Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko or anything related to it. Nada. Zip.

Chapter 9: Reunion

X–Ulrich was standing there, waiting for them. Surrounding him was an army of Blocks, Crabs, and Hornets. And they looked very real. "Please tell me this is a nightmare," Odd whimpered. "We are going to go battle Ulrich."

"Sorry, but I can't. No one can. Just remember it's not Ulrich," Fianna comforted. "Anyways, we have got to destroy these monsters. Then we can focus on Ulrich."

"Right. I'll take on the hornets. Odd, you and Fianna get the Blocks. Aelita, can you handle the Crabs?" Yumi directed. Aelita nodded. "Good. Let's go!"

Odd and Fianna instantly started hitting the Blocks. X–Ulrich lured Fianna from the fray, and they started battling. Luckily for Odd, Jeremie had uploaded a lot more arrows, or he would have been defenseless. As it was, he was running low. Jeremie! A little help here!" Odd called.

"Sure. I'm uploading an endless amount of arrows for you," Jeremie said.

"Thanks!" Odd yelled.

Yumi was doing well against the Hornets. She threw her fan and flipped as lasers flew at her from them. She caught her fan as it came back and blocked incoming shots. Then she whirled, letting the fan fly loose again.

Aelita was stabbing Crabs with her sword with fury. No one had ever seen her act this way. She was channeling her emotions to assist her with destroying Crabs. She leaped from the top of each Crab so they couldn't aim and fire at her.

Fianna was not so lucky. She was twirling her staff like a baton, trying to block X–Ulrich's attacks. Battling against X–Ulrich was tiring since he was never tired because of X.A.N.A.'s influence and also because he was a very good fighter without X.A.N.A. assisting him. She barely blocked each of his blows and yelled, "Hurry up! I can't hold him off much longer!"

"Coming!" Aelita screamed to be heard over the noise. She disposed of the last Crab and hurried to her friend's aid. Now with Aelita helping her out, Fianna relaxed a little. Yumi and Odd were finished as well, so they came to help by trying to awaken the real Ulrich within.

"Ulrich, don't you remember us? It's Odd! Remember when we were trapped in the virtual school? That was strange!" Odd called.

"Odd, that isn't helping. Maybe a little comedy may help...?" Yumi pointed out.

"Yumi, how can you think of comedy when Aelita and I are fighting for our lives?" Fianna asked in disbelief.

"Well, you try and awake Ulrich!" Yumi retorted.

"Remind him of something he should remember well. Like your first battle in Lyoko or when you first met or something..." Fianna yelled.

"Hmm... Hey Ulrich remember when we first met?" Yumi asked.

Flashback

Jeremie, Ulrich and Odd crept to the manhole in the woods. Unknown to any of them, Yumi was silently stalking them. They slipped into the manhole. Yumi waited a couple minutes and clambered in after them. She quietly replaced the manhole cover and climbed down the ladder. As she jumped down from the last rung, she made the quietest of thumps. Odd spun around. "Who's there?" His voice clearly showed his fear.

"Odd, go to my spot. I bet I can handle this person," Ulrich said, switching spots with Odd.

"Who are you? Why are you following us?" Ulrich asked. "Does it really matter?" Yumi retorted.

Odd had been waiting for that. He lunged forward to where the voice was, grabbed the person's arm, and dragged her forward. Jeremie flashed his light.

"Is this the new girl you told me about?" Jeremie asked Odd.

"My name is not 'the new girl'. My name is Yumi." Yumi snapped.

"Thanks for the info. Why are you following us?" Ulrich wondered.

"I'm here because I would like to meet Aelita."

Jeremie gasped. "How do you know about Aelita?"

"You idiots flaunted it off at dinner. I overheard and decided to follow you." Yumi explained.

"Listen, you shouldn't have been eavesdropping..." Jeremie began, but was cut off by Yumi.

"I know, but what are you going to do about it? I already know about Lyoko, Aelita, X.A.N.A., etc. You can't really do anything about it." Yumi said.

"I hate to admit it, but Yumi has got a point. We can't do anything about it," Odd sighed.

"Well, we still have to go to see Aelita. Ulrich, you watch her." Ulrich nodded.

End flashback

Ulrich faltered for a second. He seemed to nod for a second before getting his cool, collected demeanor again.

"Go on, Yumi! Try again!" Odd yelled.

"Why don't you try?" Yumi asked.

"Okay then. Remember our first battle, Ulrich?" Odd began.

Flashback

"X.A.N.A. has sent two Crabs and four Blocks your way. He wants to try you out, I guess." Jeremie called. "Hurry up! X.A.N.A. has sent a swarm of birds to ravage the city."

"Well, what a nice welcoming committee," Ulrich said as he jumped up onto a Crab and stabbed his saber into X.A.N.A.'s sign. "Impact!" It exploded. He went on to the next one, killing that one as well.

Yumi threw her fan at two of the Blocks. It grazed the sign. They both disappeared. Odd shouted, "Laser Arrow!" It hit the third Block and exploded. He repeated with the last one.

"That was easy. Too easy," Yumi said uneasily.

"Look out! A swarm of six Hornets coming your way!"

Yumi threw her fan, and Odd used his arrows. The swarm was soon gone.

End flashback

Ulrich faltered yet again. He seemed to be struggling with himself.

"Yumi! One last time!" Aelita cried.

"Okay..." Yumi called.

Flashback

Yumi had been thrown back after the impact of the Crab had been destroyed. She was going over the edge of the cliff, knowing that no one could save her. Odd saw her fall, but wasn't quick enough to get to her. Aelita would have gladly assisted Yumi, only she had gone inside the tower. Yumi awaited her death, accepting the fact that no one was there to help. But then...

"It's okay! I got you!" A strong hand clasped tightly around her wrist, pulling her up with determination.

"Oh! Ulrich you...!" Yumi gasped, pressing the palms of her hands against his chest. They were both breathing hard and were unable to stop staring at each other. Ulrich shifted Yumi in his arms, their eyes pouring into one another's. While they exchanged silent apologies, Aelita was getting ready to enter the code to shut down the tower Xana had activated. It was Ulrich who made the first move. He slowly let his body move forward, the Desert Region's wind ruffling his yellow bandanna flaps. Yumi saw what was coming and gladly closed her eyes, lowering her head to his level. At this point, Aelita was typing in the code, "Lyoko". Yumi and Ulrich had barely touched, their mouths seconds away from meeting when Jeremy hit the key to return to the past.

End flashback

"You guys never mentioned that!" Odd cried, indignantly.

"That's because you never asked," Yumi sniffed.

"Oh stop arguing, you two! Yumi, it didn't work! Just something more..." Fianna yelled.

"But that's all I've got!" Yumi screamed in desperation.

"Just one thing! Like a final good–bye!" Aelita called.

Yumi lowered her eyes, and a solitary, glistening tear fell down her cheek. "I love you, Ulrich. But if you must leave, so be it," Yumi whispered. No one heard except for one person.

X–Ulrich.

Or should I say, Ulrich. With that little statement in mind, Ulrich threw off X.A.N.A. and was free.

"Oh my gosh!!! It worked! Yumi, whatever you said, you are a genius!" Fianna shrieked.

"Thank you," Yumi smirked. "Finally someone who realizes my talent."

"Uh oh guys, I'm all for the mushy reunion, for blackmail of course, but we've got another problem," Odd called. X.A.N.A. had taken over a Block and was chasing after them.

"You guys, go!!! Leave Lyoko! Once you guys are out, pull the plug!!! I can distract X.A.N.A. so he doesn't leave! We need to shut down Lyoko and X.A.N.A. as soon as possible," Fianna called.

"Are you crazy, Fianna?!?!? You'll be gone too!" Yumi screamed.

"I know! Shutting down X.A.N.A. would be a lot better for the world than me being alive!" Fianna yelled. "Go!!! Jeremie, log them out!"

"Log out Yumi. Log out Ulrich. Log out Odd. Log out Aelita. Log out Fi..." Jeremie caught himself. Yumi, Ulrich, Odd, and Aelita staggered out of the scanners.

"Let's go pull the plug on Lyoko," Jeremie said grimly.

The rest followed. Yumi and Aelita looked like they were about to cry.

In Lyoko

"Give it up, Fianna! Your friends have deserted you forever! You stand no chance!" X.A.N.A. taunted.

"Oh yeah? Then why are they pulling the plug on Lyoko?" Fianna asked before she and X.A.N.A. was plunged into a bright white surrounding.

"Where are we?" X.A.N.A. panicked.

Fianna smiled serenely. "We are about to be deleted, X.A.N.A."

At the factory

"I can't believe it. We have finally pulled the plug on Lyoko," Jeremie stated in awe.

Yumi and Aelita burst out sobbing. Ulrich and Jeremie hugged them. "What's wrong, Yumi?" Ulrich asked concernedly.

"Fianna..." was all she had to say.

sniffs I can't believe I made Fianna die. sniffs That was a lot longer than usual. I hope you like it. There is one more chapter coming up soon. Then there might be a sequel... Oh, I don't know. Review!!!