Well, things are looking up a little on reviews with the return of Mewberries. Did katfish xX upchuck you?

katfish xX - Next time, eat someone who won't make you gag. XD Oh, and make sure they're not important on the web.

IAmTheBoss - There will be more. But, wait! How do you know I'm not just saying that?

Mewberries - I'm looking forward to more art from you. BTW, where have you been on DeviantART?

Well, no matter. Onto the story.

Nightmare on Kadic Street

Chapter 1: A Big Finish

When the young boy genius came to, he found all of his friends crowded around him.

Yumi Ishiyama was the first to speak, asking, "Well, how are you feeling?"

"Strange," said Jeremie Belpois, pulling himself up and rubbing his head. "I remember talking to Odd and Ulrich, and then... nothing. Just a black hole."

Aelita Stones (as they referred to her in public) told him all he needed to know to explain that blank spot in his memory: "X.A.N.A. took control of you."

Jeremie felt a slight jolt of shock at this news. His own arch nemesis had seized control of his body for his own demonic purposes!

Ulrich Stern went further to explain, "He destroyed all of Franz Hopper's CDs. Apparently, he had a problem with his notes."

To everyone's surprise, he let out a sigh of relief. "Phew."

"What do you mean 'phew'?" cried Odd Della Robbia. "It's a disaster!"

The reincarnation of Einstein smiled and told them, "No, it isn't. Last night, after I got back from the train station, I stopped here and copied all the CDs to a highly restricted-access part of the supercomputer. I'm the only one who can access them."

Aelita grinned and gave him a thumb's up. "You're a genius Jeremie!"

"Still, there's something I don't get," said Ulrich. "Why couldn't X.A.N.A.'s ghosts take over Odd and me, and then have no trouble taking control of Jeremie?"

Jeremie shrugged and admitted, "I have no idea."

"I may have an explanation," chimed in Yumi. "Apart from you, we're all used to fighting on Lyoko. Maybe that gives us more resistance to X.A.N.A."

"Maybe," he said, considering that possibility. "But, then how can we protect me?"

Odd thought about it and grinned. "Hmm... I just may have the answer."

Unfortunately, Odd's answer ultimately led to Jeremie stepping out of a scanner, angrily vowing, "That's the last time I ever set foot on Lyoko!"

"Why?" asked Ulrich as he stepped out of his scanner. "Just because of a couple of Mega-Tanks?"

"It's really just not my thing," was all he would give as his answer. "I'll never be able to hack it! Now you, I think I'd rather be possessed by X.A.N.A. than go back there." Folding his arms stubbornly, he added, "I'll just keep on the lookout for ghosts."

"Well, what did he look like on Lyoko?" Aelita asked the boys.

"He looked..." Odd racked his brain for the appropriate wording. "Oh, how could I put this tactfully?"

"Ridiculous," Ulrich finished for him.

Odd smiled and said, "Yeah, that's the word."

Everyone except Jeremie was laughing on the way to ground floor.

"OK, now that we're though with that," said Odd, changing the subject to Jeremie's silent relief, "we should probably start thinking about next week's Halloween Costume Party. Now, as we're getting older, this might be our last year to dress up together. So, we're going to have to pull off a big finish to our days of dressing up for the spook day."

Ulrich silently scoffed asking, "Xanafied Jeremie nearly zapped you to Kingdom Come. How much more spook do you need in a week?"

"It's that time of year, good buddy," was his reply. "Kids dressing up in spooky and/or cool costumes for sweet, delicious candy." The walking stomach nearly started swooning at the thought.

"Speaking of which, I'm going to be a little late coming to the party," said Yumi upon remembering a promise she made regarding her little brother. "I'm supposed to be taking Hiroki around for trick-or-treating that night. After that, I'll have to take him to the party, since Mom and Dad will be away at their own party for the night."

"Thanks for the weeks head notice," said Odd. "I'll save some of the snacks on the buffet for you."

Ulrich laughed. "That will take a lot of effort on your part."

Jim Morales smiled broadly as he stopped his stopwatch. "Now, that's what I'm talking about," he cheered as Ulrich ended his lap. "Good job, Stern. Took you long enough to get back, though," he added in mild annoyance.

Ulrich gave him a sheepish look and said, "Sorry, Jim. That spicy burrito from breakfast kind of got to me."

Odd piped up, "Yeah, and I had to stick with him. You know, for emotional support."

The phys ed teacher shuttered. "Forget I asked."

As class was ending, Odd asked, "Hey, Jim. You're going to be helping out at the Costume Party, right?"

"Of course," he said. "I always help out at those school parties. You kids gonna be there?"

"Well, sure," replied Kitty Boy. "We just need to think of some great costumes first."

The gym teacher smiled as he drifted down memory lane. "Ah, I can still vividly remember the costume I wore to my school's party at your age."

"Really?" asked Ulrich. "What was it?"

Breaking out of his flashback, Jim hastily responded with what I'm sure you all predicted him to: "Um, I'd rather not talk about it."

At lunch, the gang was still discussing what they could wear for the party.

"No Dracula or Frankenstein costumes," said Odd. "It will have to be something really original. At least, in Halloween costume sense."

Ulrich leaned back and asked, "Why not dress as Dr. Shrank from Horror at the Hospital? As popular as the show is, I've never seen anyone in that costume before?"

Odd raised a hand to decline the suggestion. "Nah, as tempting as it sounds, I don't really see it happening."

"What do you have in mind, Jeremie?" asked Aelita.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I already have a costume picked out," he said.

Ulrich grinned. "Yeah, Einstein's going as Einstein!"

The whole gang laughed as Yumi said, "Like we didn't see that coming."

"What about you, Yumi?" Ulrich inquired.

She thought about it, and then answered, "Maybe I could go as something to reflect my heritage. Like a geisha or something."

"A geisha? What's that?" asked Odd.

"It's a type of traditional Japanese warrior," she explained. "In fact, if you need a reference, just look at my Lyoko outfit."

"Our Lyoko--that's it!" cried Odd. "Our Lyoko outfits!"

Caught by surprise, Jeremie responded, "Don't you think that would risk blowing our big secret?"

"Don't worry, Einstein," he reassured him. "Anyone who sees them will think they're just costumes we made up. Think about it guys; they're cool, they're original, they're perfect!"

Aelita considered this. "You know, that just might be a good idea."

Ulrich smiled in agreement. "Yeah, that sounds good. So, Jeremie, think there's any way you can materialize our outfits?" he asked.

"There might be a way to materialize you in Lyoko form," he admitted, "but, even if it weren't extremely complicated, you'd still be very unstable. If you were to stay on Earth in those forms for too long... poof. You'd disappear."

"OK, so that option is ruled out," said Yumi. "We'll have to get our costumes here on Earth. But, since they're so original, as Odd pointed out, we're not going to find anything in the local mall. So, we might was well find someone to custom make them for us."

Odd smiled. "And, I know just the guy to do it."

Well, there you have it. Einstein's dressing as Einstein and the Lyoko gang is dressing as the Lyoko gang. Now, all they have to do is get the costumes. Tune in six days from now for the exciting continuation of this new thriller, Nightmare on Kadic Street