(checks time last updated and, in an imitation of Numbuh 2's mom, when she sees the fork-stabbed rainbow monkey in place of her turkey, shrieks) I am so fired.

Reviewers: Fired-smired! Where's our story!?

Right here. I am so sorry! I completely forgot!

Anyway, thanks to all who reviewed. Including...

Janika - Interesting you'd bring that up right before this chapter. Hang on. Your answer is below.

Xx Pieces 0f My S0ul xX - Glad you like it. Well, keeping it up.

D Wolf Falls - Thank you. Glad you, as well, like it. You think I'm connecting GK and CL now? Wait 'till you read this chapter.

Flying Star - Well, had to switch from GK computer to CL computer, somehow. Oh, 625, did you hear that.

625: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ham and cheese. And a BL for you.

OddLuvr4251 - Yep. All for the pleasure of my beloved fans.

Twilight Sentry - Well, I always figured "Super Calculator" was what they called the monitor/keyboard set and the bona fide "supercomputer" was the one way downstairs. The one that happens to be X.A.N.A. himself. As for 625, boy did you tell him.

625: Shut up.

moonstar motto - Thanks. Well, I try.

Xiao Zang Hou - (blushing modestly) Oh, I don't know about ingenius. Well, I just went by what I saw on Odd's nationality.

Anyway, here's the seventh, and final, chapter of the end of a beginning.

Garage Kids 2:
Aelita and the Code of Lyoko

The end of a beginning...

Chapter 7

Jeremie sat the Super Calculator, showing his friends all the features, as well as how he found out that Lyoko wasn't lost to them, after all. "Last night, I got an e-mail from Aelita," he said. "It contained the software for a surveillance program that can be used to monitor Lyoko from a remote location… as well as make audio/visual contact with Aelita.

"She explained everything about this lab, helped me make some improvements, and explained some things I didn't quite understand."

He turned to Ulrich and Yumi. "For example, your saber and fan have been given upgrades, which should allow them to charge immediately as soon as you virtualize." He turned to Odd. "I'm working on a program that should allow me to refill your laser arrow supply, but I haven't come close to finishing it yet."

He turned, again, to Ulrich. "Your power, Triplication, also includes a few other features. One is 'Fusion', where you can merge with your clones, if they survived and you're done with them. The other is 'Triangulation', which creates your clones and puts them in a triangular formation around a monster and puts a projection field between each of them, which shows an image of you still running around the monster, even though you're not. It confuses it long enough for you to kill it."

Odd's stomach growled. Because Jeremie had pulled them away, he hadn't eaten anything. "Hey, Ulrich," suggested Odd, "you think you can triplicate and have your clones get us some breakfast?"

"Sorry, Odd," said Jeremie. "He won't have his power outside of Lyoko."

"Huh? But—" he glanced over at Yumi.

"The only reason why Yumi was able to use Telekinesis on Earth, was because of an accident during a manual de-virtualization." He told him. "Something happened, during her transfer from her virtual form to her material form, causing her power to fuse with the chemical compound of her Earth body.

"I may be close to figuring out how to de-fuse it," he continued, "but…" he glanced over to her and smiled, remembering how she had saved his life, a week ago, "I'm not entirely sure if I want to see her give those powers up, in the real world."

"That it?" asked Ulrich, breaking the silence.

"Oh," he said, a little startled. "There is one other thing, Ulrich. I was able to allow you to keep your super speed power as, kind of, a secondary power."

He started typing on the keyboard and concluded, "And with that, I re-introduce you to your old friend. Aelita? Are you there?"

Her face appeared on the screen. "Hello, Jeremie. Did you explain everything?"

"Sure did," he said.

Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd grinned at being able to see her again.

"Didn't think we'd ever see you again," said Yumi.

It was Aelita's turn to grin, knowing how much her new friends cared for her.

"Well, I think it's about time I gave them a tour of the lab," said Jeremie. "Wouldn't you say so, Aelita?"

"You mean you haven't already?" The kids shook their heads. "Well, then, go right ahead."

One level below, another vault-like door opened. Jeremie motioned towards three thin pods on a large platform. They were arranged in a triangular pattern, with their openings facing the middle.

"Are those what I think they are?" asked Odd.

"They look skinnier than the old ones," pointed out Ulrich.

Indeed, these scanners were smaller than the ones the kids used before, and didn't require a few stairs to get inside. Thick wires hung from the scanners, trailing up to the ceiling above, apparently going through the ceiling and attaching to the orb they saw in the middle of the Super Calculator path.

"As you may have figured out, already," said Jeremie, in a tour guide voice, "this is the Scanner Room. So, you'll still be able to go to Lyoko."

As they walked around the platform, Odd made note of a hatch door in the center of it.

"Jeremie, where does this lead to?" he asked.

He turned to see what he was pointing to, and said, "That leads down to Hardware Room, and is the trail the Return Trip data explosion travels up, before it expands into its bubble form." He stepped back into the elevator. "Speaking of which, the Hardware Room is the lowest floor of the lab, and, thus, our final stop of the tour."

The kids followed him in, and he pressed the down button. The vault-door closed, the gate closed, and the elevator went farther down.

Yet another vault door opened up in front of them, and the room light up white. A platform-wide, cylinder console rose from the ground, then a skinnier, but taller cylinder rose from it.

"This is the Hardware Room of the lab," said Jeremie. "And that," his voice went dark, as he motioned towards the console, "is X.A.N.A. himself."

The kids gaped at the computer in front of them, and Odd began to cautiously step forward. The clanking of his feet against the metal floor echoed in the Hardware Room. "You mean this is it?" he asked. "This is the virtual thing responsible for everything that happened?"

Jeremie nodded. "That's right."

Odd noticed a panel on the bottom part of X.A.N.A. On it was the bull's-eye-like symbol—X.A.N.A.'s symbol. Out of curiosity, he stepped forward.

As if sensing his presence, the panel slid open and a toggle switch popped out. "What's that?"

"Probably X.A.N.A.'s main power switch."

This is as easy as just throwing a switch? Odd walked over to the switch…

He reached out to grab it…

Just as he was about to lay fingers on the switch…

"ODD! WAIT!"

…Jeremie grabbed his wrist.

"What's the big deal, Einstein?" asked Odd. "If we can just turn X.A.N.A. off, by throwing a switch, what's to stop us?"

"Well, I," Jeremie tried to explain. "You see, with Aelita in Lyoko, and everything, I just don't know if this will be OK for her."

Ulrich thought up an idea and suggested, "Maybe we could ask her what effect shutting down X.A.N.A. would have on her."

"What effect would it have on me?" Aelita said to see if she heard correctly. "Well, as the sole resident of Lyoko, I am part of it. And, if X.A.N.A. were to be shut down, Lyoko would deactivate, and, without Lyoko, I'd…" she trailed off.

The kids were shocked at this news. "There must be something we can do," said Yumi.

Odd shrugged and asked, "Why can't we just continue going to Lyoko to help her deactivate towers?"

Ulrich frowned. "We can't keep doing that all our lives, you know."

Jeremie, who had been deep in thought, suddenly got the light bulb above his head. "Wait a minute! Guys, listen!" he said. "Attached to this computer are three virtual scanner pods that run on an advanced Virtualization Program. But, what if there was a program that could work in reverse?"

Aelita raised her eyebrows. "You mean, like… a Materialization Program?" She thought about this. "Many of the tops scientists have tried this… but it has never been succeeded before."

"There's a first time for everything," he said, determined. "Don't worry, Aelita. We will materialize you. Then, once you are separated from Lyoko, we can finally shut down X.A.N.A."

"Oh, I have faith in you, Jeremie." She blew him a kiss, and he blushed.

"Goodbye, for now, Aelita." He logged off the Super Calculator, before making his way to the elevator. As he did, his determined expression turned to a look of doubt.

"I don't know, guys," he said. "Think I can do it? I mean, top scientists have failed to do it, and I'm just one boy genius."

"Hey," said Ulrich, with a chuckle. "What happened to the whole 'first time for everything' talk?"

"Actually," he said. "I only said it to keep her hopes up."

Odd patted him on the back. "We have faith in you, too, Einstein."

"They're right, Jeremie," said Yumi. "We will bring Aelita to Earth, some day."

Jeremie smiled, feeling reassured. "Yeah, of course, until then, we'll have to go pretty far to save all that we love."

"Oh, if we give what we've got," said Odd, "I'm sure we'll make it through."

Jeremie nodded, as they entered the elevator. "Until the day we can materialize Aelita and, finally, make the evil go away, it will be our secret duty to protect her and Lyoko, as well as our world."

"I'm ready," said Ulrich.

"Me, too," said Yumi.

"Bring it on, X.A.N.A.," said Odd.

The lab door, then the elevator door, both closed and the elevator went back up to the surface. The four kids—Jeremie, Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd—knew their lives would never be the same after this moment. But, as far as they were concerned, in the name of all that they cared for, it was worth it.

The end? No. This is only the beginning.

Well, the computer is found, Ulrich's new power is explained, the cause of Yumi's Earth telekinising is revealed, the scanners are found, X.A.N.A. is seen, Odd nearly shuts him off, the truth of why that is a bad idea is explained, and a plan is set out. Since the scanners can run on a Virtualization Program...

...what if Jeremie were to make a Materialization Program? And, thus, the idea is formed and the mission is set. Help Aelita as much as they can and work on her materialization along the way. Thus, I have finally suceeded in turning Garage Kids into Code Lyoko! Yay! Be sure to stay tuned for a later fic: "Garage Kids 3", in which Jeremie perfects materialization... only to see his work deleted by his new enemy. Also, the gang experiences the Glacier/Polar Region for the first time... as well as a new monster.

I decided to write Episodes 3, 4, and 5 (haven't even started 4, yet) in light of my sucess. Each episode will introduce a new region and new monster. The last one will introduce 2. Well, hope you liked it. Which, you seem to do, so far.