Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Prologue

Jeremie Belpois yawned as he left for the factory. The school day at Kadic Academy had ended, and things were going slow for him and his friends. There had been no attacks by XANA as of late, which, while it was good, was also concerning. It usually meant that something big was being planned by the AI, and he had a feeling it wasn’t good.

Next to him, Yumi Ishiyama walked along the pathway to the sewer that they took to the factory. “So, what’s the deal with XANA? Hasn’t he attacked yet?”

“Not yet.” Jeremie replied. “But I have a feeling it will be soon. He doesn’t go silent for this long a time if he isn’t planning something big.”

Yumi nodded, getting the same feelings that he was getting.

“I just hope you’re right. The new transfers are coming in the next few days, and an attack during that time might give our secret away to the world.” Yumi pointed out as Jeremie frowned.

“That could be XANA’s plan.”

The female Lyoko Warrior looked down and frowned as well. “If he does that, then we could be in serious trouble.”

“Yes, and we will need to be wary of who these kids are. If any of them have a parent in the government, we can’t reveal the computer, or Lyoko, to them.” Jeremie replied as Yumi nodded grimly.

“HEY!” A familiar voice called out. The two looked up, just in time to see Odd, Dellarobia running towards them with Ulrich Sterns, William Dunbar, and Aelita Hopper right behind him.

The six were known as the Lyoko Warriors, or people whom fought against a rogue AI called XANA on a virtual world called Lyoko. However, only Jeremie remained on Earth, preferring to help his friends over the supercomputer instead.

“Well, it’s about time you got here.” Yumi joked as Odd groaned.

“I thought I made the jokes around here!”

“Alright, enough, you two. We have to find out why XANA hasn’t attacked yet.” Jeremie reminded them as the others all nodded.

“Shouldn’t we head to the factory then?” William asked as Jeremie looked back at him.

“We were headed there in the first place. I don’t think this can wait. With the new transfers coming in a few days, we need to act first and prevent the attack from coming.” The Genius replied as Ulrich spoke.

“Then let’s get down there!”

The six of them entered the sewer and were soon in route to the factory…

-----

(Shows a black screen with the Lyoko eye in the center of it before the eye splits to reveal darkness. A pinpoint of light is shown next, flaring into existence with an odd symbol on it, almost like a targeting scope in appearance.)

There’s a time, in your life…

(Symbol fades to show Aelita outside Kadic Academy. Ulrich is shown doing martial arts in the gym. Yumi is shown in her classroom, looking out the window. William is shown playing soccer. Jeremie is shown at the supercomputer.)

When the world is on your side…

(Zooms out to show Earth before zooming in on Japan. The island nation flares to show the same symbol from before as it then shows Takuya looking at his cell phone at the airport. He turns red and his symbol of Flame is shown next to him, a shadowed form on the left side of him. His name is under the symbol. Koji is shown at the airport terminal, looking up at the dark sky outside. He turns light blue, his symbol of Light shown next to him with a shadowed form on the right side. His name is under the symbol. Koichi is shown looking down at his baseball hat while in the same airport terminal as his twin brother. He turns dark purple, his symbol of Darkness next to him with a shadowed form on his left side. His name is under his symbol. Zoe is shown leaving her parents’ car outside the airport, which is lit up at night. She turns lavender, her symbol of Wind appearing next to her with a shadowed form on her right. Her name is under her symbol. Tommy is shown running up to the terminal where the twins are, a happy grin on his face. He turns green, his symbol of Ice appearing next to him with a shadowed form on his right side. His name is under his symbol. JP is shown standing against the terminal pole, ready to greet Tommy. He turns yellow with his symbol of Thunder right next to him and a shadowed form on the right side. His name is under his symbol.)

You might not feel it…

(Shows the Lyoko symbol flaring on Jeremie’s laptop as he looks back at the screen.)

You might not see it…

(Shows the odd symbol from before flaring, overlapping the Lyoko eye, but unseen.)

But it surrounds you like a light, makes you stronger for the fight…

(Takuya, Koji, Koichi, Tommy, Zoe, and JP all hold up some odd devices, with a ring of coding surrounding their hands as they run the devices along said coding. Light and coding envelops them before shattering to reveal shadowed forms.)

Never letting go, gotta learn to grow

Watch me as I touch the sky

(Still I fly)

(Light flares behind the forms before it envelops them. It fades to show Odd running next to Aelita, the trees of the forest sector rushing by them. The Lyoko eye is seen in front of them, showing only part of the scene from the interior parts. Odd jumps, firing off a Laser Arrow that hits a Hornet, causing it to blow up.)

Now I know it’s what I’ve gotta do, find a dream that’s new

Give it all I got this time

(Still I fly)

Still I fly

(Sissi is shown, with a symbol appearing next to her. She turns blue, the symbol of Water appearing next to her with a shadowed form on her left side. Her name is under the symbol.)

Still I fly~

Still I fly~

(Shows William running before he jumps up as he unleashes a shockwave of energy at a Krab. The blow hits, blowing up said Krab. He lands as the data fades.)

Breathe it in, I’m gonna shine

(Sissi looks back at someone, shock on her face.)

It’s my moment, gotta live it right

(Jeremie hits a key on his keyboard as an unknown symbol flares into existence.)

I’ll fly in, fly in so strong…

(Shows Ulrich and Yumi moving in closer to each other on Lyoko, the sun hitting their faces just right…)

I’m moving

I’m moving

I’m moving on~

(The Lyoko eye flares again before the new symbol from before appears. It is the same symbol that was on Takuya’s cell phone.)

Never letting go, gotta learn to grow

Watch me as I touch the sky

(Still I fly)

(Odd, Ulrich, Yumi, Aelita, and William are shown in their Lyoko forms while it shows Takuya, Koji, Koichi, Zoe, JP, Tommy, and Sissi above them, shadowed forms above them.)

Now I know it’s what I’ve gotta do, find a dream that’s new

Give it all I’ve got this time

(Still I fly)

Still I fly

(Title flares into existence)

CODE: Digital

-----

Episode One: New Arrivals, New Problems!

Tokyo International Airport

Takuya Kanbara looked down at his cell phone, which was showing the time. It was 8:15 p.m., about thirty minutes before his flight for France left. He sighed as he pocketed his phone and made his way towards the terminal where he would be boarding. “Well, this is it…” He murmured to himself as he looked around for any of his friends. Off to the side, he saw a couple of kids who looked alike. One had a bandanna on his head while the other had shorter hair than his twin. A smile crossed his face at the sight of them. “Hey! Koji! Koichi!” He called, making the twins look over at him. The goggle-wearing boy ran over and took the seat right next to Koji Minamoto.

Koji looked back as the other boy smirked at him. “Hey.” He said as he gave a nod.

Takuya’s smile faded. “Man, you really have to be a stick in the mud, don’t you?”

The younger twin just grunted before he and Takuya smirked at one another. They both hit their fists together as greeting. Koichi Kimura smiled as he waved at the other boy. “Hey.” Koji’s twin was older than him by three minutes, but that didn’t matter to Takuya. He was still part of the group.

“Hey yourself, Koichi. How have things been since you met your father?” Takuya asked.

Koichi smiled. “Much better now that he doesn’t have to hide the fact I exist anymore. Koji still doesn’t trust him though, but that’s getting better as well.”

Smirking, Takuya nodded. “That’s good to hear.” He replied before another voice called out to the three boys. “Takuya! Koji! Koichi!”

Looking back, the three boys were not surprised to see an older boy running towards them. JP Shibayama was the oldest out of their group of friends, but again, none of them minded. It was normal for them to talk with him. “Man! I didn’t think you guys would be going on this trip either!”

“Well, I wasn’t expecting the twins to be coming along either.” Takuya replied as he high-fived JP.

Taking a place against one of the poles in the terminal, JP set down his bag. “Well, I can’t argue with that. All we’ll need is Zoe and Tommy and then we would really be going as a team.”

Koji looked at his twin who snickered.

“What?” Koji asked as Koichi just looked away.

“Nothing~!” The older twin replied in a teasing manner. Koji looked down at his lap, only to see a small hot pepper placed there. Glaring at the older twin, the younger twin just threw the pepper into the trash easily.

JP saw that and laughed. “He tried to prank you?”

“Don’t go there.” Koji grumbled as JP smirked.

Just then, the four boys perked up as they seemed to sense something. JP looked back, just in time to see a younger boy walking up with a bag on his back. His young face broke into a wide grin as he saw the twins, JP, and Takuya. “Guys!” He exclaimed as he ran over. JP smirked as he saw the youngest of their group coming towards them.

“About time you got here, half-pint.” JP teased as Tommy Himi laughed.

“Wow! I wasn’t expecting all of you to come.” Tommy remarked as he sat by Koichi.

“Yeah. This was quite the surprise.” Koji noted. “And if Tommy is here, then we can assume Zoe will be here as well.”

“Well, I wouldn’t be too sure about that.” JP replied. “We can’t assume anything, remember?”

The other four boys all nodded, knowing what he meant all too well.

Outside the airport around the time Takuya was meeting up with Koji and Koichi, a young blonde-haired girl left her parents’ car and looked about the airport, trying to find the entrance she would use. Zoe Orimoto was also going to France, as part of an exchange program that they were involved in. She looked around again, nervous as heck. “Where is the entrance?” She murmured before she made her way over to ask someone for help.

It didn’t take her long to get inside and set for her flight. JP looked back, only to see Zoe coming towards them as well. “Hey, Z!” He called as she looked over at him. He waved, making her smile as she ran over to the five boys. “Wow! This is a surprise. What are all of you doing here?”

“We’re going to France as part of an exchange program.” Koji replied. “Me and Koichi.”

“No way!” That’s where I’m going!” Takuya exclaimed in shock.

“Hey! Me too!” Tommy added.

“Wow! I’m going there as well.” JP remarked as Zoe blinked in surprise.

“Wow. That’s quite the coincidence. I’m going there as well.” Zoe finally replied, making all six look at one another in shock and disbelief.

“Okay! Hold on! How can all of us be going to France on the same flight, on the same exchange program? It doesn’t make any sense!” Takuya exclaimed as he held up his hands.

“Yeah. It does seem pretty weird.” JP mused before Tommy spoke.

“Maybe it was… well… you know …” He suggested in a whisper. The other five all knew what he meant. Unlike what most believed, the six had actually been to a world where Digital Monsters, or Digimon, lived, called the Digital World. They had helped to save it from an evil Digimon by becoming the Legendary Warriors, or using the Spirits of the Ancient Warriors to fight back. They had succeeded, but now they had no way of going back. It had seemed like it was over, like the adventure had never happened, until they had gotten their Spirits back a few weeks later, and now they had a reminder that the adventure had happened.

“I don’t think it was… them … Tommy.” Koji replied as he looked back at the younger boy.

“Well, you never know.” Koichi reminded his twin, only to get a smack upside the head from his brother.

Zoe then looked out at the airplane, which was sitting on the tarmac, ready for take-off. “Well, it doesn’t matter how. I’m just glad we’re all going.”

No one could deny that argument.

“Flight 1854 to Paris from Tokyo is now boarding. Flight 1854 to Paris from Tokyo is now boarding. All passengers, please have your tickets ready.”

“Looks like we’re boarding.” Takuya noted as the first passengers began to head through the boarding dock.

“Let’s go then!” JP exclaimed as all six got their tickets out and began to head onboard as well, eager for a new adventure.

-----

Kadic Academy

Aelita looked out the window of the classroom the next day as the teacher droned on about the complexities of math and its many formulas and problems. Yesterday, there had been no sign of XANA or his creatures, and the Super-Scan had yielded no results.

It was bothering her to no end, just as it was with Jeremie and the other members of their group.

The silence was not a good sign in many ways. The teacher looked back at her, but the pink-haired girl just continued to write down her notes while glancing outside. His attention back on the blackboard, the teacher continued his lecture. A sharp ringing sound then cut across the school grounds, signaling the end of the period.

Aelita stood up and gathered up her things, just as she was joined by Jeremie. “You seem distracted Aelita. Is something wrong?” The blonde-haired genius asked as Aelita smiled at him and shook her head.

“No. Just thinking about yesterday, that’s all.” She replied as Jeremie frowned. He didn’t like the way she seemed to be so spaced out.

“You can’t be worrying about that, Aelita. It isn’t good for you to do that.” Jeremie pointed out as Aelita just rolled her eyes.

“And like the time you did the same thing wasn’t?”

“Don’t go there…” Jeremie grumbled as he looked down at the floor in embarrassment.

It was about lunch time when they walked into the main lunch room. Odd waved to them from the table where they all sat on a daily basis. Aelita sat down as Jeremie plopped down in the chair next to Odd.

“So, what’s new, Genius?” Odd joked as Jeremie rolled his eyes.

“Very funny, Odd.”

“Hey!”

Ulrich and William snickered, as did Yumi. “No, really. What’s going on? Any lead on XANA?” Yumi asked as she removed her hand from in front of her mouth.

“None. The Super-Scan has been silent, and the run yesterday yielded no results either.” Jeremie replied as he pulled out his laptop.

“Well, that stinks.” Yumi remarked as Ulrich nodded.

“Yeah. Why would XANA be silent for so long?” The brown-haired boy asked. “It’s not like him.”

William just huffed once. “We can’t forget, he’s an AI, so we may never know what XANA is thinking. I certainly didn’t.” He shivered at the memories of his time as XANA’s human slave. After six months of being controlled, he had been freed, and things seemed to be behind him, but then XANA was found to be still alive and in a replica or Lyoko that had been unseen before. Now he was fighting against XANA as a means of payback and revenge.

Aelita and the others all nodded, knowing what he meant easily. “Either way, we have to be on high alert.” Jeremie reminded them as the other Lyoko Warriors nodded in agreement.

“So, when are the new transfers coming?” Aelita asked as Yumi looked back at her.

“They should be coming in by tomorrow.” Yumi replied, making Odd smirk.

“Well, this should be fun!” He quipped as Ulrich groaned and slammed his head against the table.

“And Odd will scare them off…”

“Hey! I will not! They will appreciate my good charms!” Odd countered.

“Yeah, if all of them are girls!” Yumi quipped, making the blonde-haired boy pout.

Everyone else laughed before Ulrich regained himself. “Do you know who they are?”

“No, but I do know that one of them is staying with my family. His name is Tomoki ‘Tommy’ Himi.” Yumi replied. “I think he’s in fourth grade.”

“Wow. That’s awfully young to be in an exchange program.” Aelita remarked as Yumi nodded.

“Yeah, but one of the older transfers is watching over him during the day.” The black-haired girl replied.

“That’s good. We don’t need anything happening while they are here.” William said as the others all looked down.

Ulrich then had a thought. “Hey. What if one of the transfers decides to follow us to the factory? What should we do then?” His question made the other members of the group tense up with worry.

“I never thought about it.” Aelita admitted, as did the others.

Jeremie sighed. “Okay. If the transfers decide to follow us, we find a way to lose them. And Ulrich does bring up a good point. We can’t let anyone find out about the factory. One of the transfers could have a parent who works in the government for all we know. Therefore, we will have to be careful when around them. Do not reveal anything about the factory, Lyoko, or XANA. I will create a system for communications regarding that later and show it to you when it is done.”

Everyone else nodded, agreeing that it was for the best. However, the Lyoko Warriors weren’t the only ones with a big secret to hide…

The new transfers also had something to hide, something that would either help or hinder the mission of the Lyoko Warriors…

-----

The day progressed as normal, until finally, the new transfers showed up. Exiting from the cab last, JP whistled as he eyed the buildings before him and the others. “Wow. This place is huge.” He remarked as Tommy spoke up.

“Not as big as Ophanimon’s castle.” He added, making JP nod.

“Yeah, and that place was huge in its own right.”

“Hey, c’mon you guys! The principal is waiting for us!” Takuya called, drawing the two boys over to their group. The six made their way inside, where the principal was waiting for them.

“Ah, you must be the new transfers. I’m Principal Delmas. Welcome to Kadic Academy.” Principal Delmas said as he approached the six kids. “I hope you will find our school to be quite the experience.”

“Thank you.” Takuya said as he nodded at the man.

“Now, let’s get you situated in the dorms.” Principal Delmas remarked as he looked to the bigger man beside him. “Jim here will get you set up in your rooms, except for you, young man. You will be staying with one of our students whose family is participating in the exchange host program.” He added as he pointed at Tommy.

“Right. Come this way, boys and girl.” Jim said as the other four followed him into the dorms.

On the upper floors, Takuya looked around at the many rooms. “Okay, you and you will be staying in this room.” Jim said as he pointed at the twins. Koji and Koichi looked at one another before looking back at Jim. “The principal insisted that you remain together. Apparently he doesn’t like to separate siblings.”

Then the big man looked at Takuya and JP. “You two will be in the next room across from them. Now, the rules state that no boys will be allowed on the floor above, and no girls will be allowed on the floor below. You stay down, and they stay up. Got that?”

Looking to Zoe, he waved her after him. “You’ll be on the floor above. I have a room all set for you as well. You won’t have to share with anyone else right now, so you should be good for privacy.” Jim said as he showed Zoe her room. The room had one bunk in it, which was fine by her. “The same rules apply. No girls are allowed on the floor below, and no boys are allowed on the floor above.”

Zoe nodded before Jim left her to get unpacked.

In their rooms on the floor below, Takuya looked over at JP. “Well, might as well figure out who gets which bunk.” The goggle-head joked as JP smirked.

“Yeah. And I call this one!” JP quipped before Takuya pouted.

“No fair!” He fake-whined before the two boys busted out laughing. “Okay, seriously. Which one are you taking?”

JP looked between the two beds before he sat down on the opposite one. “In all honesty, I’ll take this one. Besides, I couldn’t resist teasing you.”

“Yeah, I know. But really, thanks for that JP.”

JP smiled. “Hey. You’re one of my best friends.”

Takuya smiled back as the two bumped fists.

In the room across the hall, the twins had already chosen their bunks as well. Koji sat on his, which had a dark grey blanket on it while Koichi sat on the opposite one, which had a light grey blanket on it. It was ironic, given their Spirits.

“Well, I think we should get set up and unpack.” Koji remarked as Koichi nodded and began to take out some of his clothes to put away for the school year. His twin did the same, just as Takuya and JP did the same thing in their room across the hall.

-----

Odd entered his and Ulrich’s shared dorm room when he heard what sounded like a loud thump from next door. He ran out and peered into the room, only to see a boy wearing goggles on his head lying on the floor, his belongings all scattered about. “Ow…”

“Hey, ya need any help?” Odd quipped as the boy blinked in surprise at him.

“Uh, yeah... Are you a student here?” The boy asked as he got up and began to brush himself off.

“Yep! My name’s Odd! Odd Dellarobia!” Odd chirped as he held out his hand to the boy.

“Takuya Kanbara. Just call me Takuya.” The boy, Takuya, introduced as he shook Odd’s hand in greeting. The heavy-set boy next to Takuya smirked.

“And I’m JP Shibayama.” The boy, JP, said as Odd shook his head as well.

“You two the transfers?” Odd asked as the two shook their heads.

“Not just us.” Takuya replied. “There were four others with us.”

Odd blinked. “Wow, is that six of you?”

“Well, it looks like Odd can count.” A new voice joked as Odd looked back behind him. Standing in the doorway was Ulrich.

“Hey!” Odd pouted as Takuya and JP laughed. Ulrich walked into the room as well.

“I’m Ulrich Stern, this knucklehead’s roommate.” Ulrich said as Takuya and JP shook his hand as well.

“You probably heard us introduce ourselves, but in case you don’t know, I’m Takuya, and this is JP.” Takuya replied as he pointed at himself and JP.

“So I heard. You need help picking that up?” Ulrich asked as Takuya nodded sheepishly.

“Yeah. I kind of do.” The boy admitted.

JP, Ulrich, Odd, and Takuya all began to pick up his belongings and soon they were all set down on his bunk. “Wow. That’s a lot of junk.” Odd joked as Takuya laughed.

“Yeah. I brought it from home.” The goggle-wearing boy explained as he took out a picture of him and his brother. “I didn’t want to go on this exchange program, but my dad insisted it would be better for me in the long run. It helps that all my friends are here as well.”

“Really? How did that happen?” Ulrich asked as Takuya shrugged.

“How should I know? I’m just glad it did.” The younger boy replied. “I wouldn’t have had anyone to talk to if they didn’t come.”

Odd smirked. “Well, now you have us!” He said happily as he placed an arm around Takuya’s shoulders.

The goggle-head laughed at Odd’s antics. “Yeah, you’re right. I guess I do.”

The blonde-haired boy smiled back. “Well, glad you can consider us friends.”

JP laughed at Odd’s comment. “Hey. Don’t forget me now!”

“Why would I? You’re in too!” Odd joked as the four boys laughed. A knock on the open door made Takuya look back and he grinned.

“Koji! Koichi!” Looking back at the door, Odd and Ulrich saw two boys who looked alike.

“Wow. Who’re the clones?” Odd joked.

“We’re not clones! We’re twins!” The two boys exclaimed at the same time. Takuya laughed at the response as he fell down on his butt.

“Oh… Oh man! That never gets old!” He cried as he fell onto his back next.

Koji growled as he walked in. “And who are you?”

“I’m Odd, and this is Ulrich.” Odd said as he held out his hand to Koji. The bandanna wearing boy just knocked his hand away. “Hey! That was rude!”

“That was for the clone comment.” The younger twin retorted. Koichi sighed at his brother’s attitude.

“Sorry for Koji’s attitude. I’m his twin, Koichi. And you’ll have to forgive my brother. He’s not really that trusting of others.” Koichi said as Odd looked at the older twin.

“So I see.” Ulrich remarked as Koji just grunted and plopped down on JP’s bunk, as it was the only one not cluttered with junk.

Odd then grinned. “Hey, sorry about the clone thing. It’s just that I’ve never seen twins before, so I couldn’t help myself.” He said as Koichi grinned.

“It’s okay. That happens.” The older twin assured the blonde as Koji grunted again. “Whatever.”

Ulrich then looked to Takuya, who had recovered himself by now. “You know these two?”

“Yep. I know them from back home.” He replied as he stood up. “They’re some of my closest friends, JP included. We have a girl among us and she is also a close friend. And finally, we have a younger boy who is staying with a host family. He is also one of our closest friends too.”

The brown-haired boy just smirked. “The way Koji was acting sure could have fooled me.” He joked as Koji sighed.

“That’s just how he is. He’s actually a very loyal friend.” Takuya replied. “You just have to get past his loner shell.”

Odd then spoke. “So, are you also here on the exchange program?” He asked as Koichi nodded while Koji grunted again.

Ulrich looked at the twins, getting the feeling they were not exactly that open, even though Koichi seemed nice enough. Koji was guarded like a wild wolf, while Takuya and JP seemed to be more open. However, both boys gave off subtle hints that they were not willing to talk about themselves much either.

Then again, Ulrich and Odd also were guarded when it came to their own secret…

“So, how did you guys meet?” Odd asked as he looked at the four boys.

“We met on the train, literally.” Takuya replied. It seemed like the best thing to say, since in a way, they had. “We hit it off right away, and have been together ever since.”

Ulrich smiled. “Well, that’s nice to hear.”

“Yeah. It sure is.” JP replied before Odd then seemed to become panicked.

“Ah! We have to go, Ulrich! Einstein wants us to meet him in his room after school!” Odd exclaimed as he pulled Ulrich out of the room. “We’re late as it is already!”

“Hey! Slow down, Odd!” Ulrich complained as the two boys left the room.

“Who’s Einstein?” JP asked as Koji just shrugged.

“Who knows?”

-----

On the girls floor, Zoe had just finished getting set up when she heard a knock on her dorm room’s door. Opening it, the blonde-haired girl was surprised to see a pink-haired girl standing outside the room. “Um…can I help you?” Zoe asked as the other girl realizes she was staring.

“Oh! Sorry. My name is Aelita Stones. I’m here to welcome you to the dorm.” The girl, Aelita, said as Zoe smiled and shook her hand.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Zoe replied as the other girl entered her room. “Sorry. I didn’t exactly get things put away fully yet.”

“No, it’s fine. I can help you if you want.” Aelita offered. Zoe was shocked.

“You don’t have to do that!”

“Well, it would be a nice way to get you settled here your first day, don’t you think?” Aelita replied with a wink.

Zoe smiled back. “I guess you’re right. And thanks! I really appreciate it!”

“No problem!” Aelita replied with a smile on her face.

As the two girls began to put things away, Aelita looked at Zoe. “So, what brings you here?”

“An exchange program for students. Me and my friends all got chosen to come here. Four are boys staying here in the dorms. The last one is the youngest of our group of friends and he is staying with a host family.” Zoe replied. “I know it sound strange that all six of us are in the same exchange program, but I’m not complaining. I’m glad they’re here to be honest. If they weren’t, I would have had a hard time getting to know people.”

Aelita smiled. “Does that include me?”

“What? No! You’re someone I would have gotten along with just fine!” Zoe exclaimed.

The pink-haired girl smiled again. “Then does that mean we are friends?”

“If you want to be.” Zoe replied with a similar smile.

Aelita smiled again. She had just made a new friend…

-----

Jeremie was tapping his foot by the time Aelita, Ulrich, and Odd arrived. “You’re late.” He said as he turned to face them. “I specifically told you to come here right at 4 this afternoon.”

“Sorry, Jeremie, but we were helping the new students get settled in.” Ulrich replied.

“Yeah. And two of them were clones.” Odd joked as Ulrich sighed. “No, Odd. They were twins.”

Odd just huffed once. “You call them twins, I call them clones. Same thing.”

That got Jeremie. “Twins? And new students?”

Ulrich nodded. “Yeah. Four of them. We got to meet all of them.”

“There’s a new girl on the girls floor too. She said she was a transfer as well.” Aelita replied as Jeremie looked down in thought.

“It seems we might have met the new transfers that Yumi talked about.” He noted as said girl looked back at him. “It makes sense, since they just arrived today.”

“My mom called to let me know that the new kid we are hosting arrived an hour ago.” She said as Ulrich looked back at her.

William rolled his eyes. “So what else is new?”

“Did you get to talk to them?” Jeremie asked. “And did any of them seem to suspect anything?”

“No, Jeremie.” Ulrich replied as he rolled his eyes. “They were not suspecting anything.”

“They did seem to be guarded though.” Odd pointed out. “One of the clones acted all distant from us.”

“I think you mean one of the twins.” Ulrich retorted.

“Twins, clones, same thing.” Odd joked.

“How so?” Aelita asked.

Ulrich sighed as he sat down on Jeremie’s bunk. “It was weird, because they all seem nice enough and very approachable. But when one gets a good look at their body language, it becomes obvious that they are up to something.”

Yumi frowned. “If that’s the case, then we’ll have to see if we can find out what they are up to or even hiding, all while keeping our secret safe.”

“Agreed. We should meet at the factory tomorrow to see what we can come up with. If any of the new kids follow us, try to lose them.” Jeremie said as the rest of his friends nodded.

William smirked. “This should be good.”

“Just shut it.” Yumi snapped, making Ulrich grin and Odd snicker.

“Oh! You just got burned!” The blonde-haired warrior joked as William rolled his eyes at the comment.

-----

That night, things were normal, save for the six transfers talking to each other via their former cell-phones, or their D-Tectors as they were called. The devices all held the Spirits of the Legendary Warriors as well.

“How are you getting settled, Tommy?” JP asked over the D-Tector.

“Fine. Mrs. Ishiyama is very nice, as is Yumi. Her brother can be a real bother though. He nearly stole my D-Tector!” Tommy whined as JP sighed.

“Glad he didn’t then.” Koji remarked as Takuya laughed.

“Yeah! That would have been a real problem.”

“How are things on the girl’s floor?” Koichi asked Zoe.

“They’re going good. I’m just glad no one came into my room trying to steal my stuff.” Zoe replied.

“Hey, listen, you guys. We need to get some sleep. Our first school day begins tomorrow.” Koji noted as the others all seemed to agree.

“Okay.”

“Good night.”

“Night.”

“Sleep well.”

“Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

The channels closed as the six went to sleep, each unaware of what was to come in the next few days…

-----

Next day

“Alright, class. Today we have a new student. Well, more like two of them. I would like you to meet two transfers from Japan, Takuya Kanbara, and Zoe Orimoto.” The Science teacher said as Takuya and Zoe entered the classroom.

Next to Odd, Ulrich smiled as he saw the goggle-wearing boy enter with a girl who looked to be about his age. Both bowed before the teacher pointed out assigned seats.

As Takuya took his seat next to Jeremie, the blonde-haired genius noted right away that the new kid had looked to his friend and waved. Zoe sat a row behind Odd and Ulrich, so she wasn’t that far from the Lyoko Warriors.

Odd smirked as he waved at Takuya. The other boy waved back before he took out his books and began to take notes on the stuff written on the board. Not too far off, Sissi Delmas, the principal’s daughter, was looking at the new kids with interest. The boy with the goggles on his head looked to be cute, but not really her type. The blonde-haired girl could possibly be trouble, especially since she was no doubt snobbish. Then again, she could make a good friend as well…

Class went by with no trouble, and Zoe met up with Takuya before the two transfers were approached by Sissi. “Excuse me. Are you two the transfers?” She asked as Takuya looked back at her.

“Yeah, why?” He asked as she began to bat her eyes at him.

“I was just wondering if you would like to get together sometime, like on a date maybe?” Sissi purred, but Takuya, although he was a bit dense in the relationship field of life, caught on thanks to his past adventures.

“Sorry, but no thanks.” He retorted as he looked away from her. Zoe had gone all red with anger at Sissi’s question, but hearing Takuya turn down that request somehow made her feel better. Sissi hadn’t even caught her reaction.

“What?! But I’m the most popular girl in school! How can you turn me down?!” Sissi demanded. “Is there someone else?!”

The goggle-wearing boy just looked back at her with an annoyed look. “Do you really think I care about that right now? I’m trying to get settled into a new country in an exchange program! I can’t worry about dating right now!” Takuya shot back.

Sissi looked shocked at the way the new kid had just stood her up.

“If you want to bother someone about dating, then go find someone else. I’m not interested.” Takuya added as he thrust his hands into his pockets and walked away, Zoe right behind him.

“Wow…” Zoe murmured as she looked at Takuya. “I didn’t think you would stand up to her like that.”

By now, Takuya had his hands behind his head as he walked. “Yeah, whatever. Girls like her bother me.”

“Why?” Zoe asked, now curious.

“Back home, I’m a good soccer player and the most popular girl wanted me to be hers. Heh. She insisted we were an item even though I made it a point to stay away from her. Finally, it got to be too much and I just snapped I was never hers and that I never liked her that way to begin with.” Takuya replied with a grin. “It made her so mad she swore to avoid me for the rest of her life!”

Zoe burst out laughing at his response. Takuya looked back at her and joined in. Why couldn’t life be this carefree back home?

-----

Ulrich, Odd, Aelita, and Jeremie all walked out of the classroom, having witnessed the exchange between the new students and Sissi.

“I never thought I would see Sissi get stood up by a guy she wanted to date! That was awesome!” Ulrich exclaimed. Jeremie smiled, knowing how much Ulrich hated Sissi’s unwanted advances.

“Yeah, although I bet you were wishing you were the one who she got stood up by.” Jeremie joked as Odd looked down in a pout.

“I wanted to say that!” He whined, causing the other three to laugh at the response.

“Anyway, did you find anything on XANA’s attack yet?” Aelita asked as Jeremie looked down at his laptop.

“Not yet, but I’m getting closer each time. I just hope that it won’t be a large scale attack like last time.” The Genius replied sadly.

Odd nodded. “Well, we have the Return to the Past to overcome that problem!” He quipped as Ulrich sighed at his antics.

The lunch bell rang, signaling the half-way mark for the school day.

Too bad the day wouldn’t remain routine for long…

-----

Lyoko

A tower flickered before it turned a nasty red color, signaling an attack that was about to commence.

In the real world, a small Specter slipped out of an outlet and into the controls for the heating and cooling system of the school. At once, the temperature controls began to go haywire, a sign of XANA’s control. The Lyoko eye flickered on the thermostats all around the buildings as XANA began to affect the interior temperatures.

William began to feel a bit hot as he made his way into the lunch room. For some reason, he was feeling warm. Perhaps the school’s heating system was in the fritz again. This place was older than a century after all…

Yumi wiped away some sweat from her brow as she sat down. “Man…I didn’t think it would be getting hotter than normal. Is the school’s system on the fritz again?”

“I believe so.” William replied as he looked back at where some other students were beginning to get warm as well. “Either that, or this could be a XANA attack…” He added in a low whisper.

Yumi frowned. “I doubt XANA would attack the school’s heating system…” She hissed back.

Just then, Yumi’s cell-phone rang. Taking it out, she looked at the text and her eyes went wide as she read it. She looked back up at William. “Okay, you were right. Jeremie wants us down at the factory now.”

“Let’s go.” William agreed as he began to follow her out of the building.

-----

Jeremie looked up as his laptop beeped, signaling an attack. He brought up the Super-Scan and sure enough, it showed an activated tower. “Not good! XANA’s attacked! He’s using the school’s heating system to attack!”

“No way! If XANA does that, he could cause everyone to die from heat stroke!” Ulrich exclaimed in horror.

“We need to get to the factory. Aelita, contact Yumi and tell her to bring William with. Odd, you and Ulrich come with me and head to the factory. Aelita will be there as well.” Jeremie ordered as the other three did as they were asked.

Too bad this wouldn’t be confined to just Lyoko anymore…

-----

Takuya wiped away some sweat from his forehead, wondering how it could have gotten so hot so quickly. Wasn’t the school’s heating system up to code? He didn’t really recall any failure of the heating system when he was at school in Japan. He reached up and removed his hat, revealing his untamed brown hair.

“Did it just get hotter, or is it me?” Sissi asked as she entered the lunchroom. Looking back, Takuya sighed and got up to leave. Like he wanted to be around her after what she pulled…

He opened the doors and went outside, noting with relief that the temperature was lower outside than it was inside. Looking back, Takuya couldn’t help but get the feeling something was off. Why was the heating system not working the way it should? He crept up closer to the window, hoping to see the thermostat and what the temperature on it was.

Sure enough, he could see Sissi walking over to where the thermostat was. “84 Degrees?! How can anyone stand this heat?!”

Takuya gasped as the digital readout flickered, Sissi looking away from it. On it was an odd eye-like shape, and for some reason, he got a tingling feeling down the back of his spine as his Spirits reacted to it. Taking out what used to be his cell-phone, he could see the Spirits flickering in and out of view. Why were the Spirits reacting to that odd symbol?

A tap on his back made him jump. He whirled around, only to see Zoe there behind him. “What’s going on?” She asked as he looked down at his D-Tector, the red and black device he held in his hand.

“I don’t know.” He replied at last. “But the Spirits have been acting kinda funny lately.”

“Really? How so?” Zoe asked as she took out her purple and pink D-Tector. “Mine have been fine.”

“I’m getting a bad feeling, Zoe.” Takuya murmured as he looked back at where Sissi stood against the cold wall. “The heating system has been on the fritz, and that’s been bothering me. Not to mention there was an odd eyeball-like symbol on the digital read-out recently.”

“I saw that too, just before I came out here.” Zoe noted, making the goggle-wearing boy look back at her.

Takuya looked down and frowned a bit. “The Spirits have been reacting to that symbol for some reason.”

Zoe frowned as well. “Well, if that’s the case, then something has to be up.”

“Let’s see if we can get JP, the twins, and Tommy down here. They need to know what’s going on.” Takuya said as Zoe nodded.

“Right.”

-----

At the factory, all six Lyoko Warriors had assembled, each of them eager to take down XANA and stop his attack on the school. As soon as the elevator stopped at the supercomputer level, Jeremie got out and began to work on isolating the tower. The Super-Scan ran and then beeped, having picked up the tower.

“Alright. We have an activated tower in the Forest Sector. Aelita, you, Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd will go. William, you remain here on stand-by in case one of the others gets devirtualized.” Jeremie said as the others all nodded. William frowned, but didn’t object to the arrangements.

The four assigned to Lyoko rode down to the Scanner Room and soon entered their Scanners. Aelita, and Yumi were first. “Transfer, Aelita. Transfer, Yumi.” The doors to the Scanners shut as the girls entered them. “Scanner, Aelita. Scanner, Yumi.” The two girls were scanned in a ring of light for each of them. Jeremie hit the button up the computer room. “Virtualization.” The two girls were virtualized in a blaze of light.

Ulrich and Odd were next. “Transfer, Ulrich. Transfer, Odd.” The doors shut as the two boys entered as well. “Scanner, Ulrich. Scanner, Odd.” The two boys were scanned in a ring of light for each of them. Jeremie hit the button in the computer room. “Virtualization.” The two boys were virtualized in a blaze of light.

-----

Lyoko

The two boys and two girls all materialized on Lyoko in the Forest Sector. “We’ve arrived, Jeremie.” Ulrich reported as Jeremie’s voice came out of nowhere.

“Good. I’ve sent your vehicles. The tower is about 500 yards from your location. Be careful. XANA could have some monsters waiting for you.” The Genius noted as Ulrich nodded.

“Well, this day couldn’t get any better.” Odd joked as he cracked his neck once before he got on the Overboard.

Yumi hopped on the Overwing as Ulrich got onto the Overbike, which was also boarded by Aelita, even though she could fly with her wings given to her by Jeremie.

As soon as everyone was set, they took off for the tower.

-----

Real World

At the same time the Lyoko Warriors were in the virtual world, in the real world, something went awry with one of the computer systems in the school. A flash of light appeared as a portal, with an odd creature coming out of it into the real world. The creature was shaped like a block with spiny legs and an odd eye-ball shaped symbol on it. Another creature coming out was like a potato with legs and the same symbol on it. The two things began to wander out of the computer room into the school, hoping to cause terror and havoc amongst the humans there.

As Takuya and his friends all sat round outside, school having been canceled due to the heat being broken, the six kids were unaware of the danger coming. Koji frowned as he looked back at the building. “This doesn’t feel right. Something’s off about this whole thing.” He noted as Takuya nodded.

“Yeah, and the Spirits haven’t settled down either.” He remarked as he looked at his D-Tector again. The Spirits were indeed still acting up, flashing in and out of view in the screen. Koichi frowned as he looked at his black and grey D-Tector.

“My Spirits have been acting kind of funny as well.” The older twin noted as his screen showed the same thing. “It’s like they’re sensing something…”

“Yeah, but what?” JP asked before a scream cut across the open campus grounds. Looking back, the oldest child of the group gasped as he saw what looked to be odd creatures coming towards the students. “What the?!”

Takuya growled as he saw this. “Well, that answers that question.” He growled as he watched the block-like creature fire on a few students. Jim could be seen herding the panicked student body into the main dorms, the only buildings with working heating.

“Alright, all students are to enter in an orderly manner.” He ordered as JP, Zoe, Koji, and Tommy all ran over with Takuya and Koichi behind them. But before the last two Legendary Warriors could enter the building, the odd creatures fired again, the doors slamming shut as a hoard of the creatures began to attack the dorms. Walls were fired upon, making Takuya and Koichi stare in shock and horror. There was no way that the building could stand up to an attack like that for long!

“This is not good…” Takuya moaned as he stared at the large hoard. “How can we fight off that many creatures?!”

Just then, a loud shriek of noise made him look down at his hand. The Spirits were flashing on the screen, the symbol of fire flaring into existence as well. The same went for Koichi’s, the symbol of Darkness flaring into being.

Koichi and Takuya both looked at one another. Were they willing to risk it? A loud explosion forced them to make up their minds. If they didn’t do it now, then no one would survive the attack.

Takuya was first as the blue digital form of his first Spirit appeared visible on the screen of his D-Tector and he formed the familiar fractal coding on his left hand. He swiped the D-Tector over the coding, calling out the familiar phrase he knew by heart. “Execute! Spirit Evolution!” His clothes ripped away as his body became digital, and the process began. Coding surrounded him as the power of the Spirit flowed into his body. Red armor formed and latched onto his body as his hair changed to blonde and became long and wild. His height increased, as did his strength and agility. His eyes snapped open, now a brilliant blue instead of brown, and his teeth were sharper than a human’s as well. He landed, crying out his name. “Agunimon!”

Koichi was next as the purple digital form of his first Spirit appeared visible on the screen of his D-Tector and he formed the ring of fractal coding on his left hand. He swiped the D-Tector over the coding, calling out the familiar phrase he knew by heart. “Execute! Spirit Evolution!” His clothes vanished as his body became digital, and coding surrounded his body as the power of the Spirit coursed through him. Grey and gold armor formed on his body, his strength increasing as well. He seemed to grow in height, and his eyes opened to reveal them a reddish color. He landed, forming a staff in his hand and a shield in the other. With two swings of the staff, he called out his name. “Lowemon!”

The two Legendary Warriors stood their ground as the creatures turned, taking notice of them right away. Agunimon just smirked. “Let’s see how you handle this!” He exclaimed as he formed two fireballs on his fists. “Pyro Punch!” The two balls of fire hit two of the creatures on the symbol, blowing them up.

Lowemon readied for attack as well. “Shadow Lance!” Throwing his staff, the point impacted one of the potato creatures, destroying it as the tip hit the symbol as well.

Three of the odd creatures fired on the Warrior of Darkness, but he blocked with his shield, the lasers bouncing off it as he was pushed back by the relentless attack. He grunted as the force of the attack began to pick up as two more joined in. “I could use a little help here!” He exclaimed as Agunimon glanced over at him.

“You got it!” The Warrior of Flame said as he ran at the five block-creatures. Jumping up, he spun around as fire emitted from points on his body. “Pyro Tornado!” The fiery tornado hit the five bock-creatures, incinerating three of them as Agunimon cried out and landed a vicious round-kick to one more of them. The last one he hit with a punch as he landed in the middle of them. The last two block-creatures blew up in fireballs. Lowemon sighed with relief as the attack on him let up. At least until a few more lasers nearly hit his back. Jumping to the right, the dark-armored warrior managed to avoid the impacts.

-----

Lyoko

Odd smirked when he saw the tower ahead of them. “Tower sighted, Genius!” He quipped as Jeremie spoke calmly.

“Good. Any monsters?”

“Not yet, Jeremie.” Yumi replied before Ulrich spoke.

“There! Mantas and Krabs!” He exclaimed as he pointed. “I see a few Bloks too!”

“Get ready! XANA’s probably got something planned. Tread carefully!” Jeremie said before the first Krab fired off a blast that hit Ulrich in the arm. “Eighty life-points left, Ulrich!”

“That’s it…” Ulrich hissed as he jumped off the Overbike and drew his twin swords. Aelita continued on, riding the bike towards the tower. “Impact!”

The twin blades landed in the middle of the Lyoko eye, blowing up the Krab as Ulrich flipped off of it and landed safely.

Odd readied his attack for the next Krab. “Laser Arrow!”

The laser blades impacted the next Krab’s symbol, blowing it up as well. A Manta fired on Odd, but he was one step ahead of it. He flew up and over it on the Overboard before he flipped around and fired off another set of Laser Arrows. The creature blew up, which was a good sign.

Yumi jumped off the Overwing and threw her two fans at a Blok, which blew up when they impacted its symbol. “Jeremie! We’re almost at the tower!”

“Well, that was fast.” He remarked as Odd smirked.

“Yep! We’re the Monster Exterminators!” He joked before William spoke.

“Look out!”

“Wha?” Odd looked back, only to see a Manta nearly hit him. “WHOA!”

“Be careful, Odd!” Jeremie scolded before Ulrich cried out. A Krab and a Blok had fired on him, reducing his life-points to zero. “Ulrich got devirtualized. I’m sending in William.”

“Got it.”

-----

Real World

As Ulrich’s Scanner opened and he came stumbling out, William entered another Scanner. “Transfer, William.” The doors closed as Ulrich left for the elevator. “Scanner, William.” The boy was scanned in a ring of light. Jeremie hit the button in the computer room. “Virtualization.” William became data in a blaze of light.

Ulrich headed up to the computer room as this happened. “There you are.” Jeremie said as Ulrich grunted.

“Blame XANA for having two monsters tag-team me.” He huffed as Jeremie looked back at him.

“Well, either way, William will be there to take your place and help. I need you to get to the school and see what’s going on there.” Jeremie said. “I’m worried about the increasing temperatures.”

“You got it.” Ulrich said as he left for the elevator.

-----

Lyoko

William arrived near the tower, landing just in time to save Aelita from nearly getting hit. “Super-smoke!” He vanished in a stream of black smoke, only to reappear and slash through a Blok before it could fire on the pink-haired girl.

“Thanks.” Aelita said as William smirked back at her.

“Anytime, Princess.” He replied, using her nickname as a joke.

“Stay focused! The job is not done yet!” Jeremie exclaimed, bringing the two warriors back to the battle at hand.

They both ran towards the tower, Odd and Yumi providing cover.

-----

Real World

Ulrich huffed as he reached the school, only to stare in shock at the hoard of Bloks and potato-creatures milling about near the dorms. They were attacking the building, but every now and then, there would be an explosion in the group of the creatures. He dialed Jeremie right away. “Jeremie! There’s more than just high temperatures going on at the school! XANA’s creatures are attacking the dorms!”

“WHAT?! Are you sure?!”

“Believe me, it’s not a joke. The dorms are damaged and I can see some people inside trying to get out!”

“Don’t let them! We can’t have anyone getting killed!”

Ulrich was about to reply when he heard another explosion inside the group of monsters. A voice cried out as a red and black blur slammed into one of the other buildings. Looking back, he was surprised to see someone lying there. Red armor was burned here and there, with the black bodysuit singed as well. Wild yellow hair was covered in soot partially, and he looked hurt. Ulrich didn’t know what to think of the new development.

“Ulrich! Get in there and get everyone evacuated!” Jeremie snapped, bringing the boy back to his senses.

“Right.” With that, he closed the connection and began to run towards the dorms. But there was one thing on his mind: the unknown man who had been fighting the Bloks and potato-creatures.

Inside the dorms though, the temperatures were beginning to rise as well. Sissi panted as she fanned herself with a piece of paper. “Why isn’t the heating working in here either?!” She complained, but no one seemed to hear her. They were focused on trying to stay cool themselves.

Zoe looked outside. “What are those things? And why are they attacking?” She wondered as she removed her hat to try and stay cool.

“Who knows? My chocolate is melting!” JP moaned.

“Worry about the chocolate later! We’re the ones roasting!” Koji snapped back.

Outside, Lowemon looked back at Agunimon, who was now on his feet once more. “You okay?” He asked as the red-armored warrior nodded.

“Yeah… For now.”

“Good. We need to stay focused.”

Agunimon couldn’t help but agree. He dropped into his fighting stance, just as another block-creature attacked him. He landed a kick to the symbol, blowing it up. He could feel himself getting exhausted however, and he didn’t think he could carry on the fight much longer.

Lowemon was feeling the same way. His attacks were getting weaker each time he countered a creature. If this kept up, they would devolve and become human once more. And then they would be vulnerable.

-----

Lyoko

As Aelita ran for the tower with William, Yumi and Odd were battling the Krabs remaining, along with the rest of the Bloks. “You’d better hurry! XANA’s attacking the dorms.” Jeremie said as Yumi growled.

“How can XANA attack the dorms?! Isn’t it impossible to materialize monsters into the real world?!” She hissed as Jeremie frowned, although it went unseen.

“Normally yes, but XANA has new skills we haven’t yet considered. Ever since he escaped the program, he could have adapted and gained new abilities, including materializing his monsters into the real world.” Jeremie noted as William groaned.

“Great. And just when we thought we were done with him…”

“Focus!” Yumi shouted as she threw a fan at the nearest Blok, which had been aiming for the darker warrior.

William nodded in thanks before he and Aelita began to reach the tower’s outskirts.

-----

Real World

Agunimon cried out as he was blown back against the building again, groaning as he slumped down onto the ground. He looked up as a block-creature began to approach him. He didn’t have the energy to get to his feet or even dodge the coming blow.

Not too far off, Lowemon grunted as he was slammed against the fence by a potato-creature, his staff broken in two. The other warrior managed to get to his feet, ready to continue the fight no matter what. He wasn’t going to go down if there were innocents in danger!

Ulrich tried to get to the doors, but he was nearly ambushed by the monsters that were at the entrance to the dorms.

-----

Inside the dorms, the heat was getting to unbearable levels. Zoe panted as she leaned against the cold wall. JP groaned as he slumped down on the cold floor. Tommy tried to open a window, but passed out before he could while Koji was already out of it against the wall like Zoe was.

Sissi groaned as she tried to stay awake, but the heat got to her and she passed out.

-----

Lyoko

Aelita ran into the tower, just as William turned and began to block attacks from Bloks firing on the duo. William grunted as the lasers began to push him towards the tower.

-----

Real World

The block-creature powered up its laser, Agunimon tensing and closing his eyes as he accepted the inevitable.

Lowemon fell to his butt against the fence, his energy drained down to almost nothing. He couldn’t continue the fight…

Ulrich growled as he was forced to use a garbage can lid as a shield against the monsters attacking him.

-----

Lyoko

Aelita began to levitate to the second platform. She flipped once before she landed on it and approached the screen. She held out a hand and the screen read her palm before it showed the words.

CODE

-----

Real World

Time stopped as the block-creature fired on Agunimon. The laser stopped short of his chest, freezing in place. He opened his blue eyes, only to stare in shock at what was happening. Looking to his left, he saw Lowemon also staring in shock. The potato-creature he had been fighting had frozen in place. What was going on?

Ulrich looked back and sighed with relief. Aelita had done it…

-----

Lyoko

LYOKO_

“Tower deactivated.” Aelita reported as the screens began to descend, indicating the Return to the Past was now active and running.

Jeremie hit the program button as he said the activation phrase. “Return to the Past now.”

A dome of light shot out from the factory, enveloping the whole area and world. The light covered the school yard, passing over Agunimon and Lowemon at the same time.

-----

Real World

“If you want to bother someone about dating, then go find someone else. I’m not interested.” Takuya added as he thrust his hands into his pockets and walked away, Zoe right behind him.

Sissi blinked in shock as the new transfer walked off, his friend right behind him.

Ulrich then walked up to him. “Nice work back there. I thought for sure she would come after you.” He said as Takuya looked back at him with a smirk.

“Well, someone back home was just like her and wanted to be an item with me, but I told her off as well, and she never talked to me again.” The goggle-wearing boy replied as Ulrich grinned.

“I’ve tried to do that to her for ages, and she still doesn’t get it that I don’t like her like that. I only wish I knew how you did it.”

“Just be up front with her and be honest.”

Ulrich seemed to nod at the advice given by Takuya. “I will next time she tries it.”

Zoe smirked. “Well, it’s good to know.”

The threesome began to laugh as Jeremie walked up with Aelita and Odd behind him.

“Well, let’s get to lunch. I’m starved.” Odd joked as Jeremie rolled his eyes while Aelita giggled.

Ulrich couldn’t help but wonder who those two fighting the monsters that XANA had sent to the real world had been though. Were they friends or foes? And were they even from Lyoko…?

The truth was far stranger than he would ever imagine…

Chapter Text

Prologue

LAST TIME: Six new transfers arrived at Kadic Academy from Japan. Odd and Ulrich got to meet four of the six, all of whom seemed to be nice enough. Takuya, JP, Koji, and Koichi all settled in nicely with the help of Ulrich and Odd, save for Odd making a clone joke to Koji and Koichi, the twins.

On the girl's floor, Aelita met Zoe, the fifth transfer staying in the dorms. After meeting up with Jeremie later on, XANA attacked using the school's heating system to nearly fry everyone to death. By having monsters attacking the dorms, XANA ensured the students would nearly die in one place.

Ulrich went back to the school to try and get everyone out, only to see an odd individual fighting against XANA's creatures, trying to protect the dorms. Alas, he didn't learn anything about him before the Return to the Past kicked in, returning things to normal…

Two worlds…

Two teams…

One mission…

One foe…

This is…

-----

CODE: Digital

(Shows a black screen with the Lyoko eye in the center of it before the eye splits to reveal darkness. A pinpoint of light is shown next, flaring into existence with an odd symbol on it, almost like a targeting scope in appearance.)

There's a time, in your life…

(Symbol fades to show Aelita outside Kadic Academy. Ulrich is shown doing martial arts in the gym. Yumi is shown in her classroom, looking out the window. William is shown playing soccer. Jeremie is shown at the supercomputer.)

When the world is on your side…

(Zooms out to show Earth before zooming in on Japan. The island nation flares to show the same symbol from before as it then shows Takuya looking at his cell phone at the airport. He turns red and his symbol of Flame is shown next to him, a shadowed form on the left side of him. His name is under the symbol. Koji is shown at the airport terminal, looking up at the dark sky outside. He turns light blue, his symbol of Light shown next to him with a shadowed form on the right side. His name is under the symbol. Koichi is shown looking down at his baseball hat while in the same airport terminal as his twin brother. He turns dark purple, his symbol of Darkness next to him with a shadowed form on his left side. His name is under his symbol. Zoe is shown leaving her parents' car outside the airport, which is lit up at night. She turns lavender, her symbol of Wind appearing next to her with a shadowed form on her right. Her name is under her symbol. Tommy is shown running up to the terminal where the twins are, a happy grin on his face. He turns green, his symbol of Ice appearing next to him with a shadowed form on his right side. His name is under his symbol. JP is shown standing against the terminal pole, ready to greet Tommy. He turns yellow with his symbol of Thunder right next to him and a shadowed form on the right side. His name is under his symbol.)

You might not feel it…

(Shows the Lyoko symbol flaring on Jeremie's laptop as he looks back at the screen.)

You might not see it…

(Shows the odd symbol from before flaring, overlapping the Lyoko eye, but unseen.)

But it surrounds you like a light, makes you stronger for the fight…

(Takuya, Koji, Koichi, Tommy, Zoe, and JP all hold up some odd devices, with a ring of coding surrounding their hands as they run the devices along said coding. Light and coding envelops them before shattering to reveal shadowed forms.)

Never letting go, gotta learn to grow

Watch me as I touch the sky

(Still I fly)

(Light flares behind the forms before it envelops them. It fades to show Odd running next to Aelita, the trees of the forest sector rushing by them. The Lyoko eye is seen in front of them, showing only part of the scene from the interior parts. Odd jumps, firing off a Laser Arrow that hits a Hornet, causing it to blow up.)

Now I know it's what I've gotta do, find a dream that's new

Give it all I got this time

(Still I fly)

Still I fly

(Sissi is shown, with a symbol appearing next to her. She turns blue, the symbol of Water appearing next to her with a shadowed form on her left side. Her name is under the symbol.)

Still I fly~

Still I fly~

(Shows William running before he jumps up as he unleashes a shockwave of energy at a Krab. The blow hits, blowing up said Krab. He lands as the data fades.)

Breathe it in, I'm gonna shine

(Sissi looks back at someone, shock on her face.)

It's my moment, gotta live it right

(Jeremie hits a key on his keyboard as an unknown symbol flares into existence.)

I'll fly in, fly in so strong…

(Shows Ulrich and Yumi moving in closer to each other on Lyoko, the sun hitting their faces just right…)

I'm moving

I'm moving

I'm moving on~

(The Lyoko eye flares again before the new symbol from before appears. It is the same symbol that was on Takuya's cell phone.)

Never letting go, gotta learn to grow

Watch me as I touch the sky

(Still I fly)

(Odd, Ulrich, Yumi, Aelita, and William are shown in their Lyoko forms while it shows Takuya, Koji, Koichi, Zoe, JP, Tommy, and Sissi above them, shadowed forms above them.)

Now I know it's what I've gotta do, find a dream that's new

Give it all I've got this time

(Still I fly)

Still I fly

(Title flares into existence)

CODE: Digital

-----

Episode Two: Unseen, Unheard!

Ulrich looked out the window of the classroom, his mind wandering as the teacher lectured on the structure of the atom. While he was taking notes, it was half-heartedly. He could remember the battle last week between XANA's creatures and that mysterious individual.

-Flashback-

Ulrich was about to reply when he heard another explosion inside the group of monsters. A voice cried out as a red and black blur slammed into one of the other buildings. Looking back, he was surprised to see someone lying there. Red armor was burned here and there, with the black bodysuit singed as well. Wild yellow hair was covered in soot partially, and he looked hurt.

-End Flashback-

'Who was that man? And why was he fighting against XANA's creatures? Was he a resident of Lyoko? If so, why didn't he show up beforehand? And if not, then who is he, and where did he come from?'

His mind was so caught up in the mystery that he didn't hear Jeremie call to him. "ULRICH!"

"Huh? Wha? Jeremie?" Ulrich asked as Jeremie nudged him hard, bringing him back to the present.

"You were zoned out. What happened?" Jeremie asked as Ulrich sighed and picked up his notes. Class had ended, which was Jeremie had nudged him hard.

"Nothing." Ulrich replied before the blonde-haired genius looked hard at him.

"You don't zone out over nothing." He pointed out as Ulrich finally decided to come clean.

"Okay. Do you remember when I mentioned the dorms being under attack?" Ulrich asked as Jeremie nodded.

"Yeah, why?" Jeremie asked.

The brown-haired boy looked back out the window. "When I was there to get everyone out, there was someone fighting off XANA's creatures."

Jeremie nearly dropped his computer and other belongings from class. "WHAT?! And you didn't say anything?!"

"How was I supposed to know?! I don't even know who that person was, or if he was even a resident of Lyoko like Aelita had been!" Ulrich shot back.

The glasses-wearing boy sighed. "Ulrich, if you had told us right away, I could have tried to track him down."

Looking down at the floor, Ulrich sighed. "Yeah…"

-----

Takuya made his way down from the science room and sighed as he removed his hat. Last week had been one of the weirdest weeks of his life. He and Koichi had encountered some odd creatures that had been trying to attack the dorms, and they had been forced to Spirit Evolve to fight back and protect those inside. And after that, he had found himself back in the past when he had told Sissi off, which was unusual. Of course, his friends had remembered the whole event, so he was sure he wasn't going crazy.

But why had time reversed itself like that? Even the Spirits had been at a loss. He ran a hand through his hair before he caught sight of Ulrich with a boy that wore glasses and had blonde hair. "Ulrich!" He called, making both boys look back at him.

"Takuya!" Ulrich replied with a wave.

The blonde-haired boy looked back at Ulrich and spoke. "You know him?"

"Yep. We're in the same dorm floor. He lives in the room next to us." Ulrich replied as Takuya walked over.

"Who's your friend?" The goggle-wearing boy asked as Ulrich smiled.

"This is Jeremie. We also call him Einstein since he's so smart." The brown-haired boy replied as Takuya nodded. "Now I get what Odd meant when he said you two were late to meet with Einstein last week."

Ulrich laughed. "Yeah. He's our regular computer geek." Takuya smirked at that.

"Well, I do love computers and the challenge they can present." Jeremie replied. "So, you are new here?"

"Yep. My friends and I are all here on an exchange program. I'm rooming with JP, and the twins are in the room across the hall. If you know where Ulrich and Odd's room is, we're next door." Takuya replied. "Our female friend is on the girls' floor and our youngest member is staying with a host family."

Jeremie nodded. "I see. Well, I hope to meet your other friends soon."

Takuya laughed again. "You will soon. Just don't call the twins clones. They won't like that."

"Odd called them clones?" Jeremie asked.

"Yep. Koji, the one who wears a bandanna, hates it." Takuya replied.

Jeremie laughed at that.

Takuya grinned before he looked back as the bell rang. "Crap! I have to get to class!" He exclaimed before he turned and waved to the two boys. "See ya!"

As he ran off, Ulrich caught sight of something on his belt. It looked odd, but he brushed it aside as a type of Japanese cell-phone. Those Japanese were always creating all sorts of new and advanced technology.

"So, what did you think of him?" Ulrich asked as Jeremie looked back at where the other boy had run off to.

"He's nice, but a bit guarded as you said. Still, I don't see any reason to suspect he has any idea of what we are up to…At least not yet, anyway. I would keep an eye on him just to be on the safe side, though." Jeremie replied as Ulrich nodded.

"Right."

-----

Sissi was in class when Zoe entered the room. "Hi. I'm Sissi Delmas. Welcome to Kadic Academy. Would you like me to show you around?" She asked as Zoe blinked in surprise, unsure of what to make of this new development.

"Um… sure?" She replied as Sissi smiled.

"Great! I'll show you all around the academy! It will be great!" Sissi cheered as she grabbed the blonde-haired girl by the arm and pulled her along. "I can't wait to show you all of the best spots to hang out!"

"Um… Sissi, I already have friends I hang around with." Zoe explained as she pulled her arm away from Sissi's grasp. "I don't want to seem rude or anything, but I would rather hang around with them."

"What? But why?" Sissi asked as she looked back at Zoe. "Aren't they losers?"

That seemed to prompt a change in Zoe, as her green eyes turned hard at those words. "My friends are not losers! If you think that about them, then stick to your own circle of friends! I want nothing to do with people who insult my closest friends!" She shot back before she turned and walked off with the air of an experienced warrior, not that Sissi knew what that was.

"Fine! Stick with your loser friends! I don't want you in my group if you dis my offer to make you the most popular girl in school!" She shouted back. Zoe just turned around and stuck out her tongue at the other girl before walking off once more.

Sissi glared hard at the other girl's back, but Zoe didn't seem fazed by the action. It was like she was immune to it. "How dare she!" Sissi hissed as Nicholas and Herb came out from hiding. "No one talks back to Sissi Delmas like that and gets away with it!"

"Maybe we could find out what she hates and use it against her." Herb suggested as Sissi looked back at him with a glare.

"And risk getting found out?! Daddy will ground me!" The black-haired girl shot back. "No deal!"

Nicholas looked back and spoke. "If you want to, you could try and take something of hers to hold hostage and give it back if she does something for you."

Sissi seemed to consider the suggestion. "Hmm. Maybe I could steal her cell-phone and get her to get Ulrich to go out with me!" Sissi declared happily, but unbeknownst to her, it was not to work out the way she hoped…

-----

As the school day wound into its second half, JP sighed as he took notes. The class seemed to be boring him to death. Secretly, he began to draw the symbols of the Spirits as well as his own Spirits and those of his friends in his notebook. A grin crossed his face as he drew out himself in his Spirit form, with thunder lancing down from the heavens around his form. Next to him was Takuya, with fire swirling around him while Koji seemed to radiate light. Koichi seemed to emerge from the shadows while Zoe had wind blowing around her form as Tommy had ice and snowflakes falling around him.

William, sitting next to JP, looked over and noticed the sketches in the notebook. "Wow. Nice drawings." He said as JP looked up, startled at his comment.

"Uh… thanks…" JP replied, sheepish at the compliment. "I just decided to draw, nothing special."

"Are those characters you created?" William asked as JP nodded.

The heavy-set boy decided to go with that explanation. This kid didn't need to know the truth. "Yeah. They are."

"What do you call them?" William asked. "I'm William Dunbar by the way."

"JP Shibayama. And I haven't thought of names for them yet." JP admitted.

William nodded. "Well, if you want help naming them, you can ask me."

Then he realized this kid had to be one of the transfers. "Did you just transfer here under the exchange program?" He asked as JP rolled his eyes.

"Does everyone know about that?" He remarked sarcastically.

William laughed at that. "No. Just a few of us." He joked.

"And by that you mean the whole school." JP remarked dryly. William's smirk gave it away.

JP sighed. "I thought so."

"Hey, relax. We haven't had many transfers from Japan before, so it's kind of a new thing for everyone." William assured him. "In a few more days, it will have died off."

"I hope so. I don't like all of this attention." JP admitted as William put a hand on his shoulder in response.

JP looked back at him at the touch. William grinned. "I don't like attention if it is unwarranted either."

"Make that two of us." The brown-haired boy replied as both laughed.

"So, how did you come up with those characters?" William asked as JP shrugged.

"They just came to me. I couldn't help but sketch them out to be honest." He replied as William looked the images over.

William pointed at one of them. "Is this guy the main leader?"

JP shook his head. "Nah. This guy is." He replied, pointing at the image of Takuya's Spirit form surrounded by fire. "The one you're pointing at is the heavy brawn of the group."

"I see. Is this one evil?" William asked as he pointed to Koichi's Spirit form.

"Nope. He's one of the good guys." JP replied with a grin. "Just because something is dark, it doesn't mean it is evil."

William was surprised by the response. "Wow. That's a mature thing to say. I never thought about it like that."

JP grinned. "That's what I like to say. I wanted to take a new approach to the idea of something being evil and good, so I created this team."

The black-haired boy smiled back. "That's good to hear. I can't wait to see it colored."

Both boys laughed as JP nodded. "Yeah."

They seemed to have hit it off right away, and William considered JP a friend just by that one conversation alone.

-----

Tommy was never so grateful then and there. He was at Kadic Academy, the same place where his friends were going to school and staying. While he was too young to stay in the dorms, he could still go to school there and learn with his friends. With his good grades, he had been placed in the fifth grade class. So while he was technically fourth grade back home, in France he could be considered fifth grade.

He looked over at a girl called Milly. She had red hair and seemed to be a reporter for the school paper. She was in his grade level, so he wasn't considered alone. Well, he wasn't as alone as he would have been had he not been allowed into the academy.

Looking back at the board for his classroom, Tommy began to take notes, his mind not really on the classwork. Rather, he was reflecting on what had happened last week. Why had those creatures been attacking the dorms? It didn't make any sense. 'They didn't look like any Digimon I had seen before…' He mused as he looked back up at the board.

Milly didn't seem too interested in her work either, but then again, she was a reporter for the school paper, so it was to be expected to be honest.

Tommy sighed. He wondered how the others were doing in school at that moment…

-----

Koji and Koichi seemed to have class with no one they knew, aside from Yumi, that afternoon, which was a relief. Although Koji was keeping his distance because of the clone comment made by Odd last week. The younger twin was looking out the window as the rain fell outside. His mind was not on the lecture, but rather on those odd creatures that had tried to attack them last week.

Yumi didn't seem to notice much, but she was aware that the twins were being silent for some reason. Koichi, the one with the shorter hair, was taking notes like any good student, but his twin was not. Rather, Koji, the one with the longer hair, was focusing on the outside and the rain falling.

Was he that aloof that he didn't care about his grades? She growled to herself. 'If he's a male version of Sissi, we're in for some real trouble…' Yumi thought angrily. She didn't appreciate the way Koji was acting, which was not something new. However, the reason why he was acting so aloof was not what she thought…

-----

Lyoko

A tower flickered before it turned an odd red color like before. This caused an odd black ooze-like substance to emerge in the real world, waiting for the time to strike…

-----

The class bell rang, signaling the end of that period. As Yumi and Koji left the classroom for their next classes, the black specter lashed out from a nearby outlet and attacked the two kids in a random attack. Koji cried out as the ooze tried to take him over, his D-Tector shrieking and flashing with his symbol for Light as his Spirits flashed in and out of view. Next to him, Yumi also cried out, her form flickering as the specter tried to take her over as well. Thankfully, the ooze was unable to because of Yumi's trips to Lyoko and Koji's time in the Digital World. But it did claim something of theirs…

Yumi groaned as she felt the specter leave her and Koji. For some reason, Koji's screams had stopped, which was unusual. Had the specter claimed him already? She struggled to open her eyes, but she was met with only darkness. At once, Yumi realized XANA had attacked again. Grumbling, she tried to find her cell-phone, but she found she was unable to without her eyesight. Yumi could sense Koji's presence behind her, but she was unsure of he was under XANA's control. Deciding to take a chance, she called out to him. "Koji?"

She couldn't see him, but she could feel his hand on her shoulder. Turning around to face him, Yumi at least hoped she was facing him directly. She was indeed facing him directly, and his blue eyes went wide as he saw her own eyes. They were pure white, lacking a pupil and iris as a result of the attack. "Koji, can you hear me?"

He nodded, although he was certain she couldn't see him. Koji tried to speak, but he found he was unable to. He gripped at his throat, feeling a bit scared now. What had happened to make him lose his ability to speak? Was it that ooze?

"Koji, if you can hear me, please find my cell-phone and bring up Ulrich's number. It should be the third entry in." Yumi instructed. The movement of the boy's hands in her pocket was reassuring in a way. It meant he could hear her and he wasn't under XANA's control. Had that ooze claimed his ability to speak?

Koji found her cell-phone and pulled it out, bringing up Ulrich's number. It was the third one down, just as she had said it was. He hit the dial button and as soon as he heard it ring, handed it off to her.

"Thanks." Yumi said as she held it up to her ear.

On the third ring, Ulrich answered. "Hello?"

"Ulrich, it's me, Yumi. I was just attacked by XANA's ooze." Yumi said. Ulrich was frantic.

"Are you alright?!"

"I'm fine. He wasn't able to take me over. However, my eyesight was claimed. Koji was attacked as well. Thankfully, XANA couldn't claim him, but that guy did take his voice it seems." Yumi replied.

"Stay right there, Yumi! Jeremie and I will get there as soon as we can!" Ulrich insisted.

Yumi sighed as she felt Koji guide her out of the hall and into another room. "It's not like I can get anywhere. Okay. Should Koji wait as well?"

"Yes!"

"Okay. Get here soon."

The line went dead as Koji and Yumi sat down in chairs to wait.

Koji growled mentally. How could he communicate with anyone if he couldn't speak? And what was Yumi going on about? Ooze attacking, some creep named XANA, taking over humans? What was going on?!

-----

Ulrich ran over to where Jeremie was waiting. "Jeremie!" Ulrich called, making the resident genius look back at him.

"Ulrich! What's wrong?" Jeremie asked as he faced the panting boy.

"Yumi… attacked. XANA…" The brown-haired boy panted. Jeremie felt his eyes widen at the news.

"What?! Is she okay?" Jeremie asked worriedly. 

"Yes… Couldn't take her over. Another was attacked as well… Koji… His voice claimed…" Ulrich replied.

Jeremie was even more surprised at the fact XANA had attacked one of the transfers as well than the fact that Yumi had been attacked. "Did he take over the transfer?"

"No… Yumi… lost eyesight…" Ulrich rasped out at last. "We… have to get to them…"

"Okay. Did Yumi say where she was?" Jeremie asked.

"No… But she… has class in… in the… main building…" Ulrich panted as he stood up at last.

"Okay. Let's go." Jeremie said as he and Ulrich ran out of the science building into the rain.

-----

Takuya frowned as he noticed someone missing from their small group. "Where's Koji?" He asked as Koichi looked back at the main building. "He's still inside the main building from what I saw last." The elder twin replied as the goggle-wearing boy narrowed his brown eyes.

"I hope he's okay…" JP murmured as Tommy nodded.

"He will be fine. I hope…" Zoe added before Tommy saw something in the rain.

"There! Someone's running outside!" Tommy exclaimed as he pointed.

Takuya looked out and saw the younger boy was right. "Hey…Isn't that Ulrich?" JP asked as Koichi frowned.

"Yeah…but why is he running with that other boy?" Koichi murmured before he realized that they were heading to where his twin was. "Koji! They're heading to the main building, and he's still inside!"

"He should be fine." JP assured the older twin. "Koji can handle himself."

Koichi knew that was true, but his gut instinct was telling him his twin was in trouble. "Yeah…"

As much as he wanted to run over there and find his brother, Koichi had to remain behind in the other building. He didn't want to go through another incident like he had when the group had been in the Digital World.

-----

Jeremie and Ulrich ran into the main building, frantic in their search for Yumi. "Where is she?!" Ulrich growled as he looked around before Jeremie saw an open door to a classroom that was not in use. "Ulrich! Over there!"

Looking over, the brown-haired boy was surprised to see where Jeremie was pointing. "Is that where she is?" He asked as he looked back at the genius of the group.

"It has to be." Jeremie replied as he made his way over. He peered in, only to see Yumi sitting in a chair with Koji next to her. "Yumi?"

She perked up at hearing Jeremie's voice. "Jeremie?" She asked as she turned to face him with Koji's help. Ulrich entered as well, relieved to see Yumi alright. "Yumi!"

As Ulrich took a step into the room, Yumi opened her eyes, revealing them to be lacking their pupils. He yelped in surprise before he spoke. "W-what happened to your eyes?"

"XANA." Yumi replied simply. "He also took Koji's voice. That's why he can't speak."

Jeremie looked at the long-haired twin. "Can you?"

Koji glared at Jeremie before he sighed and tried to speak. His mouth moved, but no words came out.

That confirmed Jeremie's suspicions. "I guess not."

"Yumi, did XANA attack just you two?" Ulrich asked as Yumi nodded.

"Yeah. For some reason, he wasn't able to take control of Koji though.' She replied as Jeremie looked back at the younger boy. His eyes looked over his form, trying to spot any signs of XANA's control, but Koji was clean of XANA's influence.

"Well, either way, it appears XANA is trying to remove you from going to Lyoko." Jeremie noted as Koji seemed confused.

"Jeremie, Koji's here! Did you forget that?!" Ulrich hissed back.

"No I didn't." Jeremie snapped. "But he's been affected too, so we can't leave him out of this either!"

Ulrich growled, but he had to admit, Jeremie did have a point.

"Fine. We'll include him too." Ulrich growled.

Looking back at Koji, Jeremie spoke to him. "Can you write?"

Koji nodded.

Jeremie held out a pen and some paper. "Okay. Write down any questions you might have for us."

Koji took the paper and pen at once, writing down a question Jeremie didn't expect. "'What is XANA?' Of course. Well, since you were affected by him, we might as well tell you."

Ulrich growled again. "And risk exposing ourselves? No thanks!"

"Ulrich!" Yumi snapped.

Koji blinked in surprise. Why was Ulrich so insistent that they not speak of whatever was going on? He began to write down another question. Jeremie read it when he was finished. "'Why does Ulrich not want to talk about this XANA?' Well, Koji, we have our reasons. And we don't want to put others in danger." Jeremie replied as Yumi nodded.

Koji seemed to accept that and nodded, but he did want to know about XANA and what these kids were hiding. He didn't want his own secret to be found out though, so he would have to refrain from Spirit Evolving unless he had absolutely no choice.

"So now what? XANA has claimed Yumi's eyesight and Koji's ability to speak." Ulrich mused as Jeremie looked down in thought.

"It seems we will have to go to the factory if we hope to restore Yumi's sight and Koji's voice." Jeremie said before he grabbed his cell-phone. "I will alert Aelita, Odd, and William. Ulrich, can you come with me? We will need as many as we can get for this."

Ulrich nodded. Jeremie then faced Koji. "I know this is rather sudden, but can you keep an eye on Yumi? Text me right away if anything comes up."

Koji nodded. He might not be able to speak, but he sure as hell could still write!

"Good. Ulrich, let's go!" Jeremie instructed.

Ulrich nodded and ran after Jeremie while he called William to alert Odd and Aelita as well.

-----

"So, let me get this straight. XANA attacked Yumi and one of the transfers, claiming her eyesight and the new kid's ability to speak, right?" William asked as Jeremie nodded while they rode the elevator down to the computer room.

"That's right. XANA apparently thought Koji was one of us and tried to keep him from contacting anyone. Removing Yumi's sight makes her a liability instead of an asset, so I think I know what XANA wants. By having one of us here, he could try and get the codes in her." Jeremie replied as Ulrich frowned.

"Are you sure leaving her with Koji was such a good idea? I mean, what if he thinks one of XANA's specters is us?" Ulrich asked as Jeremie looked down. His friend had brought up a good point.

"Hey, Koji's smart! He can handle whatever comes his way!" Odd quipped as William nodded in agreement.

Aelita smiled, reassuring Ulrich Yumi was in good hands. "Koji is a good kid. He will keep her safe." The pink-haired girl replied.

Ulrich smiled back. "Yeah."

They arrived at the computer room and exited. Jeremie took his seat and brought the thing online, only to run the Super-Scan afterwards. The scan beeped, signaling an activated tower.

"Great. We have an activated tower." Jeremie noted. "It's in the mountain sector."

Ulrich slammed a fist into his open hand. "Let's get in there then!" He exclaimed before Jeremie stopped him.

"Hold it, Ulrich. We can't just rush in there. We need to have a plan first." Jeremie said, but Ulrich just glared at him.

"Since when have we needed a plan?" The brown-haired boy protested.

Jeremie sighed. "I know this is unusual, but you need to trust me on this." He assured the other boy. "It's best we have a plan because we have two people who are affected by XANA this time, and one of them isn't even able to go to Lyoko!"

Ulrich looked down, knowing Jeremie was right. He hated it, but there was no other choice. "Okay. What's the plan?" He asked as the blonde-haired boy smiled.

"We split into two teams. One will be the diversion to draw XANA's creatures away from the team going to the tower." Jeremie replied as he brought up Ulrich's and Odd's avatars. "Aelita and William will be the tower team."

"Sounds good." William noted. "I can attack in a wider range, so that gives Aelita more protection."

"Yes, but the diversion team is more important than that. They have the most important job: distracting XANA's creatures." Jeremie explained.

The other four nodded, understanding the plan easily.

-----

As the five kids pondered the plan, Koji and Yumi sat in the room, unaware of what was to happen. The bandanna-wearing boy did not like the situation he was in, but he had to deal with it as best he could. Yumi seemed to be fine with what was happening while he himself was scared. It drove him nuts just thinking about it! How could she remain so calm about losing her eyesight?!

He wanted to speak to her, but he realized he couldn't still, and frowned. There was no way she would be able to read his writing either, so how could he find out what she was feeling?

Yumi, for her part, could hear Koji moving around. As calm as she seemed, she was actually freaking out inside. It was obvious Koji wasn't so calm, judging by the way he was moving about so restlessly. She sighed. "You know, I'm not as calm as I seem." Yumi said, prompting the boy to stop his movements. Judging by the way he had ceased to move, she could guess that he was looking right at her. "I'm actually scared."

Koji blinked. She might not be able to read or hear him speak, but he was surprised. Yumi didn't know that though, but it was just as well.

-----

Lightning flashed outside, only to coalesce around a small transformer, which was sparking with purple electricity. The form took on a human shape, only to become an exact replica of Ulrich. The Specter looked around, the XANA symbol flashing in its eyes. In its sights lay two kids, one of whom was a Lyoko Warrior.

A sneer crossed the specter's face. Targets found…

-----

"Okay, so we understand the plan?" Jeremie asked as Ulrich, Odd, William, and Aelita all nodded. "Good. Now let's get to Lyoko and shut down that tower!"

The four rode the elevator down to the Scanner room, more than ready to take on what XANA threw their way.

At once, Ulrich and Odd were first into their Scanners. "Transfer, Ulrich. Transfer, Odd." The doors closed as the two boys entered their scanners. "Scanner, Ulrich. Scanner, Odd." The two were scanned by a ring of light as their avatars were loaded onto the main screen. "Virtualization." Jeremie hit the key to activate the program, and both were turned into data in a flash of light.

Next up were William and Aelita. "Transfer, William. Transfer, Aelita." The two entered their Scanners as the doors shut. "Scanner, William. Scanner, Aelita." The two were scanned by a ring of light as their avatars loaded onto the screen. "Virtualization." Jeremie activated the program, and both were turned into data in a flash of light.

-----

Lyoko

All four Lyoko Warriors materialized onto the virtual world before landing on their feet. All around them, they could see mountains and floating stones. "Alright Jeremie. Now what?" Ulrich asked as he tried to spot the tower.

"Head east about 150 yards. You should see the tower from a cliff when you reach the area." Jeremie instructed as Ulrich nodded.

"Okay. The tower team will head down to the tower while Odd and I provide the distraction, right?" Ulrich noted.

"That's correct." Jeremie confirmed.

"Let's go then!" Odd quipped as the foursome ran down to the cliff Jeremie had indicated.

-----

Real world

Yumi could hear what sounded like footsteps and turned to face the door, at least, what she thought was the door. Koji sighed and turned her to face it. "Who's there?" She asked as the door opened. Koji raised an eyebrow as he saw Ulrich enter the room.

Koji tried to speak, but remembered he couldn't, so he just eyed the boy with wariness. "I need you to come with me, Yumi." Ulrich said, but at once, Koji tensed. For some reason, his Spirits were reacting to Ulrich, which was unusual. Why were the Spirits reacting to him? Then, a loud shrieking noise emitted from his pocket, making Koji pull out his blue and black D-Tector. The Spirits were flashing in and out of view as the symbol of Light was shown intermittently. His blue eyes went wide at the sudden reaction from the device.

Groaning, Yumi put her hands to her ears. What was that odd shrieking noise?! "Koji! What is that noise?!" She growled, knowing that the boy couldn't answer anyway.

Looking up, Koji narrowed his eyes at Ulrich a bit before he moved in front of the girl. His body language said it all. He wasn't letting Yumi out of his sight!

Then, Ulrich's eyes flashed with an odd symbol, making Koji gasp inaudibly. He had seen that symbol before, when the heating system had gone haywire last week! Reacting on sheer instinct, he shoved Yumi aside before the fake Ulrich unleashed lightning at the two kids. Jumping back, Koji pulled his D-Tector up and knew what he had to do. Thankfully, Yumi didn't have her eyesight, so she couldn't see what he was about to do, he mused grimly as he got ready.

White lines formed the image of his first Spirit on the screen of his D-Tector as Koji held up his left hand and fractal coding formed on it, his D-Tector held in the other. He then slammed the D-Tector onto the coding, running it through the device before he pulled his left hand away, allowing the coding to encircle him. His clothes ripped away as his body became data within the coding cocoon. His hair became platinum blonde and shortened in length as his body grew in height, becoming stronger and faster with the power of the Spirit flowing into him. His eyes turned red as white armor latched onto his body, clasping into place. A scarf flowed down from around his neck as he landed and pulled twin beam sabers before he put them away and fired a laser from the gun on his left arm. Because he didn't have his voice, he couldn't cry out his name, but that was fine by him. He knew who he was: Lobomon, the Warrior of Light.

The fake Ulrich growled as he ran at the white-armored warrior, but Lobomon wasn't getting caught off-guard. He had to protect Yumi and get rid of this fake Ulrich!

Roaring out in rage, the fake Ulrich threw a punch at Lobomon, but the warrior blocked it with one of his arms. A sneer crossed the fake's face before electricity lanced out from his fist, trying to fry the Warrior of Light. Sensing this, Lobomon jumped back and landed on his feet, his scarf falling behind him. This didn't make for a good combat situation, Lobomon noted grimly as he looked around the room. It was already tight quarters, but fighting in such a confined space wasn't worth it. There would be too much damage. 'I have to take this fight outside! If this keeps up, someone will find us and things could get messy if that happens.' He thought before he looked back at Yumi. He couldn't just leave her though. An idea crossed his mind. It was crazy, but it might work to get her to safety and get the fight outside.

Getting to his feet, Lobomon ran over to Yumi and scooped her into his arms before he jumped and went out through the window! The crashing sound and breaking of glass was heard in Yumi's hearing, but she didn't feel any pain on her body. How had Koji prevented that?!

He flipped once before landing on the wet ground with a splash. Another splash made him look back, his red eyes landing on the fake Ulrich as he too landed on the wet ground. Setting Yumi down in a covered pathway, Lobomon then turned to face the fake Ulrich. Now that they were outside, the battle couldn't get seen as easily.

'Let's see if this fake can handle the power of Light!' He thought as he aimed his left arm and fired off a laser shot. The fake Ulrich growled before he threw up a field of electricity that canceled out the shot. Lobomon's eyes went wide at the sudden interception of his attack. 'How… What is this thing?!'

The fake Ulrich sneered before he ran at the Warrior of Light with an inhuman speed, stunning him before the fake managed to land a punch to Lobomon's stomach.

A silent gasp escaped the white-armored warrior as he staggered back and fell to his knees in pain. His eyes were fixed on the fake Ulrich as he knelt on the ground, shaking from the pain he was feeling. Lobomon couldn't recall any human having such strength, which meant this thing he was fighting wasn't human at all.

Yumi could hear the fighting between Koji and what she knew had to be a specter. Koji wouldn't have shoved her out of the way if he hadn't seen it was a fake. But was he able to hold his own against the specter?

She wished she could see the fight, but if she had been able to, she wouldn't have believed what she was seeing. It was a blessing in disguise for Lobomon, and one he wasn't about to take lightly.

The specter lunged again, and Yumi could hear the thud of another punch on Koji's form. He wasn't able to cry out in pain, but she guessed that he was feeling it for sure.

'Koji… Please don't push it…' She thought.

-----

Lyoko

Ulrich, Odd, Aeilta, and William were reaching the tower's location, and sure enough, they could see where the tower was located. "Great…How are we going to get down there?" Ulrich hissed as he saw the lack of a reasonable path down to the tower.

"Just leave that to me." Jeremie replied as he loaded the Overboard and Overwing in front of the two warriors. "Overboard and Overwing are loaded for use."

"Thanks!" Ulrich said as he boarded the Overwing while Odd got on the Overboard. "William, you get Aelita to the tower. Odd and I will handle any creatures XANA sends our way."

"Got it." William replied before he turned and ran before he became smoke while Aelita took to the air with her wings.

While Odd and Ulrich took to the sky as well, Jeremie watched for any signs of XANA's creatures. "Heads up! Six Hornets approaching!"

"I see 'em!" Odd quipped as he flew at a trio of the bugs. "Laser Arrow!" His arrows flew straight and true, impacting three Hornets with one shot each. They exploded into bits of data. "YEAH!"

Ulrich flew at two more and jumped off the Overwing before he slashed through them, only to land on the Overwing a minute later. The two Hornets became nothing but data behind him. "Take that!"

Odd flew around after the last Hornet, trying to take it out before it hit either William or Aelita. "Come back here, you bug!" He got a lock at last. "Laser Arrow!"

Again, his aim was true and the last bug became nothing but data dust. "Last one down!"

William and Aelita landed on the ledge where the tower was, but before they could get anywhere near it, a beam lanced out and barely missed William's foot. Looking back, both warriors were stunned to see a trio of Krabs in front of the tower.

"Damn…" William hissed. Things had just gotten a lot harder…

-----

Real World

Lobomon growled silently as he eyed the fake Ulrich in front of him. Could he even call that thing a fake Ulrich?! It certainly looked like Ulrich, but it didn't act like the boy, and it certainly didn't try to hide its abilities, namely the lightning trick.

He held up a glowing beam saber before he ran forwards, hoping to cut this thing down to size and end the battle. But the fake Ulrich held up a hand and created a sword made of lightning, throwing the white-armored warrior for a loop. He was barely able to block the strike as the fake Ulrich swung down with the lightning sword.

He grunted inaudibly as he tried to keep the sparking blade away from his own body. If that thing made contact with him while he was Spirit Evolved, then who knew what could happen! He didn't want to take that chance.

With an unheard cry, he threw the blade back, sending the fake Ulrich stumbling back. The fake's eyes flashed with that symbol again, making Lobomon growl silently. Just what did that symbol mean?! And why were their Spirits reacting to it?! It didn't make any sense!

The fake Ulrich didn't seem too happy that the blows were not landing on Lobomon's form so easily. The Warrior of Light had never felt so grateful to not being human at the moment. Had he taken on this thing as a human, he would have been killed for sure!

Glancing back at where Yumi was sitting, Lobomon knew he had to keep the fake Ulrich busy so Yumi wouldn't be seen. The fake saw where he was looking and ran at where Yumi was. His red eyes widening, Lobomon ran as fast as he could before he pulled out his second beam saber and brought it down on the fake's back. The fake Ulrich cried out and fell to the ground, which surprised Yumi. Had Koji managed to defeat the specter?!

With a groan, the fake Ulrich got back up and turned to face Lobomon, who was now in his fighting stance, twin beam sabers held in his hands. Just as the fake ran at the warrior, Lobomon got ready for the attack. Running at the fake Ulrich, the Warrior of Light blitzed forward and slashed with his beam sabers. The fake Ulrich cried out, but not in pain. Rather, it was a cry of fury and hatred. Using a free hand, the fake slammed an electrically charged fist into the white-armored warrior's chest. Lobomon winced as pain lanced across the area and he fell without as much as a sound. Then again, he did lose his ability to speak, so it didn't really matter in the end anyway. Lobomon winced again as he sat up, holding his side as the fake Ulrich sneered at him. "TiME FoR yOu tO DiE!" The fake exclaimed, the voice distorted. Shivers ran down Lobomon's back at the way it sounded. Whatever was going on, it didn't take a genius to figure out that this thing wanted him dead!

-----

Lyoko

Ulrich looked back down and growled when he saw three Krabs targeting William and Aelita. "Jeremie! XANA's targeting William and Aelita!"

"Get down there! We can't have either of them devirtualized!" Jeremie exclaimed.

"Don't sweat it, Einstein! If Aelita gets devirtualized, me or Ulrich can deactivate the tower." Odd reassured the worried boy.

"Yeah, but still…" Jeremie began.

"Jeremie, Odd's right." Ulrich added, making Jeremie sigh.

"Okay. Just get down there and help them out." The blonde-haired boy said.

"You got it!" Odd joked as he flew down and aimed at a Krab. "Laser Arrow!" The laser arrows hit home, blowing up the first Krab into data bits.

Down on the ground, William was already engaging the second one. "Super-Smoke!" He became a swirl of smoke in an instant, diving around the Krab's shots with ease. He then appeared right above it and drove home his massive sword into the symbol. William jumped off and landed, just as the thing exploded into data bits.

Ulrich was engaging the third Krab, the Overwing having been destroyed already. "Super Sprint!" He sprinted forwards and ran at the Krab before jumping up and driving home both his swords. "Impact!"

The Krab was taken care of easily, but they were not through yet. At that moment, a few Creepers came out of hiding, making Odd groan. "Great…what's next? A Megatank?" He joked as Ulrich glared at him.

"Don't give XANA any ideas!" He shot back.

"Stay focused guys! We have to get to the tower!" William snapped. Ulrich and Odd stopped their fighting, knowing he was right.

"Okay." They both said before the trio of boys ran towards the cluster of Creepers.

"Aelita! Get to the tower!" Ulrich shouted as she nodded.

"Right!" Aelita ran for the tower.

-----

Real World

Lobomon was panting as he stared down the clone of Ulrich. Already, his armor was dented here and there, not to mention he was covered in singe marks from the electrical attacks the fake Ulrich was unleashing upon him. Yumi couldn't see what was going on, but she had to guess that Koji was still battling the specter. Now she was getting worried. How long could he go on for in the fight?

"Koji! You don't have to keep this up!" She shouted, making the Warrior of Light look back at her. "Just get out of here!"

The specter heard her cry and ran at Yumi at an inhuman speed, hoping to finish her off. Yumi couldn't see the specter running at her, but Lobomon sure did. The warrior gasped and ran at the girl. He had to stop the fake before Yumi got hurt! The fake Ulrich materialized a sword into one hand and thrust it forwards. Using what momentum he had, Lobomon lunged and threw himself into the path of the electrically charged blade. The blade made impact with his body and electricity coursed along his form before the specter yanked the sword away. Lobomon fell to the ground, his back covered in burns and blood. He couldn't feel anything else, his back hurt so bad… He groaned mentally as he struggled to get to his feet, Yumi unaware of the danger she had just been in.

Yumi had heard the thud behind her and turned, but she couldn't see Koji. Had the specter been killed, or had Koji been taken down? Reaching out, she felt what appeared to be blood on the ground. Her hand groped along until it came across a person's back. She knew it had to be Koji, but why was his back covered in blood? "Koji?!"

At once, a hand brushed hers aside and Koji struggled to get to his feet. The specter just sneered again as Lobomon got out one of his beam sabers again. He was panting now, and he could feel his energy draining with each attack he took. It wouldn't be long before he reverted back to human and was left defenseless. He had to finish this thing now!

Using that as newfound resolve, Lobomon ran at the fake Ulrich again, determined to finish the job. The specter had been injured by some of his past attacks as well, but those appeared to have been healed over. 'This thing isn't human… If I can get just the right blow, then I might be able to finish it off!' The warrior thought as he targeted the fake Ulrich's chest. He thrust his beam saber forward, driving it right through the specter's chest. A gasp of pain escaped the fake Ulrich before a foot lashed out and made contact with Lobomon's stomach.

-----

Lyoko

Odd finished off a Creeper as Ulrich dodged a laser shot from another. "Laser Arrow!" Ulrich looked back and jumped away from the attack as Odd's Laser Arrows impacted the Creeper and dissipated it into nothing but data.

"Nice, Odd!" Ulrich applauded before Jeremie spoke.

"Stay focused on the mission!" Jeremie scolded them.

"Right." Ulrich sighed.

William finished off the last Creeper, just as Aelita ran into the tower. She began to walk to the center platform, which lit up as she reached its central circle. Once that was lit up, she began to float to the tower's second platform.

-----

Real World

Lobomon slammed against the wall of the building, his back searing with pain from the burns and blood that was running down it. The fake Ulrich sneered as the Warrior of Light struggled to get to his feet, but was unable to. Lobomon looked up at the fake with glazed red eyes from his spot on his stomach on the ground. The fake Ulrich reached down and thrust a hand onto the warrior's throat, only to squeeze hard. The white-armored warrior could feel his body begin to suffer from the lack of oxygen. He wanted to cry so bad, he was that scared. How would the others take his death? How would Koichi take it?!

-----

Lyoko

Aelita floated onto the second platform and walked up to the screen as soon as it came up. She held up her hand and the program read her virtual DNA before it showed the words CODE:

-----

Real World

The specter began to flicker as the tower was stopped. A cry escaped the fake Ulrich as the program binding the specter to the real world began to shut down. The fake squeezed harder on Lobomon's throat, hoping to at least kill the one who had tried to stop the mission. Alas, the fake Ulrich was unable to, because the specter's body began to flicker rapidly before dissipating into thick smoke instead.

-----

Lyoko

LYOKO_

"Tower deactivated." Aelita reported. At that point, two flashes of light sped out of the tower and out into the real world as the screens inside began to descend into blackness.

-----

Real World

Yumi gasped as her eyes flashed, before light began to enter them. Shapes began to form before they became clear. She could see buildings outside, the lights from the interior, the trees, the rain, blood on the ground… !

Getting to her feet, she ran out into the pouring rain, only to see a shocking sight before her. There, on the ground, was not Koji, but a man with blonde hair, red eyes, and white armor that appeared to be modeled after a wolf in some respects. He was groaning in pain and on his back Yumi could see several nasty burns, some of which were bleeding badly. She ran over at once.

"Hey!" Yumi exclaimed.

The man looked up at her voice, her eyes locking onto his. "You're…"

"What's going on? Where's Koji?!" Yumi demanded.

Instead of answering her question, the man smiled weakly. "You're safe…" With that, he passed out, his head falling to the ground weakly.

"Hey! Wake up!" Yumi cried, but she was unable to get him to wake up.

-----

Lyoko

The screens all descended, just as a light emitted from the tower. Jeremie knew what to do next. "Return to the Past now!" He hit the key for it, and a dome of light seemed to spread out across the globe…

-----

Yumi didn't seem to notice much, but she was aware that the twins were being silent for some reason. Koichi, the one with the shorter hair, was taking notes like any good student, but his twin was not. Rather, Koji, the one with the longer hair, was focusing on the outside and the rain falling. She frowned to herself.

Why was he acting so distant? He didn't need to act so cold towards others. Not if he was actually a nice person. She smiled to herself. Let him keep his cold act up. She knew the truth. Koji was a dependable person who could be counted on to do any task.

She walked up to him as the bell rang, signaling the end of class. "You don't have to act all distant you know." Yumi remarked as he looked back at her.

"So?" Koji asked in a distant tone.

"If you open up a bit more, you might find some surprising facts about others and yourself." Yumi said before she turned and began to walk away. "Consider what I said."

With that, she left. Koji blinked. What was going on with that girl? He frowned before he looked down at his D-Tector. She hadn't seen him Spirit Evolve, had she? No… her eyesight had been taken. Koji frowned even more. Why did he remember something that happened, when it didn't? How had time reversed itself, and just what did Yumi mean by XANA? Who, or what, was XANA, and what could this XANA do?

He would have to talk to the others about this later…

-----

In Jeremie's room, Yumi was looking quite nervous before Jeremie addressed her. "Okay, so what did you want to say, Yumi?"

"Well, after I regained my eyesight, I saw something you might not believe." She replied as she looked up at him. "You know how you left Koji to watch me?"

The others nodded. "Well, he wasn't there. Rather, someone else defended me. I think that person got Koji away from danger when he was too injured to continue. Anyway, the one who took Koji's place was a man with short blonde hair wearing white armor that was patterned after a wolf's almost, and he had red eyes. This man got hurt trying to defend me when Koji couldn't, and I don't know what happened after that." Yumi replied at last.

Jeremie looked down. "I see. First the person Ulrich saw, and now this guy. They seem to appear when XANA attacks. I think they might be guardians of Lyoko."

"But the guy defending me was bleeding, Jeremie! I don't think a digital being could do that!" Yumi shot back. That prompted Jeremie to stop his pondering.

"Okay, so you may have a point. But we still need to figure out how to shut down XANA for good, and if these guys aren't Lyoko guardians, then we have to find out where they came from, and who they work for." The genius noted as the others nodded.

If only things would be that simple…

Chapter Text

Prologue

LAST TIME: Yumi and Koji were attacked by XANA during a rainy school day, with XANA claiming Yumi's eyesight and Koji's voice. Disturbed by this, Jeremie, Ulrich, Aelita, Odd, and William all went to Lyoko to restore Yumi's sight and Koji's ability to speak.

While on Lyoko, XANA targeted Aelita and William, who were to deactivate the tower. Odd and Ulrich prevented that.

In the real world however, a specter of XANA's took the form of Ulrich and tried to claim the access codes stored in Yumi's form. Koji was forced to Spirit Evolve to Lobomon to defend her and a fierce battle ensued. In the end, the specter nearly killed the Warrior of Light, only to be stopped as Aelita deactivated the tower on Lyoko.

Yumi's sight was restored, just in time to see the injured warrior on the ground. Time was reversed, but Yumi and the others are just beginning to learn the secrets surrounding the new kids…

Two worlds…

Two teams…

One mission…

One foe…

This is…

CODE: Digital

-----

(Shows a black screen with the Lyoko eye in the center of it before the eye splits to reveal darkness. A pinpoint of light is shown next, flaring into existence with an odd symbol on it, almost like a targeting scope in appearance.)

There's a time, in your life…

(Symbol fades to show Aelita outside Kadic Academy. Ulrich is shown doing martial arts in the gym. Yumi is shown in her classroom, looking out the window. William is shown playing soccer. Jeremie is shown at the supercomputer.)

When the world is on your side…

(Zooms out to show Earth before zooming in on Japan. The island nation flares to show the same symbol from before as it then shows Takuya looking at his cell phone at the airport. He turns red and his symbol of Flame is shown next to him, a shadowed form on the left side of him. His name is under the symbol. Koji is shown at the airport terminal, looking up at the dark sky outside. He turns light blue, his symbol of Light shown next to him with a shadowed form on the right side. His name is under the symbol. Koichi is shown looking down at his baseball hat while in the same airport terminal as his twin brother. He turns dark purple, his symbol of Darkness next to him with a shadowed form on his left side. His name is under his symbol. Zoe is shown leaving her parents' car outside the airport, which is lit up at night. She turns lavender, her symbol of Wind appearing next to her with a shadowed form on her right. Her name is under her symbol. Tommy is shown running up to the terminal where the twins are, a happy grin on his face. He turns green, his symbol of Ice appearing next to him with a shadowed form on his right side. His name is under his symbol. JP is shown standing against the terminal pole, ready to greet Tommy. He turns yellow with his symbol of Thunder right next to him and a shadowed form on the right side. His name is under his symbol.)

You might not feel it…

(Shows the Lyoko symbol flaring on Jeremie's laptop as he looks back at the screen.)

You might not see it…

(Shows the odd symbol from before flaring, overlapping the Lyoko eye, but unseen.)

But it surrounds you like a light, makes you stronger for the fight…

(Takuya, Koji, Koichi, Tommy, Zoe, and JP all hold up some odd devices, with a ring of coding surrounding their hands as they run the devices along said coding. Light and coding envelops them before shattering to reveal shadowed forms.)

Never letting go, gotta learn to grow

Watch me as I touch the sky

(Still I fly)

(Light flares behind the forms before it envelops them. It fades to show Odd running next to Aelita, the trees of the forest sector rushing by them. The Lyoko eye is seen in front of them, showing only part of the scene from the interior parts. Odd jumps, firing off a Laser Arrow that hits a Hornet, causing it to blow up.)

Now I know it's what I've gotta do, find a dream that's new

Give it all I got this time

(Still I fly)

Still I fly

(Sissi is shown, with a symbol appearing next to her. She turns blue, the symbol of Water appearing next to her with a shadowed form on her left side. Her name is under the symbol.)

Still I fly~

Still I fly~

(Shows William running before he jumps up as he unleashes a shockwave of energy at a Krab. The blow hits, blowing up said Krab. He lands as the data fades.)

Breathe it in, I'm gonna shine

(Sissi looks back at someone, shock on her face.)

It's my moment, gotta live it right

(Jeremie hits a key on his keyboard as an unknown symbol flares into existence.)

I'll fly in, fly in so strong…

(Shows Ulrich and Yumi moving in closer to each other on Lyoko, the sun hitting their faces just right…)

I'm moving

I'm moving

I'm moving on~

(The Lyoko eye flares again before the new symbol from before appears. It is the same symbol that was on Takuya's cell phone.)

Never letting go, gotta learn to grow

Watch me as I touch the sky

(Still I fly)

(Odd, Ulrich, Yumi, Aelita, and William are shown in their Lyoko forms while it shows Takuya, Koji, Koichi, Zoe, JP, Tommy, and Sissi above them, shadowed forms above them.)

Now I know it's what I've gotta do, find a dream that's new

Give it all I've got this time

(Still I fly)

Still I fly

(Title flares into existence)

CODE: Digital

-----

Episode Three: Winds of Winter!

Jeremie looked over the data he had on XANA on his laptop, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to figure out what was going on. XANA had attacked the school twice since those new kids had shown up, and both times, his friends had reported seeing some individuals fighting against XANA's creatures and in the case of Yumi, a specter. This made the fight against XANA all the more perilous. If those newcomers were working with XANA, then the Lyoko Warriors would have to be careful. But there was no sign of that so far, so he could safely assume the newcomers were on their side… for now anyway…

He typed away, trying to figure out what to do about these newcomers. They had shown up right when the new kids arrived. Were they somehow connected to these newcomers? He didn't know.

Looking back at the clock on his computer screen, Jeremie decided to go and meet up with his friends. It was a weekend, so there was no school to worry about.

He walked out of the dorm onto the campus grounds. His eyes swept about, taking in the various grades and students doing different activities. Jeremie could see Takuya running around with some other kids playing soccer. He seemed quite good at it too. He looked back and saw his friends waiting for him.

'Well, look who showed up." Ulrich mused as Jeremie rolled his eyes.

"Very funny." He retorted before Aelita spoke.

"Find anything?" She asked, but Jeremie shook his head.

"No. It seems those newcomers just vanished into thin air." The genius replied.

Yumi frowned. "But they can't have! I mean, it's like they don't exist!"

"And if they did, they wouldn't remember what happened because of the Return to the Past." Ulrich added as William nodded.

"He's right. The only reason we do is because… well… you know…" The black-haired boy added as he dropped his voice an octave, trying to keep it as hush-hush as possible.

Jeremie couldn't help but agree with William. "William's right. We can't risk anyone finding out about what we do. If those newcomers appear again, don't reveal anything about Lyoko to them. Just remain quiet."

The others all nodded, not surprised at Jeremie's instructions to them.

-----

Sissi wasn't too pleased with what was going on lately. The new transfer Takuya had rejected her offer to date him over a week ago, and now he wasn't even talking to her! And that new girl, Zoe, she had outright called her out on insulting the other transfers and now she refused to even associate with Sissi!

Why were those new transfers avoiding talking to her?! Looking back at the other five members of that group, Sissi growled to herself. 'Hmph! Let those kids stick with their stupid little group! They don't matter!'

She looked away from them, but unseen by anyone else, a single tear ran down her face as she walked away…

-----

Takuya laughed as he ran over to his friends. The sun was shining down on everyone, and they were all enjoying it. He could see other students running around, having a good time outdoors in the nice weather.

Zoe sat on a bench as JP stood off to the side of it. Tommy was sitting on the arm of the bench while Koji and Koichi were both standing behind the bench, Koji with his hands on the bench's back. "Nothing can beat this kind of weather!" He said as he reached their side.

"Yeah! It sure beats the cold around this time of year." JP replied as he looked back at Takuya with a grin.

Koji smirked. "Well, it's too bad it can't warm up one thing…" He said as he looked back at Sissi, who was now off talking to Milly and her roommate, Tamara or Tammy. Off to the side, Ulrich saw this and frowned. He didn't go over though, because he didn't want Sissi to see him.

Takuya frowned. "Isn't that that Sissi girl?" He asked as Zoe nodded.

"It is. But why is she talking to those two girls?" Zoe wondered.

Koichi didn't like the way the two girls were looking down at the ground. He got up and walked over to Sissi, Milly and Tammy.

"Is something wrong?" He asked as the three girls looked over at him.

"No, nothing is wrong!" Sissi snapped before she looked him up and down. Koichi didn't like the way she was eyeing him. "You're a cute one." She purred, but Koichi just looked at her with a resolve she didn't expect from him.

"I'm sorry, but dating is not important to me at the moment." Koichi said, making Sissi gape at him in shock.

"W-Why?! How can you and that goggle-freak resist me?!" She demanded, but Koichi didn't show any fear at her outburst. Rather, he just looked hard at her.

"I just want to get used to being abroad before I consider dating." He replied simply before he looked to Milly and Tammy.

Sissi blinked before she turned and walked off in a huff. Milly, Tammy, and Koichi didn't even notice her walk off in that manner they were too busy talking.

"Sorry about that. Did she say something to you two?" Koichi asked as Milly looked up at him.

"Well, not really…" Milly began, but Koichi just frowned at the response.

Tammy sighed and decided to come clean. "She was telling us to get a scoop on her dating Ulrich, but we kept telling her he didn't like her in that manner. So she went on a rant about how he deserves her and not that…err, 'tramp'…Yumi…And that is putting what she called her lightly…"

Koichi's eyes went wide at what Sissi had called this Yumi girl. "What else did she say?" He pressed, wanting to know more.

"Sissi said that if we can't get a decent scoop like that, then we should just shut down the newspaper…" Milly admitted at last. "But we don't want to! I love writing for the school paper! Sissi can't do something like that!"

Koichi frowned at this. "You're right. She can't be allowed to do that." He agreed before he put a hand on Milly's shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll find a way to stop her." He added, assuring her that Sissi wouldn't be allowed to get away with that plan.

Milly smiled weakly before Tammy grinned.

Standing up, Koichi made his way back to his friends.

"Well?" Tommy asked as Koichi looked at them with a grim look on his face.

"Sissi wants to shut down the school newspaper because they won't report on her getting a date with Ulrich." The short-haired twin explained.

Tommy and the others all gasped.

"Why?!" JP demanded. "It's not like he likes her like that!"

"That's what the red-haired girl said." Koichi remarked. "But Sissi doesn't care, it seems."

Koji looked at his blue and black D-Tector in his pocket. "She reminds me of someone I can't seem to forget that easily." He noted as Takuya frowned a bit.

"If you mean her, then don't go there. I don't want to know what she would look like in a human form." The goggle-wearing boy remarked as Zoe shivered.

"The concept is too scary to even consider." The blonde-haired girl agreed.

"If she thinks she can get away with it, then she has another thing coming." JP growled as the other five kids nodded.

-----

Sissi stalked off to where Herb and Nicholas were waiting. "I can't believe those two! They refuse to write about me dating Ulrich at long last!" She wailed before Herb spoke.

"Well, you do have yet to ask him." He pointed out before Sissi slapped him.

"I know that! And I plan to soon!" Sissi snapped back.

She then turned to look back at the boy of her dreams. "He will be mine…" She purred as she eyed him in a lustful manner…

-----

Ulrich felt a chill run down his back as he gasped. "Ah man…I can't stand that feeling…" He said as Jeremie looked back at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

The brown-haired boy faced the blonde-haired genius. "Sissi. I get that feeling whenever she thinks about me." He replied.

Odd smirked. "Your Sissi Senses are tingling!" He joked, making the others all laugh at his comment.

Ulrich rolled his eyes at his friends' laughter. "Very funny, Odd." He remarked dryly.

Odd grinned.

Yumi then looked back at Jeremie. "That aside, what do you think XANA will try next?" She asked as Jeremie pushed his glasses up his nose.

"I have no idea. We'll just have to wait and see." He replied as Ulrich groaned.

"Great…" Ulrich grumbled.

"Hey, it's better than letting him attack while we aren't around here!" Odd quipped. Despite the light tone, he was completely serious about it though, and the others knew it too.

"The joking tone aside, Odd has a point." William noted as the others nodded.

"Yep!" Odd grinned.

Ulrich sighed as he bopped Odd upside the head. "Enough jokes, lamebrain. We have to remain alert in case XANA tries anything."

Odd pouted, but agreed.

-----

Lyoko

A tower turned an ominous red color as it activated in the desert sector.

In the real world, a sickly-appearing ooze like substance emerged from a power-line, only to snake towards a radio antenna before shooting skywards. The clouds overhead began to darken, an ominous sign of what was to come…

-----

Real world

Takuya looked up, only to see what looked like rain clouds approaching in the distance. "That's weird. Since when did rain become predicted in the forecast?" He asked as the others all looked back as well.

Koji didn't like this and frowned. "Something isn't right…" He murmured before Jim noticed this and began to round up the students.

"Okay, everyone head inside. We don't need anyone getting hit by lightning." Jim said as he urged even the Legendary Warriors inside.

Takuya looked back before he ran inside last, the doors closing behind him just before a snowflake fell behind the closed doors.

Inside, Takuya peered out through a window, only to see a few snowflakes fall down to the ground. "That's weird. It's early fall right now, and yet it's snowing."

Koji didn't know what to say to that as he watched a few snowflakes drift past the window outside.

Tommy looked excited. "It's snowing! I hope we get to go outside and play in it!" He said excitedly as JP grinned.

"Yeah! We could have snowball fights and build snow forts!" The older boy agreed.

Koichi laughed. "Yeah. That does sound like fun!"

Zoe grinned as well. "I hope you boys are prepared to lose!" She joked as Takuya grinned at her.

"Let's see you eat those words, Z!" Takuya joked back.

Everyone was excited about the prospect of playing in the snow. Jim wasn't about to let them out without proper clothing though. "If anyone wants to go outside, they will have to wear appropriate clothing. You can find some in the extra clothes room if you don't have any yourselves."

At those words, the students all ran off to find some winter clothes and even the transfers ran to their rooms to get ready. Takuya reached his and JP's room and pulled out his winter coat and snow pants plus boots and gloves. His coat was red and his snow pants were black while his boots were red and white and his gloves were black. He grinned as he put his hat on over his hair again, complete with goggles.

JP got into a blue snow jacket and black snow pants with yellow boots and black gloves. He wore a silly blue hat on his head as well.

"Let's go!" Takuya exclaimed as he and JP ran out of the room.

In the room across the hall, Koji wore a white winter coat with light grey snow pants and white and black boots. His gloves were black and blue, and he wore a light blue and dark blue scarf around his neck. Koichi had on a black and gold winter coat, black snow pants, and black boots on, plus black gloves. He also wore a hat that was gold and black.

The twins ran out of the room, eager to play in the snow as well.

In the room next to JP and Takuya's, Ulrich was slipping into his winter gear, an uneasy feeling in his gut. Odd wore his winter get-up as well.

"Hey, Odd? Isn't this like the last time XANA tried to freeze us out?" Ulrich asked.

"Yeah, so what?" Odd asked. "We're more than prepared for it this time."

"I know, but it's not like XANA to pull the same trick twice." Ulrich noted as Odd frowned a bit.

"Well, even if it is the same trick twice, he still can't beat us!" Odd quipped as Ulrich sighed.

He hoped Odd was right this time…

-----

The kids all ran around outside as the snow fell down lightly, making the school campus look like a winter wonderland. Some students had snowball fights while others sledded down the hills or even made snow forts and snowmen. Takuya was one of those who sledded, or in his case, snowboarded, and he was having the time of his life.

"YAHOO!" He cried as he hit a snow ramp and got some serious hang time before he landed on the ground and came to a halt. He had a silly grin on his face as Odd came running up with his own board in hand. "Beat that, Odd!" Takuya quipped as Odd grinned back.

"No problem!" He exclaimed as he performed the same run. He was able to get some decent hang time before he landed, though it was not as good as Takuya's. Odd had a pout on his face as Takuya grinned.

"Told ya you couldn't beat it." Takuya grinned.

"Well, can you beat me when it comes to snowball fights?" Odd joked as he grabbed a snowball and threw it at the goggle-wearing boy.

Takuya ducked the frozen projectile and grinned. "We'll see!" He countered before he threw a snowball back at Odd.

The two boys went at it while Zoe made a snowman with Aelita and Tommy. Yumi watched Koji and Koichi build a snow fort, often giving a few pointers on what went where, and William was in a snowman making contest with JP to see who could build the biggest snowman. Jeremie just sat back and watched as Ulrich joined in on Odd and Takuya's snowball fight. The two teams, each with their own secret, were just normal kids for that day and moment in time. If one didn't know any better, it would be assumed that the twelve were truly friends.

As Takuya threw another snowball at Odd and Ulrich, the snow began to pick up and he looked up at the sky, which was getting a bit darker. "That's weird…" He noted before the wind began to pick up and he knew at once something wasn't right. Odd and Ulrich got the same feeling before they made their way over to the other boy.

"This has to be XANA…" Ulrich growled as he looked at Odd. Odd nodded, getting the same sinking feeling as his friend and roommate.

"Yeah. Einstein will want us to get to the factory before it gets really bad." The blonde-haired boy agreed. Sure enough, as he looked over at Jeremie, the blonde-haired genius was already giving them that look. Ulrich gave a discreet nod, as did Odd.

Jim looked over at the twelve of them and spoke. "Alright. Inside, you kids." He ordered as he pointed at the door. Jeremie frowned. This would hinder their chances to get to the factory. He needed some kind of distraction to get past Jim to the sewer. Koji noticed the frown on Jeremie's face and frowned a bit himself. Why was Jeremie acting like that?

Jim began to herd them inside, but before he could get to the others, the wind picked up even more, blocking the adult's attempt to get to the remaining eight of them. Koji, Koichi, Zoe, and JP were all herded inside while Odd, Ulrich, Yumi, Jeremie, William, Aelita, Takuya, and Tommy were trapped outside in the swirling winds and snow.

"What about the others?!" JP asked as Jim looked back at him.

"We will have to trust them to get to warmth and safety on their own." Jim replied.

JP growled. He hated this! Why did Jim have to get them inside when the rest of them were still outside in the blizzard?!

-----

Tommy and Takuya huddled near the building as best they could while the remaining six were off to the side and unable to get to the sewer.

"This stinks…" Odd whined. "Why can't we get to the sewer?"

"The snow's formed a blizzard, Odd! Do you want to get lost in it?!" Ulrich shouted back.

Odd looked down. "No…"

"Stay calm, you guys. We'll find a way." Jeremie assured them, but he had his doubts as well.

Takuya and Tommy looked back at one another before they both nodded. Takuya pulled out his D-Tector and went through the familiar motions he knew all too well. The blue digital form of his first Spirit appeared visible on the screen of his D-Tector and he formed the familiar fractal coding on his left hand. He swiped the D-Tector over the coding, calling out the familiar phrase he knew by heart. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" His clothes ripped away as his body became digital, and the process began. Coding surrounded him as the power of the Spirit flowed into his body. Red armor formed and latched onto his body as his hair changed to blonde and became long and wild. His height increased, as did his strength and agility. His eyes snapped open, now a brilliant blue instead of brown, and his teeth were sharper than a human's as well. He landed, crying out his name. "Agunimon!"

Tommy went through the same motions as his older friend. The light green digital form of his first Spirit appeared on the screen of his D-Tector and he formed the familiar ring of fractal coding around his left hand. He swiped the D-Tector over the coding, calling out the familiar phrase he knew by heart. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" His clothes ripped away as his body became digital and the process began. Coding surrounded him as the power of the Spirit flowed into his body. He lost his hair and his body became white as snow. His fingers became like paws almost and he gained a more cub-like appearance to his body. Green chest armor formed on his body and his feet gained green and red boots. A headband that had the image of a bear on it formed on his head, and he gained a shoulder pad on each side, but one was red while the other was grey in color. He slid down and landed as a mushy pile before he reformed and grinned, calling out his name. "Kumamon!"

The Warriors of Ice and Flame knew what they had to do. Looking down at his smaller companion, Agunimon nodded as Kumamon looked up at him and also nodded. The two of them ran forwards, the snow and wind blocking them from view easily, well, one of them anyway. Agunimon wasn't hard to miss considering his height and the fact he had bright red armor on. Kumamon was easily camouflaged by the snow though, given his white colors.

-----

Yumi could feel the cold beginning to bite into her skin under her winter gear as she shivered. The six of them had decided to head to the sewer anyway and try to get to the factory before it got too bad out. Given the winds though, that was easier said than done.

"I hope we can get the sewer open…" William said as Ulrich nodded in agreement.

Aelita saw the form off the sewer in front of them and ran on ahead, trying to pull it open without much success. She grunted before she was forced to release the cold metal to prevent frostbite from taking effect. "It's no use. The sewer is frozen shut." She reported as the other five reached it as well.

"This can't be…' Yumi murmured before Jeremie frowned in thought. There had to be a way to get it open…There just had to be!

Ulrich growled before he grabbed at it himself and began to pull, Odd, and William joining in. Even the three boys were unable to move it together.

"Damn…XANA really thought ahead on this!" Ulrich hissed before he began to shiver with the cold getting worse around them.

William backed off and looked around. "Is there another way to reach the factory?" He asked as Jeremie shook his head.

"No. If we try to reach the Hermitage, we could make it there, but with this cold, we wouldn't last that long." The genius replied.

Yumi groaned. "Great…XANA just might have won, you guys…" She sighed before a sound made her look back, tense for a possible specter attack. Instead of a specter though, she could see what looked like a male form approaching them in the swirling wind and snow. Ulrich's eyes went wide as he recognized the red armor and wild yellow hair of the individual walking towards them. The wind made it hard to see him, but with the black bodysuit and bright red armor, he wasn't hard to miss.

"Hey… It's him!" Ulrich gasped as Jeremie looked back at him.

"Hold on, he's the one you saw almost two weeks ago?!" He asked as Ulrich nodded.

"Who are you?" Aelita asked as the unknown man came to a stop in front of them.

"Never mind that. What are you doing out here?" The man asked as Yumi looked back at the sewer.

"We need to get somewhere important, but the way we use to get there is frozen over." She replied as the man narrowed his blue eyes at the frozen sewer cover. He walked up to it before he brought one of his fists down on it and broke the ice around it. Yumi gaped as the ice fell away.

Ulrich grabbed the lid and pulled it off. He looked back at the man and seemed to study him before he spoke. "Thanks."

The man nodded once before the kids began to pile into the sewer and escape the cold. As soon as William got inside, the wind began to pick up and get even worse. Realizing there was no way he could get back to the building in time, Agunimon frowned to himself. That left following the kids as the only option he had. Deciding to take a chance, he jumped down into the sewer with them, just as Odd was about to grab his skateboard. "Hey! Why are you following us?"

"I can't exactly get to safety with that wind out there." The man replied. Odd seemed to take that as an acceptable explanation, and he nodded. Odd took off, just as the man followed him and the other kids. Jeremie could see this and came to a slower pace beside Odd.

"Why is he following us?" Jeremie asked Odd as the blonde-haired boy just shrugged.

"He couldn't get to safety with that wind outside." Odd replied as Jeremie frowned.

This was bad news indeed. How would they be able to explain this to a person they had no idea about?

-----

Koji, Koichi, Zoe, and JP were inside the dorms with the rest of the students as Jim began to have them all head down to the boiler room to keep warm. The snow was getting worse, just as the temperatures began to fall inside the building. Even the heating system at full power wasn't enough to keep them warm.

The twins huddled close together, just as JP and Zoe did as well. The foursome stayed close together as the boiler's heat began to warm them up a bit.

-----

Agunimon followed Ulrich, Aelita, Jeremie, William, Odd, and Yumi to the factory, climbing out just as the snow hit his face. He winced at the cold feeling before he shivered as he exited the sewer. Looking back at the factory, the wind blew his hair about before he followed them inside. The kids slid down some old chains to an elevator that looked as if it shouldn't work. The Warrior of Flame frowned a bit before he felt the cold creeping up on him and followed suit. Grabbing the first one he could, he slid down and landed right in front of the elevator. Running inside, Jeremie hit the button to have it descend into the depths of the factory below. The door closed up, making the red-armored warrior look up as it began to descend below.

"What you are about to see you have to keep secret from everyone you meet." Jeremie said, making Agunimon look down at him.

He blinked, but didn't object to it, which Jeremie took as a good sign. At least, he hoped it was.

The elevator came to a halt, opening to reveal a computer room that was high-tech in so many ways. Jeremie exited and took a seat at the chair in front of the computer. He booted it up, revealing a holographic image of a world that Agunimon hadn't seen before. He followed Jeremie out into the main room. "You guys head down to the Scanner Room." Jeremie said as the other five nodded.

As they descended down a level, Jeremie looked to the Warrior of Flame. "You can't tell anyone about this." He said as the warrior nodded. "We basically are going to reverse this and put an end to it."

"How?" Agunimon asked.

Jeremie just smiled mysteriously. "That's our secret."

-----

In the Scanner room, Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd were first into their scanners. "Transfer, Yumi. Transfer, Ulrich. Transfer, Odd." The doors shut as the three kids entered their scanners. "Scanner, Yumi. Scanner, Ulrich. Scanner, Odd." The three were scanned by rings of light in their scanners. "Virtualization." Jeremie hit the button and each of them became data in a flash of light.

"Transfer, Aelita. Transfer, William." Aelita and William entered their scanners, the doors shutting behind them. "Scanner, Aelita. Scanner, William." The two were scanned by rings of light inside the scanners. "Virtualization." Jeremie hit the button and the two became data in a flash of light.

-----

Lyoko

The five were loaded onto Lyoko and each of them landed with ease. They were in the desert sector. "Okay. I picked up the tower in the desert sector as you were sent to Lyoko. That is why you are not in the ice sector." Jeremie said as Ulrich groaned.

"What an ironic twist. The tower is in the hot zone while everyone else is in the cold." He quipped as Odd smirked.

"Yeah. Maybe XANA couldn't take the cold!" He joked as Jeremie spoke up.

"Enough. You have about 500 yards to go before you see the tower. And be careful. There could be creatures waiting for you." Jeremie instructed.

"Yeah, yeah. We get it already." Odd joked again, making Jeremie groan.

"Just get moving…" Jeremie sighed.

As the five began to run, they were unaware of what was to come…

-----

Real World

Kumamon skied throughout town, trying to track Agunimon's D-Tector signal. He knew where it was, but he couldn't seem to find the building. Looking around again, the Warrior of Ice just barely missed it, but he saw it nonetheless. The old factory was where the signal was coming from.

As he began to approach the building, something stopped him. The smaller warrior looked back, just in time to see snow creatures approaching the factory. "Great…" He muttered under his breath. He sped towards the snow creatures, his mission now clear.

-----

Jeremie turned on the cameras located on the outside of the factory, hoping to see how the conditions were outside. The snow swirled around, making it hard to see anything at all. He frowned at the lack of visual information. "This snow is hard to see through."

The man beside him rolled his blue eyes. Was it really that obvious?

Just then, he caught a glimpse of something happening outside. Focusing a camera on the movements, Jeremie was shocked to see what appeared to be a mutant snowman trying to get to the factory. "Shit!" He hissed. "The factory is in danger!"

The man looked outside and was surprised as well. "What are those things?!"

"Snow beasts." Jeremie replied. "At least that is what Odd would call them."

A small movement through the ice and snow caught the man's eye and he knew at once something else was out there. "No way!"

Jeremie looked back and was shocked to see a small white and green form fighting off the Snow Beasts. "What the?"

-----

Lyoko

Odd was running along when he saw something zip by him. He knew by instinct that it was a Hornet. "Jeremie! We have Hornets!" He called, bringing the genius back to the matter at hand.

"Be careful! We don't know how long we have before people begin to die!" Jeremie warned.

"Right! We'll be fine." William assured Jeremie.

A Hornet opened fire on Odd, but he blocked with his shield. "Shield!" The blasts were absorbed by it, and as the Hornet flew around behind Odd, Yumi threw a fan at it and blew it up.

Ulrich ran forwards, only to see some Krabs coming out of hiding. "We have Krabs!" He exclaimed as William frowned. Ulrich ran at one of them and jumped up, only to pull out his swords and stab it hard in the symbol. "Impact!"

The Krab blew up as he jumped off, landing unharmed.

-----

Real World

Agunimon frowned as he watched the battle outside the factory. Kumamon couldn't hold those things off by himself… Growling, he turned and ran for the elevator. Jeremie turned, surprised by his sudden departure. "Where are you going?!"

The warrior turned to face him. "My friend is out there and needs my help!" He shot back before he hit the button and began to ascend to the surface.

As soon as the elevator hit the surface, Agunimon ran out and looked up at where he had first come in. A frown crossed his face. How was he going to get back up there?

Looking around, he saw one of the chains hanging down and decided to try climbing up. It didn't take him long to reach the area where he had first come in and as soon as he did so, the smaller form of Kumamon caught his eyesight.

"Need any help, bud?" Agunimon asked as Kumamon turned and saw him. A smile was on the smaller warrior's face.

"You bet." Kumamon grinned.

Agunimon smirked as he turned to face the snow beasts. "Then let's show these things why fire always wins against ice!" He exclaimed as he got into his fighting stance.

Kumamon agreed as he got out his blaster. "Yeah!"

The two of them faced down a whole hoard of snow beasts, the only defense the factory had against XANA's attacking minions…

-----

Lyoko

"Super-Smoke!" William vanished in a cloud of smoke, only to zip along until he came to a Krab and emerged, stabbing his sword into its symbol before he leapt off and the thing exploded into bits of data.

He smirked as he looked up at where Odd destroyed a group of Hornets in a matter of seconds.

They weren't doing too badly, but they were certainly not doing better either.

Aelita got out her wings and took flight. "Energy Field!" She threw two pink orbs of energy at a Hornet. One missed while the other was on target. The sphere destroyed the bug in seconds.

"Jeremie! How's our guest?" Ulrich asked as he stabbed a Blok in the symbol.

"He's fine. Don't worry." Jeremie replied. He didn't need to worry Ulrich and the others with what was happening outside the factory.

"Good. We don't need him to expose us." Ulrich grumbled.

-----

Real World

Jeremie hoped that the lie would keep his friends from worrying. He couldn't focus on the battle outside. His friends needed him. He would just have to leave things to the newcomer and his friend, and have trust in them that they would keep the factory safe…

-----

Outside, Agunimon cried out as he lashed out with a vicious round-kick to one of the snow beasts. The blow destroyed the beast, but when he landed, the Warrior of Flame was pounced upon by three more. Using his element to his advantage, Agunimon heated up the air around him and the three snow beasts fell victim to the power of fire. He smirked before he turned and slammed his fists together, creating a small spark. Flames danced around his fists as he thrust his arms apart. "Pyro Punch!"

The two fireballs were launched at two more snow beasts, and the heat of the attack incinerated them easily. Agunimon smirked again before one of the snow beasts managed to launch a frozen attack at him. A tingle down the back of his spine alerted the warrior to what was happening. He jumped backwards and flipped over the attack.

Kumamon then aimed and fired his own attack. "Blizzard Blaster!" A barrage of snowballs was fired at the rate of a machine gun, throwing another snow beast back into its comrades.

"Nice work!" Agunimon exclaimed with a smirk before he felt a sudden force on his back and he was sent sprawling on his stomach across the cold ice. He looked back, just in time to see a snow beast running at him. A gasp escaped the Warrior of Flame before he rolled to the side and lashed out with a sweeping kick, knocking the snow beast to the ground. He threw a heated punch at the creature, melting it down to nothing.

-----

Lyoko

Odd could see there were quite a few creatures left. "Einstein! How many do we have left?"

"You have three Krabs, five Bloks, and ten Hornets." Jeremie replied easily.

"Great." Ulrich groaned. "And how are we supposed to get through them all?"

"The way we usually do." Odd joked as he fired off a few shots at a Hornet. "Laser Arrow!"

The blow was true, destroying it with ease.

Just then, William was hit by a blast from a Krab. "Careful! You're down to sixty life-points!"

"Don't remind me…" William groaned out as he got to his feet. He then became smoke and attacked. "Super-smoke!" He emerged from the cloud and stabbed the Krab in the symbol, blowing it up into bits of data.

Aelita was running towards the tower, just as a Krab followed her and prepared to open fire on the girl. "Oh no you don't!" Ulrich shouted as he sprinted on ahead. "Super Sprint!" Using his greater speed to his advantage, the boy was able to leap up and land on the Krab. He drove home his blades, blowing it up with a hit to its symbol.

-----

Real World

Agunimon and Kumamon were still fighting off the snow beasts, but while Agunimon provided the advantage with his power over fire, it wasn't enough in the long run. He was only one fighter, and as such could only handle so much before he began to get tired.

"Damn…" He rasped as he landed a ways back. "I don't think I can keep this up…"

"Hang on then!" Kumamon said as coding covered him completely. "Slide Evolution!" Within the coding, he turned from a small bear into a large yeti-like creature that wielded two large axes. "Korikkakumon!"

The coding vanished, revealing the Beast Spirit of Ice. Agunimon grinned at the sight of the larger warrior. "It's about time!" He quipped as the large beast smirked.

"Now we can really go at it!" Korikkakumon grinned.

"Yeah!" Agunimon agreed.

The two got into the fray once more. With the larger size and power of Korikkakumon, the two warriors stood a decent chance now. The Beast of Ice tore through many snow beasts while Agunimon handled those closer to the factory entrance. "Avalanche Axes!"

"Pyro Darts!"

The two attacks hit home, either tearing apart the snow beasts or melting them to nothing but puddles.

-----

Lyoko

Yumi cried out as she was hit by a Hornet's laser blast. Groaning, she sat up, only to get hit by a Krab, reducing her life-points to twenty. "Twenty life-points left!"

As Yumi got to her feet, William rushed in and blocked the next blast with his massive sword. He grunted as the blasts began to push him back towards the edge of the ground. Beneath him was the Digital Sea, the void from which he could never return if he fell in.

With another grunt, William pushed back and leapt away from the edge. Yumi threw her fan at the Hornet, destroying it easily. She caught her fan, but then a Krab hit her, and she devirtualized in a flurry of data.

"Yumi's been devirtualized!" Jeremie noted with alarm.

"No, duh! We saw that!" Ulrich snapped back. William vanished and reappeared beside the ninja boy.

"We have to wipe out the rest of these creatures!" William snapped as Ulrich nodded. He ran at the Krab that had devirtualized Yumi. Jumping up, he drove home his twin swords. "Impact!"

The creature blew up in a flurry of data bits as Ulrich landed on his feet.

Odd fired on the last Krab as William finished off the last Blok. Both exploded into data. That left three Hornets for them to deal with. "Aelita, go! We'll handle this!" Ulrich said as Aelita nodded and ran for the tower.

-----

Real world

Agunimon grunted as he blocked a frozen blast from a snow beast. The blow threw him back a few feet, but it was not enough to throw him off guard. His blue eyes narrowed at the snow beast before he threw another barrage of Pyro Darts.

The creature was nothing but melted snow at that point. As the red-armored warrior fought off those close to the factory entrance, Korikkakumon plowed through many more with his axes. They were torn to shreds by the blows, which was just as well.

Looking back at how Agunimon was doing, the Beast Warrior of Ice had turned just in time to see a frozen blast of air hit the Warrior of Flame, sending him flying backwards into the area where he was fighting himself.

"You okay?" The Beast of Ice asked as Agunimon nodded and got to his feet.

"Yeah." The Warrior of Flame confirmed.

A snow beast roared as the winds howled around the combatants. Agunimon could feel the cold stinging at his face and body. Even with his element of fire on his side, there was only so much cold he could handle before he began to be affected by it.

He shivered as the cold bit into his skin beneath his bodysuit and armor. Already, it was taking a toll on his ability to fight. The Warrior of Flame dropped into his combat stance and stood his ground. Korikkakumon also got ready for combat once more. Three snow beasts rushed at them, but the two were ready. Korikkakumon dodged to the left while Agunimon aimed for the right. The red-armored warrior was too slow in dodging though, and wound up getting clipped by a frozen spike. He grunted as his hand flew to his side, which was now bleeding a bit.

"Damn it…" He hissed under his breath. Looking back, Agunimon could barely see his opponents now. The snow was now flying around them in white-out conditions. The cold was so low now, he was sure he would be frozen solid if not for his being Spirit Evolved.

He hoped the others were doing okay…

-----

Koji was lying on the ground, his twin next to him slumped against the wall. Both were cold to the touch and barely conscious. Zoe lay against the boiler, but she wasn't moving either. Her green eyes were glazed over and her breath was coming in shallow gasps. JP was stone cold, his brown eyes nearly life-less. Everyone else was in the same condition as the four foreign students. Sissi could barely blink her eyes as she lay there looking at the cold ceiling.

-----

Jeremie could see the battle for his friends was going okay. But now it was all on Aelita to get there before things got worse. Already, the cold was beginning to affect the interior of the factory where the supercomputer was. He could feel his limbs beginning to freeze, but it wasn't to the point of no return yet.

"Aelita's almost to the tower, Jeremie!" Ulrich reported as Jeremie nodded.

"Good. I don't think the cold will stay out of the factory for very long." He said as he watched Aelita's blip racing for the tower.

Just then, the scanner beeped. Three Tarantulas were guarding the tower.

"Heads up! Three Tarantulas are in her way! Ulrich, William! Wipe them out! Odd will give her cover!" Jeremie ordered.

"On it!" William replied.

"You got it!" Ulrich confirmed.

-----

Lyoko

The two warriors ran at the Tarantulas, weapons drawn while Odd flew down on the Overboard, giving Aelita cover fire.

"Stay on track, Princess!" Odd said as he fired on one of the creatures, only for it to fire on him instead.

He flipped over the shots, but he wasn't fast enough. A blast hit Odd in the arm as he barely missed getting hit in the chest. "You're down to eighty life-points!"

"I know that!" Odd shot back. "Take this! Laser Arrow!" His shots were aimed at the symbol, but the first batch missed. However, when Odd fired again, the shots were dead on. The creature exploded into bits of data as Ulrich ran at the second one.

The ninja boy dodged the shots as the Tarantula fired on him again and again. Using his Super Sprint, Ulrich was able to get within striking distance. He jumped up and landed on the thing before he stabbed it in the symbol, causing it to blow up as he did so.

William took on the last one easily. "Super-smoke!" Becoming a cloud of smoke, he sped towards it and emerged before stabbing it in the symbol with his sword. The creature blew up in a cloud of data bits.

Aelita emerged from hiding and saw the creatures were gone.

"Aelita, go! Jeremie can't hold on much longer!" Ulrich shouted as the pink-haired girl nodded.

"Right!" Aelita said.

As she ran for the tower, things got worse in the real world…

-----

Agunimon groaned as he felt another frozen attack hit him. He cried out as he was thrown backwards, only to get caught by Korikkakumon. The larger Beast Warrior of Ice caught the Warrior of Flame in his arms before he could hit the frozen ground and get hurt even more.

"You okay?" Korikkakumon asked as the red-armored warrior looked back at him.

"No…" Agunimon admitted at last. "I can't feel anything, my body's so numb…"

-----

Jeremie could feel the cold beginning to affect his movements and his mind. He wanted to just lie down and sleep, but he knew that was the wrong thing to do at the moment.

He shivered as he ran his hands along the hot surface of the computer itself. It felt good, and it kept him going for a while longer yet.

-----

Down in the Scanner Room, Yumi was trying to keep warm by huddling near one of the warm Scanners. She could feel the heat from the metal tube warming her body, but it was only a temporary reprieve from the inevitable grasp of the cold that was lurking just nearby.

Shivers raced down her body as she tried to keep her body heat inside her form.

-----

Lyoko

Aelita ran into the tower, only for the central platform to light up as she did so. The first ring light up, followed by the second, and then the center of the platform lit up. As soon as that central circle lit up, the pink-haired warrior began to float up to the second platform.

-----

Real World

Agunimon was unable to move now, his body was so numb. He could barely stand on his own, and had to be supported by Korikkakumon. The larger Beast Warrior of Ice could handle the cold better than anyone else, so he wasn't affected by it as much. The snow beasts were beginning to attack the factory.

-----

Jeremie was feeling numb. He could see his own breath at that point. Aelita had to hurry…

-----

Yumi could barely move anymore. Was it really the end?

-----

Lyoko

Aelita floated up to the second platform, landing and making it light up as soon as her feet touched it. She walked up to the screen and placed a hand on it. Pulling her hand away as soon as it scanned, the words came up.

CODE:

-----

Real World

Jeremie felt time stop, which made his day. He felt relief flood him as he removed himself from the hot computer surface. Aelita had done it…

Yumi felt the same relief Jeremie did as she felt the temperature slowly beginning to rise in the Scanner Room.

Outside, Korikkakumon noticed the snow beasts freezing in their tracks before dissipating into nothing but snow.

-----

Lyoko

LYOKO_

"Tower deactivated." Aelita reported as the screens began to descend into nothing below her.

-----

Real World

Korikkakumon noticed the snow beasts fading into nothing with a smile on his face. "Hey! They're going away!" He remarked as he looked down at Agunimon, only to notice he wasn't moving. Concern crossed his face as he gently set the Warrior of Flame down and held him close to his massive chest. "Agunimon?"

He placed a hand on the warrior's face, only to feel his skin icy cold. A gasp escaped the Beast Warrior of Ice as he felt the cold skin of the red-armored warrior. His blue eyes were closed, and his breathing was non-existent. "Agunimon?!" Korikkakumon asked. "Hey! Wake up!"

But there was no movement…

-----

In the computer room, Jeremie knew it was time. "Return to the Past now!" He exclaimed as he hit the button. Then, a massive dome of light radiated outwards from the factory…

-----

Takuya frowned. "Isn't that that Sissi girl?" He asked as Zoe nodded.

"It is. But why is she talking to those two girls?" Zoe wondered.

Koichi didn't like the way the two girls were looking down at the ground. He got up and walked over to Sissi, Milly and Tammy. "Is something wrong?" He asked as the three girls looked over at him.

"No, nothing is wrong!" Sissi snapped before she looked him up and down. Koichi didn't like the way she was eyeing him. "You're a cute one." She purred, but Koichi just looked at her with a resolve she didn't expect from him.

"I'm sorry, but dating is not important to me at the moment." Koichi said, making Sissi gape at him in shock.

"Yeah, like he would date you." A male voice agreed. Sissi looked back, only to see Ulrich standing there.

"Ulrich!" Sissi exclaimed. "There you are!"

"I'm here to tell you one thing, Sissi. I will never date you as long as I live. You might as well just give up on me, because I am not interested in you." Ulrich said, making Koichi, Milly, and Tammy gape in surprise at the response.

Sissi was also stunned. "Ulrich?"

The brown-haired boy just glared at her. "And I said, Sissi, find someone else to fawn over. I'm not available anymore."

Takuya saw this and grinned. Ulrich noticed and gave him the thumbs up. Takuya returned it in earnest.

"But…"

"No buts." Ulrich said. With that, he turned and walked off. Koichi followed him, as did Milly and Tammy. Both reporters had the biggest scoop of the year!

Ulrich smiled as he walked towards Takuya. "I see you stood up to Sissi." The goggle-wearing boy noted as the other boy smiled back.

"Yep. I figured it was best to be honest and straight forward with her." Ulrich replied.

Milly and Tammy began to ask questions like crazy to Ulrich as Koichi smiled. This had turned out better than he had expected! Perhaps he and the others could get used to this in no time…