Chapter 23 A Lack of Goodwill
A.N. – Ulrich returns, infused with the power of Xana and the clone reveals all secrets of the Lyoko Warriors to two little reporters! This chapter will be full of problems from start to finish. Let's begin this problematic chapter! P.S. – I know the real William comes out in his season 4 outfit in the original. For Ulrich, use which everyone you want.
multiyman37 – I know you got this idea from the one of the games but as for the show there is no ground basis for me to build an episode on it. The only reason I'm adding a custom episode is because the submitter requested it. That was not my decision. Sorry about that.
Guest – I'm sure Odd will have some more moments in future chapters. I just don't know how many. Also, this is more of the 'custom' part of the story since everything has changed from the canon. 1. Sorry, I didn't know how you wanted it. 2. He said that the episode has critical detail in it. You can check out the reviews. The exact one is on page 4. I don't know what he was talking about, but I imagine it's the duel. 3. I guess I could add something extra in there near the end. 4. I could make that work. 5. This could also work. 6. I know exactly what you're talking about. Episode 89 is one of my favorites from the season. As for the idea, well we have to wait on it. I'm not researching that and even though it's one my favorites, I only remember bits and pieces. You'll know when you read it. 7&8. I could some pieces of this dialogue. I'm not sure about the full thing. I'll make a decision when I research it. 9. Sure, I would like to see it.
James Marshall – Again, I'll keep it in mind.
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 a question of reflexes: you've gotta trust your instincts" Odd states to Aelita.
"Anything you can do; I can do better Odd" Aelita brags to him.
"You wanna bet?" he challenges her.
"You're on" she smirks at him, Odd puts down a single fork and a meatball.
"Okay, watch and weep!" He hits the fork and catches the meatball into his hand. "Like I told you, my Odd-like sixth sense defies all limitations!"
The others laugh at him. "Okay show-off, now admire my Aelita-like sixth sense" she places down a fork and a mandarin. She sends it flying behind Yumi and it lands right into Sissi's food, splattering it all over her. She lets out a scream as she stands up.
"Who did that?!" She demands to everyone, Nicolas giggling. Everyone except Aelita laughs.
"You win hands down! Even at the top of my form, I can never match that!" Odd comments.
"Stern!" Jim walks right past their table. "Haven't you heard that forks aren't meant to play with, but to eat with? You hear me, Stern?"
Ulrich 2 has his back turned, the group gasping. They see a glass planted on his fork, which he sends flying into the air. Jim catches it into his hand before anything could happen.
"The glass is empty," Jim places it onto the table. "But that is the very last straw. You wanna play being an idiot? Well two can play at that game! Follow me!" He escorts the clone away.
"Ulrich's clone is not supposed to act like that!" Jeremy whispers to them.
"Oh, it doesn't matter if he gets punished. He's not even human!" Odd states.
"That's just it. He's a polymorphic specter, driven by a basic, non-evolutionary behavior program."
"English, Jeremy, English" William asks him.
"Hmm, Ulrich's clone shouldn't be capable of taking any personal initiatives, like trying to imitate Odd's stupid stunts for example!"
"Then how do you explain it?" Yumi questions.
"I can't explain it. That's why I'm worried…unless the…"
"The what?" Aelita raises a brow at him.
"Well, yesterday, I installed an upgrade for his software, something to improve his artificial intelligence. You know, something that would make him appear less stupid."
"Apparently it didn't work, because imitating Odd is the stupidest thing you could do" William quips, as the girls laugh.
"Well, we're gonna have to play it by ear. I may have to delete the upgrade. All we need is for Ulrich Jr. to start making waves…."
"Anyway, I did improve the superscan" Jeremy states to everyone. "Thanks to the data you collected during your last Joan of the network, I was able to set things up so that it can now find other replicas."
"Wouldn't surprise me if there's more. If there was only one, Xana would be dead by now" William says.
"For sure. In fact, I've already managed to localize a second one."
"A second one? How many replicas do you think there are?" Yumi asks in surprise.
"I have no idea, but I suppose if we destroy them all, we'll finally be rid of Xana for good."
"Fantastic!" Odd smiles at this. "I love it when you talk like that! When do we start?"
"Tonight."
Meanwhile, Ulrich 2 is getting chewed out nearby by both Jim and Mr. Delmas.
"I feel bad for Ulrich's clone," Aelita stares at the three. "It's my fault that he's in trouble with GI Jim."
"No reason to feel bad Aelita," Jeremy turns to her. "It's like Odd said, he's totally artificial."
"Like I was not all that long ago."
William closes his eyes feeling bad for his sister. She lived her life, coming from Lyoko, thinking she was artificial and not real. No family, no background. Nothing, but Jeremy and his friends.
"But that's not the same. An artificial clone has no feelings Aelita," the bell rings for class and they walk off. Jeremy turns to Ulrich 2 again. "At least…not for now."
Milly and Tamiya had listened to the whole conversation nearby. "An artificial clone?" Milly says in confusion.
"So, Ulrich isn't really Ulrich. I don't understand" Tamiya responds.
Milly leans in towards her with a smile. "It means we've got a scoop!"
Later that night, Ulrich 2 is in the library, writing down a bunch of sentences as his punishment. He puts the last paper in the stack.
"I'm all out of paper" Ulrich 2 says.
Jim puts the magazine to stare at him. "Alright, that's enough for now, I guess…" he puts down his feet. "I sure hope you've learned your lesson today. Next time, you'll use your fork for eating! And not for catapulting your glass into your neighbor's mashed potatoes!" He scratches the side of his head. "What's more, using a glass is not only dumb, but also dangerous! A ball of bread is much more discreet. Take it from someone who knows."
"A ball of bread! Huh? What a great idea!"
"Uh, no," Jim suddenly realizes what he just said. "Forget that. Definitely not with a ball of bread. If you do, I'll make you write 'I must never play with food! I have to catapult it into my mouth with my glass!' Uh… 'I mean in my mouth with my mashed potatoes!' Anyway, you get the picture."
"The picture?" Ulrich 2 looks around in confusion. "Where did you put it?"
"Huh?" Jim blinks at him astounded.
Jeremy types away as his friends are already in Sector 5. "Ready to go? Okay energize!" He taps enter and one by one, they land in their stations. Aelita takes hold of the controls.
"Replica here I come!" Odd declares once he's in his skid. "Odd the best, the greatest, the mean, lean, Xana breaking machine!"
"More lies than truth. I saved you in the network last time" William points out.
"And who took out those megatanks with talent and style? It was Odd, Odd the Magnificent! Hey, I like that. Odd the Magnificent."
"And thanks to you for getting me devirtualized."
"Well, well, aren't we sensitive today?" Odd wonders as the skid takes off.
"Listen, if you wanna be a hero, I can give you lessons, but not everyone has the right stuff. The main thing is staying humble!"
"That's about all boys can talk about. I'm the greatest at this, you can't beat me at that" Yumi sates in annoyance.
"That's because William isn't humble enough to admit that he can't even hold a candle to me! Even though he does it better."
"I'm dying from laughter," William says sarcastically. "By the end of today, I'll still be better than you."
"Hey, cut the hot air and let me concentrate, okay guys?" Aelita asks. Aelita drives the skid into an open tunnel and to the desert sector. "Stabilizers, online and checked. Primary access, clear. Laser generators, online. Here we go" she moves the ship into the digital sea, and then they dive into the network.
"Holoweb system online," Jeremy looks to the map on his right. "Aelita, I'm sending you the replica's coordinates."
"Gotcha Jeremy." They reach the hub in no time. "High speed acceleration in 3 seconds. 3…2…1."
The skid enters the hub.
Milly and Tamiya lean against the wall, ready to confront Ulrich 2. Milly hears the door and nudges her friend, who holds up the camera to the approaching clone.
"Ulrich," Milly approaches him with a notepad in hand. "We're doing a story on school punishment for the Kadic News. Do you think Jim throws his weight around too much?"
"At least 240, which is too much already" Ulrich 2 comments, to Tamiya's confusion.
"That's not what I meant. I meant that he can be a real windbag sometimes. You get my drift now, Ulrich?" she elaborates, but he still doesn't seem to get it.
"But there's no breeze in here, so I can't feel any drift."
Tamiya grunts, lowering the camera. "Are you an idiot or something?"
"That may be difficult to explain…"
The ship approaches the replica's entrance. "Replica straight ahead. Jeremy, you found it within a micro bit!" Aelita compliments him.
"Great. The improvements on the superscan seem to be effective!" Jeremy states.
The skid stops in front of the door and Aelita presses her hand to the palm reader. "Digital key operational."
The ship's light goes to the entrance.
"Your localization program works like a charm!" Yumi states with a smile. "At this rate, we'll be able to wipe Xana out in no time!"
"Oh, no big deal," Jeremy replies as the door is opened. "All I had to do was reconfigure the course of the alternate algorithm based on the data that you recovered from the first replica."
"Sounds simple to you, but it's Greek to me!" Odd comments.
"There's only one sector, the desert," The skid spins around as it arrives in the replica, going up to the platform. "Tower at 11 o'clock."
The ship moves over some rocks. "I see it!" Aelita states as it's at the edge of the sector.
"Good. Dock the skid while I activate the tower, for our own use so we can carry out the teleportation."
"It's as good as done!" Aelita informs as the ship is flying towards the tower. They reach the tower a few seconds later. "Docking." She quickly taps the palm reader to secure the ship to the tower.
"We're not gonna get anything out of him, he's been like a vegetable for months now!" Tamiya tells Milly in the hall.
"Leave it to me, I'm gonna bluff him out!" Milly smirks, walking up to the boy. "Wait a second Ulrich. I wanted to tell you how much you hurt me by not answering my letter." He stares at her in confusion, wondering just what she was talking about. "Well, I know that usually guys make the first move, and since I decided to tell you how I felt."
"What?!" Tamiya exclaims at her. "You wrote him a love letter without telling me you did?"
"Tamiya, I told you I was gonna bluff him!" Milly glances at her friend.
"I'm really sorry Milly. It wasn't me who got the letter. It must have been Ulrich."
Milly smiles widely at the indirect outcome.
Odd throws some rocks as Yumi standing by. "Too bad William's been teleported already; he won't be able to admire the exploits of odd the Magnificent and weep with jealousy!"
"Mm, yes, even though last time, he did save your neck, didn't he?" Yumi points out.
"Hey, come on! Don't you start now!"
"Calm down, you guys. Save your strength for Xana and his pals. I just spotted Aelita and William, they're in New Mexico right now!" Jeremy says.
William and Aelita peek over the rocks to see the laboratory up ahead. William gets onto his feet, pressing his back against something. He smiles once he sees something up ahead.
"A military base. Abandoned as well, perfect" William states.
"You're right William. It is a military base, and it's obviously been abandoned. I've located a plan of it on the internet, so I can guide you" Jeremy informs them.
"Xana?" Milly asks slowly as Ulrich 2 stupidly told them everything. "Who is this Xana?"
"Don't know, do you?" He asks cluelessly as they're all in his room.
"But…it was you who just told us that Xana has Ulrich because of a virus, so who are you then?"
"Me? Ulrich."
"Then I guess there must be two Ulrich's?"
"No. There's just one, and that's me. The other one is controlled by Xana. As long as the virus is active, then so is Xana's hold over Ulrich."
"If the other Ulrich is in danger, we should call the police, huh?'
"No, not at all. Jeremy and the Lyoko Warriors are trying to find an anti-virus and break his link to the digital sea."
"Lyoko Warriors? Who are they? And what's this digital sea?" Tamiya's more confused than ever.
"Listen, uh, if I'm gonna forgive the other Ulrich about the letter, I'm gonna need some proof that you're not making all of this up" Milly states to the clone.
"Proof? Don't have any…but Jeremy might have some in the computer lab in the factory."
Milly smirks a little towards Tamiya.
"I think I found it," Jeremy says to the two siblings. "In front of you, on your left. At the foot of a hanger, there's an elevator that'll take you to the underground part of the base."
"This place looks a lot like Area 51" William says to his sister.
"The base at Roswell?" Aelita asks with an amused smile. "The one with all those aliens? No, it wasn't the same at all."
"Wait a sec sis. Have you ever been to Area 51?"
"No, I was just kidding!"
"I miss her whole entire life, and she's able to pull a fast one on me" William comments after falling into that one.
Odd and Yumi are standing guard in front of the tower. Yumi is suddenly on alert, Odd standing up. Xana finally sends some 'friends'.
"Here comes the welcoming committee," Odd points his arm at them. "On your mark, ready…" Yumi pulls out her fans. The hornets open fire on them, and they separate. Yumi dodges the lasers with her fans, lowering her hands. She looks behind her as they fly right past.
"Hey, he didn't say go yet!" Yumi calls out after them.
"Wow! Utterly polite, little beasts," Odd fires his laser arrow. "Didn't even introduce themselves! Einstein, we could use a couple of taxis!"
"Okay, right away," Jeremy tells the two. The scanners show up on his screen. "What's going on? How come I have an activated scanner? Did anyone just get devirtualized?" The two vehicles appear.
"Wasn't me!" Odd denies while running over. "Why leave when it's just getting interesting?" he fires again, and a hornet explodes in mid-air. He jumps and lands on his Overboard.
"It wasn't me either!" Yumi calls out as she jumps using the tower, tossing her fans. They hit the top of the hornets and they land on the ground, sliding to a stop.
"Laser arrow!" Odd defeats one of them on the floor. Yumi jumps over the other one that slide past her, tossing a fan. It explodes while still sliding. Yumi lands in front of the Overwing, catching her fan.
"If it wasn't us, who was it?" Yumi couldn't help but wonder.
"I have no idea, but it sure isn't someone we wanna meet!" Jeremy says, wondering who it is and why.
The scanner opens and Ulrich steps out, the real one. He opens his eyes, and the sign of Xana flash, as Jeremy uses the camera to zoom in on his face.
"Ulrich?!" Jeremy slides back in shock upon seeing him.
"Ulrich?!" Yumi exclaims. "Ulrich's in the factory?!"
"It sure looks like it. I'll handle him."
"I thought the virus didn't affect him on Earth?"
"It doesn't, but since Xana has his mind possessed, he has full control."
Yumi tosses a fan, destroying only one hornet. "What's he here for? He isn't much use to Xana on Earth."
"Maybe not kill us, but to stop us from returning. He's going down to the supercomputer!" Jeremy notices where the elevator is going. Odd fires up ahead to a hornet, watching it explode. "He must have come to destroy it!"
"Great, last thing we need is Ulrich ruining everything" Odd flies away.
William opens a door, and they enter an operating room. Despite the place being abandoned, this room is working to create dozens of chips. The siblings walk up to the conveyor belt.
"What operation does Xana have here?" William says.
"Jeremy…Jeremy?" Aelita asks but gets no answer.
Yumi and Odd regroup in front of the tower. "We have to get back to the factory!" Odd insists. "Einstein are you there? Can you hear us?"
"There's no need to yell. He's probably trying to figure out a way to keep Ulrich busy. Besides, we're stuck here" Yumi tells him.
"I tell you, we've gotta go!"
"Odd…Jeremy hasn't teleported William and Aelita yet. We can't do it for him from here, we can't join them out there, we have to protect the Skid at all costs! So, we wait."
Yumi wants to assist Jeremy, but the Skid is the only way back home.
"I hate waiting!" Odd clenches a fist. "There must be something we can do!"
"There is one thing: defend our position. Look" Yumi looks up ahead as tarantulas approach the tower.
"Good. Thanks tour friends, at least we won't be bored."
Ulrich arrives in the supercomputer room as it rises. He smirks evilly until the door opens behind him.
"I had no idea you were into computers Ulrich, considering your grades!" Jeremy says from behind.
"Ah Jeremy. Nice to see you too. It's been a long time" Ulrich comments back.
Jeremy holds a crowbar and swings it towards him. Ulrich catches it with an evil grin. He swings him around. Jeremy eventually loses his grip and hits the wall roughly. He falls onto the floor.
"Face it Jeremy. You couldn't beat me before and now with Xana, I'm even better!" Ulrich makes a fist at Jeremy.
"This looks like a scene from one of Odd's games," William comments to his sister. "Also smells like his feet too."
"What worries me most is that we've lost contact with Jeremy…" Aelita murmurs in concern. "We have to find a way to get back to the skid and then return to the factory."
"Go home? And let Xana continue?"
"I'm not a fan anymore you are, but if Xana isn't stopping us here, then that means something is happening back home, and Jeremy is in danger!"
William finds it impossible to respond to his sister and looks away weighing both options.
Ulrich picks Jeremy up by the collar. "Sorry Jeremy, but my master doesn't want your friends coming back home!" Ulrich 2, Milly, and Tamiya arrive.
"Hey Jeremy," Ulrich 2 speaks up. "Do you have some proof?" The two Ulrich's notice the situation. "Get your hands off of him!"
Ulrich 2 tackles the real one as he throws Jeremy. The real Ulrich picks up the clone. "You think you're better? You're just a cheap knock-off!"
"Hi girls, what are you doing here?" Jeremy asks in pain.
"Milly, I wanna go home!" Tamiya says in fear.
"Which one is the real Ulrich?" Milly asks.
"It's very simple. The real one…is the bad guy," Jeremy tries to stand but is unable to. "Listen, you two girls have to go back to the computer lab and tell the others that they've gotta get back here and fast."
"Did you say others?"
"Alright, I'm outta here" Tamiya says in fear.
One of the three tarantulas stands up, firing at the two. Yumi uses her telekinesis, throwing Odd's board at one of them.
"Oh no, my Overboard!" Odd exclaims.
She knocks it into a tarantula, sending it into the digital sea.
"Another one bites the dust!" Yumi exclaims, moving the board back to Odd.
"Don't ever do that without telling me!" he inspects his vehicle. "I hope you didn't mess up the paint job…"
The other two tarantulas continue attacking them. They jump back into their vehicles, Odd and Yumi flying over their heads. They follow after them.
The two Ulrich's jump onto the ground. Ulrich trying to punch the clone. The clone tries the same, and they tackle each other to the wall.
Tamiya arrives in the lab, shocked at the sight. Nevertheless, she runs up to the computer and lands in the chair. She sees the microphone and puts it on.
"Um hello? Anyone out there? Hello?" Tamiya asks.
"Huh? Einstein?" Odd looks up, confused at the voice. "What's with that voice of yours, you catch a cold?" A laser hits the board and Odd falls to the ground.
"No, uh, it's…it's Tamiya."
"Tamiya, oh."
Yumi flies over to Odd, her Overwing getting destroyed. She takes off in a run.
"Tamiya, what are you doing at the factory?" Yumi asks as a tarantula chases after her. "Well, that's one heck of a surprise! Where's Jeremy?"
"Jeremy told me to tell you to come back right away, uh, whoever you are…" Tamiya responds.
"We're on our way! Fun's over, we're going home."
"It's your lucky day tarantula! Hasta la vista!" Odd comments.
They run in the opposite direction; the tarantulas continue to follow.
"Did you hear that? If Tamiya's reporting, that means Jeremy is in a serious problem. Let's go" Aelita tells her brother.
"Okay" William responds.
"On three," she points her hands at him as he holds his sword in an attack position. "One, two-"
A few seconds later, they both deteleported back into the skid. The duo reach the ship.
"William and Aelita might have been teleported!" Yumi exclaims.
"Yoohoo, anybody home?" Odd calls out as a laser hits Yumi's leg. "Those tarantulas stick to you like glue!"
The real Ulrich is thrown into the elevator as Ulrich 2 presses the button. "This should hold you!"
"Good riddance!" Milly glances to where he left.
"No, not at all! He's going up to the lab. He can still mess with the programming and get rid of the others," Jeremy explains to them. "The trap door. Go on Ulrich. You have to stop him before he start's doing some real harm!"
"Okay!" The clone winks with a thumbs up before jumping onto the supercalculator and going through the ceiling.
"I thought Ulrich sucked at computers!" Milly states.
"Under Xana's control, he's more like a genius now!" Jeremy says.
Aelita starts to slowly wake up in the skid.
The doors open as Tamiya turns to the real Ulrich. "Oh, which one are you? The good guy or the bad guy?"
"The good guy!" The real Ulrich smirks evilly, stepping towards her.
"Odd, we're onboard the skid. Ready to takeoff" Aelita says as Odd jumps over a tarantula. He jumps over it and fires a laser arrow, destroying the monster.
"Yumi make it fast!" Odd calls out.
"Coming" Yumi says but is devirtualized while looking away.
"Embarking Odd," Aelita says. Odd is teleported back into his navskid. "Okay, everyone's on board. Next stop Lyoko!" Aelita pulls the lever.
Tamiya is standing next to the real Ulrich. She looks at him as he disables the scanners.
Yumi stands in her scanner, which opens only just a little. "Thanks for the welcome" she mutters, trying to pull the doors apart, but they won't budge. Tamiya eyes Ulrich, backing away.
"I think you're the bad guy and if you think you're gonna wreck everything, you'll have to deal with me" she kicks and punches the air. He turns around with a smirk, hitting her with a blast that knocks her into a wall.
"Sorry, but you can't do anything. Xana wants the warriors out of his way, and that is what I'm going to do!" Ulrich states.
"There's the hub," Aelita says as the skid arrives. "Ready for high-speed acceleration.'
"Ready sis" William replies.
"Whenever you want princess!" Odd also replies.
The skid enters and travels back to Lyoko.
The trap door opens as Ulrich 2 crawls inside. Ulrich immediately notices and continues his work. Ulrich 2 jumps towards him and Ulrich taps enter. The clone completely disappears into pixels right in front of him.
"Like I said, a cheap knock-off, inferior to the real thing" Ulrich says.
Tamiya hugs herself. Ulrich disables the cooling chamber for the supercalculator.
"Tell me that's normal, and everything is okay!" Milly asks Jeremy.
"No, not normal. The cooling chamber. It's overheating and…the supercomputer is gonna reach a combustible, critical mass! Double fail. You have to stop Ulrich" Jeremy tells her.
Her mouth opens in fear.
The skid reaches the other side of the digital sea. "Do you see what I see?" Odd wonders as the sea turns red.
"Smells like a trap" William adds.
"Retro brakes," Aelita stops the skid as a shark swims in front of them. "I really didn't feel like fishing…bombs away!" She releases the two navskids and they fly off. The two sharks fire at them. William quickly spins out of the way. The torpedo nearly misses Odd.
"Hey! Keep to your right Sunday driver!" Odd calls out. The two separate and a shark follow each. The one following Odd fires and he moves out of the way. "I've got one stuck to me! That's worse than forgetting your candy bar in your jeans during a heat wave."
"What are you complaining about? Odd the Magnificent has a fanbase," William jokes back. William turns his navskid around. "Fire!" William fires and it explodes in front of him. "Odd, go higher so I can shoot him."
"Only because it's you!" Odd states, dodging the attacks from the shark. He turns and goes upwards. William zips past him.
"Perfect. Now, take this!" He fires the torpedoes and hits the shark dead on. "And that proves once again I had to save you."
"Everyone into the skid ASAP! We've already lost a lot of time" Aelita warns as the two return and the sea turns blue.
Yumi has finally gotten the doors to move a few inches, and she finally gets them to a point where she can step out. She falls onto the floor, the scanner closing behind her.
The skid arrives in the desert sector. "Jeremy, we're on Lyoko," Aelita reports as Ulrich watches with a smirk. The skid enters the hanger. "We're starting the docking procedure."
The skid slowly comes to a stop, being reattached. The three disembark from the skid.
"Jeremy's still not answering" Aelita shrugs cluelessly at the two.
"Well, there aren't a whole lot of ways to devirtualize ourselves" Odd points his arm to Aelita.
"Here we go again" William says drawing his sword.
Ulrich chuckles a little. "Ah, the others are finally here! Only, I'm one step ahead of them."
"Oh yeah?" Milly asks from behind. "We'll see about that!"
"Be careful Milly!" Tamiya calls out to her. "He disintegrated the other Ulrich just by pressing a button!"
Ulrich narrows his eyes at her.
Yumi looks up as the others arrive.
"What'd you do to my scanner?" Odd accuses Yumi.
"We got bigger problems to deal with" William states.
"Jeremy, are you okay? We're all in the scanner room" Aelita speaks up, but he's not in the lab.
"It's six against one, so just give up!" Milly jerks a thumb behind her. Ulrich starts a delayed virtualization.
"I did enough damage for today" Ulrich jumps down to the scanner room, just as the others arrive, ready to fight Ulrich.
"The Lyoko Warriors!" Tamiya points to them.
"Go on, run away, go back to where you came from!" Milly shouts at him.
"Ulrich's set up a delayed virtualization. He's going back to the network. What's more, he managed to cut the cooling system," Aelita starts to work. "But I managed to stop the process sin time."
"How long have you been fighting against Xana?" Milly has a little interview with Jeremy.
"We began almost two years ago" Jeremy answers her.
"And does this happen a lot?" Tamiya asks next.
"Are you kidding?" Odd answers as Tamiya tuns the camera to him. "It happens all the time! We fight Xana almost every day!"
"Wow! This has gotta be the best scoop we've ever had!" Milly writes this down.
"Hold on a sec. Let me tell you one last secret" Jeremy tells them as the others smile in amusement.
"Oh great, let's hear it!"
"The reason you're not gonna remember any of this is…return to the past now!" he taps the button and time is reversed.
"I know what you're thinking," Odd says once the days been reset. "But even if it's really tempting, I won't do it again." He eats his pealed tangerine.
"A wise decision Odd. Especially if Ulrich's clone is into imitating your stunts! We sure don't wanna draw any attention to him. And in the meantime, I'll try to create a new upgrading program" Jeremy replies.
"Are you sure you wanna erase the old one?" Aelita asks skeptically, making sure no one is listening to this time. "The replica did fight for you against the real Ulrich."
"Yes, I know, but um…actually, when I created it, I used some pre-existing programs that were already in the supercomputer. They'd been created by Franz Hopper. I did it to speed things up, but…I think they might have been some of the same ones that developed the personality of Xana."
"Oh, nice one Frank-Einstein! Better find Ulrich ASAP or we'll have a Xana-stein Jr. on our hands!" Odd comments.
"Or much worse," Yumi frowns a little. "A human being."
"That could never happen! Without that upgrade, Ulrich's clone will never be more than a program!"
Ulrich 2 raises a fist over his fork, Jeremy blinking in shock. But he simply turns around and gives them a thumbs up.
A.N. – Problematic chapter over. But more problems are coming. Next time, Xana's mission is revealed, and some parts of William's past are revealed. Also, Xana learns a secret that might both put Aelita and William in danger. Time for the past to become unmasked! 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