Principal Delmas is on the phone late at night at the Academy. "I can't hear you very well, Mr. Dunbar. Are you trying to say that your son William has gone overseas to stay with you? And that he won't be attending classes here until you bring him home?"

"Yes, that's correct, sir," It's actually Jeremy who's speaking via the voice synthesizer in the computer lab.

"I see. But it's quite surprising that he would leave without even bothering to tell any of us."

"Uh, it was a very sudden decision. You know how youngsters can be at this age. I'm sure your own daughter Sissi is capable of doing the same thing." The principal glances to a photo of his daughter.

"That's very possible, yes...but I didn't realize that you knew my daughter, and by her nickname as well," He raises an eyebrow in confusion.

"Uh, that is...well, actually, I don't really know her obviously, but well...you see, William talks so much about her," Jeremy rubs the back of his neck, realizing his mistake. "It's always Sissi this and Sissi that, and so it's almost as if I really did know her."

Aelita is standing next to him, giving a skeptical look. "Ah, I didn't know that William was such a close friend of Elizabeth."

"Well, Sissi's a role model for William. An example, and how could it be otherwise? I mean, considering the sort of father that she has."

"Thank you, Mr. Dunbar, I was delighted to have this little chat with you, and please give William my best regards and tell him that we hope he'll return to school very soon, and that he'll always be welcome," The principal says happily.

"I will tell him. Goodbye, Mr. Delmas, and many thanks for your understanding."

"You're very welcome, sir," He hangs up the phone and so does Jeremy as he presses enter.

"Phew...I guess I make a good grown-up," The blond takes off the microphone.

"Yes, but now all we have to do is find William," Aelita adds in.

"You're right, we'd better get back to work."

Ever since Lyoko was destroyed, the two had been working hard to be able to fight XANA again, who hasn't been active since then. But they know that he'll strike again. Amy and Odd were the same: the cutesy couple that their friends have gotten used to. Though, they hadn't said that they love each other yet. Odd definitely knew his feelings, but he wasn't sure if she would freak out or not once he said it...


The next morning, Jeremy is talking to the others at the bench. "Piece of cake."

"Okay, so it worked with the principal, but what'll happen when William's real parents want to see their son?" Yumi asks curiously.

"We can't exactly tell them that William is on a virtual world, possessed by a rouge computer program," Amy crosses her arms.

"They're right, and I'm not so sure that voice synthesizer of yours is gonna do the trick, Jeremy," Ulrich leans back a bit.

"Who knows?" Jeremy replies, his glasses over his face. "Maybe by then, we'll have localized William."

"How are you gonna do that?" Odd raises a brow, hugging Amy from behind.

"Thanks to the data we got from our father before he disappeared into the network," Aelita smiles a bit at her sister, "Jeremy and I have just about recreated Lyoko."

"You're recreating Lyoko?" Odd asks in surprise.

"We may even be ready for tonight."

"That's right. In fact, Aelita and I have worked on it every night for the last week," Jeremy puts down his glasses.

"Oh, so that's why you look like a couple of zombies, huh? And I thought that you looked like wrecks cuz you were partying all night! I was getting jealous," Odd replies, the two giving him deadpan looks.

"Oh, so those dates with your girlfriend mean nothing?" Amy raises a brow in amusement.

"Of course they do! And so does our anniversary."

"Huh? Your anniversary is today?" Ulrich blinks in shock that they've lasted that long.

"Yup! And I won't disappoint either," He winks at Amy, who giggles.

Milly and Tamiya are eating together, but it's silence between them. "Hi Milly, hi Tamiya," Yumi greets as the group walks past them. "You wouldn't mind if we sat here with you, would ya?"

Milly turns away and they both stand up, huffing and walking away to their confusion. Jeremy gives a slightly soured look, sitting down.

"They're still sulking?" Ulrich asks him. They haven't forgotten that Jeremy had ditched them last week in the bathroom.

"What do you think?"

"Well, you did sneak out the bathroom window in the middle of an interview," Odd takes his seat next to his girlfriend. "And for ace reporters like them, that is pretty insulting."

"Being mad at me isn't as bad as they're being really mad at each other," Jeremy pops open his soda, taking a sip.

"But how come?" Ulrich wonders curiously.

"They had a massive argument over the newspaper, I think."

"You mean the Kadic News is folded for good? That's the best news I've heard-"

"No it's not," Odd interrupts Yumi. "How am I gonna know who's going out with who now? I guess I'll have to console myself by watching Jim dancing to old disco music. He really-"

Sissi is trying to listen in on the conversation, but her friends are too loud. "Well, personally, out of all of the seasons of the year, I like the spring best of all."

"I like summer best because it's nice and warm," Nicolas speaks up and she gives a look of boredom.

"Quiet, huh? I can't hear anything!"

"Well if you can't hear anything, then we should speak louder, shouldn't we?" Herb asks her.

"Dork, it's not you I wanna listen to!"

"Odd, don't tell me you've been watching Paco, the King of Disco again," Ulrich deadpans at his friend.

"I can't help myself. Whenever I'm in a bad mood, I put the film on. Or I just cuddle my little Ames. I don't know why he's so ashamed that he used to be an actor."

Amy blushes, putting a bang behind her ear. "It's probably because the film was a flop," Ulrich takes a sip of his drink.

"I don't see what makes their conversation more interesting than ours," Herb grumbles to Nicolas.

"Yeah me neither."

"Well I do, okay?" Sissi smirks a little at the gossip.

"Maybe you and Odd could do an interview about your anniversary," Aelita smiles a little at the two.

"Ahh," The couple glance at each other. The two weren't sure if they wanted to put it out there so soon. Odd reaches behind Amy's back and then when he shows her his hand, he's holding a bouquet of light pink roses.

"Aww, Odd," She takes them into her hands. "That's really sweet. How'd you do that?"

"A little trick I learned just for you," He winks at her.

"And that he failed at 25 times," Ulrich tells the brunette, causing all of them except Odd to laugh.


Sissi's door knocks, "Come in!"

Milly opens the door. "You wanted to see me, huh Sissi?" She hums with a nod...and then Milly sees Tamiya standing in the room. "What's she doing here?"

"That's what I was gonna say. What's she doing here?"

"I thought it was me you wanted to see!"

"Same here!"

Sissi just walks past the bickering two. "Well at least you agree on that," She closes her door. "It's not much, but it's a pretty good start. And it's all thanks to me," She brings them together, smiling, but they don't like her look. "Which is why for the good of the Kadic News...I've decided to become the editor-in-chief."

"You've decided what?!" Milly screeches in shock.

"Who do you think you are?"

"The daughter of the principal," She retorts back to Tamiya. "The only person who can stop you from printing that poor excuse for a paper that you've so proud of." She smiles, leaning against her closet.

"But you're not a real journalist!" Milly argues to the girl.

"She's right, you don't even know the meaning of the word scoop."

"Wrong again, little ones. A scoop, huh? How about enormous scoops?"

The two girls look at each other, wondering just what she has up her sleeve...


"I'm all set," Jeremy tells the others, as he's preparing to finish off the final touches to the new Lyoko. They nod and he taps enter. "Here we go."

A new program launches and Odd turns to Jeremy in confusion. "I don't wanna be a party pooper, but there doesn't seem to be very much happening."

"The data that our father transmitted wasn't enough!" Aelita frowns in lament and Jeremy takes off his glasses, rubbing a temple.

"I guess we must've been really crazy to think that we could recreate Lyoko!"

"Hey wait, look at that!" Yumi points at the screen, where it shows the map. Lyoko starts to reboot, and is recreated.

"That's incredible!" Ulrich looks in shock as Amy smiles. "It worked!"

"Aelita, Jeremy, you guys are gods!" Odd compliments them, Aelita smiling happily.

"You did it!" Amy claps for them.

"Well almost, but not quite," Jeremy taps enter and the sphere appears on the map in front of them. "The time being, all we've been able to recreate is Sector 5 of Lyoko. We've still gotta work to recreate the other sectors...but we should be able to do that soon."

"Okay, but it can wait a night or two," Yumi spins around the chair. "You guys deserve a good night's sleep."

"Yes, Yumi's right, Jeremy. We're going to be needing every bit of our strength to look for William. We'll get started tomorrow."

"Ahh...yeah," He sighs in defeat at Aelita's reasoning. "Well, alright."

"We have reservations at Le Chateau," Odd speaks up, Amy's eyes widening as she turns to him in surprise.

"Whoa, that place is high-end!" Yumi blinks at him. "How'd you manage that?"

"I have my ways," He winks, placing an arm around Amy. "Only the best for my favorite girl."

"Well, I'm impressed, but I don't really care where we eat as long as we're together."

He smiles at her and the others smile at each other.

A few minutes later, they leave the factory together. "Hey, do you guys wanna watch Paco, the King of Disco with us? It'll take your mind off things," Odd says, looking over his shoulder while holding Amy's hand.

"I think you need a break from that video," She shakes her head.

However, somehow the scanner operates on its own, opening up and smoke coming from it...


The next morning, Odd starts brushing his teeth by himself when Jim appears, shoving a paper in front of the mirror for the boy to see. "Hey, what's this?!"

Odd looks between the paper and him in confusion. "Umm...a newspaper without much news?" Jim turns the paper around and he sees the picture of Jim from the disco video. "Let me see that!" He snatches the paper, chuckling nervously.

"You promised not to tell anyone!" Jim facepalms himself. "To think I actually trusted you and your sneaky little girlfriend!"

"Jim, we didn't give your secret away, we swear!" Odd rubs the back of his neck. His eyes pop out as his toothbrush falls onto the floor. "Who told them that Ames and I are celebrating our one-year anniversary?!"

"You must think I'm an imbecile," Jim points to his eye.


Odd slams the paper between the girls on the bench. "Do you know what Jim's gonna do to us for this?!"

Amy is standing next to him, arms crossed as she does not look happy. Ever since she left the building, people have been whispering and gossiping about her and Odd. Mostly about how they won't last another year or that he's hiding something, and it was getting on her last nerve.

"No, but I can't wait to find out," Sissi remarks, smirking. "And I'm sure that my readers are dying to know too. Or that you're destined to fail in your little relationship."

Amy growls, clenching her fists. "Sissi, since when have you been involved with the Kadic News, huh?" Jeremy asks in annoyance as the others join the couple. They've already read the paper, and so they stand by their friends.

"Ever since I made myself editor-in-chief. Oh, and since you're all together as usual, I'd like to ask Yumi, Amy, and Odd a few questions for the next issue...What are you two waiting for? Come on, we're rolling!" Milly and Tamiya reluctantly start filming.

"Buzz off, we're not answering anything," Amy narrows her eyes in rage.

"Well Yumi, and the...happy couple, our readers would really like to know how you and William are getting along. Or why you two haven't professed your love for each other yet."

"W-What?!" Amy and Odd stammer in unison, eyes wide.

"Hey, I don't need to prove that I love her, because I do!"

Both of them blush profusely, everyone around them shocked that Odd said that out loud, on camera!

Sissi smiles smugly, that worked itself out on all its own, and all she did was ask a question. Milly points the camera to Yumi.

"Uh, W-William, m-me and William?" Yumi looks just as uncomfortable. "I-I don't know what you're talking about," She crosses her arms, trying to look as normal as possible.

"Would you rather I ask the same question to William?" All of them look up at her from the mention of his name. "He may be not as shy as you. As a matter of fact, where is he? The last time I saw him was a week ago."

"He's gone abroad. His father called your father to tell him," Ulrich glares at her, wishing she'd leave things alone. Amy elbows him in the arm, but he just looks smug at his answer.

"Oh? How come you know that, huh?"

He clams up a little, now understanding why Amy did that. "Uh, I, uh..."

"Are you talking about me?"

Everyone turns to see William himself leaning against a tree.


"All I remember is being virtualized by Lyoko and being captured by the Scyphozoa," He taps the side of his head. "It's a blank after that. That is, till this morning when I woke up in the factory." Odd pinches his arm. "Hey, what are you doing, Odd? You're hurting me."

"Just checking to make sure you're not one of XANA's ghosts!"

"No danger of that," Jeremy adjusts his glasses. "There isn't any activated tower on Lyoko. William couldn't have been sent by XANA."

"But even if you somehow managed to make it out alive, you don't just break out of the Scyphozoa's control like that. There's usually another factor to it, like putting in a XANA code, or devirtualizing yourself, and that's hard to do when we had just recreated Sector 5," Amy raises a brow, staring at William. Something about his explanation wasn't right.

"That's exactly what I did, so you can stop pinching me, Odd," William ruffles Odd's hair and the bell rings.

Yumi winks at William. "Anyhow, you're just in time for a quiz in math."

"Timing, huh? I haven't studied at all," He frowns a little.

"So? Since when have you ever studied?" She retorts back and he chuckles, running after her.

"The next problem is explaining William's sudden return to Delmas," Odd says while adjusting his hair.

"Yeah, you said it," Jeremy replies in agreement. They had already spent one day explaining William's absence with the voice synthesizer. "What I don't get is why when Lyoko disappeared, William didn't fall into the Digital Sea. It's really weird, Amy's right...I'd love to know how he managed to escape."

Amy and Odd glance to each other, looking away in embarrassment. They haven't spoken much ever since Odd suddenly declared that he loved her right in front of Sissi.


Later that night, a knock is heard from the sisters' door. "Who is it?"

"Hey Aelita, Amy, we're not disturbing you, I hope," Sissi comes in, followed by Milly and Tamiya.

"Oh great," Amy mutters under her breath.

"Odd left you these outside your door," Tamiya hands Amy a heart-shaped box that has chocolates inside.

"We would really like to do a feature story on you for our next issue. It's true that we don't know a lot about you. Are you really Odd's cousin? Why hasn't Amy mentioned you before? And well, is it really all that cold in Canada? And why did you suddenly come here in the middle of the year? And why do you and Amy have the same pink color from your hair, despite the two of you being strangers before? Our readers are interested."

Milly and Tamiya chuckle nervously, as they weren't told about this interview at all. They never really asked Aelita because it wasn't their business, and to them, they already knew the full story.

Amy narrows her eyes, slamming her book shut. "Why don't you-"

"Can't you let them study in peace, huh?" William interrupts Amy before she could snap at Sissi. "Alright, get going, all three of you. You've annoyed them enough."

"Oh William!" Sissi exclaims at the sight of him, "You came back! I thought you were overseas!"

"Get going, I said," He jerks a thumb to the hall.

"Okay, okay, we're out of here," Sissi admits defeat, leaving with the two girls. William shuts the door behind him.

"Not that we're not grateful for the save, but this is the girls' dorm, William," Amy raises a brow at his sudden appearance.

"Thanks, William. Without you, we'd have been Sissi's next victim, and that's even worse than-"

"Becoming a prisoner of XANA, is that what you're saying?"

They both gasp at his change of voice and he opens his eyes, revealing the symbol of XANA!

"William only came back cause of Aelita! That's a scoop, isn't it?" Sissi asks happily. "Ooh, or maybe it's because he and Amy are secretly dating behind Odd's back, which means she might be cheating on him! That explains the box of chocolates, William could've left it saying it was from Odd, but it's really from him!"

"No!" Milly protests to her.

"That's not true, Amy's not like that!"

"I can't wait to tell the news to Jeremy and Odd to see what they have to say!"

"Now hold on," Tamiya speaks up.

"There's no reason for them to know before our readers do."

"Once we've printed it, then we'll ask them what they think of it." They did regret Odd being in trouble, and for possibly damaging his relationship with Amy. And now Sissi's spreading a rumor that's not even true.


"William came to Aelita and Amy's room? You're kidding!" Jeremy says in shock, but for the reason that Sissi's thinking. "Are you sure he did?"

"We sure are," Sissi nudges Milly, "We were there. What do you think? Think that William and Amy are secretly together?"

"Well, uh, I think...um...I know why! They're gonna help him catch up on...um, what he missed in math! I'm sorry, but I gotta go now...take a shower," He walks off and Sissi crosses her arms with a huff.

"Sissi, you want a scoop?" Milly asks her.

"Hmm?" She turns to the girl.

"A real one this time? Okay, here! I quit!"

"So do I, Sissi," Tamiya replies with a smile.

"But you couldn't possibly do that!"

They walk off, arms around each other. "Wanna bet?"

"Oh, and another thing," Milly looks over her shoulder. "We're not printing that rumor about Amy because it's not true! We really prefer her with Odd anyway." They leave through the double doors, glad that they're not going around based on Sissi's baseless stories and deceitful ways with the paper.


Jeremy opens the door to the room, only to see two empty beds...and an unconscious Amy on the floor. "Amy! Oh no," He bends down to her, shaking her slightly.

Ulrich's phone rings while he's reading a magazine and he picks it out of his pocket. "Yeah Jeremy?"

Jeremy is using Aelita's computer to see where the two are. "Ulrich, there's something weird going on with William."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"He left for the factory with Aelita and knocked Amy out. I picked up the signals at their cell phones. I'm pretty sure this is XANA's doing," Jeremy continues shaking Amy again.

"What makes you say that?"

"Just a hunch. It's strange that he escaped the Digital Sea. Meet ya at the factory just as soon as I wake Amy up, okay?"

"Right, no problem. You get Yumi, I'll clue Odd in."

"You mean, he's not with you?"

"Odd?" Ulrich glances at the empty bed. "No. As a matter of fact, I don't know where he is. Amy might know."

"Yeah, but I can't ask her because she's still unconscious!" Jeremy pinches his nose, hanging up the phone.

"AMY!" Jeremy slaps her across the face.

"Ow! What do you think you're doing?" Amy wakes up, glaring at her friend.

"Finally! Amy, can you tell me what happened?"

"Sissi, Milly, and Tamiya came in and tried to ask the both of us intruding questions. I tried to get her to back off, but then William arrived. I told him that he couldn't be there, and then he showed us the XANA symbol in his eyes! He shocked the both of us and took off with Aelita. I think they were heading for the factory."

"Oh no, that's just what I was afraid of," Jeremy looks back up at the computer, which shows the factory's location. "Come on, no time to lose!"


"Go on, keep trying. I'm sure you can do a lot better than that." Jim and Odd are in the gym, where Odd is being punished for leaking the secret, even though he didn't. "You remember the scene, don't you? You told me that you've watched the film a dozen times, right?"

Odd is dressed just like Paco from the film. "But Jim, I swear, it's not my fault. I didn't tell anybody!"

"You're gonna continue till you know the steps by heart." Odd frowns angrily at him. "Unless of course, you'd like me to change your class instead, and then you wouldn't be able to sit next to your pretty girlfriend anymore!" He laughs, sliding up to the upset blond. "Yeah, all your pals will be so sorry enough to not have you with them."

He sags his shoulders in defeat. "Okay, okay, I get the picture, Jim." He starts dancing to the music.


Yumi is watching the same film from her laptop. "Odd was right, this film is incredibly funny." Her phone goes off. "Oh no, just when I was trying to chill out..." She sees an SOS message.

William types rapidly onto the keyboard from the lab, looking at the unconscious Aelita in the elevator. He walks over as he's already started a virtualization process. The doors close as the symbol in his eyes flicker.

"Impossible to reach Odd, I've already tried three times!" Ulrich says to the two as they're running across the bridge.

"Amy, do you know where he is? I'll bet he's living it up somewhere, just when we need him!" Jeremy glances at her. She looks at her phone and sees one voicemail from him while she was passed out. She holds it up to her ear.

"Ms. Smith, this is Jim Morales. Why is it that you're not here in the gym, to take responsibility for your actions?! Either you arrive here by tonight or I'll switch Della Robbia to a different class."

"Bad news: Jim got to Odd. I guess he wants payback for the paper," Amy cringes at them once she's hung up.


The scanners close around Aelita and William. Both of them are virtualized into Sector 5. Aelita lands on the floor and he walks up to her. His outfit is almost as it was when he was first virtualized, but it's now pure black, with the XANA symbol on his chest. Smoke emerges from his hand and he points it at Aelita, lifting her up in the air. He walks forward with her, going through the door.

"They're not here," Ulrich looks around the lab. Jeremy sits in his chair.

"I can see that. They're in Sector 5. And I don't like that at all. Hurry, guys. Head for the scanner room."

"We're on our way," The two run off.

"I keep trying to reach Odd. We're really gonna be needing him. Jim couldn't let him not have his mobile, right?" Jeremy tries to call again.


Odd's phone goes off over the loud music and he hops around, dancing.

"That's better," Jim turns off the radio. "Much, much better. Just a few more hours and you'll be all set."

He pants in exhaustion, wanting to be anywhere but there.


"Oh no, where could Odd be, I wonder?"

"We're ready, Jeremy."

"Okay, I'll launch the procedure. Transfer Amy. Transfer Ulrich. Scanner Amy. Scanner Ulrich. Virtualization."

Their hair flies and then they're in Sector 5. The two land back-to-back. "Ulrich, Amy, you've gotta take the corridor right in front of you."

"Is there a key we gotta trip?"

"No, when we recreated Sector 5, we got rid of that procedure. Oh...and we managed to do something else. Hold still, Amy," He grins, tapping away at the keys. Amy's wings virtualize on her back and she suddenly takes flight.

"My wings!" She gasps in surprise, looking at them.

"We weren't able to give you your elemental powers from each sector, though. You're still stuck with Virtual Flow. Now step on it while they're not too far away, guys."

"Ah well...maybe it's for the best," She shrugs slowly. "Now come on!"

"Once you're in the Core Zone, I'll guide you."

Aelita wakes up and finally realizes the situation. "What's going on?" She murmurs as she sees William in front of her. "William, where are you taking me? Let me go!"

He does nothing of the sort, furthering the hold he has on her. She manages to slip out of the smoke, firing her pink orb. "Energy field!"

He lands on the ground, looking up and seeing Aelita trying to escape. "So, having fun without inviting us?" He growls as he turns around to Ulrich and Amy. "You sure have changed, haven't you? Amy, go catch up with your sister and watch over her. I'll take care of him."

"Okay," She nods at her friend, taking flight again and flying over them. William grunts as he watches her leave after the girl. He chuckles, turning back to Ulrich.

"Be careful, Ulrich. XANA sent some Creepers, just behind you," Jeremy warns him.

"Super smoke," William turns into moving smoke, following after the girls. The Creepers arrive and Ulrich blocks the incoming lasers with his sword.

"And I thought this was going to be easy!"

He dodges more projectiles from behind.

"Aelita, Amy, can you hear me?"

"Jeremy, what's going on?" Aelita demands as she comes to a stop. Amy has finally caught up with her.

"Be very careful, girls. William's coming after you both."

"He can sure try, I'm not scared of the creep," Amy narrows her eyes, turning to Aelita. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," She nods at her and Amy takes her arms, flying off.

"What's the matter with him?" Aelita wonders as Amy flies into a passageway.

"I have no idea. The tower in Sector 5 hasn't been activated, but it seems that William is under the control of XANA. You'd better get out of there fast, guys!"

"But what would he want Aelita for, though? If it's because of our connection to our father, then wouldn't he have taken me too?"

"Possibly. But Aelita is the younger of you two—biologically. He must see her as the weaker threat for now."

Amy turns left, flying as fast as she can. Aelita glances over their shoulders, not seeing anyone for now...Amy flies to the right, neither of them noticing black smoke trailing right behind him.


Yumi finally arrives, to his relief. "Ah, Yumi, at last! Head for the scanner room fast. Ulrich, Amy, and Aelita really need your help."

"And Odd?" She asks while pressing the button.

"I've been trying to reach him, based on what Amy told us, he's with Jim."

The doors close in front of the Japanese girl.


The music continues to play as Odd sags in exhaustion. "I can't take anymore of this. Honestly, Jim."

"Now that, my friend, is what you should've thought about before talking to the press."

A girl suddenly comes in from the front doors. "There he is!" Other girls join her, freaking out. Jim turns off the raido.

"Just what are you doing here at this hour, all of you?"

They squeal, running up to him. Odd notices his phone buzzing. "You see, Jim, we just watched your disco film, it's incredible too!" Tania exclaims to the man.

"You mean...you liked it that much?"

"It's a masterpiece!"

"Won't you give us your autograph, Jim?" They bounce up and down while Odd checks his phone.

"Yeah, sure. I'd be happy to if that's what you want."

"Oh no!" Odd exclaims at all the missed calls and messages from Jeremy and Amy. He looks up at Jim surrounded by students.

"To Leticia, is that right?"

Since he's distracted, Odd slips out of the costume and runs right out the door.


Amy flies into another room, stopping when she sees a dead end. Turning around, she sees the black smoke coming to a stop. William emerges in front of them, causing the two to gasp in horror. Amy flies higher as Aelita prepares her attack.

"Energy field!"

William takes it into his hand and throws it right back at Amy's wings, devirtualizing them in one hit. The two fall onto the floor and he approaches them. Amy stands up and swiftly pulls out her spear, stepping in front of Aelita.

"You step away from my sister," She growls at him. Aelita hits the wall.

"No!" Jeremy exclaims at the three dots.

"No, William!" Aelita pleads for him not to hurt Amy. "Listen to us!"

He fires the black smoke, two in fact. Amy slices at the smoke, but it has no effect. Her spear drops onto the floor as they're both captured. Aelita is knocked unconscious. He flies them off and follows after the two, so he can keep an eye on them.

"Ulrich, better make it snappy! William's taking the girls straight to the Dome Area!" Jeremy looks at the three in worry.

"I'm doing my best, Jeremy!" Ulrich exclaims as he's dodging monsters left and right. He runs past them, facing them again. "Obviously my best isn't good enough..."

A Creeper comes to a stop in front of him, Yumi flipping into view. She tosses a fan and destroys it. "I guess you could use some help," She says as she lands safely.

"You guessed right," He replies, relieved to see her. "Let's go!"

Yumi flips off the platform, hanging onto it. The Creeper looks over the edge, distracted as Ulrich runs up behind it and slices at it. The Creeper turns around and with one shot, knocks Ulrich's sword out of his hand. He quickly picks it back up, Yumi emerging from where she was. She throws her fan again, this time destroying the second Creeper.

"On three, we attack. One, two, three!" They split off into opposite directions. "Impact!" While running, he strikes a Creeper and gets rid of it. Yumi runs up to one, spinning around and pulling out her fan swiftly. She throws it and gets the Creeper on a high platform on the head. Ulrich turns his attention to the door. "Let's get out of here!"

Yumi catches her weapon as they go after the trio.


Odd finally arrives at the factory. "I didn't get here too late, I hope," He speaks up, getting Jeremy's attention.

"Odd, it's about time. What were you doing, huh?"

"I was taking the disco dancing class with Jim."

"Right, Amy did say he got to you. Now get to the scanner room, you're gonna go on a little trip."

"Funky!" He starts dancing again.


William reaches the Celestial Dome with Aelita and Amy. They would break free, but it's a tight hold unlike last time.

"William, for the last time, let us GO!" Amy screams at him. "You need to snap out of it!"

"Manta!" He calls out, ignoring her. The Flying Manta arrives in front of them and he keeps his hold on the two, transporting them onto the monster. He plants his feet on them and creates reins, flying off.

"William!"

He grips his hand and knocks her unconscious with the smoke.

"What's he trying to do now?"

"What's going on, Jeremy?" Yumi wonders as she and Ulrich are riding the elevator.

"It looks like William wants out of Sector 5..."

"But I thought you hadn't managed to create any other sectors," Yumi replies in confusion as they get off.

"That's what makes it so hard to understand," Jeremy rubs his temples in frustration. "At the end of Sector 5, there's nothing except..." His eyes widen slowly. "The Digital Sea."

Yumi gives a look of horror as they come to a stop. "If he jumps into it with the girls, they'll be virtualized for good! Just like their father..."

"Don't worry, Jeremy. We'll do all we can to stop him," Ulrich says in reassurance. They won't let that happen to their friends. Besides...Odd would be heartbroken if that happened.

"But for that, we're gonna need our vehicles," Yumi explains to him.

"Right. I'll see that you get them in no time flat," He snaps out of it and presses enter, bringing them up. Yumi jumps onto her Overwing, and Ulrich lands on his Overbike. They take off just as Odd is going through the Arena.

William flies towards a tunnel, Yumi and Ulrich seeing him in their sights. He hears their vehicles and turns around, growling. The Manta releases flying mines.

"Better watch out, there are the mines!"

Ulrich dodges them left and right, Yumi swerving in the same direction. Her eyes widen and she gasps as she narrowly misses a few.

"You okay, Yumi?" Ulrich looks over his shoulder.

"No problem," She answers, seeing something. "Ulrich, in front of you!"

He turns around and lifts up his bike as some mines were underneath. Two more trail after him, one of them devirtualizing him and his vehicle.

"Ulrich!" Yumi calls out, looking back towards William, who's managed to open a tunnel on his own, entering through it. Yumi flies after them.

Ulrich emerges from the scanner, eyes closed.

"Move it, Odd. They just went into the tunnel!" Jeremy urges as Odd arrives, jumping onto his Overboard.

"No problem, Einstein!"

William exits the tunnel into the uncreated desert sector. He continues on with the girls, Aelita waking up. She realizes where she is, seeing the sleeping Amy next to her.

"Yumi, you have to stop William from jumping into the Digital Sea!"

"I know, Jeremy, I'm on it!" She dives towards the Manta, Aelita looking up at William. Yumi catches up with him, preparing to throw her fan. He creates his sword in his hand, throwing it right at her. She falls off her Overboard, screaming as she's reaching the Digital Sea.

"Yumi, no!" Jeremy cries out.

"Yumi!" Aelita looks towards her in horror. Two laser arrows are fired, hitting the geisha and devirtualizing her slowly. William looks to where they came from, Jeremy seeing in relief. Yumi drops to her knees once the scanner opens.

Odd flies after the trio. "Bonzaaai!" He hits the Manta, but William throws the two over anyway. Aelita screams as she falls. Jeremy works quickly and activates Amy's wings just as Odd catches the pink-haired girl.

"Hm?" Amy opens her eyes, seeing Odd and Aelita up ahead.

"Amy!" Aelita smiles in relief.

"Taking a dive without me, my lady?" Odd asks her and she smiles a bit. She glares towards William, who turns around and charges towards them. Amy and Odd fly in the other direction. "I hate to cut in, William, Aelita and my beautiful Ames has always preferred the company of a real gentleman."

William still chases after them anyway. "Laser Arrow!"

"This'll teach you to knock me unconscious and kidnap us!" Amy flies upwards and throws her spear hard. The weapons hit the Manta, destroying it. William falls a little before he catches himself.

"Sorry, but I hate being tailgated," Odd replies as Amy holds up her hand, catching her spear.

The three leave and William admits defeat as he goes into the Digital Sea...

For now...

"You think William's gone forever?" Ulrich glances at the boy genius.

"...No. I think he just went back to his new master...XANA..."


Everyone is gathered in the gym. "Why would William want to drag us into the Digital Sea?" Aelita couldn't help but wonder. "I don't get it."

"Well, I think it's part of XANA's new strategy. And so we've gotta be very careful," Jeremy explains to all of them. "William could come back at any time..."

"And now we have to think up another excuse for his absence, and Delmas might not buy it this time," Yumi points out.

"Hello Jeremy," Tamiya greets politely.

"Hi Jeremy," Milly smiles at him.

"Hello," He replies back as the two take their seats in front of him.

"They don't hate you now?" Ulrich leans forward a bit to look at Jeremy.

"I guess they found someone they can hate even more," Jeremy glances towards Sissi, her and her friends sitting far away since no one wants to give up seats for them, on account of what the girl did. And they found out that she was threatening to put that 'cheating scandal' into the paper, which doesn't help either...

"Thank God they took her off the paper," Amy glares at the girl. She really caused a lot of trouble.

"They're kind of like us and William," Yumi smirks a little.

"Paco, Paco, Paco!" The crowd cheers.

"It's incredible! Jim's become a real star!" Odd says in shock.

"It's really thanks to you, right Odd?" Ulrich asks him. Suddenly the show starts, Jim emerging from the stage in his white suit. He starts dancing to the music, the crowd erupting into cheers. He smiles as he continues, Ulrich covering his ears.

"The guy's great! Incredible presence, a real superstar!" Odd shouts at the top of his lungs.


Amy and Odd walk around the woods silently. It's been like that ever since they found out what the principal's daughter tried to do. So both of them decided that they needed to talk about it in private...she knew it wasn't true, and she'd never do that to Odd. She doesn't even like William like that.

Odd sighs a bit, sitting in front of a tree. Amy says nothing, leaning against the wood and blowing a bit of air. It's silence for a few seconds before Odd finally says something.

"Ames? Can you tell me the truth about what happened?"

"Sissi came into our room to look for dirt," She answers quietly, closing her eyes. "I tried to get her to leave, and then...William stepped in and got them to back off. I was skeptical about it, and then my suspicions were confirmed when he showed us his eyes. He knocked me out and kidnapped Aelita. And then Jeremy found me and we went to the factory...I swear, Odd, whatever she said, it's not true. I would never cheat, that's not the kind of person I am. You're my first, and you always have been." She takes a deep breath.

"And to be honest...I wouldn't dare do it in the first place. I chose you for a reason. I don't care who thinks that I shouldn't be with you...because I...I love you."

His eyes widen at her words. They hadn't spoken about that either, and it was really embarrassing, but now...he's so happy to hear that from her.

"I know we said we wouldn't say that unless we were ready, but...I think I am. You're remarkable, sensitive, funny...you're unique. And I wouldn't change what we have for the world, Odd Della Robbia."

She gets nothing in return, thinking that she freaked him out or something as she dusts herself off. "Forget what just happened. Maybe I shouldn't have said that considering what happened with Sissi-"

She had no idea when he got up, but the next thing she knew, she feels his soft lips on hers. Despite her initial shock, she returns the gesture, wrapping her arms around him.

He pulls away a few seconds later, tilting her head so that she can look at him. She sees his happy smile. "Thanks Ames. I love you too...but you probably knew that since I blurted it out loud."

She giggles at the memory. "Yeah, it was pretty stupid to do that."

"Hey," Odd pouts at her, but he knew that she was messing with him. "I'm sorry about what William tried to do to you," He turns one of his hands into a fist. "I should've been there, but Jim-"

"Hey, hey," Amy murmurs softly, interrupting him. "It's okay. I understand you couldn't get out of it until you had the chance. And besides...you saved my sister. I think I can get over it easily."

"I was the hero!" He brags boastfully, causing her to laugh.

"You're still mine, though. Don't forget that."

"How dare you," He gasps a bit, hand to his heart. "What kind of amazing boyfriend would I be if I didn't put you first?"

She shakes her head in amusement. She's still not happy with what Sissi tried to do...

But she's happy with the aftermath with it. She couldn't believe she was saying this, but for once, she's glad that Sissi stirred things up. If she hadn't, the brunette might've never told Odd that she loves him, for real this time.