Episode 102: Firestorm
"So, any new news, Einstein?" Jacob asked as the gang sat in Jeremy's room.
"Nothing yet," he sighed. "I did manage to extract what I think might be a last known location…" Aelita perked her ears in anticipation as Jeremy continued. "But…I haven't been able to crack the code yet…"
"It's okay, Jeremy," Aelita said. "Just knowing you're doing something gives me hope," she smiled.
"Well, I hope we'll have something soon," he grinned as the bell rang outside.
"We don't want to be late for class," Odd smiled as the gang split up and went their separate ways for classes…
In Mrs. Hertz's class, the class was taking a test on radioactivity and its effects on the environment, but Jacob sat at his desk and twitched his pencil as he tried to answer the questions. He couldn't focus at all; he was having flashbacks…
—Flashback—
"Run, Jacob!!" a voice screamed from behind him as a shadowy form with glowing red eyes enveloped two people behind him. They were on a Sector almost identical to Lyoko's Forest Sector, but it was dark and shadowed; there was hardly any light… All he could hear were their screams as they were taken, and the last thing he heard was his mother say, "We will always love you…" before they were swallowed up by the darkness…
"Mom! Dad! NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Jacob screamed as he wheeled around to face the shadowy form, which was solidifying into a young boy with pitch-black clothes and maniacal, glowing red eyes…
"No…no…AHHH!" Jacob screamed as the class jumped up in shock. Ulrich and Jeremy ran quickly over to him.
"Jacob, Jacob, can you hear me?" Ulrich asked as he opened Jacob's eyes and forced him to look at him. Jake's eyes were bloodshot and unfocused, and they flickered for a long time before slowly refocusing, and it took a long time before he finally murmured, "No…" and burst into silent tears. Ulrich laid a hand on his head, and felt that Jake was burning up. He looked at Jeremy in fear, and turned to Mrs. Hertz.
"He needs to get to the infirmary, quick," Ulrich said nervously as Mrs. Hertz looked around at the rest of the class.
"Very well. Stern, Belpois, take him. The three of you can finish the test once your friend is feeling up to it," she said in concern as they slowly helped a vacant Jacob up out of the floor where he had fallen out of his chair, and took him out of the class, leaving Aelita and Odd to finish their tests while worrying about their friend…
In the infirmary, it was about four hours later that Jacob bolted straight up in his bed and looked around wildly in fear. All of a sudden, he felt two pairs of hands on his shoulders, and when his eyes finally focused, he saw that Aelita and Ulrich were restraining him, and after a long time, he relaxed and laid slowly back into the bed as he looked in confusion and fear at Aelita…
"Where am I…?" he croaked groggily.
"The infirmary," she replied soothingly. "You passed out in Science this afternoon."
"I what?" he asked as everything slowly trickled back to him. He remembered the nightmare…the pain…the loss…and he began to cry as Aelita said "Shh…" and brushed his hair out of his eyes, holding him close to her. He sobbed, but managed to mumble…
"My parents…"
The next morning, in the cafeteria, the rest of the gang was eating breakfast and discussing Jacob's current condition.
"I'm worried," Aelita said softly. "I think maybe he's having nightmares."
"About what?" Odd asked. "Dr. Shrank and the Hospital of Horrors?"
"No, Odd," Ulrich said with a scowl that shut him up on the spot. "Not your stupid cartoons. This was real. Aelita thinks he was remembering what happened to his parents…" Ulrich trailed off as Jeremy looked at the two in concern.
"He told us he didn't remember what had happened; just that he knew XANA killed them…"
"I think he's beginning to remember the specifics…" Aelita whispered. "I stayed with him for a long time after he fell asleep again, and he kept muttering, "You can't take them…I'll fight you…" over and over. "I don't think XANA destroyed them that easily. I think Jacob fought for them…" she muttered as William's eyes widened. Aelita caught this, and turned to see Jacob walking slowly over to their table. He finally made it to them and Ulrich quickly slid over, making room as Jacob sat and slumped down, putting his head on the table as he looked around.
"Hi, guys…" he breathed softly as Aelita looked at him in concern.
"Are you sure you're okay to be out of the infirmary?" she asked.
"I couldn't stay in there any longer…" he replied. "It was too quiet…" At this, Odd snickered before Ulrich elbowed him in the side, which shut him up.
"Well, you're not going to class today," Yumi said simply. "You need to rest. You had us all worried!"
"I know, guys…I'm sorry…" Just then, Jacob's phone rang, and he took it out and looked at the screen in surprise before excusing himself to answer it. Once he was outside the door, he picked it up.
"What do you want?" he asked hotly, all traces of his exhaustion and illness instantly gone.
"I don't even get a hello?" the staticky voice on the other end hissed sweetly. "I thought you would want the information I had to give…"
"Why should I believe anything you have to say, XANA?" he hissed. "You killed my parents!"
"Ah, but that's the point… Come to Lyoko alone. Now. I can give them back to you…" At this, Jacob stopped cold, and dropped his phone, letting it clatter to the floor. He picked it up and muttered a reply before hanging up and running off. By the time Ulrich opened the door to see what the matter was, Jacob was gone…
"Stupid idiot…they're gone!" Jacob hissed under his breath as he ran blindly through the woods. "They can't be brought back…" he began to cry as his foot ran into something and he realized he had reached the Hermitage. He didn't think he had run that far. He slowly pushed the gate, and it creaked open, allowing him to walk through. He walked inside and into the decrepit library, sitting down in an old armchair as he gazed at all of the books and information held in the shelves. Something in the top corner caught his eye, and he grabbed a stool, climbing up to reach a file folder wedged between two books. He pulled it out and blew the dust off of it before looking at the symbol on the front. It was an Eye of XANA, but it was warped slightly, and it was dark blue instead of red or black. Jacob's eyes widened at this, and he opened to the first page with trembling fingers, reading aloud, "Project Carthage and the Scipio Factor…" as he turned the page, and his eyes welled up when he saw an old photograph of him at a very young age and his parents with an older man with gray hair in a lab coat, and a woman with strikingly familiar pink hair…
"What? My parents knew Franz and…Antea?" he asked in wonder as the shock overwhelmed him and he dropped to a knee. Knowing now that he had to get some answers, he slowly got up and took staggering steps towards the sewer entrance in the Hermitage garden…
He raced through the tunnels and quickly arrived at the entrance to the Factory. He climbed up the ladder and swung down to the lift, his mind racing as he got off at the Lab entrance and walked to the Supercomputer. His fingers raced across the keys as he started up the automatic virtualization procedure, and he quickly went down to the Scanners, sliding through the doors just before they closed. He sighed and closed his eyes as the roaring wind swept under him and then the bright light enveloped his body…
As all of this was happening, a Tower in the Desert Sector began to glow red…
At the old train station, a brand-new electric train suddenly began to roll down the tracks by itself, and its screens lit up with the Eye of XANA as he began to plot its course…
As the rest of the gang was finishing their lunch, Jeremy was distracted by his laptop beeping in his bag. He leaned down to grab it and quickly scanned it before sighing.
"XANA's activated a Tower. Volunteers?" he asked as Odd and William nodded. "We'll go to the Factory. Ulrich, Yumi, stay on guard if anything fishy happens here. And make sure Jacob stays put. I don't want him getting hurt."
"Got it," the pair replied as the group split and Jeremy, Aelita, Odd and William headed for the school gates…
"I'm going to go check on Jacob," Ulrich said as he and Yumi reached the boys' floor.
"Okay," she replied. "I'll go on to my next class."
"Okay." Ulrich walked quickly down the hall and when he reached Jacob's room, he knocked on the door. "Jacob? It's Ulrich, can I come in?" Hearing no response, he checked the handle, and the door swung open smoothly to reveal an empty room…
"Oh, no…" he muttered as he picked up his phone.
Once the other four had arrived at the Factory, Jeremy said, "Head for the Scanners. I'll start the procedure." Once he had gotten to the computer, though, his phone rang, and he quickly answered it. "Ulrich, what's wrong?"
"Jacob's not here!" Ulrich replied worriedly. "Yumi and I have checked everywhere! I don't know where he could be…"
"I bet I do…" Jeremy sighed as he checked the logs on the Supercomputer, and saw exactly what he figured he might. He picked up his headset and said over the speakers to the other three in the Scanner Room, "Jacob's on Lyoko in Sector Five. Odd, I'm sending you after him. Aelita and William, head for the Tower."
"You got it, Einstein!" Odd grinned as the doors closed.
Transfer Odd, Transfer William, Transfer Aelita.
Scanner Odd, Scanner William, Scanner Aelita.
Virtualization!
Meanwhile, in Sector Five, Jacob was slowly approaching the Tower room. He looked around, and at first saw nothing before he saw the blue blocks that made up the walls floating down to create a bridge to the Tower, which was suspended in mid-air. Then he watched as red ripples appeared on the outside of the Tower, and a figure walked out of the Tower. It was a young boy, about 12 or 13, wearing a pitch-black bodysuit with red embellishments and the Eye of XANA on the chest. Jacob tensed as he saw his enemy, and XANA's eyes lit up in cruel humor.
"Oh, come now, I didn't come here to do you any harm," he laughed playfully, his voice as cool and clear as ice. It would have sent chills down Jacob's spine had he been on Earth. "We both know why you're here…" he said, with the faintest hint of a snarl in his voice…
"What?" Jeremy said as he pulled up the map of Kadic City on his screen. "Aelita, we've got a problem! XANA ahs possessed a train from the train station and he's turned it on the nuclear plant! You have to deactivate the Tower! Fast!"
"Okay, Jeremy. We can see it now," she said as a pair of Tarantulas materialized in front of it. Looking around, no more monsters appeared, and Aelita was taken slightly by surprise.
"This is it?" Willaim asked with a bit of humor in his voice. "Charge!" he yelled as he ran towards the two Tarantulas. They began firing on him, but he yelled, "Super Smoke!" ad disappeared, reforming behind the two beasts and slaying them both with a slice of his sword. They exploded, and after waiting a moment to make sure that nothing else was going to ambush them, William looked at Aelita and said, "Well, I guess your Tower awaits you." Aelita ran in and floated up to the second platform, placing her hand on the Interface to activate it.
AELITA
CODE:
The train continued to race as it was now only a few seconds from colliding with the plant…
LYOKO
"Tower deactivated," Aelita said as the screens fell around her.
The train rolled to a stop a few feet from the wall of the nuclear plant as XANA's spectral energy hissed and drifted away out of the smokestack.
Aelita came out of the Tower a few moments later and looked at William before saying aloud, "That seemed too easy…"
"I know," Jeremy replied. "Let me see how Odd's doing. Odd?"
"Yeah, Einstein, I'm almost there," he replied as he raced through the end of a maze and found the corridor leading to the Tower room.
"Wait, what?" Jeremy asked aloud as an alert message came across his screen. He pulled up the Sector Five Holomap and scanned it for a few seconds before gasping. "It's as if—oh, no!"
"What is it, Jeremy?" Aelita asked over the connection.
"XANA himself has come on to Lyoko! It's all been a trap! I'm launching my Teleportation program! You guys need to get to Sector Five right now!"
"Yeah, we know why I'm here. You took my parents from me. I want them back, XANA!" he hissed as XANA laughed, a sound like none he had ever heard before.
"That can be arranged…" he growled as his eyes began to glow dark red. The Eye on his chest began to glow as Jacob backed up out of uncertainty. XANA called a stream of smoke from the side wall, and it began to split, forming a wall of Creepers between himself and his prey. A squad of Mantas began to hatch from the walls as well, and in a matter of a few seconds, Jacob was staring in the face a small army. His eyes widened as he realized it had all been a trap… "I killed your parents long ago!" he growled, his voice changing to the distorted pitch that the gang knew so well. "But you eluded me! You have for too long! It's time for me to kill the last person with the ability to get rid of me!" he screamed maniacally. "Monsters, attack!" he commanded as they began to close on Jacob, who closed his eyes and prepared for the end…
"Bonzai!!" Odd yelled as a volley of Laser Arrows flew from behind Jacob, colliding with a half dozen Creepers and blowing them to bits. An Energy Field and a pair of fans soon followed behind them, taking out a Manta and two more Creepers, and XANA growled in frustration as Aelita, William, Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd appeared behind Jacob. Aelita smiled as she placed a hand on Jake's shoulder.
"You're an idiot," she scolded. "But we would never leave you alone," she added as XANA looked each one of them in the eye.
"You're all gathered here in one place…this is working out better than I had planned. I'll just take all of you down at once!" he cried as his army of monsters converged on the Warriors again.
"We'll take the monsters, Jacob; you take care of XANA!" Ulrich yelled as a Creeper fired at him. He dodged the shot and sprinted around it, circling it before stabbing his sabre through its head, destroying it. Odd and Aelita were firing Laser Arrows and energy orbs at the Mantas in an effort to take them down, while Yumi and William were surrounded by a circle of Creepers, which they were working at dispatching. This left only XANA…and Jaocb stared at him for a long moment before he spoke.
"It's time I settled this!" he cried as he rushed towards XANA. XANA just grinned evilly, and dodged as Jacob fired an Energy Field. He then summoned an orb of black smoke, and returned fire. Jacob barely managed to dodge the orb before he reached XANA and prepared to strike again. XANA just laughed and tripped Jacob, mercifully allowing him time to return to his feet.
"I have to let you have a bit of a chance," he grinned. "Not that it matters anyways. Look around," he laughed as Jacob saw the monsters beginning to get the upper hand on his friends. He watched this for a moment in horror, and then a wave of rage overtook him, and he felt a surge of energy well up from within…
"THAT'S ENOUGH!!!" he screamed as he summoned his Energy Fields and released a surge of energy from his fingertips, blasting a huge fireball across the room that turned into a firestorm which incinerated XANA's entire army. XANA just turned in shock, and then looked back at Jacob, whose eyes were lit in fury. "This ends now!" he hissed. "You and me," he added as XANA began to chuckle. Jacob looked at his friends, and used his Telepathy to tell them, "Get out of here! This is my fight!" Everyone but Aelita backed up and got out of there, but she stayed a moment longer and looked at him sadly before turning and running, leaving Jacob and XANA face-to-face.
"Protecting your friends; how noble!" XANA hissed as he summoned a stream of smoke from the Data Barrier below. It solidified into a serrated, evil-looking black sword, and over a secure connection, Jeremy said in Jacob's ear, "The firestorm was incredible! Your powers are far beyond anything I've ever seen before. From what I've found out, you can manipulate your Energy Fields into virtually any weapon you want!" With this knowledge, Jacob summoned an Energy Field and morphed it until it solidified into a deep purple sword, and he looked at XANA expectantly.
"It's time," he said simply before charging at XANA, who responded by running in himself. The two foes met in the middle of the pathway and exchanged blows, parrying each other's attacks continuously with the utmost precision and accuracy. Jacob's blade sparked as he blocked a slash by XANA, and he forced XANA's blade back, creating a shower of sparks before XANA was pushed back. Both adversaries panted in exhaustion before readying themselves one more time. XANA ran at Jacob, but Jacob twisted to the side just enough to send XANA crashing past him, and he fired a perfectly placed Energy Field which hit XANA's leg and sent him tumbling to the ground. Jacob was over him in an instant, holding the tip of his sword to XANA's throat. As he prepared to deliver the finishing blow, he hesitated, and in that instant, XANA saw weakness in his eyes. He laughed, and as he turned into a smoky cloud and flew towards the Data Barrier below them, Jacob heard him whisper, "You're weak, you coward. You couldn't bring yourself to do it!" and in that moment, Jacob dropped to his knees and did something that should have been impossible on Lyoko. He cried…
Once the fighting was over, Jeremy sighed and brought Jacob in. Down in the Scanner Room, Jacob sat in the floor of the metal tube for a long time, tears streaming down his face, before the gang came down and found him there. Ulrich and Odd helped him to his feet, and he sniffled a moment before finally speaking.
"XANA's right," he whispered. "I am weak. I couldn't bring myself to do it. He was…too human. I always pictured some unseen enemy that we would take down. I never pictured my chance being like that…" he trailed off.
"Jacob, it's okay," Jeremy said as he put a hand on his shoulder. "I don't think any one of us could do it. Not in cold blood like that. We'll find a way. Whatever happens, we'll find a way."
"At least now we know that XANA's not afraid to show his face around us," William pointed out.
"I'm not so sure," Aelita replied thoughtfully.
"I agree," Jacob added; his voice steadier now. "The whole time, I could sense that XANA was expending a lot of effort to maintain his form on Lyoko. I think this was purely an effort to strike revenge against me and break my will. I don't think he's capable of consistently attacking us like that. But," he continued, "He didn't accomplish his goal. If he thinks he can scare me and get me to give up, he's wrong. And what's more, I've got my friends standing beside me," he smiled as Ulrich put a hand on his other shoulder. "This fight isn't over. Next time XANA strikes, we'll be ready for him. It's time to show him that we aren't afraid of anything he can throw at us!"
A0639: So XANA finally shows his face…Ooh…scary! Haha, be ready, because in a few chapters, my first-ever two-part episode will begin! But, in order to get that far, you guys have to READ AND REVIEW!!!! So do it!
"So, any new news, Einstein?" Jacob asked as the gang sat in Jeremy's room.
"Nothing yet," he sighed. "I did manage to extract what I think might be a last known location…" Aelita perked her ears in anticipation as Jeremy continued. "But…I haven't been able to crack the code yet…"
"It's okay, Jeremy," Aelita said. "Just knowing you're doing something gives me hope," she smiled.
"Well, I hope we'll have something soon," he grinned as the bell rang outside.
"We don't want to be late for class," Odd smiled as the gang split up and went their separate ways for classes…
In Mrs. Hertz's class, the class was taking a test on radioactivity and its effects on the environment, but Jacob sat at his desk and twitched his pencil as he tried to answer the questions. He couldn't focus at all; he was having flashbacks…
—Flashback—
"Run, Jacob!!" a voice screamed from behind him as a shadowy form with glowing red eyes enveloped two people behind him. They were on a Sector almost identical to Lyoko's Forest Sector, but it was dark and shadowed; there was hardly any light… All he could hear were their screams as they were taken, and the last thing he heard was his mother say, "We will always love you…" before they were swallowed up by the darkness…
"Mom! Dad! NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Jacob screamed as he wheeled around to face the shadowy form, which was solidifying into a young boy with pitch-black clothes and maniacal, glowing red eyes…
"No…no…AHHH!" Jacob screamed as the class jumped up in shock. Ulrich and Jeremy ran quickly over to him.
"Jacob, Jacob, can you hear me?" Ulrich asked as he opened Jacob's eyes and forced him to look at him. Jake's eyes were bloodshot and unfocused, and they flickered for a long time before slowly refocusing, and it took a long time before he finally murmured, "No…" and burst into silent tears. Ulrich laid a hand on his head, and felt that Jake was burning up. He looked at Jeremy in fear, and turned to Mrs. Hertz.
"He needs to get to the infirmary, quick," Ulrich said nervously as Mrs. Hertz looked around at the rest of the class.
"Very well. Stern, Belpois, take him. The three of you can finish the test once your friend is feeling up to it," she said in concern as they slowly helped a vacant Jacob up out of the floor where he had fallen out of his chair, and took him out of the class, leaving Aelita and Odd to finish their tests while worrying about their friend…
In the infirmary, it was about four hours later that Jacob bolted straight up in his bed and looked around wildly in fear. All of a sudden, he felt two pairs of hands on his shoulders, and when his eyes finally focused, he saw that Aelita and Ulrich were restraining him, and after a long time, he relaxed and laid slowly back into the bed as he looked in confusion and fear at Aelita…
"Where am I…?" he croaked groggily.
"The infirmary," she replied soothingly. "You passed out in Science this afternoon."
"I what?" he asked as everything slowly trickled back to him. He remembered the nightmare…the pain…the loss…and he began to cry as Aelita said "Shh…" and brushed his hair out of his eyes, holding him close to her. He sobbed, but managed to mumble…
"My parents…"
The next morning, in the cafeteria, the rest of the gang was eating breakfast and discussing Jacob's current condition.
"I'm worried," Aelita said softly. "I think maybe he's having nightmares."
"About what?" Odd asked. "Dr. Shrank and the Hospital of Horrors?"
"No, Odd," Ulrich said with a scowl that shut him up on the spot. "Not your stupid cartoons. This was real. Aelita thinks he was remembering what happened to his parents…" Ulrich trailed off as Jeremy looked at the two in concern.
"He told us he didn't remember what had happened; just that he knew XANA killed them…"
"I think he's beginning to remember the specifics…" Aelita whispered. "I stayed with him for a long time after he fell asleep again, and he kept muttering, "You can't take them…I'll fight you…" over and over. "I don't think XANA destroyed them that easily. I think Jacob fought for them…" she muttered as William's eyes widened. Aelita caught this, and turned to see Jacob walking slowly over to their table. He finally made it to them and Ulrich quickly slid over, making room as Jacob sat and slumped down, putting his head on the table as he looked around.
"Hi, guys…" he breathed softly as Aelita looked at him in concern.
"Are you sure you're okay to be out of the infirmary?" she asked.
"I couldn't stay in there any longer…" he replied. "It was too quiet…" At this, Odd snickered before Ulrich elbowed him in the side, which shut him up.
"Well, you're not going to class today," Yumi said simply. "You need to rest. You had us all worried!"
"I know, guys…I'm sorry…" Just then, Jacob's phone rang, and he took it out and looked at the screen in surprise before excusing himself to answer it. Once he was outside the door, he picked it up.
"What do you want?" he asked hotly, all traces of his exhaustion and illness instantly gone.
"I don't even get a hello?" the staticky voice on the other end hissed sweetly. "I thought you would want the information I had to give…"
"Why should I believe anything you have to say, XANA?" he hissed. "You killed my parents!"
"Ah, but that's the point… Come to Lyoko alone. Now. I can give them back to you…" At this, Jacob stopped cold, and dropped his phone, letting it clatter to the floor. He picked it up and muttered a reply before hanging up and running off. By the time Ulrich opened the door to see what the matter was, Jacob was gone…
"Stupid idiot…they're gone!" Jacob hissed under his breath as he ran blindly through the woods. "They can't be brought back…" he began to cry as his foot ran into something and he realized he had reached the Hermitage. He didn't think he had run that far. He slowly pushed the gate, and it creaked open, allowing him to walk through. He walked inside and into the decrepit library, sitting down in an old armchair as he gazed at all of the books and information held in the shelves. Something in the top corner caught his eye, and he grabbed a stool, climbing up to reach a file folder wedged between two books. He pulled it out and blew the dust off of it before looking at the symbol on the front. It was an Eye of XANA, but it was warped slightly, and it was dark blue instead of red or black. Jacob's eyes widened at this, and he opened to the first page with trembling fingers, reading aloud, "Project Carthage and the Scipio Factor…" as he turned the page, and his eyes welled up when he saw an old photograph of him at a very young age and his parents with an older man with gray hair in a lab coat, and a woman with strikingly familiar pink hair…
"What? My parents knew Franz and…Antea?" he asked in wonder as the shock overwhelmed him and he dropped to a knee. Knowing now that he had to get some answers, he slowly got up and took staggering steps towards the sewer entrance in the Hermitage garden…
He raced through the tunnels and quickly arrived at the entrance to the Factory. He climbed up the ladder and swung down to the lift, his mind racing as he got off at the Lab entrance and walked to the Supercomputer. His fingers raced across the keys as he started up the automatic virtualization procedure, and he quickly went down to the Scanners, sliding through the doors just before they closed. He sighed and closed his eyes as the roaring wind swept under him and then the bright light enveloped his body…
As all of this was happening, a Tower in the Desert Sector began to glow red…
At the old train station, a brand-new electric train suddenly began to roll down the tracks by itself, and its screens lit up with the Eye of XANA as he began to plot its course…
As the rest of the gang was finishing their lunch, Jeremy was distracted by his laptop beeping in his bag. He leaned down to grab it and quickly scanned it before sighing.
"XANA's activated a Tower. Volunteers?" he asked as Odd and William nodded. "We'll go to the Factory. Ulrich, Yumi, stay on guard if anything fishy happens here. And make sure Jacob stays put. I don't want him getting hurt."
"Got it," the pair replied as the group split and Jeremy, Aelita, Odd and William headed for the school gates…
"I'm going to go check on Jacob," Ulrich said as he and Yumi reached the boys' floor.
"Okay," she replied. "I'll go on to my next class."
"Okay." Ulrich walked quickly down the hall and when he reached Jacob's room, he knocked on the door. "Jacob? It's Ulrich, can I come in?" Hearing no response, he checked the handle, and the door swung open smoothly to reveal an empty room…
"Oh, no…" he muttered as he picked up his phone.
Once the other four had arrived at the Factory, Jeremy said, "Head for the Scanners. I'll start the procedure." Once he had gotten to the computer, though, his phone rang, and he quickly answered it. "Ulrich, what's wrong?"
"Jacob's not here!" Ulrich replied worriedly. "Yumi and I have checked everywhere! I don't know where he could be…"
"I bet I do…" Jeremy sighed as he checked the logs on the Supercomputer, and saw exactly what he figured he might. He picked up his headset and said over the speakers to the other three in the Scanner Room, "Jacob's on Lyoko in Sector Five. Odd, I'm sending you after him. Aelita and William, head for the Tower."
"You got it, Einstein!" Odd grinned as the doors closed.
Transfer Odd, Transfer William, Transfer Aelita.
Scanner Odd, Scanner William, Scanner Aelita.
Virtualization!
Meanwhile, in Sector Five, Jacob was slowly approaching the Tower room. He looked around, and at first saw nothing before he saw the blue blocks that made up the walls floating down to create a bridge to the Tower, which was suspended in mid-air. Then he watched as red ripples appeared on the outside of the Tower, and a figure walked out of the Tower. It was a young boy, about 12 or 13, wearing a pitch-black bodysuit with red embellishments and the Eye of XANA on the chest. Jacob tensed as he saw his enemy, and XANA's eyes lit up in cruel humor.
"Oh, come now, I didn't come here to do you any harm," he laughed playfully, his voice as cool and clear as ice. It would have sent chills down Jacob's spine had he been on Earth. "We both know why you're here…" he said, with the faintest hint of a snarl in his voice…
"What?" Jeremy said as he pulled up the map of Kadic City on his screen. "Aelita, we've got a problem! XANA ahs possessed a train from the train station and he's turned it on the nuclear plant! You have to deactivate the Tower! Fast!"
"Okay, Jeremy. We can see it now," she said as a pair of Tarantulas materialized in front of it. Looking around, no more monsters appeared, and Aelita was taken slightly by surprise.
"This is it?" Willaim asked with a bit of humor in his voice. "Charge!" he yelled as he ran towards the two Tarantulas. They began firing on him, but he yelled, "Super Smoke!" ad disappeared, reforming behind the two beasts and slaying them both with a slice of his sword. They exploded, and after waiting a moment to make sure that nothing else was going to ambush them, William looked at Aelita and said, "Well, I guess your Tower awaits you." Aelita ran in and floated up to the second platform, placing her hand on the Interface to activate it.
AELITA
CODE:
The train continued to race as it was now only a few seconds from colliding with the plant…
LYOKO
"Tower deactivated," Aelita said as the screens fell around her.
The train rolled to a stop a few feet from the wall of the nuclear plant as XANA's spectral energy hissed and drifted away out of the smokestack.
Aelita came out of the Tower a few moments later and looked at William before saying aloud, "That seemed too easy…"
"I know," Jeremy replied. "Let me see how Odd's doing. Odd?"
"Yeah, Einstein, I'm almost there," he replied as he raced through the end of a maze and found the corridor leading to the Tower room.
"Wait, what?" Jeremy asked aloud as an alert message came across his screen. He pulled up the Sector Five Holomap and scanned it for a few seconds before gasping. "It's as if—oh, no!"
"What is it, Jeremy?" Aelita asked over the connection.
"XANA himself has come on to Lyoko! It's all been a trap! I'm launching my Teleportation program! You guys need to get to Sector Five right now!"
"Yeah, we know why I'm here. You took my parents from me. I want them back, XANA!" he hissed as XANA laughed, a sound like none he had ever heard before.
"That can be arranged…" he growled as his eyes began to glow dark red. The Eye on his chest began to glow as Jacob backed up out of uncertainty. XANA called a stream of smoke from the side wall, and it began to split, forming a wall of Creepers between himself and his prey. A squad of Mantas began to hatch from the walls as well, and in a matter of a few seconds, Jacob was staring in the face a small army. His eyes widened as he realized it had all been a trap… "I killed your parents long ago!" he growled, his voice changing to the distorted pitch that the gang knew so well. "But you eluded me! You have for too long! It's time for me to kill the last person with the ability to get rid of me!" he screamed maniacally. "Monsters, attack!" he commanded as they began to close on Jacob, who closed his eyes and prepared for the end…
"Bonzai!!" Odd yelled as a volley of Laser Arrows flew from behind Jacob, colliding with a half dozen Creepers and blowing them to bits. An Energy Field and a pair of fans soon followed behind them, taking out a Manta and two more Creepers, and XANA growled in frustration as Aelita, William, Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd appeared behind Jacob. Aelita smiled as she placed a hand on Jake's shoulder.
"You're an idiot," she scolded. "But we would never leave you alone," she added as XANA looked each one of them in the eye.
"You're all gathered here in one place…this is working out better than I had planned. I'll just take all of you down at once!" he cried as his army of monsters converged on the Warriors again.
"We'll take the monsters, Jacob; you take care of XANA!" Ulrich yelled as a Creeper fired at him. He dodged the shot and sprinted around it, circling it before stabbing his sabre through its head, destroying it. Odd and Aelita were firing Laser Arrows and energy orbs at the Mantas in an effort to take them down, while Yumi and William were surrounded by a circle of Creepers, which they were working at dispatching. This left only XANA…and Jaocb stared at him for a long moment before he spoke.
"It's time I settled this!" he cried as he rushed towards XANA. XANA just grinned evilly, and dodged as Jacob fired an Energy Field. He then summoned an orb of black smoke, and returned fire. Jacob barely managed to dodge the orb before he reached XANA and prepared to strike again. XANA just laughed and tripped Jacob, mercifully allowing him time to return to his feet.
"I have to let you have a bit of a chance," he grinned. "Not that it matters anyways. Look around," he laughed as Jacob saw the monsters beginning to get the upper hand on his friends. He watched this for a moment in horror, and then a wave of rage overtook him, and he felt a surge of energy well up from within…
"THAT'S ENOUGH!!!" he screamed as he summoned his Energy Fields and released a surge of energy from his fingertips, blasting a huge fireball across the room that turned into a firestorm which incinerated XANA's entire army. XANA just turned in shock, and then looked back at Jacob, whose eyes were lit in fury. "This ends now!" he hissed. "You and me," he added as XANA began to chuckle. Jacob looked at his friends, and used his Telepathy to tell them, "Get out of here! This is my fight!" Everyone but Aelita backed up and got out of there, but she stayed a moment longer and looked at him sadly before turning and running, leaving Jacob and XANA face-to-face.
"Protecting your friends; how noble!" XANA hissed as he summoned a stream of smoke from the Data Barrier below. It solidified into a serrated, evil-looking black sword, and over a secure connection, Jeremy said in Jacob's ear, "The firestorm was incredible! Your powers are far beyond anything I've ever seen before. From what I've found out, you can manipulate your Energy Fields into virtually any weapon you want!" With this knowledge, Jacob summoned an Energy Field and morphed it until it solidified into a deep purple sword, and he looked at XANA expectantly.
"It's time," he said simply before charging at XANA, who responded by running in himself. The two foes met in the middle of the pathway and exchanged blows, parrying each other's attacks continuously with the utmost precision and accuracy. Jacob's blade sparked as he blocked a slash by XANA, and he forced XANA's blade back, creating a shower of sparks before XANA was pushed back. Both adversaries panted in exhaustion before readying themselves one more time. XANA ran at Jacob, but Jacob twisted to the side just enough to send XANA crashing past him, and he fired a perfectly placed Energy Field which hit XANA's leg and sent him tumbling to the ground. Jacob was over him in an instant, holding the tip of his sword to XANA's throat. As he prepared to deliver the finishing blow, he hesitated, and in that instant, XANA saw weakness in his eyes. He laughed, and as he turned into a smoky cloud and flew towards the Data Barrier below them, Jacob heard him whisper, "You're weak, you coward. You couldn't bring yourself to do it!" and in that moment, Jacob dropped to his knees and did something that should have been impossible on Lyoko. He cried…
Once the fighting was over, Jeremy sighed and brought Jacob in. Down in the Scanner Room, Jacob sat in the floor of the metal tube for a long time, tears streaming down his face, before the gang came down and found him there. Ulrich and Odd helped him to his feet, and he sniffled a moment before finally speaking.
"XANA's right," he whispered. "I am weak. I couldn't bring myself to do it. He was…too human. I always pictured some unseen enemy that we would take down. I never pictured my chance being like that…" he trailed off.
"Jacob, it's okay," Jeremy said as he put a hand on his shoulder. "I don't think any one of us could do it. Not in cold blood like that. We'll find a way. Whatever happens, we'll find a way."
"At least now we know that XANA's not afraid to show his face around us," William pointed out.
"I'm not so sure," Aelita replied thoughtfully.
"I agree," Jacob added; his voice steadier now. "The whole time, I could sense that XANA was expending a lot of effort to maintain his form on Lyoko. I think this was purely an effort to strike revenge against me and break my will. I don't think he's capable of consistently attacking us like that. But," he continued, "He didn't accomplish his goal. If he thinks he can scare me and get me to give up, he's wrong. And what's more, I've got my friends standing beside me," he smiled as Ulrich put a hand on his other shoulder. "This fight isn't over. Next time XANA strikes, we'll be ready for him. It's time to show him that we aren't afraid of anything he can throw at us!"
A0639: So XANA finally shows his face…Ooh…scary! Haha, be ready, because in a few chapters, my first-ever two-part episode will begin! But, in order to get that far, you guys have to READ AND REVIEW!!!! So do it!
