Chapter 13 The Girl of the Dreams

Disclaimer – I do not own Code Lyoko, the plot, or the story idea. I am just a fan of the show, the plot is owned by the creators, and the story idea was submitted by LittleRedRebel.

Jeremy sits in his room, working on Aelita's materialization program. "Time to launch the program." He does so and watches as he types away, but the program doesn't work. "Oh no, I don't believe it, not again." He slams his fist on his desk. He stands up in frustration. "I…darn it, I'm so useless!" I'm never gonna do it."

"And I'm sure you will Jeremy" Aelita appears on his screen.

"Thanks for the encouragement, but I'm useless, I tell you." He sits down, holding his head.

"Jeremy…do you think we get along well in the real world? I mean, as well as we do now?" She wonders.

"Yeah, of course, why?" He looks up at her.

"Because I'm not so sure…I'd like to have a best friend who's useless. You understand?"

"Ha ha, very funny." He places his hand on his cheek, feeling comforted by her words.

Odd opens the door. "Hey, get a move on Jeremy. You're gonna be late for school again."

"Wow, is it that late already? Okay, I'll be right there Odd. Anyhow, useless, or not, I'm gonna try one more thing" he types away.

"Okay, I get the picture. See ya later" he leaves, and Jeremy presses enter.

In the mountain sector, Aelita is sitting on a platform. She hears cracking behind her and turns around, screaming.

Yumi and Ulrich push something in a red curtain. This whatever it is of yours weighs at least a ton!"

"It's not a whatever, it's been in my family for hundreds of years" she explains, Milly and Tamiya sneaking to them. They watch as the two push the mysterious object into Yumi's classroom. Ulrich sits on the desk.

"So when are you gonna unveil your thingamabob?" Ulrich wonders and Yumi closes the cabinet.

"At the very end of my report. You'll see, it's gonna be a smash hit, a real showstopper. Worth an A, I hope" she smiles.

"You sure wouldn't find a thing like that in my house. First of all, your whatchamacallit doesn't go with the drapes in the living room" they start to leave.

"Whatchamacallit? Whatever, what I like most about you Ulrich, is your rich vocabulary" Yumi comments.

"Hmm" Ulrich muses and the two girls look at them leaving.

"Don't look now Tamiya, but I smell a big, juicy scoop!" Milly tells her.

"So do I," they look at each other and Tamiya starts rolling. Milly stands in front of the object. "Okay, rolling. Go ahead."

"Fellow middle school students. Hello, this is Milly and Tamiya of the seventh grade reporting the school news." Milly moves out of the way so Tamiya can shoot in full view. "you may not know it, but just behind your backs, something strange is hatching. And this, my friends, is a part of it, in our constant quest to be the first to report the latest news. We are bringing you this exclusive expose of what's hidden under this drape." Milly reveals the samurai armor and Tamiya drops the camera. "Tamiya, listen, is there any reason for filming your feet? Hey, Tamiya!"

"I'm sorry, it…scares me a little." The bell rings.

"Oh no, time for class already?" Milly closes the doors, but they open a little. The two girls run out of the room. Electricity sparks from the outlet, one of Xana's ghost crawls into the armor…possessing it.

Jeremy yawns in class, sitting next to Ulrich. Odd sits next to Nadia in front of the two. "You know Jeremy, most people use the night hours to sleep" Ulrich whispers.

"I was trying a new program for materializing Aelita," he explains. "With the last one I was trying, I almost succeeded. I was nearly there."

Odd turns around. "And what are you gonna say to her when you do succeed? You never knew how to talk to a girl!"

"He talks with me just fine Odd, even before you two became Lyoko Warriors, before any of this" Nadia states.

"But as a friend, with Aelita, it's not the same."

"He's right, it's not the same" Jeremy admits.

The principal comes in at this time. "Good morning everyone. Before the start of your first class this morning, I would like to introduce your new classmate. Come in Talia. I'm sure your fellow students are anxious to meet you."

"Okay, here's your chance. Imagine she's here in front of you right now in flesh and blood. What are you gonna say?" Odd suggests.

Jeremy raises an eyebrow in shock. "Oh wow…! Ohh…"

"Beep, sorry. Your time is up. You could do with a few pointers in flirting."

"With you? Maybe in the breaking up category" Nadia tells him before catching a glimpse of the girl. Odd also looks at her. The girl looks just like Aelita!

"Oh wow, this is…I don't believe it!"

After class, Jeremy looks across the distance at Talia as she reads a book. "You're right, she sure does look like her, but if it really is her, she ought to be able to recognize us, don't you think?" Yumi wonders.

"Not necessarily. She may have lost her memory when she was materialized" Jeremy explains.

"I don't think that's her. The red hair and how do we know that Xana is not behind this? He could've sent this fake Aelita here to keep us spinning while he eliminates the real Aelita!" Nadia suggests.

"Wouldn't she have tried to kill us by now?" Ulrich replies.

"Xana wouldn't make the same mistake twice. But the same attack twice? I don't know" Jeremy answers.

"Well, talk to her. It's the only way you can find out" Odd suggests.

"What if it's not her?" Jeremy asks. Odd glances at Ulrich who walks up to Jeremy. Odd and Nadia join him.

"Go on."

"Hey, wait!"

"Watch an expert and learn," Odd tells him. "Hi there, Ae-, I mean Talia. My friends and I were, uh, we thought you looked familiar like we'd seen you before."

She narrows her eyes. "Come on, that's the oldest pick-up line around." She continues reading.

"Wow, rejected in three seconds. True work of a master" Nadia says with a smile. Talia even laugh a little.

"Huh? Hey, who said that I wanted to pick you up? I was just making conversation," he retorts. "Uh, by the way, do things like the virtual world or krabs or buzzing monsters mean anything to you?"

She stands up. "Uh…well. Yeah. It means that I'd better be moving along."

"Wait a minute, don't go! Where are you from? Do you have a family?" Jeremy calls out.

"I'm not in the mood to talk" she leaves.

Yumi walks up to them. "Well?"

"It's not her" Odd confirms.

"And Odd set the world record for quickest rejection" Nadia says.

"Yeah, got the brush off big time. Watch an expert and learn, huh?" Ulrich adds. "Anyway, if it is Aelita, it's for sure she's got amnesia."

"Wait a second, hold on. Let's say it's her, it it's really her for sure, then…she can't still be on Lyoko!" Jeremy exclaims as the bell rings.

"You can check it out later. Right now, we have a date with Mrs. Meyer" Ulrich reminds him.

"Wish me luck for my report everybody!" They walk past her, and she gives them annoyed looks. Thanks for caring guys."

"Good luck. The guys have one thing on their mind. 'Is Talia Aelita?'" Nadia tells her. She follows the boys.

Mrs. Meyer writes down a formula on the chalkboard. "Now, we have a simple equation with two…"

"I have to check out Lyoko now, I can't wait any longer" Jeremy says in impatience.

"Okay, we'll go together" Odd offers and Jeremy raises his second finger.

"Uh, Mrs. Meyer? Excuse me" he calls out and she turns to him.

"Yes, what is it?"

"I'm sorry, but I need to go to the infirmary. I don't feel too well. I feel, uh, I feel really sick."

"Oh yes, of course, Jeremy. Go ahead."

"Uh, I'll take him there. I mean, you never know, huh?" Odd raises his hand.

Jeremy checks his computer in his room. "Okay, we're just about connected."

"Jim's gonna catch us if you don't hurry up" Odd reminds.

"Aelita? Do you read me? It's Jeremy Aelita." There's no reply from her.

"She doesn't answer, but she might be in one of Xana's traps. Nadia may be right" Odd suggests as he stands guard.

"One of the last calculations I tried were the right ones" Jeremy thinks.

"You know, you could really use a good night's sleep. You would still have to rematerialize her. Aelita can't do it herself" Odd places his hands on his hips.

"Odd, it's her" Jeremy places his hands on his shoulders seriously.

"And I say you're nuts!" Odd tells him.

"I'm positive, I did it, I did it! Talia is Aelita!"

Yumi is just about finished with her report, items form her house shown on the table. "Well, of course it's just a glimpse of my country's culture. To explain it all would take hours, and I'm not sure you're ready to put up with me for that long, right?" Her classmates giggle at her joke. "To end my report, I'd like to show you something that's been in my family for centuries." She opens the cabinet. "It's a living symbol of Japan, and it's an-" She gasps in shock when she sees no armor, just a drape. "A drape?" She sees the fried outlets. "Xana."

The moving armor walks in the dorms. "Hey you!" Jim calls out. "What are you doing here, huh? What kind of a costume is that?" The armor turns around and Jim gasps when he sees that it has no body. "Hey, what's wrong with you, huh?" The armor pulls out a katana, running towards him. "What about your head?" The katana gleams as the living armor raises it in the air. (I know it's a kids show, but how Jim didn't die here is incredible.)

"Maybe one of the kids took it" Jeremy suggests as lunch. Yumi was telling them what happened during her report.

"Don't forget the electrical plugs" Yumi insists.

"Yeah. Look, if Xana is in on this, we better not count on Aelita," Odd picks up a brussel sprout with his fork. "We can't reach her on Lyoko."

"Odd, we can't reach her on Lyoko cuz she isn't on Lyoko!" Jeremy says in his face.

"Look Jeremy, we all want to see Aelita, but if Xana's attacking us, he also had something to do with Aelita's mysterious disappearance" Nadia states.

"Yeah, I can't believe that girl is Aelita" Yumi agrees.

"Well, I know somebody who's dying to believe it" Ulrich leans towards Jeremy, who has a determined look.

"Honestly Jeremy, I know you better. I know rematerializing Aelita is number one on your to do list, but we have to face facts. Xana might have the samurai and is now armed. We have to find the real Aelita to stop Xana and soon" Nadia tells him with concern.

"Children, please, give me your attention," they turn to the principal, the police behind him. "Several of your fellow students, as well as your own Jim whom you all know and whom you respect, I know."

"Let's not go overboard huh?" Odd asks with a grin.

"Their attacker was a person who, um, well a person who was wearing armor. The armor of a samurai," he clears his throat, pushing up his glasses. "And this individual is still at large." Yumi narrows her eyes. "Any information you can contribute to the police would be more than welcome."

"See? Already too late!" Nadia says to Jeremy.

"We can't wait any longer" Yumi whispers.

"We have to go to Lyoko, find Aelita, and deactivate the tower" Ulrich tells them.

"When are you gonna get it into your thick heads that if the samurai is controlled by Xana, that he's after Talia? It makes sense, doesn't it, huh? Because Talia is Aelita!" Jeremy insists, groaning as he walks away.

"Wow, he's flipped his lid huh?" Odd jokes. A police officer walks behind Yumi.

'Xana's gonna target us. Jeremy just threw himself into Xana's hands' Nadia thinks.

"Excuse me miss. It seems the armor belongs to you." Yumi gives a slightly shocked look.

"We have to rescue Jeremy" Nadia tells the boys.

"What about Yumi?" Ulrich asks.

"She is safe with the police. Xana is targeting people alone and Jeremy is alone."

Talia is continuing to unpack when Jeremy bursts into the room. "Aelita! Listen to me, Xana has launched an attack!" she narrows her eyes. "He's managed to take control of the samurai's armor! You're his sworn enemy, he's after you! You have no choice; you absolutely have to hide!"

"As a pickup line, that's a lot more original than the one your friend tried" she crosses her arms.

"Aelita, please listen to me! It's definitely the rematerialization that gave you amnesia. The shock made you lose your memory. But you have to trust me," he shakes her. "You have to Aelita."

"Hey, get your hands off of me," she pushes him away. "I don't trust anyone who's stark raving mad!" They hear a noise behind them and the samurai armor appears at the door. The two gasp and Jeremy stands in front of Talia.

"No Xana! You won't get her, I won't let you, you hear?!" The armor raise a sword, and Jeremy pulls Talia out of the way. They look in shock. "Come on!" They run off. "Hurry, hurry!" The armor lifts the sword, peeking to see them leave. "Faster Talia!" They run out of the dorms and Talia looks back as the armor chases them. They run as fast as they can, turning the corner. Talia turns around to see the armor still following them and she trails behind Jermey. They decide to hide in the boiler room and the armor walks in. It turns around, seeing no one before leaving.

"It's not true!" Yumi insists to the officer.

"Anyway, the samurai's armor does belong to you.."

"Well yes, to my parents" Yumi confirms.

"And you have no idea who might have stolen it?"

Ulrich, Nadia, and Odd wait for Yumi outside the principal's office. "Look, we can't do anything here for Yumi guys. We have to tell Jeremy to meet us at the factory" Odd explains.

"I agree. As long as Xana controls the samurai, we're all in danger" Nadia tells them. Ulrich stands up, dialing Jeremy.

"Jeremy's voicemail is on" he tells them.

"Hopefully the samurai didn't get to him first" Nadia murmurs with worry.

Jeremy and Talia arrive at the factory. "Wow, this place is weird."

"Follow me," Jeremy presses a button. They go down, Jeremy looking down at his watch. Talia stares at him in confusion as he puts in the code. The doors open to the lab and he walks in. "Come on." Talia looks around before following. Jeremy sit sin his chair. "That's Lyoko, the virtual world where you once lived. Doesn't that ring a bell at all?"

"And, um, this Xana you talked about, does he also live in the same world?" Talia wonders.

"Yes, he's got total control."

"But if he's so dangerous, why don't you destroy Lyoko?" She places her hands on her hips.

"B-Because you're part of…it's…because you were part of this world."

"You're totally crazy! This whole story is crazy! You know what I think? If all this stuff is so dangerous, it's time you destroyed it once and for all" she gestures to the holomap.

"Do you…do you really think so?" He asks, hesitating. She nods in response and his hands hover over the keyboard.

"Jeremy, stop" he turns to the elevator opening to reveal the boys and Nadia.

"Have you gone mad or what Einstein? What if Aelita is still on Lyoko?" Odd demands.

"But she isn't, I tell you! Look, she's there, she's right in front of you!" He points to Talia.

"Jeremy, I know you dreamt of seeing Aelita in reality for months, but please come down to Earth. You can't be sure. And what if you were mistaken?" Ulrich continues.

"You mean you're ready to take the risk of destroying Aelita by destroying Xana, huh?" Odd asks.

"We all want to see Aelita, but you're the only one who doesn't see clearly that this girl is not Aelita" Nadia adds.

"We've got to make sure. You've got to let us go to Lyoko" Ulrich states.

"And if Aelita's not there, who's going to deactivate the tower?" Jeremy questions.

"We have to take the risk" Ulrich tells him.

"And, if it comes down to it, we'll find a way to stop Xana and the samurai" Nadia adds.

Nadia, Odd, and Ulrich descend into the scanner room. They walk up to the scanners. "The las time I saw Aelita, she was in the mountain sector," Jeremy explains. "Transfer Ulrich. Transfer Odd. Transfer Nadia." Jeremy presses enter and the doors close. "Scanner Ulrich. Scanner Odd. Scanner Nadia." They're scanned and sent. "Virtualization." They are all successfully virtualized into the mountain sector. "Can you see anything?"

"Yes Jeremy. Mountains, lots of them" Ulrich tells him.

"And if Jeremy can't find or contact Aelita, then Xana's gotta be masking her signal somewhere here" Nadia adds.

"I'm starting to scan to trace the tower that Xana activated," Jeremy explains, starting the scan. "You have to understand Talia, if you're not Aelita, then we've got to-" he sees the girl is no longer there.

Talia runs away from the factory, preparing to tell the police.

All three search through the sector for any sign of Aelita. Odd jumps up rocks. "Boy, oh boy, finding someone around here is gonna be harder than finding an idea in Jim's head!" He suddenly gets a future flash, seeing Aelita in a guardian. He gasps and Ulrich appears behind him. "Ulrich, Nadia, I just saw Aelita."

"Hm, where?" Ulrich wonders.

"In kind of flash vision" Odd tells them.

"Aelita" Jeremy murmurs in worry.

Talia is walking to the principal's office, Yumi walking down the hall as she just got out. They glance at each other, Yumi turning around. She got the sense that Talia really needed to see the principal…and whatever she needed to say seemed pretty important…she calls Jeremy.

"Oh, hi Yumi," Jeremy looks up. "Well? Is everything okay?"

"Yes, they finished questioning me, but I just saw Talia, and she looked like she was in a hurry to go and see the principal" she reports.

"Oh, that can't be, this is awful! Horrible! Yumi, I took Talia to the factory."

"You what?! She's gonna tell the cops everything! Be right there."

Jeremy looks at the security cameras of the main area. Then he sees that the tower is in the forest sector. "Guys, the tower Xana has activated has been localized at 30 degrees north in…in the forest sector."

They stop at the edge. "Without Aelita, that's not gonna do us a lot of good" Ulrich explains and Odd walks to the other side. He looks down to see a path leading to the guardian.

"Look there! That ball of fire. That's exactly what I saw before. Aelita's inside of it" Odd states.

"I think it's called a guardian, not a ball of fire like a sun" Nadia corrects him.

Odd jumps, landing on a platform. Nadia and Ulrich follow behind.

"Jeremy, we've found her!" Ulrich tells him as he sighs in relief.

"The guardian is blocking the communication with Aelita" Odd guesses.

"Yeah, just like when it trapped Nadia" Ulrich says.

"Don't remind me" Nadia tells him.

"And Aelita was the one who saved her by convincing the monster he had the wrong prisoner" Odd says.

"Now Xana changed his tactics, capture the savior" Nadia says.

"We got no other option, we use force" Ulrich pulls out his sword and hits the guardian, but nothing happens.

Yumi opens the door to the boiler room. The door closes behind her and the lights flicker. She looks up and gasps, feeling a little uneasy… "Is anyone there? I know you're there, show yourself!"

Ulrich continues swinging his sword until he stops.

"You never learn. You tried the same thing with me and got the same result. You can't destroy this thing with force" Nadia tells him.

"How do you know that?" Ulrich asks.

"You think I didn't ask what happened during my imprisonment and what this creature is?" Nadia replies rhetorically.

"You got a better idea" Ulrich retorts back.

"No, but I'm smart enough not to waste energy on an indestructible monster."

"Oh, wow, Xana has…Xana must have designed a program. Right, it's a program. And if it's a program, I should be able to-"

"Hey, what are you mumbling about?" Ulrich interrupts. "You've got an idea, I hope."

"Maybe but give me a couple minutes here."

"Okay, no problem man. We've got all the time in the world" Odd says sarcastically.

"Let's hope the samurai didn't find his next victim" Nadia comments.

Yumi backs away as the samurai advances, stepping on a metal pipe. She picks it up as the samurai comes closer and uses the pipe to block the sword.

Talia walks on the bridge, followed by the police and principal. Jeremy sees them from one of his security cameras. "Already? To think I blew our whole cover by talking to a perfect stranger! That means the samurai wasn't after Talia at all, he was after us. Yumi!"

The samurai steps on Yumi's phone, breaking it. Yumi runs off and he stares at her before they continue their duel.

"Just a little more time" Jeremy says as Talia, the principal, and the police are at the elevator.

"Hey, how about that idea of yours?" Ulrich asks just as the program finishes.

"It's ready. Here goes" Jeremy presses enter and a hologram of Aelita appears in front of the guardian.

"Making a clone of Aelita? Well, personally, I'm a bit skeptical Jeremy" Odd states.

"Patience Odd."

The guardian swallows up the hologram. It shakes before it's destroyed, the light so bright the three have to cover their eyes.

"A decoy. Jeremy, you're the greatest" Ulrich comments.

"Get Aelita to a tower. She's got to regenerate herself."

Yumi runs into the locker room, closing the door behind her. She speeds off and hides behind a locker, waiting as the samurai armor appears.

Aelita opens her eyes, starting to heal. "Everything's okay. Aelita's got her life points back again!" Jeremy says, relieved.

"You found me at last," Aelita sits up, rubbing her head. "What about the guardian?"

"The orange bubble? Ha, he won't bother you anymore!" Odd answers. They all walk to the edge. They spread their arms. "We're off Jeremy. Destination, the forest." The four let themselves fall, passing through the bits. They land on the pad.

Yumi could feel her heart beating in fear as she clutches the pipe. She turns around, only to have the sword swing at her. She ducks and jumps onto the bench. She backs away, silently wondering if they found Aelita.

They walk out of the tower and into the forest. "Jeremy, we're here" Ulrich inform him.

"Look guys, you better hurry. I can't reach Yumi. I'm afraid she's having problems with the samurai" Jeremy voices.

"There's no time to lose. Let's go." Ulrich points and they start to run.

"While you're at it, you got any other good news?" Odd calls out.

"Oh yeah, plenty. Talia saw me punch in the access code for the lab. And the principal and the police are here. And um, Xana's monsters are around. Three bloks. Watch out for that laser ice blast or it's game over." The three bloks appear behind them from the trees and Odd hears them, turning around. They advance as he wiggles his tail.

"Hey bloks. Cool, my favorite monsters." The others continue running, leaving him to deal with the bloks. "Laser arrow!" He hits the ground, missing. They fire their ice lasers and Odd jumps, dodging them. The ice hits the trees they pass and Odd runs after them.

The elevator doors open and Jeremy turns around, seeing Talia, the principal, and the police. "There," Talia points to the computer. "It was this computer right here. There was this Xana thing. I don't know how, but it seems he's connected to the samurai!"

"Jeremy, I think you owe us an explanation" Principal Delmas demands.

"Odd, Nadia, take care of Aelita. I'll stay here and cover you alone. Well, almost alone" Ulrich orders. He stops running and turns around. He then runs around the blok, making a triangle shape. "Triangulate!" The two other Ulrich's appear at the corners and the blok looks around in confusion, trying to figure out which Ulrich was the real one. He hits one and one clone is destroyed. He hits the other, but this gives Ulrich enough time to jump on top of it. He holds his sword near his forehead. "Impact!" He stabs the eye and jumps down, the blok destroyed. The second blok approaches, its ice laser ready. Ulrich is hit from behind and is immediately devirtualized. The scanner opens with him inside.

The three stop in front of the activated tower. "Your turn princess."

Aelita nods at Odd before closing her eyes, walking forward. The bloks approach.

"Come along now" Principal Delmas orders.

"I'm sorry sir, but…my friends are in danger, and I can't abandon them." He sees the police coming. "Ah, no don't, stop! You can't do this, let me go!" Talia just watches the display, thinking she did a good thing telling the police.

Yumi runs into the gym and turns around, the armor opening the door. She rushes off, panting.

Aelita looks at the tower as the bloks stand right behind her.

"You always pick the worst time, huh?" Odd comments. The blok readies the blue laser and Odd points his fist at them. The bloks turn around and fire at him. Nadia is also being targeted by hers. They jump out of the way. "Now!" Nadia throws her sword at Odd's blok and Odd jumps and fires at Nadia's blok and both are destroyed. "That's what I call teamwork." They high five as Aelita enters the tower.

Yumi pants as the armor flies above her. She's about to reach the door when the armor lands in front of her. She readies her pipe.

Aelita makes her way to the pad.

The samurai disarms Yumi, and she backs away to the rock climbing wall. She sweats as the samurai advances.

Aelita presses her hand to the interface as it appears.

Aelita

Yumi gasps as the armor raises the sword above it. She screams in horror.

Code

"Oh no!" She shouts as the samurai lowers the sword.

Lyoko

Yumi looks up to see the armor stopping, just as the sword was about to finish her off. The tower deactivates and the time reversion is set.

"Return to the past now!" Jeremy shouts as he's being dragged by the police.

Time is reset to that morning. Talia walks in.

"And this is Talia, your new classmate. I'm sure your fellow students are anxious to meet you." The students greet her.

"I heard Sissi say that the new girl was an orphan. That's why she didn't want to talk about her family" Ulrich turns to Jeremy.

"Well, anyway, if you look closely, you can see their eyes aren't the same, the nose is different, and so is the hair. They're not similar at all. How could you have possibly thought she was Aelita?" Jeremy explains.

"Did you just say what we thought-"

"Sure did" Odd answers.

"You'd have to be blind to think that?" Jeremy glances at Talia.

"Guess what they say is true, love makes you blind. Almost destroyed Lyoko, Xana, and Aelita for a girl who looks somewhat but not 100% exactly like Aelita" Nadia comments.

Yumi is giving her report again. "And now, to finish my report, I'd like to show you something that's been in my family for centuries. It's a living symbol of Japan," she opens the cabinet. "Here." Her classmates comment in awe. But this time, her armor is shackled in case a certain 'someone' tries this again…

A.N. – One thing to say: if Xana made the bloks to have a one hit kill blast, why did it never happen past this episode. Was it too overpowered? Developers didn't want to repeat old ideas? This seems like a reason to keep it in the future if Xana is gonna have a few victories in the future. I don't know, and I'm pretty sure no one else does either. Post your theories, but again no wrong or right answers as there is none. PM me with story ideas! Review with questions or comments! I will respond! As always, till next time! See ya! -lyokowarrior97