Code Lyoko: Eezo
This story takes place in the future…thirty years after the discovery of the mass relays. Five friends fight an evil virus named XANA, but a much greater threat is coming…
Disclaimer: This is a work of pure, non-profit fanfiction. Code Lyoko is the property of Antefilms, Moonscoop, France 3, Canal J, Cartoon Network, Tania Palumbo and Thomas Romain. Mass Effect is the property of BioWare, Electronic Arts and Casey Hudson. Please support the official releases.
2
Chapter Two
"Xana Awakens – Part 2"
Jeremie, Ulrich, Odd and Sissi were at a loss as the Alliance soldiers stood there, looking at them. Villick stood with his arms crossed, awaiting an explanation.
"I promised Jeremie would explain everything," said Ulrich.
Villick stared over at Jeremie.
"Well, Jeremie?" asked Villick. "I'm waiting."
Feeling the turian's green gaze pierce through him, Jeremie started to sweat bullets.
Lexi came forward and placed a hand on Villick's shoulder.
"Villick," she said. "They've just been through a horrific event. We shouldn't be so harsh with them."
Villick looked over at Lexi.
"I…you're right," he said, looking back over at the students. "Are any of you hurt? Jeremie, Ulrich, I'm especially concerned about you."
Lexi brought up her omni-tool and scanned Jeremie, Odd and Ulrich.
"It doesn't look like there's too much damage sustained," she said.
She looked at Ulrich.
"You might want to get some Kleenex," she said.
"Why's that?" asked Ulrich.
Villick walked over to Ulrich and bent down to his level.
"Because that biotic surge you just had caused a nosebleed," he said.
Ulrich's eyes widened as he swiped his arm over his lip, clearing the blood as much as he could.
"Please don't tell anybody," he said, almost sounding desperate.
Jeremie looked over at Ulrich.
"Ulrich," he said. "You're a biotic?"
Ulrich sighed.
"Yeah," he said. "I didn't know until recently. I started getting these really bad headaches. Sometimes I wouldn't be able to sleep. Then, one day I waved my hand and my trashcan got knocked clear to the other corner of the room."
Villick's mouth hung open.
"So…you don't have an amplifier?" he asked.
"No," said Ulrich. "I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to be shipped off to some special school, and I sure as heck didn't want to be sent off-world."
Villick looked off to the side.
"I can't say I'm not concerned about that," he said. "However, I can understand where you're coming from."
Ulrich looked at Villick.
"So…can you keep it a secret?" he asked.
"Well…we'll see," said Villick. "For the moment, that's not our biggest concern. So, let's…oh, what's the expression? 'Put a…nail in it?'"
"It's 'put a pin in it,' Villick," said Lexi.
"Thank you, Lexi," said Villick. "I'm just glad that none of you were hurt."
His expression turning serious, Villick turned back to face the other children. Jeremie gritted his teeth and started to sweat.
"Jeremie, was it?" asked Villick.
"I helped Ulrich carry you to the infirmary earlier today," said Villick. "Villick Actius, Turian Fleet, inserted with the Alliance Navy. These are my comrades, Eddie Barnes and Lexi Rook."
Jeremie gulped.
"Um…it's…nice to meet you," he said.
Villick gestured to the supercomputer and the holographic display in the center of the room.
"Please explain what all of this is," said Villick.
Jeremie twiddled his thumbs.
"Well, I…" he hesitated. "It's very hard to explain."
Ulrich came forward and put a hand on Jeremie's shoulder.
"It's not hard for him to explain," he said. "Trust me on that. He's just afraid of what you guys will do now."
"Before we decide on what to do about you," said Villick, "we would like to hear your explanation."
"Here's a bit of advice for you, Jeremie," said Lexi. "Just tell the truth. If there's one thing Villick respects, it's honesty."
Jeremie heaved a big sigh.
"I'll try," he said. "But no matter how honest I am, this is going to be really hard to believe."
Jeremie got out of the chair and started to explain his findings.
"I came to this factory a while back while I was looking for parts to finish building some robots that I have in my room," he said. "I didn't find any parts to use in finishing my robots, but…I did find all of this. There is a bunch of unusual technology in this factory."
He indicated the computer next to him.
"This is a supercomputer that I turned on," he said. "It's connected to three scanners further below the factory, and has a power station even further down. I turned it on, and I found out that this supercomputer houses a virtual environment called Lyoko."
"The place where you sent your friends," said Villick. "Correct?"
"Yes," said Jeremie. "And…well, you see…besides the virtual environment, I also found…"
He indicated the window that Maya occupied.
"Hello," she said.
"This is Maya," said Jeremie.
Villick took a closer look at the screen.
"Is this a VI of some sort that came installed on the computer?" he asked.
"I actually don't know what I am," said Maya. "Jeremie asked me about that himself when we were talking a while back, but I don't even know what a VI is."
Villick's eyes widened again.
"I don't think this is a VI," he said.
"Please wait a second," said Jeremie. "Ulrich thought the same thing, but the computer has been on for weeks, and Maya hasn't done anything wrong since I turned it on."
Villick looked skeptical. He looked toward Maya.
"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions, Maya?" he asked.
Maya shook her head.
"No," she said. "Although, do you mind if I ask a question first?"
Villick shrugged.
"I suppose I have been the one asking them all so far," he said. "So, I suppose a question or two won't hurt. What do you wish to know?"
"What…exactly are you?" asked Maya. "You don't look anything like Jeremie or Ulrich."
"That's because I'm not a human," said Villick. "I'm a turian."
"I…I see," said Maya. "I'm sorry I asked."
Villick gave a grunt of dismissal.
"Under normal circumstances, I would ask Jeremie, but I would like to hear what you have to say," said Villick. "You say you don't know what you are?"
"I don't, no," said Maya.
Villick scratched his chin.
"Well, what do you know?" he asked.
"My first memories are waking up in this tower after Jeremie turned on the computer," said Maya. "After that, we learned of my virtual environment and the creatures that lived on it. I left the tower to try and find out more, but they started attacking me, so I ran away."
"Ran away?" asked Villick. "You move by walking?"
"Well, yes," said Maya. "Is…that not right?"
"Never mind that for now," said Villick. "What are you able to do? Do you have any control over the factory? Can you do anything through the computer?"
"Well, I don't really think I can control the factory at all," said Maya. "And the only thing I've been able to do with the computer is talk to Jeremie and show him what's happening on Lyoko."
Villick looked over at Eddie.
"What's your opinion on this, Eddie?" he asked.
"I'm…not really sure," said Eddie. "The Council's laws state that any AI that is found must be shut down before it can cause any harm."
Jeremie winced as Eddie mentioned that.
"But I don't know," said Eddie. "Maya doesn't act like anything resembling an AI. Yes, she's self-aware, but she doesn't seem to fit the definition in any other way."
He looked toward the computer again.
"Let me just ask you something, Maya," said Eddie.
"Sure," said Maya. "What is it?"
"Do you have any desire whatsoever to hurt organics?" asked Eddie.
Maya suddenly looked appalled.
"I have no desire to hurt anyone!" she exclaimed. "The only thing I want is to understand what I am doing here."
"And that's what I'm hoping to help with," said Jeremie. "And also, I'd like to find out if there's a way that I can materialize her here on Earth."
Villick grimaced at the boy, but then looked back at the computer.
"I am hard-pressed to go along with this," said Villick. "This computer has caused some harm since you've started it up, son."
Jeremie looked at the ground.
"I realize that," he said. "I wish that…that…"
"Let me just finish right now, Jeremie," said Villick. "I don't know what will happen to Maya if the computer is shut down, and if something happens to her, I cannot let my superior get a look at the situation as it stands."
Jeremie looked at the turian.
"So…you mean you'll let it stay on?" he asked.
"For now," said Villick. "I would like the rest of my team to get a look at it. From there, our team leader will decide the fate of the computer. For now, I think it might be best if we all return to the academy and meet in the morning."
He looked over at Ulrich.
"And you," he said. "We'll also discuss your biotics sometime tomorrow."
Ulrich's mouth quivered.
"I understand," he said.
Villick nodded and turned to Lexi and Eddie.
"Let's go," he said.
With that, the three soldiers and the four students left the factory, with Jeremie saying goodbye to Maya on the way out.
As they walked out of the factory, Odd and Sissi came up to the soldiers.
"Hey there!" exclaimed Odd. "I never introduced myself. Odd Della Robbia!"
"No introductions necessary," said Villick.
"So, you're a turian, huh?" asked Odd.
"Yes," said Villick.
"Cool!" exclaimed Odd. "I don't think I've ever seen one of your kind."
"Cool?" asked Villick.
"Totally!" said Odd. "I've never seen any people besides humans before. Are there any other aliens with you?"
Villick shook his head.
"I'm the only 'alien' on this team," said Villick.
"That's too bad," said Odd. "I was hoping I'd get to meet a quarian! Or even an asari! Oh, man, especially an asari!"
"Sorry to disappoint," said Villick.
"Oh, no, that's not what I meant," said Odd. "I-"
Odd felt a tap on his shoulder, turned around and saw Ulrich.
"Quit while you're behind," he said.
Odd sulked while Ulrich addressed Villick again.
"Would you like us to meet you somewhere?" asked Ulrich.
"Tomorrow after breakfast, meet us in the quad," said Villick. "I'll explain to the rest of the team what is going on, and we can…'hash this out,' I believe is the expression."
"Okay," said Jeremie. "We won't disappoint you."
Villick turned toward the boy genius.
"I appreciate your honesty about the situation, Jeremie," said Villick. "Now we can only hope that the rest of the squad holds you in their favor, too."
The group went through the sewer, and the soldiers escorted the students back to their rooms before meeting up with Derrick. Villick, Eddie and Lexi told their comrades about their experience that night. After some talking, Derrick was convinced to go to the planned meeting.
"Villick," said Derrick. "I'm not sure why you decided on a meeting between us and those kids, but I trust your judgment. For now, let's all get some sleep."
"God damn it, Savage!" growled Broot. "Next time, I get to patrol the dorms!"
With that, they all went to their quarters and slept.
The next day, Ulrich and Sissi were in the cafeteria eating their breakfast. Ulrich sighed as Sissi tried to feed him a croissant, while Sissi looked wistfully at Ulrich.
"Hey, love birds!" said a voice. "Sleep well?"
Ulrich and Sissi looked up from what they were doing and saw Odd, who had changed his hairstyle. It was now gelled back into a large spike behind his head.
"What's with the hairstyle?" asked Ulrich.
"Lyoko-style!" said Odd. "It's pretty trendy, huh? Meow!"
Odd made a feral hand gesture, like a cat ready to pounce, eliciting a groan from Ulrich. He then sat down and started to eat his food like he was starving to death.
"You always eat that much?" asked Ulrich.
"No," said Odd, chewing on a banana. "I'm not that hungry today, in fact. Has anyone seen Jeremie?"
"He was up all night in his room working on Lyoko after he put the computer back together," said Ulrich.
Odd wiped his face with a napkin.
"Man, that guy's a real Einstein!" exclaimed Odd.
"Who's Einstein?" asked Sissi.
Meanwhile, back in his dorm room, Jeremie was talking to Maya over video chat.
"Unfortunately, you're not like Odd or Ulrich," he said. "You can't be devirtualized when you lose all your life points."
"Too bad," said Maya. "At least now I know how to change sectors."
"Yes," said Jeremie. "And I also found out what the towers are for. They're portals between the real world and the virtual world, and when they're red, it means they're activated."
"Are you sure?" asked Maya.
"Just about," said Jeremie. "And they may be the way to materialize you on Earth. Unbelievable, huh? I can't wait to tell the others about it."
After some more conversation, Jeremie bade Maya goodbye and went to meet with his fellow students and the soldiers who saved their lives the night before. He found Ulrich, Odd and Sissi sitting on a bench in the quad.
"Hey, guys," said Jeremie.
The other students chorused a greeting to Jeremie.
"You at all worried about how this will go?" asked Ulrich.
"What do you expect?" asked Jeremie. "I only meant to tell you, and now six people besides me have found out my secret."
Ulrich grinned.
"'Speak of the Devil and he shall appear,'" he said.
Jeremie looked behind him, and true to Ulrich's quote, the six Alliance soldiers they met yesterday came walking up to them.
"Jeremie Belpois?" asked the leader, Derrick, a young, blond-haired soldier with an impressive physique.
"Yes?" asked Jeremie.
"I'm Derrick Savage," said Derrick. "You've already met my teammates Villick Actius, Lexi Rook and Eddie Barnes."
The three soldiers that helped them the day before acknowledged their indication.
"These are my other two comrades, Brennan Stan and Tommy Dillon," said Derrick.
The remaining two soldiers were one with a medium build, spiky brown hair and a cocky smirk. The other was one with jet-black hair and hundreds of pounds of muscle. The bigger one had to be Brennan.
"Just call me 'Broot,'" said the big one.
"Broot?" asked Odd. "Who names their kid that?"
Broot looked at Odd's hairstyle and shook his head.
"What…the hell…is that?" he asked.
Odd looked up.
"Oh, this?" he asked. "I'm trying out a new hairstyle. Pretty cool, huh?"
Broot shook his head.
"I've seen a lot of cool things in my time," he said. "That…is not one."
Odd sulked.
"Knock it off, Broot," said Derrick.
Broot grumbled under his breath.
"Now," said Derrick. "I understand that we need to discuss something about this computer of yours and your virtual friend."
Jeremie gulped.
"Please try to understand, sir-" Jeremie began.
"Let me just stop you right there, Jeremie," said Derrick. "I'm going to give you the same rule I give my comrades and subordinates. You call me 'sir,' and I turn around looking for my old CO. So, you can just call me either Derrick or Savage."
Jeremie cleared his throat.
"Okay," he said. "Derrick, if you just hear me out on this, I think…you see…Maya is not dangerous. She has had multiple opportunities to try and hurt us and she either couldn't, or she chose not to. I am inclined to think that both would be the case."
"Jeremie," said Derrick. "Is it at all possible that the things you've had happen to you since yesterday afternoon were caused by her?"
Jeremie shook his head.
"It is possible," he said, in a resigned tone. "But I also think it's extremely unlikely. She claims she has no memory prior to my restarting the computer, and if that's the case, I don't think she would have any reason to try and hurt me or anyone. What's more, the symbol that Villick probably told you about that appeared on my computer screen appeared on the appliances that attacked me. The monsters on Lyoko have that same symbol, but Maya doesn't. If she was with those things, why would they attack her?"
"It is possible she was just acting," said Derrick.
"Yes, it is," said Jeremie. "But…Derrick, I just have this feeling, okay? I think she needs help, and I want to give that help if I can."
Derrick nodded.
"Eddie?" he asked. "What are your thoughts?"
Eddie stuttered.
"Well, I…" he began. "I know that AIs are meant to be deactivated upon discovery, Derrick, but there's just something about this Maya that sets her apart from other AIs. Does that make sense?"
Derrick blinked.
"Could you elaborate?" he asked.
"Well, it all boils down to how she acts, Derrick," said Eddie. "Granted, it could be just that – an act, but she didn't demonstrate any knowledge of her environment at all, and if she has any functions, she definitely didn't show that she knew how any of them worked."
"She didn't even remember her name," said Jeremie.
"You said her name was Maya," said Derrick.
"Well, it is, but I named her that," said Jeremie.
Derrick looked at his comrades momentarily, then back to Jeremie.
"Look, Jeremie," he said. "In any other circumstance, I would have to shut down that computer, quite possibly destroy it, and then bring you in."
Jeremie looked to the ground.
"However," said Derrick, making Jeremie look back up at him, "I would like to hear what you plan on doing next. You seem like a good kid, and you would have to be if my comrades trusted you about something like this. So, here's the deal. Why don't you tell us what you plan on doing next, and we'll see if we can help you. Okay?"
Jeremie smiled up at Derrick.
"Alright, Derrick," he said. "I was doing some research last night on Lyoko, and helping Aelita with understanding her environment."
"Yeah," said Tommy. "You might want to fill us in on that, seeing as we may be breaking the law here."
"And use small words, will you?" asked Broot. "Tech stuff is Eddie's department, not mine."
"I'm not sure how much Villick told you about it, so I'll start from the beginning," said Jeremie. "The computer has a virtual world inside it called Lyoko. Maya is trapped in there, and I intend to get her out of it if I can."
"Get her out of it?" asked Lexi.
"Yes," said Jeremie. "I already know how to get people in, and based on that, I think it would be possible to get her out."
"Wait," said Broot. "So you can actually send people into this thing?"
"Yes," said Jeremie. "The computer is hooked up to three scanners in the basement that break you down, digitize you and send you to Lyoko."
"Isn't something like that kind of…oh, I don't know…dangerous?" asked Tommy.
"Normally, I would agree," said Jeremie. "But I've already done it twice."
"Exhibit A," said Odd.
"Exhibit B," said Ulrich.
"Alright," said Derrick. "Now, suppose you know for a fact that Maya isn't dangerous, and suppose you know that you can bring her to Earth somehow. How would you manage that?"
"There is a red tower on Lyoko," said Jeremie. "The towers are portals to the real world, and when they're red, it means they're activated. I think that if you guys can get Maya to that red tower, we can use the tower to send her here."
"You want us to go back to Lyoko to get Maya into a red tower?" asked Ulrich.
"Like I said," said Jeremie, "I'm sure that's the only way to bring her into the real world. Pretty wild, huh?"
"Pretty dangerous, you mean," said Odd. "We could have all been wiped out for good last night."
"Odd's right," said Ulrich. "In all honesty, I think we might be better off shutting down the supercomputer. Too bad for Maya, but still, it's not like she's human."
"But she's still a sort of intelligent being," said Jeremie. "She's got emotions like we do."
Ulrich turned to Odd with a smirk.
"You see?" he asked. "I told you. He's madly in love with a computer program."
"Come on guys," said Jeremie. "Be cool. I'm just asking you to go there one last time."
"We can't even make it past the monsters," said Odd. "We'll probably get ourselves blown away in a heartbeat!"
Broot stepped forward.
"You know what?" he asked. "If any of my squad is too chicken shit to try out this Lyoko or whatever, I volunteer. You say this thing has monsters? Let's see how they stack up to me!"
Ulrich shrugged.
"Well, I guess it won't be as big a deal this time, seeing as we'll have backup," said Ulrich.
Broot snorted.
"Pfft, 'backup,'" he said. "You've got a whole platoon right here. If there's a monster coming at me, I say stuff it with bullets and have it for dinner."
Derrick shook his head at his squadmate's antics.
"Despite Broot's boasting, rest assured, he is a very capable soldier," he said.
"Don't insult me, Savage," said Broot. "You're speaking to a krogan!"
"Krogan?" asked Ulrich. "Your squadmate thinks he's a krogan?"
"Krogan took him in when he was young," said Derrick. "They took care of him and taught him to fight. He's a real blowhard, but he's also a real asset to us."
"I'm the blood brother to the varren that bit Urdnot Wrex's ass!" said Broot.
"Wouldn't that make you a son of a bitch?" asked Tommy.
Broot rounded on Tommy dangerously.
"Enough!" said Derrick.
He put a hand to his head and heaved a huge sigh.
"Well, at least now there's more than just me and Odd," said Ulrich. "Sissi's too scared."
"What?!" demanded Sissi. "No I'm not. I really do want to go with you guys to Lyoko, but when cheerleading practice is over."
"Thanks, Sissi," said Jeremie. "So, here's the scoop. As soon as Maya's materialized into the real world, I give you my word that I'll shut down the supercomputer. Meanwhile, we'll need to keep this quiet."
"Promise," said Ulrich.
"I swear," said Odd.
"Ditto," said Sissi.
Jeremie looked over to Derrick and his comrades.
"I'll keep this a secret," said Derrick. "For the meantime, at least."
Tommy shrugged.
"If Derrick's given you his word, he's just given you all our words," said Tommy.
Sissi leaned back and put her hand on Ulrich's back.
"I can't wait to see what I look like on Lyoko!" she exclaimed.
"Me neither," said Odd. "With some luck, I won't be the dumbest-looking one in the group."
Ulrich got up from the bench and walked away from the group.
"Ulrich, where are you going?" asked Sissi. "Aren't you coming to see my cheerleading routine?"
"No," said Ulrich. "I've got something important to take care of."
Sissi grunted in disappointment.
"Eddie?" asked Derrick.
Eddie brought up his omni-tool and typed on it momentarily. It wasn't long after that when Jeremie's omni-tool pinged.
"I've just sent you our contact info," said Eddie. "Call us whenever you get done with your business today."
"You've got it," said Jeremie. "Thanks."
The group went about their business.
As the group split up, Ulrich went to the gymnasium. Just inside the door and to the left was Ishiyama.
"Back for another thrashing?" she asked, startling the boy.
Ulrich chuckled.
"I don't like ending on a bad note," he said.
Ishiyama walked by him and into the main part of the gymnasium.
"That's good," she said. "I like a challenge."
"You're gonna get one," Ulrich warned, walking in after her.
The two bowed to each other, and then started to circle each other like sharks. They started to aggressively trade blows with each other.
Back outside, Jeremie and Odd were on their way to the library.
"It's true that at first, I thought Sissi was a real babe," said Odd. "But the more I get to know her, the more I realize she's a…uh, how can I put this tactfully?"
"A…turkey?" asked Jeremie.
"Exactly!" said Odd.
Back on Lyoko, Maya was inside one of the towers. She sat with her legs folded and her eyes closed. Suddenly, she opened them, startled. She stood up from her position on the floor of the tower.
"Jeremie?" she asked. "Jeremie?"
She wandered out of the tower in the Forest Sector, and felt strange tremors in the ground. She followed the tremors, trying to find their source.
By some miracle, she managed to avoid any monsters as her trek took her through the sector, to another tower, and then through the path leading from that tower to a tower in the Mountain Sector, a foggy sector with purple floating platforms and mountains all over.
The girl looked left and right before taking off running from the tower. She kept going until she reached a ledge with a sheer drop to the next part of the platform. She hesitated for a moment, but as soon as she was about to jump, a volley of energy blasts flew by her head. She rushed from the attack and ducked for cover behind the nearest rock.
"Jeremie?" she asked. "Are you there? Answer me."
She looked back at the ledge she had been about to jump over, and found a land bridge that led to another platform. She ran out from behind cover and leapt the ledge. The roach monster that had been shooting at her followed her. She kept running until she came face to face with yet another. She was trapped on both sides, with a sheer drop to her left and right. For a moment, she looked at her options, then went to one of the ledges. She leaned forward, and fell, screaming, further into the sector.
Further down, she landed on her feet and somersaulted into a rested position. She found that the two monsters had followed her off the ledge, as they bounced off the ledge she was on and flew away.
However, Maya's safety was short-lived, as she heard a buzzing sound. To her left, two large, bug-like monsters came flying towards her and fired energy blasts, forcing her to run away.
In the gymnasium, Ulrich and Ishiyama were hunched over, hands on their knees, breathing as if their lives depended on it.
"Have you been training for long?" asked Ulrich, between breaths.
"Yeah," said Ishiyama. "My parents think it's weird."
"I don't," said Ulrich. "By the way, I'm Ulrich. You, you're…Yuri, right?"
At that moment, Ishiyama did a sweep kick, knocking Ulrich's legs out from under him and laying him flat. Ishiyama stood over him, smiling.
"It's Yumi," she said.
Meanwhile, in the library, Jeremie and Odd were seated at the same table. Jeremie typed on his laptop while Odd doodled on a piece of graph paper.
Jeremie's face lit up as he finished typing.
"Ah-ha!" he interjected. "Bingo."
He turned to Odd.
"A couple of days ago, I dug up a brand-new program on the supercomputer, called 'Return to the Past,' and- …and I just figured out how to activate it," he said.
Odd looked over at Jeremie while the bespectacled boy looked back at his laptop.
"That's great, Einstein," said Odd. "But could you give me a hand with my electrochemistry report?"
"Hey, Odd," said Jeremie. "Are you planning on calling me 'Einstein' forever?"
"Well, why not?" asked Odd. "So, what about my report?"
Jeremie's eyes didn't leave the screen as he answered.
"Well, why don't you say that…that electrochemistry is a science that deals with the relationship between electricity and chemistry?" asked Jeremie. "Then, you say that electrochemistry involves opposing polar systems composed at its two extremes, of electrically conducted material."
"What?" asked Odd. "You mean, all I have to do is say that?"
"Well, no," said Jeremie. "Of course not. You have to give examples."
"Did you hear what happened to Sissi?" said a voice.
Two of the older students, Christophe M'bala and Mathias Durel walked by. Mathias was telling Christophe about something.
"Jim was taking her to the infirmary," said Mathias.
"What'd she do?" asked Christophe. "Pull a muscle in her brain trying to add two plus two?"
"No, man," said Mathias. "She got electrocuted!"
Odd and Jeremie looked at each other knowingly. They both got up from their spots at the table, and went to the infirmary. Just outside the office, they saw Mr. Delmas talking to two of their classmates, Nicholas Poliakoff and Herb Pichon.
"You're the ones who brought Sissi here," said Mr. Delmas. "What happened?"
"She was in her room and she was attacked by an electricity monster that jumped from a coat hanger," said Nicholas.
(A/N: Nicholas Poliakoff – Matthew Géczy)
"Will you try to be serious, Poliakoff?" asked Delmas. "You're the one who's going to get a shock in a moment!"
Yumi and Ulrich were still trading blows in the gymnasium, all of which ended up either missing or being blocked. Ulrich attempted a kick at Yumi, but she caught it and used it to push him backwards. That was, until Ulrich took hold of her shoulders, and used his caught foot as leverage to flip her over and onto her back. He landed on top of her. At that moment, the two realized the position they were in, and their cheeks were coated in red.
Ulrich rolled off Yumi and lay down on the floor next to her.
Yumi was the first to sit up from the floor. She looked over at Ulrich.
"Call it a tie?" she asked.
"Okay," said Ulrich, sitting up himself. "Anyway, I've got to go. My friends are going to start wondering where I am. Same for you."
Yumi and Ulrich both stood up from the floor.
"I don't have any friends," said Yumi.
Just as they were about to leave the gym, the two noticed a great ball of electricity rise from the light above the door.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Yumi. "What is that thing?"
"No time to explain," said Ulrich. "Come on, we've got to get out of here. Quick!"
He took hold of her hand and led her to the far corner of the gym and into the door that led to the underground passage to the factory. Ulrich slammed the door shut behind him. They were safe, for the moment.
"It was as if that electrical thing was alive!" exclaimed Yumi. "What is going on?"
At that moment, Ulrich's omni-tool chirped. Ulrich checked the caller ID and found that the person calling him was Jeremie.
"Yeah, Jeremie?" asked Ulrich, answering.
"Ulrich?" came Jeremie's voice, sounding like he was panting. "Great! I really need you! Sissi just got electrified by some sort of giant…"
"Electric thing?" asked Ulrich.
"What?" asked Jeremie. "Yeah! How did you know?!"
"That same electric thing attacked me in the gymnasium," said Ulrich. "This is getting more and more dangerous. You and your supercomputer!"
"All the more reason to materialize Maya ASAP!" said Jeremie. "We have to get to Lyoko and get her to the red tower! If it works, we'll shut down the supercomputer tonight! We'll call Derrick and the others and meet you in the sewer!"
With that, the call was disconnected.
"Sorry, Yumi," said Ulrich, "but I've got to go."
He started to walk toward the passage.
"Hang on," said Yumi. "You seem to know what's going on here. What was this electrical thing that attacked us, and what is this supercomputer you're talking about?"
"Look," said Ulrich, opening the door. "I don't have time to explain."
"Okay," said Yumi, walking toward Ulrich and grabbing his shoulder. "You have time for a third round, then?"
Ulrich looked back at Yumi.
"You're as stubborn as a mule, aren't you?" he asked.
"That's right," said Yumi. "And since I have no friends, I have lots of time."
Ulrich groaned.
"Come on," he said. "I'll explain on the way."
He led Yumi down the passage, eventually leading her to the sewers, where they met up with Jeremie and Odd.
"Hey," said Jeremie. "Who's that girl?"
"This is Yumi," said Ulrich. "She was there when I was attacked, and she knows how to fight, so I thought-"
"Okay, okay," said Jeremie. "Later. Derrick and the others should be here any second now, so-"
"We're here, Jeremie," said the voice of Lexi.
The group turned behind Odd and Jeremie, and found the six Alliance soldiers, each in their body armor, seemingly ready to fight.
"We came prepared," said Derrick. "Just in case you need support in or out of Lyoko."
Tommy waved his omni-tool over himself, causing a suit of holographic armor to appear over him, while Villick tensed his arms, causing his whole body to become incased in a glowing biotic mist. Broot primed his shotgun while Eddie checked his omni-tool, and Lexi loaded her machine pistol while Derrick checked the systems on his armor to makes sure they were fully functional.
"I see you brought the cavalry," said Yumi. "Who are these guys?"
"We'll introduce you on the way," said Jeremie. "Right now, we've got to get to the factory."
The group broke off into a run. As they did, Broot got a good whiff of their surroundings.
"What an incredible smell you've discovered," he said.
On Lyoko, Maya was again running from the bug-like monsters. She found refuge in a cave, but the creatures eventually found her. They pursued her, and shot her once in the arm, but she was safe once again when she found another tower. She closed her eyes and pivoted off the platform. She fell through the connecting tunnel until she found herself going through the tower on the other end, which led her once again to the ice sector. As she left the tower, she was cornered by two of the block-like monsters that attacked Ulrich and Odd. She ran as fast as she could from the monsters.
Eventually, the students and soldiers made it up to a manhole, which brought them to the bridge leading into the factory. They ran in, and used the cables hanging from the ceiling to slide down to the ground floor, except for Villick, who jumped off the ledge and once again used his biotics to slow his descent. Yumi and Ulrich were the last ones on the bridge. Yumi looked back at Ulrich, who seemed hesitant.
"Don't tell me you're scared," she said, taking hold of the cable in front of her and using it to slide down.
Ulrich followed after her, and the whole group was now on the floor of the factory.
It was a tight fit, but the group all managed to fit into the elevator that went down to the computer room.
"You're kidding me," said Broot.
Once the elevator reached the computer room, Jeremie stepped out and made his way to the chair.
"So, who's this Maya?" asked Yumi.
"You're going to be meeting in just a minute," said Jeremie. "You guys go straight to the scanner room, and get ready for the big plunge."
"Big plunge?" asked Yumi. "But I don't have a bathing suit."
"Relax," said Odd. "You won't be needing one."
"Maya?" asked Jeremie. "Can you hear me, Maya?"
"Jeremie," came Maya's voice from the computer. "I'm-…I'm being chased by monsters!"
"Why did you leave the tower before we got there?" asked Jeremie. "Are you crazy?"
"I heard some strange pulsations!" she exclaimed. "I wanted to see what they were!"
"Alright," said Jeremie. "I'm sending you backup. For now, just try and hide somewhere."
As the elevator went further down and into the scanner room, the whole story was explained to Yumi, who shook her head.
"This story of yours is total mumbo jumbo," she said.
Ulrich stuttered.
"Yeah," he said. "Except that it's for real."
"You guys ready?" asked Jeremie over the intercom, as Ulrich and Odd went into the scanners. "Who's going first?"
"Me and Odd," said Ulrich.
"Okay," said Jeremie. "I'm starting up the procedure."
"Don't tell me you're scared," taunted Ulrich as the scanner doors closed around him.
"Transfer: Odd," said Jeremie's voice. "Transfer: Ulrich."
"Wait!" exclaimed Yumi. "I'm coming, too!"
She stepped into one of the scanners.
"Okay," said Jeremie. "Transfer: Yumi."
The scanner doors closed around her as well.
"Scanner: Yumi," said Jeremie. "Scanner: Odd. Scanner: Ulrich. Virtualization!"
Broot grumbled.
"Hey, four-eyes!" he yelled. "Can you hear me?"
"First of all, it's Jeremie," said Jeremie's voice. "And second, yes I can. What is it?"
"Send me, Tommy and Eddie, too," said Broot. "Like hell if I'm going to stand here while a bunch of kids fight monsters."
"What about the rest of you?" asked Jeremie.
"We'll wait our turn," said Derrick. "Go ahead and send them."
"Okay," said Jeremie. "Get into the scanners."
Tommy, Broot and Eddie did as they were told. Tommy and Broot looked eager, while Eddie merely looked worried.
"Transfer: Broot," said Jeremie. "Transfer: Eddie. Transfer: Tommy."
The scanners booted up and did their thing.
"Scanner: Broot," said Jeremie. "Scanner: Eddie. Scanner: Tommy. Virtualization."
The scanner doors opened back up to accommodate the remaining three soldiers.
"Alright, guys," said Derrick. "Be ready for anything."
"Your turn, Derrick," said Jeremie.
Derrick, Villick and Lexi took their turns in the scanners.
"Alright," said Jeremie. "Transfer, Derrick, Villick and Lexi."
The scanners hummed in preparation.
"Scanner," said Jeremie.
The scanners analyzed their occupants.
"Virtualization!" exclaimed Jeremie.
With Jeremie's declaration, all nine of the group members were now safely on Lyoko. Odd and Ulrich took another look at their virtual selves.
"Bummer," said Odd. "I'm still a big purple cat!"
Odd and Ulrich heard several groans from behind them, following a series of thumps to the ground. The pair looked behind them and found that all of their companions had fallen flat on their backsides, except for Broot, Derrick and Villick, who had their knees bent as they landed, and stood back up.
Broot groaned.
"You look even more ridiculous here than you do on Earth," said Broot.
"Oh yeah?" asked Odd. "Look who's talking."
Broot looked down at himself. He now looked like a large, well-built man with little more than a pair of brown shorts on his body. He was carrying an oversized mallet in his hands.
"What the hell happened to my shotgun?" he asked.
Villick looked at himself.
"At least I still have my blades," he said.
Indeed, he was wearing a pair of bracers that had blades attached, curved downwards and back. He now had a reptilian tail for some reason, and had a thin suit of light green armor that looked medieval.
Eddie looked at his own form and found that he now had a suit of silver armor, a targeting visor on his face, and his hands had been replaced by mechanical ones. He shifted his fingers in certain ways and found that he could turn them into different kinds of tools.
Lexi now had a white outfit, a repeating crossbow and a large kit on her back with a red cross on it.
Tommy now had a deep red outfit and a pair of shields, one on each of his arms, and a bunch of throwing knives attached to a belt on his waist.
The biggest noticeable change happened to Derrick, who now looked like a walking tank. His whole body was covered in thick, dark blue armor, and all along his body were different kinds of firearms.
"Looks like you're the tank for this mission, Savage," said Tommy.
"Like hell he is," said Broot.
The last member of the group to be noticed was Yumi, who now wore a geisha outfit, complete with white makeup.
"Wow," said Odd. "That Japanese outfit is pretty sharp!"
Yumi looked down at herself, and eventually smiled, apparently approving of her Lyoko form.
"That's not fair!" said Odd. "I'm the only one who looks like a nitwit on Lyoko!"
Yumi looked around at the landscape.
"Uh…mind telling me where we are?" she asked.
"In a virtual world," said Ulrich. "Don't worry. You'll get used to it."
"Move it!" said Jeremie's voice. "Maya needs you. She's in danger!"
"Okay!" exclaimed Odd.
He and Ulrich ran ahead, followed shortly by Yumi and their other friends.
"Here we go!" said Odd.
The group kept running until they found a bunch of the block monsters cornering a girl with pink hair.
"There she is!" exclaimed Lexi. "We've got to help!"
"I'm on it!" yelled Broot.
He brandished his hammer and ran toward the one on the left, while Ulrich did a jump-stab at the monster on the right.
Broot kicked the monster out of the way before wheeling back and slamming his hammer into it, causing it to fall over on its side.
Eddie's visor started to go crazy. It created a heads-up display with squares that seemed to lock on the monster's eye emblems.
"Broot!" yelled Eddie. "Try hitting it in one of its eyes!"
Broot brought his hammer up and slammed it into the block monster's eye, causing it to self-destruct.
While Ulrich, Broot and Derrick took care of the attacking monsters, Odd, Eddie, Tommy, Lexi and Villick formed a defense around Maya. Tommy slammed both his shields together, making a phalanx separating the group from the monsters. Odd looked at Maya.
"Hi," he said. "Are you Maya? I'm Odd. I have to admit, you are a real cutie. Jeremie's got taste."
As Ulrich took care of another one of the block creatures, he looked back at Odd.
"No time for flirting, Odd," he said. "We have work to do."
Eddie's heads-up display started to work on its own again.
"I've got an idea," he said.
He started to pick up the parts that remained of the monsters, which didn't disappear after he touched them. He then pulled a few things out of some of the pouches on his outfit and started to put them together. His hands turned into a screwdriver and a series of wrenches, which he used to piece together the conglomeration.
"What are you doing?" asked Odd.
"This," said Eddie, stepping back.
In front of him was an automatic turret. It whirled around to the monsters and started firing at them until they self-destructed.
"Nice, Eddie!" said Tommy.
Yumi looked at herself once again.
"I don't have a weapon," she said.
However, as she looked behind her, something protruded from behind the bow of her obi. She pulled it out and learned that it was a fold-out fan.
"A fan?" she asked. "That's all?"
Odd fired a couple of laser arrows at the monsters in front of her, and Lexi did the same.
"Try throwing it," said Odd. "You never know!"
Yumi did as instructed and threw her fan. It spun like a Frisbee and whizzed by the remaining two attacking monsters, slicing the both on the eye emblem. Afterwards, it returned to Yumi and was once again harmless.
"Not bad," said Ulrich.
"Wow," said Yumi. "I think I'll keep it."
"Nice work," said Jeremie's voice. "Now, bring Maya into the red tower so we can materialize her."
As the group started running in the direction of the red tower, Jeremie's voice came over the intercom once again, nervously.
"Hey, Odd," he said. "I think I've got a good life-size example for your electrochemistry report."
"Oh yeah?" asked Odd. "And what's that?"
"A nice little electric monster," said Jeremie. "Where are you guys?"
"We're coming up to the tower!" said Ulrich.
"Hurry it up, then," said Jeremie. "Things are about to start jumping over here!"
Just then, Jeremie got an alert onscreen. Two monsters walked out from behind a pair of giant stalagmites around the tower.
"Watch it, guys!" said Jeremie. "There are some more monsters coming your way!"
As the group neared the tower, they were set upon by a pair of giant crab-like monsters, causing them to stop short.
"Great," said Odd. "Crabs! Who's got the tartar sauce?"
Derrick drew a missile launcher from his back as Broot ran forward with his hammer drawn.
"Flank them!" exclaimed Derrick.
With that, the other members of the groups ran around the ice mounds on the terrain and started to attack. Odd climbed up a wall of ice and started firing laser arrows at one creature, while the other creature started chasing after Ulrich, who absorbed the blasts with his sword. Villick ran toward the one that chased Ulrich and started to slash at its legs. Meanwhile, Lexi fired her repeating crossbow at the one attacking Odd, and Eddie started to build another turret to protect the group. Tommy and Maya stuck together. Tommy slammed his shields together again and used them to protect them.
"Stay behind me, Maya!" said Tommy.
Yumi ran toward the one that attacked Odd and Lexi.
"Beat it, crabs!" yelled Odd, firing another arrow. "The tide is coming in!"
Yumi brought her fan out again and threw it, grazing the top of the crab, but otherwise having no visible effect.
"Wow," said Odd. "These guys are not only ugly. They're tough."
The crab fired another blast at Odd. The blast devirtualized him. It then fired a blast at Eddie, just as he finished building another turret.
Eddie groaned as the blast hit his head and he was devirtualized.
"Jeremie!" called Maya. "Odd and Eddie just got devirtualized. Jeremie?"
Yumi caught her fan and started to run away from the crab, which started to chase after her.
"Why won't he answer?" asked Ulrich.
"If I had to guess, probably that electric thing you guys mentioned," said Derrick, firing another missile at their crab's backside. "But Eddie's back with him now. He'll be able to help."
The other crab, Villick had finally managed to get on its knees. Broot brought his hammer up again and slammed it onto the Crab's back, causing a very large crack where the eye symbol was. The dismembered crab exploded. Ulrich turned his attention to the one that was chasing Yumi, and ran up to her.
"You want to give it a try?" asked Ulrich.
Yumi nodded and did a baseball slide while Ulrich ran ahead and came back around. Yumi lifted her feet up, and Ulrich used them as propulsion to do a long jump onto the other crab's back, at which point he jabbed his sword into the eye and caused the monster to explode.
However, without Jeremie to back them up, the team didn't take notice of a third crab coming out from behind one of the ice structures.
While taken by surprise, Yumi threw her fan, grazing the monster's carapace. But the crab monster simply charged up a shot and fired, hitting Yumi in the leg.
Ulrich ran toward the new arrival and jumped toward it, but the crab used its leg to deflect his assault and send him flying. The impact with the ground caused him to get devirtualized. He was flung toward Maya and Tommy, who were set up near the turret that Eddie built before being devirtualized.
As he fell apart, Ulrich looked up at Tommy and Maya.
"Guys," he said. "Get back to the red tower!"
With that, he was back on Earth.
The group's remaining members gathered up Yumi and were chased by the remaining crab to the place where Maya and Tommy took shelter. It primed its laser, but then Maya knelt down and closed her eyes. She folded her hands, and a strange sound emitted from her mouth, almost like singing. In between the group and the crab was now a wall of ice.
Yumi looked over at Maya.
"Was it you who just did that?" she asked.
"Yes," said Maya. "I think so."
"Alright," said Yumi.
"Run to the tower, Maya," said Lexi. "We'll hold it off while we've got its attention."
As Maya took off for the red tower, the monster fired at the wall of ice. The fighters drew their weapons and took a stance.
"It's not going to be pretty when he busts through there," said Broot.
Yumi looked up.
"Jeremie, it's okay!" she said. "Maya's-"
The crab finally broke through the wall of ice, and the shards blasted outwards, devirtualizing the rest of the group.
Inside the tower, Maya walked to the center of the platform, and found herself being propelled to another, higher platform. As she walked to the center of it, she was startled by a small, holographic interface that popped up. She looked left and right, and then, seeing that nothing was attacking, stepped forward and tapped it with her hand. The screen beeped and a word typed itself onto the screen:
AELITA
"Aelita," she said, smiling.
The word left the screen to be replaced by another inscription:
CODE:
LYOKO
Back on Earth, the team members that were devirtualized climbed up to the room to meet back up with Jeremie. They found saw electricity crackling at first, but it eventually fizzled out.
"What's going on here?" demanded a voice. "What were those flashes?"
Ulrich climbed up from the scanner room and saw that in addition to Jeremie, the computer room had three new occupants: Mr. Delmas, Jim and Sissi.
"Sissi?" asked Ulrich.
"Ulrich!" Sissi cried with joy, running forth to greet him.
Ulrich sidestepped her before she had the chance to hug him.
"You swore to us you wouldn't tell!" exclaimed Ulrich.
Just as he was speaking, Yumi, Odd, Derrick, Broot, Villick, Eddie, Lexi and Tommy climbed up from the scanner room after him.
Sissi's expression changed from a smile to a frown.
"I came here to save you, Ulrich!" she said. "And what's this Chinese girl doing here, huh?"
"I am JAPANESE!" exclaimed Yumi.
"What about Maya?" asked Jeremie. "Is she here?"
"No," said Ulrich. "Sorry, Jeremie, but it didn't work. She didn't materialize."
"Alright," said Delmas. "That's enough, Belpois, I order you to shut this thing down, now, and then you can explain to me exactly what this thing is about."
He then rounded on the soldiers, who stood looking determined.
"And you," he said. "I had a feeling you'd bring trouble here with you."
Broot and Tommy both looked like they were about to charge at Delmas and strangle him.
"I think we ought to alert the authorities and Alliance command right away," said Jim.
"Me too, Jim," said Sissi. "It's much too dangerous. I told you so, didn't I?"
"You're nothing but a rotten traitor!" yelled Ulrich.
Sissi whirled on him and pointed at him.
"No more than you are, Ulrich darling!" she said.
"Lets go, Belpois," said Delmas. "Kill this thing immediately and follow me."
Jeremie looked up at Delmas with defiance, then turned back to the computer. He started typing rapidly.
"No," he said.
"What do you think you're doing?" asked Jim.
"I'm launching a new program," said Jeremie. "With any luck, it'll work."
"What kind of program?" asked Eddie.
Jeremie hit the "enter" key.
"Return to the past, now!" he said.
Suddenly, where the holographic display of Lyoko was, there was a bright flash of light that formed a dome and started to spread outwards.
After a split second, the soldiers found themselves standing on the grounds, directly in front of Jim.
"Jim is fine," said Jim. "And I hope you're as good as you claim."
The soldiers hesitated for a second.
"What the hell?" asked Broot, looking around.
"What?" asked Jim. "What's the problem?"
Derrick stammered.
"Um, nothing, Jim," he said. "Look, we just remembered we have something important to take care of. We'll be back later."
He led his group over to the vending machines, where they found Ulrich, Odd and Yumi. Yumi just finished grabbing something from the vending machines and Ulrich and Odd looked up from taking a drink from a cup.
"What happened anyway?" asked Ulrich. "What are we doing here?"
"But…we were doing this yesterday," said Yumi. "You don't think…"
Just then, Jeremie walked by both groups and up to the vending machines. He put a couple of coins in and pressed a button.
"Einstein," said Odd. "You are a genius! Your return to the past? It works!"
Jeremie was startled out of what he was doing and answered.
"What's that?" he asked. "What are you talking about?"
"You haven't forgotten about the supercomputer and Lyoko and my big purple cat costume, huh?" asked Odd.
Jeremie turned to face Odd.
"You…you know about Lyoko?" he asked. "But how come?"
"That's weird," said Derrick.
"Yeah," said Yumi. "It looks like the return in time didn't quite work on him."
Ulrich tossed his drink aside and put his arm over Jeremie's shoulders, leading him away from the vending machine kiosk.
"Come on," he said. "We're going to fill you in."
Everybody followed Ulrich up to Jeremie's room, where everyone did their best to debrief Jeremie on what just happened.
"But why would I not remember anything?" asked Jeremie.
"Maybe because you were the only one who didn't get digitalized on Lyoko," said Yumi.
"Yes," said Jeremie. "That could be. Well, tomorrow, I'm going to go to the factory first thing and scan myself."
Their pink haired friend on screen held up her hand.
"No, Jeremie," she said. "We have to shut down the supercomputer and you know it. It's too dangerous."
Everyone, especially the Alliance soldiers, were surprise by the girl's assertion.
"But…Maya…" protested Jeremie.
At this, the girl smiled and winked at Jeremie.
"Aelita," she said. "When I went into the tower, I…I remembered my name!"
(A/N: Aelita – Sharon Mann)
"Aelita," said Jeremie. "That's even better than Maya. But, what about bringing you in? I promised."
He turned back to his friends.
"Give me one more night to work it out, okay?" asked Jeremie. "I'll find a way!"
Everybody else looked at each other. Tommy and Broot shrugged. Lexi and Eddie both smiled at Derrick, and Villick crossed his arms. Ulrich and the others nodded at Derrick.
"Okay," said Derrick, smiling.
"Thanks, guys," said Jeremie, returning the smile.
"We'll meet up in the computer lab tomorrow morning to see how you're doing," said Derrick.
Everyone except Jeremie turned around and left the room, only to be met with the sight of Sissi wearing the same dress she wore the night Jeremie showed them the computer.
"Ulrich," she said. "What are you doing there? I've been waiting for you for an hour. I've never been stood up like this before!"
"There's always a first time," said Ulrich. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm with my friends."
As they left, the companions heard Sissi call after Ulrich.
"I'll make you pay!" she exclaimed. "Did you hear that, huh, Ulrich?!"
"I've got a bad feeling about this girl, Sissi," said Odd. "I get the idea that she's going to give us a lot of grief."
"That dress makes her look like an Afterlife stripper," said Broot.
Tommy and Broot both did a fist bump while everybody else chuckled.
The next day, the students and soldiers found Jeremie in the computer lab.
"Hi," said Yumi. "Well, find anything?"
"Yes," said Jeremie. "XANA."
"XANA?" asked Tommy.
"Yeah," said Odd. "What's that?"
"A super dangerous program," said Aelita. "Like a virus which can control electricity, and it activates towers on Lyoko to gain access to your world."
"So, the red tower, the electricity monster, the weird symbol, the monsters on Lyoko, all of that was XANA?" asked Yumi.
"Yes," said Jeremie. "Only Aelita can counter it by deactivating the towers it uses for attack in the real world."
"Well, that's just perfect," said Tommy. "That's just fantastic."
"Well, which is it?" asked Broot.
"Both," said Tommy.
"What about materializing Aelita?" asked Ulrich.
"I could do it," said Jeremie. "But I need some time. It's dangerous. XANA can attack at any moment."
"Be reasonable, Jeremie," said Aelita. "We'd better just shut this thing down."
The group looked forlorn.
"Look, now that we know how to neutralize XANA, we just have to get Aelita to the activated tower," said Ulrich.
Jeremie looked surprised.
"Yeah," said Odd. "We can find a way to counter the attack while Einstein finds a way to bring Aelita back to Earth, right?"
Yumi and Ulrich nodded at their weird friend.
"It's risky," said Yumi. "But I think we should. After all, we are Lyoko warriors, aren't we?"
"YEAH!" yelled Odd and Ulrich, high-fiving each other.
Aelita smiled.
"You really think you can do it?" she asked.
"They don't call me Einstein for nothing," said Jeremie. "In a few weeks, I'll have it figured out. Meanwhile, let's not forget about our pact, huh?"
"Hey, relax," said Yumi. "We all know how to keep a secret."
The kids heard the sound of a throat clearing next to them. When they looked up, they saw that Villick had put his hand to his mouth.
"Oh," said Jeremie. "I'm sorry…I'd completely forgotten about you guys. So, what do you think?"
The soldiers looked serious at first, but then each of them gave an ever so slight smile.
"Jeremie," said Derrick, "I listened to Villick's story and at first thought this would be a bad idea. However, we are now of a different opinion of this whole affair."
"For one thing, we don't think Aelita deserves to have the computer shut down with her inside it," said Eddie.
"AI's may be dangerous," said Tommy, "but when all was said and done, Aelita was willing to sacrifice any possibility of a life in order to keep us and the whole of humanity safe. And if that doesn't earn her any points, I don't know what does."
"Besides," said Broot. "Fighting on Lyoko is the most fun I've had since I got to this godforsaken country."
"Racist," said Tommy.
"Hey, I just work with what I'm given," said Broot.
Villick's mandibles clicked.
"I trust my friends' judgment," he said. "If they are with you, so am I."
"Me too!" said Lexi.
Jeremie smiled at the soldiers.
"Thank you, guys," he said. "I won't let you down. I promise!"
Villick pointed to Jeremie.
"See that you don't," he said.
Lexi stepped forth.
"You know, I think now is the perfect time to let you guys know about an idea I had!" she said.
"What's that, Lex?" asked Derrick.
"How about we go undercover while we're protecting the school?" asked Lexi.
"What?" asked Derrick. "You mean…dress as civilians?"
"Yes," said Lexi. "But let's take it one step further! There's a high school nearby, right? Why don't we pretend that we're high schoolers who come over here to visit our friends?"
Villick scratched his chin.
"That's not a bad idea, Lexi," he said.
"Yeah," said Derrick. "We'll requisition some regular clothes for us to wear and we'll make some cover IDs. After that, we'll start guarding the school undercover."
"Unfortunately, I would have to decline," said Villick. "No matter what kind of clothes I wear, a turian is not going to blend in well at a human school."
The group frowned as they realized Villick's point.
"Forget it," said Broot. "You can count me out on that Jump Street shit, too. I can't handle kids. Sometimes, I think the turians did us a favor when they deployed the genophage."
"Did you a favor?" asked Lexi. "Don't you mean the krogan?"
Broot sighed.
"Thank you so much, Lexi," he said. "For one glorious second, I forgot that I'm a human."
"Well, I for one wouldn't be adverse to the idea," said Eddie.
"Eh, I've had worse," said Tommy. "Consider me enrolled."
Derrick nodded.
"Then it's settled," he said. "But for now, I think we could all use some sleep, so we'll all head back to campus and get some shuteye."
He whirled on Jeremie.
"You too, Belpois," said Derrick. "If you even think about working late on the computer tonight, I will personally turn you in."
"But I…" started Jeremie, looking crestfallen. "I promised Aelita I'd…"
"It's okay, Jeremie," said Aelita. "You should rest. You've done enough for me for one day."
"You're sure?" asked Jeremie.
"I'm sure," said Aelita. "Go get some rest."
The whole group turned to leave and bade Aelita goodbye as she disappeared from the screen with a smile on her face. Before they got too far out of the factory. Villick placed a hand on Ulrich's shoulder, stopping him.
"Ulrich," he said. "Wait a moment."
"What is it?" asked Ulrich.
"Don't think I've forgotten about the discussion I put a pin in," said Villick. "We need to address your biotics."
Everybody stopped to listen to the conversation.
"Ulrich," said Yumi. "You're a biotic?"
Ulrich closed his eyes.
"Yes," he spat. "And no, I can't read minds."
"I know you can't," said Yumi. "That doesn't make it any less cool."
"Really?" asked Ulrich.
"Ulrich?" asked Villick.
"Oh, right," said Ulrich. "Sorry. But please, tell me you're not about to send me off to some off-world station."
Villick flashed Ulrich what may have passed as a turian smile.
"I had a better idea," said Villick. "Thus far, you've been able to rein in your abilities, and so perhaps for now, I think you should just be monitored. If you start to have too much trouble with your gifts, then I think it might be best to take you somewhere for training."
"Are you saying you want to train me?" asked Ulrich.
"I do," said Villick. "And I will."
Ulrich smiled up at his new turian friend.
"As for your not having an amplifier," said Villick, "I may have a solution to that problem."
"A solution?" asked Ulrich.
"I have another human acquaintance," said Villick. "A biotic like you. He might be able to help us."
"Really?" asked Ulrich. "Who?"
To Be Continued…