The Lyoko Warriors + 1

Beneath Kadic Academy…

After climbing down the forest's manhole cover, Jeremie, Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi all entered a local sewer system. It was filled to the brim with various tunnels and walkways that each led to different locations within Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris' most populated suburb. One specific location was the abandoned factory where Lyoko's supercomputer resided.

Water was present in the middle of the sewer, so the group ran along the leftmost sidewalk. There, three skateboards and a gray scooter were leaning against the wall.

While running, Jeremie attempted to explain the predicament Goku was unintentionally thrust into.

"Wait, hold up, Einstein! Are you saying that if Goku gets devirtualized even once, he'll be gone for good?!" Odd asked in shock.

Jeremie nodded. "Afraid so. He's in the same boat as Aelita right now."

"Poor guy. I can't imagine what he's feeling right now." Yumi said. She, along with Ulrich and Odd, grabbed one of the three skateboards.

"Actually, he seems to be taking the situation rather well. He's…erm…not exactly the brightest, but he did manage to destroy three Krabs with relative ease." Jeremie explained. The others looked impressed by this feat.

"Woah. Guess his martial arts skills carried over to Lyoko then, huh?" Ulrich smirked.

"Man, this Goku kid's starting to sound better and better the more you talk about him! I would have liked to see stupid ol' X.A.N.A.'s face when that happened. Hehe."

"Heh. Same here." Jeremie lightly chuckled. He then grimaced, holding a hand over his chin. "Though, X.A.N.A.'s role in all of this is getting me a bit concerned."

"What do you mean?" Yumi asked.

"Well, from what Goku told me, X.A.N.A. was the one that contributed to his virtualization. He even saw his symbol and everything on a few computer monitors at the Red Ribbon Army base. It all seems so…suspicious, don't you think?"

Odd, Yumi, and Ulrich awkwardly stared at one another in silence. This fact made Goku's unexpected arrival even more strange and concerning than before. What could X.A.N.A. want with some fighter from a completely separate country? It just didn't make any sense.

Jeremie positioned himself on the scooter and said, "We'll talk about this later. For now, we need to make sure Goku and Aelita are doing okay."

"Right."

The four kids then rode across the walkway on their respective scooter and skateboards. They kept moving forward until a ladder was reached. It was located near a massive gate separating this portion of the sewer system from another, more intricate one.

They set their modes of transportation aside, and hurriedly climbed up the ladder. As they drew closer to the top, Jim managed to catch up with them. He jogged at a fairly sluggish pace before bending his knees and panting from exhaustion.

"Ha…ha…those darn kids. I-I knew they were up to something…" Jim grumbled. He wiped some sweat off his brow and gasped for breath. Despite being a gym teacher, he, ironically enough, seemed to be pretty out of shape.

"Phew! T-That's it. No more donuts for you, Jim." Jim muttered to himself. He then looked at his growling stomach. "Well, maybe just one more…or two tops. Yeah, that's good."

Suddenly, one of the pipes attached to the sewer's ceiling started to rattle. A black cloud oozed out of the pipe and snaked its way toward Jim. Unfortunately, he wasn't perceptive enough to notice the cloud tightly wrapping around his legs and body.

"Huh? Why is my leg starting to itch like—" Jim gasped to see that a spectral entity of sorts was inching closer to his face. "What the hell?!"

Before he could properly retaliate, the specter slithered down Jim's throat and enveloped him in dark energy. This caused Jim's body to write around in agony.

"Gaaaagh!" He screamed. Seconds continued to pass until Jim remained completely still. With his eyes closed, Jim stood back up in a slow, unsettling manner.

"Hahaha!" Jim laughed sinisterly. He opened his eyes to reveal a black Eye of X.A.N.A. where both pupils used to be.

Flickering with static, the newly possessed Jim looked up at the ladder. He snarled, deciding to jump through the exit at inhuman speeds rather than climb it.

The Lyoko Warriors, meanwhile, ran along a suspension bridge leading to the factory. It was a gray, metallic structure that stood directly above a river the sewers drained waste and other materials into.

As they drew closer to the factory's entrance, Odd noted, "You know, I'm surprised Mr. Big, Mean, and Scary hasn't tried to attack us yet. Guess he got a little tuckered out after trying to fire that laser at Yumi."

In that moment, Jim leapt out of the hole and slammed his right fist on the bridge upon landing. This, surprisingly, caused part of its metal surface to dent and cave in on itself.

He bared his teeth, causing the X.A.N.A. symbols in both eyes to flicker. "Hrrggh!"

"You just had to say something." Ulrich grumbled.

Odd rolled his eyes. "Oh, lighten up. It's just Jim."

"Focus, Odd! Jim's strength and speed were probably multiplied by the Spectre possessing his body." Jeremie stated nervously. He then glanced at his three friends and said, "Yumi, come with me to the basement. You guys try to hold off Jim for as long as you can."

"Easier said than done, Einstein, but alright." Ulrich shrugged. He stood protectively in front of Yumi and Jeremie, so they could reach the elevator unharmed.

"Yeah, the two of us can handle Jimbo here just fine." Odd stated with confidence. He then took another look at Jim's imposing form and slightly gulped. "I think…"

Jeremie darted his eyes from Ulrich to Odd, nodding. "Okay. Let's go, Yumi."

They hurriedly went down a staircase in the factory's upper floor and grabbed ahold of two ropes hanging from the ceiling. Before leaving, Yumi glared at Odd and Ulrich.

"You two better make it out of this alive!" She warned. Her and Jeremie then swung off the balcony, much to Jim's rage.

"Out of my way!" He shouted in an almost demonic voice. The possessed gym teacher dashed from the bridge to the factory in mere seconds, but was stopped by Ulrich.

The 8th grader got into a fighting stance and swung his leg at Jim's stomach. "Hyaah!"

Unfortunately, Jim anticipated this move and clutched Ulrich's foot with his hand. He sinisterly chuckled, beginning to squeeze it tighter and tighter.

"Gaaaagh!" Ulrich cried out in pain. He was then thrown like a ragdoll, and smacked against a railing near the stairs. Thankfully, he was lucky enough not to fall off.

While Ulrich struggled to get up, Odd clenched his fist and lunged at Jim.

"How 'bout you pick on someone not even close to your own size, Jim!"

He attempted to punch Jim in the chest, but failed. The gym teacher managed to evade him at the last second and smash his fist directly into Odd's stomach. The force put into this punch was much greater than Odd's by a large margin.

"Doof!" Odd coughed up a wad of fresh saliva as he was sent flying off the factory's upper floor. He plummeted toward the bottom floor, unable to prevent himself from falling in time.

"Oh no, no, no!"

Thinking fast, Odd ignored the nauseous feeling in his stomach and grasped one of the ropes. He used all of his remaining strength to stop himself in place and hang on for dear life.

"Yeesh! I've climbed the rope in gym class before, but this is ridiculous!"

Below, Yumi and Jeremie made their way into the elevator. It was a wooden cube-like structured that was connected to the factory's electrical system through various cables and cords. A single lightbulb was there to keep it illuminated when in use.

Yumi looked up at Odd as he helplessly dangled from the rope. "Should we really leave them alone like this?"

"It's better than him leading to the factory, Yumi. Besides, given his abilities, Goku might not even need help protecting Aelita. The tower could be deactivated any moment now." Jeremie replied.

"I hope you're right."

Jeremie then pressed a red button, causing a garage door to descend from above. The elevator then whirred to life, and sailed down to the factory's lowest floor. After a few more seconds, the elevator came to a sudden halt.

"Head to the Scanners, Yumi. Make sure to check in with Goku and Aelita once you're virtualized." Jeremie instructed.

"Got it!" Yumi nodded in understanding.

Jeremie then left the elevator and entered a small laboratory. The elevator doors closed shut, revealing a yellow, circular lock that was tightly bound together with multiple parts. It almost resembled a gear in terms of overall shape and appearance.

Yumi then rode the elevator to another facility, the Scanner Room. Located directly beneath the lab, it was a room filled with three Scanners that were connected to both the supercomputer and laboratory via wires. These wires were located above and below each Scanner, showing how much energy was required to power these devices.

Sighing, she entered the centermost Scanner and patiently waited for Jeremie's signal.

Within the laboratory, Jeremie sat down in a yellow-gray chair with black armrests. It spun around in a complete circle, causing Jeremie to practically orbit a complete Holomap of Lyoko. It displayed all four sectors and Lyoko's very core in one single, 3-Dimensional image.

Jeremie stopped in front of a computer interface with four monitors and a keyboard. Placing a small communicator in one of his ears, the would-be programmer quickly typed some commands into the keyboard. This brought up Yumi's ID Card, a virtual map of the Desert Sector, and its activated Tower. Red icons also indicated the presence of X.A.N.A.'s monsters, along with both Goku and Aelita.

"Transfer, Yumi." Jeremie announced. A 3D model of Yumi's Lyoko avatar was displayed in green on the central monitor.

"Scanner, Yumi." A red line highlighted Yumi's entire body as it slowly spun around. The model changed into a slightly lighter green as well.

"Virtualization!"

Lyoko, Desert Sector

Some distance away from the activated Tower, Yumi consciousness was successfully transported into Lyoko. Her digital avatar resembled that of a Japanese Geisha with long, black boots that were wrapped around by bandages. She wore red pants, a red-black dress with white floral patterns, and a yellow, tightly bound slash held together by strings. Along with having white sleeves, Yumi's was a bit paler with pink flush and red lipstick. Her hair was also tied into a short bun on the top with a red band.

She stood up straight and looked around the area. Almost immediately, Yumi managed to spot Aelita hiding behind some rocks.

"Well, that was fast…" Yumi muttered in relief. "I found Aelita, Jeremie."

"Good. I believe Goku is dealing with two Megatanks right now, so stay close to her." Jeremie replied from the real world.

Yumi's eyes widened. "Two Megatanks?! Are you sure he doesn't need help? Dealing with one is already tough as is."

Suddenly, Yumi heard the explosion of a destroyed Megatank. It appeared that they weren't nearly as tough as she thought.

"Does that answer your question?" Jeremie said in amusement.

"Yeah. Guess I shouldn't be surprised." She nodded. This was a World Martial Arts Tournament finalist they were talking about, after all. Even X.A.N.A.'s monsters were child's play for a person that strong.

Yumi then caught up with Aelita. She attempted to tap Aelita on the shoulder to get her attention.

"Hey, Princess. Long time no—"

"Kaaaa…Meee…"

The Japanese girl was silenced by Goku's recognizable chant. She didn't even think such a move could be possible in Lyoko, but apparently, it was.

"Haaa…Meee…"

Yumi was forced to shield her eyes once a blue ball of ki materialized within Goku's hands. Regardless, she was still able to spot traces of the Megatank charging up its laser.

"HAAAAAAAAAA!"

Goku's Kamehameha and the Megatank's blast powerfully clashed together. Although they remained stuck in place at first, the sheer power of the Kamehameha Wave proved too much for X.A.N.A.'s remaining monster. It completely obliterated the red blast and engulfed the Megatank in blue, fiery energy. Shattering its Eye of X.A.N.A. into a million pieces, the tank was completely incinerated upon impact. There wasn't even an explosion to speak of; just nothing.

With no more monsters in sight, Goku finally relaxed his hands and took a deep breath. He looked satisfied, yet disappointed at the same time.

"Man, I was hoping it'd last longer than that." Goku muttered. He then shrugged his shoulders and beamed. "Ah well! At least I can use the Kamehameha here. That should make things a bit easier, I think."

Aelita was stunned speechless by the appearance of Goku's signature technique. She would have remained completely still if Yumi hadn't tapped her on the shoulder.

"The Kamehameha Wave's pretty impressive, isn't it?" Yumi asked.

Aelita turned her body around in surprise. "Are you familiar with that…that blast, Yumi?"

"I wouldn't say familiar, but I've heard of it. It's basically a beam of compressed energy invented by the Turtle Hermit, Master Roshi. Only the strongest martial arts are able to perform it successfully."

Goku walked up to the two, nodding enthusiastically. "Yep! That's pretty much all there is to know about it…erm…"

"Yumi Ishiyama. Nice to meet you. My dad was pretty a big fan of yours at the last World Martial Arts Tournament." Yumi bowed with a smile on her face.

"Huh, really? I didn't think I was that popular. Hehe." Goku sniggered. He honestly forgot there was an audience for some of his fights in general.

"Not to interrupt your conversation, guys, but I think it'd be best if Aelita activated the Tower right away." Jeremie advised.

"Oh right. Are there any more monsters we need to deal with, Jeremie?"

"I don't believe so. From what I can tell, it seems that Goku's managed to defeat the last few. The only one remaining is the Spectre possessing Jim back here."

"Spectre? What's that supposed to be?" Goku wondered.

"They're computer programs that sneak their way into the real world. X.A.N.A. uses them to possess innocent people, including, in this case, our school's gym teacher, Jim." Yumi replied.

"Hmph. This X.A.N.A. jerk really doesn't seem to like fighting his own battles." Goku glowered in disgust.

"Well, it's whole lot more complicated than that, but good point. X.A.N.A. will do anything to get what he wants, no matter how cowardly or cruel." Jeremie coldly affirmed. "Our other two friends, Odd and Ulrich, are fending him off right now, so we need to hurry."

"Ohh! So that's why Yumi's the only one here." Goku said, curious to know what type of people Ulrich and Odd were. He hoped they were pretty strong in Lyoko, at least.

"Yeah…and they could be in serious danger." Yumi exclaimed in worry.

Aelita furrowed her eyebrows and glared at the activated Tower.

"Then there's no time to lose. I'll go on ahead, Jeremie!" She stated determinedly. The elven girl then ran to the tower as fast as she possibly could.

"Odd, Ulrich…Please hang in there." Aelita thought.

Back in the Factory

"Ahhhhh!"

Odd was haphazardly flung off of the rope by Jim. He roughly landed flat on his back, causing a jolt of pain to surge through Odd's spinal cord.

"Heh. T-That's one way to cure back pain…" He weakly laughed. The blonde-haired boy then saw Jim sliding down the rope, and preparing to land feetfirst onto his head.

"Yikes!"

Odd rolled to the side at the last second. Jim smashed his feet into the factory's floor, causing large chunks of pavement to fly about in different directions.

Jim glared down at Odd. He then took notice of the factory's elevator and grinned from ear-to-ear, already plotting to take out the brains behind this little operation. Odd took note of this plan right away.

"If you think anything's gonna happen to Einstein on my watch, then you've got another thing coming, jerk!" Odd shouted.

An enraged Jim clenched his fists, preparing to smash both of them down onto Odd. "Die!"

"Hraaah!"

Suddenly, Ulrich swung down from one of the ropes and kicked Jim right in the stomach. This sent him flying away from Odd, bouncing off the floor with a firm, hard snap.

Ulrich, still injured from Jim's prior attack, limped closer to Odd, so he could give him a hand. Odd accepted this gesture wholeheartedly, and stood up straight.

"Thanks, man. I owe you one." He gratefully stated.

"Don't thank me yet. The big guy's coming back for more." Ulrich grimaced. He pointed to Jim, who was currently getting back up without so much as a scratch on him.

"W-Who…knew Jim could be this tough?" Odd asked.

"X.A.N.A. monster or not, Jim is stronger than he looks. Keep in mind that he's the one who taught me and Yumi the martial art, Pencak Silat, back at Kadic." Ulrich informed.

Odd slumped his shoulders. "Yeah, I remember. It's just really hard to believe."

To their chagrin, Jim cracked his neck and knuckles with a malicious grin. A shadowy aura surrounded his body as he dashed at the two kids. He punched Odd square in the cheek and, as if he were holding a grudge, elbowed Ulrich directly in the stomach.

Jim's enhanced strength made their pain even more indescribable than usual. All they could do was lie on the ground, and desperately pray that Aelita deactivated the Tower in time.

"T-This isn't the right time to make a nose job joke, huh?" Odd joked as he held a hand over his broken, bloodied nose.

"There's a never right time for that. Now, get back up, Odd! We can't quit now!" Ulrich seethed. He shakily got onto his feet, but was unable to endure the damage done to his internal organs.

To make matters worse, Jim, the Eye of X.A.N.A. still flickering in his two pupils, grabbed ahold of their throats and held them up skyward. He tightly squeezed them, causing Odd and Ulrich to be deprived of fresh air for seconds on end.

"Gah…Can't breathe…" Odd choked out. Ulrich tried to break free, but the Spectre possessing Jim was simply far too strong.

"Hehehehe!" Jim laughed. Odd and Ulrich's faces were starting to turn a dark purple from extreme suffocation.

"Aelita…Jeremie…please…hurry…" Ulrich whispered. Time was running out and their heartbeats were becoming progressively fainter by the second, especially Odd's.

Lyoko, Desert Sector

Aelita ran to the tower and entered it. When inside, each step she took on the platform caused a section of Lyoko's symbol to glow white. She stopped on the central dot, causing her to float upward to the tower's other platform. This one was much smaller, yet still had the same basic appearance.

Once this platform glowed white, a digital interface appeared in front of Aelita. She pressed her hand on it, causing her name, AELITA, to be typed out in capital letters. Afterwards, the command, CODE LYOKO, was entered and officially, for a lack of a better term, activated.

"Tower Deactivated…" Aelita whispered. Closing her eyes, she stood in place as the blue files and bits of code surrounding the tower's walls descended below. They completely dispersed until everything underneath Aelita was pitch black.

Outside, Goku and Yumi saw the tower's aura change from bright red to white. This deactivation caused Goku to remember something Jeremie mentioned before.

"So, Jeremie. What exactly is the other thing that happens after Aelita deactivates a tower?" He asked curiously.

"Glad you asked, Goku. Allow me to demonstrate." Jeremie responded cryptically. "Return to the Past, now!"

Goku tilted his head to the side and said, "Return to what now?"

Before he could even get an answer to that question, a massive dome of white enveloped Lyoko and rewound time to about thirty to forty minutes prior.

The Factory

Inching closer to death, Odd and Ulrich were still being choked out by Jim. His grip was so strong that their oxygen supply was essentially null and void. Even Ulrich no longer had the energy to fight for his life anymore.

"I-I'm…sorry, Odd…I…tried…" Ulrich gurgled. Drool was starting to trickle out of his open mouth.

"We…both…did…don't blame yourself, dude…" Odd weakly murmured. His eyes almost rolled into the back of his head from sheer exhaustion and pain.

Their arms hung limp, no longer having any strength left to carry on. Rather than dark purple, their skin was now a deathly pale that would rival even the oldest of ghosts. They, at this point, were one step away from suffocating.

"BAHAHAHAHA!" Jim guffawed maniacally.

His laughing fit hen abruptly stopped. Due to Aelita's deactivation of the tower, his arms began to shake as the Spectre was forcibly ripped out of Jim's body.

"Noooooo!" It screamed. Black smoke oozed out of each pore before it completely vanished without a trace. Jim, no longer possessed, let go of Odd and Ulrich's throats, and then instantly fell unconscious from fatigue.

The boys were dropped onto the floor, wheezing and coughing in order to catch their breaths. They were far too exhausted to even try standing up.

"G-Good timing…Princess…" Odd chuckled in relief. He and Ulrich then saw the dome of white light engulf everything in sight and closed their eyes in contentment. The last thing they heard was the sound of a VHS being rewound before everything went blank.

Jeremie's Room, Kadic Academy, Age 750 (2003)

"Temporal what?!"

Goku was incredibly confused on a number of levels. For one, he found himself back in the tower Aelita and him just left, yet still remembered fighting Megatanks near the other one. And with Yumi gone, it was as if the past thirty minutes or so didn't even happen. All Goku could do was blankly stare at Jeremie through his computer screen, and try to understand his explanation.

"Temporal Reversion. In order to reverse any damage X.A.N.A. causes in the real world, the supercomputer is able to reverse time or, as I usually say, 'Return to the Past'. This wipes everyone's memories of X.A.N.A. and his attacks except for us." Jeremie explained in detail. "That's why you're able to remember destroying those two Megatanks despite it technically never happening."

As expected, Goku looked even more lost. "Going back in time? But how is some big computer able to do that?"

"That's something even we're not sure about, Goku. The reason I'm even in Lyoko is a mystery as well." Aelita chimed in.

"She's right. We've been battling X.A.N.A. for almost a year, and we still haven't discovered who created the supercomputer, Lyoko, and why." Jeremie grimaced in frustration. He adjusted his glasses and looked at Goku. "And with the fourth Scanner you were virtualized through, there's yet another mystery for us to solve, I suppose."

"Geez. I didn't know you guys were dealing with this stuff for that long. That's gotta be pretty tough sometimes."

"It is, but we've managed to ward off X.A.N.A. so far. Though, the Return to the Past feature has saved us from death multiple times over, so it's kind of a miracle that we have it." Jeremie pointed out.

"Death?"

"Yes. As Jeremie said before, X.A.N.A. will do anything to stop us from interfering with his plans. He's taken over satellites, alien costumes, buses, trains, and even innocent people; all of which he has used to prevent Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi from entering Lyoko." Aelita revealed in dismay.

Goku frowned and tightly balled his fists. "Then he's a bigger monster than I thought. Just like those Red Ribbon Army guys…"

Jeremie quirked a brow. He really needed to do some research on this Red Ribbon Army organization. Judging from Goku's body language and their supposed acquisition of a Scanner, there was definitely something suspicious about them. Maybe Odd was right about them being involved in the supercomputer's creation, after all. Although, with Odd, it was pretty hard to tell.

Aelita walked up to Goku and rested a delicate hand on his shoulder.

"X.A.N.A. may be dangerous, Goku, but it's alright now! We've managed to successfully deactivate the tower thanks to you. I'm grateful for that." She warmly proclaimed.

Goku smiled back with a toothy grin. "No problem! I'm just glad I was able to use the Kamehameha on those two Megatank things!"

"And I'm glad I saw it. It was truly incredible to witness up-close." Aelita said.

"I have to agree. That Kamehameha was probably one of the most powerful attacks I've seen on Lyoko." Jeremie begrudgingly admitted. "I guess I was wrong to assume these "ki blasts" were all special effects and light shows."

"Well, if you saw a tournament match in person, you wouldn't think that at all, I'm sure." Goku blankly stated the obvious. Jeremie deadpanned while Aelita struggled not to laugh.

"I'll take your word for it, Goku…" The bespectacled boy sighed. "Anyway, you two should stay in the tower. I'll bring my laptop over to class, so I can introduce you to Odd and Ulrich."

"Alright. Sounds good." Goku replied.

Jeremie then left the room and made his way back to Kadic Academy's front yard. Class hadn't started yet due to the Return to the Past feature's effects, so he still had some time to spare.

Outside of Kadic Academy

Jeremie quickly met up with Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi at the bench they were seated at before. Odd, despite being back to normal, could still recall the pain he felt from his fight against Jim.

"You know, Jim should really consider becoming a chiropractor or something. He did wonders for my back." Odd joked sarcastically.

Ulrich snorted. "Very funny, Odd. You should be relieved that he didn't choke us to death in time."

"Can't argue with you there. That would not be a good way to go out at all."

"Knock it off, you two. I'm trying to bring up Goku and Aelita onscreen." Jeremie remarked. He rigorously typed on his keyboard until the communicator with Goku and Aelita's faces on it was booted up.

"Morning, everyone!" Aelita greeted.

"The name's Goku! What's up, guys?" Goku nonchalantly waved.

Everyone waved back at Goku. Odd then slightly nudged Ulrich in the side.

"And here I thought I was the one with bad hair…" He whispered. "Pleasure to meet you, Goku. I'm Odd Della Robbia, or Odd for short, but you probably knew that already."

"Do you have two last names or something?" Goku wondered.

"Nah, it's just one. Pretty long, though, isn't it?"

"Yeah. My last name's Son, so I'm not used to big ones like that." Goku honestly admitted. "Heck, most of my friends don't even have one at all."

"Son Goku? Hmm. Something about that sounds very familiar…" Odd mused. He focused his attention on Goku's monkey tail, but ultimately brushed it off. "Ah well. It has a pretty nice ring to it."

"Thanks! Yours does too…I think."

"I'll take that as a compliment, man." Odd smirked.

Goku then turned his head to look at Ulrich. He was trying to act cool and aloof as usual.

"Ulrich Stern. I'm kind of a martial artist myself."

"Wait, really?! What type?" Goku asked in surprise.

"It's a system of martial arts from Indonesia called Pencak Silat. It focuses on forging the body into a weapon for offensive and defensive purposes." Ulrich described the style of martial arts he learned from Jim. "I'm still a little rusty, but me and Yumi have both practiced it fairly often outside of school."

"Not sure what an Indonesia is, but cool! I'll have to spar with you two on Lyoko someday and see how it stacks up against the Turtle Style." Goku expressed determinedly.

Glossing over his supposed unfamiliarity with Indonesia, Ulrich grew a bit nervous about fighting Goku.

"S-Sparring? I don't know if that'd be such a—"

"Sounds like fun, Goku! We'll take you on anytime; whenever X.A.N.A. isn't attacking, that is." Yumi interjected with an enthusiastic grin. She then winked at Ulrich, much to his embarrassment.

"I mean…sure. You did defeat three Krabs and two Megatanks at the same time, so fighting you could be cool, I guess." Ulrich muttered while scratching the back of his head.

"Good to hear! I've seen Yumi's, but what do you guys look like in Lyoko?" Goku asked in growing intrigue.

"I'm basically a samurai with a sword and all that. But I wouldn't want to spoil my other powers." Ulrich explained.

"My avatar's a cat person for the most part. I even have a tail just like yours." Odd said.

Curious by that fact, Goku looked down at his own tail as it wriggled around. He wondered if Odd's tail behaved in a similar manner.

"Ah, I see. I actually have this tail in the real world too." He stated matter-of-factly.

Even though Ulrich, Yumi, and Aelita already knew this, Jeremie was still befuddled by this piece of information.

"S-Say what?" He gulped.

"Oh yeah. I'm definitely going to like this guy. Haha." Odd chuckled in amusement. Anyone who could make Einstein speechless was alright from his perspective.

"Goku explained it to me, Jeremie. Apparently, he's had it since the day he was born." Aelita informed. "He also gets dizzy and tired whenever somebody grabs onto it."

"Well, I used to, but it got torn off about a month ago. Now, I'm not sure when it will grow back." Goku added.

Jeremie shook his head in disbelief. "Considering all the magical hoopla that happens in this world, I can't say I'm surprised. Let's just hope it doesn't grow back once you're materialized back into the real world.

"Heh. You said 'hoopla'." Odd giggled. Jeremie glared at him before turning toward Goku once more.

"But before that, I'd like to officially welcome you to the Lyoko Warriors, Goku. We'll try to help you as much as possible." Jeremie agreed to enlist Goku as a member of their team. The others seemed to approve of this decision, even the previously skeptical Yumi.

"Thanks, everyone. I'm excited to fight alongside all of you!" Goku chirped.

"Likewise, Goku. I'm sure fighting X.A.N.A. will be a lot easier with you around." Aelita kindly said.

"I'll say. We have a guy who can shoot friggin' lasers out of his hands! X.A.N.A.'s got nothing on that!" Odd shouted.

"Don't be so sure, Odd. As we speak, I can already tell X.A.N.A. is plotting something to deal with Goku. He's not stupid enough to make the same mistake twice." Jeremie advised cautiously.

"Yeah, yeah. I get the picture." Odd grumbled.

"Anyway, with those introductions out of the way, I'd recommend that you show Goku some of the other sectors, Aelita. He needs to get more familiar with Lyoko's entire landscape, especially once X.A.N.A. sends in more of his monsters."

"Understood, Jeremie. We'll head over to another sector as soon as we can." Aelita nodded her head.

"Thank you, Aelita. Make sure Goku's around to protect—"

"Playing one of your stupid video games again, loser?"

Hearing the obnoxious voice of Elizabeth "Sissi" Delmas, Jeremie abruptly shut his laptop. She was a 13-year-old girl with pale skin, long black hair, and black eyes. She wore a pink shirt with a yellow heart in the center, a maroon skirt, and a yellow headband that was tucked underneath her hair. She had a pair yellow, hoop earrings as well.

Standing behind Sissi were her two lackeys, Herb Pichon and Nicholas Poliakoff. Herb was a scrawny, bespectacled boy with a black combover and a green sweater. His face was covered with small bits of acne, but they were difficult to notice at first glance. Nicholas was a taller kid with disheveled orange hair and a blue T-shirt that sported a number 8 in the middle. He looked bored, almost as if he didn't want to be there.

"I was wondering why it was unusually quiet around here." Odd quipped.

"Shut up, Odd! I am the principal's daughter, remember?! Hmph!" Sissi snarled. She then cleared her throat and kindly smiled at Ulrich. This little act annoyed Yumi for a number of reasons.

"Now, Ulrich, dear. Could you please tell me what you were talking about? I really want to know." Sissi asked in a sickly-sweet tone.

"Right. As if I'd tell you, Sissi. Just butt out and leave us alone." Ulrich grunted. Herb stepped up from the back in anger.

"Ergh! Say that again, Stern! I dare you!" He snapped.

"Or what, Herb? Are you and Nicholas going to prank me? Odd already has you beat at that." Ulrich laughed mockingly

"It's true. The man doesn't lie." Odd chimed in. Herb's face turned beet red from frustration alone.

"Cocky jerk! One of these days…I'll…I'll…"

He started gasping for breath, somehow letting his anger get the better of him. Nicholas caught him before he could hit the ground.

"Easy, Herb. Settle down a bit." He advised.

Disgusted by the pathetic nature of her two "friends", Sissi placed both hands on her hips and glared daggers at the group.

"Look, I don't know what your little club is doing that's so secretive, dear. But mark my words, I will find out about it! And there's nothing you losers can do to stop me!" Sissi hissed in a threatening tone.

"They might not be able to, but the bell can."

An irritated Sissi spun around to see a girl around Yumi's age. She had brilliant sapphire eyes and long, jet black hair that was tied down into a ponytail using gold hairclips. Her name was Miguel Garcia, The Kadic News' leading reporter and founder.

She darted her eyes from Sissi to Jeremie's group. "Don't all of you have a class to get to?"

"No one asked you, Ms. Reporter. Don't you have two little rugrats to babysit?" Sissi maliciously spat.

"Milly and Tamiya are probably in their class right now, which is what you should be doing, Elizabeth, instead of sticking your nose in other people's business." Miguel coldly proclaimed. Hating the sound of her real name, Sissi upturned her nose.

"Tsk. Come on, guys! They aren't worth of our time!"

She then defiantly walked out with Nicholas and Herb closely following behind her.

"The feeling's mutual…" Jeremie snorted under his breath. He was a bit miffed that their conversation with Goku and Aelita had to be cut short like that. Then again, there wasn't much left to say until another tower was activated.

"Thanks for the help, Miguel. That girl really doesn't know when to quit." Yumi exclaimed.

"Eh, it's no problem. Consider it thanks for that time Ulrich took Milly to the dance. That was really nice of you." Miguel replied with a smile.

"Hey, the look on Sissi's face was worth it and then some." Ulrich shrugged his shoulders.

"Agreed. However…" Miguel closed her eyes, raising up a finger in front of the four kids.

"I'm also suspicious of what you're up to. I've seen Yumi leave class multiple times in one week. That doesn't seem like a simple bathroom break to me." She admitted. The 9th grader then crossed her arms, frowning.

"So, while I won't be intruding on your conversations or anything, I will be getting to the bottom of all this, eventually. As a future journalist, I can promise you that much."

Miguel then brushed her ponytail back and walked away without another word. Each step she took was delivered with the utmost poise and confidence.

"Great. Just when I thought our situation with X.A.N.A. couldn't get any more complicated, this happens." Jeremie rubbed his aching forehead.

"I know. Miguel really seems like she means business this time." Yumi said.

"I could get lost in those scary blue eyes of hers. Hmhm." Odd swooned. On top of being the self-appointed class clown, he could be a notorious womanizer as well.

"You say that about every girl at school, Odd." Ulrich remarked.

"Not every girl. Sissi still exists, obviously."

"True, but even you hit on her when we first met." Ulrich reminded his friend. Odd stuck out his tongue and comically gagged.

"Gross! I remember no such thing, and I refuse to admit that I did." He stated.

"Whatever makes you happy." Ulrich sniggered. "Though, I guess you can't be too happy with Mrs. Hertz' test coming up and all."

Odd froze. With all that happened in their fight against Jim and meeting Goku, he completely forgot about that dreaded science class. And it was about to start in a few minutes!

"Aw crap…"

Odd slumped his shoulders and marched onto class in immense displeasure. Jeremie and Ulrich followed while Yumi quickly headed off to her own classroom.