Disclaimer: Code Lyoko is copyrighted by Moonscoop.
This chapter was written by me. It was edited by AwesomeFanFictionAuthor.
I only own Lila and Mia. Mary is owned by AeroJester203. Kayori is owned by decode9.
Wrong Exposure
Lila and Aelita's Room
POV Lila's
Jeremy and Aelita are at the Hermitage right now, it gives me time to work on updating my diary.
Dear Diary,
We're nearing the end of August and it's going to be my birthday in less than a month. It's hard to believe I'm FINALLY going to be 16. It kind of stinks for someone to have a birthday towards the end of the year, or even at the very end.
Lately things with Kayori and I have been going well. We're chatting with each other every day, and she called me the day after Aelita's concert.
She's going back to school the first week of September, but plans on coming back to France on the weekend of my birthday since her father is merging one of his companies with another one here. It'll be nice to see her but admittedly it is kinda strange they had to move back to the States first.
I still haven't heard from Cameron, which admittedly is concerning. I know he's saving up for a surprise visit… but still, he could have sent a letter or something...
I'm also looking forward to having my birthday party over at my grandparents house. I still can't believe they offered that to me.
I haven't thought much about going back to the dark future that Future Aelita came from. At the same time… we haven't heard or seen any signs in the digital sea suggesting Future Aelita is truly alive. I feel like she should have reached out to us by now. I refuse to give up hope, though. If there's an issue, and that's why she can't reach out to us, then eventually she'll figure it out.
Anyways, gonna head over to the cafeteria.
Lila.
I close my diary, put it away, grab my stuff, then head out.
Afterwards
Inside the cafeteria
We all sit down to lunch, but for some reason Odd has less food on his tray than usual. He usually takes Mary's portion as well, but this time lets William take it. Sissi doesn't usually eat too much, but she remains silent while Odd seems to be stress eating. Which is weird. Very weird.
William leans in over to me, and whispers.
"This isn't weird to you?" he asks. I shake my head.
"No, it definitely is," I reply. He leans back into his chair. Odd continues to eat his mashed potatoes.
"Odd, you only ate two rounds of seconds. Are you sick?" Yumi asks.
"No, I'm okay," Odd replies, while chewing, then swallows. Ulrich looks at him then at Sissi.
"Did something happen with you two?" he asks. Odd and Sissi look at each other, then at Ulrich.
"We're fine," Sissi replies.
"Oh, here comes Aelita," Yumi announces. I look to see Aelita is holding a tray of food. She sits down next to Odd.
"Is Einstein still at the Hermitage?" William asks.
"He's in his room. He's not hungry," Aelita replies, holding her spoon so she can eat her mashed potatoes.
"Guess that means you struck pay dirt while you were there," Ulrich says.
"I have no idea. He thinks there may be something useful in an old picture we found," Aelita explains.
"Strange, what do you think it is?" Mary asks.
"He thinks it's a program that has to deal with Lyoko. But I'm not too sure. It could be just a random equation," Aelita replies. She takes a spoonful of mashed potato and eats it.
"So Odd, Sissi, want to tell us what's going on?" I ask them.
"Well…" Sissi trails off. Odd looks at her and shrugs.
"It's not THAT big of a deal. We just… sorta forgot about a homework assignment or two recently," she admits.
"Oh, is that at all?" William asks.
"Yeah," Odd replies. He continues to eat.
"Have you two thought about sending notes to each other online?" I ask them.
Odd stops eating. He looks at Sissi.
"Why didn't we think of that before? That way, we're bound to catch up on our work," he says.
"Yeah, that should work," Sissi says.
We can't help but smile at them.
Afterwards
Under the arches
We're walking under the arches. Jeremy ended up having lunch with us, while Odd went to Jeremy's room to send a copy of his notes to Sissi. Odd's been pretty silent for some reason.
"I didn't find anything useful in the photo. Just this setup program to reboot the supercomputer. Nothing to write home about. Although, it could come in handy one day," Jeremy says, while holding the photo.
Odd has his arms slouched in a strange way, like he's upset about something.
"So I guess the picture is not so top secret after all?" he asks.
"No, but we better keep it a secret. I wouldn't want a picture of Aelita to fall into the wrong hands," Jeremy replies.
"Uh… you mean like Delmas's hands?" Odd asks, we stop walking. Aelita turns to him.
"Oh no, Odd, you couldn't have," Aelita says.
"Yes I could," Odd says quietly.
"That's why I never got the notes," Sissi sighs.
Odd simply nods. Jeremy and I can't help but stare at Odd in disbelief. Jim rushes over to us, then stops and puts his hands on his hips.
"Stones, Smith, Bedard. The principal wants to see you three, on the double," Jim says, lifting his finger. He clears his throat.
"While we're at it. Belpois, Stern, Della Robbia, Dunbar, Ishiyama, and Sissi. You go with them. I'm sure Mr. Delmas has a bunch of questions for you too."
"But, we've got a class right now," Yumi mentions.
"Maybe we could go to Mr. Delmas after class?" William asks.
"Nice try, Dunbar, but you all heard me. Get going," Jim replies. He points in the direction of the administration building.
This will not be good, I think, sighing internally.
We start walking to the administration building. All of us groan and mumble amongst ourselves.
"I can't believe this," Odd says.
Afterwards
Mr. Delmas's Office
Aelita, Mary, and I are lined up together. We look at Mr. Delmas, who is sitting at his desk.
"You heard the principal, young ladies. No more fun and games. I've had a whole lot tougher nuts to crack than you," Jim says, his hands on his hips. "So! Last name, first name, occupation!" he says.
"Well, um...Stones, Aelita… um, uh, girl?" Aelita asks.
"Smith, Lila, and girl," I say.
"Bedard, Mia, and also girl," Mary says.
"You three think I'm an idiot, don't you?" Jim asks, pointing to us.
Mr. Delmas and Jim exchange a glance.
"Calm down, Jim. There's no need for the third degree. I just have a few questions, is all," Mr. Delmas says.
"Sorry sir," Jim says.
Mr. Delmas slides the picture Jeremy was holding earlier onto the desk. It's a picture of Franz and Aelita, who's in a dress. I'm not sure where the blackboard, and that room is. Perhaps it's an old room at Kadic, or the Hermitage, actually. I can see the equation Jeremy was talking about.
Aelita closes her eyes, thinks a moment, then opens them again. Mr. Delmas clears his throat. He looks at Odd.
"First thing's first. Odd, why would you send me this photo?" Mr. Delmas asks.
Odd rubs his head nervously.
"It was a mistake, sir. I know we talk sometimes via email, since I'm busy with classes and everything," he says.
"Right, I see. And just who was the original recipient supposed to be?" Mr. Delmas asks.
"Sissi, sir," Odd replies.
"Ah, and just what sort of email were you trying to send her originally?" Mr. Delmas asks, raising his eyebrow at Odd.
"Notes, sir," Odd replies calmly. Mr. Delmas clears his throat again and then looks at the photo on his desk.
"What intrigues me about this photograph is the presence of both Franz Hopper and Aelita Stones. They seem to be very close, too," Mr. Delmas says.
"So, the obvious question is, whether your name really is Aelita Stones," he continues, looking at her. Aelita looks at Mr. Delmas.
"Yes sir. Aelita Stones is my real name," Aelita says. "I'm the daughter of uh," she stammers a bit. "Franz and Anthea Stones."
"And are you really Canadian?" Mr. Delmas asks.
"Yes I am," Aelita answers.
"And are these two young ladies really your adopted sisters?" Mr. Delmas asks.
"Yes, they are," Aelita replies.
"Then answer me this. If your parents are Franz and Anthea Stones, why would Mary Smith adopt all of you?" Mr. Delmas asks.
Aelita looks down sadly. I speak up.
"If I may, sir," I say. Mr. Delmas looks at me and nods.
"Franz and Anthea Stones were Aelita's parents, but there was, um… a car accident. My mother Mary, she's my biological mother. During this time, she was on one of her business trips. She knew Franz and Anthea Stones very well. In fact, they were planning on going into a business together, but the accident took that away from them," I lie.
"I see. So, why not just mention that, Miss Stones?" Mr. Delmas asks her.
"It was a very heartbreaking time," Aelita replies.
"And can your step mother verify she was in fact in Canada, while adopting you?" Mr. Delmas asks.
"Yes sir, she can," Mia replies, speaking up.
Jim rubs his chin, and Mr. Delmas looks at him. The two of them are suspicious. I hear someone stepping out of line.
"With your permission, Mr. Delmas," Jeremy says. Aelita, Mary and I turn to look behind us. Jeremy lifts his finger.
"In the photo, Aelita looks about twelve or thirteen," he starts.
"Yes what about it?" Mr. Delmas asks.
"You said Franz Hopper taught here at Kadic about nine years ago? If that's really Aelita in the picture, she would be twenty-two years old now, and not thirteen. But, as you can see, Aelita is thirteen years old and not twenty-two. So that can't be Aelita in the photo. We can thus conclude, Aelita is not related to Franz Hopper, that she is telling the truth about being Canadian. As well as Mrs. Smith adopting Aelita after a car accident, in Canada. She then became Lila and eventually, Mia's adopted sister," Jeremy explains.
Jim looks at Jeremy. Some of the lies seem to start making sense. Mr. Delmas folds his hands and looks at us. He rubs his mustache.
"Very interesting. So then, while I'm checking out this identity business, you're all confined to the library for the rest of the day," Mr. Delmas says. All of us gasp at that, shocked.
"Under Jim's supervision," Mr. Delmas finishes.
"Wonderful," Jim says, sarcastically. Mr. Delmas looks at Jim.
This will not be fun, I think.
"Elizabeth, we'll talk later this evening," Mr. Delmas says.
"Okay," Sissi says sadly.
Afterwards
Inside the library
We're sitting in the library. It's right across from the principal's office, so we haven't left the admin building in some time.
Yumi is working on a crossword puzzle. Aelita has her head down, and so does Sissi, for that matter. I'm sitting next to Mary while writing in my notebook. Odd is reading some sort of comic magazine and chewing a candy bar. Ulrich is sitting quietly with his leg up, and William is just reading a book. Jeremy is typing on his laptop. Jim is reading a magazine.
Suddenly, the alarm for an activated tower. Then there's a blinking confirmation sound.
"Oh no, an activated tower!" Jeremy exclaims, in a low whisper for just us. Odd stops eating. He, Ulrich, and William lean forward.
"What?" Ulrich asks.
"Now, of all times?" William asks.
Yumi, Aelita, Mary, Sissi, and I gasp. Now Aelita and Sissi both have their heads up. Jim throws his magazine to the floor when I hear someone walking in. We see it's Mr. Delmas walking over to the table.
Jim rubs his head and gets up, causing the chair to fall down.
"Anything wrong, Mr. Delmas?" Jim asks.
Mr. Delmas looks down at Aelita.
"Miss Aelita Stones, I'd like to have a word with you, alone. Jim, make certain no one leaves this library," Mr. Delmas requests. Aelita gasps a bit.
She gets up and starts to leave the library with Mr. Delmas. Jeremy's eyes widen suddenly.
"Huh? Aelita, no!" Jeremy exclaims, getting up and rushing over to the door to leave. I get up, so does Mary, Yumi, Sissi, and the others. Jim stops Jeremy at the door from going any further.
"Where do you think you're going, Belpois?" Jim asks.
"It's Delmas. He's been Xanafied. Aelita mustn't go with him, Jim," Jeremy replies.
"Well, I don't know if I'd go as far as sanctifying him," Jim says, then looks up, and back down at Jeremy. "And by the way, it's not Delmas. It's Mr. Delmas to you."
All of us group up together, Jim has his hands down, still trying to block the doorway from us.
"Get back to your seats. No one is going anywhere," Jim tells us.
"But Jim, Aelita is in danger," Jeremy explains, but Jim still blocks the way.
"There is an easier solution," Mary says.
"Yes, but that's not always the right solution," I say.
"If you two would stop talking, it seems you're all willing to play hard ball," Jim says. He puts his fists up. He's not guarding his face or anything, more like almost a salute position.
"If you want to get through, you're gonna have to use what I taught you in my commando camp," Jim says, then he gets into some sort of fighting form stance. Whether it's PenCak Silat, that I'm not sure of.
"If you say so," Jeremy says.
"Attack!" all of us cry, including Sissi. We charge at Jim, whose jaw drops, shocked that we would do this. One by one, we manage to drop Jim to the floor, holding him down.
"Touch down," Ulrich and William say in unison. They chuckle lightly, even though it's no laughing manner.
"Hurry guys, tie him up," Jeremy says.
Afterwards
The woods
All of us are running in the woods, including Mary. She's in her regular form now. She's going to help us battle Xanafied Mr. Delmas.
"Just think what will happen if we return to the past, and it doesn't work. Jim will kill us!" Odd exclaims.
"Yeah, and I'll never hear the end of it from my father!" Sissi exclaims. I'm honestly surprised she's not mad at Odd, or giving him the cold shoulder. While this is Odd's biggest mistake yet, it is a mistake in the end. One we should be able to fix easily.
"We've got a bigger problem to deal with first, you two," Jeremy says, looking at them.
"Compared to that Jim is a piece of cake. As for your father, Sissi, thankfully we have a little help," Jeremy says, referring to Mary.
"I'll try my best not to hurt him badly," Mary says.
"Uh, thanks?" Sissi asks.
"Don't worry, Sissi," I say, speaking up. "She'll do her best, for sure."
Sissi smiles at that.
Afterwards
Tunnel system
Now we're in the tunnel system, riding to the end of the tunnel. Yumi is ahead of all of us on her skateboard, Odd is behind her on his skateboard. Sissi is pedaling on her bike. Jeremy is on his scooter. I'm on my scooter behind Jeremy. Ulrich is behind me, and William behind him. Both on their skateboards. Behind William is white smoke, following all of us.
"I swear, Mary, you are the coolest," William says. I smile at that. She certainly is.
Inside the factory
Jeremy, Ulrich, and I grab the metal ropes one by one. We swing on down, and white smoke flies over to us. Mary then resumes her regular form, and her feet touch the floor at the same time we do. The metal ropes go back to the others. Jeremy, Ulrich, Mary, and I notice the freight elevator is missing.
Not good, I think.
Ulrich rushes to the call button and starts pressing it. The others, meanwhile, use the ropes. Yumi, Sissi, and Odd swing down. They reach the floor, and William is the last one to grab a metal rope.
"Come on, come on," Ulrich says. We hear the freight elevator coming up. William lands on the floor. He, and the others run over to us. The freight elevator reaches us, finally. The hangar door opens, revealing Xanafied Mr. Delmas in it. His eyes pulse with the xana symbol.
"He does not look happy to see us," Odd comments.
Mary starts channeling white electricity into her hands. Xanafied Mr. Delmas notices this, and he does the same. Purple electricity surrounding his hands.
"Get out of the way!" Mary exclaims. All of us do so, and Mary fires her white electricity at our possessed principal. Mr. Delmas fires his purple electricity back at her. Their two energies clash, and Mr. Delmas starts walking forward. He uses his strength to push Mary back.
"Mary, we can help you!" I exclaim.
"No, hurry, go!" Mary exclaims. "Go and find Aelita," she says.
We look at each other. Even though we could use the freight elevator, we don't take our chances.
"We will," Sissi says. We start to leave, but Mr. Delmas fires a shot of electricity at us. He loses his grip, letting Mary push him back a little. However, the shot of electricity causes Sissi and Odd to stop walking, cutting them off from us for a second. Sissi looks at her possessed father, then speaks up:
"Odd, Mary, and I will handle him!" she exclaims.
"Okay," Ulrich says.
Mary decides to stop her electricity blast, and Xanafied Mr. Delmas is about to hit her, but Mary disappears into white smoke. She flies over to Sissi and Odd, then reforms. Looking away, I hear the three of them charge at Xanafied Mr. Delmas. The rest of us simply run to get to the lab another way.
We see the stairwell, and start running for it. One by one, we run down. We hear Odd and Sissi scream.
Please do your best to protect them, Mary, I plead internally.
Afterwards
Inside the lab
All of us climb down a ladder that leads into the lab.
Definitely do not like going the long way. But at least it's an option, I think. Jeremy is the first one to reach the floor, followed by me. The two of us run over to the computer. We keep running, and Jeremy reaches his chair. He sits on it, and I watch him type on the keyboard. He puts his headset earpiece on, then adjusts the mic part. I can see Aelita's avatar picture on the computer as well as the Lyoko map.
"He's virtualized Aelita to the forest sector. I'm sending you to it right now," Jeremy says, looking at Ulrich, William, and Yumi. Ulrich nods. The three of them start running to the freight elevator. Jeremy looks at me.
"Go, Sissi and Odd will be okay with Mary at their side," he says.
"Right," I nod. I run over to the freight elevator, my friends waiting for me. I run inside and Ulrich presses the red button to go down. The freight elevator's doors close.
Afterwards
Inside the scanner room
Yumi, Ulrich, and I have already taken our respective scanners. William doesn't mind being last for a change.
"Hurry up, the Scyphozoa is going after Aelita!" Jeremy informs.
Not good! It's been a while since we dealt with him! I think.
"We're ready," Ulrich says from within his opened scanner.
"Just don't forget to virtualize me, Einstein," William says.
"I won't!"
The scanners doors close, and Jeremy begins the virtualization process.
Afterwards
Lyoko's Forest Sector
My vision returns and I see Ulrich, Yumi, and I falling. We land on the ground in a crouched position, then get up.
"And virtualization!" Jeremy exclaims.
We look up to see William virtualizing. He falls and lands on the ground next to us, then gets up. We see a path ahead of us where the Scyphozoa is chasing Aelita, who is ahead of it.
"Ugh, I forgot how ugly it was," Ulrich groans.
"I thought you liked seafood?" Yumi jokes.
"Not the nasty type," Ulrich jokes.
"Are you two ready to go?" William asks.
They nod. We start running, and two Krabs are materialized. They fall down and start firing their lasers at us. Yumi takes her Tessen Fans out. She opens them. I take my hunter's knife out of its holster.
"Xana's sent some visitors, but they're not going to stop us," Yumi says. She throws one of her Tessen Fans, but it's a miss, even though Yumi didn't purposely aim at the Krabs.
Ulrich runs over to one Krab. William and I run over to the other Krab. William takes his double edged sword out. We flank the Krab. It can't decide which one of us to fire at. Ulrich super sprints into the air to jump onto his Krab. William slices one of the Krab's legs, then the other. I use my hunter's knife and do the same thing. The Krab is now just a legless monster that can't get up.
Ulrich takes one of his twin katana blades out of one of his sheathes. Ulrich stabs the Krab in its target eye.
"Impact!" he exclaims. He jumps off it, the Krab exploding into pieces. He lands on the ground, and those pieces disappear.
"I don't like jelly fish or shellfish," Ulrich says. Ulrich puts his katana blade away. Yumi's Tessen Fan finally returns to her, she catches it. William and I look at each other, then nod. We get out of the way. Yumi throws her Tessen Fan again at the legless Krab, it hits the target eye and returns to her once more. The Krab explodes into pieces. Those pieces, and the legs, disappear. William and I sheath our weapons.
Just when we think we're all clear, another Krab materializes. It lands on the ground.
Great, I sigh internally.
William, Ulrich, Yumi, and I get ready to fight the Krab.
"Yumi, Ulrich, William. Lila," Jeremy says.
"Yes, Jeremy?" Yumi asks.
"What's going on? The Scyphozoa has caught Aelita. She's not too far from you. Why can't you get to her?" Jeremy asks.
"We're taking a nap," Ulrich chastises. "What do you think? We're up to our ears in shellfish!"
The Krab fires a laser at Ulrich, but he dodges it.
"Take that, you clammy monster!" Ulrich exclaims. He throws one of his katana blades. The Krab ducks, and the katana blade gets stuck in the bark of a tree.
"Nice one, you just lost one of your blades!" William chastises.
"You got a better idea, I hope!" Ulrich exclaims.
"We don't have time for this, you two!" I exclaim. Yumi and I get to work. I start channeling my ice powers. My snowflake amulet glows, and my hands get cold. Aiming my hands at the Krab's legs, I send an ice blast at them. I keep freezing them until the Krab can't move.
"Yumi!" I say, stopping my ice powers.
Yumi jumps in the air, she throws one of her Tessen Fans at the target eye. It's a hit, and the Krab explodes into pieces. Yumi lands on the ground.
"Super sprint!" Ulrich exclaims. He runs over to the tree, leaving a yellow trail behind. He jumps onto it and takes the katana blade out of it. He then jumps off it, only to land next to Yumi. William and I run over to the two of them.
"Krabs might just become my favorite dish," Ulrich jokes.
"Less joking, more running!" I exclaim. We start running, so we can find out what's going on with Aelita and help her.
Afterwards
Following the path Aelita was on, we finally see her ahead. She's being held by the Scyphozoa, its tentacles glowing red.
Not good, mom! I think, worried.
"Aelita!" Yumi exclaims.
The Scyphozoa releases Aelita. She falls to the ground.
"Too late," Yumi says.
We keep running on the path, until we reach the end of it.
"Aelita!" I exclaim.
The Scyphozoa retreats. We're only a few away, but from here, I can see Aelita's panting. She has two fingers on her head. We stop running, and start walking over to her.
"Aelita," Ulrich calls out.
Yumi starts walking over to Aelita.
"Be careful Yumi," William warns.
"I know," Yumi says, bending down and reaching for Aelita.
"Aelita, are you okay?" she asks. Aelita turns around. She growls, and this causes Yumi to gasp, backing away from her. Aelita's eyes pulse with the Xana symbol, she gets up. Yumi covers her mouth, shocked. My eyes widen.
Definitely not good! I think.
Aelita looks at Yumi and I. She holds out her hands, summoning her energy fields. She launches them at us, but Ulrich and William push us aside, making us fall to the ground.
Ulrich takes one of his twin katana blades, William takes the front of his double edged blade. Both of them use their weapons to shield us from the energy fields.
Yumi and I hear metallic clanking heading our way. On the right side, we see Tarantulas coming for us.
"You guys," Yumi says, looking at the boys. Ulrich takes out his other twin katana blade, pointing it at the Tarantula. William grips his double edged sword.
The two Tarantulas lift their front legs. They start firing their lasers at Ulrich and William. Ulrich uses his twin katana blades to reflect one of the Tarantula's barrage of lasers.
The other Tarantula focuses its fire power on William. He spins his double edged sword, getting each side to reflect the lasers one by one. Less effective than Ulrich, but still works. Yumi takes her Tessen Fans out and opens them. I get my hunter's knife out of its holster.
One of the Tarantula's tries to fire a laser at us, causing us to yelp and almost get hit by it. We see Aelita starting to walk towards the digital sea!
"Aelita!" Yumi exclaims.
"Why is she heading towards the digital sea? Is she crazy?" I ask.
William gets in front of us to try to shield us from any incoming lasers.
"Xana used the Scyphozoa to brainwash Aelita. She's headed to the digital sea to throw herself in!" Jeremy exclaims.
"Make her stop."
"Any ideas how to?" William asks.
"Yeah, you can devirtualize her. Why don't you bring her in?" Ulrich asks.
"What do you think I've been trying to do? But I can't. The Scyphozoa must have implanted some sort of inhibitor in her brain. You have to attack her," Jeremy answers.
The Tarantulas continue to fire off their lasers, but we decide to dodge them by splitting off. I run over to where Ulrich is, behind a tree. One of the Tarantulas fires its lasers at it. We bend down.
"You've got to be kidding," Ulrich says.
"You heard me. I'm telling you to devirtualize Aelita," Jeremy says.
"Okay, Lila and I are on it," Ulrich says.
I get up and start channeling my ice powers to my hands. My snowflake amulet glows. Ulrich gets up.
"Super sprint!" Ulrich exclaims.
My hands get cold, and two blasts of ice come out of them. I keep channeling my powers, hovering above the ground. I fly over to where Ulrich has super sprinted. My flight's a bit wobbly, but I roll onto the ground, then get up. Ulrich takes his twin katana blades out of his sheathes. He's about to strike Aelita, and I try to focus my hands on her. However, Aelita is able to grab Ulrich's katana blade. It turns red, and Ulrich looks at his hand in disbelief.
My snowflake amulet glows, and Aelita notices this. She runs at me using Ulrich's katana blade. She tries to swing his blade at me, but I barely bend my body enough to duck and kick her in the stomach, pushing her back. I get up and take my hunter's knife out of its holster. Ulrich and I look at each other and nod. Aelita fixes her feet to the ground. She holds the glowing red katana blade in her hand and chuckles.
Ulrich and I walk over to her. Our blades in our hands. Ulrich tosses his katana blade between his hands. He then points it at Aelita.
"Okay," Ulrich says. "If it's two on one you want…" he trails off, letting me finish it.
"Then that's what you'll get," I say.
Ulrich and I run at Aelita, we strike her with our blades, but then she uses her strength to get away from us. She starts circling us, so we try to circle her.
Ulrich and I charge at Aelita. She then charges at us. Ulrich and I swing our weapons at her, but Aelita ducks. So we back away. She gets up, then starts walking towards us. She starts swinging Ulrich's katana blade at us. Ulrich and I back away from her, evading each swing.
"Ulrich, Lila. Whatever you two do, don't devirtualize Aelita," Jeremy informs. Ulrich and I jump all the way back, then land on the ground.
"Don't worry, I don't think we were close," Ulrich says, looking up.
Aelita readies Ulrich's katana blade in her hand.
"But why the change of plans?" I ask.
"Sissi is unconscious. Mary and Odd are still getting walloped by Delmas. I think Mary is trying to be careful not to hurt Delmas too badly, which is good. But we have to get Aelita to deactivate the tower," Jeremy replies.
"Yeah, why don't you just ask her? I'm sure she'd be happy to accommodate," Ulrich jokes.
"I don't know what to tell you. Either we lose Aelita, or we lose Odd, Sissi, and Mary," Jeremy says.
We're really caught between a rock and a hard place… I trail off.
Aelita runs at us, so we run at her. Our weapons clash. Ulrich and I move forward, pushing Aelita back. She jumps forward to swing the katana blade at us, pushing us back, and then Aelita jumps back. We run at her, and swing our weapons at her. This time she almost trips herself, stumbling back next to a tree.
Aelita holds the katana blade with one hand, Ulrich holds his with the other. I grip my hunter's knife with both hands. We run at one another. Ulrich and I try to swing our weapons at Aelita again. She twirls herself, nearly slashing Ulrich's leg. Ulrich backs away and Aelita kicks me in the stomach this time. I'm pushed back to where Ulrich is. Together we aim our weapons at her, and Aelita runs at us. Aelita screams. She reaches us, twirls, and swings her sword.
She elbows Ulrich in the stomach, and then kicks me in the stomach once again. Ulrich nearly loses his balance but gets hold of himself. I nearly lose my weapon.
"Hey, I'm the one that taught you that! Though you did just use it a bit differently," Ulrich says.
Aelita summons her energy field with her free hand. She launches it at Ulrich, who puts his katana blade up sideways. The energy field is blocked, but gives Ulrich a push back. Aelita starts running at him, and so I run over to Ulrich. Aelita jumps in the air, readying herself to strike Ulrich. I run in front of Ulrich, and Aelita's weapon clashes with my hunter's knife. She puts the katana blade under my hands, then disarms me. Aelita smirks evilly, and pulls her arm back before plunging the katana blade into me. I start devirtualizing.
"Lila!" Ulrich exclaims.
Inside the scanner room
The scanners doors open. I punch the side of it, frustrated.
"Darn it!" I exclaim.
"Lila, if you can, try to help Odd and Mary," Jeremy says. "I'll see if I can't somehow fix this…" he trails off.
"Okay," I say. "Good luck."
I run over to the opened freight elevator. I go to press the red button to go up. The freight elevator's doors close.
Factory Level
The hangar door opens. I hear fighting going on, so I start running towards it. I spot Sissi on the floor, still unconscious.
Don't worry, Sissi, Jeremy will save Aelita somehow, I think. I keep running, then see Xanafied Mr. Delmas walking towards Mary and Odd.
"Lila, be careful!" Mary warns.
Xanafied Mr. Delmas turns to me. His eyes pulse with the Xana symbol. He channels his purple electricity and throws it at me, I fling myself to the side. I fall on the floor hard, but manage to just barely dodge the electricity.
"Lila!" Mary exclaims. She turns into her white smoke and flies over to me and possesses me.
We'll do this on our own terms, Mary tells me.
Right, I think.
Be careful, child. Sissi is already unconscious, and Odd's leg isn't in the best shape, either, Future Xana tells me.
Great… two other voices in my head. That's...weird, I think.
I get up. Xanafied Mr. Delmas growls angrily at me. His eyes pulsing, he runs at me.
"Odd! Get to Sissi if you can and take cover," I warn him, my voice is still the same since it's only Mary possessing me.
I start running at Xanafied Mr. Delmas. Odd takes the opportunity to limp away, so that he can make his way towards Sissi.
I channel Mary's white electricity into my hands. Xanafied Mr. Delmas channels both of his hands with purple electricity. We shoot at each other, and the blasts collide. I try to push forward, but Xanafied Mr. Delmas is stronger.
Our blasts are almost about to blow us up in our faces, but Xanafied Mr. Delmas's electricity disperses. I disperse mine quickly, and Mr. Delmas falls to the floor. Unconscious. I sigh in relief.
"That was too close," I say.
Mary expels herself out of me, and gets her feet to the floor. We hear walking coming our way. We see it's Odd and Sissi, who both have their hands on their shoulders. They're a bit beat up, but they smile at us anyways. Mary and I can't help but smile at them for their courage, as well as growth as people. A big white bubble engulfs everything, sending us back in time.
Earlier the same day
Under the arches
"No, Delmas couldn't possibly have known me. My father may have been a teacher here, but I studied at home, so I never attended Kadic," Aelita explains.
"So there's no chance of finding any trace of Aelita Hopper," Yumi says.
"No, none. Especially since my real name isn't Hopper," Aelita reveals to the others, even though I know what her real last name is. The other looks confused.
"It isn't?" William asks.
"Nope. Schaeffer is my real name," Aelita replies. "When we moved to the Hermitage, my father wanted to make a brand new start. Franz was his middle name. Hopper is my mother's name," she explains.
"Aelita Schaeffer?" Sissi asks.
"That is really incredible. Einstein, you, Lila, and Mary knew that?" Odd asks.
"I did," I reply.
"And me too. But it makes no difference. As far as everyone is concerned, Aelita's name is now and forever: Aelita Stones," Jeremy says.
I can't help but wonder if my mother kept her last name Stones before she died, I think.
The others can't help but smile. The bells ring, signaling class.
"Time for class Lyoko warriors," Yumi says. We start walking away. The others keep walking, but Mary and I hang back.
"Can I ask you something?" I whisper.
"Yes, Lila?" Mary asks.
"Did my mother-" I start to say, but Mary shakes her head.
"She didn't. The last name Stones was a false name, when your mother married Jeremy, she took his last name," Mary explains. I smile at that.
Aelita catches up to us. The three of us start walking to catch up Jeremy, Ulrich, and Odd. Yumi and William are probably already heading to their class. I can't help but feel that we're all really lucky to have each other.
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LyokoWarrior1994