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~~~!

"It's time for Aelita's collaboration with the Subdigitals, and everyone's looking forward to it, but she struggles to overcome her stage fright."

Episode 58: Rocking the House

(Based on Music to Soothe the Savage Beast)

It was a Friday morning in early December, and it had officially been one month since Aelita won the contest facilitated by the Subdigitals. Tonight, her hard work collaborating on the band's new song would come to fruition.

The eleventh graders were in science class, listening to and taking notes on Ms. Hertz's lecture, "An electrical charge flows through a section of conductor. The current's intensity is expressed in amperes. The source of the tension, however, is measured in volts. This is what gives it the energy it needs to maintain the current. If the tension given out from the source is constant, a continuous current flows: this is what we call a continuous current circuit."

"This isn't a single ticket left!" Odd muttered, bitterly. "Tonight's concert is completely sold out, and I absolutely have to find one by tonight!"

"Relax, Odd," Ulrich, his deskmate, quietly replied. "Aelita's gonna give us each a ticket. She's the opening act as well as the guest star, after all, so she's got comps for all of us."

Ms. Hertz continued, "On the other hand, if the tension provided by the source varies in function from a sinusoidal law, we call that an alternating current circuit. Why alternating? Because the current will pass through the receptor alternating one way and then the other..."

But Odd quickly drowned her out. "I know that!" He whispered back, loud enough for only his roommate to hear. "The problem is that I need two tickets for tonight."

Ulrich understood, "Ah, so you made a girl a promise you didn't know you could keep."

Odd shot him a glare, "Yeah, well, that girl just so happens to be Sam. Ever since last week's incident with that Icelandic Wonder," a.k.a.: Bringa, "she's been asking a whole bunch of little things from me. I don't protest to any of them, despite how weird they sound, because I deserve it—I mean, I forgot Sam's birthday—but anyway, the request this time is that I get Sam a ticket for tonight's concert, because she doesn't have enough money to buy one herself."

Because she's testing you, Ulrich thought. In reality, Sam would likely get one from Sissi, because they and Laura were friends. But he kept that to himself.

"Forget it," Odd sighed. "You could never understand, Ulrich. Yumi's ever had you do that before."

Ulrich couldn't deny that, so he didn't.

Not that he physically could anyway. Ms. Hertz interrupted them here, "Della Robbia!" He turned back to the front of the room, where their teacher was. "Would you repeat what I just said? What exactly is an electrical charge?"

Nervous because he had not paid any attention to the lecture for the past couple minutes, Odd stumbled on his words, "Uh...it's...the...the amount you have to pay every month for electricity?"

The class laughed at his answer, causing Odd and Ms. Hertz to both frown, though for different reasons. Odd crossed his arms in embarrassment, while the teacher was unamused.

"Not exactly an enlightening answer, Della Robbia," she said, before warning, "Pay attention. This lesson will be on the next exam."

As Ms. Hertz turned back to the board and her lesson, Ulrich leaned in and whispered, "Anyway, you're not the only one who's stressed out about tonight."

The two glanced over at Aelita, who was sharing a table with Jérémie across the aisle. She was maintaining a good poker face, but her eyes gave away her nervousness.

Eventually, the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Aelita joined the crowd in walking out of the science building, but remained silent while the rest chatted away. That is, until she noticed Jérémie leaving her side and walking in a different direction.

"Aren't you coming to lunch, Jérémie?" she asked.

"No, sorry!" he replied. "I think I've found a way to sure up the Skid's shields! I have just one or two more calculations to work out. See you later!"

He waved at her as he left for the dormitory building. She watched him go with a concerned frown. She could really use some uplifting words from him right now...

Odd passed her on her other side, also waving at her, "I'll see you later, too! I've got a...an important errand to run!" He then ran off.

Aelita turned to Ulrich, surprised, "So important that he's skipping lunch?"

His hands in his pockets, Ulrich just shrugged, before walking with her to the cafeteria.

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

Odd walked out into the courtyard and looked around for Matthias Burel, someone he knew for sure had comps. He always did, and that fact was well known with his fellow students. Odd found him giving Romain Le Goff a ticket, and ran up to him as Romain walked away, pleased.

"Hey, Matthias!" Odd asked, as he approached the elder boy. "You wouldn't have a ticket left for tonight's concert, would you?"

"Yeah, no problem."

Odd looked at him, hopeful, "You mean it?"

"This is the last one, and it's all yours!" Matthias held up the ticket, and Odd smiled as he dug into his pockets for whatever money he had in them. "You're gonna love these guys," Matthias continued, "Aerosmooth."

Odd's hope shattered. Did he hear that right?

Matthias didn't seem to notice the look on Odd's face, "They're an incredible group, and my favorite band!"

Odd deflated, "A-Aerosmooth?"

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

Ulrich sat on a planter, reading today's issue of the Kadic News, while nearby, Aelita bought herself a soda. She took a sip from her can as she walked back to her friend.

"Subdigitals..." Ulrich muttered. "I think I like 'Subsonics' better."

Aelita shrugged, "I like their new name." Besides, it wasn't the band's fault that their record company made them change it, in order to 'keep up with the kids and what they find cool'.

Yumi and William approached them. "Well, Aelita," Yumi asked, "all set for the big night?"

"Don't even talk about it," the pink-ette immediately replied. "I'm so scared. I mean, performing at a school party is one thing, but this is a bigger amount of people, a crowd that I don't know..."

"Well, that's the burden of stardom," Yumi replied.

"She's right." William held up his copy of the Kadic News, "Changing the subject, I wanted to ask you something. Listen to this: 'In our next issue, an exclusive interview with Aelita Schaeffer, Kadic's brightest new star!'" He glanced up at her, "Did you know about this?"

"Yeah," Aelita gently rolled her eyes. "Milly and Tamiya haven't stopped hassling me for a over a week for that interview, but I didn't promise them anything. But maybe I should just to get it over with..."

"It's up to you," Ulrich told her, a hint of amusement in his voice. "You know what those two are like. Always looking for a little gossip."

"Personally, I'd forget about that stuff," Yumi winked. "Think about the concert."

"Easier said than done," the pink-ette glanced down at her soda can. "Whenever I picture the crowd in front of me, I get butterflies in my stomach. I wish I could stop thinking about it. If I could just get my mind off it for a little while..." She paused, before looking up with a smile. "I think I'll go and see if Jérémie needs help with those calculations. That should be a good distraction."

"See you later," Yumi said as the younger walked away.

Odd quickly replaced her. He was sulking, his hands in his pockets. "I don't believe this. I'm jinxed! The last ticket slipped right under my nose just now."

William blinked in confusion, "But...Aelita's got a free ticket for you..."

Ulrich barely nipped his laugh in the bud, "Yeah, but that's not enough for Odd's new girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Odd immediately protested. "Well...not yet. Sam and I haven't talked about that stuff yet. Go on and laugh at me all you want, but instead of talking about my confession, she's more interested in sending me on random side quests like I'm a video game character. Today, it's a ticket to tonight's concert."

Because she's testing you, Yumi and William both thought to themselves. But like Ulrich before them, they kept this to themselves. Sam made them promise not to tell.

"But anyway, let's not get into all the details," Odd pressed on. "Point is that I need another ticket for tonight, and it's a real shame that I can't count on a little help from my friends."

Yumi ignored the dig against them and instead suggested, "Try my brother. He may be little weasel, but he's resourceful. He must have some sort of connection."

A smile broke out on his face, "Hiroki! You're right, I hadn't thought of him!" He grabbed Yumi's shoulders, surprising her. "Yumi, you're a genius!" He ran away a few paces before looking back over his shoulder. "Ulrich, you really ought to go out with her." He winked, giggling, and ran off.

"Hey!" Ulrich called out after his roommate, identical blushes on his and Yumi's faces. "You and I are just good friends, Yumi, isn't that right?"

"Right..." she replied, though sounded unsure herself.

Both of them avoided William's knowing gaze, "If you say so."

In that moment, Milly and Tamiya walked up to them. "Hello, we're looking for Aelita," the redhead said. "We're supposed to interview her. Do you know where we can find her?"

The elder three all looked at each other before replying in unison, "She went to the gym."

"Okay!" Milly replied.

"Thanks a lot!" Tamiya added, as to the duo ran off in that direction.

Yumi and William both smiled as Ulrich called back, "Just doing our share to support school journalism!"

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

Aelita was about to knock on Jérémie's door, seeking comfort in his presence, when Hervé interrupted her, "Aelita! I've been looking all over for you!"

She turned to the sound of his voice, and found him approaching her. "Um, hello, Hervé. What do you want?" She tried hard not to sound mean, but she just wanted to talk to Jérémie right now.

He held up a copy of today's Kadic News, "Can I have your autograph?"

This was the first time she noticed her picture on the cover. It was positioned right next to a larger photo of the Subdigitals, and in it, she was in the outfit she planned to wear tonight while giving the camera a sheepish smile. She remembered that photoshoot like it was last week (because it was). It was the first time any sort of stage fright had hit her, as the reality of just how many people had already bought tickets began to sink in.

And here Hervé was, demanding her for her autograph. The concert hadn't even happened yet!

"I-I, um..." she stuttered, not sure how to answer him.

"Don't be so modest," Hervé attempted to be reassuring. "Once I win the robotics competition next month," in January, "we'll be Kadic's power couple. Everyone will be begging for my autograph too!"

She promptly blushed out of embarrassment. That didn't make her feel any better. "Um...uhh..."

"C'mon, please?" He pressed his hands together as if praying. "Just this once for me?"

Fortunately, she didn't get a chance to answer that, as in that moment, Hervé was smacked over the head by a rolled up copy of the school newspaper by Naomi.

"Oww!" He turned to glare at the girl, who had just arrived with Nicolas. "What was that for?!"

"Because you're a dork!" Naomi scolded, her hands on her hips. "I told you to leave her alone! Can't you see that she's nervous out of her mind?!"

"But–"

Nicolas cut his roommate off, "No 'buts'. We vowed amongst ourselves not to pressure her before the concert. Afterward is a different story, but definitely not before."

"Exactly!" Naomi continued. "Because like I just said, she's probably nervous out of her mind. A school party isn't the same as a concert, so she's worried that she'll make a fool of herself tonight!"

Naomi was right, one-hundred percent, but every word she spoke just made the butterflies in Aelita's stomach just increase their speed. Naomi was just trying to help, but she ended up making it worse too.

"Thanks, Naomi..." Aelita muttered.

Naomi sent her a bright, encouraging smile. "No problem! You'll do great tonight! I just know it!"

The pink-ette didn't say another word, only sighing and looking down at the floor, as the trio walked away.

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

Due to that all taking place right outside his room, Jérémie heard every word that was spoken clearly. That was why he wasn't surprised when a knock came to his door, nor was he surprised as to who it was.

"Come on in, Aelita," he replied, not taking his eyes off his laptop, on which a window showing the Skid's schematics was opened.

His door opened, and he heard Aelita ask, "Am I disturbing you, Jérémie?"

"No, not at all," he briefly glanced over his shoulder, giving her a bright smile. "I just finished running my calculations. The Skid should be fully armed and ready for the next mission." Strengthening the shields while not weakening the weapons system, or lessening the navigation system, was like finding a needle in a haystack. It was an intricate process, like threading the needle.

She sat down on his bed, "That's great." A sudden shyness cropped up, to his surprise, "Um...Jérémie, about tonight..."

"Of course, the concert!" He turned to look at her. "I bet you can't wait to get on stage!" He knew she always looked forward to performing.

"Um...not really." She looked down at the floor, a sad expression on her face. "When I'm alone at my mixing table, I'm fine. But in such a huge auditorium, performing alongside such a big name like the Subdigitals..." Jérémie didn't like her doubting herself.

"You'll do great, Aelita, trust me," he told her, as he removed his glasses to clean them with his shirt. "Don't put so much pressure on yourself." He places his glasses back in time to see a small smile break out on her face. "Just perform with your heart and soul like you always do, and everything will be fine. And Yumi, Ulrich, William, and Odd will be there to cheer you on, too!"

He turned back to his laptop as she asked in confusion, "Huh? And...what about you?"

So, she had picked up on the fact that he hadn't mentioned himself. Rest assured, he had his reasons.

He forced himself to look back at her again, "Well, I've decided to take up your list of technical work, so I might be a little late." He couldn't do it. He turned back to his screen, his hands tightly clenched into fists as he forced himself to continue. "The last thing I want is for us to lose ground against XANA tonight...but I promise to come as soon as I'm done!"

"What?!" she asked him, clearly offended, despite his best efforts. "'As soon as you're done'?! I'm dying of stage fright here and all you can say is that you're going to be late to my concert?!"

"No!" He turned around again, a nervous smile on his face. He had obviously poked a bear he wasn't supposed to. "Um...I-I mean, um...yes..." He sighed. "That's not what I meant! Don't worry, I'll be there." And he meant it. "I know it's important to you, so–"

She cut him off, "'Important'?!" She promptly stood up, and he winced. Whoops. He poked the bear again, and now it was rampaging. "I'm standing here telling you that I may not be able to do it at all! Isn't that important enough for you?!" She reached into her bag and placed something on his bed. "Here's your invitation! You can always give it to someone else if you don't find the time to come!"

"Aelita, wait–!"

But it was too late. She slammed the door behind her, leaving him alone. He glanced down at what she left on his bed, and immediately felt a debate form within him.

It was his ticket for tonight's concert.

Outside, Aelita stood with her back against his door. Tears formed in her eyes as she struggled not to cry. She was hoping visiting him would help, but it just made things worse.

Yet, despite their argument just now, she really hoped he would show up tonight.

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

"You've gotta be kidding me, Hiroki!" Odd exclaimed. "That's daylight robbery!"

He had found Yumi's brother underneath the arches. The boy indeed had at least one Subdigitals' concert ticket left, but the price...it was too high!

"Take it or leave it, Odd," Hiroki replied. "I can get double the price I'm asking you from at least a dozen other kids."

Odd dug some coins out of his pocket and counted them, "Um...uhh..." He didn't have enough. He offered Hiroki a hopeful smile. "You wouldn't take an IOU from one of your sister's best friends, would you?"

Hiroki just smiled and shook his head, "Mm-mm. See ya!" He then left.

Odd was now alone to stew in hopelessness. There was no way he'd get a second ticket by tonight. It was all sold out, and no one else had an extra that they needed to give away that he could afford.

"Issues in paradise there, Della Robbia?" a familiar voice asked from behind him.

Odd turned around to see Sissi standing there, her arms crossed and her expression twisted into a knowing smile.

He sighed, "It's nothing. I just need an extra ticket tonight for Sam, and it looks like my last hope just walked away with too high of a price." She didn't respond, but she didn't have to, because he just took a chance. "You wouldn't happen to have a bunch of comps for tonight, would you?"

"What do you think?" she amusedly replied. "Being the headmaster's daughter has its advantages."

"And, um..." he took another shot, "you wouldn't have an extra one by any chance? For Sam?" Sissi's smile just broadened, as she pulled a ticket out of her bag. "I'll pay you back, I promise. You'll just have to wait until next Monday when my parents send me my monthly allowance."

She handed him the ticket. "How about I just give it to you for free because we're friends?"

"How about you just accept the fact that I'm going to pay you back?" Odd playfully shot back. "It's the right thing to do. Next Monday, I promise."

He then walked away with the ticket in hand, practically skipping. Sissi walked him leave, folding her arms with a look and feeling of satisfaction, before turning around and leaving herself to find Sam.

It seemed like Odd passed the test.

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

Emmanuel Maillard and a classmate of his were playing table tennis, when Odd entered the rec room. He held up his newly found ticket, "Tadaaa!", as he approached his friends (currently William, Yumi, and Ulrich) sitting in front of the television.

"I see your hunting expedition went well," Yumi commented as Odd sat down next to her.

"It did," Odd replied, lounging back. "Odd the great wanted a ticket, and Odd the great got a ticket!"

"And Odd the great didn't pay an arm and a leg for it?" Ulrich asked, teasingly, from across the table next to William.

"Nope! At least," he added nervously, "I hope not." He had promised to pay Sissi back next Monday, but he wasn't sure how much money she'd ask from him.

"Oh boy," William chuckled. "That sounds promising."

"Hush up, you!" Odd shot back.

He was saved from further teasing by Aelita joining them in that moment, "Ah, there you guys are. I came to give you all your tickets for tonight." The smile she was offering them was weak as she sat down next to Odd and placed four tickets on the table between them. It wasn't lost on the others.

"What's wrong?" Yumi asked, she and the guys all concerned.

"Oh, it's nothing," the pink-ette blushed in embarrassment. "It's...It's on account of Jérémie..."

"Jérémie upset you?" Odd asked, mildly surprised. "What did he do to win a Nobel Prize in diplomacy here?"

"It's nothing," Aelita repeated, her fake smile gone. "He told me he was taking over my to-do list for Lyoko, so he, quote, 'might be a little late'. I just blew up at him." Out of everyone coming to the concert tonight, she only wanted to see Jérémie. Just him. She didn't care about anyone else in that respect.

"I don't know if this is going to do much good, 'Lita," Ulrich carefully replied, "but it needs to be said. Jérémie hates feeling helpless, and always has, but that feeling just got worse with the return of his memories and the decryption of his parents' diary, both of which told us that he was the reason for XANA's existence."

"It's not his fault," Aelita immediately, sternly said. She was always adamant when saying this, and always would be.

"That's what we tell him," Ulrich continued, "in order to lessen his guilt over our involvement, and yes, it's not all his fault, but it is true." The others went silent as they stewed over the truth in his following statement, "If he hadn't gotten sick, then his parents would never have decided to create Lyoko and XANA in the first place. And he knows it. That's why he's always helping the rest of us whenever and however he can. He likely chose to take over your work tonight, Aelita, instead of going to the concert, because that way, he'd be doing something, rather than being in the audience and doing seemingly 'nothing'."

Aelita's expression promptly turned into one filled with guilt. "I–...I didn't mean to blow up at him. I just wanted him to be there, because I feel better when he's with me."

"That sounds like something you really need to tell him," William softly said. The pink-ette immediately nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry," Yumi offered some reassurance. "If push comes to shove, we'll give him a talking to, but for now, just relax."

"Yeah," Ulrich agreed. "You'll see, you're gonna bring the house down tonight!"

William gave a thumbs-up, "For sure!"

"Yeah!" Odd chimed in as he wrapped his cousin in a side hug. "And we'll definitely be in the crowd to support you, remember?"

Aelita leaned into her cousin's embrace, "Thanks guys, but don't get there too late. The crowd's going to be really big."

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

Jérémie kept a sharp eye on the time for the next four and a half hours. When he checked it this time, he realized the concert was only seventeen minutes away from starting.

Not wanting to disappoint Aelita further, he saved his work before forcing himself to rip his attention away from from his laptop screen.

After grabbing the ticket Aelita had left for him (which was still on his bed), he opened the door, but turned back to his screen, and warned, "Don't try anything tonight, XANA. If you do, it's not my wrath you'll have to face."

That was true. It was Aelita's wrath XANA should be fearing here.

The boy then left his room, his ticket in his pocket, turning off the light and closing his door behind him.

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

As Aelita had warned, a large crowd had gathered outside of a theatre—the concert venue—out in town. The pink-ette had arrived two hours earlier for one last rehearsal, and was now in the dressing room that had been assigned to her. She was in her concert outfit now (the same one from the photo in today's issue of the Kadic News), putting on her make-up.

She was applying mascara, using her mirror as a guide, when there was a knock at her door, "Come in."

She was putting the lid back on the mascara when Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, and William stuck their heads in through the door.

"Surpriiise!" Odd exclaimed, as the other three laughed. Aelita smiled as her friends entered the room.

She had figured it was them. Only they (and Jérémie) had VIP access with their tickets.

"We came to see our favorite star before she gets too famous to see us!" Odd quipped, their faces visible in her mirror, so the pink-ette didn't have to turn around to talk to them.

Aelita began applying blush to her cheeks, "Don't be so silly. I'm really glad to see you all." Her smile disappeared. "Um...didn't Jérémie come?"

"He'll be here," Ulrich promised. "Don't worry."

"Yeah, we sent him a text reminding him before we left," William added, before handing her his phone, "and he replied to it."

"Just in case he was getting too lost in his work," Odd explained. "You know Jérémie: a great head for math and stuff, but it's always in the clouds everywhere else."

Aelita read the text, "'I'll be there'. Received five minutes ago." She sighed, before handing William his phone back, "I hope so." She really wanted him to be there...

"Don't worry about it," Yumi offered a smile. "He'll be out there listening and cheering you on. That text proves that he hasn't forgotten."

Aelita saw Sophie, the Subdigitals' manager, poke her head in the open doorway. "Aelita, it's almost time. Ten minutes."

Oh, god. Ten minutes. "Okay. Time for me to start concentrating." The pink-ette began concentrating more on her own reflection, unable to look past her nervousness.

"That's our cue to leave, then," Yumi said. "We'll take off now."

"See you later!" Odd waved at her as he left her dressing room, with Ulrich and William in tow.

Yumi was following them, but briefly stopped in the doorway. Aelita saw the elder girl give her a thumbs-up, "You look beautiful tonight. You're gonna knock 'em out!"

The pink-ette turned around to smile at Yumi, who winked before closing the door behind her.

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

On their way through the hall, the quartet crossed paths with Milly and Tamiya. The duo was heading towards Aelita's dressing room, making it clear that they hadn't given up on that interview.

Odd stood in their way, making them stop, "If you're here for Aelita, you're a little too late, girls. The concert starts in just a few minutes."

"That's more than enough when you know how to do your job!" Tamiya sternly replied, before pushing Odd to the side. She and Milly continued on their way.

Milly turned back to face them, still walking away, "And we owe it to our readers!"

The girls followed the hallway towards Aelita's room. The quartet remained behind, all of them a mix between amused and flabbergasted.

While this was going on, Yumi had pulled out her phone. She dialed a familiar number and waited for the other person to pick up.

"Hello, Yumi?"

She was relieved that he had answered, "Jérémie, where are you? The concert starts in a few minutes! Aelita will be crushed if she doesn't see you in the audience!"

"I know," he replied, sounding a bit out of breath. "I'm on my way now." Furthermore, the sound of feet hitting pavement could be heard in the background—a sound only running could make.

So Yumi believed him. "Okay. Just hurry up."

"I will," where his final words before he hung up.

Yumi put her phone back in her pocket as she and her three companions entered the foyer, where there were a number of people standing around and chatting. It seemed like the whole school was in attendance, as they lingered and chatted with numerous strangers.

"Odd!"

Said boy looked up with a smile. Sam was waving at him from the crowd, Laura by her side.

"Over here!"

Odd jogged up to them (Sam specifically), with William hot on his heels. Ulrich and Yumi just shared a knowing glance with each other before following them.

"Hi, Sam!" If his friends looked closely, they could see the blush dotting his cheeks. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the second ticket, presenting it to her as if it was a one-of-a-kind treasure. "Here's your ticket, m'lady. I owe Sissi money, but I have it."

Sam took the ticket from his hands, "Thanks, Odd." She playfully rolled her eyes, "I guess I forgive you. But let's not talk about that now. We have a concert to attend."

As the group of six headed towards the audience section of the theatre, Laura gained a noticeable skip in her step. "I'm so excited. I've never been to a concert before."

Yumi turned her head towards the blonde in surprise, "Never?"

Laura shook her head, "Music's not really my thing, but I credit William for getting me into the Subdigitals. I've never really viewed the world through his eyes before..."

William was also blushing, which only grew with Odd's song of teasing, "I will show you the world~"

"Hush up, you."

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

Another knock came to Aelita's dressing room door. The tension in her chest and stomach just multiplied when the person came in without waiting for her answer. Dread filled her entire being when she saw that her visitors were none other than Milly and Tamiya. Tamiya was holding a camera and Milly a notepad and pencil—indicating that they were only there for one thing.

"Aelita, can we ask you a couple of questions for tomorrow's issue of the Kadic News?" the redhead asked.

"Not now," she turned to face them, unable to hide from them the stress that she was feeling. "You couldn't have picked a worse time."

Again, the door was still open, and Sophie (the manager) popped her head in, "Aelita, you're on in just five minutes." She addressed the news duo, "I'm afraid you girls will have to leave now."

The two budding journalists looked disappointed as they resigned themselves to leaving and returning to the concert hall. They didn't have any choice as long as they were under manager Sophie's watchful gaze.

At least until they were out of sight. Once they were, Milly tugged on Tamiya's arm and silently pointed to a cluster of boxes. Tamiya nodded, before following her friend in hiding behind them...

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

Pulsations raced towards a tower located at the end of a small, straight path surrounded by water, extending from a plateau.

Soon enough, the tower's halo turned red...

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

He was here now, and he only had two minutes before the start of the concert. That's how long Jérémie had to find Aelita's dressing room and apologize. He was hoping that his apology would cheer her up enough to get rid of her stage fright.

Out in the auditorium, he could hear the crowd cheering, getting hyped up.

Sophie walked down the hall, intending to get Aelita for the opening act. Some electrical panels on the wall crackled with green electricity as she walked past, and a dark spectre came out of them. She turned around in surprise and cried out...

Her dressing room was marked with a temporary placard that currently read 'Aelita Schaeffer'. Yep, this was it.

Jérémie was about to knock on the door, when a hand came down hard on his shoulder. He nearly jumped out of his skin as he whirled around, only to come face-to-face with Sophie. Recalling the information previously received from his friends, he quickly deduced her to be the band's manager.

"I'm sorry for intruding, ma'am," he said, "but I need to talk to Aelita. I'll be quick, I promise."

The woman blinked and suddenly, the eye of XANA had replaced her irises. "So will I."

Inside the dressing room, Aelita's concentration was broken by a scream. And it sounded awfully familiar—she'd heard it before. Concerned, she raced to the door and opened it, just to see what was happening, only to gasp in shock when she saw who had screamed.

It was Jérémie, now unconscious as a XANA-possessed Sophie stood over him.

"Jérémie!" Aelita called out, as XANA puppeteered Sophie to sling him over her shoulder. The pink-ette tensed up, ready to fight. "Don't you dare, XANA!"

XANA-Sophie just smirked, before running towards the exit.

Aelita dashed back into the dressing room for her cellphone, before giving chase, "Yumi, emergency! XANA's on the attack!"

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

Out on the auditorium, Yumi listened intently to what Aelita was saying. "Got it," she answered. "We'll meet you there." She then hung up, before addressing the guys, "XANA alert; it's possessed the manager and kidnapped Jérémie. If we go backstage, we can help Aelita get him back."

Odd, Ulrich, and William all nodded in acknowledgement, before following her. Sam and Laura, fortunately, remained in place, however confused they were.

They reached the backstage area in no time. Yumi pointed, "There they are! Over there!"

Yumi was pointing to the very end of the hallway, where XANA-Sophie had just turned a corner, an out-cold Jérémie slung over her shoulder, with Aelita hot on her heels.

The quartet moved to follow them, only to be stopped by someone calling after them. "Hey, you four!" They turned around to see Chris approaching them, with Ben and Nico remaining behind. "Have you guys seen Aelita? She's supposed to go on now."

Odd, fortunately, came up with an excuse rather fast, "Sorry. She just called us and said that she felt sick to her stomach. I don't think she'll be able to do the concert. That's actually why we're here, to check up on her."

"That's a shame," Chris looked down. "Tell her that we hope she feels better."

"We will," William quickly replied.

As soon as Chris was gone, along with Ben and Nico, the four teens ran in the opposite direction, chasing after XANA-Sophie, Jérémie, and Aelita. As they did, their hearts were pounding with the guilt of leaving him alone. They should have taken him with them...

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Subdigitals!" they heard the announcer say. The audience promptly cheered, and a couple seconds later, they began playing 'Planet Net'.

The quartet rounded the corner, only to find Milly and Tamiya standing in the middle of the hallway, blocking their path. The duo then began to approach them, and judging by their bodies flickering, it was becoming clear that they'd been possessed as well.

"Uh, you think maybe they're angry because they blew the scoop about Aelita?" Odd nervously joked, as they backed up to keep the little ground they had.

The two suddenly sent identical bolts of lightning at the quartet, but the four dodged, with one of the shots barely missed Yumi's head.

"Yeah," Yumi joked back, "and apparently they think it's our fault!"

Milly lunged at Ulrich and William, both of whom had trouble dodging her successive punches and kicks. Meanwhile, Odd and Yumi faced off against Tamiya.

Odd made a move, but with an incredible speed, Tamiya jumped into the air. Odd passed underneath her and Tamiya came back down, kicking him in the back and sending him flying. Him landing on his back allowed Tamiya to bounce off and follow with another jump towards Yumi, who couldn't avoid. With a kick, Tamiya propelled the elder girl to the ground.

William was panting at the physical exertion, "We need to catch up with Aelita!"

Ulrich spotted a sheet covering a nearby box and smiled, as he got an idea, "I'll try to distract them. You guys go on ahead without me."

"Good luck dealing with our favorite journalists!" Odd said. With a nervous cry, he then led Yumi and William out the door.

Ulrich grabbed the sheet and threw it over the two girls, causing them to cry out in surprise and stumble backwards until they fell over.

The band was still performing, with Nico singing, "I've got a message to send, are you there? I wanna find a brand new friend~"

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

Aelita chased XANA-Sophie through town. As they approached the factory bridge, her phone rang. She quickly picked up, "Yes, Yumi?"

"We're on our way, 'Lita," the elder told her. Music could be heard in the background. "But we got held up by XANA possessing Milly and Tamiya. If you can buy some time, then we'll have a better chance of getting Jérémie back."

"I'll try my best, but don't drag your feet," Aelita replied, before hanging up.

XANA-Sophie bypassed the ropes entirely, just jumping down from the gallery onto the factory floor below. The pink-ette, however, used the ropes to follow, calling out, "Drop him, XANA!", as she did so.

In response, the AI obeyed, dropping Jérémie onto the ground in front of the lift. Unfortunately, the boy remained unconscious, as XANA then turned around, its emblem flashing in Sophie's eyes as it held up both hands now imbued with lightning.

Aelita promptly assumed an fighting position, quickly ducking to avoid the bolt of lightning the AI just aimed at her face. She then rushed up and aimed a trio of kicks at it, each one higher than the last, only for XANA-Sophie to block every strike with similar kicks of her own.

XANA charged up a fist with electricity before punching her with it, but she managed to duck in time to catch the punch by holding onto Sophie's wrist.

The AI snarled, "Back off! I found him first!"

It was obviously talking about Jérémie and it being his first friend. Interesting. Was XANA jealous of her and the others? Judging by how often it tried to break up the group's friendship, Aelita didn't doubt it.

The pink-ette growled back, "Yeah, well, real friends would never hold his memories hostage for their own benefit! Or try to kill him by stealing his half of Lyoko's Keys or throwing him into the Digital Sea!"

XANA's following angry yell was accompanied by a sudden burst of strength, as it forced her back to her feet. She ended up letting go of Sophie's wrist in surprise, and that's what probably allowed the AI to grab the front of her shirt and throw her hard into a nearby column. She must've hit her head, as she blacked out immediately after.

Her last thought was, 'I'm sorry, Jérémie...'

XANA just smirked in victory as it stood over her unconscious body, before turning back to Jérémie, who was still out cold himself. It slung the boy back over Sophie's shoulder, before descending down to the lab in the lift.

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

Jérémie awoke the moment he landed on ground of the Ice Sector. As he slowly pulled himself into a kneeling position, confusion hit him first. What was he doing here? Why was he on Lyoko? The last thing he remembered was searching backstage for Aelita, only to be interrupted by the Subdigitals' manager...

Oh, that's right. Said manager was possessed by XANA. The AI had clearly brought him here to throw him into the Digital Sea.

The activated tower was in the distance, on the other end of the plateau he'd been virtualized onto. That was his destination. He had to deactivate the tower...

His focus was interrupted by a noise, at the same time his visor alerted him to an enemy presence nearby. Sure enough, a Kankrelat walked out from behind a nearby ice rock, blocking the path to the tower. Meanwhile, a Blok stood in the way of the other path.

Jérémie activated his wings and flew up. The Kankrelat fired at him, but missed. He headed for the tower, but he was shot down by a third monsters and fall back to the ground, his wings now gone.

He sat with his back against an ice rock, recovering, as a Manta flew down towards him. Perfect, he was surrounded.

The Kankrelat and the Blok were both moving in now, as the Manta circled the area.

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

Yumi, Odd, and William swung down to the factory floor, and the first thing they noticed was Aelita out cold against a column. Next to her head was a bundle of rope.

"Aelita!" they all cried out.

William rushed towards her, "I'll go check on her. You two continue the chase!"

Yumi and Odd both nodded in acknowledgement, before pressing the button to call the lift back up to the factory floor. The moment it arrived, they quickly descended down to the lab.

William shook the pink-ette by the shoulders, "Aelita. Aelita! Wake up!"

He succeeded, as her eyes opened in response. As she slowly came back into focus, she asked, slightly confused, "William? Did you..."

"Get Jérémie back? No," he replied. "We just got here. But if we hurry, we can still catch him."

"Right," she sat up, rubbing her head, before her gaze caught the bundle of rope next to them.

She had an idea...

Meanwhile, Yumi and Odd arrived at the lab via the lift. They took a step inside before stopping in surprise when they saw XANA-Sophie in the chair in front of the monitor. She turned to them the moment the doors opened.

"Aelita?! If you can hear me, please answer!" they heard Jérémie call out. He sounded distressed. They had to hurry.

"Lateral crossing pattern and pincer strategy," Odd muttered to Yumi.

She smiled in amusement, "You mind translating that?"

He smiled back, "Let's go!"

The two ran towards XANA-Sophie. She fired a bolt of electricity at Odd, who ducked to avoid it before jumping and kicking her. She stumbled backwards, flickering from the damage. Yumi jumped off the holoprojector and kicked the woman in the face knocking her to the floor.

"Yes!" Yumi cheered, as the woman laid on the floor, stunned and flickering. "How was that for strategy?"

Odd smiled at her, just as the elevator doors opened again. This time, it was Aelita, with William at her side and a bundle of rope coiled over her shoulder.

"Guess we beat you here, Superstar!" the Italian boy quipped.

"Where's Jérémie?" she immediately asked, concerned about only one thing.

"Already on Lyoko," Yumi reported. "We're too late."

William grabbed the rope and slid it off the pink-ette's shoulder, "Then, we can't waste anymore time. You guys go on. I'll take care of our guest here."

He got three "Right!"s in return.

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

The Blok reached Jérémie, prompting him to act. He ran towards the Kankrelat, as the Blok fired at him, but he jumped over the shot, hopping off the small monster's head and landing on the path. As he ran towards the tower, the three monsters gave chase, and the elf was forced to stop as the Manta overtook him.

"Jérémie? Do you read me?"

His ears perked up when he heard her voice, "Aelita! Thank goodness!" She was in the lab now, which meant the others were likely on their way as well. That meant back-up, help against XANA's forces.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

The Manta flew along the path towards him and fired. He ducked to avoid the shot, letting it hit and destroy the Kankrelat instead.

"For now!" he replied, tense due to his current situation. "This isn't exactly where I was expecting our reunion to be, but I'm happy to hear your voice nonetheless."

"About that, I'm sorry for lashing out at you earlier."

"We'll talk about it later," he quickly told her, forming a shield to block the Manta's lasers. "We've got bigger issues at the moment."

Each shot taken at him, that he blocked, knocked him back several paces, until he bumped into a familiar dark Zweihänder, planting in the ground. His surprise, which quickly turned into dread, made him drop his shield.

"Aelita, hurry up," Jérémie pleaded, just before he was shot in the chest by the Manta.

He feel to the ground, but he glanced up in time to see the Zweihänder shake and become surrounded by black smoke. It then flew up into the air, landing in the hands of the Clone in its William mask as it flew overhead on the Black Manta.

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

William hit the 'up' button, which closed the elevator doors before ascending back to the factory floor. At his side was a tied up XANA-Sophie. She would inevitably wake up and free herself. The teens figured that it would be better if that happened in a room that was not the lab, where XANA could mess with the supercomputer as they tried to save Jérémie and deactivate the tower.

In the meantime, Aelita typed in rapid-fire commands. "Aelita..." Jérémie softly whimpered, as the Manta flew past him on the holomap. "I'm in trouble here..."

"I see it," she promptly replied. "Hang in there, I'm sending in the cavalry now."

As she brought up the Overboard and Overwing, the Clone flew towards Jérémie on the holomap. After shutting down the elevator, she brought up the respective IDs of Odd, Yumi, and herself, before activating the timer. Now finished, she raced to the side ladder.

She made it inside the scanner with ten seconds to spare. In no time, the doors closed on all three of them, and their bodies de-pixelized, before reforming in the sky of the Ice Sector.

The Black Manta fired at Jérémie, who jumped back to avoid the laser. As the Clone flew overhead, the Blok shot at him as well, forcing the elf to duck. The regular Manta flew at him along the path, and he fired an energy arrow at it, only for it to miss its target.

As the Clone came back for another pass, Yumi's fan appeared and sliced his shoulder. It used William's face to glare over at the weapon's owner, who was standing with Odd and Aelita on either side of her on another platform down below.

"Nice one, Yumi," Odd complimented her.

"Thank you," she replied. "Ready for the tall, dark bad guy?"

Odd glanced behind them and scratched his cheek with his claw, "Um, I think we have an audience."

Two Kankrelats were scuttling towards the trio. Aelita glanced over at the plateau that Jérémie was running away on, watching as he fired a couple of arrows, only to miss the Manta again.

XANA-William steered the Black Manta towards them. It fired, and they all dodged to various directions. Aelita looked back at the approaching Kankrelats, which opened fire at her. She used her small shield to block the lasers, before turning back to her companions.

"I'll take care of them," the angel said. "You two handle the Clone."

"Ah," Odd quipped in response, "no wonder you have valet parking tonight," as he and Yumi ran towards their respective vehicles, which were waiting nearby.

While running, Yumi kept watch on the Clone up in the sky as she took out her fans. The Black Manta fired at her, but she used her weapons to block the shots, before throwing one. It missed her target, but she caught it as it returned just as she hopped onto the Overwing and flew up.

Next to her, Odd jumped onto the Overboard. He rode up a rock, using it like a ramp, and performed a spin at the top before coming back down, doing a kickflip and flying along the path.

Aelita, meanwhile, remained grounded. She threw an Energy Field at a Kankrelat, destroying it. The other promptly shot at her—XANA clearly hadn't forgotten about their little exchange earlier—and she dodged all the shots, before reaching the monster. She kicked it up in the air, before destroying it with an Energy Field as well.

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

The XANA-possessed Milly and Tamiya both shot green electricity in Ulrich's direction. He took cover behind a large crate in order to dodge them both, and buy himself more time. While there, he spotted a wooden rod nearby and quickly grabbed it.

With a plan in mind, he then emerged from his cover and ran towards his enemies, avoiding more bolts of lightning. He planted the rod on he ground and swung his body around it to kick both girls in the face, knocking them onto their backs on the floor.

His free hand on his hip, he stood over them, pleased, "Awfully sorry, ladies, but no interviews until after the show."

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

Aelita activated her wings and took off into the air. She made a break for Jérémie's location, only for her way to be blocked by a trio of Mantas now encircling her.

Meanwhile, XANA-William chased Yumi through the air. The Black Manta fired at her once again, but she easily dodged all the shots, before doing a U-turn and flying back towards the Clone. It smirked, before she flew straight past and turned around again. The Clone turned around as well. She threw her fan, and it ducked to avoid the attack. She then flew down towards a platform, the Clone not far behind her.

Yumi flew across some conjoined platforms and straight into an ice cave. The Clone followed her, but when it got to the other side, its opponent had disappeared.

It was an ambush, it realized, as she threw a fan at it, but it batted the fan away before coming flying back towards her. The Black Manta fired again, and Yumi shielded herself with her arm.

Only for Odd to fly past in front of her and block it with his shield.

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

XANA-Sophie regained consciousness, the eye of XANA flickering in her eyes. Seeing she was on the factory floor, the AI rolled its eyes at the teens' poor attempt to keep it contained. It easily had Sophie break out of the rope and stand back up. It walked over to the lift and pressed the 'down' button.

But the lift didn't move.

The AI frowned as it pressed the button again. And again. And again.

Yet despite the spamming, the result remained the same.

"You really thought," came William's voice, "that we wouldn't think to shut the elevator down?" The boy emerged from the shadows in front of XANA-Sophie. "Think again."

XANA growled in anger, before tackling him from out of the lift. It easily pinned the boy down, only for said human to, somehow, overpower it, by kneeing Sophie's stomach and flip her over his head, causing her to land on her back.

William quickly got back to his feet, in a fighting position. "Come on, XANA. We're not done yet."

XANA-Sophie got back to her feet in the blink of an eye.

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

Odd and Yumi flew alongside each other. In the distance, they could see Aelita quite literally cornered as she destroyed two Mantas, only for another three to take their places.

"Odd!" Yumi called, jokingly imitating his idea earlier in the lab, "Lateral flight pattern, and pincer strategy!"

The cat quickly got the joke, "You mind translating that?"

The Clone flew towards them and the Black Manta fired once more. The two split up and dodged the lasers. Odd fired an Arrow as he flew past. XANA-William blocked the Arrow with its Zweihänder. Odd fired again.

While the Clone was concentrating its attention on Odd, Yumi threw a fan and hit it in the back, sending the Black Manta into a downward spiral.

Odd gave her a thumbs-up, "Great!", just before the Black Manta began firing rapidly. Two of those shots promptly hit the two vehicles.

The vehicles glitched out, and Odd almost lost his balance on his vanishing Overboard. He and Yumi flew back down to the ground and jumped off before the vehicles disappeared completely.

"Close one!" Odd exclaimed.

"Now what?" Yumi asked. Without vehicles, they couldn't face off against the Clone, at least not as long as it was perched on that Black Manta.

XANA-William flew up from underneath the platform. Yumi threw her fan before getting knocked down by a laser. Odd ducked as the Black Manta flew right over him, "Whoa!"

As Yumi got into a crouch, Odd fired an Arrow at the Manta and missed. The Clone came in for another pass, and the two had no choice but to run away.

"We're flipping on this one!" Odd told his friend. "We're gonna have to change the music!"

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

Ulrich was thrown across the room, his back hitting a cabinet. XANA-Tamiya held out both hands and shot electricity at him. The brunette quickly grabbed a mirror from beside him and held it in front of him, deflecting the shot back at her.

She cried out and fell to the floor, and his eyes widened in slight surprise. Interesting.

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

The normal Manta shot at Jérémie, forcing him to run away from the tower. He formed and threw a handful of daggers, but the Manta dodged them all.

In front of him, the Blok fired. The elf barely avoided the laser before forming and throwing a spear, hitting the Blok and destroying it.

He kept running farther away from the tower—where he needed to be—as the Manta came up behind him again and shot him in the back, sending him sliding along the ground. He fell off the edge of the plateau, but fortunately managed to catch onto the edge.

The Manta continued to fly around overhead.

Meanwhile, Aelita formed an Energy Field and flipped over in mid-air, destroying one of the Mantas surrounding her mid-flip. However, before she could move in any direction, another Manta caught her off-guard by flying a little too close to her back. The sudden wind movement threw her wings off-balance, making her spiral down towards the Digital Sea.

Fortunately, she managed to catch herself in time. She flew back up towards the Mantas that were keeping her from Jérémie.

Elsewhere, Odd and Yumi were still running, with the Clone (still in the William mask) chasing them on the Black Manta.

"Odd! Trampoline spinning top action!" Yumi instructed her partner.

"Gotcha!" Odd replied, before running on ahead.

The Black Manta flew straight over the geisha and shot at the cat, but it missed. Odd jumped into a handstand, as Yumi opened both fans and jumped onto Odd's feet. The boy acted like a springboard, launching Yumi into the air so that she could clip the Black Manta.

XANA-William fell off and landed on the plateau below in smoke form. Yumi threw her fans just before she landed as well. The Clone leapt out of smoke form behind her, Zweihänder raised.

"It's game over for you, Yumi!" the AI taunted, as it slashed at her while she was still on the ground. She began to devirtualize.

"For you too, wise guy!" she shot back with a smirk.

Before the Clone could react, her fans arced around behind it and hit it in the back, devirtualizing it as well.

Now by himself, save for Aelita, Odd walked up to where the Clone just disappeared and watched the Black Manta fly by, "Great! I was in the mood for fish today!" He had an idea.

The Black Manta flew down close to the plateau and started chasing after the cat as he ran. It shot and missed. Once it got close enough, Odd backflipped onto its back and dug his claws into its back. The Manta immediately bucked in response, "Whoaa!"

Odd scraped his right-hand claws down the Manta's back, forcing it into a U-turn. He steered it towards his cousin.

Once he got close enough, he dug his claws in further, causing the Manta to begin firing rapidly at its surroundings. It screeched in pain as two of the three Mantas surrounding Aelita were destroyed by its uncontrollable outburst.

"Thanks, Odd!" the angel shot him a grateful smile.

"No problem, Superstar," he winked at her. "Go on and help Jérémie. I'll take care of the rest." Of the Mantas, he meant.

"Okay." Aelita then flew away, towards where Jérémie was—according to her enhanced senses.

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

At the factory, still on the main floor, William flew into a nearby column. Fortunately, he didn't pass out, unlike Aelita earlier, but he was on his last legs. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out.

He mentally pleaded with Jérémie to hurry up...

At the concert hall, XANA-Milly looked at her friend, who lying on the floor with electricity running over her body. The redhead then held her hand out towards Ulrich and shot electricity. Ulrich ducked.

As a result, the bolt of lightning flew over the head of the Subdigitals, interrupting their music as they looked up in surprise. The crowd cheered with excitement as more green bolts of electricity flew over the stage.

"Rock and roll!" Chris exclaimed, before beginning the next song, 'Break Away'.

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

Jérémie managed to pull himself back up onto the platform. That pesky Manta flew at him along the path to the tower and started shooting. The elf promptly formed a shield, but like before, each laser it absorbed forced him back towards the edge. Not willing to take the chance, he dropped his shield.

"Oh, no...!" he muttered. Perfect, just great. He was now cornered.

Suddenly, an Energy Field flew at the Manta from behind him. The weapon hit its target, destroying it. Jérémie covered his face to protect it from the resulting explosion before glancing behind him. He immediately smiled when he saw who it was.

"Aelita!" he exclaimed in relief.

"Sorry, I'm late," she replied, hovering in the air. "Let's go!" She then flew towards the tower.

Jérémie summoned his own wings and took off after her.

It didn't take the two long to reach the tower. Aelita remained in the air, as she watched Jérémie land and run inside the structure.

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

William couldn't do anything as XANA-Sophie approached him, laughing evilly and generating bolts of electricity between her hands.

JEREMIE_

Meanwhile, Ulrich cried out in fear as he used the mirror to deflect XANA-Milly's electricity.

CODE_

LYOKO_

The eye of XANA disappeared from Milly's eyes and she fell over backwards, just as Nico finished the song, "We're in it all the waaay~!" The audience cheered.

Meanwhile, a similar thing happened to Sophie. The electricity disappeared from her hands and she fell unconscious near William.

After the panels all around him fell, Jérémie touched the interface again, bringing up the Return in time program. He entered the coordinates before pressing 'Launch'.

The world was promptly engulfed entirely in white.

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

Time rewinded to a few minutes before the start of the concert.

Aelita found herself back in her dressing room. She was applying blush to her cheeks, as a knock came to her door. She smiled, hope filling her being, "Come in."

Her hope wasn't misplaced. Jérémie poked his head inside the door. "Hey, Aelita. I wanted to see how you were doing."

She turned to face him, a smile on her face, "Well, I have less stage fright." She giggled, "But I guess it's because I've already been here, if you know what I mean."

Jérémie chuckled in response, before his smile faded. But it didn't disappear. "You know, there was never a chance that I would actually miss any of your concerts. I may be late, but I will always show up."

"You better." Her own smile then faded into a frown. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to blow at you like that. You're right, I put too much pressure on myself and let the bottle overflow, so to speak. I just wanted you at the concert; I feel so much better with you there." She sighed, "Maybe it wasn't sensible to want to do this concert..."

"You know," he replied, winking, "sometimes being sensible just isn't sensible!"

She giggled in response, getting the reference. She felt better now. Her stage fright was now completely gone.

Another knock came to her door, and she called out, "Come in."

The door opened, revealing the other four—Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, and William.

"Hey there, Superstar!" Odd greeted her. "You ready to actually perform this time?"

"Am I ever!" the pink-ette exclaimed. She wasn't sure if her cousin's new nickname for her would stick, but she found herself not minding it at all. "My stage fright's gone, thanks to Jérémie, but it's been replaced with excitement."

"Good to see you made it, Jer," William commented, "but isn't anyone worried that XANA could attack again?"

"Not really," Jérémie confessed. "Because XANA's not dumb enough to risk the same failure a second time."

Yet another knock came to her door. This time, it was Sophie, the manager. "You're on it ten minutes, Aelita. Sorry, everyone, but visiting hours are over. You'll have to come back later."

"Gotcha," Odd replied, as he led the others out of the room.

Jérémie paused for a moment, turning back to Aelita, "You'll do great, Princess. I know you will."

"Thanks, Prince Charming," she softly replied. Something suddenly came to mind in that moment, "And if you see Milly and Tamiya, tell them that I'll give them that interview after the concert."

"Got it," Jérémie answered, before closing the door behind him.

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

When waiting for the concert to start, everyone was in the auditorium when Sam finally answered Odd's confession last week.

"I love you too."

A blush immediately jumped onto the cheeks. "Y-You do?"

"I do," she replied, calmly. "And I forgive you, completely. No, that's not a joke. Truth be told, Sissi would have given me a ticket anyway. She was willing to take an IOU from me."

Odd blinked in surprise. "So...it was a set-up?"

She shook her head, "Mm-mm. A test. After seeing how William bought Laura her ticket, Sissi got the idea for me to test your honesty from last week, and your earnesty and hope that things between us could work out. Since I already had you willing to do anything for me, to prove you were serious, I agreed. And you passed the test. I believe now that you didn't confess to me just to regain my trust."

"Of course I meant it," Odd replied. "I may joke about things, but my feelings isn't on that list. Much less my feelings about you."

"And I know that now. But you can't blame me for taking everything you said last week with a grain of salt."

No, he couldn't. He had forgotten her birthday, after all, when he promised he wouldn't.

"But we can talk more later," Sam finished. "The concert's about to start. For now, let's focus on having fun."

"Agreed."

Perfect timing, as right then, the announcer called out over the speakers, "And now, let's put 'em together for a brand new DJ, Aelita Schaeffer!"

The crowd cheered loudly, with the pink-ette's friends being the loudest. Aelita walked out on stage, wearing a genuine smile, before starting to mix, officially beginning the opening act of the concert.

Backstage, the Subdigitals and Sophie smiled approvingly. Chris gave a thumbs-up to the manager, who smiled.

After a couple of Aelita-originals, the Subdigitals emerged out onto the stage. Together with Aelita, they performed remixes of classic songs, like 'Planet Net' and 'Break Away', before beginning a new song, the one they worked on with Aelita. It was called 'Mother Earth'.

"Help me follow life wherever it goes~"

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

Next Episode: 59 - An Eye For An Eye / William is visited by his parents, who have some questions about his recent behavior and grades.

A/N: The collaboration song is "Mother Earth", a canon Subdigitals song that I really, really like, and just recently discovered. Go check it out on YouTube.

The idea of Jérémie deciding to take over Aelita's technical work on the day of the concert, and the reasons why, is from AO3's dunnoduo. If you have any similar ideas, don't be afraid to share them. I may not use them, but I will consider them.

Again, there are a few deleted scenes that I added back in, just to add more substance to the chapter that wasn't any romance drama. The tower XANA uses in this chapter is from canon-'Saint Valentine's Day'.

It's not officially confirmed, but it's very possible that Sophie, the Subdigitals' manager, was named for Sophie Decroisette. Knowing this, did I name Jérémie's mother Sophie for the same reason? Honestly, not really; it's just a coincidence. I just looked up a random list of female French names, and 'Sophie' was on that list. It seems to be a common name, too, as two of Kadic's students are named 'Sophie' as well.