Author's Notes: Hooray, another chapter posted! Now we finally get to see what's really going on. Thank you, as always, to those who have given me such great reviews! Oh, and I just realized that I forgot to answer a person's question in my last post, so I'm doing that now. Question: What's a nekko? Answer: Nekko is the Japanese word for cat. In Japanese anime there are many instances of characters who are half human and half cat. Any character of this kind is commonly referred to as a nekko. Since Code Lyoko is influenced so heavily by Japanese anime (as seen in the style of animation and the Lyoko forms of the characters) I decided to use nekko to describe Odd's virtual form. Ulrich becomes a Japanese samurai, Yumi becomes a Japanese geisha, and Odd becomes a Japanese nekko character. And there you have it.

Wow that was long. Sorry!

:Chapter Five:

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Xana looked expectantly at the angry faces that were glaring in his direction. "What's the matter?" he asked innocently, "Don't you like me anymore?"

Jeremie ignored his taunt, his words bitter and forced. "There's more to this stunt of yours than making us human, isn't there, Xana?"

The humanoid grinned. "Are you asking because you really don't know?" Xana leaned in close to the smaller boy. "That must be driving you mad right now, Jeremie. You, of all people, unable to determine the true extent of the events that are transpiring…"

Jeremie said nothing, his eyes seething hatred.

Xana gave a short laugh. "Oh, this will make it most amusing…" He took a stance, arms locked behind his back and looking prepared to give a lecture. He cast about for a moment, his gaze coming to rest on nearby Kankrelat. Crossing the few yards between them, Xana came to halt in front of its motionless form, as it remained in standby mode. Stretching out his fingers, he brushed them lightly across the surface of the Kankrelat's head dome. The dark essence drifted over the smaller monster for a moment before sinking through its form and dissolving away into a bruise. The creature shuddered once.

With an air of indifference, Xana unexpectedly grasped one of the long, spindly spikes of metal that made up the creature's legs, and ripped it off. Turning it neatly in his hand, he stabbed downward with the sharp edge into the center of the eye, before the Kankrelat could even tip over from the sudden loss of a limb.

Instead of the monster cascading into pieces and dissolving into deletion, a thick, sickening whitish fluid spewed forth from the 'wound', bubbling out and flowing thickly like blood. Xana withdrew the metal appendage, and the monster clattered to the ground, its remaining legs twitching and the fluid dripping as though it were a living thing that was dying…

Without missing a beat, Xana twisted his torso, flinging the pointed object deep into the head dome of another Kankrelat a few yards away. The instant the metal had embedded in its body, the creature sparked, pulsed with Xana's infection of dark matter, and fountained a fresh stream of the now-familiar fluid. White dripping down its eye, the Kankrelat careened sideways on scuttling legs that seemed suddenly unable to keep its balance. It, too, crashed to the ground, splashing the stark surroundings with a spray of its blood and convulsing in a strange, real death.

Jeremie watched the display wide-eyed, muttering his realizations aloud. "It's another virus…he made himself a carrier, and even something inanimate has the potential to be infected…even a virtual creature that exists here, in Lyoko!" He whirled, facing Aelita with fear evident on his features. "Aelita! You're in danger, too! Don't come near any of us!"

Her gaze shifted rapidly back and forth between Xana and Jeremie. "But, if Xana is the one who carries the virus—"

"Didn't you see when he threw the metal?" Jeremie interrupted desperately. "Once something is infected, it becomes a carrier, too! Xana infected Ulrich and Yumi when he touched them, and I must have got it when I came into contact with Yumi. Don't touch anything, Aelita, or else you—"

"Oh, please," Now it was Xana's turn to interrupt, impatience mixed with the sarcasm. "Aelita was infected before Ulrich was."

Aelita's hand rose absently to brush against the place on her arm where Xana had gripped her before.

The dark haired humanoid nodded at her and smiled viciously.

"That's why he tried to shake hands first!" Jeremie's face twisted in disgust. "To spread the infection through the necessary physical contact."

In an ironic display of mock approval, Xana clapped, the sound echoing strangely in the atmosphere. "So clever, Jeremie, as always." He let his hands fall back to his sides, grinning at the three children. "And I'm sure you'll be well pleased to know there's even more to this infection than the biological merger that affects you here."

Uncertainly crossed Aelita's face. "What do you mean?"

Raising a hand, palm outward, Xana released a wisp of black fog from his fingertips, the technique he had used to infect each of them with a mere touch. "When I manifest this virus in your reality, it will create a reverse effect, infusing any human with my own virtual data, giving me complete control over their functions within a matter of hours."

Aelita stared in disbelief. "But the humans—"

"—only possess biological immune systems. They have no defense against a materialized, virtual infection." Xana interrupted.

"But…you can't…" Aelita's voice trailed off.

"Oh, yes, I can." Xana flashed a smile and lowered his hand, watching the dark smoke dissolve into the air. "It will work just as easily, the same way it did here…"

Jeremie caught his meaning. "You're bluffing," he said. "You said yourself, Xana, you've regressed your physical form to Aelita's level of existentiality. You have to remain inside Lyoko just like she does."

The dark haired humanoid rolled his eyes. "Didn't you understand my earlier implications? The materialization sequence that you've been working for so long, perfecting to merge with the specifications of a virtual humanoid like Aelita…"

If it was possible for Jeremie's features to darken further, they did. "Don't you dare!"

Xana seemed unperturbed by the display of violent emotion as he nodded in Aelita's direction, "Well it's not like she'll be needing it anymore. The biological merger that she's infected with functions as a near-identical substitute. Which reminds me…" he faced Aelita, smirking. "Since your body thinks it's human now, Aelita, it should only be a few hours before the other virus begins to take effect as well…"

Jeremie's expression turned to one of angered confusion. "What do you mean, the other virus will take effect? That virus only activates inside Aelita when we shut you down!"

Xana rolled his eyes. "Do you think that if I had the chance to infect her, I would use a virus that carried out only one function?" He narrowed his gaze at Jeremie. "Yes, it connects her life to my own. But the virus's activation is not linked solely to my extermination. It will also kill her if she materializes in your world as a human and remains there for too long."

"What?" Jeremie shouted.

Aelita looked as though she didn't want to ask the next question. "How long is too long?"

Xana smirked. "About an hour."

Jeremie's eyes widened. "No!"

"Enjoy your time together!" Xana smiled at Jeremie and Aelita. "After all, since she's human now she's only got an hour left. I'll leave you two alone. It's about time to test my new infection in your reality, anyway." Xana cast them all a sarcastic motherly look, rolling his voice into a mockery of comforting words. "And don't worry! I'll visit your samurai friend for you…"

For a long time, Yumi had remained silent on her knees, gazing down forlornly at her empty, crimson hands. Now her mouth moved in a harsh whisper. "…I'll kill you…" Slowly she raised her head, pure rage reflected in her features as she glared death at Xana. With a haunted cry, she was suddenly on her feet, her fan open in her grasp, screaming as she thundered towards him. "I'LL KILL YOU!" Her vicious ferocity caught Xana off guard. She flung herself at him, slashing with her weapon in a blur of motion that drove him back.

For the first time since he had approached them, Xana seemed to lose focus of his confidence. As he stumbled backwards under Yumi's attacks, he was forced to defend himself desperately, blocking and parrying wildly with Ulrich's katana. The clatter of Yumi's razor-sharp fan against the metal of the sword echoed unnaturally in the surroundings.

Then there was a slick, wisping sound of impact and a thin cut sprang into existence on the side of the humanoid's face, bringing forth a bright line of blood.

Xana frowned, narrowing his eyes at the girl as he raised a hand to feel the small wound.

Panting, Yumi faced him, a dangerous look on her face. Pale light slowly began to gather around her figure as she summoned telekinesis and readied another attack.

The dark-haired humanoid glared back at her, all the taunting mannerisms gone. "Enough," he said simply. Twisting Ulrich's katana in his hands, he flung it forcefully at Yumi's figure.

Aelita gasped and dashed forward. "Yumi! Look out!" She tackled the dark-haired girl, pushing her out of harm's way and ruining her concentration, causing the psychic energy to dispel. The sword embedded itself in the ground, quivering for a moment.

Xana's expression remained serious as he glared at them. "Enough," he repeated, growling. With a wide swing of his arm, he gestured to the remaining drones as they suddenly began to shift and clatter back to life. "Continue your games with my monsters. I have other matters to attend."

His form began to flicker out of existence, dissolving to a simple grid, and then into nothing.

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The empty scanner began to hum. Startled, Odd twisted his head, eyes narrowing in confusion. Ulrich heard it too, and struggled to gain a sitting position. "…Yumi…?"

Odd pushed him back down. "Don't move around, Ulrich! You'll make the bleeding even worse!" Turning back to watch as the scanner began an automatic materialization sequence, he blinked slowly. "It's not Yumi who's coming through…or Jeremie either…"

Slowly the scanner doors began to slide open, and through them the boys could see a tall, thin figure with blazing green eyes, dark hair, and the unnatural mark of a third eye on his forehead.

"Xana!" Odd's eyes widened in disbelief.

The newly materialized humanoid stepped through, head swiveling as he surveyed his surroundings. The spread of blood on the scanner and the floor caught his eye, and his face split into a wide grin. "I see the biological merger worked perfectly." Turning his gaze to the remaining, occupied scanners, he took a step toward Yumi's. "Now we need only test the virtual expansion…"

Raising a hand, he placed it lightly against the closed metal doors, behind which Yumi's figure rested as her essence moved inside Lyoko. Xana pulsed black, seeping tendrils of the familiar, smoke-like substance through his fingertips, watching with satisfaction as the dark matter infected the metal, spreading and fading through it like liquid.

Without warning a piece of metal flew into the scanner with a hard clattering sound, simultaneously striking metal and flesh. Xana snatched his hand back like it had been burned, hissing at the sensation of pain. He swiveled his head, searching for the source of the projectile.

"Back off, creep!" Odd snatched up another piece of shrapnel and flung it as hard as he could at Xana's head.

Xana dodged, teeth gritting as he frowned and muttered to himself, "I forgot about you…"

Ulrich struggled to his knees, seemingly desperate. "What are you doing to Yumi?"

The humanoid glanced in his direction, and his taunting manner suddenly resumed. "Testing my virus, of course." He patted the scanner as though it were an obedient pet.

"Leave her alone!" Odd grit his teeth and hurled a length of metal. It whistled through the air, spinning like a propeller as it flew towards the humanoid.

Xana stood motionless until the last possible second, then twisted minutely on one heel, raising a hand with a swift, deliberate movement. There was a fleshy sound of impact, and Xana stood grinning with the length of metal resting comfortably in his palm. "Too late now, I'm afraid." He waved it generously. "It almost makes me feel sorry for you, Odd. You do try so hard." He gestured widely at Ulrich's wounded form. "But believe me, he is more of a threat to me now than you'll ever be."

Furious, Ulrich was struggling to rise, and somehow managed to brace himself in a semi-upright position, while still leaning heavily against the wall with an outstretched arm. "…damn right I'm a threat…come over here and I'll show you, coward!"

Xana burst out laughing, a hideously unnatural sound. "I swear, you humans will never cease to amuse me!" He waved a hand in dismissal. "The wounded and the weakling, both deluded into believing that they can stop me…"

Something in Odd's face twinged confusion. "What you mean, 'weakling'?"

For a moment, Xana merely stood there, turning a vicious grin on the spiky haired youth. Then there was a blurring motion, and before Odd could blink, the dark haired humanoid was suddenly right in front of him.

Xana thrust a hand at Odd's throat and gripped tightly, a technique that he seemed to favor. Holding the smaller boy at arms length, Xana taunted, "You know it as well as I do, and all your friends know it, too, in fact. They're just too worried about hurting your feelings to tell you outright." Now Xana smiled with mock pleasantry. "Fortunately, I am under no such emotional restraint."

Odd grit his teeth, clutching at the hand around his throat, trying to pull back.

"You're the weak link in the chain! The unreliable one who tosses caution to the wind and plays the game as though it were exactly that—a meaningless game." The taunting smile suddenly vanished as Xana pressed his face closer, glaring with dark eyes. "And because of that I've been wanting to tell you something for a long time, Odd…"

Xana's gaze burned hatred, and the symbol of the third eye seemed to flare with a light of it's own.

"I am no game…"

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The mechanized monsters inside Lyoko gave forth clattering and whirring sounds as their reactivation sequences were initiated. Spidery metal legs began to twitch and move, while familiar eyes lit from within, glowing back to existence.

"Damn it," Jeremie swore under his breath and turned to the girls. "We have to hide, quick. It'll buy us some time."

Aelita nodded feverishly and gestured at a cluster of wide trees. "Over there," she said quickly as she turned and started to run. Yumi and Jeremie followed at her heels. The three companions ducked quickly behind the nearest trunk, catching their breaths as they fell into the shaded area.

Jeremie peered around the edge of the tree trunk, catching a quick glance of their surroundings before ducking his head back into the safety of shadow. He spoke in a hushed tone to his companions, "They've all reactivated, and they're everywhere. I don't think they know where we are yet, but it looks like they're searching."

Aelita shook her head. "With so many, one of them is bound to stumble across us."

"Yeah," he agreed grimly, "It's not long until our cover is blown."

Yumi sat slightly apart, heedless of her companion's conversation, muttering heatedly to herself. "I hate him…I'll kill him…I'll kill him for what he did…"

Jeremie punched a fist against the unyielding wood surface with frustration. "Nnnggh! Xana is in our world, spreading his control, while we sit here helpless! If I were out there now, I could have stopped him from materializing!" As his own statement sounded in his ears, he realized something. "That's why," Jeremie turned disbelieving eyes towards Aelita. "That's why Xana did all this! That stupid cat and Sissi's email were just ruses to attract our attention, to get us to look for the activated tower. But it never had anything to do with the tower! His real goal was to trap us here and then materialize himself in the real world so he could spread his virus. That's why he didn't reveal himself until I virtualized inside Lyoko…he wanted me here, so that I wouldn't be able to stop him…"

Aelita looked forlorn as she caught onto his meaning. "Then he sent all those drones after Odd on purpose—"

"—so that Odd would be forced out of Lyoko and I would take his place! Damn!" Jeremie tried to vent, grasping his forehead with one hand. "He set us up, and we fell for it! I have to rematerialize and stop him!"

"But you can't," Aelita said mournfully. "If you start to battle and lose life points here, you'll never make it out of Lyoko alive…"

For a long moment Jeremie was silent. Then something struck him. "No…I know how we can get out…" a strange glint of desperation and recklessness lit his eyes. He whirled on his dark-haired companion. "Yumi! Hit me."

For a moment she didn't respond, still lost within her own thoughts. Then she blinked back to reality, staring up at him. "What?"

"Hit me! Slice me with your fan or something! If I lose my life points, I'll rematerialize."

Aelita gave a little gasp. "But Jeremie—"

"Are you mad?" Yumi cut her off, suddenly furious as she clenched hands into fists and grit her teeth hard. "We're physically vulnerable now! Didn't you see what Xana did…what he did…t-to Ulrich?" Her voice quavered and began to break at the end of the sentence as she struggled to control her emotion.

"And you cut him," Jeremie argued. "Xana bled just as easily as Ulrich did, and that means he'll be physically vulnerable to any attack, especially if he manifests in true human form. If I rematerialize, I can find him and stop him…"

"Stop him how, Jeremie?" Yumi was angry now. "You said it yourself, he's going to make himself human. Pushing a delete key isn't going to work!"

"We have to do something, Yumi!" he answered desperately. "If you hit me just enough so it won't cause permanent damage, I can probably materialize back in our world safely. And I'd rather do that than go up against Xana's monsters, which I know are going to try and kill me!"

The dark haired girl shifted uncomfortably, sending a quick glance towards Aelita. "And what about Aelita? We're not going to really be able to fix any of this if we can't get her to the tower to reverse time, and there's no way I can help her on my own."

Jeremie grimaced at that. "I know," he sighed heavily. "But we have no idea what the effects will be in our world now that Xana's actually materialized himself in human form. The results of his virtual infection might be irreversible…like someone dying…" He glanced from Aelita to Yumi. "I have to go after him, Yumi! And you know I'm not much help to you here anyway."

For a moment, Yumi looked on in silence. Then she nodded and extended her fan, opening the keen edge. "All right. Hold still…"

She twisted her wrist, turning the fan in a cutting motion and catching the skin on Jeremie's forearm. Jeremie hissed, gripping his elbow as a thin line of crimson sprang into existence along with a slick burning sensation. After a moment the initial pain subsided to a weak throb, and he glanced up at his companions.

Aelita was glancing nervously at the wound. "You must still have life points left…"

"Yeah," Jeremie agreed, keeping his gaze on Yumi. "Better do it again so—"

"Nnnngggghhhh!" Yumi suddenly fell to one knee, clutching at her head.

Aelita was immediately at her side, leaning over her. "Yumi! Yumi, what's wrong?"

Yumi gave the humanoid a sudden, hard shove, almost whimpering as she did so. "…get away from me…run…there's something else…"

Jeremie took a step forward. "Yumi—"

Her head snapped up and she glared at him, the shadow of a familiar symbol on her forehead threatening to pulse into existence. "I said go!" she screamed, scrambling to her feet and giving Aelita another push. "It's not safe to be around me anymore! Run!"

For a moment, Aelita looked as though she wanted to cry. Then she turned away, whirling as she ran swiftly towards the tower. Alone.

Jeremie remained, staring at the dark haired girl, realizing what must be happening. "Xana…he got to your scanner on the outside…" He stepped forward again, holding out a hand. "Fight it, Yumi! You don't have to give into his control—"

She shrieked, cutting him off, twisting a wrist as she threw her weapon. "Get away!"

Jeremie felt a swift, cold current of air as the whirling fan whistled past the side of his face. Another slick, burning sensation ripped through his shoulder, and then the world of Lyoko was fading from sight. He felt the pain, a slow, warm run of blood, and realized that didn't know whether he was returning to reality or falling into unconsciousness…

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