Song for this chapter: Citizen/Soldier by 3 Doors Down.


I used to be a LYOKO warrior and fought to protect the world from an evil artificial intelligence bent on taking over the world. I lost count of how many times it tried to kill us and how many times it almost succeeded.

I wasn't always a LYOKO warrior. At first, I was just trying to be a good girl and do the right thing. I was obedient, studious, and eager to please. My parents were both in the medical profession and I learned many things from them, some of which saved our lives. I studied ballet and ballroom dancing, I was one of the smartest kids in my class, and then I got myself to a place where I didn't know what to do.

When I was twelve, I made a new friend. Actually she was my first real friend. Her name is Eva Maverick. She showed me a different side to the world, the side where the shadows rule and I quickly learned doing the right thing didn't always mean being a good girl. She had her problems, ones that almost got her killed. I did what I could for her. I patched up her wounds and gave her a safe place to stay. I never asked for anything in return, but Eva was always giving me bits of wisdom. I quickly found out that Eva was just as smart as me if not smarter.

When my parents decided to move across town, I decided to do the right thing by being a bad girl and took her with me. Together we forged her way into Kadic Academy, a boarding school. It was safe place for her to stay.

We made new friends and learned about LYOKO, a virtual world ruled by XANA, the AI that I mentioned before. Eva became a warrior before I did, not forcing me into doing anything. I knew they needed help, the world needed help, but most importantly that Eva needed help. She loves to take on things by herself and she always ends up hurting herself. Instead of letting Eva protect the world and me, I became a warrior to protect her. I was her light, her beacon, the one place she could go when she needed help. By becoming a LYOKO warrior, it gave me a way to relate to Eva. Looking back, I'm not sure how well that worked out, but I think it was better than sitting on the sidelines.

Our new friends had many secrets. We learned as we went. Some of the things were simple like save the world from XANA. Others were more complicated, especially when it came to Franz Hopper, the creator of XANA. After XANA was destroyed, we were still LYOKO warriors. As we tried to get back to being normal teenagers, other things came up. Franz Hopper was still alive, trapped inside of Eva's mind, which is a long story. We made a new friend and warrior who was not completely human in the first place. We rescued Franz Hopper and later Antea Hopper. We played as the Subdigitals opening act in front of twenty thousand people in New York. When we tried going on vacation, Yumi and I were kidnapped by psychic vampires and Ulrich and William came to rescue us along with the Batman. Eva and Aelita were almost killed by ghosts in Amity Park and Eva finally overcame her greatest obstacle.

All and all, everything for us is normal again. We're starting our junior and senior years, at least most of us, anyway; Eva's already technically graduated. The world is safe again.

My name is Kayla Olson and I will admit I miss being a LYOKO warrior. It was fun being a hero, but we all knew it had to come to an end eventually. I wish I could do it again, but there's nothing endangering us. However, I think I just did something I shouldn't have done.

I think I just jinxed us.