A\N: I wasn't going to upload chapter 2 so soon but, well, technically this piece is done (but I still have some editing to do with upcoming chapters.) I just really want to upload it. So please, enjoy! Oh and remember constructive feedback is welcomed and encouraged!


The elevator doors opened to the scanner room and William watched as Yumi just about leapt out of the elevator and toward the right scanner. "We're here Jeremie. Start up the virtualization process."

"Will do," Jeremie's voice came over the speaker. William also walked out of the elevator and toward the scanner on the far left. He walked in and turned so that he was facing Yumi but the girl had her eyes closed, waiting for the process to begin.

"Are you ready?" Jeremie asked over the speaker. Without waiting for an answer, the doors to Yumi's scanner followed closely by William's closed, sealing them away from one another. "Transfer: Yumi. Transfer: William."

William heard the scanner whirl to life and closed his eyes as the machine scanned his entire body, piecing together who he was. It was getting ready to deconstruct his physical body and transfer it into the virtual world. The sensation was bizarre at first but soon William grew used to it. The moment before the process began, adrenaline would surge through his body, preparing him for the battle that would ensue. That rush of his adrenaline was actually the best part of the entire virtualization process and William looked forward to it each and every time, but this time around no surge happened. He really had no excitement about going to Lyoko this time.

"Virtualization." Jeremie's voice was just about lost under the sudden burst of air the flooded the scanner. During the actual virtualization everything went blank for William and he assumed for the others as, for a brief second, he no longer existed. But within seconds, he could feel himself being assembled in his virtual form. Once complete, he dropped down beside Yumi who stood up before he did. They had landed in the desert sector.

"Yumi, I am sending you the Overwing," Jeremie's voice echoed from the sky. William ignored the statement and turned away from Yumi. Let's get Yumi to the tower to deactivate it. Then we can go home. If I can fight a couple of XANA's pathetic monsters then so be it, but I just really want to be alone.

He could hear the familiar sound of something being virtualized behind him and he guessed it was Yumi's Overwing but he didn't turn around to confirm that's what he heard. If it wasn't, he would know soon enough.

"I'll give you the tower's coordinates in a few seconds."

Great. More waiting. William didn't bother to glance back at Yumi but heard her move around. He looked out at the landscape of the desert sector. So many memories flooded his mind. The first time he had seen this sector had been under XANA's control. Well, there was nothing there actually but the digital sea. It hadn't been recreated yet. XANA had virtualized him back to earth and convinced the others that he was freed. Instead, though XANA used him to capture Aelita and to try to push her into the digital sea. The sector had not been reconstructed so all there had been was a yellowish-orange sky and the digital sea.

The first time he saw it reconstructed had actually been the first time that he had broken free of XANA's influence. Yumi was there and, as XANA was trying to push her into the digital sea, William managed to break free of the A.I.'s control for a brief second. He had been so hopeful then, convinced he could make the girl he loved see that it had not been him who was causing all this harm but rather XANA.

But she hadn't seen and XANA used his voice to start the psychological torture on his psyche after they had fallen into the digital sea. He pointed out how Yumi had said that he, William was trying to push her into the crashing waves, not XANA. And he never let him forget it. It was the start of the mental struggle William had to face every moment of his existence. He glanced back at the girl behind him as that memory stuck in his mind. She was standing there, looking at him.

"You know, it's not easy trying to understand you William." Yumi's voice trailed behind him. He quickly turned back around, not wanting to engage in conversation. The memory of that first interaction with her in the desert sector was fresh in his mind. Normally the desert would not have brought back all these thoughts and emotions, but because of his current mental state it was taking its toll on him.

"One day you insist on joining the group and the next one you send us all packing."

William moved his head slightly to try to glance back at her using only his peripheral vision. She was sitting down on the Overwing, waiting for an answer from either himself or Jeremie. Before she can catch him looking at her again, however, he moves his eyes forward, ahead of him, trying to block her out.

"Why? Is it because of me?"

For some reason those words struck William. Yes, partially it was. But in the grand scheme of things, no she wasn't the reason. At least not a large reason for his problems. He didn't even know who or what was to blame. Maybe it was her, but then again it seemed more likely that he himself and XANA were the more likely causes. He was getting ready to say something to her when Jeremie, fortunately or unfortunately, cut him off.

"Alright, got them. Go west, through the dunes."

Even though Jeremie wasn't finished speaking yet, as soon as the word "west" was heard, Yumi jumped up onto the Overwing and revved the engine before taking off without even a word to William. In fact, William had to shield himself from the pixilated "dust" that the Overwing kicked up when it sped off, leaving him behind. Again. But, he realized, now was not the time to let his demons rear their ugly heads. He had a job to do and, despite how he was feeling, he was going to do it right.

Turning his thoughts to his powers, he felt himself shrink quickly into smoke. Supersmoke. It was a strange power, but so very useful. XANA had given it to him when he possessed him but somehow William was still able to access it. He wasn't going to complain; after all it was a great power. He could move so quickly and, despite the fact that Yumi had a head start on her Overwing, he caught up to her in no time.

Seeing was difficult when he was in smoke form, but the smoke around him allowed him to see Lyoko through a broken and bent lense. He could see but not as clearly as he could if he were himself.

William could hear Jeremie talking but his voice was distant as if he were not talking to he and Yumi directly. After a second of listening, he discovered that Jeremie was not talking to the two virtualized Lyoko Warriors, just like he had assumed. He was talking about Odd. From the bit of conversation he bothered to listen to he guessed that Odd was calling to ask about the specter's appearance. William honestly didn't care what the specter looked like. They were going to get to the tower and deactivate it soon anyway.

However, he noticed a shift in his vision. Yumi had slowed and before he realized it, she had stopped. William slowed as he inadvertently rushed passed her before turning back around and popping up out of the smoke. She was already off her Overwing and William couldn't help but look puzzled.

"Why did you stop?" he asked. They were wasting time stopping when the tower loomed on the horizon. What was wrong?

"I needed to check our course. Moreover, I don't like this place. It's way too quiet…"

Quiet, yes. But that was only because there were no monsters on the horizon. The view was fairly open with the only rock formations to block their view were off to the side, away from the tower. I guess if there are monsters they'd be hiding there, but I can't see anything. Besides, from up here and at this angle, we'd see anything moving around in there. There's nothing.

Yumi was being ridiculous and perhaps a little overly paranoid. "Are you kidding me?" he couldn't help but ask. "There are no creatures for a thousand miles around!"

As if to completely screw over his statement, a laser blast rushed past his face, nearly hitting him. William flung his head back in surprise. So much for that statement and, once again, he looked like a complete idiot. Stupid, stupid, stupid…

The source of the blast had to be at the base of the cliff in which he and Yumi were standing on. That would account, also, for the fact that he hadn't seen the attacker. He never looked directly down at the bottom of the rock formation that they were standing on; he hadn't checked there. As he glanced down, he saw small little Kankrelots walking up the side of the cliff. William had to duck backward to avoid more blasts to the face. He knew what he had to do and just as he saw Yumi throw out her fans at some Kankrelots they reached the top of the cliff, he supersmoked down toward the rest. He wanted to see how many there were and, luckily, though definitely more than just a few, the group was fairly small in comparison. Six maybe seven of them. He wasn't entirely sure but couldn't be bothered to find out. All he needed was a general idea of how many there were.

He turned as Yumi destroyed some more of the tiny monsters and took himself – still within the smoke – back to the top of the cliff, appearing to the side of Yumi. A Kankrelot had the girl in its sight and fired at her, missing her by mere inches. It caught her attention though. The monster moved back and forth, trying to get a clear shot on her as she turned toward it but before she could do anything, William smashed his sword into the monster. It exploded. He didn't have time to celebrate even that small victory as a stinging pain came from his shoulder, throwing him momentarily off balance. He turned and glanced to see that a Kankrelot had climbed on a rock formation that put the tiny little monsters at equal height to William and Yumi.

I have to give it to them, they are persistent, but they are complete idiots! William thought as, after barely taking a step toward them, he swung his sword to obliterate the monster. He heard Yumi beside him as she threw out her fans once more. She didn't see that Kankrelot to her left as it disappeared behind a rock. It was going for a surprise attack and she couldn't afford to lose any life points. She was the only one who could deactivate the tower.

He didn't think but perhaps he should have. Before he even realized what he was doing, his reflexes had him throw his large sword toward the Kankrelot as it came over the top of the rock. Yumi was caught completely unaware by both the monster and William's actions. William trusted him aim completely, but realized after the sword left his hand that if she moved forward even an inch it could possibly be all over. Fortunately, William also knew that Yumi's reflexes were just as good – if not better – than his own. She moved her head backward as the large sword passed in front of her face and struck the Kankrelots dead center. It exploded as the sword embedded itself into the rock. William cast a quick glance at Yumi, waiting for her to scold him for being "careless". Yes, perhaps that was a stupid stunt to pull; in fact he realized how lucky he had been that she saw the sword coming and backed away. He waited for her to yell at him but it never came. He looked over at her only to see that she was staring at the sword in complete and utter shock. In fact she had been so stunned that she had yet to put her fans away despite the fact that all the Kankrelots had been destroyed.

She still said nothing as William moved out of his spot and toward his sword still stuck in the stone. The Kankrelots were all gone; XANA's easiest monster to defeat. Sure he had sent in a small group but they were already done fighting them? Something seemed off.

"You know what? That was really too easy."

He could feel Yumi's eyes burning into his back as he reached his sword and pulled it out of the rock with ease. He couldn't blame her; that was a stupid stunt to pull. But he pulled it and no one got hurt. It was time to move on. They could fight and argue about it all they wanted but that would only serve as a distraction and at that moment, they couldn't afford it. Once out he rested the large sword on his shoulder, not wanting to bother getting rid of it for the time being. Something wasn't right; Yumi knew it and William should have paid attention. Having the sword ready was going to be important, he just knew it.