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Sorry, but that's the only RP spoiler there is in this story. wink

Phase Seven: Discontinuity

Who am I? Why am I here? Those are the great questions of life for every person...and Jeremy's determined to figure those out for Xandra. With the basic knowledge that she isn't human, he works endlessly with what data he has to unravel the mysteries of her identity. Meanwhile, Xandra receives her letter at last, but the response is far from what she expected. When XANA creates a bug in the school system that exposes Aelita's papers as forgeries, people start to ask questions, and Aelita's XANA-possessed responses do more harm than help!

wow! 7 sounds like its gonna be great! keep up the good writing!!!

(( i think this might be sterotyping or something, but most of the people i know who write code lyoko fanfics tend to be really good at writing ))

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!

Project Xandra
Phase Seven: Discontinuity

It had been a few days since Jeremy’s original discovery, and things returned to an awkward normality. All of the Lyoko warriors had a bit of trouble acting normal around Xandra, and Jeremy knew it was only a matter of time until she caught on to their secrecy. After all, it had only taken her a couple of weeks to pin them down the first time; now that she knew them somewhat, it would probably take less than that. He felt a bit of pressure in this notion, knowing what kind of questions and accusations would follow. Since it was his discovery, he would likely be held accountable...he needed to be ready.

“Access denied,” the computer chirped at him, making him growl in frustration. He had never had to delve this deeply into someone’s data, and the supercomputer was showing him just how difficult it really was. The inner workings of their new friend were heavily encrypted, and Jeremy was afraid that even he might be stumped. There was only one thing he could do when he reached this point...

“Aelita? I’m absolutely stumped...it’s so encrypted, and it seems like the key keeps changing, just to screw with me!”
“Jeremy? Are you STILL at the factory? What does that make now, four nights in a row??”
“Five.”
“The teachers are going to notice if you keep at it. Maybe you should take a short break; Xana’s been quiet recently, but you know that never lasts. We should focus on him, not our ally.” Jeremy gave a sigh and agreed to return; he knew that she was aware of his fears, that Xandra was a creation of their enemy, but she refused to entertain the thought. Why would she trust someone that much, even when they’re lying about their identity? The lunch table was quiet as Xandra ate there enthusiastically; it seemed her appetite was back since that close brush with the authorities. No reporters or investigations had arrived at the school, which was surprising considering Sissy was not known for her silence. Perhaps it was her strange way of saying thanks, or maybe she was simply too shocked by the whole scene to relive it. Either way, the group was happy to have her out of their hair.

“So,” Jeremy said awkwardly, trying to start a conversation at the table, “you never got around to telling us what happened in the ambulance.”

“Yeah,” Ulrich added, “I definitely want to hear how you finally got Sissy to shut up.”

“And don’t pull a Jim,” Yumi finished, “It can’t be nearly as bad as his stories, anyway!” The table fell silent as Xandra recounted the story, from commandeering the defibrillator in an attempt to short out XANA to getting wrestled out of the ambulance by a pair of cops. She ran the whole gambit of emotions over the course of the tale, ending with a bit of laughter as she recalled the look on the cop’s face after Delmas returned to normal. Jeremy adjusted his glasses after listening to the whole story and asked her one simple question.
“Did you turn it on?”
“Huh?”
“The defibrillator...they weren’t using it when you grabbed it, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right...well, I must have turned it on, or it wouldn’t have worked!” She said with a smile, “The whole thing happened so fast...” Jeremy shot a look at Aelita, who cringed slightly at the information. She did share Jeremy’s doubts on some level, but she still trusted Xandra, especially after the spider incident. Still, she couldn’t help but find it odd that her new friend was almost always around when an attack took place. It was starting to look like more than simply bad luck.

“Well, I have a bit of work to do,” Jeremy said, giving a light nod to Aelita, “hopefully the new program will make things a bit easier on us.”

“See ya,” Xandra and Odd said in unison, causing a bit of laughter between the two. Odd seemed to be becoming more friendly with Xandra, though the rest of the group wondered whether that was simply because she had been giving him over half of her lunch for a few days. William had warmed up to her, as well, though his eyes remained fixed on Yumi, much to Ulrich’s dismay. The rest of the lunch went on as usual until Jim walked in the door with a box full of envelopes.

“Mail call!” He yelled, making Xandra spin around in her chair. She had sat nervously through every mail call since she first mailed her letter first class, hoping to hear a response. Even though she hadn’t heard her name in almost a week, she remained as enthusiastic as ever.

“Stern!” Jim called, handing him an envelope from home, which he promptly shoved into his backpack. More nagging from his father, no doubt; he didn’t want to deal with it right now. Xandra kicked her legs under her chair in nervous anticipation, watching the box dwindle down with each name called. Maybe it would be tomorrow, after all...or maybe never. She didn’t want to think about the second option, that she was simply abandoned here. They would never do that...would they? Again, the fearful forgetfulness caused her to shake a bit. There’s a difference between letting go of one’s past, and having it simply slip away from you.

“Thompson!” Jim said as Xandra stood up immediately. He handed her an envelope, and she looked down at it with glee. It wasn’t a returned letter, but held a completely different type of handwriting, and was addressed to “Miss Alexandra Thompson”. She giggled a bit and grabbed her tray, leaving the cafeteria hastily; she wanted time to read the letter before her next class.

“You can’t get any more details on the composition files?”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to crack for five days,” Jeremy replied with a tinge of anger in his voice, “I never knew they’d be so difficult.”
“Well, what about her DNA code? She has one, right?” Aelita suggested, remembering when the Scyphozoa stole Yumi’s DNA code. It seemed easy enough to access. “If we can find it and run through medical databases, we might be able to find something.”
Xandra flopped on her bed and tore into the envelope, unfolding the piece of paper, watching a couple pictures fall out of the folds. There was a family picture, her parents and herself, as well as a picture of her house...but the third picture threw her for a loop. A couple she had never met, standing in front of her house...at least, it looked sort of like her house. She began to read the letter:

Dear Alexandra,

My name is Henry Williams. I am not sure whether I was meant to receive this letter or not, but you seemed so eager for a response that I decided to write you. Catic Academy is a wonderful place; I myself am an alumnus of the school, though I only got to go there for a semester of exchange. I hope this letter finds you doing well there.

I am slightly disconcerted at your letter, however. Is your address mistaken? You see, I am the current owner of this house; I live here with my wife, Natsuko, and our daughter, Miriku.

“Ah! You’re brilliant, Aelita! I’ve found a file matching the DNA code we extracted from the data!”
“Great!” Aelita replied, putting down her book, “what does it say?”
“Well, it definitely looks like her. Born and raised in London, England. Parents are Charles and Marianne Thompson...no way.”
“Jeremy? What is it?”

I do recall the former owners of this house, Charles and Marianne. However...

“According to this file, Alexandra was reported missing by local authorities...”

They left this house...

“Thirteen years ago?!” Jeremy and Xandra said in unison, an entire dorm apart. Aelita ran to Jeremy’s shoulder, looking over the information herself. She shook her head in disbelief.

“That’s impossible...! She’d be in her mid-twenties by now if that were true!”
“But she isn’t human...whatever she is, she hasn’t aged since that point.” Aelita took the nearest chair, trying to come to terms with the idea...she, too, had gone missing for a long time on Lyoko, but she was human through and through. Considering Xandra had had no contact with Lyoko at all, it left a burning question in her mind: how?

“I-I wish you the best of luck in finding your parents,” Xandra read aloud, her voice shaking as tears streamed down her face, “Godspeed, Henry, Natsuko, and Miriku Williams...” She sat there, unable to do anything to stop the tears falling on the paper and making the ink run slightly. It was impossible...she had just come to Catic three weeks ago or so. She said goodbye to her friends and family, came to France, and stayed in that hostel overnight so she could arrive bright and early in the morning. She remembered all of it as clear as day...three weeks, not thirteen years! She looked over at the pictures Henry had included in the envelope; they were all legitimate, but the timing couldn’t have been right. She flipped over her family picture to find a year written on the back...

1993. Fourteen years ago...and she looked exactly the same! Throwing the pictures and letter away in haste, she dashed over to her bookshelf, grabbing her album and flipping it open. She carefully slipped one out of the album sleeve and flipped it over. 1990! Each picture was ripped out of the album faster and faster as she desperately searched for a recent picture, or even one where the year started in a 2...

“Do...do you think she knows about this?” Aelita asked at last after sitting in shocked silence for a few moments.

“If she does,” Jeremy replied, “she is an excellent liar...still, it doesn’t answer anything. We already knew she wasn’t normal...Xandra, what the heck are you?”

Xandra had looked through every picture in the entire album, and they lay scattered across the floor in her room. All of them had a year written on the back, as her parents often did...and all of them were older than thirteen years. She looked around frantically, her eyes finally settling on the only untouched picture in the entire room...that of her parents. She stood up weakly and stumbled over to the picture, still shaking slightly as she grasped the frame. She undid the fasteners on the back of the frame and removed the cardboard backing from the picture...no sooner could she look at the year on the back before she threw the picture, frame and all, away from her. It bounced off the wall and hit the floor hard, the glass front cracking in at least ten directions. She dropped to her knees, her eyes glazed over as she simply stared at the pictures across the floor. Those two words echoed over and over in her mind...thirteen years...thirteen years...

Where was she all those thirteen years? As her mind reeled with the realization, she could vaguely hear the voice outside Aelita’s door.

“Aelita Stones! Come out here! The principal wants to see you immediately!!” Part of her wanted to get up, to find out what was happening, but she couldn’t move. Her body seemed frozen as it tried to catch up with everything that had just happened, and her voice wouldn’t raise itself over a bare whisper to call out. Everything in her had shut down...everything was devoted to answering that one question...what happened?

Jeremy looked over at the computer and noticed a positive result on his SuperScan. “Every stupid time,” he muttered under his breath, pulling out his mobile before a pounding knock on the door caused him to drop it in alarm.

“Aelita Stones! I know you’re in there! Principal’s Office, immediately!!” Jim bellowed before opening the unlocked door. Jeremy and Aelita stood there, at a loss for what to do as Jim led Aelita out by the arm. She struggled against it and gave a frightened cry as she watched a shadow run down Jim’s arm into her own. Jeremy immediately grabbed his mobile and texted the distress signal to everyone’s mobiles as he tried to chase down Jim as he almost dragged Aelita down towards the principal’s office. Something didn’t make sense; whenever he took Aelita, he headed straight for the digital sea, not the principal. He hoped the others would make it soon; Jeremy couldn’t handle Jim normally, let alone if he was possessed. As he reached the door and saw the pair on the other side, Aelita looked a lot calmer walking beside Jim. She glanced back at him and shook her head, as if to tell him to get the others. He hesitated for a moment, but gave an understanding nod as she disappeared from view. A second later, Odd and Ulrich ran up behind him.

“We got the message. What’s going on?” Ulrich asked.
“He’s got Aelita; they’re heading to the principal.”
“What? Why?”
“No clue,” Jeremy answered, “but I need you guys to grab the others before they get to classes. Odd, find William and meet me at the factory. Ulrich, you and Yumi are going to have to rescue Aelita from the main office. I don’t know who he’s possessed to pull this one off, but it can’t be good.” Ulrich nodded and ran towards Yumi’s next class, but Odd tilted his head for a moment.
“What about Xandra...should I find her, too?”
“Until I’ve figured her out, I’d prefer to avoid dragging her into this.” Odd gave a small sigh but followed Jeremy’s directions, heading for William’s next class. Jeremy, on the other hand, made a break for the factory, hoping to try and minimize whatever damage XANA hoped to cause.

Jim sat Aelita down in the chair in front of Principal Delmas, keeping his hands on her shoulders. Principal Delmas sat at the desk, his arms folded in front of him and his brow furrowed in Aelita’s direction.
“Who are you?” He asked plainly in a cold voice that caused her to tremble slightly.
“I’m Aelita Stones, Odd’s cousin from Canada,” she replied confidently, knowing to stick to her story. However, she noticed that this answer simply made Delmas angrier.
“Don’t lie to me, Aelita. Your papers...all of them...they’re forgeries!” Aelita’s eyes widened considerably as Jim’s grip on her shoulders tightened. How could they possibly know? Jeremy did such a good job in...of course, the answer was clear. This was XANA’s doing; if he couldn’t get rid of her on Lyoko, he’d try it on Earth! Suddenly, she felt herself begin to speak, even though she hadn’t even considered responding.

“Of course they are forgeries,” Aelita responded in a very calm voice, XANA’s symbol pulsing on her throat, “I have lied to you all about...well, just about everything. My name is not Aelita Stones, but Aelita Schaffer. I am technically 28 years old, though I have been in suspended animation for about thirteen years...”

Ulrich arrived at the office with Yumi, putting his ear to the door and listening inside. “She’s telling them everything! We have to get her out of there!”
“But she’d never do that...you think this is what XANA’s trying to pull off?”
“Probably,” Ulrich said in an annoyed tone, “well, you ready?” She nodded, and the two kicked open the door, facing down Jim and Principal Delmas inside. Aelita looked behind her and smiled; she’d be out of her in no time!

Not if I can help it, a voice hauntingly similar to her own replied as XANA’s symbol pulsed again, I cannot fully possess you, but I won’t need to.

“You have to stop those two!” Aelita exclaimed, still sitting in the chair by Jim’s force, “They want to keep me from telling the truth...they’re two of the people that tried to kill you a few days ago!!” Ulrich and Yumi stopped as Delmas’ hand grabbed the phone and dialed 911. They didn’t have much time now before the police would be on their way; they had to get Aelita out of there!

“Scanner, William. Scanner, Odd. Virtualization!” In a flash, the duo dropped into the polar region, looking around. “I’m sending you a pair of vehicles. The tower should be northeast of your location!” Jeremy sat at the terminal, his hands clenched nervously; Ulrich and Yumi should have gotten to Aelita by now...so what was taking them so long?

Ulrich and Yumi ran forward as Aelita glanced back at them with a sly grin on her face. “Jim, get me out of here! Take me someplace safe!!” Jim picked her up, turning to face the pair with XANA’s symbol pulsing on his forehead. Ulrich and Yumi stopped for a moment, looking at one another; with Aelita in his arms, it would be hard for Jim to fight back, even with XANA’s possession. The two clenched their fists and attacked at once, watching angrily as Jim dodged their attack, swinging one leg and kicking Yumi to the ground. They could hear the distant sirens, and things weren’t looking good. After a few more exchanged blows, the two groups stood at a stalemate. XANA took this opportunity, and Aelita spoke:

“They attack by electronic means from a supercomputer on the edge of town, in the abandoned factory. They operate under the codename XANA,” she said with a smug smile, holding on to Jim’s jacket, “I can give the names of the others...once I’m safe. They'll try to kidnap me if I tell here!”

“How is he doing this?” Yumi asked quietly, “I thought Aelita would be immune!”
“Jim hasn’t let go this whole time, even to defend himself...do you think that the contact lets him control her?”
“Maybe...only one way to find out!” The two of them prepared for another charge...aimed directly for Jim’s arms, and Aelita!
“Freeze! Police!” A pair of officers called, pistols drawn. Ulrich and Yumi stopped in their tracks, afraid of what would happen if they finished their attack. As they prepared to raise their hands, a fist came out of nowhere from behind, knocking the police officer flat to the ground, the other spun around and held his gun towards the face of the assailant.

“Xandra!” Ulrich and Yumi said in surprise, wondering how she had found them. She gave no response, instead choosing to keep her eyes on the officer. Delmas was at a loss; how could the person who saved his life be defending the people Aelita claimed to be responsible? As she shifted her weight, the officer fired, the bullet grazing her face as she dove forward, driving her whole force into the police officer’s chest. Yumi and Ulrich seized the opportunity, double-teaming Jim until he was forced to release his grip on Aelita to keep fighting. She recovered quickly, understanding what was going on as she caught Yumi and Ulrich fighting Jim. As she left the room, Xandra stood, turning to face Aelita as she left. Aelita stopped in her tracks, gasping audibly as she looked at her friend; where the bullet had grazed her, a metallic shine remained instead of muscle, bone, or blood. Xandra tilted her head slightly, confused about Aelita’s reaction.

“What are you waiting for?? They need you at the factory, immediately!” Xandra said, kicking the police officer who was trying to get up. Aelita shook herself from the shock and nodded, running off towards the factory. Ulrich and Yumi continued to try and subdue Jim as Xandra crossed the room towards Delmas. He backed away in his chair, almost falling over as he stared at the girl.

“Y-you’re—“

“Saving them? Yeah. Aelita was lying about all that...well, not exactly. It’s complicated. Either way, right now, you need to put the phone down, or I’ll take out anyone who comes in that door,” Xandra commanded with a hand on her hip. As she brushed a lock of hair out of her face, she felt an odd texture on her cheek; it seemed harder than the rest, and she began to worry that she had been hit hard. Still, she should have felt something...or was this simply adrenaline at work? She shook her head before putting her hand on the phone receiver, making sure he wouldn’t try anything funny.

“Jeremy!” Aelita cried as she emerged from the elevator into the computer terminal, throwing her arms around him. “I’m sorry it took so long; XANA possessed my voice through Jim...I almost told them everything!”

Jeremy almost fell out of the chair when Aelita suddenly hugged him. “I-it’s alright; Ulrich and Yumi will take care of Jim. Get down to the scanners; we’ll activate a return after you’re done.” Aelita nodded, heading for the elevator and pressing the button. As the door closed in front of her, she suddenly remembered what she wanted to say.

“Jeremy! I found out about Xandra! She’s —“ The doors slammed shut just then, and Aelita shook her head. Her revelation could wait until after the tower was deactivated. Jeremy typed in the new coordinates and began the virtualization process, dropping her just outside of the main battle area. William and Odd had been busy fighting monsters up to that point, and in the time it took the others to free Aelita, they had eliminated the majority of the monsters. They only hoped that XANA wouldn’t send another clone; then again, possessing a human seemed to take quite a bit of his energy.

“The cavalry’s here, boys!” Aelita said as she soared above the pair, throwing an energy field down onto a block while charging one in her other hand. Odd looked up at her with a smile before a shot from a Krabb took him out. William retaliated with his charged strike, looking around for any more of XANA’s minions. Aelita landed on the ground and made a run for the tower as a tarantula materialized nearby. It lined up a shot for Aelita, but it was blocked by William’s zanbatou, and vanished in an instant, knowing when it had been beat. On Earth, Yumi and Ulrich were bruised but still fighting while Xandra kept a watchful eye on Principal Delmas and the cops outside. She had confiscated their firearms, but they still had pepper spray, and letting that stuff loose in the room would have consequences.

AELITA
CODE: LYOKO

“Tower deactivated,” Aelita reported as the panels around her fell below. The police came to as Jim fell, leaving the two kids standing. They reached for their guns to find nothing there. As they looked in the room, Delmas was sitting at the chair with Xandra on his desk. One hand was on the phone receiver, the other on one of the officer’s weapons.

“Feeling powerless?” She asked, her expression perfectly solemn. “That’s okay; in a second you’ll get a second chance...and I’ll still feel that way.” Yumi looked over to her, wondering what on earth she could have been talking about...

“Return to the past, now,” Jeremy commanded, hitting the return key and engulfing everything in a pure white light...

Xandra found herself back in her room just after throwing the picture frame against the wall. She gave a sigh as she picked it up, placing the cracked frame back on the dresser where it started and deciding to clean up the photos as well. Aelita and Jeremy were at the computer, looking at the same information they had before. It was no longer shocking, and Aelita placed her hand on Jeremy’s shoulder.

“Xandra’s an android...or at least a cyborg,” she said distantly, not sure if she could even believe her own memory at that point, “when she knocked out the cops, a stray bullet revealed metal under her skin. H-how...how could I have not known...?”

“She fooled us all, Aelita,” Jeremy replied, “I wanted to believe her myself. Come on; we should tell the others...”

“What about Xandra...? Do you think she knows?” Jeremy paused; it seemed obvious that someone would know about something like that...yet something seemed too genuine about her, like she was truly trying to be human. And she performed too well.

“Only one way to find out,” Jeremy replied, “Let’s stop at her room first.” The pair went down to her room, knocking gently on the door. Xandra answered, though her eyes were still a little puffy from the crying she had done earlier. Half her pictures remained scattered on the floor behind her.

“It looks like a whirlwind hit this place,” Jeremy commented, pointing to the mess behind her.

“I was just...reminiscing,” she replied, looking down at the floor.

“Okay, now you’re lying to me,” Aelita said with arms folded, “you’re a lousy liar, you know that? What happened?” Without saying a word, Xandra picked the letter up off the foot of her bed and handed it to the pair, who read it with surprisingly little shock.

“Thirteen years,” Xandra said bitterly, her fists clenched, “How the bloody hell could I have been gone for thirteen years?!” Aelita and Jeremy looked at each other and shook their heads before closing the door. They didn’t have that answer, but it did explain how she could be as old as Aelita and look just as young.

“You may want to sit down,” Aelita said, placing a hand on Xandra’s shoulder, “Jeremy, call the others. They deserve to know, too.”

“Know what? Do you know what happened?!” Xandra asked, putting her hands on Aelita’s shoulders and staring straight into her eyes with hope.

“No, but I can explain the picture,” she said, holding up her fourteen year old family portrait, “and I can already tell you won’t like what you hear...”

You don't know the half of it... twisted I dropped a hint or two in this episode, a bit of foreshadowing if you will. (Two questions to think about are whited out below. I don't want to ruin your thoughts and speculation...)

1.) She has a medical database and a DNA code...wouldn't the doctors have noticed first?

2.) Xandra and Aelita were both missing for about the same amount of time...

Phase 8 will be started later tonight, if I can muster the energy.

If you didn't notice, the letter did mention the same mother and father as the records. That rules out the forgery...unless, of course, the parents forged them... wink

I never said that... stare Just giving a possibility.

the story is interestingly good