A/N: Sorry for the wait, everyone. Found a new fandom and got a little writer's block... So I now present the penultimate chapter!

"...apparently a worldwide phenomenon," the reporter continued. "The electricity miraculously reappeared at the stroke of dawn in France, and similar accounts have been reported in other countries. But the recovery isn't being debated-it's the cause. While some have even blamed pranksters, it's obvious something much different is responsible..."

"Yumi!" Yumi's mother called. "Turn off the TV and get to school!"

"Right!"


"Hinata Hyuga?" the substitute called again. "Absent," he finally concluded, making a mark on his roll sheet.

"None of them are here," Aelita muttered, looking at the empty spots in the classroom. "Do you think they really... just left?"

"I guess so," Yumi replied quietly as the substitute marked Kiba absent.


"Couldn't we have at least stayed for breakfast?" Choji moaned.

"Oh, you'll survive," Ino snorted. "Besides, we weren't enrolled in the school, anyway, so you wouldn't have gotten anything if we stayed."

"Right..."

"So," Lee started as the group continued through the trees, "where exactly are we going, Shikamaru?"

"Somewhere secluded," Shikamaru grunted. "I don't know for sure, but if us being here screws things up, our exact location is probably more messed up than the rest of the dimension."


"All right," Shiraga sighed, blinking the sleep out of his eyes, "let's see if I have any more luck today." He formed the hand signs to his jutsu and disappeared.


The bell rang, and the students filed out of the classroom for lunch.

"So," Ulrich muttered, "back to the five of us, huh?"

"Guess so," Yumi replied, setting her tray on the table.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Jeremy muttered. "I mean, they wouldn't go telling everyone about X.A.N.A. when they're so worried about their stupid magic."

"And we can definitely handle X.A.N.A. by ourselves," Odd added, finishing off a roll.

"If he's still attacking," Aelita replied. "He hasn't launched anything since before the blackout-unless that was him. Now that I think about it," she started, tapping her fork on the side of her tray, "he hasn't made a replika in... quite a while now."

"Not since... before Hinata and the others arrived," Jeremy responded slowly.

"Even if Shikamaru was talking nonsense before," Aelita replied carefully, "do you think them coming could have somehow caused this?"

"I don't know," Jeremy muttered, taking a bite of his food. "I can't really make sense of any of this."


"Well, I'd say this is secluded enough," Kiba commented as the group of ninja settled among the trees.

"But what'll we do for food?" Choji started.

"Um, it looks like there are rabbits here..." Hinata responded, looking at a set of paw prints. "I guess I could set up some snares-" She stopped as a sudden, ear-splitting cracking noise came from behind her.

"What...?" She turned around, but no one was there.

Including the other ninja.


Shiraga looked about his new surroundings.

"Of all places to end up..." he muttered under his breath.


Ino looked around the forest, where everyone had been just moments ago.

"Shikamaru? Choji? ...Anyone?" She walked around, but still no one was in sight.


"Is anyone here?" Lee called loudly. He still got no response. "How strange," he muttered. "Everyone just disappeared..."


"What happened?" Shikamaru muttered. He tapped his palm on one of the trees, confirming it at least was actually there. As he pulled his hand back, though, he bumped into something else.


Ino yelped as something touched her shoulder, but calmed down when she realized it was Shikamaru.

"Sorry; I didn't notice you," she sighed, turning around.

"Didn't notice you, either," Shikamaru replied slowly.


"I'll have to get out of here quickly," Shiraga grunted, forming his first hand sign. But a sudden slash across his back stopped him before he could get to the second.

"Well, well," started a female voice as Shiraga turned around. "Looks like the little sorcerer's back."


The bell rang, interrupting Odd's rant about the new Subdigitals album.

"Let's get to gym, then," Yumi sighed, dumping her food tray.

"Yeah..." The Lyoko gang walked out the cafeteria doors together. And stopped just outside the cafeteria doors together.

"Is it just me," Odd started, "or did it get a lot darker outside?"

"I... don't think it's just you," Ulrich replied, looking up at the night sky confusedly.

"It's still 1:00, isn't it?" Aelita murmured, blinking at the stars.

"As far as I kno-" Jeremy was cut off by a loud cracking noise.

"Okay, this is really weird," Odd announced, turning around. "Let's go back insi..." He trailed off, staring at where the cafeteria had been moments ago. "Uh..."


"That's everyone..." Shikamaru said slowly, looking around the circle of ninja.

"What just happened?" Lee started.

"Heck if I know," the chunin sighed. "I'd say we all got sucked into alter dimensions or something... But if that were true, we wouldn't have been able to make contact with each other..." He muttered something and looked around. "All I know is whatever's going on isn't good."


"What's the meaning of this, Akabara?" Shiraga grunted as the woman pulled back, shaking some blood off the edge of her blade.

"You know you still have a good bounty on your head," the woman chuckled. "I'm not about to pass up that chance." She sighed, shuffling a hand through her red hair. "And what's with the formality all of a sudden? You know you can call me by my first name. Unless you think you're too good for that, too," she finished with a glare.

"All right, then, Asuka," Shiraga corrected hostilely, "what exactly made you, of all people, want to go after me?"

"Funny how you act like you don't know," Asuka laughed. "But," she started suddenly, "I think we've done enough talking." She surged forward, slashing her knife at Shiraga again, who didn't quite manage to dodge and got a red line across his shoulder for it.

"What are you doing?" Shiraga cried, pulling out a kunai to block Asuka's next strike. "You... I... I thought we were-"

"Oh, yes, we were," Asuka replied venomously, pulling her sword back to attack again. "But you know what? Real fianc s don't disappear on their wedding day!"

"My life was at stake!" Shiraga defended. "You know those hunters were after me!"

"Your life wasn't at stake at all! You just let your paranoia get the best of you, and I'm the one that suffered for it!" Asuka shouted, taking another strike at Shiraga, who failed to defend in time. As the man collapsed from his deep stomach wound, Asuka sheathed her sword. "And now," she finished, "you pay."


"What happened to the cafeteria?" Odd started slowly.

"I... don't know," Jeremy replied. He wiped off his glasses, as if they were the only thing keeping him from seeing the building.

"And I don't think this is some sort of X.A.N.A. attack, either," Yumi added, looking around.

"...Did you guys hear something?" Ulrich started, snapping his gaze to his left.

"Yeah, I think so-!" Aelita gasped as the ground beneath her feet suddenly vanished, leaving Jeremy to grab her hand before she fell down very far.

"Are you all right? What happened?" Yumi exclaimed.

"I'm okay," Aelita replied, though she didn't sound sure of it. "The ground just... disappeared..."

"And it doesn't look any different from the rest of the concrete here," Ulrich noted, tapping his foot on the shadowy, pitch-black cement.

"So we don't know if the rest of the ground is safe to walk on," Yumi concluded with a frown.

"I think we're blowing things out of proportion here," Odd declared. "Maybe Aelita is just falling for Jeremy!" He laughed at his own joke. "Get it? Fall? Falling... for..." He trailed off at the glares he recieved.