AN: For the last time, This is the main Code: Lyoko Universe, this is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE, nothing you know about the characters of Code: Lyoko applies here. First person perspective again.

Chapter 8: The Shifting

:Otritzi:

Here I stand, beside MaggieR and Mysti. Jeremie had e-mailed me the blueprints of a pair of devices that would allow a Lyoko ACA to leave the Lyoko Complex that they are attached to. Maggie had made them and had me attach it to her 'spinal chord'. I often wondered how someone so young could be so good with machines...I never was that good with them. MaggieR leans her head against my shoulder.

"Do you think we'll ever be free of XANA?"

"Aelita and the Kadic Defenders are working on that, I actually don't want my journeys in Lyoko to end."

Mysti chuckles a bit.

"After XANA's gone we may have to program in something for us to do then. I don't want to stop working with Lyoko, it is so enjoyable."

I smirk toward the teenage girl leaning against my arm.

"You checked in with your parents, right? They don't mind that your hanging out with a guy who's five years older than you?"

"As long as you don't do anything to me they won't care...besides I told them that there's another girl who lives where I'm staying for the night."

"Yes...well that is partially true...but really, since when are we human anymore?"

"Very good point there, Otri."

I chuckle at the nickname, and poke her in the ribs gently, she flinches away from my finger and glares at me.

"Oh come on, you left yourself wide open for that one, you even gave me a cue."

"I did not."

After she said that she tackled me, knocking me over and onto my back while MaggieR giggled at our little tussle, Mysti was extremely strong for a little girl. When I was finally gaining the upper hand she flipped off the ground and pinned me to the ground by sitting on my stomach.

"I thought you were a good fighter."

"I am, in Lyoko."

MaggieR suddenly jumps to her feet and rushes back inside of the SCLC. Mysti gets off me and uses her power, Flashdrive, to get down there first. I follow by running to the secret entrance and climbing down the ladder that is built into the wall of the elevator shaft. I arrive down there to see MaggieR and Mysti sitting at the terminal in the Holo-projector Room and MaggieR's looking completely spooked.

"XANA's hacked out an alternate virtualization program. He activated one of the towers in the Smith Center Island Region to make it the main program to all the systems...the Kadic group are all still inside of their Lyoko System, training."

"Tell them not to get devirtualized, we need to deactivate that tower ASAP!"

"Too late, XANA turned it off himself. Whatever his program does can't be removed now. I just hope that they are all fine."

"Whatever he did...Let's hope it's reversible...cause if it isn't...Lyoko may be unsafe for the rest of our time here."

"Message sent, I hope they don't get attacked too terribly much before we find a way to stop this."

"Send me to Lyoko, I'm going to make sure they are safe."

"I'm going too!"

I turn to Mysti, surprised she'd offer to risk what she's about to.

"You realize if you're killed in another Lyoko System you stay dead...don't you?"

"Don't matter, I'm sure Maggie will be able to recall me before that happens. If I get down to twenty health pull me out of there."

Maggie turns from the terminal and addresses us.

"You've got it, no get down there and into the scanners!"

The two of us dash into the elevator and ride down to the scanner room, racing into our scanners. Maggie's voice echoes down and we are virtualized into Lyoko.

Once inside I look at my hands, they aren't my normal hands, I've got a sword strapped to my waist and I look up to see my body standing a few feet away, in all it's glory.

"Maggie, something's wrong."

"You're telling me. Mysti, you are using Otritzi's card, be careful with your hands, they are your main weapon and when alight can deflect lasers. Otritzi, your powers don't work in Mysti's body, her sword can deflect lasers, in order to use her powers you have to say 'Flashdrive'."

Mysti looks at her new body's hands and sighs.

"Otritzi, how do you light your hands on fire?"

"I focus on my hands for a second."

The two of us nod and MaggieR activates the transport program, the two of us are whisked away and reappear beside a tower in the Kadic Forest region.

"AelitaR, where are Yumi, Odd, Ulrich and Jeremie?"

"They are south of your position, be careful...I'm reading a massive army of monsters between you and them. XANA's made a clone of Elazul, the four of our Defenders are attacking him but it's life points aren't going down."

'Shit, not a clone of Elazul...they'll never figure out how to kill him in time.'

"Let's go, we don't have time to waste! Flashdrive!"

:Mysti:

Otritzi, who's in my body I might add, grabs my wrist and activates MY power. I'm pissed beyond belief, he's using my body like it's his own! The two of us appear in time to see the Elazul clone kick Odd to the ground. Otritzi yells and dashes forward, tackling X-Elazul to the ground and attempting to hold him there. I run over and help Odd up and she looks at me funny.

"Otritzi, what are you doing? You should be attacking him, not your little friend."

"I'm only Otritzi on the outside right now, XANA bugged the scanners and when we came to Lyoko it switched our bodies."

"Alright then, who are you?"

"My call sign is Mysti, get down!"

Odd dodges to the side right as X-Elazul's sword flies toward me, without thinking I bring my hand up and catch it by the blade in a burning hand. Moving without thinking again I turn and toss the sword over the edge. Otritzi had pulled out my sword and ran it through X-Elazul's core, destroying him in one shot. Otritzi sighs and stands up, looking to the Kadic Defenders.

"Sorry, we aren't ourselves at the moment. The body I'm using right now is normally Mysti's...I don't understand how...but XANA wrote a virtualization program and used a tower from the SC Lyoko System to make it the main program."

The cute boy with blond hair speaks up first. I mentally smack myself for thinking about that in a situation like this.

"That's not possible...XANA shouldn't have been able to affect the Keeper's programs. How did he manage to hack that one?"

Odd speaks up next.

"He may have just activated the tower to affect the base systems of Lyoko and set the roots to his program over the roots to the one the Keepers use...it's very possible...you said he activated a tower, right?"

I reply looking kinda confused by what Odd said.

"Yeah, he also deactivated it a few seconds later, we never had a chance to undo what he did."

"Then we can't, what's done is done."

"Maggie's going to recall us soon, you guys had better devirtualize for now, we'll get back in contact with you later."

I watch as the others fade to wireframes and then blink out of existence. A few seconds later Otritzi and I are brought back to SC Lyoko and devirtualized...I notice one little thing about the devirtualizaton, I'm not a girl anymore and Otritzi's not a guy anymore, but we have our bodies back. Maggie's voice floats down to us from above.

"Guys I figured out how to partially transfer you back...I couldn't change your genders back to normal...but I've fixed your characters to be adjusted to your new forms...Otritzi...I'm afraid I couldn't salvage your level. Until I find a way to get you back to normal you're using a level one character."

I hear Otritzi...or rather Otritza grumble a series of curses and walk into the elevator. I just know I'm going to have fun explaining this one to Mom and Dad. At least I didn't go in with Elazul.