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G-Force 4
Author of 6 Stories |
Disclaimer:
I don't own Code Lyoko and if I did it would still be playing on Miguzi for all of our sakes.
Special Thanks:
To all of my wonderful reviewers who continue to push me in the right direction and correct all of my flaws.
"Odd, watch out!" Ulrich warned his friend as he saw two deadly projectiles fly towards him.
Ulrich's warning came just in the nick of time Odd and stopped his advanced only to hop to dodge the objects that threatened to take his life. He didn't have enough time to express any words of gratitude because at that moment he saw a familiar winged enemy swoop down low in an effort to take his head off. Though the flying beast's flight speed was fast, Odd's cat-like reflexes proved to be faster. He ran at the creature in full sprint and kicked off a nearby block that was in his way for extra height before stomping both of his feet onto his attacker sending it crashing to the ground in a dizzy heap. Before it could recover, Odd pointed his fist at the being and fired his own offensive weapon and destroyed his enemy for good.
"Nice," Ulrich said, impressed with the finesse Odd demonstrated during combat. "But you gotta keep going. There's not much time left."
Odd acknowledged the truth in Ulrich's words. Although he had enough experience to waste all of the minions in this entire region, destroying these enemies would only prove to be a waste of time. He made a one-hundred and eighty degree and started to run to his final goal only to find a giant pit in his way. Odd didn't even hesitate and leapt high into the air. Just when it looked like he was going to complete the jump, another deadly projectile was fired from another adversary in front of him. Odd tried his best to twist his body to avoid the attack but it was too late. The charge struck him in the chest and ended his flight in the air causing his immediate descent into the void below.
'NO!" Odd screamed out as he desperately flailed his limbs in the air in a futile effort to save himself. He took one last look at the scenery before it faded to blackness only to be replaced by two words that he could ponder for the rest of his stay in the darkness.
GAME OVER
Odd allowed himself to smile before shrugging his shoulders. "Guess I need to practice more playing Super Mario huh?"
Ulrich was thoroughly entertained with watching Odd demonstrate his video game expertise. "Hey, that was pretty cool when you jumped in the air and landed on that flying turtle only to finish it off with one of your fireballs."
"I just can't believe it," Yumi said in disbelief.
"I know I'm that good Yumi. You don't have to state the obvious. Sometimes I even put myself in awe." Odd said, allowing a little bit of his arrogance to seep into the conversation.
"I wasn't talking about you Odd." Yumi retorted. "I just can't believe we're here in the mall's arcade during school hours."
"Hey, when the principal gives us a day off, what do you expect us to do? Study?"
Odd was telling the truth. The principal announced the day before that he was hiring a few building inspectors to comb through the school to see if it was indeed safe for the children to inhabit and had to close it for the day. Safety was a major issue to him and it would forever rest on his conscience to see one of his students hurt because of his laziness. Unfortunately, these inspections occurred on a Thursday which meant that classes would resume tomorrow morning. Of course the student body of Kadic Junior High saw this as a blessing. Ulrich too enjoyed having the day off as he was using his recreation time to help Yumi keep Odd's overinflated ego in check.
"Odd, you never study." Ulrich said flatly, "You're always goofing off in class and whenever the teacher has something important to say you take that as an invitation to fall asleep."
"You know you want to take a nap in Mrs. Hertz's class too." Odd countered. "I swear, if I see the equation y mx b on the chalkboard again, I'm going to loose it."
Jin slid his headphones down to his neck and stepped forward to join the others.
"Never was too keen on physics. History was my forte."
"AH!" Ulrich yelped in surprise by Jin's sudden entrance, "You always catch me off guard when you just show up like that. Do you do this stuff on purpose?"
Jin only offered Ulrich a simple shoulder shrug before he placed his right hand into his jacket pocket.
"Well, time to get in some much needed Lyoko training but first I wanna show you guys something."
Jin lead his group of friends to an arcade machine in the far corner of the room and watched the two unknown players square off in the virtual area. The character on the side of the screen left was clad in a red police uniform while the fighter on the right wore a simple white karate gi.
"Now pay attention to the guy on the left." Jin whispered to the group.
Sure enough the on screen fighter executed the maneuver that Jin was hoping for. The character dove at his opponent and spun his body sideways in a clockwise motion all while emitting a blueish aura.
"PSYCHO CRUSHER!" The character' digital s voice bellowed through the game's speakers.
"Psycho Crusher?" Odd and Ulrich said in complete shock. Instantly recognizing the move as the one Jin used one Lyoko during the last XANA attack.
Jin folded his arms across his chest and smiled. "Look familiar to you?"
Ulrich looked around him to see if there were any people nearby who could potentially eavesdrop on their conversation before answering Jin's question.
"You based your attack off of a video game move" the brown haired boy said with a twitched eyebrow.
"Hey, Street Fighter is a good game. Least I didn't pick Donkey Kong or something lame like that. What would I do in Lyoko? Throw barrels or something?" Jin then stood up straight and pointed his right index finger at the ceiling trying his best to look as professional as he could. "If you look at it, Lyoko is one giant game. You select a character, fight monsters and you even have life points..." Jin's aura of professionalism was instantly compromised as he began to ponder on all the conflicting facts that he failed to mention in his previous lecture. "But then again you can really die in Lyoko and there's the fact that we are fighting for the world's safety so it really isn't something to be taken lightly after all."
Ulrich wasn't too keen on the subject of video games and decided to just end the discussion.
"As long as you kill XANA's monsters and keep Aelita safe it's alright with me."
Jin sensed Ulrich's evasive tactics and couldn't help but comment. "You had no idea with what I'm saying huh? Albert Einstein of the arcade you're not."
Hearing the famed scientist's name made Yumi think of Jeremie instantaneously. She looked at her male friends' faces and saw that their normal group of companions was one member short.
"Speaking of Einstein..." Yumi used Odd's famed nickname for the young intellectual for the first time in her life. "Wasn't he supposed to meet us here."
Odd's eyes went wide with realization before he smacked himself in the forehead. "Oh yeah! Jeremie told me that he wanted to stay at the school today and that he won't be joining us today."
"Aelita's materialization again?"
Odd raised his index finger and waved it side to side before speaking again. "It's not just that Yumi. Einstein said he was working one something else today but I forgot what it was."
Jin fished out his trusty silver cell phone from his jacket pocket and held it in front of him for all to see.
"Let's see then."
Jin punched in Jeremie's cell phone number and heard a click on the other side of the line."
"Hello," Jeremie answered.
Jin skipped the formalities of introducing himself and cut straight to the chase. "We get a free day off from school and you spend it on your computer!"
"Well...yeah"
"Haven't you heard the phrase all work and no play makes Jake a dull boy? Can't you at least take a break from Aelita's materialization for once?"
"Actually I am. I'm making some changes to your Lyoko character."
"Eep!" Jin yelped in fear.
"Don't worry. It's something really minor that is more for my benefit."
Jin allowed himself to relax after hearing his friend's reassurance before he regained his composure.
"Oh well, have fun Jeremie."
"Incase you need to contact me, I'll be in the factory."
"Ok, happy programing."
Jin turned off his cell phone and proceeded to report his findings.
"Jeremie said he was staying behind to change one of our characters in Lyoko."
A wide grin began to spread on Odd's face as he wrongly assumed he was the recipient of Jeremie's altercations.
"Yeah baby!"
"Chill out Odd. Those changes were meant for me."
"Aww man. Why do you get the special treatment?"
Jin shrugged his shoulders for the second time that day.
"Jeremie said it was for his benefit so the change must not be that dramatic."
All this talk about Lyoko made Ulrich recall a specific line that Jin said before he went on that random tangent about Lyoko being one giant video game.
"You mentioned something about Lyoko training before. What exactly did you mean?"
"I come to this arcade from time to time to brush on my skills whenever XANA gives us a much needed break."
Jin walked over to a large arcade machine that had two black, plastic handguns holstered on the sides. Yumi, Odd and Ulrich watched with curious looks as Jin unplug his headphones from his CD player and placed the object of the floor. He then grabbed the left gun's handle and held it tight in his left hand before he placed his money in the machine.
"You see, because of the unique nature of my weapons, I had to find other means to practice since I can't just fire a real gun so I turned to video games as my solution."
Jin then picked up the remaining pistol on the right side of the cabinet and held it in front of him.
"Care to join?"
Odd stepped forward and grabbed the plastic replica weapon.
"Let's see how good this thing really is."
"So Yumi..." Ulrich struggled to find the perfect question that would serve as a catalyst for a conversation with the girl by his side. "Do you share the same interest in video games as your brother?"
The boy mentally kicked himself for asking such a ridiculous question. His cheeks turned a deeper shade of crimson out of embarrassment and something else. Something he couldn't put his finger on at that moment.
Yumi could sense what Ulrich's intension were and secretly thanked the boy for taking the initiative in striking up a conversation.
"Not really. I mean Aniki and I would play together sometimes but I'm no where near his level."
"The same can be said with me and Odd. Even though I play a few handheld games once in a while."
After a slight chuckle on Ulrich's behalf, the discussion once again returned to the deafly calm that is was originally born from and the two walked together in muteness once more.
"Ha! Jealous Jin?"
Jin only responded by firing three rapid shots into the enemy in front of him, striking the foe in the chest twice and allowed the third bullet to penetrate his skull..
"You're quiet the marksman." Odd said sarcastically.
"You know Odd, there are five guys in front of you."
"Crud"
Odd watched helplessly as his character was ruthless gunned down and read the words "game over" for the second time that day.
Now it was Jin's turn to gloat.
"You're not such a hot-shot after all."
"That's because I was using this plastic thing. If I got to aim with my wrist at the screen then you wouldn't stand a chance."
"Whatever man. You know you can't beat me here. In the realm of video games you'll always be the odd man out."
Jin could help but laugh at the pun he just made but didn't allow himself to loose focus of what was happening in the game.
"Sorry about that. You know I was going to crack that joke sooner or later." Jin apologized. "You ok?"
Odd gritted his teeth after hearing Jin's latest attempt at humor. It wasn't that he didn't like being made fun of, that stuff he was used to. It was just that Jin had to be the five-hundredth and ninety-six person this year who decided to be clever and use his name in some God awful pun. He had to find someway to get back at him.
"Jin look! Somebody is stealing your CD player!" Odd said, trying his best to sound alarmed as if the actual crime was being committed.
Jin quickly spun on his heel and ran toward the exit of the arcade in a effort to try to catch the petty thief. As he took his first few steps, he forgot about the plastic gun he was holding which was connected to the cabinet via a giant heavy chain and a thick chord. Odd watched the chain tense up which caused Jin to be pulled back violently and fall on the floor back first.
Jin's body hit the carpeted surface and released a semi-loud thud. Odd slowly walked over to his victim and raised his middle and index finger so that they formed a V and smiled at the lying figure.
"Now I'm ok." Odd said with a huge grin on his face before exploding in a fit of laughter.
"With friends like you, who needs XANA?" Jin dead panned.
For once in a long time he was actually alone with Yumi.
Ulrich was surprised that he didn't realize this sooner. Ever since prom night when XANA possessed Milly's teddy bear he could not recall a single moment where he was alone with her. He did everything with his small group of friends. They always ate lunch together, walked to school together and of course save the world together. However, this day, this hour, this moment was different. He didn't have to worry about Odd's spikey head popping up ready to deliver another well timed wise crack. He didn't have to worry about Jeremie filling his head with computer jargon that was too complicated for him to comprehend. He didn't have to worry about Jin singing and dancing to the rhythm of a song in his CD player making a spectacle of himself. Heck, he didn't even have to worry about XANA's evil schemes to take over the world or harassment from Dirk, Clayton and Sissi. He was just here, here with Yumi. Ulrich noticed a nagging voice in the back of his mind that was egging him on. Telling him to seize this rare opportunity for all that is worth but at the same time there was another voice. This voice told him to be quiet and although he heeded the words of the second advisor and stayed stayed quiet, his cheeks spoke for him.
Yumi realized that Ulrich's face turn a deeper shade of red as he tried once again to start a conversation. Little did Ulrich know that she too was feeling the same sense of bashfulness except that she was doing a better job of concealing it. Yumi knew she had to do something to break the prevalent stillness that was plaguing them for so long. Their awkward stroll lead them to a long blue and black table with multiple, tiny holes on the surface. A digital scoreboard hung above it and displayed two zeros showing that the board was empty. It was here that Yumi got an idea.
"Hey Ulrich. Up for a game of air hockey?"
Ulrich's competitive nature easily triumphed over his shyness. Armed with this boost in confidence Ulrich gave Yumi a bold look and a small smile as well.
"Your on!" He said excitedly. Ulrich then proceeded to remove two coins from his pocket and slid them over to Yumi to cover for his half of the expenses for the match. The girl placed the silver objects into the table and saw a white puck and mallet fall into a compartment nearby. The machine's internal motor began to hum and buzz as it forced air through the holes in the surface forming an invisible blanket for the puck to glide on. Yumi grabbed her mallet's handled and placed it on the playing field which was cool to the touch and looked straight at Ulrich who was doing the same thing to prepare himself.
"Ready Ulrich?"
"As always."
Yumi dropped the plastic disk onto the field and struck the object with her mallet powered by a simple flick of the wrist. The puck bounced off the table's boundaries releasing a soft clank noise as it made contact with the outside perimeter. Her opponent did not hesitate in his defense and shot back the puck ricocheting it off the left side of the table and watched it head toward Yumi's goal. The girl was caught slightly off guard and could only watch the white object slip past her and into the slot she failed to guard properly. The air hockey machine's sensors detected Ulrich's quick victory and acknowledged by the digital number on the right side from zero to one.
"Lucky shot. That's all." Yumi said with a smile on her face.
Yumi reached underneath her and removed the puck from the slot it fell in and prepared to serve again.
"Try this!"
Yumi slid her mallet as far as it could go and zeroed in on her target. "KIYA!"
Yumi struck the puck with all the force she could conjure up in her right arm and sent the disk rocketing toward Ulrich's goal. The boy tried his best to block the shot but was too slow for the occasion.
"That's one point for me," Yumi said cheerfully.
It was now Ulrich's turn to retrieve the white piece of plastic so that they could resume playing. Ulrich couldn't help but smile today. Here he was, at the local arcade with his close friends just wasting the day away. It felt almost, dare he think of it, normal. Thoughts of XANA and Lyoko were almost forgotten for he didn't have to worry about saving the world and got to finally act like kid. Ulrich wondered if Yumi was thinking the same thing and decided to find out.
"You know what Yumi? This is nice."
"What is?"
"This"
"What do you mean?"
"Us being here. We don't have to worry about our grades, school and Lyoko. For once we can have fun and live lives like normal people."
Yumi rested both of her hands on the hockey table's smooth blue surface and sighed.
"You're right Ulrich. This is nice. I wish we had more moments like this."
Yumi turned her head just in time to see Jin make a mad dash toward the exit only to be pulled back violently by the gun he was holding and was thrown to the floor.
"Well there are some moments I can do without."
Yumi watched the pair and saw Jin rise to his feet so that he could shake Odd by the shoulders. Jin's victim on his behalf only continued to laugh himself silly.
"Those two" Yumi said in amazement.
"Well he is your brother" Ulrich said matter-of-factly.
"Well Odd's your best friend and you know what they say. Birds of a feather."
"If anyone else asks, let's just say we don't know them and we'll leave it at that. Agree?"
"Agreed. Now serve the puck and let's get this game started."
Ulrich smiled and prepared for his next move.
"Stop it man. I'm getting dizzy," he said in-between shakes.
"Least you didn't bash your head against the floor like I did."
"Ah come on Jin. With all the times you've fallen on your face I thought you would be used to it by now."
"Aiya!" Jin said loudly as he threw his arms up in the air letting go of Odd in the process. "Remind me never to crack jokes about your name again."
Odd dusted off his favorite purple shirt and looked across the arcade only to see Yumi and Ulrich in a fierce game of air hockey.
"Now check this out."
"Ohhhhhh no Odd. You're not fooling me with your tricks again. I have my CD player right here so you can't say anyone is stealing it anymore because I got my eye on it!"
"I'm serious."
"Now that's a first."
"Man, that seems like a really intense game Yumi and Ulrich are playing."
"Huh?"
Jin looked in the general direction that Odd was facing and spotted his sister and Ulrich moving their arms forward and back trying their best to score a point. Judging by the intensity of their moves it looked like the two were in a sparing match rather than just playing a simple game.
"Now let's check this out. Shall we Jin?"
"Why do I have a feeling that your streak of mischief hasn't ended yet?"
Ulrich allowed the puck to invade the sanctity of his goal once again.
"Six to six. Looks like it's game point Ulrich," Yumi said triumphantly.
"You're acting like you won already when the scores are tied."
"They won't be for long."
"Man you guys are really into this," came a voice in the distance.
Ulrich turned his head to the side and saw Odd and Jin walk over to the side of the table.
"Hey you two," Ulrich greeted his friends casually.
Jin turned his back to the table and placed the palms of his hands on the edge so he could lean back and quietly think to himself. Odd noticed Jin's relaxed state and a devious thought popped into his head. His gaze lowered to the boy's left arm and the rolled up jacket sleeve that revealed the red shirt underneath it. Odd's hands slowly made their way toward their intended target. His fingers curled up in anticipation.
"If you roll down my sleeve, I will kill you Odd," Jin said nonchalantly, not even bothering to turn his head in the boy's direction.
Odd quickly abandoned his plan and looked for other means to pass the time. Seeing nothing else interesting, he turned his attention to the air hockey game Yumi and Ulrich were playing.
"Missing school to work in the factory again I see," Aelita greeted cheerfully.
Jeremie couldn't help but chuckle at his virtual companion's offbeat sense of humor and stopped typing to chat with the girl.
"Not this time Aelita. We actually got the day off today."
"So where are the others"
"They took their skateboards and headed over to the mall. I decided to stay behind so I can catch up on my work."
Aelita couldn't help but feel guilty after hearing that Jeremie stayed behind just to help her out.
"I'm sorry" Aelita said with downcast eyes.
Jeremie's eyes shot wide open as the words of Aelita's apology flowed through his ear drums.
"Why are you sorry? You didn't do any harm for me."
"I know. But I just feel bad that you always choose to stay in front of your computer instead of going off with your friends and having fun like everyone else. It must be so hard on you at times."
"There's no need to apologize. It's not really hard work if you're always here to keep me company. Once we get you materialized it will be all worth it. The only way I can see this job getting accomplished sooner is if I had Odd spill another bag of candy on my keyboard once again."
Jeremie and Aelita both shared a moment of laughter together as they both remembered the antics of their purple-clad friend.
Jeremie's joked helped Aelita feel at ease with herself and allowed her to converse with Jeremie normally once more.
"So is it just the usual today?"
"Well I just need to finish the changes to Jin's character and I'm done."
"What sort of changes?"
"I'm modifying the program on Jin's sunglasses so that they bypass his optical nerve and work more as a traditional camera."
"I'm curious Jeremie. Why did you give Jin a pair of sunglasses when I can give you a first-person view of Lyoko myself?"
Jeremie stretched his arms and prepared himself to explain the finer points of Jin's role on the Lyoko team.
"The program in Jin's sunglasses is different from your own. For one, if I were to look through your eyes I would have to input a series of commands to bring the window up for me to see. Now with Jin there is a separate window that is constantly displaying the images that his glasses are receiving so I only have to take a quick glance at it to see what it is going on. The problem with having the visual feedback be directly connected to his optic nerve is that sometimes his vision is obscured. Jin has a bad habit of closing his eyes a lot whenever he's planning his next move or is about to do something risky thus blackening the picture. This altercation will allow me to see what's going on the whole time and since I'm not changing his character's stats this change will be done rather quickly."
"That's nice to hear."
"I'm kind of glad that I'm here today."
"What makes you say that?"
"It gives me the opportunity to talk to you without any other outside disruptions from Odd and Ulrich."
The ends of Aelita's lips began to curve upward slightly shaping her once still mouth into a small smile.
"Well I look forward to that."
Jeremie returned to finishing his work underneath the girl's gaze. Aelita listened calmly to the tiny the clicks that Jeremie's keyboard made with each and every stroke that was executed. The two stood in each other's company perfectly aware of the opposite's presence and relished the tranquility of the moment. Aelita then felt another presence that was not enjoyable. A wave of pure evil flowed through her body. Her eyes wore a look of dread for she knew she was going to be called into duty.
"No one is. The score is tied and it's my serve," Yumi answered.
"Great," Odd said sarcastically.
Yumi smiled and quickly shot the puck at Ulrich's goal which was soon blocked and redirected at her. Odd watched the white disk travel across the table in-between Yumi and Ulrich's goals in complete boredom. Odd's mischievous instinct kicked in once again. His brain processed another practical joke that could help him kill time.
"You know what Ulrich?"
Ulrich tried his best to both listen to Odd's question and at the same time defend his goal from Yumi's relentless attacks.
"What?"
"I thought of something that could spice this game up. If you know what I mean."
"No I don't Odd. Mind telling us?" Ulrich quickly swatted the puck away from his side of the table and watched Yumi rear her hand back for another blow.
"Well maybe we should have some sort of penalty for the loser."
"Penalty? What are you talking about?"
"The loser of this game has to kiss the winner."
"WHAT?" The other three teenagers said loudly in unison.
At that moment time seemed to have stood still as if the world stopped for another trip into the past. Yumi, Ulrich and Jin looked at Odd dumbfounded with his suggestion as the full impact of his words were now taking effect. Ulrich payed no attention to the now ignored white puck which crawled from Yumi's side of the table and into his goal.
A loud buzz echoed from the machine as Yumi's score increased thus signaling her victory over Ulrich. Both of the teenagers blushed furiously when they realized the true nature of their "punishment" and had to turn away from each other to avoid any further embarrassment. Once again Odd was beside himself with laughter and rolled on the floor trying his best to release all the humorous tension that was building up inside of him. Odd's cell phone chose that exact moment to demand his attention by letting loose a high pitch ring that commanded him to pick it up. However, given Odd's present state of being, he was unable to heed his phone's wishes.
"Jin...take...phone," Odd gasped in-between spurts of laughter. He slid his cell phone over to Jin's feet and resumed his rolling. Jin complied with the blond boy's request and picked up the plastic object and pressed it against his ear.
"Odd it's Jeremie"
"Odd is currently busy right now but I'll be glad to take a message."
"Well once he's done eating all the coffee and doughnuts he could stomach tell him and the other's that XANA has activated a tower!"
"Not cool," Jin whispered into the phone as not to tip off the other patrons in the arcade of their enemy's activities.
"I don't think I need to tell you guys that you need to head over to the factory right away."
Jin watched Odd pick himself off the floor after receiving his recommended dosage of laughter that day.
"I'll see what I can do"
Jin pressed the button the severed the connection between him and Jeremie before returning the phone to its rightful owner.
"Let me guess. Einstein just called us."
"Yep and once again he has some bad news."
Jin turn toward the direction of the door and made his way outside but not before tapping his sister on the shoulder to snap her back to reality and motioning her to follow him making sure that the both of them didn't forget to pick up their skateboards on their way out. Odd followed Jin's lead and did the same with Ulrich and tailed the two older teens until they no longer inside the mall.
"What's wrong Aniki?" Yumi asked her brother.
Jin took a brief moment to place his CD player and headphones with the cordless headphones he managed to bring along in his backpack.
"XANA"
"Does that computer ever give us a break?" Ulrich said in disbelief after having his day off ruined at the peak of its enjoyment.
Odd was slightly less disappointed.
"Let's show him who's boss!"
"Umm...I think there's a bigger threat to your well being other than XANA," Jin said nervously.
"And who could that be?"
Jin tilted his head to the side and pointed his thumb backwards at Yumi and Ulrich.
"Them"
Odd looked over at the two people he had just recently wronged and saw that they were now wearing angry looks on their faces instead of blushes.
Now it was Odd's turn to be on the defensive.
"Hey you guys know I was joking about that whole kissing thing right?" Odd stammered. "Oh come on Jin, you can't just stand here and watch these two beat me up right."
Jin nodded in agreement.
"Hey you guys stop."
Odd took this moment to let loose a huge sigh of relief..
"On second thought scratch that. I'm not going to let you get away with that stuff you pulled on me about somebody stealing my CD player. So Yumi, Ulrich, please continue with what you're doing."
"What!"
A devilish grin was spread across Yumi's face.
"Thanks Aniki. But I think I'll let Ulrich take it from here."
Ulrich placed his skateboard on the concrete and marched ever so closer to Odd until he stood toe to toe with him..
"Hey Ulrich. You wouldn't hurt your best friend right?" Odd said nervously.
"Maybe"
Ulrich balled up his fist and sent it flying at Odd's face only to stop his attack short and instead flicked the boy in his forehead.
"Now that makes us even" Ulrich chuckled. "Great plan Yumi."
"Let's hope he learns not to try something like that again" Yumi said light-heartedly.
Odd regained his composure and looked at his two friends who had managed to make him look like a fool.
"Ha ha. Ok guys, can we can go to the factory now? I'm sure XANA isn't taking any breaks of his own."
Odd raised his skateboard and placed it on the floor to show the rest of the group that he did mean business.
"Odd's right," Yumi agreed. "We need to get moving but stay on the lookout for anything suspicious. XANA might attack us at any moment."
"Lead the way Yumi."
"I just don't understand it," Jeremie muttered to himself. "XANA has activated a tower but so far everything is normal."
Aelita was doing some searching of her own. She had just recently transported herself to the mountain region of Lyoko and followed the path that the pulsations created in order to locate the tower herself. Her eyes quickly came across the glowing red cylinder sitting on top of a rocky platform that was connected to the rest of the mainland by two moderately sized land bridges located on opposite ends of the island. The girl took extra care so that she would not be spotted by XANA's minions and sought for a place to hide until the others would arrive. Her sanctuary took shape in the form of a dark tunnel that opened up to the entrance of the pathway. Aelita pressed her back against the tunnel's walls and melted into the shadows to remain hidden from the blocks that were guarding the tower.
Aelita wasted no time in contacting Jeremie to inform him of her latest accomplishment.
"Jeremie I found the tower and it's heavily guarded!"
"Nice job Aelita, now stay in a safe place until backup arrives."
"Ok Jeremie. I'll hide in this tunnel until the others arrive. Any updates on what XANA is up to over at Earth?"
"So far nothing. It's like he's not even here and that's making me even more nervous about this. I hope the others are ok."
Jeremie's concerns were soon quelled once he heard the gears to the factory's elevator crack and gyrate lowering the metal contraption to the factory's lower level.
"Good they're here. Let's just nip this problem in the bud and get it over with," Jeremie said in relief.
Yumi was the first one out of the elevator and immediately took charge of the situation.
"Ok Jeremie, tell us what we've been missing," Yumi spoke with a sense of authority in her voice.
"Here's the situation." Jeremie adjusted his glasses and got into a more comfortable sitting position before relaying the information he was willing to share. "I just finished with Jin's modifications and all of a sudden Aelita felt pulsations in Lyoko and went to locate the activated tower. She's currently hiding in a nearby tunnel and she says that the area is heavily guarded. Before you arrived, I just finished a internet scan of all the unnatural disasters but so far nothing out of the ordinary has happened."
"We'll head over to the scanners now." Yumi looked over at Aelita who was watching her conversation with Jeremie. "Hang on, we'll meet you in Lyoko as soon as we can. Just stay where you are and try not to arouse any suspicion."
"Okay"
Yumi and the others bolted inside the freight elevator and rode it downwards until it reached the scanner room. Jeremie watched the progress his friends were making and spoke into the intercom to inform them of their slight problem.
"Ok guys, this predicament should be familiar to you."
"How could I forget Einstein?" Odd spoke into the factory's camera. "Three scanners, four people."
"Who's going to be virtulized by themselves?"
Jin raised his hand and released a crisp snap catching everyone's attention.
"Since I'm the weakest and most inexperienced I'll go last. You three go on ahead of me so I don't slow you down. I'll find some way to catch up."
Yumi, Odd and Ulrich gave Jin a reassuring nod and stepped into the scanners for their up coming trip to Lyoko.
"You'll be heading over to the mountain region. Meet up with Aelita as soon as you can and be careful. You never know what tricks XANA has up his sleeve."
The scanner doors closed on them and Jeremie began the complex process of sending his companions the virtual world.
"Transfer Yumi. Transfer Odd. Transfer Ulrich"
The scanners were alive with activity once again and Jeremie continued with his procedure.
"Scanner Yumi. Transfer Odd. Transfer Ulrich."
With nothing else to do, Jeremie hit the enter key on his keyboard and hoped for the best.
"Virtualization"
The factory computer's alarm siren began to wail, sounding the warning bells in Jeremie's head.
"What the?"
Jeremie analyzed the three-dimensional outlines of his friend's Lyoko characters and saw the much-hated red exclamation marker flickering on top of the display.
"No!"
"Everyone report!" Jeremie's panicked voice rang out.
"You don't need to yell Einstein," said Odd while playfully covering his ears to make it appear that he was overreacting to the whole ordeal. "Try to lay off the caffeine next time. You're getting all jittery."
"I have every right to be Odd. There was an error in the transfer process. Are you guys ok?"
Ulrich took a quick moment to inspect himself for any physical damages.
"I don't feel any different."the boy replied.
Jeremie was still nervous about the upcoming mission and looked for any aspects on their characters that could have been damaged.
"Check your weapons hopefully they're still useful."
Ulrich and Yumi both drew out their trusty weapons and began to take a few practice swings noting any ill effects they might have experienced. Odd on his part placed his left hand over his right to see if his glove was working properly. The warriors' inspections failed to uncover any imperfections that XANA might have imposed on their battle instruments.
"Everything is working normally Jeremie," Yumi responded.
Jeremie banged his fist against the keyboard he was working on. Despite the fact that his friends said everything was fine only Lyoko, both he and the alert program begged to differ. Going off of his instincts, Jeremie's fingers quickly enter another command into the factory's computer and commenced a scan of his own.
"Give me a minute guys. I'm having the computer scan your characters to see what's exactly wrong with you."
"What about Aelita?" Odd asked worryingly.
"Don't worry about her. She's well hidden in the tunnel leading to the tower. Those monsters don't even have a clue that she's so close to them."
By the time Jeremie finished his sentence, the character scan ended and displayed its results on screen.
"I don't believe this!" said Jeremie still shocked by the results. "The scan said that everything is normal."
"First your alarm program picks up nothing and now this. It's like XANA isn't even attacking at all."
"But the pulsations contradict that."
"Let's just deactivate the tower so we don't need to find out what's going on."
Yumi glanced at her comrades in arms and pointed at the tunnel that Jeremie mentioned earlier and felt her leadership instincts kicking in once again.
"Ok guys, let's not keep Aelita waiting."
The trio moved to their desired location and were completely unaware of the set of mechanical eyes watching their exact movements from a distance.
-Statistics-
Name: Yumi Ishiyama
Target Reference: Red
Total Life Points: 100
Weapon: Metallic Fan
Weapon Damage: 10 Points
CLOSE STATISTICS FILE
ACCESSING DATABASE FOR IN-DEPTH CHARACTER REPORT
-Search Results-
General Info: Subject is balanced with speed and agility and is known to take great leaps in the air before attacking.
Character Power: Target is granted the ability of telekinesis and is able to move distant objects with her mind. Has been known to destroy other units through its use. However, target moves very slowly and must concentrate during activation of power.
Combat Behavior: Red is not very aggressive in combat and is very reserved during fights. Not as likely to be taking extreme risks as her cohorts. Acquires a defensive position during a fight making her hard to kill.
CLOSE IN-DEPTH CHARACTER REPORT
ACCESSING DATABASE FOR WEAPON PARAMETERS
-Search Results-
Weapon Use: Fan is wielded with the use of only one arm and is thrown by target and returns similar to a boomerang.
Weapon Strengths:
-Has both long and short rang capabilities
-Effective in defense of both user and user's allies
-Will kill unit in a single attack
Weapon Weaknesses:
- Red is venerable to attack after missed shot
- Fan's return speed is slow depending on the distance it's thrown
CLOSE WEAPON PARAMETERS FILE
THREAT ASSESSMENT
-Final Analysis-
Target is extremely level headed in battle and will only attack when it's needed. Exercise cation when luring her into traps. Attacks are easy to dodge but are still dangerous.
Threat Rating: B
CLOSE TARGET SCAN ON RED
-Statistics-
Name: Odd Della Robbia
Target Reference: Purple
Total Life Points: 100
Weapon: Arrow Gloves
Ammo Count: 10 Arrows
Weapon Damage: 5 Points
CLOSE STATISTICS FILE
ACCESSING DATABASE FOR IN-DEPTH CHARACTER REPORT
-Search Results-
General Info: Purple falls victim to ambushes easily but escapes due to target's increased agility and speed. Most agile subject in database and hardest to target overall.
Character Power: Subject is able to receive flash visions of future events and will notify allies of his findings. Has revealed locations of hidden objects and ambushes before though Purple is unable to control this phenomenon.
Combat Behavior: Target is careless in battle and charges recklessly in hostile areas. Uses arrows gratuitously and has little concern for conserving ammo.
CLOSE IN-DEPTH CHARACTER REPORT
ACCESSING DATABASE FOR WEAPON PARAMETERS
-Search Results-
Weapon Use: Two gloves on each hand that shoots small arrows. Projectiles unusable once fired.
Weapon Strengths:
-Suited for long-range combat
-Will kill unit in a single attack
-Easy to aim
Weapon Weaknesses:
- Can not defend self against oncoming attacks
- Is unable to attack once arrow supply is depleted
- Arrows can also be dodged
CLOSE WEAPON PARAMETERS FILE
THREAT ASSESSMENT
-Final Analysis-
Although target is highly careless in battle, he is still able to destroy countless other units during that time. Heightened agility proves to be a problem in Purple's destruction and is a major element in his abilities. It should also be noted that subject his highly gifted in protecting Pink. See later scans for more info.
Threat Rating: A-
CLOSE TARGET SCAN ON PURPLE
-Statistics-
Name: Ulrich Stern
Target Reference: Yellow
Total Life Points: 100
Weapon: Japanese Katana
Weapon Damage: 10 Points
CLOSE STATISTICS FILE
ACCESSING DATABASE FOR IN-DEPTH CHARACTER REPORT
-Search Results-
General Info: Fastest target on file and can run at extremely high speeds at will. Highly skillful in combat in close quarters and is capable of defeating several units alone.
Character Power: Target can make two exact clones of himself and are just as effective in battle as he is. Clones are dispatched in one hit but are just as dangerous.
Combat Behavior: Though not as reckless as Purple, Yellow too will charge into unfamiliar areas alone if provoked. Highly aggressive at times, target is highly aware of his surroundings and is rarely defeated in battle. Is most likely to take the front line in during conflicts.
CLOSE IN-DEPTH CHARACTER REPORT
ACCESSING DATABASE FOR WEAPON PARAMETERS
-Search Results-
Weapon Use: Can be swung with the aid of one or two arms and is used for melee attacks only.
Weapon Strengths:
-Can kill unit in a single hit
-Capable of rapid attacks
-Can be used for defense
-Is able to deflect beam attacks back a unit potentially damaging it.
Weapon Weaknesses:
- No long-range properties
-Can only attack one side at a time
- Must remove blade from fallen unit before attack sequence can resume
CLOSE WEAPON PARAMETERS FILE
THREAT ASSESSMENT
-Final Analysis-
Attacking target at close range in almost suicide. Must use alternative methods if victory is to be ensured.
Threat Rating: A
CLOSE TARGET SCAN ON YELLOW
"I don't think that's a good idea Jin. There was an error in the transfer for Yumi, Ulrich and Odd and I have yet to pinpoint the problem."
"The more bodies we have down there, the better our chances of beating this thing quickly. Besides, you haven't told me what you changed with my character so let's see what you got in store for me."
Jeremie reluctantly adhered to Jin's request and began to activate the scanners for yet another transfer.
"Just try not to get yourself killed out there. Transfer Jin."
The factory's scanners were alive with activity as they followed the commands that Jeremie typed into the computer.
"Scanner Jin."
One last key stroke was all that Jeremie needed before he would send Jin into Lyoko.
"Virtualization."
Jeremie heard the alarm and saw yet another red exclamation point in his computer.
"What the heck is going on here?"
"I always hate this part of the job" Jin thought to himself before he plummeted like a rock head-first.
THUD!
Jeremie couldn't help but chuckle to himself after witnessing yet another face plant in Lyoko. The laughter alleviated the boy's anxiety levels a bit and allowed him to think through the ordeal with a clear head.
"Least the error didn't affect your landing Jin," Jeremie giggled into his headset.
"Mind telling me those changes you made now?" said Jin who was slightly dazed by the massive blow his body took.
"Meet up with Aelita first. She's in the tunnel leading to the tower and that's where the others are headed. All four of you must make sure that she gets to the tower unharmed."
"I'm on my way!"
It was now Jin's turn to sprint toward the rendez-vous point and just like the three before him, Jin too was subjected to the mechanical eye's inspection.
-Statistics-
Name: Jin Ishiyama
Target Reference: White
Total Life Points: 100
Weapon: Dual .45 Caliber Pistols/Bayonet Equipped Sniper Rifle
Ammo Count: 40 Bullets
Weapon Damage: Unit's damage reflected on current weapon wielded.
-Pistol:2.5 Points
-Sniper Rifle10 Points
-Bayonet: 5 Points
CLOSE STATISTICS FILE
ACCESSING DATABASE FOR IN-DEPTH CHARACTER REPORT
-Search Results-
General Info: Long range character that specializes in the use of human ballistic weapons. Slightly less agile than Purple but still difficult to hit..
Character Power: Target goes into a deep "trance" state before firing his weapons in a highly accurate and quick manner. Power is capable of attacking other units almost simultaneously. Ammo expenditure rises substantially during use.
Combat Behavior: Subject relays heavily on surroundings for defense and will take cover behind nearby rocks, trees and other items to avoid damage. White is rarely stationary while shooting and favors diving shots. Just recently, target performed a leaping forward dive while spinning sideways which our audio scanners managed to pick up as being called a "Psycho Crusher." Further observation is needed on white. Has been known to use martial arts attacks while fighting.
CLOSE IN-DEPTH CHARACTER PARAMETERS REPORT
ACCESSING DATABASE FOR WEAPON PARAMETERS
NOTE
Target uses a dual, weapon system and can select a desired weapon before fighting. Choice is final until subject is once again virtualized. For clarity purposes, two separate files have been created for White's weaponry.
RESUME SEARCH
-Search Results (File #1)-
Weapon Use: Two handheld pistols each loaded with a ten bullet clip. Must reload each gun separately after clip is spent. Unable to kill unit directly even if a critical hit is achieved.
WARNING: Unit will be stunned if struck by bullet regardless of hit location.
Weapon Strengths:
-High rate of fire
-Large total bullet count
-Long rage
-Bullets have stagger effects
-Bullets are hard to dodge
Weapon Weaknesses:
-Weakest weapon among enemies
-Must be manually reloaded
-No defense capabilities
CLOSE WEAPON PARAMETERS FILE #1
ACCESSING DATABASE FOR WEAPON PARAMETERS FILE #2
-Search Results (File #2)-
Weapon Use: Sniper rifle with scope for increased accuracy. Unit unable to retaliate due to long range capabilities. Bayonet is attached to gun's barrel for melee attacks.
Changes From Pistols:
-Increased range
-Bullets are more damaging
-Rate of fire slower
Similarities:
-Stagger effects unchanged
-Total ammo count constant
-Power's effects still apply
Weapon Strengths:
-Can attack without the use of bullets
-Longer rang than unit's standard issue weapons
-Will kill unit in a single hit
-Can block beam attacks (unable to deflect like Yellow)
Weapon Weaknesses:
-Must eject spent bullet after each shot (Power negates this effect)
-Rifle is clumsy as a close quarters weapon
-Must be manually reloaded
-Target unable to perform diving shots
CLOSE WEAPON PARAMETERS FILE #2
THREAT ASSESSMENT
-Final Analysis-
White's unorthodox fighting style proves to be hard to analyze. Though by himself he poses no problems, when with the others target he is almost deadly. Take careful note of what weapon subject is using and deal with the situation accordingly. Target can't fight many units at once without aid, take this element into precaution. Multiple threat ratings have been issued due to subject's wide assortment of weaponry and likelihood of receiving reenforcements..
THREAT RATINGS
Pistols Group: A -
Pistols Solo: C
Sniper Rifle Group: A
Sniper Rifle Solo: B-
CLOSE TARGET SCAN ON WHITE
"Jeremie," Aelita whispered as not to alert her enemies of her location.
"Yes Aelita," Jeremie responded almost just as quietly.
"You said that you have yet to detect any problems on Earth that XANA could have caused."
"Correct and it's driving me up the walls trying to figure out what is going on."
"And then you said that there was a transfer error when Yumi, Odd, Ulrich and Jin entered Lyoko."
"And also Jin when he was virtualized.."
"Do you think those two phenomenon could be connected to one another? That would explain why everything in your world is still normal."
Jeremie's eyes opened wide with realization after listening to Aelita's deduction. How could he have been so blind.
"That could be it Aelita! But we still have a major problem on our hands. We still don't know what XANA has to gain from all of this."
"Let's just hope we never find out. I don't want to see the others get hurt," Aelita said with downcast eyes.
"My thoughts exactly."
"Did you hear that guys?" Yumi said quietly to her companions who were currently standing behind her.
"Loud and clear," Ulrich answered confidently. "We are in some serious hot water right now."
"That's right. If we're going to see through this we're going to need a plan. So that means we can't just rush in there attack at will." Yumi turned her head and stared a hole through her purple-clad friend. "That goes double for you Odd."
Ulrich and Odd heard a tapping sound behind them that was getting increasing louder as time passed. Assuming the worst, the two fighters quickly spun on their heels and faced the potential intruder with their weapons drawn.
"Eep," Jin squeaked as he saw Ulrich's blade pointing straight as his throat. "You know, a simple hello would be sufficient."
"Sorry Jin" Ulrich apologized before attentively starring at the tower in front of him.
Seeing that her brother finally managed to arrive at their meeting place, Yumi took the first step in coordinating an attack with Jeremie.
"Everyone's here. Mind telling us what we're up against?"
"Ok guys listen up. According to the halomap, you have four blocks protecting the tower but keep in mind that XANA can send in more monsters at any moment so you have to stay on your toes."
"We'll do that Jeremie. Continue."
"I don't need to tell you the dangers of rushing the area do I? Aside from the lasers that you need to dodge, there's also the fact that you're fighting on a land bridge. Now it's not too narrow but it is still a factor that you should be aware of." Jeremie stopped his explanation of the scenery to move on a different subject. "Jin"
"Talk to me."
"I need you to test out those modifications I made to your character."
"What exactly did you do to me? I better like it."
"I changed the program on your sunglasses so that they work more like a traditional camera rather than having them be connected to your optic nerves."
"Now why did you go and do that?"
"You tend to close your eyes a lot in Lyoko so I see nothing but black when you do that."
Jin was slightly embarrassed, "Oops, sorry man."
"Ok Jin, I want you to go out of the tunnel and look at the blocks. I need to see how well it can function."
"Fine by me."
"Ok, now remove the glasses from your head and point them at the tower."
"Why don't I just test them by closing my eyes?"
"This is a better way in testing the equipment out. I need to know if I created a camera or if I just made something that could just simply penetrate your eyelids."
"Let's hope this works."
Jin did as he was told and gently removed the piece of eyewear thus exposing his eyes to the virtual sunlight for the first time. He lifted his freehand to his brow and used it to block the rays of light that were blinding him and pointed the glasses in the direction of the tower.
"So far so good. Now activate the slow down portion of your power and we're done."
"So that's why you wanted me to look at the monsters. You needed to see if the slow effects of my power are still captured by your camera and you knew that I need an enemy in my vision for me to start it."
"Correct."
Concentrating in the area in front of him, Jin allowed Jeremie to watch all of the blocks movements in slow motion turning the whole picture black and white in the process.
"That's good enough Jin. You can stop now."
Jin stopped using his power but kept his arm extended as he took in a quick breather. He looked at the tower and saw one block march in front of the pathway's entrance. The monster then halted its march and turned to face him. Jeremie quickly saw what the block was going to do and warned Jin what was going on.
"Watch out! That thing is going to shoot!"
Jeremie's warning came too late as the red laser flew through the air and struck Jin in his hand. The shot caused Jin's arm to be thrown backwards and made him hurl his sunglasses over the pathway's edge and into the virtual abyss below. The three other blocks stood at the entrance also and began to fire upon the boy as well.
"Crap!" Jin screamed out as he scrambled toward the tunnel. He made his way inside and hid behind the wall all while the blocks kept shooting at the group's makeshift shelter.
"Don't worry about your glasses Jin," Jeremie communicated. "They'll be reloaded the next time your virtualized but now you have to worry about those monsters!"
"This is just great!" Odd said sarcastically. "We're pinned down in this tiny area. We need to get out there and take those enemies out!"
"No we can't!" Ulrich said with authority. "By the time we get close enough to attack we'll get blasted. There is no possible way we can dodge and block all those shots for that long period of time."
"Jin!" Yumi commanded. "You think you can eliminate those blocks with your rifle?"
"I'm not sure," Jin said doubtfully. "Let me get into position first."
Jin stepped out from his hiding place and stood in the tunnel's mouth. Before he could reach behind him, the blocks let lose another firestorm of lasers at him. Jin barely managed to escape damage by jumping out of the beam's way and returned to his original spot back inside the tunnel.
"Double crap!" Jin screamed out of frustration. "Those guys are just relentless! There is no way I can aim my rifle in time, let alone pull it out."
Yumi worked up enough courage to peek outside and see if there was any hope of defeating the monsters outside. Her eyes quickly came across a pair of boulders at the edge of the bridge that were set one behind the other.
"I got it!" Yumi exclaimed.
Everyone's attention was captivated by the girl's excited cry.
"Here's the plan. I saw two boulders about halfway down the bridge. They're of pretty good size and will make excellent cover for us.
"I saw those boulders too" Jin added. "But the five of us can hide behind one of them."
"I know Aniki and I've already thought ahead of that. I will use my telekinesis to lift one of the rocks to the opposite end of the platform."
"Oh I get it," Ulrich said excitedly. "That way we're not crowed around one area. You moving the boulders will allow us to split up and will shorten the amount of distance that we have to run continuously."
"That's the plan, but I need some help getting there. Any volunteers?"
Ulrich held his sword in front of him and spoke confidently, "I'll help block for you."
Odd also followed suit, "And I'll keep the monsters at bay."
Yumi nodded as she watched her plan develop. "Good. Aniki, you stay here and cover Aelita incase XANA tries to attack us from behind. We'll need you for a distraction later so use your handguns."
Jin did not hesitate in drawing his trusty handguns hidden underneath his over shirt.
"Roger that sis. Good luck."
"It's now or never," the girl whispered to herself. "Ulrich, Odd, you guys ready?"
"Ready" the two boys answered simultaneously.
"Go!"
Ulrich and Odd were the first two people out of the tunnel with Yumi close behind them. They ran toward their adversaries as fast as they could. The firing squad of monsters did not was a single millisecond and seized the opportunity by unleashing another deadly swarm of lasers at the group. Yumi held her fan in front of her and began swatting at any stray beams that dared to get close to her as Ulrich was doing the same. They ran onward and only focused on their duties ignoring the block's efforts in stopping them. It was almost as if the closer they got to their intended area, the fiercer their enemies became. Odd couldn't bear to watch Yumi and Ulrich brave XANA's relentless assault any longer. He had to act. Storing as much energy in his legs as he could, Odd took one giant leap of faith over Ulrich and Yumi and angled his wrist at his enemies.
"Laser Arrow!"
Odd released four darts from his purple glove and successfully struck two of the blocks in the center of their XANA symbols. A ray of light emitted from the tiny wound that the darts created and caused both the blocks to shake violently before they exploded in a brilliant shower of sparks and scrap metal. Odd quickly landed in a crouching position and rolled behind the safety of the boulders.
"Great job Odd!" Yumi congratulated as she and Ulrich took their seats behind the large rocks that were now serving as their makeshift shields. "I'll take it from here."
The Japanese girl gently pressed her fingers across her temples and shut her eyes, anticipating the mental strain that she was going to experience.
"Telekinesis," Yumi whispered softly.
Odd turned his head in the direction of the boulder furthest away from him in order to get a better glimpse of Yumi's handiwork. First the massive boulder vibrated side to side then lifted off the ground as the telekinetic strangle it was wrapped in took effect. The rock gently floated in the air over to the other side of the land bridge.
"Ok Yumi, you can drop it now," informed Ulrich.
"Gah" the girl grunted, relieved to drop the heavy load her mind was carrying.
Jeremie was happy to see that the first phase of Yumi's operation was successfully carried out.
"Aelita, Jin, Yumi finished moving the boulder and two of the blocks have been destroyed. Move up to the barricade now."
-Total Unit Life Points-
Unit #1: 100
Unit #2: DESTROYED
Unit #3: DESTROYED
Unit #4: 100
-Total Enemy Life Points-
Pink: 100
Yellow: 100
Red: 100
White: 85
Purple: 100
-Total Enemy Ammunition Supplies-
Purple: 6 Arrows
White: 40 Bullets
FINAL RESULTS
White suffered minor damages, rest of enemies in perfect condition. Red, Yellow and Purple have taken cover behind a nearby boulder. Two fellow units destroyed in battle requesting reenforcements.
WARNING! WARNING!
WHITE AND PINK IN ATTACK RANGE!
BEGIN TARGET SCAN
-Statistics-
Name: Aelita
Target Reference: Pink
Total Life Points: 100
Weapon: N/A
Weapon Damage: N/A
CLOSE STATISTICS FILE
ACCESSING DATABASE FOR IN-DEPTH CHARACTER REPORT
General Info: Only person able to deactivate towers. Does not have the luxury of returning to "reality." Complete loss of life points can attribute to Pink's permanent destruction however she can regenerate her life force while inside a tower. Only target that is completely unarmed.
Character Power: Pink can alter the environment to more favorable conditions at her very whim through the sound of her voice. Indication of use of this specific trait is subject assuming a kneeling posture. Use of this ability drains fifty life points.
Combat Behavior: Subject is helpless in battle and is unable to retaliate against other units. Will avoid combat if possible. Previous fights have shown other targets receiving damage for pink. Must use this pattern of behavior to unit's advantage.
CLOSE IN-DEPTH CHARACTER REPORT
ACCESSING DATABASE FOR WEAPON PARAMETERS
-Search Results-
Note: Since Pink uses no weapons in particular this file is empty.
CLOSE WEAPON PARAMETERS FILE
THREAT ASSESSMENT
-Final Analysis-
Despite the fact that target carries now weapons and does not engage in conflicts it is still advised of all units to engage pink in battle.
Threat Rating: Destroy at All Costs!
Jeremie kept his eye on the holomap and was on his toes ready to alert his friends if XANA would try anything tricky and sure enough the rouge program had a few aces up his sleeves. The opposite end of the tower where the others were standing was showing signs of activity. Just when Jin and Aelita began their frantic sprint to the roadblock that Yumi created, three red circles began to inch their way closer to the two remaining blocks on the land bridge.
"Aelita, Jin watch out!" warned the boy. "Three more monsters are coming your way!"
"Triple crap!" Jin screamed out.
The blocks arrived in front of the tower and drove up the total enemy count to five. The newly reenforced enemy line unleashed another deadly wave of lasers at the two running figures in hopes of draining away all of their life points. Jin raised his arm in hopes of firing his own weapon but instantly stopped his move when he saw a single red beam rocket straight toward Aelita. Without a moment's notice, the Lyoko gunner jumped in front of the girl and absorbed the attack into his chest knocking him down in the process.
"No!" screamed Aelita.
In that spec of time, Aelita soon found herself in the block's sight and felt two hot pains in her abdomen. The virtual being could not begin to comprehend the pain she was experiencing and doubled over in hopes to better deal with her anguish.
"AELITA!" Jeremie screamed out. The horrific sight almost drove him to tears but he held onto his composure for his friends' sake. "Yumi, Odd, Ulrich you three need to bail them out!"
"Way ahead of you Einstein" Odd replied. "Ok Ulrich, cover me."
Ulrich gave Odd the thumbs up and stepped out into the open with his roommate. Odd was the first one to react and managed only to raise his right fist up before being struck in the leg. Ulrich immediately blocked the next laser that came Odd's way and was rewarded by having a laser pierce his right shoulder. Suddenly Yumi sprung into action and threw Ulrich back behind the boulder and drew her fan out in one fluid motion she too was hit. By that time, Jeremie's program had already taken effect and killed whatever painful sensation that was in Odd's leg and allowed him to fight once more.
"Try this! Laser Arrow!"
Odd unleashed another quadruple burst of arrows at the blocks and got the same results as his last attack. Two more monster was removed from their virtual existence and gave the fighters a much-needed reversal of fortune. Satisfied with his latest achievement, Odd dove behind the rock with Ulrich right behind him.
Jin had managed to help Aelita to her feet and escorted her to the vacant boulder without incident. With the first step in Yumi's plan finally completed, the group now had to figure up on their follow up.
"Glad we're still in one piece" Jin said casually.
Ulrich couldn't have said it any differently, "My thoughts exactly."
An angry Jeremie's voice could be heard soon after.
"Odd, you used up eight of your arrows already! You can be so careless sometimes."
"Relax Jeremie," Yumi said sternly. "Yelling at each other isn't going to help us deactivate a tower."
Ulrich nodded in agreement, "We took too much damage back there. We need another plan."
"Well whatever it is, count me out of it," Odd said sadly. "With only two arrows left I can't be of much use to you guys unless its to just absorb damage."
Jeremie already had a possible solution to his friend's predicament. "Odd, I can refill your total arrow count but I'm going to have to take my eyes off the holomap to do it."
"In that case don't Einstein."
"What?"
"We need you to keep us posted on what going on at all times. That last wave of enemies sure gave us a run for our money. If we want to stay alive, we need you to give us the heads up."
"Then what will you do?"
"I'll take the lead and absorb as take as many shots as I can before I buy the virtual farm."
"I don't think that's necessary," Jin interrupted.
Odd's half-confused grunt was cut off by two objects being tossed in the air. The purple-clad fighter managed to catch the items and looked in amazement when he saw what he was holding.
"Jin, no way. It's..."
"Just take good care of it."
In Odd's gloved hands was both Jin's pistol and spare bullet clip. He was mildly surprised to see that his finger was able to fit inside the trigger guard.
"I would give you a better tutorial on how to operate that thing but we're kind of pressed for time. Just put the target in the center and pull the switch and if you're good it won't be there anymore."
The boy took a few moments to get comfortable with using the weapon by pointing at various objects around him.
"Thanks Jin."
"No problem. So sis, got any other plans today. We're more than half way there so let's press the attack."
"I do Aniki. That last run didn't go so well since we just ran in there blindly."
"Way ahead of you sis. Odd and I'll will keep those guys distracted so you and Ulrich and go in for the kill."
Yumi's expression changed from a look of simple thinking to that or pure determination. "Ready when you guys are."
"Start us off Odd."
The battle soon went underway. Odd gracefully leapt on top of the rock he was hiding and aimed his gun at the unaware enemies guarding the tower. Bullets flew out of the barrel of the gun embedding themselves into the iron hides of the mechanical menaces causing them to jerk and twist underneath the attack. Jin too perched on the rock and joined in on the abuse and only added to the block's suffering.
Ulrich and Yumi bolted out his hiding place and charged at the foes with reckless abandon.
The swordsman and the Japanese girl leapt high into the air picking out their victims out of the bunch.
"IMPACT!" The warrior shouted at the top of his lungs. He drove his sword into the block's core with all the strength he could summon in his arms bending and twisting the digital blade within the monster's insides ensuring a early death.
Yumi centered her vision upon a random block that just happen to be right in front of her. With a quick flick of her wrist, the deadly fan flew out of her hands and sliced through the minion's core. The circular object sliced through the block's inner mechanics and reduced it to nothing more than a walking pile of scrap metal.
Ulrich took on look behind him preparing for a back attack and saw Jin, Aelita and Odd running in his direction but had ceased their gun fire to avoid hitting him and Yumi.
Jeremie saw the three reaming circles on the holomap and alerted the others of what was going other bunch of monsters making their way to the tower.
"Ulrich, three blocks are still alive. Deal with them!"
The swordsman could feel the blood pump throughout his body. Gripping the handle of his katana as tight as he could, Ulrich shouted the words that could gave him the much need assistance he desired.
"Triplicate!"
Two clones of Ulrich materialized by his side and were ready to accept any orders that were about to be given."
"Attack!"
The identical warriors rushed the blocks with weapons in hand in a highly coordinated assault. The real Ulrich was in the middle and his two companions were on opposite sides of him. Not one single person was out of step as the entire trio moved in perfect harmony with one another. However, the block's were not going to take this latest attack lying down and countered with an organized attack of their own focusing all of their cannon fire at one target at a time as to make sure a hit was guaranteed. The blocks first locked onto the left clone and decimated him in a single blast. Odd caught wind of the plight his best friend was in and fired Jin's pistol at the block directly in front of the real Ulrich as to have him avoid any further damage. One bullet was all that Odd need as the block nearly toppled over backwards after being hit in it's upper right corner.
"Man I love blocks," Odd chuckled.
Ulrich resolved the issue with one clean upward slice with his sword which almost divided his opponent in two. The assailant's sides soperated from each other before it erupted in a ball of fire leaving no trace of its presence behind. The remaining clone also succeeded in killing off it's desired enemy too.
"Thanks for the help back there Odd."
"No problem buddy and since I'm in such a generous mood I'll do this for you."
Odd lifted his free arm and pointed his wrist at the last surviving attacker.
"Say high to your friends for me. Laser Arrow!"
Another tally was added to Odd's kill list with the firing of his second to last arrow.
Ulrich extended his left arm forward and called his clone back to him. "Fusion," Now completely satisfied with the destruction he caused, he allowed his body to relax for the first time since his virtualization.
Yumi wiped the beaded sweat drops that accumulated on her brow and also took the moment to relax. After all that intense fighting the attack would soon be over, all they needed now was for Aelita to step inside the tower.
"Another XANA attack thwarted. Ok Aelita, you know the drill."
Aelita couldn't help but giggle at Yumi's words. The easy feeling that the others were experiencing was coetaneous as it affected the virtual being as well. Aelita raised both her arms and slowly walk toward the tower.
"Excellent job guys. Especially you Odd, never knew you were such a good shot with Jin's weaponry. Now all we have to do is...WHAT THE?"
It happened so fast. Moving ever so closer to his friends were five more red circles. Three of them were coming from behind the tower while the remaining two opted to approach the party by taking the land bridge that they originally crossed. The sight baffled Jeremie to no end. Nothing out of the ordinary was happening in the real world and the transfer error yielded no negative effects, yet still XANA was showing an unprecedented amount of resistance. The others needed to be alerted.
"Everyone, watch out! You're all surrounded!"
Jeremie raised the alarm too late for no sooner did his words leave his mouth, did he see on the holomap two blocks storing up an unusually large amount of energy in their systems.
Yumi eye's opened wide after the magnitude of the situation finally hit her. She saw the blocks on the land bridge out of the corner of her eye prepare for yet another laser blast but something was different about them. Instead of a demonic red aura that the blocks usually omitted while they were charging up, this time the cubic foes glowed a bluish hue.
The girl's instincts told her that this unique pattern of combat spelled bad news for herself and her friends. Before she could even begin to utter her own word of warning the first block managed to expel all the excess energy that they were originally storing. Yumi's eyes tried their best to follow the blue ball's path until it splashed onto Ulrich's right leg, spreading itself throughout the boy's body like some sort of parasitic virus. Ulrich desperately tried to move his leg but found it frozen to the surface he was standing on. Slowly more and more of him began to submit to the icy blat's wrath until he was nothing more than a frozen statue, and a trophy for XANA.
Yumi called out the boy's name to see if he was alright but was not greeted to any sort of response what so ever.
"Ulrich!" Yumi tried her best to establish contact with the incapacitated human being but found her words fall upon deaf ears.
"Yumi, Ulrich has just been frozen and will be devirtualized soon. XANA blocks are able to eliminate your entire life point count with that blue blast so be careful!" Jeremie informed the slightly shaken girl.
As if on command, the glacier formerly known as Ulrich Stern slowly faded away from virtual existence. Then it was the second block's turn to fire.
"Yumi, get down!" Odd commanded. Yumi watched her friend point his wrist at the adversary directly in front of him only to be shot with the same frigid blast that removed Ulrich from the Lyoko.
Jin noticed that Odd dropped the pistol that was given to him minutes before the encounter and swiftly rolled on the ground to retrieve it. Now dual wielding his weapons once more, he stood side by side with Yumi and Aelita trying his best to think of a way that they could emerge from this ordeal victorious.
To say that Jeremie was nervous would be an understatement. In all the battles that he witnessed on Lyoko, he had never seen a situation so grim before. Two blocks on the narrow pathway and three more blocks guarding the tower, all while having Yumi, Jin and Aelita in the center. With three fresh monsters guarding the glowing red building, it seemed like all hope in deactivating it was lost. A loud hiss followed by a series of loud clanks was indication that Ulrich and Odd were going to be visiting him soon demanding a report of what was going on right now.
Odd was the first one to start the round of questioning.
"How are things looking down there Einstein?"
"Not good at all. Although Yumi still hasn't been hit, Both Aelita and Jin have a little more than fifty life points each. Aside from all of this, Jin's bullet clips are almost depleted. However, our biggest concern here is Aelita for she only has sixty points left."
The situation had gotten out of hand. Even though Yumi and Jin were excellent fighters on Lyoko, there was no possible way that they can take on five blocks by themselves all while keeping a severally wounded Aelita safe. There was one course of action that they would have to take.
"Aniki, above all else protect Aelita. That is our number one duty as of right now."
"Way ahead of you sis. Now, how do you suppose we take out these monsters?"
"You don't," Jeremie answered for Yumi.
"Ok, now you're confusing me."
"There are too many enemies out there and Aelita has too few life points. You guys are going to have to make a tactical retreat."
"A retreat huh?" Jin commented. "I usually see my fights till the very end but I suppose there's a first time for everything."
Yumi was in full agreement of Jeremie's plan. "I suppose we don't have a choice. Where do we go?"
"According to the holomap, if you go through the tunnel that you were originally hiding and continue going in that direction you'll come across another tower. Escort Aelita there safely and I'll devirtualize you myself."
"What about the transfer error?"
"Odd and Ulrich are here with me and are perfectly normal."
"Ok Jeremie. Thanks for the plan. Aniki and I will handle the rest."
"Ok," the two said simultaneously.
Jin lead the charge to the tower that Jeremie had instructed them to go to. Before the blocks on the pathway react to what was going on, Jin fired a quick double burst from his handguns and smiled when he saw the monster he was aiming at explode shortly after. There was no need for him to deal with the second foe for there was a spinning fan coming from his right side that destroyed the creature for him. Yumi caught her weapon soon after and took a quick glance behind her. Imagine the look of astonishment on her face when she saw that none of XANA's minions were in hot pursuit of her. Not being the type of person to look a gift horse in the mouth, she pressed onward.
As always the information that Jeremie supplied was accurate and reliable. After what seemed like an eternity of intense running, the tower was finally in view.
"I'm sorry Yumi. If I payed more attention to what was going on, maybe we could have deactivated the tower instead of being here right now. Now I fear that someone in your world will be gravely injured and it's all my fault."
Yumi tried her best to keep the girl's spirits up. "It's ok Aelita. XANA hasn't done anything yet so I wouldn't worry about that just. And besides, we all make mistakes. That what makes us human."
The look on Aelita's eyes brightened. Those words, they reminded her that she was more than just a simple computer program like XANA. That maybe there was hope for her to be materialized after all. She took a quick moment to think of her possible life on Earth. Her new future and of Jeremie. These images also brought a smile to the girl's delicate features.
"Are you thinking of a certain someone?" Yumi teased.
Aelita giggled underneath the pressure she was in. Before she could say anything else, she felt a strange dark presence within her.
"Pulsations?" Aelita whispered to herself. "Something like that but...this is different."
The source of Aelita's uneasiness came flying toward the group in the form of a hornet compliments of XANA
"Hey Jeremie, is your computer on the fritz or what?" Ulrich said flatly.
"No it's not and that's what is worrying me."
"Huh?"
"Get a look at this!"
Odd and Ulrich crowded around the computer screen to see what could have caused their friend to make such an outburst. Jeremie hit a couple of keys on his keyboard and brought up a close up model of the hornet that was about to come in contact with Aelita and the others. A red exclamation point was being displayed in front of the creature.
"It's a hornet, Big deal. We've fought so many before, what's another one to us?" Odd scoffed.
"It is a big deal Odd! There is something not right about this picture. Usually waspsters never attack on their own but this one in going solo and there's something different about it."
"Different?"
"That's why the exclamation point is there. That waspster has been altered in some way most likely for the worse."
"Then what happens if that thing hits them?" Ulrich asked.
"I have no idea but then again, I'm not too keen on finding out."
"Then you should tell Jin and Yumi because I don't think they're aware of this information."
"You're absolutely right Odd." Jeremie adjusted his headset and watched the holomap As he was prepared to say his message he watched Yumi's life point count drop to zero and her character card remove itself from his computer screen. He didn't know exactly what happened but he automatically thought of the worst case scenario.
"YUMI!" The three boys said in unison.
This was bad. Yumi was somehow devirtualized by that modified waspster, Who knows what could have happened to her between that moment and now. Jeremie watched Ulrich and Odd bolt to the freight elevator and he followed them close by. Once inside he pressed the large red button on the wall so that it would lower to the scanner room. Jeremie looked at Ulrich and saw that his face was painted with a look of sheer worry and fear. Everyone was scared right now for they were all concerned with Yumi's condition as they didn't know what to expect. The entire day was the group moving from one unexplained enigma to the rest. A XANA attack with no repercussions, a transfer error without adverse effects and now a waspster who somehow found itself carrying a special modification. Jeremie was too lost in thought to notice the elevator's doors open but Ulrich wasn't.
Ulrich ran at the scanner that Yumi was in and almost pried the doors open himself with his bear hands. The sliding door gave way and Yumi fell out of the scanner and into Ulrich's arms.
"Yumi! Can you hear me?" The boy pleaded as he held the motionless girl close to his body before gently lowering himself to the floor as holding Yumi in his current position proved to be a very physically taxing task.
Yumi's body began to stir and delighted Ulrich with its movements. The girl slowly opened her eyes and took a couple seconds to fully realize that she was being held and promptly stood up wearing a dark red blush on his cheeks.
Yumi's reaction to Ulrich's embrace lead Jeremie to believe that her current physical state was the result of fatigue from being in Lyoko for so long rather than the hornet harming her in anyway. This conclusion prove to be a huge relief for Jeremie and the others.
"We were worried about you" Jeremie said with a smile on his face. "We thought you would have been seriously hurt since that hornet managed to wipe out all your life points."
The girl had yet to recover from her stay in Lyoko as she spoke to Jeremie in-between labored breaths. "I feel fine, but why would you make such a fuss?"
"We had reason to believe that the hornet that attack you was modified by XANA in some way and since you were it's victim, we thought that you were in some serious danger."
"Thanks for worrying about me but I feel fine."
"What about Aelita?"
The last thing I saw before I was hit was Aelita preparing to enter the tower and then it all black from there."
"I'm sure Jin has taken care of it and you're little princess is resting safe and sound away from that nasty XANA." Odd said playfully.
Jeremie chose not to comment on Odd's latest wise crack and continued his discussion with Yumi. "If that's the case then I better devirtualize Jin now or else he'll be stuck on Lyoko."
As Jeremie turned around to walk to the elevator he heard another mechanical hiss from the scanner that Jin was in.
"What the?"
Jin casually stepped out of the cylinder tube with his eyes closed and was rubbing them with the back of his right fist. He yawned and stretched his arms out and looked as if he just got out bed rather than a fierce battle. That image was soon broken as Jin stopped acting like he was alright and leaned against the scanner in an attempt to catch his breath.
"Jin?" Jeremie asked in a puzzled tone of voice.
"Yeah it's me. Don't worry man, Aelita got to the tower without being blasted by that hornet, the same can't be said for me though."
Jin kept his eyes shut and rubbed them as if he were trying to get rid of a minor irritation from it. He then opened them in expectation of seeing all of his friends standing in front of him but was only greeted with blackness.
"Hey Jeremie. Something is up with the lights in this place. I can't see a thing."
Ulrich, Odd, Yumi and Jeremie looked at Jin with their jaws hanging open out of shock. Staring right back at them were two blank white orbs in Jin's eye sockets. Though his expression and mannerisms hadn't change, Jin's eyes made him look dead to the world and a mere ghost of his former self.
"Yo Jeremie, can you hear me? I said I need a light down here. How am I suppose to get to the elevator if I can't even see two inches in front of me. Man, who knew this place could get so dark down here."
The others exchanged uneasy glances amongst each other. Jin had to know the truth, that was the universal truth that everyone agree upon. However, they didn't know who should tell him this for they knew this newfound information would only crush the boy's spirits. Yumi summoned enough courage inside herself to tell her brother what's going on.
"Jin," Yumi said nervously.
"You're here too? Man can you believe how dark this place is?"
"Aniki, I can see perfectly down here. I don't know how else to tell you this but...," Yumi struggled through her statement to find the right way to articulate her words. "You're eyes don't have pupils in them and are completely white. Something must have happened to you on Lyoko for you to lose your sight like this."
At first Jin denied his sister's explanation out of fear that it might be the truth. He allowed a forced laugh to escape his lips and put on an uneasy smile.
"Funny sis. Haze the new guy huh? Ok everyone, bust out the confetti and silly string, and tell me that I'm on Candid Camera."
"Jin, I'm not joking. This is serious."
The voice in the back of Jin's mind that told him his sister's words were genuine was finally being heeded. Jin staggered backwards into a wall and slumped his tired body to the floor.
"Are you saying that..."
"Yes Jin. You're blind."
Yumi, placed her hands over her mouth. She almost reviled how blunt and uncaring she sounded however, Jin's reaction was more drastic. The victim of this tragic turn of events bowed his head in shame and tried his best to hold up the tears that were welling up in his blank white eyeballs. The amount of energy that was required for him to hold his sadness inside was overwhelming as caused Jin to collapse to the floor in a tired heap. Yumi wrapped a protective arm around her brother's shoulder and so did the other boys to show Jin that they did care about his loss. However, what they didn't know was on that day Jin wasn't sadden solely because of his blindness. Jin almost wept because we could no longer uphold the oath he promised himself two years ago.
Seeing her brother in his present condition troubled Yumi to no end. She would have never imagined that someone so close to her would experience such hardship. As she saw Jin slowly come to his senses, there was one thought in her mind that forcibly escaped the realms of her subconscious and into the world of the living in the form of a simple, quiet whisper.
"This is all my fault."
TO BE CONTINUED
Same as before. Please visit my website and send your auditions in ASAP! Also, I'm looking for more people who are willing to submit fanart for my story. If you can draw and are willing to do a picture for me please e-mail me. I will be eternally grateful if you did so. Speaking of auditions I still desperately need an Odd, Jeremie and Ulrich. Yumi I have a few good auditions but I haven't made my final choice. As for Clayton, he's not that important right now but feel free to audition for him as well.
Fantasyworld: I'm flattered that you tried to print my stories out on your computer. It's readers like you who I always strive for to impress.
Palantiri and thespian86: Thanks for the corrections. I'm be implementing them shortly,
Leafwood: Don't worry about Jin stealing the spotlight as I'm trying my best to tone down the amount of screen time he's getting and I hope my efforts are paying off.
sfldjaskd: I appreciate your enthusiasm of suggesting a new character but I believe that having three ACC's is enough for my fic. Thanks for the suggestion though.
Yumi-Lover: I hope if you get this far you still won't think that Jin is invincible as many of his faults and shortcomings appear in those chapters.
W.W.W. 147: Thanks for all your reviews and your patience in reading my story, that means a lot for me. I know reading my fic is no easy task but I'm glad you both took to time to read this and sign my guestbook on my website.
Little Villi: Great to hear from you. I guess I should be flattered that you're reviewing my material despite the fact you have yet to finish the entire series yet. Keep on writing and good luck with your new fic and don't forget I'm always willing to help out a fellow writer.
Xiao Zang Hou: Ah my first REAL negative review. I can't force you to like my story and that's fine by me. I'm just glad you hated my fic and told me why you felt that way instead of just flaming me.
LEGENDlyoko: Of course I'll do all the episodes. It won't be much of a Retelling otherwise.
A digital scoreboard hung above it and displayed two zeros showing that the board was empty. It was here that Yumi got an idea.
"Hey Ulrich. Up for a game of air hockey?"
"You bet!"
"You know how to play right?"
"Of course Yumi." Ulrich said half offended. "What kind of idiot doesn't know how to play air hockey?"
"Nice"
Yumi and Ulrich got on opposite sides of the table and picked up their mallets. It was at this moment that Ulrich became confused.
"So who's banker?"
"What?"
"You heard me. Who gets to be the banker. I want to make sure I get enough money so I can buy Boardwalk and Park Place."
"Ulrich, this is air hockey."
"Huh? Then what game am I thinking of?"
"That's Monopoly."
"Really? If that's Monopoly then what's the game where you ask someone if they have a specific card."
"That's Go Fish"
"Really then what's air hockey."
"A game where you try to hit the puck in your opponents goal."
"OooooOO...I have no idea what you're talking about Yumi."
Yumi wished she was in Ranma ½ or any other comedy anime so that she could knock some sense into her dim witted friend with a giant wooden hammer. However, the hokey table would make a nice substitute.
POW!
It took emergency teams a total of three hours to safely remove the boy from underneath the massive piece of arcade machinery.
"Penalty?" Ulrich repeated in a confused tone of voice. "What are you talking about?"
"The loser of this game has to kiss the winner."
"WHAT?" The other three teenagers said loudly in unison.
"Uh huh. What do you say?"
Jin was the first one to notice the fatal flaw in Odd's scheme.
"Umm Odd...didn't you take the mallet away from Yumi since you wanted to play so badly."
"Yeah and?"
"So technically if you lose, you would have to kiss Ulrich and that wouldn't be good for our rating."
"Rating?"
Jin released a sigh of despair and pointed to the top left hand corner of the tv screen where a black box with white writing was being displayed.
"You see that Odd? Our program is rated Y-7 meaning it's meant for kids seven and up."
"Damn Cartoon Network" Odd muttered underneath his breath. "First they kick us off Miguzi and now they're trying to censor our program. Man, all I wanted to do was..."
THIS OUTTAKE HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED COURTESY OF THE ODD IS NOT GAY MOVEMENT (O.N.G.M.). WE AT O.N.G.M ARE DEDICATED TO SHOW THE WORLD HOW MUCH OF A LADY KILLER ODD REALLY IS AND WILL BE PUNISHING THE CREATOR OF THIS SIDE STORY. SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE. WE NOW RETURN TO YOU YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULE PROGRAM.
Odd and the rest of the group watched various members of the O.N.G.M began beat the living daylights of G-Force 4 for disgracing their favorite character.
"Hard to believe huh?" Yumi said off handily.
"Yeah I know. Odd has his own fan club. Go figure." Ulrich said dryly.
"Not that. I mean it's hard to believe that one man's arm could bend that far backwards without snapping in two."
CRACK!
"AHHH!" The tortured author screamed.
"I spoke too soon. Looks like that arm broke after all."
"MY ARM! I NEED THAT FOR...ARM...RELATED...STUFF...YEAH," the author pleaded.
The O.N.G.M soon left the arcade as quickly as they came leaving behind various confused looks and one broken body of a certain fanfic author.
"I wonder if Jin has days like this?"
The voice in the back of Jin's mind that told him his sister's words were genuine was finally being headed. He staggered backwards into a wall and slumped his tired body to the floor.
"Are you saying that..."
"Yes Jin. You're blind."
Unfortunately for Jin, Odd didn't share Yumi's sense of sincerity.
"Wow Jin, did you get attacked in your blind spot?"
"Shut it Odd"
"Why are you mad? You saw that coming right?"
"Not funny."
"You know what? Now you're just like Stevie Wonder. Except that you don't have dreadlocks and you can't play the piano."
"Enough with the blind jokes already!"
Jin swung his fist through the air but missed Odd completely.
"Watch it man. You could put someone's eye out. Or in your case, just your pupils."
"Why me?"
Jin's backflip: Take 1
Odd got into a pushup position and began spinning on both his shoulders with his legs in a V position performing a common breakdance maneuver called the windmill. Jin responded kindly by doing a single-arm handstand and spinning on the palm of his right arm before landing on his feet and jumping in the air throwing all his weight behind him. The crowd watched Jin's attempt at the backflip as his body was now perfectly perpendicular to the ground. Jin looked at the students watching him and saw a familiar green outline in his vision.
"Hey it's Ulrich!" Jin exclaimed in mid-flip happy to see that his friend made it back from Finson with news to report. Then, to the shock and amazement of everyone watching, Jin successfully completed his backflip. The other students looked on in awe.
"I think the balance of power in the Universe has just been shifted," said Jeremie.
Jin spun around to face Ulrich but abruptly tripped over his shoe laces which had become miraculously untied during his backflip, which sent him slamming face first into the ground.
"And the balance is restored," said Jeremie with a satisfied sigh.
Odd got into a pushup position and began spinning on both his shoulders with his legs in a V position performing a common breakdance maneuver called the windmill. Jin responded kindly by doing a single-arm handstand and spinning on the palm of his right arm before landing on his feet and jumping in the air throwing all his weight behind him. The crowd watched Jin's attempt at the backflip as his body was now perfectly perpendicular to the ground. Jin looked at the students watching him and saw a familiar green outline in his vision.
"Hey it's Ulrich!" Jin exclaimed in mid-flip happy to see that his friend made it back from Finson with news to report. However, Jin forgot that he was in the middle of a backflip.
"Uh, guys…A little help here!" Cried Jin frantically, realizing that he was stuck two feet off the ground, upside down.
"I don't know about you guys," said Odd, "But I think I like him this way."
Odd got into a pushup position and began spinning on both his shoulders with his legs in a V position performing a common breakdance maneuver called the windmill. Jin responded kindly by doing a single-arm handstand and spinning on the palm of his right arm before landing on his feet and jumping in the air throwing all his weight behind him. The crowd watched Jin's attempt at the backflip as his body was now perfectly perpendicular to the ground. Jin looked at the students watching him and saw a familiar green outline in his vision.
"Hey it's Ulrich!" Jin exclaimed in mid-flip happy to see that his friend made it back from Finson with news to report. Then, to the shock and amazement of all who were watching, Jin successfully completed his backflip.
Jin laughed madly.
"And you all thought I was just a stupid klutz! But now you know I'm the King of Cool!" He began to strut off proudly, but his movement was hindered when he tripped over Odd's extended foot and plowed face first into the ground.
"Good job Odd," said Yumi, "I was afraid he might've done something right for a change."
"I couldn't help it," said Odd, looking at his foot dumbfounded, "It was like some kind of primal urge or something."
Ok people pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese don't kill me. I know that you've been waiting for this new chapter for ages and I just had to give you a cliffhanger ending. To tell you the truth, I did not intend on having a two part episode but since that one Lyoko battle took up about fifty pages I thought that I should split it up so that I don't have one really long chapter. But then again Code: Earth and False Start were two part episodes so the concept in not foreign to Code Lyoko.
When I first thought of Code Lyoko: A Retelling, I came across two different problems. First, I had to introduce Jin into the series for I thought it would be weird for him to be "always there" as opposed to being transferred that way I could develop a back story for him. My next problem was that I had to think of an episode where he falls victim to a XANA attack. That danger is shoved him his face and he's not just throwing himself in harms way like he's done in the past. When I first started Teddygodzilla, I've been thinking of this chapter in my head, how and why certain events would happen. I've tried my best to come up with an episode quality story that would be a roller coaster ride of emotions and expectations. I've poured my heart into creating, and writing this story and I hope my efforts do indeed pay off and you've enjoyed the chapter so far.
To tell you the truth, I'm a bit disappointed on how Marksman turned out since it's just one giant Lyoko battle. I mean, action is good but if that's all you have then you essentially have nothing to offer the reading public in terms of substance. I also inserted as much character development and interaction in this chapter as I could to balance it out. The Yumi and Ulrich fluff not to mention Odd's wide assortment of practical jokes really added more depth into the episode and improved its quality overall rather than just having a bunch of fighting going on. However several scenes that were crucial to the story played out fine now all you gotta do is find out what those scenes were.
In terms of fighting, I think I have just written the longest Lyoko sequence in Code Lyoko fanfiction history. I wanted to create an elaborate battle that really showed the characters working together and not playing "hero" and killing monsters left and right. This chapter also demonstrates how useful Jin's character is in team situations but how easily he can be defeated if he's left alone.
Yumi fans please don't yell at me for giving her a B on the threat rating. i didn't put that there because I think Yumi is weak on Lyoko. I was just using the facts that the show provides. If you recall, Yumi's Lyoko track record isn't so hot. She misses a lot of her shots and does not have the insanely high kill total as Ulrich and Odd do. Even though she has a B I will would be shaking in my boots if I had to face off against her in Lyoko.
There are a lot of unanswered questions in Marksman that will be addressed in the following chapter which I am really excited about. The next installment of the Retelling Series will allow you the see the actual repercussions of Jin's blindness and also how the Lyoko team deal's with the tragic event as a whole. This was my first attempt to write a REAL original episode. Deja Vu's Recruit will always be episode 1.5 since it really didn't have a conflict and just showed Jin's induction into the Lyoko team. Also I did my best to balance out the characters as well. Even though Jin was the victim here, he didn't get anymore screen time as the regular cast. Thinking of the actual attack was one of the hardest parts in this chapter as I tried to shoot for something that would original in the realm of Code Lyoko fanfiction writing. I know essentially I was using a similar presence as Routine and I'm perfectly ok with that. The attack's effects are dratically different and this chapter is more of a warm up to that episode.
I thought it would be pretty funny to have the chapter begin in an arcade. I wanted to write a scene where kids got to act like kids and not as heroes with this overwhelming burden on their shoulders. I felt that it was somewhat important to have Jin be a frequent arcade visitor as he needs a forming of practice for fights in Lyoko. If you haven't figured it out now, I am a huge video game player and I enjoy fighting games the most. Street Fighter, Tekken, Soul Caliber and Guilty Gear X are my favorite games in the genere. The Psycho Crusher is a special attack performed by a Street Fighter character named M. Bision and that was my homage to the series. Plus I have done a Psycho Crusher in real life, but it's really hard to perfect.
Anybody here read "Behind Closed Hearts" by Trillinka? If you have I've bet you noticed a certain set of familiar characters gracing Tia's chapters. Yep, Jin, Dirk and Clayton are all guest staring in Tia's monster fic and I'm honored that she's willing to use them for her story. And for those people who haven't read it, go do so now! (After you leave a review for me of course.)
Hope you liked my original work and you don't hate me for giving you a cliff hanger ending. Remember, whatever questions you have now (story wise) will most likely be answered in the next chapter so be on the look out for it. Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a review for as you can see, they mean a lot to me. Thanks to you guys, the Retelliing series has reached SEVERAL milestones.
-Over one-hundred reviews
-Over 3000 hits on the website
-Episode numbers have reached the double digits
-200,000 word mark has been surpassed
I have all of you to thank for this. I would have never gone this far and worked so hard if it wasn't for your continuing support. You have my deepest thanks and my undying determination to finish the series that I've started.
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