Code Lyoko Porn Story: The Origin System Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Almost There

The gang made a couple
fast jumps, too fast to really take in anything about the systems. That was for the best however, as they bypassed a lot of unnecessary
imprisonments for kidnapping and attacks by concerned citizens
wanting the reward for Jordan’s return.

But unfortunately,
they could not avoid stopping in one system. Verdana needed a break
and the people here were nicer than in other places. However, they
stopped in at just the wrong time and in exactly the wrong place.

Why are all these
people here? Odd asked.

I haven’t any idea
at all, Verdana responded.

Never mind. I
figured it out, Odd replied.

Huh?

Odd pointed to a large
hanging sign. It advertised a maze race. And they were standing in
the check in line.

But by then it was too
late to do anything. They’d all been pushed up to the table. Ah,
said the official, It was good thinking of you to send your
representative early. She just got you entered in before it closed. The official wrote something, then went on with a prepared yarn. As you know, you will be running three races in three different
mazes. Therefore I will need the names of the pairs running in
them.

Odd and Verdana,
first race.

Q looked at Santino. Santino and Q, second race.

Viv and Jordan,
third race.

Ah, Prince
Jordanake. I see here your home system is not listed properly. Would you like me to fix the register?

Um, no. Just leave
it the way it is. He leaned over to whisper to Viv. I wonder
what they need to know our home system for?

No clue, she
whispered back.

So then, err,
Manuel, Ulrich, and Yumi will be the guides in that respective order. Aelita and Jeremy, you will be the reserve team. If for some
reason, any of the teams cannot continue, you will start again where
they left off. Only one switch is allowed. Take your places.

So the gang followed
the signs to their respective posts. The observation post was a tall
building, much like the Space Needle in Seattle, minus the spinning. It was divided in thirds, one for each of the races. Manuel went
into the Race 1 area, Ulrich into the Race 2 area, and Yumi into the
Race 3 area.

Jeremy and Aelita went
into the replacements tent, watching the race covered on television.

Odd and Verdana walked
to their starting gate, chattering away. So do you think they’ll
recap the rules for us?

Odd, I have no
clue.

So, what do you
think is going to happen?

No idea.

And on and on it went.

Q and Santino weren’t
worried about rules or anything like that. It was their objective to
win. They waited calmly at their assigned gate. There were
headsets, which they took, figuring it was so Ulrich could
communicate them the way through.

Viv and Jordan weren’t
concerned either. Viv always figured that if she needed to find her
way through, she could fly up and look. But they too grabbed the
headsets, just in case it was against the rules.

A voice came over a
loudspeaker. Welcome competitors, to the Maze Race, Version
5.6.9. For all you fans out there, we’ll recap the rules. There are
three races. A team must win at least two of the races. The races
start three minutes after the previous one. The guides communicate
the way through the maze for they team. The maze will rearrange
every minute, so watch out. Remember as long as whatever you do
isn’t fatal, it isn’t against the rules. There can only be one
winning team, so all other teams who lose, are transported
immediately to their home system. Good luck. Let the
race…begin! There was a gunshot, indicating the first race had
begun.

Verdana and Odd
sprinted off. Okay, sis, take a left here and then another left
right away. Manuel guided them through the headsets they put on. They ran as fast as they could, hoping to get there before the maze
changed. After that, it was straight shot for a while.

You don’t suppose
that there will be things other than the competitors in here, do
you? Odd asked concerned.

Hate to break it to
you Odd, but there’s a hell of a whole lot of other stuff in there
with you, Manuel answered him.

Figures we’d have
to fight other people AND other things as well, Verdana said.

Yeah, and these
guys are brutal. They all really want win, Manuel added, lowering
their spirits even more. Change coming. Okay now you want to
take the right fork then the center fork when you have a choice.

Two more changes
later, they still hadn’t met up with anyone else or anything else. Manuel was doing a good job of leading them through.

The second gun shot
rang out and Santino and Q jumped into action. Q morphed into her
fox form so she could go faster. Santino could run pretty fast to
start with. The maze was made

of what seemed like
hedges.

Well, you’ve got a
straight shot to the goal if you can just go through the hedges,
Ulrich told them.

I AM gifted with
fire, you know, Santino remarked then began blasting his way away.

Change coming,
guys, Ulrich said, looking up at the clock that kept track of how
much time until the next change.

Fortunately, they were
inside a straight part and not a corner of inside of the hedge.

Just keep blasting
away, Tino, Q said.

I’m on it.

Viv and Jordan were
anxious for their race to begin. The voice came over the loudspeaker
again. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a treat today. The wanted
man Prince Jordanake himself, has come out of hiding just to
participate in the race. Remember how much the bounty for his return
is folks?

Somehow I don’t
think this will make our work any easier, Jordan remarked dryly.

The third and final
gunshot rang out. Viv grabbed Jordan under the arms and lifted him
up and over the top of the maze. She was determined to keep him
safe. She made it fairly far, past two changes of the maze before
they ran into trouble.

Look out! Yumi
shouted into her headset, but the warning came too late. Something
flew up and hit Viv’s wing, sending them tumbling down into the maze
again.

Yumi saw the guide who
had led them to where their paths would intersect. She looked up at
the camera in the corner. Nothing fatal, eh? She concentrated
with her telekinesis and yanked all the headsets off her
competitions’ heads. Then, straining herself, she crushed all of
them. The rest of the competitors just gaped at her. This was
something new they’d never encountered before. Someone who went
beyond the purpose they had been given. One of the competition still
attempted to contact their charge through telepathy. Yumi pulled out
one of her spears and smacked him on the head. Any one else?
she challenged.

Jeremy and Aelita were
getting the big picture and a lot of commentary. Race one has
begun and already it looks like we have a favorite. Team Lyoko is
avoiding both their competition and the other obstacles in the race,
while still keeping a lead on time.

The starting shot
had been fired for race two. Looks like we’ve already got a surprise
strategy. Team Lyoko seems to be just plowing through the maze walls
in an attempt to make a straight shot to the goal. This is something
we’ve never seen before.

Here goes race
three and I don’t believe it! Team Lyoko is off the ground and just
bypassing the entire maze. Astounding. Prince Jordanake is on this
team, I believe the one being carried. Oh no! Someone has shot them
out of the sky! Oh and it looks like their guide took out the
others. This is a completely new strategy and it seems to be
working. This first time team seems to be taking over the field.

In the back of the
replacements tent, a shadowy woman spoke urgently into a
communicator. TRON! They are winning. Your team was supposed to
stop them! At least one team must fail so they will go back. That
is what I am paying you for. If you fail, there will be no payment.

Odd and Verdana were
keeping a steady lead, but all too soon, they encountered an opposing
team. Nothing fatal, nothing fatal, Verdana reminded herself.

Odd thought really
hard about just knocking them out and not mashing them into a pulp. His tail flew out and nailed both of them, solving Verdana’s dilemma
of how to NOT kill them. Still, they were closing in on the goal.

Change! came
Manuel’s panicked voice. Verdana and Odd looked around. They were
in a corner, one of the worst places to be during a change. Mostly
because corners tended to disappear. Changes went quick, so Verdana
grabbed Odd and hurled them around the corner and into a straight.

Odd picked himself up
and wiped the virtual sand off his fur. Next time, how about we
don’t stop in a corner?

Uh, guys, we have a
problem. Manuel sounded worried. There’s no way out.

If there’s no way
out, we’ll just have to make one. Guide away Manuel. Verdana’s
hands glowed dark purple with energy.

Santino and Q were
making good progress. Their straight path seemed to be the fastest
by far. Q kept watch behind them in case any of the other teams
tried to follow. Looking back, she could see programs running past
the holes they had made, fighting to reach the goal. Santino was so
busy blasting holes in the hedges that he didn’t see the program in
from of him until he crashed into him. Q jumped through the hole and
landed facing the threat, fur bristling. She changed back to her
normal form so she could fight easier in the small space.

You! said the
program’s partner.

Q blinked. Yes,
me. Now who the hell are you?

I am TRON the
Mighty and All Powerful.

TRON! Ulrich
shouted into the headset, loud enough for TRON to hear. That
moron tried to steal my girlfriend! Mighty and powerful, my ass. They’d just found out that TRON also worked for the Master, despite
being a bounty hunter and claiming to Yumi when they first met him,
that he’d been expelled from the Academy. Apparently that part was
complete fiction.

Q just stared at him. In my experience, people who give themselves names like that
usually aren’t even close. So I say to you, cowardly weakling, run
and hide before you live to regret it.

I will not! TRON
said indignantly. Now prepare to suffer my wrath!

Excuse me a
moment, Santino said, standing up and dusting himself off. The
other program lay on the ground and groaned.

You too! TRON
said, his eyes bugging out of his face.

Santino rolled his
eyes and opened his hand. He’d been building up a fire ball and he
let it go, straight into TRON. His concentration was so good, he
even used his virtual crystal without realizing it. Fortunately,
TRON was still alive, if a bit toasted. Santino collapsed, energy
spent. They were so close, yet so far away.

Viv groaned and rolled
over. She winced when she saw her rumpled feathers. Jordan crawled
over and helped her up. She drew her swords, angry as anything. She
waited for their attackers to find them. When she saw them, she
screeched and charged them. Jordan kept as close to her heels as he
could, so they wouldn’t get separated.

Change! Yumi
said, with less warning than usual, having been a little busy taking
care of her competition. A wall sprouted right in front of Jordan’s
nose.

Shit! he said
and backpedaled. He looked around. Yumi, which way? While
Viv was busy, there was no reason he couldn’t keep going. After all,
he was armed and capable.

Viv clubbed her
attackers violently, right up until the edge of death, but
technically still living. It was a dangerous race after all. They
needed to know the consequences. Them taken care of, she let Yumi
guide her to where Jordan was.

Jordan rounded a
corner and ran smack into another team. He fired his rod on low
setting. He missed. Uh oh, he said as they recognized him. Maybe I should have practiced more, he thought as he faced them down.

Aelita had been
watching the woman in the corner for some time. She seemed to be
communicating with someone in the race. She was growing angrier and
angrier. Whomever she was trying to contact, wasn’t answering. The
commercials ended and the race coverage returned. I can’t believe
they have commercials here too, she thought.

The announcer began. Looks like race one is still progressing. It looks like favorite,
Team Lyoko, has encountered some opposition. Not anymore. A tail
club move by Team Lyoko’s Odd and they move on. Wait! A change! Oh
no! They’re trapped. Hold on a second, they’re making a way out
onto the path to the goal. This mistake just gained them time! They
are now so far ahead, it would be impossible for any other team to
catch up.

There appears to be
a confrontation down on race two. It seems to be personal too! Excellent fireball from Team Lyoko’s Santino, takes out the obstacle. Oh no! It looks as though he has exhausted himself. They better
hurry, the other teams are closing in! Team Lyoko’s Q has morphed
into a different shape and it looks like she means to carry her
partner the rest of the way.

In race three the
creative Team Lyoko seems to be separated. And it looks like Prince
Jordanake had run into trouble. His partner is back in the air,
looking for him. Better hope she gets there soon.

The lady in the back
stood up and headed for the door. Jeremy moved to cut her off. Aelita came up behind her, cutting off any retreat. Where’re you
going? The race isn’t over.

She looked at them. It is for me.

Why not have a seat
and watch till the end? I’m sure it won’t be long. Jeremy looked
menacing enough that the shadowy woman sat abruptly down on her seat.

Verdana and Odd could
see the end. A glowing pearly sphere was the only way out of the
race without losing. They were so focused on that, they failed to
see the siden that jumped in front of them. The scaly cat was from
TARO’s home system that had been destroyed only a short while ago. It stood in front of them and hissed, showing long teeth.

Oops, Odd and
Verdana said at the same time. There was a change coming soon and it
might close off the exit. Odd stepped forward and aimed a laser
arrow. Suddenly, the siden began to purr and wrapped itself around
Odd’s legs.

I guess its a
feline thing, Odd remarked.

I hate to break up
the cuddling and all, but we have about ten seconds till the next
change. Verdana helped Odd step out of the siden’s grip. Then
they ran their hearts out. They barely made it before Manuel called
Change! and a wall came up behind them. Together the touched
the orb and won.

Q turned back into her
fox form and nudged Santino on her back. Hold on! she told him
before clawing up the side of the wall. She leapt from top to top
keeping a relatively straight path to the goal. No one got even
close. She bypassed the obstacle at the entrance by simply jumping
over it. She jumped at the orb in the middle, clutching it between
her two paws. They’d made it one piece.

Viv swooped down and
plucked Jordan from the midst of his attackers. She hauled him over
the final stretch to the goal. She dropped him in front of the
sphere. Together they grabbed it.

Jeremy and Aelita
cornered the woman once they knew that they had won. Please,
warriors, delete me now. Save me the pain that comes with my
failure.

Is this race that
serious of a thing? Jeremy asked.

The woman nodded. Okay then, Aelita answered. Jeremy handed the woman one of his
rubix cube bombs.

When you are ready,
turn it so that the puzzle is solved, Jeremy instructed her. She
smiled at them. A nice smile for such a shadowy person.

The two of them went
to join the rest of the gang. Congratulations, winners! You’re
prize, a brand new energy shake maker, will be delivered to your
system. Come back next year! the voice in the loudspeaker said.

Verdana gathered up
the gang and opened a portal to the next system. They all piled
through.

“At least things
can’t get worse, right? I mean, we’re almost there. A couple more
systems at the most.” Odd shrugged. They were all tired of the
problems they were having.

“Well, crap. Guys, uh, guess what? Things just got worse.” The gang looked
around. They were in Moflyt, Jordan’s home system. And they were
surrounded.