Code: Lyoko
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Once again, I don't own Code: Lyoko. Some French company does I think. Well, here it is, enjoy.
Abstract: Is this the final battle with Xana? Or the beginning of something much more sinister?
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Jeremie and Odd walked into the Infirmery where Ulrich wa still recovering from the injuries he suffered at the hands
of Yumi, who was under the control of Xana. Ulrich's head and stomach had been bandaged and there were bandaids on his
arms.
"Hey, Ulrich, how do you feel?" Jeremie greeted.
"Like one of Xana's tanks ran over my head," Ulrich replied holding his head.
"Actually, that's not far from the truth," Odd commented which earned him an elbow in the rib from Jeremie.
"Did you guys manage to shut down the tower?" Ulrich asked.
"That's the strange thing. As soon as Aelita and I were at the tower, he just left."
"Xana seems to be a lot more sneaky than he was last year," Jeremie said. "Since it wasn't Aelita who shut down the tower,
we couldn't use the past return program. If we did, you probably wouldn't have been in this mess."
"Oh." Ulrich seemed to be in deep thought before he asked, "How's Yumi?"
"Still kicking herself for kicking you," Odd replied.
"We haven't seen her in a few days," Jeremie commented. "I wouldn't be worried except our classes start very soon..."
He paused. "Ulrich, you have to understand that it was Xana attacking you, not Yumi."
"Well you know that and I know that, but I'm not sure if she does. Or believes."
It was then that the nurse came in. "Odd, Jeremie, what are you two doing here?"
Odd replied, "We just wanted to see how Ulrich was doing."
"Oh yes, that reminds me, Ulrich, you received this card." She handed Ulrich a white envelope. Ulrich opened it up and
took out the home-made card. It was the words "Get Well" in cursive surrounded by a large pink heart.
"Who's it from?" Odd asked as Ulrich opened the card.
He groaned. "Oh God, it's Sissi!"
"What's wrong, Ulrich-dear, don't you like my get-well present?" Came Sissi's high-pitch voice.
But the person who stepped through the door wasn't Sissi, or rather, it didn't look like Sissi. The girl who stepped
through the door had her dark hair cut pixie-short, kind of like Aelita. Her figure was filling out and her walk was
sultry. She was dressed in a tight pink halter top with a heart on the center and form-fitting jeans.
"Sissi?" Ulrich, Odd, and Jeremy asked at the same time.
Sissi sauntered past Odd and Jeremy and went to Ulrich's bedside. "You boys look like you're surprised to see me."
"Shocked is a more accurate term," Jeremie commented.
"Sissi, what happened to you?" Odd asked.
Sissi laid a finger on Odd's nose. "It's a little something called growing. Try it sometimes, you'd be surprised how
many more friends you have when you do it."
"Ouch, one point to Sissi," Jeremie cracked. Odd scowled at him.
Sissi turned to Ulrich. "Ulrich-dear, when I heard about your accident, I was deeply upset, especially considering who
did it."
"I thought you destroyed those photos," Odd whispered to Jeremie.
"I did it last night," Jeremie whispered back.
"You know who attacked me?" Ulrich asked.
"Well, the hub-bub around school is that it was Yumi."
"What?!" Ulrich shouted which accidentally triggering a shot of pain in his rib cage. He winced.
"Believe me, I was just as surprised as you are now," Sissi conversed.
"What makes you think it was Yumi?" Jeremie asked.
"Jim said he saw Yumi by an unconscious Ulrich. Kind of suspicious don't you think?"
"Just because Yumi was seen by him doesn't mean she did it," Odd defended.
Sissi patted Odd on the head like he was a ten year old. "Odd, Odd, Odd, I know it may be hard to admit but you know what
a short temper Yumi has. It was only a matter of time before she turned that temper on the people she knows."
"No!" Ulrich shouted. "Yumi would never attack me! She'd never attack her friends! I refuse to believe it! She
wouldn't..." His voice dropped a couple of notes. "She would never..." His voice trailed off.
The nurse decided to intervene. "I think it's time for you three to head off now, let's give Ulrich time to heal his
injuries." She pushed the three out.
"Don't you think you went just a little overboard, Sissi?" Odd asked. "You know as well as we do that Yumi would never
attack Ulrich. They're too close."
"And besides, all you have is Jim's word for it," Jeremie pointed out. "There's no physical evidence that it was her."
"Maybe you two are giving Yumi more credit than she deserves," Sissi said as she walked off. "People do change, you know."
"Maybe on the outside," Odd yelled back.
"Some people will never change," Jeremie said.
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Ulrich laid back in his bed. He knew it wasn't Yumi, it was Xana. Xana in Yumi's body. Still, where was Yumi? Why
didn't she come see him? Ulrich's camera phone was on the bedside table. He took it and looked through the gallery.
Jeremy erased the photos of Yumi attacking him but the other photos were still there. Ulrich went to the pictures of the
two of them while they were at that Karate exhibition match. There was this one picture of Yumi in the middle of a flying
side-kick at her opponent. Another was one Yumi took of him fighting a kid over twice his height. A third was of the two
of them. Yumi proudly displayed her first-place trophy while Ulrich wore his second-place medal. As Ulrich went through
the gallery, he amazed at how happy and care-free they were. Even though they knew that Xana could attack at any time,
they were still happy. Maybe because they were with each other.
Ulrich closed his cell phone and turned on his side. "Yumi, where are you?" He quietly asked. "If there's anyone I'd
rather have by my side, it's you." He cuddled the phone close to him.
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Yumi was in one of her first classes of the new school year. But despite that, she couldn't concentrate as the teacher
read the syllibus. All that ran through her mind was Ulrich, and the photos of her beating Ulrich to a pulp. She heard
Jeremie and Odd trying to tell her that it wasn't her fault, it was Xana's. It's always Xana's fault. Still, it was her
hands that punched him, her legs that kicked him, her attacks that left him battered and broken on the forest ground. At
the exhibition match, they pulled their punches, not only because it was the rules, but because they didn't want to
seriously hurt each other. Now, she not only hurt him, but hurt him so much that he needed to be hospitalized.
"Yumi?" Yumi looked up at the teacher. The teacher tilted her head, noticing Yumi's pale complexion. "Yumi, are you
feeling well?"
"N... No. May I please use the restroom?"
"Of course." Yumi got up and ran out the room. Rather than head for the restroom, she headed outside for some fresh air.
As Yumi held her head between her legs, a picture fell out of her pocket. Yumi grabbed it before the wind could carry it
away. It was a picture of the four of them, taken last year, just before Xana's first attack. She and Ulrich were
sitting on a bench. Jeremie was leaning over the top and Odd was standing proud like he always did. Ulrich's arm was
hanging behind the bench but from the angle the picture was taken, it looked like it was around her shoulders. All of
them had happy smiles on their face.
Yumi held the picture close to her and cried her eyes out. She prayed for Ulrich to forgive her.
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Aelita laid on a stone bridge that she created. She couldn't sleep, being computerized, so all she could do is go over
facts in her mind. What Xana did infuriated her. This wasn't like when he took control of the teddybear, the train, or
even the rats and insects. He took control of a girl and made her ferociously attack a friend of them both. Xana had
gone too far this time.
The sound of gears penetrated her thoughts. She looked down to the stone path underneath her and saw two of Xana's block
monsters moving rapidly.
{Where could they be off to?} Aelita wondered. She jumped down and tailed them stealthly. The Blocks were heading for a
tower. But this one was much different. It was incredibly big and had the Lyoko symbol on it.
Xana's symbol.
{I found it! I found where Xana was situated.} Aelita's first thought was to tell Jeremie, but she felt that this might be
her only chance to end it once and for all. Xana had hurt her and separated her from those she cared about. It was time to
end it.
The tower was in a valley. The drop was about thirty feet. Aelita swan-dived off the cliff, did a roll and landed on her
feet.
"Xana!" She called out attracting the attention of the two dozen monsters that surrounded the tower. "I'm calling you
out! You hurt me and my friends. All I want is to join them in the real world. But you and your selfish ambitions
prevent me from doing that. You even tried to kill my friends! It's time we settle this once and for all! One-on-one,
you and me. Nobody to aid either of us!"
The symbol on the tower glowed and suddenly sprouted a head-less body. It landed in front of Aelita. It groaned.
"This is it, only one of us is going to come out of this alive," Aelita said more determined than she had evern been in her
existence. Xana suddenly created a red spear and tried to stab her. Aelita jumped back. She concentrated and a rock
pillar appeared in front of Xana. Three more appeared and tried to hold Xana down. Xana just flexed his muscles and
destroyed them. He swung his spear again and again, Aelita tried to jump over it. But she underestimated the height of
the spear and it caught her foot. She fell down. Aelita knew she had to keep moving. Xana was strong, but she was fast.
Aelita ran towards Xana and dove through his legs. She rolled and quickly stood up again. Turning around, she summoned
her powers to break apart the cliff that she was once standing on and fired rock after rock at Xana's back. The first six
or seven hit him but then Xana turned and started batting them away. "As Odd would say, that's got to hurt."
Suddenly an energy blast struck Aelita in the back. She fell to one knee. "That... was a cheap shot," she said. But as
she looked up, she saw that Xana had also been struck and down on one knee. Aelita found that odd. Xana wouldn't strike
himself down, nor would one of his monsters attack its master. So what...?
Aelita looked up and saw a strange purple figure standing over them. It had a human shape, but it's content was of purple
lightning. It laughed and launched another purple energy blast. Aelita and Xana scattered as the assembled monsters
opened fire. Monsters appeared on the purple figure's side. They looked like fish and skeletons. The skeletons fired a
black smoke from their mouths which melted a crab.
Aelita looked up at Xana. "I see. We'll have to put our fight on hold until we destroy this thing." Xana commanded his
fleet of hornets to attack while Aelita formed spikes and fired them. The spikes manage to destroy some of them but the
hornets were destroyed by the black smoke. The fish began flying down. The moment they hit something, both the object
and them were destroyed.
"We have to run," Aelita said. Her use of the cliffside as a weapon had caused a large hill to form. Aelita used her
powers to even it out so it was easier to climb. Several of the "Blow Fish" attacked her but Aelita quickly dodged.
Xana leaped up to the air and struck all of the skeletons down with his spear. But more begn appearing. Xana's monsters
weren't faring so well. Their lasers weren't having any effect on these new monsters.
Aelita saw that a Blow Fish was rapidly heading towards her. She tried to run but her feet tripped and she fell. She could
only watch as the Blow Fish got closer and closer.
"Jeremie!" She cried.
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Jeremie woke up in a cold sweat. He just got a very bad feeling. He looked down and saw something in his lap. It was one
of the pictures he took with Aelita when she was here. The v-shape cut on the top showed that it just ripped from the tack
that was holding it and fell in his lap.
Now the bad feeling just got worst.
Jeremie ran to his computer. "Aelita, can you hear me? Aelita! Aelita, talk to me!"
"Jeremie?" Came Aelita's voice though Jeremy couldn't establish a visual. "I need help!"
"Is it Xana?"
"Yes... I mean no... I mean Xana's here but he's not the problem!"
"Calm down, Aelita. What's going on."
Aelita screamed as the Blow Fish got closer. Suddenly a large red spear stabbed it and exploded it before it could hit its
target. Aelita looked up in sheer surprise at Xana. "Xana..."
"What was that, Aelita? What about Xana?" Jeremie's voice called out to her.
"Jeremie, both Xana and I are under attack by some strange monsters. We both need help."
"Hang on, Aelita, I'll go get help."
"Hurry, Jeremie!" Jeremie typed a text message to Yumi's cell phone. All it said was 'Meet at Factory, emergency. J.'
He then got dressed and ran to Odd's room. Since Ulrich was sleeping in the Infirmery, Jeremy didn't have to worry about
involving him despite his injuries. He burst into the room and shook Odd.
"Odd, wake up!" Jeremie half-shouted.
Odd rubbed his eyes and looked up. "Jeremie, what's up... besides you?"
"Aelita just sent me an S.O.S. She and Xana are being attacked by something."
"Wait... she AND Xana? I thought those were the only two beings in Lyoko?"
"So did I. But if we don't hurry, there won't be anyone left, not even Xana."
Odd quickly dressed and ran with Jeremy to the factory. Yumi was waiting at the entrance. Jeremie was glad to see that
Yumi's depression wasn't so deep that she would ignore a distress call from Aelita. The three entered the factory and went
to the control room. Jeremie accessed the super computer and ran a scan of Lyoko. It didn't take long to locate them.
"Okay, I found them, there at the desert region. Go!" Yumi ran back to the elevator but Odd stopped. He whispered to
Jeremie, "What about Ulrich?"
"I don't think Ulrich could survive the virtualization process. Don't tell Yumi, she's got enough to worry about."
"Right, I got'cha." Yumi and Odd rode down to the scanners.
"Transfer, Yumi. Transfer, Odd." As Yumi and Odd entered their scanners, Odd saw Yumi's determined expression. She
looked like how she used to be, but even Odd could see that was just a disguise.
"Scanner, Yumi. Scanner, Odd. Virtualization!"
Yumi and Odd were transported into the desert region of Lyoko. Immediately, they noticed the dark clouds swirling around.
"I don't like the looks of this," Odd commented. Yumi spotted Aelita running towards them, being chased by skeletons and
fish. "Laser Arrow!" The arrow struck the Blow Fish that was about to touch Aelita.
"Yumi, Odd, am I glad to see you guys," Aelita cried.
"Never fear, Princess, your knights in cat suit and kimono are here to save you," Odd joked.
Yumi was more serious. "What's going on? Where's Xana?"
Aelita pointed to a huge explosion in the distance. "He's trying to protect his tower. But it's not working." Aelita
looked down. "I know you guys are going to hate me for saying this, but we might need Xana's help on this."
"Xana? Help? Nyuh-uh," Odd shook his head. "Those two words don't even work together unless it's 'Xana's helping himself
to our hydes," Odd cracked.
"Odd, Xana's fighting for his survival just as much as I am," Aelita explained. "Besides... he saved my life."
"I get it!" Yumi realized. "Xana's connected to Aelita through that virus he implanted. If Aelita's destroyed, then so
is Xana. And if Lyoko's destroyed, then Xana dies which would mean Aelita dies too." Aelita nodded.
"Wow, so Xana's trump card actually became his achilles' heel," Odd said. "Because now he needs to protect himself AND
Aelita."
"Please, Yumi, we must help him," Aelita pleaded.
"All right, let's go."
"Xana better appreciate what we're trying to do for him," Odd muttered as the three took off towards Xana's fortress.
Odd leaped through the air and shot ten laser arrows at the back of a skeleton that was attacking Xana. All ten struck the
skeleton and it was destroyed.
"Odd, don't use so many of your arrows," Jeremy chided. "There's still a lot of enemies around."
"It's not like I have any choice, Jeremy. It took ten of them just to destroy one of these things."
"Not good. I'll reload you but it'll take time."
Aelita created several boulders which Yumi then moved with her telekinesis. She sent them out in all directions and all of
them hit an enemy.
"You want some, fish face?" Odd asked as he stared down a couple of Blow Fish. "Well come and get it!" He ran towards
the Blow Fish ready to slice them with his nails. Suddenly Xana shoved him to the side and swung his spear at them.
"Hey, we're trying to help you here, you ding bat!"
"Odd, you're not suppose to touch the fish," Aelita explained. "If you do, they'll explode taking you with them!"
"Whoa," Odd gasped then turned to Xana. "Uh... sorry about that." Xana just engaged in battle with a skeleton.
The purple figure that was the conductor of this abnormal orchestra placed his arms out and shapeless energy beings
formed. They lashed out tentacles which wrapped around Yumi. Yumi felt a thousand volts of electricity surge through
her. "Ulrich," she called out though nobody else could hear her.
Except one.
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Ulrich sat up in his bed. Yumi was in trouble, he just knew it. But he wanted to make sure. If she was in trouble, it
would most likely be in Lyoko. Ulrich picked up his cell phone and dialed Jeremie's room. After about seven rings,
Ulrich gave up and decided to call the Factory.
Jeremie gasped when he realized he was receiving a call from Ulrich. "Ulrich?"
"Jeremie," Ulrich said without greeting. "I have a feeling there's something bad happening in Lyoko."
"You don't know the half of it," Jeremie commented. "Yumi, Odd, Aelita, and Xana are all engaged in battle with some
sort of Invaders."
Ulrich frowned. He didn't care much for Xana, especially not after what he made Yumi do. But Yumi was in trouble, he had
to help.
"I see," he said neutrally and put down his cell phone without turning it off.
"Look, Ulrich, I know you want to help, but you're still too weak. There's no guarantee that you'll survive the
virtualization process," Jeremie explained. He could hear nothing. "Hello? Ulrich? Ulrich, are you there?" All he
heard was dead air.
Jeremie had that bad feeling again.
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Ulrich limped into the tunnels underneath the Factory using a stick for a crutch. His whole body still hurt. But... he
couldn't stand living with himself if something terrible happened to Yumi. He climbed out through the manhole in front of
the Factory. He had to shimmy down the rope instead of swinging. He rode the elevator down to the control room.
Jeremie gasped upon seeing Ulrich. "Ulrich, you shouldn't be out of bed," Jeremie said.
"If the situation is as dire as you said, Jeremie, then Yumi and Odd are going to need all the help they can get."
"But there's no guarantee that you'll survive the virtualization process. You could end up weaker than you already are."
"Jeremie, my mind's made up. Please help me down to the scanner." Jeremie sighed in fustration and took Ulrich down to
the scanner room. Ulrich staggered into the scanner while Jeremie returned to the control room.
"Hang on, guys, reinforcements are on the way."
"Did I just hear him right?" Odd asked. "Jeremie, unless you have a tank batallion waiting in the third scanner, I don't
see how any reinforcements could help us."
"Who would he send as reinforcements anyway?" Aelita asked.
"Beats me. The only one who's out there is..." Odd gasped.
Yumi also got it. "Oh no."
"Transfer, Ulrich. Scanner, Ulrich. Virtualization!"
Ulrich appeared five feet off the ground. Unlike his usual graceful manner, he fell on his butt.
"Careful," Jeremie said. "YOu just lost ten life points from that fall."
"Sorry," Ulrich apologized as Odd and Aelita helped him up. "Hey, guys."
"Ulrich, you shouldn't be here," Aelita said. "You're still weak."
"From what Jeremie told me, you'll need all the help you can get."
"Dude, I know how much you like to play hero," Odd said as he fended off a Blow Fish with his arrows. "But these guys are
more dangerous than any of Xana's monsters."
Ulrich looked up at Yumi. She seemed busy attacking Blow Fish and Skeletons with her fan. But Ulrich could see that she
was trying to avoid his glance. The new monsters suddenly stopped and formed a circle around the kids and Xana.
The purple being landed and pointed at Ulrich. It let out a strange gargling noise.
"Uh... what was that?" Odd asked.
"I think he wants us to hand control of Lyoko over to him," Aelita said.
"Aelita, you can understand it?" Yumi asked.
"No... but... why else would it attack both me and Xana unless it wanted Lyoko."
"Yeah, well, look, you grape-flavor ghoulie," Ulrich said. "We're not handing anything over to you, not now, not ever!"
The purple being let out a series of grunts that sounded like laughter. Then the monsters attacked.
"Impact!" Ulrich stabbed a Skeleton but nothing happened. Ulrich quickly withdrew his sword and tried stabbing it again.
"Triplicate!" One Ulrich became three and charged a Skeleton. But the Skeleton quickly caught on and slugged the
center Ulrich causing him to fall back and the others disappear.
"Ulrich just lost half his life points with that punch!" Jeremie gasped. "These monsters are strong."
"Or Jeremie's right and Ulrich's weaker because he was virtualized while his body was still injured," Aelita added which
caused Yumi to look away in shame.
"Tell me something I don't know," Ulrich said as he struggled to get up. He was about to attack again but Xana stepped
in his way. "What do you want?" The symbol on Xana's chest began to glow. For some reason, Ulrich understood. "I
see... fine, then. Do your worst!"
"What?!"
"No way!"
"Ulrich, are you crazy?"
Xana's spear began to glow. Ulrich was risen into the air. A strange white mist cumulated around Ulrich and transformed
into a polygonal crystal prison. There was no trace of Ulrich's features, just a general frame.
"Ulrich, no!" Yumi cried. She ran up to the crystal and pounded on it. "Ulrich, please! Come back to me, Ulrich!
Ulrich... NO, please don't go! Please..." Yumi turned to look at Xana. "How could you? Haven't you toyed with us
enough? It's bad enough you attached yourself to Aelita like a lifeline and constantly try to destroy our world! But do
you have to take away our friends too? We're trying to help save you, and this is how you repay us? You truly are a
virus, with no feelings! No humanity what-so-ever, just a cold, empty, machine." The purple being ordered its monsters
to attack. The monsters ganged up on Xana and forced him away from the others.
More Blow Fish appeared in the air. They all shot at Xana like missiles. As hard as Xana tried, they struck it with
incredible force.
Aelita gasped and fell to her knees. "Aelita, what's wrong?" Odd asked.
"Xana's life force is fading," Jeremie warned. "If he dies, so does Aelita and Lyoko! You guys have to save Xana."
"Save Xana, I'd never thought I'd hear that sentence," Odd muttered. He ran off firing laser arrows.
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"Ulrich, why did you allow Xana to strike you like that?" Jeremie muttered. He then checked Ulrich's status. "That's
strange. His life points hadn't gone down and his energy's holding. If that wasn't meant to destroy him, what was it
for?"
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Xana's beating had made Aelita weak but she managed to pull herself over to Yumi's location which was underneath the
crystal that was once Ulrich. "Yumi, are you going to be all right?"
Yumi shook her head. "I never even got to apologize."
"You don't need to apologize," Aelita argued. "Nothing was your fault. It was Xana who was working the controls."
"I just... I never even got to tell him that I care about him."
"I think he knows," Aelita said. "I believe the reason he came down here in his condition was to protect you. Jeremie
told me that he asked about you while he was recovering. Perhaps if you were there, his recovery would've gone by faster."
"Huh?"
"In my research on your world, I discovered that sick people surrounded by loved ones heal much faster than if they were
alone. You care about Ulrich. It seemed like when you two were together, you were incredibly strong. Deep down, I know
that Ulrich cared for you just as much."
[I care about you.] Yumi could recall those four words. They were said by Ulrich. Yumi went up to the crystal prison
while Aelita gathered her remaining strength and ran to help Odd and Xana. "Ulrich... I'm sorry for not being there.
I was beating myself up. Now I know what a true friend you really are." Aelita raised a stone column and shot it
at several Skeletons. A Blow Fish destroyed it. "I know you care about me, Ulrich. And... I care about you."
She placed her hand on the crystal. "Please... return to us, Ulrich." Quietly, she said, "Return to me." As much
as she hated how selfish it sounded, it was what she wanted more than anything in the world.
"Yumi, look out behind you!" Odd cried. Yumi looked up to see a Skeleton rapidly descending on her. She had no time to
activate her fan and her life points were too low for her to use her telekinesis. She could only raise her arms and try
to block.
The crystal prison began to glow, forcing the Skeleton away from Yumi. Everyone watched in awe as the crystal began to
dissolve. Someone wearing black jumped down in front of Yumi and swung something. An energy wave destroyed over a third
of the Skeletons and Blow Fish.
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Who or what just saved them? Is it Ulrich? Or some more powerful force. Read the next chapter to find out.
Upgrade
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Once again, I don't own Code: Lyoko. Some French company does I think. Well, here it is, enjoy.
Abstract: Is this the final battle with Xana? Or the beginning of something much more sinister?
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Jeremie and Odd walked into the Infirmery where Ulrich wa still recovering from the injuries he suffered at the hands
of Yumi, who was under the control of Xana. Ulrich's head and stomach had been bandaged and there were bandaids on his
arms.
"Hey, Ulrich, how do you feel?" Jeremie greeted.
"Like one of Xana's tanks ran over my head," Ulrich replied holding his head.
"Actually, that's not far from the truth," Odd commented which earned him an elbow in the rib from Jeremie.
"Did you guys manage to shut down the tower?" Ulrich asked.
"That's the strange thing. As soon as Aelita and I were at the tower, he just left."
"Xana seems to be a lot more sneaky than he was last year," Jeremie said. "Since it wasn't Aelita who shut down the tower,
we couldn't use the past return program. If we did, you probably wouldn't have been in this mess."
"Oh." Ulrich seemed to be in deep thought before he asked, "How's Yumi?"
"Still kicking herself for kicking you," Odd replied.
"We haven't seen her in a few days," Jeremie commented. "I wouldn't be worried except our classes start very soon..."
He paused. "Ulrich, you have to understand that it was Xana attacking you, not Yumi."
"Well you know that and I know that, but I'm not sure if she does. Or believes."
It was then that the nurse came in. "Odd, Jeremie, what are you two doing here?"
Odd replied, "We just wanted to see how Ulrich was doing."
"Oh yes, that reminds me, Ulrich, you received this card." She handed Ulrich a white envelope. Ulrich opened it up and
took out the home-made card. It was the words "Get Well" in cursive surrounded by a large pink heart.
"Who's it from?" Odd asked as Ulrich opened the card.
He groaned. "Oh God, it's Sissi!"
"What's wrong, Ulrich-dear, don't you like my get-well present?" Came Sissi's high-pitch voice.
But the person who stepped through the door wasn't Sissi, or rather, it didn't look like Sissi. The girl who stepped
through the door had her dark hair cut pixie-short, kind of like Aelita. Her figure was filling out and her walk was
sultry. She was dressed in a tight pink halter top with a heart on the center and form-fitting jeans.
"Sissi?" Ulrich, Odd, and Jeremy asked at the same time.
Sissi sauntered past Odd and Jeremy and went to Ulrich's bedside. "You boys look like you're surprised to see me."
"Shocked is a more accurate term," Jeremie commented.
"Sissi, what happened to you?" Odd asked.
Sissi laid a finger on Odd's nose. "It's a little something called growing. Try it sometimes, you'd be surprised how
many more friends you have when you do it."
"Ouch, one point to Sissi," Jeremie cracked. Odd scowled at him.
Sissi turned to Ulrich. "Ulrich-dear, when I heard about your accident, I was deeply upset, especially considering who
did it."
"I thought you destroyed those photos," Odd whispered to Jeremie.
"I did it last night," Jeremie whispered back.
"You know who attacked me?" Ulrich asked.
"Well, the hub-bub around school is that it was Yumi."
"What?!" Ulrich shouted which accidentally triggering a shot of pain in his rib cage. He winced.
"Believe me, I was just as surprised as you are now," Sissi conversed.
"What makes you think it was Yumi?" Jeremie asked.
"Jim said he saw Yumi by an unconscious Ulrich. Kind of suspicious don't you think?"
"Just because Yumi was seen by him doesn't mean she did it," Odd defended.
Sissi patted Odd on the head like he was a ten year old. "Odd, Odd, Odd, I know it may be hard to admit but you know what
a short temper Yumi has. It was only a matter of time before she turned that temper on the people she knows."
"No!" Ulrich shouted. "Yumi would never attack me! She'd never attack her friends! I refuse to believe it! She
wouldn't..." His voice dropped a couple of notes. "She would never..." His voice trailed off.
The nurse decided to intervene. "I think it's time for you three to head off now, let's give Ulrich time to heal his
injuries." She pushed the three out.
"Don't you think you went just a little overboard, Sissi?" Odd asked. "You know as well as we do that Yumi would never
attack Ulrich. They're too close."
"And besides, all you have is Jim's word for it," Jeremie pointed out. "There's no physical evidence that it was her."
"Maybe you two are giving Yumi more credit than she deserves," Sissi said as she walked off. "People do change, you know."
"Maybe on the outside," Odd yelled back.
"Some people will never change," Jeremie said.
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Ulrich laid back in his bed. He knew it wasn't Yumi, it was Xana. Xana in Yumi's body. Still, where was Yumi? Why
didn't she come see him? Ulrich's camera phone was on the bedside table. He took it and looked through the gallery.
Jeremy erased the photos of Yumi attacking him but the other photos were still there. Ulrich went to the pictures of the
two of them while they were at that Karate exhibition match. There was this one picture of Yumi in the middle of a flying
side-kick at her opponent. Another was one Yumi took of him fighting a kid over twice his height. A third was of the two
of them. Yumi proudly displayed her first-place trophy while Ulrich wore his second-place medal. As Ulrich went through
the gallery, he amazed at how happy and care-free they were. Even though they knew that Xana could attack at any time,
they were still happy. Maybe because they were with each other.
Ulrich closed his cell phone and turned on his side. "Yumi, where are you?" He quietly asked. "If there's anyone I'd
rather have by my side, it's you." He cuddled the phone close to him.
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Yumi was in one of her first classes of the new school year. But despite that, she couldn't concentrate as the teacher
read the syllibus. All that ran through her mind was Ulrich, and the photos of her beating Ulrich to a pulp. She heard
Jeremie and Odd trying to tell her that it wasn't her fault, it was Xana's. It's always Xana's fault. Still, it was her
hands that punched him, her legs that kicked him, her attacks that left him battered and broken on the forest ground. At
the exhibition match, they pulled their punches, not only because it was the rules, but because they didn't want to
seriously hurt each other. Now, she not only hurt him, but hurt him so much that he needed to be hospitalized.
"Yumi?" Yumi looked up at the teacher. The teacher tilted her head, noticing Yumi's pale complexion. "Yumi, are you
feeling well?"
"N... No. May I please use the restroom?"
"Of course." Yumi got up and ran out the room. Rather than head for the restroom, she headed outside for some fresh air.
As Yumi held her head between her legs, a picture fell out of her pocket. Yumi grabbed it before the wind could carry it
away. It was a picture of the four of them, taken last year, just before Xana's first attack. She and Ulrich were
sitting on a bench. Jeremie was leaning over the top and Odd was standing proud like he always did. Ulrich's arm was
hanging behind the bench but from the angle the picture was taken, it looked like it was around her shoulders. All of
them had happy smiles on their face.
Yumi held the picture close to her and cried her eyes out. She prayed for Ulrich to forgive her.
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Aelita laid on a stone bridge that she created. She couldn't sleep, being computerized, so all she could do is go over
facts in her mind. What Xana did infuriated her. This wasn't like when he took control of the teddybear, the train, or
even the rats and insects. He took control of a girl and made her ferociously attack a friend of them both. Xana had
gone too far this time.
The sound of gears penetrated her thoughts. She looked down to the stone path underneath her and saw two of Xana's block
monsters moving rapidly.
{Where could they be off to?} Aelita wondered. She jumped down and tailed them stealthly. The Blocks were heading for a
tower. But this one was much different. It was incredibly big and had the Lyoko symbol on it.
Xana's symbol.
{I found it! I found where Xana was situated.} Aelita's first thought was to tell Jeremie, but she felt that this might be
her only chance to end it once and for all. Xana had hurt her and separated her from those she cared about. It was time to
end it.
The tower was in a valley. The drop was about thirty feet. Aelita swan-dived off the cliff, did a roll and landed on her
feet.
"Xana!" She called out attracting the attention of the two dozen monsters that surrounded the tower. "I'm calling you
out! You hurt me and my friends. All I want is to join them in the real world. But you and your selfish ambitions
prevent me from doing that. You even tried to kill my friends! It's time we settle this once and for all! One-on-one,
you and me. Nobody to aid either of us!"
The symbol on the tower glowed and suddenly sprouted a head-less body. It landed in front of Aelita. It groaned.
"This is it, only one of us is going to come out of this alive," Aelita said more determined than she had evern been in her
existence. Xana suddenly created a red spear and tried to stab her. Aelita jumped back. She concentrated and a rock
pillar appeared in front of Xana. Three more appeared and tried to hold Xana down. Xana just flexed his muscles and
destroyed them. He swung his spear again and again, Aelita tried to jump over it. But she underestimated the height of
the spear and it caught her foot. She fell down. Aelita knew she had to keep moving. Xana was strong, but she was fast.
Aelita ran towards Xana and dove through his legs. She rolled and quickly stood up again. Turning around, she summoned
her powers to break apart the cliff that she was once standing on and fired rock after rock at Xana's back. The first six
or seven hit him but then Xana turned and started batting them away. "As Odd would say, that's got to hurt."
Suddenly an energy blast struck Aelita in the back. She fell to one knee. "That... was a cheap shot," she said. But as
she looked up, she saw that Xana had also been struck and down on one knee. Aelita found that odd. Xana wouldn't strike
himself down, nor would one of his monsters attack its master. So what...?
Aelita looked up and saw a strange purple figure standing over them. It had a human shape, but it's content was of purple
lightning. It laughed and launched another purple energy blast. Aelita and Xana scattered as the assembled monsters
opened fire. Monsters appeared on the purple figure's side. They looked like fish and skeletons. The skeletons fired a
black smoke from their mouths which melted a crab.
Aelita looked up at Xana. "I see. We'll have to put our fight on hold until we destroy this thing." Xana commanded his
fleet of hornets to attack while Aelita formed spikes and fired them. The spikes manage to destroy some of them but the
hornets were destroyed by the black smoke. The fish began flying down. The moment they hit something, both the object
and them were destroyed.
"We have to run," Aelita said. Her use of the cliffside as a weapon had caused a large hill to form. Aelita used her
powers to even it out so it was easier to climb. Several of the "Blow Fish" attacked her but Aelita quickly dodged.
Xana leaped up to the air and struck all of the skeletons down with his spear. But more begn appearing. Xana's monsters
weren't faring so well. Their lasers weren't having any effect on these new monsters.
Aelita saw that a Blow Fish was rapidly heading towards her. She tried to run but her feet tripped and she fell. She could
only watch as the Blow Fish got closer and closer.
"Jeremie!" She cried.
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Jeremie woke up in a cold sweat. He just got a very bad feeling. He looked down and saw something in his lap. It was one
of the pictures he took with Aelita when she was here. The v-shape cut on the top showed that it just ripped from the tack
that was holding it and fell in his lap.
Now the bad feeling just got worst.
Jeremie ran to his computer. "Aelita, can you hear me? Aelita! Aelita, talk to me!"
"Jeremie?" Came Aelita's voice though Jeremy couldn't establish a visual. "I need help!"
"Is it Xana?"
"Yes... I mean no... I mean Xana's here but he's not the problem!"
"Calm down, Aelita. What's going on."
Aelita screamed as the Blow Fish got closer. Suddenly a large red spear stabbed it and exploded it before it could hit its
target. Aelita looked up in sheer surprise at Xana. "Xana..."
"What was that, Aelita? What about Xana?" Jeremie's voice called out to her.
"Jeremie, both Xana and I are under attack by some strange monsters. We both need help."
"Hang on, Aelita, I'll go get help."
"Hurry, Jeremie!" Jeremie typed a text message to Yumi's cell phone. All it said was 'Meet at Factory, emergency. J.'
He then got dressed and ran to Odd's room. Since Ulrich was sleeping in the Infirmery, Jeremy didn't have to worry about
involving him despite his injuries. He burst into the room and shook Odd.
"Odd, wake up!" Jeremie half-shouted.
Odd rubbed his eyes and looked up. "Jeremie, what's up... besides you?"
"Aelita just sent me an S.O.S. She and Xana are being attacked by something."
"Wait... she AND Xana? I thought those were the only two beings in Lyoko?"
"So did I. But if we don't hurry, there won't be anyone left, not even Xana."
Odd quickly dressed and ran with Jeremy to the factory. Yumi was waiting at the entrance. Jeremie was glad to see that
Yumi's depression wasn't so deep that she would ignore a distress call from Aelita. The three entered the factory and went
to the control room. Jeremie accessed the super computer and ran a scan of Lyoko. It didn't take long to locate them.
"Okay, I found them, there at the desert region. Go!" Yumi ran back to the elevator but Odd stopped. He whispered to
Jeremie, "What about Ulrich?"
"I don't think Ulrich could survive the virtualization process. Don't tell Yumi, she's got enough to worry about."
"Right, I got'cha." Yumi and Odd rode down to the scanners.
"Transfer, Yumi. Transfer, Odd." As Yumi and Odd entered their scanners, Odd saw Yumi's determined expression. She
looked like how she used to be, but even Odd could see that was just a disguise.
"Scanner, Yumi. Scanner, Odd. Virtualization!"
Yumi and Odd were transported into the desert region of Lyoko. Immediately, they noticed the dark clouds swirling around.
"I don't like the looks of this," Odd commented. Yumi spotted Aelita running towards them, being chased by skeletons and
fish. "Laser Arrow!" The arrow struck the Blow Fish that was about to touch Aelita.
"Yumi, Odd, am I glad to see you guys," Aelita cried.
"Never fear, Princess, your knights in cat suit and kimono are here to save you," Odd joked.
Yumi was more serious. "What's going on? Where's Xana?"
Aelita pointed to a huge explosion in the distance. "He's trying to protect his tower. But it's not working." Aelita
looked down. "I know you guys are going to hate me for saying this, but we might need Xana's help on this."
"Xana? Help? Nyuh-uh," Odd shook his head. "Those two words don't even work together unless it's 'Xana's helping himself
to our hydes," Odd cracked.
"Odd, Xana's fighting for his survival just as much as I am," Aelita explained. "Besides... he saved my life."
"I get it!" Yumi realized. "Xana's connected to Aelita through that virus he implanted. If Aelita's destroyed, then so
is Xana. And if Lyoko's destroyed, then Xana dies which would mean Aelita dies too." Aelita nodded.
"Wow, so Xana's trump card actually became his achilles' heel," Odd said. "Because now he needs to protect himself AND
Aelita."
"Please, Yumi, we must help him," Aelita pleaded.
"All right, let's go."
"Xana better appreciate what we're trying to do for him," Odd muttered as the three took off towards Xana's fortress.
Odd leaped through the air and shot ten laser arrows at the back of a skeleton that was attacking Xana. All ten struck the
skeleton and it was destroyed.
"Odd, don't use so many of your arrows," Jeremy chided. "There's still a lot of enemies around."
"It's not like I have any choice, Jeremy. It took ten of them just to destroy one of these things."
"Not good. I'll reload you but it'll take time."
Aelita created several boulders which Yumi then moved with her telekinesis. She sent them out in all directions and all of
them hit an enemy.
"You want some, fish face?" Odd asked as he stared down a couple of Blow Fish. "Well come and get it!" He ran towards
the Blow Fish ready to slice them with his nails. Suddenly Xana shoved him to the side and swung his spear at them.
"Hey, we're trying to help you here, you ding bat!"
"Odd, you're not suppose to touch the fish," Aelita explained. "If you do, they'll explode taking you with them!"
"Whoa," Odd gasped then turned to Xana. "Uh... sorry about that." Xana just engaged in battle with a skeleton.
The purple figure that was the conductor of this abnormal orchestra placed his arms out and shapeless energy beings
formed. They lashed out tentacles which wrapped around Yumi. Yumi felt a thousand volts of electricity surge through
her. "Ulrich," she called out though nobody else could hear her.
Except one.
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Ulrich sat up in his bed. Yumi was in trouble, he just knew it. But he wanted to make sure. If she was in trouble, it
would most likely be in Lyoko. Ulrich picked up his cell phone and dialed Jeremie's room. After about seven rings,
Ulrich gave up and decided to call the Factory.
Jeremie gasped when he realized he was receiving a call from Ulrich. "Ulrich?"
"Jeremie," Ulrich said without greeting. "I have a feeling there's something bad happening in Lyoko."
"You don't know the half of it," Jeremie commented. "Yumi, Odd, Aelita, and Xana are all engaged in battle with some
sort of Invaders."
Ulrich frowned. He didn't care much for Xana, especially not after what he made Yumi do. But Yumi was in trouble, he had
to help.
"I see," he said neutrally and put down his cell phone without turning it off.
"Look, Ulrich, I know you want to help, but you're still too weak. There's no guarantee that you'll survive the
virtualization process," Jeremie explained. He could hear nothing. "Hello? Ulrich? Ulrich, are you there?" All he
heard was dead air.
Jeremie had that bad feeling again.
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Ulrich limped into the tunnels underneath the Factory using a stick for a crutch. His whole body still hurt. But... he
couldn't stand living with himself if something terrible happened to Yumi. He climbed out through the manhole in front of
the Factory. He had to shimmy down the rope instead of swinging. He rode the elevator down to the control room.
Jeremie gasped upon seeing Ulrich. "Ulrich, you shouldn't be out of bed," Jeremie said.
"If the situation is as dire as you said, Jeremie, then Yumi and Odd are going to need all the help they can get."
"But there's no guarantee that you'll survive the virtualization process. You could end up weaker than you already are."
"Jeremie, my mind's made up. Please help me down to the scanner." Jeremie sighed in fustration and took Ulrich down to
the scanner room. Ulrich staggered into the scanner while Jeremie returned to the control room.
"Hang on, guys, reinforcements are on the way."
"Did I just hear him right?" Odd asked. "Jeremie, unless you have a tank batallion waiting in the third scanner, I don't
see how any reinforcements could help us."
"Who would he send as reinforcements anyway?" Aelita asked.
"Beats me. The only one who's out there is..." Odd gasped.
Yumi also got it. "Oh no."
"Transfer, Ulrich. Scanner, Ulrich. Virtualization!"
Ulrich appeared five feet off the ground. Unlike his usual graceful manner, he fell on his butt.
"Careful," Jeremie said. "YOu just lost ten life points from that fall."
"Sorry," Ulrich apologized as Odd and Aelita helped him up. "Hey, guys."
"Ulrich, you shouldn't be here," Aelita said. "You're still weak."
"From what Jeremie told me, you'll need all the help you can get."
"Dude, I know how much you like to play hero," Odd said as he fended off a Blow Fish with his arrows. "But these guys are
more dangerous than any of Xana's monsters."
Ulrich looked up at Yumi. She seemed busy attacking Blow Fish and Skeletons with her fan. But Ulrich could see that she
was trying to avoid his glance. The new monsters suddenly stopped and formed a circle around the kids and Xana.
The purple being landed and pointed at Ulrich. It let out a strange gargling noise.
"Uh... what was that?" Odd asked.
"I think he wants us to hand control of Lyoko over to him," Aelita said.
"Aelita, you can understand it?" Yumi asked.
"No... but... why else would it attack both me and Xana unless it wanted Lyoko."
"Yeah, well, look, you grape-flavor ghoulie," Ulrich said. "We're not handing anything over to you, not now, not ever!"
The purple being let out a series of grunts that sounded like laughter. Then the monsters attacked.
"Impact!" Ulrich stabbed a Skeleton but nothing happened. Ulrich quickly withdrew his sword and tried stabbing it again.
"Triplicate!" One Ulrich became three and charged a Skeleton. But the Skeleton quickly caught on and slugged the
center Ulrich causing him to fall back and the others disappear.
"Ulrich just lost half his life points with that punch!" Jeremie gasped. "These monsters are strong."
"Or Jeremie's right and Ulrich's weaker because he was virtualized while his body was still injured," Aelita added which
caused Yumi to look away in shame.
"Tell me something I don't know," Ulrich said as he struggled to get up. He was about to attack again but Xana stepped
in his way. "What do you want?" The symbol on Xana's chest began to glow. For some reason, Ulrich understood. "I
see... fine, then. Do your worst!"
"What?!"
"No way!"
"Ulrich, are you crazy?"
Xana's spear began to glow. Ulrich was risen into the air. A strange white mist cumulated around Ulrich and transformed
into a polygonal crystal prison. There was no trace of Ulrich's features, just a general frame.
"Ulrich, no!" Yumi cried. She ran up to the crystal and pounded on it. "Ulrich, please! Come back to me, Ulrich!
Ulrich... NO, please don't go! Please..." Yumi turned to look at Xana. "How could you? Haven't you toyed with us
enough? It's bad enough you attached yourself to Aelita like a lifeline and constantly try to destroy our world! But do
you have to take away our friends too? We're trying to help save you, and this is how you repay us? You truly are a
virus, with no feelings! No humanity what-so-ever, just a cold, empty, machine." The purple being ordered its monsters
to attack. The monsters ganged up on Xana and forced him away from the others.
More Blow Fish appeared in the air. They all shot at Xana like missiles. As hard as Xana tried, they struck it with
incredible force.
Aelita gasped and fell to her knees. "Aelita, what's wrong?" Odd asked.
"Xana's life force is fading," Jeremie warned. "If he dies, so does Aelita and Lyoko! You guys have to save Xana."
"Save Xana, I'd never thought I'd hear that sentence," Odd muttered. He ran off firing laser arrows.
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"Ulrich, why did you allow Xana to strike you like that?" Jeremie muttered. He then checked Ulrich's status. "That's
strange. His life points hadn't gone down and his energy's holding. If that wasn't meant to destroy him, what was it
for?"
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Xana's beating had made Aelita weak but she managed to pull herself over to Yumi's location which was underneath the
crystal that was once Ulrich. "Yumi, are you going to be all right?"
Yumi shook her head. "I never even got to apologize."
"You don't need to apologize," Aelita argued. "Nothing was your fault. It was Xana who was working the controls."
"I just... I never even got to tell him that I care about him."
"I think he knows," Aelita said. "I believe the reason he came down here in his condition was to protect you. Jeremie
told me that he asked about you while he was recovering. Perhaps if you were there, his recovery would've gone by faster."
"Huh?"
"In my research on your world, I discovered that sick people surrounded by loved ones heal much faster than if they were
alone. You care about Ulrich. It seemed like when you two were together, you were incredibly strong. Deep down, I know
that Ulrich cared for you just as much."
[I care about you.] Yumi could recall those four words. They were said by Ulrich. Yumi went up to the crystal prison
while Aelita gathered her remaining strength and ran to help Odd and Xana. "Ulrich... I'm sorry for not being there.
I was beating myself up. Now I know what a true friend you really are." Aelita raised a stone column and shot it
at several Skeletons. A Blow Fish destroyed it. "I know you care about me, Ulrich. And... I care about you."
She placed her hand on the crystal. "Please... return to us, Ulrich." Quietly, she said, "Return to me." As much
as she hated how selfish it sounded, it was what she wanted more than anything in the world.
"Yumi, look out behind you!" Odd cried. Yumi looked up to see a Skeleton rapidly descending on her. She had no time to
activate her fan and her life points were too low for her to use her telekinesis. She could only raise her arms and try
to block.
The crystal prison began to glow, forcing the Skeleton away from Yumi. Everyone watched in awe as the crystal began to
dissolve. Someone wearing black jumped down in front of Yumi and swung something. An energy wave destroyed over a third
of the Skeletons and Blow Fish.
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Who or what just saved them? Is it Ulrich? Or some more powerful force. Read the next chapter to find out.