Chapter 31 Uncharted Territory

A.N. – So, there is a few changes to this episode. One of them is pretty major as it just changes the plot a little bit. Either than that, this is the final chapter that sets up the rest of the season.

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.

In the woods, someone with an elf-like appearance is running through the woods. It's a little boy with elf ears and a pointy hat. Wolves are chasing after him. He runs as fast as he can to get away from them, looking back once as he ventures further north. The boy stops in his tracks when he sees another menacing wolf sitting on top of a rock. He gasps sharply and backs away slightly, the other four wolves catching up with him. The boy turns around to see them and takes off in another direction, the wolves not stopping in their pursuit of him, of course. While looking back, he trips and tumbles to a stop but keeps going. He sees a tree with a hole small enough to fit him and he crawls inside. The wolves look around, but there is seemingly no sign of their prey. The elf-like child, hoping for them to leave, sits quietly in the hole. One of them notices his presence and he gasps as the wolf bares his teeth at him.

But it turns out that event was all a nightmare from Aelita. She lets out a scream, opening her eyes. She sits up in her bed, trying to make sense of what just happened. Nadia also wakes up, jumping down to her.

"Aelita! Are you okay?" Nadia asks her.

"Oh…" Aelita rubs her temple. "Yeah. Just a nightmare."

"Yeah, pretty common. If Xana didn't exist, not sleeping on Lyoko would fix that. No nightmares." Nadia grabs a change of clothes. "Let's get to the showers and then we'll go meet up with the guys."

Jeremy's printer prints a single sheet of paper that has a signature on it. "Now, let's see." He takes on glance and is already amazed. "Wow! Unbelievable!" The door opens behind him.

"Come on Jeremy, let's get a move on," Ulrich warns him, Odd standing nearby. "Otherwise there won't be any hot water left."

"Hey, remember the Hermitage?" Jeremy changes the subject, as he's been used to doing his routine later than usual in the morning.

"The house where Aelita and Nadia had those visions? Bad memory Jeremy" Ulrich answers, and the Hermitage wasn't something they talked about since Xana's attack.

"Right. Well I wanted to check it out a little closer, and I found out something amazing!" Jeremy had done some investigating and hacking on the internet last night.

"What would really be 'amazing' is that there are still some eggs left when we get down to breakfast" Odd states, wanting to eat as soon as possible.

"Odd, you're a real walking stomach, you now that?" Jeremy remarks while typing.

"And you're a walking brain. You see, we compliment each other" Odd jokes, Jeremy not looking amused as his two friends smile widely with laughs.

"Laugh now, cause if Nadia was here, your foot would be swelling up."

"Don't remind me. Her punishments are rough."

"I did a little research to find out who that old house belonged to, and I came across a restricted access site," Jeremy explains as they step out of the room with towels around their shoulders. "It took me most of the night to hack into it, but it was worth it! I found a deed signed by a Mr. Franz Hopper. Seems like he's the owner."

"And you think it has something to do with Lyoko?" Ulrich wonders.

"Ulrich, there's a secret underground passage into the sewers from his yard, believe it or not," Odd informs hi, remembering the passage Aelita pointed out. "So the guy must have something to do with the supercomputer!"

"Exactly. So I did a search on Franz Hopper and guess what? He was a science teacher right here at Kadic Academy!" Jeremy reveals. "Is that weird or what?"

Aelita and Nadia step to where the girls bathroom is for a shower, only to find a long line for it. Most of the girls look exhausted or bored. Sissi steps out of the showers, having made everyone wait. "Ha." She flips her hair, fully clothed.

"Finally, it's about time."

"Every morning, it's the same thing" Milly complains.

"Yeah, but things can start moving now that Sissi's done" Tamiya remarks, Sissi walking past them.

"Shut up kiddies," she retorts, not wanting to have kids gossip about her. Honestly, to her, it was a waste of time. The two 8th graders stick their tongues out mockingly at her. Sissi then notices Aelita, who's at the back of the line, waiting with her roommate. "Poor thing. You'll be here for another two hours." She places her arm around her leaning in. Nadia wondering what she was up to. "Why not go upstairs? There's some showers free up there and not a girl in sight."

"And you can beat it Sissi to somewhere else and et out of my sight! Don't listen to her Aelita. You only trust us, because some are untrustworthy" Nadia shoots Sissi a glare, knowing she was setting her up.

"Fine Mrs. Einstein #2 and 1, but watch your back, because it's a jungle out there."

"Yeah, and you better watch out for me. I'm the savage predator that will eat you whole."

Sissi then walks away.

"So, you think the owner of the Hermitage and the science teacher are the same person?" Yumi wonders, having been informed of what Jeremy's discovered.

Nadia on the other hand has grown more suspicious. She was becoming more connected to Lyoko and Xana as the mystery deepened.

"Well, let's face it, huh? Finding two guys called Franz Hopper in a radius of less than half a mile, which should be a real coincidence" Ulrich replies, as it was a coincidence that Franz Hopper just happened to be the owner of a house not too far from where he worked.

"Anyway, there's only one way to be sure," Jeremy suggests. "After history class, we have a study period in the library. What do you say we do a little research of the Kadia Academy archives?"

"Good idea" Odd comments.

"I'll go with you" Aelita offers, Jeremy turning to her.

"I don't think that's a good idea," he explains to Aelita's confusion. "You're too new. We don't want you to raise suspicion, especially when we need you to help us stop Xana. I'm doing this for you Aelita." He walks off with the boys. "Okay, see you later. We'll meet you in the cafeteria."

Yumi glances at Aelita, who looks worried. "Are you alright Aelita?"

"Ah, I can't get used to living here," Aelita confides. "I had another nightmare last night. The same one."

"You haven't even been here for a week yet," Yumi assures her. "You'll see, you'll feel better in no time."

Aelita smiles back, feeling a little relieved.

Jeremy, Odd, and Ulrich dash over to the faculty building, sneaking past the principal's secretary. Nadia also joins them as well. Jeremy opens the door, looking around for anyone while the other two keep a look out outside. He and Nadia enter and walk up to the file cabinet. "E, F, G, H. H for Hopper." He opens the F-O section, the secretary humming as she's planning on going inside the office.

"Oh shoot" Ulrich matters, walking up to her with Odd. They both smile widely.

"Shouldn't you be in class? Well children?" She asks for an explanation.

"We're looking for, uh, a teacher" Ulrich lies.

"Oh really? Which one?" The secretary wonders, eager to help the students.

"Ms. Meyer" Ulrich says at the same time Odd says, "Mr. Chardin." This confuses the secretary, needless to say.

"Hopper, Hopper" Jeremy mutters to himself as he opens up a folder. He pulls out the deed to the Hermitage and holds it against the paperwork. "Bingo." He walks up to Nadia.

"The secretary is here" she says quietly.

"The excuse?"

"The guys told her they're looking for a teacher."

"Follow me."

"Come to think of it, at this time of day, if you can't find your teachers, it probably means they're in class" the secretary suggests. Jeremy walks out and Nadia quietly closes the door.

"It's okay guys. I found Ms. Hertz." He walks past the secretary, waving. "Ma'am." Odd, Ulrich, and Nadia follow after him, the secretary shrugging it off.

"Say Nadia, why do you have the same last name as Franz?" Jermey asks.

Nadia didn't want to reveal too much and drop a bombshell like her mother did, so she improvised.

"That was my mother. She changed her name. Can't say why she choose Hopper though" she says.

If Franz had any connection to her mother and Lyoko, as well as her past, she would let them figure it out and put pieces in place as they came. For now, she only knew what her mother told her.

Past noon, it's lunchtime, Aelita is on her own as Nadia had to go back and grab something from the room. As like in the morning, Aelita is clueless as what to do.

"Hey," a student interrupts her train of thought. "What are you waiting for?"

She slides her tray and looks at what to pick.

"Come on, huh? Would you move it?" She turns to the impatient students next to her and slides further to Rosa.

"Well sweetie, franks and beans or steak and potatoes?"

She doesn't even know what she wants as she stammers. "Uh, well, uh…"

The other students protest their hunger and Rosa glares at them to be quiet. After all, Aelita was still new, and they needed to be nicer. She looks back to see Aelita has left the line.

"My turn."

"About time."

"Boy, that was a close one" Odd lets out a breath of relief.

"No doubt about it. I compared the teacher's signature with the one on the property deed I found on the internet. They're the same" Jeremy smiles at his progress.

"So, you think Nadia has connections to this Franz Hopper?" Ulrich asks.

"If she does, she is not telling us."

"Maybe it's her mom. All information she gets comes from her. I think her mom may know more than she's letting on or telling her" Odd adds.

"That too. But how do we know that all Nadia told us is the truth."

"Maybe there's something too personal that she doesn't want to talk about. I understand that position that she could be on," Ulrich says. "What if we had a look around the Hermitage to find out more about this teacher? Maybe something on Nadia."

"Good idea" Jeremy agrees.

"But aren't we supposed to meet Aelita and Nadia in the cafeteria now?" Odd asks in worry, still knowing Aelita hasn't fully adjusted.

"It'll only take a minute. They won't mind waiting a little."

Aelita, on the other hand, feels lost and lonely without Nadia or her friends for support. However she sees Yumi and if fills her with some hope. "Yumi!" She was about to run up to her but stops when she sits next to William. She decides to abandon lunch all together and steps outside.

"So, going back to the great white north?" Sissi is standing in front of the cafeteria, planning on going in.

Aelita looks distressed as her first few days had been a living nightmare. "Why not? At least I feel at home there!" She runs off to the woods, crying.

Nadia however just arrives. She walks in but can't spot Aelita anywhere. She knew she would stand out, but she didn't think any different about it. She grabs her lunch and heads over to William and Yumi. "Hey, you two."

"Hey Nadia" Yumi responds.

"What's up" William responds next.

"Yumi, quick question, have you seen Aelita?" Nadia asks.

"No, why?" She responds.

"I had to go grab something, so I left her on her own. I hope nothing happened to her."

"Like bad?" Yumi whispers.

"No, not that bad, but wouldn't surprise me."

Jeremy, Ulrich, and Odd arrive at the Hermitage. "Still looks as creepy as ever," Ulrich comments. "What are we looking for?"

"How should I know?" Jeremy questions, as trying to find anything to link Hopper to Xana or Nadia in this wreck is close to impossible. "If this Franz Hopper guys has anything to do with Xana or Nadia, maybe we'll find some information about Aelita's virus or a piece of Nadia's past for a start."

He looks around what looks like a library, the two boys following him.

"Well?" Ulrich wonders.

"Not much. Physics textbooks. Planck, Heisenberg. Hey." Odd and Ulrich grow intrigued by his sudden interest in one of the books. "What's this doing here?"

"The Tunic Wars?" Ulrich reads the title. "What's that?"

"Punic, not Tunic," Jeremy corrects him. "The war between the Romans and the Carthaginians. We studied it last year. Don't you remember anything?"

"No" Ulrich answers.

"You really are lame in history" Odd raises an eyebrow smugly, Ulrich glaring at him. He already knew how poor he was in anything knowledge related.

"See all those notes?" Jeremy looks at the scribbled pages. "I'm sure Hopper wrote them."

At the factory, a self-delayed virtualization is launched. Aelita stands in front of the scanner, sure of her decision. She steps into the scanner and the process is started, virtualizing her.

"Quiet please," Ms. Hertz states. "Where is Aelita Stones? Jeremy, Nadia, do you know why Aelita isn't here?"

"Aelita?! Wasn't she with you?" Jeremy asks Nadia.

"No, she wasn't in the lunchroom. I don't know where she went" Nadia answers.

"Um, sorry, ma'am, I don't."

"Well I do ma'am," Sissi speaks up. "She went back to Canada."

"Canada?!" Jeremy exclaims, not knowing what she meant by that.

"Yeah, that's what she told me. She even said 'at least I feel at home there'" she replies to Jeremy's shock.

"Elizabeth, if you continue to disrupt the class, I warn you, I will send you to your father's office" Ms. Hertz tells her off.

"It's Sissi! Not Elizabeth, I hate being called Elizabeth" she mutters angrily.

"Ma'am, um," Jeremy places a hand on his head, feeling lightheaded. "I don't feel very well. Can I please go to the infirmary?"

"Of course Jeremy."

"Can we take him?" Odd, Nadia, and Ulrich question at the same time.

"Well, oh…oh, alright then. But don't dilly-dally!"

Jeremy runs down the hall. "Jeremy wait!" Odd calls out. "Hey!"

"Where are you going?" Ulrich asks.

"To the factory!" Jeremy answers.

"You think Aelita's there?" Odd questions in concern.

"She told Sissi he was going back to Canada, I think she meant 'I'm going back to the place I came from' which means Lyoko" Jeremy explains, knowing this opens the perfect opportunity for Xana.

"What's she thinking? Xana can easily lure her into a trap" Nadia comments.

Aelita is in the forest sector, sulking around and thinking to herself. She's quickly met with a blok, backing away slowly.

The others have arrived at the lab and Jeremy sits in his chair. He localizes Aelita's location within the forest sector. "Okay, I found her. She virtualized herself all on her own."

"That's pretty weird. Why would she do that?" Odd questions.

"Maybe she got home sick" Ulrich suggests.

"I think her reasons are more personal. Even Aelita should know how dangerous Xana is, especially on his turf" Nadia replies.

"Does Yumi know?" Jeremy asks.

"I left her a message" Ulrich tells him.

"Get to the scanner room, hurry!" Nadia presses the button, closing the door. Jeremy holds his microphone. "Aelita, can you hear me? Answer me!"

She's too much in shock to say a word, as the blok advances further. Aelita gasps and breaks off into a run, the blok somehow keeping in pace with her.

The doors open to the lab, revealing a wet-haired Yumi. "Oh Yumi."

"I got the message at the swimming pool" she states. "What's going on?"

"Run to the scanner room. Nadia, Odd, and Ulrich are already there, I'll explain everything later" he says quickly.

"Jeremy!" Aelita cries out. "Help!"

"Aelita, don't worry. The others are on the way." Jeremy starts up the virtualization process. "The girls will go first. Transfer Nadia. Transfer Yumi. Scanner Nadia. Scanner Yumi. Virtualization."

Yumi and Nadia are virtualized, landing safely. The boys land behind them, looking around as there's no sign of Aelita.

"Do you see her?"

"Not yet" Ulrich tells him.

"She's due north."

"Let's go," Ulrich says to the others, and they take off running.

Aelita is cornered by two bloks. "Jeremy, I'm surrounded."

"Hurry up!" Jermey warns the others. "Aelita has fallen into a trap!"

Aelita sees a path where she would have to jump, but it was her only option. She leaps across the gap as the monsters fire, hanging onto the edge.

The other Lyoko Warriors continue on, not having found her yet or any monsters. "Go ahead Ulrich," Odd tells him. "With your speed, you'll get there first."

"You're right."

"Too late," Yumi states and they come to a stop. They turn to her, and she points down the path. "Krabs."

A krab approaches them. "Xana's trying to delay us. He must have something planned for Aelita" Nadia states.

"There's another one behind you!"

"Okay, battle stations" Ulrich orders as he looks behind him.

Aelita manages to pull herself up before she's hit, running down the path. "Aelita's bought some time" Jeremy reports, having seen her get up.

"Your move, Nadia and Odd" Ulrich informs, pulling out his sword. Odd kneels down to a crouching position.

"I love this" Odd comments.

"Draw his fire and I'll flank him" Nadia tells him.

Odd runs towards the krab and it fires at him. Odd then climbs up a tree as the krab continues to fire at him. Nadia goes underneath and pierces it.

"Laser arrow!" Odd fires a quick arrow to try and finish him, and he explodes after Nadia escapes.

Yumi backflips underneath the other one. She pulls out her fans, throwing it while Ulrich use his super sprint to slice off the krab's leg. Yumi's fan hits the target, destroying it.

"Nice going guys. But hurry it up! The bloks are catching up to Aelita" Jeremy warns.

"What are you waiting for? Call us a taxi" Odd tells him.

"It's on the way."

Aelita has reached the edge of the sector, finding herself trapped with the bloks. "Hurry Jeremy."

"Vehicle materialization" Jeremy presses enter, and their vehicles appear in front of their owners.

"Here we go!" Odd hops on his Overboard, flying off with the others.

A rock falls from Aelita's foot. "The others are coming to get you." She almost slips, looking down at the digital sea. Suddenly, a white orb with the eye of Xana appears out of nowhere. Aelita lets out a scream. "Aelita!"

Odd arrives at the edge of the sector first, where Aelita was. "What? She's already gone? She must really be mad at us."

"She has no reason to be though" Nadia replies as the others show up.

"This is no time for jokes Odd," Jeremy scolds him. "I've lost Aelita from my screens!"

"You-you mean she's…"

"No, I…I doubt it," Jeremy answers, interrupting Yumi. He did not want to think of that. "I think she's just…disappeared from the screens as if…wait," he types away. "What's going on?"

"Please tell me you found her Jeremy" Nadia says with sadness in her voice.

"Maybe. I got a signal! A very weak one, but…hey. That's strange. Aelita's not in this sector anymore. She's not in any sector actually."

"Wait," Ulrich holds up a hand confused. "Can you explain that a little better?"

"No, not really. Let's just say she's in a sector…that doesn't exist. A 5th sector."

"Huh? A 5th sector?" Odd asks, chuckling slightly. "Have you gone bananas or what?"

"Maybe Xana has manufactured one. We just have to find out where it is and how to access it" Nadia says.

"Yeah but imagine how many security protocols must be in place. Xana's no dummy, but he's not one to leave his prized possession unprotected" Yumi informs her.

"Right, if I could just fix this thing. Maybe I…" A new prompt pops up on the screen. "Welcome to Carthage?"

Aelita wakes up in a blue room, sitting up as the Xana symbol is underneath her. The walls around her spin around and she feels movement as the walls come to a stop right in front of her, enabling a door to appear. She looks in awe, as she's never seen anything like this when she was stuck on Lyoko. She walks slowly and then runs into the light, being drawn to it.

"Is this going to take long Jeremy?" Yumi wonders, as they've been waiting for a while.

"I hope not."

Four hornets suddenly appear in the skies. "Uh oh, now things are really starting to buzz" Odd jumps onto his Overboard and the four hornets fire at the Lyoko Warriors as they fly towards their attackers. Odd fires some laser arrows, destroying one. The other three surround Yumi and she pulls out her fan, throwing it to destroy all of them.

Ulrich maneuvers past lasers and ducks from an incoming hornet. He pulls out his sword and jumps into the air. "Super sprint!" He curls up into a ball at fast speed, destroying the hornet.

Nadia flies just above him with a hornet following her. She draws her sword and pulls back. She slices through it as the two meet.

"Jeremy, what are we doing?" Ulrich calls out.

"Wait, I've got a little problem" Jeremy explains, as he has to figure out a password to get through.

"There's no biggie as long as it's not a biggie" Odd replies.

"There's a password," Jeremy states. "Something to do with Carthage, I think."

"This is no time for a history lesson!" Ulrich retorts, and it sounds familiar.

"A history lesson. That's exactly what I mean!" He bends down to his backpack and pulls out the book about the Punic Wars from the Hermitage. "That'd be too easy."

Ulrich rides up to a hornet, destroying it. One of them hits his bike and he stumbles onto the path.

"Laser arrow!" Odd gets rid of another hornet before flying to dodge a laser from another one.

"Hannibal, Carthage, general, his father, no" Jeremy tries several names from the book, but they don't work.

"Hey Jeremy," he looks up at Ulrich's ID card. "Any day now."

Jeremy gasps as he realizes the situation they're in. "Hannibal's sister, Salammel?"

Aelita walks up to a dead end…but it's not a dead end as the walls open up a path. She narrows her eyes and walks down the long hallway, glancing at her surroundings. She hears something and turns around to see a new creature. Aelita gasps and runs off, the monster following after her.

"The nemesis of Carthage?" Jeremy suggests after numerous passwords, but nothing sticks. He tries again, but it's the same result. "No dice!"

"Whenever you're ready Einstein!" Odd calls out.

"Hey, you guys I'm doing my best" Jeremy protests as Odd leans back and forth, allowing himself to dodge the lasers. He's hit once and falls off his Overboard. Another laser takes out Yumi's Overwing and a third one destroys Nadia's Overwing. She slides to a stop as she lands.

"Jeremy, we're not gonna last much longer" Yumi informs him.

"I'm sure I'm gonna get it" he tells them as the hornets fly over them.

"Oh no, I can't believe this" Yumi states as they're back-to-back, surrounded by hornets. Jeremy tries name after name, but all he gets is beeps. He's getting tired of the same noise.

"I'm going in circles!" He exclaims in worry.

"It's a passcode Jeremy. You have to defeat it" Nadia states.

Jeremy gets a thought. "Defeat it. Carthage. Who defeated the Carthaginians? Um…Scipio. S-C-I-P-I-O," he types it in and hopes he's right as he presses enter. "Come on." The passcode is accepted. "Oh, I can't believe it!"

"Hey, the hornets are calling it quits" Yumi points out as they fly away.

"Come back, you cowards" Odd calls out, Ulrich and Nadia seeing a white orb, like the one with Aelita.

"What's that ball doing there? Huh?" It floats down to them.

"I think the code word Scipio made it appear" Jeremy assumes.

"I knew you would figure it out Jeremy" Nadia gives him a thumbs up and he smiles. The orb engulfs them.

It takes the four all the way to the other side of the forest sector, where wires connect to a bright light. They're taken to a new sector, a bunch of code surrounding a large dome with pathways. The orb travels to the arena where Aelita was. The orb releases them.

"Hey."

"Whoa!"

"Wow."

Odd kneels slightly from the ride.

"How did you do that Jeremy?" Ulrich wonders.

"Let's just say I got a hint from Nadia and a little help from Franz Hopper. Welcome to sector 5 everyone" Jeremy smiles down at the book.

"What does it look like?" Yumi wonders.

"A sphere that-" he notices a countdown with less than 2 minutes left. "Uh, it's probably bad news."

Aelita ends up in another room, but there are plenty of the new creatures there. She gasps in horror, backing away…until another monster appears. It looks like a jellyfish with a giant glass dome for a head. She gasps at it as I advances towards her.

"Jeremy," she cries out. "Jeremy!"

"I think Aelita's being attacked and time is almost up!" Jeremy reports.

"Can you guide us?" Yumi asks.

"Take the footbridge behind you. Hurry up! This is no time for sightseeing!" They run down the door Aelita took.

The jellyfish raises its arms and Aelita gasps, backing away slightly. She screams as it captures her.

"Super sprint!" Ulrich uses her power to reach her faster.

The jellyfish creature starts to do something to Aelita, using its tentacles to do it. Red flows from Aelita to its dome.

"Hey, what's going on?" Jeremy demands as a blueprint of Aelita's memory appears. Ulrich arrives first.

"Jeremy, there's…this thing in here."

"Destroy it! That thing is taking away Aelita's memory!" Yumi pulls out one of her fans and throws it. Ulrich destroys one of the new creatures and Yumi saves Aelita by slicing the tentacles. Ulrich catches Aelita as one of the creatures fires at them.

"Laser arrow!" Odd fires two of them, getting rid of one.

Nadia fires her electricity. The monster growls in pain before it explodes. "Yes! Finally found another vulnerable monster!" She cheers.

Yumi uses her fan to block lasers while one sneaks up behind Odd. Ulrich and Aelita join them at the top and Odd takes out the one behind him.

"Something weird is happening. Oh no! That can't be good!" Jeremy exclaims as a map pops up. There's only 30 seconds left as the room starts moving around. "Get out of there! Odd, beat it!" Odd is lifted from a column, but he make sit as they're all trying to escape. The wall starts to close in as they run. They manage to get back to the arena as the clock hits zero, Odd barely making it. "Just in time."

Aelita falls onto the ground, out of breath.

"Now what?" Ulrich asks as they're back where they started.

"Wait, I'm re-entering the code: Scipio." Jeremy enters it and Odd looks up.

"We've got you ticket out of here Aelita." Odd joins the others as the transporter engulfs them. Jeremy smiles slightly as he sees it taking them out of there. They arrive back at the forest sector.

"And there you go. I'm bringing you in right now. Aelita, all you have to do is get to the tower and I'll rematerialize you," Jeremy smiles slightly. Aelita walks up to the tower and enters it. "Materialization Yumi. Materialization Odd. Materialization Nadia. Materialization Ulrich."

Yumi pants slightly, the two boys stepping out. Odd's scanner closes and opens to reveal Nadia. Jeremy breathes a sigh of relief.

"You should've seen it Jeremy," Odd is describing what they saw. "There were all these creepy things, in the middle, this kind of…huge jellyfish holding Aelita." Kiwi growls slightly.

"Can you imagine that thing was stealing my memory?" Aelita holds her head.

"We don't have to. We were there" Nadia comments.

"One thing is for sure; Xana wants to get something out of you. But what? That's what we have to find out."

"I can't wait to go back to the 5th sector. There's so much to explore there" Ulrich comments in excitement.

"I'll go with you. It'll be totally awesome" Yumi agrees, she and Ulrich smiling at each other.

"We all will. Explore Lyoko's lost sector" Nadia adds.

"Not so fast. I have to study it first. For now, it's uncharted territory. Which means it can be totally dangerous!" Jeremy tells them.

"Um, you're not angry at me for going back to Lyoko by myself?" Aelita wonders, feeling self-conscious. "I…I…don't know what got into me. I just needed to-"

"You don't have to explain Aelita. We understand what happened. And we're not angry at all." Aelita smiles to herself.

"Everyone feels that way in somewhere new. Don't worry, with us by your side, we'll make you feel at home" Nadia assures her.

"Yeah, and if you want, I'll teach you plenty of ways to tell Sissi to go to-"

"Odd?" They turn to Sissi. "Do you know what your filthy mutt did in the shower? Oh." She notices them all gathered together, and they don't look happy to see her at all. "What a pretty picture. So you finally found Mrs. Einstein."

Odd grits his teeth at Sissi, since she made her friend upset

"Yeah, while you were taking your third shower of the day!" Ulrich point at her.

"Well," she flips her hair behind her. "You know, Ulrich dear, a beautiful flower like me needs to be watered often."

"You-" Odd is about to tell her off.

"Yes, you never know. You might just sprout a brain" Aelita quips, Sissi's eyes widening in shock as the others laugh.

"Morons!" Sissi dismisses their laughter, walking.

"I think you can give Odd lessons Aelita" Ulrich jokes.

"You sure learn fast" Yumi comments as Odd gives Aelita a side hug,

A.N. – And this is last big reveal episode. Next one will be Mister Puck, but it won't be secret heavy. It will just have some material that relates to our two lead girls. It will also have something that will be important in The Key. Now for the question: Why did Xana target Aelita in season 1 when he needs her alive to escape? If he succeeded in blowing her away, he would've trapped himself. For a sentient AI, that is a dumb move unless you have a plan b in place, which there is none. Question over now for outro. PM me with story ideas! Review with questions or comments! I will respond! As always, till next time! See ya! -lyokowarrior97