Out in the courtyard, Principal Delmas is showing the students something. "Dear students, this magnificent stadium is being built in close cooperation with the Board of Education," They're all staring at two bulldozers. "Soon, you will be enjoying the latest in sports equipment! And I personally am delighted since my duty is to provide you with the finest working conditions possible and in all areas, both intellectual and athletic. Since, as Juvenal said, 'A sound mind in a sound body'," He tells the students behind him.
"Wow, can he talk," Odd whispers to his friends. "Do we really have to listen to all this?" He already looks bored out of his mind.
"Not really," Ulrich shakes his head. "You could have stayed with Jeremy if you wanted to."
"Besides, it's better than being in class, where it's basically the same thing. You just don't have to take notes or get picked to answer questions from the teacher," Amy adds in quietly.
"What's Einstein up to, anyway?" Yumi turns to them curiously as Jeremy isn't outside with them.
"The usual, he's glued to his computer screen in a big cyber conversation with his darling Aelita," Odd explains and she smiles in amusement.
"If he wants to talk to her, let him. If it was me, wouldn't you do the same?" Amy points out and he blushes in embarrassment.
"S-So what if I would?" He looks away with a small pout as Ulrich smirks at him.
Jeremy is typing away while trying to tune up the devirtualization program. "Just a couple of calculations to go and my devirtualization program will be completed!" He tells the virtual girl, her reflection in his glasses.
"And...do you really think it's going to work?" Aelita asks him hopefully while he grabs a piece of candy. "Do I have a chance of finally becoming materialized in your world and becoming somebody...somebody like you?" She smiles as for as long as she's known them, that's all she's ever wanted, to live like them. They get to learn new things every day, eat yummy food, smell the fresh air, and much more.
Jeremy eats the piece of candy. "I sure hope so. Anyway, there's one thing that I'm sure of, I've never been as close to the answer as I am now," He assures her and she gasps a bit.
"Oh, honestly, it's so hard to imagine," She confesses to the boy. "We can be face to face in the same room, we can touch each other...even kiss!"
He blushes at the thought, as it didn't even cross his mind until now. "Uh, yeah...that'd be, uh...hmm...uh, interesting. I mean, well, uh, I guess." She doesn't comment as she stares at him, noticing him being flustered. "Now, uh, get ready. I'm starting the test program," He presses enter and cringes in anticipation, biting his lip as he waits. The program then ends up not working and he scratches the side of his head as the results come back up as negative. "Oh, I don't get it!"
"It's not the end of the world," She tells him softly. "I'm sure, Jeremy, that one day you'll succeed."
"Aelita..." He holds his head, not looking at her as he thought for sure it'd work. But this has been one of many tests, and they all came back the same way. "I'm beginning to wonder if I'm up to the job. If I'm good for such a complicated program." He looks up at the virtual girl, sighing sadly. "I'm sorry, I'm just tired and jumpy, that's all. I'd better go and stretch my legs," He gets out of his seat. "See you later."
Odd and Amy walk into the hallway, peeking into Jeremy's room. "Jeremy?" They call out, but he hasn't returned back yet. They see his computer screen still having the program up. "Hey, what's this? Another one of Jeremy's materialization programs?" He wonders as he sits in the chair, noticing the bag of candy. "Oh, wow, candy!" He tosses one into his mouth, holding one out to Amy. "Here, you want one, Ames?"
"Uh...sure," She blushes as she looks away as he's holding it out to her mouth.
"Well? What are you waiting for?" He wonders and she glances down at his hand before eating it from his fingers. Odd looks at his fingers after she does so as they feel warm for some reason, but he doesn't hate the feeling. Actually, he really likes it.
"Odd!" This startles him as he drops the bag and a few pieces of candy. Amy turns around to see Jeremy. Some of the candies hit some keys on the keyboard. Jeremy comes into the room. "How many times have I told you not to touch my computer when I'm not here? There are months of work in there."
"Relax, Max," Odd retorts while standing up. "I didn't hurt your little toy."
"It's true, all he did was sit at the computer. No need to get all defensive," Amy speaks up for the boy.
Jeremy sits down and sees the fallen candy on the keyboard. "Oh no, you're such a cosmic creep! Now look what you've done. Those keys are incredibly sensitive."
"Okay, okay, a little piece of candy's not gonna wreck your keyboard," Odd retorts while chewing the candy. Amy takes a seat on Jeremy's bed.
"Jeremy, it's just candy. And it was an accident, you did startle him into dropping it," Amy points out, Odd pointing to Amy.
"See?" He retorts back to Jeremy.
Jeremy swipes it up and then looks up at the screen. "Huh?! That's crazy! This is really mega insane!" He starts typing, Odd turning around to Amy in confusion. She just shrugs sheepishly and Jeremy restarts the test on the program. And this time, the test is a success. "Yes! It works!" He laughs joyfully, the two staring at him. "Odd, you're a genius, you know that?"
Amy raises a brow in confusion, standing up and walking over to see the screen. "What'd he do exactly?"
"Make up your mind, am I a genius or a creep?" Odd asks him in confusion.
"You're a creepy genius!" Odd gives a blank look as Amy lets out a laugh at the statement. "You didn't do it on purpose, but by dropping the candies on the keyboard, you modified and relaunched my program! I don't know exactly what happened, but it works! Thanks, Odd."
"Wait, what? The materialization program for Aelita works?" Amy stands up in surprise, turning to Jeremy who nods with a smile.
"Who's an Einstein now?" Odd smiles while giving a thumbs up. "Are you gonna materialize Aelita?"
"Well, yeah," Jeremy answers without hesitation. "The problem is I only get one try and that's it. But that's because I didn't see what kind of programming the candy typed in..." He looks down at the keyboard as it could've been anything.
"Yeah, so? There's only one that made it," Odd tells him and he smiles.
"I didn't get a good look on which one," Amy tells Jeremy in thought, but he doesn't seem to care right now.
"Go and tell the others, I'll announce the good news to Aelita," Jeremy puts on his headset to contact her. Amy glances up at Odd skeptically as materializating Aelita right away would...cause some problems that are bound to be brought up.
Yumi shakes her head as she doesn't think it's a good idea after hearing him out. Jeremy stands up in protest. "Yumi, it's now or never. We may not get a second chance," He insists to his friend. "What if there's some kind of bug? I'll never be able to set up the program again!" He wants to be able to do this as soon as possible. Between now or later, anything could happen to the program, or Aelita. So he doesn't see the point of prolonging this out.
"Listen, you can't just materialize Aelita like that, without making a lot of preparations," Yumi explains, Amy humming a bit as she glances up at him from the floor.
"I've boosted the scans, I've got the program going," He tells her calmly while gesturing to the computer. "Everything's ready."
"Yeah, in your head," Ulrich points to his forehead. "Hey, come back to Earth, Jeremy. Try to be practical for once. Aelita has no parents, and she hasn't got a birth certificate," Ulrich explains to him plain and simple. "What's more, she's not enrolled at any school. O-Okay, that's no biggie, but all that together means she doesn't exist in our world."
"Imagine 'Hello, I'm Aelita. I just got here from a virtual reality'," Odd speaks up, smiling a little. "That's a one-way ticket to the nuthouse."
Jeremy looks at Amy, who hugs her knees a bit while looking at him. "Jeremy, it'll take less than an hour if someone does a quick search and sees no records of her. You really wanna risk her life like that? Then she'd get kicked out, or even possibly be sent away, and then she'd have no one else to rely on. Are you sure that's what you want if you materialize her now without us planning this out first to cover all our bases?"
His eyes soften as he lets that sink in.
"You know, Jeremy, it doesn't have to be today. I can wait," Aelita explains as she agrees with the others. "Amy is right, if I'm in the world with no identity...I wouldn't ever see you again." He gasps at that and then sighs in defeat. He sits down, looking back up at his friends.
"Well, what do we do now?"
Yumi turns to the brunette. "Well, she could stay at Amy-"
"She can't stay at my house," Amy interrupts nervously and Odd knows why. Aelita would just either be uncomfortable or tired of her parents' situation currently. Plus she's not ready to tell everyone else her family situation. Yumi blinks at her in confusion.
"I was gonna say your room because you have a double bedroom. I can put her up at my house while we enroll her. My folks wouldn't mind," She raises a brow and Amy chuckles in embarrassment.
"Right, right. Your house, of course," She waves it off, as she said it out of defense because she forgot that Yumi is the only one of them who lives near the school. When she said Amy's name, she was so scared for a second that she's quick to try and dissuade her...
"Okay," Ulrich says slowly at Amy's behavior. "You can plug into the city hall computers. And create a phony identity for her. Let her get settled with Yumi, all the stuff she needs."
"Then you just have to enroll her at our school. And try to put her in our class, that'd be really cool, huh? Odd gives a small grin. "Like Amy was getting to, right?" He nudges her a bit to try and save her.
"Yes, that's what I meant. Of course she can stay in my room when she's enrolled here," Amy gives a nervous giggle as she smiles widely. "Plus I won't have to be the only girl in the group that's in our class."
Jeremy thinks it over before he nods. "Okay, we'll get started first thing tomorrow."
Amy sighs in relief, letting her body slide down a bit towards the floor. That was a close one for her.
Night time comes around, and everyone is asleep except for Jeremy. He couldn't stop thinking about materializing Aelita, not to mention that they can put a stop to XANA once she arrives. He stares at his Einstein portrait, glancing between it and the computer. He finally gets up and sits in his chair. "Aelita? Are you asleep?" He wonders as he logs into Lyoko.
"Am I asleep?" She asks jokingly once she pops up. "Come on, Jeremy, you know that virtual beings never sleep!" Even if she could, that would just the monsters more opportunities to try and get to her.
"I can't sleep a wink," He confesses, his hands on his cheeks. "I can't stop thinking about your materialization, that's keeping me up. You can't imagine all the things you're gonna discover in our world!" He tells her, earning a soft smile.
"You mean like sleeping?"
"That's right. That and all kinds of fun things," He smiles as he couldn't wait for her to experience the world for what it was.
"Tell me more."
Jim snores loudly in his room, as it was a cave in his mouth. He turns around to sleep on his stomach, putting his pillow over his head.
Meanwhile, Odd is also snoring softly, Ulrich doing the same.
Amy sleeps peacefully, her chest rising up and down as she lays on her side. Her hair is in twin buns, wearing a purple t-shirt underneath a larger white pajama shirt, also wearing white socks.
Outside, unknown to anyone, XANA has activated and turns on the light that shows the inactive bulldozers. XANA's specters crawl down the lamp post, landing on the ground and entering the bulldozers. It activates them and they turn on the headlights, XANA's symbol shining from them. Then they start moving on their own. They start driving down the track field.
"When you touch an object with your fingers, you have a sort of sensation," Jeremy is explaining to Aelita the 5 senses. "It could be a feeling of softness or of heat. It could be cold."
"Oh, I see," She says while being intrigued. "I thought you only sensed with your brain," She points to the side of her head.
"That's right, but it's a little more complicated. Here on Earth, everyone has five senses. But you, Aelita, you only have two of them. Hearing and seeing. You can only see and hear." She looks up in alarm as she gets a familiar feeling.
"Speaking of hearing," She starts off as she gets on her feet, but Jeremy is too focused on her materialization again.
"Soon, you're gonna be able to touch and to-"
"Jeremy, I think I just heard XANA," She interrupts with a panicked look in her eyes. "He's up to something."
That's when he hears the bulldozers, turning around in confusion. "What's all that noise about?"
"Jeremy, XANA's launched an attack!" Aelita exclaims and he stands up, reaching for his computer mouse.
"Okay, listen Aelita. Go and hide in a deactivated tower. I'll contact you from the factory," He says and hangs up with her. He then opens the door to Odd and Ulrich's room, already fully dressed. "Odd, wake up! XANA's attacking! Odd, wake up!"
He opens an eye and lifts his head up. "W-What was that? What did you say about carp attacking?" He mumbles tiredly to Jeremy, who's standing over Ulrich's bed.
"Ulrich, get up!" He doesn't respond and Jeremy resorts to shaking him. "It's a XANA alert!"
Ulrich sits up in bed, taking off his earplugs, hence why he didn't answer. "What did you say?"
"I SAID IT'S A XANA ALERT, XANA'S ATTACKING!" Jeremy shouts at the top of his lungs, and thankfully the door is closed so no one heard him. And if they did, he'd just launch a return to the past anyway. Ulrich, however, covers his ears in pain.
"Hey, you always sleep with those things in your ears?" Odd couldn't help but wonder to Ulrich.
"Yeah, Odd, always," Ulrich retorts as he stands up. "And one of these days, I'll tell you why." Odd just stares at him in confusion, as he doesn't know that his snoring...isn't ideal for anyone else to sleep with.
"Come on, we gotta wake up Amy," Jeremy explains to them in urgency.
They stand in front of her door, knocking first since they don't wanna get caught going into her room by Jim. "Ames!" Odd whispers quietly so that he's not waking anyone up. "Wake up, XANA's attacking!"
They get no response as she continues sleeping and Ulrich pulls out his phone. "I'll give her a call."
However, her phone is on silent, the phone icon popping up on her screen and blinking rapidly. Ulrich groans as he looks at the phone. Then all of them look down to see the 'do not disturb' sign, all three giving blank looks.
"We don't have time for this," Jeremy opens up the door and they close it behind them. He approaches the brunette still sleeping and takes a deep breath. "AMY, WAKE UP, XANA'S ATTACKING!" He screams just like he did with Ulrich and she yells in alarm as she falls out of bed, kicking Jeremy in the process. He yelps as he hugs his stomach.
"You guys!" She protests while rubbing at her eye. "Not cool, you're not even supposed to be in here."
"Sorry, but XANA's awake too," Odd tells her while helping her up. "You gave Jeremy quite the wake-up call, though."
"I'm sorry, Einstein, but you shouldn't be waking me up this late. Self-defense and all that," She shrugs sheepishly to him on the floor.
"Noted," He wheezes out, Ulrich chuckling to himself.
"Remind me to never get on your bad side," He states while opening the door.
The bulldozers start moving across the field, and they destroy one of the goals while heading for the forest. The four run down the courtyard while in their regular clothes, but Amy still has her hair pinned up. They come to a stop once they see the bulldozers. "No need to look any further, guys. This time he picked a real winner," Odd states while they stare. "He's attacking us with bulldozers. Nice going, XANA, how subtle can you get?"
"Subtle or not, those things could start destroying the school," Amy turns to him and Ulrich looks to Jeremy.
"Jeremy, you and Amy rush over to the lab and call Yumi," Jeremy stands up and nods in agreement. "Odd and I are gonna try and stop these monsters."
"Right!" Amy nods as she and Jeremy run right, Odd and Ulrich going over to the left. The two boys catch up with the bulldozers, and the steering wheels are moving by themselves.
"I'll take the first one!" Ulrich points up ahead, running faster.
"Gotcha!" Odd jumps into the second one and Ulrich leaps into the first. He looks down at the controls and tries pulling some levers, with no success. He then tries moving the steering wheel, but it locks him into place. The bulldozer approaches a fence and he looks up in alarm.
At Yumi's home, her phone rings as it's 2:30 in the morning. She groans as she presses on her clock, thinking it's her alarm. She then reaches out and grabs her phone.
"Come on, Yumi, get up, we really need you," Jeremy says as he and Amy are both riding their scooters.
"Do you realize what time it is?" She asks in a tired voice, laying on her back as she listens. "Bulldozers? What bulldozers? ...What?!" She sits up in alarm once Jeremy informs her.
Ulrich tries once again to get the controls working as the bulldozers move deeper into the forest. Odd goes up and opens the opposite door. "Hey, XANA's controlling the thing. I don't know what to do, Ulrich!"
"That makes two of us," He glances over to the blond. "You go and meet the girls and Jeremy at the lab. If I can find out what XANA wants to do with these monsters, that would sure help."
"Okay, just be careful," Odd warns, earning a thumbs up from his friend. Odd then runs into the forest to head for the sewers.
Aelita runs while in the forest sector. Jeremy and Amy have already made it to the lab. "Keep your eyes open, Aelita, you never know where XANA's monsters are hiding." He then looks up to Amy. "Head for Lyoko now."
"On it," She nods and runs off.
Aelita keeps a lookout while hiding behind a tree. "Don't worry, Jeremy, no enemy in sight for the moment," She reports while he glances at the map of Lyoko. "But the pulse beats are getting stronger. The activated tower can't be too far away," She glances to the pulsations near her.
"I'm sending Amy as we speak."
As he says that, Amy stands in front of a scanner. She slowly steps in, turning around. Her ID card pops up on his screen. "Transfer Amy." The doors close and her bangs fly since her hair is still up. "Scanner Amy." She spins around while being scanner. "Virtualization," He taps the key and she emerges into the forest sector. She lands and looks around for Aelita.
"Aelita? Aelita?" She asks and Aelita comes out of hiding.
"Amy!" The brunette turns around to see the tree the pink-haired girl was hiding behind.
"Hi Aelita," She smiles with a wave.
Odd climbs down the ladder and grabs his skateboard. He runs down and throws it, skating down the sewers. Once he makes it to the bridge, he runs across it and jumps up to grab the rope. He swings and lands in front of the elevator. Odd presses the button and goes down to the lab. The doors open to reveal him and Jeremy glances back to the boy. He then smiles in relief.
"Amy, Aelita, Odd should be there soon," He says while Odd joins his side. "And now let's hope that Yumi and Ulrich are on their way."
"No monsters yet, but we're keeping an eye out," Amy reports to him from the screen. "But Ulrich's not with you?"
"Ulrich? He's on the bulldozer, trying to find out what XANA's up to," Odd explains to them.
Jeremy then gives him a call to get a status update. "Ulrich, do you read me?" He dials his phone.
"Bad news, Jeremy. I'm on the riverbank," Ulrich states as he passes by the river...right next to the factory. "And I'm afraid XANA's target is the factory."
"That's gotta be it!" Jeremy realizes XANA's plan with the bulldozers. "If XANA manages to destroy the factory, we can say goodbye to our equipment. No more computer meaning no more communication with Aelita..." He looks away in horror. He'd never be able to complete her materialization program if he wasn't able to connect with Lyoko anymore...not to mention he likes talking to her about Earth, fantasizing about finally getting her here.
"Don't forget about the scans. Without them, no more transfers to Lyoko. And that means total victory for XANA," Odd points out, gasping sharply. "And that means Ames will be trapped on Lyoko with Aelita!" He turns around and makes a dash for the elevator.
"Ulrich, listen," Jeremy speaks up into the headphone. "Odd's just about to join Amy on Lyoko, so if you don't mind, hurry up."
The bulldozers drive across the bridge. "I'll do my best, but I can't promise you a graceful entrance," Ulrich explains, since there's nothing he can do to stop them unfortunately.
Odd steps into the scanner, turning around.
"Transfer Odd," Jeremy taps the enter key. "Scanner. Virtualization."
Odd virtualizes and lands, getting his laser arrows ready. He looks around and flips, aiming at a tree.
"Whoa, don't shoot," Amy holds up her hands as she flaps her wings while descending down.
"Oh, hello Odd," Aelita greets while coming out of hiding from the tree. "You're looking stressed."
"No, I'm okay, Aelita. It's just that I never know what I'm gonna find whenever I come here. At least it's Odd and Ames again, taking on monsters!" He gives the fairy a wink. He secretly loves it when he and Amy are paired up together. He at least thinks that they make a good team, like Yumi and Ulrich. They always know what to do with their attacks, and they're both sometimes spontaneous with strategies.
Amy just chuckles in amusement at him. "At least you're getting some fun out of this," She gestures while landing next to Aelita.
"Come with us, Odd. The activated tower's this way," Aelita starts walking in the opposite direction.
"Okay, let's go and check it out," Odd follows the girls.
The bulldozers enter the factory, both of them going down the ramp. The one that Ulrich is in heads to the left and is about to crash into a pole as seen by the headlights. Ulrich pulls on the doorknob, but the door is locked. He continues tugging on it, but there's no use. He looks back with wide eyes. "Oh no!" He screams as the bulldozer crashes into the giant pole. This causes the windows to break and for him to fall unconscious.
Jeremy looks up as he hears the phone go static, which concerns him. Especially when he looks up at the ceiling and can still hear the bulldozers.
"Ulrich, do you read me?" He calls out, but there's no answer. The bulldozer continues moving, with Ulrich's arm hanging outside the broken window.
"Jeremy?" Yumi speaks up as she calls him.
"Yumi, I've lost contact with Ulrich," He reports to the Japanese girl.
"Where was he when you last spoke to him?" She immediately asks in worry.
"He was heading for the factory with the bulldozers," Jeremy tells her as she's already next to the riverbank.
"Right, I'm almost there! I'll find him," She says while running for the bridge.
Odd and Aelita run down a path with Amy flying above them. The trio stop moving once they come across an intersection. Aelita looks around and feels the pulsations coming from their right. "That way!" She points to the direction.
"Hold on a sec," Amy holds out a hand as she looks around. "I spy two monsters heading our way. I knew this was too easy," She shakes her head as two Kankerlots appear, and they block the direction they're supposed to go in.
"Talk about a reception committee," Odd comments at this.
"Usually roachsters move in groups of five," Aelita states and they turn around to see three more approaching. Amy and Odd notice that since one came from the other three directions, they're now surrounded. Amy drops her wings to let herself fall in front of Aelita to protect her.
"Wow, and it looks like the committee's at full strength."
"You're telling me. They met their criteria just for us. I feel so honored," Amy says as she makes her hands glow green, Odd preparing his laser arrows.
Yumi runs into the factory as smoke is surrounding the entrance. She stops and gasps as she sees how much damage the bulldozers have already done. The first floor is almost entirely gone, with the second floor having all of the fallen debris. She then gasps in horror as she sees Ulrich's arm hanging from one of them, and he wasn't moving. She slides down from the rope.
"Hello roachsters," Odd speaks up to them. "Now which one of you wants to be first?" He and Amy are on opposite sides. The one in front of Amy fires and she puts up a shield made out of vines, stopping it. Another one fires from Odd's left and he flips around. He jumps up and lands after another one is fired, but a third one gets him in the side. Amy brings out her scythe to dodge one, but the Kankerlot from the other side hits her in the back, causing her to fall slightly. Odd flips to the side as another one is fired, however Aelita is hit in the leg. Odd jumps over to the girls from behind, firing twice. He misses one Kankerlot, but destroys one. Another laser is fired and Amy takes to the skies. She throws her scythe like a boomerang and destroys one. The weapon spins around back to her and she gets back on solid ground to catch it. Odd flips and lands near her, turning around. All of them jump up from more lasers and Amy grunts in annoyance once they land.
"Can't even stand for one second to make a move on these guys," She mutters while glancing at Odd, who is hit again and slides to a stop. Amy gasps and then is hit in the arm. She grunts and lands on her knees, holding her arm tight.
Jeremy looks at both of their stats, and it's not looking good. "Hey, would you guys cool it? Your mission is to protect Aelita, remember?" He warns the duo.
"Hey, we're doing our best. This fight isn't exactly fair, you know," Amy speaks up in annoyance.
"Yeah, you wanna trade places, Jeremy?" Odd retorts back, earning a wince from Jeremy. He definitely would rather stay on the computer...
Yumi runs to the bulldozer Ulrich is in, jumping up and reaching the window. She bends down and starts shaking the unconscious boy. "Ulrich! Ulrich, get up! Ulrich! Hurry up!" She tugs on his jacket from behind, trying to pull him out. However, he's still unconscious, and moving him would be difficult while on a moving bulldozer. She gasps and the bulldozer speeds up, heading for a wall. She jumps inside the bulldozer and hugs Ulrich, bracing herself as the machine hits the wall. They fall to the floor as the wall breaks down. It then moves backwards and she grits her teeth. She stands up and manages to jump out with Ulrich on her back, rolling away from the falling debris. The girl then drags him away from all the destruction.
"Odd, you've used up 4 of your 10 arrows!" Jeremy reports as the Kankerlot fires up. It fires again and Odd flips over it. He fires while Aelita is hiding behind a tree, and he misses. She watches as both Odd and Amy dodge the lasers. Amy holds up her scythe and a laser hits it, causing her to slide backwards. She closes her eyes and touches the ground with her hand.
"Glowing Green Ivy," She murmurs as a green light emanates from her hand, going all the way over to the second Kankerlot. The vines grip the monster tight enough to make it explode. Odd flips and points his paw while in mid-air.
"Here comes three more! Laser Arrow!" He manages to get the last one blocking their path. The three then take off, but three more Kankerlots follow them.
Yumi holds Ulrich in her arms, staring at him as he's still not awake. "Ulrich, you've gotta get up!" She looks up as a bulldozer is approaching them. She grabs his arm and then pulls him away as he's suddenly awake now. He staggers as the bulldozer comes closer. They manage to fall into a hatch, Yumi turning to Ulrich as he's unconscious again. "Ulrich..." She touches his cheek slightly. She then heaves him over her shoulder again and heads for the lab, as they're in a hatch near the ceiling of it.
"Hey, Jeremy," She phones him again. "Can you give me a hand?" He looks up and rushes over as she's carrying Ulrich still, standing on one of the beams.
"What about the bulldozers?" He wonders as debris falls and he climbs up the ladder.
"It's a mess up there," She tells him, as there's still nothing that could be done to stop them, unless they deactivate the tower.
"I wish it were only up there," He says while helping her with Ulrich. She looks back as debris continues falling.
"How are Odd and Amy doing?" Yumi wonders as Ulrich is leaning against the wall, and she's checking on him.
"Jeremy, we're starting to get a little lonely out here!" Odd calls out in response.
"Could use some back-up like yesterday fast!" Amy then adds in.
"That answer your question?" Jeremy glances back in a bit of worry.
"Huh, gotcha!" She says while running past him for the scanner room.
"Okay guys, Yumi's on her way. As for Ulrich, let's just say he's fast asleep."
"He is? That must be tough. I mean, without his earplugs," Odd remarks and Jeremy smiles in amusement, as Odd still doesn't get that Ulrich is referring to his snoring, hence the earplugs. Although Odd's probably better off not knowing.
The elevator opens in front of Yumi while the bulldozers continue destroying the factory. A scanner opens up and she steps in. "Transfer Yumi. Scanner. Virtualization."
Yumi virtualizes and lands a little far out from her friends.
"Guys, figure out a way to slow down the roachsters! You're way ahead of Yumi!"
"Take care of the tower! We'll take care of the roachsters!" Odd glances back, and skids to a stop. He flips to hide behind a tree, Amy swooping and rolling to a stop near him. "Let's see what the score is. Three roachsters, and three laser arrows left. Along with Ames' scythe, of course. But this is no time to miss our targets!"
"Alright, let's do it!" Amy nods in determination. Odd turns around and fires. He manages to get one on the left while Amy throws her scythe, but misses. She grunts while clenching a fist and they hide again. Both of them run off as Amy's scythe is returned to her. While running, Odd is hit again and goes back into hiding with Amy.
"Jeremy, how many life points have I got left?"
"Ten! Hang on, Yumi's almost there!" He reports to them, Amy looking a bit worried.
Yumi continues running, following the pulsations on the ground. Amy and Odd hide behind a tree again as a Kankerlot appears nearby. It doesn't notice them until Odd whistles, waving his tail. He appears quickly and fires, destroying it. "That's it for you. Where's your buddy hiding?"
"We need to be careful. One more shot, and either one of us is done for," Amy looks around to try and spot it. However, Odd gets a vision of Yumi...falling towards the Digital Sea.
"Yumi!" Odd exclaims in worry, turning to the fairy. "Ames, you gotta save Yumi from-" The last Kankerlot suddenly fires and devirtualizes Odd before he could finish explaining.
"Odd! ...Save her from what?" She murmurs and then shouts in surprise as a laser is fired at her from the Kankerlot in front of her. She backflips away from it just as Yumi arrives.
"NO!" She cries out and then jumps up. She throws her fan and devirtualizes the Kankerlot. "Hey, Jeremy, I didn't make it in time. It's game over for Odd. Amy and I will back up Aelita in case she needs help."
As she's saying that, Odd appears from the scanner, panting heavily.
Another piece of debris falls from the ceiling. "I don't wanna stress you out or anything, but if the scans are destroyed, you're on a one-way trip, girls," Jeremy explains while the room shakes and smoke appears in the room.
"No problem, we'll hurry," Yumi assures him from his screen. "I wouldn't mind a little nap before class."
"I for one, wouldn't mind not getting hit by monsters again, it's time to get some revenge." Amy states, Jeremy chuckling to himself.
Odd then approaches the boy out of the smoke. "Jeremy, it isn't the scanner or the monsters they have to worry about. I just had a vision. I saw Yumi falling into the digital void!"
"But Amy saves her, right? She has her wings," Jeremy states nervously and Odd bites his lip, shaking his head slowly.
"...She wasn't there. I-I think something might happen to her too," Odd answers as Amy was nowhere to be seen as far as he could tell. And if she was able to save Yumi, he wouldn't have gotten the vision if it was for nothing to worry about.
"What? Devirtualized forever?" Jeremy opens his mouth in shock, not realizing that the girls could still hear him. "Hey Yumi!"
"I heard him," She speaks up and Amy opens her eyes sadly.
"We both did..."
It's dead silence between the two for a few seconds.
"I'll go and help her."
"What?!" Odd turns around to Ulrich in shock, as they didn't even know he was awake. The brunet holds his head as he's still in some pain.
"Come on, Ulrich, take a look at yourself. The shape you're in, it'd be crazy," Jeremy argues to him and he stands up anyway.
"Odd, help me. How many life points does Amy have now?"
Jeremy bites his lip at the question and looks at the screen. His eyes sadden as Amy doesn't have many left. "...One more hit until she devirtualizes," He answers, Odd and Jeremy turning to each other silently before he goes over to carry Ulrich. Jeremy doesn't protest this time as he still isn't okay with this, at all. But Aelita wouldn't be able to do anything, and he had a bad feeling that Amy wouldn't make it much longer on Lyoko before she could save Yumi.
Aelita continues running, going across a bridge. The tower isn't too far away from them now. As soon as Aelita crosses the first bridge...she stops and look up ahead. "Jeremy?" Aelita asks while she stares up ahead at a megatank.
"I saw it. Yumi and Amy are on their way to help you. Give me a visual." A screen for Aelita pops up as he now sees her perspective.
"There it is! That's exactly where I saw Yumi fall!" Odd recognizes the area while Ulrich is already in the scanner.
"Transfer Ulrich. Scanner. Virtualization."
While he virtualizes, Aelita runs to the left while the megatank powers up. It then fires a few seconds later, Aelita jumping away just in time. Yumi and Amy travel as fast as they can. Aelita hides from a tree, glancing back and seeing the megatank roll around. It then approaches from another side.
"Come on, come on," Amy mutters as she tries to make her wings go faster above Yumi.
Aelita takes off again, barely missing the laser again as she hides behind another tree. The path to the tower is a couple of feet away from her. The megatank rolls over near the tree and opens up while she runs. It focuses on her and powers up. This time, Aelita is right in front of its line of fire.
"Noooo!" Yumi comes up behind the megatank while Amy flies past her to Aelita. The fairy grabs her by the hands and flies upwards. Yumi pushes the megatank with all her strength so that the laser misses Aelita. It falls, and Amy turns around while letting go of Aelita.
"Yumi!" Amy shouts and flies over. However, as the megatank is underneath her, it fires the laser high enough to hit her. She grunts and falls near the sea while devirtualizing. Jeremy and Odd both gasp at this. Yumi falls soon after, the monster falling into the Digital Sea. Aelita rolls to safely in front of the tower, but Yumi is holding on to the platform tight.
"Jeremy, I can't hold on anymore!"
"Aelita's inside the tower now. Hang on, Yumi!" Jeremy urges as Aelita steps into the tower. Yumi's fingers start slipping and she looks up nervously. "I can't..."
The scanner opens and Amy falls to the floor soon after. "I'm sorry, Jeremy. I got hit before I could save her," She murmurs tiredly, Jeremy and Odd looking nervous.
Aelita starts floating, the trio looking around as more debris falls from the ceiling.
Ulrich rushes over as fast as he can. "Yumi, I'm coming!" He calls out as he crosses the bridge. He reaches out to grab her hand...just as she falls. "Nooooo!"
She screams while falling, Jeremy gasping. Amy covers her mouth in horror next to Odd.
Aelita lands and walks up to the interface. She holds out her hand and logs in.
Aelita
Code
Lyoko
The bulldozers stop and the tower deactivates. Time is reset, changing everything back as everything is engulfed in white...however, Yumi doesn't come back. Unfortunately, a return in time wouldn't bring someone back from the Digital Sea. They all sit solemnly in the lab. It's silence between the four before Amy starts to cry, covering her eyes.
"I never would have thought it was possible," Jeremy speaks up after a few more seconds. "For one of us to become..." Jeremy starts off, but he couldn't finish his sentence.
"It's all my fault. If I had been faster...she would still be here," Ulrich squeezes his eyes shut, feeling awful.
"How do you think I feel?" Amy glances up at him from the ground. "If I had flown to Yumi in time, I could've saved her," Amy sniffs and Odd puts his shoulder around her in comfort.
"Hey, it's not your fault. No one blames you, you did your best for Yumi..." He tries to assure her, rubbing her arm. She calms down a bit, resting her head on his shoulder. His voice right now is really soothing to her.
"But there is a solution," Aelita points out to everyone. "And Jeremy knows what it is."
"The materialization program," He turns to her in realization. "It's operational, but Aelita has to give up her place to Yumi." The others turn to each other as it's not really a debate. Yes, it's hard to pick one, but losing Yumi to the Digital Sea...they just couldn't do it. Odd hands over a tissue to Amy.
"Can you...bring Yumi back here?" Ulrich asks in anticipation, but also hope in his eyes.
"Yes, but I can only materialize one person. One and only one..." Jeremy reveals gravely as they all think. Odd then nods his head.
"Then choose Yumi. She's part of your world already," Aelita gives a small assuring smile. Jeremy stares at her, unsure. He might never be able to get the program working for weeks, months... "It's okay. I can wait a little longer."
"...Okay, Aelita," He starts the program up. "But first of all, I need to track down Yumi in the digital void." As he's saying this, Odd is comforting both of his friends.
Odd, Amy, and Ulrich wait in the scanner room as a scanner starts up. Amy brings her hands together, holding in a shaky breath. All of them are hoping for the best that this will work. Yumi comes out of the scanner and they gasp. She starts to fall, but they all bring their hands together to catch her.
"It's alright, Yumi. You're gonna be okay," Ulrich assures, though is silently glad to see her.
"Welcome home," Odd greets her.
"We're so glad to see you safe, Yumi," Amy smiles at her in relief.
"But...how did you get me back here?" She wonders as she knows there's no main program to bring back someone from the Digital Sea. They don't answer as they remember what Aelita had sacrificed for Yumi.
"I'm happy, and at the same time, I'm sad," Jeremy admits to Aelita in the lab.
"Why? At least you know the program works. You just have to set it back up again," She tries to cheer him up.
"Yeah, nothing to it," He chuckles in disbelief.
"I have faith in you, Jeremy." Jeremy smiles at her confession. "One day, you'll get me there, I'm sure." She then leaves the computer and he takes off the headset. He then uses his scooter alone in the sewers, sulking. The others manage to catch up to him. Ulrich and Yumi place their arms around him and he gives a small smile.
"Hey Jeremy, want some candy?" Odd holds out a piece to him.
"Hey, what are you doing with that? It's mine!" Jeremy protests to the blond.
"Oh yeah, I guess it is."
"Odd," Amy facepalms at this. "I think it's safe to say that you need a break from the candy."
"Whaaat? Okay, no problemo, here you go," He holds it out to Jeremy's mouth."
"Come on, have one," Yumi pats his shoulder. "Candy can fix anything. Even a broken heart," She adjusts his glasses for him.
"If you say so," Jeremy relents and Odd tosses it into the air. The blond genius catches it into his mouth.
"You'll see, you'll get there one day," Amy replies as they walk back together. She then snags the bag of candy from Odd's pockets. "Can I?" She holds it out to Jeremy and he nods.
"Yeah, go ahead."
"What?!" Odd protests as she tosses one into her mouth. "How come she can have it but I can't?" He pouts as the others laugh; mainly because Amy doesn't take Jeremy's stuff and mess with his computer!
