5. The Chips Are Down

----

"No, you can't move." Eleanor softly cried, hugging Yumi sadly. Yumi was holding the redhead close, trying not to cry. 

Yumi's father lost his job, and they are thinking of moving back to Japan. Eleanor was devastated. Yumi was her first friend here, and they have gotten so close.

"Eleanor, I'm sorry," Yumi sighed.

"You were my first friend," Eleanor admitted, and Yumi shut her eyes, tears spilling out. Odd looked at them sadly, hating seeing Eleanor so upset. Jeremie and Aelita exchanged sad looks, understanding Eleanor's devastation.

Yumi pulls away, holding the small redhead at arm's length. Eleanor wipes her tears, sniffling.

"We'll stay in touch, you won't lose me," Yumi assured her. 

"Promise?' Eleanor asked.

Yumi smiled sadly, "Promise."

Yumi dropped her hands, and Eleanor turned to Odd, who held his arms up for a hug. Eleanor leaned into the blonde, who wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back.

Odd smiled down at her, and she exhaled, sniffling.

Ulrich ran over to them, unaware of what was happening. He smiled. "Hey, everybody!"

He noticed everyone's downcast moods, especially Eleanor's crying state in Odd's arms.

"Hey, uh, what's going on here?" Ulrich asked. Eleanor looked away from Ulrich, not wanting to talk about it anymore.

Aelita touches Yumi's hand. "I wish I could do something, Yumi."

"That's really nice of you, Aelita." Yumi smiled sympathetically.

Ulrich frowned, confused. "But-" The bell rang, cutting him off. Everyone began to leave for class, except for Ulrich, who was worried and confused. Odd continued to comfort Eleanor on their way to class

"Don't mind me! Keep acting like I don't exist, ok?" Ulrich yelled.

Eleanor didn't have class with the boys or Aelita, so she was off to a different class. Odd stopped midway between their classrooms, letting go of Eleanor.

"You gonna be okay?" He asked, rubbing her arms. Eleanor nodded, wiping the final tear, and exhaled again.

"I will," she cracked a smile.

"I'll be here if you need me," Odd assured her. "Hey, Ulrich could marry Yumi, and she would stay."

Eleanor chuckled, and Odd smiled, happy he made her laugh. "Don't think that would happen, but sure." Odd stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I'll see you later, thank you."

Eleanor gave him a quick hug before turning and walking away. Odd blushed before he left for his class.

----

~After Class; Jeremie's Dorm~

Jeremie, Eleanor, Odd, and Aelita were in Jeremie's dorm with Kiwi. Yumi was at home, and Ulrich was nowhere to be found; the group hadn't seen them since class. Eleanor thinks Ulrich is taking this situation very hard; she knows how much he likes Yumi, and she understands his feelings.

Eleanor was still devastated, but she wouldn't just disappear without telling anyone. Aelita and Eleanor were sitting on Jeremie's bed, and Eleanor was petting Kiwi.

"He's not in our room. I don't know where he is!" Odd told them as he sat down next to Eleanor.

"I get the feeling that Ulrich is taking this situation even harder than we are. Even Eleanor," Aelita reasoned, rubbing Eleanor's back.

"I'm upset, but not so much that I would disappear," Eleanor remarked.

"You can say that again. For Ulrich, losing Yumi is...well..." Odd trailed off, glancing at Eleanor. He blushed for a moment and looked at Aelita. "Imagine how you'd feel if Jeremie had to leave.

Odd lies back on the bed. Aelita looks surprised and then looks away, blushing. Eleanor grinned, looking down.

"Why do you say that?" Aelita asked. "What if Eleanor had to leave?

Odd's eyes grew wide, blushing. Eleanor blushed, turning away. 

Aelita smirked, and Jeremie chuckled.

Before anyone could say anything more, a return to the past was launched, and they were engulfed in a white light.

----

~That Morning~

Yumi, Odd, Eleanor Aelita, and Jeremie are back in the same spot they were that morning. Eleanor gasped, looking around.

"Whoa!"

"Wait! What just happened?" Aelita asked in shock as Jeremie set his laptop down on a bench to check out the suspicious return to the past. "Why did we return to the past?"

The others gather around Jeremie to see what could have happened.

"Could XANA have taken control of the back in time function? He's done it before!" Yumi reasoned.

"No way. I made a special program so he couldn't." Jeremie showed them the scanner program. "The Superscan doesn't show any active towers. This is really weird." Jeremie packed up his laptop. "I'll go to the factory after class and check it out."

"Hey, at least you aren't crying about Yumi leaving," Odd smiled, and Eleanor looked at him for a moment.

She felt tears form, "Well, thanks for reminding me."

"Odd!" Aelita, Jeremie, and Yumi berated, and he put his hands up.

"I'm sorry!"

----

~Later~

Yumi, Eleanor, Odd, Aelita, and Jeremie are gathered by a tree. Ulrich approaches them. The group had found out Ulrich had launched the return to the past, and they weren't happy. Eleanor was conflicted, she understood he was trying to help Yumi, but launching a return to the past is dangerous. It was also a big rule of something we can't do without Jeremie's permission. Eleanor didn't want to confront Ulrich, so she remained quiet. 

"Hi!" Ulrich greeted, 

"Hi, Ulrich. You know, I'm really impressed with your computer skills." Jeremie began, passive-aggressively.

"Who? Me? You are?" Ulrich asked nervously

"Well, you did enter the code for returning to the past into the computer without making a single mistake! Well done." Jeremie praised through an aggressive tone.

"What are...you talking about?" Ulrich hesitantly asked. Eleanor sighed, looking away, hating all of this.

"Don't waste your breath. We know it was you who set off the return to the past." Yumi blamed Ulrich.

"You broke rule number one, Ulrich! I can't believe it!" Odd berated Ulrich

"I only did it for Yumi! So you can stay!" Ulrich protested. Ekeanoe shifted uncomfortably, now fiddling with her necklace.

"I didn't ask for your help!" Yumi seethed, irritated.

"Do you realise what you've done, Ulrich? You know that going back in time makes XANA stronger!" Jeremie chastized.

"Why didn't you talk to us first, huh? Why'd you have to go sneaking around?" Odd asked him angrily. 

Eleanor wanted to intervene and stop the blaming, but she felt like it would make it worse.

"I'm sorry..." Ulrich's face fell sadly.

"It's too late for sorry. You betrayed our trust!" Jeremie snapped.

"Here. You can take back your dumb ticket." She holds up the scrunched-up ticket and then drops it on the ground. My parents think you should keep the money." Yumi stalks off, and Eleanor watches her leave with mixed emotions.

"As of now, and until you hear otherwise, you're out of the group, Ulrich." Jeremie declared and left with Odd. Aelita puts her hand on Ulrich's shoulder.

"I hope this will all work out." Aelita leaves as well. 

Ulrich looks at Eleanor with pleading eyes and a sad face. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't have a say in this. I think you did a nice thing," Eleanor softly confessed. Ulrich cracked a sad smile as she walked by him. 

----

~Class~

Odd, Eleanor, Aelita, and Jeremie are sitting together in class. Eleanor and Odd are at a table, and Aelita and Jeremie are at another. Unknowningly, XANA launched an attack and possessed Nicolas, who was in class with them and watching Jeremie intensely. Herb and Sissi were sitting with him in the middle of the room.

Miss Fumet, their teacher, was discussing Africa. "Africa is the continent that suffers the most from problems related to a shortage of water, and rural areas of Africa are affected to an even greater extent. Less than half of all rural zones have any access to water..."

"Wow, when I think about how much we complain all the time." Odd whispered to his friends. Eleanor kept to herself, thinking about Ulrich. She was worried about him; they so easily kicked him out of the group.

"...and only forty-five percent of the rural population has access to sanitary systems: either a..." Fumet continued her lesson as Jeremie was looking at his laptop. The Superscan shows an activated tower.

"XANA has launched an attack," Jeremie told the three in a hushed voice.

Odd, Eleanor, and Aelita gasp.

"What?!" Aelita asked.

"We have less than a minute left of class. We'll go to the factory as soon as the bell rings." Jeremie informed them. Eleanor sighed, thinking of going to Lyoko without Ulrich.

"Without Ulrich?" Odd asked.

"Without Ulrich," Jeremie repeated.

Eleanor sighed and turned to Jeremie. "Seriously? He tried to help Yumi, and now you won't give him a second chance?"

The bell rings, and Eleanor was the first to leave, ignoring Odd's attempt to stop her.

"El-" Eleanor was already out the door. The trio shared a worried look and followed her out.

"Eleanor, wait," Aelita called. Eleanor knew Aelita didn't have much say in this either; she was feeling the same as Eleanor. Eleanor slowed down, only listening to her. "It will all work out, just come with us."

Eleanor paused, looking down at her shoes. Odd and Jeremie stood in front of her with Aelita, who was rubbing her shoulder.

"I just think we were harsh, that's all," Eleanor shrugged.

"Maybe so, but we have to stop XANA right now," Jeremie reasoned. "We need you."

The redhead looked up and sighed. "Okay."

Odd offered his hand, and Eleanor took it, before the four took off to the factory. XANA Nicolas followed them

----

~The Factory~

Aelita, Eleanor, and Yumi were in their scanners as Odd waited outside for his turn. The doors closed, and Jeremie started the process

"Transfer, Aelita. Transfer, Yumi. Transfer, Eleanor. Scanner, Eleanor. Scanner, Aelita. Scanner, Yumi. Virtualization."

The girls get virtualized into the desert sector. Odd next lands next to them moments later.

"Here come your vehicles!" Jeremie said, and the Overwing and Overboard appear in front of them.

Odd gestured to Eleanor. "Madame, would you do me the honour of climbing aboard my humble...board?" Odd bows and gestures, gentlemanly to the Overboard. Eleanor giggled bashfully before she hopped on, and Odd backflipped onto the board. She held onto Odd, blushing, and Odd was smiling, his cheeks red as well.

Aelita and Yumi board the Overwing, smirking at the two.

"The activated tower is located two plateaus north," Jeremie informed.

"Ok. Let's go." Yumi said, and the group set off in the direction of the tower.

"No monsters on the horizon for the time being," Jeremie mentioned. 

Yumi looked down worriedly. "It's not monsters I'm worried about; it's XANA attacking on Earth. We still don't know what he's got in store for us this time."

"Yeah, well, I'd rather we deactivate the tower before we find out." Jeremie reasoned.

"I hope Ulrich's alright," Eleanor sighed. Odd glanced back at her with a sympathetic smile.

----

Yumi, Eleanor, Odd, and Aelita continue across the Sector. Aelita looks up and spots a crab walking alongside them.

"Look! Over there, a Krab!" Aelita pointed, and suddenly dozens and dozens more Krabs joined it. Eleanor gasped in horror.

"What the..."

"Are my eyes playing tricks on me, or are there at least...twenty of them?!" Yumi asked  with shock

"Yumi, there are no mirages on Lyoko," Aelita told her.

"That's what I was afraid of," Yumi remarked.

"By the way, thanks for warning us, Jeremie." Odd sarcastically said, and didn't get a reply. "Jeremie?"

Suddenly, a strange and menacing laugh was heard, and the four looked at one another.

"Jeremie, was that you?! Answer me, will you?!" Yumi yelled impatiently.

"I don't think that's Jeremie," Eleanor said with worry

"Yeah. That isn't Jeremie, I'd recognise that laugh anywhere. It's Nicolas." Odd informed them.

"Nicolas?! Are you sure?" Yumi asked.

The Krabs get closer, and Odd and Yumi start zigzagging around to dodge the lasers. Eleanor and Aelita crouch when needed to avoid getting hit.

"Nobody else has a laugh that dumb! No one in the whole universe!" Odd yelled.

Eleanor looks back at the monsters, worried. "Watch out! The Krabs!"

"We'd better get out of here." Odd rushed, and they accelerate, and the Krabs start firing. 

The Overboard passes the Overbike, and Yumi tries her best to dodge the lasers. After dodging a few lasers, Yumi is hit in the arm. Aelita yelps as the Overwing goes into a spin. The girls scream and try to hang on. Eleanor notices this and yells.

"No!" 

Eventually, the girls are aggressively thrown off and crash into the ground, sounding like they are in serious pain. The Overwing takes a huge tumble and devirtualizes.

"YUMI! AELITA!" Eleanor and Odd cry out, and Odd turns the Overboard around and flies back to where they landed. Eleanor and Odd get off the Overboard, coming to Yumi and Aelita's sides.

"Girls, are you ok?" Odd asked. The girls slowly sit up, groaning, Eleanor assisting the best she could. Aelita and Yumi climb onto the Overboard, lying down.

"That looked painful," Eleanor frowned with worry.

"It was," Aelita sighed.

"I don't understand... Why does it hurt so much? Shouldn't I just lose some life points?" Yumi asked, and Odd and Eleanor looked at one another.

"Something's wrong at the factory." Odd said. Eleanor noticed the Krabs approaching.

"Odd! The Krabs. We're gonna have to take cover." Eleanor pointed, and Odd and Eleanor quickly walked behind a dune, with the Overboard following behind them. 

----

After a few minutes of hiding, Odd got up. Yumi and Aelita were now on the ground with Eleanor, tending to them.

"I'll go and check it out!" Odd called.

"Careful!" Eleanor yelled.

Odd runs up the dune on all fours and looks over the top to see where the Krabs are. One Krab comes out from behind another dune, and it's soon followed by the rest of the Krab army. All the monsters walk straight towards the gang's hiding place. They start firing.

"We'd better move! Otherwise-" Odd suddenly was hit in the shoulder. It knocks him backwards and sends him rolling back down to the ground beside Yumi and Aelita, crying out in pain. Eleanor gasped as Aelita stood up, and Odd sat up and put a hand to his injured shoulder.

Eleanor put a hand on the injured shoulder, "You okay?"

"Wow, that really does hurt!" Odd groaned.

"Let me try," Eleanor suggested, but Odd grabbed her arm.

"No, these attacks are actually dangerous," Odd protested.

The redhead frowned, "It's fine."

"No, it's not." Odd argued. 

The two argued for a bit as Aelita walked by, recovering from her tumble. 

Aelita crawls up the sand dune, peeking over the top. The two didn't notice Aelita until Yumi pointed it out.

"Guys!" 

Odd and Eleanor stopped arguing when Yumi yelled and looked up to see Aelita.

"So, she can go?" Eleanor frowned.

"No! She went on her own!" Odd objected, and Eleanor rolled her eyes.

 Aelita gets down on her knees and begins to sing. A wall of sand rises between her and the Krabs, stopping the monsters in their path. A few of them try to climb up it, but they can't climb up the sandy dune. One of the Krabs falls off the wall and lands upside down, flailing its legs in the air.

"It won't take them long to find a way around," Aelita called, and climb down the dune to the group.

Eleanor was annoyed that Odd wouldn't let go and moved away from him. Odd groaned lightly at her, shaking his head.

"Thank you," Eleanor smiled at Aelita, who giggled politely.

"Eleanor," Odd pouted sadly.

The Krabs keep trying to climb the wall, but cannot succeed. Suddenly, Ulrich's voice echoed through Lyoko

"Odd? Yumi? Eleanor? Aelita? Can you hear me? Answer me, will you?" Ulrich called.

Eleanor gasped happily at hearing her friend's voice. Yumi and Odd are now able to stand again.

"Ulrich! Is that you?" Eleanor asked with relief. "You're back!"

Ulrich sighed with relief. "Oh... Great, you're alive!"

"Yeah. But not in great shape..." Odd added, wincing.

"What about Jeremie?" Aelita asked.

"He's also in pretty bad shape. I don't get it, there's nothing on the screens!" Ulrich exclaimed  Their life point counters and map icons weren't on the screen, and he didn't know what to do.

"That must be why the fire from XANA's monsters hurt us for real!" Yumi remarked.

"We could die," Eleanor realized, a hand gripping her necklace.

One of the Krabs begins to shove its way through the sand wall Aelita put up. 

"What was that noise?" Odd asked, before more than one Krab now attempts to do the same thing. The group rushes up the hill to see that one of the Krabs has successfully penetrated the sand wall. This causes the sand wall to disappear, allowing the rest to rush through.

"Oh no," Eleanor said, flipping out her guns to attack.

"That's just what I was afraid of," Aelita mentioned. "The Krabs have broken through the sand wall."

The Krabs start to make their way up the dune, and the group panics.

"Ok! This is no time to drag your feet." Odd said, before the four of them slid down to the ground. The Krabs ran over the dune and began to chase the warriors.

The Krabs fire at Yumi, Odd, Eleanor, and Aelita as they continue running.  Eleanor looked back and was blasted with a laser. She yells as she is sent flying forward, spinning.

"Eleanor! No!" Odd cried in dismay.

Suddenly, Eleanor felt her body shift, and she landed on her hands, pushing off them, and flipped to her feet. She laughed as she felt her body strengthen, assuming Ulrich or Jeremie had fixed the supercomputer.

"Yeah! We're invincible again!" Odd laughed happily, and Eleanor smiled at him as they continued running.

"Hold on. I'm sending you Ulrich." Jeremie's voice was suddenly heard, and Aelita gasped, stopping.

"Jeremie!" Aelita called.

The warriors have all stopped now, as have the Krabs. Odd and Eleanor dodged a few lasers, and both jumped into a rock nearby. Eleanor cocked her laser guns, squatting down.

The two animal-based warriors nodded at one another before they flipped off the rock to the Krabs. Eleanor aimed her guns at Krab as Odd aimed his arm at another.

"Laser arrow!/Laser beam!" They yelled out as they fired their weapons at the Krabs, each destroying one. Eleanor and Odd somersault to avoid lasers. 

Yumi uses her fans to deflect the lasers of the Krabs as Eleanor and Odd continue to fire their lasers at the Krabs.

Suddenly, Ulrich is virtualised behind them, but immediately gets shot by Krab and flies back. He recovers, and he and Yumi use their weapons to deflect the lasers while Odd and Eleanor shoot at the Krabs. Ulrich makes his way to stand between the group, and this gains their attention.

"Hi, guys. Didn't miss me too much, did you?" Ulrich joked, and Eleanor gasped at the sight, still shooting her lasers.

"Ulrich!" She beamed.

"Just a little, yeah," Yumi remarked breathlessly.

Odd dodges to the side and comes up beside Ulrich. "Yeah! But those guys aren't going to keep missing us if we stick around."

Suddenly, the Krabs move to the side and quickly start creating two long rows of Krabs between the warriors and the tower.

"Oh my gosh," Eleanor mumbled in shock.

"Your vehicles are on the way. They could come in handy!" Jeremie said, and the four vehicles appeared in front of their owners. 

"Ok, great. Now all we have to do is cross that line of monsters. You, Eleanor, and Yumi may as well go over the top." Odd suggested.

Eleanor turned to him as she grabbed the handles of her glider, "Odd, be careful."

He looked at her, his eyes sincere. "I will."

"And what about you?" Yumi asked.

Odd crouches down, catlike. "I'll do what I do best... Chef's surprise!" He springs onto the Overboard and waves to Aelita to get on with him. "Come on, Aelita. We don't have much time."

He helped Aelita onto the board, and they flew off, flying between the Krabs' legs. Each Krab tried to attack, but Odd successfully dodged each Krab's laser.

"Whoooa! Whoooa! Whoooaaa!" Odd yells out.

Eleanor grabbed her head, groaning. "Odd! Please!"

"He's really lost it this time!" Ulrich mentioned to the two girls.

"No more than you have! Come on, let's go." Yumi beckoned and got on the Overwing as Ulrich boarded the Overbike. The girls took to the skies as Ulrich sped off on the ground.

Odd and Aelita finally make it out of the first section of Krabs unscathed, but there is another row of Krabs ahead of them.

Eleanor zooms above the Krabs, spinning in the air, dodging their lasers. She laughed and took out her laser gun, pointed it at the Krabs. She blasted three in a row as she passed them, enjoying watching them blow up.

Ulrich uses rock to ramp off, and some Krabs shoot at him in mid-air but miss him. Ulrich lands on the row of Krabs and activates flight mode, grazing the tops of them. He then leans over and unsheathes his sabre and stabs the eyes of three Krabs in succession. They explode.

Yumi dodges lasers and then pulls out and throws both her fans. They slice through and destroy two Krabs below her.

Odd flies underneath a row of Krabs, dodging to the side frequently to avoid their lasers.

Jeremie stays at the screen in worry, "They're never gonna make it!"

Odd and Aelita have made it to another clearing, but were met with another row of Krabs that stand before the activated tower.

"Oh, no! Another row of those guys!" Odd gasped.

As Odd and Aelita fly closer, they begin to fire their lasers, and Odd attempts to dodge them as best he can. He attempts to go underneath, but he is blocked by their underbelly lasers. He then flies along the front of the row of monsters, zigzagging to avoid their attacks.

Eleanor zooms her way over to Odd and Aelita, catching up to them. Ulrich, with the flight mode activated, flies along the top of the row of Krabs and catches up to Odd and Aelita.

"Having trouble?" Eleanor grinned in a teasing fashion.

"Stop moving around so much! How do you expect us to help you?!" Ulrich asked.

Odd glared at them, mainly Ulrich. "Cut me some slack, ok? I'm just trying to avoid getting hit!"

Odd and Aelita continue zigzagging to dodge the Krabs. Ulrich and Eleanor get ahead of them, and Ulrich unsheathes his sabre as Eleanor cocks her gun. He jumps off the Overbike and lands on a Krab, stabbing it in the eye and destroying it. Eleanor flipped off her Overglider and landed on the Krab next to him, and blasted its eye, killing it.

Eleanor flipped off the Krab, using her superleap, and landed on the ground on all fours.

"NOW!" Ulrich yelled, and Odd and Aelita flew through the gap he and Eleanor created and finally reached the tower.

"Jeremie, I think we've done it!" Ulrich cheered. Eleanor clapped excitedly as she watched them fly to the tower.

"Ulrich! Eleanor! You're the greatest!" Jeremie prasied. Ulrich and Eleanor high-fived, and she smiled at him.

"I'm glad you're back,"

"Me too." He grinned.

"Hey! What about me? Don't I get any credit?" Odd yelled as Aelita jumped off the Overboard and entered the tower. Eleanor caught up to them, standing next to Odd, who was still on the board.

"Yeah, you got Aelita to the tower." Eleanor gestured as Aelita disappeared into the tower.

Odd rolled his eyes as Eleanor giggled to herself.

"I'm sorry about earlier, by the way." Odd apologized. "I was just... worried."

"It's okay, I understand." Eleanor smiled warmly, and Odd smiled back softly.

----

~Later; Infirmary~

Nicolas lies on a bed with a thermometer in his mouth, with the Lyoko gang surrounding him.

"You say this is how he was when you found him?" Jim asked.

"Yeah. In the middle of the campus." Jeremie nodded, and Jim hummed

"That's very strange. He must have fainted. Nothing serious, in any case." Yolande, the nurse, informed them.

----

The warriors left the infirmary and walked away from the building.

"I know you did it for me, Ulrich," Yumi confessed.

"But I should've asked you first." Ulrich reasoned.

"Right." Yumi nods. She taps Ulrich's shoulder and then stops walking, and everyone else stops as well.

"I'm sorry." Ulrich apologizes.

Jeremie puts his hand on Ulrich's shoulder and winks. Aelita puts her hand on his other shoulder, smiling. "So, are you back in the group?"

Ulrich pondered for a moment, "Mmmmm... Looks like it."

"Yay," Eleanor smiled, hugging Ulrich's arm for a second.

"Hey, what are you going to do with that lotto ticket?" Odd asked.

"I thought about it, and I decided to give it to an association that builds wells in Africa," Ulrich told them, and Eleanor smiled softly.

"Aw, that's lovely!"

"Really?! Oh, that's a great idea!" Yumi smiled, and he phone rings. She answers it.

"Yes? Yeah, Mum, I'm listening. Uh-huh." She's intrigued. "Uh-huh... Alright. See you tonight."

She hangs up, and the warriors are waiting to see what the call was about.

"My father's found work with...Takahashi." Yumi admitted, and the others got worried.

"What?" Eleanor asked, her smile fading

"Takahashi? You mean...in Japan?" Ulrich asked.

Yumi looks at him for a second before she beams happily. "No, silly! Right here!"

Ulrich breathes a sigh of relief. Yumi ruffles his hair. The other three cheer.

"Yay!" Eleanor cheered, jumping up and down. She hugged Yumi, who laughed and hugged her back.

"Yes!" Odd cheers.

"YEAH!" Jeremie and Aelita cheer as well. Ulrich grins and blushes, and they all laugh.

----

Up Next: Marabounta