Code: Lyoko
Trustworthy
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Before we begin, I just wanted to say that I think the music on the show is very catchy (kind of a techno 80's
dance mix combo). Someone let me know when the soundtrack comes out. Oh yeah, and Code Lyoko is owned by France 3
and Antefilms (I think those are the names).
Abstract: The kids try out their new upgrades at the same time trying to decide whether or not Xana can be trusted.
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Previously on Code: Lyoko, Xana upgraded everyone's avatars to fight this new menace. They received new powers,
better weapons and new costumes. They were doing well until a destructive energy wave destroyed Xana's tower and
tried to destroy them as well. Jeremie was able to pull Odd, Yumi, and Ulrich from Lyoko but Aelita and Xana were
trapped. Back on Earth, the gang mourned Aelita's lost until something plopped down into Ulrich's scanner: it was
Aelita! Xana had given her the power to materialize in the real world when defeated much like the others.
Everyone was overjoyed, especially Jeremie. Not wasting the opportunity, Aelita adopted the surname "Lyoko" and
joined the others for a new school year.
What do you think Aelita's biggest problem would be: defeating the invading force that has stricken Lyoko or trying
to fit in as a human?
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It was the very afternoon of the day Aelita joined Jeremie and the others at school. After classes had ended for the
day, Aelita, Odd, Yumi, and Ulrich headed for the factory. Jeremie had already sent a call to them saying he was
already there. Aelita was taken in by the underground tunnels.
"So this is how you guys get to the factory. This secret passageway is amazing!"
"Uh... Aelita, I'd hate to tell you this, but... we're in the sewers," Odd told her.
"So?"
"Let's just say that people don't normally travel this way," Yumi said with a smile. The group arrived at the
factory. The first thing they came across when they arrived in the scanner room was a Roachster walking by
carrying a wrench. Everyone was shocked. They noticed that several of Xana's monsters have materialized
in the real world and were now working on constructing something. They were mostly Roachsters, Blocks, and
Crabs.
Jeremie, who was busy holding two wires together while a block used its laser to fuse them together, noticed
them. "Oh, hey, guys."
"Um... Jeremie, what's going on?" Odd asked.
"Well, seeing as how now there are four who can travel to Lyoko instead of three, I felt it was necessary to
construct a fourth scanner. Fortunately, the blueprints were on file so I started construction on one."
"And... this?" Ulrich gestured to the monsters.
"It was Xana's idea. He thought construction would go by quicker if I had some help." Odd had a skeptic look
on his face. Yumi and Ulrich were indifferent. "You guys ready for the test-run?"
"Oh yeah," Ulrich said.
Jeremie had a small smile as he leaned back against the wall. "One thing though, until the fourth scanner is
completed, two of you will have to share a scanner. So, any volunteers?"
Odd immediately raised his hand. "I volunteer Yumi and Ulrich."
"Hey!" They both protested.
Aelita also raised her hand. "I second it."
Ulrich and Yumi turned to look at Jeremie. He still had a sly smile as he also raised his hand. Yumi and
Ulrich blushed.
"Do human's faces always do that?" Aelita asked.
"Only when they're in loOOWWW!" A passing Roachster accidentally stepped on Odd's toe. "Hey, watch where
you're going!" The others laughed and Ulrich mentally thanked Xana for sending that Roachster to divert the
attention from Yumi and himself.
Jeremie got up and dusted himself off. "All right, here we go."
"Hey Jeremie wait," Odd called as he joined Jeremy in the elevator. He closed the door but stopped Jeremy
from hitting the button. "Are you sure it's wise to allow Xana to have so much freedom? I mean don't forget
all the times he tried to kill us."
"Believe me, Odd, I feel the same way you do. But first of all, the Invaders attacked Xana too so I doubt
they could be in league with him. And second, he did upgrade the avatars and gave Aelita the power to become
human. He trusts us to help him save Lyoko. I think it's the least we can do."
Odd still wasn't sure. It was hard to ignore all those months of being attacked by rats, bulldozers, crows,
earthquakes. And the high-speed almost train crash. It was hard to ignore all the times he came close to
destroying them. Odd re-opened the door and stepped to the scanner on the right.
Jeremie returned to the control room and got ready. "Transfer, Aelita. Transfer, Odd. Transfer, Ulrich.
Transfer, Yumi."
In the scanner, Ulrich and Yumi stared uncomfortably at one another.
"So... how should we do this?" Yumi asked trying to avoid looking Ulrich directly in the eyes.
"Um... back-to-back?" Ulrich shrugged.
"That... would work." The two pressed their backs against each other.
"This... is just until the fourth scanner is completed."
"Yeah, but until then, we'll... probably have to do this a little bit."
"Yeah."
"Scanner, Aelita. Scanner, Odd. Scanner, Ulrich and Yumi. Virtualization!"
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The four materialized in their upgraded avatars. They were in the forest region of Lyoko near a tower.
Xana was waiting for them with his monsters including some new ones.
"Okay, Jeremie, we're here," Ulrich confirmed.
"Xana reports that he's ready too." Xana nodded, although since he had no head it looked like he was
bowing. "Okay, guys, I'm uploading your weapons." The upgrades for the Avatars were so powerful that
Jeremie wasn't able to upload the weapons. So he decided to put the weapons into a separate program.
"Upload: Twin Kitanas." Two swords appeared in Ulrich's hands and two sheaths were on his back.
"Upload: Disk Launchers." Bladed rings mounted on miniature crossbows appeared on Yumi's forearms.
"Upload: Wrist Claws." Odd's weapon was elongated blades mounted on wrist bands. "Upload: Lyoko Wand."
A long staff with a jewel mounted on the end was Aelita's weapon. "All right, Odd, you're up!"
Odd pulled in front of the group. Xana ordered several hornets to attack. Odd leaped from tree to tree.
"Laser Crescent!" A blue arc-shape energy bolt destroyed a hornet. "Laser Crescent! Laser Crescent!
Laser Crescent!" Odd slashed through the air and used his new energy attack to destroy hornets. He
didn't even need to aim for the symbol on them.
A tug of his tail was all the warning Odd had. He rolled forward onto a tree just as a tentacle tried
to skewer him.
"They're called Tentapods," Jeremie explained to the octopus-looking monster on wheels. Odd swung his
claws and sliced up the tentacles before delivering a Laser Crescent to it. He then landed on his feet,
his tail sticking up in a z-shape.
"How was that, Jeremie?"
"Not bad, Odd. All right, Yumi, you're next." Yumi set forth to destroy several Blocks and Roachsters
with her disc. She then faced down a Crab.
"Hey, Ulrich," Odd whispered. "Do you think Xana can be trusted?"
"I personally don't trust him, especially after what he did to Yumi and me."
"Then again, you can't forget the fact that he upgraded your avatars and me," Aelita commented. Ulrich
and Odd hadn't realized she was listening in. "He also gave me the ability to be materialized on Earth.
I admit, I was just like Ulrich, but..."
"It's symbiosis," Ulrich explained. Odd and Aelita stared at him questionly. "Xana's only helping us
because its beneficial to him. After these intruders are taken care of, who knows what he'll do."
"You also can't forget that he and I are connected," Aelita reminded them. "He wouldn't destroy me, that
would destroy himself as well."
"But do you think people can change on the inside and the outside?" Odd asked.
"In your case, no," Ulrich said with a smile to show he was kidding. "But Xana's a computer virus, and
viruses can't be changed , at least not by themselves." Aelita lowered her head in thought. "Go, Yumi!"
Ulrich's cheer brought the three of them out of their private conversation and back to the action.
Yumi was standing in front of a damaged (but still functioning) Crab. Her hands were making a strange
gesture, right hand cupping her left, left index and middle fingers sticking up.
"Mystic Aura..." Yumi whispered. A white mist encircled her body. "Reduction!" Suddenly the crab shrunk
to a quarter of its original size. She then kicked the crab into a tree.
"Too bad, I wanted Crab cakes for dinner," Odd joked.
"All right, Aelita, you're up!" Jeremie announced. Aelita faced off against Blocks. They immediately fired
their lasers. Aelita twirled her staff and blocked it. She struck her staff on the ground and a hole opened
up, swallowing them. A hornet attacked her from behind.
"Aelita, only lost two life points," Jeremie reported.
"Sorry, I got caught off-guard," Aelita apologized.
"Don't apologize, Aelita," Jeremie said. "That's what we're here to do, get all the kinks out."
"Well, I assure you..." Aelita aimed her staff at the Hornet. The air around the Hornet seemed to collapse
on it. It crumpled up and fell to the ground.
"I still don't trust Xana," Odd whispered to Ulrich continuing his earlier conversation. "Even if he's
still helping us, he's doing it because it'll benefit him in the long run."
"He's doing it because he's lonely," Yumi spoke up startling Odd.
"Geez, do girls like sneaking up on me or something?"
"What do you mean lonely, Yumi?" Ulrich asked.
"The reason he attached that virus to Aelita was because he was afraid of being alone. If Aelita joined us
in the real world, she would forget all about Lyoko and him. That's why he worked so hard to destroy us,
so that Aelita would stay in Lyoko with him."
"Yumi, how do you know all this?" Ulrich asked.
"When Xana was upgrading my avatar, I could feel the emotions of those around me. I felt despair and
loneliness coming from Xana. In some ways, Xana's like a child. All he wants is attention from others and
gets cranky when people start paying attention to something or someone besides him."
"Now that I think about it," Odd spoke up. "I was feeling a lot of emotions while Xana was upgrading my
avatar. But I thought those were all mine. It never occured to me that they could be other people's
emotions, and especially not Xana."
"Ulrich, it's your turn," Jeremie informed him. Ulrich stepped forward and prepared to do battle with a Mega
Tank.
"Aelita, were you able to feel emotions while Xana was upgrading you?" Yumi asked.
"Why, yes, I was," Aelita confirmed. "It was like a rainbow of different emotions at once."
"Any from Xana?" Odd questioned.
Aelita nodded. "A desire, a desire for something. Something that he can not have."
"That's the emotion that I felt," Yumi said as she watched Ulrich cross his swords.
"Energy Wave!" Ulrich's attack was like Odd's Laser Crescent but much more powerful. It penetrated the blast
that the Mega Tank shot and destroyed the tank.
"That's the end of the test, everyone," Jeremie announced. "I'll take you guys back now..."
Suddenly two Skeleton monsters dropped down. They blew smoke which destroyed all the monsters that didn't
participate in the test-run.
"Oh, great," Odd moaned. "It's the Bone Brigade."
"Let's take them, guys," Ulrich said. But Xana held his arm out and stepped forward.
"Guys, I think Xana wants to fight them," Aelita announced.
"Why would he want to take them on solo?" Odd asked.
"Probably to avenge the destruction of his fortress," Yumi guessed.
Xana formed his spear and charged both the Skeleton monsters. He swung his spear several times but the
Skeletons were very agile. They were hard to hit. Xana summoned a Mega Tank and sent it rolling towards them.
But the deadly smoke melted it to a puddle of goo. Xana got quicker with his moves. He actually stabbed one in
the arm. The Skeleton let out a loud roar, then spotted Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, and Aelita.
"Oh no! Run, guys, they're going to target you with that toxic breath of theirs!" Jeremie warned, but the
Skeleton was already releasing it towards Yumi.
It probably would've killed her if Xana hadn't jumped in the line of fire.
"Uuuhhhh," Aelita groaned as she dropped to both knees. "Xana... that smoke is draining his life force."
{Xana leapt into the path of the smoke to protect Yumi,} Ulrich realized. {And he did it knowing it would
weaken his life force. He was willing to sacrifice himself to protect Yumi!} Ulrich started to wonder if his
primary assumption of Xana was all wrong. He protected Yumi, the very same person who he took control of a few
days ago. But why? Doing it not only weakened him, but Aelita as well. I doubt he's suicidal. Ulrich came to
a conclusion: {Xana... Xana just saved a life!}
Yumi was thinking the same thing, but on a more personal level. {I'm still mad at what Xana did to me. But I
can't let him sacrifice himself just to protect me. We're all a team and we have to protect one another.} Yumi
made a gesture with her hands. "Mystic Aura... Regenerate!" The white smoke flowed into Xana and his strength
returned. With a loud groan, he charged the Skeletons again and sliced one of them vertically in two. The other
jumped back and roared. Several Blow Fish appeared around it.
"Hey, seven against one isn't fair!" Odd protested.
"Well maybe we should make it seven against five," Ulrich said. The others readied their weapons along with
Xana. Yumi and Odd started out using long-range attacks. That destroyed half the Blow Fish. Aelita set up a
barrier and Xana threw his spear which destroyed two more. Ulrich finished the rest and the Skeleton off with
his energy wave.
"Let's hope that'll make those Invaders think twice about dealing with us," Odd said proudly.
"Invaders?" Jeremie asked.
"Hey, that's what you called them."
"It was only a descriptive term, but I guess we can call them Invaders for now."
Ulrich and Yumi went up to Xana. Yumi bowed to him and said, "Xana, thank you... you saved my life."
"I still think you're a creep for all you put us through," Ulrich said. "But... you did save Yumi, and for that,
I thank you as well." Ulrich held out his hand to shake Xana's. Xana stared at Ulrich's hand. Then the symbol
on his chest (he didn't have a head) glowed and he let out a long tenor sound. He then got up and walked away.
Aelita gave a little chuckle. "I think that's Xana's way of saying you're welcome."
"I guess I was wrong about Xana," Odd said. "Perhaps we really can trust him."
"I still don't know if he can be trusted," Ulrich said. "But, at least for now, our feud is over. All right,
Jeremie, take us out of here."
"You got it." The four disappeared.
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When the gang exited the scanners, they saw that the monsters that Xana materialized to work on the fourth
scanner were still hard at work. Jeremie came down from the control room.
"Good job, everyone," he congratulated. "That was a pretty intense battle.
"So Xana's no longer the bad guy," Odd said. "I guess it's possible for people to change on the outside
AND the inside."
"Yeah, at the very least, we'll need his help in constructing the fourth scanner," Ulrich said.
Odd gave him a sly smile. "What in such a rush, Ulrich. I thought you wouldn't mind sharing a scanner with
your giEEOOWWW!" Another Roachster (or perhaps it was the same one) carrying a wire on its head stepped on
Odd's foot. "You know, Xana may be on our side, but I think he has something against me." The others laughed.
Suddenly Aelita moaned and felt her stomach. Jeremy noticed this. "Aelita, is something wrong?"
"My stomach feels weak, I..." A low grumble came from her stomach. "Oh no! Guys, I think Xana's invaded my
stomach!"
The others chuckled. "No, hunger has invaded your stomach," Odd corrected. "I'd say it's time to eat."
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Yumi agreed as they left the factory. The monsters didn't care.
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"Wow, Aelita, that's your third piece of chicken," Ulrich counted. "Your appetite is almost as big as Odd's."
Aelita had a look of worry on her face. "Uh-oh, is that bad?"
"Only when you're eating cafeteria food," Odd cracked.
"Sorry," Aelita apologized. "It's just that this is a fascinating action, eating."
"Let's hope you don't end up like Odd and eat everything you see," Ulrich commented.
"Hey!" Odd protested which earned a brief chuckle from Aelita and the others.
"What's your problem, you creep?!" Sissi's voice rang (more like screached) throughout the cafeteria.
Everybody turned to see Sissi, flanked by Herb and Nicholaus, scowling at a tall boy with dark hair and broad
shoulders. The strange boy seemed to not even care that Sissi was yelling at her. "You don't just cut ahead of
someone without even apologizing! You should learn some manners!"
"I'll learn some only when you do," the boy retorted and got up and walked out of the cafeteria without even
clearing his place.
Sissi grumbled under her throat and stormed back to her own seat.
"Wow, someone actually standing up to Sissy. I haven't seen anything that daring since..."
"Since us?" Ulrich interrupted Odd.
"Yeah."
"Who is he?" Aelita wanted to know.
"His name's William Lechon," Jim said as he walked up to them. "He's a transfer student, just transferred
today as a matter of fact. Apparently, he was too good for boot camp so his father decided to send him here."
"Wow, he's one rough dude," Odd observed.
"Yup, I'll enjoy showing him a thing or two," Jim said.
"I guess some can change on the inside, and some can only change on the outside," Yumi commented.
"I trust that," Ulrich agreed.
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Aelita tries to adjust to being human while Invaders make their first outright attack on Earth in the next chapter.
Trustworthy
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before we begin, I just wanted to say that I think the music on the show is very catchy (kind of a techno 80's
dance mix combo). Someone let me know when the soundtrack comes out. Oh yeah, and Code Lyoko is owned by France 3
and Antefilms (I think those are the names).
Abstract: The kids try out their new upgrades at the same time trying to decide whether or not Xana can be trusted.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Previously on Code: Lyoko, Xana upgraded everyone's avatars to fight this new menace. They received new powers,
better weapons and new costumes. They were doing well until a destructive energy wave destroyed Xana's tower and
tried to destroy them as well. Jeremie was able to pull Odd, Yumi, and Ulrich from Lyoko but Aelita and Xana were
trapped. Back on Earth, the gang mourned Aelita's lost until something plopped down into Ulrich's scanner: it was
Aelita! Xana had given her the power to materialize in the real world when defeated much like the others.
Everyone was overjoyed, especially Jeremie. Not wasting the opportunity, Aelita adopted the surname "Lyoko" and
joined the others for a new school year.
What do you think Aelita's biggest problem would be: defeating the invading force that has stricken Lyoko or trying
to fit in as a human?
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It was the very afternoon of the day Aelita joined Jeremie and the others at school. After classes had ended for the
day, Aelita, Odd, Yumi, and Ulrich headed for the factory. Jeremie had already sent a call to them saying he was
already there. Aelita was taken in by the underground tunnels.
"So this is how you guys get to the factory. This secret passageway is amazing!"
"Uh... Aelita, I'd hate to tell you this, but... we're in the sewers," Odd told her.
"So?"
"Let's just say that people don't normally travel this way," Yumi said with a smile. The group arrived at the
factory. The first thing they came across when they arrived in the scanner room was a Roachster walking by
carrying a wrench. Everyone was shocked. They noticed that several of Xana's monsters have materialized
in the real world and were now working on constructing something. They were mostly Roachsters, Blocks, and
Crabs.
Jeremie, who was busy holding two wires together while a block used its laser to fuse them together, noticed
them. "Oh, hey, guys."
"Um... Jeremie, what's going on?" Odd asked.
"Well, seeing as how now there are four who can travel to Lyoko instead of three, I felt it was necessary to
construct a fourth scanner. Fortunately, the blueprints were on file so I started construction on one."
"And... this?" Ulrich gestured to the monsters.
"It was Xana's idea. He thought construction would go by quicker if I had some help." Odd had a skeptic look
on his face. Yumi and Ulrich were indifferent. "You guys ready for the test-run?"
"Oh yeah," Ulrich said.
Jeremie had a small smile as he leaned back against the wall. "One thing though, until the fourth scanner is
completed, two of you will have to share a scanner. So, any volunteers?"
Odd immediately raised his hand. "I volunteer Yumi and Ulrich."
"Hey!" They both protested.
Aelita also raised her hand. "I second it."
Ulrich and Yumi turned to look at Jeremie. He still had a sly smile as he also raised his hand. Yumi and
Ulrich blushed.
"Do human's faces always do that?" Aelita asked.
"Only when they're in loOOWWW!" A passing Roachster accidentally stepped on Odd's toe. "Hey, watch where
you're going!" The others laughed and Ulrich mentally thanked Xana for sending that Roachster to divert the
attention from Yumi and himself.
Jeremie got up and dusted himself off. "All right, here we go."
"Hey Jeremie wait," Odd called as he joined Jeremy in the elevator. He closed the door but stopped Jeremy
from hitting the button. "Are you sure it's wise to allow Xana to have so much freedom? I mean don't forget
all the times he tried to kill us."
"Believe me, Odd, I feel the same way you do. But first of all, the Invaders attacked Xana too so I doubt
they could be in league with him. And second, he did upgrade the avatars and gave Aelita the power to become
human. He trusts us to help him save Lyoko. I think it's the least we can do."
Odd still wasn't sure. It was hard to ignore all those months of being attacked by rats, bulldozers, crows,
earthquakes. And the high-speed almost train crash. It was hard to ignore all the times he came close to
destroying them. Odd re-opened the door and stepped to the scanner on the right.
Jeremie returned to the control room and got ready. "Transfer, Aelita. Transfer, Odd. Transfer, Ulrich.
Transfer, Yumi."
In the scanner, Ulrich and Yumi stared uncomfortably at one another.
"So... how should we do this?" Yumi asked trying to avoid looking Ulrich directly in the eyes.
"Um... back-to-back?" Ulrich shrugged.
"That... would work." The two pressed their backs against each other.
"This... is just until the fourth scanner is completed."
"Yeah, but until then, we'll... probably have to do this a little bit."
"Yeah."
"Scanner, Aelita. Scanner, Odd. Scanner, Ulrich and Yumi. Virtualization!"
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The four materialized in their upgraded avatars. They were in the forest region of Lyoko near a tower.
Xana was waiting for them with his monsters including some new ones.
"Okay, Jeremie, we're here," Ulrich confirmed.
"Xana reports that he's ready too." Xana nodded, although since he had no head it looked like he was
bowing. "Okay, guys, I'm uploading your weapons." The upgrades for the Avatars were so powerful that
Jeremie wasn't able to upload the weapons. So he decided to put the weapons into a separate program.
"Upload: Twin Kitanas." Two swords appeared in Ulrich's hands and two sheaths were on his back.
"Upload: Disk Launchers." Bladed rings mounted on miniature crossbows appeared on Yumi's forearms.
"Upload: Wrist Claws." Odd's weapon was elongated blades mounted on wrist bands. "Upload: Lyoko Wand."
A long staff with a jewel mounted on the end was Aelita's weapon. "All right, Odd, you're up!"
Odd pulled in front of the group. Xana ordered several hornets to attack. Odd leaped from tree to tree.
"Laser Crescent!" A blue arc-shape energy bolt destroyed a hornet. "Laser Crescent! Laser Crescent!
Laser Crescent!" Odd slashed through the air and used his new energy attack to destroy hornets. He
didn't even need to aim for the symbol on them.
A tug of his tail was all the warning Odd had. He rolled forward onto a tree just as a tentacle tried
to skewer him.
"They're called Tentapods," Jeremie explained to the octopus-looking monster on wheels. Odd swung his
claws and sliced up the tentacles before delivering a Laser Crescent to it. He then landed on his feet,
his tail sticking up in a z-shape.
"How was that, Jeremie?"
"Not bad, Odd. All right, Yumi, you're next." Yumi set forth to destroy several Blocks and Roachsters
with her disc. She then faced down a Crab.
"Hey, Ulrich," Odd whispered. "Do you think Xana can be trusted?"
"I personally don't trust him, especially after what he did to Yumi and me."
"Then again, you can't forget the fact that he upgraded your avatars and me," Aelita commented. Ulrich
and Odd hadn't realized she was listening in. "He also gave me the ability to be materialized on Earth.
I admit, I was just like Ulrich, but..."
"It's symbiosis," Ulrich explained. Odd and Aelita stared at him questionly. "Xana's only helping us
because its beneficial to him. After these intruders are taken care of, who knows what he'll do."
"You also can't forget that he and I are connected," Aelita reminded them. "He wouldn't destroy me, that
would destroy himself as well."
"But do you think people can change on the inside and the outside?" Odd asked.
"In your case, no," Ulrich said with a smile to show he was kidding. "But Xana's a computer virus, and
viruses can't be changed , at least not by themselves." Aelita lowered her head in thought. "Go, Yumi!"
Ulrich's cheer brought the three of them out of their private conversation and back to the action.
Yumi was standing in front of a damaged (but still functioning) Crab. Her hands were making a strange
gesture, right hand cupping her left, left index and middle fingers sticking up.
"Mystic Aura..." Yumi whispered. A white mist encircled her body. "Reduction!" Suddenly the crab shrunk
to a quarter of its original size. She then kicked the crab into a tree.
"Too bad, I wanted Crab cakes for dinner," Odd joked.
"All right, Aelita, you're up!" Jeremie announced. Aelita faced off against Blocks. They immediately fired
their lasers. Aelita twirled her staff and blocked it. She struck her staff on the ground and a hole opened
up, swallowing them. A hornet attacked her from behind.
"Aelita, only lost two life points," Jeremie reported.
"Sorry, I got caught off-guard," Aelita apologized.
"Don't apologize, Aelita," Jeremie said. "That's what we're here to do, get all the kinks out."
"Well, I assure you..." Aelita aimed her staff at the Hornet. The air around the Hornet seemed to collapse
on it. It crumpled up and fell to the ground.
"I still don't trust Xana," Odd whispered to Ulrich continuing his earlier conversation. "Even if he's
still helping us, he's doing it because it'll benefit him in the long run."
"He's doing it because he's lonely," Yumi spoke up startling Odd.
"Geez, do girls like sneaking up on me or something?"
"What do you mean lonely, Yumi?" Ulrich asked.
"The reason he attached that virus to Aelita was because he was afraid of being alone. If Aelita joined us
in the real world, she would forget all about Lyoko and him. That's why he worked so hard to destroy us,
so that Aelita would stay in Lyoko with him."
"Yumi, how do you know all this?" Ulrich asked.
"When Xana was upgrading my avatar, I could feel the emotions of those around me. I felt despair and
loneliness coming from Xana. In some ways, Xana's like a child. All he wants is attention from others and
gets cranky when people start paying attention to something or someone besides him."
"Now that I think about it," Odd spoke up. "I was feeling a lot of emotions while Xana was upgrading my
avatar. But I thought those were all mine. It never occured to me that they could be other people's
emotions, and especially not Xana."
"Ulrich, it's your turn," Jeremie informed him. Ulrich stepped forward and prepared to do battle with a Mega
Tank.
"Aelita, were you able to feel emotions while Xana was upgrading you?" Yumi asked.
"Why, yes, I was," Aelita confirmed. "It was like a rainbow of different emotions at once."
"Any from Xana?" Odd questioned.
Aelita nodded. "A desire, a desire for something. Something that he can not have."
"That's the emotion that I felt," Yumi said as she watched Ulrich cross his swords.
"Energy Wave!" Ulrich's attack was like Odd's Laser Crescent but much more powerful. It penetrated the blast
that the Mega Tank shot and destroyed the tank.
"That's the end of the test, everyone," Jeremie announced. "I'll take you guys back now..."
Suddenly two Skeleton monsters dropped down. They blew smoke which destroyed all the monsters that didn't
participate in the test-run.
"Oh, great," Odd moaned. "It's the Bone Brigade."
"Let's take them, guys," Ulrich said. But Xana held his arm out and stepped forward.
"Guys, I think Xana wants to fight them," Aelita announced.
"Why would he want to take them on solo?" Odd asked.
"Probably to avenge the destruction of his fortress," Yumi guessed.
Xana formed his spear and charged both the Skeleton monsters. He swung his spear several times but the
Skeletons were very agile. They were hard to hit. Xana summoned a Mega Tank and sent it rolling towards them.
But the deadly smoke melted it to a puddle of goo. Xana got quicker with his moves. He actually stabbed one in
the arm. The Skeleton let out a loud roar, then spotted Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, and Aelita.
"Oh no! Run, guys, they're going to target you with that toxic breath of theirs!" Jeremie warned, but the
Skeleton was already releasing it towards Yumi.
It probably would've killed her if Xana hadn't jumped in the line of fire.
"Uuuhhhh," Aelita groaned as she dropped to both knees. "Xana... that smoke is draining his life force."
{Xana leapt into the path of the smoke to protect Yumi,} Ulrich realized. {And he did it knowing it would
weaken his life force. He was willing to sacrifice himself to protect Yumi!} Ulrich started to wonder if his
primary assumption of Xana was all wrong. He protected Yumi, the very same person who he took control of a few
days ago. But why? Doing it not only weakened him, but Aelita as well. I doubt he's suicidal. Ulrich came to
a conclusion: {Xana... Xana just saved a life!}
Yumi was thinking the same thing, but on a more personal level. {I'm still mad at what Xana did to me. But I
can't let him sacrifice himself just to protect me. We're all a team and we have to protect one another.} Yumi
made a gesture with her hands. "Mystic Aura... Regenerate!" The white smoke flowed into Xana and his strength
returned. With a loud groan, he charged the Skeletons again and sliced one of them vertically in two. The other
jumped back and roared. Several Blow Fish appeared around it.
"Hey, seven against one isn't fair!" Odd protested.
"Well maybe we should make it seven against five," Ulrich said. The others readied their weapons along with
Xana. Yumi and Odd started out using long-range attacks. That destroyed half the Blow Fish. Aelita set up a
barrier and Xana threw his spear which destroyed two more. Ulrich finished the rest and the Skeleton off with
his energy wave.
"Let's hope that'll make those Invaders think twice about dealing with us," Odd said proudly.
"Invaders?" Jeremie asked.
"Hey, that's what you called them."
"It was only a descriptive term, but I guess we can call them Invaders for now."
Ulrich and Yumi went up to Xana. Yumi bowed to him and said, "Xana, thank you... you saved my life."
"I still think you're a creep for all you put us through," Ulrich said. "But... you did save Yumi, and for that,
I thank you as well." Ulrich held out his hand to shake Xana's. Xana stared at Ulrich's hand. Then the symbol
on his chest (he didn't have a head) glowed and he let out a long tenor sound. He then got up and walked away.
Aelita gave a little chuckle. "I think that's Xana's way of saying you're welcome."
"I guess I was wrong about Xana," Odd said. "Perhaps we really can trust him."
"I still don't know if he can be trusted," Ulrich said. "But, at least for now, our feud is over. All right,
Jeremie, take us out of here."
"You got it." The four disappeared.
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When the gang exited the scanners, they saw that the monsters that Xana materialized to work on the fourth
scanner were still hard at work. Jeremie came down from the control room.
"Good job, everyone," he congratulated. "That was a pretty intense battle.
"So Xana's no longer the bad guy," Odd said. "I guess it's possible for people to change on the outside
AND the inside."
"Yeah, at the very least, we'll need his help in constructing the fourth scanner," Ulrich said.
Odd gave him a sly smile. "What in such a rush, Ulrich. I thought you wouldn't mind sharing a scanner with
your giEEOOWWW!" Another Roachster (or perhaps it was the same one) carrying a wire on its head stepped on
Odd's foot. "You know, Xana may be on our side, but I think he has something against me." The others laughed.
Suddenly Aelita moaned and felt her stomach. Jeremy noticed this. "Aelita, is something wrong?"
"My stomach feels weak, I..." A low grumble came from her stomach. "Oh no! Guys, I think Xana's invaded my
stomach!"
The others chuckled. "No, hunger has invaded your stomach," Odd corrected. "I'd say it's time to eat."
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Yumi agreed as they left the factory. The monsters didn't care.
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"Wow, Aelita, that's your third piece of chicken," Ulrich counted. "Your appetite is almost as big as Odd's."
Aelita had a look of worry on her face. "Uh-oh, is that bad?"
"Only when you're eating cafeteria food," Odd cracked.
"Sorry," Aelita apologized. "It's just that this is a fascinating action, eating."
"Let's hope you don't end up like Odd and eat everything you see," Ulrich commented.
"Hey!" Odd protested which earned a brief chuckle from Aelita and the others.
"What's your problem, you creep?!" Sissi's voice rang (more like screached) throughout the cafeteria.
Everybody turned to see Sissi, flanked by Herb and Nicholaus, scowling at a tall boy with dark hair and broad
shoulders. The strange boy seemed to not even care that Sissi was yelling at her. "You don't just cut ahead of
someone without even apologizing! You should learn some manners!"
"I'll learn some only when you do," the boy retorted and got up and walked out of the cafeteria without even
clearing his place.
Sissi grumbled under her throat and stormed back to her own seat.
"Wow, someone actually standing up to Sissy. I haven't seen anything that daring since..."
"Since us?" Ulrich interrupted Odd.
"Yeah."
"Who is he?" Aelita wanted to know.
"His name's William Lechon," Jim said as he walked up to them. "He's a transfer student, just transferred
today as a matter of fact. Apparently, he was too good for boot camp so his father decided to send him here."
"Wow, he's one rough dude," Odd observed.
"Yup, I'll enjoy showing him a thing or two," Jim said.
"I guess some can change on the inside, and some can only change on the outside," Yumi commented.
"I trust that," Ulrich agreed.
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Aelita tries to adjust to being human while Invaders make their first outright attack on Earth in the next chapter.