Well, I updated extremely early because this is the final chapter of Pretty Hate Machine. I got over 2,500 hits and 63 reviews as of 8/9 September 2011, so I really appreciate everyone who has read and reviewed this fic. Now onto the final chapter!

Pretty Hate Machine

Anger doesn't define me. It doesn't give me purpose. It makes me release all the doubts I have… But using it at the wrong time makes the consequences heavy. I am Ulrich Stern, and I am much more than a pretty hate machine.

Chapter 12: What You Deserve

During lunch the next day, Ulrich had finished discussing to the principal about his absence from school. It was less confrontational than he expected, unaware that Jeremie already covered for him. He explained to the principal, quickly finding out that Mr. Delmas was wondering about the mental state of his parents, how he and his parents were coping with the house and how they were going to rebuild.

Mr. Delmas respected Ulrich's wishes and did not press further. Instead, he was going to inform the teachers to not be harsh towards him for a two week period, so he can recover faster. Ulrich was thankful for the principal's offer, and walked out of his office.

It was a strange feeling to be free from possession, even though it wasn't directly from XANA himself. He had control of every limb of his body, without any retaliation from Avikar. He could sleep, eat and breathe, because he wasn't on Lyoko anymore. He was human again, but he didn't think of that too lightly.

Going down the route he usually travels to the Factory, he was glad he wasn't possessed for too long like William was. But he could still feel the pain of somebody using him like a puppet, making every action for him against his will. It shouldn't be right, but to remember the pain sounds like a horrible sign to Ulrich. Maybe William was better off, not feeling any pain from being manipulated by XANA.

Finally arriving in the Supercomputer Lab, his friends smiled. They were all glad he was able to come here twenty four hours later from the moment he was freed. Ulrich made a slight grin, truly knowing that he was back with his friends, as his allies, not his enemy.

"How are you feeling Ulrich?" Aelita enquired.

"Alright," Ulrich stated.

"That's good. I didn't think you were able to come here," Yumi responded, "The way you collapsed out of the scanner gave me that impression."

"It did. But, I… I wouldn't be here without you. I didn't get to say it before. Thank you, for setting me free," Ulrich replied.

"Wait, you remember that?" Jeremie asked.

"Yeah, along with other things," Ulrich answered.

"Well, that's unusual. William, Aelita and I didn't remember any events during our possession," Jeremie mentioned, "Although, Ulrich wasn't possessed by XANA directly. He was possessed by XANA's agent, Avikar. So that could explain why he could still remember the events during his possession."

Odd ignored Jeremie's further explanation and questioned Ulrich, "Could you tell us what it's like being possessed?"

"Odd! You should give him a rest from this! He's been through hell and back with his life here and on Lyoko. He needs respite!" Yumi shouted.

"It's okay Yumi. I'm happy to tell," Ulrich declared, grabbing everybody's attention, "I need to let this out anyway."

Ulrich bit his lip once the words escaped his mouth. He was unable to describe this feeling to himself, so what chance did he have to describe being possessed to everyone else? But he told himself he couldn't go back on his word. He took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts before he began.

"There is no one word to describe this experience. Every day, it felt like I was pelted with hailstones in my head. When Avikar wasn't using my body against you guys, he would put me in this room, somewhere in my mind, and force me to remember all these horrible memories. Then he would use these memories to create more of these shadow slaves or whatever they are to trap me and inject me further with this substance to make me weaker. And each time I acted out of order or broke through the possession temporality, he would make me relive my dark memories to break me. I can't put into words how that feels. Being free from this possession feels weird, because I don't have that second person within me to struggle against to keep control of my body. And the fact I can control my breathing, I can eat and drink and sleep just doesn't feel right to me. It's almost as I lost what it's like to feel… human. Sorry, I'm just rambling now," Ulrich explained.

The group thought on Ulrich's words, wishing they could empathise with him. However, Jeremie and Aelita had no memory of the time they were possessed, and Yumi and Odd hadn't been possessed at all. Although, it did give them a great insight to how it felt like, and why they wanted to avoid being possessed other than the more obvious reasons.

Yumi was overcome by her feelings, feeling selfish for thinking that her own problems were greater than Ulrich's at one point. She approached Ulrich and wrapped her arms around him, letting go of her guilt, as well as trying to make Ulrich feel better.

Ulrich felt his cold body warm up instantly. Having somebody who cared about him wrapping his arms around him made Ulrich feel human again. It had been a week since the aftermath of the incident, where he hugged his mother for reassuring her. Now, he felt assured himself, and was glad he had such a good friend in Yumi Ishiyama.

He reluctantly let go of Yumi, feeling the cold air of the Factory brush through his clothing. He wished he could feel the warmness that basked from her body, but the area around him reminded him that he wasn't completely back to normal. There was something holding him back, and he knew exactly what it was.

"Guys… I need to clear up something with you. It's about how I got this injury," Ulrich announced, patting the bandage around his head.

"I think we have an idea about how you got the injury," Aelita stated.

"Something happened between you and your Dad, right?" Jeremie asked.

"Yeah. How did you figure that out?" Ulrich enquired.

"When we found out about the activities you did behind our backs, we heard a conversation you and Avikar had. It mentioned things like putting your father in jail, proving your father guilty of a crime and bringing him down. It sounded very obvious to all of us that something really horrible happened between you and your father," Jeremie explained.

"I'm sorry for all the secrets I kept from you guys. It was to protect you all from my father," Ulrich apologised, "Especially you Yumi. I-I… I should've told you everything."

"I've already forgiven you. Don't let it preoccupy you," Yumi responded.

"And you thought about us above all else," Aelita added.

Ulrich smiled, glad that he had such wonderful friends to support him. He was feeling much better than he did upon entering this room, like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Perhaps the road to redemption was easier than Ulrich had thought it was.

Then again, he was still holding onto one thing from the incident. The bandage wrapped around his head. It reminded him what his father did to him that night. The wound he inflicted still hurt Ulrich from the inside, knowing that he could never trust his father again.

As Ulrich reached up for the bandage, Jeremie announced, "Ulrich, Franz Hopper would like to see you on Lyoko now."

Ulrich lowered his hand, and asked, "Why does he want to see me? Couldn't I just talk to him via the Supercomputer?"

"I asked him that, but he didn't answer. He just said 'meet me on my Replika'," Jeremie stated.

"Wait, since when did Franz Hopper have his own Replika?" Odd demanded.

"I don't know when, but I just found out it's the place we defended yesterday," Jeremie answered.

"So yesterday, we weren't just defending a place where Franz Hopper could communicate with us. It was actually the place he resided," Yumi declared.

"That's really messed up. Although, very intelligent since XANA would think that's the last place he'll hide," Odd complemented.

"So, why does my father want to see Ulrich instead of me?" Aelita questioned.

"He told me that he'd rather see you than Ulrich, but it's something extremely important related to him," Jeremie responded.

"Perhaps it's to do with being free from Avikar," Ulrich suggested.

"That sounds like the most likely case. Anyway, Ulrich, get into the scanners. I'll virtualize you to the area immediately," Jeremie proclaimed.

Ulrich promptly entered the elevator and pressed the button to go down to the lower floor. He waved to his friends just as the doors closed before him, saddened to leave them during such a good time.

As the elevator went down, Ulrich could only think of the events that happened to him over the past eight days. He knew it all started with that fateful night. Ever since then, he wanted to forget about the incident. But it was a lot more difficult than he thought it would be, as he grew worried for his mother.

Then, Avikar appeared in his life, and gave him a quick and easy solution to getting revenge on his father. Ulrich remembered feeling that was the only way to get the disturbing thoughts out of his mind, so he went along with Avikar's plans, even though they were against his morals.

When he realised Avikar was just using him, he felt like he wanted to release every negative emotion built up inside of him, and perhaps killing off Avikar would fill his appetite of revenge. However, it backfired on him.

To go on the path of redemption, Ulrich attempted to help his friends while having his body possessed. Although most of his efforts did not work, he pulled through at the right time. But each time he did that, he was going to be punished by being exposed to the horrible memory of that night.

The elevator doors opened before him, and he immediately sighted an open scanner. He quickly moved into the scanner, surrounded by the light emitting from it. He felt strangely warm, because his world was covered in darkness before he was freed.

The scanner doors shut before him, then it hummed loudly. Ulrich didn't close his eyes, afraid that he would remember that night again. However another memory filled his mind.

"Well, your body is very energetic. Perfect. And since you've been obeying my orders, your body will be more a lot easier to control."

"I still won't allow you to hurt my frien- Argh!"

"Quiet! Just remember, there's nothing you can do to stop me from controlling you. You're my pretty hate machine, and you'll never escape this fate."

Ulrich chuckled to himself. He did manage to break free, thanks to Yumi Ishiyama, and his decision to spare Avikar just before the antibodies entered his body. He proved to himself that he could fight back anything, even with his own anger. He just couldn't allow it to consume him.

However, there were still many things to do to recover from these events. There was recuperating from being possessed, school getting busier and of course, ensuring his mother's safety. He managed to scrape through the past eight days untidily, but he still had those pressures riding on his shoulders.

He looked up at the top of the scanner, losing himself to its radiant warmth. He closed his eyes temporality, thinking of Lyoko and Franz Hopper. He couldn't wait to open his eyes in the beautiful world of Lyoko.

"Virtualization!"

To Be Continued…

Author's Notes:

If you're wondering what that 'To Be Continued' means, it means there's a freakin' sequel to this story! As if the cliffhangers and the crazy plot twists weren't enough!

Anyway, for this chapter, there's only one note for the individual chapter, and then mention the story notes.

When William was possessed by XANA, he did not remember a single event during his possession, as he reveals in 'Down to Earth'. Neither does Jeremie when he was possessed in 'Mister Puck' and Aelita in 'Saint Valentines Day'. That was because they were possessed by XANA directly (via Scyphazoa, XANA's Ghost and the necklace respectively). However, Ulrich was possessed by an agent of XANA, Avikar. Although Avikar does have powers supplied to him by XANA, he isn't XANA. Therefore, some effects of possessing people are less than what XANA can do. I hope that explains everything.

Alright, first thing to mention on the agenda is the little section in italics in between the title of the story and the title of the chapter. I put it in there for slightly foreshadowing the chapter (without giving too many hints) and as an extra dimension of Ulrich's character as he states what anger does for him and his friends. It wasn't hard to come up with them thanks to my pre-prepared story plan.

Well, some people may be wondering how the hell I got this story idea in my head in the first place. I'm happy to tell you that I was inspired by a song. And I've been putting some of the lyrics to this song as chapter titles for this story. The song is Head Like a Hole by Nine Inch Nails, which was their hit song off their debut album released in 1989 and remastered in 2010 titled… Pretty Hate Machine. So, the title of the story was taken off the album of the song that inspired me to write this story. To avoid giving the song title away too early, I avoided using certain lyrics of the song as my chapter titles. I didn't use 'God money' because I doubt any other song has so many lines that start off with those words. I also didn't use most of the critically acclaimed line this song is known for, 'You're going to get what you deserve', because that would've given away the song quite easily for those who know it.

So, I'm going to explain why I used the lyrics of this song as my chapter titles, in chronological order starting with Chapter 1. If people know Head Like a Hole, understand that the lyrics are not in order from the time they are sung in the song. Chapter's title is in bold.

God money nail me up against the wall.

Chapter 1's title. Ulrich constantly feels pinned against the wall, knowing that his father won't listen to him, but keeps on retaliating anyway. Hector shunts his son against a handle of a high cupboard during their fight, almost literally meaning 'nail me up against the wall'.

God money's not looking for the cure.

Chapter 2's title. Ulrich tries to find cures of the problems that arise after the events of the last night. He tries to forget the incident, tries to find a way to make his father pay for his crimes and tries to be a hero when his mother's handbag was stolen. However, Ulrich finds out there is no simple way to heal from an incident like that.

God money's not concerned with the sick among the pure.

Chapter 3's title. Ulrich walks among society, feeling very unwell as the dark memories overwhelm him. He also sticks out as 'sick' due to the bandage wrapped around his head. And around the Ishiyama family, he feels very out of place with them, and not because they're of different ethnicities.

God money don't want everything he wants it all.

Chapter 4 and 5's title. I'll explain chapter 4's title first.

Chapter 4's Don't Want Everything details Yumi's struggle with Ulrich's story weighing on her shoulders. With the addition of being forced to keep this from the rest of the group makes her regret saving Ulrich's life.

Chapter 5's He Wants It All details Ulrich's desire to get revenge on his father. Despite how unorthodox Avikar's plans were, Ulrich teams up with him. Avikar delivers the dream to him, and Ulrich transforms into a Pretty Hate Machine.

God money I'll do anything for you.

Chapter 6's title. Ulrich would do anything to take revenge on his father, even if it's obeying unethical orders from a complete stranger and being completely out of character in front of his friends. And despite his guilt, he goes ahead with the plan, as he believes it's the only easy way out.

Black as your soul.

Chapter 7's title. Ulrich discovers how Avikar had deceived him, and plans to get revenge on him. However, Ulrich finds out that Avikar is more deceitful than he anticipated, and uses his negative emotions against him, possessing Ulrich. Ulrich has now become as black as his soul.

God money let's go dancing on the backs of the bruised.

Chapter 8's title. The group is exhausted, tired and frustrated that Ulrich is now on XANA's side. To add salt to their wounds, XANA decides to attack that night, and Avikar almost gets his way. Fortunately, Ulrich saves their backs.

No you can't take that away from me.

Chapter 9's title. Originally titled You Can't Take It. Yumi finds that Ulrich being possessed, XANA attacks and the possibly of one happening the next day leaves her distanced from herself. She ends up realising she needs to look after herself in order to save Ulrich, otherwise she may never have the willpower to face him.

God money's not one to choose.

Chapter 10's title. Despite Odd wanting to save Ulrich and giving Yumi a choice to not fight Ulrich, his plans are foiled. As he finds out he's not one to choose the outcome of the battle.

Head like a hole.

Chapter 11's title. Yumi exposes the possessed Ulrich's weakness, provoking him to spar with Yumi using their Pencak Silat martial arts ability. Ulrich is also faced with a choice, and decides that revenge isn't going to fix everything for him.

You're going to get what you deserve.

This chapter's title. Originally titled You Know Who You Are. Ulrich gets the bittersweet reward of obtaining his body back. Even though he finds it difficult to come to terms not being possessed, Ulrich affirms his identity, even though he is facing the scary unknown before him.

Question Section

So, here's what you have asked me, and that I'd promised to answer in this chapter. Although... I only really got one question that was worth answering in this section since it was quite extensive. Anyway, sorry for the lackluster question section and I hope you don't mind it.

From a_queenoffairys: What are the five reasons for liking the most recent chapter (Chapter 7)?

The big reason why I liked it was because it introduced the scenes where I explored Ulrich's mind while Avikar was possessing him (or in this case about to possess him). It is a unique idea, and I don't think anybody has really delved into this. And it makes Pretty Hate Machine stand out from the other Code Lyoko fanfictions.

That leads me to the second reason, which is Ulrich's form while he's possessed. It's pretty cool, considering he pretty much destroys the team by using their own powers against them. Although there has been quite a few fics with him possessed, I think having him incredibly overpowered was a different thing to do. However Yumi did find and expose his weakness quite easily.

The third reason has to be how the confrontation scene was executed. I was inspired by the scene in Star Wars Episode III where Obi-Wan finds out Anakin had pledged himself to the dark side of his own free will. And I'm glad it didn't end up too similar to that scene.

With that being said, the fourth reason was Yumi's reaction to it. I was debating whether Yumi should either break down or keep a strong head on her shoulders. Even though I did feel that breaking down was out of Yumi's character, no human being, if they helped a person who ended up turning their back on them, wouldn't be able to contain their feelings about it.

Finally, this chapter had everybody involved. Ulrich was possessed, Yumi broke down, Odd trying to save Ulrich and was the first to retaliate again him when possessed, Aelita did her best to finish Ulrich off and Jeremie tried to calm Yumi down. So every character pretty much had an important role in the chapter

Well then, that's the fic. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me or ask me in your review. I hope you guys really liked this fic and look forward to its sequel… The Last Agent. I don't know when it would be released, but I know it won't be started this year because of other commitments I have. In the meantime, I'll be writing oneshots and a crossover project involving Code Lyoko, so hopefully you guys can look forward to that. Till then, I'll see you next time!