Ulrich was in disbelief. "What? I thought we destroyed all the Replikas?"
Jeremie let out a heavy sigh, massaging his temples. "We did. We destroyed them all," he quickly clarified, but his uncertainty lingered. "However, I can't be certain if this is indeed a Replika. It's possible, but we can't be sure."
"Well, at least we've got the Skid," Ulrich remarked, leaning over Jeremie's shoulder, anxiously awaiting his response. When Jeremie didn't reply, Ulrich blinked. "We…do have the Skid? Right?"
"Just give me a few moments, and it should be operational. Thankfully, I managed to debug the program just in time," Jeremie sighed, resuming his typing.
Ulrich observed as a flurry of programs and algorithms popped up on the screen. He admired Jeremie's skills, grateful that he didn't have to delve into virtualization again; a process he had successfully carried out only once. "Any word from our two brave souls?"
"Everything okay up there?" Odd hollered from the Celestial Dome, cupping his paws around his mouth and peering upwards, as if Jeremie and Ulrich were within sight. "Where's Ulrich?"
"We're fine. Ulrich's here," Jeremie responded, fingers dancing across the keyboard as he brought up the Skid's program. "The remaining scanner was damaged, so it's up to you two. Aelita, start heading for the Skid. The tower's signal was detected somewhere in the Digital Sea."
"The Digital Sea?" Aelita and Odd echoed, exchanging glances.
"Yes, so hurry. I don't know how many more earthquakes this place can take."
"Okay, we get it! Your fate's in our hands, the weight of the world, blah blah blah, we got this!" Odd waved his paw dismissively as he and Aelita headed towards the wall opening, the room slowing in its spin.
"Oh, Yumi!" Ulrich exclaimed, pulling out his phone and racing toward the ladder. With a frown, he stared at the outgoing call screen as it went to voicemail. "Jeremie, I'm worried about Yumi. I'm going to check on her," he said over his shoulder as he started to climb.
Aelita and Odd rushed down the corridor as the walls opened quickly in front of them. As they neared the end, Aelita halted, her footsteps faltering.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
She looked down, her eyes widening as she saw ice crackling beneath her feet, her breath forming frosty clouds in front of her. The realization hit her, triggering the unwanted memories of her nightmares.
"No…" Aelita whimpered.
"Damn it!" Ulrich exclaimed from the ladder, slamming his fist against the wall. Jeremie glanced up at him, and Ulrich met his gaze. "We're trapped."
Jeremie let out a deep sigh and covered his eyes with his hand. "Great. Just great…"
Suddenly, a wordless, fearful scream pierced Jeremie's ears, causing him to flinch and almost fling the headset from his ear. "Aelita?!"
Aelita dropped to her knees, clutching her arms tightly across her chest. This couldn't be happening. It wasn't real. Odd, who had been rushing ahead in the tunnel, froze and turned back. His arms were out, laser arrows at the ready. Confusion etched his face as he saw only Aelita and no foes to vanquish.
"Princess? What's wrong?" Odd asked, bounding back over to her.
"Can't you see it? It's wrong," she sobbed. "Just like in my nightmare."
Odd looked around, perplexed. "Huh? I see walls, that's all."
"That's the problem," Aelita cried. She pushed Odd away when he reached out to her with a comforting hand. He fell back on his bottom. "You'll die. You'll die!"
"Whoa, whoa. Hold on," Odd interjected, holding out his paws, and then putting them on his hips. "What do you mean, Princess?"
"In my nightmare… You…you die… And everything since we've gotten here has-"
Odd's eyes widened in shock, and he took a step back. "Aelita, I'm not gonna lie, you're kinda scaring me right now," Odd spoke, unsettled. "What do you mean I'll die? How? Why didn't you mention it before?"
"I tried to! But no one would listen to me!" Aelita shouted. Shocked at her own anger, Aelita spoke more softly as she turned away from him. "Even I started to not listen to myself…"
Odd stood in silence for a few moments, and then laid his hand on her shoulder in comfort. Aelita slowly turned to see his usual smile.
"Y'know, I once knew someone who could see the future. A good looking fellow in purple and yellow, svelte build. And if there's one thing he learned from it, it's that nothing's set in stone, Princess," Odd said with a wink.
"I know I don't normally say this, but Odd's right. Aelita, I know you're scared right now, but we'll face this together. I'll be right here with you every step of the way," Jeremie added.
"We can do this," Odd chimed in with a thumbs-up, holding out his hand for her.
Aelita drew in a slow, shuddering breath, the weight of the moment pressing heavily upon her. She closed her eyes, blocking out the chaotic surroundings of the virtual world. In that moment, she felt a surge of determination coursing through her, an unwavering resolve taking hold. She couldn't bear the thought of losing Odd - of losing any of her friends.
Odd would not die on her watch.
"Okay," she whispered hesitantly, grasping Odd's hand. As she stood, they charged into the open room.
~ YUMI TITLE CARD
As the dust began to settle around her, Sissi's eyes opened slowly, revealing the aftermath of the catastrophe. Small rocks and concrete clattered to the ground around her.
She let out a groan and reached for her forehead, only to wince and withdraw her hand. Blood dripped from her fingers and her brow began to sting. Slowly, her left eye's vision became obscured, and panic began to set in.
Attempting to stand, Sissi was immediately forced back down by a weight pressing against her leg. Her terror intensified as she realized her left leg was trapped beneath a section of collapsed wall.
Whimpering, she struggled to free herself, pushing with her free arm on the piece of debris. A sharp, piercing pain shot through her leg, and she let out an agonized wail, watching in disbelief as blood welled from underneath. "Help me!" she croaked, her voice hoarse. Tears welled up in her eyes, desperation overwhelming her as she twisted back forward.
"Sissi?" Yumi's voice cut through the chaos, and Sissi's eyes widened.
"Yu… Where're you?" she called out as loud as she could, sobs wracking her body as her arms reached out at the ground in front of her.
"I'm here." Yumi appeared in front of Sissi, swiftly kneeling down and checking her over.
"How… Bad?" Sissi whimpered, blinking the blood from her eye.
Yumi's heart sank as she saw Sissi's leg. The sight was harrowing, making her own injury seem minor in comparison. Sissi's leg was twisted at an unnatural angle, blood seeping from a deep gash. A cold determination settled upon Yumi's face as she moved closer to the debris.
"I'm going to get you out of here, Sissi," Yumi reassured.
"Willi…am?" Sissi asked, her eyes fluttering, her strength gradually waning.
Yumi dug through the rocks, her own injury stinging. She winced and let out a frustrated growl. "I haven't found him yet." She turned back to Sissi, noticing her slipping into unconsciousness. Gently, she slapped Sissi's face, prompting her eyes to flutter back open. "Sissi, stay with me. Stay awake."
"Of all the…people I had to be…be stuck with," she murmured, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Yumi strained as she pulled on the rubble once more, exerting every ounce of effort. "Come…on!" she groaned. With one final heave the rock shifted, rolling off Sissi's leg, causing Yumi to tumble over. She quickly returned to Sissi's side and reexamined the wound; it was clear that Sissi's leg was broken.
"Hurry, Aelita…" Yumi whispered to herself with a sense of urgency.
Unbeknownst to them, William dangled limply from an exposed beam in the next room over, unconscious.
~ JEREMIE TITLE CARD
"Odd, Aelita," Ulrich spoke urgently into Jeremie's headset, "you guys gotta hurry up!"
"We're going as fast as we can," Odd's voice piped from the elevator.
"I've been trying to reach Yumi, but I can't get through to her," Ulrich explained, his emotions fueling his sense of urgency.
"We can't exactly speed up the elevator, can we, Einstein?"
"I'm afraid not. There's still a lot we don't know about Sector 5," Jeremie explained. "Keep in mind, Ulrich, we're both in just as much danger here as everybody at the school."
Ulrich clenched his fists in frustration. He couldn't bear the thought of something happening to Yumi again. Images of Yumi trapped underneath that tree flashed in his mind and he winced. He gripped the back of Jeremie's chair, jostling it slightly. "I thought we were done with this! This is just…" Ulrich trailed off, looking away, his face flushed with emotion.
Jeremie let out a sigh. "I know," he acknowledged. Turning slightly toward Ulrich, he added, "We'll find who did this."
As the elevator came to a stop, Jeremie's voice echoed overhead. "Good, you've reached the hangar. Let's get this over with before things get even worse."
Aelita started toward the platform to board when a high-pitched screech filled the air, freezing her in her tracks.
"What was that?" Odd whispered.
"That didn't sound like a creeper," Aelita whimpered. A metallic dragging sound accompanied by heavy stomps reverberated beneath their feet.
"Aelita! Odd! Watch out! You've got company!"
Aelita jumped back as a sharp object jabbed through the ground beneath her feet and retracted instantly. Odd caught Aelita as she stumbled backward, quickly helping her back to her feet.
"What -"
"Get back!" Odd shouted, positioning himself protectively in front of Aelita.
Another jab pierced the floor in front of Odd's face, this time appearing to be connected to some kind of tail.
"Hey! What kind of greeting is this?!" Odd yelled into the hole in front of him. Immediately afterwards, another stab of the barbed tail thrust through behind him, forcing him and Aelita to roll in opposite directions. Odd braced himself, preparing to fire his laser arrows, his eyes darting around the ground.
"Come out here and face me, you…whatever you are!" he taunted, his voice filled with frustration.
As if obliging Odd's request, the creature screeched, its metallic steps approaching the edge. Its pincer-like claws gripped the platform's edge, and a gigantic monster hoisted itself over, landing with thunderous impact. It roared upon spotting them, its barbed tail whipping menacingly. Aelita's face turned pale as the figure stood before them, while Odd's eyes widened in a mix of horror and excitement.
"Awesome!" Odd exclaimed, aiming for the monster's head. Both he and Aelita started backing away as the creature slowly advanced. A trilling growl escaped the monster's throat, its head low, tail lashing.
"Odd!" Aelita warned, her attention fixed on the formidable foe before them.
The monster momentarily halted its advance, growling. Then it charged forward with a screech.
"Get to the Skid!" Odd instructed Aelita, firing his laser arrows at the eye of XANA on the monster's head. A few of his shots found their mark as Aelita hurried toward the energizer ports. The monster swung its head away from Odd, fixing its gaze on Aelita. It leaped over the Skid's supports, effectively cutting Aelita off from her destination. Aelita let out a scream, astonished at the feat made by their opponent.
"Well that's new!" Odd exclaimed in frustration, sprinting over to engage the monster. He raised both arms and began firing wildly in the direction of the new threat.
Aelita quickly dove over the edge and activated her wings to evade the beast; its claw struck the spot where she'd just been. Joining the battle, Aelita bombarded the giant creature with her energy fields.
Recognizing that it was being attacked from opposite sides, the long-tailed adversary dodged the crossfire, leaping to the other end of the platform opposite to the energizer ports. Stunned, Odd raised his shield, absorbing Aelita's misfire. In response, Aelita dove below the volley of arrows, narrowly avoiding them.
The monster's tail lashed out, attempting to swipe Aelita from the air. When it didn't succeed, it turned its attention back to Odd, leaning up on its barbed tail and stomping down with both of its legs. The Skid rocked from the shockwave the monster had created, and Odd tumbled over the edge. With a shout, Odd grabbed the edge with one of his clawed-paws.
"Odd! You just lost 40 lifepoints!" Jeremie exclaimed.
"Yeah? I'm pretty sure I have bigger problems to worry about!" Odd snapped.
Aelita fired two more energy fields at the monster as it was focused on Odd, both shots hitting their mark. The monster roared as the energy enveloped it, stumbling back off of the platform and falling off the edge.
Fluttering in the air for a few moments, Aelita watched as the monster disintegrated into pixels. She landed on the platform in front of Odd, pulling him back up to her level. Odd was on all fours and let out a sigh of relief, flopping onto his back. "Man, what was that?"
"Well, whatever it was… It's dead now," Jeremie confirmed, relief washing over him. "Hurry to the Skid. We need to deactivate this tower."
"Got it," Odd sighed, pouncing to his feet and following Aelita to the energizer ports.
~ ULRICH TITLE CARD
"William?" Yumi called, peering over the rubble in the hallway. "Where are you?"
The eerie silence sent shivers down Yumi's spine as she scanned the surroundings. Where could he possibly be? She glanced back at Sissi, whom she had propped up against some debris. Yumi had improvised a makeshift splint for Sissi's injured leg, using a piece of rebar and part of her own pant leg.
"I can't believe this… One minute I'm listening to the Subdigitals…the next I'm stuck in a death trap with you," Sissi grumbled, wincing as she gently held onto her leg.
"Honestly? The feeling's mutual," Yumi muttered.
Not waiting to hear if Sissi had a retort, Yumi scrambled across the rubble, listening to the groans and creaks of the building shifting as it settled. "William!" she shouted, pushing open what was left of Jeremie's door. His Einstein poster clung desperately to the wall, its iconic tongue torn away; the room was in shambles, with half the floor gone near the window. Yumi noticed that pieces of Jeremie's computer were scattered around, and his bed teetered dangerously close to the edge. Her gaze shifted upward and she gasped - there he was! William hung from a beam in one corner of the room.
"William!" Yumi screamed, the adrenaline surging through her. Ignoring her injury, she sprinted to him, a single hope keeping her focused on his limp form. Around them, the building moaned as if it were alive and more debris rained down as fate conspired against her. William began to slip from above.
"No!" Yumi screamed in a shrill voice as she stumbled forward, her leg throbbing with agony. She lunged forward and grasped William's ankle just before he plummeted to his doom. Her upper body dangled over the abyss between the two rooms while her lower body was pulled closer and closer towards it. The severe pain in her leg screamed at her to let go but her grip stayed firm, refusing to let him fall.
"WIlliam…wake up!" she screamed as she felt the weight of his body dragging her down. Her eyes began to well up as pain shot through her shoulder.
"Yumi?" Sissi's voice called out anxiously from the hallway. "What's going on? I'm scared!"
"William!" Yumi screamed, her voice cracking with emotion. "I can't-!"
"Yumi?"
With a gasp, Yumi felt the tears begin to fall. William looked up at her groggily, having just regained consciousness. He had a pretty nasty gash across his cheek. "William, I can't…hold on!" she said, her arm trembling.
With a surge of strength, William reached up and gripped Yumi's arm. "Let go of my leg!" he demanded. Yumi obliged, his hand slipping down into her own. She watched as William grabbed onto the side of the edge and kicked his legs to create more momentum. With one final heave, Yumi grunted as she pulled William up and over.
Once William was safe, Yumi collapsed on the ground, panting heavily. She held an arm over her eyes, drying her tears. William was beside her, a few deep coughs wracking his body as he struggled to his feet, wincing in pain as he touched the gash on his face. "Thanks," he said to Yumi, his eyes filled with gratitude.
Yumi nodded, still trying to catch her breath. "We need to get out of here," she said, her voice steadier now. "Come on."
William took Yumi by the hand and helped her up before they left Jeremie's room. William let out a surprised gasp upon seeing Sissi's leg. "Oh, ouch," he said in disbelief. "Are you okay?"
"Of course not!" Sissi retorted, crossing her arms indignantly. "Why am I always the one who gets hurt?"
"Can we talk about this later?" Yumi asked, slightly exasperated.
After a moment, Sissi nodded, letting out a small whimper as William and Yumi held her between themselves.
As they made their way down the hall, William couldn't shake off the image of Sissi's injured leg. He knew he had to do something to help her. "Do you need someone to carry you? I could give you a piggyback ride," he offered.
Sissi's eyes widened in surprise at William's unexpected offer. "Uh, no thanks. I'm fine," she replied, trying to sound nonchalant, but failing to hide the pain in her voice.
"Come on, Sissi. Don't be stubborn. You can barely walk," William insisted.
Sissi hesitated for a moment before finally giving in with a harrumph. She gingerly wrapped her arms around William's neck and lifted her injured leg off the ground. William hoisted her up with a grunt of effort, holding on to her hand and uninjured leg. Turning to Yumi, he added, "Let's go."
"Don't have to tell me twice," Yumi laughed. William smiled.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Aelita and Odd materialized in the Skidbladnir; Aelita taking her place in the cockpit, and Odd settling into his Navskid. He trailed his fingers along the controls, a sense of familiarity washing over him, and a confident smirk appeared on his face. "Aw yeah. Ready to rock and roll, Princess!" Aelita smiled with a small chuckle.
"Releasing supports!" Jeremie announced as he pressed the key, and they smoothly retracted from the vehicle.
Aelita's fingers danced over the controls of the Skid, her hands resting upon the joysticks. Determination flitted across her face. "Lift off!" she declared.
Gradually, the Skid pulled away from the hangar, gliding gracefully out of Sector 5 and towards the tunnel leading to the Digital Sea. Emerging, the Skid hung suspended in the air just beyond the Dome's threshold. Aelita pressed some of the buttons on the panel. "Shields activated, ready to dive."
With an infectious burst of excitement, Odd couldn't contain himself any longer. As the Skid dived into the Digital Sea, Odd shouted, "Woohoo!"
Now traversing below the surface, the Skid initiated its rotation. "Turbo propeller, engaged," Aelita said, the Skid surging forward into the Digital Sea.
A quiet settled upon the group, both teams of two waiting in anticipation. Ulrich sighed and moved to sit beside the map, which now displayed the holoweb system. Odd was watching from his large view window as Aelita traversed the Skid through the network, following the data particles as they swam by.
"You're nearing the signal," Jeremie stated, his hand underneath his chin, focused on the monitors.
"Gotcha; cutting the engines," Aelita replied. The movement forward halted to a crawl as they rounded a Hub.
A string of data surged past their vehicle, followed closely by another. Then another. Odd watched them pass with wide eyes, his expression a mix of curiosity and unease. "What are those?" he whispered.
Aelita furrowed her brow, watching them float around the ship. "I don't know," she murmured, her hands nervously gripping the joysticks. "I'm sending you a visual, Jeremie."
As the window popped up on the main screen, Jeremie furrowed his brows, studying the streams of data. "I've never seen anything like this before," he muttered, typing rapidly on his keyboard.
Suddenly, the ship jolted violently, the entirety quaking as if caught in a tidal wave. Aelita's grip on the joysticks tightened as she tried to regain control of the Skid. "What's happening?!" she exclaimed.
Jeremie's eyes widened in horror as the all-too-familiar red exclamation mark appeared, accompanied by a torrent of rapidly flowing data. "It's a firewall - a powerful one," he announced. "It's taking over the ship's systems."
The ship lurched again, and Odd's head smacked against his headrest. He rubbed it in frustration. "Can't you do something?!" he shouted at Jeremie.
"I'm trying!" Jeremie replied, his fingers flying over the keyboard. Beads of sweat had formed on his brow. "But it's adapting too quickly."
Ulrich shot up from his spot below and hurried over to Jeremie's side, his face tense with worry. Aelita's heart was pounding in her chest as she fought to keep the Skid from crashing.
Suddenly, a new window popped up on Jeremie's screen. He frowned deeply, his mind racing.
"What's that?" Ulrich asked nervously, sweat dripping down his forehead.
Jeremie scanned the message quickly. "It's the firewall," he said. "If we go any farther, it's going to destroy the Skid."
"We can't turn back now!" Aelita exclaimed. She watched fearfully as the data swam around the Hub for another slam.
Jeremie's face was grim as he continued. "I think I've found something," he announced, typing. "If I can just…inject this code…"
The ship lurched again, but this time Aelita was prepared. She steered the ship into a sharp turn, evading the firewall's attack. "Keep going, Jeremie!"
Jeremie's eyes were glued to the screen. "Almost…there…" he growled, the beads of sweat sliding down his temple. With one final keystroke, he pressed the 'Enter' key. "Got it! Threat neutralized."
The tension in the cabin began to dissipate as the data dissipated from around the Skid. The Lyoko Warriors let out a collective sigh of relief. Aelita loosened her grip. "That was too close," she remarked.
"Hurry, Aelita!" Jeremie urged.
With a nod, Aelita pushed on the joysticks, and the Skid surged forward towards the signal. As they approached, Aelita cut the engines once more, and the Skid glided through the Sea in eerie silence. Her eyes scanned the surroundings, taking into account the giant, looming ball in front of them. "Jeremie, this looks like a Replika."
Jeremie frowned. "Well, there's the answer we were looking for."
"Rotation," Aelita murmured, pressing the respective buttons. The Skid responded with a graceful turn as they approached the entrance. Her hand pressed firmly against the panel on the dash, lighting up as it scanned her print. "Key activated."
As the beam of light hit the dial in front of them, Jeremie watched the screens and began typing. "I'm cracking the code now. Hang tight."
Aelita rested for a moment as the terminal in front of her started to rapidly fill with several lines of unintelligible code. "I never thought I'd see a Replika again…" she sighed, thinking back to the last year they'd fought XANA.
The four of them were silent, broken by Jeremie as he released a deep sigh. "XANA's return shouldn't have been possible. It's all so-" The conversation was quickly cut off as a series of error messages flashed across both Jeremie's screen and the Skid's terminal.
"What's the matter, Einstein?" Odd asked.
Jeremie adjusted his glasses and began scanning the Replika, his head rapidly moving between screens. "The program seems to have failed completely. Almost as if it can't understand the Replika itself…"
"Meaning?" Odd huffed impatiently.
"This Replika isn't one of ours. Or XANA's," Jeremie put plainly. "It's a completely separate build from what Hopper made, and judging from the analysis, it appears to be both outdated and heavily modified."
Aelita lifted her eyes from the terminal, feeling a new sense of dread as the Replika that stood before her was unlike anything they could've prepared for. Regaining her focus, she glanced at the terminal once more. "Jeremie, I don't think the program failed. I think the Authentication works, but the method of decryption is wrong."
Jeremie's eyes lit up in understanding. "Right. Right! I made this way more complicated than it needed to be!" His fingers flew across the keyboard with an amazing speed while Ulrich watched in bewilderment.
Jeremie turned his eyes to Ulrich, noticing his expression. "Basically, by identifying that it wasn't the program that failed but instead the method, I can diagnose what type of encryption the new Replika is using, input that information into the supercomputer, run a couple of quick program tests and - before you know it - I'll have the program running smoothly in no time."
Ulrich's face remained unchanged.
"We've found a different way to open the new Replika," Jeremie deadpanned.
"Great!" Ulrich replied with a smirk. "Why didn't you say that in the first place?"
Both Aelita and Jeremie rolled their eyes as they continued to work on the new decryption method.
~ WILLIAM TITLE CARD
As Yumi and William maneuvered their way through the wreckage with Sissi perched on William's shoulders, a few yelps sounded from somewhere beside them. Yumi craned her neck in the direction.
William did too. "What was that?"
"It sounded like a dog," Sissi responded, the pain now more apparent on her face as sweat ran down her brow.
Yumi's eyes widened, realization dawning over her. "Kiwi!" She rushed into what she assumed remained of Odd and Ulrich's room, following the barks until they grew louder. Coming up to one of the wardrobes, Yumi opened the drawer and was immediately met with licks to the face.
"Good boy, Kiwi! Good boy," Yumi giggled, holding onto the small pup. Kiwi barked and jumped down from her arms, scratching behind his ear. "Can you help us out of here, boy?" she asked hopefully.
Kiwi stared at her as he uncurled, panting. His eyes moved to stare off into the distance behind Yumi. With another bark, the small dog bound out of the decrepit room and into the hallway.
As Kiwi ran past them, Sissi scowled. "Ew, first Yumi and now the ugly mutt?" She cupped William's face with her hands. William grunted in displeasure.
"Sissi, can you let go of my face?"
"Oops," Sissi apologized, removing her hands. William blinked as his eyes readjusted to the surroundings.
Kiwi charged through the hallway, bounding over piles of concrete and barking persistently. He turned around and barked at them, wagging his tail. Yumi pointed at him. "Let's go with Kiwi."
"Why should we follow Della Robbia's stupid dog?" Sissi groaned. "It'll probably just take us to a dead end."
"Hey," Yumi replied sternly, "if you wanna get on all fours and find us a way out of here, be our guest." Sissi glared at her with a growl.
"Besides, what other choice do we have? It's a maze in here," William voiced. "Plus, I'm the one carrying you, so."
Sissi blushed in embarrassment, looking away shyly. "Right."
"Let's go," Yumi commanded, hurrying as fast as her hurt leg would allow her.
The trio followed Kiwi as he ran ahead, periodically turning to check if they were still keeping up. As they scrambled over an obstacle, Kiwi disappeared through a small opening in the wall of debris that blocked their path.
"I told you that dumb mutt would get us lost!" Sissi complained.
"Sissi? Shut up. Kiwi? You over there?" Yumi called out. Kiwi responded with a series of barks, followed by some scratching.
"Is someone there?" A voice came from the other side. "Is this your dog?"
All three exchanged bewildered glances that quickly turned into relief as it washed over them. Yumi rushed to the wall and pressed her hands against it. "Yes! We're here."
"How many of you?" the voice inquired again.
"Three! We're all injured, so please hurry!" William called.
"Get me out of here!" Sissi added desperately.
"Elizabeth Dear, is that you?"
"Daddy!" Sissi burst into tears at the sound of her father's voice. "Daddy…!"
"Hold tight, children! A rescue team has arrived," Mr. Delmas reassured them from the other side. "Step back if you can! They're going to try to clear the debris."
The three complied, moving back as far as possible. Soon, the building echoed with the sounds of tools as the rescuers removed the obstacles. Sissi wiped away her tears and smeared her makeup; Yumi and William exchanged relieved glances. They were going to make it.
After what felt like hours, the debris was cleared just enough to prevent further collapse. A member of the rescue team stuck their head through the opening, their gaze fixed on Sissi. "Is she the one who's most injured?" he asked, pointing at Sissi. William nodded and approached the man as he extended his arms. "Hand her up to me."
As Sissi was pulled gently through the opening, another face appeared. "You next!" they called, waving Yumi over. William turned as Yumi approached him, holding his hands in a makeshift step. They exchanged a smile.
Today, William had risked his life not just for Yumi, but also Sissi. In that harrowing moment, Yumi's heart swelled with gratitude and disbelief. This was not the same boy she had once regarded as reckless, selfish, and naive. His transformation was nothing short of astounding.
But of course, how much of that was his attempt at redemption and how much was truly just William?
Yumi took the hand of the rescuer, stepping into William's hands and hoisting herself over the opening. As she was safely planted on the ground, William followed through the opening shortly after. He smiled at her and she looked away, heat rising to her face.
Soon, they were herded out of what was left of the building and into the open, Kiwi following closely behind. Yumi glanced back the way they'd come, taking in the destruction that lay in their wake. It was a miracle they had made it out alive.
William's hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality. "Are you okay?" he asked, his concern evident in his voice.
Yumi nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just...thanks. For everything."
William smiled at her. "Anytime." Teasing, he added, "Not bad for a troublemaker, huh?"
Yumi pushed him on the shoulder. "Oh, please. You're plenty trouble." William snorted in reply.
"Freeze!"
As the scream pierced the air, everyone around them froze and turned their attention towards the source. Yumi noticed a group of authorities encircling a man and a woman positioned next to a strange object and a large truck. The two individuals appeared defiant, their stance almost intimidating. Yumi narrowed her eyes in suspicion.
Without warning, the pair unleashed bolts of electricity from their hands towards the approaching authorities, triggering chaos from the gathering crowd. As several officers crumpled under the electric assault, one of the remaining authorities fired a taser at the burly woman. The leads attached to her body, delivering a powerful electric charge. Her image flickered and she howled in pain, collapsing to the ground. From her mouth, a massive spectre emerged, screeching towards the sky as it dissipated.
"The spectres!" William shouted, rushing to aid the authorities. Yumi stretched out her arm to halt him.
"Wait!" she cried out.
Upon seeing his companion incapacitated, the man directed an electric surge at the last remaining officer, rendering her helpless. He then turned to the device beside him and activated it. A resounding hum filled the air as it powered up.
"Hey, you!" William yelled, tackling the spectre just as it turned toward him. Caught off guard, the spectre was knocked off of its feet, its image flickering as the both of them tumbled on the ground. When the spectre regained its footing, a glimmer of recognition seemed to flicker in its eyes as it locked onto William.
And then, the world ripped apart.
~ AELITA TITLE CARD
"I've got it!" Jeremie affirmed, typing. "I'm sending it to you now, Aelita."
"Receiving." Aelita watched as the code loaded onto her screen. The Key remained active before her, casting a bright white light within. Once uploaded, Aelita pressed a series of buttons on her console. "Initializing now."
The Key's white illumination transformed into a gentle blue, enveloping the dial to the new Replika. Odd watched from his Navskid as best as he could, his face lit softly. A metallic whirring sound emanated from in front of the Skid, and the Key retracted into the ship as the dial opened.
"Let's go!" Aelita affirmed, pushing the joysticks forward. The Skid lurched into the maw of the tunnel and into the Replika.
Emerging from the Digital Sea, the Skid floated upwards. Approaching the platforms above, Aelita and Odd let out a gasp.
The sky was bathed in a sunburnt orange, white puffs of cloud drifting lazily by. Below lay a mesmerizing display of jagged, floating platforms and crystalline structures. As they sat suspended in the air, lines of brilliant green and blue neon weaved through the geometric shapes. The air hummed with a low frequency vibration, emanating from within the structures themselves, as if the very essence of the platforms was alive.
"Toto, we aren't in Kansas anymore," Odd breathed, paws and face pressed up against the glass.
As Aelita landed, the shapes parted to reveal the activated tower. She frowned. "Jeremie, this feels like a trap."
"Couldn't agree more," Ulrich murmured.
"It's beautiful though." Jeremie's hand sat under his chin as he watched the window that Aelita continued to share with him.
"What should we do?" Aelita asked.
Jeremie sat quietly, lost in his own thoughts. The only sounds that reached his ears were the low hum of the Skid and the beeping from the supercomputer.
Wait, the supercomputer?
Jeremie's eyes floated over to the screen on the right, eyes widening in horror at what he saw. "AELITA, GET TO THE TOWER -"
The sounds from the lab cut off. Aelita's eyes widened in disbelief. "Jeremie?!" she shouted. "Jeremie?!"
"Let's go, Princess!" Odd urged, tail lashing. "They're in trouble!"
"Energize!" Aelita pressed the respective buttons on her controls and materialized onto the plane below, Odd following shortly after.
They landed on the cold, hard surface of the unknown sector, the tower looming over them. It looked much different than a normal tower from Lyoko; dark panels weaved together and shifted around on the outside, a menacing red light shimmering from inside its walls.
In silence, they charged forward. Odd's arm was outstretched, at the ready to let loose his laser arrows as he swept his eyes back and forth in anticipation. Aelita ran alongside him, her entire focus on the tower in front of them. She just hoped it wasn't too late.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Jeremie and Ulrich ran towards the wall of the lab as debris rained down around them, screaming in terror as they clung to each other for protection.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Yumi plummeted to the ground as the Earth beneath her split open. Letting out a shriek, she hurriedly scrambled to stand and flee from being swallowed up.
William gaped at Yumi in shock. "Yumi!" He scrambled to his feet and went after her, only to be tossed aside by the spectre, landing roughly on his side. The entity stood over him, the eye of XANA pulsating within his sockets.
W̢͙̗̱̗̼ͭͮ̀ͧḛ̩͙̞̦̼ͦ̌͘ ͣ͏̹̺̭m͒̆ͧ͏̮̮͎̪̳ͅe̱̼̟̳͉͉̮̔̀ȅͬ̀̽҉̦͍̳͇̩t̂́̾͏͇̦̠̬ ̮̖̗͑̆̈́͑͢a͖͚̳̳͙̬͔ͩ͜ğ̵̻͇̙̮ͯ͋ạ͔̐ͩ̌̔͡i̴̹̦̰͈̘͖̣̭ͫ̽n̴̹͍͕ͣ
William's defiant look quickly turned into one of sheer terror. "No..."
~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Aelita entered the tower, rushing forward to the center of the platform. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she felt herself slowly floating higher.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~
The countdown for the Return to the Past showed on the screen. Ten seconds remained.
Jeremie grabbed Ulrichs sleeve, pointing at the ladder as the walls began to tear apart. "Ulrich! Get to the lower level!"
Obliging without a word, Ulrich and Jeremie crawled as quickly as they could to the ladder just as a large chunk of the metal above smashed into where they had just been sitting.
They hurried into the supercomputer room.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~
"Get away from me!" William growled, scrambling backwards. "I'll never do your bidding again!"
The spectre laughed, reaching down and picking William up by the throat, dangling him a few feet into the air. William struggled for air, digging his nails into the spectre's hand.
Yumi hurried towards them, her arm outstretched. "William!"
~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Aelita rushed to the console and placed her hand on the virtual screen, entering the code 'Lyoko'.
Instantly, the red tower changed to a pale blue and its external panels shifted back into its original shape. Aelita closed her eyes as the glow of the Return to the Past program activated and enveloped her.
~ ODD TITLE CARD
William rushed into the cafeteria, glancing over the gathered students, his eyes settling on the rest of the Lyoko Warriors at their usual table.
Aelita saw him enter and waved him over. Ignoring his grumbling stomach, William ambled over to the group of friends. Upon nearing them, they paused in their discussion, all turning their heads to look at him. A friendly smile drew itself across Aelita's face.
"Good morning, William. Please, sit." She gestured towards Ulrich.
William reluctantly sat down next to Ulrich, glancing over quickly before averting his gaze. The brunette sneered momentarily before tapping at his tray randomly. William glanced around the group, noting that Yumi was also avoiding eye contact with him. He frowned in Yumi's direction, wondering what she could possibly be thinking about.
"You called?" William's brow rose as he turned back to Aelita.
"We've got a lot to discuss," Aelita began. "You remember your nightmares?"
He gave a solemn nod. "Way too well."
Aelita nodded back. "Unfortunately, they are real. We encountered it on Lyoko." She looked over at Odd, who paused mid-bite from his breakfast to affirm her statement with a nod.
"Great, so I'm not going crazy then," William remarked sarcastically.
"It was awesome!" Odd exclaimed before being silenced by Aelita's stern gaze. "Erm…sorry. I called it the Scorpion, because of its crazy tail."
Jeremie waved his hand dismissively. "Names aside - it doesn't bode well for us. All this unusual activity, the signals…"
"So…he's really back? …XANA?" William creased his brow in worry, his mind racing.
"It certainly appears so," Aelita sighed dejectedly.
"And what about Carthage?" Yumi chimed in. "Do we have any proof?"
Aelita hesitated before responding. "Nothing concrete, but it's too much of a coincidence. We can't ignore it."
"The Replika-"
"The Labyrinth!" Odd interjected, putting up his finger.
Jeremie rolled his eyes. "The Labyrinth," he repeated sarcastically, "is just as much of a mystery as XANA's return."
"That being said, we thought about everything that's happened, and we've decided that this is too much for just the five of us. For Lyoko," Aelita responded, looking at each of her friends. "So, we put it to a vote."
William waited in anticipation as the silence drew on. What would be the outcome? His eyes found Yumi's once more, and this time she held his gaze, giving him a curt nod.
"Welcome back, William," Aelita said cheerfully, grabbing his hands in hers and suppressing a small giggle.
Surprised by her sudden outburst of joy, William pulled away from Aelita's hands. "Are you sure? I-I mean, I wanna help, but I know how much damage I caused. I let him control me. It was so lame… and I just…"
"William," Yumi interjected. "We wouldn't be asking you to do this if we didn't trust you."
"Besides, you can still say no. No one's forcing you to stick with us," Ulrich replied coldly.
William looked at the two of them, and then to the others who gave him reassuring looks. William looked down to his hand, tightening it into a fist.
"I won't let you down this time. I swear it," William said, determined. "And besides, I owe our friend XANA some payback."
Odd stood up and clamped his arm around William's shoulder in a friendly gesture, laughing with glee. "It's great to have you back, buddy!"
William smiled.