing, and he was forced to stop. Waiting for him on the other side of that clearing was the path at a very steep angle leading to an ice tunnel.
His goggles alerted him to the Hornets behind him, returning for a third attack.
Acting fast, he leapt and landed on the path, letting the momentum carry him forward as he slid down to the tunnel. At the same time, he concentrated on blocking the entrance of that ice tunnel.
He passed the entrance right before ice formed to block the cave. He heard two explosions, and his goggles alerted him to the fact that the number of Hornets had gone from three to five.
He smiled, still sliding, until he realized that he had no idea what was at the end of this tunnel.
Eventually he reached the end, and his momentum forced him to hit the ground instead of gracefully landing.
Grateful that he survived all of that, as he got his feet, Jérémie checked the pulsations. They felt stronger.
He sighed, "At least the tower feels a lot closer now."
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
"This is ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" Finson was ranting and raving about their current situation. "That thing is my creation!"
"Another director did it first," Aelita was deadpan as she told him this. "And better."
"Wrong!" Apparently, it only made Finson angrier. "That alien is one hundred percent original!" Aelita simply rolled her eyes. She and Finson were still stuck here, so all she could do was listen to him, no matter how childish he was acting. "I created it, and it refuses to listen to me!"
"Because its programming has been rewritten by an AI hellbent on destroying humanity," Aelita calmly repeated. "I told you that already."
"Do you two believe her?" Finson called out to his two crewmembers, also stuck with them, who Aelita had learned were his secretary and assistant-director.
To her amusement, both of them nodded, both of them as unamused by his antics as she was.
Finson turned back to Aelita, "That proves nothing! Then why didn't it destroy us?"
"Because it needs me to draw Odd and Yumi out of hiding first," Aelita explained. Again. For what felt like the fiftieth time. "Once it takes them out, it will take me out, and Ulrich if it hasn't already. And then it will focus its attention on our fifth."
"Why you five?" the secretary asked.
"Because we're the only ones who can stop it," Aelita admitted.
Just then her cell phone start ringing. The pink-ette sighed, as she was physically unable to answer.
"If one of us could move, we could answer that," the assistant-director suggested.
"Yeah, we could," Aelita admitted, "but we can't. That's kinda the whole point of being stuck." The ringing stopped, but there was no last buzz that signaled a voicemail. Aelita shrugged (or would've if she could), before addressing Finson, "You know, while I've got you here, Mr. Finson, can we please talk about how you write your female characters?"
"Of course," Finson replied. "Since we've got nothing else to do. What would you like to talk about?"
"That you're sexist," Aelita felt a rant come on. "That movie you showed to us yesterday morning? Your female lead made a much more interesting character than that one-dimensional playboy you call the main protagonist!"
Finson's eyebrow twitched, and he turned to his two crewmembers for help. His secretary only nodded, while the assistant-director said, "I tried to warn you, sir. If you want to capture the female audience too, you must present stronger female characters."
"B-But, people love it when the man rescues the woman!" Finson tried to argue.
"Some do, yes, but honestly, it's cliche," Aelita replied. "Let the woman rescue the man every once in a while. Trust me, that ending would've done your female lead justice. Or better yet, have the man stay dead, and let her survive with only his memory. That ending would resonate better with audiences."
A time reversion would have to be activated here for sure once the tower was deactivated, so the sad part was that Finson wouldn't remember this advice. Because to her surprise, it seemed like he was seriously considering it.
"Aelita!" a familiar, female voice suddenly called out.
"See, Yumi?" followed by a familiar, male voice. "I told you that following her ringtone would work."
Aelita and the three adults with her turned to the door frame, and the pink-ette smiled when she saw Yumi and Odd standing there.
"Yumi! Odd! You're here!" So that's why her phone rang. Yumi or Odd were calling her. But then her smile started to fade. "But you guys are supposed to be helping Jérémie!"
"Sorry," Odd apologized, as he and Yumi jogged up to her, "but the alien chased us away before we could start the process."
Yumi reached into her back pocket and pulled out a pocket knife. "Now, whatever you do," she said, unsheathing the blade, "don't move a muscle."
"Haha," Aelita sassed back, as Yumi began cutting the dried goo that stuck the pink-ette to the wall. "Aren't you funny?"
Once Aelita was freed, Odd referenced the three adults still stuck to the wall. "What about them?"
"If you free us," Finson said, "then we can call for help!"
"Outside help won't save us," Yumi admitted. "Only Jérémie can."
"Take our word for it," Aelita admitted. "You three are safer stuck than you are running around. The alien won't mess around if you try to get in its way."
Just then, a loud bang sounded elsewhere in the factory, followed by another that was louder than the first.
The alien was on its way.
"Come on, we can't stay here," Odd said, grabbing Aelita's hand. "Or XANA'll get the drop on us."
Aelita had no choice but to follow Yumi and Odd out the door, ignoring Finson's pleas for them to come back.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
The bad news, Ulrich and Sissi were still stuck in the elevator, but the good news, she had made a sling for his broken arm.
"Thank you," he softly told her once she finished her work. "You know, you're a real good nurse."
"I'm not just somebody who sticks to you like glue, huh?" Sissi's voice was just as soft.
"No, I guess not," he replied. His mind then wandered to a couple weeks ago, when he and Yumi caught Sissi in the act of delivering that fake love letter. "Sissi, a couple weeks ago, you were trying to give me a love letter in Yumi's name." Trying? She succeeded! "Why?"
Sissi was quiet as she sat down beside him, "You don't have to remind me. I know it wasn't one of my best days."
"I'm not trying to be malicious here," he reassured her. "I just want to know why."
She took a deep breath, "Ulrich, you and I have been friends since we were five, since we first met in primary school. It was a case of opposites attract, the shy and quiet boy and the popular and outgoing girl. I liked that. I liked how it was just us two who understood each other. But then, that all changed when, two years ago, you befriended Yumi."
It was a martial arts class. He was the only student in Jim's Pencak Silat class until Yumi arrived and quickly and utterly schooled him. It took awhile until Ulrich dropped the grudge he held against Yumi for proving she was just as good a fighter as he was, but once he did, the two became best friends.
Odd moved in not long after, while Aelita was already living at Kadic for a year by this point. Odd was Ulrich and Yumi's ticket to meeting Aelita, and then, all four pieces fell into place. Then two years later, a fifth, Jérémie, was added.
All while Sissi was kinda floating in the background, probably feeling lost and confused as he was making new friends without her.
"I intended to give you that letter to get back at you for betraying and abandoning me," she revealed, confirming Ulrich's suspicions. "I knew the four of you had a secret, one that involves that computer and the boy you say is trapped inside of it, but the problem is I'm not in on it. I'm sorry. I guess I was just jealous because I was being left out."
"You were, actually, part of the secret at first," Ulrich revealed.
Sissi looked at him. "Then what happened? Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you bombed the audition," he explained. "You proved to us that you weren't dependable when it counted. Let's just leave it at that." All of that was an understatement, but Sissi deserved the truth. "Sissi, you know all about my home life, how bad my parents really are. Aelita, Odd, and Yumi don't. You were a light in my life when I really needed one. I'll always be grateful for that. I can't tell you what our secret is, or what all the details are, but that doesn't mean you and I can't still be friends."
"But you said you refused to be my friend anymore because I was being too mean to others," Sissi reminded him.
"No," Ulrich corrected her, "I only threatened it. In order for us to still be friends, you need to be nicer. It's not that hard, and I know you can be nice when you want to be."
Sissi was quiet as she digested this, "Will you ever tell me your secret?"
"Maybe not any time soon," he softly admitted, being completely honest. "Unless we have no choice. What we're doing requires us to put our lives on the line, and that's a sacrifice I don't want you to have to make. When it's all over, we'll fill you in. I promise."
Sissi finally smiled, "Okay."
Ulrich returned the smile, as he reminded himself that a Return to the Past will have to be launched, so Sissi would forget this conversation. So, in that case, he told himself to repeat this conversation after time rewinded.
However, the moment was ruined by a drop of water hitting the floor in front of them.
Sissi immediately got up and leaned out to see through the open hatch in the ceiling. "Ulrich, there's a crack in the wall! Water is seeping through!"
It wasn't long until they were ankle-deep in it.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Jérémie finally reached the plateau the tower was on, where the pulsations felt the strongest. But he immediately paused.
Instead of one tower, there were two. Side-by-side, both activated.
That was impossible! XANA could only activate one at a time!
He placed his goggles back on (he had taken them off earlier), and they were indicating that the right one was the correct one.
"Oh, I see," Jérémie realized. "Really, XANA? Cloning the tower to delay me? You forget my goggles are connected directly to the holomap." He'd have to double-check with the pulsations, see if they and the holomap matched up, but he was certain which one was the right one.
His goggles suddenly alerted him to the three Hornets returning. A split second later, he heard the hum of their wings, and he had no choice but to take off running once more.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
They were waist-deep in the water now. Ulrich was struggling to hold the ceiling hatch closed, but it was incredibly difficult to do so with his broken arm.
Even with Sissi helping him, water still found a way to seep through.
The water level was only getting higher and higher, and it wasn't long until they were completely submerged.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Elsewhere in the factory, Yumi, Odd, and Aelita had taken refuge in the room just beyond the security office. They had barricaded the door with anything and everything they could find. Tables, cabinets, chairs.
As they hid in the farthest corner from the door leading to the security office, Odd muttered, "Too bad this isn't Lyoko. At least I have superpowers there."
Yumi held the crowbar she had found a little tighter, "What's taking Jérémie so long? He should've found the tower by now."
"He's alone, remember?" Aelita reminded them, sitting in between them. "He's probably being held up by XANA's monsters. Until he enters the code, we just have to survive."
Odd sighed, "I really hope Ulrich and Sissi are okay..."
"Me too," Yumi agreed. "The fact that Finson took their phones away just makes it worse."
Aelita simply closed her eyes. I have faith in you, Jérémie.
That was when the ceiling suddenly cracked, and then the cracks grew wider, as if someone, or something, was punching it open. Then, the whole grew widen enough for something to come through, and come through it did.
The alien landed right in front of them.
Yumi attempted to use the crowbar to fend it off, but it grabbed it and threw it away with ease. The trio was now cornered, with nowhere to run. XANA knew this and made the animatronic smile before pouncing.
Its tentacles wrapped around all three necks and began squeezing the life out of them.
Hopefully, XANA thought, it could get the job done before that blonde brat shut the tower down.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Jérémie knew he couldn't dodge these Hornets' lasers forever. He had to pick a tower.
Running up to them, standing in between them, he closed his eyes to confirm what the holomap was telling him. Which tower to pick.
The pulsations were leading him to the right one, and only the right one.
With that, he made his choice, and entered the tower on the right, hoping it wasn't too late.
He rushed to the center of the first platform, and let the data stream carry him to the second.
Hopefully, he had chosen the right tower. If he chose wrong, there was nothing he could do about it. It would be too late, and thus, all over.
Jérémie reached the second platform, and he rushed to the center. The interface greeted him and he placed his hand on it. It accepted his handprint.
JEREMIE_
Please, let this tower be the right one...
CODE_
Please, let the others still be alive...
LYOKO_
Jérémie glanced at the data windows that lined the towers, and his heart immediately fell.
They weren't falling. If the tower was truly being deactivated, then those windows would fall. Deactivation of a tower was the equivalent of rebooting a computer. Everything had to shut down first before starting up again.
But nothing was happening.
If one could shed tears on Lyoko, Jérémie would have in this moment. He had failed. He had chosen the wrong tower, even though he was sure it was the right one.
He closed his eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry, guys. I'm sorry I chose the wrong one."
But then a familiar sound began to hit his ears. He automatically opened his eyes to see, sure enough, the windows starting to fall.
He wanted to cry again, but this time out of pure joy.
He did pick the right tower; XANA was just holding onto its activation for as long as it could.
In the darkness of the tower, the only light being the interface in front of him flashing 'CODE: LYOKO', Jérémie then touched the interface again, bringing up the Return to the Past program. Hoping he wasn't too late, he entered the time coordinates and pressed 'LAUNCH'.
From the bottom of the tower, where the screens had fallen to, a white light suddenly flashed to life, before engulfing the entire tower, then all of Lyoko, and eventually, the entire world as well.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Jérémie knew his friends were still alive, because the time reversion had been successful. It wouldn't have launched if they were truly gone. Regardless, he immediately called Aelita the moment time had finished rewinding. He needed to hear their voices for himself.
Thankfully, she had answered.
"Don't worry, Jérémie," she calmly told him. "We're still here."
Time had rewinded to yesterday morning, thirty minutes before Finson's film would be shown to the school.
"Thank goodness," he breathed a sigh of relief, his interface showing on Aelita's computer.
"It looks like you can reach the tower without us," Odd cut in. "Congratulations!"
If Jérémie could blush, he would have.
"Well, just because he can," Yumi pointed out, "doesn't mean he should. Next time, he may not be so lucky." Ulrich nodded, agreeing with this.
"Agreed," Aelita said, before turning to Jérémie. "And we're glad you're okay, too."
Jérémie sent her a soft smile in response.
"Now that we have a second chance to prevent Finson from using our factory," Aelita continued, "we can actually brainstorm ideas instead of coming up with one on the fly."
"True," Odd admitted. "He kinda sprang the news on us the first time around."
Remembering how Finson reacted to her claiming that he was stealing from another director, Aelita spoke up, "I think I have an idea."
Ulrich stepped forward, a smile on his face, "I think I have the same one."
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Ulrich and Aelita did indeed have the same idea.
It was about three hours later, and Finson was signing autographs in the cafeteria. Like before, Ulrich waited patiently in line (and like before, Sissi was in front of him and tried to get a part in the film). When it was his turn, he approached Finson like before.
But this time, he changed his words, "Hello, Mr. Finson. I gotta say, great idea to use the factory for a movie."
"Well, what can I say?" Finson asked, basking in the praise. "I must confess that my ideas are completely original. I say that with absolute modesty, of course. Here." He held out a signed photo.
But Ulrich refused it, "Then, I'm sorry to report that a movie was already filmed there."
Finson immediately frowned, "You're kidding!"
"No, I'm not!" Ulrich quickly defended himself. At least, that's what it looked like to Finson. "It was a science-fiction and horror mash-up, with an alien as the main antagonist. If I may add, it was a fabulous picture, too." He hoped Finson didn't ask for the name of that movie, though.
Aelita, Odd, and Yumi were waiting outside, when Mr. Finson exited the cafeteria, on the phone with his producer, "No, no, I've given it some thought and I don't think the factory's a good idea. Besides, it wasn't my idea in the first place!" He paused to hear the other end. "What's that? How dare you accuse me of lying to you?! I can easily find another producer, you know!" He paused again. "I am not upset!" Yes, he was.
Finson walked away, and Ulrich exited the cafeteria.
The four smiled at each other, their mission to keep their secret friend safe another day successful.
It would've ended there, except Ulrich's eyes centered on Sissi as she ranted about failing to achieve her dream of being an actress to Hervé and Nicolas.
Remembering the promise he made to himself, and how that Return did indeed erase her memories of that heart-to-heart they had, he walked up to her.
"Hey, Sissi," he gently called out. She turned to face him, and he softly continued, "Can we talk?"
"S-Sure!" Sissi smiled, before letting him lead her somewhere more private.
!~~~J~E~R~L~I~T~A~~R~O~L~E~S~W~A~P~~A~U~~~!
Next Episode: 9 - Satellite / XANA sets its sights to the skies. Literally.
A/N: Michel Périn, huh? Are you reading about the lore of the factory before Season 2 is even written? Indeed, you are.
The way Aelita, Odd, and Yumi reach the factory here is the same way Yumi, Odd, and Ulrich reached the factory in the canon "Plagued".
Canon never really told us the full history of Ulrich and Sissi. However, I just did here. It turns out that Sissi is actually a lot closer to Ulrich than most people suspect her to be. Also, with this closure between these two, Sissi will no longer be a problem, but an ally. No, the problem role will now be given to Hervé for obvious reasons.