Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko.

Chapter 7: The Symbol of the Eye

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"My brother really did seem so changed; he respected our parents and was all around a wonderful son. It also seemed that he had finally accepted the fact that I would rule Lyoko, and he was okay with it.

"Lehi also settled easily. He really was a kind and interesting person and soon, everyone at the castle loved him too. Even my parents treated him like a son. The only person who didn't like either of them was Lorna. She was a bit afraid of them."

"I remembered that you mentioned a war in Lyoko." Odd interrupted.

"Yes, that comes next. It began about five months after Xana came back." Aelita answered.

"What caused the war?"

There was a brief silence in which the expression on the princess' face turned from tranquil and re-collective to disdain and contempt. Odd was surprised at the sudden uncharacteristic change in his friend.

"Who. You mean, who caused the war." She was silent again with contempt still written on her face. "It was Xana."

"But I thought you said that he changed."

"That's what we thought too. And it cost some lives. But before then, I suppose we had reasons to suspect that something was wrong. Like the way Xana and Lehi would disappear for a few hours and then return, with no one ever knowing where they had been. I think Lorna had the most reason to dislike them..."

:::-----::: Lorna sat by the window in Aelita's room, looking at the streets below her but not really seeing them. Since the time she had been in the castle she had changed quite a bit but she still had a heavy weight about her. She brushed a strand of her ebony hair from her face and her gray eyes clouded with tears as she thought of her father. She never told anyone what had really happened to her father that day because she wasn't even sure it happened. After an autopsy had been done on her father, they still couldn't find out what happened and concluded that it must have been sickness. But her memories and her dreams suggested otherwise.

In them, she was back at home with her dad and everything was all right until two strangers visited them. They were obviously male and were dressed alike with loose black pants and long sleeved black shirts. Their shirts had a dark red logo of sorts on the front that looked like a circle or an eye. No weapons were visible on either of them, so Lorna's father wasn't too worried of the nature of their visit.

One of the men spoke to Lorna's dad and his voice suggested that he was below twenty. 'You are Duke Edmond?' The Duke nodded his head and the speaker turned to look at Lorna who was standing by her father.

When he looked at her, Lorna couldn't tell his expression due to the mask sculptured on his face. After looking at her he turned to his partner and an unspoken agreement was reached between them.

The Duke motioned for his daughter to leave and she obediently did. As she was leaving, she could hear the men saying that they had some urgent things to discuss with her father. For almost an hour, Lorna sat in her room waiting for her dad to be finished. At last, she could see the strangers fading into the darkness through her window and she ran to meet her father. When she saw him, she stifled a gasp and fell to the floor, her face almost as white as the dead on beside her..:::-----:::

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There were people everywhere all talking about the phenomenon with the eye symbol and Ulrich and Yumi had a hard time getting to the school. When they finally reached the school, they searched everywhere for Jeremy but couldn't find him. Then, deciding that the only other place he could be was at the factory, they started towards there.

There was just one slight problem; Sissy had spotted them and was heading towards them. For once, she was Herb/Nicholas free.

"Not now of all times!" Ulrich exclaimed as Sissy reached them.

"Hey Ulrich!" She completely ignored Yumi and latched her arm on to Ulrich's. He groaned softly and rolled his eyes as Sissy began talking, still taking no notice of Yumi's presence.

"Did you hear what happened? I was trying to call Theo" she snuck a glance at her captive, perhaps to see if he was jealous of Theo "but my cell phone wouldn't work so I went to ask my dad if I could use his. He was watching TV and when I entered, it turned fuzzy and this ugly eye appeared on the screen. I was so shocked!" She ended with a dramatic clutching of her heart in horror.

There is only so much a girl can take and Yumi just had it with Sissy. "Are you sure it wasn't your reflection Sissy?" Overly sugared sweetness just oozed with every word Yumi said, but the venom was still very strong.

Sissy huffed and finally acknowledged Yumi's presence. "You're just jealous that Ulrich likes me better" (Poor child, what planet is she living on?) "But who can blame him; you're not much to look at." A smirk and a toss of her hair in Ulrich's face, accompanied the remark.

There is only so much a boy can take and Ulrich just had it with Sissy.

"That's enough from you, Sissy! AND GET YOUR HAND OFF ME!" Sissy quickly withdrew her hand from him, surprised by the outburst.

"Oh, Sissy" the singsong voice was still dripping with sweetness "I think I hear Theo calling. And stay away from TVs and mirrors!"

She huffed again and marched off but then turned around to face the pair. "Ulrich, you'll be sorry!"

"I am. That I didn't send you away sooner." Turning to Yumi he said, "let's go. She has wasted enough time already."

And they continued to head towards the factory.

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His brain was working quickly as he examined his situation. 'Ok, how did I get myself into this mess? That's not important right now! How do I get myself out?'

"I didn't say you had a choice in this matter. I said you will help me."

The command in the speaker's voice told Jeremy that escape could wait till later. Survival was of the utmost importance.

"I need time to find out a way to fix this and it might take a while so-" he was cut off by the boy on the screen.

"We don't have time! I have many things to take care of. Besides, I already know what to do, but as I'm still virtual you need to do this. Just follow my directions and we will be done in a matter of minutes." Xana gave Jeremy a look, which convinced him that his safety was not important to Xana.

Lehi entered one of the pods and Xana began giving instructions. About seven minutes later, the preparations were complete and Lehi was ready to be changed. "Okay, now!" Xana commanded and Jeremy began the process. Lehi's eyes were shut as the pod was filled with a smoke-like substance. He began to levitate in the pod, as Jeremy and Xana watched.

Soon, it was filled completely with the substance and they couldn't see into it anymore.

The pod opened and the substance cleared. In place of Odd stood a taller teenage boy, with long black hair held together in the back, dark navy blue eyes and a big grin on his face.

Author's Note: Two words: winter break!
Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and those(coughFeyenalDragoncough) who reminded me to update. Consider this your late Christmas present. :)