Chapter 25 Hard Luck

A.N. – Time for the second replica out I believe the twenty Xana had in the original to be destroyed. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Xana needed a lot of power to summon that one special monster in the end. I could be wrong or not. It's just a guess. Let's begin!

Lea Howlett – Glad you like my series! Trust I would like to do more than one a week, but I need some time to rest and let reviews come in as well as research and write. It takes a lot longer to write one of these than you think. Also, I won't do evolution. I know it would carry on the story, but I wouldn't be able to write it as there is too many English translations out there and I don't know which ones follow. Plus, my sanity would break. It's hard enough to watch and researching and rewriting it would be a nightmare.

James Marshall – I like the idea but I can't use it here. Personally, I don't think that William's adoptive parents will meet Aelita face-to-face.

Guest – Oh there's more, can't say how many. Still not that far so I can't give an exact number. 1. I can use that. I also planned for William to find a second photo, but I guess I'll just use both ideas. 2. I will use it. 3. I can use it. 4. I'll use it. *There are two number fives in your review. * 5.1 – I'll use it. 5.2 – I can use it. 6. It depends. If you suggest a scene, I would say look at the original and say 'would it work here?'. There are scenes like in episode 88 where they are on Lyoko for like five minutes and adding a fight scene would fell like it wouldn't fit. That's just an example. But if you get any ideas let me know. 7. Possibly, not there yet. 8. I see the evolution reference. I'll use it. 9. I'll use it. 10. Not even close. I can't say much or even give a title. I want it to be a surprise for everyone. I can only give you this clue: F, S, & D, or F R. This clue is the first letters to the two titles I'm considering. Figure out the riddle and maybe you'll figure out the bonus chapter. Also, all six of them will be in it. P.S. – I was hinting at it in certain chapters. Context clues with my stories are important. 11. His own would work, but I need to find a place for it to work. For the world of the story purposes, Jeremy is working to explore the network, free Ulrich and find a way to destroy Xana. 12. I can use that idea.

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

William opens up the door that leads to the hall, walking all the way down to his room. He opens up the door, only to find Odd rummaging through the wardrobe. "If you're trying to clean the room, you're doing it backwards" William informs him.

"There! That's what I was looking for. Hmm, no it's not," Odd walks up to his bed and sits down. "I don't wanna be late for breakfast!"

"For extras?" William asks.

"Well yeah," Odd puts on the pants. "But also, to steal Azra's heart! Where are my shoes?"

William new this was nothing new. Odd always tries to impress a girl. Made him wonder if he would find Mrs. Right.

"Follow the stink line," William says pointing. "You seem jacked up for this. Are you it's the right time?"

"Oh yeah, she borrowed my pencil sharpener yesterday and well that's a sure sign that she's totally crazy about me, so today's the day!" Odd smiles, picks up his backpack, and knocks down a mirror. "Oh great, now I have to apologize ton Ulrich."

"Or get him a new one, but I'd avoid mirror shops if I were you. Seven years bad luck."

"Are you superstitious?"

"I believe in destiny. But I've seen things that can't be explained. Just watch."

"Yeah right. Get real William. Four-leaf clovers, rabbit's feet, horseshoes are for old ladies! Ah! In fact, I can feel it. Today's gonna be my lucky day!" He opens the door only to find Jim standing there.

"Della Robbia! I bet you think it's really funny filling my shoes with cottage cheese, huh? You just earned yourself 8 hours of detention!" Jim scolds him.

"But it wasn't me, Jim!"

"Well, if it wasn't you, then who was it?'

"Well, I'm not a snitch Jim, but you might want to check out Nicolas and Herb."

Thanks for the tip. That's gonna cost you four hours of detention for selling out your classmates!"

"Can you believe that?"

"I told ya, unexplainable!" William comments.

"Forget it! There's no such thing as bad luck!" Odd slams the door leaving.

Rosa smiles apologetically at him when he makes it to the line for breakfast. "Sorry Odd, but I guess you're outta luck."

"Not even one croissant left Rosa? What am I supposed to eat?" Odd asks.

"How about some dry toast?" She smiles, holding it up.

"No way. Okay, give me some hot chocolate to drown my sorrows in."

"I can't do that Odd. The machine is on the blink. Never happened before in all the years I've been working here."

Odd heads over to where the rest of the group is.

"Tea and dry toast Odd?" Yumi asks, stunned. "What are you, sick?"

"No, not yet, but after I choke this down, I will be!" He grumbles, causing everyone to laugh.

"Okay everyone, here's the plan," Jeremy speaks up. "You've got to return to the military base and destroy Xana's supercomputer once and for all. I don't think it should be too complicated. That is, as long as Xana doesn't have anything new up his sleeve."

Suddenly, Azra walks by. "Azra!" Odd says standing up.

"Mm?" She turns to him.

"Let's have breakfast together!"

"So, you can start drinking hot chocolate to your nose again?"

"Uh, no. And besides, the machine is busted. What I meant is, uh, I wanna learn to speak Turkish. Maybe you can give me lessons."

"Do you mean it?"

"Sure, I do."

"Well, um…we could discuss it."

"What a great idea Azra! I can't wait to start!" Azra blushes a little from this.

"Hey, why did you tell Jim on me?" Herb storms up to odd. "You're a snitch!"

"Not only that, but it was your idea to put cottage cheese in his sneakers! Which was incredibly funny" Nicolas giggles at the memory.

"Yeah, you just wait. We're gonna get even with you for that someday. You'll see, you traitor!"

Odd turns around to see them leave, Azra glaring at him. "I don't blame Herb," she walks off. "Budala."

He sits back down. "Burhaha?"

"Dork, that's the word for a numbskull!" Jeremy laughs, winking at him. "Well Odd, I guess you just had your first Turkish lesson!"

A little while later, the team is on the desert replica, the skid already docked at a tower. "I don't believe in luck but walking under a ladder is like asking for it" William comments.

"In Japan, people avoid anything to do with the number 4 because it sounds just like the word for death" Yumi adds.

"Did you know that the word rabbit is bad luck for sailors? So is spilling salt when you're on a ship" Aelita says next.

"And I tell you the only thing that'll bring you bad luck is talking to Odd about dumb superstition, because all you'll get is laughed at!" Odd quips with a tiny smirk.

"Sure, but before the end of today, you'll be trying to avoid black cats" William tells him.

"Okay, Odd and Yumi, you guys ready for teleportation?" Jeremy asks them.

"Ready" Odd tells him.

"Ready" Yumi adds in.

"Then here we go. Energize Yumi," Jeremy taps the key and Yumi disappears. "Energize Odd."

He waits, closing his eyes, but nothing happens. "Well? Go on" Odd tells him.

Yumi teleports into New Mexico. She lands, looking around in confusion. She hides behind a rock. "Hey Jeremy, we've got a slight problem. Where's Odd?"

"He's still in his navskid" Jeremy informs her.

"I don't get it. What did I do wrong?" Odd asks as Jeremy looks into it.

"I don't get it either. The teleportation failed for the first time…"

"The bad luck streak continues…" William comments.

"William, save your dumb jokes or you'll have the bad luck of being forced to eat 10 pounds of dry toast!" Odd punches his fist.

"Yeah, I'd like to see you take me in a fight! You'll be crying within the first round!"

"What do we do now Jeremy? You want me to go?" Aelita asks him.

"No," Jeremy pushes up his glasses. "You got plenty to do with the replica. The superscan has just picked up an activated tower. I'll send William to help out."

"Whenever you're ready" William says.

"Energize William." William closes his eyes and is teleported into New Mexico.

"Hey William!" Yumi greets him with a wave. He runs up to her. "Where's Odd?"

"On the replica with my sister. Also, Xana is here too, so be careful" William replies.

"Good, he's really bad luck today. Ready?"

"Let's go." The two take off to the supercomputer within the compound.

"Watch your step," Jeremy warns the two on the replica. "If a tower's been activated, you can be sure that Xana's planning to counterattack."

"How about giving us the coordinates so that we can go and deactivate it?" Aelita suggest to him.

"Due West from your current position."

"Let's go!" Odd pumps a fist.

Yumi and William are taking a look around the area. "Deserted, like always" William comments.

"that's good news" Yumi replies.

"Here are your vehicles" Jeremy says, materializing the Overboard and Overwing.

"Hm?" Odd looks around. "Jeremy, isn't Aelita getting on the Overboard with me?"

"Uh, you know Odd…um…seeing how your day's been going up to now, I'd rather you guys travel separately."

"You all are such lame-o's! I tell you, everything's cool!" Odd insists to them, but he starts to bug out, shocking Aelita.

"Did you see that, Jeremy?" Aelita points to him. "What's going on?"

Odd huffs, crossing his arms.

"I have no idea. I'll check it out. You guys get going" Jeremy states and Odd jumps onto his vehicle. The two take off, flying West.

Yumi and William walk up to the lab. "Elevator right there" William points up ahead. "Take us to where the supercomputer is."

However, Xana is watching them from a camera…

They reach the elevator and Yumi presses the button. "I wonder what Xana's planning for us?" William tells her.

"We'll find out soon enough" Yumi replies.

"Hopefully it's nothing difficult like-"

"The kankerlots!" Her eyes widen towards something.

"The overgrown cockroaches? They ain't tough."

"No, I mean over there!" She holds up her fan. "Kankerlots!

Two kankerlots appear in front of them. Xana has figured out how to teleport monsters into the real world. One of them fires, Yumi deflects it with the real world. One of them fires, Yumi deflects it with her fan. She tosses it at the kankerlot, and he disappears into nothing.

She catches the fan just as the elevator opens. Two more fire as the duo rushes inside. "Hurry up!" Yumi urges William. He hits the button and the elevator heads down. "I wish Xana sent us a few krabs."

"Weak or strong, they all fall the same. Jeremy, you there?" William asks.

"Loud and clear. Anything wrong?" Jeremy responds.

"Yeah, the laboratory is infested with kankerlots. You have to deactivate the tower to stop their teleportation!"

"I'm on it. Aelita, Yumi and William have some visitors at the base. You have to deactivate the tower fast!"

"We're on our way. I can see a canyon in the distance!" She points up ahead.

"Got you. I'll check the area and see if the tower is there." He checks it out to confirm it. "The tower is in the center of the canyon. Hurry up!"

"Okay," Odd nods, turning to Aelita. "You see that? Everything's cool. Superstition is for lame-o's. Why to-"

He gets hit in the shoulder and turn to see hornets after them.

"Uh, you were saying?" Aelita asks him.

"I'm okay! Watch this," he swerves to the left. He flies into the air and then ends up behind the hornets. "Laser arrow!" He destroys one from behind, flying back to the girls. "Piece of cake!" He brags to Aelita.

The elevator opens as Yumi and William look down a hall. "No unwanted visitors in front of us" William points out.

However, a kankerlot teleports behind them, startling them. "But not in the back of us, look!" Yumi exclaims.

Another one appears as the first one walks forward. Yumi leaps back and throws her fan, but the kankerlot deflects it. William catches it and throws it, destroying one in the process.

"Nice one William," she smiles at him. Two more kankerlots materialize. "Let's try to buy some time."

"I'm all for it…" William replies as they take off. "Jeremy."

"What is it?" Jeremy asks.

"What's the state of the tower? These things are restless!"

"Hang in there. Aelita and Odd are almost at the tower!" Jeremy looks back at the two.

"Let's do our thing" Aelita orders Odd.

"Here we go!" Odd turns right as Aelita goes left. The two hornets separate. Aelita turns around to the hornet on her tail and holds out a hand.

"Energy field!" She flies but misses it.

Odd flies around the lasers as the hornet attacks him. He turns around to face the monster. He jumps into the air, the hornet flying past. Odd grips the end of his Overboard. "Laser arrow!" He hits the hornet dead on, spinning back onto his Overboard. "Who said I was jinxed?" Odd quips and then starts to bug up. "But…but…"

The Overboard tilts upwards and he falls, landing on the ground. "Odd!" Aelita shouts. "Odd, are you okay?" Aelita asks in concern. The hornet notices Odd flickering.

Something seems to be wrong with him as he's not moving, and Jeremy notices the torso from Odd's avatar blinking red, even though he wasn't hit by a laser. "Odd, what's happening? You lost half your life points just now!"

"It's that stupid bug again Jeremy!"

The hornet flies over to Odd. He slowly comes to. "What's going on?" The hornet hits and devirtualizes him.

"No!" Aelita shouts. She creates an energy field in her left hand. "Energy field!" She hits it dead on. "That'll teach you zap my friend down." Aelita heads to the tower. "Jeremy, I'm headed for the activated tower."

"Okay Aelita, make it fast. Yumi and William have got a huge, huge bug problem" Jeremy looks to the left screen.

"And what about the program bug? You know what's causing it?"

"No, not yet. It might be a virus or some maiden Xana made. Whatever it is, we're not having any luck with it" Jeremy answers as Odd is out of the scanner.

"There's no such thing as luck, you got that!" Odd shouts up at him.

The kankerlots split up to go find William and Yumi. One looks through the door and walks right past it, not knowing that the room is where the two are hiding. William gives her a thumbs up once the coast is clear, and she closes the door.

"What kind of place is this?" She looks up ahead.

"That's what I was wondering the first time as well" William replies.

"It looks like some sort of factory assembly line…"

"But for what?"

"We might find that out in here…it looks like a control terminal."

"Check it out Yumi," Jeremy speaks up. "Any info on Xana's tactics can come in handy."

She starts operating the computer as William presses a finger to his ear. "What's the status of the tower?"

"Aelita should be deactivating it any minute now."

Aelita finally reaches the area of the tower…which is past a very long path. She enters, swerving around the pillars. Aelita glances behind at the buzzing sound. She picks up speed. One of the hornets bumps into a rock and destroys itself. Aelita keeps swerving as the one fires at her.

"You're not gonna get out that easily, my friend," she turns to fire an energy orb, only for her to start flickering like Odd did. She doesn't notice the pillar and crashes onto the ground. "Guess I've gotta go the rest of the way on foot."

The hornet continues firing at her and she runs off. "Jeremy!" Aelita cries out.

"Yes Aelita, I saw it," Jeremy replies, Odd now at his side. "The bug seems to be having an effect on you too. Better deactivate the tower fast before you disappear!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!"

"William!"

"Problems?" He replies.

"Your sister can't deactivate the tower just yet. She's been affected by Odd's bug too."

"Hey, it's not my bug, okay?" Odd defends.

"Just my name for it until we figure out exactly what's going on."

"It better be, because I've got nothing to do with this mess, you hear? It's just a question of chance" Odd looms away, crossing his arms.

"Getting a little superstitious over there, are we?" William teases.

"I figured it out" Yumi calls out.

"What?"

"I think it's an assembly line for motherboards or electronic implants."

"Implants? For what?"

"To control those spiders, for example?"

"The cybernetic spiders in the jungle lab?"

"Exactly what I mean."

"Maybe, but I think Xana has bigger plans here then we think."

"Only two questions: What and where?"

The terminal nearby immediately shows the sign of Xana, and the assembly line starts up. The kankerlots also find them, and more start materializing. One appears in front of Yumi, firing at them. A third kankerlot materializes near William, but he cuts straight through it.

A kankerlot jumps towards him, but William rolls out of the way. He watches as the monster lands on the conveyor belt. Yumi flips away from the lasers, landing on her feet. She tosses a fan at the kankerlot nearby, defeating it. However, she gets hit in the shoulder from behind. Yumi looks at the kankerlot, holding her sparkling right shoulder.

William's sword slashes through it and it disappears. Yumi grabs his sword handing it to him. "Thank you."

"Regardless, whether or not I'm with you, no one will hurt you and get away with it" William replies smiling.

"William, Yumi, I just located the supercomputer. Head for the southernmost end of the room" Jeremy informs them. They look up ahead to see an open hallway.

"Okay, we're on our way."

They make a run for it. "Anything new on your end?" Yumi asks.

"Yeah," Jeremy looks up at the computer screen. "Ulrich just showed up on the replica."

Ulrich stomps the ground, looking up towards the tower…and the skid that's docked to it. "And if you ask me, it's not just a friendly visit."

"Jeremy," William whispers. "We're at the supercomputer room." He looks to the left. "Right there." They run down a hallway.

"The supercomputer will have to wait. First, we've gotta solve the Ulrich problem."

"Sure, any ideas?"

"We haven't any choice. One of you will has to be teleported back to keep him from deactivating the skid tower."

"Okay, I'll go."

"No William," Yumi stops him. "I'll handle Ulrich. Me and him have a score to settle. We're good Jeremy. I'm the one who's going. I'm coming for you Ulrich."

"De-energize Yumi" Jeremy declares.

"Good luck."

"Teach Ulrich a lesson" William replies.

Yumi reappears in the skid. "Yumi, wake up! Ulrich's coming!" Jeremy urges her.

She opens her eyes and looks around. Ulrich is walking up to the skid, sword in hand. Yumi teleports in front of the tower, ready to face him. He comes to a stop upon seeing her.

"Hey lover boy. Happy to see me?" Yumi teases before throwing both of her fans. Ulrich dodges both of them.

William enters the supercomputer room. "Uh oh," William says to see the room filled with kankerlots. He gets out and quickly closes the door. "Jeremy, big problem. The supercomputer has a cockroach infestation. Tell my sister to step on it!"

"She's just about ready to enter the tower" Jeremy reports.

The hornet is still chasing after her, Aelita hiding behind a rock. As soon as the hornet flies past her, she destroys with an energy orb.

"Jeremy, I finally got here!" Aelita pants as she runs towards it.

"Great. Don't waste any time."

However, the bug acts up again, and Aelita completely disappears before she can even reach the tower.

"I don't believe this!" Jeremy holds his head. "William, your sister just got devirtualized. It looks like you're on your own with the kankerlots."

"Okay, I know I'm good and ready to kick Xana's butt, but there's a good chance I could go down on this" William states.

"Try to hold on until Yumi's finished her combat. If she beats Ulrich, she can come back and give you some help."

Ulrich looks for the disappeared Yumi, walking forward. He scopes the area for her, as she's hiding behind a rock. He leaps in the air, hoping for a better vantage. She lands on a pillar behind him. She throws a fan. It hits him but doesn't devirtualize him. He jumps from pillar to pillar. She throws the other fan, and he throws a sword knocking them both down.

"Time to play my game! Let's see if you know who's the real me. Triplicate!" Ulrich declares as he separates.

Three Ulrich's surround Yumi. She knows this trick got William devirtualized.

"Uh oh" Yumi states.

All of them have their swords crossed. She flips out through an opening. The Ulrich's charge her. She tosses a fan at the far left one. That was copy #1. The other two strike her arms. She screeches in pain and drops to her knees. Jeremy notices her arms flashing red.

"Yumi, you've just lost 50 life points! What are you doing?" Jeremy tells her.

"Yeah, well it was a one-third chance I would hit him!"

"Fusion!" Ulrich fuses into one. Ulrich runs up to Yumi. He tries to slash at her. She flips to avoid his multiple combo attack. Yumi flips towards him to jump behind him and sweeps his feet before kicking him.

"You could never beat me when we fought Ulrich!"

Ulrich super sprints, slides under her and then kicks her across the arena. "Only this time, I'm much better."

Yumi slowly gets up. Ulrich rushes her again and quickly slices her in the stomach. Ulrich then kicks her into a pillar. He approaches Yumi. He tries to finish her, but Yumi uses her fans to stop him. Ulrich's incredible strength makes Yumi lose her strength and Yumi's arms were slashed. He puts a foot on Yumi.

"Face it Yumi. With Xana's power, I'm unstoppable" Ulrich tells her.

"Yumi's life points are 10!" Jeremy cries.

"This is bad! She can't beat him!" Aelita adds.

"Ulrich is better than Yumi on Lyoko! Always has" Odd informs them.

Ulrich is about to finish her, but he begins to bug out. "No! This shouldn't be affecting me!" Ulrich shouts.

Yumi kicks him in the stomach. Yumi stands up and Ulrich growls at her. The Xana eye on his headband flashes due to his rage.

"Jeremy, did you see that!?" Yumi asks.

"I did Yumi. The bug is affecting him too. Apparently, Ulrich isn't immune to it" Jeremy declares.

"Well, now Yumi may have an advantage" Odd states.

"Looks like our luck has turned around" Aelita adds.

"I told you guys, there is no luck!"

Jeremy and Aelita both laugh.

Yumi disappears from Ulrich.

"Come out Yumi! You're gonna lose anyways!" Ulrich declares.

"Yoohoo Ulrich!" Yumi says as he looks up. Come up here so I can give you a kiss!"

Ulrich jumps onto the pillar. He starts super sprinting. Ulrich then freezes from the bug. Yumi throws a fan knocking him down. His eyes are closed. He wakes up to find a pillar falling due to Yumi's telekinesis. Ulrich just lays there as he is too exhausted to move, and the pillar crushes him.

"That was great Yumi!" Jeremy compliments, Odd and Aelita smiling. "Get ready for another teleportation. William needs your help."

"Okay. Wait I think the bug's affecting me." She disappears. "Oh no. Too late!"

"Can't believe how jinxed we are today!"

"What is this dumb bug anyhow?" Yumi asks bitterly.

"That's exactly what I'm about to find out…" Jeremy starts typing. "It's a mandelbug!"

"A what?" Odd asks in confusion.

"A bug in the virtualization software, and the causes are so complex that its behavior seems totally chaotic! And with no way to tell if the behavior is really chaotic or just seems to be, it's impossible to differentiate it from a bore bug or a heisenbug!"

"Huh?" Aelita raises a brow.

"Couldn't be anymore clear" Odd says smugly.

"…You mean it?" Jeremy stares at him.

"No!"

"It's an extremely unusual problem, and Jeremy doesn't know how to fix it yet" Aelita explains to Odd.

"Oh, well, why didn't you say so?"

Jeremy notices something approaching the skid. "Oh great. That's all we needed now."

Two tarantulas arrive, and with no one left to defend, they start to fire.

"William, I bet you want some good news."

"Would love some" William responds.

"Sorry, don't have any yet. To make the long story short, you're still on your own, the tower is still activated, and you're probably going to get the bug I can't fix."

"Any more bad news?"

"Yeah. You've gotta work fast because Xana also sent in some tarantulas to blow up the skid."

"Alright. Here we go," he opens the door and enters. "Come on Xana, let's play."

The kankerlots all turn to him. Yumi has joined the others at this point, and they all gasp at the shock. "Hey, did you see that? William just knocked out three of them!" Odd states.

"But how did he do that?" Jeremy asks in wonder. "He just has one sword!"

"Incredible! There goes another one!" Aelita smiles in relief.

"He's on a lucky streak today" Yumi comments.

William goes in like a madman, destroying the kankerlots left and right.

"Too easy" William says as all of them are defeated.

"Nice going, now get rid of the supercomputer! Better hurry, you're fading fast!"

William is starting to be affected. William throws his sword at the supercomputer before he completely disappears. The supercomputer blows up.

"The replica's disappearing too!" Jeremy states.

"What about the skid?" Aelita asks in concern.

"Hey, no sweat. I made a little remote control piloting program for emergencies just like this one," Jeremy smiles as the replica disappears. The skid exits and speeds away as the replica explodes. "Another replica bites the dust!" Jeremy takes off his headphone. "Fantastic!"

The elevator opens to reveal the smiling William. "Well, what did you think? Well Odd?" He places a hand on his shoulder.

"Luck buddy! That's what I think" he pouts a little, looking away.

"No, destiny. Just like how you're destine to be unlucky!"

Everyone but Odd chuckles at this.

Odd lets out a cry at dinner. "What happened?" William asks him.

"What does it look like? I slipped. I guess I can't deny it. Ever since I broke that mirror, I've been jinxed!" Odd frowns, placing his dinner on the table.

"Relax Odd. Jinxes don't exist. Luck does, but it changes!" Aelita replies in amusement.

"Only when?" William asks and Odd looks towards Azra. She stands up and Odd sees a pink phone laying there on the chair where she was sitting.

"Ha ha! Lady luck might be smiling on me already." He runs up to the phone and take sit. "Tada! Azra's mobile look. She left it behind on purpose just so I would find it."

"Odd, considering after earlier today, she didn't leave it on purpose for you to find" William says skeptically.

"Believe what you want. Now I've just gotta wait for her to call me to get it back!"

He walks away with William and Jeremy down the hall once dinner is over, and the phone rings. He sees a text. "I'd like to get my cell phone back. Meet me under the arches right away! See you guys later!" Odd exclaims.

"Say hi from us" William calls out teasingly.

"Good luck!" Jeremy yells after him.

"It's already good! So long!"

Odd goes to the arches like instructed and looks around for Azra. He whistles a bit and gets one in return. "Azra?"

"No, it's Jim Morales" Jim comes out of hiding, shocking Odd.

"Oh, sorry Jim, but you see, I'm waiting to meet somebody, so, if you don't mind…"

"So, it was you who found my cell phone" Jim eyes the phone in Odd's hand. He looks to the pink phone.

"Uh, you mean it's yours?" He would've never expected Jim to have a pink phone.

"Yeah, that's right. Why?"

"Because, uh…I mean, uh…I mean it's not your style."

"I like pink, got a problem with that? Look at the color that you wear all the time" he points to the purple spot on his hair.

"Yeah, but pink with sparkles and a heart charm on it? Isn't that a bit too much?"

"Probably," Jim takes the phone. "Mm…I'd rather not talk about it."

"Hmm…" Odd can only stare.

William visits Aelita at her room because she had something for him. He knocks, and she opens the door. "Hey sis, you wanted to see me."

"Yeah, come in" Aelita replies.

William sees the photo framed and on Aelita's nightstand. "I see you already framed the photo."

"I got a frame over break and just put it up when we came back," Aelita replies reaching for something in her desk. "Here." She hands a wrapped present to William. He unwraps it and looks at it shocked.

"You…you got me a copy?!" William says, holding up the same photo also framed.

Aelita nods. "We're family, and you've done too much for me already. So, I thought it was time I did something nice for you."

"Thanks sis" William says embracing her in a hug. If she wasn't committed to Jeremy, or related, he would have also kissed her.

A.N. – Little ending twist that will also carry into next episode's ending. I also thought that this was a nice way for William to get the photo of his family, rather then him getting the original from Aelita and making a copy. Also, for reference of William says he believes in destiny comes from episode 36 when he talks with Sissi about them being crazy over Yumi and Ulrich. Next episode goes back to normal with a Xana attack. 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