Knowing what was coming, Odd ran to the control room. Taking over the controls of the super computer, he contacted Jim and Sissi, yelling directions over the intercom, “There are four monsters around you! Jim, that monster to your left is called a Krabbe, climb it, and hit it on the symbol on the top of its head! Sissi, take care of those three small monsters around you, those are kankrelats. Hit them on the same mark to destroy them.” Obeying orders, both did as they were told. Odd was surprised at their adeptness as they wiped out all four of the monsters, “Now Run North East. You should see a tower dead ahead. Let me know when you reach it.”

“Okay.” Sissi panted.

“Oh, here. Let me call up some vehicles for you.” He materialized the overbike for Sissi, and the overwing for Jim, “Hop on! Next stop, to save the world!”

“I’m not getting on that motorcycle thingy! That looks really dangerous!” Sissi complained.

“Yeah, ‘cause right now you’re in the safest place in the world, huh? Well, I’m sure that Ulrich will love to hear that you think that his overbike is too scary for you.” Odd was playing to her weakness- her love for Ulrich, (despite the fact that he was clearly smitten with Yumi.)

“Th-this is Ulrich’s bike? Ulrich comes here?”

“Yep, and he would’ve sent you a postcard, but as you can see there aren’t any gift shops around here!” Odd joked.

“Oh can it with the stupid humor, Odd! I’ll go.” She hopped tenaciously onto the overbike, revving it up, leaving Jim in the dust. In no time at all, she was there, while Jim still strayed behind.

She waited patiently for Jim to show up, when the scyphozoa appeared out of nowhere.

“Odd, there’s this… big octopus floating around… I’m scared!”

“The scyphozoa,” Odd breathed, “Get out of there, go into the tower, just walk straight through the wall.

“Okay,” Sissi replied, in a moment of calm, as she stepped into the tower. Floating ethereally, she reached the upper levels.

“I hope Jim can make it through the scyphozoa, right now he’s the only one who can deactivate the tower. Hey Jim, alternate route suggested, traffic Northeast, roundabout suggested.” Odd smiled grimly.

When she reached the upper levels, a holographic interface appeared before her. Unsure what to do with it, she reached her hand out to touch it. It paused, scanning her hand for a moment, before the single name: Elizabeth, flashed across the screen, “It’s Sissi!” Sissi grumbled. Elizabeth was her full name, but she hated being called that. Then the word Code flashed across the screen. Unsure what to do, she touched it again, and the word Lyoko was added underneath.

The tower flowed around her, the data flowing in blue across the walls seemed as though it were collapsing,

Odd grew wide eyed, “Sissi, how’d you do that?”

“Do what?” Sissi asked, wrinkling her nose.

“You just deactivated the tower, but you didn’t even have that injection of Jeremie’s did you?”

“No.”

“Well…. Uh… I just located Franz Hopper in Sector 5… go there, I guess… Go to the edge of the sector. Then I’ll call up the transporter for you. When you see a large orb, just… jump in! I’ll send Jim after you as quickly as I can. When you get there, there may be a girl who looks just like Aelita. Defend her at all costs!” Odd was more than a little flabbergasted. Aside from Aelita, no one was able to deactivate towers. What did that mean? Was it just some sort of a fluke, or was it something more?

“Okay, I see the big transporty thing… It’s spinning awfully fast, are you sure you want me to go… in there….”

“Yes, go in. When it stops spinning completely, a chamber will open up directly to your left. Go there. I’ll give you your instructions from there.” Odd told her calmly, “Get ready! It’s gonna be a bumpy ride!” he grinned.

Just then, Aelita awoke, and Yumi began clambering in from the scanner room. Jeremie was still out cold, and might be for a while.

“Boy, am I ever glad to see you, Aelita! Meet up with Yumi in the scanner room! I’ll send you both in to the edge of the sector- Sissi is already in sector five.” Odd hugged Aelita enthusiastically, glad to see his friend relatively unharmed.

“What about the tower?” Aelita asked groggily.

“Sissi deactivated it.”

“Sissi? How? Did you or Jeremie give her the shot?” Aelita closed her eyes, as though concentrating very hard on something, “Because if not that would mean…”

“What? What would it mean?”

“Nothing… It would mean nothing! Send me in!” Aelita ordered, shaking her head disbelievingly.

“Are you sure?” Odd asked, He had rarely used the virtualization program, and was a little nervous.

“Yes, I trust you.” Aelita’s voice chimed, as she joined Yumi in the scanner room.

“Umm… Scanner Yumi! Scanner Aelita! Transfer Yumi! Transfer Aelita! Virtualization!” Odd’s palms grew sweaty as he pushed the final button, and he almost missed it entirely, “Aelita? Yumi? Did you make it okay?” Odd gulped.

“Yeah, everything’s cool here!” Yumi smiled, opening and closing her fan playfully.

“Roger!” Aelita sounded off.

“Okay, have fun… but not too much fun without me! Sissi, Aelita and Yumi are on their way. I’m going to check in on Jim.”

“Wait, Odd! These monsters are attacking Aelita… or whoever it is. Why isn’t she fighting back!” Sissi wailed.

“You could say that those are… protestors, but this isn’t a democracy- destroy them!”

“Okay….”

“Odd! We’re almost there! I hope you’re not confusing Sissi too much with your bad puns!” Aelita chided.

“No sir! … I mean Ma’m!” Odd winked at the screen.

“Okay, Odd. Type in the code Scipio!” Aelita instructed.

“I know! Gee! I did it earlier didn’t I?” Odd typed in the code, and once again the transporter appeared.

Jeremie awoke groggily, “What- Where am I?” Jeremie asked, clearly disoriented.

“Oh good, you’re awake Jeremie! While you were having a little siesta over there things have been going as smooth as butter!” Odd bragged light heartedly.

“What’s going on?” Jeremie demanded, coming to.

“Well, let’s see… Sissi’s defending Franz Hopper in sector five, Yumi and Aelita are on their way in… and truthfully, who knows where Jim is?” Odd chuckled, allowing Jeremie to forcefully snatch the controls from him, and giving Jeremie the computer chair.

“Jim, come in Jim!” Jeremie’s voice emanated calmly across Lyoko, “Jim? Jim? Oh no! Odd how could you have let this happen?”

“What Jeremie? Let what happen?”

“The scyphozoa got him. He’s possessed now, and Xana’s calling up a transporter for him. Odd, you’ve got to go back in and fix it. I’ll monitor the super computer. Girls? How are you doing?” He called to Aelita and Yumi as he prepared the virtualization process.

“We’re doing just fine. We’re entering the core zone.” The core zone was the chamber that they went into right after leaving the transporter.

“Alright, I’m sending Odd in after you. Scanner Odd. Transfer, Odd. Virtualization.”

Odd pixilated, and landed down at the edge of the sector, “Care to call me a taxi?” Odd joked.

“Coming right up.”

“Hey, hurry up, Jeremie! What is this, New York?” Odd tapped his foot impatiently, his cat tail that was a part of his Lyoko costume was twitching anxiously.

“Hold on, Odd. Ulrich’s here. I’m going to have you stay behind and take care of Jim. He’ll go meet up with the girls.”

“Oh darn, but I’ll be so lonely!” Odd teased.

“I’ve located Jim at approximately 10 degrees southwest. I’ll call up the overboard for you.”

“Roger!”

“Girls, hold Xana off as much as you can, Ulrich’s on the way!” Jeremie declared.

“Hold Xana off? We’ve already just about got him in a corner crying!” Yumi replied, throwing her fan at one of the monsters.

“Sissi, hit that blok over there!” Aelita pointed, and Sissi threw her metallic butterflies at it. It imploded as soon as the butterfly dug into its target, then the butterfly flew elegantly back into her hand.

“Augh!” Franz Hopper-in-Aelita’s-body cried out, as a kankrelats hit him from behind.

“Energy beam!” cried Aelita, “Nobody hurts my father!”

“Hey, ladies! Did I miss the party?” Ulrich sauntered onto the scene.

“Only most of it- but you’re just barely in time for the hors douvres.” Aelita grinned brightly.

“Triplicate!” yelled Ulrich, his body becoming three in an instant, “Ha ha!” he declared, hitting two kankrelats on the target simultaneously.

“Looks like that’s all!” remarked Yumi, noting that all of the monsters were now terminated.

“Wait! What about the mechanism, the timer must be going!

In sector five, they had to trip a key mechanism on the wall before a timer ran out or the room would change. Then flying mantas, another of Xana’s monsters would hatch from the walls.

“There! There it is!” Yumi pointed excitedly to the little blue button on the wall.

Thinking fast, Aelita swiped her hand over the star-shaped bracelet around her wrist, activating her angelic pink wings, “I’ll go.” She said calmly, flying through the pieces of the ceiling that were trying to come down on her. Sector five was always booby trapped near the key.

“Hurry up, Aelita! Only ten seconds to go!” Jeremie fretted, “…Nine…. Eight… Seven…”

“Okay I get the picture. I’m gonna make it!” Aelita breathed, beating her wings as hard as she could.

“…Three…. Two…” Aelita pressed the button gingerly, “Phew!” Jeremie sighed.

“Okay now, let’s get my father to a tower before those nasty mantas come around!” Aelita declared, and they all followed her lead, “You’ll be safe here, Daddy.” She whispered, as she left him in a tower, “Alright, Jeremie! Time for a return to the past!”

“Right! Return to the past now!” The light of the super computer encompassed the world, and they went back in time.

“Listen, Ulrich. I have a confession to make.” Yumi grabbed his wrist.

“What?”

“I was seeing William, but that was wrong. Ulrich, I only really love you. I see that now.” They both blushed.

Meanwhile, Sissi, Jeremie and Aelita had some important matters to discuss.

“Sissi, the fact that you were able to deactivate the tower all on your own, not to mention your pink hair on Lyoko can mean only one thing.” Jeremie told her matter-of-factly.

“What?” Sissi and Aelita cocked their heads in unison.

“Why, you two must be sisters!” he chuckled.

“Sisters? But how is that possible, unless Sissi’s adopted…” Aelita furrowed her eyebrow.

“I am, Aelita.”

“That means that…. That my, I mean our mother must be still alive. If she had a child within the last thirteen years, they wouldn’t keep her alive for a decade and do away with her then, so my mother is still out there somewhere.” Aelita sighed.

“We’ll find her, and we’ll get her back for you.” Jeremie swore solemnly, putting a hand on Aelita’s shoulder.

“I hope so."