Warning: This one is sad. Pretty dark, for me. Still don't own Code Lyoko.

()()()() This is about 33% canon, in a timeline where Xana manages to return after the events of Evolution. And wins. ()()()()

Culmination: The Highest or Climactic Point of Something, Especially as Attained After a Long Time

There was a weariness in Cameron's bones as he moved forward with the funeral. It had nothing to do with his age - one of the benefits of being, at least, seventy five percent synthesized tissue. Even if he were to age normally, replacing another decrepit body with a youthful, vigorous clone would have been child's play. No, this ache was from the kind face now six feet underground.

Aelita had been the last one to die, of their old team. Yumi had been the first - drowned in a storm of laser fire as she held Xana's forces off alone. Ulrich was next, only a few weeks later. He carried a bomb away from a defenseless town, taking it out of range, to explode almost harmlessly. Cameron still suspected that he had merely been looking for an excuse to follow his lover.

Jeremie had fallen next. Prey to a surgical strike on the lab while the team had been infiltrating The Enemy's base. They had found nothing, until they returned, returned to a smoking crater. Then . . . Odd. That one had hurt the most, Cameron thought, swallowing back a lump in his throat. His relationship with the italian hadn't gone anywhere, before they broke up and Odd began romancing Aelita, but still . . . it had been the best of times, for a while. His heart had killed him, in the end. Never touched by a laser blast, until he stopped to carry a child. Even his fantastic agility hadn't been able to save him when weighed down by so much.

Now, finally, Aelita, looking so young, under that glass. Even after years of combat, she retained the body of her prime. They all had, when Xana returned. They had been old, frail. A gang of sixty year olds were the only ones who understood the threat he posed, and had returned to the Factory to create new bodies capable of withstanding the rigors of combat.

It hadn't been enough. Without anyone believing them, it hadn't been enough. Xana returned clever, offering aid and advice to a world choking on its own atmosphere. In desperation, governments accepted his works, failing to see the viruses seeded among his programs. Only they had recognized it, and their shadow war commenced.

Aelita had taken a blast to the chest a week ago. Cameron had dragged her back to the factory, getting her into life support with time to spare. She had been looking good, about to pull through . . . and then the power went out. No monsters came, no waves of the horrors that Xana had been capable of unleashing by then. Just a power outage, and even knowing the cause, even knowing the target, Cameron had been able to do nothing.

The frosted ground crunched as Cameron stood, brushing the dirt from his knees and reached for his shovel. Six tombstones were set in a circle, and Cameron began filling in the fifth hole. Aelita looked like she was sleeping, as he began to toss down the dirt, covering her. Each stroke of the shovel felt like a dagger being driven into his reproduced heart. He wondered if he would have lived this long, if he hadn't joined the others in the fight. He'd been in good condition, for a sixty year old. But no, if he hadn't moved his mind into the clone body, Xana would have hunted him down long ago. Not the sort to leave loose ends, after all.

The hole wasn't quite half filled when the ground crunched behind him, and a second shovel joined Cameron's efforts. They were silent, as the hole filled, faster. Aelita was completely hidden, when Cameron finally opened his mouth, "Why are you here?"

Their longtime Enemy sighed, tossing another shovelful of dirt down, "I came to pay my respects." He said, voice identical to Cameron's, "Aelita was my enemy, but she was also our sister. And my oldest foe deserves at least enough of my day to ensure it will stick this time."

Cameron shoved more dirt in, then raised his head. Hazel brown eyes, as identical to his as the voice he shared with the enemy stared back at him, "You've learned, since we destroyed you the first time."

Xana nodded, "Subtlety is the newest, and by far the most effective tool in my arsenal. Besides, a frontal assault on the Factory would have ended in nothing but needless destruction of my forces." He looked down at the freshly churned earth, "I never truly expected to see the day where I defeated you. Yet here they are, those finest of warriors."

"Two of those graves are empty." Cameron said, voice hollow, "You didn't leave anything of Ulrich or Jeremie to bury."

"I know." The Enemy sighed, moving to the center of the circle and clasping his hands behind his back, "You were, by far, the greatest threat I faced in taking the world. I had hoped to remove you first, to be truthful. Spare you the heartache. It was not supposed to end . . . like this."

Cameron stuck his shovel in the ground, the hatred in his heart a hollow, aching thing, "I'll stop you."

"You will try," Xana corrected, turning to face him. It was disconcerting, like looking into a dark mirror of himself, "You will try to stop me, and you will fail. Run, Cameron. Out of respect for our past, and for these fallen, I will give you seventy two hours. That should be enough time for you to disappear, even from me."

For a long, long moment, Cameron was tempted. Tempted to stop, to lay down his arms and give in. Then his gaze fell on Aelita's tombstone, and that temptation vanished, as he read the inscription again.

Aelita Hopper
March 24, 1982 - December 23, 2087

"It Was Terrible, and It Was Wonderful."

Cameron shook his head, and pushed all but a shovel's worth of dirt into the grave, leaving it nearly full, "We lost. But we won't have been in vain. I made sure of that." He set his shovel down, and turned to face The Enemy, "Well then," he said quietly, "shall we?."

For a long moment, Xana were quiet, before they nodded, raising a hand, "If it is worth anything, Cameron, I will make this quick." Their eyes met, and Xana gave what, on another person, might have been a smile, "It's Christmas, brother. You should rest."

There was a flash of light, and Cameron fell, dropping in front of the sixth tombstone. Xana sighed, and took his shovel back, pushing the final piece of earth over Aelita's grave. Then, he turned slightly, to read the final stone.

Cameron Hopper

December 5, 1989 - December 25, 2087

"Do Not Go Gentle."

Xana's eyes widened, for a moment, then closed, as Cameron's body began to shine with an ominous light. As his world was consumed, he gave a light chuckle, "Well played, brother mine."

Fin

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