On the hangar bay in Lyoko, Olivia and Isaac were making their way across the platform, staying out of sight of each and every flank of soldiers that stood guard. Although outnumbered, they had the advantage in stealth. After reaching a ship large enough for the three of them, Olivia and Isaac crouched behind a nearby pillar. After noticing two soldiers guarding the ship, Olivia pulled out a dagger and threw it at the soldier's head. The soldier then collapsed as his partner and a few others ran over to see what had happened.

"Coast is clear." Olivia whispered. "Let's go before they find out."

As they ran to the now-unguarded ship, an alarm began to sound. They sensed their intrusion, but fortunately for them, they weren't sure where they were. Upon reaching the ship, they went around back and hacked into the keypad for the hatch door.

Inside the ship, two guards turned as the door opened behind them. At first they saw nothing, but immediately after, Isaac and Olivia both rushed in and they each took out one of the guards.

"Alright, freeze!"

They turned and saw that Appius was aboard the ship and had his weapon pointed at them. Paying no mind to him, they just walked casually to the control deck.

"I said freeze!" Appius said.

Annoyed, Isaac just grabbed him by the face and threw him out the hatch. Olivia then punched in a few commands and the door closed. She then started the ignition and the ship took off and left the hangar.

"Craft No. 366A2. You are not authorized for takeoff." A voice announced overhead. "Turn around or face immediate destruction."

Paying no mind, Olivia just steered the ship and headed to their next stop.

"I've located the core." Olivia said. "There's a chamber that's accessible through an entrance located on the southernmost point. If we can make a straight shot through there, we should have no other trouble."

"Let's hope you're right." Isaac said.

Back at the hangar, XANA walked over to Appius and lifted him up.

"You let them get away?" XANA asked.

"I was designed to architect, not to fight." Appius said.

"Worthless!" XANA said plunging his sword into Appius's chest, causing him to evaporate into nothingness.

"The rest of you board alongside me." XANA said putting on his helmet, covering him in his dark grey armor, and drawing his sword. "We're getting that ship back."

On the Artemis, things were only going slightly better. Mackie and his cohorts were holed up in a meeting room, hiding from the escaped prisoners who were banging on the locked door in front of them.

"So what now?" Mr. Ethridge asked.

"I radioed Theodore." Mackie said. "He was able to spare some reserve soldiers to squelch the rebellion."

"So how long must we wait?" Mr. Gottlieb asked.

"Shouldn't be long." Mackie said. Just then, the banging and screaming stopped.

"I think they exhausted themselves." Mr. Dietrich said. "We were right to weaken them."

"Let me check." Mr. Salazar said.

Once up to the door, he put his ear up to see if he could hear any faint sound of the prisoners waiting on them. What he heard, however, was completely different: A faint clicking followed by the feeling of the metal door getting hotter and hotter.

"Oh no…" Mr. Salazar said, eyes widening. "We've g—"

Just then, the door blasted open and Mr. Salazar was reduced to ashes. The prisoners immediately ran in, armed to the teeth, and held the Provincial Leaders back.

The lead prisoner, finding a clear spot in all the smoke, jumped towards Mr. Gottlieb and Mr. Dietrich and made large cuts in their necks, killing them instantly.

"Stop, please! I'll do anything!" Mr. Erikson screamed as another prisoner put a rifle to his chest and pulled the trigger.

Once the smoke cleared, Mr. Ethridge, hiding from the other side of the room, drew a pistol from underneath and aimed at one of the prisoners. Unfortunately, the last thing that went through his head was coated in chrome and blood.

With the Provincial Leaders dead, the door immediately opened, revealing Theo and a few other troops. Seeing this as his opportunity, Mackie immediately darted out.

"Don't move." Theo said. The prisoners could only stand where they were.

Back at the factory, the messenger boy was still cautiously making his way across. Will could be anywhere, ready to surprise him and get the upper hand. Listening carefully, he walked slowly and carefully, trying not to make any noise. Just then, he heard a soft thud hit the ground behind him. Turning around, the messenger boy just darted back as Will swung his sword toward him.

"Going so soon?" Will asked as the messenger boy darted into the riverbank below.

"You can't hide forever, little boy." Will said. "Come out and accept your gracious defeat."

"Maybe it will be me who perishes, but my people will still fight on."

"You actually believe I would give them a fighting chance?" Will asked as he punched in a few commands on his wrist computer. Immediately, the bombers that were on standby sped up their approach and had their weapons armed, dropping bombs and firing lasers at the people below. "They never had a chance."

"Nooo!" The messenger boy screamed as he jumped on his opponent, only for Will to swing his sword at him.

Back on Lyoko, a similar battle was going on. Throughout the battle, Zoltan had the upper hand, forcing Caleb on the defensive. With Caleb conserving so much energy and not laying one attack, he immediately felt a sudden increase in energy. Clutching his knife, he charged forward and let loose a powerful punch of yellow energy. Zoltan looked in surprise as he was knocked back.

"Now it's my turn." Caleb said, his fist still glowing with energy.

Caleb jumped and flipped and landed punch after punch as his opponent tried to hold him off, but now Caleb proved to be too fast for him. With all his power, Caleb's fist connected with Zoltan causing him to be blasted through the wall and onto a departing transport. Taking advantage of the change in arena, Caleb ran over and hopped on to the transport.

"No more tricks." Caleb said holding back his energy. "I have you right where I need you."

Zoltan just nodded as he drew his swords and swung towards Caleb. Caleb just followed suit and dodged and blocked the oncoming barrage of attacks.

Back outside the sector, Olivia and Isaac were having smooth sailing as they reached their destination.

"Alright, I've got a visual of the Core Chamber entrance." Olivia said. "At my signal, I'm gonna have you jump and grab the core to take back."

"Roger that." Isaac said.

Just then, a small alarm sounded. Olivia looked on the radar and saw a few unidentified objects behind the ship.

"We're being tailed." Olivia said. "Isaac, I need a visual."

"On it." Isaac said. Looking out the rear window, Isaac saw a series of five ships pursuing them: A sleek black ship with two smaller ships on each side.

"Five hostiles on your six!" Isaac exclaimed.

"XANA…" Olivia said under her breath. "Isaac, man the turrets!"

"Yes, Ma'am." Isaac said sitting in the gunner's chair and aiming the cannons.

"Hold tight, I'm taking her up."

Olivia then pulled on the throttle as the ship banked up at a sharp angle. With the entrance opening and closing at a constant rate, she had to time it just right. Meanwhile, Isaac just kept firing, hoping to hit one of the ships, which he did.

"Yeah, that's one down!" Isaac shouted.

Immediately, the ships started to scramble and take different positions.

"I've lost visual." Isaac said.

"Just keep focused, I've almost got us through." Olivia said.

Immediately, the ship made it through the opening and was now in a long winding tunnel.

"If we can't find them, we can lose them through here." Olivia said. "Hold tight, I'm gonna try and shake 'em."

The ship immediately swerved and banked across the several pillars and crags of the tunnel. The other ships could only struggle to keep up as they pursued their target. Two ships couldn't keep up and ended up crashing.

"Alright, just two left." Olivia said. "And I've got visual of the core."

Approaching the end of the road, Olivia stared in awe at the glowing, floating orb that would soon be theirs

"It's beautiful…" Olivia said to herself.

"You keep focused, I'll handle the remaining ships." Isaac said.

Before he could fire though, XANA's ship fired a large laser at the turret, severely damaging it.

"No. No. No. No. NO!" Isaac said trying in vain to fire. "The gun's jammed. I can't fire."

"Nevermind." Olivia said. "I already need you for this next part."

"We're going to grab the core?" Isaac asked.

"Right." Olivia said. "Do you see a bungee cable and hooks?"

"Affirmative." Isaac said.

"Alright, let's bring us a core." Olivia said.

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