At the Factory, Jeremy is sitting at the computer while Yumi and Aelita are sitting on the ground, playing a Japanese game. Aelita makes a move and then Yumi does. The elevator is heard opening and they look up.
"Welcome back, campers," Aelita greets Ulrich and Odd.
"Two weeks without us. Not too long," Ulrich comments, the smaller boy leaning in towards them.
"Did you miss me a little, ladies?" He teases, Jeremy saying nothing. He has a concerned look on his face.
"Forget it. You could've stayed away three weeks. XANA attacks, zero," Yumi informs, looking up before turning back to the game. "And don't talk like that. You are still dating Amy, after all."
"Well, a nice, quiet summer, huh?" Odd looks up at Jeremy.
"Kind of. Ever since XANA discovered a way to leave the supercomputer, and then manage to access the World Wide Web, we haven't heard anything," Jeremy reports, looking back to the keyboard.
"No news is good news, right?" Ulrich asks optimistically.
"That's what you think. I trust XANA as far as I can throw him, which is why I just reprogrammed the super scan. From now on, we'll know where the big bad wolf is hiding."
"That's great, Einstein, but how is that gonna help?" Odd asks curiously. They already know where a tower is gonna be with the one they already have.
"Well, first of all, we can try to find out how he plans to use the internet."
"Cool and then you send us in after him, so we can crack a few heads," Ulrich grins at the thought.
"That's about it. But wait, getting you into the internet isn't all that easy. So first, let's get a handle on what his scheme is," He taps enter. "Here we go." He pulls up a map of the web, pumping a fist. "Yeah! Hey, where is Amy, anyway? She should be here for this."
"Don't you remember? She spent the summer with her...parents," Aelita glances away awkwardly. Jeremy cringes at the memory. Ever since Amy found out that Franz Hopper is her father, she's spent less and less time talking with her parents. However, her mother insisted on taking her on a cruise this summer, with her father involved. He couldn't imagine what she had to go through.
"She said her flight was delayed about an hour ago," Yumi shrugs at him. "I just hope she'll be okay this semester, it must've been hard going on a trip with people you don't really know anymore."
Odd sighs as he didn't want to think about how much he hated her dad again. He couldn't talk to her the whole two weeks because she was in a different time zone.
Two weeks spent waiting to see her again.
Two weeks away from her.
Two weeks without his sweet little Ames.
And now that she was coming back and on her way, he realized just how much he had missed her. The thoughts were always there, lingering in his mind as he was on vacation with his family. But now he feels it, the need to hold her and kiss her...the need to simply be with her. He could see it now, her face when she saw him again.
The elevator soon opens and Amy stands there, holding her duffel bag. "Ames!" Odd smiles at the sight of her.
"Odd!" She jumps forward, hugging him in glee. He smiles at her and pulls her in for a brief kiss.
"How was the cruise? Was it awkward?" Ulrich asks her.
"Long story short, he demanded some 'quality' time with me, she got me my own room, and then he spent the rest of it on the phone," She rolls her eyes at the thought. "Not to mention he won't say anything about Dad."
"You have no idea how much I missed you," Odd whispers to her.
"I missed you too," She giggles at him. "Sorry I couldn't call."
"It was worth the wait," He winks at her. "Well, let me remind you we have to pick up our class schedules before lunch, so let's move."
Jeremy trails after them while Yumi stays behind. "Ulrich, wait a second." She calls out, scooping up the pieces. "You know, I did a lot of thinking during the summer," She stands up, board in hand. "And I have something important to tell you."
"Tell me. I'm listening," He stares at her, wondering just what she has on her mind. Was she going to tell him what he wanted to hear? Her true feelings?
She closes her eyes, looking away as the others are waiting for them.
"Hey, come on," Odd calls out.
"Be right there. I'll tell you later, okay?"
"Something important to tell you?" Odd asks as they wait for the others to come back. "Like what?"
"I have no idea," He answers honestly.
"You think maybe she wants you to ask her to marry her?" Odd wiggles his eyes. Amy busts out laughing as Ulrich looks on in amusement.
"Yeah right. I was gonna ask you to be my maid of honor, Odd."
"No class on Saturday morning, meaning that on Friday night..." They look up to see Sissi approaching. Herb catches up to her.
"We can go to the movies?" He asks hopefully. He was still pinning after Sissi...Ulrich didn't even like her and yet she still pursued him.
"Forget it. It means I can go to the movies," She leaves them behind as she walks up to Ulrich. "Hello, Ulrich! You know we're in the same class again. Cool, huh?"
Amy silently rolls her eyes. "Yeah, cool," He deadpans in the opposite of excitement.
"If cool means our worst nightmare, then you're right. Being in the same class is really cool," Odd jokes and instead of firing back with an insult, she smirks.
"Very funny. Have yourself a good laugh, Odd. Enjoy it, get it out of your system," She grasps his chin. "Because in a few seconds, you're gonna be crying." She kisses him on the nose, shocking both Odd and Amy.
"HEY!" Amy shouts at her. "Sissi, you witch! Don't kiss him ever again or you'll regret it!"
"See you real soon, Odd," She waves as she walks away, ignoring Amy.
"Did you see that?" Odd jerks a thumb to her as the others walk up to them. They're all silent and sad. "Hey, why so sad?"
"You're not in the same class as we are," Jeremy glances away.
"I'm not?!" Odd walks up to him in shock.
"But why?" Amy frowns in disappointment. She just got back here; now she and Odd are in different classes?
"If XANA attacks, what do we do without him?" Aelita asks Jeremy, who shrugs.
"It was already complicated with Yumi, now it's gonna be impossible to get organized."
"What's more, I'm not gonna be able to copy off you. My grades are really gonna go down the tubes," He crosses his arms in thought. "Well, there's only one thing to do!" He grabs Amy's hand and starts walking off. She shouts in surprise as he drags her along.
"Yeah, what's that?" Jeremy asks curiously.
"Go for broke!" He declares, Amy just shrugging cluelessly at them. The bell rings as they stare after him.
"Okay, while he's going for broke, we'll go for lunch," Jeremy walks off with Aelita. Yumi is about to leave, but Ulrich stops her.
"Hang on! What was it you wanted to tell me?"
She looks away from him as she didn't want to see his face. Now with this. "I wanted to say that I-"
"Hey Yumi."
They look to see William standing there with a smile. "It's really great to see you again. Did you have a good vacation?"
"I'll tell you later, okay?" She whispers to him and walks off with the boy. Ulrich glares as the two leave. He really needed to know what Yumi had to say. It could make or break their...relationship. But now she's spending time with William again?
Odd looks up at the secretary, Mrs. Weber, clasping his hands. "I really have to see him, ma'am! It's a matter of life and death!"
"I'm sorry, Odd," She crosses her arms, looking away. He's been there a few times for her to know his first name. "Mr. Delmas is not seeing any students this morning."
"I'm not here as a student, I'm...here as a friend," He closes his eyes. Amy raises a brow at him, wondering where he's going with this.
"A friend?" She asks slowly, giving Amy a look. She just shrugs.
"Yes, I mean as a friend of Sissi's. There's something really serious going on, and I've got to speak to the principal!" He insists to her, "Man to man!"
They stare at each other for what seems like forever. She knew that if she sent him away, it could cost the principal's trust. And he'd want to know if his daughter was in trouble...
"I'll see what I can do," She sighs in defeat. Amy looks at Odd in shock, who winks.
"By the way, Ames, when I tell you what happened in there, will you promise not to be mad at me?" He whispers to her.
"Mad?" She asks in confusion, wondering what he could possibly say or do to make her mad. "Why do you say that?"
"Sorry, sir," Mrs. Weber speaks on the phone, "Odd Della Robbia insists on seeing you."
"YES!" Odd cheers, cringing as she heard that. He giggles sheepishly and Amy rolls her eyes.
"I'll wait here with her," Amy whispers to him. "You can do this."
"Thanks."
At the cafeteria, Jeremy, Aelita, and Ulrich are enjoying their lunch. "Jim wants to start up a basketball team this year. Seems he played pro ball."
Yumi comes in. "But he would rather not talk about it!" The three say in unison, laughing as Yumi sits down. Ulrich leans in, hoping he can finally get an answer.
"Well, what did you want to tell me?"
"Hello!" Hiroki sings, a brown-haired boy his age grinning.
"Oh, Hiroki, what do you want?" Yumi holds her hair.
"Just wanted to say hello," Hiroki smiles innocently. "Aren't you gonna introduce me? I wanna meet Odd and Amy, where are they?"
"NO! And none of your business!" She yells at him in annoyance.
"Cool it, sis," He holds up his hands in defense, his friend looking away awkwardly. "I was gonna introduce my new pal, Johnny."
Johnny waves, smiling widely. She narrows her eyes at him, irritated. "Listen, Hiroki, just because you're in junior high now doesn't mean you have to follow me around, okay bro?"
"Be nice or I'll rat on you when you come home late!" He threatens, crossing his arms.
"Oh!" She growls in annoyance, wondering how he knew about that. Either way, she wanted him to scram. He finally leaves and she crosses her arms. "What a dork! I'm so glad that you and Amy don't have any other siblings, Aelita!"
"Your big sister's really gorgeous," Johnny comments to Hiroki.
"You're out of your mind," He simply tells his friend.
Mr. Delmas looks at a picture of a scowling Sissi. "So, it seems my Elizabeth has a problem."
"Well sir, when she found out that we weren't in the same class this year," Odd tries to look humble, rubbing his neck. "She just flipped."
"Hmm, I see. I suppose I'll have to try reasoning with her. There's not much else I can do about it. Even with Amelia, it seems that the ladies still fancy you," He glances away. He had heard about them from the Kadic News.
"I'm sorry to contradict you, sir, but you see, all you have to do is put us in the same class and presto, problem solved."
Mr. Delmas closes his eyes, shaking his head. "Impossible, it's far too complicated to change the composition of classes, and in addition, Mr. Morales was quite clear when he requested that Stern, Belpois, Smith, and you should be separated."
"Jim?!" Odd exclaims in shock. "But why?!"
"I have no idea. Why not ask him?" Mr. Delmas implies.
"So?" Amy stands up as Odd gets out of the room. "How did it go?"
"It's Jim who asked for me to be in different classes!" Odd crosses his arms bitterly and her eyes widen.
"Jim? Ah, he must be paranoid that we'll do something again. People like him and Sissi can never get off our backs!" She narrows her eyes in annoyance. Seriously, after a cruise with her 'father', the last thing she needed was someone else trying to shake things up.
"Uh, but...I tried to convince him by implying that Sissi missed me," He rubs her neck sheepishly. She raises an eyebrow at him, an eye twitching. "Hey, she kissed me on the nose, I thought it made sense to pick her!"
"Well...at least we have a lead. But Odd?"
"Yeah?" He winces, hoping she wouldn't yell at him.
"Please don't ever tell me that again."
"Agreed."
Jeremy taps his finger against the table as he looks at the program, still in the cafeteria. It scans for XANA, eventually localizing him.
"Fantastic! The super scan has located XANA! I'm off to the factory. Gotta find out more," He takes his laptop and walks off.
"Wait up, I'll go with you," Aelita drops her yogurt and trails after him. Ulrich opens his eyes. Finally, they were alone.
"Okay, what I wanted to say was that, well, during all last year, I, see-"
"Ulrich!" He narrows his eyes, irritated even more now. He grunts in frustration, standing up as Sissi walks over. "I just got here and you're leaving? How come?"
"GUESS!" He shouts in her face, walking off with Yumi. She cringes at his bad mood.
Odd knocks at Jim's door, but he's not there. "Jim? Can we come in?" He knocks again and he opens it, letting Amy inside first. He glances around the tiny room as the gym teacher is nowhere to be found. "As usual, he's never there when you need him!"
Amy chuckles, looking at something on the bed. They raise their brows in surprise to see a photo. It's Jim in a white disco outfit, dancing with his hair slicked up and a smile on his face.
"Huh. You learn something new everyday," Amy picks it up.
"Hmm," Odd smirks at it. He had just the plan. "Pretty funky there, Jim..."
"Oh, this better not be going where I think it's going," Amy sighs slowly, pinching her nose.
"Okay, nobody'll bother us here," Ulrich and Yumi walk to a secluded part of the woods. After all the interruptions, the need for privacy was growing by the hour. "Go on, I'm listening."
"Right..." She lifts her head up, not bothering to look at him. "I think we've both been running around in circles."
"We have?" He raises a brow in confusion. He thought things were going well. They were friends, and he didn't think that there was a problem. Sure, he has...something for Yumi, but risking their friendship...their sanctity with their friends...
"One day we're together, the next day we're not. One day you're jealous, the next day I am, and that's why we've gotta clear up our relationship. We can be friends, but that's all."
"Huh?" He is horrified by her explanation.
We can be friends, but that's all.
We can be friends, but that's all.
We can be friends, but that's all.
The seven words stay in his mind as he just stands there. What could he say after all that? What did she mean, friends and that's all?
Jeremy is working to localizing XANA, but he gets an alert from the computer. "Uh oh."
"What's wrong, Jeremy?" Aelita asks in concern.
"We've got company. XANA has sent a ton of monsters to Sector Five." He focuses on a room that he's never seen before.
"He's probably mad that we found him," Aelita suggests and then there's another beep.
"Well, that could be it...but then what is he planning to do there with all of his troops?" Any army like that had to be for something big. And if XANA wanted to do something big, it could mean trouble for not only them, but for the Earth.
"I'll head for the scanner room," She runs towards the elevator. He closes his eyes. Over the summer, he has gotten less lenient on making Aelita wait for the others. And he had to know what XANA was up to, so he could prepare.
"Okay, I'll warn the others." He calls up Ulrich first.
"But...what's that supposed to mean, friends, that's all?" Ulrich asks once he's gotten past the shock. Yumi just looks away, arms crossed.
"Isn't it clear?" She's tired of all the ambiguous relationship they have. She just wanted to have friends and no boy drama. Even if it meant hurting him or William.
Ulrich's phone rings and he stares at her for a few seconds. "Yeah, okay, friends and that's all," He says reluctantly. "Fantastic. That's just great. But Jeremy," He backs away towards the bench, sitting down. "Okay, fantastic, that's just great. I know, I'm, yeah, we're on our way."
Yumi narrows her eyes at him, glad that he agrees. Nothing more than friends.
"Jim Morales," Odd does a search of the teacher on Jeremy's computer. "Disco film, enter."
Amy stands behind him and he smiles at her presence, glad that he's not alone in this. Over time, when he was thinking about Amy, he realized that he wanted to ask her to be really official. He couldn't stand it when she's not around and he was done dating other girls. He hasn't even met a girl in their grade because he found one who really gets him.
"Hey, there it is!" Amy points to a link and he smirks. When he opens it, it immediately starts with Jim pumping a finger into the air.
"Ha ha ha! Bingo!"
Jim twirls his fingers around, both Amy and Odd laughing at how ridiculous he looks. He bops onto the dance floor, both giggling.
"Paco, the King of Disco," Odd holds up a blank disc. "Now I see why you'd rather not talk about it, Mr. Morales!" He inserts the disc. "Our gym teacher really burns up the dance floor," Odd burns the disc so that the video is on it. "And we're gonna burn it on a little CD!"
As he's laughing, Amy's phone rings. She answers it. "Yes, Jeremy? We'll be right there."
Odd encloses the CD into a cover, smirking. They run off to go meet the others. "Oh, Jim!" They back away as they step inside. "Just the man I wanted to see."
"Oh really? What about, huh?" He smirks down at them, wondering where this was going.
"Oh, disco," Odd says casually.
"No kidding! Aw, I love disco," He does some moves from the video, Amy covering her hand with her mouth to suppress a laugh. Seeing it in person was just as funny as seeing it online. "I was even pretty good at it back in the old days."
Odd winks at Amy. "I can see that. Groovy! I guess you know all about the film: Paco, the King of Disco?"
Jim's eyes widen as he stops dancing. How did they know about that? Odd giggles as he twirls the disc with his finger.
"Uh, uh, no! Never heard of it," He denies, biting his lip.
"Oh, no?" Odd asks teasingly. "It's a fantastic film. I was gonna submit to Gustav Chardin for his film club."
"Where are you going with this?" Amy whispers to him and he puts a finger to her lips, shushing her. Jim cringes, crossing his arms. He had to make sure he didn't look suspicious.
"I'm not sure that dud is worth showing at a film club."
"Oh, so then you have seen it, Jim?" Odd interrogates as he looks away. Amy then realizes what Odd is doing. He's gonna blackmail Jim into letting him back into their classes. She knew that it was crucial to do this task, but blackmail? Surely there was another way to convince Jim to let Odd back in...
"Uh, yeah, no! I mean, I-I'd rather not talk about it!"
"Odd, don't," Amy warns him. She really did not want to get on Jim's bad side any further than it already is. He already suspects her of troublemaking whenever she's leaving her room, thinking that she's gonna go see Odd...not that she doesn't do that already.
"Sure, no problem," Odd closes his eyes, closing his eyes as Jim is stuttering. "You know, I got really interested in the film club because I'm pretty lonesome now that all my friends and Ames are in a different class! If you get what I'm driving at," He winks at Jim, waving the film in his hands.
"Hey, gimme that right now!" He lunges towards them and Odd grabs Amy's hand, running off with her. The door closes on Jim and he falls to the ground, while they head for the factory.
In the elevator shaft, the tension is high as Yumi's words have put a strain on their relationship. They don't look to each other and they stand in opposite directions. The elevator finally lands at the lab and Jeremy turns around to them.
"Hey, you guys," He notices their sour faces. "What's the matter, huh? Is there a problem?"
"Nope. No problem at all," Ulrich deadpans, "We're the best of friends."
Yumi huffs as she says nothing.
"Great, that's a relief," Jeremy smiles, unable to tell the sarcasm dripping from Ulrich's voice. "Head for the scanners. Aelita's there already."
Amy and Odd arrive at the manhole cover. Odd pulls it, Amy looking around for Jim. She gives a thumbs up as she sees no one and jumps inside, Odd crawling after her. Jim runs into the park, growling in frustration when he sees the two are gone.
The elevator opens again and Jeremy looks back to see a panting Odd and Amy. The running from a chasing Jim tired them out a bit. He's a gym teacher, of course he can run fast.
"About time," Jeremy comments as Odd slowly slides down against the wall. Amy picks him back up, wiping her forehead. "Everyone else is waiting for you two."
They step into two scanners. "Transfer Odd. Transfer Amy. Scanner Odd. Scanner Amy. Virtualization."
The two land in the ice sector behind everyone else as they're on their vehicles. The Overboard and OverRunner appear behind them and they flip onto their rides.
"Here we go," Yumi announces, taking off with Aelita. The others follow as Odd flies next to Ulrich.
"What took you so long?"
"I think I found a way to get back into your class," He explains, Yumi smiling.
"You did, how?"
"It's easy. I decided to blackmail Jim," He calls out to Yumi.
"Blackmail Jim? But with what?" Aelita asks in confusion.
"I had nothing to do with this idea," Amy raises a hand before Odd explains it.
"We know a secret he'd rather not talk about," Odd taps his chin. "And that he doesn't want anyone else to talk about it."
"You know what?" Ulrich asks, turning to him. "I think blackmail's really lame."
"Whoa!" Odd puts his hands on his hips. "Since when did you get so high and mighty? The end justifies the means, doesn't it?"
"No," Everyone else says, shaking their heads. Aelita shakes her head, giving Odd a disapproving look.
"Et tu, Ames?" Odd turns to the fairy, who cringes.
"Well, I did try to talk you out of it, remember...?"
Odd pouts and flies up ahead. "Okay, thanks for your support! I bet you'd be happy without me in class!" He gets further ahead, the others gasping at him.
"Odd, come on!" Amy speeds faster to talk to him. He jumps off, sliding to the edge.
"Okay Jeremy, we're at the edge of the sector."
"Are you okay?" Amy asks him in concern and he waves it off.
"When I get back into class with you, I will be," He wraps his tail around her waist and she smiles at him.
"Great, now get into position, and I'll enter the code Scipio," Jeremy does so and the transporter arrives just as the others join Odd and Amy. It spins around and captures them, going all the way to Sector Five. "Holosphere system online."
The transporter spins into the Arena and the room spins around. They stand there silently as the wall opens. "So, where are all these monsters?" Ulrich pulls out his sword, ready to fight and get his mind off of what happened with Yumi.
"Well, what do you know? They're all in a room just below your feet," He sees red dots around an object that floats in the center of the room. "I've never seen that one before. We haven't been there yet."
"But...what are they doing in there?" Aelita wonders.
"How am I supposed to know? You're the ones on site. Listen, instead of talking, head for that room, guys."
"Can we get in through here?" Ulrich asks, wanting an easy way around this time.
"No, access is through the Celestial Dome. Hurry up."
They run through the wall, stopping as the door opens into a hallway. They run inside to get to the Core Zone.
"Don't forget to deactivate the countdown, or you'll be back home a lot sooner than you think." They have six minutes this time. "You've only got a few minutes to find the key."
They stop as the room is full of pillars high and low. "Key in sight," Odd looks at the key across the room. They glance at all the pillars standing in their path. Odd steps back a few feet and jumps, gripping the side with his claws. He climbs back up, landing on the top on all fours. "I thought I had my A game going."
Yumi, Ulrich, Amy, and Aelita land on the same pillar. "I'll go and get it," Aelita winks at him, Amy giggling. Aelita jumps across with no problem. The others stare at her in shock. Clearly she's adapted over time...
There's only 7 seconds left. "Five."
Aelita jumps towards the last one. "Four."
She lands on the pillar underneath the key. "Three."
Aelita leaps towards the key. "Two."
She places her hand on it. "One!" She presses it just in time.
"Zero!"
"Nice one, Aelita."
She smiles, looking at her friends staring after her. Then she feels movement, looking towards the ground. "I think you all better get here ASAP!"
The pillars around her are moving now. The four jump, everyone reaching her except Odd. He jumps forward and on all fours, landing on the side. "Ow!"
"Your hand," Ulrich holds his hand out as Odd struggles to climb up. He glances below him to see another pillar approaching, threatening to crush him. He quickly grabs Ulrich's hand, Amy helping the ninja to help him up just before Odd could get crushed. "Looks like you got your Z game going."
"Lay off, will you?" Odd looks away with a pout.
"It's okay," Amy places a hand on his shoulder. "You're just having a slump."
Odd glances at Yumi, leaning towards Ulrich. "Did you talk to her?"
"Lay off, will you?" Ulrich asks in the same tone as Odd. Amy raises a brow, looking at Odd. He just shrugs, knowing fully well that something was wrong.
The pillar they're standing on lowers itself to the door and they arrive at the elevator.
"Jeremy, we're at the elevator!" Yumi calls out.
"That's good. There are more and more monsters in that mysterious room. I've got a bad feeling about this."
"Maybe there's something XANA wants from that room," Amy suggests as he looks at the room again. He sees an opening at the bottom of the Celestial Dome.
They stop at the edge of the platform, jumping onto the elevator. They arrive at the entrance of the Celestial Dome, staring as the door opens. They enter the Dome.
"We're here, Jeremy. Where do we go now to crack some monsters' heads?" Ulrich wonders and Amy rolls her eyes.
"Boys..." She murmurs in irritation.
"Head for the south pole of the dome. That's where you can get into the chamber," He looks at the entrance.
"Vehicles, Jeremy!" Yumi urges.
"Coming up," He gets to work on materializing them.
"Hey, maybe that's the place where XANA has his annual monsters' ball," Odd jokes, turning to the others. "Cuz up to now, we haven't seen any."
"Right," Ulrich glances around. "But look over there!"
Two Mantas come flying in, firing at them. Yumi slides in front of Aelita, blocking the lasers with her fans. Odd fires his arrows while Amy and Ulrich throw their weapons. Odd's arrows destroy one while the sword and spear also hit it.
"How's that, huh? Bullseye!" Odd cheers, backflipping. "There's the A-game! Ha." He ducks Ulrich's flying sword as Amy catches her spear.
"Get real, man. That was me who got him."
"Huh? It was?" Odd turns to him in confusion.
"This isn't the time for competition," Amy reminds them.
"Amy's right, this is no time to compete with each other. Move out!"
Their vehicles finally appear and they jump on, Odd taking off first. Ulrich follows, but the lone Manta fires at Yumi, who moves out of the way. She lands in front of Aelita and the elf girl jumps on. The Manta chases after them and fires at Odd. He swerves left and right, jumping over another laser. It continues to chase them as they fly around, the Manta flying past an opening and closing entrance.
"Hm," Amy eyes it curiously.
"Hang on, Aelita!" Yumi warns, pulling out her fan as another Manta appears from in front. She dodges the lasers in all directions and they all move out of the way. Ulrich glances at the monster behind them, the other one appear right beside him. Yumi and Amy fly up to the entrance at the bottom of the dome.
"You're there. Can you see the access?"
"It's pretty hard to miss, huh?" Yumi comments.
"Great. Go on in." The girls fly inside the room. "Hey, what are you guys doing? Amy, Yumi, and Aelita are already in the passage!"
Ulrich blocks lasers from behind with his sword. "Yeah, we know that. If Odd didn't have an XYZ game going, we'd be there by now!"
"If this monster would just stop flying for a few seconds!" Odd retorts back, firing rapidly and missing at the Manta. He tries to fire, but he can't. "Oh!"
"Okay, I get the picture. I'll give you some laser arrows," Jeremy gets to work, focusing on Odd's hand. Odd comes to a stop, moving all the way backwards to the Manta. He jumps onto the monster, digging his claws into it. "Alright, ugly, now we're gonna see what you're made of!"
He cheers as he steers the monster, which fires out of control. Odd sinks his claws in deeper, making the Manta go faster.
"Nutcase," Ulrich simply comments, Jeremy pressing enter.
"You've got a full supply."
"Cool!" Odd grins, flying over to the entrance. He drags his claws and the Manta flies upwards. "Ulrich!"
Ulrich revs up his bike and Odd lets go. "Now!" The Manta gets destroyed when the edges of the entrance touches it. Odd laughs, spinning around. He destroys the last Manta, landing behind Ulrich.
"Not bad." He drives to the entrance, flying inside.
"Odd and Ulrich are in the tunnel," Jeremy reports to the girls, who are already standing near the key.
"At last. Now we can trip the mechanism and go."
The boys jump off the bike. "Hi. How are you, ladies?"
"A little impatient," Aelita tells him, Amy pressing the key.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting, my lady. I'll make it up to you," Odd winks at Amy.
"Then you better buy me some chocolate ice cream tonight," She smiles smugly.
"Ouch. Good luck getting the one she likes all the way across town," Ulrich replies to Odd. They look to see a flight of stairs appearing next to them. Aelita jumps up first, followed by Odd. Ulrich super sprints up the stairs while Yumi backflips. Amy frontflips after them. They enter a large room that has the staircase continuing.
"Jeremy, I think we're here," Yumi beams as they've finally reached their destination.
"Can you see the monsters? What are they doing?" Jeremy asks curiously as the five come to a stop. They can see the XANA symbol on the ceiling, and near the top is a sphere that shows all five sectors of Lyoko as a map. It's protected by two moving cube shields, which the monsters are firing at.
"They're firing at some sort of blue ball," Ulrich points up at it.
"I don't think that's a ball," Amy murmurs as she gets a closer look.
"How can you tell?" Aelita wonders.
"See the map inside the sphere?" She points up at it.
"If XANA wants it destroyed, then it's gotta be important like Amy said." Jeremy clenches a fist.
"Okay, then it's down with the Creepers!" Odd declares.
"Right," Jeremy agrees with him. "I'm gonna try to find out more about that sphere." He narrows his eyes suspiciously. Why did he feel impending doom about this specific sphere?
They run up the stairs to get closer to the monsters. Two Mantas come flying towards them, firing their lasers. They jump as they avoid them, Yumi running up to the edge of a platform.
"I'll handle those two!" She pulls out her fans, blocking the lasers. "You head for the sphere! Ya!" She jumps off and lands on a Manta. She leaps towards the other one, landing in front of the symbol. Yumi throws down her fans in a X right in the center. She jumps off as her fans come back. However, she's fired at twice before she disappears.
"Yumi!" Ulrich calls out in concern, but they couldn't stop now. Odd flips down a step, dodging lasers. He lands near Ulrich.
"Forget it!" He fires up at the Manta. "Concentrate on our monster friends."
"Odd's right!" Amy backflips, landing behind them. Odd fires at a Creeper across from him, destroying it dead on.
"Hey, this is not just an A-game. It's more like an A-plus!" Odd teases, Amy rolling her eyes.
"Now if only your Lyoko skills were as good as the ones on Earth!"
Ulrich laughs and Amy ducks her head as a laser narrowly misses her. Odd yelps as he gets hit and then devirtualizes right next to the two.
"Odd!" Amy cries out, Ulrich eyeing the Manta.
"Super Sprint!" He runs up the stairs, Amy running after him at normal speed. They land in front of Aelita, blocking the lasers from the Manta. When it passes by, Ulrich slices at it, destroying it in mid-air.
"Got anything new, Jeremy?" Amy calls out.
"I don't believe it," He murmurs as he stares at the sphere. "Amy, Ulrich, listen. Whatever you do, you've got to stop the Creepers from destroying the sphere!"
"Why?"
"Because that is the heart of Lyoko! The direct access to all the core programs of the virtual world! If the monsters destroy it, it's game over for good for Lyoko!" Odd and Yumi arrive. "Hurry up. The sphere has only two protective layers. And the first one just blew!"
Odd and Yumi turn to the screen, wide-eyed.
Ulrich jumps up the stairs, Amy staying behind with Aelita. He reaches a Creeper and attacks once it turns around, getting rid of it. Another Creeper not too far away fires at him and he blocks them, deflecting a laser back at the monster. A third one fires and he does the same thing. The laser passes through the sphere as it hits the Creeper. Unfortunately, a fourth one devirtualizes him.
"Oh no!" Amy sweats a bit, seeing a Manta. She fires at it, hitting the symbol. The fourth Creeper hits her and she falls down, devirtualizing.
"Aelita. It's your turn now," Jeremy says seriously.
"Her turn for what?" Odd asks in confusion. "She can't do anything."
"Watch," Jeremy raises an amused brow, smirking with a chuckle.
A Creeper crawls underneath the platform, bringing itself up to Aelita. She backs away slowly as it approaches her. To everyone's surprise, a pink energy ball comes from her right hand. The Creeper fires at her just as she fires back, getting devirtualized. The energy ball hits the Creeper, destroying it.
"Huh?" Odd's mouth opens in shock. "But...how could Aelita have done that?"
"I thought she wasn't able to defend herself," Amy raises a brow.
"Aelita developed some new powers during the vacation. She's perfectly capable of fighting like you can," Jeremy explains to them.
"Jeremy!" Yumi's eyes widen. "Look at that!"
Aelita's ID card depletes and he tries to search for her, but doesn't see her. "Oh no! She's been devirtualized!"
"Are you saying that..."
"That's right," Jeremy interrupts Odd. "I-I can't believe it!"
However, one of the scanners is operational, as if someone's using it. But it couldn't be Ulrich... "What's going on? Come on, hurry up!" Jeremy rushes to the ladder, climbing down.
The scanner opens and Jeremy stands in front of it, looking panicked and out of breath. "Hey, do you realize that you almost gave me a heart attack?"
Aelita giggles as she hugs him. "Would someone tell me what happened?" Ulrich turns to the others.
"Well it seems that even if Aelita loses all of her life points, she won't disappear forever," Odd explains to him, smiling.
"She won't? How come?"
"Of course!" They turn to Jeremy, who's holding Aelita's hands. "I was too dumb to think of it before." He turns back to Aelita. "Ever since you recovered your human memory, you're exactly the same as us. We don't need Code Earth anymore to bring you in."
"That'll really help now that XANA is determined to destroy Lyoko to keep us from finding him on the net," Aelita comments.
"That's great, Aelita. You're a full-fledged Lyoko Warrior from now on!" Yumi gives her a thumbs up.
"I can't wait to see you fight in action," Amy winks at her and Aelita blushes from the praise.
In their room, Ulrich has told Odd what Yumi said. "Just friends and that's all?" He asks in confusion.
"Yep."
"Oh, and what did you say?" Odd wonders as Ulrich leans against the wall.
"I said okay, fantastic," Ulrich replies, though he didn't mean it.
"Okay, fantastic?! What's the matter with you guys? I'll never understand you two. And I thought my love life was complicated when I started having feelings for my best friend!" He stands up, walking towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Ulrich asks curiously.
"To see Jim," Odd says simply.
"Oh yeah? Be careful, good buddy. A bad deed can backfire on you," Ulrich warns him and Odd takes that in, closing the door.
Jim opens his door to see Odd and Amy standing there. "Huh? Hey, I got news for ya, Bonnie and Clyde! If you came here to blackmail me, you'd better think again. Anyone who thinks they can pull the wool over my eyes is gonna be in for a surprise, you hear?!"
"Here," Odd holds out the CD. "Blackmail isn't really my thing. We're very sorry, Jim."
"We?" Amy asks, crossing her arms.
"I'm very sorry," Odd corrects himself. He takes Amy's hand and he walks past a surprised Jim.
"Odd?"
They turn around to him. "Do you mean you did it just to be with your pals and your girlfriend?"
"Not my boyfriend," Amy mutters at him.
"Well, boarding school is tough enough," Odd puts his hands behind his back. "But, without your friends..."
"Let me see what I can do to help," Jim narrows his eyes admittedly.
"Really?!" They beam at him. "Okay, thanks, Jim! You're a real pal!"
"Well, after all, I was young, too," Jim comments with a fond smile.
"No kidding. I wonder what you were like," Odd replies curiously.
"I had blonde curly hair, and, uh," He raises a brow, wondering if he really wanted to tell them that. "And I would rather not talk about it. Now get out of here!"
The two hug each other, laughing as they run out of the building to tell their friends.
"Dinner was great," Amy sighs happily. She really needed a good meal after her summer...Aelita walks next to her as they're heading back to their room. "And I had no regrets giving Odd my dessert."
"When do you ever have regrets giving him food?" Aelita giggles at the thought, Amy laughing along with her.
"True..."
Aelita grins as she comes to a stop, letting Amy take the lead. She opens the door and when she looks up, her mouth opens in surprise. Odd is standing in front of a table that has her favorite cake, chocolate ice cream cake, her favorite smoothie, and her favorite food: ravioli! She smiles as she remembered telling Odd that her mother used to make it for her. She could taste the love behind it in each bite, and it stayed with her until she came to Kadic. The candles on the table are the only thing lighting up the room.
Amy looks back to Aelita in shock, wondering if she knew. But the smirk on her sister's face told her everything. Aelita waves as she closes the door and she slowly turns to Odd. He's in his casual clothes, but she didn't care. He looked handsome either way.
"You got my ice cream!" She beams at him. "It's not exactly ice cream, but I'll take it!"
He grins at her silence and holds out her hand. "May I have this dance, my lady?"
She nods slowly without a second thought and he wraps his arms around her waist. She places her hands on his shoulders and they start swaying side to side.
As they dance, Amy felt like this was a dream and she didn't want to wake up. Odd is such a good dancer; he moves his body so well. His strong arms make her feel safe and appreciated, unlike her parents.
"This is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me," She whispers as she stares into his eyes.
"Anything for you, my sweet little Ames," He whispers back, taking a deep breath. "I actually wanted...to ask you something."
"What is it?" She asks in concern and he chuckles at how cute she looked.
"It's a good thing, I promise." He takes another breath, hoping that he can just say it. "I really like you, Ames. And for the past two weeks...I missed you. I don't want to lose you. You're everything I want and more. Will you...be my girlfriend?"
"Odd...!" Tears come to her eyes as she smiles. "Of course I will!"
He smiles back and pulls her in for a passionate kiss. Amy smiles against it and they continue to kiss as the night comes to a happy end...