Disclaimer-age: No, I don't own Code Lyoko…

Author's ramblings: Oooohhhh………boy! FINALLY! Done with the first chapter of the Prequel to "Mirror, Mirror!" Not much goes on here, just a bit o' introductin'. Sorry so long! First there were computer issues, then came (cough) laziness……(Please, Masta Darth Vada Sir, don' choke me! I promise I-sa be good!) Ok, that was random… Anyways, looking forward to your imminent reviews… Kage Mane a Jutsu…PLUG: Look for a Naruto fanfic soon…! (ten points for anyone who can email me whose technique that is...)

Code: Lyoko

Return to Lyoko

Part I: Serendipity Shared

It has been several weeks since X.A.N.A. stole all of Aelita's memories and escaped from Lyoko completely. The Kids from Kadic has had their jobs cut out for them, keeping X.A.N.A. at bay. Today, however, would be the day that Jeremie Belpois would mark as the day X.A.N.A.'s lifespan would finally be shortened. The blonde haired genius studies the lines of information on his screen and adjusts his glasses. For the past two weeks, he's been trying to formulate a means to reseal X.A.N.A. back in Lyoko, with little or no progress. Until today. He smiles as he begins to scribble down several quick equations on a piece of scrap paper near the keyboard. He reviews his scribbling to make sure he wrote them down correctly, then nods in satisfaction.

Jeremie stands and stretches his arms. A yawn escapes his mouth and he gazes out his dorm room window into the night. He glances at his clock and silently curses himself for staying up late again. Mrs. Hertz isn't going to let him slide again if he nods off in class again. He turns his desk lamp off and turns to set his glasses down on his nightstand. Jeremie inhales and exhales deeply as he sits down on the edge of his bed and takes off his shoes. He changes into his pajamas and places his glasses back on his face. He walks over to the main light switch and flicks it off. Jeremie tosses his covers back on his bed and sets his glasses back down on the nightstand before sliding under the sheets. He pulls them up to his chin and rolls over on his side, trying to let sleep take over, but he finds that his mind wants to continue to work.

Jeremie rolls onto his back and he stares up at the dark ceiling, with the events of the recent X.A.N.A. attacks running through his mind. The one most prominently running through his mind being the one that landed Odd in the hospital with a broken leg and ankle. X.A.N.A. had used his shape-shifting ability to trick Odd into going rock climbing without safety gear. And as luck would have it, or rather as X.A.N.A. would have it, a sudden down pour of rain while Odd was halfway up the rock face caused him to lose his grip and he fell twenty feet. Luckily, Odd managed to slow his descent by falling through a dying tree, but he still landed hard on the ground. Ulrich and he stayed with Odd while Yumi and Aelita ran to get help, but X.A.N.A. wasn't through yet.

X.A.N.A. managed to separate Yumi and Aelita by distracting Yumi when he shape-shifted into a bear, chasing her towards the river. Yumi narrowly escaped by hiding in a hollowed out tree trunk. Then, X.A.N.A. went after Aelita after giving up on finding Yumi. He almost had Aelita in his grasp when a sudden and unexpected appearance of Sissi distracted X.A.N.A. long enough so Aelita could escape. However, Sissi was not so lucky. She was swatted away by an angry X.A.N.A. and left laying unconscious in the rain.

Aelita did manage to get to Jim and Principal Delmas, though when the paramedics arrived, Odd was going into shock from the blood loss he suffered. Odd survived, but had to explain a lot when he recovered, and not just to Principal Delmas and Jim, but to his father when he came to Kadic, bent on taking Odd home. Fortunately, Odd somehow managed to convince his father to let him stay.

Jeremie closes his eyes and wonders exactly what Odd told his father to change his mind, but couldn't come up with a viable answer. He sighs and tries to force his mind to stop racing, once again rolling on his side. Then, his thoughts begin to dwell on Aelita. He smiles as an angelic vision of her forms in his mind. Jeremie feels his body relax as his thoughts change from one image of her to another. Then finally, his exhausted body finds sleep.

The night passes quickly and a sleeping, ebony haired girl in a pink, tank-top cut pajama top stirs under her bed sheets. Sissi's eyes flick open and she groans as the sound of her alarm clock fills her ears. She rolls over and switches the alarm off, fighting the urge to just roll back over and fall asleep again. Sissi sighs and sits up in her bed. She yawns and swings her slender legs off the edge of the bed and slides her feet into her pink house shoes. She stands and flicks on the light. The sudden brightness causes her to squint and she pauses to let her eyes adjust. Finally, she lumbers to her dresser and pauses to survey herself in the mirror.

Sissi's gaze wanders over each of the bruises on her arms, coming to rest on the bandage that resides on the left side of her forehead. She starts to selfishly question the reason why this had to happen to her, but then remembers what Ulrich had said to her once he found out it was her that saved Aelita. Sissi slides down to the seat in front of the dresser and smiles. At that moment, when Ulrich first spoke to her at the hospital as she was being treated for her head wound, she felt, for the first time, true friendship from him. She smiles softly as she leans over to a drawer and takes out a pair of jeans.

Jeremie stands near the entrance to the cafeteria waiting for his friends to show up. He spots Yumi and Ulrich, walking hand in hand, with Odd limping behind them on crutches. He waves to them and begins to look for Aelita.

"Morning, Einstein!" Odd chirps cheerfully as they reach him. "Sleep well?"

Jeremie nods and wonders how Odd can be so cheerful but then realizes that the cafeteria is one of his favorite places to be. "Morning, guys. Where's Aelita? Have you seen her this morning?" he asks.

Ulrich shakes his head "no" and shrugs. "Nope. Not yet, though I imagine that she'll be along soon," Yumi reassures, gently patting his shoulder. Odd moves closer to him and asks slyly, "So, when are you going to stop goofing off and pop the question to Aelita?"

Jeremie gets wide-eyed and blushes bright red. "What? I—I…" he stammers as his mind suddenly goes blank. "You know, you're almost as bad as Ulrich was before he finally got enough guts to ask Yumi!" Odd exclaims, motioning towards a frowning Ulrich with one of his crutches.

"Leave him alone, Odd. He'll do it when he's good and ready, not before. In the meantime, why don't you do what you do best and go in there and feed your face?" Ulrich says motioning towards the cafeteria door. Odd gets a hungry glint in his eye and quickly hops into the cafeteria.

The three watch him for a minute before Yumi sighs and states, "We better follow him and make sure he doesn't hurt himself. I swear, sometimes I think he believes those crutches of his are supposed to be a third and fourth arm or leg!"

Ulrich snorts and replies, "Why couldn't it have been his appetite that got broke instead of his leg?" Yumi giggles, then Ulrich and her enter the cafeteria arm-in-arm. Jeremie watches them for a second then turns to gaze out across the school yard, hoping that Aelita will show up soon.

"Hiya, Rosa! Load me up!" Odd exclaims happily while holding up his empty lunch tray. Rosa gives him a skeptical look, then glances at Ulrich and Yumi, who have walked up quickly behind their injured friend. Ulrich motions to Rosa to ignore Odd and she nods discreetly, then begins putting that day's food on Odd's plate. Odd watches as she pauses after giving him the typical portion, then a sweet and innocent frown forms on his face, begging for more food. Yumi grunts disapprovingly and Ulrich shakes his head.

"You are pathetic, Odd. You don't need more on your plate. You always end up finishing up ours!" Ulrich states.

Yumi nods and adds, "Yeah, you look like Oliver Twist. 'Please, sir, may I have some more?' Just go and find a place to sit down!"

Odd gives her a curious look, then asks, "Who's Oliver Twist?" Ulrich, Yumi, and Rosa groan.

"Never mind. Forget it, Odd. I'm sorry, Rosa, that you have to be here and witness such ignorance," apologizes Yumi.

"Um, it's quite all right, but could you please move on? The line's beginning to back up," Rosa replies, motioning behind the trio with her spatula. The three turn to see several of the other school kids give them impatient frowns.

"Oops, sorry!" says Ulrich and gently bumps Odd. "Move it, Odd, or there'll be a stampede!" he hisses through his teeth and Odd sighs in disappointment, then hops away in search of a table to sit at.

Outside, Jeremie kicks a rock and frowns with disappointment and concern. It wasn't like Aelita to be late. She usually would call ahead and let him know that she would be late. He starts to reach into his pocket and pull out his cell phone, but stops.

"No, I don't want to be a pest," he says and drops his hand.

"What makes you think you're a pest?" comes a voice from his right.

Jeremie turns in surprise and sees a smiling Aelita leaning against the building.

"Oh! Aelita! How long have you been there?" he asks.

She giggles and replies, "Not long. Just enough to hear you call yourself a pest."

Jeremie smiles in embarrassment and states, "Oh, sorry. I guess I said that louder than I thought."

Aelita smiles warmly at him and says, "Don't worry about it, Jeremie. I don't think you are a pest. Come on, let's get some breakfast before Odd eats it all!" Jeremie nods and the two walk into the cafeteria.

Meanwhile, at the factory, X.A.N.A. frowns to himself and reflects on his latest failure to destroy the human kids that have been such a proverbial thorn in his side. Then, he turns his attention to his power predicament. Sure, he gained his freedom from the super computer, but even he didn't realize how much power it took to remain in the real world. Before when he'd send various minions to the real world, it didn't take that much power, but then again, they weren't nearly as sophisticated as he. He never once thought about having to return to the computer for a… what was it the humans called it? Oh, yes, a recharge. It was very inconvenient and it also forced him to drop his guard, opening him up for attack. He needed a way to maintain the level of power he needed to exist in the real world, but every plan he tried ended up failing. There had to be a way to exist here and not have to recharge in the computer, it was just a matter of….

Then, a breaking news story catches his attention. "….today. I repeat, the criminal mastermind Peter Duncan, who is responsible for the theft of a uranium rob several months ago, has just been sentenced to two consecutive twenty year sentences in prison today. Little is known about the reasoning behind Duncan's sudden and drastic change in criminal activity, but experts say that it could have been that he was looking for a bigger and more profitable target and that he might have been trying to get more recognition in the criminal world. Despite Duncan's plea of insanity during the trial, jurors found him guilty on all counts. Statements from Peter Duncan's defense team say that they will pursue an appeal to get the sentence reduced, but Judge Ito says that he would not….."

X.A.N.A. smiles to himself as an idea forms in his mind.

I believe I have found the means to exist here without recharging! I think it's time to go pay a little visit to an old friend, as it were….

Odd scarfs down the last bit of Ulrich's leftover food and licks his lips happily. "Mmmm! That hit the spot!" he says, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his stomach. Ulrich raises a dubious eyebrow. "I wasn't aware that there was a spot to hit in that empty stomach of yours," he states, followed by a suppressed giggle from Yumi. Odd leans up and gives Ulrich a wide grin. "Ah, you're just jealous!" Odd replies.

Ulrich frowns in disbelief. "Of what? Indigestion?" he answers. Jeremie and Aelita slide down to the table next to their friends. Jeremie fights the urge to ask what Ulrich and Odd are talking about and begins to eat his breakfast. Aelita glances around the table and says cheerfully, "Hello, everyone!"

"Morning, Princess! If you need excess food to be gotten rid of, I'm your man!" Odd says, equally cheerfully. Aelita gives him a courtesy smile and shakes her head. "No, thank you. Not today. Besides, I think I owe it to Jeremie to explain why I was slightly detained this morning," she replies.

Jeremie stops chewing and swallows his bite, almost choking in the process. "No, no! You don't have to explain! What you do in the mornings is… well, your business!" he states, blushing slightly.

Aelita giggles at him and pulls out a newspaper from her book bag. "I was on the way over here when I saw this in the paper. Recognize him?" she replies, laying the paper out on the table for the group to see.

"Is that…?" Yumi starts. A smile flashes on Jeremie's face as he too recognizes the picture. "Peter Duncan. Yes, it is. He finally got convicted and sentenced. Wow. His trial seemed like it would never end!" he states.

"It's kinda surreal seeing this. I mean, it was a short few months ago when he was possessed by X.A.N.A. and stole that uranium rod for the super computer. But one thing puzzles me, why did he get such a steep sentence? I thought his insanity plead would have lessened that?" Yumi continues as she picks up the newspaper and skims the article. Jeremie shrugs and replies, "Not sure. Maybe it was all the evidence against him."

Odd puts his hands behind hid head and states, "Well, whatever the reason, we won't have to worry about him anymore!" Jeremie half-frowns at him and replies, "He'll eventually get out." Odd shrugs unconcerned and says, "It's not like he remembers what happened to him and besides, he'll be like, a hundred and four when he does get out. He'll be too old to do anything anymore!"

"He's not that old, Odd. And if you followed current events, like a certain pink-haired girl, you'd know that Peter's lawyers are going to appeal to get a lesser sentence. He could only get only half of the original sentence, then he'd be free to do whatever," Yumi states, dropping the paper back onto the table.

"Ah, I'm not worried about it," Odd answers and reclines back in his chair, keeping himself balanced with his good foot. "Humph. The only thing that you ever worry about is whether your next meal will be as big as the last!" Ulrich states and crosses his arms. A huge grin crosses Odd's face and he chuckles.

Jeremie gently sets down his fork and politely wipes the corner of his mouth with his napkin. "Well, I do have a bit of good news," he says. The group turns to him expectantly. "I believe I have found a means to reseal X.A.N.A. back into Lyoko!" Jeremie states happily. A bright smile forms on Aelita's lips and a happy giggle erupts from her mouth. "Oh, Jeremie, that's so wonderful!" she exclaims and instinctively wraps her arms around his neck. Jeremie freezes instantly, unable to think or move, then his face turns a bright red. Several snickers emit from around the table as Aelita releases a still shocked Jeremie.

"See, I knew you could do it, Jeremie!" Aelita says. Jeremie blinks several times before he forces his body to move. Aelita tilts her head slightly in curiosity at his apparent stiffness, then realizes why he is acting like that. A sly smile crosses her lips and she giggles at him. He glances at her and blushes again.

"So, what's the plan?" asks Ulrich. "How do we seal X.A.N.A. back into Lyoko?" Jeremie coughs softly, trying to get his mind focused on Ulrich's question. "Well, after pouring over the countless lines of code, I believe I can construct a 'Seal' of sorts that will lock X.A.N.A. on Lyoko for good! All we need is to collect some data from Sector 5 and I'll be able to code the Seal. Then, we get X.A.N.A. to re-enter Lyoko somehow and I'll activate it. After that, we can turn off the computer for good!" he replies and smiles confidently at his friends.

Odd sits back up to the table and nods approvingly. "Sounds good to me! When do we leave?" he asks. Jeremie tilts his head in thought. "Well, what about tonight? We could meet at the factory, say, around six-thirty, if there are no problems," he replies. "Sounds great. I shouldn't have any trouble getting there," states Yumi and rests her chin on Ulrich's shoulder.

"There's only one thing that I'm not sure about," Jeremie says. "What's that?" asks Aelita. "Well, I'm not sure if Odd will be able to go to Lyoko with that cast on," he replies. Odd gets a confused look on his face, then glances down at his leg. "Why not?" Odd asks. "Um, I'm not sure how the computer will react to it since it's not really part of you. Then there is the broken leg and ankle. There is a possibility that you could be, ah, deformed when you arrive on Lyoko," Jeremie answers, giving Odd's leg a nervous glance.

"You mean, more than he already is?" jokes Ulrich, but receives a correcting pinch from Yumi. "Oh, ha, ha, ha. Very funny. Aren't we the comedian," Odd responds blandly. "Stick to being pessimistic, Ulrich. It's what you're good at!" Ulrich chuckles and replies, "Oh, I see, you can dish out jokes but can't take them!" His statement earns him another pinch from Yumi, this time a bit harder that the previous one. "Stop it, Ulrich!" Yumi scolds and he nods obediently.

Jeremie frowns at their exchange of words and states, "This is serious. None of us have ever gone to Lyoko with a broken bone so I'm not sure what would happen. I'm more inclined to not chance anything and have Odd sit out until his leg heals." Odd gets a disappointed look on his face and reluctantly nods in agreement.

Then, Sissi enters the cafeteria, followed by Nicholas and Herb. Ulrich softly taps Yumi's thigh and points toward Sissi. The group grows silent and watches her. Sissi quietly gets her tray and Rosa places the food on it, giving her a slight look of curiosity. Herb watches Sissi with worry on his face as Nicholas obliviously gets his tray. Then, the three turn to find a table once they have their food. Sissi's eyes scan the room for a table, pausing only to glance at Ulrich and his friends. She then spots a table on the other side of them and walks towards it. As she walks past Ulrich and Yumi, Sissi pauses and turns to the group. Her normal habit of making a snide remark to Yumi and to put down Odd escapes her and she simply smiles at them, then continues on to her table.

Herb pauses to watch Sissi and frowns. He turns to the group and says, "I don't know what's going on, but want you to know that you guys don't fool me!" Ulrich raises an eyebrow at him and replies, "What are you talking about?" Herb grits his teeth at Ulrich. "You've done something to Sissi! I just know it!" he states accusingly. "She's been acting… so strange lately and I know you people are behind it!"

"Dude, I think you've hit your head so many times, it's caused you to loose your grip on reality," Odd replies. "Yeah, think about it. She was knocked around by a bear! How's she supposed to act? It's not as if she could forget that happened!" Ulrich adds. Herb grinds his teeth in frustration and searches for any more words he can say.

"Herb! Get over here! Stop messing around with them!" barks Sissi's voice. Herb snaps to attention at the sound of her voice, then turns to see her glaring at him. He swallows and nods, then walks towards where she and Nicholas are sitting. As he passes Sissi to sit on the opposite side of the table, Sissi glances over at Ulrich and his group. She gives them a quick apologetic look, then turns back around to eat her food.

"Anyways, back on topic, how much data do we have to get from Sector 5 to get the Seal ready to be placed on X.A.N.A.?" asks Ulrich. Jeremie takes a quick drink of his orange juice before replying. "Well, based on my calculations, quite a bit, but I'm confident that we can get all that I need in two trips. No need to get greedy on the first trip. Besides, who knows? X.A.N.A. will most likely try and stop you guys. And with Odd sitting out for a while, you guys are gonna have to work extra hard!"

The first period bell rings and the group stands, then collects their trays. Ulrich grabs the three empty trays in front of Odd as he fights with one of his crutches. "Thanks, Buddy!" Odd chirps, giving him a wide smile. Ulrich nods as he walks to the tray drop-off window.

Once outside, the group begins to go their separate ways. "See you at lunch, Yumi," Ulrich says, then gives her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Bye, Ulrich! See you then!" she replies, then heads off toward her first period class. Jeremie sighs and shifts his backpack around to pull out his laptop. "Something wrong?" Aelita asks. He shakes his head. "No, I just was getting it out for class," Jeremie replies. "I have some of my notes stored on here. I wanted to review them in case we have a pop quiz."

"We have a pop quiz today!" Odd exclaims. His three friends stare at him blankly. "Um, I don't know. No body knows when we'll have a pop quiz, Odd. That's why they're called 'pop quizzes'!" replies Jeremie.

Odd groans in anguish and hops off as Jeremie and Aelita smile at him. "That's our Odd," Aelita states as the remaining three friends take off after him.

Lunchtime didn't come quick enough for the blonde and purple haired boy. He quickly hopped towards the cafeteria, leaving a surprised Ulrich, Jeremie, and Aelita behind. "Geez, I didn't think he could move that fast on those things!" Ulrich exclaims.

"When it comes to food, Odd can pretty much do anything!" Jeremie states as the three catch up to Odd as he struggles to open the cafeteria door. Yumi exits the cafeteria, nearly knocking Odd to the ground, but Ulrich and Jeremie manages to catch him.

"Hey, watch it, Yumi! I'm fragile!" Odd says, staring at the surprised Japanese girl. It takes Yumi a second to realize Odd is messing with her.

"That's not funny, Odd. I could have really hurt you!" she replies, almost angrily. Odd chuckles and waves a hand at her. "Nah! I've already bailed twice since breakfast!" he replies and grins. Yumi frowns and lets out a huff, then turns to Ulrich, who is steadying his friend.

"I was wanting to have lunch in the park, Ulrich. Is that ok?" Yumi asks sweetly. Ulrich smiles at her warmly and nods as he shoves his hands into his pockets. The two head off and wave to Jeremie and Aelita. "See ya, later!" Ulrich calls.

"Hey, I won't get a chance to see you before the end of school, so I just wanted to remind you Yumi, about tonight! The factory!" calls Jeremie after them. Yumi smiles and gives him a thumbs up.

"Don't worry, Jeremie. I don't think she will forget something that important," Aelita reassures him and turns to see Odd awkwardly duck through the cafeteria door just as it opens again. An annoyed protest followed by an apology makes Jeremie groan inwardly. "Ulrich just had to leave me with Mr. Calamity!" he thinks to himself.

"We better get after him, Jeremie, before his injures someone other than himself!" Aelita exclaims after hearing Odd say "oops" followed by a crash. Jeremie nods and follows her into the cafeteria.