Code Lyoko: Digital Destiny [[Started // Not Accepting]]

[Yang Xiao-Long]

Alistair, having followed the others to the Scanner Room, was the last person to step out of the elevator. He heard Dominic tell them to hurry up, but when he saw the scanners, all empty and, well, a bit ominous. A few seconds passed, and he saw Estelle volunteer herself. She muttered something which he didn't quite catch, and Alistair saw her step into one of the scanners. After a few seconds, the doors had closed and then a hiss resulted. The doors opened automatically when a few seconds passed, and when he peered inside, Estelle was gone!

[i]Whoa...this is absolutely incredible...[/i] Alistair was speechless. [i]Technology capable of transferring humans into a world inside a supercomputer?[/i]
Alistair, on either impulse or instinct, as he couldn't tell which, stepped immediately into one of the scanners without a word. As the doors closed upon him, he felt something between anxiety and excitement. The next thing he knew, the world went blank.

[encapturer]

"Wha?"

Estelle looked down at herself to look at what she was wearing now; no longer was she wearing her modern clothes. No, what she wore was armor. It looked heavy at first, but while her movement was limited, she found that the armor was not as heavy as she thought it was, allowing most of her movement. She would have been proud to be wearing heroic armor... but it was painted in a dark red color scheme, as if she was some evil general or something.

In the end she decided it was armor made for antiheroes, which made things a little better. She figured that the armor was the from the chamber she entered, and resolved to enter a different one the next time this happens.

The next time... she could not believe that she was planning to come back, but now that things seemed somewhat safe, she would be willing to help out more. Of course, the fact that she's dressed like a character from a RPG was kind of ominous, as if she could be thrown into a random encounter at any time. At least the area seemed safe, Estelle noted as she examined the area. She was in awe; this was definately a forest, but not quite what she expected.

"What do you want us to do?" Estelle screamed out into the sky at the top of her lungs, which ended up making her sound strained. All she wanted to do was get in contact with Dominic. "And why do I have this armor now?" she contined in a quieted voice as to not break her lungs,

[Saiba Aisu]

Even though Cerce knew that Estelle was going to be virtualized onto Lyoko, her sudden disappearance from inside the scanner still came as a shock. "No way," he breathed in surprise, his gaze fixed upon the empty confines of the device she had entered only a few moments ago. "I can't believe it!" He listened as Dominic addressed Estelle over the speakers, trying to calm her fears. "Don't worry," he said, gazing at the computer monitor and the window that listed her characters specifics. "Everything's fine—from what I can see here, the armor is just part of your equipment on Lyoko." He leaned forward and peered more closely at the screen, adding, "It also says that you have some kind of weapon with you... To be honest, I can't really tell what it is, it looks like a big letter H!"

Dominic's remarks were cut short as Alistair practically thew himself into the closest scanner in his eagerness to be the next one transferred. "Just hold on for a minute, Estelle, the others will be there soon. I'm about to launch the Virtualization Process again." Cerce watched as the scanner's doors closed upon Alistair with another mechanized hiss; apparently, he was about to be transferred as well. "Wait!" came a voice—it took him a moment to realize that it was his own. "I'm coming too." Almost as if in a dream, Cerce walked past Devine and Basil and into the third scanner; he had only a moment to gather his thoughts before the doors closed upon him.

"Okay then," Dominic said, adjusting easily to the change as his fingers flashed across the keyboard. "Transfer, Alistair! Transfer, Cerce!" On the computer screen, two new windows opened up, each displaying an opaque male figure: one was slender while the other was much taller and seemed to have a pair of wings on his back. "Scanners!" he continued methodically, striking another key decisively; at his words, the same humming noise from before started up again, while the two figures began to gain their green coloration. Inside the scanner, the floor underneath Cerce started to rotate, and his body lifted into the air. "Virtualization!" cried Dominic.

There was another blinding flash of golden light and a palatable pulse of energy, blowing Cerce's bangs into the air above his closed eyes. After a brief delay, the scanners slid open once more with a hiss, the fog dissipating to reveal their empty confines, ready for Basil and Devine to step inside.

[Hydra of Ages]

Devine sighed. "Well, I've gone this far. Time for the last leg, one way or another," she paused and looked at Basil. "So see you on the other side, then, Necktie. Again, one way or the other..."

Muttering, she went into one of the cylinders. It was slightly warm inside, and there was a bit of a hum- she patted down her hair to make sure nothing got particularly frizzy. Forcing herself to relax, she counted numbers quietly to herself, starting at two, rapping a knuckle against the side of the tube at the same time. She barely noticed when it closed and she had the oddest feeling of weightlessness for a brief moment.

[i]'Is what death's like?'[/i] she found herself idly wondering in an odd-dream state, before white flooded her senses and she knew no more.

[Yang Xiao-Long]

A flash in his eyes and a pop in his ears was all he saw and heard before everything went dark. The next thing he knew, he saw himself in what seemed like a video game world; he was levitating over the ground, his tall form now becoming fully virtualized. After his complete form was "loaded", gravity pulled him down; he landed gracefully with quite a loud thud on the ground.

He held out his hands in front of him and saw that they were covered with fingerless gloves. He had on what seemed like a vest of sorts; underneath was a long-sleeved uniform in a blue hue. His pants were blue as well, and they weren't tight; in fact, his clothing seemed quite comfortable. He briefly got himself used to the range of motion in Lyoko; he twirled his fingers, he extended his arms in front of him to get himself accustomed to movement in Lyoko. He punched the air with his right hand and then immediately froze when he saw a shoulder pad. Next thing he knew, a feathery mass hit him in the face. "What the-"

Alistair put his hand down to his side and looked over both shoulders; a pair of angel wings was mounted on his back. Alistair could only gasp. [i]Angel wings? Incredible![/i] was all he could think to himself. He put his arms behind his head, and he heard a *CLANG* come from behind. He reached, found a grip on something, and pulled. In a flash, a massive sword appeared before him; a truly magnificent sword with a meter long blade. "So this is my weapon. I'm starting to like Lyoko more and more." He let out a slight laugh. Holding his sword with his right hand, he momentrily rested the blade on his shoulder pad; he felt no weight from the blade on his shoulders. [i]Weight insulation. Seems good to me.[/i] Putting his sword back, he looked around him for the first time. "A forest in a computer? Interesting indeed." Tall trees towering over all like magnificent pillars reaching to the heavens surrounded him on all sides. "Hmm...where to..." he said to himself, still quite confused. He tried looking around to see if Estelle was somewhere around.

A glimmer in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He saw Estelle in a suit of armor about a couple meters away. "Estelle!" he called out, trying to get her attention. Alistair ran over to her, his footsteps shaking the ground quite a bit. "Estelle!" As he ran over to meet up with Estelle, his wings were weaving back and forth, as if they had a mind of their own.

[Saiba Aisu]

When Cerce opened his eyes, he was hovering over a breathtaking forest landscape, with spectral, floating trees and narrow, winding pathways covered in lush vegetation. There was a brief delay as his character was completely virtualized; then, with a slight rushing noise, he fell downwards, turning a quick somersault in mid-air before landing lightly on the ground with his fingers outstretched. Cerce got to his feet slowly, drinking in the details of the beautiful but mysterious terrain. Despite its overwhelming attention to detail, there was still something vaguely computerized about the sight, as if he were gazing at the scenery of a well-developed video game.

"Estelle!" cried a voice; looking ahead, Cerce could make out Alistair's tall and imposing form standing near Estelle. He wasn't too surprised to see that they had adopted unconventional forms—after all, if Lyoko was anything like a video game, it made sense that the characters would appear differently than they did in real life. Alistair had donned a blue form-fitting uniform and appeared to have grown a large pair of wings, while Estelle looked extremely different than her usual self clad in a suit of dark-red armor. As Cerce walked towards them, he took the time to look at his own body, curious to see how his appearance had changed as well.

He tilted his head and peered over his shoulder, slightly disappointed to see that he was wingless; his anatomy seemed to have remained the same. He was, however, pleased with the short-sleeved dark green shirt that emphasized his slender but well-built frame, as well as the white pants made of lightweight, flexible cloth and matching armguards that stretched from his wrists to just below his elbows. Tapping his toes on the ground, he noted a pair of black boots with approval—although it wasn't very conventional, his outfit was undeniably trendy.

[i]I could get used to this[/i], he thought, coming to a halt in front of the other two. He raised a slim eyebrow at the sight of the large sword on Alistair's back and the bizarre H-shaped device that Estelle was holding. "I guess I didn't get the memo," he said coolly, looking down at his empty hands.

[Vector Nightmare]

[OoC: Gonna have to fast-forward a bit, since I haven't had time to post.]

Having said all that there was to be said, Basil watched with slight interest as the others climbed into the scanners and vanished, one after the other. He paid careful attention for any signs that something was out of order. But it seemed everything was following Dominic's schedule, and the boy had began communicating with the others, apparently already in that virtual reality of his. Without speaking, Basil picked a scanner and entered it, allowing Dominic to transport him into the computer world. A flash of light, then darkness.

Basil took a few seconds to adjust his vision to his new surroundings. Having built up quite a few expectations, the change disappointed him. The area looked like a forest, much like the one surrounding Kardic Academy, except a little... unreal, as if it was being seen through a shard of glass. He took quick note of the others. Apparently, each one's appearance had altered slightly - or not so slightly - in this world. Cerce was cosplaying Robin Hood this time. Alistair was pretending to be an angel. A ridicukous blue sword-wielding ninja angel. Basil shook his head. Devine had taken on the form of a secret agent. Compared to the rest, she was actually halfway decent. And Estelle was sporting medieval armor.

It seemed this world was designed to make everyone look as retarded as possible. Basil walked towards the others, preparing to unleash some snide comment - but then he remembered something. He glanced at himself - and moaned slightly.

His all-too catered-for clothing had been mangled to an unbelievable extent. The tie he had taken so much effort to choose this morning had vanished. His black shirt had expanded into a long cloak-like item, with coattails flaring from the bottom hem. That... cloak was open in the front, revealing an equally black tight attire worn underneath. Rather than elegant, polished dress shoes, he was sporting black leather boots, sturdy-looking, but still surprisingly comfortable. And... there was... a sword and a rifle... strapped at his back.

And he had thought the others looked bad.

Hoping not to attract much attention, he pinched his arm slightly. The walk through the forest and sewers was alright. The abandoned factory, too. The virtualization and computer world were things Basil could take in stride.

But a reality in which he looked so damn ridiculous could be nothing but a dream.

[encapturer]

[I]A big H?[/I] Estelle thought to herself after hearing Dominic's reply. It was at this time she noticed something hanging off the left side of her waist. She grabbed the object and detached it from its harness; bringing it in front of her face to be examined. Dominic was right; it was practically a large capital 'H'. Some inspection revealed small holes scattered all around the strange weapon, though there was no visible way to use those holes. The weapon also had grips positioned all around itself, allowing it to be securely wielded in various positions.

"Estelle!" A voice cried out in a distance, breaking Estelle's concentration. She turned and spotted Alistair running towards her wearing a pair of... angel wings. The rest of his outfit changed as well, but those wings were just eye-catching. She waved back to him, glad that she wasn't the only one who was going to be in this computer-world. The others soon followed, each being transformed in some way, with Basil apparently uncomfortable with what he was wearing. She had no idea why; she thought his outfit looked kind of cool - certainly better than the armor she wore - which had a skirt and exposed thighs under it.

She thought all of this was bizarre, but that feeling faded as she noticed that essentially everyone in the group was dressed like a character from an RPG. She found the very idea absurd - yet awesome at the same time. Looking over everyone once more, she guessed that she was a frontline tank... with some sort of punching weapon, while Alistair was the heavy hitter. Devine's archetype was harder to pin down; Estelle guessed she was a utility character - like an item user or a mage with unique spells. Cerce was tough as well, though his armguards suggested that he was a frontline fighter as well. Finally, Basil was definately the ranged character, complete with short-range options. There was no obvious healer, but she figured it would be Cerce, compared to the others, he is the one that is dressed the closest like a healer would.

Still their true capabilities are unknown, like her own. As soon as she thought that, she remembered that RPGs have monsters, and they could be attacked at any moment if true. She glanced at her weapon once more, wondering if she would be able to fight back wielding such a strange thing.

[Yang Xiao-Long]

After Alistair had caught up with Estelle, he finally noticed where the glimmer came from: Estelle's [i]armor[/i]. He waved back, smiling. He realized that she was looking at his wings. "Oh, these? Yeah, I don't know why I have wings. I'd rather have a suit of armor. But you know, this outfit is actually quite comfortable." Alistair glanced over at Estelle's strange weapon-of-sorts. "Is that...an 'H'? Must be a unique design." Alistair brandished his weapon. He examined it; he was still fascinated at how a weapon of that size could have the perfect weight for him. [i]Hmm...a weapon of this size does seem useful, but what if I needed a weapon with speed?[/i]

In a bright flash of light, the blade of his sword broke apart, the data stream composing his weapon floating; it streaked near his hilt, which remained the same, and as quickly as it had began, the flash dissipated and in the place of his large blade was a dagger, its foot-long blade flashing a crimson streak across the digital sky as if it were smiling. Alistair gasped. "Wha- what did I just do?" he asked in utter shock.

[Hydra of Ages]

The first thing Devine noticed was that it was dark out.

Far too dark to be normal. She blinked and looked around- the world around her looked almost... normal. An idyllic river gently caressed the hilly landscape, which was covered in a verdant carpet of grass, apparently so resplendant it dyed everything else a similar color.

She looked over to see her apparent allies, and found to her amusement that they'd apparently had a wardrobe change on the way down. The Wallflower, amusingly, was decked out in a full suit of plate armor that failed to extend to her legs. The skirt she wore seemed like the sort of improbable armor to be worn in an RPG, which she supposed would make sense, considering where she thought she were.

Didn't explain why everything was a dull [i]green[/i], though. A sudden thought possessed her, and she reached up to her face, groping around a little until she found what she was looking for. She pulled the lenses, wiping the dull green filter from her eyes and looked at what she'd pulled off.

"Sunglasses?" she muttered, examining them from a couple angles. They were a glossy sort of green and somewhat pointed at one end as a stylistic choice. Though they seemed a little stupid, she felt almost instantly fond of them, and put the pair in her pocket as she looked herself over, pausing a few seconds as she absorbed some details. She hesitated after a second, looked at Basil's garb, and glanced back at herself.

"...a coat?" she muttered, "and dress shoes too?... Ach..." she shook her head. "Look, this computer obviously made a mistake when it zapped us in here. Necktie and me swapped costumes." she said, shaking her head and replacing her glasses. As she moved her arm, she noticed one moved very slightly more stiffly around the shoulder- and when she looked closely, it did appear that one of her shoulders had a fair bit of leather padding, with a plate of armor covered in shadowy figures.

"Why would I have only one armored side?" she mused, chuckling, then paused again as she realized she knew what the armor looked like.

"It's fencing padding... but why would I-"

she caught sight of the wire-thin casing hanging off of her left thigh, and pulled it out with her hand. A long, silvery blade the width of a rapier gleamed in the light.

[Saiba Aisu]

[spoiler=OoC #1. Just to clarify.]Hydra, the forest terrain isn't hilly at all—Devine is in for a nasty fall if she doesn't tread carefully. It's composed of flat, narrow, winding pathways that float in midair and join others at various points. Although it's not as dangerous to navigate as the Mountain Region, a false step could be deadly. Furthermore, there are no rivers in Lyoko—except for the Ice Sector, the only body of water in Lyoko is the Digital Sea (if you fall in, you're dead for good.)[/spoiler]

[center][IMG]http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/GXCyber_Ice/XanaSymbolPosts.png[/IMG] [b]GM Post: Forest Sector, Lyoko[/b] [IMG]http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/GXCyber_Ice/XanaSymbolPosts.png[/IMG][/center]

[spoiler=GM Post: Forest Sector, Lyoko]While the assembly of five students were busy admiring—or disdaining—their new outfits and weaponry, a slightly irritated voice burst from the air, echoing through the spectral trees around them with displeasure. "Come on, you guys," Dominic said reproachfully, "I didn't virtualize you onto Lyoko so you could make your roleplaying dreams come true! If you want to make it back to Earth in one piece you're going to need to stay alert and work together—XANA could send some monsters your way at any time! Obviously, you can compare fashion and equipment later."

Dominic's words had the desired effect—instantly, the group fell silent, once again reminded of the supposed danger and gravity of their mission. Still, Cerce found himself placing a hand over his mouth at regular intervals in order to suppress his silent laughter at the crazy get-up that Basil had adopted. For a moment, the only sound was the steady clicking of Dominic's fingers across the keyboard as he surveyed the surrounding terrain and helped establish the group's position. "Okay," he said after a pause, "your destination isn't too far away, only about a mile—if you look to your right, you should just be able to make out the Tower."

At his words, they turned and peered past the steep edge of the path, through the floating trees, until they managed to glimpse a tall, ivory-colored structure among the greenery which seemed to glow with a white aura. "I'm afraid there's no shortcut for getting there," he added, "unless you feel like going for a swim in the Digital Sea, which I wouldn't recommend unless you'd like to be virtualized forever."

At his words, they peered over the edge of the platform on which they stood cautiously, gazing at the vast and mysterious body of water that lay far below the floating walkways with awe; one thing was for sure, the Digital Sea certainly didn't look too inviting. "Therefore," he resumed, "you'll have to take the long way around." The group turned back to the front, noting the narrow, winding path that snaked through the trees in a wide curve to the right—if they followed it, they were bound to reach the Tower eventually.

"I'll fill each of you in on your individual weaponry and abilities on the way," Dominic continued, bringing up five different windows on the screen, each displaying the unique specifics for the character it represented. "But for now, get going! You don't want to keep Aelita waiting, do you?"[/spoiler]

===

[spoiler=OoC #2. Please read!]Alright everyone, now that all of the characters have been virtualized, we are free to begin exploring Lyoko, so long as we head in the direction that Dominic is indicating. The Tower is meant to serve as a rendezvous point with Aelita, so it's crucial that we arrived there quickly. However, as we move, feel to free to interact and perhaps explore your abilities and weaponry; just make sure not to dawdle too much or injure each other.[/spoiler]

[Yang Xiao-Long]

Upon hearing what appeared to be Dominic's voice boom in the virtual sky, Alistair almost jumped, just barely missing the side of his abdomen with his dagger. He could tell Dominic was a bit irritated, so he decided to follow the direction he had directed them to take. Upon taking another quick look at the Digital Sea below, he tried a quick jump in place, in an attempt to use his wings, but to no avail. "Great...wings that can't fly. Oh well, might as well take the long way." He took off running, still holding his dagger.

[i]I like this dagger form and all, but I really wish I could have my default blade form back. Is that too much to ask?[/i] As if on cue, his dagger burst into data and reconfigured itself into the default meter-long blade; he immediately stopped in his tracks in utter bewilderment. "What in the world...?" he asked himself utterly confused by his weapon. He put his weapon back into its sheath and continued on the path. "Hey Dominic, you mind explaining to me about my weapon? I'm utterly confused as to why it changes form whenever I think about it."

[Saiba Aisu]

Fortunately for Alistair, the others managed to catch up with him while he stopped and waited for Dominic's reply; evidently, they were meant to move together through the Forest Region as a group. After all, it was only common sense—greater safety could always be found in numbers, and working together could very well prove crucial to their survival and the success of the mission. "Hold on a second, let me look into your character specifics," Dominic's voice replied, the clacking of keys accompanying his words in the background. "Okay Alistair," he continued after a moment, "from what I can see, you're able to transform the shape of that blade to mimic all kinds of different weapons just by focusing your thoughts upon it. Telepathic augmentation, it's pretty useful stuff.. I'm sorry about the angel wings, though. For now, their purpose seems to be more decorative than practical."

Cerce strode over and came to a halt next to Alistair, crossing his arms and saying, "What about me, Dominic?" He gave his colorful outfit a quick glance before looking back up at the sky—that seemed the easiest thing to do when it came to communicating with the disembodied voice. "I'm down with the clothes," he continued, "but something to fight with would definitely come in handy. What exactly am I working with here?" There was a brief pause as Dominic repeated the character specifics process, reviewing the computer window that displayed Cerce's unique weaponry and abilities. "Alright Cerce," he managed, "take a look at either side of your waist and the small of your back, that's where your weaponry is stored."

The dark-haired young man raised an eyebrow but turned and looked down obligingly at the designated area; with a nonplussed expression, he held up two hollow, glowing golden-white discs in one hand, each about the size of a frisbee. In his other hand he clutched a short, slender cylinder made of some kind of metallic material. "And just what am I supposed to do with these?" he inquired coolly. "Well, from what I can see here," Dominic answered, "those circular bands are some kind of discus—you could try giving them a throw! And that metal cylinder you're carrying, it's the handle of a Beam Ribbon."

Cerce shrugged, storing the as-of-yet unnamed golden discs back at either side of his waist; obviously, he wasn't too thrilled about them. He did flick the metal handle with a quick and practiced movement though, pleased to see the bright-green rope of energy that spiraled forwards in an intricate pattern. "Wow," he said delightedly, "that's so pretty!"

[Hydra of Ages]

Devine idly observed her surroundings. The land was largely flat, though covered with a variety of trees and jagged as if pieces were removed and replaced at different levels of altitude, rather than the soft hills she'd suspected to have seen before. Indeed, what she had previously taken for a river she could now see was a long line that bisected their strip of green- uncomfortably enough.

It was rather alien, she noted. Moving around here could be dangerous if they took a wrong turn- she wasn't even certain that they were connected to any sort of actual planet, but then again, they were apparently in Tron, so what did she know?

She wandered over a little and listened to Dominic explaining Alistair and Cerce's weapons. "Hey, Computer Guy, any idea why I look like a reject from the last matrix movie? Oh, and what this thing does?" she asked, holding up the rapier. In the sunlight, the line of silver almost seemed to shimmer. "Besides the obvious, of course."

[Vector Nightmare]

Basil mumbled something incoherent about 'delinquents' and 'shameful', and stalked after the others. He, for one thing, did not particularly require any explanation on what to do with what he had on him. A rifle and a blade, their use was all too obvious.

"I just want to know [i]why[/i] we all look so ridiculous." He growled silently, though presumably it was enough for Dominic to hear. "And since we are all geared for combat, what exactly can we expect to fight here?" He glanced dubiously at the vast expanses of forested greenery.

[Saiba Aisu]

[center][IMG]http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/GXCyber_Ice/XanaSymbolPosts.png[/IMG] [b]GM Post: Forest Sector, Lyoko[/b] [IMG]http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/GXCyber_Ice/XanaSymbolPosts.png[/IMG][/center]

[spoiler=GM Post: Forest Sector, Lyoko]"Let me just clarify for everyone," Dominic replied after a moment, "I have no idea why you're dressed or equipped the way you are. From what Aelita told me, the supercomputer analyzes your brainwaves and creates your Lyoko avatar based upon your subconscious desires." There was the clack of computer keys as the young man brought up Devine's character specifics window. "So maybe," he commented idly, scanning its contents, "you have a secret desire to star in a Matrix film? Anyways, your weapon has the unique ability to interface with your shadow-based powers—it can cast nine shadows, which should come in handy. As for what you'll be fighting, we can worry about that later; for now, if we're lucky, you won't run into any trouble."

While they had been speaking with Dominic, the group had advanced closer to the glowing ivory tower—now they drew to a halt directly in front of the mysterious structure, gazing up at its graceful form with wonder. The tower was circular in form, a smooth cylinder with a black base where several thick wires sprang from beneath the forest ground and joined with it, linking it to Lyoko's informational network. Cerce crossed his arms and looked back up at the sky. "Uh, Dominic?" he asked, addressing the boy who he knew must be listening attentively. "How are we supposed to get inside this thing? In case you haven't noticed, there's no door."

Back in the Laboratory within the Abandoned Factory, Dominic leaned back in his swivel chair with a small smile on his face. "Don't worry Cerce, you're not meant to enter it; you're waiting for someone to come [i]out[/i] of it." At Dominic's words, the group turned their attention back to the base of the tower in surprise. With a slow thrumming noise, its surface began to ripple like water—a moment later, a young woman with pink hair and lively green eyes pushed through the wall of the tower with her hands outstretched. "I'm so glad you're finally here," she said, addressing the five of them with a friendly smile, "I'm Aelita."[/spoiler]

===

[spoiler=OoC.]Alright everyone, I feel that most of the character's powers/equipment have been discussed in satisfactory detail for the time being. Let's get things going now that Aelita has joined the scene![/spoiler]

[Yang Xiao-Long]

Alistair listened to some people complain about their appearance in Lyoko; honestly, he didn't mind about his appearance, as the fact that Dominic had just told him that he possessed the ability to telepathically augment his weapon seemed to make his day. [i]Hmm...I wonder if I could...[/i] his thoughts trailed off. He was brought back when he heard Dominic talk momentarily to Devine, then to Cerce, and then a few moments after arriving at the strange ivory-colored tower which now stood before them, Dominic's voice boomed again as he spoke to Cerce. "Someone to come out? You mean-" he started in an extremely quiet voice. A few moments later, a girl with pink hair appeared out of the tower's rippling entrance. Alistair figured that the girl was Aelita; after all, who else in Lyoko had pink hair?

Alistair gave a gentle wave gesture with his fingers, similar to waving a hand, and walked up to Aelita, glancing back at the others for a moment before turning back around and continuing forward. "Hey Aelita," he said with a cheerful smile. "I'm Alistair. You can probably tell that already by my height," he said with a chuckle. He quickly examined Aelita for any weapons or means in which she could defend herself. Seeing none, Alistair grew quite concerned. "Hey...Dominic," he said, calling out to him, "if we have weapons, doesn't that mean that Aelita should have some as well? I mean, it'd be wrong to leave her defenseless in a place like this all by herself, am I right?"

[Saiba Aisu]

Aelita favored Alistair with a warm and sincere smile; after all, it wasn't often that she got to interact with other sentient beings. "It's good to see you in person, Alistair," she said in her clear, breathy voice. At that moment, Dominic's voice started up again in reply to Alistair's, saying, "That's the thing, Alistair—Aelita doesn't have any weapons or abilities except her Creativity and the power to interact with Towers. In other words, she's totally defenseless when it comes to combat."

At Dominic's words, Aelita closed her eyes for a moment and sighed with a mournful expression, as if her lack of offensive power was her own fault. "Still," Dominic continued, "that's exactly where you five come in. While you're on Lyoko, your task is protect Aelita from harm and to escort her from Tower to Tower—after all, she's the only one that can interact with them and access the informational network."

"Yes, exactly," Aelita added, coming out of her momentary melancholy, "XANA uses Towers just like this one to launch attacks on the real world. Entering the Code 'Lyoko' is the only way to deactivate the activated Towers and neutralize the threat effectively." The pink-haired girl took a few steps past the group and further into the forest. "Dominic, I think we're ready to go now. I'm sure they'll be able to protect me from XANA's monsters until I can reach the next Tower."

She turned back to face the assembled characters and pointed further ahead in an easterly direction. "XANA hasn't launched an attack yet, so there's no reason to be alarmed," she continued, "but Dominic and I are conducting research about the nature of Lyoko, so it's crucial that I reach the next Tower safely and access the network. Do you think you five warriors could provide a lady with an escort?"

[Vector Nightmare]

Basil nodded to Aelita courteously. He took the briefing regarding their 'mission' in stride, as he seemed to do with most things that were happening in Lyoko, barring the change in appearance. He twitched an eyebrow when Dominic said that Lyoko might be materializing their thoughts in form of the gear they had acquired. It certainly seemed feasible that Alistair was crazy enough to add wings to himself. But as far as weaponry was concerned, he seemed the most well-geared out of the five. He had taken the time to examine the rifle that he had found strapped on his back. Despite its elaborate appearance, its functions seemed surprisingly simple. Barring a small panel whose uses he had not figured out yet, it seemed all he had to do was aim and pull the trigger. The scope attached to the muzzle helped with precision targeting, and the weapon was lightweight enough to be able to be wielded even with one hand, though that would greatly impact accuracy. The blade was also a single-handed, solid weapon whose edge seemed to be crafted out of pure silver. He carefully ran a hand along its smooth surface, and was surprised at the cold material.

Dominic and Aelita had both seemed to not expect much to happen during this journey. Yet, the way Basil understood things, neither of them was actually certain about what would happen. Therefore, it did not hurt to be extra careful. He loosened the straps that held the sword's hilt in place so that it would be easy to pull out if needed, and held the rifle, pointing to the ground, with both hands in front of him.

"Are we going to search for more towers like this one?" He asked Aelita.

[encapturer]

Estelle was quiet most of the time, absorbing information about the world as Dominic spoke. Things just became more and more fantastical; what with Aelita emerging from the tower as she did. What Estelle was most thankful for was a clear objective: To protect Aelita as she traveled from tower to tower.

"I'll do my best," Estelle replied. She wondered briefly why Aelita had no way to defend herself; but decided not to hold it against her. After all, Estelle herself was stuck with a weapon that not even Dominic had any idea how to use. The strange 'H' weapon felt like smooth metal, yet when she gripped it, it did not slip at all. And of course, those holes placed on it have always been suspicious.

[I]Strange.[/I]

Estelle ended up fiddling around with her weapon quietly as the group continued on, trying to figure out how exactly it works. Fortunately for her, she was on the right track... she just needed to think [I]harder[/I].

[Saiba Aisu]

[center][IMG]http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/GXCyber_Ice/XanaSymbolPosts.png[/IMG] [b]GM Post: Forest Sector, Lyoko[/b] [IMG]http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/GXCyber_Ice/XanaSymbolPosts.png[/IMG][/center]

[spoiler=GM Post: Forest Sector, Lyoko]"Yes, exactly," Aelita breathed in reply to Basil's question. "Alright everyone, let's get moving! Follow me!" With those words, the pink-haired girl sprang into motion, running fluidly past the group in the direction she had pointed earlier, deeper into the heart of the Forest Sector. One by one, the five Lyoko Warriors followed in suit, the graceful, floating trees flashing by them in gold- and green-colored blurs as they did. Despite the initially unfavorable reaction they had had in regards to Aelita's lack of offensive ability, even the most grudging of them had to admit that she certainly could move—the girl never looked back once as she flew over the green terrain as if on wings, dodging past obstacles and jumping across gaps between platforms fearlessly. Even Cerce and Basil, who were perhaps the most athletically gifted of the students, could not fail to recognize her skill. Moreover, for the moment, the group's mission to escort Aelita had adopted a decidedly pleasant cast—unfortunately, things didn't last much longer.

"Look out!" Dominic's voice came suddenly, resounding through the air around them. "A swarm of Kankrelats is coming up ahead!" Back in the Laboratory of the Abandoned Factory, an insistent beeping noise could be heard coming from the computer monitor as ten red-colored circles intercepted the five green- and single yellow-colored dots that marked the characters' positions. Aelita and the group came to an immediate halt and watched with dismay as a swarm of insect-like mechanical creatures scrambled across the terrain, barring the way forward. The monsters quickly arranged themselves in two rows of five, spaced out so that while some stood slightly further back than others, all of them had a clear shot at the Lyoko Warriors. The Kankrelats vaguely resembled cockroaches, with four sharp metallic legs, a spiky light-brown carapace, and a single circular red eye.

[spoiler=Kankrelat]

[IMG]http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/GXCyber_Ice/Kankrelat.jpg[/IMG][/spoiler]

"Kankrelats," Aelita breathed, stepping slowly away from them back into the center of the group for protection. "They can't inflict much damage on their own, but their rapid-fire attacks are dangerous in swarms. Aim for the design on their shells that's shaped like an eye." Then things began to happen very quickly—as if they had heard her words, a steady humming sound began to emit from the Kankrelats as they advanced, red eyes glowing. A moment later, a barrage of red lasers flashed towards them; most of them passed by or were absorbed by the ground. Aelita fell to her knees and closed her eyes as if in deep meditation, her mouth opened in a simple but soothing melody that rose and fell briefly. A moment later, three tree trunks burst from the ground in front of them in close proximity, forming a temporary barrier from the Kankrelats' projectile attacks.[/spoiler]

===

[spoiler=OoC.]Okay everyone, this is our first battle scenario. I am sure most of you are familiar with the turn-by-turn battle system I have used in previous RPs. If not, just keep in mind that you are free to attack with your character as you please, as long as you fall short of describing the effects of those attacks upon your foes. Just follow the example of either encapturer or Hydra of Legend.[/spoiler]

[encapturer]

Estelle's heart jumped as she saw the strange insect-like creatures. Although Dominic did warn the group of their presence, it was another story entirely to actually see them in person. Estelle had trouble processing what was happening after that; she heard something about 'aiming for the eye', but she was more focused on not getting shot herself.

Fortunately, it seemed that the creatures were just shooting in their general direction; unfortunately, Estelle counted at least 8 as she attempted to evade the shots as if it was a perverse game of dodgeball. She feared that she would be unable to fight back; she currently had no ranged options, and she wasn't that agile that she'd be able to close in safely. [I]If only...[/I] Estelle thought to herself, figuring that her current fight was an exercise in futility. [I]If only I knew how to use my weapon![/I]

At that instant, something clicked in her mind. Estelle had no idea what changed, but she could see her weapon in her mind's eye. The entire outer shell was one whole piece, and was made of a strange material that allowed her to tightly grip the weapon in any position she could think of. The entire inside of the weapon was a large black box; filled with a different material. In that instant she learned that she was 'interfacing' with her weapon, though she had no idea what that was supposed to mean, except for one thing.

It can fire laser beams.

There was still no way to trigger the lasers from the outside, but Estelle understood that she was supposed to trigger the weapon mentally. She shifted her grip on her H-shaped weapon so that her right hand held tightly to the center beam, and pointed the weapon at the nearest Kankrelat, turning the H on its side in the process. Now with two small holes pointed in the creature's general direction, Estelle merely imagined the weapon firing. With that thought, four shot were fired in quick succession, two from one hole and two from another. The beams were similar looking to those of the Kankrelats, though Estelle's were a lighter shade of red. After firing off her own laser weaponry, Estelle kept on the move, but could not find another opening to attack just yet...

[Vector Nightmare]

[i]Yeah, I knew something like this was going to happen.[/i]

Basil would have said this, haughtily, in any other situation. But now he was caught in a dogfight against just about a dozen creatures of unidentified origin. He had been warned, and had prepared himself - but the impact of the scenario froze him dead in his tracks. He tried in vain to lift the rifle he was holding, to aim, to fire, to do [i]something[/i] - but it was impossible.

Thankfully, noone seemed to really notice. If anything, everyone seemed mostly in the same condition. But, sooner or later, someone would move. And hopefully that 'sooner' would be sooner than the cockroach-things reached them.

A rain of laser-like projectiles was fired against them. Finally finding it in himself to move, Basil made as if to dodge - but then Aelita did something - Basil vaguely registered it as a song - and the [i]trees[/i] were uprooted to their defense, blocking the incoming attacks.

The incredulity of this defense snapped him into motion. At that time, the girl, Estelle, made her move. Using the strange two-sided fork she had for a weapon, she aimed at the incoming - Kankrelats? - and opened fire. Without waiting to see the results of that volley, Basil raised his rifle to his shoulder. He was far from an expert marksman, but at that range, he hoped he would at least have a chance at getting a few shots right. Too late did he remember that he had no idea what kind of ammunition the weapon actually [i]used[/i] - too late, right before pulling the trigger, did it occur to him that the weapon might actually not even be loaded. He swore inwardly at his reluctance to ask Dominic more details -

- the weapon was not unloaded, and Basil's hastily assumed stance was not firm enough to lessen the backlash from the three consecutively fired shots. Basil barely glimpsed sparks of purple energy flying at high velocity towards the Kankrelats, as the impact knocked him backwards, throwing him into Alistair.

[Yang Xiao-Long]

"Kankrelots?" was all Alistair managed to say when a red laser whirled only inches from his face. He quickly flinched his body backwards, almost falling flat on his back, and the next thing he knew he heard Aelita's voice, as if she was singing. Tree roots rose from the ground and offered them a temporary protection, but as far as he knew, it wasn't going to last long. [i]At this point, I'm gonna need some form of ranged weaponry. Hmm...I wonder...[/i] he thought, drawing his weapon and examining his blade; he made sure his head was down, as his height made him exposed to the Kankrelots' laser volley.

He concentrated on his weapon, attempting to change it into a form usable for some distance shots. Data began to swirl, and in a few seconds he had a slightly slender blade with a quite lengthy hilt; he grasped it two-handed, then one-handed, and noticed that it was quite a comfortable grip either way. He looked up when he saw that a purple flash erupted; he soon found Basil crashing into him, most likely due to some sort of recoil.

"Oof!" was all he managed as he attempted to keep his balance. He caught Basil to make sure he wouldn't fly off any ledge, and in a few seconds, Alistair regained his senses and found himself flat on his back, still clutching to Basil. He let go of Basil, sat up, and then he helped him to make sure he could sit up straight. "Are you okay, Basil?" he asked, genuinely concerned about his condition. "Maybe you should try using that sword instead, eh?" Alistair asked, pointing to the silver blade on Basil. Alistair got up, brushed himself off, and proceeded to the tree barrier of sorts, where he found his weapon lying only a few feet away. He picked up his weapon, still in its augmented form, and he noticed a strange "notch" in the middle of the hilt. He figured it must be some sort of trigger, so he held it in both hands, the blade facing towards a Kankrelot; he made sure he wasn't exposing too much of himself to attacks. He pointed his sword, pressed his thumb on the strange notch on his weapon, and the next thing he saw was the distal end of his hilt along with the blade shoot forward, attached to the "trigger" hilt by a lengthy chain. Alistair, the entire time, made sure to keep his head low to avoid getting shot; as such, he ended up missing the chance to see whether or not he saw his sword hit a target.

[Hydra of Ages]

Devine calmed herself as the swarm of enemies were coming at her. Things weren't quite making sense, per-say, but they were starting to fall into place nevertheless. She listened to the sound of her breath steadily, and noticed she didn't feel the usual weight of her hair; it was there, sure, but not nearly as heavy as it was normally. It felt weird, alien, and strangely freeing. Almost dreamlike, it didn't feel real- the lack of hair just added the cherry on top, assuring her that whatever hallucination she was having, it certainly had no ties to reality.

She saw a bunch of tries attack, Necktie -now lacking the tie- firing a large weapon, rifle-like in shape and purpose, and Alistair pull out a sort of sword. Sure, why not? We're in crazy-town now, so why shouldn't they have crazy weapons?

Actually, she had a sword too- she remembered that and pulled it from her thigh holster. The rapier almost glinted in the light, and she noted its shadow- or shadows, eight bifurcated outlines on the ground, directly opposed to her own shadow. Hey, she had a shadow- she just noticed it, like it hadn't been there before. It felt comforting, in a way, as proof she was actually here- she wasn't sure after all.

In fact, her shadow was so interesting that she felt herself staring at it- and staring at it a lot. It took her a while to realize she wasn't sure how long she was staring into her silhoutte, and longer even to realize she wasn't looking at [i]anything[/i]- everything seemed dark to her. For a moment, that scared her- she panicked, lashing out with her limbs- only to find she didn't [i]have[/i] limbs, at least as she knew them. Moments passed and she could make out shapes- but they were weird, contorted and almost contortedly... [i]flat[/i].

She saw the insects they were fighting, sliding across the ground quite quickly with the large eyes on their shells. She vaguely wondered why their outlines were inky and seemingly cast by the sun, but she forgot all about that when she found out they still died if she stuck them with the sword she somehow still held in her cartoonish warped hand.