CHAPTER 50: XANA'S TOWER

The stranger in the detective coat chuckled while Ulrich, Z, and Odd tried to think up some plans to get him to talk. The stranger just told them he knew where Xana was hiding, and even more so, wanted to test them for some reason, which only put them on edge even more.

"Test? What kind of test are you talking about?" Z asked him seriously.

"To be honest, there are many tests that you all will have to take. And more importantly, how you all come out of it." The stranger responded to them.

"And you expect us to believe you don't work for Xana? If you really don't, then explain to us who you are, and what your story is if you want to save face with us." Odd demanded.

"Same here. Tell us what's going on and we might not consider you a threat." Ulrich added.

The stranger just took a step back and gripped his newspaper as he got ready to do what he was planning. "Oh don't you worry warriors. I plan on telling you who I am, but not until I see a little more out you guys. So get ready...the first test begins now, my friends!" He said to them as he slung his newspaper at them. The newspaper opened up and the pages made a quick distraction as the papers fell to the ground and the three saw the stranger running down the sidewalk.

"Dammit! I can't believe we fell for that! After him now!" Z said to them as they began to chase him.

The stranger already had a head start, and turned a corner down a new block, and was coming up to the girls of the group.

"Well girls, we didn't get much from that job, but we'll have to add up our toll once we find the others." Yumi said to them as she put her money in her pocket.

"It's not that bad. We couldn't have expected much from a small job anyway." Bel'la commented as they walked.

The girls then looked up to see the stranger running their way after hearing his boots hitting the ground, as he passed them, he gave a quick greeting. "Good day to you girls!" He said with a wave of his hand without them seeing his face as he ran.

The girls stopped and looked at each other for a moment. "That was a bit strange. He sure seemed to be in a hurry for something." Sam said with a confused look.

"Hey, isn't that Z, Ulrich, and Odd running this way?" Kairaree suddenly said as the girls turned to see the boys coming their way to them.

The boys came up to the girls and stopped for a moment while still keeping an eye on the running stranger. "Yumi, Sam, Bel'la, Kairaree! We don't have time to explain, but we need to chase after that guy!" Ulrich quickly said to them.

"What?! Why?" Yumi asked him.

"That guy knows something about Xana! But he seems to be testing us for some reason." Z said as he began to run again.

"Come on! We'll get answers out of him once we catch him." Odd added as he continued to run also.

The guys were already running as the girls began to follow. "Looks like we have no choice. For once I wish we could have a day where we don't have to worry about something weird happening." Yumi said to them as they caught up with the guys. The girls also groaned in agreement as they chased after the stranger.

The stranger was quick, and even more so, he seemed to be taking his time with the group and didn't even look like he was trying to lose them as his coat splits flapped from him running. The stranger then came up to the Surfane brothers as they were walking down the sidewalk and talking about the job they just did as the stranger passed them by.

"Cool, bros! A detective." Miodelus said to them with excitement as the stranger ran past them.

"What the hell is someone like that doing here?" Ralfaius asked them curiously.

"Oh look guys, here comes some of the others." Deotalus said as he pointed to the ones chasing the stranger.

The seven of the group saw the four brothers and ran up to them. "Guys, we don't have time to explain, that man that passed you knows something about Xana, so we need to chase after him." Z quickly said to the brothers as they continued to run.

The four brothers just sighed as they began to follow the others. "We just can't get a moment, can we?" Leadonus said as they joined in the chase.

With more of the gang joining in on the chase, the stranger was still out of their reach, and they couldn't attack him with their ranged weapons, like Z's guns, or Odd's arrows because they didn't want to risk hitting anybody. The stranger turned another corner and actually came up to William, Aracane, Jack, Eli'ton, Jeremie, and Aelita. They were talking casually with each other as the stranger ran through them as they quickly jumped out of his way.

"Hey pal! Watch where you're going!" William yelled to him as the stranger just continued to run.

The others joined up with the rest of their members, other then Knulgen and Alpha as they once again quickly explained the situation to the others. "Hey guys, we don't have time to explain again. That man knows something about Xana, and we need to go after him." Ulrich quickly said as he continued to chase after the stranger again.

"What? He knows something about Xana?! Can't we just have a normal day for once?" William said to them as the others ran past his group.

"Everywhere we go, we end up in the middle of something weird." Aracane said to them with an annoyed sigh.

"I suppose we don't have a choice in the matter. Follow that man in the brown coat." Jack called out as they chased after the man with their friends, while Jeremie followed them as close as he could with Aelita staying a tad behind the rest of the gang so she could make sure they didn't lose him.

The stranger began to cut through back alleys as the gang was still hot on his tail. As he leaped over a wooden fence and into another sidewalk area where there wasn't as much people around, the stranger spotted the next member of the gangs group walking down the street. Knulgen was counting the money he took again while chuckling as the stranger past by him quick, Knulgen put the money in his inner coat pocket, thinking for a second the man was a thief while he passed by.

"What the hell was that guys problem?" Knulgen muttered as looked at the running man.

The gang reached the wooden fence and were about to leap over it a few at a time, but Aracane charged ahead of them and rammed right through the cheaply made wooden fence and took the whole thing down to the concrete sidewalk and quickly got up as they all looped around the new opening.

Knulgen turned to the crashing noise to see the gang running his way. "Guys? What the fuck are you doing here?!" Knulgen asked them rudely.

"Aw man, we forgot about him." Yumi said to them with a groan.

"Listen Knulgen, we need to chase after that guy and-" Z began to say.

"Okay..." Knulgen interrupted him with a smile.

"But don't you even want to even know why?" Z asked him.

"No, not really. Let's get after his ass!" Knulgen replied as he turned and chased after the stranger. The rest of them decided not to question it and joined up with the wild member of their gang.

The stranger turned while still running from the gang, even though they couldn't see his face, they knew he was giving a cocky grin as he picked up the pace, making them having to chase faster. The stranger spotted a new corner to go in as he looked back to the gang one more time and turned into the corner to see a large cloaked being step in front of him and lunged after the detective wannabe, but he quickly dropped hard and rolled out of the way as the cloaked person turned to the gang. They came up to him as the detective ran from them and quickly noticed that it was Alpha wearing his mask cloak.

"Alpha?! What are you doing out here?" Jeremie asked him as he caught up.

"I know this is a surprise, but I noticed this person around the area of the inn this morning with my scanners, and I had to investigate on who he is. But why are you all giving pursuit of this person?" Alpha asked them.

"This man claims he knows something about Xana, but he's giving us some weird runaround. We need to catch him and find out what he knows about Xana and where he is." Odd quickly explained to the robot.

"Then we must not lose him. Continue pursuit!" Alpha said as he turned and began to run, the whole gang was finally together as they went after the stranger.

The mysterious person continued to run as he cut into a new alley as the gang filled into it as well. The stranger then began to knock over trash cans and clutter, and the gang was quick to leap over or dodge the obstacles as the alley got more narrow until they came into an alleyway that split off into several different directions. The stranger spotted a ladder that was near the ground and leaped after it and grabbed on and quickly climb it as the gang reached the ladder too, but the stranger got to the top and quickly kicked the latches holding the ladder and sent it down to the ground and cutting off the gangs only way up as the stranger began to run up the metal stairs on the buildings side.

"Well he's good, I'll give him that." Z said as he looked up to the man.

"We need to find some other ladders up to the roofs, we can then split up and try to cut him off and then surround him." Jeremie said to them as Alpha wrapped his cables around his body and uploaded him into his systems, since it was the only way he was going to keep up now.

The gang agreed and quickly broke off into a few groups as they found some ladders leading to different roofs of buildings that were very close to each other and quickly made their ways up until they reached the tops of the two to three stories building as they spotted the stranger leaning against a large air conditioner as if he was waiting for them.

"Is that smart ass mocking us?! I think he's mocking us!" Knulgen shouted to the gang as the stranger waved to them. "That son of a bitch is mocking us! I'll kill him!" He shouted as he began to chase after the stranger ahead of the gang as he leaped over the small gap of the roof to where the stranger was as he turned and ran with the gang continuing the chase.

The stranger was surprisingly athletic as he leaped from roof to roof with the gang hot on his tail. They also leaped from roof to roof, over air conditioners and large pipes, they would grab low hanging bars and swing over as the stranger leaped down to another lower building as the gang got closer. The stranger was impressed by their skills of using the environment to their advantage as they got down to his level.

The gang broke off into groups again as the stranger leaped to another roof and grabbed a ladder and climbed up to a higher roof as they climbed up, one at a time while Knulgen actually leaped onto a drainpipe and climbed it up as they reached the top just as the stranger leaped to another roof, only frustrating the gang more as they tried to get their target.

The stranger ran into a construction site that had a bunch of equipment lying around, he spotted a cable line that lead down a lower building across the street and spotted a small pipe that was in a crate and grabbed it and placed it over the cable and jumped off the roof while holding the other end and slide down the cable to the lower roof. The gang saw his little trick and grabbed small pipes from the crate and followed suit, one by one as Alpha put all his strength into his legs systems and leaped over the building and landed on the lower building with a loud thud that cracked the roof floor as the last of them landed on the roof and continued after the stranger.

The gang was about to clear the construction site as the stranger climbed another ladder up to a higher area, and they all climbed the same ladder. As they finally got up onto the roof, the stranger was about to leap to another lower roof area as the gang noticed several other higher roofs and split off to those locations and surrounded the stranger as he began to run again, but this time the gang had an opening as a few of them jumped down from the left and right and landed in front of the stranger. He turned around and ran a different way, only to have more of them leap down and block his path as the others came down and surrounded him with weapons in hands as they finally caught their target.

The stranger looked around and saw that he was finally caught and unable to run anymore. "Alright...you guys caught me. Good job, young warriors." The stranger said to them with a chuckle as he slowly raised his hands. The gang was not amused by his carefree personality.

"Listen pal. We've chased you for over an hour, and we're not in the mood for anymore games. So why don't you start by telling us who you are, and how you know about Xana." Yumi said to him.

"Yeah, how can you possibly know about Xana? We never even knew he existed until these guys told us about him." Z said as he cocked the hammer of his handgun.

"Oh! You mean your friends from another world? Like these seven over here?" The stranger asked as he pointed to the earth members of the gang.

They all looked at each other with both surprise, and worry on the person knowing that some of them came from another world. "We...we don't know what you're talking. You're crazy to think that." Ulrich stammered, trying to cover for them.

"Listen kids...I know who you all are, but you don't need to worry. I'm not here to cause trouble or expose you to the fact that some of you are not from this world." The stranger said to them as he slowly walked over to a roof mounted air conditioner and sat down. The gang still kept him surrounded in case he tried anything, and he was still able to keep his head hidden in the shadow of his hat and large collars.

"So far my scans show that he is not lying, but I will continue to monitor what he says." Alpha alerted them as he opened his chest plates to let Jeremie out of his systems.

"If you are truly not with Xana, then just tell us what this is all about, and why you are looking for us?" Aelita asked the man.

The stranger breathed deeply for a moment before telling them what they wanted to know. "I know you kids have been fighting tooth and nail non stop since the beginning of your journey. You warriors aren't the only ones on this world who knows about Xana, and his dark plots." He began to explain.

"There are other people? How is that possible? Xana is so good at keeping himself hidden from anybody that can give him and his plans trouble." Leadonus asked him curiously.

"You are right about that, Xana is very good at keeping a low profile, but there is simply no way to run the operations he has going without alerting some people. That is where people like me come in." The stranger answered as he got up from his sitting position.

"And who are you and your people suppose to be?" William asked him as he crossed his arms.

"We don't have any true name, but we are dedicated to stop or hinder Xana's plans in any way we can, and we've been fighting him for longer then you could imagine." The stranger shrugged.

"I suppose you haven't been able to do too much. But then again, if Xana caught onto you, he would have wasted no time to have your people taken out with full force." Deotalus said to him.

"You can say that again. We were looking into a fortress of his that could fly, but then he began to think that someone was spying on him, and we had to go dark for a couple of years. But in the end it all worked out for the better, considering the fact you kids took down that floating fortress." The stranger replied as he shifted his hat.

"We took that down a few weeks ago. It was one of our hardest battles we've fought, and it was the first time we ever saw Xana face to face." Aelita said to him as she remembered that horrible battle that nearly cost them their lives.

"Then it looks like you'll be seeing him again soon. Because we found your old pal Xana has something twisted going on in a desert area across the seas. That is why I've come to find you all and help you get there before he has a chance to do whatever kind of evil hell he's got going." The stranger said as adjusted his coat.

"Then take us to him. Now." Jeremie said to him calmly.

"I plan to. The sooner the better, because you all know as well as I do, Xana doesn't wait around for whatever twisted thing he has going on." The stranger said as he began to walk to the roofs edge. "And now that I'm on your good sides, I suggest we go back to the inn so you all can gather your things, and we can be on our way." He said to them as he jumped off the roof and grabbed a ladder that was against the wall and slide down as the gang came to the edge and saw him waiting for them at the bottom.

They all climbed down and joined up with him and began to head back to the inn as they got ready for their next battle against Xana, now that they knew the time to face him again was coming. The walk back to the inn took them at least an hour because they chased after the stranger for over an hour, and when they finally arrived back, the stranger stood outside near the entrance. "Well warriors, I'll wait here while you all gather your things. When you have all your stuff, we'll start heading to Xana's lair." The stranger said to them as he leaned against the wall.

"So you're just gonna wait out here while we gather our crap?" Knulgen asked him.

"That's pretty much the size of it. Take your time, I'm in no rush." The stranger replied as he took out another newspaper in his coat and opened it up to read.

The gang just looked at each other over the strangers odd behavior and went in. They told the inn owner they were going to leave soon, and as they were about to head to their room, Palkin went over to the register and refunded some of their money, since they were leaving, and they paid for a few days, which was a relief for them as some thanked him generously.

As they got their stuff, Odd noticed they still had the bow from the assassin leader that shot him. "Why do you still have that thing? It doesn't bring up good memories for me." Odd said to them as Aracane picked it up.

"It would be a waste of a good weapon, Odd. I have an idea for it that I think you will like. I might be able to do it if we get a lift from the stranger." Z said to him as he checked over his gear.

"I wish that guy would at least tell us how we're going to get to Xana's new base." Yumi said as she put her backpack on.

"Does anybody else have a feeling we're gonna be dealing with him for quite some time?" Jack asked his friends.

"When do we never have to deal with anything for quite some time?" Ulrich asked in response as they all began to head out.

With all their stuff gathered, the gang went back outside to find that the stranger was still waiting for them while reading the newspaper. He noticed that they were ready, so he folded up the paper and tucked it under his armpit. "Well, now that you're all ready, I'll begin to start showing you all the way to Xana's base." The stranger said to them as he turned and began to walk while the gang just followed.

"So what are you going to do once we find Xana's base? You haven't exactly told us your roll in this." Kairaree asked him.

"Like I said before, I'm here to guide you guys to Xana's base. And more importantly, see if you warriors are the real deal." The stranger replied as he threw the paper in a recycling bin on the sidewalk.

"What do you mean, the real deal? We're as much as the 'real deal' as we can get! We've fought Xana on several occasions, and came out alive! What more proof could you possibly need?!" William said to him with offence.

"Just because you all went a few rounds with him, doesn't mean you warriors are top dogs. We've been watching Xana for a long time, and let's just say we've come across a few people who have...predicted...things like this. But they've always been unclear and obscure. And like I said, just because you guys have gone against him, doesn't mean you are what we're looking for in saving our world from darkness. So forgive me if I'm a little odd with you, but I've sacrificed more then you could know to get this far, and not put all my money on some random chance that you all could actually be the ones to defeat him when all else has failed." The stranger replied with a more serious tone then before.

The gang was surprised at his change of tone, but decided to take him serious for now as they followed him. "If you need more proof that we are the ones that can defeat Xana, then we will be happy to show you." Jeremie said to him as they walked.

"Yeah, we'll even bring you Xana's head after we kill him if you want proof." Knulgen added with a grin.

"We'll see about that." The stranger said to himself as they walked.

They all began to head out of the town and down a long street that didn't have much traffic. The gang and the stranger began to cut off towards a park like area that had a beach front that was closed for the year as the stranger began to lead them down the boardwalk and towards the sea shore.

"Okay pal. What's going on here? Did you come to take us to Xana's lair, or just take us for a swim?" Ralfaius questioned with frustration.

"I can sure go for a swim." Miodelus said as he began to take his shirt off, but Deotalus just stopped him.

"Remember how I said that Xana's base was across the seas?" The stranger asked as he took out his phone and dialed some numbers on the screen.

"You got a surprise coming, don't you?" Z asked him in a deadpan tone.

"Just hang on, you'll all see soon enough." The stranger replied as he put the phone back in his pocket.

The gang spread out on the dock as they waited with only the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore, and the gulls flying and cawing about as Mio picked up a stick and drew little pictures in the sand while the others just paced around as they waited for what they assumed would be a boat coming.

After ten minutes, some of them were beginning to get impatient. "How much longer until this boat of yours arrives? We don't have all day." Eli'ton said to the stranger as he walked over to him.

The stranger turned to them with a smile, despite that his face was still hidden by the shadow of his hat and collars. "Who said a boat was coming?" He simply asked as their ride was finally coming their way.

The water in the distance began to bubble while the gulls flew off cawing. A long shadow began to form and only got bigger as the gang began to back away in caution as the stranger just stood there waiting as a long black vehicle burst out of the water and skid across the shore before it stopped. The underwater vehicle was a black submarine, but instead of the usual tube shape, the top part was more of a triangle shape meant to glide through the water, but still flat for people to walk on while the underside was more tube shaped, and had a fold out track that aloud it to beach and roll back into the sea. The submarine was over hundred feet long and had a top part that was the entrance.

"Well...that's something you don't see everyday." Bel'la said in surprise as they all talked to each other about the sub.

"If this was a story, this would be a weird change of pace." Miodelus said to them as he laughed, which made Ral slap him upside the back of his head.

"I suppose it's a tad random, but then again, it's not like we can flap our arms and fly there." The stranger said as he looked to the top of the sub where it was flat as the round hatch cover began to spin with steam pressure coming out until the hatch opened, and a aquariora woman came out.

"Took your ass long enough to get here. Did you find them, or see the sites and slack off again?" The woman said to the stranger as she climbed out and walked across the top and to the edge. She was at least in her mid twenties with five long dreads that were a little darker green at the tips. She wore a dark green and blue suit with long sleeves and had a few medals on her left side and heavy boots with a gun at her side. "But I suppose you're here, and that's all that matters." She said as bars started coming out of the side and she climbed down and walked up to the stranger.

"There was a slight delay, but I managed to find the warriors that are suppose to defeat our target. So we're gonna get them there and see what they do." The stranger said as he turned to the gang.

"I suppose you're with whatever order he's in." Z said to the aquariora woman.

"He's more of a informant investigator, he prefers to work with us at a distance." She sighed while walking up to the gang. "My name is, Nelwen, I'm the commander of this assault submarine. I'll be giving you guys a lift to the targets lair." She said to them more kindly.

"Why do you keep saying 'target'? Can't you just say, Xana?" Jack asked her.

"We prefer not to say 'his' name all the time. Because sometimes we need to hire outside sources, and we never know when Xana has someone that works for him skulking about." The stranger answered as he began to walk to the sub. "Well move your asses. We don't got much time to waste." He called out to them as he climbed the ladder.

"You warriors aren't used to strange and random things happing all the time. But know this, if you all really are what's been foretold, then you must be ready to adapt and evolve to what comes after you. Because what you've faced so far is nothing compared to what comes next." Nelwen said to the gang as she turned and climbed the ladder and headed for the hatch.

"Anybody else a little worried about what she said?" Odd asked them with a groan.

"I say, bring it the hell on. I need a straight challenge." Knulgen smiled as he walked to the sub and climbed up the ladder.

"That woman is right though. We faced a lot of hardship against Xana back on earth, so we need to work together even better to face what comes at us. Because this time, Xana will prepare for us on this one." Aelita says to them as they all climbed the ladder up onto the subs top.

"Don't worry about it, Aelita. We've gotten this far, there's no way Xana can take us out." William says to her with a smile.

The gang climbed down the hatch one at a time, and it was big enough for Alpha to get down with ease. The inside of the sub was bigger as the gang followed the stranger down the metal tube with a grated floor that lightly echoed with each step they took. They entered a command room with a large group of people working the controls of submarine. They paced around and talked with each other over the subs controls as Nelwen walked to the main controls in the center of the room.

"Alright people, let's get this sub going!" Nelwen called out as the operators went to work. "Full power to the tracks, get this back in the water." She called out her next order. The tracks under the sub came out from the inside and onto the sand and shore and began to roll backwards and take the whole massive submarine back into the water and into the sea.

The gang and crew of the sub held onto rails and other supports as the sub crashed into the water and was in full reverse as it went deeper and deeper until the engines turned back on and all three back propellers turned on and rotated the sub in the direction they need to go and off into the sea.

As the sub sailed on, Odd walked over to a sonar set and watched the image on the camera. "Awesome. We've been in almost all forms of transportation. And what's more, I've always wanted to be in one. Arm the torpedoes!" Odd said as he made himself sound like a captain preparing for battle.

"Keep it up, and we might just put you in the tubes that fire the torpedoes." Z said to him.

"Well now that we are in the water, it's time to brief you warriors on the targets base. There are some things you need to see." The stranger said as he turned to the hatch door. "Follow me." He called to them as he walked down the hall.

The gang looked to each other as Nelwen turned away from the controls for a moment. "I know he seems like a weirdo, but don't let it fool you. He is some of the best fighters I've ever seen. So in a sense, he will always be looking out for you." She said as she turned back to the controls and pilot the sub.

"Then let's go see what he has to show. We need to know what we're up against soon." Ulrich said to them as they all followed the stranger.

The stranger lead them down the many metal halls of the sub, passing crew members every now and then, they were carrying tools or parts that needed to be used or replaced in the massive underwater vehicle. Finally the stranger came up to a hatch and opened it and lead them into a room that was long, and had a long metal table in the middle and bolted to the floor, and it had rows of fifteen chairs on each side, and in front of the long table on a wall was a big screen that would show all kinds of data and information.

"Well warriors, have a seat." The stranger said as each of them sat down in one of the bolted seats while Alpha just stood. The stranger then picked up a tablet like item on the long table and began to tap on it. "Now what I'm about to show you all is some surveillance footage that was taken by some ground forces that are within our order. They risked their lives to get this." The stranger continued as he put the image on the tablet item onto the big screen, and shocked the gang on what they saw.

The earth members of the gang gasped the very moment they saw the image of Xana's tower standing in the moon light of the desert. "My god, it can't be!" Jeremie gasped.

"Xana...built a tower! What can he be possibly doing with it?" William says next as he leaned back in his seat.

"It looks different then the ones in Lyoko." Ulrich pointed out to them.

"Somehow I doubt that it's like what the ones were in Lyoko. Who knows what Xana's doing in there?" Yumi added.

"This footage was taken last night. Apparently, whatever Xana has going in there is ready. The tower was built in this mountain, and then came out from the ground." The stranger said as he showed them recorded footage that showed the tower coming out of the middle of the small mountain, and then began to glow its red color. He then fast forward the footage until it showed them the tower disappearing from view. "Apparently the tower has a cloaking devise that renders it completely invisible from view. This is years ahead of what any country or nation has. But of course the cloaking is only a means to hide, the real prize is inside the tower." He explained as he turned off the screen and placed the tablet item down.

"Whatever Xana has in there, we need to take that tower down and destroy what's in it. No matter what we need to do." Odd said to them with a serious tone.

"Then I suggest you all get some rest. We'll arrive there near night fall, so before that, I'll give you guys a chance to equip yourselves with some gear that you might find useful in this mission. So you guys can be on your way now, I need to have a word with Nelwen on our course to Xana's lair. So just go down the hall and you guys will find a quarter where you can rest for a few hours and I'll come get you all when the time is near." The stranger said as he headed for the hatch to leave the room.

"You've been very helpful to us, and yet you haven't even shown your face, or even told us your name. Why all the secrecy and mystery?" Kairaree asked him.

The stranger stopped for a moment and turned to them. "There are many reasons I need to keep myself hidden. But tell you all what, if you turn out to be the ones who will stop Xana, then I'll show you who I am. Now excuse me, I'll talk to you all later." The stranger responded as he left the room and headed back to the control room of the sub and left the gang alone.

"Good, I can use some rest. I wonder if this submarine has as cafeteria? I can sure go for a sub myself." Odd said as he began to laugh at his joke.

The gang groaned in disappointment at his terrible joke. "That was horrible, even for you, Odd." Ulrich groaned as he rubbed his head.

"Can we throw him out the garbage chute, or something?" Knulgen asked them as he shook his head.

Z leaned forward on the table and put his hands together. "So now that we're about to face Xana again, we need to prepare for whatever he has planned for us. Because this time he will be ready, and I don't want to upset any of you, but we need to be ready for the worst that could happen to us." He said to them.

"None of us are going to die on this! We stopped him before, we'll stop him again." Kairaree said to him.

"She's right guys, we'll take that tower down to the ground, and stop Xana again." Eli'ton added as he leaned back in his seat.

"But before we face Xana again, it is probably best Aelita stays here in this sub and-" Jeremie began to speak as Aelita slammed her hand on the table.

"No! I am not staying on this submarine while you guys go up against Xana. I'm coming with you all, and that's final." Aelita said to him sternly as she looked to the others.

"I don't know, Aelita, this isn't going to be an easy fight, and Xana isn't going to hold back this time. Maybe you should sit this out for now." Bel'la said to her.

"Are you guys forgetting how we stopped Xana the first time?" She asked them as she held her hand up and created the pink orb of light called her Energy Field. "I was able to defeat Xana with just one of these. So it may be possible he's still affected by it. That is why I'm coming with you guys," She lowered her hand and the orb disbursed. "And the only way any of you are going to stop me is by tying me down." She said as she sat back in her seat.

Knulgen got up with a big smile at the thought of tying her down, but Aracane grabbed him by his coat and pulled the molnuck back in his seat as he groaned. "I suppose she has a point, her Energy Field did pretty much bring Xana to his knees, or at least his giant head coming down to the floor. So having Aelita along might give us an edge." Leadonus pointed out to them.

"And don't forget, Xana seems to want her alive. So there's no way he will dare hurt her." Deotalus added.

"Then I suppose there's no arguing with it." Jeremie sighed as he turned back to her. "If you want to come with us, then I won't stop you. It's just that I don't want you to get hurt." He calmly said to her.

Aelita put her hand over his and smiled. "I know you're worried for me, but I worry just as much for all of you. We can't avoid getting hurt while fighting Xana, but we must stand against him, no matter what. That's why I want to fight with you all too." she said while giving his hand a light squeeze.

"Then I guess Aelita will be coming along. So don't worry about Eienstein, we'll all watch her back." Sam said to him, fondly using his nickname.

"Aelita's Energy Field can greatly enhance our chances against Xana. It would be the most logical action if we are to win." Alpha said to them as he calculated the battle ahead.

"Then let's get some rest, and wait for the stranger to come get us when it's time." William said as they all got up and headed to the hatch and walked down the metal halls while talking to each other and found the bunk area that was filled with beds and each took one.

Most of them went to sleep while others just dropped their backpacks off and explored the many areas of the sub. Mostly Deotalus and Jeremie of course. The hours began to tick by as the day got later and the gang would soon be facing Xana yet again, while unaware of what they were about to face.

()()()()()()()()()

In the desert area, Xana's tower was still clocked from view, the sun was almost set as the light from the twilight reflected off the massive tower, making it only a slight shimmer like a mirage fading away. At the top of the tower in the massive room where Xana, Smoketay, and Ukai reside, waiting for the completion of Xana's twisted scheme.

Xana stood in the middle of the room for countless hours, waiting patiently as the pods in the north corner of the round room hummed as Xana kept his eyes on the massive terminal as the data loaded into the pods while the strange item he found floated around in its containment system.

"It's only a matter of time. My greatest work will soon be complete." Xana said to himself as he began to type on the keyboard to load a new strand of data, and make corrections to the data load.

Ukai sat in a corner and was leaning against a wall, he was lightly sleeping while waiting for Xana to announce that his project was complete. The elevator lift near the center of the room opened up and Smoketay walked in with a box of cigars. He opened the bok and took out a cigar and sniffed it under his metallic like nose with a smile.

"Ahh, Borgano tobacco wrap. Some of the finest cigars on the continental coast." Smoketay said to himself as he unwrapped it and quickly lit it up to smoke.

Ukai quickly picked up the scent of Smoketay's cigars and got up and looked over to the chain smoker. "Do you have to smoke every waking minute of your life?" He asked him with a growl.

"No...just every waking minute of your life." Smoketay replied with a chuckle as he took a long drag and breathed the smoke out of his three piped stacks on both his shoulders.

Ukai growled as he got up and began to march over as Xana turned to them. "Enough! The time is almost now." He called to them as the terminal began to beep, and the data that was loading in the pods was finally finished. "It is over, my work is finally here." Xana said with a smile.

The strange item in the container began to glow as the lights coming off the cables connected to the pods glowed brighter while the pods began to rumble as the data that was loaded from the terminal signaled that what was being created in the pods were finally formed. The rooms power shut down for a few moments while the equipment and terminals were still on from a different power source. The power then came back on all around as the pod doors opened up with steam pouring out. In the pods, silhouettes began to walk out with different noises and sounds, only adding more to the mysterious beings.

Xana began to walk over to the beings as the steam began to fade away. "Welcome back my great creations." He called out as he raised his arms. "Soon you will face my greatest enemies, and they will fall to your superior powers! And soon this world and many more will fall to our combined might, and my reign can finally begin!" Xana cried as the symbol on his face glowed bright red with gleeful fury.

()()()()()()()()()()

It was almost night as the gang waited for the stranger to come and let them know it was almost time to get ready for battle. In their bunk area, Z was sitting at the table in their room with a toolbox next to him while Odd paced around and waited for the gunner of the group to finish his work.

"Well Odd, that should just about do it." Z said to him as Odd came over.

"Cool! Let me see." Odd said as Z showed what he was doing. Z took the assassin leaders bow and disassembled it to combine the parts with Odd's bow and make it more powerful. He replaced the parts where it bended with Odd's bow, making it a tad longer, and switched the bowstrings, giving the arrow a more powerful thrust. Odd took the bow and made a few pulls as he smiled. "This is awesome, thanks again, Z." He said to him as he pulled the bow back and let the string go.

Ulrich was sitting in a seat and reading a magazine as he looked over to Odd. "It's a nice improvement to how your bow used to be, just don't let the bow string hit you on the nose." Ulrich said with a chuckle.

Aracane looked over to them from his bunk that he was lying on. "Just be sure to practice with that bow before you use it. Since it fires more powerfully, you need to build up the muscle strength to draw it fully back." He said to Odd.

"He needs to with those skinny arms." Knulgen commented as he laid on his bunk with his eyes closed.

"Hey! I am not skinny! I am-" Odd tried to say his excuse for being skinny, but Knulgen just rolled over in his bed.

"I don't care!" He interrupted while facing away from Odd.

"You know guys, it's almost night, I wonder when the stranger is coming to get us?" Ulrich asked the members of the group that was in the room with them.

The hatch door lock began to spin and the door opened as the stranger poked his head in. "Hey there, we're almost in the area where Xana's tower is. So let's get down to the armory and gear you kids up." He said to the ones in the bunk from in a almost too excited tone. The rest of the group that was exploring the sub stood by him since he went to round them up.

"Alright then. Let's get some new toys to play with." Odd said as Ulrich, Z, Aracane, Knulgen, and him got up and walked out the bunk room and into the halls of the submarine.

The walk took them a few minutes as they passed workers and crew members of the sub as the stranger took them to a more secure area of the sub. They came into a hall that had a large locked door in front of it as the stranger went over and typed on the control console. The door locks began to spin as the door slid open, and the lights in the room turned on. The gang stepped in and gasped at what they saw. The armory was filled with all kinds of firearms and melee weapons mounted to the walls and roofs with many racks and tables covered in weapons, gear, and armor.

"Good goddess Kelgempfa of the west seas! This sub has enough weapons to supply several large squads!" Deotalus exclaimed as he looked at a rack full of tech.

Ulrich walked over to a rack filled with throwing stars and small diamond shaped bladed throwing knives with rings at the ends of the rod shaped handles. He picked a star up from the rack and looked it over. "There aren't just guns in here, there's all kinds of weapons used for stealth like an assassin would use." He said to them.

"We should put on some of the armor sets. We can use all the best protection we can get." Yumi said as she looked over closets full of different body armors.

The rest of the gang looked over the gear that was in the room like a kid in a candy store. Thinking of what things to take and use for their battle against Xana as the stranger walked over to a closet full of armor padding and took a black and thin vest out from it. "This vest armor is the latest in protective gear. It's thinner, lighter, and can be worn under your clothes. It can take several different bullet types at point-blank range and only feel like a hard punch, instead of knocking the wind out of you, and leaving you vulnerable to a followup attack." The stranger said to them as he showed the vests off to the gang.

Z was looking over the many guns on the wall and was beginning to make his selections. "Okay then guys, grab some gear and equipment. Xana is having a party, and we're the guests off honor. So let's dress for the occasion." Z said as he grabbed a submachine gun off the racks.

The gang spread out and began to gather all kinds of stuff. Each of them grabbed a vest set and went into the changing areas to put the new armor padding under their thick clothes and even padding under the arms and legs while Aracane took something even better out from another closet. The armor he took was thicker and more powerful, designed to take even a shotgun slug or magnum bullet dead center without any problems. He put the thick black vest over his upper body over the leather straps all over his chest, and even put on long padded sleeves with fingerless gloves with thick knuckle pads that went with the armor vest he wore while strapping pads on his legs too, making him look like a walking tank of intimidation and power.

Ulrich went over to the table filled with throwing weapons and began to gather them into ten pouches and put them on around the belt of his waist that held twenty throwing stars each while strapping pouches filled with fifteen throwing knives to each side of his upper legs, and upper arms. He looked like a mighty cross between a samurai and ninja as Yumi peaked over to him and admired his added attire.

Odd went over to a weapons locker filled with bows and arrows. He took out a side scope and laser sight mounts and attached them to the middle handle area and lined the sights and admired the laser dot as he then took out a quiver full of explosive arrow heads that arm themselves when the back end his placed on the string, and the large pointed heads hit their target.

Deotalus quickly went to the gear closet and took out all the tech he could carry. He grabbed a gun with a large rectangle shaped body near the end with a small targeting system that was not the kind that fires bullets, but an electromagnetic pulse that would fry the circuits of electronic locks and small terminals, and a rectangle shaped item called a cryptographic analyzer that hacks into password protected terminals. And finally he took a pouch belt filled with twenty EMP grenades that need no explanation, and in addition to the prized goggles that he always kept strapped around his head, he took a set of military goggles and placed them over his eyes as he turned on the three lenses and tested the settings of infrared, sonar, and sonic pulse as he smiled with joy over his gear set.

And finally, Z went over to the gun area of the armory, and began to load up. He began by taking ammo for his main handguns and filled his pouches with the many clips, giving him the much needed restock. He then took out ammo for his magnum revolver from a ammo drawer and magazines for his arm gun. He took down a weapon know as a combat shotgun, it had a long body, and a drum clip that was near the end, making each shot seem like that of a saw-off instead, and each drum had thirty rounds. He then took down ten handguns with holsters and strapped them to sides of his torso and covered them with his coat. He took out two large submachine guns and strapped the holsters and guns to the sides of his upper legs with long ammo clips in his side pockets. He grabbed a high grade sniper rifle with a powerful scope, and ammo magazine that was in the back near the rifle butt, and a rapid fire assault rifle with grenade launcher and bayonet knife at the top end with plenty of ammo and grenades to the assault rifle.

The gang was geared up and ready to go and put their survival backpacks back on as the stranger looked them over for a moment. "Well you warriors sure give a new meaning to being ready for battle." The stranger said to them with a chuckle.

"So what's the next step? Where do we go from here?" Z asks as he checked over his ammo.

"Follow me to the control area of the sub, then we will tell you what's going to happen next." The stranger said as he turned and headed for the hatch with the gang following behind as they soon made it to the control area with Nelwen and her working frantically, as if something was about to happen.

"Make sure all weapons are armed. Turn on all sonar and tracking systems. Have the crew standby for damage control." Nelwen ordered to her crew as they worked.

"What's going on? Are we in danger?" Jeremie asked the stranger as he took notice to the crews frantic work.

The stranger turned to them and sighed. "I'm afraid I haven't been completely honest with you warriors." He said to them.

"Oh boy, here it comes." Knulgen muttered as he rolled his eyes.

"We are almost to Xana's lair, which is just a few miles from the shore. But our recon found that dear Xana has some underwater defense systems. Once we beach the sub, we will scramble their sonar and weapons, and let you guys out, and once they retract into the sea, Nelwen and her sub will draw their attack while we head to the tower. It is almost night, so it will be cool out." The stranger explained to them.

"You guys are going to use yourselves as a decoy for the attack system! That's crazy, you all could be killed." The young prince, Jack says to them with shock.

"This kind of risk comes with the job. If you warriors are who you say you are, then we are happy to take that risk. Now get your rears to the main hatch and get ready." Nelwen says to them as she looked to her control screen to show that the shore was getting near soon.

"There's no point in arguing with it. These people are willing to risk their lives to get us to Xana's lair, so we need to make sure we take Xana's tower down while they flee from his defense systems." Deotalus says to the gang.

"We're almost there, let's head to the hatch and get ready to go, warriors. Follow me now." The stranger said as they began to head off to the entrance.

"Good luck warriors. I know you can do it! Bring that monster down for good!" Nelwen called to them as she went back to commanding the subs crew.

The gang and their stranger friend were almost to the entrance as the sub picked up speed, the shore was getting closer and the crew braced for impact. The gang finally reached the large room that lead up to the escape as they held onto the rails while Alpha uploaded Jeremie into his systems while still wearing his long cloak, but the mask was flipped over to the back of his head, since there was no reason to hide his face.

"Alright warriors! Here it comes, we're almost about to beach. I'll show you the way to Xana's tower and take it from there." The stranger called out to them as he gripped his rail.

The submarine began to rumble as it scrapped against the sandy shore as the front finally breached out with a mighty splashing crash as the sub got ready to go in reverse while the hatch opened.

"We're clear! Let's move now!" Z shouted as they all cheered and quickly climbed the ladder and ran across the outer deck as the cool night air hit them and the sub began to roll back into the sea to prepare for the next phase of their plan as the gang each landed on the sandy shore and watched it go crashing back into the water.

()()()()()()()()()

Xana stood near his main control console as he overlooked the data of what was in his pods to make sure everything was stable as a small window on his console screen began to beep. Xana pressed the window and it opened to show a common general of his. "Master, our scanners have picked up a submarine very close within our area." The general said to him.

"Are you able to identify the submarine? Does it have any distinct marking?" Xana demanded casually to the general while still overlooking the data.

"No my lord, it's unmarked and has no other identification, or military ties. It's most likely a cartel drug sub or terrorist cell carrying more troops." The general responded.

"Then activate the underwater defense systems and blow it out of the water. No one will notice it's gone." Xana ordered as he went back to what he was doing. But he then had a thought of suspicion cross his mind of the submarine being near his shore and decided to quicken his work.

()()()()()()()

The general and his men began to activate the defense systems in the control area and targeted the sub that they saw on the many security monitors that was in their waters. The defense systems that were hidden in underground hatches at the seas bottom began to open and came out and fired at the sub as it sailed away while firing off decoy missiles to intercept the defense missiles before they hit the sub, giving the gang the distraction they needed.

()()()()()()()

The gang looked to the dark water and saw slight flashes of light bursting as the flashes got further away. "Those are the decoys blowing up the missiles. Don't worry, they'll be fine. Now let's get going." The stranger said to them as he turned and began to walk. The gang began to follow him as they spotted the small mountain in the distance that shone in the light of the rising moon.

"So Xana's tower is cloaked between those two mountains? Is sure is well hidden, no one would ever know if they were looking at it." Leadonus said to them.

"Let's just get there. There's a reason why not many of our species doesn't live in desert areas, even if it's near the ocean." Ralfaius said as he began to walk.

"It won't take us long to reach the tower with all these deep dunes to slide down. So let's not keep Xana waiting, I'm still angry at Xana for trying to crush me with his massive hand. I'm going to give him my most powerful Energy Blast when I see his symbol covered face." Aelita sternly says to her friends as she began to walk with the stranger and the others following too.

"Just don't let your anger blind you, Aelita. We're in this together." Jeremie says to her from within Alpha.

"I don't blame Aelita for being angry. Xana really seems to have it out for her, more then any of us." Yumi whispered to Ulrich next to her.

"Maybe so, but that still doesn't mean he wont make us suffer if he defeats us." Ulrich replied to her as they began to walk.

"That's not going to happen. We'll stop him again." Sam said to them.

"Then what are we waiting for? Last one to reach the tower, buys lunch for all of us!" Odd called as he began to slide down the sandy dunes with the others following.

The gang slid down dune after dune as the small mountain got closer. All kinds of thoughts ran through their heads as they marched towards Xana's lair with the cloaked tower in between the mountains. They were all unaware of what Xana has waiting for them in his dark tower, and will have them face their hardest challenge yet as they battle against Xana's dark creations, whatever twisted beings they may be in the tall cold, skyscraper high tower, that was a symbol of Xana's twisted mind back in Lyoko, and is now a physical manifestation on the earthera members of the groups world, but still a evil omen of destruction and darkness on any world. But the gang will fight to the bitter end to bring it down, and whatever evil creations are hidden within.

END CHAPTER.