Chapter 30 New Order

A.N. – Second season begins here! This is going to be a real eye opener as Aelita and Nadia's past get more clearer. These first two chapters are ones you don't want to miss. Especially this one.

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 idea was submitted by LittleRedRebel.

WARNING: Do not skip to the end. Everything in this chapter changes the face of this story and sets up future chapters. You've been warned!

In the desert sector, it is quiet as ever. But the silence is broken when Ulrich passes by on a bike. Odd follows on a board. Ulrich revs up his bike, going faster than before.

"You really did a great job Jeremy! Xana better behave himself now that we've got these things! Whoaaaaa!" Odd exclaims, as they're trying out their new vehicles that Jeremy has made. Yumi, Aelita, and Nadia aren't there. Odd laughs as Ulrich approaches a path with rocks as lanes.

"Be careful all the same" Jeremy warns.

"Don't worry Einstein, I know how to ride. No way am I letting Ulrich beat me!" Odd brags, appearing above Ulrich. "Yahoo!"

Ulrich glances back to see him. "Oh no, you don't" he revs up the bike, speeding up. Odd flies after him and they approach two cliffs close together as a path. Ulrich speeds by as Odd follows after him. Odd jumps from the two walls, speeding up to Ulrich, laughing.

"Hmph." Odd is in the lead.

"Odd, I didn't have time to perfect the program that calculates trajectory!" Jeremy calls out. Odd emerges from the two cliffs and uses a rock as a ramp, flying in the air and bumping into a pillar, falling to the ground. He lands safely, Ulrich smiling as he beat Odd.

"Odd!" Yumi comes over with a flying Overwing with Aelita. She jumps down as Nadia flies her own, except it's dark blue with a silver circle in the front.

"Are you okay?" Aelita asks as Odd stands up, dusting himself off.

"Oh yeah. There's still some work to do on the Overboard Jeremy" Odd complains.

"Maybe it's the rider who needs the work" Jermey points out.

"Maybe take a vacation to Hawaii and learn how to surf before stepping on that board again" Nadia tells him.

"What happened Odd?" Ulrich walks over to the group. "You miss a step?" He laughs as Odd places his hands on his hips.

"Very funny. I'd like to see you both on an Overboard" Odd eggs them both on.

"Sorry, not a surfer" Nadia quickly responds.

"I guess swerving's not my thing" Ulrich waves his hand.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt your fascinating conversation, but it looks like Xana has spotted you. There's something coming your way," Jeremy looks at the screen, but he doesn't recognize the monster approaching them. "That's really weird. I…I can't tell what it is."

"Hey," Yumi notices something. "What's that?" She points at a spider looking monster crawling towards them.

"I don't know, but it looks like trouble, big time" Ulrich comments.

"I've never seen a monster like that one before. Xana must've just created it" Aelita deduces.

"In any case, it says here that it's got more life points than the others" Jeremy explains.

They all gasp as the new monster steps in front of them, pointing its arms at them as it kneels.

"Jeremy, how about reprogramming our vehicles?" Yumi asks.

"I'm on it already. But it's gonna take time" Jermey is typing away. Aelita runs off to hide.

"On my signal" Ulrich tells the others.

"I'll go first" Yumi offers.

"And I'm gonna keep it busy" Odd agrees.

"Now!" Ulrich says.

He runs forward, holding out his sword. He blocks the incoming lasers, Yumi front flipping and jumping over the monsters head. She lands behind it and the monster turns around to her. Yumi flips again and grabs her fan, throwing it with a yell. The monster shoots at it, making it fly away.

"Aelita, there's a deactivated tower not far away. Directions north by northwest. Get out of there and come meet me but hurry up!" Jeremy exclaims urgently.

"Hey, you overgrown spider, looking for me?" The monster turns to Odd, who jumps away. Odd climbs up a rock. It fires at him as he crawls up. He gets to the top and the monster hits the boulder on top of the pillar. It tilts down and Odd jumps up, only to get hit in the chest. He rolls to the floor safely.

"Odd, you just lost 20 life points! It's got a powerful laser!" Jeremy says in shock.

"What does it take to destroy this thing?" Odd says to himself as Aelita rushes to the nearest tower up ahead.

Ulrich and the monster card appear on Jeremy's screen. Ulrich pulls out his sword and the monster immediately starts firing. Ulrich blocks them all effortlessly, turning to see Aelita running towards the tower. Distracted, he ultimately gets hit by the monster three times and is devirtualized.

"Vehicle's ready" Jeremy presses enter.

"Well, it's about time" Odd retorts.

"Come on, I'm doing my best" Jeremy retorts back with a small frown.

Yumi backflips to her Overwing, Nadia runs up to hers, and Odd gets onto his Overboard.

"Let me go first" Odd says to the girls, who nod.

"Go on, we'll be watching you" Yumi tells him.

"Do what you do best" Nadia adds extra encouragement.

Odd speeds off. The monster fires at him and heads upside down, spinning in a spiral. "Laser arrow!" He fires from both paws, flying over the monster's head as Aelita reaches the tower. "This thing is really unbeatable!"

Yumi and Nadia appear on both sides of him. "Need a hand?"

"Xana has created a literal monster this time. We never have trouble battling them" Nadia points out.

The monster fires two lasers, hitting Yumi's Overwing and she lands in front of the monster. She jumps and throws her fan, backflipping until she gets hit and devirtualized.

Odd continues to fire. He maneuvers past more lasers, flipping himself and the Overboard over one. "Laser arrows!" The two exchange weapon fire until Odd is hit and devirtualized.

Nadia then flies over, and the monster destroys her vehicle, and she lands a few feet from the monster. She goes invisible, but the monster fires and hits her. Her invisibility ends and she lands on her back. She looks up only to be shot in the face and devirtualized. The monster sits there, Xana has a way to win now…

"If Xana's gonna start programming new monsters, it means our troubles, guys, have just begun" Jeremy taps his fingers against the arm of his chair.

"Anyway Einstein, one thing is sure. You're gonna have to program our vehicles faster. Otherwise, we don't stand a chance against those tarantulas!" Odd wiggles his fingers as he faces them.

"Tarant-what?" Yumi asks in confusion. Aelita has a new outfit as she has a dark pink jumper dress over a light pink hooded long sleeve shirt with two pink fuzzy pull strings and pink knee boots.

"Tarantulas, the new monsters. I like to give my enemies a name!" Odd replies.

"What worries me is that our friend Xana has obviously found a way to increase his power" Jeremy points out, getting Ulrich's attention.

"You think he's still evolving?" He wonders.

"Maybe so," Jeremy murmurs to himself. "In any case, from now on, we have to be ready for anything and everything."

Aelita stands up. "Maybe I'd better get back to Lyoko. If Xana activates a tower, I'd better be there" Aelita glances at the computer.

"Umm, should we tell her?" Jeremy asks the others in confusion.

"Well, of course we should tell her! Why keep good news like that a secret?" Yumi replies.

"Yeah Jeremy, she deserves to know" Nadia tells him.

"Keep what a secret? Would someone please tell me what's going on?" Aelita asks them, but only to get smiles.

"Over the past few weeks, I've spent all my time developing the vehicles and an anti-virus to free you from Xana," Jeremy explains. "And I also perfected a whole new program for detecting activated towers."

"A super scanner, much more accurate than the old one" Odd continues, smiling.

"With instant detection. Meaning, you don't have to stay on Lyoko all the time!" Jeremy finishes happily.

"So, I'm gonna live…" Aelita asks in shock.

"Here, with us," Ulrich finishes for her. "We've already enrolled you as a boarder at the school." Aelita gasps in utter shock, as she didn't think it was possible before.

Nadia places her hands on Aelita's shoulders. "And you'll be my roommate too. I already had Jim replace my bed with bunk beds and told the principal." 'This will allow me to learn more about you as well, maybe my past too…' Nadia thinks the last part.

"Everything's all set up. We wanted to surprise you" Yumi places a hand on Aelita's shoulder.

"I…I…this is so wonderful. I can't believe it!" She gasps out.

Jim opens the door to Nadia's room as Aelita steps in. "And this is your room. Or rather, yours and Nadia's. There's not that much space for you, but you'll like it here, Miss…um…"

"Stones," Aelita tells him, Odd glancing at the others. "Aelita Stones. Like the rock group. I'm Odd's cousin from Canada."

"Oh. So Aelita, breakfast starts at 7AM and dinner's at 7PM. It's against the rules to be in your room between 8AM and 4:30PM. You can ask your friends Della Robbia, Stern, Belpois, and Hopper to fill you in on the rest of the rules, that is if they can remember them!" He gives them a look and they say nothing as he leaves. The boys grin at the two girls, Jeremy laughing in glee.

"I don't want to hear another word about the school newspaper. This excursion is for 8th and 9th graders only, is that clear?" Ms. Hertz says to Milly and Tamiya, who wanted to get the news about the school trip today.

"Oh," Tamiya complains, walking away. Since they're only in 7th grade, they weren't allowed to attend.

"Oh rats" Milly complains as she follows her friend.

Odd is trying to make Kiwi sit still in his backpack. "Kiwi, stop wiggling around! Five more minutes and you can run around all you want to!"

Nadia and Aelita arrive at this time.

"Hey, is everything okay Aelita? Are you all settled in?" Jermey asks.

"Yes, I am, and I love our room. Hey, what's this field trip everybody's talking about?" She wonders, glancing at the 8th and 9th graders.

"You didn't tell her?" Odd asks Nadia.

"We basically unpacked, decided our arrangements, and rushed here. Didn't have time" Nadia explains.

"We're gonna make a biodiversity scrapbook. Ms. Hertz wants us to take pictures and to draw plants and flowers. That kind of thing. You and I have been paired up to work together" Jeremy smiles.

"Great," she agrees. "What about you Nadia, you going alone?"

"No, Ms. Hertz assigned me to keep an eye on Ulrich and Odd, knowing I won't let them slack off" Nadia responds.

"Speaking of anyone seen Ulrich?" Odd looks around.

"He's under the arches," Aelita points forward. "I think he's waiting for Yumi."

"I'll go grab him" Nadia says as she walks over to him. Soon a boy with black hair, jeans, a red sweater, and a black t-shirt walks beside her. She glances at him and feels something she doesn't around the other boys. He glances back at her.

"Sorry, am I intruding on you?" He asks.

"No, I'm going to see my partner" Nadia responds.

"Funny, my partner is this way too. My name's William by the way. I just transferred here."

"Nadia, I started attending in the 7th grade."

"Oh, so you know more about this school. Maybe you can show mw around sometime."

"Maybe." Nadia was struggling to understand this feeling. Was it love?

Ulrich paces around, trying to figure out what to say. He wanted to partner with Yumi and maybe figure out where they stand.

"Okay, Yumi, there's something I have to tell you. No, that doesn't sound right. Umm, Yumi, there's something serious you and I have to talk about. Nah, she'll freak out if I say that! Right, Yumi!" He turns around, only to see Yumi right there. "You and I have to- Yumi! I have something to tell you."

"Yo Yumi!" William calls out. Nadia is next to him. "Ms. Hertz said okay. We can work together on the field trip."

"Great," Yumi gives a thumbs up while Ulrich glares. "William, do you know Ulrich?"

"Huh. Oh, you're Ulrich Stern. Yumi mentioned you," he says stiffly, as if he didn't want to be friendly. "You ready to go."

"Coming. Are you with us Nadia?"

"No, I'm here for Ulrich" Nadia says.

"Didn't you have something to tell me?" Yumi asks Ulrich.

"I'll tell you later" Ulrich says grumpily.

"See you later" she leaves with William, Ulrich growing upset.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Odd appears suddenly. "Everyone's leaving. We have to be back by 6."

"Who is that guy?" Ulrich stares at William.

"William" Nadia replies.

"Yeah, he's new. He got kicked out of his old school. He's totally cool" Odd explains.

"Yeah, cool…" Nadia said, almost like in a trance.

Ulrich doesn't think the same way. He narrows his eyes at Odd's comment.

Everyone arrives at the park, Jeremy and Aelita lagging behind. "Did you know the trees grow new branches from one year to the next according to an exponential ratio of 1.6?" Jeremy asks her, trying to impress her. Sissi looks annoyed as she and her flunkies walk behind them.

"1.618 to be exact. It's the golden ratio. Say, do you think nature obeys nonlinear equation systems?" Aelita replies back.

"Can you believe those two? Who do they think they are anyway?" Sissi asks, further annoyed. "Mr. and Mrs. Einstein? And here I thought Nadia was Mrs. Einstein. Guess she has competition."

"Um, hm?" Nicolas inquiries in confusion as he wasn't paying attention. Sissi walks away from the park and into the street.

"Hey Sissi, where are you going? The woods are this way" Herb jerks a thumb behind him.

"Yes, but the stores are that way" Sissi points forward. No supervision means she can go shopping instead.

"But we're supposed to draw plants" Herb looks down at his notepad.

"There's a florist in the shopping center" Sissi replies.

"Oh" Herb says in realization.

"Eh, there aren't any monsters in these woods," Jeremy denies to Aelita's fears. "That only happens in fairy tales or in silly horror pictures. Ha, like the kind that Odd likes."

"You don't like horror films?" Aelita asks curiously.

"I find them inaccurate scientifically speaking," he informs her. "Anyway, I don't have time to go to the movies. I've got my work cut out for me with Xana!" He reaches for his laptop but doesn't find it in his backpack. "Huh?! Oh no, I don't believe it! I left my laptop in my room. What if Xana attacks?"

"Well, run back and get it. I'll just keep working by myself. Anyway, with the drawings we've already done, I'm sure we'll get the highest grade" Aelita smiles at him.

"Be right back!" He runs down the path and she waves at him.

"Bye."

Ulrich is spying on Yumi, while Nadia looks at William. Ulrich zooms in on them. "Oh, stop freaking out. You know Yumi's crazy about you" Odd dismisses Ulrich's paranoia.

"That's what you think. Actually, I have no idea" he turns his head to Odd. He's playing with Kiwi.

"I can't figure you guys out. Are you going out together or not?" Odd turns around.

"Um, not really," Ulrich frowns, glancing at them. "It's complicated. Right now, I'll bet he's completely snowing her."

"I wouldn't call myself a rebel," William says to Yumi's claim as he looks up. "I'm just a little rebellious."

"Well you did manage to get yourself kicked out of your last school putting posters all over the place" Yumi points out.

"I object, your honor," William holds up his pencil. "Extenuating circumstances, they were love letters."

"You mean love makes you crazy?" Yumi asks, pointing her pencil at him.

"Makes me totally insane," he tells her, and she blushes. "You probably won't experience it though. I find you attractive, but I find that Nadia girl pretty cute."

"You wouldn't pursue me?"

"I would if she shot me down. But you, you could have any guy you want. You're the kind of girl most guys would kill for a shot at."

Yumi finds herself blushing even more after that statement.

Aelita looks around the forest, growing anxious as Jeremy has yet to return. She gasps as she hears something flapping in the sky. There's a rustle behind her and she holds in a breath but sees nothing. Another one makes her turn her eyes to the right. "Monster's only exist in fairy tales" she remembers what Jeremy said. "Monster's only exist in fairy tales." She sucks in a gasp and continues moving forward with the notebook, but a howl causes her to run. Her head starts to hurt, and she drops the notebook, getting a vision of a wolf. She gasps as she sees the animal and being frightened, she takes off in a panic.

In the ice sector, two tarantulas are guarding an activated tower.

Jeremy comes back just in time to hear the urgent beeps from his computer. "Oh!" He looks at it, confirming his fear. "Just what I was afraid of! Xana is attacking!"

"I don't think I have to remind you two that we haven't done a single drawing since we got here," Odd points out to Ulrich and Nadia as he scratches Kiwi's neck. "I don't even wanna think about the grade we're gonna get."

"Go ahead, you draw. You're better at it than I am" Ulrich dismisses it, still watching Yumi.

"Hey Nadia, aren't you supposed to keep us on track here?" Odd asks.

"Yeah, get to drawing Odd" Nadia says without looking at him.

Ulrich at this time gets a phone call and answers it. "Jeremy?"

"I'm at school," Jeremy reports, gathering his things. "Xana's attacking! I'll head for the factory, but you guys have to pick up Aelita along the way."

"No problem, we'll go and grab her" Ulrich says.

"I left her on the red trail," Jeremy informs him. "Is Yumi with you?"

"No," Ulrich says in anger. "I'd rather you call her yourself. See you in a minute."

"Actually, I don't do anything halfway. No way, it's all or nothing with me. I just can't bring myself to be sensible. But hey, being sensible is just not sensible" William recites.

"You stole that line from the Subsonics" Yumi calls him out on that last line.

"You listen to them?" William asks in surprise.

"Yeah they're awesome," she says simply before getting a phone call. She answers it. "Yes?"

William looks up, having barely done any drawing. "Well, it's about time we got back to work, huh?" He stands up, but Yumi is no longer there. "Yumi? Yumi?"

Aelita pants as she stops running and discovers an old house across the street. She approaches the gate and tiptoes to peek inside. Turning to the other side, she notices an old sign, the first letter having been decayed away.

"The Hermitage."

She starts to have visions of the house being kept in well condition. Aelita walks up to the house cautiously. "Is…is anybody home?"

A camera zooms in on her, having the Xana symbol. Xana was watching her…

"Are you sure this is the place?" Odd asks skeptically, as they don't find Aelita.

"That's what Jeremy told me" Ulrich responds as Kiwi sniffs a notebook on the ground.

"Look," Odd notices Kiwi. "Let's follow him."

"Are you sure?" Ulrich wonders as they follow him.

"He may be a little dumb, but he does have a good nose" Odd explains.

"We gotta take a chance. I'm willing to believe if Aelita was here, Kiwi knows where she went" Nadia adds.

Ulrich hears a noise, turning around to confront the intruder. However, it's just Yumi.

"Hey," she smiles at him, but he doesn't say anything. "Nervous, aren't we? What a warm welcome, nice."

"Yumi, we can't find Aelita" Odd calls out.

Aelita opens the door to the Hermitage. The interior is dark with most of the furnishings destroyed beyond repair. She explores around, noting the dust that felt like it's been there for a long time. Maybe even longer than when she was on Lyoko. A dark specter starts to follow her. She finds herself sitting in the middle of what looked to be a living room. The shadows start to overtake the walls and Aelita stands up, sensing something wrong. Piano music can be heard as she gets another vision of a man playing the instrument. She didn't recognize him as he has gray hair and what looks to be a white lab coat.

He's playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and she stares at him in wonder. She starts sweating as she tries to makes sense of the visions. Aelita hears something and turns around, screaming as she's attacked by Xana.

"Don't tell me you haven't found her yet," Jeremy says in concern. "What have you guys been doing; she may be in danger!"

"Chill Jeremy, okay? We're doing everything we can," Odd tells him as they stand in front of the Hermitage's fence. "Who knows? Maybe Aelita just went back to school. Kiwi led us to an old house in the woods. We're gonna take a look inside. We'll call you back if we have any news." And with that he hangs up, Jeremy growing worried, but also intrigued by the house.

As they approach, Nadia collapses on one knee, holding her head. She sees the same vision Aelita had.

"Nadia, are you okay?" Ulrich asks.

"Yeah, it felt like a flashback. Like I've seen this house before, only not as in terrible shape as this one" Nadia replies.

"Have you lived here before?" Yumi asks.

"Don't know. Everything from my birth to what I remember, my mom keeps under wraps. You know that. I've tried prying her all the time, but she either stays silent, or do it cryptically by giving me very little. Trying to get info from her is like pulling teeth or making a puzzle without an image."

"How messed up is your life?" Odd asks.

Nadia stops walking. "Too messed up. No father, shattered past. No one should live like me."

Xana sees them walk up the stairs and they enter the house.

"Aelita?" Ulrich calls out. The door suddenly closes behind them, shattering the window. Odd drops his backpack, trying to open it.

"It's locked" Odd tells them.

"No signal" Ulrich looks at his phone. Suddenly, a dresser is moving in their direction in a fast pace.

"Look out" Yumi warns them, pushing the others out of the way. The dresser hits the door and breaks into pieces, the gang having dodged it.

"That way," Ulrich points forward and they run down the hall. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Xana" Yumi guesses as they look at the damage.

"We walked right into a trap" Nadia claims.

"Yeah, and that means Aelita must be here somewhere" Odd looks around.

Suddenly, knives and tongs come flying at them.

"Hey Odd, watch out!" Ulrich warns and Odd ducks his head from a flying lamp. They run down the stairs.

"Looks like Xana's trying to lead us somewhere," Yumi deduces and she's correct as they see someone in the distance on the floor. "Aelita!"

Ulrich and Yumi help her up. "Don't worry princess, we're here." She wakes up and sees him.

"Ulrich. It's a trap. Xana, he's going to…" She gasps as the door is about to close. Odd manages to stop it with his foot.

"Get Aelita out," he struggles with the door, Aelita crawling out underneath him. Nadia follows, but as Odd tries to keep it open, the door moves, causing him to fall out of the room. This traps Yumi and Ulrich inside. They try to pull it open as the temperature rises. "You'll be cooked alive if we don't get you out of there!" Odd yells in panic. Aelita, Nadia, and Odd struggle from their side to get it open, but the door doesn't budge.

"Odd!" Ulrich shouts from inside. "Run to the factory with Aelita and Nadia. Deactivate the tower, it's our only hope."

"Come on!" Odd grabs Aelita and Nadia's hands pulling them down the hall. They try to get out through another door, but that one is locked as well. "I knew it. Now we'll have to go above ground. Wait!"

Another object comes hurling towards them and Odd pushes the girls away, jumping over it and landing safely.

Yumi sees the object crash against the door, as well as hearing the crash sound it made. Odd smiles when he sees his dog outside. "Kiwi!" He jumps into Odd's arms. Aelita notices a door covered to the side. She gets a vision of a passageway that leads to the sewers.

"Ah! Nadia, Odd, there's a passage over there. I…I think it leads to the sewers!" She informs them.

"This is no time for jokes Aelita" Odd dismisses it.

"I'm not joking Odd. I'm sure" she says seriously. Odd stares at it while Nadia opens it.

"She's right. It's a direct access to the sewer" Nadia reports.

"Wow. Incredible," Odd comments in surprise. "How did you know about this?"

While inside the boiler room, Ulrich and Yumi are slowly getting hotter. He knew they were slowly boiling, but he had to fight for her, not knowing William was into Nadia. "Yumi, I, uh…"

"Forget it Ulrich. I should've told you about William sooner" she murmurs.

"Yeah, that would've been better" he admits, looking away.

After going through the sewers, Nadia, Odd, and Aelita have reached the factory and the doors open. Aelita smiles at him, and he turns around.

"Aelita! I was really worried" he says in relief.

"No time to lose Einstein," Odd holds up a hand to stop him. "Otherwise Ulrich and Yumi will end up like dim sum."

"Okay, head for the scanners. I'll start the process" Jeremy gets to work.

When they reach the scanners, they step inside them. "Transfer Aelita. Transfer Nadia. Transfer Odd. Scanner Aelita. Scanner Nadia. Scanner Odd. Virtualization."

All three are successfully virtualized and land in the ice sector. The Overboard and the two Overwings appear.

"Aelita, Yumi's Overwing is for you."

"Our taxis are waiting for us. Let's go" Odd jumps onto his board, while Nadia and Aelita step on their vehicles.

"Tower dead ahead" Aelita reports.

"Be careful. You've got two tarantulas guarding it" Jeremy warns as behind a structure; the tower can be seen.

"We'll never be able to fight our way through two of those horrors" Odd states.

"I got an idea. Odd, you're gonna have to defend Aelita though" Nadia says.

"What is it?" Odd asks.

"I can use my invisibility to take one out while Aelita…" Nadia starts.

"Lures one away" Aelita finishes.

"Exactly."

"Girls, what are you planning?" Jeremy wonders.

"To steal the show" Odd reports.

Ulrich and Yumi start sweating, Yumi glancing at Ulrich, seeing his shirt off.

"Go ahead. I won't look" he tells her, his back turned to her. Yumi takes her shirt off, pressing her back to him. They both blush, smiling slightly.

Back on Lyoko, Aelita is flying over to the tower with the Overwing. The two tarantulas see her and immediately sit up to fire.

"Well, my little monster friends, did ya miss me?" She waves with a wink and one tarantula looks to the other. His pal gestures for him to follow after Aelita while he stayed there. The tarantula then follows her, and she grins. It stands up and fires, Aelita flying around to dodge them. One of them hits the Overwing and she stumbles to a stop. She gasps as she looks at the monster behind her, running off. She stops at the edge and the tarantula prepares to fire.

"Whoo hoo. Surprise!" Odd comes out from underneath and fires repeatedly, destroying it.

"They're not all that invincible." One of the tarantulas disappears from Jeremy's screen. He smiles at their progress. "Now we just have to wait for Nadia to do her thing."

"Yu…Yumi?" Ulrich asks as the increasing heat is starting to affect them. "Uh…what's, um…really going on…between you and, uh, William?"

"…Nothing at all. He's just…just a friend. Besides…he likes…Nadia" she answers as Ulrich passes out on the floor.

The final tarantula guards the tower. Nadia being invisible walks behind it. She becomes visible. She jumps up and pierces the eye. She jumps off and the monster explodes. "All clear Jeremy" she reports.

Odd and Aelita arrive and Aelita enters the tower. The thermostat is starting to break as Aelita floats to the top.

Yumi kneels on the floor, about to fall unconscious.

Aelita logs into the interface.

Aelita

Code

Yumi passes out next to Ulrich

Lyoko

"Tower deactivated" Aelita states as the tower deactivates.

Jeremy activates the return in time before Yumi and Ulrich die from the heat. "Return to the past now!" Everything is engulfed and time is reversed.

Everyone has completed their assignment, having returned to the school. Ms. Hertz stares at Sissi's, which is poorly drawn. "Mmm, congratulations Miss Delmas. You found an Amazonian Yucca, here in our woods?" She gives a smug look, knowing that she slacked off.

"Ah, yeah, and it wasn't easy either" Sissi states nervously.

"Is that so? Well, I think it's going to be much easier grading your work. Zero" she hands the notebook back to Sissi's shock, Odd, Nadia, and Ulrich passing them.

"So, did you manage to get any work drawing done this time?" Jeremy wonders curiously.

"Yeah, but I had to drag Romeo and Juliet here away from their Romeo and Juliet," Odd explains. "Going back in time didn't change anything there. Luckily for us, Nadia gave us a descent score."

"Yeah, once William was no longer in sight, I was able to get you guys an A. Your welcome" Nadia mentions.

Ulrich and Nadia both glance at Yumi and William saying goodbye to each other from the corner of their eyes. They both look away as Yumi approaches the group.

"I went to check out that house, the Hermitage," Jeremy gives his report. "Nothing to report. It's gone back to being a normal house. Abandoned, but normal."

"It's so weird. All those visions I had there" Aelita comments.

"Also me too. I'm going to find out about it tonight" Nadia comments.

"Not to mention the underground passage that Aelita knew about" Odd points out. Aelita thinks back to the Hermitage.

"It's as if I'd already seen that house, in a dream" she says in thought.

"Mine was way too real. Felt like I was going to pass out" Nadia reflects on her experience.

"A new mystery to solve for us" Yumi remarks.

"By the way, uh, Aelita?" Jeremy holds out a present. "This is for you. It's to keep us one step ahead of Xana."

"For me?" Aelita opens it to see a cell phone.

"This way we can always stay in touch, heh heh. I thought that pink would suit you" she holds up a pink cell phone.

"Wow looks cool. It matches your hair" Odd states. Aelita happily hugs Jeremy.

"Thank you Jeremy."

"There you go. You're like a regular school kid now" Odd comments, to which they all laugh.

Nadia starts to leave. "Where are you off too?" Ulrich asks.

"I made a promise to someone. See you at dinner" she replies.

Nadia has finished giving William the tour and arrived at the cafeteria in time for dinner.

"Thanks for the tour. Seems like a nice place" William comments.

"I'm sure you'll enjoy your time here" Nadia says.

"I will, especially if you're here."

"I'm not going anywhere."

The two share a hug. "I would really like to get to know you better."

"Me too. I just hope you can deal with my troubled past."

"Only if you can deal with mine."

The two then smile at each other before entering together.

The day was long for the Lyoko Warriors, but it wasn't over for Nadia. While Aelita was in the shower, Nadia used this moment to call her mom.

"Nadia, have a good day?" Here mom asks.

"More like an eye opener" she replies.

"Really? Why is that?"

"Mom, do you know of the Hermitage?"

Nadia couldn't see her mom's expression, but she could make a pretty good guess at what it was.

"This is why I didn't want you attending Kadic. Nadia, your past is something you shouldn't explore. Please…"

"Mom, your hiding something. What is it?"

Her mom sighed. "The Hermitage is where I lived when I was 8 months pregnant with you. Also, you lived there until we moved. Your godfather owned it and lived with his daughter."

"Who?"

"He went under the alias Franz Hopper. His real name is Waldo Schaffer. I went to him because I knew him and his wife, Anthea, and we were really good friends. My name is also not Alexia. It's Eloise. I changed it to escape my past. His daughter was named Aelita."

"A…Aelita?"

"Yes. Is that all you need to know?"

"I have enough mom. Good bye."

"Good night dear."

She hung up as Aelita walking in and Nadia just stares at her.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost. Is everything alright?" Aelita asks.

'I might be looking at one' Nadia thinks. "Yeah, everything's fine. Let's go to sleep. It was a long day." Aelita got in bed under Nadia. "Who are you Aelita?" Nadia says quietly.

A.N. – And the mystery begins. This season will be packed with this with some episodes revealing Aelita and Nadia's past and some that are same as the original. I highly recommend not missing the next chapter too. These first two highlight the whole mystery for this season. Next time, we meet Xana's indestructible monster…the Scyphozoa! PM me with story ideas! Review with questions and comments! I will respond! As always, till next time! Get ready for a wild ride! See ya! -lyokowarrior97