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

[encapturer]

((Alright, let's get back into the pattern))

"Hey, are you okay?"

Occasionally a student would walk up to Estelle while she was in class and ask that very question. The girl seemed out of touch with reality; her eyes were not focused, and it took a few extra moments to respond to any statement directed to her. The teachers scolded her for this, but she did not care at all. After all, what she had experienced transcended the everyday life. There were rumors, of course, but none were true, not that it bothered her any. She just didn't care about anything in school, and just went through the motions.

This lasted for a few days, when a pair of female students spoke to Estelle, worried that she was sick or if something else was wrong. This managed to knock some sense back into the girl, noting that she could not just daydream about Lyoko while waiting for Dominic's call. She felt horrible about her negligence, and worked hard in order to learn the material she missed. The biggest shock was that those two girls seemed genuinely concerned for Estelle, not just talking to her expecting to get something. A shame that Estelle could not remember their names.

The rest of the week proceeded normally, with Estelle ending up disappointed that Dominic did not give her a call for more adventure. Fortunately, Thomas and Kyle did not visit either, so she would have this week to herself. There was some news about some party during the week, though Estelle paid it no mind, not like she would get invited anyway. Yet while she sat alone in her room that Saturday evening, she wondered if there would be a place where she could go with other people...

[Saiba Aisu]

Cerce made sure to park a few blocks down from the warehouse; while the French police were known for their [i]laissez-faire[/i] policy in dealing with troublesome teenagers, there wasn't any point in taking unnecessary chances. He turned off La Condamine street and onto the narrow alley that led to the warehouse—it was tall and boxlike in structure, complete with high windows that flashed from the colorful lights within. The muted boom of the music grew louder with every footstep as he drew nearer; evidently, the party had just begun. Ahead of him, Cerce could see a short line of people queuing in front of the entrance, handing their cellphones over to a young man who stood by the entrance with a large cardboard box. He was surprised to see Devine standing in line as well, looking very different from her usual self in a skirt and fancy shirt. She didn't look pleased at the idea of relinquishing her cellphone, but she handed it over readily enough and followed the others.

As he flashed a brief smile at the young man and handed over his phone, Cerce relaxed, finally convinced that every precaution had been taken. Far too often, perfectly good parties were ruined by drunken prank calls to the police or parents. This way, any chance of accidental and potentially troublesome phone calls was safely eliminated until after the party was over, when everyone's cellphones were returned to them. Cerce stepped into the warehouse and the intense chaos of the deafening music and the flashing lights. Ahead of him, a crowd of dancers surged across the floor; without any hesitation, he strode onto the dancefloor and into the heart of the them. He was aware of Jae and the others moving to accommodate him with approving yells; then he gave himself up entirely to the music.

===

Back on Lyoko, inside the Tower that the five students had escorted her to, Aelita sat cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed and features calm as she meditated peacefully, her thoughts sifting through the virtual world's vast informational network. A sudden scarlet pulse of menace brought her back to her senses with a shock; she got to her feet quickly and took an uncertain step forward. Taking a deep breath, she phased through the wall of the Tower, emerging once more in the Forest Region, only to have her worst fears confirmed. Although the pulsations weren't originating from this sector, they were markedly stronger than before. "Oh no," she breathed, taking a step back before she whirled and hurried back into the Tower. With a quick motion of her arm, Aelita generated a light blue rectangular screen from midair.

In the real world, a new window opened up on Dominic's labtop, displaying Aelita's face upon a black background with green digits. "Dominic!" she cried urgently, not giving him a chance to greet her. "Dominic, XANA's woken up, he's launched an attack!" To his credit, Dominic adapted to the situation well, pulling out his cellphone and already dialing the first of the five numbers the students had given him. While he was frustrated and puzzled by Cerce and Devine's voicemail recordings, Estelle, Alistair, and Basil picked up promptly on the first few rings.

"Meet me at the factory as soon as possible," he ordered them, rushing from his room in the direction of the park and the secret tunnel that led to the Abandoned Factory. "XANA's launched an attack."

[encapturer]

"Okay, I'm coming."

Estelle was already up and putting on her shoes the moment she heard Dominic's voice on the other side of the phone. By the time she acknowledged Dominic's request, she was already out the door, running down the pathways, causing those nearby to wonder what exactly had gotten into Estelle. By the time she made it to the tunnel's entryway, she was out of breath, as expected, yet she continued on, walking this time.

As her head emerged from below the ground at the factory, Estelle took another look at the structure. It looked particularly creepy this time of night, as all abandoned buildings tend to do. She pushed herself out of the hole and began looking four Dominic and the other four, her steps just a little unsteady from her fear, nervousness, and excitement.

[Vector Nightmare]

"..." Basil did not respond to Dominic's message. It was obvious that the boy was distressed. The 'attack' - whatever that attack was, exactly - had happened sooner, or rather, more suddenly, than had been anticipated. Well, he had pledged to help Dominic. Seven minutes later, he was ready to move.

Darkness had fallen over the academy grounds as Basil rushed out, taking meticulous care not to be seen. This time he had opted for a set of clothes that would not hinder his journey through the garden - comfortable, albeit still well-maintained brown sneakers tapped soundlessly on the thick grass, while a leather jacket, shielding him from the slight nightly breeze, concealed a plain black shirt. As an additional provision, he had equipped his bag with a few more items that might be useful - a sturdy rope, additional pairs of gloves, bandages and some antiseptic. He was more than certain he could not carry any of those things to Lyoko, but it never hurt to be prepared. Hanging his bag by the shoulder to leave the hands free, he reached the manhole and began climbing down. The distance was easy to cover, as he had memorized it carefully during his previous visit.

As he emerged back onto the surface, he saw the young woman - Estelle, if he recalled correctly - standing in front of the factory. Her stance exuded nervousness.

"Hey." Basil called, so as not to scare her as he walked up beside her. He was looking at the building, scrutinizing it for any signs of change. Yet, despite the oppressive twilight that surrounded them, it still looked the same as they had left it. "Let's get moving. The others can come here at their own time." Without waiting for a response, he proceeded into Dominic's hideout.

[Yang Xiao-Long]

Alistair was in the middle of a chapter when his phone rang. In a split second he had a make-shift bookmark in his book and his phone in hand at his ear.
"Hello?"
"Meet me at the factory as soon as possible. XANA's launched an attack," was all that came through the phone. Alistair recognized it as Dominic's voice; taking his phone and keys, he ran out his dorm, which he locked, and ran outside while amidst a group of puzzled students in the hallway.

It was dark outside, but the moon provided enough light for Alistair to see where he was going. He soon found the manhole, and he climbed down into the tunnel, closing the manhole behind him as he went down the steps, just to make sure no one outside him and the group would follow him. Taking out his phone and using it as a flashlight, Alistair followed the path, almost getting lost a time or two, until he found himself at the other end, in front of another ladder leading up. He climbed out of the manhole and clambered out. Alistair didn't see anyone in front as he climbed out; that was, until he literally crashed into Estelle.

"Oof!" he said, falling to the ground. He scratched his head and looked up. "Estelle? Is that you? Sorry about that; I didn't see you there. Are you okay?" he asked, concerned. He grabbed her hand gently, pulling her up to her feet, and quite literally almost dragged her into the factory. "Come on, we have to hurry," he said as he let go of her arm, grabbed a cable, and swung down, landing on his feet with a somewhat graceful thud.

[encapturer]

Estelle watched Basil as he entered the building, unsure whether to follow him or not. While Dominic did say to meet him at the factory, perhaps he meant inside rather than outside. Besides, wouldn't he be here already in this case? Estelle frowned, realizing she chose the wrong place to wait for everyone else.

Sighing, Estelle began to follow after Basil, but as she passed by the manhole leading to the island, she found herself shoved to the ground. Her hands stopped her from falling flat on her face, fortunately, and made it easy for her to flip herself onto her back to see what exactly happened. Alistair now stood in front of her, presumably just arriving, and seemed just as surprised as she was, asking if she was alright. "Yes, I'm fine," she managed to say as she reached for his outstretched hand, but she was quickly pulled up and into the warehouse before she could say anything else. What Alistair said was right, however. They had to hurry. Once again Estelle slid down the cable down to the lower level, landing more gracefully this time, and caught up to both Alistair and Basil. She glanced around the area and saw no sign of Cerce and Devine. Estelle took a deep breath.

[I]If it's just going to be us three... then so be it.[/I]

[Saiba Aisu]

Only thirty minutes later, the party was in full swing—deafening rave music pulsed from several sets of enormous speakers and multicolored lights flashed from above while the massive throng of dancers swayed and stomped in time to the beat, oblivious to everything else. From the shadowy corners of the warehouse, the muffled, varied sounds of lovers could be heard as they pulled each other close under the cover of darkness. Every now and then, loud and obnoxious cheers would split the air as several students gathered just off the dancefloor urged on their favorites in a contest to see who could down the most alcohol. All in all, it was a perfect example of a successful high school party; so far, things were proceeding without even the slightest indication of trouble. At that moment, however, a surge of scarlet electricity pulsed across the the power cables strung along the ceiling, virtually unnoticed due to the chaos of flashing lights. The current struck a corner and hurtled downwards, striking the DJ's expansive musical equipment with a vindictive crackle and dissipating quickly.

"Huh?" the man muttered, lowing his shades and gazing down at the display monitor in confusion. There was a brief moment of silence as the speakers cut out entirely; however, before the party-goers could gather their wits and protest angrily, a new song began to play. This new melody was much faster than the one that had been playing before; the manic pace of the bass in the background commanded listeners to dance with a force that could not be ignored. The DJ stiffened for a moment before relaxing, his concerns drifting away as he surrendered himself completely to the music. Even the mysterious symbol that had appeared upon the monitor—resembling an unblinking, malevolent eye—could not hold his attention for more than a few moments.

[spoiler=OoC. Please read.]Okay everyone, for those of you whose characters are present at the party, please be aware that XANA has launched an attack upon the warehouse. Using an extensively modified piece of music whose soundwaves forcefully compel the body to dance endlessly, XANA's intent is to force the party-goers to literally dance to their deaths through sheer exhaustion. It is impossible to resist this music entirely; for this reason, while Cerce and Devine may quickly realize that something is wrong, they will not be able to escape.

Here is a link to the music I have in mind when I think of XANA's deadly melody. It's a cool rave piece from Samurai Jack with darker undertones.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpkQmFuO9Vo&feature=related[/spoiler]

===

Basil, Alistair, and Devine were rewarded for their proactive attitude in not waiting for Dominic to lead them as he had before; as the elevator came to a shuddering halt and the doors to the Laboratory parted, they were relieved to see Dominic in his usual place, nestled into the swivel chair in front of several flatscreen monitors. Despite the bright lights of the holographic displays arranged around him, the computer wizard was staring pensively at one monitor in particular with slightly narrowed eyes, apparently displeased by what he was seeing. Hearing the hiss of the elevator doors sliding apart, he looked up and caught sight of the three students. Temporary relief appeared upon his features before he regained his focused demeanor and nodded to them briefly.

"It's good to see you three," he said to them in a formal, businesslike tone, "thanks for coming. Hurry up and head to the Scanner Room; once you're each inside of a different Scanner, I'll launch the Virtualization Process and materialize you onto Lyoko like I did before. We don't have much time!"

[spoiler=OoC #2. Please read.]Okay everyone, hurry to the Scanners![/spoiler]

[Yang Xiao-Long]

"Understood." Alistair's tone turned serious. "Let us in on the details once we're in Lyoko." Alistair, along with Basil and Estelle, went down to the Scanner Room from there, where Alistair then stepped in front of the scanner that was to his right.

"Ready when you are, Dominic," he said, waiting momentarily for the scanner to open. [i]Let's do this. Time for XANA to go down,[/i] he thought to himself, determined. The doors opened. He stepped into the scanner, whereupon the doors then closed around him. He felt like he was getting buried, except he knew where the after-life was. Images of his new weapon designs flashed through his head, and all of a sudden the world went white, as pure as the winter snow from the state he grew up in.

[encapturer]

Estelle nodded solemnly and followed the others into the scanner room. Although she seemed calm as opposed to her nervousness earlier, once inside the scanner, her stance relaxed as she took a deep breath. In this space away from the eyes of the others, Estelle bent her elbow and pointed her right hand forward; it was all she could do in the cramped space given her. In her mind she imagined herself firing her weapon at more of XANA's forces.

[I]Alright, here we go again...[/I]

[Vector Nightmare]

Basil omitted asking about Cerce and Devine. Without them, their effective battle power was reduced by 40%. And though they had some experience now, it was easy to tell that whatever XANA was attacking them with was stronger than those insects from their previous journey. He grimly followed the others, gauging their overall composure. This would be more than the minor skirmish they had experienced. This would be a massacre, if they weren't careful. He entered the scanner, enclosing himself within the black space. Taking a deep breath, he plunged into the, now familiar, abyss of virtualization. The world flashed in various shades of darkness, before finally settling on a pure crystal white. The veil that shrouded his eyes slowly subsided, revealing his new surroundings...

[Hydra of Ages]

Devine was disturbed to find herself dancing.

She was even more disturbed to find she was literally incapable of [i]stopping[/i].

The beat rang through her head incessantly, like a snake coiling around her thoughts. It was becoming difficult to panic, to organize any sort of resistance to the siren call of the crowd's dancing. Even her anxiety and terror was beginning to become muddled being replaced by... to even more horror, [i]nothing at all[/i]. The encroaching blankness of her head drove her even more than her feet did, searching for something that could stop the terrible, alluring sounds...

She managed to eye out Cerce from the crowds- something in her head told her that if something weird was going on, he'd probably be better to latch onto than anyone around here. Why, she wondered? What made him differant from the other fratboys around him? It was becoming hard to tell- even her memories were being washed away, becoming mistlike, wraithlike, difficult to grasp onto.

She managed to force her way through the dancers -easier done than she'd thought, considering they were even more zombies than she was- and latched onto the boy's arm.

"Cerce!" she hissed in his ear, dancing by his side even as she tried to drag him into some sort of conversation. "Don't you think... something's... wrong?" she said after only a moment's hesitation. Funny, now even the reason for why she was so worked up in the first place was starting to fade away, the forced dancing becoming as normal to her as breathing...

[Saiba Aisu]

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

[spoiler=GM Post: Mountain Sector, Lyoko]"Virtualization!" Dominic yelled, striking the last key of the complex computer sequence. There was a blinding flash of golden light from the edges of the three scanners as the humming sound reached fever-pitch and the bodies of the three students were digitized; a moment later, the light faded away. Upon the main computer monitor in front of Dominic, three new windows opened, displaying two green-colored male silhouettes and a single female one, each one corresponding to the character specifics for either Basil, Estelle, or Alistair.

On the virtual world of Lyoko, the mainframes of the three warriors appeared in midair, floating momentarily as they were fully loaded with a humming noise. After a brief delay, gravity assumed control once more and they fell downwards, landing upon the stone ground. Slightly shaken, Estelle, Basil and Alistair got to their feet slowly, gazing around their new surroundings curiously. Unlike the soft gold and green colors and floating trees that had characterized the Forest Sector, this new area was much more remote, composed of narrow, winding paths of smooth, purple-colored stone that linked several floating islands. Every now and then, the variable jagged and rounded peaks of mountains could be observed, with slender bonsai-like trees occasionally anchored at precarious angles on their slopes. The sky was a pale shade of blue, and dense clouds of white swirled at the edge of the platforms, obscuring the deadly drop that lay below.

[spoiler=Mountain Sector]

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

"Welcome to the Mountain Sector," came a voice from behind them. Whirling around instinctively, the group recognized Aelita, who had evidently just vacated another tall, ivory Tower situated nearby. The pink-haired girl strode forward slowly and pointed forward with a slim finger and a serious expression on her face, along the winding stone paths that curved out of sight. "The pulsations are originating from that direction," she continued, "meaning that that's where we'll find the Tower that XANA has activated."

===

At the sound of Devine's voice, Cerce turned slowly, his body moving as it would if he were underwater. He gazed at her blankly for a moment, his dark green eyes utterly without recognition; for some reason, she seemed separated from him, as if he were seeing her through some kind of haze or veil. Her words fell upon his ears slowly and without meaning at first as he continued to dance automatically, then understanding blossomed in his eyes as they sparked against his memories of Lyoko and Dominic's warnings.

"Devine!" he yelled back, although his voice was barely audible over the deafening boom of the speakers. He struggled to stop dancing, to take the girl by the shoulders and lead her off the dancefloor to somewhere quiet where they could speak privately; to his amazement, he found that he could not. As if they had a mind of their own, his feet continued to pound the ground while his body swayed rhythmically. "You don't think," he gasped, "not XANA?!"[/spoiler]

[spoiler=OoC.]Alright guys, take a moment to get your bearings, perhaps comment on the area or ask Dominic any questions you might have. After that, it's onward![/spoiler]

[Vector Nightmare]

A land of rugged beauty stretched out around them. Though it was structured by the same computerized elements as the Forest Sector, which Basil could now more easily identify, the similarities ended there. Mountain ranges, steep slopes and deep canyons, narrow passages that led from one plateau to another - just that was enough to take one's breath away, but the whole land seemed to be hanging in mid-air. Basil did not need Dominic or Aelita to tell him just what fate awaited those who might take a leap of faith here.

"Let us move, while we might still maintain some element of surprise." He urged. There was no telling what XANA knew or could find out, not for him at least, but that did not defy the logic of one basic principle: the longer you waited, the more time your opponent had available to orchestrate your defeat. He retrieved his rifle for immediate use, casting his outrageous clothing a disapproving glance, while he began carefully treading his way along the treacherous path.

[Yang Xiao-Long]

Alistair gave himself a moment to get a hold of his bearings while looking around and gazing at the wonderous scenery. "Oh wow," he gasped a bit suddenly, quietly. He gazed at the various mountain-faces, getting a feel for what this terrain was like. He caught a glimpse of what lied over the edge of the path; a seemingly endless fall that puts a new meaning to "leap of faith". Alistair may have angel wings, but he knew for sure there was no flight in them.

He saw Basil retrieve his rifle and head down the path. Shrugging in agreement, Alistair did the same, wielding his weapon within his right hand, and he followed Basil; he motioned Estelle to follow.

"Okay, Dominic, let us know when monsters are coming in so that we can get some time at least to prepare." Alistair, while following behind Basil, thought about his new weapon design; figuring now to be as good a time as any, he focused on his new weapon design, "Piercing Armorius", and within a few seconds, his default blade, which he had called "Siegmund", was soon transformed into his latest drawing creation made virtual reality. The long, slender handle, now attached to his arm, hung down and almost scraped the ground; it's sharp, scythe-like blade facing the grand rock-face floor. It seemed as if the blade itself was begging for sustenance; begging to pierce the armor of anything foolish enough to get in its way. For now, though, it would have to wait.

His wings flapped in the wind all the while.

[---------------]

[Rewind slightly]

Ceodore could not believe it. Somehow he ended up at a party. No, not somehow. Abel was invited to the party (through social connections) so he forced Ceodore to go with him. Damn him. But still, it's been a while since Abel's been down here, so it was nice to hang out with him.

Not too long into the party, Abel went to the bathroom and left Ceodore [s]unguarded[/s]alone. The music stopped for a moment, then continued playing. A catchy tune. Made him start tapping his foot... And the other foot... And his arms... And his- wait wtf?

He... He couldn't stop moving. Something wrong. No matter how hard he tried his muscles wouldn't bend to his will, only lean a little. In fact, everyone was dancing. Even people who didn't dance all night. Even the DJ. Even that weirdo in the cor- owait that's me.

He tried to say something; to shout for help, but the music was too loud to submit to the volume of his voice. The music...

[OoC: Yep. Still here.]

[encapturer]

"Mountain sector..." Estelle whispered to herself. The area did seem to be made of stone, but she'd hesitate to call anything here a 'mountain'. The others had prepared their weapons, and Estelle figured she might as well do the same, drawing her weapon from its rope-like holster on her waist. It felt good to have her laser gun back in her hands as her mind readjusted itself to use it. As she held it, she could sense there was more to her weapon, though she knew none of the specifics.

Estelle walked alongside her companions, wanting to easily see any enemies up ahead should they appear. Her free hand trembled in anxiousness, and she had her mind on her weapon's mental trigger, and would probably end up firing at anything that looked suspicious. Not that she'd be able to sneak up on any enemies, while comfortable, her armor still had many properties of metal, and one of those would be the noise. While the noise was subdued, each step she took made a distinct sound, making her ill suited for sneaking around. On the other hand, she was confident that her armor would give her some form of protection. She was even surprised that her armor skirt would have a use if she actually mounted on something like a horse. Of course, she didn't realize that since they are a computer system, real life physics did not necessarily apply.

Estelle found this sector bland, though it seemed to be the point. Since she was sure that XANA would send some creatures to stop their progress, she found herself hoping that it would just do so already and get it out of the way. This thought... scared her.

[Saiba Aisu]

Aelita nodded approvingly at how quickly Basil, Alistair, and Estelle adapted to the situation presented by their new surroundings—it was clear that fortune had smiled upon Dominic when it came to providing him with capable warriors. She too began to walk forwards, quickening her pace so that she strode behind Basil; from this position, she was close enough to lead the group through her ability to sense XANA's pulsations, but also well-shielded from attack. As the group progressed through the Mountain Sector, they were struck by the eerie silence that seemed to pervade throughout the region; even the sound of their footsteps upon stone seemed somehow muffled. Under normal circumstances, the pale blue sky and swirling clouds of white would have made for a serene and tranquil environment—as it was, the lack of noise only served to set them more on edge.

"Okay guys," came Dominic's voice from midair suddenly, echoing around them as they continued to move forward. "I'm afraid I have some good news and bad news," he said. "The good news is that you're covering ground quickly and you're headed in the general right direction—the bad news is that XANA has somehow managed to duplicate the pulsations originating from the activated Tower. There's a fork on the platform up ahead where two paths divide and I'm afraid that it's impossible for either me or Aelita to tell which one is the right one."

As the boy spoke, the group came to a halt in the middle of the specified platform, peering closely at the point where two separate winding stone walkways diverged in two different directions. Due to the thick clouds and stone boulders that obscured the area, it was difficult to see very far ahead—it was as Dominic had stated, the activated Tower could feasibly lie in either direction. Aelita took action at once, striding forward and pointing to the left-most walkway. "We don't have time to explore both paths together," she explained to the three warriors, "so we'll need to split into groups of two. I'll take Alistair and explore the left one while Basil and Estelle can take the walkway on the right—if we need to get in touch with each other, Dominic can relay messages."

"I'm afraid that Aelita's right," Dominic replied after a moment with a sigh. "There's definitely safety in numbers, but there's not enough time for all of you to explore both paths. We still don't know how XANA's attacking, and that's a serious issue—if there's a snake in the room, I'd rather have it coiled in front of me than not know where it is." Back in the Laboratory, the boy took a deep breath and massaged his temples slowly. "And while you've been moving, I've been trying to reach Cerce and Devine with no luck. It's not like both of them to ignore their cellphones for so long; I'm worried that their absence might somehow be related to this attack. While I work on gathering further intel on the situation, you should split up and keep moving. The faster Aelita deactivates this Tower, the better for all of us."

[Yang Xiao-Long]

"I'll do my best to keep her safe, Dominic. I promise. Just keep us posted on any updates with the location of the tower and any monsters. Come on, Aelita, we don't have much time." Alistair took off running, his wings flapping, his weapon piercing the silence of the region. "Stay safe, you two!" he called out to Basil and Estelle.

"Aelita, if any monsters attack, just form a barrier for yourself and I'll do my best to get rid of them," Alistair promised firmly, yet kindly. The two continued running along the floating rock path, his footsteps pounding on the virtual stone.

Alistair thought to himself, wondering about Cerce and Devine. Thinking hard, he remembered back in his Mathematics class the day before, where a few students were excitedly whispering something about some sort of party in a warehouse, one of them being...Devine? How strange. They apparently grew a bit upset about something, but Alistair didn't quite catch what exactly they were upset about. Something about phones? Then something clicked, like two pieces of a puzzle fitting together. "No wonder they couldn't reach their phones!" he yelled out suddenly, surprising Aelita. "I think I know what's happened to Cerce and Devine! It's XANA; XANA's trapped them at a party in a warehouse! They didn't answer their phones, simply because they couldn't!"

His adrenaline pumping, Alistair sped up slightly, his footsteps thundering down the path; Aelita being not too far behind.

[encapturer]

"You too!" Estelle called back to Alistair, before heading down her designated path. She was worried for Alistair; after all, he would have the toughest job; having to keep Aelita safe on his own. She briefly wondered if it would have been better if the girl went with her group, but decided it didn't matter; what's done is done, and she would need to keep herself aware and alert.

Estelle found herself engrossed in her role as a digital warrior, and kept quiet during the trip, sans the sound from her armor. She even began moving quicker, a feat that would not have been possible in normal, heavier armor. After all, the faster she moved the faster Aelita can reach the next tower. Sure she'd like to draw this out as much as she could, but if Aelita dies, that's it. XANA wins... or something. She still didn't quite understand how everything worked despite Dominic's explanation before, but as long as it wasn't important to her goals, it didn't matter.

There was only one thing she wished for, and that was for Cerce and Devine to be here helping out as well. Having a few more allies would definately had helped in this situation. [i]What were they doing anyway?[/i] she wondered, not knowing that they were already under XANA's influence.

[Vector Nightmare]

"Very well." Basil nodded. He mentally applauded Dominic's decision - if he had ordered them to stay together in this situation, Basil would have indicated the flaw of that line of thought, but he had made the correct choice, earning a little of Basil's respect. The same did not apply for Alistair, who earned himself only a wry glance at his self-declaration as Aelita's guardian - just what abysmal medieval drama movie did the guy think he was starring in?

Estelle and himself started walking towards the designated direction. The girl stayed silent, which was just fine by Basil. Gun always ready, he kept a watchful eye on his surroundings. He did not believe his efforts had much merit, as Dominic had been able to forewarn them adequately during the last encounter, but if Basil was the lame type of guy to have a catchphrase, that would be 'always be prepared'.

Briefly considering Cerce and Devine - it was more than likely the jock had just chickened out of the whole thing after the last time. Well, if so, he had demonstrated more sense than Alistair; the way his head was out there over the clouds, Basil would not be surprised if he heard that the guy had stabbed himself during a valiant attempt to fend off some cockroaches. He did not know what to think about Devine. Of the four, she had honestly seemed the most capable. Estelle was a bit less expressive, but Basil thought that he could count on her to, at least, not do something entirely stupid and jeopardize them.

[Saiba Aisu]

Back in the Laboratory of the Abandoned Factory, Dominic grew tense at Alistair's words and slammed his hand against the armrest of his chair in frustration. "Are you serious?!" he demanded, his fingers already flying across the keyboard as he opened up a new search window—after a moment, the window loaded a current satellite display of La Condamine Street, where the party was supposed to be taking place. The street showed up in colors ranging from blue to yellow-orange; evidently, it was a thermal readout. The area that Dominic identified as the warehouse was like a star in the darkness, glowing with the combined heat of the many electrical appliances and dancers inside.

"I'm going to run a search over the last two hours and see if the computer can detect any unnatural occurrences," Dominic explained, more for his own benefit than that of his teammates on Lyoko. "If XANA has launched an attack against Devine and Cerce at the warehouse, we'll know soon enough."

Back on Lyoko, Dominic's words hung invisibly upon the clouded air as the two groups moved steadily forwards across the mountainous terrain. Aelita and Alistair hurtled past several boulders, intent on reaching the Tower as quickly as possible; for that reason, neither was able to react as a barrage of red lasers exploded from behind them. With a scream, Aelita was hurled forward against the stone walkway as a laser caught her squarely in the back. Alistair soon followed suit with a yell as he was struck by two of the projectiles and thrown onto his stomach, knocking the wind out of him momentarily. Lifting herself onto her arms and knees, Aelita turned and caught sight of their attackers.

"Bloks," she whispered, her eyes wide as she watched three of XANA's monsters approach. The Bloks were square in shape and colored a dusky shade like sandstone; the only discrepancy in their coloration was a wide, white-colored eye upon each plane of their body, complete with the black symbol that the warriors had come to associate with XANA. Each of the creatures scuttled forward quickly in an unsettling manner upon six spidery legs with a low mechanical whine.

[spoiler=Blok]

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

"Aelita and Alistair, what just happened?!" Dominic demanded urgently at the sound of their yells, switching his attention back to the screens that displayed the situation on Lyoko. "Aelita, you just lost 30 Life Points; Alistair, you just lost 60," he informed them in a worried tone. "Dominic," Aelita gasped, getting her to her feet and stepping back towards Alistair, "why didn't you warn us about these Bloks? We're caught in an ambush!" She gasped as the three Bloks came to a halt a few feet in front of them, forming a solid wall that barred the way forward. "T-that can't be," Dominic mumbled, staring blankly at the screen which displayed only the two dots that marked Aelita and Alistair's positions upon the walkway. "My scanners should have detected it," he muttered to himself, clenching his hands. "Unless..!"

Back upon the other walkway, Estelle and Basil came to a halt at the end of their walkway, which joined onto another circular stone platform. The cause of their dismay was clear; as the white clouds of the Mountain Region parted, they could make out the tall, ivory-colored shape of the activated Tower—the only problem was that Aelita wasn't with them to deactivate it. Unlike the previous Towers they had seen, the structure seemed to glow with an angry and sinister red light. "Basil and Estelle!" Dominic's voice cried urgently, "XANA has managed to temporarily fool my scanners with this fog. I'm going to reboot the system, but in the meantime you have to hurry back to Aelita and Alistair, they're caught in an ambush by three Bloks and need your help!"

[Yang Xiao-Long]

He didn't know what had hit him as he was trying to hurtle over some boulders in the way. One moment, he was on top of a virtual rock, the next, he had just been hit in the back by two lasers and had hit the ground, the wind knocked out of him. He lay there motionless for a few seconds while Aelita walked over to him, and he slowly got up, first to his knees, almost gasping for breath.

"Ow..." he simply said, a little out of it. He turned his head to the side and saw 3 strange monsters blocking the path. They looked like 6-legged Cyclops with 4 faces. He heard the word "Bloks". "Oh great, more monsters," he said. "Aelita, get back, I got this," he said, now calm and with regular breathing, standing up to his full intimidating height. He swung his weapon arm in an intimidating manner to his side, and all in a split second, he decided to have a new weapon form and it instantly changed. Taking advantage of the momentary flash of the augmentation, Alistair used it to swing his newly transformed weapon at the closest Blok. "Smile, Crimson Gleam!" He yelled as he fiercely leapt forward with newfound energy, unleashing a monsterous slash, aiming for one of the four eyes on the target Blok's many faces.

His weapon flashed, as if it were smiling, and the next thing he knew, he landed with a giant thud on the other side of the Blok-ade, the mountain path resounding with an echo.

[Saiba Aisu]

There was a scarlet flash as Alistair cut through the Blok in the middle with his newly-transformed weapon, striking it squarely in the eye region. The monster froze as the winged warrior landed lightly upon the other side of the two remaining monsters, and with a low mechanic rumble, it exploded. "Well done, Alistair!" Dominic cheered from his vantage point in the Laboratory, thrusting his fist into the air as he watched the intense battle unfold on the computer screen. "That'll teach XANA to try and ambush you next time!"

The two remaining Bloks did not hesitate at the destruction of their comrade—even though Alistair's move had been impressive, it had also been hasty, placing him on the other side of the monsters and Aelita. With a low and ominous hum, the eye symbol of each monster began to glow; a moment later, before Alistair could react, two more lasers erupted in the direction of the defenseless girl. To her credit, Aelita managed to dodge the first, springing aside quickly; unfortunately, the second projectile caught her squarely in the chest and tossed her backwards onto the stone walkway with a scream.

"Alistair!" Dominic yelled, his voice distorted by urgency and fear as the green bar indicating Aelita's vitality was reduced by another 30 Life Points and took on a yellow cast with only 40 points remaining. "You have to protect Aelita—if she gets devirtualized, she'll be killed!"

It was clear that despite being an artificial intellect, XANA valued cunning and ruthlessness in equal amounts; rather than have the Bloks turn and attack Alistair, he had ordered them to concentrate their fire upon Aelita. Evidently XANA realized, even if Alistair didn't, that without Aelita the group's mission was doomed to failure. Therefore, compared to an opportunity to permanently eliminate the only individual capable of neutralizing his attacks, the loss of two mere Bloks was a matter of small consequence. Aelita did not even bother getting to her feet this time as the monsters advanced once again; closing her eyes, she began to sing an intense and abrasive melody in a loud voice. With a rumble, a rectangular sheet of purple stone erupted upwards between her and the two Bloks, providing temporary protection from their attacks.

Back in the Laboratory, Dominic gave a moan of utter despair as Aelita's remaining Life Points were halved and dropped to a mere 20—as always, the price for using her Creativity as a last defense to alter the landscape to suit her needs was a steep one to pay. Although she had managed to escape the Bloks for the moment, Dominic realized that there wasn't much hope in the situation: if the two monsters concentrated their attacks upon the stone barrier, it wouldn't be able to last very long. And with only 20 Life Points left, any laser that struck Aelita would prove fatal—XANA's victory would be complete.

[Yang Xiao-Long]

Alistair soon realized all too late that the Bloks weren't after him, but after Aelita. He found out the hard way after seeing Aelita hit the wall and then form a defensive barrier around herself. It was in those few moments in which Alistair snapped.

"DARN IT!" he yelled out loud, his fighting instincts getting the better of him. Charging at the nearest Blok, his weapon exploded into a flash of light and data, signaling yet another augmentation. The flash subsiding, he took a jump step to the side and swung full force with his arm-mounted weapon, Piercing Armorius, fully intent on using his athletic build and the resulting momentum to pierce through the Blok with his weapon, whereupon he would pick it up and swing it at its evil comrade. He had the whole run-through of the move running 200 frames a second in his mind, a result of mounted pressure and adrenaline build-up. "RAAAAAH!!!" He yelled with a powerful force as he swung his arm-mounted scythe, which was hungry for retribution.

"This is for hurting my friends, XANA!"
Truly, a giant angel with a scythe would even send a chill down the [i]spine?[/i] of even a monster.

[encapturer]

((My apologies, stuff happened.))

Estelle hesitated for a moment when Dominic requested that the pair assist Alistair down the other pathway, unsure if it was the best plan. This hesitation did not last long, before she dashed back the way she came. While it would take a good while before she'd reach the others; if Aelita dies then all is lost, at least that's her understanding. Her stamina wasn't the greatest, yet she found herself running harder than she ever thought she would. Whether or not the urgency empowered her, or if it was a side effect of being inside this computer world she did not know, all it mattered was that she would not fall until whatever XANA sent after them was no more.