Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko, Danny Phantom, or Alan Hopper. If I owned those three things, then I could easily rule the world!

A/N: Wow, I can't believe that so many people didn't really like Cid dying in the last chapter. I did think it was funny when one person was cursing Skulker for it rather than Fenris and Donjuan. After all, it was thanks to their fight that Cid died in the first place. If any of you have read RaveMasterShinobi's story Birth of AIDA, then you will notice a few differences between his Alan and the one in my story. With his permission, I changed Alan a little bit to fit in better with my story. Since I'm not as big a fan of .dot//hack as he is, I really didn't know anything about the avatars. So, while they may not be in here, character evolution will be. If any of you have played Code: Lyoko Quest of Infinity for the Wii, then you are going to like how Odd's character evolves. Whoops, I just gave it completely away, all well. Anyway, let's move on to why all of you are here. Please R&R, or else I will send all four generals of GEVI to level your hometown.

"You know what," Odd declared, "I'm getting sick and fucking tired of waiting around for the bad guys to attack us! I say we go onto Nysis and kick some general ass!"

"For once you actually have a good idea," Ulrich proclaimed.

"Let's get some payback," Erethyr shouted, pounding her fist into her open hand.

"I may hate violence with a passion," Cassandra stated calmly, "But I think that I'll make an exception just this once."

"For Cid," Danny stated inquisitively.

"For Cid," the rest of the group shouted unanimously.

"I've already activated the other scanners for you guys," Tucker declared.

"Thanks Tuck," Sam responded. Jeremy, Aelita, Odd, Ulrich, and Erethyr were the first ones to get onto the scanners. After the rings dropped back down, Xavier, Cassandra, Donjuan, Danny, and Sam joined them. The last ones to get virtualized were Alan and Sahra, and they acted like it was no big thing.

Nysis, Swamp Sector
The group was virtualized into a festering cesspool of rot and decay. There were blackened bones sticking out of the mire, long dead hands reaching out in desperation, warped and twisted trees scattered in the brackish ooze with black vines hanging down, and an eerie fog was settled along the ground.

"This is really disturbing," Erethyr stated, "This place looks so…dead compared to the other sectors that we have been to."

"Don't let your guard down, you never know what will happen in this sector," Xavier stated sternly.

"I wasn't planning on it," Ulrich responded with both of his swords drawn.

"So you've come out to play," Dusk's voice rang out from everywhere.

"Where are you," Alan shouted.

"If you can last ten minutes in here I might just tell you," Dusk responded, "But it won't be easy, what with this toxic miasma circling around you. I give it five minutes before all of you are devirtualized from just breathing the air."

"Cassandra, your healing abilities should be able to counter the miasma," Xavier declared, "At the first sign of trouble start healing all of us right away."

"He might be hanging around the bayou," Sahra declared, "It is the only place in this sector without any miasma whatsoever."

"Which way," Odd asked.

"It should be due south of us," Sahra responded. The group started heading in that direction, jumping every time that something could be seen moving around in the black water.

"I may be a goth, but this is a little bit too dark for me," Sam stated.

"Shh, something's coming," Danny stated.

"How can you tell," Jeremy inquired.

"Can't you hear those wings flapping," Danny replied.

"Shit, hide," Xavier proclaimed.

"Why," Cassandra inquired.

"If Danny's description is right, then there is a swarm of varghouls coming this way," Xavier replied as he dived behind a warped tree. The rest of the group followed suit, but they didn't have long to wait until the swarm came flying by where they were just at. The varghouls looked like red human heads with glowing green eyes and an equally glowing green mouth with slime dripping from their fangs. They had red tentacles wreathing their heads and great leathery wings. They flew by, stopping momentarily to check out where they had heard the group's voices. When they were safely away, the group got out of their various hiding paces.

"So that's a varghoul," Aelita stated.

"Yep, nasty little creatures. If you had gotten bitten by one, then no amount of healing would have ever gotten the effects of the miasma to go away. You would have still been poisoned even after getting devirtualized," Xavier explained.

"How horrible," Erethyr stated.

"How in the fucking hell is that even possible," Jeremy cursed.

"The same way that my virus was able to stay with Aelita even after she was materialized," Xavier replied as he trudged on.

"So you based that virus off of these creatures," Jeremy inquired.

"Yes, now could we please get off of that touchy subject," Xavier pleaded, "I really don't like to be reminded of those bad times." Xavier bent over and started to hack and wheeze like he was about to die.

"Shit, let me help you out," Cassandra stated as she healed Xavier and proceeded to do the same for everybody else.

"Thanks, it's been about four minutes and we haven't run into any snags yet," Xavier stated, "Let's just hope that he keeps his word."

"Now, now, why wouldn't I keep my word and tell you twelve warriors where I'm at," Dusk's voice rang out.

"Let's see here; you serve GEVI, you are an evil son of a bitch, we stand for everything that you can never have, the list goes on and on," Alan stated.

"Don't you know that flattery gets you nowhere," Dusk responded.

"Wow, he is a twisted son of a bitch," Alan whistled.

"He's probably going to send something big at us," Erethyr stated, "At least, I think that that's what Damon would have done." Erethyr choked on the last few words.

"There, there; after we're done here, why don't I take you out to a movie," Alan said consolingly, patting Erethyr's back.

"I would like that," Erethyr replied, sniffing a little bit.

"Wow, he moves fast," Danny stated.

"Almost as fast as our purple pig with sweaty palms," Ulrich commented, stifling a laugh.

"Who is that," Sam inquired.

"Odd, of course," Erethyr stated, regaining her composure, "I can't believe that you still remember that comment."

"You tend not to forget jokes that are made when you are in a life and death situation," Ulrich responded, smiling a little bit. They all heard a rumbling sound and turned to look at the source. They saw two of the bulls that had attacked the city just a week before charging at them.

"Oh, great! Just what we needed; more metal-plated sirloin," Odd quipped.

"You guys didn't describe those bulls to look like that," Xavier shouted, "I had no idea that you had gone up against a metarus! These guys are bad news!"

"What's the big deal? I skewered the last one, remember," Erethyr proclaimed.

"Yeah, but not only were you pissed but you also weren't limiting your strength," Xavier pointed out, "Without that limiter, you go on a rampage!" Xavier pointed at the pentagram on Erethyr's shoulder.

"You mean that it is because of this that I'm able to control that rage power now," Erethyr stated.

"Yeah, don't you remember that Damon was having trouble using his rage power at first until he tapped into his limiter," Xavier responded.

"Uh, guys; now isn't the time for arguing…now would be the time to FIGHT FOR OUR VIRTUAL LIVES," Danny shouted.

"Sorry about that," Xavier and Erethyr replied apologetically. The metarus bellowed in rage before charging right into the middle of the group; everybody just barely managed to get out of the way. Odd started glowing purple as the metarus turned around to face them.

"What the hell is happening now," Xavier stated.

"I think that he is evolving," Erethyr responded.

"Damn straight," Odd declared as he stopped glowing, "Hey, Xavier! Do you know of any weak points?"

"The only one that I can think of at the moment would be its eyes while it's charging, but that is a really hard target to hit. It takes pinpoint accuracy and timing, which only Cid had and now he's gone," Xavier replied as the metarus started to charge again.

"No problem," Odd proclaimed as he activated his new power. Time all around him slowed down to a crawl. He lifted his arm and pointed at the lead metarus's left eye. He fired and turned to the other one and did the same thing that he did to the other one. He deactivated his power and watched his friends' reactions. The metarus collapsed but their forward momentum made them skid to a halt right at Odd's feet. The looks on his friends' faces were unanimously surprised.

"Odd, did you just freeze time," Ulrich inquired.

"Yep, and I got my accuracy and timing just right," Odd replied nudging Xavier, "Not bad for a purple pig with sweaty palms, huh?"

"That was amazing," Sahra replied.

"Very well done Odd! And your time has just run out. I will part the miasma for you to lead you to where I am at. I have something that I need to speak to all of you about," Dusk's voice rang out. The miasma did just as he said that it would and showed them that they were indeed heading in the right direction.

"Alright, we're off to see the general," Alan stated.

"The horrible general of GEVI," Odd sang.

"Wow, that actually reminds me of when I first brought Damon to Lyoko. I didn't know what the hell he was talking about until I watched the Wizard of Oz a few months ago. That desperate joke is actually pretty funny to me now that I look back on it," Xavier proclaimed. The group headed towards where the miasma was leading them for about twenty minutes until they walked into an area of the sector with slightly cleaner looking muck, a ship half sunken in the mire, and no miasma hanging over it.

"So this is the bayou," Aelita inquired.

"Yep, the safest place in this entire sector," Sahra responded.

"Ah, how good to see all of you," Dusk called out from the ship, "Please do come in, I'm not currently on any orders from GEVI so you have no need to worry." The group cautiously went into the ship. When they entered they saw that the walls were covered with pictures of some of the group's greatest fights on Lyoko. There was even a picture of the battle within Damon's mind.

"Wow, this is amazing," Ulrich declared.

"Super nuclear," Jeremy stated.

What did we tell you about saying that fucking lame line," Odd stated, cracking his knuckles menacingly.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," Jeremy responded.

"It looks like you guys have been in some pretty amazing fights," Danny proclaimed.

"Yes, we have in a manner of speaking," Dusk stated.

"What did you what to talk with us about," Sam asked their menacing host.

"Ah, well I have heard about Cid's demise; and he was so young too. But, when Fenris launched that attack on you guys, I managed to send a data stream to Erethyr; thus giving her that emblem that she wears so proudly on her shoulder," Dusk stated.

"Is that all you wanted to talk to us about," Alan inquired impatiently.

"Oh, no; there's more," Dusk replied, "Back when I first confronted Damon, I managed to take a shard of his soul gem. I have been examining it, and the results don't look good for the world. Sahra, are you sure that you still hold the keys to Nysis?"

"Yes, I'm pretty damn certain of it," Sahra huffed indignantly.

"You do realize that in the recreation process that you used for Damon, you had to put a little bit of yourself into him, right," Dusk responded.

"Of course, that's why I gave him a little bit of data that had been unused for…a…long…FUCK," Sahra yelled.

"What is it," Xavier inquired.

"I accidentally gave Damon the keys to Nysis when I recreated him," Sahra replied, smacking herself on the forehead.

"And when I took that shard of his soul gem, I received a part of those keys," Dusk added.

"So your saying that GEVI has the means to escape from Nysis," Alan inquired.

"Not yet, but two people under her do," Dusk responded, "I have yet to tell any of the other generals about this, Rage and Damon being the last two that I would want to tell. They are too fiercely loyal to GEVI, and would hand the information over to her in an instant. Achatka and Moonflower might be able to help out with this. Just realize that not all of the generals are entirely happy being under GEVI's control. I, being made from the very core of Damon's subconscious, will never be truly happy being under GEVI. Achatka and Moonflower were made from parts of the shard very close to the core; Fierus, on the other hand, was made from the outer rim of his subconscious. He is the one that would sooner delete himself than go against GEVI. I will be trying to help you guys out as much as I can, but I have to make things look good while GEVI is watching."

"How do we know that we can trust you," Aelita inquired.

"GEVI's not out of Nysis yet, is she," Dusk responded.

"Touché," Aelita replied.

"GEVI's eyes will be turned upon me in a few minutes, so why don't we go outside and duke it out. That way, you have gained some intel on the situation, and my ass will be covered," Dusk stated, sounding really worried, "Just think of it as a favor to an old friend."

"Alright, but we will be watching you very carefully," Jeremy stated.

"I wouldn't expect anything less, Einstein," Dusk replied with a small smirk. Jeremy was taken aback by this comment before he grasped the meaning behind it.

"We can trust him," Jeremy proclaimed, "I'll explain when we get back home." All thirteen warriors filed outside to get ready for their big fight.

"We have approximately thirty seconds before GEVI will be watching us. We have to make this look as believable as possible," Dusk declared.

"Gotcha," Alan stated. He made the first attack, throwing all of his weight behind a single slash to Dusk's heart. Dusk merely smirked and unsheathed his claws, easily dodging Alan's attack. With a quick stab to the back of the head, Alan was devirtualized.

"Okay, that is it," Danny shouted as he and Odd charged in for an attack. Danny fired one of his ectoplasmic rays only for Dusk to pick up a bone and use it as a baseball bat. He his the ray and sent it flying towards an unsuspecting Odd who got immediately devirtualized. Dusk then took the opening that this gave him and performed and uppercut to Danny's head, claws going right through his skull like a hot knife through butter. Danny was also devirtualized.

"Polarity," Jeremy and Aelita shouted as they fired their purple team attack at Dusk. Dusk surprised them yet again by using the bone as a bat and taking out Xavier with their own attack. Dusk then dropped the bone and lunged right at Jeremy. Ulrich started sending his yellow energy arcs at Dusk while he was in mid-air. Dusk got hit with three of them before he hit the ground.

"That was pretty damn good. No wonder why Achatka gives you so much respect in your battles with him. A swordsman of your level at your age is to be commended," Dusk smirked. He scooped up some of the swamp water and threw it at Ulrich's eyes. Ulrich dropped his katanas as he clutched his eyes in pain. "But your skill level just doesn't hold up against someone like me!" Dusk lunged forward, dodging another polarity attack, and skewered Ulrich in the stomach. He threw the devirtualizing form of Ulrich at Jeremy and Aelita while he ran around towards Sam.

"Oh no you don't," Sam shouted as she pulled out her kunai knives with one hand and her smoke bombs with the other. She threw a smoke bomb on the ground as a cover for her teleporting behind Dusk and threw her kunais at him.

"Pretty good trick, too bad you overused it in your fight against Moonflower," Dusk chided as he caught the kunais easily and launched them back at Sam. Sam's kunais hit her in the stomach, chest, and head.

"Fuck," Sam groaned as she was devirtualized. Dusk immediately had to dodge lightning, arrows, and energy balls that were coming his way. He was caught by surprise when an electric blue tentacle came out of nowhere and wrapped itself around his ankle.

"What the fuck," Dusk shouted as he was thrown into the air.

"The funny thing about all this is that the miasma had no affect on me whatsoever," Donjuan grinned.

"Wow, you had been so silent that we had forgotten that you had come along with us," Xavier declared as he shot an arrow at Dusk. Dusk barely managed to contort his body around the arrow before hitting the ground.

"Ow, that kinda hurt," Dusk groaned as he stood up, "You wanna play that way, then let's get dangerous!" Dusk activated his rage power and glared at Donjuan.

"Oh shit, I don't think that I want to be me right now," Donjuan cursed as Dusk lunged for him and sliced off his tentacles before lobotomizing him. Donjuan was fully devirtualized by the time that Xavier found himself on the receiving end of Dusk's claws as well.

"Now I just have five humans left to destroy," Dusk sneered. He could feel GEVI's eyes boring into the back of his head even though she wasn't there. She was watching and he had to put on one hell of a show in an attempt to avert her gaze.

"Polarity," Jeremy and Aelita shouted as they launched another purple energy ball at Dusk. Dusk reached down and grabbed Ulrich's dropped katanas and blocked the attack. He then launched it towards Cassandra. She was devirtualized with a very surprised look on her face. Dusk then threw the swords at Jeremy and Aelita, devirtualizing both of them as well.

"And then there were two," Dusk declared, staring at Sahra and Erethyr who had only been able to watch in horror as their friends had been struck down one by one or two at a time.

"I'm going to kill you, you son of a bitch," Sahra shouted as she charged at Dusk.

"No Sahra, we're still not sure if you can be devirtualized normally," Erethyr shrieked.

"I don't care, I just want to make this bastard pay for what he has done this day," Sahra shouted back at Erethyr. Erethyr stood rooted to the spot in fear as she watched these events unfold. She watched as Dusk and Sahra countered each other's attacks. She watched as Dusk slashed through Sahra's shield. She watched as Sahra was devirtualized before her very eyes. But she could watch no longer, she was the only one left out of the entire group to stand against Dusk.

"So are you ready to play, or do you just want me to end this now," Dusk smirked. But he was completely taken aback by Erethyr's response.

"I'm sick and fucking tired of having to see my friends be struck down by one evil bastard after another. I'm sick and fucking tired of feeling helpless because there was nothing that I could do to save my friends from getting hurt," Erethyr proclaimed through gritted teeth, "But most of all, I'm sick and fucking tired of having to put up with all of Damon's ilk! All of that is going to end now!" Erethyr activated her rage power, transforming herself into the first stage of her fury.

"Heh, now things are going to be interesting," Dusk scoffed as he lunged at Erethyr. Erethyr sheathed one of her falchions and ducked under Dusk's attack. She then launched a powerful uppercut to his jaw, sending him flying high into the air. Erethyr unsheathed her second falchion and started charging up a very powerful energy arc. When she had put as much power as she could into her attack, she swung her twin blades at Dusk.

"Let's see you dodge that you son of a fucking bitch," Erethyr smirked as she let her twin angry pink energy arcs go towards Dusk.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Dusk proclaimed disdainfully, "Why don't I show you what a real rage attack looks like? Death Cyclone!" Dusk started spinning in midair at a high speed. His black aura started swirling around him. When he reached Erethyr's attacks, they were torn to shreds by his superior attack without slowing him down at all.

"Shit," was all that Erethyr could say before she had to dodge Dusk's attack. Erethyr quickly activated her second stage of fury; her falchions merged into a single wicked looking blade, her hair spiked behind her, and her aura became an almost black shade of pink.

"Just getting more pissed off isn't going to help you out…shit," Dusk shouted as he was forced to dodge a ball formed from Erethyr's dark aura, "I'm going to have to end this soon, or else I might get deleted!" Dusk started sending slashing furiously towards Erethyr, send three of his black energy arcs with every slash. Erethyr tried to doge these attacks, but couldn't keep up. Within a matter of seconds, Erethyr too was devirtualized. Dusk then released his own rage form.

"I'm going to have to watch out for that one. If she starts to understand her evolved power completely, we're going to have one hell of a nasty thorn in our sides," Dusk thought to himself before returning to the bayou.

Nysis Headquarters, Computer Lab
Erethyr fell out of the scanner, completely unconscious with multiple cuts in her clothes. "It looks like she took one hell of a beating," Alan whistled.

"I'm deactivating the scanners now," Tucker declared as he took all five scanners offline. He then got out of his seat and rushed towards Erethyr.

"So Jeremy, what gives with you suddenly declaring that we can trust Dusk," Ulrich inquired.

"He gave me a very simple coded message. Do you realize that it has been since before Damon went into that coma that he has called me Einstein," Jeremy responded, "By calling me Einstein, he gave me a message saying that he is on our side, but he is going to have to act like he's still on GEVI's side for posterity. It's really clever if you think about it."

"You got all of that from one word," Xavier inquired.

"Yeah, I know that it seems like a bit of a stretch, but I know that has to be it," Jeremy replied.

"So we've got at least one ally over there, maybe as much as three," Aelita declared.

"As long as we make things look convincing, it looks like that is the case," Sahra stated.

"Things are looking up," Odd stated, "For the first time since we got here, things are looking up."

"And it is all because I got here," Alan declared. Laughter ensued at Alan's bravado, but everybody was still ill at ease. GEVI had the keys to release her from Nysis at her fingertips, but she didn't know it as of yet.