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 FP7ETDP43
!~~~J~E~R~L~I~T~A~~R~O~L~E~S~W~A~P~~A~U~~~!
"As Aelita continues to work on the multi-agent system, Jérémie has a premonition of his parents being killed by XANA."
Episode 67: Sacrifices
(Based on Fight to the Finish)
Jérémie found himself wandering aimlessly down a white hallway. It seemed to have no end in sight, and he briefly wondered where this led to. He found himself, surprisingly, not caring. Instead, he was...strangely happy.
He didn't know where he was going, but he was content.
"Mon chéri..."
Finding the female voice familiar, he immediately halted in his tracks and whirled his head around, searching for who had spoken. His eyes immediately found and settled on his parents. Both of them were standing a few meters away from him.
A smile came to his face, "Papa, Maman..." He was glad to see them, and relieved to know they were still alright. Once XANA was defeated, then he and Aelita had all the time in the world to bring his parents back to Earth.
But his smile faded, as he noticed that his father's own smile was sad and forced.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
His mother just turned her head away so her son wouldn't see the tears falling from her eyes.
It was his father who replied, "Farewell..."
Wait, what? Why were they saying 'goodbye'? There was still hope, for them and for humanity! Why were they giving up now?! He couldn't...he couldn't lose them! Not now!
Jérémie took off running towards them. "Wait!" He extended a hand out for them—either of them—to take.
But black shadows suddenly emerged from the darkness behind him and began engulfing him. They were holding him back, and no matter what he did, he couldn't gather the needed strength to escape.
To add insult to injury, his parents just watched this happen, before turning around and leaving without another word.
"NO!" he cried, both in vocal tone and in physical tears, as he struggled helplessly against his restraints. "Don't! Please! Please don't leave me! Not yet!" He wasn't ready!
But his parents' figures just faded into the darkness, never to be seen again.
"NO!" Jérémie's dismayed scream nearly tore his throat apart as he woke up in a cold sweat.
"Jérémie." He glanced up right into Aelita's concerned eyes. "Are you okay?"
That's right. Looking around, he remembered that he and Aelita had pulled an all-nighter last night to work on the multi-agent program. He was currently in her room, on her bed, with no plaid overshirt or shoes, or glasses. He didn't realize he had fallen asleep until he had woken up just now. He didn't mean to, but apparently, he was more exhausted than he thought.
Calming down now, his breathing evening out, he rubbed his forehead.
"Jérémie?" Aelita asked again, worried due to the lack of response from him.
He swallowed a thick lump in his throat. "I'm fine." He felt like crying, but not the type of cry after a nightmare or remembering his past life as Périn.
But rather the cry one had after losing everything.
Why? His parents were still alive. Right? ...Right?!
"Nightmare?" she asked. He never meant to worry her, but right now, his emotions couldn't care less.
"Yeah." At least, he hoped so. It felt a tad too real... He grabbed his glasses from the bedside table and slipped them back on, "Sorry I fell asleep." They were supposed to be working on the multi-agent program together.
Aelita sent him a reassuring smile, "It's alright. I let you sleep, because it looked like you really needed the rest."
He shot her a playful glare, "You're one to talk." He glanced over at the clock, which read 7:08 AM, eight minutes after the pink-ette's alarm normally went off (she must've turned off the alarm; he didn't hear it). He looked back at her and confirmed that she was still in her casual clothes, typing away at her computer. "How come you weren't asleep?"
"Because I can't," was her response.
He barely managed a sigh, as he frowned. "Aelita, you haven't slept a wink since last Thursday night." Today was the following Wednesday, almost a week later. "You've gotta get some rest."
"I told you I can't," she repeated, before turning to him with a smile. "Besides, I haven't got the time! I've almost finished the multi-agent program!"
He blinked in surprise, "Already?"
"Yeah!" she replied, excited. "Soon, we'll be able to attack Replikas simultaneously and wipe out XANA for good!"
"And you're ready to die of exhaustion for that?" he raised an eyebrow at her.
"If that's what it takes." She turned back to her computer and resumed her typing. Sensing her determination, he chose to let it go.
Instead, he decided to change the subject. "Um, have my parents responded yet?" he asked, as he slipped his shoes back on.
She had told him—after he spent all day yesterday with Patrick, Uncle Arthur, and Aunt Éloïse—about her sending a message to his parents in hopes that they would help them. He had easily agreed. Given how they had lost the Skid, and that they needed it to access the Volcano Replika, and how they couldn't afford to give so much time to XANA while building a new ship, they didn't have a choice.
"Not yet," Aelita briefly glanced back at him, watching him slip his plaid overshirt back on. "But I'll let you know the moment they do, I promise."
He finally let slip a smile, albeit a small one. "I know you will." He stretched, "Well, I'm heading down to breakfast. You want me to bring something back for you?"
"A hot chocolate and a croissant?" she asked, wearing a hopeful smile.
"Okay. Though I can't guarantee good quality."
She giggled as he left her room, closing her door behind him.
Once she left, however, her smile faded into a concerned frown. He never said what his nightmare was about, nor would she ever push him to tell her, but this one had clearly scared him more than any other nightmare he's had before.
She had a gut feeling that whatever he saw would return later to bite them all...
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
William was deep in thought as he made his way down to breakfast. The night before last was a game changer for him.
All this time, he'd just been along for the ride, helping however, whenever, and wherever he could. After all, that's what he was recruited for: to help the Lyokowarriors fight XANA. Though, he did feel guilty that the specialized Clone's William mask was the most powerful as well as XANA's personal favorite. Thank goodness it was gone now, thanks to Sissi.
But Monday night—their mission to the Volcano Replika—had shaken him up.
First, Odd's Future Flash. William was not expecting the cat to just freeze up the way he did. He had been told about Odd's power being uncontrollable, but when the blonde descended into a panic attack due to what he saw, the knight began to understand just how scary it all was for his friend to deal with.
Then, Yumi brought up what they would do once the fight was over. William honestly didn't know what was on his list. He hadn't really thought about it. What did he want to defeat XANA for? What did he have in his life to look forward to?
Finally, the revelation that in order to destroy XANA for good, they needed to insert the completed multi-agent program into the Volcano Replika's central tower. Good, that sounded like a solid plan they could all get behind.
Or it would be if the Skid—the only way they could travel to Replikas—wasn't destroyed during the same mission.
And now the only thing they could do was wait for either Jérémie's parents to respond to their call for help, or build a new Skid. Whichever came first.
The only good thing that happened was that Sissi had destroyed the specialized Clone, and Jérémie was now privy to her membership. But there was a downside to that as well, because XANA was aware of the same information.
It was such a mess...
"William?" a familiar female voice cut through his thoughts.
He was brought out of his reverie and came face-to-face with a concerned Laura. "Oh, hey, Laura."
"Hey," she greeted back with a light smile. "You okay?"
At that moment, he knew what he had to look forward to. Lately, he's felt the most alive whenever he was showing Laura something she had never experienced before. That was because he found himself looking at that thing through her eyes. He really enjoyed what they had together, and he didn't want it to end.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he shot her a genuine smile. "Um, I know social outings aren't your thing, but...would you be my date to next week's Winter Formal?"
That was its official name, but it was really the belated Valentine's Day dance, due it taking place on the 16 February.
She immediately beamed, "I would love to. After all, that's how our relationship started. Last year's end-of-year dance."
True.
Her smile faded back into a worried frown, "Are you sure you're okay? You seem troubled by something."
He was, and he was trying to hide it. Leave it to Laura Gauthier to be perceptive like that. But he never answered her question.
Instead, he replied with, "I love you."
She blinked in surprise, "W-What?"
"I love you," he repeated. "And that's no joke. I'm really glad to have you in my life."
The final fight with XANA was on the horizon—he could feel it—and part of him feared the strong chance of dying. He wanted to have something he could look forward to, something to fight for, and Laura was that thing, that person.
A blush dotting her cheeks, she softly smiled before kissing his cheek. "I love you, too," she shyly replied. "I, um, I have to go now. See you later."
She waved goodbye as she left in the direction of the library, as he returned the gesture while backing up towards the cafeteria.
Despite his blush, he felt a lot better. Now, he was ready to take on XANA.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
The Lyokowarriors, sans Aelita, sat at their chosen table, munching down their breakfast. Not many of them were hungry today, though. The recent twist of events—specifically the Skid being destroyed on the verge of victory—was weighing heavily on their minds.
Ulrich took a bite of his croissant and immediately spat it out in disgust, "Ugh! What did they put in the croissants today? Dirt?!"
Odd reached over and snatched the baked good from his roommate's hand, "I'll take 'em off your hands." While chewing on that one, he picked up the other two croissants from Ulrich's tray and placed them on his own.
Ulrich was watching the blonde in disbelief, "How can you eat those things?"
Said purple-loving boy just shrugged, "I'm hungry."
Sissi noticed that Jérémie wasn't paying attention to their conversation. Instead, he was gazing out the window. Worried, she gently kicked his shin, making him turn back to the group. "What are you thinking about so hard?"
An equally concerned Yumi promptly added, "Are you worried about Aelita?"
"Yes, but..." Jérémie's gaze lowered from bewildered into preoccupied again, "that's not all..." Ulrich, Odd, and William all joined in on the girls' concern as the blonde turned back to the window. "I've got a funny feeling...that this whole mess is gonna have a bad ending..."
Sitting beside him, William placed what he hoped was a comforting had on Jérémie's shoulder. "Hey, don't worry, Jer. We're gonna get rid of XANA."
Odd grinned, revealing bits of croissant stuck in his teeth, "That's for sure! It's no match for the one and only Odd the Magnificent!"
His laughter was cut off by Sissi's amused quip, "Yeah, I'm sure XANA's worst fear is all those crumbs in your teeth."
Odd immediately stopped laughing, and closed and covered his mouth, embarrassed, as the others laughed.
Jérémie's, however, was subdued...
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Aelita wasn't even bothering to sneak any glances at her clock, on her bedside table or on her computer screen. She was hard at work, trying to find the last puzzle piece to the multi-agent program. What was it missing...?
A chat window opened up out of nowhere, causing her to stop typing.
"Huh?" she leaned closer to catch the user ID of the person who was contacting her.
Or rather, people. It was Michel and Sophie Périn, and the message she had sent them the day before was showing above their own.
"Unbelievable!" a smile inched its way onto her face. "They actually replied!"
She quickly grabbed her phone.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Jérémie was brought out of his reverie by his phone, in his pocket, ringing. He quickly answered it, already knowing who it was without having to look at the caller ID. "Yes, Aelita?"
"I got a reply." He was right; it was the pink-ette.
But what she said caught his attention. "What?"
"Yep. Your parents answered our cry for help." He heard a door close on her end, so he assumed she was leaving her room. "They want to meet us at the factory in fifteen minutes." He figured.
"But..." he paused, narrowing his eyes, "how do you know it's not a fake message? Sounds like a XANA tactic." The AI had impersonated his parents more than once before, and it had proved to be a very effective strategy.
"I know," Aelita replied, sounding like she was making her way down some stairs, "but it came just when I realized that I was missing some vital codes for the program. That's no coincidence."
"That is weird," he agreed, unable to deny the strangeness of their timing. "You must be right."
"Better hurry," the pink-ette urged. "They asked for all seven of us."
"We'll be right there," he reassured her, before hanging up. He turned to his friends, all five of whom were looking at him expectantly. "My parents just responded to Aelita's message, and it sounds important."
Their eyes widened in alarm.
"Let's go," Ulrich responded, before standing up, his tray in hand.
The others quickly followed his example.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Hervé was in the park, sitting with his back against a tree. In his lap was his notebook, open to an otherwise blank page save for the words 'Dear Jérémie, I'm sorry...'. He was trying to come up with ways to word his apology, but he was coming up blank. He had so many things to apologize for, and he wasn't sure where to start.
Out of nowhere, he saw a familiar pink head of hair run by.
"Aelita?" He glanced up. He needed to apologize to her too. So he got to his feet, "Aelita, hold on! I need to talk to you!"
He ran after her, but when he reached a clearing, with a manhole cover in the center, she was nowhere in sight.
What? She had gone this way; he wasn't mistaken about that. So where could she have gone? She couldn't have just disappeared like that!
Ulrich suddenly ran up and slid to a halt in front of him. Jérémie, Sissi, Odd, William, and Yumi quickly joined him. All of them were looking at Hervé in surprise.
"Oh hey, guys," the nerd in green greeted. "Looking for Aelita? Me too, but she just vanished."
"What are you doing here?" Sissi asked him, acting casual, but with a hint of being on the defensive for some reason.
"Hey, unless I'm mistaken, the park is open to anybody," he defended himself, holding his hands up in surrender for good measure. "I was just working on something, and I needed to be alone for it. What about you guys? You six look like you're in a hurry."
"Well, uh..." Ulrich stammered, trying to find a good answer.
"We're, uh...on our way to, um...to water polo!" Yumi cut in nervously.
Hervé's eyes lowered in suspicion. He was trying not to pry into their business, but it was hard. They were obviously hiding something.
"Right!" William also forced a smile. "So we've gotta go to, uh...the gym!" He laughed nervously, "Right, guys?"
The other five all nodded, "Mm-hmm!"
Hervé just crossed his arms, sighing, "Guys, I'm not an idiot. What are you doing here? If it's a secret, then I understand, but you guys are acting weird." He really did. He didn't want people to know about the apology letter he was writing to Jérémie; broadcasting it to the world would produce the opposite effect that he wanted.
"You said it! It is a secret!" Odd replied, as the other five ran off. "Y'know, Hervé, you'd look really great without the acne! I bet you'll grow up to be a handsome lad! See ya' later!"
With a wave, Odd ran off too, leaving Hervé to raise an eyebrow in surprise at the compliment.
He then shrugged, resigning to leave his curiosity behind as he hunted for another private place now that the park had been compromised.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
The six arrived in the boiler room in the gym, with Ulrich leading the way. He pulled at the handle to the door leading to the sewers, but it didn't budge.
"Frick!" he almost cursed. "The door's locked!"
William stepped in and tried to force the door open, but it didn't open for him either.
"That's the first time this has happened," Odd commented. "Talk about a bad sign..."
"We can still go off campus," Jérémie reminded them, as Ulrich and William both gave up on the doorknob.
"But that's the long way around," Yumi frowned.
Jérémie's phone rang again, and he answered, "Yes?"
"Jérémie, come on!" It was Aelita, and she was hiding her worry behind a wall of annoyance. "What the heck are you guys waiting for?"
"We're sorry, Aelita," he replied. "Unexpected obstacle. We're coming." He then hung up.
Sissi responded to Yumi's earlier comment, "Looks like we have no choice."
Ulrich sighed, "Right. Let's go!"
He then led the group out of the gym. He pushed open the double doors, only to stop abruptly.
Hervé was sitting there against the wall, his notebook in his lap as he clicked his pen on and off while deep in thought. However, he glanced up when he heard the doors open.
And he sighed in exasperation, "We've got to stop meeting like this. I just want to be alone." He turned back to his notebook, "So, how's your practice going? You run out of water in the gym or something?"
"Hervé, why do you always have to–" Ulrich began.
But said nerd cut him off with a warning, "If you guys are trying to limit my curiosity as to what you're up to, then it's not working. Just leave, before I get too suspicious."
Sissi nodded at the others. They nodded back and ran off, back to the park, as she stepped up and knelt in front of him, "What are you working on?"
His voice went quiet, "An apology letter."
"To who?" she asked.
He didn't respond to her verbally, only moving his hand so that she could read the name—Jérémie.
He saw her eyes immediately become filled with understanding. "Oh. Are you stuck?"
"Yeah. I don't know where to start."
"I know how you feel," she softly confessed. "I felt like I had to write out apology letters to Ulrich and his friends after he and I had that talk. I was a jerk to all of them because I was jealous that he was growing up without me. But he reassured me that we'd always be friends, even if we grew up in different directions. I didn't know where to start either, but Papa advised me to start at the beginning."
"The beginning..." he muttered.
She nodded, "Mm-hmm. It's the best place to start, even if the story is long."
He found himself smiling, "Thanks, Sissi."
"You're welcome," she replied, as she stood up. "Good luck. And you know, Odd's right. You'll grow up to be real handsome."
She waved as she ran off, leaving him smiling.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Aelita turned to the lift the moment the doors began to open. "I was beginning to wonder if you guys would ever get here," she sarcastically greeted them. "What kept you?"
"Sorry," Odd replied, as the six all joined the pink-ette at the monitor. "We kept running into Hervé."
Seeing Aelita's eyebrow raising in curiosity, Sissi quickly stepped in, "It was a coincidence. He wanted to be alone and his hiding places just so happened to be near the secret passages."
"Let's worry about how sincere he is later," Jérémie said, before turning to the screens. "So, what's all this about my parents?"
"Michel and Sophie sent me some interesting instructions and coordinates," Aelita explained. "The way they worded it seemed to indicate that they're preparing something in the Desert Sector—something really critical."
"'Critical'?" Jérémie leaned in closer to her, curiosity filling his entire being. "'Critical' how?"
"I wish I knew," the pink-ette bridged whatever gap was left. "But if they sent me that response the moment I hit a snag in the program, then I highly doubt it's only to say 'hello'." Meaning they likely had that necessary data needed to finish said program.
"They're gonna need some escorts to protect them from XANA's monsters," Ulrich spoke up.
"That's right," Aelita swiftly agreed. Despite their admin controls, Michel and Sophie had no weapons or any way to defend themselves. "William, Sissi, you two stay here in the lab with me."
Sissi's shoulders sank in disappointment. "Aw, really?"
"Sorry, but in this situation, it's unwise to send everyone in all at once," the pink-ette explained with an apologetic smile. "I'm not benching you two, I promise. You're just insurance."
The black-haired girl in pink perked up, "Okay. I can live with that." William, beside her, nodded in agreement.
Aelita turned to the others, "Everyone else, down to the scanner room."
Jérémie was understandably the first one in the lift.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
The lift doors opened and Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi all ran towards the scanners. They were eager and ready to go; hope had been restored just from the simple news that Jérémie's parents had answered their 'S.O.S.'.
Jérémie made a move to follow them, only for his mind to be filled with shadows.
Shadows wrapping around his torso, his arms, his legs, as he struggled in vain to keep his parents with him, to keep them from walking away...
Why?! Why were they ignoring him?!
Why did he feel like he'd never see them again...?
"Jérémie!" Yumi's voice snapped him out of his reverie.
He was back in the scanner room, and she, Ulrich, and Odd had stopped, having noticed his disturbed stare.
"Jérémie, you alright?" Ulrich asked, slowly approaching him as if the blonde was an injured animal.
"N-No..." he whimpered. He was breathing heavily, as his lungs were trying desperately to keep the air flowing.
The brunette slung an arm around his shoulder, "It's gonna be okay."
"I know..." he quietly whispered. That was a lie, actually: he didn't know. Rather, he was hoping that it would all be okay.
"You know we'll do everything in our power to protect your parents," Yumi gently reassured him.
Jérémie nodded, as Odd added, "You might even get to see your parents!"
The nerd in blue perked up. That's right; he might get to see them, and in that case, he would be able to spend time with them. Whether his nightmare would become real or not, he had to enjoy his time with his parents now, no matter how long it lasted.
"And Ulrich can ask them for some tips on how to get better grades in computer class," Odd added a joke.
Ulrich frowned, and Yumi smiled.
"Everyone okay?" Aelita asked over the comm. Jérémie felt a twinge of guilt when hearing the concern in her voice.
"Yeah, we're fine," he quickly replied. "Let's go."
"Good," she said. "Now, all aboard for the Desert Sector." Yumi, Ulich and Odd entered the scanners first. "Please keep your hands and feet inside the scanner at all times." The doors closed.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
"Virtualization!"
Jérémie's avatar formed in the sky before dropping down in front of Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd.
"According to the message," Aelita told them, "your rendezvous coordinates should correspond to a cave dead ahead of you."
Not far in the distance, a large cave rested on the horizon, surrounded on all sides by various sized sand dunes.
"How come you're always right, cuz?" Odd asked, slightly amused.
"Here we go!" Yumi announced, as she ran forward. The other three quickly followed.
"Hopefully XANA's taking the day off..." they heard Aelita mutter to herself.
The four approached the cave, stopping when they reached it. From their vantage point, they could see the entrance lead to a short winding walkway to whatever space was inside.
"We're here, Aelita," Ulrich said.
"Good," the pink-ette replied. "This is definitely the place. I'm picking up an intense activity inside the cave." A pause. "Yep, I was right. It's them. They want to see you, Jérémie."
Said blonde softly smiled. That's what he was hoping for. His nightmare was really bothering him.
"What are we waiting for?" Odd was practically bouncing on his feet. "Let's go!" And he stepped forward alongside Jérémie.
Before the elf could react, the cat was held back by the samurai and the geisha, both grasping his shoulders.
"Hey, what gives?" Odd asked, confused.
"We're sure Jérémie would like a minute alone with his parents," Yumi explained, nodding her head over at the elf.
Odd glanced over at Jérémie and immediately caught the apprehensive look on his friend's face. It was the expression your friend wore when they wanted to be alone with their crush (or parents, in this case).
Seeing this, the cat eased up, "Oh, right. Sorry. I understand." If he were in Jérémie's shoes, he'd likely feel the same way.
"It's okay," the elf shot him a forced smile. "Don't worry. If anything goes wrong, you guys will be right outside."
"Go on," Ulrich nodded at the cave.
"Thank you," Jérémie replied, his voice almost at a whisper, before he entered the cave. "Papa? Maman?" he asked, as he walked down the winding path. "Are you there?"
He followed the path a few meters before emerging into a space. The cave was surrounding an oasis, a proper one rather than the water being a surface layer. On the other side of the water was an inactive tower.
Michel and Sophie Périn—the green and purple light spheres, respectively—were both floating above the water, their shared light illuminating the place. Once they saw him, they both floated over to him.
And Jérémie's anxiety immediately eased up. They were here; they were okay.
Hopefully, it would stay that way...
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
William and Sissi remained alert at Aelita's sides, all three of them watching the screen. Michel and Sophie were represented on the holomap by two white circles, though connected to one ID card. Both of them were hovering close to their son's yellow arrow.
"So they're the ones who possessed me?" Sissi asked, referring to Jérémie's parents.
Aelita had almost forgotten that it was Sissi who Michel and Sophie had taken over in order to deliver their message to the group. Almost.
"Yep."
"And this isn't a trap?" William asked.
"Nope." The pink-ette pointed to the two white circles on the holomap. "XANA could never imitate those readings." She had seen them before, twice. And both times, they were saving their son. "But that doesn't mean that XANA won't retaliate."
As if on cue, an alarm began to sound. On the screen, a window opened, showing a map of the Core Chamber. Red monster icons were surrounding the room.
"Speak of the devil..." she muttered.
"The Core's in danger, right?" William asked.
Bad memories immediately resurfaced in his mind. The last time the Core was in danger, he was captured by the Scyphozoa and subsequently possessed by XANA. The AI then proceeded to use him to take out all of the Core's shields. Although he was devirtualized by Jérémie just in time, XANA still won.
"Yes," Aelita replied, rapidly typing in commands. "And its intention is definitely to throw us off course. William, Sissi—you guys are up. Get down to the scanner room."
"But what if XANA activates a tower and attacks you?" Sissi asked, worried, as William ran towards the side ladder.
The pink-ette shot her a smile, "Don't worry. I can defend myself. Just focus on protecting the Core."
Sissi, reluctantly, nodded, "Okay," before climbing down the ladder.
William was already inside a scanner, ready to go with a determined look on his face. She quickly claimed an open scanner.
"You guys ready?"
"Do your stuff, 'Lita," William replied.
"Transfer William." His scanner doors closed. "Transfer Sissi." As did hers, over his nervous scanners warmed up, loading up their respective avatars. "Scanner William, scanner Sissi! Virtualization!" A burst of wind depixelized their bodies.
Their avatars formed in the sky of Sector Five's Arena, and the duo landed in the center back-to-back.
"I've already called up the Overwing and Overboard," Aelita told them. "They'll be standing by for you in the Celestial Dome. There is no countdown to worry about. Just hurry!"
The wall opened up in front of them.
"Got it!" William said, before taking off running. Sissi followed him.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Right as Aelita watched their green arrows move through the Core Zone, the superscan window opened. It was an activated tower—a red halo—in Sector Five, too far away and too hidden for Jérémie to take care of quickly. Fantastic...
"Ugh! Great," she muttered. "Alright, XANA, I'll bite. What do you have up your sleeve this time?"
The AI's response was the scanners' status window opening, showing one in use. It was sending something to Earth.
Before she could move, or even speak to warn the others, a dark figure suddenly leapt up from the trap door down to the scanner room. She jumped out of her chair, ready to fight, as the figure stood up.
It was XANA's new body, the volcanic one. It had been materialized, probably what XANA's always wanted to do. And now that it had lost the specialized Clone, it had to do this itself.
She took one step back, and XANA lunged at her. It was fast, but the pain she thought she'd experience from its attack was small and very brief, before her world went black.
XANA, once it saw that the pink-haired girl was out, typed in the commands for the self-virtualization program. After it pressed 'enter', it slung Aelita over its shoulder, jumped down the trap door into the scanner room, and placed her inside one of the scanners. It waited until the doors closed, the machine heating up, before the system whirled down—the indication that the virtualization was successful.
It smiled. All seven pests were on Lyoko now. It drew its sword and aimed at the scanner cables...
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Jérémie stood in the oasis cave with his parents, unaware of what just happened. "Aelita, my parents are about to send you some data to complete the program."
No response.
Worried, he asked, "Aelita?"
Still no answer.
The ground suddenly shook, startling the boy and throwing him off balance. A shard of rock fell from the ceiling and dropped into the pool in front of him. He watched the splash for a moment, before the ground quaked again, causing larger chunks of rock to fall.
"Come on!" he called out to his parents. "We can't stay here!"
He ran for the exit, and his parents weaved around the falling chunks of rock to follow him.
Jérémie ran out of the cave, his parents right behind him, and gasped at the sight that greeted them:
On his right, Odd was playing chicken with a Manta. On his left was the Kolossus, standing right behind the cave, a number of Mantas flying around it.
The Kolossus smashed the cave with its sword arm, causing large pieces of rock to shatter and fall. Said cave was now no longer usable, and the tower within was likely the same way.
A Manta swooped down and fired at Yumi, who ducked to avoid it before throwing her fan. She missed. As she caught it on the return trip, she said, "We're gonna need our vehicles!"
"I doubt we'll get them!" Ulrich called back from a nearby sand dune. "Aelita's out cold and here, and not there!"
Jérémie finally noticed the pink-ette behind the samurai. Sure enough, Aelita had been virtualized, and against her will—given how she was unconscious.
He ran over to her, his parents following him, and he skidded to a halt on his knees at her side, "Aelita! Aelita, wake up!"
No response still. Not even a slight stir.
The Kolossus walked around the destroyed remains of the cave, as well as those of the tower inside, the Mantas still circling around it.
"Now we know why she didn't warn us about the Kolossus!" Yumi said. "And if William and Sissi aren't on the other end either, then something must have happened!"
"We have to play for time," Jérémie took charge. "One of you needs to use a monster to get back to the factory!"
Odd ran up to the Kolossus, "I volunteer as tribute!"
"I'll keep the big guy busy!" Ulrich said. "Yumi, you stay here and protect Jérémie and his parents!"
She nodded, as he Sprinted over to a platform, jumped up the wall, and leapt towards the Kolossus' arm. He caught onto its hand, just above a glowing vein of lava. He struggled to hang on as the arm swung forward.
As Yumi threw a fan at a passing Manta, Odd stopped right in front of the giant's foot. "For once, I have to bow down to you, XANA."
The Kolossus' foot crushed the cat, leaving only a few pixels behind that quickly faded away.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
The scanner doors opened on XANA—in its lava body—raising its sword to destroy said machine just as Odd was emerging. The two had no choice but to meet eyes.
Odd's body went cold in fear. "Well, this is awkward." He was scared, but, "Why am I not surprised, though?"
Maybe because Sissi had just taken out the specialized Clone?
XANA straightened up, its sword in hand, and moved towards him with a growl.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Carrying Aelita on his back, Jérémie ran away with his parents and Yumi in tow. They had to get away from the Kolossus and maintain as much distance as they could. A Manta flew over and started shooting at them, but they managed to get down behind a ledge and ducked just as the Manta swooped over their heads.
"That Manta just won't give up!" Yumi said, pulling out her fans as Jérémie set the out-cold Aelita against the wall.
The Manta turned around to fly back towards them. Jérémie formed a cluster of five energy daggers in both hands before throwing them.
Four of the ten daggers struck the Manta from below. It screeched in pain before exploding.
"Nice shot, Jer!" Yumi smiled at him.
The elf found himself smiling back.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Odd quickly found himself vastly outmatched. XANA still had its abilities while he had nothing.
He was thrown into the wall of the lift, and landed on his hands and knees.
XANA walked towards him, intent on finishing him off the way it intended to do with the scanners. Quickly thinking, he got up and pressed the lift button to close the door. The AI smiled and chuckled just before the door closed.
Odd breathed a sigh of relief, just as a spot in the door started to glow a bright red. Soon, the metal of the door melted enough for a grinning XANA to step through. The boy backed away, frightened, as the lift began to ascend.
XANA grabbed Odd by the shirt and pushed him against the wall, before leaning in close to his face and smirking.
Well, frick, Odd thought.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Aelita finally began to stir. Her eyes opened, and her brain cleared up enough to tell her where she was. The Desert Sector...?
Why was she here?
She caught sight of two brightly-lit bubbles, one green and the other purple, along with Jérémie protecting them, and then Yumi in front of him, protecting all of them. She then felt the ground shake and glanced up to see the Kolossus slowly moving towards them, Mantas circling around its head. Was that Ulrich climbing up its arm?
Oh yeah. The activated tower. XANA had brought her here after it attacked the Core to lure William and Sissi to Lyoko as well.
"What's going on?" she asked.
Jérémie immediately turned around, "Aelita! You're okay!"
"It's about time!" Yumi exclaimed, blocking lasers with her fans. "You almost missed this wild party!"
"What happened to you?" the blue elf blocked a couple of shots with a barrier, as the ground shook again thanks to the Kolossus taking another step.
"XANA launched an attack on the Core to bring William and Sissi to Lyoko. Then it activated a tower and materialized his lava body to Earth," the angel explained. "It knocked me out and sent me here, likely to get rid of all of us by destroying the scanners."
"Oh boy," Yumi muttered. "Hopefully, Odd can buy us time."
"He'd have much better chances if I deactivated the tower," Jérémie cut in, readying himself for that goal. "Aelita, do you know where it is?"
"Yeah, in Sector Five," she replied, as she got to her feet, ready to fight.
Then came a voice that none of them were expecting, "Don't. Stay here, mon chéri."
Jérémie turned to the purple sphere in surprise, "Maman?" He hadn't heard her voice (from the real deal, that is) in a long time.
"We're sending data to complete your program," Michel, the green sphere, said.
Aelita blinked in surprise. They were...actually talking? They'd never done that before.
The two finished together, "It will just take a couple more minutes before it's ready to launch. So it's best for you all to stay here."
"Yeah, tell that to Odd," Yumi muttered, carefully watching those Mantas.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
The elevator arrived at the factory floor. As soon as the half-melted door opened, Odd went flying out of it, having been thrown. XANA walked towards him, lying on the ground.
Before he could move, it grabbed his shirt and held him up off the ground. He struggled out of the AI's grip as it carried him across the floor.
When it stopped walking, he grabbed its arm, but it threw him into the wall. It chuckled as he got up and ran away. XANA merely followed at a walking pace, enjoying this game of cat-and-mouse.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Clinging to the swaying arm of the stomping monster, Ulrich jumped over a vein of lava to climb higher up to Kolossus.
A Manta flew towards the Périns and fired. But Aelita jumped in front of them and formed a force field, blocking the laser, as Jérémie fired two energy arrows, destroying the monster at close range. The two covered their faces with their arms to protect themselves from the resulting explosion.
"Nice teamwork!" Yumi complimented them as the two shared a victorious smile.
"Good work, but be careful," Michel suddenly warned, as the ground shook.
"XANA's drawing energy from all the Replikas to strengthen the Kolossus," Sophie added.
"Uh-oh!" Aelita tensed up. "That's never a good sign." She called out to the samurai still climbing the behemoth, "Ulrich, you have to find a way to slow down his progress!"
"I've just about reached his head!" Ulrich called back. He stood up on the Kolossus' shoulder and unsheathed his katanas as a Manta flew past. "I'm gonna try something! Yumi, get ready to hit the other eye!"
She nodded, getting ready to run, both her fans in hand.
The Manta flew straight towards Ulrich and shot a laser, which he blocked. He ducked as it swooped over him, before Sprinting to boost himself up to the top of the Kolossus' head. He blackflipped between its antlers, and jammed his katana into its eye. Hanging off it, the blade gradually tore a hole in the monster's skin, revealing lava underneath.
Jérémie and Aelita both watched intently as the Kolossus roared and tilted its head back, but Ulrich hung on.
"Nice job, Ulrich!" Aelita cheered. "You immobilized the Kolossus!" She added quietly, "For a while, at least."
"Yumi, now!" the samurai called out.
The geisha left her post in front of Aelita and the Périns. She jumped up onto a nearby wall and leapt up into the air, barely catching onto the edge of the giant's sword arm.
Jérémie turned to his parents, "How's the data transfer going?"
"Almost there," Sophie reassured him.
"But you have to defend us from the Kolossus just a bit longer," Michel added.
"Easier said than done," Aelita told them. "Did you happen to notice the size of that guy?"
"Au contraire," they both said together, "it is easier done than said, because we've just finished your program for you."
Aelita blinked, "W-Wait. You completed our multi-agent program?"
"Yes," Sophie explained. "Along with the data you were missing, we also gave you XANA's source code."
"Now, your multi-agent program has been updated into an anti-XANA program," Michel revealed.
"What?" Jérémie tensed up in disbelief.
He and Aelita shared a surprised glance.
"Would you say that again?" Aelita asked.
"You heard us right," Michel and Sophie replied simultaneously. "We can finally destroy XANA."
So there was hope. At last. After two and a half years.
"Hurry up and run it!" Ulrich called out to them, still hanging on, as the Kolossus slowly started walking again. "The big guy seems to be getting its strength back!"
The other down below watched as the Kolossus moved towards them, the ground shaking with every footstep.
"For it to work," the two adults reminded them, "we have to launch it from the Volcano Replika's central tower. We can take two of you there."
"But we have to take care of the Kolossus first!" Aelita replied.
"Ulrich and I are on it!" Yumi yelled back, slowly making her way up the beast's sword arm.
Ulrich managed to hang on to his katana despite being jostled by the monter's movement.
"Oh, you're on it, alright!" the angel shot back. "Let's hope you two don't fall off it!"
"Papa, Maman," Jérémie softly protested, "wouldn't it be better to deactivate the tower first? Odd's in danger!"
"We know," the two reassured him together, "but this is our only chance of finally destroying XANA for good. Your friend will be saved no matter what."
Jérémie sighed, "I hope so..."
"Me too," Aelita joined him near his parents, before turning to the Kolossus. "Ulrich, Yumi, we're off! Good luck!"
"You too!" Ulrich called back.
Michel and Sophie both engulfed Aelita and Jérémie, respectively, absorbing them temporarily. The Kolossus took another step, shaking the ground badly to the point where Michel and Sophie nearly stumbled despite their floating forms—it was now way too close to them. Knowing this, they tilted over the edge of the platform before falling towards the Digital Sea. The two promptly dove into the water, leaving two simple splashes behind.
Ulrich's grip finally gave out, and he fell to the ground. Thank goodness, fall damage on Lyoko didn't exist, but now, he could no longer climb back up the Kolossus to stab its eye again.
But Yumi had finally reached the eye on the sword arm. She pulled out both fans and slashed it in an x-motion.
Ulrich shielded his face as the monster got dangerously close to his head, but it froze in place. Yumi jumped off, and rolled to a stop next to her boyfriend.
"Did we do it?" he asked, both of them staring at the frozen Kolossus.
Said monster started to fall onto its back. The two tried to run, only for them to be crushed under its now-dead weight.
The ground smashed to pieces where the enormous monster fell. Its antlers snapped apart when they hit the ground. The Mantas continued to circle the Kolossus as it gave one final roar and the lava drained from its body.
Ulrich and Yumi both emerged from the scanners, breathing sighs of relief as they crouched on the floor.
"We did it," the brunette smiled.
"We did it," the Japanese girl smiled back. "But we still have work to do. Odd's probably not having a good day."
"Right!"
The two then ran towards the lift, which miraculously still worked despite the damage to the door.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
William, on the Overboard, and Sissi, on the Overwing, both paused outside the south pole of the Celestial Dome, before flying through the entrance. William got off the Overboard and pressed the key, causing the staircase to appear. The duo began to make their way up.
Once they reached the top of the staircase, they looked up. Three Mantas were firing at the first shield layer.
An unannounced cue caused two of the Mantas to fly down towards them. William and Sissi started climbing up the stairs, meeting the Mantas halfway. Sissi backflipped down a few steps to dodge the resulting laser fire.
William, meanwhile, made his way to the end of a long block, ready to fight back. He summoned his Zweihänder and blocked a round of shots, as Sissi started climbing again.
The Mantas flew down, as she joined him. The Valkyrie looked up at the Core, and asked, "So we protect that thing?"
"Yes," the knight replied. "If it goes, we'll be destroyed along with Lyoko."
He then activated his ball of light form and traveled through the air. He landed on the back of a Manta, as the two flew back up. He stabbed it and jumped off in time to avoid the resulting explosion. He reformed his human form next to Sissi.
"Got it," she said, unsheathing her bo-staff.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
The transport to the Volcano Replika was a success. Michel and Sophie released Jérémie and Aelita right in front of the central tower—no Skid required. But said action had taken up a good bit of Michel and Sophie's shared energy. They'd never say it aloud, to avoid worrying their son, but their lagging gave it away.
Jérémie was looking around in awe. "We're here?"
"We are," Aelita replied. "Now, go on. I'll guard the tower. Hurry up!"
Right. He had to run the program before Odd, or anybody, got killed. Knowing this, Jérémie turned and ran inside the tower. Both of his parents followed him after Aelita nodded at them knowingly.
Within the tower, Jérémie ran to the center of the first platform. There, an interface window opened.
Outside, Aelita's sensitive hearing picked up the virtualization of a monster. She turned in that direction to see five Volcanoids appearing at the bottom on the spiral pathway up to this tower. As they ran up the ramp towards her, she readied two energy fields, one in either hand.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
XANA had caught up with Odd, and it ducked a kick from him before sweeping his legs out from under him. He landed on his back and XANA stood up. Feeling worse for the wear, Odd quickly got to his feet and ran away, traveling deeper into the factory.
He managed to reach the assembly room, running down the stairs when the AI caught up with him, jumping down and landing in front of him. He was forced to stop running, as XANA smirked and chuckled.
Odd prepared to fight as he attempted a joke, "Sorry, XANA, but I'm taken. Maybe take me out to dinner first and then we'll talk."
XANA dodged a kick and backflipped onto the stairs. It pushed off and tackled Odd all the way down onto a conveyor belt. Odd landed on his back and lied there, stunned.
Welp. That joke didn't work.
The AI flipped to its feet and chuckled as the boy reached for a metal bar on the ground. However, XANA put its foot on it and began melting it, making Odd immediately retrieve his hand before he could get burned.
Out of nowhere, Yumi suddenly tackled the AI. It rolled over a conveyor belt and landed on its feet, grinning, before it threw her into a pile of junk in the corner. She lay there, moaning in pain.
"Yumi! You okay?" Odd called out to her.
She just sent him an upside-down pained smile in return.
"Hey, XANA!"
The AI looked up in time to see Ulrich jump down at it from the upper level. Ulrich landed on top of it, straddling its waist with his arms out wide.
The brunette growled out, "Don't you dare touch my friends again!"
XANA just smirked, knowing it was untouchable.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
"Sissi, the first shield layer's about to give!" the knight told his partner. "We have to hurry!"
A Manta flew down towards William and Sissi, shooting at them. Sissi twirled her staff to block the lasers, before jumping off the ledge. She attempted to land on the monster's back, only to miss her target. As she fell to the ground, she formed a blade on one end of her staff before throwing it.
It struck the Manta from below. It screeched in pain before exploding.
Sissi landed on the ground below all the stairs, now missing her bo-staff. A third Manta turned away from the Core and redirected its fire at her. Quickly thinking, she grabbed the bottom block and used her strength to lift it up and throw it at the monster. It was destroyed due to being crushed.
However, she was devirtualized by a monster flying up from the hole leading to the staircase from the south entrance.
The Black Manta.
It flew up to William's level and stared him down. The knight summoned his Zweihänder and threw it right as the Manta fired.
William was hit in the chest, and subsequently devirtualized, but the blade of his weapon struck right through the monster's skin and pierced its eye. It promptly exploded.
The Core was at least safe another day.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
The Volcanoids didn't reach Aelita all at once. One arrived at the top first, and she quickly took it out with both energy fields that she had readied about thirty-two seconds prior. These things were fast...
Knowing the likelihood of her being devirtualized, she closed her eyes and held out a hand in front of her, concentrating hard. She heard two more Volcanoids make their way onto the platform she was on, but she ignored them, even as they spat lava at her feet. A shield made of many small hexagons began to rise up from the ground between Aelita and the central tower. It stretched high up, ending several meters in height.
She glanced back and smiled at her work, before turning back to the Volcanoids. The two monsters were now firing at her force field, as the last two arrived. But they were barely making a dent, as any damage they made was quickly regenerated.
The newcomers opened fire on her, and she rolled to the side to dodge their shots. On the way, she formed two more energy fields and threw them both. One connected and destroyed its target, but the second missed and hit a rock instead.
She formed a mini-shield in her hands to absorb more lasers, until she was shot in the abdomen and fell to her knees, clutching her injury. She formed another energy field and fired. It thankfully hit its target.
But there were still two left, and one more shot to her chest devirtualized her.
She fortunately reappeared in the scanners. After silenting thanking Jérémie's parents for having that foresight, she whispered, "I'm sorry, Jérémie..."
She didn't mean to leave him alone...
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
XANA backed away to avoid a kick from Ulrich. It backed all the way up to the wall. Ulrich smirked before lunging forward for a punch, but the AI moved out of the way at superhuman speed and kicked the brunette's side, sending him into a nearby wall.
"Ulrich!" Yumi called out.
"Hey, XANA!" William suddenly yelled as he leapt into the air and tackled the AI to the ground.
As Sissi ran towards her friends, to make sure they were okay, William picked up the fight that Ulrich left off on. XANA backed up against the wall again and let William run at him. This time, it let him run straight into it and bang his head. Using its reflexes, it was now behind him and formed its lava sword, ready to strike him down.
It raised the weapon, only for Sissi to suddenly sweep its feet out from underneath it.
She stood over it, a victorious smile on her face, "Don't underestimate me just because I'm new!"
But XANA quickly leapt back to its feet, grinning. Her smile disappeared as it grabbed the front of her blouse and sent her flying across the room. She crashed into the opposite wall next to Odd.
"Sissi!"
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Michel emerged from the tower to check on Aelita, only to find that she had been devirtualized. Instead, he found two Volcanoids hammering shots into the force field that she had left behind. Beginning to panic, he retreated back inside the tower.
"Aelita's been devirtualized," he told his wife and son.
"We must hurry," Sophie finished for him.
"Done," Jérémie cut in. "It's ready to launch." On the interface was a window showing a cluster of white dots, moving like a school of fish, each dot with a white trail behind it. He wasted no time in raising his hand to activate the program, but he found himself hesitating. "But what's going to prevent XANA from simply taking over this tower and halting the program itself?"
That was something he hadn't considered until now. If the AI did that, then all their hard work for the past week would be for nothing.
"Run it anyway," his parents told him simultaneously.
He turned to them. "Huh? 'Run it anyway'? But you didn't answer my question. XANA can easily activate this tower to stop the program from running. If that happens, then we lose the program and all of our progress. We'll have to restart from scratch."
But then, the shadows from his nightmare returned.
The shadows that were holding him back as his parents walked away from him, despite knowing he was trying to get to them...
The shadows that interrupted his content life, that were keeping him away from whatever his parents had decided to do...
The realization must have been showing on his face. "Yes, mon chéri," his parents told him together. "We've already planned for that caveat as well."
"We've activated this tower," Michel explained, "and while we're in control, XANA cannot take over."
"It will take up most of our strength, if not all, to maintain control," Sophie added, solemnly, "but it can be done."
"And it must," they finished together.
"But..." Jérémie was trembling. "But..." And shaking his head. "If you lose all of your shared energy, you'll die. And if you're still on this Replika as it's destroyed, then your death is guaranteed!"
"We know." Their voices were still speaking simultaneously.
So his nightmare wasn't just a bad dream. It was a premonition. A warning of what was to come. And he was being restrained by those shadows now; there was nothing he could do. His parents had already decided what to do, and he could not sway them.
"Don't..." Don't leave me, he wanted to say, but he didn't. He knew it was selfish.
"We'll always be with you," they softly reassured him.
"DON'T ASK ME TO DO THIS!" he yelled, really wishing he could cry actual tears. He was breathing deeply, trying to calm down—if he was on Earth, he'd be having a panic attack. "Don't make me press that button!"
He had to launch the program. It had to be him; no one else could. But if he did, then he'd be the one who had sent his parents to their graves. Ironically, he'd be their executioner, not XANA.
"The program also requires too much energy than the supercomputer can give," Sophie softly told him. Both spheres were now close to him, comforting him as fought his inner battle. "Our sacrifice will provide that energy."
"So it has to be us," Michel added, his voice in the same volume. "We know you understand, Jérémie, even if you don't want to believe it."
And that was the sick part. They were right; he did understand. If he were in their shoes—if XANA were his creation—and he saw the only way this could end being with his death, he'd sacrifice himself in a heartbeat.
The two spheres then morphed briefly into human figures and wrapped their arms around him. His parents were giving him one last hug.
"We love you, mon chéri. Don't ever forget that," were their final shared words.
He had to launch it now. If he didn't, then his parents would have sacrificed themselves for nothing. So, though it took a huge chunk of emotional energy from him, he forced himself to press his hand to the screen.
The word 'CONNECT...' appeared and then the interface disappeared.
That was the last thing Jérémie saw on Lyoko as he was devirtualized by his parents.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Jérémie emerged from a scanner with a deep gasp. His urge to cry had remained, but he forced himself to hold it down.
Instead of using the elevator to help his friends, he instead used the side ladder to head up to the lab.
He had to make sure it worked...
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
The white halo on the Volcano Replika's central tower grew brighter and brighter until the light engulfed the entire world. The shell outside began glowing as well as the light peaked through the cracks.
On Lyoko, a swarm of small, white spheres emerged from the Core and made its way down towards the exit. The spheres left white trails behind them as they moved.
The multi-agents exited the south pole and flew around the Celestial Dome, before flying through the four tunnels, engulfing the surface sectors with white light: Ice, Mountain, Forest, and Desert—where the multi-agents destroyed the Mantas still flying around the defeated Kolossus.
Aelita arrived in the assembly room in time to see XANA's lava body suddenly freeze up. The six teens all watched as the lava veins began to die out, as XANA itself threw its head back. Its mouth opened wide and screamed as it fell to its knees, holding its head as though it was pain...
The multi-agents traveled through the network, spiraling through the red water. On Jérémie's screen, the Replika count started decreasing. It was...it was working...!
The six teens in the factory all took this chance to gather together and check on each other's injuries.
"What's going on?" Sissi asked as Yumi slung one of Ulrich's arms over her shoulder.
Odd just shrugged as they watched XANA's lava body start to crumble.
The artificial intelligence opened its mouth one last time to let out a strangled scream, before its body crumbled into dust. And this time, no move was made to reform the pieces.
There was a beat of silence, before Aelita muttered, "I-I can't believe it...! It worked...!"
The white light on Lyoko faded, and the activated tower's halo turned back to the neutral white. Meanwhile, on Jérémie's screen, the final Replika—the Volcano one—disappeared.
The count now read, '0'.
"Aelita?" William asked, as he helped Odd to his feet. "What worked?"
The pink-ette had a relieved smile on her face as she turned to her friends. "The anti-XANA program..."
"You mean...?" Odd asked, with a shaky voice. "XANA's...?"
His cousin just nodded.
!~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~!
Jérémie felt numb as he kept his eyes on the screen. He knew what had happened, and the evidence in front of him confirmed it, so what was he waiting for? For a miracle? For this all to be a big joke? For the real XANA to come out of hiding and thank him for destroying its corrupted self?
Yes, to all of those. Any of those. Anything that made this growing pain in his chest go away. Not only had he lost his parents, but he had also lost his first friend...
He barely heard the lift doors open behind him. "Jérémie?" And Aelita's voice sounded far away too. "Did we do it? Is XANA gone?" She sounded so hopeful.
And it made him realize that she didn't know. The others were unaware of the reason they won. The price they had to pay.
He must've remained quiet for a few seconds too long, because he heard Yumi worriedly ask, "Jérémie? You okay?"
The numbness was fading, and he really wished it would stay. But he forced himself to continue. "I'm fine," he swallowed down the lump in his throat, but it remained. "Yes. We won."
He was standing, but he wished he was sitting in the chair instead, because his knees felt weak. He wished he was an artificial intelligence after all, because the pain in his chest was becoming too much.
The energy level window of his parents was flashing red repeatedly, mirroring how his own ID card did the same when XANA took his half of the Keys—his parents were dead. Gone. Never coming back.
"Jérémie...?" Aelita softly spoke, her voice in a tender whisper. But her concern was too much. To think, that's what pushed him over the edge.
All he could respond with was an agonized, guttural scream.
!~~~J~E~R~L~I~T~A~~R~O~L~E~S~W~A~P~~A~U~~~!
Next Episode: 68 - Aftershocks / After their victory against XANA, the Lyokowarriors mourn their losses and what they fear they may lose if they shut down the supercomputer.
A/N: Instead of a Future Flash-esque vision, Jérémie's premonition is more symbolic. I've always wanted to use his nightmares in canon-"Temptation" somehow ever since I wrote this AU's version of that episode (Chapter 28), and I couldn't find the right place until now. And Jérémie gets to talk to his parents one final time, because Aelita deserved the same in canon, and you can pry that belief from my cold dead hands.
No, Hervé didn't regress back into his old behavior. He's sincerely trying to become a better person and stop feeling negatively about Jérémie. The Lyokowarriors' behavior when trying to get to the factory is what makes him rightfully suspicious, because it's clear they're hiding something. Just remember: a bad guy never stops being a bad guy by being treated as a bad guy. I headcanon that that's what happened to Sissi in canon: the Lyokowarriors treated her like the villain after seeing her 'betrayal', despite her not remembering it, so she probably decided, "Why not be the villain they think I am?".
I know some fans are still disappointed that we didn't get this great finale battle like the movies, but Sophie Decroisette wanted a 'technological' ending. She said, and I quote: "Not to mention that Jérémie is central in the series. We wanted him and his abilities to be decisive in the end. [...] In our opinion, the two enemies that fight each other are really Jérémie (who is in some way the equivalent of Franz Hopper, as they have the same abilities) and XANA. This was the conflict we had to solve." Knowing this, I kept true to that theme. In my opinion, XANA's creator has to die in the final fight (Franz Hopper for canon, Michel and Sophie Périn for this AU), because it makes sense from a narrative standpoint, and it's also symbolic as they're passing the torch onto the person behind the controls (Jérémie for canon, Aelita and Jérémie both for this AU).