Disclaimer: Code Lyoko is copyrighted by Moonscoop.

This chapter was written by me. It was edited by Blackcat8539 and AeroJester203.

I only own Lila. Mary is owned by AeroJester203.

Author's Note: This chapter is going to be a tricky one to follow. To identify who will be speaking, keep in mind that 'Lila' = Sissi who is in Lila's body. I know I've mentioned in the past, no more covers… but for this chapter, I had to. I hope you like the new cover and enjoy!

A Fine Mess

Inside the scanner

POV Lila's

Opening my eyes, I find I'm back in the scanner. Looking down at myself, my eyes widen as the scanner doors open in front of me.

I scream.

"Sissi, what's wrong?!" Jeremy asks, and I register that it's not my own voice, only making me more panicked.

The remaining scanners open, revealing myself and Odd. Looking at my own body from a different scanner, I can't help but scream again.

"Sissi, stop with the screaming!" Ulrich tries to say over me, coming to my scanner with his ears covered. 'Lila' starts looking at her body, and she screams as well.

"Lila, what's wrong?" Odd asks, stepping towards the scanner my body's in.

I step out of my own and walk up to myself. 'Lila' meets me in the middle and we stare at each other.

"Um…" 'Lila' says while rubbing her arms nervously. "Lila?"

I nod confirming her suspicions.

"Sissi?" I enquire.

She nods, looking very shaken.

The scanners' doors close and reopen, revealing Yumi and Aelita.

"Another successful mission in Sector Five," Yumi states, "What's wrong, you two? You look like you've both seen a ghost."

"Um…. Einstein, I think we have a situation here," Odd admits.

"Why, what's going on?" Aelita asks. She looks at 'Lila' and then at me,

"Sissi, you seem okay."

"Aelita… it's me. It's Lila," I inform her.

Yumi blinks, "Huh? Come on Sissi, quit joking."

"Yumi, I think Sissi – er, I mean Lila - is telling the truth," Ulrich says.

Yumi and Aelita's eyes widen before they both turn to 'Lila'.

"Sissi, are you really in Lila's body?" Aelita asks her.

"Yes!" she exclaims. "This is an absolute nightmare!"

"Hey! I resent that!" I protest, crossing 'my' arms.

"Jeremy!" Odd calls before we can start arguing.

"Okay, okay. Everyone come up to the lab. I think I know what the issue is."

All of us glance at each other.

Inside the lab

"Well, what's the problem, Jeremy?" I ask him. 'Lila', Odd, Ulrich, Yumi, Aelita and I stand around his chair. We look at the monitors, and they show blinking X's over the images of our avatars.

"There was a… slight hiccup during the re-materialization," Jeremy explains, and we watch our avatar's switch.

"Slight?" I ask, "you call this a 'slight hiccup' Jeremy?! This is a BIG hiccup!"

"Sissi–" he looks at me and I glare at him. "Uh, right. Sorry, Lila. There's a bug in the materialization program."

"What if they go back and try to devirtualize all over again? Would that work?" Odd asks.

Jeremy starts typing on the keyboard, bringing up our avatars and attempting to scan their data again, "And what if the program messes up again and they don't even have bodies next time?"

Rescanning the data, it confirms there is a bug when a red exclamation point flashes onscreen.

"Okay… bad idea," Odd admits.

'Lila' frowns, "So, now what do we do?"

"I've got to fix the program," Jeremy replies.

"How long do you think that will take?" Yumi enquires.

Ulrich hopefully asks, "A few hours, maybe?"

"Um… if I work through the night, it might be ready by tomorrow morning," Jeremy answers hesitantly.

"WHAT?!" 'Lila' loudly protests. "You mean to tell me that I'm going to have to stay in Lila's body until Jeremy can fix the problem?!"

Jeremy fixes his glasses to the bridge of his nose and turns to 'Lila'.

"Yes, that's right, Sissi." He then turns to me, "why don't the two of you compare notes so that no one raises suspicions about this situation? Does that sound like a plan?"

I huff, but reply, "Fine."

"Ditto," 'Lila' agrees, nodding.

"Don't you guys worry about it," Aelita reassures. "I'll be helping Jeremy tonight; everything will be fine by tomorrow morning."

"I hope so," I say.

"Same here," 'Lila' agrees. "The quicker I get back into my body, the better."

The next morning

In the forest

'Lila' pushes the manhole grate to the side before climbing out. I follow close behind her with Odd and Ulrich climbing up after me.

"Okay, so you usually see your father in the morning, right? Before classes?" I ask 'Lila'.

"Yeah," she confirms. "Also, I'm behind on my shower schedule, so if you don't mind?"

I sigh before moving on and giving her my own set of instructions, "Sissi, if you're going to go back to my room and live in it for a day, please don't touch anything—especially anything in my drawers, got it?"

'Lila' looks at me suspiciously, "Why not?"

"I have private things in there, including my diary!" I exclaim.

She rolls her eyes at me, "Alright, alright, I won't read it." Then she smirks playfully, "Although, technically, it's my diary right now."

"Ugh…" I complain before a thought hits me, "Oh, wait!"

'Lila', Ulrich and Odd look at me.

"My necklace. I need to carry that at all times, no exceptions," I explain

'Lila' shrugs and takes off the necklace. She hands it to me, and I place it around my neck, tucking it safely underneath my current body's shirt.

"Don't forget, make sure you shower," she reminds me. "I like to maintain my personal hygiene properly."

"Yes, yes, fine. Then I'll go and see your father," I say. I turn to Odd and Ulrich, "What about you two?"

"Odd, aren't you supposed to be breaking up with Claire?" Ulrich prompts him.

Odd's head lifts up at the information, "Oh yeah, that's right. I'm supposed to be breaking up with Claire... and Magali too."

"What?! You're going out with two girls?" 'Lila' asks bemusedly before giving a light laugh with a shake of her head. "Odd, I swear, you're such a player."

"I didn't know you were going steady with two girls. How are you going to figure this one out?" Ulrich asks.

"Magali and Claire didn't know either… that is, until now. It's fine, I'll figure it out," Odd replies as he pulls the grate back over the sewer entrance.

He looks at me hopefully, "Unless… maybe, you can?"

"Huh?!" I ask, "Why should I do that?"

"Well… we're friends, aren't we?" he tries, hoping to guilt me into helping him.

"Really, Odd, playing the friend card with me? Ugh…" I mutter, placing a well-manicured hand over my face. Sissi was always more image conscious than I was, and it's weird to have her dainty hands.

Getting my mind back on the subject at hand, I firmly reply, "No, Odd. I think you need to be the one to man up and handle the breakups. You're the one that cheated on them, you do it."

"But Lila-" Odd starts to say.

I shake my head, "Nope, sorry."

He sighs before turning to 'Lila,' "Sissi, could you-"

"Not a chance, Casanova," she replies with an amused smirk.

Later

Inside the secretary's office

I'm quietly waiting in a chair for Mr. Delmas to open his door in Sissi's usual attire. It was beyond awkward to both wash and dress this different body, one that belongs to someone I know.

"I'll send her in," the secretary says, cutting off my train of thought. I look at her to see she's just ending a phone call. Clearly, it had been with the principal.

"You can go in, Elisabeth," she informs me.

I glare at her, trying to act like Sissi, "You know I hate being called by that name."

"I know, but that's the name your father gave you. Must we go through this every morning?" she replies with a sigh.

I guess I'm doing a good job at pretending to be Sissi. I hope Sissi does the same, I think.

Shrugging, I get up from the chair and open the door before heading inside. Closing it behind me, I look at Mr. Delmas who is writing on a piece of a paper. He looks up at me as I go to sit on the chair across from his desk. I place Sissi's bag on the floor by my feet.

"Sissi, I'm a bit concerned, darling. I've heard from your friends that you're starting to spend time with Belpois, Stones, Smith, Stern, Ishiyama and Della Robbia. Are they being nice to you?" he asks with genuine concern.

I nod before I answer, trying to keep to Sissi's usual cadence, "Yes they are, daddy. You know me, always trying to fit in where I can."

He nods as well, "I know, which is why I'm concerned. It's true Belpois, Stones and Smith are in the top four of their class; Ishiyama also does extremely well in her classes even if she is late a few times. However, Stern is a D student at best, and Della Robbia, well he's…"

"Creative?" I suggest.

"Hmm, I suppose you could say that, but his creativity distracts him from doing well," Mr. Delmas explains.

"And what about me?" I ask him, though I'm not sure if I want to know the answer.

"As you know, your grades are D+'s. I expect you to do better now that you're hanging out with Belpois and his group," he says. "Before we know it, the term will have ended. It would be nice to see you improve before then."

I nod and grab Sissi's bag. Before I can leave, Mr. Delmas asks one last question, "Is there anything else?"

"No, should there be?" I ask, trying not to look too puzzled.

"Elizabeth, darling… I know it's difficult for you on the weekends. Staying with your mother isn't ideal to you, I know, but those were the terms of our divorce. I would like you to spend more time with her, besides locking yourself in the room half the weekend."

I look at Mr. Delmas, internally surprised by this but careful not to let it show on Sissi's face.

Sissi's parents are divorced? I didn't know that. Maybe there's more to her then meets the eye, I think.

"I don't really want to talk about it. Can I leave now?" I ask, figuring it's best to simply dodge the topic.

After a moment's hesitation, he nods and goes back to writing on his paper. Taking a quick look at him, I go over and give him a hug. Mr. Delmas smiles warmly at me.

It must be rough raising Sissi as a single father while also running Kadic, I think.

Letting go of him, I walk to the door. Reaching for the handle, I gasp in shock as I see Sissi's hand and arm turning translucent.

What's going on?! I think.

"Sissi, are you alright?" Mr. Delmas asks when he hears me.

My arm starts returning to normal and I try to keep calm.

"I-I'm fine," I lie before opening the door and hurrying out. "I just remembered some homework I have to do."

Later

Under the arches

Ulrich, Odd, Aelita, Jeremy and I are walking under the arches. I'm trying to tell them about what had happened earlier.

"It was really weird, and it only lasted for a few seconds, but I could see right through my arm and hand," I explain.

"Strange. I'll be a lot happier when both of you are back in your own bodies. I fixed the program, I just need to restart it from Lyoko," Jeremy explains to the group. Turning to me he continues, "We'll go to the factory during lunch time. Yumi can meet with us after."

"Really Einstein? During lunch? It's my favorite meal of the day!" Odd complains.

"It'll be less suspicious this way Odd," Aelita says.

Suddenly, I stop and gasp at the sight of 'Lila's' approach.

"My hair…" I mutter blankly.

Sissi has not only cut my hair from its shoulder blade-length to slightly above the shoulders in a long bob cut, she also dyed it to be a very bright red, practically a neon shade. The part is also slightly off from my usual central divide, the longer half held up by a purple barrette to keep it out of her eyes with the front strands on both sides tucked behind her ears, making a partial fringe that narrows as it goes up to my hairline.

She's wearing my jacket, but the shirt had changed to have a star on the center that peeked between the open halves and the jeans were ripped around the knees.

If she had kept the hair color the same and not cut the jeans, I might have even liked the change, but I'm still going to scold Sissi for drawing attention to herself while she's in my body. And it doesn't change the fact that Sissi dyed the hair on MY body without my permission.

I might have to keep it for a while so that people aren't suspicious about the sudden change! Who knows how long that hair dye will take to fade! I rant in my mind before composing myself and storming up to my body with a heated glare.

"What have you done?" I yell at 'Lila'.

"I felt creative," 'Lila' explains as I reach her.

Jeremy, Aelita, Odd and Ulrich catch up to me.

"That wasn't your decision!" I retort. "You've completely ruined my hair! Now, I'm going to have to keep that color you put in! And it could be a matter of weeks, or months, for the dye to wear off!"

"Okay, so? Straighten your hair and keep it like this. What's wrong with that?" 'Lila' suggests.

I growl at her.

"Lila, maybe we should-" Jeremy is interrupted as Milly and Tamiya run up to 'Lila'.

"Wow, Lila! Love the new look! Can we get a picture for the Kadic paper?" Milly asks.

Before 'Lila' can answer, I protest, "No! She cannot!"

Milly and Tamiya turn to me.

"Why can't she, Sissi? Everyone is entitled to the press," Tamiya reminds me.

"I'm aware, it's just that 'Lila' likes her privacy. Right?" I pointedly direct the last part to the girl in question.

'Lila' looks at me and sighs, "Yeah, Sissi's right. I shouldn't be getting pictures taken today. Sorry, you guys."

Milly and Tamiya glare at me, practically infuriated, before they walk away.

"Sissi, why did you do that to Lila's body?" Jeremy asks quietly. "You couldn't have just, well, acted like her?"

'Lila' huffs, crossing her arms, "I'm very stressed, okay?! This morning something weird happened…"

"Let me guess, both your hand and arm started to disappear before suddenly reappearing?" I ask her.

"Yeah! How'd you know?"

"That happened to Lila too," Aelita answers, "This is bad, Jeremy."

"I know," Jeremy agrees.

"Maybe we should go now," Ulrich suggests. "It's not like we have a class."

Jeremy and Aelita look at him.

"He's right. Yumi's in class right now. I think she mentioned she had a math test, but we can call her after she's finished if we need her," Aelita says.

"Alright, let's go!" Odd exclaims, "If we hurry this up, maybe we can make it back in time for lunch."

"Odd, I swear you care way too much about food. It's not healthy," 'Lila' observes.

"I know, but I have a high metabolism. I burn off calories easily," Odd explains as we start making our way to the park.

"That explains why you're so scrawny," Ulrich teases.

"I'm not scrawny!" the blond protests. "I'm… svelte."

"Uh-huh," I say, recalling the definition. "I wouldn't say that 'slender' and 'elegant' are two words that really describe you Odd."

At the manhole entrance

"So, what do you think the problem is Jeremy?" Aelita asks.

Jeremy crouches down to remove the manhole grate before he looks at her,

"Sissi and Lila have been materialized in bodies that aren't their own, so they aren't stable."

"And…?" Ulrich asks.

"If we don't take care of the problem immediately, their atoms might split," Jeremy replies before he starts to climb down.

'Lila' furrows her brow in confusion, "What the heck does that mean?"

Without stopping his descent, Jeremy answers, "Complete disintegration."

"You mean, like in Star Wars?" 'Lila' asks with a tinge of fear in her voice.

"Putting it tactfully, I think that's what he means," Odd answers, understanding the reference.

I shake my head, "If our bodies disintegrate, oh man..."

"We'll fix the problem before that happens," Aelita promises before she starts climbing down prompting the rest of us to follow.

Inside the lab

The freight elevator doors open. Jeremy walks into the lab before turning back towards us.

"Head to the scanner room; I'm going to send you to the Ice Sector. Make sure Ulrich and Aelita go first, then Lila and Sissi," he informs us.

"Right," I confirm and press the red button. The freight elevator doors close.

Inside the scanner room

Ulrich and Aelita immediately head to the scanners. Ulrich steps into the right-hand scanner and Aelita takes the one in the middle.

"You'll have to get to a tower due north from where you arrive. Aelita will reboot the program from that tower and this nightmare should be over," Jeremy says. The scanners doors close.

"Say I wanted to ask you…" 'Lila' says as Jeremy starts up the virtualization process. "Why didn't you want Tamiya and Milly to take a picture of the new look I created?"

"Because, well, Sissi… it's complicated okay? I'm camera shy," I lie. While the others already know and she's been let in on the Lyoko secret, I don't really trust her with my other secret.

"Camera shy? You mean like stage fright?" 'Lila' asks.

"Yeah, and how did you modify my clothes, especially that star?" I ask her in an attempt to move past the topic.

"Oh… I borrowed one of my old shirts and a pair of jeans. I snuck into my room before going to yours. I hope you don't mind, I couldn't find an extra jacket like this one in yours and Aelita's closet, so I figured it was special to you."

"It is… thanks," I smile.

"No problem," she replies easily. "I might have been hasty, but I'd never ruin something like this jacket."

The scanners doors reopen.

"Ladies, I hate to interrupt your conversation but it's your turn," Jeremy informs us.

"Okay, sorry, Jeremy," I apologize. I take the middle scanner. 'Lila' takes the left-hand scanner. The scanner doors close and I shut my eyes.

"Transfer: Sissi-" Jeremy begins before stumbling over his words. "No wait, I mean Lila. No, er, uh- Ah, whatever. Transfer: 'Sissi'. Transfer: 'Lila'."

The scanner's inner parts begin spinning.

"Scanner: "'Sissi'. Scanner: 'Lila'."

The scanner starts humming.

"Virtualization!"

The scanner billows 'my' hair and my time machine necklace before I'm virtualized to Lyoko.

Lyoko's Ice Sector

Opening my eyes, my vision returns in time to see 'Lila' and I fall through the air. We land safely and look at our Lyoko outfits. I look at her hair which has thankfully been kept with the original style it's red.

"I'm so jealous! Your outfit is so cool Lila!" 'Lila' exclaims, looking down at her armored dress.

Glancing at myself, I see that my time machine necklace has now changed into a shield-like amulet for some reason.

"I wonder if Sissi can use Lila's electrical powers, Jeremy? And why does Lila have a shield necklace around Sissi's body?" Aelita wonders.

"Since she and Lila switched bodies, only Lila – who is in Sissi's body – can use Sissi's powers right now. If I'm right, Lila, I believe your necklace changes its form and adjusts the powers to what its wearer might need. Which means that since you're wearing it while you and Sissi switched bodies, you may have new additional powers," Jeremy explains.

"However, I'd recommend you use your time machine necklace if you plan on using Sissi's slot bracer. The 'Lady Luck' ability costs 30 life points to activate and takes a while to recharge, and even if it did, it would use an additional 30 life points. Just be careful while using that ability Lila."

He then addresses 'Lila', "Sissi, since you're in Lila's body, I'm afraid that means you do not have the same electricity powers as Lila did. You do have a bow with a quiver full of arrows, and a hunting knife that's located inside a sleeve of the quiver. Here come your vehicles."

Jeremy materializes our vehicles. 'Lila' gets on 'her' broomstick, I get on 'my' Overbike. Ulrich and Odd get on their vehicles. Aelita looks at Sissi and me.

"If it's all the same you two, I think I'll have Ulrich drive me," she says.

'Lila' and I nod agreeing that it's the best course of action. Aelita gets on Ulrich's Overbike and puts her hands on his shoulders. Odd and Ulrich take off, I rev up 'my' Overbike and take off on the icy path.

"Hey wait! How do I fly this thing?!" 'Lila' cries out.

"Kick it into the air and it'll take off," I call out. "Then lean your body to move it in a certain direction. If I'm right, you should hopefully be able to communicate with it since it's my body! Only if you really need to though!" I call out.

"Okay!" 'Lila' shouts back.

I catch up with Odd, Ulrich, and Aelita as we slow down to let 'Lila' catch up with us. She finally does so and the four of us continue down the icy path.

Aelita looks at 'Lila' then at me, concerned for our wellbeing. Odd flies his Overboard to 'Lila' and asks with a smile, "How's the broomstick treating you?"

'Lila' looks at Odd annoyed, and he simply smiles.

At the tower

The four of us dismount our vehicles once we arrive at the tower.

"Be right back," Aelita says. She starts running over to the tower. Once she's closer she slows down before phasing into the tower's 'doorway'.

'Lila' looks at me, "So, once we're in our own bodies are you going to try and fix the hair?"

"I guess I'll have to stick with the red. I'll probably cut my hair bang a bit and brush it to one side. It's not that I don't like it, per se, but, it's- uh…" I trail off.

"Unique?" Odd supplies.

I nod, "Yeah, unique."

Suddenly, I see 'Lila' start to phase out. I glance down in horror as I notice my body doing the same. I almost sigh in relief when both of us phase back in. Before I can, the process starts all over again.

"I hope Aelita works quickly, this is turning into an emergency here," Odd observes.

'Lila' stares down at her flickering form fearfully, "Yeah, this is really bad."

Our bodies solidify back to normal just before several lasers come out of nowhere. Spotting a group of Kankrelats approaching, we immediately start to dodge their shots. Running over to 'Lila' I grab her and clasp the shield amulet in my free hand. It activates and surrounds us both with a spherical force field. Despite that, we keep moving to take cover behind an ice wall, the bubble traveling with us.

"Odd, Ulrich, protect Sissi and Lila," Jeremy urges. "Whatever happens, they cannot devirtualize. If that happens, then it's bye-bye for good."

"We'll be careful!" I call back.

Odd and Ulrich continue to fight against the monsters that attacked us. Glancing at the tower I note that Aelita is still inside.

"Is there anything I can do?" 'Lila' asks. She peeks outside of the forcefield and around the side of the ice wall. A laser nearly hits her, but I pull her back just in time.

"If we can stick together inside the forcefield, your powers might help the others," I say. "I'd better activate it now."

Looking at the bracer with the empty slots, I shout, "Lady Luck!"

The slots start rotating and three symbols appear. One of them seems to be a spade, the next one is a heart and the third is a club. The last slot remains empty as they all lock-in.

"Okay, I've got them. Now what?" I ask 'Lila'. She looks at the bracer and shrugs.

"I don't know," she says, exasperated. "Instinct I guess."

Shrugging too, I lift the bracer up and look at the image of the spade. The first circle flares with a light. I generate three spade projectiles made of blue energy and they hover around me.

Taking 'Lila's' hand, we run from our cover and see Odd and Ulrich still fighting against Xana's monsters. There are four Kankrelats remaining, so I hold the hand with the bracer on it forward. But even though I meant to shoot one at a time, all three blue spades fly at the first Kankrelat.

As the sharp projectiles get closer, the creature spots them, but it's too late. The spades hit their target, sinking into the eye of Xana at different parts. Shorting out its attack, the Kankrelat then explodes. The other two fire at us and we move back behind the block of ice.

"Nice job, Lila; but remember you're down 30 life points," Jeremy warns.

"You only have 70 left. Aelita should be finishing up shortly. Also, Sissi, for future reference keep in mind that your 'Lady Luck' ability is just that, luck. One day, your abilities might all be offensive and the next entirely defensive."

"Okay, Jeremy, we understand. Sissi, here, use your baton," I instruct her. I take it out of the holder fastened to the belt.

'Lila' grabs the baton and pulls out my hunter's knife from its sleeve, "You should probably take this."

I nod in thanks before we both run out from behind our cover. Sticking close to each other we close in on one of the Kankrelats. Ulrich and Odd are busy with two more.

Once we are close enough 'Lila' expands her baton and twirls it at the Kankrelat, causing a huge gust of wind to fly at it. The wind manages to flip the creature over and completely disrupts its aim. It tries to right itself as we run up to it, but I get there first, the forcefield passing over it. Apparently, it stops laser fire, but not physical objects—good to know.

I thrust my hunter's knife into the eye of Xana and then quickly jump back, pulling 'Lila' with me. I smile in satisfaction as the Kankrelat explodes.

Looking over at Ulrich and Odd I watch as they attempt to handle the two Kankrelats.

Odd is currently running in circles around one of them and dodging laser fire while Ulrich is about to kill his. The latter uses his Super Sprint to dodge all the shots coming his way.

When he's close enough he jumps high into the air before bringing his Katana down in a thrust, piercing the creature so hard that it emerges from the other side and jams into the ice.

I take a second to squeeze the amulet and the shield disappears.

"Uh, guys? A little help here!" Odd calls, still running in circles.

Refraining from laughing, even though this is a comical sight, Sissi and I charge towards it.

Sissi holds her baton to the side and swings it once we reach the creature. This causes a gush of wind to fly at the Kankrelat and knock it off its feet. I grip my hunter's knife, getting it ready for an attack.

I run to the head of the Kankrelat where the eye is. Taking my hunter's knife, I thrust it into the weak point, yanking it back out as three of us back away and the Kankrelat explodes.

"Nice work," Ulrich compliments while pulling his sword out of the ice to sheathe it before making his way over.

Odd adds, "Yeah, thanks."

"No problem," I say.

'Lila' and I swap our weapons back to stow them in their proper spots.

Meanwhile, Aelita phases out of the tower and runs up to us.

"Hurry, we have to get to Sector Five," she says, reaching our position.

"Huh? Why?" I ask. "What happened to switching Sissi and I back?"

"I'll explain on the way," Jeremy chimes in. "Get on your vehicles. I've also called Yumi; she'll be joining you soon. Lila and Sissi, remember, if either of you devirtualize in Sector Five it could mean catastrophe. Hopefully, we'll get everything we need in time."

"Right," I say.

Edge of the sector

Reaching the edge of the sector, we disembark from our vehicles.

"Are you guys ready? I'm entering the code," Jeremy informs us.

Looking up, the transport orb appears and starts descending towards us.

Suddenly, a loud noise clicks behind us and we all spin around to see where it came from.

"A Megatank!" Ulrich exclaims, unsheathing his katana. It had already opened up.

Using his Super Sprint, he runs up to it as the machine starts charging its laser wave. It releases its blast just as Ulrich thrusts his sword into the eye of Xana. Ulrich's body flies back and devirtualizes.

Just before the laser wave can reach us, the transporter orb opens and scoops us up.

Sector Five

The arena room

The Transporter Orb releases us, the arena room spinning as it always does when we arrive.

Glancing at 'Lila' her eyes start fluttering.

She's getting a vision much earlier than normal, I think. Out loud, I mutter,

"Wow… this is weird to see from the outside."

"She's going to be okay, right?" Odd asks.

"Yeah, she's having a vision like I would if I were in my own body," I reply.

"Just a bit earlier than usual."

Her eyes stop fluttering and she shakes her head, "What the heck was that?! And why do I feel like I have a map inside my mind now?"

"It's a long story Sissi." Jeremy explains. "Just follow it and lead us to the key mechanism to end the countdown. Otherwise, this trip is going to be cut short."

"Uh, right, okay," 'Lila' says uneasily.

The spinning stops and the walls align themselves to make a passage. The outer shell splits open to reveal more walls and we run to the new corridor about to open. The closed walls break apart and 'Lila' starts running with us right behind.

"Is Yumi on her way?" I ask Jeremy.

"Yes," Jeremy answers. She should be here any minute. I'll have her virtualized and hopefully, she can make it in time to provide backup."

Following 'Lila', we run across a bridge. After crossing we reach a room and are greeted by a large empty space that's between us and the countdown key mechanism high up on the wall.

"Problem here," Aelita says.

"Xana's a pretty poor architect," Odd jokes. "He even forgot to put in floors."

"Xana will be sending his bots before long, and we're already on a time limit," I curse. "No chance of flying, unless…"

I trail off and look down at slot bracer, two of them still in their places. As I look at the club, the words "Club Dance" echo in my mind.

"This might work! Odd I'm going to have to throw you," I instruct. "Sissi, Aelita, stay close. I'll put up the force field."

"Okay…" Aelita trails off, unsure while Sissi draws my hunter's knife and holds it for a more secure feeling.

Pressing the time machine necklace, the force field surrounds me.

After we're enclosed by the sphere, I exclaim, "Club Dance!"

I start spinning like a ballerina, which is ironic since Sissi's Lyoko avatar is practically dressed like a cheerleader. Around 'my' body a green, club-shaped aura appears. Aelita gets behind me and Odd walks up to my side. As I spin faster, the forcefield still remains and the aura turns into a glow that encompasses my whole body, giving me a further boost in speed.

As I spin around and, I reach out and quickly grab his arm, clasping it with both hands. He yelps at the sudden pull as he's dragged along for the rapid twirling. Bending outward while still keeping my balance at full speed, I time the throw perfectly and put my whole body into it as I heave Odd as hard as I can. He lets out a short scream as he's launched into the air with flailing arms.

Aelita and I watch him with bated breath. When he reaches the other side, he manages to claw onto the middle part of the wall while catching his breath. He recovers a moment later and starts climbing with his paws and feet, he reaches the ledge and gladly climbs onto the floor of the other side. He coils his muscles tightly before jumping high into the air for the switch.

"You've got twenty seconds left! 19 – 18 – 17- 16-" Jeremy counts just as Odd presses his hand on the key mechanism, tripping it. It lights up and sinks into the wall, forming the eye of Xana.

The door opens on the other side, but the floors still aren't here.

"Nice job Odd! Fifteen seconds to spare!" Jeremy compliments him.

"Yeah, but I think I'll pass on Air Lila from now on," Odd calls from the other side. "Now what?"

I turn off my shield and we all ponder the question.

"We'll be sitting ducks if Lila and I attempt to go across," 'Lila' explains. "But Aelita, I think Lila might be able to swing you safely across as she did with Odd."

"Okay, Odd, stay there and protect them. I'll go to the data interface by myself," Aelita says.

"No way, Aelita!" Jeremy vehemently protests. "With the Scyphozoa lurking around, that's too dangerous! I'll have Yumi meet with them; she's just arrived. You and Odd can go together. Lila can use the shield necklace she has to provide them with a little more protection."

"Are you sure?" Aelita asks, looking at me.

I nod, "Yeah, let's get this show on the road before whatever this is wears off."

I use another spinning throw to get her across the gap. It's safe to say she was not happy about being tossed through the air, even if Odd managed to catch her.

"That was not fun," Aelita complains as Odd sets her down.

"Sorry, but no time to lose! You two can get going, we'll be fine," I call across the gap.

Aelita and Odd take off and run through the doorway, leaving the room. 'Lila' and I look at each other and sit down to wait.

"Yumi's on her way," Jeremy says reassuringly. "The Transporter Orb just dropped her off. Hang in there."

"We'll try," I say.

'Lila' and I look at each other again, she smiles at me and glances at my necklace.

"You know Lila, that's a pretty neat necklace," she comments. "I do wonder why it has special abilities on Lyoko, though."

"Thanks, it's very special to me and maybe I'll tell you some day," I say.

Trying to rub her hand on her neck, it phases through, her whole body starting to turn a little translucent. A look at myself, confirms the same happening to me.

'Lila' stops and chuckles a little, "I forgot for a second. Oops." Then she winces, "Well, um, hey, I'm sorry about today. I didn't think cutting your hair and dyeing it bright red would make you that upset. I wasn't thinking."

"It's alright," I reassure. "When I talked to your father today, I realized how there might have been some things in your life that were difficult for you. I'm sorry… about the divorce."

It seems Jeremy turned off communication since he didn't comment, that or he's choosing not to and giving us some privacy to talk.

"Thanks," 'Lila' says. "It's not that I hate my mother or anything. I just like being here on campus. Sure, there were days when I thought the divorce was my fault. I was mean and even lashed out because of that. I took it out on the wrong people, including you guys."

She looks up in thought, "But… doing something meaningful, and with my friends now, it's helped me try to be a better person. Maybe I'll try to be better with my mother this upcoming weekend. Maybe I'll even go shopping with her—she likes doing that."

"Can't hurt to try," I smile slightly.

Our bodies start solidifying back to normal while 'Lila' smiles back. Just as we go back to normal, I see Xana Bots entering the room from a gap in the wall.

"Watch out!" I exclaim, pulling her down flat onto the ground, the lasers flying overhead.

Pressing the shield amulet as quick as I can, we're enveloped by the barrier once again. But the Xana Bots start focusing their fire on the force field, causing it to start cracking. Quickly, 'Lila' and I swap weapons once again. She presses the button on her baton, extending it twice its size while I brandish my hunter's knife.

The barrier shatters and the Xana Bots start firing directly at us. I use the hunter's knife to block a few of the laser strikes, reflecting them back at the flying spheres and forcing them to dodge. Sissi swings her baton horizontally, creating a strong wind to blow a few other blasts off course.

"You guys, I'm almost there!" Yumi calls from the corridor beyond the room.

"Just give me a few more seconds!" The Xana Bots continue to fire at us more rapidly now.

'Lila' and I continue trying to deflect the attacks, but it's not enough. Simultaneously, several lasers hit both of us separately.

"Lila! Sissi! No!" Yumi cries. It's the last thing we hear as we devirtualize.

Inside the scanner

POV Sissi's

Opening my eyes, I find that I'm back in the scanner and smile. I look down and let out a relieved sigh when I see my own body.

"Phew, we just made it in time with your code, Sissi," Jeremy informs me over the speakers as the scanners doors open.

POV Lila's

The scanners' doors open, and Sissi and I collapse down onto the floor. Exhausted and out of breath, but grateful we're back in our own bodies. The freight elevator doors open, and Ulrich runs over to us.

"Are you two okay?" he asks.

"Yeah. Tired, but we're okay," I reply, almost in disbelief.

Glancing at Sissi, I see she's wearing my time machine necklace. Getting up, we walk to the side of the room to give Odd, Aelita and Yumi more room for when they come back.

I look up and ask, "Jeremy, how are Odd, Yumi and Aelita doing?"

"Yumi's dealt with the Xana Bots," he answers. "She's on her way now to join Odd and Aelita at the data interface, from there Yumi and Odd will bring Aelita to the tower so that they can come home."

"Glad to hear it," I reply.

"Oh, hey your necklace," Sissi says, taking off my necklace and handing it back to me. "Here you go."

I give her a genuine smile before slipping the necklace over my head,

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

The next day

Shouldering my backpack, I'm walking to the cafeteria with my hair now straightened and having cut some of my hair bang off. It had grown long in retrospect, so I had cut some of it and then brushed the rest of my hair to my right side, so that it covers most of my forehead and just the top of one of my eyebrows.

It sucks that it's been cut and dyed, but I can forgive Sissi, I think. I mean, I'm finally starting to understand her. I will miss my old look, though.

Looking at my pink magenta jacket, I have it zipped up along with my time machine necklace under my black t-shirt. I'm also wearing blue jeans that are not ripped. And NO pink socks like Sissi had me wearing yesterday, just regular white socks. She also got her barrette and clothes back too, I told her she could keep them since she "enhanced" them.

I still have my black and white tennis shoes, which I'm glad Sissi didn't mess up. I smile and make my way to meet the others in the cafeteria.

On the steps of the cafeteria

Waiting for my friends, I put my left hand in my pocket and smile as I see them making their way over to me. Yumi is holding the school's newspaper, the Kadic Herald, as she smiles at it. I look over to Odd who doesn't seem very happy.

"What's wrong, Odd?" I ask him.

Yumi replies, "Oh, he's just not very happy about the Tamiya and Milly put in the newspaper."

"Although he did have it coming," Jeremy says.

"Whatever, I'm sure people will forget about it eventually," Odd says. He mumbles something and walks up the steps. I step to the side and he opens the door to the cafeteria before walking in.

"What exactly is in this newspaper?" Aelita asks.

Yumi hands the newspaper to Aelita as she then walks up the steps and into the cafeteria. Aelita giggles slightly at what she's reading, and Sissi walks up the steps.

"Hopefully, this will be a good lesson to not two-time anyone," Sissi says before she enters the cafeteria. Jeremy, Ulrich and Aelita start walking up the steps, and Aelita hands me the newspaper.

Looking at it as they go in, I chuckle lightly to myself. The picture in the newspaper reveals Odd in a nightshirt and boxers, apparently rocking out to some song he's listening to on his headphones.

I do feel bad that Odd is in his boxers on the front page, but hopefully this will teach him not to cheat, I think.

I fold the newspaper and place it under my arm, opening the door to the cafeteria. I walk inside the cafeteria, closing the door behind me.

Done!

Author's Note: If you would like the contact the info of my artist friend who drew this drawing, I'd be happy to give it to you with their permission of course. This was a really fun chapter to write and Sissi's character is only going to get better from here on and out.

If possible, please don't forget to visit my profile on vote on the poll for the continuation of the adventures of Lila Belpois. It will end on Ghost Channel. Certain diary entries have also been updated so it fits closer to the show.

Don't forget to review!

LyokoWarrior1994