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.
Beta read by swordsdownforreview
Special Announcement: I've gone through and updated Chapters 1 through 19, the ones that were never beta'd. On top of the grammar corrections, some of them also have some details added in, especially #19, which has a brand new scene in it to help the plot flow a little better.
!~~~J~E~R~L~I~T~A~~R~O~L~E~S~W~A~P~~A~U~~~!
"Due to a misunderstanding, the tension between William and Ulrich boils to an all-new high."
Episode 29: Misconduct
(Based on New Order & A Bad Turn)
Today, Ms. Hertz had taken her tenth and eleventh grade science classes on an excursion into the nearby woods. The assignment was to pair up and work together to make a biodiversity scrapbook, which a nearby museum had asked them to make. The samples were to be gathered by taking pictures of and drawing the various plants and flowers that surrounded the Academy.
Jérémie and Aelita had been paired up. Between his surprising affinity for photography and her talent for drawing, they had gotten a perfect score on their work.
They had also returned to the school courtyard first, before any of their friends. Now, they were waiting under the arches for them.
Odd and Ulrich returned next. Ms. Hertz graded their work with a surprisingly high score, mostly thanks to Odd's talent for the arts, so it was no surprise that he had been tasked with the drawing.
Ulrich lagged behind, his eyes on something behind them, as he and Odd joined the two geniuses under the arches.
"So, did you manage to get any drawing done?" Jérémie asked, remembering how panicked Odd looked when Ms. Hertz announced that Yumi's partner would be none other than William, clearly fearing that his own partner Ulrich would be too into spying on the two rather than get his own work done.
"Yeah," Odd replied, in a low voice, "but I had to drag Ulrich far away from Yumi and William. You can guess why. Not even going back in time can change things there..."
The three watched Ulrich glaring at the scene of Yumi saying goodbye to William for the day, the brunette boy clearly seething with jealousy. It was obvious in his eyes. However, he averted them when Yumi left William and approached the group.
"Hey, guys," she greeted her friends with a proud smile. "William and I got the highest score in our grade. We make a pretty good team. How was the excursion for you?"
"It went well," Odd replied, returning her smile. "Kiwi had loads of fun. He doesn't have that many chances to run around all he wants." The green drawstring bag attached to his back began wiggling, and he turned his head and whispered to the bag, "Shh. We're still outside, boy." The other four barely managed to hide their smiles; Kiwi was obviously in the bag. Turning back to the others with a sheepish smile, Odd finished with, "Plus, Ulrich and I got a high grade. Not as high as Mr. and Mrs. Einstein's here, but it's a grade I got on the first try, and that's all that matters to me."
"Good," Yumi told him. "That's definitely something to be proud of, Odd." She then turned to the two smart ones, "So, did you two walk away with a perfect grade again?"
The two both shared a knowing glance, before Aelita confirmed, "Yeah. Jérémie really took a liking to being the one behind the camera."
"It's a good way to remember things," Jérémie shrugged, slightly saddened as he remembered he had to return the camera Ms. Hertz gave him. It belonged to the school, after all. But he wanted to experiment with it more.
Aelita's expression quickly turned solemn. Apparently, what the blonde in blue had said reminded her of something. "Speaking of remembering," she told the others in a low voice, "since Jérémie and I got our drawings and photos done early, we decided to explore the Hermitage some more. Y'know, to kill time." She took a deep breath before turning to the boy beside her, "You want me to tell them what you said, or...?" She trailed off.
Jérémie closed his eyes and shook his head, "No. I'll do it." When he opened his eyes, he kept them glued to the ground. "It feels like something's keeping me from remembering my past."
"Like a firewall?" Odd suggested.
"Yeah. That's a good way to describe it."
Yumi turned to Aelita, "We should probably scan his brain."
"I did," the pink-ette explained. "I looked over the data from every single time he was virtualized, and even all the times he was materialized, just to make sure. There is no hint of a firewall within his mind. By all intents and purposes, he should be able to remember, but he can't and I don't know why."
"Even if his brain can't remember," Ulrich reminded them, "his heart does."
"That's exactly why I'm suspicious," Aelita confessed. "Maybe it's the supercomputer, maybe it's something else, but there's a problem that's bugging me even more. Despite the data we've previously found, there is no hint whatsoever of a virus listed on Jérémie's digital profile, when every other ailment caused by XANA is. For example, when Yumi's DNA sequence code was stolen by XANA, it said so on her ID."
"To warn those at the controls that I couldn't be devirtualized," Yumi finished, understanding the younger's thought process. "But Jérémie can't be devirtualized—we've always known that!—and surely that's listed on his ID!" If it wasn't, then that was a massive oversight.
"It is, but a virus is never once mentioned as being the cause," Aelita replied.
"Translation?" Odd asked. He said this so often, it was practically his catchphrase.
"Meaning, I'm beginning to think that the virus is either a lie and has been the whole time, or is a virus of a different kind, one that I've never seen before," the pink-ette explained. "There's something that's connecting Jérémie to XANA and the supercomputer—that cannot be denied—and I'm going to find out what it is. In the meantime, I'm just keeping you guys updated on the angle I'm using now to solve the problem."
"Thanks for considering us," Ulrich admitted. "You think it's possible to visit Sector Five later tonight for more answers?"
"You just read my mind, Stern."
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Later that night, Jérémie lifted the manhole cover, opening up the passage from the sewers to the park. He climbed out first, then Odd, then Aelita, then Ulrich, who then helped Yumi out of the tunnel.
"Good job, everyone," Aelita was saying, as Ulrich helped Yumi out of the tunnel by offering her his hand. "I'll have the results of the data we retrieved by tomorrow. We'll go over them then."
After Yumi got to her feet, hers and Ulrich's hands remained connected for a few seconds, both of them lingering, until Jérémie called out, "See you tomorrow, Yumi."
Snapping back to reality, she took her hand back and used it to wave at them, "Yeah, I'll see you guys tomorrow." She repeated softly to Ulrich, "See you tomorrow," glancing at him one last time, her cheeks a light red, before running away from the park and back to her house.
"Y-Yeah, later!" Ulrich stammered, returning her wave. He then turned around to see the other three staring at him, all acting like they wanted to say something or acting like he was an idiot. Or both. "What?"
"Hellooo," Odd made a knocking motion with his fist, against his own forehead. "Anyone home? You want some spotlights as well as the signs?"
Oh. They were talking about him and Yumi.
"What are you waiting for, anyway?" Jérémie asked. "For the sparks between you two to cause an actual fire?"
"You know they're right, Ulrich," Aelita was smiling in amusement. "You really oughta go for it."
"Wait, like...now?" He asked nervously. Fighting XANA was one thing, but telling Yumi how he felt about her or asking her out for even one date was beyond his comfort zone.
"No, wait until she starts going out with another guy because she's sick of waiting for you to make a move," Odd retorted, sarcastically. "Yes, now!" Jérémie and Aelita were backing him up with vehement nods.
"Okay, okay," Ulrich turned to leave. Message received. But he stopped when he remembered something, "What if Jim notices that I'm missing? He's about to do his last rounds of the night."
A valid reason, but it was amazing how quickly his friends could make him feel better.
"Don't worry, we'll cover for you," Odd told him.
"Okay. Here I go," he replied, before running off in the direction of the Ishiyama household.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
As Yumi approached her house, she mentally prepared herself for seeing her parents waiting for her. After dinner, she pretended to get a text from one of the others asking her for her help with a crisis. Yumi didn't mind using that lie, because it was a half-truth, the person she was helping being Jérémie. Tonight's mission to Sector Five was to gather more information about what was actually connecting him with XANA, after all.
She really hoped her parents weren't still up; she was tired and wanted to go to bed. All she had to do was leave a note about which time she came home, and that would suffice.
However, when her home came into view, she found a brand new problem waiting for her. Quite literally.
William was leaning against one of the posts supporting the front gate, his hands in his pockets. He was obviously here for her. She didn't miss any classes today, so he wasn't here to drop off notes. So what was he here for? In the middle of the night, at that?
(Also, if her father saw her outside with a boy, she'd never hear the end of it.)
She took a deep breath as she approached him. "William? What are you doing here? Are you crazy?" She asked, as she walked past him to her front gate.
"Yes," he softly replied, as he leaned in towards her. "I told you I was." He gently lifted up her chin so that she was staring at her in the eye. "I go totally crazy when I like a girl."
That's right. This was the guy who was expelled from his last school for putting up love letters everywhere.
"You mean...love makes you crazy."
"Makes me totally insane."
Her gut sank. William was here to hit on her. Some girls would love how William came on strong, but Yumi wasn't one of them. She preferred the slow burns with Ulrich more.
Unknown to them, Ulrich arrived in time to see them. Once he saw how close they were, he grit his teeth, cursing his own reluctance. He had lost his chance. There was no way Yumi would reject William; they were the same age, after all...
"Let me give you a piece of friendly advice: go and talk to Yumi, from the heart. Or else, one day, I will. Then, I really will be your problem!"
He ran away, seething in anger and regret that he didn't get there sooner.
Neither noticing Ulrich's presence or flight, William leaned in towards Yumi, clearly intent on kissing her.
Yumi panicked. Her back was quite literally against a wall, and he was caging her with his arm. She immediately pulled away, turning her face away before their lips could make contact. She ignored his confusion and pushed him away from her, before she opened her gate and slipped inside.
As she closed the gate behind her, leaving William on the other side, she quietly told him, "Sorry, but I don't like you that way, William."
William frowned. "It's Ulrich, isn't it?" His vocal tone was cold.
She returned his attitude with a glare, "If it is, it's none of your business. The problem here, William, is that I find your two-bit casanova act sickening. In the beginning, I put with it because you're a nice guy, but cornering me at my own house late at night and forcing me to kiss you was the last straw."
He was surprised by her outburst, "W-What...?"
"Girls are not objects, Dunbar," she continued, getting a little heated now. "We are human beings like you males, and we reserve the right to consent and reject advances that we don't want. You say that being in love makes you crazy, and I think it's past time you think about how you can dial that back."
She then went inside her house, leaving William standing there, pensive.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Odd was telling his two companions a joke, "So then I told you I was going to order a t-shirt on the internet, and she asked if it was going to come out of the printer!"
Jérémie and Aelita immediately laughed at the joke, and Odd quickly jumped in as well.
All three were in his and Ulrich's room, in their pajamas. Jim hadn't done his rounds yet, but he soon would. They were prepared to use the excuse that Ulrich was in the shower room.
As if on cue, the door opened, and the trio turned to see who had arrived. It was Ulrich.
"Ah, there's our Romeo!" Odd exclaimed.
Ulrich just closed his eyes, visibly sulking. He just wanted to sleep. He'd face reality in the morning. Not right now.
But his roommate didn't see the expression on his face just yet, "Hey, champ, how'd it go?"
The German boy didn't grace that with an answer. He just sat down on his bed before laying down, refusing to look at any of his friends in the eyes. But apparently, he didn't need words to convey his feelings—his actions and how he performed them spoke volumes.
Odd glanced at the Jérémie and Aelita, the atmosphere suddenly changing. Ulrich was clearly sulking—things had not gone well at all—and he'd be like this for the next forty-eight hours. It was time to go.
"C'mon, Jérémie," Aelita softly said, "let's go to bed now. I'm tired."
"Right." The blonde in blue got up from his seat on Odd's bed and followed the pink-ette out of the room, "Good night, Odd. Good night, Ulrich." He hoped his brunette friend would feel better soon.
Once the door closed behind the two geniuses, Odd turned to his roommate, "So, do you...wanna talk about about happened?"
"No," Ulrich's response was short and curt. "Leave me alone."
Odd obeyed, before glancing at his dog. What could have happened? The only way to find out right now was to ask Yumi about it. But that could wait until morning.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
The next day, a Saturday, the tenth and eleventh graders were required, by the principal, to stay after school for a special class that afternoon. So, while Hiroki got to go home (and did), Yumi had to stay behind. Both classes were led to the track field, and were now sitting on the bleachers, waiting for the special class to start.
As Yumi approached the bleachers, she was joined by William. She immediately tensed up. He had avoided her the entire day, so what he possibly wanted from her this time made her nervous.
"Hey, William," she greeted, being friendly with him solely because it was polite.
"Hey," his voice was soft. But not the romantic type of soft like last night. No, this time, it was more the regret kind of soft. "Look, I'm really sorry for last night. You're right; girls are not objects and it was wrong of me to not consider your feelings or right to consent. Or anyone else's. I don't expect you to forgive me right off the bat, and that's fine. Take your time, even if the time never comes."
"I accept your apology," she told him, after digesting all of that. "I don't forgive you yet, though." Because she meant everything she said in last night's rant.
William shrugged, "And again, that's fine. Also...I still like you, Yumi, but you're right, again. Who you like is none of my business. As long as he makes you happy, then I can live with being rejected."
Yumi smiled, before nodding, "That's good to hear, because you'll have to live with it either way."
William let slip his own smile, before continuing, "I also want to thank you for the reality check. I never realized that all of those grand gestures were detrimental to my cause before, until you said 'no'." He was shaking his head. "I deserved to be expelled. I made that girl very uncomfortable, at the very least."
"I can't speak for her personally, but I have a pretty solid view on how she felt," Yumi advised. "Those love letters all over the school were definitely too much. Next time, just write one letter and give it to them in private. That way, they'll feel a lot less pressured to give you an answer they don't want to give."
He nodded, taking her advice to heart.
She continued, "You are handsome, William, I will admit that. Charismatic, too. And I know I can trust you with my friends' safety." He may not remember, but she always did. "Just treat girls with respect, and you'll feel a lot more genuine."
He finally looked at her in the eyes, "Thanks, Yumi, for everything. You're a great friend." His smile was soft and honest.
That was why she returned it so willingly, "You're welcome. I still haven't forgiven you, though."
Both of their smiles turned snarky, as he replied, "I know."
The two had reached the bleachers by now, where there was a small yellow car parked on the field and the other four were already there waiting. However, Ulrich was sitting in the front row, rather than the back with Odd, Jérémie, and Aelita. She waved at him, but he just turned away, to her concern.
She turned to William (missing how Ulrich was glaring at him), who merely shrugged in confusion.
Just as she and William sat down, Mr. Delmas approached the bleachers, with Jim and a police officer by his side, and began explaining what this special class was and why it was happening, "Hello, students. Some of you are already riding scooters and at this stage, I don't think it would be a waste of your time to go over the rules of the road."
Made sense, actually. However, Yumi was worried because Jérémie likely didn't know what was going on or what this was all about.
Mr. Delmas continued, "This training day will familiarize you with the correct way to drive a vehicle. Assistant Warrant Officer Garrigue here," the police officer nodded his head as a greeting, "has agreed to take you under his responsibility today as part of the exchange program between the police force and the Board of Education." He motioned to Jim, "Our physical education teacher, Jim, will assist you as well."
Jim immediately saluted to Garrigue, as if reporting to a superior officer, "Corporal Jim Morales, Seventh Engineering Battalion, sir, number 9-2-12-1! At your orders!"
"At ease," the officer replied, surprised. "You were in the army?"
Jim cleared his throat, "Um, I'd rather not talk about it, Captain."
"I'm only a Warrant Officer," Garrigue corrected, slightly annoyed.
"Oh...excuse me, Lieutenant."
Mr. Delmas, fortunately, interrupted before Jim could annoy their guest further, "Yes, well, the introductions have been made, and the instructions have been delivered to the students. I'll turn operations over to you two. Jim, can I count on you?"
"Affirmative, Principal Delmas, sir!" Jim shouted at the top of his lungs, and it took all of Mr. Delmas's willpower not to sigh in frustration as he left the field, heading back to his office.
The police officer took his place, addressing the students, "Driving any vehicle is serious business. Caution, concentration, and safety are needed whenever you find yourself behind the wheel."
As Warrant Officer Garrigue was talking, Yumi snuck down from the back row down to the front where Ulrich was.
"Hey, Ulrich, what's wrong?" she asked, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Are you sulking or what?"
Instead of answering her, he just shoved his shoulder out of her grasp.
She scoffed in disbelief—apparently, she did something that pissed him off, but what?—before sneaking back to her spot in the back row, sitting, this time, next to Odd. "What is wrong with him?" She asked him, whispering. "Last night, when we said goodbye, he was in a great mood."
"Yeah, but what about after?" Odd asked in return, genuinely curious because Ulrich was refusing to talk to any of them. "What happened after he followed you back to your place?"
"What?!" She was shocked by Odd's words. "He followed me?!" She then groaned in frustration. No wonder Ulrich was mad at her.
He had seen what happened between her and William and obviously took it the wrong way.
"That boy can be such a pain..." she grumbled.
"Agreed," Odd replied.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Pulsations raced through the Mountain Sector towards an activated tower that was surrounded by a labyrinth.
At the factory, one of the scanners opened up, and the leg of a Krabe emerged...
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Warrant Officer Garrigue opened the passenger door of the yellow car parked on the track. "Now, I'm going to call each of you one by one to take a drive around the circuit." On the track, there was a little course set up, as indicated by traffic lights and numerous cones. "The rest of you, please remain seated." He looked at the list he had, tacked to a clipboard. "Delmas, Elizabeth."
Sissi and the officer both climbed inside the car, as she told him, "Actually, I prefer Sissi to Elizabeth." She then buckled herself in and started the car. Instead of going in reverse like she intended, she went forward, knocking into all the cones in front of her as well as a traffic line.
Her face was red with embarrassment as she trudged back to her spot on the bleachers.
"Nice job," Odd joked at her. "You didn't miss a single pin!"
"Della Robbia, Odd."
Said boy tensely gripped the steering wheel as he sped through course, with the warrant officer remaining vigilant, ready to take control just in case. Odd ended up colliding with several cones. Cue him smiling embarrassedly at the officer, who looked at him with the same disappointment used by teachers.
"Ishiyama, Yumi."
Yumi was deep in concentration, eyebrows furrowed and her teeth gritted, as she reached a 'hang onto something' speed.
"Pichon, Hervé."
Hervé could only 'bunny hop'. Conductor and passenger were both constantly jerked back and forth.
"Poliakoff, Nicolas."
Nicolas was driving like a real pro, remaining perfectly relaxed.
"Schaeffer, Aelita."
Aelita remained worried, but she was doing pretty well overall.
"Belpois, Jérémie."
Jérémie had stalled and was trying in vain to restart the engine, with an embarrassed smile, as the warrant officer looked on wearily.
"Dunbar, William."
William, like Nicolas, drove like a pro.
"Stern, Ulrich."
Ulrich, unfortunately, was one of the bad drivers, as he drove through all the cones before abruptly stopping. As one could imagine, this only added to his already sour mood.
"Hey, you're not any better than Jérémie and I are," Odd smiled at him, clearly trying to cheer him up. "What a morale booster!"
This only made Ulrich snap, "Will you just shut up?!"
"Hey, don't yell at him," William jumped in after seeing Odd immediately back off like a dog. "It's not Odd's fault that you drive like a dork."
That only made it worse.
Ulrich turned around and jumped on William, knocking him to the ground. He threw punches, with William returning them only out of self-defense.
Luckily, Jim heard the commotion and broke up the fight as soon as it started. He quickly grabbed both of them by the back collars of their shirts and separated them using mild force, "Stern and Dunbar! What do you think you're doing?! Straight to the principal's office! Now! Forward march!"
As he escorted the two away, Yumi cringed, knowing the only reason why Ulrich would ever start a fight with William.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Ulrich and William both stood in front of Mr. Delmas's desk, ashamed of their actions as their principal went off on them, the man vehement to the point where he stood up as if that would get his point across better. Meanwhile, Jim stood at attention next to the door, which was closed for privacy.
"Your behavior is unspeakable," the man scolded. "Violence is no way to sort out your differences. Four hours of detention for both of you. Next time I see you two in here for the same reason, I'll suspend you both. Understood?"
The two boys both nodded without speaking a single word.
Mr. Delmas huffed, before sitting back down. "Good. Jim, take them to the library."
"Yes, General!" Jim shouted. Mr. Delmas promptly glared at him, and Jim sheepishly smiled, "Uh, I mean, right away, Mr. Delmas."
William and Ulrich exchanged smirks while Mr. Delmas shook his head by Jim's military behavior today, rubbing his temples to ease his oncoming headache.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
An hour later, the others were sitting on a bench in the courtyard, waiting for Ulrich in order to give him a much-needed reality check. Sulking was one (understandable) thing, but starting a physical fight with someone wasn't like him.
Yumi leaned against a nearby tree. While she was close enough to hear the others, she was far enough way to signal to her friends that she herself was also sulking.
"Don't worry, Aelita," Odd was reassuring his cousin. "It'll work out. They're not the first guys in history who have ever fought over a girl."
"I just feel bad for Yumi," Aelita confessed. The Japanese girl had been like this ever since her two suitors were hauled by Jim to the principal's office. The pink-ette turned to the blonde in blue sitting beside her. "How about you? Would you fight over me, Jérémie?"
Jérémie's expression signalled that he was deep in thought, but he responded to her without missing a beat, "I fight for you every day, Aelita. Against XANA."
As Aelita's face became dusted with a light red at the declaration, Odd fake sniffled and pretended to wipe away a tear, "Aww, that's s-so beautiful!"
"Come on..." Jérémie muttered in unamusement, as Aelita's bag began sounding an alarm.
She reached into it and pulled out her laptop. She opened it, only to be greeted with an alert from the superscan. "Speak of the devil. Activated tower in the Mountain Sector."
Yumi had approached them during this. "Let's head for the factory," she suggested. "The sooner we deactivate it, the better." Jérémie nodded in agreement.
As Aelita closed her laptop and put it back in her bag, Odd asked, "But what about Ulrich?"
"We'll have to manage with him," Aelita replied, all of them now standing, with her bag slung over her shoulder. "He got in trouble, so he must pay the price."
"Agreed," Yumi said. "But let's hope XANA doesn't consider him a sitting duck because of it."
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Takeho Ishiyama came home to a frustrated wife typing away at her laptop and his game-focused son. Apparently, whatever happened, it wasn't too bad because Akiko noticed him enter the room.
She turned her head from her spot at the table, "You're home early, dear."
Meanwhile, Hiroki merely nodded a 'hello' at his dad, not looking up from his game.
"The meeting with Moramoto-san was moved to tomorrow due to a family emergency," Takeho explained, "so I was sent home early." He kissed the top of her head before leaning over her shoulder to see what was on her laptop screen. "How's your dictionary coming along?"
"Well, my editor called and said–"
She was cut off by a loud thump outside. All three of them went silent, as Hiroki finally glanced up from his game, before turning to his parents in confusion.
Akiko stood up to investigate, asking herself, "Who could that be?" as she approached the front door.
But when she opened it, she was greeted with the cold, lifeless eyes of a Krabe.
She could only scream in horror.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Odd led the run towards the factory. The four crossed the bridge, only for Odd to stop the other three with an outstretched arm as they reached the gallery. "Look out!"
A Krabe was waiting for them on the factory floor. It fired up at the gallery the moment it saw them, and they all ducked for cover.
Now in hiding, Aelita muttered, "Well, now we know what XANA has in store for us."
Yumi's phone rang and she quickly answered it, seeing it was her brother, "Yes, Hiroki?"
"Nee-chan, help! There's a big monster outside the house!" He sounded utterly scared.
"What?!" she exclaimed, glad she had chosen to pick up despite the Krabe cornering them right now.
"No, I swear! And it looks like the beach level boss from Ultimate Blaster! Daddy's outside..." He then whimpered in fear, trailing off, which in turn made Yumi fear for her father's life.
"Don't worry, I'm coming to help," she reassured him, before hanging up. She then addressed the other three, "XANA's virtualized another Krabe! It's at my house, so my family is in danger!"
"Go help them," Jérémie told her, remaining calm as he kept his eyes on the Krabe standing guard at the elevator. "We can manage the tower without you."
"Take care of yourselves," Odd added.
"You too," she replied, before standing up and running off.
Aelita pulled out her phone and speed-dialed Ulrich's number, "I'm making an executive decision. We're gonna need some back-up." She waited for the German boy to pick up, only to fail. She frowned at her phone, "I got his voicemail. What rotten luck."
"Jim probably confiscated it," Odd told her. "No phones in detention, remember?"
"I guess we'll have to do with only the three of us," the pink-ette muttered, before tapping her finger against the ground, thinking. "We need a plan. Here's the situation." She started drawing a diagram on the ground, using the accumulated dirt as a canvas. "This is the gallery, where we are," she grew a 'G' in a circle, "This is the elevator landing," she drew an 'E' in a circle. "We have to get to point E without being spotted by the Krabe 'K'," she finished as she drew a 'K' in a circle in between the other two. "Any ideas?"
"It's highly unlikely that XANA would risk firing a single shot at me," Jérémie replied. "If you two stay behind me, we could probably make it."
"Mm-mm. Too risky," Odd immediately shook his head. "You're needed to deactivate the tower. I have a better idea."
"Which is?" Jérémie asked.
"BONZAI!" He rushed past the two geniuses, messing up both of their hair as well as Jeremie's glasses.
"Odd!" Aelita cried out in worry, as her cousin jumped off the gallery, landing in front of the Krabe, which immediately fired at him.
He dodged the laser by rolling underneath the Krabe. As he emerged on the other wise, he taunted the monster with, "What are you waiting for, an invitation?" The Krabe turned around, and Odd began backing away in order to lure the beast away from the other two. "Get into the elevator!" he called to them. "I'll be right there!"
He ran away from the elevator, and the Krabe followed him, letting Aelita and Jérémie use the ropes to reach the factory floor. He found himself lucky that he was able to dodge every single shot the Krabe fired at him.
He lured it around the factory floor in one giant circle. By the time, he returned to the lift, Jérémie and Aelita were inside and door was closing.
Aelita was holding the bottom, as if attempting to slow it down (and failing), as she knelt down in order to address her cousin, "Hurry up!"
Odd fell to the ground and body-rolled inside just before the door closed.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
As Yumi ran down the sidewalk towards her house, she could hear police sirens. She was worried beyond belief right now; hopefully, nobody was hurt, least of all her family.
At the end of the block, she was stopped by a police car that was parked there. The two officers there refused to let her through, which only increased her concern tenfold.
"Sorry, miss, you can't come through here," one of the officers told her, as the other sat in the car by the radio. "There's a dangerous animal on the loose."
"But I live just around the corner!" she pointed at to the right, where she knew her house was. "I have to get to my parents and brother!"
The officer just shook his head, "Sorry, miss, we have our orders."
She nervously began chewing her fingernails. This 'dangerous animal' was actually a Krabe being controlled by an evil AI, but she couldn't just tell this officer that without sounding completely insane.
All she could do now was wait.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
The sounds of the second Krabe could be heard from inside the library as it began attacking the students waiting in the courtyard. Unfortunately, only Ulrich understood what was happening—judging from the call Jim wouldn't let him answer earlier, there was only one possibility.
Jim got up from his spot at the library table, "What's all that ruckus?" He walked to the window, only to see students running away in fear. He turned to the two boys at the table, "You two stay put if you know what's good for ya," before leaving the library.
Once Jim was gone, Ulrich and William both got up and went to the window, both wanting to see what was going on. Both pairs of eyes landed on the red-orange-ish killing machine firing lasers left and right.
William was understandably shocked and afraid, "W-What is that thing?!"
"A Krabe," Ulrich simply answered, causing William to turn to him in confusion.
Ulrich ignored him, however, and began eyeing his cellphone on the table.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
The trio emerged from the elevator into the scanner room, only to find it completely destroyed.
"Whoa..." Odd muttered, as they were all in shock. "Looks like our two Krabe friends busted the scanners."
"Not all of them," Jérémie cut in. "This one's still standing." He was next to a scanner, the only one that wasn't destroyed.
Aelita suddenly realized something, before explaining what that something was, "The Krabes are too big to emerge from the scanners and still leave them intact, unlike the Kankrelats. XANA had all the time in the world to get rid of all three scanners, so the fact that one still works is deliberate."
"It's a trap," Jérémie added.
"Most likely," the pink-ette admitted. "And if it is, it's definitely to trap you. So, here's the plan. Odd, head up to the lab and virtualize us before sending yourself. I'm going first, so Jérémie has at least one bodyguard if my theory is correct."
"Shouldn't he go last then?" Odd asked.
"Well, there's also the possibility that XANA will destroy the scanner before Jérémie can use it in order to stop him from deactivating the tower," Aelita explained. "It's unlikely, but still possible. So, I'll go first, Jérémie will go next, and Odd is last. Just in case."
The two blondes nodded in agreement. Odd then ran to the ladder and climbed up a level to the lab.
Once he was in the chair, and the earpiece snuggled into his ear, he brought up the virtualization program. "Okay, I'm all set. The activated tower is in the Mountain Sector, 35 degrees North, 22 degrees East."
"I'm ready, Odd," Aelita told him.
"Okay," he typed in the commands, bringing up her ID card, "Transfer Aelita!" Her avatar began loading. "Scanner Aelita!" Once it was finished loading, he pressed 'Enter'. "Virtualization!"
A green arrow appeared on the holomap, which was showing the Mountain Sector.
He then brought up the next ID card, "Your turn, Jérémie."
"I'm ready."
"Good," he typed in the commands. "Transfer Jérémie!" His avatar began loading. "Scanner Jérémie!" Once it was finished loading, he pressed 'Enter' once more. "Virtualization!"
A yellow arrow appeared on the holomap, next to Aelita's current position.
"Good job, Odd," the pink-ette said. "You're up now. Get over here and we can get going."
He then brought up his own ID card and the timer. He pressed 'Enter' for a third time, and the timer started. "There we go. I'm on my way."
He took out the earpiece as he rushed towards the ladder again. He climbed down and ran to the only working scanner, which had its doors closed. That was probably the first warning for what was about to happen.
The doors opened up after what felt like an eternity (but was only fifteen seconds), only for him to be greeted by a third Krabe.
"Uh-oh..."
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
What was taking Odd so long? He should've been virtualized by now.
"Uh, guys?" There he was. But why was he still in the lab? "We've got another problem!"
"What kind?" Jérémie asked.
"Well, it's a big banquet," Odd explained. "XANA has sent us an entire seafood platter, and our very last scanner just gave out its death cry as it got destroyed by a third Krabe. You were right, Aelita." It was indeed a trap meant for Jérémie. "And now, you guys are on your own."
"It's fine, Odd," Aelita replied. "As long as Jérémie isn't left alone."
"You guys focus on the tower. I'm going to play with the Krabe so that it doesn't do any more damage to the supercomputer or to the city."
"Sounds like a plan, but before you do," the pink-ette said, "you mind sending us a vehicle?"
"I'll try." A brief pause, before the Overboard appeared in front of them. "Sorry, all I can get you is the Overboard."
"That's fine," Jérémie said, before jumping on the vehicle. "C'mon, there's no time to lose." Aelita nodded before jumping on behind him as his passenger.
The two then took off towards the tower, with Jérémie using his goggles to connect to the holomap.
"Good luck, guys," Odd said.
"You too," Aelita replied, but her cousin didn't say anything else, clearly having left by now.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
"Please, just let me through to get my brother to safety!" Yumi was attempting a compromise, being desperate enough for it. If even one member of her family survived, she'd be fine in the long run.
"I already told you, miss," the officer still blocking her way shook his head. "Orders are orders."
Her fists clenched even tighter without her intention. Her anger was boiling because this guy, while only concerned about her welfare, was preventing her from getting through and seeing if her family was okay. Now, she was afraid she'd lose her temper like Ulrich did earlier, except here, she'd be in trouble for assaulting a police officer.
Just then, the car radio crackled to life, "Calling all cars, the animal has just been spotted in the vicinity of Kadic Academy. I repeat, the vicinity of Kadic Academy."
Yumi watched as the officer blocking her way got into the car on the passenger side, and both officers took off. The path was clear now; no one could stop her from getting to her house.
That was extremely lucky.
She then took off down the path, hoping with all of her heart that she wasn't too late.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Odd climbed back down the ladder to the scanner. He whistled, catching the attention of the Krabe that was still down there, before narrowly avoiding a laser and promptly climbing through the hatch on the roof of the elevator.
As he climbed up the shaft, a loud bang shook the entire factory, making Odd lose his footing. He found it again, luckily, but when he looked back down, the elevator was now in pieces and the Krabe was using its legs to climb up the shaft after him.
It was difficult for the beast, though, which was why Odd was able to outclimb it. Now back on the factory floor, he hid behind the elevator scaffolding to catch his breath while waiting for the Krabe to catch up.
As he did so, his cellphone rang. Knowing it could only be one person, he picked up, "Ulrich?"
"Odd! Finally! I've been trying to reach you guys for the past five minutes! What's going on?"
"XANA has materialized three Krabes," Odd explained. "One of them is at Yumi's, and I'm playing with a second at the factory so it doesn't do anymore damage to the supercomputer or the city."
"The third's here at the Academy," Ulrich said. "How are the others doing?"
"Yumi's at her house for understandable reasons," Odd answered. "And Jérémie and Aelita are all alone on Lyoko. I would've joined them, but I can't because the scanners are all busted and no longer operational thanks to the Krabes."
"At least Jérémie's not alone," Ulrich replied. "All we have to do is focus on the Krabes, while the two Einsteins focus on the tower. I'll deal with the Krabe at the school."
"Are you sure?" Odd asked, as the Krabe he was luring finally reached the factory floor. "They're just as bad as the ones on Lyoko."
"Yeah," Ulrich reassured his roommate. "William's with me. You know how helpful he is."
That was not a joke or a sarcastic jab. That was a major compliment coming from Ulrich, when knowing how much he disliked William.
That made Odd feel better. "Okay. Good luck."
"You too." The other boy then hung up.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Jim ran outside with his guns blazing. Well, symbolically. He tried to punch the Krabe as he yelled, "Geronimo!" to protect the students running away, only for a laser to the left upper arm to send him to the ground.
"Jim!" William yelled in worry.
The Krabe turned to the entrance of the administrative building, watching as William and Ulrich both ran towards the mechanical beast.
It fired at them, but the two humans both narrowly avoided it by jumping to the sides and running to opposite sides of it. It turned around, only to find them both gone.
Within the treelines, the two boys hid behind separate trees.
"William," Ulrich whispered. Once he had the elder's attention, he explained, "I know how to beat this thing, but I need your help. You feel up to it?"
"If it saves lives, then yes," the elder replied, almost as though it were a solemn vow.
The Krabe continued looking around at the now empty area, until someone threw a rock at it. It turned back around to the source, only to find the boy that was not on its list of primary targets.
"Hey!" William waved his arms. "You looking for me?!" He then ran away.
It wasn't, actually, but since no one else was in sight, the beast chased after him anyways. Any chaos was good.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Aelita whistled, impressed, as Jérémie smoothly turned a sharp corner on the Overboard. "You're getting more and more confident on this thing."
"There are always things to fear," was the blue elf's response. "The Overboard is not one of them." He briefly glanced at her with a smile, "Don't worry. We'll make it."
Aelita's enhanced hearing picked up the humming before Jérémie's goggles did. "Hornets, behind us!" she exclaimed.
"I see them," he replied, not stopping the flight path. "There's ten in total."
Said squadron of Hornets all began firing at them. Jérémie dodged all the lasers as best he could, swerving left and right and back again. There was no pause in their firing, but all of them conveniently failed to hit anything except the ground.
"They'll do everything they can to slow us down," Aelita warned.
"That's for sure," Jérémie replied, briefly sending a nervous glance at the ten monsters chasing them. "XANA wants to buy itself enough time for the Krabes to take out the others."
Aelita glanced back longer than Jérémie could dare to (because he was the pilot), and after studying their enemies for a few seconds, she turned back to the blue elf, "Focus on the tower. I'll try to take some off your tail."
She then jumped off the Overboard, activating her wings in the process. As Jérémie continued to follow the path to the tower, Aelita made a sharp left.
The ten Hornets split up, with five continuing to follow blue elf and the other five choosing to chase after the pink angel.
They soon began firing at her, but she used the speed her wings gave her to dodge them all, before forming two Energy Fields and throwing them. Two Hornets went down, leaving three. After dodging more lasers, she destroyed a third.
After her enhanced sight let her ensure Jérémie was still safe and on his way to the tower, she continued the aerial battle.
After dodging a few more lasers, Aelita made a loop, before flying towards the last two Hornets. She formed two Energy Fields, which she threw the moment they were ready. Both hit their respective targets.
She loved the Mountain Sector, honestly. She had the room to spread her wings here.
Now free, she used her enhanced senses to track Jérémie down. Seeing he was still being pursued by the other five Hornets, even as he got closer to the tower, she took off in the direction he had taken.
However, she was quickly cut off by the trio of Mantas matching her flight path on the opposite side. Seeing what was going on here—which was XANA trying to stop her from helping Jérémie—she lowered herself, passing underneath them. Sure enough, they turned around and began firing at her.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
William found himself approaching Mr. Roulier's shed—exactly where Ulrich said he'd be waiting. As he ran, he called out, "Ulrich, I'm here! Do it!"
Ulrich, holding an iron bar, suddenly jumped down from a tree branch, landing on top of the Krabe's back.
William continued running towards the shed, as Ulrich pierced the center of the XANA target with one end of his weapon. The Krabe, perturbed, began shooting in all directions. To avoid a shot, William skidded across the grass before falling to the ground, stopping in front of the shed.
Ulrich drove the iron bar into the target even deeper, and the Krabe finally succumbed. William cowered in fear, his back against the wall of the shed, just before the Krabe collapsed on the legs that were no longer supporting it.
William opened his eyes to see the steely look on Ulrich's face. Calm and collected, the younger jumped off of the defeated creature's back and landed nimbly on the grass below. The elder regarded the squashed monster, gobsmacked and out of breath, as he walked up to the scene.
"Nice job," William said. "Do you want the legs? They're the best part!"
He was hoping a joke would relieve the tension, given how the two had so willingly confessed to their mistake to Mr. Delmas and teamed up against the Krabe.
Instead, Ulrich seemed to snap once again, this time harshly shoving William to the ground.
"Are you crazy?!" William demanded. "What's the matter with you?!"
"Stay away from Yumi!" Ulrich yelled, the expression on his face being one of a level of anger William had never seen on the younger before. "You understand?!"
Playing nice wouldn't work here. It was time for a reality check. "Listen, Stern, you're the one who doesn't get it! First of all, girls are not objects for guys to win in competitions! Trust me, I know! I learned that the hard way last night! Yes, I like her too, but it's Yumi's choice! And she's already chosen not to choose me!"
That effectively gobsmacked Ulrich into speechlessness, "W-Wha...?" So last night...
His cellphone suddenly rang, interrupting the tension.
He answered it quickly. "Yes, Odd?"
"How are you doing? I haven't heard from you or Yumi for a while. I was starting to get worried."
"Oh, I'm fine," Ulrich replied. "William and I took out one of the Krabes."
Odd immediately celebrated, "Finally! Some good news! Jérémie and Aelita are doing everything they can to get to the tower and deactivate it, but nothing had better happen to Yumi in the meantime."
"What about you?" the brunette asked. "You're just as important!"
"I could use some help, but I'm more concerned about Yumi. Focus on her!" Odd then hung up, leaving his roommate in a difficult situation.
"What's wrong?" William asked, immediately seeing that something was up.
"Odd and Yumi are both in danger from more of those Krabes," Ulrich said. "Odd told me to focus on Yumi, but I can't ignore the danger he's in either." He sighed, "Listen, William, I'm sorry for my jealousy getting us both in trouble. I went to Yumi's house last night and saw you with her, but I took it the wrong way."
"Apology accepted," William replied. "But we can talk about that later. Where's Odd?"
"In the old Renault factory on the banks of the Seine River. Not far from here. Why?"
"Because I'm going to help him, obviously. I have an idea, too," the elder of the two explained. "If Odd told you to focus on Yumi, then you focus on Yumi. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," Ulrich replied. "Good luck."
"You too."
The two then went their separate ways, William to the factory and Ulrich to Yumi's house. Both of them hoped they weren't too late.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Yumi entered house, practically tip-toeing as she found it unnervingly quiet.
"Oto-san? Oka-san?" she called out, the front door propped open. "Hiroki? Is anybody home?"
Silence. Where were they? Was she too late? Did XANA take them hostage or something?
She had cleared the entire downstairs, so she went to the second floor. When she reached the top of the stairs, she was jumpscared by a samurai, his katana poised to attack her. She let out a yell of fear, before he took off his helmet to reveal that he wasn't scary at all.
"Oto-san?" He responded by wrapping her in a bear hug, one filled with relief. As she sunk into the embrace, Yumi asked, "Are you sure you want to dent our family heirloom?"
She meant it as a joke to alleviate the tension (because she hadn't seen the Krabe yet), but his answer was completely serious, "This suit of armor is worthless if I can't use it to protect my family."
She smiled, just as a door to her right opened and she was engulfed in, not one, but two hugs.
"Nee-chan! You're here!" Tears came to her eyes as she returned Hiroki's hug. He sounded so scared over the phone...
"We're so glad you're okay, Yumi," her mother added. "That monster just vanished. We don't know where it went."
"I know how to lure it out," Yumi confessed, reassuring her family that there was still hope. "And I know how to defeat it. We just need that."
She pointed at the katana in her father's hand.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Five Hornets continued to chase after Jérémie, firing at the Overboard to slow him down. Thankfully, his maneuvering made their shots miss and hit the ground instead.
Noting that he was coming up on a small mountain, he sped up, and the Hornets dove before firing again. He circled around the mountain, briefly looking behind him to see one Hornet following him and the other four attempting to cut him off from the other side. Good, that's exactly what he wanted.
He accelerated the Overboard to ram into the Hornet following him, effectively disorienting it. It fired its laser uncontrollably, hitting and destroying one of the other Hornets, leaving four left.
Jérémie continued as the Hornet regained control, before flying after him. Two others quickly joined it. One of them began firing narrowly at his head.
His goggles were alerting him to the fourth Hornet circling around to cut him off from the other side. He then used a knot in the side of the mountain to launch himself up and out of the way, making one of the Hornets chasing him fly directly into the Hornet trying to cut him off, the resulting impact destroying them both.
Smiling to himself, he resumed his flight path towards the tower. It was on the holomap now. The labyrinth around it would be no problem if he managed to keep the Overboard.
His goggles alerted him to the last two Hornets still behind him.
Seeing he was coming up on a roundabout, he got an idea. He didn't feel completely comfortable performing the actions needed to make it work, but if Odd could wait until the last minute to dodge trees and succeed, then he could pull this off.
The two Hornets fired at him, and he swerved a little to avoid the shots, before quickly boosting into the air. He tightly gripped the front of the Overboard as he laid down on it, flat, before swooping down and flying down into the hole of the roundabout, the catch being that he was flying supremely close to the edge.
He made it, flying down into the fog layer below—though he was certain that if he wasn't virtual, he'd be able to feel the rock barely brush against his hair—but he couldn't say the same for the two Hornets.
Unfortunately, they flew directly into the rim of the hole, and the impact immediately destroyed them.
Jérémie breathed a sigh of relief as he resumed his journey to the tower.
He had to admit: that was pretty fun.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Odd's luring led him into the assembly room. Every so often, he looked back to make sure the Krabe was still following him.
It was, so he quickly hid right as the Krabe climbed down the stairs. It looked around for its target, only to find him nowhere in sight. It was unable to find him, even as its legs were planted firmly on solid, level ground and not on stairs.
Eventually, Odd revealed himself, climbing out from under the conveyor belt. It fired a shot at him, but it missed as he escaped the room by running on the belt.
All he could do right now was lure in farther and farther away from the important stuff downstairs as well as keep it from escaping into the city. If he could destroy it, that would be better.
But he didn't know how.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Yumi cautiously opened her front gate. After a short (and slightly heated) debate, the four all decided that it would be better to hide rather than to fight. So, Yumi had decided to hide them at the factory, specifically in the supercomputer room, the one room XANA was afraid to even touch, knowing that even one malfunction could mean the end of it (and Jérémie, but that was beside the point). She didn't give any specifics—there wasn't enough time—just telling her family that she knew a safe place.
Obviously, the onus fell on her to lead them there.
Her father was right behind her, still decked out in their ancient suit of samurai armor.
The street was empty, nothing and no one in sight. "The coast is clear," she whispered to her family. "Let's go."
However, the moment she stepped foot off of the property, a sudden sharp pain came to her left ankle, making her fall to the ground.
"Yumi!" her mother called out in concern, as the Krabe revealed itself from behind the right side of the house.
Her father let out a battle cry as he took of a defensive position in front of his injured daughter. He tried to attack the beast, slicing at its leg, only for it to easily knock him to the side. Takeho landed next to Yumi, dropping the katana.
The Krabe slowly crawled toward her, but she was trapped. She couldn't back up any more, nor could she run. She was done, finished.
The Krabe warmed up its laser, and she heard her mother gasp in horror, "Yumi!"
The Japanese girl cowered in fear, hiding her head in her hands as it fired. She waited for the hit to land, but it never did.
Instead, she heard the all-too familiar sound of a laser being blocked by a katana.
She knew that sound, and she felt comforted by it. That sound reminded her of just one person.
Yumi looked up and she almost cried tears of relief. Instead, she resorted to smiling, "Ulrich!"
He was standing in front of her, having placed himself between her and the Krabe, and he was holding the katana her father had dropped. He and XANA (through the Krabe) temporarily exchanged death glares with each other, before he addressed her, while keeping his eye on the monster in front of them.
"You okay, Yumi?" he asked.
She nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Good. Focus on your family. I'll take care of this thing."
She nodded again, "Okay."
Ulrich then gave XANA his full attention. "Make my day, shrimp," he taunted.
The four Ishiyamas watched in amazement as the Krabe fired at Ulrich, rapid-fire, who dodged every single shot by backflipping, with the katana in between his teeth to give himself both hands.
"Wow!" Hiroki exclaimed, awestruck. "Too cool!"
Akiko stared down at her son in disapproval.
"You three, get back inside," Yumi told her family. "Ulrich and I can handle it."
"We're not leaving you two behind!" Akiko immediately protested.
"I'm not telling you to leave," the girl replied, her ankle throbbing as she propped herself up against one of the posts supporting the front gate. "I'm telling you to hide." She turned her head to give them a reassuring smile, "I can't tell you how, nor will you remember this afterwards, but we'll be okay, I promise."
Neither Takeho, Akiko, nor Hiroki could unsee the amount of faith and trust she had in her eyes.
And the arrival of Ulrich had unleashed those feelings somehow.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
One Manta managed to cut Aelita off by managing to slip past her, making her halt in her tracks. She formed another Energy Field before throwing it mid-front flip at the Manta that had cut her off, successfully destroying it.
She turned around in time, however, to see one of the two remaining Mantas break off and fly towards the tower, probably to cut Jérémie off somehow.
Panicking, she formed yet another Energy Field before dive-bombing the one that had stayed behind to entertain her. She didn't stop her flight as she chased that Manta at full speed, as fast as her wings would allow.
She caught up with it just in time to see it fire a shot that destroyed the Overboard. Jérémie was sent tumbling to the ground, landing right outside the entrance to the labyrinth surrounding the activated tower (and not hanging onto the edge or right into the Digital Sea, fortunately). To his credit, though, he did not stop, continuing on to his destination.
The pink angel promptly destroyed that third Manta, before her enhanced sight picked up another monster guarding the tower. Just one, but it was the most dangerous one.
"Jérémie! Watch out–!" She cried out, only to be cut off by a shot to her back.
She, too, was sent to the ground. She was fine, still on solid ground, but her wings her gone. She glanced up at the labyrinth entrance to see that two Tarantulas had appeared there.
XANA, obviously, wanted to keep her and Jérémie separated.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Odd was no longer doing the luring. Instead, he was now being chased by the Krabe on the factory floor. He had room to run, but he was running out of options. And fast.
Out of nowhere, hope came to him in the form of the training car from earlier driving down the ramp he was approaching. The driver—William—opened the passenger door, yelling, "Get in!"
He did so, and closed the door, as William drove off, taking Odd and himself farther and farther away from the Krabe that continued to fire at them.
One of those shots broke the windshield, creating a large hole in it, but neither of them were injured. William came to a stop behind a steel column, maneuvering the car so that they could keep an eye on their enemy.
"Thanks," Odd replied. He had told Ulrich to focus on Yumi, and he meant it, but he was glad Ulrich had sent Odd his own back-up in the form of William. For that, he was grateful.
"No problem," William replied, before nodding at at the beast in front of them. "What do we do now?"
And thanks to William's own idea of using this training car, Odd finally formulated a plan, "Well, I've got a slightly crazy idea."
"Sounds like my kind of plan."
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Aelita, now grounded, formed two halves of an Energy Field in both hands before combining them to create a little shield. She used this shield to block the two Tarantulas' lasers, as she inched her way forward. If she could just get past these two monsters, then she could help Jérémie.
Her idea was working, until one laser hit her in the leg, and a second hit her torso, sending her falling backward to the ground.
She needed to try something else, something much less risky. She was losing too many lifepoints. Fearing this was likely the end for her—with the scanners destroyed, there was no guarantee she'd return to Earth—she called out one last time.
"Jérémie, watch out! The Scyphozoa's waiting for you!"
Deep in the labyrinth, Jérémie came to a halt when he heard Aelita's cry, before continuing his trek to the tower.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
The Krabe marched up towards the car and slid to a stop in front of it. Odd then tied a rope to one of its legs, before running away, not stopping even when a shot hit his left leg. Once he was safely behind a steel column, he called out, "William, go!"
William stepped on the gas, immediately flooring it. The car took off towards the elevator shaft and full speed. The rope Odd attached to the Krabe's leg was also attached to the passenger seat, so it caused the Krabe to be dragged across the factory floor upside down on its shell.
Odd watched in slight fear, silently urging, "C'mon, William."
As the elder boy approached the shaft, he jumped out of the driver's seat. The momentum made him slide aways, but he was safe. The Krabe, not so much.
The car fell down the shaft, taking the Krabe with it. One of its legs grabbed hold of a support beam, before it fell to its demise seconds later.
Odd walked up as the two heard a crash, with William peering over the edge to get the best view.
The deed was done. They were safe now.
"Wow," William was awed, as a relieved Odd gently patted his shoulder.
"Good job, man."
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Ulrich continued to deflect the Krabe's lasers with the katana.
Hiroki could not stop himself from staring at the sight in awe, "Wow. How many times have I told you, Sis? This is the guy you should go out with!" He pointed at Ulrich.
Yumi sent him a glare, as she held her injured ankle.
Ulrich deflected another shot before getting hit in the leg. The Krabe tried to pin him, but he made a quick comeback, slicing off the leg before it could hit him too.
He saw his chance, and he went for it. As he climbed the creature to reach its eye, Hiroki ran out of his hiding spot, "Ulrich, you're the greatest!"
"Hiroki, stay back!" Yumi yelled at him.
At the same time, his parents shouted, "Come back!"
"Hiroki, no!" Ulrich exclaimed. The Krabe was preparing to fire at the boy, and Ulrich saw only one way to prevent a disaster.
All the Ishiyamas saw was a bright flash of yellow, and when it faded, Hiroki was visibly cringing as well as scared, and Ulrich was on the ground, injured far more than Yumi was.
He had jumped in front of Hiroki, taking the shot for him.
"Ulrich!" Yumi cried out in concern, before immediately chewing on her fingernails.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Jérémie reached the end of the labyrinth and entered the center of the plateau, where the tower could be accessed. However, he immediately halted in his tracks when he saw what was waiting for him.
Aelita was right. The Scyphozoa was there.
[Alert: Target spotted.]
The creature began approaching the boy the moment it saw him. He turned tail and ran, an expression of utter panic on his face. XANA wanted to laugh when it turned a corner and found the boy being faced with a literal dead end.
With nowhere else to run, the boy could only let the Scyphozoa wrap its tentacles around him. Strangely enough, his image began glitching out as it raised him into the air, and when it prepared to invade his memory, the elf disappeared completely.
[Error: Decoy detected.]
The real Jérémie emerged from another exit within the labyrinth. The tower was within reach now, and he was glad he had listened to Aelita's last-minute warning.
He finally entered the tower at a run, hoping it wasn't too late.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Ulrich tried reaching for the katana, but the Krabe stabbed the sleeve of his shirt, just barely grazing his actual skin (it really hurt, actually). He was trapped. He tried to use his free arm to pry himself free, but it was no use.
The Krabe raised another leg to finish him by piercing him in the chest, knowing he was trapped.
JEREMIE_
CODE_
"NO!" Despite her leg injury, Yumi rushed over and threw herself over him, protecting him with her own body. He blinked and she was just there. Seeing what she was doing, Ulrich began to panic even more, because he couldn't do anything, and both of them were about to die.
LYOKO_
The Krabe's sharp leg suddenly stopped, centimeters from Yumi's head. The five all watched as the creature just shut down and fell over, now lifeless.
Ulrich and Yumi both breathed a heavy sigh of relief, with her muttering, "They did it!"
"Are you okay?" he asked her.
She responded by wrapped him in a bear hug, neither of them moving (meaning she was still on top of him). "You're the one who got shot in the chest."
"I'm fine," he reassured her, before his voice went soft. "And I'm sorry for last night. I misunderstood the situation." And William was right; it was Yumi's choice. It would hurt, for sure, but he'd respect her choice.
She didn't use words to reply, only tightening her hug, just grateful that they were all still alive.
On Lyoko, when Aelita saw the tower's aura turn from red back to the neutral blue, she quite literally collapsed to her knees in relief.
At the factory, Odd turned to William, "You were great, William, and thanks for the save. Shame you'll soon forget all about it."
He was confused, "Hm? W-Why?"
From inside the tower, his only light being the interface flashing 'Code: LYOKO', Jérémie input the time coordinates before launching the Return program.
The white bubble formed at the bottom of the tower, before spreading out from the tower's aura, then Lyoko (including Aelita), then the holomap projector, then the city (including Odd, William, Ulrich, and Yumi), and finally the entire world.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
The Return took everyone back to the special driving class earlier in the day, before everything went south.
Thanks to the second chance they were given, the five Lyokowarriors all did better than last time. The most improved went to Ulrich, who had still knocked over a couple of cones, but was kilometers better than the previous take.
When Ulrich got out of the car, having finished his turn, as he approached the bleachers where his friends and William were waiting, he heard William say, "Nice job, Ulrich. Could use some improvement, but you seem to know what you're doing."
Last night was a misunderstanding. Yumi had decided not to choose William, at least. There was still a chance either way (both in Ulrich's favor and against), but that didn't matter. She was her own person.
William had proven himself time and time again, with both Lyoko and XANA attacks as well as the safety of his friends in normal situations (especially Jérémie), and Ulrich was done being mean to him solely out of jealousy.
Sure, he'd have an outburst every once in a while—he still had his father to deal with, after all—but it was past time he made an honest effort to befriend William.
That was the reason Ulrich scratched the back of his neck, not used to flattery from anyone other than his friends, "Hehe, thanks. Would you, uh, mind helping me practice? There's no way my father would be willing to."
William blinked in surprise at Ulrich's sudden switch in behavior, but he smiled, "Sure thing. We can start tomorrow. I go to a go-kart club in town. We'd have fun together, I bet."
Ulrich smiled, "Sure."
Yumi was also surprised and confused, but the more she sensed that the German boy's intentions here were genuine, the wider her smile got.
Hopefully, this was a good sign. Hopefully, this meant that they'd be fighting less.
Jérémie, Aelita, and Odd, however, all exchanged bewildered glances at each other, none of them aware of what had happened to change things between the other three.
!~~~J~E~R~L~I~T~A~~R~O~L~E~S~W~A~P~~A~U~~~!
Next Episode: 30 - Divide and Conquer / XANA has a new toy, and there's only one way to test it out.
A/N: A Bad Turn, the canon version, deserved better writing. It's an episode with a great idea (Ulrich and William becoming friends), but the ending (I feel) was too hastily written, because the animators were apparently mainly focused on Aelita having fun on the Overboard (which is an awesome scene, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't relevant to the overall plot). That's why I rewrote some scenes (and added a couple deleted ones), especially the ending, so that everything flowed a little better.
Jérémie taking a liking to photography is something that was never in the canon show, but it will be a thing here, for the very reason I stated in this chapter. At this point in the story, Jérémie has issues remembering, especially his nightmares, which are nothing but a black hole to him the moment he wakes up (yes, this means that the nightmare he has in "Common Interest" is one he doesn't remember, either), so it makes sense for this version of the character to want to do anything to ensure that he keeps the memories he's currently making in case he loses them later.
As for the change with William here, I read a post on Tumblr explaining how he had traces of Nice Guy syndrome in the canon show (that phrasing is putting it nicely and mildly, btw). I'm getting rid of it here while I still can. That way, his transition to a candidate for the sixth Lyokowarrior will feel genuine and less forced.