(A/N: Sorry for the long wait for the update. I do not own Code Lyoko; only Shawn Davidson.)

Chapter 4

It has been almost two weeks since Shawn joined team Lyoko, and things have been taking a turn for the worse. The kids have been trying to obtain information from Tyron's supercomputer, but to no avail. Not only that, XANA has made things more challenging in his attacks on Earth; creating new monsters and devising new strategies.

Things have not been going well however. Both Odd and Yumi have lost all their codes, and Ulrich and Aelita have very little left of theirs. They have been in many close calls with specters already as well. The only upside to all of this is that Jeremy managed to reprogram the Forest and Ice Sectors.

The gang was sitting at their spot at the park bench.

"In total, our combined codes equal to 23%," Jeremy said, looking at his laptop. "Not only that, with XANA at almost 80%, his specters have been more advanced."

Ulrich nodded his head. "Yeah, they've been getting faster and stronger each time. We need to figure out a plan."

"By the way everyone, I'm gonna make some improvements to your Lyoko forms, do you have any suggestions?"

Everyone thought about it for a while. Aelita said nothing, but everyone said they wanted their old forms back. Shawn asked if he could do something about deleting his short sword. Jeremy said he will do something about it.

The day went normally, XANA decided to take a break for once. But sadly, things will only get worse the next day. Jeremy worked all night to complete his friends' wishes. He managed to finish before the sun came up. Jeremy could only wish the day will get better.

The time was now. Around noontime, at the factory, several of XANA's monsters materialized in the real world. They were krabs, kankrelats, bloks, and a couple tarantulas. They were all positioned in the factory waiting for orders when a virtual figure of XANA appeared before them.

XANA appeared as a man dressed in black. He wore black boots, and his clothes had red computer chip lines running throughout it. His eye was stamped on his chest and it glowed with a red evil light. He smiled at his minions.

"I am getting tired of these children interfering with my plans. I want you all to go and destroy this city. Kill anyone who's foolish enough to face you, head to Kadic Academy and find the Lyoko warriors and kill them," XANA ordered. He pointed to a krab and blok. "You two stay here in case they come here. They will come to deactivate the tower." The monsters bowed slightly and exited the factory, and the Krab and Blok standing guard. XANA laughed and disappeared in a flash.

The monsters moved through the city attacking anyone they saw. People ran in terror from them as they destroyed whatever they saw fit. The police came in to quell the attack, but they were no match for the monsters and were defeated. Soon, a couple of monsters reached Kadic, causing panic throughout the area. The students ran for their lives as the creatures attacked without mercy. Team Lyoko snuck off to the sewers without detection and hurried to the factory.

They met XANA's welcoming committee at the elevator. The two monsters fired upon them. Jeremy and Aelita took cover while Shawn and Odd tried distracting them. Luckily, XANA's monsters were still dumb as bricks, and Ulrich and Yumi attacked them with broken pipes. Ulrich climbed on top of the krab and stabbed it as Yumi finished off the blok. They all rushed down to the supercomputer so Jeremy could start the virtualization process.

"Okay, XANA has activated a tower in the Forest sector, now I need you all on Lyoko now." said Jeremy.

"What about the students and people in the city?" Shawn asked. "People are dying out there; we need to go protect them from the monsters or they'll die."

"Shawn's right Jeremy," said Aelita. "Some of us need to stay here to prevent any casualties. Deactivating the tower won't matter if people are dead."

Jeremy closed his eyes for a moment, lost in thought. "You're right. It's time to virtualize you guys on Earth again. I want at least two of you with Aelita and Ulrich however. Any volunteers?"

Everyone was silent for a few seconds when Shawn raised his hand. "I'll stay here. My skills will help more here than on Lyoko."

Odd raised his hand as well. "I'll go with Shawn too. Things will be more fun here anyway." Jeremy gave him a look that said he was not amused.

"Alright then," Jeremy said, turning back to the monitors. "Everyone, head down to the scanners. Shawn, Odd, you get in first and I'll start up the procedure. After that, the rest of you can go."

They gang headed down to the scanner room. Shawn and Odd stepped inside two as Jeremy started the virtualization process.

"Transfer Odd. Transfer Shawn. Scanner. Virtualization!"

A moment later, the two of them appeared in the factory's central area. They landed on the ground and looked about. The process was a success. The two of them climbed the cables to the entrance.

"You guys alright?" said Jeremy's voice. "Before you ask, I installed a program that will allow me to communicate with you when you're virtualized on Earth. It's all in your head."

"Don't worry Jeremy, we're fine." Odd answered.

The two of them started running for the city as fast as they could. Around them, they found only destruction; overturned cars, destroyed buildings and street property, and craters from lasers.

"XANA has really lost it this time." Shawn commented.

"Yeah, he should really a hobby to do in his spare time." Said Odd, and they both laughed. Their moment was cut short when a krab and tarantula appeared from around the block and fired upon them. The two of them took cover behind a car.

The krab moved closer to their position while the tarantula readied itself at their hiding spot. Shawn drew his revolvers and drew breath. "I'll draw the Tarantula's attention and you take out the Krab, okay?" he told Odd. He nodded and poised himself. "Now!" Shawn shouted, and stood up, firing all his rounds at the tarantula. The monster fired upon him as Shawn strafed, avoiding its shots. Odd jumped on top of the krab and fired into its eye, killing it. Shawn drew his now only blade and rushed the monster, dodging as he drew close. He jumped off a car and landed on top of the tarantula and stabbed it. The boys gave each other a high five and pressed on for the school.

On Lyoko, Everyone was heading for the tower, taking out any monsters they came across. They were happy to have their old forms as well, except for Aelita, who kept her current one. They encountered very little resistance with their foes. Soon, they were close to the activated tower; only problem was it was guarded by two megatanks, a tarantula, and one of XANA's newest monsters: a crusher. Why is it called that?

Well, it resembles what could be described as a giant bear or animal, and it just loves to rush its prey with its hardened frontal exterior and bash and crush it prey in its giant claws. Suffice to say, it is a monster not to be taken lightly.

The crew had to figure out some kind of plan. William had one, and a very stupid one at that. He disappeared into smoke and rushed over to the monsters. He stabbed the tarantula and swung a sword beam into one of the megatanks, destroying it. Sadly, William forgot about the crusher and it grabbed him with a claw. It began beating him into the ground, draining his life points with each smash. William tried escaping its reach, but the monster bore down onto him, devirtualizing him instantly. It was not a pretty sight.

Back in the city, Shawn was in the schoolyard, fighting off a few krabs and kankrelats. Odd, at the moment, was busy escorting some of the students into the buildings for safety. He joined Shawn and, together, they finished off the rest of the monsters. The battle was far too easy for the two of them, and they were victorious.

Back on Lyoko, the gang finished off the last megatank, but Aelita was devirtualized in exchange. The crusher charged at them at a fast speed, forcing Ulrich and Yumi to retreat. They need a new plan in getting past the monster.

Back at Kadic, Shawn and Odd were about to head back into the city when they were met with a strange man at the gates. He was completely dressed in black, from his boots to his neck. He held a black broadsword in his hand. The only thing that stood out about him was his chest; the eye of XANA imprinted upon it, red veins flowing from it. It was XANA!

Shawn drew his sword and Odd raised his arm to attack. But, in a flash, XANA rushed forward and ran his sword through Odd, devirtualizing him. He turned to Shawn and struck, but was blocked by his quick senses. XANA struck back at him some more, only to be met with more blocks. XANA swung at him, but Shawn ducked under it and slashed XANA across his chest, knocking him back.

"You are very strong," spoke XANA. "I want to offer you a deal. Interested?"

Shawn lowered his sword. "What are you talking about?"

XANA laughed. "Your strength is being wasted with these children. They are only using you for their own benefit. If you join me, I can give you what you most desire. Power, women, and riches will be yours. Whatever your little heart desires, you can have it, if you only take my hand and join forces with me." XANA stuck his hand out, waiting for Shawn's decision.

Shawn was hesitant about this. Deep down, he had a feeling that he really was just a tool, and the temptation for anything he could ever want being right in front of him. He thought about it, and finally, he reached his hand out, but, again, he was hesitant.

"Shawn! Don't do it!" he heard Aelita's voice in his head, reaching out to him from the lab. "It's just one of XANA's tricks! He will only use your body as one of his minions; he will destroy every bit of your mind until you're just a puppet."

Shawn's hand froze in place. He realized what he was doing and took his hand back. How could he be tempted like this and betray his friends? He drew his sword and attacked XANA. XANA struck back, infuriated that he turned him down.

"Foolish child!" yelled XANA. "How dare you refuse my will? You will face my full wraith now!" XANA jumped at him, bringing the full weight of his sword onto Shawn. They both clashed blades together. Shawn threw XANA off himself and attacked. The two of them bounced their swords off each other, looking for an opening. Shawn cut XANA's leg, but it did not even stop him. XANA surprised him by disappearing and slicing his back, draining 30 life points. Shawn recovered and struck back. The battle was not over yet.

On Lyoko, Ulrich and Yumi finally got an idea to avoid the crusher. Ulrich triplecated himself and sent one of them out at the crusher. The monster grabbed the clone and pulverized it into the ground before it suddenly disappeared. The last clone and Yumi jumped out and attacked the crusher, but their weapons did not leave a dent on it. Ulrich sprinted from the hiding spot, making a beeline for the tower. The crusher saw this and rushed at him. Yumi used her telekinesis and dropped a large boulder in the crusher's path, stopping it momentarily for Ulrich to reach the tower.

"Jeremy, Ulrich's inside the tower now." Yumi said. Jeremy let out a sigh of relief and rematerialized her.

As for Shawn, he battle was coming to an end. XANA swung his sword, but Shawn jumped over it and plunged his blade into XANA's chest. XANA fell to the ground defeated. Shawn was about to retrieve his sword when XANA grabbed him and pulled him close.

"It's not over yet Shawn Davidson," XANA whispered. "I am close to my goal, and soon this world will be mine. When the time comes, you will be sorry you refused my offer. You should be more aware of your surroundings; my minions have been attacking the school doors for a while now. I will see you again." XANA laughed as his body disappeared.

Shawn grabbed his sword and raced for the school doors. XANA was right; krabs have just broken the doors and have entered. He could hear screams coming from inside. He rushed to save everyone, but he was barricaded by three tarantulas that fired upon him. Shawn took cover behind the vending machines.

Ulrich brought up the tower interface and entered, "CODE LYOKO". Tower deactivated. Jeremy initiated the return to the past program and everything went back.

It was ten o' clock in the morning. Everyone was minding their business as usual. Team Lyoko was at the vending machines chatting about the recent attack.

"We had a real close call this time." Jeremy said.

Odd nodded. "I know, XANA is pulling all the stops now. Things will only get rough from here on out."

"I think the victory here goes to Shawn," Ulrich remarked, catching his attention. "If it wasn't for him, there would've been casualties at the school. Plus, his battle with XANA showed him that we're not to be messed with."

"The bigger question is, why did XANA appear and offer Shawn an alignment?" Yumi asked.

"I think I might know," Shawn answered. "He saw me as a strong warrior, but he knew he couldn't try to take me forcefully like William, so he tried tempting me. Thing is, I almost agreed to join him."

The whole group was shocked. They could not believe what they just heard.

"But, thanks to Aelita, I came to my senses. I realized that power and riches could not replace my friends, and I defeated him in battle. But XANA did tell me that he'll see me again, and that worries me."

"We'll have to be on our guard then. Also, we got class to go to now." Aelita said. Odd and Ulrich groaned as they have a test (again). Yet, they seem to fail their tests even when they go back in time. They all left for their classrooms, but Shawn stopped Aelita while the rest went on.

"Aelita, I want to thank you for saving me back there. If it wasn't for your words, I might've accepted XANA's offer."

Aelita smiled. "Shawn, I was just doing what I thought I had to save my friend, that's all."

"Well, it was you who brought me back to reality. Thank you." Shawn then did a risky move and gave Aelita a quick kiss before heading to class. She blushed a little as she followed behind him to the classroom. They had another day where they stopped XANA once again. However, things are only going to get more difficult now.

(A/N: I hope you enjoyed this, leave a review, and check out my other fanfics as well. I'll see you next time.)