Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko. Still. And I don't own Rent. Nothing from Rent is in this chapter…I just felt like saying that.

Yeah, I'm weird.

Hello again, my lovely readers. It's me, your dear. Weird, mentally disturbed friend.

I don't know why I wrote that.

I lied. I do know why I wrote that…Three coffees and three pieces of birthday cake for breakfast. Mom wasn't home. .

Lyoko

Ella dropped to the ground, her headache disappearing instantly just like it always used to.

"Rose! I haven't seen you forever, how have you been doing?" asked Aelita, callingher by her favorite nickname.Ellagrinned at her.

"I'm alive, aren't I?"she asked happily.Aelita smiledand huggedher tightly.Ella coughed a little.Aelita let go, a grin still on her face.

"So how are you and your boyfriend? Err…. Actually, you never told me his name."

"Oh, he's not my boyfriend. His name is Jeremie Belpois. He found me last year…After your computer crashed. Oh, I forgot! I haven't told you about the others!" Ella stared at her.

"What 'others'?" she asked, watching Aelita carefully.

"When Jeremie found me, so did three others. Their names are Ulrich, Yumi and Odd. They go to-" she began. A noise came from behind them. Ella whipped around only to find nothing there. The ground shook beneath them.

"No! Aelita, get back! X.A.N.A's activated a tower!" Ella yelled, whipping out her gun.

Meanwhile, on Earth

Jeremie's computer beeped quietly under his desk. He leaned back in his chair slowly, only to see a red tower glowing on his screen. He raised his hand quietly.

"Mrs. Hertz, may I go to the Infirmary? I don't feel well." He said quietly. Mrs. Hertz nodded. Jeremie's friends stood up quickly.

"Can we take him?" they asked in unison. Mrs. Hertz nodded again.

"…Now, when you take this number…" were the last words they heard before the door shut behind them.

"What's going on?" Ulrich asked as they started to run.

"X.A.N.A's attacked. I don't know about Aelita; I haven't heard from her yet. I hope she isn't harmed." They heard a growl in front of them and stopped short. A wolf sat in front of them, swishing his tail back and forth silently. Odd slowly took a step to one side.

"Well, Einstein, it appears we've found out what our old friend X.A.N.A. has cooked up for us this time." He muttered. Jeremie nodded at him.

"If we move slowly, I don't think it'll do anything," whispered Ulrich. Jeremie nodded again.

"Hey, Einstein, you gonna say anything?" Odd whispered.

"Odd, could you please be quiet? I'm trying to think of a plan." muttered Jeremie. Odd shut his mouth. Ulrich smiled a little to himself. This was probably the first time Odd actually shut up in his life.

"I've got it! Ulrich, you distract it for a few minutes while Odd and I run for it. When we're gone, run after us and go through the manhole. We'll hold it open for you. Got it?" he asked. The boys nodded.

"In three…two….GO!" he yelled. Odd and Jeremie took off, leaving Ulrich with the wolf.

"Um…Ha!" He yelled, throwing a rock at it. The wolf growled loudly and advanced on him menacingly. He took a slow step back. The wolf lunged at him. He took off running, not stopping until he got to the manhole. He slid into the opening, managing to pull it shut just before the wolf got there. He sat for a few seconds and caught his breath.

"Are you okay?" Odd asked at the bottom of the stairs.

"Fine. Let's get going!" he muttered a few seconds later, jumping of the step and grabbing his skateboard as he did so.

About three minutes later, Jeremie heard a clicking noise behind him near the elevator.

"Good, you guys are here. Aelita needs you in the Desert region. Hurry!" he told them. Odd and Ulrich jumped back in the elevator, speeding down to the scanner room.

Ella's P.O.V.

Aelita and I hid behind a boulder to come up with a plan, just like old times.

"All right, Jeremie should already know about the activated tower. All you need to do is distract the monsters and the schiphizoa until backup comes. Okay?" she asks. I stare at her.

"What in the world isa schiphizoa?" I ask. She stares at me blankly.

"Oh, wait, I haven't told you yet…The schiphizoa is a huge, squid-like monster that wants to steal my memory." I nod. It makes sense. Then I step out from behind the rock into the harsh, glaring virtual sunlight.

Odd's P.O.V.

"Hey, Einstein, where's the Princess?" I ask as I drop to the ground.

"She's to your right by a rock, you should see it right now," he answers. I nod and start to run toward the rock. I see the rock right in front of me and run faster.

"Hey, Princess, I'm coming for you!" I yell, knowing she'll jump out as soon as I say it. I hear a click behind me and a girl's voice.

"Don't move."