HEART OF A WARRIOR III:
WARRIOR’S REDEMPTION

CHAPTER 19: BLAZE OF GLORY

            Given the attitude of the student body in the wake of the tragedy, Chaud’s immersion into the boarding school did not go quite as swiftly as he had originally hoped. Many of the students, especially friends and relatives of the deceased, were outwardly hostile towards him, their glares accusing him of daring to “replace” their fallen comrades.

            He didn’t care in the slightest what anyone else thought, and the attention, hostile or otherwise, passed quickly as it was replaced with average, day-to-day concerns of getting good grades, who broke up with who, and in general, surviving. They all saw what he wanted them to see: a quiet, studious boy who was more than a little antisocial, and for the most part kept to himself.

            A few of the cheerleader squad had proposed offers to go out for coffee with him, but their reaction to him was almost always the same: he would ask a few questions about the school, pay for his drink, and leave as quickly as he had come. He was cute, but he was either shy or did not want company. Though highly intelligent, he was not one to show it off. It was almost as if he was a polar opposite of Odd at times. Where Odd was vibrant and full of life, this new boy was introverted almost to the point of creepiness. Where Odd had, at one point, been dating multiple ladies at the same time, Chaud seemed almost totally not interested in other people. And where Odd had a group of friends… Chaud had none.

            For almost a whole month, the newest addition to Kadic Academy was fairly quiet. Attention slid over him, and people started to take him for granted, with the exception of four children that were all that was left of the Lyoko Warriors.

            The four had conferred amongst themselves, and had thought that a new, super-smart, emotionally distant person who was unwilling to talk about his past, arriving JUST after the warriors had lost a member, was just a little too convenient. Ulrich and Yumi both suspected that it was some sort of XANA attack or Wily agent, while Jeremie was merely cautious about it. He had been wrong about Taelia, after all, and was reserving his judgment.

            Aelita… was undecided. She didn’t believe that the boy was evil, per se, but she also didn’t think he was exactly normal. And considering that she had been to Lyoko a few times looking for Odd, and hadn’t found so much as a single trace of an activated tower, she was fairly confident that this wasn’t some sort of XANA attack. However, considering that she herself and her friends weren’t exactly normal, she could sense that there was something a little more unusual about Chaud.

            Still, there was nothing that could be done about it if he didn’t do anything to them, so nothing but speculation happened between the four warriors for the next week.

--- --- ---- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

            “Sir, I have some… ah, bad news.”

            “Hrmm? What now?”

            “It seems that, from our mole in the Officials, that the Officials have decided to send an agent, and what’s worse-”

            “WHAT?!? How could he let this happen?!?”

            “Evidently, we’re not as omnipotent as we’d like to think, eh, Zanny?”

            “Quiet, Forte. Our mole was not present at the time of the meeting, so they made the decision without him. We were only informed of it once he returned to active duty.”

            “Well, are they on to our activities?”

            “No, sir, but they are highly suspicious of multiple events that have happened in the last few years. They always thought that the reports were faked, or that their mole-”

            “A what?” growled Wily.

            “He’s not well-liked among the Officials due to his ‘crazy reports,’ and his father, so he wasn’t paid much attention to, and I didn’t think him worth mentioning.”

            “You idiot. Without this data, Lord Wily could have made a huge tactical blunder!!”

            Red eyes glared at Forte for a second before widening in pain as Dr. Wily pressed a button. XANA clenched her jaw shut as black lightening sapped the energy from her body,  draining it away as though it were nothing. She forced herself, bravely, to remain motionless, knowing that any sign of weakness would mean that this torture would only be prolonged.

            After nearly five minutes of forced drain, she sucked in a breath as Wily lifted his finger from the button.

            “Don’t ever,” hissed Wily, “withhold information from me,” He paused for effect, “ever again. Do you understand?”

            “Y… Yes, Father.”

            “Good. Continue.”

            “The official that they assigned to this case was… Chaud Blaze and Proto Man, sir.”

            Wily visibly slumped in his chair.

            “Damn… is there any GOOD news?”

            “Yeah,” Forte growled, “In the last attack, the Warriors missed several of our cloaked towers. They’ve been transporting energy this entire time.”

            “How much energy was transferred?”

            “I couldn’t say at the moment, sir, but we’ve reached seventy-five percent energy levels for the Resurrection Project.”

            “I really don’t see what’s the point of this whole thing; I’ve proven my loyalty, can’t I have the scoop?”

            “No.”

            “But-”

            “Shut up, Forte, Master Wily said no.”

            “SCREW YOU, YOU WASTE—”

            “FORTE!! Enough!”

            A growling noise echoed through the chamber for a few seconds before Wily spoke again.

            “Attack again. Make sure the humans use their “Return to the past,” device.”

            “I think I have a plan, Master Wily.”

            “Oh?”

            As Forte and Wily discussed their plans, neither noticed a small, sad expression cross XANA’s face, before being wiped away by a neutral, passive expression. And absolutely NO ONE noticed that at the very core of her eyes, in a hair-thin line next to the pupil, was a tiny amount of green.

--- --- --- --- --- --- ---

            Chaud carefully ate small bites of food from his tray. Well, he personally didn’t think of this as “Food.” More like “Slop,” or “Crap,” as those more closely matched the physical description and taste of the paste-like substance.

            Granted, he was slightly spoiled, what with being rich and all, but even he knew, in his heart of hearts, that no one in this school could possibly like this sludge.

            “AWESOME! It’s Meatball Gravy Day!”

            “Sweet! We’ll actually get some this time!”

            … those two excluded.

            He glanced at Protoman, who replied nonverbally by summoning their files.

            “Herve Pichon and Nicholis Poliakoff… friends with Sissi Delmas, and maintain status of being acquaintances with the primary suspects. While Nicholis isn’t that smart, Herve has good technological skills, and may potentially have had contact with Target Number One. Threat level, minimal.”

            He glanced around the room. “Elisibeth Delmas: Prefers the nickname Sissi.  obsessively stalks one of primary suspects, and appears to have a very low-level friendship with them. Recently has been in a state of depression following the incident for unknown reasons. Due to this unusual behavior, coinciding with the incident, our operative has taken extended measures to watch her for suspicious behavior. Threat level: Medium, due to continual contact with suspects and beginner-level martial arts.”

            He spotted a pair of girls- one an African-American girl wearing green pants and a yellow shirt, the other a pale, red-haired girl of about the same age, wearing a burgundy t-shirt and brown pants.

            “MillySolovieff and Tamiya Diop… known to maintain a low-level friendship with vanished suspect, as well as a friendship with the other suspects. Both are news reporters, who single-handedly publish the Kadic Times, the only student-run newspaper on campus. It is due to this that they probably have good computer skills… but also why they are not likely to have any sort of contact or knowledge of Target Number One. They would have divulged the information already. As investigative journalists, they have the potential to blow the cover of any deep-cover agents who do not have an alibi prepared, as this operative does. Threat level: Medium, for potential to blow cover. They are highly observant and intelligent.”

            He spotted two boys sitting across the cafeteria from the two girls.

            “Hiroki Ishiyama: brother to Primary Suspect Number Five. Has a crush on Milly Solovieff. Used to live in ACDC Town, Japan, until their family was forced out by WWW minions seven years ago. The resulting move has caused massive internal problems for the Ishiyama family, including the Primary Suspect. While this individual probably did not make contact with the Primary Target, his sister could have introduced him to it, or he could have found out through her. In addition, his friend Johnny has a massive crush on Suspect Number Three, AKA Hiroki’s sister. He could know about the Target by sheer evesdropping and accident. Threat Level: Medium to High. While combat skills may be lacking, he may know about the Net Agents, and is a relative of one of the Primary Suspects. Potential to have come into contact with the Primary Target is greatly increased. Observe carefully for signs of knowledge of Net Technology.”

            All around the dual-haired boy, the chaos of everyday school life and lunch swirled around him like a cyclone, with him at its calm, unaffected eye.

            He saw, and observed, many things. Many potential lines of inquiry rose and fell in his genius mind, modified by the patterns that he observed. He was an outsider looking in, able to see things that others took for granted.

            He had little doubt that those considered “Primary Suspects” had something unusual up their sleeves. Others might not notice it as much, but they were unusually self-absorbed, had some sort of secret codes, and would disappear from school pretty much simultaneously. At other times, they would display odd, out-of-character knowledge or actions, somehow seeming to influence events to their favor.

            The Official’s mole had confirmed that so-called “XANA Attacks” occurred precisely at these times. The mole had also included details of the attacks that were related to actions that the warriors tried to manipulate away. For example, if the attack was supposed to be carried out with cell phones, they would be seen posting up reminders of the ban on cell phones in the classroom. All very curious.

            However, as much as he would have liked to help, there was the matter that he had no concrete evidence that this “XANA,” person actually existed, nor that they had anything to do with the real mission.

            Their real mission, quite simply, was one of the toughest jobs in the universe:

            Locate Bass.exe, and destroy him.

            “…aud! CHAUD!”

            Chaud’s eyes darted to the PET at his waist, knowing that Protoman wouldn’t dare try to contact him this way unless there was an emergency. Deciding to take a chance, he grabbed the iPod-like device and brought the screen up to his face.

            Protoman was anxious, and that in and of itself scared Chaud. Protoman was nearly inflapable. Almost nothing could really make him worried, and here he was, slightly flustered. That was pretty big.

            “I’m detecting large energy readings near you’re position, sir, and not only are they getting closer, but-”

            There was a loud bang, and everyone’s attention was drawn towards the windows, where a large SUV had just slammed itself into the administration building. Students and teachers slowly began to look outside…

            Just in time for over a dozen more cars, their headlights crackling with black lightning, to speed around the corner, through the gates of the academy, and onto the campus grounds. Their engines purred like a demonic, mechanical cat, and streaks of black now gleamed in the sunlight.

            Chaud glanced at his PET and quirked his eyebrow. Protoman cleared his throat and announced, deadpan, “They’re here, and they show signs of electronic possession.”

            “Hmmm….” Thought the Official, before glancing back at his Net Navi. “Protoman, I’d like to try something. Please forgive me if this does not work…”

            “Of course, Chaud. I couldn’t stay mad at you…”

            “What about the time I used a Darkchip?”

            The red Navi sniffed hautily, before turning away from the screen. “That’s the exception that proves the rule.”

            Smiling slightly, Chaud aimed his PET at one of the car’s headlights.

            “Jack in,” he whispered, “Protoman.exe. Execute!”

            A beam of infrared light shot from the device, through the glass, across the courtyard, and into the headlight of the possessed car…

            --- --- --- --- ---- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

            By sneaking through the boiler room, the Lyoko Warriors had managed to avoid any traces of the cars, and had made it to the factory relatively quickly.

            As the three remaining warriors positioned themselves in the scanners, Jeremie spoke out.

            “Scanner, Ulrich. Scanner, Yumi. Scanner, Aelita. Scanner, O-”

            He broke off, memory of the purple-clad warrior still painful.

            Uncomfortably, he completed the process, but as soon as his friends were on Lyoko, he saw multiple unfamiliar cards appear on his screen, signifying enemies near the activated tower. Four Krabes, Odd, and something unfamiliar… and the unfamiliar thing was fighting XANA’s forces!

            “Uh, guys…” he muttered into the headset, “I think you need to check this out…”

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

The three remaining warriors dropped to the ground of the Desert Sector, a little winded from the transfer.

Aelita’s new outfit drew the attention of her teammates, as it was a bit of a radical shift from the almost homespun virtual form she had worn before. Even Ulrich couldn’t help but stare a bit at the form-hugging costume (until Yumi kicked him.)

Wincing, Ulrich managed to say (with equal parts mirth and pain) that “our camouflage is shot, now.”

“And Odd was the model of invisibility?” growled Bass, who floated down from the sky to meet them. “We need to move.”

“Why?” came Yumi’s response.

“Because,” he explained slowly, as though to a small child, “As of right now, XANA, Forte, and I are not the only Net Navi’s on Lyoko.”

Silence greeted this statement, until Jeremie, ever observant, asked, “XANA’s a Net Navi?”

“Yes, didn’t I tell you?”

“No.”

“Hnn. Must have forgotten to mention it.” He growled again.

And so they set off. As in a few earlier missions, they encountered few monsters, but given that, according to Jeremie, XANA was now facing a new enemy, that was at least a little understandable that she’d keep her forces back to engage the new foe.

Aelita extended her wings and flew into position next to her adopted brother.

“You didn’t just forget, did you,” she murmured accusingly.

A smirk ghosted its way onto his face. “No,” he stated, deadpan. “I only sensed it since I got back and compared her signature to Forte’s. It makes more sense, though,” he said, seeing Aelita’s confused expression, “because though Wily hates the Net, he’s one of the best programmers in existence.”

“Ah.”

They continued on for almost five minutes with only a lone Kankrelot appearing before them. Unusually, it took one look at them, then scurried off to the side, bowing low.

It was Ulrich who came up with the answer for this activity.

“They think you’re Forte!” he cried, pointing at the cloaked Navi with glee, “They don’t want to engage you because they’ll get in trouble!”

“I preferred my idea that they were too scared of me.”

“Nah, we’ve killed them by the hundreds, why would they be afraid of you?”

Bass stopped, and turned around, his eyes crimson, cloak billowing, aura crackling and snapping, as he looked towards Yumi (for it was she who make the comment.)

“I don’t know, human,” he snarled, “Why would they be?”

It was fortunate for Bass that he had done this, as his Aura was still up, because it was at that moment that a laser hit his defensive shield. Aelita was already charging an energy field when her team turned and saw a wounded Krabe tottering towards them, determined to destroy its mistress’ enemies before succumbing to its own. Yumi’s fans sliced through it easily, but the point was made: They were close.

This was further emphasized by the sounds of a large explosion from nearby.

When the Warriors finally reached the area of combat, they were shocked at what they saw.

Odd, snarling like a caged beast, flew at his opponent with a fury that none of them had ever seen in the blonde slacker. His claws extended with a sinister, yet efficient, click, and his blow should have taken his opponent’s face off.

Instead, all it did was scratch the helmet.

The new figure was taller than Bass at six foot two, and had a tight ponytail of shock-white hair that stretched down to his knees. He was clad in a one-piece jumpsuit that was purple-blue towards the center of the body, but black on the sides, with a trapezoidal red vest that flared out at the shoulders. His right arm was transformed into a sword with an H-shaped device at the point where the blade was connected to the arms. His left arm was clad in a red gauntlet with white gloves, similar to Bass’ but less stylized. His boots were done in much the same fashion. His head was entirely encased in a red helmet with a white facemask and what appeared to be some sort of sunglasses. Unlike Bass, who went out of his way to appear mysterious and subtlly terrifying, this man- for with a skintight jumpsuit, there was really no doubt as to his gender- exuded a strong sense of professionalism and cold-bloodedness, not even responding to Odd’s screams and curses.

“GAAAHHH!!! WHY WON’T YOU JUST $%^# DIE?!?” screamed Odd as he launched a barrage of crystal shards in the direction of the newcomer, who merely raised his arm as a red shield with a silver rim faded into existence. The shards ricocheted off the shield, burying themselves into nearby rocks before exploding violently.

His opponent, not even flinching underneath the assault, dispelled the shield and swiped his sword across empty air. A thin blade of air shot from his blade, cutting effortlessly through Odd and his Krabe.

The other two Krabes stared at him for a moment, before turning and running away.

Once Odd’s smoky form had faded away to nothingness, the red warrior turned to face his new foes, before taking a few steps backwards, gasping in surprise.

Then, without warning, he vanished.

The warriors glanced around the clearing, trying to see where the new combatant had disappeared to, when Bass slumped over on the ground, his aura shield split in two places. A long cut was carved into his side, and cube-shaped bits of data were leaking out. Ulrich brought out his blade, ready to defend Aelita, when Yumi  disappeared, headless. After a few more terse seconds, the crimson-clad soldier reappeared in the middle of the platform.

“For crimes against the Cyberworld,” the red navi explained in a monotone, chilling voice, “Die.”

Bass shot to his feet and immediately began charging up energy, rocketing forwards as he did so. The two met and vanished, teleporting across the entire sector, exchanging punches and slashes like some sort of high-speed brawl.

While the two Navis attempted to pound each other into oblivion, Ulrich bodily picked up Aelita, and activated his Super Sprint, carrying her all the way to the tower. Winded, she stumbled in, barely managing to calm herself enough to rise to the top and enter the code.

And over the car-destroyed Kadic, a white bubble swept across the land…

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

At the Hermitage, after school on that day, the Lyoko Warriors stared at Bass, a long scratch still healing on his face.

“Protoman,” he growled, “One of the best Net Agents in existence. He’s easily at Triple-S rank, the highest ranking level an official can receive. Completed over five hundred missions flawlessly.”

He turned so that his scratch wasn’t as visible to the camera. “Fast, too.”

“Why was he here?” asked Yumi, getting to the crux of the matter.

Bass glowered. “Me.”

The warriors waited for him to speak again, while his glower only deepend.

“What, you wish to know why? I am called the ‘Messenger of Darkness,’ for a reason,” he chuckled humorlessly, “and it is not because of my caring attitude. I am a Triple-S ranked target, a title previously only granted to Dr. Wily himself… if they have tracked me here, it means that there is either a traitor in our midst or that someone outside our group knows about Lyoko.”

Jeremie nodded while Ulrich and Yumi looked shocked. “I suspected as much,” he murmured.

The silence that reigned was deafening.

The blonde genius looked around at them. “What?” he asked, “What’s so hard to believe about that?”

“We wouldn’t turn traitor,” snarled Ulrich.

“So that means that someone outside of our group knows about Lyoko,” explained Jeremie, deadpan. “The only people who know about Lyoko, to our knowledge, are in this room.”

“Wrong,” said Aelita, “There’s Odd.”

“And XANA, and this Protoman,” blurted Yumi.

“And Forte and Dr. Wily.” Came Ulrich’s response.

“And one other, one who I know wouldn’t betray us,” growled Bass, “Dr. Mikhael Cossack, creator of the Lyoko Defense Program.”

“Well, how do you know that?” asked Yumi.

As she said this, all the power in the building (save for Bass’ computer) turned off, before the lights came on bright and hot enough to rival the sun’s heat.

“ANY QUESTIONS?!?” Snarled the cloaked Navi as he returned the lights to normal, before vanishing, leaving behind the warriors to nurse their new sunburns.

--- --- --- --- ---

Protoman found himself back in the Cafeteria, Chaud glancing at him out of the corner of his eye.

“You were saying something about Ms. Delmas?” he prodded.

Protoman stared at him for a moment.

“Sir,” he gulped, “I think I have some very important news for you…”