Chapter 57 Crossing the Digital Sea (Skidbladnir)
A.N. – Ok, so to start, I am skipping Wreck Room due to the attack, and I don't think it would make for an interesting episode. Most of it would be a reskinning of the original. There will be a small scene describing it at the beginning of this episode.
Short Summary – Jeremy and Aelita finally finish the ship needed to search for A and Xana, but after getting caught breaking the rules, Xana takes advantage of the situation to keep himself and A hidden for good.
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.
Aelita's Point of View
Aelita was in her room, waiting for the call from Jeremy to finish their ship they could use to search for A and Xana. She decided to write in her journal that she started keeping. She didn't know why, but it felt right to her. She opened her laptop and the file she keeps for her journal.
Jeremy and me have been working on our virtual ship and after weeks of going in circles, we may have found a way to cross the digital sea without us suffering under Xana. On that subject, A tried to trick us like she was rebelling against Xana, but it was another plot to try to throw me in to do whatever Xana want me for. I hope we can find where A and Xana are on the web. With her back, we won't have to hold back on our efforts to eliminate Xana for good.
Aelita's phone rang when she finished her entry. "Aelita, the program is nearly ready. Mett us at the factory and we'll finish our ship. And bring your laptop" Jermey informs her.
"Ok, see you soon" Aelita responds before she closes her laptop and heads off.
Aelita was sitting on the holocase with her laptop hooked up to it. William and Odd were throwing a ball, and Ulrich and Yumi were sleeping. "Okay," Jeremy speaks up. "The connecting blocks have been configured. Now we have to compile the structural intermediate data. Did you see the random distortion components?"
"It's done" Aelita smiles at him, and Odd throws a tennis ball to William.
"Okay. I'm programming the axonometric vectors to browse the dipolar coordinates."
"Jeremy, how's the virtual submarine going?" Odd wonders, tossing the tennis ball. "I can't wait to go on a Xana hunt!" The ball goes flying past Jeremy, who looks over his shoulder.
"Odd!"
"Shh, you don't want to wake our sleeping beauties" Odd points to the two.
"They keep claiming their good friends, but they interact like a married couple" William points out.
"We all think the same way, but we got an elephant situation with those two."
"Who?"
"You. Before you enrolled, those two were inseparable. Then you came and Yumi feels she can't be with one without the other being jealous or trying to steal her away."
"I'm lucky I had Yumi as a friend when I came here. I thought it was gonna be a struggle to find someone day one, even with my charm."
"I think even if Yumi didn't accept you day one, you'd find friends withing the first month."
"The coordinates have been recognized by the supercomputer." Aelita tells Jeremy.
"That's great teamwork, huh Aelita?" Jeremy says, smiling at her. "I couldn't have done it without your help!"
"The programming is complete. Time to launch the construction phase. I'm ready."
"Just a few more seconds, and I'll be ready too. Okay, I'm ready. Now?"
"Yeah, now!" Aelita responds as they tap enter at the same time, and the hub that'll hold the ship is created. Yumi walks up to the computer.
"Hey, what's that room? It's new to me" Yumi asks.
"It's new to everyone. Aelita just programmed it into the Core Zone. We use it as a sort of hanger for our sub" Jeremy replies.
"We've gotta christen it, give it a name" Odd suggests to him.
"Odd, we don't christen a ship until the building is over, that's when it will get its real name!" Jeremy replies, looking away. "But nothing says we can't give it a codename."
"Good idea…what if we call her Melanie?"
"Melanie? You mean like that redhead your mad about?" Aelita asks him.
"Girls and crushes remind you of a virtual ship that's going to be used to hunt down Xana and A on the network."
"Odd does have a weird way of naming things, like the dumb names he gives to the monsters" Ulrich adds.
"You know, it's pretty late. Why don't we talk about it while we're walking?" Yumi suggests as she heads for the elevator.
"The rest of the calculations should keep running by themselves until tomorrow afternoon," Jeremy explains as they walk through the foggy night. "By then, the atomic layers of the virtual external structure will be complete, at 4PM sharp. Aelita will be launching phase 2 of the programming operation. The construction of the core. And we're gonna have to be on time because if we're not, the kinetic dipolar distortion energy will enter a dangerous and destructive chromodynamics sinusoidal phase."
"Mind saying that in simple terms?" William reminds Jeremy.
"If we're not in the factory by 4, the core will collapse into itself, kind of like a black hole" Aelita simplifies for them.
"A-Are you saying, Melanie will be destroyed?" Odd stammers nervously.
"Yeah, it sure will," Jeremy pushes up his glasses. "And it's gonna take months before we can reprogram it. Months during which Xana can continue doing his dirty work without any interference from us. And with A and her Lyoko band, the quicker we can stop him, the better."
"Jeremy and I still have some technical stuff to work on before we go to sleep" Aelita says.
"I can't believe it!" Jeremy exclaims once they're in his room. "Pretty soon, we'll be able to track Xana on the network!"
"We might even be able to localize my dad" Aelita grins, glancing at him.
A flashlight is looking around the hall, hearing two voices in Jeremy's room. "But we better not get our hopes up. Even if it's possible, it's not gonna be easy."
"I know, but I completely lost hope when Xana destroyed all of Lyoko."
Jim suddenly bursts the door open. "Belpois!" Jim yells, shining the lights in their eyes, Aelita cringing at the brightness. "What are you doing here?"
"Uhh, I'm…this is my room" Jeremy replies.
"Huh? Ah…I know that," Jim closes his eyes after inspecting the room. "As I was saying, Miss Stones, what are you doing in here?"
"Well, um…mm" Aelita closes her eyes, unable to think.
"You oughta know that girls have to stay upstairs, which is their floor, and they're not allowed downstairs where the boys are down here! And so tomorrow, you can repeat word-for-word what I just said about downstairs and upstairs to the principal!"
And with that, he slams the door shut.
The next morning, the two are in Mr. Delmas' office. "Now listen to me, both of you. Kadic is a highly respectable institution. The rule is strict. Girls have no right to be in the boy's rooms, and vice versa, and especially after lights out. There's no excuse for your conduct."
"We didn't do anything bad" Jeremy opens his eyes.
"He's right, we were just studying" Aelita adds, hoping Mr. Delmas will let it go.
"Well, since you like to study so much, you'll be glad to know that that's what you'll do in the library for the entire afternoon. I hope that's clear. Jim, you're in charge" Mr. Delmas explains.
"Mr. Delmas, you can count on me to take care of them" Jim replies confidently, to the two's dismay.
That afternoon, the group tried to come up with a way to save Aelita and Jeremy, but all failed. They needed them to be in the factory at 4pm or they could say goodbye to any hopes of entering the network. Jim took them in the library to serve their punishment. After a while in, Jermey propped open his laptop. Aelita could tell something was wrong, so she tried to inform the others, knowing Xana is behind it. Unfortunately for them, Jim saw it and confiscated it. And things were only getting worse.
A's Point of View
A flew into the ship's hanger as three mantas guarded it from the outside. "So, this is the ship they hope to use to track me and Xana huh? Impressive, but I don't expect anything less from myself. Destroy it" A commanded and the creepers started firing at it. A was watching making sure the ships destruction went off without a hitch. She informed Xana that Jeremy and Aelita would be caught and now was the perfect time to destroy their ship. She didn't notice Ulrich and William entering the hanger.
"Hey princess" Ulrich calls out.
"Let's play" William said as he and Ulrich got their weapons out.
"Fine, you two will be the first I get to waste" A said as she drew her sword. The two corner her on her sides. A blocked with incredible speed and accuracy. She jumped back to get out of their trap. "Your moves are so predictable. I can defeat you blindfolded."
"We got to remember that A is at her best when it two on one" William reminds Ulrich.
"It just makes it more of a challenge to defeat her then" Ulrich adds. A just smirks an evil smile in response. She also notices Odd. "Mantas! Assist them!" The mantas start to fire on the ship, making it weaker. Ulrich at this time is able to land a hit on her and she goes flying over the edge. She come in flying. "Energy field!" A quick orb is fired, and Ulrich is hit and launched back to where William is.
"Ouch. Those energy fields of Aelita's pack a punch" Ulrich states.
"Still doesn't change the situation. She just has two weapons and can dual wield them" William adds.
A then went in and continued to duel both of them. A had the clear advantage as the two of them were blocking and defending, rather than countering and attacking. All they could do was play defense. With a strong blow, both William and Ulrich slid back, clearly exhausted. "Giving up? Surrender is an option" A asks, pointing the tip of her sword at them.
"No, when you see Xana, tell him we never give up" Ulrich responded.
"Fine, prolong your suffering even longer. It will make my victory that much better, knowing I defeated two of the toughest warriors." A went and was able to knock them both down. She was about to finish them as a fan came in. She moved out of the way. "Yumi…"
"Nice to see you ladies" Ulrich commented on their arrival.
"It's always nice to be needed, isn't it?" Yumi comments.
With Ulrich distracted, A uses this chance to finish him. "Ulrich!" William calls out as he also meets his end.
"Oh no, William…"
"Thank you for using your feminine charm to distract them. Now, time to finish this."
A jumps on top of the ship. She forms an energy orb and infuses her saber with its energy. She then pierces the shield, disabling it.
"Girls, I don't know what A did, but she was able to disable the ship's last shield layer. If she strikes it one more time, she'll destroy it!" Jeremy warns them.
Yumi throws both of her fans, which A dodges both. "You fans are nothing special Yumi! Prepare for the end!" She prepares to strike, when Aelita throws a mega energy orb at her. She hits A, knocking her off the ship and down to their level. "You've grown strong, but you still have much to learn to reach my level. We will meet again." A disappears.
As A reappeared in the crater, she fell to her knees. "You look weak" Xana comments.
"That obvious."
"I appreciate the enthusiasm. Apparently they have plenty of aces that can hinder our plans. We have to consider these in the future."
"Problem is, they pull them out when the situation goes from bad to worse. If we eliminate one, they'll just pull another one out. And with their ship, they'll figure out your plans eventually."
"That just means we move faster. You have the means to accelerate what we need." Xana holds up her arm with the Lyoko band.
"Right. Just give me some time to recover. That last fight took a lot out of me."
"Sure. But the faster, the better." He disappears.
Aelita's Point of View
Aelita was in the Hermitage's study, looking for a specific book from her past. "Hey Aelita, you coming?" Ulrich asks from the living room.
"I'll be right there!" She pulls out the book. "My father used to read this book to me when I was five."
"Viking Gods and Legends?" Jeremy asks.
Aelita turned to a specific page. "Look at that. It was a mythical tall ship that could even sail on land, and it always reached its destination, no matter what kind of wind was blowing."
"The Skidbladnir?"
Odd stumbles to say it, but everyone else agrees that this seems to be a suitable name to their ship. The Lyoko Warriors can now extend the fight against Xana beyond Lyoko.
After christening their ship Aelita headed back to her room and wrote in her journal.
A said after we defeated her that I was getting stronger but was nowhere near her level. I wonder what she meant by that. What will happen in the coming days that will allow me to grow stronger and more powerful? What did A do besides all the stuff she leaned after Xana's defeat that allowed her to reach that level of strength? That is something I'll figure out or ignore depending on what comes because our real fight begins soon.
A.N. – So, we finally see that A can be defeated. I know that most of the beginning was carbon copy of the original but felt it was important for plot development. Just going into the skid fight would be extremely short and uninteresting chapter. Like I said at the beginning of this season, Maiden Voyage will be skipped, but explained and next week we'll be starting at Crash Course. PM me with story ideas! Review with questions or comments! I will respond! As always, till next time! See ya! -lyokowarrior97