The group all shared nervous looks now, Bridgette possibly being lost forward shaking them to their core. Geoff was taking it the hardest, literally shaking in horror and anguish from what has happened to his girlfriend.
William noticed and stepped in between. "She'll be okay, guys. I promise. Aelita and I will make sure of it."
He turned to the Key and shouted. "Super Smoke!"
He turned into a cloud of white smoke and shot up towards the Key, solidifying in mid-air and hit the key just before the timer hit zero.
00:00:02
"Good work, William." Aelita sighed in relief. "Now make your way to the elevator and it will take you up to the Celestial Dome. That's where you'll find the interface that can help restore Bridgette."
Aelita's eyes went up as the Super Scan detected an activated tower. "Everyone, the Super Scan has detected an activated tower!"
( Code Total Drama Reality Introduction Song Starts )
( No Pain No Game (From Btoom!) )
(The ending of this story)
The song starts, showing the end of Code Lyoko where the Supercomputer is shut down and the former Lyoko Warriors leave the factory seemingly for the last time.
(I will hold it close as I wonder so aimlessly)
A single computer is shown coming online, lines of 1s and 0s streaming across the screen before the screen is replaced by a glowing sphere with the Eye of XANA, at least eight variations appearing on it. From the sphere came lines of data emerging in eight different directions. The lines of data formed into various regions, all of them floating landscapes resembling a forest, a desert, an arctic, mountains, volcanoes, swamp and a jungle.
(Into this new world)
The new lands orbited the golden sphere as the camera zoomed in on the Eye of XANA staring at the screen.
(The game has only just begun)
The Eye then flashes red, and the sphere turns black.
(I can see it in your eyes)
A girl with pink hair sits on her bed, panting as she turns to see two pictures of her friends and her father. She smiles briefly but that smile turns to a look of horror as both her friends and her father are engulfed by a great darkness and the red Eye shines down on her. The Supercomputer, thought to be shut down, is reactivated and there is a flash of light.
(This is where tomorrow brings a new game)
Aelita is shown alone both in the real world and in Lyoko, hordes of monsters surrounding her.
Geoff is first shown in his human form before transitioning to his Lyoko form.
Next to him is Bridgette, holding her surfboard in the real world before changing into her Lyoko form, her board splitting into two swords.
(It's time to learn that pain is gain)
Gwen is shown sitting in front of tree, looking up and is instantly changed into her Lyoko Avatar, brandishing her scythe.
DJ is shown in the woods, tending to a little rabbit as he stands up and morphs into his Lyoko form, turning to face the camera with a stern glare.
LeShawna is last, ready to fight in both her human form and her Lyoko form.
(Ready fight!)
William and a dark reflection of himself as XANA's General are shown standing back-to-back, turning to face each other and swinging their swords.
The screen is split by the two swords, showing New Lyoko as the title appears:
CODE: TOTAL DRAMA REALITY
(I gotta crush and paint away the anguish)
Aelita is shown first, sitting at the computer before she is then shown as the DJ of a party. She morphs into her Lyoko form and conjures an energy field.
This was followed quickly by Geoff wildly waving his hat while riding something with Bridgette holding onto him by the back.
(Of my past for the sake of my future)
Gwen is shown next, drawing in her sketchbook and signifying with a sad face as Duncan, Courtney and Trent appear behind her, their backs facing in her direction.
(Until my life comes to an end)
DJ is shown running for his life from appears to be a giant bear.
(I am gonna fight to tear apart that destiny)
LeShawna is shown next, standing confidently with her team, ready to face whatever crazy challenge comes next.
(Aoh, break out and start a revolution)
The antagonists of Total Drama: Heather, Courtney, Justin, Anne Maria, Jo, Lightning, Scott and Alejandro in the Total Drama Machine are shown from left to right, grinning or glaring at the camera, holding up an imaginary case of the million- dollar prize money in their hands. Chris Mclean is shown next, arms crossed as the chair he is sitting in spins to meet the camera, zooming out to show it is the monitor room for the Total Drama show.
A dark shadow appears above them, scrawny in appearance and hair falling over the left eye as it glares darkly at the screen.
(Until you find the answer you're looking for)
The camera then shows Aelita with the new Lyoko Warriors, the TD Lyoko Warriors and William sitting around a campfire, all of them staring up into the starry night sky, a picture of her friends and father resting in Aelita's hands.
(I'll challenge all my limits)
Aelita in her Lyoko form with her wings sprouting from her back is shown, clutching Mr. Puck in her hands as she seemingly falls back, her friends and relatives in the background.
The camera moves down to show William kneeling down, clutching his sword in both hands. As this happens, the camera moves down, showing depictions of the TD Lyoko Warriors and other characters in the background.
The camera continues to move down to show Geoff pulling Bridgette into sharing a picture with LeShawna bringing her face up over Bridgette's shoulder, the three of them in their Lyoko forms. While this happens, Harold, Lindsay, Beth, Trent, Katie and Sadie are shown in the background.
Below them is Gwen with her arms and legs curled around her with her cape swirling behind her like wings while Heather and Courtney are shown in the background glaring at each other followed by Sierra clutching Cody who looks distressed, Eva crossing her arms along with B and Beth both waving, the latter looking very shy. Behind Gwen appeared Dawn in her own Lyoko form in a meditative pose while upside down while facing Gwen with her eyes closed, her light robe contrasting with Gwen's cape with dark clothing, almost forming a yin-yang symbol.
Behind Dawn appears Scott, snickering evilly.
(Knowing this could be my only chance now)
DJ is shown last, seemingly falling back while holding his pet rabbit: Bunny in his hands with a happy smile. His teammates shown in the background starting with Duncan, Tyler, Justin and Alejandro ending with Chef Hatchet and Chris McClean.
He is followed by Mike and Zoey, both clutching their hands and smiling at each other as in background appears Brick, Jo, Lightning, Sam and Staci.
And lately Cameron appears staring up at the others.
(To overcome this fate that has come over me)
The screen turns black and the Eye of XANA immediately flashes into existence, glowing red and shadowing the outline of a singular person with red glowing eyes.
(The ending of this story)
Aelita is shown, standing in a meadow now with the wind gently blowing through her hair.
(I will hold it close as I wonder so aimlessly)
She holds up a hand, gazing sadly up as the images of her friends and parents appear in the sky.
(Into this new world)
Her hand then becomes digital, transitioning to Lyoko.
((The game has only just begun))
She gazes up a little longer before she notices her new friends and allies standing with her and smiles before looking forward, seeing a tower in the distance.
(I can see it in your eyes)
Just as they are about to rush towards the tower, the camera angles up into the digital sky as the song reaches its end.
The scene then shifts to pictures of Aelita and her friends both old and new on a desktop as the title appears on last time:
CODE: TOTAL DRAMA REALITY
( No Pain No Game (From Btoom!) Ends )
Episode 13: Trials of the Warriors
He was certainly surprised when Aelita managed to recruit a new team of warriors to fight him. One of them being William was expected but to end up recruiting the very contestants of the show Total Drama when one of them had discovered his secret base in Siberia was a one out of a thousand chance. He downloaded the information on show and studied the cast more than a hundred times in one second. He learned that they were now competing in a new season in France at a local company that was testing a virtual world that was a pale imitation of Lyoko.
What made him mentally smirk was that it would be a matter of time before they would be sent home one by one. No doubt Aelita knew it too and she would work hard to save her friends. While he knew that they would be gone soon he could not allow them to live since they now knew of Lyoko. They must be neutralized as soon as possible.
And he knew the perfect way to do it.
"Ah, another fine day after tormenting the campers." Said Chris as he sat down in his large room which consisted of a kitchen, a hot tub, and a large bathroom.
In front of him was a large TV showing reruns of Total Drama. He chuckled every time he saw himself on the screen tormenting the cast. Little did he know a stream of electricity traveled through the wiring into his TV. He was drinking his favorite tomato juice when the TV suddenly went black.
"Hey! We were just getting to the good part." Chris complained as he sat up.
He walked over to the TV and banged against the screen. Suddenly the TV lit up and Chris jumped back as he saw the familiar strange red eye from yesterday.
(XANA Attack Theme Starts)
"What the- "
A pitch-black substance that looked like a mix of oil and smoke came out of the screen towards him. Before Chris could run the specter enveloped him, he screamed in a very high pitched voice as the specter entered his body. His head fell over and he stood like a statue. Then he looked up and the Eye of XANA had replaced his pupils. He grinned as he turned to the large intercom.
He walked over to it and turned it on.
"All contestants and interns to the lobby, we have a big emergency."
"What does he want now?!" Heather complained as her wheelchair was pushed into the lobby by Cody who was one of the only people who could stand her.
"I don't know. He said something about an emergency." Said Trent.
"More like another joke at our expense." Said Noah.
"Hey, we're missing some people." Said Beth looking around.
"She's right. I don't see Geoff or Bridgette." Said Owen.
"Or LeShawna." Said Sadie sitting next to Katie.
"DJ is missing too." Tyler looked around and saw no sign of the giant.
"Hey, Gwen's not here too." Said Cody.
"Hear that, Duncan? Your girlfriend is missing." Courtney sneered at the punk.
Duncan ignored her as he looked around as best as he could since he got two black eyes. They were right.
"Chris! What is it that you drag me out here?!" shouted Chef as he entered the room.
"He's not here yet. But you do have a good question. The show's over there's no need for us to be out here." Said Carlos sitting on the couch.
Chris walked into the room smirking evilly. More so than usual.
"Chris, what do you want?!" shouted Heather.
"You better have a good explanation, Chris." Said Carlos crossing his arms.
Chris's smirk widened.
"We seem to be missing a few people." Chris said looking around. "Has anyone guessed where they are?"
"What, Gwen, DJ, Geoff, Bridgette, and LeShawna are in on this?" asked Trent.
"Actually yes. They snuck out."
"That's impossible. They're still on the cameras." Chef said, holding up a remote to a video screen.
The screen showed Gwen drawing in her room, LeShawna sleeping, Geoff and Bridgette making out in Geoff's room and DJ writing what looked like a note to his mother. Chris had one hand behind his back as he snapped his fingers, and the image fizzled then cleared up but now they were gone.
"What the?"
"Someone hacked into the network and set it up so no one would know they left." Chris explained and shook his head. "Your job is to find them after I give you something to track them down."
"They snuck out and didn't take me with them?! Dang!" Duncan said.
"And just how do we track them down?" asked Alejandro from inside the Total Drama robot.
"That." Said Chris pointing at the screen.
Suddenly the images were replaced with the same red eye from before. Black ooze began to spill from the screen.
"That's the eye!" Carlos said standing up.
"Oh, gross! What's it spilling?!" Lindsay shrieked.
Suddenly the ooze lashed and extended a black tentacle that impaled Lindsay.
"Lindsay!" screamed Beth and Tyler.
The tentacle cut itself off from the gathering black mist and was absorbed into Lindsay who hung her head.
"Chris, what the hell is going on?!" shouted Carlos.
He marched up to Chris but the host grabbed him by the neck and suddenly he was shocked with electricity. Chris dropped him and stepped over him.
"Run!" shouted Owen.
"Lindsay snap out of it!" cried Beth as she shook Lindsay.
Lindsay looked up and to the horror of both Tyler and Beth her innocent blue eyes were replaced by that strange eye. She grabbed both of them by the neck and lifted them off the ground.
"Lindsay, what's happening to you?!" Tyler gasped.
They screamed as two black tentacles hit them and entered their bodies. The contestants tried to run for the door, but they slammed shut on their own as more of the black ooze emerged from outlets.
Owen screamed and rushed for the door with Noah and Cody behind him. But more of those black things popped out of the wall.
"What the-?!" One entered Owen, who collapsed and flopped like a fish.
Noah circled around him while Cody hopped over the large young man. Noah turned and saw a specter right in front of him. He screamed as the specter slammed into him vanishing straight into the chest. He then looked up and smirked with XANA's symbol in his eyes.
"OWEN!" Izzy screeched, hopping over the couch and rushing for Owen, only for a specter to come out of the floor and enter her.
She jerked and twitched, collapsing next to Owen while Cody fled the room. Courtney screamed as a specter reached for her, only for Duncan to pull her aside and shove her out the door after Cody before the specter went into him next. He turned and held out a knife at the specter.
"Come and get me."
The specter accepted his challenge and flew at him. He tried to stab it but it passed through his knife and entered his body. He screamed as his eyes were replaced by the Eye of XANA signaling that he was now possessed.
"Alright, you're a dead man! I've wanted to do this for a long-time pretty boy!" Eva charged Chris, who casually flicked his hand at her and sent her flying with an energy shock.
"Such anger." Chris commented. "I like it."
Eva, Trent, Justin, and Scott were possessed next.
Scotts' wounds suddenly healed, and he smashed open his chair. "Much better..."
Katie and Sadie held each other, sobbing as the specters reached for them next. They screamed as the specter enveloped them. They stopped crying and stood up. Their tears vanished as XANA's Eye replaced theirs.
Sierra tried to outrun-or out wheel a specter, but it caught up to her easily. Much like with Ezekiel after she was possessed her injuries were healed and she grew dark hair with purple highlights.
Heather had backed herself against the wall as the campers were possessed one by one. Her eyes widened in fear as she watched them try to run but it was futile. Trembling in fear as she watched a specter enter the robot holding Alejandro, he tore the robot open from the inside as he came out smiling with the freaky eye like thing in his eyes. A specter entered her from behind, she screamed as it entered her body and she stood, healed of her injuries.
Chef was currently the only one left standing. He was swinging a butcher knife futilely. "You want a piece of me?! Come on, I'll cut you a new hole!"
XANA chuckled. "Nice skills with a knife, they'll be put to good use." The specters flew right past the knife and possessed him easily.
With a small army of possessed young adults and crew before him, XANA gave them one command.
"Find them and kill them."
They left without a word.
"Come on, come on, pick up!" Cody said as he tried to call the police. "Man this bites!"
"Oh man, what the hell was that?!" Courtney screamed, distraught at what she had seen and heard.
"I don't know!" Cody said as he faced her, and dropped the phone.
"What?" Courtney turned...and came face to face with twenty some possessed campers.
Alejandro stood before her, now restored to his handsome self and without a trace of burns. "Hey babe, join the party, it'll be the time of your life."
"What's going on?!" Courtney backed up.
"Nothing much, I'm just borrowing your friends...and you." XANA said as he advanced in Chris' body. "The missing competitors have caused some trouble for me...and you all will deal with them."
"What do you mean?" Cody squeaked.
"What I mean is that you're going to kill them for me." XANA smirked before he possessed the two.
(XANA Attack Theme Ends)
Aelita was still monitoring the group's actions in Sector 5. She badly wanted to join them but with no one monitoring from the lab, she feared something worse could happen. It was only the group's second trip to Lyoko and already things were getting bad. She didn't know if XANA had planned this when he recreated Sector 5 or had just taken advantage of the circumstances, but she wouldn't let him take this group like he did her friends.
Unfortunately, it seemed her vow would be put to the test yet again as another timer appeared on the screen: 3:07:21
"What?! This can't be!" Aelita gasped.
"Aelita? Something wrong?"
"Another timer has activated, just like the first one!"
William led the new TD Lyoko Warriors into another chamber, this one consisting of one single bridge…with multiple blocks coming down from ceiling above, pressing down on the bridge and then rising back up.
"You're serious?" William stepped back. "I thought there was only ever one."
"XANA must have modified this Sector 5 to have two timers instead of one." Aelita replied, frustration clear in her voice. "You have to reach the timer before it hits zero like before."
William spotted the timer on the other end of the bridge. "Got it. I'll have it in two seconds. Super Smoke!"
He turned into white smoke, easily passing the falling blocks even if one fell on him. Since he had no physical form, he could not be squished and devirtualized which was the intention. Just as he reached the other side, he solidified and was about to press the key when a last shot out, hitting him in the back, sending him over the edge.
"William!"
The laser came from above with a hissing sound being heard. The TD Lyoko warriors looked up to see strange creatures crawling along the rising and falling blocks.
"Aelita, we got company." Gwen took a step back, pulling out her scythe.
The new monsters resembled horrifying black aliens, their skeletons bulging out of the dark skin with spikes sprouting from elbows and back. They had long tails that were serrated and ended with a curved blade. Their heads were the worst, being very long and allowed for an equally large jaw with sharp teeth that could be shown. The Eye of XANA was imprinted red on their foreheads and when they opened their mouths, laser cannons could be seen that began firing.
"Hang on!" DJ rushed forward and created a barrier, blocking the lasers. "Aelita!"
"I see them." Aelita frantically typed at the keyboard, running a scan of the new monsters. "They're called Aliens, an upgraded form of the Creepers that were originally native to this sector. Thirty life points per hit. You have to get past them and reach the timer."
00:02:15
"Kinda hard to do that right now." Gwen replied as the Aliens continued bombarding DJ's barrier.
Just then a white smoke shot from below and re-solidified into William as he tried again to reach the Key. Only two Aliens landed between him and the Key, snarling as they stood up.
"Okay." William summoned his sword. "Let's see how tough you guys are."
Surprisingly, the nearest Alien didn't open its mouth to fire its laser but lunged at William with a loud snarl. William swung his sword, but the Alien surprised him by leaping over him, curling into a ball and landing perfectly on its feet behind him. William glanced over his shoulder, seeing the Alien charge its laser and jumped to the side, dodging the blast. He turned around, now on the far edge of the platform as the two Aliens slowly approached, having cornered him.
On the other side of the chamber, Cameron stepped back. "I'll try and get the Key. I can fly without a vehicle."
"Cameron wait-"
But Dawn was too late as Cameron took off into the air, propelled by his rocket boots and he flew around the falling blocks. The Aliens turned their heads, aiming their lasers at the armored Lyoko Warrior and fired. Cameron dodged most of the laser blasts, making it past the bridge and flew straight at the Key.
"I got it!"
Only one of the Aliens cornering William turned and spun, lashing its tail out and hit Cameron in the face, facing him to miss and collide straight into the wall.
"AH!" He cried out upon collision and slid off the wall.
"Cam!" William shouted, wanting to help but the other Alien swing its tail at him as well, forcing him to block with his sword.
Cameron was then peppered with laser fire from the Alien that struck him, devirtualizing him in a matter of seconds.
"CAM!"
Aelita's heart was racing now upon seeing yet another being devirtualized and without the new materialization codes Cameron was lost in limbo with Bridgette. "Guys, you only have a minute left! You need to reach the timer now or I can't bring Cameron or Bridgette back!"
00:01:03
"No…It won't end like this."
Geoff wouldn't allow it.
No matter what happened to him, he wouldn't allow Bridgette to be lost forever in some weird void. Gwen noticed something was sparkling around Geoff, causing her eyes to go wide.
"Geoff, are you-"
"I WON'T LET YOU DOWN, BRIDGETTE!" Geoff shouted, his eyes flashing yellow as electricity surged through his body.
He took off, running at high speed and moving so fast no one had the time to blink before they realized what happened. Geoff ran across the bridge, dodging the falling blocks and the Aliens didn't even register what happened until he was on the other side, slamming his hand right into the Key.
00:00:03
"You did it!" Aelita happily cheered, relieved that they made it in time.
The blocks stopped falling and rose up into the ceiling, taking the Aliens that had been clinging to sides with them, leaving only the two that were fighting William left. Geoff turned and threw his chakrams at them, one slicing through the head its target while the other was batted away by the remaining Alien's target. Luckily, William brought his sword down, taking it out while it was distracted.
"Good job." William congratulated as the others made their way over. "Guess your superpower is speed or something like that."
Geoff looked at his hand, seeing it sparkle for a second. "Whatever it is, I just want to do whatever it takes to save my girlfriend."
William nodded as the door opened. "This way."
At the far end was the elevator that ran all the way around the Core Zone. The group stopped and waited before the elevator came to a stop and allowed them to step on.
"Okay, everyone. This is going to be hard." Aelita said as the elevator took them around the dome before taking them up. "This will take you to the exit point where there will be an interface that will allow you to access Lyoko's data. It should have the materialization codes."
"Okay, but how will we know?" LeShawna asked skeptically. "We're not computer experts here."
William cleared this throat. "I…might."
"Hm?"
The elevator came to a stop, allowing the group to step off.
"What do you mean, William?"
"I'm just guessing but I think I remember how things work from when I was possessed." William explained, leading the group to the exit point where the interface waited. "I might know what to look for."
"Might?" Geoff asked.
William started combing through the data, his hands dancing across the transparent surface. "It's just a guess but I've been remembering things…ever since XANA woke up. Weird dreams and I could…somehow sense him…It's hard to explain."
Aelita was quiet, listening to William's explanation. It almost sounded like William was still linked to XANA even after she and the others had freed him. She had been having strange dreams for the past few weeks that she had linked to XANA's return as well. She didn't know what to make of them but given William's explanation both of them likely somehow retain to a link to both Lyoko and XANA which was concerning.
A beeping sound caught her attention. "Everyone, I forgot to mention this but when the interface is accessed Flying Mantas will be coming your way."
"Flying Mantas?" Gwen asked.
"A sort of last line of defense to prevent anyone from accessing the data. William, you keep looking for the codes and see if you can find any information relating to the day, we thought XANA was killed. The rest of you, cover William."
"Got it." William nodded.
It wasn't like before three Flying Mantas flew around the giant sphere that was the sector, firing down on the group. Geoff threw his chakrams while DJ covered the group with his barrier. However, his barrier didn't expand far enough to protect the whole group, leaving LeShawna and Gwen to cover William as he worked.
William looked through the data. "Aelita, looks like you were right. XANA reset and modified everything, including the materialization codes."
"Can you find them?"
"Trying." William replied, shifting through the data. "There's something else, I found something on April 7th, 2007."
Aelita paused, staring at the screen. "The day we thought we won. Can you send me the data?"
"I can try but it will take a while. What about Cameron and Bridgette?"
Aelita froze.
She needed answers, to find a way to figure out how they messed up on the day they thought they had defeated XANA but…
"…The data can wait. Get me the new materialization codes for Sector 5."
Three more Flying Mantas hatched and flew towards the group, angling together into a circular formation. Dawn's eyes as she noticed the three Mantas were glowing as they prepared to fire. Their three lasers came together, forming into one singular laser blast that fired.
"No!" Dawn stepped in front of DJ…
Just as the laser pierced DJ's barrier and would have hit DJ if Dawn hadn't stepped in front of them, taking the hit that brought her life points down to zero.
"Dawn!" DJ gasped in horror as she vanished, a serine smile on her face. "Aelita, we're getting picked off out here!"
"Just give me a few more seconds…" William grunted, finishing the codes. "Okay, sending the codes to you, Aelita!"
"Got it."
Aelita worked fast to integrate the new materialization codes William had found. It was clear that William's sudden ability to find and recognize coding as complex as the new materialization codes for Sector 5 suggested that even though she and the others had freed him from XANA's control, it was possible he still retained all the knowledge and abilities he had gained when he was possessed. Despite the small misgivings she had, she pushed them aside and went to work on using the codes to bring Bridgette, Cameron and Dawn back and send the vehicles to the group.
"Okay, I'm sending the vehicles and bringing Bridgette, Cameron and Dawn back. I'm also shutting down the digital stream to the sector where the activated tower is. Go through the tunnel to reach the sector and I'll meet you all there." Aelita instructed, taking a moment to wipe her forehead. "Sending vehicles…now."
The three vehicles appeared around the edge of the platform.
"Nice." Geoff mounted the Overbike with William jumping on behind him.
Gwen got onto the Overboard while DJ and LeShawna climbed onto the Overwing.
The data stream into one of the tunnels ceased, letting them know which tunnel to take.
"The tunnel is open." Aelita announced.
"We see it. We're on our way." LeShawna replied as the vehicles took off.
"How is Bridgette? Is she back yet?" Geoff anxiously asked.
"Bringing her in now."
The three scanners closed their doors for a moment, opening again to reveal Bridgette, Cameron and Dawn as they collapsed out of the scanners.
Groaning, Bridgette slowly got up. "So that's how it feels."
"I never enjoyed being devirtualized that way myself." She looked up and saw Aelita getting into another scanner. "Head up to the Control Room and give us some support, we'll handle things on Lyoko."
Nodding, Bridgette climbed to her feet as the scanner closed and Aelita was automatically transferred to Lyoko.
Upon emerging from the data tunnel, the Lyoko Warriors emerged onto the Ice Sector, traveling down an icy road.
"Wow." Geoff remarked once the Overcycle was driving on solid ice. "That was a thing."
"Look ahead." William pointed, his hand reaching over Geoff's shoulder.
Up ahead was an icy 'island' and waiting for them was Aelita, waving her hand at them.
The three vehicles came to stop in front of her, LeShawna hopping off the Overwing. "Welcome to the party, girl."
"Is Bridge ok?" Geoff asked anxiously.
"I'm fine Geoff." Bridgette's voice could be heard, causing Geoff to look up. "Dawn and Cameron are okay too."
"Oh, that's a relief." Geoff held a hand over his chest, exhaling out the worry he had for his girlfriend.
"Okay, that's one problem taken care of." LeShawna nodded before looking at Aelita. "Now we need to take care of that tower. You know where it is?"
"Yes, just a few miles to the west of here. We'll be flying over open water for a bit, so we need to be careful." Aelita nodded and answered as she activated her wings. "If you fall...do yourself a favor and devirtualize yourself."
"Right, no falling into the sea." Geoff nodded.
The group flew over the digital sea, with the fighters forming a protective circle around Aelita.
"Uh...guys? I don't want to alarm you, but it looks like a ton of monsters are on your tail... ten of them!" Cameron's voice spoke.
"Do we know what they are?" Gwen asked before a laser shot past her head.
There were indeed ten of them as Cameron said. They resembled the green colored Hornets but were bigger, colored black and yellow like real hornet, even having small appendages like legs. They pointed their stingers which were now positioned at the rear end. The heads resembled the heads of real hornets with red eyes, a smooth metallic 'face' while the Eye of XANA was located on the foreheads like before.
These were not Hornets.
They were now Wasps.
Ten Wasps were in pursuit of the group, firing off several shots. Gwen turned on the Overboard and gripped her scythe. Tossing it, she took out one Wasp.
She reached up and grabbed her scythe as it returned to her. "Go on ahead! I've got this!"
Continuing on without her, the group was soon out of sight as Gwen charged the Hornets, dodging blasts. She cut one Wasp in half as she passed through the horde and spun the board in mid flight. She made a barrier using her scythe again and deflected a salvo of lasers. As soon as she had the chance, she tossed her scythe again, but it missed and went right through the horde, returning to her.
She began a mid air dog fight, dodging the Wasps and tossing her scythe at them in an attempt to take them down.
"Land ho!" Geoff called as they began to pass over land again.
"More like 'uh oh'." DJ pointed to a cliff they were passing by where a pair of Tarantulas appeared.
"Those large spider things again!" Geoff shouted. "Man, they look freaky!"
"I got this one!" LeShawna gripped her hammer and dove in. "HAIIIIIIIIIII-" She swung and crushed a Tarantula's head against the ice, destroying it. "YAH!"
She angled the Overwing around and dove at the second Tarantula, but the monster took her ride out with a pair of shots that hit the vehicle. Landing on her feet, LeShawna used her hammer to block three individual blasts and charged with a battle cry.
The Tarantula actually backed up in an attempt to escape before she slammed her hammer into the side of its head, destroying it entirely. "Hell yeah! Not so tough now big guy!"
"Uh...guys, I'm looking through the cameras in the factory, and you'll never believe who I see in the lobby." Cameron nervously cut in. "Everybody! Duncan, Courtney, Heather, everybody! Even Chris and Chef!"
"Oh no," Aelita whispered. "Cameron, don't let them in! There's a chance XANA has possessed them!"
"I locked the elevator down...Now they're just standing outside the elevator right now…Wait, Duncan's doing something..."
In the real world, Duncan crouched and raised one fist, gathering energy into it. He slammed it into the ground, which cracked. Every cast and crew member began to do this, essentially beginning to 'dig' their way towards the Control Room one hit at a time.
"Uh...I think they're trying to pummel their way through the floor." Bridgette said nervously as the lab began to shake.
"They either want into the Control Room or they want to compromise the support to the room." Aelita guessed. "We need to hurry."
"I'll meet you at the tower on foot." LeShawna called up to the others, hopping off the Overwing and leaving DJ to pilot it. "Keep on going."
"We got this!" Geoff grinned as they took off in the direction of the tower.
"Uh...four Spiderlings up ahead, thirty points per hit." Cameron immediately informed.
"XANA's taking this seriously; he didn't send many monsters last time because he didn't believe that you would make it." Aelita realized grimly.
"This makes... sixteen so far." DJ counted. "How many did it usually take to beat you all?"
"It depended, sometimes just one mega tank and sometimes a horde of Hornets. One time he summoned over hundreds of Krabs at once." Aelita answered. "He didn't send so many the last time because he never thought you'd pose much of a threat. You did better than the others did their first time."
"This time I'm not getting surprised." Geoff vowed. "No way, I'm totally on guard- whoa!" Shots fired past them, and he managed to avoid them. "You're going down!" He got out both Chakrams and tossed them both. Each one struck a Spiderling and returned to Geoff while DJ made a barrier around Aelita.
"Super Smoke!" William changed into smoke form as he charged at the Spiderlings, his smoke form rendering him immune to laser fire.
Just as he was in striking distance he jumped up and swung his sword down but the Spiderling he was targeting actually jumped back, firing a shot that hit him in the shoulder.
"Gah!" William staggered back, clenching his shoulder. "They are a lot smarter than before."
Geoff ended up getting clipped by a blast on his shoulder but managed to take out the third Spiderling. Aelita exited DJ's barrier and shot the fourth with an Energy Sphere.
Gwen had reduced the Wasps to four before one struck her board. She fell with a cry towards the digital sea, her scythe ending up out of her grasp and falling just a little too far for her to reach. There was no land below her and without her weapon she could not devirtualize herself. She squeezed her eyes shut.
'Oh god, I'm going to get shredded into digital pieces and scattered all over the web! Oh god, oh god, what's it going to feel like? Will I just fall asleep or am I going to feel every second of it?!' She thought. 'Oh man, oh man!' As she fell her whole life passed before her eyes. Happy times with her parents, the birth of her little brother, the day her dad left them, the day she arrived on Total Drama Island, all of those moments she treasured with her friends. She began to ponder any regrets she had. 'Regrets, do I have any regrets... Breaking up with Trent on national TV and having his team vote him off...being so mean to Cody in the first Season...kissing Duncan while he was still technically with Courtney...Trent, Cody, Courtney I am so sorry oh god this is it, goodbye!'
"Uh...hey Gwen, you were moving down and just stopped, is everything alright? You're kind of close to the digital sea." Cameron's voice said.
Gwen slowly opened her eyes, showing she was floating! She was barely a few inches above the digital sea. The Wasps circled above her, and her cape was flapping in what seemed to be the wind, seemingly having changed into a pair of bat-like wings, seemingly keeping her from falling into the Digital Sea.
"Gwen, is everything all right? What's going on?" Bridgette's voice asked.
"I don't know!" Gwen flailed a bit, managing to angle herself so she was facing upward. "Man, if I was a little higher I'd feel better about this!" She slowly began rising, the bat wings that used to be her cape flapping a little fast now. "Huh?" She stopped in mid air. "I thought that my scythe's barrier was my special ability, we only get one, right?"
"I don't know...I am looking at some info on Aelita's old friends right now. Ulrich Stern could move extremely fast and clone himself...Odd could make an energy barrier and fire laser arrows...Yumi was telekinetic and used fans similar to how you use your scythe." Cameron said. "Perhaps your cape is a form of equipment like Aelita's wings."
"I...I'm flying!" Testing her theory, Gwen rose up and did a flip in mid air.
"It's cool but you should get moving. The others need help."
"Ok...but where'd my scythe go?" The weapon seemed to appear in her hand, forming from lines of code. "Oh...sweet!" She glared up at the Wasps. "First, you all die." She shot up, and cut one Wasp down before they could react.
Manoeuvring too quickly for them to lock on, Gwen cut through a second Wasp and then as she flew up she tossed her scythe, which cut through the third. When it began to take too long to return to her and the final Wasp locked onto her, Gwen yelled and dove down, slamming her feet into the hornet's eye. Losing control, it spun out of control and fell into the digital sea. A pillar of white light shot up from where it went under, signalling its destruction.
Acquiring her scythe, Gwen smirked. "Don't mess with me like that again, because I don't need a fancy hover board to fly now!"
"Better get a move on, Gwen. The others are near the tower."
"I'm on it!" Gwen took off.
LeShawna smashed her hammer down on a Krab's eyes, destroying it. "Boo yah!" She leaped down and swung her hammer sideways, sending a Pyramid flying. "Home run baby!"
She had run into a group consisting of four Pyramids, two Krabs, and eight Spiderlings. She had to shake the area several times to distract them all as she took out the Krabs and Pyramids first. Now only one Pyramid and five Spiderlings remained before her.
"Ok, bat 'er up!" LeShawna taunted. "And Spider freak is going, going-" She swung and sent a Spiderling flying off into the distance. "GONE!"
She leaped into the air as the Pyramid tried to hit her several times. She smashed it under her hammer and advanced on the four Spiderlings, blocking their shots effortlessly until they were backed up against a cliff. Smirking, LeShawna reared back and swung her hammer down on the ground. The cliff shook...and the entire shelf fell off, taking the Spiderlings with it. Four pillars of light shot into the air as the monsters fell into the digital sea.
"Oh yeah, who kicks ass? LeShawna baby!" LeShawna laughed.
"Alright LeShawna, the tower is through that next canyon, it's barely a mile away." Cameron said.
"I'm all over it!"
"Can you guys hurry? It's getting rough here!"
In the real world, pieces of the ceiling began to fall around Bridgette, Cameron, and Dawn and the digital map flickered. Bridgette put her arms over her head.
"We see the tower now, we're going in!" DJ said.
"Wait, DJ look out!" Aelita cried...right before DJ's life points fell to fifty.
In Lyoko, DJ was knocked off the Over Sled by a powerful laser blast that destroyed the sled. Catching himself on the edge of the platform, he pulled himself up and came face to face with what looked like a mutated version of a Creeper. It stood on two legs ending with hooves, and the legs ended above the creature's body, making them look like a cross between arms and legs. Its ribs were showing through the same featureless white skin most of XANA's monsters shared.
It had a long tail that ended with a massive blade, and its neck stretched out and ended with a small angular head with the eye of XANA on it.
"Oh man that is ugly." Geoff said as he flew overhead.
"Be careful, it's very powerful." Aelita cautioned.
DJ dodged several shots from it. It lashed out with a tail at William who immediately used his Super Smoke to dodge it. He flew up and solidified over the monster's head, aiming his Zweihander down but to his surprise the monster rolled out of the way and then swatted its arm at him, slamming him down onto the ground, depleting all his life points.
"Be careful, it has a 50-life point per hit ratio. The computer is calling it a Scorpion." Cameron advised them.
"Ok, anybody have a plan?" Geoff asked, dodging some shots from the Scorpion.
"DJ, distract it while Geoff and I attack!" Aelita shouted, leaping from the Over Wing and spreading her wings. "Energy Field!"
She fired a shot at the Scorpion as DJ charged it, making barriers around himself. The Scorpion fired a bolt of red lightning and entirely pierced the barrier, and the energy field missed the XANA Eye. DJ dodged the laser and then rolled back as it tried to crush him under one arm.
"It got right through my shield!" DJ shouted, dodging the blade like tail.
"Get out of there DJ!" Geoff shouted.
"No way, I ain't running!" DJ growled...and something happened as the Scorpion tried to crush him under its foot.
When the two fighters got a good look, they saw DJ under the foot, just barely keeping it up...and he was made of rock! DJ slowly lifted it up and forced the Scorpion off balance. He looked at his hands.
"Whoa..." He bashed his fists together. "Bring it on!"
He leaped at the Scorpion and grabbed its tail as it swung at him. He pulled it right off balance.
"DJ, you're like a golem dude!" Geoff cheered.
"Boo yah, I'm invincib-" DJ was cut off when the Scorpion flicked its tail and sent him flying over the edge.
"DJ!" Geoff dove after his friend, who literally fell like a rock.
"AHHHHHH!" DJ screamed.
Seeing no alternative, Geoff tossed a Chakram. "Sorry man!"
By now DJ had reverted to his normal form, and the Chakram cut through him, devirtualizing him mere moments before he would have hit the Digital Sea.
"Man, that was close." Geoff flew back up to the tower's plateau. "This might be harder than I thought."
Geoff tossed a Chakram that cut into one leg, but the Scorpion didn't even flinch. It fired and hit his over bike, destroying it. Geoff hit the ground, and barely avoided being crushed by rolling on his side. Getting into a crouch, he did a back roll to avoid a laser.
"Gotta hit that eye!" He threw another chakram, and Aelita fired energy spheres from above, but nothing worked.
The creature struck him once.
"Geoff! You're down to twenty life points!" Cameron cried.
Getting up slowly, Geoff brought his chakrams into their axe form. "Ok...now you've gone and ticked me off."
He charged with a battle cry...which was drowned out by LeShawna's as she leaped from a cliff overhead.
"YEEEEEEE HAWWWWW!" The girl shouted as she swung her hammer down on the Scorpion, the power of the strike making it slip and collapse.
LeShawna shouted as she leaped away. "You just got dropped, buddy!"
"Good timing!" Geoff shouted.
"SAVE SOME FOR ME!" Gwen flew in and swung her scythe, cutting into the Scorpion as it got up.
"She can fly too?! Man I am jealous!" Geoff said.
"Be jealous later kill the big bug thing now!" Gwen shouted.
The four began to attack from all angles, avoiding lasers and the tail. Geoff got in close and began to swing his axe, but the Scorpion raised the leg he aimed for. The foot looked like a hand now that Geoff examined it right before it scooped him up and began to crush the life out of him!
"Life points down to 18! 16!" Cameron shouted. "Guys, hurry up, they're almost through!"
A hand stuck down through the metal, and a grinning Owen stuck his head through, spitting out some circuitry.
"Hello Bridge!" He laughed.
Suddenly a piece of metal struck Owen in the head, revealing DJ and William standing at the elevator.
"You leave my friends alone!" DJ shouted, holding a hammer he had taken from a tool box at the studio. "I'm right here big guy!"
"Guys, hurry up! They're inside!" Bridgette shouted.
Geoff groaned, managing to get his arms free and hold his axe up. "I don't have time for this, my girl's in danger! GET OFF ME!" His axe's blades glowed bright with energy as he swung it, unleashing a powerful energy wave that bisected the Scorpion from the range it hit at.
Exploding, the Scorpion's grip vanished and Geoff fell to where he landed on his back, reduced to 6 life points.
LeShawna and Aelita were in the best shape, not having taken any damage at all. Gwen had used up all but 40 of her life points flying to the plateau.
"Get in there, hurry!" Geoff pointed to the tower.
Aelita rushed into the tower.
Bridgette, Dawn and DJ were beating off Owen, Heather, and Beth as more campers began to climb into the lab. Chris chuckled as he leaped down into the lab. "Well, looks like they reached the tower. Better finish up here."
DJ hit Heather on the head, knocking her down before Katie and Sadie piled on him.
Cameron, seeing Aelita was inside the tower, followed the instructions for a Return to the Past.
Aelita approached the interface and put her hand on it.
AELITA
"It's over." Chris said before he paused in mid step.
"Sweet dreams Chris!" Bridgette said, managing to bring one foot up and kick the XANA possessed Chris right in the nuts. "I wanted to do that for years!"
CODE:
LYOKO
The tower shut down.
The Campers all stopped and collapsed.
DJ lowered his hammer, sighing in relief. Dawn knelt down onto the ground, closing her eyes and she let out a relief exhale.
"Return to the past now!" Cameron shouted and there was a flash of light.
The group ended up in the lab before they had gone to train.
"Wow...that was intense." Was all Gwen could say.
"Now you all understand why I wanted you to train before the next attack." Aelita sighed. "Now that you're a threat, XANA won't stop until you're gone."
"Are the others ok?" DJ asked.
"They should be fine, they wouldn't know what was happening when possessed, and with the Return to the Past they'd be clueless."
"Well, at least we know what our powers are. DJ, you turn into a golem man!" Geoff said. "Gwen, you fly!"
"That's still odd; I thought my power was to use my scythe to make a barrier." Gwen said. "But my cape could turn into wings."
"Maybe there's more to it." Aelita said.
"What do you mean?" Gwen asked.
"Ulrich was able to use two abilities known as Super Sprint and Triplicate. Super Sprint allowed him to run at breakneck speeds and Triplicate allowed him to make two clones of himself. He could also use an ability called Triangulate that combined his two abilities into one attack. It allowed him to create three clones in a triangle formation and the real Ulrich would run between them, confusing the enemy." Aelita said. "When you activate your powers, you have one primary ability and one or two abilities that are secondary. Or perhaps your cape is like my wings, a form of equipment."
"Ok, Gwen's cape flies, Geoff shoots that huge lightning wave from his axe but can also run super fast, DJ is a golem with energy barriers, Cameron is a walking armory...and LeShawna, Dawn and I might still have powers." Bridgette clarified.
"Most likely, either that or I'm stuck making small earthquakes with that huge ass hammer of mine." LeShawna said. "Man, you gotta admit we kicked some ass today."
"Yeah, we did." Aelita allowed herself to smile but frowned. "That was more dangerous than I thought it would be. I thought XANA would need at least another day before he could launch another attack, but it hasn't been that long."
"You think his new powers made him strong enough he can activate a tower even just after losing?" William asked.
"I am not sure." Aelita sighed. "There's still so much we don't know. Like for the fact, William, you accessed the interface in Sector 5 and created brand new materialization codes. That's something that took Jeremy a few months to do."
"I…I can't explain how I knew it…I just did." William looked at his hands. "Walking up to it, I could tell I could do it, like I was remembering how."
"What do you mean?" DJ asked curiously.
"I think I still have some of the powers XANA gave me when he was controlling me. I could use Super Smoke like I instinctively knew I still had it." William carefully explained, a wary expression on his face. "And then I knew what to access there. The data in Sector 5, I just knew I was able to access it and where to look."
Aelita had a worried look on her face.
She was so sure she and the others had freed William from XANA's control but if William somehow could still use the powers XANA had given him…Was he in danger of being possessed again or was it only XANA's control they had eliminated and not what else the AI could have given William during his time as a prisoner?
"Speaking of though," Aelita was shaken from her thoughts as William changed the subject. "Did you get the data on what happened on April 7th, 2007."
"What's so important about that date?" Cameron asked.
"It's the last day we faced XANA and supposedly defeated him for good." Aelita answered, turning to the screen. "You say you found something, William?"
"Yeah, but it looked encoded, so I just downloaded it to you." William answered.
"I see. Then it might take some time to decode it." Aelita looked to the rest of the group. "I'll call you all when the data is decoded or when the next tower activates, you should get back to the studio and get some rest."
"See you for lunch tomorrow? We won't be shooting until Friday." DJ pointed out. "They won't air the next episode until they're sure there won't be another attack like the one we just had."
"Right, Chris got a lot of calls from our families, my folks included, about keeping us safe from any terrorist attacks in France." Geoff recalled.
"Sorry but I've got eyes on me back at my school." Aelita shrugged. "I have to lie low for a little while before I can make any unscheduled trips off of campus."
"Bummer." Geoff said with a sympathetic look on his face. "Well, as long we're not competing, we have our cell phones with us."
The group went their separate ways. Aelita had programmed the computer to automatically decode the data William had retrieved from Sector 5. When the group was long gone, the elevator suddenly opened and in walked someone.
"So, it's been here this whole time." It was a woman, standing to marvel at the lab before making her way to the computer. "And it looks like they've been busy. I hope I'm not too late."
She typed away at the keyboard, opening several programs.
Opening DNA Scan Program
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Opening Genetic Code Files
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
She reached into her coat and pulled out vial and inside was a single strand of hair. "I always knew this would be need one day."
She took the elevator down to the scanner room and placed the vial inside the scanner before making her way back up to the lab. With a tap of the enter key, the scanner with the vial closed.
DNA Scan Program Activated: Scanning DNA
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Scan Complete: DNA Accepted
"Okay, I hope this works." She took a deep breath and opened the next program. "Launching materialization program."
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The scanner down below hummed and opened its doors. Inside was a man who gasped and fell out of the scanner, into the waiting arms of the woman who waited outside. He wore a white lab coat with a brown turtleneck. He was panting, seemingly confused as he looked around, confused and disoriented.
"It's all right, Franz. You're back with us."
(Credits)