Author's note: PLEASE READ THIS FIRST!!! After nearly a whole year, my Cartoon X-over fanfic based on Code Lyoko has arrived in its final version. I finally figured out a good story to write.
Before you read the first chapter, there are certain things that you must keep in mind so please read the following:
This is a fanmake. It's a fanfic where I adapt the plot and concepts from a certain TV show or movie and adapt different cartoon/Anime/original characters to fill the roles of the TV show or movies original cast of characters.
For this fanmake, I am adapting the storylines and concepts from the french cartoon, Code Lyoko. It's been one of my favorite cartoons from my elementary/middle school years and made a real good impression on me with it's combination of cell animation and CGI animation as well as its complex story (mostly after season 1). For a kids show, you could tell that the creators put effort into it. This inspired me to create a fanfic based on Code Lyoko. However, it took years to perfect my writing but here it is!
But enough about my lousy life, let's get down to business. In this fanfic, I adapt characters from Sagwa: The Chinese, Siamese Cat, Arthur, Angelina Ballerina and Cowboy Bebop. Why such random choices, you ask? It's... a bit complicated. Just read the first chapter and whether you love or hate it is up to you. And don't let the cast list put you off reading.
Also, things will be explained further as the story progresses so if there's something that you don't get in this chapter, it'll be expanded on in later chapters.
Finally, please (for the love of Arceus) review this chapter the minute you can. I want to know what I did right, what I did wrong and what you thought of the start of my ongoing series. So don't delay, read away and review today!
With that out of the way, please enjoy Code Lyoko: The Rewrite.
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Code Lyoko: The Rewrite by matt0044.
Cast of Characters.
Team Lyoko
Sagwa Miao as Aelita Schaeffer
Dongwa Miao (Sagwa) as Ulrich Stern
Sheegwa Miao (Sagwa) as Yumi Ishiyama
Arthur Read as Jeremie Belpois
Angelina Mouseling (Angelina Ballerina)
Alice Nimbletoes (Angelina Ballerina) as Odd Della Robbia
Professor D.R. (Arthur) as Franz Hopper/Waldo Schaeffer
Villians
XANA (Code Lyoko)
Shao Fung "Mama" Miao (Sagwa)/Violet
Win Bao "Baba" Miao (Sagwa)/Grey
Lic Lic (Sagwa) as William Dunbar
Secondary Characters
Jet Black (Cowboy Bebop) as Jean Pierre Delmas
Spike Spiegal (Cowboy Bebop) as Jim Morales
Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV (Cowboy Bebop) as Susanne Hertz
Faye Valentine (Cowboy Bebop) as Yolanda Perraudin
Priscilla and Penelope Pinkpaws (Angelina Ballerina) as Elizabeth "Sissi" Delmas
Sammy Watts (Angelina Ballerina) as Herb Pichon
Dora Winfred "D.W." Read (Arthur) as Milly Solovieff
Nadine (Arthur) as Tamiya Diop
Credits.
Stories and plot adapted from the French cartoon, Code Lyoko, created by Tania Palumbo and Thomas Romain in association with Anti-Films, Moonscoop, Taffy Productions, France 3 and Canal J.
Characters based on the works of Amy Tan, Marc Brown, Katharine Holabird and Hajime Yatate.
Written by Matthieu "Matt" Rankis.
Opening Theme Song: A World Without Danger by Noam Kaniel.
Ending Theme Song: Break Away by The Subdigitals.
Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko or any of the characters used in this fanfic (except for original characters).
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Chapter 1: Fraidy Cats.
"So what do you guys think of our future home?" Win Bao Miao asked his family with a confident smile on his face and a gleeful tone of voice. "Pretty neat, if I do say so myself."
His wife, Shao Fung, was anxiously struggling to find the right words to say. "Well, dear," she finally said with an unsure tone of voice, "it's certainly looks nice but don't you think it's a bit much. I'm no real-estate agent but I don't think we need to live in such an enormous building like this factory. And are you sure that it's safe inside there?" Then again, we may not have much choice in the matter. It's either this or back to the alleyways of Nowhere City for us. It's not like we can go up to the mayor and ask him to help us find suitable home.
Shao Fung was correct. The Miao family consisted of five Chinese Siamese Cats, two parents and three kittens, each of whom could communicate with humans as well as other cats by speaking their languages perfectly with thanks to their genetically enhanced intelligence. They arrived in Nowhere City, Kansas from their old hometown in China via airplane two weeks prior to now to start a new, independent life in America like human families. Unfortunately, it wasn't easy looking for a place they could call "home" as the cats were keeping their high intellect a secret from the humans so as not to attract unwanted attention. They couldn't ask for food, they couldn't ask for water and they couldn't ask for a home to live in without speaking English.
For the last two weeks, the Miao family lived in the alleyways of Nowhere City as they constantly searched for an unoccupied building that could house them. They stole food and water from stores as they tried their best not to get caught, prevented humans from taking either of them away for their own and did everything they could to survive and help each other out. For a while, it seemed that the new, independent life that they dreamed about would never come to fruition so long as they kept their secret.
But just when they were about to give up hope, Win Bao, or rather Baba as his kittens called him, was taking a stroll on the riverbank when he discovered an old, abandoned car factory that was built on an artificial island in the Kansas River. After further inspection of the interior, he decided that the building would become the Miao family's brand new home. As soon as he had told his wife and three kittens that he had found a new home on the very next day, they were so happy and excited that they followed the father cat straight to the factory and kissed the Nowhere City alleyways goodbye, for good they hoped. The five Chinese Siamese cat were now on a yellow suspension bridge wide enough for only one truck that connected the factory with the mainland and were looking through the open doorway.
"Don't worry, my dear," Baba responded confidently to Mama. "I explored the factory from top to bottom yesterday and I found no real dangers that could threaten us. Besides, we are cats, aren't we?" His feline body was covered by pure white fur with the gray Siamese cat markings all over his face, on his four paws and on his thin tail. He wore a blue Chinese cap on his head and a blue strip collar with a gold coin attached to it around his neck along his collarbone. He also spoke in a gruff yet kind-sounding voice and had a Chinese moustache of two strands of hair drooping down.
"I guess you're right," said Mama as she weighed her options. Big abandoned car factory or back to the filth-ridden alleyways of Nowhere City. After much considering, she made her final decision. "I guess I'll give this place a chance." She had pure white fur all over her feline body along with the gray Siamese cat markings on her four paws, on her bushy tail and above her eyes which looked like she put it on as make-up. She wore a large violet and white collar with a gold medallion attached to the end of it attached her neck. She also had an earring attached to each ear and another piece of jewelry on top of her head. Overall, her appearance made her look more like a queen's cat rather than a mother cat. She spook in a smooth yet young, feminine voice that was best suited for a mother cat her age.
The oldest and only male kitten of the three, Dongwa, spoke up to voice his opinion. "If you ask me, living here will certainly beat living in the alleyways," he said in a "whatever" tone of voice. "At the very least, we won't have to cram ourselves into a garbage can or dumpster when it starts raining so it's good enough for me now that we have a roof over our heads." His slender feline body was covered by pure white fur with the gray Siamese cat markings on his face, his four paws and his thin tail. He wore a blue-violet strip collar with a gold coin attached to it around his neck.
"Yeah!" the youngest kitten of the three, Sheegwa, said in an energetic tone of voice. "Not to mention that there's bound to be plenty of space to play games in and plenty of mice to eat. I don't know about you guys but I think I'm going to love this place." Her small feline body was also covered by pure white fur only without any gray Siamese cat markings as she hadn't developed them as such a young age. A handmade pink piece of cloth with a small purple flower printed on it that acted as her collar was tied around her neck with a tight knot. She also had a small, bushy tail.
"Thanks for your thoughts, Dongwa, Sheegwa," said Baba, still smiling confidently. He then turned his attention to the middle kitten of the Miao siblings who was squating on all fours between Dongwa and Sheegwa. "And what do you have to say about our new home, Sagwa?"
"M-me, Baba?" said a nervous Sagwa who wasn't sure as to what she wanted to say. "Well, it's very nice that we have a roof over our heads at long last, like Dongwa said, and it's very good that we have space to play in too, like Sheegwa said. However, to be perfectly honest, I'm pretty scared. It just looks so creepy like there's a ghost haunting it." She put on a pseudo-smile and laughed weakly. Sagwa's feline body was also covered by pure white fur with the gray Siamese cat markings all over her face, on her four paws and on her bushy tail. She wore a red and yellow collar that was shaped like an upside-down three-leaf clover around her neck.
"Gee, what else is new?" Dongwa snarked with sarcasm in his every word.
"It's not like I don't want to live here," Sagwa quickly added. "I know there's no such thing as ghosts. Besides, I'll probably get use to this place in a matter of days. I hope..." She had always been paranoid and scared of almost everything but never wanted to be a burden to anyone, especially not her family.
"It's okay, Sagwa," said Sheegwa cheerfully. "I'm sure you'll like this place once you've seen inside it."
"Easier said than done," sighed Dongwa, rolling his eyes.
"Now that's it's been decided," said Baba, "let's all take a look inside our new home."
The Miao family walked through the huge, wide open doorway into the factory and found themselves on a balcony supported by steel pillars several meters above a lower level. The place was immense, open and desolate. The walls were broken by footbridges and corridors while steel beams supported cranes and other abandoned machinery. The windows were large glass grids facing out on the river and much of their glass had been smashed with many of the remaining panes remaining opaque with dust. Nobody had set foot here for many years as the cats could clearly see. They also saw that the stairs down to the ground floor had collapsed over the years and all that remained of them now were just a few isolated metal steps that swung gently in midair.
Sagwa fearfully gulped when she looked down at the bottom floor due to her fear of heights. "Um, Baba," she asked in her usual nervous tone of voice, "how exactly are we going to get down there without getting killed?"
"Simple," said Baba. "Look ahead of you." He pointed to two robust cables that hung from big hooks set in the ceiling. They were suspended just a short distance beyond the end of the balcony and extended right down to the ground where they twisted snake-like into large coils. Sagwa hadn't considered the cables due to her fear of falling.
"You can't be serious," Sagwa said in a robotic tone of voice.
"I sure am," said Baba. He turned to Mama. "Are you ready, honey?"
"Only if you are, dear," giggled Mama. "One-"
"-two-" Baba continued.
"-three!" they said together as they both jumped to pounce off the balcony at the cables. Mama grabbed the one to her left while Baba grabbed the one to his right and they both swung and slid down to the bottom floor as they shouted, "Geronimo!" simultaneously. They then went on all fours and raise their head back up to their kittens on the balcony.
"Dongwa, Sheegwa," Baba called up to them, "You two slide on down now."
"Well, here goes nothing," said Dongwa as he got into his pouncing position in the direction of the right cable. With his head near the ground and his tail high in the air, he was ready to take the big leap. "Ready, Sheegwa?"
"I'm ready, brother!" said Sheegwa. She was in the same pouncing position as Dongwa with her aim at the left cable and was ready to leap as well. "Let's do it!"
Sagwa's protests went unheard as her big brother and little sister each leaped at a cable to grab hold and slide on down to the bottom floor together. Once they reached the bottom floor, Dongwa and Sheegwa went on all fours and went over to their parents.
"Not bad for first timers," said Baba before turning back up to Sagwa on the balcony. "You're up, Sagwa!"
Sagwa fearfully gulped a second time. "B-but I'm too scared of falling," she whimpered like a sad puppy. "What if the cable snaps? Isn't there another way down?"
"Not that I know of," said Baba. "Besides, if you fall, then we'll catch you. You don't need to worry, Sagwa."
"Well, I guess I'll have to do it then," said Sagwa. With her tiny heart beating like insanity, she assumed her pouncing position as an angry look of determination formed on her face. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this, She repeated mentally. A second later, she leaped from the balcony at the left cable and grabbed hold of it to swing and slide on down to the bottom floor as she screamed like a maniac. Once she reached the bottom floor, she went on all fours and took in four deep breaths. "Well, that wasn't so bad," she then said as if it was nothing. She put her right paw on the back of her head as she pseudo-smiled.
Dongwa groaned at how his sister tried to brush off her fear while Sheegwa giggled as she found it amusing.
"Now that we're all here," said Baba, "let's get down to exploring. We'll split into two groups." He looked directly at Sagwa, Dongwa and Sheegwa. "You three will explore this floor together while your mother and I check out the upper floor." He then pointed to the old factory elevator behind him and Mama. "We'll all meet up at this elevator when we've finished exploring."
"Your father and I trust that you will look out each other and keep out of danger if you come across it," said Mama. "Especially you, Dongwa. You're the oldest so we hope that you'll be responsible enough to make sure your sisters stay safe."
"I know, I know," Dongwa said with a sigh in his voice. He wasn't too thrilled about being his sisters' babysitter for the umpteenth time. He would have to deal with Sagwa's paranoia and Sheegwa's foolishness at the same time. He kept his complaints to himself, however.
"Thanks for your trust, Mama," said Sagwa, happily. "But you don't need to lump all three of us together. I may be scared but I'm smart enough to stay out of danger and look after myself. I'll be just-" Before she could finish speaking, an old, rusty pipe fell from the balcony to the lower floor not too far away from the Miaos. The sound caught the family of five cats completely off guard and scared Sagwa the most. She yelped, hugged Dongwa and held onto her brother like a dog humping its master's leg as she buried her face into his chest. "I take it all back! I'll stick with the group!"
Dongwa frustratedly sighed. They hadn't started exploring and Sagwa was already acting scared as usual. Sheegwa giggled once again at her big sister's actions.
"I think we'll be off now," said Sheegwa after she was done laughing. "Let's go, guys." She turned around and began to head down the hall at a regular pace.
"Once Sagwa gets off of me," said Dongwa in a frustrated tone of voice. He unhinged Sagwa's forearms from around himself with his own two forearms and moved away from Sagwa. "Now we can go." He then followed Sheegwa down the hall.
When Sagwa realized she was clinging to nobody and who she was clinging to, she stopped whimpering and shivering and blushed bright red from embarrassment. She then saw that her siblings were walking down the hall away from her. "Hey, wait for me!" she called to them as she ran to catch up with them.
"I think I'm starting to have second thoughts about those three being together without us," said Mama to her husband in a worried tone of voice.
"Why's that?" Baba responded inquisitively.
"I'm afraid that Dongwa might do something rash," said Mama. "You know how frustrated he can get at times. Especially with Sagwa."
"No need to fret, my dear," said Baba. "This is just to make sure that they can get use to the place on their own. As for Dongwa, I'm sure that he's mature enough to handle his feelings. He is our son after all. Not to mention that it's the first time in two weeks since we've been alone with each other."
Mama began to get the picture. "Wanna do it behind the lift?" she asked seductively with a sly facial expression.
"Fine by me," Baba answered with an equally sly look on his face.
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As the two adult cats went behind the old factory elevator to spend some "alone time" together, Mama's worries were beginning come true. Ever since Sagwa's "incident" from when she was younger traumatized her and made her paranoid of almost everything that seemed scary to her, the young Chinese Siamese cat had became more dependent on her parents and her big brother for protection. This was a pain in the tail for Dongwa as he had to look after Sagwa as well as Sheegwa whenever the family went out. He could hardly find the time to spend time with his own friends and even when he could, he had to take his sisters along, causing embarrassment for himself due to Sagwa's fears. Sheegwa, on the other hand, was braver than Sagwa so she wasn't much of a hassle aside from her foolishness which irritated Dongwa.
This became increasingly frustrating for Sagwa as well. Not only was she the object of ridicule among the other cats of the Miaos' old hometown but she felt bad for relying on big brother for protection so much and for being a big burden on others. She would try doing things that scared her such as staying home alone but to no avail as she would always get scared no matter how many times she tried. After giving up her futile efforts, she resorted back to Dongwa for protection. But though she was dependent once more, she would often try handling things on her own to try lessening the burden she put on her big brother and her parents. It wasn't easy but the last thing she wasn't to do was to act like a total baby at her age.
When Sagwa, Dongwa and Sheegwa stepped into the machinery area which lead from the factory hall, they stopped to take a look around it. There was a conveyor belt on each side of the room which lead from and lead to a machine. There were spare car parts laying around the area from when the factory closed. There were also other machines such as the mechanical, robotic hand attached to a rail on the ceiling and the other robotic hands alongside the conveyor belt that were obviously meant to handle car parts. The area was partially lit thanks to the sunlight shining through the dirty window.
Sheegwa was so amazed that she nearly walked off on her own until Dongwa pulled her back by her tail. "Hey!" she protested. "Paws off my tail."
"Sorry but Mama told us to stick together," Dongwa apologized. "You're too young to go off on your own."
"I wasn't intending on going far from here," Sheegwa replied. "I just wanted to check out the machines."
"Let's not and say we did," said Sagwa, nervous as usual. "I don't think they're safe." The partial darkness and silence of the room was nerve-wracking enough for her.
"Of course, they're safe," said Dongwa, fed up with Sagwa's paranoia. "They're inactive. Let me show you." He headed towards one of the machines when he stepped on something paper-like. He looked down to see that he stepped on a white paper-thin tarp that was big enough to completely cover himself. A devious look formed on his face as an idea flew into his brain. What the heck? I'm sick and tired enough as it is. Might as well take advantage of this well-timed chance. He changed his devious face to that of a distress look and turned around to seem as if he saw something behind Sagwa and Sheegwa. "Oh no! Look at that! Behind you two!" He pointed to behind Sagwa and Sheegwa.
Sagwa and Sheegwa instantly turned around to see what was coming for them but they saw nothing. They look left and right and look as hard as they could but they could not find anything that wasn't there. Finally, they gave up and turned back around to their brother when they saw a cat-sized ghost which shouted, "Boo!" Sheegwa was surprised for a few second while Sagwa screamed out of fear and grabbed her little sister to hold her up against the ghost, as if to ward it off.
"Sagwa, it's okay," Sheegwa said to her cowardly big sister. "It's just Dongwa with that white tarp over him." She may had been young and foolish but she knew better than to fall for such a cheap trick. "Now put me down!"
"Oh, sorry," said Sagwa, placing Sheegwa on the floor. She put on her usual pseudo-smile. "It was just a little reflex. Think nothing of it." Inside, she was cursing her paranoia with the most vial words she could think of. She felt so embarrassed.
Dongwa, on the other hand, was laughing loudly at his sister's reaction as he was flat on his back, trying to hold his stomach. He felt no remorse for his actions as, in return, he received amusement that he never felt in a long time. "You should've seen your eyes, Sagwa!" Dongwa said through the laughter. "They were as big as dinner plates! I can't believe that I never thought of doing this before!" Slowly but surely, he began to get up on all fours as his laughter began to die down.
During Dongwa's laughter, Sagwa's embarrassment began to turn to absolute anger. She couldn't believe that her own older brother had just played such a immature prank on her, especially when he knew how fearful she was. That's it! Sagwa realized that Dongwa had taken advantage of her fears for a cheap laugh. As Dongwa picked himself up, Sagwa walked up to him slowly with a mad look on her face and anger boiling inside her as she drew her right set of retractable claws. When she got close enough to her big brother, Sagwa raised her right forearm and slapped Dongwa's left cheek while her claws on that paw scratched him at the same time. Sheegwa's tiny heart skipped a beat when she saw the whole thing.
Dongwa groaned from the painfully slap/scratch that Sagwa had given him. "What the heck was that for?" he asked in his own anger.
"What do you think, you insensitive jerk!" Sagwa asked with her voice full of spite as she gritted her teeth. "That was for taking advantage of me for your own amusement!"
"Oh, come on!" rebutted Dongwa. "I was sick and tired of putting up with you and your stupid fears! You! Sagwa, the Cowardly Cat who can never grow a backbone to save her life! Well, I'm done! I'm not going to be your babysitter anymore, little sister."
"You think I like being scared?" said Sagwa as her voice grew more and more angry with every word. "You think I like constantly being scared and being a burden to others? Well, I have news for you, brother of mine, I hate it! Why do you think I insisted that we not stick together to Mama? Why do you think I agreed to explore this wretched factory with my family? I wish I wasn't so paranoid of everything but I can help it. I just can't help it."
"Then why don't you just grow up and stop being such a Fraidy Cat, you coward!" Dongwa replied loudly and spitefully. He turned around to face his back to Sagwa and crossed his forearms. "And if can't do that, then you can forget about turning to me for help."
Sagwa turned around from her brother as well. "Fine," she said as her anger had calmed down. "I can take a hint to see that I'm not wanted here." She then proceeded to head out of the machinery area with her eyes closed and her nose high in the air.
"But Sagwa, wait!" Sheegwa said after being fearfully silent during Sagwa and Dongwa's cat fight. "Mama told us that we have to-"
"Like I care!" Sagwa interrupted her little sister as she walked back towards the hallway to sulk. Sheegwa was left with nothing to reply.
"That wasn't very nice of you, Dongwa," said Sheegwa, feeling a little angry at her big brother as well.
"Who gives a rat's tail?" said Dongwa, carelessly. "Come on. We have a factory to explore."
As Dongwa and Sheegwa went through the machinery area, Dongwa began to have second thoughts about his words towards Sagwa until dismissed those thoughts. Why should I protect such a coward? After all, she said that she could take of herself.
To Be Continued in Chapter 2: Discoveries
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PLEASE READ THIS TOO!!! And there you have it, folks! Chapter one is done! I can't believe that it nearly took me a year to write this out. Thank you for being patient.
When you write your review, be sure to be constructive and don't just point out its weaknesses, point out it's strengths too and tell me your overall opinion my adaptation of Code Lyoko. Do it as soon as you can so that I can know what you think and if I should continue the series.
See you next time on Code Lyoko: The Rewrite.
Before you read the first chapter, there are certain things that you must keep in mind so please read the following:
This is a fanmake. It's a fanfic where I adapt the plot and concepts from a certain TV show or movie and adapt different cartoon/Anime/original characters to fill the roles of the TV show or movies original cast of characters.
For this fanmake, I am adapting the storylines and concepts from the french cartoon, Code Lyoko. It's been one of my favorite cartoons from my elementary/middle school years and made a real good impression on me with it's combination of cell animation and CGI animation as well as its complex story (mostly after season 1). For a kids show, you could tell that the creators put effort into it. This inspired me to create a fanfic based on Code Lyoko. However, it took years to perfect my writing but here it is!
But enough about my lousy life, let's get down to business. In this fanfic, I adapt characters from Sagwa: The Chinese, Siamese Cat, Arthur, Angelina Ballerina and Cowboy Bebop. Why such random choices, you ask? It's... a bit complicated. Just read the first chapter and whether you love or hate it is up to you. And don't let the cast list put you off reading.
Also, things will be explained further as the story progresses so if there's something that you don't get in this chapter, it'll be expanded on in later chapters.
Finally, please (for the love of Arceus) review this chapter the minute you can. I want to know what I did right, what I did wrong and what you thought of the start of my ongoing series. So don't delay, read away and review today!
With that out of the way, please enjoy Code Lyoko: The Rewrite.
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Code Lyoko: The Rewrite by matt0044.
Cast of Characters.
Team Lyoko
Sagwa Miao as Aelita Schaeffer
Dongwa Miao (Sagwa) as Ulrich Stern
Sheegwa Miao (Sagwa) as Yumi Ishiyama
Arthur Read as Jeremie Belpois
Angelina Mouseling (Angelina Ballerina)
Alice Nimbletoes (Angelina Ballerina) as Odd Della Robbia
Professor D.R. (Arthur) as Franz Hopper/Waldo Schaeffer
Villians
XANA (Code Lyoko)
Shao Fung "Mama" Miao (Sagwa)/Violet
Win Bao "Baba" Miao (Sagwa)/Grey
Lic Lic (Sagwa) as William Dunbar
Secondary Characters
Jet Black (Cowboy Bebop) as Jean Pierre Delmas
Spike Spiegal (Cowboy Bebop) as Jim Morales
Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV (Cowboy Bebop) as Susanne Hertz
Faye Valentine (Cowboy Bebop) as Yolanda Perraudin
Priscilla and Penelope Pinkpaws (Angelina Ballerina) as Elizabeth "Sissi" Delmas
Sammy Watts (Angelina Ballerina) as Herb Pichon
Dora Winfred "D.W." Read (Arthur) as Milly Solovieff
Nadine (Arthur) as Tamiya Diop
Credits.
Stories and plot adapted from the French cartoon, Code Lyoko, created by Tania Palumbo and Thomas Romain in association with Anti-Films, Moonscoop, Taffy Productions, France 3 and Canal J.
Characters based on the works of Amy Tan, Marc Brown, Katharine Holabird and Hajime Yatate.
Written by Matthieu "Matt" Rankis.
Opening Theme Song: A World Without Danger by Noam Kaniel.
Ending Theme Song: Break Away by The Subdigitals.
Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko or any of the characters used in this fanfic (except for original characters).
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Chapter 1: Fraidy Cats.
"So what do you guys think of our future home?" Win Bao Miao asked his family with a confident smile on his face and a gleeful tone of voice. "Pretty neat, if I do say so myself."
His wife, Shao Fung, was anxiously struggling to find the right words to say. "Well, dear," she finally said with an unsure tone of voice, "it's certainly looks nice but don't you think it's a bit much. I'm no real-estate agent but I don't think we need to live in such an enormous building like this factory. And are you sure that it's safe inside there?" Then again, we may not have much choice in the matter. It's either this or back to the alleyways of Nowhere City for us. It's not like we can go up to the mayor and ask him to help us find suitable home.
Shao Fung was correct. The Miao family consisted of five Chinese Siamese Cats, two parents and three kittens, each of whom could communicate with humans as well as other cats by speaking their languages perfectly with thanks to their genetically enhanced intelligence. They arrived in Nowhere City, Kansas from their old hometown in China via airplane two weeks prior to now to start a new, independent life in America like human families. Unfortunately, it wasn't easy looking for a place they could call "home" as the cats were keeping their high intellect a secret from the humans so as not to attract unwanted attention. They couldn't ask for food, they couldn't ask for water and they couldn't ask for a home to live in without speaking English.
For the last two weeks, the Miao family lived in the alleyways of Nowhere City as they constantly searched for an unoccupied building that could house them. They stole food and water from stores as they tried their best not to get caught, prevented humans from taking either of them away for their own and did everything they could to survive and help each other out. For a while, it seemed that the new, independent life that they dreamed about would never come to fruition so long as they kept their secret.
But just when they were about to give up hope, Win Bao, or rather Baba as his kittens called him, was taking a stroll on the riverbank when he discovered an old, abandoned car factory that was built on an artificial island in the Kansas River. After further inspection of the interior, he decided that the building would become the Miao family's brand new home. As soon as he had told his wife and three kittens that he had found a new home on the very next day, they were so happy and excited that they followed the father cat straight to the factory and kissed the Nowhere City alleyways goodbye, for good they hoped. The five Chinese Siamese cat were now on a yellow suspension bridge wide enough for only one truck that connected the factory with the mainland and were looking through the open doorway.
"Don't worry, my dear," Baba responded confidently to Mama. "I explored the factory from top to bottom yesterday and I found no real dangers that could threaten us. Besides, we are cats, aren't we?" His feline body was covered by pure white fur with the gray Siamese cat markings all over his face, on his four paws and on his thin tail. He wore a blue Chinese cap on his head and a blue strip collar with a gold coin attached to it around his neck along his collarbone. He also spoke in a gruff yet kind-sounding voice and had a Chinese moustache of two strands of hair drooping down.
"I guess you're right," said Mama as she weighed her options. Big abandoned car factory or back to the filth-ridden alleyways of Nowhere City. After much considering, she made her final decision. "I guess I'll give this place a chance." She had pure white fur all over her feline body along with the gray Siamese cat markings on her four paws, on her bushy tail and above her eyes which looked like she put it on as make-up. She wore a large violet and white collar with a gold medallion attached to the end of it attached her neck. She also had an earring attached to each ear and another piece of jewelry on top of her head. Overall, her appearance made her look more like a queen's cat rather than a mother cat. She spook in a smooth yet young, feminine voice that was best suited for a mother cat her age.
The oldest and only male kitten of the three, Dongwa, spoke up to voice his opinion. "If you ask me, living here will certainly beat living in the alleyways," he said in a "whatever" tone of voice. "At the very least, we won't have to cram ourselves into a garbage can or dumpster when it starts raining so it's good enough for me now that we have a roof over our heads." His slender feline body was covered by pure white fur with the gray Siamese cat markings on his face, his four paws and his thin tail. He wore a blue-violet strip collar with a gold coin attached to it around his neck.
"Yeah!" the youngest kitten of the three, Sheegwa, said in an energetic tone of voice. "Not to mention that there's bound to be plenty of space to play games in and plenty of mice to eat. I don't know about you guys but I think I'm going to love this place." Her small feline body was also covered by pure white fur only without any gray Siamese cat markings as she hadn't developed them as such a young age. A handmade pink piece of cloth with a small purple flower printed on it that acted as her collar was tied around her neck with a tight knot. She also had a small, bushy tail.
"Thanks for your thoughts, Dongwa, Sheegwa," said Baba, still smiling confidently. He then turned his attention to the middle kitten of the Miao siblings who was squating on all fours between Dongwa and Sheegwa. "And what do you have to say about our new home, Sagwa?"
"M-me, Baba?" said a nervous Sagwa who wasn't sure as to what she wanted to say. "Well, it's very nice that we have a roof over our heads at long last, like Dongwa said, and it's very good that we have space to play in too, like Sheegwa said. However, to be perfectly honest, I'm pretty scared. It just looks so creepy like there's a ghost haunting it." She put on a pseudo-smile and laughed weakly. Sagwa's feline body was also covered by pure white fur with the gray Siamese cat markings all over her face, on her four paws and on her bushy tail. She wore a red and yellow collar that was shaped like an upside-down three-leaf clover around her neck.
"Gee, what else is new?" Dongwa snarked with sarcasm in his every word.
"It's not like I don't want to live here," Sagwa quickly added. "I know there's no such thing as ghosts. Besides, I'll probably get use to this place in a matter of days. I hope..." She had always been paranoid and scared of almost everything but never wanted to be a burden to anyone, especially not her family.
"It's okay, Sagwa," said Sheegwa cheerfully. "I'm sure you'll like this place once you've seen inside it."
"Easier said than done," sighed Dongwa, rolling his eyes.
"Now that's it's been decided," said Baba, "let's all take a look inside our new home."
The Miao family walked through the huge, wide open doorway into the factory and found themselves on a balcony supported by steel pillars several meters above a lower level. The place was immense, open and desolate. The walls were broken by footbridges and corridors while steel beams supported cranes and other abandoned machinery. The windows were large glass grids facing out on the river and much of their glass had been smashed with many of the remaining panes remaining opaque with dust. Nobody had set foot here for many years as the cats could clearly see. They also saw that the stairs down to the ground floor had collapsed over the years and all that remained of them now were just a few isolated metal steps that swung gently in midair.
Sagwa fearfully gulped when she looked down at the bottom floor due to her fear of heights. "Um, Baba," she asked in her usual nervous tone of voice, "how exactly are we going to get down there without getting killed?"
"Simple," said Baba. "Look ahead of you." He pointed to two robust cables that hung from big hooks set in the ceiling. They were suspended just a short distance beyond the end of the balcony and extended right down to the ground where they twisted snake-like into large coils. Sagwa hadn't considered the cables due to her fear of falling.
"You can't be serious," Sagwa said in a robotic tone of voice.
"I sure am," said Baba. He turned to Mama. "Are you ready, honey?"
"Only if you are, dear," giggled Mama. "One-"
"-two-" Baba continued.
"-three!" they said together as they both jumped to pounce off the balcony at the cables. Mama grabbed the one to her left while Baba grabbed the one to his right and they both swung and slid down to the bottom floor as they shouted, "Geronimo!" simultaneously. They then went on all fours and raise their head back up to their kittens on the balcony.
"Dongwa, Sheegwa," Baba called up to them, "You two slide on down now."
"Well, here goes nothing," said Dongwa as he got into his pouncing position in the direction of the right cable. With his head near the ground and his tail high in the air, he was ready to take the big leap. "Ready, Sheegwa?"
"I'm ready, brother!" said Sheegwa. She was in the same pouncing position as Dongwa with her aim at the left cable and was ready to leap as well. "Let's do it!"
Sagwa's protests went unheard as her big brother and little sister each leaped at a cable to grab hold and slide on down to the bottom floor together. Once they reached the bottom floor, Dongwa and Sheegwa went on all fours and went over to their parents.
"Not bad for first timers," said Baba before turning back up to Sagwa on the balcony. "You're up, Sagwa!"
Sagwa fearfully gulped a second time. "B-but I'm too scared of falling," she whimpered like a sad puppy. "What if the cable snaps? Isn't there another way down?"
"Not that I know of," said Baba. "Besides, if you fall, then we'll catch you. You don't need to worry, Sagwa."
"Well, I guess I'll have to do it then," said Sagwa. With her tiny heart beating like insanity, she assumed her pouncing position as an angry look of determination formed on her face. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this, She repeated mentally. A second later, she leaped from the balcony at the left cable and grabbed hold of it to swing and slide on down to the bottom floor as she screamed like a maniac. Once she reached the bottom floor, she went on all fours and took in four deep breaths. "Well, that wasn't so bad," she then said as if it was nothing. She put her right paw on the back of her head as she pseudo-smiled.
Dongwa groaned at how his sister tried to brush off her fear while Sheegwa giggled as she found it amusing.
"Now that we're all here," said Baba, "let's get down to exploring. We'll split into two groups." He looked directly at Sagwa, Dongwa and Sheegwa. "You three will explore this floor together while your mother and I check out the upper floor." He then pointed to the old factory elevator behind him and Mama. "We'll all meet up at this elevator when we've finished exploring."
"Your father and I trust that you will look out each other and keep out of danger if you come across it," said Mama. "Especially you, Dongwa. You're the oldest so we hope that you'll be responsible enough to make sure your sisters stay safe."
"I know, I know," Dongwa said with a sigh in his voice. He wasn't too thrilled about being his sisters' babysitter for the umpteenth time. He would have to deal with Sagwa's paranoia and Sheegwa's foolishness at the same time. He kept his complaints to himself, however.
"Thanks for your trust, Mama," said Sagwa, happily. "But you don't need to lump all three of us together. I may be scared but I'm smart enough to stay out of danger and look after myself. I'll be just-" Before she could finish speaking, an old, rusty pipe fell from the balcony to the lower floor not too far away from the Miaos. The sound caught the family of five cats completely off guard and scared Sagwa the most. She yelped, hugged Dongwa and held onto her brother like a dog humping its master's leg as she buried her face into his chest. "I take it all back! I'll stick with the group!"
Dongwa frustratedly sighed. They hadn't started exploring and Sagwa was already acting scared as usual. Sheegwa giggled once again at her big sister's actions.
"I think we'll be off now," said Sheegwa after she was done laughing. "Let's go, guys." She turned around and began to head down the hall at a regular pace.
"Once Sagwa gets off of me," said Dongwa in a frustrated tone of voice. He unhinged Sagwa's forearms from around himself with his own two forearms and moved away from Sagwa. "Now we can go." He then followed Sheegwa down the hall.
When Sagwa realized she was clinging to nobody and who she was clinging to, she stopped whimpering and shivering and blushed bright red from embarrassment. She then saw that her siblings were walking down the hall away from her. "Hey, wait for me!" she called to them as she ran to catch up with them.
"I think I'm starting to have second thoughts about those three being together without us," said Mama to her husband in a worried tone of voice.
"Why's that?" Baba responded inquisitively.
"I'm afraid that Dongwa might do something rash," said Mama. "You know how frustrated he can get at times. Especially with Sagwa."
"No need to fret, my dear," said Baba. "This is just to make sure that they can get use to the place on their own. As for Dongwa, I'm sure that he's mature enough to handle his feelings. He is our son after all. Not to mention that it's the first time in two weeks since we've been alone with each other."
Mama began to get the picture. "Wanna do it behind the lift?" she asked seductively with a sly facial expression.
"Fine by me," Baba answered with an equally sly look on his face.
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As the two adult cats went behind the old factory elevator to spend some "alone time" together, Mama's worries were beginning come true. Ever since Sagwa's "incident" from when she was younger traumatized her and made her paranoid of almost everything that seemed scary to her, the young Chinese Siamese cat had became more dependent on her parents and her big brother for protection. This was a pain in the tail for Dongwa as he had to look after Sagwa as well as Sheegwa whenever the family went out. He could hardly find the time to spend time with his own friends and even when he could, he had to take his sisters along, causing embarrassment for himself due to Sagwa's fears. Sheegwa, on the other hand, was braver than Sagwa so she wasn't much of a hassle aside from her foolishness which irritated Dongwa.
This became increasingly frustrating for Sagwa as well. Not only was she the object of ridicule among the other cats of the Miaos' old hometown but she felt bad for relying on big brother for protection so much and for being a big burden on others. She would try doing things that scared her such as staying home alone but to no avail as she would always get scared no matter how many times she tried. After giving up her futile efforts, she resorted back to Dongwa for protection. But though she was dependent once more, she would often try handling things on her own to try lessening the burden she put on her big brother and her parents. It wasn't easy but the last thing she wasn't to do was to act like a total baby at her age.
When Sagwa, Dongwa and Sheegwa stepped into the machinery area which lead from the factory hall, they stopped to take a look around it. There was a conveyor belt on each side of the room which lead from and lead to a machine. There were spare car parts laying around the area from when the factory closed. There were also other machines such as the mechanical, robotic hand attached to a rail on the ceiling and the other robotic hands alongside the conveyor belt that were obviously meant to handle car parts. The area was partially lit thanks to the sunlight shining through the dirty window.
Sheegwa was so amazed that she nearly walked off on her own until Dongwa pulled her back by her tail. "Hey!" she protested. "Paws off my tail."
"Sorry but Mama told us to stick together," Dongwa apologized. "You're too young to go off on your own."
"I wasn't intending on going far from here," Sheegwa replied. "I just wanted to check out the machines."
"Let's not and say we did," said Sagwa, nervous as usual. "I don't think they're safe." The partial darkness and silence of the room was nerve-wracking enough for her.
"Of course, they're safe," said Dongwa, fed up with Sagwa's paranoia. "They're inactive. Let me show you." He headed towards one of the machines when he stepped on something paper-like. He looked down to see that he stepped on a white paper-thin tarp that was big enough to completely cover himself. A devious look formed on his face as an idea flew into his brain. What the heck? I'm sick and tired enough as it is. Might as well take advantage of this well-timed chance. He changed his devious face to that of a distress look and turned around to seem as if he saw something behind Sagwa and Sheegwa. "Oh no! Look at that! Behind you two!" He pointed to behind Sagwa and Sheegwa.
Sagwa and Sheegwa instantly turned around to see what was coming for them but they saw nothing. They look left and right and look as hard as they could but they could not find anything that wasn't there. Finally, they gave up and turned back around to their brother when they saw a cat-sized ghost which shouted, "Boo!" Sheegwa was surprised for a few second while Sagwa screamed out of fear and grabbed her little sister to hold her up against the ghost, as if to ward it off.
"Sagwa, it's okay," Sheegwa said to her cowardly big sister. "It's just Dongwa with that white tarp over him." She may had been young and foolish but she knew better than to fall for such a cheap trick. "Now put me down!"
"Oh, sorry," said Sagwa, placing Sheegwa on the floor. She put on her usual pseudo-smile. "It was just a little reflex. Think nothing of it." Inside, she was cursing her paranoia with the most vial words she could think of. She felt so embarrassed.
Dongwa, on the other hand, was laughing loudly at his sister's reaction as he was flat on his back, trying to hold his stomach. He felt no remorse for his actions as, in return, he received amusement that he never felt in a long time. "You should've seen your eyes, Sagwa!" Dongwa said through the laughter. "They were as big as dinner plates! I can't believe that I never thought of doing this before!" Slowly but surely, he began to get up on all fours as his laughter began to die down.
During Dongwa's laughter, Sagwa's embarrassment began to turn to absolute anger. She couldn't believe that her own older brother had just played such a immature prank on her, especially when he knew how fearful she was. That's it! Sagwa realized that Dongwa had taken advantage of her fears for a cheap laugh. As Dongwa picked himself up, Sagwa walked up to him slowly with a mad look on her face and anger boiling inside her as she drew her right set of retractable claws. When she got close enough to her big brother, Sagwa raised her right forearm and slapped Dongwa's left cheek while her claws on that paw scratched him at the same time. Sheegwa's tiny heart skipped a beat when she saw the whole thing.
Dongwa groaned from the painfully slap/scratch that Sagwa had given him. "What the heck was that for?" he asked in his own anger.
"What do you think, you insensitive jerk!" Sagwa asked with her voice full of spite as she gritted her teeth. "That was for taking advantage of me for your own amusement!"
"Oh, come on!" rebutted Dongwa. "I was sick and tired of putting up with you and your stupid fears! You! Sagwa, the Cowardly Cat who can never grow a backbone to save her life! Well, I'm done! I'm not going to be your babysitter anymore, little sister."
"You think I like being scared?" said Sagwa as her voice grew more and more angry with every word. "You think I like constantly being scared and being a burden to others? Well, I have news for you, brother of mine, I hate it! Why do you think I insisted that we not stick together to Mama? Why do you think I agreed to explore this wretched factory with my family? I wish I wasn't so paranoid of everything but I can help it. I just can't help it."
"Then why don't you just grow up and stop being such a Fraidy Cat, you coward!" Dongwa replied loudly and spitefully. He turned around to face his back to Sagwa and crossed his forearms. "And if can't do that, then you can forget about turning to me for help."
Sagwa turned around from her brother as well. "Fine," she said as her anger had calmed down. "I can take a hint to see that I'm not wanted here." She then proceeded to head out of the machinery area with her eyes closed and her nose high in the air.
"But Sagwa, wait!" Sheegwa said after being fearfully silent during Sagwa and Dongwa's cat fight. "Mama told us that we have to-"
"Like I care!" Sagwa interrupted her little sister as she walked back towards the hallway to sulk. Sheegwa was left with nothing to reply.
"That wasn't very nice of you, Dongwa," said Sheegwa, feeling a little angry at her big brother as well.
"Who gives a rat's tail?" said Dongwa, carelessly. "Come on. We have a factory to explore."
As Dongwa and Sheegwa went through the machinery area, Dongwa began to have second thoughts about his words towards Sagwa until dismissed those thoughts. Why should I protect such a coward? After all, she said that she could take of herself.
To Be Continued in Chapter 2: Discoveries
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PLEASE READ THIS TOO!!! And there you have it, folks! Chapter one is done! I can't believe that it nearly took me a year to write this out. Thank you for being patient.
When you write your review, be sure to be constructive and don't just point out its weaknesses, point out it's strengths too and tell me your overall opinion my adaptation of Code Lyoko. Do it as soon as you can so that I can know what you think and if I should continue the series.
See you next time on Code Lyoko: The Rewrite.