Chapter 20 Lab Rat

A.N. – Time to enter the real world and hunt down Xana's supercomputers. Okay, so this has some changes in it such as Yumi's birthday situation. As well as a small added scene that me and a reviewer agreed on. So, to avoid spoilers, I won't say much. All I say is read to find out.

Guest – I can't say if there will be, but I'll keep a lookout for any situations where it could work. Also, Aelita, nor Jeremy knew Yumi's diary was missing till Hiroki told her in front of her friends. 1 & 2. For number one I could add that. I also want to have a special scene for William in that episode in the beginning. As for number 2, I could see that working, but I got issues with this episode as I got a reviewer warning me for this episode specifically. So, I appreciate the idea, but don't know if I'll be able to modify it too much. And most likely, I probably won't be researching it till August or September. I got ten more to research before I get to this one.

Disclaimer – I do not own Code Lyoko, the plot, or the idea. The plot is owned by the creators and the idea was submitted by Voltronblues123.

It's breakfast time in the cafeteria as the students are either eating or talking to each other. Jeremy and Aelita are in line, and once they step out, they walk over to their friends. Odd puts down his croissant, William putting down his bowl of soup.

"What's the big news? We can't wait to hear it" Odd speaks up as Aelita and Jeremy sit down.

"I found it at last!" Jeremy declares.

"What, how to build up your muscles without any exercising?"

"Funny," Jeremy replies in annoyance. "No, I figured out how to materialize you onto Earth from the network!" he takes a hold of his croissant. "Actually, it was much easier than I thought it would be. I applied the synchronicity principal to the supercomputer's apparatus, and then I used it to develop a kind of energizing projection." He takes a bite. "In other words-"

"In English then, that means you know how to send us somewhere directly on Earth from inside the network, right?" Odd asks casually.

"Exactly."

"You understood Odd?" William wonders. He was Aelita's brother, and he still didn't understand that rant.

"Well, yeah. After all this time, I'm finally starting to get a hang of swampton physics" Odd replies.

"Quantum" Jeremy corrects him.

"It's still muddy though."

"So basically, now we can fight Xana in the real world now, right?" William asks.

"Yes, but not anywhere in the world, I can do it in the vicinity of a supercomputer generating a copy. It's what I call teleportation." Jeremy takes a sip.

Jeremy opens the door to the cafeteria as he and Aelita leave. Yumi walks up to them, having just arrived. "Hi guys, what's up?"

"Are you ready to go and blow up a supercomputer?" Aelita asks casually.

"You can get us to the real world from the network?"

"Yeah. We're all meeting at the factory tonight to try it out, okay?" Jeremy says.

"You got it" Yumi waves to the two.

"Bye" Aelita calls out.

"Hey Yumi, you okay?" William asks.

"I'm okay, just unsure." She walks away.

"What was that about?" Odd asks.

"Ulrich. Her birthday was a few days ago and she basically kept to herself, wondering if the real Ulrich, or what's left, was thinking about her. I'm pretty sure that's the one thing she wanted for her birthday this year, to have Ulrich back. There's nothing he could do. Xana's not gonna release him for a day."

"One birthday ain't gonna hurt. Ulrich has a chance next year."

"Yeah, if we can beat Xana before then. The longer Ulrich remains missing, the more depressed she gets."

Later that night, they run across the bridge. The girls and Jeremy slide down the ropes, the boys walking up to them.

"It will be really weird fighting on the real world for a change" Odd says.

"Let's just hope Jeremy's knows what he's doing. Last time he tried this, Xana infected Ulrich with a virus" William reminds him.

"According to Einstein, this one was less complicated then sending us directly to sector 5."

"Hey you guys, hello! You don't mind keeping up with the rest of us, I hope," Jeremy calls out from the bottom. "Do I have to remind you that we have a really important mission?"

"Okay, okay, we're not factory workers!" Odd retorts back.

"Really? I thought we were?" William adds.

The two jump and land in front of the elevator.

"How did your classes go today?" Yumi asks Aelita.

"Not bad, how about you?" Aelita asks back.

"Fine."

"You guys ready? Energize," Jeremy says. The four all land in the skid. "Standing by for liftoff."

"Standing by" Aelita reports.

"Supports away!"

They move away from the ship. "Ignition. Powering vertical." The skid lifts up. "Liftoff!" They exit their hanger and into the celestial dome. The ship flies away and Aelita goes through the open tunnel. She moves the levers forward out into the digital sea. "Okay, shields, activated. Sonar, activated. Stabilizers, online and checked. Primary axis, clear. Laser generators, online. Ready to dive!"

The ship dives down and enters the digital sea.

"I'm entering the coordinates of the replica," Jeremy tells them as they all exit Lyoko. "Holo web system online," he taps a button. "Okay, you're looking for a hub at zero four five."

"Gotcha Jeremy. Course heading set. I'm powering up the turboprops and auxiliary engines."

"Replica, here we go again!" Odd states.

"Yeah, this will be interesting" William adds.

"Hopefully we can destroy the supercomputer and put an end to any of Xana's evil plans" Yumi adds.

"We'll be there soon. There's our hub," Aelita states. "Get ready. Broadband acceleration. In 3, 2, 1, zero!" The skid travels in the hub to the replica's location. "Reverse thrust. We're clear Jeremy."

"Yeah, I know. You guys oughta be able to see the replica now" Jeremy tells them.

"Yes, it's right in front of us! We're heading for the entry portal," Aelita presses her hand to the scanner. "Digital key activated." The front of the skid connects to the entrance. "I'm sending you the signal Jeremy."

"Roger, I'm about to open it up." The connection disappears, and the door slowly opens. The ship goes inside, and they end up in the forest sector replica. The ship spins around as it lifts up, stopping above all the land. "Uh oh. There's an activated tower on the replica."

"That means that Xana is up to no good somewhere on Earth, not far from the supercomputer we're looking for," Aelita states. "But what?"

"If you wanna know, we gotta-"

"Hold on, why don't we try out the teleportation instead," William interrupts. "I mean the point of this mission is to test it."

"That's what I was thinking. But first, you're gonna have to moor the skid to a tower. There's one nearby, at 3 o'clock" Jeremy tells them.

"I see it, Jeremy. It looks good. I should be able to secure the skid to it" Aelita says moving the ship.

"Gently though. A little to the left. Be careful!"

"Backseat driving again. Better cut it out!" Odd jokes.

"Oh, sorry Aelita. I know you can do it without me."

Aelita moves the ship behind the tower. "Ready to moor," she taps the hand pad, connecting the skid. "Skid secured."

"Nice one princess!" Odd compliments.

"Good job!" Jeremy compliments her. "Now just give me a minute to activate the tower for our own use." A few seconds later, the tower turns green. "Well, we're all set. Okay guys, it's time. Ready for teleportation?"

"Ready Jeremy!" William reports.

"Teleportation."

Aelita and Odd disappear, but William doesn't. "I think you made a miscalculation somewhere Jeremy. I'm not there."

"That's normal. I forgot to tell you, that this time I decided to energize only Aelita and Odd. I'd rather you stay with Yumi to protect the skid. If it's anything like our last experiment, Xana will be sending you a welcoming committee in no time flat."

"Cool, settle the score with Xana here" William says punching his palm, ready to fight.

"I wonder if Ulrich will show" Yumi wonders.

"He will. Xana ain't gonna miss an opportunity like this."

"Okay, you guys know the procedure. I'll put you ashore while I get a little work done. Aelita, Odd, do you read me? Uh, Aelita? Odd?" He taps a button, putting the microphone to his mouth. "Aelita! Odd! I wish I knew what was happening!"

"COOL EINSTEIN!" Odd shouts. "IT WORKS!"

"Ah! Glad to hear it, but that's no reason to blow out my eardrum! Okay, where are you?"

"You're not gonna believe this, but we're in the jungle!"

"And it's daytime here!" Aelita adds.

"I get it, you're in a different time zone," he quickly locates them. "You're in the Amazon region, it seems."

"Wow, that's exciting!" Aelita says, and all of them have their Lyoko avatar still on them.

"But we're dressed like on Lyoko, how come?" Odd wonders as Aelita examines herself.

"Because the teleportation isn't a real devirtualization," Jeremy explains as Aelita gracefully jumps onto a rock, spinning around like a ballerina. "Those aren't your real human forms that I materialized onto Earth, but-"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down Frankenstein," Odd interrupts. "You trying to tell us that we're not really us?"

"Yes, you're you, but those aren't your real bodies. More like some kind of specters in the image of your manifestation."

"Aelita and I have become specters?!"

"In fact, you're more like polymorphic specters that-"

"Wow, pretty impressive."

"If you say so guys. It doesn't matter. For now, hurry up and find the supercomputer. The teleportation won' last forever" Jeremy explains to the two.

"How long we got?" Aelita asks curiously.

"Uhh, 52…no, 26…no, uh 13. 13 minutes!" he looks at the timer above the two's picture.

"The guy's a comedian! And just where does he expect us to find a supercomputer, behind a tree?!" Odd says.

Aelita sees something in the distance and smiles. "Good guess Odd." She places a hand on her hip as she sees a building up ahead.

Yumi and William walk away from the skid waiting for Xana to come and say hi.

"Yumi, William. Odd and Aelita have found a laboratory. My theory was right. They're trying to locate the supercomputer. Everything okay on your side?" Jeremy asks.

"A little quiet" William starts just a laser flies past him. A tarantula is walking towards them, firing from its arms. It goes back to crawling…but on another path is Ulrich riding a tarantula.

"Faster!" Ulrich orders. And on a third path is another tarantula.

"Jeremy, Xana's on the move again!" Yumi looks at all 3 directions.

"Okay Yumi. Two vehicles coming right up" Jeremy informs them.

The Overbike and Overwing materialize side-by-side. William and Yumi jump onto their respective rides.

"Ulrich's mine!" William says.

"Alright" Yumi responds.

"Be careful, if the skid gets disconnected from the tower, it's mission over for Aelita and Odd" Jeremy explains.

"We'll try to make life miserable for the enemy, don't worry" Yumi replies flying straight for a tarantula.

Meanwhile, William confronts Ulrich. "You and me Ulrich" he mutters to himself. Ulrich jumps off before William catches up and destroys that tarantula. Ulrich lands as William slides and looks towards him.

Odd scooches next to the wall, Aelita on the opposite side. Odd looks to her, who nods. He opens the door.

"It's open" Odd says.

They step inside, walking down the hallway. He peeks around the corner. Aelita looks to her right.

"Right or left?" she asks Odd.

"Through there."

"How can you be so sure."

"Cuz my sense of direction is infallible."

Aelita takes a look around as they continue walking, stopping him. In front of them is a glass wall with someone doing something inside. He turns around to reveal the sign of Xana in his eyes. However, they're no longer there. He looks out for a few seconds before leaving back to his desk. The two are hiding in the space underneath the pane, Odd pointing to his right. They crawl or the floor to get past.

Ulrich draws his sabers as he approaches William, who charges toward him. Ulrich rushes toward, super sprinting. He jumps before William hits him. Ulrich lands on William's back, pushing him off the Overbike and Ulrich using it as a jump. William slides to a stop, inches from the digital sea. "Whoa," William says, looking down. "Ground combat then."

Yumi dodges a laser with her fan as she's speeding towards the tarantula. It continues to fire at her, and she spins around the monster. She tosses a fan and ends up destroying it. She maneuvers around the trees, going in the opposite direction.

Odd slowly stops, Aelita behind him. They're now at an integration, Aelita peeking around the corner. Odd steps up first, pressing his back against the wall. Someone is walking around and Aelita grabs his arm.

"Hurry up! This way!" she ushers him into a room, a scientist walking past. Odd presses his ear against the door, both of them turning to a room with computers, whiteboards, and something big in the center.

"What's this, huh? A supermarket display for office plants? Uh oh, guess not" Odd says.

Aelita steps up to whatever is in the glass compartment to see giant spiders, with the Xana symbol on them, crawling around inside.

"Aelita, Odd, hurry up and find the supercomputer. Yumi and William are busy fighting off a bunch of tarantulas!" Jeremy's voice speaks up.

"Funny, their cousins are right here" Odd looks toward the big spiders.

"What are you talking about?"

"Uh nothing Jeremy. Aelita, what do you make of these souped-up spiders?"

"I'd say that Xana wants to transform these tropical tarantulas" Aelita stares at them.

"But for what? Spiders don't attack unless you sit on them," A spider touches the glass, causing Odd to scream. Aelita shushes him. "Okay, okay, don't look at me in that tone of voice! Anyway, I'm sure nobody heard anything."

The door suddenly opens to reveal the scientist from outside the hall they were just in. He growls and holds out a hand.

"You were saying?"

"Laser arrow!" Odd fires 3 times but misses. "Anyone teach you to play fair?"

The scientist sends the arrow back to Odd, hitting him in the shoulder.

"Hey, that thing really stings!" Odd says as his shoulder flashes.

"Energy field!" Aelita fires her orb. The possessed scientist ducks again and retaliates with an energy beam. Aelita tries to hold the beam back as much as she can, but her defense drops and the beam hits her, knocking her in front of the spider cage.

Ulrich and William clash weapons, Ulrich smirking behind the sparks of light. He twists William's weapon around and it lands on the ground.

"It's over for you…" Ulrich declares. William decides to run. "Super sprint!" Ulrich slashes William before he can recover his weapon.

"Okay, that was a dumb move" William mutters.

Meanwhile, the tarantula is firing at the skid, turning around to fire at Yumi who's flying right towards the monster. He hits the Overwing and Yumi lands safely, pulling out her fans. She throws them swiftly and destroys the monster. Her fans fly back into her hands, and she smiles. She hears the sound of approaching footsteps. She turns around to see Ulrich approaching. He draws his sabers.

"Not so fast, lover boy!" Yumi throws her fans again, but he simply ducks his head. She takes a breath, closes her eyes, and tries to use her telekinesis. Ulrich quickly rushes her.

"Sorry Yumi, not today," Ulrich looks down at her before kicking her. He picks up Yumi's fans and throws them into the digital sea. "Oops." Ulrich says pointing a saber at her.

"Jeremy! Mayday, SOS, I need two fans, like right now!" she informs him.

"Uh oh. Right now is a pretty tall order Yumi. But okay, let me see what I can come up with!" Jeremy tells her.

Aelita stops flickering, looking up to see the Xana possessed scientist holding out a hand towards her. He's preparing to fire another attack right at her. Suddenly Odd swings the crowbar, having gotten up. He catches it like it was nothing, throwing him away. Aelita hits him from behind while he's distracted, knocking him out of the room and into a wall. Odd looks at him flickering, and steps through another door.

He looks behind his shoulder, dragging the man away. "Here we go, back in your cage now" Odd says.

However, the scientist wakes up and kicks him across the room.

"Hey you!" Aelita exclaims.

Aelita throws an energy field at him, knocking him into the room. Odd presses a button to lock him in, rubbing his chin.

"You're a great specter!"

"You really think so?"

"Well, no medals yet princess. We still have to find the supercomputer."

Ulrich tries various combos to try to defeat Yumi. She has to stay on her toes. One wrong move can mean devirtualization.

"Jeremy!" she cries out.

"It's okay, I'm nearly there" Jeremy informs her.

The doors to the elevator open and William steps into the lab, slightly winded by the hit. He touches the back of the chair once he reaches Jeremy.

"Update?" William asks.

"You wouldn't have a rabbit's foot, a four-leaf clover, or a horseshoe on you, wouldn't you.?"

"That bad huh?"

Jeremy doesn't answer…

Aelita and Odd run down the hall. "Infallible sense of direction, huh Odd?" Aelita asks sarcastically, hands on her hips. "I was positive that we should have gone in the other direction!"

Aelita was about to turn around, when Odd grabs her arm. "Hold on a minute!" He eyes the glass pane on the door in front of them., and inside is a supercomputer. "Bingo!"

"Jeremy, we found the supercomputer" Aelita states.

"Great! You'd better destroy it right away, because Yumi can't hold on much longer" Jeremy tells them.

Odd taps some buttons, and the interface beeps, glowing red. "Oh no, an entry code! Why not a couple of guard dogs too?"

"Let me handle it" Aelita steps forward, holding out a hand. She closes her eyes and manages to get access inside, smiling. However, this also opens the door that the scientist was trapped in…he steps out into the hall, the symbol in his eyes flashing.

The two have already stepped inside the room, takin gin their surroundings.

"Now we've gotta get rid of this thing for good" Aelita raises up a hand at the supercomputer.

"Let me handle this one. Laser arrow!" he fires one, and it hits the center, but nothing significant happens. "I don't believe this!"

"Jeremy, we've got a problem. The supercomputer has an energy field around it!"

"You've gotta find out where the shield is getting its energy from. I can't do anything from here. Do whatever you have to but hurry up!" Jeremy urges them.

Yumi continues to evade Ulrich. She's suddenly backed to the tower.

"Jeremy, it's now or never!" Yumi cries out.

He taps a button and makes the fans appear in her hands.

"Yumi," Ulrich says. She looks up to him. "Happy birthday!" Ulrich devirtualizes her. He steps inside the tower.

Yumi kneels in the scanner, still in shock over Ulrich's last comment.

Aelita finds the energy source for the forcefield. "There! That must be the lens that's protecting the energy field! If we destroy it, there's a good chance we'll deactivate the shield!"

"You could have found me a little bigger target, "Odd complains at the tiny hole. "No one could possibly hit from this distance. That is…except me."

Suddenly the door opens to reveal more possessed scientists, including the one they fought earlier.

"Go ahead. I'll take care of them" Aelita tells Odd. They fire straight for her, and she shields herself from being hit.

Ulrich reached the top of the tower the skid is connected to.

"Laser arrow!" Odd fires. He hits the target, and the shield deactivates. "Yeah! Adios amigos!"

Ulrich steps up to the interface and presses his hand to it.

Code

Xana

The tower turns red disrupting everything, including the teleportation. The two disappear into thin air.

"Odd, Aelita, come in, please" Jeremy calls for them.

The two reappear in the skid. Odd awakes in alarm. "What is this? What's going on now?"

"Xana has taken control of the tower, you guys. Your teleportation has stopped. We've gotta abort the mission. You might as well come back home…wake up Aelita! Aelita, let's get out of here. Spiderman and company have just arrived."

"Okay," she taps a button after looking out the window. "Let's go!" She drives the skid away, the tarantula firing at the ship. The skid dives back into digital sea.

"Maybe this failure is a chance for us to improve next time we head back" William sates.

"Maybe, but we still gotta find out what Xana's planning to do with those cybernetic spiders" Aelita speaks up.

"Right, we'll have to go back onto the replica, teleport you back in, and destroy that supercomputer" Jeremy declares, and Odd let's out a yawn.

"That's fine, but until then, anyone mind if I sleep for a few years!" Odd says.

"Okay, we get the message," Yumi replies playfully. "We could all use a little sleep."

They walk across the bridge to head back to Kadic.

"So, what happened on the replica?" William asks Yumi.

"Why?" Yumi replies.

"You came back like you saw a ghost."

"Maybe I heard one talking."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ulrich…he told me…happy birthday."

"That's no ghost. I think that means, the real Ulrich cares about you. The one on the inside, not outside."

Jeremy and Aelita stare at the two. "I bet your thinking about your own birthday…" Jeremy says to her.

"Well yeah," she turns to him. "William was given away at a young age, so he wouldn't know. It's one of those things I still don't remember. I haven't any idea when I was born."

"No problem! All you have to do is make up a date Aelita."

"Why don't you choose one for me, then?"

"Okay!"

"Well? Go on."

"Uh uh," he crosses his arms. "I'm not telling, it'll be a surprise!"

William was watching them. "I wish I could help you sis; I really do."

"You've don too much already. You can't protect her forever" Yumi says to him.

"It's not protection. But trying to make up for all the time lost between me and her."

"Don't worry. You'll make everything right and both of your pasts will be unlocked."

"Hey, you guys coming or not? Hurry up before I fall asleep on this bridge" Odd calls out.

"Okay, cool it! We're coming!" William retorts back.

Kiwi is playing with a new toy Odd got him. "So, you really think the real Ulrich wished Yumi a happy birthday?" Odd asks.

"Yeah. Ulrich's heart is still there. I don't think Xana would do that. Plus, we know how Xana is when he takes over a person" William responds.

Yumi is still wide awake trying to wrap her head around what happened. Was it really Ulrich or Xana? Yumi knows Ulrich cares for her. On the other hand, Xana has been known to play mind games. She should be happy to get a happy birthday from Ulrich, whether it be him or Xana who said it. She decided to blow it off. Ulrich would be hers, now and forever. But until then, this is one messed up situation for everyone involved.

A.N. – Xana or Ulrich, you decide! Who said the happy birthday? There is no right answer. Believe what you want. Is the real Ulrich able to punch through or is Xana still playing his nasty tricks? Next time, the replica goes boom! PM me with story ideas if you have any! Don't forget to review with questions or comments! I will respond! Stay safe and healthy out there! As always, till next time! See ya! -lyokowarrior97