Chapter 17 The Trap
A.N. – Consider this chapter my Christmas gift to you all. Enjoy!
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 idea was submitted by LittleRedRebel.
Jeremy stares at his computer, unable to sleep. He decides to talk to Aelita more about Earth, logging on. "Hey, Aelita? Are you connected?"
She soon appears a few seconds later. "Hello Jeremy. Did you have a good day?"
"Oh, nothing special." He places his hands on his cheeks. She raises her eyebrows., starting to grow curious.
"Which classes do you have tomorrow morning."
"First, we've got physics and chemistry with Ms. Hertz, and then a math exam with Mrs. Meyer."
"What do you do during an exam?"
"You have to show what you know in writing."
"What a strange idea."
"Not really," Jim's voice can be heard in the background. "Because we're not like you. Your memory and ours aren't the same, because yours is, well, infinite. Our brains have a limited memory capacity. We can't store as much data as you can. In other words Aelita, compared to you, our hard disk comes up kinda short!"
"Oh, I get it" she says as Jim knocks on the door.
"Are you sleeping yet?!" His voice booms from behind the door.
"I'm gonna be in trouble if I stay connected. I'm sorry Aelita, but…I gotta go" Jeremy stands up. "I don't wanna take the chance of having to introduce you to Jim. I'll connect with you at noon tomorrow, universal time."
The next morning, the day is as normal as ever. Students enter and class goes by normally until the bell rings, signaling the end. Next, it's time for the math exam with Mrs. Meyer. The teacher walks past the students, looking to see if anyone is cheating. Jeremy is sitting down all relaxed. "Something wrong Jeremy? A problem?"
"No, no. Um…I finished ma'am" he explains, everyone turning to him in shock. Mrs. Meyer looks over his work. She nods in approval.
"Why yes you have. Very good job. It's excellent work too." He smiles a little. "Alright, the rest of you keep working."
"Oh, her birthday is today!" Jeremy realizes.
"You may go Jeremy."
"Oh, thanks a million. You could've at least stayed and given me a hand" Odd whispers.
"Maybe try studying a little. It'll go a long way" Nadia whispers back.
"Aelita, I almost forgot that we met exactly a year ago today" Jeremy explains. He leaves, Odd whispering to Ulrich.
"Hey, it's Aelita's birthday today."
"Yeah, I forgot all about it" Ulrich replies.
"Forgot to study. Forgot Aelita's birthday. Is there anything you don't forget?" Nadia asks.
"What's going on?" Sissi whispers to them.
"Mind your own business" Ulrich shoots back and she narrows her eyes.
(I highly doubt they've been fighting Xana for a year since it was roughly about two years it took for them to defeat Xana, initially.)
Ulrich, Odd, Jeremy, and Nadia are in the courtyard after their exam, near the vending machine. "Wow, it's already a year since we met Aelita" Ulrich places a coin in the machine.
"And a year of fighting Xana" Nadia adds.
"And I still haven't managed to materialize her" Jeremy comments, as Ulrich sips his drink.
"I know but we managed to protect her from Xana" Ulrich states.
"Her, yes, but what about us? Xana seems to target us more than her" Nadia says.
"You think our lucks gonna end?"
"No, just concerned. We need to protect ourselves like we protect Aelita."
"What do you say we use our lunch hour to prepare a little surprise? She'd like that a lot, huh, don't you think?" Odd suggests.
"What do you think Jeremy?" Ulrich turns to him.
"Yeah, come on. Let's get to the factory" Jermey agrees. But Sissi also listening close by.
"You go on ahead. I promised Yumi I'd stop by after class. We'll meet you there.' The three leave.
"Oh, I thought they would never leave," Sissi walks up to him. "Your friends really stick to you like glue, huh?"
"Not half as much as you do Sissi."
"I'd like to talk to you Ulrich. Could we have lunch together? I mean, just us two?" She offers, trying to take advantage of the situation.
"Uh, sorry. Yumi's waiting for me" he leaves, and she clenches her fists.
'Yumi. Always Yumi. It's time he dumped her!' Sissi thinks.
In Lyoko, pulsations form in the desert sector. Aelita hears them in the tower, and she looks in worry.
A sound resonates in the large empty rooms of the factory. The monitors turn on, all showing the sign of Xana. Deeper inside, the assembly room starts up. The machines, move by themselves, as part of the attack…
In the boiler room, Odd opens the door. He's joined by Nadia and Jeremy, running down the path. They reach the sewers and jump out. The three grab their respective rides. "Yeah!" Odd throws his skateboard, speeding through the tunnel. Jeremy and Nadia follow him. They reach the ladder, and they all climb out. They slide down using the ropes.
"I'd love to find a nice present for Aelita" Jeremy states as they walk into the elevator.
"No problem. Why don't you program a digital birthday cake?" Odd jokes.
Jeremy presses the button, but nothing happens. He presses it again.
"What's wrong Einstein?" Odd asks.
"Uh," he tries again. "Power failure, I guess. Come on, we'll go check the fuses in the control room" he jerks a thumb.
"This feels unusual. The elevator never fails" Nadia says, staring at it before following the others.
In the forest, Ulrich is talking top Yumi about their idea. "What do you think?"
"It's a good idea."
"I really wonder what he sees in her" Sissi growls in jealously. How could Ulrich prefer some Japanese girl over her?
"Okay, let's go" they walk away. Sissi follows them to see what was so important or find out where they go all the time.
Ulrich looks around as they arrive at the passage in the park. "Coast is clear." He opens it, as Sissi hides behind a tree. She waits till Ulrich closes the entrance before she moves.
"Wow," Odd says as the three enter the small machine room. "I forgot what this place looked like. That's really cool."
"You're kidding. A hunk of junk if you ask me" Jeremy comments.
"One thing this place never loses is the creep factor. This has a typical horror movie setting" Nadia adds.
"I've seen better horror movies then ones taken in an old, abandoned factory" Odd comments. Some of the machinery moves behind them.
Ulrich slides the door open before helping Yumi up. They run past the bridge. "I'm gonna beat you to the elevator!" Yumi challenges.
"We'll see!" Ulrich jokes and they laugh as they jump down the ropes. Yumi makes it first, laughing. "That's nice, they sent it back up."
"Odd and Nadia must be in the scanner" Yumi guesses. Ulrich presses the button and the elevator works.
"Well, well, nice little hiding place" Sissi comes in just as the door closes. They look in shock.
"What are you doing here?" Ulrich says to her.
"I should ask you that!" She places hands on her hips. "I wanna know…are Jeremy, Odd, and Nadia waiting for you or is this your own private love nest?"
"Sissi, that is none of your business!" Yumi tells her.
"Yumi's right. So why don't you just leave?" He presses the button, but it doesn't work. "What's going on? Something's wrong, it doesn't wanna open." They were unaware that Xana has trapped them. The elevator moves but stops in the middle. Ulrich tries the button again. "It won't start up."
"But what's the matter?" Yumi wonders.
"I don't know, it's blocked." The power goes out and the elevator starts to shake. They all gasp before the ropes snap. Sissi screams as they fall to the bottom of the shaft.
As soon as Jeremy steps on the stairs, one of the machines move and he hears it. He turns around, but nothing happens. He starts again, the others following him. They hear a sort of boom. "What was that?"
"Better check it out," Odd says as they run back. The assembly line moves along with the robots. They look in confusion before Odd sees the robots. "It's a trap!"
On Lyoko, Aelita stands on a platform, seeing the pulsations. "Xana."
The elevator has stopped falling after three floors, all of them on the floor. Yumi wakes up, crawling to Ulrich. "Ulrich? Ulrich, are you okay? Answer me" she turns him around and he winces.
"I don't seem to move my arm" he holds his left arm. "And you?"
"I was lucky, I-I'm okay," she looks at Sissi who is unconscious. "But not her. She's out cold. I better call Jeremy."
"I take it back! Horror movies in abandoned factories are more scary!" Odd says as he stands ready to fight.
Jeremy's phone rings and he picks it up. "Yumi, are you alright? In the elevator? So that was the noise we heard? We're stuck in the machine room." Odd looks up to a machine coming right for Jeremy and Nadia.
"Careful!" He pushes both Jeremy and Nadia out of the way.
"It looks as if we're on our own Ulrich" Yumi reports as she hangs up.
"You've gotta go back. You have to get to the lab" Ulrich orders.
"And what about you?" She questions in concern, recalling his broken arm.
"With just one arm? Impossible. Besides, we can't leave Sissi all alone" they look at the unconscious girl.
Jeremy and Nadia look up at the machines, but odd yells, hitting it with a crowbar he found. It stops and they look in surprise.
"Jeremy," Aelita calls out. "Jermey, please answer me, where are you?" She doesn't know that Jeremy is stuck in the machine room. She steps at the edge, closing her eyes before letting herself fall. She lands safely, running off.
Yumi opens the roof of the elevator, climbing out. "Whoa."
"What's the problem?" She looks at the long ladder.
"Uh, I uh, I just remembered I have a slight fear of heights" she tells him. Sissi is on Ulrich's lap.
"Just hang on tight and don't look down" he advises her. "You can do it Yumi." (Funny how the rolls swap in episode 44. True fans know which that is.)
Sissi wakes up. "What happened? I can't…"
"The elevator broke down. We're stuck down in the shaft" he explains, leaning against the wall.
"Oh, I'm so cold."
"Don't worry, we'll be out of here real soon" he winces, holding his arm. Sissi notices this.
"Ulrich, what is it?'
"I think I broke my arm…" He groans, he can't move it.
"Let me take a look at it." He stares at her, wondering if this was just another attempt to get close to him. She stares right back at him, and he could tell she was being serious.
Yumi climbs up the ladder, slipping a little. She gasps, catching herself. She looks down, the elevator seeming so far away now…She remembers what Ulrich said and continues to climb. Walls above the elevator start to crack, releasing some water.
Jeremy, Nadia, and Odd defend themselves from the machinery as best as they can, one of them grabbing Odd's weapon and bending it. Odd looks in panic.
"I would love to have my saber at this moment" Nadia says in worry.
"We've gotta get out of here" Jeremy adds.
"No kidding genius!" Odd replies as one of the machines pushes Jeremy.
"Jeremy!" The two shout, Jeremy falling onto the conveyor belt. They gasp as he's moved. One of the machines grabs Odd, lifting him up. "Let me go, you horrible-" he falls onto the belt, dodging the machines. Jeremy stays at the corner until he has to move.
Nadia dodges the machines as she grabs both Jeremy and Odd. "Where to?"
"Up there!" Odd points. "Hurry!" They start to climb up, but their combined weight makes it impossible to climb.
"Follow me!" Jeremy runs, the two follow. They pant as they stop.
"It's too bad this isn't Lyoko. At least I have superpowers there!" Odd comments once they settle down.
"I would love to have my super agility movement at this rate…" Nadia adds.
"I'm pretty sure Aelita is also in danger. And she's gonna need your help" Jeremy catches his breath.
"But how do we reach the lab?" Odd wipes sweat off his forehead.
"Via the boiler room" he explains. The three of them head off.
Yumi's phone rings as she continues to climb. She didn't even know how many floors she had gone up. She wraps her arm around one of the bars and answers it.
"Hello Odd, are you alright? Where are you?"
"Heading for the lab. And how are you doing?" He answers.
"Let's say I'm trying to cope."
Aelita dashes across the path, but a krab keeps watch on her. She stops, feeling that she's being watched. She turns around, the krab right behind her. She sees the shadow looming over her and turns back, gasping. She screams, dodging the laser. She runs away from the krab, wondering what happened to Jeremy.
Jeremy walks into the boiler room. "Oh, look at the boiler." There's smoke in the air, which is not normal. "Xana is really after us this time."
"Yumi's on her way to the lab. She's climbing up the shaft" Odd reports.
"Huh?" Jeremy turns to where the smoke is coming from.
"That doesn't look good" Nadia says.
"I don't trust that thing. Ready for a 100-yard dash?" Odd suggests.
"I'm better in math than gym" Jeremy recalls.
"Big brains aren't gonna help you here Jeremy. This things a ticking time bomb" Nadia informs him.
The three of them ready up. "Go!" Odd says, all three of them take off. The pipe explodes and Odd yells as the rest of the place explodes behind them.
Yumi feels the explosion but manages to get to the elevator. She presses the code to the lab, wiping sweat off her forehead. She enters and water drips into the elevator.
"Hey, what's that noise?" Sissi asks as she's putting Ulrich's broken arm in a sling.
"Uh, nothing" Ulrich denies, hoping it wasn't important.
"Don't move, wait," she insists, finishing her work. "There, okay." She strokes his cheek slightly.
"Thank you. You know, you're a real good nurse" he comments.
"Ah. I'm not just somebody who sticks to you like glue huh?" She asks, recalling what he said to her before. He smiles a little before noticing the water at his feet.
"Hmm?" Sissi stands up. The water is coming in from the cracked wall, more than before.
On Lyoko, Aelita comes across a path of pillars. She jumps onto one, the krab stepping on two carefully. It slips but catches itself. Aelita jumps, looking behind her. The krab slowly advances. She brings her hands together, using her creativity to get rid of some pillars. The krab stumbles and she opens her eyes as it cannot move or steady itself. She giggles, waving. "Bye bye." She makes it to safety, and the krab falls into the pit to its demise.
"Odd? Nadia? Jeremy? Odd, Nadia, Jeremy, please answer!" Yumi calls out. She hears coughing, turning to see three shadows. "You're here! I was so scared" she hugs Jeremy in relief.
"Yeah, we just outran a live bomb" Nadia says.
"We pushed the boiler too hard. Guess it just couldn't take it" Odd adds.
The water has gotten larger, Ulrich pushing against the roof to try and stop it. "Oh, I don't believe it! This is useless."
"Lyoko connection. Please wait" the computer says as Jeremy sits in the chair.
The water continues down into the elevator. "This is absolutely impossible!"
"Here we go," Jeremy presses enter, doing a scan for an activated tower to see where it is. "I've launched the scan to find the exact position of the activated tower. Aelita. Aelita. Do you read me Aelita?"
"Oh, I understand Ulrich. How is Sissi?" Yumi is getting an update on his situation.
"She's okay" he tells her.
"Hang on, we're off to Lyoko."
"Okay, good luck."
"The water is rising, and Ulrich can't swim with a broken arm" Yumi reports.
"And I can't contact Aelita" Jeremy explains.
The water rises even more, the water covering their feet. The two look up nervously.
The scan has finished. "Okay, I've got the coordinates of the tower. Now I've gotta-"
Aelita suddenly appears. "Jeremy!"
"Aelita…how are you? Everything okay?"
"I've been trying to contact you for such a long time" she hides behind a rock, looking behind the activated tower. Three krabs guard it.
"We had a problem," Jeremy rubs his head. "Xana set a trap for us in the factory. Ulrich is in danger, Yumi, Nadia, and Odd are coming to Lyoko. We've gotta hurry."
"I'm just in front of the tower" Aelita explains.
"And to think I've dreamed of being alone with you for such a long time, but this isn't what I had in mind at all!" Sissi holds herself, the water up to their waists.
"I swear, if we get out of here alive, I'll be nicer to you in the future Sissi" Ulrich turns to her.
"Really?" She sniffles a little. "Jeremy and the others are gonna call for help, aren't they?"
"Yeah, I guess you could call it that."
"Well, they'd better hurry up. Otherwise we'll drown before you have a chance to be nicer to me." She looks down and Ulrich walks up to her, comforting the girl. He silently hopes that Odd, Nadia, and Yumi are on Lyoko already.
"Okay, Nadia, Yumi, and Odd, are you ready to go. You're off to the desert. Transfer Yumi. Transfer Nadia. Transfer Odd." The process starts as Ulrich calls.
"Jeremy."
"Hold on Ulrich. Nadia, Odd, and Yumi are gonna be transferred. Hang on for just a second."
"Hurry Jeremy. It's getting tough. We can hardly touch the bottom anymore" the water has reached their arms.
"Okay now, back to the virtualization." He pushes enter, the three scanned. "Scanner Odd. Scanner Yumi. Scanner Nadia. Virtualization."
They all land in the desert sector safely, right in front of the tower. A Krab fires a laser and Yumi throws her fan, missing. It fires again and Odd jumps away.
"You missed!" Odd comments.
"Okay Aelita, it's time. You ready?" Yumi calls out. Odd jumps onto the rock in front of Aelita.
"Okay guys, we'll burst our way through. You keep running behind us. We've gotta make it to the tower, you understand?" He looks back, jumping away from the laser. "Go!" They all run, another krab joining the three. "Take that!" Odd fires three arrows. "And that!" He fires another one. He gets hit in the arm.
"10 life points in just two shots, Odd, you're losing life points much too quickly!" Jeremy warns.
"Don't worry, I'll make it!" He continues running and they stop right in front of the krabs.
"Watch it on your left!" Yumi calls out as she dodges a laser.
"Laser arrow!" Odd destroys one as the other three fire lasers. Yumi gets hit in the arm, kneeling.
"Your life point loss rate is too high Odd. You hear?" Jeremy panic as Nadia is also hit in the leg. Odd is hit again before he's devirtualized.
"Just you and me now Yumi!" Nadia comments.
Odd pants as he steps outside the scanner.
A krab steps up to Aelita, hitting her.
"Oh no! Aelita!"
Yumi jumps, absorbing the next laser with her fan. Nadia jumps on top of it. She pierces the eye with her saber, destroying it.
"That's what you get for hitting Aelita!" She comments.
"Aelita, 80. Yumi, just 10. Nadia, 80. You gotta clear the passage!"
Yumi throws her fan, hitting one, but it fires at her just before it's destroyed. Nadia and Aelita gasp as Yumi is devirtualized. "Just me now…" Nadia holds her sword in front of her as she runs at the two remaining krabs. She dodges laser, jumps, and throws her saber, destroying one. She is hit multiple times when she lands and is also devirtualized. The last krab walks up to Aelita.
"Noo!" Jeremy shouts.
Aelita stares at it and it fires. She rolls under it, running into the tower. She steps up to the middle. "It's okay Ulrich. Aelita is in the tower," Jeremy says in relief. "Ulrich?" The water has gotten too high, Ulrich's phone dropping to the bottom… "Ulrich do you hear me?"
Ulrich and Sissi struggle to breath, the water up to their necks.
Aelita starts flying to the top.
Sissi starts to drown.
Aelita lands on the top.
Ulrich starts to drown as well, unable to swim because of his arm.
Aelita presses her hand to the interface.
Aelita
Code
Lyoko
The water stops and Jeremy breathes in relief. The tower deactivates, everything resetting in time. "Return to the past now." Time is reset.
The five are standing in front of Jeremy's computer, Yumi hiding something. "Okay, now."
"Ready Aelita?" Jeremy asks, though Aelita is confused. "Here we go."
"What's going on? I don't understand" she says, trying to deduce what's going on, but she can't.
"It's something from our world" Odd explains, Sissi, Herb, and Nicolas peeking in. Sissi shushes them.
"Happy birthday Aelita!" They show a birthday cake.
"Oh!" She gasps at the dessert…but she has no idea what the occasion is. "I don't get it."
"We're celebrating cuz it's exactly one year ago that we met you" Jeremy replies as Ulrich turns around, seeing Sissi. He gives a small smile.
"Oh, I see. And am I supposed to do something?"
"Yeah, save ma piece of cake!" Odd jokes.
"One track mind" Yumi comments.
"Don't listen to that glutton" Jeremy adds.
Sissi looks back, Ulrich winking at her. She smiles back.
"Speak for yourself four-eyes" Odd retorts.
"Odd, with your eating habits, you could probably kill four cakes" Nadia points out.
"Heh, what a bunch of loonies. They're celebrating their computer's birthday" Herb comments as he and Nicolas laugh. Sissi walks up to them.
"Well, I think it's a very trendy thing to do. Buy a cake for tomorrow. To celebrate the birthday of my make-up kit." She smiles.
"Odd, you're eating all the cake, stop!" Yumi scolds.
"I'm hungry!" Odd whines.
"So is everybody else!"
"Hand it over" Ulrich chimes in.
This was definitely a very rememberable birthday for Aelita.
A.N. – As Christmas comes around, a birthday is celebrated. Next time, laughing into the New Year as well as a play. One more chapter to close out this year. PM me with story ideas! Review with questions or comments! I will respond! As always, till next time! See ya! -lyokowarrior97