Glow: Hehehehe! Sorry for not updating sooner. Anyway, here is the next chapter. Thanks to all those who, ummm...provided me with...um...motivation. You know who you are.

Verdana: Where do you keep getting ulra-caffinated caffe mochas from?

Glow: That would be my secret...

Viv: There will be a new contest after this chapter. Make sure to read and review!

--Alive!-- Verdana thought as she hugged the ice cliff. That was a close one, if not unexpected. She had expected them to pull something like that, even unintentionally.

The moment Verdana felt the rope grow taut; she dug her ice pick into the ice. The others saw her doing that and did the same. However, Odd and Yumi didn't quite make it in time. They began to fall, down towards the icy ground far below. Odd closed his eyes, expecting to go splat any second.

He was thoroughly surprised when his fall was jerkily stopped. Cautiously, he opened his eyes. The ground was still there, only now it wasn't rushing up to meet him. He looked over at Yumi, who too had stopped falling. Then, twisting his neck so he could see above him, he saw who had caught them.

It was Jordan. He was last in line and managed to grab hold of them. It occurred to Odd that he was hanging by his tail, a rather undignified position.

"Pull me up, will ya!" he shouted at Jordan. Jordan, always quick to reply, answered,

"Would you prefer to continue towards your appointment with the ground?"

Odd scowled. "Fine. Now get me out of this ridiculous position!" Jordan snickered to himself and let Yumi climb up first.

"Odd, Odd, where are your manners! Ladies first." Jordan finally allowed Odd to climb up and over him. Odd dug his claws in especially hard as he climbed. Jordan didn't even wince. Odd glared suspiciously at him once he was over Jordan. - -That kid freaks me out. The strange things he says, the way he never seems to feel anything.- - He stopped to consider the possibility that Jordan wasn't himself again, if you know what I mean by that.

Meanwhile, at the top of the line, Verdana was chipping out another handhold. The wind was picking up and it was starting to get dark. "Fuckin hell!" she cursed to herself as she messed up the hole. - -The gang doesn't know that if they spend more than a certain allotted time in their virtual bodies, or else they would become permanently a part of the world they are in the second time runs out. They'd have to find another program to devirtualize them, like the one they used on Aelita. Speaking of her, she would decompile almost instantly if she was to become trapped in another world. The only reason she would be able to survive in Lyoko, if she had stayed for more than the time, would be because that is her origin system.- -

Things were becoming way too messed up and Verdana had no idea what to do. A gust of wind slammed her against the cliff, bringing her back to reality. There was no choice, they would have to keep walking through the night. Refocusing on the task at hand, she chipped out another handhold.

At the top

"Whew! That's everyone." Verdana said with relief as she hauled Jordan over the edge. It had been a nerve wracking half-hour, but it was all over now. Odd stood on the edge of the cliff, watching the sunset. Verdana came up behind him, and for the first time since he could remember, he heard her coming.

"Hey there." He said without turning. Verdana came up next to him.

"Nice sunset, hmm?"

Odd nodded. "Although not as good as the real ones, of course." He added. She casually slipped her hand into his. As it rested there, he noticed the difference in size. His virtual hand was a lot bigger than his normal one. Her hand was the same size, but seemed smaller framed against his. Verdana rested her head on his shoulder for a moment, and then spoke.

"We'd better get over to the others, so I can generate the portal." She slipped her hand out of his and joined the others. He stood for a moment longer, then followed.

"Are we all rested?" Verdana asked as she prepared the group for battle. She uploaded more ammo and extra strength for them, as well as armor. "My brother could rip through these bodies in one slash. If he did, you would disappear into oblivion. You can't devirtualize if there is no scanner to go to." The others nodded. She generated a portal. As she stepped through, she said, "One more thing. Whatever you do, don't take anything, no matter how pretty it looks. If you do, you will be forced to remain a virtual being forever. Like you will if we don't get a move on."

Odd rolled his eyes. "Okay, don't get killed, find what we're looking for, and do it quick. Got it."

In Drongar

CHEV threw a trussed up SIRS at the feet of a dark being. "Ah, I see you have brought me the last of the hidden. Good. I shall deal with him personally, man to man." He turned to the rest of the assembled viruses. "The rest of you, prepare to attack. CHEV, you will organize a party to locate and follow my sister when she arrives. The news you have brought of her return is disturbing." The figure disappeared into a million pixels.

Verdana waited till everyone was there. She closed the portal and studied their surroundings. It was a beautiful forested area, with many shades of green. Verdana smiled. This had always been her fave spot. It was the first place she had restored. They all climbed tall trees to see the rest of the landscape. There were vaguely purpleish-blue mountains to the East. A bit of coast off to the West, a rolling plain to the south, and finally, what looked like the beginnings of a little town off the north, with a snowy area behind. It was the perfect paradise.

"We need to go East. The cave we are looking for is in the mountains." Verdana pulled out Viv's necklace. "We don't want to wake this here. It makes too much light and it would attract too much attention. Besides, the Crystal Cave is the best place to revive it. Makes it more powerful." - -I wonder if my brother wants the crystals, but does not know where they are.- - A revelation hit her. - -If CHEV and the rest of them are under his control, then he knows I'm alive. There goes my surprise attack. And that means he might try and follow me to the cave!- - She looked around wildly, sensing if any viruses were near. She did realize that there were some that could escape her vision, but she figured they hadn't found her yet.

Verdana lept down from the tree. The others followed suit. She frowned for a moment. "We're gonna hafta split up. My brother knows about us, and he probably knows about the crystal too. I think he will send people after me. This can work if a couple of you agree to run interference for me. I'll give you a manikin version of myself, a copy of sorts. You will go with that a little more to the North of where we head. I shall make sure that the spies will follow you. Once the crystal is awoken, we can go back to the real world and defeat my brother. I only need you to keep them busy for an hour, at most. So, who'll do that?"

Everyone was silent for a moment. Jeremy was the first to speak up. "I'll go. I'm a little more obvious than the rest of you, with my shiny bubble, so I'll attract their attention for you."

Ulrich and Yumi spoke at the same time. "We'll go. We can protect Jeremy." Verdana looked for one more person. To her surprise, it was Odd.

"Sure I'll go help the lovebirds and Einstein. Besides, they know I never leave your side, so it will seem as if you really are the one there." Verdana nodded and her mouth twitched a bit. She barely resisted a smile.

"Okay then, let's go!" The four of them took off. Verdana and her group did not have to wait long for the spies to show up. One look at Jeremy's bubble and they shot off, close behind them. Verdana made note of who they were, having known them from before. There were four spies and they looked the same only with different colors.

"The red one is CEPE, the slightly more orange one is RIGI, the orange one is POLU, and the yellow one is BANO." Verdana told them. They were once the same virus, but they split before Verdana came. You'd think they would stand out with their bright colors in the forest, but they could camouflage themselves. Something was bothering Verdana. She knew they could merge again, but it was something else. - - Something keeps nagging at the back of my head, but I can't place it.- - she thought as she stared after them.

With a shrug, she walked away. Aelita and Viv followed. Jordan took one lingering glance at area, then followed. As soon as he was out of sight, a light orange figure appeared. It watched his retreating back with interest, then vanished again. There was a slight rustling of the leaves, as if a breeze had blown by.

Glow: Soooo, now that you've read the chapter, Jordan will announce the contest!

Jordan: How are you getting so much caffine?

Glow: That's not the contest

Jordan: If anyone can guess what is the connection between all of the new viruses (in their names), and/or following the connection, what will be part of the next one's name? Details in the profile, including prizes and such...

Glow: Be kind enough to leave a caffe mocha in your review!