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
!~~~J~E~R~L~I~T~A~~R~O~L~E~S~W~A~P~~A~U~~~!
"A chance encounter with William ends up forcing the Lyokowarriors to start asking themselves a question they brushed off before."
Episode 40: The Secret
(Based on The Secret)
Jérémie was kneeling behind the raised portion of the middle platform, using it as cover as he watched Ulrich and Odd engage with the group of Creepers guarding the tower XANA had activated this time.
It was the sole tower in Sector Five. His parents would very likely not provide him a Manta to help him across the gap this time, but fortunately, he now had the power to create his own bridge, so he wasn't too concerned. He just wanted to wait until the passage was cleared first.
Odd blocked a close-range shot from the Creeper he was facing before quickly destroying with an Arrow.
Meanwhile, Ulrich wasted no time striking two Creepers down, one right after the other.
"Aelita, any word on Yumi?" Jérémie asked the pink-ette currently stationed in the lab.
"She said she was on her way," Aelita replied. "I just called her again because it had been five minutes, but she didn't answer. I'm worried, because there's no hint of a XANA attack anywhere, not in the news or here in the factory."
"We may just be onto XANA faster than it anticipated," Odd cut in, before yelping as he narrowly dodged a shot from a Creeper that had decided to ambush him.
Ulrich quickly Sprinted over and put himself between the monster and his roommate. He then stabbed it in its eye, as he added, "Or maybe Yumi's not answering because she can't!"
Jérémie immediately tensed up. Ulrich was right—knowing XANA, it was unsafe to assume anything else. Yumi may be in danger; that's all that mattered.
So he made a break for the tower, not caring about the Manta that had flown into the room and started firing at him. This time, to cross the gap, he created energy platforms and used them like steps that went neither up nor down.
He leapt just as the Manta destroyed the step he was currently on—the last in the series—before soaring through the air and landing on the first circular platform after phasing through the tower wall.
He could've sworn he heard Ulrich and Odd cheer when he did so, but he pushed that to the back of his mind.
After ascending to the second platform, the interface appeared and he used his handprint to log in.
JEREMIE_
CODE_
Hopefully, he wasn't too late...
LYOKO_
Outside, the tower's aura changed from red back to the neutral white.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Aelita was closing up the various news windows that she had opened (apparently, they had succeeded in stopping XANA before it could do any significant amount of damage) when she heard a familiar voice behind her.
"I'm here, 'Lita!"
The pink-ette turned around to see Yumi climbing down the ladder that led up to the boiler room. Relief immediately filled her being. Thank goodness; her friend was okay.
"Sorry I'm late," the elder girl continued, crossing over to the ladder that led down to the scanner room. "You can send me in now."
"Actually, you got here just in time to welcome to boys back," Aelita apologetically replied, as the elevator doors began to open.
"What?!" Yumi asked, her shock mixed with a look of disappointment. "You already deactivated the tower?"
Aelita shrugged, "We were worried about you."
"Yumi!" Jérémie exclaimed, relief immediately filling his features as he ran up to her. "There you are! What happened to you?"
"What he said." Ulrich added, hot on the blonde's heels, "Didn't you hear your phone ring?"
"I did," the Japanese girl softly explained. "I'm sorry I'm late. I–...I just ran into some trouble on the way here."
Odd waved her off, quite literally, "Don't worry about it. It's no big deal. You know, I'm kind of a heavy sleeper too, so I end up oversleeping at least three times a week! Fortunately, I have Ulrich as a second, much more helpful, alarm clock."
"Only because I can barely sleep through you snoring like a flock of chainsaws," Ulrich muttered.
"Aw, you know you love me."
Yumi crossed her arms, as she led the other four back into the elevator. "Actually, it's not my sleep that dragged me down this time."
"What's wrong?" Jérémie asked, concerned, as Aelita pressed the 'up' button, prompting the lift to ascend back to the surface.
The eldest of them sighed heavily, "I ran into William on the way here."
It was late at night when Yumi's phone rang. Fortunately, she was still in the habit of sleeping with it pressed to her ear, so she quickly answered, "Hello?" Her pink-loving friend was on the other end. "Okay," she sat up. "I'm on my way."
She then hung up and quickly got dressed, still not willing to go outside in her pajamas, even during a XANA attack. However, she had gotten really fast at getting dressed (about forty seconds or so was her current record). In no time, she was sneaking out, climbing down the tree outside of her window.
She was closing the gate behind her when she heard a skateboard and scooter quickly approaching her.
"Watch out!" a female voice called out.
Yumi turned around just in time to see William slam into her, and both were sent to the ground.
He bounced back pretty quickly, getting up like it was nothing. "Hey, Yumi. What are you doing up so late?" he asked, as he recovered his skateboard and the scooter of his gal pal.
"Is that supposed to be a joke?" Yumi softly retorted, still on the ground. "I wouldn't exactly call this 'up', would you?"
William's female companion turned out to be Laura Gauthier of all people. She helped Yumi back to her feet, "Sorry about that. We weren't expecting you."
"It's alright," Yumi reassured her. And it was. "Nothing's broken." And even if anything was, it still wouldn't be the blonde's fault; it was an accident.
"Oh no! We're going to be late!" Laura cried, after looking at her watch. "Jim's about to do his last rounds of the night!"
"Then go on," William swiftly told her. "I'll catch up."
Laura paused, before obeying him. She grabbed her scooter and continuing her trek back to Kadic.
Yumi watched her leave, before asking William, "She snuck out with you?"
"Yeah," he explained, slinging his skateboard over his shoulder. "She wanted to see Sky Breaker 4 to see what all the hype was about, and it's only showing at night for some reason."
"What'd she think?"
"She thought it was lame." He shrugged. "I can't blame her. The first three were duds, so I wasn't really surprised. We were speeding back to the dorms so we didn't get in trouble with Jim. I don't really care about me, but she has too much to worry about to get into trouble."
Right. Of course. Laura was the eleventh grade class representative. If she got detention, it would look really bad.
"But I stayed behind, Yumi, because I need to ask you something," he continued. "Something really important."
That caught her attention. "Oh? What's on your mind?"
He sighed, seemingly second-guessing himself, before deciding to just go for it. "Well, about three weeks ago, I was in detention when I fell asleep. I had the strangest nightmare. You were in it, being chased by our entire class, plus Jim and Ms. Hertz, all of whom wanted to kill you."
Her heart skipped a beat; she remembered that attack. That was September 4, and tonight was September 23—almost three weeks ago.
"It's strange," he kept going, not wanted to stop now that he was on a roll. "I remember exactly how I got involved. I overheard your friends talking about an attack in the courtyard, so I followed Ulrich and Aelita because I wanted to help you. And I helped them fight off our class and two teachers. I got pretty roughed up from the experience, and I blacked out when fighting Ms. Hertz. Then, I woke up back in detention."
Where was he going with this?, Yumi wondered. But she didn't say that. Instead, she quietly offered, "Wow. Pretty bizarre dream."
"Tell me about it," he lightly scoffed. "But during these past three weeks, I've begun to realize that the bruises I gained in the dream were the same ones I woke up with in real life. That's what I find so bizarre, because I don't remember getting those bruises. The only logical explanation I have for them is my nightmare. Yumi."
She nearly jumped out of her skin. Did he remember? Was he about to tell her that he did?
"Yumi, please, tell me the truth," his voice was soft. "How did I really get those bruises?"
No. She couldn't tell him. At least, not without talking with the others. It was a secret for a reason.
"William, I–" she cut herself off, not knowing what to say. "I'm sorry. I don't have the answer for you. It was just a nightmare."
But he lowered his pleading gaze into a glare. "That's a bunch of bull, and we both know it. It wasn't just a nightmare, was it?"
She had to go. There was a XANA attack, and she honestly didn't want to make a choice that she felt was a group decision.
She got an idea. "Okay, fine. You got me. I'll tell you everything, but first, you have to turn around and close your eyes."
He blinked in surprise, but obeyed. "Okay."
While his back was turned, she tip-toed away in the opposite direction, towards the park passage. She was free for now, but she was fully aware that the chat would continue tomorrow morning...
Yumi's mind was brought back to the present—in the factory lift, heading back to the surface—as she finished her tale.
"Interesting," was Aelita's reaction. "He's aware that something else is going on, and that we probably have the explanation."
"Well, we were the ones who gaslit him," Ulrich reminded her.
"True," the pink-ette admitted. "What should we do? Any ideas? From anyone? We can't keep up the charade for much longer. Not if he's getting suspicious enough to ask questions."
Jérémie took a deep breath, "I say we tell him the truth." As he expected, he was immediately met with protests from the others.
"What?! How do you know we can trust him?" Odd asked. "He may blab to the authorities, or not believe us at all! Or both!"
"That's a good point," Ulrich agreed. "When XANA attacked with those zombies, he didn't believe us about Lyoko at all, despite all of the evidence in our favor."
"Are you really going to hold his actions then against him forever? He's always stepped in whenever we needed him," Jérémie softly protested. "Did he not help me out against Hervé during my first few weeks here? Did he not jump in to help Ulrich and Odd, and later Sissi, against a possessed Mr. Delmas, twice? Or Yumi against her possessed class, and later Aelita for the same reason?" He sighed, "Look, I'm not giving out an order here. I'm just...strongly advising each of you to think about it. I believe we could use another fighter, especially since XANA is so intent on destroying Lyoko to prevent us from following it into the internet."
No more words were spoken about William for the rest of the night. The others merely just let those words begin sinking in.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
But that didn't mean their issues with William were over.
Case in point: the next morning.
Yumi was standing with her class by the school's front gates, all of them with their swimsuits in their gym bags. They were waiting for Jim to finish with roll call, so they could head to the pool.
"Matthias Burel."
"Present."
"Emmanuel Maillard."
"Present."
"Maitena Lecuyer."
"Here."
While Jim was calling out names, William approached Yumi and placed a hand on her shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see an angry expression of his face.
"Christopher M'Bala."
"Present."
"That was a dirty move you pulled last night, Ishiyama," he whispered to her. His tone confirmed to her that he was indeed mad at her. "But make me look like a fool all you want. I'm only after answers. And I'm sorry, but I don't think I can trust you anymore."
"You don't understand, William!" she harshly whispered back. "I promised that I'd keep it all a secret! Besides, I'm annoyed at you right now, because you kept me from helping my friends with an emergency!" He really did, and she was pretty pissed about it.
"William Dunbar."
"Promised who?!" It amazed her how he was still keeping his voice so low. "And I don't think you understand how scary this is for me! Place yourself in my shoes! How would you feel?!"
"I do have the answers, William," Yumi softly told him. "But I can't share them with you right now, because the vote needs to be unanimous." And right now, it was kind of all over the place. "I'm just asking you to understand and hold on for a bit longer."
"William Dunbar!"
"I'll try, but I know that Sissi knows."
"Because she's our friend."
"And I'm not?!"
"William Dunbar!"
Said boy lashed out in unfiltered anger, "OKAY, OKAY, I'M NOT DEAF! YOU CAN SEE I'M HERE, CAN'T YA?!"
His classmates—including Yumi—just stared at him in shocked silence. William was always the chill guy; he had never gotten this mad before.
Jim, however, never backed down from a challenge. Equally as angry, he pointed to the administrative building, "Dunbar, to the library, now! Out of my sight! No swimming for you today, you got that?!"
William just huffed in frustration, before whispering to Yumi, "I'm going to find out what you're hiding from me, Ishiyama. You can bet on that, and you can't stop me."
He then left, heading towards the library, leaving behind a Japanese girl who couldn't get rid of her gut instinct that she had just made a mistake.
But she didn't see what she could've done differently.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Elsewhere, the others remained unaware of what had just gone down. Instead, they were the courtyard, preparing for their history class. During this particular session, Jérémie and Aelita were scheduled to deliver a presentation on World War I.
Aelita was sitting on the planter near the vending machines, using her laptop to put the finishing touches on the slideshow, "Relax, Jérémie. We're gonna make a fabulous report."
Said blonde was sitting on the ground nearby, his back against the wall, carefully studying the notes he and Aelita had taken in class and subsequently combined. "We'd better. It counts for the whole semester."
Ulrich was sitting next to Jérémie, "Relax, Jer. I'm sure your dad will be proud of you no matter what grade you get." The blonde shot him a nervous smile before turning back to the notes. "So, Odd, what's the latest in the world of Kadic Academy today?"
The purple-loving boy was lounging next to Aelita. "'Is Judith Nevers going out with Ronaud Limousin?'" he read.
The brunette arched a confused eyebrow, "Who are Judith Nevers and Ronaud Limousin?"
"No idea," Odd flatly admitted, not taking his eyes off of the newspaper he was reading. "But apparently, it's a scoop to Tamiya and Milly. Anyway, it seems they are going out."
"Oh well," Ulrich shrugged. "Just another part of the gossip column."
A familiar alarm suddenly began sounding from Aelita's laptop. "Uh oh! A XANA alert!" On her screen was the animation of a Lyoko tower turning red.
"Not again," Odd glanced up at her, frowning. "I'm still feeling the exhaustion from last night!"
"You think you've got problems," Jérémie gently retorted. "Aelita and I can't get out of history class. Not this time."
Odd and Ulrich both stood up, as the crazy-haired blonde reassured the other two, "Hey, don't sweat it, Einsteins. Ulrich and I will head to the factory, call Yumi, and then check things out. You two can transfer over once you're done."
"But don't drag your feet," Ulrich cut in. "Finish your report as fast as possible."
Jérémie and Aelita both shared a concerned glance, before turning back to their friends. The pink-ette relented, "Okay. We'll try our best."
The four then went their separate ways.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
William silently protested his getting detention by not going to the library. He instead went to the park surrounding the school. He sat underneath a tree (chosen at random) and began thinking about his next move.
He meant every word he just said to Yumi; he would find out her secret, whatever she was hiding. The problem was that he had no idea how he would do that.
Asking them upfront didn't get him anywhere. There was no way any of the others—Jérémie, Aelita, Odd, or Ulrich—wouldn't do what Yumi did last night (completely dodge the question) or gaslight him. So that option was off the table.
His train of thought was derailed when he heard a familiar voice come within his hearing range.
"Relax, good buddy. We'll clear that passage in no time." That was Odd's voice.
William quickly got to his knees and peered around from behind the tree to watch the younger boy. Said boy was hovering over a manhole cover with Ulrich.
"I'm not worried about that," Ulrich replied, his phone in hand. "I can't reach Yumi. She's not picking up."
Odd, kneeling, removed the cover to reveal the sewers. "What's going on with her lately? Last night and now this?"
"Well, last night, she ran into William." Said boy's ears perked up when he heard his name. "Can't really blame her for that."
Odd was climbing down the ladder, when he just stopped. "Do you think we should tell him? He's going to figure it out eventually."
Ulrich shrugged, before climbing down the ladder after Odd. "I don't know. But I do know that he's going to have to gain our trust first."
The brunette then recovered the passage with the cover, cutting off their conversation.
William smirked. There was his only option right there.
Following them.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Once Aelita managed to hook her laptop up to the projector, she got the slideshow prepared. The moment she was ready, she sent Jérémie a thumbs up. He nodded and, tightly clutching his notes, positioned himself at the front of the classroom.
"Um, Mr. Fumet, we're ready," he said. "Is it okay if we begin now?"
"Yes, of course," the man replied, before glancing around the classroom even though he had already taken roll. "But do you know where Stern and Della Robbia are?"
"U-Um, well," Jérémie began stuttering. He wasn't prepared to answer that question. "You see, sir, they had something important to do and–"
"More important than my class?" Mr. Fumet crossed his arms, a stern look on his face.
"Well, actually, we weren't supposed to tell you," Aelita cut in, "but they're preparing a surprise for you."
"A surprise? What kind of surprise?" He sounded skeptical.
"It's, um...it's a big historical show in your honor!" the pink-ette offered a smile to help sell the lie.
"Oh," the man gave a pleased smile. He seemed to buy their hasty excuse. "Why, I never would have guessed! The little sneaks, they should've spoken to me! I suppose I can excuse their absence just this once..."
Quickly sending a grateful look at Aelita, Jérémie cleared his throat, "And now, sir, may we begin?"
He was tense and nervous about this presentation already, and the superscan alert had only made it worse. Now, he just wanted to get this over with.
"Yes, yes, of course, go on," Mr. Fumet replied, as he sat down in an empty seat in the front row. "Mister Belpois, Miss Schaeffer, tell us everything you know about World War I."
Jérémie took a deep breath before diving deep into a fast-talking presentation about history that would make his father proud.
"On June 28th, 1914, a Serbian student assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, nephew and heir to the Austro-Hungarian emperor, Franz Joseph. This took place in Bosnia, Herzegovina. Political alliances were reinforced, and within a few days, all of Europe became involved."
Aelita changed the slides from her laptop, easily keeping up with him.
However, the same couldn't be said for everybody else. Nicolas, for example, was trying to take notes, but Jérémie was speaking too fast.
"Serbia, Russia, France, and Great Britain were on one said, and Germany, Austria, and Hungary on the other. Other countries became part of the conflict. Germany invaded Belgium. Italy, Greece, Romania and the US joined the allies, with Turkey and Bulgaria supporting central Europe."
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
William hadn't expected them to keep skateboards and scooters down in the sewers. This made them fast and borderline impossible to catch up with.
But it was also proof to him that it was a secret that had been kept for a while now, due to the lack of hesitation they had in which path to take.
He was exhausted (he was on foot), but he powered through.
The truth had never been so close before. This time, it was practically dangling in front of him.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
"The armistice treaty signed in late October and early November of 1918 put an end to the fighting, but peace treaties had to be drawn up for a definitive end to the war that most people hoped would be the war to end all wars, clearing the way for a lasting peace. Finally in Paris, the victorious countries united in a peace conference with the two-fold mission of creating a league of nations and the adoption of peace treaties submitted to the defeated nations."
Now finished, Jérémie offered a smile as he placed his notes back inside his binder.
"I hope that wasn't too long!"
"Umm..." Mr. Fumet just stared at him, with their classmates trying hard to process what had just happened, what all Jérémie had just said.
It wasn't too long at all. More like too fast.
The blonde slapped on a fake pained expression, "Sir, may I go to the infirmary?" He pretended to hold his head. "I've got a bit of a headache."
"Um, I do too, sir," Aelita jumped in, raising a finger as she put her laptop back into her bag.
"Yes, yes, go on, go on," he replied, and the two immediately ran out the door. He paid them no mind, just taking off his glasses. "I'm not feeling too well either all of a sudden..."
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Odd and Ulrich slid down a couple of ropes, and William, still catching his breath, peeked over the railing of the gallery. Apparently, their secret involved this abandoned factory.
"Text from Aelita," Odd was checking his phone as he and Ulrich entered the lift that was there. "She and Jérémie are on their way now."
"Good. I'll try Yumi's phone again," Ulrich replied as he pressed a button. "She's bound to answer sooner or later."
The lift door closed, cutting off their conversation yet again.
William, with that, decided to wait for Jérémie and Aelita.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Yumi was at the pool with the rest of her class. Her phone was in her bag, but she was nowhere near it. She was also barely listening to Jim's pre-swimming lecture, her mind on something else.
"Today we're going to have a little lesson in synchronized swimming. And that means no speed competition, no stopwatches, just pure grace! As someone once said, a picture's worth a thousand words. So rather than give you a speech, here is a demonstration! Admire the finesse..."
He then cannonballed into the water, before creating a mini tsunami. He then attempted 'synchronized swimming', which, coming from him, looked absolutely ridiculous.
"That's grace?" Emilie, who was sitting closest to Yumi, whispered to her, "That's about as graceful as tractor pulling."
Yumi let slip a small laugh, not really feeling amusement right now. It had nothing to do with Emilie; the two girls had actually become pretty close ever since Yumi was given reassurance that Ulrich only considered Emilie as a good friend.
No, it was because Yumi's mind, this time, was preoccupied by William.
Last night was definitely a mistake, but this morning was an even bigger one.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
The two Einsteins arrived at the factory in record time. William heard them swing down the ropes and before landing in front of the lift that he had recalled earlier and was now hiding behind.
"You think we'll get a good grade?" Aelita asked Jérémie. "We said all we wanted to, but it was a little fast."
"Fumet said a two-page presentation," Jérémie replied, the two voices getting closer. "He said nothing about time limits."
The two entered the lift. "I hate how XANA's getting more and more activate lately," Aelita softly admitted. "We're constantly on Lyoko." She then pressed the button, closing the door.
Fortunately, William got it right on the first, ducking into the elevator right before the door closed.
"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but you guys mind telling me who this XANA guy is?"
There was no smirk on his face—not this time. This time, he was serious. This time, he would get answers from them.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Odd and Ulrich were studying the holomap, specifically what was waiting for them in front of the activated tower. Just two Bloks. That was do-able and rather surprising, considering XANA now went all-out to protect its towers or destroy the Core.
Speaking of, the Core seemed to not be in danger at the moment. It was just the tower this time, apparently, though Odd and Ulrich had not run into any sign of the AI attacking in the real world so far.
The elevator doors opened, signaling an arrival. It was probably Jérémie and Aelita; they hadn't been able to contact Yumi yet.
As he and Ulrich turned around, Odd said, "There are you. The tower's protection this time is pretty lacking, but that could easily change." But the two both ended up gasping in surprise when they saw they had a guest.
In between Jérémie and Aelita stood William, which the two Einsteins didn't seem too happy about.
"What's William doing here?!" Odd immediately asked, getting out of the chair and ready to fight.
"I guess he must've followed you guys," Jérémie replied, carefully watching William look around.
"Wow, what is all this?" William asked. "It's like we're at NASA or something! So this is your secret: a high-tech hideout! This is so crazy!"
Ulrich cracked his knuckles in an attempt to look intimidating, "Just say the word and I'll clobber him."
William immediately crossed his arms, angry, "Yeah? Try it if you think you're good enough!"
Jérémie rolled his eyes in annoyance, as Aelita cut in, "Ulrich, Odd, calm down. William, knock it off. Remember, you're the trespasser here."
"Exactly," Jérémie gratefully agreed. "Our priority now is the tower. Afterwards, if we vote on it, a simple Return to the Past and William won't remember a thing."
"I wouldn't bet on that," William narrowed his eyes. "I remember everything, especially if you pull a dirty one on me, and I'm great at holding a grudge. Just ask Yumi about last night."
"Speaking of whom," Aelita tried to change the subject, glancing around the room, "where is Yumi?"
"Unreachable," Ulrich informed, worried. "Odd and I would already be on Lyoko by now if we were able to get a hold of her."
Aelita sighed, "Looks like we're gonna have to make do without Yumi. Again." She took a seat in front of the monitor and slipped on the earpiece. "I don't like this at all. Yumi's the odd one out, being in a different grade and a day student, so she's the one who needs to be the most reachable."
"I know where she is," William offered. "She's at the pool for gym class. I'm supposed to be there too, that is, if I hadn't gotten detention. I can go and get her for you, if you want."
The younger four immediately turned to him, all skeptical.
"How do we know you're not going to rat on us to the principal? Or the authorities?" Ulrich asked, his glare harsher than the other three's. "Just because you know our secret, doesn't mean we trust you."
"We tried to, once," Odd admitted. "We were being cornered by zombies controlled by XANA in the cafeteria, and in a last-ditch attempt to get here to the factory, we told you everything about XANA and Lyoko. We were desperate, and you didn't believe us, and you even pushed Aelita away from the door when she tried to sneak away."
William raised an eyebrow in confusion, "What? I don't remember that."
"Because a Return to the Past erased your memories of it," Aelita replied. "But they have a point. And it's not just you. Anyone whose path we cross, we distrust, because the secrecy of this supercomputer is very important to our mission. If we happen to trust the wrong person, they could blab about everything to the authorities, who will then come in and shut everything down. During the past two years, we didn't want to turn it off because Jérémie was tied to XANA, but now, it will just doom us all, because XANA has access to the worldwide internet, and Lyoko is legitimately the only way we can fight it."
"Right," Jérémie added. "So how do we know we can trust you?"
William sighed, "Because I just wanted the truth. Not for any malicious reasons, but rather, for some closure. I mean, place yourself in my shoes: if you guys had bruises that only your nightmares could explain away, you'd be curious, too."
None of them could deny that, so they didn't.
"Besides, if this is an emergency, like you guys keep implying," William continued, "then it's important for you guys to know that Yumi is okay. I know where she is, and you guys need to take care of this tower. You won't get a better deal."
Aelita sighed deeply, before relenting, "Okay."
With that, William offered them a reassuring smile before taking the elevator back up to the surface.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
He had every intention to do exactly what he told the others he would do. He would not tell anyone, just tell Yumi that the others were trying to reach her and that XANA was attacking.
But as he was running across the bridge, he missed a man approaching the entrance to the building from behind a pillar.
In the man's bag were explosives, and in his eyes, the irises were replaced with the eye of XANA...
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
"Virtualization!"
Jérémie, Ulrich, and Odd all landed on the ground of the Ice Sector. The activated tower was rather small on the horizon, Aelita having sent them a few hundred meters away from it solely for the element of surprise.
"Here come your vehicles," she said, as the Overboard and Overbike appeared in the sky before flying over to their respective owners. "The tower is at the northern edge of the sector. You should be able to see if from where you are."
"We can," Ulrich replied, as he and Odd hopped onto their rides, with Jérémie climbing on behind Odd. "Don't worry, 'Lita, we're on it."
He took off first, quickly followed by Odd and Jérémie.
Everything was quiet—perhaps a little too quiet. The XANA they knew would've already met them halfway by now.
As if on cue, Aelita spoke up, "Watch out. There are some Kankrelats behind you."
The trio turned around to see the mentioned monsters approaching, crawling faster than they had ever been. But there weren't just five or even a dozen.
It was at least twenty-five to thirty tailing the trio.
"Holy–!" Jérémie's eyes widened. "Aelita, do you know how many of them there are?"
"Um..." She was trying her best to count as quickly as she could. "A big gang of them?"
Jérémie stifled a chuckle, "Thanks. Nothing like precision."
He then concentrated hard and formed five daggers on his right hand—one hovering each finger—before throwing them. Two of them missed the numerous targets, but the other three connected.
Three down, a lot more to go.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
It was Yumi's turn to follow Jim's example. She reached the surface and spun around gracefully, before sinking into the water and lifting up her legs, moving them around. Despite how silly it looked, her classmates couldn't deny that she looked more graceful than their teacher.
"Be like me," Jim instruced. "Remember my example, my grace!"
William suddenly appeared beside him and called out without warning, "Yumi! We have an emergency! It's starts with an X and ends with an A!"
This distracted her to the point that she lost her focus. She heard him clearly, despite her head being underwater, and she knew exactly what he was trying to say (at least, he was trying to be discreet about it). She could focus on how he found out later; right now, there was an emergency.
But Jim didn't understand. He instead demanded in annoyance, "Dunbar, you're supposed to be in the library! And what's with the gibberish?! You making fun of me or something?!"
"Nope," William, to his credit, calmly replied. "I mean, not this time."
The man just stared at him for a few seconds, wondering what his deal was. "To the principal's office, on the double! And make sure you mention you skipping your detention!"
Yumi had lifted herself to the edge of the pool. "You have to let me take him, Jim. I want to make sure he gets the punishment he deserves! Because of him, I nearly drowned!"
She had no intention of taking him to the principal, actually, but Jim didn't know that.
"Good idea!" Jim smiled. "Go on and take him, Miss Ishiyama. That's a very responsible attitude on your part." She said nothing as she gave William a pointed look. Jim pointed at her, as he also looked at William, "You could learn a lot from her example, Dunbar!"
"Yes, you're right," William smirked. "I know that Yumi's got a lot she can fill me in on."
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Ulrich glanced over his shoulder, watching Jérémie struggling in taking out as many Kankrelats as he could, focusing mainly on the ones that getting dangerously close to the vehicles. Seeing this, the samurai got an idea.
"Let's fly!" he said.
He switched the Overbike into flight mode, and he and Odd both ascending higher into the sky. Like he expected, this gave Jérémie a bit more ground.
Two Kankrelats jumped after Ulrich and the landed on both sides of his bike. He skidded, trying to get rid of them. He flew lower to try and destroy them by scrapping them against the ground. But that didn't work either.
He glanced between both monsters, and smirked when he got another idea.
He landed back on the ground before smushing the one on his left against a nearby ice rock. After two more tried, he succeeded in destroying it. He then repeated the process with the right one, and it fell off, exploding behind him.
"Sorry guys," he called out after them, "but it's dangerous to have three riders on one motorcycle. And I'm not insured for it, either!" He then sped up to catch up with Odd and Jérémie.
The majority of the Kankrelats were chasing the two blondes. They didn't have to destroy all of the Kankrelats, just hold them off long enough for Jérémie to enter the tower. Knowing this, Ulrich sped up before hovering below the Overboard.
"Jérémie, hop on behind me," he ordered. "You'll get a better vantage point if you can use both hands." Right now, clutching onto Odd, the elf could only use his right.
Said blonde nodded, before hopping off the Overboard. He landed on the Overbike safely, his back to Ulrich. This allowed Jérémie to form a bow and some arrows—more powerful than his dagger idea, so he was able to take out more Kankrelats with less effort.
Meanwhile, a Kankrelat was trailing after Odd, and he watched it crawl up to him as quickly as it could. It suddenly jumped at him, but he knew what it was going to do.
He balanced himself on his right leg, waiting for the right moment. When it landed, clutching onto the tail edge of the Overboard, he used his raised left foot to stomp down, using his board as a seesaw. It sent the Kankrelat flying and he promptly destroyed it in mid-air with an Arrow.
Free for now, he glanced back at Ulrich and Jérémie, the latter of whom was still shooting down Kankrelats. But it seemed like when he destroyed one, two more popped up in its place.
"You guys are closing in on the tower," Aelita cut in.
"Great! Tell that to the Kankrelats," Odd jerked a thumb at the army still behind them. "They'll be overjoyed!"
"Yeah, just look at them!" Ulrich exclaimed. "They want our autograph so bad, they're still following us!"
Jérémie fired another cluster of arrows. He was expertly hiding it, but Odd could see exhaustion behind those blue eyes. He needed a break from using so much of his powers in such a short time. During the first couple months they were Lyokowarriors, Aelita—the only other one who formed her own weapons—went through the same thing. Jérémie just needed to build up his stamina, and he could do that through training.
"Ulrich, you stay back and hold off our friends here," it was Odd's turn for an idea. "Jérémie, hop back on behind me and we'll head for the tower."
The other two nodded, and Jérémie jumped off the Overbike. However, in mid-air, he was shot at by a Kankrelat, sending him to the ground. He slid across the ground, before finally coming to a stop in front of an ice cavern up ahead, just barely avoid falling off the ledge to the steep, descending path that awaited him.
As he got to his feet, he glanced back and saw a couple of Kankrelats breaking off from the group and chasing him. With very little choice, he leapt and landed on the path, letting the momentum carry him forward as he slid down the tunnel.
The two Kankrelats were firing at him without mercy, and it was honestly a wonder he was still on his feet. Glancing behind him, he saw one of them accidentally destroy the other—to which he smiled. Typical XANA...
He knew the Digital Sea was not waiting for him on the other side. He knew he'd be safe from that at least, and he'd be closer to the tower. He wasn't helpless, either, as he now had a weapon to defend himself alongside his power of Creation. He'd be okay.
But he was hoping Odd or Ulrich were waiting for him on the other side.
He reached the end a little too soon, and his momentum forced him to fall towards the ground faster than he'd like.
He then heard an explosion behind him—Odd had destroyed the remaining Kankrelat the moment it left the tunnel—before he landed on the Overboard.
As the elf got to his feet, the cat asked, "You okay, Jer?"
Jérémie nodded, "I am now. Thanks."
The last two Kankrelats jumped at Ulrich, but he was ready, his katana unsheathed. He jumped into the air with his Super Sprint, spinning around as he flew up, before striking both with his katana, destroying them. He then landed back on his Overbike while it was still in motion.
Still in motion, he finally reunited with Odd and Jérémie. "You two okay?" he asked.
"No problem," Odd casually replied. "But it's not over yet. There's still the two monsters guarding the tower."
The trio glanced at the base of the fast-approaching tower. Said two monsters were both Bloks.
"You two go on," Ulrich said. "I'll take care of them."
Cue him immediately being devirtualized by fire rings.
He quickly reappeared in the scanner, the sourness he felt clearly showing on his face. "Low blow, XANA. Low blow."
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
The possessed man had finished placing the charges, with the detonator being placed on top of the catwalk, set for ten minutes. He stood up, his world complete, the symbols in his eyes flashing.
But XANA's hopes and dreams were dashed when he heard Yumi's voice, along with what the AI remembered to be William Dunbar's.
They were running across the bridge, from the sewer passage at the other end of it.
"I still can't figure out what you guys do in this old run-down factory," William was saying. "The others wouldn't explain anything to me."
"And I can't figure out why they agreed to let you lend us a hand!" Yumi argued back, the two of them stopping in their tracks, still in the middle of the bridge.
"Maybe it's just because they trust me! Not like..." He trailed off, but she knew what he was implying.
"Not like me?! Is that what you were about to say?!" She was angrier than she had ever been. "Maybe it was because they had no choice because you followed them without permission!"
"You could've told me in confidence!"
"No, I couldn't, because it's not my secret to tell!"
It was Jérémie's. His parents, his supercomputer, his fight, his secret.
Starting to simmer down, she pulled out her phone and called whoever was at the controls, "Aelita? It's me. I'm–" she swiftly corrected herself, "we're on the bridge now."
"Thank goodness," the pink-ette replied. "At least you're safe. Ulrich just got devirtualized, but Odd and Jérémie are pretty close to the tower now. Just two Bloks to take care of."
"Oh no!" Yumi groaned. "I came too late to the party again!"
William cut her off, pointing across the bridge, "Actually, I don't think you did. Is that guy supposed to be here?"
She followed his gaze, and saw a construction worker standing there in the entrance of the factory.
"Or is he one of your big superheroes?"
The worker's eyes flashed with the sign of XANA.
Yumi immediately tensed up, "No. He's more of a big super bad guy." She put her phone back up to her ear. "Aelita, William and I found XANA's attack. There's someone here possessed by XANA, so there's a chance I won't make it to the scanners."
"Okay, be careful. Jérémie's about two minutes away from deactivating the tower. Can you two hang on for that long?"
"Two minutes? We'll try our best," Yumi replied.
William, to her surprise and his credit, was in a defensive position, "So this guy's your enemy? A construction worker? That's so lame. I was expecting something more...gory."
The moment he said that, the possessed man flickered, before dropping his bag and jumping forward. He flipped in mid-air, before landing, punching the ground.
The impact left a small crater.
Now scared, William softly said, "Nevermind, I take it all back. Apparently, we're facing an evil version of Mario."
Aelita's voice came through Yumi's phone, "Yumes, you still there?"
"Yes, I am!" she cried, as she dodged a punch. "But maybe not for long! This guy's a terror!"
"Hang in there! Jérémie should be in the tower any minute now!"
The worker kicked her into the side-rails of the bridge, causing her to drop her phone.
"Yumi! Hang on!" William exclaimed, standing behind the man, before he jumped up.
He aimed a kick, but the man easily caught his foot before throwing him to the ground, making the boy land next to Yumi.
"William!" she cried in fear. If he died here, she'd never forgive herself.
"Yumi? William?" Aelita asked through the phone, which the man kicked away with his foot. "Either of you, answer me! Please!"
But there was no response.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
"Guys, you've gotta get the job done now!" Aelita ordered.
"No kidding we do!" Odd exclaimed, as he flew through the rings from one of the Bloks. "I thought we'd do it after tea time!"
A Blok twirled around before firing its ice beam, but the cat used the Overboard to fly away from the attack. The beam was continuous, but Odd had an idea in mind.
He then flew the Overboard around the tower, and when temporarily out of sight, Jérémie hopped off, letting Odd continue his fight with the Bloks.
The ice beam continued when the cat came back into sight, but he flew behind the second Blok, causing it to be frozen by the first.
Odd hid behind the frozen Blok as he heard the other one charge up its fire rings. He flipped out of hiding, destroying the Blok with an Arrow, but was devirtualized himself in the process.
Jérémie entered the tower, the passage cleared.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Yumi's leg was aching as William tightly hung onto both her and the bridge they were dangling off of. If they fell, she likely wouldn't be able to swim fast enough to beat the current of the river right below them.
Above them stood the XANA-possessed worker. He was kneeling, the AI clearly ready to pry the boy's hand away from the bridge by force.
"William, if we don't make it out of this..." she began.
"We will!" he cut her off.
JEREMIE_
CODE_
The worker stood up and placed his foot on William's hands, intent on pushing them into the water that way.
LYOKO_
Suddenly, the man's eyes returned to normal, before he fell backwards.
Yumi immediately smiled, "They did it! William, we're safe now!"
He chose to trust her, before hauling her up to the ledge with as much as strength as he could muster. He watched as she grabbed the edge and was able to pull herself up, and only then did he climb up as well.
"You okay?" he asked.
Her leg still ached, but she could still walk on it. "Yeah, I'm fine. Are you?"
"My heart's still pounding," he confessed, "but I'll be okay."
The formerly possessed man was lying on his back, unconscious.
Yumi walked over to where her phone landed and picked it up, "Aelita?"
"Yumi, are you okay?" the pink-ette asked in concern. "Everything alright?"
"We're fine," the elder girl replied, her tone calm and reassuring. "It was a close call, though. You guys did it just in time."
William was standing over the man, cautiously watching him. "So, is he...?"
"Don't worry, he's still alive," Yumi told him. "Just out cold. He won't remember anything when he wakes up. Speaking of which," she redirected her attention towards Aelita, "what do we do now? We just...launch a return in time? Because I think we need to talk about you-know-who first."
"I know you're referring to me," William cut in. "And I agree with the talking thing, but what gives you the impression that it's all over? This guy works for Explobat." He nodded at the man's shirt, on which was a bomb logo.
"Yeah, so?"
"If I'm not mistaken, this guy works for a construction company that specializes in building demolition," William explained. "That now-empty bag probably contained all the right stuff to create a nice fireworks display. As in blowing this factory sky high."
Now alarmed, Yumi put the phone back to her ear, "Did you hear what William just said?"
"Yeah," Aelita replied, "but don't worry. I'll launch a Return and the explosives will just disappear. As for William, we'll just have the talk after. So, it's no problem." A pause, and then what sounded like an alarm. "I take that back. Yes, problem! XANA's activated another tower!"
Yumi's shoulders immediately sunk. XANA clearly only did this to avoid them just erasing the detonators with a Return in time. It planned on blowing up the factory, and the supercomputer with it, to prevent them from following it into the internet.
"Sorry, I can't run a Return right now," Aelita continued, "not while XANA still has control over a tower. Ulrich, Odd, you two have to find that bomb. Yumi, head for the scanners. I'm sending you to Lyoko on the double."
"Right," Yumi said, before hanging up. She then turned to William. "Sorry, but things have changed. Ulrich and Odd are coming up to look for the detonators. I need to head down and help Jérémie and Aelita."
"Okay," William relented rather easily. "I'll help your friends look up here."
That was...brave of him. Up here was where presumably the blast radius would be the strongest. Aelita, down in the lab, would be the safest of them.
Ulrich and Odd arrived in the elevator in no time. Yumi and William were waiting for them. She then switched places with the two.
"Good luck, Yumes," Odd said.
"You too, guys," she replied, before pressing the button. "Find that dumb bomb so our factory doesn't go up in smoke."
Once she was in the elevator, and it was descending, William turned to the other two, "I think the three of us should split up."
"Okay," Ulrich agreed. "Let's go."
The trio all went in separate directions, William to the left, Ulrich to the right, and Odd in the opposite direction of the lift.
The timer was counting down...
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Jérémie left the tower he just deactivated, pausing right outside. He waited for the pulsations, and once he found them, he took off in the direction of the new tower.
When he was well across the plateau, Aelita suddenly told him, "XANA just deactivated the tower."
He came to a stop, "What? Why would it do that?"
"To lure you away from the tower," she replied, sounding increasingly panicked as the seconds passed. "Behind you!"
He immediately turned around, only to tense up as he felt that magnetic field all around him. Of course. Now it made sense why the AI would lure him away from the tower with another tower.
The Scyphozoa.
Jérémie tried to run in the opposite direction, but he was easily caught by tentacles. XANA wasted no time invading his mind, as Aelita's cries to him became muffled...
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Aelita was chewing her fingernails as she could only watch XANA implant a piece of its virus into Jérémie's mind. By the time she got there, it would be too late. Unlike stealing his memory, it turned out that XANA only needed a third of the time to possess people (through the Scyphozoa, at least).
"Aelita, I'm here in the scanner room," Yumi's voice cut through her thoughts. "You can send me in."
"Sorry, Yumi, change of plans," she replied.
"Again?" the elder groaned in disappointment. "Jérémie's gotten fast..."
"No, XANA deactivated the tower on its own," Aelita explained. "It was just a trap to lure Jérémie outside so it could possess him. By the time you get to Lyoko, the deed will be done and he'll be heading towards the nearest way tower to delete the Ice Sector. And I still can't run a Return, because I don't know what will happen to Jérémie when he's in XANA's clutches. It may result in him being permanently possessed."
"So, my job is now to devirtualize him," Yumi summarized. "Got it. I'm ready."
Aelita inhaled and then exhaled to get rid of her anxiousness (and failed). "Good luck, Yumi. Transfer Yumi." She then selected the geisha's ID card. "Scanner Yumi." The elder's avatar began to load. Once it was completed, Aelita hit 'enter'. "Virtualization!"
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Yumi landed on the ground of the Ice Sector, due to being virtualized, right as Jérémie did the same, due to the Scyphozoa. She watched him run off towards an ice canyon in the distance.
"The Scyphozoa just released Jérémie," Yumi reported to the pink-ette still at the controls.
"Here's your vehicle," Aelita replied, as the Overwing appeared in front of the geisha. She hopped on and took off after the elf, as the pink-haired girl continued, "The way tower is well hidden in that canyon, so you have some time before he reaches it. But don't drag your feet. XANA will pull out all the stops."
As if on cue, a Megatank virtualized at the entrance of the ice canyon right after Jérémie entered the passage.
"Oh, for sure," Yumi replied, before dodging the monster's circular laser, not once but twice, before following it inside the canyon.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
"I think I found it!" Odd called out to the other two. "It's over here!" They quickly joined him, at one of the columns that supported the roof of the factory, on which was a device with a flashing red light.
"No, that's just one of the charges he set up," William shook his head. "There's gotta be a detonator here somewhere. That's what we're looking for."
"How do you know all this stuff?" Ulrich couldn't help but ask.
"My uncle used to work in construction and I'd go with him on a couple of projects during summer break. He used to show me how to–"
Odd cut him off rather impatiently, "Okay, okay! Family stories are all very moving, but we're kinda pressed for time right now!"
"That's right," Ulrich agreed. "So let's focus. Where do you think we'll find the detonator?"
"I don't know," William shrugged, "but the guy who works for Explobat oughta know."
"Yeah sure, but he's out cold like any normal ex-XANA-fied guy," Ulrich retorted.
"You guys keep searching. I'll try to wake him up!" Odd said, before taking off running across the hall, past the detonator right above his head that had five minutes left...
The guy was still out cold, and Odd hated to hurry someone in their recovery of anything, especially recovery of being possessed by XANA, but in this case, it was an emergency.
He shook the guy by the front of his shirt. "Hey, come on, Sleeping Beauty, wake up now! Look, it's your Prince Charming!" He lightly slapped the man across the face.
Thankfully, this caused him to open his eyes, blinking away the blurriness and grogginess. "What's going on...? Where am I?" He caught sight of his bag. "My dynamite! Where are my explosives?!"
"Inside this factory, about to go off any minute now," Odd sternly informed him. "Can you recall anything?"
"No, I'm sorry," the man replied, holding his head. He likely had a headache.
Odd needed to try a different angle. Time was just counting down. "Look carefully at this factory. If you had to blow it up, where would you set up the detonator?"
The man studied the factory. "I can't think too straight right now, but...with factories like this one, we put the detonator somewhere high up so the signal can reach all the charges."
The boy immediately pulled out his phone and dialed his roommate's number, "Ulrich, look for it somewhere over your head. Somewhere high up."
"Right," Ulrich replied, before hanging up.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
The Megatank fired another shot, and Yumi swerved to the right to avoid it.
She pulled out her fans and threw them both, but the monster closed its shell, causing her weapons to bounce off the metal.
As she caught her fans, it opened up again, before firing yet another laser. She flew the Overwing against the wall to avoid it, as the laser moved past her.
Once it retreated, she pulled out her weapons again, before throwing them a second time.
They flew overhead to the Megatank, before both of them struck its eye. However, she was too close to the resulting explosion, resulting in the Overwing's destruction as well.
"Yumi!"
"I'm okay," she replied, before taking off in a sprint towards the tower. "Nothing's broken, and I have Jérémie in my sights now."
He was far ahead of her, but he couldn't speed up either. So, as of now, the two were evenly matched.
"Okay," Aelita replied. "But be careful. That explosion took away a good chunk of your lifepoints."
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
William was more than willing to follow Ulrich's hunch. Odd had relayed the worker's advice—look high up—and the brunette had decided to start searching up on the catwalks, within the rafters.
He was right.
William knelt beside the detonator, watching the timer count down from two minutes, thirty seconds, as Ulrich called Aelita, "'Lita, we found the detonator. We have to evacuate the factory now. Everything's gonna blow in a few seconds!"
"But we can't leave Yumi and Jérémie stranded on Lyoko!" both heard Aelita protest.
In that moment, William made a choice. "Give me your belt." Ulrich sent him a confused look. "I'm gonna try and defuse the detonator, and I need something to use a sort of shunt."
"You know how to do that?" Ulrich asked, partially in awe, as he removed his belt and handed it over to the elder boy.
"My uncle explained it to me...once."
"O-Once?" Ulrich stammered nervously. William had to say it like that?!
"Well, once is enough if you're not too dumb, that is," William amended. "Now, get out of here. If it doesn't work, it'd be stupid for both of us to get blown up."
Ulrich immediately shook his head in defiance. "No way. If you stay, I stay." His friends were down there still. There was no way he'd ever abandon them.
"That makes three of us," Odd added, appearing next to Ulrich what seemed like out of nowhere.
William removed the buckle from the belt using a pocket knife. "If this is about me needing to gain your trust..."
"It's not," the brunette promised him.
"We're not leaving you alone to die," Odd said.
"Regardless, I'll say it anyways," William replied. "I'm helping you because it's the right thing to do. Yes, I'm mad at you guys not giving me answers, but I get why now. So I'm sorry for following you. Y'know, just in case we don't make it out of this alive..."
Using the knife, William carefully removed the screws from the class panel, before opening it up.
Two minutes left...
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Jérémie was a few meters away from the tower, when he was tripped by one of Yumi's fans. He turned around and glared at Yumi as got back to his feet.
"Sorry, Jer," the geisha told him. "But I don't have any choice."
She then threw both of her fans, but Jérémie dodged one fan before ducking to avoid to second, before forming two shurikens the size of his forearm and threw them.
Yumi flipped to dodge them both, before catching her fans, only to be caught off-guard by a dagger hitting her in the stomach.
As she recovered, Jérémie hovered nearby, XANA clearly wishing to get rid of Yumi before it could focus on the tower.
"Yumi, another hit like that and it's game over for you," Aelita told her. "And then it's gonna be the end of the Ice Sector as well."
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
William bit his lip as he slowly put the makeshift shunt towards the detonator.
Jérémie formed what looked like a blue version of one of Aelita's Energy Fields, twice the usual size at that, before throwing it, just as Yumi threw her two fans one last time.
William's hand shook as Odd glanced at the charge, Ulrich cringing.
Yumi couldn't dodge the large ball of energy and was immediately devirtualized, while Jérémie used a force field to deflect the fan that was flying directly at him, before heading towards the tower...
But XANA made a mistake losing track of that second fan. Despite its owner no longer on Lyoko, it flew around the base of the tower, only to hit Jérémie on the return trip, devirtualizing him as well.
Meanwhile, William placed in the shunt, the detonator sparking. He gasped as he watched the countdown still counting, before standing up. The trio waited with bated breath as the countdown hit zero seconds...
But nothing happened. The charge behind Odd stopped beeping, the red light on it going out, showing that its signal was no longer active.
"Yeah!" William cheered. He never thought he'd need to use what his uncle taught him in real life, but he was grateful that he had listened.
"Aelita, William defused the detonator. We're saved," he heard Ulrich tell the pink-ette over the phone.
Aelita's heavy sigh of relief was heard by all.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
The danger had passed, but a problem still remained: what to do with William.
"I know!" Odd shared the idea that immediately came to mind. "He could join the group!" The other four just stared at him. "Come on! We could use another fighter. Isn't that what you said last night, Jer?"
Said blonde was quiet, as he sat in the chair in front of the monitor. The expression on his face indicated he was deep in thought.
"He has proven how much he can help," Aelita had to admit. "Then again, there's still the issue of entrusting the secret to him."
"Jérémie?" Yumi turned to said boy. "Without your parents, the ownership of this supercomputer falls on you by default. What do you suggest?"
He sighed. "Let's take a vote. Aelita, bring out a piece of paper from your notebook and split it into five pieces." She nodded, and began to do so. "If everyone votes 'yes', then William can become an official member of the group. But the vote has to unanimous. If there's even one 'no', then we launch a Return in time."
The others all nodded, as Aelita passed out the five pieces of torn-up binder paper.
A couple of minutes later, William carefully watched as the blonde in blue quietly read off all five papers.
"You ready to hear the results, William?" Jérémie asked.
The elder boy took a deep breath, before finally speaking his mind, "No. Don't read them aloud. I appreciate your invitation to join your group, but I reject it."
The five Lyokowarriors all blinked at him in surprise. Though, he had been oddly quiet up until now...
"I'm sorry for following you guys and for lashing out at you earlier, Yumi. I just wanted answers, and I was frustrated because you guys were refusing to say anything to me," William confessed. "I do want to join you, because I want to help. But, I want to join the right way. I want you guys to be able to build up trust in me instead of me invoking it by force. So go ahead and erase my memories. If you really do need another fighter, then you guys know where to find me."
He then slinked into the elevator and pushed the button. The doors closed, leaving the five Lyokowarriors alone in the lab.
"Well then," Ulrich said, his hands in his pocket as they all stared at the closed elevator doors, "what do we do now?"
"What do you think?" Jérémie turned to the keyboard. "We don't have any choice." He pressed the 'enter' key, and a white bubble began enveloping everything...
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Time rewinded to the night before. This time, instead of heading to the factory, the four boarding students were in Ulrich and Odd's room, while Yumi was participating in the chat over the phone (on Ulrich's cell, on speakerphone).
"So William declined the invite," Odd asked, "because he felt guilty about us being forced to trust him this time?" He just wanted to get it all straight.
"Apparently," Aelita shrugged. "And honestly, I sort of admire him making such a choice amidst the things he was processing at the same time. Jérémie, what were the results?"
"Five yes's, zero no's," the blonde softly replied.
"Wow," Odd exclaimed. "Amazing! I thought you would've voted no, Ulrich. Or you, Yumi."
"You kidding me?" Ulrich confessed. "Look, I'm not crazy about William, but he saved us and the factory. He's brave, and he'd make a great Lyokowarrior. I truly believe that."
"I couldn't blackball him either," Yumi added. "He saved me from drowning during our fight with the worker on the bridge. He also could've turned tail and ran away, but he didn't."
"So we do want him to join the group. None of us are opposed," Aelita said. "But the question still remains of whether or not we need a sixth."
"Well, it certainly wouldn't hurt," Ulrich admitted. "And like Aelita said the first take, we're going to have to face William again sooner or later, because right now, he's curious enough to ask questions."
"Agreed," Jérémie replied. "So the next time he asks any one of us, take him to the rest of us, and we'll explain it all then. But don't bring it up yourself. I'd prefer not to have a repeat of this last take."
Yeah, someone following them definitely was not pleasant.
"Can we recruit Sissi too?" Odd asked.
"Well..." his cousin nervously averted her eyes, "we could, but let's file that in the emergency plan slot. The secrecy of Lyoko is too important to recruit both."
"Agreed," Yumi replied.
On her end, she watched, from her bedroom window, as William and Laura skated past her house.
Sorry, William, she thought, but I can't tell you the truth just yet.
!~~~J~E~R~L~I~T~A~~R~O~L~E~S~W~A~P~~A~U~~~!
Next Episode: 41 - Disorder / A dual-Manta attack produces some surprising, and hilarious, results.
A/N: Morphos on AO3 wondered how this episode would go down when I've already showed William moving on from Yumi and instead focusing more on Laura, before giving me a really good idea that I've used and want to give them credit for. The change in his character here is continued from the "Misconduct" chapter, where he learned how to respect the female population and be a better friend to Yumi. Instead of trying to find out the group's secret just to be petty to Yumi after she rejects him the night before, his suspicions here are more aligned with his experience in "Protect the Forest", so they're a bit healthier and more justified on his part. He knows Yumi knows the truth, but he frustrated because she refuses to tell him anything.
Meanwhile, she can't tell him anything, because the Lyokowarriors, as a group, has not reached any conclusion yet. In fact, that's what this chapter centers on for them. It's a continuation of the question they were left with at the end of the "Attack of the Zombies" chapter, where they started asking themselves if they needed a sixth Lyokowarrior or not. The conclusion they came to then was that they didn't. However, things have changed since then, because XANA is now free from the supercomputer and is now trying to destroy Lyoko.
Also, William didn't just magically 'forget' how to swim, and the best way to lure Jérémie out of his safe haven of a tower was XANA activating another tower. And don't worry, Sissi will get her chance to shine. Just be patient.