Jeremy sits in his room, working on Aelita's materialization program of course. "Time to launch the program," He does so and watches his screen as he types away, but the program is proven to be unsuccessful unfortunately. And he gets an error message just like the other hundreds of attempts... "Oh no, I don't believe it, not again," He slams his fist on the desk in frustration. He then stands up, upset with himself as he grunts. "I...darn it, I'm so useless! I'm never gonna do it," He laments as he's losing faith in his expertise.
"And I'm sure you will, Jeremy," Aelita speaks up as she appears on his screen.
"Thanks for the encouragement, but I'm useless, I tell you," He sits down, holding his head.
"Jeremy...do you think we'd get along well in the real world? I mean, as well as we do now?" Aelita suddenly asks him.
"Yeah, of course, why?" Jeremy looks up in confusion.
"Well, because I'm not so sure...I'd like to have a best friend who's useless. You understand?" She says gently and he gasps a bit. He then places a hand on his cheek as he realizes what she's getting at here.
"Ha ha, very funny," He remarks, but does feel a shred of comfort at least. Even if it is at his expense.
Odd opens the door, Amy peeking in from behind. "Hey, get a move on, Jeremy. You're gonna be late for school again."
"I don't think our teacher would like the star student missing class," Amy snorts a bit, and she'd be shocked if Jeremy did end up missing a class. Though not entirely, for one obvious reason.
"Wow, is it that late already? Okay, I'll be right there, guys," Jeremy glances over his shoulder. "Anyhow, useless or not, I'm gonna try one more thing," He starts typing something, and they could see Aelita past his body.
"Okay, we get the picture. See you later," Odd says quickly as Amy waves from behind with a smile.
"We'll see you after class, Aelita!" She calls out before closing the door behind her.
In the mountain sector, Aelita is sitting on a platform all alone...seemingly. She hears some sort of static noise, and he she turns around, she screams in terror.
Meanwhile, before class starts, Yumi and Ulrich are pushing something underneath a red curtain. "This whatever it is of yours weighs at least a ton!" Ulrich complains as it is pretty heavy. Heavy enough for a two-person job that is. The item is for a cultural project in her class, where they have to present things from their heritage.
"It's not a whatever, it's been in my family for hundreds of years," She explains to him. However, unknown to them, Tamiya and Milly are sneaking up to them. They could sense something mysterious about it, and they couldn't resist. The two girls hide as the two teenagers push the item into Yumi's classroom. They peek behind the pillar.
"So when are you gonna unveil your thingamaob?" Ulrich wonders while sitting on the desk. Yumi closes the doors to the cabinet.
"At the very end of my report," She smiles at him. "You'll see, it's gonna be a smash hit, a real showstopper. Worth an A, I hope."
"Well, you sure wouldn't find a thing like that in my house. First of all, your whatcamacalit doesn't go with the drapes in the living room," He remarks as they start to leave.
"Whatcamacalit? Whatever, what I like most about you, Ulrich, is your rich vocabulary," Yumi comments in a teasing way as they walk out into the courtyard. Once they turn the corner, Milly and Tamiya come out of hiding.
"Don't look now, Tamiya, but I smell a big, juicy scoop!" Milly states as they peek into the classroom.
"So do I," They look at each other and once they're inside, Tamiya starts rolling the camera. Milly is standing in front of the closet. "Okay, rolling. Go ahead."
"Fellow middle-school students," Milly greets to the camera. "Hello, this is Milly and Tamiya of the seventh grade reporting the school news," She moves away to reveal the still-covered item. "You may not know it, but just behind your backs, something strange is hatching. And this, my friends, is a part of it, in our constant quest to be the first to report the latest news," She grips the sheet. "We are bringing you this exclusive expose of what's hidden under this drape," She removes the sheet to reveal samurai armor, however, Tamiya almost drops the camera, and it points to her feet instead. "Tamiya, listen, is there any reason for you filming your feet?" Milly crosses her arms in annoyance, but Tamiya doesn't response. "Hey, Tamiya!"
"I'm sorry, it...scares me a little," Tamiya answers while staring at it and the bell rings for students to get to class.
"Oh no, time for class already?" Milly closes the doors to the cabinet loosely, but they open a little. The two girls are unaware of this as they rush out of the classroom to get to their own class on time. Electricity sparks from the outlet, one of XANA's specters crawling into the armor and possessing it as it glows...
Jeremy lets out a yawn while they're in science class. He's sitting next to Ulrich while Amy and Odd are in front of them. "You know, Jeremy, most people use the right hours to sleep," Ulrich whispers to him, and thankfully class hasn't started yet. Otherwise Ms. Hertz might've caught on.
"I was trying a new program for materializing Aelita," He answers his friend. "With this last one I was trying, I almost succeeded. I was nearly there."
Odd turns around to them, Amy glancing back. "And what are you gonna say to her when you do succeed? You never knew how to talk to a girl!"
"With Aelita, it's not the same," Jeremy defends to him.
"Odd," Amy warns him with a small sigh, shaking her head. "Don't listen to him, he doesn't even know how to keep a girl around long enough," She waves it off.
"You're right, it's not the same," Odd jokes as the principal comes in. "...Hey!" He realizes what she said and the three snicker while he pouts at them. "Amy, not cool."
"Good morning, everyone," Principal Delmas speaks up. "Before the start of your first class this morning, I would like to introduce your new classmate. Come in, Taelia. I'm sure your fellow students are anxious to meet you," He gestures as the girl steps in.
"Okay, here's your chance. Imagine she's here in front of you right now in flesh and blood. What are you gonna say?" Odd suggests as he's not facing the front. Jeremy raises his eyebrows in shock.
"Oh wow...! Uhh..." He has no words as Amy turns around and flinches.
"Beep, sorry. Your time is up. You could do with a few pointers in flirting," Odd remarks as his eyes aren't looking at the girl still.
"Um, Odd. Look," Amy points upwards and Odd finally sees her. The girl...looks almost like Aelita!
"Oh wow, this is...I don't believe it!"
She smiles at all of her classmates.
After class, Jeremy looks across the courtyard as Taelia is reading a book by herself. "You're right, she sure does look like her, but if it really is her, she ought to be able to recognize us, don't you think?" Yumi points out as she, Odd, and Amy sit on the bench behind him.
"Not necessarily. She may have lost her memory when she was materialized," Jeremy suggests to her and Amy raises a brow.
"Would materialization even cause memory loss? Wouldn't that be something you found out earlier?" She asks him in confusion.
"No...well, I could've," Jeremy looks away in thought before shaking his head. "No, it's still possible even if I had known!"
"Well, talk to her. It's the only way you can find out," Odd tells his friend.
"But what if it's not her?" Jeremy questions in doubt, since while she looks like Aelita, it might not be her. It could be a total coincidence. Odd glances at Ulrich leaning against the tree. Ulrich walks up to Jeremy, Odd and Amy joining him.
"Go on," The three grab onto Jeremy.
"Hey, wait!" He protests as they drag him towards Taelia.
"Watch and expert at work and learn. Hi there, Ae-" Odd corrects himself as Taelia looks up at them. "I mean, Taelia, my friends and I were, uh, we thought you looked familiar like we'd seen you before."
She narrows her eyes after a few seconds. "Come on, that's the oldest pick-up line around," She goes back to her book, the others in shock. Then Amy busts out laughing, hugging her stomach.
"Huh? Hey, who said that I wanted to pick you up? I was just making conversation," Odd protests at the girl. Odd gives the brunette a slightly annoyed look. "Uh, by the way, do things like the virtual world or Krabs or buzzing monsters mean anything to you?"
She stands up after he asks the question. "Uh...well, yeah. It means that I'd better be moving along," She states, already weirded out.
"Hey, wait a minute!" Jeremy calls out to her. "Don't go! Where are you from? Do you have a family?"
"I'm not in the mood to talk," She dismisses and then leaves. Yumi walks up to her friends.
"Well?" She wonders curiously as to how it went.
"It's not her," Odd tells the girl, still annoyed by her reaction of him 'trying to pick her up.'
"He's only saying that because he just got the brush-off big time. Watch an expert and learn, huh?" Ulrich jokes as Amy stops laughing, wiping a tear away from her eye.
"Classic," She breathes out, low-fiving Ulrich.
"Anyway, if it is Aelita, it's for sure she's got amnesia," Ulrich states with his eyes closed.
"Wait a second, hold on. L-Let's say it's her, if it's really her for sure...then she can't still be on Lyoko!" Jeremy realizes as the bell rings.
"You can check it out later. Right now, we have a date with Mrs. Meyer," Ulrich reminds him.
"Wish me luck for my report, everybody!" Yumi smiles, but the boys just walk past her. She looks at the trio, annoyed. "Thanks for caring, guys."
"Good luck, Yumi. I think they're just too preoccupied with the whole Taelia thing," Amy pats Yumi's shoulder before following after her friends.
Mrs. Meyer writes down a formula on the chalkboard. "Now we have here a simple equation with two..."
"I have to check out Lyoko now," Jeremy says impatiently while looking at the new girl. "I can't wait any longer."
"Okay, we'll go together," Odd offers and then Jeremy raises a finger.
"Uh, Mrs. Meyer? Excuse me," He stands up and the math teacher turns around.
"Yes, what is it?"
"I'm sorry, but I need to go to the infirmary. I don't feel too well. I feel, uh, I feel really sick," He explains to her.
"Oh yes, of course, Jeremy. Go ahead," The teacher encourages him.
"Uh, I'll take him there," Odd raises his hand. "I mean, uh, you never know, huh?" Amy glances back at him and he winks. She rolls her eyes, turning back around in her seat.
Jeremy checks his computer in his room. "Okay, we're just about connected," He's logging into Lyoko.
"Jim's gonna catch us if you don't hurry up," Odd warns while standing behind him.
"Aelita? Do you read me? It's Jeremy, Aelita." However, there's no answer from her.
"She doesn't answer, but she might be in one of XANA's traps," Odd suggests while standing guard. "Like in a storm or snowbound, so you can't pick her up."
"What if the last calculations I tried were the right ones?" Jeremy rubs his chin in thought, even though last time the program did fail.
"You know, you could really use a good night's sleep," Odd turns around, hands on his hips.
"Odd, it's her," Jeremy places his hands on Odd's shoulders while staring at him seriously.
"And I say you're nuts!" Odd denies in disbelief.
"I'm positive, I did it, I did it! Taelia is Aelita!" Jeremy exclaims happily at what he's supposedly done.
Yumi is just about finished with her report, items from her house on the desk "Well, of course it's just a glimpse of my country's culture. To explain it all would take me hours, and I'm not sure you're ready to put up with me for that long, right?" Her classmates giggle at the joke. "To end my report, I'd like to show you something that's been in my family for centuries," She opens up the cabinet with a smile. "It's living symbol of Japan and it's a-" She opens her eyes, gasping in shock as she doesn't see the armor, just the curtain she used to cover it. "A drape?!" She then glances at the worn-out outlets nearby.
"XANA," She whispers in realization.
The moving armor walks into the dorms. "Hey, you!" Jim stops it as he approaches from behind. "What are you doing here, huh? What kind of costume is that?" The armor turns around and Jim gasps as he sees that no human is controlling it. "Hey, what's wrong with you, huh?" The armor pulls out a katana, running towards him. "Are you outta your head?" He murmurs as the armor raises the weapon and it glints.
"Maybe one of the kids took it," Ulrich suggests at lunch as Yumi's told them what happened during her report.
"Don't forget the electric plugs," Yumi insists to them, looking upset.
"Yeah. Look, if XANA is in on this, we better not count on Aelita," Odd picks up a Brussel sprout with his fork. "We can't reach her on Lyoko."
"Odd, we can't reach her on Lyoko cuz she isn't on Lyoko!" Jeremy says defensively, getting into Odd's face.
"Not this again," Amy murmurs while placing a hand on her temple. Odd, Yumi, and Jeremy all look at Taelia, who looks back up at them.
"Sorry, you guys, but I can't believe that that girl is Aelita," Yumi states in an honest manner. It's just too coincidental for her, and obviously it's too easy.
"Well, I know somebody who's dying to believe it," Ulrich glances to Jeremy in a teasing way, who looks sure of himself that it is Aelita.
"Even if it is true-"
"It is!" Jeremy interrupts Amy, who glances away.
"Yeah, sure. But didn't you say that the last test didn't work for her materialization? I don't think the computer would make a mistake like that. Or somehow later reboot the program to suddenly work without you doing it to materialize her. Your computer in your room doesn't connect to the scanners," Amy points out, the others nodding in agreement. "Plus, looking at her, she doesn't have the same hair color, eye shape, or nose."
Before Jeremy could argue, the principal comes in.
"Children, please give me your attention," He speaks up and everyone goes quiet. A police officer is standing behind him. "Several of your fellow students, as well as our own Jim, whom you all know and whom you respect, I know."
"Let's not go overboard, huh?" Odd gives a teasing grin.
"Their attacker was a person who, uh...well, a person who was wearing armor." As he's talking, Taelia is in the line, and Jeremy stares at her. "The armor of a samurai," Principal Delmas clears his throat, adjusting his glasses. "And this individual is still at large." Yumi narrows her eyes knowingly. More police officers arrive. "Any information you can contribute to the police would be more than welcome."
"We can't wait any longer," Yumi whispers urgently to the others.
"We have to go to Lyoko, find Aelita, and deactivate the tower," Ulrich adds in.
"When are you gonna get it into your thick heads that if the samurai is controlled by XANA, that he's after Taelia? It makes sense, doesn't it, huh?" He insists while picking up his tray and walking past them. "Because Taelia is Aelita!" He groans as he leaves his friends behind.
"Wow, he's really flipped his lid, huh?" Odd jokes to the three.
"Well, it's still pretty weird what's happened to Aelita. She's the only one who can deactivate the tower. She wouldn't just disappear without saying anything to us," Amy crosses her arms in thought, looking at her friends. "If we can't find her in time, the whole school is doomed. And what'll happen then?" She gives a worried look, as she's got a feeling that Aelita could be in trouble.
"Excuse me, miss," None of them noticed the police officer behind them, Odd and Amy gasping. She really hopes he didn't hear her say anything. "It seems that this armor belongs to you." Yumi glances between the police officers, stammering as she doesn't know what to say. And it doesn't seem like she's gonna explain this away easily either...
Taelia is unpacking when Jeremy bursts into the room. "Aelita! Listen to me. XANA has launched a new virus!" She narrows her eyes at him. "He's managed to take control of a samurai's armor! You're his sworn enemy, he's after you! You have no choice, you absolutely have to hide!"
"As a pickup line, that's a lot more original than the one your friend tried," She comments while crossing her arms.
"Aelita, please listen to me," He insists to her. "It's definitely the materialization that gave you amnesia. The shock made you lose your memory. But you have to trust me!" He grabs her shoulders and starts shaking her. "You have to, Aelita."
"Hey, get your hands off of me," She pushes him off her. "I don't trust anyone who's stark raving mad!" They hear a noise behind him and the samurai armor appears at the door. Taelia and Jeremy both gasp, the boy standing in front of her.
"No, XANA! You won't get her, I won't let you, you hear?!" The armor raises the sword and Jeremy pulls the girl out of the way. The armor slams down on the ground, the two sitting on the bed in shock. "Come on!" He jumps off first and they rush out of the room and down the hall. "Hurry, hurry!" The armor lifts up the sword, coming out of the room. "Faster, Taelia!" They continue running, the armor chasing after them. They run out to the corridors, going as fast as they can. Taelia glances behind them to see the armor still on their trail. They continue running and turn the corner. The girl stops and stares at the armor not slowing down. She yelps as Jeremy glances back to see her farther behind. They then enter the double doors that lead to the boiler room. The armor steps inside, turning to the dark corner. However, it doesn't see them and leaves the room.
"It's not true!" Yumi insists to the officer while sitting in the principal's office.
"Anyway, this samurai's armor does belong to you," The officer tells the girl.
"Well, yes, to my parents," She answers hesitantly since she definitely isn't the one behind all this. But it wasn't like she could say it's a computer virus to them either...
"And you have no idea who might have stolen it?" He continues questioning her.
Ulrich, Amy, and Odd are waiting for Yumi outside. The principal's office is guarded by police, so they couldn't go inside. "Look, we can't do anything here for Yumi, Ulrich," Odd speaks up while Ulrich gets onto his feet. "We have to tell Jeremy to meet us at the factory."
"He's right. The only way for this mess to be resolved is to deactivate the tower," Amy speaks up quietly so that the officers don't hear her. "By the looks of it, she's not getting released for a while, we're just wasting precious time. I know you care about her, but sitting here doing nothing isn't going to do anything," She crosses her arms.
Ulrich then dials Jeremy, since they haven't heard from him in a while. "Jeremy's voicemail is on," He glances back at them.
"He better not be doing something stupid with this whole Taelia thing," Amy narrows her eyes.
Unfortunately, Amy's suspicions are correct because he and Taelia are already inside of the factory. "Wow," She comments as they head for the elevator. "This place is weird."
"Follow me," He instructs and once they're inside the chamber, he presses the button. As they descend down, Jeremy looks down at his watch. Taelia stares at him in confusion while he inputs the code. The doors to the lab open soon after and he walks inside. Taelia looks around, not moving. "Come on." She eventually follows him and he sits in his chair. "That's Lyoko," He looks at the holomap of it. "The virtual world where you once lived. Doesn't that ring a bell at all?"
"...And this, um, XANA you talked about, does he also live in the same world?" Taelia wonders, but doesn't answer his question.
"Yes, he's got total control," He informs with a small frown.
"But if he's so dangerous, why don't you destroy Lyoko?" She questions, hands on her hips. He stares at her, baffled. Whether she's Aelita or not, amnesia or not, he has his doubts that she would ever suggest this.
"B-Because you're part of...it's...because you were part of this world," He stammers slowly to her, staring at the screen. Sure, destroying Lyoko is still an option, but...Lyoko is why he became friends with the others in the first place. And he has no idea what it could do to Aelita, long-term or short-term.
"You're totally crazy!" She insists to Jeremy. He sighs while placing a hand on his forehead. "This whole story is crazy! You know what I think? If all this stuff is so dangerous, it's time you destroyed it once and for all," She gestures to the holomap.
"Do you...do you really think so?" He wonders in hesitation and she nods firmly. His hands hover over the keyboard, narrowing his eyes. He's about to touch the keys when the elevator opens behind him.
"Jeremy, stop," Ulrich calls out, and he looks up to see Ulrich, Amy, and Odd entering the lab.
"Have you gone mad or what, Einstein? What if Aelita is still on Lyoko?" Odd stares at him in disbelief.
"But she isn't, I tell you! Look, she's there, she's right in front of you!" He points at Taelia, who could only watch.
"Jeremy, I know you've dreamt of seeing Aelita in reality for months, but please come down to Earth," Ulrich starts off seriously. "You can't be sure. And what if you were mistaken?"
"You mean you're ready to take the risk of destroying Aelita by destroying XANA, huh?" Odd points out while joining Jeremy's side.
"Aelita could still be there, Jeremy. And if you destroy Lyoko, you'll be taking her with it all because you believe that she's Taelia," Amy argues while crossing her arms before gesturing to Taelia. "And you shouldn't have even brought her here! What if it's a trick by XANA? You exposed our secret to a total stranger."
"Amy's right, we've got to make sure. You've got to let us go to Lyoko," Ulrich insists while staring at Jeremy.
"And if Aelita's not there, who's going to deactivate the tower?" Jeremy points out to them.
"We have to take the risk," Ulrich repeats, Taelia staring at them. She thinks that they're all just being crazy...
Odd, Amy, and Ulrich descend into the scanner room. They walk up to the scanners once the elevator opens. "The last time I saw Aelita, she was in the mountain area," Jeremy reports to the three. "Transfer Ulrich," Jeremy starts up the process. Ulrich steps into the scanner, turning around. "Transfer Odd," Odd walks in next. "Transfer Amy." Amy steps in and turns around. Jeremy presses enter and the doors close in on all three of them. "Scanner Ulrich. Scanner Odd. Scanner Amy." They're all scanned, spinning around slowly. "Virtualization," Their hair flies and they're virtualized into the mountain sector. Amy flaps her wings once she's virtualized, looking down as the boys land safely. "Can you see anything?"
"Yes, Jeremy. Mountains, lots of them," Ulrich informs while Amy has a birds-eye view.
"I'm not seeing anything either from up here..."
"I'm starting to scan to trace the tower that XANA activated," Jeremy explains and starts the scan. "You have to understand, Taelia, if you're not Aelita, then we've got to-" He freezes and looks around as the girl is no longer in the room with him. "Taelia?"
Taelia runs away from the factory, on her way to somewhere...
The boys run on different platforms, Amy above Ulrich. Odd jumps onto a smaller rock, then a medium one, and lands on the highest one. He then walks around the rock. "Boy oh boy, finding someone around here is gonna be harder than finding an idea in Jim's head!" He comes to a stop and suddenly gets a Future Flash, seeing Aelita floating in a guardian. He gasps and Ulrich lands behind him. Amy descends down from the sky, landing next to him. "Ulrich, Ames, I just saw Aelita!"
"Hm, where?" Ulrich wonders as Amy scopes around.
"I don't see anything," She shakes her head in confusion.
"In a kind of flash vision," Odd elaborates while staring up ahead.
"Aelita," Jeremy murmurs in worry.
Taelia is walking to the principal's office. Yumi is walking across from her as the police had just released her. Thankfully, they don't consider her a main suspect. The two girls glance at each other briefly as they walk past each other, and Yumi could see a fierce look in Taelia's eyes. Yumi turns around as she got the sense that Taelia's issue seems really important. And something about it just throws her off, as in she has a bad feeling about why Taelia wants to go see him. She then calls Jeremy a few seconds later.
"Oh, hi Yumi," Jeremy greets, looking up. "Well? Is everything okay?"
"Yes, they finished questioning me, but I just saw Taelia, and she looked like she was in a hurry to go and see the principal," She explains while walking into the courtyard.
"Oh, that can't be, this is awful!" Jeremy laments while placing a hand on her forehead. "Horrible! Yumi, I took Taelia to the factory!"
"You what?!" She exclaims in shock, her eyes widening. "She's gonna tell the cops everything! Be right there," She rushes off to head for the factory. Jeremy looks at the security cameras around the factory and in the sewers. No one's arrived there yet, but he's definitely keeping an eye out. He then gets a result of the scan, and sees that it's in the forest sector.
"Guys, the tower XANA has activated has been localized at 30 degrees north in...in the forest area," He tells the trio.
They stop on the edge of the platform. "Without Aelita, that's not gonna do us a lot of good," Ulrich explains as Odd walks to the other side. He looks down to see a path below them that leads to the guardian.
"Look there! That ball of fire. That's exactly what I saw before," He says as the two join him. "Aelita's inside it."
"You guys want me to fly you down-"
"Yaaaaaa!" Odd cries out while jumping off, interrupting Amy.
"I...guess not," She flies up as Ulrich holds up his hands. She grabs onto him to fly him down safely. Once he lands, they run across the pathway.
"Jeremy, we found her!" Jeremy sighs in relief to hear the news.
"That ball is what's blocking the communication with Aelita," Odd suggests, since she seems to be unconscious. And guardians aren't usually detectable by Jeremy's screens, which is why he didn't consider it.
"It's a guardian, the same monster that imprisoned Yumi," Ulrich informs him.
"Right, and Aelita saved her by convincing the monster he had the wrong prisoner," Odd recalls while they stare at it.
"But Aelita is the prisoner this time," Ulrich points out, Amy staring with a hand on her hip.
"If we can't get Aelita's help this time with the guardian, how are we gonna free her so we can get to the activated tower?" She glances at the both of them.
"The only solution is to use force," Ulrich pulls out his sword, using it to hit the guardian, but it has no effect.
Yumi opens the door to the boiler room and steps in. The door closes behind her and the lights flicker, getting her attention. She looks up and gasps, feeling a little uneasy. Especially since she hears this eerie noise...
"Is anyone there? I know you're there, show yourself!" She challenges while looking across the room.
Ulrich continues swinging his sword, but stops. Even if he made a scratch, he definitely can't see it, and the guardian hasn't reacted at all. He grunts in frustration, Odd aiming his paw at it. "Laser Arrow!" The arrow does nothing. Amy throws her spear, but it goes right through the guardian, landing on the other side. Thankfully it didn't hit Aelita. "Jeremy, nothing's working."
Amy looks at her hands and then the guardian. She holds out a hand, a sharp rock forming from it. More of them appear as they point at the guardian. "Stone Spears!" They fly through the guardian as if it was a ghost.
"It's like this machine's invisible," Ulrich speaks up.
"I can't even use my powers on this thing," Amy adds in.
"Oh, wow, XANA has—XANA must have designed a program," He then realizes something. "Right, it's a program. And if it's a program, I should be able to-"
"Hey, what are you mumbling about?" Ulrich interrupts his train of thought. "You've got an idea, I hope."
"Maybe, but give me a couple of minutes here," Is all he tells them.
"Okay, no problem, man. We've got all the time in the world," Odd replies sarcastically and Amy looks away in thought. "Hm? What is it, Ames?"
"That samurai is still out there, not to mention we haven't heard from Yumi," She points out to them. "I hope she's okay."
While Jeremy is at work, his eyes widen as he realizes that he hasn't gotten any recent calls from the girl.
The samurai comes out of hiding in front of Yumi. She gasps and backs away in alarm. While keeping her distance, the back of her foot hits a metal pipe. She quickly picks it up while the samurai advances towards her. She uses the pipe to defend herself against it.
Taelia is storming down the bridge to the factory, the police and Principal Delmas in tow. Jeremy looks at the cameras and sees them. "Already?" He asks in disbelief. "To think I blew our whole cover by talking to a perfect stranger! That means the samurai wasn't after Taelia at all, he was after us. Yumi!"
The samurai steps on Yumi's fallen phone, breaking it. She turns to the side and runs off. The samurai stares at her before Yumi stops and they continue fighting.
"Just a little more time," Jeremy murmurs while Taelia, the police, and principal are already outside the elevator.
"Hey, how about that idea of yours?" Ulrich asks just as the program finishes up.
"It's ready! Here goes," He taps enter and a hologram of Aelita appears in front of the guardian.
"Making a clone of Aelita? Well, personally, I'm a bit skeptical, Jeremy," Odd states while staring at it.
"Patience, Odd," Jeremy retorts back to him.
"If it worked with Yumi, it'll work with Aelita," Amy places a hand on Odd's shoulder as they watch. And it does, as the guardian swallows up the hologram. It shakes before exploding, the three bracing themselves from the bright light.
"A decoy. Jeremy, you're the greatest," Ulrich comments as they look down at Aelita.
"Get Aelita to a tower. She's got to regenerate herself," Jeremy tells the trio.
Yumi runs into a locker room, closing the door behind her. She runs off to hide behind a row, waiting as the samurai armor opens the door.
Aelita opens her eyes while she heals. "Everything's okay," Jeremy smiles in relief. "Aelita's got her life points back again!"
"You found me at last," Aelita sits up, rubbing her head. "What about the guardian?"
"You mean that big fat fire bubble? Ha, he won't bother you anymore!" Odd assures the pink-haired girl. They walk over to the edge, Amy on the opposite side. They spread out their arms. "We're off, Jeremy. Destination, the forest." The four let themselves fall, passing through the data bits. They land on a pad a few minutes later.
Yumi could feel her heart beating in fear as she clutches the pipe. She's in a locker room as she sweats a little, glancing behind her. She yelps, ducking as the sword nearly misses her. She then ducks again, jumping onto the bench behind her. She backs away, silently hoping her friends are making good progress.
The four step out of the tower and into the forest sector. "Jeremy, we're here," Ulrich tells him.
"How are things out there for you?" Amy wonders while looking around. There's no monsters...yet.
"Look guys, you better hurry. I can't reach Yumi. I'm afraid she's having problems with the samurai," Jeremy voices in concern as he's tried her multiple times, and hasn't gotten anything in a while.
"There's no time to lose. Let's go," Ulrich points forward and they start to run.
"While you're at it, you got any other good news?" Odd calls out.
"Oh yeah, plenty. Taelia saw me punch in the access code to the lab," Jeremy looks at camera footage of her with the principal and some police. They're standing inside of the elevator. "And the principal and the police are here now," He then looks to his left at his screen. "And um, XANA's monsters are around. Three Bloks. Watch out for their laser gel guns or it's game over." The three Bloks appear just as they pass some trees. Odd stops and turns around in alarm. They advance as he wiggles his tail.
"Hey, Bloks! Cool, my favorite monsters." The others continue running, leaving him to deal with the Bloks. "Laser arrow!" His arrow hits the ground, causing him to miss. They fire their ice lasers and Odd jumps, dodging them. One of the lasers hits the trees and Odd runs past them to follow his friends.
The elevator doors open and Jeremy turns around. He sees that his time has run up as Taelia, the principal, and the police have arrived. "There!" Taelia points to the holomap. "It was this computer right here. There was this XANA thing. I don't know how, but it seems he wants to destroy the planet!"
"Jeremy, I think you owe us an explanation," Principal Delmas demands from him.
"Odd, Amy, take care of Aelita. I'll stay here and cover you, alone. Well, almost there," Ulrich orders the two.
"Aww yes, Ames and Odd for the win!" Odd exclaims while they continue running and she groans a little.
"Do you have to say that every single time we're paired up on Lyoko?" She couldn't help but wonder.
"Yup!" He winks at her and they follow Aelita while Ulrich stops running. He turns around and zips around the Blok in a triangle shape.
"Triangulate!" Two other Ulrichs appear at the corners and the Blok looks around in confusion. It tries to figure out which Ulrich is the real one. He hits one and the clone is devirtualized. He hits the other, but this gives the real Ulrich enough time to jump on top of the monster. He raises his sword near his forehead. "Impact!" He stabs the eye and jumps off, the Blok exploding behind him. The second Blok approaches, its ice laser ready. Unfortunately, Ulrich doesn't see it, and therefore is hit from behind. He devirtualizes almost immediately afterwards, and the scanner opens up with him inside of it.
The remaining three stop in front of the activated tower. "Your turn, princess."
"I just hope Ulrich and Jeremy are okay. We haven't heard from them and it's giving me a bad feeling," Amy puts her hands on her hips and Aelita nods at them. She closes her eyes and walks forward. Neither Amy or Odd notice the Bloks approaching them, since they don't know what happened to Ulrich.
"Come along now," Principal Delmas orders Jeremy.
"I'm sorry sir, but...my friends are in danger and I can't abandon them," He denies and sees the police coming for him. "Ah, no, don't, stop! You can't do this, let me go!" Taelia just watches the display, as she thinks she did a good thing by telling them.
Yumi runs into the gym and turns around, the armor opening the door. She rushes off across the room, panting.
Aelita looks at the tower as the Bloks stand right behind her, ready to fire. "Oh no! Ulrich must've been devirtualized by them," Amy whispers in realization.
"You always pick the wrong time, huh?" Odd mutters and the Bloks ready their blue lasers. Odd points his first while Amy pulls out her spear. The Bloks turn around and fire at the two. They jump out of the way, ice covering the spot where they were standing. They attack again, the two flipping out of the way. "Now!" Odd fires at the same time Amy throws her spear, both of them moving at the same time. The two both destroy them, watching as Aelita enters the tower. "We did it again, Ames."
"We did, didn't we?" She smiles, hands on her hips. "Now we just gotta hope it's not too late for the others..."
Yumi pants as the armor flies above her head. She's about to reach the door when the armor lands in front of her. She gasps, backing away and readying her weapon.
Aelita makes her way to the pad.
The armor disarms Yumi and she backs away to the rock climbing wall. She sweats as the armor advances towards her.
Aelita presses her hand to the interface as it appears.
Aelita
Yumi gasps as the armor raises the sword above its head. She then screams in horror, eyes wide open.
Code
"Oh no!" She shouts as the sword is lowered towards her.
Lyoko
Yumi braces herself and then hears something. She looks up as the armor powers down, the sword right above her head. The tower deactivates and the time reversion is set.
"Return to the past now!" Jeremy shouts as he's being dragged away from the police. White engulfs everything like always.
Time is reset to that morning, right before they see Taelia. She then walks in a few seconds later. "And this is Taelia, your new classmate. I'm sure your fellow students are anxious to meet you." The students all greet her.
"I heard Sissi say that the new girl was an orphan. That's why she didn't wanna talk about her family," Ulrich whispers to his friends.
"Well, anyway, if you look closely, you can see their eyes aren't the same," Jeremy shakes his head in denial. "The nose is different, and so is the hair. They're not similar at all. How could you have possibly thought she was Aelita?" He explains, Amy gasping in disbelief. She said those exact same genetics last time!
"Did you just say that we thought-"
"Sure did," Odd interrupts him from behind.
"Are you serious right now?" Amy narrows her eyes a bit.
"You'd have to be blind to think that," Jeremy glances at Taelia.
"Hmph," Amy crosses her arms. "Says the one who showed her the lab and almost got our secret exposed."
"Okay, yes, I admit that it was dumb," Jeremy looks at them apologetically. "But I know better this time, I swear."
"Well, it's like they say. Love makes you dumb," Ulrich remarks and Jeremy rubs his neck sheepishly.
Yumi is giving her report again in her class. "And now, to finish my report, I'd like to show you something that's been in my family for centuries. It's a living symbol of Japan," She opens up the cabinet. "Here." Her classmates comment in awe, and this time, the armor is shackled for the utmost security. After almost getting hit by a sword, she wasn't taking any chances by XANA this time!