Thank you, DinoWriter23, for your help with this.
I do not own Stella Valleys.
Anne was so shocked she didn't know what to think. She was in a virtual world?!
"Anne? Can you hear us?" she heard Dylan ask.
"Dylan?" She looked up at the dark blue sky above her. "Is that you?"
"What happened? Is she in the computer?!" Clair asked.
"Yes." She heard Jeremy say. "You see, the scanners below scanned Anne as I typed in the virtualization procedure, which created a digital form for her when she was virtualized into Lyoko."
"So why do I look like this?" Anne wondered as she looked down at herself, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, I believe the supercomputer scans you and bases your form off of what you dream about." Jeremy explained through the speaker.
"It wasn't the case for Odd, though." Ulrich smirked at his friend, who just groaned.
"I have no idea what I'm supposed to be." Anne said.
"Hold on. Odd's coming to join you. Just hold tight."
Odd headed to the elevator, going down to the scanners. Jeremy started to type in the procedure as Odd stepped into a scanner. "Transfer, Odd. Scanner, Odd. Virtualization!"
Anne looked up as she saw a figure materialize above the ground before it dropped to the ground, revealing it was Odd... looking like a giant purple cat?
Anne's eyes widened, then she bit her lip as she tried not to snicker, earning a groan from him.
"Come on! Why am I the only one who looks like a total nitwit on Lyoko?!" he complained.
"So... this place is Lyoko?" Anne wondered, calming down as she looked around.
"One of the places, at least. This is the Ice Sector." Jeremy answered from the lab.
"Ice? Why am I not freezing?"
"Technically, there isn't any weather in Lyoko, but the terrain is made to suit the sector." Aelita said into the speaker.
Sora glanced at Jeremy. "So, what do you think now?"
Jeremy was pondering. He was still debating whether or not they could trust these guys. But then again, he did already virtualize one of them...
"Like you said, just give us a test run. We'll show ya we can handle this."
"I can help on Lyoko." Aelita told Jeremy.
The teen glanced at the pink haired girl, hesitating for a moment until their eyes met. "... alright, but you be careful, Aelita. With those monsters there with XANA's..."
She nodded. "Of course, Jeremy. Who would like to come?" Aelita asked as she turned to Sora and co.
Clair, with some hesitation, raised her hand. Jason, Aurora, and Stella were a bit surprised. Seeing this, Chase volunteered as well.
"Okay, come with me." Aelita said.
"Whoa. Isn't this a bit uneven?" Ulrich asked.
Jason looked at him. "I'd imagine you'd have a command or something to get them out if you don't like how things look. I know if I had to work with something like this, I'd put in an end-program command."
"We have something called materialization, which will bring them back once they're devirtualized." Jeremy explained.
"Alright, unless we have any more volunteers, Aelita, go ahead and head to the scanners with them."
The three of them headed down in the elevator. The rest gathered around the supercomputer as Jeremy typed in the sequence.
Chase and Clair stared in awe at the scanner room when the doors opened. Aelita stepped into a scanner. "Both of you will need to step into one, too."
The two got into scanners opposite of each other.
"Nervous?" Chase asked.
Clair nodded. "Haven't been digitized before."
"Me either."
The doors then closed as the procedure began.
"Transfer, Aelita. Transfer, Clair. Transfer, Chase. Scanner, Aelita. Scanner, Clair. Scanner, Chase."
They could feel the strong wind, squinting from the bright lights as they were lifted up. Clair braced herself, just in case.
"Virtualization!"
They all felt a strong wind, that blew their hair back. Then they found themselves hovering in the air before suddenly falling. Chase ended up landing flat on his face, earning cringes from Clair and Aelita, as well as Odd and Anne nearby. "Oww..."
"That's gonna hurt in the morning..." Odd grimaced.
"Are you okay?" Clair asked as she checked on him, then realized her outfit had changed. She was in some sort of attire that felt like it was made from animal fur, with a cape tied around her. "What...?" she gasped, trailing off.
Chase sat up with a groan, holding his nose as he looked up at Clair. "Hey, nice outfit..." he commented while wincing, then noticed he was now wearing a bodysuit that had the colors of his outfit. "How'd this happen?"
"The supercomputer chose your form for here." Aelita explained as she approached them. She had pink facial markings, pointy ears, and a pink and dark pink bodysuit with a transparent skirt.
"Whoa. It made you into an elf." Clair realized.
Chase stretched before saying, "So. Virtual Worlds 101. We're ready to learn."
Aelita began, "In Lyoko, there are five sectors: ice, mountain, forest, desert, and sector 5. Just about all of them have towers, which XANA activates to launch his attacks on the real world. We have to deactivate them to stop his attack and keep anyone from getting seriously hurt, or even killed."
"Only Aelita here can deactivate the towers, so we need to make sure she doesn't get devirtualized before she can reach the tower." Odd added.
"Monsters incoming!" Jeremy suddenly warned them as there was beeping on the monitor. Those with him could see dots moving in on Anne, Chase, Clair, Odd, and Aelita's location. The group of five turned and saw the strange looking creatures with different color schemes from before approaching them, as well as a couple of Shadows.
Odd gripped his forearm as he aimed his fist at a small monster with the eye of XANA on it. "Watch and learn.' he smirked. "Laser Arrow!"
An arrow fired from his hand towards the monster, hitting it in the eye symbol and causing it to explode. Anne summoned her Keyblade as a Shadow came at her and sliced through it. Clair swiftly dealt with the other one.
Chase rose an eyebrow as a small monster with a brown head and small, metal legs underneath it approached. "You're joking, right? This thing's hardly bigger than a football."
Suddenly, it fired a laser at them, nearly hitting Chase as he leapt back. "Whoa!"
Clair summoned her Keyblade and blocked another laser that was shot. The monster crawled towards her, charging up another laser, but she shot a Fire spell at it, knocking it back.
"What are these things?" Anne asked Odd.
"Kankrelats. They're not so tough, but their lasers are bad, and when they're together in groups, it's worse." Odd explained.
The Kankrelat fell on its side, unable to get back up after being knocked back by the spell. Anne stabbed it in the eye symbol to finish it off. Once it was destroyed, Anne noticed the edge of the plateau they were on and wandered over to it. "Hey, what's over here?" She peered over the edge and paled, immediately wishing she didn't.
About a hundred feet below them was what seemed to be a large ocean.
"Hey, stay away from the edge!" Jeremy warned from the lab.
"Why?" Clair asked as Anne quickly backed away.
"If you fall into the Digital Sea, you'll be deleted, or eternally virtualized."
Clair immediately put more distance between her and the edge, as did Anne.
In the lab, Jason glared at Jeremy. "Why didn't you say something about the sea sooner?"
"Because there's more dangers to worry about at the moment." Jeremy replied as he typed.
"More dangers? The ocean is a literal death trap in that world!"
"I know that! But there's also the monsters, too, that could send you over the edge if you're not careful enough."
Jason crossed his arms. "Get them out, now."
"I can't, Aelita still has to get to the tower."
"My cousin is in there!"
"Jace, calm down." Clair called. "There's plenty of space to move around on. Just stay away from the edge and I'll be fine."
Jason opened his mouth to speak, but closed it with a sigh. "Where's the tower?"
"According to the coordinates, it's 80 degrees northeast of their location." Jeremy announced as he looked at the screen before typing in a sequence. "Hold on, I'm sending you the vehicles now."
"Vehicles?" Chase wondered out loud. A moment later, a hoverboard, a type of hover-scooter, and a motorcycle with one large wheel appeared. "Cool!"
Jeremy smiled. "Say hello to the Overboard, the Overwing, and the Overbike, everyone."
The oldest of the Enheart brothers was about to get on the hoverboard, but Odd beat him to it. "I call the Overboard!"
Chase pouted at that while Anne got onto the motorcycle and Clair stepped onto the floating scooter. He then shrugged and decided to use his superspeed.
"What about you? Don't you need a ride?" Anne asked. Aelita just smiled, showing the star bracelet on her wrist as she waved a hand over it. A moment later, a pair of energy wings materialized on her back, allowing her to fly.
Clair's jaw dropped, her eyes lighting up at the sight. "That is awesome."
Aelita chuckled at that as she began to fly ahead of them.
"Race ya!" Chase sped off.
"What the- hey, Ulrich! Looks like he's copying your power!" Odd joked before taking off after him.
Anne and Clair exchanged a look before Anne started revving up the bike with a smirk. "I'm gonna get you, Chase." she called as the bike suddenly sped off. "WHOO HOO!"
Clair sped after them on the Overwing to try and keep up, soon reaching Anne's side.
"This is amazing!" Anne called over the Overbike's engine.
"I'm still faster than you guys!" Chase taunted before speeding ahead of them. Odd smirked, accepting the challenge as he attempted to make the Overboard fly faster. Clair found herself laughing a bit. The light mood was cut off when something fired at them.
"Whoa!" Anne swerved out of the way as the laser nearly hit where she was at. She parked the Overbike as everyone got behind some cover. The Overbike was hit by a laser and vanished shortly after. Odd dared to take a look, seeing a pair of the crab like monsters from before.
"Krabs!" Odd frowned as he noticed the different colors, as well as the extra symbol. "But how come they don't look like the normal kind?"
"Because those are Heartless." Riku said as he saw the ID cards back in the lab.
"This is not good!" Clair called, ducking her head down to avoid getting hit by another laser.
Back at Kadic Academy, the Heartless were still wreaking havoc on the school grounds. A pair of students, one who was carrying a camera as they filmed the whole thing, were running as they tried to get away from one of the monsters.
"Milly, come on!" a girl with her hair done in cornrows yelled to her.
"Tamiya, are you getting this?!" Milly asked, though she was scared out of her mind at the moment. Tamiya tried to hold the camera still as they ran, though it was very difficult due to how much it was shaking from the running.
"Y-Yeah!"
However, one of the monsters caught up to them. The two tripped, screaming in fear and clinging onto each other as it lunged at them, but suddenly, they heard a clash of metal. Milly and Tamiya looked up in shock to see a man with astonishingly red and spiky hair holding what looked to be a giant key as he held the monster back.
"You okay, girls?!"
"W-Who are you...?" Milly managed to get out, trembling.
"The name's Lea! Got it memorized?" He then looked up. "Nash, now!"
They saw a teenager with black hair carrying a pair of sais leap up and land atop the crab like monster, stabbing them into the symbol on top of its head. The monster twitched before collapsing.
Tamiya gasped. "H-How did you-?"
"Get somewhere safe!" Nash told the two girls. "These things are dangerous! Hurry!"
Milly and Tamiya scrambled off to safety as Nash yanked the sais out of the mechanical monster. "Not bad, Nash." Lea praised as he readied his Keyblade, keeping an eye out for any other signs of danger.
"Hey, thanks." Nash replied, but it was then a couple more Heartless came, as well as the monsters. He took a deep breath, steadying himself as he remembered what Yuffie and Leon had taught him.
The two of them got ready to fight. "Hope that training back there was enough for ya..." Lea said before making the first move. He charged forward, leaping up as he did a flip, slamming his fiery Keyblade onto a Heartless. Nash faced off against a Blok, preparing himself as he tried to anticipate when it would attack.
It spun its head around before the eye symbol glowed, charging up a laser. Just as it fired, Nash dove down and it hit a tree instead. He rolled over, getting back up to his feet before he ran at the Blok, running to the side as it started to spin around again. Right as it stopped, Nash jabbed a sai into the symbol, making it go still as he wrenched it loose from the monster.
Lea did a somersault as he avoided another laser before attacking a Blok, stabbing it as he rejoined Nash. The two then saw more Heartless coming their way.
Nash paled when he saw them, but didn't falter as he kept his grip on his weapons. "Oh great..."
"Well, we could use a warm up!" Lea smirked as he held his Keyblade, ready to fight.
Back in the Factory, the group gathered around the supercomputer with concern
There's more of those things showing up. Are they okay?" Dylan asked with worry.
"Guys, how are you holding up?" Jeremy asked them as he typed in some codes.
"We're kinda trying not to get shot here!" Anne retorted, gripping her Keyblade in one hand as she was looking for the right moment to attack.
Chase rose an eyebrow as a giant ball came into view. "Is that a giant bowling ball?"
"Megatank!" Yumi, Jeremy, and Ulrich exclaimed with alarm.
The Megatank opened up, charging up their laser. Chase sped out of the way just before the massive beam could hit him.
A Krab attempted to fire at Clair, but she quickly cast Reflect to block the laser, making it bounce harmlessly off the barrier. She then retaliated with Blizzard, freezing the Krab solid.
"That's the cold shoulder." Odd joked.
"I'd say he's got cold feet." Chase smirked at him.
"Cool it with the jokes, okay?" Aelita quipped. She then formed a pink ball of energy in her hand before shooting it at the frozen Krab. "Energy Field!"
The Krab was surrounded by a pink energy before it was destroyed. "Hey, not bad!" Anne commented.
"Watch out!"
Anne looked back just in time to see a laser coming. She barely had enough time to move as it hit her in the shoulder. "GAH!" she cringed as electricity crackled around where she got hit.
"Anne, you just lost ten life points!" Jeremy called.
"Wait, what?" Anne asked, shaking the pain off as she faced off against the other Krab that had caught her by surprise.
"When you get hit by those, you lose life points. If you lose them all, you get devirtualized." Jeremy explained to the ones in Lyoko, as well as the ones in the lab.
"NOW you tell us!" Chase said, ducking to avoid a laser.
"Um... sorry?" Jeremy winced, rubbing the back of his head.
Odd kicked up his hoverboard, flying higher into the air as he aimed at the symbol on the Krab's head. "Laser Arrow!"
The arrows pierced the eye of XANA, causing the monster to explode.
"Are we clear? Or are there more surprises waiting for us?" Clair asked.
Chase looked up and his eyes widened before he tackled Clair. "Get down!" he exclaimed as he dove out of the way with her, avoiding a surprise attack from the Megatank from before. Anne used her Keyblade to try and block the beam, but she could feel it starting to push her back as she tried to dig her feet into the ground.
Clair and Chase rolled on the ground a bit until they came to a stop with Chase on top of Clair. They then realized the position they were in. The two of them blushed deeply before Chase quickly got off with a sheepish grin.
Anne grunted in the background as she was struggling to push back, but the laser was stronger. "Guys? Little help, please?!"
The two scrambled back up to their feet and rushed to help. Clair distracted the Megatank with a Plasma Bolt, allowing Chase to speed over to Anne, yanking her out of the way just as the giant laser sped past them, nearly hitting the two.
"Laser Arrow!" Odd tried to shoot an arrow at the eye symbol, but the Megatank closed up, deflecting the arrow as it rolled towards the catboy.
Clair tried to cast a spell.
"Thunder!" she yelled, but it bounced off the shell. Anne charged at the giant bowling ball like monster as it opened back up, preparing to charge another attack. She managed to beat it and stab it right in the eye symbol before it could fire.
It then blew up in her face. She was knocked back from that, grunting as she landed on her back. She sat back up, letting out a sigh of relief.
"I just learned something important. I hate Megatanks."
"Whoa, nice job, you guys." Jeremy commented.
"Thanks." Chase rubbed the back of his neck. "How much further do we have to go to get to the tower?"
"You're halfway there."
Stella's eyes widened as she noticed something ahead of them on the screen as there was more beeping. "You've got some more monsters up ahead!"
"And that's not all." Jeremy said with alarm as he saw something else approaching.
"What is it? Heartless?" Sora asked, concerned by what he said.
"No. William!"
"William?!" Ulrich and Yumi gasped while the rest of the group blinked in surprise as they looked at the screen, seeing another ID card appear.
On Lyoko, the five saw a teenager with messy black hair approaching while riding atop a large spider-like monster that had the eye of XANA, as well as the Heartless symbol. He was wearing a dark gray and black bodysuit with red lines on his waist and arms. He was wearing black boots lined with red on the front that came up to his knees as he had a spiked gauntlet on his left arm. On his chest was the eye of XANA, which was also present on his forehead. He was carrying a large buster sword with dark red veins spreading on it near the handle with the symbol also on the side. He bore a dark, evil look on his face as he approached them, climbing off the monster.
Chase's eyes widened as he took a step back. "Whoa!"
William growled as he glared at the group, pointing his sword threateningly at them. "Attack!" he ordered in a distorted voice. A pair of Neoshadows, as well as the large spider-like monsters, rushed to attack.
"Watch out for the Tarantulas! They can fire from both of their front legs!" Jeremy warned through the speaker. As if on cue, a Tarantula got on one knee as it aimed its arms at them, firing lasers rapidly from the ends of them.
Chase got hit in the shoulder before he could even move out of the way. He grunted, holding his shoulder. "Ow! That hurt!"
Clair cast a spell at the Tarantula in retaliation. "Fira!"
It shrieked as it was knocked back. Odd aimed at a Neoshadow, shooting a Laser Arrow at it. The arrow hit the creature of darkness in the chest, but that didn't stop the Neoshadow as it lunged at the purple clad teen. "Shield!" Odd yelled, holding his fist out as a purple transparent appeared, keeping the Heartless's claws from scratching him.
Anne tried to attack William. However, he blocked her swing with ease as they clashed blades, ending up in a sword lock. Anne gritted her teeth as she strained, trying to push him back.
His eyes looked down on her, like he didn't see her as a threat. More like an insect in his way.
It almost reminded her of Josh. He then managed to gain the upper hand and was able to force her back. Anne crashed against a rock, grunting as she recovered just in time to see him raising his sword, so she quickly rolled out of the way as his sword got stuck in the boulder. While he tried to get it out, Anne hit him in the back with her Keyblade, making him grunt in pain.
Chase picked up several chunks of rocks and used his speed to throw them at William.
William grunted as he was pelted by the rocks, then growled as he turned his attention to the speedster once he wrenched his weapon free, gripping his buster sword with both hands.
"How are you even lifting that thing?" Clair asked.
He didn't reply as he charged to attack the two. Chase threw all the remaining pebbles in his arm at him before speeding behind him, attempting to throw a punch at the dark warrior. However, he vanished in a puff of dark smoke.
"Super Smoke!" he yelled, slipping into the ground as a trail of black smoke was left behind. He then rose up, appearing behind them as he grinned darkly.
Clair gasped, whirling around just in time to block the powerful swing with her Keyblade. "Chase!" she called, straining as she tried to push him back.
"On it, Clair! Thundara!" Chase yelled, casting the spell on William. It managed to shock him. For a moment, the dark look seemed to leave him. He yelled as he was zapped, twitching as he eased his grip on his sword, allowing Clair to jump back. However, she also noticed the change in William's expression.
He looked like he was confused for a moment as he held his head, then he twitched as the dark expression returned to his face. He let out a yell of rage as he charged at Chase, intent to get back at him for the bolt of lightning. Chase sped out of the way just in time as he swung his blade.
"Odd, Aelita. Get to the tower. We'll hold off this creep." Anne said, wishing she could have thought of a better insult to call William.
"You got it!" Odd nodded as he and Aelita ran ahead of them. William growled, attempting to go after them, but Anne threw her Keyblade at his back, knocking him down.
"I don't think so!" she yelled, forcing him to stop. He whirled around, glaring at the trio before him furiously.
"Guys, be careful! William's not easy to beat." Jeremy warned as he watched anxiously from the lab.
"Thanks for the tip!" Chase called as he readied himself.
The monsters and Heartless that were with William went to his side while a Tarantula tried to shoot at Odd and Aelita as they left, but missed.
A Neoshadow made a move, sinking into the ground as it tried to jump out and surprise them, but the three saw it coming. Clair slashed at it with her Keyblade just as it popped back up, catching it off guard. When it fell to the ground, she shot a Plasma Bolt at it, dealing more damage before she finished it off.
It was then some of the flying hornet monsters flew towards Chase, who backed away with wide eyes. "N-Not the giant wasps!"
They fired at him, forcing him to run and dive behind a boulder to avoid getting hit. He gulped, trying to not let his fear of wasps get in the way as he shot a Fire spell at a Hornet, knocking it away.
"Hey, ugly!" Anne yelled, gaining the attention of one of the Hornets. She shot an Aerora spell at it, catching it in a strong gust of wind. Clair joined in as she launched herself off of a rock, knocking the Hornet out of the air with her Keyblade as she slammed it into the ground. It attempted to get back up, but she stabbed it in the eye symbol, pulling her Keyblade out as she backed away just in time as it exploded.
Clair moved to attack the Tarantula, but suddenly, William attacked Clair. He swung his sword, sending out a ring of energy at her and hit her right in the stomach. She gasped in pain, clutching where she was hit.
Chase's eyes widened as he saw his girlfriend vanish before him in a flurry of pixels. "CLAIR!"
In the lab, the rest cried out in shock as they had witnessed this. "What happened?!" Jason asked.
"William devirtualized her..." Jeremy explained, watching the ID card unload itself.
Below them, one of the cylinder tubes opened, and Clair fell out of it. "Ow..." She winced, holding her stomach as she used her elbows to support herself. "What happened...?"
The elevator door opened before her. She made her way over to it, still feeling phantom pains where she got hit as she limped into the lift.
Back on Lyoko, Chase glared at William. "You're gonna pay for that!"
The boy gave an evil laugh as he activated his super smoke ability and took off after Odd and Aelita.
"Oh, no you don't!" Chase sped off after him.
"Chase, wait!" Anne tried to follow her friend, but some of the monsters blocked her way. "Oh, crap." Seeing that there was no way to slip through, she got into a battle stance. "Get out of the way!"
One Hornet fired a laser at her, but she reacted fast enough and blocked it with her Keyblade before going on the offensive. She leapt up, swinging at it as she managed to hit it in the side. It was knocked off balance from the attack, so she then knocked it down and stabbed it in the eye, destroying it. But then she was shot again, this time in the leg by a Krab from behind. "Ouch!"
"You've lost another ten life points!" Jeremy informed her.
Anne dodge-rolled as she avoided another laser, the pain in her leg vanishing. "Time for some pest control." Anne growled. "Fira!" she yelled, casting the spell on a Neoshadow, burning it. It tried to put itself out while a Krab charged up an attack. The brown haired girl rolled out of the way and moved to attack as well.
She managed to cut off one of its legs as it fell on its side, like she did to the one back at Kadic. Using this opportunity, she stabbed it in the eye, destroying it. However, she got jumped by the Neoshadow from before. She grit her teeth as she struggled with it. "Okay, you little shadow goblin." She growled as she tried to push it away from her. It tried clawing at her face while she pressed her hand against the flat part of her Keyblade.
Dylan was concerned from the lab. "She looks like she needs help."
"And William's gone after Odd and Aelita." Ulrich added. "Chase won't be able to fight him alone."
It was then the elevator opened up, revealing an exhausted Clair as she leaned on the wall. Jason and Stella rushed to help her out of the elevator.
"Are you okay?" Stella questioned.
Clair glared at her. "I feel like I got cut in half by a giant knife."
Stella blinked with surprise as she and Jason draped her arms around their shoulders. "Sorry..." she said with sympathy.
"No, I'm sorry." Clair apologized for snapping. "It's just... that was painful. I wasn't expecting that..."
Her friend and cousin then helped her sit against the wall.
"Sorry, we should have warned you about that..." Yumi told Clair as she came over to check on her. "The pain will fade soon, don't worry."
"Yeah, I think it's subsiding now." the mage-in-training admitted.
"That's good." Jeremy turned his attention back to the supercomputer as he typed in a set of codes. "Someone will need to go help Anne and Chase. Volunteers?"
"I'll go." Dylan immediately volunteered. He knew his brother and Anne needed help.
"Be careful. One thing I've learned: It's not a game in there." Clair warned him.
Dylan nodded. "You got it. Anyone else coming?"
"I am." Jason frowned. He was definitely going to get back at that guy for hurting his cousin like that.
"Then get down to the scanners and I'll virtualize you into Lyoko." Jeremy ordered as he typed in the sequence.
"I'll go with them." Ulrich said, knowing that they would need a hand as well. Together, the three teenage boys stepped into the elevator.
"Jace, be careful." Clair called to her cousin. He just nodded at her as the doors closed.
The lift took the three boys down to the scanner room. As the elevator door opened, Ulrich stepped out, but Dylan and Jason paused to take it all in when they saw the scanners. Jason whistled. This was definitely advanced technology for this world...
Ulrich gestured for them to follow him as he stepped inside a scanner. "You'll need to get into these if you wanna help out."
Jason stepped into one, as did Dylan. The doors closed behind them as the process began.
"Transfer, Ulrich. Transfer, Jason. Transfer, Dylan."
The bright lights came on, followed by the wind.
"Scanner, Ulrich. Scanner, Jason. Scanner, Dylan."
"Virtualization!"
The light became so bright they had to shut their eyes. Jason and Dylan felt a strange sensation, then a moment later, they found themselves hovering in midair above the ground of the Ice Sector.
"Whoa!" The three of them then fell. Ulrich landed in a crouching position while the other two landed unceremoniously on the ground.
Jason shook his head, then blinked as he saw how Ulrich appeared. He was now wearing a yellow body suit with dark gray gauntlets, brown fingerless gloves, a yellow headband, and a dark green sash around his waist. He also had a pair of twin katanas strapped to his back. The brown haired teen then noticed the land they were all in and couldn't help but stare in surprise.
They definitely weren't kidding when they said there was a world inside this computer...
Dylan held his side as he sat up, but then realized he was now wearing a bodysuit as well, but it was based off of the colors of his clothes, like Chase's was, though his was gray and red. His sword was still strapped to his back. "Huh?" He then saw Jason and his jaw dropped. "Whoa."
"What?" Jason asked with confusion, then looked down at himself and blinked with surprise. He was dressed in some sort of blue and red futuristic exoskeleton. He looked over himself. "I look a little like Techno-man."
"Uh... Techno-who?" Dylan asked curiously.
Jason opened his mouth to explain, but cut himself off when they heard the sounds of lasers being fired. They looked ahead and saw Anne was still facing off against the Neoshadow and a XANA-Heartless.
The teenage girl leaned back to avoid getting hit by a laser before attacking the Neoshadow, forcing it back as she hit it in where its stomach should be with her Keyblade. As the Tarantula attempted to attack, she blocked its blow with her weapon.
"Tell you later." Jason said as he took a step, and ended up leaping ten feet into the air. "Whoa! Guess this thing enhances my movement."
"Pretty cool." Ulrich remarked as he drew his swords. "Let's see what you guys can do!"
The boys leapt into the fray as Jason summoned his Keyblade. Anne attacked a Tarantula, managing to hit it in the side. It tried to hit her with one of its metal arms, but she blocked it.
It was then Dylan charged in, stabbing it in the XANA symbol with his sword as it crackled with electricity. "Man, I hate spiders." he shuddered.
Jason looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Your brother hates bees, and you hate spiders?"
"He hates wasps, to be specific." Dylan explained as he yanked the sword out.
A Neoshadow then leapt at Ulrich. He reached quickly, flipping back as he avoided getting scratched by its claws. He then sliced at it across the chest with one of his blades, forcing it to step back.
Jason then leapt in, jumping up into the air as he delivered a downward slash on the Neoshadow, destroying it.
"Thanks." Ulrich told him.
He gave a nod in reply. Jason saw a Kankrelat approach him as it charged up a laser. However, he kicked it away like a ball once it was close enough, sending it flying towards Anne, who stabbed it in the eye symbol as soon as it came at her.
"Nice kick." Anne commented, panting a bit.
Jason shrugged. "I think it's the suit."
"Are you okay?" Dylan asked her now that all the monsters in the area were dealt with.
Anne dusted herself off. "Yeah. Thanks, guys. Nice outfit, by the way." she said to him. Dylan rubbed the back of his head, feeling his cheeks heat up.
"Which way do we go, Jeremy?" Ulrich called.
"Head northeast from where you are. And hurry!"
They did, though with each step, Jason kept leaping off the ground due to him not being used to his Lyoko form.
Meanwhile, Chase was speeding after William, who was getting closer to Odd and Aelita.
"You guys might want to hurry it up!" he called to them. The two teens looked back as they saw William was gaining on them, so they quickly tried to pick up the pace.
William reformed and jumped out, swinging his blade as he sent a ring of energy at Odd, hitting the Overboard and devirtualizing it. Odd let out a yell of surprise as he fell to the ground, rolling before he came to a stop. Aelita gasped, flying down as she made her wings vanish in order to check on him.
Chase then tackled William with his speed. "That was for Clair." He growled as he paused, only to start running again as he dragged him with him, punching him. "As is this, and this, and this, and this, and this!"
William's eyes widened, then growled before he vanished into smoke to avoid the next blow. William popped up behind him, but he sped out of the way before he could hit him.
Chase ran to hit him again. William blocked his fist with his sword before kicking Chase in the stomach. The brown haired teenager grunted as he fell, landing on his back. William grinned sinisterly as he prepared to stab him with his sword, but Odd hit him with a laser arrow.
"Hey! Tall, dark, and crazy! Didn't your mother teach you its not nice to stab people?!" Odd joked.
William growled at Odd. "I'll take you all out one by one!" he roared in his distorted voice, his sword glowing as he prepared to shoot another wave of energy at them.
"Look out!" Ulrich warned. The three saw Jason, Ulrich, Anne, and Dylan charging at William before he could attack.
"Let's see how your sword matches up against mine!" Dylan yelled. The black haired teen then attacked the possessed boy as they met in a sword lock.
"You can't win." William growled.
Dylan smirked knowingly. "Watch." He then activated his sword's power as it crackled with electricity, racing down William's blade and electrocuting him. That caused him to yell in pain and jerk away, twitching from the electric shock.
Dylan just had a smug look as he held his sword up. "See? Don't underestimate us."
"Nice one, bro." Chase commented.
"Thanks."
Jason held his Keyblade as he frowned at William. "So you're the one who hurt my cousin."
William just growled in response.
"What? Now you're a mute?"
William charged at him, but Jason blocked his attack with his own weapon. He found the suit he now wore was making him stronger as well.
He narrowed his eyes as he shoved the XANA-possessed teen back before slamming his Keyblade into his side. William groaned at that, holding that area.
"Stay down if you know what's good for you." Jason told him.
William's response was attempting to stab him.
"Aelita! The tower's just up ahead! Go on, we'll hold him off!" Odd told the pink haired teen, who nodded and took off running.
William growled and tried to go after her, but Anne cast Fire at his feet to keep him there. "I don't think so!"
Back in the lab, a faint crash could be heard. "Uh... what was that?" Goofy asked nervously.
Jeremy pulled up one of the security cameras and paled as he saw a few Heartless and a couple of XANA's monsters on the factory floor. "Uh oh."
"I can hold them off." Clair said as she got back up.
Stella and Riku, however, stopped her. "Whoa, whoa, you're still recovering." Stella told her with concern.
"But-"
"No buts." Stella told her, helping her sit back down.
Riku and Sora ran into the elevator, followed by Yumi and Stella. "We'll go, instead. You stay here and rest up."
Clair sighed as she resumed sitting.
The four headed up to the factory floor. Once the elevator opened, they were greeted by the sight of a pair of Shadows, a Krab, and a Blok.
They all made a break for it once XANA's monsters started to fire at them.
Sora and Riku summoned their weapons. "Who's up for seafood?" Sora asked.
"Not me. This isn't the kind I'd want to eat." Riku remarked as they faced the creatures before them.
Yumi dodged a laser as she grabbed a pipe lying on the ground. Stella summoned her Keyblade, too. She then had to block one of the Shadows as it tried to claw at her, but she forced it back. Yumi smacked it away with the pipe she had while Riku blocked a laser that a Krab shot at him.
"I hope Aelita doesn't take too long in the computer." Stella said.
"As long as William doesn't catch her, she'll be able to make it to the tower." Yumi reassured her, then her eyes widened as she ducked to avoid a Shadow as it soared over her.
Stella knocked it back with her Keyblade. Before it could get back up, she stabbed it with her Keyblade, making it vanish back into darkness. She sighed in relief, but saw the Krab about to fire. However, Riku blocked it before it could hit anybody. The laser bounced off his weapon, hitting the wall and leaving a scorch mark.
Sora charged forward and hit the Krab in one of its legs before he attempted to cut it off, but he was smacked back by it. Sora grunted, but flipped over and skid the rest of the way back on his feet. The Blok then went on the attack as it spun around, shooting a laser, but Sora blocked it. He then charged to attack it, using Flowmotion to get a better advantage. Leaping off from column to column, he then shot at the Blok like a cannonball.
Stella's eyes widened at the display before Sora rammed his Keyblade into one of the eye symbols as soon as it stopped spinning. The Blok collapsed on its side, having been taken offline.
Riku dove to the side to avoid a laser from the Krab while Stella dealt with another Shadow. She managed to knock it backwards. Yumi then attacked it with the pipe, forcing it down, allowing Stella to run her Keyblade through it. It vanished into wisps of darkness while Sora leapt up, slamming his Keyblade into the eye symbol of the Krab, killing the mechanical monster.
Suddenly, Yumi got hit in the shoulder by a surprise laser from a hidden monster. "AHH!"
Everyone jumped in surprise as they searched for where the monster could be hiding while Stella ran to Yumi's side.
"Are you okay?" she asked her, grimacing as she saw that the laser left a burn mark on Yumi's shoulder.
"I-I'll live..." Yumi winced, though the pain made it a bit hard to move her arm now.
"There!" Sora pointed as he saw a Krab hiding in the shadows.
They readied themselves as it prepared to fire again. "Come on... hurry up, guys..." Yumi whispered.
William yelled as he attempted to cut Anne and Dylan in half, but they jumped back. The two of them were finding they work well together.
"Anne!"
The brown haired teenager nodded, then cast a Fira spell at William, sending him flying back. It was enough to make him hit a nearby boulder.
He let out a distorted growl as he pushed himself back up, but Jason charged at him. He ended up landing a punch that was more powerful than he anticipated. It was enough to send William flying back several feet as he tumbled before eventually coming to a stop.
Ulrich smirked. "Nice punch." he praised.
Jason looked at himself. "Never had that effect when I hit someone before."
"On Lyoko, those skills are enhanced." Ulrich explained.
William snarled with annoyance as he pushed himself back to his feet. "Manta!" he called. A moment later, a manta like creature flew out from underneath the platform, allowing William to hop onto it. He flew over their heads and went in the direction Aelita had gone in.
The group quickly ran after him. "Super Sprint!" Ulrich yelled, taking off in a yellow blur. Chase used his speed as well and was able to keep up with Ulrich.
"Hey! Guys, we don't have super speed like you! Wait up!" Dylan called as he, Jason, Odd, and Anne charged after them.
As Aelita ran, she could hear the screeching of the Manta behind her. She formed an Energy Field in her hand and shot it at the flying monster while she ran, but it flew out of the way.
Chase got an idea, jumping onto a rock while he was still speeding and launched himself off it, sending himself flying towards the Manta as he grabbed onto its tail.
William looked back with surprise.
"Hi! Mind if I hitch a ride?" Chase quipped. William tried to knock him off with his sword, but Chase ducked his head. "Quick question: How can you be fighting me and piloting this flying pancake at the same time?"
The Manta tried to shake him off, but Chase kept a firm grip on its tail.
"Aelita! Go!" Chase yelled.
Aelita nodded before making a beeline towards a tall tower with a red aura around it and a black vein like substance near the bottom. William growled as he saw that, now struggling to make Chase let go. He then kicked him in the face before Chase could react, forcing to let go.
Chase yelled in shock as he fell down, hitting the ground with a grunt and rolled, almost falling off the edge of the platform as he managed to grab on. "WHOA!"
William then appeared over him, having stepped off the Manta, which continued after Aelita. He smirked as he stomped on his hand to try and make him let go. Chase yelled, trying to hang on while also trying not to look down.
"Chase!" Jeremy, Goofy, and Donald gasped from the lab. Clair's eyes widened as she stood back up, limping over to the supercomputer.
"What's going on?!" she asked with worry.
"He's about to have Chase fall into the Digital Sea!"
The mage-in-training gasped at that. "No!" she cried out in horror.
Jason growled and charged at William while the possessed teen was focused on trying to make Chase fall. "Get away from my cousin's boyfriend!"
William turned just in time to get socked right in the face, making him stumble.
Anne and Dylan let out cries of shock before rushing to Chase's aid, grabbing his arms and hoisting him back to safety. Chase let out a sigh of relief. "That was close."
Jason, however, was now in a battle against William. He yelled as he swung his Keyblade at William, who blocked it with the buster sword.
Both narrowed their eyes at each other. Jason tried to shove him back. "You mess with them, you mess with me!"
Ulrich saw the Manta flying after Aelita, so he ran to deal with it while Jason fought William.
William just growled in response.
"I don't speak growl, so if your A.I. Master is listening, he'd better listen good." Jason said. "You can attack me, you can insult me, you can threaten me all you like. But no one, and I repeat, no one, hurts my friends. Especially some junk piece of hardware!"
With that, he pushed him back with all his might.
It sent William back, but he swung his sword and sent an energy wave at Jason. The tough guy frowned, and clenched his fist tighter than he remembered. Then, he swung and hit the wave. What happened next was unexpected. It managed to block and hold the energy for a few seconds, before it exploded, knocking both Jason and William back even further.
Jeremy's jaw dropped as he witnessed this from the lab. Aurora stared with stunned silence.
Jason grunted as he tumbled, eventually coming to a stop next to Chase and Anne. Jason grunted as he sat up while Odd, Chase, Dylan, and Anne checked on him.
William growled as he tried to get up, but noticed Aelita enter the tower. "NO!"
Jason glared at him. "Game over..."
"You lost, Willy." Anne joked.
William snarled before he ran off the edge, diving into the Digital Sea. A moment later, a pillar of light was seen as soon as he hit the 'water'.
Chase's eyes widened as he peered over the edge. "Uh... did he just..."
"He's gone back to his 'master' since we ruined another one of his plans. He's able to travel through the Digital Sea like that." Odd explained, looking at the tower. "Everything should be okay if Aelita's able to deactivate the tower in time..."
At Kadic, Lea and Nash were fighting a losing battle, as there were too many of the monsters. Lea gritted his teeth as he shot a fireball at a Blok, making its head spin around from the blow before it eventually stopped and fired at him.
Nash gasped in pain as he got shot by a laser in the stomach, falling to his knees. Lea's eyes widened as he ran to check on him.
"You okay, kid?!"
Nash winced, but looked up with a gasp. "Lea, behind you!"
Lea got blasted in the shoulder by a laser, making him yell as he felt the stinging pain, falling to his knees as he clutched his injury.
They then saw the monsters lining up to finish them off. Their eyes widened as they braced themselves for the final blows that would be dealt.
At this moment, Aelita was floating upwards in the tower as she reached another platform. She landed on it and approached a screen that materialized before her..
The monsters prepared to fire their lasers at the two fighters, intending to finish them off for good.
Aelita then placed her hand on the screen, pulling it away as a set of words flashed across it.
"AELITA... CODE... LYOKO." the screen read.
"Tower deactivated." Aelita whispered as she looked down as the lights in the tower went down as well. Outside of it, those who were still on Lyoko saw the aura change from red to blue.
All the monsters at Kadic suddenly collapsed while the Heartless vanished from sight. Nash looked up with a wince. "Huh...?"
In the factory, the monsters that Sora, Riku, Stella, and Yumi were facing fell still. "What?" Sora asked with confusion, cautiously poking a Krab with his Keyblade.
"They did it..." Yumi sighed with relief, leaning against a pillar as she held her side. She pulled out her cellphone, calling Jeremy. "Hey, Jeremy? You might wanna launch a return, now... and hurry?" she requested, making Stella raise an eyebrow.
Jeremy nodded as he heard Yumi through the headpiece down in the lab, typing in a sequence. "Time to undo this damage." he declared as he pressed a key. "Return to the past, NOW!"
Before everyone's eyes, they saw a brilliant flash of light emerge from the platform next to the supercomputer as it consumed them, the factory, then Kadic, then the rest of the city...
The next thing the group knew, they were all together by the benches they had met Stella at earlier that day. Everything looked to be the same, as if XANA and the Heartless had never attacked.
Anne looked around with shock, then at herself when she realized she was no longer in Lyoko ans back in her normal clothes. "What the- how... what just happened?! We're back here?!"
Nash looked at himself in shock, seeing his injuries during the fight had vanished. Did somebody cast Cure on him?
"WHA-" Chase was about to yell, but Jason quickly smacked a hand over his mouth. The walnut haired teenager looked just as confused, but held a finger to his lips to signal Chase to be quiet.
Stella turned to them, her eyes wide with surprise. "This is what I was talking about before. That bright flash of light... that was it."
"Did it send us back in time?" Sora asked curiously.
"I... I think it did."
Riku looked around, then realized Jeremy and his gang were stepping out of the cafeteria. "I think they mentioned something about going back in time..." he remembered before walking over to the group of students, with the others following him shortly after. Once he approached the students, he asked, "What was that light?"
Jeremy stiffened. "Um... what light?" he asked, playing dumb.
"You know, that light that came outta nowhere when we were fighting those monsters?" Lea told them. Jason glared at Lea, but the damage had been done.
Aelita's eyes widened in shock. "You... You remember?" she gasped. The rest of the students were shocked as well. How could those who weren't scanned remember?
"We do." Kairi nodded.
The students exchanged a look before they turned back to the group of fighters.
Yumi then crossed her arms. "I think you've got some explaining to do."