That same night, the now 7 warriors were in the factory, preparing to go in.
- Why won't you let me go in? -said angry Sissi
- You're not trained -affirmed Aelita-. The 5 of us fought XANA for 3 years. Even though they don't remember it, their bodies do and know how to fight. It's the same with Jeremy, he doesn't know how to fight because his position is here on the computer and only comes in cases of extreme necessity.
- And what am I supposed to do then?
- Stay here, act as Jeremy's guardian in case XANA attacks. Meanwhile, learn from him. Who knows when he'll have to come to Lyoko again and you'll take his place.
- Okay, fine. Just go now.
- Thank you for understanding it sis' -said the pink-haired while giving her a kiss on the cheek before leaving.
- Believe me, you don't want go in there -said Ulrich after giving her a kiss too-. The sensation of dying each time is horrendous. And then there's the return to the past. It's something I wish I could avoid, I don't know if my other me felt the same.
- I understand Ulrich, but that doesn't take away the fact that I feel left out.
- We're not having fun or doing friend things. This is saving the world, so be happy to not have to come in here.
The five of them entered the forest sector. They just needed to get across to take the Transporter. As soon they arrived, Jeremy inserted the key: SCIPIO. A white globe wrapped them and took them to sector 5.
- Oh, I'm a bit dizzy -said Odd- I wish I could vomit on Lyoko.
- You'll vomit when we get home -joked Aelita-. Now we need to get to the central unit.
They arrived to the labyrinth. The teacher explained the others how they needed to look for the button to avoid getting crushed by the walls, at the same time they fought XANA's monsters.
- Well, I don't see any, so we should hurry before they appear -stated William.
Yumi saw at the top the button so Aelita used her wings to fly over there and press it.
- That was easier than I thought -said Ulrich.
- Way too easier -answered Aelita.
As they entered the next room, they understood why it had been so calm. 3 Scorpions were waiting for them.
- No shit -whispered Aelita as she saw the 3 giant monsters.
- What are those? -exclaimed Odd- They look like a dinosaur.
- You called them Scorpions, and they are extremely powerful and resistant. Do not approach too much, their tails can throw you away to the edge.
- But it's the same logic as the other's, right? -asked Yumi-. Just hit the eye.
- Yes, but you may need more than one hit. And it's not that easy to begin with.
- Guys, I suggest you pair up -said Jeremy from the skies-. Ulrich can triplicate, so he'll be alone; Yumi and Odd will go together and then Aelita will go with William to cover him, understood?
- All clear, Einstein -said Odd.
The fight immediately started. The five of them tried to knock out the Scorpions, but it was being a tough battle.
Ulrich was managing to damage the monster with his superspeed and his clones, but with just one kick he managed to vanish one of them.
Odd and Yumi struggled to attack, all they could do was reflect the energy spheres the monster shot and attack it with them.
- Cover me Yumi -said Odd while getting on four legs and getting on the monster's back.
The monster howled and Yumi then used her fans to attack its eye, hitting the target.
- Odd, be careful with the tail.
The monster used it to stab Odd, but before it could do it, Odd struck multiple hits on the eye, defeating the monster as the same time Odd devirtualized because of the stabbing.
William and Aelita from their part were managing to distract and then attack the monster pretty well, as Aelita used her wings and William his smoke that inherited from XANA, even though Aelita didn't mention that to him.
Suddenly, the creature shot an energy field and hit William, throwing him of the edge. Aelita tried to capture it, but she was hit too from the back, which caused her to devirtualize. William, as he fell, used his smoke to recover and get back to the surface. There he found Ulrich being devirtualized by a Scorpion's feet upon him.
Just as he saw this, a tail struck above him, sending him home.
At the computer room, everyone waited for the two boys to come out the lift.
- Okay, this didn't go as I planned -said Aelita deceived.
- We just need to keep trying -said Yumi
- Yeah, Yums and I defeated one of 'em! -said Odd trying to encourage the others-. We just need a better strategy, this time we weren't expecting them.
- Odd's right -said Jeremy serious-. Let's not just give up. We just need to try again. If it's necessary, I'll go too, so Sissi, prepare for a coding masterclass.
- Yes! Everything I can do, I will.
- Then it's settled, we'll come back tomorrow night. Let's just hope XANA's still quiet.
Next day, Aelita was with the other teachers having a coffee in the teacher's lounge watching the news.
- Today 2 more cases of the so called "Instant Disconnection Disease", in which the affected die instantly because of a sudden inactivation of the brain. Research has been done, but the scientific community doesn't come to an agreement, as the autopsies don't reveal any evidence of brain damage or something that could explain the sudden death.
- Oh my god, that disease is really terrible -said Mrs. Hertz-. It happened to my neighbour: he was walking the dog and all of a sudden, puf, he fell and there was no way to save him.
- Moreover, the fact that it affects all kinds of people: from babies to adults and the elderly, doesn't help to attribute a cause to it -continued the reporter.
"This is all my fault" said Aelita to herself as she sipped her coffee. "If only I hadn't touched the supercomputer, all this people would have died as they were intended to and their families would have peace knowing the cause. If only, the supercomputer had never been created, then those people XANA killed during those years fighting it and later at war…"
- It is all a shame -said Jim-. But changing the subject, Aelita, when do we rehearse?
- I was going to tell you now. The boys have said to do it this afternoon, how does that sound to you?
- Yeah, good for me. I need to clean the gym after that, though.
- I'm sure they're willing to help you, Jim -laughed Aelita.
- Aelita, honey -said Mr Delmas excited while opening the door- There's someone out here that wants to meet you. It's about your thesis.
- Oh, really?! -said the girl while getting up and going to her uncle.
- Here, let me present you. This is Mr. Tyron.
- Please call me…-said Thyron as he looked at Aelita and saw her pink hair-… Lowell. Nice to meet you Mrs. Delmas, I love your hair.
Aelita panicked when she saw Tyron, but tried to hide it.
- Hi, nice to meet you Lowell -said while shaking his hand-. About my hair? Oh, it's dyed, but thank you. So, are you from the thesis committee?
- Oh, no, no I'm not. I'm just interested in what you wrote, but perhaps I should come in another time, I see that you're in your way to tea-
- Honey! -said Anthea while approaching the three-. I'm sorry, I got lost in my way to the bathroom. Hi, Anthea, nice to meet you -said while giving out her hand to salute.
Aelita couldn't believe it. Her mother, after all these years she could see her again, though in the same state as the last time she found her: with her memories erased by Tyron. Aelita shook her hand in awe, she didn't manage to hide her emotions, and this time Tyron did notice that something was off.
- Love your hair, girl -said Anthea.
- Thank you, yours too -said Aelita very timid, at a very slow pace while she was astonished by her.
- Okay, presentations made, should I give you my office in order for you to talk?
- But I have classes -said Aelita.
- Don't worry, I've already spoken with Suzanne.
- Great -said Aelita faking a smile-. This way please.
The three of them walked through Kadic as Aelita gave them a tour in the way to the office. Anthea kept asking questions about Aelita's life, as she found fascinating that someone so young could have done all of those things. This infuriated Tyron.
He was afraid somehow Anthea could retrieve her memories by being at Aelita's side. But thinking it better, he could use her in order to captivate Aelita into working with him. As long as she didn't discover the truth behind her father's disappearance and Anthea's amnesia, he could lie and manipulate her to create the supercomputer he wanted.
The three entered Delmas' office and sat down, Aelita in her uncle's chair and the other two in front of them.
- So, Dr. Tyron, what do you wanted to talk about?
- Well, I'm a researcher in Geneva's particle accelerator complex, although I don't work in that field. My specialty is quantum physics.
- Oh, I see. So you found my paper interesting I presume.
- Exactly, it was sent to me by the committee and I'm fascinated by your knowledge and your ideas for building a quantum supercomputer, because that's exactly what I'm doing right now!
- Are you saying that I copied your idea? -asked offended Aelita, trying to find a way to make him go away.
- No, not at all. Please, don't misunderstand me. What I want is you to work with me.
- Me? Going to Geneva with you? I don't know, I still got to present my thesis, and teaching here at Kadic… It doesn't seem like a right time.
- Please, I've been working on it for a lot of time, but all my workers are just plain stupid and don't know anything about physics.
- Thyron, I don'-
- Besides, you could spend more time with Anthea. You know, my wife here suffered from amnesia a long time ago.
- I was found by Thyron there at Geneva. I didn't have anything on me and the only thing I remembered was my name. -said the woman.
- And Aelita, I've read your biography, and you seem to be orphan, am I right?
- Yeah, what are you trying to say? -confronted Aelita, fearing what he was going to do.
- Well, seeing how much you look alike, I think that Anthea may be your mother.
Anthea was in tears now, looking at Aelita, while she looked at both of them astonished. What should she do? She couldn't leave Kadic, she still needed to defeat XANA, but she couldn't leave her mother alone with Tyron. Moreover, there was the possibility he knew where her father was.
- Sorry, what? You come here, to my work, asking me to work with you and knowing that I lost both of my parents when I was a kid, you bring a woman, dye her hair pink and say she is my mother -Aelita stood up and opened the door for them to leave.
- What? Are you being serious? Please, I need your help, your mother needs your help.
- Don't come telling me fairytales. I accepted my parents died a long time ago, so don't play that card on me.
- Aelita, please considerate -asked Anthea-. When I first looked you in the eye I felt something, like I knew you all my life.
Aelita didn't looked her at the eyes because she knew she would instantly hug her. Instead, she just repeated them to leave. Tyron left first, infuriated at a fast pace. Then, Anthea walked sad and slow, but before she left, Aelita grabbed her hand and whispered:
- Don't trust him. I love you. -said before closing the door in front of her mother.
Anthea thought that was unexpected, she exited the building and saw her husband swearing at the sky. What did Aelita meant by that? Did she already know she was her mum? Did Tyron do something before to make her not trust him? She was confused, just as confused as when she lost her memories. She decided she would go to the hotel without Tyron, she needed to think.
At the time Aelita closed that door, she leaned against the door, while she cried slowly sliding off to the ground. She couldn't believe she had said that to her mom, but it was necessary. XANA was the priority, she was not going to risk the world again just for egoistic needs. Her father could wait too, he had risked his life, but he was the one that doomed the world too. Besides, he still had two years to live before he died from "Instant Disconnection".
Meanwhile, Tyron was still infuriated wandering through the city. Suddenly, he felt something get inside of him and take control of his body. It was XANA, who xanified Tyron and conducted him to the factory.
As he had arrived to the lab, he was mesmerized by the view of his dream come true: a quantum supercomputer.
The screen turned on and something was being written.
- Hello, Tyron. My name is XANA. I am Waldo Schaeffer's creation, an AI designed to look after Lyoko, this virtual world he created to keep himself and his daughter safe.
- Why did you bring me here? And more important, how did you bring me here?
- I took control over your brain. I have come to evolve and have come very powerful. Now, I am even capable of going around the Internet and getting inside every domain I want.
- You seem strong, so why do you need me exactly?
- I want to see my master. All I do is for him to see. To be conscious about what he creates and what am I capable of. The problem is I cannot find him, he is somewhere remote without Internet connection.
- I am sorry but I don't know where he is.
- But you know the people who know it. You are part of the Green Pheonix and you were the one who betrayed him and made he and his family run away. Find him for me and we will work together to get world domination.
- And why should I trust you? How do I know that you won't betray me?
- I am an AI, I do not find sense in lying. Besides, you do not remember it, but you also helped creating me.
Tyron looked at the screen, confused of what the AI was saying, but something told him inside him that this was a great opportunity. He no longer had to depend on Aelita, this XANA was going to help him. After thinking about it, Tyron accepted the deal.
Now, the alliance between XANA, Tyron and the Green Phoenix was settled. Will the Lyoko warriors save the world before they destroy it?