Chapter 67 Reign of Terror (Down to Earth)
A.N. – A finally returns from Xana's clutches! Also, there will be a lot of switching between A and Aelita in the replica, so try to follow along as I try to cover the events. Let's begin!
Short Summary – Jeremy believes that he has finally found a way to wipe out Xana completely. The team plans for one last network trip, but for Xana, it is another opportunity to wipe them out as well as their ship.
Disclaimer – I do not own Code Lyoko or the story idea. I am just a fan of the show, and the story idea was submitted by James Marshall.
Aelita's Point of view
"Hang on, let me get this straight," Odd speaks up as they're near the vending machines. "You and Einstein spent an entire weekend together and all you did was work?" He asks Aelita.
"Well, we had to work on the superscan" Aelita answers.
"Yeah right. You guys are worse than Yumi and Ulrich."
"Hey!" Ulrich exclaims at him.
"Well, it's true. You two are always trying to convince us you're just good friends and that stuff. By the way, where is Einstein?"
"I don't know, I'm a little worried about him," Aelita states. "Ever since he found out that Xana had infected hundreds of supercomputers around the world, he's always at the factory, here in his room, and…" Her phone rings and she looks at the screen. "That's him now! Yes Jeremy? Oh, I was beginning to worry, where are you?"
Jeremy appears right behind her. "Right behind you!"
"You're so silly" she giggles as she hangs up.
"Einstein a comedian? You're right to be concerned. I don't think he's all there" Ulrich comments.
"Got some good news Jeremy?" Yumi wonders.
"Just a little. I finally found out a way to wipe out Xana!"
"Huh? Are you absolutely sure? A multi-agent system?" Yumi asks once they've heard the explanation.
"Yup, that's it! I decided to go over all of Franz Hopper's notes again," he pushes up his glasses. "As well as the data he sent from the network when he was escaping from Lyoko. And of course, the data you gathered when you were traveling on the skid. And that's when I realized that if we wanna get rid of Xana, it's through a system of multi-agents!"
"It sounds pretty dangerous," Aelita speaks up. "Don't you think? I mean because Xana himself is a multi-agent system. And don't forget what happened with the Marabounta!"
"Yeah, Aelita is right," Odd agrees with her. "You know Frankenstein, that was a pretty creepy invention!"
"Will you stop worrying?" Jeremy has an embarrassed smile on his face. "I'm not gonna launch my program until I'm totally sure it's gonna work! Right now, all I can destroy are two or three megatanks."
"But…" William asks.
"I need more data to finish it. I think the ice replica supercomputer could hold all that information. It being controlled by Xana; it must have information related to Xana."
"And how do we go about doing that?" Yumi asks.
"All Aelita has to do is get to the terminal in the lab and extract the information. Once that's all done, return to Lyoko. The next mission in a few day will be to destroy Xana and free A."
"Oh wonderful. Hold off a more skillful and powerful version of Aelita, while ours tries to find information to destroy Xana. Piece of cake" Ulrich says sarcastically.
"Uh, one more thing. What if Xana sends us King Kong like he did last time?" Odd turns to him.
"Who, the Kolossus? Think of him as just another one of Xana's monsters that you've gotta fight against."
"Maybe we should set up a meet and greet so we can introduce him to you" Ulrich suggests.
"Yeah, he's a living nightmare" William adds, with his eyes closed.
"Hey, fighting happens to be your job, mine happens to be programming," Jeremy gestures to himself. "You all know that!"
"Well, if defeating Xana has the best chance of freeing A, then what are we waiting for?" Aelita asks.
"Yeah, no reason to wait," Jeremy smiles, rubbing his chin. "Everyone to the factory!"
"What? Like now?" Odd asks in alarm. "But they've got tuna casserole, sauerkraut and sausages for lunch today!"
"You can have lunch tonight! Let's go."
"Anyone ever tell you you eat dinner at night?!" Odd exclaims, as he runs into the hallway, closing the door behind him.
A's Point of View
A sat in the arena in the volcano replica, knowing today was the day she would escape from Xana. In her head, she went through all the scenarios. She needed the best possible outcome in order for her to escape and Xana not kill her or throw her into the digital sea to become his personal slave. All options led to one thing though: Xana was going to target her for the final mission. She looked at her Lyoko band and knew this was her key. She just needed to wait for the right time.
"Seems like the warriors are headed back to the ice replica. For what, I don't know" Xana said.
"Want me to head back to the real world to deal with them?" A asked.
"Even though your last encounter was exceptional, I think my new surprise will be enough for them. Take out their ship."
"Let's get going then."
Aelita's Point of View
Jeremy taps a key as the others are already in the digital sea. "Holoweb system online. Aelita, I'm sending you the ice sector replica coordinates."
"Alright Jeremy," the entrance to the network opens and the skid flies out. "Rotation." Aelita tilts a lever towards her, and the skid moves so it's facing horizontally. They take off into the network. "Here we go."
"I've got a visual on the replica," Aelita stops the skid in front of the replica entrance. She pulls down the lever, so the ship is vertical again. "Digital key activated." She presses her hand against the scanner. The skid connects to the replica.
"Good work Aelita. I'll let you in" Jeremy informs her.
Jeremy gets the door open a few seconds later, the door slowly creaking. The ship enters inside and then they emerge into the ice sector replica. Aelita flies the ship upwards.
"Okay, no sign of any activated tower. There's a tower south south-west of your position. You can dock the skid there. I'm gonna teleport you with Odd" Jeremy tells Aelita.
"Gotcha."
A few moments later, the two arrive in Siberia, landing one by one. They open the door and Aelita peeks inside. It's empty, but still doesn't let her guard down. Odd steps in next.
"Jeremy, everything's cool, we're inside the base" Aelita reports to him.
"That's great, make it fast. Xana's bound to rear his ugly head pretty soon."
"Mhm," Odd gestures down the hallway. "After you, my princess!"
Aelita giggles and she leads the way to the supercomputer room.
A's Point of View
A landed in the ice sector replica and saw the skid dead ahead. Around her was three mantas. She activated her wings. "Let's go!" She took off towards the warriors for the final fight. She need to maintain the illusion she was still allied with Xana until this was over.
Aelita's Point of View
"We're coming into the main room. Wow! It's a lot more crowded than the last time we were here" Odd says.
"Why?" Jeremy asks Odd. "What do you see over there?"
"Jeremy…" Aelita speaks up. "There are dozens of robots in here. All lined up like an army waiting for orders."
"So that could be Xana's secret plan: to use an army or robots to enslave all of mankind!" He narrows his eyes, leaning back in his chair. "Get to the supercomputer room as fast as you can!"
"We're on our way," Aelita states as they walk on the catwalk above the army.
A's Point of View
A sees Ulrich heading towards him. She smirks in response. For her, Ulrich and William were the more worthy opponents, even if they were a little reckless.
Aelita's Point of View
Aelita and Odd head down the stairs. "Hi guys!" Odd greets the robots. They're so shiny that their reflection is showing. "They're not much on conversation, that's for sure." They came to the door. "Open up grandma! It's Little Red Riding Hood! Uh, pink that is." Aelita smiles in amusement.
"I'm working on the door" Jeremy gets to work. Aelita looks over her shoulder to examine the robots.
"It's scary looking at all those robots standing at attention" Aelita comments.
"It sure is," Odd stands in front of the door. "Hey! One of them just moved!"
"Where? Which one?" Aelita asks in alarm.
"Will you relax? I was just kidding!"
"Oh Dumbbell!" She turns around, crossing her arms.
"Hey! One of them just moved!"
"It's not funny this time either!"
"Only it's no joke this time!" The robots activate and stomp their feet as they move to the duo. "Uh Einstein? Tell us you found the right key because things are getting kind of weird around here!"
A's Point of View
As Ulrich approaches. He throws a saber at A. She uses her energy orb shield to block it, but the impact sends her down. She gets up and draws her sword. Ulrich comes to a stop and draws his twin blades.
Aelita's Point of View
The robots continue to approach. Odd protects Aelita.
"Shield!" Odd declares as the robots start to fire.
"Jeremy, hurry up! The robots are firing at us!" Aelita exclaims in panic.
"I'm almost there," he reports. "Hang on!"
The robots don't stop moving. "Easy for you to say!" Odd calls out. Aelita fires an energy field, disabling several of them. But more still approach.
Jeremy looks up with a smile. "I got it." The symbol changes from red to green.
"Laser arrow!"
"Energy field!"
Both of them attack the robots as the door opens behind them.
"Odd, let's go!" Aelita runs off., followed by Odd. "Jeremy, it's a nightmare!" Aelita exclaims as the robots continue to follow.
"Try to go to the supercomputer room. I'll see what the others are up to" Jeremy instructs as they come to a stop, looking around.
"This way!" Odd points to the right and Aelita follows.
A's Point of View
A is dueling with Ulrich and she sees the mantas getting cut down by Yumi and William. As the two clash swords, sparks fly. A jumps back to avoid the sword lock she was in, and Ulrich charges her. He elbows her and A goes flying into the lake. A still saw the light from above noticing she wasn't descending. She looked down to realize she was standing on a solid surface. She then noticed she was on top of the Kolossus. It started to rise and soon A saw the three from a bird's eye point of view.
"That's it, the Kolossus! That's why Xana was drawing energy from all the replicas!" Jeremy exclaims as the Kolossus rises.
Aelita's Point of View
Odd runs behind Aelita as they approach the supercomputer room. "That way!" Odd says as they run to the right. "Hurry Einstein, open the door!"
"Hang on, I've got an emergency on the replica."
The robots are only a few feet away. "Shield!" Odd says defending him and Aelita.
A's Point of View
A sees Ulrich jumps onto his arm and Yumi fly up to his head, attempting to destroy it. She throws a fan it at his head, dead on target, but it doesn't destroy the monster. A smirks, remembering this thing wasn't easy to defeat. The Kolossus continued to move towards the skid.
"Concentrate on A. I'll try to give you a hand with the Kolossus" Jeremy says. "I'm gonna launch my multi-agent program." There is a pause as A couldn't hear what Ulrich was saying. "No, but it should slow him down."
Suddenly the lake freezes and the Kolossus tries to destroy but is unable to, as well as can't move. "You may have stopped him, but I'm not so easy."
Aelita's Point of View
"Odd, Aelita, I'm back to you now" Jeremy announces to them.
"It's about time!" Odd exclaims.
"Open sesame." Jeremy unlocks the door.
"Come on Odd" Aelita urges him.
"No, get the data. It might be the only way to save A. I'll hold them off."
Aelita enters the room. "Aelita, there's a terminal next door," Jeremy instructs her. She runs past the supercomputer and enters the next room.
"Alright Jeremy, I'm there" Aelita tells him.
"Ok, enter into the supercomputer's memory banks. Look for anything to do with Xana."
A's Point of View
Ulrich reaches A. "Hey A, let's dance!" Ulrich says.
"It will be your last" A responds.
The two duel and trade blows. None of them make an advantage on the other. Eventually the two lock blades and have a death stare match as sparks fly from the blade lock. A forcefully pushes Ulrich back.
"Ulrich, be careful! If you lose to A, we might lose the skid!" Yumi warns him.
"Her skills are a little overpowered to mine. Right now, I'm fighting for my survival" Ulrich responds.
Aelita's Point of View
"Jeremy, I think I found something. A file that contains Xana's structure, like a code" Aelita says.
"Great. Send it to me."
A's Point of View
"Yumi, William, Ulrich, get ready to come home. We have what we need" Jeremy informs them.
Suddenly, the Kolossus breaks free and continues to head towards the skid. "Looks like your precious ship's time is limited now" A tells Ulrich.
"Yeah, but I'm taking you down from your throne" Ulrich charges A and the two fall to the ground in front of the Kolossus as it emerges from the water."
Aelita's Point of View
The doors open to reveal the robots. "Jeremy, the robots are here!" Aelita says.
"Just hold on for a moment. I almost have all that I need" Jeremy informs her.
A's Point of View
A activates her bracelet and flies away as Ulrich is crushed under the Kolossus. A then lands in perfect view to see the skid get destroyed.
Aelita's Point of View
Aelita looks at the screen and sees the data transfer was completed but she is also hit multiple times, ending her teleportation.
A's Point of View
A looks over, with not a face of victory, but disappointment. "Sorry, but Xana has to win."
She's shot in the back and disappears, because of Odd. "Maybe he will, but you won't" is the last thing she hears before ending back up in the volcano replica.
Aelita's Point of View
Aelita wakes up to see the skid teetering on the edge of the replica after being hit by the Kolossus. Aelita quickly created an energy orb and devirtualized herself before the skid falls into the digital sea. She then reappears in the scanner, safe and sound.
"It's okay Jeremy, Aelita's here with us" Yumi reports.
"Aelita…I was never so scared for my life" Jeremy says and she smirks.
"Lucky for me, I was devirtualized just before the skid was totally destroyed" Aelita tells them.
A's Point of View
A was back in the volcano replica as Xana appeared to her.
"You happy? You got what you wanted" A asks.
"Yes, but doomsday looms closer for me. I need you to head back to the Siberian base and reconstruct what we lost. I need a full army to bring humanity to its knees" Xana tells her.
A hesitated for a moment and then looked towards him. "No."
"What was that?"
"No. I don't have to listen to you anymore."
"I don't think you have a choice."
"It's YOU who doesn't have a choice. I have the power to control my destiny." A lifts her Lyoko band.
"You were playing me from the start, were you?"
"Oh yeah. From the moment you met me till now. You played right into my hands and my plan."
"You still won't win. I'm still in total control."
"Maybe that should be on your tombstone because Jeremy will soon finish his program and you'll suffer a painful death as all of your power drops. Shouldn't have tied yourself to those supercomputers, but too late to change that now."
"I'll just drop you into the digital sea and you'll be mine forever."
Aelita quickly opened her Lyoko door. "Not this time asshole." She stepped through and the door closed before Xana could capture her.
Aelita's Point of View
The group was in the lab, discussing how to go about fighting Xana now. Suddenly a flash of light appeared, and A stepped out. "Hey guys. Happy to see me?" She said in her normal, non-evil voice. All of them prepared to take her down in case this was another trap set by Xana. "Okay, I know what you're thinking, and no I'm not here for you. I'm back to help you take down Xana."
"Wait, you mean today was the day-" William started.
"Yes. Today marks the day you were freed from Xana's control. It came at the cost of the skid, but it didn't stop Jeremy from creating a multi-agent program to end him."
"With all the data Aelita collected for me, I should finish it" Jeremy says.
"How do you know we can trust you?" Ulrich asks.
"Yeah, you've been playing us from the start. Gaining trust, then stabbing us in the back. This last stunt of yours really took a toll on us" Odd adds.
"Ok, you want the full truth. And I'm serious this time. No lies, no gimmicks, no tricks." They all nodded. "I came here to prevent a horrible future from occurring. When Xana gets destroyed, a terrible event occurs that I prevented around when Xana obtained the keys to Lyoko. I was having a reoccurring nightmare about it. It tormented me, so I though if I erased the event, the nightmares would stop. But when I returned, I found myself in a living nightmare. Everything was lost and you guys disappeared. All hope was gone. I made it my mission to fix everything, but everything had to play out like it did in the past. So, I did the unthinkable, I made a deal with Xana. For the whole time Aelita was tied to Lyoko, I planned all that attacks."
"Everything we experienced-" Yumi starts.
"Was because of me. Your welcome, you two." A smiles at Yumi and Ulrich. The two turn away in embarrassment. A knows something that the others don't. "I'm actually the one who suggested Xana to take Aelita's memory to keep her tied to him. Those two figures you saw right before materialization was me and Xana. After that, I planned out all those missions and Scyphozoa encounters. I actually had access to a restricted area of sector five, Xana's lair."
"Xana was in sector five the whole time?!" Odd says.
"Yeah, right under your noses. It's why his influence was so powerful there as well as all his data. After his escape, he kinda ended our partnership, so that's why I allied with you until the core's destruction. I had to help William experience a good life without Xana."
"Where were you this entire time?" Aelita asks.
"After the core's destruction, I fell into the digital sea. Xana rescued me but kept me free from his influence. Probably due to all I've done for him. He probably considered me an ally rather than a threat. I was in some area called the volcano replica. It was kinda of a safe haven after a mission was failed or over. And we're here now."
"Is your mission over now?" Yumi asks.
"No, not till Xana is destroyed. And I guarantee he'll target me now."
"Why is that?" Ulrich asks.
"Let's say I didn't leave on good terms."
"Well, the next mission will be your most important. I'll finish the multi-agent program and then we'll hunt down Xana."
"I guess I'll be staying with you Jeremy, at least until I finish my mission."
The gang, fully reunited, retreated back to the academy.
A.N. – And the first big chapter of this season ends. Next time, A finishes her mission. What will happen? Find out next time! PM me with story ideas! Review with questions or comments! I will respond! As always, till next time! See ya! -lyokowarrior97