A/N: I needed to switch to MS Word because upgrades screwed up the notepad program I originally used.

Code: Lyoko

The Phantom Player

Abstract: A new presence makes itself known in Lyoko and it's up to the team to figure it out.

In the middle of the night, a figure snuck into the factory that housed the supercomputer and the scanners. It climbed down the ropes and faced the freight elevator.

If I know them, they placed a security code on the access door. Good thing I know another way in. The intruder squeezed their body into an air duct. It's tight. Then again, it's been such a long time since I last been in here. The intruder made their way down into the control room. No sooner had the intruder touched down then the Lyoko symbol appeared on the main screen and the supercomputer started to boot up. Nice try, Xana, the intruder thought. But you're dealing with an old pro at this. The intruder slid down until the table masked him from the screen and Xana's eye. The intruder reached into a backpack and took out a laptop. Hooking it up to the internal circuitry hidden behind a panel in the wall, several files and programs were uploaded to the supercomputer. There. Now I can access Lyoko from anywhere. And soon, those foreign elements will be eliminated.

The next morning, Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, and Aelita went up to Jeremie, who was busy typing on his laptop.

"So, genius, what miracle are you working on today?" Odd asked.

"I'm working on a program that would block anyone from entering the towers. Hopefully, the Invaders won't be able to launch any more attacks on Earth and we'll be able to confide them to Lyoko."

Jeremie's laptop's alarm went off as the Lyoko symbol flashed on the screen.

"Well speak of the devil," Ulrich commented.

"Let's get to the Factory," Yumi said. "We can cut through the Boiler Room."

As they headed into the building, they were unaware that they were being watched by the intruder.
The kids headed down the steps and through the hole into the sewers. They rode their personal vehicles to the factory. As they entered the elevator, Odd looked down at the ground. Something seemed strange about it.

"Hey Odd, is something wrong?" Aelita asked.

"Um... no, it's probably nothing." Odd joined the others in the elevator. The elevator dropped Jeremie off at the control room before completing its descent to the scanner room.

"It's situated in the forest region, twenty-five degrees north of a tower," Jeremie reported. "You all ready to go?"

"Ready," everyone replied.

"Transfer, Aelita. Transfer, Odd. Transfer, Ulrich. Transfer, Yumi. Scanner, Aelita. Scanner, Odd. Scanner, Ulrich. Scanner, Yumi. Virtualization!"

One by one, the four were virtualized and appeared in their avatar forms in the forest region. The tower that Jeremie was talking about could be seen in the distance.

Standing between them and it were a group of Skeletons. Jeremie uploaded their weapons and the battle began.

The battle was proceeding well for the Lyoko Team. That is, until Odd's tail started pulling in a certain direction. "Guys, something dangerous is approaching!" No sooner had Odd announced it than a spinning red wheel cut through the trees and almost all of them in the process.

"Jeremie, what was that?" Aelita asked.

"Oh no, it's back!"

"What's back?" Ulrich questioned.

"Oh, he must mean that spinning red wheel thing that trapped us all in Lyoko last time," Odd reminded them.

"Oh great," Yumi moaned. "I don't want to be trapped in Lyoko again."

"Not to worry guys," Jeremie assured them. Xana and I had set up a secondary and tertiary network to route the excess data. It should prevent you guys from a system freeze."

"Here it comes again!" Odd warned. The spinning fire wheel attacked them all again. The Skeletons tried destroying it with their acid mist but it didn't work.

"Look over there!" Yumi pointed to the horizon where a silhouette stood. The figure raised its arm and the flaming wheel came to it.

Except it wasn't exactly a wheel, but what appeared to be two axes stuck together, or perhaps it was an axe handle with an extra blade.

"Listen to me words and listen well," the figure said. His voice seemed digitized but somehow strangely familiar. "All of ye are trespassing here. Log out now or suffer the consequences."

"Hold on," Yumi said. "Just who died and made you Lord of Lyoko?"

"Bad choice of words," the figure muttered as his features became visible. The figure was male in shape. He wore a red cloak and his face was masked in total blackness. He wore a red shirt and blue pants. The shirt had a large white diamond on the center with the Lyoko symbol in the center of that. "I've been with Lyoko since the beginning."

"Liar!" Aelita snapped. "Xana and I have been with Lyoko from the beginning and I don't know about him but I've never seen you before!"

"Ye, of all people, should know the truth," the mysterious character said startling Aelita. "Unless... I see. I was afraid of this."

Why... why is he acting as if he knows me? Aelita thought.

The mysterious attacker turned to Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd. "As for the rest of ye. Log out of Lyoko and never log back in or else."

"You can't tell us what to do," Ulrich said crossing his swords. "We're the only ones who stand a chance against the Invaders!"

"Ye are just as much invaders as the others and I will see that every single one of ye will pay the price. Razor Axe!" The axe became a spinning wheel of energy again and swirled towards Yumi.

"Mystic Aura... deflect!" Yumi extended her aura to counter the wheel but it was proving more than a match for it. Ulrich threw Yumi down as the aura gave way. Fortunately, the weapon passed over them and continued towards Odd and Aelita.

"Laser crescent!" The weapon cut through Odd's attack like it wasn't even there.

"Energy wave!"

"Demi Force!" The phantom cried. The entire area vibrated as the energy wave was sent right back at Ulrich.

"Aaaaahhhhh!" Ulrich screamed as he was ejected from Lyoko.

"Ulrich! Jeremie, quick, log us out!"

"Demi Force!"

"Log out Yumi! Log out Odd! Log out Aelita!" The three disappeared just before the shockwave hit.

All three were ejected from the scanners at the same time. They fell on the ground.

"Is everyone all right?" Yumi called out.

"I'm fine," Aelita reported.

"Ow, I haven't felt this sore since Jim made us run a mile around the track," Odd cracked.

Yumi looked around. "Where's Ulrich?" Oh God, don't tell me we lost him again!

"Hey guys, Ulrich's up here with me," Jeremie called. The three remaining kids piled into the freight elevator and rode back up to the control room. Once they got there, they saw Ulrich leaning against a wall nursing an arm.

"Hey Ulrich, are you all right?" Yumi asked.

"I'm not sure, look." Ulrich rolled up the sleeve of his t-shirt to reveal a red scratch. "This was on me when I came out."

"That's impossible! There's no way injuries sustained in Lyoko can carry over onto Earth," Aelita argued.

"That's just what I was thinking," Jeremie replied from the control panel. Somehow, not only did that strange attack deplete Ulrich of all his lifepoints, but the attack was so severe that it caused his body to think it was wounded to the point where it actually was wounded.

"He called it Demi Force," Yumi said sitting by Ulrich. "That was a strong attack."

"And that weapon was more than a match for Yumi's aura," Odd pointed out as he leaned against the central table. "The guy would have to have skills better than Jeremie's if he was able to hack himself such incredible powers."

"Odd, you might be on to something." Jeremie turned to Aelita. "Aelita, can you remember anything about your creators? Or about anyone who has used the virtualization system besides us?"

"No, Jeremie, as far as I can remember, you're the first from the outside world to visit Lyoko."

"Jeremie, were you able to track the hacker's data stream?"

"No, whoever he is, he's logging from a remote omnilink."

"So what do we do now?" Yumi asked.

"Not much we can do. But it looks like the Invaders are quiet for now. Xana's sending out some scouts to watch just in case."

"In the mean time," Ulrich said, "We need to get back to class."

"Yeah, let's go."

As the kids left the Factory, they were unaware that somebody was watching them. If they were to find out the truth, a lot of people could get in trouble. The person turned and headed back to the school.
"You're late," Jim said as Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, Jeremie, and Aelita came into the library.

"Sorry, Jim," they apologized.

"Well, at least it was only two minutes late this time and not the usual ten minutes. Just take your seats and start studying."

The team took up a spot at a table near a corner. "So, any ideas on who the new guy on the block is?" Odd asked.

"He said that he has been with Lyoko since the beginning," Jeremie said. "I wonder what he meant by that."

"Maybe he's a creation of Xana that got loose," Yumi suggested.

"I suppose it could be possible," Jeremie said. "Creating creatures definitely is a trademark of Xana."

"Yes, but why would Xana do such a thing?" Ulrich asked. "And why would he make it human?"

"Maybe Xana isn't the nice computer thingie we thought he was," Odd replied.

"Don't forget, Xana's actions are fueled by logic," Aelita reminded them. "Granted it's a twisted logic, but it's still logic. It would make no sense to create an avatar to send against us when he needs us to beat the Invaders."

"You've been sticking up for Xana a lot lately, Aelita," Odd said.

"Odd," Jeremie scolded.

"I'm just saying…"

"No, I understand, Odd, sorry, I probably should…"

"No, don't be sorry, Aelita," Yumi said. "You're right, such a move wouldn't make sense for Xana considering he has an army of monsters he could send after us. And like Ulrich said, Xana wouldn't make his creation human-like. So, now what do we do?"

"Ach, blimey machine!" Everyone turned to see Miss O'Connor pounding a laptop computer. "I thought I got the bloody thing fixed."

Jeremie went up and walked over to her. "Miss O'Connor, is something wrong?"

"Oh, Jeremie, could 'ye help me? This dag-blasted computer blinked out on me again, I keep losing me work."

"Okay, let's see," Jeremie said as he pressed a few keys. "Ah, I see the problem. Here..." Jeremie pressed a few buttons before and a chart appeared on the screen. "There you go."

"How d' ye do that?"

"It's actually quite simple, you never lost your work, Miss O'Connor, the hard drive always automatically saves a program after a certain period of use. You probably lost some data but just save often and you'll rarely, if not never, get the problem again."

"Thank 'ye, Jeremie, to tell 'ye the truth, I'm not a very big fan o' computers."

"Just glad I could help, Miss O'Connor." Jeremie returned to his seat.

"Jeremie, did you hear the way Miss O'Connor talked?"

"So?"

"So, she talks exactly like the new avatar. What if she's the mysterious player?"

"But why would she do something like that?" Aelita asked.

"Think about it, if she really hates computers, why's she typing like a professional?" Everyone stole a peek at Miss O'Connor and saw her fingers flying almost inhumanly over the keyboard.

Yumi gave Odd a sly smile, "You're just upset that she's engaged."

"Me, upset, hah," Odd laughed.

"Odd, be quiet or take it outside," Jim ordered.

Quieter, Odd said, "Okay, maybe I am a little jealous, but come on, just listen to the way she talks, it's just like the new player."

"Hate to say it, but Odd has a point," Ulrich said. "Why would someone who hates computers be using one in the first place?"

"Okay, assuming it was her, why would she do something like try to eliminate us?"

Nobody had an answer for that.

"You're late!" Everyone turned to see Jim in his classic Jim stance, staring at Will who had just come in. "And just where the heck were you?"

"I got lost," Will said curtly. "Don't jump down my throat."

"You need to learn some respect, young man."

"I treat those who treat me with respect."

"Just take your seat, wise guy." Jeremie and the others watched as Will took a seat at a separate table, took out a notebook and pen and began writing in it.

"Twenty bucks says that he was with his secret girlfriend," Odd snickered. Yumi bopped him in the arm.

In Lyoko, the leader of the Invaders appeared near a tower on a peninsula in the forest region. He waved his hand and covered the tower in black smoke. The tower became an Obelisk and a maze formed around it.

The ground underneath the leader shook. It turned and saw Xana along with several of his monsters appear ready for battle. The leader looked amused. It raised a hand and several Blow Fish and Skeletons appeared. The battle began. Xana immediately attacked the leader with his spear. The leader grabbed the spear and disintegrated it. Xana actually looked surprised. He turned into black smoke and tried infecting the leader. The leader sparkled with electricity and threw Xana back. His monsters hovered over him to protect him. The Blow Fish charged forward and destroyed Xana's fleet of Hornets. The Skeletons battled the Crabs and won. Xana's Mega Tank rolled in front of Xana, opened itself up and fired and intense blast that destroyed the Invader monsters.

The tank's blast didn't even faze the leader of the Invaders.

The Invader let out a chuckling sound and went towards the labyrinth gate. No sooner had it entered then the gate shut.

Aelita was trying to do her homework but Xana sent her an instant message.

DESIGNATE INVADERS SPOTTED IN LYOKO.

Aelita typed back, WHERE?

FOREST REGION: 44 DEGREES NORTH, 79 DEGREES WEST. TOWER TRANSFORMATION COMPLETE, PREPARE FOR INVASION.

Aelita typed, I UNDERSTAND, I'LL TELL THE OTHERS. She closed the instant message screen and turned to leave. No sooner had she opened the door then she bumped into Jeremie. "Jeremie, the Invaders…"

"I know, Xana just contacted me through my cell phone. I bet the others also have received the message. Come on, let's go to the factory." The two of them joined Ulrich and Odd by the manhole cover.

"Yumi's on her way," Ulrich reported.

"Then let's get a move on." The four of them descended into the sewers and rode over to the factory. Jeremie went to the lab while the others went down to the scanners. Jeremie began inputting the commands. "Transfer Ulrich, transfer Odd, transfer Aelita. Scanner Ulrich, scanner Odd, scanner Aelita. Virtualization!"

The four appeared in front of Xana and the Obelisk. "Well, looks like somebody's making himself at home," Odd said referring to the Obelisk. The gate to the labyrinth opened. "Gee, you get the feeling they want us to come in?"

Xana sent Jeremie a message. "Guys, Xana says their leader is inside that thing."

"Ooh, the Big Cohune," Odd said. "Well, far be it for us to keep him… or her… or it… waiting."

Yumi appeared in the freight elevator. "I'm here, what's the situation?"

"Typical," Jeremie explained. "Invaders transform Tower into Obelisk. Except this time, the Invader that destroyed Xana's tower is inside."

"Right, I'll be right down."

"Guys, Yumi's on her way," Jeremie reported. "I'll upload your weapons now. Proceed to the center of the labyrinth but stay on your guard. The leader's in there, who knows what else. Oh, and one more thing…"

"We know, we know, watch out for traps," Ulrich, Aelita, and Odd said.

"At least I know you guys have been listening. Okay, upload: Twin Kitanas, upload: Wrist Claws, upload: Lyoko Wand!" Their weapons appeared and they entered the labyrinth.

They've been walking for a while before Odd said, "Hey guys, I just had a crazy idea."

"No surprise there," Ulrich cracked.

"Seriously, what if that mysterious player is part of the Invaders?"

"I suppose it's possible," Aelita said checking down a side passage. "But why would it destroy its own allies?"

"To gain our trust," Odd guessed.

"That's probably it," Ulrich agreed. "We're here." They arrived at the center of the labyrinth. Up ahead was the entrance to the Obelisk. "I don't get it, why aren't there any monsters here?"

"Their leader is here," Aelita said. "He's probably so strong he doesn't need any bodyguards."

"No offense, Aelita, but I hope you're wrong." The three warriors walked into the Obelisk.

The inside was vastly different from the Obelisks they've encountered in the past. There was no arena or monsters, just a spiraling staircase leading down.

"What's going on, guys?" Jeremie asked. "Are you inside the Obelisk yet?"

"We are," Ulrich confirmed. "But there's a staircase leading down."

"Seems like the takeover of the tower has been complete," Jeremie figured. "Be careful." Ulrich, Odd, and Aelita carefully descended the stairs.

Yumi appeared in front of the Obelisk next to Xana. "The others are in there?" He asked. Xana's emblem glowed once, most likely an affirmative gesture. "Okay, I'm going in." She ran inside.

Xana heard new footsteps and turned to see the mysterious player. He got ready for a fight.

"Relax, Xana," the mysterious player said. "My grudge isn't with you. Those kids won't have a chance against Leader-1. I have to distract him long enough for them to log out." The mysterious player ran inside.

"How far do these stairs go?" Odd wondered. "My feet are killing me."

"Why don't you jump down so we can find out," Ulrich said sarcastically.

"No thanks, my feet aren't that sore."

"There it is," Aelita said. "The bottom!"

The bottom of the stairs revealed nothing but a dark tunnel. Ulrich instructed them to hold hands as they journeyed through the tunnel.

"I just lost them!" Jeremie cried. "Yumi, hurry up and catch up to them!"
The tunnel finally ended in a large dimly-lit throne room. Pillars lined up to a large stone throne. The purple humanoid Invader sat on the throne, staring at them."

"Great, now we got a grape-flavored ghoulie with a god complex," Odd cracked.

"I don't think this is the time to be insulting, Odd," Aelita said.

Ulrich stepped forward to face the Invader. "Who are you, what do you want?" He asked.

The Invader got up and held out his hand. A strange circle formed in his hand. In it, the warriors of Lyoko saw fire consuming buildings, Invaders running amuck, destroying everything and everyone who gets in their way.

"Destruction, oblivion, and devastation," Odd said. "Yeah, we heard that song before. Too bad it won't work!" He charged forward.

"Odd, wait!" Ulrich called.

Jeremie's screen showed that Odd was going into battle but as to who he was fighting, all Jeremie could see was question marks.

"Laser Crescent!" Odd's energy arch struck the leader of the Invaders head-on.

It had no affect.

"It didn't work!" Aelita realized.

"When in doubt, try again," Odd said. "Crescent Barrage!" Odd shot a bunch of laser crescents at the Invader. All of them struck dead-on but had no affect. "Aw man, what's the deal? Hey Jeremie, any ideas?" No answer. "Jeremie? Hello, Lyoko to Jeremie!"

"Jeremie," Aelita called. Silence answered her.

"If he's not responding to you, Aelita, something must be wrong," Odd said. The purple Invader got up and transformed his arm into a spear. The spear shot out and blew a hole through Odd. Odd disappeared.

"Odd!" Ulrich and Aelita cried.

"Ulrich, be careful," Aelita said. "He's not like the others."

"I figured," Ulrich said

Odd shot out of his scanner so fast that he hit the other end.

"Oww," he moaned.

"Odd, are you okay?" Jeremie asked as he helped Odd up.

"I've felt better," Odd groaned.

"What happened in there? You guys completely disappeared from my tracking screen."

"The leader was down in the basement of the Obelisk," Odd explained. "He blew me away in one shot."

"That's impossible you had all your life points!"

"Believe it, Jeremie."

"Oh no, Aelita, Yumi, Ulrich, they're all in danger!"

Ulrich and Aelita had split up and circled the Invader.

"Gravity Bind!" The throne started to shake and sink. Finally it crumbled. The Invader leapt off and landed at the other side of the room. "No, he broke free!"

"Energy Wave!" Ulrich crossed his swords and released an energy blast directly at the Invader. The Invader took it and sent it right back. Ulrich quickly dodged it. "Our attacks aren't having any effect."

"What do we do?" Aelita asked.

"I… don't know."

The Invader's arm extended and wrapped around Ulrich lifting him into the air. Ulrich felt his ribs being crushed as the Invader tried squeezing the life from him.

"AAAHHH!" Ulrich cried.

"Ulrich!" Ulrich disappeared just like Odd. "Oh no, I'm alone," Aelita realized. "Jeremie! Yumi! Xana! Anybody?" The Invader slowly started to walk towards Aelita.

Yumi let loose a flying kick to the back of the Invader's head. The Invader fell flat on its face. Yumi flipped and landed by Aelita. "Yumi!"

"Don't worry, Princess, help's at hand," Yumi said.

"Be careful, Ulrich and Odd were already devirtualized. He can get you in one attack."

"Then I'll just not have to give it the chance." The Invader got up and charged towards Yumi, transforming its arms into spears and lashing out at Yumi. Yumi leapt onto a pillar and started to pillar hop dodging the attacks. She fired her disk launchers which broke off the spears but it didn't seem to hurt it. "What is this thing made of?"

"I don't know," Aelita said.

Yumi made a gesture with her hand. "Mystic Aura…" A tendril wrapped around Yumi's leg and pulled her down. The Invader leader leapt up and came down at Yumi, crushing her face. Yumi was devirtualized. Once again, Aelita was alone. She was too scared to move.

"Razor Axe!" A burning spinning wheel cut the Invader's head off. It flew into the air but landed perfectly back on its shoulders. The mysterious player plowed into the Invader and tackled it. Without missing a beat, the avatar got up and retrieved his weapon. "Aelita, you must leave here now!"

"But how? That thing is blocking the exit."

"I'm sorry, but you are too important to Lyoko to risk having you destroyed. Demi Force!" The attack struck Aelita and she was devirtualized. The mysterious avatar turned towards the Invader. "Get this straight, peon, I won't let you harm her again! I may have stood by once before, but I won't this time. This time, I won't let his twisted game keep her from learning the truth. Razor Axe!" The avatar threw his weapon which sliced the Invader in two. Before the Invader could pull back together, the avatar ran through him, grabbed the axe, and ran upstairs. Once outside, the weapon was thrown again, blowing holes through walls all the way to the outside. The avatar ran through the holes and away from the Obelisk.

Everyone turned to see the door to Aelita's scanner opening. Jeremie prepared to intercept Aelita's body. Just like the others, Aelita was thrown out head first. Jeremie got in front of her but they only ended up butting heads, more specifically their mouths.

The semi-intimate movement was quickly forgotten as the two both crashed into the wall and fell to the ground.

"Jeremie, thank you for catching me," Aelita said.

"Uh… n… no problem, Aelita… um… can I get up?"

"Oh, sorry." The two got up.

"So Jello-Man got you too, huh?" Yumi asked.

"No, it was that mysterious player."

"I knew it," Odd said. "He's part of the Invaders."

"No, Odd, I don't think he is," Aelita said. "Before he used his attack to devirtualize me, he said, 'you are too important to Lyoko to risk having you destroyed.'"

"That was weird," Ulrich commented. "It was like that avatar knew who you were."

"But… I've never seen him before."

"You mean her," Odd corrected.

"Odd, this time, the avatar didn't sound like Miss O'Connor."

"But if it wasn't Miss O'Connor, then who was it?"

"Guys," Ulrich said. "I think our problems just got a whole lot harder to solve."

End.

Somebody recognizes the name 'Lyoko.' Who is it and why does this person make Aelita nervous?