Therizino was the first one fully virtualized. She landed on the ground with a heavy thud. She looked around to make sure she was in the right sector. Pleased she was in the Ice Sector, she looked up, seeing the cat boy virtualize moments after her.

As Odd's body fell, she caught him in one of her front limbs. She held him, his body slumped along the muscular limb, the head resting precariously against her sickle claw. She rotated her arm so that she could hold him against her body.

'Hmph. Good thing he is scrawny.' She thought. 'Otherwise, this would be difficult to pull off.' She lifted up her head. 'Now..where is it?'

Therizino spotted something in the distance. A faint glow in a cavern on the other side of the sector. She looked around her to see if the other Lyoko Warriors were virtualized yet. When they didn't, she began her trek, walking carefully so she did not drop Odd.

After a couple minutes of walking, she felt something moving. She looked down. Odd was awakening. She was about to shock him when he suddenly dug his claws into her. Her eyes split wide open.

"You dare use Drain Claw on me?!" She cried as she felt her codes being drained.

She stared down, looking at Odd's wild-looking eyes. He looked practically sadistic as he drained the life out of her. Therizino could feel her strength being zapped from her. She couldn't allow this to happen. She let out a roar and swung the side of her head against Odd.

Upon impact, he rolled across the ground. He got up on all fours. He snarled at her. His tail puffed up, wagging very fast, like a cat dogs when it's very angry. Therizino pawed the ground, snorting like a bull. She charged towards Odd. He dashed towards her. They lunged in the air, preparing to collide with each other.

sss

The mention of Therizino's return shocked and horrified Aelita and Jeremie. It was not easy for Ulrich and Yumi to break the news to them about Odd's capture. Bad memories of their last encounter with the beast flooded their minds. They had almost lost Odd to that monster more than once. They thought that ordeal was over. They had been wrong. So very wrong.

There was no doubt on what Therizino was going to do. She took him into Lyoko to throw him into the Digital Sea. Since she was no longer connected to him via the dreadful purple eye, she couldn't attack him directly on earth anymore. So she took him away to Lyoko herself. They knew she already had to have made it to Lyoko, so they would have to hurry up to save Odd.

But although that was a logical expectation of what Therizino was planning, not all the Lyoko Warriors were convinced. Specifically, Aelita had some doubts. Something just didn't add up.

"Oh come on, Aelita! You can't possibly have second thoughts about this!" Ulrich said.

"Remember what happened last time, Aelita?" Jeremie asked her. "She kept doing everything in her power to kill him."

"And that's the problem." Aelita said. The others looked at her with perplexed looks. "She had an opportunity in the hospital to kill him. During the escape downtown, she could have killed him. Why would she go through the trouble to get him into Lyoko just to throw him into the Digital Sea if her goal was to kill him?"

The others looked at each other. Realization sank in.

"You might be right, Aelita." Jeremie said. He walked up to the supercomputer and read the screen. He turned to the others. "But for now we must hurry. Therizino has taken Odd to the Ice Sector."

"I don't know what she plans on doing with him there." Aelita said as she stared at each of her friends. "But we can't just sit here and wait to find out."

sss

Odd lunged on top of Therizino's neck. She swung her head wildly to try to dislodge him. He bit down hard. Therizino could have sworn he suddenly grew fangs. She felt a sharp pain in her neck. He hugged her neck tighter as her struggles increased.

Therizino stood on her hind legs. She slammed her back into the ground. She heard a screech escape Odd's mouth. She got up and looked down on him. At first, he looked like he was unconscious again. She was proven wrong when he jumped at her, slamming his body against her upper chest and lower neck.

Taken by surprise, Therizino staggered back. She felt her foot almost slip off the edge of the slope she was in. She looked over her shoulders. She quickly regretted taking her eyes off the boy. Again he jumped at her. He wrapped his limbs around her head, shutting her mouth. His sharp claws, the regular ones, dug into her body, cutting her open.

She moved backwards, shaking his head to try to get him off of her. She slipped off the edge and the two went rolling down the slope. Therizino crashed heavily against a large rock structure. Odd tumbled further down and landed in a pile of virtual snow.

In seconds, Odd was back up, snarling. Therizino took longer to recover. She rubbed her head. She barely had time to turn when Odd got on the back of her neck again. He activated Drain Claw and pushed the claws deep inside of her. Therizino let out a howl of pain.

sss

"Get to the scanner room." Jeremie said as he got in the supercomputer's chair. He hovered his fingers over the keyboard. "Once you get to the Ice Sector, go find Odd. He should be located in the northeastern part of the sector."

"Got it." Yumi said.

"You can count on us." Ulrich said with confidence in his voice.

Aelita, Ulrich, and Yumi entered the scanners. They listened as Jeremie did the usual activation sequence. The scanners came to life. A rush of hair swept through them. They closed their eyes, feeling their bodies peel apart, turning from flesh into data.

sss

And now they were appearing above the land that was the Ice Sector. Once fully formed and digitized, they dropped down next to each other. Aelita, who knew the sector very well, led the way. They raced across the snow-covered land, which was, surprisingly, barren of monsters. But knowing XANA and Therizino, they kept on their guard.

Once they reached the northeastern section, they stopped and looked around. They couldn't hear anything. And they couldn't see anything. At first, they wondered if something had happened before they could arrive in time. Had Therizino succeeded in killing Odd?

Jeremie sensed their worry. His voice overhead spoke, "Odd is still alive. You still got time."

"That's a relief." Aelita said. "So shall we?"

"Yeah, before Therizino decides to do..whatever it is to Odd." Yumi nodded her head.

They didn't have time to continue their trek. A loud cat-like shriek filled the Lyoko air. They froze. The sound, if they heard it on earth, would have made their blood run cold. They looked up and saw Odd glaring down at them. He was standing on a ledge, a puffy tail sticking straight up in the air, shaking agitatedly.

Aelita gasped and took a step back. "Odd? Is that you?"

As if to answer, Odd jumped through the air. He landed on the ground next to his friends, only he didn't seem to see them as friends now. His pupils were large again, keeping his eye color almost hidden. His teeth were bared and he snapped at the air at them. His claws dug into the ground. He eyed them all like they were just pieces of meat.

When Odd licked his lips hungrily, they all shuddered collectively. They moved a few steps away. Odd moved slowly towards them. Each time he put his foot down, his claws scraped the ice. He emitted a continuous low growl at them. After a few seconds, he charged at them.

Ulrich took out one of his swords and tried to strike at Odd. The cat boy was too agile for him. He swung around him like it was nothing. In passing, he snagged Ulrich by the leg in his jaws and swung him into the ground. He jumped on top of him.

Yumi rushed in to help. She grabbed Odd's tail and yanked him back. Odd let out a surprised hiss before turning towards her. He opened his mouth wide, letting out the most horrific shriek Yumi ever heard him muster. He gripped her arm, scratching his claws into her. He tossed her into Ulrich. He watched as they tumbled across the ground, a little dazed.

Odd advanced menacingly towards Aelita. The pink haired girl walked backwards. She readied to attack with her Energy Fields. She hesitated, not wanting to hurt Odd. But he was starting to move faster, and soon he broke into a run.

By now, Ulrich and Yumi were back on their feet. They ran towards Odd, weapons ready. Before they could reach him, he collided with Aelita and they went rolling down a steep hill. Once they reached the bottom, Aelita screeched in pain when Odd began to use Drain Claw on her.

"Aelita!" Yumi shouted in horror.

"Super Sprint!" In a flash of yellow light, Ulrich rushed down towards where Odd had Aelita pinned down.

"Careful you guys!" Jeremie's voice called out. "Therizino is heading your way!"

"Great, just what we needed.." Yumi muttered under her throat. She wielded her fans and looked around for the red beast. "Where is she, Jeremie?"

"Almost right on top of Aelita and Odd!"

"What?!" Yumi turned and her eyes widened at what she saw.

From the left of Odd and Aelita, Therizino was thundering towards them. She was moving faster than Yumi had ever seen her move. She intercepted Ulrich, striking him down with her sickle claw. The boy landed on his back and moaned in pain. As he fought to get up, Therizino closed in on Odd and Aelita.

Odd, still using Drain Claw on Aelita, gave a warning yowl at Therizino. The red dragon narrowed her eyes into slits. She split her mouth open and roared at him. She raised a paw and struck at him, pulling him away from Aelita.

For a few seconds, Therizino stared down at the girl. Aelita noticed that her stare was, for once, not hostile. There was something else, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Then Therizino turned away, leaving her unharmed, and went after Odd.

Yumi got to Aelita's side and helped her up. Aelita just stared at Therizino in surprised. 'Did she just...?' She shook her head. No, she couldn't of. No, this was Therizino she was referring to.

"Oh no!" Ulrich shouted. The girls looked at him. He pointed to where Therizino ran off to. Once again, Odd was unconscious in her jaws. She was making a run for it. "Come on! We've gotta catch up!"