I don't own Harry Potter or Code Lyoko

Friday the 13th

Odd concentrated on his phone as everyone sat down.

"What's up Odd?" asked Sissi. The boy didn't respond and Ulrich waved his hand in front of his face.

"Stop it." Odd smacked the hand away. "Twenty four…"

"Oh no, please don't tell me you played," moaned Ulrich.

"That's irresponsible of you," reprimanded Harry.

"All my savings. Thirty six." Jeremy glanced at him. "Today is Friday the 13th. I'm sure I'll be lucky."

Everyone shook their heads.

"Seventeen…"

"You've got one in seventy six million chance to guess all five numbers," commented Jeremy.

"Yes, that's why I took precautions. Forty five…" Odd held up a horseshoe. Luna laughed.

"You do have a weird sense of humour Odd."

"Sure, you can't lose with that," added Aelita.

"I wasn't being funny. And… forty four." Odd's face fell.

"Sorry pal."

"Well, there wasn't much chance of you winning." Harry sighed.

"All of your savings…" muttered Ulrich.

"I won."

Everyone stared at him.

"I won! I won! I won! Luna, do you want to go out with me?"

"You've got to be kidding me." Harry snatched the phone from Odd and stared at the screen.

Later

Jeremy pulled up the map of winners. "He won. I mean, they won."

"There has to be a bug," said Aelita in disbelief. "There can't be millions of winners."

"And it keeps growing."

"But how/" muttered Harry.

"At this rate, they can't win much," said Ulrich.

"Around 0.00015 cents," said Jeremy as he calculated it.

"Poor Odd," muttered Harry.

"And they all think they're millionaires. Like Odd," said Ulrich.

"Do you think this is Xana's doing?" asked Aelita.

"Xana? And the lottery?" asked Sissi. "Give us a break Aelita."

"It's not exactly his MO," agreed Harry. "But then, I do admit he wasn't doing anything for months and he's not at full power so he's probably just trying to cause trouble."

"There is something happening on Lyoko," admitted Jeremy.

"It's always too good to be true," moaned Ulrich.

Odd

Odd ran after Luna, laughing.

"Della Robbia! What do you see here?"

Odd looked at Jim. "Your finger."

"This is as far as you can go." Jim moved his finger as he spoke. "Here, it's not good. There, it's good."

"Ok, can I go now?"

"You're not a day student Della Robbia."

"Yeah, but it's going to change because I just won!"

"Won? The only thing you won was the right to go back to the yard!" Odd made to move past him. "And if you insist, you may even win some hours of detention!"

Odd reluctantly re-entered the yard.

Factory

"I was right, it was a Xana attack. There's an activated tower in sector five. Are you ready?"

"Just get on with it," said Harry.

"So, where is the tower?" asked Yumi as they arrived in the lab.

"Sector five."

"Here we go," commented William as the doors closed.

Lyoko

"Not too soon," commented Ulrich as Yumi and William arrived. The group walked towards the tower.

"The Jackpot, haven't you ever dreamt of it?" asked William. "What would you do with it?"

"It can't happen to me, I never play," said Ulrich.

"So what? Can't you dream?" asked William.

"I'd buy my own island," said Sissi as she imagined her dream island. "And I would have servants to bring me whatever I'd wish for."

"I'll probably donate it," said Harry. "I earn my own money."

"What, not one cent?"

"Nope."

"And what about you Yumi?" asked William as he turned to her. "What would you do with all that money?"

"I'd give everything to charity like Harry."

"And you wouldn't keep one or two millions for yourself?"

"Not one cent." She started to walk and William shrugged.

"If I won the jackpot, I'd buy…" mused Jeremy.

"Mantas!"

"Certainly not!" Jeremy smiled for realising that Ulrich wasn't talking about what he was going to buy as the monsters flew in. the group ran with the monsters taking pot shots. Sissi fired back.

"You know, I kinda expected to see the Scyphozoa by now," commented Harry as he fired at a Manta. "It's weird that we haven't seen it."

"Well, I'd be glad to never see it again," said William with a shudder.

"You're getting closer to the tower."

"So are the mantas!" responded Ulrich as they jumped down the series of blocks.

"I've got an idea," said William as he paused at the bottom and glanced back before looking at the girl's retreating backs. "Run to the tower, I'll stay here and hold them off."

"What are you doing?" asked Ulrich as he reached the bottom. Harry sent a laser arrow as a deterrent.

"Go on." William gestured towards the girls. "Don't worry for me Ulrich."

Ulrich stood next to him as Harry retreated slightly. "Do you really think we would abandon our own? Those who break the rules are trash but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."

"You stole that line Harry," said Ulrich as he stared at Harry.

"Still one hell of a quote."

Ulrich shook his head before turning his attention to the monsters. "We're here! Come on!"

The mantas shot down before circling around and firing at the three.

"I'm sure that you would love to stay and enjoy the show but don't forget about the tower," said Jeremy to the girls who had paused and turned to watch the boys as they just dodged the shots. "They'll be fine."

"Maybe you'd like to take cover," suggested Ulrich.

"Speak for yourself," retorted William as he summoned his sword and swiped at a manta. Harry jumped on its back and stabbed it as William chased after a second one using super smoke and stabbed it. Ulrich jumped on the third one and stabbed it before they regrouped.

"What about you girls?" asked William as they arrived at the tower.

"It's ok. We're here."

"They made it," said William as Yumi and Aelita entered the tower. "Jeremy, time to go home."

"I could devirtualise you if you wish," suggested Ulrich.

"In your dreams."

They disappeared as Jeremy brought them back to Earth.

"Two roosters… Are you ok chicks? I mean, girls?"

"Please go ahead," said Aelita as the terminal appeared. Yumi touched it.

Code

Lyoko

The extruded bits of the tower retracted.

Later

The map of the lottery winners showed cancelled.

"The draw has been cancelled, no money will be given," said a relived Jeremy as he turned to Ulrich, Harry and William. "Everything will get back to normal. As for you three…."

"You acted stupid," said Aelita.

"Childish," added Yumi.

"Dangerous."

"Selfish."

"We were pretty good," pointed out William.

"Even excellent," added Ulrich.

"And what was the worst that could happen?" asked Harry. "Sure, we could have gotten devirtualised but that rarely happens to me."

Everyone turned to see a depressed Odd as the doors opened.

"Odd? Are you ok?" asked Aelita as she and Yumi brought him out of the elevator.

"I'm broke…"

"Everything's going to be ok Odd. The draw has been cancelled and they will refund your ticket," reassured Aelita.

"I'm broke…. Broke!"

"You can't be broke, you didn't win in the first place," pointed out Ulrich. Harry groaned.

"Please don't tell me you went and did something really stupid."

"I didn't know that the draw had been cancelled when I ordered a thousand red roses for Luna."

Everyone burst out laughing.

"I think you'll be saving for a really long time," said a laughing Sissi. "You're worse than me!"

"A thousand?" asked Ulrich.

"When you love, you don't count the cost."

"So you admit you like Luna," said Harry.

"And how much did it cost?" asked Ulrich.

"I said, you don't count."

"At least Luna isn't allergic to roses," said Ulrich in amusement.

"Go on, mock me."

"Come on, that's not such a big deal," said Jeremy. "According to my calculations, you should be able to repay your roses in… two hundred years."

"You're evil," muttered Odd as the computer started to flag errors.

"We've got a problem."

"You don't say."

"Xana tricked us! The attack against the lottery was just a decoy," Jeremy moaned.

"Oh great. What now?" muttered Harry.

"Xana took the opportunity to inject a virus into the Skid," continued Jeremy.

"The Skid?" asked a worried Aelita. "But without it, we won't be able to reach the Cortex!"

"That's certainly Xana's goal," agreed Jeremy.

"Ok, it's annoying but if we losing the Skid, it's only temporary, right?" asked Odd. "Jeremy could program another one. The only important matter is… What about my roses?"

"Well, if the Lightning isn't affected, we could use that," pointed out Harry. "And we do have a backup."

"But it would still take you some time to restore it right?" asked Ulrich.

"But the time we would need is less."

"But we can't afford to give Xana much time," pointed out Aelita.

"So, why don't you start to sort it out?" asked Sissi.

"Onto it."

"And what can we do?" asked Yumi.

"There's nothing to do. I can't cancel my order," said a mopey Odd.

"We've got no choice. We have to free the Skid from its tie with Lyoko," said Jeremy. "It's the only way to stop the virus from propagating. I would ask you Harry but you've just returned. You can't go back."

"And we don't have a couple of hours to wait," said Harry with a sigh. "Let me have a go. I know Xana's style."

He leaned over and started to program.

"What is he doing?" asked Sissi.

"I think he's having a duel with Xana, to see who is better," commented Jeremy as he watched the code. "Odd, I need you to go to Lyoko and pilot the Skid."

"Ok, ok but my roses!"

"We'll take care of your roses," said Yumi as she guided the boy to the scanners.

Lyoko

"I've been thinking about my roses," said Odd as he looked around the sector.

"Odd, this isn't the time," said Jeremy. "Just get to the elevator."

"Ok, I'm going." He hopped on the elevator and rode it to the garage. "Well, not especially appealing…"

The red arcs travelled along the Skid as Odd walked to the pads. Yumi ended her call to Luna.

"Luna's coming."

"Odd, you need to be on the driver's spot," said Jeremy as Odd stood on the wrong spot.

"And please stop going on about your roses," added Harry. "I'm sure someone will be willing to pay if you ask nicely."

"I've only piloted the Skid once," reminded Odd. "And it's been a long time."

"Don't worry, it's like riding a bike," reassured Jeremy. "You never forget. And more importantly, this is your lucky day."

"Very funny Jeremy." Odd grumbled as he appeared in the driver's spot and looked at the displays. "This is a hopeless mission! The Skid is all messed up!"

"It can be saved but you must hurry," urged Jeremy.

"Yeah, we don't want to spend all day on it," added Harry.

"You've got to free the Skid from its stowing, that's where the virus is propagating from," said Aelita.

"Ok but how?" asked Odd.

"Push the white button on the right of the console," instructed Aelita.

"All the buttons are white," pointed out Odd. "Can you be a bit more specific?"

Aelita thought for a second. "Sixth on the right."

Odd found and pushed it. The moorings retracted. "What's next?"

"You have to take the Skid out of the garage," said Jeremy.

"Easier said than done."

"Just get on with it," said Harry.

"There are two joysticks," said Aelita. "Pull them gently."

Odd pulled them and started to bang the Skid against the side as he rose. "Gently… Gently…"

"Odd, are you ok?" asked Aelita as they heard a strange noise coming from him. There was a pause

"I'm just great!" Odd guided the Skid clear. "Yeah, we did it!"

William and Ulrich high fived.

"Well, I'll take care of the flowers," said Yumi.

"Aelita, you know, you have a serious competitor now," said Odd.

"The virus damaged the Skid's shields," warmed Jeremy as he received the report.

"The Skid no longer has any shields," added Aelita.

"Shouldn't take long," said Harry with a shrug.

"So if the Skid falls into the digital sea… Odd…" Ulrich trailed off.

"Anyone there?" asked Odd, oblivious to the conversation. "Can you hear me?"

"Odd, keep your altitude at eight hundred and activate the auto pilot," advised Aelita.

"You know what?" asked Odd. "I'd like to take a dip!"

"No way!"

"Wait, what's going on?" asked Odd, picking up on the mood. "Aelita? Is there something wrong?"

"Well, you could say that," said Harry as he watched Jeremy. "Let's say that the virus did some damage and we'd rather you'd not go into the digital sea."

"The Skid's protection system is down but don't worry, we're working on it," reassured Aelita as she pulled out her laptop. Harry did the dame and they connected it to the supercomputer.

"Ok, I'm not worried, you're working on it," said a nervous Odd as he pressed a button. "Automatic pilot activated."

"Is there something wrong?" asked Luna as she arrived.

"Let's say that Xana is being devious," said Harry as he concentrated on the screen.

"As we have a bit of time, where's Yumi with my roses?" asked Odd.

Kadic

Yumi ran out the gate. "Please stop unloading, we can't pay!"

The man handed her some.

"As I said, we can't…"

The man just walked away.

Lab

"Why can't we find the damaged code?" moaned Aelita.

"I'm not getting bored at all but may I know how far you've got?" asked Odd. The Skid dropped before stabilising. "What was that?"

"A digital air pocket," explained Jeremy.

"Cool…"

"I can't find the code," muttered Jeremy as he pinched his nose.

"Go and find Laura, we need her," said Aelita.

"Do we?" asked Harry as he smiled. "I found it."

Sewers

"Aelita asking for Laura, this is not good," said Ulrich as he and William ran through the sewers. "Not good at all."

They bumped into Yumi.

"So?"

Yumi shook her head. "But at least your room smells the rose for once."

Lab

"I give up," said Odd.

"We'll make it," insisted Jeremy. "We've found the errors."

"No, let's be realistic. I won't go anywhere with her."

"Are you sure?" asked Harry as he looked at Luna before deactivating the gateway firewall and starting to reroute everything. "I think that you and Luna have a chance, if you work at it."

"What's the problem?" asked Laura as she and the boys entered.

"Xana infected the Skid with a virus," explained Jeremy. Laura peered over his shoulder.

"We'll need to deactivate the gateway firewall, reconfigure the intrusion detection system and reroute everything. Simple right?"

"Way ahead of you," said Harry as he hit a button. "Odd, I need you to go to the system settings, defragment the packets and reactivate the firewall."

"It's Greek to me! Slow down!"

"Make an effort Odd, this is basic. Even a two year old could do it," commented Laura.

"Yeah, and Odd isn't as clever as you." Harry sighed before guiding Odd through it.

"Defragmentation in progress." The Skid dropped. "The auto pilot just went down! The good news is that if I dive, at least it would be my last unlucky day."

"Forget about the Skid," decided Jeremy. "I'll devirtualise Odd and being him back."

He hit the buttons.

"What are you waiting for Jeremy?" asked an anxious Ulrich. "Do it!"

"The system's buggy!"

"No, the signal is too weak," corrected Jeremy. The Skid continued to drop before Odd managed to bring it under control. "Odd, you're doing great but I still can't bring you back. I can't bring you back nut maybe I can do the opposite and virtualise someone into the Skid?"

"Uh, you're not serious, are you?" asked Harry as he followed Jeremy's trail of thought. "Sorry but I don't trust you Laura."

"Me?" asked Laura excitedly. "I'm going to become a Lyoko Warrior?"

Everyone shared a dubious look.

"Take her to the scanners." Aelita stared at Jeremy. "We have no choice."

The Skid started to drop again as the thrusters started to stop firing.

Odd, are you alright?"

Odd didn't respond.

"Odd, you really need to pull yourself together," said Aelita. "Look, Friday the 13th is just superstition. You've got to believe in yourself. You can deactivate the virus, I know you can."

"You may not be the brightest bulb in the packet but you can do this," agreed Harry.

"Ok, tell me how to do it."

"First, eject the Navskids," started Aelita. Odd did that and they dropped into the digital sea and the Skid paused just above the surface of the sea. Odd wiped his forehead as the three entered the room holding the scanners. Laura stepped in one. "Focus Odd. You can't make any mistakes. Ready?"

"This time I really hope it works."

"7XAM873PPV/32." Odd entered it into the Skid. "Faster, faster. 22-43/676SQVT34."

Aelita caught Jeremy's hand as he was just about to start the transfer.

"I did it! It worked!" The Skid returned to normal and Odd piloted it away.

Lab

"I was so worried for you." Ulrich gripped Odd's hand. Sissi hugged him.

"You're my princess Aelita."

"You're the king."

"Well, it's good to have you back safe and sound," said Harry as he leaned against the wall.

"That was a pretty close call," said Jeremy as Laura glared at the wall. "I need to program something to check the Skid's protection every hour. Or I could get Harry to do it. It would help avoid any nasty surprises, right?"

No answer. Jeremy turned around to see that the room was empty apart from him and Laura who walked away in a mood.

Kadic

"There's no way I can sell all these roses," moaned Odd as he held one. "This is really not my day."

Luna walked over to him. "These roses are very nice. Thank you Odd but next time, don't go buying things before you have the money."

She kissed him on the cheek.

"So, you got what you wanted for, right?" asked Aelita as Luna left.

"Yeah, sure…"

"She looked quite happy. Aren't you?" asked Yumi.

"Yes. Well… when I've done with paying these roses in two hundred years."

"Maybe not two hundred years," admitted Aelita. "If we all spare for some months, we might…"

"You mean that?"

"Yeah, so it will be Friday the 13th for everybody here," replied Yumi.