Disclaimer: Don't own Code: Lyoko…you get the idea…

No summary, sorry, but I will say that there's gonna be only two more chapters!

Code: Lyoko

Mirror, Mirror

Part XI: A Daughter's Love

Thadeo's blank eyes narrow as he senses another attack. They were all fools to not heed his warning to leave, but now, they will suffer the same fate as the Former Master. Pests. That is all they are.

Or so he once thought. Thadeo's mind races to try and understand how these weak entities could have lasted so long against him. The one they call 'Imuy' is the strongest, but she has not attacked as intensely as her weaker twin, 'Yumi', they call her. And this 'Atilea', the most annoying of all. But there is something different about her energy. No matter, they will all perish. But, who is this 'Jeremie' they keep talking to and where is he? Bah. This 'Ulrich' entity is fast, but not nearly fast enough. If that be true, then why is it so hard to defeat him? And what is it about the one they call 'Aelita' that causes hesitation? She is nothing special. In fact, she is the weakest of them all. The Former Master is behind it all. He will pay.

Ulrich sprints up next to a panting Yumi and grunts in frustration. She turns to him and frowns. "I don't think we're doing that much damage to him," Yumi states as Atilea lobs another created boulder at Thadeo. He swats it away over the side of the cliff and growls in anger before he charges her, but before he can tackle her, Aelita uses her staff to trip him up. "And I can't keep up running at full speed for very much longer," Ulrich says. "I hope Jeremie gets the materialization program fixed soon so he can bring the scanners back online."

"Well, we'd probably have a better chance at stalling Thadeo if Imuy would get her head out of her rear," Yumi says glancing over to her twin who has stopped in mid-attack once again. "She still thinks H'cirlu is still in there somewhere," Ulrich says and watches her get knocked away by Thadeo. "She's holding back way too much," he says. Yumi frowns and replies, "What she needs to do is get her head in the game! H'cirlu's gone and that's it! Get over it!" Ulrich frowns slightly at his girlfriend and says, "Well, think about it this way, Yumi. How would you react if something like that happened to me?" Yumi pauses and lets the thought run through her mind. "All she's doing is acting like you would, or so I believe. I could be wrong," Ulrich continues and Yumi hangs her head slightly. "Well, ok, if you put it that way…" she says. "But it wasn't you and it better not ever be you!" Ulrich smiles at Yumi and chuckles.

Odd watches Jeremie pull a strip of electrical tape from the roll and bite it off. "Stupid rats…" Jeremie mutters as he splices two chewed through wires back together. "Why can't they ever chew through something like wood?" he mumbles angrily. "Um, anything I can do, Jeremie?" Odd asks and Jeremie stands after reconnecting the wires to the computer terminal. "Yeah, I'm gonna need you to read off some numbers for me here in a minute," Jeremie replies and drops the tape back into the toolbox, then gets his laptop and hooks it up to the terminal. He types several commands and motions for Odd to come over to him. "I'm going back to the main terminal upstairs. I'll need you to read off this series of numbers then I'll have you type in a series I read off to you, ok?" Odd nods and sits down on the floor in front of the laptop as Jeremie enters the elevator.

Imuy stands and sees Yumi and Ulrich charge Thadeo. She frowns as she sees Thadeo dodge Ulrich's attack, but fail to detect Yumi's fan attacks.

Why do you hesitate, my daughter?

"I—I don't know. I… am finding it hard to fight him, that's all," she lies, but tries to cover it up.

You do realize that I know your every thought? So, do not lie to me, my beloved. Your thoughts dwell on H'cirlu.

Imuy hangs her head and nods. "Yes, Master. I can't help but think he's still in there somewhere. I… don't want to hurt him…" she replies and looks up in time to see Atilea catch Yumi with a pillow of air before she crashes to the ground.

I know how you felt about him. I do not condemn those feelings, but you have to understand. H'cirlu is gone, my child. There is no bringing him back. I am sorry. You have a new task at hand. Thadeo is neither Dod nor H'cirlu, but an entity all to his own. Which, strangely enough, is not connected to me. Nevertheless, he threatens me and your home. You know that you have to stop him at all costs.

Imuy nods and opens her fans. "I will, Master, for you," she states loyally, then runs to join the fray. Yumi steadies herself against Atilea as Ulrich leaps onto Thadeo's back, putting him in a choke hold. Thadeo tries to reach back to grab him, but Ulrich tightens his grip. "Yumi! Atilea! Hit him now!" Ulrich exclaims as Thadeo continues to try to grab hold of him. Yumi and Atilea charge as Aelita stands after being shoved aside. She looks at Thadeo curiously and wonders aloud to herself, "He just shoved me hard enough to make me fall, but not enough to hurt me. Strange, why did he do that?"

Suddenly, Thadeo manages to grab Ulrich's leg and pulls him off his back. Then, he slings Ulrich like a rag doll into the air. Atilea gasps as she sees Ulrich heading towards the edge of the cliff. She rushes towards him and concentrates, trying to create a platform of some kind beneath him. Yumi gets distracted by Atilea's sudden change in direction and gets blindsided by Thadeo's arm. Finally, Atilea manages to create a platform and Ulrich crashes down on it. She hops over to the platform and runs to his side. Ulrich groans as she gently rolls him onto his back. Then, her feelings towards him rise up inside her and she turns to grit her teeth at Thadeo.

"Energy Fans!" Imuy yells and tosses both her fans at Thadeo. He turns in surprise and freezes. The two real and four energy fans collide with him head on, sending him toppling over backwards. Yumi stands shakily and sees Thadeo lift his head up, then sees Imuy slam a fist into his face. "Whoa…" Yumi lets out quietly. Then, there is a growl and Thadeo kicks Imuy off him. He pounces on top of her and raises a fist to punch her, then out of nowhere, Atilea's foot connects with his head, sending him tumbling across the ground. Imuy looks up at her in shock as Atilea snarls angrily at Thadeo. "Don't you ever hurt my friends!" Atilea bellows as Thadeo stands. He gazes in her direction with his blank eyes and grimaces. "Foolish girl. You all should have left when we gave you the chance to. Now, you will all…gmph!" His sentence gets cut off by the sudden formation of rock around his body. Yumi raises her eyebrows at Atilea's move. "That won't hold him for long," Atilea says as Ulrich jogs over to the group. Imuy stands and stares at the massive rock formation that now stands where Thadeo stood. "I've noticed something about him, but I don't know if anyone else has, so I'm just gonna tell you anyways in case you haven't noticed," Atilea continues quickly. "Yeah? What is it?" Yumi asks her. "He seems to lose a lot of strength when he uses one of his special abilities. Like, after he tossed Ulrich, he seemed…weaker for short time. I think he has to let his body recharge of sorts," Atilea replies. "So that's why he's been bouncing between extreme attack and extreme defense a lot. I was wondering why he did that," Ulrich says. "I guess what we need to do is get him to use his abilities and hit him when he's in the weakened state. Great job, Atilea! Glad you noticed that!" he continues, smiling at her. She returns the smile and blushes slightly. "And while we are in the idea sharing mood, I've got one. Atilea, do you think you could repair that Demon Wind Shuriken?" Ulrich asks. Atilea grows wide-eyed. "Um, I don't… know. Why?" she replies cautiously.

Yumi catches onto where Ulrich is going. "No! That thing is dangerous! You don't even know if you can control it!" she protests. Ulrich looks at her caringly. "I know, Sweetie, but that's a risk I'll have to take. And, we may not have much choice," he replies. She frowns and relents. "I know. But I just….don't want to lose you…."

Ulrich smiles warmly and gently places a hand on her cheek. " I'll be careful. Promise," he says softly. She looks at him worriedly and lovingly. "A-hem!" coughs Imuy and the couple blush, then turns to the rest of the group. "When he breaks out of there, he's not going to be very happy. I'll….distract him long enough for you and Atilea to find that demon shuriken. I, too, have noticed something about Thadeo. He hasn't really hurt me. Only just gently pushed me away, almost as if he is afraid that he will hurt me," Aelita states. Atilea turns to her quickly and starts to object, but a sharp glare from her sister stops her. Then, Aelita's look softens and she gently pats her sister's shoulder reassuringly. "But, you don't truly know if he's really like that. He could just think you're… just… not…." Atilea starts but Aelita gently touches Atilea's lips with her finger to shush her. "I know. It's a risk, but I have to try. If I fail, Imuy, Yumi, and I will just have to stall him the old fashioned way!" Aelita replies. Yumi grunts and states, "The 'old fashioned way' isn't working very well!" Aelita smiles and nods. "True, but before, we have been trying to take him down. Now, all we'd be doing is distracting him. He seems to only be able to track one of us at a time. That, I have noticed too," she says. "Yeah, and he could just be toying with us," says Yumi. "That could be true too. But, at least we have a plan," Aelita says. Yumi pauses then slowly nods. "Fine. Let's give it a shot."

Ulrich and Atilea nod, then takes off across the landscape as Aelita nervously gets between Yumi and Imuy and the rock formation around Thadeo. Yumi glances back at Atilea and Ulrich as they run off into the distance. "Hurry back, Babe," she whispers. Imuy glances over at her, then thoughts of H'cirlu begin to run through her mind and a sudden sadness grips her. "H'cirlu…. I miss you…." she says and Yumi turns to look at her, slightly amazed. "You… cared for him, didn't you?" Yumi asks hesitantly. Imuy snaps back to reality and replies, "Yeah, I did. I never thought…." Her sentence trails off and she turns her face away from Yumi. Yumi regards her sadly and says, "I understand. I almost lost Ulrich once before." Imuy sniffs and replies, "I know. I have your memories, remember? But, he never really was gone, not like H'cirlu is." Yumi frowns as she realizes she is right.

Atilea and Ulrich dash across the stony pathway and reach a crossroads. The two stop and Ulrich tries to remember which way they came from. "Um, do you…" he starts. "No, I don't," Atilea finishes without missing a beat. "We could…" Ulrich starts again. "Flip a coin? We don't have one," she finishes again. The two pause and turn to look at each other in slight amazement. "Did you realize we are…" he starts. She nods and finishes, "Finishing each other's sentences? Yeah, I did." The two pause for a second more. "It's kinda weird, cute…" Atilea starts. "And funny? Sorta," Ulrich finishes, then realizes they just did it again. "You didn't do anything to me when you…" he starts. Her eyes widen and she finishes, "When I kissed you? No, I didn't! It was a just a kiss! I…" Atilea stops herself as a wave of sudden awkwardness hits her. She turns her face away from his and says, "Maybe Yumi or Imuy should have came with us. I really shouldn't be with you alone…again…"

Ulrich stares at her blankly for a minute before responding. "Look, let's just find the shuriken and put it back together. We'll deal with that issue later. We don't really have time to mess with it right now. So, which way? Left or right? Pick one." Atilea turns and looks at him, feeling slightly reprimanded, then nods. "Ok, sorry about getting off on that subject. Let's flip a coin." Ulrich scrunches his brow in confusion. "A coin? Like you said, we don't have coins here on Lyoko," he replies. She smiles slightly and extends her hand. He glances down at it and sees a coin-like object form in her palm. "Now we do!" Atilea says and chuckles softly. Ulrich nods and smiles as he takes the coin from her. "I should have known you'd do that. Ok, heads, we go left," he says and flips the coin into the air.

Odd exits the elevator and sees Jeremie staring frustrated at the computer screen. "The numbers are right! I just don't understand why it's not working!" he says, borderline angry. "Could it be X.A.N.A.? Or that Thadeo guy?" Odd suggests. Jeremie glances at him and shakes his head. "No, it's neither of them. I checked. There's just something else, something I've overlooked, but I've checked and re-checked, then checked again but everything is in order!" Odd thinks for a moment then asks, "Have you kicked it?" Jeremie turns instantly to him and gives him an appalled look. "Of course not! Why would I do that?" he exclaims. "It always works for me. Every time one of the computers in the computer lab screws up on me, I just give it a good thump and it starts working again," Odd replies, shrugging. Jeremie's appalled look deepens and his eyes widen. "You might try it and see if it helps," Odd continues. Jeremie slowly shakes his head no. "Look, you've tried everything else, Einstein, why not try something completely different?" Odd suggests and Jeremie slowly turns his head back to the screen. "Odd, promise me you'll never grow up to be a computer technician." Odd smiles and replies, " Heh, no problem! I plan on being either a rock star or a famous film director! Or better yet, both!"

Ulrich and Atilea finally reach the area where the shuriken was destroyed. Ulrich looks down at the scattered pieces on the ground and gives them a curious look. Atilea notices his reaction and asks, "What? Is something wrong?" He shakes his head slightly and replies, "Um, correct me if I'm wrong, but there looks to be more pieces here than what made up the shuriken before." Atilea realizes what he is talking about and says, "Oh, uh, well, yes. You see, when H'cirlu was split, he pulled out two of those demon shuriken. Yumi and I didn't really have time to figure out which one was the real shuriken, so we hit them both at the same time. I never thought we'd ever want to put the thing back together again, so neither of us bothered to figure out which was real or fake. Sorry, Ulrich." Ulrich frowns at the pieces. "Great. What happens if we get the wrong one together or pieces of one mixed in with the other?" he asks. Atilea ponders the dilemma for a moment, then replies, "Well, then, we put both of them together. The breaks in them can't be exactly the same. Like if you take two exact same pencils and snap them in half, the breaks in them will be different. We just have to match the two halves of each break and soon we'll have the both shuriken back together. Since we don't know which one is the real demon shuriken, we can attack Thadeo like H'cirlu attacked Yumi and me. Throw both at him at the same time."

Ulrich mulls over her idea in his head, then looks over at her with a smile on his face. "That's a good idea, Atilea! Why didn't I think of that? Good job!" he praises and pats her shoulder. She smiles and giggles as her face reddens. "Ok, which pile do you want?" he asks and Atilea glances at the ground. "Um, I only see one pile," Atilea states and raises an eyebrow. Ulrich kneels down and runs his hand straight down through the middle of the scattered pieces and rakes the right half into a pile. "Wrong! There are two piles!" he says, smiling mischievously up at her. She rolls her eyes and kneels down next to him, bumping him in the shoulder intentionally, almost knocking him over. "Big goof-ball. You did that on purpose!" she says and leans her head a little closer to his. "If I had a pillow, I'd smack you with it!" she playfully threatens. He turns and chuckles confidently at her. "Oh, really? Remember what happened to you the last time you did that? As I recall, you ended up on your back in the floor with my foot on your stomach!" Ulrich replies. Atilea gives him a playful snooty look and sticks her tongue out at him. "I remember! I just let you do that to me! If I had wanted to, I could have had you on the floor with my foot on your belly!" she retorts. Ulrich snorts playfully in disbelief and replies, "Yeah, whatever. You and your sister were giggling way too much to do anything!" Atilea bites her lower lip and her left eyebrow flicks upward. "Oh? Maybe we should have a rematch!" she says challengingly. A confident smile slowly forms on his lips and he nods. "Ok, if you don't mind losing again!" Ulrich says and Atilea leans back as a defiant smile forms on her face. "Ha, ha! You just got yourself into a pillow fight that you can't win!" she states boldly and Ulrich smiles coolly at her. "Like Odd said, I'm the champ!" he replies. Atilea presses her lips together and responds, "Yeah, well, champs can and do get dethroned! I'll just get Yumi to give me pointers on beating you!" Ulrich tries not to burst out laughing. "Oh, believe me, you do NOT want to get pillow fight pointers from Yumi! She has never beaten me, ever! If fact, she's the worst pillow-fighter I've ever seen! You're better off getting tips from Kiwi!" Atilea pauses for a second before saying anything else. "Yeah, well, we'll just see about that, mister!" Ulrich chuckles and points to the remaining pieces in front of Atilea. "Yeah, sure. We need to focus on the job at hand. That's your pile and this is mine. Start putting pieces together," he says and turns to his pile. Atilea nods and begins sifting through her pile, trying to find a matching pair.

Thadeo grits his teeth as he stares in the direction of the one called Aelita. She stands before him, trying not to shake too much with nervousness and fear. Thadeo's fist is raised to strike, but for some reason, he can't bring himself to hit her. Imuy stares at her amazed and says, "I have to admit, she's got guts." Yumi nods and watches Thadeo carefully. "What's got me curious is why he is having trouble fighting her. It's as if he doesn't want to fight her!" Yumi notes. Aelita looks at Thadeo and he takes a step backwards. "Please… remove yourself from our path! We…do not wish to injure you," Thadeo says to her. Then, a confused look crosses his face. "What is wrong? We are… we are… malfunctioning! Why are we unable to attack her? Have you done something to us!" he exclaims. Aelita shakes her head. "No! I haven't done anything! But I won't move. I won't let you hurt them. I'm sorry," she replies. Thadeo drops his fist and begins to take labored breaths, then clutches his head and lets out a strained grunt of pain. "Aaak! Must… control…. Losing….. cohesion! Instability! Must….avoid… confrontation… with her…" Thadeo strains to get out. He backs away from Aelita and turns around. Aelita just stands watching him, not knowing what to do.

Ulrich takes a piece of shuriken from Atilea and fits it on his mostly completed shuriken. Atilea places the final piece of the third blade on hers and smiles. After a few more minutes, Atilea completes her shuriken. She stands and smiles down at it. "Whew! That was fun!" she states and puts her hands on her hips. Then her smile turns into a bothered frown. "Not really. If I ever have to do that again before I die, it'll be too soon," she says and Ulrich glances up at her. "Tell me about it. You could help me here," he says as he tries to figure out where a piece fits. She looks at him and smiles deviously. "Nah, that's ok," Atilea replies. Ulrich pauses and she tries to hold back a giggle. "Atilea…" Ulrich says warningly. "Ok, ok, ok. Fine. I was just messing with you!" she states and kneels back down next to him. Soon, the two complete the second shuriken and they stand. Atilea rests a hand on his shoulder and sighs as she gazes down at the pair of shuriken. "Well, that was the easy part," she notes out loud. Ulrich raises an eyebrow. "How so? That was really tedious work!" he exclaims. Atilea looks at him and replies, "True, but now, I've got to figure out how to seal these things together. Also, there's the matter of empowering the real Demon Wind Shuriken when they are sealed. It won't do us any good if we try and endue the fake one with power." Ulrich stares blankly at the shuriken and blinks a few times, then turns to her and says, "Well, have fun!" Atilea steps back from him and shakes her head. "You're going to have to help in this. See, you're gonna have to be the one to try and pour power into those after I seal them up! So, don't think you're done with this!" Ulrich sighs and nods. "Alright, let's finish this and get back to the others," he says and Atilea kneels down in front of the left shuriken.

Aelita tries to make Thadeo look in her direction, but he does everything to prevent from doing just that. She frowns as he clinches his eyes shut and covers his face with his hands. "Leave us alone, Aelita!" he bellows at her through his hands. "Why won't you look at me, Thadeo? Is something wrong with me?" Aelita asks him, trying to sound as if her feelings are hurt. Imuy frowns and fidgets with one of her fans. Yumi glances between Thadeo and the mountain path, hoping to see her boyfriend returning. "Why do the other two remain silent? Why do they not help you or attack us?" Thadeo asks, almost exasperated. Aelita glances back at the other two girls and Yumi shrugs. "Um, they are, uh, afraid to…. Honestly, I have no idea why," Aelita replies and Thadeo groans in frustration. "Do not make us hurt you," he says and turns his back to Aelita. "Why would you hurt me?" Aelita asks. Thadeo pauses before answering. "Because that is what we were designed for," comes the reply. "Why don't you want to hurt me? What is it about me that makes you only gently shove me aside instead of trying to destroy me?" Aelita asks, taking a cautious step towards him. Yumi sees her take the step and widens her eyes nervously. Thadeo pauses again. "We… are unsure of the reasoning for this behavior in us, but it is hindering our work!" he answers. "Well, I want you to know that you are hurting me, even though it isn't direct," Aelita states, trying to buy more time as she notes that Ulrich and Atilea haven't returned yet. Thadeo lifts his head and turns to look in her direction.

"What? How? How have we hurt you?"

"Every time you have attacked or threatened my friends. I hurt because they are hurting. I care for them. Do you understand?"

"They attacked us first! We gave ample time for them to leave Lyoko, but instead they attacked. They must be eliminated!"

"If you do that, you'll be hurting me."

"No, we—must eliminate all who oppose us!"

"Would you really go that far and hurt me that bad?"

"We do not want you to hurt. Please, let us destroy the former master. Then, you will not hurt anymore."

"I'm already hurt, Thadeo. You've already hurt Yumi, Ulrich, Atilea, and Imuy, therefore you have already hurt me and failed to not hurt me."

"No! We do not want you to hurt! What can we do to stop you from hurting?"

Aelita is taken aback by this response. "Um, ah…" she stammers unable to get a coherent sentence to come out. Thadeo turns to her and steps towards her, causing Yumi to grit her teeth nervously. Imuy narrows her eyes and quietly opens a fan in case Thadeo attacks. Aelita freezes as he walks up to her. She stares nervously into his gray, blank eyes, unable to tell what his intentions are. Then, suddenly, Thadeo scoops up Aelita in his arms and she squeals in surprise. Yumi and Imuy instantly open their fans and Thadeo turns to look in their direction, finally hearing where they are. "There you are. Please, do not follow us or you will force us to do something we do not want to do," he says and leaps into the air. "AELITA!" Yumi yells and hears a frighten scream from Aelita before they land quite a ways away. Then, Thadeo continues to bound way. Yumi and Imuy take off after him but quickly loose sight of them. "Jeremie! Can you track him?" Yumi asks.

Jeremie snaps back to reality at the sound of Yumi's voice. "I, uh, hold on," he stutters and begins to type on the keyboard. Odd looks at him and sees a worried look form on his face. "Whoa," Jeremie says finally. "What? Where are they?" Yumi asks. "He's in the Glacier Sector. Wow, how did he get there so quickly? And without using a passage tower?" Jeremie states in awe. "What! How!" Yumi exclaims. "I—I don't know! One second he was in the mountain sector then the next, he was in the glacier sector! It was as if he just stepped between rooms!" Jeremie replies. "What do we do?" asks Yumi frantically. "We go after them!" states Imuy and frowns. "No! You can't! He could hurt her or worse…." Jeremie interjects quickly. "You need to wait for Ulrich and Atilea to get back before you even think of attempting a rescue!"

Imuy frowns and crosses her arms. "I got a better idea. Let me go alone to survey what he is going to do to her. Yumi, you stay here and wait for Ulrich and Atilea," she says. "Imuy…" starts Yumi. "No, don't start. I'm going no matter what you say. Besides, you're not exactly in the best of positions to tell me otherwise," interrupts Imuy. "Also, I'm the only one strong enough to even try to stand a chance against him." Yumi purses her lips and sighs. "Fine. But be careful. Don't do anything that could get Aelita killed," Yumi says finally and Imuy nods, then takes off.

Soon, Imuy exits the passage tower to the glacier sector. She scans the immediate area then proceeds when she is satisfied it is safe to. Meanwhile, Thadeo slides to a stop outside a cave. Aelita loosens her grip on him and exhales. Thadeo walks into the cave and glances around the cavern. Then he gently sets Aelita on the ground. She looks up at him, trembling, not knowing what he is going to do next. "Do not be afraid. We will not hurt you anymore after this one last time," Thadeo says and kneels down next to her. Aelita's digital heart skips several beats as he gently touches her cheek. "What we go to do will hurt you, but it will be the last. We promise you this, Aelita," he says in a strangely soothing manner. His hand gently rubs her cheek and Aelita begins to tremble harder. "Then, we will rule everything together, My Queen." Aelita's eyes widen in shock at his statement. She scoots away from him quickly, but he follows her instantly. "In time, Queen Aelita, you will embrace us and call us your own." His words strike fear in her heart and she shakes her head frantically. "No! I'm not your queen! I won't go along with it!" she blurts out. Thadeo stares back at her blankly, then cups both her cheeks in his hands. "If there is no one else, then you have no choice to 'go along' with it, my Queen. That is, unless you want your race to become extinct permanently when you age and die," comes the reply. "But first…" he starts, then he leans closer to her and Aelita tries to pull away but the strength in his hands holds her head in place firmly. Aelita closes her eyes tightly and lets out a cry. "NNNooo—" she starts in a pleading cry.

Ulrich and Atilea nearly fall over at the news that Aelita was kidnapped by Thadeo. Yumi begins trembling and hugs her arms. "Imuy went after him to watch him. Ulrich, what do we do?" she asks, pleading. Atilea turns to him and sees his shocked expression change to anger. "We go get her back, that's what we do!" he says, balling up his fists. "But, he could kill her! We can't take that risk!" Atilea exclaims. "Remember that he only is able to track one of us at a time. That is his weakness!" Ulrich returns without missing a beat. "But we don't know that for sure, Ulrich! He could have just been playing with us!" notes Yumi. "And we could stand here and debate the issue until we're blue in the face, Yumi. Or we could just go and take the risk!" he snaps. Yumi is taken aback by this and then realizes he is right. She sighs and nods. Atilea glances between the two, then finally pipes up nervously. "Well, what ever you do, I'm in. No question, no doubt. Ulrich, tell us and we'll do it," she says definitively. Ulrich looks at her and nods. "Ok, glad you're onboard. Yumi?" he replies. Yumi nods and the trio take off toward the passage tower.

Thadeo stands at the entrance to the cave and looks back at Aelita. She sits against the wall, with her knees pulled to her chest and her head buried in her arms, trembling. The sound of her sobs resound off the walls of the cavern and fills Thadeo's ears. "Do not cry. Soon it will be over and the Golden Age of Thadeo will begin!" he states confidently and steps out of the cave. He then produces his Energy Katana and carves a chunk out of the thick ice big enough to cover the cave entrance. Thadeo then places it in front of the entrance. Then something catches his attention. He turns and three Energy Fans strike him head on. Thadeo stumbles backwards in surprise, then feels a cutting sensation on his back, followed by an energy wave colliding with his side.

Imuy catches her returning fan and grits her teeth, trying to read Thadeo's next move. He stumbles around, then finally steadies himself and turns to look in her direction. "You. You should have not come here. You will be exterminated, Imuy!" he states coldly. Imuy tries to look threatening and replies, "You'd really kill me? But I'm the one that you really love!" Thadeo snorts in disdain. "You are of no interest to us. We only have interest in the queen we have chosen! Any others are irrelevant," comes the cold reply. Imuy narrows her eyes in curiosity. "Queen? What queen?" she asks. Thadeo narrows his eyes. "That is none of your concern."

Imuy charges her fans and prepares to throw them at him. Thadeo snorts in condescendence. "You realize that you are no match for us?" Imuy grits her teeth and a lump forms in her throat, making it difficult for her to swallow. She manages to fight the lump back and replies, "So what? You threatened my Beloved Master and I will defend him with my life! Also, I'm doing this to avenge my love H'cirlu that Dod took from me!" Thadeo returns her statement with an uncaring stare. "Then you will soon join him in death, Imuy. Prepare yourself to die." Imuy feels the lump in her throat return and a tear run down her cheek. She grits her teeth and charges Thadeo. "This is for you H'cirlu and for you, my Master! YaaaahHH!" she screams as she runs. Thadeo sighs in boredom and raises a hand towards her. "Arrow Beam…" he says nonchalantly.

Ulrich, Yumi, and Atilea exit the tower and sprints across the landscape. "Jeremie, where are they?" Ulrich asks. Jeremie pauses and looks up at Odd, who has taken a seat at the computer. Odd looks at him and shrugs. "Just look at the screen and give him the best directions you can, Odd," Jeremie says and continues his work on the computer. Odd frowns nervously. "Um, Jeremie's a bit busy, Ulrich. I'll, uh, try and guide you to them, ok?" Odd says. Ulrich glances nervously at Yumi. "Could be worse. Could be Sissi giving us directions," she states. "Ok, Odd, which way?" Ulrich asks. Odd studies the monitor for a second and then replies, "Uh, straight in front of you is a slope. It looks steep, but at the bottom is a arch of some kind over a, a tunnel, I think." The three reach the slope and glance down it. "It's an arch just before the tunnel, but that helps. Do we take the tunnel?" Yumi asks. Odd glances around the monitor before answering. "Uh, well the more direct route would be to go over on the surface, but not faster. The tunnel is curvy and longer but seems to be faster. Your choice, I guess," he replies. Ulrich glances at the two girls. "Well? Which way?" Yumi asks. "You still have that coin?" Ulrich asks Atilea. She raises an eyebrow then pulls the coin out of her skirt's waist band. "Ok, heads, we take the tunnel, tails, the surface," Ulrich says taking the coin. Yumi looks at Atilea curiously. "Where'd that come from?" she asks. Atilea shrugs innocently. "I made it," she replies simply. Ulrich flips the coin into the air and the three watch it intensely.

Jeremie slides away from the terminal and replaces the cover panel. "Geez, that was a bigger job than I thought! Not only was it a computer resource issue, but a hardware issue! I'm gonna have to put out rat poison to keep them away from the computer systems," he mutters as Odd slides gladly from the computer chair. "Ok, time to restart the materialization program. Cross your fingers!" Odd crosses all his fingers on both hands as Jeremie begins typing on the keyboard. "Come on…." he whispers as rows of code scrolls up on the monitor. Then a green plus sign in a circle pops up on the screen and Jeremie lets out a shout of glee. Odd lets out a sigh of relief. "Ulrich! Yumi! Atilea! The materialization program is up and running again! I'm bringing the scanners back online now!" he exclaims and Ulrich smiles as he, Yumi and Atilea slide on their backsides through the tunnel. "Great job, Jeremie! We're on our way to get Aelita back! Let us know where to go once we're out of this roller coaster of a tunnel!" Ulrich says and braces himself for an upcoming sharp turn.

Thadeo grimaces as he grabs an exhausted Imuy by the throat and lifts her off the ground. She groans and tries to peel his hand from around her neck but her exhaustion has taken its toll. She barely has the strength to look him in the eye. "Useless creature. Why he created you is beyond our comprehension," states Thadeo coldly. Imuy grunts and strains to answer, but her strength gives out. Thadeo snorts in contempt as her eyes slowly close. "Master….. I'm sorry…. I failed you…." she whispers.

IMUY!

The voice rings throughout the sector. Ulrich had finished helping Atilea stand when the voice rang out. Atilea grips his arm tightly as the three turn their heads to the sky. Ulrich realizes it was X.A.N.A. that shouted and glances at Yumi. "Oh, no…" he says and feels Atilea begin to tremble. "We gotta hurry!" he says and lets Atilea go. She starts to grab hold of him again, but stops herself when she remembers Yumi is present. Ulrich takes off, followed closely by Yumi. Atilea swallows and follows after them. Soon, the trio arrives at the edge of a sheer drop over looking a small valley. The three gasp as the scene fills their vision.

"No…" Ulrich whispers in defeat. "We're too late…."

A motionless Imuy lays on the ground at the feet of a scowling Thadeo. Behind him is a gaping hole and the three see that the chunk of ice has been placed over the entrance to a cave. Atilea stares down at Imuy, not hearing what Ulrich is saying next to her. "Atilea! Don't!" he exclaims as she suddenly leaps over the edge of the cliff and lands on the ground. "Oh, crap!" Ulrich says and follows her. Yumi shakes her head to bring herself back to reality, then follows Ulrich. Atilea runs towards Imuy's body, completely oblivious to the fact that Thadeo is preparing to attack her. Suddenly, a pair of arms grabs her waist and pulls her to the ground, several feet from Imuy's body. She strains to see who it is just as an Arrow Beam flashes past her head. Atilea glances up and sees Thadeo grit his teeth in disappointment. Then, she realizes Ulrich is on top of her and turns her head to look at him. "Get off me, Ulrich! I have to see if she…" she starts but he plants a hand on her mouth. "Quiet! He'll hear you!" he says. She blinks and sees Yumi slide to a stop behind him. Atilea suddenly feels a wave of awkwardness hit her. "I think it's a bit late for silence," Yumi says. Ulrich looks up and sees Thadeo begin walking towards them. "Great," he says and slowly stands. Atilea watches him and tries to shrug off a sudden mixture of emotions that includes her love for him and fear of Yumi getting the wrong idea.

"You should have left. Now, you all will meet the same fate as Imuy!" Thadeo says angrily. "Can we see the body first?" pipes up Atilea, which causes Thadeo to pause. She slides a little ways away from Ulrich and stands. Thadeo considers her request. "Very well. You may, but only you. No one else," he replies and steps aside. Atilea cautiously walks past him and over to Imuy. She kneels down and sees that her eyes have turned blank. A sudden wave of sorrow overtakes her and she begins crying. "Imuy…" Atilea whispers and takes Imuy's limp hand. "I wish that you would have seen the world as I did. You would have enjoyed it as much as I have," she says and gently brushes a strand of Imuy's ebony hair out of her face. "Jeremie, can you do anything?" Atilea asks finally.

Jeremie hangs his head in sorrow. "No, nothing. I'm… sorry Atilea," he replies. Odd realizes what has happened and turns away from the computer screen. "I… I never apologized to her for attacking her…. when she was… here," he says sadly and Jeremie looks over at him sympathetically. He reaches over and places a hand on Odd's shoulder comfortingly. "I'm sure she would have accepted it, even though she may not have shown it."

Atilea gently folds Imuy's hands on her chest and fights back more tears that threaten to fall. Then, she glances up at the blocked cave entrance. "Where's my sister?" she asks blandly. Thadeo raises an eyebrow. "Our queen is safe. And she is quite happy with the accommodations we have provided for her until the task at hand is completed," he replies coldly. Atilea crinkles her brow in confusion and turns to look at him. "Your…queen? What have you done with her?" she says standing. Thadeo turns and replies, "Only given her the mark of approval. She will make the perfect queen for us to have beside us when we rule this world and the human world!" Atilea grows wide-eyed with shock, then her look turns to anger. "If you have hurt my sister…" she starts but is cut off by a snort of indifference from Thadeo. "She is unharmed. However, you three, on the other hand, will not be!" he replies gruffly.

Then, Atilea feels a hand wrap around her throat. She gasps as she realizes that Thadeo has her in a choke. Atilea tries to peel his hand from her neck but his strength is too much for her. Thadeo raises his other hand to strike. Atilea closes her eyes, trying to prepare herself for the inevitable. Thadeo lashes towards her, but suddenly screams in pain and his striking hand stops short of Atilea's face. Atilea's eyes pop open and she sees Ulrich with his sword in the forearm of the hand that has her by the neck. Thadeo releases her and she collapses to the ground. Ulrich yanks the blade out of Thadeo's forearm violently and Thadeo lets out a painful yell. Ulrich wastes no time delivering an energy wave from the sword that knocks Thadeo backwards. Ulrich sprints toward him and leaps into the air, landing a kick squarely on his neck. Thadeo stumbles backwards and falls to the ground. He opens his eyes just as Ulrich appears in the air above him. A look of surprise crosses his face just before rolling away and Ulrich crashes to the ground, driving his sword into the ice. Ulrich stands quickly, pulling his sword out of the ground, and sprints towards the standing Thadeo. Thadeo turns and swings an arm to hit Ulrich but Ulrich anticipates the attack and drops to the ground, sliding into Thadeo's legs with a foot aimed at his knee. Ulrich's foot finds its mark and Thadeo falls to the ground again. Ulrich slides on past him and hops up. Thadeo rolls onto his back and lifts his head to look at Ulrich. The look of surprise remains on his face then he starts to stand. Suddenly, an energy wave slams into him from behind. He falls forward and Ulrich sees Yumi gritting her teeth in anger. Ulrich smiles at her and sees Atilea jog behind her. She then leans close to Yumi and whisper something to her. Ulrich raises an eyebrow and sees Yumi turn to her and give her a curious look. Atilea just nods and steps out from behind Yumi. Thadeo stirs and catches Ulrich's attention.

Then, Thadeo lunges up at Ulrich, but Ulrich somehow manages to dodge the attack. Thadeo looks surprised by this and changes positions in midair to attack again, but Ulrich blocks it. "This is not possible!" whispers Thadeo to himself as he passes Ulrich and lands. Yumi sends an energy wave at Thadeo to distract him, allowing Ulrich to get in for another attack. Slowly, the two work Thadeo away from the cave and Atilea smiles that her plan is working. Ulrich kicks Thadeo away and he slides into an ice formation. Yumi quickly leans over to Ulrich and whispers in his ear, "Those shuriken things! Get ready to use them!" He nods and scoops Yumi up in his arms, surprising her and she lets out a squeak. He sprints back to Atilea and gently sets Yumi down and looks over at Atilea. He smiles at her and nods. Atilea returns his smile and the two take a couple of steps towards Thadeo, who is now standing and gritting his teeth in anger. "He's probably recovered by now. Think the Demon Wind Shuriken will affect him?" Ulrich asks. Atilea shrugs and replies, "Who knows? But it's worth a try!" Ulrich nods and sees Thadeo walking towards them. Then, Ulrich and Atilea pull out their shuriken and smiles deviously at Thadeo. Thadeo pauses and surveys the two, wondering what they are doing. Ulrich and Atilea spin their shuriken and the blades spin around the central ring and lock into place. Thadeo's brow crinkles in wonder as Ulrich and Atilea begin pouring energy into the shurikens. "What is this? What attack are they doing?" muses Thadeo and watches them carefully.

"This is it, Thadeo! Your time is up! This ends here!" shouts a confident Atilea. Thadeo raises an eyebrow before a disbelieving smile creeps onto his face. "You do not seriously think that two measly shuriken can do anything to us?" he retorts. Ulrich's smile widens and replies, "Heh, these aren't just an old ordinary shuriken." Thadeo's certainty drops and stares intently at them. Atilea and Ulrich glance and each other and nod. "DEMON WIND SHURIKEN! TORNADO-BLAST!" the pair yells at the top of their lungs and throw both shuriken simultaneously at Thadeo. Thadeo gets a shocked look and steps backwards. The two shuriken fly towards him and the left one begins to edge ahead of the right. Thadeo prepares to catch it but a sudden in-rush of air catches his attention. The right shuriken begins to create a massive tornado and Thadeo gasps in shock. "That is not logical! That is….impossible!" he stammers. The first shuriken flies past him, clipping his neck. He yelps and grabs his neck, but the sound of the humongous tornado retakes his attention.

"We've got'em!" says Atilea excitedly. Ulrich touches her shoulder and says, "Don't celebrate too early, Atilea. We have to see how he handles this first." She forces her excitement down and nods, then places a hand on his back. Then, she sees her shuriken returning to her and reaches up to catch it. "Looks like we figured out which one was the real thing!" she says smiling at him. Yumi runs up to Ulrich's other side and wraps an arm around his neck.

Thadeo frantically fires an Arrow Beam at the massive tornado, but the beam just gets swallowed up in the vortex. "N…No…NO! This cannot be! We cannot be destroyed!" Thadeo exclaims, but the tornado keeps coming at him. "Go…GO! Hit him hard!" shouts Atilea at the tornado. Thadeo frantically looks around for a place to run to, but sees none. Then, the tornado collides with him and he gets swallowed up in the vortex. The three let out a victorious shout and jump in excitement. Yumi and Ulrich collide into a hug, then separates. Instinctively, he and Atilea embrace, then they hear the tornado collide with the cliff. The ground shakes violently and the three fall, with Atilea landing on top of Ulrich. Then, the sound of chunks of ice hitting the ground around them makes the three leap up instantly. Atilea sees a huge chunk of ice flying towards them and instinctively creates a dome around them. "This thing won't last long! We gotta get into that cave! Yumi, can you move that ice block from in front of the entrance?" Atilea asks quickly, pointing back at the cave. Yumi glances at it quickly, then up at the debris raining down at them. "I better be able to or we'll be crushed!" she replies and turns to face the cave. "I'll try to keep the dome over us as long as I can!" Atilea remarks and lifts her hands up to the dome. Large chunks of ice pelt against the dome top, threatening to break through, but Atilea forces the dome to hold together. Yumi concentrates her psychokinetic energy and begins to slowly move the massive ice block away from the cave door. Ulrich watches the ice block move and sees that it is sufficiently open enough that they can get in. "Ok, Yumi, that's far enough! It's open enough! Let's go!" he exclaims and grabs Atilea's collar, giving her a gentle tug. She turns and Ulrich cuts a hole in the dome with his sword. The three rush out, dodging the now smaller debris falling from the sky. Ulrich reaches the entrance first, but lets Yumi and Atilea enter first. He watches as the biggest ice chunk falls onto the dome, crushing it completely. "Ouch, that would have hurt…" he whispers and feels a pair of hands grab him and pull him inside.

Atilea surveys the room and sees a figure hunched against the far wall. Then, a sob resonates throughout the room. Atilea feels a pang of fear and worry hit her heart as she comes to realize that it is Aelita. "S—sis? Is that you?" she asks nervously. Then, Atilea rushes over to the figure and sees that it is Aelita. Aelita remains seated and doesn't even look up, but still has her knees in her chest and head in her arms.

"A—Aelita? Sis? What's wrong? What happened?" Atilea asks worrisome.

Nothing, just sobbing.

"Sis, please, it's me! Atilea, your sister!"

More sobbing. Ulrich and Yumi stand behind Atilea staring down at Aelita.

"Talk to me, Sis. I need to hear your voice…" Atilea says and gently touches Aelita's ankle. Suddenly, Aelita flails wildly, kicking Atilea and knocking her over.

"DON'T TOUCH ME! GET AWAY! I HATE YOU!" Aelita explodes wildly and bawls loudly, covering up her face. Atilea sits up in shock and stares at her sister. Then, she feels her heart get stabbed with the pain of Aelita's words to her. Ulrich kneels down to Atilea and whispers, "I don't think she knows who you are. I think she thinks that Thadeo is in here! It wasn't you that she said those thing to." Atilea swallows and tries to get herself to believe that Ulrich is right, but finds that it is harder than she expected.

Aelita curls into a ball again and cries loudly. Atilea slowly sits up and decides to try again to reach her sister. "Aelita! It's me, Atilea! Not Thadeo! Please, look at me," she pleads and Aelita balls up tighter.

Yumi stares at Aelita in shock. "What did he do to her?" she asks as Ulrich stands up next to her. He sighs and a look of worry crosses his face. "I don't know, but whatever it was, it traumatized her so bad that she doesn't even recognize her sister's voice or ours," he replies solemnly.

"Sis, look at me, please. I'm here to get you out of here!"

No response.

Atilea then gets a determined look on her face. "If you don't look at me willingly, then I'll just have to…" She stops when a hand catches her shoulder. "Don't. Not that way," says Ulrich. "It could drive her farther away." Atilea nods and softens her tone a bit.

"Aelita Anne Hopper, snap out of it!" she says firmly.

The sobbing stops abruptly.

"Sis, it's me, Atilea. Look at me. Ulrich and Yumi are here too! We're here to take you home!"

Aelita's fingers part and Atilea sees a teary eye stare out at her. Then suddenly, Aelita gasps in relief and lunges towards her, wrapping her arms around her sister's neck. "Atilea! It's you! It's really you!" Aelita exclaims and buries her head into Atilea's neck. Atilea wraps her arms around her sister and holds her as she begins to cry again. "It's ok, it's ok, you're all right now," consoles Atilea and feels tears hitting her neck. "What did he do to you?" she whispers and feels Aelita tighten her grip on her, partially choking her. "Ak! Aelita! You're choking me!"

Aelita instantly releases her and sits back. "I—I'm sorry…." she mumbles apologetically and hangs her head shamefully. "It's ok, sis, I'm just glad you're…..ok… aren't you?" Atilea says, trailing off as she realizes Aelita is acting strange. "What happened? What did Thadeo do to you?" Atilea asks, growing angry with Thadeo. Aelita shakes her head and hides it from her sister. "No! I don't wanna…." Aelita starts but Atilea interrupts her. "You must. Tell me what he did to you!"

"Atilea, leave it for now. She'll tell us when she's ready. Right now, I'd like for us to go and look for the body. I want to make sure he's gone for good!" Ulrich says firmly. Atilea looks up at him and starts to object, but the seriousness in his eyes causes her to nod in agreement. "Yumi, go and open the cave door the rest of the way. Atilea, help Aelita up and follow us outside," Ulrich states and Yumi nods. She uses a quick but powerful burst of psychokinetic energy to blow the ice block several feet away from the door. Ulrich looks at her surprised. "Wow, when did you learn to do that?" he asks. She shrugs and smiles slightly. "I just thought I'd give it a shot," Yumi replies humbly. "That was totally cool!" he says and heads out of the cave. "Maybe, but don't ask me to do it again. It takes quite a bit out of me," Yumi replies.

Once outside, Ulrich and Yumi survey the area. A huge trench dug by the tornado is the main sight and it leads straight to the cliff's face which now has a massive crater in the side of it where the tornado collided with it. The two walk carefully towards the cliff face, but keeps a watchful eye in case Thadeo somehow survived. Atilea and Aelita exit the cave and Aelita's jaw drops at the sight. "Whoa…" is all she can say. Atilea chuckles and remarks, "You should have been out here to see it." Ulrich and Yumi reach the cliff and see the shuriken lodged in the face, but no Thadeo. Ulrich frowns and looks around for any trace that Thadeo is dead or not. "Watch my back. I'm going to get the shuriken down," Ulrich says to Yumi and she nods. He climbs up the face and takes hold of the shuriken but pauses when it shifts. "Uh, oh…" he whispers.

Thadeo bursts out of the cliff face holding onto one of the blades of the shuriken. Ulrich lets go and drops to the ground as Thadeo flies through the air and lands between them and the cave. Atilea and Aelita freeze in their tracks. Atilea feels Aelita grab her arm tightly and begin to panic. Atilea notes her behavior, but chooses not to pursue the reason and just gently pushes a freaked out Aelita behind her. Thadeo eyes Ulrich and Yumi as she helps Ulrich to his feet. Thadeo tosses the shuriken into the nearby sea and it sinks into oblivion. "Ooh, he's angry," notes Ulrich. "Gee, ya think? You plastered him inside a cliff with a huge tornado. I'd be angry too!" Yumi remarks with a bit of sarcasm. "You dive left, I'll dive right," Ulrich says, ignoring her comments. Yumi nods and watches Thadeo walk towards them. Suddenly, he lunges at them and they dive in their designated directions, causing Thadeo to only punch the cliff face. Ulrich and Yumi roll up into fighting stance, ready to defend themselves from any attack he may throw at them.

"Yumi! Ulrich! Move!" comes a sudden shout from Atilea. The two dive out of the way as a massive spray of water strikes Thadeo. Ulrich turns to see Atilea using her creativity ability to siphon water from the sea and send it at Thadeo. Thadeo thrashes around and pulls his fist free of the wall. Suddenly, the water around him begins to freeze and incase him entirely. Atilea continues to douse him with water and freeze it around him. Soon, Thadeo is in a solid block of ice, but Atilea doesn't stop. Yumi and Ulrich run up to her and watches as she puts on another two feet of ice, then switches from the water to creating sheets of the hardest rock she can create. Layer after layer, Atilea continues to pile it on Thadeo and soon he is thoroughly buried under several tons of rock and ice. Atilea drops her hands and pants heavily. "Geez, that's a lot!" Ulrich says, catching her as she almost falls over on him. "I'm not quite done yet. Just one last thing," she replies and braces herself against him. "Gotta seal all the cracks!" Atilea lifts her left hand and concentrates. The rest of the group watches as the major seams seal up perfectly. When the last one finally closes, she drops her hand in exhaustion. Ulrich holds her up and she smiles defiantly at the now massive rock dome that connects with the cliff.

"He'll get out of there. Eventually. But not today," Atilea says and lets go of Ulrich and he lets her lay down on the ground. Yumi glances between them and sees Ulrich start walking towards the dome. Aelita crouches next to her tired sister and watches Yumi follow Ulrich. "How long until he breaks out?" he asks. Atilea lifts her tired head and replies, "Oh, I dunno, couple of days or so." Yumi turns to him and asks, "What now?" Ulrich turns to her and grabs her shoulders caringly. "We go home," is his reply and a look of relief washes over his face. A smile slowly appears on his girlfriends face and the two embrace each other while planting a huge kiss on each other's lips. Atilea smiles and lays her head down on the ground, but keeps her eye on Ulrich. Aelita gently touches her shoulder and she turns her head to look at Aelita. "I love you, Atilea, and I didn't mean those things I said," Aelita says apologetically. Atilea smiles warmly at her and replies, "I know, Sis. You thought we were Thadeo coming back. I naturally assumed that you had heard all the ruckus we were causing outside and knew it was us." Then Atilea's smile disappears. "Oh my, Ulrich, I forgot! Imuy's body!" Ulrich turns and scans the area, then spots Imuy's body a little ways away. Aelita looks down at Atilea and sees that her eyes tell the story. "She's… gone, isn't she?" Aelita asks, despite knowing what Atilea's answer will be. Atilea simply nods and lowers her eyes. Ulrich shoves a hunk of ice off Imuy's body and Yumi helps him lift the body off the ground and carry it to a clear area.

Ulrich swallows and nervously looks up in the sky. "X.A.N.A.? Are you there?" he asks.

Silence.

"X.A.N.A.? Answer me."

Still silence.

"Do you… want us to bury her here or do you…" Ulrich starts again but is cut off by X.A.N.A.

Please, my daughter… she… was my favorite… I…Don't get me wrong, I loved every one of my children, but she was so….special to me…. Let me hold her….

Ulrich motions to Yumi to step back and the two steps away from Imuy's lifeless form as a soft red glow envelopes her. The body rises into the air and remains suspended for several minutes.

"I'm sorry, if we had gotten here sooner, maybe we could have…" Ulrich starts but X.A.N.A. interrupts him.

No, it would not have made a difference. She…. sacrificed herself for me. That was the true essence of my daughter's love. I could not have asked her to do a more nobler task. As for her burial, I will tend to that, Ulrich, but our deal still remains. As you know, Thadeo is only trapped in that rather impressive dome Atilea created.

"I remember the deal, X.A.N.A. But we must rest and regroup. Our strongest member is now…. you know. For now, we will leave Lyoko and rest up for when Thadeo does break out of there," Ulrich states wearily.

Very well. Rest. Regroup. I wait for your return. Until then, I will recover my strength and give Imuy the proper burial she deserves.

Ulrich nods and watches as Imuy's body floats away into the sky, then wraps an arm around Yumi's waist. He turns to look at her and she can see the weariness in his eyes. "Let's go home," he says and leans his head against hers. "Jeremie, you know what to do."