Code Lyoko: The New Girl (BK 1)

Chapter 8

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"There are thousands of Lyokian sectors and hundreds of Lyokian sub-sectors."

Yumi felt her back hit the wall as her brain registered Saphire's words.

There was such nonchalance in her voice; as if she were discussing the weather — not the fact that there was an entire world within the Lyoko they thought they knew.

Lightning lit up against the factory windows and shone a spotlight over Saphire's face, illuminating her features and making her look all the more scary.

And as if what she had stated wasn't a bombshell enough, Saphire added: "And possibly up to hundreds of thousands of Lyokians total."

"Lyokians?" Jeremie stammered out.

"Citizens of Lyoko." Saphire clarified with a small nod.

All the questions Yumi wanted to ask were lodged in the back of her throat. Saphire had a whole lot of nerve looking confused as if she was the one getting hit with the jaw-dropping notification that there were people actually living on Lyoko.

The room was pin-drop silent.

Saphire gave them all an anxious look over.

"Did Franz Hopper not tell you that he did not just create a virtual world, he created virtual bodies to inhabit areas of that world?"

Yumi's eyebrows furrowed together. "Franz Hopper?" She glared down at Saphire. "You said he's your father. Why would you refer to him by name then?"

Saphire swallowed audibly and took her time answering, staring at the ground for too long.

Yumi wanted to feel glad that she had seemingly caught Saphire in a potential lie, but instead, she felt more at unease than she had before. Earlier when she and Aelita had carried her lifeless body into the elevator and up to the computer room, Yumi had been so sure she would jolt awake and attack them at any moment. The silent ride up the elevator felt longer than it actually was.

Saphire remained unconscious while Yumi and Aelita spoke in a hushed tone about the absurdity of the whole situation. Yumi had suggested maybe there was a X.A.N.A. attack present and somehow they were all in on a group hallucination. Jeremie had been quick to add that nothing on the Supercomputer could be used as proof to approve that claim. Yumi, however, was still skeptical. X.A.N.A. had managed to wreak so much havoc on Earth, there was a chance he had expanded his knowledge and figured out how to manipulate data or code on the Supercomputer to hide the active tower from their eyes.

Jeremie was too distracted by Saphire's presence and her high proclamations to give Yumi's words a second thought. Yumi couldn't help being mad at him. He kept fading in and out when the group needed him. Even though he had explained the comms malfunction at the beginning and the electricity going out afterward, Yumi wasn't ready to forgive him quite yet for abandoning them during such a scary moment.

Aelita, on the other hand, was too frightened and confused to be of much help. Yumi could tell she was hesitant to just do away with Saphire. Aelita had most of her childhood snatched away from her and she deserved answers — answers Franz Hopper wasn't exactly handing out anytime soon — but Saphire and her entire existence could still be a big, fat lie. Yumi just couldn't let Aelita and the rest of them give in to her charms without taking all the precautions available.

"He was not my father for long," Saphire said the words so quietly Yumi almost missed them.

She moved over to Saphire. If she was waiting to attack, fine, so be it. Yumi had Jeremie and Aelita for backup. She needed to find out what this chick's deal was.