Author’s note: I know that at the beginning of the series I said that this took place two years after the gang defeated the super computer, but I’ve decided it works better of it was only a couple of months, so please keep that in mind as you read this.
-Aelita (the writer, not the character.)
Code: Lyoko, episode 4 Confusion


“William, can you tell the class about what happens during mitosis?” Mrs. Hurtz asked.

“No, Ma’m. We haven’t learned that. Maybe I was absent that day.” He muttered into his arm, putting his head on the desk.

“William Dunbar! You haven’t missed a single day this year! If you can’t remember, just say so!” the teacher threw her arms up in frustration.

“When did we learn about that termite thingy anyway? Last I checked this was an anatomy class, not an... invertebrates class!” He chuckled.

“We learned that three months ago.” Yumi whispered in his ear.

“Then why is she asking me about it?”


“Because this is the week of final exams.” She replied pointedly.

“William Dunbar! Mitosis has nothing to do with insects of any sort! It’s cellular division! Goodness! Where have you been for the past couple of months?” Just then, the bell rang.

Saved by the bell, he thought, He shuffled back to his dormitory room, keeping his eyes fixed on his leather boots, he watched them move mechanically before him. His cell phone, which had been set to vibrate while he was in class, buzzed in his coat pocket. He didn’t normally wear a coat, but coats had hoods; and he didn’t feel like facing the world today.

“William, we’re running an exploratory mission to Lyoko, we’re going to try and contact Franz Hopper. Can you make it?” Jeremie asked from across the phone line. His voice was static-ey through the poor speakers. This made it easier than ever for William to ignore the humanity in the voice and focus only on the demands within the words.

“Sorry, can’t. It’s finals week.” William replied dryly.

“Yumi said that you didn’t even know about that until just now.”

“Yeah, well now I’ve got to cram extra hard.” William grumbled, opening the door to his room.

“Let me speak to him.” A softer voice came from in the background.

“Hello,” said Aelita, “I think I know what the problem is. I’m still near the school. I will be at your room in just a minute.” She hung up, not leaving him time enough to object.

A knock came on the door. “Come in,” William called out dejectedly.

The door opened slowly, as Aelita entered. She closed it most of the way behind her.

“Hi.” He grumbled.

“Well, hello, Mr. Sunshine!” She quipped brightly, “I see that you are feeling pleasant this morning!”

“I don’t feel like talking!” He started.

“I know what it’s like.” She cut him off.

“What what’s like?”

“To be missing a big chunk of your life. To have years stolen from you.”

“Years? I was only gone a few months!” He scoffed.

“I wasn’t talking about you.” She looked down, then back up. Her green eyes locking with his black ones.

“Listen. Don’t let it get you down okay?” She smiled at him encouragingly.

“See this?” He held out an envelope for her to see, pushing it glumly across the table beside his bed like evidence in a massive crime.

She opened it up. It was a series of pictures of him with his parents on a ski trip. They were all bundled up in matching brown parkas. William’s eyes seemed to be missing the glimmer of intelligence normally present in them.

“Your clone.” She breathed.

“Yep. My parents sent me the pictures last week. Apparently we finally took that big vacation that my dad promised right after he got that big raise. In other news, I hear that my mom’s having another baby.”

“What?” Aelita breathed.

“I missed it all. My clone stole my life!”

“You know as well as I that it wasn’t your clone that did that. It was XANA.” She clenched her fist, and then released it, putting her hand comfortingly on his shoulder.

“XANA made me go missing. He didn’t take over where I left off. He didn’t let everybody think that all was well.”

She bit her lip, knowing that this was Jeremie’s doing. Not that she would point that out. She just turned towards the door and said quietly, “I understand. But remember. Some of your life was stolen from you. By sitting around and moping you’re robbing yourself of even more of it.” She left.

He stared pensively into the corner for a minute before picking up his binder.

“Well? Is he coming?” Jeremie asked with a frown, taking a bite of his chocolate bar, then breaking a piece off the bottom and holding it out to Aelita. “Want some?” he asked.

“We’ll see…” She smiled slyly, reaching for the square of chocolate, “Thanks, Jeremie.” They walked to the secret passage down below. Yumi and Odd followed closely behind.

“So, are you studying for finals?” Yumi asked.

“Nah!” Odd replied, “That’s lame! Besides, who has time with Lyoko back and all?”

“You really should, Odd! If you fail a class, you have to repeat the grade, you know, or else go to summer school- And we both know you’ll be lucky to pull off a D in Mrs. Hurtz’s class!” Yumi looked at him with a reproaching smile.

“I hate it when you’re right! I’m doomed!” he groaned, climbing down the ladder of the man hole, and mounting his skate board. Yumi got on hers as well.

“I could help you study, you know. Or you could always ask Einstein.” She looked pointedly at Jeremie.

“Maybe.” He replied doubtfully.

“Aren’t you missing someone?” A voice called from above. The manhole opened, flooding light into the dark sewer. All four of them blinked, squinting in the sudden light.

“Hi, William. Good to see you.” Aelita smiled victoriously, lighting up even more upon seeing Jeremie’s dumbfounded expression.

“Come right along,” Said Odd, “You’re just about to miss the fiesta!”

“Now we’re just missing Ulrich, Sissi, and Jim.”

“I wouldn’t expect Ulrich, Sissi, or Jim; Ulrich and Sissi are taking Penchak Silat together with Jim. He’s giving them a private session to help Sissi train for Lyoko. Ulrich is helping too since he’s knows the drill.” Jeremie explained, mounting his scooter and speeding up to catch up with everybody else.

“Are you coming with us, to Lyoko, Jeremie?” asked Aelita.

“No. Impossible. This is far too risky without somebody behind the controls.” Jeremie replied hastily.

“Stop being so chicken, Einstein!” Odd snorted, “Come on, live a little!”

“You know he’s got a point,” William spoke slowly, calculatingly; then faster, “Stop living your life afraid, while we’re out there doing our thing. You know full well you can control the computer just as well from Lyoko as from that big chair of yours. But you’re afraid to. Well, you know what? We’re afraid too, okay? So just suck it up and fight!” Then he looked down, “I didn’t mean that.” He said softly.

“I think you did.” Jeremie replied, angrily, then he pinched the bridge of his nose, readjusting his glasses, “I’ll go.” He turned around, not quite looking William in the eye.

Yumi smiled at William in the way one smiles at someone who is so hopeless that a smile may be their only solace. She had known Jeremie long enough to know that while he was not easy to upset, William had struck a nerve. Jeremie’s weakest spot. His fear. His guilt. Because deep down inside he felt terrible, using his keyboard as a shield from the world, but he was too afraid to stand and fight as his friends did. Though he often ended up in danger nonetheless. He felt like a military commander, always terrified that he was leading his men to their doom. Worse of all, he was not running into battle with them at all. William couldn’t have picked a worse topic to use to take out his anger.

“I’m sor…” William started. Jeremie shut him down with a single glare.

“That’s very nice of you.” Jeremie said coldly, turning back to the elevator, punching in the access code.

“Jeremie, I didn’t mean to…”

“Save it, huh?” Jeremie glared at him, then turned to Aelita, grabbing her hand as gently as he could manage. He led her into the elevator, “We’re going to contact Franz Hopper. Stay back and stand guard or something. I’ll send the elevator down for you when we’re ready for you to go.” He explained as the elevator door shut behind him.

“That wasn’t very nice, Jeremie.” Said Aelita, “You know he didn’t mean it, he’s just in such a bad place right now…” She looked him in the eye. He looked down, avoiding her gaze. She grabbed his chin, forcing him to look her directly in the eye, “Are you listening to me?” She pressed, and then froze. The sign of XANA flashed in his eyes for the briefest of moments, before he shook his head, and seemed to clear it away.

“I’m sorry.” He spoke gently, “I don’t know what came over me, Aelita. I… don’t feel right…”

Aelita was no longer listening to him. She couldn’t trust him, now. She stepped towards the elevator panel, trying to find a way to get back to safety, “Stay away from me, XANA.” She cried.

Suddenly, Jeremie fell to the floor. She banged at the elevator door, desperately trying to avoid the inevitable: being trapped in the super calculator. Alone. With XANA.

Jeremie got up, as suddenly as he had fallen. “That’s right, Aelita.” He said. His voice thoroughly mechanical. “You will be submitted to your death. If not, Jeremie dies. You will come pleasantly with me to Lyoko, and you will jump into the digital sea, or my monsters can shoot you in if you prefer. As you can see, I have linked Jeremie’s strength to your own. The stronger you are, the weaker he will be. You are doomed, Aelita. And where will your little friends be without you?”

“They will be fine!” She managed, in between banging on the elevator door and screaming for help.

“Now, now. I wouldn’t advise that, Aelita. You see, if any of your friends come for you, you and Jeremie will both die. Now that would be just dreadful, wouldn’t it?” XANA in Jeremie’s body smiled maliciously.

“Please!” Aelita cried, “Just don’t hurt him! I’ll go with you.”

“Thank you, Aelita. I knew you’d see reason.” Jeremie smiled maliciously, and the elevator began to drop rapidly.

Aelita fought a scream as best she could. There was nothing she could do. She couldn’t let Jeremie die, but she couldn’t let herself die either. Still, if she took life from Jeremie’s very body so that she could fuel her own life, she would never forgive herself. There was always a chance that she could be recovered from the digital sea, eventually. She just had to believe. She closed her eyes tightly as the elevator came to a jolting stop.

Jeremie typed something into the keyboard at a maniacal pace, then lead Aelita into the scanner room. He motioned towards the scanner on the far right, then said, “After you princess,” his voice full of hatred, as he got into the scanner next to her, “It’s all over, now!” He cackled as the scanner whirled around them both separately. She closed her eyes once more, and prayed so desperately that it wasn’t. He didn’t know about Sissi, yet. He didn’t know that she could still stop him. He didn’t know about the new injections Jeremie had prepared. But she wasn’t going to tell him any of that. It was too late. She let one single tear escape as she landed in Lyoko, surrounded by tarantulas. She let the rest of them fly out behind her, as the lasers forced her closer, and closer into the digital sea. She screamed, as she took the plunge into the depths below.

Jeremie’s body collapsed, as XANA left him. Things were back to the way they were. Almost. But they weren’t the same. They couldn’t be, until Aelita was back with them. Jeremie woke with a star, having remembered everything that had happened. XANA had left him his memories, the ultimate in revenge. He kneeled by the edge of the sector, and cried out of sheer anguish. Then when he was done, he started a return to the past. It was his only hope. That maybe, somehow, Aelita would come back. That this could change everything. He knew it wouldn’t, though, “Return to the past, now!” he cried.

“William, can you tell the class about what happens during mitosis?” Mrs. Hurtz asked.

“No, Ma’m. We haven’t learned that. Maybe I was absent that day.” He muttered into his arm, putting his head on the desk.

“William Dunbar! You haven’t missed a single day this year! If you can’t remember, just say so!” the teacher threw her arms up in frustration.

“When did we learn about that termite thingy anyway? Last I checked this was an anatomy class, not an... invertebrates class!” He chuckled.

“What just happened?” whispered Odd, staring at Aelita’s empty seat with dread.

“She’s gone.” Jeremie tried not to cry, “Gone. Meet me after class. Tell the others,” he clenched his fist, “I won’t rest until you’re here with us, again, Aelita.” He vowed under his breath.