Jeremie was vaguely aware of Odd, then William, falling out of the scanner, but couldn't tear his gaze away from the computer. The moment William was out, XANA had cut all communications. He was getting no audio or video, and the scanner was only transmitting electrostatic discharge. Aelita was the one trapped with that monster, but it was Jeremie who felt cut off, isolated, lost.

A hand gently gripped his shoulder, and he turned to meet Richard's soft, encouraging smile. "You're worried about her, aren't you?"

"Of course."

"So am I, but we need to trust Aelita. She's always been the kind of girl who tries to see the best in other people; compassionate, but still a good judge of character. If she thinks some part of XANA can be reached by her staying, she may be right."

"XANA's not a person," Jeremie said, bristling. "He-it's a computer program."

Who did Richard think he was? What did he know about Lyoko? Or XANA? Certainly not more than Jeremie. He hadn't been there. He hadn't lived through that war. XANA was a monster, plain and simple.

And now he was back. After all they'd gone through, he was back. The fighting, the fear, all of it was going to start again. The hopelessness of it made Jeremie want to find a hole in the ground, curl up, and wait for death.

Richard shrugged. "Maybe. But she also said he was that childhood friend of hers. That has to be worth something. Either way, it was her decision to make, and for now we need to respect that."

Jeremie just shook his head and turned away. If he'd been able to find a way to get Aelita out, he would have, her wishes be damned. But with only one scanner, he couldn't materialize more than one at a time, and leaving Odd or William was the equivalent of killing them himself.

He took stock of the room. The Ishiyamas were clutching hands, faces pale with worry for their daughter. Odd sat slumped on the ground with his head bowed in shame. Next to him, William was nodding off. Stern stood by the door, arms crossed and scowling.

Dad, who was studying the computer over Jeremie's shoulder, shot Stern a disgusted glare. "Could you be any less concerned for your son, Walter?"

And then there was that. More inter-party drama, albeit deserved.

To say his and Yumi's parents didn't get along with Ulrich's father was a massive understatement. The entire time they'd been working, they'd refused to address him directly unless it was to make some scathing remark on his betrayal. He'd even seen Mr. Ishiyama ask Yumi to 'tell Stern…' like he was their age. And Dad? Dad was extremely laid-back and non-confrontational; for him to actively provoke someone, well...Jeremie couldn't even imagine the amount of animosity it would take.

Or maybe he could. The very definition of animosity was standing right there, after all.

"Of course I'm concerned. I just don't feel the need to sit around boo-hooing about it when there's work to be done."

"You didn't even give the boy a hug before he went in! What if that's the last time you see him?"

"Perhaps a hug would be acceptable for a girl, but a growing young man has no need of such softness."

"Do you know the slightest thing about children?" It was Mr. Ishiyama who spoke now. "My own son-"

"I didn't ask for your opinion."

"Enough," Hertz snapped, voice lashing like a whip. For a moment, Jeremie heard the echo of the army major in that command. "We have more pressing concerns than arguing amongst ourselves. It doesn't look like we have any way to reach either group, so we should break for the night and rendezvous in the morning."

She gestured to William. "First, we need to get him back to Kadic so he can get some actual sleep. I'd also like to run him by Nurse Yolanda, just in case."

"Hear that, Will?" Odd said, nudging the other boy. "You just need to stay awake until we get back to Kadic, 'cause I sure as heck can't carry you."

The dark-haired boy jerked up and blinked rapidly, looking much like he'd been caught texting in class. "What? I wasn't...fallin' asleep…'s too much to do…"

Jeremie's throat tightened. Yes. Far too much. He had to find a way to rescue everyone, edit his anti-XANA virus to be stronger and need less power, deal with the Green Phoenix...

Addressing the adults, Professor Hertz said, "As for you all, I'll speak with Principal Delmas about preparing rooms."

"Oh, no need," Mrs. Ishiyama interjected. "Takeho and I have a house nearby. Michel can stay in a spare room, and Richard too-I'm sure hotel prices are exorbitant."

The young man blushed and scrubbed the back of his head. "Yeah…I mean, I'm an engineer, so money's not exactly a problem, but this isn't really how I wanted to spend it."

"Wait, you have a job?" Odd blinked.

"Yeah, of course. When I realized this trip was gonna take longer than I thought, I called and used up all my vacation days. I wasn't really gonna go anywhere anyway."

"I notice I'm not offered a room." Stern interrupted, glaring at the Ishiyamas with crossed arms.

"With the money you got from selling us out, you can afford a hotel," Mrs. Ishiyama said in a chilly voice.

"That's that, then." Professor Hertz sighed. "Now all I have to do is explain Aelita, Ulrich, Yumi, and Eva's disappearances to the principal…"

At the reminder, gloom settled on the group and stayed as they began to pack up. When they began to file out, Jeremie lingered at the back, staring at the computer. He suddenly wished Aelita had never discovered this second room.

For the second time in the last ten minutes, a hand fell on his shoulder. Jeremie blinked rapidly, recognizing instantly the familiar feel of his father's long fingers. "It's going to be alright, Jeremie," Dad said. "We'll get them all back, safe and sound. Especially Aelita."

Jeremie allowed himself one moment of comfort. Then, he took a deep breath, said "Thanks, Dad," and hurried away. While hope was all well and good, it was hard work that produced results. And a long night of sleep sounded nice, but a night of working in the comfort in his room sounded even better. XANA was back; every second Jeremie wasn't working on a way to stop him and rescue his friends was a second wasted.

They kept to the ground, ducking into buildings and skulking in shadows to reduce the chances of being seen by Mantas. So far, it was working well. Too well; Yumi's nerves were on fire the longer they went without being attacked.

It wasn't like she wanted to be ambushed by Mantas or who knows what else. But it didn't take long for Ulrich and William to get attacked when they'd entered the First City-less than ten minutes. She didn't know how much time had passed, but it felt a lot longer than that, and there was no sign of any monsters.

And Eva…

She glanced at the girl, walking beside her. She seemed way too at ease here. And-was it just her, or had her lips just mouthed 'Memory download complete'?

"Did you say something, Eva?"

"Hmm?" Eva blinked innocently-too innocently, in Yumi's opinion. "No, I'm just talking to myself."

Right, and I'm the Prime Minister of Japan.

Up ahead, Ulrich had stopped and was looking about in puzzlement again. They were standing at the end of a suburb with dry, dead grass and potholes. Ahead of them, the road split into two directions; more buildings clustered around the one to the right, while the one to the left pointed at a forest area. "Hey, everything okay, Ulrich?" Yumi called.

"Yeah, I'm good. It's just really hard to find my way back; everything looks so different from the ground." After a moment of hesitation, he started down the left path.

"No, not that way," Eva said suddenly. She pointed to the right. "That's the way we should go."

"Uh, okay, but how…"

Ulrich's half-hearted question died as the blonde strutted forth, not even stopping to spare either of her companions a glance. The suspicion in Yumi's stomach coiled like a rattlesnake, shaking its tail in warning.

With sure strides, Eva led them to a small square. A large fountain dominated the center, with statues of angels holding trumpets. While the statue was in good condition, only a pathetic trickle of water dripped from the instruments. Peering into the basin, Yumi saw there was about an inch of water there. In the city's heyday, this must have been a grand sight. But now, it was only a sad monument to something lost.

Shadows fell over the ground. Large, triangular-Mantas! Instinctively, Yumi and Ulrich fell into combat stances, reaching for weapons. Cold fear closed around Yumi's throat when her fingers brushed nothing but air. That's right. Her fans didn't exist here, for whatever reason.

But-wait. The Mantas was flying away. Like they hadn't even seen them. And Eva...

Eva hadn't faltered or even tried to hide. She was heading towards a narrow road between the houses as the end of the square.

Yumi was positive that road had not been there before.

She stopped short and grabbed Ulrich's arm. He glanced at her quizzically. "Trust me," she hissed, then raised her voice to call after-whoever, whatever, this third person was. "Who are you?"

The thing that looked like a girl came to a halt. Turned. Furrowed her brow. It was an attempt at innocent confusion; Ulrich looked hesitant, but Yumi wasn't fooled. "Those Mantas passed right by and didn't even see us. You walk around like you own this place. You've always seemed like you had a secret. And now, you've opened an alleyway that wasn't there a minute ago. So, again: who are you?"

"Yes," the thing said in a calm voice, "I suppose there's no point maintaining this facade any longer."

She fell to her knees and convulsed as thick, black smoke poured out of her mouth and nose. Yumi's muscles reflexively seized as the smoke coalesced, becoming a tall, young man with long dark hair. A very familiar one. Fight! Yumi's brain screamed. It's William, he's under XANA's control again!

No. William was in the Mirror, and this doppelganger's clothes were a lot different than William's-more like a knight's. He had a black tabard with a tight, long-sleeved black shirt and pants underneath. His gloves, his boots, and the cape around his shoulders-all black. An Eye of XANA was emblazoned on his chest, gleaming blood red. He looked like he would suck all the light out of a room just by being in it. There was absolutely no doubt who he was.

"XANA," she hissed, reaching for her fans-which weren't there. How is he alive?! Next to her, Ulrich was shifting into a ready stance, fists raised.

XANA didn't reply, he just turned around and started walking away. Yumi's temper flared. He was treating them like they weren't even a threat!

She exchanged a glance with Ulrich, trying to transmit a plan with her eyes. Surround and take him out in five seconds.

He nodded. Bunching his legs, Ulrich Super Sprinted past XANA and stopped in front of him, blocking his way. Yumi readied herself behind him. They circled, keeping XANA between them. He looked bored and vaguely irritated.

"Don't bother-" he began, but then they charged.

XANA dropped to the ground, ducking under Ulrich's roundhouse kick. It flew at Yumi; she barely leaned back in time to avoid it, her own attack aborted. Ulrich stumbled from the overextension. Before either could do anything, XANA swung a leg around, spinning three hundred sixty degrees. The ground briefly disappeared as Yumi was swept off her feet-

The air was knocked out of her as his foot connected with her solar plexus, sending her flying back. Yumi hit the ground and gasped for air.

"Yumi!" Ulrich exclaimed. He'd been knocked down by XANA's sweep too, but not kicked away; he was still near the young man. With blazing eyes, he leapt up and threw a punch-

And froze, his fist centimeters from XANA's face. Yumi tried to catch her breath-she had to get up, had to go help him-she managed to get to her feet-

"Tiresome," the AI sighed as he lowered his hand, palm facing down.

A sudden gust of wind ripped through the area. Yumi cried out as she was lifted up and thrown into the wall of a house. Pain slammed into her entire left side. She slid down, resisting the urge to whimper. Next to her, a dazed Ulrich moaned.

XANA thrust his arms out. Two identical plumes of smoke shot through the air, one towards Ulrich, one towards her. Winded and on the ground, she didn't even get to try to dodge before she was engulfed in smoke. Her limbs snapped against her body. She gritted her teeth. No matter how she struggled, she couldn't move them. She tried to tap into her Telekinesis, but it was hard to breathe, hard to focus-

"Now that you're incapacitated, try listening to me again," XANA said. "Don't bother. Even if you somehow destroy my avatar, it won't stop me. I'm not just here, I'm everywhere."

Yumi craned her neck, trying to catch a glimpse of Ulrich. Her boyfriend was glaring as he snapped, "Do you really think we're gonna let you off the hook?"

The AI smiled. There was no warmth in it. "I'm the one letting you off the hook. I need to find Professor Hopper; I don't have time to waste on you."

Ulrich started laughing. Yumi was tempted to join him. Instead she deadpanned, "Right. You're really just gonna let us go back to the Hermitage."

"Of course not. I've closed off communication channels with the real world, so don't count on Belpois rescuing you either."

So they truly were alone here. Worse, no one knew XANA was back. Yumi clenched her fists.

Before her racing mind could find a way out of this, the smoke disappeared suddenly, dumping her in a graceless heap on the ground. Shakily, Yumi got up, trying to fight off nausea. Ulrich was getting to his feet, tensed as if to attack again. As if in warning, the smoke slithered around his ankles. They both froze in fearful anticipation.

However, something unexpected happened. XANA cocked his head to one side and said, "Now listen very closely, and try to think wisely. While we've been talking, I've been examining the codes of the recording Hopper left."

So what? Yumi wondered. Why was he telling them this?

XANA continued, "In the First City, the system recognizes me as Guardian, and that usually gives me rights to anything I want. But in this case, there's a very specific requirement for accessing Hopper's recording. It needs to detect the absence of Guardianship to play. Whether this means Hopper was trying to exclude me specifically, or if the file contains information I would find redundant, I don't know. But I intend to find out."

Yumi followed the unspoken implication to its logical conclusion. "And for that you need us." She dared to add, "A lot more than we need you, it sounds like."

XANA smirked, arrogance flashing in his dark, blood red eyes. "Oh, little fool. I can personally guarantee that without me, you will never find that park."

Her mouth dried.

There was a moment of silence as XANA let that sink in; then, Ulrich drew a deep breath. "If we agree, what about Eva?" He asked, and Yumi felt ashamed that she hadn't thought of that. "We can't leave her here."

XANA gave the unconscious girl an apathetic look. "I suppose she did serve well as a vessel."

He waved a hand, and the stones underneath Eva started to rise. They curled around her protectively, smoothing and turning transparent as they did, until they were a single sheet of glass. The structure continued to rise, the new stones at the base maintaining their opaqueness. Finally, XANA's Eye carved itself into a button at the bottom-a release mechanism, Yumi guessed.

She studied the crystal coffin closely. Within, Eva's hair was fanned out around her head, and her eyes were closed. She looked like some punk version of Sleeping Beauty.

She snorted. What the hell does XANA know about fairy tales?

"She won't be attacked in there, right?" she asked, still not trusting this strange thing or the dark young man watching them.

"Of course not," XANA scoffed. "My monsters love to play, but she's under my protection. For now. Now let's go."

And with that, he turned and strode away, even though they hadn't really agreed.

Then again, all three of them knew they didn't have a choice.

June 3rd, 1994

When the world reformed around her, Aelita found herself standing in the Hermitage's attic. Daddy was hunched over the enormous desk, muttering to himself. His pen slashed back and forth, while innumerable, crumpled balls of paper littered the ground at his feet. Even as she watched, he slammed his pen down, crushed his current sheet, and violently threw it to the floor. "It's no use!"

Shoving away from the desk, he paced back and forth. "I can divide Code Down, but Lyoko itself...I don't have any way of storing that! None of my disks can register all that data alone. But if I spread the backup across multiple disks, that just increases the chances of it falling in the wrong hands!"

Aelita watched him yank fistfuls of his hair. She was acutely aware of XANA standing next to her, not super close or anything, but close enough that if he wanted to, he could summon a sword and stab her. She wouldn't have time to react.

So why hadn't she moved away?

She cast a furtive glance his way in time to see the corner of his mouth tipping up. "I'm not going to attack you, you know."

Aelita wrapped her arms around her stomach. "I know." And that, truthfully, was why. That was why she hadn't pressed herself into the far side of the room or summoned any Energy Fields. Not now or during the other memories they'd watched. Even if she couldn't relax, she did...trust him, to some extent, to not attack. At least not while he was showing her the Mirror.

She flinched as memories resurfaced, of him waiting at the entrance of the First City, a twinkle in his eyes and a smirk on his lips, smug in the knowledge he was going to surprise her with whatever new place he'd found. Or the newest trick he'd discovered. Or the latest idea he'd had.

This situation could be no different than that. If she ignored the murder and betrayal.

Did she want to?

No. No, she didn't. Whatever they'd once had, it was...it could never be like that again.

Footsteps drew her attention. Aelita glanced in their direction and inhaled sharply. Coming up the attic stairs was her. Or, well, a younger version of her, not that there was much difference. Her past self had more baby fat on her face, but Aelita hadn't gained a single centimeter of height, and still wore her hair in the same pixie cut.

"Daddy? I heard shouting...is everything alright?"

He groaned. "No, it isn't. Lyoko still has a lot of problems I haven't been able to fix, and even worse, I'm struggling to find enough disk space to bring it with us."

"I see...I'm sorry to hear that."

She said that, but the contrite expression seemed to be for more than just his struggles. Daddy took one look at her and sighed. "I have a feeling I know what you're about to ask, but...go ahead."

The words emerged in a rapid gush, like she was trying to get them out before she lost her nerve. "Have you changed your mind about XANA?"

"He's going to have to stay, I told you. Do you know how many gigabytes he takes up? If I had the space to spare for him, I'd be putting Lyoko in it instead!"

Her younger self's shoulders drooped. "...I know. But I don't want to leave him here, chained to Lyoko and the First City…"

Daddy's face softened, and he placed his hands on her shoulders. "It's for the best, honey. You need to trust me."

"I do. It's just…" She stopped and bit her lip so hard, Aelita could see beads of blood.

"Just what?"

Younger-Aelita's face worked for several minutes. "I hate this!" the girl finally burst out. "We finally got to settle down, and then they had to come back, and now we have to leave everyone again, and you and Ms. Suzanne are working so hard to keep us safe, and I can't do anything to help! I hate it!"

For a moment, Daddy just observed her. The light glinted off his glasses, briefly obscuring his eyes behind the glare. His hands clenched, relaxed, clenched again. Finally, as if coming to a decision, he let out a long exhale.

"There may be something...but I don't know if it's a good idea. I don't know what kind of an effect it will have on you."

Her younger self perked up. "If you need me, you can count on me, Daddy. No matter what!"

She darted forward and pecked him on the cheek. He sighed, one hand stroking the back of her head. "Alright...perhaps everything will work out after all."

"And now," XANA drawled, "Hopper's trap is set."

Turning away from the scene, Aelita frowned. "His what?"

"Come on, Aelita, I know you're intelligent. Hopper wants to back up Lyoko, but he doesn't have the space. You walk in, and he suddenly has the perfect solution. Where do you think he put it?"

Ice-cold water trickled down her spine. "You're wrong. Daddy wouldn't do that to me."

"Really? Because it seems to me like it would kill two birds with one stone. He gets a backup of Lyoko stored, and he gets easy access to your memories to erase me."

"I still only have your word that's true," she said, but it took her a second longer than it should have.

Judging from the twitch at the corner of his mouth, he'd noticed. But for once, he held his tongue.

XANA strolled to the wall and leaned against it, hooded eyes on her. Firmly ignoring his stare, Aelita instead returned her gaze to the lost memory. If her younger self and Daddy had spoken more about Daddy's problem, she'd missed it. Instead, past-Aelita was piling Daddy's notes in a stack, pulling out a dusty chessboard, asking him to relax. An ache resonated through her heart as she watched the two of them sit on the attic floor and set up the board.

It wasn't important to the mission. If Jeremie had been here, he probably would have wanted her to keep moving. XANA was letting her linger, but was it out of genuine kindness, or was he just manipulating her? Surely the Daddy who making horse noises as he moved his knight to bring a giggle from her wouldn't do what XANA said he'd done.

After Daddy won, he rose, saying it was time to go back to work. As they separated, Aelita took a deep breath and locked all her feelings deep inside to contemplate later. "Alright. Let's jump to the next one."

XANA pushed off the wall, moved closer, and held his hand out. She managed not to tremble when she laid her hand in his. He'd fixed her remote, and he probably could have just hacked his way to the next location, but...it was easier to travel together. That was all.

She pressed fast-forward, and they were whisked away again.

A/N: Do you ever wonder if XANA ever thought about downloading a backup of himself onto a USB drive? Because now I do. Though he probably wouldn't be able to fit on one, it's still a funny thought to me.