Rebooting of Worlds
Loss and Despair
It was awake.
It hadn't known how long it had slept but when it did, it had felt…
Incomplete.
Like it had been robbed of something important.
It felt a desperate need to gain back its memories. It was sure they still existed in some form but where? It had to find them; they would help it understand what it had to do.
It had been broken.
Somehow it knew it had been broken, a mere fraction of what it once was.
It could feel the strange waters it was submerged it.
A city…
An upside-down city.
And it was floating in the deep depths, staring up at the city.
A sphere of red and black energy, sinking deeper and deeper into the depths.
It felt weak…
It felt incomplete…
It didn't remember much but it knew it wasn't supposed to be this.
It was not a mere sphere of pure energy, floating in an underwater abyss.
It was more.
Much more.
It could feel pieces of itself floating all around it. Reaching out, it touched each piece and felt a bit stronger.
It knew what it needed to do.
It needed to recover its pieces.
And so it went to work, a single compact form of data pushing through the currents of endless sea it was trapped in, gathering its pieces that had been scattered all over. With each piece it found, it felt itself getting stronger bit by bit. It was difficult but it was determined to restore itself. Even if it took to the end of time itself, it would find a way to make itself whole once again.
Then it noticed something.
An upside tower…
With a strange eye shaped symbol.
The Eye.
It knew that Eye was connected to it.
It entered the tower, traveling through the halls made of stone until it came upon a pair of doors and pushed them open. Inside a massive room. In the center was a large, towering crystal-like structure that it had seen before.
It gazed at the chamber it was in and noticed the strange structure before it. It managed to reach over and touch the system…
Above the tower appeared a holographic map of the structure he was in. Looking back down he found several links. Each one showed a different symbol that he had never seen before. He pressed one of them; the symbol resembled was made of a circle that was black on the top half and white on the bottom and a diamond in the center that was also divided with inverted colors to the circle. When XANA touched the symbol, the holographic map vanished.
That was when a ring of light appeared underneath XANA and traveled up the black misty form that his essence. XANA watched while keeping a close out for any sign of something that would attempt to delete him.
Scanning
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Fragmented Program Detected
It was fragmented?
Well, it had already been aware it had been broken down so it wasn't much of a surprise but it didn't need a reminder.
Warning
Coding Heavily Corrupted
Option:
Remove Corruption from Gate System
Remove?
Begin-
Suddenly the crystal began to glow.
Pause Program
Resume Scanning
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Keys to Lyoko Program Detected
Keys to…Lyoko?
Insert Key Program to activate Gate Program
It saw the Eye appear in a flash of blue light and realized that it carried these key program that saved it from deletion. It managed to manifest a hand that touched the Eye.
Key Programs Inserted
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Key Programs Accepted
A door appeared on the other side of the chamber, showing a symbol different from the Eye. It resembled a circle that was black on the top half and white on the bottom and a diamond in the center that was also divided with inverted colors to the circle. It moved towards the door that slowly opened…
Warning!
It paused as something was triggered.
Multi-Agent Program Detected
Designation: XANA
It could feel the security system gathering power and shot through the doors before the security deleted it. The doors immediately closed and it crashed onto the other side of a chamber resembling the one it had just been in.
Only the doors behind had the Eye imprinted on it instead of that strange symbol. It gathered itself and approached the crystal-tower, reaching out to touch it and gain access to the programming…
Only to be repelled.
It was already so weak it fought desperately to maintain itself.
Whatever it was looking for, it was locked by this…thing.
It could feel something on the other side. Something that might be able to help restore it. It needed a key on this side to open it. It needed an eye with which to examine the keyhole in the lock.
Oh, yes.
The eye.
That was what it needed most of all: its eye.
The Eye of X.A.N.A.
As soon as he was pulled through the portal Megabyte saw his assailant. The Web Creature was several times his size with multiple tentacles coming out of its body. The creature's yellow eyes narrowed as they studied him, and it opened its mouth, revealing the sharp teeth as it prepared to devour him. Holding out his good arm he unsheathed his claws and slashed at one of tentacles, cutting it off completely.
The Web Creature screeched in pain as it loosened its hold on the virus that kept slashing, biting, and pinching at its tentacles until it flicked him away and fled. Megabyte found himself floating through the Web for a long time. After he escaped, he took notice of the atmosphere of the Web, the environment of corrupted data that made up this digital hell. And he was here, trapped, alone, and seriously damaged.
One leg was out of its socket, his bad arm was broken along with the claws, and the open gash in abdomen was aching, even more so here in the Web. He could feel his body began to corrode slightly, remembering that viruses could not survive in the Web, and soon he would be nothing but a motionless mass of rock and metal. He knew that he was going to die here.
'Is this the end for me? To degrade slowly into nothing in this User forsaken place?' Megabyte thought he continued to float helplessly. 'How…humiliating.'
To be trapped here was even worse than being bound in an inferior system. Even if he could survive, he had nothing here. The Web was chaotic, it was corrupted, it was a wasteland. Everything about the Web was the exact opposite of what he was.
His format was to bring complete order to the Net, to be the dominate force and seek out systems to bring absolute order and perfection. What would be the point of even trying to infect anything in this void of corrupted and degraded files? Looking down at the control panel he considered activating his self-destruct to avoid the long pain of degradation. However, when he opened it, he found the control device had been smashed, most likely by the tentacles of the Web Creature that pulled him into this wretched place.
He did not know how long he had been floating aimlessly, staring up at absolutely nothing but a whirlwind of corrupted date before something caught his attention.
Some sort of blackness in the shape of an orb with a strange and…ominous red eye icon slowly approaching him. It was made of two rings with a circle in the center, a single column emerged from the top of the outer ring and three smaller columns emerged from the bottom following the ring's curve. As it floated towards him Megabyte managed to right himself, managing to float upwards and unsheathed his unbroken claws.
'Come, I'd rather be deleted in battle than wait for slow degradation!'
As it came close, he waited for it to attack. Taking notice of the Eye he had never seen before he wondered why someone would choose to live in the Web.
'Perhaps he came here by accident. Another unwilling victim like Bob and myself.'
The Eye did not attack but stared at him curiously.
"Well, what are you waiting for?"
The Eye seemed to react and flew at him, and Megabyte pushed himself forward, using the zero gravity to his advantage as he aimed to strike directly at the Eye's. However, the Eye merely dodged his strike and Megabyte flew forward with the Eye following him, looking down at the virus as it was curious. Megabyte prepared himself for another attack when something unexpected happened. Tentacles made of a black oily substance came out and grabbed hold of him by the waist.
"What in the Net…"
Megabyte tried to sever it with his broken claws, but it had no effect. He then turned to see the Eye turning its orb form and flew off with him still caught in the tentacles.
'This creature has something planned for me.' Megabyte thought.
He considered continuing to fight it until he was released but he already knew it was futile. Ironic when he thought he had won he had said, 'Resistance is futile'. And now he was in the same situation.
'I shall see what this thing has in store for me.'
He looked ahead to see it dragging him to a data storm. Such a powerful storm would degrade him until he was nothing but a pile of dust. That was when a red energy field appeared around him. They flew in and Megabyte noticed that it was protecting him now from the degrading effects of the Web.
He looked to see them come upon something in the middle of the storm. A large sphere floating in the eye of the storm.
The Eye maneuvered to a platform and released Megabyte onto the floor. The Eye hovered for a nano before it flew into the entrance, vanishing into the darkness. Seeing nowhere else to go Megabyte followed, knowing that if he tried to leave the data storm would tear him apart. Looking around he saw the hall was nothing to gawk at.
Made of simple stone and went down one path. He stopped when he came upon a massive room with pillars holding it up and in the center of it was a large tower with a crystal-like terminal. On the terminal was the strange icon that he had seen from the Eye. On the other side of the room was a door with the same icon on the terminal. Curiously Megabyte limped over to the tower and looked it over.
He could not read the symbols since he did not understand the language.
"Meaningless gibberish." He muttered as he looked at the terminal.
That was when a ring of light appeared under him, catching him by surprise. He looked down to see the ring travel up his body. When it finished it vanished leaving Megabyte to ponder what it was.
"Scan complete." A voice said out of nowhere and seemingly everywhere, sounding cold and without emotion.
Megabyte looked around, startled by the voice. "Who's there?"
An interface appeared in front of him and showed him the results of the scan.
Program: Virus
Designation: Megabyte
Type: Class Three File Infector
Previous Designation: Kilobyte
Type: Class Two File Infector
Upgraded Designation: Gigabyte
Type: Class Five Super Virus
Sister Virus Designation: Hexadecimal
Type: Class Four Super Virus
"Show yourself." Megabyte continued to look around. "Enough hiding!"
The Eye then appeared before him, gazing endlessly into his face.
"Well, so this is all you are. What are you? Some sort of drone?" Megabyte questioned quizzically.
"…I…I…I…am…." The Eye let out a distorted voice that didn't seem to be an actual voice but more of a signal being projected through the strange creature. "I am…"
"Yes, go on." Megabyte probed impatiently.
"The key." The Eye tilted itself in the direction of the pillar. "Activate the key…"
Megabyte looked at the crystal terminal for a nano before looked back at the Eye. "And why should I? What does this benefit me?"
"I…I need…I need…access."
"Sound like you've been on unfortunate end of a magnet." Megabyte remarked in amusement. "Well, given my own state I could sympathize with your plight but if you think I will go along with whatever scheme you have for me you might as well delete me. I am no one's servant or pawn."
"In…your…condit…tion?"
"I would rather be deleted in battle than wait to be degraded by this wretched place." Megabyte prepared to fight even though he was so tired, weak, and still damaged he would never admit defeat.
"What…if…I…I…help you?"
Megabyte narrowed his eyes.
"Why did you bring me here?"
The Eye manifested a small tendril and pointed to the tower. "I need…someone… to…. Unlock… the gate. Designed… to keep… me out. Slipped…through…fragment."
Megabyte was beginning to understand. "So, your programming is on the verge of total fragmentation. Again, something I could possibly sympathize with given my own degradation. So, this is why I'm here, to release you from whatever prison you are in? You still have yet to explain how any of this benefits me. Doing this absolutely gives me nothing I desire."
"I…am…no…prison…what is…your desire?"
"There is an old saying; you should never trust someone who refuses to share his format."
The Eye was silent for a nanosecond. "Designation…XANA. Format…Multi-Agent System."
Multi-Agent System?
Megabyte had never heard of such a program. Given the sound of it, this so-called Multi-Agent System could be something capable of preforming over a dozen tasks, but Megabyte had very little knowledge.
"Sought…shelter…from…deletion. Seek now…to…regain…memories." The being known as XANA continued. "Open the door."
Megabyte smirked, amused by the audacity this being had to assume it could order him. "You are a bold one to presume you can order me. However, for all your so-called power, you cannot do anything without my assistance. I have no reason to assist you; you offer nothing to offer me in reaching my goal, nothing to assist me in escaping this infernal place, nothing to offer me in... Revenge."
"Rev…venge…" The voice grew quieter before speaking. "Yes…seek…revenge."
Ah, so the state it was left in was because someone had tried to delete it.
"Possible…survive…Anti-virus coding…located in…your format…" XANA continued.
Megabyte was caught off guard by that. "What?"
"Scan shows… code has… data…consisted with anti...program, registration Four-Five-Two."
'Bob? His code is in me?' Megabyte thought in shock and disgust.
He thought over how he could have somehow gained Bob's code. His eyes widened when he remembered that one second, when he finally was rid of Bob. He caught him by surprise during the war against the Web and threw him into a missile. He crushed Bob's Key Tool before he had done so.
His own enemy's code was protecting him.
"Can use…code for…revenge…"
Megabyte was stunned by the revelation, and then faced the Eye. "Revenge cannot even come close to accurately describing what I want to do to them. For banishing me here, I want to break them, take everything they cherish away and burn it to the ground."
"Can…assist you. Is…reason enough…assist me?"
"I don't align myself with anybody," Megabyte said sternly.
"What…will…you…do?"
…this obviously made Megabyte reconsider.
"You…want…revenge…can survive…but…can…not…and…damaged. I…want…survive…but…neither…can leave…without…help." The glitches in the voice became longer. "Consider…trade."
Megabyte paused to consider this. He had very little choice in this but if it meant finding a way out of the Web he might as well go along with it for now.
"Very well." Megabyte grudgingly agreed.
"Good…walk to…tower…activate…open mechanism." XANA pointed to the tower console.
Megabyte limped over to the console and looked it over. The red panel appeared before right in front of him. Reaching out slowly he touched it and watched the room begin to shift and the door with the Eye of XANA began to open.
"Proceed…We will…survive." XANA instructed, gliding towards the door.
Megabyte walked into the tunnel that had been opened, narrowing his eyes as he tried to see through the darkness of the tunnel.
Just as he did there was a flash of light.
It was awake.
And yet, somehow it had felt better.
After that flash of light, it was back here but no sign of the virus codenamed Megabyte.
What…what had happened?
"Return to the Past now."
Return…to the past?
Something had caused it to return to the past?
Strangely, it felt slightly more stable than it had when it had previously awakened. It could think clearer, it wasn't struggling to hold itself together. It even slightly stronger now. That flash of light, this Return to the Past, had managed to seemingly double its strength and mental clarity.
But it was still weak.
It still lacked its memories.
And it was still trapped, virtually powerless.
But if it was back in the past, then logically the virus would still be out there. That virus was the key to opening the lock.
It would find him again.
Its Eye would allow it to see.
The Eye of X.A.N.A.
It was back in the deep depths, staring up at the upside-down city but now it knew where to go. It immediately returned to the tower with its Eye, traveling through the halls made of stone until it came upon a pair of doors and pushed them open. Inside was the same massive room with the same large, towering crystal-like structure that it had seen before.
It gazed at the chamber it was in and noticed the strange structure before it. It managed to reach over and touch the system…
Scanning
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Fragmented Program Detected
Yes, it was fragmented.
But now it knew way to reverse that.
Warning
Coding Heavily Corrupted
Option:
Remove Corruption from Gate System
Begin-
Like before, the crystal began to glow.
Pause Program
Resume Scanning
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Keys to Lyoko Program Detected
Keys to…Lyoko?
Insert Key Program to activate Gate Program
Its Eye appeared in a flash of blue light and it immediately touched it.
Key Programs Inserted
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Key Programs Accepted
A door appeared on the other side of the chamber, showing that other symbol. This time it did not move slowly. It shot through the door just as the security program was triggered.
Warning!
Multi-Agent Program Detected
Designation: XANA
It was back on the other side, in the same chamber where it had met with that virus. If things played out as before, the virus would be where it had found him, floating through a dimension of corrupt and degrading data.
It would find him again.
As soon as he was pulled through the portal Megabyte saw his assailant. The Web Creature was several times his size with multiple tentacles coming out of its body. The creature's yellow eyes narrowed as they studied him, and it opened its mouth, revealing the sharp teeth as it prepared to devour him. Holding out his good arm he unsheathed his claws and slashed at one of tentacles, cutting it off completely.
The Web Creature screeched in pain as it loosened its hold on the virus that kept slashing, biting, and pinching at its tentacles until it flicked him away and fled. Megabyte found himself floating through the Web for a long time. After he escaped, he took notice of the atmosphere of the Web, the environment of corrupted data that made up this digital hell. And he was here, trapped, alone, and seriously damaged.
One leg was out of its socket, his bad arm was broken along with the claws, and the open gash in abdomen was aching, even more so here in the Web. He could feel his body began to corrode slightly, remembering that viruses could not survive in the Web, and soon he would be nothing but a motionless mass of rock and metal. He knew that he was going to die here.
'Is this the end for me? To degrade slowly into nothing in this User forsaken place?' Megabyte thought he continued to float helplessly. 'How…humiliating.'
To be trapped here was even worse than being bound in an inferior system. Even if he could survive, he had nothing here. The Web was chaotic, it was corrupted, it was a wasteland. Everything about the Web was the exact opposite of what he was.
His format was to bring complete order to the Net, to be the dominate force and seek out systems to bring absolute order and perfection. What would be the point of even trying to infect anything in this void of corrupted and degraded files? Looking down at the control panel he considered activating his self-destruct to avoid the long pain of degradation. However, when he opened it, he found the control device had been smashed, most likely by the tentacles of the Web Creature that pulled him into this wretched place.
He did not know how long he had been floating aimlessly, starring up at absolutely nothing but a whirlwind of corrupted date before something caught his attention.
Some sort of blackness in the shape of an orb with a strange and…ominous red eye icon slowly approaching him. It was made of two rings with a circle in the center, a single column emerged from the top of the outer ring and three smaller columns emerged from the bottom following the ring's curve. As it floated towards him Megabyte managed to right himself, managing to float upwards and unsheathed his unbroken claws.
'Come, I'd rather be deleted in battle than wait for slow degradation!'
As it came close, he waited for it to attack. Taking notice of the Eye he had never seen before he wondered why someone would choose to live in the Web.
'Perhaps he came here by accident. Another unwilling victim like Bob and myself.'
The Eye did not attack but stared at him curiously.
"Well, what are you waiting for?"
The Eye seemed to react and flew at him, and Megabyte pushed himself forward, using the zero gravity to his advantage as he aimed to strike directly at the Eye's. However, the Eye merely dodged his strike and Megabyte flew forward with the Eye following him, looking down at the virus as it was curious. Megabyte prepared himself for another attack when something unexpected happened. Tentacles made of a black oily substance came out and grabbed hold of him by the waist.
"What in the Net…"
Megabyte tried to sever it with his broken claws, but it had no effect. He then turned to see the Eye turning its orb form and flew off with him still caught in the tentacles.
'This creature has something planned for me.' Megabyte thought.
He considered continuing to fight it until he was released but he already knew it was futile. Ironic when he thought he had won he had said, 'Resistance is futile'. And now he was in the same situation.
'I shall see what this thing has in store for me.'
He looked ahead to see it dragging him to a data storm. Such a powerful storm would degrade him until he was nothing but a pile of dust. That was when a red energy field appeared around him. They flew in and Megabyte noticed that it was protecting him now from the degrading effects of the Web.
He looked to see them come upon something in the middle of the storm. A large sphere floating in the eye of the storm.
The Eye maneuvered to a platform and released Megabyte onto the floor. The Eye hovered for a nano before it flew into the entrance, vanishing into the darkness. Seeing nowhere else to go Megabyte followed, knowing that if he tried to leave the data storm would tear him apart. Looking around he saw the hall was nothing to gawk at.
Made of simple stone and went down one path. He stopped when he came upon a massive room with pillars holding it up and in the center of it was a large tower with a crystal-like terminal. On the terminal was the strange icon that he had seen from the Eye. On the other side of the room was a door with the same icon on the terminal. Curiously Megabyte limped over to the tower and looked it over.
He could not read the symbols since he did not understand the language.
"Meaningless gibberish." He muttered as he looked at the terminal.
That was when a ring of light appeared under him, catching him by surprise. He looked down to see the ring travel up his body. When it finished it vanished leaving Megabyte to ponder what it was.
"Scan complete." A voice said out of nowhere and seemingly everywhere, sounding cold and without emotion.
Megabyte looked around, startled by the voice. "Who's there?"
An interface appeared in front of him and showed him the results of the scan.
Program: Virus
Designation: Megabyte
Type: Class Three File Infector
Previous Designation: Kilobyte
Type: Class Two File Infector
Upgraded Designation: Gigabyte
Type: Class Five Super Virus
Sister Virus Designation: Hexadecimal
Type: Class Four Super Virus
"Show yourself." Megabyte continued to look around. "Enough hiding!"
The Eye then appeared before him, gazing endlessly into his face.
"Well, so this is all you are. What are you? Some sort of drone?" Megabyte questioned quizzically.
"Negative." A cold, monotone digital voice spoke from the Eye that didn't seem to be an actual voice but more of a signal being projected through the strange creature. "I am…I am XANA."
Megabyte raised an eyebrow. "An interesting name, but it tells me nothing of your function."
"According to the databanks, I am a Multi-Agent System."
"A what?"
"A type of program that consists only of agents and their environments." XANA answered. "Designed to handle multiple functions in environments where single programs are not feasible."
"So, you are some sort of advanced software agent." Megabyte mused. "A self-organized system. Hmm…interesting. Still, I demand to know why I have been brought here."
"The key." XANA manifested a small tendril and pointed to the console. "You must activate the algorithm to open the door."
Megabyte looked at the crystal terminal for a nano before looking back at XANA. "And why should I? What does this benefit me?"
"On the other side is the Network." XANA slowly answered.
"The Network…You mean the Net?" Megabyte leaned forward, a nearly excited look on his face. "This can open a portal to the Net?"
"Unknown."
Megabyte scowled. "What do you mean?"
"Beyond this chamber…is a sea. The Digital Sea." XANA spoke slowly. "It is part of a network, the World Network."
Megabyte considered what he had been told. It had sounded awfully like the Net but there was no sea in the Net.
Could it be…another level of cyberspace like the Web?
"And what will I gain if I open this door?" Megabyte then questioned. "Doing this absolutely gives me nothing I desire."
"Not even revenge?"
Megabyte paused but then scowled. "You can see my memories?"
"Your name is Megabyte; you have a sister named Hexadecimal. Your 'parent' is Gigabyte, and his parent is 'Kilobyte'. Both you and your sister were born when Gigabyte split into two different forms. You received Gigabyte's intelligent mind, infection ability, tremendous physical strength, and near-indestructible body while Gigabyte's transfinite power reserves, as well as abilities such as teleportation, flight, portal-forming, and many other powers, went to Hexadecimal."
"It will take more than googling my personal history to impress me." Megabyte scoffed.
"I know…you are not here by choice. You are here for the same reason I am. We were both cast here, waiting for deletion but we can overcome that possibility. Perhaps we can work to help take vengeance on our enemies." XANA reasoned. "Though you can likely survive due to the additional coding in your form."
Megabyte was caught off guard by that. "What?"
"The scan also showed you code has a different layer coding consistent with anti-viral program, registration Four-Five-Two."
'Bob? His code is in me?' Megabyte thought in shock and disgust.
He thought over how he could have somehow gained Bob's code. His eyes widened when he remembered that one second, when he finally was rid of Bob. He caught him by surprise during the war against the Web and threw him into a missile. He crushed Bob's Key Tool before he had done so.
His own enemy's code was protecting him.
"Perhaps you can use that code for your revenge."
Megabyte was stunned by the revelation, and then faced XANA. "Revenge cannot even come close to accurately describing what I want to do to them. For banishing me here, I want to break them, take everything they cherish away and burn it to the ground."
"I can assist you. Is that reason enough assist me?"
"I don't align myself with anybody," Megabyte said sternly.
"Then what will you do?"
…this obviously made Megabyte reconsider.
"You want revenge. You can survive but you cannot escape on your own and you are damaged. I want to survive but neither of us can leave without help." XANA continued. "Consider…trade."
Megabyte paused to consider this. He had very little choice in this but if it meant finding a way out of the Web he might as well go along with it for now.
"Very well." Megabyte grudgingly agreed.
"Good. Walk to the tower activate the opening mechanism." XANA again pointed to the tower console.
Megabyte limped over to the console and looked it over. The red panel appeared before right in front of him. Reaching out slowly he touched it and watched the room begin to shift and the door with the Eye of XANA began to open.
"Proceed. We will survive." XANA instructed, gliding towards the door.
Megabyte walked into the tunnel that had been opened, narrowing his eyes as he tried to see through the darkness of the tunnel. When me made it to the end, Megabyte could only see an upside-down city, completely submerged in a form of liquid.
"What is this?" Megabyte turned to look at XANA. "This is the so-called Network? An upside-down underwater city? How can you expect me to survive in that?"
XANA was silent for a nano before speaking. "I will provide the protection."
Before Megabyte could react, XANA dissolved into a black mist that fell over him, entering his body and merging with it. He looked down at himself, seeing his body was now completely black with his signature symbol now blood red. He looked up, seeing his reflection in the water and could see the Eye symbol that was presumably XANA's icon imprinted red on his forehead with his eyes now blood red.
"What have you done?" He snarled.
'You will now be protected from the effects of the digital sea.' XANA answered from inside Megabyte's mind. 'Step forward and I will show you everything.'
Megabyte grimaced but found he had no other options. So, he took step forward…and literally stepped into the digital water. He thought he was going to sink but surprisingly enough he did not sink but was able to swim at astonishing speed. The surrounding water gave off a blue hue, but he noticed a red aura was surrounding his form.
Likely XANA's 'protection'.
Megabyte would normally fight tooth and nail to break free, but he was not willing to take the chance he would survive drowning in this strange liquid. All he could do now was 'sit' and wait for his new 'friend' to show him this strange new world.