Grant was the first to see the dot in the sky. His visor pulled up the distance, speed, and relative size or the thing. But he kept silent, the “crusher” reached out his hand a summoned a new gun. The new fire power had a long skinny barrel and a large scope. He placed the sniper rifle to his shoulder and fired. His visor showed a clean hit, but the object remained.
“Miss, pretty boy?” Grace commented, hand on her hip and a snide grin on her face. Grant turned a put the barrel behind his head resting it on his shoulders. “I never miss.” As he said this the shockwave from the blast reached them wiping up sand into the eyes of the other children.
Erin was the first to recover from the gale of sand, “look out!” But the warning came too late. The large spearhead shaped object rammed into Grant sending him flying. The creature took a slow, wide loop into the sky and took aim at Randy. As it near its front shown an electric blue. Randy wiped out his blade and swung at the thing. But when the blade hit the glowing half of the creature it rebounded, and Randy was hit square in the chest.
The spearhead continued to tear apart the children. Their efforts were uncoordinated and tripped over each other several times. “Mini Drones!” The streaks of yellow raced toward the oncoming threat. But as they neared it Randy jumped into the path of the spearhead, the mini-drones slammed into his back, and a second later Randy was sent flying by the miner impacting him from the front.
Grant swapped out his riffle for a smaller weapon. But as he fired a spray of shots Grace let fly a handful of throwing stars. The two attacks collided with a defining explosion. But their target excaped with ease, and disposed of the ninja girl and the werepuppy boy. The creature made a wide arch as is accelerated toward Randy, who had regained this position. The dark skinned boy looked at the digital ram that was racing toward him, almost unconsciously he pulled out one of the knives from its loop on his belt and launched it at the program. The knife dug it’s self deep into the creatures underside but had little effect. Randy once again found himself being slammed into the sky with the force of another collision.
The spearhead executed a wide turn reaming itself at the children again. Grant pulled the trigger of the digital weapon and an automatic spray of virtual bullets rained down on the digital ram. But to no avail the thing seemed immune to the small blasts. But it apparently did fear the four streaks of yellow that were coming at it, the thing moved aside to avoided the mini-drones. But the mini-drones altered their course and began to follow the miner program. Unfortunately they fizzled out before they could ever reach the target.
Jeremie sighed as he looked at the gages and numbers that covered the screens, the children were using up to much energy. At this rate they wouldn’t be able to hold their virtual form for much longer. Several things the Digitizer had done away with, life points being one of them. The length of time that people could exist in the virtual world was limited by 2 factors; energy consumption and will power. Children were perfectly suited for this world, but the ones in their now where wasting their energy. If any of them lost their virtual form who ever sent the miner program would have some very, very interesting data to look through.
Grace fell to the sandy ground, she watched at the creature pulled up in a high loop. The knife that Randy had thrown into was still lodged deeply into it, at this point Grace’s mind whirred into action. Her favorite type of video games, strategy, had trained her mind to look for weakness, cracks in her foes armor. So when she saw that she saw the end of this battle.
“Sorry boys but this is my battle to win. So read them an’ weep!” She waited for the miner program to come at her. But the plan was interrupted by four streaks of yellow impacting the tip of the creature. The mini-drones forced the creature to alter its course hitting Grant. The boy in the Exeo-skeleton was knocked to the ground with a thud. He was joined by Erin seconds later by way of Grace’s fist.
While she was knocking around Erin, Randy was dodging the attacks of the digital ram. Breathing heavily he slumped to the ground, the miner program passing over him. And the program made another pass over the exhausted student he thrust a second knife into it. The thing altered its course and aimed itself at the figure of Grace that was beating the stuffing out of a dog like human. Grace and her victim were thrown skyward. Grace dropped the near senseless Erin and grabbed onto the digital ram. And she hung on for dear life, the program, obviously not noticing its new passenger took a high wide arch into the sky.
At the peak of the loop the digital ram exposed its underside to the virtual sky. As the program began its decent Grace managed to get onto the exposed side, with all of her strength she punched the knives that were imbedded in the digital ram all the way through. The gloved fist, shrouded in a pink glow sent one of the knives to the ground with amazing speed. But that action caused the virtual creature to shake violently, throwing Grace off of it. And Grace fell about a hundred feet. Near the end she managed to right herself and land on he feet, but she buckled under the momentum at which she landed. The kneeled on the ground, recovering from the spectacular fall. The creature that had just had a knife shoved all the way through it did not fare as well.
The program, shedding data glided down to the ground, and with a very ungraceful landing smoldered on the sand. Small flecks of data rose from the crash site, making a haze around it. Then like a firecracker if exploded. The haze from the data eventually faded leaving the four children in an empy desert. They stood, or lay, there berating heavily, exhausted from the fight. Little did they know how close they were to the same fate that the miner program had come to.
After a few minuet they felt the energy come back, Randy slow rose from the ground and looked around. Then he screamed and jumped back, the outburst turned the others attention toward him. Floating about 5 feet above the ground stood a girl. But the oddest thing about her was she only stood about a foot tall, she looked to be maybe thirteen. She has a soft red hair, not carrot-top, but quite like a video game character. She was clothed that way too, in designer clothes likened to the ones worn in the Final Fantasy games.
Grace tapped her gem bringing up the display and asked Jeremie, “We got a visitor down here. What do we do?” But Kari answered that question first, “You love me.”
“Hardly” Grace glared at Kari. Then she disappeared, seconds later she was sitting on the top of Grace’s display swinging her legs. She smiled an innocent smile, Grace returned the favor with a growl. Kari ignored her and looked around at the tiered students. The image on the display showed Jeremie rolling his eyes, “This is Kari, she exists in the computer as an AI program. More or less she is the operating system of this place.”
“Whoa.” Erin walked over to where Kari sat and looked at her closely. He hardly believed someone like that could run something like this. From her purch on Grace’s display she was a little higher than Erin’s level. The girl giggled, “I like you.”
Erin cocked his head to the side, not yet sure what to make of the virtual girl. Unfortunately that had the side of his head resting on Grace’s arm. It was there for a few second be for it, and the rest of Erin were thrown back into the air by Grace’s fist.
As Erin landed Randy too brought up his display, “Teach, where are we any way?”
Jeremie in his seat in the real world turned his head toward the screen devoted to Randy, “Well, technically you are inside the virtual space protocols of the super computer. Your bodies were converted into energy and translated into computer code. Your forms right now are a reflection of that code, held together by your body’s life forces. As for the name of this place, I don’t believe its old title is sufficient any more, it is built upon the ruins of Lyoko, but uses a completely organic code. So I figured that you could name it.”
“Resident?”
“The Digital World?”
“New France?”
“Nuevo France?”
“Idiot world.”
“Terra Machina”
After Grant’s suggestion there was a pause. It was like a silent motion to seace nominations had been passed. Jeremie asked it Terra Machina was acceptable but Grace protested, “Are you joking, we can’t have a name like that. Way to make something so amazing so nerdy, pretty boy.”
She glared at Erin and Randy, who sheepishly avoided her gaze. Realizing that she had lost, she gave an indignant huff and accepted the name. Jeremies face disappeared of the display and was replaced by what looked to be a snow flake, Jeremie’s voice explained, “Terra machina is divided into 7 zones. The outer six can be classified by the types of climates they resemble: Arctic, Alpine, Arid, Temperate, Tropical, and Continental. In the center there is the 7th zone, urbane. Each zone has a varying types of structures that act as access points to the non virtual space data contained in the super computer. These structures also let someone gain access to a part of the super computer that controls the natural fields of the earth.”
Erin brought up his display as well and interrupted Jeremie, “Field, professor?” Jeremie, whose face had returned to the display, nodded, “Earth, and our presence upon it, generates several field: gravitational, magnetic, electrical, ion, even the atmosphere, radio waves, and our effect on space time are fields. So if someone were to control them they would have devastating powers, that is why I had you come here.”
Suddenly the sky changed drastically, now instead of a shining orange it glowed a deep navy blue. Small bit of data sparkled white as the flitted across the virtual sky. The temperature began to drop as well. One really didn’t notice that the virtual world had a temperature tell it began to change. It started to feel like night. Randy asked the question, “Teach, what just happened? And why I the girl glowing?”
Kari beat Jeremie to it, “My name is Kari, get it right. And it’s night, what do you expect.”
Jeremie continued where Kari left of, “the super computer run on a slightly different clock than France. But right now it’s time for all of you to get back to the dorms. You may be saving the world now, but I’m still you teacher.” One by one they disappeared in a column of blue light, quite ready to get to sleep.
***
Elsewhere in the city a man by the pseudonym of Mayhem sat asleep at his own computer. Not being awoken by the beep from his computer he continued on in sleep. But whatever it was, was persistent. When several more noises from the computer failed to awaken the sleeping man a box popped up. In the box a seductively dressed woman leaned against a invisible wall, “Ahhh, is the little Mayhem tired?”
This jolted Mayhem from his slumber, hastily he pulled his glasses from his white hair, “Nalla! Jeeze what’s the big idea?”
The woman in purple pouted for a second, “What no hi? No comments on my dress? Nothing? Oh fine then, SHE wants to talk to you. Good luck.” She waved as she walked out of the box on the screen, the box disappeared and Mayhem tapped the touch screen just over a small blue square. What greeted him was the face of his employer, or rather what could be assumed to be a face. Mayhem’s employer wore the usual VXC board attire, a cloak that kept their true identity secret. A feminine voice spoke, “Mayhem the miner failed to send back any data in the latest merge. Where is he?”
Mayhem shock his self and rubbed his eyes, removing the sleep from them. Then he looked at the few features that were eliminated by the light of his employer’s computer, “He took the children and left campus, apparently on a short notice experiment for the children. He came by me and checked with me.”
“Good, keep watch of him.” Mayhem could just make out her lips curl into a cruel grin. “Yes, keep watch of him, we want him to stay ignorant. He cannot interfere, neither of them.” Mayhem nodded and said, “The other one is being taken care of, very well.”
She nodded and her eyes glimmered then she disappeared. Mayhem sighed and shook his head his thin white hair shining in the dark room. Slowly he drew out a small computer chip and stared at it. Jeremie would never find his secret, not after his little lie. And there was nothing that could stop the plan from coming to fruition.
***
Rocorson raised his head from the table, the room was becoming unbearably hot. Now the simmering phantasm seemed less fanciful and more and more demonic. The bodies of his patiants were flailing in their pods, no matter how much sedative was pumped to their blood streams they continued their thrashing. Their bodies were on the verge of collapse from strain, the vision of hell was completed by their screams. They were yelling the same verse over and over, each time pausing as if to wait for the response. But when one failed to come they shrieked as if in immeasurable pain.
The doctor turned his head toward the two other people that had pulled themselves through the door not too long ago. Just below the sheiks one could hear a banging at the door. Under normal circumstances Rocorson would have called someone to take them away, but the lights had fried all the equipment in the room. Then the shifting lights changed directions, the lights swirled around him and the other two. Rocorson could feel energy being drained out of him, slowly forced by the head and loss of energy he faded into unconsciousness’ open arms.
If the doctor had been awake the next events would have amazed and frightened him to no end. With a scream of anguish Odd, Ulrich, Yumi, and Aelita called out the verse again. This time they were answered, the voice was deafeningly loud, almost as if the whole of the universe was answering their cry. The same two word that had answered the incapacitated heroes soothed them with their return.
“LEAVE ALL!!!!!”
With this the ball of light and energy grew. The light changed to a blinding white, the sphere engulfed the Lyoko warriors and grew tell it covered Rocorson. Then it blanketed Escariot and the Lancer. When it had taken these to it found the walls of the room. Its growth stunted it continued to glow brighter and brighter. The shadowy forms of the seven humans faded into the light.
With a defining explosion the light disappeared. The police that were banging at the door were thrown back against the wall. Knocked out they failed to see a ball of light escape the room and out of the hospital. The will-of-the-wisp floated into the sky. It sat there above the city lights, above a block of darkness. Then it exploded, a flash of light swept through the city, light bulbs exploded, computers were wiped clean, whole houses caught on fire. And when the light from the blast faded the orb of light and seven humans had disappeared and a city was plunged into darkness.
But one part of the city lay untouched, even the power remained on for a while, Kadic Academe and the people inside a abandoned factory were ignorant of what had happened. Well most of them were, but Kari sat alone in a tower in Terra Machina’s center in full knowledge of what had happened. But wouldn’t realize why it happened, or what effect it would have on the world for a long time.
Only one person in the world had any idea of what would befall earth. And she sat looking at a countdown clock that had reached zero. Oh yes, she had an idea of what would happen, and who would play a part in it.