Disclaimer: Code Lyoko is copyrighted by Moonscoop.
This chapter was written by me and it was edited by AwesomeFanFictionAuthor.
I only own Lila and Mia. Mary is owned by AeroJester203.
Enjoy!
Hard Luck
Inside Lila and Aelita's room
POV Lila's
Dear Diary,
A week has passed since the holiday vacation with Jeremy's parents and Mary. It was really great. Meeting my grandparents... spending time with them was something really special. My grandmother, Eloise, she was so sweet, and Grandpa Michael was a really interesting person to talk to. I told them my birthday was coming up at the end of next month. They asked me how old I was turning, and I said 16. They insisted on having a party with Jeremy and my friends at their house. It was a really nice offer, one I gladly took. I, of course, didn't tell them about my history with Jeremy and Aelita.
Besides… I never knew my father's parents in the future.
Something must have happened to them. I didn't want to bring anything up, because one, it's a lot to process, and two, it would have been an awkward conversation.
Thankfully, since my hair is still short, grandma Eloise as well as grandpa Michael didn't really think I looked like one of them.
Though I guess that really isn't the case since my father created me through a program. Hard to believe, even these days, that I'm still 100% human because of their DNA strands.
Two things I've been... not upset about, per say, more like concerned, are Kayori and Cameron. I understand Kayori must be busy settling in, getting to a new school, unpacking lots of things for her parent's new house. But it's been months since I've heard from her. I know she had a lot on her plate. I'm not even sure if she told her parents about us. I understand people can be very indifferent about relationships.
Cameron told me the day Yumi was lost at sea, he was saving up to come back here as a surprise visit. He said he wasn't ghosting me. I have to believe Kayori isn't either. But I can't help but wonder when Cameron is coming back. I mean, I get he talks to Emily a lot since they're still dating. Good for them, though.
I'm not sure I would have been able to stay in a long distance relationship with Kayori. From the way things have been, it seems like ending things before she left was a good idea.
I'm still happy that Future Aelita is out there, though. It's hard to believe… but at the same time, now that I think about it, I never checked her pulse.
How would I? I mean, I was in shock when I saw her in the state that she was in. I assumed she was gone. It gives me hope that sometime soon we're going to be reunited.
When that day arrives, I'll need Cameron to come back so he can give Future Aelita her time machine necklace back, so she can return to the dark future she came from. I can't help but wonder what the Lyoko warriors of that timeline must be doing without their Aelita. They must be concerned for her. I think the great thing about time travel is that even though months have passed here since Future Aelita prevented my death… she could, in theory, simply arrive minutes after she left. Going back to one's own timeline wouldn't create any paradoxes or anything. But I guess, and no pun intended, only time will tell.
Anyways, Aelita should be coming back to the room any minute now. I'm already ready for the day. We're going to head over to the cafeteria.
Lila.
I close the diary and lock it with its key. I place both the diary and the key, along with the pen, in my first drawer. I close it.
Afterwards
Inside the cafeteria
Everyone but Odd is sitting at the table. I've finished my croissant, which was pretty good. I also have my tea, as usual.
Odd comes up to the table and sits, only dried toast, a muffin, and tea on his tray. He crosses arms.
"Tea and dried toast, Odd? What, are you sick?" Yumi asks.
"No, not yet, but after I choke this down, I will be," Odd replies. We can't help but laugh a little.
"Okay everyone, here's the plan. You've got to return to the military base and destroy Xana's supercomputer once and for all. I don't think it should be too complicated," Jeremy surmises. Odd starts eating one slice of his dried toast.
"That is, as long as Xana doesn't have anything new up his sleeve," Jeremy says.
"Well, just count me out of going. I am not facing off those creepy spiders again," William shudders.
"You really need to get over that fear," Sissi tells him.
Herb and Nicholas make their way to the table. Odd puts his dried toast down on his tray. Herb and Nicholas reach the table and look at Odd.
"Hey, why did you tell Jim on me? You're a snitch, Odd," Herb says, putting his hands on his hips. Nicholas points to Odd.
"Not only that, but it was your idea to put cottage cheese in his sneakers. Which was incredibly funny," Nicholas laughs.
"Oh yeah, Odd, you just wait. We're going to get even with you for that someday. You'll see, you traitor," Herb points. The two friends walk away from Odd, who stares after them.
"I would watch out for them, Odd," Jeremy says, jokingly.
"Yeah, I think they're serious," I say, going along.
Mary walks over to us. She notices Odd's less than usual amount of food on his tray.
"Everything okay, Odd?" she asks.
"Not really," he sighs.
Later
Desert Sector Replika
Inside the Nav Skid
We're already docked to Jeremy's tower.
"Walking under a ladder is like asking for bad luck," Ulrich says.
"In Japan, people avoid anything to do with the number four because it sounds just like the word for death," Yumi explains.
"Not to mention, everyone knows breaking a mirror means seven years bad luck," William says. "So you can see the trouble you're in."
"Did you know that the word rabbid is bad luck for sailors? So is spilling salt when you're on a ship," Aelita says.
"Actually, Aelita, I think spilling salt anywhere is in general bad luck," Sissi says.
"Not to mention black cats. You should never cross paths with them," I say.
"And I'll tell you the only thing that'll bring you bad luck is talking to Odd about dumb supersticions because all you get is being laughed at," Odd says.
"You think you're smart? But I bet by the end of the day you'll be crossing streets to avoid black cats," Ulrich says.
"Okay, Odd, Yumi, and Sissi. Ready for teleportation?" Jeremy asks.
"Ready," Odd replies.
"Ready," Yumi replies.
"Ready," Sissi answers.
"Then here we go. Energize: Yumi," Jeremy starts. "Energize, Sissi," he continues. I watch as Sissi disappears.
"Energize: Odd."
"Well, go on," Odd says.
"Did you miss a button, Einstein? He's still in the NavSkid," William informs.
"Yes, I see that," Jeremy says. "How strange."
"I don't get it. What did I do wrong?" Odd asks.
"I don't get it either. The teleportation failed for the first time," Jeremy answers.
"I guess it's bad luck," Ulrich surmises.
"Ulrich, save your dumb jokes or you'll have the bad luck of being forced to eat 10,000 dried toast," Odd says.
"What do we do now, Jeremy?" Aelita asks. "Do you want me or Lila to go?"
"I can if you want," I say.
"No, you two have got plenty to deal with on the Replika. The superscan has just picked up an activated tower. I'll send Ulrich," Jeremy says.
"Just say when," Ulrich tells him.
"Energize: Ulrich," Jeremy says.
Location: New Mexico
POV Sissi's
I still can't believe I'm in New Mexico. Such a strange feeling to think this isn't really my true Lyoko avatar, but some sort of a spectre version of it.
Ulrich appears in the air in a flash of light. We get out from behind the rocks we were hiding behind.
"Hey, Ulrich," Yumi calls out.
"We're over here," I say.
Yumi waves her hand, Ulrich looks at the two of us then runs over.
"Where's Odd?" I ask.
"Stuck on Lyoko," Ulrich answers. "Disappointed?"
"Kinda," I say.
"No, not me. I'm glad in fact. He's really bad luck today," Yumi says.
She has a fair point, I guess, I think.
"Ready, you two?" Yumi asks.
"Ready," Ulrich nods.
"Ditto," I say.
We start making our way to the base. Oh, if my father knew all of this… he would never believe it. He'd probably think I was crazy.
POV Lila's
"Watch your step. If a tower has been activated, you can be sure Xana has planned a counter attack," Jeremy says.
"How about giving us the coordinates so we can go and deactivate it?" Aelita asks.
"Due west from your present position," Jeremy informs.
"Okay, let's go!" I exclaim, enthusiastically.
"Yeah!" Odd and William exclaim in unison.
POV Sissi's
Ulrich, Yumi, and I continue walking to the base. We stop.
"It's deserted as ever, huh?" Ulrich asks.
"That's good news," Yumi replies.
"Sure is. Let's keep going," I say.
We nod.
POV Lila's
"Here we go," Aelita says.
Outside the Skid
Aelita, Odd, William. and I are now out of the Skid. Jeremy materializes the vehicles.
"Here come your vehicles."
Odd's Overboard is materialized first, then my broomstick, followed by William's Overdrive, and Yumi's Overwing.
Odd looks at the Overwing and rubs his head.
"Jeremy, isn't Aelita getting on the Overboard with me?" Odd asks.
"You know, Odd, seeing how your day has been going up until now, I'd rather you guys travel separately."
Aelita smiles and crosses her arms. William chuckles and Odd makes fist with each hand.
"All of you are such lameos! I tell you, everything is cool!" Odd exclaims. Suddenly Odd starts frizzing out. Aelita uncrosses her arms. My eyes widen.
"Jeremy? Are you getting this?" I ask, looking up.
"What's going on?" Aelita asks, pointing to Odd.
"That is really weird," William comments.
"Sure is," I agree. Odd stops frizzing and returns to normal. He crosses his arms.
"I have no idea, I'm not sure why that happened. I'll check it out. You guys get going."
Odd gets onto his Overboard first. I get onto my broomstick. William steps onto his Overdrive and Aelita gets on Yumi's Overwing. Odd takes off first. I kick my broomstick into the air, flying a bit higher.
William is the next one to follow me. Aelita catches up to us, next to me. We see Odd is unbalanced a bit on his Overboard before he regains his balance.
POV Sissi's
Ulrich, Yumi, and I are now near the entrance to the base.
"Freight elevator over there, it'll take us downstairs," Ulrich tells us. Yumi and I see a blinking call button just ahead. We start running, and we soon reach it. Yumi presses the call button, and the freight elevator starts to move.
"By the way, Yumi, Sissi, I never asked you two this. Which monsters do you like fighting the least of all?" Ulrich asks.
"The Kankrelats. I really hate fighting against big bugs. Blah," Yumi says.
"As for me, it was the Xana Bots. Thankfully, we don't deal with them anymore, but those guys were way too fast," I say.
Ulrich chuckles. "Yeah, right. What I hate most are the Megatanks. How about the-" he starts to say, but mine and Yumi's eyes widen.
"Kankrelats," Yumi repeats.
"Yeah, I know. You said that already," Ulrich reminds her.
"No, she really means the Kankrelats!" I exclaim.
"Look, over there!" Yumi points to one Kankrelat already materialized. Two more are coming.
Yumi takes her Tessen Fans out. One of the Kankrelats starts charging their laser. I take my boomerang out. Ulrich takes his twin katana blades out. Yumi throws her Tessen Fan, and I throw my boomerang.
The boomerang makes a whooshing sound and heads for the second Kankrelat. Yumi's Tessen Fan slices through her Kankrelat's target eye. My boomerang is able to slice through a Kankrelat as well. Both of them frizz out of existence.
Our weapons return to us. I hear the hangar door opening. The remaining Kankrelat starts firing their laser.
"Hurry up!" Yumi exclaims. Yumi, Ulrich, and I enter the freight elevator. We put our weapons away.
Another Kankrelat materializes, the one that was the last remaining one starts heading to us. Ulrich presses a button to close the hangar door. The Kankrelats start charging their lasers, but the door fully closes.
Yumi sighs, she rubs her head. The freight elevator goes down.
"I wish Xana had sent us a few Krabs," Yumi says.
"Me too, I think," I say, agreeing with her.
"I would have preferred Hornets," Ulrich says. He puts his finger in his ear, to the small radio coms we now have in the real world to communicate.
"Jeremy, do you read us?" he asks.
"Loud and clear. Anything wrong?"
"Yeah. We just found out why Xana activated a tower," Ulrich replies. "He just teleported Kankrelats our way."
"I'm on it," Jeremy says.
POV Lila's
We continue flying our vehicles to the activated tower.
"Aelita. Yumi, Sissi, and Ulrich have some visitors at the base. You have to deactivate the tower, fast," Jeremy tells us.
"We're on our way,"Aelita says. "I can see a canyon in the distance," she points to its location.
"Gotcha. I'll check the area and see if the tower is there."
We drive in silence for a moment, waiting for Jeremy's report.
"The tower is in the center of the canyon," Jeremy confirms. "Hurry up!"
"Okay," William says, tilting his weight forward. Odd does the same with his Overboard. He looks at the three of us.
"You see, you guys? Everything is cool. Superstitions are for lameos. Right, huh?" Odd asks.
Suddenly a laser comes out of nowhere, nearly hitting Odd's shoulder.
"You were saying?" I ask and we turn to see Hornets chasing us.
"Oh, okay," Odd says. "Watch this." William gives him room, getting closer to me, and Odd brings his Overboard near William. He balances himself then glides upward in an almost u-turn sort of way.
"Laser Arrow!" he exclaims. I hear an explosion. Odd flies his Overboard back over to us.
"Piece of cake," Odd says cheerfully.
POV Sissi's
The hangar door opens fully, and we're now inside the base. We start walking down the corridor, our weapons out in the open again.
"Coast is clear in front of us," Ulrich says.
We hear a noise from behind us, and turn to see a Kankrelat has just materialized into the base.
"But not behind us, look!" Yumi exclaims.
The Kankrelat starts charging its laser. Another one appears in the freight elevator.
The first one fires at us. Yumi does a backflip and throws one of her Tessen Fans, and I chuck my boomerang at the other one that starts charging its laser. Our weapons fly at the Kankrelats. I land on the floor, and the Kankrelats use their small bodies to bounce our weapons back at us.
My weapon returns to me, and I catch it, but Ulrich catches Yumi's Tessen Fan, then throws it. The Tessen Fan slices through the Kankrelat, which short circuits, then frizzes out of existence.
"Nice one, Ulrich," Yumi compliments, looking at him.
"Yeah, that was really good," I nod.
Two more Kankrelats materialize into the freight elevator. The three of us start backing up.
"Let's try to buy some time," Yumi suggests.
"Good idea," Ulrich agrees.
"Let's go then," I urge.
We start running, the three Kankrelats following us. We make a right turn down another corridor. Ulrich puts his hand to his ear.
"Jeremy?" he asks.
"What is it?"
"Any news? It's getting rough here," Ulrich informs.
"Hang in there. Aelita, Lila, William, and Odd are almost at the tower."
POV Lila's
Aelita, William, Odd, and I continue driving our vehicles side by side.
"You three ready?" William asks.
"Yes. Let's do our thing," Aelita replies.
We start separating from each other.
"Here we go," Odd says.
Odd and William go in one direction, while Aelita and I go in the other. The Hornet chasing us fires a laser at us. We dodge it.
"Lila, do you have this?" Aelita asks.
"Yeah, got it," I say.
I start channeling my ice powers, letting them flow through my hands. Aelita aims her hand and summons an energy field.
"Energy field!" Aelita exclaims. She fires off her attack, but the Hornet flies over it.
I keep my powers focused, so that they don't disperse. We turn back in Odd and William's direction and keep driving. William misses a Hornet with his fireball. Odd fires off a Laser Arrow, and it hits the target eye. The Hornet explodes.
"See, who said I was bad luck?" Odd asks William.
"If you say so," William shrugs.
Suddenly, Odd starts frizzing again. Aelita and I drive our vehicles faster. For some reason, Odd is unable to move. He flies his Overboard all the way up, then turns upside down.
"This can't be good," I say.
"Odd!" William exclaims. He tilts his weight to go faster on the Overdrive, but Odd falls off his vehicle. William is able to intercept and catch him. Aelita and I drive our vehicles over to them, William settles Odd on the Overdrive, though there's not a lot of room.
"Odd, you okay?" Aelita asks, concerned. We fly around them, and since I got distracted, I have to start channeling my powers again. The Hornet is still chasing us. It sees Odd frizzing, but William takes his double edged sword out.
"Oh no you don't," he says. William pulls his arm back and throws the sword at the Hornet before it has a chance to start charging its laser.
The Hornet, however, flies up, and my amulet glows, letting me know I'm ready.
I unleash an ice blast at the Hornet. My attack flies at the Hornet and freezes it in mid air. Thanks to Jeremy, these ice powers do not have a time limit.
"Now, William!" I exclaim.
William summons his fireball, then throws it at the frozen Hornet. The fireball hits the Hornet's frozen target eye, causing it to break into pieces. Those pieces fall on the ground, then disappear.
"Odd, what's happening? You lost half your life points just now," Jeremy informs.
"It's that stupid bug again, Jeremy," Aelita explains. Aelita and I drive our vehicles over to Odd. On the way, I pick up William's double edged sword, then make my way over to Aelita and the boys.
"What's - going on?" Odd stammers.
"That bug of yours again," William explains.
"Oh great," Odd sighs.
Suddenly, another laser comes out of nowhere. It hits Odd, devirtualizing him in a cloud of pixels.
"Why you!" I exclaim. I pull my arm back, and throw the double edged sword at the Hornet that attacked Odd. The tip of the weapon goes through its target eye. It explodes.
"That'll teach you to zap our friend down," Aelita says.
The weapon falls down and William catches it. He puts it back in its sheath and gets back onto his Overdrive, then the three of us take off.
"Jeremy, Lila, William, and I are headed for the activated tower," Aelita says.
"Okay Aelita, make it fast," Jeremy says. "Yumi, Ulrich, and Sissi have got a huge huge bug problem."
"Any chance you know what's causing Odd's bug?" I ask.
"No, not yet. It might be a virus or Xana thing. Whatever it is, we're not having any luck with it."
"Yeah, definitely seems like Odd's having a lot of bad luck today," William says. I nod, agreeing with him.
It's hard to tell if there's such a thing as bad luck or good luck. I do believe in karma, however, I think. Though I'm sure this isn't Karma for Odd.
POV Sissi's
Yumi, Ulrich, and I manage to hide from the Kankrelats. They're probably still trying to find us.
I'm by Yumi's side, against the wall, and Ulrich is on the other side. We see one of the Kankrelats by the doorway, but it leaves to search for us somewhere else.
Phew, that was a close one, I think.
Ulrich points to the door and Yumi nods. She places her hand on the buttons, the door then closes. Yumi and I look at the room we're in, it's sort of like an old assembly line of sorts.
"What kind of place is this?" Yumi asks.
"That's exactly what I said the first time we came here," Ulrich replies. We start going down the steps.
"It looks just like some sort of factory assembly line," Yumi surmises.
"That's what I was thinking," I say. "But if it is, what is it for?"
We reach the end of the stairway then walk over to the conveyor belt.
"We're not sure, no idea what they assemble here," Ulrich replies, looking at some sort of weird metal panels on the belt.
"We might find that out in here," she surmises. Ulrich and I walk over to Yumi.
"It looks like a control terminal," Yumi says.
"Check it out, Yumi," Jeremy says. "Any info on Xana's tactics can come in handy."
I put my finger to the com in my ear, while Yumi starts typing on the laptop's keyboard.
"What's going on with the tower? Are the others there yet?" I ask.
"Yes, they're close by. Aelita should be deactivating it any minute now."
POV Lila's
Aelita, William, and I drive into the canyon. With the three of us here, it's a bit of a tough squeeze, but we manage to maneuver around several rock structures. Suddenly, we hear buzzing behind us.
More Hornets, I sigh internally. Great, all we need. As if this passage isn't bad enough.
Lasers start going off, nearly hitting us. Tilting our weight, we urge our vehicles to go faster. I hear an explosion from behind.
Seems the terrain is going to help us, I think.
Aelita, William, and I continue maneuvering. One of the Hornets nearly hits Aelita again. I look back to see there are two Hornets left. We keep going.
The Hornet's still in pursuit, Aelita keeps one hand on the handle of Yumi's Overwing and raises the other hand at the Hornets. William turns his body, and raises his hand.
"You're not going to get off that easy," Aelita says.
"On three, Aelita," William says.
"Okay," Aelita says. Aelita and William take aim, but suddenly the three of us start flickering a sort of green color. We lose focus, and by doing so, crash our vehicles into one of the rock structures. Our vehicles bounce around, and the three of us are thrown off. Yumi's Overwing explodes, so does William's Overdrive. My broomstick breaks in two and dematerializes.
Aelita, William, and I get up. We see the activated tower isn't too far from us.
"I guess we're going the rest of the way on foot," I say. We hear the buzzing coming for us.
Aelita and I look back to see the two Hornets from before. They start charging their lasers.
"Let's go!" William exclaims. The three of us start running to the tower, dodging lasers as we go. We start to phase in and out, again.
"Jeremy," Aelita says.
"Yes, Aelita? I saw it. The bug seems to be having an affect on all three of you. Better deactivate the tower fast, before the three of you disappear," Jeremy tells us.
"We're going as fast as we can," Aelita says.
POV Sissi's
"Ulrich, Sissi," Jeremy says. Ulrich presses his com link, to listen closely. I do the same.
"Yeah, we read you," Ulrich says.
"Aelita can't deactivate the tower just yet. She, Lila, and William have been affected by Odd's bug too."
"Hey, it's not my bug, okay?" Odd asks.
"Just my name for it until we figure out exactly what's going on," Jeremy chuckles.
"It better be, because I've got nothing to do with it. It's just a question of chance," Odd says.
"Odd, dear, did you say what I think you said?" I ask.
"Yeah, I think he said chance," Ulrich replies. "You're not becoming superstitious, are you?"
"I figured it out." Yumi says, typing. Ulrich and I walk over to her.
"Well?" Ulrich asks.
"I think it's an assembly line for motherboards, electronic implants," Yumi explains.
"That doesn't sound pretty, what would it be for?" I ask.
"To control those spiders, for example," Yumi answers.
"Do you mean those cybernetic creatures in the jungle lab?" Ulrich asks.
"Exactly what I mean," Yumi replies.
"Hmm… makes sense," Ulrich says, crossing his arms. "The big question is what Xana's planning to do with all of them."
"I wish I knew the answer," Yumi says.
Suddenly the laptop terminal starts acting up. It lights up, and then the Xana symbol appears on it. The assembly line starts too, and we see Kankrelats making their way towards us. The three of us take our weapons out.
One of the Kankrelats is on the conveyor belt. It fires its laser at us. We look at another one that's moving down the steps. Suddenly, one more materializes close to Ulrich and I. I'm about to throw my boomerang, but Ulrich plunges his katana blade into the Kankrelat.
"Impact," he says. The Kankrelat starts short circuiting, then frizzes out of existence.
"Thanks," I say.
"No problem. I guess he was just like Odd. Not his lucky day," Ulrich jokes.
The Kankrelat that was on the steps jumps off. It heads towards Ulrich and I, but I charge my emeralds. They glow a dark green color instead of their usual light green.
I chuck my boomerang at the Kankrelat, but miss because the Kankrelat gets onto the conveyor belt. It starts heading to Yumi as I catch my boomerang on the rebound.
Yumi throws her remaining Tessen Fan at the Kankrelat she's dealing with. It charges its laser again. Her weapon slices through the target eye and the creature frizzes out of existence. The one that's on the conveyor belt fires its laser at Yumi's shoulder. Yumi is knocked to the ground and her shoulder starts frizzing, unlike the shocking we would normally receive. Yumi grabs her arm, and I put my boomerang in its holster. Ulrich and I get on the belt.
I charge my emeralds again, and they glow dark green. Charging the wind in the palms of my hands, I shoot it at the Kankrelats. The Kankrelat is launched into the air, and Ulrich pulls his arm back. He throws his Katana blade at the Kankrelat. The Kankrelat frizzes out of existence and Ulrich's weapon falls flat on one of the motherboards. Yumi gets up. She grabs the Katana and throws it to Ulrich.
"Nice team work, you two. Thank you," Yumi compliments.
Ulrich and I get off the conveyor belt.
"Anytime," Ulrich says. He and Yumi smile. Looking at it now, they will make a good couple. I'm happy where I am with Odd.
"Ulrich, Yumi, Sissi. I just located the supercalculator. Head for the southernmost end of the room."
We look at the large entrance that's there.
"We're on our way," Ulrich says. We start running over to that area. "What about your end? What's the latest on your end?" he asks. We keep running to the large entrance.
"Pretty bad news. Mia just showed up on the Replika."
We manage to get close to the supercomputer, Ulrich peers into the corridor.
"And if you ask me, it's not just a friendly visit."
"Jeremy, we're approaching the supercalculator room," Ulrich informs. There's a room up ahead, so Ulrich runs over to the door. Yumi runs next to him. I run to her side.
"The supercalulator will have to wait. First, we have to solve the Mia problem."
"I'd love to, got any suggestions?" Ulrich asks, his hand on his com.
"We don't have a choice. One of you will have to be teleported to keep her away from the Skid tower."
"Okay," Ulrich says. He looks at the both of us.
"What do we do, you two?" he asks. "Do you want me to go? Or should one of you two go?"
"We can always play for it," Yumi suggests.
"Sure, I'm game," I agree. The three of us make fists, readying for a game of rock, paper, and scissors.
"Paper, Scissors, Rock," the three of us say in unison and then make our selection. I use scissors, so does Ulrich, and Yumi is paper. Which means she loses.
"Scissors cut paper, don't they?" Ulrich asks.
"They sure do," I reply.
Yumi sighs. "Get ready, Mia," she puts her hand next to the com link. "We're good, Jeremy. I'm the one that's going."
"Deenergize, Yumi."
"Good luck you two," Yumi says. She starts frizzing out.
"Thanks, you too," I say.
"Yeah, you can do it Yumi," Ulrich smiles. She frizzes out entirely. "Ready to destroy the supercalculator?" he asks.
"You know it," I reply.
We get to the door and Ulrich presses a button. The door opens by itself, and we enter. The room is pretty big, and at the end of it, I see the supercalculator.
"Oh wow," Ulrich says.
"Yeah, this is… something else," I say. Suddenly, several lasers are fired at us. Ulrich manages to pull me to the side, causing me to yelp. The lasers hit the wall.
"Thanks for the save," I say.
"No problem," Ulrich says. He pushes a button and the door closes. We turn to each other.
"Jeremy, the supercalculator is infested with Kankrelats over here," Ulrich informs, his finger next to the com link in his ear.
"What's holding the others up?" I ask, doing the same.
"They're doing their best to get Aelita to the tower, she should just be about ready to enter it."
POV Lila's
Aelita, William, and I are hiding behind a rock wall.
Aelita summons her energy field, William summons his fireball, and I pull my drawstring back. The Hornets pass us. Aelita and William get out from behind the rock wall and launch their attacks from behind. The Hornets are hit and they explode. The third Hornet turns forward. It's about to charge its laser but I aim my arrow at it. I let my arrow fly and it hits the monster, which explodes. I put my back on its hook.
Aelita starts running to the tower.
"Jeremy, Lila, William, and I are finally here," she says.
Suddenly Aelita starts frizzing out.
"Aelita?" I ask.
She then starts devirtualizing in a cloud of pixels.
"Jeremy-" she says, but then fully devirtualizes.
"Oh no, not-" I start to say, but look at William as he and I are frizzing out too. We devirtualize in a cloud of pixels.
POV Sissi's
"I don't believe this!" Jeremy exclaims. "Ulrich, Sissi, Aelita, Lila, and William just got devirtualized. It looks like you two are on your own with the Kankrelats."
"Look, I know the both of us are good, but there are seven of these creeps. Sissi and I could get deenergized, that'll blow the whole mission," Ulrich says.
"Try to hold out until Yumi finishes her combat. If she can beat Mia, she can come back and give you two some help."
"Roger," Ulrich says.
"Got it," I say.
POV Lila's
Aelita, Jeremy, Odd, William, and I watch Yumi's card match up with Mia's. Soon, her card disappears, meaning Mia's devirtualized.
Nice job, Yumi! I think.
"That was great, Yumi," Jeremy says. "Get ready for another teleportation. Ulrich and Sissi need your help."
"Okay," Yumi says. There's a short pause. "Ah, no, hold on. I'm all bugged up," she informs.
Yumi's card color starts turning blue.
"Oh, too late," she says.
"I can't believe how jinxed we are today," Jeremy says.
"Me neither, this is a bit much," William says.
"What is this dumb bug, anyhow?" Yumi asks, it seems she's back in the scanner room.
Jeremy starts typing on the keyboard.
"That's exactly what I'm about to find out," he says. A window pops up on the screen. He continues to type on the keyboard, then there's sort of alarm noise.
"A nano bug," Jeremy says.
"A what?" Odd asks.
Jeremy looks at him. "A bug in the virtualization software, and the causes are so complex that its behaviors are seen as totally chaotic. With no way to tell if the behavior is really chaotic, or just seems to be, it's impossible to differentiate from a bore bug or a Heisenberg," he explains.
"Huh?" Aelita asks, actually getting confused.
"Come again?" I ask.
"Couldn't be anymore clearer," Odd says.
"You mean it?" Jeremy asks, as he momentarily stops typing.
"No," Odd replies.
"It's an extremely unusual problem and Jeremy doesn't know how to fix it yet," Aelita explains. Jeremy looks at her.
"Oh, why didn't you say so?" Odd asks.
A window pops up, it seems there are monsters heading for the Skid. Jeremy starts typing on the keyboard again.
"Oh great, that's all we needed."
POV Sissi's
Ulrich and I have been sitting on the floor, waiting for Jeremy.
"Ulrich, Sissi. I bet you two want some good news," Jeremy says.
"Yeah," Ulrich says.
"It would be nice," I say. We put our fingers on the com links.
"Er, sorry, don't have any. To make a long story short, you two are still on your own. The tower is still activated. And you're both probably going to get the bug I can't fix," Jeremy informs.
"Anything else?" I ask.
"Yes, you've gotta work fast because Xana is sending some Tarantulas to blow up the Skid."
Ulrich and I get up.
"Great," Ulrich says, pressing the button on the door. It opens.
"Ready to rumble, guys? Here we go!" he exclaims. Ulrich and I run in, and the door closes behind us.
POV Lila's
We're watching Ulrich and Sissi taking out the Kankrelats on the main screen. Their arrows are moving quickly.
"Hey, did you see that? Ulrich just knocked off three of them," Odd says.
"And Sissi knocked off two," I add.
"But how did they do that? They've only got their weapons," Jeremy says.
Sissi also has her wind power, that's gotta be how she's catching up with Ulrich so quickly! I think.
"Incredible, he just got another one," Aelita says, her hands together.
"They're on a lucky streak today," Yumi says, looking at her.
"That's for sure," William agrees.
"You want the last one, Sissi?" Ulrich asks.
"After you," Sissi replies.
Jeremy looks at Odd who sighs.
POV Sissi's
Ulrich takes care of the last Kankrelat.
"Nice going, you two. Now get rid of the supercomputer."
Ulrich and I look down, we seem to be frizzing out.
"Better hurry. You're both fading fast."
I put my boomerang back in its hoister. Ulrich hands me his Katana blade.
"On three," he says.
"Right," I say. Together, we walk up to the supercomputer and then plunge the Katana blades into the middle of it. It starts to short circuit, and we start frizzing out completely.
POV Lila's
A window pops up, showing the Replika disappearing.
"And the Replika is disappearing, too," Jeremy says.
"What about the Skid?" Aelita asks.
Jeremy starts typing.
"Hey, no sweat. I made a little remote control piloting program for emergencies just like this one," he says.
We see the Skid's arrow leaving the tower just in time. It soon makes its way into the digital sea. The Replika explodes.
"Another Replika bites the dust, fantastic," Jeremy says.
The freight elevator's doors open, and Ulrich and Sissi walk in.
Sissi and Ulrich walk over to us. Ulrich puts his hand on Odd's shoulder.
"Well, what do you think?" he asks.
"Luck, you two, that's what I think," Odd replies.
"Of course, I knew you would say that, Odd dear," Sissi says. All of us can't help but smile, and Aelita laughs lightly.
Later at dinner
Inside the cafeteria
Mary is back sitting with us at the table. Odd somehow trips himself and falls.
"What did you do now?" Ulrich asks.
"Odd, do you need some help?" Mary asks.
"I'm not sure you can help. And what does it look like, Ulrich? I slipped," Odd says. He gets up with his tray of his food, it seems some of it is left over. "Ever since I broke that mirror I've been jinxed."
"Relax, Odd. Jinxes don't exist. Luck does, but it changes," Aelita says.
"It's just a matter of time, Odd," I say.
"Exactly," Ulrich says, holding his drink. Odd pulls the chair in and sits down. He puts his hand under his chin.
"Has anyone seen Sissi?" Mary asks.
"I think she mentioned something about cheering Odd up," William replies.
"Really? How?" Odd asks.
"Not sure. But look, there she is," I reply. Sissi walks over to the table, and joins us.
"Odd, I think I have a surprise for you that'll cheer you up," Sissi says.
"What is it?" Odd asks.
"We're going out tonight, my father's treating us," Sissi replies.
"Really? Awesome!" Odd exclaims, getting up. He goes over to Sissi and kisses her on the cheek.
"Come on, let's go," he says.
"Sure. See you guys later," Sissi says.
"Bye, have fun," we say in unison.
Sissi and Odd walk hand in hand, as they go to exit the cafeteria. I can't help but smile at them.
Author's Note: Eloise is a shout out to Paladin777's CL series since that is where her name is from!
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LyokoWarrior1994