Lyoko Returns, Part I: Across the Digital Sea <IC>

[Mewsland]

2019 19^th-June - 09-47am
Tower IX - Forest Sector - Lyoko

A human turned virtual being with pink hair and a long pink dress was slowly fading away. "Well, it looks like my time is up."

On the ground before her was an unconscious virtual being, this one in a red kimono with flowers.

Aelita knelt beside the girl, sighing. "Yuzuki, this world is yours now. Whatever happens, Xana must not have the Keys. I'm sorry we don't have more time to be together again..." she said before she disintegrated into pink mist and merged with the unconscious program, which promptly awoke.

Yuzuki observed the edge of the tower for a few moments, then decided to learn more about Lyoko for the mission. Her sister's mission, now hers. Flying to the upper platform of the tower (and landing precariously on the edge), Yuzuki's arrival triggered a holographic display, which she promptly began to use in order to learn more about this world...

2035 28^th-August - 11-43 am
Near Tower VIII - World-I (World of Fog) - Lyoko

Yuzuki ran through the World of Fog faster than she had ever ran before. Some jellyfish-like creature, previously unknown to Yuzuki, was pursuing her through the mists, though Yuzuki had the advantage of her Second Sight.

Turning down a narrow pathway, Yuzuki spots a safe haven - a neutral tower - less than 45 meters ahead - and just barely makes it in before she's caught by the creature...

"This is it. I must contact the outside world. Now." Opening a supercomputer interface, she sent a simple message across the Internet to the computers at the one place she might be able to find help from - the Kadic University and Junior Academy.

Little did she know that her call would be heard...

[Malshan]

Mitch Frenkas relaxed in the basement of a hotel near the edge of Kadic Academy, leaning back in a chair as he waited for his program to finish uploading to the mainframe. It had been four weeks since he had arrived at Kadic, and had began working for the entity-program called "XANA" while also attending classes as his cover. He was putting the final touches on his avatar which, according to XANA's logs, would allow him to enter a virtual world called "Lyoko" and manipulate objects therein. He had been warned that other forces would do the same, and he would therefore need to be equipped to deal with them. Using all means necessary.

He sighed and sipped his coffee, an unusual habit for one his age that he picked up from the teachers at his last academy. Mitch had found that he enjoyed the taste and the feeling that the caffeine induced, so he had taken it up as a usual beverage. He sighed, closing his eyes....

........And then his computer's alarm sounded, indicating that the program had finished uploading. "Excellent." he said. He called up the interface program that would connect the real world to XANA and hooked up the headset. "Sir, my avatar has been uploaded. All permutations and weapons have been tested and virtualized as well as stored in a small section of the computer. I've compressed the data as well to minimize the impact it has on the memory and computing power of the system, thereby leaving more room for you to operate. I'd like permission to virtualize and give it a test run."

His cell phone beeped, indicating a message of some kind. He pulled it out and began flipping through the programs in order to find a decryption program he liked to use, and ran the message. "Huh. Well, it seems I've got something to do. Maybe I can stir up some trouble for this Yuzuki character you mentioned. Now that she's calling for people, that is."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Graham Noir sat completely alone on a bench outside the Kadic Academy, simply staring blankly at the sky with green eyes that observed the vast blue scene and feeling the blowing wind that rustled his blonde hair. He did not currently have any classes, so he simply sat there, silently thanking the powers that be for the gift of being left alone by the other people that attended to the Kadic Academy. Graham often wondered why he even had to attend to this academy, when he knew that this world wasn't for him. He often felt as if he shouldn't have been born, and that he was there in the place of someone who would have fit better in the world's society. His parents often dismissed his words whenever he said that to them, so he gave up a long time ago. Most things just made no sense to him anymore.

Suddenly, his train of thought was disrupted by a sudden beeping sound and a vibration that came from his left pocket. He dug into the pocket and took out a small cellphone, an object that he would rather not have, though his parents forced him to keep it. There was a message, but it was one that wasn't from anyone he knew. Curious, he opened the message, and read things that only served to intrigue him further. Thus, he decided to heed the instructions that were in the message.

Looking around, Graham pulled his headphones down and then walked through the grounds of the Kadic Academy, eventually reaching a sewer that he had to cross in order to reach the Factory. And so he did. After emerging on the other side of the sewer, he saw the building known as the Factory, and, somewhat nervously, stepped inside. He then headed to the elevator, becoming more cautious with each second that passed. Once the elevator reached the supercomputer's floor, Graham stepped out.

"Hello?" He called out. "I... I received a message!"

[Mewsland]

The supercomputer display activated, and a holographic map containing the seven worlds of Lyoko filled most of the room around the computer.

A countdown appeared next to a foggy world, and an icon indicating a translator pad on the second level down lit up. "Delayed virtualization active. Translator pad 1 activating in 1 minute 15 seconds."

[Nature-Spirits]

Axel blew a strand of brown hair out of his eyes, his hands shoved into the pockets of his black pants. A thin peacock-green scarf was draped over his shoulders and wrapped loosely around his neck, and he had a wayward expression on his face.
His brow furrowed, however, when he saw a boy heading somewhat hurriedly... somewhere. Shrugging inwardly, he followed him silently, wrinkling his nose at the sewer but continuing all the same. Warily he went into the elevator, and reemerged right behind him. "Whoa, what is this?" he exclaimed, his voice cracking.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Graham noticed the supercomputer's display suddenly activating, revealing a holographic map of seven locations he had never seen before. He was startled, but he was also even more intrigued than he had been at the start.

When the countdown appeared all of the sudden, he listened to the message, intrigued, and noticed that he was being prompted to go to the level below. He looked at his message for further instructions, but immediately after reading them, he was startled by another person who appeared behind him.

"Woah!" Graham yelled, startled by Axel's sudden appearance. However, when he recovered from the shock, he shook his head. "I... I don't know." He said. Then, following the instructions, he went back to the elevator, heading to the floor with the translator pads, not knowing if the other boy would follow or not. Once he was in the translator pad floor, he simply stared in awe at the technology once again.

[Mewsland]

The computer provided another announcement. "Translator pad 2 activated. Resetting countdown to 1 minute, 15 seconds."

[Nature-Spirits]

Axel cocked his head, muttering, "Translator pad?..." But he merely shrugged and followed Graham into the elevator. After all, there wasn't much else he could do.
He looked over at the other boy. "So, what's your name?" he asked awkwardly, giving a weak smile. He glanced down, fiddling with the end of his scarf.

[Malshan]

Mitch activated his link to XANA once more as he monitored the activity in Lyoko. "Boss? There's an activity flux in one of the worlds. The one which your little peeve was last seen in. I'm going in. This'll serve as a test run for my avatar so I can fix the problems if needed. I get to test it against whatever untrained hooligans that Yuzuki calls in."

He stood and walked over to one of the walls, laying his hand upon a scanner to open the chamber. He hobbled inside and shut the door before closing his eyes as the scanner began its process.

"Here we go..." he muttered. There was a flash of light and he was on his way.

---

Mitch's avatar virtualized and dropped to the ground in the Fog World and he looked around, noting his particular shape and the costume he was now wearing. "Man, do I feel strong. MUCH better than real life, and better than the best video game. I love this place already."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Hearing Axel's voice, Graham snapped out of his awe and looked back at him. "My name...?" He said. "My name is Graham... Graham Noir." He stated afterwards, in response to Axel's question. "And yours?" He asked afterwards, believing that it was the 'polite' thing to do, though he didn't remember for sure.

Once he got an answer, Graham waited until the countdown was almost over, before stepping into one of the translator pads, more out of curiosity than anything else.

[Mewsland]

Yuzuki felt Mitch's virtualization from within the tower, thanks to her connection to Lyoko. "Could this be who I am looking for?"

Flying down the inside of the tower before emerging back into the Fog World, Yuzuki surveyed her surroundings before moving onto the crossing between Tower VIII's platform and the surrounding land.

<OoC: Every tower, regardless of whether you're in World-II or not, is on its own platform relative to the rest of the world.>

[Nature-Spirits]

"Well, my birth name's Axel DuBois, but if you want you can call me Alexis. Y'know, because Alex is just Axel but with the X and the L switched, and Alexis is sort of like Alex but a girl's name.... Yeah...." He, too, stepped into a translator pad, because, once again, he really had no choice, now did he?

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Once inside the translator pad, Graham simply nodded idly at what Axel, or rather Alexis, had said. Not because he was ignoring him, but because he was more curious about what was about to happen than about Alexis' birth name, though he would remember to call him that from now on. If he ever had to deal with Alexis again, of course. But something inside told him that he would.

"Okay..." He finally answered.

Then, all of the sudden, he felt an otherworldly sensation. After a few moments, he started feeling how his very being materialized in a completely different place than he had been moments before. Then, only to add to his confusion, the place he was in was surrounded by a thick fog. He brought up his left hand to see it... And saw a gauntlet he had never seen before. He also felt power surging through his left arm.

The sensations were many and there were so many things he had never seen before, that in order to deal with the immense confusion, Graham tried to look around for Alexis, hoping that he would somehow shed light over all of this.

[Nature-Spirits]

Axel suddenly felt a strange feeling, and screwed his face up, but still didn't do much. Then - he went blind. Panic swept through him like a tsunami, and, if he'd had a mouth anymore, he would have cried out. But he didn't, so he waited fearfully in the dark.
When sight returned a few instants later his eyes darted around - he still couldn't see much due to a thick fog, but at least there was light. Or rather, she. Axel - or Alexis - looked down to find that he - she - was wearing a dark flouncy dress with a blue robe on top, and she realised belatedly that she was also wearing an oversized, pointed hat with a wide brim - a witch's hat, maybe? She also started when she saw light blonde hair falling down around her face. She brought her hands up to her face, feeling around the unfamiliar features. "Wha- what is this?"

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Graham soon found someone, though, in a way, it was both who he had hoped to find, and yet not at all who he had expected to find. He saw a girl wearing a purple dress and a witch hat over her head. However, there was only one person he knew could have been there.

"...A-Alexis...?" Graham asked, somewhat shyly, not even sure that the person that was before him was actually Alexis. This scene only served to furthen his confusion.

"So... Weird... Do I even look like myself anymore...?" He wondered aloud. "It's so odd... But it feels so... Right..." He said, examining himself, noting the red armor he appeared to be doning, as well as the blonde ponytail.

[The Mighty Islands]

Tom woke up, his alarm blaring. It was 10:00 am, and he was going to be late for class. Tom skipped everything but his morning shower and ran out the door to his first class. By the time he arrived, he was too late. The door was shut and class was in session. He considered more of an embarrassment to walk in late, than receive a letter of truancy for missing class. He returned to his dorm and fixed himself up for the day entirely, he would arrive to class fully groomed, and ready for the day. He had no idea what he was truly preparing himself for.

At 11:45, his phone buzzed. He flipped it open, an unknown number showed. He opened the text and read the message. After checking clock, he had enough time to explore, but was very afraid of going off on his own to meet an unknown person, but a small voice in the back of his head pushed him out the door and towards the factory.

(OOC: Sorry for the bad post, but I have a chemistry final tomorrow, and I need to study. I'll make another post tonight, maybe, to display by powers in Lyoko.)

[Nature-Spirits]

Alexis looked up. "Yeah, i- it's me. Y- you're Graham? You don't look the same at all.... And neither do I...." She noticed that her voice was higher, like that of a 9-year-old girl, and her fingers trailed along her throat. "Oh my God. Is this real? This isn't a dream right? Because it doesn't feel like a dream but at the same time it does, y'know? Wow, this is weird." A nervous giggle escaped her, and she slowly stroked her hair. "Wow, now maybe I can actually style my hair. I was always told to keep it short, because apparently boys are supposed to have short hair, but now I can actually braid it! Fishtails, French braid, ponytail, straighten, curl.... The possibilities are nearly endless!"

[Mewsland]

Two more virtualizations.

Yuzuki smiled, knowing that people were answering her call. Stepping off the Tower VIII crossing, Yuzuki walked out into the fog around the tower, still looking for the first person who dropped in...

[Malshan]

Mitch began jogging toward the Tower, following his nose. He had activated one of the weapon/abilities that he had programmed in, allowing his senses to expand and his awareness of the worlds increase. Soon a figure came into view about six hundred meters away. Mitch looked at it with amazement, noting that he could see all of the threads in her robe, and even see the features of her face clearly.

As he approached her, he slowed to a walk, striding up to her. "Hello?" he said, deciding that it was best to play dumb for now. "Ummm...what exactly...is this place? Who are you? And how....did you contact me?"

[Vetega]

In a dark place above the World of Fog, an upside down tower like structure floated in the air. In its control center a lone figure stood. He was created from the shadows themselves.
"Ahhh, my old firend Yuzuki has sent out a call. Finally. Now I can begin." he muttered to himself.

The Control Center roared to life as the structure began to move down towards the world and it disappeared in the fog. He concentrated on something he hadn't done in quite some time. He would reconstitue his body once more. Now that Bahamut was in working order, his own physical form would be necessary. As he finished, a dark smile crossed his face.

"Lyoko is only the first step. The world will be mine, or it will be dust."
After he said that the fog all around the World of Fog turned a crimson red, and the mark of XANA appeared in the air. It glowed brightly and pulsated with power. He found himself a tower and decided to go down on foot.

He teleported himself to ground and sensed other people nearby. He hid himself. His eyes changed to a bright blue. He looked ordinary, except he had a black trenchcoat and a large sword strapped to his back. He watched the group gather.
"Yuzuki." he hissed.

[The Mighty Islands]

Tom walked calmly into the factory when he saw the shadow of another move deeper inside. As fast as he could, Tom followed the shadow, but arrived to find an empty room. Against the walls were pads with no obvious purpose. Cautiously, Tom stepped onto the pad with one foot, then the other. Once he was fully on the pad, he found that he could no longer move as he was virtualized into Lyoko.

As opened his eyes, Tom could not remember closing them, but his vision was still obscured by the thick fog in every direction. Also, he was no longer wearing his school clothes, he was wearing black wraps all over his body. Not only that, a pair of swords sat on his hip and three knives waited inside his wraps. He could hear sound, voices, which he moved towards slowly.

[Mewsland]

"I may as well start from the first question." Yuzuki sat on a nearby rock. "This is Lyoko. It's a virtual world, housed in the supercomputer which sustains it. I am Yuzuki, guardian of Lyoko, and I contacted nobody in particular. This world is under attack by a force known as Xana. Not only this world, but your world. The real world, which I once was a part of. For sixteen years, I have fought back against Xana, but now, once again, he is encroaching upon your world."

As she finished speaking, the World's fog turned crimson red. Rising from her rock, Yuzuki immediately put two and two together. "Xana. And so it begins." Turning toward the spot where the other two had virtualized, Yuzuki started running, and as she started running, she yelled back "Follow me! We must move quickly to find the others! You can introduce yourself along the way!"

[Malshan]

That'd be him. thought Mitch. He began running after Yuzuki, finding that he ran faster if he dropped down to all fours. He did so and was soon level with her, running through the dense red-colored fog as he tried to think of how far he could take this. He had read XANA's files on Yuzuki and her half-sister Aelita, noting that they typically called for people his age, give or take a few years. Knowing that Kadic Academy was nearby, he knew that the recruits would likely have been drawn from there. Fortunately he had maintained a low profile on campus, going to classes regularly but not involving himself too deeply. Just enough to seem like a bit of a loner.

He caught up to Yuzuki and said, "So who is this XANA? Some kind of video game enemy?"

[Mewsland]

"Worse. Much worse. He can lash out at the real world through Lyoko."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Graham listened to Alexis talk, while still examining his own new body. He found that he wore some kind of red armor suit, that did not look like anything he had seen before, and that his gauntlet seemd to give him great power. He also noticed that, while he was mostly the same, he was also a bit taller and his hair was definitely longer. But that last bit was obvious, as he didn't have a ponytail in the real world.

However, he then heard Alexis begin talking about styling her hair. "...So... That must be why you look like that in here..." He muttered.

Then, the fog turned a crimson red, visibly startling Graham. "W-what's going on...?" He asked, though he knew the answer wouldn't come, as the only people there were him and Alexis, and Alexis knew as little as he did. Almost instinctively, he reached for the place where his headphones would be, if only for a little reassurance, but that only served to confuse him even further, as they were no longer there. Instead, he found something, and trailed his fingers along it until he realized it was, in fact, a bow. He took it between his hands, wondering just what was happening.

Unbeknownst to him, from the opposite direction, two others approached.