My younger brother is a huge fan of Code: Lyoko, and while he tried to interest me in it for some time, what I saw I wasn't interested in because it seemed very repetitive. It wasn't until I saw some of the big changes of the fourth season that I took some interest. Some elements specifically of the fourth season reminded me of an old favorite show of mine called ReBoot.
Anyway, he showed me how he had some online success with fanfiction. I had a moment of inspiration late one night for a story featuring both shows, and I am very pleased with the way it is turning out.
If you've never heard of ReBoot, it was the first computer animated TV show created the year before Toy Story came out, and featured an entire world and mythology existing inside of a computer. They dealt with a mysterious 'user' who controls their life, travel between systems/cities through 'the net,' and viruses are the villains of the series. I wouldn't be surprised if the show has an influence on Code: Lyoko.
Knowledge of ReBoot is recommended.
For clarification, this chapter will be switching forth between scenes from actual episodes of both series, with some original sequences and connecting them towards the end with my original work.
Hope you enjoy.
Devastation- Code: Lyoko ReBooted
Prologue
The Escape
Aelita ran along the narrow walkway, with Ulrich Yumi and Odd fighting off the last of the creepers behind her. Laser blasts whizz past her head, encouraging her to run faster.
She heard Odd yell out "Ow! No, go on. I'll take them!" and she turned around to see him run back toward the three remaining creepers and get shot in the process. His body quickly changes back to wireframe and disappears.
She stood there stock still, watching Yumi and Ulrich jump towards her, across the chasm only to fall just short. She reached forward and grabbed Ulrich's hand, who had just barely grabbed hold of Yumi as well.
But the load soon lightened as the creepers devirtualize Yumi, leaving Ulrich's hand dangling in midair.
With an immense pull, Aelita managed to get Ulrich back onto the platform and they kept running towards their goal.
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Aelita's lost memories.
-
She ran along, desperately trying to keep up with Ulrich who is a far superior sprinter than she is, as they near their goal. But suddenly, she found that there isn't much ground to run on anymore. Glancing down quickly, she saw that the platforms she's been running on are beginning to break off and fall down below. She continued to run as fast as she can, but even Ulrich can't outrun this new trap that Xana has laid for them.
The platform broke away, leaving nothing but open air.
Aelita began to scream as she fell, but instead found herself swooping around, gently bouncing up and down. Looking down, she saw a flying Manta, one of Xana's notorious monsters carrying her up and out of harm's way.
Looking around, she watched as the last of the platform dropped away, as she and Ulrich rode away safely on the Mantas.
"Why? Why is Xana now helping us?" She asked nobody in particular.
"Not Xana," Jeremie said over the intercom, "Franz Hopper! He's controlling the Mantas!" Jeremie said excitedly.
When she heard Jeremie say this, she now noticed the faint white glow surrounding the Mantas, the same glow that Franz Hopper used to activate towers.
The Mantas dropped them off on the only remaining part of the platform: The part withholding Aelita's lost memories. Walking up to the shining orb in awe, and relishing the moment of success, Aelita put her hands on it in order to obtain it.
But to her surprise, nothing happened. In fact, the orb shattered, it wasn't the real memory at all.
-
"It's a trap!"
-
As if cued with Jeremie's exclamation, the entire chamber started to collapse. Small platforms scattered throughout the room and above them are now falling like rain, although none of them anywhere near Aelita.
Ulrich isn't so fortunate. He dodges a few, but his precarious position doesn't allow him much room to move when a huge ledge fell on him and devirtualized him.
Looking around, Aelita saw that they've been fooled the entire time. She was now effectively stranded on a platform in the middle of nowhere, with none of her friends to protect her.
And fear gripped her as she spots the Scythozoa floating ominously towards her.
"No, no no!" She yelled, and heard Jeremie yelling in the background.
"No! Aelita! We've got to do something! Xana's going to get her, going to get the keys to Lyoko!"
Aelita tried to struggle but the Scythozoa's tentacles wrapped around her, creating a paralytic field, and they pressed themselves to her forehead. She tried to keep herself awake, but very soon everything went white.
Xana roared in triumph, every particle of him in celebration.
He did it. The other half of the keys to Lyoko were his. He shot a specter into the sky above the factory, creating a broiling storm cloud above the city, reveling in his victory.
He took the first code, the one he stole from Franz Hopper, and combined it with the second one which he just took from his daughter.
And Xana felt free. He had complete control over Lyoko. He can leave the supercomputer at any time.
And there's no time like the present.
Aelita drifted back smoothly into consciousness, a pleasant sensation filling her body. And she can remember things now. It's as if a locked door had been opened, and she can remember everything that happened before her father sent her to Lyoko.
Playing in the snow while her father and mother watched on.
Listening to her father play the piano.
Getting Mr. Puck as a Christmas gift, learning to ride a bike.
And finally, when the Men in Black came to her door and her father took her into his lab.
"It's Franz Hopper!" she can faintly hear Jeremie saying, "He's restoring Lyoko! He's given Aelita back her memories!"
And Aelita noticed that for the first time in a long time, she felt free.
-
Within a short time Jeremie was able to bring her back to them, and she devirtualized in the chamber. Everyone surrounded the chamber as she came out, exhausted and the fog billowing out around her. She looked at everyone individually, and they all appeared solemn, they all were thinking the same thing.
Xana had won this fight.
-
The Defeat of Megabyte
Megabyte emerged from the top of the trashed Principle Office, himself not being in much better shape. He had a slight limp from his fight with the adult Enzo Matrix, and a slash on his abdomen was slowing his speed even further. He overlooked the top, with the tear pulsating angrily and the storm washed sky. A 'beep' came from his wrist device, and he saw all codes needed for the supercomputer were in the tear. 'Finally I can escape this infernal system.'
He didn't even have time to activate the portal when from behind a voice said, 'I don't think so.' and he was whirled around by Matrix and punched in the face. Momentarily dazed, Megabyte was surprised that Matrix was able to get back up here so quickly. The virus dodged the next attack and slammed Matrix to the wall with his greater strength.
Moving forward, Megabyte punched at Matrix, who moved out of the way as the fist crashed into the wall. Matrix grabbed Megabyte from behind and shoved him into the hole, tearing through the metal and forming a larger hole. Frustrated, Megabyte swung out blindly, impacting Matrix in the chest and sending him skidding down the surface of the roof.
Before Matrix could recover, Megabyte rammed him with his arm, sending him flying down the roof slope and landing several meters away. Megabyte hurried his step to get to Matrix as he just began to pick himself up again and kicked him even further down the roof. As the angle grew steeper, he seemed to defy gravity until his descent and impact. With barely any sense of bearing; he grinded into the surface to stop himself from falling off the edge.
Injured, head throbbing, chest heaving with every breath, and exhausted, he lay at the edge with one arm off the side, vaguely feeling the approach of the virus. Megabyte moved with assurance but also haste, finishing this fight was only a nuisance to take care of before his final victory. His last few steps slowed slightly, his claws moving out one at a time from his knuckles, with the last aimed for the renegades' head. No movement from the silent sprite, it seemed to be the final moment for this fight.
As he struck down the virus moved without any noise, yet Matrix moved away so swiftly and suddenly that it was either an intended tactical move or a surprise jump in adrenaline. Whichever it was, the claws jammed into the metal surface, and refused to withdraw quickly.
With that brief moment to get up, Matrix struggled to his knees and made an attempt for Megabytes head. But Megabyte withdrew his claws just in time to catch the fist, and he squeezed it with relish. Matrix recoiled but with his fist held tight he couldn't move far, and Megabyte grabbed him by the throat.
Despite the pain, or because of it, he saw a moment of advantage. Using his available fist, he aimed for Megabytes previously injured abdomen, hitting the virus there repeatedly even after his hand and throat was released. Megabyte stumbled back after another blow, and Matrix backed away slightly.
Megabytes body was tightening from his injuries, he wanted to curl up to reduce the pain, but Matrix clearly was not ready to stop. Megabyte extended his claws out as Matrix wielded AndrAIa's trident and they lunged at one another. This time, the trident smashed straight through the claws. The virus fell, clutching his hand in agony, this was the moment his strength failed him.
On the ground, partially curled up, on top of what represented all his desires for power, Megabyte tried to look at the sprite who beat him. As his blurred vision saw Matrix's outline a foot came down with force on his throat to pin him down, with the trident only microns from his forehead.
The actual thought of losing the war had never entered his mind until then, when his preserved life was the choice of Enzo Matrix, who he thought was a mere boy. Pushing against the foot on his throat, he mumbled out, 'You can't… do this…it goes against…everything…you stand for…'
Leaning into the fallen virus, Matrix replied with all the rage that was left in him, 'You took away my life, destroyed my home, caused nothing but pain and suffering to everyone I hold dear!' He reared and stabbed the trident, Megabyte cringing only to feel the trident brush past his head and imbed itself to the surface.
In surprise the virus looked back at Matrix. The renegade rested on the trident. 'Surprised? Don't be.' His voice had soften slightly, as though any glitches in his programming had just been patched. 'You're not worth it. Mainframe will always endure. Remember this defeat, this humiliation. Remember you can never win.'
Matrix stood over his fallen enemy, he looked at him square in the face, dominate and victorious. He removed the trident from the metal surface.
With a nudge, Megabyte pushed away himself from Matrix's grasp and fell off the edge, to land on a beam part way down. Behind them, the tear that was always in the background suddenly stabilized, and the golden spires of the supercomputer were seen in the portal.
Pulling himself up, with a clear limp, Megabyte activated his wrist device, diverting the portal to the edge of the beam. He looked up to see Matrix standing, to be joined with AndrAIa as they look down at him. He called to them from well outside their reach, 'No boy! You remember this day, where I turned defeat into victory! And left you with a dying system.'
With the portal so close, Megabyte dragged his leg along to reach the edge, but as he reached out to touch his victory, the golden spires changed into the angry red and black tendrils of the web. This was the final humiliation for him as tentacles snagged his hand, then continued to his head. They flung out to grab his body, and tie down his arms and legs, not allowing him to make any sort of serious effort to resist as the web creature sucked him to the web.
Matrix and AndrAIa watched in surprise, unsure of what exactly happened. Within moments it closed with the normal pop.
From within the digital sea, the hub to Lyoko can be seen. Its triangular prongs fanned out and a ghostly mist sifts out from the opening. The only way it was distinguishable from the sea is that it is darker, and had the appearance of a cloud. While the sea moved in a certain rhythm, the cloud did not. It circled around the hub in an almost celebratory fashion, then moved away, snaking down and far away from the hub.
After time the cloud hit a wall deep inside the digital sea. It backed away, then pushed along the surface, examining its structure. The wall extended in an infinite length past this point, effectively becoming a barrier in the digital sea. But the cloud was unwavering in its purpose, sliding along the wall, when suddenly it reacted to an energy source nearby.
The cloud followed the direction of the vibration and came upon a risen section of the barrier. Looking around, it comes upon an entrance to go into the barrier.
Entering inside, it is a monolith, with multiple chambers which appear to be made of stone. In a massive room, there is a relic centered, with markings covering it. All the markings have some type of similarity to them, which surround a central mark. It was a circle, divided into two hemispheres light and dark, and a diamond in the middle, also divided on different sides light and dark.
The cloud mist fell overtop the relic, looking it over, some of its wisps touching the center mark. The wisps suddenly take on a more consistent form, eventually having the appearance of hands. The rest of the cloud also began to coagulate into a humanoid form, not quite there but distinctive enough.
The new form began pressing the markings on the relic in a pattern, and a clear view-screen appeared, showing a map of the monolith and an identical structure someplace else. An image appeared, showing information and a video feed of an angry black and red environment.
Pressing a few more buttons in order, the room began to change form, shifting walls and pillars rising from the ground, until the floor space was twice its previous size, and a large hallway was created that opened up directly to the outside. A wall revealed the same primary emblem on the relic, but with the Lyoko symbol faintly imprinted into it. The view-screen brought up a name that took precedence, "Project Valhalla"
Then it went through a scan. "Identity Confirmed: XANA."
Upon emerging from the portal, Megabyte saw his assailant. The creatures body was several times his size, but that was not why it was so dangerous. There appeared to be an impossible amount of tentacles from its body, which flailed about in every direction. With little strength to struggle, Megabyte could only watch as the creature pulled him closer.
More of the tentacles wrapped around him, creating a tightening fleshy cocoon, leaving only his head exposed. The creatures head looked at him carefully, either as a meal or a serious enemy. The tentacles were still moving, like it was examining every aspect of him.
The creature bared its teeth, trying to show dominance, then it opened its mouth, revealing a second layer, and even a third layer, until it appeared as a pit of nails. Megabyte had enough, he was not to spend his first moments in the web only to be deleted.
From his good hand, he expanded his nails, and despite the suffocating cocoon, he grabbed hold of a tentacle and pinched. The creature retracted its mouth and grunted in surprise. Not done yet, Megabyte pinched harder and the creature wailed in pain, the cocoon lightened up and he could move his arms. Even with hundreds of those tentacles, the creature could feel pain in every single one.
The creature flailed the pinched tentacle, but Megabyte held on, causing more pain, until the creature grabbed hold of every limb and pulled him tight like he was being cornered. Then with a final whip, it escaped the grasp of the virus at injury to itself.
Megabyte was not finished resisting and fought with more energy at the creatures attack, with its flailed tentacles smacking his body. In a well timed moment, he severed a tentacle, the lost limb falling away and the stub wiggling in agony.
It pulled its tentacle away, and Megabyte grabbed hold of another, the creature soon got the picture that Megabyte was not going to be an easy prey, meal, or even a fun toy. It backed away, snarled with its rows of teeth, then moved off.
Megabyte found himself drifting in the web for a long time, it wasn't until his escape from the creature that he took notice of the searing atmosphere of the web. He could feel his shell corroding ever so slightly; from what the stories of the web have said, he would soon become a mass of rock and metal and mutate into something similar to the creature he just fought.
The web had a rhythm to it, with distant creatures moving together, swaying in unison, and far off storms releasing their energy between the layers of clouds. He managed to hit a rock formation, which at least gave him something to get his bearings on. He had nothing here, and he would rather be bound to an inferior system then to build an empire in this wasteland.
'What was it..."I'd rather rule in hell then serve in heaven." Whoever said that was mistaken.' The web was the epitome of everything he was not. It was a chaotic mass of degraded programs and corrupted files. His format was supposed to bring order and rule as the dominate force.
-
It was what he was programmed to do.
-
He could infect and spread out his forces here, but what was the point of infecting corrupted files?
He could see in the distance the same type of creature that dragged him into this place, and it turned towards him. He stood firm and extended his claws, 'Come then. I'd rather be deleted in battle then by degradation.'
As the creature came closer, Megabyte could see the marks of a previous encounter it had, injuries he had inflicted. 'Well then, you have a sense of revenge. At least there is something I can relate to here.' A tentacle flung out and Megabyte grabbed hold of it, pinching it as he had done before.
The creature reared around and grabbed Megabyte by the ankle, pulling him upside down. It became a flurry of movement with mass of slimy tentacles and Megabytes amazing strength. Energy was expelling from the creatures body from Megabytes' desperate slashes. The virus was not doing much better, but was thrown around and the strain was making any previous injury greater.
If Megabyte was able to pay attention to his surroundings during this struggle he would have noticed a strange sight in the web. A large creature came behind the web creature he was fighting. This creature did not look like anything in the web, with a clear appearance instead of the scaly skin all web creatures had. This creature also had tentacles, but they were smooth, clear, tube like in appearance and were gentle in its movements.
This new creature came up to the web creature and inserted several of its tubes into its head. The web creature reacted to the pressure but the change was almost instant. It grew docile, then catatonic. When it was entirely still, its tentacles slackened and dropped away.
Megabyte found himself completely free, and only now did he notice the clear creature. The membrane creature moved in closer to the virus and looked him over. It emitted a white pulse that surrounded him and it continued on. Megabyte was curious, the creature was scanning him, 'What could you possibly want with me?'
The creature then reached out and grabbed hold of Megabyte around the waist, and started dragging him away. After already facing a tentacle creature, he was ready to fight back, but realized that it was not attempting to harm him, but take him somewhere. 'Well now, I see you have plans. If you wanted me deleted you would have done nothing. I'll see what you have for me.'
The membrane creature emerged from a massive web storm, with Megabyte in tow. The creature had maintained an energy field around Megabyte, a method to keep him safe from the dangers of the web storm. But the time in the web was still having its effect on the virus. Within only a short time, Megabyte was looking degraded, his deep blue armored shell having faded to a duller color, and pockets of distinct corrosion already visible on his face and torso.
Megabyte noticed that the web storm completely surrounded the space they arrived in, like it was the eye of the storm. In the far distance was an ancient looking structure, floating in the exact center of the eye. Megabyte looked up at the silent creature that held him, wondering what the creatures' intentions were.
Only by careful watch did he notice the creature starting to sizzle and corrode far worse than he was. Its' transparent body hid the fact until now. "You are quite the resilient one, aren't you? But you're not native to this place."
Coming upon the structure he could see the nature of the design, both the top and bottom were domed, with the center being a series of pillars and cross beams, giving the overall shape of a cylindrical capsule. The creature maneuvered onto a platform, releasing Megabyte onto the floor, and continuing on into a hallway. Megabyte followed, taking in the unique appearance of the structure.
He saw a large tablet covered in binary; he read the markings, then mumbled to himself, 'Archaic gibberish.'
Megabyte continued down the hallway, eventually finding the creature writhing in pain at the door way to a large room. He watched as the corrosion eventually takes over and the creature disintegrates. Curious, he enters the massive room, structured with pillars for support and a large pyramid shaped object in the center.
He examines the pyramid, looking over the markings that cover it, they seem to be a special coding of which he is not familiar with. The symbols form mostly square shapes, with variations in the designs and whether they form a complete shape. Centered in the pyramid on one side is a distinctive marking, much larger than the other symbols. It had two rings of different sizes, with a solid dot in the middle, a single column emerges from the top of the outer ring and three smaller columns are at the bottom following the rings' curve.
Megabyte presses the symbol and the room rearranges, shifting walls and pillars until the room is larger, and a tunnel appears that exposes the room to a direct view of the web environment. In front of him a circular hatch is revealed, one that has the same primary symbol as on the pyramid, along with a faint impression of the universal program icon.
Megabyte looked at the symbol, and looked at the pyramid. He couldn't understand the language, so there was no way to operate whatever device this was.
A voice echoed throughout the chamber, seemingly from both nowhere specifically and everywhere at once. "Virus: Class Three. Program infector." The voice spoke with intensity and a gravelly sound. There was little room for subtlety.
Megabyte looked around, startled by the sudden registration call. After a moment and he could not see anyone, he says, "Who is there?"
The voice continued, "Designation: Megabyte. Generational virus. Previous format, class 2 Killabyte. Upgraded format, class 5 Gigabyte, energy absorption capabilities."
Megabyte was still looking around. "Show yourself."
"Activate the algorithmic code marked (LEAOQUO.)"
Megabyte was racing in thought as to who was talking to him, and the fact he didn't know who this was, made it so he didn't like it. "I don't take orders." He finally says defiantly.
The voice was silent for a moment, then repeated with a greater emphasis, "The algorithmic code is activated by..."
'Do you hear me, imbecile?!" Megabyte roared out with confidence. 'I will not do as you command. I am bound by no CPU!'
The voice quickly responds, 'Designation: Megabyte. Sister Virus Designation: Hexadecimal, class four. Transfinite energy capabilities.'
Megabyte was starting to understand the nature of his new companion. He could not confront this being directly, this was a signal from a distant source. 'So you know how to use a read-me file. I'm impressed,' Megabyte said with spite. 'Googling my history will not be of benefit to you.'
The voice now expelled some anger, obviously due to Megabytes uncooperative attitude, 'I saved you from deletion by web program 3402. I controlled the scythozoa that brought you here. I need a virus to unlock the gate.' The voice enunciated each sentence with the same intensity and gravelly tone.
Megabyte replied, 'I fail to see the difference between deletion and helping you escape whatever prison you are in. I will never be a servant in hell. I owe you nothing.'
'I am far from being a prisoner, though I know what it is like. '
The virus folded his arms and stepped back from the console. 'There is an old adage, you can't trust a program who won't even share his format.'
The voice remained silent for a short time, then said, 'My designation is X.A.N.A. My format is of no concern to you.'
Megabyte could sense the negotiating leverage he had, this "XANA" clearly had influence and power but needed him for this key purpose. 'Am I to simply accept that? A name I've never heard before and still no format. Given your nature, I'd assume you are a virus like myself. And there is rarely any honor among viruses.'
'You are mistaken, I am as far above viruses as you are above binomes.'
Megabyte smirked at last comment, amused at the pride that this being had.
Xana continued, 'Suffice it to say, I am merely following the ambitions of my programming. I can assume you understand that.'
Megabyte was not expecting such a comment. He took careful thought, then hesitantly replied, 'Yes.'
'This is a hub, designed as the only access between your realm and mine.'
'So you are not from the net or the web?'
'No, I am not. Now activate the coding that I described to you.'
A laugh escaped from Megabyte. 'You still don't understand, despite all your knowledge, all your commands and attempts at negotiation. All this... is for you, there is no benefit for me. Nothing that gives me what I desire.'
Xana quickly changed the topic and said, 'Are you aware of your changed coding?'
Megabyte was taken back. 'What?'
'Your code, it has streams of data that is consistent with a guardian program, registration Four-Five-Two.' A short pause was given to let it sink in. X.A.N.A. then jumps back as quickly as the subject had been changed. 'What is your desire? Revenge?'
Megabyte is stunned by the revelation, then turns his thoughts to the last question. 'Revenge can not accurately describe what I want to do with those that banished me here... I want to devastate them.'
Xana seemed to take his turn to ponder Megabyte's comment. 'I can assist you with that.'
-
Authors Commentary
I think I'll have some fun and provide a teaser for the next chapter.
Members of Lyoko go through their routines, having fun while the dilemma of Xana hangs over their heads. Meanwhile, the return of Megabyte to Mainframe yields many questions, which the Guardian Collective want answered. To do this, they send an operative to the deepest parts of the web, who finds a monolith…
Reviews are welcome. If you want to flame, go ahead but by strict definition flames are not constructive criticism. Flames are funny to me, just because the person is trying to look all-powerful from a keyboard...So flames are welcome too, I could use a good laugh.