105: Cheap Imitation

Aelita listened to Jeremie as though she had suddenly been pulled away from reality and was now listening from the other side of a long tunnel. She felt the blood thunder through her veins, and it almost seemed like she was afraid of what she was about to hear.

Jeremie clicked the play button in the audio program.

A voice that Aelita had not heard for more than a decade softly brushed her ears, and as it started to speak, she felt water push at the back of her eyes. Although she couldn’t see her father, months of sorrow and mourning came back into her consciousness at the sound of that voice.

Franz Hopper began to speak.

“Hello to whoever is listening to this recording. If you have found this, then you managed to crack the code that I corrupted myself. Congratulations. With all of my heart, I hope that you are Aelita, and if this is true, then I know that your friend Jeremie will be listening as well.

“Aelita…I cannot even begin to express into words how proud I am of you. Through all of your struggles growing up without your parents, you have ultimately been strong, and I am extremely proud of you. I daresay that your mother would be proud of you as well.”

There was a pause. The room was so quiet that Jeremie could have heard a fly sneeze. Aelita sat in her chair, perfectly frozen in time as she stared at the computer screen.

“Your mother…oh Aelita, how I wish I could tell you what happened. In the attempt to forget the sorrowful past, my memories have started to fade… But as much as I wish I could tell you, I cannot, for if this recording falls into the wrong hands, it will put your life in jeopardy. I myself unfortunately know nothing about her current whereabouts. Please be strong, and if you persevere I know that you will be reunited with her someday.

“I sense that my end comes near. These Mantas spell out my destruction, and I can only hope that you will be content that I sacrificed myself for you.

“Everything has been for you, including much that you will probably never know. I wish I could tell you the reasons I had for my actions in the past, but doing so would put the lives of countless, nameless people at stake. Even so, I can tell you that the answers about my past are not pleasant ones. I wish I could be there with you to tell you all of this in person, but the only way for you to uncover any of this information will be without me. But do not do anything completely alone; you have the company of many good people around you that you should not take for granted. I know that you, including your friend Jeremie, are very intelligent, and that you will eventually find the answers. The only lead I can give you is this: uncover my past and you will someday reunite with your mother.”

Franz’s voice started to become weaker, and Jeremie had to strain his ears to make out the rest of his words. He could almost feel as if he was watching the Mantas firing at Franz, as helpless as Aelita had been as she watched her father’s destruction in agony.

“My end is near,” Franz said softly, and although his tone was sad, it was far from bleak and hopeless. He accepted his fate. “I feel my strength depleting, and I know that I will never return to this world again. I am giving my life up to try and make your future safe. Know that I love you, Aelita Schaeffer, and do not mourn me for too long.

“Franz Hopper. Husband, scientist, teacher, and father.”

The recording ended, and the audio playback program blinked and closed.

After spending a moment in thought, Jeremie looked over at Aelita. Her eyes were closed, and an indiscernible expression colored her face. Jeremie couldn’t detect any movement in her body. “Aelita, are you okay?” he asked, extending a hand to her shoulder.

Aelita murmured something, but it was too soft and incomprehensible for him to understand.

“Aelita?”

Jeremie felt her body start to quiver ever so slightly, and he moved closer as he wrapped her arms around her in a hug. A wordless noise came from Aelita as she burst into tears.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Jeremie repeated softly as liquid poured out of Aelita’s eyes.

“I feel so alone…” The statement flowed out of Aelita like the tears out of her eyes. “My father sacrificed himself for me, and I may never see him or my mother again…”

“You have to try to accept it,” Jeremie said sadly. “Unless a way can be found, your father won’t be able to come back to this world… But he loved you so much that he was willing to sacrifice himself for your safety, and that will always remain with you.”

Aelita sniffed, and the flow of tears continued.

---

Mr. Delmas twitched, sitting in front of his computer in his office. As soon as the penguin head sprung, he jumped and quickly focused his attention on moving the penguin’s body to the precise, exact place it would catch the head.

The phone rang. Distracted, he reached out to get it, and the game flashed failure.

Mr. Delmas sighed, and then remembered that there was something in his hand. “Kadic Academy, Headmaster Jean-Pierre Delmas speaking,” he said, speaking into the phone receiver.

“This is James Dunbar, father of William. I’m sorry to interrupt your important work, Mr. Delmas, but I have some questions regarding William’s scholarship.”

Mr. Delmas frowned. “A…scholarship? Excuse me, Mr. Dunbar, but I was under the impression that William was temporarily transferred to a school closer to home, so that he could visit his ill mother?”

Mr. Dunbar was taken aback. “I don’t recall saying anything of the sort… My wife is in perfect health, and I don’t recall contacting you or anyone else at Kadic Academy to announce a school transfer for my son. I was under the impression that William had been awarded a scholarship to the prestigious L’ecole des Roches.”

Mr. Delmas’ two eyebrows merged into one. “I vividly recall you previously telling me that William had been temporarily transferred to North District Academy.”

“What?” exclaimed Mr. Dunbar, all polite etiquette forgotten. “I definitely did not call you concerning anything of the sort! My son is not with me, I can assure you that much.”

Why does this seem familiar? thought Mr. Delmas. “Then Mr. Dunbar, it once again seems that we have a prankster in our midst,” sighed Mr. Delmas. “As for your son’s location, the fact is this: if William is not here at Kadic Academy or not with you, he is somewhere neither of us are aware of. I can assure you that I will get to the bottom of this miscommunication and confusion. I will call you later today regarding the results of my search.”

“Thank you, Mr. Delmas, and good day.” There was a click as Mr. Dunbar put the receiver back on the hook. A long, drawn-out sigh protruded from his lips at the mix of worry and the unfortunate sense of déjà vu.

Miles away, Mr. Delmas was experiencing the same feeling of exasperated confusion.

---

“Morning, everyone,” Ulrich said as he walked up to the table. His tray was piled with eggs, sausages, potatoes and hash browns. “It looks like Rosa’s starting to use larger recipes.”

“Either that or she’s cooking more batches,” Yumi said as Ulrich sat down next to her. “Odd, has Rosa said anything about why there’s more food lately?”

“Mmph,” Odd said through a grotesque-looking mixture of eggs and sausage.

“Odd, you mind closing your mouth?” Jeremie said, throwing a disapproving glance at him. “We know that you enjoy your food, but there’s no need to show us.”

Odd swallowed and took a gulp of air. “Hey, it’s not my fault,” he protested. “Yumi asked a question, and I had to say something, because if I didn’t you’d think I was deaf!”

“You’re proficient enough in ear health, but when it comes to the branch of foot care…” smirked Ulrich, trailing off. Odd shot him a dirty look. He didn’t reply, and instead chose to shovel in more breakfast.

“Hi everyone,” called Sissi as she pulled up a chair, accidentally brushing Odd’s arm. “Have you heard the news? A few days ago, William Dunbar transferred schools. The word is that he transferred because his parents were disappointed at Kadic’s curriculum.”

“Really?” Aelita said, feigning surprise and mild interest. When the others frowned at her incomprehensively, she glared at them and motioned to them to follow her lead.

“I don’t think it was because of that,” Yumi replied, inspecting a buttered slice of toast before taking a bite. “He said it was because his mother was ill, and he wanted to be closer to home to visit her on a regular basis.”

“Oh,” Sissi said, a frown dancing across her face. “Well, I’d better go and tell everyone to stop spreading rumors. Thanks, Yumi.” She stood up and took her tray, walking away.

“She’s definitely…changing,” Yumi said, following her trail as Sissi walked up to a nearby table of loudly laughing girls. They watched as a frowning Sissi spoke to them, her words lost in the loud conversations around them. The girls looked taken aback.

“What was it that you wanted to say earlier, Yumi?” Aelita prompted.

Yumi turned back to the group, and a shadow grimly cast itself across her expression. “You guys aren’t going to like this. I was dropping off a note from my parents in the Administration Office before breakfast, and I heard Mr. Delmas talking to Ms. Weber, the secretary.” Yumi sighed. “It seems that William’s father has figured out that William hasn’t enrolled in ‘North District Academy’, and Mr. Delmas is getting suspicious.”

“Oh no, you’re joking…” Ulrich cried, smacking his hand to his forehead.

The others groaned. “So what now, Einstein?” Odd asked as they all turned to look at Jeremie. “I’m sure you’ve had a backup plan for this one?”

“Unfortunately, it’s the clone,” Jeremie said, his mouth moving into an irritated line. “But I can try my hand with the voice synthesizer again; it might be enough. The clone is still too risky.”

“You’d better do it, and soon,” Yumi said. “Mr. Delmas is trying to get to the bottom of this, and fast. He told Ms. Weber that if he doesn’t find any leads by tonight, he’s calling William’s father back. As well as the police.”

---

The phone rang again. Mr. Delmas, quite wary that it could be the impostor, immediately put his guard up. “Kadic Academy, Headmaster Jean-Pierre Delmas speaking. How may I be of assistance?”

“I’m sorry to bother you again, Mr. Delams,” said a voice. Mr. Delmas realized whom the voice belonged to. “I am calling concerning my call earlier this morning.”

“Yes, yes, Mr. Dunbar,” Mr. Delmas replied, keeping his voice level and feigning understanding. “My searches are so far turning up no results, but I’m sure that we will have found your son by this evening.”

“That’s in fact what I am calling about,” Jeremie replied through the voice synthesizer. “I recently discovered that my son had faked my voice earlier this morning, posing as me to cause confusion.”

Aelita, Odd, Ulrich and Yumi tensed. This call was in fact crucial to protecting the secret itself. If Mr. Delmas continued to search for William, he would eventually be led to them, the Lyoko Warriors, and then to the Factory. No matter the consequences, this could not fail at any cost.

Mr. Delmas’ eyebrows met to form a thick line. “Really, now? And I trust that you have punished him fairly?”

“Yes, Mr. Delmas,” Jeremie replied. “And I’d like to reassure you that William is still with us, going to a local school so that he can see his ill mother.”

Mr. Delmas sighed; this was pointless. “Forgive me for resorting to measures such as this, Mr. Dunbar, if that is really whom you are, but I must sort out this mess. To confirm that you really are who you say you are, I must ask you a question.” Mr. Delmas picked up a sheet of paper out of the pile that he had accumulated in fact in the past hour out of the school records.

Jeremie’s eyes widened; he hoped this would not be a question he could not answer. Aelita looked over at him questioningly, but Jeremie shook his head, trying to concentrate. “Very well.”

“What is William’s social security number, as you supposedly gave to us in his birth certificate when you registered him as a student?”

As the group watched Jeremie, they saw an expression pass across his face, one that they had rarely seen before. It was fear.

 “Uh, excuse me,” he replied. “I…must go and get his certificate. My memory is aging with me, and I’ve forgotten his-”

And then a change happened so quickly that Mr. Delmas was left contemplating it for a few seconds.

The voice that was speaking to him through the phone suddenly warped. Mr. Delmas pulled the receiver away from his ear as a mechanical shriek cruel to his ears sounded through the receiver. And when the voice continued to speak, it was resembled a voice he had heard before, just that morning, in fact.

“…number. Please excuse me, I must…” Jeremie suddenly froze as he heard a voice coming out of the voice synthesizer that did not belong to Mr. Dunbar.

“Excuse me, sir,” Mr. Delmas said, summoning an edge of suspicion, “but I could have sworn that a second ago your voice sounded quite different.”

There was a pause. And then a short beep as the person on the other end of the line ended the call.

Mr. Delmas turned, satisfied, back to his work. His suspicions had been confirmed; all that was left was to sort out this mess.

“Jeremie?” Yumi asked, her voice a concerned tone, for as Jeremie turned around to look at them he suddenly appeared quite pale. “What’s going on?”

“I have to get to the Factory right away,” Jeremie replied, his voice hoarse. “The call went wrong; I have to launch a Return to the Past before they find out.”

“What happened?” Odd said as they all stood up and exited the dormitory.

“It what?” Ulrich exclaimed, smacking his hand to his forehead as the five of them strode fast-paced across the courtyard. “Great, Einstein, just great!”

“It wasn’t my fault!” Jeremie repeated, wrinkles of worry etched on his face. “The voice synthesizer bugged up. I don’t know how, but it did, and I don’t want to take any chances! I have to launch a Return right now!”

“Uh, Jeremie…” Yumi said, holding up her arm and the watch sitting on her wrist, pointing at the time.

Just as they started to pass the vending machines, there was a shrill ring from behind them. There was a collective groan, the loudest from Jeremie.

“It’ll have to wait till after class,” Aelita sighed as the bell rang. “We can’t cut class right now; Mr. Delmas will definitely suspect that we have something to do with it if we’re missing at this moment.”

Jeremie sighed as they turned around and ran back to the academic buildings. “Fine,” he muttered. “But don’t blame me if Mr. Delmas sends the Incredible Hulk after us anyway.”

In the depths of the Network, on one of the many Replikas sitting dormant, a tower’s aura faded from red back to blue. Xana felt a sense of cold satisfaction. His plan was working.

---

Mr. Delmas gave a sigh. His irritation, frustration and confusion left his mouth with it. The search had turned up nothing. Absolutely nothing. The Board of Education will just love this, he grimaced. Once it gets out that a student went missing, there will be a huge investigation, and then one way or another we’ll be shut down.

There was a knock from the door. “Come in,” called Mr. Delmas wearily.

Two boys entered the room, and he was slightly surprised to see them. “Poliakoff and Pichon,” he said. “To what do I owe this honor?”

“We’ve heard that you were looking for William Dunbar,” Herb said, shifting in his posture. “And haven’t been able to find him.”

“Yes, I have,” Mr. Delmas said, his eyebrows meeting. “Is there something that you feel needs to be brought to my attention?”

Nicolas opened his mouth, but Herb stepped on his foot. As Nicolas let out a gasp of pain, Herb spoke to him out of the corner of his mouth. “Let me do the talking,” he asserted quietly.

Raising his voice, Herb continued to Mr. Delmas. A different light burned in his eyes. “I don’t believe that we know his current whereabouts, but I do believe that there are some who may.”

---

Jeremie and the others strode into the lab. “I’m not taking any chances this time,” Jeremie said, extremely tense, as he sat down in the chair and started to access the supercomputer. “This is strictly to convince Delmas that he’s alive; it’s not worth taking the risk of settling him for a long period of time at Kadic, if only temporarily.”

“Will you just relax, Einstein?” Odd said exasperatedly. “At the moment, you’re more tense than one of Jim’s joints after he does a squat thrust.”

“Everything will go fine,” Aelita said, agreeing and passing a reassuring smile to Jeremie. “Don’t worry so much.”

Jeremie smiled back, but as he turned back to the screen the smile dropped right off of his face. His blue eyes flashed, and he gasped.

“What?” Ulrich asked as the four of them leaned closer in, looking at both the screen and Jeremie equally uncomprehendingly. “What’s wrong?”

“The clone’s programs have been terminated,” Jeremie said huskily. “But how…”

As the others gasped at the news, a window opened, displaying red lines moving across it. Jeremie’s expression hardened. “Xana.”

“Xana’s behind all of this?” Yumi frowned, her brow low and her eyes wide. “But how is that…”

“Apparently Xana’s activated two towers in the past twenty-four hours,” Jeremie replied, concentrating on the screen as another window opened. “And according to the program that I recently developed, his first attack was messing with the voice synthesizer. The second was making a minor hack into the supercomputer. Both were so small that the program barely picked it up, but size doesn’t determine the outcome.”

“But what could he be trying to do?” Odd asked. The question died on his lips as he realized the answer.

“He’s trying to bring attention to William’s absence,” Aelita answered grimly, realization dawning upon all of them. “His disappearance will eventually lead to us, and in turn it’ll lead to the supercomputer, and that will force us to shut it down…”

“Unless we find some way to get out of it,” Jeremie said. An idea came to mind, but his suspicions remained. “How can it be so obvious…” Jeremie opened up a familiar program and entered it. Immediately, an error window popped open.

“What now?” Ulrich said, his face contorted with frustration.

“It seems that Xana has so kindly corrupted the Return to the Past for us,” Jeremie replied, his voice cold as ice. “It’s the only way we can ever solve this.”

“Even so, where would we launch it to?” Yumi asked, doubt passing over her face. “Going back in time won’t stop William from leaving.”

“This situation was hard to begin with,” Aelita sighed. “And now Xana’s made it even worse.”

Jeremie shook his head to clear it. “Come on,” he murmured to the others, turning his chair and sliding out of it onto his feet. “It’ll take too long to repair both programs, and we have a class in ten minutes. Waiting a few hours won’t hurt, since this problem is so bad anyway.”

I doubt it, Ulrich thought to himself as the others joined Jeremie in the elevator. Somehow, he thought the problem had just begun.

---

Jeremie and Aelita sat down at one table, Ulrich and Odd at another. The same thought clung to their minds as they prepared for Science, but they were unaware of what was about to happen. Herb’s eyes shone triumphantly as he glared at the back of their heads.

 “I assume that all of you are ready to start?” Mrs. Hertz called dryly from the front of the room. The talking immediately ceased.

As Mrs. Hertz started to take role, her eyes passed over Jeremie and Aelita. “Oh, I almost forgot. Jeremie and Aelita, you have been called to Mr. Delmas’ office.”

Jeremie and Aelita looked, confused, at each other, and then back at Mrs. Hertz. “Why?” Jeremie asked. “Have we done something wrong?”

Mrs. Hertz waved her hand, dismissing the question. “I don’t know; he wasn’t specific when he said it. But please go to the principal’s office right now, because I doubt he summoned you just to talk about your grades. I only hope that it isn’t anything as serious or more than cheating, or anything vulgar of the sort.”

“Oh no,” Herb muttered over to Nicolas as Jeremie and Aelita walked out of the room. “No near that level of concern. I doubt being associated in the disappearance of a student would be close to cheating.”

Ulrich and Odd glanced at each other, concerned glances passing between them. A suspicion pricked at both of their minds, and they both hoped for all five of their sakes that it was not true.

---

Jeremie and Aelita entered the Administration Building. As the light shone through the glass windows of the hallway and hit them, both wore expressions of masked fear.

“Do you think…you know? That he’s found it out?” Aelita asked quietly.

Jeremie shrugged, unable to answer that which he did not know and did not wish to be true.

They arrived in front of the door. Jeremie tapped his knuckles softly on the furnished wood.

“Come in.”

The two of them entered the room, and were startled to see a girl sitting in one of three chairs between the door and the desk. Yumi didn’t so much as blink as they sat down next to her, but they could tell that she was worried from the look of her eyes.

Jim sat behind Mr. Delmas, a very hard expression on his face. “So glad that you could join us, Belpois and Stones,” Mr. Delmas greeted, his tone serious and indiscernible. “I was just talking to Ms. Ishiyama here about the recent so-called leaving of one of our twelfth-years.”

Aelita’s eyes flashed, and in that second she realized that Mr. Delmas knew. How much, she was not sure, but she was aware that he knew that William was not currently at another school.

“Since I have no reason for falsified ignorance, let me get straight to the point,” Mr. Delmas said, putting down a mug of coffee. “Do you know anything, anything at all, in relation to young William Dunbar’s appearance?”

Jeremie stiffened. “I’m afraid we don’t, sir,” he replied, desperately trying to act ignorant and surprised. “We only heard he had been transferred to another school.”

“And what about you, Ms. Stones?” Jim asked, nodding over at Aelita.

Aelita shook her head.

“Are both of you sure?” Mr. Delmas said, his face impassive, and yet his tone brought out his perception.

Both Jeremie and Aelita nodded.

Mr. Delmas’ eyes burned cold. “That would be contrary to many things I have uncovered today,” he said. “From what I have gathered, William is neither at another school or with his parents. And I can only help but wonder, why?”

“We wouldn’t know, sir,” Yumi said. Her voice was tense as she tried to keep it level and from betraying her fear.

“So long as all of you keep mum, that is what it would seem,” Mr. Delmas said, turning his eyes away from them. “But I cannot help but speculate as to why this is the second time that young William has disappeared.” As Mr. Delmas spoke, Jeremie hoped with all his heart that he had not recognized his voice after the voice synthesizer had been corrupted. If he already knew, all he was trying to get out of them was a confession, and whether or not they complied, he would take the same action both ways.

Mr. Delmas sighed. “I did not want to have to do this, but the three of you give me no choice. Jim, please supervise them as they go to the library for a study hall as I sort out this mess.”

Jim nodded. “Yes, sir.” Yumi, Aelita and Jeremie glanced at each other, dismayed.

“Come on, you lot,” Jim called roughly, leading them toward the door. But as they neared it, there was a knock from the other side.

“Come in,” Mr. Delmas called.

A boy stepped into the room, clad in brown and black. “Hello, Mr. Delmas. I’m really sorry for causing you guys such a scare.”

Everyone in the room gasped as they looked into the black eyes of William.

Jeremie found his voice first. “William… How have you been?” he asked, in an attempt to hide the secret.

William clenched his hand into a fist and then relaxed it. “Okay, I suppose. I need to speak with Mr. Delmas- alone.”

Mr. Delmas frowned. “If that is what you wish, then everyone else should leave. Jim, please take the three of them to the library immediately.”

A light pulsed in Aelita’s pair of green eyes. “But sir, we had nothing to do with his disappearance!”

William shifted in his position. “It’s true; I left of my own accord. But I need to talk to Mr. Delmas in private.”

Mr. Delmas’ frown deepened as he concentrated. Finally, he sighed and looked up again. “Very well. The three of you may return to your classes while I discuss matters with William. Jim, you may stay.”

Jim nodded gruffly as he held the door open, brushing the three students out of the office. He closed the door shut as Aelita, Jeremie and Yumi walked away without a backward glance.

William sat down in a chair as Jim walked to stand behind Mr. Delmas again, crossing his arms. William didn’t look up.

“So, Mr. Dunbar, you’ve returned,” Mr. Delmas said sternly, piercing William with a strong gaze. “You’ve caused us much confusion over the past few days. Would you be so kind as to explain where you have been and why?”

William looked up, and his dark eyes flashed; a strange symbol appeared in both of them. But just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone in a split second. “It’s not only that, sir,” he said, meeting the principal’s gaze. “I also have something else I would like to tell you.”

Aelita, Jeremie and Yumi walked out of the Administration Building; all three of them were in a daze.

Yumi broke the silence. “Was that really the real William?” she pondered.

Jeremie sighed. “Unless Xana is pulling our sleeve, that was him. But whether or not he remains under Xana’s control is still the unanswered question.”

“Was anyone able to get a good look at his eyes?” Aelita asked. The others sighed and shook their heads.

“This is too suspicious,” Jeremie said, changing directions. “I’m going over to the Factory right now.”

Aelita grabbed his arm. “No, we can’t,” she said, meeting his gaze. “If anyone finds out now more than ever that we skipped a class, we’ll be in trouble. And we definitely won’t be out of Mr. Delmas’ range of suspicion then.”

Jeremie groaned. “Okay, fine,” he replied, his voice thick with annoyed worry. “But as soon as class ends, I’m going over to launch a Return. We can’t give Xana the chance to take advantage of this situation.”

---

The bell rang. The four Lyoko Warriors immediately snatched up their things and almost ran out of the Science room.

“I’ve got to get to the Factory right away,” said Jeremie hurriedly, pushing his laptop into his case as he strode down the hall. “We can’t afford to–”

Suddenly, the double doors only meters in front of him flew open with a bang. Mr. Delmas and Jim stood blocking his path. Yumi and William stood behind them: Yumi didn’t meet their eyes and looked as though she was trying to hide an unknown emotion, while William’s expression was unreadable.

Mr. Delmas had a strange expression upon his face. As he drew nearer, Aelita realized that it was one of confirmed suspicions: he knew.

“The four of you, come with me,” Mr. Delmas said, his tone gruff and assertive. He gestured to Jeremie, Aelita, Ulrich and Odd. “Immediately.”

As the four walked forward to stand next to Yumi and William, Mr. Delmas and Jim led them out of the Science building.

It took Ulrich a moment to realize that they were being led to the Administration Building. “What’s going on?” he whispered to Yumi as they followed Mr. Delmas and Jim.

Yumi leaned closer to him, and she tried as much as possible not to move her lips or slow her pace as she whispered in his ear. “They know.”

Jim walked forward and held the door open. Mr. Delmas strode into his office, and Jim motioned for the six of them to follow him. He glared at them as they walked past him into the room.

Jim shut the door and walked to stand behind the desk with Mr. Delmas. Aelita, Jeremie, Odd, Ulrich, Yumi and William stood in a cluster in front of Mr. Delmas’ desk. Ulrich glanced at William. He bore an expression of triumph.

“It has been brought to my attention,” Mr. Delmas said, without so much as a glance at William, “that the five of you have been harboring much more than you appear to know. I have been told of an abandoned car factory not far from the school, in which you hide a secret.”

The five Lyoko Warriors flinched, but tried not to give anything away. Jeremie stepped forward, frowning with faked surprise. “I don’t believe that we’ve been to this factory at all,” he said, willing himself not to give anything away. “I’ve heard about it, but never been there.”

Mr. Delmas raised a hand, and Jeremie stopped short, as if struck dumb. “I would like to hear your alibis later,” he said, standing up. “Your friend was so kind as to mention a few select things to me. Take us to this Factory, now. I know, and whether or not you choose to cooperate is your choice. But I warn you: if you do not cooperate, then there will be consequences.”

The only student who didn’t groan inwardly or betray fear was William, who of course did not have to mask feelings he did not have. In that second, Ulrich knew that William was still under Xana’s control, and whether or not he was even aware of what Xana was forcing him to do, he had broken his oath as a Lyoko Warrior.

---

“I swear sir, we know nothing about this!”

“Give up the act, Jeremie,” Jim said, a cold creeping into his voice. They left the bridge and entered the Factory. “We know, and we will uncover what’s going on with or without you.”

The five students looked at each other in dismay.

As they walked out of the early morning sunlight and into the Factory, Odd brushed up against Jeremie. “So, what’s the plan, Einstein?” he whispered. “Give them the slip and head for the lab?”

“I don’t think we can,” Jeremie said, scowling at the back of William’s head. He was walking alongside Mr. Delmas and Jim as the other five trailed behind them. “But if William’s told them anything at all, they’re going to be on their guard. Although I doubt Xana would do us the favor of leaving them in the dark about the supercomputer’s location. But as long as they’re around, we can’t leave and we can’t attack him. And telling Delmas and Jim that William is under the control of an artificial intelligence won’t waver the truth.”

Mr. Delmas and Jim took hold of a cable apiece and slid down to the ground floor. William followed them, glancing at the others with equally undisguised triumph and disdain.

Yumi sighed. “We might as well join them,” she said, sliding down after them.

As Ulrich and Odd slid down and met everyone else on ground level, Mr. Delmas walked forward to face the five of them. “Now, will you cooperate or not?” he said, his gaze hard. “If you choose to give up the act now, the punishment won’t be as hard.”

The others glanced at Jeremie, who sighed. “Fine,” he said, striding forward and pressing the elevator button. The others groaned as the elevator was summoned.

Mr. Delmas and Jim immediately walked into the elevator, accompanied by Jeremie. Ulrich, Yumi and Odd followed, upset and unnerved, but William drew back.

As Aelita walked towards the elevator, William blocked her path. “Not so fast, Aelita,” he said, gripping her wrist. Her green eyes widened, and she struggled to get out of his grip.

“Dunbar, what are you doing?” Jim said, as the others gasped.

Before anyone could do anything, William summoned a bolt of electricity and blasted the elevator button. The door quickly started to drop shut.

Ulrich, with immeasurable speed, rolled under just as the elevator closed and stood up. Behind him, the elevator dropped a few meters and then stopped.

“Let us out!” shouted Yumi desperately as bolts of electricity started to fly around the elevator. Jeremie, Aelita, Odd and Yumi quickly stepped away from the walls.

Mr. Delmas and Jim were not so lucky. They both caught a little electric energy and dropped to the ground in a faint.

“Well, I suppose that’s the only good thing that came out of this,” Jeremie said grimly.

“I sure hope Ulrich’s okay up there by himself,” Yumi said worriedly, glancing up at the roof of the elevator.

Above them on ground floor, Aelita was struggling to get her wrist out of William’s strong grip. “Let me go, William!” she cried out, trying to kick him.

“It’s no use,” William sneered, his smirk turning into an evil leer. Bolts of electricity flew from his body and took hold of Aelita. She screamed as she was electrocuted, and she fainted.

“Let her go, William,” said a voice. William turned around to see Ulrich take a fighting stance in front of the elevator shaft.

William dropped Aelita to the ground; she crumpled at his feet. William’s eyes glowed black in fury, and he shot a white bolt of light at Ulrich.

Ulrich rolled sideways, evading the shot. He immediately ran toward William jumped high into the air. Just as it seemed he would knock William out, William jumped up and kicked Ulrich in the stomach.

Ulrich groaned as he was slammed into a nearby pillar and passed out. He didn’t get up.

William’s eyes blazed triumphantly once more. He picked up Aelita and swung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before heading for the corridor.

A few moments passed before light steps could be heard from the elevator shaft. A black-haired head appeared. Yumi, not seeing William in sight, motioned for the others to follow her. One by one, the Lyoko Warriors clambered out of the elevator shaft.

“Ulrich!” Yumi exclaimed, seeing her boyfriend curled up at the foot of a pillar. She sprinted over to him and immediately took him in her arms. “Ulrich?” she said, trying to shake him awake. “What happened?”

Ulrich drowsily opened an eye before allowing Yumi to pull him up and put his arm over her shoulders. “William…” he said, his voice cracked with pain. His arm slowly rose and pointed toward the corridor. “He took Aelita and…”

Yumi turned to Jeremie and Odd. “Go,” she said simply. “I’ll help Ulrich; we’ll meet you down below as soon as we can.”

Not waiting to hear any more, Jeremie and Odd nodded and sprinted toward the corridor. Yumi slowly helped Ulrich follow them.

A floor below them, William finished typing a code into the supercomputer and slid out of the chair. He picked up Aelita once more and headed for the ladder on the opposite side of the room from the elevator. He heaved open the hatch and clambered down, Aelita still on his shoulder.

Once in the scanner room, William placed the still-unconscious Aelita in a scanner. Stepping into another himself, his eyes flashed with the eye of Xana. He smiled as the scanner doors closed, and the hum of the scanners told him that they would soon be virtualized.

A few minutes later, Jeremie and Odd descended the ladder on the side of the wall and stepped onto the floor of the lab. Jeremie immediately sprinted for the chair and sat down.

“What’s going on?” Odd said, catching up to Jeremie and putting a hand on the chair. “Where are they?”

It took Jeremie only a few seconds to open a radar window. “They’re in Sector 5,” Jeremie said grimly as two dots, one green and one red, appeared in the Arena.

Another radar window opened, displaying a group of red dots turning toward a shape in the middle of a large, round room. Jeremie gave a noise of annoyance. “Xana’s also attacking the Core of Lyoko,” he said. “Get to the scanners; I’ll start the virtualization process.”

Odd nodded and ran back to the ladder, climbing down into the scanner room.

William landed with a grunt on the floor of the Arena before turning to the girl sprawled on the floor. William shot a black fume of smoke at Aelita, and she rose off the ground. William directed her toward the entrance to the Corridor, following her with an arm raised out.

“Transfer, Odd! Scanner! Virtualization!”

Odd materialized in his purple uniform before landing in the Arena with a thunck.

“Don’t waste any time!” Jeremie called.

“Don’t worry, Einstein,” Odd called back, running out of the Arena and towards the footbridge. “I wasn’t even thinking of stopping for lunch!”

As he ran out of the walls of the Corridor, he skidded to a halt. There in front of him was a boy clad in a black suit, holding an arm out to guide a pink girl with his levitation.

As William turned Aelita to face the path leading toward the stairs and an opening in the wall, he groaned as he was hit sideways.

“You definitely haven’t changed a bit,” Odd grinned as he ran on his paws toward William and Aelita. “Still thinking that we won’t give up our friends without a fight.”

William growled as he clambered to his feet. He summoned his huge cleaver in a wave of smoke and shot an energy blast at Odd.

Odd, still running, ducked and slide-tackled William. William flipped over and hit the ground once more, snarling in surprise.

“Odd, be careful!” Jeremie warned as more red dots appeared on the radar window. “Xana is sending his heavy artillery!”

Odd heard the groans of the snake-like monsters and glanced to his left to see two Creepers appear on a ledge above ground. Another Creeper slunk onto a block on his right. Two more groaned and slithered down the stairs toward him.

“Hey, no fair!” Odd exclaimed crossly as he summoned his shield to block shots all around him.

“Odd, don’t worry about them,” Jeremie instructed. “Get Aelita out of there and head toward the Core of Lyoko! The first shield layer is already down fifty percent!”

“Got it, Einstein!” Odd replied as he backed toward Aelita.

The sound of a metal slashing through air and a human battle cry from behind him told Odd he had forgotten about William. Odd dove to his left as William slashed downwards.

As Odd engaged in a fight with William, Aelita slowly opened her eyes. She groaned with pain as she slowly got to her feet. “Jeremie, what’s going on?” she called to the ceiling, rubbing her shoulder to alleviate some of the pain.

“Aelita!” Jeremie exclaimed. “Get to the Celestial Dome and to the South Pole; Xana’s attacking the Core of Lyoko!”

“Okay,” Aelita replied. She turned toward the stairs and gasped. A jellyfish-like creature had just appeared and was making its way towards her.

“The Scyphozoa!” Aelita cried out as she flung Energy Fields toward the monster. The Scyphozoa dodged both and continued toward her.

A noise from above caused Jeremie to turn his head toward the ladder. Climbing down the ladder were Ulrich and Yumi.

“Yumi! Ulrich!” Jeremie called as they stepped off of the ladder. “Ulrich, how are you?”

“Good enough to fight,” Ulrich said, making a slight grimace of pain as he moved his shoulder.

“What’s the situation, Jeremie?” Yumi asked as she and Ulrich strode over to him.

“William virtualized himself and Aelita to Sector 5,” Jeremie said hurriedly. “Odd went to stop them, but the Scyphozoa just appeared. And on top of all that, the Core of Lyoko is being attacked!”

Yumi gave him a hard, reassuring look. “Don’t worry; Ulrich and I will get to Lyoko and do what we can.” Ulrich nodded, and he ran after Yumi back toward the ladder.

“Odd!” Aelita shouted in fear as more of her Energy Fields missed. She screamed as the Scyphozoa took hold of her in its tentacles.

Odd glanced toward the source of the noise and gave a start as he saw the Scyphozoa put three tentacles to Aelita’s head. “No!” he shouted in vain. A whistling noise sounded as William slashed his sword toward him again, and Odd dodged it and started toward Aelita, firing Laser Arrows at the purple monster.

Too late. Just as the arrows made contact with the jellyfish, the Scyphozoa dropped Aelita. She turned and smiled at him with black symbols in her eyes.

Odd gave a shout of distress as she ran up the stairs and out of the room. William ran after her, passing a taunting smile over his shoulder.

“They’re heading for the Celestial Dome,” Jeremie informed Odd worriedly. “Stop them before Aelita can throw herself into the Digital Sea!”

“I will, Einstein,” Odd replied. Ignoring the Creepers still firing at him, he ran out of the room and after the two teenagers.

Just as Odd jumped the stairs and ran out of the room, Ulrich and Yumi sprinted in. They skidded to a halt as they drew their weapons and blocked shots from the Creepers.

“Where do we go, Einstein?” Ulrich called as he dodged a furious blast of lasers.

“They just left the room through the opening in front of you on your right,” Jeremie instructed. “Once you get to the Celestial Dome, I’ll tell you what to do. Odd is already in pursuit.”

“Got it,” Yumi called back. She and Ulrich continued to deflect the shots as they ran out of the room.

Not after long, Aelita and William ran onto the platform jutting out into the Celestial Dome.

“Mantas!” William shouted. After a few seconds, birdcalls shouted from behind them, and two Flying Mantas, once black and one blue, flew toward them around Sector 5.

Just as the Mantas descended toward them, footsteps sounded from behind them. William and Aelita turned to see Odd skid to a halt.

“Take this, you traitor!” growled Odd as he fired three Laser Arrows at William. William tried to draw his sword but wasn’t fast enough, and groaned as he fell backwards off the platform and devirtualized in fumes of black and red smoke.

Odd aimed at Aelita. “I don’t want to do this Aelita, but I’ll do what I have to!” Odd said as he fired Laser Arrows at her. Aelita dodged the shots and jumped off the platform.

Before Odd realized what was going on, the two Mantas fired their lasers at him. He dodged the laser shots to see Aelita flying with bright red wings toward the Black Manta. She turned and headed for the nearest tunnel, which promptly began to clear itself.

“No!” Odd shouted. He jumped out of the way from more shots from the Manta, but another shot caught him in the stomach. He flew backward and grabbed the edge of the platform as he fell off of it.

“Odd!” someone exclaimed. He looked up to see Yumi and Ulrich running toward him. Yumi drew a fan with a wave of her hand and flung it at the Manta. It made contact with the eye of Xana upon its head and exploded with a furious shriek.

“Einstein, what’s the plan?” Ulrich called as he helped Odd onto the platform.

“You’re going to have to split up,” Jeremie said to them. “Since Aelita’s life is definitely more important than Lyoko itself, Ulrich and Odd, go after her. Join up with Yumi to defend the Core of Lyoko if you can.”

“Okay,” Yumi called as their vehicles materialized. She jumped onto the Overwing and immediately headed downward to the South Pole’s entrance. Ulrich and Odd jumped onto their vehicles and headed after the Black Manta, which had already left Sector 5 through the Data Tunnel.

The Creepers spat laser shots at the Core of Lyoko. The first shield layer glowed red, and after a few more shots it exploded.

A noise from below caused them to glance down. They groaned as Yumi flew upwards on the Overwing, drawing her fans and throwing them at the Creepers. Only one of her fans made contact, which still left four.

Yumi sighed as the three Mantas turned toward her and fired their lasers. This was not going to be easy alone.

With a vroom, the Overbike and the Overboard flew out of the Desert Sector’s passage tunnel. It loomed gray behind them as they headed off after the Black Manta with a girl upon its back.

“We’ll never catch up to them in time!” Ulrich said in dismay as the Manta headed for the edge of a plateau.

Odd aimed at the monster. “Think I can get a clear shot from here?” he called, closing one eye and squinting with the other.

Ulrich looked at him disbelievingly. “I’ll give you my desert for the next week if you get this one. But if you miss, I get yours.”

Odd shrugged and fired. The Laser Arrow whizzed through the air and hit Aelita in the back, and she fell forward and disappeared.

In two separate universes, both Ulrich’s and Jeremie’s jaws dropped. Ulrich sighed. “Fine, you get the deserts,” Ulrich muttered grudgingly as the two of them turned and headed back to Sector 5.

Yumi flew the Overwing this way and that, still trying to dodge the shots of the two Mantas pursuing her. The third floated high above her, still firing at the Core of Lyoko.

Yumi crossed her arms over her body before flinging her fans behind her with all her strength. She glanced backward and was satisfied to see both Mantas explode as the fans hit them right on target.

“Nice shot, Yumi,” Jeremie complimented. “Ulrich and Odd are heading back to Sector 5 to help you.”

Yumi glanced back up at the Core of Lyoko in dismay as the second shield layer began to glow red. “I don’t think they’ll get here in time,” she said in panic as she threw her fans at two of the Creepers. Both Creepers deflected them.

Suddenly, a battle cry erupted from below her. Odd and Ulrich flew upwards and threw and fired their weapons at the Creepers. The two thrown sabers and two well-aimed Laser Arrows destroyed the rest of the Creepers.

“Good to see you again,” Yumi smiled as Ulrich and Odd drew level with her.

Odd winked at her. “I hit Aelita from what must have been fifty meters away, and Ulrich owes me his deserts for a week.”

“Really?” Yumi arched her eyebrows at Ulrich, and he grudgingly nodded to confirm it.

“Apparently I’m not so as bad-aimed as you think,” Odd said to Ulrich.

Ulrich cast an annoyed look at Odd. “Einstein, how long is it before you can materialize us and save my ears from his boasting?”

“There’s still something I have to do before I materialize you,” Jeremie said. He pressed the enter button.

Ulrich, Odd and Yumi looked up as they heard a humming noise from above them. In a flash of green, the two shield layers reappeared on the Core of Lyoko.

“From now on, I’m sealing this room up so that Xana can’t attack the Core of Lyoko,” Jeremie explained, his voice resonating from the ceiling. “I’ve activated a tower in the Mountain Sector to do just that. It’ll power the shields as well. Now, materialization!”

---

Odd, Ulrich and Yumi climbed into the lab and joined Jeremie and Aelita by the supercomputer.

“So, what’s the plan with William?” Odd asked. “I don’t think anything besides a cheap imitation will do the job.”

“Unfortunately, that’s our only option,” Jeremie sighed, rubbing his glasses. “I can’t think of anything else, and neither can Aelita. It’s extremely risky, though. I don’t have to tell you guys what happened last time.”

“Some things are worth the risk,” Yumi said. “If it’ll convince Delmas and Jim, then it’s good enough for us.”

“I suppose so,” Jeremie replied reluctantly. He turned back to the supercomputer. “But first, there’s something else that has to be launched. Return to the Past, now!”

The white light erupted from the holomap projector and engulfed their bodies before passing over the elevator with the still-unconscious Mr. Delmas and Jim and the rest of the earth.

---

Yumi led William’s clone over to where Mr. Delmas and Jim were standing under the arches, and explained for him what had happened.

Aelita, Odd, Ulrich and Jeremie watched from a safe distance from their favorite bench in the courtyard.

Jeremie sighed. “Now that Mr. Delmas never the conversation with William’s father or the horrible voice synthesizer, it’s like starting from a cleaner slate again. I suppose I’ll have to use the voice synthesizer again, though, just to make sure that Mr. Dunbar doesn’t drop any surprise calls.”

“And hopefully it won’t bug up this time around,” Ulrich said.

“I doubt it,” Aelita replied. “Xana’s never done the same thing twice because he’s afraid he’ll make the same mistake twice.”

“Speaking of which,” Odd gave Ulrich a smirk. “Someone here just bet a week’s worth of deserts to me again, and this time I’m taking advantage of it.”

Ulrich sighed. “Just please eat them down when I’m not looking. I don’t want to have to see you eat the same thing twice with your horrible snarfing techniques.”

Yumi and the clone walked back over to the bench.

“How did it go?” Jeremie asked Yumi as she sat down next to Ulrich.

She shrugged. “Just as we planned. William ran away and faked the call so that he could go to see his parents because he was immensely homesick, and Mr. Dunbar sent him back with his apologies for causing any confusion.”

“All that’s left is to use the voice synthesizer with Mr. Dunbar,” Odd sighed. “And then it’s back to the old grind.”

“For our sakes as well as the real William’s, I hope Mr. Clone here won’t be too much of a disaster,” Ulrich said impassively.

Far away in the Desert Sector of Lyoko, the old tower glowed green as it powered the energy for William’s clone.