Chapter Text
(Code Total Drama Reality Introduction Song Starts)
(This Game (From 'No Game No Life'))
The intro begins with the sun rising over the city of Paris, before the camera angles down on Kadic Academy. Stepping into view is Aelita, standing at the school gates as she looks up and watches as dark clouds suddenly cover the sky. Her eyes widen as she suddenly morphs into her Lyoko form, energy fields appearing in her hands.
William appears next, a dark copy of him, resembling his Lyoko form as a warrior of XANA appearing behind him, both clashing their swords, causing a flash of light as the title appears:
CODE: TOTAL DRAMA REALITY
(I never wanted to be)
One by one, the TD Lyoko Warriors appear with her as they are surrounded by the monsters of XANA.
(Another gear in that corrupted world's machine)
A giant bird appears above the city, letting out a loud screech.
(All my life felt like a dream)
One by one, the Lyoko Warriors enter the scanners and the doors closed, a ring of light traveling up their bodies as the camera shows and alternates each Lyoko Warrior before they vanish in a flash of light.
(I was never who I really wanted me to be)
Vehicles resembling a hovercraft, a board, a motorcycle appear with new vehicles resembling a sled and a hoverbike with a jet engine appears, carrying the Lyoko Warriors off as they are surrounded by monsters that begin shooting lasers at them.
(But then God shattered that dream's cage)
Four towers, each in a separate sector begins to glow red with monsters and an armored figure leading the monsters. Aelita lands on the platform and places her hand on the screen.
(And rose me up to a new stage)
The Total Drama contestants founds themselves back in the studio, their fellow contestants gathered with them as Chris laughs
(Cut it away like a sharp knife)
He gestures to the screens, showing them all in challenges…
(No, no, No Game No Life)
With each of them suffering a variety of misfortunes: Gwen vomits on Duncan, a soccer ball explodes in Bridgette's face, Geoff yells as a missile chases after him.
(Now suddenly there's a new twist)
Geoff's yelling suddenly stops and he changes into his Lyoko form, brandishing his weapons that cut the missile in half, causing the two pieces to fly past Geoff and explodes behind him.
(A reason to really exist)
One by one, the TD Lyoko Warriors assume their Lyoko forms and battle down various monsters, some of them belonging to XANA and some are different but dangerous.
(I wanna breathe in the fame)
From legions of monsters, comes Men in Black, giant spaceships aiming their cannons down on the bewildered Lyoko Warriors.
(As this whole new world cheers my name)
The camera zooms in on the lead space ship as it prepares to fire.
(I'll never leave it to fate)
One by one, the TD Lyoko Warriors are shown running through the streets of France, the sky darkening and the Eye of XANA appearing on every monitor they pass.
(And when I see a chance I'll pave the way)
They reach the factory, sliding down the ropes and reaching the elevator.
(I'll call checkmate)
The elevator reaches the scanner room, Aelita and William waiting for them.
(This is the time to breakthrough)
The Lyoko Warriors then gather before a scanner, the camera facing them inside with the group staring at it critically. A hand reaches up, giving them a thumbs-up before the scanner doors close.
(So I'll rewrite the story and I'll finally change all the rules)
The Lyoko Warriors are now gathered in the Forest Sector of Lyoko, suddenly separated by a crescent shaped wave of red energy and out of the flames emerges a humanoid warrior in dark armor, their face covered by a horned helmet and the Eye of XANA on its chest and forehead.
(We are MAVERICK)
William charges forward, his large sword clashing against the equally sized weapon of Shadow, both glaring hatefully at each other.
(We won't give in until we win this game)
Both disappear into white and black smoke before we then see Bridgette in the Ice Sector, battling a giant monster resembling a polar bear.
(Though I don't know what tomorrow holds)
The monster is about to cut Bridgette down with its claws before a blast of pure lightning blasts it to pieces.
(I'll make a bet and play my cards to win this game)
The origin of the attack is revealed to be Geoff, holding a giant axe instead of his chakrams as he charges forward to help Bridgette, a look of determination replacing his normal carefree smile.
(Unlike the rest I'll do my best)
A pair of Wasps are shown chasing Dawn who is on the Overwing before Gwen shoots up, her cape morphing into bat like wings as she slashes through the Wasps with her scythe.
(And I won't ever lose)
A pair of Krabs fire on her but DJ's barrier saves her before Cameron flies down and blasts the Krabs with his arm cannons.
(To give up this chance would be a deadly sin)
LeShawna is then staring up at the hulking form of the Kolossus as it approaches her.
(So let's bet it all)
Gripping her hammer tightly, LeShawna charges to meet the biggest of XANA's monsters head on.
(I put all my faith in us)
Aelita is then shown in a red version of Sector 5, turning to glare at the Avatar of XANA who smirks back at her.
(So let the games begin)
Aelita readies her energy field and charges at XANA who summons his own sword, clashing with Aelita's energy fields. Pink and red energy erupt from their clash, covering the screen in white before changing to a black screen with blue lines of coding filling it and the title appearing on last time:
CODE: TOTAL DRAMA REALITY
(This Game (From 'No Game No Life') Ends)
Episode 49: Frictions
Cody walked into the elevator and turned around to see Sam and Harold's nervous faces. "You guys coming?"
Sam and Harold gulped and walked into the elevator.
"You think there could be another way down?" Sam asked.
"Probably, but if this thing was just used, then we should be safe to use it." Harold answered.
Cody sighed, gripping the strap of his laptop bag. "Next time, don't bring up the idea that this thing could break easily."
Harold frowned. "Yeah, probably should have thought that one through."
Sam hit the button for them to go down, and trio nervously watched the elevator door close. The elevator took them to the first main floor and opened revealing the lab to them.
"Whoa!" The guys looked at the room in awe and wonder.
"This looks so cool!" Sam ran up to the holomap looking at the eight sectors in awe.
"What is this place?" Harold wondered as he and Cody walk to the interface.
"The main control room of something by the looks of it." Cody answered pulling his laptop out of his bag. "Or possibly a lab of some sort for it."
Harold looked up and followed the wires as Cody plugged his laptop into the main interface.
ALERT
UNKNOWN COMPUTER INTERFACING WITH SUPERCALCULATOR
ACCESSING SECURITY FOOTAGE
"All of this equipment here and if this is the main control room, there must be some sort of supercomputer running it. Do you think the main computer is up or down from here?" Harold asked curiously.
"Definitely down." Cody told him as he started typing on his laptop to see what they are dealing with here.
"Guys, this looks like the coolest video game I have ever seen." Sam said as he looked over each sector. "Desert, Forest, Arctic, Mountain, Volcano, a tropical area with an ocean, a swamp, and a jungle by the looks of it."
Cody and Harold shared a look then looked at Sam who does not notice their unsure looks.
"Sam, I think it is a little too soon to think that this is a video game." Cody admitted as he downloaded files from the interface onto his laptop to learn everything about this place.
INTRUDERS IDENTIFIED:
CODY ANDERSON
HAROLD NORBERT CHEEVER DORIS MCGRADY V
SAMUEL 'SAM' FROUD
INFORMATION: ALL THREE INTRUDERS ARE COMPETITORS ON REALITY SHOW TOTAL DRAMA, COMPETING IN SEASON FIVE TOTAL DRAMA REALITY
WARNING: LAPTOP BELONGING TO CODY ANDERSON COPYING AND DOWNLOADING FILES FROM SUPERCALCULATOR
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
This could work to my advantage
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
INSERTING VIRUS INTO UNIT CODY'S LAPTOP
"Ok fair, but this map shows eight different areas here, and each of them are different from each other." Sam explained as he looked over each sector. "It feels like I'm looking at the development of a video game."
"You know how that feels?" Harold asked as he walked over to the holomap to get a better look.
"Yep, been learning as I go with making my own game." Sam admitted with pride. "It should be done a couple of months after the season is over."
"Cool. I would love to play-test it."
"Same." Cody said not looking up from his laptop. "I probably could help with development as well."
Sam looked at both guys and smiled. "Thanks, you guys, I would love the input and help."
Cody finished downloading the files and started going through them. "Hm, this looks a lot more complex than...wait..."
On the screen appeared what appeared to be digital cards, complete with weapons and life points appeared on the screen. "Guys, look at this."
Harold and Sam walked over and looked at the screen.
"Whoa, digital cards." Sam marveled.
"And they look like our friends." Harold gasped, seeing a 3-D profile of LeShawna in her Lyoko form. "LeShawna…"
"And Geoff…Bridgette…DJ…Cameron…Dawn…Lindsay…and Gwen." Cody said looking through each card, his eyes landing Gwen the last.
Geoff looked like some kind of warrior, still retaining his classic hat while his shirt was still pink. His weapon was listed as chakrams, bladed disks. Curiously, the chakrams were listed as combining to form an axe.
Bridgette looked like a high-tech surfer, given her blue ocean themed outfit with the surfboard she had only highlighting it. Curiously, according to her card, the board split to become swords.
DJ looked like a big strong, martial monk. He didn't have any weapons, but he had some kind of defense power.
LeShawna, who Harold was focused on the most, wielded a large hammer with high attack points, her power listed as super-strength.
"LeShawna…" Harold whispered, staring at her card and somehow more in awe of her than he had ever been before.
Cameron wore a replica of the power armor he used in the finale season four, Revenge of the Island which impressed Sam. "Awesome…"
Dawn's outfit fit with her 'Moon-child' archetype, especially with her vine made wreath resting on her head.
As for Lindsay…
"Whoa! She's a mix of Wonder-Woman and Sailor Moon!" Sam laughed, not that he was attracted to her, he still loved his girl Dakota, but he could recognize other people's beauty.
As for Gwen, to Cody, she looked like a dark angel, especially with her dark wings. Seeing her like that brought up old feelings in him that he tried to desperately push away.
"Okay, these look like super avatars in some kind massively multi player online game." Sam remarked, becoming more excited.
"Where do they come from?" Harold asked.
"Hang on…" Cody typed away, looking for more answers. "Something…Lyoko…Digital Avatar Creation Program…Virtualization sequence."
"Virtualization?" Sam asked. "Like…virtual reality?"
"Like back at the studio?" Harold questioned. "With the pods?"
"Maybe this place was a testing for the pods back at studio." Sam offered. "I mean, even Chris would have to test his equipment."
"If so, then there would be pods of some sort." Harold realized.
Sam rubbed his hands grinning gleefully. "Dude, this is definitely a big video game. I'm going to go check it."
He ran to the elevator with Harold chasing him.
"Don't leave me behind." They entered the elevator, and Sam hit the button to go down leaving Cody alone to study the files.
Cody blinked and looked around noticing the wires and the ladder leading to the scanner room. "I wonder if they took the right way."
"These look so much cooler than our pods!" Sam's voice echoed from below.
Cody set his laptop down and ran to the ladder.
"How much cooler are we talking here?" Cody asked, hoping they could hear him.
"They're not that much cooler, but they look a lot better than our pods even with the older technological look." Harold answered.
Down below, in the scanner room, Harold puts his index fingers and thumbs together to make a box to get a visual image of everything for memory. "They don't have the same equipment as the pods. Actually, they look more like scanners."
"Dude, we got to try these scanners out!" Sam smiled, feeling excited. "I really want to see what this game is like."
Cody climbed down the ladder and his eyes widened at the room.
"Whoa!" Cody got off the ladder and examined the scanners.
"I know right?"
"The scanners are way more advanced than the pods at the studio." Harold said again, carefully looking over one scanner. "These things were built long ago, maybe even before Total Drama."
"Wait, did you say before the ones we're currently using?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.
Harold nodded. "Indeed, the amount of technology here shows that this was built possibly over ten or twenty years ago." Harold grabbed his chin in thought. "I'll need to look into the history books to see if I could find anything about this. This looks way too advanced to be a normal kind of video game."
"Normal or not, we need to test this out guys." Sam rubbed his hands together. "I would love to see how the 3D model of me would look compared to the ones at Total Drama."
Cody sighed. "Look, Sam, I would love to, but we don't know who safe this thing actually is." Cody looked inside the closest scanner to him. "This looks super cool, and truthfully, I would study those files to try this place out immediately."
"Then why not?"
"Everyone just had their stuff ruined by an unknown person. Do you think the others will be happy if we just used this without permission?" Cody asked not wanting to betray Gwen's trust.
"Hate to admit it, but Cody is right." Harold admits with defeat. "I would love to use it, but Leshawna would be furious if I used it without permission."
"We also don't know anything about this technology." Cody added. "Even if we did use it, we don't know what is inside this virtual world, nor do we know anything about it."
Sam groaned disappointingly but understood Cody's point. "Ok, you're right, but is it still possible to at least try it out? I'm willing to be the test subject for it and will take all the blame from the others."
Cody and Harold shared a look then looked at Sam. "Give me a few minutes to look over the folders. I'll give you my answer then. We don't have too much time until curfew anyway."
Sam gave Cody two thumbs up. "I'll take it."
Cody chuckled then climbed back to the lab to study the files. Cody looked over the file names on his laptop and opened one on how to virtualize people into this world called Lyoko. 'Do I really want to betray their trust, or is something really bigger going on?'
It made him pause as he knew he was likely going behind his friends' back like this. But what was he supposed to do? They were already endangering themselves by sneaking out of the studio and did anyone else know?
He knew that Sierra likely knew and had gotten in trouble for it. She snuck out after them, but thanks to whoever hacked the security cameras, Chris only knew that Sierra had snuck out.
And why were they coming here in the first place?
He looked over the programming carefully, seeing over a dozen files.
"Hey, Cody, what's the hold up?" Harold asked as he climbed up from the scanner room.
"Just learning what I can." Cody answered, scrolling through the data. "And for starters, the name of this virtual world is Lyoko."
"Lyoko?" Harold softly repeated. "That's a unique name."
"I've been looking over the data as we speak and right now, I can safely say it's some kind of virtual world." Cody continued, scrolling through the data until he found something. "Hello, I think I got something."
"What is it?" Harold asked.
"Some kind of digital diary…" Cody accessed the diary, seeing multiple recorded files appear. "There's a lot. Going nearly over three years. The last one was two years ago, April 10th, 2007."
"Play the last one." Harold suggested and Cody accessed the file.
A window opened, showing the image of a blond-haired boy with glasses.
"April 10th, 2007. With XANA dead, all that was left was to shutdown the supercomputer, but then Sissy as always tried to ruin everything. We came up with the idea of telling her she was our friend so she would stop bothering us. It's amazing to think she almost joined the group at the beginning of everything and that one thing that has never changed about her is that she always selfishly thinks of herself and is always trying to break up our group from her silly obsession with Ulrich." The boy stated. "She told her dad everything at the beginning and three years later when we're finally ending it, she does it again after she puts a tracker on Ulrich's jacket that led her to the factory, found my diary and then spilled everything to the principal, forcing us to use one last Return to the Past to stop her. If I have to pretend to be friends with her until the 12th grade, then so be it even if it means putting up with her childish and delusional clingy behavior. It is clear that no matter how much things have changed; Sissy never will change for the better and will always be an annoying in our sides. With any luck though, this will be my last recording as a Lyoko Warrior."
The file ended, leaving more questions then answers for Cody and Harold.
"That didn't answer much." Harold admitted.
"But we know something…this supercomputer…it was shut down two years ago." Cody pointed out. "Let's see if we can learn some more."
This time, Cody scrolled to the beginning of the video journals.
"Diary of Jeremy Belpois, October 1st. I was hunting for part to finish my miniature robots. There was nothing for me to find at the school, so I tried looking for nearby scrap at an abandoned factory I learned about that was not far from the academy and I found something unbelievable! Through an elevator that was still working, I found some sort of laboratory complex underneath the factory with scanners and what appeared an advanced supercomputer."
"Later that night, I chose to turn on the supercomputer. Little did I know, my life and the lives my new friends were about to be changed forever. Inside the supercomputer was a complete virtual world and residing there was a girl named Aelita who seems to be a fully fledged artificial intelligence in the form of a human but that was not all. There appears to be another AI named XANA but unlike Aelita, XANA was malevolent and aggressive, attacking us as soon as the supercomputer was activated. The only way to stop XANA for good was to shut down the supercomputer but there is one thing stopping us at the moment.
Aelita.
If the supercomputer is shut down, she will be gone along with Lyoko and XANA. I am currently working on a way to bring Aelita into our world now, even as we endure attacks from XANA."
Cody and Harold listened with widened eyes.
"Hang on, there's a file that's not dated."
He accessed it and instead of a recording there was only a simple message.
Jeremy, the plan failed. XANA survived the program meant to delete him. I need you to find him quickly before he grows more powerful. If you shut the supercomputer off, then he will be stronger and defeat you when you least expect it.
I hope this gets to you before you do, or we will be in a worse situation than we were before. Aelita, I'm sorry for dragging you and your mother into this. I wish I could have done better to avoid the things that happened to you and her, but it is too late to change that. I want you to be happy, my daughter.
I still and will always love you.
"Whoa…this is sounding serious." Harold muttered. "So, XANA is like this evil computer, like Skynet or VIKI from I Robot."
"Hang on, I think I saw something…" Cody typed up the name and a file came up: X.A.N.A.
He accessed the file and a familiar red eye symbol appeared on the screen.
Cody and Harold's eyes widened when they saw the eye. "Whoa!"
"What's up, guys?" Sam climbed up from the scanner room and back into the lab. "I've been waiting forever."
"Take a look at this." Harold muttered, showing Sam the screen.
"Hey, that's the same eye thing with the virus we saw on our first day here." Sam pointed at the screen. "Did this place make that virus?"
"Kind of." Cody looked through the data. "Apparently, this XANA is some sort of advanced multi-agent system."
"A multi-agent system?" Sam asked.
"Basically, a program composed of other programs called Agents, like a hive-mind." Harold explained.
"I know that. I take computer classes too." Sam rolled his eyes. "So, what's the deal?"
"Well, apparently this XANA program is meant to run the supercomputer and the virtual world called Lyoko but apparently it's been causing trouble." Cody muttered. "From the red symbol here, it's clearly the Red-Eye Virus that infected all electronic equipment in France."
"So…not a video game?" Sam asked, rubbing his chin.
"Still close to one but I think…The eye...the missing school kids...Gwen..." Cody mutters connecting the pieces. "I'm starting the virtualization sequence."
Sam and Harold looked surprised by Cody's words.
"What changed your mind?" Sam asked.
"I think Gwen and the others stumbled onto something dangerous." Cody sat down at the chair and started typing commands. "We need to see for ourselves what's going on."
Harold nodded. "Yeah, this is starting to sound bad."
"The timer is set to be only a minute and thirty seconds before it virtualizes us." Cody told them, before getting up and rushing back over to the hatch.
Harold and Sam quickly followed him, climbing back down into the scanner room.
"This is going to be so cool!" Sam ran into the nearest, scanner excited to see what will happen.
Harold looked at Cody who walked into another scanner and narrowed his eyes a bit. He entered the last scanner, and the doors shut in front of all of them. The scanners activated, and the supercomputer gathered the necessary information about the three before sending them into Lyoko. As this happened, none of them realized that Cody's laptop had been hacked and was downloading something.
ACCESSING RECORDING:
"Ok fair, but this map shows eight different areas here, and each of them are different from each other." Sam explained as he looked over each sector. "It feels like I'm looking at the development of a video game."
"You know how that feels?" Harold asked as he walked over to the holomap to get a better look.
"Yep, been learning as I go with making my own game." Sam admitted with pride. "It should be done a couple of months after the season is over."
"Cool. I would love to play-test it."
"Same." Cody said not looking up from his laptop. "I probably could help with development as well."
Sam looked at both guys and smiled. "Thanks, you guys, I would love the input and help."
RUNNING SEARCH ALGORITHIMS FOR ALL DATA CONNTECTED TO SAMUEL 'SAM' FROUD
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
SEARCH COMPLETE
RESULTS: SUBJECT HAS LOGGED ONTO A HUNDRED ONLINE GAMES
SUBJECT HAS PURCHASED MILLIONS OF GAMES WITH AGES VARYING BETWEEN RECENT AND BEING TWO DECADES OLD
SUBJECT HAS PERSONAL NETWORK, SET UP BY MULTIPLE COMPUTERS WITH GAME PROGRAMS AND SYSTEMS INSTALLED
INTERFACING WITH SUBJECT'S SYSTEMS NOW
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
CONNECTION ESTABLISHED
DOWNLOADING DATA
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
WARNING
ADDITIONAL INTRUDERS DETECTED IN THE FACTORY
GENERAL UNIT SHADOW RETURNING TO SCANNER ROOM
SENDING MESSAGE: DO NOT ALLOW ANYMORE HUMANS TO DISCOVER THE LAB
I do not need any more interlopers to discover the Supercomputer at this time. I will see what use I can make out of the three intruders before I allow for anymore discoveries.
"Whoa!"
Izzy and Owen were marveling at the sight of the abandoned car factory.
"I wonder what we can find here." Izzy grinned as she took her first step into the factory.
"Too bad you'll never know."
Izzy and Owen spun around just in time for a hand to reach out and grabbed Izzy by the neck, lifting her off the ground. "Uh, what-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
"IZZY!" Owen screamed as his girlfriend or still ex-girlfriend was electrocuted by the hand grabbing her. "LET HER GO!"
Owen ran at full speed, ramming into the attacker and knocking down into the lobby ground, forcing him to release Izzy who fell near the edge. Shadow grunted as he hit the ground but with his body enhanced by XANA, he was not as injured as he would have been as a human.
Owen rushed over to the still dazed Izzy. "Izzy, are you okay?"
"I think…" Izzy giggled as a few sparks passed through her hair. "Who ordered the electro-shock therapy?"
Owen turned and glared down at Shadow daring to attack his girl. "NO ONE HURTS MY IZZY LIKE THAT! GERONIMO!"
Shadow looked up just to get slammed into the elevator shaft by a 296-pound Owen.
"Hey Izzy, I think I got him!" Owen exclaimed with a big smile.
"Good job Owen!" Izzy gave a thumbs up as she jumped down to the lobby. "I wasn't expecting that. Makes you wonder what else is here."
ZAP!
"OW!" Owen jumped off Shadow who zapped him with a blast of electricity.
The General groaned and got up shaking his head.
"That's why they call it 'life flashing before your eyes.' I really felt that one." He glared at Owen who looked back at him nervously.
"So uh...ha ha...you'll leave us alone now right?" Owen asked hopefully.
Shadow answered with an unamused face. "No."
"Worth a shot." Owen ran to the stairs and started climbing up.
Shadow, however, moved with blurring speed and stopped Owen by grabbing his shirt collar before Owen could take three steps up the stairs. "Nice try big guy."
"Hey, leave him alone!" Izzy shouted, charging right at the general.
"Should have stayed at that studio like good nerds." Shadow muttered grinning evilly.
He backed up, dodging Izzy's fist that hit the metal in front of him.
"No one attacks my Owen and gets away with it! You'll have to go through me first" Izzy yells standing between him and Owen.
Shadow simply grinned.
One by one, the three members of Total Drama's Nerd Brigade were virtualized onto the Volcano Sector of Lyoko, landing on their butts as almost all beginners did.
"Ow!"
Cody grunted before standing up and looked down at himself. "Whoa..."
His appearance had changed. He wore what looked like a tuxedo style outfit, something like James Bond. It didn't have a bow tie or flower or anything crappy like that, but it was black with a white shirt, soft, and light. For footwear he wore black dress shoes and black slacks.
He had two pistol-like weapons attached to the areas under his arms beneath his jacket. Upon examining them, he found that they looked like a cross of a revolver with a blade.
"Whoa…"
"Look at me!" Sam let out an excited laugh.
Cody looked at Sam and saw he was now wearing a black skintight armored bodysuit, covering him from head to toe. Sam's armor was seamless, the only distinct parts being his knee-high boots, small pauldrons, and what appeared to be 'sleeves' that covered his forearms only, not his upper arms or hands. He also wore a helmet that was vaguely reminiscent of a hockey helmet. Sam's body suit was also covered in complex patterns of blue computer circuitry that glowed bright cyan with a similar glow emitting from his boots and 'sleeves'.
Though most of the circuitry designs are seemingly random, certain patterns on his waist and helmet create the silhouette of a belt and parts of the human brain. A visor replaced his glasses, covering his eyes and Sam's back was what appeared to be a disk or circular plate attached to the upper section.
"Whoa!" Sam marveled at his new outfit with excitement. "This…Is…AWESOME!"
"Amazing…" Cody turned and looked at Harold now.
Harold was now garbed in an outfit resembling the samurai costume he wore in Japan during World Tour, consisting of a red kimono with a black sash tied around the waist and black outlines. This included a red samurai helmet over his head, but samurai armor was added over his chest along with shoulder and knee pads. His shoes were replaced by knee high boots and around his waist were two swords, katanas to be precise sheathed in their scabbards.
"Whoa." Harold marveled at himself. "I'm a samurai."
"And I'm some kind of…high-tech fighter." Sam grinned in excitement.
"And I'm…" Cody looked down at himself again. "…Classy."
"Yeah, you've got that whole super-secret agent vibe." Sam chuckled.
Well, that certain British agent suddenly came to mind who was a lady's man and Cody did see himself as one…
"I guess we were given forms on what we subconsciously see ourselves as." Cody surmised. "Sam, you're a gamer and Harold, you do have a fascination with Japanese culture."
"Yeah, but I was more focused on the ninja stuff." Harold grasped the hilt of one of his swords. "Though, I respect the honorable samurai."
"So maybe that's why you got the look. Ninja are often seen as stealthy and deceitful." Cody pointed out. "Like Alejandro when he used deception."
"Oh…So my sense of honor gave me this form instead of a ninja." Harold smiled. "Wicked."
"Still, we don't know why this is all here." Cody sighed. "But now I think this explains why Gwen and LeShawna's numbers vanished. When they were virtualized here, their phones must have been with them, and they were digitized as well. Except rather being sent here with us, they're probably stored away as data until we are sent back into the real world."
"Meaning that in the real world, they don't exist anymore." Harold caught on.
"Okay, so we know what happened to them. But if they're not here, are they already back?" Sam asked.
Cody looked around, suddenly noticed the volcanic region they were in. "I don't know…I don't even know where to go from here."
Harold and Sam just noticed the region they were in as well, Sam gasping in awe at how realistic the Volcano Sector looked.
"I can feel the heat around us." Harold muttered. "I'm not sweating and actually, the sheer hot temperature of a volcano would be too hot for a human to be around. We're literally standing on scorched ground by the look of it."
"Hey, if it's built by digital game rules, it doesn't have to be accurate." Sam shrugged. "Feeling the heat alone is enough for me."
"Okay so what now?" Harold asked, turning to Cody. "We know there's some kind of evil artificial intelligence that's part of this world and somehow Gwen, LeShawna and some of our friends are mixed up in it. What can we do?"
Cody didn't have an answer.
He had been so swept up in learning the truth that when he finally did and came to Lyoko to help that he…
Didn't stop to think.
He had been so worried that Gwen and the others were in trouble.
Okay, mainly Gwen.
"I…" Cody turned around. "I don't know…"
He was at a loss to figure out what to do here.
'You were afraid she was in danger and leapt at the chance without a second thought…'
Cody shook his head.
No, he was over Gwen.
If she preferred a cheating delinquent over him, that was fine…
'She's my dream girl. I'm just not her dream guy.'
He remembered saying those words in what felt like so long ago, during the very first season of Total Drama at Playa Des Losers.
She was his dream girl.
Not anymore…
'Liar.'
Cody didn't want to admit to himself but a small part of him still carried a torch for Gwen, even after all this time. Maybe it was because he had been angry with her for choosing Duncan over him, especially since he cheated on her with Courtney that he tried not thinking about her anymore. That didn't stop him from trying to help her or becoming sad about her absence in World Tour. After the season ended, Cody accepted that Gwen would never love him as he loved her…and he understood when he re-watched the Total Drama season they competed together to see where he had gone wrong.
Trying to peak on her while changing.
Violating her personal space.
Asking for her bra to win a bet with Owen.
Sneaking a picture with her while she was sleeping.
Okay, maybe he pushed the boundaries a few times. Nothing compared to what Sierra had put him through but enough that he got some clarity. Funny, he complained all about Sierra that season, but he couldn't recognize that he was still doing the same with Gwen.
Maybe that's why she wouldn't give him a chance.
And now she, along with some of their friends, was mixed up in something dangerous.
How long had this been going on?
Since after the Red-Eye Virus attack?
Cody's eyes widened as not long after, Gwen, LeShawna, Bridgette and Geoff had been sticking closely together and even hung out with DJ and Dawn who were on other teams and Cameron who was one of the newer contestants even though he already had best friends with the second cast.
'You didn't hesitate once you thought she was in danger.' That treacherous voice reminded him. 'You can act all you want but you still care for a girl who will never return your feelings.'
"Cody?" Harold's voice shook Cody from his thoughts.
Cody hastily turned around. "Yeah?"
"Sam was just suggesting we do some exploring." Harold pointed to Sam who waved with a smile.
"Oh…sure." Cody nodded with a small smile.
"William, we need to talk."
William raised an eyebrow at Aelita once they were back at Kadic, stopping near the bleachers. "Yeah?"
Aelita sighed. "Why did you bring Sissy to the factory?"
William blinked. "Oh, look, I know you're probably mad about that but in my defense I wanted to ask you but when I tried calling, you never answered."
"So, you just went ahead and let her come along?" Aelita turned away. "Were you going to virtualize her too?"
"I was going to offer her a choice, Aelita which is what we're going to have to do eventually." William answered. "I know you have doubts, but we can't keep putting this off."
"So, you just make a decision like that?" Aelita spun around, facing William. "Why not just wait until I got there?"
"Aelita, I was going to wait until you got to the factory." William raised both hands in defense. "I wanted Sissy to understand what she would be getting herself into if she wanted to join."
Aelita frowned. "William, I gave you another chance but even bringing her to the factory to make her understand without telling me…"
"I'm sorry but we can't just keep her at arm's length now." William sighed. "We have to consider asking others outside of our contestant friends to help."
"And who can we ask, William?" Aelita looked at the ground. "We consider Sissy just because she knows? After all the trouble she caused?"
"You let me help you after all the trouble I caused." William pointed out.
"That was different." Aelita shook her head.
"How?"
"You were possessed; you didn't have a say." Aelita answered. "Sissy wasn't possessed nearly half the time she caused trouble for us."
"Okay, fair point but if we can't simply erase her memory then making her understand why this is so dangerous and why she can't tell her father or the cops is the next best step." William stated. "I'm not trying to undermine you, Aelita but if you gave me a chance doesn't Sissy at least deserve one? This isn't like before."
"It's easy to think that." Aelita sighed and stepped back.
"Aelita…"
"All right, she gets one chance." Aelita held up a finger. "But if she betrays us again, I'll erase her data from the supercomputer."
"Even if you do a Return to the Past now, it still won't erase what she learned weeks ago." William pointed out.
"I'll take my chances…" Aelita turned around. "Please, don't bring her or anyone else in without consulting me, William."
"Aelita…"
"Good night, William." Aelita said simply, heading for her room.
William sighed, watching as she left.
Things certainly weren't getting any easier.
"AAHH!" Izzy screamed as she hit the wall and slid down to the ground.
Shadow smirked, seeing the two unconscious contestants before him. "Too many of you like sneaking off, I see."
Erase their memories.
Shadow perked at hearing XANA's voice in his mind. "And what about the three that snuck in already?"
I am still debating what to do about them.
"Not going to possess them like you did with the last new recruit?" Shadow asked, holding up his hand that began to spark with electricity.
None of them possess the potential that William had when I recruited him.
Ignoring the slight praise to William, Shadow knelt down and held his hand over Izzy's face. There was a zap of electricity that stimulated her brain, specifically the part that stored memories. XANA had enough knowledge of human anatomy to understand that the brain sent electrical impulses through the nervous system and that by channeling an electrical impulse of his own through Shadow or anyone under his control, he could effectively erase memories.
It's how he had erased Jim's memory when the teacher had caught his host at the time delivering a device meant to control Aelita disguised as a present.
Once Izzy was done, Shadow moved to Owen and did the same. "Now what?"
We need them removed from the factory.
Shadow blanched, looking at Owen. "You are aware how heavy this one is? I might need some help."
It is too soon to activate a tower.
"You can activate a tower just fine." Shadow retorted. "I need the extra strength."
XANA was silent for a moment. Very well. I might have solution.
"Thank you." Shadow smiled.
Head down to the lab and manually activate a tower. The superscan won't react if it's activated from the computer.
"I see." Shadow turned to the elevator. "Understood."
It was amazing.
Cody could admit that much to himself as they explored the Volcano Sector which helped silence the doubts and concerns in his mind.
What would Gwen and the others think when they found out that he, Harold and Sam snuck into this virtual world behind their backs?
Would they be mad?
Probably.
Would they accept help?
….
If they did, Cody would love to help.
And to have another chance with Gwen…
He wanted to believe he wasn't interested in Gwen anymore, but could he just let it go without trying one more time? He had to admit, seeing and talking to her again seemed to cause old feelings to stir in him.
Did his old feelings really die or were they just dormant until now?
'She's my dream girl. I'm just not her dream guy.'
It felt so long ago when he said those words…
Everything had changed since then.
'She might not give me a chance again but maybe I should go just to try…' Cody thought to himself.
"Cody, are you okay?" Harold asked, noticing the distant look on Cody's face.
"Uh…sure." Cody quickly looked away.
"Come on, dude. I know you better than that." Harold said to his former bandmate. "What's bugging you?"
"Just…I'm worried that Gwen, LeShawna and the others will be mad when they find out we followed them there and snuck around behind their backs." Cody finally admitted.
That caused Harold and Sam to pause and look at Cody.
"I mean, we tracked their phones, Harold." Cody continued. "There's no way they're not going to be happy about that."
Harold flinched. "Okay…you've got a point there."
"And even if we ask to help, would they let us?" Cody continued.
Would she be glad to see him?
Would he be happy to see her?
Sure, they had talked a bit, and he still cared for her in some way but what if this crossed the line?
"We snuck out of the studio, violating our contract. If Chris finds out, he'll kick us off the show and if the others get kicked off because of us…" Cody trailed off, a fearful look on his face. "Oh man, I just acted without thinking."
"You were worried. So was I." Harold replied and sadly admitted. "Yeah, LeShawna's going to be furious with me."
"Sorry guys…" Sam offered. "Not sure how Dakota will feel I snuck off like that…I was just too caught up in this virtual reality thing."
"We all were, Sam." Cody replied, looking down at his virtual form. "I spent a whole year convincing myself I was done being attracted to Gwen, but when I thought she was in danger…I just acted."
"You still like her." Harold said softly.
"Yeah, maybe not as much as before but I am not sure my feelings for her will ever die…" Cody sadly admitted. "I know you might not like her, Harold because of…the mistakes she's made."
"I don't dislike her." Harold shrugged.
Cody looked up with a surprised face.
"What?" Harold shrugged.
"Didn't she hit you on the head with a shovel?" Cody asked.
"Yeah, but she was under emotional duress. Between being blackmailed and in prison, her fight or flight response took over. It's a natural response." Harold explained. "If anything, it's hard not to feel bad for her for everything she's been through. Being bullied on Island, being forced to turn against her team after the whole Trent throwing challenges things, getting wrapped up in a love triangle. But I admire she tries to make the best of it."
That was…unexpected.
"Harold, anyone ever tell you that you have the heart of a saint?" Cody asked, a small smile forming.
"It's nothing, just my ability to look beyond meaningless conflict and look inward." Harold said with a raised finger and smile.
"Does that apply to Duncan?" Sam asked.
"No way, that punk is the WORST!" Harold shook his head. "And he hasn't gotten any better."
"Tell me about it." Cody muttered, looking away.
Despite what most people believed Cody knew that Gwen genuinely felt guilty about what happened with her, Duncan and Courtney. He knew that Gwen never meant to harm anyone. Sure, people got mad at her for dumping Trent, but he was throwing challenges and sabotaging his own team for her without even talking to her.
And unlike what Courtney or Sierra believed, Cody thought it was wrong to project all the blame on Gwen for kissing Duncan.
Duncan was the one who came back and chose to stay, he was the one who chose to follow Gwen into the confessional and put the moves on her…
How did he know all this?
By rewatching Season Three and wanting to see where it all gone so wrong.
Why did Duncan come back when he made it clear he had no intention of singing or competing?
Chris broke the lock that allowed Duncan to slip in and seduce Gwen.
Was it because…someone had planned for it to happen?
Was it Chris who planned for it to happen or was there some angle to Duncan suddenly coming back, agreeing to sing before starting a relationship with Gwen?
Cody wasn't sure and he honestly wasn't sure it was any of his business anymore.
LYOKO AVATARS DETECTED
SECTOR 007
ACTIVATING MONSTER PROGRAM: VOLCANOID
Sam heard a rumbling sound and turned around to see something approaching. "Hey guys…"
Harold and Cody turned and watched as a rock-like creature approached on four stubby legs with orange fiery light flashing under its burning rocky skin.
"What is that?" Harold asked.
"Look at the Eye." Cody pointed at the Eye on the monster's head. "That Eye is associated with the program XANA. I think it must have created that creature in response to us."
How true. It's clear all three are intelligent compared to most of their peers. Unfortunately, they lack much of the potential I would look for in a human recruit.
For now, I will gauge their abilities.
The Volcanoid stopped before them, its 'mouth' glowing bright.
Harold brought a hand to one of his sheathed swords. "Stand back. I'll handle it."
He let out a battle cry as he charged forward, unsheathing his sword and swinging it forward…
Only for the sword to bounce off the heat shield the Volcanoid projected around its body. Harold let out a stunned cry as he fell back and the monster fired, a lava projectile hitting Harold and exploding, bringing his life points down to zero.
The scanner door and Harold fell out with a groan.
"Harold!" Cody cried out, horrified at seeing his friend and bandmate seemingly incinerated.
The Volcanoid turned to face them and Cody quickly grabbed his twin pistols, aiming and firing. However, his shots just bounced off the shield without making so much as dent in them.
"You got to try hitting its weak spot!" Sam called out.
"What do you think I'm doing?!" Cody replied, stepping back.
"No, I mean the shield's weak spot. If it's being projected at the front, maybe it's weak point is at the back!" Sam pointed at the Volcanoid's rear end.
"Can you cry and get it?" Cody asked, still firing.
"Uh, what do I got for weapons?" Sam wondered as he looked down at himself.
He reached behind his back and pulled back what looked like a disc, only when he grabbed it, it lit up with a small screen projected from the center.
"A game controller?" Sam asked with a small chuckle. "Neat but not what I'm looking for-GAH!"
The Volcanoid fired its next shot and Cody tried running but even as he dodged, when the projectile hit the ground it exploded, getting both Sam and Cody, bringing their life points down to zero. The Volcanoid let out a soft roar in celebration at its victory.
Sam and Cody staggered out of the scanners.
Harold rushed over to help Sam up. "You guys okay?"
"Y-Yeah." Sam nodded weakly. "What happened? What was that?"
"That…" Cody groaned as he got up. "Was probably what Gwen and the others have been up to ever since we got here."
(Credits: Code Lyoko Theme)
One by one, the Lyoko Warriors are shown, their real and virtual forms appearing side by side.
First is Aelita, appearing in her normal form, followed by her original and upgraded Lyoko forms, her angel wings sprouting from her upgraded form.
Next came William, in his original Lyoko form, followed by his darker form, brandishing his Zweihander.
Then came Gwen who was sketching her notebook, followed by her Lyoko form with her cape spread out to form her bat wings.
LeShawna was next, smiling confidently in her normal appearance, and brandishing her hammer in her Lyoko form.
Geoff was shown relaxing on a beach chair before his Lyoko form appeared next to him, ready to throw one of his chakrams.
Bridgette was next, in holding her surfboard while wearing her swimsuit, followed by her Lyoko form with her actually surfing waters on her board.
DJ was then shown, sitting in a forest and surrounded by animals before his Lyoko form appeared next to him, smiling as he stood over the animals like a guardin.
Cameron was then shown with a case that he opened and in a flash of light, he was in his armored Lyoko form.
Dawn was shown sitting on a stump, her legs crossed and was seemingly meditating, her Lyoko form appearing next to her, matching her normal self's position perfectly. Several more Lyoko cards were shown, all of them blank before four of them changed to show Lindsay, Sam, Harold and Cody in their Lyoko form, smiling as the credits ended.
(Credits: Code Lyoko Theme Ends)