Code Lyoko: Dark Ambitions

Chapter 1

Prologue

It was a usual mission to Lyoko. Nothing had changed. XANA was still the threat as always, and the Lyoko warriors were more than prepared. So why did today feel different? Why did today feel off? For Jeremie Belpois, the date signified something. Today was the anniversary of Aelita's materialization. Today was the day that he would finally get up the courage to ask her out. Finally, he would no longer be the laughing stock of the group. At least, he hoped he would. He had finally gotten the courage to virtualize himself onto Lyoko a few short weeks ago. Nothing too special, except for his innate fear of the scanners. For you see, Jeremie had a case of Claustrophobia, and any enclosed space would haunt him to know end. However, Ulrich Stern and Odd Della Robbia, his two best friends in the entire world, had decided to come with him. Jeremie's form had looked something like Aelita's, except for the pink being replaced with blue, and his hair becoming longer and browner than blonde. Puzzling as this was, he didn't mind, as he felt he was finally a full-fledged member of the group.

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It soon came time for the virtualization process. Aelita had started up the process, sending the boys in first as was the custom nowadays. They landed in the middle of the mountain sector, Jeremie standing up as Ulrich drew his sword. Odd looked around, reading his laser arrows for fire. "All things look clear. Alright girls! Come on down!" Jeremie said, reaching Aelita through the headset.

Aelita smiled as Yumi walked the elevator. "Roger that, I'm starting up the delayed virtualization program." Her fingers typed away on the supercomputer as windows cropped up, revealing hers and Yumi's data card. Pressing enter, she hopped out of the command chair and walked towards the elevator. She had gotten used to the usual jerks that the old conveyer system had given, making her feel more alive than she ever had on Lyoko. "Ready Yumi?"

Yumi smirked at the pink haired AI, "Of course." She said as the scanner doors closed on them. Soon they were beside the three men in the middle of the mountain sector. "Well, shall we get going?" Yumi asked as she pointed towards the edge of the sector.

Ulrich and Odd smirked. "Let's go" Ulrich said as he led the others.

Jeremie ran with Aelita, still getting used to the idea of running not actually tiring him out, as there were no muscles to exercise. His body was in prime physical condition, save for his biceps. "Hey, Aelita... May I ask you something?" He asked as the pink haired hair girl looked in his direction.

"Certainly Jeremie, what's on your mind?" Aelita asked as they slowed to a stop.

Jeremie started to cough, becoming more embarrassed as they stopped at the edge of the sector. "Uh... it can wait." He stammered as he rubbed the back of his head.

Aelita giggled at the boy who had managed to materialize her. Humans were still an enigma to her, and she could tell that Jeremie would be an enigma that she wanted to figure out for herself. Something about him just spoke to her, and she would find out what it was, even if she didn't fully understand human emotions.

Odd coughed, trying to get the two lovebirds to snap out of their trance. "Excuse us, you two. But we'd like to get to Sector 5 if you don't mind."

Yumi and Ulrich nodded in agreement. Jeremie sighed and linked with the supercomputer, opening the program that contained the file for the transporter. Come on... SCIPIO. And with his mental link broken, the transporter came into view as the team huddled around one another. Soon the transporter took off, flying and following the cables that connected the mountain sector to the heart of Lyoko. Combing through the bits of data that made up the wall around the sector, the Death Star like Celestial Dome came into view. The transporter flew in through the entrance, snaking through the passage ways and finally coming to a stop in the Arena. Spinning for a few more seconds, it stopped so it could deposit the Lyoko Warriors before disappearing.