This chapter was written by me and edited by Undeadmonkey8.

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko, all copyrighting goes to Moonscoop.

I only own Lila. Mary is owned by AeroJester203. Cameron is owned by Undeadmonkey8.

Enjoy!

The Missing Link: Part 1

In the scanner room

POV Lila's

Aelita, Ulrich, Odd, and I are all in the scanner room waiting for Yumi. Recently, I've been wearing my time machine necklace over my shirt rather than underneath it. I've gotten a few stares from a couple of students on campus since it is a weird looking necklace to some. But I've been passing it off as an old family heirloom to the students who had asked about it, and to Cameron. He was a bit curious too. Shame I can't tell him the truth. Though, there are times when I zip up my jacket when I want to, and on occasions so that the necklace does not get in the way. Like exercising as an example.

Honestly, though it looks better over my t-shirt. I only wear it underneath my t-shirt when I go to sleep, and of course, I never wear it when I shower. I keep it safe in mine and Aelita's room, in one of my drawers. It's a great thing that we have a lock. No one has bothered stealing from us yet, despite the lock being on the outside of our door, and the fact that it's not a door lock that comes with a key. Something the school should probably invest in.

Staring at the scanners, Yumi still hasn't arrived yet.

"What can Yumi be doing? We have to get some data out of Sector Five," Jeremy says.

"It's not like her to be late," Ulrich says, a bit concerned.

"Maybe she's with William," Odd jokes.

"Hm?" Ulrich asks, shooting a glare at Odd.

"I said maybe," Odd replies.

"By the way Jeremy, have you made any headway on the antivirus?" Aelita asks.

"Well... actually, it's going rather slow. I'm missing a lot of important codes."

Aelita closes her eyes, slouching her shoulders. Odd puts his hands on her shoulders, trying to comfort her. I look at the floor.

It stinks that we need to free Mary to get her to unlink me… who knows how long that will take? And who knows how much longer Aelita will be linked to Xana? It could be for a while, for all we know, I think.

"With a little luck we'll find the antivirus today, and who knows? Maybe we'll destroy the Scyphozoa today too," Odd says. Looking at me, I can tell he's trying to reassure the both of us.

"And then it's ciao, Xana. We'll finally be able to shut the supercomputer," Ulrich adds.

"Xana's not going to give her up without a fight," I say.

"Well, if it's a fight Xana wants; it's a fight he'll get," Ulrich smiles.

"Yeah! I'm always up for fighting Xana and his monsters!" Odd exclaims enthusiastically.

"I'll start the procedure then. We're going to have to forget Yumi for now. Aelita, Lila, would the two of you like to go in first?"

"Sure," I reply.

Aelita and I step into our respective scanners. Aelita takes the middle scanner, and I take the right scanner.

"Transfer: Aelita, Transfer: Lila," Jeremy begins. The doors close. I close my eyes.

The scanner starts to spin.

"Scanner: Aelita, Scanner: Lila." The scanner continues to spin and starts humming. I wait for the bright light and gust of wind.

"Virtualization!"

The bright light and gust of wind engulf me. I can feel the wind lifting my time machine necklace just a little over my shirt. The wind billows my hair, and I'm virtualized to Lyoko.

In the Forest Sector

My vision returns to see Aelita and I fall. We safely land in the Forest Sector. Looking up, we see Odd and Ulrich virtualizing as they land safely.

"Now, head for the edge of the sector okay?"

We're about to leave, as we look up to see Yumi virtualized. She lands safely.

"A little longer and we would have started the party without you," Odd jokes.

"Where were you?" Ulrich asks.

Yumi doesn't look at him, "I had something to take care of."

"Yeah right. You were with William, weren't you?" he asks.

Yumi turns to him, "Huh?! Hey, don't you get tired of being jealous all of the time?" she asks.

"Ha ha! I knew it, you were with him!" Ulrich exclaims. Odd and I look at them.

"You can believe whatever you want! Be a jerk if you want too!" Yumi exclaims.

"You must think I'm really dumb," Ulrich says.

"Careful you have visitors," Jeremy informs.

"Hey, settle this later okay?" Odd asks.

"Yeah come on guys, let's get to work," I reply and take out my staff.

"Aelita take cover," Ulrich gestures. Aelita nods and runs to take cover behind a tree.

Four kankrelats move toward us. Odd readies his Laser Arrow and cocks his arm, Ulrich unsheathes his Katana, readying it. Yumi readies her fans, a second addition recently created by Jeremy. I start chanting in Latin.

"Exardesco!" I exclaim. My amulet glows, and I swing my staff. A Fire Bolt flies out of it. It flies towards a Kankrelat, but then the Kankrelats start moving to the right as a group, making me miss.

One of the Kankrelats charges its laser. It fires its laser at Odd, he dodges it. One by one, they begin opening fire, forcing us to scatter.

"Laser Arrow!" Odd exclaims and fires off a Laser Arrow. The Laser Arrow flies and hits the Kankrelat, it explodes. Yumi jumps in the air and throws her Tessen fans. The Kankrelat moves and the fans miss their target.

Man, what is up with these guys today?! They're quick on their legs! I think, and aim my staff at one of the Kankrelats.

The Tessen fans return to Yumi and she catches them. She jumps before jumping back into the air dodging to dodge another the laser from the Kankrelat. Ulrich blocks the lasers with his Katana, covering me as I start chanting.

"Exardesco! Exardesco! Exardesco!" I exclaim.

Ulrich gets out the way. The kankrelats start charging their lasers at me. My amulet glows, letting me know my Fire Bolts are ready. Swinging my staff, I send three Fire Bolts at the Kankrelats. Each Fire Bolt destroys the remaining three. Ulrich puts his Katana away and I put my staff away. As Lyoko quiets, we relax.

I hear a strange noise and start following it. I hear the others fighting monsters in the distance, as it sounds like more have arrived and started attacking them. My hearing starts to decrease, and I look to see a swarm of tentacles. They grab me and lift me in the air. The tentacles touch my head. My vision starts to blackout. They wrap around my body entirely and everything goes black completely.

Afterwards

Coming to, my vision starts to come back and I see Aelita.

"-you okay?" I partially hear Aelita ask.

I nod. Aelita and Ulrich help me up. Odd and Yumi run to me.

"Lila, are you going to be okay? Jeremy, what should we do?" Yumi asks.

"I- I- think I'm fine," I answer, stammering a little. "What happened anyhow?"

"The Scyphozoa grabbed you. One minute you were with us, and the next you weren't. It was as if you were in a trance," Aelita explains.

"We're going to stop the mission. I need to understand why Xana went after Lila. Aelita, there's a way tower due north of you. I'll use Code: Earth program to bring you in first, then the others will go," Jeremy says. Aelita, Yumi, Odd, and Ulrich look at me, concerned.

"We'll need our vehicles for that Einstein," Odd says.

"Way ahead of you Odd," Jeremy says as the Overbike, my broomstick, Odd's Overboard, and Yumi's Overwing materializes next to us. Getting on them, Aelita gets onto my broomstick with me. I kick the broomstick into the air, as the others take off too.

I really hope Xana didn't do anything to me… I think concerned.

At the way tower

Odd, Ulrich, Yumi, Aelita, and I get off our vehicles. Staring at the way tower, that has a blue aura around it, Aelita runs to the tower. She walks up to it and slowly enters it. She phases into the tower's "doorway." Looking up, Jeremy soon says:

"Code: Earth."

We look at each other and nod.

"Materialization: Ulrich, Materialization: Odd, Materialization: Yumi."

Ulrich's materializes first as Odd's body materializes after him. Yumi's body is materialized last.

"Materialization: Lila."

For some reason, I'm still on Lyoko.

This is not looking good… I think.

"Uh, Jeremy did you hit the wrong button or something? I'm still here."

"Maybe - maybe I typed in the wrong code for you? Give me a second..."

"Materialization: Lila!"

I look at my body to see that I'm still here on Lyoko.

"Uh, Jeremy... I hate the be the bearer of bad news but-"

"I know! For some reason - Lila I can't devirtualize you!"

"Should I go into the way tower?" I ask.

"Yes. You can stay inside there for now, until we figure this out," Jeremy answers.

Looking at the way tower, the vehicles materialize, as they depixelize one by one. I run to the tower. I slowly walk to it, phasing into the tower's "doorway."

Afterwards

Inside the tower

Sitting on the tower's platform, crossed legged, the platform lights up.

"Don't worry, you're safe in the tower," Jeremy says.

"I'm not worried about Xana trying to get to me Jeremy. The kankrelats earlier were probably just trying to give me a warning shot, before they were destroyed. And, he can't kill me without ultimately killing himself," I remind him.

"I know but-"

"Look if anything I'm sure you and Aelita will find the reason why the Scyphozoa grabbed me. The only thing is-" I start to say, but then I gasp.

"Oh no."

"Oh no, what?"

If I could feel my cheeks blushing on Lyoko, that's how I feel now. They're going to tease me about this! I think.

"I uh... I promised I'd hang out with Cameron today."

"You mean like a date?" Odd asks, he seems to have gotten a hold of the headset.

"Odd! This is serious if Lila can't materialize she'll miss school and if she misses school Delmas will suspend her! I'm sure she doesn't have a date with Cameron." Jeremy says.

Gee thanks Jeremy, I huff. "Jeremy, it's not a date. If it was a date keep in mind I would be furious with you right now for doubting me."

"Uh... sorry?"

"Lila, Odd and I will go and search for Cameron. Yumi needs to leave for her 9th-grade class photo. It's, today right?" Ulrich asks, Yumi I assume.

"I forgot all about it! Thanks Ulrich! Lila, Odd and Ulrich will handle it like they said. Don't worry you have Aelita and Jeremy, they'll figure it out."

"Thanks, Yumi. I just hope they'll get to Cameron. I'm supposed to meet him by the park bench."

"See! It is a date!" Odd jokes.

"Odd!" Jeremy and Aelita exclaim at him. I can't help but laugh a little.

"Okay... so in all seriousness, how do we find out what's wrong with me?" I ask.

"By launching a digital analysis. You'll need to stand on the platform. Then I'll start it," Jeremy replies.

"Okay," I say. Standing on the platform, I position my arms and legs in a way they don't interfere with the analysis. My body hovers a bit off the platform, as a wide green ring starts scanning my body.

POV Cameron's

In the Park

Checking my adoptive father's watch I brought with me today, I check the time and note that it's a bit past noon.

I hope Lila is okay... wonder what's keeping her, I was looking forward to - No! No, bad Cameron, she's allowed to be late, this isn't a date or anything! I think.

I take my phone out and wait to see a text from Lila but still nothing.

"Cameron, right?" A voice asks. Looking up, I see Odd Della Robbia is with his friend Ulrich Stern.

"Yeah. Ulrich and Odd, right? I've seen you guys hanging out with Lila - any chance you know where she is?"

"We do yeah. Listen um..." Odd looks over to Ulrich who coughs.

"Lila can't make it today. She's um with her mom." the Brunette boy explains.

"Is everything okay?" I ask with concern.

"Uh yeah I mean it's just one of the business trips Lila has to go on once in a while. It happens suddenly too," Ulrich continues to explain. "And she's uh... sorry for missing out on your date."

I choke and glance around before glaring at the two of them. Judging by Odd's grin, my blush is making the attempt less than successful.

"Listen up, Stern - one, it's not a date, we're just friends. Two, could you let her know I'm happy to reschedule when she gets back?"

"I will, Cameron," Ulrich says. He and Odd walk away.

My eyes narrow, cogs spinning furiously in my mind, Lila wouldn't have sent them to tell me, she would have sent a text. Something's wrong here . . . and I've been lied to often enough to spot one that blatant.

Ulrich and Odd start running once they're past the tree line, and that makes up my mind. Keeping up with them isn't a problem, but moving quietly and avoiding their glances back makes the journey challenging. I've had experience in this sort of trip, though, and neither of them knows I'm there when they come to a sudden stop.

It's a clearing - pretty deep in the park, where I've never been before. Lots of trees and bushes to hide behind, and I take advantage of the cover when Odd checks the area as Ulrich kneels, grabbing at something.

"Cameron's a cool guy," I hear Odd say. His eyes sweep across my hiding spot, but he continues without pausing, "wish we didn't have to lie to him about it."

"He's just a classmate Lila is into," Ulrich responds, and my cheeks heat up so fast I'm shocked the bush doesn't catch fire. He says something else, but I miss it, focusing too much on not giving myself away with a cheer.

"She will kill you if she finds out you said that," Odd says, and even with his back turned to me, I can hear him grinning.

Ulrich shrugs, then grunts and hauls something out of the ground - a sewer cover? No, it sounds like a sewer grate. What could they need to get into the sewers for? Odd begins climbing down, and Ulrich follows, settling the grate back into place.

So . . . Lila is into me, I think, biting my lip and repressing the urge to do a fist pump.

Didn't know that. Wait, does that mean she thought today was supposed to be a date? Should I have bought her a present today or something? Focus, Cameron. Sort this out later. With Lila. At a cafe or something, I think.

And I'm off track again, gonna lose them if I let them get any further ahead.

The clearing is quiet as I slip out of the bushes. The grate is heavy - hauling it up and then replacing it quietly with one hand makes me question whether I'm doing enough pushups. Fortunately, the sound of rushing water is loud enough that my footsteps can go unheard - the sound of wheels and shouted conversation, however, is just loud enough that I can follow Ulrich and Odd's trail.

A foreboding feeling lurks in the back of my mind, but I push it away, too curious to care. Time to get some answers.

And maybe ask Lila if she has a favorite coffee place - FOCUS CAMERON! I think.

POV Lila's

"Well... at least I don't have to take a class photo like Yumi has to. Jeremy did you and Aelita find out what's wrong with me?" I ask, still hovering above the platform. The wide green ring finishes its job and disappears. Looking down, I'm lowered to the platform and I'm back on my feet.

"Um... we did and it's not good Lila," Jeremy answers. "The digital analysis has revealed that Xana's taken your sequence code, for your human DNA. Can't materialize you without it, and you're as vulnerable as Aelita."

I sigh, "That... would make sense. But now that means if Xana attempts to capture me with the Scyphozoa again, he'd be able to get whatever he's looking for, while I'm stuck here on Lyoko! And there's no telling what Xana could be looking for, it could be anything! Jeremy is there anything you can do?'

"Don't worry I'm doing everything we can Lila. We'll figure this out."

"Jeremy - send me to Lyoko. I have an idea," Aelita says, through the headset.

"What's your idea Aelita?" I ask.

"You two will just need to trust me," Aelita replies.

POV Cameron's

Sunlight, as it turns out, is very nearly blinding when you've been dashing pell-mell through the sewers trying to keep up with a pair of hooligans on skateboards. That said, it only takes a moment for my eyes to adjust, and a look around shows me the abandoned factory on the river. Odd and Ulrich are leaping over some edge, falling out of sight, and I hurry after them, not wanting to lose the trail.

As I get closer, I can see that they slid down a pair of cable wires? Or ropes? I'm not entirely sure. There's four of them. But it doesn't appear to be a short jump. The sight of the drop has my vision swimming, but I grab one of the ropes, close my eyes, and slide down.

OH GODS THIS WAS A MISTAKE! I think until I land much harder on the ground than I expected. I open my eyes and find Odd and Ulrich staring at me in shock from a freight elevator, and for a moment, all three of us are still.

Then Ulrich punches a button, and the door begins to slide down. I break into a mad dash, heels cracking against the cement floor of the factory, and not quite for the first time. I find myself wishing I had worn tennis shoes instead of cowboy boots. If I start running more often, I'll need to look into buying a pair of tennis shoes.

The freight elevator's hangar door is more than halfway shut, and I drop, sliding on my hip. I can feel the edge tug at my hair, and then I'm safely inside. Odd and Ulrich dodging out of the way of my slide with yelps of surprise. They seem shocked I made it inside the freight elevator. The freight elevator's hangar door closes.

"Cameron! Why were you following us?" Ulrich asks.

"Why? Well- no offense, Ulrich, but you and Odd cannot lie successfully. I'd offer to help, but you might actually trick me next time. So, your turn - where are we, where's Lila, and before you answer, do you really think that I won't catch you if you try to lie this time?"

"You wouldn't believe us even if we told you the truth, Cameron," Odd explains.

I smile grimly and take no small satisfaction in the way they exchange a nervous glance.

"Try me."

In the lab

The freight elevator reaches the lab, as the doors open, revealing the lab in its entirety.

"Okay, so. . . this place is pretty awesome," I say, turning to take in the Lab. There's the holosphere, which is a large wide case and displayed over it appears to be a hologram of the world Lyoko. Looking at the mainframe that connects to the supercomputer, I see Jeremy sitting in a yellow chair, and there's a headset on his keyboard, as he's typing.

"This place is cool," I say.

"Cameron?!" Jeremy exclaims, turning to look at me. He stops typing. "What are you doing here?"

"He followed us," Ulrich rubs the back of his head, "We uh, were busy talking, didn't notice him."

"Besides which," I say with a note of satisfaction, "I am very good at not being noticed when I don't want to be. Makes for some interesting conversation starters."

"Relax, Jeremy," Odd says, "A return to the past will fix it. By the way, where's Aelita?"

As if the girl's name is a trigger, Jeremy swivels back to the computer and resumes typing hastily.

"She's on Lyoko - she cut communications, so I can't stop her, but she's transferring her DNA sequence code to Lila! I don't think she realizes that doing this will give Xana a golden opportunity to swipe her memories without needing the Scyphozoa - it'll leave her completely vulnerable!"

"Okay, we get the picture. Send Odd and I to Lyoko, we'll stop her," Ulrich says, he and Odd already stepping into the elevator. Ulrich presses a button and the freight elevator's doors close. It descends to the room below us, the scanner room I believe Ulrich called it.

"So, Lyoko - that's the virtual world that Lila is trapped in, right?" I ask, going over to him. Reaching him, I lean over Jeremy's shoulder, "How do I get there?"

Jeremy bites his lip, and shakes his head, "You don't - it's too dangerous. I won-OW!" He turns to me, rubbing the top of his head as I withdraw the hand I swatted him with.

"What was that for?"

"Dismissing my abilities." I say frankly, "I may not be as experienced on Lyoko as the others, but in a fight, I can take Odd down any day. Lila's in danger, and I want to help. So let me help."

Jeremy stares at me for a long moment but returns his focus to the keyboard when Ulrich's voice comes through the speakers, letting him know that they're ready to go in.

POV Lila's

Aelita is still transferring her code into me. It's awkwardly close for the beam of light streaming from her head to my head. Between our foreheads.

"Aelita... you know if you do this, Jeremy's going to be mad. You know that, right?"

"He can be mad for all I care. Let him. I'd do this for any of you. Lila, you need to be on Earth and protect the future. There's just ten minutes left now," Aelita replies.

Afterwards

Five minutes have passed. Looking at Aelita, she continues transferring her code into me.

I can't believe she's willing to sacrifice her time on Earth, for me… I think feeling guilty.

The "tower's doorway," starts glowing blue. Ulrich and Odd enter, running to us.

"Aelita stop!" Odd exclaims.

"If you don't stop, Xana will steal all of your memory! Aelita stop right now!" Ulrich exclaims.

Aelita looks at Ulrich, she stops the beam of light streaming from our head. I see a hint of the Xana target on Aelita's head, but it quickly fades. She places her hands on the interface, making a few adjustments. She places her hand again on the interface and the window running the program disappears. She then presses her hand on the interface again, and the interface disappears entirely.

"Jeremy?" Aelita asks, appearing to have reestablished the link with him.

"Aelita, you're so stubborn. That was a silly thing to do."

"I'm sorry... I thought I was doing the right thing," Aelita explains.

"I understand, really. I can't thank you enough, and I appreciate it," I smile.

"You're turning into a real human being. You're beginning to confuse generosity with stupidity," Odd jokes.

"Anyway, we still have no idea how to save Lila," Ulrich says.

"Don't bet on that. I just happen to have a brilliant idea. Xana has stolen Lila's DNA code sequence. So, it must be in his memory. And how do we get access to his memory?"

"Sector Five!" all of us exclaim in unison.

"So, um guys... what should we do about our guest?" Jeremy asks.

"I'm right here you know Jeremy, hey Lila," Cameron says.

My eyes widen.

"CAMERON?! What are you doing in the factory? And why are you in the lab?!" I exclaim.

"Ulrich and Odd just happened to lead me straight to it. I was worried about you since you missed out on our... hangout. They pretty much explained everything to me, about this lab all of you have here. Also, someone needs to teach them how to lie - their fib had more gaps in it than the Eiffel Tower. Also... since Yumi isn't here, you're down a warrior. Which means you're going to need an extra pair of hands. I'm great at video games. I'm a solid fighter if I do say so myself, and while from my understanding this world of yours is a bit more complex than a game, it's still something that I think I can handle," he explains.

Ulrich and Odd look at each other, Odd shrugs and looks to Aelita. She seems to be thinking about it.

"Jeremy... seeing as how we can't launch a return to the past right now, and that Cameron hasn't called the police on us... or reported us to our teachers... I think we can trust him. Go ahead and virtualize him. We'll wait for him here," Aelita decides.

TO BE CONTINUED IN:

The Missing Link: Part 2

Author's note: In the original episode of The Missing Link, Jeremy materialized Aelita without using the Code: Earth program. This is a huge plot hole and mistake. Aelita is still linked to Xana which means she would have needed to be brought in with the Code: Earth program. Why this error occurred... I'm not entirely sure. But I caught it on time, thankfully. Next update will be on August 26th!

Don't forget to review!

LyokoWarrior1994