A/N: From AWWD, you just need to recall the previous chapter, where Tyron reveals that he's stepping up his game. From TTOE, you just need to remember the part about Ulrich's dad not approving of the relationship his son has with Yumi.
Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko or CL: Evolution in any way, shape, or form.
Beta read by FP7ETDP43
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~E~V~O~L~U~T~I~O~N~~~!
"As Ulrich gets into a fight with his dad, Jérémie creates a spy bug, only for Tyron to raise the question about who's actually doing the spying."
A World Without Danger
Code Lyoko: Evolution Rewrite
Season 5, Episode 17: The Stowaway
Late at night, Jérémie and Aelita were both in their pajamas, huddled around his computer. Weariness visible on their faces, the two were going over all the information that public records had on Lowell Tyron.
"That can't be possible," the boy was muttering. "There's nothing after 25 December, 1987! It's like he disappeared off the face of the Earth!"
"Well, the video clip we saw did say that, after he escaped from prison, he had changed his name to Alan Meyer," his girlfriend replied.
Good point. Jérémie searched on the KIWI browser (the search engine he himself had designed in order to remain underneath the radar) the name 'Alan Meyer', only to receive no results.
"Unbelievable!" he leaned back in his chair in disbelief. "Nothing on that identity either! He just up and vanished!"
"So we're dealing with someone who knows how to cover their tracks insanely well," the pink-ette said. She then wondered, "But why that date—25 December, 1987? The memories are...hazy, but that was the day my mother was taken by the men in black."
Jérémie was quiet; he knew that day was important to her. "It was also a month after he and your father had their falling out, and about a week after your father left Project: Carthage. But I understand what you're asking—why is that date so important to Tyron?"
"Maybe it's because of my mother," Aelita realized. "Do you think...that his reason for doing all of this is to find her?" She sounded hesitant, like she didn't want to believe it. But Tyron was previously mentioned to have feelings for Anthea.
He didn't want to believe it either. "I have no idea," he replied slowly, "but we need to locate his base of operations in order to better prepare ourselves for the inevitable mission to destroy his supercomputer." Tyron knew that they were on to him, so he would no doubt be pulling out all the stops for them.
"Yeah." Aelita then yawned, causing her to look at the clock, "It's almost midnight. We should get to bed now."
He quickly relented, neither of them having the mental energy to keep going, "Okay, we'll stop for tonight. I really don't want to dream about Tyron all night long anyway."
Aelita couldn't help but smile in amusement.
He continued, "But we don't have any choice. Tomorrow, we'll need to go back to the Cortex."
The girl nodded in agreement.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
The next morning saw Ulrich and Odd alone in Study Hall, with their friends split apart from them and in other classes. Jim watched over all of the students while reading a comic book. The atmosphere was chill and relaxed, and the teacher didn't mind all the whispering.
One such hushed conversation was between the aforementioned Lyokowarriors.
"So you've decided to major in ethnics?" Odd asked his roommate.
"Yeah," Ulrich replied. "Meeting Yumi has helped me realize that I like learning about other cultures. Every Sunday, I have dinner at her house, and I always learn something new. Mrs. Ishiyama is even teaching me how to cook Japanese food. Just last week, she and I made sushi together."
"Cool!" Odd exclaimed. "I've already decided to major in art," he shrugged, "but that's because my parents encourage me no matter what I decide to do. So I'll encourage you—go for it, good buddy! Whatever makes you happy!" Ulrich smiled in response. "What did your parents say about your decision?"
Ulrich tensed up ever so slightly, "No idea. I left a message last night on their answering machine, but I haven't gotten a reply yet."
The moment he said that, Mr. Delmas entered the library and walked up to the brunette-haired boy, "Mr. Stern, would you please come with me to my office? Your father wishes to speak with you."
Say his name and he will come...
Ulrich had no choice but to stand up with his belongings and follow the headmaster. Odd, meanwhile, could only watch his friend leave in concern...
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
When he got out of the meeting, Ulrich was noticeably sulking—a crystal clear indication that it had not gone well. So it was no surprise that he kept quiet for the rest of the day. But he perked up when Jérémie sent out a text to the others about a mission he and Aelita had planned for after today's classes. It meant that he could focus on something other than his pathetic excuse for a parent and take out his pent-up aggression on whatever mission was planned.
After classes were over, Ulrich and Odd met with Jérémie and Aelita in the courtyard. The latter two were sitting on the bench underneath a tree, and Odd bounced right over and sat down next to them.
"So, Jérémie," he excitedly asked, "what's the mission today? Lyoko? Cortex? Cortex? Lyoko?"
"We'll wait for Yumi and William to get here, and then I'll tell you," was the blue-clad blonde's response.
"Hey! I need to prepare myself psychologically!" Odd explained, as his roommate caught up to them. "Lyoko and the Cortex—they're not the same! When we go to Lyoko, I go into warrior mode! But on the Cortex, I go into spy mode!"
Jérémie and Aelita just smiled at him. Ulrich remained stoic.
Odd continued, "It's true. When you're an ace as talented as I am, you can't just do whatever. You need to prepare. Otherwise..."
"Valid point, Odd," Jérémie sighed. "Cortex."
"Cortex? Great!" The cat warrior then paused. "And what's the mission? Because I need to prepare for that too!"
Jérémie quickly abdicated, "Okay, Odd, you win," knowing that fighting back would get him nowhere. He'd have to tell his friends about the mission eventually. "Aelita and I worked all night on a sort of snooper program that I need you guys to sneak into the Cortex's database."
"A snooper?" Ulrich asked, finally speaking after remaining quiet for most of the day. "What for?"
"To find the IP address of Tyron's supercomputer," Aelita explained. "It will lead us to the location of his base, and thus a floor plan that we can familiarize ourselves with until the inevitable showdown."
"Wise move," Odd replied, "but what about the alarm? Or the Ninjas? What are we going to do about those? Tyron's likely bound to have updated those since we know that he knows that we visit regularly now."
Jérémie winked, "Don't worry. I've got a plan to bait the system."
William and Yumi joined them in that moment.
"Well, it's about time!" Odd told them. "We almost didn't wait!"
The raven-haired boy seemed excited, "Go on, tell them!" He was practically bouncing on his heels.
Yumi was visibly embarrassed, "No, no, it's okay..."
Seeing that she wasn't going to spill what was so exciting, William did it for her, "18! She got an 18 on her creative writing assignment! Ms. Kensington even read it for the whole class!"
Odd almost choked, "An 18? But I thought the average mark in her class was 11! I need to see this masterpiece!"
Yumi tried to deny it, "It's nothing exceptional. It's just an essay. She just said to write a story about something good in our lives."
Odd promptly snatched Yumi's bag and began to rummage through it, "'Nothing exceptional', huh? Well, let's judge that for ourselves, shall we?"
Yumi immediately protested, "Odd, no! Give that back to me right now!"
She tried to get her bag back by lunging at him, but he just dodged her and continued to search for her paper. When he found it, he pulled it out with an, "A-ha! I think I found it! Let's see here..."
"You are worse than Hiroki sometimes, you know that, Odd?" Yumi growled. "I'm warning you..."
Odd stuck his tongue out at her and began to read her paper anyway, "'Sometimes, Quentin was the definition of impossible. Mélanie couldn't live with him, but she couldn't live without him either. He was her best friend, the only one who could truly understand her, the only she could spill all of her secrets to. Despite his issues, he was deep and sensitive. She didn't believe in soulmates, because of her parents' constant arguing, but if she did, he would be hers. They've had a lot of ups and downs in their relationship, and would continue to do so, but it didn't matter if they were together or just friends. As long as they were still together in heart, they would be alright.'"
Ulrich was noticeably quiet.
Before he could continue reading, Yumi snatched her paper from Odd's hands with a reddened face, "You dork!"
Odd held his hands up in surrender, "What? I was just reading your essay! It's great! I just want to know how it ends..."
"It's basically a love better from Mélanie to Quentin," William explained. "The end reveals that he's been moved away from her due to his overbearing father, and they never see each other again."
Ulrich promptly turned pale, as the words from his father echoed in his head, "You can do better than her!"
"Sorry to interrupt," Jérémie cut in, "but we have a mission to do. We should probably get going."
Everyone moved to leave for the sewer passage, but Ulrich's soft voice caught them off-guard, "Actually...Jérémie, could I sit this one out? I can't think straight right now."
"What?" William asked. "Why?"
What Odd said next brought more clarity, "Did you father...say something this morning?" Because his roommate being in a bad mood following any exchange with his father was understandable.
Ulrich's response was a dark, "Shut up."
Translation: Yes. Walter Stern did say something.
Wanting to prevent a fight, Jérémie quickly stepped in, "It's okay, Ulrich. We can do this without you."
"Thank you..."
Ulrich then turned to leave, only for Yumi to grab his arm and stop him, "Hold on! Is this about my paper?"
He briefly turned to his girlfriend and gave her a smile, "No. Your paper is great, Yumes. I just need some time to myself right now," before leaving. But the smile didn't reach his eyes.
Yumi could only worriedly watch him walk away, before turning around to join the others.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
The remaining Lyokowarriors slid down the ropes and landed on the factory floor, before heading over to the lift. Seeing that Yumi was lost in thought, Aelita gently nudged the elder's stomach with her elbow. Yumi was fortunately brought back to reality, albeit confused.
"Are you okay?" the pink-ette asked. "You haven't said a word since Ulrich left."
Yumi put on a fake smile, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Everything's fine."
As they gathered within the elevator, she tuned in to the others' conversation, just as Odd asked, "Are you absolutely sure it's the Cortex, Jérémie? 'Cause I'm psychologically ready for it now!"
Jérémie rolled his eyes. "Why would I lie to you, Odd? Yes, it's the Cortex. I told you earlier that Aelita and I had worked all night on a snooper program so we can find out more information on Tyron and his supercomputer. If it works like a charm, we'll be able to learn where it is located within his base and what protections he has for it."
"That's a wise move, Jérémie," Yumi put in her two cents. "The last time we were there, Tyron tried to capture Ulrich and me, for leverage or to permanently delete us. If any of us were unsure before, we definitely know that Tyron is our enemy now."
"Thank you, Yumi," the young genius offered his gratitude.
Aelita pressed the button, causing the door to close and the lift to begin its descent.
William broke the silence, "I think I missed an episode, but what's the deal with Ulrich's father? He didn't seem to appreciate Odd's mention earlier." That was an understatement.
A tense silence promptly followed. It was heavy and palpable. You could cut it with a sharp sword.
"Um, did I say the wrong thing?" William asked, fearing that the silence was his fault. "Was I not supposed to ask?"
"It's alright," Aelita reassured him. "We're just not sure how to word the answer in a way that's truthful but doesn't give too much away."
Yumi was the one who answered, her voice soft and tense, "Walter Stern is an overly critical man who is always moving the goal post."
Fortunately, that was all William needed to understand. "I see. No wonder he didn't want to talk about it."
"Ulrich always needs some alone time after meeting his father," Odd added. "The least we can do for him is just give him space until he feels better. When he does, he'll come to us."
Another bout of silence fell upon the group, this one of sympathy. The lift stopped and the doors opened to reveal the lab, bringing them all back to reality.
Aelita changed the subject, "In the meantime, let's focus on the mission." The others were grateful for her doing so. "Jérémie, you mind telling us about your bait-and-switch plan?"
"Of course," Jérémie replied, looking more lively with the new topic. "Aelita will inject a luring program into the interface, which will raise the alarm."
"Then the Ninjas will turn up," Aelita added, "and you three will take care of them."
"And meanwhile," Odd piped up, "Aelita will inject the snooper into the system, right?"
"Right," Jérémie crossed over the chair and sat down. "20 out of 20—the grades you'd get if you paid attention in class."
"Hey!"
"Come on," Yumi interrupted, moving to the lift button. "Let's go."
No one protested.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
On board the Skid, the silence from Yumi continued. She only spoke when directly spoken to, and when she responded, it was usually in a low voice and with as few words as possible.
In her Navskid, Yumi looked absentmindedly out of the window at the Digital Sea outside. Ulrich's words echoed in her head.
"Hold on! Is this about my paper?"
"No. Your paper is great, Yumes. I just need some time to myself right now."
He had given her a smile, but it was forced. It was about her paper. His father said something this morning—according to Odd, at least—and her paper only made it worse.
She had to ask him to make sure, but she also knew that her boyfriend needed his space. His father was an exhausting human being, and Ulrich needed a break just thinking about the man.
She still remembered when Ulrich finally gathered the courage to tell his parents that he now had a girlfriend. He had asked to be alone, and despite her protests and reluctance, she respected his decision. A few minutes later, he had sent her a text, asking her to come back. She found him in his dorm, being comforted by Kiwi. He didn't tell her what exactly was said, but she already knew from the tears in his eyes.
His father didn't approve of her. He didn't like his son's friends in general—always finding some excuse to complain about them—but it was her that had drawn the man's ire the most since that call.
But she couldn't do anything. Ulrich was insistent on protecting her (and the others, but mostly her) from his father. If that meant shouldering the burden of Walter Stern's disapproval by himself, then he'd do it until the end of eternity.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
Meanwhile, Ulrich was in a similar state—absently staring at a wall, and pondering over what had happened. Unlike his girlfriend, however, he was focused on what happened this morning, and he knew exactly what went down.
His mind kept going back to his meeting with his father...
Ulrich always dreaded getting a visit from his father. This time, Walter Stern was here because of the message the boy had left on the answering machine. He sat in the chair as his father lectured him from behind the principal's desk.
"What is this?! You've chosen ethnics?!" the man roared, ignoring the fact that the principal and his assistant were right outside. "Why couldn't you have chosen a worthwhile major like business or a law degree, and make something of yourself?!"
"Because it's not what I want," Ulrich explained, his voice calm despite his anxiety and anger bubbling below the surface. "Becoming a businessman or a lawyer is something you want. Besides, you'd constantly be on my grades there too. My grades are fine; Jérémie and Aelita have been helping me, and they are two of the smartest kids in the entire school. My friends are not good-for-nothings! They are way more supportive of me than you will ever be, because the bar you set is literally underground!"
He needed to calm down. He didn't mean to relay his anger like that. He intended to remain calm and let his father use all of the meltdown energy, but clearly his emotions didn't agree with that plan.
His father bit back, "What about this girlfriend of yours?! That Chinese girl, Yuri!", saying both as if he was disgusted.
Ulrich's stomach automatically plummeted to the floor. If this was a physical fight, he'd be wounded just from this. How dare his father bring her up?!
"She's the one who directed you to ethnics, isn't she?" Walter continued his rant. "I don't want her in your life anymore! She is a distraction and a bad influence, and you don't need either! You can do better than her! Perhaps, it's time to transfer you somewhere else!"
That did it. Ulrich snapped, more so than he ever had before.
"First of all, her name is Yumi! Second, she is Japanese! And third, she is my soulmate! She is not a distraction, nor a bad influence! She is more my family than you will ever be! Her family is not perfect, but they have taught me what parents are actually supposed to do for their kids! And guess what?! It's supporting them, protecting them, and making certain sacrifices to ensure future opportunities—none of which you do for me!"
"I do make sacrifices for you! I spend a small fortune on you for you to go here every year!"
Ulrich got to his feet, "And you always act like it's an inconvenience for you! You always act like I'm a burden instead of your son! At least Yumi cares about me! At least Yumi and my friends lift me up instead of dragging me down! Yes, Yumi is the one who influenced me to major in ethnics, but I'm proud to say that it's my choice and mine alone!"
He turned around and went to the door. He opened it just as his father asked, "Why don't you ever show respect for your parents?!"
The boy didn't even turn around. "Because my parents show no respect for me."
He then walked away, leaving a speechless Walter Stern, and a concerned Mr. Delmas and Mrs. Weber—both of whom had heard everything.
Ulrich, in real time, sat up and took a deep breath, before grabbing the stack of photographs from one of the drawers in his bed frame below. All of them were moments he had shared with his friends, from the very first one with just him, Yumi, Odd, and Jérémie, to the latest with him, Yumi, William, Odd, Jérémie, Aelita, along with Sissi, Sam, and Laura—all of them at the amusement park.
It had taken him a while to warm up to his friends. But Jérémie was the first; it said a lot how quickly the boy genius (who had trouble making friends) trusted Ulrich with the secret of Lyoko and Aelita. The others—Odd, Yumi, and Aelita—all fell into place soon after. And that wasn't even counting William, Sissi, Sam, and Laura.
Hell, even Kiwi had shown him way more love in a single day than his father ever had in an entire lifetime!
He tried to choke back tears as he stroked a finger along the cheek of photo-Yumi. He'd never been so scared of splitting from her in his life.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
The trip to the Cortex, and then to the Core, had been uneventful. No enemies, from either side, seemed interested in catching them off-guard or attacking them. The group was on edge as they approached the spiral door. Aelita sacrificed half of her lifepoints to open it, a soft note lingering in the air.
Once the door was open, the four entered, advancing the bridge to the end, before being teleported into the Core. They emerged into the huge, silent room. The last time they were here, XANA and Tyron were exchanging blows in a full-blown revolution.
"I don't know about you guys," Odd said, his voice barely above a whisper, "but it's so weird seeing this place so quiet..."
William gave a thoughtful nod, "It's always calm before the storm."
Aelita tapped a button on her bracelet before holding out a hand. The action summoned a blue-colored digital card, which appeared virtually at her fingertips. She took a breath, "Ready? Let's go!"
She then summoned her wings and flew off towards the interface. The other three followed her, skillfully jumping from platform to platform. She landed on the platform where the interface was. Around her, the others summoned their respective weapons and assumed combat positions around her, surveying the room as she worked.
"The welcoming committee for the Ninjas is in place!" Odd exclaimed.
"Okay, I'm inserting the fake key," Aelita replied. She carefully slid the blue key into the interface, and as expected, an alarm promptly went off.
Five Ninjas emerged from the ground and menacingly surrounded them all. They advanced, twirling their sabers.
"Time for the switch, Aelita!" Jérémie told her.
"Copy that!" The angel complied, removing the blue card from the interface as a red card appeared in her hand. She inserted the red one immediately.
"Yes, it's working!" Jérémie was overjoyed. "The snooper hasn't been detected!"
William parried an attack with his Zweihänder.
"You guys just have to hold on until it finds the address!"
Odd effortlessly dodged the repeated attacks of two Ninjas.
But Yumi wasn't demonstrating her usual skill. The Ninja she was facing advanced on her, attacking with their sabers. She simply dodged but offered no parry with her fans.
William quickly noted this, "Don't drop your guard, Yumi!"
He kicked a Ninja away from him before rushing to join Yumi. The girl, completely elsewhere, did not react and was hit twice as a result by a blade of her Ninja. She fell to the ground, sliding to the edge of the platform. Fortunately, she shook it off and got back up.
"Focus, Yumi!" Jérémie cut in, tense. "You're taking a lot of damage!"
Meanwhile, the Ninja was still in front of Yumi, already planning his next blow, but she still didn't react. In the midst of fighting, she finally spoke.
"Jérémie, devirtualize me!"
Everyone looked at her, stunned, but continued to fight.
"What?!"
"Devirtualize me!" she angrily demanded. She had to.
Jérémie was dumbfounded, "No way! Out of the question! You have to protect Aelita!"
No, she needed to talk to her boyfriend. If Jérémie were in Yumi's shoes here, he'd understand. She had already made her choice. No one could talk her out of it.
She stopped backing up and de-summoned her fans. She spread her arms and closed her eyes. Her opponent pierced her chest with their sabers, and she just let it happen.
Odd, William, and Aelita could only watch, stunned, as she devirtualized, before Odd and William put themselves back on guard.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
Jérémie's jaw dropped as he watched Yumi's card unload from the system. He opened the security camera feed from the scanner room. Yumi paid him no attention as she emerged from the scanners and headed to the lift.
"Yumi, what are you doing?!" he demanded. What the heck was going on here?! What in the world was she playing at?!
She didn't answer him, just pressing the button and ascending in the lift towards the surface. He changed feeds to the one on the factory floor. Once the elevator let her out, she ran across the large room to the exit.
He then realized a possible reason, and it was the only thing that made sense. Was she...?
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
Back in the heart of the Cortex, Odd and William were still fighting the other Ninjas. They both found themselves facing all five Ninjas, preventing them from accessing Aelita.
"Bring it on!" William exclaimed, before starting to swing his Zweihänder and jumped up suddenly, devirtualizing one. The other four Ninjas started to back away, as the boy sketched a small satisfied smile. Pleased with himself, he regained his confidence. "Yes! We can beat them!"
Odd rolled over and then stood up, firing a volley of Laser Arrows. The Ninja in front of him didn't have time to react and was immediately devirtualized. Seeing this, one decided to bail, sinking into the ground where they were out of sight...
"Yes! Another one!" Odd exclaimed.
"Let's go, good buddy!" William said. "Just two left!"
Odd then ran towards his last Ninja. William ducked and Odd used his back as a jumping board. He fired a new salvo of Arrows mid-air, and hit the target point-blank. The Ninja was devirtualized as Odd rolled to the side.
The last Ninja advanced towards William, threatening. The boy defied him with his gaze and made a 'come here' motion with his free hand. The Ninja charged, and William managed to side-step them, and then slashed them across their back before they had time to turn around. The Ninja was promptly devirtualized.
William and Odd shared a high-give as the former exclaimed, "Great job! 20 out of 20, plus an extra five points for teamwork!"
"It's strange, though," Jérémie muttered. "They're usually tougher than that."
"Hey," William replied, "you could at least congratulate us on a job well done!"
"That's right," Odd added. "They're not weaker, Einstein. We've just gotten stronger."
"Don't celebrate just yet," Jérémie warned. "There's one Ninja left."
Just as he said this, the protruding walls of the Core suddenly began to move, shifting just how the platforms outside usually did. The Lyokowarriors froze; this had not happened before.
"What's going on?! I'm getting strange readings inside the Core!"
"Jérémie, I think Tyron has upgraded his security system!" Aelita told him. "The walls are moving! Is the program finding anything?! Because it's getting tense here!"
"Stand by!" Jérémie paused as he looked at the data being retrieved on his end. It all scrolled past until it froze on a piece, which started flashing. He exulted, "Yes! It found the address! You can come back now!"
With that, Aelita retrieved the digital card from the interface. Once she did, she turned to her remaining bodyguards, "Let's go!"
As spikes emerged from the wall of the dome, the three jumped from platform to platform and reached the teleporters before either of them got devirtualized. But the moment they disappeared, the final Ninja—the one that bailed—emerged from the ground. They pressed on their chest and activated a force field around their suit.
Outside, Aelita activated her wings as Odd hopped on the Overboard and William the Overwing (the Overbike was never sent), and the trio took off. The Ninja followed, watching for the direction they took off in, before running after them with impressive speed and agility.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
Thanks to her fast sprinting, Yumi arrived at the Kadic courtyard in no time. She glanced around, and it was void of Ulrich, as she expected. But she saw Sissi. She ran up to the girl, in a hurry and aware that Sissi would understand why.
"Sissi, have you seen Ulrich?" Yumi asked. He was probably still in his room, but there was a possibility that he had left to sulk someplace more private.
"As far as I know, he's in his room," the headmaster's daughter replied, confirming the elder girl's suspicion. "Is something wrong? He seemed upset."
"He is," Yumi calmly replied. "But don't worry, I'll take care of it." Ulrich would only really open up to her, if he was upset by what she assumed was the problem.
Sissi nodded, and Yumi turned on her heels and ran towards the dormitory building.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
Back on the Cortex, the Ninja continued to pursue the Lyokowarriors, each still on their respective vehicles. They easily dodged the shifting terrain, which the Ninja ironically used as its cover.
As the trio traveled back to the Skid, Aelita asked, "Jérémie, have you heard any news from Yumi?"
"No," the young genius replied. "She left immediately after getting devirtualized."
"What she did was crazy!" Odd exclaimed.
"Need I remind you that she's probably going after Ulrich?!" William added. "And good! She needs to talk some sense into him!"
Odd didn't have time to respond to that before a horn blast suddenly resounded, being paired with a deep ramble. Everyone looked at each other with apprehension. The relief was seized by jolts and changed abruptly in a dull roar.
While the Ninja was in a full frantic race, their force field suddenly fell victim to interference and wavered. They stopped to look for the bug.
Elsewhere, Jérémie interrupted the trio's journey back to the Skid, "Hold on, guys. I picked up a strange reading behind you. You mind checking it out real quick?"
Still traveling, the trio looked at each other, speechless. Something was weird here. First that one Ninja bailing mid-fight—which they never did—and now the weird reading Jérémie just got.
"Okay," Aelita replied. "Just give us the coordinates and we'll take a look."
"77 degrees, south!"
"Here we go!" Odd exclaimed, as the trio turned around and sped off in the mentioned direction.
The landscape continued to change all around them in a droning sound that was still as dull. Eventually, the rumbling stopped, and everything stabilized.
From their position, the Ninja saw the three teens heading straight for him. His force field then returned, and it quickly sunk into the ground. The roar suddenly stopped.
On Jérémie's screen, the signal flashed before disappearing without warning. He was stunned, "What...?"
The trio stopped on a bridge and double-checked their surroundings.
"Jérémie, are you sure about those coordinates?" William asked. "Because we can't see anything here."
"I don't get it," the genius answered. "I just lost the signal..."
"Maybe your computer is glitching," Odd joked, "and it's time to buy a new one!"
"Very funny, Odd."
The trio headed back towards the Skid. The Ninja had been quite literally hanging on underneath the bridge, and once the teens took off, the enemy reactivated their super speed. They remained underneath all of the modules and platforms as they followed the trio all the way back to their ship.
Once they arrived, the teens climbed off their vehicles, which were promptly materialized as they were re-embarked back on board the Skid.
Back in the main cockpit, Aelita pressed a white button on her right, "Engine, engaged!" She then tilted a joystick down, and the Skid took off towards the Digital Sea.
It plummeted into the water, the Ninja clinging onto the fuselage as their personal force field protected him from the water's permanent deletion effects...
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
"We're on our way home now, Jérémie," Aelita told him.
"Alright," he replied, excited about the data they had retrieved this time. "In the meantime, I'll get down to business and start analyzing this data." He focused his attention and energy on the data. "Time to find out where you are, Tyron!"
He typed in a few commands on the keyboard before pressing 'Enter'. A padlock immediately appeared on the screen with eight blank boxes underneath it. The data was encrypted, but Jérémie already knew how to decipher it. All it needed was the password.
"Does he really think that this level of encryption is going to stop me?" He asked no one in particular. "I can crack any code!"
He brought up his password decoder, and pressed 'enter' again. Numbers began to scroll across the screens, like the slots of a gambling machine.
The first number was promptly displayed about three seconds later. '2'...
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
The door was locked. It wasn't surprising to Yumi, though. Her boyfriend was strict on his privacy sometimes, especially during situations like this.
So she knocked on the door, "Ulrich? I know you're in there. If you're upset about my paper, I'm sorry. Yes, Quentin and Mélanie are us. And it's true; that's exactly how I feel about you. Please, don't shut me out. Talk to me, especially if I have hurt you..."
But the boy's door remained hopelessly closed. She leaned against the door and sighed. Lingering for a moment, she then turned to leave, but the moment she took a single step, she heard the door unlock and open.
"I was being truthful when I said it wasn't your paper that upset me," Ulrich said, softly. She turned around and was surprised to see dried tear stains on his cheeks and reddened eyes. "It was a trigger, yes, but not in the way that you fear."
"What is it then?" she asked, before pausing. "Did your father say something about me?"
He fell quiet, and she was afraid he was going to shut her out, but he didn't. Instead, he opened up in the way that only she could manage, "Your paper was great, Yumi, and I agree with what you wrote. That is exactly what we agreed on: that our friendship would always come first." He took in a deep breath to steady his nerves. "Last night, I told my parents about the major I've chosen to pursue."
"Ethnics?" she asked, her heart buzzing with warmth. He had told her and her family all about it, trusting them to give him an honest opinion and worthwhile advice.
"Just like you," he confirmed. "But my father...wasn't so happy. As you can imagine, he visited me this morning in order to berate me on my choice. We got into a huge argument after he threatened to pull me from Kadic because he still doesn't trust my 'good-for-nothing' friends, least of all my girlfriend."
"Ulrich–"
He cut her off, "He called you a 'bad influence', before trying to impose his own hopes and dreams onto me. Despite your parents arguing a lot, Yumi, and protectiveness over you, they still approve of our relationship. They're always supportive and never critical, and both of those reasons are why I'm always glad to have dinner at your house, why I asked your maman to teach me how to cook, why I'm always giving Hiroki advice about Milly, why I'm always talking to your papa about various sports. I love spending time with them because there, I actually feel like I'm part of the family. My father is threatening to transfer me away from Kadic because he doesn't trust you, and I've just been waiting for the ball to drop, because he's been dead silent since I walked out on him this morning." He finished his rant with tear-filled eyes, "Yumi Ishiyama, you are the most important person in my life, and I refuse to let my father's disapproval split us up. I'm terrified of that prospect, because right now, it seems like a very real possibility."
Her heart went out to him, as tears filled her own eyes. The end of her story was likely about to become less of a story and more a reality.
"Ulrich Stern, you are the most important person in my life too," she replied, softly. "If your father does split us up, just remember my paper. No matter how far apart we are, we'll always be connected."
Touched by her words, he closed the distance and pressed his lips against hers. She melted into his warmth, savoring the moment while she still could.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
In the lab, the decryption process was almost complete. The first seven digits of the password were displayed on the screen. The last digit then appeared and joined the group, revealing the password as '2-5-1-2-1-9-8-7'.
Jérémie was jubilant, "Yes!" He then realized the pattern in the numbers. "25 December, 1987? The day he disappeared? He clearly didn't make any effort." Jérémie rolled his eyes, "Never choose a date, Tyron. That is a basic rule of encryption!"
He pressed the 'enter' key, and the file opened. But against all expectations, a mocking clown animated appeared on the screen. Its laughter echoing throughout the lab, Jérémie's victorious smile faded into an angry frown.
It was...a joke. Tyron had played him for a fool...
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
In the Skid garage, the said ship arrived and docked, with the supports moving back into place. The trio then waited. Nothing happened.
Surprised by her boyfriend's lack of responsiveness, Aelita spoke up, "Uh, Jérémie? We're back on Lyoko. Are you transferring us or not?"
"Uh, yeah...sure," Jérémie replied. They could only hear his voice over the intercom, but they knew that his mind was somewhere else.
"Is everything alright?" she asked, intrigued. He sounded like a strange mix of lost and angry. What got him to that point?
He was still glaring at the clown, "Yeah, I'm just having a problem decrypting the data..." He tried hard not to get lost in his own head. "But, uh, it's nothing serious... I'll transfer you out now."
Screw you, Tyron, he wanted to say.
He typed in the command to disembark them, teleporting them back to the transporter pad below. The three were rematerialized on their respective spots.
Simultaneously, on the fuselage, the magnetic flux began to interfere with the Ninja's force field. The alert this caused caught Jérémie's attention, successfully bringing him back to reality.
"Guys, there's something on the Skid!" He was panicking.
The trio all turned towards the Skid, where they discovered with amazement that the last Ninja—the one who had bailed—had hung on throughout the entire trip.
"I can't believe it!" Odd exclaimed, before immediately firing a burst of Laser Arrows.
However, the intruder skillfully avoided the shots and hid behind the ship.
"Jérémie, it's a Ninja!" Aelita cried.
The three started looking for their stowaway and split up. The Ninja suddenly jumped up, and devirtualized Aelita with incredible speed.
"How did they manage to tag along?!" William demanded, summoning his Zweihänder.
"Get ready to follow your friends!" Odd rushed towards the Ninja.
This time, the Ninja didn't back down and dodged all of the Arrows. Odd struggled but couldn't hit them. The intruder jumped to the top of the Skid, pursued by the purple cat, who also jumped in all directions. The Ninja then slashed Odd across the chest, devirtualizing him.
"Noooooo!" Odd's cry died out when his wireframe disappeared.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
Jérémie pounded the arm of his chair with an angry and frustrated fist. It was all a trap! That's why they were so easy to beat on the Cortex! And why Tyron's password had been so easy to crack: it was to distract him!
He opened up the call program and typed in Ulrich's number. "Pick up, please..."
"Jérémie? What's wrong?" And the blonde felt an immense amount of relief.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your private time, but we really need you right now!" Jérémie frantically and anxiously explained. "A Ninja has invaded Lyoko!"
"What?!" He sounded like he couldn't believe it. Jérémie couldn't blame him.
"I'll explain afterward! Just get over here!"
"I'm on my way!" Ulrich then hung up, and Jérémie was left hoping for the best.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
William faced off against the Ninja. The two watched the other intently while circling each other, the boy tense. Suddenly, the Ninja attacked and sent William to the ground. He was shaken and had no choice to assume his smoke form to find refuge further away.
He had barely returned to his human form when the Ninja caught up with him. He summoned his Zweihänder.
"Hang in there, William!" Jérémie told him. "Ulrich's on his way!"
The boy challenged the intruder with a glare, "Now, it's between you and me."
He performed the same 'come here' gesture as he did previously on the Cortex, and the Ninja didn't back down. They blocked the boy's blade between their two, causing him to frown.
"So you're not easily impressed, I see..."
William broke free and backed up to give himself some distance. After a moment, he then charged. But the Ninja dodged and gave him a hard blow with their elbow to his back.
The boy almost fell, but he fortunately caught himself just in time, with him hanging off the edge of the platform with only his hand as an anchor. The Ninja turned away and headed towards the lift.
"Jérémie, they're going for the elevator!" William said.
There was immediate panic, "You have to stop them! If they access the Core, it's over!"
Past memories flooded William's mind. He had to protect the Core of Lyoko, and this time, he would succeed.
He managed to get back onto the platform and threw himself after the Ninja. Alas, the lift had already left. William clenched his fists, before taking a deep breath and assuming his smoke form and following after the stowaway.
He was going to redeem himself.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
The Ninja arrived at the bridge to the Arena, as William, still in smoke form, slid down the rail towards their location. The stowaway got off when the lift stopped. They halted in their tracks when they heard a noise behind them. They turned just in time to see William reassuming his human form next to the lift.
"Nice try!" No more Mister Nice Guy here. Lyoko was in danger. "But you can't get rid of me that easily!"
In response, the Ninja summoned their swords, their obstacles not quite overcome just yet.
The fight resumed. William blocked an attack from the Ninja after exchanging a few blows. The Ninja's face was only a few centimeters from the boy's. They both pushed hard against the other.
"I don't know if anyone has told you this," William commented, "but you have a really weird face!"
Wrong thing to say. The Ninja gained a sudden surge of strength and pushed him back, making him hit the wall on the other side of the lift. The intruder prepared to deliver the final blow, but William transformed again, using Super Smoke to pass between their legs and assuming his normal form again on the catwalk behind them.
The fight continued, with the Ninja parrying William's blows effortlessly. They kneed his stomach, causing him to roll away.
He forced himself back up, visibly exhausted, "I won't last much longer, Einstein! This guy is too strong!"
"Just a few more seconds!"
He had to buy some more time, then. William gathered up his remaining strength and attacked. The Ninja blocked the blow with a single hand. William resisted his enemy's strength, but the other hand made him bend.
The boy fell to his knees, his armed hand held firmly by the Ninja. His opponent clenched their hand ever so tighter, causing him to release his Zweihänder, which de-summoned upon hitting the ground.
Ulrich emerged from the Arena just in time to see the Ninja plunging a saber into William's body, devirtualizing him, "William!"
The intruder now turned to him.
"Ulrich, you have to take them out!" Jérémie urged. "You're our last hope!"
The samurai didn't respond to that, aside from unsheathing both of his katanas. He then rushed at the Ninja, bringing down his blades several times, but the Ninja dodged every one, before kicking Ulrich in the chest. Ulrich was thrown backwards, but stopped a few centimeters from the edge of the platform.
He got up immediately, grumbling. "You messed with the wrong Lyokowarrior on the wrong day!"
Ulrich couldn't help but picture his father as the Ninja. Both figures were imposing and a threat to everything and everyone he held dear.
Then he remembered that he wasn't on the Cortex. "Triplicate!"
The Ninja suddenly found themself facing off against three Ulrichs, all of them more than determined. Tyron's soldier threw themself at the boy in front of them, but their saber just went right through him. This and the one to their right both fizzled out like they were glitches in the system.
"Missed!"
The realization came too late.
The Ninja was caught off-guard as Ulrich took this chance to deliver rapid, swift, and hard blows from behind, and then a harsh kick to their back. The Ninja fell, catching themself on the edge with their sabers disappearing into the depths.
His opponent suspended, Ulrich stood above them and delivered a kick to the hand that was hanging on. Wait, hold on...what was that in their hand?
He didn't get a chance to find out, as the Ninja let go. They devirtualized before they could hit the bottom.
There was an explosion of joy in the lab.
"Yes!" Odd exclaimed.
"You got him!" William sounded relieved.
But not more so than Jérémie, "Great job, Ulrich!"
Unseen to him, Yumi was wearing a big smile as she let Aelita hug her.
Ulrich just listened to their cheers. He smiled contently as he let Jérémie materialize him. It was thanks to Yumi that he was able to be strong enough to overcome that Ninja. He was lucky to have her.
And thanks to her, his friends—his family—were all safe for another day.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
The six were all reunited in the lab, and the celebration had died down. This let Yumi ask something that was on everyone's minds.
"There's something I don't get, Jérémie," she said. "How come your scan didn't detect the Ninja's presence before?"
Said genius rubbed his chin, doubtful. "Likely some kind of force field that protected them from the deletion effects of the Digital Sea also caused some electromagnetic interference to cover their presence. It didn't help that Tyron distracted me with that false packet of data."
That's right. The mission had failed. Tyron had implanted fake data, knowing exactly what they were looking for. He knew what they went there for, and was now taking preventive measures to ensure that the data remained hidden.
Ulrich was holding Yumi's hand, neither of them shy about publicly expressing their affections for once.
Jérémie continued, "In any case, we need to be much more careful when dealing with Tyron. He was so close to locating our IP address." And that was bad.
"Yeah, it's true that we came close to disaster," Odd replied, "but I think that now, he's going to think twice before attacking us like that again!"
The Lyokowarriors couldn't help but smile.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
Under the walkway to the Skid garage's elevator, right where the Ninja was devirtualized, a strange beacon was flashing...
TO BE CONTINUED_
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~E~V~O~L~U~T~I~O~N~~~!
Inspiration: EVO's "Intrusion"/"The Stowaway"
Up next: Episode 18, Masquerade - "A man named Graven turns up at the school to scout out bright students for a high-ranking science university in Switzerland, but beneath his mask is a sinister secret."
A/N: Chapter Notes: Chapter Meaning: A stowaway is someone who hides on a ship, airplane, etc., in order to travel without paying or being seen. In this chapter, it's a reference to the Ninja that intrudes on the group when they return to Sector Five.
-Yes, Quentin Mérabet and Mélanie Tran are referenced on purpose. Shut up.
-The "the bar is literally underground" line is a reference to an artwork by DA's hexfloog.
~Evolution concepts~
Don't mind me. I just changed the source of the Ulumi drama to something I set up in The Theory of Evolution. I don't know why; I just don't like EVO's version of it, but I do like the forest scene, hence why I kept it in. I guess I just want more emotional depth from the characters. As I said in a previous chapter, the relationship drama of this season will center around William/Laura (mostly) and Odd/Sam (sort of), so I'm giving Ulrich/Yumi a much-needed break. Those of you who have seen the Code Lyoko: Reloaded character slides (found on the .fr website), you'll remember that Yumi's says that "she is now with Ulrich, which has made them both stronger", and that is the case here.
Other than that, no other changes were made. I kept the plot with the Ninja the same, because I have no complaints about that idea of Tyron raising the question of who's actually spying on who. Except here, this chapter directly follows the previous one, and is directly succeeded by the next one (which will certainly be an eye opener).