Chapter 11: Life Anew

"Alright Jeremie." Aelita said, hanging up. She was standing in front of a scanner in the Factory. "I just received the call from Odd. I must go now."
"Okay then. Good luck." Jeremie said over the intercom. "Be safe."

Aelita stepped in, and a minute later, she was falling to the ground of the Desert Region.
"Aelita, your escort is to the north. Once you reach them, you can proceed to the tower." Jeremie said.
Aelita took off running. She knew Jeremie couldn't materialize a vehicle for her; they were already in the real world. And she needed to stretch her legs anyway.

"I see them, Jeremie!" Aelita called.
Five Krabes and a Tarantula stood at attention on the small plateau ahead of her. They were glowing a faint green, just like the Franz-controlled Mantas had glowed white. They turned to look at her as she approached, but didn't attack. One Krabe bent down and offered her its back. She climbed on, grateful that the "high camel", as Odd once put it, was better than no transportation at all.

"It worked, Jeremie. The monsters are not showing any signs of hostility."
"Good. I've also got some Frelions coming in from the east to provide covering fire once you get to the tower. Hopefully they'll be of some help."
"They'd better be, Jeremie." Aelita said. The welcoming committee looks a little hairy today."

She could already see the tower, and the monsters guarding it. Xana knew his monsters well, and also knew they weren't capable of the complicated maneuvers of the humans that allowed them to tackle numbers much larger than their own. Therefore, he was certain that simply outnumbering Jeremie's monsters would do the trick. Three Tarantulas and fifteen Krabes guarded the tower, triple Jeremie's numbers.

Jeremie's monsters didn't bother with a surprise attack. They rushed toward Xana's monsters, lasers blazing, and Lyoko's first exclusively laser firefight broke out.
Aelita jumped off the Krabe that was carrying her just before it was smashed to pieces.
"Jeremie, are the Frelions here yet?" Aelita asked. "Hold on... wait... ok, they're here."

Fifteen Frelions soared down from the skies, lasers firing from their stingers. Five of Xana's Krabes blew apart under their fire, and then they flew around the tower before launching another volley. One of Xana's Tarantulas started firing up at the Frelions, and three of them were hit, sending them crashing to the ground.
"It seems to be going well, Jeremie." Aelita said. The Frelions had obviously turned the battle in their favor. "I just hope Odd, Yumi, and Ulrich are holding out as well as we are."

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Ulrich blocked yet another laser with his sword, deflecting it right back into the Blok that had fired it. He ducked as a ball of electricity came flying over his head, fired by one of the pixilated soldiers. He glanced over at Odd, who was standing on one of the tables the archeologists had set up, firing down on those around him. In one area, the archeologists themselves were just managing to hold their own, defending themselves fearfully with pickaxes. Odd's dad seemed the most aggressive, and Ulrich thought that maybe he was a little jealous of his own son's skill.

"STOP!" Came a loud voice. It was loud enough for everyone to obey and turn to see who had shouted it. The fighting came to an abrupt end.

It was Xana who had shouted.
"Stop, all of you. I have the Grail, and the Sword, now. We must leave." He said.
"Oh yeah?" Ulrich said, angrily. "Well, we're not letting you go anywhere, Xana!"
"Really? I think I have something that will convince you to change your minds."

Xana snapped. The soldiers he had brought into the chamber, which had recovered by now, and to which he had given Yumi, came forward and threw her on the ground. One of the soldiers put an assault rifle to her chest, and Ulrich and Odd gasped in horror.
"YUMI!" Ulrich shouted. "Xana! Don't you dare hurt her!"
"You're in no position to be giving me orders, Ulrich." Xana sneered. "I have all the cards now, both the alien weapon and your freind. You cannot save your precious world now. And your failure is about to become my greatest success."

Xana held up the Grail.
"Do you know why I have always wanted to take over your world, humans? It is because I thought that ruling you humans would somehow make up for what you have and I don't. I am a computer program, not a creature of flesh and blood, and thus, I do not truly live. I have always been jealous of the life you have and I don't, which is why I try to take it away from you."

Understanding began to dawn on Odd and Ulrich. Meanwhile, Yumi was beginning to wake up, and could sense that the device that provided her pixelization was gone. She saw it in the hand of one of the soldiers guarding her.
"But that is about to change!" Xana shouted, nearly in a frenzy now. "Watch the power of the Grail, humans!"

Xana pressed some buttons on the Sword, and the Grail glowed to life. The ends opened, and Xana stuck Dantam's hand inside the blue end. Immediately, energy started coursing through Dantam's body. He convulsed and writhed, and then a specter emerged from his body, settling inside the blue end. Electricity pulsed everywhere, and then the specter emerged from the Grail.

It settled on the ground, and then began to form upwards and solidify. Two legs appeared, then a body, and finally the head and arms.

Xana's new body was not just a host, like Dantam's. It was truly his. He was dressed in black from head to toe, mainly in Black robes, pants, and a vest. His symbol was imprinted in red on the front of his outfit. He carried a long, silver staff in one hand, which ended in a glowing glass sphere. He was also wearing a large helmet, with a shaded visor that obscured his eyes. Part of the helmet was clear, showing all sorts of complicated circuitry inside.

"Muahahahahaha!" Xana laughed evilly. "It feels good to be alive."
He kicked General Dantam, who was unconscious, out of the way, and strutted over to Yumi.
"Do you know the feeling, Yumi?" Xana asked, bending over her. "Do you ever feel good just because you're alive?"
Yumi, not sure what else to do, could only nod, anger and fear mixing on her face.
"Good." Xana said. He stood up straight and faced the soldier which had the gun aimed at her.

"Kill her." He ordered.