So, the troupe disembarks for a Halloween trip. It is going to be a blast. The streets are packed l'épaule à shoulder et shoulder a l'épaule. We all dressed for the holiday. It's not so big of a thing back home, but Odd always brought out all these English language horror movies every October. Awful stuff. Lots of chocolate syrup and shrieking string instruments.
He was in film club, you see. And had a showing every friday night, year round, but Octobers were a lot of fun. And then whenever we had a free weekend, you know, whenever that happened, me and him would watch all these monster of the week shows. Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, all those sorts of things.
And with Robin being American now, I wanted to try out an American Halloween.
So, it's Halloween, 2022 Salem, Massachusetts, USA, and I'm dressed like Willow Rosenberg in full witch outfit. William is Angel -- we thought about doing Buffy/Angel, but I just love Willow so much -- and everyone else has their own thing:
Me: Willow
William: Angel
Robin: An evil wizard
Emily: Rainbow Dash
Maggie and Davey went as a witch and familiar
So, we show up, it's still daytime we do some fun tourist stuff. There's museums about the witch trials, a reenactment of an execution using an actual transcript of a trial, some new age shops to hang around.
Everything is fine until the haunted house.
Of course, it's the haunted house. Why would that thing choose any other place to grab us?
We walk in, and it's a run of the mill little thing. I love it, it's like a little live performance through someone's little place. It's like $5 to get in and people put on little tricks and spooky scenarios. It was like another little live performance.
So I'm having a wonderful time until the end. There's a hallway and someone chases you with a fake chainsaw.
It's a straight hallway, I don't know how we got separated.
At first me and William are together. It seems like we all got paired off. Like it knew we would be most affected that way.
William and I ran until we found ourselves in the Scanner Room. And we could hear someone stuck inside.
« Help me! »
It was Ulrich, banging on the inside. Jeremie's voice echoed through the room
« Aelita, William, get him out of there. The factory is on fire! »
We find a piece of rebar to pry the scanner open. It's no use. We struggle and struggle. Finally, we get purchase, pry the door open, and out creeps, along with Ulrich's silent body, an ooze of Marabounta.
There's nothing we can do for Ulrich now. The Marabounta moves slowly here, more slowly than it did on Lyoko. Maybe, it's struggling to keep up? Weighed down by its physical form?
The Marabounta spreads across the ground, the Scanner flashing a strobe while it summons more and more of the little black specks that eat up anything they touch.
We pull the hatch, opening up the access ladder in the elevator shaft and begin climbing. It's hot in here. And we still have to get through the flames to reach the Rhone. But on the first underground floor, standing on the platform, was Robin. Dressed, once again, for his wedding day. But this time, Emily was no where to be found.
« Give us a hand getting onto the landing, I ask. »
« Hmmm, mouais, je pense que je le *puisse*... he says back, actually speaking French on his own for once in his life. »
He grabs a hold of the elevator cable and jumps down like he weighs a million tonnes and drags the elevator upward at tremendous speed, pushing along the Marabounta as they come.
William flings himself to the platform and offers his hand. As I rush to get out of the way of the rocketing wall of death, I lose my flat.
Barefoot through the fire it must be.
The smoke is getting pretty thick now, so I rip a segment from my dress and use it to block hopefully *some* of the smoke from getting in my lungs.
I make a quick prayer that I will quit smoking if I get out of here alive.
I got on my knees and crawled along the ground hoping to reach the underbridge entrance and go right to the river, but William and I got separated, and when I got to the other side, I was back in Robin's childhood livingroom.
There were pictures of la Chenille all around, his aunts too. One of Aunt Roda and a couple of Davey and his dad. There was a Playstation hooked up to the tele. But there was only one person seated on the couch, already out of date when Robin was in school.
« Bienvenue, Princesse. Il y a un tort, when I let you go last time. Never should have left. Non, non, non, non... trop dangereux. You'll be safe here from... who was it again? Rassilon? Yeah, sure. He won't get you here or whatever. »
« Qu'est-ce que tu veux, *Robin.* I spit his name at him. »
That is not Robin. One, he is barely even *trying* to keep up the charade. And two, Robin isn't this good at French.
« We're alone now, it's time to have a chat. »
« I guess, but why do I want to talk to *you*. »
« Oh, please, big sister, is that anyway to talk to your Butterfly? »
« You are not Mon Papillon, I tell him, You are the thing from before. The thing from that place. »
I struggle to even call it a place. With my time in Lyoko, I can feel when time is funky. Time loops are familiar, like a sweet breakfast of hot chocolate and croissants. Normal time is like plain rice. But this? This is an intense and overwhelming absence of flavor. A fundamental emptiness of time.
I realize where I am. I am in the Nowhere. The Void. The place Robin spent a century, and I a mere two days.
« You are not Robin, I say, you are the thing that trapped Robin. »
« See, you are smart, he answers. Don't anybody listen to what Jeremie has been saying across Kadic since you left. You're smart. »
« What do you want, *Robin*?" »
The name is wrong. I know it's wrong. But it has Robin's face and I have nothing else to call it.
« Robin's fears weren't exactly *unfounded*, he hisses. You all *are* in danger and I am the *only* one that can keep you safe. »
« More like we need protecting from you. »
« Now, now, you just need practice. Snippets and pockets here and there. And eventually you will be ready for what needs to wake up.
« Yes, wake up. But, let's get you back with your friends. I don't need you spending another month in a hospital bed. Let's chat again soon. »
« Let's not. »
« Très drôle... »
And with a snap of his fingers, the living room disappears and I'm falling through the dark. Slowly, I start to feel an almost ramp behind me. I skitter across it until, as it slowly curves from slide to hill, I get my feet under me. And a door opens in front of me.
And I'm back in Salem, Massachusetts. Everyone ran out the door at the same time, all looking like we'd just seen a ghost.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Summary: Her father is dead, but her mother might not be. Months after shutting down the supercomputer, Aelita decides to search for Anthea Schaeffer. In doing so, she unearths old secrets—and old enemies. Season 5/Chronicles rewrite.
Additional information: Back to Reality is a Code Lyoko fanfic podcast drama about the Lyoko warriors getting back on their routes when after hearing the tragic news about two of their friends. (The Nowack Company is looking for a full-time Beta Reader or Editor.)
