Angel: I am not in a great mood because work was a long day, but to put it simply: if you don't like what I keep and change in this remake, that's your opinion and you're allowed to have it. That doesn't mean I'm taking requests for changes based on that opinion. So even if I'm told point blank in reviews about something from the original you didn't appreciate, all I can say is we just disagree on stuff. Nothing more, nothing less. Enjoy the chapter!
At Kadic Academy, in the hallway in front of the gym, two girls Milly and Tamiya are recording for the Kadic News. Tamiya's holding the camera upside down as she's recording. "Okay, are we rolling?"
"Yeah, but we're upside down," Tamiya chuckles a bit before adjusting the camera.
"Hello, fellow students of Kadic Junior High," Milly starts off the broadcast. "Your ace reporters Milly and Tamiya are here to bring you an exclusive for today's school news and it's really big. Since as I'm pretty sure you already know, tonight is the big night, the night of our annual school prom." Tamiya pans the camera over the side and the picture flickers out. She then moves the camera over to the inside of the gym, where Odd and Ulrich are seen inside helping decorate. "Unfortunately, our cameras weren't authorized to film the site where the festivities will take place," Tamiya moves the camera back over to Milly, who's looking inside the gym. "But I can make out from where I'm speaking, the girl who might be crowned our beauty queen tonight, just as she was last year. I mean, of course, our principal's daughter Sissi. Let's see whether she'll answer a few questions. Well, Sissi, how about a few words for our TV audience before the big night?"
Sissi doesn't look that happy to be answering question as she gives a mean look. Herb and Nicolas behind her just stare. "Sorry, munchkins, I only talk to real pro reporters," She dismisses as she walks off, Herb walking up and covering Tamiya's camera. "I have no time to waste on a couple of nerds."
"But it's for the school news program!" Milly protests with a frown. "What about freedom of the press?"
Sissi turns around to her, her hands on her hips. "Oh, Milly, little dipsticks your age don't have any freedom, understand? Anyway, who needs your dumb recording? What do you know? Besides, you've got a problem. Don't forget you have to have a date and I don't know anyone who'd wanna go with a dork like you. Even them." Herb and Nicolas both cringe down at Milly on purpose. "I'll bet if you ask them, they'd run like scared rabbits." The two turn away from her.
"Who needs them? There are lots of other boys!" Milly defends herself against the girl.
"Oh, yeah? What are you waiting for, then? Try and find one!" Sissi just laughs while the younger girl turns to look at Ulrich.
"Um, uh, Ulrich?" She asks meekly. "Would you...would you be my date tonight?" She looks embarrassed as a tear runs down her cheek.
"Uh..." Ulrich blushes a bit, rubbing the side of his head. "I'm sorry, Milly. It wouldn't be a very good idea," Yumi walks down from the ladder while Amy comes over from the opposite side. "I'm too old for you. And, uh...well, you see, I promised to go with Yumi," He turns to look at the Japanese girl, both of them blushing.
"You see?" Sissi continues to mock the 6th grader. "Ha ha, what did I tell you? But don't worry, Milly, I'm sure you'll find a boy for the sandbox dance. Meanwhile, why don't you go play with your dolls?" Tamiya glares at her, putting an arm around Milly's shoulder.
Milly runs off crying, throwing open the door. "Milly! Milly, wait!" Tamiya rushes after her friend, Sissi not at all bothered by what she did.
"I hope you're proud of yourself." The trio turn to look at Yumi, Odd, Amy, and Ulrich, who don't look pleased with them.
"You've gotta really think low of yourself to make fun of a girl who's much younger than you. Beauty queen, more like pathetic queen," Amy remarks with narrowed eyes, Sissi growling as she watches the brunette go back in the gym. Her friends smile at her comment, Sissi glaring at them.
Jeremy is in his room, hard at work as he's typing on his computer. He taps enter to connect with Lyoko. "Aelita? This is Jeremy, do you read me?"
Aelita's in the desert sector, standing on a platform with her eyes closed. "Aelita?"
She opens her eyes and appears on his screen to greet him with a smile. "Hi. How are you?" She replies politely.
"Oh, I'm fine. How about you?"
"Okay. I didn't see anything unusual around the towers," The virtual girl reports to him. "It all seems quiet. Well...for the moment."
"You know, I'm making progress with my research so...so you can come and live with us," He scratches the side of his cheek.
"The data to materialization? You've found it at last?" She asks the boy hopefully.
"Uh, well, no," He rubs the back of his head. "Not yet, but...I'm working on it! It's just a matter of time. Then XANA won't be able to do anything to harm you, or us." He just hopes that it happens sooner than later...
"That's great, thanks."
Milly's tears silently fall onto the teddy bear that she hugs. She sits in front of her bed forlornly, still thinking about the humiliation she endured. "Milly, don't cry," Tamiya tries to assure her best friend. "We'll go to the prom, you'll see. As for the news, Jim said it was okay. We have until 9 o'clock."
"Oh, it's a waste of time!" Milly cries out, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. "Better face facts, Tamiya. They don't care about us, or the news." XANA's symbol appears on one of their computers. "Oh, I hate them! All of them! I hate every single one of them! I hate everybody in the world!"
"You don't know what you're saying," Tamiya tries to change her opinion; just because of what happened doesn't mean she has to take it out on all of them... "It's just-"
"Oh, stop it! I'm sick of you too, so just leave me alone!" She throws open the door to their room and rushes down the hall, crying.
"Milly!" Tamiya stares after her, frowning. "It's true, Ulrich could've been a little nicer..."
Ulrich tapes down some wires, Yumi noticing his expression and stance as she sits on the stage. "Don't look so gloomy, Ulrich. Is it because of Milly?" He rips off some tape with his teeth, not answering the question. Odd walks over spinning a microphone while Amy is nearby adjusting the speakers. "You could've said yes, you know me. It's prom."
"Even if I was your date?" Odd questions into the microphone and she just smiles in amusement.
"That reminds me, do you have a date, Amy?" Yumi turns to the brunette, who looks up in a bit of alarm, glancing at them.
"Huh? Um, not really. I was just gonna go without a date," She turns back to the speaker with a shrug.
"You're kidding! You can't go to prom alone," Odd says in disbelief as she plugs up some wires.
"I'm technically not going alone, you guys will be there," Amy replies in a smart-aleck voice and a small smile, standing up to face them fully. "So I'll go without a date. I don't care what Sissi says, you don't need a date to have fun at a dance."
"How bout I be your date?" Everyone turns to Odd wide-eyed, but he just smiles. "As friends, of course."
"You don't have to do that, Odd. I'll be fine," She waves it off.
"I know," He steps up a bit, bending down and taking her hand. "But I'm gonna ask anyway. Amy, will you be my date to the prom?"
She smiles at his gesture and him offering to take her. "Well, I guess I can't say no now that you're officially asking me. So yeah, I'll be your friendly date."
"Alright! Couldn't have picked a better choice," Odd jumps down to wrap an arm around her and she looks up to the ceiling in amusement. Yumi and Ulrich just smirk to themselves as they glance at each other. He emphasized that they were going as just friends, and yet he still officially asked as if they weren't going as friends.
"Sissi really did come on strong," Ulrich changes the subject while Sissi admires herself in a disco ball. "If meanness is one of the qualities of a beauty queen, she'll get re-elected alright. Like you said earlier, Amy, it was pathetic what she did."
"And how," Amy places her hands on her hips in agreement. Jeremy comes over and places down a box. "I wouldn't be surprised if she had something to do with apparently winning last year."
"That's true, but try to get Ms. World to see that," Jeremy adds in, and they all look at her.
"Ha ha, Ms. World?" Odd questions to the microphone, which is still on. "Ms. Inner World is more like it."
The five laugh and Sissi gasps sharply. She then growls at the insult, gritting her teeth.
In the garden shed, Milly smiles at something. "At least you don't care how old I am, do you?" She asks her teddy bear. "We understand each other. We're not like those dumb older kids who always want to run things. They think that because we're young, we don't count at all. If for once we were older, a lot older than them, they wouldn't laugh at us, would they?" While she's talking, a lightbulb flickers from the ceiling.
"Milly!" She gasps as Tamiya knocks on the window, peeking inside. "Are you in there? Are you finished sulking? Hurry, we have work to do."
"Okay, okay, I'm coming," The girl calls out and places her teddy bear down. She boops its nose, smiling. "You stay right here. I'll be back for you," She then opens the door, closing it and they walk down the pathway.
"We have a report to finish on the prom, remember?" Tamiya reminds her friend, and in the shed, the lightbulb sparks and a spectre creeps its way down the lightbulb. It descends down and drips down the teddy bear, with a growl being heard from the shed...
Sissi arrives at her bedroom door, grasping the doorknob. "Hey," She looks over to the boys a bit angrily before she even opens it. "I hope you two aren't gonna follow me around all day long. As far as I know, you're not beauticians, so stop sticking to me like glue. I don't need you, understand? So scout," She waves them away. She opens the door, the boys confused.
"Uh, Sissi, w-we thought-"
"Take this advice," She interrupts while standing in her room. "Don't think, it doesn't suit you," And with that, she slams the door shut. She presses her back to the door and hears them leave, smiling in satisfaction. She brushes a bang with her hand, sighing and sitting on her bed. She kicks off her shoes, and something is underneath her bed, watching the floors... "A bunch of babies at our prom," She remarks while slipping off her pants. "They gotta be kidding me," She walks over and turns on her stereo, putting the music on loud. She walks past her bed and slides open her closet. "And that other freak who had the nerve to invite Ulrich. Can't believe it." She searches her closet, a blanket being tugged away from her.
She tosses clothes onto the floor. "If anybody's going out with Ulrich, it absolutely has to be me. I am the star, the diva of the school," She hums as she walks away from her wardrobe, her watcher going over to it. She sits in front of her vanity, her watcher opening up a space to look at her. She brushes away her bangs, the thing going over to something. She hears a thud and gasps sharply, turning down the music. However, she doesn't see anything, going back to the mirror. She scratches herself, starting to get ready as she places a bandaid over her nose. A large shadow moves past her computers as she peels off the band aid, the watcher seemingly very close to her now.
Sissi grabs some cucumbers, and the thing watches from a shelf above her. She places them on for a facial and some bottles shake. "Who's there?!" She demands, unable to see anything. "Answer me, who is it?"
She takes off the cucumbers, looking up and gasping in horror. The bottles fall off as does the entire shelf, creating a bunch of smoke. She falls backwards with a gasp, turning around and running out of her room.
Some students are gathered around in front of a door, a boy running up. They see Sissi in a bathrobe, her father's arm around her. "Move along, back to your dorms. Everything is just fine," He tells them as Milly and Tamiya are on top of it.
"Looks as if we got ourselves a super scoop," Milly comments to her friend, while Jeremy and the other four look on as Sissi gets taken away by her father.
"What do you say we take a look to make sure that our old friend XANA isn't behind this?" Odd suggests to everyone, Yumi nodding in agreement.
They appear at Sissi's room to see what happened. Ulrich meanwhile is on lookout in case anyone sees the three boys in the girls dorm, leaning against the wall. "What do you think?" He wonders to Jeremy.
"A simple short-circuit. Too many appliances plugged in at the same time," The boy genius explains to them.
"Yeah, the high lights, lady shaver, curling iron altogether, what do you expect to happen?" Yumi remarks as she turns around and walks away.
"Sissi's got a lot of stuff, it was bound to happen sometime," Amy points out.
"Not to mention the brain stimulator," Jeremy jokes as the others leave. "Although she probably never figured out how to use it," Though, what Amy said gives him something to think about it, because all this stuff happened to short-circuit today instead of any other day. And given by Sissi's reaction, something much more happened. He hums as he walks away from the room. As soon as he leaves, Milly and Tamiya appear to get pictures.
"I don't know what happened, but if you ask me, Sissi had it coming," Milly states to her friend while they walk to the garden shed to get her bear back.
"I couldn't agree with you more," Tamiya agrees and when they open the door, Milly gasps as she sees that her teddy bear is missing. And that there's no sign of it anywhere.
"Oh no! My teddy bear's gone!" She exclaims and before they can look for it...
"Aha!" They turn around in shock to see Jim walking up to them. "Caught ya! It's forbidden to play in the garden shed."
"Wait a minute, Jim," Milly protests, trying to explain. "It was my-"
"I don't wanna know why!" He interrupts her angrily. "I've told you a hundred times that this place is much too dangerous for children. Look at all these rusty tools!" He gestures to the inside of the shed. "What do you think this is, a kids playground?" He grabs Milly's shoulder gently to usher her out of the shed.
"We know, but-"
"No buts, huh?" He closes the door and then locks it with the key. He turns around to the girls. "I hope I've made myself real clear, entry forbidden! Access reserved for adults," The gym teacher sternly tells them, hands on his hips.
"With you, everything is off-limits!" Milly whines up at him.
"Now you listen here, huh," He starts off in a warning tone. "I would change the way I talk if I were you, little girl."
"Little girl?!" She exclaims up at him in frustration. "Okay, I'm young, so what?" She crosses her arms furiously. "It's only big kids who can say what they think, huh?"
"Ah, so you think you're real big kids, huh?" Jim wonders with a scoff, crossing his arms. "Okay then, fine. News report or not, the two of you are grounded for tonight in your room!" He declares and Milly scowls, looking towards the ground.
"Oh great, Milly, really great," Tamiya laments to the pigtailed-girl, who doesn't seem too fazed while she herself is disappointed. "Thanks to you, it's goodbye prom."
"Now beat it!"
Tamiya tries to console Milly once again as she's crying in front of one of the hallways of school. "Aw, look at the pictures we took," She tries to coax Milly. "They're really fantastic." While she's talking, two people notice them from the distance.
"Something wrong, Milly?" Odd questions as he and Amy approach, the boy with his hands in his pockets. They were holding music for the prom, but put that aside to check up on them.
"Somebody stole her teddy bear," Tamiya explains while the two bend down to the girls.
"And I'm sure it's one of the big kids who did it for spite!" Milly accuses while looking up, tears running down her face.
"But why?" Amy couldn't help but ask. "What do they have to gain out of that?"
Tamiya looks closely at another picture and realizes something. She blinks at the photo in her hands. "Milly, you're right! Look at this. It's a picture of Sissi's room." The three gather around to look at the picture, and on the bed there's something brown underneath the pillow.
"And there's my teddy bear!" She points to the object. "Hidden under a pillow, incredible."
"Ah, who would have believed it? Soon she'll be playing with dolls!" Odd teases, earning a laugh from Amy. But then she rubs her chin after a few seconds.
Has Sissi even been to her room after the incident? She wouldn't have kept it for so long...was there even a teddy bear in her room when we checked?
The proof's right there in the photo, but with the way Sissi acts, why would she do it?
"Okay, come on now! We gotta find her," Milly says in determination, clenching a fist.
Tamiya glances back at her. "If Jim catches us in the dorm, we're in big trouble, Milly," She reminds her friend.
"You go back to your room," Odd instructs while taking the photo. "We'll handle this."
"Yeah, we'll bring it back safe and sound," Amy smiles softly and they leave, the two girls relieved and happy for their help. She glances at Odd, her hands behind her back. "You know, Odd, that's really nice to offer to help them out."
"Well..." He shrugs with a knowing smile and she scoffs.
"You just wanna have one over Sissi, right? I don't blame you," Amy admits to him and he crosses his arms, looking back at her with a small smirk.
"Don't think it's been looked over that you're helping them too with me. Wanna tell me why?"
"Why should I? Same reason as you," She winks as they continue walking.
Jim exits the gym and hears a noise behind him as he closes the door. "What's going on now?" He glances behind him. "Who's there? Come on out!" He challenges as he looks around the area. Suddenly a large shadow looms over the man out of nowhere and he screams in alarm. "Y-You better watch out," He warns nervously while getting into a defensive stance. "I'm a black belt!" The thing growls and he whimpers as his back touches the door. "Ah! AHHHHH!" He screams for his life as it attacks him.
"Hm?" Odd rubs the back of his neck as both him and Amy are confused. They're standing in Sissi's room...but there's no teddy bear to be found. Amy looks up from the wardrobe, shaking her head slowly. She then jumps onto the bed, looking up at a shelf to touch it, but nothing there either. She turns around to shrug at Odd, who places his hands on his hips, baffled.
"I'm starting to think this thing is something else entirely..." She murmurs in disbelief as she jumps off the bed. "This is really weird, no sign of it both here and from the shed."
"Come on, let's go find Milly and tell her what happened," Odd is about to walk off when she stops him and he looks back in confusion.
"Don't tell her we won't be able to find it, just that we'll keep an eye out. She's already upset enough as it is. But we do have to go back and make sure everything's ready for the dance," She looks at her watch and then walks past him.
"...Amy?"
"Hm?" She glances behind her to see him staring. He clears his throat as he looks away.
"I'm really glad you agreed with me to go with me to prom..." Odd murmurs slowly and a small blush comes to her face. "I-I promise to make sure you have fun."
She smiles softly at him. "Thanks for saying that, Odd. And besides, you're my best friend. Who else would I go with?"
He smiles back at her happily. Ever since they met, Odd and Amy are usually always seen together when they're not with the others. They also seem to get along really well as they balance each other out, but at the same time are both fun and artistic.
"N-Now you're sure, Jim, that this is your attacker?" The principal asks the gym teacher in the infirmary. Jim nods his head rapidly in insistence. The man looks at a crude drawing of a giant angry teddy bear. "And you say he's an expert in martial arts?" He gets another rapid nod in return. "I think it would be better not to call the police. Right, Jim?"
Jim just hides underneath the blanket in fear over what happened.
Odd and Amy are unloading a box together in the gym, while Jeremy checks the soundboard. "What happened to Sissi, it was...it was kinda weird, don't you think?" He asks his friends, looking up at them.
"It was a short circuit," Ulrich replies while ripping off a piece of tape. "Simple short circuit, what else could it be?"
"I'm not so sure," Jeremy confesses while Yumi looks at a CD. "And you know just what I mean."
"Anyway, let's play it real cool," She warns all of them. "Walls have ears, you know?" She looks to Herb and Nicolas walking by with boxes. "Well," She steps down from the table, stretching her arms. "I've gotta go now and get ready for the prom tonight. Ah...sometimes being a day student can be a total drag."
"Don't complain. No one wakes up at 6 am. You have hot water, and you don't have to sleep next to smelly Odd," Ulrich points out to her. "I don't know how Amy deals with it since they're best friends now."
Yumi just chuckles and waves, walking up to the double doors. Jeremy waves back to her. "See you later!" She walks out the exit and Amy stands up, wiping the back of her forehead with her hand.
"Well, I've gotta go too," She places her hands on her hips. "I don't even know what I'm gonna wear yet..."
"Relax, I'm sure you'll look great," Odd assures her and the brunette smiles.
"Bye!" She waves to all her friends before taking off. Odd feels stares and looks to the other two smirking at him for what he said to Amy.
"What?" He asks cluelessly to them.
The principal closes the door to the infirmary, and then turns around to see Odd standing near the entrance. "Odd, a-are you looking for something?"
"Oh, uh, no you see, I just heard about what happened to Jim. Do they know who attacked him?" He asks curiously as he heard about it on the way to his room. And so did Amy, but she had to go get ready, so she asked Odd to relay any information for her.
"No, for now, I think our gym teacher could use some rest," The principal suggests, crumpling up the paper he got and tossing it into the trashcan. He then leaves the infirmary, Odd staring at the trashcan. Something about what the principal said didn't seem right...he digs into the trashcan and watches the principal walk out the door. Once he's gone, he takes the paper and gasps.
He then shows it to Ulrich and Jeremy as the sun sets. "XANA? In a teddy bear?" Ulrich wonders in a bit of disbelief since...a teddy bear didn't seem all too dangerous. But then again, it is XANA, their sworn enemy.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," Odd tells the duo.
"He's always there when you least expect it," Jeremy points out while rubbing his chin.
"Okay guys, who goes and who stays here?" The shorter blonde wonders to them.
"We can't have a solo mission, it's too dangerous without Yumi," The boy genius warns his friends. "If you go alone, you never know what you're gonna find over there."
"I volunteer!" Odd holds up a finger with a wide smile.
"What did I just say, huh?" Jeremy replies in annoyance, Odd dropping his smile and raising a brow.
"Well, have you got any other ideas?" He argues back to him. "There have been two accidents. We can't leave the school unguarded, and even going back in time if there's an accident, it's all over!" Jeremy looks away in thought, rubbing the back of his neck. It's not like he wants the school unguarded, but Lyoko is still new territory for them. There could be a new monster or a new development that they don't know about yet.
"Odd is right," Ulrich crumples up the paper. "You go, and I'll stay," He tosses the paper ball into Odd's hands. "If I find any clues, I'll pass them onto you," He smiles at his friends, placing his hands on their shoulders. "Go on, and say hi to you know who for me," He teases Jeremy, who just smiles in return.
"Oh!" Odd groans, facepalming himself as he realizes something. "What about Amy? She's in her room getting ready for the prom, and I promised I'd take her," He frowns as he doesn't want to disappoint the girl by breaking his promise.
"It's Amy," Jeremy shrugs to him. "She'll understand, it's not like she'll bite your head off. Just call and ask her what she wants to do. Frankly, either of you could use the extra help," He tilts up his glasses.
Odd takes out his phone as he and Jeremy go to the boiler room. They start running down the tunnel as she picks up. "Yeah?" She wonders while brushing her hair, sitting on her bed. She's wearing a simple one-shoulder purple blouse, black jeans, and brown boots, with her hair down.
"Amy...it's Odd," He starts off to her. "I'm sorry, but the school is in danger, and we have to go to Lyoko." They reach the sewers and jump out to grab their rides. "You can either go to Lyoko with me or stay with Ulrich to keep everyone safe."
"It's okay, Odd," She drops her brush, standing up from her bed. "There'll be more dances. I'll go to Lyoko, going solo isn't gonna be easy. I'm coming," She hangs up and throws the door open to rush down the hallway.
Odd sighs as he grabs his skateboard. "Man, I really wanted her to have a good time..." He laments to Jeremy, who grabs his scooter. Odd rushes forward and then throws his skateboard onto the ground, skating down the sewers with Jeremy following him. He notices Odd's heartbroken look once they get off their rides.
"She'll live," He places a hand on Odd's shoulder. "It's just one dance." Odd smiles and they climb up the ladder. Once they're on the bridge, they run across to the entrance of the factory. They swing down using the ropes to the elevator, Jeremy pressing the button to the elevator.
Meanwhile, Amy reaches the boiler room and throws open the door, rushing down the tunnel. The elevator goes down as Amy jumps out into the sewer, grabbing her scooter. She jumps onto it and speeds down the sewer. Jeremy leaves Odd in the elevator while entering the computer lab, Amy reaching the ladder. He steps forward to the chair as the elevator goes down to the scanner room. The doors open and Jeremy tilts his chair around. Amy climbs up the ladder and reaches the bridge, running down it with her hair flying back and forth.
Odd stands in front of the scanner. "Aelita? Aelita! Aelita, it's Jeremy," The boy calls to get her attention. "Do you read me?"
She appears a few seconds later. "Hi there!"
"We think that XANA has launched an attack," He starts off seriously. "Have you noticed anything?"
"No, nothing," She shakes her head. "But we can take a closer look.
"Aelita, I'm sending Odd. He's coming over solo for now, Amy's on her way to join him. Ulrich had to stay behind to watch for any virus at school," He explains while starting the virtualization process for Odd. Amy swings across the second floor, landing in front of the elevator. "Odd looks ready to go."
Ulrich has his earphones on into his phone, holding a flashlight. "How are things going with you, Ulrich?"
"It looks like we have a problem," He reports back as giant oval footprints are in front of him on the ground. "A big one..."
"Transfer Odd," Jeremy starts off as the boy enters the scanner and he slowly turns around. The scanner doors close in front of him and Jeremy presses enter from the keyboard. "Scanner." His hair lifts up as his body is turned around in the scanner. "Virtualization."
Odd is virtualized into the desert sector, landing on his hands and feet. He slowly stands up and scopes the area for Aelita. He turns around to see her waving from a distance and he runs up to her.
"Jeremy, it's bad," Ulrich reports while looking out to the street from an area in the park. "The bear got out of the school."
"If it's under XANA's control, it'll only become much madder. It'll go for anybody that's around, especially his mortal enemies!" Aelita explains to Jeremy from the computer screen. "Like you."
"Huh?!" He gasps as he didn't think about that possibility. Ulrich's eyes widen as he realizes the missing member.
"Oh, Yumi!" He rushes off to go get her.
Jeremy calls Amy from the computer to update her, and to find out where she is. "Amy, where are you?"
"I just got to the elevator," She answers, a hand on her right hip as she enters, pressing the button. "I'm almost in the scanner room."
"Good. XANA's got a huge teddy bear looking for us."
She flinches in surprise, lowering her hand. "Huh. Never thought I'd hear that sentence in my life..."
"You see that?" Aelita points to a crater with curved pathways in front of them, all of them leading down to a pit. "The tower that XANA has activated can't be too far away."
"Well, uh, not down there anyway," Odd comments while looking further to see that the bottom leads to nowhere, and it'd probably lead to something bad.
"Maybe on the neighboring plateaus," Aelita suggests, gesturing to the direction opposite of them.
"Hmm, oops, uh...too late," He says as five Kankerlots appear towards them. "Here comes the reception committee. Aelita gasps once she's got an eye on how many there are. The two gasped as they're completely outnumbered and surrounded.
"Odd, take good care of Aelita," Jeremy says hopefully as he notices them too. "Amy will be there soon to give you a hand."
Ulrich is calling Yumi as he continues running, and some cars have been flipped over. As well as some street poles being bent... "Answer, will you answer?" He pleads to himself, hoping that the bear hasn't reached Yumi.
Her phone rings from the bathroom, but she's in the bath. She flips her head up as she's still getting ready for the prom. "Odd, what's going on?" Jeremy demands as Amy has almost reached the lab.
Countless lasers are being fired at him and he flips to the side. He aims his hand while in mid-air. "Laser arrows!" He fires one and defeats a Kankerlot, while Aelita runs down the path. Odd gets hit and slides to a stop, causing her to stop running as she looks back in concern.
"Odd, you just lost another ten life points!" Jeremy warns him, the elevator opening to reveal Amy.
"No kidding!" Odd retorts back, ducking and flipping down the stone path to avoid more lasers. He ducks his head as a laser hits the edge, causing some rocks to fall.
"Odd," Aelita holds out a hand. "I'm afraid we haven't any choice," She points down the path, since there's nowhere to go and they're still outnumbered. Odd glances to her and gasps, as his future vision shows him Aelita falling towards the pit. The Kankerlots attack again and he falls, but flips to his feet and follows Aelita down the path.
Amy runs up to Jeremy, who turns to her in relief. "Just in time, Amy. Quick, get into the scanner, Odd really needs your help!"
"On my way," She goes over to the ladder and climbs down it. She reaches the scanner room and jumps onto the ground when she's close enough. She runs up to a scanner and steps in, slowly facing forward. The doors close and Jeremy starts up the process.
"Transfer Amy." Her hair is lifted up as she closes her eyes. "Scanner Amy." Her body spins around while she's scanned. "Virtualization."
Amy gets materialized and lands safely. Once she's on her feet, she opens up her wings. "I'll guide you to where they are," Jeremy tells her and she takes off.
Ulrich rings the doorbell, getting Yumi's attention. She steps out of the bath, putting on a towel. He rings it rapidly and she runs down the staircase, opening up the door fully dressed. "Ulrich!" She exclaims happily and he rushes past her. "Watch it, will you?" She crosses her arms, annoyed.
"Sorry, are your parents home?" He grasps her hands urgently.
"No, they went out," She shakes her head.
"Okay, come on. We can't stay here," He drags her out of her house, but she snatches it back, wanting an explanation.
"Hey, would you mind explaining?"
A large thud interrupts and she glances back in shock. "We don't have time!" Ulrich grabs her hand again and leads her away. "Come on!" As they run, the giant teddy bear stomps its feet on the road, following after them.
The Kankerlots follow the duo down the path. Odd glances back at them while behind Aelita. "Odd, be careful. You only have 50 life points left!" Jeremy tells him, and the blonde flips backwards, holding up his hands.
"Laser arrows!" He fires one arrow from both hands, defeating two. He fires another one to defeat it, but the last one stumbles down off the path. It falls right near Aelita, who stumbles backwards from the falling rocks and falls off. Odd gasps as he looks at her, as it was just like his vision. He jumps off the path, kicking off from a wall to gain more momentum, and then grabs her. He uses his claw to grip onto the wall tight, holding onto her hand. "Oh..." He sighs in relief, but then his hand slips and she falls again. "NO!" He shouts as she disappears. "Aelita..."
Suddenly something flies up past him and he looks up in awe to see that Amy was holding Aelita and had saved her from the fall. She goes all the way up to the sky before falling back and Aelita chuckles in relief. Amy then descends down in front of Odd while flapping her wings.
"Ah, we can't leave you alone for one second, huh?" He teases Aelita before looking to Amy. "And it would've been nice to know about the late save beforehand."
"Hey, you bailed on me. Couldn't exactly let you get off with that scot-free," She winks at him.
"Fair enough," He smiles at her, thankful that she showed up in time. Aelita notices something in front of her, which is a hidden pathway, with coils that buzz red on occasion.
"Odd, Amy...I think I found something," She reports to them.
Meanwhile, the teddy bear walks into town, terrorizing people as they either hide or run off screaming. Ulrich and Yumi run away from it as the teddy bear chases them, stepping on a car. "That way!" Yumi and Ulrich go around a corner and the teddy bear emerges from the left. They gasp as they're hiding behind a glass door, turning off the lights. The teddy bear walks right past them, but in turn breaks the glass with its big steps.
They gasp as they huddle together, and then look at each other in alarm while blushing. Yumi brushes a hang behind her ear as he stands up.
The teddy bear continues walking, its XANAs eyes plain as day.
"Jeremy, it's Ulrich," He calls the boy genius. "Yumi's with me," He glances to the girl while they continue running. "We're coming back to the school to evacuate everyone. Tell Odd and Amy to move it!" They run past more flipped over cars. "It's getting rough around here!"
"Amy, Odd, hurry up," Jeremy speaks up to the duo. "Teddy's getting real angry."
"And we're getting real lost," Amy murmurs with a hand on her hip. "Still haven't found the tower yet."
"Okay, okay," Odd replies back as he knows that they're on a time crunch.
"The tower can't be too far away," Aelita says while walking slowly, looking at the pulsations. "Let's see now..." The two run after her and then they hear a noise. The three turn around to see a megatank has arrived...right behind them.
"Uh oh..." Odd mutters as they gasp. "Houston, we've got a problem."
"Run for it!" Amy shouts in alarm and they take off down the path, the megatank rolling after them.
Yumi and Ulrich arrive at the school, just outside the gym as the dance is still going on. They take a moment to take a breath and Yumi holds her phone away as she had called Jeremy. "Odd and Amy still haven't found the activated tower."
"You go and clear the dorms. I'll take care of the gym," He suggests to her and she nods at him.
The trio continue running from the megatank, but they make it out of the tunnel soon enough. They stumble once they're out, falling to the ground while the monster hits something to make it stop. And it just happens to be the activated tower. The three look up and see it.
"We found the tower, Jeremy," Odd explains to him.
"Great, well done, now all you have to do is deactivate it," Jeremy smiles happily at the news.
"Okay, just give me a minute to say hello to an old buddy of mine..." Odd stands up, hands on his hips. He holds out a hand to Amy and she takes it, letting him help her up. He wags his tail for a bit.
"Cut the courtesy, you have only 50 life points left. You can't let him hit you!"
"It's either that, or we can't get to the tower," Amy adjusts her hair before she circles a finger, creating a small ball of sand floating above it. Since she's a nature fairy, and all the sectors deal with nature, she has powers related to each sector, but she only has two per sector. "I say we take the risk."
"Now you're talking," Odd smirks at her as the megatank prepares itself. Odd and Amy point their weapons at it, ready to make a move. The megatank opens up its shell to reveal its eye.
People are talking and enjoying the music as Ulrich walks past everyone. He bumps into someone and looks up to see that it was Jim. "Hey, Ulrich," He notices the boy's clothing. "You could have made a little effort. I don't believe how sloppy you look. Well, I'll let it go this time," He places a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Put it down to the company you keep. Try to chill out and have fun," The boy just walks off without saying a word. "You look like you're expecting a disaster."
"Ulrich," Sissi stops him in his path by placing a finger on his chest. "How are you? Hey, where did your date go? Next time, just call me."
"And now the moment you've all been waiting for, the election of this year's beauty queen! So get ready!" She smiles as people clap.
"Gotta run now," Sissi turns around to leave. "It's my moment of triumph." Herb and Nicolas just laugh, stopping as they notice Ulrich's tiny glare.
The megatank powers up and then fires its long-range laser. An explosion occurs right behind Odd and Amy as they were running, knocking them back a bit. Odd gets up again and aims his arm, Amy spinning another finger. "Now that's what I call a really warm welcome," He grunts and the laser is fired again, this time knocking the both of them off the ground.
"Odd!" Amy looks up at him in concern.
"Jeremy, Odd and Amy aren't gonna make it on their own," Aelita speaks up in worry as she watches.
"Yes, they will. Amy, Odd, come on, you have to hit the target," Jeremy insists to the duo.
"Don't suppose you'd like to come down here and do it yourself, then?" Amy retorts back, causing him to whistle awkwardly.
The laser starts up once again.
At the dance, the principal is standing in front of three girls, one of them being Sissi. "And now, everyone, this year once again, it's time to elect the young lady who in your view," Sissi bumps into the other two contestants to show off. "Combines more than any other girl, charm, grace, beauty, and elegance! And here is our first candidate," He gestures to his daughter, who steps forward.
"Stop!" The microphone from Principal Delmas is cut off as Ulrich is standing on table, using another microphone to speak. "Listen to what I have to say! You have all got to get out of here. We have to evacuate the gym. Now, keep calm." Everyone just stares at him, confused. "I'm not joking, this is serious. We are about to be attacked by a giant teddy bear." The kids start laughing at his statement, obviously not taking that seriously. Ulrich winces at that reaction, as he now realizes how stupid it sounds out loud.
"Ha! I knew it!" Jim exclaims from the crowd, everyone staring at him now. "I saw it too! I saw the giant teddy bear too!" That just earns more laughter, and this angers Sissi.
"Quiet! Quiet, shut up all of you, you bunch of idiots!" She screams at this, gesturing to Ulrich. "Can't you see what he's trying to do?! It's a trick, I tell you, a trick to keep me from winning again this year! A gigantic teddy bear, come on!" She places her hands on her hips in disbelief. "Why not King Kong while you're at it?"
A stomp is heard and the wall is broken down as the teddy bear crashes into the school right behind her. Everyone starts screaming at this, running around in panic. Jim points and screams at it in fear, Ulrich shuddering a bit. Sissi jumps off the stage as the teddy bear crawls, turning to Ulrich with red eyes.
The megatank turns to face the duo again.
"Odd, Amy, it's now or never!"
The shell opens up to fire, the two gasping. The laser goes off, knocking them into the sky. However, Amy brings her hands together to create a little sand ball. "Stormy Sand!" She releases it to create a sand storm to distract the monster. Odd lands on the megatank out of nowhere, rolling it around for the symbol to face him.
"Impact!" He fires at the symbol and it rolls off quickly, heading towards Amy. She gasps and Odd rushes over, pushing her out of the way as the megatank crashes into the wall. Aelita braces herself from all the sand that results, with Odd looming over Amy as they had both fallen onto the ground. She smiles up at him and he returns it, Jeremy sighing in relief.
"Go on, Aelita, it's up to you."
She looks up at the tower and slowly enters. "Um, Amy?" He questions nervously while looking down at her.
"Yeah?" She asks from underneath.
"I really am sorry you had to miss prom tonight," He confesses, rubbing his neck. She blinks but then smiles again.
"Don't worry, I'll be okay. And besides, now with the return to the past, I won't have to miss it. So I'm looking forward to going with you."
He smiles and gets off of her to help her stand up. He looks down at their hands and then at her, the two standing there looking at each other. Something...something feels different, maybe it's because of what happened or because of her assurance, but...it was a nice feeling to hold her hands.
Aelita walks to the center of the platform, and it lights up. She stands in the middle and starts floating towards the top.
Ulrich gives off a nervous sound as the teddy bear raises an arm. He runs off and when the arm hits the ground, all the glass from the windows break. "Ulrich!" Yumi rushes to the side as Tamiya and Milly watch from outside. He runs, but gets kicked and falls onto the ground.
Aelita reaches the top, landing safely. She approaches the middle, Ulrich looking up as the large shadow looms over him.
The screen appears and Aelita presses her hand against it.
Aelita
Code
The teddy bear is about to attack again, Ulrich bracing himself.
Lyoko
Luckily, the teddy bear freezes in place and he opens his eyes, confused but also relieved to see that the bear had stopped. "Ulrich," Yumi bends down to him in concern. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, sure."
She hugs him and he blushes while she laughs.
The data falls from the tower once it's deactivated, and a white flash occurs. It starts to engulf the factory, the town, and then the school. "Ready for a trip into the past, Yumi?" Ulrich wonders as they pull back to look at each other.
Time's been reset to when they were decorating, right to when Sissi had goaded Milly into asking Ulrich out. "Ulrich? Would you, uh...would you...would you be my date?" She asks him again and he smiles, approaching her. He holds her shoulders and bends down to her.
"Be glad to, Milly," He answers her, causing her to smile, but the other three look on in shock. "I'll see you here at 8."
"Really?" Milly asks him happily.
"Well, sure," He stands up, hands on his hips with a smile as he's surrounded by his friends. They look happy at his decision to say yes. "You're not too mad at me, are you, Yumi?" He looks to her, and she understands why he did it.
"Not at all. Anyway, my secret admirer will save me a dance tonight. Right, Odd?" She smiles at him and he laughs. "You don't mind, Amy?"
"Of course not," She giggles a bit. "Nothing wrong with that."
"What?!" Sissi yells in disbelief. "But-Ulrich! You're gonna...go with that...that silly baby?!"
"That's right, I sure am," He answers with his arm around Milly, Tamiya recording the whole thing. "But don't worry. When your brain gets another neuron or two, maybe I'll go out with you too."
She growls in anger at this, her cheeks turning red. "Good job, Ulrich," Amy pats his shoulder proudly for sticking up for Milly and taking Sissi down a peg.
"You are recording Tamiya, I hope," Milly turns to her friend.
"You bet I am. This is a scoop!"
"A super scoop!" Milly adds in.