Chapter 21 Killer Music
A.N. – Ok, for starters, let me just say that the reason this story went on a hiatus is because I got sick with flu. I am much better now, but it's time to go back to the grind, so let's begin!
Disclaimer – I do not own Code Lyoko, the plot, or the story idea. I am just a fan of the show, the plot is owned by the creators, and the story idea was submitted by LittleRedRebel.
Odd and Ulrich are in their room. Ulrich is in the middle of studying while Odd dances around the place, headphones over his ears. He's yelling the tune of a new song. Ulrich turns to him. "Hey Odd, if you don't mind, I'm…trying to study!" Ulrich turns back to his work, trying to concentrate. Odd suddenly appears next to him, yelling in his ear. Ulrich gives a frustrated look, standing up. "Cut that out! Maybe you forgot, but we've got a test tomorrow. So stop!"
"I didn't hear what you said, repeat?" Odd takes off the headphones.
"I said I want to study Odd!" Ulrich shouts, placing his hands on his hips.
"What's the sense of you studying? Whatever you do, you're still gonna get a zero in Physics, so why not listen to what I downloaded from the web?" Ulrich just walks back to his desk. "Come on, listen to it. It sure beats studying!" Ulrich growls slightly. "It's cool music and nobody knows who wrote it either! It's an mp3 file. And it's free, it's a packrat revolution!"
"You want a revolution? Okay, I'll give you one," Ulrich starts to sound annoyed. "You don't think of anyone but yourself! And I'm fed up!" He takes his things and leaves.
"Hey, where are you going?" Odd takes off his headphones.
"To Jeremy's room! At least he knows you need peace and quiet when you're studying! He's not like you, selfish!" He slams the door, Odd starting at it before sitting down on the bed. Kiwi sits on his lap.
"Don't worry Kiwi. He'll get over it." He scratches Kiwi's belly slightly before lying down on the bed. "So glad when you're bad" he sings, relaxing. He sings to himself.
In Jeremy's room, he's making adjustments to a robot. He hums to himself before someone knocks on his door. He opens it to see Ulrich. "Ulrich. Uh, what's the matter?"
"Odd and his music are driving me nuts" Ulrich explains.
"You're not into heavy metal, pop folk?" Jeremy rubs his chin.
"Not while I have to study for an exam. Is it okay if I study in your room?" Ulrich asks.
"Sure. I can even give you some help if you want" Jeremy suggests.
"I could sure use some" Jeremy leads him into his room.
Odd continues to dance to the music alone, shaking Kiwi in his hands slightly. He smiles widely before placing Kiwi down. He sings as he jumps onto his bed. Suddenly, he stops, a wide smile on his face. It seemed as if the music was hurting him. He falls onto the bed, unconscious with his eyes wide open…his hand drops and Kiwi barks in worry, trying to wake him up. He starts barking for help.
The next morning, Ulrich is sleeping on Jeremy's floor. He didn't return to his room last night, so he doesn't know about Odd. "Time to get up Ulrich" Jeremy shakes his shoulder.
"Too tired…"
"Do I have to remind you; you have a test this morning?" Jeremy puts on his blue shirt.
"I didn't get a lot of sleep" Ulrich rubs his eyes.
"How come?" Jeremy wonders. Ulrich walks over to him, rubbing his head.
"Well, I'll tell you how come. 'Oh Aelita. Oh Aelita, you're in my dreams. I can't wait until-"
"Shh, she'll hear you" Jeremy covers his mouth, blushing as he turns to the computer. Luckily for him, Aelita was not there.
"Between you and Odd, I can't study or sleep" Ulrich comments, Jeremy hanging his head in slight embarrassment.
"Hey, you're not gonna…tell anybody, huh?" He wonders, still blushing.
"Promise Romeo" Ulrich places a hand on his shoulder and the genius smiles gratefully.
"Let's get some breakfast" Jeremy suggests, but Ulrich didn't look too happy to hear that.
"Okay, but not with Odd. He made me so mad last night!"
"Whatever you say." Ulrich puts on his jacket and ties his shoes, leaving with Jeremy. He stares at the computer, thinking about what Aelita could be doing. He closes the door. On Lyoko, Aelita is sitting in a way tower, forest sector. She watches the screen in front of her in interest as she learns more about Earth and what it has to offer.
"Have you finished the layout?" Milly asks Tamiya at breakfast.
"Yeah, sure."
Ulrich sips his drink, and Jeremy couldn't help notice that Odd hasn't contacted them or shown up. "How come Odd's still not here?"
"I couldn't care less" Ulrich states.
"Mind filling me in?" Nadia asks Jeremy.
"Odd's antics infuriated Ulrich" Jeremy responds.
"Ah, normal then."
"Yeah, except this time, he pushed the limit" Ulrich said, still sounding mad.
Herb, Sissi, and Nicolas pass by, with Sissi listening to the same song.
"What's the song's name?" Nicolas wonders.
"The title is 'Glad When You're Bad'. I honestly can't believe how unhip you guys are. You're a couple of real losers. You oughta go out once in a while."
"Well, fill us in, Sissi. Is it R ?" She groans in frustration, walking away.
"Odd oughta be here. Maybe he didn't wake up" Jeremy suggests.
"Forget about it, it's his problem" Ulrich narrows his eyes.
"Ulrich, you can't avoid Odd forever. Whether you consider him a friend or not, he's still a Lyoko Warrior" Nadia reminds him. Ulrich just responds with silence, knowing she's right.
The bell rings for class and Yumi walks onto campus. "Hi," she walks up to them. "Odd isn't here?"
"Hmm" Ulrich turns to Nadia and Jeremy.
"No, and I'm beginning to worry" Jeremy explains.
"Did you check in his room?" Yumi suggests.
"No, but we are, and YOU," Nadia said, pointing at Ulrich. "Have no word in this decision."
"But we'll be late for the exam" Ulrich responds, not wanting to go back to his room.
"Not if we hurry" Jeremy says.
"Keep me posted, okay?" Yumi calls out, Jeremy humming in agreement.
"He's sang that dumb song over and over," Ulrich complains. They open the door to see Odd on the bed. "Look, now he's fast asleep."
"Let's just wake him up," Jeremy walks up to Odd. "Hey Odd, get up, will ya? Hey."
"If this is a joke, it's a bad one. We're gonna be late" Ulrich states as Jeremy shakes Odd.
"I know Odd likes to sleep, but not this deep. Something's very wrong" Nadia points out.
"Yeah, this isn't a joke" Jeremy adds, and Ulrich closes his eyes.
Yolonda looks over Odd in the infirmary.
"Odd. Odd, can you hear me?" The principal walks in. "Call the hospital." The three look over Odd. "And tell them it's very, very urgent." Yolonda looks over Odd's blood temperature. "His blood pressure and his heartbeat are slow. I don't understand."
"And if we add up the resistance in a continuous circuit, the intensity of the current diminishes. In a derivative circuit, however, the current produced by the generator is equal to the sum of the intensities in the derivative circuit branches." Yumi gets a message.
"Odd?"
"This gives us the following equation y equals-"
"Sorry Ms. Hertz. It's…it's Odd. He…" Yumi opens the door.
"Yumi," she leaves to the others confusion. "Alright, settle down."
They watch as Odd is taken away on a stretcher. Yumi runs up to Ulrich and Jeremy as they watch the scene.
"What's the matter with him? Is it serious? Well, is it?"
"His heart's beating very slowly" Jeremy explains.
"Xana" Yumi says.
"Very unlikely" Nadia responds.
"Xana's not capable of attacking human beings directly" Jeremy shakes his head.
"If only I'd stayed with him last night, this wouldn't have happened," Ulrich says in guilt. "We had a big fight, and I slept in Jeremy's room."
"How could you have known that?" Yumi places her hands on his shoulders.
"I'm staying with him!" Ulrich runs up to the ambulance.
"I'm sorry Ulrich, but I can't permit you to leave the school grounds" the principal stops him.
"I don't care. I can't let him be taken away like this" Ulrich shakes his head.
"Alright, you can go" the principal steps away.
"I wanna go with him too" Jeremy voices.
"Me as well" Nadia adds.
"Are you crazy?" Yumi bends down to Jeremy. "What if Xana launches an attack?"
"We'll stay in contact. Call me if there's the slightest problem" Jeremy explains, climbing inside. They close the ambulance doors, and they leave, Yumi staring after them. She was going to do this for Odd.
At the hospital, Ulrich is still feeling guilty. "Ulrich, stop. You're not to blame" Jeremy states.
"No, it's all my fault" Ulrich hangs his head.
Nadia walks up to him. "Listen to me. I know you feel guilty, but you have nothing to be responsible for."
"She's right. Even if you'd been there, you couldn't have changed anything," Jeremy replies. "I'll go get us a soda. It'll do us all good."
"I'm gonna go see Odd. I'll see you in his room" Jeremy walks away, as Ulrich and Nadia head towards Odd's room. Jeremy enters a janitor's closet. Doctors are talking about two more similar cases. Jeremy turn son his laptop. He types on his computer to see if Aelita would answer him. "Aelita? Aelita?"
She looks up, standing to her feet. "Jeremy, how's everything going?" She appears on his screen.
"Not good. Odd's in a coma, it's really weird. His heart has almost stopped beating!" He explains.
"Bizarre…do you think Xana is capable of creating a disease?" She wonders.
"I can't believe he was actually able to attack humans directly" he voices.
"Looks like he might have found a way" she states.
"Anyway, I'd better warn Ulrich, Nadia, and Yumi. Meanwhile, see if you feel any pulsations" he says.
"Okay" she logs off and Jeremy shuts his laptop. Aelita gets right to work, logging off the interface in the tower. In Odd's room, his condition has seemed to get worse. Aelita holds out her arms, letting herself fall to get to the other tower. She lands on the pad, stepping out slowly into the mountains. She starts running for clues.
At school, Yumi has just finished her class, calling Jeremy for any updates. Sissi walks right past her but looks like she's in a daze.
"Sissi? Are you okay?" Sissi falls unconscious. "Sissi! Hey Sissi!" Her face is blank. "Oh no." Yumi eyes the headphones and takes them off Sissi. As soon as she starts listening to it, it makes her feel dizzy. She snaps herself out of it, looking at her headphones. This was definitely Xana. And she had to call Jeremy…now.
Ulrich looks down at Odd. Jeremy comes in and walks up to them.
"I just spoke to Aelita. She's gonna try and see if Xana is the cause of our problem," he explains, putting a hand on both of Ulrich's shoulders. "If he did this, I can't figure out how. What I do know is that going to Lyoko is the only way to save him, so let's go."
"We'll get you out of this. I swear we will" Ulrich says before leaving with Jeremy and Nadia.
On Lyoko, Aelita feels pulsations as she sits on a rock. "Oh no. Xana's activated a tower."
Nadia, Ulrich, and Jeremy run as Jeremy's phone rings. "Hey Jeremy, how's Odd?" Yumi asks as she drags Sissi to the infirmary.
"His heart is getting weaker and weaker" he reports.
"Sissi's got the same symptoms. It's spreading" she explains.
"And it could be an epidemic started by Xana!" Jeremy finishes.
"Did you reach Aelita?" She wonders.
"Yeah, I did. Get over to the factory fast!"
Yolonda turns on the radio, smiling to herself. There's suddenly a knock on her door and she opens it. "Oh no, Sissi! This way," she leads Yumi inside. "Here, set her down gently." Xana starts to infect the radio, playing the music. Yumi starts to get dizzy, covering her ears.
"Oh no, my head! That horrible song! Yolonda!" She sees the nurse on the floor. "The music, it's definitely the music!"
"Connecting. Connecting" Jeremy, Nadia, and Ulrich have made it to the lab.
"Aelita, we're in the lab" he reports.
"Better hurry, the pulsations are getting stronger. The activated tower can't be too far away" she says.
"Any monsters around?" He questions, because if there was, he would want her to be safe.
"No, not yet" she shakes her head.
"Ulrich and Nadia are coming soon, stay where you are" he orders.
"Okay, I'll wait here" she agrees, logging off.
"Yumi" he gets the call from the computer.
"Jeremy, it's the song that's causing it!" She explains frantically.
"What do you mean, the song? I don't understand" he says in confusion.
"It's 'Glad When You're Bad'" she starts heading over to the park.
"Oh no, I think that's the song Odd downloaded from the web yesterday" Ulrich explains to Jeremy.
"Not only does Xana have the internet, but he also has the radio waves at his disposal as well. The whole world can be infected" Nadia adds.
"Xana is using the media for maximum coverage," Jeremy realizes. "He's formatted the song, and now he's spreading it all over. A deadly melody…" Jeremy murmurs, as Yumi arrives at the passage.
"Considering what it's done to Odd, we'd better deactivate the tower. Send Yumi as soon as she get here" Ulrich states.
Ulrich and Nadia run into the scanner room from the elevator, Jeremy starting up the procedure. Ulrich and Nadia's ID cards appear as Jeremy furrows his eyebrows. "I'll send you north to the mountains." Ulrich and Nadia both step in. "Transfer Ulrich. Transfer Nadia." They both close their eyes. "Scanner Ulrich. Scanner Nadia. Virtualization."
Ulrich and Nadia appear in the mountain sector, landing safely on the plateau. He stands up as he looks around, Aelita running up to him from a pathway. "Ulrich! Nadia!"
"We've gotta get to the activated tower fast" he explains, and Aelita points forward.
"Look, it's there. You see?" Pulsations lead to the right.
Aelita, Ulrich, and Nadia run together, following the pulsations, Ulrich and Nadia run in front of Aelita in case the monsters show up. The closer they got to the tower, the higher chance of Xana sending something to stop them. They stop when they're faced with two split paths.
"Okay" Ulrich says.
"We're at the tower. There it is" Aelita points to a straight path, the tower sitting on a rock between a gap.
Yumi skates through the sewers as Jeremy watches a report about the epidemic. "This morning we've been swamped with calls warning us of a mysterious epidemic. For an update, let's go to our reporter Bill Amster, who's on the scene. Bill?"
"Thank you. As soon as news on the first cases were announced, I went into the neighborhood and things here are dramatic to say the least. For now, it seems that the authorities can't quote a figure on the number of people who have actually been stricken by the illness," Xana's spell has also infected the city as well. "The victim seems to be under the spell of the disease whose origins are unknown and whose outcome could be fatal."
"That's what you think!" Jeremy comments.
"Public health officials are presently on the scene."
Ulrich and Nadia stand guard. "No monsters anywhere, that's suspicious."
"We are in the mountain sector. We could also get ambushed" Nadia tells him.
A blok watches them on top of a rock, climbing over to them. "Ah, there you are" Ulrich comments as he holds his sword.
Yumi crawls out onto the bridge, running across it.
Two more bloks appear, surrounding the three.
Yumi presses the button to the elevator, going down to the lab.
"Nadia, protect Aelita" Ulrich orders and the two run. They run down the path, jumping down safely. They look up as they hear lasers. Ulrich jumps to avoid them, running forward and sprinting, slashing a blok. Aelita looks up, hearing more lasers. Ulrich skids but is frozen by a blok.
"Ulrich!" Aelita calls out.
"Come on, we got to move!" Nadia grabs her arm and pulls her.
"Ulrich, you're out of bounds for three minutes" Jeremy says as Yumi runs into the lab.
"Everything okay on Lyoko?" She pants.
"Not really. Ulrich's frozen solid and only Nadia is left to protect Aelita" he explains.
"I'm ready to go!" She runs to the elevator. Jeremy starts the procedure.
"To the mountains." The doors open to the scanners. "Transfer Yumi." Yumi steps into the scanner. "Here we go. Scanner Yumi. Virtualization."
Yumi is virtualized into the mountain sector and glances to her right, seeing two bloks coming for the two girls.
"Ulrich, 30 seconds to go" Jeremy reports. The blok fires and Yumi blocks.
"Yumi…" Aelita says.
"Go, defend her. I'll hold them" Nadia tells her.
"Alone?" Yumi asks.
"No, I'll have Ulrich help me."
At this time, Ulrich becomes unfrozen. He looks around. Nadia blocks the lasers. Ulrich comes in from behind. He screams as he jumps. "Impact!" He stabs one, destroying it.
Jeremy watches the news for an update. "According to the public health department, the very first cases were discovered at Kadic Junior High School" Xana then infects Jeremy's computer, playing the music. Jeremy unplugs the sound from the wires in the ground. But the music starts playing again from the ceiling, Jeremy getting dizzy.
"No!" He screams in agony, falling to his knees. He falls to the ground.
"Jeremy! Do you hear me? Jeremy!" Ulrich calls out.
Ulrich blocks a laser with his sword. He runs up to the blok but is devirtualized. Nadia focuses on her electricity and fires. The blok gets disoriented but not destroyed. "What!?" Nadia says in shock, thinking her electricity was a one-hit kill. It fires and hits her twice, devirtualizing her.
Both her and Ulrich reappear to hear the music. "Oh no! What?!" They both cover their ears.
"We got to get out of here!" Nadia says.
"Really? Like I already didn't know that!" Ulrich retorts back. The two slowly approach the door.
Yumi and Aelita are almost at the tower, a blok approaching them. It fires and hits Aelita. "Aelita!" Yumi exclaims. They look to see the blok. Yumi throws her fan and misses. They continue to the tower. They look at the platform puzzle between them and the tower.
Ulrich collapses. "Ulrich, no!" Nadia calls out before collapsing too.
Jeremy crawls slowly to the computer chair, his head hurting from the music. He manages to grab the chair arm.
"I've gotta enter the coordinates for the return trip…" Jeremy sweats as he slowly types them in. "Launching! Huh, I did it! I did it!" He falls unconscious in his chair. Aelita jumps across the stones carefully, followed by Yumi. Aelita jumps and runs across the path, but Yumi doesn't make it.
"Oh no, Yumi!" Yumi manages to grab the rock edge. Yumi also sees the blok.
"No Aelita. Don't worry about me. Go on." Yumi pulls herself up and throws her fan, destroying the blok.
Aelita goes to one stone and the circling rocks around the tower left. She watches closely for the timing before she makes her move, running and jumping off. Yumi looks and sees her arrive at the tower. She runs inside, walking to the middle. She starts flying to the top.
People in the city and hospital fall under the killer music. Aelita lands on the tip pad. She steps up to the interface.
Jeremy lays unmoving in his chair.
Aelita presses her hand to the interface.
Aelita
Code
Odd gets closer to cardiac arrest with the same smile on his face. His heart monitor sounds a critical and fatal beep.
Lyoko
The beeps still sound as the tower is deactivated. The return to the past engulfs the city, an inanimate school, and a hospital where many bodies lay numb…
Back to the previous evening, Odd is still listening to the music, humming to himself. Ulrich turns the page, Odd appearing next to him. Ulrich points to his head before turning around. "Hey Odd, come on, I'm trying to study."
"What's the sense of studying? You're gonna get a zero!" Odd calls out, Ulrich sighing.
"I've heard that twice already, that's enough."
"Hey, listen to what I downloaded from the web," Ulrich stares at him. "It's outta sight! 'Under the Cover' by RU Flicknight. It's incredible!" To Ulrich, is sounded just as terrible. Odd offers him his headphones.
"Later, okay? For the time being, I'd like to study. And as for you, I wouldn't say no to you helping me a little. You're so good in Physics."
Ulrich doesn't seem so mad at Odd anymore because of what he went through before the return in time.
"That's right, and if you want help, the reincarnation of Einstein is willing to give a lesson to a sawdust-filled head!" Odd declares.
"And I'll listen to your song afterwards" Ulrich agrees, Odd stares at him.
"You really don't have to," Odd shrugs. "Actually, it's pretty mainstream. It's something that…what I mean is-"
"It's the kind of song a machine might've written?" Ulrich guesses.
"Yeah, that's right, say you know a lot about music" Odd bends down to help, humming along. Ulrich gives an annoyed look.
"So, you're gonna help me or what?"
"Just a second, it's the song!"
"Yeah, yeah. We'll see about that."
A.N. – Next time, a non-Xana attack chapter but Jeremy suffers next chapter. Also, there will be a changed scene near the end that I think will fit well with this story. It might be this week or not, I'm not sure. This chapter is just to explain what happened as well as my return. PM me with story ideas! Review with questions or comments! I will respond! As always, till next time! See ya! -lyokowarrior97