Disclaimer: See Chapter One. (Didn't own it then, don't own it now, probably won't own it next chapter, either...)

Author's Notes: Hi everybody! Thanks for your reviews, you don't know how encouraging they are, and what a difference they make for me. As promised, the action picks up in this chapter.

--

Yumi sat in her bedroom later that night, finishing the last of her history homework. She made the last few scratches on the paper, double-checked the final reference quickly, then closed the book. Leaning back on the floor mat with a sigh, she settled her hands behind her head and let her eyes drop halfway closed. She stared at the ceiling, thinking, deciding that she would relax for just a few minutes before getting ready for bed.

After confronting Jeremie, they had all decided it would be best to plan their infiltration of Sector Five for tomorrow rather than that afternoon. Odd had already used up his virtualization card that day for 'training' on Lyoko, and the computer wouldn't reset his sequence for another use until the twenty-four hour time mark. Besides, there were no classes tomorrow, so they'd have all day to complete their mission, if necessary.

She shifted, the reeds in the mat beneath her making their familiar thrush sound. It had been so long since she'd last gone to Lyoko – she and Ulrich both. Nearly two months without a single threat from Xana, and she realized now how unusual that was, and wondered why she hadn't given it much thought before. Maybe it was because of the last attack Xana had launched, and how devastating it had been. Ulrich and Aelita almost dying, Jeremie going crazy and Odd getting picked on…maybe they'd all needed a break from it for a while.

Yumi pushed the thoughts away. She couldn't dwell on those things anymore; they were already said and done. What mattered was going to Lyoko tomorrow, and now that the realized how long it had been, she started to worry a bit. She vaguely remembered Odd going on about a new monster that he and Aelita had discovered on one of his solo training sessions. She also remembered tuning him out, because she'd been tired of his bragging. Yumi cringed at herself a bit, wishing now that she had paid a bit more attention. The last thing she wanted was to have to confront an unfamiliar enemy after being out of practice for two months.

Then there was Aelita, whom she hadn't seen or talked to during this whole time. Yumi wondered if Aelita had seen any other changes on Lyoko, if she was upset at all for having been practically ignored for so long—

The door to her room banged open, and a small figure dashed forward, whooping and shouting uproariously.

Yumi sat up, alert. "Hiroki! What do you think you're do—hey!"

Hiroki yelled incomprehensibly in triumph as he snatched up a handful of her homework papers and made a beeline for the door.

Yumi made a made lunge for him, and missed. "Give those back!"

Hiroki looked back just long enough to stuck his tongue out as he dashed into the hallway.

Yumi scrabbled to her feet and started after him, still hollering, "Hiroki, get back here right now or else—"

Behind her, something banged into her window.

Yumi halted at the threshold to her room, looking back, startled. She hung there for an instant, and a moment later the noise was repeated as another object struck the glass with a solid thunk.

Something was outside.

Forgetting about Hiroki, she crossed the room and opened the window, looking down into the small, fenced yard beneath. William stood on the grass, his arm cocked back as he prepared to launch another pebble at her second-story room. Luckily, he saw her head come into view and stopped his throw in time.

"William?" Yumi squinted into the darkness. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Hey, Yumi," He dropped his hand and the pebbles with it. "What's up?"

Yumi cocked an eyebrow. "Um…you're standing on my lawn in the dark, throwing rocks at my window. I'm the one who's asking you that."

He grinned at that, shoving his hands in his pockets. "You got me there."

"Why did you come to my window?" Yumi cocked an eyebrow at him. "We have a doorbell."

"Yeah, well," William started, his voice sounding like it was coming up with an excuse on the spot, "All the lights were off downstairs, and I thought maybe everybody else was sleeping. And I didn't want to be rude or anything and wake them up."

Curious, Yumi leaned a bit farther out over the window frame, glancing down at the rest of her house. There was a light coming from the kitchen area downstairs. "What do you call that, then?" She pointed.

William rolled his eyes, but he was grinning. "Geez, Yumi, can't a guy try to set up some sort of romantic mood without getting shot down?"

"Romantic?" Yumi scoffed.

"It's a classic scenario!" William held up his hands for emphasis. "The guy sneaking out at night to see the girl on her balcony…"

"My bedroom window is hardly a balcony." Yumi tried to sound stern but was unable to keep a smile from creeping across her lips. "Besides, that sort of thing is so cliché."

"Cliché is such a negative term."

Yumi attempted to give a frustrated snort at William's continuing banter, but an amused chuckle escaped her at the same time, and the whole thing came out sounding like a strange cough. She had to give him his due—he never quit. "Seriously, William," she said, sobering her tone and trying to get to the reason for this late-night visit. "What did you want?"

He complied, giving her a straight answer. "Well, you never got back to me, so I wanted to know if we were still on for tomorrow morning."

Yumi resisted the urge to slap her forehead in embarrassment. "Oh no, William, gomennasai! I'm sorry, I completely forgot!"

"Oh." His head fell a bit at her sudden and honest answer, and she couldn't really blame him. She could think of nothing worse for a guy's ego than to be utterly forgotten by a girl. After a moment however, he shrugged it off and looked back up at her. "That's okay. You're still coming though, right?"

She bit at her lip as a wave of guilt assaulted her. "Actually…" In the dark, she couldn't see his exact expression, but she could hear him give a bit of a sigh, like he knew that what he was about to hear wouldn't be good. She had to say them anyway."Well…something…came up." The words sounded lame—exactly like the excuse they were. Gritting her teeth, she plowed ahead, hoping that maybe if she kept talking he wouldn't notice. "It, ah, turns out that I'm going to be busy tomorrow morning, and I don't know how long it will take."

"Ah..." He sounded genuinely disappointed, but not surprised. If she'd forgotten to call him, what else could he have expected? He spoke again, his voice quickly covering the disappointment. "Well, that's all right. Did you want to give me a call whenever you're done? We could study later."

Yumi thought for a moment. Infiltrating Sector Five would take a while, she was sure, but certainly not all day. And they were getting an early start. "That might work," she answered, glad that William was so accommodating. She didn't want to put him off completely—she actually did like the idea of studying with him. "I can't say exactly when, but yeah, okay."

"Okay, great!" William took it in stride.

He grew quiet then, not sure of what else to say. Yumi waited, not having anything to say herself. The silence grew for a few long, awkward seconds, until finally Yumi shifted and let out a breath. "Well…I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow then."

William took the cue, "Right. Tomorrow." He gave her a wave, then started to leave. "Talk to you then!"

Yumi waved back, watching as he strode off her lawn and back onto the sidewalk. He gave several glances back over his shoulder as he headed down the street, back towards his house, taking a few last looks at her as she stayed by the window. Then he made the turn at the corner, and the night was quiet and still.

Except for a soft whoop that came from somewhere behind her, near her bedroom door.

Yumi whirled. "Hiroki!"

Her brother poked his head completely into view, unafraid. "Ooooooo! Onee-chan, you were talking to William, weren't you?" His face split into a huge, teasing grin. "Wait 'till Ulrich finds out, he'll be jealous—"

Hiroki cut off with an involuntary shriek of terror and delight, turning to run as Yumi charged the few steps between them, grabbing for him.

"Baka!" Yumi was shouting as she caught him around the middle, "You little snitch, don't spy on me!"

He squirmed and wriggled, still gasping and laughing, protesting until the end. "I was just doing what you told me to!"

"I never told you to spy on me!"

"You told me to come back!" Hiroki pulled the scrap of homework paper out of his pocket and waggled it triumphantly in her face. "You said, 'Hiroki, get back here right now or else—'"

Yumi gave a growl of frustration, snatched her homework back from him, and unceremoniously tossed him out the door. "Pest!" She slammed the door.

Hiroki rolled on the floor of the hallway, immensely pleased with himself and still laughing at the success of his own mischief. After a moment he calmed down, and climbed back to his feet. He pulled a face at his sister's closed door, then turned and headed for his own room, satisfied that he'd been annoying enough for tonight.

--

A few miles away, a single light shone from a ground-floor window in one of Kadic academy's dormitories. For the first time in a long while Jeremie was up late, running his computer. On the screen in front of him were several files and programs from Lyoko, some of them going through test runs, some of them simply waiting for him to start scanning. In one corner of the computer face, a different window stood open, with Aelita looking out from her tower on Lyoko.

Jeremie kept scanning files, his eyes darting back and forth between the information and Aelita's window. He looked nervous, and it was unusual for him. Aelita couldn't stay quiet for long. "Are you all right, Jeremie?"

"It's just…been a while…since I operated." Jeremie winced with guilt as he spoke. "The programs haven't been updated in more than a month, the vehicles I was designing aren't really finished…"

She nodded at him. "I know. You'll want to look at the schematics that I created for all the new monsters, too. Odd and I discovered them…" Aelita trailed off and seemed to look down a bit, focusing on something below the screen. "Here, I'm bringing up the files and sending them to you. The first one is what gave us the most trouble, there have been three times now when it managed to steal some of my memory files—"

Jeremie started. "What?"

"My memory files." Aelita repeated. "This monster is designated as a Skipazoa, and it appeared on Lyoko a few months ago. Sometimes when I leave the towers, I'll run into one of them; they try to latch onto me and siphon the information."

He scrolled through the information that she was sending him. "This monster was stealing your memory? And you never told me?"

She blinked at him. "Jeremie, you never gave me a chance to tell you anything."

He looked away, a color of shame rising in his cheeks. "I know…"

Her eyes were still on him, still regarding him with a soft smile on her features. "But I'm really glad that now I can talk to you again," she said.

Jeremie looked up at her screen, gazing at her with something between guilt and awe. He spoke softly, not thinking. "Aelita, you're amaz…" He trailed off as he realized what he was about to say.

She blinked. "What?"

Jeremie flushed unexpectedly and looked down at the keyboard. "Nothing. I mean, nevermind. I, ah…nevermind…"

"Oh." Aelita looked down too, disappointed.

There was silence between them then, as Jeremie continued to type, trying to focus on his programs again after so long. But her window was still open, and she was still looking at him from Lyoko, her eyes wide and sad and grateful and happy and relieved and searching all at the same time…

He couldn't stand it anymore. He dropped his hands and fell heavily against the back of his computer chair. "Aelita, how can you…I mean, you're being…" He smacked his head in frustration and his sudden inability to form complete sentences. "I don't understand why!"

"Why what?"

"Why you're so understanding!" He finally burst out saying. "Why you actually want to be here helping me, talking to me over the computer just like we used to, why you're still so nice to me after I almost killed you, after I ignored you, after I was such a…a…"

"Jerk?" Aelita finished for him.

Jeremie's mouth dropped open in surprise at the ease with which she agreed with him. And insulted him. Granted, that's what he had been thinking, but never would he have ever expected Aelita to voice it, and certainly not so quickly. He stammered a bit then, trying to think of a reply, or an excuse, or an argument, he wasn't sure which.

She giggled at him, amused that he was so flustered. "It's okay, Jeremie." Her face turned more somber then. "I can understand a little how you must have felt. I feel guilty every time any one of you is in danger in the real world because of Xana's attacks."

"But those attacks aren't your fault!" Jeremie blurted, "I mean, you're not the one putting people in danger. It's all Xana. What do you have to feel guilty about?"

Her response was calm and reasonable. "Well, if it weren't for me, you'd have shut Xana down the moment you discovered him, right?"

He was a bit taken aback by the simple way she stated her logic. "Well…ah…yes, but—"

"So it is sort of my fault that Xana is still operational, still launching attacks and trying to cause harm to everyone in your world."

Jeremie stared at her.

Aelita saw his expression and quickly gave a small laugh, as though trying to relieve tension. "I'm sorry, I've just had more time lately to think about it. And the things that happened during Xana's last attack just made it more clear than before, that's all." She spoke so…simply. Her voice was still light and innocent, unbothered. "If not for me, you could have killed Xana then and there, and it would all be over. It would have been over long before now."

"Aelita…" Jeremie was looking at her, with an intensity of emotion that she'd never seen before. His eyes were wide, worried, guilt-ridden. "Have we…have I been making you feel that way? This whole time?"

"Oh, no, of course not! That isn't what I meant at all…" She stared off into the distance for a moment, trying to focus her thoughts. "In fact, having all of you around to talk to makes me feel a lot better. It's just when I'm by myself that I start thinking about it too hard and I suppose I get a little depressed."

"I'm so sorry, Aelita…"

"It's okay, Jeremie," she said again, "I'm glad to have you back."

She meant it. As much as he found it hard to believe, he could tell that she really meant it. Jeremie felt an overwhelming urge to hug her then, and the unexpectedness and intensity of it surprised him a little. Feeling heat rise to his face again, he averted his gaze from the screen for a moment, rubbing nervously at the back of his neck.

When he looked back again, she was smiling softly at him, the ever-present sincerity still mingled with her features. And he couldn't for the life of him remember why he'd avoided her for so long.

--

Odd was the first to arrive at the factory the next morning. But then, he was probably the most eager of all of them to go back to Lyoko. He had been to Lyoko countless times on his own since the last attack, and for him, this was all still routine. But for Yumi and Ulrich it was a little different; neither of them had even been to factory at all in the past two months, much less Lyoko.

Jeremie was quick and to the point when he arrived, trying not to sound curt and only half succeeding. He wasn't trying to be rude, but it was obvious that he still had qualms about operating for Lyoko again. The four of them had barely stepped into the elevator before he started giving orders.

"I'll get the system going as soon as I get to the computer level," he punched the button, pointedly facing the doors and looking straight ahead. "You three go straight down to the scanners."

And that was that, apparently. Yumi and Ulrich exchanged dubious glances, but didn't argue. Odd scowled and folded his arms, displeased with the attitude and feeling a bit miffed that Jeremie could suddenly be in charge after having been neglectful of the whole situation for so long.

The doors clanked and hissed, opening to reveal the small, gray-paneled room the housed the computer and all its controls. Jeremie exited the elevator, heading quickly and directly for the large chair near the center of the room, not bothering to say goodbye or good luck.

The doors closed again, and the lift started sinking down to the next level.

"What is his problem?" Odd threw up his hands in frustration as soon as he was sure Jeremie couldn't hear them anymore.

Immediately the air was tense. "Well you can't expect him to be perfectly happy and friendly again overnight, can you?" Yumi folded her arms.

"He hasn't done this for a while; he's probably still getting used to the idea." Ulrich added.

"Oh, so you're both on his side, right?" Odd huffed out the elevator doors as soon as they opened and climbed into one of the scanners without waiting for any sort of response.

Ulrich watched the scanner doors slide shut over Odd's angry features and shook his head. They'd managed to get the team back together again, in one sense or another, but things were obviously not starting out very well and he didn't imagine that they would get much better. He heaved a sigh as he stepped into his own scan chamber, wondering how much time it would take for them to all be friends again, the way they'd used to be.

--

Aelita was waiting for them as their figures materialized in the shimmering, heat-ridden air above the desert sector. Yumi hit the ground first, bending her knees to absorb the impact of landing and then straightening to greet Aelita. Ulrich thudded to the earth a moment later, and finally Odd touched down in a feline crouch, tail twitching.

Aelita gave them all her characteristic smile and a wave. "It's been a while since I've seen you all on Lyoko."

"I've been here." Odd reminded her bluntly. "Target practice, remember?"

"We all know that, Odd. You've told us. What she meant was seeing all of us here together, at the same time." Ulrich clarified.

"Whatever." The purple-clad nekko checked the stock on his arrow launcher, sighting down his arm none-too-discreetly in Ulrich's direction.

"Can we not start this with fighting among ourselves?" Hands on hips, Yumi regarded the boys like a mother running rapidly out of patience. "Something tells me that that would be practically like handing the victory over to Xana."

"Hey, I'm not the one who has a problem working with my friends." Ulrich muttered.

Odd snapped open his mouth, ready and willing to escalate the fight with a hot retort, but never got the chance. Strangely, it was Jeremie who interrupted and put an end to the bickering. His voice came across their communications system, tinged with the familiar crackle of computerized static. "I've got the Sector Five access point isolated. Do you guys want directions or what?"

"By all means." Yumi responded emphatically.

"I know the way, Jeremie," Aelita acknowledged him. "I had the time to map out this sector before you all came."

Surprised, Ulrich raised his eyebrows at her. "You've been planning this for a while, haven't you?"

"Odd's not the only one who's been busy on Lyoko," the humanoid answered him with familiar, playful coyness as she started jogging away from the tower.

Yumi fell into step beside her, clearly impressed. "You mapped out the entire desert region?"

"Actually," Aelita replied, her features turning a bit more pink than usual, "The entire desert, mountain, and ice regions. All the information is logged in Jeremie's files and I…ah…memorized, it, too."

Ulrich's jaw nearly dropped at that. "You memorized everything?"

Aelita nodded humbly. "Well, except for the forest region, I didn't get to that one yet, and of course Sector Five…"

"Erstaunlich." Ulrich looked amazed. "Aelita, if you ever get to materialize permanently, and get enrolled in our school, remind me to pair up with you in geography class."

Although mostly flat, the desert region was prone to the occasional large rock formations. It was one such landscape irregularity that they were approaching as Aelita led them to the edge of the sector—a group of tall, jagged stones that jutted skywards like gaping teeth.

It was something scuttling between the rocks that caught Yumi's eye, and she was the first to voice dismay. "Oh, no…"

The others were quick to catch on to what she had already noted. As they drew closer, slowing with each step, they could pick out more and more individual shapes moving among the rocks. A large group of Xana's monsters milled throughout the area, patrolling the very extraction point to Sector Five that they were heading for.

"Crud, we've got company." Ulrich unsheathed his sword in one smooth motion, his voice turning dark. "It looks like Xana was expecting us."

"What?" Jeremi's voice carried a considerable amount of incredulity. "What do you mean, you've got company?"

Ignoring Jeremie, Odd cocked his wrist at a Krabe that was not too far away. "Again? Damn it, even when we make the first move, Xana's still ahead of us!"

"Maybe he figured it out from Aelita's files," Yumi opened a fan with a decisive snap.

"Or maybe he's just been biding his time, waiting for us to make a move." Ulrich took a defensive stance at the head of their formation. "Jeremie, why didn't you tell us there were monsters blocking the route?"

"What's going on? There are monsters there?"

"Duh, Einstein." For the first time, Odd seemed to be using the nickname in a derogatory rather than friendly manner.

"You can't see them on the scan?" Aelita sounded concerned.

"No! I can't see anything but you four. The entire area is clear!" Outside Lyoko, they could almost hear the clacking of the keyboard as Jeremie typed, running diagnostics on the systems and trying to discern what was wrong with his monitor program.

"Something must be wrong with the supercomputer," Aelita reasoned. "But I haven't made any changes to your programs, Jeremie."

"Neither have I." Now Jeremie sounded more resigned, more distracted. "How many are there?"

Yumi did a quick, rough count. "At least twenty."

"More like thirty," Ulrich added.

The odds were not good. It was rare for each of them to take out more than three monsters each, Aelita not included. There were four Megatanks, six Krabes, at least that many Bloks, and practically a dozen Kankrelat scattered among the larger enemies.

Ulrich thought quickly. "We could try another sector—"

"It wouldn't matter." Aelita interrupted him and gave the horde in front of them a frustrated look. "If Xana already knows we're here, he'll send monsters to cut us off no matter what area we try."

Several of the monsters turned in their direction, focusing strange eyes on the group of humans. A few of them stopped and continued to 'look' at them, but otherwise remained still. Others simply turned away and continued as though they hadn't registered the appearance of the humans.

"They're not making any move to attack," Ulrich said, wary of their enemy's lack of action. "Maybe we should—"

A sound like a shot exploded through the air and one of the Kankrelat reeled from a direct hit to its target, then dissolved into fragments. Instantly the other monsters were active, moving towards them and firing lasers.

Ulrich whipped around to glare at Odd.

Odd shrugged and fired another arrow, this time taking out one of the Bloks. "This isn't half as many as I fought one time. We can take them."

Furious, Ulrich carelessly reflected several lasers, not caring whether they ricocheted back to hit the monsters or not. Gesturing wildly towards the nearest rock formation, he shouted to the girls, "Yumi, Aelita! Get behind it, now!"

Both obeyed immediately, Aelita running for the shelter as Yumi covered their retreat. Using one of her fans as a shield, Yumi flung the other at an oncoming Krabe. The fan arced gracefully in midair, flying wide by several feet and missing the target completely. Muttering a curse, Yumi caught the fan on its return and ducked behind the rock. "I'm out of practice," she complained to Aelita, peering around the corner of their shelter in search of another opportunity to attack.

Odd stood out in the open, apparently in no hurry to get to safety with the others. Calmly, he went down on one knee to let a laser burn harmlessly over his head, then fired three more rapid rounds into the horde of monsters. The first arrow shot through a Blok, hitting the dead center of its target. The second took the legs off a Kankrelat; the little monster stumbled and flopped to the ground, its body still intact. Behind it, a Krabe unwittingly stepped forward and skewered the Kankrelat's head with its tapered leg, finishing the job that Odd had started.

The final arrow flew past the front line of monsters towards a Megatank that was just opening. The giant, shielded orb had barely cracked its casing when the arrow exploded through the opening and lodged in the Megatank's target with precision aim and timing.

Odd smirked.

He skipped left to avoid another laser, then raised his hand and squinted to begin sighting down his arm at the next unfortunate target. He didn't get the chance to fire, though, because in the next instant he felt a hard tug on his collar as Ulrich had latched on and began dragging him out of the line of fire and towards the shelter of the boulder.

Once they were safely behind the rock formation, Ulrich whipped Odd around by the collar and slammed him back against the rock face. "What do you think you're doing?"

"What we always do," Odd retorted, sounding impatient. "Taking out Xana's monsters."

"This isn't like getting Aelita through to a tower!" Ulrich practically hissed. "We're here to go with her to Sector Five! If we get wiped out in a firefight and rematerialized now, how is she going to infiltrate the sector and get the information we need?"

"I still have a blank materialization card." Jeremie had diverted enough of this attention from scanning the supercomputer's programs to overhear their conversation. "If one of you does lose all your life points, I can upload that and bring you back to full health."

Odd gave a careless grin. "There, you see? Einstein has us covered."

Ulrich glared at the sky. "Jeremie, you're not helping!"

"If anyone should be materialized twice with the spare card, though, it's Odd." Yumi nodded at him. "He's taking out more monsters than you and me put together."

Aelita spoke up, "I agree. Even if we didn't like the idea that Odd was spending so much time training on Lyoko, we can still use it to our advantage."

"Don't encourage him!" Ulrich looked exasperated.

"Too late!" Odd gave a little twist to pull himself out of Ulrich's grasp, then grinned and clambered up the rock face that was giving them shelter. He found a spot near the top and clung to the edge, poking his head above the uneven rim to aim and fire off arrows whenever he had the chance.

"Oh…no…" From her vantage point near the side of the boulder, Yumi's eyes suddenly got wide. "No, no, no…"

Ulrich forgot about Odd and moved to crouch next to her, peering around the side of their sheltered place to see what was causing her such alarm. "What? What is it?"

"There are guardians coming!" She pointed. "Two of them!"

Ulrich's gaze followed where Yumi indicated, his face incredulous. Sure enough, they could see two bright orange, glowing orbs floating through the air and coming to join the horde of monsters already in place. The guardians hovered strangely, orbiting each other in slow circles.

"Xana's never sent guardians before! At least, not during a fight with his other monsters." Aelita said, just as confused as the rest of them.

"That's a dirty trick, Xana," Odd shouted at the monster horde from his position. "I never got to practice against any guardia—aww, crud!"

Letting go of his perch suddenly, Odd leapt down next to them. Without missing a step, he latched onto Yumi with one hand and Aelita with the other, and started running away from the boulder, dragging the girls with him. "Move!" he shouted over his shoulder at Ulrich.

Ulrich fell into step with them, and behind them they heard something crash and shatter. Glancing back over his shoulder, Ulrich could see that the entirety of the rock formation they'd been hiding behind had been blown away. An advancing Megatank closed and opened its shell rapidly, as though pleased with itself for having eliminated their defenses.

Now there was nothing but open sand between them and the grouping of Xana's monsters. And now the guardians seemed to be taking action; through the middle of those ranks came one of the orbs of pulsing, flame-colored light. Hovering just above the ground, it began to speed towards them while the other remained behind the line of fire, sliding back and forth as if it were keeping watch on its fellow's progress.

The four of them still in full retreat, Ulrich moved to run beside Aelita. "You still want to go through with this?" he shouted over the laser fire.

"I'll admit," she replied between breaths, "I'm beginning to have my doubts."

Yumi nearly stumbled as a laser hit her between the shoulder blades, but she managed to keep running. "Is there a tower nearby? Transporting to another sector is starting to sound like a really good idea."

Odd was lagging a bit behind them now, turning every few moments to fire arrows back at their pursuers and cover their retreat. He sent one projectile straight at the oncoming guardian, and while he saw the spark of a successful hit, it didn't seem to have any effect. Frustrated, Odd sent off another shot, aimed at a Blok that was running right next to the guardian instead. The Blok's body spun wildly with the impact, and quickly exploded into fragments. Being so close, the guardian was somewhat caught in the explosion, and where it was hit Odd noticed that the smooth, glowing shell suddenly became dented, and even sparked a bit on its own.

The effect didn't last long, and the guardian never slowed, but it gave Odd some satisfaction to know that the rare monster wasn't invulnerable. They just needed a powerful enough blast to destroy it.

"The nearest tower is the one that we came from," Aelita explained. "Near the center of the sector. We're still close to the edge where we were going to transport."

"It's too far," Yumi noted grimly. "We're not going to be able to outrun a guardian."

"Any chance that you have those new vehicles working yet, Jeremie?" Ulrich asked.

"Only one is finished. It's called an overwing—"

"Then send it," Ulrich interrupted. He glanced over at the girls. "Yumi, you and Aelita take the vehicle and get to the tower. Odd and I—"

A yelp from behind caused them all to look back over their shoulders. Yumi saw the source, Odd, running to catch up with them, waving his arms wildly and shouting a warning as the guardian sped past him and headed straight for her.

With a short cry of surprise, Yumi spun herself around fully to face the oncoming threat as quickly as she was able. She pulled her arm up in defense, jabbing the sharp edge of the fan at the guardian's surface as it came at her, the fine blade digging deep into the luminous orb. The guardian sparked a bit at the impact point for a moment, but then seemed to absorb the damage—and the weapon with it. Startled, Yumi tried to pull her fan out so that she could attack again, but found it being drawn steadily inside the sphere.

It pushed towards her, taking the handle of the fan and then Yumi's hand as she continued struggling to yank the weapon free. Now the guardian had a hold of her, and it was pulling her slowly in.

Yumi lashed out with her foot, kicking hard and trying to find purchase against the exterior of the sphere so that she could pull her arm back out. All she succeeded in doing, however, was getting her foot stuck in the guardian as well. She struggled more fervently then, a sense of desperation starting to override logical thoughts. The more she fought, however, the quicker it seemed to draw her in.

Then suddenly Ulrich was next to her, diving forward and grabbing her free hand. He held on tight and pulled hard, bracing himself against the ground and trying to help Yumi back out of the guardian's grip.

She was half inside the guardian now, her hand clinging to his tightly and her expression beginning to show signs of panic. Knowing there wasn't much time left before she'd be completely absorbed, Ulrich cast about desperately for something, anything, that might help.

The only thing he saw though was a shimmering in the air as a new, vehicular shape began to materialize. Jeremie was sending the overwing, just like they'd asked. Ulrich ground his teeth in frustration; it was a bit too late to use the vehicle now.

Then he caught sight of Odd, running flat-out for the newly materialized overwing.

"Hey!" Ulrich shouted at him. "What do you think you're doing?"

Odd didn't even grace him with an answer. Instead, the nekko hopped onto the vehicle, grasped the controls to start it, and began racing away in the opposite direction.

Ulrich gaped, completely shocked that Odd would abandon them. As he looked on, he saw Odd take the vehicle out to a good distance and then spin it into a hard u-turn. Adjusting the steering towards the guardian, Odd hit the accelerator.

For a moment, Ulrich was still confused. "What the hell is he—?" Then comprehension dawned, and looked at Yumi incredulously. "Oh, Gott, he's going to ram into us!"

The overwing was shaking, thrumming with intolerable speed as Odd pushed it past the breaking point. With the distance closing rapidly, Odd leapt off, tumbling hard on the ground. The overwing sped onward, straight on course.

Ulrich gripped Yumi's hand even tighter. "Hang on," he said grimly, "This is probably gonna hurt."

The overwing smashed into the surface of the guardian, exploding and shattering into fragments of code that disintegrated on impact. In the same instant the guardian lurched and shuddered, then burst, its lighted surface splashing everywhere like liquid before disappearing into nonexistence.

Yumi went flying to one side, slamming into a nearby rock face and then thudding to the ground on hands and knees, her torso sparking. Ulrich was sent careening in the opposite direction, skidding along the sand and raising a wake of dust. His legs flickered with damage, bits and pieces of the underlying grid appearing here and there.

"Yes!" Odd punched the air with success. Hardly had he uttered the word, however, when he realized that his achievement was destined to be short-lived.

There was still one more guardian.

It seemed to speed up, as though agitated by the loss of its comrade. It careened towards Yumi, zigzagging like an angry insect. She was barely on her feet again before it was coming down on top of her. This time, instead of trying to block, she dodged the guardian's lunge and rolled out of the way in an attempt to stay ahead of it.

Ulrich leapt up, ignoring his still-sparking legs, running hard to get back to Yumi. For some reason the guardians were targeting her, and they had barely managed to get her out of the first one's grasp. Now there was no vehicle left to ram into it—he couldn't let it get a hold of her, or there might not be another chance to break her free.

Yumi opened a fan and flung it hard at the guardian. The weapon struck a glancing blow, careening off the curved surface of the sphere. The orb sparked a bit and it slowed for a moment, but the damage wasn't lasting. The sparks died and the guardian sped up again, making a second lunge for Yumi—

—and Ulrich shoved her out of the way. The next thing he felt was the impact of the guardian as it descended on him.

This guardian worked much more quickly than its predecessor. Where the first had tried to draw its victim in slowly, the second wasted no time in striking quickly to surround and absorb its prey. One moment Ulrich was standing before it, and the next he was practically in the center of the sphere.

The guardian's attack, however, had clearly been meant for Yumi. And it seemed to be able to tell somehow that it had not acquired its intended target. It floated for a moment, the orange surface pulsing and modulating with uncertainty. A quick shudder passed through its thick substance…and then it was perfectly smooth again, apparently satisfied with its catch.

It started to leave.

Yumi gave a shout and was back on her feet, running hard after it, with Odd right on her heels. For a moment, it seemed like their chase method might actually work; the guardian was moving much more slowly than before, and they were gaining on it. Yumi raised her arm to throw her fan, and Odd sighted along his hand, both of their attentions focused on the orb in front of them—

—and suddenly a Krabe obscured their vision, its laser charging and firing hurriedly at them. It scuttled between them and the guardian, obviously trying to block their path. Yumi was in no mood to deal with the monster, however, and she tried to ignore it, making a dash underneath in order to chase after Ulrich.

With surprising agility for such a large creature, the Krabe turned sideways and gave a kick with one of its long, tapered forelegs. The limb caught Yumi in the chest, sending her sprawling backwards. She climbed back to her feet, eyeing the Krabe now with frustration. One flick of her wrist extended her razor-edged fan, and a sweep of her arms sent it in a dizzying arc over the monster's head. In midair the fan executed a steep curve on its own, suddenly hissing downwards to drive through the Krabe's target mark. The creature shuddered, swaggered, and then shattered.

The fan buzzed back into Yumi's hand, just as two Blocks moved to intercept her and take the Krabe's place. Yumi grit her teeth, impatient and infuriated. "Chikushou! Don't get in my way!"

Either the Blocks did not comprehend her outburst, or they didn't care. In a simultaneous move, both began powering up their forward targets, showing the glow that signaled an inevitable laser shot. Yumi didn't wait for them to fire. She grabbed both fans in her hands and dove into a somersault, rolling herself under the blast just as the lasers released, feeling the air crackle and burn over her as she did so. She came up between the Blocks, pulling herself into a balanced crouch as the monsters spun rapidly, looking for another lock on their target.

Before they could find her again, Yumi snapped her arms outward, throwing both fans directly sideways, one into each Block on either side. In the instant afterward, she was surrounded by flying bits of shrapnel and dissolving grid as the monsters exploded and vanished.

And still, Xana's minions wouldn't leave her alone. Another Block and several Kankrelat were coming at her, blocking her path and slowing her down. Yumi growled inwardly; there was no time for this. Despite the approaching horde, she broke into a run again, vaulting over a Kankrelat that was scuttling into her path and dodging the upcoming Block. She tried to refocus her eyes only on the guardian ahead…but even then she could tell that it was moving too far away too fast, and she would never be able to catch up.

--

Aelita watched as Yumi tried so desperately to get past the monsters, watched as Odd fired away at their ranks, trying to break through the line, and watched as the guardian moved farther away with each passing moment. Something had to be done—fast.

In one practiced motion Aelita fell to her knees, threw her head back, and opened her throat. A strong, raw call sounded from her throat and echoed through the landscape, far harsher than the usual clear and vibrant notes that brought Lyoko under her control. It was hurried, more desperate sounding; less of a song…and more of a scream.

The ground seemed to give a nauseating lurch, and then a huge, violent spike of rock and sand rocketed skyward from the smooth piece of earth—directly beneath the guardian. It speared through the glowing sphere, impaling through the center and missing Ulrich by mere inches. The skewered orb burst into fragments, its coded grid barely having time to flicker before it was wiped from existence.

--

It was a Kankrelat that noticed.

The smallest, most humble of Xana's minions, wretched little monster that it was, had to make up for in numbers what it lacked in power. Often ignored and easily destroyed, a Kankrelat was despised as an annoyance, an insect in the monster horde.

But a single, insignificant Kankrelat suddenly became very, very important. Because it noticed when Aelita went down on her knees, lifting her face to the sky and crying out the song that would change the landscape.

It noticed. It turned its eye.

And it fired.

--

Aelita was still calling to Lyoko, the harsh pitch still ringing through the atmosphere, when the laser burned into her side. She felt her body jerk sideways with the sudden impact while damage sparks exploded around her chest and torso.

The pitch of her scream wavered, then cracked, and all of her control over the environment evaporated in an instant. But the connection was still open, and while her voice still sounded in the last instant before it died completely, something changed.

In response to her sudden pain, the landscape erupted. The giant spike of earth, at first thick and solid, now shattered into pieces, bits of uneven rock and shrapnel exploding outwards in all directions. The ground on which it was created began to split, crevasses knifing jaggedly across the surface as the entire area started to give way.

--

With the guardian around him suddenly gone, Ulrich found himself falling. He hit the ground hard, a distant pain shooting up his legs and back as sparks encased him. He groaned and rolled onto his side, trying to get back on his feet and figure out exactly what had just happened. Propping himself up on his elbows was about all he managed to do.

Only a short distance away, he could see Yumi running while Odd fought to keep a Krabe distracted. Yumi was shouting his name, running full-tilt towards him. He started to rise to meet her—

There was a sound like a gunshot, and behind him something exploded. Ulrich found himself on the ground again as a shockwave shoved him forward and bits of shrapnel rained down on his back and head. The sand beneath him was lurching, dropping sickeningly downward as cracks appeared out of nowhere.

Ulrich had no idea what was going on, and no time to figure it out either. Things were happening too fast—one minute he'd been protecting Yumi from a guardian, the next he was falling to the ground and now things were exploding around him and the entire sector seemed to be collapsing from underneath him.

He tried to look up to find Yumi again, but with the sands lurching and shuddering he couldn't seem to find her. He could feel his segment of the ground starting to pitch and twist, the cracks getting larger and the pieces starting to break away. There was another stomach-sickening drop, and he chanced a look behind him only to see a gaping hole in the earth where there hadn't been one before. Chunks of rock and sand were still breaking apart in an ever-widening circle, like a fragmented crater.

Ulrich was near the edge of it—but not near enough. At any moment the ground underneath him would collapse fully and he would fall with it into the void. With no more time to waste, he gathered his feet against what little solid ground was left and made a desperate lunge just as it caved away, his hands reaching out for any kind of solid ledge.

For one miraculous moment, his fingertips caught an edge of sand that wasn't yet shattered. He hung, one-handed, suddenly wondering if this was how Yumi had felt once when she had fallen.

And then that handhold, too, started to break away.

Ulrich didn't think, he just reacted. His hand went to the hilt of his sword, grabbing it tight and pulling it from the sheath. As he fell past, he stabbed the blade into the edge of the sand, hoping that it would somehow catch. Sparks sprayed everywhere as the metal scraped against rock, and, amazingly, came to a jolting halt as it wedged somehow in the rock.

Now Ulrich hung there, suspended several feet below the edge of solid ground, dangling with nothing between him and the void far below. The hilt of his sword was angled downwards and he gripped it hard with both hands, his grasp already unsteady and starting to slip.

--