Author's Notes: All right, things are gearing up to the climax and heading for the end of the fic! Woo hoo! So we're almost through, but not quite done yet. There will be one more chapter coming, so be sure to check back soon!

Thank you to all the readers who leave me such wonderful comments…I love hearing everyone's thoughts! Right then, on with the story, and you're all going to have to forgive me for not focusing on the fighting so much anymore in this chapter; I'm done with it. :-)

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Odd ducked, and the fan that had been spinning straight towards him missed, wedging itself into the tree behind him with a solid thunk. Then Yumi was charging at him, one fist gathering pale telekinetic energy as she hauled it back, ready to punch at him.

But this time Odd was ready for her. He blocked the swing with his right hand and grasped at her neck with his left. Holding her tightly by the neck, Odd swung her hard against the tree and held her there, pinned. Before she could try to wrest free, he cocked his wrist and fired an arrow into her torso.

He was at point-blank range, and Yumi couldn't teleport fast enough. He heard her give a short gasp of pain just as her form vanished.

She reappeared in midair just above him, connecting her foot to his skull as she fell. Odd crashed to the ground, and Yumi landed deftly on her feet, yanking her fan loose from the tree trunk. She seemed completely oblivious to the smoky, crimson stain that began to spread over her kimono, emanating from the place where Odd's arrow had struck.

Odd swore, trying to ignore the throbbing in his head from the blow. He scrambled to get back on his feet before Yumi came in for another attack…

But she didn't.

In fact, she was standing perfectly still, gazing at him intensely.

Breathing heavily, Odd glared at her, confused. "Come on, Xana," he retorted, sarcasm tainting the last word. "What are you waiting for?"

Yumi glared back in reply, and remained unmoving.

Frustrated, Odd released an arrow at her still figure, missing on purpose, but only by mere inches. "Come on, fight me!"

"Odd, don't hurt her!" Ulrich's voice unexpectedly sounded in his ears.

Odd didn't seem to hear. He kept his arm leveled at Yumi, glaring narrowly at her as if she were just another target. "You want me to take this seriously, Xana? Well I am. Now fight me!"

"Damn it, Odd!" Ulrich shouted heatedly, the pain behind his voice making him sound even more furious. "That's Yumi, not Xana! Don't hurt her!"

Odd's voice held a strange note of warning. "Stay out of this, Ulrich…"

"Odd, you have to listen for once! Xana's virus is going to keep her from rematerializing. If she loses too many life points, she'll be deleted!"

Odd blinked as the message sank in. Then he let out a growl of frustration. "This day just keeps getting better and better…" He lowered his arm slowly.

Apparently, that was what Yumi had been waiting for. A vicious grin sprang to her features, and she teleported.

"Damn it!" Odd swung his wrist back up, but it was already too late. Yumi reappeared almost on top of him, beginning a new assault with unmatched ferocity. And it was all Odd could do to defend himself…

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From her sheltered place, Aelita's eyes darted across the scene before her, from Odd and Yumi, to the motionless monsters, and the tower beyond them.

For the moment, Aelita seemed to be perfectly safe. Yumi was distracted with Odd, and the monsters didn't seem to be interested in rousing themselves yet. It looked like if she ran, she could make it to the tower.

But if Yumi saw her – and she would – Yumi could activate the monsters again and it would be simple enough for them to overwhelm her.

She was going to have to take that chance.

Aelita let out a breath. "I'm going to make a run for it."

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A darting figure caught the corner of Yumi's eye. Distracted from her fight with Odd, she snapped her head around, her features darkening as she saw Aelita making a break for the tower.

Her dark eyes flashed with something more than hatred, and the monsters that until now had remained still began to clatter back to life.

Xana's mark pulsed, sending a clear message to the swarm of minions. Kill her…

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Ulrich's eyes widened in shock as he saw Aelita's marker dart forward across the screen…and the dozen hostile icons that sprang to life to intercept. "Aelita, don't! You've already used up your gaiakinesis, and you've only got fifteen life points left. You can't risk it!"

But it was too late for her to back out now. She tried to respond, but with the sudden movement and activity, her words were indiscernible, broken with the wild static and shrieking sound of laser fire.

"No!" Ulrich grit his teeth and slammed his fist down on the console in frustration, barely noticing the flare of pain it brought to his side.

Unexpectedly, an idea sprang into existence with the sudden pain, and the answer struck him. "Wait! Aelita, hang on, I've got it!" Ulrich called through the headset quickly.

He began to type furiously, heedless of the scarlet that his fingertips were spreading. His eyes blinked over stats on the monitor as he pulled up Odd's information. It was just as he'd thought. Odd still had seventy of his life points from the spare sequence left. That would be plenty.

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Aelita pelted forward, launching herself into an amazing leap over the Krabe that scuttled viciously towards her. But as she fell back to the earth, she could see the reddened gaze of another monster aiming for her, and in falling there was no way to dodge the impending beam of light…

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Ulrich's fingers slipped clumsily across the keyboard as he typed as fast as he could. Just another second, and he would be able to transfer Odd's sequence directly to Aelita.

He took an instant to eye the nekko's marker on the screen. "I'm sorry, Odd, but right now, Aelita needs it more than you do."

Ulrich punched the key to execute the code. "Aelita, now!"

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Yumi twisted her wrist, ready once again to fling her fan—

—and quite unexpectedly, Odd's form began to break apart even though she hadn't hit him yet.

For a moment, Yumi stared, utterly perplexed, as her enemy vanished for no reason.

Then she remembered something very important.

Ulrich.

He was still on the outside. And when Odd had jumped her, she hadn't had the time to think about the fact that Ulrich must be operating the computer. So if she hadn't caused Odd to rematerialize, then Ulrich must have.

But for what purpose?

Yumi's gaze darted rapidly from Odd's disintegrating figure to Aelita, who was still running for the tower. Yumi gave a snicker. The poor humanoid girl was never going to make it. She was surrounded on all sides by monsters, and her life points were already seriously compromised…

Suddenly Yumi's eyes widened, and the mark on her forehead seemed to shrink and flicker, as though it were afraid. She drew a shuddering, whispered breath as she realized exactly why Odd had disappeared for no reason, and what was about to happen. "Oh, shit…"

And in the next instant, Yumi turned and ran. Away from the tower, away from the monsters, and away from Aelita, with one desperate, self-preserving phrase dominating her mind: get out of range, get out of range, get out of range, GET OUT OF RANGE!

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And at the exact same moment, Aelita felt a surge of restoration and life, as though she had entered a tower and healed herself.

She didn't know what Ulrich had managed to do, but it had restored her strength and her abilities.

She dimly heard Ulrich's shout to her, but she didn't need the invitation.

Lyoko was at her command once more.

In an immediate, desperate, violent surge of power, the waves of sound expulsed from Aelita's figure like floodwaters. The solid ground beneath her rippled in response as if it were alive, obeying her sudden will. The trees bent impossibly outward from her fulcrum of power, their seeming solidity rendered to nothing by the violent, transparent explosion. The clear, mournful call that issued from her throat heightened to a ferocity of pitch that penetrated the landscape with devastating results.

Monsters disintegrated, the earth began to crack, and even the void echoed with a sympathetic ringing that made it seem as if the whole of Lyoko were in pain.

And in the wake of destruction, the way to the tower was finally clear.

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As soon as the elevator arrived at the ground level, Jeremie strode forward at a clipped, angry pace that was close to a run. Xana couldn't have gone far, and Jeremie was going to find him no matter what.

Suddenly Jeremie's foot hit something, and he almost tripped. Biting back a curse, he glared down at the offending object, fully intending to kick it across the room for frustration-alleviation purposes. But when he saw what it was, he stopped.

It was a simple length of hard, black metal, similar to a crowbar, but a little flatter. It appeared to have been snapped in two, and the broken edge looked dangerously sharp.

Jeremie paused, looking at the potentially lethal length of metal. Yumi's words echoed in his head. …he's going to make himself human…pushing a delete key isn't going to work…

Jeremie quickly pushed aside any doubts before they could surface and make him think twice. He started forward again, stooping to grab the metal up from the ground and carry it firmly in his grasp as he stepped out of the factory and into the light.

Although the sun and the atmosphere were obliviously cheerful to the situation, the water under the bridge seemed to understand and reflect his mood—dark and foul.

The water.

Jeremie blinked. It was broad daylight; why wasn't the water reflecting the sun? He spread his gaze across to the right, upstream, and for a moment thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Like a desert mirage, the air above the water seemed to waver, but not with the clear shimmer of a hot, summer day. Instead, the river seemed to be smoking, burning somehow, with purple-black tendrils of tainted liquid spreading thickly through the water.

A sickening feeling struck the depths of Jeremie's stomach as he realized what was going on. He dashed to the edge of the bridge, leaning over to look, only confirming what he already knew. The dark, dense matter was everywhere, spreading like the virus that it was.

It only took a moment to find the figure he was looking for.

Jeremie ran to the other side of the bridge, fury building in his stride. Then, without even bothering to pause or think, he leapt over the edge and down to the concrete riverbank below. The drop was a long one, and definitely not one that any sane person would have attempted. But Jeremie only had one thing on his mind—Xana.

Jeremie fell hard, his feet not able to sustain the landing on their own. His knees buckled and they, too, hit the ground, skidding slightly and tearing at the skin. He had to put his hands out to brace himself and keep from smacking his head and face into the pavement. The metal was still gripped in his right hand, and it scratched at his palm as the concrete ripped at his knuckles. He barely felt the spots of pain though, and was oblivious to any blood as it began to seep from the shredded skin.

He stood, his anger heightened subconsciously by the pain that he wasn't aware of, his gaze locked hatefully on the figure a few yards away. It made him even more furious that, unlike him, the dark-haired humanoid didn't have a scratch.

Xana was crouched at the water's edge, one palm resting serenely in the now-dark flow, his hand and fingertips seeping more and more of the tainted substance into the river. "Simple enough, isn't it?" the humanoid remarked coolly, not bothering to look at Jeremie. "Water is the most abundant chemical compound on this planet of yours, and the most essential substance to human survival, yes?"Now Xana stood, turning to face Jeremie with a hooded expression. "Even you would have to agree with me on this one, Jeremie. It is the most efficient way to spread a virus."

Jeremie clenched his fist tighter around the shard of metal, wanting nothing more than to hurl it at that loathsome, taunting visage. "Damn you, Xana…"

Xana raised a pleased eyebrow at the expression on Jeremie's face. "Did I surprise you again?" he grinned, the oh-so-familiar leer that instigated such hatred. "You must be slipping, Jeremie. There seem to be so many things today that you don't know."

Jeremie hissed through gritted teeth. "I know that right now, you're just as human as I am…"

Now suddenly it was the humanoid who looked mildly surprised. "Yes..." He blinked, then resumed his taunting attitude. "As much as I may have despised regression and materialization in this…disgusting essence, it has proven to be a most ironic transpiring of events, wouldn't you agree? Merging with the enemy to ensure victory…"

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Aelita slid through the deceptively solid wall of the tower, relief flooding over her as she emerged in the dimly lit interior. The circle of white lights at her feet winked into existence, a gentle acknowledgement of her presence.

She moved into the center, closing her eyes and letting the light lift her figure upwards. She was rising, almost there, and in a few moments she would be on the upper platform, and able to enter the code that would end all this…

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Jeremie lunged forward and grasped Xana by the collar, flinging his humanoid body down hard against the rocky bank with a viciousness that matched his enemy's. He brought the edge of metal up, pressing its point threateningly into the soft flesh on Xana's neck.

They remained that way for a moment, only silence echoing between them.

And still, Xana smiled. "Waiting for something, Jeremie?" his eyelids lowered halfway, giving him a bored expression. "What's the matter, aren't you going to kill me? Isn't that what you've been trying to do all along? To be rid of me forever? Isn't it what you want?"

A long, shuddering breath escaped Jeremie's lips.

And Xana's grin widened in triumph. "Ah yes, I remember now. You can't do it, can you? Because you know exactly what will happen if you do…"

Somewhere, in the back of his mind, Jeremie knew that Xana was only taunting him. It was what he had been doing all along, taunting and mocking and manipulating, pushing him to the edge, trying to make him lose control. And he remembered the virus that Aelita was infected with, and the connection she was forced to share with Xana, in life or death.

He remembered.

He knew.

But somehow, for that one brief, crucial instant…

He didn't care.

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Inside the tower, Aelita's step suddenly faltered. She clasped a hand to her chest, shocked at the sudden, unexplained pain that wracked through her body. She gasped for air, each breath causing a stabbing sensation, and when she drew her hand away for a moment, it was covered in crimson.

Her legs buckled and she fell to her knees. The familiar screen sprang to existence only a few steps away, waiting for her to place her hand and enter the code. And somehow, those few steps suddenly seemed an impossible distance away…

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Xana looked down at the wound in his chest, where the black length of metal protruded. The humanoid blinked slowly, genuine surprise on his features. Then he raised his head to face Jeremie. He gurgled, and thick crimson spouted from his lips.

Jeremie still clasped the blunt end of the metal in his white-knuckled grip, pushed hard and deep into Xana's torso.

Suddenly, Xana laughed. It was a bloody, choking sound, bringing another fountain of crimson that congealed and trickled down his chin. But he was smiling, grinning through the scarlet stain. Then the laughter swallowed in on itself, turning into thick, hissing words. "…you do realize what you've done now, Jeremie …"

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Aelita drew shuddering breaths, watching with an almost detached sense as darkness threatened her vision. Her surroundings seemed to blink out of existence, the surge back with sharp reality as another stab of pain struck her human body.

Then the desperation took hold, and Aelita struggled to pull herself to the hovering screen. Her legs didn't seem to want to respond, but she pushed at them anyway, half-crawling, half-dragging, a slick of bright red now trickling down her side and onto the lighted platform to mark her progress.

The screen was almost within reach, and she stretched out a hand, barely brushing the nonexistence surface. Then it fell away, leaving the screen smeared with crimson. But through the stain, the access codes sprang to life…

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Xana's weight shifted, and now he was close to Jeremie's face, leaning and falling at the same time, his blood encrusted voice dripping thickly in Jeremie's ear. "…you've given me the victory, Jeremie…because if I die, so does she…"

Jeremie found himself shaking, whether from fear, anger, desperation, or horror, he wasn't sure.

The humanoid's green eyes were glazing over, and still he bore his wicked smile. "…and even if she somehow makes it to the tower…and goes back in time…it still won't matter…"

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AELITA

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"…because just as you always return with the past…"

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CODE

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"…so do I…"

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LYOKO

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