Twisted Reality

By Flying Star

Disclaimer: My code backfired, so I still don't own the rights. Antefilms and Moonscoop do.

1

This is the end, finally. I can't believe it took me this long to finish. So now, without further ado, I bring you the conclusion to Twisted Reality.

1

Bold: ?

Italics : Emphasis

" " : Talking

' ' : Thinking/thoughts

- : Section Breaks

Chapter 11: The End

' I'm sure he already knows.'

Yumi Ishiyama's eyes flew open, the sudden brightness momentarily blinding her as she sat up.

Blinking tearily to clear her vision, she tried recalling what had happened, shifting slightly. The movement brought a quick stab of pain, and with it memories of earlier events.

' The static wave, the code...I should be dead.'

" Welcome back, Yumi."

Her head tilted to the side, a couple familiar faces coming into view. Ulrich standing nearing, Odd farther back.

' They should be dead.'

" Yumi?"

' Did we fail?'

" Yumi, please speak."

Yumi looked up at the screen before her, the pink-haired sprite eyeing her worriedly.

" C..commander?" Yumi stared, dazed and confused. The static wave, it erased everything. How could she be alive?

Aelita shook her head. " No, I'm not."

That voice, soft and lithe, not hard and bitter.

' Where am I?' Caution steadily gripped her. Something felt wrong, amiss. The world, their world of Lyoko, it was gone...but here she was. Her eyes caught a glimpse of someone else in the room, and she froze.

Jeremie.

Instantly her resolve crumbled, the Japanese girl sinking to her knees. ' It didn't work. I'm back in his clutches.'

" Yumi, what's wrong?"

A hand touched her shoulder, and she flinched away.

" Maybe we got the wrong one? What do the readings say, Jeremie?"

That got her attention, Yumi's head whipping up to the screen again.

" It's her. Maybe the shock of returning home has briefly confused her."

" No." Yumi shook her head, then rose slowly, catching a glimpse of Odd as she did so. For some reason her gaze was drawn to his face.

It suddenly hit her.

No eye patch, no milky, white orb. Instead, two real eyes peered back at her.

Wariness finally melted into relief. " I'm home, how?"

The young genius took a deep, shaky breath. " It was close, too close. Another second or two and I don't think we could've gotten you back. But yes, we managed to grab you, and send your counterpart home."

" My..." Yumi eyes widened.

" Jeremie?"

The sudden interjection came from the virtual girl onscreen, a worried expression on her face.

" Yes, Aelita?"

" I'm receiving a coded message from an unknown source."

" Can you decifer it?

" It's locked within a series of equations and computations, but...hmm. This is odd?"

" No, I'm Odd." Odd smirked as Ulrich shushed him.

" What's wrong?" Jeremie asked.

" There's digital marks scattered, no, placed throughout the file." She hesitated, rereading the coded arrangement before imputting a few responses. " It's opening almost of its own accord. But the algorithm, it was almost too easy to decipher, like it was meant to be opened by me." She now frowned. " The file is now open for viewing, and Jeremie, it's from my counterpart."

Jeremie nodded, seemingly unsurprised by her discovery. " Basic ET&D?"

" Message was recorded after last contact, but before the energy flux."

" What's that mean?" Yumi asked.

" It means it's not current." Jeremie frowned." Play it."

The screen flickered as the picture stabilized. Within moments the alternate world commander appeared.

" Commander Aelita recording. I apologize in advance, but if you are watching this, then that means my functions, as well as those of your friend, have ceased."

" What's she talking about?" Odd asked.

" My intentions were not meant to be malicious, and I feel regret for dragging you into this situation, for you were not advised about the inevitable outcome."

" Seriously, what is she saying? It's like..."

" Shhh." Surprisingly, it was Jeremie that shushed him this time.

" Hear me out, and you may judge my actions if you want. I am currently dictating this message while simultaniously implementing a program that will delete XANA.."

" How could that be a bad thing?" Odd mused quietly to himself.

" ...plus everything and everyone here."

" Oh."

" It is a last resort that I wish I did not have to do, but it is our only recourse since your Yumi came here." The virtual alter girl hesitated, pressing a few unseen commands on the screen next to her.

" Yumi, did she tell you about this?" Jeremie asked, pausing the message.

" Not her, but yes I was told. Jeremie, I think I know what happened to them..." Yumi shook her head, Alter Odd's words coming back to haunt her.

' This is a suicide mission, and what you're hearing, is the beginning of the end..'

" Yumi, what happened?" Jeremie pressed, seeing her falter.

' But if I'm here?' The certain ramification of why she was still alive took root in her mind, guilt replacing the earlier feelings of elation. " Finish the transmission. We'll talk later." Yumi hoped Jeremie didn't hear her voice waver as he unpaused the video.

" When Jeremie first took over Lyoko's core, a realization struck me. Without Lyoko, there would be no XANA, and without XANA, Jeremie's power supply would be cut off. Digging through the programs for the better part of a year finally revealed a way to do so. However it required the sacrifice of not only myself, but that of the ones I considered my friends. It was a difficult decision that I refrained from telling them at first. I didn't want to be responsible for their deletions, but the program was exact in its description. The decision made, I opted to tell them my plan. But before I could, our Yumi supposedly perished, rendering the option unusable."

" Until I came." Yumi said, giving Ulrich a quick glance.

" Until your Yumi came. With her return, the ability to destroy Lyoko was reinstated. Believe me, I wish there was another way, but my travails through all the information have revealed no alternate way. My comrades know what must be done, and your Yumi shall know before I finish. I am truly sorry." Her eyes raised, seeming to land on Jeremie. " The time is now. Our XANA has your Yumi's code, and with it, it has revealed that your world will be next to be invaded. I cannot allow that to happen. It is my hope that you too shall be able to dispose of your XANA before what happens here, happens to you."

Jeremie frowned.

Know this, the way to destroy XANA, is to destroy Lyoko. It is the only definitive resolution. This is commander Aelita, farewell."

The screen fuzzed out as the message ended.

" Aelita?"

Jeremie blinked, looking up at Yumi's question, eyes going to the screen with their Aelita.

The virtual girl, despite being onscreen, looked positively pale.

" No..." Jeremie started, knowing what she was thinking. " We won't resort to such an extreme measure unless you're safe."

" Are you sure? If it's the only way?"

" Even if it is..." Jeremie turned to Yumi, who was looking away. " Yumi, did this happen?

" Did she tell you about her virus?" Yumi turned around, her expression unreadable.

" I..no. I assume from your question that she was infected by her XANA."

" It's worse than that, Jeremie. She confided in me that this virus, regardless of the outcome, would kill her. Unlike our Aelita, she had nothing to live for."

" Was there anything else?"

Yumi looked up. "Yes, their XANA didn't infect her...your counterpart did."

" No." Jeremie sunk back, shocked. " I didn't realize."

Aelita shook her head sadly. " They're gone, aren't they Yumi?"

" Yes." The japanese girl confirmed grimly. " The program their Aelita activated wiped out the ' Whole of Lyoko', everything."

" Everything?" Jeremie pressed, hoping to salvage something positive.

" EVERYTHING. As if their Lyoko never existed. I watched the tower their Aelita was in disintegrate. Their XANA and Jeremie betrayed each other in the end. He died, Jeremie, right before my very eyes. Torn apart pixel by pixel, screaming the whole time."

Odd glanced between Yumi and Jeremie, noting the former's tone, and the latter's paling visage. " But...their Yumi. We sent her home to get you. With you here that means..."

" She died in Yumi's place." Ulrich supplied quietly.

" Yes, she did." Yumi looked down. " Aelita, do you think there was any chance my counterpart made it to another safe point?"

" Maybe."

All eyes turned to the one who had spoken, Jeremie.

The young genius didn't meet Yumi's gaze. " But unlikely." His eyes went to Aelita.

This time Aelita looked away. " Based on the programs conditions, the possiblity of her survival is... miniscule. Less than one percent."

" I see. " He still didn't look at Yumi. " Aelita, play back the message. I want to check some things."

Aelita nodded, but then frowned. " I'm sorry Jeremie, but I can't."

" Why?"

" It's gone. The entire message is unretrievable now. I believe it was a failsafe from my counterpart."

Jeremie nodded. " That confirms some things."

" So that's it then? " Yumi asked softly. " We can't retrieve them?"

" I'm sorry, but even if I could locate their world again, there would be nothing to retrieve. Once dead..."

" I know...they stay dead." Yumi replied, then stood suddenly. Without another word, she walked briskly to the door, opening it before Ulrich can call for her.

Ulrich moved forward, taking a few steps before someone grabbed his arm. He looked back into Jeremie's eyes.

" Let her go. She needs some time to herself, as I expect we all do." The young genius said quietly, then turned, heading out the door as well.

" I will see to him." Aelita said to no one in particular as she vanished from the screen.

Ulrich turned to Odd. " So, are you going to leave too?"

" Not much else to do, is there?" Odd exited the room.

Ulrich sighed, eyeing the way Yumi went, and followed.

-

" I figured I'd find you here."

Jeremie looked up, acknowledging Aelita's physical presence with a small nod.

She settled down onto his bed, observing Jeremie as he sat at his computer desk. The system wasn't on, but his gaze was riveted to the screen.

" Even knowing I wasn't him, that Jeremie. She still couldn't trust me."

Aelita blinked. " There's no reason to believe that, Jeremie."

Jeremie steepled his hands, staring hard at the blank screen. " I find that hard to believe." He continued glaring, as if willing answers to appear before him. " Something was wrong, I knew it from the moment the power fluxes occured, but still I continued. I should've been more careful. If I had just waited, their Yumi would be alive here."

" And our Yumi would be dead, Jeremie."

" I know, but it still feels like I didn't do enough. Her life was in my hands, and I extinguished it. I'm no better than him."

His statement surprised the pink-haired girl. His alter's actions had obviously been weighing on his mind more than she'd thought.

" Attainable power is a tempting vice to many beings, Jeremie. But...I know you. You're not like that."

" But I could be. Look what happened to him."

" No, you're a different person. He was too. Whatever haunted him took away his trust, changed him. But you, you have friends, a family, you have...me."

The chair swiveled around. " You heard what she said." He wasn't looking at her.

" What in particular?"

This time he did look up. " Well not said, but implied. She didn't want what happened there to happen here, and I believe she wasn't just talking about their XANA."

Aelita shook her head sadly. " Jeremie, their world was a different place, with varying extraordinary circumstances unique to their world. You won't become him."

" I..." Jeremie sighed, hands resting on his knees as he gave her a small half smile. " You're right, Aelita. It's just a lot to take in, to realize that I..I mean he could fall so far." He stood up, walking over before taking a seat next to her. " It scares me, I guess."

Aelita gave him a sympathetic look. " It's natural to fear the unknown. Look at me for example, every time I set foot on Lyoko, my mortality is exposed. A few laser shots, a fall into the digital sea, and I'm gone." Her expression turned downcast. " Worse, only a small handful of people will ever lament my passing."

" I didn't realize you felt that way, Aelita." Jeremie was looking at her.

The girl shrugged. " I accept it. The important thing is we can keep going forward. We got Yumi back safe and sound, and now we can focus on keeping our world safe."

Jeremie smiled. " That's true. Thanks Aelita, I guess I just needed to talk."

" You can always talk to me, Jeremie." Aelita smiled back.

-

On the factory bridge, a similar meeting was taking place.

" I figured I'd find you here."

The girl leaning against the rail gave him a look akin to her counterpart. " Hey Ulrich."

Ulrich took a place next to her." Are you okay, Yumi?" He asked, pretty sure of her answer.

" Yes, no, I don't know." The japanese girl sighed, now slumping against the supports.

Ulrich grasped the rail, feeling a strong sense of deja vu. Yumi looked almost as dejected as well, the other Yumi had. " It's not your fault, you know."

Yumi looked down.

" I'm sure you tried your best. We didn't know this would happen, their Aelita didn't tell us."

Yumi closed her eyes. " That's just the thing, I knew. Their Odd told me we weren't going to survive. I made my peace, and resigned myself to my fate. To know that she took my place instead just troubles me. She would've had a chance here..."

" Yeah...but you wouldn't be." The boy coughed lightly as Yumi opened wide eyes to look at him. " I...I mean it was strange without you here."

"But she looked like me, Ulrich." She said so softly that he almost didn't hear.

" Looked, yes, but she wasn't you." His gaze focused on the factory. " I found her, up here." He turned back to the quiet girl. " She was afraid to go home."

Yumi nodded. " From what her friends said, it's understandable. She broke down after the loss of her parents."

" Yeah. Without them, and with people here who were essentially them, she felt she could have a better life here."

A look of curiousity crossed Yumi's face. " What changed her mind?"

" Truthfully, even though she didn't say his name." He hesitated, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. " I believe her Ulrich was the reason."

" Really?"

Ulrich smiled lightly. " She said she had someone she missed, it's reasonable to assume it's him." The smile faded. " At least she's with him now, and her parents."

The japanese girl's eyes raised to the sky, grateful to see the blue hues instead of the sickly colors of the other world. " I know they're gone, but I wonder what happened to their Aelita? She pretty much said she wasn't human, and I hate to admit it, but I agree." Her tone softened. " Despite our first impressions, I miss her."

" She saved a lot of people though."

" Betrayed by one of their own, by one she trusted. I still can't believe their Jeremie switched sides." Yumi kicked a loose stone, watching it skid away. " He made a deal with the digital devil."

" I...I hope I'm not interupting anything?"

The two jumped as Odd crossed the bridge, the youth looking quite subdued as he took a spot near them.

" Yumi?" Ulrich nodded, giving her a subtle look.

She got the hint. Something was bothering Odd, too." You've got our attention. What's on your mind?"

Odd nudged a twig. " It's nothing really, but the other Odd." His eyes went to Yumi. " We didn't part on good terms."

" He asked me to apologize for him, Odd. If that's what you're asking."

Relief settled on his features, the boy nodding. " He really was different from me."

" They all were." Yumi mused, glancing at the factory again.

" What matters is you're back and alive." Ulrich said.

" Yeah." She was silent for a moment. " And we can defeat our XANA without sacrifices."

" And I can kick Megatank butt again. What?" Odd asked innocently as the two looked at him, then began laughing.

" Hey, what's so funny?" Odd now looked slightly miffed.

Yumi's laughter became giggles. " It's just good to have things back to normal."

-

Epilogue

The core stood silent, along with computer monitors and other equipment. The factory as dead as its occupants, it sat like a grim testament to their victory.

But not for long.

A sudden spark, and the previously deactivated scanner hummed to life, its doors opening slowly.

Harsh laughter resonated throughout the room as swirling darkness filtered in.

Step by step, the darkness began to shift, transform into something else.

One step, a leg forming, another step bringing solidity to both. A few more strides and arms began to form, then a torso. A head of blond hair, glasses perched lightly on the nose, raised from the chest.

Eyes of an unnatural nature open, glowing red as the being regards the room. It stretches, raising its newly formed hands as it smirks, then lowers them.

Its body now complete, Alter XANA examines its 'borrowed' template form. The humans' body would still invoke fear in what remained of the human race.

" My dear sibling AI. Though you were able to extirpate our home. I still..." The grin stretched, becoming something never meant for a human face. " Live."

The End?

-

Yep, it's done, finally. Sets it up for a sequel, doesn't it? I don't know if I will, since this last chapter took me well over a year, and I've got a lot of stories lined up. I do have a basic outline for some of it, so maybe in the future. I'm so sorry it took me so long. I really didn't think it would.

Oh yeah, don't think I didn't remember earlier in the story about what Alter Jeremie said to Alter Aelita saying she was never meant to exist outside Alter Lyoko's borders. Remember, Yumi was unconscious at the time, so she didn't hear. Which means she could say what Alter Aelita told her about the virus. And who's to say Alter Jeremie was really telling the truth anyway?

No need for an Alter XANA/XANA profile, since both are equally evil.

Please, if you read, review, I like people's thoughts on this story.