It's Never Easy

The men stopped before the scanners as Ulrich walked in and vanished behind his friends; the troops looked at one another before bracing themselves - they'd have to return to the general with the information that people had somehow vanished under their watchful eyes and cross-hairs. They lowered their guns, the sound of heels coming in hot behind them; each shrugged away from the mouth of the lift, eyes wide, erecting their posture as something even greater than their general passed their line.

"So you morons killed Belpois?" Female; dressed in tightly fitted black from head to toe, her heels propelled by four inches of steel stiletto - she lowered a cigarette to her side as she put the hand possessing it onto one of her finely acute hips, staring at the scanners with sharp, gold eyes. She knew them - these apparatuses; it was a shame they killed that professor before she could properly press him, but it couldn't be helped. His file stated he was in less-than proper condition due to his sedentary lifestyle and obsessive nature; she couldn't possibly have warned them in time because his file also stated he had moved away - the person who had supplied such incorrect information was already on his way to a brisk, cold punishment. "I suppose it cannot be helped-"

"The others though!" One of the soldiers stepped forward, waving his hand like an eager scholar. "W-well, we only saw one for sure, but we know it was him!" When the slender woman lifted a brow and faced him, the soldier nodded, pulling out his visual communicator; he opened the Belpois file and lifted the small device, showing a picture of Ulrich. "He slipped into one of those things, but the other two were warm, so it can be assumed-"

"... They're all here." The woman smiled, clicking her tongue. "This couldn't be better; Jeremie is the only one who can work the computer and he's since d-" She froze up, however; if Jeremie was dead, who opened the pods for them? Who virtualized them...? Aelita has been severed from Lyoko long ago and there was no way Xana would have allowed them inside willingly. They were in the computer - but how did they get there without Jeremie or Aelita...? "... Send a squad to the home of the deceased; he must live in the area granted how fast he reacted to our interference. Ask the police, perhaps; if he has any computer tech, bring it here." There was no way any trace of him was alive; she'd seen the body herself. How he did it was a mystery, but perhaps...

She turned her back to the scanners, growls on the tip of her tongue as she pointed black, claw like fingernails at them. "Guard these with your life. The moment they open I want you to take prisoner; do not shoot unless you must." She stomped back the way she came, riding the lift upward, crossing her arms as she began to think. Jeremie was dead but he must have been... prepared, somehow... Perhaps he created a mimic program...? Magic? Lyoko offered many a thing... but was it possible it had offered him a second chance?

She supposed this was something she would have to find out on her own - her men would never understand, nor would the government above her; she couldn't wait, however, to get the former children under wraps to ensure no future bumps in her plots. If they could kill Xana... they could most definitely destroy her...

The guards stood firm at the scanners, one at each, looking at each other nervously; whatever came out would have to get the jump on them or risk getting turned into shreds...

==

[[ Objective: Get past the guards!! Drive them out of the factory before they damage the Supercomputer!! ]]

The group would appear inside the boiler room, far away from any of the active soldiers. Each would still be in their Lyoko avatar form, fully armed - Jeremie and Aelita weren't about, as promised, leaving the three to their own devices.

"You're running off of my energy on Lyoko; I'm wounded, but Aelita and I are going to head for a Tower so I can recharge. Until we get there though, try to take it easy. If I run out of power you guys will lose your avatars and will be wide open for attack. Fight defensively; I don't care how you do it but take care of the problem, alright? Good." Jeremie's voice both began and ended in their minds. He sounded tired as is...

[[ POST ORDER: Enrix, Ulrich, Odd, William. Enrix is your GM and it is Ulrich's turn. ]]

Ulrich nearly face-palmed. Yeah, "good". All they had to do was clear out the factory of an enemy they had just the barest knowledge of without getting too aggressive in an exceptionally narrow time frame or else they'd be at the mercy of a horde of guns, they'd lose Jeremie forever, and XANA would come back with a vengeance. No questions THERE.

Of course, for that very reason there was no time to dwell on frustration. They had to move, and move quickly. "Guess the only way to go now is forward," he said, crouching into a running pose. "Follow me, we'll try to get around them first, maybe take them by surprise."

Odd began to sweat. Even as a kid, he wasn't the greatest fighter. He was, by far, the best distraction. If it came to it he planned to distract them in some way, shape, or form, so hopefully Ulrich and William could take care of them. He looked around at them, and saw that they still held their weapons, this made him smile, at least he could take care of himself if something happened.

He nodded over at Ulrich, also getting ready to run. He gulped a little, his heart pounding, "Well, if we're gonna go, let's go."He laughed and winked at Ulrich. He would follow Ulrich, he trusted him and knew he could come up with a good plan.

William bit his tongue for once. He hated to be shown up, but in the situation they where in it was best not to argue. Especially since he knew full well they would end up following Ulrich's plan of action anyway. William kept his head down and followed them, ready to defend himself if nesacary-this time it wouldn't be his fault. If they failed it was Ulrich to blame. That thought was enough to keep William silent

Unfortunately for the team it didn't seem like they were going to get any beginner's luck or slack; somewhere in the building golden eyes were dilating, alerted of their arrival. The order was silent and swift; within moments the guards in the scanner room had been alerted, the message spreading like wildfire over the airwaves as if by magic.

"Do not let them escape." Cold, female; whoever it was spoke sternly as her voice resounded throughout every inch of the factory. "If even one of them gets away I'll have you all skinned, mark my words!" She silenced herself from wherever she was, pleased at the sound of boots clomping noisily as the guards scattered in all directions.

The door to the boiler room flew open, three armored, armed guards entering the room before realizing they'd drawn the short straw; they each cocked their weapon and looked at the three 'intruders' behind SWAT masks, the beads indicating their aim could be found between each of the hero's eyes.

"Stop right there!" The leftmost guard commanded. "We will not hesitate to open fire. Come peacefully; that is an order from the Unitary Government!"

Each was indeed ready to fire, fingers on the triggers, aim steady.

[[ Post Objective: Subdue or kill the squad! This is a combat test - avoid godmoding! ]]

Well, so much for the Element of Surprise. A million different thoughts went through Ulrich's mind as the masked soldiers entered-if they were here, it meant the enemy had some way to track them through the factory; he hoped Yumi had not yet arrived and was in no danger from these soldiers; these were humans, not XANA monsters, and so lethal force was unacceptable to him-but in only a split-second, the immediate danger of the situation made sure only one thought ultimately prevailed to drive him to action: take them down, before he and his friends are taken down.

Pure adrenaline pushing him on, he dashed forward at supernaturally incredible speed, the familiar streak of golden light trailing behind him as he did. Odds were, in this cramped enclosed space, he wouldn't be able to take out all three soldiers, but he could get one, and hopefully distract the other two long enough for Odd and William to finish the job. Taking one of the two Katana hilts in hand, that strange second-nature instinct that had always seemed to lurk in the back of his thoughts back when he first came to Lyoko once again guiding his hand, he pulled it out of its holder as quickly as he was running, a sharp blade of pure blue, white hot energy emerging from the hilt as he slashed it at one of the soldier's guns, cutting its nozzle off like it was hot butter.

A big smile came across Odd's face as he watched the lightning fast Ulrich dash across the room. He crouched down into a cat like position, and waited till the other soldiers looked towards Ulrich. He found his chance and jumped up into the air, as the soldier looks towards him the shoot a laser arrow towards the gun. It went in it and Odd dropped to the floor, looking up at the soldier who just smirked. After a second or two the gun exploded. Odd got to his feet with a smile, he wasn't sure if he hit something in the gun, or what he did, he was just proud it actually worked.

Following the other's lead William stabbed his Zweihander into the ground grippind the handle with both hands. He then used it as a stilt kicking the gun out of the last soldier's hand. Afterward he grabbed the gun and pulled his sword free. William would have liked to use it but unlike Ulrich he didn't have good aim and the sword was too large-he would have ended up killing the soldier. That was something none of them want to do. Following his silent and temperary truce with Ulrich he handed the brunette the gun seeing as he was the leader of this mission.

Each guard was left disarmed at the end of the round of attack; they were all dumbfounded behind their masks, looking at the three and their odd appearance - they all seemed to come to a silent creed, however, the three guards lowering themselves into a combat stance. If they couldn't shoot, they could still subdue; and if anything they were more capable without the firearm.

The team lunged for the warriors all at once.

The first, a tall, built man, took Ulrich while he was close; he pulled a fist back, sending it flying for the midsection of the other - last second however the man dropped and extended his leg, intending to knock him off of his feet.

The second was female judging by the irritated noise she made upon being disarmed. She charged at Odd at a surprising speed, pulling a combat knife from her belt and slashing outward at the cat-like combatant.

The third was silent; the guard rushed William, kicking the gun out of his hand before it could be delivered; the guard took a step back and sent a right hook for William's head without hesitation.

The punch was easy enough to block. Even as Ulrich grabbed the man's fist, however, he was too slow and distracted to catch the sweeping kick. Even as he fell to his back, however, the young warrior's arms shot out behind him, catching his fall and letting him roll away from the man before he could launch a follow-up attack. Reaching for his katana, he began trying to hop back to his feet.

His mind was still abuzz with strategies. Their opponents seemed highly trained, and he imagined they were ultimately more capable in hand-to-hand combat than any one of the Lyoko trio. That meant their best bet was to press the advantage given to them by their weapons. "Box them in!" he called out to the others, careful not to tip anything too revealing to the enemy.

Odd smirked as the solider grumbled, he felt accomplished. Not too shabby for it being 10 years! As the woman came close he did a back flip, just missing the knife as she slashed at him. He huffed a little as he hit the ground, looking up at her. She was fast, that was for sure. He looked over at the others hoping that they were still alright. He couldn't think of how to escape the solider, he had no where to go.

He gave a sigh of relief when he heard that Ulrich had some sort of plan, although he wasn't sure how it would work. But he listened to him, hoping that it would all work out in the end, and that no one would get hurt. He began making a mad dash towards the woman. As he dashed forward, he suddenly slid down, hoping to knock the woman off her feet.

William ducked quickly, using the side of the blade of his sword as a type of shield in the process. Following his first instinct, he then attempted to trip the soldier that attacked him by side-kicking their legs. He didn't pause to see if it worked before stepping back and taking a defensive stance.

The guards obviously heard the order but they had no control over how quickly the rest of the group worked; all they could do was try to keep their defenses up.

Ulrich's opponent lashed out a leg as the boy rolled, grunting as his foot slammed down on solid ground; as the order was barked he jumped backwards, following the female's lead and pulling a combat knife from his belt; he charged at Ulrich as he rose up, intending to shut him up, recognizing him as the brains. He lashed out blindly with the knife, aiming for the man's midsection.


The female guard yelped as her feet were taken out from under her, falling face down forward, cracking her chin on the pavement, her palm releasing the knife upon impact, sending the weapon flying; luckily for Odd she was winded and unable to counter - even luckier she seemed to be disarmed for the time being.


The last still refused to draw a weapon - he easily sidestepped William's kick, taking a lunge backward before realizing what the first of his platoon was doing - attacking the head of the snake. They narrowed their eyes at William before turning, leaping at Ulrich, making to send a hook flying for his head.

The knife-wielding soldier would regret his recklessness. Ulrich had reached his katana already, and quickly gave a defensive slash to disarm his adversary. He then turned the momentum of his downward slash into a spinning ram, shouldering his attacker harshly in the gut. Unfortunately, his attack left him no time to defend the incoming attack of the third guard, unless one of his friends intervened...

Odd grinned, he was very surprised his tactics worked, but none the less, they worked. He then walked over to the woman, looking down at her, feeling a bit bad, but not bad enough. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the third guard heading towards Ulrich. Being a quick thinker, and not much of a planner, he ran towards the guard and did the first thing that came to mind. Tackle. So he did just that, he gathered his strength and ran full force towards the occupied guard.

William growled "It's always Ulrich, isn't it" before attacking the soldier that had turned it's back to him.

Luckily the knife-armed soldier dropped at Ulrich's attack - the one that had dropped William's offense quickly went down under the conjoined efforts of Odd and William, letting out a feminine grunt as she dropped to the floor next to her male ally. The three were down; one challenge was over, but the sound of clicking heels would fill their ears as the door to the boiler room opened; a tall, slender female with grayish skin and tight black clothing - the woman who had startled Jeremie in the feed from before.

"Ah, gentlemen," she pulled a cigarette to her black-skinned lips; her eyes were dark, irises bright yellow bringing the only color to her entire garb aside from the golden amaterines hanging off of each arm-length glove and knee-length boot and necklace. She looked down at the guards, making a face as she took a drag. "Pathetic; next time I'll keep in mind your figurehead has a few more tricks up his sleeves." She eyed them each, pausing at William, smirking. "Good to see you again, too - though you look less charming without Xana's mark between your eyes - maybe that's something I'll personally fix once I see your real potential." She next looked at Odd and Ulrich with a little smile, not before winking at William - a bit mocking, but rather serious to her words. "I do apologize for killing your friend - I knew that torture session was one I should have attended personally; little bastard is too smart for his own good, though, judging by how you three are dressed." She sneered a bit, flicking her cigarette. "No wonder you handled the guards so easily; how irritating. I was hoping I could just snap your necks or something and be bloody well done with it..."

She snapped her fingers, two other guards flanking her; each was armed, lifting their guns.

"Now come quietly. Guns are the least of your worries." Her eyes shimmered. "Though I'll admit you're scarcely worth my time..."

Ulrich flashed a smile and a thumb's-up at Odd for the assist, and even gave a respectful nod to William as he too dealt with their adversary. Just as he was ready to sheathe his blade, however, he heard the approach of their new "friend". Though he tried to move swiftly, it was too late; the guns were locked on them, with no room or time for he or the others to counter-attack without getting shot to pieces. He still held his sword defensively, however, as he eyed their new enemies.

The woman, he recognized from the security feed Jeremie had shown them back in Lyoko. He could only assume she was the one possessed by XANA, or some other kind of servant to him (no, wait, "her", Jeremie had explained that). In any case, she certainly wasn't normal; those eyes were like cold stars, intense and empty in a way no human's eyes could ever be, as far as Ulrich was concerned. His anger flared as she discussed Jeremie's torture...his murder...with such casual joy; it was all he could do not to rush her and put his sword through her neck, even if it meant being gunned down. Unfortunately, Odd and William...Jeremie and Aelita...even Yumi, wherever she was...dying here would put all of them in danger too. Against his intsincts, he sheathed his swords and raised his hands in surrender. "We'll come along quietly," he told the woman as calmly as he could, mentally making sure to add a "for now..." to the thought.

Odd smiled over at his friend in accomplishment. He frowned as he heard the shoes clicking on the floor, he turned towards the noise and stopped. He then looked over at Ulrich and Willam, wondering what they're next move should be. Just as he was about to approach Ulrich, he heard the clicking of the guns. He froze in his place, he didn't really feel like getting blown to bits. He put on of his "paws" on the other, also in a defense stance. He knew that this all had to do with XANA, and they all knew how many tricks she had up her sleeve. He listen to Ulrich answer the odd woman, and nodded in agreement.

William growled tensing into a fighting stance "You...I'm going to destroy all of you!" they knew nothing about him if the woman in front of him even knew half of what he went through...well she probably would have said anyway based on the casual way she discussed Jeremie's death. But before he could attack Ulrich said something unbelievabe.

"Are you crazy? These people killed Jeremie, they don't even think anything of it. What makes you think they won't do the same to us? Moreover don't you want to avenge him? The person responsible for one of your closest friend's death is standing in front of you and you're just going to do what they say?" William couldn't believe it, Ulrich was always so quick to anger and stubborn at Kadic. Did he have to get level headed right at the wrong moment?

[[ I apologize for my delay - I just got done doing some work. @__@; ]]

The woman looked from one to the other of the conflicting parties, narrowing her eyes as her guards gently pressed their fingers against the triggers of their firearms. She crossed her slender arms, the armed guards erecting their posture and standing straight, guns to their sides harmlessly - but still within reach if needed.

"William, darling," the woman was as bold as she was heartless - her heels clicked as she seemed to phase from her starting position to a step away from the black-haired man, smiling from ear to ear. "You always were the sensible one," she let out a loud, resigned sigh. "You're right, but Jeremie was subhuman anyway; killing him wasn't exactly worth a victory dance." She shrugged her slender shoulders, looking at Ulrich and Odd coldly. "You three are worth much, much more, as able-bodied warriors. Why don't you just give up so I don't have to damage you? ... Or, worse, have you turned back into those weak mortal shells." She frowned, stepping away from William and approaching Odd, reaching forward to poke at one of his ears rather daintily.

"It's better me than XANA. Trust me," she cooed, smiling over her shoulder at William. "I'll at least let you keep your free will." A glance to Ulrich. "Which is more than I can say for Jeremie." She grinned rather toothily before vanishing, once more reappearing at her original post by her guards. "You deserve better than serving someone as clueless as that corpse," she scoffed, her golden eyes twinkling. "You... deserve better than being heroes in the darkness."

Ulrich's whole body went tense as William barked his defiance. Not that he blamed him; every instinct in his body was still shrieking at him at full volume to cut up every last one of these creeps, to pay them back tenfold what they did to Jeremie. This was a dangerous, difficult situation, however. He had sincerely hoped a show of submission might buy them some time, hopefully relocate them to a more advantageous area of the factory where they had more room to move in (and could thus avoid being shot to death easier), something, because right then, in that room, at that moment, there was no winning for them. It would be over before it even began; they'd had the advantage of surprise before, but now? Now they were pinned. He turned tensely to William, eyes a window into his conflicted feelings; if the fiery blackhaired man looked at him, he would see. "Not here," he whispered tensely, "Not now." Later, William...they'd get their chance later.

And then...that woman spoke. And Ulrich felt his blood go cold as she spoke. It warmed again with white-hot rage at her dismissive tone, but that show of power-the teleporting, the threat of stripping them down to their normal forms...it gave a sense of what they were up against, and it was unnerving to say the least. Even so, he remained alert and tense. Maybe, if he kept her talking, that might help too. Time...all he was hoping for was to buy time, because every second they weren't fighting was a second that Odd or William or him or Jeremie back in Lyoko could think of some way out of this that didn't end badly for his friends. "You know a lot about us," he told the woman contemptuously, "but I don't think we've had the 'pleasure' of a proper introduction. Just who are you, and what exactly do you want?"

Odd looked over at Willam as he barked at Ulrich. He felt his face fall, he looked at the ground worried, he wanted to buy more time. Any more time, anything to help jeremie and his friends. He listened to the woman as she moved towards him. He blinked softly as she approached him. He looked up at her eyes, gazing into the yellow orbs. He smiled widely as she began to speak to him. As he felt her touch his ear, he let his cat instincts out and purred loudly. He muzzled into her hand and listen fully, ears perked up. "warrior huh?...I'll be honest, some time this good guy stuff gets boring." he shrugged a little, making a face.

As she turned to look towards Ulfich, he winked. He had a plan to delay time. Wouldn't it be nice if no one agreed? He decided to make a scene, maybe it could buy the others more time. He could really only hope.

William was shocked again, was everyone going nuts? Odd the enemy? He wouldn't mind Ulrich so much but he couldn't imagine fighting Odd...the man didn't even know what to think anymore. But one thing was sure, of all the crap he went through in school was because he didn't listen to Jeremie. Well not this time, Jeremie was NOT clueless and, as much as he hated to admit it, neither was Ulrich. William was on their side-even though it was unsure whether "their" included Odd anymore-and the last thing he should do is resist. Ulrich was never a rash guy unless provoked, right now he was not acting out of anger so William had to trust he had a plan.

"Alright...but you will pay"