In the Forest Sector, deep within the dense network of trees, Aelita could be found battling a Tarantula. She hid behind a large, hollow tree trunk and waited for the Tarantula's torrent of lasers to let up. "Energy Field!" She threw the energy orb at the Tarantula but missed, and was forced to duck back behind cover as soon as the deluge began again. I need to get by it!
Meanwhile, Jeremie, Yumi, Odd, and Ulrich were storming through the sewers, each wearing an expression of worry or anger.
"I knew what I saw, people chasing her into the park woods like that could only mean one thing! She turned the Supercomputer on and X.A.N.A. stole the codes she had, and he got out again!" Jeremie was growing angrier with every step he took.
"Or, you're seeing things, Einstein." Odd was getting more excited than angry, even though he was doing his best to appear serious. What if Aelita did turn the Supercomputer back on? Nothing could compare to the rush.
"Yeah, Jeremie, I'm sure it's nothing. Even if she did go to the Factory, you know it's probably just to get away for a little bit, be alone. You know how badly she's been struggling lately." Yumi tried to reassure herself and the others, but she too got worried with every step. "If Aelita did indeed turn the Supercomputer back on and X.A.N.A. got out, it would ruin my life again. I'm making a solid ninety-seven average. Ninety-seven! I'm getting to prepare for the future and make a life for myself. I'm making friends, even Sissi!" She especially enjoyed hanging out with Ulrich, who was just a really good friend, of course.
"She didn't, wouldn't, turn it back on." Ulrich got more scared with every step too. "She wouldn't dare. It'd ruin my life again too. I'm finally back on the football team, we've won every single game so far. My grades are at an eighty-eight average! I've made friends now, friends I made on my own without a homicidal AI forcing me."
"If she did we'll have to do something about her." Jeremie clenched his hands into fists. "I had worked so hard to defeat X.A.N.A., but to think that Aelita may have let him out! If she did, then I don't know if I could forgive her. I love her but X.A.N.A. is beyond forgiveness."
Aelita closed her eyes and started to sing quietly. A clone was formed next to her, and it flew away, in the opposite direction from the Tower. The Tarantula focused its fire to follow it while the true Aelita created two energy orbs. "Energy Field!" She rounded the hollow tree, threw them both and hit her target. The Tarantula convulsed, sparking with pink plasma, then exploded as Aelita rushed past it to the activated Tower.
Jeremie and the others swung down the ropes one by one, filed into the elevator and hit the button to take it down to the Control Room.
"Did you notice one of the ropes has been cut?" Ulrich whispered to Yumi.
"Something is fishy," she murmured back, jaw set.
"Tower deactivated." The binary screens fell around Aelita. She sighed and began to tap around the panel. "I better get back before anyone notices I'm gone."
"Too late," a voice rang through the Tower, and Aelita released a little squeal of a scream.
"Jeremie?!" she squeaked with terror. Before she had the opportunity to do it herself, her body dissolved as he materialized her, and she sheepishly took the elevator up to the Control Room.
"Um, hi." She took in the sight of everyone and bowed her head with shame.
"Where's William?" Jeremie got up from the computer chair, crossing his arms.
"I don't know," she mumbled.
"So he isn't actually in on this?" Jeremie interrogated her furiously. Aelita shook her head. "How long did you think you could keep this from us?" Jeremie started to scream and couldn't stop. "How could you turn the Supercomputer back on and not think we would find out! You let X.A.N.A. out, didn't you?"
"Um... not exactly. I was trying to bring my dad back and…" Jeremie cut Aelita off.
"You can't! He is dead!" Everyone flinched as Jeremie screamed louder. "He died to save us and you erased that!"
"Shut up! Don't interrupt me! He spoke to me, I saw him appear on Lyoko! I saved him!" Aelita balled her fists and screamed right back.
"Oh, really? Then where is he now?"
"I don't know, X.A.N.A. came back too and now he's missing, but I know he's out there!" She flinched, tears welling up.
"Or he's dead because of you!"
"But he was there and you didn't listen to me!"
"I can't believe you, Aelita! How could you be so stupid?" Jeremie stepped closer to Aelita when Odd stepped between them.
"Calm down, Einstein, she was trying to find her parents. I, I can't..." Odd stopped when he saw the look on Jeremie's face. "I don't want X.A.N.A. to be back either, but now that he is, we have to work to stop him." Odd paused when Ulrich made a grunting noise. "What?"
"You're a horrible liar, Odd. This is the best news you've heard since you found out we were getting two new female students from Lincoln, and one of them was willing to go out with you," Ulrich scoffed.
"I... that's not true," Odd stammered. This time Jeremie answered.
"It is too, isn't it? You're probably thinking of going to Lyoko right now to play the hero for her!" Jeremie pointed at Aelita. "Last time she was innocent! It was her father who made X.A.N.A.! But this time she released X.A.N.A.! We had him beat! We won! And she let him go!"
"Jeremie, I did not! He wasn't beat, he was waiting! It was wrong to leave him and my father was alive! I'm sorry you're too angry to see that!" Aelita pleaded.
"Don't say that! You're not sorry! You don't care! I told you not to turn the Supercomputer on and you did it anyways! How long has this been going on?" Jeremie shrieked, waving his arms.
"Um, since early January..." Aelita looked away from the others as her cheeks burned and flushed red. "I'm so sorry, everyone..."
"No, you're not! If you were, you wouldn't have done it in the first place! You don't care! You went off on your own and did whatever you wanted!" Jeremie made a move towards Aelita, but Odd got in the way again.
"Einstein, she said she was sorry." Jeremie pushed Odd away and stormed to the elevator.
"You'll be sorry when X.A.N.A. wins! We can't kill him again and we can't trap him again! We got lucky destroying the Cortex and keeping his codes as long as we did. Franz beat him in the first place, not us, and Franz! Is! Dead!" Jeremie punched the button and the elevator doors closed.
"No, I, I am sorry." Aelita started to sob violently. "I didn't want to bring X.A.N.A. back, I wanted to bring my father back."
"But you didn't bring him back. You released X.A.N.A., and now..." Yumi clenched her hands into fists. "I want to be alone. Come on, Ulrich." Yumi turned and went to the ladder to take the long way out of the Control Room.
Odd turned to Aelita. "It's okay, Aelita, I'm not mad at you. I... I just need time to think about all this. I guess you did pretty well, fighting for that long by yourself and materializing your dad to Lyoko at all."
"I... I guess. X.A.N.A. is weak still. Megatanks take off eighty life points instead of a full hundred. Hasn't been able to do much more than possess people. I've gotten lucky on Lyoko," Aelita shrugged.
"Once we all have time to calm down and get used to this again you'll have your knights to protect you, Princess," Odd offered weakly.
"Do you think they'll come the next time X.A.N.A. launches an attack?"
"They have to. At least we'll get to see them more."
"What do you mean?"
"Haven't you noticed? Ulrich, Yumi and William always seem to be out doing stuff with Varric and Ludek. You and Jeremie always did your brainy stuff. I get to see Kimi when she isn't with Tomas, Ashanti and Sissi, and I get to see Ulrich when we all play video games. But our new friends? They aren't Lyoko Warriors. It seems like we only come together at meals."
"I see." Aelita thought back to when she was at the school and not fighting X.A.N.A. "I guess you have a point. At least you've got Kimi, right?"
"I have to admit, it's nice to date someone who doesn't, or didn't, know I have a reputation as a player. I've changed a bit over the years," Odd smiled weakly. "But I missed you guys. Once we all calm down we'll be okay." He smiled a bit more genuinely. "I may be upset, but family has to stick together."
"I guess." Aelita looked wistfully at the control panel. "I better start up the Superscan. I worked most of it back together so it should work."
"Huh?"
"I deleted some of the programs and decompiled others to get more power for my father to draw on. I only compressed the Superscan but it's been pretty inconsistent."
"Oh. So you did help X.A.N.A.?"
"I didn't know X.A.N.A. was lurking!"
"But once you figured out he was. you could have just deactivated the tower and turned the computer off."
"No... before I even got to the first Tower, he sent the Scyphozoa to take the rest of the codes in me. Do you remember when Yumi got lightheaded a couple weeks ago and went home really early? He got hers with a spectre."
"Then it's like Jeremie said, it's like when he got your Keys to Lyoko and wasn't restricted to our Supercomputer anymore. What about William?"
"What about him?" Aelita looked away.
"Does he know?"
"I said he doesn't, didn't I?"
"Did he really fall and hit his head on Sunday?" Odd pressed.
"Um... no, not exactly. X.A.N.A. left a backdoor last time he used the Scyphozoa on William, so he possessed him and I beat him on Lyoko then erased the backdoor. I was trying to get him out of the Factory when Jeremie saw us."
"Anything else you want to do?"
"Go back and hold Mister Puck and hope I'll wake up and find this was all a nightmare."
"I wish." Odd frowned. "I better get going."
"Okay. Bye Odd." Aelita waved goodbye, holding back tears, as he took the elevator up. As soon as he was gone, Aelita let them fall. "You're mad too! You just won't admit it. Liar!" She crossed over to the control panel and started up the Superscan.
Odd plopped into his bed and had just closed his eyes when something smashed into his stomach. "Kiwi! Who's a good diggety dog?" Kiwi barked and wagged his tail.
"He gets excited every time he sees you after all that time with your sisters," said a male voice flatly. Odd turned to see Ulrich in the doorway.
"Yeah, it's good to have him back. I hope X.A.N.A. doesn't attack him. You know it wasn't Aelita's fault X.A.N.A. tricked her," Odd declared firmly, looking Ulrich in the eye.
"So? We shouldn't have to worry about that! We did it, we finally had him trapped and she's the reason he was able to come back!" Ulrich balled his hands into fists. "Our lives are ruined again. We can't be normal, because of her."
"Not on purpose. No one would do that," Odd insisted.
"You might," Ulrich snarked. Odd flushed red.
"What are you talking about?"
"I said you might! You loved Lyoko! You loved the danger and the fighting and being a superhero! I know you've been miserable without it," Ulrich accused, pointing.
"I liked it, but I'm not dumb enough to let X.A.N.A. out just to do it again! And don't you dare tell me you didn't like being a hero!" Odd spat back, pushing Kiwi away and sitting up.
"I'm done being a hero! I want to play football, do well in school and hang out with my friends. I just want to be a normal kid with normal problems, not having to worry if each day will be my last, because X.A.N.A. might win tomorrow or the next day!"
"X.A.N.A. is weak. Aelita told me. We don't have to worry about anything. She obviously hasn't had to do any returns since he's been back."
"So? She got lucky!" Ulrich scowled.
"She didn't get lucky. She's just that good. You know she can fight and defend herself now. We've seen her do it more than a dozen times." Odd stood up, getting angry now.
"Why are you defending her? She's ruined our life once and now she's going to do it again!"
"She ruined nothing! Life was great!"
"Tell that to William! He was a slave to X.A.N.A. for months!"
"And Aelita saved him! She can do it, Ulrich, we can do it. We beat X.A.N.A. once, and we can do it again." Odd put his hands on Ulrich's shoulders, who swatted them away.
"You heard Jeremie! Franz did it! Then we got lucky after fighting Tyron. Without Franz we're screwed! We were done and now we're going to lose!"
"We are not. If you're not going to calm down and think about it I'm not going to talk to you."
"Fine!" Ulrich stormed out of the dorm and slammed the door behind him.
The next day, Wednesday, Jeremie, Ulrich, and Yumi glared at Odd and Aelita as they walked by with their breakfast trays.
"What's wrong with you guys?" Ludek looked from Jeremie to Yumi. The two he'd questioned both shook their heads and stared at their alienated friends. Sissi, Varric, Ashanti and William simply watched the events playing out before them as Kimi left to sit with Odd and Aelita.
"Hey, uh, Varric, about the other day..." Tomas began quietly while Ashanti placed a supportive hand on his shoulder.
"Yes, friend? Are you wanting to plan the bro time?" Varric looked back at him.
"Yeah, uh, there's just one thing. Since I really like you..." He paused, taking a deep breath, but Ashanti smiled at him and he relaxed a bit.
"I like you too, friend." Varric smiled back, leaning back in his chair.
"Kadic News! Ulrich, Varric, Ludek, care to answer some questions for our football coverage?" Milly Solovieff interrupted, thrusting a microphone amidst the group while Tamiya Diop trailed behind her with a camera. Varric's friendly demeanor disappeared, and he frowned, as did the other young men in question.
Tomas sighed and laid his head on the table while Ashanti pat his back gently. "Maybe next time. There's no rush," she assured him.
During Hertz's class, Aelita and Odd sat together, sparking gossip. "Did Aelita and Jeremie break up?"
"I heard Aelita and Odd liked each other."
"But he's dating Kimi! And aren't he and Aelita cousins?"
"I heard they were caught kissing."
"No way, I heard that was a rumor started by Sissi."
"I wouldn't start a rumor about my friends! It was a stupid rumor started by Herb and Nicolas."
"Nicolas and I really did see them kissing. Maybe Jeremie saw them."
"No way, it has to be something else." The students continued talking, swapping rumors and a few outright lies about what happened while Aelita and Odd both faced forward, trying to filter it all out.
As soon as the bell rang, Aelita shot out of the classroom like a bullet to take cover in the girls' showers. Just outside the door, Sissi stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "What's going on?" Sissi demanded, concerned.
"I don't know what you mean." Aelita stopped briefly to answer. "I need to take a shower." Sissi stepped aside, letting Aelita in, but followed her in to continue talking.
"You know what I mean. What's going on with you, Odd, and Jeremie? Are you really having threeways with Odd and Kimi? Why don't you three sit with us anymore?"
"No! Why would you even think that? Nothing is going on. Please, Sissi, don't worry about it." Aelita walked away, and just as she got to the actual shower room, a black mist emerged from one of the sinks and possessed Sissi.
Jeremie heard his laptop beep in his room. "I never wanted to hear that noise again." He opened his laptop up. "Desert Sector."
The first thing he did was get out his fancy new iPhone and call Odd. "If you can find the time, Odd, you might want to go to the Factory since X.A.N.A. is attacking."
"I'll be there." Odd hung up his less-fancy mobile and turned to Kimi. "Hey, I'm sorry, but my cousin is in trouble."
"Aelita?" Kimi frowned, concerned.
"The one and only." Odd smiled and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll be back soon, okay?"
"Alright. I hope everything works out. Send her my regards!" Kimi shouted to Odd as he ran to the dorms.
Aelita was relaxing under the spray of the shower when she heard the door open. She turned around and saw Sissi come in, still fully dressed. "You're going to get your clothes wet." When Sissi opened her eyes and Aelita saw X.A.N.A.'s Eye, she screamed.
Odd was looking for Aelita when he heard the scream. "Aelita!" He saw where the scream came from and hesitated. "Uh-oh, where's Yumi?" Odd whipped out his mobile and called Yumi. "I think Aelita is being attacked but I can't help her."
"Why?" Yumi growled, annoyed. She was sitting in the rec room with Ulrich, William, Varric and Ludek.
"She's in the shower room." Odd groaned back.
"Oh, I'll be there, maybe." Yumi hung up on Odd before he could respond. "Ulrich, William, Odd is being annoying. Again. We need to go teach him a lesson." She pointed outside toward the Factory, hoping Ulrich and William would get the message without letting Varric and Ludek know she was speaking in code.
"Leave him alone. I can't stand how he's been acting lately," Ulrich growled. Yumi sighed and shook her head.
"I think we need to go and teach him a lesson, now. It's important."
"But Yumi, the new Subdigitals video is almost done buffering," William insisted.
"Fine. I'll go alone." Yumi threw her hands up.
"I'll go with you if it's that important." Ludek began to get his backpack, but Yumi stopped him.
"Don't worry about it. Stay and watch the new music video so you can tell me about it." Yumi left the rec room and started walking to the dormitories.
Odd could hear more of Aelita screaming but hesitated to go in. "Aelita, hold on, help's coming!" He heard a distorted laugh.
"Help me!" Aelita cried, pressed against a wall while Sissi sparked with energy and lightning crackled in her hands.
"Aelita!" Odd closed his eyes and ran in. When he tripped over a bench and fell, he opened his eyes. "Oh, duh, changing room, just like our shower room." He saw the door to the actual shower area. "Okay, let's try this again. Leave her alone, X.A.N.A.!"
Sissi's corrupted laughter allowed Odd to run in with his eyes closed, place where she was like a game of Marco Polo and tackle her to the ground.
"Aelita, get out of here!" Odd wrestled with the Xanafied Sissi but she already had him pinned and punched him in the face. Aelita darted out and grabbed a robe.
"Don't get hurt, Odd!" Odd opened his eyes as soon as he heard the door slam shut; Aelita was out of the room.
"Too bad, X.A.N.A. She got away." Odd slammed his forehead into Sissi's nose, causing her to fall off of him. "I hope she's not mad about that later." He scrambled off the floor and ran out of the room as Sissi's entire body flickered, healing any damage.
Yumi was just of the shower room when Odd ran out, and because she didn't see who it was who rammed into her, she began pummeling him.
"Stop it, Yumi!" Odd got up and away from Yumi. "Did you see Aelita?" Odd looked behind him when he heard the shower room door slam. "We have to get out of here!" Odd started to run and Yumi followed behind him as Sissi sparked with energy and cackled, ready to attack them both.
Aelita ran out onto the campus grounds in just the robe. A few students saw her and started to shout but Aelita ran out into the woods.
Odd and Yumi ran out of the building next, followed by Sissi. From what it looked like, the girls were chasing after Odd. "You don't think Yumi and Sissi walked in on those two doing something, do you?" Other students started to talk as Kimi stood near Ashanti and Tomas, both shaking their heads.
"He's up to something, gal," Ashanti said seriously.
"You gotta find out the truth," Tomas agreed.
"I know," Kimi sighed. The three all turned one by one and walked toward the cafeteria.
In the gymnasium, Ulrich was practicing some kata to work off some stress. He had taken to wearing black pants with an elastic waistband while working out, and went shirtless. Sweat glistened on his lean, toned body, and a vein was somewhat visible on each arm along his robust biceps.
"Stupid William." He punched. "No point in going skateboarding without Yumi." He punched again, then turned around and kicked. "Varric never wants to learn anything practical in his workouts," He spun on his heel, kicking again. "Hope William falls on his ass and Ludek's stupid, sarcastic wisecracks make him feel like an idiot." He kicked again and shouted, then returned to a ready stance, ending the kata. He dropped to the floor and began to do sit-ups when Sissi walked in.
"Ulrich, do you think I could practice with you?" she asked sweetly. "I'm getting out of practice."
"Sure, Sissi. But you might want to change into some gym clothes." Sissi grinned as her body flickered and her clothes morphed into her gym clothes.
"Is this good enough, Ulrich?"
"X.A.N.A.!" Ulrich scrambled to get up and run toward the gym doors but Sissi flickered again and lunged at him, tackling him to the floor.
"Let's spar!" she exclaimed before cackling.
Aelita didn't stop running until she made it to the sewer entrance. "I have to be really careful." She bent down slowly to pull the sewer cover off without exposing anything under her robe.
"Wait, Aelita!" Yumi shouted and got Aelita's attention.
"Yumi, how did you know to come?" she asked, standing upright.
"Odd called me," Yumi answered as Odd caught up a moment later. "He said you were in the shower room and couldn't help you."
"He did," Aelita sighed with a blush. "I wish you hadn't done that, Odd, Yumi could have saved me."
"Don't worry, Aelita. I had my eyes closed." Odd smiled with a wink. "Yumi, did you tell the others?"
"I tried to get Ulrich and William to come, but they both were so thick-headed, it didn't get through. I don't know about Jeremie."
"He called me." Odd said, turning to Yumi, whose phone rang seconds later.
She answered and held it to her ear. "Jeremie?"
"X.A.N.A. is attacking."
"We know. He went after Aelita but she got away. Call Ulrich and William."
"Okay." They hung up and Jeremie called Ulrich next, but he didn't answer. William was next, but he also didn't pick up. "X.A.N.A. must have changed his targets." He grabbed his laptop and stuffed it into his bag, then ran out of his room.
At the Factory, Odd climbed out of the sewers first, then Yumi, then Aelita. "Sissi isn't around here. She might have gone after Jeremie or Ulrich or William," Odd barked while he ran across the bridge and the two girls followed.
Ulrich, meanwhile, wrestled with Sissi on the gym floor. "Hai!" Ulrich kneed Sissi in the stomach as hard as he could, but her body flickered with energy and she was unfazed.
"Was that it?"
"You're cheating." Ulrich rolled backwards and landed on his feet. "If you went toe to toe you'd lose." He wiped the sweat from his brow. His entire body was tense and he breathed heavily. "But I admit this is better practice than those kata Yumi showed me."
Jeremie was next to arrive at the Factory. Once the elevator doors opened, he found Aelita sitting in the chair in front of the interface. "Where are the others?"
"Ulrich and William didn't make it and I sent the other two to Lyoko already." Aelita got up walked over to the elevator. "Thank you for coming, Jeremie."
"Don't start." Jeremie didn't seem to notice or care about the hurt expression on Aelita's face as he passed her and sat down in the computer chair. "Get down to the Scanner Room so I can send you," Jeremie gruffly commanded as he brought up her ID Card for transfer.
"Fine." Aelita got on the elevator, holding back tears. She ran to the middle Scanner and stepped inside as soon as the elevator doors opened again.
"Transfer Aelita, Scanner Aelita, Virtualization."
Aelita landed on Lyoko in the Desert Sector near the others as the Overwing and Overboard materialized. Aelita went to get on the Overwing when Yumi glared at her.
"Get on the Overboard with Odd," Yumi growled. Aelita winced and turned around, climbing onto the Overboard as told.
"Where do we go, Einstein?" Odd felt Aelita wrap her arms around his waist. "Hang on, Aelita."
"East," Jeremie answered. As soon as he did, Odd took off and Aelita had to hang on tightly to keep from falling off as Yumi followed.
In the weight room, Varric was in the middle of a series of seated barbell presses. He was clothed simply in black compression shorts with a green stripe down the side and a black tank while his normal attire rested in his backpack set against the wall. His iPhone was positioned in front of him on a bar of the machine he was using while an episode of Happy Days played on the screen. He was deep in focus when he heard Ulrich scream. Getting up, he grabbed his phone from the bar it was resting on and ran into the gymnasium.
"What the hell are you two doing?" he barked upon seeing Sissi violently choking Ulrich.
"Sparring," Sissi smiled at him, loosening her grip just slightly. "Why?"
"Bullshit, get off of him, his face is turning purple!" he ordered, running over to help Ulrich up. "That's not how you spar, what's wrong with you?"
"Nothing at all!" Sissi cried with corrupted delight as she held her palm out to Varric. She jolted him with a bolt of electricity and sent him flying. His head smashed into the wall, knocking him unconscious and leaving him to lay there. Just after, Jim walked in the far doors, narrowly missing the display.
"Have you kids seen Aelita, Odd or Yumi?" Jim called.
"Um, I think Yumi might be hanging out with William. I'll help you look," Ulrich offered, hoping to get away from Sissi.
"No, no, you two keep sparring. Being physically fit is very important. Especially for you two, boys, we have semifinals to get ready for before winter break. Varric, be sure to jump in when you're done resting!" With that, Jim left the gym and Sissi laughed.
"I wonder what they thought," she giggled in her distorted voice.
"What who thought of what?" Ulrich backed away from her as she spoke.
"Aelita must have grabbed a robe or a towel before running out of the shower, but that sure is something for the students and teachers to see! Especially if Odd was chasing after her and Yumi behind them, and me too before I decided to pay you a visit for master X.A.N.A. How must Kimi girlfriend feel?" Sissi tilted her head back and cackled.
"Hai!" Ulrich leaped at Sissi with a flying kick to silence her.
On Lyoko, the three neared the activated Tower and two Tarantulas. "Aelita, do you want to fly on your own?" Odd asked.
"I can." Aelita passed her hand over her watch and her wings flared from her back. She jumped off of the Overboard and took off into the air.
"Odd, don't do anything stupid." Yumi pulled out a fan while she piloted the Overwing with her other hand.
"It's me you're talking about, Yumi," Odd laughed to assure her.
"That's why I said don't do anything stupid!" Yumi shot back. Once she got closer to the Tarantulas, they opened fire. She swerved and blocked a stray laser with her fan.
"Laser Arrow!" Odd fired at the Tarantulas, but missed. "It's been too long."
"Energy Field!" Aelita threw her own attack and destroyed one of the two.
"Something big is coming from behind you!" Jeremie warned, having seen the blip on the map, but he didn't know what it was. "It's not as big as the Kolossus."
"It's a black fog." Odd fired at the approaching mass but the arrows passed through it. "It looks like William's Super Smoke but I can't hurt it!" Odd fired more but the Laser Arrows remained ineffective.
"Keep Aelita safe!" Jeremie yelled into the microphone, and Aelita's heart soared, only to fall again. "We can't deactivate the Tower without her."
"That's not the only reason you want to keep me safe, is it...?" Aelita created an energy orb as the black smog neared the group. Jeremie's silence said more than any words could. "Energy Field!" She threw the energy orb at the black mist and it dissipated harmlessly.
"We still have a Tarantula to worry about!" Yumi called, throwing her fan to deflect a laser before it could hit Aelita.
"Aelita, Yumi, focus on the Tarantula. Odd, you see if you can stop that smoke," Jeremie ordered, waiting to see what the anomaly could be.
The black smoke came to a stop near Odd, and a beam of light shot down from the sky above it. From the light a new monster appeared. It had an ovular, dark grey head and one glowing white eye in the middle. It possessed a pair of black wings composed of razor sharp blades instead of feathers, and flared them out to reveal a slightly human-looking torso with a deep red Eye of X.A.N.A. on its sternum. On its abdomen, two large semicircles were cut out from the sides, and instead of legs it had six black flaps. It hovered about a half meter above the ground using a red crystalline dome that the six flaps obscured. At the end of each finger, instead of a fingertip, the monster wielded a sharp blade. As a warning, it fired a continuous laser into the ground from its lone eye, which Odd was quickly forced to dodge.
"Nice try, X.A.N.A.!" Odd fired Laser Arrows out of both mechanical gloves, but the new monster dodged them easily, doing flips and side-spins utilizing its wings.
Aelita was in the air dodging lasers from the remaining Tarantula, but it turned its focus to Yumi before the geisha could throw a fan at it, forcing her to block its attacks instead. Aelita took the moment's reprieve to turn to see how Odd was doing, and saw the new monster get closer to him. "Odd!" She began to fly toward him to assist, and formed two Energy Fields.
"Aelita! Watch out!" Yumi's warning was too late, and Aelita was hit in the stomach by a laser from the Tarantula. She divebombed to the ground below and groaned on impact.
The new monster saw this and moved away from Odd to go after Aelita. "Leave the Princess alone!" He ran after the monster, firing Laser Arrows at it, but it still jerked side to side to avoid each one.
"They'll take care of it. Yumi, focus on the Tarantula." Jeremie watched the screen. "Aelita, you have fifty life points left."
"Okay." Aelita paused once she got to her feet and smiled, having hatched an idea. She turned and ran away from the new monster and the activated Tower, and it floated after her.
Yumi screamed her war cry and threw her fans at the Tarantula, cutting off one of its arms but missing the Eye. The Tarantula fired from its one good arm and hit the Overwing. Yumi sprung off as it disappeared and caught her fans in midair, then spun around, throwing them at the Tarantula. She hit the Eye this time, destroying it just as she landed.
On Earth, Ulrich was getting tired and was starting to take some damage. He had several bruises, and his lip was bleeding. "X.A.N.A., why not make this a fair fight?"
"How? Stop using this power Master X.A.N.A. has given? I think not." Sissi kicked Ulrich hard in the side. Ulrich grabbed her leg before she could retract it and pulled hard, causing her to fall.
"Well, that would be a nice thing for you to do." He backed away as Sissi climbed back up.
"Never." Sissi lunged at Ulrich, knocking him down to the floor. They wrestled and grappled with each other while Varric slowly came to consciousness and rubbed his head.
On Lyoko, the new monster got closer to Aelita. She could see the end of the large platform and got ready. She stopped at the very edge. The monster got closer and was about to attack her. "Aelita!" Odd fired Laser Arrows at the monster but kept missing.
"Aelita!" Yumi cried as well. She was too far away to do anything but watch as the monster tackled her and knocked her off the edge. "Odd! Shoot her!"
"Trying!" Odd dashed to the edge and fired Laser Arrows, finally hitting the monster but missing Aelita beneath it.
"Odd, stop!" Aelita passed her hand over her watch and her wings formed as the monster pathetically tried to drag her down. Aelita shot up over the Desert Sector platform while the monster twisted upright, and she threw two Energy Fields down at it, destroying it before it could use its own wings. She smiled at her success and began to fly to the activated Tower.
Ulrich and Sissi continued to wrestle and grapple while Varric stood and regained his bearings.
"Hey, get a grip, Sissi!" he called while Sissi pinned Ulrich.
"This is the end for you!" She raised her right fist and it sparked with energy while Varric ran to stop her. She brought it down before he could reach the two.
"Tower deactivated." The binary screens fell around Aelita on Lyoko.
Sissi's fist connected with Ulrich's face but no longer had X.A.N.A. powering it. As such it was only as painful as a normal punch would be, instead of lethal. "Whoa." Sissi shook her head. "What's going on?" She saw Ulrich rubbing his face where she hit and realized she had him pinned and straddled. "What are we doing?"
"I don't know." Ulrich smiled. "But I don't think it matters. Where'd you drop the taser, Sissi?"
Just then, Varric grabbed Sissi and effortlessly pulled her off of Ulrich. "Hey! Let go of me, you brute!"
"You're the one trying to kill Ulrich!" Varric shot back. "I remember enough to know you've gone completely crazy! Why'd you tase me?"
"What?" Sissi stopped struggling, but frowned. "When did I tase you? Why can't I remember coming here?" She frowned. "Ulrich?"
"It doesn't matter. Where'd you drop the taser, Sissi?" Ulrich repeated as he stood up.
"I don't even own a taser, Ulrich." Sissi insisted. Varric sighed and dropped her, since she seemed calm now. "Why would I do that?"
"Well, you shocked me hard then I hit my head and went unconscious for a minute or two. What else could it have been?" Varric asked, suspicious.
"I saw you holding something, Sissi. Maybe you blacked out." Ulrich suggested. Varric and Sissi both frowned, not really buying it but not having any other explanation. "Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to be here. I'm not upset, it was a good spar, you just got carried away. And you're sorry for getting violent, right?"
"Right, Ulrich." Sissi agreed earnestly. "I'm sorry, guys. I really don't remember what came over me or why I did any of that. I don't even remember coming here."
"Whatever," Varric grunted then walked back to the weight room. "Try not to try to kill each other again, I'm behind now."
Yumi, Odd and Aelita each stepped out of the Scanners and took the elevator up to the Control Room. Aelita was about to thank Jeremie again for coming, but when the elevator doors opened, he was gone. She sighed and walked over to the computer chair.
"I'm going to stay here and work for a bit. There's only a few more programs to be remade, like the Overbike."
"You sure you don't want to go back and change?" Odd asked, walking over and stopping nearby. Aelita then realized she was still in just the fluffy pink robe.
"During the day? I'll wait for curfew to go back so no one can see me." Aelita answered before she started to type.
"Want us to stay?" he offered. Before Aelita could respond to Odd's question, Yumi put her hand on the elevator button and waited to see if Odd was coming. "Okay, want me to stay?"
"It's okay, Odd. I should be safe. X.A.N.A. isn't able to launch a consecutive attack this soon." Aelita looked away. Please go away.
"If you say so, Princess. Wait up, Yumi!" Odd ran onto the elevator just as the doors were about to close, taking it up with Yumi.
Once Aelita completed the Overbike, she checked the clock on her mobile. Eleven o'clock! With that, Aelita realized she could be in real trouble. After curfew, in just a robe too! If caught by Jim or another teacher she would be in trouble. She shot out of the chair like a bullet and took the elevator up as fast as she could.
Once arriving in the girls' floor, she breathed a sigh of relief. Her relief was short lived when she heard an adult male voice clear his throat.
"Aelita Stones!" She turned around and saw Jim standing behind her with Mr. Delmas at his side.
"Just what do you think you're doing coming back to the dorms in nothing but a robe at almost midnight?!" the principal demanded, crossing his arms and waiting for her explanation.
"I, um... I..."
"There you are!" Odd called while coming up the stairs.
"Odd Della Robbia! And what are you doing up after curfew and coming to the women's floor?" Mr. Delmas called back, turning his glare to Odd.
"My mom just called and asked me to check on her." Odd arrived at the top of the stairs and turned to Aelita with a look of concern. "Aelita, I'm sorry about your mom, but my parents said the doctors think she will be okay." He patted her shoulder gently.
"Huh?" She stared at him.
"The police said the accident was bad, but the doctors are confident. You didn't have to go running off like that, we were worried!" Odd's friendly blue eyes met her green with a wink, and understanding clicked in her mind.
"I'm sorry, Odd." Aelita wiped her eyes with her arm, trying to put pressure on them and make them tear up. "I didn't want anyone to see me crying. I was so scared."
"It's okay, Aelita, I'm sure Aunt Thea will be just fine," he promised.
"Anthea?" Mr. Delmas thought. "Why does that name sound familiar?" Aelita kept looking at Odd, shaking her head a little.
"What?" Odd shook his head. "Aunt Thea." He enunciated more. "Anyways Aelita, it's okay." Odd patted her shoulder again, and ventured a hug.
"But what if she doesn't?" Aelita hugged Odd back, rubbing her hand against his firm chest, despite being so scrawny. "I'm still so scared for her! I want to be there but they said I should stay here so I don't miss class.
"I'm sorry, Aelita. Let me know if you need anything." Odd let go and backed up a step. "Um, sorry for being up after curfew, Mr. Delmas, but I was worried about her. I called her but she didn't answer."
"I don't have my phone on me. After... after Daddy called..." Aelita closed her eyes and pretended to try to hold tears back.
"It's okay Aelita, Odd. Family is important, and while breaking curfew is never acceptable, it was good of you to be there for your cousin." Mr. Delmas patted Odd on the shoulder. "I'll let this infraction go this time. But you both need to be getting to bed." The two nodded.
"Aelita, if you ever need to talk to someone I'm always available. I once worked for a psychiatrist. Well, actually I was part of an experiment where..." Jim began, uncrossing his arms.
Mr. Delmas cut Jim off. "Jim, it's late. We don't have time for another outrageous story."
"Oh, right, Mr. Delmas. Well, I'll escort Odd to his room." Jim replied, putting a hand on Odd's shoulder.
Aelita waved gently and walked to her room, stopping at the door. She looked back and saw Odd wink again before he and Jim disappeared down the stairs, and she smiled.