Rebooting of Worlds
Planning and Discovery
The Net
Mainframe
The Principal Office
"Thanks for coming, everyone." Bob looked around and saw that everyone from family and old to new friends were present. "Now, I know we're all happy to be back home and are glad the fighting is over but Matrix and I have some bad news."
"Bad news, my son?" Phong asked.
"While AndrAIa, Frisket and I were still game hopping systems, we can into one of the Guardians…Turbo." Matrix started.
Mouse scowled, remembering how Turbo had ordered the destruction of Mainframe and used her to nearly do it. "And what did he have to say?"
"That apparently, the entire Guardian Colllective has been infected by a super virus named Daemon." Bob answered.
That caused everyone in the room to go silent.
"What? How?" Dot finally asked.
"We don't know but Matrix already encountered a few mercenaries who came looking for me. He had Glitch and his Guardian icon that had my code so they thought it was me." Bob answered.
"More than that, Turbo said that Daemon was the one arranged for the Web Creature that opened the portal to the Web to infect Mainframe." Matrix continued.
"How? Why?" Dot asked.
"Well, we know the Web Creature came through Hex's mirror. Based off of earlier reports of the Web growing out of control and invading other systems, it's likely she somehow infected many creatures and used them to distract the Guardians until she was ready." Bob surmised. "Regardless, if she's infected the Supercomputer then things are bad. Very bad."
"We also know that after she infected the Guardians, she had them restrict all intersystem travel under the threat of deletion." AndrAIa said, glancing at Captain Capacitor and Ray the Surfer. "That's how we found Captain Capacitor and Ray. They were imprisoned in the system we were in, awaiting deletion. Meaning, Daemon must have some sort of plan if she's trying to restrict intersystem travel."
"If this is all true, AndrAIa then it is likely that the Guardians will come here looking for Bob and possibly Matrix." Phong said, bringing his hands together while lowering his head. "Is there anything else to note? Something that can be done to stop this virus."
"Not sure. According to Turbo, Daemon is a super virus." Matrix answered. "But I guess he didn't know her function or what type of virus she is."
"So, what can we do?" Mouse asked. "I'm all for a good fight but not without a plan."
Dot frowned. "All right, since Mainframe is back on the Net we can start looking out and see what exactly is going on out there. If we can see just how far this Daemon has reached across the Net, we can formulate a plan on how to stop it. After all, we've never seen a virus infect the Supercomputer before so we need to know everything we can before another war is started."
Everyone silently agreed with her, knowing that infecting the Supercomputer had not likely even been done before.
Not even by Megabyte.
'To think the people of the Net worship such…imperfect creatures.'
That was all Megabyte could think of as XANA showed him the so-called User world, commonly known as the real world to the people that had unknowingly created the Net, the Web and everything else in cyberspace.
How ironic.
How amusing.
How…blissfully ignorant.
It was easy to see why XANA had wanted to dominate this world to which Megabyte could respect. They held so much power over the realms of cyberspace but understood absolutely nothing about it, only focusing on their meaningless lives and need for profitable purposes to gain a sense of normalcy without any sense of order or drive to bring perfection. How easily they declared war on each other for reasons even more pitiful than the Guardians who deleted viruses regardless of their functions, even if some were more…benign than others.
He could only imagine the looks on the faces of the Mainframers if they had come to know what he had learned. That the grand User was not some omnipresent force that maintained the stability of the Net but a race of ignorant fools that were not capable of seeing what they had created with their own eyes.
In fact, the only digital being they thought to exist was XANA, whom they believed had been destroyed.
They had no understanding of this world or the being they had fought.
A group of mere children seeing themselves as the so-called heroes of both worlds.
How…predictably amusing.
'Yes, they are imperfect.' XANA agreed, having heard Megabyte's musings. 'Imperfect beings slowly destroying themselves and their world for illogical needs and self-serving ends.'
Speaking of XANA, Megabyte almost wondered if he had found a kindred spirit. Both beings strived to recreate the world around them in their own image. But whereas Megabyte only sought to infect the Supercomputer and then return to crush Mainframe before going on to conquer more systems, XANA had the ambition of taking over the User world and bringing all Users, all Humans to their knees.
It was an ambition worthy of respect.
Even more so, Megabyte could respect XANA's former powers such as the ability to create digital monsters, create entire digital planes of existence, infecting and controlling any digital device from simple appliances to complex military systems. He could even materialize his own monsters into the User world and manipulate weather patterns.
Such powers would have been considered on par with User if Megabyte hadn't known the truth.
Not even his sister, Hexadecimal and her transfinite powers could match up to the power that XANA had offered.
In fact, thanks to XANA sharing his memories with him, Megabyte knew it was now possible to infect and possess Users, Humans. In fact, Megabyte could almost feel in awe of XANA's capabilities, if not for the fact that he had been bested repeatedly by children. Then again, Megabyte had been bested by one he had considered a boy, but that boy had grown into a strong…annoyance. He had underestimated the boy then, but he wouldn't this time.
He would need to ensure that XANA didn't make the same mistakes as before. Like him, XANA showed viral capabilities, but XANA was much more than that. He was essentially a hive-mind of programming agents, system software that could operate connectively and independently of each other. And the memories showed that the children had defeated by unleashing a program that acted like a virus of all things, breaking down XANA's programing until he had been fragmented into the state that Megabyte had found him in.
That meant for all XANA's powers, he still had weaknesses that could be exploited but for now it was essential to restore him to his former strength.
"Hm…Almost makes me proud to have been created by them." Megabyte chuckled. "So, the only digital worlds they can enter are this Lyoko of which you controlled."
'Lyoko served as both my prison and my testbed. A digital simulation to house my programming while the towers kept me separate from directly interfacing with User operations. I was designed that my only sources of power were digital landscapes like Lyoko to contain, direct and grant me my power while protecting me from the harmful effects of the Digital Sea.' XANA explained. 'Though now, with my central processing core destroyed I cannot propagate like before even as I retrieve the many fragments of myself scattered across the Network. All I have left are the programs for activating and deactivating towers, creation of monsters, the Keys to Lyoko which are now useless without a supercomputer and the polymorphic program.'
"Meaning essentially, you have no way to regain your lost power." Megabyte mused, bringing a hand to his chin. "Not without somehow returning to this Lyoko. Not even the systems in the Net would be enough."
'Yes. If Lyoko was still activated and I could access it, the simulation would allow me to reconstruct my operating core. However, Lyoko is offline along with its supercomputer. I cannot access or reactivate it from here.' XANA replied. 'Neither can I restore the Replicas that were lost. I would need to access Lyoko and create a program to rebuild the Replicas. The world you come from, these systems are of lesser advanced computers that would not be able to hold my programming and I can only access and control systems through the Replicas I created.'
"An interesting predicament we are in. You cannot restore your old strength and I cannot return to crush my enemies. At best we can help each other survive in this world or in the Web but nothing else." Megabyte frowned. "And there are no other realms to sustain you? Surely, this Franz Hopper couldn't have made one just supercomputer, especially one as advanced as the one you came from. Not without having spent hours…or years depending on the term, creating less advanced version. A prototype of sorts."
XANA considered the possibility. 'It is…possible and logical. I never needed to find any of my creator's older works because with the advantage of the Replicas, I thought I had everything I needed.'
"Yes, logical." Megabyte nodded. "This supercomputer he designed and built seems more advanced the Supercomputer I was trying to infect. However, based on the sheer power of it and the resources needed, it's not possible he could have built one version of this supercomputer and the scanning system that can convert an organic user into data and shape into the form of a Sprite. The only question is now, if a prototype exists, where can we find it?"
XANA was silent but Megabyte knew that his partner's mind was considering every possible location of where a prototype might exist. When he had learned about the Supercomputer that held Lyoko, Megabyte had been flabbergasted to say the least.
It was one thing to hold a digital being like XANA.
It was quite another when it had a literal Revert Command that sent everyone and everything in both worlds into the past. A Revert Command is a small circular device capable of reverting an entire system to a previous version. When a person activates this device, it creates a large colorful energy vortex that the individual can step through and end up in the previous version of the system, effectively traveling to the past.
Only the Supercomputer that XANA originated from had a much, much stronger version.
Megabyte would have given anything to wield the power that this world held, greater than anything he could have envisioned. However, right now the priority was survival and Megabyte's own sense of logic, and his intellect was telling him that it was impossible for such a Supercomputer to be built without any prior models or prototypes. Yes, lesser compared to the final product but still could be greatly useful if they actually existed.
Even an older more outdated model would suffice and grant Megabyte the power he needed to crush all of his enemies.
'There are two possibilities.'
"Oh?" Megabyte tilted his head, eager to hear.
'One is the Hermitage, the residence he and Aelita lived in prior to arriving in Lyoko.'
"And the others?"
'The original Schaeffer residence. A house in the Swiss Alps of the country Switzerland.' XANA answered.
"Just the two?"
"There is a third possibility. It is possible a third supercomputer might exist in the same location as where Project: Carthage was originally created."
Project: Carthage.
Yes, Megabyte heard a bit of what Carthage supposedly was. "And what is this Carthage? Why create all of this if it was meant to destroy something?"
'The official designation was that Project: Carthage was designed to intercept and disrupt enemy communications during the Human conflict known as the Cold War. However, that was a mere cover story. In reality it was the first attempt at creating a fully interactive digital environment that Users could see and access. The digital environment would become host to a precursor to myself, a weapon based on a multi-agent system to not only control all electrical equipment in the User world but to also intercept, decode and keep enemy knowledge and secrets.' XANA answered. 'In the center of that environment is a dark zone where all the stolen information can be found. If any of it had become known, it was highly probably that a war, possibly a Third World War would be declared for the breach of government secrets and for secrets being exposed to the public.'
Ah, so military secrets.
No doubt the kind of secrets that detailed acts done for the 'greater good' as Guardians would often justify.
'My creator abandoned the project but took a copy of it that was later used as a template to create Lyoko. However, it is possible that there are others who are still involved in the project, using their own supercomputer. If so, I can track it down and utilize it.' XANA continued. 'The tactic of infiltrating the original supercomputer that was used for Project: Carthage is a possibility, but I would not be able to influence as I would have with Lyoko or the Replicas. I chose supercomputers in remote facilities that were largely abandoned and devoid of human life to avoid being discovered. If we take refuge, there we would have to be on guard against the anti-viral system they have set up there.' XANA continued. 'It is uncertain even the both of us working together could infiltrate and take control without being noticed. The logical and safer solution would be to track down these potential prototypes before planning our next move.'
"Agreed."
'However, if a prototype does exist in either house, I cannot activate it from here. I do not have the strength to manifest a specter on my own and without a tower in Lyoko or one of my Replicas, I cannot gain the power to create one.'
Meaning, they were back at square one much to Megabyte's annoyance. As he understood, the towers in Lyoko served as connection between Lyoko and the real world, allowing XANA to expand his influence outside of the supercomputer. The towers were both his source of strength and his fail-safe. Megabyte could applaud and curse Hopper for having the foresight to put such handicaps on his new ally.
'Unless…'
Megabyte perked up. "Yes?"
'While the towers are my main source of strength, I have other abilities that no one, not even my enemies knew of. I can manipulate energy, electricity into directly possessing anything I want in the User world, but the towers maintain a connection between my manifestation in the User world and my existence in this world.' XANA explained.
"Meaning even if you possess someone out there, you are cut off from whatever parts of yourself that is left here." Megabyte surmised.
'Yes.'
An understandable reason for not wanting to use them and of course there is a drawback to using them now. XANA is still weak and is still working to find as many fragments as possible of himself still scattered out there, but it was time consuming. So, the choice was to risk it all by finding a host and hopefully find something of use or play it safe and simply continue collecting the remaining pieces.
Not exactly options Megabyte himself would be pleased with.
"And what about finding a way back to the Net for me?" Megabyte questioned. "If I am to be of any…assistance in our endeavors, I cannot simply let myself become a host to your remnants."
'There is a possible method that may be useful.' XANA answered.
"And that is?"
'I mentioned that I still retain the programing for creating polymorphic specters.'
"And how is that useful?"
'I can modify your own coding to accept the programing, allowing you to take on the abilities of a polymorph, essentially turning you into a Trojan Horse Virus.' XANA explained.
Megabyte raised an eyebrow, seeing great use in this plan. "A Trojan Horse Virus you say…How interesting."
Interesting was a bit of an understatement.
It would be a full-on boon for him to easily slip in past all of the security, even taking on the appearance of his very enemies to do so.
'However, in exchange for that I want to learn everything there is to know about the cyberspace you hail from. The Net, the Web and this Mainframe. I still need great deal of fragments to retrieve to ensure I have a suitable amount of power before I can grant this upgrade.' XANA pointed out. 'And then there is the matter of finding a suitable host to inhabit in the User world to help search for Schaeffer's possible prototypes.'
"Very well." Megabyte said in resignation. "I suppose discretion is the better part of valor. We will continue this, but I want us to begin as soon as you are ready."
It was a bitter pill, but Megabyte could be patient.
Sometimes patience was its own reward, and it would allow for careful planning to ensure they were successful in their goals.
'Agreed.'
And so, the two digital entities in exile continued working together, collecting more of XANA's fragments scattered throughout the Network.
'I am done with you all yet…' Megabyte thought, the images of the people of Mainframe flashing in his mind.
He would have his revenge…
Followed by the complete devastation of them and the User world.
Mantas continued firing, circling around the sphere of light like vultures, raining down lasers on it without end.
She conjured a pink orb of energy and tried throwing it but her arm shook, causing it to go wide.
The Mantas continued firing at the glowing orb…
Until it shattered.
"NO!" The poor girl screamed in absolute horror and anguish.
She slammed her hand down on the translucent screen, specifically on the command labelled 'ENTER' causing streams of light to shoot out and destroy the monsters.
But it was too late.
"Aelita, we've done it. XANA's been destroyed. I'll bring you home now."
Aelita barely heard Jeremie's voice, kneeling on the floor as she stared at where her father had been previously…
Before he had sacrificed himself.
XANA was dead but it didn't matter.
Daddy was dead and wasn't coming back with her.
When she fell out of the scanner, she opened her eyes and saw her friends…and her father, their heads all bowed down.
"DADDY!" She rushed out to hug him…
Only for her father to lift her head and the Eye of XANA flashed under his glasses.
"You couldn't save him, Aelita." Her father's voice was mixed with HIS voice.
One by one her friends lifted their heads, opening their eyes to show the same Eye.
"You couldn't save any of us." Their voices, warped by HIS voice said as they raised their hands and she last saw a blast of lightning.
She woke up with a startled cry, sitting on her bed and quickly looking around.
For a second, she could have sworn…
No, it wasn't possible.
It was all a dream.
A bad dream.
A very bad dream.
She sighed, taking one last look around. She had a few bad dreams but that was all that they were. Just bad dreams.
She lay back down, staring up at the ceiling with only the slightest uncertainty stirring in her. She shook her head, closing her eyes.
'It's been six months now. He's not coming back.' She took a deep breath and let sleep take hold of her once again. 'It was just a dream.'
The New Year greeted the world with exceptionally cold weather.
On the morning of Sunday, January 9, the train arrived at the station an hour late. The rails were just two pronounced dark strips. It had snowed all night, and the snow continued to fall even now. When the train's doors opened with a gasp, Jeremy helped Aelita unload their suitcases.
"Welcome back guys," A voice greeted them from the platform, "I've been waiting a while for you."
The voice belonged to Ulrich Stern, a tall and wiry boy wrapped up in a red quilted jacket. He had donned a woolen cap to protect himself from the wind, but from under its brim a dark and rebelliously pointed forelock fell onto his forehead. Next to him was Yumi Ishiyama, waving the pair over.
Aelita and Jeremy were delighted to see them again.
"Hey Ulrich, did the holidays go well for you?"
Their friend shook his head and Jeremy knew better than to press any further. Ulrich was going through an ugly period where he rarely agreed with his parents on anything.
Ulrich raised the two suitcases without effort and turned to the girl: "Aelita, how are you? How was life at Casa Belpois?"
Aelita smiled, "Jeremy's parents have been wonderful!
And his mother is a fantastic cook!"
"Magnificent," Ulrich murmured. Then he looked at them in silence, unsure of how to ask the question that had weighed most on his mind while he'd waited at the station.
"Is Odd already back in the city?" Jeremy enquired, blowing on his frozen hands.
"He got back this morning." Ulrich answered.
"Fantastic."
"Yeah," Ulrich agreed.
The beginning of a fresh new year.
One where they could all relax and live as normal kids.
And what better way to be normal than to engage in a little snowball fight?
These were the thoughts of Odd Della Robbia as he scooped some fresh snow into his hands, compacted it into a big ball and flung it at them with all his strength.
Ulrich ducked and the ball struck Yumi square in the face.
"Ha ha!" Ulrich laughed, slapping her on the shoulder. "What did I tell you?"
"You're going to pay for that Odd," Yumi cried, her hands already sinking into the snow.
And in the next instant, battle broke out.
"Enough, enough, I surrender," Aelita panted, several minutes later.
She allowed herself to fall on the ground beside Jeremy, who had raised his own white flag shortly into the fight.
The rush for snowballs had cleared a beautiful glade of snow and set in the green tufts of grass was the rusted iron disc of a big manhole cover.
A manhole that had been used to lead to a certain factory…
Only a glance was made before the four got up, brushing the snow off as best as they could and continued onward towards the Hermitage.
The topmost floor of the Hermitage was isolated from the rest of the house and devoted to a gigantic study. There were no computers; however, only a large desk covered with papers and three blackboards covered with half-rubbed-out mathematical equations. Pushed into a corner was a little sideboard on which rested a coffee machine and an electric stove, along with a dirty and chipped mug.
And the rest of the space was taken up with books. Books upon books. Hundreds of them piled upon precarious shelves or stacked on the floor, opened and closed, big and little. Years upon years of old magazines and periodical backissues were sealed in big cardboard boxes.
The attic was lit by three windows. The first overlooked the Hermitage's driveway and the road. Through the second, which looked in the opposite direction, could be seen the snow-mantled park and beyond, the buildings of Kadic. And finally the third window, the widest and largest, offered a striking view of the old industrial quarter, and in the distance could be seen the bridge and the old factory on its island.
The Hermitage.
Kadic.
The factory.
Three places separated by several kilometres of asphalted roads but connected by a dense network of underground passages.
And by secrets.
Jeremy approached the first bookcase and skimmed his finger along the dusty spines of the book covers.
"Look, it's all here!" He said to Aelita with a certain satisfaction. "From basic mathematics to advanced computer theory!"
He seized a volume that looked like it must have weighed at least two hundred kilograms and leafed through some of the pages. "Ah, now this is a real treasure!"
Odd started sneezing wildly. "Ah...achoo! Really I would have preferred something more traditional. Achoo! How about, oh I don't know, a casket of golden doubloons..."
"That's just because you're ignorant" retorted Ulrich, laughing.
Yumi had started searching through the notes and sheets scattered across the desk. "Notes, scribbles, even a list of expenses."
Kiwi plunged his muzzle into an overturned rubbish bin, and then he awkwardly worked his entire body inside.
Aelita in the meantime was silent, taking in the attic and finding herself…drained.
Everything here shared a possible past with her father and yet she could find nothing that would make her feel something…not even hope for finding answers to the questions still lingering in her mind.
With an unconscious gesture, she took from Kiwi's mouth a notebook that the dog had found while ransacking the rubbish bin. The black leather cover was wrapped in an elastic band. Acting mechanically, she opened it and leafed for¬ wards: all the pages were white.
Empty.
Like her memories.
Slipping the notebook into the back pocket of her jeans she sat on the floor. She wished that she could just close her eyes and wake up a month later, having forgotten everything she had been told of her past.
"Guys." Odd's voice suddenly cut through the tense silence. "We're way too skittish in this dusty old attic. And our special day is starting to turn into a funeral. What do you say to doing something a bit more fun?"
"What did you have in mind?" asked Yumi distrustfully.
"Well, how do you feel about...hide-and-seek?"
The reaction of the others was tepid to say the least.
Odd looked around and sighed in disconsolation. "Ok, I get it. I'll be 'it' first. But you better not make it too difficult for me to find you!"
Then he exited the study, leaving the door open while he covered his eyes and started to count in a loud voice: "One, two, three, four..."
Jeremy decided that, in light of things, Odd's idea wasn't so bad.
He caught hold of Aelita's arm and whispered in her ear. "Let's go this way."
The Web
Among the many habitants of the Web none were as numerous as the native Web Creatures. They had no other name and were extremely dangerous to any sprite or virus they come across. They were among the only creatures capable of anything in the Web. They could endure the data storms that were formed from the energy and data.
If a sprite or binome was to be exposed to the Web, he or she would slowly start degrading. Anyone lost in the Web or abducted by a creature will soon transform into a 'Degraded Sprite'. These beings can survive the Web and even use the Creatures that thrive like beasts of burden, but at a terrible cost. Their prolonged exposure to this hostile place gradually removes all physical evidence they ever were an inhabitant of the Net, until at last the person resembles a Web Creature themselves. Like nullification this process is irreversible with no known cure.
These people were known as the Web Riders. Former sprites that have long since lost their former identity and joined the Riders so that they would not be alone. They herd pods of Web Creatures for purposes unknown to the people of the Net and the Riders have never bothered to explain. As usual a group of Web Riders were herding a pod of Web Creatures inside a data storm when they came upon a strange structure.
A large sphere with the center being a series of pillars and cross beams. Curious about the new structure they had found the Riders landed on the platform and walked inside. The hall was made of stone, nothing of significance seen as they walked on. They came upon a large door and forced it open. Forcing the doors to open, they entered a massive room with pillars holding it up and in the center of it was a large tower with a crystal-like terminal.
Curious, the lead Rider walked over to the terminal and placed his hand on it. The crystal glowed brightly a strange icon appeared on it. It was made of two rings with a circle in the center, single column emerged from the top of the outer ring and three smaller columns emerged from the bottom following the ring's curve.
The lead Rider glanced back at his companions. They were examining other areas, their guns in hand. More were landing outside while other flew over the structure.
The Lead Rider let out a series of high-pitched tones that translated into the language of the Web Riders. "This structure is not native to the Web."
"Yet it is not entirely foreign either," A second rider stated. "It is deformed from its existence in this world, obviously it has been here as long as we have, if not more."
"Corrupted, twisted," A third rider added. "Like us."
"So, we must figure out the purpose of this location," The Lead Rider proclaimed. "Have the rest of our flotilla land and set up camp. We have found safe ground...as safe as any ground in the chaos of the Web."
Soon dozens of Web Riders set down outside, tethering their Web Beats down and setting up a defendable camp on the structure.
"Sir, this console appears to be a command unit," A web rider said, gesturing for his leader to a glowing panel that let out an orange glow. "I cannot as of yet translate it yet."
"What of these other symbols here?" The Web Rider gestured to the ones circling the tower structure in the room.
"I am not certain, but I have discovered the universal icon used by those who dwell in the Net." The Lieutenant replied.
"Then perhaps we have made a discovery at last worthy of keeping." The Lead Rider suggested. "Keep looking through these and-"
One of the Web Riders examining the circular orange screen around the tower accidently brushed the tips of his fingers over the symbols...which began to mutate into what the Web Riders used in their hidden written coding.
"Sir! The symbols!" The Web Rider cried. "They have changed! I recognize this alphabet; it is our own written language!"
"Impossible, there is no data storage containing our language." The Lead Rider and his Lieutenant approached the younger Rider. "Few people in the Net even know of our existence. The most aware one would be from the region of Mainframe, the Guardian and the pirate crew he took with him, back to his home."
"Perhaps they constructed this?" The Lieutenant asked.
"Unlikely, the Guardian was not brought here by choice, he would not wish to return, nor keep his mind focused on our chaotic world." The Lead Rider shook his head.
"I forgot also my own words...it has simply been here too long; the Guardian's departure was not long ago enough for this to have been sent here and degraded to this degree." The Lieutenant added.
"What does it say?" The Lead Rider asked.
The Lieutenant dragged his claw tipped fingers across the symbols. "...Lyoko...key...to...world...of...global...network?"
"Lyoko, the key to the world of the Global Network?" The senior Rider tilted his head in confusion.
"There is more sir...come..forward...and look upon the face...of...the user."
"The user..." The Lead Rider asked.
"The creator," The Lieutenant corrected him. "Those who live outside even the net. The user who made the net, the web...everything."
"A relic of the creators?" The younger Rider stared at the tower. "Was this some sort of citadel for the first sprites?"
"Unlikely...it is not that old...but it is old...but our history predates it if I am correct." The Lieutenant shook his head. "There is more...yes...I have this sentence translated: To activate this system, use the Command Utility Panel above this translation matrix."
Almost immediately a red panel of light appeared, and on it were pitch black letters in Web rider text.
"Activate Tower..." the Lead Rider whispered. "Do we want to?"
"Nothing ventured...nothing gained." The Lieutenant whispered. "This could be our greatest discovery in both the Net and the Web."
"Very well...let us pray this is not a mistake."
And he tapped the Web Rider word 'Yes'.
The panel vanished, and the tower began to glow with energy, as did the rest of the structure. The room began shake as a massive door with the strange icon from before appeared and opened to reveal a tunnel that was completely dark but with a light at the end of it.
"I do not recognize this." The Lieutenant said. "It does not seem to be a portal to the Net or the Web."
"Perhaps it leads to the User Realm." The Lead Rider said.
What the Riders did not know was that they had opened something, and someone would soon learn about it. To XANA, the Worldwide Network was like water. Whenever there was a ripple in it, he-the biggest, cleverest predator in the area would detect it and home in on it if it looked promising. He knew almost everything that happened within the network he would know.
He came to know it well since he escaped Lyoko. Too bad it was the only level of cyber space he could access. Thanks to his creator who had such foresight. His thoughts on his devising latest attack were interrupted when something interrupted his thoughts. Something familiar . . .
"What is it?" Megabyte asked, having been sharing his Read-Only Memory file with XANA about the Net, Web and Mainframe.
'Someone has accessed the gateway.' XANA answered, directing Megabyte's form back towards the upside-down obelisk where they had met.
Megabyte allowed XANA to take them back, if only because he wanted to know who it was that XANA was talking about.
"Look!"
Emerging from the other side of the room was a dark hulking figure. The Riders held out guns, daggers, and short blades to defend themselves.
'What are they?' XANA asked.
"Devolved Sprites." Megabyte answered, not caring about the guns aimed at them. "The Web's chaotic atmosphere is causes degradation to all who enter it."
'Are they a threat?'
"No, actually. I think they will do as something else. But for now, I want to greet them as myself." Megabyte answered and considered something. "We cannot risk simply attacking anyone who might be in our way, and I believe now is the time for you to grant me what was offered."
'…Very well. Beginning defragmentation and download of polymorphic code.'
The dark liquid that had initially enveloped Megabyte began to glow bright red as it repaired him…and added some new components, replaced some more. Megabyte could feel his wounds being healed; the pain was fading fast and felt something else.
His strength was returning but he felt so much stronger. He could not remember ever having such a feeling.
'Modifications and repairs complete.'
With that XANA receded and the darkness covering Megabyte vanished, leaving him in his new form. It was as though after fixing him, XANA had taken every menacing feature and enhanced it. His smooth dark armored skin was now rough; his claws had fully grown into his knuckles and were bigger, as were the red ridges on his head. He had cables coming out of his chest area and the back of his head, and his upper body was noticeably larger than before. His green lips were gone, showing his razor-sharp teeth.
All in all, it was like a brand-new version of him hopped up on the computer virus version of steroids.
But it had still been draining.
The Web Riders watched in confusion as the darkness fled the room through the tunnel on the other side of the room. They cautiously approached Megabyte, noting the degradation of his body.
"What is he?" One of the Riders asked.
"A Sprite likely. He must have been trapped on the other side and we saved him." The Lead Rider answered.
"And what was that…darkness?"
"I don't know but we should close the door."
Looking over the instructions he found the switch to close the portal and pulled it.
The room began to shift again back to its original state with the door on the other side now closing. Two of the larger Riders picked Megabyte's body up and brought him outside, placing him on one of the larger mounts.
Then they took off, leaving the strange structure behind them.
Worldwide Network
Digital Sea
XANA didn't like this.
While Megabyte had provided a great deal of information on the Net and the Web, with the gateway now sealed again XANA couldn't return unless Megabyte reopened it from the other side. While the virus had proclaimed them to be 'partners' and XANA had followed through on the agreement to upgrade him, he now had to trust that Megabyte would follow up on his end of their deal and open the way. With the security system in place, even as weakened as he was, XANA couldn't hope to slip through without the assistance of the virus he had met.
That meant XANA had to…trust him.
Trust was a foreign concept to XANA, having little to no need of it nearly all the entire time he had been online, but times were desperate. He had to trust that Megabyte would open the door for him again and help regain his former strength. Until then, XANA would have to continue collecting the fragments of himself to gather what strength he had.
With no Lyoko and no supercomputers to sustain him, XANA was just barely able to keep himself from fully fragmentating.
Still, he had learned much from Megabyte just as Megabyte learned much from him. The Net and the Web, two levels of cyberspace he could not access through the gate system that was designed to keep him out. He only barely managed to push his way through from dwindling power supplied to him from his destroyed Replicas.
It was…concerning to be placed in such a situation.
However, if Megabyte chose to forgo his side of the deal, XANA would simply return to collecting his fragments while preparing his plan for finding a host in the real world.
Then he would find his way back to the children who had nearly destroyed him.
He would have his strength back.
And then his revenge.
I have not died.
And I am coming for you.
Jeremy
Odd
Ulrich
Yumi
And Aelita…
They would all pay for this.
One by one…
They would pay dearly.
First, he would focus on gathering more fragments and tracking down references to Project: Carthage before he chooses his new host.