It's a late night as Yumi's phone rings. She picks up her mobile that's sitting over her copy of the Kadic News. Then she listens to Jeremy over the phone, sitting up.
"Okay Jeremy, I'm on my way," She sneaks out and closes the gate just as she hears someone approaching on her skateboard. "Hey-"
"Whoa!"
William knocks her down, rubbing his shoulder. "Yumi? What are you doing up so late?"
"I wouldn't exactly call this being up, would you?" She retorts back.
"Sorry, but I was speeding to get back to the dorm," He places his skateboard over his shoulder. "I climbed the wall to go and see Sky Breaker 4, but it was really lame. I did catch Odd and Amy there, though, and they seemed to think the same thing. They definitely left in a hurry after she answered her phone."
"T-The first three were duds, why the big surprise?" She stammers a little, knowing that Jeremy must've called them while they were out on a date.
"Guess I'm just too much of an optimist." Thankfully he didn't catch her nervous tone. "Even when things start badly, I always feel they can get better if you give it time," He smiles at her slyly, but she's too much in a hurry to notice or even care.
"Yeah, okay, right. Well, now I've gotta go," She tries to move past him, but he stops her with his skateboard.
"Really? Where to?"
"To save the world, is that a good enough answer for you?" Yumi narrows her eyes in annoyance. This flirting is not only getting on her nerves, but it's making her late. And it wouldn't be the first time that this has happened...
He smirks at her instead of doing or saying anything. "Let me go, William!"
"Okay, but before I do, you gotta give me a kiss goodnight."
She gasps in surprise, giving a sly look. "Alright, but first close your eyes."
"Great. Well, I guess my evening wasn't a waste after all," He closes his eyes, ready for the kiss, but she runs off in the other direction instead of giving him one. "Yumi? Yumi?" He opens his eyes and sees that she's no longer standing there. "Yumi!"
She arrives in the scanner room, ready to go. "Here I am, Jeremy. You can send me in."
"You got here just in time to welcome Aelita, Odd, Amy, and Ulrich on their return from Lyoko," He smiles, using the rematerialization program.
"You've already deactivated the tower?" She asks in shock. Was she really gone for that long to the point they've already completed the mission?
Ulrich arrives back first. "Hey Yumi, what happened to you?"
Then she turns to Aelita. "Didn't you hear your cell phone ring?"
Odd arrives behind her as Amy arrives behind Ulrich. "Nothing to worry about. I oversleep at least three times a week. Of course, with Ulrich, who snores like a grizzly, it's a question of survival," He helps Amy step out of the scanner, holding her hand.
"Actually, it's you who sleeps like a grizzly," She smirks in amusement as Yumi crosses her arms, knowing the real reason she missed out.
"Actually, it's not only my sleep that's beginning to bring me down..."
The next morning, her class is getting ready to go to the pool. Everyone is standing at the entrance as Jim is taking attendance. "Mathias Burrell."
"Present."
"Emmanuel Maillard."
"Present."
"Maitena Lecuyer."
"Here."
While he's calling out names, William arrives, placing his hand on Yumi's shoulder.
"Christopher M'Bala."
"Hey, you know, last night you pulled a fast one on me. No one has ever humiliated me like that before. What'd you do it for?" He whispers to her.
"Because I find your dumb two-bit Casanova act sickening!" She mutters to his shock.
"But I-"
"In the beginning, it was pretty nice, but now I'm really fed up! So why don't you buzz off, William, and leave me alone," She pushes him away and his mouth is just wide open. He wasn't expecting her to react like that...
"William Dunbar. William Dunbar!"
"OKAY OKAY, I'M NOT DEAF, YOU CAN SEE I'M HERE, CAN'T YA?!" He shouts out of anger, surprising the whole class.
"Dunbar! To the library, out of my sight!" Jim points to his right. "No swimming for you today, you got that?!"
"Anyway, I bet they know what you had to do that was so important last night. And I'm gonna find out what your big secret is! Bet on that," He tells Yumi before storming off, to her ire. He better not ask her friends...
"Don't worry, Jeremy," Aelita calls out as Jeremy is overlooking something from his laptop. "We're gonna make a fabulous report."
"Well, we'd better! It counts for the whole semester," He replies as Ulrich comes up behind him.
"So, what's the latest in the world of Kadic Junior High today?" Ulrich asks Odd. Amy is sitting next to him, his arm around her shoulders while the other is holding the Kadic News.
"Is Judith Nevers going out with Ronaud Limousin?"
"Who are Judith Nevers and Ronaud Limousin?" He asks curiously.
"How should I know? Anyway, it seems they are going out. Ahh, takes me back to when Ames and I were on the front page just a few months ago."
"Just another part of the gossip column," Amy waves it off.
"Oh no," Jeremy stares at his computer as something comes up. "I don't believe it. A XANA alert."
"Not again," Ulrich frowns at him.
"Yeah, and the big problem is that Aelita and me can't get out of history class, not this time."
"Hey, don't sweat it, Einstein," Odd places a hand on Ulrich's shoulder. "Ulrich, Ames, and I will go and get ready. When you get there, you can send us to Lyoko, but finish your report as fast as possible. Hey, wait a minute! Ames, you're good with the supercomputer, right? You can virtualize us!"
"Hypothetically. I've only done it a few times," Amy frowns, crossing her arms.
"Well, we trust you, so it's not like you'll mess up," Ulrich gives her a thumbs up, causing her to laugh.
"Gee thanks. I guess I'll-"
"Hey, Amy!"
They all turn to William who approaches them. "What does he want?" Odd frowns at him that he's calling for his girlfriend.
"I need to talk to you," He says once he comes to a stop in front of them.
"Now?" She questions, glancing at her friends. "I'm kinda-"
"Busy? No you aren't, because you don't have classes right this second. And it's really important."
"Hey, even if she wanted to, why should she?" Ulrich retorts back.
"Yumi's one of her best friends, right?" William keeps on a straight face.
The brunette glances to the others, Aelita and Jeremy shrugging at her. If it's about Yumi, then it's relevant to know about the issue, right?
"Umm...as long as it's quick," Amy rubs her neck. Honestly, Yumi's more like a big sister to her if anything, and if it's concerning her, then she'd want to know. Yumi would've done the same thing in her position.
"Oh yeah, sure."
She leans in towards the boys. "I'll be there as soon as I can, okay?"
"Okay," They both nod in unison, Odd kissing her cheek before the two leave.
"So...what is this about Yumi?" Amy asks as she and William start to walk together.
"She totally blew me off last night when I asked for a kiss! She seems to be hiding something important, and I was wondering if you could tell me."
Her eyes widen as she comes to a stop. First off, of course she'd blow him off, because that happened right after Jeremy called her. And second... "Why are you coming to me about some apparent big secret that Yumi's keeping from you?"
"Everyone around here seems to think you're trustworthy, and you've never told a lie. If anything, you're the nicest girl in school."
Huh. Never thought I had that kind of reputation around here.
"If Yumi wanted you to know, she would've told you herself, if she cared enough to. I'm sorry she blew you off," Truth be told, she really wasn't given his attitude during the zombie attack, "But maybe breaking her trust by asking one of her friends to tell you a secret that you think you know about isn't the right way to approach this. And even if I did know a secret, which I don't, I still wouldn't tell you."
She walks off, causing him to narrow his eyes. He walks off into the park instead of going to the library, kicking a rock. "Second-rate Casanova, huh? Some big help Amy was too." He suddenly comes to a stop as he sees Odd and Ulrich over the secret passage.
"I can't reach Yumi, she's not picking up," He reports to his friend.
"What's going on with her lately? Last night and then now," Odd jumps onto the ladder. "Ames is on her way, though. Said she'll meet us soon."
William watches them from behind a tree, smirking.
Aelita places in a slide into the project, showing the title. "Sir, is it okay if we begin now?" Jeremy asks Mr. Fumet.
"Yes, you may..." He looks around the room for three missing students. "But where are Odd, Amelia, and Ulrich?"
"Uh, well, uh...you see sir, they had something important to do and-"
"More important than my class?" Mr. Fumet crosses his arms with a stern look.
"Well, actually...I wasn't supposed to tell you, but they're preparing a surprise for your class, Mr. Fumet. Amy is actually the group leader, and that's why she went with them!" He's obviously lying, but he'll have to launch a return in time so that his friends don't get in trouble...Amy didn't need an absence on her perfect attendance record.
"Surprise? What kind of surprise?"
"It's, um...it's a big historical show in your honor!"
"Oh..." Mr. Fumet gives a pleased smile. "Why, I'd never have guessed. I'll excuse their absence this time."
"And now sir, can we begin?" Aelita asks pointedly, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible.
"Yes, yes, of course, go on, tell us everything you know about World War I."
"On June 28th, 1914, a Serbian student assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand," Jeremy starts off, Aelita using the projector to change the slides. "Nephew and heir to the Austro-Hungarian emperor, Franz Joseph. This took place in Bosnia, Herzegovina. The political alliances were reinforced and within a few days, all of Europe became involved."
Nicolas tries to write all of this down as quick as he can, but Jeremy is going too fast. "Serbia, Russia, France, Great Britain were one side and Germany, Austria-Hungary on the other. Other countries became part of the conflict. Germany invaded Belgium. Italy, Greece, Romania, and the US joined the Allies, Turkey and Bulgaria supporting Central Europe."
Odd skids off the railing with his skateboard, Ulrich doing the same thing a few feet away. While they're skating, William is running after them. He lets out an exhausted pant, staring after the two boys. He couldn't help but think that this is a lot of effort to be keeping this secret...
The two arrive at the ladder, sliding to a stop.
"The armistice treaty signed in late October and early November of 1918 put an end to the fighting, but peace treaties had to be drawn up for a definitive end to the war that most people hoped would be the war to end all wars, clearing the way for a lasting peace. Finally in Paris, the victorious countries united in a peace conference with the twofold mission of creating a league of nations." The white dove had to be turned around by Aelita. "And the adoption of peace treaties submitted to the defeated nations," Jeremy throws down the paper after finishing.
"I hope that wasn't too long!"
"Hmm..." Mr. Fumet just stares, everyone else trying to process what just happened.
"Sir, may I go to the infirmary?" Jeremy pretends to hold his head. "I've got a bit of a headache."
"Um, I do too, sir," Aelita raises a finger.
"Yes yes, go on, go on." He takes off his glasses. "I'm not feeling too well either all of a sudden..."
Odd and Ulrich slide down the ropes, William peeking over the railing. "Ulrich, try Yumi's mobile again. She's bound to answer sooner or later."
William smirks at the elevator arriving.
At the pool, Yumi's mobile is actually in her backpack, but she's sitting away from it. "Today we're going to have a little lesson in synchronized swimming. And that means no speed competition, no stopwatches, just pure grace! As someone once said, a picture's worth a thousand words, here's a demonstration! Admire the finesse..." He cannonballs into the water before doing the routine, which looks absolutely ridiculous from him.
"You know what I think? That's about as graceful as tractor pulling," Yumi whispers to another student, who giggles.
Amy arrives in the lab, fists clenched as she storms over to the computer. "Huh?" Odd asks in surprise. "What's wrong, Ames? What did William wanna talk about?"
"He was asking me about Yumi's secret escapade last night, wondering if I knew our secret!" She grits her teeth, crossing her arms.
"What?!" The boys exclaim in surprise.
"Wait, what did you tell him?" Odd turns her around so that she's facing them.
"I told him that whatever it was, that he had to buzz off me! What did you think I told him?! Apparently, I'm so trustworthy, that he thought I was actually gonna say something to him about it, which I would never do! Not to mention I don't wanna anger Yumi."
"I don't believe him," Ulrich shakes his head.
"Well, stupid or not, he was right. You're giving Sissi a run for her money on popularity," Odd places his hands on his hips with a smirk. Amy snickers, pushing him away slightly.
"Odd! Stop it."
"There's my little Ames," He pulls her in for a hug.
"Shh, Ulrich's standing right there!" She reminds him, blushing a little. Ulrich just turns away instead of staring.
"So I'm guessing that's a no on the virtualization from you," He calls out.
"Yeah...sorry, but I'm still too angry from what William tried to do. Let's just wait for Aelita and Jeremy."
"You think we'll get a good grade?" Aelita asks the boy as they're arriving in the factory. "We said all we wanted to, but it was a little fast."
"Fumet said a one-page presentation. He didn't give us any time limits," Jeremy replies as William is pressing his back against the wall.
"It seems that lately XANA's getting more and more active. We're constantly on Lyoko."
William sneaks into the elevator. "Hey, sorry to interrupt, but, uh, you mind telling me who this XANA dude is?"
Odd is playing around with the keyboard, holding Amy's hand as she's leaning against the chair. The elevator opens and they turn to who's arrived.
"Oh, there you are. You've already started things up. Your turn, Einstein."
The three gasp in surprise as William is standing between their friends, who don't look happy about this at all. "What's William doing here?!"
"I guess he must've followed you guys," Jeremy points to them as William is looking around.
"You just don't give up, do you?" Amy chuckles in disbelief.
"Wow, what is this thing, huh?" He points to the middle of the room. "And what do you guys do in here?"
"Why don't I clobber him?" Ulrich punches his fists together.
"Yeah, try it if you think you're good enough!" William crosses his arms in anger.
"Calm down," Jeremy warns the two. "Our priority now is the tower. Afterwards, a simple return to the past and William won't remember a thing."
"I wouldn't bet on that, huh? I remember everything, and I'm great at holding a grudge," He narrows his eyes.
"Sure you are," Amy mutters, remembering when he helped them out with the Krabs on Earth and he doesn't remember that.
"Where's Yumi?" Aelita glances around the room.
"She's unreachable," Ulrich informs her.
"So that's her secret, a supercomputer hideout, that's incredible. Now I understand why she didn't wanna tell me anything...hey wait a minute, you lied right to my face," He whips around to Amy, pointing a finger at her. "I asked you exactly what she was hiding and you said you didn't know anything!"
"You asked her what?" Aelita asks in surprise.
"Hey, she said what she had to so that this wouldn't happen," Odd crosses his arms with an angry frown towards him.
"If I had decided it was any of your business, which it's not, we do a serious job here. I can't go around and tell people my friends' secrets just because you ask me to," Amy glares at him.
"We're gonna have to make do without Yumi, but I don't like this at all," Jeremy says from the computer.
"I can go and get her if you want," William offers to them, knowing exactly where she is. The boys turn to him and he just smirks in response.
"I hope he's not gonna rat on us to the principal," Ulrich says once the older boy has left.
"That's not his style, and besides, this is an emergency, Ulrich. We need Yumi, we don't know what kind of dirty trick XANA's preparing," Odd explains to him. Amy sighs, closing her eyes.
"I don't like this either, but Odd is right..." For once, she'll let her grudge against him go, but after that, she's still gonna dislike him. And coming from someone like her, that says a lot.
As William is running across the bridge, a man stands in front of the entrance to the building. He reveals explosives...and also XANA eyes.
"Transfer Aelita," Jeremy starts up the program. "Transfer Odd. Transfer Ulrich. Scanner Aelita. Scanner Odd. Scanner Ulrich. Virtualization."
Pressing enter, all three are sent to the ice sector. They land one by one and a few seconds later, Amy lands behind them.
"Here come your vehicles."
The Overboard, Overbike, and OverRunner appear in the sky, flying over in front of their owners. "The activated tower is at the northern edge of the sector. From where you are, you should be able to see its halo."
Alita jumps on behind Odd as the other two jump onto their rides. "Hey, how come you're always right, huh Einstein?" Odd smiles proudly as the tower can be seen from their location.
"Okay Jeremy, we're on it," Ulrich takes off first, followed by Amy and then Odd.
Yumi is doing the synchronized swimming. She reaches the surface and spins around gracefully. Then she sinks into the water and lifts up her legs, moving them around.
"Be like me. Remember my example, my grace!" Jim instructs just as William arrives.
"Emergency, Yumi. Let's go! XANA's launched an attack!" He calls out, distracting her to the point that she loses her focus.
"Listen Dunbar, what is this gibberish? You making fun of me or something?" Jim demands in annoyance.
"No. I mean, not this time," He gives the gym teacher a sly smile. The man just stares at him for a few seconds, wondering what his deal was.
"To the principal's office, on the double!"
"You're right, Jim," Yumi lifts herself onto the edge. "Because of him, I nearly drowned. Let me take him to the principal's office, just to make sure he doesn't run away."
"Good idea. Go on and take him, Miss Ishiyama. That's a very responsible attitude on your part." She says nothing as she gives William a look. Jim points at her. "You could learn a lot from her example, Dunbar!"
"Yes, you're right. I know that Yumi's got a lot she can fill me in on..." William smiles smugly at her.
"Watch it, there are Kankerlots just behind you," Jeremy tells the four. They all turn around to see the monsters approaching.
"Okay, I'll take care of them," Aelita says as there's about over a dozen of them trailing the Warriors. Ulrich speeds up while Aelita holds out her hand. "Energy field," She destroys one. "Do you know how many of them there are?!"
"Um, a big gang of them."
"Thanks, nothing like precision," Aelita teases a little, getting rid of another. Ulrich looks over his shoulder.
"Here we go!"
He takes off into the air, two Kankerlots jumping after him. They land on both sides of his bike and he skids, trying to get rid of them. He skids lower to try and destroy them with the ground, which doesn't work either. He glances between the two of them and gets an idea, smirking. Ulrich hits a Kankerlot against a small ramp. After two more tries, the one on his left is finally destroyed. He does the same with the right one and it falls off, exploding behind him.
"Sorry guys, but I don't play favorites. Same treatment for everyone!" He calls out as two more monsters jump, crawling after Amy's ride. She spins the car around so that it faces them, holding out a hand.
"Frosty Vine!" Ice vines appear, squeezing them until they pop in an explosion.
"Ames!" Odd calls out, pointing up ahead. She glances behind her to see the small gap up ahead. She revs up her ride and spins it around so that it goes over the gap. The boys open their mouths in surprise as she spins to a stop, reversing the car and going up ahead.
The demolition worker plants the charges on some walls as they beep...
The army of Kankerlots are still chasing them. "Aelita, climb aboard," Ulrich tells her. She glances over her shoulder and jumps behind him, landing safely. Odd and Amy speed up while Aelita readies two energy fields, destroying two monsters. She misses one, but then gets him on the second shot. A Kankerlot trails after Odd and he stares at it. Amy glances behind her, Odd nodding to his girlfriend that he's got this. She drives up ahead of him as the monster jumps. He lifts up his left foot, waiting for the right moment. When it lands, he pushes his foot up, sending the Kankerlot flying. Another one appears behind his Overboard and he gives it the same treatment.
"Laser arrow!" Odd destroys one while the other is nearing Amy. "Ames, up ahead!"
She eyes the monster and holds out her finger. "Shattering Ice!" The mini ice arrows get rid of the second one. Odd goes back to Ulrich and Aelita, getting closer.
"Go on, Aelita, hop off."
She lightly leaps off, taking her spot back behind Odd.
The charges are now set, with the detonator being set on top of the catwalk for ten minutes. He stands up, the symbols in his eyes flashing.
"You're closing in on it," Jeremy reports to them.
"Great, tell that to the Kankerlots," Odd jerks a thumb behind him. "They'll be overjoyed."
"Just look at 'em, they're so excited, they're still following us!" Amy exclaims from up front. Aelita fires another energy field, defeating one. Up ahead is the narrow path.
"We'll go separate ways and meet up on the other side," Ulrich tells the others.
"Gotcha," Odd nods in agreement.
"Will do," Amy gives a thumbs up and she keeps going straight, the boys and Aelita moving away from each other.
"Hang on tight, Aelita! Ready for some turbulence?" Odd replies, going through the ramp and then the tunnel. Two Kankerlots jump inside while others follow Ulrich and Amy going down the narrow pathway.
Lasers barely miss Odd and Aelita, the elf girl looking behind her to see one of the Kankerlots skating on the path. One of the projectiles hits her, knocking Aelita onto the path.
"Since when do Kankerlots have turbo engines?" Odd wonders as the monsters zip past him. Aelita slides down the path, the Kankerlots firing with no mercy. Looking behind her again, one of them destroys the other accidentally while firing.
Soon she reaches the end and stumbles out. Odd spins around on his Overboard, quickly getting out and looking up at the flying Kankerlot. Firing behind him, he quickly gets rid of it, swooping down and catching Aelita just in time.
The two Kankerlots jump, heading towards Ulrich. Two more arrive, jumping onto Amy's hair. He jumps up into the air, spinning around and defeating them. He lands back on his bike as the fairy removes her buns, and it starts to move on its own. Two big strands throw the monsters off of her and they bump into each other when they land, causing them to destroy each other. The two skid to a stop.
"Are you two okay?" Ulrich asks as Aelita is off the ride.
"Sure, no problem," Odd replies casually. "Ames, since when could your hair do that?"
"Since ever. I just don't rely on it," She shrugs at him, tying part of her hair back to normal.
Yumi and William run across the bridge. "I still can't figure out what you guys do in that old run down factory."
"And I can't figure out why they agreed to let you lend us a hand, especially since you asked one of my closest friends about me behind my back! Leave Amy out of my own business!"
"Maybe it's just because they trust me, well, most of them," He glances away awkwardly. "Not like-"
She picks up her phone and calls her friend instead of speaking to him. "Jeremy, it's me, I'm-we're on the bridge."
"Odd, Amy, and Ulrich are now pretty close to the activated tower," He tells her, to her dismay. William seems to be staring at something up ahead.
"Oh no, I came too late for the party again!"
"Hey, who's that guy?" William points across the bridge and she turns around. "Is he one of your big superheroes?"
She looks to see the demolition worker, seeing his eyes.
"No, in fact, I think he's more of a big super bad guy." She puts the phone back up to her ear. "Jeremy, there's someone here possessed by XANA, so there's a chance we might be a little late."
"Okay, Yumi. Be careful, huh? I'll tell the others that they've got to hurry up."
"Hey, you mean that guy's your super enemy?" William asks in disbelief. "An electric company worker? It's so lame. I was expecting more gory."
As soon as he says that, the possessed man flickers, dropping his bag and jumping forward. He flips and punches the ground, leaving a small hole.
"Okay, I take it all back," William chuckles nervously while Yumi is cringing. "He's a super enemy electrical worker..."
They finally reach the activated tower...but it's guarded by Bloks. Amy groans at this. "Really? MORE monsters? XANA is pulling out all the stops today."
"You go on, I'll take care of them," Before Ulrich can do anything, he's immediately devirtualized by the red rings.
He scoffs once he's in the scanner. "That's pretty sneaky to hit and run..."
Jeremy calls up Yumi. "Yumi, are you still there?"
"Yes I am, but maybe not for long. This guy's a terror!" She dodges a punch.
"Hang in there, Aelita should be in the tower any minute now."
The demolition worker kicks her to the bridge, causing her to drop her phone.
"Let me at 'im, Yumi. I'll take care of him!" William offers, standing behind the man.
"William, don't!" She warns, and when he jumps for a kick, the man catches his foot and throws him next to Yumi.
"Yumi? Yumi! What's going on?!" Jeremy calls out from the phone, which the man slides away. "Yumi? Come on, answer, please! Guys, you gotta get the job done now."
"No kidding we do, I thought we'd do it after tea time!" Odd replies, flying through the rings from the Blok. Amy swerves past them with her racecar. Odd maneuvers around them, dropping off Aelita near the tower. An ice beam is fired towards him, the cat boy flying away from the attack. Amy jumps out of her racecar, letting it drive up ahead and hitting the second Blok. Aelita runs into the tower as Odd flies around it. The Blok attacking him freezes his buddy that's wiggling around on the floor. Odd hides behind it as the Blok prepares another ring attack. Odd flips out of hiding, destroying the Blok, but in the process he's devirtualized.
"Odd!" Amy turns to him in shock.
He stumbles out of the scanner, panting.
"I've gotta tell you this, okay?" William whispers to Yumi.
"This is a very bad time, William," She replies, hanging onto the edge of the bridge. William is hugging her waist.
"I can't swim..."
The electrical worker appears in front of them, lifting up his foot to push them towards the water. Aelita walks up to the interface at the top of the tower. She presses her hand against it and signs in.
Aelita
Code
Lyoko
"Tower deactivated."
The man lands on the bridge, now passed out.
Amy smiles proudly, hands on her hips as she watches the halo go from red to white. "And that should help out Yumi. Nice one, Aelita."
"Bravo girls!" Jeremy cheers for them.
Yumi's phone rings and she picks it up, smiling. "Yumi?!"
"Jeremy, nice going, you guys did it just in time."
"Everything okay on your side?" He asks in concern.
"We're good, but it was a close call."
"Hey, what happened just now?" William questions curiously, staring at the man.
"Well Jeremy, now that it's all over, you can launch a return in time, right? So that you know who doesn't interfere with us again," She glances at William with a glare, still sour over what he's done.
"What gives you the idea it's all over? This guy works for Explobat," William notices the bomb symbol on the man's shirt.
"Yeah, so?" She turns to him, wondering where he's going with this.
"If I'm not mistaken, this guy's with a company that specializes in building demolition. I'll bet he came here fully equipped to blow your factory sky high. Ba-boom!"
Yumi puts the phone back to her ear. "Did you hear what William just said?"
"Yeah, but relax, Yumi, I'll launch a return to the past and the explosives will disappear along with William's memory," Jeremy replies as the boys join him, and then he gets an alert from the deactivated tower. "Oh no, the Scyphozoa!"
The monster appears right in front of Aelita.
"Aelita!" Amy shouts, the Blok breaking the ice. It stands right in her path and she pulls out her spear. Aelita is snatched by the tentacles, starting to affect her memory.
"The Scyphozoa's got Aelita!"
"Why not launch a return to the past anyway, Jeremy?" She asks him.
"It's too dangerous. We don't know what might happen to Aelita if I do it when she's in XANA's clutches, or Amy for that matter. So get back here now and I'll send you to Lyoko. Ulrich, Odd, you've gotta go find that bomb."
"Will do," Ulrich answers, walking off with Odd.
The boys meet with Yumi and William at the elevator. "Good luck, Yumi."
"You too, guys," She pushes the button. "Find that dumb bomb so our factory doesn't go up in smoke."
"I think the three of us oughta split up," William suggests to the two.
"Okay, then let's go," They separate in three directions, the charges still beeping...
Yumi appears in the scanner room and steps into one. "Transfer Yumi. Scanner Yumi. Virtualization."
She's sent to the ice sector, noticing the Scyphozoa release Aelita. "No!" Amy screams, her heart wrenching that she wasn't able to do anything.
"It's okay, Jeremy, the Scyphozoa has just released Aelita," Yumi reports as the pink-haired girl runs off.
"She's probably gonna head for the way tower to start destroying the ice sector, and you two have gotta stop her from doing that at all costs!"
Amy opens her wings, flying after Aelita just as a megatank appears to distract them. "Okay, consider it done...well, almost. Amy, you follow your sister. I'll take care of him."
"Okay," She nods at her, flying around the monster just as it fires its circular laser. Yumi dodges it twice.
Odd looks back towards William. "Okay, I found it! It's over here!" He points to one of the charges. The two come over to examine it.
"No, that's only one of the charges he set up. There's gotta be a detonator here somewhere, that's what we're looking for," William informs them.
"How do you know all this stuff?" Ulrich couldn't help but ask.
"My uncle used to work in construction and I'd go with him during vacation. He used to show me how to-"
"Okay, family stories are all very moving, but we're kinda pressed here..." Odd reminds him.
"Thanks Odd," Ulrich smiles at him a little. "So where do you think we'll find the detonator?"
"I don't know, but the guy who works for Explobat, he oughta know."
"Yeah sure, but he's out cold like any normal ex-Xanaified guy," Ultich replies back.
"You guys keep searching, I'll try to wake him up!" Odd runs across the hall, right past the detonator right above his head that has 5 minutes left.
The megatank rolls into a pathway and Yumi flies after it. The monster fires another laser. "Yumi, you have to get that blockade of megatanks. Aelita is closing in on the way tower..."
"Hey, come on, sleeping beauty, wake up now!" Odd shakes him by the shirt. "Look, it's your prince charming!" He lightly hits the man across his face, causing him to open his eyes. His vision is slightly blurred.
"What's going on...? Where am I? My dynamite!" He looks towards his bag. "Where are my explosives?"
"In the factory, with a detonator," Odd points to the entrance. "Can you recall anything?"
"No, oh, my head..."
The megatank attacks again, with Yumi swerving to the right. She pulls out her fans, throwing both of them, but the monster closes its shell, causing the weapons to graze over the metal. It opens up again and fires, Yumi skidding her Overwing to the wall. The laser fires right past her and she pulls out her weapons again. Tossing them, they fly overhead to the megatank, finally destroying it. In the process, her ride is hit and then shuts down, exploding.
"Yumi!"
She stands up in front of the explosion, taking off into a run. "Careful Yumi. You don't have a lot of life points left!"
Amy is flying above Aelita as the way tower is in sight.
"Look carefully at this factory," Odd encourages the man, "If you had to blow it up, where would you set up the detonator?"
"I can't think too straight, but...I guess I would put it somewhere high up so the signal could reach all the charges."
Ulrich gets a phone call from Odd. "Ulrich, look for it somewhere over your head, somewhere high up!"
"Hmm," He hangs up, looking towards the ceiling.
"It's okay Jeremy, I've got the girls in my sights," Yumi calls out as Amy bites her lip nervously, throwing an Ice Flame. Aelita hops past it and she sighs. She didn't want to attack her own sister, but she had to...and so far, she's missed every single shot.
Ulrich comes to a stop. "I think I found the detonator!"
"Where?" William runs over to him.
"Way up there," Ulrich points to the catwalk.
Aelita is tripped as a fan flies past her. She stands up, turning towards Yumi. "We're sorry, Aelita, but we don't have any choice."
"Jeremy, we found the detonator. We have to evacuate the factory now," Ulrich informs the genius boy. "Everything's gonna blow in a few seconds!"
"Impossible Ulrich. We can't leave the girls stranded on Lyoko!"
"Give me your belt," William speaks up, to Ulrich's confusion. "I'm gonna try and defuse the detonator, and I need something to use as a sort of shunt."
"You know how to do that?" Ulrich asks in awe as he removes his belt.
"My uncle explained it to me...uh, once."
"O-Once?" Ulrich stammers nervously.
"Well, once is enough if you're not too dumb, that is. Now get out of here. If it doesn't work, it'd be stupid for both of us to get blown up."
"Uh uh, no way. If you stay, I stay." Besides, at least with all of his friends here, they'd be together.
"That makes three of us," Odd comes in out of nowhere. By staying...he's letting Ames know that he didn't leave her all alone if they're blown up.
William removes the buckle from the belt using a knife as there's less than 3 minutes left.
Aelita ducks her head from Yumi's fan, ducking again and firing her energy fields. Yumi flips around and dodges them, Amy flying above her. Yumi catches her fans, the two girls glancing at each other. Aelita is definitely not giving up...
Using the knife, William carefully removes the screws from the panel, opening it up.
Aelita holds out her hand, hitting both girls with her projectiles.
"Girls, another hit like those and it's game over for you. And then it's gonna be the end of the ice sector as well," Jeremy tells them as he looks at their ID cards.
William bites his lip as he slowly puts the makeshift shunt towards the detonator.
Aelita holds out her hands as Yumi throws her fans, Amy firing Sapphire Arrow. The possessed girl throws her energy fields, the projectiles switching sides.
William's hand shakes as Odd glances at the charge, Ulrich cringing. Ultimately, the two girls are devirtualized and Aelita ducks from the weapons, heading towards the tower...
But then they turn around and hit Aelita, devirtualizing her just before she could reach the tower.
William places in the shunt, the detonator sparking. He gasps as he watches the countdown still going, standing up. They wait with bated breath as the countdown stops...and so does the detonator.
"Yeah!" William cheers happily, glad that he listened to his uncle.
"Jeremy, William defused the detonator. We're saved."
Jeremy breathes a sigh of relief, leaning back against his chair.
"Oh come on, please," William begs to the group. "I swear I won't tell anyone."
"He really does deserve to be one of us. Besides, we could use another soldier," Odd speaks up.
"And he's already proven how much he can help," Aelita agrees with him.
"Well then, let's vote. If everybody votes yes, then William can officially become a member of our club."
William smirks as Jeremy reads the results. "Too bad, William...there's one no," He places down the last paper.
"You're the big losers. I was kind of expecting this might happen. Some guys just can't handle being jealous," He gives Ulrich a look, leaving the lab.
"Well then, what do you suppose we should do now?" Ulrich has his hands in his pockets as they stare at the doors.
"What do you think?" Jeremy turns to the keyboard. "A return to the past." He presses enter and everything is reset.
"That was pretty uncool, Ulrich," Odd says as everyone except Yumi is in Jeremy's room. "Why'd you vote no?"
"Hey, don't look at me. I'm not crazy about William, but he saved us and the factory. He's brave and he'd make a great Lyoko Warrior. I didn't blackball 'im."
Odd raises a brow, turning to the last person he hadn't asked. "Ames, I thought you were over your grudge on William."
"I am. I still don't like what he tried to do regarding Yumi, but I understand his curiosity over it," Amy crosses her arms. "Trust me, I thought a lot about it before I wrote down yes."
"If it wasn't you, and it wasn't me, and if wasn't Jeremy or Aelita or Ames then it was..."
Yumi looks out the window. "Sorry William..." She watches him skate by her house. "But I don't think you can be trusted." She moves the curtain away.