Here is chapter 17! Please enjoy and review!! XD

"See you later, Dialla!" my mom called, shutting the front door.

"Goodbye! Have fun on your trip!" I hollered, then waited for the door to shut. "YES!! FREE AT LAST!!"

Why am I shouting, you ask? Because, I, Dialla Reinhart, had managed to cunningly convince my parents to take a week vacation for Christmas vacation! Which meant, my friends and I had a free house for a week! I so rock. Dressed in a black sweatshirt and gray baggy pants, I watched from the window as my parents loaded their luggage into the yellow car. After the taxi pulled away from my street, I rushed to the nearest phone to dial my friends. But, before I could, my own phone rang. Skidding so a stop, nearly sliding to the wall in the process, I answered my phone.

"Hello? Jeremy?"

"Hi, Dialla," he said rather quickly. "Can you come to the factory?"

"Oh, I'm fine thanks for asking," I said.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, how-"

"Forget it. I'm on my way." I quickly shut my phone and headed toward the front door. "Dan, I'm going out! Try not to burn down the house!"

I heard a soft reply then left.

"XANA on the move again?" I guessed, skating smoothly through the sewers.

"Actually, no," he said. "We discovered a few more replicas that we need to destroy."

"Really? What replicas?"

"We still have the forest replica to destroy and we just found a replica of sector 5," Aelita answered.

I nodded and we reached the end of the tunnel, climbed on the latter and ran to the factory. There, we met Ulrich, Odd and Yumi, who joined Aelita and I in the elevator while Jeremy went over to his usual spot at the computer. Ulrich and Odd ran out of the elevator once it opened and stopped in front of two scanners. They bowed and extended their arms as Yumi and Aelita walked forward.

"Ladies," they said in a butler-like voice.

As the two girls disappeared in the scanners, I cleared my throat.

"Ahem,"

They quickly rushed to the last scanner and repeated the same gesture.

"Our apologize, ma'dam," They said, causing me to laugh as I stepped in the scanner.

"Virtulalization!"

I landed in Sector 5 with Yumi and Aelita and seconds later, Ulrich and Odd appeared. We took the elevator to the Skid hanger and we dove into the Digital Sea. It was nice and quiet, until the sea turned from its beautiful blue to an ugly red.

"Guys, head's up, you got three sharks," Jeremy informed us.

"Releasing NavSkids," Aelita announced.

"Woo hoo! Time for some action!" Odd exclaimed.

"This should be fun!"

Aelita release our Skids and we traveled around. Being my first time using the NavSkid in battle, I was a little rusty and got hit by a torpedo. I shrieked slightly while my shield dropped from 100 to 80. However, I wasn't alone so the shark was soon hit by a torpedo shot from Odd's NavSkid and was blown away.

"Thanks Odd,"

"Being out for two weeks must've made you rusty, huh, D?" he said.

I laughed. "I guess so."

Ulrich and Yumi took care of the other sharks and as the Digital Sea turned back to blue, on its own, my NavSkid returned to the Skid. Aelita continued her route to our destination. We reached the Replika and went inside. We rose from the sea of the Forest Replica and Jeremy activated a tower. While the tower's aura went from blue to green, Aelita hooked up the Skid.

"Ok, who wants to go to Earth?" Jeremy questioned.

"I'll go," Aelita suggested.

"Me too!" Odd chimed.

"Alright, you guys ready?" he asked. "Teleportation."

While Odd and Aelita disappeared from the Skid, Ulrich, Yumi and I remained there, in case XANA were to send some enemies.

Not fifteen minutes after their teleportation, Jeremy informed us that William, Dan and some monsters were coming. He energized us onto Lyoko and I materialized my guns, bracing myself for the imminent attack. Up ahead, I saw William and Dan riding on Trantulas. A red beam was fired at me and I blocked it easily with my shield.

"I may have been out for two weeks, but I'm not gonna get hit by a laser that's a mile away," I said cockily.

Though I couldn't hear it, I had a feeling Dan was growling angrily, because he suddenly floated off the Trantula and into the air as he rocketed his way towards me.

"He can fly?!" I yelped. "Since when?!"

No one had time to answer since he fired his gun rapidly at all three of us. I did a few backhand springs, dodging the lasers, but I got hit in the side by a stray beam. I hit the ground and slid a few feet, laying there as my lifepoints decreased.

Then I got to my feet and quickly leaped into the air, activating my booster. Jeremy reminded me that I only had three minutes, but I ignored him and flew towards my brother while my friends handled the monsters below. I pulled out my sword on my left hip with my right hand and clashed with his large one. He quickly pulled away, leaving no time for me to react, and kicked me in the stomach. I descended rather quickly but used my booster to regain altitude. We flew at each other and clashed swords, then flew again and our swords connected with each others shield.

We struggled for a moment before we both pulled away. He threw his shield then fired gun at the shield. The green ray of light ricocheted from his sheild and struck me in my left shoulder. I winced at the pain, but kept my eyes on Dan as he flew after me. He fired once, then swung his sword up diagonally. I ducked, then swung my sword and slashed his shoulder, then kicked him in the back, sending him down onto the ground. I flew down after him, slashing my sword, but he flew back into the air. I flew back after him and Jeremy told me I had two minutes left. Below me, I saw Ulrich was having some trouble with William. I flew toward them, aiming my guns at William, but Dan fired at me from behind. One of his shots hit my booster and it was devirtualized. Flinching, I fell fast and hit the virtual floor hard. On top of that, both my guns flew from my hands, sliding on the ground away from me.

Seconds later, they were destroyed by a large, whiteish blue beam with red in the middle. Cursing, I looked up, gasped and quickly rolled out of the way as his sword plunged into the ground where I was. Getting to my feet, I was inches from Dan's face. I noticed that his eyes had no pupil as he kicked me hard in the stomach. When I stumbled back, I realized quickly that I was on the edge of the sector. I managed to regain my balance, but when I looked ahead, Dan was rushing me with his sword. I was able to pull mine out and stab him in the shoulder while he stabbed me in the chest. I was devirtualized while he dissipated into the ground. I appeared in the scanner, sitting, doubled over in pain.

"Guess it's a tie," I wheezed, "For now."

After I regained my strength, Ulrich appeared in the scanner. He walked out calmly, not even stumbling. I narrowed my eyes at him, envious on how he wasn't exhausted like I was. He laughed at my face and told me that I would get used to it. We took the elevator up to the lab where Jeremy sat in his chair, typing angrily away on the keyboard. As we approached him, I heard Odd shout that he had found the supercomputer.

"Well, hurry up and destroy it! Yumi just got devirtualized so there's no one to guard the Skid!" Jeremy barked.

While Odd whined, Ulrich and I laughed. The elevator opened again and Yumi joined us over by the computer. A few minutes passed and soon Odd destroyed the supercomputer. Jeremy brought them back to the Skid and they emerged into the Digital Sea. Aelita sent us a visual so we could watch as the large orb exploded.

As shards of debris drifted throughout the endless network, I noticed a white ray of light shoot out from the middle of the mess.

"Hey, what's that?" I questioned.

"What's what?" Yumi asked.

"There was a white ray of light earlier," I said, pointing to the screen. "See? There it is!"

The pale light flew passed the screen and was soon out of sight.

"I saw it too, Jeremy," Aelita backed me up. "What do you think it is?"

"I'm not sure," Einstein replied, befuddled. "I'll try and do some research on it. But for now, come back to Lyoko, the Skid is starting to lose power."

"Roger that," Aelita obeyed and soon she and Odd were with us in the factory.

"Do you think it could've been Franz Hopper?" Ulrich inquired.

Jeremy shook his head. "No, it was a different signature than Franz Hopper's. I'm not sure who..." His voice trailed off until his eyes lit up abruptly and he started typing on the computer.

"What is it?" Aelita wondered.

"I'm trying to find out if it's..." he paused.

I got his hint immediately as my heart sank into my stomach. "My father?"

Jeremy nodded and continued typing. "Any idea how long it will take?"

"I'm not sure, but I'll keep working on it, that's for sure," he promised me.

While Jeremy continued working, there was an awkward silence. To break it, Odd suggests that we went out for some food (no surprise). Jeremy and Aelita stayed behind to work while the four of us went to the closets pizza store. We ordered a large pizza half cheese and half pepperoni. We found a store a couple minutes away from the factory and ate outside, despite the cold. As we were eating, my friends did everything they could to cheer me up and get my mind off my father.

It worked, surpisingly, and that's probably because Odd was making me laugh. A half an hour passed and I stood up just to look for a bathroom and ended up getting tackled by a curly red head screaming my name. I hit the cement floor hard, but luckily there was some snow on it so it didn't hurt that much. My friends got up concerned and made there way to me while I stared utterly appalled at the stranger. At first, I didn't know who the girl was, but when she spoke six words I recognized her immediately.

"I've missed you so much, Dialla!" It was my friend Missy from Florida.

"Missy?! Hi! Um, can you get off? You're kinda crushing me," I said weakly.

"Oh! Sorry!" She apologized and quickly got off.

Odd and Yumi helped me to my feet while I brushed off the snow on my body.

"Guys, this is my friend Missy Robinson, from Florida. Missy, these are my friends Ulrich, Odd and Yumi."

"Hello," they replied.

"Hi, there," Missy said.

"So, Missy, what are you doing here in France?" I asked, turning to my friend.

"It's Christmas break in Florida, so I thought I'd come see you! I can stay for three days! Isn't that great?! Is it okay if I stay at your house? My things are already there. This is so fun!!" She exclaimed and trapped me in a bear hug.

"Uh, yeah. Real great," I gasped.

Missy received the hint that I was having trouble breathing and released me. "Come on! Aren't you gonna show me around town?"

"Uh, well, I..." I glanced at my friends while deciding on what I should do.

They gestured me to go with her and I mouthed "See you later" and turned to Missy.

"Come on, let's go," I said.

I grabbed her arm and dragged her around as much of France as I could, and at the same time, catching up on old times. I realized while we talked that Missy hadn't changed a bit since I left. Clumsy, but fun and loyal. After about an hour or so, the sun was starting to set so I let Missy stay at my house. There, she met Dan, who was on his butt watching cartoons. When we were up in my room, getting her bags un-packed, she announced that Dan seemed different. I lied smoothly then quickly changed the subject to something irrelevant.

Since tomorrow was Sunday, that meant no classes, so we could stay up late. All I know is we stayed up until at least three in the morning before I passed out from fatigue. I awoke later around 11:30, rested and cheerful. I walked into the guest room where Missy lay, and nearly laughed at the sight. Her arms were above her head and one leg wasn't even under the covers. The blankets and sheets were askew over the bed and floor. I chuckled and walked over to her.

"Missy.... Wake up, Missy," when she didn't respond, I shrugged my shoulders and shoved her off of the bed.

She hit the floor with a thud and sat up quickly, groaning in pain. "What the hell was that for?"

I held up a newspaper in her face. On it was a movie circled in black sharpie. It was an alien horror movie.

"Let's see this today at 12:30," I ordered.

"Ooh! Horror movie! Awesome!" she cried ecstatically, leaping to her feet.

After quickly making lunch and getting dressed we made our way to the theatre. Since I always forget to put my phone off during movies, I decided to leave it at home. Missy brought her, but kept it on silent. Since Missy was the guest, I told her it was my treat. She argued for a moment, then finally agreed. We got there as the previews started, so we took the time to get our snacks and drinks. After paying, we walked into the theatre and took our seats.

Odd's POV

Ulrich's phone ringing snapped me out of my dream about Sissi being a giant french fry and trying to eat me.

"Jeremy, it's Sunday," he complained, then there was a paused. "Okay... Be right there."

I sighed and sat up, sending Kiwi flying off my back. He fell on the floor and whimpered.

"Oh, I'm sorry, my little diggity dog," I said and scratched his head.

"Jeremy wants us to head to the factory," Ulrich explained.

I nodded, quickly got changed and headed to the factory with my brown haired best friend.

After Einstein finished explaining something intelligent, I gave him my 'math stare'. A blank stare which means I didn't understand a word he just said. He sighed aggravated and Aelita quickly translated for me.

"So, what your saying is, that white ray thingy really is Dialla's father?" I inquired.

"It's just a theory, but I need to test it out first," he noticed Dialla wasn't with us. "Where is she anyway? Didn't you call her?"

"She didn't answer her phone," Ulrich replied.

"How strange..." Yumi mused.

The supercomputer began beeping abruptly, telling us there was an activated tower. "Uh-oh, XANA's on the move again. Get to the scanners! I'll try and call Dialla again." Jeremy ordered.

"Right," we said and stepped into the elevator.

Dialla's POV

I got up to go the bathroom during the movie. For a horror movie, it wasn't that scary. But that was probably because we were watching it during the day. At night, it would've been a different story. When I got back to the theatre, the screen became engulfed with some sort of black smoke. The screen became all fuzzy and suddenly, the alien creature stepped out of the film. I narrowed my eyes in an are-you-kidding-me face and ran up the stairs towards Missy.

"Missy, we've got to get out of here, now!" I said quickly.

"Why? The movie's getting good! You never said it was 3D!" she whispered excited.

"It's not 3D!" Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the monster running towards us. "Look, I don't have time to explain! We have to get--"

My sentence was cut off as a tentacle hit me in the side of my face, sending me flying about ten feet back. Missy screamed as I hit the wall, uttering a loud 'Ow!' and moaning as I slumped down. I tasted blood in my cheek and I sat there dazed for a moment untill I heard the growl of the monster. I struggled to get to my feet, but I buckled over in the sudden pain. The monster approached, it's mouth open and drooling. It raised its tentacles and I started to crawl away. Fortunately, Missy rushed to my rescue because she leaped over a few seats to reach me. She grabbed my forearm and started running.

The other people in the theatre realized what was happening and started running around screaming. We took this chaotic opportunity to run for it. Somehow, we managed to lose the monster, for now at least. We took refuge in a storage closet for now. Missy was on the verge of being hysterical, and I did my best to console her. It worked, temporarily. I pressed my ear against the door and waited. When I didn't hear anything, I turned to my scared friend.

"You're phone, give it to me," I breathed.

She reached into her jean pocket and her face drained off color. "I-I must've dropped it when I was jumping over the seats."

I cursed and opened the door just enough so I could see. When I noted that the coast was clear, I told Missy to go hide in the woman's bathroom as soon as I ran off.

"W-Where are you gonna go? Don't leave me!" she cried and I covered her mouth.

"Ssh! I'm not gonna leave you!" I assured her quickly. "I'm just going to see if I can find a phone."

"To call 911?" she hoped.

"Uh, sure?" I said half-heartidly. "Just go when I say '3' okay?"

She nodded.

I stood up. "1."

She stood up as well. I got into a fighting stance. "2."

I kicked the door with all my might. "3!"

We took off running in different directions. She went towards the bathroom while I went to the theatres. I was hoping that karma would be nice for me for once and let me escape a XANA attack without too much trouble. And of course karma is a bitch. I ran into the theatre we were in as quietly as I could. I searched all of the aisle and finally found her phone. I cheered mentally and began dialling Jeremy when a whiteish green goop drooped down onto my forehead from above.

My shoulders sank as my eyes narrowed. I looked up and the alien was hanging from above. I took off sprinting as the creature came down after me. The chase begins!