"Well then we'll be seeing a lot of each other, won't we," Yumi said. "I'm Yumi, by the way."
"Maiana. Nice to meet you. "
"See you around," she replied with a smile.
The Lyoko warriors turned away, chattering happily, and walked off to who-knows-where, leaving Maiana standing where she was. She stared down at her schedule again, and blinked, bewildered. Wasn't I just here? she thought. She stared after the retreating group. They certainly didn't look bothered. She turned around and wandered away, off to explore some other part of the town.
The whole Lyoko gang and Sissi were all sitting at a table in the cafeteria, eating spaghetti lunch, chatting idly.
"Hey, Aelita. Where's your new roommate, Maiana?" inquired Odd.
"Oh no..." gasped Aelita.
Jeremie was on the instant alert. "Something wrong, Aelita?"
Aelita took a quick look at Sissi to make sure she wasn't paying attention to something else, and then leaned in towards Jeremie's ear. "Don't you think it's strange that we're here, eating spaghetti lunch again?"
Jeremie's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted as Yumi suddenly pointed. "Look, there she is." And sure enough, Maiana was entering the cafeteria, late, but not too late to get a little spaghetti, which she did. After obtaining a tray and a scoop of spaghetti, she didn't stand there awkwardly as she did before, but immediately went to sit at the Lyoko group's table, saying nothing.
"Something's fishy," muttered Yumi. Jeremie nodded.
"Hey, Maiana!" Odd greeted pleasantly.
Maiana looked up at him. "You got my name right this time."
"Well, yeah. Did I get it wrong before?" he asked, appearing surprised, but Maiana noted a hint of falseness in his countenance.
"You called me Marianne last time."
This time Odd really did look genuinely surprised. "No I didn't," he replied, unconvincingly.
Sissi studied Maiana for a minute, and then turned away with a "Hmph!"
"Maiana," broached Aelita. "Can I talk to you for a few minutes? Outside the cafeteria?" Aelita cast a meaningful look towards Jeremie.
"Uhh, okay?" mustered Maiana. She took a quick bite of spaghetti, avoiding the meatball, and then pushed her tray over to Odd as she stood up and followed Aelita out.
Odd leaned across the table towards Jeremie, keeping his voice low so as not to attract the attention of Sissi, who was dreamily staring at Ulrich. "What's going on? Why are we back at lunch? And how does Maiana know I called her 'Marianne' last time we were here?"
"I don't know," Jeremie whispered back. "But I'm afraid at what this might mean."
"That the supercomputer's been restarted?"
"Or worse. That our old friend XANA's been reprogrammed and has returned to our world."
Odd gasped and leaned back.
Ulrich noticed Odd's strange gasp. "Something wrong?"
"Yeah..." managed Jeremie, his eyes wandering to Sissi and William, and then to Yumi's parents, who had just entered the cafeteria and were now approaching Yumi. They all appeared oblivious to Odd and Jeremie's private conversation. "I'll tell you about it later."
-xx-
"Maiana, I need to know exactly where you went after we got our schedules."
Maiana met Aelita's serious gaze with a guarded one. "Why does it matter to you? I went exploring, that's all."
"Where did you go?" Aelita's question emphasized each word as if it were an individual sentence. Perhaps she was trying to sound menacing, but...was that a trace of fear Maiana detected in Aelita's voice?
"I won't tell you until you answer my first question." Maiana crossed her arms stubbornly, and the two girls glared at each other. In fact, they were too busy glaring at each other to notice two adults, a man and a woman, walking past them into the cafeteria.
"Wherever you've been will determine my answer to your question, so it'd be best if you told me now."
A brief pause ensued, and then Maiana groaned. "Fine, I'll tell you. I went to—"
They were interrupted by a scream. "YUMI!"
Aelita immediately turned around, towards the door to the cafeteria. Yumi's parents were walking out with Yumi with some haste and urgency, and at first glance from a distance, looked completely normal, if seeing a 16-year-old holding hands with her parents could be considered normal. But after a closer look, Aelita and Maiana could see thin streams of purple electricity running down the exposed skin of Yumi's arms. William and Ulrich were chasing after them, followed by Sissi. Odd and Jeremie followed them out, but instead of following Yumi with her parents, they stopped in front of Aelita.
"Jeremie, what just happened?" asked Aelita.
"Jeremie and I were just talking, and then Yumi's parents came in and said they wanted to talk with Yumi, but when they grabbed her shoulders she went all unconscious, and they just started carrying her away," Odd explained in a rush.
"I want to go check out the factory. I'm afraid that somebody might have woken up you-know-who."
Aelita hesitated for a brief minute, and then nodded, and the three rushed off, leaving Maiana standing by herself.
"Well, I've already dragged myself into this mess, I might as well finish it and help clean it up." With that, Maiana set off after them.
"Maiana, what are you doing here?" huffed Aelita as she continued to run.
"You guys seem to know what's going on, so I suppose I should tell you guys where I rushed off to. The first time," Maiana huffed. "I went to a factory on a river."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"YUMI!"
Ulrich had only seen that Yumi was being led, almost dragged, away, unconscious and against her will. His only desire was to be with her, through whatever was ailing her. To be there for her, always and forever.
But he'd never admit it. Not that he'd admit that either.
William was the one who saw the truth behind her condition: the eyes of XANA that had replaced her parents' pupils.
"Ulrich!" He rushed forward and grabbed onto Ulrich, holding him back.
"Let go of me!" Ulrich shouted as Yumi's parents took her away. "I have to know what's wrong with Yumi!"
"I know what's wrong with Yumi!"
"You just want to-"
"YUMI!" Hiroki ran past them, chasing after Yumi. "Yumi's in trouble! Yumi's in trouble!"
"Sure looks like she's in trouble," said Johnny as he ran after Hiroki.
William ignored the kids. "Those people who took her just now. They had XANA in their eyes!"
Ulrich stopped, his eyes widening with bewilderment. "Are you sure?"
"I was possessed by the program for four months. I think I know what a possessed person looks like."
"Well, if you're right, it only means she's in more trouble than we thought, and she probably doesn't even know it," says Ulrich. "So, let's call it a truce for now." He held out his hand to William.
"For Yumi," said William as he shook Ulrich's hand. Then the two of them ran off toward where Yumi's parents had disappeared with the Japanese girl.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Yumi's parents, meanwhile, had made it out of the line of sight of team Lyoko and any other adults, and were now sending electrical charges down her arms. Several seconds later, Yumi's eyes opened, weary, and confused.
"Mom? Dad?"
Her parents glared at her, during which the Eye pulsated into plain sight. Yumi's eyes widened, but she had no chance to react as they sent more electrical shocks down her arms, now more painful and more targeted. She felt herself being forced to stand and walk with them.
"Yumi's in trouble! Yumi's in trouble!"
"Hiroki!" Yumi managed to hiss, but a shock of electricity silenced her quickly.
"Ah, there you are, Hiroki," said XANA-Mrs.-Ishiyama. "We're going home for the rest of the day." She held out her free hand for Hiroki to take.
"Can Johnny come too?" he asked.
"Of course," said XANA-Mr.-Ishiyama.
Hiroki took XANA-Mrs.-Ishiyama's hand, and in short, became XANA-Hiroki, who in turn made XANA-Johnny.
Oh no, not my whole family! Yumi thought in horror.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"So you're saying this XANA is an evil, self-aware computer program that you guys killed over a year ago, with the death of its creator who also happens to be Aelita's father—" she glanced briefly towards Aelita, whose tears were running down her face, "—as an unfortunate side effect, and with apparent success? And now it's somehow miraculously resurrected itself from the dead?" Maiana shook her head. "This story of yours is pure science fiction, and yet I know it's real."
"Yeah, we know you believe it," Aelita glared.
"That's exactly what Yumi said when Ulrich first told her about Lyoko and Aelita, while XANA was attacking us with a little electricity monster," said Jeremie.
"Monsters, yeah, uh-huh. Well, this isn't a discussion of how real XANA is and how this all appears to the average spectator," grumbled Maiana. "You're here to save your friend Yumi from her demon-AI-possessed parents by deactivating some switch or portal on Lyoko that controls their possession."
"How do you know all this?" asked Odd.
"I've read enough science fiction to imagine the possibilities. But, again, we're not here to discuss that."
"She's right, you know," Aelita spoke up, for the first time since she'd embraced the reality of the being that killed her father having somehow survived. "We can't dwell on the past right now. We've got to save Yumi, and the only way to do that is for me to deactivate the tower in time." She laid a hand on Jeremie's shoulder. "Jeremie, we have no choice. And don't forget that returning to the past won't bring anybody back to life, if the worst should happen."
Maiana shuddered at the grisly implications of Aelita's speech.
"Uh...okay, Aelita," Jeremie muttered resignedly. "The three of you, head for the scanners."
"You mean she's coming with us?" Odd pointed to Maiana. "She's never even been to Lyoko, though. And remember what happened to William?"
Jeremie nodded. "I remember what happened to William, but she seems to be smarter than that, and more cautious than he was. Even if she's not as powerful as he is, any edge she can give us against XANA will help. And knowing XANA, he'll have the tower well-protected."
"This is nuts," Odd murmured. "You're sure we can trust her?"
"Odd, we don't have a choice," Aelita argued softly. "She obviously remembers what happened before the Return was run earlier today, so she's probably already scanned herself. If she has, then XANA's only going to target her too, and she's going to have to find out anyway, and so there's no point in delaying it."
"Come on," said Maiana, her voice quiet. "Let's just go and get it over with."
Aelita nodded, and they both led a slightly peeved Odd to the elevator where they rode down to the scanner room.
Jeremie's voice rang out over the speakers. "I'm sending you to the mountain region, just south of the activated tower. Here we go." The three inhabitants stepped into the scanners, and the doors closed around them.
"Transfer: Aelita! Transfer: Odd! Transfer: Maiana! Scanner! ...Virtualization!"
And the world was engulfed in light and roaring. The next thing any of them knew, they were all suspended in mid-air, and a split second later, they landed on the ground, Odd and Aelita on their feet, Maiana on her backside again.
Standing up, she noted the subtle differences in her attire: her shawl and skirt were now purple, and her skin was a pale pinkish color, not unlike that of Aelita's. She turned to look at the other two, and had to restrain herself from rushing and running to Odd when she saw him, though a grin developed on her face. This did not go unnoticed.
"That's cute," she commented. "You're like a giant purple kitty."
"Yeah, big purple cat costume, I know," Odd said, sounding disgruntled yet grinning.
Jeremie's voice rang out from the sky. "Alright, get going. You guys have a tower to deactivate."
"Is that Jeremie?" Maiana asked.
"Yep, that's our good ol' Einstein," replied Odd.
Maiana glanced up at the sky. "Hey, Jeremie? Do you think you could save a copy of my virtual code into an arbitrary text file? I'd like to look at it later."
"Uh, sure, I can do that. In the meantime, watch your backs. You've got three bloks on your back."
"One for each of us. Cool!" Odd aimed his arm to fire, and Aelita hid behind him, forming an energy-shield to block the shots of the second blok. Maiana was left out in the open.
"Uh, Jeremie? I don't know how to fight here. I don't have any physical weapons," said Maiana.
Aelita threw an energy field at one of the bloks, landing perfectly on target and thus destroying it. "No energy fields or other forces either?"
Maiana dodged a laser and also hid behind Odd. "I don't know. If I do, I don't know how to summon them."
"Hold on, I'll scan through the code and try to find your combat powers, Maiana," said Jeremie. "In the meantime, hide! And try not to get devirtualized."
"Easy for you to say," mumbled Maiana. "They're not shooting fire rings at you."
"Watch out! XANA's sending more monsters!" Jeremie's shout rang out from the sky again. At the same time, a battery of new lasers began firing at the group: a tarantula had arrived. Maiana was hit once. Odd began firing at the tarantula while Aelita dealt with the two remaining bloks.
"Hide!" With some effort, Maiana managed to drag herself behind a rock, and curled up into the fetal position. She heard the explosions of the two bloks being destroyed. As Odd and Aelita focused their fire on tarantula, Maiana rocked back and forth, whimpering. "Don't hit me, don't hit me, don't hit me, don't hit me..." Somehow at that moment, she started to glow a purplish color, and then the tarantula, Aelita, and Odd also began to glow the same purplish color; white lines began to engrain themselves into the tarantula's arm cannons. It didn't take long for Aelita and Odd to notice the change.
"Jeremie, there's something really weird going on here right now with us and the tarantula," Odd said. Aelita stopped shooting energy fields to observe the tarantula, which kept firing at them as if nothing had happened. But try as it did, its lasers simply did not come close to hitting them.
"Maiana! What are you doing? You just lost fifty life points!" Jeremie, back in the lab, was flustered as a number on Maiana's card was reduced by fifty. Upon closer inspection, however, it was not her life points, which remained at eighty, but another number, which now read 450. "Wait...what's that? No, your life points are fine, Maiana, you've still got eighty of those, but... I don't get this! And what is this countdown?"
"The tarantula..." Aelita breathed, "...can't hit us anymore. Jeremie, I think Maiana did that."
Maiana slowly peeked around the rock she was hiding behind. "Jeremie? What's going on? What happened?"
"I-I'm not sure. I need more time to look at it. Hurry and get to the tower."
"Your hair's glowing, Maiana," said Aelita, pointing at her as laser beams fired past them.
"Do you think you did the glowing thingie, Maiana?" asked Odd.
Maiana shrugged in response.
"Enough chit-chat. Get Aelita to the tower!" yelled Jeremie.
The three of them made off for the tower. The tarantula stayed behind, not bothering to follow.
"Squadron approaching at three o'clock! Four hornets."
"Only four?" Odd asked.
Just as Jeremie warned and Odd spoke, in flew four hornets with a battery of lasers.
"You guys are losing life points too quickly! Odd: forty. Aelita: thirty. Maiana: ten."
As the tower came clearly into view, Odd looked at Maiana. "Do you think you could do that thing with the hornets like you did with the tarantula?"
"I don't know," she said. "I don't even know how I did it be—" The hornets dove again, focusing their efforts on Maiana, and she was devirtualized mid-sentence.
Odd and Aelita used their concentration to their advantage, thus taking out two of the four hornets as they retreated. The hornets dove again, aiming for Aelita, but Odd leaped in front of them, taking the impact of their lasers and thus being devirtualized. His sacrifice allowed Aelita to reach the tower untouched.
In the scanner room, two scanners hummed loudly, and then opened, emitting thick clouds of heated gas that quickly dissipated. Odd stepped out of one and looked in the other to find Maiana nearly unconscious in the floor of her scanner. He approached her and tried to prop her up to a sitting position. She responded weakly.
"Tower deactivated," Aelita's voice echoed.
"She's done it. Ready for a return trip to the past?" Jeremie asked over the speaker.
"You okay, Maiana?" Odd inquired softly.
"Yeah, I'll be okay," she murmured.
"Do it, Jeremie!" Odd shouted.
For the second time that day, white light enveloped the factory and the entire world as they knew it.
They found themselves in the cafeteria for the third time that day. Jeremie had timed it impeccably well; Maiana was already sitting in her chair. Sissi let out a 'hmph' and turned away. The rest of the table made idle chit-chat until lunch was over. The Lyoko warriors and Maiana piled into Jeremie's room, crowded around his computer.
The first thing that happened was a heated question from Yumi: "What's she doing here?"
"Well, uh, she kind of helped out on Lyoko, and she's the one who restarted the supercomputer," Jeremie replied.
"You took her to Lyoko? After she restarted the supercomputer? She restarted XANA! Why should we trust her?"
"She and Odd helped me get to the tower," Aelita mentioned.
"She helped save your life," William pointed out.
"Your captors were doing a number on you, but you wouldn't remember because you were out cold for most of it," Ulrich added, nodding.
"And she'd already scanned herself when she discovered the computer for the first time," Jeremie added. "It was better for her to find out this way than to live life thinking she was a lunatic because she knew some things before they happened, or for her to go to the authorities because of us."
"Look, guys," Maiana interrupted. "I'm sorry I turned the supercomputer back on. I didn't know it housed a demonic artificial intelligence bent on conquering the entire world. I didn't know that running the return to the past would give it the energy spike it needed to reboot itself. I didn't know XANA was such a serious issue in your life. It's my fault, I accept the responsibility, and if you want to excommunicate me from your group, that's fine with me. Your secret will be safe with me. I've got nothing to gain from spilling the beans."
"It's up to you if you want to stay in the group or not, Maiana," Jeremie offered.
"I still don't trust her," Yumi grumbled.
"I agree with Yumi," William said.
"But didn't you just defend the girl...?" Odd asked.
"Nevermind," mumbled William.
"Look," said Maiana. "It's no problem for me to stay away from you guys if my presence causes so much ten—"
"You're staying in our group, Maiana, and that's final," declared Odd.
"I agree," said Jeremie. Aelita and Ulrich copied.
"What? You too, Ulrich?" Yumi gasped.
"She helped Aelita to save your life," Ulrich repeated. "Look, I'm not happy about it, but I think she'd make a good addition to the team."
The room was silent. Then Jeremie spoke, "Four to two. She stays if she wants to."
"Can we get back to whatever it was we were going to talk about in here before my being in got in the way?" Maiana asked.
There were some grumbles among the group, and then, one by one, they each nodded assent.
"So, even if Maiana was the one to restart the supercomputer and program the jump in time, I still don't understand how XANA could have come back," began Jeremie. "For that series of events to have fully reassembled XANA, XANA must have had to have been scattered in fragments in the supercomputer itself. Fragments which didn't get wiped out by my anti-XANA program. It was programmed very thoroughly."
"And don't forget my father. With him gone, there's probably no way we're going to be able to do it again anytime soon," Aelita added.
"We'll find a way, Aelita. We'll have to do something different and probably completely crazy, but we'll find a way," Jeremie reassured Aelita.
"Meanwhile, we'll have to keep him under control. If, as Jeremie says, XANA's back to his old self, then shutting down the supercomputer won't help anything; he probably still has the Keys to Lyoko," said Ulrich.
"So it's a combination your shortcomings and Maiana's actions caused by her lack of thought that have initiated the process that will turn our lives back into living hell, is that it?" snapped Yumi. Ulrich laid a hand on her shoulder, and she shook it off. "Well I don't want any part in it any more!"
"I've got an idea," Maiana offered. "Maybe we could keep the supercomputer off whenever Jeremie and Aelita aren't strictly working on programming in that category."
"That'd mean we'd have less time to do any programming whatsoever," Jeremie noted.
"And don't forget that XANA can still access the worldwide web even while it's shut down, which means he can do his dirty work abroad uninterrupted by us," Odd added.
"But it'd also mean that we could plan our programming time in the factory a lot more efficiently than when XANA just sporadically attacks us," said Aelita. "To be ready to respond at all times while the supercomputer is on, we could have a few of us at a time guarding Jeremie and ready to get me to whatever tower XANA decides to activate."
"That's true," commented William. "And it wouldn't even have to be all of us."
"So, by 'us', does that include Maiana?" asked Odd. At his question, everybody's eyes turned towards the brown-haired girl.
"I dragged you all back into this mess; I might as well help you fix it," she murmured.
"Thanks," Aelita whispered. "We'll get started on you and William's training tomorrow, after school."
"Thanks, Aelita," Maiana smiled humbly.