The Boy in the Computer

by SepticAbzies

Lyoko is back and the heroes have been upgraded, but XANA has shifted its goals yet again. / Jerlita Roleswap AU / Current Episode: Lab Rat / S1-3: Done, S4: WIP

42. 41: Disorder

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 dual-Manta attack produces some surprising, and hilarious, results."

Episode 41: Disorder

(Based on A Fine Mess & Temporary Insanity)

The gang was in Sector Five today, with Aelita in the lab, monitoring everything. The pink-ette was creating a program to locate Michel and Sophie Périn within the internet, but she needed more data to complete it.

Yumi flew her Overwing around, dodging lasers from the two Mantas chasing her. One shot, though, was all it took to destroy her ride, but she was ready for it.

Using her fans to spin herself around, she threw one, only for it to miss its target. But she wasn't done yet—she caught it as she landed on the back of a Manta. She then threw down both fans at the emblem on the monster's back, creating an x-slash, before jumping off to avoid getting caught in the explosion.

Fortunately, she managed to buy herself enough time. Odd quickly swooped in and caught her with the Overboard, "Gotcha!"

She quickly got to her feet, placing a steadying hand on his shoulder, "What took you so long? I almost didn't wait."

He shrugged, "Just having a word with Lucienne."

"Lucienne?" she asked in confusion.

"Yeah, you know, Lucienne," he gestured to the third Manta flying towards them. "I love giving nicknames to the monsters I blow to smithereens. It's more humane." Said Manta screeched. "And right on cue, there she is!" He aimed his right paw and fired a trio of Arrows, only for a laser to hit the Overboard (miraculously, it managed to survive, though). "Oh, she seems angry!"

Suddenly, 'Lucienne' was struck from below by a katana before exploding as a result, making said weapon go flying.

"Guess she wasn't too crazy about her name," Ulrich called out from the interface platform. Next to him was Jérémie, intently digging through all of XANA's data.

Yumi caught Ulrich's weapon as it fell towards her and Odd. "You oughta take better care of your stuff, good buddy!" Odd called out, as the geisha threw the katana back at the samurai it belonged to.

Ulrich just caught it with a light smirk and a scoff.

"Jérémie, I'm trying to collect more data alongside you," Aelita explained to the elf, "but I can't access the subsystems. Think you can crack them for me real quick?"

"I can try," the elf replied.

"Watch out!" the pink-ette cried. "Mantas approaching at ten o'clock!"

Ulrich and Jérémie both turned to their left. Sure enough, two Mantas were flying towards them. Jérémie gasped as they fired, only for Ulrich to jump in front of him and take the shot.

The elf began to kneel at the samurai's side, "Ulrich!"

Said brunette quickly got to his knees, his katana in hand, "Don't worry about us, Jer! Just keep digging!"

Jérémie chose to obey, turning back to the interface. Meanwhile, Ulrich used his katana to block the shots from the two Mantas, slowing stepping farther away from Jérémie.

"Aelita, how's everything going?" he asked. "Because around here, things are kinda–"

The brunette was devirtualized by one of the monsters before he could finish his sentence.

But he finished it in the scanner room, "–Ugh, heating up."

"Not great," she admitted. "For now, I don't have the data I need to complete that program. I'm afraid you guys will have to hold out a little longer."

Odd dodged the lasers now aimed at him and Yumi, both still on the Overboard. "Easy for you to say," the cat muttered.

"I'm almost there," Jérémie reassured them, tapping a window on the interface. "I've almost cracked the subsystems."

"How many lifepoints do we have left?" Yumi asked, pulling out a fan and using it to deflect the Mantas' shots from behind.

"Yumi, thirty-five. Odd, twenty. Jérémie, sixty," the pink-ette replied. "Yumi, Odd, if either of you gets hit by one more Manta shot, it's game over."

"It's time to make a stand, Yumes," Odd told her. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

With this, Odd turned the Overboard around. When the two Mantas on their tail saw this, they both reversed course immediately. This time, Odd and Yumi were the ones chasing them.

The cat fired a couple of Arrows, but both of them missed. He growled, "Raymonde! Yvette! Both of you get back here right now!"

Yumi rolled her eyes, "Odd, please stop giving them dumb names. Maybe then, you wouldn't have the fewest amount of lifepoints."

"Haha." His response was sarcastic.

The two Mantas circled back around before, intriguingly enough, joining together by the bellies. A red aura surrounded them, before they fired a combined red-colored laser. Said shot hit the Overboard, causing that aura to surround both Odd and Yumi.

"What the–?!" Yumi looked around in surprise. "What's happening?"

This had not happened before.

The two Mantas separated. The teens, in response, flew the Overboard between them, with Yumi slicing the top one with her fan and Odd shooting the bottom one, destroying both monsters.

They returned to Jérémie, whose surprise at their shared state caused him to briefly turn away from the interface. The two were still surrounded by the red light.

"What in the world?" he asked.

"Beats us," Odd shrugged. "They combined their lasers and shot at us, and this is what happened."

Suddenly, the two devirtualized out of nowhere.

"W-Wha...? Aelita?!" Jérémie asked.

"They're fine," she reassured him. "Both are reappearing within the scanners. But you're now alone. How close are you to cracking those subsystems?"

"I already did," he replied, turning back to the interface, "and I think I found the data you need."

A red light suddenly shot out from the wall in front of him, before it soared through the air and landed behind him, getting larger until it turned into a Creeper.

"But I, uh, may have a little trouble getting through," he finished.

"I see it. I'm going to materialize you now," she told him, in the midst of him dodging the Creeper's snaps in his direction. "It's okay. We can try again tomorrow."

He began to panic. "No, don't! I was just about to get ahold of the data!" This may be his only chance to get it; he wanted so badly to see his parents again.

"But, Jérémie, we've got a problem here at the factory!"

"Hold on!" he yelped as he dodged the Creeper's tail lashing out at him.

But this thing was in his way.

The monster charged up its laser and fired at him, but he jumped out of the way, narrowly dodging the projectile. In mid-air, he prepared a small shuriken, before throwing it at the creature's eye. His weapon hit its target, destroying it.

However, the blast caused him to land at the edge of the platform. Once he saw how close he was to falling off, he quickly got back to his feet.

Back at the interface, he continued his work. "It'll just take a second."

After gathering up all the data on his parents that he could find this time, he pressed the download button, sending it to Aelita's end.

"There we go. You can take over again now."

"Good job, Jérémie. Data received."

"Now," he was smiling, "what did you say about a problem at the factory?" He had found and sent the needed information; hopefully, it was enough for Aelita to complete that program. So now, he was free to focus on what was going on in the real world.

"Um...it's better to just show you."

He was then promptly materialized.

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

Moments earlier, in the scanner room, Ulrich flipped a Euro into the air before catching it within his palm.

"Okay, heads, Odd comes out first. Tails, Yumi." He heard the scanners heating up. He then uncovered the coin, looking at the side that was face up. "Heads."

A scanner opened up to reveal the eldest of the five.

"Huh, Yumi. I lose."

But she was acting strangely. She grabbed a strand of her hair, before looking at her hands, and then down at herself.

"Um, Yumi? You okay? Something wrong?" he asked.

Another scanner opened up, revealing Odd. "Huh?" Apparently, he was also confused, for some reason. "What am I doing over there?"

Ulrich turned to him, mouth agape. "Odd, why are you talking in Yumi's voice?"

"What? I'm not Odd. I'm Yumi!" the purple-loving boy pointed at himself.

"And I'm Odd," Yumi cut in. "What is my two great legs, two slim and muscular arms, one torso of Apollo and head to match doing over there?!" She—or rather, he—then paused as it came to her—er, him. "Uh-oh. Aelita? I, uh, think we've got a little problem here..."

Understatement of the century, Ulrich thought.

"Something wrong?" the pink-ette asked. "Everyone in one piece, I hope."

"Well, technically yes, but, uh," Ulrich stammered out, "I think Odd and Yumi have somehow switched bodies..."

"...What?"

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

Up in the lab, all five were gathered around the supercomputer. On the monitor was a window that was currently analyzing the logs. Yumi and Odd's avatars were being scanned, only for two giant red X's to appear overtop both—signaling that something was wrong.

"Looks like a little bug in the materialization program," Jérémie commented.

"You call this 'a little bug'?!" Yumi, in Odd's body, demanded. "We can't stay this way!"

"Yes, 'little'," he replied, "in the grand scheme of how complex Lyoko is. Be thankful you two were able to return to Earth at all. I suspect it was the Mantas' combined attack."

"Agreed," Aelita cut in. "We'll have to find what they changed and fix it."

"What if we went back to Lyoko and devirtualized all over again?" Odd, in Yumi's body, wondered. "Maybe everything will go back to normal."

"And what if the program messes up again and you two don't have any bodies at all this time?" Aelita asked.

"Nevermind, then," Odd replied, sheepishly. "Bad idea."

"So what now?" Ulrich asked. He certainly didn't want his friends stuck like this forever. Odd and Yumi were as different as day and night—someone was bound to notice something off eventually.

"We have to look back over the quantum sequence to track any possible abnormalities in the access data," Jérémie replied. "That'd be a start."

"Um," Yumi blinked with Odd's eyes, "you mind translating that, Einstein?"

Aelita giggled, "We have to carry out full check." She sobered up to add, "Unfortunately, there's no way to tell how long it will take to find the problem, much less fix it. So, you guys go back to Kadic and carry on like normal. Jérémie and I still stay here."

"I don't mean to rush you," Yumi pleaded, "but please hurry. I don't like being in a guy's body at all." And if it took even one night to fix, then she'd have to shower and sleep in said male's body.

In a dorm with Ulrich.

Alone. Just the two of them.

This whole situation wasn't weird and would not be awkward at all. (That was sarcasm, couldn't you tell?)

Odd, however, shrugged with Yumi's shoulders. "I really don't see what you're complaining about. I have a dynamite body that's loads better than yours! But, uh, something's itching me in my back." He reached back there to scratch it. "I think it's the strap to your, um..." He trailed off, realizing what it was. "Sorry," his voice was now soft, "I've never worn one, so I don't know what it feels like..."

Yumi sighed in annoyance, "You're forgiven. But don't you dare take it off. You hear me?"

Odd removed Yumi's hands from his/her back and put them up as if he was surrendering to her, "Yes, ma'am."

"Don't you guys worry about a thing," Jérémie reassured them. "Aelita and I will be working together. We'll get it all fixed up in no time. With a little luck, by tomorrow morning."

"I hope so," Odd sighed.

"Not as much as I do," Yumi muttered.

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

Ulrich emerged from the sewer passage and into the park first. Yumi, in Odd's body, followed him, but she addressed Odd, as he emerged from the tunnel, "Okay, so, what's my schedule for the rest of the day?"

"Well, try the three B's: bacon, bath, bedtime," Odd used his fingers to count them off. "Just stick with Ulrich and you should be fine. What about me?"

"Ditto," she replied, "but with Hiroki and Japanese-style. Just try not to say anything stupid in front of my parents, and don't do anything stupid with my body, either. In fact, I think it's best if you just brush your teeth and go to bed early tonight. Just act like you're not feeling well."

"I won't do anything risky, I promise," Odd told her, as covered up the passage with the manhole cover. "As long as you remember that my body's under warranty too."

"I promise," she returned, her voice and expression both earnest, before they turned to panic, that is. "Oh, god. Please, tell me you can eat with chopsticks."

"Yeah," he shrugged, "as long as they look like forks."

"Let Yumi give you a quick crash course," Ulrich told his roommate, "and only use your 'secret weapon' when you have no choice."

"'Secret weapon'?" Yumi asked. "What are you two talking about?"

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

Yumi had to be the one to dig through Odd's drawers. Despite the situation, the rules didn't really allow Odd, in Yumi's body, to be in a boy's dorm. Besides, Ulrich still had to teach Odd how to use chopsticks.

He was doing so using two pencils, both boys on the steps leading of the cafeteria.

"Wow," Odd replied, with two pencils of his own. "You really know a lot about Japanese culture, don't you?"

"Hush up," Ulrich whispered. "You're supposed to Japanese. Remember, Yumi?"

Odd gestured him zipping his lips together before throwing away the key. He then nodded.

"Good," the brunette's voice was still low. "And I know a lot about it because I asked her and Hiroki to teach me."

Odd twisted Yumi's lips into a smile, "How sweet."

Ulrich just rolled his eyes, "Shut up."

"Well, look who's here," Hervé walked up to them, causing the two to automatically roll their eyes. "Romeo and Juliet."

Odd rolled Yumi's dark brown eyes, "What do you want, Pichon?"

"Any of you know where Aelita is?" the nerd in green asked.

"Like we'd tell you," Ulrich muttered.

"That seems like fancy talk for 'she's with Belpois'." Hervé groaned. "When will she ever understand that I am the perfect match for her? What does she see in that string bean anyway? She's wasting her time with him."

Odd's response was automatic, "At least Jérémie doesn't have the mind of a vegetable!"

Hervé turned to Odd, in Yumi's body, in response. "You sound like Della Robbia! That retort sounded like something he would say!"

Though remembering that he was in Yumi's body, Odd beamed, "I take that as a compliment. Just give up, Pichon. Jérémie and Aelita are made for each other. You got that?"

Ulrich quickly smirked, for good measure.

Hervé growled, before leaving without another word.

Now alone, the brunette turned to his roommate, "Nice job. Though, I'd be careful if I were you. Hervé's right; you're the only one of us that uses jokes against him."

Odd waved him off, "But me rubbing off on her makes sense, given what close friends we are. He didn't think twice about it." He then changed the subject, "Anyways, that just gave me a great idea. You're always too shy to ask Yumi out, right? Now, you can practice on me!"

"That's not a great idea. It's a stupid idea," Ulrich corrected. "And besides, I'm not that crazy about Yumi. We're just good friends and that's all."

"Good buddy, 'just good friends' don't look at each other the way you two do," Odd retorted. "You're not fooling anyone. Just think about it; this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you to give it a shot without really sticking your neck out, and this way, I could give you some pointers too."

"Pointers?" Ulrich asked. "You? Need I remind you that you have yet to tell Sam your feelings?"

Odd huffed, looking away, "Bah, apples and oranges. Come on, don't be shy. Ask me out. I'm waiting."

Ulrich didn't even want to grace that with a response, so he didn't. This idea was ridiculous. What if Yumi approached them in the midst of this 'practice'? How would she take it?

"Fine," his roommate said. "Just remember, you made me pull out the big guns."

"'Big guns'?" the brunette asked, only to be enveloped in a tight hug from his friend.

The German boy froze as Odd raised his voice to a higher pitch, imitating a female's, as he snuggled further into Ulrich's neck, "Oh, Ulrich, I love you so much! You and I were made for each other!"

Both froze when they heard the click of a camera. They turned to the window behind them, where Tamiya was inside the cafeteria, aiming her camera down at them. And she was smiling as if she had just snapped a photo of something rare, "Score! I think I just got the scoop of the year! With a front row seat, too!" She then hurried away from the window, likely to find Milly.

"Oh, no..." Ulrich groaned in disbelief. That was the last thing he needed...

Odd loosened the hug, "Y'know, I can see why all the girls go crazy for you now. Beneath that stoic exterior, you're a real softie."

"Do that one more time," Ulrich coldly threatened, "and you're dead."

He then walked away, towards the dorms. Hopefully, Yumi was already done searching for Odd's 'secret weapon'. Even if she wasn't, he'd still prefer helping her over spending any more time with his roommate after what just happened.

Odd sighed, shaking his head, "You try to do a friend a favor, and that's the thanks you get..."

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

Odd had a lot of junk, was Yumi's first thought. At least they were mostly art supplies and cans of dog food, and nothing gross. But still, a little organization wouldn't hurt him.

As per the rules of the Kadic dormitories laid out by Jim every other day, it fell on Yumi to find Odd's 'secret weapon'. Neither he nor Ulrich would tell her what exactly it was, but she had an inkling. At least they had told her what this thing looked like: it was small and rectangular, colored green and modeled after a reptile of some kind.

She'd been rummaging through Odd's two drawers within his bed, aware that she was making a mess. But she didn't care; she needed to find this thing before it was curfew for her (or rather, Odd) and Hiroki.

Kiwi growling at her—he clearly sensed that something was off with her—was not helping.

"No, that's not it," she threw a paint tube to the side. "Cut it out, Kiwi. There's no reason to growl. It's me, Yumi." She finally found what she was looking for, causing her to let out a soft cry of victory, "A-ha! This should be it." She got to her feet, after putting everything back into the two drawers. "See you later, Kiwi."

Said dog ran up to her, only to bump into the door as she closed it behind her.

She softened when hearing him whimper on the other side. "Sorry, Kiwi, but you have to stay inside. Be a good dog now."

Yumi turned to leave the dorms, only to run into Hervé on her way out. "Della Robbia!" She blinked in surprise; what did Odd do now? "You tell your friend Ishiyama that only you have the right to insult me, and tell Aelita that she'll have to beg for a date with me once her string bean veggie drops her!"

"...What?"

Hervé just rolled his eyes, groaning in frustration, before walking on. She watched him enter his dorm, until the stairwell door creaked open.

"Hey, Yumi." She turned around to see Ulrich. "What's taking you so long? Did you find it?"

"Uh, I think so," she held up the reptile thing in her hand. "Hervé just told me to tell Odd not to steal his own jokes while he's in my body, and tell Aelita...er, something about veggies. I didn't get that part. What's going on?"

"Don't worry about it. It's just Hervé's jealousy of Jérémie shining through," Ulrich waved it off. Ah, that explained it. "And, yeah, that's it. Now, c'mon, let's go."

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

Yumi followed Ulrich out into the courtyard. The moment they left the dorm building, Tamiya snapped a photo of them with her camera, and Milly was right at her friend's side, her notebook and pen out.

"Ulrich, do you mind answering a few questions for the gossip column?" she asked, beaming with excitement.

"Yes, I do mind," he practically growled, as he led Yumi past the two girls by the hand.

She couldn't help but be surprised at his attitude. "What the–?" she whispered, "What did I miss?!"

What the hell happened in the courtyard while she was finding that reptile thing?

"Ask that imbecile Odd!" he muttered back.

So whatever happened, the fault mostly rested on Odd, apparently. How did that not surprise her?

The two calmed themselves down as they approached Odd, in her body, who was still resting on the steps leading to the cafeteria building. He straightened up and got to his feet when he saw them.

"Well, did you find it?" he asked. "I've had it ever since I was really little."

Yumi held up the reptile object she had found in his drawers. "This is the only thing I found that matches the description you gave me. Now, if this is exactly what I suspect it is, use only in case of an emergency. Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," Odd replied, taking the object from her. "And yes, it is exactly what you think is."

Before she could respond to that, a young boy's voice interrupted them, "Yumi!" The trio turned around to see Hiroki waving at them. "C'mon, we gotta go!"

"Go on, Odd," Yumi whispered. "It's show time."

Odd inhaled and then exhaled in order to steady his nerves, before replying, "I'm coming, Hiroki! I'm coming!" as he jogged up to the younger boy, hoping he sounded annoyed enough.

Yumi and Ulrich watched them both leave school grounds through the front gate. Seeing how nervous she was, the brunette slung an arm over Yumi's borrowed shoulders in an attempt to comfort her.

"Relax. Everything will be fine." He took a good look at her face, only to see that her expression was one worn by someone going through an existential crisis. "Are you okay?"

She seemed to be brought back to reality, though he felt her almost literally jump out of her (Odd's) skin. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Just hoping that Odd doesn't screw up with my family too badly." Her smile was fake, and she was obviously hoping it didn't seem too obvious. But he let it go, for now.

She could've sworn her hand had disappeared for a second...

On the way to the Ishiyama house, Odd stared at his hand in shock. Yumi's body or not, he certainly should not be able to see through it!

"Yumi!" Hiroki called, as Odd's hand returned to normal. "Stop dawdling!"

He hadn't realized he had stopped. "O-Oh, right! Sorry!"

The Italian boy jogged to catch up with Yumi's little brother. Fortunately, the younger of the two seemed unaware of the weird thing that had just happened to his sister.

Odd could only hope that Jérémie and Aelita had already found the bug by now.

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

Aelita was sitting in front of the monitor, looking over the logs to see what went wrong. Meanwhile, Jérémie was on the floor, typing various commands into Aelita's laptop.

"I think I see what the problem is," he suddenly broke the silence that had long since fallen over them.

"What happened?" the pink-ette asked, turning around in the lab chair to face him.

"It was indeed the dual-Manta attack," he explained. "On the surface, it's supposed look like any ordinary laser, but it seems like XANA upgraded its Mantas over the break. When Odd and Yumi were in limbo in the breakdown phase, the true effects of that laser kicked in, thus causing them to switch bodies."

"That makes sense," she replied. "But can we fix it?"

"Yes." She sighed in relief. "It's a pretty simple materialization bug, actually, one that can happen without XANA causing it. It's pretty rare, but anything can happen when your own atoms are breaking down between the two worlds. In fact, that's why XANA can't access the Limbo."

"To prevent it from messing with the process," she realized, recalling her own experience in that world between worlds. He nodded in confirmation as he typed away on her laptop. "So, given that it's a simple bug, surely your parents foresaw it and created a solution."

"They did," Jérémie explained, not looking up from his work. Apparently, whatever he was doing on her laptop was important. "Odd's solution from earlier about just going back to Lyoko and materializing again is actually what needs to happen."

"Huh." And to think, she had veto'd it out of fear that it may make the situation worse.

"But you were right to shoot it down at the time," he continued, "because while the solution is simple, it requires an extra step. While Odd and Yumi are on Lyoko, we'll need to reboot the entire virtualization system, which means that the scanners will be offline for a few seconds. They'll also need to be devirtualized at the same time, and they can't be until after the reboot."

"Sounds easy enough," she replied, "but that's on the basis that it was a simple hiccup from the supercomputer. What about when XANA forces it?"

"That's what I'm working on right now," he confessed. "While the system is offline, I'll insert an anti-virus into Odd and Yumi's profiles, to prevent XANA from messing with the return trip again."

"If the scanners will be offline for a bit, then I think it's best that you stay at the controls for this one," she admitted. Just in case. He was the only one who could deactivate towers, after all. "Ulrich and I can go with Odd and Yumi as their protectors."

He shrugged, "Sounds like a plan. Just be careful. Knowing that this whole thing was induced by XANA means it will, in the very least, be expecting us." She nodded.

A silence fell over them, save for the typing he was doing on her laptop.

Aelita leaned back in the lab chair, "So XANA sees your parents in us...how do you feel about that?"

She was disturbed to say the least. Knowing how much the AI hated Michel and Sophie, it was very much a bad thing. It likely meant that it had set its sights on her and Jérémie specifically.

She also hadn't really confided in the others about this revelation, only Jérémie, and even that was against her will because she wasn't sure how he'd handle it, but he was concerned about her and she couldn't handle that.

It understandably took a while for him to respond. "I get why it sees them in me. I am their son, after all." His voice was soft, almost at a whisper. "But I also get why you're being included. Maman was sharp as a tack and liked composing music, and Papa never touched that neuronal headset. At least as far as I can remember."

Right. She and Sophie both manned the supercomputer the most, and knew how it worked. Both had a love and talent for music. Both used that headset specifically to help Jérémie. And Aelita had finished the work Sophie had started by materializing him and giving him his life back.

Now that Aelita thought about it, it was no wonder XANA could see Sophie in her.

"The parallels are deeper than that," he finished, "but...in the immortal words of Jim, I'd rather not talk about it. Regardless, it means that XANA's forming a personal connection with us, one that it despises. So, it would not surprise me in the least if it starts going after the two of us just to get rid of us."

It wouldn't surprise her either. In fact, isn't that what XANA sought to do that moment in the forest surrounding Kadic?

He closed her laptop, "Anyways, I'm hungry. The preparations for the reboot are done, so let's take a little break."

She softly smiled before shrugging, "If you say so." It was clear he didn't want to continue discussing the subject, and she didn't want to push him.

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

The sun was going down as Yumi and Ulrich made their way to the cafeteria. It was dinner hour, according to Ulrich, and judging by the many students joining them in their journey, she was inclined to believe him. She quickly checked the time with Odd's watch, and noted that her family was just sitting down to dinner as well.

She wondered what they were having, before asking herself if Odd even liked Japanese food. Well, Odd was someone who would eat quite literally anything, so what was she so worried about? Of course he'd devour her mom's cooking!

Meanwhile, Ulrich refused to tell her what she had missed in the courtyard earlier.

"Yumes, please drop it. I really don't want to talk about it," the brunette muttered at her as they approached the cafeteria.

Knowing Ulrich, that could mean anything, but knowing Odd, it was likely embarrassing. Regardless, she chose to back off for his sake.

"Okay." She'll just have to snatch tomorrow's edition of the Kadic News. "So, what's for dinner tonight?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. Some kind of hash. After a while, everything looks and tastes the same. But don't tell Rosa I said that. Her cooking is actually the best I've ever had."

Smiling, Yumi made the gesture of zipping her lips shut.

Ulrich opened the door, and let her head in first. As he was closing the door behind him, the two both heard a familiar female voice call out to them, "Hold the door, Ulrich!"

The duo turned around in time to see Jérémie and Aelita run up to the cafeteria door. Ulrich had granted their request and held the door open for them. The four fell into the line together.

"We fixed the program," Aelita told them. "We just have to restart it from Lyoko."

"We'll explain it in more detail tomorrow morning before school," Jérémie added. "It shouldn't take long, but it does involve some risks."

"Tomorrow morning?" Yumi asked, before groaning. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to sleep in a guy's body, but I guess I don't have a choice."

Aelita gently elbowed her, a reassuring smile on her face, "Don't worry. It's just for one night. And all three of us will be in the same building if you need anything. I'll be a floor above you, and Jérémie's right next door to you and Ulrich."

Yumi was hoping for her own room, actually. She was a female soul inhabiting a male body, with a male roommate, about to sleep in a room located on what was widely known as the boys' floor.

And that was leaving out her crush on said male roommate. Sleeping in the same room was a massive leap in their relationship, even despite the circumstances, one that she was not ready to take.

(Seriously, why couldn't she have switched bodies with anybody else? Why did it have to be Odd?)

She sighed, "Okay. I trust you." Everything would be fine. It was just one night.

Pleased, the other three turned to the food choices laid out by Rosa and Gaston. Yumi had just placed on her tray a place of smoked salmon with brown rice (the closest option there was to Japanese cuisine) when her hand began fading in and out of existence again.

"Yumi?" Ulrich asked her.

She turned to him as her hand came back. "I-I'm fine. Must've imagined it..."

"Imagined what?" Jérémie asked.

Sending a side-glance at Rosa, who was on the other side of the counter, Yumi replied, "I'll tell you later."

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

"Yumi, what's the matter?" Takeho asked, concerned. "You're not eating?"

It was dinner at the Ishiyama house, and all eyes were on Odd as he tried and struggled to remember and retain what Ulrich and Yumi had taught him earlier about chopsticks and Japanese culture.

In his chopsticks was a piece of sushi (a slice of salmon over a clump of white rice). He was trying not to squish it, but as a result, he was holding it too softly, making it fall into the soy sauce. Some splashed on the table as Odd cursed himself for messing up.

He was hungry, and he loved sushi, and he didn't want to be rude. He remembered what Yumi told him earlier, "Use only in case of an emergency. Understand?"

This—food, more specifically—was an emergency, right? And Yumi could just convince her parents that today was just an off one for her...

He reached into Yumi's back pocket and pulled out the reptile object, before opening it to reveal that it was a fork, of all things.

Yumi's family stared at Odd in utter silence and confusion as he laughed off the awkwardness. He captured some sushi on the fork and ate it, humming as he tried not to drive too much attention to himself. Unfortunately, the damage was already done.

Once he was done chewing and swallowing, he stood up from the table, "Um, I'm actually not very hungry tonight, so I'm going to bed. Thank you for the meal. Mingtian jian chang!" He then left the kitchen, heading for the stairs.

He meant to say 'see you tomorrow', but he didn't realize he had not spoken it in Japanese.

At least, not until Takeho asked in confusion, "Why is she speaking to us in Chinese now?"

"It's love~" Hiroki teased, laughing. "Oh, Ulrich, I wuuuuv you!"

"Hiroki!" Akiko scolded.

That was all Odd heard, as soon after, he entered the upstairs restroom.

He switched on the light before looking at himself in the mirror, only to see Yumi's reflection staring back at him.

Sorry, Yumes, he thought. I think I screwed up badly with your family.

That, plus earlier with Ulrich at Kadic—he owed her big time.

He went to turn on the water, only for his hand to flicker once more. He stared at it as it became partially transparent before it went back to normal after a couple seconds.

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

Yumi had already changed into Odd's pajamas and was now lounging on his bed while Ulrich and Jérémie were taking their showers. She was gently petting Kiwi. The poor dog had every right to be confused—she was not Odd, and never would be—but he was finally beginning to calm down.

"Easy, boy," she told him in a soothing voice. "I'm not an enemy. Odd will be back soon, I promise. In the meantime, you'll just have to get used to me."

The door suddenly opened, and Ulrich stepped inside the room, in his pajamas and carrying his toiletries bag. Jérémie was behind him, though lingered in the doorframe.

"How's it going, Yumi?" the blonde asked.

"Everything's fine," she replied. "For now." Her nervousness was clear, seeping out through her voice and body language.

"So," Ulrich cut in, "what must you be imagining? You said you'd tell us later."

A troubled expression immediately appeared on her face. "My hand...disappearing..." She felt so small, like she was in trouble, and she wasn't sure why.

Jérémie immediately became more alert, "Disappearing? How?"

"As in my hand just vanishes from existence," she softly explained. "Not like a computer glitch, and it doesn't hurt. It's just...weird. And scary."

"Present tense?" Ulrich asked. "You mean it's happened before?"

"Yes," she confessed. "It happens every two to three hours."

As if on cue, she paused in her petting of Kiwi when she suddenly had no hand to pet him with. She held up her partially transparent hand, showing the two boys what was going on.

After a few seconds, it returned to normal, but the tension was still present.

Her heart (or Odd's) was pounding hard in her chest. "I-It lasted longer this time..."

Jérémie, however, was panicking more than she was. "You two call Odd, and I'll get Aelita. We'll meet at the factory. We can't wait until tomorrow morning."

"You mean, switching them back?" Ulrich asked, grabbing his cell phone from his desk.

"Yes, switching them back. We have to do it now," Jérémie replied, before leaving the room.

Apparently, Yumi's hand disappearing scared him. He knew what was going on, and it meant that they couldn't wait until the following morning to switch back.

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

Odd was waiting for the other four in the lab, wearing Yumi's pajamas. Jérémie's message was clear: they didn't have the time to worry about changing to normal clothes. They were being faced with an emergency, even if the others didn't know what exactly he was panicking over.

"Took you guys long enough to get here," Odd said the moment the elevator doors opened. "You're the ones who said to hurry up."

"Quit it with the jokes, Odd," Jérémie replied, crossing over to the chair in front of the monitor. "You and Yumi have been materialized into bodies that aren't your own, so they're not stable. If we don't switch you guys back now, your atoms might split."

The other four immediately froze up in shock.

"W-What does that mean?" Yumi asked. It certainly did not sound like a good thing, but she had to make sure.

"Complete disintegration."

Translation: Eventually, the two would just disappear completely and cease to exist. Permanently deleted. Dead.

So Jérémie had a right to be so panicked. They should've told him sooner...

Aelita, however, kept things moving by pressing the down button. The lift responded by closing the doors before descending to the floor below—the scanner room.

Only when the three golden cylinders came into view did Odd and Yumi snap out of their shocked stupor.

Right. They could still fix this.

"I'm sending you guys to the Ice Sector," Jérémie explained from the lab. "You'll have to get to a way tower due north from where you'll arrive. Odd and Yumi will enter the tower, I'll reboot the program from there, and then the nightmare should be over. Aelita, Ulrich, you two go first."

The pink-ette send Odd and Yumi a reassuring smile as she and Ulrich entered the scanners first.

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

Ulrich and Aelita landed on the Ice Sector side-by-side. Once the samurai was on his feet, he unsheathed his katana before flipping it around in the air to reposition it in a way so that he could view Odd and Yumi virtualize from the reflection on the blade.

The two fell to the ground in their signature positions—which looked weird, to say the least.

"You two okay?" Aelita asked them as they stood up. "Nothing else mixed up?"

"No, we're fine," Yumi replied, as she stared at the big, violet paws that were her hands. "Ladies and gentlemen, let's give it up for Catwoman..." She was clearly hoping to be back in her own body.

"You think you have it rough?" Odd asked, as he took a few wobbly steps forward, wearing the geisha's high heels. He didn't get very far, though, slipping on the ice and falling on his butt.

He groaned in embarrassment as the other three giggled, with Yumi full-on laughing from her gut.

"Glad to know everything is okay," Jérémie cut in, "but we don't have time to joke around. Head to the tower. You should see it from where you're at."

The said tower was a neutral one, of course, located deep within an ice canyon.

Ulrich, Aelita, and Odd all took off running. Yumi was about to follow when a strange experience suddenly came over her. Her mind separated from her body against her will, as she was taken from one place to another.

She found herself taken to Sector Five, directly to the Core Chamber. The Core had no shields left and her heart began pounding as a single Manta charged up its laser ready to deliver the final shot...

"Yumi!" Ulrich's voice brought her back to reality. "Yumi, you okay?" He was right in her face, worried out of his mind.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she softly replied. Actually, she felt sick to her stomach, but she didn't say that. He was worried enough already.

"I think you just had a vision," Odd explained, he and Aelita hovering nearby. "What'd you see?"

"A Manta one shot away from destroying the Core..."

Aelita turned to the sky, "Jérémie?"

"Checking. Stand by."

To fill the silence, Odd asked Yumi, "Is that really what I look like whenever I get a vision? No wonder you guys are always so concerned. You just froze up."

"Yeah," she replied. "And just out of curiosity, do you get sick after every vision?"

"I did at first," he told her, "but I got used to it eventually."

Jérémie cut in here, "Attack confirmed. XANA is converging on the Core as we speak."

"Now what?" Ulrich asked a valid question. Both missions were equally important.

"Ulrich, Aelita, you two head for the Core," Jérémie replied, as he sent them the Overbike. "Odd, Yumi, you two head for the tower. Hurry up, before XANA sends you guys a welcoming committee!"

"He's right," the pink-ette told the other three. She waved her hand over her star bracelet, summoning her wings. "We don't really have a choice." Ulrich boarded the Overbike, as she told Odd and Yumi, "Just don't get devirtualized before he says it's okay."

The two then took off towards the edge of the sector, leading Odd and Yumi behind.

"C'mon, let's go," Yumi said, before taking off towards the tower. Odd quickly followed her, the heels he was wearing pounding against the ice.

Both were running how they normally would in their own bodies—Odd leaned over with long strides and Yumi straightened with precise steps. It felt weird for both of them; the bodies they were occupying weren't used to it.

The two were well into the ice canyon when Jérémie warned them, "Watch out! Five Kankrelats are converging on you from above!"

Odd and Yumi both stopped and looked up at the top of the cliffs surrounding them on opposite sides in time to see said monsters hopping off and landing in front of them. They all positioned themselves between the teens and the tower they needed to reach, with all five of them covering the entire length of the pathway, effectively blocking it.

"Now what?" Odd asked.

Just then, the two began to pixelize as if they were being devirtualized, causing them to sharply gasp—the phasing had extended to their entire bodies this time. They remained in their wireframe forms, neither willing to move, before completely revirtualizing again.

They exchanged worried glances with each other, before Yumi replied, "Our only option is to fight them."

In response, Odd pointed an arm at their enemies, as Yumi backflipped farther away from Odd to maximize their ground. When she landed, however, a sharp pain had surged within her back, and she rubbed it, having forgotten that she was currently in a body that wasn't used to the gymnastics she was so fond of.

Meanwhile, Odd tried to fire some Arrows, but nothing happened. He then realized that he was in a body that didn't have Laser Arrows attached to the paws (or hands) or any weapons up the sleeves. "Oh no, I forgot!" The weapons this body had were two fans kept within the obi tied around the waist.

He was immediately forced to duck to avoid a shot from the center Kankrelat. He slid to a stop in front of Yumi, who stared at him as he chuckled sheepishly.

She just rolled her eyes before ducking to dodge a shot.

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

Ulrich and Aelita reached the northern-most edge of the sector. Aelita landed, de-summoning her wings, as Ulrich dismounted the Overbike.

"We're here, Jérémie," the samurai spoke up, as he and the pink-ette stood at the edge of the plateau, the Digital Sea in front of them and nothing else. "You mind sending us a taxi?"

"Already on it," the blonde replied. "A big, white stretch limo is on the way."

The Transporter appeared in no time, descending from the sky. It engulfed them before speeding off towards the other end of the sector.

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

Yumi's first attempt to use Odd's claws to climb on the walls resulted in the Kankrelats shooting her down. She wasn't hit, fortunately, but it did result in the shots causing part of the wall to break and crash down between the monsters and the teens—giving them cover. The two immediately hid behind the ice rock pieces. The Kankrelats were openly firing at him, but their cover was effective and remaining; they were safe for now.

After withstanding a few more shots, Yumi emerged from their ice rock cover and tired to fire a couple of Arrows, only for nothing to happen. She quickly ducked a couple more lasers, before asking, "Odd, how do your Arrows work?"

"Well, you imagine you're firing," he replied, explaining his powers as best he could. "You concentrate a little bit, and bingo, it fires!" It was intuitive; hopefully, she understood that.

She glanced down at her paws and studied them, before she asked, "Like this?"

An Arrow fired from her (his) paw and zipped past him, and he ducked right before it could hit him. He felt it barely graze the top of his head.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, glaring at her.

"Oops," she replied, sheepishly. "Sorry."

Odd just pressed a finger against his temple, and twirled it—his way of calling her an idiot.

Yumi narrowly ducked her head from a laser, before firing a few more Arrows. Most of them missed by a wide margin either above or beside the monsters. She ducked to avoid a few shots, as she cried, "I can't aim with these massive paws."

Odd took out a fan and threw it at a Kankrelat. After a graceful parabola, the fan passed way above the monster and returned to him. He ducked in time to avoid the projectile. "You think it's easier with your stupid fans?!"

"Obviously!" she retorted. "Did you break your wrist?! You've got no strength behind it! Do you know how to throw a frisbee?"

"Obviously!"

"It's like that, but more intuitive!" she explained. He blinked at her—apparently, their powers worked more similarly than he thought—causing her to sigh. "Let's just say that if your gut tells you that the target is lower than your brain is telling you, then trust your gut."

"And blocking lasers?"

"There's no trick to that," she replied. "Speaking of, is your shield the same as your Arrows?"

"Yep," he said, before throwing a fan, this time lower than he did before.

It hit its target. He cheered before ducking to avoid the returning weapon.

Meanwhile, Yumi fired a few more Arrows, two of which destroyed two more monsters. She smiled in glee.

Odd threw another fan, destroying a fourth Kankrelat, before one more Arrow (out of a few) from Yumi took out the last one.

Now that they were safe, the two emerged from their cover and shared a victorious high-five. They did it; they survived! All while just barely learning about the other's power-set.

"Nice job, both of you," Jérémie cut in. "Hurry on to the tower."

The two obeyed him, making their way further into the ice canyon.

When they reached the tower, in the center of the massive glacier, they were relieved, only to halt in their tracks when a Megatank appeared right in front of it. It opened up, ready to fire at them.

"Um, Jérémie?" Odd asked. "We could use your help here."

"Hang in there for a while longer. Ulrich and Aelita haven't reached the Celestial Dome yet." He had to stay at the controls in order to give them a vehicle or two. But once he did, he would be able to join them.

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

Aelita dodged a laser from a Creeper before destroying it with an Energy Field, as Ulrich neared the key mechanism.

"Ten seconds left, Ulrich," Jérémie warned.

As the pink-ette formed and threw an Energy Field at a second Creeper approaching her from behind, Ulrich used a burst of speed to reach the key and press it with five seconds to spare.

"Nicely done," the blonde inside the lab told them, as the passage opened further. As the two exited the room and entered the area of the elevator, he continued, "The Overbike is waiting for you two in the Celestial Dome. I have to go help Odd and Yumi."

"Are they in some kind of trouble?" Aelita asked, as she and the samurai jumped onto the quickly-ascending platform.

"Kind of. They're facing a Megatank while getting used to each others' powers, in an area with zero places or things to use as cover."

Ulrich winced, "Oof. Good luck, Jer."

"Thanks," the blonde replied. "You too. And the second shield will be at half-strength by the time you guys get there. Try not to get devirtualized; Yumi's vision has me very concerned."

"Us too," the pink-ette softly confessed.

No response from Jérémie, signaling that he had already left for the scanners to help the other two.

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

They had room to run around, but they had nothing to use as cover. The Megatank followed them, but never left the base of the tower, forcing them to remain on the run.

The monster fired and a wide circular laser hit Yumi in her shoulder. She cried out and held it as she fell to her knees, as if that would lessen the pain. It fired again.

This time, Odd leapt in front of her to take the shot and shouted from the direct hit. He fell to his knees beside her and weakly smiled, "Now we're even lifepoints-wise. We can't make any more mistakes."

The Megatank closed up, before readjusting itself and opening back up. It fired again, but this time, both teens managed to scramble out of the way, rolling to opposite sides.

It rotated back and forth between the two, as if having to make a choice. But it never got to make it, as a whistle sounding from behind made it turn around to see who had arrived and interrupted its possible victory.

It was Jérémie.

The blue elf was standing in the entrance to the tunnel that led to the ice plateaus outside of this canyon. When the Megatank saw him standing there, XANA apparently decided to just roll him over, making the monster close up before rolling at the elf with insane speed.

But Jérémie was ready. A bit of concentration formed a ramp in front of him that sent the monster into the air and careening into the tunnel behind him. It quickly recovered before backtracking towards the tower, only for it to quickly find itself right on the edge of a forming hole in the path.

The Megatank teetered on the edge, but having no limbs to hold onto anything, it eventually fell down, with a bright burst of light shooting upwards into the sky signalling its deletion by the Digital Sea.

Jérémie breathed a sigh of relief before turning around as Odd said, "Thanks for the save, Jer."

Both Odd and Yumi, however, froze up again when their bodies began to materialize. The elf worriedly watched their wireframe forms before they revirtualized.

He could only respond with, "Don't thank me yet. Into the tower, both of you."

Not wanting to delay them switching back, the two obeyed him. He watched the surrounding area for XANA's monsters—though nothing else appeared—as his friends entered the tower one by one. Only once they were safe inside did he follow them.

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

Ulrich and Aelita reached the Core Chamber in no time. At the top of the stairs, they took a quick glance up at the Core, seeing three Mantas and five Creepers firing relentlessly at it. The second shield was still up—as Jérémie said—but mostly likely not for long.

Two Mantas seemed to sense their presence and broke off from the attack, flying down towards them. The two chose to take off towards the stairs, climbing them. Aelita stopped halfway up, while Ulrich kept going.

The angel formed a shield and blocked a couple of shots from the two Mantas focusing on her before destroying one with an Energy Field.

Meanwhile, Ulrich focused on the Creepers, taking them out one by one. The samurai managed to take out three, before the fourth and fifth finally became aware of his presence. He was shot in his shoulder by one, stopping his charge.

He growled at them, before using his katana to deflect the ensuing flurry of lasers.

The giving out of the first shield layer came a lot sooner than either of them expected.

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

The trio's lifepoints were all back to one-hundred count as Odd and Yumi watched Jérémie work intently on the interface in front of him. Two windows were prominent: the DNA sequences (primarily, at the moment, those of Odd and Yumi) and the scanners program. The latter program was currently offline, waiting to be rebooted after the elf injected the anti-virus into their profiles.

"And done," he announced after a few minutes in silence. He tapped on the scanners program window one more time, and it showed that the scanners were back online.

Meanwhile, Yumi and Odd found themselves surrounded by the red aura from the Mantas, but this time, it turned green. Then it faded altogether.

Odd looked down at his body, and saw that he was still occupying Yumi's. "Um, I don't think it worked. We're still switched."

"The last step in the process is returning to the breakdown phase in the Limbo space," Jérémie explained. "To do that, you need to devirtualize at the same time." He held up his hands and formed a dagger in each other. "I can take care of that."

"What?!" Yumi immediately protested. "We can't go back to Earth now! The Core is still in danger!"

She struck a chord, as the elf de-summoned the two daggers. "I can help Ulrich and Aelita just fine, but it's too risky with you guys. Remember, you need to enter the breakdown phase together."

"And what if they require back-up from all three of us?" Odd asked, completely agreeing with Yumi. "The more of us there are protecting the Core, the less likely it is that XANA will succeed."

Jérémie paused, unable to deny the truth in that. Very reluctantly, he finally relented, "Fine." His voice was just barely above a whisper. "But if one of you gets devirtualized, the other must make the same sacrifice." He was very stern as he said all of this. "Both of you listen to me. Understood?"

But he was relieved when his friends both nodded with earnesty.

"But what about the Transporter?" Yumi asked, reminding the boys about the only caveat in their plan. "Someone needs to summon it with the 'Scipio' password."

"Actually, about that," Jérémie sheepishly said, rubbing the back of his neck, "you know how my parents gave me their half of Lyoko's Keys?" His two friends nodded; how could they forget? "Well, it turns out that their half includes the administrative controls of Sector Five. That's why I'm now able to sense the Core's pulsations when I couldn't before...and regenerate the shields..."

"So you now have the power to summon the Transporter whenever you want?" Odd asked, half of him excited.

"Well, theoretically, yes." He and Aelita had discussed it at length about a week ago, and she had come to that very same conclusion.

"Okay," Yumi cut in, "here's the plan. All three of us will head to the edge of the sector. If Jérémie is able to summon the Transporter, then that's great! But if he isn't, then Odd and I will both devirtualize, and one of us will summon it from the lab." She turned to the boy occupying her body. "Okay?"

Odd gave her a thumbs up, "Okay!"

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

It took the trio a few minutes to reach the edge of the sector, because they were on foot. Jérémie had his goggles slipped over his eyes, on the lookout for any of XANA's monsters

Odd glanced around at the navy blue sky. "I hope Jer doesn't make us miss our bus," he joked.

The elf was deep in thought, very similar to whenever he used his power of Creation. However, said concentration was broken when the holomap received a sudden update.

"Krabe behind us."

The other two immediately turned around to face their enemy. Sure enough, there was a Krabe virtualizing in the air above them with a red wireframe before landing in front of them. It immediately charged up its laser and fired at Jérémie.

Fortunately, he managed to dodge the shot just in time, jumping to the area underneath the Krabe and emerging safely from the other side.

The monster began firing again, this time at Yumi and Odd. The two both resorted to dodging the attack, due to having no time to pull out any weapons. However, the dodging resulting in them being lured farther and farther away from the edge.

"Hurry and summon the Transporter!" Odd told Jérémie.

Right. Even if the other two didn't make it, if he, at least, could join Ulrich and Aelita in Sector Five, that was fine too.

He resumed his concentration, thinking solely about the Transporter—repeating 'Scipio' in his head over and over—and eventually, he could feel how close he was to succeeding.

Only for his focus to yet again be interrupted, this time by an all-too familiar magnetic field. He slowly turned around to face his worse fear.

Completely cornered, he could only take a couple steps backwards before he had no choice but to let the Scyphozoa capture him...

Meanwhile, Odd threw one of Yumi's fans at the same time Yumi fired one of Odd's Arrows. Both weapons hit the Krabe's eye simultaneously, and it was instantly destroyed.

Yumi turned to Odd, "Was it you or me who got it?"

He shrugged, "I'm a courteous guy. I'll let you have it."

"But I'm in your body."

"And I'm in yours. So, technically, we both win."

Yumi rolled her eyes at the joke, before turning around to check on their friend—only to find him dangling helplessly in the grip of the Scyphozoa.

"Jérémie!" they both called out to him simultaneously.

But before either of them could move to free him, their bodies began materializing. This time, the phasing lasted at least ten seconds longer than last time—it was just getting worse, and was not going to get better unless they devirtualized.

They returned to normal, to their luck, just in time for the jellyfish to drop Jérémie from its grip to the ground.

The elf glanced back at them—showing them the XANA emblem within his eyes—before taking off in the direction of the way tower the trio just came from.

The Scyphozoa retreated, having no other purpose, while Odd and Yumi shared a concerned glance.

"We have no choice, Odd," Yumi said, before taking off after Jérémie.

She was right. They had to stop their elf friend from entering Code: XANA into that way tower and deleting the Ice Sector at all costs. Besides, without him, they couldn't go to Sector Five and help Ulrich and Aelita anyways.

Odd, relenting, was soon hot on her heels.

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

One of the two Creepers fired at the second shield layer right as Ulrich managed to sneak up behind it and take it out with his katana.

Apparently, he didn't have many lifepoints left (neither did Aelita, by the way), as a shot from one of the remaining two Mantas sent him back to Earth soon after.

"Ulrich!" Aelita cried out, seeing the aftermath—the fading pixels—before promptly avenging her friend by destroying the Manta that shot him down before taking out the last Creeper immediately after, both with Energy Fields.

Both exploded to signal their respective defeat, only for them to immediately be succeeded in the second shield layer giving out.

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

XANA was almost at the one of the four way towers in the Ice Sector—specifically the one located within the ice canyon. It was hoping the second attempt to delete this sector would be successful. With the cat and the geisha currently in each other's bodies, and thus unable to use their abilities with the level of expertise they usually possessed, the AI had a unique opportunity here that it could not pass up.

The original plan was to use the confusion the body-switching was causing to destroy the Core, but it was derailed by the geisha experiencing the cat's special power of anticipation. However, a deleted sector would suffice, and the aforementioned confusion would very likely prevent the cat and the geisha from successfully devirtualizing Jérémie before XANA could make him take over the way tower.

It had to try, at least.

In the back of the boy's mind, the AI could feel Jérémie pounding on the door of the figurative closet it had locked him into. Used to it, however, and knowing there was nothing he could do to break free, XANA just shrugged him off and focused instead on its objective.

The top of the tower, including its white halo (disgusting; red was a much better color), was now visible over the top of the canyon, while the cat and the geisha were nowhere in sight.

The AI was surprisingly disappointed—it was too easy of a victory. It was expecting the two confused humans to put up a better fight than this (which was none at all).

It apparently output that thought too soon.

A sharp whistle interrupted XANA, causing it to halt in its (actually Jérémie's) tracks. It used the boy's head to turn around and search the surrounding terrain.

There was the pathway it was making Jérémie run down, plus a couple of ice rocks—but no human in sight. It tried to take the samurai's earlier advice and slip on the elf's goggles, hoping to use this so-called holomap to its advantage, only for it to prove useless. All the AI could see with those goggles was glitching—likely a safety precaution its creators programmed in.

"Looking for me?" the geisha's voice sounded behind it.

It turned Jérémie around to see, sure enough, her standing there, still in the cat's body. She was now in between the elf and the tower XANA needed to take over, blocking the path.

It could feel the boy's immediate relief at the sight of his friend.

She lowered into a stance the AI recognized as being from Pencak Silat, a form of martial arts that she studied religiously. "I'm not letting you pass, XANA. Nor am I afraid to devirtualize Jérémie either. You know that from personal experience."

It did. And it knew that she could very easily do it again.

That's why it turned around and ran away, deciding that it was best to carry out its objective at another way tower.

However, the humans appeared to have anticipated that move, as large pieces of ice rained down on the body XANA was possessing, forcing it to halt in its tracks once more. The cat (still in the geisha's body, having used her telekinetic power for such a move) hopped down from one of the cliffs above.

The AI was now trapped, exactly what the humans wanted.

The cat wagged his finger in a condescending manner, "Ah, ah, ah. You're not allowed to go anywhere, XANA, without inviting us. That's rude, y'know."

These two humans were the same ones who were earlier cornered by five Kanrekats—the weakest soldiers of its army—right? Jérémie had to save them from the Megatank, and one Krabe was enough to keep them occupied while it used the Scyphozoa to possess the elf.

So, how did they manage to trap it like this?

"Hey Yumes, look!" the cat amusedly exclaimed. "I think we short-circuited XANA!"

Interesting. Was the surprise that obvious on Jérémie's face?

The geisha laughed, "That's what it gets for underestimating us!"

Just then, their bodies began to materialize. Sharing its glance between both of them, the AI watched their wireframes glitch in and out of existence, before returning to normal. It counted with its internal clock (necessary for a program like itself)—it was thirty-four seconds.

It couldn't help but smirk with Jérémie's lips. They exchanged concerned glances, as the AI could feel Jérémie's concern, confirming that all three humans knew exactly what it knew.

The cat and the geisha were both in the final stages of disintegration.

All it had to do was wait—it had decided—but that choice ended up being a mistake.

The cat threw both fans as the geisha fired three Arrows. XANA ducked to avoid both attacks, causing the two humans to take each other out, devirtualizing them. It then turned back toward the tower, only for it to be struck from behind by a fan.

What happened previously had occurred again.

It was forced out of Jérémie's body as he was devirtualized.

Apparently, XANA needed to resort to more drastic measures to delete this Sector...

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

As the fight with the XANA-possessed Jérémie was going on, Ulrich and Aelita remained unaware and were focused solely on the Core.

By this time, Ulrich had reached the lab, "All the shields are gone, 'Lita. Just one hit and Lyoko's done. And you along with it."

The pink-ette froze in realization.

"I think you just had a vision. What'd you see?"

"A Manta one shot away from destroying the Core..."

Great. Perfect. The Core was one shot away from destruction—Yumi's vision was about to come true—and Aelita was all alone, completely exhausted, with one last Manta for company.

At least Ulrich was safe on Earth. She didn't know about the other three, though...

The last Manta stared at her, before turning back to the Core. It glanced at her again, before back to the defenseless. XANA was clearly being faced with a choice here.

It made it, as the Manta focused its gaze on the Core and charged up its laser, choosing to ignore Aelita—XANA's mistake.

The pink-ette cried out, "No!", before leaping off the platform she was standing on. She went flying, placing herself in front of the Core and acting as an extra shield.

XANA fired at the Core right as she fired an Energy Field at the Manta. Both took each other out with one hit, and the result was a completely empty Core Chamber.

The Lyokowarriors had no one left available to virtualize, but XANA had run out of energy. A stalemate, one could say.

Lyoko was safe for another day.

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

Aelita was exhausted as she emerged from the scanners. She trudged over to the hatch in the center of the room and sat down on top of the cover, resting.

That was way too close. One shot away...

She was quickly joined by Ulrich, who sat down next to her. The two shared a relieved smile, before the moment was interrupted by the warming up of the scanners.

Two of them opened, and Odd and Yumi both fell out of them, seemingly out cold.

Ulrich immediately ran up to Yumi, as Aelita knelt at Odd's side, gently shaking his arm, "Odd! Is that...is that you?"

He opened his eyes at her voice, "Of course it is." She smiled in relief; that was his voice, alright, and in the correct body at that. "What's the matter with you? Don't you recognize your own cousin?"

She giggled, shaking her head, "Dork," as the third scanner opened up behind them.

It was followed with footsteps running up to them, and finally Jérémie asking, "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah," Ulrich replied, helping Yumi sit up. "We have a full recovery."

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

The next morning came faster than any of them were expecting. Ulrich was waiting by the vending machines with Jérémie and Aelita, all of them waiting for Odd and Yumi to arrive.

He flipped a Euro into the air, "Heads: Yumi shows up first. Tails: Odd does." He caught it and revealed, "Tails."

Jérémie smiled, "Tails, it is." He nodded his head at the crazy-haired blonde who showed up in that moment.

Odd caught Ulrich's coin as the brunette flipped it into the air again, to the latter's surprise and slight annoyance.

"It seems I had nothing to worry about," the Italian said. "Yumi wasn't too mad at me. Not about her parents, or about the sushi, or about the insult to Hervé."

"She was probably in a generous mood," Aelita told him, "because she wants to put this whole body-switching fiasco behind her. I don't blame her."

"Neither do I," Odd confessed, shrugging, as he slipped the coin he stole from Ulrich into the vending machine and pressed the button for a cup of hot chocolate. "It was not a pleasant experience, being in a girl's body. Mine and Yumi's powers on Lyoko just emphasize our differences. Mine are completely intuitive, but Yumi's require mental focus—something I have very little of." He grabbed his hot chocolate. "She's really cool, Ulrich. You oughta go out with her." He ended his speech with a wink.

"Yumi and I are just good friends, Odd, and that's all," the brunette replied, a light blush dusting his face. "But speaking of, uh...did you tell her what happened between us?"

"No way!" Odd immediately denied. "I plan on staying alive, good buddy!"

"Why?" Aelita asked, too curious to keep quiet. "What happened between you two?"

"Oh, nothing," Ulrich and Odd replied in unison.

Jérémie glanced out at the courtyard, and smiled, "Speaking of Yumi, look. There she is." He nodded at her; she was approaching them as she read the exact thing Odd and Ulrich did not want her to read. "With the school paper for once."

"Uh-oh," Odd immediately said, remembering that Tamiya had caught them. He slowly took steps backwards. He didn't get very far, though, given how the vending machines got in his way.

Yumi reached her friends and halted in her tracks, but her eyes were focused on the photo that Tamiya took: the photo of 'herself' tightly embracing Ulrich, along with the caption: 'Yumi Ishiyama finally confesses to Ulrich Stern that she's in love with him.'

She finally glanced up at the others, transfixing Odd with a menacing stare.

"I don't like this..." Odd muttered.

"Odd..." she warned, slowly and softly. That was the tone of voice she used whenever she was demanding answers.

Jérémie and Aelita immediately held up their hands in surrender, signaling to Yumi that they were innocent in all of this.

"Ulrich, help me!" the Italian plead with the German.

"Sorry, good buddy, but you're on your own!" Ulrich immediately denied. "I warned you. And I'm afraid I can't give you any pointers either." After all, he was smart enough not to get on Yumi's angry side.

In response, realizing he was all alone, Odd tried to run away, only for a pissed-off Yumi to block his way.

"OOOOOODD!"

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

Next Episode: 42 - Sabotage / XANA has sabotaged the supercomputer but a dorm inspection ends up wasting precious time, forcing Jérémie to take drastic action.

A/N: 'A Fine Mess' is definitely one of my favorite filler episodes, and I wanted to add it in somehow. I just wasn't sure where, nor did I want to change much. However, in canon Season 3, it becomes clear that the Lyokowarriors are, if not experts, at least growing into their respective skill sets, and it helps make them stand out against and emphasize William as the new guy. So it felt appropriate to add this episode here in Season 3, with Odd and Yumi switching bodies causing confusion foreshadowing that important factor that leads to what happens in the season finale.

According to my research (and please correct me if I'm wrong), the Japanese don't actually eat sushi with chopsticks; they consider it a finger food. That being said, using chopsticks with sushi is completely fine to them, and some Japanese people do (though, I guess it's like eating a candy bar with a fork or something). Just don't squish it or drown it in dipping sauces. Knowing this, I didn't see a need to change what the Ishiyamas were eating.

Jérémie gaining the admin controls for Sector Five isn't something that was ever confirmed, or even hinted to, with Aelita in canon. It's just something I thought would be a nice touch, and yes, it will come into play later. And finally, XANA's anger at its failure this chapter sets up the next chapter, 'Sabotage'.

Actually, the next chapter will be a filler chapter, one that leans more towards 'Temporary Insanity'. It was requested by the same person that asked me to write "Worst Case Scenario". If you have any ideas for a special chapter, PM me on FFN or DA.