Code Lyoko - The Sketch of a Lifetime

Chapter 1 - Drawn to Discovery

Andrew was not usually the adventurous type. To be fair he was more of a loner, whether that was to do with him being shy or moving from place to place as his dad's firm moved him all over Europe, he didn't know. However when it came to his obsession with art, he just couldn't resist. With sketchbook in hand he had explored most of the French town over the last couple of days, but one prize was still waiting.

The abandoned factory stood in front of him, the walls derelict and covered in graffiti. He wondered what this place could have been used for in its prime, Perhaps a car manufactory. Whatever it was the place was a mess now. A single bridge over the river stood between him and the secrets within. He had already been gone an hour after telling his parents he would be gone for twenty minutes. He was expecting a call from them any minute now but the opportunity was so close he could taste it. He made his way across the river whilst imagining the things that could be inside to sketch.

Whilst inside he came across a number of metal poles holding the construction up. Above him there were platforms on either side of the factory, although the rest of the huge room was empty. Andrew explored the place further, although there didn't seem to be anything of interest at first glance. He considered sketching out the building itsself but he had already drawn so many other buildings that week. To his right he could see what looked like a lift.

"Jackpot!"

The double doors were already open, allowing Andrew to walk straight in. This is how far his luck went however, as the button on the right hand side of the elevator refused to work. Without entering the correct code he wouldn't be going anywhere. He entered a few codes but none of them came close. Andrew abandoned the lift and searched for another way down. Various corridors led off to the main manufactory machines. One room contained a number of conveyor belts, obliterating Andrew's idea of it previously being a car factory. He opened another door. Nothing. At this rate all he was doing was wasting his time.

He looked at his phone. It was 4:30 and his parents would definitely be starting to get worried. He considered calling them but then thought again, worrying what they would think if they knew he was in the abandoned factory. He placed the device back into his pocket and moved on. Besides the door he could see an air vent with one corner bent out of shape.

"That must lead somewhere interesting..." Andrew thought to himself, just before wondering why he would even think an air vent would lead somewhere interesting.

Regardless of his strange thoughts, he couldn't find another way down from there, so into the air vent he crawled. Pulling the grate off was a challenge to start with, but in its bent state it soon gave in. The vent suddenly came loose, slamming into Andrew's knee in the process. He grimaced and hissed through his teeth. Was all of this really worth it for a sketch of a crappy old factory? Still he carried on, his curiosity getting the better of him. He struggled through the air vent as every bit of pressure on his right knee sent a shooting pain through his leg. The vent went on for quite a way and forked off in different directions, but each was a dead end.

Andrew continued to crawl through, his clothes now caked in dust. What on Earth would he tell his parents? At last he found an exit. In front of him was another grate leading to a thin tube-shaped room. He pushed on the grate to release it and sure enough it fell down the tube-shaped room and landing with a clang down below. From the delay it sounded like quite a fall, now was not the time for slip ups! On closer inspection the room wasn't a room at all, but rather a ladder shaft. Reaching out Andrew grabbed the ladder with his left hand and carefully pulled himself out of the air vent, dragging a bed of dust behind him. At last he reached out to grab his sketchbook and carried on down the ladder. He could see the grate down below him, just as his fear of heights crept in.