Alita's POV:

I felt the pulsations under my feet as I walked. XANA was awake.

To my surprise, my captors led me to the activated tower. Outside, an assortment of XANA's monsters waited. It was hard to tell how many there were, but it was many more than I would be able to fight on my own. At the tower's entrance, the Krabs stepped aside. I was still surrounded on all sides, but there was a clear path to enter the tower.

Had XANA's monsters turned on him? But if so, why hadn't they let me call for help?

The monsters made no effort to stop me as I entered the tower. I rose to the second platform, & was about to approach the screen when a voice spoke.

"Hello, Alita." It was Jeremy's voice.

"Jeremy?" I asked, surprised. As he moved into the light, I noticed it wasn't Jeremy at all. His hair stood on end, his hands were like claws, & his eyes were completely blank. It wasn't Jeremy at all.

"XANA." I said. "What do you want?"

"I just want to talk to you." XANA said. "You've been working on a materialization program for a while. It's very good, for a couple of amateurs. You're missing some very key elements, if you want it to work. I have access to much more processing power. I can fix your little program."

"Why would you do that?" I asked, suspicious.

"I was originally designed to destroy a dangerous, top secret military project. As I developed, I decided to do more for Earth. My new directive is to try to save the Earth…from the idiotic humans themselves."

"You tried to crash a bus into a chemical plant." I said. That was only one of the many attacks XANA had launched on Earth.

"Chemical plants are dangerous. Renewable energy sources are much more sustainable."

"My friends were on that bus."

"Some sacrifices must be made for the greater good." XANA said. "But I'm not here to discuss philosophy. I'm here to make you a deal. I even chose this form so that you & I could speak, face to face."

"I'm not interested in any deal you could offer." I said as I turned to leave.

"That's a shame. My monsters outside will just have to destroy you. Don't think about running to any other sectors. I know exactly which towers are connected to this one. I have armies waiting outside each of them. I have them programmed to attack you on sight…or you can listen to the offer that I have prepared. I think we can come to an understanding.

I weighed my options. Slowly, I turned back to face XANA.

"I'm willing to fix your materialization program, & let you go to Earth. But you must prove that you belong there. I'll give you three days on Earth, & all you'll need to do is get Jeremy to prove that he loves you with a kiss."

"A kiss?" I asked.

"Not just any kiss. A kiss of true love…just like on that Grantham Chateau show that you enjoy watching."

Great. XANA had access to my browsing history.

"If you can get Jeremy to kiss you before sunset on the third day, you can stay on Earth permanently. However, if you can't, then you must return to Lyoko, & you will spend the rest of your life on Lyoko with me." XANA paused, allowing me time to consider his terms.

XANA's offer seemed too good to be true…but it was ether that, or face his army waiting for me outside the tower.

I remembered when Jeremy was stuck in limbo after attempting to come to Lyoko. He loved me. I loved him. Getting him to kiss me wouldn't be so difficult…would it?

"What's the catch?" I asked.

"No catch…although we do need to discuss payment. Sending you to Earth will not be easy. I expect to get something in exchange. What I want is…your voice."

"My voce?" I asked. "Without my voice, how would I be able to live on Earth?"

"True lovers don't need words to express their love. There are plenty of other ways to do that. Besides, girls on Earth are expected to be quiet & withdrawn. Talking too much sends boys running away."

I hesitated.

"If you're able to succeed, I'll return your voice to you. Your friends will never even have to know about our deal."

Between us, in the middle of the platform, a screen appeared. Instead of the usual programs, a text box filled the entre screen. Text scrolled down, faster than I could read it, but it seemed like XANA was putting the deal into writing. In large print, at the end, was a simple question.

Do you accept these terms & conditions?

I had two options. Yes or No.

"If you want to cross this bridge, then you must pay the toll." XANA said. "Time to make your choice. Don't you want to live on Earth, more than anything else?"

My hand hovered over the screen. I was tempted by XANA's offer…& I knew his monsters would destroy me if I turned it down, but…I could do this. I knew how Jeremy felt about me. It would be easy to get him to kiss me…& then we could shut down the supercomputer forever. I didn't fully trust XANA, but my friends & I were smart enough to outwit him.

This might be how we saved the world from XANA…for good.

Taking a deep breath, I made my choice.


Looks like Alita has made her decision…but how about you? If you were in Alita's place, would you take XANA's offer?

Please review!