I hate finals. Finals hate me. Yuck. I finally got them over with…until May, that is. Anyway, chapter seven is here! This is the last chapter of the story, but I will have a short little epilogue after this. I was listening to Evanescence while I was writing this, but I SWEAR it won't affect how the story ends… Thanks again to Lily and all of you -ahem- faithful readers.

DISCLAIMER: No… I don't own Code Lyoko. Hah, I wish. Annabella is MINE, though, and so is the nameless janitor!

Chapter VII: The End Is Here… Or Is It?

Jeremie took the note from Aelita's grasp with trembling fingers and carefully read the note.

"Dear friends,

Fortunately, I am not lost in the virtual void. In fact, I'm here on Earth. I'm sorry I scared you guys, but my disappearing act was quite necessary. Don't worry about making up a story for my disappearance; I've got it all under control. XANA figured out my location at Kadic, and my presence would only make his attacks stronger…XANA… it would do anything to destroy what I possess… what I think could get rid of XANA forever… a key from the past, of sorts. I've gone into hiding, but I can't tell you where, just in case this gets into the wrong hands. However, I can tell you this: I love dragons. I hope you guys are sharp enough to figure that one out, and I'm sure you will eventually. I'm sorry for sending you on a scavenger hunt. As for my possessions, I've arranged for some people to come down and retrieve them for me. I wish I could have gotten to know you all better… You were so kind to me! I promise I will never forget you. Please promise me that you won't go looking for me. Fate will decide when we will meet again. Goodbye and good luck!

-Annabella"

Jeremie noted that Annabella's neat penmanship turned into a rushed scrawl towards the last few lines of the letter. He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "Hmph," Jeremie grunted. "Her letter is laced with clues… yet none of them make sense! CURSE YOU AND YOUR RIDDLES, ANNABELLA!!!" he shouted to the ceiling. Aelita was slightly taken aback yet again by another ridiculous outburst from Jeremie.

Aelita reached for the note. "Here, let me see that again." Her eyes scanned the page. "It says here: 'However, I can tell you this: I love dragons.'" Aelita looked up. "What could this mean? She never mentioned dragons before. Talk about being totally random… I'll ask the others what it means in the morning. But for now, we need our sleep, Jeremie. Goodnight."

And with that, Aelita turned and walked out the door, leaving Jeremie still puzzling over the note.

"Hmm…" Jeremie narrowed his eyes. "Dragons… dragons… dragons… dra…" Jeremie's head drooped forward onto his desk, and he was asleep in an instant.

The next morning at the late Saturday breakfast, the group minus Ulrich and Yumi sat silently around a randomly chosen table. Nobody was hungry after last night's events. Except Odd, that is.

Jeremie let out a snort of disgust. "How can you eat, Odd, when we have a serious mystery on our hands?!"

"Uh smmm gaw yuh no fwwwrrr," replied Odd through his mouthful of food.

"So you don't know what the dragon thing is all about then?" questioned Aelita.

"Nope," said Odd after he had finally swallowed.

Aelita cast a worried glance out the window. "I sure hope Yumi know what this means… Jeremie, do you have the letter? I think Yumi should see it, too."

"Yes, I got it right here," he said while pulling the letter out of his right-hand pocket.

"Good," sighed Aelita. "Now we have to wait for Yumi to get here. I called her earlier this morning, and she said she was already on her way."

"Probably to check on Ulrich," said Odd with a sly smile, which earned him a smack upside the head from Jeremie.

"Owwww," whined Odd, "It's probably true, anyways."

"Look you guys, Yumi's here," stated Aelita as Yumi pushed through the cafeteria doors.

"Finally!" cried Odd.

"Sorry you guys," apologized Yumi as she sat down across from Aelita, "I tried to come as fast as I could. So, why did you want me to come early?"

Jeremie handed the note to Yumi. "We think you should have a look at this."

Yumi took the note and scanned it, her eyes growing wider and wider as she read the note. By the time she was done, it looked like she had two golf balls for eyes.

"Dragons…" whispered Yumi, "I remember something about dragons…"

Aelita and Jeremie leaned forward and Odd almost choked on a sausage. Suddenly, Yumi sat bolt upright in her chair.

"Yes, I remember now! It was when we first met… She was sitting under a tree and sketching a dragon. It was actually pretty good. When I told her so, she practically jumped out of her skin," said Yumi with a small chuckle. "But what do you think it has to with solving the clue. Do we even know what we're looking for, anyway?"

Jeremie and Aelita exchanged glances. "Well…" said Jeremie, "She mentioned she had a key of some sort… a key to shut down XANA. Annabella didn't really say much about it, only that she had it in her possession. If it had anything to do with the clue, I think she would have said something more."

"But I don't think it would hurt to check," stated Aelita, "Yumi, what was she sketching the dragon on?"

Yumi thought for a moment. "Well… I think she was using a sketchbook. I can't remember."

Suddenly, Jeremie stood up. "Come on, you guys. The letter said that someone was coming to pick up Annabella's stuff. If they get there before we do, we won't get a chance to get a look at her sketchbook!"

"Can I at least bring my soda?" pleaded Odd.

Yumi rolled her eyes, "Whatever, we just have to get to the dorms!"

And with that, Jeremie raced out of the cafeteria with the rest of the group in tow.

Janitor P.O.V.

My arthritis started to act up again as I finished scrubbing the last of some sticky, unidentifiable, red substance stuck to the pavement outside the cafeteria that was really starting to smell.

I don't get paid enough for this…

Just then, I saw four teens running across the yard and into the dorms. Really peculiar-lookin' ones, too. One looked like he stuck his finger in an electrical socket, and his hair paid for it; one was garbed all in black; one had this bubblegum pink hair, which almost hurt to look at; and the last one had round-rimmed glasses like that one fantasy book character that he couldn't quite put his finger on...

Weird. Now, where did I leave my mop…?

Regular P.O.V.

As soon as the group reached the room, Aelita breathed a sigh of relief to discover that it was exactly how she had left it when she departed to breakfast that morning. Yumi strode over to the chair that Annabella's schoolbag and opened the flap. Sure enough, there were some battered textbooks, chewed up pencils, and scraps of paper, and on the bottom was Annabella's sketchbook. Yumi pulled out the book and opened it to the middle page, which was blank.

Oops, too far.

Yumi turned back a few pages, and when she got to the dragon's page, a piece of plastic fell out and landed on the floor. Jeremie picked it up of the ground and examined it closely.

"It looks like a microchip of some sort," he said, "Though it has a really strange shape…"

Odd grabbed for the chip, "I wanna see it!"

However, Jeremie was too quick, and he held the chip high over his head so it was out of Odd's reach. "Not on your life, Odd. This microchip could be the key to getting rid of XANA!"

Odd wouldn't be shaken off so easily. "Come on, Jer, I wanna see it!" cried Odd as he made another grab for the chip.

The group watched the whole scene in slow motion. Odd snatched the chip away from Jeremie, but Odd lost his balance and spilled soda all over the floor with the chip landing right in the middle of the puddle.

"ODD!!!" screamed Jeremie. "YOU RUINED OUR ONE AND ONLY CHANCE TO DO AWAY WITH XANA FOREVER! I hope you're happy, Odd!"

Odd stared down at his shoes. "Sorry," he squeaked.

"No, sorry isn't going to cut it," Jeremie fumed, "I spend most of my time figuring out how to stop XANA, and when it's handed to me on a silver platter, YOU just had to ruin it!" Jeremie turned on his heel and stormed out of the room. The three remaining just stood in silence.

"Jeremie!" shouted Aelita as she ran out of the room after the frustrated Einstein.

Yumi glanced towards the door. "I, uh… I'd better go check on Ulrich… you know, to see how he's doing," said Yumi while walking backwards towards the door.

"Then, I guess I'd better clean this up," sighed Odd as he stood up and followed Yumi out of the room to retrieve some paper towels from the nearby restrooms.

As soon as Yumi rounded the corner out of Odd's sight, she started running. Yumi had to get there as fast as she could.

I hope he's awake, she thought as she skidded to a halt in front of the infirmiry. Just as Yumi placed her hand on the handle, she felt it turn, and the door swung open. As she looked up, her dark brown eyes met a pair of chocolate brown ones.

"Oh, Ulrich, I'm so glad you're okay!" Yumi shouted as she embraced the incredibly startled Ulrich. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know you would… you would…"

Ulrich pulled away and grinned, "It's alright. I'm still alive, aren't I?"

Yumi smiled and punched him in the arm. "Don't ever scare me like that again!" scolded Yumi. Ulrich scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly.

"Come on," said Yumi before grabbing Ulrich's hand and dragging him along the corridor, "We'd better round up the rest of the gang and let them know that you're alright."

The pair raced down the hallway, through the courtyard, and into Jeremie's room, where they found a very depressed Jeremie, slumped over in his computer chair with his face in his hands. Yumi walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong, Jeremie?"

Jeremie sighed and shook his head, "I'm such an idiot," he moaned. "Idiot, idiot, idiot, IDIOT!" He paused. "Well, Aelita was trying to console me, but because I was so angry that our one and only chance to destroy XANA completely and to have a normal life again was gone, I took it out on Aelita… So, she got angry, too, and left."

Ulrich raised an eyebrow and asked, "So instead of going to apologize, you are just going to sit here forever, mentally torturing yourself?"

Jeremie sighed and stood up. "No… I guess not. I'd better go find Aelita and apologize."

"Good idea," commented Yumi, "Ulrich and I will check on Odd so that he won't commit suicide… You really let him have it, Jer. Let's meet back at Aelita's dorm in five minutes, okay?"

"Fine," called Jeremie over his shoulder as he left the room.

As soon as Yumi and Ulrich collected Odd from Ulrich and Odd's shared dorm room and Jeremie had found Aelita sitting on a bench outside and apologized, the five met in Aelita's dorm as promised. Odd collapsed on Annabella's bed, and Jeremie and Aelita parked themselves on Aelita's bed. Yumi leaned against the doorframe, and Ulrich sat on top of Aelita's desk.

"Odd," Jeremie faltered, "I… I'm sorry. I guess I overreacted."

Odd sat up and smirked, "It's okay. I should have controlled myself better. Anyway, it is my fault that the microchip got soaked."

Yumi straightened from her slump against the doorframe. "Well, now that we've all apologized to each other… What now?"

Ulrich slid off his desk and strolled over to the window. "Hey, what's this?" he asked while peeling a pink sticky note off of the recently cleaned window. "It says: I scheduled a return trip, but you won't remember a thing. It's better that way in the end."

The group stood in shocked silence, and Aelita rushed to look out the window. She could see the white washing over the top of the trees, and it was heading towards Kadic. Aelita's green eyes glanced back to look at the rest of the group. "Get ready for a return trip to the past!"

Then, the group was blinded by a bright, white light as it poured over Kadic Academy and sent the universe back in time.

Well, there you have it, and that's where my story ends (although there'll be an epilogue which I will post shortly after this chapter). I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks millions again to Lily.