Chapter 35 Down to Earth
A.N. – Part two of Ulrich's arc and in the Kolossus arc! The beginning and ending of this chapter are changed with an added scene! The gym scene was submitted by my guest reviewer, so all credit goes to this individual. I think the gym scene delves a little deeper into Yumi's personal battles. Also, the best duel in the show: Ulrich vs. William…atop the Kolossus! Be prepared for some high action and problems! Let's begin!
Guest – There should be a sign up tab once you enter fanfiction it the top right.
Guest – William may not be his best friend, but he is still a friend. I'm glad you like the fights.
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.
Warning: So intense high action, with mentions of death or harm, and some mild sexual content.
It's currently late at night, and Yumi is at the gym in town. Ever since she was able to free the real Ulrich from Xana, she's been training, pushing herself harder in hopes of freeing him fully from Xana's clutches. Most of the time, she vents frustration over not being able to save him, the hatred towards Xana, and to herself.
She does these when her family is away, or if she ever has any free time. Due to these workout sessions, she has developed a full six-pack. She has thoughts dwelling on Ulrich which allows her adrenaline to push her to her limits, sometimes past. She recently purchased a blacker version of her gym outfit, while keeping the other for school. Her jacket is black on the outside, and pink on the inside. She also has a full black tracksuit pants. For shoes, she has white trainers with white soles and black laces.
She had been running on the treadmill. She also purchased heavy weighted bracelets that weigh 25 lbs. each. She has them on her arms and legs. This allows her to improve her running skills. She finds her limit, puts the bracelets on and continues to a 'runners high'.
She then takes off her jacket and tosses it to the side. She appears to be wearing a white sports bra. She then ties her hair in a bun. Her whole back and abdomen are both exposed. Her muscles have also increased in mass. She ahs been hiding this from the group as they are doing everything to rescue Ulrich and destroy Xana. She also didn't want them worrying about her.
She moves over to the chest press machine and sets the weight for 90 lbs. She sits down and grabs the levers and starts to move. She decides to do about 200 of these. "One…two…three," she says as she moves. She starts to fell herself starting to sweat. "198…199…200!" She releases the machine and stands up before moving on. She then moves over to the pulley machine and sets the weight to 100 lbs. She does the same amount of reps. When she's done, she lets her arms and back relax and stretch out before moving on.
She heads inside the sauna and places 4 weights around 25lbs. each on her back and she starts one-handed push-ups. "One…two…three," Yumi begins to count. She switches at the 100th rep and does one hundred more. She moves from one hand to one finger doing 50 on each hand. "48…49…50!" Yumi stands up and the weights fall off. She steps out, sweat dripping from face and body, leaning against the door frame, catching her breath.
She then heads to the bar for pull-ups and inverted sit-ups. She wants more of a challenge this time. She grabs two 45 lbs. dumbbells. She sets herself up and starts holding the dumbbells. "One…two…three," she counts as more sweat develops and muscles begin flexing and bulging as well as her veins start to show from the stress. She goes to 400. "398…399…400!" She drops the dumbbells and gets down. She takes a drink to replenish herself.
She then moves onto the pull-ups. She does around 200 of these, with her biceps bulging. She lets go and drops down and grabs the kettlebell. The kettlebell weighs around 35lbs. and she does 100 revolutions with it, her biceps bulging more. She drops the kettlebell and takes another small break. She also releases her hair from the bun.
She moves over to the barbell set and puts 50 kgs on each side equaling close to 110lbs. She lifts it above her head and muscles, biceps, and everything turns into a puddle of sweat below her and on the ground. Her veins start showing near the end of this session on her forehead. "548…549…550!" She holds the last one and lets one hand go and hold sit with one hand. A hair strand falls in front of her. She then throws it down and moves the hair away. She lays back showing signs of exhaustion. Her body is saying no more, while mentally she has not had enough. She sits up and takes another 5-minute breather.
She puts on some boxing gloves she got and approaches a punching bag. She releases a fury of punches, kicks, and any other moves she learned from Jim in the penchak silat classes. Due to this, the punching bag swings back and forth violently. She even imagines the eye of Xana embedded on it which makes her more enraged. She continues for 30 minutes before ending with a powerful roundhouse kick which breaks the bag. She drops to the ground in exhaustion, sweat continues to flow down her face and body.
She takes another small break with her arm muscles bulging. This time her thoughts dwell on Ulrich. She can only imagine the suffering that he's been going through. He is still Ulrich on the outside, only with no free will. She remembers all the good, and all the bad times. She also recalls all the battles with him as well. With all those memories coming to her, it almost brings her to tears. But also causes more frustration.
She picks up another punching bag with one arm and hangs this one up. This time she wears white bandages to avoid cutting her hands. She vents all her frustration and all the mistakes on the punching bag. Eventually they get harder that they sound like shotgun blasts. Her feeling shifted towards hatred towards Xana, and towards herself for not telling Ulrich how she felt sooner. This new bag begins to give from her hard-hitting strikes. She eventually releases a punch that sends the bag flying into the wall leaving a small crack but breaking the bag.
Yumi then stood in place for a moment with her fist outstretched. More sweat was surrounding her. Her body became more muscular, and her six-pack became a chiseled eight-pack. The exhaustion starts to take its toll on her though. She grabs onto something for support and her vision becomes blurry. "Oh man. Guess I pushed harder than I thought. One more than I'm done. But first, I'll regain my strength" Yumi comments to herself, as there is no one else with her.
She eventually walks over to a mirror and flexes her muscles. She was impressed on how much she changed from the course of when she first broke the darkness over Ulrich to now. This just gives her more confidence in herself. After she's done flexing, she does one last run on the treadmill, without the weights.
With tonight's session over, she grabs a towel and dries herself off. She ties her hair in a bun again and puts her hoodie back on. With that she leaves the gym and heads home. Before she starts, she puts on heavier weighted bracelets around 45 lbs. and decides to jog home. She arrives at a tree in the forest. She decides to test her strength and punches it and leaving a large hole in it. She's amazed at how strong she is.
After that she continues to jog home, taking the longest route possible. She stretches out her muscles before heading inside, as well as taking off the bracelets. When she enters, she finds no one is back yet. With this she heads up to her room and lays down for a minute. She grabs a towel and heads to the bathroom for a relaxing bath. After that, she grabs a bite and heads off to sleep. She still thinks she's not strong enough. "I'm getting better, but I'm not done yet. Gotta find limits and push past them, for Ulrich…," she looks out her window. "We'll free you soon. Just hold on…" She reaches her hand out like she was about to grab something.
"Hang on, let me get this straight," Odd speaks up as they're near the vending machines. "You and Einstein spent an entire weekend together and all you did was work?" He asks Aelita.
"Well, we had to work on the superscan" Aelita answers.
"Yeah right. You guys are worse than Yumi and Ulrich were!"
"And what's that supposed to mean Odd!?" Yumi asks threateningly.
"Well, you clearly fallen for each other, then you try to convince us your just good friends, and now you're back together. Make up your mind. By the way, where is Einstein?"
"I don't know, I'm a little worried about him," Aelita states. "Ever since he found out that Xana had infected hundreds of supercomputers around the world, he's always at the factory, here in his room, and…" Her phone rings and she looks at the screen. "That's him now! Yes Jeremy? Oh, I was beginning to worry, where are you?"
Jeremy appears right behind her. "Right behind you!"
"You're so silly" she giggles as she hangs up.
"Einstein, funny? I think you're right sis. He's not right" William smiles in amusement. Aelita giggles at his joke.
"Got some good news Jeremy?" Yumi wonders.
"Just a little. I finally found out a way to wipe out Xana!"
This news causes everyone to stare at him in shock. William and Aelita look at each other. They need to move…fast!
"Huh? Are you absolutely sure? A multi-agent system?" Yumi asks once they've heard the explanation.
"Yup, that's it! I decided to go over all of Franz Hopper's notes again," he pushes up his glasses. "As well as the data he sent from the network when he was escaping from Lyoko. And of course, the data you gathered when you were traveling on the skid. And that's when I realized that if we wanna get rid of Xana, it's through a system of multi-agents!"
"It sounds pretty dangerous," Aelita speaks up. "Don't you think? I mean because Xana himself is a multi-agent system. And don't forget what happened with the Marabounta!"
"Yeah, Aelita is right," Odd agrees with her. "You know Frankenstein, that was a pretty creepy invention!"
"The mara what?" William asks.
"A program Jeremy created to help us combat Xana. It went haywire when it sensed Aelita was connected to Xana through her memories and had to be destroyed" Yumi explains.
"I am way out of the loop here."
"Will you stop worrying?" Jeremy has an embarrassed smile on his face. "I'm not gonna launch my program until I'm totally sure it's gonna work! Right now, all I can destroy are two or three megatanks. On the other hand…"
"Continue?"
"Xana made a really big mistake when he teleported Ulrich during your last mission to the ice sector replica."
Yumi remembers Ulrich's words. "Xana makes mistakes. When it happens, make the most of it."
"And the data I found in the tower, was it of any use to you?" Aelita points up to him.
"Was it ever! Thanks to that data, I was able to imagine two programs for freeing Ulrich!"
"Hm?" Yumi raises a brow. "You mean for good?!"
"You bet for good! And it's so simple. All Aelita has to do is get to the supercomputer that corresponds to the ice sector replica and run both programs at the exact moment one of you devirtualizes Ulrich."
"Oh, wow, that's simple alright," Yumi turns around, hands behind her back. "Piece of cake, huh?"
"And how are we supposed to hold off a rampaging Ulrich? Xana has enhanced all of his abilities, including his rage" William asks.
"I said it was simple, but not easy" Jeremy shrugs at them.
"You forgot one little detail. What if Xana sends us King Kong like he did last time?" Odd turns to him.
"Who, the Kolossus? Think of him as just another one of Xana's monsters that you've gotta fight against."
"Yeah, a walking volcano that can devirtualize us in one hit. Easy, if he wasn't 10,000 feet tall!" William exclaims.
"Hey, fighting happens to be your job, mine happens to be programming," Jeremy gestures to himself. "You all know that!"
"If there's a chance of bringing the real Ulrich back, then what are waiting for? Let's go" Aelita smiles encouragingly.
"Yeah, no reason to wait," Jeremy smiles, rubbing his chin. "Everyone to the factory!"
"What? Like now?" Odd asks in alarm. "But they've got tuna casserole, sauerkraut and sausages for lunch today!"
"You can have lunch tonight! Let's go."
"Anyone ever tell you you eat dinner at night?!" Odd exclaims, as he runs into the hallway, closing the door behind him.
"Ulrich!" Jim shouts, frowning. Ulrich 2 walks over to him. "Didn't you hear me call you Stern?"
"No. I don't have a phone on me" Ulrich 2 responds.
"Trying to be clever, huh? I'm not that dumb. If you think you can pull the wool over my ears, you're wrong! Your parents are here to see you" Jim tells him.
"My parents? Who are they?"
"Hey, would you stop acting so stupid Stern! They're waiting for you in the principal's office, so get going! Go on now!"
"I'm certain Ulrich will be delighted to see you," Mr. Delmas says to Ulrich's parents. "He's changed quite a bit as you'll see, especially since that trip he went on with you" he gestures towards Ulrich's dad.
The two turn to each other in confusion. "What trip? I never leave unless I come here" Ulrich's dad responds.
The door knocks before Mr. Delmas can explain. "Ah, yes, there he is now. Come in!" The door doesn't open. "Come in I said!" Still nothing and Delmas goes to the door. "What's the matter Ulrich? Didn't you hear me tell you to come in?"
"Yeah, but the door was closed" Ulrich 2 replies dumbly.
"Oh…well, your parents are here."
Ulrich 2 steps into the room. "Are you fine, dear? You don't seem yourself?" His mom asks.
"Did my appearance change or something?" Ulrich 2 replies.
"What's wrong with you Ulrich? You're not this dumb!" Ulrich's father exclaims, knowing his son well enough to know something's wrong here.
Jeremy taps a key as the others are already in the digital sea. "Holoweb system online. Aelita, I'm sending you the ice sector replica coordinates."
"Alright Jeremy," the entrance to the network opens and the skid flies out. "Rotation." Aelita tilts a lever towards her, and the skid moves so it's facing horizontally. They take off into the network. "Here we go."
"What'll it be? Tuna casserole or sauerkraut and sausages?" Rosa asks Ulrich's mother.
"What's most popular?" Ulrich's mom asks.
"The sauerkraut most popular," she places one on her plate and Ulrich 2 stands in front of Rosa. "Ulrich, how's it going?"
"I guess to the left or right" he replies.
"Huh?" She starts laughing at him. "I never knew you had a funny side Ulrich. Here, have some of this," she gives him sauerkraut. "This'll stick to your ribs!"
"Isn't that bad? I'm supposed to digest food, not have it stick" Ulrich 2 walks away as his father gets his food.
The skid tilts back vertically. "High speed acceleration in 3 seconds" Aelita says as the skid enters the hub to get them to the replica.
Ulrich's mom and dad just look as their son doesn't even touch his food. "Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Stern," Jim approaches their table. "Hello, I'm glad to see you again. You know that son of yours, he's changed a lot."
"I could change any time I want," Ulrich 2 speaks up. "I'm a digitally generated polymorphic energy field, but I was designed for this form only."
They stare at him, even his father is confused by this statement.
"Uh, chip off the old block, huh?" Jim glances away awkwardly.
"Well, I'll leave you now. I'm sure you have lots to talk about together, huh?" He chuckles a bit, walking away.
"So, Ulrich, we were wondering why you don't answer or return our calls?" Ulrich's mother asks.
"I don't have a phone on me and if I called no one would answer because you're not there" Ulrich 2 responds.
"What about the grades? I noticed they improved" Ulrich's father asks.
"Oh yes, the memory I have is ever evolving, so everyday I learn something new, and I download it into my ever-evolving brain."
They are again confused by this Jeremy-like mumbo jumbo.
"I've got a visual on the replica," Aelita stops the skid in front of the replica entrance. She pulls down the lever, so the ship is vertical again. "Digital key activated." She presses her hand against the scanner. The skid connects to the replica.
"Good work Aelita. I'll let you in" Jeremy informs her.
Jeremy gets the door open a few seconds later, the door slowly creaking. The ship enters inside and then they emerge into the ice sector replica. Aelita flies the ship upwards.
"Okay, no sign of any activated tower. There's a tower south south-west of your position. You can dock the skid there. I'm gonna teleport you with Odd" Jeremy tells Aelita.
"Gotcha."
A few moments later, the two arrive in Siberia, landing one by one. They open the door and Aelita peeks inside. It's empty, but still doesn't let her guard down. Odd steps in next.
"Jeremy, everything's cool, we're inside the base" Aelita reports to him.
"That's great, make it fast. Xana's bound to rear his ugly head pretty soon."
"Mhm," Odd gestures down the hallway. "After you, my princess!"
Aelita giggles and she leads the way to the supercomputer room.
"Are you trying to tell me he isn't your son?" Mr. Delmas asks the two parents in his office. "But you are the parents of Ulrich Stern…?" He rubs his chin.
"Of the real Ulrich Stern," Mr. Stern slams his hands down. "My son is not the brightest, but he's no dummy!"
"Well, his grades have improved…"
"That doesn't matter! That's not the point! I know my son and whoever that is, is not him!"
"Hmm. Well, it's true your son has been behaving somewhat strangely these past few weeks…but I can assure you that this is the one and only Ulrich Stern we know!" He points to Ulrich 2.
"Tell me sir, you said Ulrich went on a trip with me, where were you referring to?"
"Well, the trip back home with you, and then he missed his flight back here!"
"Ulrich never flew! He's scared of heights" Ulrich's mother states.
Plus, Ulrich's father knows his son doesn't like him, so why would he travel with him. The last time he saw him was right before he fell to Xana.
Yumi and William are standing guard in front of the replica tower. "It's crazy; I can't believe we're actually going to bring home the real Ulrich!" Yumi states, William closes his eyes. William couldn't imagine how happy she'll be when she sees him in the flesh, unxanafied.
"Let's just hope his clone is causing us more problems" William adds.
"Um…William. I hope…that when we bring Ulrich back you won't get jealous when he and I, well…you know…"
"What? No, of course not. Don't worry Yumi, I won't get jealous, I promise. I got over you after you revealed that you were going to be in a relationship with him. I'll talk with him, and we'll be great friends, and you two can be happy. To be honest, I knew I never had a chance, but it didn't stop me from trying."
"So, that's why you kept flirting with me all the time?"
"I'm too much of an optimist. If thing's start bad, I believe they turn out good in the end. But you know what, I think destiny brought you two together."
"And you believe all that?"
"Destiny brings you everything. Meeting you allowed me to get closer to your friends and here. It gave me friends, Aelita as my sister, and who knows what else. And look how many times Xana has tried to kill us, but we always pull through. So yeah, I believe it all."
"Um…William. There's something I've been wanting to tell you for a while."
"What is it Yumi?"
"I…I just want to say…I'm so sorry."
"Huh? Sorry for what?"
"After we inducted you, I didn't know if I could trust you. You know how Xana is, he could have easily manipulated you. But you turned out to be a fine Lyoko Warrior and a fine addition to the group."
"I think you would have never gotten rid of me. You can't keep me away from my sister."
"Yumi, William. Danger: the radar shows Ulrich coming for you" Jeremy tells them.
They look up ahead. "Time for the final duel," William says, drawing his sword. "Here he comes."
He's approaching on a manta. "Try and slow him down."
"No problem." The Overbike and Overwing appear. They jump on and take off to lead Ulrich away. Suddenly, Xana starts planning something in the network.
"What bothers me most is Xana is drawing energy from all the replicas and I'm sure that means trouble…" Jeremy says, fearing the worst. "Aelita, Odd, how's it going?"
They step into the room where Ulrich appeared. "We're coming into the main room. Wow! It's a lot more crowded than the last time we were here" Odd says.
"Why?" Jeremy asks Odd. "What do you see over there?"
"Jeremy…" Aelita speaks up. "There are dozens of robots in here. All lined up like an army waiting for orders."
"So that could be Xana's secret plan: to use an army or robots to enslave all of mankind!" He narrows his eyes, leaning back in his chair. "Get to the supercomputer room as fast as you can!"
"We're on our way," Aelita states as they walk on the catwalk above the army.
Yumi and William are still moving from the tower. "Leave Ulrich for me! Me and him have some unresolved issues" William calls out to Yumi.
"Remember, just slow him down" Yumi tells him.
"Piece of cake" William speeds up. Ulrich and the mantas chase him. The second manta fires at Yumi, who swerves out of the way.
"Get them!" Ulrich commands the manta.
Aelita and Odd head down the stairs. "Hi guys!" Odd greets the robots. They're so shiny that their reflection is showing. "They're not much on conversation, that's for sure." They came to the door. "Open up grandma! It's Little Red Riding Hood! Uh, pink that is." Aelita smiles in amusement.
"I'm working on the door" Jeremy gets to work. Aelita looks over her shoulder to examine the robots.
"It's scary looking at all those robots standing at attention" Aelita comments.
"It sure is," Odd stands in front of the door. "Hey! One of them just moved!"
"Where? Which one?" Aelita asks in alarm.
"Will you relax? I was just kidding!"
"Oh Dumbbell!" She turns around, crossing her arms.
"Hey! One of them just moved!"
"It's not funny this time either!"
"Only it's no joke this time!" The robots activate and stomp their feet as they move to the duo. "Uh Einstein? Tell us you found the right key, because things are getting kind of weird around here!"
Ulrich's manta fires at William. "Come on Stern! Let's play!" William draws his sword. William throws his sword hitting the monster from underneath. "Bullseye!" The manta explodes, and Ulrich jumps off before it explodes. William grabs his sword before eyeing his opponent. "No more toys Ulrich."
The robots continue to approach. Odd protects Aelita.
"Shield!" Odd declares as the robots start to fire.
"Jeremy, hurry up! The robots are firing at us!" Aelita exclaims in panic.
"I'm almost there," he reports. "Hang on!"
The robots don't stop moving. "Easy for you to say!" Odd calls out. Aelita fires an energy field, disabling several of them. But more still approach.
Jeremy looks up with a smile. "I got it." The symbol changes from red to green.
"Laser arrow!"
"Energy field!"
Both of them attack the robots as the door opens behind them.
"Odd, let's go!" Aelita runs off., followed by Odd. "Jeremy, it's a nightmare!" Aelita exclaims as the robots continue to follow.
"Try to go to the supercomputer room. I'll see what the others are up to" Jeremy instructs as they come to a stop, looking around.
"This way!" Odd points to the right and Aelita follows.
The second manta gets destroyed by Yumi's fan before it can fire. She catches her weapon, turning around.
William clashes swords with Ulrich, William avoiding Ulrich's slashes. William tries for a counterattack but can't find an opening. Ulrich sweeps William's feet knocking him down. Ulrich tries to finish him, but William kicks him into the lake.
"Uh oh, sorry Jeremy" William says.
"Hold on, his signal didn't disappear. Something's not right here" Jeremy says, fearing what's next.
"You think he gave up?" William's question was answered as the ground shakes. Suddenly horns rose, followed by a white face and Ulrich along with the body.
"That's it, the Kolossus! That's why Xana was drawing energy form all the replicas!" Jeremy exclaims as the Kolossus rises. The water falls off its body, and William looks up. Ulrich is on his shoulder. What they didn't know is that Xana was now in control over Ulrich. He looks to the skid. "I'm not losing my puppet so easily" Xana says through Ulrich.
Odd runs behind Aelita as they approach the supercomputer room. "That way!" Odd says as they run to the right. "Hurry Einstein, open the door!"
"Hang on, I've got an emergency on the replica."
The robots are only a few feet away. "Shield!" Odd says defending him and Aelita.
"Super smoke!" William smokes on to the arm of the Kolossus. The monster moves forward. William looks over to see another symbol on his sword.
Yumi comes to a stop in front of the monster. "I've gotcha now!" She throws her fan, hitting the head, but her fan is destroyed a few seconds later. Xana just smiles evilly.
"It's not going to be as easy as that" Xana states.
"Xana's made this thing a lot tougher!" William calls out to her.
"I don't get it; I was right on target!" She gestures to the monster. "He should have been destroyed!"
"There's another on his sword. You got hit both consecutively."
The Kolossus continues moving, Yumi flying up ahead. "Concentrate your efforts on Ulrich. I'll try to get you a hand with the Kolossus, okay?" Jeremy tells the two.
"How? Did you see how big he is?"
"I'm gonna launch the multi-agent program" he states. William continues his march towards Ulrich.
"Will it take him down?"
"No, the program isn't finished, but it might immobilize him long enough to devirtualize Ulrich." Jeremy taps a key, activating the program. It spreads out and freezes the lake, trapping the Kolossus. He slams a fist trying to destroy it but can't.
"Impossible" Xana says in disbelief.
"It works Jeremy. The Kolossus is stuck" William smiles at this.
"Fantastic Jeremy! The Kolossus is paralyzed!" Yumi compliments him.
"Odd, Aelita, I'm back to you now" Jeremy announces to them.
"It's about time!" Odd exclaims.
"Open sesame." Jeremy unlocks the door.
"Come on Odd" Aelita urges him.
"No, I'll hold them off! Bring Ulrich home!" Odd tells her.
Aelita runs down the hall and Odd starts to destroy the robots.
"Aelita, there's a terminal next door," Jeremy instructs her. She runs past the supercomputer and enters the next room.
"Alright Jeremy, I'm there" Aelita tells him.
"Okay, now listen up. I'm going to dictate the programs. Enter it word for word and we'll be just fine."
"I'm ready Jeremy. Go ahead" Aelita says at a terminal.
William jumps to Ulrich, sword drawn. "It's just you and me Stern."
"Fool! You're facing your ultimate doom!" Xana says.
"Xana…even better!"
The two exchange blows. The two end up in a sword lock.
"Go easy William," Yumi calls out. "Jeremy said we have to wait before we devirtualize Ulrich!"
"Sorry, but we're dealing with Xana now. So, it's me or him!"
Aelita is typing while Odd deals with the robots. "Laser arrow! Hey uglies, you don't look so stainless now!" Suddenly, another army of them show up. "Hey, don't go inviting your pals! I can't entertain everybody!" The robots de-teleport him.
"It's entered Jeremy" Aelita says.
"Alright Aelita, get ready to launch the programs," he adjusts his glasses, preparing himself. "William, Yumi, when I give you the signal, devirtualize Ulrich."
Xana uses the twin sabers to dislodge William's sword and his from their hands.
"Fine. Old fashioned beating" William says in a fighting stance.
"Prepare to die" Xana says wickedly.
"Huh? What's going on around here?" Jeremy stares at the screen.
The Kolossus breaks free and continues to move. "Jeremy, the Kolossus is breaking free!" Yumi exclaims.
"I know, the multi-agent system doesn't have enough power."
Yumi isn't paying attention and she flies right into the sword of the Kolossus. "Oh, that hurt…" she murmurs from the scanner.
William and Xana are fighting. William tries to punch him. Xana grabs his fist and grins. He kicks him close to the lava. He sits on top of him and tries to push his head to the lava. "I'm gonna burn your face clean off!" Xana threatens him. William struggles against Xana's immense power.
The door opens and Aelita looks to see the robots. "Jeremy, the robots are here!" Aelita cries, readying her energy fields. She throws them at the robots.
The Kolossus is on its way to the skid. Xana is still on top of William. "You see my face; it'll be the last face you'll see!" Xana exclaims as William rolls him and Xana off the Kolossus. The two exchange punches as they fall. Both land on their backs. William super smokes to Xana and grabs him.
"I'm ready Jeremy!" William exclaims, holding Xana tight.
"Aelita…right now!" Jeremy tells her.
She presses enter. Xana struggles free and kicks William before super sprinting away. William is immediately crushed.
"I don't believe this! William!" Jeremy exclaims in horror.
Xana reappears watching the Kolossus approach the skid. William falls out of the scanner.
The robots fire at Aelita and she's de-teleported. "NO!" Jeremy shouts.
"Finally, victory! So long Lyoko has-beens!" Xana says as he's shot from behind and devirtualized.
"Sorry Xana, but I'd like my good buddy back" Odd says.
Jeremy looks as an ID card loads. Ulrich reappears with a yellow body suit. "YEAH!"
The scanner opens and Ulrich steps out, shocking Yumi and William. Ulrich smiles at them. Tears come out of Yumi's eyes.
"Ulrich! You're finally back!" Yumi yells hugging him.
"Welcome back man!" William adds.
Odd looks toward the skid. "Oh no…the heap is already near the skid! Jeremy, I can't do anything from here."
"Yeah, I saw. Aelita, get out of there fast!" Jeremy's voice wakes her, and she sees the Kolossus right outside. The Kolossus swings its sword arm disconnecting the skid and sending it near the digital sea. "NO!" Jeremy screams. One of the navskids falls into the digital sea. "Aelita! No!" The skid falls into the digital sea, and Aelita with it.
"Sis…" William mutters as a scanner opens.
"It's okay Jeremy, Aelita's here with us" Yumi reports.
"Oh, thank god. I thought we lost another one."
"Aelita…I was never so scared for my life" Jeremy smiles in relief and she smirks.
"Lucky for me, I was devirtualized just before the skid was totally destroyed" Aelita tells them.
"Yeah. And what's more, we saved Ulrich!" Jeremy points out.
"My head still hurts. That was a rough experience" Ulrich says.
Aelita gets out and joins in the group hug just as Odd reappears. Odd also joins.
"Welcome back good buddy!" Odd exclaims.
"Thanks. I missed you…all of you" Ulrich says.
"Ulrich…the virus Xana implanted in you was completely destroyed. Xana no longer exists in your human or virtual form" Jeremy tells him.
"Good. I don't want to repeat that chapter in my life ever again."
"Mr. and Mrs. Stern are right," Sissi tells her father in his office. "There's some really weird things going on at this Academy."
"Really? Like what?" Mr. Stern asks.
"What are you talking about Elizabeth dear?" Mr. Delmas asks her.
"Well," she starts off. "The whole time I've known Ulrich he was normal. But he was in a relationship with Yumi Ishiyama and that really messed him up. I don't know what she did to him-"
"Isn't she the black-haired girl?" Ulrich's dad asks.
"Yup. I tell ya, he wouldn't be this way if he was with me."
"Sissi, might as well look elsewhere. You'd been saying this for years" her father tells her.
"Well, where is Yumi? Let's ask here."
"I agree. Maybe she has these answers" Ulrich's dad agrees.
"She's probably with her friends. I'll get Jim" Mr. Delmas says.
Jim leads them through the dorms and ending up at Jeremy's room. Jim knocks and gets no answer. "No one's there. Just like Della Robbia and Dunbar's room."
"Okay, enough foolishness!" Mr. stern exclaims. "We are going to test him, because he is clearly not my son!"
Odd, Yumi, and William peek from William's old room. "Ready Aelita? Now's the time!" Yumi tells her.
"Okay," she's at the lab with Jeremy. "Now."
Jeremy deactivates the tower that created the clone. And the clone completely disappears.
"Please, try to calm down sir!" Mr. Delmas tries to ease Ulrich's dad. Jim looks to Ulrich and screams.
"There, he- there!" No one else is around the hall.
"Will you calm down as well Jim? What's the matter with you?"
"He was here…and-and then he wasn't here! He evaporated!" Jim stammers.
"But he's still here, look Jim" The principal gestures to the real Ulrich.
"But I swear, he was here, and then he wasn't there! And now he's here again."
"Uh, you could use a day or two off."
"Yeah, I'm back. And all jokes stop now" Ulrich speaks up.
"Ulrich?" his father asks.
"It's true that I changed. I'm okay now. My grades actually improved because Jeremy and Aelita were tutoring me."
"Oh Ulrich, you're back!" Sissi says.
"Is she your girlfriend Ulrich?" His father asks.
"No, Yumi is."
"Yumi!" Sissi exclaims.
"Yup! I'm in a relationship with her and even if you were the last girl on Earth, I still wouldn't date you."
Sissi walks off, obviously mad.
Hopefully Ulrich can go back to being normal. This experience has hit us all hard" Aelita says as Ulrich is talking to his parents.
"He's gonna have to. Everything from his possession to freedom was erased. The last thing he remembers is seeing William in the core" Jeremy explains to them.
"Well, if you ask me, I glad his clone is gone. He was causing us some problems" Odd speaks up.
"Yeah, and we better be careful. Xana just lost his most dangerous and powerful weapon, Ulrich."
"We also lost the skid," Yumi mentions. "It'll take months to program another one."
"No more replica hunting huh?" William comments.
"And what about those robots in Siberia? The army that Xana's created to take over the world?" Aelita glances away.
"That's why the only hope we've got of ever beating Xana is my multi-agent system. I'll get back on it tonight."
Yumi looks over to Ulrich, who waves at her. She waves back. The rest of the group walk away. Aelita whispers to William.
"Meet me tomorrow at the factory in the morning. We're moving on the rescue" Aelita whispers.
"Gotcha sis" William whispers back with a thumbs up.
Yumi told Ulrich to meet her at her room later that night. He came up through her window. She unlocks it and he gets inside.
"Okay, so what did you want to tell me?" Ulrich asks her.
"The thing is that I'm actually falling in love with you" Yumi responds.
"I feel the same, always have. Why did you call it off?"
"I was at a point in my life where I had you and William fighting over m. I couldn't hang out with William without you getting jealous, and I couldn't be with you without William trying to steal me away. So, I thought if I bumped you down to friend only then things would stabilize."
"When did you realize?"
"Right after I lost you. Gives actual meaning to you don't know what you got until it's gone."
"Is that the only reason?"
"No, I figured that I better tell you now in case something like this ever happens again. Just know that I'll be there waiting for you."
She places her hand over his. He places his second one over hers.
"Same for me."
"I'm sorry for everything I did wrong."
"How you gonna make it up to me?"
"Like this."
She pulls his lips to hers and pulls him into a kiss and they fall back onto the bed in a full make out session. Ulrich was finally home.
A.N. – Ulrich is finally free! And Xana's days are numbered! But we got something in between now and Fight to the Finish to do first. And that is my bonus chapter. If any of you read the context clues, you know exactly what this episode is going to be centered around. Only three left! 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