Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko or any of the original characters.

Authors Note1: This story was written before the second season and is based entirely off the first season.

Authors Note2: This story takes place immediately after 'Collection II'

Authors Note3: I also call this my 'pick-on-Odd' chapter. . .

Key: Scene change

Code Lyoko: Collection III

By. Tate Icasa

Aelita yawned.

"Good morning." she said, smiling.

Yumi mumbled something unintelligible and rolled over.

Sissi didn't move.

Aelita shook her head and moved quietly into the elevator.

The boys weren't up either.

She slid into the chair and put the headphones on.

"Jeremie, you there?"

Jeremie opened his eyes. "Aelita?"

"Yes, Jeremie, it's me. How are you?"

"As well as can be expected, I guess. What about you?"

She sighed. "I'd feel better if we were already going for the disc-piece, but nobody's awake."

"Well, I've got an idea. A program I've been working on. Can you give me Odd's coordinates?"

She checked, and then typed them in.

"Ok. Now sit back and enjoy the show."

Aelita turned.

Just then the sprinkler above Odd came on.

Odd woke up with a start and instantly began screaming. Ulrich sat up, saw the sopping wet Odd, and began laughing. The elevator opened, and Yumi and Sissi got out.

"We heard screaming-." Yumi began, then broke off laughing.

"Hey, what's the big idea!" Odd protested.

"We wanted a fun way to wake everybody up." Aelita explained.

"You call this fun?"

"It was fun for everyone but you." Ulrich laughed.

"Go dry off Odd, I'll transfer you last."

"I'll get you for this. . ." Odd muttered, walking away.

"You three." Aelita said, looking at Sissi, Yumi and Ulrich, "Go down to the scanners."

As Odd landed, something pierced his hair, knocking him off balance.

"Odd!"

"Hey, what was that for!" Odd protested, pulling Jeremie's spear out of his hair.

"I wasn't aiming at you, I was aiming at that hornet behind you."

"Hornet?" Odd asked, turning just in time to be shot in the chest by it's poison. "Oh, great." He said, tossing Jeremie the spear and begining to wipe the poison off. "Yuck. That wasn't very nice." He aimed an arrow at the hornet, and fired at the just same time Ulrich jumped toward it. As a result, the arrow hid Ulrich, who missed the hornet and fell down. "Ulrich, are you ok?"

"I'm fine." He said. "Oh, look, it got away."

Odd turned back to see and army of hornets flying toward them.

"Jeremie and Aelita," Odd said. "Run for it."

Aelita nodded and began to run. Jeremie followed.

Odd leapt at the hornet, not noticing the other behind him. As the laser hit him, he tumbled forward, running into Yumi's fan. He rolled forward and into a tunnel. "OW!" He called, sliding downward. He flew through the air and out, landing on his face.

He got up and dusted himself off. "This is not my day." He decided, looking up. The tunnel was within jumping distance. "Let's get back up there." He muttered. He jumped, flipping in the air, and dug his claws into the tunnel walls. He looked up. "This could take a while." He said, and began to climb.

Aelita leapt over the ledge.

"Aelita! Where are you going!" Jeremie yelled, dropping down next to her.

She pointed. "The tower is there."

And it was.

They stepped inside.

"Where's Odd?" Ulrich asked.

"I don't know." Sissi said. "Odd? Odd?"

She began to search. There was a hole in the ground.

"Odd!"

"Sissi?"

She reached her and into the hole and began to help him out. A laser hit her back, knocking her into the tunnel, and sending them both out the other side.

The world through the tower was covered in glittering snow. Huge snow mounds lined the icy path. Snow fell from the sky.

"It's cold here." Aelita said. "Should it be cold on Lyoko?"

"On Lyoko? No. But this isn't really Lyoko, you know."

"I don't like it here, Jeremie." She shivered.

"Don't worry, Aelita, I can see the wall."

Aelita stumbled and fell forward, into the snow. "I can't go any farther Jeremie."

"Yes, you can." He said, dragging her to her feet.

"No. Go on without me. Get the chip, that's the most important thing."

"What? No!" He put her arm over his shoulder to support her weight. "No, I'm not going to leave you. We can make it."

They began to walk.

Odd sat up. "This is ridiculous!"

"What's ridiculous?" Sissi asked.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just not having a very good day." He turned back to the tunnel. "That is bad. There has to be another way."

"How about that?" Sissi asked, pointing to a ledge a couple of feet away.

"Alright, let's go." He said, jumping to the ledge. "It's like a bridge! Come on!" He jumped to the next ledge.

"We're almost at the wall, Aelita."

Aelita moaned softly and didn't open her eyes. Jeremie shook her, but her head just rolled around.

"Aelita, no. No." He whispered. "Don't be dead." He lay her down gently in the snow. "Say something."

Very faintly, Aelita whispered, "Hurry!"

He brushed the snow away from her before standing and entering the wall.

"Sissi and Odd are both missing. How are we supposed to hold these monsters off alone!" Ulrich complained.

"The same way we always do." Yumi said. "Don't you have a power for this kind of situation?"

"Oh, duh." Ulrich said, slapping his forehead. "Triplicate!"

Two Ulrich clones appeared. Ulrich looked at them and nodded and they all jumped into battle.

Triplicate A was destroyed before reaching a target.

Triplicate B killed two hornets before being destroyed.

"That didn't help much." Ulrich said. He blocked another laser. "I can't triplicate again."

"Maybe no, but maybe you can triplicate someone else."

"Are you crazy?"

"No. Just try." Yumi stood in front of him.

"Ok." He put his hands on her shoulders and closed his eyes.

The wall seemed to be trying to hold him back. Everything seemed to be going in slow mothion. Step, step. He finally came out of the wall and nearly collapsed in relief.

He took a step and nearly fell. The cold was making him numb. After a few minutes, he made it to the interface and activated the materialization program.

Odd leapt for the next ledge. He missed, reached out his claws and grabbed the edge.

"Odd!" Sissi cried. She got ready to jump.

"No, Sissi, you can't make it in time." Odd said quickly. "Just shoot me!"

"What?"

"Shoot me with your spikes, I'll devirtualize."

"Are, are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm no good to anyone today. And if I hit the void, that's it, caput. Shoot me."

"Ok." She said hesitantly, and shot him. He waved with his free hand and devirtualized. "By, Odd." She jumped to the next ledge.

Odd tumbled out of the scanner upside-down.

"Ow!" He said, rubbing his head. "Why'd I rematerialize on my head? This is really not a good day for me."

Then he saw Aelita, laying on the ground next to the adjacent scanner, face down.

"Aelita!" He cried, jumping to his feet. Her turned her over and looked at her face. "Aelita, wake up!"

Aelita opened one eye. "Odd?" She moaned. "Am I alive?"

"Yeah." He said. "Why?"

"Jeremie sent me back?" She sat up. "Help me get up to the super-calculator. Hurry. Jeremie may be dying."

Jeremie released the interface. He stumbled a bit before regaining his balance. He gripped the edge of the stand and ripped the chip out of the light, then collapsed on the ground, unable to get back up.

Aelita pulled the headset on.

"Destroy the tower."

"What? Aelita?" Ulrich opened his eyes. No extra Yumi's.

"Yes. Jeremie may be dying in there. Destroy the tower, it's our only chance."

"But. . .the program. Won't we lose it?"

"Rather it than Jeremie! Just. . .trust me on this."

"Ok, Aelita." Ulrich said after a minute. "How do we destroy the tower?"

"Just, turn your weapons on it, I guess."

"Got it." He turned back to Yumi. "Want to try again?" Yumi nodded. "Get ready?"

He put his hands on her shoulders, closed his eyes, and concentrated.

And this time it worked.

Sissi punched at the tower. Spikes flew. And felw. And. . .

"Hey! I'm out of spikes!" She pulled out her whip. "Time for plan B."

Ulrich and the three Yumi's raced off toward the tower.

"So," Ulrich said conversationally. "Which of you is the original.

Yumi raised her hand. "I am. Ready girls?" The triplicates nodded. "Go!"

At the same instant, all three Yumi's loosed their fans on the tower.

Jeremie was only dimly aware that the world was shaking around him. He closed his eyes, fully believing he was going to die.

Until he heard a voice calling his name.

"Jeremie? Please, answer." Aelita begged. "Jeremie, please. . ."

"Aelita?" he asked groggily.

She squealed and hugged him. "Jeremie, you're ok!"

"Uh. . ." He opened his eyes and looked around. All his friends were staring at him worriedly. "How did I get here?"

"After we destroyed the tower, Aelita found and devirtualized you." Sissi explained. "We all thought you were dead, but not her. She kept trying and trying to wake you. . ."

"How long was I gone?"

"Almost a week." Aelita said softly.

"A week!" He sat up. "I was dead for a week?" Then he did a double-take. "How'd I survive?"

"You were actually on Lyoko most of the time. 'Sleeping,' Aelita called it." Odd said. "She brought you back for ten minutes everyday. Speaking of which. . ."He looked at the clock. "You need to get back."

"Wait," Jeremie said, fumbling with something in his pocket. Finally, he held up a piece of a disc.

"The program!" Aelita excalimed. "But, how-?"

"I took it out of the light, before the tower was destroyed."

Aelita smiled and took the disc, letting it fuse with the other two. "Ok, now you have to go back."

The scanner closed.

Jeremie opened his eyes on Lyoko.