Chapter 19: Return to the Past Now!

Disclaimer: Yes, I've actually remembered to write one (again): Sadly enough I do not own Code Lyoko. If I did, believe me, there would be some big changes in some of the things that have happened. Plus: You would be seeing this as a movie, and not reading it on ff dot net. So no… I don't own it and never will.

A/N: Ack, I am so sorry for the lengthy amount of time that I have gone without updating my story! e.e It's been so busy for me lately, first I was in a musical- a last hurrah for high school you could say, I was swamped with finals and graduation- all of this at the same time! Then came summer, I was horribly stressed for most of it, my younger sister got pregnant and had a preemie baby, then I went and moved in with a good friend for a couple of months to relieve the stress of my home life… I'm back home, have been since early October, but again, things have been hectic- I was without net until a few weeks ago, and I've just been horribly lazy as result… Not to mention, last Christmas I lost my cat TT, he'd been with us for 5 years, so it was a really harsh blow to me.

I promise, promise that I'll update more often with this, there is no excuse for leaving you guys hanging for such a long time!

I'll make even faster updates if I get more reviews. I dropped from 12-9 reviews. Hell, I've got 5066 hits on this story! If everyone that looked at my story reviewed, how many would that be? A lot probably. So help me out with getting more reviews, I love you all!!!

Please review when you've read the story, I get a lot of hits, but for some reason not a lot of reviews... Although I'm sure that's the case with everyone, ne? My highest number of reviews on a chapter was 18, and that was back at chapter 12… Is my story getting boring or letting people down or something?

Anyway, I'll shut up now and send you through the usual lists, with a little added on, and then to the chapter. Enjoy.

Must reads (and I do mean must, these are good stories people):

Expect the Unexpected

Shadow Fox (It's an absolutely awesome Naruto fic, check it out)

Koukyuu no Toriko (This is a slash fic)

A Forgotten Memory

Pirates of the Caribbean Inuyasha Style

A Path Worth Retracing

Hate is Only Skin Deep

My Memory's Heartache

Full Metal Hakusho

Lost Forever in a Tragedy? (Inspiration for this story, read it, seriously)

Returning Home (sequel to Lost Forever in a Tragedy?)

Previously:

The distant sound of an ambulance's siren was heard, and within minutes it rounded the corner, stopping beside the wrecked car. "You may as well not check the car, that bastard ran off." Xana snarled, stalking out into the street as a stretcher was pulled from the back of the ambulance.

The two paramedics faltered at the fury in the man's voice, but otherwise they moved easily to Yumi's side. Just then a police cruiser pulled out and the officer on the passenger side stepped out. "Go find that bastard!" It was Osuna who spoke now as he moved to the officer's side, "He hit Yumi and then ran off. I'm sure he didn't get far." He glared off down the street, searching for the fleeing man.

The officer turned and called for his partner, and after a brief, but silent, conference, the other got back into the cruiser and took off down the street, searching for the fleeing man. "Mind telling me exactly what happened here?" The remaining officer asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Osuna retorted, "He came flying up the street and hit Yumi."

"Were there any actual eyewitnesses to the accident?" The officer asked.

"Not that I know of." Osuna said flustered, "We came out when we heard the car flip…" He watched as Yumi was put into the back of the ambulance, and wondered if she was going to be okay.

Now:

"Are you kidding, what is this?!" Hiroki's voice was more than a little frustrated, and frankly Odd and Aelita couldn't blame him.

He was dressed as a ninja, though he had a silver patch across his chest that took on the form of a teddy bear. He had a pouch at his waist that carried multiple kunai and shuriken, "Why is there a stuffed animal on my clothes? This isn't cool…" He muttered.

"Sorry 'bout your luck there, Hiroki, but you're stuck with that." Odd said, "You think I wanted to be a purple cat when I first came to Lyoko? Nuh-uh, though now I don't mind quite so much, it's really quite useful."

Hiroki frowned, "Fine… What do we do now?" He asked flatly, crossing his arms.

"Now?" Aelita said, "We search, we don't have a choice but to keep looking. If we can find that activated tower… We can save Yumi."

"I see." Hiroki said, nodding, "Where do we look?"

"Everywhere…" Odd said, "It's got to be here somewhere after all, you know? We've searched Lyoko from top to bottom, and we just can't find it."

"Which is precisely why I'm starting to believe that it isn't on Lyoko anymore." Jeremie's voice sounded around them and Hiroki jumped in surprise before looking around.

When he didn't see Jeremie he became skeptical, "Jeremie? Where are you?"

"I'm at the supercomputer of course." Jeremie replied, "Listen, I'm working on a project that could allow us to dive into the digital sea. I've been working on it off and on for a few years now, and I think I may be making progress."

Aelita looked surprised, "You have, Jeremie? Why didn't you tell me? I could have helped… and maybe we could have gotten it done sooner…"

"I don't know… I guess I saw how hard you guys were working to find that tower… I did it by myself while you guys looked for that tower… I figured that if I could do that, I could also be helping Yumi…" His voice was rather sad and strained.

"Jeremie… You are helping!" Aelita said reassuringly.

"Yeah, Einstein, we need somebody there to let us know when there are enemies around!" Odd put in.

"Speaking of, you've got a couple of Blocks headed your way." Jeremie said, "Be careful, guys."

"What are Blocks?" Hiroki asked in confusion.

"You'll find out soon enough." Odd replied, "You'd best get out your weapon…"

"Weapon?" Hiroki drew out several shuriken, a frown still touching to his lips as four large cube-shaped creatures with strange symbols on each side approached quickly, "What in the…" He started, his gaze intent as a red glow enveloped one of the symbols.

He was thrown back by the impact and grunted in pain before leaping to his feet, "That thing shoots lasers?!" He exclaimed in disbelief as Odd ran at it.

"Yeah, they all do, watch the blue ones though, they'll freeze you!" Aelita said intently, throwing her fans at another set of Blocks.

"Laser arrow!" Odd's voice drew Hiroki's attention back to him just in time for the Block to explode.

"Whoa, awesome!" Hiroki found himself explaining as he looked at the shuriken in his own grasp.

"Look, Hiroki, it's easy, just aim for the eyes." Odd called as he went after a second Block.

"Aim for the eyes? Right…" Hiroki said, dodging yet another of the lasers and throwing two shuriken, one glanced uselessly off the rocky flesh of a Block, and the other buried itself in the eye on its front.

It was only seconds before the Block exploded, "Um… Aelita? Odd?" Hiroki said as he looked up, "What are those things coming towards us?"

"Oh no!" Jeremie's voice sounded above them, "Hornets, a dozen of them!"

"I don't understand…" Aelita said, catching her fans, "Lyoko hasn't been so active since-"

"Since the year Xana stole Yumi from us." Jeremie finished grimly, "What could he be planning?"

With Osuna and Xana, at the hospital

She was in a world of darkness, a place that she normally wouldn't be. Before her was a long hallway with many doors. Some, she found to her annoyance, were locked, and from beneath their frames emitted a gentle warmth that she longed to fully feel. Those that weren't locked were memories of the time that she'd spent with Xana and Osuna, and all though most of them were comfortable, none held the warmth of those mysterious locked doors.

She wondered briefly if perhaps she were dead, the strange calm that surrounded her was unnatural. Yumi had never known such a peace to exist in a single body, after all. She got flashes of memory from the night that she had stabbed Ulrich and felt like she was being torn apart all over again.

Yumi's face contorted in pain, her pulse rate fluctuated often. She'd been in and out of surgery, and yet her condition only seemed to grow worse. Osuna and Xana sat near her bed, gazing at her in worry. "We don't have a choice." Xana said, "We're going to have to launch a return trip to the past."

"Is that wise?" Osuna questioned, looking over at him.

"If we don't do it Yumi will die and our plans will be ruined." Xana responded, "Besides, it shouldn't be a problem if I do it myself and lock the program back up. Those foolish brats will never be able to unlock the code, they'll never figure out the password."

Osuna nodded, "I see, alright." He said at last in agreement.

"Are you ready?" His voice was cold, but determined.

"Of course, I would do anything for Yumi." Osuna responded as they stood.

The two men left the room and the hospital altogether. They walked slowly towards the factory, "We're going to have some trouble." Xana said as they entered the elevator, "They're on Lyoko, which means we will have to deal with Belpois."

"I'll deal with that sniveling brat." Osuna said confidently, "I'll distract him for you."

"Good." Xana said as they entered the lab.

Jeremie barely had time to look back at them before Osuna had him pinned to the ground. He grunted in pain and shoved the older man off of him, "What are you doing here?!" He demanded, crouching into a defensive position as Osuna lunged.

Xana sat at the supercomputer, he only needed a moment to tap into the necessary programs. "Jeremie?" Odd was just climbing the last rungs of the ladder that led into the room.

When he caught sight of Jeremie and Osuna wrestling fiercely near the supercomputer he dashed over to help, "Xana, you slimy bastard!" He shouted as he caught sight of him, Xana had to be stopped before he could do any damage to Aelita and Hiroki who were still on Lyoko.

Xana gave him a triumphant smirk, "Return to the past now." He hit the return key as Odd swung his fist, and a brilliant light engulfed all of them.

With the others

"What happened?" Aelita questioned, they were in the factory- she, Jeremie, Odd, Ulrich, and Hiroki whom had retained his memories from the return trip.

"I don't know… Xana activated the return to the past for some reason…" Jeremie said, "I don't understand though, by doing that he ended up helping Ulrich as well…"

Ulrich frowned deeply as he touched a hand to his torso, the wound might have been gone, but the emotional scar that it had torn through him would never fade. Yumi had stabbed him, she had very nearly killed him. His Yumi would never have been able to do something so terrible. "Ulrich, you frown any deeper and your mouth'll fall off your face." Odd commented.

"Knock off the lame jokes." Ulrich said, "We've got to figure out just what Xana is up to. We need to find that activated tower, and the code for the return trip to the past. Anybody else think that it is possible that Xana forgot to lock it up again?"

"He has, Ulrich, I'm sorry." Jeremie said, lowering his head, "I've been trying to get into the program, but it's not working."

"Explain more about this return to the past thing." Hiroki said at last, "What is it, how does it work?"

"It's as it is implied." Aelita said, "It literally returns one to the past, and only those of us who have been scanned by the supercomputer will remember anything. My father built it more than 20 years ago while I was still a child… So we do not truly know how it works."

"More than 20 years?" Hiroki shook his head, "You're not almost 40, Aelita."

"I know…" Aelita said, "My father and I… we ran and hid on Lyoko and I was lying dormant until Jeremie found me…"

Hiroki nodded slowly, "And by remaining dormant- in a state of stasis, your body didn't mature." He said, "But your voice- when I was a kid… I remember your voice sounded so much older…" Things were falling into place in his mind, "How many times did you use the return trip to the past?"

"More than we can count." Jeremie replied, "We've been struggling against Xana for more than six years. We've been saving the world for a long time…"

"So, what exactly happened six years ago?" Hiroki asked, "What happened with my sister?"

The others explained to him in full, about the accident that he hardly remembered, and about when Yumi had found out that she had lost her family. It hadn't been more than a few days after that she'd joined forces with Xana. "She joined him willingly?!" Hiroki said in disbelief.

"No, not willingly." Aelita said firmly, "Yumi was forced to join Xana, I'm sure of it. That's why she was injured that morning- Osuna… he had to of made her get into that scanner that night… Xana is the one at fault here- for everything."

"Yeah." Ulrich agreed, scowling, "He took Yumi away from us and he's murdered several innocent people."

"He's planning something big." Jeremie said, "I just wish I knew what it was."

"So… Jeremie, how is your project going?" Aelita thought it was time for a change in subject.

"Project?" Ulrich asked.

"Yeah, I was working on a sort of submarine for the digital sea." Jeremie said, "It's been several years, but I think I've got a working plan. And if we can really get into the digital sea… Maybe we'll find everything that we've been looking for!"

"That sounds exciting!" Hiroki said, "I wonder what it could possibly look like…"

"We'll find out soon enough." Odd said, "It's probably really boring though." He shrugged.

"But chock full of useful information." Jeremie replied, "Who knows what kind of data we could find out there…"

"You're right." Aelita said, "When can we use it?"

"I'm getting the hangar set up in Sector 5 now." Jeremie said, "It should be ready for a trial run in two days."

"We'll be ready." Ulrich said, "We'll save Yumi from Xana's filthy clutches."

"Right!" The others agreed in excitement, they were getting so close to recovering their lost friend!

With Xana

He watched her sleep, captivated by the slight partition of her lips and the fluttering of her dark lashes. He didn't know when he'd become so enamored with the woman, but perhaps that was his entire reason for choosing her to be the one to serve by his side. "You have such great potential, Yumi… I wish that you would realize it and serve me with your full power." It had taken another visit with the schiphezoa to make her forget the incident with Ulrich- he hadn't realized how close he had truly come to losing her to him until he'd taken her back to Lyoko.

Yumi stirred slightly and he slipped out of the room, best not to let her know that he'd been watching. Xana found Osuna in the kitchen, the tantalizing aroma of steaks cooking in the oven. When he'd been a simple computer program he had never imagined anything like the wonderful taste of food.

He had been trapped for so long, his plans always foiled by the brats that had grown into even more irritating adults. They were always there to interfere, and they were apparently always at the factory. But they weren't going to foil his plans, not this time, he was free, and he had power beyond their imaginations!

To be free of Lyoko, that was something that he wanted more than anything. He had to destroy it; he had to destroy it before they found his replicas- Lyoko look-alike worlds scattered in the digital sea. One of them carried the activated tower that he'd managed to steal away from Lyoko itself. One of them carried the single thing that could ruin his plans and force him back into the boundaries of Lyoko. He was glad that they had no idea, and glad for the time he still had. Yumi. That single thought was enough to keep him going, he wanted her to rule by his side when they'd made his plans a reality.

A/N: Well, I seem hellbent on ending just about every chapter with some kind of cliffhanger or other- again I am so sorry for not updating in so long! Things got so hectic that I just forgot e.e, hope you guys will forgive me…

I hope that this chapter was good, I've been working on it for a good 2 or 3 hours I think… And my brain is dead- I have yet to go to bed… I need some good sleep soon.

Anyway, to the random facts!:

Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing sand!

The placement of a donkey's eyes in its head enables it to see all four feet at all times!

Human teeth are almost as hard as rocks!

A mole can dig a tunnel 300 feet long in just one night!

Ancient Egyptians slept on pillows made of stone!

A hippo can open its mouth wide enough to fit a 4 foot tall child inside!