"Alright. I'm uploading the program to you. Now the Skid's sonar should be able to differentiate biosignals from the rest of the computer code in the Digital Sea." Jeremie said.
"Got it. Program received and activated." Sachiko said.
"And you think with this, we'll be able to find where XANA is keeping the spiritual essence of William?" Odd asked.
"Let's hope so. It's the best chance we have of bringing him back to the real world." Aelita said.
"Ah, the return of our tall handsome hero." Odd said. "I'm sure Ulrich is gonna be thrilled to have his old rival back. Speaking of which, it's nice of Tsumugi to use her Law of Cosplay to become Cheetah on the weekends. Not only would it feel like she was still here, but David and Hitomi would get some good practice in."
"Odd… Sometimes, you're really a bit too much." Hitomi said.
"Only sometimes? Uh oh! I guess I must be slipping!" Odd said.
"Speaking of Yumi, I wouldn't mind being in her shoes today." Jeremie said.
"Are you kidding? Helping run the outdoor science lab with her brother's class isn't exactly her idea of fun." Ulrich said.
"Oh come on! I bet she's having a really good time right now." Jeremie said.
"Well at least Maki's there to help her out." Mari said. "Anyway, anything on your radar, Aelita?"
"Nothing yet. Actually…scratch that. It's detecting a faint trace as we speak." Aelita said.
"It could be William. I say investi…" Mari said as the alert started going off. "Not now! Why can't we explore in peace?"
"This is not good." 9S said, bringing up a visual. "XANA's used the Satellite Laser on the passing comet, and now it's turned into a meteor storm heading here."
"Damn it. It's a high class category! Crashing into Earth could cause an extinction event." Jet said.
"XANA is clearly stepping up his game." Sachiko said. "I hope Yumi and the others will be okay."
"They should be fine. Most of the meteors should burn up in the atmosphere. But that huge chunk will just crash…oh no. Into the factory!" Jeremie said.
"So that's his plan. He plans to destroy the factory and prevent any entry back to the real world." Sachiko said. "With that, he can do whatever he wants with Aelita."
"Damn it." A2 said. "There must be an activated tower if he's taken control of the satellite."
"Don't worry. We've got this." Hitomi said.
"And that's why I'm staying at the control center. To launch a Return to the Past just before the meteor hits." Jeremie said.
"Got it. Full speed ahead!" Aelita said.
"They're never gonna make it in time. Unless…" Jeremie said. "Of course! If we can gain control of that satellite, even for a moment, we might be able to change its course!"
"Good idea, Jeremie!" Frisk said. "That shouldn't be too hard for us."
"But to do that, we need Yumi's help." Jeremie said.
"Uh oh…" Mari said, seeing something encompassing the Skid.
"A firewall…" Hermit said.
"It must be a program from XANA. I'll get us out of it." Aelita said as she attempted to do so, to no avail.
"It's not working. Hold on… Its energy is set along a basic algorithm. All we have to do is crack it, and we'll be able to slip through a breach in security." Sachiko said.
"At this rate though, they won't be able to make it in time." 9S said.
"Calm down, 9S. The weak link is as plain as day." Sachiko said. "The system overcompensates pressure, but it takes three milliseconds to reverse its polarity."
"Um… Can you say that in English?" Al asked.
"Rubberband system. Hang on." Aelita said as she pulled the Skid back before she stopped and was launched through.
"Nice work. Now, hurry back to Lyoko. We need you guys in the Desert Sector, right away." Crusadermon said.
"I was able to hack into the system. Now, we just need a transmission relay." Jeremie said as he contacted Yumi and Maki.
"You called, Jeremie? A meteor shower is being launched around the school, and we're trying to evacuate the Academy." Maki said.
"Listen, I need you guys to grab the laptop from my room." Jeremie said. "Once you find it, head to the roof of the Science Building and hook it up to the antenna. And hurry."
"Of course." Maki said as she and Yumi ran into the building.
"Okay…" Jeremie said as the ones on Lyoko reached the Desert Sector. "There may be enough time for them to reach it."
"Uh…maybe not." Tails said as they saw several Tarantulas and William barring their way.
"All of a sudden, that tower seems much farther away." Hitomi said as they took cover behind the rocks.
"What's wrong? Too afraid to face some fire?" William asked as the Tarantulas kept up their assault.
"Crap, we're never gonna get there." Sachiko said before she noticed something. "Wait a second… The Tarantulas haven't fired at me or Aelita…"
"Probably because they need her alive, and you to keep Skeith around." ZS said nonchalantly before he saw the look in Sachiko's eyes. "Wait… I know that look. You're not seriously considering…"
"I'm forcing XANA to make a choice." Sachiko said as she took Aelita and stood in front.
"What do you think you're doing?" William asked.
"Odd, Hitomi… You're gonna have to devirtualize us." Sachiko said.
"What?! Sachiko, that's crazy! I mean… Suicide by Cop?!" Mark asked.
"Yeah, even I wouldn't think that!" Hitomi said.
"Hitomi… Sachiko is right, it's the only way." Crusadermon said.
"You wouldn't dare…" William said, his voice betraying a hint of panic.
"Do it." Sachiko said as Hitomi and Odd took out both of them.
"No!" William shouted, his face darkening. "Grr… No choice… Abort the mission! We're pulling back!" he said as he dove back to the Digital Sea.
Sachiko and Aelita came out of the scanners and back to the lab.
"To win, sometimes you have to know how to lose." Sachiko said.
"And that's something XANA doesn't understand." Double D added.
"Human emotion…beats computer logic." Tails said, as a laser was fired right at the meteor, breaking it up into multiple pieces.
"Nice shot, Jeremie." Yumi said.
"That wasn't us. That was XANA. Looks like he gave up on his plan." Jeremie said.
"XANA wanted to capture the two of us more than he wanted to destroy the Supercomputer. With Aelita and me back on Earth, he couldn't do any of those." Sachiko said.
"We won by losing our key pieces in Lyoko." Hermit said. "That's a twist he never expected."
"Hoo, you picked a sly one as your partner, huh Crusadermon?" Gallantmon asked.
"Oh yeah I did. And now I believe I have a right to say I don't regret it." Crusadermon said.
"But now there's only one thing left to do." Jeremie said. as he activated the RTTP as the day would soon restart as if the event never happened.