The World Without Fear

by optimus304

Sevreal months after the events of New Dawn, The Gang try to get thier lives back together. Aelita and Jeremy try to handle thier relationships, Odd tries to seek one with Sissi, And Ulrich and Yumi feel uncomforatble about the changes. Yet silently, Old villians will return. And new threats and problems which will Destroy the world that they love. Live In Fear.

6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5

Not Human

Aether dashed towards Odd and Aelita with incredible speed. He prepared two large, twisted daggers that cut through almost anything that their sharpened edges met. The beast stopped in front of Aelita and Odd, who were still reeling from previous attack, and sliced vertically.

Realizing what was going on, Odd quickly pulled Aelita out of the way. Sharp blades came within inches of their heads. The dagger slid right past Odd; he could see a glimpse of his reflection in the glint of the weapon. As soon as Odd side-stepped enough, he spun and pushed Aelita back. He turned around and unleashed a series of arrows towards Aether. His gloved hand flashed white as it snapped backwards a little from the recoil.

The arrows struck Aether in his side. Small white explosions appeared on the Titan's body as he flinched from the impacts. He ignored the pain, quickly twirled his daggers around his fingertips and threw them out in a spinning motion to both deflect and stop the arrows. The sound of metal meeting metal resonated from the blades as Aether successfully blocked the remainder of the arrows.
Aether quickly opened up one of his wings, as if in preparation for takeoff, and swiped his arm towards Odd.

Odd stepped backwards to avoid Aether's fist. He felt a sudden jolt in his side when Aether's extended wing struck him. The wing hit him with such intensity that it knocked him off his feet and onto the ground unforgivingly. Odd felt his body impact against the ground as he landed on his side. His body hit with such force that it knocked some of the sense out of him. No sooner had Odd landed onto the ground than he felt a sudden kick to his chest when Aether punted him like a soccer ball. The young teen was lifted off the ground and tumbled away, his body grinding along the golden stone path.

Before Aether could follow through with his attack, Aelita was on the offensive. The pink clad warrior tossed an energy field towards the Titan. The pink ball of energy made a low thumping noise as it fired from Aelita's hand. The blast hit Aether square in the knee, causing him to drop to his other knee as he squealed. Aether looked up in time to see the second orb approaching him. He quickly brought his arms around his head as he let his wings absorb the orb's impact. The blast scorched and charred the wings yet did not cause any damage to Aether himself.

Odd quickly lifted his left arm up to take aim at his opponent. A new series of laser arrows shot out of his arm as he slowly worked his way up onto his feet.

Aether felt his wings absorb the attacks of both Aelita and Odd. He realized that if his wings were destroyed, he would be incredibly vulnerable and more than likely at the mercy of these two teens, who after the attack Aether had recently failed to connect with would have no qualm in deleting him.
The winged Titan screamed loudly as he quickly jumped into the air in a twirling manner and finally spread his wings, allowing him to take flight. His thin, armored body zoomed at high speeds like a jet, leaving sharp contrails in his wake. He turned his body so he could avoid the arrows and energy fields approaching him. He soared past the top of the tower and landed on top of it. He kneeled down and slammed his fist into the side of the tower as he glanced downward menacingly like a gargoyle. His mouth was slightly open as he prepared his primary attack.

"Get down here and fight like a bird man!" Odd joked as he stood in front of Aelita.

"Aelita, get to the tower. Hurry!" Puck yelled as he stood next to Odd, grasping his staff in a defensive manner. "We'll handle Aether."

"You two be careful." Aelita said as she quickly stepped past her two colleagues.
She sprinted as hard as she could so she could make it to the tower before Aether noticed. She was aware that her opponent could more than likely see her making a break for the tower and there was no doubt Aether would do whatever it took to stop her. It was also apparent that their enemy was aware of how vulnerable they were as opposed to when they fought on an original sector. Seeing how Aether had no concern for her or Jeremy's life like Xervix did, the last Titan would have no problem watching her disappear from existence.

Aether watched as Aelita made a break for the tower. He kept a close eye on her; it seemed like she ignored him, which aggravated him greatly. He growled in disapproval as his mouth opened, preparing to fire a beam at the girl. An amber light emanated from deep inside his mouth. It glowed even brighter as the beam neared critical mass. Aether clenched his fists against the tower's surface. His knife-like nails scrapped and cut into its side as he felt the laser beam reach its full power.
Aether yelled as a thin crimson beam shot out of his mouth. The beam flashed brightly, then died down to its usual amber, orange color. It raced through the air as it traced along to its intended target – running Aelita.

"Aelita, look out!" Jeremy shouted, gathering his girlfriend's attention.

She glanced upwards in time to see the beam fire from Aether's mouth. One direct hit from that beam would mean devirtualization, and without the new sector being linked with the scanners, the Virtual Limbo awaited her. Aelita lunged to her left. Her body rolled into a ball as she felt the heat from the beam approaching her. She placed her hands on the ground in front of her and pushed off of the brickwork, allowing her to spring board off the ground and land in a kneeling position.

The beam hit the ground with a loud zapping noise. The orange energy cut through the ground and shot out through to the other side. The ground around the beam flickered green and shattered. A small pothole was where Aelita had once stood.

Aelita glanced up in time to see Aether preparing to unleash the second laser blast. She felt determination swell up inside of her. Aether would continue to hound and harass her and her friends until the beast was eventually destroyed or flew off like a coward. A thought raced through Aelita's mind. In order for them to defeat Aether and shut down the tower, she had to be as aggressive as possible.

Aelita held out her hands as she quickly formed a pair of pink energy balls. The orbs flickered like flames, crackling and hissing as they floated just above Aelita's palms. She took aim towards the top of the tower. When Aelita felt her aim was good enough, she tossed both of the pink fireballs like a pair of baseballs towards Aether. At the same time Aether unleashed his crimson orange beam, which cut through the air towards the 2 pink orbs like a pair of cars racing towards a collision.

As the two pink blasts struck the beam, their energies merged like two ingredients in a mixing bowl, slowly whirling and blending together until they detonated in a massive explosion. A large eruption of pink and orange energy in the form of a shock wave and dust flew in multiple directions.

The explosion forced Aether to leap off his perch on the tower and take off. The bird man screeched loudly in anger as he charged up another beam. His wings bent inwards like a hawk swooping in to capture its prey. Aether's body continued to pick up speed as he zeroed in on the ground below him. As the surface and his enemies came into view, Aether spread his wings and pulled up.

"Feel my wrath!" Aether shouted as his mouth opened, preparing a third laser beam.

Puck quickly ran past Odd and Aelita, twirling his staff around like a baton. As the staff rotated around his body, a yellow glow illuminated from the staff's hilt. Puck stopped twirling the staff and pointed it straight at Aether. A bolt of yellow electricity shot out, arched upwards and slammed into the Titan, followed by a loud thunder like noise from the impact.

The beam inside Aether's mouth dissipated as he tumbled and summer salted out of the air, falling hard onto the ground. Aether skidded a little until he came to a stop, his legs sticking high up in the air. He looked like a cartoon bird who had just crash-landed.

Aelita noticed she had an opportunity when she realized how far Aether was from the entrance to the tower. She had a clear shot towards it and felt confident that she could sneak inside without Aether interfering and finally link the scanners to the new sector.

"OK, I'm heading for the tower! Keep Aether busy!" she shouted at Odd and Puck.

"You got it, Birthday Princess!" Odd responded as he pointed his clawed hand towards Aether, who slowly began to stir.

Aelita lunged into a full on sprint. Her feet barely touched the ground as she sprinted with all her might towards the tower, leaving the sounds of ongoing battle behind her.

A white ripple flowed outwards as she slowly submerged herself into the tower's entrance. Passing through the tower felt like stepping into a vertical pool of water, comforting and relaxing. She ran towards the center. She closed her eyes as she felt her body being propelled into the air, like a leaf on the wind. Soon she found herself standing on the platform leading up to a control area for the tower.

Aelita walked over as a clear holo panel flickered on. She placed her hand on the panel and a white line raced up and down across her palm. As she removed her hand, the screen read her name in large text. Within a second the programs responsible for running the sector appeared on the screen.

"Jeremy, I'm at the controls. Are you ready?"

Earth.
The Lab.
Amines, France.

The low hum of the air conditioner kicked on as the once silent room was now a little more lively. The crisp air filled the room, cooling the equipment and three occupants of the lab. It seemed like the heat of the battle on Lyoko literally emanated on the real world.

Jeremy watched as the controls to the tower appeared on his computer screen. He started typing furiously as he ran through the different codes and programs that ran the supercomputer, the scanners and the new sector.

"I'm all set, Aelita. We need to hurry, Travis and George said the storm was approaching. And according to the weather radar it's heading in our direction."

The change in temperature had no effect on him. The only thing that mattered to the young boy now was stopping the attack that sprouted out of nowhere and almost ruined Aelita's birthday party... her first birthday since she was sealed inside the computer. That notion alone infuriated Jeremy to no end. The fact that the one person he cared about most in the world couldn't have at least one day to herself without her dark and horrid past trying to drag her down with it was enough to enrage him. But what made it more aggravating was that he had neglected to find a way to stop Xervix for good, leaving him to do as he pleased. As long as he and Aether were alive, Aelita would never be safe.

"The forecast for tonight called for clear and calm, didn't it?" Sissi asked.

"Yeah." Jeremy began to type in the commands to give him access to the sector. "There is no way that this is some random spring squall. Its too massive and too random."

"Are all of Xervix's attacks this bad?" Jessica asked.

"Well... Xervix has been pretty creative. His attacks seem more cunning and less random than Xana's. In comparison to Xervix, its attacks were a joke sometimes," Jeremy said.

"How so?"

"It... uh... it sent a food mountain after us... once there was a giant teddy bear..."

"A giant teddy bear? Why on Earth would a virtual program that is capable of launching powerful and vicious attacks send that?" Sissi asked. "Did Xana have mommy issues?"

"Uh, honestly, I have no idea even to this day." Jeremy said as he continued to type.

"A giant teddy bear. A Teddy Godzilla. That's really... intimidating..." Jessica barely restrained herself from bursting into laughter. "Tell me that wasn't the worst attack Xana ever launched?"

"Oh, there were some really bad ones, some we almost didn't walk away from," said Jeremy, "Like the one when Xana tried to overload a nuclear plant. And the one when it tried to crash two trains loaded with hazardous materials into each other. Not to mention the one when he almost fried us with a giant laser from a military satellite..."

As Jessica listened to Jeremy talking about near-death experiences with such nonchalance, her jaw slowly dropped to the floor.

"Okay, tell me more about that food mountain," she pleaded.

A loud roar of thunder caused Jeremy, Jessica and Sissi to jump at the sudden clash from the approaching storm. The metal walls resonated as if someone had just banged on each of them with a large strong fist. The loud clap of thunder echoed through the lab's walls for a few seconds until it slowly faded.

"I think right now a giant teddy bear sounds like bliss." Jessica said as she slowly stood up from her crouching position.

"That sounded really close." Sissi said with a slight tremble in her voice.

Jeremy glanced up at the ceiling. He had been in the lab during multiple thunderstorms and could never hear any thunder. They were several feet underground after all. To hear thunder this far down meant that the storm must have been extremely powerful and very close by.
He called out the screen with a weather radar for the city on it. The radar showed the streets and buildings around the factory with a small black line rotating around the center. However at the moment the radar only showed a massive sea of red slowly creeping along the city and in the very direction of the factory. What caught Jeremy's attention was a small clear opening in what appeared to be the center of the storm. It seemed to be the eye of the storm.

Jessica glanced at the radar map that Jeremy had pulled up on the monitor. She looked on as the large storm moved into the city limits and was projected to pass right over the factory. It seemed possible for the storm to hit the factory. Yet what made Jessica worry more wasn't the storm's trajectory, but rather its shape and size.

"Oh man, that looks more like a hurricane than anything else." Sissi commented.

"I'm going to call Travis and see how bad it is outside." Jessica pulled out her phone and quickly dialed Travis's number.
After a few rings, Jessica heard a click on the phone as she was greeted by Travis's voice. She turned on the loudspeaker mode so that everyone in the lab could hear.

"Hey, how bad is the storm and where is it?" she asked.

"It just entered the city," Travis said through the tiny speaker phone. "The wind's picked up and there is a slight drizzle falling, but the storm keeps getting stronger from the looks. It's acting weird. Every once in a while, a lightning bolt will hit a telephone pole or a piece of the city's municipal grid and drain the electricity out of it. Looks like it's storing up energy. I got a feeling once it hits the factory its going to drop everything on top of it like a bomb."

"It's absorbing all the ambient energy." Jeremy noted as he continued to work. "Like a sponge soaking up the spilled water. It's traveling along and siphoning off what it can before it heads this way and uses that energy as a weapon!"

"OK, how long do you think it will take till it gets to the factory?" Jessica asked.

"20 minutes, give or take." Travis said. Jessica could hear a boom of thunder come from both the phone call and the walls of the factory.

"Can this place survive a strike like that?" Sissi asked Jeremy.

"The lab, yes... But the factory, no."

Sissi gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"The lab serves as a fall out shelter. But if that storm hits the factory above, it will cause it to cave in and more than likely trap us in here. All the debris and rubble from the plant above would be hard to remove, and let's not forget that this is a condemned factory after all."

"And since no one besides a few people in America know the lab's location, we would be down here for quite a while... unless Travis and George survive the storm." Jessica commented.

Jeremy took another glance at the weather radar. He could see the storm was indeed larger and more solid in mass.

"That's no storm... It's a space station."

Lyoko

The Sky Sector

Ever since they split up from Odd, Puck and Aelita, Ulrich and the others had been fighting a countless swarm of Hornets and Mantas. Each time one of there opponents had been destroyed, two more would appear. Soon a swarm had enough monsters to almost block out the virtual sun. It was as if a hive somewhere had been disturbed and the occupants were out for blood. Ulrich, Yumi and William were lucky to have survived this long, however they were quickly being overrun with flying foes.

Ulrich landed on the ground next to Yumi after destroying a Hornet.

"Man, what I would give for a huge fly swatter right now!" Yumi joked as she caught her fan after throwing it towards a group of Mantas.

"More coming in!" William shouted as he blocked a blast from a Hornet with his sword.

A large formation of Hornets followed by a pack of Mantas flew in a dive bomb style formation towards the three warriors. Small red rings circled around the front of their bodies as they prepared to open fire.

Yumi tossed her fans towards the incoming swarm. She watched as one fan managed to cut one of the Hornet's top section off, causing it to explode. But her second fan missed completely.
"They just keep coming!" Yumi said as she caught both of her fans. "We need to think of something fast or we're gonna devirtualize any second now!"

Four of the Hornets flew in low to the ground and started firing laser shots in recession. The lasers peppered the ground like raindrops, causing rocks and sand to bounce off the ground as the lasers flowed upwards towards the Warriors.

Yumi quickly cart wheeled out of the way of the oncoming laser fire. Her agility and quick reflexes made her a hard target for any creature on Lyoko, but in situations such as this, where there was more than one enemy attacking her, Yumi would have to keep on her toes as much as possible – so much that she was unable to go on the offensive.

"At this rate we wont survive much longer," Ulrich said as he reflected a laser blast from a Hornet. "We're about to be over-run!"

William unleashed a blue wave from his sword. The wave shattered two of the marauding Mantas like they were nothing. As William turned around to face Ulrich and Yumi, he glanced up to see a large group of monsters approaching them. The large formation consisted of at least 15 or so monsters heading directly for them. He knew that Odd, Aelita and Puck usually had no problem engaging the Hornets, but William and Ulrich were more suited for ground base combat, and Yumi could only fire two projectiles at once. A group of monsters this massive could deliver a deadly blow to any of them.
William glanced back at Yumi, who was preparing to toss a second salvo of fans towards the battle group, when inspiration struck him.

"Jeremy? How are our life points looking?" he asked.

"You and Ulrich are down to 75%. Yumi's down to 69%" Jeremy said over the intercom.

"Means we need to do something stat. But I might hate it as much as Ulrich will." William said with doubt in his mind. "Hey, Yumi! Can you do that fan move where you use your telekinesis to separate your fans and toss them like you did in the cave sector?"

Yumi turned around and glanced at William in confusion. "I can, but the problem is you guys are here and if I use it, I might hit you."

"What if you were closer to them?" William asked as he unleashed an energy wave from his sword.

"I could, but I would need a vehicle, and I don't think we're registered for this sector yet." Yumi said as she rolled to the left from a laser impact. She was slightly breathless due to her constant movements.

"Maybe I could use my Smoke to lift you up there?"

Yumi and Ulrich glanced over at William in confusion.
"I'll get you close to them and you use your shrapnel attack. And if anything goes wrong, Ulrich can use his Grapple Beam to pull you back."

"That might work," Yumi wondered. "But still..."

"No way! What if something went wrong? Need I remind you two that we're in a new sector and have no means of getting out?" Ulrich said.

The group of Hornets suddenly let loose their barrage of laser fire. A large barrage of lasers flew from their stingers as the Mantas followed up with their own laser blasts. Bright red streaks of energy filled the sky as the lasers closed in on the trio.

William slammed his sword into the ground and took cover behind it. He heard the laser blasts ping and ting off his sword as he hunched up as much of his form as possible. His sword began to glow blue as he stood up and grabbed it. He swung his sword; a red and blue wave of energy shot out of the sword's blade. However, the Hornets had ample time to see the blast coming and maneuvered away.

Ulrich tried to block most of the blasts, but a few managed to hit him, causing him to hunch over as sparks snapped and crackled from his arm. Suddenly he felt his body being pulled away from the laser fire. His body zipped through the air at an incredible speed until he felt an arm wrap around his waist. He looked over to find that Yumi was the one who caught him. She used her telekinesis to pull him out of danger. She quickly threw Ulrich behind a large pillar. The lasers began to eat away at it.

No sooner had the laser began than it stopped. The squadron of Hornets and Mantas flew past the 3 warriors. The monsters screeched and whined with the approval of their actions as they slowly prepared to regroup for a second run.

"You got any other ideas?" William asked as he stood up and grabbed his sword. "Look, I don't wanna do it as much as you two do. But we're running out of options here."

Ulrich looked up towards Yumi who gave him a faint smile. With hesitation in his mind, Ulrich nodded as he stood up.

"OK, let's do this." Yumi smiled as she pulled out both her fans. "Jeremy, what's the status of the others?"

"Aether's fighting them right now. Aelita's in the tower, it's gonna take us a few more minutes to connect the Scanners." Jeremy said.

"We don't have a few minutes..." Yumi sighed.

She nodded at William, who started to twirl his hand as a white smoke began to trace around his hand.

"Save your high jump boots in case something goes wrong." Ulrich said as he placed his swords in their sleeves.

"Um, guys... what are you doing?" Jeremy asked in concern.

"Giving these new upgrades a try." Ulrich explained.

Yumi leaned over and kissed Ulrich on the lips. "For good luck."

"If anything goes wrong, we will bring you back in no matter what," William said as he glanced down at the white smoke forming around his arm. His hand spun faster as he looked over towards Yumi. "Ready?"

"I'm ready." Yumi answered.
With that, Yumi started running towards the edge of the sector and to the oncoming swarm of flying monsters. Her head began to glow white as she prepped her telekinesis. As she approached the edge of the sector, she leapt high into the air, holding her arms out to her side while grasping her fans firmly in her hands. Within a few seconds of jumping off the edge of the sector, Yumi felt a slight movement on her lower section which seemed to propel her further along.

William threw his hand out towards Yumi; a plume of white smoke flowed from his arm and towards the girl. The smoke caught up with Yumi as she jumped off the edge of the sector. The white vapor enveloped the purple clad ninja like fog and wrapped around her lower body. As soon as the smoke completely enveloped Yumi, William pushed some more through the plume trail and into the cloud. The smoke William pushed into the cloud acted like a pulse, allowing the main smoke trail to push the girl further away from the ledge and closer towards the swarm.

Yumi closed her eyes tightly as she concentrated hard, focusing on her telekinetic powers. The entire world fell silent around her as her telekinesis was kicking in to its full potential. Yet in order for Yumi to use her shrapnel attack, she had to focus deeper to the point where it felt as if her mind was about to shatter. As Yumi concentrated more and more, she could hear a distinct sound echoing through the silent void, a faint, rhythmic pattern. Yumi could feel the pulsing energy that her virtual form was capable of producing flow through her body. It was a clear sign she was ready.

Yumi slowly opened her eyes, revealing a bright white glow, indicating that she had reached the limit of her overcharge capabilities. A bright light illuminated from her fans as she released her hold on them, letting the fans hang to her side like they were attached to a pair of chains. The fans slowly shifted and twisted as their metal blades separated and slowly began to rotate around her body, gaining speed with each interval made, while Yumi came within a few feet of the approaching swarm of monsters.
Yumi's head began to tingle and throb; she was running out of energy and could not hold up the overcharge for much longer. She could only use Telekinesis for a short period of time before it drained her completely and left her sluggish and exhausted. And usually when Yumi used her Overcharge, she could only use it for a couple of seconds before it started to take its toll on her stamina. The short haired Asian gritted her teeth and cringed her lips as she fought to keep her focus.

"Just a bit closer!" Yumi grunted loudly.

The squad of monsters opened fire on the approaching, flying teenager. Their laser blasts hit the small rotating pieces of Yumi's fan due to their speed and motion of the broken pieces of serrated, metal fans. Some pieces were destroyed on impact, while others managed to reflect the blasts in the opposite direction.
Yumi finally estimated that she was close enough to do the most effective damage. Yumi gave her war cry as she finally threw out her hand; the jagged, sharp pieces flew past her like a swarm of bees. As the final piece left her sight, she began to feel light headed and dizzy. Her body shook as she clenched her fists.

The fans flew at high speeds and met with the swarm head on. The sharp and jagged knife-like blades tumbled and whipped through the air as the main front of the shrapnel attack cut right through the swarm with ease like a blowtorch through butter. The small blades perforated the bodies of the monsters; several monsters took multiple hits. Some of them were ripped in half and chopped to ribbons by the sheer power of the attack. A few of the Hornets that were in the swarm were pierced and punctured as razor sharp shrapnel cut though them. Some of the monsters died instantly while others began to fall apart. The Mantas screeched in agony as every hit from Yumi's blast caused them to lose even more life points. The last Manta tried to bank left, but was instead cut clean down the middle as the remaining fan pieces destroyed the struggling monsters that desperately tried to stay airborne.

Yumi couldn't hold her mental grasp on the fan blades any longer. With a loud sigh she fell backwards as she let go of the fans. Tension caused by the mental grasp was released from her mind. A strong tingling sensation went through her body, followed by loss of senses. Yumi closed her eyes as she tried to catch her breath. She was so tired from using her Overcharge for so long that she felt as if she had just gone 10 rounds with Muhammad Ali.

William felt the remainder of his smoke flow out of his arm and into the air, propelling Yumi. As William felt the smoke begin to dissipate and fade out, he quickly proceeded to bring Yumi back closer towards the ledge in anticipation for the smoke to eventually run out so that Ulrich could quickly launch his Grapple Beam and grab her in the worst chance that the smoke would fade out before Yumi was brought to the ledge.

"Ulrich, get ready." William said as he tried to release more smoke out of his virtual form.

William's Super Smoke was similar to Odd's Shield. William was capable of creating large amounts of smoke while on Lyoko subconsciously. However during prolonged use such as in current situation, William could run out of smoke and would eventually need to produce more.

"I'm ready." Ulrich said as he aimed for Yumi.

"Go ahead and get her. My smoke's about to go out any minute now." William said.

Ulrich threw his arm behind him as if he was preparing to throw a large whip. A blue wire shot out of the Grapple Beam launcher and landed directly behind him. When the beam shot out to its full length, the young teen quickly whipped his arm in front of him with the blue laser like wire flying close behind, like the line to a fishing pole. The wire traveled through the air as it approached Yumi, who was slowly floating back towards the platform. The beam snagged onto the girl's spine and made contact, securing a line to the sector's ground... and Yumi's life.

Yumi could hardly feel anything when she was quickly and sternly pulled back to safety. The only thing she remembered were Ulrich's arms around her chest as he caught her. She felt her chin rest on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her torso.
As Yumi regained consciousness, she realized she was looking into the eyes of her caring boyfriend who was holding her in his arms in a kneeling position. A slight smile graced her face as she realized that the risky move paid off and she was safe... for the time.

"Nice catch," Yumi sighed while she held her hand up to her head.

William walked over and glanced at Yumi as she slumped in Ulrich's arms. "Is she OK?"

"I think so." Ulrich said as he moved the stray, virtual bangs from her face, while gently holding the worn out Yumi.

Yumi moaned and shook from exhaustion as she opened her eyes, glancing up towards her two friends who greeted her with a smile.

"I swear it always takes a lot out of me to use that move." Yumi said as she drooped her head down. She moved her hair out of her face as she smiled at the others. "It's not as easy as the comics make it out to be."

"Hey, you did it though." Ulrich said.

Their celebration was cut short by a low growl. The three warriors turned to see a group of Blocks approaching them. Their small red legs clinked on the ground as they made a B line. No sooner had the Blocks appeared than a large group of Sentries came from behind. Their thin, skeletal bodies glistened in the skylight of the sector.

William grunted a little as he turned around and glanced at his colleagues.

"How long does it usually take for Yumi to recover?"

"A few minutes." Ulrich said as he sat her down on the ground next to a Greek like pillar.

"You gonna stay and protect her?" William asked.

Yumi let go of Ulrich as she leaned back against. She grunted as she sat up. Yumi never liked to seem weak or defenseless. In fact, she felt a little embarrassed at the moment. The knowledge that she would have to wait to regain her composure before joining the battle was uncomfortable. Yet she knew it was something she had to do after such a destructive attack.

"Go... I just need a minute." Yumi said, a little louder.

"I will keep an eye on you, I promise." Ulrich said with a smile.

"Just be careful, you silly boy..."

"I always am." Ulrich joked back as he winked. He drew his swords once more as he walked over and stood shoulder to shoulder with the much taller William.

"Oh... so you're gonna fight with me, eh?" William asked.

"Well, I can't let you have all the fun, can I?" Ulrich joked back.

William smirked. He balanced his sword on his shoulder as he surveyed the approaching group of monsters. Whenever the others were faced with such a group, they would either run or call for backup. But William saw it as an easy workout or brawl. He welcomed the challenge. Even now he knew he could take most, if not all the monsters that stepped up for the challenge. He was after all considered the muscle or brawn of the group.

"They're gonna need more monsters..."

"You think so?" Ulrich asked.

The line of Blocks came to a halt as Sentries and Defenders took up their position just behind them. Their weapons began to charge up as they prepared for their assault.

"I know so." William took his sword off his shoulder and held it with one hand. "Seeing as how we have to wait for Yumi to recover...wanna have a competition?" he suggested, nudging Ulrich's arm. "Bet I can beat more monsters than you?"

"You're on!" Ulrich said with a smile as he drew his swords.

Back in the tower, Aelita worked furiously as she opened different functions and command prompts for the Sky Sector on the terminal. Her hands swiped and pressed against different panels and windows in search for a way to sync the sector up with the Supercomputer. She was under pressure of time, for every second the computer wasn't synced up, her friends would suffer badly after losing all their life points. It had happened before and even though Jeremy was able to recover them in the past,

they would return incredibly weak and sick. The first time it happened, Yumi was sent home with a severe case of exhaustion. Even with the help of the RTTP program, she was so weak that she could hardly leave her bed. Having that in mind, Aelita refused to let any of her friends come to any harm.

Finally, a window popped up on the panel, indicating that the tower's server system was prepared to synchronize with the Supercomputer and the scanners.

"Jeremy, I'm all set."

"Wow, you got faster." Jeremy remarked, causing Aelita to grin. "I'm almost ready on this end. Just a few more minutes and you guys can head for the tower."

"How's everyone else faring?" Aelita asked.

"Puck and Odd are keeping Aether busy. William, Ulrich and Yumi are hanging in there... and Travis and George are tracking the storm. We have about 15 minutes till it gets here."

Aelita cringed at the idea of the factory being destroyed with Jeremy in it. While she would be safe and sound, if something like a piece of metal or a beam came lose and struck Jeremy... She didn't want to even think of what would happen.

"Then you need to hurry." she demanded.

"I'm trying. I've almost got it."

Back in the lab Jeremy typed ferociously in attempt to catch up with Aelita. Time was of the essence and he needed to act fast. He wondered – if the storm did manage to destroy the factory, would it stop there or would it threaten the rest of the city, the country, even the world?
Just then, the radar for the sector went off, alerting to the presence of a new group of monsters entering the sector. Jeremy grunted loudly in annoyance. He was just too busy with work to see what it was. Yet he knew he had to warn the others. He turned around in his chair quickly and spotted the ladies watching over his shoulder. He knew he might be asking for a little too much, but he had no other choice. He needed the extra help. With Aether pouring monsters into the sector like water, it was a no brainier that they would continue to trickle in.

"I need one of you girls' help." Jeremy said hesitantly.

"What do you need?" Jessica responded, perking her head right up.

"Can you take the spare headset and tell the others what is approaching them?"

Jessica paused a little in confusion. She had never actually worked with the computer before. She usually watched Jeremy work on it while relaying info from Travis and George, or she would usually accompany them. The large intimidating machine made her laptop look like a child's toy, and yet here Jeremy wanted her to help him alert the others.

"How do I do that?"

"Uh... let me help you." Sissi said as she walked over to a brand new tablet monitor that Jeremy had requested from the FBI. Ever since announcing their existence to the world, and with the help of Travis and George, Jeremy was able to upgrade the equipment in their lab.

Sissi grabbed the monitor that showed the map system for Lyoko and rotated it so that Jessica could observe it. She then grabbed the spare headset and plugged it into the switch board next to where Jeremy's main head set was plugged into. Sissi handed the confused CIA officer the headset as she explained how the radar system worked.

"OK... you just click on the monitor whenever a red dot or triangle shows up. It tells you what it is and how dangerous it is. Then scroll with your finger till you find the nearest green dot, which is the others. Once you click on it, you can warn them of what's going on."

Jeremy turned around, dumbfounded. He stared at the brunette in confusion as he tried to figure out how she had learned the workings of the computer.

"How did you learn that?" he asked.

"Aelita showed me a while back after we got back. It's like playing Plants VS Zombies on an iPhone." Sissi said.

Jeremy stared at Sissi, speechless. He tried to explain the workings of the super computer to the others for years, only to be met with blank stares. Yet here was Sissi, one of the newest members of the team who actually learned how work the radar system of the Supercomputer with ease. Perhaps it meant that his approach was completely off.

"OK. I think I got it then," Jessica said.

She raised her slender fingers and pressed the finger tip of her index finger on the small red object that was making the alert noise. A small card like screen opened up, revealing the image of a Megatank. The large black ball like monster confused and stunned Jessica in an instant as she tried to understand what she was looking at. She expected something more sinister, like something along the lines of the Alien of Predator or a robotic like lizard... not a large bouncy ball.

"Is this what they fight? A black bowling ball?" Jessica asked as she pointed at it.

"That's... What is that?" Sissi asked in confusion.

"It's called a Megatank," Jeremy said over his shoulder. "Don't let its looks deceive you. It's quite deadly."

"OK, well, now that we see it's a... ball thing. We just need to find the person closest to that monster and click on them, it will open the com link to them." Sissi said, trying to instruct the CIA operative.

"Who is it closest to?" Jessica asked.

"Looks like... Yumi, I think." Sissi said as she glanced up at the ceiling.

"I think this might be her." Jessica said as she scrolled over to one of the small green dots and clicked on it. "This is easier than I thought." Jessica whispered to herself as she placed the microphone in her ear.

"Uh...Yumi? This is Jessica, do you hear me?"

No sound came through the headset. "Yumi? It's Jessica...are you there?"

After a few seconds' pause, Jessica heard a response come through on the headset. Jessica smiled as she thought she got it right, only to realize something when she recognized the voice.

"Uhhh... Jessica, this is Odd. Yumi's not here."

Jessica's eyes widened at the sound of Odd's response. She had gotten it wrong.

"Oops, sorry, uh... wrong number."

She scrolled over to the second group of warriors who were fighting a large amount of monsters. She noticed that one of the warriors was hanging back towards the rear and after seeing the events happen with Yumi's shrapnel attack, it had to be Yumi. Or was it? She had gotten it wrong the first time and if she continued to trace through the children while they were fighting, she might become a distraction and cause one of them to slip up and injure themselves or worse. Jessica wasn't sure, not after her little accidental encounter with Odd. But the Megatank was close... extremely close. And it was heading towards the very dot that Jessica thought was Yumi. It was now or never.

"Uh..Yumi? Are you there?" Jessica asked hesitantly, tightening up in suspense.

There was a pause on the headset followed by the sound of someone speaking through the receiver.

"Jessica? What's wrong?" Yumi said with a confused voice.

Jessica let out a sigh of relief as she relaxed her body, sweat was forming on her brow. "Oh thank God I got it right this time." Jessica whispered. "You have no idea how it feels to know I got it right that time."

"Uh... OK. What's going on?" Yumi asked.

"There is this... Um, well, there's a thing... approaching your position." Jessica responded.

"A thing? What does it look like?"

"It's a bowling ball thing with... gold on its sides."

"A bowling ball? You mean, a Megatank?"

"It's a... big ball with eyes on it."

Yumi listened to Jessica as she tried to make sense of what she was saying. It sounded like a jumble of words caused by confusion and stress. It was obvious that Jessica was nervous and concerned, yet she had to get herself together so that Yumi could understand just what she was talking about.

"Yeah, that's a Megatank. And it's heading my way?"

Jessica looked to her left at the radar towards the creature in question. There was no doubt it was heading somewhere, but was Jessica absolutely sure that it was moving towards Yumi and her group? Or was the large round creature actually moving elsewhere... possibly towards Odd and the others.
Jessica showed the screen to Sissi. "This is going for Yumi and the others, right?"

Sissi cut her off as she realized something was wrong with how Jessica was contacting the others. "If that is the nearest group towards that monster then yeah, it's heading for Yumi and her group."

"But it looks like it's closer to Odd." Jessica said as she pointed towards Ulrich's location.

"That's not a monster... That's Puck." Sissi said. "Look. You can see his ID card right above his green dot. Monsters are red and that Megatank is heading towards Yumi and her group. You were looking towards the wrong group."

"Maybe it would have been better if I worked the radar first to show Jessica how it's done." Sissi thought.

"OK then..." Jessica understood as she uncovered her mike so that Yumi could hear. "Yumi! It's definitely heading towards you guys."

"Are you sure?" Yumi asked.

"Yeah, I got you guys confused with the monsters. Which was silly of me because once a clicked on your icon, a picture of your face popped up on it."

Unbeknownst to Yumi, the Megatank that Jessica had informed her of just rolled onto the scene and was heading directly towards her. The large ball shaped monster rolled down the rock like path and came to a stop just a few yards behind Yumi. Its target had no idea that the large ball like beast was right behind her. The large metal ball split in half, revealing a New Dawn symbol. It pointed its cannon towards Yumi as it prepared to fire.

"OK, how long till it gets here?"

"Looks like its ETA is... uh oh."

"Uh oh? What do you mean uh..." Yumi said until she heard the shell of the Megatank open up. She realized what Jessica meant.
"Oh."
Yumi quickly spun around in time to see the tank already taking aim at her. Yumi's face froze as she watched the tank's eye pulse even faster and then pause. William sliced through a second laser blast when he heard the whirling noise coming from the Megatank. He turned around fast to see Yumi facing down the newly arrived monster.

"Yumi, look out!" William shouted, gathering Ulrich's attention.

Yumi slowly backed up as she instinctively reached for her fans. She met an empty pocket on her back as she realized that she had destroyed them by using her overcharge attack. She quickly felt around deeper inside the pocket when a thick round object landed in her hand. She pulled out the object and suddenly recognized the staff she had received as her upgrade.
Yumi held the small tube in her hand as she felt around it. The staff suddenly extended, becoming as tall as Yumi herself. The girl soon realized that she may in fact have a chance against the Megatank. She held her left hand out while she firmly held her staff behind her back as she prepared to defend herself.
The Megatank suddenly jerked backwards as it fired its laser like wall. The beam cut through the ground of the Sky sector, chiseling away at the ground that stood between it and Yumi.

Yumi quickly swung her staff out in front of her and sliced at the beam. The staff managed to stop the beam dead in its tracks as Yumi held her ground. Her feet planted firmly in place as she gritted her teeth. She felt her arms shake from the force of the beam as it continued to push with all of its might. Yet all the while she held herself in place as she slowly began to push herself forward, her feet slowly but steadily moving forward as she pushed with all her might. The laser suddenly retracted as the Megatank used up all of its energy. The metal ball folded back together as it prepared for a second attack.

Yumi quickly regained her composure and sprinted towards the Megatank. Even though she was still weak from using her telekinesis, she still had enough strength to attack the monster, and she knew that if the Megatank was allowed to survive, it would be a huge problem for them later.
Yumi watched as the Tank prepared for the second assault. Golden light pulsated around its sides as its shell suddenly opened up, revealing its large saucer shaped eye, glowing and pulsating faster as it prepared for round two.

"Oh please, let me hit it!" Yumi prayed as she leapt into the air.

Yumi raised the staff up in a striking position as she targeted the monster's weak spot. Once she hit the peak of her jump, she flinched her legs, allowing for her High Jump Boots to give her a second jump. Yumi closed in on the monster as the boots allowed her to rise above the Megatank's height and close in on its cannon.

The pulsating light stopped as the eye glowed brightly, preparing to fire its main weapon.

Yumi plunged the end of the staff into the Tank's eye. She pressed with all her might to make sure that the staff penetrated the into the monster's weak point. As Yumi sank the staff deeper into the monster's eye, she heard a loud crunching and sheering noise, as if a soda can was being crushed; a clear sign she had just dealt a damaging blow to the Megatank. The monster began to shake and sizzle as the damage to the beast's systems was too high. Sparks flowed from the hole that its Asian opponent had delivered. The Megatank swayed back and forth on its rotating shell as it built up to explode.

"Time to go!" Yumi shouted as she leapt off the monster's eye, leaving her staff inside its wound.

The eye sizzled and crackled as it tried to fire its primary weapon, however the staff blocked its projectile from leaving its chamber. Pieces of the creature's body began to crack and rupture as golden light shot out through the cracks. The Megatank finally yielded to its injuries and exploded into a mess of pixels and pieces. The force of the explosion threw the staff into the air in a rotating fashion. However, before the staff could fly off the ledge of the sector and disappear in the digital sea, it suddenly outlined in white as it jerked into the air, right back into Yumi's hands.

"Now that was impressive!" Ulrich shouted so that Yumi could hear.

"Oh, I am so gonna love this weapon... Thanks for the heads up though, Jessica." Yumi said as she rotated her staff and prepared to join the others in their battle against the Sentries and Defenders.

"Sorry I couldn't get you some accurate info." Jessica said.

"No, it's OK. You did warn me of the Tank," Yumi said as she ran towards the battle. "You just need some fine tuning is all."

Jessica breathed heavily as relief filled her body. She felt as though she had screwed up and placed Yumi's life in danger. Yet after hearing Yumi's remarks she felt quite better about herself.

"Well on that note... Thanks for helping me, Sissi."

Sissi nodded and smiled as her bangs tilted to the side of her face."Yeah, I will definitely work the radar next time. Poor Jessica looked like she was about to have a panic attack."

Meanwhile, in the other part of the sector, Aether slowly stood up after being knocked down by Puck. After being shot out of the air and plummeting to the ground, he was more embarrassed than he was injured. The birdman growled in deep anger and hatred for the duo that stood in front of him now. He leaned his face forward as he kneeled down on the ground, preparing to strike. He placed his right palm on the ground and prepared his legs for a take off like thrust.
Rage slowly filled every inch of his programmed being. His claw like fingers scratched along the ground as he formed a fist. He hated these humans, he hated every fiber of them. They were disgusting to him. The way they breathed, the way the talked, the way they acted, he hated every single one of them. But most of all, he hated the gang. They refuted his actions, they refused to let him succeed, and they refused to die.

But what he hated more than the humans was the A.I. that opposed him. A pathetic, weak being who wished it was human. A shell of life that fought against its kind. Puck made Aether sick. The nerve of a creature like Puck standing up for weak creatures that had no purpose or use in life, even going as far as to call one of them his "sister". Aether saw this as a true sin against himself, against his programming and an insult to his very being.
Aether slowly stood up. His knees buckled from the impact of the fall, but his anger refused to subside.

He watched as Odd and Puck slowly approached. Odd waved his hand over the small touch screen on his arm as ice formed on his right paw. Puck placed the end of his staff on the ground as blue energy shot from the hilt of the staff all the way up to the top, powering up his primary weapon for round two.

Aether's face twisted in anger towards his enemies. He growled as he bared his twisted silver teeth.

"You freaks...You miserable excuses for lifeforms!" Aether shouted as he stood up. "I will burn you all alive!"

"Heard that line before..." Puck joked as he placed his arms on his hips.

"Yeah, no kidding. You seriously need some new material." Odd commented.

Aether folded his wings behind his arms as he charged towards the duo. He held his hand out as he prepared to scratch away at his targets.

Odd was caught off guard by Aether's quick movement. He quickly lifted up his hand; a shiny ball of ice shot out of his arm cannon towards Aether. The ball of ice glistened in the light of the Sky sector as it raced towards its intended target. A faint steam of white mist emanated from the ball as it flew in the air.

Seeing Odd fire an Ice Ball towards him, Aether quickly lowered his left elbow and moved his feet to the other side, which allowed him to quickly side step as he continued to charge towards his enemies.

Puck quickly grabbed his staff and spun around in the air. Puck stopped spinning the staff and pointed it towards Aether. A bolt of yellow, lightning like energy shot out. The laser flew towards Aether with great speed as it whistled in the air.

Aether jumped into the air as the laser passed under him. His feet hit the ground, running as he closed the distance between him and his two enemies. He closed his fist and landed a straight punch into Odd's face, causing the purple clad teen to fall to the ground. No sooner had Aether hit Odd square in the mouth than he landed a direct hit to Puck as well. As the two warriors tumbled backwards, Aether knelt down and kicked Puck in the back with incredible strength. The blow to Puck's back caused him to lurch forward, knocking him into Odd and sending the two of them flying through the air and landing a few feet away. Both warriors slid along the ground, tumbling and rolling along the way.

Eventually, Odd landed on his back and slowly came to a stop. Before Odd knew it, he felt a sudden impact hit him in the chest as Puck landed right on top of him.
"Hey, watch it!" Odd protested.

"You watch it." Puck sarcastically responded.

Odd moaned as he tried to stand up. He felt light headed and dizzy, it was clear that he had just lost a lot of life points. He slowly pushed Puck off him when he saw Aether's shadow slide along the ground and stop right above him. Odd quickly pushed Puck off him as he saw Aether preparing to land right on top of him with both of his daggers held in a downward, thrust like position. Odd rolled out of the way in time; Aether's daggers landed directly where Odd's chest had once been.

Puck quickly jumped up and ran towards Aether. The elf like A.I. quickly jumped and planted both of his feet into the birdman's face in a drop kick fashion, causing Aether to lose his balance a little.
Aether regained his composure and spread open his claw like hands. He sliced towards Puck as he tried to slash the virtual goblin to shreds... in vain.

Puck kicked Aether's feet as he pushed himself away from the Titan, in time for his foe's hand to slam into the ground. Puck rolled to the left as Aether tried to slice Puck up with his other hand.

By this time, Odd was already up on his feet. The young teen quickly punched Aether in the back towards the base of his spine. Aether quickly spun around with his hand extended in an attempt to hit Odd as well. Odd quickly caught onto Aether's arm with one hand as he hopped into the air, while holding on to Aether's wrist. Odd quickly delivered a series of kicks to Aether's chest. As soon as the last foot hit Aether's chest, Odd let go and quickly punched Aether right in the face.

The Titan felt Odd's fist impact slam into his jaw as the weight of the attack lifted him off his feet.

Puck jumped onto Aether's shoulders and wrapped his legs around Aether's neck. He then bent his upper body backwards and used his momentum to flip Aether behind him. As soon as Puck was about to land on his belly, the virtual warrior released his grasp on Aether's neck, sending the Titan flying a few feet away.

Aether felt his body sail through the air until he planted his feet down on the ground and caught himself. Aether then turned around to see Puck running up to him with his staff. Aether opened his beak and charged up his laser beam. When Puck was close enough, Aether released the beam. Yet his foe was too fast. Puck ran right past him with the beam close on Puck's heels.

Odd took advantage of Aether's focus on Puck and quickly jumped onto Aether's back, wrapping his arm around Aether's neck as he tried to take control of the beast. Odd held on tight as Aether wiggled and bucked like a wild bull.

"GET OFF ME WORM!" Aether shouted as he fought to throw Odd off him.

Aether opened his wings and jumped into the air, with Odd still on his back. The force from Aether's jump almost cost Odd his grip. But the young teen tightened his grip as he fired a sequence of laser arrows into Aether's back. Aether screeched in pain. The flying Titan performed a barrel roll in an attempt to shake his foe off him.

Odd felt his feet whip around in the air, his grip loosened as Aether hit the peak of his barrel roll. His hand, which was locked around Aether's neck, began to slip. The G-force that Aether was producing was too much for him. Odd quickly kicked Aether in the back, causing the Titan to loose altitude and fall towards the ground.

Aether fleshed out his wings in an attempt to avoid hitting the ground. The beast man managed to rise upwards before coming into contact with the surface of the sector.

Odd jumped off Aether's back and landed on the ground. The Neko boy selected his wave beam and fired at Aether. Pink and red streaks shot through the air, but missed their target as Aether swooped and twirled through the air.

"Jeremy, are you done yet?" Odd asked.

"Almost. Just hang in there" Jeremy replied.

"Will the two of you quit flirting and hurry?" Puck asked.

Aether landed on the ground with a loud slam. His face showed signs of anger, rage, stress, and hatred.
"I will finish this now!" he shouted.

"Isn't that what you said a while back on Earth? As I recall, you ran off like chicken that day." Odd joked.

"Well then, I guess that would make sense. Aether is really an oversized chicken after all." Puck added.

"IDIOTS! I AM THE GOD OF THE AIR!" Aether shouted.

"More like the god of crash landings." Odd joked.

"I wonder Odd, exactly how many times has Aether hit the ground?" Puck asked

"I'm not sure...We need a counter like what they have in that DBZ Abridged show for the amount of times Krillin gets owned... Never liked Krillin anyways."

Aether slowly let his hands drop down to his sides as he realized he was being made fun of... again.

"Like an Aether counter?" Puck joked.

"Yup. I'm pretty sure he's at triple digits now." Odd chuckled.

"STOP MAKING FUN OF ME!" Aether shouted.

"What? We're just stating the obvious." Odd said.

"GRR! STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!" Aether shouted, stomping his feet into the ground.

"Uh oh... Looks like the truth hurt a little to much, Odd." Puck giggled a little.

Aether suddenly stopped stomping his feet and looked up towards the two enemies before him.

"Face it, Aether. You're not Xervix and you're not a threat. In reality it's fun to see you get hurt." Puck joked. "You get this look of. "I pissed myself" Before you hit the ground or get hurt."

"GRRR! SHUT UP AND TAKE A LOOK AT YOURSELVES! YOU TWO LOOK LIKE THE REJECTS TO A JAPANESE VIDEO GAME!" Aether shouted.

"We may look like a pair of video game characters, but at least we're not Xervix's little minion," Odd said.

"I AM NOT HIS MINION! I AM HIS EQUAL!" Aether retorted.

"Can't be the god of air if you take orders from a higher power." Puck said as he lifted his right hand up towards Odd. "Hit it?"

Odd bro-fisted the shorter elf in acknowledgement.

"THIS HAS GONE FAR ENOUGH!" Aether shouted as he opened his mouth, preparing to fire his laser.

Odd and Puck continued to stare at Aether without intimidation.

"You're adorable...you really are, aren't you." Odd joked.

Aether closed his mouth and looked towards his opponents. His pride had just been crushed.

"Face it Aether. You're nothing but an imitation. You're no god of the air, just a phony stand in until Xervix decides to get rid of you," Puck commented.

Suddenly, Aether grinned a little as he looked towards Puck. Now the fingers were pointing towards Puck and not Aether.

"Oh. Are you sure you're the one to talk, aren't you, peon?"

"What does that mean?" Puck asked.

"You talk about pretending to be someone I'm not, right? Yet you continue to act like something you can never be."

Puck tilted his head and blinked as he wondered just what exactly Aether meant.

"Well, if you're referring to Puck being the slam dunk master in the air to ground classic, then there's no way in hell he would want to be as good as you." Odd joked.

"No, not that. I meant Puck being a traitor and a defective program."

Puck squinted his eyes as he questioned if Aether's words would make sense or if he was just buying his time like always.

"You are a pitiful excuse for coding and programming. And because of that defect in you, you are nothing more but a traitor to our kind. You should stand beside us... but instead, you chose the humans." Aether said.

"Well duh... Humanity is at fault in many ways but I believe helping them is a better option as opposed to destroying them."

"Do you really think any of them will accept you or your help? Your fate will be the same as ours." Aether challenged, pointing his dagger at Puck. "Try as hard as you want. You will never be human."

"I don't want to be human. And if my actions lead to my deletion, then so be it. At least my sister and Anthea will be free."

Aether lowered his weapon. He began to chuckle; his chuckle soon turned into a full blown laugh.

"What's so funny?" Odd asked, coming to his friend's aid.

"Why do you call Aelita your sister if you refuse to be human? It's quite obvious that you do wish to be human... or to have some type of family or calling. Why? I bet deep down in his subconscious, Puck really would want nothing more than to actually be Aelita's flesh and blood brother. But in the end, you really are a joke."

"Puck is not a joke!" Odd roared in defiance.

"In order for Aelita to be Puck's sister, they have to be related... And our dear, young friend here is not human... He's just a cluster of codes and numbers designed to create the falsification of an intelligence. You are just a worthless program, no different than Microsoft Word or a calculator... Whereas I am a programmed creature that wishes to excel in my original perimeters. But you don't wish to exceed in anything... that makes you nothing more but a basic code, such a tiny worthless programmed creature that even if you tried to be human, they would reject you. And that is why you can never be Aelita's brother... Because you are a lower life form even for her."

Puck growled as he gritted his teeth furiously. He grasped his staff tighter than ever as he glared at Aether.

"And you know what the best part is? In time Aelita and all your little friends will die, and so will their friends and family. Which will leave you to be left alone inside Lyoko. Oh sure, they may visit you for a while, but in the end they will all turn to dust, and you will be all alone inside the computer. Slowly going insane and eventually becoming corrupted to the point you delete yourself, believing that there is some type of afterlife waiting for you somewhere, but... there won't be.
And in the end, regardless whether you beat us or not, you will end in pain and suffering. I wonder... will you be at Aelita's side as she dies? Knowing that your only hope for some form of humanity is gone... forever. Perhaps that is how I will teach you the errors of your ways. "

Puck breathed heavy as his whole body shook from the anger caused by Aether's words... and the truth.

"There are multiple ways to kill a human. Bones that break, flesh that burns. But to break someone's soul... to take away their reason to live and leave them shattered both spiritually and physically would be the greatest way to destroy someone. And I might just do that. Kill all your little teenage friends and your so called sister, leaving you to mourn their loss and wonder... am I having a human response? Or a programmed response?"

"...no." Puck whimpered as the fear and turmoil both swirled inside his body like water.

"I wonder if you will even be able to cry? Such a sad little A.I boy." Aether joked as he pointed towards Puck. "Do A. I's like yourself even cry? Do you even know what an emotion like crying means? Or does it not compute? And more importantly, how will all your friends feel when they are close to death and you show no remorse for them? I bet if you were human, you would be a cold, heartless creature.
My my, Puck. Your life will be a sad and empty shell of an existence.
And the most comical part of all is that you think that by being friends with these humans, it means you are human? No. It means you're insane."

Puck lowered his head so that his face was out of sight. His face was twisted in pain and stress from Aether's speech. He wanted so badly to prove Aether wrong... He wanted Aether to shut up. Yet he stood there, taking in the comments and truths he blocked even from himself.

"Oh. I do believe the truth really does hurt in this case." Aether mocked. "Don't you agree, Pinocchio?"

Puck suddenly looked upwards and screamed at the top of his lungs. His yell echoed through the entire region like the sound of a rabid beast. Puck continued to scream as he charged towards Aether. His staff glowing brightly as he closed the distance between himself and Aether.

"Puck! Stop!" Odd yelled as he tried to catch up to him.

Puck twirled his staff around and fired a beam towards Aether. A bolt of lightning flew out of the end of the staff.
"I will KILL YOU!" Puck shouted in fury and anger as he desired only one thing... Aether's death.

Aether quickly fired his beam out to stop Puck's lightning bolt. The two beams met halfway between both of the warriors. A surge of energy pulsed out of where the beams made contact. Both beams bounced back and forth between each other, each trying to push the other out of the way. Yet neither refused to yield to the other.

Puck placed his both his hands on the staff as he pressed all his strength into it. He felt his legs buckle and his body tremble as he pushed the beam further into Aether's direction. Puck gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes shut as he pushed, focusing all his remaining energy towards his beam. To him, nothing else mattered. Not his life or his safety. He just wanted to make Aether shut up and leave his friends alone. But most of all, he wanted Aether to pay for what he said.

Aether fell to on knee as he slammed his dagger into the ground in an attempt to keep himself both balanced and steady. Puck was putting up quite a fight with his weapon. Yet Aether was barely using any of his energy to keep Puck's weapon back. Instead he just pressed more into it, enough to keep the beam from hitting him. It was all working according to his plan. Soon there would only be one threat to deal with and then, Aether would eliminate Aelita.

Both beams suddenly began to surge and pulsate. Sparks were flying out from the center. Both beams continued to burn with intensity and power. Suddenly, the center where the beams hit flared up and exploded in a massive show of sparks and power. The explosion was large and glorious; it engulfed everything within 15 feet. The shockwave and the noise bellowed so loud that it caused the entire sector to shake and rattle as if the world itself had just ended.

Puck was thrown backwards. His staff flew out of his hands, bounced along the ground and landed near the tower. Puck felt his body fizzle and shift as he realized he was extremely low on life points. He felt weak and helpless. For a second he thought that this was the end until he realized he wasn't devirtualizing. But he knew it was close... Extremely close.

Aether opened his wings and wrapped his body around himself to protect his body from the shockwave. He listened as pieces of debris clanked against his wings. The force from the explosion pushed him back a bit. His dagger, which he continued to clutch, kept him from flying backwards like Puck did. A sneer wrapped across his lips as he realized it had worked. And it had also shown him Puck's weakness. Aether folded his wings behind his arms as he approached the staggering A.I.

Odd slowly stood up, dusting off the rubble and debris that hit him as well. When the explosion occurred, he activated his shields to protect himself. Yet the force from the explosion was great enough to knock Odd onto his back. Odd glanced down at his wrists to find the shields were still active. He looked towards the area where the blast had just occurred and spotted the silhouettes of Aether and Puck. He realized what was about to happen.

Puck slowly reached for his staff when a large talon like foot slammed on top of it. Puck looked up to see Aether standing directly above him with his dagger in his hand, laughing once more.

"Oh, Puck... It's so comical to see you suffer." Aether said as he placed both hands on the dagger's hilt and raised it above his head, pointing the blade towards Puck. "If you love those people so much... No.
If you want to be human so much, then you can die like one of them."