A/N: Here is the next installment of my Jerlita Roleswap AU. Hope you all enjoy it~

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko in any way, shape, or form.

Note: Remember, any episodes not mentioned either as the inspiration for a chapter or just in passing are not part of the AU, mainly because the roleswap makes them useless, and those only mentioned in passing are just filler and/or would be the same no matter who has what role.

Special Note: I've changed the title from "Party Hard" to "Critical Situation" (which is the English dub's original title of "Rock Bottom?" before the episode aired), because after writing out this chapter, I realized that the referenced party is only mentioned in passing, never shown.

I'm also really proud of this one. This is the first chapter of this story I've written without the aid or guide of the actual episode it's based on.

!~~~J~E~R~L~I~T~A~~R~O~L~E~S~W~A~P~~A~U~~~!

"A girl Odd has a crush on arrives to visit, while Yumi's greatest family heirloom is stolen."

Episode 14: Critical Situation

(Based on Rock Bottom? & The Girl of the Dreams)

Takeho Ishiyama downed the noodles his wife Akiko made for dinner that night in record time. As Akiko herself took a sip of her tea, the youngest of the four broke the comfortable silence.

"Oto-san, Oka-san, can I ask you guys something?" Hiroki asked, his voice quiet as though unsure if he should've spoken up at all.

Akiko swallowed her tea before replying, "Of course, dear. What is it?" Takeho said nothing, but he did center his gaze on Hiroki, a nonverbal signal that he was listening.

"Well, there's a party on Saturday night to celebrate our three-day weekend," Hiroki began. "The students thought of it, and Mr. Delmas approved of it. And since Nee-chan's going, I was wondering if I could go too?"

Takeho frowned, "This Milly girl wouldn't happen to be attending this party, would she?" Their father was eyeing his kids' interactions with Ulrich and Milly, respectively, with a very close, very suspicious eye. He didn't quite trust either of them just yet. Despite how often he tended to bicker with Akiko about the little things, or how often he tended to stay overtime just to prove to his boss that he was a good employee, Takeho Ishiyama was a protective papa.

Hiroki's shoulders sank, "Yes, she is, but Johnny and Tamiya will be there too. It won't be just us."

"Darling," Akiko was eyeing her husband.

Takeho looked at her, and sighed, "Fine. Your mother and I will talk it over in the other room." He and Akiko both stood up and excused themselves from the table, before heading over into the living room.

Hiroki and Yumi couldn't hear their conversation, as their voices were too hushed for that, but they could hear both of the kids' names being said.

Yumi leaned into Hiroki, "Don't feel down. It took a lot of effort for Oto-san to get me to go to that party. All he could focus on was Ulrich, despite the fact that Odd and Aelita will be there too."

"Aelita's DJing, right?" Hiroki asked, his brown eyes reading hopeful.

Yumi smiled, "Of course, she is. She never turns down a gig." She left out the fact that Jérémie had gently suggested that Aelita deserved a break from working on his materialization, something Yumi had quickly agreed with.

Hiroki broke out into an excited smile, "That's great! I love her style! It was her music that gave Milly and I our first slow dance. I don't know how she knew that was my favorite slow song, but–"

Yumi cut in, "Because I told her. That's how she knew."

Hiroki blinked, "Really?"

She nodded, as she took a bite of her rice, "Of course. Even if you do annoy me three quarters of the time, I've got your back. You're my brother."

"Thanks," was Hiroki's response. "That means a lot."

Yumi sent him a gentle smile as their parents walked back in.

Once he and Akiko were seated at the table again, Takeho began, "We've made our decision. Hiroki, you may go to the party, as long as it's under Yumi's supervision."

"What?" Hiroki asked. "Why can't I go by myself? I'm eleven years old!"

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," Yumi muttered. She was really feeling the love from him right now, couldn't you tell?

"Because she's older by five years and is mature enough to accept a compromise when it's given to her," Akiko replied. Sixteen-year-old Yumi (her birthday was last November) tried hard not beam with pride, only taking another bite of her rice.

Hiroki sighed, "Fine. I'll follow her orders."

"Good," Takeho smiled, as did Akiko. "The other condition is that you two make it home by midnight. That clear?"

"Yes, Sir," both kids responded.

Takeho turned to his daughter, "Just remember your own conditions, Yumi. Both deals are off if you lose that family heirloom of ours. Bring it back home directly after your report."

Yumi gently sighed before sending her three family members a reassuring smile, "Don't worry. I'll take good care of it, I promise."

Wow, what a bunch of sudden pressure on her...

!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!

The next morning, Ulrich helped Yumi push the family heirloom, shrouded by a cloth, down the school hallways. It was rather heavy, and its large size didn't do them any favors, so they had to be careful and work together.

"This whatever-it-is of yours weighs a least a ton..." Ulrich muttered, as the two pushed it down the halls.

"It's not a 'whatever'," Yumi replied, feeling the strain just as much as Ulrich. "It's been in my family for centuries!" And her parents would throw a massive fit if it was stolen, or damaged, or Yumi lost it somehow.

The two were too focused on their task that they missed Milly and Tamiya sneakily following them.

Ulrich and Yumi entered Mr. Fumet's classroom, where Yumi was scheduled to give her report, which was assigned as a little cultural exchange, according to the respective students' ethnic backgrounds, and if there was more than one per ethnicity, then those people would group up. Yumi was excited when she saw she was the only Japanese person in her class. She couldn't wait to explain everything about her culture.

Working together, the two placed the thing into the cupboard, and Yumi closed the doors on her mystery object.

Ulrich was leaning against the teacher's desk, resting, "So when're you going to unveil your thingamabob?"

"At the very end of my report," Yumi admitted with a smile. "You'll see. It's going to be a smash hit, a real showstopper! Worth full marks, I hope!"

"I'm confident it will be," Ulrich reassured her. "You seem to be the most excited out of all your classmates about this project. But you sure wouldn't find a thing like that at my house. First of all, your whatchamacallit doesn't go with the drapes in the living room."

As the two walked out of the room, Yumi laughed, "'Whatchamacallit'? 'Whatever'? What I like most about you, Ulrich, is your rich vocabulary!"

As they walked off into the distance, Milly and Tamiya peeked through the doorway.

Milly's eyes centered on the cupboard, "Don't look now, Tamiya, but I smell a big, juicy scoop!"

"So do it!"

Tamiya's camera turned on, first showing white noise, before revealing Milly's face, standing in front of the cupboard. "Okay, we're rolling. Go ahead."

Milly began talking to the camera, "Fellow students of Kadic Academy, hello. This is Milly and Tamiya of the eighth grade reporting the school news. You may not know it, but just behind your backs, something strange is hatching. And this, my friends, is a part of it. In our constant quest to be the first to report the latest news, we are bringing you this exclusive exposé of what's hidden under this drape!"

Milly pulled the sheet off, revealing to the camera what the Ishiyama family heirloom was: a Japanese suit of armor.

The camera drifted towards the floor and white noise filled the screen before showing Milly's feet.

"Tamiya, listen!" Milly was annoyed. "Is there any reason for filming our feet?! The story is up here!"

But Tamiya couldn't take her eyes off the suit of armor. "Sorry, but it kinda scares me..."

"What are you guys doing?" came a third voice from off-screen.

Milly and Tamiya both turned to the source of the voice, to see Hiroki standing there. Tamiya immediately turned off her camera, as Milly explained, "We just wanted to see what your sister had brought in today."

"It's a family heirloom," Hiroki explained. "It's really important to my dad, and he let Yumi bring it in for her culture report today."

"It's pretty cool," Tamiya admitted, "if a bit scary..."

"Well, it's samurai armor," Hiroki explained. "It was designed to look threatening. And it being centuries old now really helps with that." Tamiya nodded, agreeing. "Regardless, please stay away from it."

"What? Why?" Milly asked, disappointed. "It could be a big scoop!"

Hiroki closed the cupboard door before ushering the two out of the room, saying, "Because if anything happens to it, then I can't go to the party tomorrow!" Today was Friday.

Perfect timing, because just then, the bell rang.

"Time for class already?" Milly asked.

The history classroom was now empty.

So there were no witnesses to the electrical sockets on the wall starting to fizz with electricity.

There were no witnesses to the dark spectre that seeped out of it and slipped through the cracks in the closet doors.

There were no witnesses to the spectre entering the armor, causing it to glow...

!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!

A couple hours later, it was just about time for Yumi's report. As a result, last minute jitters had popped up and her friends were currently reassuring her.

"Relax, Yumi," Aelita said. "You'll do great."

"Yeah," Odd agreed. "You know this subject like the back of your hand."

"I know, guys, I know," Yumi admitted. "I'm just a little nervous, that's all."

"You're also worried about losing your family heirloom," Ulrich reminded her. Having felt the weight of pressure himself before, he knew how she felt.

"Yeah, that too."

"Nothing's gonna happen to that thing," Odd said with a smile. "It's too..." He trailed off.

Yumi waited for him to finish his sentence, "Too what, Odd?" No response. She glanced up, "Odd?"

Ulrich and Aelita also turned to Odd, before following his gaze. Odd's eyes were focused and centered in on a dark-skinned girl, as tall as Yumi, with black hair and red highlights. The girl was walking with Jim at her side.

"I've never seen her before," Ulrich admitted. "She must be new."

But Aelita's mind took a different route, "Is that...Sam?"

Odd nodded, his gaze still centered on the new girl.

"Who's Sam?" Yumi asked.

"Odd's girlfriend," Aelita replied with a smile.

Odd immediately seethed at her, "She's not my girlfriend!"

"Sorry, I meant penpal from another school." But Aelita wasn't really sorry. This was obviously payback for all the times Odd teased her about Jérémie.

"Her name is Samantha Knight," Odd explained. "She goes to Mathison Academy in Saint-Denis, France. We've been pen pals since primary school, and we only just met in person five years ago. Despite that, it's hard for us to meet up because we live in different cities."

"You going to say 'hi' to her?" Ulrich asked, smiling.

"O-Of course, I am!" Odd replied, his face unnaturally red. He then waved at her, "Hey, Sam!"

The girl immediately turned from Jim to Odd, and her face immediately broke out into a smile. "Odd!"

She ran up to him and they embraced each other, before breaking the hug and going for a traditional French cheek kiss, only for them both to lean to the same side, resulting in their lips meeting instead.

The accidental kiss lasted on three milliseconds, but it was enough for both of their cheeks to redden (well, for Odd, more than they already were).

"S-Sorry," the two muttered at the same time, both embarrassed about the fumble. And it had to happen in front of witnesses too...

Ulrich cleared his throat, allowing the two a little mercy, "Odd, aren't you going to introduce us?"

"R-Right," Odd, grateful for Ulrich's reprieve, said. "Sam, these are my friends. You already know Aelita," the pink-ette waved, and Sam waved back, "but this is Yumi and Ulrich. Guys, this is Sam, my pen pal since primary school."

"Hello, it's nice to you." Sam's smile was awfully pretty, Odd had to admit.

"Likewise," Yumi said, before asking, "So what brings you to town, Sam? As Odd tells us, you go to Mathison in Saint-Denis. That's quite the distance from here."

"Well, my dad is currently interviewing for several new, higher-paying jobs here in Boulogne-Billancourt," Sam explained. "He dropped me off here at Kadic so I can tour the grounds."

"I hope he gets a job here," Odd admitted, practically beaming and bouncing on his heels with excitement.

"Me too," Sam agreed, with a wishful smile. "Because it means that Odd and I can see more of each other. But if Dad gets the job, he wants me to finish the school year at Mathison before transfering over to Kadic."

The bell rang, signaling five minutes before the next round of classes.

Jim, who was lingering in the background during this, stepped up, "Come, Miss Knight. It's time for these four to get to class, while you and I need to get you a visitor's pass from Mr. Delmas."

"Okay," Sam nodded, before turning to Odd as she followed Jim to their destination, "I'll see you at lunch?"

"Count on it!" Odd called back, waving.

"Come on, Romeo," Ulrich then pulled Odd along with him and Aelita. "Right now, we have a date with Ms. Hertz."

Yumi went in the opposite direction, calling back to her friends, "Wish me luck for my report, guys!"

"Good luck, Yumi!" Aelita said, before jogging to catch up with Odd and Ulrich.

!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!

Jérémie was taking a stroll through the Forest Sector, imagining if Earth's trees looked similar to Lyoko's, only to halt in his tracks when he heard the faint beating of a heart.

Tensing up, he glanced down and used his Second Sight to get a better view of XANA's digital activity.

Yep, these were pulsations alright.

They were faint, which could mean that either XANA's tower wasn't in this sector, or XANA was just traveling through Lyoko's network.

Regardless, just to be safe, he called out, "Aelita? I think XANA may have woken up." No response. "Aelita?"

Nope. Still silence.

Oh, well. It wasn't the end of the world. Usually, Aelita was busy with classes or other projects, so she didn't always answer, especially if there wasn't anything XANA-related to worry about in the real world.

Regardless, he wished she would answer, though. Just so he knew that she was on the lookout.

But right now, it was okay. Yes, these were pulsations, but XANA may just have been moving across Lyoko. It may not have even had a tower active at the moment.

But it was his job to check.

So he took off running throughout the Forest, following where the faint pulsations led him.

!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!

In Mr. Fumet's classroom, Yumi was finishing her report. It could only be five minutes long, so she sadly had to cut some parts short.

Various Japanese items were laid out on Mr. Fumet's desk, with a map of Japan taped up on the chalkboard.

"Of course, this is just a glimpse of my family's culture," Yumi was saying. "To explain it all would take me hours, and you guys only promised to put up with me for five minutes." She walked over to the cupboard, "To end my report, I'd like to show you all something that's been in my family for centuries." She opened up the cupboard, though didn't look inside. "It's a living symbol of Japan, and it's a..." She peeked inside, only to find nothing in there, but the cloth she used to hide it, "A drape?! Where is it?!"

Mr. Fumet stood up, immediately understanding that something was wrong, "Miss Ishiyama?"

"I know I put it in here!" Yumi frantically explained. No, no, no, no, no! This couldn't be happening! Her parents were going to kill her! "Just this morning! And it's a suit of armor! It couldn't just walk away!"

"Then someone must've stolen it," Mr. Fumet was calm, which both calmed Yumi down as well as pissed her off. She appreciated someone keeping a clear mind, but this was her family heirloom that had gone missing. "Miss Ishiyama, once you clean up the rest of your items, go to the principal's office and tell him what happened. He needs to know."

As Mr. Fumet turned to the class, Yumi's gaze brushed the socket on the wall next to the cupboard, charred black. "XANA..." she whispered.

But she had no choice but to do as Mr. Fumet said, as he told the class, "I'm sorry, but that is the end of Miss Ishiyama's presentation, and thus the end of our cultural exchange. Now let's take out our history books and continue where we left off."

The class groaned, but Yumi ignored them.

!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!

Ulrich sat down with his lunch tray, on which was a dish made of potatoes and macaroni with cream and cheese all baked in the oven. "I don't know what this is exactly," he admitted to Aelita, who was already seated at the table, "but it looks and smells good."

"Älplermagronen," Aelita explained, before taking a bite of it off of her own plate. "Also known as herdsman's macaroni. Mama always serves it with fried onion rings and bacon, but I like how Rosa makes it too."

"It reminds you of home, doesn't it?" Ulrich asked, softly.

Aelita smiled and nodded. "It's one of Papa's personal favorites, so I guess I inherited my taste buds from him." She swallowed her bite. "Before you ask, Odd won't be joining us for lunch apparently."

"Really?" Ulrich asked. "I find that hard to believe."

"He's with Sam," she explained. "They're off doing who-knows-what together."

"Making out, if I had to guess," Ulrich quipped. That kiss may have been completely accidental, but Odd's crush on Sam was clear as day. It was evident in how he acted around her, being more attentive, less focused on pranks, and overall more reserved than when he was with the gang. "And it looks like all we need to do to get Odd's mind off of food is to get his mind on Sam."

"Apparently," Aelita giggled, before sobering up, "Where's Yumi?"

"Principal's office."

The pink-ette was alarmed, "What? Why?"

"She's not in trouble, if that's what you're worried about," Ulrich explained. "Apparently, someone stole her family heirloom. On her way there, she called me and explained the situation. She also admitted that she has XANA as her top suspect."

"I see," Aelita replied, before pulling out her pink laptop. She opened it, and typed in a few codes. Ulrich couldn't see the screen, but he could hear a program start running. The pink-ette closed her laptop, "I'm running the monoscan. If it was XANA, it will tell us."

"You're not going to warn Jérémie?"

Aelita paused, "It could be nothing. We'll play it by ear." If it was nothing, she didn't want him worrying unnecessarily.

Ulrich shrugged. Yumi's instincts were usually correct, but Aelita was the boss, their leader.

"Anyways, Yumi's parents will not be happy to hear about their family's most prized possession suddenly disappearing."

Ulrich nodded in agreement.

!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!

"Speaking of music, I've got something better in mind than just talking. Ready for a big thrill session?"

"U-Uh...y-yeah, I guess..."

That was the build-up to Odd and Sam's arrival in the computer lab. He was nervous as she asked him where the computer lab was, but also intrigued as he led her there. What was she planning on doing there?

Apparently, she was interested in the laptops Kadic had, and he tried his best to answer her questions, most of which were about the various laptops' schematics and features. She hovered over a gray one with slightly lighter gray keys, and a black touchpad.

"Wow, what kind of power does this one have?" she asked.

"I don't know," Odd shrugged. "Two gigas, if I had to guess."

"Perfect," Sam said, before surprising him by closing its top and picking it up.

"Woah, woah, what are you doing?!" Odd immediately asked. "Put that down! It belongs to the school!" Of all the years he's known her, he'd never witnessed her considering stealing something.

"Odd, if I'm going to make music and stay in contact with you via email and instant messaging, I need a powerful computer," Sam explained in a low voice. "But I'm broke, so I have no choice but the rip this one off. Your school is insured, so everybody's happy, right?"

"Wrong!" He objected. He's always been told that stealing was wrong. "Insurance or not, stealing's a crime! Listen..." he quieted down, "if you really need a laptop, I'll buy you one."

But Sam shook her head, "No, I can't let you do that. It would be asking too much of you. Besides...people constantly buying things for you hurts when you're poor. I appreciate it, I really do...but I have to get one on my own."

"Hey! Who's in there?"

Odd gasped, and whispered who that voice belonged to, "Jim!" He took the laptop from his companion as he told her, "Sam, hide!"

Fortunately, she got the message pretty quick, ducking and hiding under one of the desks nearby just as Jim opened the door.

Odd could only blink, eyes wide, as Jim locked eyes on the laptop in the boy's hands.

"I would never have believed this from you, Della Robbia," Jim said, his voice soft but growling with hidden rage.

"I wasn't going to steal it, Jim. I swear," Odd attempted to defend himself as he put the laptop down on the desk.

"Then what were you going to do with it?"

Odd remained quiet, not having an excuse ready for that question.

"I thought so. I was actually down here to look for something else, but I'm glad I came across this, and caught you red-handed at that. Come with me, now. I think Mr. Delmas will be interested in hearing about this."

Odd had no choice but to follow his gym teacher, a thought lingering in the back of his mind as he wondered what Jim was actually looking for, but it was shoved to the back when he saw Jim lock the door to the computer lab.

Locking Sam inside.

"Come on!"

But Jim pushed Odd along, forcing him to match the man's path and away from Sam.

!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!

Yumi was sitting in the principal's office. Mr. Delmas was sitting at his desk, watching carefully as the police inspector questioned the girl in front of him.

"Your description has been noted." She had told him what the armor looked like. "You say this suit of armor belongs to your parents?"

"Yes, Sir," Yumi nodded, her expression a poker face, but inside her stomach were angry butterflies. Her parents were going to kill her. So was her brother, for that matter. "To my father, specifically. It's been passed down through his bloodline."

"And you have no idea who might have stolen it?"

"No, Sir." Well, yes. XANA. But she couldn't just say that. "However, it is centuries old, so maybe that's...a factor..."

"Maybe someone stole it to sell it to an antique shop and make a quick buck?" The inspector finished. Yumi nodded. "That's what we're thinking too. However, you also said that it's heavy, so it's unlikely that it was just the work of one person."

"You think it was a group effort?" Yumi asked.

The inspector nodded, "There's no proof to that, of course. We don't have any witnesses. But right now, that's the most logical theory. The second best is that someone put it on to steal it." He sighed. "I believe that's all the questions we have for you at the moment. Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Ishiyama. We'll sweep the area and try to find the armor and whoever's hiding inside it, if there is. We'll call you if we have any more questions."

Yumi stood up and bowed respectfully. "Thank you so much, Sir." She was grateful. If it wasn't XANA, then the police would find it.

To her slight surprise (and delight), the inspector bowed back, "You're welcome, Miss. It's our job."

Mr. Delmas and Yumi both watched the inspector leave, along with the two officers the man stationed right outside the office.

Once they were gone, the principal reassured her, "Do not worry, Miss Ishiyama. They'll find it. Whoever the culprit is can't have gotten far."

That was true, that is, if the culprit was a regular human. If it was XANA, however, it'd be nearby solely because XANA's mortal enemies were here at Kadic.

But again, she couldn't say that.

"I know, Sir," Yumi admitted, truthful. "I'm just concerned about my dad's reaction. He's very proud of owning a very valuable piece of history."

Mr. Delmas smiled, "I understand that. My mother has an Italian glass vase from the 16th century that she's given to Sissi in her will. She's very proud of it and for a while has debated on whether or not to be buried with it."

Yumi giggled.

But the moment was interrupted when Jim appeared in the open door frame. "Ah, Miss Ishiyama, you're still here. I need to speak with you."

"Yes, Jim, what is it?" Mr. Delmas asked.

Jim pulled, to Yumi's surprise, Odd into the room. "I believe I have caught your thief."

"What?" Yumi asked. "But Odd doesn't steal!"

"I just caught him in the midst of stealing a school laptop," Jim explained, closing the door to Delmas's office.

"Mr. Della Robbia, is that true?" their principal asked.

"Yes, Sir."

Yumi blinked. Odd was quiet, without his usual bubbly personality. As if he was admitting defeat.

"I see," Mr. Delmas said, before asking Jim, "But why do you suspect him of stealing Miss Ishiyama's family heirloom?"

"What? Yumi lost her thing?" Odd seemed surprised at that.

"Yes," Jim said. "In fact, that's what I was down that hallway to look for, only to catch you instead. Which, again, I am grateful for."

Odd seemed more alive now, "Look, I only stole the laptop. Mine broke down, and I needed a new one."

Yumi raised an eyebrow. Her instincts were telling her that he was lying. "But you just have Aelita fix it, 'cause it's usually because you spilled soda on it."

Odd didn't look her in the eyes, only shrugging, "I didn't want to bother her with that anymore. I figured she's getting tired of doing me that favor." He addressed the two adults, repeating, "So I admit to stealing the laptop. But I did not steal Yumi's thingamajig. I swear."

Yumi believed him with that last part, and she said so, "He's telling the truth." Those scrawny (sorry, svelte) arms of Odd's would never allow him to carry that suit of armor without a large amount of help.

But Odd did not steal the laptop either. He was protecting someone. She knew it, but she couldn't prove it.

Mr. Delmas and Jim thought, however, that she meant both parts, which they immediately ran with.

"I was only going to borrow it for a few minutes," Odd softly attempted, "and then return it before you knew it was gone."

"Then why didn't you just ask for permission to use it?" Mr. Delmas asked.

Odd hung his head lower, "I was afraid you'd say 'no'..."

That seemed to set Jim off, "What do you take us for?! Idiots?!"

Fortunately, to Yumi's relief, Mr. Delmas seemed to keep his head on straight, "Jim, calm down."

"No! They're planning something, Sir!" Jim said. "These two have a secret, along with Stern and Schaeffer! I don't trust them at all!"

This little exchange alarmed Odd and Yumi both. Was Jim following them or something?

"Jim, you are a teacher," Mr. Delmas was stern, "not a spy. And the students are allowed to keep secrets as long as it is not illegal, interferes with their schoolwork, or endangers another life." He turned back to Odd, "There's something you're not telling me, Mr. Della Robbia, but I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Four hours of detention for attempting to steal school property. Next time, however, I won't be as merciful."

"Understood, Sir."

Yep, Odd was definitely protecting someone, Yumi thought. He just accepted this punishment, which she believed he didn't deserve, with grace.

Hmm, no wonder Odd was the one with Future Flash. There was more to him than meets the eye...

!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!

As Jim took Odd to the library to serve his sentence, the boy's cell phone rang, but Odd was forced to hand it over, because as Jim said, "Cell phones are not allowed during detention". And Odd, very reluctantly (he knew who was calling, Yumi noted), followed the rules, not wanting to break another.

Yumi wasn't allowed to join Odd, so she went to the cafeteria. There, Ulrich and Aelita had just finished up their meals, and she sat down next to Ulrich.

"Hey, Yumi," the brunette greeted her. "How'd the interrogation go?"

"Interview," she corrected. "I'm not a suspect. And it went fine. A little nerve-wracking, because they need to tell my parents, and also because it might be XANA, but that's not what I wanted to tell you guys."

"I'm running the monoscan now," Aelita reassured her. "What did you want tell us?"

"Odd just got caught stealing a laptop," Yumi told them.

"Odd, stealing?" Ulrich was just as surprised as Yumi was. "That doesn't sound like him at all! I mean, he's a prankster, yes. He loves teasing people, maybe a little too much! But he's no thief!"

"My thoughts exactly," Yumi admitted.

Aelita leaned in closer, "Tell us what happened."

Yumi settled into her chair, and began to explain, "Just as my interview finishes up, Jim walks into Delmas's office with Odd in tow, incorrectly guessing that because he caught Odd stealing one of the school's laptops, then he must be the one who stole my heirloom. Odd denies stealing the heirloom, but he does admit to stealing the laptop. But the weird thing is that I can tell his heart's not really in it, the tips of his ears are pink, and he refuses to make eye contact."

"He didn't steal the laptop," Aelita realizes, recognizing those three things as signs that Odd was lying.

"But then why did he say he did?" Ulrich asks.

"My instincts are telling me that he's protecting someone," Yumi confessed. "I don't who, but he is. Anyways, Jim doesn't buy Odd's excuse, and Delmas tells him to calm down, but Jim admits aloud that he doesn't trust Odd, me, or the two of you at all. He admits that he knows we have a secret."

Both Ulrich and Aelita's eyes widened in sudden panic. "What?" the pink-ette was understandably freaking out.

"Jim knows?" Ulrich whispered.

"No, I don't think he does," Yumi said. "He just suspects something. But anyways, Delmas believes Odd over Jim, and now Odd has four hours of detention. He's currently in the library with Jim."

"We need to be more careful around Jim," Aelita warned them. "Things could go south real quick if he finds out our secret." Ulrich and Yumi both nodded in agreement. The thing with Odd was concerning, yes, but right now, the deal with Jim took precedence.

Aelita's laptop, in her bag, suddenly started beeping.

"Speaking of which," Yumi muttered, as Aelita pulled out the item.

The moment she opened it, Jérémie's interface showed up on screen, "Aelita! XANA's woken up. I'm tracking down the pulsations now, but I'm nowhere close to the tower."

"Don't worry. We're on our way," Aelita reassured him. He logged off, letting her put her laptop away.

"You guys go," Yumi immediately said. "I need to stay here. If I disappear in the middle of a police investigation, it will just look suspicious."

"I'll stay with you," Ulrich volunteered. "I'll keep an eye out for any of XANA's attacks and pass news onto Aelita while Yumi focuses on the investigation. I'll also find a way to warn Odd. Somehow."

"Alright," Aelita said, standing up from her seat. "Good luck."

The two nodded before watching her leave the cafeteria.

!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!

Odd was sitting at one of the library tables, with Jim at the librarian's desk. Odd had his math book out, making it seem to Jim like he was doing homework, but in reality, he was just drawing Sam's face.

He still needed to go back and free her from the computer lab. He hoped she was okay...

A knock suddenly came to the door, and Jim called out, "Yes?", as he turned a page of his magazine.

Odd looked up in confusion when the following response was another knock.

"Yes?!" Jim asked again, becoming annoyed. Another knock, and this time Jim sighed in frustration. He stood up and practically stomped towards the door and opened it. "What do you want?!"

But he gasped in surprise, as did Odd, when the person at the door was not a prankster but a suit of armor. With no one wearing it.

Seeing it was powered by a dark spectre, Odd breathed, "XANA!"

"Hey! What are you doing here?" Jim asked, becoming less annoyed and more scared with each second that passed.

The samurai raised its katana to cut down the pawn standing in its way, only for that pawn to dodge at the last moment thanks to Odd, who had jumped over the table and pushed him out of the way.

"What's wrong with that thing?!" Jim asked, clearly frightened. "A suit of armor that moves on its own?!"

"Trust me, Jim," was Odd's response, his eyes glancing over at his phone still laying on Jim's desk. "It's better that you don't know."

!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!

Aelita arrived at the factory as fast as she could. Not knowing what XANA's attack was really put her on edge, so the quickest they deactivated this tower, the better.

"Jérémie? I'm here," she announced as she sat in the chair and placed the earpiece in her ear. "The monoscan's results came back on my way here. The tower is in the Desert Sector, 54 degrees North, 12 degrees East."

"I'm almost there," Jérémie replied, his yellow arrow on the holomap showing him already moving in that direction. "I'll have a visual on it soon."

"Stand by. I'm programming your coordinates," Aelita told him, typing in the commands necessary for the Self-Virtualization program. "The others had to stay behind at the school, so it's just me."

The holomap showed Jérémie's arrow stopping. "I see. Any idea what XANA's attack is this time?"

"Not a clue," Aelita confessed. "Yumi thinks that XANA may have possessed her family's suit of armor, which according to her is armed with a katana."

"Whatever the case, we better work fast," Jérémie advised.

"Agreed." The pink-ette typed in the final command, and the countdown window popped up. "I'll see you in one minute and thirty seconds."

She made it to the scanner with twelve seconds to spare.

!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!

Odd pulled Jim carefully away from the samurai, as its gaze followed their every move. Well, not really Jim's. Odd's, being one of its four primary targets and all.

The boy discreetly took his phone from Jim's desk and pocketed it. He addressed his teacher, "Stay here, Jim. Trust me, it's safer for you." He ignored Jim's confused expression and frantic questions as he turned to the samurai. He whistled and taunted, "Hey, come and catch me if you can!"

The samurai raised its katana and swung it down, but Odd dodged it with ease, all that training on Lyoko finally paying off in the real world. He managed to side-step the armor and slipped out the door.

He heard clanking, and turning to look behind him as he ran confirmed that the armor had run after him, ignoring Jim in favor of taking out Odd.

Which made sense, given XANA's usual attack patterns and primary targets.

As he ran, he pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed the first number that came to mind.

"Odd?"

"Yumi! I found your armor! It's been possessed by XANA!" Odd admitted as he turned a corner, still hearing the armor following him.

"As I suspected..." she muttered. He hid behind a hallway cabinet to catch his breath. "Are you okay? Where are you?"

"I'm fine," he replied, breathing heavily due to the sudden exercise. "I just left the library. Jim's in there. He's pretty shaken up."

"I bet," Yumi said. "Don't worry. Ulrich and I are on the way."

As she said this, Odd peered behind the corner when he no longer heard the clanging of the armor chasing him. "Where did it go?" He whispered to himself.

It had stopped. He could see it down the hallway. Confused, he watched it connected gazes with him, before turning around and leaving the Administrative Building.

Strange. It was as if XANA wanted him to see the armor leaving.

Fine, XANA, I'll play your game, he thought, before running to the door the samurai exited from.

Once again, the samurai was standing off in a short distance, connecting eyes with Odd, before walking away, this time to the Science Building. Again, it made sure Odd knew where it was going.

Why? What did XANA have up its sleeve? What was in the Science Building?

Odd gasped as he remembered, "Sam!"

Yumi was still on the other end of the line, "Odd? What's wrong? What about Sam?" She sounded like she was running. Her breathing was a bit shallow, and he could hear two pairs of footsteps pounding against the ground as they ran.

Odd immediately took of after the armor, towards the Science Building, "Sam's trapped in the computer lab! I'll explain later!" he added before Yumi could say something. "But XANA's going to attack her just to get to me! We have to save her! Meet me at the computer lab! Not the library!"

He then hung up so he could focus all of his attention and strength in saving and protecting Sam.

If anything happened to Sam, he'd never forgive himself.

!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!

Aelita and Jérémie ran across the Desert before sliding down from one plateau onto a lower one, using a large rock. Once they landed, they had the clearest view of the activated tower. It was just sitting there, unguarded, the only thing about it standing out being the red halo it had.

"There it is!" Jérémie exclaimed, before making a move to run towards it.

But Aelita held out her hand, stopping him in his tracks, "Not yet."

"What?" He asked. "Why not?"

"Coming all this way and not seeing a single monster?" Aelita said, keeping him behind her. "There has to be a trap."

She was right. XANA usually had at least two monsters guarding its tower, whether they were stationed at its base, or they met it on the way there.

But not this time.

Jérémie slipped his goggles on. After studying the layout of the results, he relayed them to the girl beside him, "The holomap doesn't show any monsters. For now, at least."

Aelita's pointed ears suddenly twitched, a sign that they picked something up. "What's that sound?" she asked, as she turned to look behind them.

"What sound?" Jérémie asked, as he turned to follow her gaze, only to gasp in surprise.

The wind behind them was picking up, rather sharp and rather quick. In no time, the wind was also stirring up sand, and a lot of it.

"A sandstorm!" Aelita exclaimed. So that's what XANA's trap was. "Let's run! The sooner we deactivate the tower, the sooner we can end this nightmare!"

"Agreed!"

As the two ran, Jérémie's goggles alerted him to something using the sandstorm as cover. He couldn't get clear enough readings, but it picked up enough to be noticeable.

"Aelita, there's a monster on our tails, but I can't tell what it is! Be careful!"

!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!

Sam had almost given up by this point. She was still locked inside the computer lab, with only herself to blame. If only she wasn't so prideful, then maybe Odd wouldn't have had to take the fall for her...

She nearly jumped out of her skin, as her heart started pounding in fear, when someone started pounding on the door. Angrily. Like they wanted to hurt whoever was hiding inside.

Which would be her.

Sam, with shaking legs, stood up and backed up until she was against the wall farthest from the door. As whoever was pounding against the door finally hit it hard enough to crack it (it wasn't made of wood), Sam frantically looked around herself for a weapon. Anything she could use to defend herself.

But she found nothing.

The door fell apart, literally, and she was now face to face with a Japanese-style suit of armor, with no one wearing it but a black ghost.

Sam was having trouble breathing (most would call it a panic attack), but she managed to dodge its attack when it quickly lunged at her.

While she struggled to regain her bearings, the armor was quick in its own recovery. The ghost turned the helmet towards her, and while she couldn't see any facial features, she somehow knew it was giving her a stone-cold look that only a computer would wear.

Fearing for her life so much that she could no longer breathe right, Sam went to her last resort, "HELP!"

Immediately, there was a response, "SAM!"

Sam looked up in time to see Odd, with a glare on his face the likes of which she'd never seen before, use a piece of that broken not-wooden door to pounce like a feral cat and smash it over the armor's helmet, causing it to falter and hit against the wall.

Odd did not rest, only grabbing Sam's hand and pulling her away from it, taking her into the hallway.

The samurai did not stay down, as it immediately began following the two, only for it to crash to the ground when two of Odd's friends, Ulrich and Yumi, tackle it from behind.

"Let's run!" Yumi said, before leading the group out of the Science Building and into the gym.

Once the four were all inside the gym's boiler room, Yumi locked the door behind her before she and Ulrich blocked it with everything in the room they could find that was not nailed down, which was only their bodies.

Now that Sam was safe, she could breathe again. But it didn't take long for them to hear the armor's clanging as it searched for them in this area.

"You okay, Sam?" She looked at Odd, seeing the concern and relief in his hazel eyes.

On the verge of tears, she just wrapped her arms around him and energetically kissed him on the cheek.

"I-I'll take that as a 'yes'," Odd muttered with a red face, but she felt him wrap his arms around her to return her embrace.

Ulrich and Yumi were barricading the door with their own bodies, as Yumi asked, "You mind explaining now?"

"I'm the one who stole the laptop," Sam admitted, realizing that Ulrich and Yumi already knew the situation. How else did they know where to look for her?

"So Odd was covering for you?" Ulrich asked.

Sam nodded.

"Why?" Yumi asked.

"I've never owned a laptop," Sam explained. "When Odd and I first became pen pals, my family had just enough money to make ends meet, but never enough for any fancy gifts. But then Mom left Dad for a younger man, old enough to be her son, and she took all of our money with her. I guess I was just...desperate enough to steal one..."

"Would you be happy to get one as a gift?" Ulrich asked.

Sam glanced up at him. Odd had suggested the same thing. "O-Of course, but I would never admit it. It's tough...telling people how little money you have..."

Odd seemed to share a knowing glance with Ulrich and Yumi, right before the moment was ruined by the armor returning and pounding on the door.

In no time at all, the door, made of metal, was starting to buckle.

Sam began to panic again.

"Odd," Yumi spoke up, "take Sam to the factory. She'll be safe there. Ulrich and I will handle this thing."

"Okay," Odd replied, before taking Sam's hand. "Good luck!"

Before Sam knew it, Odd had opened a door at the back of the room, which, to her surprise, led to the sewers.

!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!

It was official. They were caught in the sandstorm, as induced by XANA.

As the two held their ground against the violent winds, Jérémie had to raise his voice to a shout in order to be heard, "Be careful of the cliff! The Digital Sea is down there!"

"I know!" Aelita yelled back. "I'm more concerned about our monster friend! Where is it now?"

"Coming up on our right!"

Aelita glanced in that direction right as a large metal ball rolled past them. "It's a Megatank!"

With her enhanced sight, she managed to see it stop and open up, revealing its disgusting insides. It immediately began charging up its laser, before firing.

Aelita pushed Jérémie to the ground to successfully avoid it, before forming an Energy Field and throwing it at their enemy, which closed up to protect itself from Aelita's powerful attack.

She groaned in frustration before grabbing Jérémie's hand and pulling him to his feet. The two continued to run towards the tower, and Aelita's enhancing hearing picked up the Megatank chasing after them, continuing to use the sandstorm as cover.

It wasn't long until her hearing also picked up cracks beginning to appear on the ground.

It was Jérémie's turn to save her, as he pulled her towards him to help her avoid to crack that had appeared and was widening between her feet.

The rumbling that signaled the ground shifted stopped after a few seconds, and the sandstorm finally started clearing up. This allowed the two to finally see clearly what had happened.

They were standing on an island now, split from the rest of the plateau.

"Great," Aelita groaned. "You wouldn't happen to have a pair of wings on you, by any chance, would you?"

"No, sorry," Jérémie was concerned. "But I may have something that will work just as well." He then took a stance as if he was praying.

Aelita heard the hum surrounding him as the wireframe of a bridge appeared, before orange-yellow ground appeared and filled it in.

"Much better," Aelita commented once he was done, to which he sent her a smile.

!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!

Sam looked around the lab, awestruck, the moment the elevator doors opened. "Wow, this is incredible! But what is all this?"

Odd ran to the monitor, sitting in the chair and slipping on the earpiece. "Sorry, but there's no time to explain. It's too complicated, and Ulrich and Yumi are in a huge jam. You can keep looking, but don't touch anything, okay?"

Sam nodded, "O-Okay," as she watched Odd turn to the computer.

!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!

"Aelita! Jérémie!" Odd's voice sounded over the comm, as the two mentioned avatars ran towards the tower. "How are you doing?"

"We're doing fine, Odd! Just keep track of where that Megatank is!" Aelita told him, grateful that someone was finally at the controls.

"I don't see a Mega–" he cut himself off. "Wait, yes, I do. It's behind you guys!"

The warning came a second too late, as just as Aelita turned around to get a view on it, she was hit by the giant, circular laser.

Now with half of her lifepoints, Aelita quickly regained her footing, before forming two half Energy Fields in her hands and connecting them just in time to block the next laser.

The thing didn't give up, as it continued to push its laser against her little shield. She could feel her feet sliding against the ground of the Desert.

"Watch out for the edge!" Jérémie suddenly cried out.

Aelita looked down just in time to see her feet touching the edge of the cliff. With no other choice, she quickly stepped aside and let the laser go further before it returned to the Megatank.

Still open, the Megatank suddenly switched targets, from her to Jérémie. It's action was quick, so Jérémie barely had enough time to dodge the laser that was now coming for him.

But Aelita knocked him to the ground, getting hit instead.

Jérémie could only watch as Aelita's avatar depixelized and her wireframe disappeared from Lyoko, XANA having won this round.

"Odd, get here ASAP!" he ordered.

"Don't worry! I'm on my way!"

!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!

Aelita exited the scanner, her body still feeling the phantom ache of getting hit by that Megatank, not once but twice, just in time to see the scanner doors close on Odd.

She smiled, feeling relief that the others all knew the Self-Virtualization program because she taught it to them, before feeling confident enough that Odd would protect Jérémie long enough for the tower to be deactivated.

She took the elevator to the lab, her legs feeling a bit weak.

She didn't expect Sam to be there, waiting for her. She wasn't sitting in the seat next to the monitor, but standing.

"Sam, what are you doing here?" the pink-ette asked.

"Odd took me here after we were attacked by the armor," Sam explained. "He said it would be the safest place for me."

"He's right about that," Aelita admitted, sitting in the chair and slipping on the earpiece. "And you said 'armor', right?" Sam nodded. "As in Yumi's armor?"

"Well, the armor seemed to be in an Asian style, so I would say yes."

"I see. So Yumi was right. XANA possessed her family's samurai armor." She turned to Sam. "Don't worry. Once this is over, you won't remember any of this."

Sam just raised an eyebrow in confusion.

!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!

Odd landed in the Desert Sector, and was immediately greeted by Jérémie, "Odd! Over here!"

But just as Odd was about to run, he felt his mind leave his body and go into another, as a sepia-toned image of a crevice opening right beneath Jérémie's unsuspecting feet began haunting him.

Odd reopened his eyes just in time to see his vision start coming true in real life. A crevice opened right underneath Jérémie's unsuspecting, and Odd immediately jumped into action.

As the crevice widened, Jérémie began flailing his arms, losing balance and frantically trying to regain it.

But he was saved when Odd grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the edge.

"We really can't take you anywhere, can we, Prince Charming?" Odd quipped, smiling.

Jérémie returned the purple cat's smile with one of his own, before nodding towards the tower, "Let's go."

!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!

It took a couple of minutes for the door to finally give away, but by then, Odd and Sam were long gone. Only Ulrich and Yumi remained.

But for XANA, they were enough. It was two birds with one stone.

The armor charged at Ulrich, swinging down its katana, only for the brunette to stop the katana with his bare hands by catching the blade mid-swing. The armor merely turned the katana over so its blade sliced against Ulrich's palm when it took the katana back.

Ulrich seethed in pain, but it was quick, and Yumi had taken this chance to find two metal pipes the two could use to defend themselves.

She handed one to Ulrich, who gratefully took it.

XANA made the armor salute the way an ancient samurai would when accepting a challenge.

This was going to be fun. (Was that what the humans called it?)

!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!

Odd and Jérémie were on their way towards the tower when the sandstorm picked back up.

"Another crevice is forming right in front of you," Aelita warned. "Watch out." A quick pause. "And the Megatank is back, behind you."

Odd smiled as he thought of something, "I have an idea. Follow me." He then grabbed Jérémie's hand and pulled him towards the crevice that was forming in front of them.

"Odd! You're out of your mind!" Aelita shouted over the comm.

"Trust me!" he called back, to both Aelita and Jérémie.

Odd could feel the Megatank on his tail (literally), as he grabbed Jérémie's hand with both of his paws, before swinging the blue elf around in a few circles to gain momentum, and then flinging him across the crevice.

As Jérémie landed safely on the other side, Odd himself jumped and tornado-flipped over the ridge.

He too landed safely, but the two boys watched the Megatank simple tumble over the edge and into the Digital Sea below. A burst of light shot up to signal deletion.

Here, Jérémie breathed a sigh of relief.

"Come on, Prince Charming," Odd said. "I believe you have a tower to deactivate."

With the coast finally clear of all of XANA's traps, Jérémie entered the tower at a run.

!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!

Ulrich and Yumi's fight against the armor was very one-sided. Despite their prowess in martial arts and their metal pipes being pretty good weapons for what they were, their opponent was just a little too invincible.

JEREMIE_

In one swing, it finally disarmed both of them, but it let the two back themselves into a corner before it, surprisingly, sheathed its katana.

CODE_

It reached out two ghostly hands and grabbed both necks, before shocking them.

The two being electrocuted and choked at the same time, they could only pray that Jérémie was already in the tower. They weren't sure they could hold on for much longer.

LYOKO_

Ulrich and Yumi both gasped in relief when the spectre disappeared from the armor, which then fell into a pile on the floor in front of them, as they both fell to their knees, both weak from their fight.

It wasn't long before a white bubble came and enveloped them.

!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!

Time rewinded to when the group met Sam the first time around.

The girl immediately turned from Jim to Odd when he called out to her, and her face immediately broke out into a smile. "Odd!"

She ran up to him and they embraced each other, before breaking the hug and going for a traditional French cheek kiss, and this time, Odd managed to avoid that blunder by turning to the opposite side from the first time.

"It's so good to see, Odd!" Sam greeted him with a smile, before turning to the other three. "And your friends as well. Hello, Aelita."

"Hi!" the pink-ette waved.

"And you two must be Ulrich and Yumi," Sam said, shaking their respective hands. "It's nice to meet you. Odd talks about you all a lot."

"Well, you two have been pen pals since primary school," Ulrich admitted. "It makes sense. Well, what brings you here, Sam?" He already knew, but just to keep up appearances.

"Well, my dad is currently interviewing for several new, higher-paying jobs here in Boulogne-Billancourt," Sam explained. "He dropped me off here at Kadic so I can tour the grounds."

"I hope he gets a job here," Odd admitted, this time more relaxed and honest. Still excited, but now he and the others knew the more detailed version.

"Me too," Sam agreed, with a wishful smile. "Because it means that Odd and I can see more of each other. But if Dad gets the job, he wants me to finish the school year at Mathison before transfering over to Kadic."

"That makes sense," Odd shrugged. "But in the meantime, we can email each other."

"O-Odd," Sam suddenly seemed to wall herself off. The group reminded themselves that she was highly self-conscious about being poor. "You know I don't have a laptop."

"You do now," Odd said, before reaching into his bag and pulling out a black-colored laptop. "For you."

"I can't!" Sam exclaimed. "H-How much did this cost you?"

"Nothing at all," Odd admitted. "This is my old laptop. It was breaking down, but Aelita managed to fix it and make it brand-new again."

"Two gigas," Aelita added. "It's a gaming laptop, so it has a pretty powerful hard drive."

"Thank you, both of you," Sam softly said, taking the laptop from Odd's hands and hugging it close to her chest. "I don't know how to repay you."

"Then don't," Odd shrugged, as if it were that simple.

Sam smiled, "Deal."

Jim, who was lingering in the background during this, stepped up and cleared his throat, "I hate to interrupt you two lovebirds, but it's time for these four to get to class, while you and I need to get Miss Knight a visitor's pass from Mr. Delmas."

"Okay," Sam nodded, before turning to Odd as she followed Jim to their destination, "I'll see you at lunch?"

"Count on it!" Odd called back, waving.

The bell rang, signaling five minutes before the next round of classes.

"Come on, Romeo," Ulrich then pulled Odd along with him and Aelita. "Right now, we have a date with Ms. Hertz."

Yumi went in the opposite direction, calling back to her friends, "Wish me luck for my report again, guys! And don't worry. This time, the thing can't run away!"

!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!

In Mr. Fumet's class, Yumi finished her cultural report by heading to the cupboard, "And now to finish my report, I'd like to show you something that's been in my family for centuries. It's a living symbol of Japan." She opened to the cupboard, and she breathed a mental sigh of relief when she saw the suit of armor still there. "Here."

"Wow!" she heard Matthias Burel exclaim. "That's so cool!" Along with similar remarks from the others.

"Thank you," she sent them all a smile. "According to my father, and his father, and his father's father, we Ishiyamas are descended from samurai."

Of course, she knew she would see it there, judging by the shackles she placed around its shin guards.

Just in case.

!~~~J~E~R~L~I~T~A~~R~O~L~E~S~W~A~P~~A~U~~~!

Next Episode: 15 - By a Hair / It's Jérémie's birthday, but XANA also has a surprise for him.

A/N: It's my headcanon that when the four Ishiyamas are alone, they use Japanese to talk to each other, hence why Hiroki calls his family by their Japanese terms (Oto-san - dad, Oka-san - mom, Nee-chan - older sister). Basically, the four are bilingual, speaking both French and Japanese fluently. Also, again, a year has almost passed by this point, hence why Yumi is sixteen, rather than fifteen as mentioned in Chapter 1.

For this take on Odd and Sam's accidental kiss, refer to the French VS English translation differences listed on the .fr website. The context behind this kiss scene is explained in detail there.

FYI: Saint-Denis is north of Paris, while Boulogne-Billancourt is to the southwest. Also, Älplermagronen is a dish that originates from the German part of Switzerland. Given how Schaeffer is a German surname and the Schaeffers in this AU live in Switzerland, I thought this dish was appropriate.

Finally: Hmm...am I setting up Jim's involvement in the 'Code Earth' and 'False Start' chapters here? You bet I am.