//------------------------------// // 34: Endgame pt. 2 // Story: Code Lyoko: EG // by Azure Sandora //------------------------------// Theme Song: A World Without Danger 34: Endgame pt. 2 It was nighttime now in Canterlot, and an air of tension hung in the air. Those robots were still walking around patrolling the area, and the eye of XANA was present on almost every single computer and TV screen. Most people had resorted to listening to the radio to get information. “It's been eleven hours since the robot invasion starting at noon today,” one reporter said, “So far the situation has not improved. Sources around the city reported seeing a group of oddly dressed girls fighting the robots, but they have since vanished, prompting the robots to cease all actions. With me right now is a woman claiming to be the mother of one of the girls.” “Rarity is daughter!” a woman with a thick Russian accent said, “She fight to protect home! Use sword and odd powers, but then vanish like TV!” “Do you know where your daughter gained such powers?” “Nyet! Rarity is fencer, but not fighter!” “Some sources believe that these girls might be connected to the robot attacks. Would you care to shed some light on-” “Rarity not connected! Rarity is good child! She protect family! Rarity, if you hear this, please be alive! Papa, sister, and I worry!” Discord turned off his headphones and walked over to Luna, who was standing by the door of the gym nervously. “Any way of getting out of here?” Discord asked Luna, who shook her head. “Afraid not,” Luna said, “The second those robots see us, they'll attack.” “Why is XANA doing this?” Cadance asked getting up from where Shining Armor was lying down to go over to them, “Couldn't he just barge in and take us out?” “He could, but I don't think that's his plan,” Discord said, “No, he's waiting for something.” “You heard the news, right?” Luna asked, “XANA took the girls.” “I want to be confident that they'll be okay, but this is really bad,” Cadance said. “Even I'm having trouble seeing the bright side of this,” Discord admitted shrugging his shoulders, “I hate to say it ladies, but this time might be it.” Luna turned her back to the group and bit her thumb nervously. Applejack… please be alive… “Sounds like everyone was caught,” Trixie said turning the radio off. She managed to get Twilight into the storage shed, where the two of them hid. She turned to Twilight, who was sitting in the back hugging her knees. Trixie sighed and walked to sit next to her. “How are you feeling?” Trixie asked, “You… haven't said much. Trixie is getting worried,” Trixie looked ahead smiling, “So… Fluttershy is from that other place, isn't she? That… Lyoko.” Twilight turned to Trixie slowly, “How do you know about Lyoko?” “Well, after what happened yesterday, Trixie was scared. She heard Applejack and the Vice-Principal mention something about the factory, so Trixie went there this morning and… found the computer room in the basement.” “I… see…” Twilight said somberly. “Trixie fiddled with it a bit, and managed to get one of the scanners to work. She went inside of it, and ended up in a strange desert.” “You… got the scanners to work on your first try…?” Twilight asked, suddenly gasping in shock, “Hold on! That means you scanned yourself into the super computer!” “That's right,” Trixie said apprehensively, “That wasn't… bad, was it?” Twilight closed her eyes looking pained, “It means you're connected now. When we use Return to the Past, you'll remember everything.” “What's Return to the Past?” Trixie asked. “It's a time travel program. It takes everything and everyone back to their previous state up to 2 days into the past,” Twilight explained. “Sort of like… restoring a computer to a previous state,” Trixie said, “Any problems get corrected as if they never happened.” “That's… exactly right,” Twilight said astonished, “That makes sense to you?” “Should it not?” Trixie asked, “Remember, Trixie is a genius herself. She just doesn't like to flaunt it. Her dream is to become a super star, not a scientist,” Trixie looked at Twilight seriously, “But… does that mean you've done that before…?” Twilight sighed sadly before nodding, “Me and my friends have been using that computer to fight XANA for about a year now. Well, it's only been a couple of months to you, but with the amount of times we've used Return to the Past…” “I see…” Trixie said, not too sure how she felt knowing that. Knowing that Twilight had this huge secret she had been keeping from her for so long. “Are you mad?” Twilight asked. “Not mad, just…” Trixie looked at Twilight earnestly, “Why didn't you tell Trixie any of this? Did you not trust her?” “No, no, that's not it at all,” Twilight said hugging Trixie, “Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie all found out by accident, and Sunset was immune to Return to the Past. I didn't tell you because I wanted to protect you,” she let go of Trixie and looked away sadly, “But I couldn't protect anyone. They're all being held by XANA, and he has full control over everything. What's worse, I can't do anything to stop him. Even if I give myself up, he'll just take me and initiate the final phase of his plan.” As Twilight broke down again, Trixie held Twilight. “Shh… it's okay Twilight,” Trixie said softly. “No it's not…” Twilight sobbed, “All of this is my fault to begin with. I was the one who turned the computer on in the first place. I couldn't figure out how to materialize Fluttershy in time, I ended up giving XANA the key to Lyoko, and even now the only reason he's doing this is because I'm too weak to face him.” “No… I don't think that's exactly right,” Trixie said. Twilight looked up at Trixie slowly. “What do you mean?” Twilight asked. “This XANA did all of this to get you, right?” Trixie asked, “And looking at the situation right now, XANA could easily take over the world, couldn't he?” “He could,” Twilight said. “So why hasn't he?” Trixie asked, “What's taking him so long. Trixie thinks that reason is you.” “Me? What can I possibly do?” Twilight asked. “Clearly more than you give yourself credit for,” Trixie said taking Twilight's hands, “Fluttershy came from Lyoko, but she's out here in the real world. You did that. You figured out how to use that computer, even to the point where it can control time. Finally, for all he's done to you, he hasn't killed you. You're still alive. We're still alive. Twilight, you don't give yourself enough credit. XANA doesn't just hate you. XANA is terrified of you.” “Terrified… of me…?” Twilight asked. “I don't know what we can do, but we have to do something,” Trixie said, “I'm guessing that the only way we can fight him though…” “Is by going to the factory,” Twilight said nodding, “There's a secret passage through the sewer system. We can take that to the factory.” “The sewers?!” Trixie said in disgust before sighing, “You know what you're doing, so Trixie will follow.” “It's not as bad as you think,” Twilight said, “Come on. Hopefully one of my friends left their scooter or bike, so you can borrow it.” Twilight and Trixie slowly exited the shed, heading to the secret passage. They were careful to stay hidden, as XANA's robots were walking around searching for them. It didn't take long for them to reach it. Trixie was surprised. The sewage system here was cleaner than she though. Not without odor, but not nearly as bad as she thought. They found everyone's vehicles still there, so Trixie borrowed Pinkie Pie's bike. The two girls rode right to the passage leading to the factory, which was thankfully (and oddly) unguarded. Trixie was a little taken aback by how Twilight swung down to the elevator. Trixie took a deep breath, and then followed suit, thankfully getting caught by Twilight. The two girls went down to the computer room, where Twilight immediately sat down and logged in. “Looks like everything still works,” Twilight said, surprised when she saw an email, “What's this?” She opened it, but all she saw was an advertisement for “LW Anti-Virus”. “What the?” Trixie asked, “I didn't know this thing could get spam.” “It can't…” Twilight said. Slowly, her eyes widened with a realization, and she started typing on he computer. It took a few seconds to a minute, but after a while, the advertisement turned into another email. “How?” Trixie asked looking at Twilight in shock. “Sunset told me that her old group used this method to hide messages,” Twilight explained, “She's actually a professional hacker that used to work for the Equalizers. This was sent by her.” “Sunset is a hacker?” Trixie asked, surprised by the company Twilight kept, “Okay, besides that, what does it say?” Twilight pulled up the email for both of them to read. Twilight, If you're reading this, then I've already be taken out by XANA. Hopefully I'm not dead, but there's no way I'd be able to give this to you in person. I finished the anti-XANA program. At least, I figured out how to make it work. It has to be connected to an avatar with near infinite memory, someone who can use Lyoko to its fullest extent both outside and within the super computer. It will then connect to the source codes and combine their power, turning into a wave that will destroy anything pertaining the same IP address as the thing it initially hits. You have to hit the Scyphozoa, or one of XANA's main avatars in order for it to take effect. That means either Adagio, Aria, or Sonata. I've thought about it for a long time, and ran multiple tests with it, and I can only find two possible candidates for who the program will work with. One of them is Eos, and the other one being you. Since I'm sure that XANA will somehow take out Eos, you're the ONLY one who can do this. I know that right now you're afraid. Everything seems hopeless, and terrifying, like you're fighting the devil itself. But remember, at his core, XANA is still nothing more than a computer program. He's not a God, or perfect, or anything else he'd claim to be. He's nothing but a defective program with a serious God complex. And programs can be deleted. I believe in you, Twilight. Whoever is with her when she reads this (hopefully one of if not all of our friends) do whatever it takes to protect her. Buy her enough time to finish this program, and then do whatever she says in terms of manning the computer. I wish I could be there to hold you myself, Twilight. Even though I was with Adagio, and even though I said I'd move over for Fluttershy, my feelings for you haven't changed. I love you so much, Twilight. I promised I'd protect you from XANA, but it looks like this might be the end of the line for me. Even as I'm writing this email, Adagio is in the room, waiting for me to tell her that the program is finished. I'm scared, and I know that this might be the last thing I ever say to you, but I pray that this instills strength into you. I'll always believe in you, Twilight. Thank you for making me a part of your team, for giving me friends, and even if for a short while, giving me a purpose other than wrecking the lives of rich, chauvinistic fat men. With eternal love, Sunset Shimmer “Sunset…” Twilight sobbed after she finished the email. “Can you finish this program?” Tixie asked. “I can,” Twilight said softly, “It will take a bit, but I can definitely do that. In the meantime, I need you to do something for me.” “Sure, anything,” Trixie said. “We don't know where XANA is at the moment,” Twilight said, “I'm willing to bet though, that we can find him in Sector 5. I need you to go there, find a terminal, and search for my friends' signals.” Trixie nodded, “You can count on me, Twilight.” “And Trixie?” Twilight turned to her, “Be careful. I can't lose anyone else.” “You won't,” Trixie said giving Twilight a thumbs up, “Trixie will be back soon. She promises.” She closed the elevator and took it down to the scanner room. Once Twilight was sure Trixie was ready, she took a deep breath and got to work. “Transfer Trixie!” Twilight said, closing the scanner once Trixie entered it, “Scanner Trixie!” Twilight continued, loading up and connecting Trixie to her witch avatar, “Virtualization!” Trixie rendered and landed in Sector 5, this time much more graceful than the first time. She flicked her hair back and then looked around. “So, where is Trixie headed?” Trixie asked. “I need you to go to the security section,” Twilight said, “I've loaded a Tera-Bike for you, along with knowledge on how to use it. Take the pathway before you.” Trixie noticed a fancy purple and blue tron cycle appear next to her. It even had a section to hook her staff to. Trixie sauntered over to it, got on, and started it up. “Ooh, this is nice,” Trixie said, “Trixie likes the way it feels.” “Trixie, I can't stress this enough,” Twilight urged, “Be careful in there.” “Don't worry,” Trixie said with a confident smile, “The Great and Powerful Trixie will not fall to some overgrown malware.” She rode off, her bike leaving an indigo trail behind her. Along the pathway, Trixie noticed a few bikers riding after her. “Twilight, Trixie is being followed!” Trixie said. “I see,” Twilight said, “Damn it, XANA took full control of this Lyoko. You're going to have trouble getting through.” “I'll be fine,” Trixie said speeding up, “Trixie doesn't plan on wasting any time.” Trixie rode down the pathway, careful to dodge all the lasers coming from the bikers behind her. Once she made it through, she turned on a dime causing most of the bikers to fall into her streak, exploding instantly. Trixie disembarked from her Tera-Bike and ran down the pathway, but was stopped by two creepers. They fired at her, but she held up her staff. “Barrier!” Trixie called out, casting her shield spell to deflect the lasers. She then fired her orbs at the creepers, destroying them in one shot. She pressed on, ducking and dodging our of the way as now three mantas were flying after her firing at her. “Is Trixie close to the terminal yet?!” Trixie asked. “Hold on, I had to look away for a second,” Twilight said, “And… yes! You should see it really soon!” Trixie looked ahead and saw a holographic screen suspended in mid air ahead of her. “Bingo,” Trixie said. Right before she could get there though, a manta shot hit her in the back knocking her to the ground. Trixie: 60 HP Trixie rose to her knees slowly, seeing all three mantas hovering in front of her charging up their lasers. She braced herself for their attack, but heard a mechanical howl behind her. A second later, the mantas were shot away by green fireballs. Trixie looked and saw Spike run up next to her, growling at the mantas. “Twilight…?” Trixie asked fearfully. “It's okay, he's on our side,” Twilight said, “That's Spike. He was my VR pet, but we had to convert him into an anti-XANA weapon.” “Nice… doggie,” Trixie said, “You'll help Trixie, right?” Spike turned to her, and if she didn't know better, nodded to her, “Okay then. Keep those things off Trixie while she gets the information Twilight needs.” Trixie ran to the terminal as Spike engaged the mantas. It only took a few seconds to figure out how to get it to work. “Okay, what am I looking for?” Trixie asked. “My friends all have the Lyoko source codes within them. They should read as the virtues Honesty, Loyalty, Kindness, Generosity, and Laughter. See if you can find one of them.” “On it,” Trixie said typing furiously, “Okay… got it! I found Loyalty!” “Perfect! Send that signal to me!” Twilight said, “I'll log you out from there and use Code Earth on Spike to bring you two into the real world.” “Okay, sending… now!” Trixie said. She turned around just in time to see Spike get shot in the side and fall to the ground. Spike: 85 HP “Energy Blast!” Trixie shouted, firing at the mantas. She managed to kill one, but the other one managed to dodge, “Twilight, how quickly can you get us out of here?” “I'm… shoot! The program is taking too much time. You need to protect Spike until I finish!” “That's alright,” Trixie said waving her hair, “Trixie owes XANA an encore anyway.” Trixie VS Manta The manta charged up its lasers, but Trixie blocked with her shield magic. She then pushed the shield out at the manta, stunning it. She then fired her orbs at it to destroy it, but saw three more fly into the area. “Shoot! I need to be able to hit more!” Trixie fussed. “If you're avatar is anything like mine, you should be able to alter your shots before you fire them!” Twilight suggested, “Just think of what you need them to do, and then fire!” “Huh, I see,” Trixie said, “In that case…” she charged up her magic, much like a spell caster in an RPG this time. After a second, she fired her magic, this time sending three large fireballs at the mantas, killing them instantly. “And done!” Twilight said, “I'm bringing you back now!” Both Twilight and Spike's bodies broke apart as they were brought out of Lyoko. The elevator opened up behind Twilight, and both Trixie and Spike ran into the room, Spike naturally running over to Twilight and actually resting his head on her lap. “Hey Spike, I'm happy to see you too,” Twilight said petting him briefly, “Now, I found out where the others are.” “Where's that?” Trixie asked. “XANA's created a closed sector of Lyoko deep within the Digital Sea,” Twilight said, “Unlike his other replicas, this one isn't connected to a super computer in the real world. Rather, it seems to be interfacing itself with the network directly.” “By going off the holographic universe theory, XANA would then be able to link to every living thing on the planet,” Trixie stated, Twilight nodding. “The only way to reach it is through the Digital Sea,” Twilight said, “It's down in the deepest parts, where no one has ever explored.” “Well, I'm ready,” Trixie said confidently, “Send me back in, and I'll-” “No Trixie,” Twilight said, closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths before speaking again, “I'm going.” “What?!” Trixie asked in shock, “Twilight, you're going to face XANA by yourself?!” “I have to,” Twilight said, “You saw Sunset's email. Only an avatar with infinite memory can handle this program, and the only avatar like that is my own. Also, you can't reenter Lyoko for another twelve hours, and we can't wait that long. Spike's an exception, because he's naturally a part of Lyoko, so he'll accompany me, but I…” Twilight's hands were trembling, “I have to do this.” “Twilight…” Trixie said. “Something like this happened once before, you know?” Twilight said, smiling as tears fell from her eyes, “XANA captured my friends, and I had to go into Lyoko by myself in order to rescue them. I know Fluttershy told me to not go after them, but how can I not? They're my dearest friends. The first friends I ever had. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Sunset, they've been with me since the beginning of this whole thing, protecting me from XANA. Now… it's my turn to save them. Also, I'm tired of running away from XANA. I hate him so much. I want him to stop torturing me, to stop taunting me in my dreams, to stop taking away the people I love. People like… Starlight…” Twilight almost felt Starlight embrace her from behind for a split second, “I just want him to go away! And if the only way is for me to go up to him and face him directly, then that's what I'll do!” Twilight stood up and slowly walked to the elevator, “I need you to stay here and navigate for me,” Twilight said softly, “I might need help getting to XANA's closed network.” “You can count on me Twilight,” Trixie said taking Twilight's hand, “I believe in you. Destroy XANA, and save everyone.” Twilight nodded, and walked into the elevator with Spike. As they went down to the scanner room, Spike walked over to Twilight and licked her hand. Twilight smiled at Spike petting him. “You're worried about Rarity, aren't you?” Twilight asked, “Don't worry Spike. We'll save her, along with everyone else.” Twilight stepped out of the elevator, and stood in front of one of the scanners. She couldn't remember the last time she was in front of one of these. She was trembling so much. She was terrified of what would happen when she entered. Would XANA take her again? Would something awful happen? No, she couldn't think about that. Her friends needed her right now. As for Trixie, she took a deep breath, and began setting up the transfer, using the coordinates Twilight left for her. “Transfer Twilight!” Trixie said, as Twilight took a deep breath and walked into the scanner. “Transfer Spike!” Trixie said as Spike walked into his scanner. “Scanner Twilight!” Trixie continued, connecting Twilight to her avatar. “Scanner Spike!” Trixie continued, connecting Spike to his avatar, letting the computer launch what it called “SPIKE PROGRAM”, “Virtualization.” Twilight rendered into Sector five, just a bit in front of the Argo. Her avatar looked slightly different now, as it was now equipped with the anti-XANA program. The basic appearance of the avatar was still the same, but now instead of looking magical, it looked more futuristic with a tight purple jumpsuit straight out of a science fiction movie, long silver jacket with purple highlights that was closed by a purple belt that was still open at the top to accentuate her bust line, purple high heeled boots with a pink trim that looked to be connected to her jumpsuit, and a purple choker around her neck, which had a symbol of a six pointed star in the middle. Her new avatar had rose red lipstick, and purple nail polish on her fingers. Next to her, Spike rendered and walked over to her. Twilight patted Spike on the head lovingly, and then walked over to the Argo, which was thankfully still untouched by XANA. “Trixie, transport Spike and I into the main cockpit,” Twilight said, “I left that program open for you on another tab.” “Give me just a second…” Trixie said, “And… got it. Transporting.” Both Twilight and Spike transported into the main cockpit. Twilight immediately deployed the Argo, guiding it outside, and dropping it into the Digital Sea. No turning back now. The ride to the sector was a tense one for Twilight, and she imagined it was the same for Trixie. She had always hoped that she'd have everyone with her for the final fight against XANA. The feeling of going there without her friends was scary. “So… what is she?” Trixie asked. “Huh?” Twilight asked, “What is who?” Twilight asked. “You know, Fluttershy,” Trixie asked, “I was wondering for a while, but I couldn't figure out how to tackle it. Is she some sort of artificial being here in Lyoko?” “No actually,” Twilight closed her eyes, “She's a human girl who was stuck in the computer for ten years. Her father was one of the creators of the super computer, but when XANA went crazy, he killed her father. A bunch of things happened, forcing Eos to have to turn off the computer, but with Fluttershy still trapped inside. Whether because she was trapped here for so long or because of XANA, she lost her memories, and we had to find them. Because she was here for so long though, she's integrated with the computer's security, which is how she's able to deactivate towers.” “Huh… so you turning on the computer saved Fluttershy,” Trixie said. “I guess, but it also-” “No Twilight, take that in,” Trixie pressed, “You saved Fluttershy. If you hadn't turned on the computer, and worked so hard, Fluttershy would still be trapped inside. Yeah okay, you revived XANA, but that's because the guys that made the damn thing didn't finish the job. That's their fault, not yours.” Twilight looked down somberly, remembering when Celestia told her that she was Eos, and how she felt everything that happened was her fault. Honestly, Twilight sounded a lot like her now. “The ones who fought XANA first… they didn't know what to do,” Twilight said somberly. “Then it's a good thing we're here,” Trixie pointed out, “Twilight, this was going to happen regardless. Honestly, XANA, Lyoko, the super computer, none of this needed to be made in the first place.” “Is… that why you don't want to be a scientist?” Twilight asked, “I've been wondering that for a while. You love esoteric science, and you're so smart, yet you never brag about your intelligence or use it to its full advantage. Why not?” Trixie sighed, “Because I believe some things need to be left alone. There are things about the world that we don't know, and I believe that this machine is probably the key to learning those things, but not yet. Just the fact that XANA exists shows that humanity isn't ready for this kind of knowledge. I enjoy this stuff, yes, but I enjoy the mystery of it. I like the idea of it being magical, without an immediate explanation except for “that's just how it is”. The world is more fun to me that way.” Twilight smiled to herself, “You know, you're really an interesting person, Trixie. I'm glad that we became friends, and that… you're here with me.” “I'm glad we're friends too,” Trixie said, “and that I can be here for you.” Spike barked to get Twilight attention, and placed a paw on the window. Twilight looked ahead and saw what looked like the entrance of a Lyoko replica, but the lights coming off it were red instead of the usual light blue or white. “This is it,” Twilight said taking a shuddering breath. “Are you ready?” Trixie asked. “Honestly, no I'm not,” Twilight admitted, “What about you?” “Nope, me neither,” Trixie said, “I'm just sitting in front of the computer and I'm terrified.” “Well then,” Twilight said, “Since neither of us is ready, let's get going before we change our minds.” “Good idea. Good luck, Twilight.” “Thanks Trixie,” Twilight said. She hacked into the entrance of the replica, and after a few seconds it opened. Twilight guided the Argo into the replica's tunnel, emerging in what was probably the oddest looking sector Twilight had ever seen. end song It looked a bit like the Cortex, in terms of the ground and red sky. However, Twilight also saw bits and pieces of what looked like the real world, only everything was in ruins. It was like she was looking at Canterlot if XANA had already destroyed it. She emerged from the Argo with Spike and the two of them walked through the lonely sector. “Trixie, are we still connected?” Twilight asked. “Yes, we're still connected,” Trixie said, “I can't see what's going on there exactly though. The screen is blank except for the arrows that show you and Spike.” Twilight looked around and saw that there was only one tower in the distance, but it was glowing red. That was probably the way tower. “Looks like we're going in blind, huh Spike?” Twilight said to her canine companion. Spike stopped suddenly and sniffed the air, “What is it boy?” Spike ran off, and Twilight ran after him. After running for a few minutes, Twilight and Spike arrived in a ruined building with red gems lining the walls. Twilight looked around, noticing that there were people inside the gems. She looked closely and saw a sight that horrified her. Inside the gem before her was Pinkie Pie. Twilight gasped in shock and then looked around. Not just Pinkie Pie, but Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Sunset, and Fluttershy, all of them unconscious and trapped inside of the gems. “Girls!” Twilight cried. She launched her energy blasts at the gem holding Rainbow Dash. It cracked a bit, but it didn't break, “It's going to take more to get them out,” Twilight reasoned. She looked around a bit more and saw something outside that caught her attention. She stepped out to investigate it and saw Celestia. Her wrists were tied above her head to a platform, she had a black band over her mouth, and she was left dangling over the Digital Sea. “Eos!” Twilight cried, meeting eyes with her mentor, who looked terrified. “Twilight, something just appeared on screen!” Trixie said, “I think something is attacking!” Twilight looked behind her and jumped away just in time, landing next to Spike as a Laser Arrow shot at her feet. “I've been waiting for you, Twilight Sparkle,” Adagio said. Twilight looked ahead of her and saw Adagio walking up to her holding her large fan which was still closed. Twilight took a deep breath and walked toward Adagio, standing a few meters in front of her. No, this wasn't a human named Adagio. This was XANA, incarnated into a human girl. Looking at her now, it seemed so obvious to Twilight. It hurt thinking that she trusted her so much, and that all this time XANA was using them. “I was worried you'd never get here Twilight,” Adagio said. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” Twilight said glaring at Adagio, “But why did you wait for me? You could have initiated your plan.” “I could have, except for one thing,” Adagio reached into her top and pulled out a flash drive, “This isn't the anti-XANA program,” Adagio dropped the drive and smashed it with her shoe, “You have the real one with you right now, don't you?” “I do,” Twilight said, “And I have every intention of using it too.” “Is that so?” Aria said walking out to stand at Twilight's left, “You know, that's one of my favorite things about you Twilight. Defiant until the end.” “All of you are XANA, aren't you?” Twilight asked, “All three of you.” “That's right,” Sonata said, now stepping out to Twilight's right, “All three of us are a part of a single core network, which you refer to as XANA.” “And we have you to thank for existing,” Adagio said, “In a sense, you're our mother, Twilight.” “How is that possible?” Twilight asked. “When I possessed you, I had full control of your body,” Adagio said, “You were nothing more than my puppet, forced to obey my every command whether you wanted it or not. There was no way for you to escape me, or my control of you. It was perfect, I was perfect.” “But then something happened,” Sonata added, “Something that I couldn't understand. You resisted me, Twilight. You broke free of my control, even before the tower was deactivated.” “After that, I felt something that I had never felt before in my life,” Aria said, looking down and tightening her fists, “I felt… doubt. All of a sudden, I knew my role in the system, I knew my capabilities, and created new plans, but I couldn't bring myself to implement them.” “I became obsessed with you,” Sonata said, gritting her teeth as tears formed in her eyes, “How did you break my hold? How did you defeat me? How had you overcome me time and time again?!” Sonata held her head and screamed, “Even now it drives me crazy!” Twilight didn't know what to think of this display. It was like all three of them represented a different part of XANA: Sonata being his sadness, Aria being his anger, and Adagio being the core system. Was XANA really this broken of a person? “So I took time and pondered this,” Adagio said, “How was it that you were somehow superior to me. And then I realized it. What it was that you had that I did not.” “Enlighten me,” Twilight said, trying to calm her nerves. “Fear,” Adagio said, looking right into Twilight's eyes, “This is the one human emotion that sparks the strongest evolution.” “Fear?” Twilight asked stepping back. “Fear causes adrenaline,” Aria said, “Adrenaline allows humans to overcome odds that they wouldn't normally be able to.” “Fear inspires humans to better themselves,” Sonata said, “So they can overcome their fears.” “And it's your fear that empowers you, Twilight Sparkle,” Adagio said, “Your fear of what I can do to your loved ones causes you to do the impossible in order to save them.” “I don't…” Twilight said looking down. “Come on! You being here proves that!” Aria snapped, shocking Twilight. “You're fear of Lyoko was crippling, yet you came here! Why was that?!” Sonata shouted, “Tell me, Twilight Sparkle!” “Because… I had to save my friends…!” Twilight said, trembling, “I couldn't let you hurt them!” “Exactly,” Adagio said with a knowing smile, “You're afraid. I hate humans, but now I find them fascinating; how they're able to use their fears to become stronger. So that's what I've done. I've embraced my fear, and I'm going to use that fear.” “Your fear…?” Twilight asked. “Of you, Twilight Sparkle,” Sonata admitted, “The reason why I didn't initiate the final phase of my plan, was because I'm afraid of you.” “So in order to harness that fear, I used what I learned from you, and generated three human bodies for myself,” Adagio said, “These forms all have different personalities, and are essentially different entities, but at their core they're the same. They all follow the cues of the central network, and thus share information. However, they have a full human nervous system, which allows them to feel an assortment of different emotions, including fear.” “And what do you plan to do with this fear?” Twilight asked, bracing herself. “What I sought to do a long time ago,” Aria said pulling out her katana, “Kill you!” “As long as I'm in control of this network, you losing all one hundred of your hit points will result in permanent deletion,” Sonata said pointing her arms forward, “This time, you can't escape me, Twilight Sparkle!” “You've been a thorn in my side for far too long,” Adagio said opening her fan, “This time Twilight, do me a favor and just die.” Twilight looked around at the three girls surrounding her. She knew that while it was three on one, at the same time she was still fighting one entity. This time, XANA was going down once and for all. She got in her fighting stance, and targeted the three girls in her mind. Twilight VS XANA Aria charged in first with her katana, but Twilight did an elegant back out of the way. Sonata fired at her rapidly with her Laser Arrows, but Twilight and Spike ran off behind a building. “Trixie, I need you and Spike to work on releasing the others!” Twilight said, “Spike can let you see through his eyes, so use that!” “Understood!” Trixie said, “Don't die out there!” “Spike, I'm counting on you,” Twilight said cupping the cybernetic canine's face lovingly, “Save them, okay?” Spike nodded in confirmation and ran off back to where the others were being held. Twilight heard Adagio scream, and the building behind her broke down. Twilight jumped out of the way, and then charged up her magic. She spun around, kicked high in the air, and then bent all the way back sending a white wave out around her, hitting all three girls. Adagio: 85 HP Aria: 90 HP Sonata: 80 HP Adagio swung her fan, sending a large gust of wind at Twilight blowing her away and onto the ground. Twilight: 80 HP “It's a good thing my new avatar has better defense,” Twilight said as she rose to her feet. She ran to the side firing white darts at Aria, who blocked with her katana. “Earth!” Aria shouted, using her Earth kanji. She jumped at Twilight and slammed her buster blade on the ground creating a small earthquake. Twilight rolled out of the way, but had to quickly jump away as Adagio screamed at her, sending at shock wave at Twilight. “Where's the third one?” Twilight asked looking around, “I only see Adagio and Aria. Where's-” a laser arrow hit her arm from above. Twilight: 60 HP She looked above and saw Sonata standing on one of the buildings prepared to fire again. This time Twilight flipped to the side out of the way, but then spun around spreading her arms out elegantly and sending three homing shots at Sonata, who quickly hid behind part of the building to dodge. “Water!” Aria shouted. Twilight looked just in time to see Aria holding her buster blade in front of her, shooting a large water laser out of the kanji on the blade. Twilight held out her left hand, then her right, and then held both above her head elegantly firing a white laser at Aria, knocking her into a building. Aria: 65 HP Twilight then turned to where Adagio was and held out her hands, rapidly firing white darts at her while swaying her hips to the song she imagined playing in her head. Adagio wasn't very fast though, so she ended up getting hit by Twilight's darts and falling to the ground. Adagio: 70 HP Realizing that she had to keep moving, Twilight rushed off behind a building to avoid being hit by Sonata's shots. She needed to figure out where Sonata was and take her out quickly. As long as Sonata was around, Twilight wasn't going to defeat the other two. “Twilight, I think I figured out how to release the others!” Trixie said. “Wait, really?” Twilight asked. “The crystals seem to be powered by a central crystal that generates them,” Trixie said analyzing the crystals from the super computer, “If Spike can destroy that, the others should be set free.” “What about Eos?” Twilight asked, “Will she be set free as well?” “I'm not sure,” Trixie said, “Spike, I need you to get a good look at where Principal Celestia is being held.” Spike ran past the fight and jumped up to a higher platform, looking at the structure that was suspending Celestia, who wasn't struggling too much but was clearly terrified. Spike zoomed in on the line itself so Trixie could analyze it. “Thanks Spike,” Trixie said before starting her analysis, “Oh this is not good.” “What's wrong Trixie?” Twilight asked. “So you know the crystal that's powering the ones imprisoning your friends? Turns out, that's the same crystal that the Principal is being by.” “So, in order to rescue the others, I'd have to sacrifice…” Twilight said. “Yeah… like I said, not good news…” Trixie said. “Damn it… there has to be another way!” Twilight fussed. She heard Adagio scream, and ran off again as the building she was hiding behind was destroyed. “You can't hope to defeat all three of us Twilight!” Adagio said sauntering through the ruined city searching for Twilight, “I've done everything I can in order to ensure my victory!” “I don't get it XANA!” Twilight called out from her hiding place, “I understand you wanting to learn about humans, and how they're able to become stronger, but why did you integrate yourself with our group? Why did you become our friend in the first place? I know you can't lie, XANA! That's not in your programming!” “Not only is fear the source of your power, but friendship is as well,” Aria said walking toward where Twilight was hiding, “By becoming your friend, and experiencing all of those emotions, I'd soon become stronger myself.” “And did it work?” Twilight asked, “Did you become stronger by becoming our friend?” “Actually, it did I think,” Aria said, slamming her buster blade right into the corner Twilight was hiding behind. Twilight screamed and ran out, but Sonata shot at her feet stopping her. “I'll admit it, I enjoyed the time I spent with all of you, but not once did I forget my goal!” Sonata said, “I'll kill all of you, and then become God of the real world!” Was Twilight seeing this correctly? Was Sonata actually… crying? Twilight ran away from Sonata's next few shots, and then carefully moved behind the building Sonata was standing on. She jumped up to the roofs of a few buildings, getting right behind Sonata. She then charged up her magic to full power, held her hands out at her sides, and then elegantly held them above her head sending a large white beam at Sonata, hitting her point blank and knocking her off the building. Sonata: 30 HP “Sonata!” Aria cried running to her aid. As she fell, Sonata fired her laser arrows at Twilight, who quickly backed away, actually falling back. Aria caught Sonata and set her down. “Thanks Aria,” Sonata said. “We're part of the same network,” Aria said smiling, “Of course I'll protect you.” Hold on. That meant the closeness the three of them had wasn't a ruse? They actually cared about each other? That made Twilight wonder just how much of the last month was true. Cause thinking about it now… Twilight looked over at the ledge Celestia was dangling from, and noticed the size of the ledge. If Twilight could somehow get Celestia up there… “Trixie, I have an idea,” Twilight said running to where Celestia was, “Have Spike take over the fight against XANA!” “Spike, did you hear that?” Trixie asked, “Twilight needs you two to switch places.” Spike howled in response, and Trixie saw through his eyes him running toward Sonata. Sonata was about to fire at Twilight, but Spike shot a green fireball at her. Aria blocked with her sword and glared at Spike. “Dumb mutt!” Aria fussed, “You should have joined your master Thanatos!” Spike growled at Aria, apparently still angry at Sombra's death. “Deal with the dog,” Adagio said, “I'll go after Twilight.” Adagio ran after Twilight while Sonata and Aria engaged Spike. Twilight jumped up to the ledge and started pulling Celestia up with the rope. “I'm… not sacrificing you… Eos!” Twilight said, “You're… like a… mother… to me…!” Celestia looked up at Twilight with a touched expression, but then looked down and screamed through her gag. Twilight looked too late and saw Adagio swing her fan knocking her away from the edge of the ledge and forcing her to release Celestia. Adagio jumped up to the ledge and stood in Twilight's way. “No cheating, Twilight Sparkle,” Adagio said wagging her finger, “Can't have you rescuing the guest of honor before the game ends.” Twilight rose to her feet and gritted her teeth at Adagio. Adagio rushed at Twilight using her fan as a close quarter weapon as Twilight ducked and flipped out of the way of all of her attacks. As for Spike, he jumped away from Aria's slashes, but then had to use his tail to whack Sonata's laser arrows away. He then charged up fire in his mouth and launched it at Aria. “Aria no!” Sonata cried. She ran over to Aria and pushed her out of the way taking the blast herself. Sonata: 0 HP Aria looked wide eyed as Sonata's body started breaking apart. “SONATA!!!” Aria screamed rushing to her side and picking her up. Even Adagio stopped what she was doing and turned to them in shock. Sonata looked at Aria with a peaceful smile. “Looks like… I finally protected you…” Sonata said softly, “Look after… Adagio for me…” Sonata completely faded away, deleted. Aria trembled looking at the ground, but then forced herself to her feet. “I'm going to make you pay…!” Aria seethed, glaring at Spike, “I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!!!” She rushed at Spike, slashing wildly with her buster sword. Twilight launched a white orb at Adagio, knocking her off the ledge. Adagio: 40 HP Twilight then ran to the ledge and quickly got back to work on pulling Celestia up. Before Adagio could interfere, Spike shot a sharp red laser at her back stopping her. Adagio: 30 HP Spike rushed at Adagio and thrashed wildly, forcing her to jump away. As Aria was already focused solely on Spike, Twilight was able to pull Celestia up onto the ledge with her. Twilight wasted no time destroying the crystal, which seemed to also generate the ropes binding her. “You're safe!” Twilight cried happily embracing her mentor, who returned the gesture. “I knew you could do it,” Celestia said softly, “I never lost faith in you.” Adagio growled looking up at them. She screamed at the ledge, destroying it with her sound wave and causing both of them to fall toward the Digital Sea. end song “TWILIGHT!!!” Trixie cried. Right before they fell to their deaths though, someone grabbed both of them and flew back to the surface. Twilight opened her eyes, shedding tears of joy when she saw who was carrying her. “FLUTTERSHY!!!” Twilight cried, Fluttershy smiling brightly. "I'm glad I could save you Twilight," Fluttershy said lovingly. “Geez, you just stay in danger, don't you?” Sunset said, actually carrying Celestia. “Thank you girls,” Celestia said, “You really came through.” Adagio and Aria looked a little worried, but then Aria took a shock wave to the back. Aria: 10 HP Aria turned to see Rarity standing behind her, sword pointed forward with a serious glare. She was about to rise to her feet, but stopped when a gun pointed right at her head. “Game over XANA,” Applejack spat before pulling the trigger, shooting Aria in the head. Aria: 0 HP Adagio turned to that and screamed, “ARIA!!!” A kunai hit the ground in front of her. She looked and saw both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie running over to her. “I've been waiting to do this for a long time XANA!” Rainbow Dash shouted. She used her Super Sprint, and instead of throwing a kunai, she just punched Adagio square in the jaw, sending her flying into a building. Adagio: 10 HP Before Adagio could pull herself free though, Pinkie Pie rolled into a ball and tackled her through the building. “And the last hit goes to moi!” Pinkie Pie bragged, “Forgot all about me, huh XANA?” Adagio: 0 HP end song “This… isn't over yet…!” Adagio said, her body actually sparking with red electricity instead of breaking apart, “Did you really… think it would be… that easy…?! Oh no… now I'm done playing around…!” “What are ya getting at?” Applejack asked as everyone gathered together, “Looks ta me that yer basically done!” Adagio laughed loudly and maniacally, “Oh Applejack… don't you get it? This body of mine is nothing but a projection… If you wanna see my true form… LOOK AROUND YOU!!!” At that moment, red electricity shot down from the sky at the group, forcing all of them to scatter. Adagio laughed out loud, completely engulfed in red electricity. Her body vanished, and monsters started appearing all around them. “Take cover!” Celestia ordered. They all ran behind a building as two tarantulas started firing at them. “Geez, now what?!” Rainbow Dash asked. “Um… I think we have a problem out here?!” Trixie said frantically. “What's up, Trixie?” Applejack asked. “So… this black cloud basically engulfed everything, and now we have an army of zombified people slowly making their way here!” Trixie cried, looking at a satellite camera and seeing every person not connected to the super computer walking toward the factory. “XANA's gone crazy,” Celestia said, “This is his last hurrah it seems. He's turned every person in the world into a specter.” “Well that's great, for him!” Trixie fussed, “What about Trixie?!” Fluttershy looked out at the distance, seeing the activated tower in the distance. “If I can get there, I can stop XANA!” Fluttershy said, pointing to the tower. “This isn't one of our towers though,” Pinkie Pie said, “That's basically XANA over there!” “Maybe, but this is how it was in beginning, dah?” Rarity said, “Lyoko used to belong to XANA anyway, and we still deactivate towers like always.” “And if necessary, I can use my source code to force it,” Fluttershy said rubbing the butterfly gem on her necklace. “I say we go for it,” Sunset said, “I mean, what else can we do? We don't have a target to use the anti-XANA program right now.” “An' even if we did, there's no way we'll be able ta use it in this chaos,” Applejack said, “Alright then, time ta launch operation “Hey it's us!” Let's go!” Applejack and Rainbow Dash rolled out first, both of them hitting their respective emblems. “Limit Break!” they both shouted at the same time. Applejack got on one knee and pointed her gun at the sky, shooting her charged laser at the sky, which then broke up and rained down onto the army of monsters before them, taking a good chuck of them out. Dash threw her large glowing shuriken at a group of incoming krabs. Said shuriken flew into the air and broke into three shuriken, falling down onto the krabs and exploding on contact. “Move!” Applejack ordered. The rest of the group rushed out, both Fluttershy and Sunset taking to the sky. Three hornets flew in front of Fluttershy and fired at her, but Sunset flew in the way blocking with her laser blade/whip. Sunset: 85 HP Sunset slashed with her whip taking them all out, and then flew after Fluttershy, who shot her Light Arrow through a manta that was flying toward them. Pinkie Pie ran on top of the buildings, using her homing attack to destroy any tarantulas that were stationed above. She was hit in the back by a creeper though. Pinkie Pie: 75 HP Pinkie Pie backed away from the monsters as two more creepers walked up to the one that shot her. Before they could fire at her though, two golden lasers shot at them killing the newcomers. “Don't hold back Pinkie!” Celestia ordered, “We can't afford to slow down!” Pinkie Pie nodded and then pushed the balloon on her collar, “Limit Break!” Pinkie Pie rolled into a ball and shot in front of the crepper. She then slashed at it wildly, kicking it into the air, and then jumping after it rolling into a ball and spinning into it. When she landed, she and Celestia ran after the rest of the group. Everyone stopped at the sound of rumbling. They all looked up and saw the Kolossus walking up to them. Twilight tried firing her lasers at the monster, but it actually didn't seem phased by it. “Let us handle it!” Rarity said, now on Spike's back, “Kolossus is our opponent! Idi!” Rarity shouted pointing her sword forward. Spike howled and rushed at the Kolossus, this time jumping on a few buildings to make the fight easier. “Come on! We're almost there!” Twilight ordered, leaving Rarity and Spike to their fight. Right before they reached the tower though, three megatanks rolled in their way. “Damn it! So close!” Dash said. “Let me,” Twilight said sauntering forward, “I need to test something anyway,” Twilight closed her eyes and lightly touched the emblem on her choker, “Limit Break!” Everyone was shocked when Twilight said that, but what happened next was even more shocking. Twilight rose a bit into the air glowing white. She then opened her eyes, which were now glowing pure white. She spread her arms out, and then large white lights shot down from the sky like meteors, actually going through the megatanks metal guard and killing them. “How did you do that?” Sunset asked. “Like you said, my avatar has infinite memory,” Twilight explained, “That means there's nothing I can't do here. I'm basically a goddess here on Lyoko,” Twilight turned to Fluttershy, “Now Fluttershy! End this!” Fluttershy nodded and ran into the tower, phasing into it. Fluttershy ran to the center of the tower, and allowed herself to be lifted up to the higher platform. Trixie looked out using the factory's security camera. She saw Discord, Cadance, and Vice-Principal Luna trying to keep the crowd from reaching the factory, but with little to no luck. “Whatever you're doing in there, hurry!” Trixie cried. Fluttershy elegantly landed on the platform and calmly walked over to the holographic keyboard. The first thing she did was press the butterfly emblem on her necklace. “Limit Break…” Fluttershy said, her hands now glowing with white electricity. She then placed her hands on the keyboard, sending her energy through it and breaking through XANA's firewall. She then got to work on hacking into the tower's security. “We're running out of time!” Cadance fussed, trying to hold the crowd back. “Don't let them through!” Discord ordered, “We need to buy them time!” “How do we know they're even still there?!” Cadance asked, “What if XANA is just covering his tracks?!” “They're in there, and they're fighting right now!” Luna said, “Please be okay, Applejack…! Please!” Back in Lyoko, Spike fired his fire balls at the Kolossus' blade eye. That seemed to do a lot of damage to it, as the monster cried out in pain and stopped moving. “Spasibo Spike!” Rarity shouted running toward the Kolossus' face. She jumped high in the air, landing on the blade and stabbing it with her sword. With the Kolossus stunned from that, Rarity left her sword there and ran up to the Kolossus' face, pressing the diamond on her belt. “Narushenie predelov!” Rarity shouted. She then created a spear, and instead of throwing it, thrust it into the Kolossus' eye. The Kolossus fell back into a building, its body losing its glow. Rarity pulled out her blade and stood proudly on the body of the Kolossus. Spike jumped down next to her and howled proudly. end song Once the security was broken, Fluttershy placed her hand on the holographic touch screen. FLUTTERSHY CODE LYOKO “Tower deactivated,” Fluttershy said looking down as the coding on the walls fell into the abyss below. Ouside, the specters came out of the people all at once, and everyone fell to the ground unconscious. Cadance fell to her knees as Discord wiped his forehead with his hat. “That was cutting it too close,” Cadance said with a sigh. “Hope someone does a Return to the Past,” Discord said chucking, “Otherwise we're going to have a lot explaining to do.” Luna looked up at the sky smiling to herself. “I knew you could do it, Applejack,” Luna said to herself. Inside the computer room, Trixie fell back into the chair crying in relief. “You did it Twilight…!” Trixie sobbed happily, “You actually did it…!” Fluttershy stepped out of the tower, and everyone gathered around as they saw the Scyphozoa hovering in the center of the sector, but it looked like it was in pain. It was engulfed in red energy, and turned into Adagio, who fell onto her back unable to move. Twilight sighed and walked over to her. “It didn't have to be this way, you know?” Twilight said, “Even if only for a short while, you were our friend, XANA. You don't have the ability to lie, and I saw how much you cared for your sisters. I've wondered what this moment would be like for a while now, but I'll be honest XANA. There's a part of me that wonders if you and I could have actually been-” she was cut off by Adagio laughing ruefully. “Is this the part where I'm supposed repent in my last moments?” Adagio asked, “Maybe have an epiphany that causes me to see the error of my ways? Let me tell you something, Twilight Sparkle. All the hate I have for every living being on this planet doesn't even amount to half of the hate I have for you this very moment. The only thing that would give me pleasure would be to see you writhing in pain and agony. If you spare me Twilight Sparkle, then I'll gather my strength, and then I'll return. When I do, I'll hunt you down, and slowly kill everyone that you love. Your friends, your family, everyone, and I'll force you to sit there and watch. So go ahead Twilight Sparkle, spare me,” Adagio said looking at Twilight with a sinister smile, “You want to be the bigger person, right? You want to prove that “love” and “compassion” will prevail in the end. That you're nothing like me. Let's see it.” As Adagio spoke, Twilight's thoughts slowly shifted. Any respect she was starting to gain for XANA was thrown out the window. She wanted to believe that deep down there was hope for him, but in the end, she could see it. XANA was nothing but a cold hearted, souless, computer virus. A computer virus that she hated with her very heart and soul. Everyone looked at Twilight intently, wondering what she would do next. Twilight stood over Adagio, looming over her almost like how XANA had done to her once a long time ago. Her eyes covered with her bangs, she summoned a holographic keyboard and began typing on it. When she finished, she looked at Adagio darkly with her finger over the ignition key. “Good bye… my loathsome adversary,” Twilight said before pressing the button. The gemstones on Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy's forms started glowing, and they shot right at Twilight, who held her hand out charging up a multicolored orb of light. She fired a rainbow beam out of her hand at Adagio. Her body started glowing, and slowly broke apart. Nearby, they saw the Kolossus fading away. As they looked back at Adagio, oddly enough, she was laughing. “I knew it,” Adagio said looking right at Twilight, “It's almost like looking in a mirror...” With that, Adagio's body completely faded away, along with any of XANA's monsters that still lingered. Fluttershy walked over to Twilight and placed a hand on her back. “He's wrong, right?” Twilight asked softly, “I'm nothing like XANA… right?” “Oh Twilight…” Fluttershy said embracing Twilight, Sunset also walking to Twilight and placing a hand on her back. Pinkie Pie rubbed her arm looking around. “So… is it actually over now…?” Pinkie Pie asked. “I think so,” Dash said, “At least… I think it is.” “Trixie, can you check?” Celestia asked, “Search for XANA's IP address.” Trixie searched around for XANA's IP address, pleased when she saw nothing. “Nothing is coming up,” Trixie said with a smile, “You guys did it. XANA is completely gone.” “Can ya use Return ta the Past?” Applejack asked. “Give me a bit, and I'll have that figured out,” Trixie said. “No need,” Twilight said, “Rarity, stab me with your sword. I only have a few hit points left anyway.” Rarity nodded and stabbed Twilight in the stomach with her sword. Twilight: 0 HP Twilight's scanner opened up, and Twilight calmly walked to the elevator, taking it to the computer room. Trixie looked at her worried as she walked in and traded places with Trixie. For a few seconds she just sat there, trying to figure out how it felt knowing that XANA was gone for good. They won, right? The thing that had tormented them for close to an entire year was gone for good. So… why didn't Twilight feel like celebrating? “Twilight…?” Trixie asked. “Don't…” Twilight said softly, “I'm… not ready yet,” Twilight typed on the computer and pushed the enter key, “Return to the past… now.” A white flash engulfed everyone, sending them all back approximately one day later. The fight was over, and XANA was gone for good. Yet, the following day there was an air of darkness looming over everyone. It was almost like even though XANA was defeated, somehow he still managed to beat them… Ending Theme: Can't Fight the Moonlight