Chapter 7
"There's the tower." Aelita said, directing Kiwi to it.
"Why am I driving?" Kiwi asked, trying to remind her of his one eye.
"Because you can." Aelita said, "You realize why you can't see much of my deleation?"
Kiwi shook his head.
"Because he's deleting me from the inside." Aelita said. "He's taken my powers already and is working on taking my memory of things."
"Let's just hope you don't forget how to deactivate the tower." Kiwi said, seeing a mega-tank up ahead. "Hold on."
The mega-tank shot at them, creating a red wall of laser light.
Kiwi avoided it bearly, swinging the overwing almost 180 degreas around.
"Watch out for the tarantula!" Aelita warrned, seeing it was in Kiwi's blind spot.
"Tarantula!?" Kiwi cried, swivling his head around and saw it just in time to make sure Aelita was out of harm's way.
"Kiwi!" Aelita cried as a stray laser hit the boy, knocking him off of the overwing.
The boy landed on the ground, his hip where he got shot was gone. He looked up and saw Aelita heading for him. "GO! Deactivate the tower!"
"Alright." Aelita said, turning the overwing around and heading back the way they were going to began with.
…
Odd noticed that no sound as coming from Jeremie. He walked over and put his fingers on Jeremie's neck and felt no pules. Manchate was still licking his face.
Odd quickly pulled his hand away and stepped back.
"Hey Odd, you still there?" Ulrich asked, killing the last block.
Odd felt as if his mouth had just gone dry. He put his hand at his through, scarred and sad at the same time.
"Maybe Xana's got him?" Yumi sugested.
"I-I'm here." Odd said, trying to find his voice as he turned back to the computer screen, missing Xana dropping out of Jeremie's lifeless body.
"What's wrong? You sound dead." Yumi asked.
"It's not me who's dead." Odd asked, still not believing it. "It's Jeremie."
"No." Yumi breathed, putting her hands over her mouth.
"Have you told Princess?" Ulrich asked as he got onto the overboard, the only vehical left.
"No, not yet." Odd said.
"Well, don't." Ulrich said, riding over to Yumi. She sat on as Ulrich continued, "Not until we've set the return to the past."
"AlriiiiiIIIIIAAAAHHHHH!" Odd cried as he felt Xana slither into his ears and block his trakea, forcing his hands to go up to his throught to see if he could pull Xana away, only to realize Xana was on the inside.
"Odd?" Yumi asked, hearing something like gaging.
"Hruury!" Odd tryed to say, his voice disappearing.
"GO!" Yumi ordered, gripping onto the overboard tightly.
"I hope they've gotten to the tower by now." Ulrich said, driving away at top speed.
…
Aelita jumped off of the overwing and let it fly straight into one of the two krabes guarding the tower.
The overwing knocked the krabe off of the plateau, distracting the other one, who watched his partner fall down, into the digital void.
Aelita ran past the krabe, only to stumble over a rock, falling to the ground.
The krabe looked up as the light shown from the digital void, showing the other krabe was dead. The krabe turned around and saw Aelita as she was getting up.
A laser shot almost next to Aelita's hand, distracting her as she tryed to stand back up.
"Aelita! Hury!" a voice said to her.
The girl looked up and saw Jeremie in his Lyoko form. A knight ready to protect his princess.
"Odd needs you to hurry." Jeremie said, holding out his hand.
Aelita took it and he helped her up, only for a krabe to shoot right in between them.
Aelita looked back at the krabe, her face changed from shock to rememberance.
"Go, I'll take care of him." Jeremie said, taking the sword off of his back.
"Thanks Jeremie." Aelita said, smiling as she turned around and ran for the tower as turned around and ran for the tower as Jeremie ran for the krabe.
Aelita walked into the tower and went straight to the center of the platform. She looked up as the gravity changed, taking her up to the second platform.
Aelita placed her feet down and a screen appeared. She placed her hand on it and saw it type her name.
…
Odd, now on the ground, one arm holding him up as he grabbed the chair.
…
Aelita's name disappeared and was replaced with "CODE: LYOKO"
Xana's codes fell away from the tower as it was deactivated.
…
Odd's hand fell down as Xana left his body. He opened his eyes and looked around, glad to be breathing again.
…
Aelita touched the screen and went to work at taking away the deleation program.
"Good job Aelita." Odd said, sitting down in the chair.
"How's Jeremie?" Aelita asked, moving around data.
"H-he's dead." Odd said, frankly.
"The krabe killed him?" Aelita asked, her voice cracking as if her voice was disappearing.
"The krabe?" Odd asked, wondering what she was talking about.
"Ya, the krabe. Jeremie covered me so I could get into the tower." Aelita explained, not sure.
"Uh, Princess, Jeremie never went to Lyoko." Odd tryed to explain.
"Yes he did!" Aelita said, sure of what she had seen. Her hands formed fists, not sure why her friend wasn't believeing her before she got back to working on saving her friends.
"I'll get back to you." Odd said, thinking about an idea of his. He switched the outputs of where his mike would be heard and glanced behind the chair he was sitting in, seeing Jeremie's body. "Hey, Ulrich, Yumi. When you catch up with Kiwi, keep an eye out."
"For what? Monsters?" Yumi asked with a duh type of voice.
"That, and Aelita swears that she saw Jeremie." Odd said, unsureness showing on his face.
"What?" Ulrich asked as they found Kiwi, who was missing the left side of his torso as well as a chuck in his right thigh. He was sitting on the overwing, stairing straight at the two coming up with his last eye.
"Ya, he protected her from a krabe." Odd explained.
"Maybe it was his soul." Kiwi sujested, not really looking at anything.
"Like his ghost?" Yumi asked, startaling Kiwi as if he hadn't realized they were so close.
"That's why I need you three to check out the area around the tower." Odd said.
"Kiwi, this is just a random question, but why havn't you gone anywhere?" Ulrich asked.
"I can't see anything." Kiwi said, looking towards Ulrich's voice.
"I'll drive the overwing." Ulrich said, getting off. He looked back towards Yumi. "You can keep the overboard."
"Thanks Ulrich." Yumi said, glancing down at her legs, the left one almost totaly gone and the right starting to go.
Ulrich got on the overwing and helped Kiwi get so that he was standing behind Ulrich with his hands around Ulrich's waist.
"Please tell me Aelita's almost got the deleation thing worked out." Kiwi said as the three headed off towards the tower.
"She's working on it." Odd said.
"Hey, I think I see him." Yumi said, seeing the back of someone in an old knight's outfit.
"Looks like someone from Jill and the Dragon." Ulrich said, smiling.
"What?" Yumi asked.
"Tv show." Kiwi explained.
"Is anyone on the screen on your side, Odd?" Ulrich asked, looking up.
"No, nothing. He trully is a ghost." Odd said.
"Jeremie! Is that you!?" Yumi called, getting the person to turn around.
"Hello." the blond haired boy said, smiling.
The three got so that they were next to him.
"What happened? Odd says you're dead." Ulrich said.
"So that's what happened." Jeremie said, nodding his head. He looked at his friends and saw their questioning faces. "When Xana went out of my body, he seemed to have taken me with him, back to Lyoko. I don't even think he realized I had followed him."
"So, my question is, are you a ghost?" Odd's voice asked.
"I think I am." Jeremie said. "But I think, with what happened, we can set up the return to the past and everything will be back to normal."
"Ya, well let Aelita finish working on the program to get us back together." Kiwi said, his eyes, both now gone.
"She's almost got it." Odd said, watching the screen.
"Good, cause I think we only have one compleate body between the three of us." Ulrich said, looking at his friends.
Aelita walked out of the tower and smiled as she saw Jeremie. She looked up and tryed to say something when nothing came out.
"You ok, Aelita?" Yumi asked, seeing her face confused.
Aelita motioned towards her throught as if she couldn't talk anymore.
"I've got it, Aelita. Can you sign it?" Jeremie asked, knowing the girl had studied at least the letters of sign language while she was on Lyoko.
Aelita started to sign letters and different words she knew to Jeremie, confusing her friends.
"Odd, she needs you to activate the program." Jeremie said after a moment. "A window should appear on your main screen. Type in the code: 549MAKEJ7."
"Alright it's in the box." Odd said.
"Hit enter."
Odd pushed the button and saw four boxes appear, as green started to go over the digital forms of his friends.
Jeremie saw a green light appear around Ulrich's feet. He looked at his friends and saw that all had the same thing.
The green light traveled up their bodies, coting their original form in green. The light stopped above their heads, replacing the red halo with a green one.
A blinding light covered the four, blinding Jeremie and forcing him to cover his eyes and step backwards.
The light faded away and Jeremie was able to drop his arm and open his eyes. In front of him was his four friends, all back in one piece.
Yumi stood up, looking down at her legs with a smile on her face.
"You all ready for the return trip?" Odd asked, already typing in what he learned from Jeremie.
"What about me? I still miss my old body." Kiwi whined, looking up, glad to see the desert's harsh yellow sky.
"We'll get you back to normal after Jeremie can get back to earth and do it himself." Aelita said, glad to be able to speak again.
"Alright. Return to the Past, now!" Odd said, pushing enter.
The light came up from the holospear, covering the world and taking time with it.