Chapter 52: The Following Weeks

3 Weeks Later

Monday-May 18th

The weeks past and still the school was trying to put Prom's attack behind them. Most of the students and staff were able to continue on with their normal routine, while the gang of course worried tremendously about their captured friend. Since the attack, Jeremy made himself a commitment to finishing Franz Hopper's materialization as quick as he possibly could. But that of course took a bit of time. But on the bright side, within the last 3 weeks, he has been working nonstop on the program and was nearly done with it completely and soon, it would be ready to be launched. He was talking to Aelita over the phone about it during the lunch period.

Aelita: Are you quite sure about it Jeremy?

Jeremy: I'm telling you Aelita, I've almost got the program done. In fact, if I keep working on it throughout the rest of the day, I can get it completely finished before I head to bed.

Aelita: Well that's great Jeremy but...how do you know that's it's going to work?

Jeremy: Unlike your materialization program where I could run various tests on it to make sure that all of the calculations and such were correct, I can't seem to do that with your father's program. Most likely because he doesn't take on a specific Lyoko warrior form like you and the others. The only way to find out if it works or not is to test it out on your father right then and there.

Aelita: Well...I guess that makes sense.

Jeremy: Don't worry Aelita. Your father will return to Earth before you know it. And then you two will finally be reunited after 30 years. Just like you always wanted.

Aelita smiled on the other end of the line.

Aelita: Thank you Jeremy. Thank you so much.

Jeremy: You're welcome Aelita. Now I gotta run. If I want to try to finish this before bedtime, I better get back to work.

Aelita: Ok Jeremy. I'll leave you to it. See you when you get home tonight. I love you.

Jeremy: I love you to. Bye.

Jeremy ended the call with his wife and immediately set back to work. Meanwhile in the principle's office, Mr. Hamilton was another one of the staff members who still had Prom's attack engraved in his mind. And to sum it all up, it was starting to overwhelm him a bit.

Mr. Hamilton: I just don't understand how all this could have happened. And to such a wonderful student like Stephenson. And the rest of the students having to witness those events must have taken quite a toll on them as well.

Mr. Hamilton was contemplating ways of how he and the rest of the students and staff can push Prom out of their minds. He then suddenly had a bright idea.

Mr. Hamilton: Hmmm...maybe that could work...Yes, yes that would work wonderfully.

He quickly wrote down his idea on a pad of paper so he wouldn't forget. Over in the cafeteria, all of the students were sitting at their tables enjoying a hardy portion of food. Well...nearly everyone.

Natalie: You guys think that Matthew's going to be okay?

Jonah: With XANA controlling the boy? Doubt it.

Natalie: I was afraid you would say that.

Natalie hung her head down low. Mariah, who was sitting next to her, gave her a comforting hug.

Mariah: Matthew may be under XANA's control, but we have something that XANA doesn't have.

Gary: What might that be?

Mariah: We have Lyoko's Creator on our side. Hopper will surely help us find a way to bring Matt home. And need I remind you all that Hopper created XANA years ago? Since he created him, he knows how to destroy him.

Alexis: Point taken Mariah. Point taken.

Just then, they heard the school's intercom turn on and heard Mr. Hamilton's voice.

Mr. Hamilton: *over intercom* Good afternoon students of Kadic Academy. As you're all aware, the recent events that happened a few weeks ago at Prom has taken a toll on the school, staff, and of course you students. But I have come up with a solution to hopefully erase those thoughts. This Friday night, Kadic will host a costume party in the gym from 7 PM to 10 PM. The event was created to provide some entertainment for you all and to hopefully bring you all to a happy train of thought and try to forget Prom's events at least for that evening. There will be music, food, and a "Best Costume Contest" during the festivities. Hope to see you all there. That is all.

The intercom turned off a second later and all the students began discussing the costume party.

Gary: That sounds like fun. I'll definitely be going.

Jonah: Me too! what about you girls?

The girls, however, didn't look as enthusiastic.

Natalie: Umm...I kinda don't want to go.

Mariah: Me either.

Alexis: Or me.

Gary & Jonah: What? Why?

Natalie: Main reason for me is, what if XANA attacks us again at another party just like he did at Prom? I'm sorry, but I don't wanna to risk it.

Gary and Jonah then looked at Mariah and Alexis.

Jonah: What about you two?

Mariah & Alexis: We're with her on this one.

Gary: Well, I can respect you guy's decision.

Jonah: Me too.

Natalie: Thanks guys. I knew you'd understand.

With that, the gang went back to their lunch. Over in the hallways of the campus, Odd was walking down the hallway that led to Jeremy's room. He had a very important question to ask him. When he arrived, he knocked on his classroom's door and waited for a reply. A second later...

Jeremy: Come in!

Odd: Hey Einstein.

Jeremy: Oh hey Odd. What are you doing here?

Odd: Oh you know, just wanting to chat up with my old friend and ask him how Hopper's program is going.

Jeremy: As far as the program goes, I could possibly get it finished up hopefully by tonight.

Odd: Awesome! XANA's in for it now.

Jeremy: Now as far as you "chatting up with me" that's a lie if I ever heard one. What's the real reason you're here?

Odd: Okay you caught me. Here's why I'm here.

So Odd told Jeremy the events that occurred just about an hour ago.


1 Hour Earlier

Odd was in the city walking out of a local music store after having just bought one of Aelita's newest albums. He couldn't wait to get back to his house and start jamming out to his friend's tunes. As he turned a corner along the sidewalk, he accidentally bumped into another person.

Odd: Oops. Sorry 'bout that.

?: Odd? Is that you?

Odd perked up. The voice sounded familiar. He looked up and saw a young woman around the same age as him, with dark skin, black hair with a few red streaks, brown eyes, and wore a dark gray shirt, black pants with a red plaid skirt over it, and black shoes. Odd blushed slightly as memories of the girl swirled around in his brain.

Odd: Samantha Knight?!

Sam: Glad to see you remember me Odd.

Sam smiled sweetly as Odd hopped back to his feet.

Odd: Boy it's awesome to see you again. When was the last time we even spoke or saw each other?

Sam: I think it was the time Kadic was holding that skateboarding contest and I ended up winning.

Odd: Oh yeah I remember. Congrats on that by the way.

Sam: Thanks.

Odd: So, what are you doing here? Last time I heard from you, you were living on the coast.

Sam: Was living on the coast. Now I have my own place.

Odd: Really? How did that happen? I thought your family was poor, no offense.

Sam: None taken. But you're right, we were struggling. But after I went back to school after the skating competition, I was starting to prove myself in my studies. And eventually I got offered a full-time scholarship to a University in Le Havre. I ended up getting a Master's Degree in Personal Financing and now I work here in Boulogne-Billiancourt as a banker. I earned enough cash to eventually buy my own place out on the outskirts of the city.

Odd: That's great to hear. I ended up attending an Art Institute.

Sam: That's pretty cool.

Odd: Thanks.

Sam: Hey by the way, I was planning on holding a house party over at my place and since you're here right now, would you like to come?

Odd: Heck yes I would! When is it?

Sam: This Friday night. Hey and do you think you can bring Jeremy over to help me set up?

Odd: Hmm? Why?

Sam: Because I'm still trying to figure out how to set up all of the sound system equipment and such.

Odd: I see. Well, I'm near Kadic and it's nearly lunchtime, so I think I can get old Einstein to help out.

Sam: You're the best Odd!

She gave him a hug and turned around to walk back home. Odd stood there for a few moments grinning like an idiot, until reality came back to him and he walked off towards Kadic.


Present Time

Jeremy: So let me get this straight. Sam is holding a house party at her house and she wants me to help her set up the sound system?

Odd: Pretty much yeah.

Jeremy: Odd, you know full well that I'm not interested in that kind of nonsense. Besides, I still have a lot of work to do dealing with Franz Hopper and Matthew.

Odd: Oh come on Jeremy please!

Jeremy: Odd, if you're so desperate in finding help, why don't you ask Aelita? She's just as knowledgeable as I am, but has more interest in music than I do.

Odd: Jeremy you're a genius!

Jeremy: I know. Thank you for noticing.

Odd: I'll give a call right now!

*RIIIIIIIIIIING*

Suddenly, the school bell rang, indicating lunch was over and that it was nearly time to resume classes.

Jeremy: You better make your call when your off campus. I got a class to teach.

Odd: Good idea old pal. See you around!

And Odd left Jeremy's classroom and walked his way down the hallways towards the exit.

Jeremy: Finally. I thought he'd never leave.

Odd: I HEARD THAT!

As Odd continued to walk down the hall, he looked ahead of him and saw Gary and Jonah on their way to their next class.

Odd: Hey Gary and Jonah.

The two roommates looked up and saw Odd waving at them.

Gary: Hey Mr. Della Robbia.

Jonah: What brings you here?

Odd: Oh just chatting up with my old Einstein. How 'bout you two?

Jonah: Well obviously we're on our way to class, but me and Gary were discussing what we're going to dress up as for this Friday's Costume Party.

Odd: Oh yeah. I heard about that over the intercom. Have you two come up with any ideas?

Gary: Unfortunately we haven't come up with anything.

Odd: Hmm...OH! I got an idea.

He looked around to make sure that the rest of the students weren't listening in.

Odd: How about you ask Jeremy to pop you guys into the scanners and have you come out in your Lyoko forms.

Gary & Jonah: HE COULD DO THAT?!

Odd: SHH! He sure can. All you have to do is ask him.

Gary and Jonah looked at each other grinning broadly.

Gary & Jonah: We'll do it! Thanks!

Odd: Glad I could help. See you around you two.

And Odd walked away down the halls again while Gary and Jonah headed for their next class. A few more hours past by and soon all classes were finished for the day. Gary and Jonah quickly ran out of their respective classes and hurried over to Jeremy's Computer Science room. Jeremy's class had all just left his room and the old warrior was packing up the last of his equipment when Gary and Jonah burst in through the door, startling the genius slightly.

Jeremy: Good gracious Gary and Jonah! Haven't you two ever heard of a thing called knocking?!

Jonah: Sorry sir, but we have a favor to ask you.

Jeremy: Oh? And what might that be?

Gary: Well, we ran into Mr. Della Robbia after lunch...

Jeremy: Uh oh here we go.

Gary: ...Here us out sir. We told him about the Costume Party coming up and he suggested to ask you if you could have us come out of the scanners in our Lyoko forms.

Jeremy: WHAT?!

Jonah: Umm...is there a problem?

Jeremy: Yes there's a problem. Why on Earth would I want to do that? What if it gives away the secret of the factory?

Gary: We thought about that actually. And the only one's who will know what we are are Natalie, Alexis, and Mariah.

Jonah: Yeah. And if anyone else asks us where we got our costumes, we'll just say that we found a website that makes custom costumes for any occasion according to the buyer.

Jeremy: Okay, but what if someone asks for the site's address.

Gary: We'll tell them that the site and the company were getting ready to go out of business and that they were having a "Final Day Sale" on the suits.

Jeremy: I can see that you both have thought this through. But that's still not going to change my mind.

Gary & Jonah: Why?

Jeremy: It's too risky. If I energize you to Earth with your Lyoko forms, it's also going to give you your Lyoko weapons here on Earth. And if one of you two were to "accidentally" show off your powers or your weapons, people are going to start getting suspicious to the point where The Lyoko Warriors would be found out.

Gary and Jonah didn't consider that side of the problem, but they still wanted to try.

Jonah: We'll be careful Mr. Belpois.

Gary: We promise.

Jeremy looked at the two young warriors and sighed in defeat.

Jeremy: *sigh* Alright I'll do it. But I'm going to need time to edit the Energizing Program so that when you come out of the scanners your weapons won't come with you.

Gary: I can live with that.

Jonah: Me too.

Jeremy: Good. Now I best be off. I still got a lot of Lyoko work to do.

And with that, Jeremy pushed his way past the two young warriors and out towards his car to head home. The rest of the week past by without a hitch and soon it was Friday afternoon. Only a few more hours remained before the start of the Costume Party. Gary and Jonah were sitting outside in the courtyard with the girls discussing the upcoming party.

Gary: You sure you girls don't wanna come?

Natalie: Yeah we're sure. Sorry guys.

Jonah: Ah it's fine. We understand. But do you want to at least what we're dressing up as?

Mariah: Eh sure. Why the heck not.

Alexis: That brings up a question. Where are your costumes?

At that moment, Gary's phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and saw that he got a text from Jeremy saying that he was waiting for them at the factory, although the girls didn't know that. Earlier that day, Jeremy had told the guys to meet him at the factory when he was ready with the energizing program which he worked on and finished earlier along with Hopper's materialization program. Unfortunately for Jeremy, he was wrong when he said that he could get Hopper's program done by Monday Night. It turns out that he made a few calculations errors on the program and he had to go back and undo what he had done before, fix the errors, and put it all back together again. This of course took extra time to get right and by the time he was finished completely it was already Friday afternoon. He still had the energizing program to finish, but compare to Hopper's program, it didn't take a whole week to do. It took the rest of the day until now to finish, however he hadn't tested it out to make sure that Gary and Jonah didn't have their Lyoko weapons when they came out of the scanners. But Jeremy was so busy with both programs, that he had completely forgotten. Gary looked at Jonah and winked then turned to the girls.

Gary: Actually, we're getting ready to head for the city to get 'em.

Alexis: Oh, alright. Meet us up in my room. Cool?

Gary & Jonah: Cool.

With that, the guys walked away through the front gates and when they were out of plain sight, they ran off towards the factory.


Abandoned Factory-Computer Lab

Jeremy was waiting patiently for Gary and Jonah to arrive. In the meantime, he was checking Franz Hopper's program again to make doubly sure that there were no errors of any kind and that everything was in place, in check, and squared away. He seemed pretty welled satisfied with everything as he saved his progress and closed the program just as the elevator doors opened and revealed Gary and Jonah.

Jeremy: Ah there you both are.

Gary: We're ready to be energized sir.

Jeremy: Then head down to the scanners and I'll run the program.

So the two young warriors descended down to the scanner room and when they arrived, they stepped in.

Jeremy: Off we go. Transfer Gary. Transfer Jonah. Scanner Gary. Scanner Jonah. Virtualization!

A moment or two later, the two young warriors dropped down into the Desert Sector.

Jonah: We're ready Mr. Belpois!

Jeremy: Ok. I'm running the program.

Jeremy began running the program and the young warriors waited for it to kick in. However, they were both unaware that someone was watching them from a distance. From behind a pile of rocks, Matthew was staring down at them. He had been given orders from XANA to hunt down and destroy Franz Hopper for good, but hasn't been able to find him. He and XANA were starting to get frustrated, but they kept looking. Up until a few moments ago, he was completely alone on Lyoko, until Gary and Jonah dropped in. That's when he dove behind the rock pile before they or Jeremy could notice him. He and XANA both thought that they were there on a recon mission or to try and hunt him down. He readied his War Hammers and prepared to strike.

XANA Matthew: Targets spotted Lord XANA.

XANA: Take them out.

Matthew was getting ready to charge in when suddenly, Gary and Jonah were devirtualized just as quick as when they arrived.

XANA Matthew: What? They were devirtualized.

XANA: Hmm strange. They must have been on a recon or scout mission to see if they could find us here, but went back to Earth when they couldn't find anything. Hmm... that gives me an idea.

Unlike the other energizing program that enabled the old warriors to be teleported to one of XANA's secret bases on Earth, this energizing program was a bit different. It does the same thing of bringing a warrior to Earth in his or her Lyoko form, but this one brings them back through the scanners, where they are still in human flesh and not in specter form and still wearing their Lyoko attire. Gary and Jonah were about to experience that themselves as Jeremy started the program. In an second, the two young warriors were devirtualized out of Lyoko and a moment later, the scanners opened up and out they stepped...now wearing their full Lyoko attire...but unfortunately with their weapons included. Gary and Jonah were amazed.

Gary: HA HA! It worked!

Jonah: This is so cool!

Just then, they saw Jeremy coming down the ladder leading to the scanner room. Once he was down, he turned around and saw that his program had worked. But then he saw the weapons.

Jeremy: Oh no! You're weapons are with you!

The two warriors looked and indeed, their boomerangs and War Axe were with them.

Jeremy: Oh dear, this isn't what I had hoped would happen. I must have been too careless to not realize my mistake.

Jonah: So now what?

Jeremy: Well the only solution I can come up is you both hide your weapons somewhere safe and when the party's over, bring them and yourselves back here so that I can reverse the program.

Gary: Why must I Mr. Belpois? I mean, having boomerangs around doesn't sound that bad.

Jeremy: Your boomerangs could be just as powerful and just as deadly on Earth as they are on Lyoko. Same with your Ax Jonah. So just do what I say and don't question it.

Gary & Jonah: Yes sir.

And the two warriors made their way back up the elevator and back towards Kadic. When they arrived back at the front gates, they made sure that no one was watching them and they sprinted behind some bushes nearby.

Jonah: We gotta hide our weapons somewhere. But where is the question.

Gary: We can hide them in some of these bushes.

Jonah: Yeah we could, but it's gonna be clear tonight and there'll be a full moon also. The moonlight will shine off my ax and it'll give 'em away.

Gary: Right good point. Umm...what about in our rooms?

Jonah: You idiot. That means we'll have to travel through the halls. Which may I remind you, can be crawling with teachers at anytime. If anyone of them sees us with weapons, we'll not only get busted, we could be expelled or jailed!

Gary: Oh yeah. Umm...what about the Garden Shed? The groundskeeper's normally done with his work by now, so once he's clear from the shed, we can sneak in and store our weapons there. Then after the party, we'll sneak back over and take 'em back to Lyoko.

Jonah: That could work. Let's do it!

So the pair quickly and stealthily made their way over towards the Garden Shed. They dove behind many bushes and hid behind many trees whenever they thought that someone was walking past. It wasn't long before they reached their destination. Poking their heads from behind a tree, they could see the school's groundskeeper locking up the Shed and preparing for his journey home. After locking the padlock on the door, he turned around and walked away towards the parking lot. After waiting a few seconds to make sure that the coast was clear and that the groundskeeper was out of earshot, they came out from their hiding spot and quickly ran towards the door.

Jonah: Ok so...how are we gonna get this lock off? We don't have a key.

Gary: Maybe this could work.

Gary pulled out one of his boomerangs and began fiddling around with the lock's keyhole. Thanks to his boomerangs having extra pointed tips, it made the job a lot easier. And it showed as a few moments later, Gary pricked the locked and opened the door.

Gary: Bingo, we're in.

Jonah: Nice!

So the pair quickly took off their weapons and placed them in a safe spot that was out of sight and out of mind. Once that was done, they shut the door behind them. Gary was about to put the lock back on when...

Jonah: HOLD IT! If we put that lock back on, there won't be a way for us to get our weapons back after the party.

Gary: Whew! Good thinking mate. Let's see...

Gary noticed a small pile of leaves beside the shed. An idea struck him as he plopped the lock down inside the pile.

Gary: We'll leave the lock there and put it back when we're done.

Jonah: Good plan. Now come on, the girl's are probably waiting for us.

So without wasting anymore time, the guys headed back towards the campus. It didn't take them long to reach Alexis' room. Gary knocked on the door.

Alexis: Oh that must be them.

The girls got up from Alexis' bed and walked over to the door. But when they opened the door and saw the guy's costumes, their jaws dropped to the floor.

Gary: So ladies, what do ya think?

Jonah: Pretty slick huh?

Mariah and Natalie suddenly yanked the guy's in the room and slammed the door behind them.

Natalie: What are you guys thinking?!

Jonah: Oh great another lecture...

Mariah: Why are you guys in your Lyoko forms?!

Alexis: And how the heck did that happen?!

Luckily for the guys, they had another couple of hours before the party would officially begin. So they took their time answering the girl's questions and explaining to them Odd's whole idea of wearing their Lyoko forms. It took about another hour to explain everything, but by the end of the story, the girls seemed convinced.

Natalie: Well as long as you don't have your weapons, I guess it's safe to wear them.

Gary: Glad you gals finally get it.

Jonah: How much time do we have left?

Mariah: Umm...about an hour.

Jonah: Eh we got time. It may not be Halloween, but this is gonna be a fun Costume Party. I can already tell.

Unfortunately, they were about to be proven wrong. XANA was on the offensive once again.

XANA: With those fools still on Earth, I can finally erase them from existence. And this time, I won't fail.

XANA knew that Gary and Jonah were on Earth, but he wasn't aware that they were in their Lyoko forms. Nor did he know that they had their weapons stored off in the Garden Shed. The hour past and soon it was 7 o'clock PM. Time for the Costume Party to begin. Gary, Jonah, and the rest of the students all made their way down to the gymnasium. Even though it technically wasn't Halloween by any margin, all the students made an effort and were dressed up in a variety of costumes. Even Brandon was there in attendance dressed up like a soldier. He was going to take Stephanie with his, but unfortunately she came down sick earlier that day and had to stay in the nurse's office to rest. The gym had also undergone some repairs from Matthew's Prom attack. The giant hole that he left from his ElectroSlash was now patched up with new bricks and concrete and coated in a fresh coat of paint, making it look like nothing happened. The party was a blast for everyone, with music blaring loudly and every student dancing and having a good time. Gary and Jonah were jamming out to one of the songs that was playing. During the first hour of the party, they both got many compliments on their costumes. People asked them what they were on many occasions. Gary told them that he was dressed up as an "Aussie Ninja" with boomerangs as his main weapons and Jonah said he was a Bounty Hunter using a large War Ax. However, when other people asked where their weapons were, the boys simply said that they didn't have time to "make" their props. They knew that they were lying about where they were, but the other students seemed to buy it, much to their relief. The party continued on and soon it was completely dark. The moonlight shone brightly throughout the clear sky and a thin layer of fog started to dress the ground. This was the perfect opportunity for XANA to attack. He activated one of the Desert Sector's towers, but this time XANA didn't appear out of the supercomputer. Instead, all three scanners whirred into life and out stepped two large sets of tank treds and a giant light green arm. Call it déjà vu from Prom, because that is what was happening.

Back over at Kadic, the principle got up on the stage and turned on the microphone.

Mr. Hamilton: Attention everyone! May I have your attention please.

The music stopped and everyone went quiet.

Mr. Hamilton: First of all, I would like to thank each and everyone of you for coming out in attendance for this year's costume party. I know that for some of you it has been a long 3 weeks since Prom. But I hope that tonight you were able to enjoy yourselves and were able to push those events a few weeks ago out of your minds.

The students gave a round of applause before the principle told them to stop.

Mr. Hamilton: Now then, it's time to announce the winner of the "Best Costume Contest." You all have made your votes during the party and now it's time to announce the winner.

Mr. Hamilton brought out an envelope from his pocket. He ripped it open and unfolded the piece of paper inside.

Mr. Hamilton: And the winner of the "Best Costume Contest" is...

Suddenly at that moment, sparks erupted from the ceiling lights and fell down to the floor. The lights then completely burned out, leaving the gym pitch black. The students started talking amongst themselves as to what could have caused the sudden power outage. Mr. Hamilton tried to use the microphone, but couldn't due to the power being gone. Luckily, he had a flashlight with him. He took it out and began flashing it to get the students attention. It worked as the whole gym went quiet once more and the principle shone the light on his face.

Mr. Hamilton: Now settle down everyone. We're going to try to restore the power to the gym. So just sit tight and let us...

*BOOOOOOOOM*

Suddenly, an enormous explosion happened beside the stage. The students and staff ducked for cover as bricks and dust burst out everywhere. A low buzzing sound was heard as well as the sound of a bulldozer's tracks and this made Gary and Jonah perk up instantly.

Gary: Oh no...

Jonah: Not again...

As the dust settled, Gary and Jonah, as well as everyone else, saw that XANA had invaded Earth once again. And this time, he summoned the Mantis and 4 Sheilders, who came out of the scanners just moments after the first two.

Gary & Jonah: XANA!

Brandon, who was standing right beside them, suddenly felt his blood go cold and all the flashbacks he had been having flooded back through his head. He remembered the time when XANA invaded Earth before Christmas Vacation. He remembered when the giant chemical monster melted away the school. And he remembered the night when XANA possessed Matthew. But the one thing he remembered the most was XANA possessing the zoo animals, the first time he started having the memory flashes. He remembered seeing the Eye of XANA in their eyes, as well as on the monsters when he invaded Earth, and in Matthew's eyes when he was possessed. He then remembered one key sentence Matt told him months ago.

Matthew: Well you see, those animals are being possessed by a computer virus called XANA and its up to us to go to the old factory and stop him.

Suddenly, it all made sense to Brandon.

Brandon: (to himself) Matthew...XANA...monsters...the factory...I GET IT!

Then suddenly, the monsters aimed their guns at the crowd. The students and staff ran for their lives in fear as the monsters entered the building and scanned around. They couldn't see their targets anywhere. The reason being was because Gary and Jonah had ran away with the crowd out of the gym. The monsters scanned the room further, but couldn't find them. They grew angry and the Sheilders began to open fire on the gym. Their lasers left quite a few holes in the walls. They stopped firing after a moment or two and began searching further. They failed to realize that Gary and Jonah had come back into the gym and quickly sneak around the monsters. They leaped through the hole by the stage and sprinted away to the Garden Shed.

Gary: Now might be a good time to use our weapons.

Jonah: Gee ya think?!

Gary: We gotta tell the girls to go to Lyoko with Mrs. Belpois!

Jonah: I'm on it.

Jonah dialed Mariah's number and waited for an answer. A moment later...

Mariah: Jonah, what's going on? What was that explosion?!

Jonah: Take a wild guess Mariah.

Mariah: ...XANA.

Jonah: He's invaded Earth again and he's brought the Mantis and 4 Sheilders.

Mariah: What about Matthew?

Jonah: He wasn't there with them. But that doesn't matter. Call Mrs. Belpois and tell her to get to the factory. And you three do the same. We'll try and hold 'em off. Good thing we know where we put our weapons.

Mariah: Okay, we're on it.

Jonah hung up after that as the Garden Shed came into view. Gary tested the door and was grateful that it was still unlocked. The warriors quickly ran inside and grabbed their weapons from behind a few wooden crates. After that, they dashed outside and locked the door behind them after Gary picked up the lock from the leaf pile. Then they raced back to the gym. When they arrived, they saw that the gym was nearly in total ruins thanks to the Shielder's lasers. Luckily, all the students and staff had run out of the gym to the halls and the locker rooms, but the monsters didn't care about them. They were looking for the young warriors.

Gary: Hey monsters! Lookin' for us?

The monsters turned around and saw Gary and Jonah. XANA was watching it all play out on his interface, but he was shocked when he only saw that 2 of the 5 young warriors were there.

XANA: What? Where are the other three?

Then he saw the guys start attacking. Gary took out both of his boomerangs and tried to hit both Eyes on the Mantis, but the giant bug was quick to react and dodged the attack with ease. The Shielders activated their forcefields and stood in front of the Mantis to protect it. This was going to be one tough battle. Meanwhile, while all this was happening...


Lyoko-Desert Sector

Aelita, Natalie, Mariah, and Alexis were all virtualized in the Desert Sector. After Jonah called the girls and told them that XANA was attacking, they quickly hightailed their way to the factory and called Aelita along the way. They soon reached the lab in no time at all and only had to wait just a couple of minutes before Aelita arrived. She quickly located the activated tower, and then there was now.

Aelita: No vehicles this time. I couldn't get time to bring them in.

Mariah: That's alright. Lead the way Mrs. Belpois!

Aelita: This way. Hurry!

So Aelita led the girls towards the tower, which was Northwest from where they were. However, when XANA found out that they were on Lyoko, he couldn't help but rage.

XANA: NO! They slipped by me again! But they won't slip by this! Oooooh Matthew.

Meanwhile, the girls could now see the tower just in front of them.

Natalie: There it is! Nearly there guys!

Just then, they heard a loud engine-type sound coming from behind them. The girls stopped where they were and listened.

Alexis: What is that noise?

Natalie: I'm afraid I already know.

The sound grew louder and louder. It was a familiar sound to Natalie as she slowly turned around and there he was.

XANA Matthew: SURPRISE!

Matthew was coming in very fast in his OverRacer, but it wasn't the original one he had before. The one he was in now was pure black with a red Eye of XANA on both sides of the vehicle. Matthew wasn't alone either. Rolling alongside him were 3 Shielders. The girls back away slowly, but pushed the fear out of them as they readied their weapons. Matthew pushed his vehicle faster and at the last second, he jumped out and let his vehicle barrel towards the girls. They quickly jumped out of the way as the OverRacer zoomed right on past them and fell over the edge of the plateau and into the Digital Sea. They jumped back to their feet and stared down at Matthew who know had his Shielder minions standing in formation on both sides of him.

XANA Matthew: Anybody up for Round 2? This time, I won't fail.

Natalie: We'll see about that!

Natalie was the first to charge in, and just as she did the Shielders acted and began to fire at her. But she wasn't fazed at all, as she jumped and dodged the blasts and jumped up over the Shielders and landed behind Matthew. The Shielders turned around and were about to shoot again, but Matthew held up his hand.

XANA Matthew: Handle the others. She's my battle.

The Shielders did what they were told and turned back around to face the other three warriors, while Natalie readied her katanas for Round 2 against her boyfriend. She charged in and swiped her swords at him, but Matthew was able to block her attacks with his hammers. Matthew retaliated and swung his hammers at her, but she jumped back to miss. Then, Natalie used her Windslash power to knock him back about 20 feet and closer to the edge of the plateau. Meanwhile, the girls were handling the 3 Shielders, one for each of them...ironically. Of course, the Shielders activated their forcefields to protect themselves, but the girls were having none of it. Alexis made 4 quick swipes at one to deactivate the shield, while Mariah shot 3 lasers at the second, and Aelita fired 1 massive Energy Field at the third. The shields were down, but now they had to deal with the thick layer of glass on their backs that protected the Eye of XANA.

Back over at Kadic, Gary and Jonah were still battling the 5 monsters in the gym. Unlike the monsters being on Lyoko, when they're on Earth, one good shot anywhere on the monsters would be enough to stop it. However, the two warriors knew that they had to be careful, because if they got shot with any laser from them, it could potentially be fatal. But they quickly pushed those thoughts out of their minds as Gary tossed his boomerangs at 2 of the 4 Shielders. The bounced off their forcefields and did enough damage to deactivate them. Jonah swiped his War Ax at the third Shielder to knock out its forcefield in one shot, then quickly jumped over to the fourth to deactivate its shield also. Now, all 4 Shielders were vulnerable, giving the two warriors an opportunity to strike. Gary tossed his two boomerangs again and both of them struck through the Shielder's torso and was enough to deactivate it for good. Jonah took his turn to use his Ax to slice the third and fourth Shielders clean in half. Now all that remained was the Mantis. The giant bug floated above the warriors looking down upon them. The boys readied themselves again. Gary tossed one of his boomerangs at the monster, but the Mantis used its arms to knock it out of the way and dropped it to the floor. He quickly dashed over to pick it up, but before he could.

Jonah: GARY! LOOK OUT!

Gary: Huh?

Gary looked up and saw the Mantis charging up its X-shaped laser.

Gary: Uh oh...

Gary jumped out of the way just as the Mantis fired at the floor. It caused an explosion beside Gary, which blasted him a few feet across the floor and into the wall, knocking him out.

Jonah: GARY! Grr...

Jonah had enough. He charged in behind the Mantis and jumped up and was about to strike, but the Mantis buzzed out of the way at the last second, causing Jonah to drop back down to the floor. Back on Lyoko, the girls were making progress. They were able to shatter the glass off the backs of the Shielders, now all they had to do was hit the Eye of XANA. But that would prove to be a challenge within itself. The Shielders began to strike back. One of them fired two shots at Mariah, which devirtualized her in an instant.

Alexis: NO MARIAH! INVISIBILITY!

Alexis was angry. She used her invisibility power to confuse the Shielders, while Aelita took to the sky with her angel wings and began to fly around the monsters to confuse them further. The Shielders then began to try to shoot her down, but one of them was unaware that Alexis was right behind them.

Alexis: REAPPEAR!

Alexis appeared behind one of the three Sheilders and quickly jabbed her dagger into the Eye of XANA and quickly jumped in behind the second and stabbed the Eye of XANA, thus destroying two out of the three.

Alexis: That's what you get for messing with my...GAH!

Alexis didn't get a chance to finish as the third Shielder realized her plan and quickly devirutalized her, leaving Aelita to deal with the third. The Shielder looked up and saw her floating above it, and began to try and shoot her down. Meanwhile, Natalie was still battling with Matthew. The two "rivals", I guess you can say, have been blocking each others attacks the entire time and weren't really getting anywhere. No one got any damage done to them, and to sum it up, they were both pretty much just wasting energy. However, Natalie had used her Windslash Ability a few times to her advantage and saw that Matthew was nearing the edge of the plateau. She suddenly had an idea. She swung her swords at him as quick as she could. It caught the XANAfied warrior off guard as she delivered the first blow, hitting Matthew on both arms with her swords, causing Matthew to lose half of his lifepoints. Matthew growled fiercely at her, but Natalie just smirked and struck again.

Natalie: WINDSLASH!

Natalie summoned her WindSlash one last time, and this time it knocked Matthew off the edge of the plateau causing him to plummet down towards the Digital Sea.

Natalie: I told you it wasn't over.

But Natalie was wrong. As she was turning back around to help Aelita, she suddenly heard an evil laugh. She stopped dead in her tracks and turned back around to see Matthew...flying. Natalie gasped at what she saw. Matthew had a pair of red demon wings and was floating over the Digital Sea. Natalie couldn't believe it at first, that is until she saw a small wristband with a red thunderbolt shape glowing on it. Matthew snickered as he summoned his giant sword and focused his energy on it.

XANA Matthew: And I told you that I won't fail this time. ELECTROSLASH!

Natalie: NO!

But it was too late. Matthew fired his ElectroSlash power at Natalie, devirtualizing her instantly. Matthew laughed loudly at his success...

Aelita: ENERGY FIELD!

XANA Matthew: Huh? GAH!

...when out of nowhere, Aelita fired a massive Energy Field at him, causing him to be devirtualized in a cloud of black smoke. She had finally been able to get rid of the last of the Shielders after she distracted it enough to drop down behind it and shoot an energy orb at its back, destroying it easily.

Aelita: The battle's never over until XANA's plans are foiled.

Aelita then quickly raced over towards the tower and easily went inside. Back at Kadic, Jonah still wasn't able to destroy the Mantis. He jumped up in the air one more time to try and use his Ax to destroy it, but this time, the Mantis used it giant arm to knock Jonah out of the air and slamming him into the wall beside Gary. It didn't knock him out though as he opened his eyes slowly just in time to see the Mantis hovering over them charging up its laser. He shut his eyes as he anticipated his end. Aelita however, had aleady ascended to the top of the tower and entered Code: Lyoko.

Aelita: Tower deactivated.

Suddenly, the Mantis twitched and groaned and dropped down to the ground hard, now fully disabled. Jonah breathed a big sigh of relief as Gary was now starting to regain consciousness.

Gary: Ohhh man. Did we win?

Jonah: Yep we're alive.

Gary: Good. Glad that's over.

Just then, they saw the students and staff all come back inside the gym and they were closing in on them.

Gary & Jonah: Uh...oh.

Mr. Hamilton: Gary and Jonah.

Gary: Please sir, have mercy on us.

Jonah: We didn't mean to bring these weapons with us. We were just doing what we could to...

Mr. Hamilton: Thank you very much for saving us.

Gary & Jonah: Say what?

Mr. Hamilton: If you two hadn't acted the way you did tonight, all of us might not be here at all. So thank you.

Gary: You're...you're welcome sir.

Jonah: Just doing what we could.

Mr. Hamilton: And that reminds me. Here you go.

Mr. Hamilton brought out a small trophy and handed it to the two warriors.

Mr. Hamilton: You two actually tied for the win in our "Best Costume Contest." Congratulations.

Gary: Wow...thank you sir.

Just then, they remembered about their Lyoko forms.

Jonah: Sorry to cut this short sir, but we gotta go.

Gary: We'll be back!

And without another word, the two friends sprinted out of the gym and back to the factory. Mr. Hamilton was confused but shrugged it aside as he turned to face the crowd.

Mr. Hamilton: This concludes tonight's...eh...festivities. Everyone back to your rooms.

The students did what they were told...all except one. While no one was looking, Brandon snuck out of the school and quietly followed Gary and Jonah.


Abandoned Factory-Computer Lab

Back at the lab, Aelita was soon brought back to Earth after she had to devirtualize herself due to the fact that the girls didn't know how to bring her back. Now Aelita was on the phone with Jeremy.

Aelita: It's okay Jeremy, XANA has been stopped.

Jeremy: That's good, because Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, William, and I are all on our way there.

Aelita: What? Why?

Jeremy: Because I've finally finished your father's materialization program. It's time to bring back Franz Hopper!


Happy Halloween everyone! Hope you all are enjoying your candy and whatnot. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, which I apologize for taking so long to post. But you know, I do have a life to live outside of FanFiction. Which actually reminds me, I'm afraid I have some bad news...Well good news for me, bad news for the story. As of now, I will be leaving for Marine Corps Boot Camp at the end of next month. Which means, unfortunately I'm not going to be able to continue the story during that time. Now hold your horses everyone, that doesn't that this story is going to end without it being finished completely. Instead, I'm going to put it on hold during my time at Boot Camp and if I have time after I come back, then I will update it. But for now, I have from now until the end of next month to get as far into the story as I possibly can and again put it on hold until further notice. I hope you guys can understand why this is happening, because as much as I love to entertain you guys with my stories, I don't want to make it a career you know. I wanna succeed in life and sadly, writing stories won't cut it. So that's my really BIG reason why it's happening. Again I hope you guys can understand. But enough of the Soap Opera. I still have time to get as far as I can before I leave. So anyway, thank you guys so much for reading this...I guess you can call it a "Halloween Special" even though it's not technically Halloween in the story but it still involves costumes and monsters...I'm getting off track here. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed and be sure to stayed tuned for Chapter #53.

Until then, HAPPY HALLOWEEN MY FELLOW FANFICTION MATES! And as always, FakeACU83 OUT!