The Games of Moriarty

by Ragnarok777

Xana is gone. Victory has been achieved by the Lyoko Warriors. But a simple test to understand William's nightmares of Xana unveils a new enemy: Moriarty. This evil entity wishes to play a series of games that shake the Lyoko Warriors to the core.

23. Chapter 23

This took a little bit longer than usual but the chapter is also longer than usual. I hope you enjoy. Please review. Let's try to get to 100 reviews before we get to the end! They are always appreciated, and not to sound threatening or anything, but if you don't, I'm afraid Moriarty might just divulge the embarrassing details of that dream you had where you came to school in your underwear. You know what I'm talking about. So leave a review…maybe this whole thing never happened…

I joke. Anyway, Neon Lice has gone to Ecuador to visit the Galapagos Islands, so no more editing the story for the time being. But I doubt I'll finish the next part before the trip ends. Assuming that he doesn't fall into a pile of guano or get his eyes pecked out by finches, he should be back by mid-July. We are starting to wind down. Full speed ahead!

Part 37

A gentle breeze blows through the Parisian streets during a cool November evening. While the downtown area is still very active, some of the suburbs, such as Boulogne-Billancourt, are very quiet. But the sound of a single recklessly driven vehicle breaks the tranquility of the night, along with the half dozen police cruisers that are chasing it. Their sirens whine loudly as the squad cars move toward their target. Inside the pursued vehicle, a bearded man continues to flaunt the speed limit. A close look at his eyes reveals that he is possessed by Moriarty. The man puts the gas pedal to the floor and the car accelerates. The driver of the main squad car reaches for his radio.

Police Officer: Unit 7 to HQ…we need immediate backup! Suspect is no mere reckless driver. He is a crazed individual and his vehicle is loaded with explosives. I repeat, his vehicle is primed to blow. The vehicle turns off a main road and starts to head toward a large building up ahead. When the officer recognizes it, his grip on the radio begins to shake. And he's heading straight for the local chemical plant!

Scene shifts to the Forest Sector. An activated tower lies in a quadrant where the green platforms come to form an 'X'. At each possible entryway to the tower, the dark warriors stand at the ready to guard it. Dark Aelita trains her ears for any signs of the warriors. She picks up the hum of Ulrich's Overbike. She hisses.

Dark Aelita: They are coming…

Dark Ulrich crosses his sabers.

Dark Ulrich: But they will not pass.

Dark William: I can't wait to turn them into virtualized dust.

Dark Yumi chides her partner in a mocking tone.

Dark Yumi: Like you did so easily with the male rookie?

Dark William growls and turns around, threatening to turn the sword on her. But Dark Aelita intervenes.

Dark Aelita: Enough, you idiots! Unless you want our master to shove us through a Network hub, I suggest we fight the ones that matter.

The warriors converge on the tower. Ulrich pulls up on his Overbike with Yumi and Christophe close behind on the Overwing. Natalya and Odd swing in on the Overboard. They surround the dark warriors. The two sides monitor each other for a moment, waiting for the other to make a move. Jeremie's voice enters into the virtual standoff.

Jeremie: Hurry, Moriarty's possessed victim is closing in on the plant!

Dark Aelita: So they know….good. They will fight even more desperately than usual.

Yumi takes out her fans.

Yumi: We will not allow lives to be lost on our account.

Ulrich: And we have the advantage of numbers.

Christophe aims his wrists at his opponents.

Christophe: Any last words before we put you out of commission for this round?

Dark William shakes his sword at Christophe.

Dark William: You may have the advantage of numbers, but we have all paths to the tower heavily guarded. You're not going anywhere.

The dark warriors seem encouraged by this statement, but the warriors are unfazed. Odd can't help but smile.

Odd: 'All paths to the tower'? Really? He points down. What about from below?

The dark warriors look at Odd with confusion.

Dark Ulrich: Below? What do you mean below?

Dark Yumi snarls.

Dark Yumi: Wait, there are only five here. Where are-?

Aelita and William emerge from below the main green platform, William in super smoke form and Aelita with her wings. The ambush allows Aelita to critically wound Dark Aelita and for William to cut Dark Ulrich apart. With their opponents taken off guard, the warriors rush in. Yumi clashes with her dark counterpart, forcing her into a corner. Dark Aelita fires energy fields at Ulrich. Ulrich blocks them with ease, but then Dark Aelita fires with more intensity, knocking the sabers out of his hands. She backs him up against a tree.

Dark Aelita: To enjoy this, I'll just have to pretend this will actually kill you.

Ulrich: I'm afraid you won't even be able to do that.

Dark Aelita: Why?

Ulrich points up. Dark Aelita looks up to see Odd waiting to pounce on her from above. She is quickly eliminated. Across the battlefield, Christophe fires at Dark William without success. He manages to graze his arm, but it only appears to make him angrier.

Dark William: You will not be so lucky this time.

He makes a long diagonal strike at Christophe's shoulder. Natalya steps in to stop him. She becomes dazzlingly white, and the sword ricochets off her without effect. But the shockwave wounds Dark William, who looks at Natalya with bewilderment.

Dark William: H…How?

Christophe: I see you've been practicing your temporary invulnerability. He kicks Dark William's sword out of his hands. The shade tries to reach for it, but Christophe and Natalya raise their weapons at the same time. Should have said your last words when you had the chance.

They both fire and Dark William is rendered into black smoke. At the same time, Dark Yumi falls to Yumi and Ulrich. The warriors look around and see that they have won. Aelita quickly rushes in and deactivates the tower. Back in the real world, the possessed man collapses on the wheel and his car veers off from the road into the grass. Several little hills and rocks slow him down until he hits a tree. Police close in on the vehicle and cautiously approach. Back in Lyoko, Aelita comes out of the tower. The warriors look up and wait anxiously for word from Jeremie.

Jeremie: Mission accomplished guys. The plant did not go sky high.

The warriors congratulate themselves with high fives. Odd stretches lazily.

Odd: Is is just me, or is this getting easier?

Yumi: It's not just you Odd.

William: Numbers and organization have made the fight in Lyoko very one-sided.

Jeremie: Yep. Now that Christophe and Natalya are more experienced as warriors, you seven have turned into one lean mean fighting machine.

Ulrich turns his attention to Odd.

Ulrich: Although some are leaner than others. One might even say scrawny…

Odd folds his arms across his chest.

Odd: How many times do we have to go over this? I'm not scrawny, I'm-

Jeremie: Yes, yes you're svelte, whatever. We only heard you the first hundred times.

Odd: I wouldn't have to say it so much if you would just get the fact through your thick heads…

Aelita: Oh come on Odd. It's not a big deal. Heh, I know what will cheer you up. The cafeteria is serving late night pancakes again…

Odd stares at Aelita as if he's just encountered the Holy Grail.

Odd: Late..night….PANCAKES?! Jeremie, if you don't materialize me right now, I will never forgive you!

Jeremie: No problem. We're done here. Once again excellent job. We have a lot of worries when it comes to Moriarty. He leans back in his chair. But thankfully his dark warriors aren't one of them.

The next day. A meeting of The Order is underway in the auditorium. Students and faculty are busy writing on pieces of paper. When they are finished, they pass them down the aisles and the pieces are then collected in baskets and brought to the stage. Several students disappear behind the curtains to count them. At the front podium, the school psychologist Hans Klotz stands at the front podium, feeling rather comfortable in the spot of authority. After several minutes, Mathias emerges from the curtains. He hands a single sheet of paper to Klotz. Klotz takes a brief glance at the sheet of paper. He looks up and sees that even though most of the people are quiet, there are some that are talking. He clears his throat and stares down the audience with an authoritative glare. When everyone turns their attention back to him, he performs the salute.

Klotz: Strength through discipline! Strength through community!

All: STRENGTH THROUGH DISCIPLINE! STRENGTH THROUGH COMMUNITY!

With this satisfactory response, Klotz turns his attention back to the sheet of paper he has received.

Klotz: The votes have all been counted and have produced an official winner. I will now let the Commandant personally announce the name of the victor.

Klotz moves off the stage and Moriarty takes his place. He adjusts the mike and holds up the sheet of paper.

Moriarty: Though many candidates were nominated as the student who best exemplifies the qualities of The Order, it appears that the victor won by a landslide. Ladies and gentlemen of The Order, it is my pleasure to name Emmanuel Maillard as our winner.

The crowd claps and Angeline pats her brother on the shoulder. Herb folds his arms across his chest and fumes. Moriarty motions Emmanuel to the stage.

Moriarty: Come on up…

Emmanuel obeys and takes his place on stage at Moriarty's side. The applause dies down.

Moriarty: Congratulations Emmanuel. They shake hands. And a well deserved victory.

Emmanuel salutes his Commandant with a broad and proud smile on his face.

Emmanuel: Thank you Commandant. I am honored to have been chosen. But as you have said many times, this cause is bigger than me. I don't want the attention to get to my head. I want to assist The Order in any way I can. I don't want my victory in a popularity contest to be my only contribution to the cause.

Moriarty: And it is that selfless leadership that has made you the winner in the first place. As well as your drive and sense of purpose. Several Order members nod in agreement. Moriarty turns to face the audience. I'll have you know that in my class on World History, we had an extra credit assignment asking students to write an essay on the French historical figure they admire the most and why. Even though he didn't need it all, Emmanuel submitted an essay anyway. Moriarty holds up a paper. This essay that I hold in my hand is perhaps the greatest thing that has ever come through my desk. I wanted you to share in the pleasure of this work by having Emmanuel here read an excerpt from his essay.

Emmanuel is a little surprised that Moriarty is doing this, but seeing that his leader is insistent in having him speak, he willingly goes to the podium.

Emmanuel: The French historical figure I chose to write about was the legendary French king Charles Martel. He clears his throat and begins to read. 'Charles Martel, otherwise known as "Charles the Hammer" accomplished a monumental feat that more than earned his powerful name. Though his legacy has been questioned by some modern scholars, the facts of his life challenge those who seek to limit his importance for their own selfish political interpretation. In the eight century AD, France was fractured, fully enmired in the muck of Dark Age Europe. As Moors from Spain began to cross the Pyrenees and raid French towns and villages, the land that came to be known as France was faced with a major choice. Either remain divided and allow Western Europe to become absorbed by Islam and the explanding Arab Caliphate, or unite under a powerful leader and fight for their own culture and identity. Thankfully France chose the latter, and found its leader in Charles Martel. In the face of an enemy that knew little of defeat, Charles trained an army of peasants and rural laborers into a well-trained fighting machine. When the Moors arrived at Tours, they were totally shocked to see such a large, disciplined army holding the high ground above them. In the battle that ensued Charles drove the Moors out of Europe, destroying an enemy that never dared to cross into France again. With such a spectacular victory, Charles preserved Christianity and Western culture in Europe, setting the foundations for much of the world we know today. Emmanuel pauses. While sometimes it is considered 'politically incorrect' to tell the truth, there are times where we must acknowledge that a host culture can be swallowed up by invasive ones that try to change its fundamental values. Historically that has usually come in the form of an invasion. However, recently it has become possible for such an invasion to come in the form of immigration or a tumorous growth within the culture. We must acknowledge that such elements are dangerous and threaten our way of life as we know it. Subversive elements in this nation do exist, and we must decide if we are to allow them to thrive….Emmanuel's face becomes intense and dark…or like Charles Martel, hammer them out.

Emmanuel finishes and the faculty and student body clap. Some give him a standing ovation. Herb reluctantly claps his hands. Moriarty applauds and approaches him from behind.

Moriarty: What an excellent piece of writing. So moving…so visceral…you know how to drive the point home. I wish we had more people in The Order who could write like you.

Emmanuel: I was just trying to get my point across, Commandant.

Moriarty: And how right you are, on all those points. Except the one you made earlier.

Emmanuel becomes confused.

Emmanuel: The one I made earlier, Commandant?

Moriarty: Yes, the one about the vote being a popularity contest. It was not. The intention of said vote goes far beyond that. Everyone gives the Commandant their full attention as he explains. The real reason behind this vote was to select a student member for the Board of Trustees here at Kadic. Students and faculty react with surprise at this. Herb clenches his fists in rage when he figures out what he missed out on. Emmanuel is taken back by the whole thing, and seems unsure on how to respond. Moriarty continues in his usual fashion. I have been growing concerned about the lack of transparency in this school, and the separation between the Board's interests and that of the students. He touches Emmanuel on the shoulder. What better way to fix it than to allow a student a voice at the table? Members of The Order, I present to you the first Student Trustee in Kadic history.

Another round of applause. Angeline beams at her brother's accomplishment. Emmanuel merely waves in a display of gratitude for their support. Moriarty pulls something out of his lab coat pocket. It is a necklace carrying the silver image of a hammer.

Moriarty: And to show our appreciation, please accept this gift from the Board…

Moriarty begins to place the necklace on Emmanuel.

Emmanuel: Thank you Commandant. I would be proud to accept, if you think I'm qualified for the job.

Moriarty: Oh you are more than qualified for the job... He ties the necklace around Emmanuel's neck. Emmaneul's pupils suddenly dilate and temporarily show the insignia of Moriarty. His eyes then return to normal, but his face remains blank. Moriarty leans down to whisper into his ear. You might be just 'the hammer' I've been looking for.

Later that day. In a busy commercial district near downtown Paris, Jeremie, Aelita, William, Natalya, and Odd walk down the sidewalk. Jeremie and Aelita walk at the front of the group, holding hands. William and Natalya merely talk, with Natalya occasionally pointing at anything fashionable in store windows. Odd trails behind, keeping his hands in his pockets. As cars whiz past him, he looks up to see a giant billboard. The billboard reads EUROVISION: COMING TO PARIS IN DECEMBER. Odd grins and walks faster to catch up to the group.

Odd: Can you believe it? Eurovision coming to Paris…who would have imagined it?

William: No one. But then again, this is not an average year for Europe.

Jeremie: William's right. Ordinarily the competition should have been in the spring of next year, but unfortunately the nuclear scare a couple of months ago changed that.

Natalya looks up at the sign indignantly.

Natalya: Russia should have hosted the next one. But apparently the rest of Europe didn't take too kindly to my homeland's threats of retaliation. You people can be so sensitive…

William: Um…your homeland threatened war.

Natalya: Ancient history…

Jeremie: Russia will host it next year. But the extra competition is a good way to settle some tensions in the meantime. And since France was runner-up earlier this year…

Odd: Then the party is coming to us! I can't wait to see it in person.

William laughs.

William: Dream on Odd. There's no way you are going to be able to get tickets. You'll just have to watch the performances on TV like everyone else.

Odd: No! I refuse to accept defeat. I will find a way…

Jeremie: Sure you will…

Idle conversation continues for a little while, but as they pass by a family-owned music store, they become alarmed when they see the flag of The Order hanging proudly in the window. The warriors suddenly fall silent. They then pass by a man in a black jacket with the purple Order patch pinned to it. He hands out leaflets and calls out to passersby.

Campaigner: Are you sick of political intrigue and stalemate in our legislature? Are you tired of the current political parties vying for your vote instead of your best interests? Then join The Order! Join our movement and together we can make a difference!

The warriors silently pass by the campaigner and cross the street.

Odd: Oh come on guys…it was just two things. A car drives past them. A purple fleur-de-lis is painted on the side. Okay, three things.

Jeremie: They are spreading like a cancer…He hangs his head…and there's little I can do about it.

Aelita puts a hand on his shoulder.

Aelita: Come on Jeremie, cheer up. You can't be depressed. Not now. We're meeting the Subdigitals, remember?

William: Yeah, it's not everyday that we get to meet them.

Natalya: I've been dying to take advantage of my roommate's connections to them. You can't be worried about The Order now.

Odd walks in front of Jeremie and waves at him in an attempt to get him to stop staring down at the sidewalk.

Odd: You have to save the deep pensive look of despair for later. Sure, France may be going downhill. But there's one thing they can't change. They come to the entrance of the studio. Odd takes a moment to bask in its glory. They can't touch the Subdigitals.

A second campaigner suddenly bursts out the front door and starts walking down the sidewalk. Chris Morales, the lead singer of the subdigitals, suddenly pokes his head out to yell at him.

Chris: Leave us alone already! I already told you we are not interested! When the campaigner disappears from sight, Chris exhales and then turns his attention back to Aelita. I'm sorry you had to hear that. These guys from some grass-roots movement keeps trying to get us to play at their rallies. He rubs his head. They are having trouble taking no for an answer.

The latest hole in Odd's statement makes Jeremie look even worse. Aelita squeezes his hand to force him to smile.

Aelita: Chris, it's so nice to see you aga-

Natalya forces her way forward and interrupts her. She shakes his hand.

Natalya: Natalya Dikau, nice to meet you. I'm Aelita's roommate at Kadic and you may not know me but I saw your show last summer in Moscow. I tried to wave at you but I was really far back and it must have been hard to see me but I'm a major fan and did I mention it was so nice to finally meet you and by the way while we are on the topic can I have your autograph?

Chris scratches his head as he tries to process all of that drivel.

Chris: Um sure, but let's go inside first. I have something to tell Aelita and the rest of her friends in private…

As they walk in, Natalya sighs and smiles like a little schoolgirl. She even blushes a little. She turns to William.

Natalya: Did you hear that? Chris Morales included me as one of Aelita's special friends. And he's about to tell me something that no one else can know!

Natalya continues to swoon while William gives her an unamused look.

William: Ahem…I'm still here you know.

The warriors follow Chris into the studio. They immediately come into a redheaded woman holding a notepad. She eyes the group attached to Aelita with suspicion.

Sophie: Chris, are you sure you're comfortable with Aelita's…uh….posse in the studio?

Odd raises an eyebrow.

Odd: Posse? We're her friends and we're here to-

Chris: It's fine Sophie. They're cool. He looks back at the other four. As long as they promise to keep whatever they hear inside this studio a closely guarded secret.

The warriors look at Odd condescendingly.

Odd: What's everyone looking at me for?

Two of Chris' band partners, Ben and Nico, emerge from the sound studio to greet their guests.

Ben: Aelita, it's nice to see you again.

Nico: How have you been?

Aelita shakes both of their hands and acts as if they were old friends.

Aelita: I'm been doing okay. And how about you guys? How are Michelle and Sarah?

Ben and Nico look at each other uncomfortably.

Ben: Oh, yeah…about Sarah…

Nico: The truth is…Michelle and I broke up ages ago.

Aelita: Oh well, I'm sure it was for the best.

Ben: It was the best decision for both of us…Now I just need to get that restraining order…

Aelita laughs at the joke, but a quick glance at Ben's face tells her that he's not kidding. She becomes embarrassed and quickly tries to change the subject.

Aelita: So where's Simon, your sound engineer? I thought he would be here.

Chris: Simon sends his apologies. He wanted to be here to see you, Aelita, but he had a lunch date with his girlfriend and missing it was not an option.

Odd: Cool, even your sound guy gets some action. So, who's the lucky lady?

Nico: He's dating my ex Michelle now.

William groans.

William: It's like a bad soap opera…

Chris: What can I say, we're a band. Things like this come with the profession. But enough of all that. The reason why I invited Aelita and the rest of you to come was to make an important announcement.

Aelita: What is it?

Ben, Nico, Chris, and even Sophie look at each other with big smiles on their faces. They remain quiet for a little bit, purposely building the suspense for the warriors. Odd loses patience.

Odd: Don't leave us hanging, what is it?

Chris: You know that Eurovision is coming to Paris in December, right?

Jeremie: Yes, common knowledge.

Nico: What isn't common knowledge are the results of the selection for France's entry in the competition.

Ben: And that would be us…

Aelita and the other warriors react with shock, floored at what they have just heard.

Aelita: You mean…you the Subdigitals are-

Chris: Representing France in Eurovision? That would be correct Aelita. And since you performed as our opening act recently, we are going to give you two free tickets for you and a friend right up front to watch the action.

Odd's look of joy fades with disappointment.

Odd: Friend, as in singular? We don't get tickets as well?

Chris: I'm sorry man. But we have only so many tickets we can hand out. And we have other people to give them to.

Natalya: Oh, say it isn't so…

Odd pats Jeremie on the shoulder.

Odd: So Jeremie, you're not much of a music fan, right? You wouldn't mind doing a solid for me, would you? Jeremie smiles, feeling a certain pleasure at seeing Odd trying to weasel his way into getting his ticket. I mean sure she's your girlfriend, but it's Eurovision, and…the Subdigitals. Jeremie remains unmoved. Odd then goes to his knees and holds his hands up. Oh come on Jeremie, don't make me beg. I don't want to lose my dignity but I will if it means getting that ticket!

Jeremie: Sorry Odd, but I have no intention of missing this. I've heard the experience is spectacular, and it's only natural that I would share the moment with Aelita.

Aelita kisses Jeremie on the cheek.

Aelita: Besides, Jeremie's the one who supported me with my auditions in the first place. He should be the one to go.

Odd: Oh…so close, and yet so far away…

Chris: Take it easy. We won't leave you totally in the dark. Since you are her good friends, we are going to be nice and give you our extremely overpriced Eurovision T-shirts and other merchandise free of charge.

William and Natalya react positively to this.

William: Really?

Natalya: That's incredible! Everyone at Kadic will be so jealous!

Odd still looks despondent.

Odd: Oh man…that's like having the first bite of a feast and then be denied the rest…

William: Cheer up Odd. Natalya and I can't go either. You should be grateful that you got anything in the first place.

Odd: Whatever…

While William, Natalya, and Odd talk a little bit more with the Subdigitals, Jeremie and Aelita have a private conversation.

Aelita: See Jeremie…things are already looking up.

Jeremie: Perhaps Odd was right. France might be falling to Moriarty's influence, but that's no reason for us to not enjoy the little things.

Aelita: Right, and don't forget, we have him outmatched on Lyoko. Whatever he's planning, we will be ready for it.

Deep in Moriarty's new and improved Sector Five, four shades begin to appear in a large, purple square chamber. It is the same place where the warriors battled Odd for the last time. The dark shades grow solid and become the dark warriors. As soon as they are fully formed and cognizant of their surroundings, they lash out at each other. Dark Yumi bares her fangs at Aelita.

Dark Yumi: You fool! How could you let those worms launch a sneak attack on us?

Dark Aelita: Me?! If memory serves, you were just as clueless!

Dark Yumi: I was the one who realized that the other warriors were hiding!

Dark Aelita: Too little too late!

Dark Ulrich takes out his sabers and stares at them with disappointment.

Dark Ulrich: I should have used my speed and torn them to pieces when I had the chance!

Dark William: What chance? You died immediately! At least I stuck in the fight!

Dark Ulrich glares at him.

Dark Ulrich: And little good that did us…

Dark William: If I actually had a warrior at my side to help me, I might have succeeded.

Dark Ulrich lowers his sabers in attack position.

Dark Ulrich: Is that a challenge?

Dark William summons his sword from smoke and aims it threateningly at Dark Ulrich.

Dark William: No, it's an opportunity to teach you some manners. A challenge would imply that you would stand a chance against me in a fight.

Dark Ulrich: I'm going to enjoy tearing you into virtual dust!

Moriarty: Enough! From the far edge of the room, a Moriarty smoke cloud in the form of a red and black skull materializes. The dark warriors instantly stop their fighting and bow before their master. I didn't resurrect you just so you could kill each other again! It requires power to maintain you, and I don't have a lot of power to waste.

Dark Aelita: Our sincere apologies master…we will not fight. She lowers herself further in an act of obsequious submission. We are yours to command. Our loyalty and all our power are yours to use.

Moriarty's smoke cloud moves ominously toward the dark warriors, giving them an intensely negative vibe. They refuse to look him in the eye.

Moriarty: It is not your loyalty that is the problem. It is your power that proves to be a constant frustration. Specifically your lack of power to stop the Lyoko Warriors.

The wall behind Moriarty turns into a televised screen, replaying the recent battle the dark shades had with their counterparts. The footage specifically focuses on the successful ambush the Lyoko Warriors inflicted on them.

Moriarty: Not only have they gotten stronger than you, but they have learned to outsmart you as well. You are becoming as predictable and weak as any of my normal monsters to them. Moriarty pauses the footage, showing the instant before Dark Ulrich is easily destroyed. Dark Ulrich shifts uncomfortably. I created you different from my monsters for the sole purpose of making the Lyoko Warriors' trials on Lyoko exponentially difficult. I gave you personalities similar to my own so you could be my instruments of psychological manipulation. But despite all these gifts…all these advantages…His smoke cloud becomes redder in color and visibly more hostile…everytime I needed you the most, you failed me. Even when it was all four of you against one warrior, you still found ways to fail!

In response to this remark, Dark Yumi suddenly interjects.

Dark Yumi: That is not true master! Last time I faced the warriors alone, and I triumphed!

Moriarty: QUIET! Dark Yumi crawls away from the angry cloud, stung by the harsh retort. One lucky victory does not make up for a string of defeats! Furthermore, you had three other towers to stall your opponents with.

Dark Yumi trembles with fear and humiliation. The other dark shades take an obvious pleasure from her pain. But the sharp tongue of their master quickly reminds them that they are not off the hook either.

Moriarty: You have all failed me miserably! And to make matters worse, my enemy has grown stronger. He shows scenes of Christophe and Natalya fighting. Their two new recruits are no longer rookies. He shows a clip of Christophe defeating Dark William. As you all have learned, they are now more than a match for you on the battlefield. That brings their numbers up to seven. And even worse-He shows a clip of Yumi directing the Lyoko Warriors during their fight in the Mountain Sector gorge-they have become more organized. In other words, while they have been improving, you are still as useless to me as ever. The televised screen turns off. Moriarty approaches his minions. The next phase of my plan is absolutely critical. Without it, I have no chance of dominating the Earth. But I can't do any such thing if I lack anything remotely resembling domination on Lyoko! What am I supposed to do with you?

Dark William feebly raises his hand.

Dark William: Perhaps create a Dark Christophe and Natalya to even the odds…?

Moriarty: No! The last thing I need is more of you! I need professional help. I need the kind of support that I am blessed with on Earth. A deep hunger burns in his eyes. And I will have that exact kind of support.

Dark Aelita: Exactly what are you suggesting master?

Dark Ulrich: You do not mean to say that you will dispose of us, do you master?

The other dark warriors turn to him with a combination of panic and rage, furious that Dark Ulrich suggested it and terrified that their master might like that idea.

Moriarty: Tempting, but no. You are pathetic but not irreparable. You operate best when you have leadership, as was the case when Odd was in our ranks. I see now how devastating his loss was to my cause. But thankfully, it is not a loss that cannot be corrected…

Dark Yumi: Master, are you saying that you are going to possess Odd and make him our commander again?

Moriarty does not answer and his expression remains aloof and shrewd, provoking curiosity from his servants. He backs up and fades into the wall.

Moriarty: One thing at a time. You will know soon enough. In the meantime, it is important that you do your part and make preparations for what is to come.

In the Ice Sector, two warriors duel in an enclosed space surrounded by waterfalls. The circular space serves as the perfect area for one-on-one combat. Ulrich takes pulls his sabers out of the scabbard on his back and faces his opponent, Christophe. Christophe raises his wrists close to his face and primes them. The weapons attached to them turn red. Ulrich keeps his feet shoulder length apart and bends his knees.

Ulrich: Okay, you know the rules. No devirtualizing. We both need a way to get back home, and that requires both of us to be alive at the same time.

Christophe: Understood. Don't worry. I guess I will go easy on you.

Ulrich dismisses Christophe's statement with his typical stare of determination.

Ulrich: Oh, have you already forgotten who this training session is for. You want to get better, and it's only natural for you to come to learn at the feet of the master. Isn't that right, grasshopper?

Christophe cracks his knuckles.

Christophe: Don't call me grasshopper. I'm not a Lyoko rookie anymore. He leans forward slightly. I'm experienced enough to give you a run for your money.

Ulrich holds out his hand and motions for him to come forward.

Ulrich: Then prove it grasshopper. He imitates the voice of a Far Eastern martial arts sensei. Prove yourself worthy of grappling with the master.

Christophe: Gladly.

Christophe charges at Ulrich directly. Ulrich backs up a little, but holds his ground. He monitors Christophe's attack with disappointment.

Ulrich: A direct charge? Ulrich easily blocks two of Christophe's discs. That's a little bold, don't you think?

Christophe: No. He moves within Ulrich's striking distance. Ulrich prepares to hit him, but then Christophe jumps, avoiding the blades and landing on his shoulders. This is!

He somersaults off of Ulrich's shoulders, then turns around and tries to hit him with a disc. But Ulrich sees through the move and deflects the disc behind his back. Ulrich turns around.

Ulrich: Nice move. But you're not fast enough. You won't be able to defeat me relying on things like that.

Christophe runs a circle around Ulrich and fires discs at him.

Christophe: You're a short range fighter. As long as I keep my distance, I can win.

Ulrich deflects the disks with expert precision.

Ulrich: Oh yes, but you forget grasshopper, it's difficult to keep your distance when…Ulrich triplicates…one can be in three places at once. All three then go at Christophe at a super sprint. And run at incredible speeds!

Christophe holds up his armored wrists to protect himself, but it does not help. Two of the clones strike at his legs, removing some of his non-vital lifepoints. The third one knocks over Christophe with the blunt side of his blade. Christophe lands on the ice. The three Ulrichs stay at a distance, waiting for him to get up.

Christophe: Three against one? And with super speed? That's just not fair.

Ulrich: Sorry Christophe, but the dark version of me has all my powers and abilities. And he won't play fair either. So you better get used to it.

Christophe gets on his feet and stares down Ulrich.

Christophe: Okay, if you're going to use your powers in a training session. The speakers on Christophe's pectorals suddenly light up. Then two can play that game…

Ulrich: Oh crap.

All three Ulrichs try to avoid the incoming sound explosion, but they are too late. The combustion of metal music knocks the Ulrichs off their feet. After the blast, it takes a few seconds for Christophe to regain his strength. He closes his eyes for a moment. When he opens them, he sees a solitary Ulrich trying to get up. He runs at Ulrich. Ulrich manages to get up and tries to strike Christophe, but Christophe knocks the saber out of his hand and aims his wrist directly at Ulrich's head, causing his opponent to freeze. Christophe smiles proudly.

Christophe: I win…

Ulrich wags his finger with his free hand.

Ulrich: Not quite grasshopper.

Christophe feels a saber blade against his neck. His hopes of victory are crushed and he lowers his wrist once he realizes that a second Ulrich has caught him off guard.

Christophe: That was so not cool.

Ulrich: Rule number one of fighting my dark half. His two halves fuse together. Always make sure that you have killed all of the clones.

The two put away their weapons.

Christophe: Well I guess that's enough for the day. Thanks for agreeing to do some extra Lyoko time for me.

Ulrich: No worries. But you're right. It's time we head back. I'm going with Yumi to a somewhat nice restaurant at 1900 and I can't be late.

Christophe: What time is it now?

Ulrich: It's uh…Ulrich's face becomes blank. You know, I'm not sure. I lose track of time on Lyoko. But I'm sure I still have plenty of-

Yumi's voice suddenly booms above them.

Yumi: ULRICH!

Ulrich groans.

Ulrich: I'm so dead…

Scene shifts back to the factory, where a very infuriarted Yumi impatiently waits for her boyfriend to respond. She is already wearing a black dress for the date. While she seethes with annoyance, Ulrich timidly answers her.

Ulrich: Uh hey Yumi…..how's it going?

Yumi: You were supposed to pick me up twenty-five minutes ago! I was all dressed and everything and then I learn that you were messing around in Lyoko with Christophe?! Are you that insensitive or are you just that brainless?!

Ulrich tries to get a word in to rescue himself from the situation.

Ulrich: Not…totally brainless. I thought ahead, and just in case….I got all dressed up before I virtualized myself! So actually I'm completely ready to go.

Yumi raises an eyebrow, still not satisfied with the answer.

Yumi: If you want me to talk to you at dinner then get your butt back to Earth right now.

Ulrich: N-No problem. He turns to Christophe. Kill me now.

Christophe: Literally or just Lyoko-wise?

Ulrich: Preferably both…

The two take out their weapons and prepare to kill each other at the same time.

Ulrich: Ready? One…two…

Back in the scanner room, one of the scanners opens. But it is neither Ulrich nor Christophe. An exact copy of Yumi Ishiyama walks out of the scanner, dressed in her normal school attire. Though she appears identical to the real thing, the malicious look on her face reveals who she really is.

Dark Yumi: Let's see, my master said the control box should be behind the scanner. She walks around to the back of the scanner which is connected to thick wires. She moves them aside and opens the control box. She moves her hand over some of the blinking lights. An electrical current flows from her fingers into the small wires. Several of the lights turn red and blink erratically. She smiles. This ought to do it.

Dark Yumi pauses and hides behind the scanner when she hears the two other scanners open. Christophe and Ulrich walk out. Christophe is dressed casually, while Ulrich wears a blue collared shirt and khaki pants.

Christophe: Are you sure you don't want me to talk to her first? Maybe calm her down a little bit?

Ulrich: Against my better judgment, no. I should probably just face the music. Besides, she can't stay mad at me forever.

Christophe moves to the elevator and waves him goodbye.

Christophe: Alright, good luck. I'll see you tomorrow.

Ulrich: Yeah see you tomorrow.

The elevator door closes. Ulrich exhales and begins preparing an apology in advance.

Ulrich: Yumi, I know I was really late but I honestly lost track of time and…He stops. No that sounds too rehearsed and cliché. How about…He resumes the act…Yumi you have every right to be upset. But I promise that I had every intention of…The control box behind the scanner sparks and makes a strange noise. Dark Yumi hisses under her breath as the sound catches Ulrich's attention. Dark Yumi reaches her hand over the box to stop the noise and finish the job. Ulrich starts to walk to the scanner. That doesn't sound right.

He goes to the back of the scanner and catches Dark Yumi redhanded with the control box. Ulrich freezes, not knowing what to make of the situation.

Ulrich: Yumi, what are you doing? And didn't you say you were already dressed up?

Dark Yumi, realizing that she hasn't yet been truly caught, quickly decides to play the part. She rises to her feet and aggressively pushes Ulrich against the wall. She puckers her lips and moves close to him. Ulrich stares at her in bewilderment, confused with her behavior but not attempting to resist it.

Ulrich: What is with you? You're angry with me one minute and now you want to-

Dark Yumi's lips latch with his. Ulrich's mind expects to enjoy the contact, but the lack of tenderness and the animal aggression of her kiss sets off a warning light in his head. Before he can push her off, the elevator door opens. The real Yumi walks in.

Yumi: Ulrich what is taking you so-She takes one look at the scene and her jaw drops. At first, jealousy kicks in like an inferno when she sees him kissing another girl. But the jealousy turns to fear and horror when she sees WHAT he is kissing. WHAT ARE YOU-?

Ulrich looks at Yumi in her black dress and his mind reels with confusion. He pushes off the impostor and stares at both of them.

Ulrich: YUMI?! But how….who? He looks back at the one he kissed and finally connects the dots. The air is taken out of his lungs. Oh no…

Dark Yumi licks her lips.

Dark Yumi: I always wanted to do that-She somersaults backwards toward the scanner.-And I think it's safe to say he enjoyed it more than usual.

Yumi kicks her with high heels attached, sending her dark shade onto the floor.

Yumi: You witch! What are you doing here?!

Dark Yumi takes Yumi's legs out from under her and stands up.

Dark Yumi: Wouldn't you like to know…Ulrich runs at her from behind, but she uses her strength to flip him onto the floor next to Yumi…Truthfully I don't really know exactly what I'm doing here either, but I'm enjoying it. She walks into the scanner she attacked. Unfortunately I can't stay. She winks at Ulrich before the door closes. See you later pretty boy. We really should do this more often…

The scanner turns on and transports her back to Lyoko. Yumi and Ulrich sit up. Ulrich shudders as the disgust of what he has just done sinks in.

Ulrich: Ugh…..I feel like I really need a shower. Ulrich turns to Yumi. Um….I'm terribly sorry. I…she….temporarily fooled me. Painful five second pause. Are you mad?

Yumi: That depends. Did you enjoy it?

Ulrich: Of course not!

Yumi: Then we're good.

Thirty minutes later, Jeremie is in his command chair, surveying the damage done to the scanner at the main computer monitor with Aelita next to him. Several small red screens pop up, pointing to certain infected areas at critical points of the scanner's hardware and software. Jeremie sighs and rubs his forehead.

Jeremie: No doubt about it. That is one nasty bug.

Aelita: Is it fixable?

Jeremie: Fixable…yes. In the same way a house covered with asbestos is fixable. But it will be messy and take some time. Jeremie starts to name tasks off his fingers. And of course with my research into the Cannae Initiative, analysis of Odd's psychological connection with Moriarty, the technological organization of the Outcasts, and every other stupid thing thrown my way, it may take a lot of time. He closes the scanner screen and returns to the main window. Besides, it may be an annoying setback, but it's not the end of the world. We still have two functioning scanners. That can be a little problematic with seven warriors, but it's not impossible to deal with. As long as those two stay on line, the Cannae Initiative must maintain priority.

Aelita: We'll just have to make sure none of our devirtualizations run through that scanner, or we have a risk of someone not coming back. Of course, that's easy to fix. Aelita pauses. Although one thing still bothers me. Why did Dark Yumi only put one scanner offline, when she could have done all of them?

Jeremie: Could be that she didn't have time. Ulrich and Yumi caught them before she had a chance to do any more damage. Jeremie starts to work on the computer again. Anyway, I'm going to increase the security on the other two scanners to make sure we don't get anymore unwanted guests.

Aelita loses herself in deep thought while Jeremie works. She slowly turns her head back to him.

Aelita: Are we sure he wanted to put all of our scanners offline?

Jeremie stops typing. He looks at the computer uneasily.

Jeremie: Granted, it doesn't seem to be Moriarty's style. He doesn't go for the most efficient way of beating us, but for the most entertaining. Shutting us out from Lyoko doesn't seem like his style. He almost always gives us a chance, in his own sick little way. Unless he absolutely needed us to stay out…it would seem to be out of character for him.

Aelita: If he doesn't want to keep us out, then what was the point of it?

Jeremie: I don't know. He brings up the window showing the bugged scanner. He stares at it for a long time. He then starts reducing the schematics of the scanner to its most basic level, giving a better picture of what parts are infected and which are not. Jeremie rubs his hands together in deep thought. But I don't like it. He chose to do damage to this scanner, but he could have done more.

Aelita looks at him questioningly.

Aelita: What do you mean he could have done more damage?

Jeremie: Meaning the scanner may be useless to us, but it's not totally offline…

Around midnight while Kadic sinks into a quiet slumber, one teacher remains awake and alert. He looks beyond the dark campus and at the bright city behind it. He takes in the sights, surveying it and imagining it as his own possession, a prize for him to rule. Moriarty puts his hands behind his back and continues to look out. He rests his hands on the windowsill and leans toward the glass. He turns to his digital clock at his bedside to check the time. He stares out the window again.

Moriarty: It's almost time. He stands up straight. This city, this country is becoming ripe. Months of cultivation, leading up to this point. It is time for the harvest. Moriarty looks out the window and sighs. Forgive me France for what I'm about to do to you. You must understand that what I'm going to do to you is out of love…albeit a very tough love. To make something more magnificent often requires one to inflict damage first….to purge the old rotting remains and replace it with something new. Before there can be healing, there must be pain. Before there can be peace, there must be war. Before there can be order, there must be chaos. He creates a purple electric ball in his hands. Chaos. I believe it was Bob Dylan who once said…He looks down at the small electrical spark…chaos is a friend of mine…The electricity in his hand dies. He closes his eyes and lowers his head. Emmanuel…get up.

Several hallways away, the hammer necklace on Emmanuel's sleeping body suddenly glows. He bolts up in bed. The Moriarty insignia overshadows his pupils. He mechanically gets up, puts some clothes on, and walks quietly down the hallway. He leaves the building, sneaks through campus, goes down into the sewers, and emerges at the bridge entrance to the factory. Once inside, he goes into the scanner room and enters the infected scanner. Without any response from the main computer monitor upstairs, Emmanuel becomes virtualized. The scene shifts back to Moriarty. He takes a deep breath.

Moriarty: Okay. He snaps his fingers. Time to start the show.

In Jeremie's room, the super scan goes off loudly. Jeremie slowly struggles out of bed, while César rolls over and curses in Spanish. Jeremie checks the location and then shuts off the annoying beeping.

Jeremie: Sorry César, my alarm went off when it wasn't supposed to again…

César curses again and manages to get back to sleep. Jeremie doesn't bother to put on his pajamas but simply grabs his cellphone and shoes and heads out the door. He calls the warriors, who reluctantly start to get out of their beds. Odd is particularly resistant.

Odd: Ugh….Jeremie, do you have any idea what time it is?

Jeremie: I know…but if Moriarty doesn't sleep, neither do we.

Odd groans and falls back on his pillow. Ulrich, who is already up, puts some shoes on and shakes Odd.

Ulrich: Come on Odd, it's time to go. Odd grumbles. Don't make me drag you. You know I will if I have to…

Odd opens his eyes and slowly rises, conceding defeat.

Odd: Okay okay I'm up already…

All of the warriors with the exception of Yumi converge on the factory. Jeremie waits for them outside the elevator. They arrive in a group, looking haggard and still very groggy. Jeremie counts them and realizes they are one short.

Jeremie: Where's Yumi?

Ulrich: She's coming. It just takes longer for her to get here. She is still a day student after all.

Jeremie: We'll have to start without her. Everyone to the scanners. We are going to the Desert Sector. Remember, you are going two at a time. It's going to take a little bit to get you all there, so don't rush into combat until you are all ready.

The seven of them enter the elevator. Christophe yawns.

Christophe: Oh boy…I don't think I could rush into anything right now.

Odd: Now you see why this isn't always fun…

While the warriors continue down to the scanner room, Jeremie enters the lab room and assumes his usual place. He puts on his earpiece and gets comfortable. He locks on to a favorable location in the Desert Sector and prepares to go through his usual routine. The familiarity of the controls and the recent victories for the Lyoko group give him a much needed confidence. With six warriors going into battle, he can't help but think that the odds are heavily in their favor.

Jeremie: You may be able to do what you want on Earth Moriarty, but here we still have the advantage. He looks at the camera feed showing some of his friends enter the scanners. Each of them, including Christophe and Natalya, has the same determined battle-ready look confirming that they are Lyoko veterans. You can send your monsters at us. You can send your dark warriors at us, but as we've shown you time and again- He starts up the virtualization sequence- nothing you create stands a chance against the real thing: a virtualized human warrior.

All six of the warriors are virtualized onto a small plateau overlooking a desert plain. The only scenery aside from the empty flat land is the occasional conduit flowing through the sector and the outline of a tower in the distance. Aelita walks in front of the others.

Aelita: Looks good Jeremie. We're ready for our vehicles.

Jeremie: Right. The vehicles appear. Aelita, you're in command. Lead this mission as you see fit.

Aelita activates her wings and lifts herself up in the air. She turns to the others.

Aelita: Everyone stay behind me. We'll fly in a V pattern towards the tower. Odd and William, you two will stay on the flanks. Watch out for any ambushes. The rest of you stay close to me and stay alert.

Odd: We got your back.

Ulrich: Yeah, piece of cake.

The warriors take to the air. They quickly gain ground and reach the midway point to the tower. Odd drifts close to Ulrich and starts to brag.

Odd: Try not to fall behind.

Ulrich: Me? You seriously think I'm going to fall behind? Have you forgotten about a little something called super sprint?

Odd: I meant during the battle. It's hard to keep up with my mad dark warrior killing skills.

Ulrich: Please, I kill way more dark warriors than you.

Odd: Wanna bet?

Ulrich: Any day, any time. A week's worth of dessert portions is telling me that I can bring down more shades and monsters than you.

Odd: You're on! I can't wait to serve you Dark Ulrich's head and your ego on a platter.

William: Guys cut it out. We haven't even fought yet. Remember, pride goes before the fall.

Odd: It's not pride if it's accurate William. Honestly, Moriarty is just wasting our time.

Jeremie: Heads up. Four time wasters dead ahead.

The warriors pause to see the dark warriors waiting for them at the edge of a group of boulders surrounding the tower. The four wait patiently as the warriors circle above them. Odd taunts them from the air.

Odd: Hey guys, isn't this routine of butt-kicking getting a little old?

Christophe: Give them more credit than that Odd. They are good for some things. I mean…we always could use some extra target practice.

Dark William shakes his sword in the air.

Dark William: How about more fighting and less boasting?

Aelita: We could say the same thing about you-She summons two energy fields-but if you insist…

Her two energy fields fly directly toward Dark William. Despite the imminent danger, Dark William doesn't even deflect it. In fact, he seems very much at ease. Right before impact, a large object suddenly appears and blocks the blast. The object lands two meters in front of the dark warriors. The warriors look down with surprise to see a giant silver hammer lodged in the sector floor. The confused warriors remain silent for a moment as they stare at the weapon, wondering where it came from.

Christophe: Uh…I know I'm new to Lyoko, but is it normal for giant hammers to appear out of nowhere?

Natalya gasps and points toward the tower.

Natalya: Look! There's someone above them on top of the rocks!

The warriors turn to see a fifth figure behind the dark warriors, standing on one of the boulders. He is clad in thick armor and has long, dark hair. The strange warrior appears familiar, but he is too far away for the warriors to recognize.

Aelita: There is a…fifth dark warrior? Jeremie, are we seeing things?

Jeremie: No, you're not. I'm definitely picking up five Moriarty signatures, and I don't recognize that one.

Dark Aelita: Oh how rude of us, we forgot to introduce him…

Dark Yumi: Yes, we forgot to tell them that we brought a friend this time?

Odd: A friend? He looks back at the hammer. You brought Thor? Ulrich gives him a condescending look. Well, do you have a better idea of who it is?

Dark Ulrich: Why don't we let our new commander introduce himself?

Aelita registers this bit of information with alarm.

Aelita: Commander?

The figure jumps off the rock and lands next to the hammer. He picks up the hammer and dislodges it from the sector floor. The second he stands up to face them, the warriors do a double take, disbelieving what their eyes initially see. But when they take another look, they see that their sight did not deceive them. Standing in front of them is the virtualized likeness of Emmanuel Maillard. He wears a kind of medieval armor, much like that of the Crusaders. In the place of the cross is the fleur-de-lis. His armored shoulder pads have the Moriarty insignia. He has no helmet but he does wear a red cape. He no longer wears a ponytail but wears it naturally, giving him the true appearance of a medieval knight. And of course to top it all of is the silver hammer, which he seems more than ready to use against the warriors. Several seconds of shock are broken when anger seeps into Christophe's blood at the sight of his old friend on the other side of the battle. He aims his wrist at him.

Christophe: You….what are you doing here?!

Ulrich: Emmanuel…could it really be him?

Emmanuel: In the flesh…

Odd shakes his head in denial.

Odd: No, this isn't happening. It's not possible! Emmanuel may be his right hand man on Earth, but on Lyoko?

Aelita looks up.

Aelita: Jeremie, are we dealing with the real thing here?

Scene shifts back to the factory, where Jeremie does his best to make sense of this mess. He checks the virtualization logs.

Jeremie: No. It can't be him. The virtualization logs only show you guys entering Lyoko. It has to be a fake.

Odd takes off on his Overboard again and sets his sights on Emmanuel.

Odd: If he's just a fake, then that means he can be taken down just as easily as the others.

Aelita: Odd wait!

Odd springs into battle, flying headlong toward his target. He fires off three arrows. Emmanuel looks up without blinking and deflects all of them by spinning his hammer in a circle. He then jumps and knocks the Overboard out from under him. While both of them are in midair, Emmanuel hammers the helpless Odd into the desert floor so hard that the ground cracks and the warriors feel the aftershock. When the dust clears, Odd is gone and Emmanuel is facing the others, eager to do the same to them. The warriors start to back up.

Natalya: He certainly doesn't fight like a regular dark warrior.

Ulrich: Did Moriarty give him more power than the rest?

Dark Aelita: Fools! Isn't it obvious?! He is the real one!

Christophe: Impossible, Jeremie just said-

A light bulb goes off in Aelita's head.

Aelita: Wait! The infected scanner! Moriarty could have used that to virtualize him.

The pieces of the puzzle in Jeremie's mind suddenly come together. He smacks himself on the head for not seeing it before.

Jeremie: Oh…idiot! Of course! I knew it didn't make sense for Moriarty to target just one scanner. But one infected scanner is all you need to cover up a secret virtualization.

Ulrich: But if there is no proof that he was virtualized then he could just as easily be a fake. How do we know if he's the real thing?

Moriarty: That is the fun part. Everyone stops with sudden dread as the voice of their sworn enemy interrupts them. Jeremie's body becomes tense as he hardens his mind and spirit for whatever Moriarty might say. You don't know if the one standing in front of you is the real Emmanuel. It could be the real him, and it could just as easily be a fake. I know Emmanuel extremely well, so any information my warrior reveals that could confirm him to be the real thing could have merely been given to me by the real one. Of course, it could really be him. It's impossible to know.

Christophe: Oh yeah? He points at Emmanuel. Althought I hate to admit it, I knew him better than anyone. He may have told you a lot, but I had been his friend for years. He couldn't have told you everything. He focuses his attention back at Emmanuel. If you're really him, then you would be able to answer this question. What is the name of the first song that was played at the Sub Sonics concert we went to two years ago?

Emmanuel: That's a trick question. The Sub Sonics didn't play the first song. Another band named Systems Down performed as the headliner for the concert. And they played their own version of a song called "Standard Malware".

Christophe's eyes widen.

Christophe: That, that must be him. It's too specific for it not to be him.

Moriarty: Oh don't be so sure. I know a lot more than you think. For instance, did you know that Christophe had to go home early from summer camp twice because he missed his mommy?

Christophe smarts from the deeply personal remark while the dark warriors laugh.

Christophe: Hey! That was private!

Ulrich draws his sabers.

Ulrich: He has never respected anything private. He looks up and verbally challenges Moriarty. So what if we don't know if he's the real Emmanuel? How does that make a difference? We are still going to beat him either way.

Moriarty: Oh Ulrich…always the slow one. Perhaps you haven't figured it out yet. Would you like to play a game?

Jeremie and the veteran warriors chafe with fury in response to the old question that evokes so many bad memories. Moriarty continues his dialogue unfazed by their displeasure.

Moriarty: You already know I am launching an attack. You have no idea what I plan on doing, nor will you get the opportunity to know beforehand. All I can promise is that it is something rather unpleasant. Across town, an Arab man sits down at a bus stop with a backpack over his shoulder. He watches the sparse traffic pass by him with his pupils displaying the Moriarty insignia. Meanwhile to get to the tower, you have to get past a possibly fake but possibly possessed Emmanuel.

Ulrich: Get to the point.

Moriarty: The point, my impatient interrupting friend, is that if this Emmanuel is real, then he will not be devirtualized if you defeat him. You are free to fight him to your hearts' content, but if he is the real thing, then killing him here would eternally virtualize him.

The warriors absorb this challenge with conflicted silence. Jeremie seethes with frustration, feeling once again boxed in by Moriarty's intellect and sadism. Christophe stares down Emmanuel, caught between rage and reluctance. Meanwhile Emmanuel stops stalling and raises his hammer.

Emmanuel: Soldiers of Moriarty, attack!

The dark warriors charge. Dark Ulrich makes a beeline for Ulrich. The two clash sabers. Ulrich maintains the upper hand, but his dark half is holding his ground.

Ulrich: So what's the plan? Do we fight him or not?

Aelita maintains her position in the air, attempting to distract Dark Yumi and Emmanuel.

Aelita: Fight him but don't try to devirtualize him. We're going to need to hold ourselves back and find a way to deactivate the tower without hurting him.

Emmanuel slams down his hammer, which unleashes a sonic wave that cracks the earth. The crack moves toward Ulrich and moves between his feet. The shaking causes Ulrich to lose his footing. Dark Ulrich takes the opportunity presented him and devirtualizes Ulrich. Natalya notches an arrow at Emmanuel.

Natalya: He's certainly not holding himself back!

She targets his legs and lets her arrow go. Emmanuel easily knocks it away and turns his attention to her. Natalya suddenly becomes nervous and backs up as Emmanuel stalks toward her. He takes a giant leap and lands a few feet from her. She reaches for another arrow but Emmanuel knocks the bow out of her hand. William, who clashes swords with his dark half, turns to see Natalya in dire straits.

William: Natalya!

Emmanuel hits Natalya with the hammer like a baseball bat, sending her flying into the air. She devirtualizes before she hits the ground. William angrily cleaves his dark half in two and goes for Emmanuel. Meanwhile Christophe does his best to keep Dark Ulrich at a distance, firing his discs at him. Aelita does her best to avoid Dark Yumi's fans and Dark Aelita's energy fields.

Christophe: Shouldn't we be helping William?

Aelita and her dark half grapple in the air while Dark Yumi tries to get a clean shot.

Aelita: I already have my hands full.

Jeremie bites his fingernails, helplessly watching as his once invincible team falls one by one to the enemy. Moriarty makes sure that he doesn't suffer in silence.

Moriarty: Tick-tock Jeremie. You're running out of time.

Jeremie: Out of time for what Moriarty? What are you planning?!

Moriarty: Now now you know I can't let you know that quite yet. If you know you might not be so reluctant to defeat Emmanuel…

Jeremie: What are you doing that would force us to go to such-Jeremie stops. He lowers his eyebrows and gets a sickening feeling in his stomach.-You're going to take human life, aren't you?

Moriarty: Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. His tone becomes childish. Either way, I'm not telling.

Jeremie: You don't have to. I know you well enough.

The elevator doors open. Yumi pants from running to the factory. She regains her breath.

Yumi: Jeremie, I'm so sorry I'm la-

Jeremie: No time! They need immediate backup down there.

Back in Lyoko, William hovers in super smoke form around Emmanuel. Emmanuel calmly watches for movement, waiting for William to make his move.

Emmanuel: How long are you going to hide in the shadows William? Come down here and show me what a Lyoko warrior can really do.

A sword peaks out of the smoke and attempts to strike Emmanuel. Emmanuel blocks it with his hammer. William's legs emerge out of the smoke and kick Emmanuel down. William fully reforms and tries to hit his opponent when he is down, but Emmanuel blocks the strike just in time. William slips his sword underneath the hammer and pries it from Emmanuel's hands. The hammer lands a meter away. William raises his sword for a clean stab, but hesitates when he takes a look at Emmanuel's face. William quickly remembers the dangerous possibility of executing the final blow and finds himself unable to finish the job. Emmanuel encourages his hesitation by appearing afraid and weak. Of course, this façade lasts only a fraction of a second. Emmanuel quickly gives up the act and summons his hammer to his hand. William is quickly surprised and goes on the defensive. On the other side of the battlefield, Christophe continues to fire discs at Dark Ulrich. Then in an incredible stroke of bad luck, Christophe runs out of discs. Christophe stares at his weapons with alarm.

Christophe: Jeremie, I need more discs!

Jeremie: Hold on! It's going to take me a few seconds.

Dark Ulrich triplicates and prepares to attack his disarmed prey.

Christophe: Ulrich did have a point. His evil twin…or twins…are not going to play fair.

Christophe gets himself into a defensive stance. The first Ulrich tries to cut him down, but Christophe grabs Dark Ulrich's wrist and twists him around to use him as a shield. The second Ulrich cuts down the first one. Christophe grabs one of the sabers from the first one and turns it on the second one, devirtualizing him. He then faces down the last one with saber in hand. The last Dark Ulrich scoffs at him. He super sprints and easily knocks the saber out of his hand. He kicks Christophe to the ground.

Dark Ulrich: Did you honestly think you could handle a master swordsman?

A red light goes off on Christophe's wrist weapon. Christophe sees this and smiles.

Christophe: Nope. And I don't have to.

Dark Ulrich is pierced by a disc and disappears into smoke. At the same time, William finds an opening in his fight against Emmanuel. He tries to aim for Emmanuel's legs but Emmanuel jumps and pile drives William into oblivion. Aelita is struck with an energy field from Dark Aelita and she falls to the floor. Before Dark Yumi and Aelita can finish her off, another fan flies out from nowhere and cuts down Dark Aelita. Aelita spins around to see Yumi coming to the rescue.

Aelita: Yumi, thank God you're-

Yumi: Aelita look out!

Emmanuel comes at Aelita from behind while she's distracted and destroys her. Christophe runs over from his fight to help, only to realize he has come too late. He stands alone with Yumi, suffering the sting of defeat. Yumi stares at Emmanuel with the same shock her comrades experienced earlier.

Yumi: Emmanuel? In Lyoko?! Has the world been turned upside down?!

Emmanuel rests his hammer on his shoulder, ignoring Yumi's confusion.

Emmanuel: Your queen has been put of commission. Without that chess piece, you cannot win. He turns around. We are done here…

Christophe, fully infuriated that Emmanuel has once again belittled him, cocks his wrist.

Christophe: No. He aims at Emmanuel's back. We're not done until I wipe that smug look off your pitiful excuse for a face!

Jeremie: Christophe, don't be an idiot!

Christophe holds himself back just in time. Dark Yumi, however, needs no further encouragement to attack. She throws her fans and finishes the last two warriors standing. Back in the scanner room, where Yumi and Christophe emerge, William and Aelita greet them. William shakes his head with disappointment.

William: Join the club…

When the rest of the warriors gather back in the lab room, Jeremie does his best to rectify the situation.

Jeremie: We have no choice but to try again. Emmanuel is tough, but with most of the dark warriors temporarily offline, we have a chance of getting past this night-

Moriarty: Too late Jeremie. The warriors look at the main computer, which has been taken hostage by Moriarty's presence. I'm afraid that the bus has arrived.

Jeremie: Bus? What bus?

Moriarty: You're going to be so sorry you asked that question. Moriarty shows them a live feed from a street camera. An Arab man sitting at a bench watches a bus arrive at his station. Despite the fact that it's very late, at least a dozen passengers are on board. See for yourselves…

The Arab man gets onto the bus with his backpack. For only a moment, the warriors miss Moriarty's point.

Natalya: I don't get it, is the guy going to hijack the bus?

Odd's eyes flash with understanding and a half second later he screams in horror. He points at the screen.

Odd: OH GOD, WHAT'S IN HIS BACK-?!

Odd's sentence is cut off by a terrific explosion on screen. The sound is deafening even with the poor audio quality. The smoke clears to show the remains of the bus burning. Not a single soul seems to have escaped. The bus' destruction is total and deadly. The warriors stand shell-shocked for a moment, unable to react. Jeremie, who got a front row seat to the bombing, whimpers a little. He then gets out of his chair and falls to his knees. He stays there for a moment, looking as vulnerable and sad as an injured puppy. He lets a few tears go, and then in the next moment, angrily curses Moriarty for all he's worth, using every foul word he can think of. Aelita grabs hold of him and does her best to calm him. Odd stands there, powerless to remove his gaze from the burning wreckage. He breathes heavily and feels a panic attack coming. He quickly goes to the elevator and closes the door, allowing him to have his moment in private. William holds Natalya tight while Yumi and Ulrich sit down, undergoing a personal disgust and guilt for having failed those people. Christophe, for his part, explodes with rage.

Christophe: Emmanuel….He clenches his fists so tight that his veins are visible. He did this…

Emmanuel crawls down the ladder into the scanner room.

William: Christophe, what are you doing?

When Christophe doesn't answer, William follows him down. When he reaches the floor, he turns to see Christophe standing in front of the infected scanner. At first he does nothing, but then Christophe's anger comes rushing out and he begins to slam his fists on it with all his might.

Christophe: EMMANUEL YOU BASTARD! SERVING THE ORDER WASN'T ENOUGH?! YOU JUST HAD TO BE HIS ACCOMPLICE TO A (Expletive) MURDER!

William: Christophe, enough! This won't change anything.

Christophe continues without pause.

Christophe: COME OUT OF THERE! If you are the real thing then you have to come back eventually! Come out of there so I rip your head off!

William: Christophe stop!

Christophe claws at the scanner doors and begins to force them open.

Christophe: IF YOU WON'T COME OUT THEN I'LL DRAG YOU OUT! He starts to push his shoulder into the gap in the scanner. I SWEAR, I'LL MAKE YOU WISH YOU HAD DIED ON LYOKO!

William grabs Christophe's and forces him away from the scanner.

William: This has gone too far! He pulls Christophe away. You have to get a hold of yourself!

Christophe glares at William with the fury of a rabid animal. He fights William's strong grip.

Christophe: Give me one good reason! GIVE ME ONE GOOD REASON WHY I SHOULDN'T GO TO LYOKO RIGHT NOW AND MANHANDLE HIM!

William, seeing no other alternative to pacify Christophe, decides to punch him in the stomach. The blow knocks Christophe on his butt and back to his senses. A stunned Christophe looks up at William, who appears stern and composed.

William: Because if you allow your rage to control you, then Emmanuel has already beaten you.

Christophe takes a moment to reflect on his outburst. He looks at his hands. Several bruises and cuts are forming from his futile conflict with the infected scanner. He touches his wounds gingerly.

Christophe: I…I don't know what came over me. Just so much anger…I couldn't control it.

William folds his arms across his chest. The firm expression on William's face reminds Christophe of his father giving him a painful but necessary lecture.

William: Do you think you're the only one who has felt uncontrollable anger for what Moriarty has done? I have news for you Christophe…we have been going through the same thing long before you came along. We've suffered similar outrages. He has tampered with the things most personal to us. Using an old friend turned enemy against you is right in line with his modus operandi. Oh, don't get me wrong…I want to kill him just as much as you do. I've let my anger control me too...when Natalya was at his mercy. That lack of control nearly cost me my life. William offers Christophe his hand. Christophe takes it and is helped up. No matter how uncontrollable it is, you have to control it. All the anger in the world will not bring back the lives Moriarty has taken tonight. All that matters now is keeping calm and collected so we can return to the fight and do our best to make sure he doesn't take any more. He motions to the infected scanner. We will make Moriarty and Emmanuel pay for the damage they have caused…but we will do it OUR way. And not theirs…

Thirty minutes later, after the warriors have left the factory, the infected scanner opens. Emmanuel steps out of the scanner and mechanically makes his way out of the factory and back to Kadic. One of the factory cameras catches him leaving the facility. Emmanuel goes back into his room and goes to bed. Several hours later the sun comes up. Emmanuel's alarm goes off. He hits the alarm and stretches. When he opens his eyes, his pupils are normal. He rubs his head.

Emmanuel: Man, what a crazy dream. His hands rest on the necklace Moriarty gave him. The silver hammer glows for a second and then returns to normal. Emmanuel gets out of bed. Time for a shower…

In the early morning, Kadic, along with the rest of France, is rocked with the news of the late night bus bombing. Several students watch the coverage of the story in the recreation room. Reporter Diane Cousteau stands at the scene where police are cutting off access to the blast zone.

Diane: Early this morning at approximately 0024 hours, a bomb ripped through one of Line 7's buses right outside the bus stop here at the corner of Avenue de Versailles and Rue de la Convention. Fourteen people have been confirmed dead, including the suicide bomber and the bus driver. She pauses as she listens to someone giving her news from the station. And I have just received word that the President is holding a surprise press conference over the incident.

The camera switches to a press conference room inside the Élysée Palace. President Nicholas Sarkozy is bombarded with camera flashes and pressing questions. The slowly greying leader of France appears older than usual with the obvious pressure mounted on him. He holds his hands out firmly in an attempt to get a word in.

Sarkozy: Citizens of France, I will not waste your time with hollow words. The bus bombing that took place shortly after midnight and claimed the lives of 14 innocent people was a terrorist act, most likely originating from elements of Islamic extremism. We now have confirmation on the identity of the suicide bomber, Hashim Al-Shahriar. I have been in contact with American intelligence agencies, who have informed me that they have previously investigated this man for possible links to Al-Qaeda. They dropped the investigation a couple of years ago when they found no evidence of direct affiliations to the extremist group. Unfortunately for us, it appears that they made a grave mistake. We shall continue to search for evidence to see if Mr. Al-Shahriar acted alone or was part of a larger group. I'm sorry to say we have nothing else to tell you at this time.

Sarkozy promptly makes his way off stage, amidst a storm of protests from reporters who want to ask more questions. Concerned discussion reverberates among the students in the room. Jim enters the room and claps his hands to get their attention.

Jim: Okay that's enough. Everyone get to class. This is definitely a tragedy, but our usual routine is the same.

The students leave the recreation room and grumble on the way out. In the cafeteria during breakfast, Jeremie and the rest of the warriors look at the footage from the factory the night before on Jeremie's laptop. Jeremie studies Emmanuel's movements. Odd looks over Jeremie's shoulder.

Ulrich: I guess he is the real deal.

Odd: But it's like he's a robot or something…

Jeremie: You're not too far off Odd. Emmanuel is operating on autopilot. Moriarty has a subconscious control over him, much like he did with the trustees. Since Moriarty didn't activate a tower to possess him, then subconscious control is the only answer. He zooms in on Emmanuel's hands. But unlike the trustees, I'm not seeing a metal bracelet. He has to be controlling Emmanuel some other way.

Christophe crushes the small empty milk carton in his hand.

Christophe: Or Moriarty isn't controlling him and Emmanuel is doing this of his own free will…

Jeremie: I know you have your history with Emmanuel, Christophe, but don't let it cloud your judgment. Emmanuel may be intensely loyal to Moriarty, but it would be outrageous to think he would willingly help him carry out a terrorist attack.

Christophe doesn't answer but takes a sip of his orange juice. He sets his drink down on the table with unnecessary force, causing some of the juice to splash onto the table.

Natalya: So we know the truth now. Emmanuel is real. That part of Moriarty's game is dealt with. The question is, what do we do now?

Aelita: Moriarty's threat to end Emmanuel's life if we devirtualize him still stands. The only difference is that we know that the threat is absolutely real.

Yumi: Or is it? Everyone turns their eyes on Yumi, making her feel a little uncomfortable. I mean, Emmanuel is very valuable to Moriarty and The Order. Moriarty may be ruthless, but he won't get rid of someone as long as that person serves a purpose. Emmanuel suddenly comes into the cafeteria in his normal Order attire, followed by his own posse of Order underlings. Emmanuel gives their lunch table a quick look of sharp disapproval. Yumi lowers her voice. And I think we can all agree that he is very much useful. The point being, Moriarty may be bluffing.

William: I agree. But there's only one problem with your theory Yumi. The Order is now a national movement. Emmanuel was certainly vital in the past, but that was when The Order was only a Kadic thing. Emmanuel might be very useful, but I won't dare to assume that Moriarty is too chicken to carry out his threat.

Aelita: And more importantly…She gives her friends a stern look…are you really prepared to gamble with a person's life? Even if that person is your enemy? She folds her arms across her chest. Enough people have already died at Moriarty's hands. I don't want a single person, even someone that hates me, to share their fate.

Jeremie: I made a solemn vow not to sacrifice anyone's health and wellbeing as a means to defeat Moriarty. He shakes his head. My conscience has already paid an incredible price for choosing to ignore that in the past. I won't call Moriarty's bluff. And I think we can agree that no one at this table would be willing to do that either.

Christophe mutters something under his breath.

Jeremie: What was that?

Christophe looks away.

Christophe: Nothing.

Jeremie: No. It was something. And if you have something to say, go ahead and say it.

Christophe presses his palms against the table. His expression is dark and brooding.

Christophe: Sorry to disappoint you, but not everyone at this table shares your opinion. Moriarty is using Emmanuel to try to make us soft…and you all have fallen for it. He points at himself. But not me. I know what it will take to bring Emmanuel down. And that's by not holding back!

Jeremie: Not holding back could also make us potential murderers. Have you forgotten that?

Christophe: And if that scenario doesn't cause me to lose a lot of sleep at night?

The intensity in Jeremie's voice rises as the argument escalates.

Jeremie: Then I would say that you've forgotten what being a Lyoko Warrior means.

Christophe: What happens when more attacks come? When more bombings take place? When more people die? What will you do then?

Jeremie: We don't know what Moriarty's objectives are. We don't even know if he will launch another attack like that. We shouldn't do anything rash just because of a possibility.

Christophe snickers at this statement.

Christophe: Oh I get it. We can play with other people's lives, but not Emmanuel's.

Jeremie's fist hits the table.

Jeremie: I've had it with your defiance! Clearly you are too emotionally compromised to make a clear judgment about Emmanuel. I have half a mind to force you to stay out of Lyoko for a while, for you and Emmanuel's sake. But we can't afford to lose any warriors right now. We are not devirtualizing Emmanuel. Period. End of story. And that isn't a suggestion or a request. It is an order. Got it?

Christophe rolls his eyes.

Christophe: Aye aye, Commandant.

The table becomes dead quiet. Odd drops his fork to the floor. William stares at Christophe wide-eyed while Natalya puts her hand over her mouth. Jeremie sits there for a second, simmering at the not so subtle jab at him. Finally the rage boils over and Jeremie stands up from his chair, shouting at Christophe loud enough for everyone in the cafeteria to hear.

Jeremie: Don't you ever call me that again! Do you understand?!

The rest of the people stare at Jeremie. Emmanuel and his friends watch with muted interest. Christophe looks down at the floor and then grabs his tray and leaves. Jeremie stands still for a moment and then walks away in the opposite direction. The silence holds for a little while as the two leave the cafeteria. Gradually conversation picks up and the cafeteria returns to normal.

Odd: Well, that went well.

Yumi somberly sticks her fork in her food.

Yumi: This is so not the time for us to be divided like this.

Ulrich: At this point in the game, it's never a good time. He turns to Aelita. Can't we just find a way to keep Emmanuel from the scanners? Wouldn't that fix this whole problem?

Aelita: As long as that scanner is infected, Moriarty will have no trouble sending Emmanuel to Lyoko. As for keeping him from the scanner itself, we could lock the elevators and everything, but that won't slow him down for long. And we can't guard the factory all the time. Besides, when Emmanuel is summoned by Moriarty, he is almost as strong as a spectrified human. He would just force his way past us. Our main goal should be keeping Moriarty from continuing to use that scanner.

Ulrich: So are you going to get Jeremie right on that?

Aelita picks up her tray and stands up.

Aelita: No. Jeremie has enough on his plate. And I think he's getting close to a breakthrough on the Cannae Initiative. I don't want him to stop his work on that when he might be very close to success.

Odd: So who's going to deal with it?

Aelita: Simple. She smiles. I am.

The rest of the warriors stare blankly at her. Aelita becomes slightly offended.

Aelita: Oh come on. Jeremie may be better than me, but I can handle something like a bugged scanner. She turns around and walks away. Honestly, you have relied on him to solve everything for far too long.

Odd watches her leave and shrugs.

Odd: Was it something we said?

Downtown Paris. Along one of the main boulevards stands the Japanese Embassy in Paris. It is a small beige-colored three story building with a European architectural design. A single guard stands outside the entrance, lazily watching pedestrians pass by. A few Japanese nationals come inside the embassy, but other than that the building is largely inactive. On the second floor, in a hallway that is off-limits to the public, another guard patrols some of the upper rooms. He passes by a storage space, but then stops when he hears a strange beeping coming from the room. The guard turns around and uses a digital card key to enter. For the most part, everything is in order. There are secure documents in various folders and other materials that the embassy possesses. But he can hear the beeping grow louder. He rounds the corner and sees a large square object the size of a large suitcase trunk. The metal object has a timer that is slowly counting down. The guard backs up in horror and trembles as he reaches for his radio. Suddenly the door to the storage room closes behind him. The guard turns around, shocked that the door seemed to close on its own. When he tries to contact his superiors a second time, an electric current runs from the bomb and electrocutes him, knocking him unconscious. The radio falls out of his hands.

Several kilometers away, a large square white building with a gated enclosure serves as the Russian Embassy in Paris. Inside, business carries on as usual. But in one of the lower basement rooms of the facility, a bomb identical to the one in the Japanese embassy slowly counts down.

The warriors come out of the sewer bridge entrance and swing one by one down onto the factory floor. Jeremie puts in the override code on the locked elevator and they go down to the lab room. Jeremie heads to his post.

Jeremie: William, any word on Emmanuel?

William: He showed up for his regular classes, but neither Yumi nor I saw him at gym class. My guess is he's already waiting for us.

Jeremie quickly checks the factory's security cameras. Sure enough, he sees Emmanuel getting access to the infected scanner via a shortcut from the boiler room.

Jeremie: And you would be right. To make things even better, we have two towers activated. You know what that means…

Moriarty: Double the fun…

The warriors glare at the main monitor screen. Jeremie groans.

Jeremie: Honestly, I need to find a way to keep you from butting in all the time…

Moriarty: But then how would you know what I plan to do with you? Really, that's no fun for either of us, isn't it?

Yumi: Cut the crap Moriarty, what do you want?

Natalya: Yes, we already had a class with you. I don't think I could stand another lecture…

Moriarty: It's so funny that both of you are the first to insult me. Because this game is very personal to you both. Two side by side images of the Russian and Japanese embassies appear on screen. Behold…

Natalya and Yumi look with curiosity.

Yumi: Embassy buidlings from both of our homelands…? But what does that-She suddenly connects the dots. She covers her mouth-No…

Natalya: What? What does it mean?

Moriarty: Perhaps this will make things clearer to you-Two images underneath the initial images show the bombs at both locations. Natalya gasps- Now perhaps we understand ourselves better. I have two bombs at the ready at both embassies. Each of them has ten minutes before they both go off. The tower for the Russian embassy is in the Ice Sector and the one for the Japanese embassy is in the Forest Sector.

Ulrich's forehead becomes damp with cold sweat as he processes the information.

Ulrich: Ten minutes for two towers? That would really be pushing it.

Moriarty: I wasn't done Ulrich. I was about to mention that deactivating one tower automatically signals for the other one to trigger its bomb. In other words…

Natalya swallows and closes her eyes.

Natalya: We can't save them both…

Moriarty: You catch on quickly…so, which one is it going to be? Which embassy survives and which one goes up in smoke? You have ten minutes to decide. The images on the bombs zoom in on the timers. Oops, I meant nine minutes and thirty seconds and counting….better get moving.

Moriarty cuts off his transmission. The warriors look at each other with uncertainty. Yumi and Natalya avoid eye contact. Meanwhile the timers on the bombs continue to count down. Although Natalya's mouth feels frozen shut, the discomfort of watching the clock slowly tick away forces her to break the silence.

Natalya: We need to snap out of it! Standing here isn't going to solve anything!

Jeremie: She's right. If we don't act, both of them will go sky high.

Odd: But which one do we choose? And how could we possibly decide without hurting Yumi or Natalya?

Yumi briefly glances over at Natalya, who purposefully doesn't return the look. Yumi bites her lip and looks at the ground. A strong urge to speak out and demand that her people be spared swells up in her. She lowers her head and ridicules herself for being selfish, but the demand in her thoughts remains strong. Her hands and arms tremble as she starts to lose the fight. Suddenly a warm hand touches hers. She turns to see Ulrich looking at her, reading her every emotion.

Ulrich: Yumi, is there something you need to tell us?

Yumi's mouth becomes dry as everyone looks at her. She pushes some hair out of her face.

Yumi: I…I know a family friend at the embassy. His name is Hachiro Mori and he's a foreign service worker who has known my father for a long time. I only see him a couple of times a year, and we're not that close but I do know him and…if this happened, my father would be-Her sentence is cut off. She exhales.-I'm sorry, Natalya, I haven't even bothered to ask how you feel about this.

Natalya twiddles her thumbs. She still refuses to look at Yumi. She furrows her brow as a look of confliction appears on her face. Her fists become clenched.

Natalya: Yumi, if the Japanese embassy was destroyed, are you positive that this Hachiro guy would die?

Yumi looks at Natalya with curiosity.

Yumi: Unless he was outside getting lunch or something, which I doubt, it's very likely that he would.

Natalya: And would it be a personal tragedy for your family?

Yumi: Not as much as the death of a relative, but it would hurt us. My father would be particularly devastated.

Natalya feels her stomach churn uneasily. She touches her aqua blue earrings and toys with them a little in an attempt to calm her nerves. She hugs her right arm close to her body. She inhales deeply through her nose.

Natalya: Then let's save the Japanese Embassy. Everyone, Yumi most of all, looks at her in astonishment. William tries to put a hand on her shoulder and talk to her, but Natalya brushes him off. Maybe I'm being selfless, maybe I don't love my country as much as Yumi loves hers, or maybe I'm still bitter at what the government did to my family, but I'm willing to make the sacrifice. I hate that fellow Russians have to die because of me, but we have to make a choice. And I choose to help Yumi.

Yumi, caught between gratitude and guilt, finds it difficult to speak to her.

Yumi: Natalya…are you sure?

Natalya: Yes, let's just do it before I change my mind.

Jeremie looks back at the timers on the screen. They reach the eight minute mark.

Jeremie: Ordinarily I would argue about this, but we simply don't have time. The Japanese Embassy it is. We should get going. With Emmanuel blocking the way, we need all the time we can get.

Christophe: With Emmanuel blocking the way, we might not even be able to deactivate one tower in time. Not without our limitations…

Ulrich: He does have a point. Moriarty will adjust himself to wherever we go. He'll defend whichever tower we decide to attack. And it's not like Aelita can be at two places at once.

Aelita becomes pensive. She starts repeating Ulrich's words to herself.

Aelita: Two places at once…two places at once. She snaps her fingers. Ulrich, you're a genius!

Ulrich looks at her with confusion.

Ulrich: I am?

Aelita: Yes. Aelita smiles as she works over the idea in her head. You just gave me an idea.

The warriors head in mass toward the activated tower in the Ice Sector. The tower in front of them is situated in front of a large glacier wall. Ulrich and Yumi lead in the front with the rest of the warriors trailing behind. Aelita rides on the back of Ulrich's Overbike.

Ulrich: Are you ready Aelita?

Aelita does not answer but gives him a thumbs up.

Ulrich: Good. He looks up ahead. The dark warriors and Emmanuel are waiting. Because they're ready too.

Emmanuel steps in front of the other dark warriors. He hits his hammer against the ice as a warning to the warriors that they march to their own defeat. Yumi pulls up in front of the others.

Yumi: Remember, only non-lethal force on Emmanuel. As for the others, eliminate them as quickly as you can.

The warriors temporarily split off into two groups and then circle around in a pincer movement to attack the dark warriors and bypass Emmanuel. Natalya fires an arrow that brushes Dark Yumi's shoulder. William steps off the Overdisc, giving the reigns over to Natalya, and dissolves into super smoke. He barrels toward Dark William and knocks him off his feet. Yumi and Christophe get off the Overwing and attack. Emmanuel turns around to defend his troops, but then Odd taps him on the shoulder. Emmanuel spins around to see Odd waving at him from his Overboard. Odd punches him and then aims his Overboard directly up.

Odd: Catch me if you can crusader wannabe!

Odd goes up in a completely vertical shot. He flies around, taunting Emmanuel.

Odd: What's the matter, can't fly?

Emmanuel remains unmoved but positions his hammer behind his back. The hammer glows and Emmanuel heaves an energy blast that creates a concussive explosion in the air, nearly knocking Odd off his Overboard.

Odd: Okay, can't fly, but that's still a problem.

Dark Aelita swoops down on Yumi, trying to catch her off guard. Christophe repels her with a couple of discs that hit her wings. Dark Aelita retreats and then comes back again for more. Ulrich and Aelita distract Dark Yumi with the use of the fast Overbike, going around her in circles. Dark William surrounds William with a super smoke funnel cloud. William keeps his sword close, expecting him to attack at any moment. To his surprise, Dark William's smoke cloud dissipates and Dark Ulrich comes out from nowhere and cuts William down. Natalya puts an arrow in Dark Ulrich's leg and then notches another one. Dark William and Ulrich begin to gang up on her.

Natalya: The dark warriors have gotten better. They're using strategy now.

Ulrich and Aelita come to the rescue on the Overbike. Ulrich launches off his bike and slices Dark William across the back of the neck and returns to his vehicle. Natalya takes advantage of Dark Ulrich's confusion by putting an arrow in his chest. Ulrich smiles confidently.

Ulrich: They may have gotten better, but that doesn't mean we can't gotten better too.

Dark Yumi uses her powers to knock the Overbike out from under Aelita and Ulrich. Natalya tries to come to their aid but Dark Yumi devirtualizes her with her fans. Dark Aelita entertains Yumi and Christophe while Dark Yumi corners a fallen Ulrich and Aelita. She pays special attention to Aelita, who stares blankly at her opponent and does not get up.

Dark Yumi: What's the matter princess, too afraid to fight?

Ulrich gets up and begins to battle her.

Ulrich: Leave her alone!

During Yumi and Christophe's fight, Dark Aelita unexpectedly lifts Yumi up with her in the air. She then drops her and destroys her in midair with an energy field. Christophe fumes as Dark Aelita flies above him in a mocking way.

Christophe: You picked the wrong day to mess with me. He primes his weapons as Dark Aelita flies close to the ground for another attack. Christophe runs at her. At the moment Dark Aelita summons an energy field, Christophe jumps and lands on her back. Using her as a springboard, Christophe jumps and destroys her with three discs while up in the air. He lands back on the ice. That's more like it!

Odd falls to his feet from the Overboard. Christophe watches stunned as Emmanuel destroys Odd right in front of him. When Odd vanishes, Christophe soon overcomes his surprise and stares down his hated enemy. The weapons on his wrists light up.

Christophe: You're going to be sorry you ever set foot on Lyoko!

Emmanuel: Actually my old friend, when this is all over and Moriarty has won, it is you who will wish that you never left the comfort of your room that fateful night.

Christophe: Becoming a Lyoko Warrior has opened a lot of possibilities for me. He aims his wrists at him. Like the opportunity to teach you some manners!

Christophe fires and Emmanuel blocks his shots. Christophe runs forward and grabs Emmanuel's hammer, trying to rip it from his hands. But Emmanuel's strength is superior. Christophe begins to fall to his knees. Emmanuel looks scornfully at him.

Emmanuel: What's the matter? He points to Christophe's pectorals. Not using your secret weapon? How can you possibly hope to defeat me….Emmanuel rips the hammer from Christophe's hands and stomps Christophe to the ground….if you are holding yourself back?!

Emmanuel pummels Christophe into the ice. Christophe disappears. Dark Yumi then drags a defeated and disarmed Ulrich in front of Emmanuel.

Dark Yumi: All of them are vanquished Commander.

Emmanuel: What about Aelita?

Dark Yumi panics, realizing that in her confusion she left Aelita alone. But when she turns around, she sees that Aelita is exactly where she left her. Aelita is still sitting on the ice, not moving or making a sound. Emmanuel furrows his eyebrows and notices that Aelita had a perfect opportunity to deactivate the tower and did not take it. The grip on his hammer tightens.

Emmanuel: What is the meaning of this?!

Ulrich starts to chuckle. When both of them look down at the defeated warrior, they see Ulrich smiling.

Ulrich: It's called a fake out….

The image of Aelita vanishes into nothingness. Emmanuel boils with fury when he sees he's been tricked.

Emmanuel: NO!

In his anger he pounds Ulrich into virtualized dust. In the Forest Sector, the real Aelita leans against a tree on the way to the tower. She looks very weak. She braces herself against the tree and slowly stumbles toward the tower.

Jeremie: Excellent job, Aelita. Your ploy has worked perfectly.

Aelita puts her hands on her knees and stops for a second.

Aelita: Yes, but I've never created an avatar of myself while I am in a different sector. It's taking everything out of me. I feel so weak…

Jeremie: Hang on Aelita, you're almost there. Jeremie checks the timers. The countdown has gone below two minutes. The devirtualized warriors huddle around the computer, nervously watching the scene. Meanwhile Aelita's lifepoints begin to slowly drain down. What, what is this?

Aelita comes within ten meters of the tower.

Aelita: I'm almost there Jeremie.

Jeremie: You're losing lifepoints without even being hit! This stunt has drained you. Three enemy dots appear on screen. Jeremie puts his hands on his head. And you have three vultures on your tail. If even one of them hits you, it's game over!

Aelita grimaces.

Aelita: I should have known this plan would have repercussions. Remembering that lives are on the line, Aelita gives her last bit of strength to get inside the tower as the vulture's laser blasts close in on her. She crawls to the lower platform. I…I made it.

The warriors cheer as Aelita rises to the top and enters the code. Both of the timers suddenly stop. Natalya presses her face against William's chest and covers her ears, expecting the devastating explosion. Jeremie somberly waits for it as well. But he can't help but feel some satisfaction at limiting the damage.

Jeremie: We played your game Moriarty. The result may not be what we wanted, but we did prove that we could fool you. Admit it Moriarty, we played you perfectly.

Moriarty: Oh but I'm afraid I wasn't the only one who was fooled today.

The timer for the bomb in the Japanese Embassy suddenly accelerates to zero. Yumi's mouth drops and she runs to the computer in a desperate attempt to avoid the inevitable.

Yumi: WAIT NO!

The Japanese Embassy explodes. Fire streams out of the windows as the explosion carries into the adjacent street, killing motorists and pedestrians. After twenty seconds of heavy smoke and fire, the dust clears to reveal that the building was completely leveled. The sounds of people screaming and running in confusion soon filter through the clip's audio. Yumi stands there motionless, powerless to stop the chaos and pain that Moriarty has caused. The fire and smoke from the blast burn into her corneas. She grips the arm rest on the command chair and digs her fingernails into it.

Yumi: You…lied to us…

Moriarty: Did I lie to you? Or did I simply conceal an important part of the game? The true part of the game was an exercise in selflessness. Since Natalya was willing to sacrifice her personal loyalties for yours, the Russian embassy was the one that was spared. I purposefully gave you the wrong tower to bomb connections for the sole purpose of making you destroy the location that you most wanted to save. And plus, to be quite honest Yumi-Yumi cringes with rage at the mention of her name.-I just really hate you. So I guess the Japanese Embassy just made more sense.

Tears form in the bottom of Yumi's eyes. The pent-up grief and anger bursts forth in the form of screaming.

Yumi: I KNEW SOMEONE AT THAT EMBASSY! YOU KILLED HIM! YOU KILLED INNOCENT PEOPLE!

Moriarty: That I did…there's no denying that one. More than I thought I would actually. I didn't realize that the full force of the bomb would carry over into the street, but so much the better. Better for it to be seen as an attack on both nations than just Japan.

Yumi hyperventilates with fury and despair. She lowers her head and curses Moriarty for all she's worth. Moriarty pauses for a moment and allows her to finish. Eventually Yumi becomes tired from the cursing and yelling and just quietly whimpers. Ulrich tries to hug her but she resists. Natalya stands behind her, quiet and solemn, not sure what to make of the deception. For a moment she thinks that she is somehow to blame, but she quickly brushes that thought aside. She reminds herself that she could not have predicted Moriarty's treachery.

Moriarty: Anyway I must be going. I have papers to grade. And with two terrorist attacks taking place in two days, it's only a matter of time before the press asks me my opinion. I have to be ready to give a sharp and poignant response.

Moriarty excuses himself from the monitor screen. The image of the destroyed embassy disappears, much to the warriors' relief. Jeremie shuts down the monitor and slowly slips down from his chair. He puts his hands in his pockets. He looks up at Aelita, and then to the rest of the warriors. Other than Yumi sobbing, the group is deathly quiet. Jeremie takes the lead and edges over to the elevator. The rest follow. Not a single word is spoken on the way back to Kadic.

The Lyoko Warriors hold a meeting in Ulrich and Odd's room. They sit on the two beds or lean against the wall. Jeremie sits at Ulrich's desk chair. Outside, they hear the sounds of fire engines and ambulances rushing by, no doubt heading to the location of the explosion. The warriors wait for the disruptive noise to pass. Jeremie taps his foot on the floor. Kiwi moves around, trying to get their attention, but even Odd ignores him. Jeremie briefly looks out the window at the night sky.

Jeremie: Two terror attacks in two days. He shifts his chair back around. Not to mention the other attack that we foiled. It all leads to one simple pattern. Moriarty wants to cause damage, and a lot of it.

William: For what purpose?

Jeremie: My guess…to cause panic. To ruin the image of France's safety, thereby discrediting its government. To raise fears of outside and internal enemies. And when he achieves all of these things and when it becomes obvious that normal methods to quell the violence have failed, people will become more willing to accept an extreme solution to the problem.

William: …The Order…

Jeremie: Exactly.

Rain starts to patter on the windows. It turns into a steady and somewhat soothing drumbeat. Cold winds hit the frame, causing the windows to creak slightly.

Odd: If that's the case, then this is going to continue. There will be more attacks. More people will die. He covers his face with his hands. We can't let that happen.

Ulrich: If this is the deadliest game Moriarty has played yet, then we can't afford to fail any more. We can't let another attack happen.

Delmas' voice comes onto the intercom in the hallway. His voice filters through the closed door.

Delmas: Attention students. Due to the recent tragedies and clear safety concerns, the 9th grade field trip to the Rodin Museum has been cancelled. In addition, classes will be suspended in the afternoon. That is all.

Natalya: And now it's starting to hit home.

Ulrich: The reactions will just get worse and worse.

Jeremie: Which brings us to the inevitable problem: what do we do with Emmanuel?

Aelita hugs her knees closer to her body.

Aelita: Moriarty has put us in a tough spot. I know we agreed to not consider the…possibility…but this second attack changes things.

Christophe stands in the corner, quietly brooding over the whole situation. He shoots Jeremie a slightly critical look, but luckily Jeremie doesn't notice.

Natalya: So how do we solve this?

Jeremie: I have one solution. We take a vote. If the vote is unanimous in favor of not holding back against Emmanuel, then we will do what is necessary. But only if it is unanimous.

Aelita: I agree. With such an important decision, there shouldn't be any dissent. We all have to agree on it.

The warriors stare at each other for a moment, hesitating to engage in this painful act of democracy. After about ten seconds, Jeremie breaks the silence.

Jeremie: Okay…hands up if you think we shouldn't hold back.

The warriors stay frozen for a moment. Then William slowly raises his hand. Ulrich and Yumi join him. Christophe watches the scene. When he sees that there are some people on his side, he too raises his hand. The rest of the warriors keep their hands down.

Jeremie: It wasn't unanimous. Our current policy stays.

Christophe lowers his hand. He continues to stew in the corner, greatly disappointed with the outcome. William inches forward on Odd's bed and speaks to those who did not vote on his side.

William: Guys, I know the vote was fair and the unanimous requirement is reasonable, but you are making a mistake.

Yumi: More people will die.

Aelita: Trying to save lives and taking them are too radically different things. I can't support what you want.

Odd nods in agreement.

Odd: Emmanuel maybe Moriarty's supporter on Earth, but he's his slave on Lyoko. What if I was still in there, being forced to serve him? Would you be willing to kill me to stop potential attacks?

Ulrich: Of course not!

Odd: Then what makes Emmanuel's life any less valuable?

Ulrich begins to answer, but then finds that he can't. Christophe's side is suddenly silenced.

Jeremie: We also have to keep in mind the extenuating circumstances of Moriarty's latest attack. With his conditions, it wouldn't have mattered whether Emmanuel was there or not. One of the embassies still would have been destroyed. If we take that into account, then there's simply not enough reason to condemn Emmanuel.

Most of the voters against Emmanuel see Jeremie's point.

Aelita: I guess that's it then. I'll start the work debugging the scanner.

Jeremie: Are you sure you want to handle it on your own?

Aelita: It's menial work, but I'll get it fixed up. It's more efficient this way. You don't have to put any of your projects on ho-

Ulrich's phone rings. He reaches into his pocket and stands up.

Ulrich: Excuse me, I think I have to take this.

He goes into the hallway and sees that the call is from his mother. He answers it without a second thought.

Ulrich: Mom?

His mother takes a few seconds to respond. Her voice is hollow.

Mrs. Stern: Ulrich, I need you to meet me at the front entrance.

Ulrich: But it's raining pretty heavily. Is it really that urgent?

Mrs. Stern: Ulrich…please come to the front gate. I need to tell you something.

She hangs up. Ulrich puts his phone back in his pocket. As he walks toward the stairwell, he spends a few moments guessing what his mother wants. After thinking over several scenarios, his feet suddenly stop. He places a hand against the wall. The blood begins to pound in his head. A chill passes down his body. He presses his fingernails into the wall.

Ulrich: No…

Yumi peeks her head out.

Yumi: Ulrich, is everything alright?

Ulrich runs to the stairwell and vanishes.

Yumi: Ulrich!

Ulrich bursts out of the building and into the rain. He nearly slips on the wet pavement twice, but he keeps going. The dim lights of Kadic's campus highlight his increasingly distraught face. He rounds the corner and reaches the front gate. His mother waits outside next to her car, looking intently at Ulrich. Her hair and outfit are wet, but she pays little attention to it. At the sight of her son, her usual reserved features begin to crack. Her eyeliner and expensive makeup are running, and Ulrich sees that it is not on account of the rain. She reaches her arms toward him in the form of an embrace.

Mrs. Stern: Ulrich…

That single word is all Ulrich needs to hear to understand. He slowly goes to his knees. His gaze becomes limp and unfocused as he looks into nothing. His mom bends down to hug him. She starts crying. Ulrich gives no reaction. Yumi runs up behind them. Once she sees the two in their current state, she too understands. Ten minutes later at the hospital, Ulrich, Yumi, and Mrs. Stern linger in Mr. Stern's room. His body, as always, is motionless. But the machines reading his life signs are registering nothing. His heart monitor only displays a flat line. Ulrich's thousand-yard stare stays in place. He briefly touches his father's hand. It is cold. At the end of Mr. Stern's bed, a doctor makes his final notes. He then stops his work and touches Ulrich's shoulder.

Doctor: I'm sorry son. His heart just got weaker and weaker. We just couldn't stop it. Ulrich neither welcomes nor rejects the doctor's attempt at sympathy. The doctor briefly glances at his former patient. If it's any consolation, if he had woken up, he would not have been the same man he was. More than likely he would have been a uh…

Ulrich finally speaks.

Ulrich: Vegetable?

Doctor: Unfortunately…yes. I doubt anyone would want to see their family member like that. He begins to walk out of the room. Feel free to take as much time as you need.

Mrs. Stern pulls a chair up and sits next to the body of her husband. She rests her head on the side rails of the bed. Ulrich's stare remains as detached and empty as ever. Yumi tries to touch his hand, but he pulls away. He looks away from his father and wanders out of the room. He wanders down the hallway. He continues wandering, going in no particular direction. He passes by patients and doctors, his mind dissociated from the images his eyes are seeing. Yumi trails behind him. Eventually they make it out of the hospital. Ulrich walks out into the parking lot. The rain is lighter now. He looks up at the sky. He lets the rain wash down his face. Ulrich hears the puddle-soaked footsteps of Yumi behind him. Arms slowly wrap around him from behind.

Yumi: I wish….She hugs him tighter…I had something to say. Some words of comfort to do justice to this situation. But I don't have anything.

Ulrich: You don't have to say anything.

Yumi: I have to. You're in pain…

Ulrich: So are you…

Pause.

Yumi: My father said he's going to Hachiro's funeral in Japan. It hit him pretty hard.

The rain picks up again. Yumi's hold on Ulrich remains steadfast.

Yumi: It's okay to cry.

Some tears leak out of Ulrich's eyes, mixing with the rain on his face.

Ulrich: Already there.

Yumi presses her face against Ulrich's back.

Yumi: The people we love are dying. How long will it be before we lose everything?

Ulrich turns around to face her. His face is full of tears.

Ulrich: You haven't lost everything. And I haven't lost everything. He moves his hand through her damp black hair. And I don't plan to.

Her eyes start to water. A genuine fear and quiet desperation start to rise to the surface.

Yumi: He's killed so many innocent people. How long will it be before he kills us? She chokes up. What if he…what if you-?

He takes her hand.

Ulrich: He won't. And I won't. We will survive this. I won't let you die.

Yumi: If we can't save others, how will we save ourselves? She sees an ambulance pull in. A man on a stretcher is taken in by the paramedics. Because of Lyoko, we can sometimes pretend that we are invincible, that nothing will happen to us. We put all thoughts of death aside. After all, we have survived so many near-death experiences. A life flight helicopter flies above them as it prepares to land. But it's an illusion. In the real world, we are just as mortal and vulnerable as everyone else. We are so weak. If death comes to take one of us, no amount of bravado or resistance will be able to stop it.

Ulrich: No. He pulls her into a warm embrace. But that doesn't mean we can't try.

Ulrich's lips meet hers. She returns the kiss. Ulrich loses himself in the tenderness of her touch.

Ulrich: Thank God…

Yumi: Thank God for what?

Ulrich traces his finger over her lips.

Ulrich: For being able to kiss the real thing, and not a cheap imitation.

Scene shifts back to Kadic. Jeremie listens to Aelita in his room. Both of them are in their pajamas. He sits at his desk chair.

Jeremie: So…it's really happened.

Aelita: Yes. Yumi called ten minutes ago.

Jeremie moves uncomfortably in his chair. He taps his fingers against his knees. His face is sullen and withdrawn. He slowly spins back around to the computer.

Jeremie: I knew I couldn't run from it forever. Just another reason why this vote was so important.

She inches toward him.

Aelita: Do you want to talk about it?

Jeremie: There's nothing to talk about. I have work to do. We both have work to do. You have the scanner, and I'm working full speed on the Cannae Initiative. I've reached the third level of encryption. If I absorb myself in my work, we might have an answer relatively soon.

Aelita: …If that's what you want.

Jeremie glues his face to the computer.

Jeremie: It is. He glances back at her. You should probably get going. César will be back any minute now.

She solemnly nods.

Aelita: Right.

She makes her way out of the room. Once the door is shut behind her, Jeremie takes off his glasses. He wipes off a smudge. When he does so, a single tear falls onto the glass. Jeremie wipes that off too and then rubs his eye. He puts his glasses on and goes back to work.

Time passes. Ulrich, Yumi, his extended family, and some business associates attend Mr. Stern's funeral. Dead leaves blow by them as the coffin is laid in the ground. Later on at the Ishiyama household, Mr. Ishiyama leaves for the funeral of Hachiro. He hugs his wife and waves goodbye to his kids and father before leaving. Days turn into weeks, and the attacks continue with devastating frequency. In one instance, Moriarty makes them choose between the number of victims and innocence. Moriarty delivers his ultimatum through the main computer monitor.

Moriarty: In approximately twenty minutes a lone gunman will walk onto a cluster of soccer fields on the east side of the city. Two towers are activated on opposite ends of the Mountain Sector. Control of the specter switches back and forth between the two towers at a rate of 0.3 seconds. If you choose the one at the southern end, he will fire into a group of twenty five young adults from the amateur men's division. If you choose the one at the northern end, he will fire into a group of ten eight-year olds practicing for a primary school league.

The warriors race to the southern end of the Mountain Sector. The dark warriors attempt to stop them. Christophe and Yumi are taken down. The rest press on. The remaining warriors succeed in distracting Emmanuel long enough for Aelita to enter the tower. Emmanuel eliminates the remaining warriors while Aelita deactivates the tower. When she attempts to fly out of the tower past Emmanuel and reach the other tower, Emmanuel gives pursuit. Aelita fires energy fields around his feet, trying to get him on the defensive. It does not faze him and he launches a concussive blast from his hammer that devirtualizes her. Back at the soccer fields, the gunman takes aim at the players from the men's amateur division. The children on the other field scream and run as the horrific site unfolds. News headlines state that the body count is seven dead and five wounded. The warriors take another vote. This time only Aelita and Jeremie vote against any change on the question of Emmanuel. More time goes by. The Outcasts gather for one of their weekly meetings.

Jim: We've been trying to bolster support among foreign students in our local universities. There's a group of Spanish foreign exchange students at Paris Descartes University who seem interested in our movement, but need some convincing. Luckily we have just the Outcast necessary for the job.

César stands up with his usual confident and slightly goofy face.

César: Sin problemas (No problem). You can count on me.

Jim: You will meet them at a coffee shop near the university. We wish you the best of luck and most importantly, be careful.

The prince shrugs this suggestion aside.

César: Please. I have Felipe and the rest of my men to protect me. What could possibly go wrong?

Thirty minutes later, a tower is activated. Moriarty dishes out another threat to the warriors.

Moriarty: There is a bomb hidden in the coffee shop César is at right now. Any attempts to warn him will set the bomb off. This time you don't have to choose between attacks. There is only one bomb and one tower. Of course…Two activated towers sit side by side in the Desert Sector….one of them is a fake, so choose wisely.

The warriors come face to face with Emmanuel and the dark warriors again. Odd, Yumi, and Aelita circle above Emmanuel on their vehicles to keep his attention away from fighting the others.

Yumi: Are you sure it's this one?

She activates her wings.

Aelita: I guessed correctly before with Xana. I can do it again. She points to Emmanuel, who has positioned himself more towards the left tower. If Emmanuel is guarding this one, then that has to be it.

Yumi: Alright, go!

Aelita takes off and flies to the tower. Emmanuel fires a concussive blast at Aelita. But Odd flies into the line of fire and blocks it for her. She manages to sneak past and get in. She enters the code, but the holographic screen gives no response. She quickly realizes her error and gasps in horror.

Aelita: No…

Back in the coffee shop, César and his new friends talk casually. Felipe conspicuously stays by the prince's side in spite of his protests. The burly man's hearing soon picks up a strange beeping. He looks around suspiciously. His eyes rest on a ventilation shaft directly above them, where a strange metal object beeps rapidly above César's head. Realizing that he only has seconds, the bodyguard's mind goes on instinct. He grabs César without explanation and busts through the window and onto the street. A second and a half later the coffee shop explodes. Felipe covers the prince from the blast. César's body goes into shock as the lives of his new friends and other security personnel disappear before his very eyes. The Lyoko Warriors hold another vote on the question of Emmanuel. To Jeremie's shock, Aelita decides to join the others in the vote. He alone continues to support the status quo. While the people of France and its infrastructure continue to reel from the deadly tragedies, Moriarty refuses to let off the gas pedal.

Moriarty: A subway train of my choice will explode during rush hour traffic in approximately eight minutes. Waiting for you on Lyoko is Emmanuel and about thirty-five monsters. If you defeat all of the monsters before time runs out, he will let you pass by him. Of course, if you attempt to defeat him before you reach your quota, nothing is stopping you. It's up to you.

A terrific battle ensues in the Mountain Sector as the warriors fight with a fury. A combination of humanoids, tigers, and cobras stand in their way. All seven warriors give it their all, striking down monsters at every turn. But there are simply too many of them. Natalya, Ulrich, and Odd fall to the monsters. Christophe is knocked down by a tiger in front of Emmanuel, who waits patiently by the side of the tower, watching the battle. Christophe stands up and glowers at him. He destroys the tiger behind him without even looking back. Yumi starts to get cornered.

Yumi: There are too many of them! We'll never reach our quota in time!

William strikes down monster after monster and super smokes down the battlefield to kill more.

William: Yes we will! Just keep destroying them!

Christophe aims at Emmanuel. Aelita sees them and reaches her hand toward him to stop him.

Aelita: Christophe, don't do it!

Jeremie: This was not what we agreed on!

Christophe attacks him aggressively, but his anger proves a disadvantage. Emmanuel calmly dodges his strikes and dispatches his enemy. Forty seconds later an explosion rips through the subterranean tunnels of Paris. Media coverage continues, and the body count rises.

Diane: The second bombing this week has claimed an additional 60 lives and put government security at high alert. We have now received word that a group has finally emerged claiming responsibility for these attacks. A series of photos of rugged looking Arabic men set up by Moriarty appear on screen. They call themselves the Islamic Republic of France, and they have made it clear that they will not stop until their demands are met.

A man whose face is purposely darkened to conceal his identity shows up on screen.

Fake Spokesperson: Our demands are relatively simple. We want France to stop persecuting our Muslim brothers. We want them to stop siding with the United States and Israel on their anti-Islamic crusade. We want France to become an Islamic state, and finally….we want the vestiges of this country's corrupt culture to be replaced with something more resembling our own. If our demands are not met, your country's streets will continue to run with blood.

The camera goes back to Diane.

Diane: Ever since this threatening message, reports of attacks against local Muslims have increased threefold. If these attacks continue, reprisals and hate crimes are expected to increase astronomically…

Another vote takes place. Jeremie resists the pleading of the others and refuses to make the vote unanimous. His facial expression becomes hard and unyielding. The days go by and another tower falls to Moriarty. His ultimatum is blunt.

Moriarty: A car bomb in a busy commercial district will go off in ten minutes. I'm starting to get bored with all the little details of our games. This time you just have a time limit. Knock yourselves out.

The warriors face down Emmanuel in the Ice Sector again. The dark warriors fall and Odd, Natalya, William, and Aelita remain, surrounding Emmanuel. Only he stands between them and the tower. Aelita eyes the tower, waiting to make her move. William glances at Aelita. She nods. William charges at him, getting his attention. Aelita flees for the tower a split second later. But Emmanuel sees through the ruse. He disarms William, devirtualizing him with his own sword. He then tosses the sword and pierces Aelita in midair. The car bomb goes off, and the screaming and pain continue.

Diane: As the death toll for these couple of weeks reaches the 300 mark, the country sinks into further desperation. Reports are coming in of a dramatic shift to the far right among the French populace. In other news, two mosques were burned in the country, one here in Paris and one in Nice…

The warriors take another vote. Jeremie still refuses to budge. The rest of them gently try to get him to listen to them. When he still doesn't listen, their attempts to persuade him become more desperate and urgent. But Jeremie folds his arms across his chest and turns away from them. Christophe shakes his head in disgust and leaves the room, slamming the door behind him. Later on, Jeremie runs to Aelita's room. He comes to Aelita's side at her computer. She is staring at the screen in horror. Red exclamation points are going off.

Jeremie: What happened?

Aelita: I'm sorry Jeremie! I overlooked one glitch on the scanner, and now the whole thing is bugged again. The data's completely rearranged. Jeremie stares blank-faced at the disaster. Aelita cautiously delivers the harsh end of the message. We'll have to start all over again.

Jeremie remains emotionless. He heads to the door.

Aelita: Jeremie?

He slams the door behind him.

Another attack happens two days later, this time targeting a train. During the fight in the Forest Sector, William sees an opening to strike Emmanuel, but he hesitates too long to do it. He is cut down, and the others soon join him. The passenger train explodes just as it enters its station outside Lyons. The country becomes rife with mourning and the national and international media lock onto the stories. A general air of desperation becomes pervasive throughout France. People limit their social activities, refusing to go to parties or bars or cafes, especially at night. Security checkpoints are set up in the major cities, and the president and other politicians hold press conferences to ease the people's minds. But it does little to help. The questions and accusations against politicians become more and more visceral as the days pass. The security checkpoints set up in Paris do nothing but increase traffic jams. The national attitude becomes more and more fearful…and extreme. Delmas delivers another message to Kadic students via the intercom.

Delmas: Students, until further notice, outside activities will be limited and done under the strict supervision of teachers. Day students will be picked up immediately after school by their parents, and a strict curfew will be in place for regular students. If you have any questions about the new change in student policy, please come to see me, Jim Morales, or….Dr. Renard.

An hour after this message, Jeremie returns to his room after his morning classes. He is surprised to see a stack of suitcases next to César's bed. The prince himself sits on his bed, which has been stripped of its pillow and sheets. All of his belongings are packed up and ready to go. César lazily plays his violin, slowly and sadly. There is a far away, tortured look in his eyes. Jeremie cautiously walks into the room. He decides to approach the matter gently.

Jeremie: So…you're leaving?

César: Sí. I can't stay here. I just can't. I am sorry to leave you and the Outcasts, but I am no hero. Things have gotten too crazy here for me. The Order I could handle, but all these terrorists destroying things and trying to kill me? His hands begin to tremble on the wooden instrument. Forget about it.

Jeremie: No one blames you for leaving. And it's not like your family gave you a choice.

César: No. You are very right.

Felipe opens the door.

Felipe: Mi Señor, tu avión está preparado. (My lord, your plane is ready.)

César: Tres minutos por favor. (Three minutes please.)

Felipe: Bueno. Pero no más de tres minutos. (Okay. But no more than three minutes.)

Felipe closes the door. César takes a deep breath. He begins to play the violin seriously this time. He plays a sad, moving piece. The song that he plays is "Jueves" by a group called La Oreja de Van Gogh. His mind and spirit dissolve into the song and he begins to quietly sing the lyrics. It is a song of love, cut short by the pain of tragedy.

César: Estamos llegando (We are arriving)

Mi vida ha cambiado (My life has changed)

Un día especial este once de marzo (A special day this March 11th)

Me tomas la mano (You take my hand)

Llegamos a un tunel (We arrive at a tunnel)

Que apaga la luz (that turns off the lights)

Te encuentro la cara (I find your face)

Gracias a mis manos (Thanks to my hands)

Me vuelvo valiente y te beso en los labios (I become bold and kiss you on the lips)

Dices que me quieres y yo te regalo (You say that you love me and I give you)

El último soplo de mi corazón (The last beat of my heart)

César pauses the song and puts down his violin. He leans his head against the wall. Tears form in his eyes. Jeremie moves to his desk chair and sits down. He rubs the back of his neck.

Jeremie: I didn't understand that, but it sounded very good. Very…emotional. Jeremie looks him in the eye. Are you okay?

César wipes his eyes. He taps the violin strings with his fingers.

César: When I was much younger, Spain suffered a national tragedy much like the ones here in France. Terrorists set off bombs in several subway trains in Madrid. It ended up killing nearly two hundred people and injuring many more. The royal family made a public appearance to show their solidarity with the victims. I remember a woman, who must have lost her son to the explosion, screaming with wild abandonment. Her howling cries were so painful, so wounded…César begins to lose his voice…I will never forget her scream that day. And then I had to relive those terrible screams after the coffee shop…His voice trails off. He wipes his eyes again. I'm sorry, I just can't stay here anymore.

He places his violin in its case. Felipe enters the room again. César nods his head. The two pick up his suitcases. Felipe walks out the door with the majority of them. César touches the door to Jeremie's room. He looks back.

César: Adiós, compañero de cuarto. (Goodbye roommate.)

Jeremie: Goodbye. He shakes his hand. Before you go, I have one request.

César: What is that?

Jeremie: Let your people, your family, your prime minister know what is happening here. It may be a French problem for the moment, but I have a…feeling that the damage Renard is doing will spread beyond our borders.

César: I will. The death of seven Spanish students studying abroad in addition to most of my security personnel has definitely gotten their attention. I will do what I can on my front. He forces a smile. On a lighter note, I am hopefully coming back to Paris to see Eurovision. Maybe I'll stop by to see you.

Jeremie: I'm sure we'll see you. Aelita and I have tickets. We can't wait.

César: Then I will see you mid-December. He salutes Jeremie. Goodbye for now. My plane isn't going to wait forever.

The door closes behind him. Jeremie waves after his departure.

Jeremie: Yeah…see you later.

Jeremie sits back in his desk chair. He instinctively moves toward the computer, but then decides against it. He looks up at the window. The harsh glare of an approaching winter sun shines into the room. Jeremie has to squint to keep it out of his eyes. He looks down, and his eyes rest on a photo of the original Lyoko Warrior group before Aelita was materialized. He smiles when he sees the happy faces of Odd, Yumi, and himself. But when his eyes rest on Ulrich, he suddenly frowns. He pushes the picture frame out of his sight. He turns away from the computer, hanging his head. A few seconds later he receives a text from Aelita. He checks the message. It reads: Come to my room now. Jeremie slowly gets out of his chair and obeys the request. When he opens the door to Aelita's room, he stops. Aelita and all of the other warriors are waiting for him. Her room is cramped and unfit for that number of people, but they don't seem bothered by it. Instead they focus all their attention directly at Jeremie. Jeremie carefully closes the door behind him as he looks over the group with confusion.

Jeremie: What is this? He takes a step forward. An intervention?

Odd: Actually, yes.

Aelita: We need to talk.

Jeremie quickly understands what's happening. Defensive walls are erected in his mind. He looks at the warriors with minor hostility and does an about face. He heads for the door.

Jeremie: There's nothing to talk about.

William blocks the door.

William: Then you'll just have to stay here with us for a while. We can either sit here all day staring at each other or we can address the elephant in the room. Your choice.

Jeremie looks back at the others. Their looks are just as serious as before. Seeing that William is not going to move, Jeremie reluctantly sits next to Aelita's desk.

Jeremie: Fine. I'll humor you.

Aelita stands up from her bed and approaches Jeremie.

Aelita: Jeremie, you know I care about you more than anything. I understand your motives and believe it or not I respect your resolve. But we simply can't do this anymore.

William: It doesn't make sense to continue to spare one person at the expense of so many other lives.

Jeremie: We will not kill Emmanuel. End of story. There is nothing to talk about, there is nothing to discuss. We will not stoop to Moriarty's level. His voice shakes. Never again…

Odd: No one wants to take Emmanuel's life. But at this point, what other choice do we have? People are dying. We can't ignore them any longer.

Jeremie's tone becomes sharper and bitterly defensive. He levels a spiteful glare at the rest of the warriors.

Jeremie: Do you even know what you are suggesting? We are talking about murder, committing a serious crime. Do you think a crime like that can ever be justified?

Christophe breaks his silence. He doesn't appear to be as hateful as he was before, but his intensity has not dropped. He speaks to Jeremie coldly and firmly.

Christophe: We are at war, Jeremie. Ernest Hemingway once said that war, no matter how necessary or justified, is still a crime. We are committing a crime Jeremie, but we are justified….

Jeremie looks away. He bites his lip. His expression becomes more pained and desperate.

Jeremie: Do you even know what it's like to have someone's death on your conscience?

Yumi: Yes…we do.

Natalya: The deaths of all the people who could have lived if we hadn't decided to hesitate. Do you think we haven't had that on our conscience? She becomes teary-eyed. I haven't slept at all for two straight nights.

Jeremie: You didn't directly kill them. Moriarty killed them and forced you into a position to make you think you held the blame. Don't you see? That's the whole point of Moriarty's games. To make you think you are responsible. But you can't allow yourself to think that, or you become like him.

Yumi: But we are responsible. Moriarty is our enemy, and if he hurts others, it reflects back on us and our inability to stop him.

Odd: We have to do something about it.

Jeremie feels cornered, pressured into a course of action that causes every fiber of his being to revolt. He swallows nervously and shifts uncomfortably on the floor. He looks down, avoiding eye contact with the others.

Jeremie: I promised….I promised I would never do something that horrible again. If I did it again….I couldn't-He shuts his eyes tightly-I couldn't bear it.

Yumi: You wouldn't bear the consequences and guilt alone.

Aelita touches his hand.

Aelita: We all would. We know that the burden is nearly impossible to carry it alone. She moves closer to him. Let us carry it with you.

Jeremie's iron resolve starts to crack under the pressure from the others and the tenderness of Aelita's words. But he remains resistant.

Jeremie: I just can't see how these lost lives could justify us taking another into our own hands.

Christophe: Then how many need to die before it is justified? Five hundred? A thousand?

Aelita rebukes him.

Aelita: Christophe!

Christophe: I'm sorry. But someone has to say it.

Jeremie can't find an answer to Christophe's blunt question. He opens his mouth to speak, but he can say nothing. He tightens the muscles in his face until his veins are partially visible. Jeremie covers his ears.

Jeremie: I can't…I won't…I-

Jeremie is cut off by sounds of confusion outside. The warriors open Aelita's door to see Bastien supporting Azra on his shoulder. Azra is beaten badly, with bruises over her face and arms. Her nose is bleeding and she uses a tissue to stop it.

Bastien: Jim! Someone get Jim! Azra's been hurt!

Other students in the hallway react with alarm. Jim rushes to the scene.

Jim: What happened to her?!

Bastien: She was beaten badly!

Jim: On the street?! I thought Delmas told you students to stay in the safety of Kadic's campus.

Azra: It wasn't outside Kadic! It was here. It was The Order! After she mentions The Order, several Order members in the hallway quietly move away from the scene. Azra cries. They hit me and called me a dirty Muslim!

Jim's face darkens. A righteous and fiery anger burns in his usually goofy face. He looks like he's ready to implode from outrage.

Jim: Who did this?!

Azra: I don't know. They put a sack over my head before they hit me…

Aelita monitors Jeremie's reaction. A new level of disgust and horror emerge from the look in his eyes. He clenches his fists. His shoulder muscles become tense. At the same time, a strange peace comes over him.

Aelita: Jeremie?

Jeremie: Forgive me Aelita….I will never let Moriarty win again. He turns to face the rest of the warriors. Let's do what has to be done.

At a downtown rally of The Order, the crowd becomes loud and clearly angry. They launch questions and demands, all pertaining to the terror attacks. The disturbance is enough for Paris police to cut off the area for security purposes. And at the head of it all is Moriarty, who stands confidently on front stage.

Moriarty: People of The Order, calm down. You have every right to be outraged, as I am. I'm sure you are wondering why this has happened and why it hasn't stopped. I can't say I have all the answers to that. But I can tell you this. These tragedies, terrible though they may be, are the birth pains of something new and glorious. You may be in pain now, but the dawn will soon replace the night. And the dawn of a new day is coming. And when that day comes, France will rise out of its fear and desperation into the arms….of a new golden age.

*The song "Jueves" refers to the terrorist attack in Spain César mentioned. The song is about a fictional couple whose romance and lives are cut short by the tragedy. It took place on March 11, 2004. In terms of the damage and national impact, it can be perceived as Spain's 9/11.

*Eurovision is an annual singing competition held in Europe with most if not all European nations participating. Each country submits an artist to sing and the winner is decided in a non-biased voting system. The winning country earns bragging rights and the opportunity to host the competition the following year. The competition is not broadcast in the United States, because we don't care enough, but there are videos on Youtube if you're interested. As for the rest of the details, you'll just have to wait and see…