Hello again viewers! Anyway, I know there was some confusion as to what was going on this week and I can't tell you how stupid that makes me feel. I pride myself on being easy to understand when I communicate so this absolute failure to do so is really embarrassing. Sorry up front.

Anyways, this episode is the last part of episode 24! This will be covering the rest of the episode and I hope you all enjoy it and review because 2 reviews was really disheartening to see. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure why I care so much when people review. I couldn't for the life of me, tell you why it matters so much, I suppose it's like my mother's weird thing with eating dinner as a family and when you forget ONE time, she claims you don't love her.

Actually, that's exactly what this is like. Oh, god. I'm turning into my mother.

To: Carol of the Elves: Sorry for disappointing you! That was entirely my fault and I'm sorry! I should have clarified more what was going on. I meant to tell everyone who reviewed thank you and that it didn't matter seeing as you would be getting an updated episode 2 and part 3 might take a little while to get out.

Totally my fault that this misunderstanding happened. Really sorry about that! I hope you don't feel like you wasted your time!

In case you couldn't tell, I'm one of those people that when I make a mistake, I curse myself for days, even if the other person has forgiven me already. I always apologize more than necessary and it pisses me off that I do that. Stupid guilty feelings.

ALSO: Check out episode 2 (chapter 3) of this story! It was just completely overhauled into a 10000 word epic instead of a 2000 suckfest so check it out and review it! That thing took hours!

Jeremie steps into the scanner nervously. He looks around the scanner's interior in a mixture of wonder and trepidation. It truly is a marvel of science he thinks as the doors begin to close. For one, terrifying moment, he is surrounded by endless darkness and is tempted to tear open the scanner. He reaches to try and break free when a sudden light bombards him from all directions.

He is suddenly accosted by a fierce wind that steals away his breath and makes him feel as though he is floating above the ground. He feels something give way inside of him and he knows nothing. He is dimly aware of a tunnel and a pulsing light before he finds himself hanging and immobile in midair.

He lands heavily and shakes his head as he looks around the near perfect replica of Kadic Academy. Surprisingly, there is no pain form the fall and he looks around in wonder feeling a slight hint of respect for Xana, which makes him feel slightly sickened.

"Wow," Jeremie says. "It sure is a great thing that this trial and error system I mentioned only took one time to get me into exactly the right place!" He waves a fist in the air triumphantly, "Suck on that Laws of Probability!"

!

Aelita runs across the icy terrain of the ice sector of Lyoko towards the source of the signal she had picked up. She climbs over a ledge to see a large yellow thing come into view. For a moment, she hangs back, just to watch the thing. It is massive, covering arcres of Lyoko's land and for a moment, Aelita is intimidated by Xana's power. She swallows her fears and presses forwards regardless coming to rest right by the surface of the bubble. This close, she can feel the energy sizzle and snap around her and she is tempted to touch it, just to see what it would feel like.

"That's gotta be it!" Aelita says, watching a large glowing bubble. "How did I miss that thing the first time I came through here?" she asks. "I'm sure that I told Jeremie that I didn't see anything unusual around Lyoko." She shrugs. "Oh well! I guess I just missed it because I'm such a genius!"

!

The Lyoko Warriors begin to make their way to the factory, led by Yumi. Yumi is absolutely convinced that something is horribly, terribly wrong with the world around them and has practically forced her friends to join her. They had taken large pains to make sure that Jeremie didn't know about their solo mission in order to appease Yumi who was convinced that he wasn't right.

As Ulrich bends down to lift the sewer cover they hear a sharp snapping sound. They all snap to attention scanning the thick foliage around them for anyone who could be around. "Must have been a squirrel or something," Ulrich says nervously lifting the cover off.

"Are you kidding me?" Yumi asks incredulously. "Look, it's clearly Herb and Nicholas! They aren't even trying to hide! Their faces stick up from the tree! They are in plain sight!"

Odd looks around in confusion. "What are you talking about Yumi?" he asks. "There's nothing there!"

Herb and Nicholas jump out form the tree and begins to walk towards the group menacingly. Can you see them now?" Yumi asks meanly.

"No," Ulrich says honestly. "You know how bad we are at this sort of thing!"

"Oh just come on," Yumi growls, dragging the boys into the sewer passageway.

!

Jeremie runs quickly towards the sewer hole. He doesn't know exactly why he knows his friends will be at the factory, but he has learned to trust his gut. This is Xana's world and Xana, as much as Jeremie hates to admit it, is much smarter than he is. He can't afford to trust his brain against Xana's in this world where everything was under Xana's control. He could have sworn he saw some roses grow eyes as he moved past and the experience had left him slightly unnerved.

"Oh no!" Jeremie says as he runs through the wood. "Too late!" He stands there, motionless, refusing to run after his friends for several seconds.

Xana appears before him in the shape of a young, tall boy "Why are you just standing there?" he asks.

"I need to wait for dramatic effect," Jeremie says as though that explains everything.

Xana rolls his eyes and steps away from Jeremie, "Aright," he says. "Have fun being eaten by my monsters, you had a perfect getaway plan to fall back on, but God forbid you take it. And people wonder why I think humans are such idiots," he says, vanishing into smoke.

!

Aelita pushes up against the bubble and finds that it is surprisingly resistant. Try as she may, she can't seem to pass through it. She relaxes her body and begins to slow her breathing in an attempt to enter. Maybe it's just like the towers, she reasons. After all, I can't go into those until I relax. After a short while, she rolls her eyes and takes her hands off the bubble in exasperation. The bubble ripples at the loss of contact and Aelita frowns. "Screw this," she decides. "Why should I just wait here until Jeremie comes back? That loser can't do anything by himself!"

Aelita leans down until her knees touch the icy floor. She winces slightly at the sudden cold, but pushes away the discomfort. She places her hands on the bubble and begins to focus her power. She can feel her energy building inside of her until her body can't hold anymore. She releases it in the only way she can, through one pure note of angry music.

The bubble instantly shatters and Aelita slumps forwards. As her friends emerge from the crater left in the bubble's place she grins. "What happened?" Odd asks, clutching his head in pain.

"I decided not to waste time when I didn't need to." Aelita replies nonchalantly. "No biggie. You're welcome, feel free to pay me back at any time."

!

See another way to do that scene?

Aelita pushes up against the bubble and finds that it is surprisingly resistant. Try as she may, she can't seem to pass through it. She relaxes her body and begins to slow her breathing in an attempt to enter. Maybe it's just like the towers, she reasons. After all, I can't go into those until I relax. After a short while, she rolls her eyes and takes her hands off the bubble in exasperation. The bubble ripples at the loss of contact and Aelita frowns. "Screw this," she decides. "Why should I just wait here until Jeremie comes back? That loser can't do anything by himself!"

Aelita immediately pushes her way inside of the bubble. An enormous white white erupts from where ever her body touches the rippling yellow surface and she passes through it. She lands heavily right by the factory and marvels at her human body. She can still feel something is wrong though. Her body is half formed and flickering. Parts of it are completely see through and she wonders why that could be. "Of course!" she says. "I don't have a human DNA code, so the computer doesn't have anything except Jeremie's work to use as a base. So that means that I'm still mostly in my Lyoko form here. She sings a note suddenly as a test and a tree instantly sprouts from the ground.

Aelita grins. "And this would be where I get Godmodded bitches." She leaps into the air as high as she can before sprinting off towards the factory to save her friends. It's time to face Xana on my own terms, she thinks determinedly. I'm just as powerful as he is here.

Wouldn't that be just the most awesome battle ever? Xana vs. Aelita, both using every skill they have to destroy the other in the 'real world'. Oh this sounds great! Seriously, somebody should totally write this.

!

See another way to do this scene?

Aelita pushes up against the bubble and finds that it is surprisingly resistant. Try as she may, she can't seem to pass through it. She relaxes her body and begins to slow her breathing in an attempt to enter. Maybe it's just like the towers, she reasons. After all, I can't go into those until I relax. After a short while, she rolls her eyes and takes her hands off the bubble in exasperation. The bubble ripples at the loss of contact and Aelita frowns. "Screw this," she decides. "Why should I just wait here until Jeremie comes back? That loser can't do anything by himself!"

"Well," she says debating whether it was better to save her friends or take a nap. She doesn't quite know what to do. After all, her friends could all die soon if she doesn't do something, but then again her eyes are feeling slightly heavy. And, after all, wasn't she the most important member of the group? "I'm here, and I know that I can most likely save my friends now, but I think that I should just wait here and take a nap until the very last moment for no given reason." She immediately curls up and falls asleep on the ice next to the glowing bubble.

Come on, think about it. Aelita reaches the bubble before either group reaches the factory, way before the final showdown. So what is she doing during all this extra time? She doesn't contact Jeremie, she doesn't fight anything, so how does she spend her time?

Well, Aelita being Aelita, the answer is simple. Be as lazy as possible and do something at the last second, only to take all the glory and credit. Oh Aelita, how I hate you in seasons 1 and 2.

!

Yumi and the others reach the factory and enter the elevator. Yumi presses the button and they begin to descend. Ulrich tries whistling to calm the mood but patters out when Odd raises his eyebrows at him, amusement clear in his expression. Yumi taps an erratic pattern on her leg as the elevator descends into the lab.

Finally, the doors open and they spill out into the lab. The computer in uncharacteristically dark and Yumi wonders if Jeremie has already been here. She taps a few keys to find the computer was just in sleep mode. The screen lights up and the interface begins to load up. The warriors gather around the computer as Yumi attempts to connect with Lyoko. "This is weird." Odd says. "Don't these programs usually start up automatically?"

"There's no connection," Yumi exclaims. "It's like Lyoko never existed!" Yumi says fear plain in her voice.

"Really?" Xana asks. "That's just stupid of me. Why didn't I just create a fake Lyoko, a smaller version, you wouldn't know the difference. Then I could just have a fake Aelita show up and tell you how to run the scanners. Then you get in and you die! It's simple really," Xana says. "I mean, I can replicate everyone and everything, but I couldn't be bothered to replicate Aelita? She has no personality to begin with other than whining meat shield. It would have been simple! Did I seriously not think this through at all?" he asks himself as the children stare at him in horror.

"Oh yes! Right!" Xana says, "Broke character for a second there," he clears his throat and changes his voice back to Jeremie's, "and that may be exactly what has happened," he finishes lamely.

"Lame." Yumi says loudly.

!

See another way to end this scene?

Yumi and the others reach the factory and enter the elevator. Yumi presses the button and they begin to descend. Ulrich tries whistling to calm the mood but patters out when Odd raises his eyebrows at him, amusement clear in his expression. Yumi taps an erratic pattern on her leg as the elevator descends into the lab.

Finally, the doors open and they spill out into the lab. The computer in uncharacteristically dark and Yumi wonders if Jeremie has already been here. She taps a few keys to find the computer was just in sleep mode. The screen lights up and the interface begins to load up. The warriors gather around the computer as Yumi attempts to connect with Lyoko. "This is weird." Odd says. "Don't these programs usually start up automatically?"

"There's no connection," Yumi exclaims. "It's like Lyoko never existed!" Yumi says fear plain in her voice.

"And that might be exactly what has happened." Xana says, stepping forwards menacingly. Yumi narrows her eyes at him. This is wrong, she thinks, Jeremie would never be so emotionless. Everyone knows he's a spastic bastard!

"She said something about a program to erase Lyoko. I haven't heard from her since."

"Wait that doesn't make any sense." Yumi says, stepping forwards.

"Yeah, she's right!" Odd says joining her.

"You want to take this one Odd?" she asks.

"My pleasure!" Odd beams. "Now, I don't know a whole lot about Lyoko, but I do know that the towers are on Lyoko. And that Xana uses those towers to tap into the Super Computer's true calculating power. This allows him to reach out beyond the computer itself and perform attacks here on Earth," Odd says. "So if Lyoko was destroyed that would mean no more towers, so Xana would have no way to attack us anymore. It would sabotage his entire plan! It would be self defeating and he just wouldn't do that." Odd says.

"Maybe he forgot?" Xana tries weakly.

"Unlikely seeing as he is a computer," Odd says. "But if we assume that, fine. It's still a dumb plan. If Lyoko is destroyed then Aelita is dead. If Aelita is gone then we have no reason to keep fighting, we destroy the Super Computer and we all move on with our lives, again Xana wouldn't defeat himself.

"Also," Odd continues, "If the towers are destroyed, because Lyoko is gone, the current attack would not be possible. In fact, this only proves that you are lying, seeing how if what you said were true, the inconsistencies would not have happened in the first place. Face it," Odd cries, stepping forwards. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about!"

!

See another way to do this scene?

Yumi and the others reach the factory and enter the elevator. Yumi presses the button and they begin to descend. Ulrich tries whistling to calm the mood but patters out when Odd raises his eyebrows at him, amusement clear in his expression. Yumi taps an erratic pattern on her leg as the elevator descends into the lab.

Finally, the doors open and they spill out into the lab. The computer in uncharacteristically dark and Yumi wonders if Jeremie has already been here. She taps a few keys to find the computer was just in sleep mode. The screen lights up and the interface begins to load up. The warriors gather around the computer as Yumi attempts to connect with Lyoko. "This is weird." Odd says. "Don't these programs usually start up automatically?"

"There's no connection," Yumi exclaims. "It's like Lyoko never existed!" Yumi says fear plain in her voice.

"And that may be exactly what has happened." Jeremie says, stepping forwards into the light.

"Holy shit!" Ulrich exclaims leaping backwards from the computer. "Where'd you come from!"

Jeremie looks momentarily caught off guard, confusion flickering in his eyes. "What?" he asks. "I came from over there."

"So were you just sitting in the corner or something?" Odd asks. "Because we should have seen you if you were already in here."

"Yes!" Jeremie exclaims. "Yes. I- I came from outside!"

"Really?" Yumi asks skeptically. "Because I'm pretty sure that's not true."

"How would you know?" Jeremie asks angrily. "You don't know! You weren't there!"

"Actually, I was," Yumi says. "But that's not the point. The point is that we would have heard you coming. The only explanation is that you teleported in here. Xana!"

"What!" Xana yelps. "Impossible!"

"Yeah," Odd agrees, "Definitely Xana."

"I am not Xana! I am Jeremie! File 205-XXV! Your best friend!" Xana tries again.

"Ulrich?" Yumi asks lightly. Ulrich rushes forwards and punches Xana in the face.

!

See another way to do that scene?

Yumi and the others reach the factory and enter the elevator. Yumi presses the button and they begin to descend. Ulrich tries whistling to calm the mood but patters out when Odd raises his eyebrows at him, amusement clear in his expression. Yumi taps an erratic pattern on her leg as the elevator descends into the lab.

Finally, the doors open and they spill out into the lab. The computer in uncharacteristically dark and Yumi wonders if Jeremie has already been here. She taps a few keys to find the computer was just in sleep mode. The screen lights up and the interface begins to load up. The warriors gather around the computer as Yumi attempts to connect with Lyoko. "This is weird." Odd says. "Don't these programs usually start up automatically?"

"There's no connection," Yumi exclaims. "It's like Lyoko never existed!" Yumi says fear plain in her voice.

"And that might be exactly what has happened." Xana says flatly.

"Really?" Yumi asks. "So what's the big deal? If that's true then Aelita's already dead and Xana won, so let's just turn off the damn thing and get on with our lives."

"No!" Xana exclaims shortly. "You don't understand! We can bring back the connection if you go to Lyoko and deactivate the tower Xana activated!"

"Hey, wait a minute," Yumi says, holding up a hand to Odd and Ulrich. "If the link has been cut, how do you intend to send us there?"

"I've created a new access protocol," Xana says unconvincingly. "All we need now are the scanners.

Yumi sighs and massages her forehead in disgust. "Ulrch?" she asks. "Would you take this one? I don't think I can handle it right now. The stupid levels just keep rising."

"Sure thing Yumi," Ulrich says, stepping forwards towards Xana. "If the link has been cut because Lyoko has been destroyed, that means we can't get there."

"Of course it doesn't!" Xana says, "I just told you-"

"You just told us false information," Ulrich says, cutting off Xana. "Look if Lyoko has been destroyed, that means that it no longer exists. Meaning that regardless of access protocol, regardless of the mode of transportation, it doesn't matter. Lyoko is gone, meaning that no matter what we used to get there, there is nothing to get to. We would be stuck and then we would die. And you say that if we don't do this then Aelita will die?" Ulrich laughs. "What a load! That, again is impossible, seeing how Lyoko would have been destroyed and Aelita killed along with it."

"Well, maybe-" stammers Xana.

"Maybe nothing," Ulrich says. "Face it Xana, for a super smart program, you don't know a single thing about the Super Computer. You live in it for God's sake! How dumb are you! And how dumb would we have to be to believe a word you said!"

!

Yumi and the others reach the factory and enter the elevator. Yumi presses the button and they begin to descend. Ulrich tries whistling to calm the mood but patters out when Odd raises his eyebrows at him, amusement clear in his expression. Yumi taps an erratic pattern on her leg as the elevator descends into the lab.

Finally, the doors open and they spill out into the lab. The computer in uncharacteristically dark and Yumi wonders if Jeremie has already been here. She taps a few keys to find the computer was just in sleep mode. The screen lights up and the interface begins to load up. The warriors gather around the computer as Yumi attempts to connect with Lyoko. "This is weird." Odd says. "Don't these programs usually start up automatically?"

"There's no connection," Yumi exclaims. "It's like Lyoko never existed!" Yumi says fear plain in her voice.

"And that might be exactly what has happened." Xana says flatly.

"Really?" Yumi asks. "So what's the big deal? If that's true then Aelita's already dead and Xana won, so let's just turn off the damn thing and get on with our lives."

"No!" Xana exclaims shortly. "You don't understand! We can bring back the connection if you go to Lyoko and deactivate the tower Xana activated!"

"Hey, wait a minute," Yumi says, holding up a hand to Odd and Ulrich. "If the link has been cut, how do you intend to send us there?"

"I've created a new access protocol," Xana says unconvincingly. "All we need now are the scanners."

Yumi glares at Xana angrily, unconvinced that the program is telling the truth. Odd and Ulrich are beginning to be convinced however, and are now begging Yumi to go to the scanners to save Aelita. Xana can't help but smirk at them. Idiots, he thinks as he watches Yumi rolls her eyes and rebuke them.

"Yeah, I'm not buying it." Yumi says finally bring Xana out of his mental fog. Wait, what? This wasn't how it was supposed to go!

"Look, it's Jeremie, Yumi! Right in front of you!" Xana pleads.

"That's exactly the problem!" Yumi says, taking her place at the front of the group. "Jeremie doesn't know what he's talking about half the time! He screw up our life point totals, forgets how to program things, thought Taelia was Aelita for God's sake! Jeremie also failed to detect when the Guardian had me and Aelita prisoner. That's two separate occasions! He has also has failed to materialize Aelita for almost two years now, and when he had the program finished, didn't bother putting it on a backup disk so that he could use it more than once! He also hasn't bothered giving us upgrades to fight you with and he launches a Return every single time there is an attack, regardless of if there is a need to or not!"

"What's your point?" Xana asks.

"My point is, that Jeremie doesn't know what the f*** he's doing, but at least he knows that when you say Lyoko is destroyed, there is no way to get there. And he wouldn't try and convince us of something based on the logic of "I'm Jeremie and therefore must know everything." That makes us sure that you're lying!"

"Dang," Xana says, "I really don't know what I'm doing do I?"

!

That makes me wonder Xana, where did you develop this personality you crafted for Jeremie?" Yumi asks curiously as the two sit down at a small table for tea. The two of them were origionally very hesitant to meet up with each other but after Aelita's wheeling and dealing for several weeks, Yumi had finally relented. Granted, she still couldn't believe that all of the war was just a lie. Well, Aelita had explained that it wasn't really a lie, just a sick bet between a crazy old man obsessed with his daughter, said daughter and an ADD riddled A.I program. Yumi supposed that made sense to someone out there.

Now the two of them were on Lyoko, in a data sphere much like the one Xana had trapped them all in previously years ago. Now that Yumi could finally spend time with their previous enemy, she could see that he wasn't nearly as bad as she had thought. Weird, but definitely not evil. She figured that now was the time to figure out exactly what had happened with Xana during all those years they had been fighting.

"The Maker," Xana says. "I figured that this was what all humans were like based on the one that I knew most closely. He was a genius so I figured Jeremie would act like that as well."

Yumi blinks at Xana and sighs, "Your Maker must have been a real psycho," she says finally.

"You don't know the half of it," Xana says, "I'll have to tell you about him sometime."

"Please do." Yumi says happily before reaching for another lump of sugar.

Yes, this is another crazy what should have happened. Obviously Xana is evil. He's totally insane and in the show is clearly demented and twisted beyond repair. But, this is clearly not cannon. If by this point you though anything I've done with these characters is cannon, you can't be speaking English and have a sense of humor.

But still, I wanted to figure out why Xana would choose to act like such a weirdo in the virtual world when that's not at all how any human acts. You can say, 'oh, he only has limited knowledge of the human world!' but that's not the case with people. He was able to have realistic human personalities for every person at that school for everyone except for himself.

That's when I thought, why would he be acting like this? Franz Hopper was the answer I thought fit best. Also, Yumi and Xana having tea together is just a cute image in my head. Never going to happen in any realm of possibility, but you know, I really want to see that.

!

Yumi and the others reach the factory and enter the elevator. Yumi presses the button and they begin to descend. Ulrich tries whistling to calm the mood but patters out when Odd raises his eyebrows at him, amusement clear in his expression. Yumi taps an erratic pattern on her leg as the elevator descends into the lab.

Finally, the doors open and they spill out into the lab. The computer in uncharacteristically dark and Yumi wonders if Jeremie has already been here. She taps a few keys to find the computer was just in sleep mode. The screen lights up and the interface begins to load up. The warriors gather around the computer as Yumi attempts to connect with Lyoko. "This is weird." Odd says. "Don't these programs usually start up automatically?"

"There's no connection," Yumi exclaims. "It's like Lyoko never existed!" Yumi says fear plain in her voice.

"And that might be exactly what has happened." Xana says flatly.

"Really?" Yumi asks. "So what's the big deal? If that's true then Aelita's already dead and Xana won, so let's just turn off the damn thing and get on with our lives."

"No!" Xana exclaims shortly. "You don't understand! We can bring back the connection if you go to Lyoko and deactivate the tower Xana activated!"

"Hey, wait a minute," Yumi says, holding up a hand to Odd and Ulrich. "If the link has been cut, how do you intend to send us there?"

"I've created a new access protocol," Xana says unconvincingly. "All we need now are the scanners.

"Yeah, that's dumb." Yumi finally decides.

"Yumi!" Jeremie calls, "You're right! It's a trap!"

"Jeremie?" Yumi asks. "How did you manage to hear me through the solid metal plating of the elevator, which makes a lot of noise?"

!

See another way to do this scene?

Yumi and the others reach the factory and enter the elevator. Yumi presses the button and they begin to descend. Ulrich tries whistling to calm the mood but patters out when Odd raises his eyebrows at him, amusement clear in his expression. Yumi taps an erratic pattern on her leg as the elevator descends into the lab.

Finally, the doors open and they spill out into the lab. The computer in uncharacteristically dark and Yumi wonders if Jeremie has already been here. She taps a few keys to find the computer was just in sleep mode. The screen lights up and the interface begins to load up. The warriors gather around the computer as Yumi attempts to connect with Lyoko. "This is weird." Odd says. "Don't these programs usually start up automatically?"

"There's no connection," Yumi exclaims. "It's like Lyoko never existed!" Yumi says fear plain in her voice.

"And that might be exactly what has happened." Xana says flatly.

"Really?" Yumi asks. "So what's the big deal? If that's true then Aelita's already dead and Xana won, so let's just turn off the damn thing and get on with our lives."

"No!" Xana exclaims shortly. "You don't understand! We can bring back the connection if you go to Lyoko and deactivate the tower Xana activated!"

"Hey, wait a minute," Yumi says, holding up a hand to Odd and Ulrich. "If the link has been cut, how do you intend to send us there?"

"I've created a new access protocol," Xana says unconvincingly. "All we need now are the scanners.

"Yeah, that's dumb." Yumi finally decides.

"Yumi!" Jeremie calls, "You're right! It's a trap!"

"Jeremie?" Yumi asks in shock, "were you just waiting for us to get to this point in the conversation so you could burst in at the right time?"

"What are you talking about?" Jeremie asks.

"It just seems like the perfect dramatic timing is all," Yumi says. "And we know how much you live being dramatic."

"It is the most important part of living," Jeremie says sagely nodding his head.

!

See another way to do this scene?

Sorry guys, this is a long scene full of possibilities!

Yumi and the others reach the factory and enter the elevator. Yumi presses the button and they begin to descend. Ulrich tries whistling to calm the mood but patters out when Odd raises his eyebrows at him, amusement clear in his expression. Yumi taps an erratic pattern on her leg as the elevator descends into the lab.

Finally, the doors open and they spill out into the lab. The computer in uncharacteristically dark and Yumi wonders if Jeremie has already been here. She taps a few keys to find the computer was just in sleep mode. The screen lights up and the interface begins to load up. The warriors gather around the computer as Yumi attempts to connect with Lyoko. "This is weird." Odd says. "Don't these programs usually start up automatically?"

"There's no connection," Yumi exclaims. "It's like Lyoko never existed!" Yumi says fear plain in her voice.

"And that might be exactly what has happened." Xana says flatly.

"Really?" Yumi asks. "So what's the big deal? If that's true then Aelita's already dead and Xana won, so let's just turn off the damn thing and get on with our lives."

"No!" Xana exclaims shortly. "You don't understand! We can bring back the connection if you go to Lyoko and deactivate the tower Xana activated!"

"Hey, wait a minute," Yumi says, holding up a hand to Odd and Ulrich. "If the link has been cut, how do you intend to send us there?"

"I've created a new access protocol," Xana says unconvincingly. "All we need now are the scanners.

"Yeah, that's dumb." Yumi finally decides.

"You're right Yumi!" Jeremie shouts as he exits the elevator smugly. "It's a trap!"

"Ha!" Yumi yells, flipping Xana off triumphantly. "I knew it!"

"Shut up Yumi." Xana says, feeling strangely affronted by her dismissal of him.

"He wants to get you into the scanner, to get rid of you, once and for all!" Jeremie says.

"Why the scanners?" Odd asks curiously.

"What?" Xana and Jeremie asks as one.

"Well, why the scanners?" Odd asks. "I mean, if we really are in a virtual world, then why would Xana need us to be in the scanners to kill is? Wouldn't we already be at his complete and total mercy?"

"Yeah, you're right Odd!" Ulrich says, "That makes no sense! I was starting to believe Yumi, but this has only made me sure that you are Xana," he says, pointing directly at Jeremie.

"Way to go Xana," Xana cries. "You gave yourself away!"

"Oh shove it!" Jeremie says angrily.

!

Jeremie and Xana face off in a silent battle of wills. Each are presenting logical reasons for their behavior and watching the other one sweat. Yumi is firmly on the real Jeremie's side while Odd and Ulrich are torn between them.

Yumi rolls her eyes. "Are you two serious?" she asks finally. "You seriously can't see which on eis real and which one is fake? Seriously?"

"Well, it's really hard!" Ulrich whines defensivly.

"Oh, hard my ass!" Yumi snaps.

Odd begins to giggle at that and Yumi smacks him in the back of the head. "Not the time Odd!" she shouts.

"How'd you get here then? Xana!" Xana asks Jeremie.

"I came here via the scanner." Jeremie says, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "I used them to virtualize myself directly into this sphere. No problems."

"Impossible!" Xana crows. "You've given yourself away Xana! If you were the real Jeremie, I would never have used the scanners! I'm too much of a pansy to try that!"

"And I'd say he would do it!" Odd declares. "If his friends were in danger!"

"Well, honestly," Jeremie shifts nervously. "I was tempted to just leave you all behind to just rot here for all eternity, but then I figured, eh, that cops are already after me, I might as well do something. Am I right?"

The Lyoko Warriors stare at him flatly for a moment anger flooding their faces as they watch him dance from side to side in guilt. "Yeah," Odd says finally, stepping over to Jeremie. "That's definitely him all right."

"Yep," Ulrich agrees to Jeremie's pleasure.

"I'm so glad you all see me for who I really am!" Jeremie says happily.

"Yeah," Yumi says gently. "And it's because we can see you for who you really are that we are totally curb stomping your pasty white ass when we get back from this. Who's with me!" Odd and Ulrich begin to cheer wildly as Jeremie visibly pales.

"Then why hasn't he done it already, why haven't I already done it!" Xana cries in desperation as he watches his plan unravel.

"I told you why," Jeremie says, "because Xana's knowledge of the world is only approximate-"

As Jeremie continues to speak Ulrich leans closer to Yumi, "Hey," he whispers, "Did you notice how Jeremie totally dodged that question right there about why he's too scared?"

"Yeah," Yumi whispers back, "But like he really wants to admit how much of a wimp he is."

!

As Xana watches the warriors side with Jeremie he realizes that his game is up. He screams in rage and he allows his power to flow through him. Instantly his body convulses at the sheer power coursing through him and it begins to morph into a hideous looking creature that begins to float above the ground. He summons three of his monsters to hold the warriors and he looks coldly down at Jeremie. He raises a hand and a deep booming note echoes from seemingly everywhere. Wires sprout from the ground and wrap themselves around Jeremie lifting him off the ground.

Jeremie's flailing legs are caught and bound by the wires as they make their way up his body. As they make it up to his head. As the wires begin to close around his face Jeremie has time to scream one more word. "Aelita!" Jeremie screams, knocking Aelita out of her nap by the bubble.

"Wow," Aelita says, "It sure is a good thing that I can suddenly hear him again for no reason. I'm pretty sure that I wasn't able to hear him before this. I wonder if it will ever be explained why I can hear him now?" she pauses for a moment. "Whatever, I'm sure it doesn't matter to anyone," she says before immediately bursting the bubble and freeing her friends. "I could have done that hours ago too!" she says happily, "but I'm sure nothing bad almost happened because I waited."

!

As the bubble explodes Aelita is sent reeling back from the force of the blast. She gets up several seconds later and shakes her head, holding it to try and keep back the headache that has suddenly sprouted. She looks over to where the bubble once was to see a large black crater stretching for several miles in any direction. She can see her friends beginning to stir from the ground and she runs over towards them. Yumi is the last to waken and she blearily accepts Aelita's hand and is gratefully pulled to her feet.

"What… what happened to us?' Odd asks, clutching his forehead in pain.

"Xana created a virtual world where he kept you prisoner," Aelita explains, "it's a great plan, so I'm sure we'll never see it again. You know how he is about things like this."

!

See another way to do that scene?

As the bubble explodes Aelita is sent reeling back from the force of the blast. She gets up several seconds later and shakes her head, holding it to try and keep back the headache that has suddenly sprouted. She looks over to where the bubble once was to see a large black crater stretching for several miles in any direction. She can see her friends beginning to stir from the ground and she runs over towards them. Yumi is the last to waken and she blearily accepts Aelita's hand and is gratefully pulled to her feet.

"What… what happened to us?' Odd asks, clutching his forehead in pain.

"Xana created a virtual world where he kept you prisoner," Aelita explains "What?" Odd gasps. "Jeremie came to Lyoko?"

"Yes," Aelita says. "Although how in blazes you managed to get that tidbit out of my little speech I'll never know."

!

The Lyoko warriors recover just in time to see the contents of the bubble solidify ahead of them. A large wall of Bloks stretches out before them and the warriors gleefully ready their weapons in preparation for a fight.

"I'm with you!" Odd cries as all four Lyoko warriors charge into battle, laughing and cheering. Aelita runs with them too until she is struck by a laser.

"Ow!" she cries. "Why would I run with you guys?" she asks herself. Í don't have a weapon! I can't do shit! I'm completely useless, so why would I ever think of running with you guys through an army of about 50 Bloks? Don't I know the meaning of risk analysis?"

"Apparently not," Odd says, destroying a Blok with ease, "Same how I don't understand how having only ten arrows means I can only shoot ten times. If I choose not to accept it, it doesn't happen for some reason."

"Same reason I can ignore my feelings for Ulrich," Yumi says, "I refuse to acknowledge them and they only pop up when I feel that my life needs some more excitement."

"Same thing about my emotional issues and overall unreliability," Ulrich adds, "It only pops up when Yumi needs some drama, or I feel like I haven't met my sulking quota."

"You have a sulking quota?" Yumi asks humorously.

"Yeah," Ulrich says, "Ten hours a month, does wonders for the ladies. Ladies love a man who sulks like a child."

"God, we are all sort of terrible people aren't we?" Jeremie says finally after a long pause.

Yeah," Yumi says. "But I think that that is what makes us so fun to be around. We are terrible, but we occasionally get punished for our actions-" everyone laughs at that and after a moment Yumi wipes away a tear of mirth from her eye and continues. "And we grow as a team and as people. I think that's what makes us so special and so memorable!"

"You can add 'egotistical' to Yumi's list Jeremie," Odd jokes.

"Shut up Odd!" Yumi laughs.

Well, there it is! Episode 24. All in all over 30 pages. Was it worth it? Oh, totally. It was so much fun to write. Not so much fun to edit, but so much fun to write. Sorry about stretching this over 3 weeks, but honestly that was all I could have managed.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this episode as much as I did. Let me know what I need to improve on, because I know that I'm not perfect. I'm closer than I was, but I'm not there yet! So let me know, what you like and what you don't so this can be the greatest What Should Have Happned ever! Even though there are only like, two out there, mine and the original Daveshan's but whatever!

Anyway, if you haven't yet, check out episode 2! That would be chapter 3 and you really should read it. I just updated it and it is five times the length it was! That means 8000 more words people! New jokes, new laughs and I think I parody the ending to A Christmas Carol in there as well. So check it out and let me know what you think!

Good God, this was a long one. I love this episode too. I wish they had spent more time in Xana's world though. If someone made a GOOD Fanfiction about it where they stayed in there for a while, I would read it and love that person forever.