Sorry for such a long wait, everyone. I'll be posting a lot of chapters today, and more will soon be following. Thanks for your patience, and please enjoy the story!

Chapter 2

I said nothing until my friends had arrived. The voice repeated itself several times in this wait.

When my friends all got up to the Lab, I asked, "Who's there?"

There was a very rushed reply, and then the communication was cut off. "I am ANAX. I need to meet you on Lyoko at three o'clock tomorrow."

And that was it.

"Well!" Tennent said after several long moments. "Tell me I'm hallucinating!" He begged.

"I don't think so," Sean told him.

This event added to our shock.

"What do you think guys?" I asked. "Do we meet with ANAX on Lyoko tomorrow?"

I only got shrugs. Of course, that's why I was asking the question: I didn't know the answer.

There were just too many variables. It seemed as if ANAX and XANA were no longer on the same side. Of course, they probably still were, and this was just a new plot.

And yet, any knowledge about their plan could be helpful.

But back on the other hand, supposing ANAX and XANA had split, there was no reason to think that ANAX wasn't out to get us. In the past, ANAX had been more powerful than XANA, so maybe we had already made wrong choices by helping ANAX.

I could continue this circle of thoughts for quite a while, tracing possible paths and scenarios.

Tennent summed it up best, "I think that we'll all think clearer with some sleep and some food."

There was no arguing that. Due to the recent volt of excitement and confusion, we couldn't really think straight.

After some down time, we had come to a conclusion by lunch the next day. We had to risk going to meet ANAX. If we did nothing, things would continue, and we wouldn't know what we were fighting. That seemed wrong.

So at three we headed for Lyoko. Of course, it wasn't all that simple. Things happened throughout the day, but nothing is worth recording here.

ANAX hadn't left me any coordinates, or even a sector, so I chose the Desert's Way-Tower vicinity at random.

Our bodies materialized out of digital pixels and we fell down in a tangible form.

I got up, and brushed the dust off of my legs.

"So what do we do now?" Brittany asked.

I shrugged. "I'm in the dark."

"Perhaps I can spread some light," A voice said.

"ANAX! Show yourself!" Sean demanded.

I checked my LI, and was surprised to see the number of monsters scattered about. There were a number of skirmishes going on, but none where near us. I also noticed the energy from where ANAX began to materialize.

When he was fully formed, a voice echoed from his spectral form.

"Greetings," ANAX said. "I bring terrible news. When XANA and I escaped from the SuperComputer, XANA betrayed me. He attacked me and tried to kill me."

"Good riddance," Brittany muttered. I had similar feelings.

"The details are complex, so for now, I will get straight to my point. My programming instructs me to fight to save Lyoko, so I have come to beg an alliance with you Warriors."

Sean took a bold step forward. "Why should we believe a word you say?" He demanded angrily.

"I know that you have every right to doubt me, and there is no reason you shouldn't. I can only hope that you will trust me, and with time, I will prove where my loyalties lie," ANAX explained.

"Trust you? Trust you?" Alyssa said, equally enraged. "After all you've done?"

"For all we know, this is another plot by you and your dark master to destroy us!" I said. We had helped ANAX once, but only because it the other choice was to help XANA.

"While I cannot deny that accusation, as I have no proof, I can guarantee you that XANA has turned against me. You can surely see that even now, XANA attacks my energy with his monsters."

He was right. On my radar, I could see battles raging now. Far away, but still, a battle is a battle.

"You see," ANAX went on. "XANA would never share power with anyone. Seeing as you know his previous plans, you should know this."

That made sense, but there was still something missing. "How do we know that you're not planning on betraying us to take revenge on XANA?" I question. "Now that you mention it, it seems highly likely that XANA would want to take all power for himself, but that doesn't mean that you'd help us."

"Yeah," Tennent said. "How can you help us fight XANA?" He demanded.

"I know secrets," ANAX said. "Secrets about XANA, secrets about Lyoko. I have access to much programming knowledge, and I can assist you in many ways because of that."

"OK," I said. "Suppose we decide to trust you. How are you going to defend yourself from XANA? You're still just as vulnerable, and XANA could still wipe you out."

"I have considered this, and have found only one solution. I wish there was another way, for I fear that you will not trust me with this," ANAX hesitantly stated.

"If you let me into the restricted access part of the SuperComputer, XANA cannot attack me. Like me, he has no access to that part. But you, Sammy, could let me in, and then I can begin telling you all I know."

I wasn't about to do what he had suggested. Giving ANAX full privileges to the restricted access was asking for trouble. There's no telling what he could mess up there.

"Whatever you decide," ANAX said addressing us all. "You must do so quickly. My forces cannot hold much longer against XANA's."

Without a word, we huddled out of earshot of ANAX. "If this is a trap, he's set it up good," I said.

"He wants us to think we have little time to consider this matter. So instead, I've got an idea that could give us plenty of time. I can't say anymore here, cause ANAX might still be able to hear us," I said.

"Yeah, but how do we know this idea of yours will work?" Brittany asked skeptically.

"Don't worry," I said. "It'll work."

"Just how sure are you?" Tennent asked.

"Uh... about 84% sure."

"That's encouraging."

"So are we gonna go with it?" Sean asked.

"Yeah, I guess," I said to him. "I'll explain more once we're back on Earth."

We all turned around to face ANAX. If it's possible for a cloud of digital smoke to look anxious, then that's what we were seeing now. It was quite an odd sight; he was scrunched up a bit, and was shaking as if he was low on power. Perhaps he was.

"OK, ANAX, we're going to trust you," I said.

He began to relax.

"But it would be foolish to simply trust you outright, on your word only."

He tensed up again, obviously sensing that there would be a catch.

"I'm going to let you into the restricted access, but I'm barring all the programs there from your use. I'll let you stay there, but I'm not letting you mess with all that's in there," I said.

"Do you know how to do that?" Alyssa asked me.

"I'm pretty sure," I replied.

"So this is where the other 16% disappeared, right?" Sean asked.

"Yeah... I can compress the files in the restricted access without changing the protocol. When I give ANAX the entry code, I can encrypt the other part of the access, making it so he can't get there."

"But how come XANA and ANAX have been able to mess with the Super Scan then?" Brittany asked.

"Well for one, it's not part of the restricted access, and I'm not sure how to put it there. Also, I didn't write the encryption code for that part of the SuperComputer. It's pre-existing, so I can still manipulate it."

"So you'll protect me?" ANAX asked.

"Yes," I replied. "But on one condition: You tell us everything you know about XANA, how he was programmed, and everything else useful that you know."

"Oh yes, of course! Anything to help the fight against XANA."

We'll see, I thought.

After setting up the new system and giving ANAX the codes, he dissipated, and all of his monsters disappeared from my screen. Then I materialized us.

When we regained consciousness in the Scanner Room, I said, "Let's not go up just yet. ANAX shouldn't be able to hear us down here, so let me do some explaining."

"I'm all ears," Alyssa said.

"So here's the way I see it. We have three possibilities: (1) XANA and ANAX are working together. This is highly unlikely, but it's still possible. (2) XANA has betrayed ANAX, and he really is going to help us in our fight. (3) XANA betrayed ANAX, and now ANAX is out for himself, trying to defeat XANA and us, and take over the world," I said.

"OK, that makes sense," Brittany said.

"Now in the case of (1)," I explained. "We're sunk. You saw all those monsters the other day, right? We'd never fight our way through that, and in the meantime, we have ANAX infiltrating the SuperComputer's systems, ready to wreak havoc. As for (3), we'd still be sunk. While ANAX and XANA would exhaust resources fighting one another, they'd still be trying to kill us, and again, with all those monsters, we'd never make it to the Tower."

"You skipped (2), dummy," Tennent said.

"I know that," I told him, rolling my eyes.

"If number 2 is true, then it's our only hope. If ANAX sides with us, then he can help immensely. He can provide monsters to fight on our side so we can reach the Tower. He also claims to have information about XANA. Also, I've noticed some weird things about the way ANAX works, and it would be nice to know why it happens that way. Plus, ANAX is a Multi-Agent System, capable of awesome programming. This could also help us."

"So the point is...?" Sean asked.

"My point is: In every scenario but one, XANA or ANAX is going to win. For now, there's only one thing we can do about it, so we have to risk it. Do you follow?"

"Yeah, I follow," Sean said. Soon I had ascertained that everyone understood.

"So let's go up to the Lab and see what ANAX has to say," Brittany proposed.