//------------------------------// // 12: Specter // Story: Code Lyoko: EG // by Azure Sandora //------------------------------// Theme Song: A World Without Danger 12: Specter There are a few days in school that kids all dread. First there's the very first day of school, as it's also the very end of summer. Then there's report card day, which for many is when their parents learn how much they've been slacking off. Finally there was today, Parent Teacher Conference day. Not that all parents came over to see the kids. In fact, a lot of the good students didn't have to worry, as their parents trusted them enough. Mostly it was the kids with a history of bad behavior, or with grades that were truly suffering. For the Lyoko 6, that meant pretty much all of them. Of course Fluttershy was exempt, as she didn't have any real parents, and with the excuse that she was an orphan, it wasn't expected for her to have anyone come on her behalf. Rarity was also exempt from this, as she surprisingly got really good grades in everything except for English. The only reason why Twilight had anyone show up was because of the sudden change, and apparently her parents were worried. She was happy when she saw her big brother Shining Armor come instead. He was a tall young man with shoulder length blue hair, wearing a long blue trench coat, white suit shirt, blue pants, and black shoes. It looked like he had just come back from work, as he had his gun and badge with him. Currently he was talking to Twilight's English teacher, Blank Scroll. He was a brilliant but somewhat lazy man with long black and white hair, currently wearing a purple dress shirt and light brown pants. Said teacher yawned, “Honestly, this is my least favorite day of the year,” he complained, “I like to sleep in on weekends.” “Um… about my Twilight's performance…?” Shining Armor said trying to urge Blank Scroll along. Twilight, sitting next to Shining Armor, giggled. “Oh! Right. Well, to be honest, there's nothing really to report on,” Blank Scroll said, “I mean, she's still passing. She's just not getting as high grades as before.” “You mean I'm not getting perfect As, right?” Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow. “Twilie,” Shining Armor warned, Twilight just turned around and folded her arms, “As long as she's not failing, right?” “Far from it,” Blank Scroll said with another yawn, “Actually, she's still getting As, the lowest she ever gets is a B, but she's still doing great. Me and her other teachers are just surprised as last year she got perfect scores in everything.” “Well, to be honest, I'm not too worried about that,” Shining Armor said putting his arms around Twilight, “Maybe our parents are freaking out, but as long as she's passing, its fine.” Blank Scroll nodded, looking like he was drifting to sleep. Twilight slapped the desk to get his attention. “Hey!” Twilight called out. “Huh?! What?! Oh, um...” Blank Scroll must have forgotten where he was, because he looked somewhat confused for a second, “We're done here,” he said, almost as if to dismiss Shining Armor. Shining Armor raised an eyebrow and then got up to leave. Twilight followed him, latching onto his arm lovingly. Needless to say, Blank Scroll fell back in his chair fast asleep. “Thanks for coming,” Twilight said to her older brother. “Ahh, it was nothing,” Shining Armor said, “Mom and Dad were concerned, but I had a feeling everything was okay.” “Since I stopped getting one hundreds on every single exam, all of a sudden I'm in danger of failing, right?” Twilight groaned. “Twilie, they're just shocked by the sudden change,” Shining Armor explained, “Up until a little over a year ago, you were the perfect student. Now all of a sudden you dropped out of all of yoru advanced classes? To them, its like their little girl became someone else.” “What about you?” Twilight asked, a little afraid of the answer, “What do you think?” “Me personally, I'm freaking happy as hell,” Shining Armor said pulling Twilight into a hug, “Contrary to how our parents feel, it's not natural for a kid to get perfect grades in elementary school, middle school, and high school. Besides, I was trying to get you to make friends for years.” “You were,” Twilight said, “And well, I finally made some. Five in fact.” “Speaking of,” Shining Armor said letting Twilight go, “I have a bit of time before I'm needed back at the station. I'd like to meet these friends of yours, especially this “Fluttershy” I've heard so much about.” “Eep,” Twilight said blushing. She of course told Shining Armor about her now having a girlfriend. At first he was just happy to hear her dating, as she hadn't told him right away that she was a lesbian. When she said the name of her partner, Shining Armor almost had a heart attack. Twilight sent a mass text to her friends telling anyone who was available to meet her in the park right in front of the school. When they stepped out, Twilight was pleased to see everyone sitting outside waiting for her. Pinkie Pie was talking animatedly to everyone else, a beautiful older woman sitting next to her. The woman had really long and straight purple hair, and wore purple eye shadow, dark red lip stick, a gray sweater, blue jeans, and black high heeled boots. It looked like she was introducing everyone to the woman, who had a seemingly bored expression on her face. It was mainly Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy who were paying attention to Pinkie Pie, while Rainbow Dash was lying on a bench nearby resting. When Pinkie Pie saw Twilight, she waved to her happily. “Twilight! Get over here! I want you to meet someone!” Pinkie Pie called out. Funny, as Twilight wanted to introduce everyone to someone too. Twilight walked over to the group with her brother next to her. “Maud, this is my other friend I told you about,” Pinkie Pie said, “She's the super duper smarty pants one. Her name is Twilight. Twilight, this is my big sister Maud.” The woman, Maud, met eyes with Twilight and blinked so slowly it almost looked unnatural. “Hello,” Maud said, almost monotonously. Twilight didn't know what to make of her. “Um, hi,” Twilight said, “It's nice to meet you Maud. Pinkie Pie told us a lot about you.” “Pinkie Pie tells me a lot about you guys too,” Maud said in the same monotonous manner, “Thank you for taking care of her.” She almost didn't sound serious, or like she didn't care. Something told Twilight not to judge a book by its cover though. “Trust me, she takes care of us just as much,” Twilight said, “Speaking of, everyone, I wanted to introduce you all to someone too.” “What, is today “meet everyone's older siblings day” or somethin?” Applejack asked, “If so, Ah'd 've asked my older brother ta come by an' meet y'all too.” “I don't have any siblings,” Rainbow Dash said, “Nor any family I care to introduce my friends to. So, who's this, Twilight?” “Guys, this is Shining Armor,” Twilight said, “He's a Lieutenant for the Canterlot Police's Special Victims Unit. Shining Armor, this is Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight pulled Fluttershy over to her, “and this is Fluttershy.” “H-hello,” Fluttershy said shyly. She got like this with everyone new. “It's nice to meet all of you,” Shining Armor said, “Especially Applejack and Fluttershy. I hear you two were pivotal in changing my little sister into a normal teenager.” “Shining Armor...” Twilight groaned. Applejack rubbed the bridge of her nose smiling proudly, “All in a days work.” “You do realize you are devil on Twilight's shoulder, right?” Rarity asked. Huh, Twilight noticed she was wearing a darker shade of lipstick than usual. “I'm… happy to be important… to Twilight,” Fluttershy said softly, “She's my special friend… and I love her...” “I'm happy to hear that,” Shining Armor said putting a hand on Fluttershy's shoulder, “You take care of my sister, okay?” “I will,” Fluttershy said holding Twilight hand lovingly, “I'll protect her always.” Shining Armor then turned to Maud, “Oh, and it's good to see you again, Maud.” “Yeah, it is,” Maud said. Was she even remotely interested in this conversation anymore, or was she just here to be nice? “Wait, you two know each other?” Twilight asked. “Maud worked with us once on a case,” Shining Armor said, “She was able to identify the minerals on a body we found, which helped us find not only the murder weapon, but the killer as well.” “So Shining Armor was the officer you spoke to?” Pinkie Pie asked. Maud's only answer was a single, slow nod, “That's so cool! Twilight, this means we were meant to be friends from the beginning!” she gasped, “Maybe she and Shining Armor could get married one day, and then we'll be sister in laws! This has to happen! It has to!” “Whoa, whoa! Slow down,” Shining Armor said, “Not that I wouldn't be interested normally, but I'm already engaged,” he showed everyone his wedding band. “He's not my type anyway,” Maud said, “He's too much of a stick in the mud for my tastes.” Everyone briefly turned to Maud with raised eyebrows, probably all thinking of the irony of that sentence. “Yeah, I can see that, I guess,” Pinkie Pie said, “You're pretty wild. Remember that time at the pizza shop?” “Pinkie, we agreed to never bring up the pizza shop again,” Maud said, in the same drone like manner as always. Seriously, did these two live in another dimension or something? Were they seeing things no one else could? Rainbow Dash sat up and groaned, “Speaking of sticks in the mud.” Everyone turned to see a really serious looking man with short red hair wearing a blue suit walk to the school carrying a briefcase. When he saw the group, he gave a disapproving glare before walking up to them. “Well, this is where you were,” the man said, “Slacking off like always?” “Well hi to you too, Dad,” Rainbow Dash spat. “This is yer dad?” Applejack asked. “Yep, can't you see the resemblance?” Dash said sarcastically. “Watch your tone, young lady,” Dash's father said before turning to Shining Armor, “It's good to see you again, Lieutenant.” “Likewise, Blitz,” Shining Armor said, not as enthusiastically as with Maud. “Dash, we need to go talk with your teachers,” Blitz said seriously. “Go by yourself,” Dash said, “You don't need me. Besides, the teachers are going to say the same shit to you anyway whether or not I'm actually there.” “I said watch your tone,” Blitz said. “Or what? You gonna punish me? I don't live with you and Mom anymore, remember? What I do and how I talk is my business.” “You're still a child, my child at that, so what you do is my business.” “Like when you shipped me all the way out here just so you wouldn't have to deal with a spoiled brat like me?!” “I sent you here because it's the best school in the city, something that you seem intent on wasting!” “Please! You only sent me here so you wouldn't have to look at your failure of a daughter! Which is why I'm leaving right now!” Dash turned around and walked away. “Rainbow Dash, come back here this instant!” Blitz ordered. “Piss off!” Dash said, “I'll be in my room whenever you're done complaining to my teachers about me!” With that she was gone. Everyone was shocked by that development. “Um… Maud, why don't we go to the Rec Room?” Pinkie Pie said awkwardly. “Sure,” Maud said, actually sounding a little awkward herself, despite being just as drone as ever. Blitz huffed to himself and stormed off, muttering something about “that girl” or something like that. “What happened?” Fluttershy asked. “I don't know,” Twilight said, “Shining Armor, do you mind if I head off to check on Dash?” “Not at all,” Shining Armor said, “I need to head off to the station anyway.” “Alright,” Twilight hugged Shining Armor, “See you later, BBBFF.” “Take care, Twilie,” Shining Armor said. As he walked off, everyone turned to Twilight. “BBBFF?” Rarity asked. “Big Brother Best Friend Forever,” Twilight said as if it were obvious, “Come on. Let's go find Dash.” Rainbow Dash went right to her and Pinkie Pie's room and lied down on her bed. She knew that he was coming, but that didn't make it any better. There was no way she could prepare for her father's visit. He was never proud of her, no matter what she did. Whenever she did something good, he found some reason to look down on it. Unless she was doing something he wanted he didn't care, and even then unless it was done exactly like he would do it she failed. Her father made it perfectly clear that he wanted a boy. Trying to live up to his expectations, she ended up slowly becoming more of a tomboy, but even that wasn't enough to please him. She became tougher so that he'd look at her and be proud, and even that wasn't enough. So in the end, she just stopped giving a shit. “Goddamn it...” Rainbow Dash sighed, “Today was going to be a good day too.” Her door opened, and she was greeted by Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity. Pinkie Pie probably stayed with her sister, which she understood. Pinkie Pie could make her smile any other time, but when it came to her father, even Pinkie Pie knew to leave her alone. “Dash, are you okay?” Twilight asked. “What does it look like?” Dash asked turning away, “Don't worry. We're always like that.” “Ah think that's reason right there ta worry,” Applejack said folding her arms. “You and father don't get along?” Rarity asked. “Never have,” Dash sighed, “He wanted a boy, but you know how that turned out. First day alive and I already disappointed my father.” “Oh Rainbow Dash...” Fluttershy said sadly. “What about your mom?” Twilight asked. “What about my mom?” Dash asked harshly, “She's a pushover who always takes his side.” “Why is he so harsh on you?” Rarity asked. “Like I said, he wanted a boy,” Dash said, “He's in the military, just like his father, and his father, and so on…” “Ah see,” Applejack said, “Tryin ta keep the tradition goin?” Dash nodded turning on her side. “It's okay, Dash,” Fluttershy said, “We know how dedicated you are.” “Yeah, these days you've been a real trooper in Lyoko, so much that Applejack made you second in command,” Twilight added. “If you want to join military, you'll make it in despite gender, and make father proud in no time,” Rarity said. “You don't get it guys,” Dash tensed up on the bed, hiding her tears as much as she could, “I don't want to join the military.” Everyone got silent, clearly surprised to hear that. “Dash...” Twilight said. “What? Surprised that there's something I'm afraid of?” Dash asked, “He took me to the boot camp to get me in shape on my tenth birthday, and I ended up running out of the camp in tears. You can imagine how that went over with my dad. “I tried to become tougher for him, so he wouldn't look down on me anymore, but nothing I did could change his mind about me. From that day on, I was just his big failure.” “You shouldn't be ashamed of your fear,” Rarity said sitting Rainbow Dash up and embracing her, “We know how courageous you are.” “Yeah, too bad my one accolade in the world is something I can't even share with him,” Dash said, “Guys, could I have some time alone? My dad's probably going to come storming in here in a bit, and I don't want you guys to catch hell from him. He hates my friends.” “Even Pinkie Pie?” Applejack asked. “Especially Pinkie Pie,” Dash pouted, “Why do you think she's not here? He says she's the reason my grades are always so poor and why I'm so soft. Last year he even made her cry,” Dash frowned as a flashback of Pinkie Pie lying on her bed in tears came to her, “No one makes Pinkie Pie cry.” “If you need anything, you have our phone numbers,” Fluttershy said, suddenly remembering something, “Right! Twilight got me a cellphone so I can keep in touch with everyone. Um… I know you're not in a good mood, but...” “Nah, it's okay,” Rainbow Dash said taking the yellow phone. She put her number in, and then called her phone with it. “Oh thank you Dash!” Fluttershy said happily before hugging her, “Everything will turn out for the better, you'll see.” “Yeah, I hope so,” Dash said. Once her friends left, she lied back on her bed, bracing herself for the visit she knew was coming. “Pinkie, talk to me,” Maud said in her usual monotonous way, “This is your favorite video game… and you haven't played it hardly at all...” “Oh, I'm not feeling it right now,” Pinkie Pie sighed, “If you want, you can take a turn.” “I have more fun watching you play...” Maud said leaning into Pinkie Pie lovingly, “What's the matter, little sis?” “Oh Maud,” Pinkie Pie turned to Maud sadly, “That man in the suit was Dashie's father.” “You mean the one who upset you last year?” Maud said, still just as slowly, but her eyes narrowed dangerously. “Yeah,” Pinkie Pie said, suddenly realizing what Maud was thinking, “But that's not what has me down! Seriously, I'm not even upset about that anymore!” Maud took a deep breath, and whatever took hold of her left. “Okay...” Maud said, “So why are you depressed?” “It's just, he's always talking about how much of a disappointment Dashie is, but I know her. I was really scared when I came here because I didn't have you protecting me, but Dashie looked out for me. She's really strong, and super brave,” Pinkie Pie looked down, “I wish he'd stop saying such mean things to her.” “Pinkie Pie...” Maud embraced Pinkie Pie, “You're too good of a person sometimes...” Though she said that, Pinkie Pie knew that Maud loved that about her. Maud was very different than Pinkie Pie. She wasn't nearly as warmhearted as Pinkie Pie, but was very protective of her. Maud said that the happiest day of her life was when Pinkie Pie was born and she smiled at her. Pinkie Pie had no idea what kind of person Maud was before she was born, but Maud never really spoke about herself very highly. “I'm going to get some water,” Pinkie Pie said getting up, “Do you want anything from the vending machine?” “Not really,” Maud said, “I'll wait for you here.” Pinkie Pie nodded and walked out of the rec room. Maud watched her leave, and then closed her eyes sitting back in the couch. She really hated when people hurt Pinkie Pie. She was so sweet, the complete opposite of Maud. She began repeating her inner mantras to calm down, completely unaware of the XANA symbol that appeared on the TV screen. A black mist came out of the TV and flowed over to Maud, actually going into her. “AHHH!!!!!” Maud screamed before going limb. She then stood up, as if possessed. Pinkie Pie had just finished her water and turned back to the rec room, where she saw Maud walking out. “Maud? Changed your mind?” Pinkie Pie asked. Maud turned to Pinkie Pie, glared at her, and ran over to her at high speed. She knocked Pinkie Pie down and stood over her holding her arms down. “Maud! What are you doing?!” Pinkie Pie screamed, “You're hurting me! Maud!” Pinkie Pie looked at Maud's enraged face, noticing her irises changed shape, becoming XANA symbols, “XANA?! What did you do to my sister?!” Pinkie Pie kicked Maud off her and ran off, but Maud took off after her. “Help me!!!” Pinkie Pie cried, “Dashie!!! Please help me!!!” Maud appeared right in front of her, making Pinkie Pie fall back, “DASHIE!!!!” Pinkie Pie screamed as Maud's hands charged up with electricity. She was shot with the electric blast, and everything went black. When Pinkie Pie came too, she noticed she wasn't in the school anymore. She was in some sort of large drain it seemed. She tried to move, but couldn't. A black belt was wrapped around her waist and arms, and her wrists were tied behind her back. Her knees and ankles were bound by the same sort of belt, and the belt around her ankles had a gray chain hooked to the ground next to the stopped up drain. She also had a black band wrapped over her mouth gagging her. She panicked and began struggling to get free, but to no avail. They were too tight. She screamed as loudly as she could, and noticed someone standing over her. She looked up and saw Maud standing over the barred opening. Sadly, she still had the same enraged look on her face. Pinkie Pie shrunk back when she saw that, and trembled when she saw her walk off. What's going on? Is XANA going to just leave me here? She got her answer when she saw water start falling into where she was. She began struggling again to get free, but once again saw that her situation was hopeless. Her phone was right next to her, and it buzzed with a text message. Enjoy your swim, Pinkie Pie. Her phone sparked, and then went dead. It wasn't destroyed, but that didn't matter anyway. It was too far away, and she couldn't use it anyway. She broke down crying helplessly. She was going to die, and she had no way of letting the others know where she was. Oh Dashie… please find me… After the finished checking on Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Fluttershy went to the latter's room to enjoy some private time together. At first they were just going to cuddle, but that eventually evolved to kissing. Currently, Twilight was lying on Fluttershy's bed as her girlfriend pinned her down. While they made out, Twilight's laptop made an alarm sound. “Seriously XANA?” Twilight groaned as Fluttershy reluctantly released her beloved. She still continued to embrace Twilight from behind as she opened her laptop to check the super scan. TOWER ACTIVATED LOCATION: DESERT SECTOR 41 LAT, 8 LONG “We need to intercept XANA quickly,” Twilight said, “I'll call the others and tell them to come to the factory. Let's get going.” Fluttershy nodded and ran after Twilight, as she ran out of the school to the factory. “Dah,” Rarity said to Twilight on her phone, “We'll get Pinkie Pie and Dash and meet you at factory.” She and Applejack ran into the school halls, where they saw Dash walking around searching frantically for someone. She pulled out her cellphone and made a call, clearly agitated. “Damn it, pick up,” Dash ordered, “You're phone's always on.” “Dash!” Applejack called out as she and Rarity ran over to her, “Twilight jus' called. The super scan-” “Just found an activated tower on Lyoko, I know,” Dash cut her off, “I'm trying to call Pinkie Pie right now, but she's not picking up. Her phone just keeps going right to her answering machine.” Rarity tried calling Pinkie Pie. “Hi hi! This is Pinkie Pie. So sorry I missed your call. If you leave your name and number with a quick message I'll get back to you soon, you sexy devil. Laters!” “Odd,” Rarity said, “Pinkie Pie never turns off phone.” “Rainbow Dash!” Blitz called out from across the hall. Dash rolled her eyes and turned to her father. “What?” “I've arranged a meeting with us and your principal,” Blitz said, “We need to talk about your future in this school.” “It'll have to wait,” Dash said, “I've got something to do.” She was about to walk off, but her father grabbed her arm. “Don't walk away from me, young lady! This unruly attitude of yours is the reason your grades are so poor!” “First of all, I'm still getting Cs at least,” Dash said, “Second of all, let go of my fucking arm right now!” “We're going to the principal's office! I'm not taking no for an answer this time!” Blitz ordered. “I said that I'm busy!” Dash shouted. “Busy with what? Playing video games with your friends?! Going to play with your slacker, pink haired friend?!” Dash pulled her arm free of her father's grip and turned to him, “Don't you dare say that about Pinkie Pie! You don't know anything about her!” “I know what I need to know! She's a silly girl obsessed with video games and those Japanese cartoons, the last person you need to be seeing right now!” This was getting really out of hand. At this rate they weren't going to get to the factory in time. XANA's tower hadn't done anything as far as they knew, but that could change easily. “Dash,” Applejack said putting her hand on Dash's shoulder, “It's fine. We'll head ta the you-know-where. Keep callin Pinkie Pie an' meet us when yer done.” “Hopefully two of us will be enough,” Rarity said, taking Applejack's hand to emphasize her point. Dash clearly looked aggravated, but she relented. “Fine,” Dash spat glaring at her father, “Let's make this quick. I don't want to keep my friends waiting.” With that, Dash pushed past her father and walked in the direction of the principal's office. Blitz frowned and followed her, leaving Rarity and Applejack alone. “We'll keep callin Pinkie Pie on the way,” Applejack said, “Let's go.” The two girls ran to the secret passage way, Applejack pulling out her phone to call Pinkie Pie. The fact that her phone was still off was making both of them really tense. The water was now covering the floor completely, and was beginning to rise. As this point, Pinkie Pie began pulling at the chain connecting her to the ground, hoping that she could make it give with enough effort. After about three minutes of that, she gave that up and screamed as loudly as she could while gagged, which she knew wasn't very loud. The only one who could hear her was Maud, who was still being possessed by XANA. She couldn't hold in her tears as the water rose up slowly around her. “Come on… pick up Pinkie Pie...” Twilight groaned pacing around while Fluttershy checked the super computer for any disturbances in Canterlot. “I'm not seeing anything weird,” Fluttershy said, “Whatever that tower was made to do, I don't see it.” “Think it could be another trap?” Twilight asked. Fluttershy shook her head not looking away from the computer. “I already checked the scanner. Nothing is wrong in that area. He's not trying to lure us into Lyoko.” “But its been too long for that tower to not do anything,” Twilight said thoughtfully, “Let's contact Eos. See what she thinks.” Fluttershy opened up their shared email on the super computer and composed a message to Eos. Normally Eos would have answered right away, but this time it took a minute or two. Dear Twilight and Fluttershy, Sorry I couldn't get to you right away. That is very odd. You're right. By now the tower would have shown what its doing, unless it's doing something extremely precise. I'm going to send you a program with this email that will allow you to identify an entity called a 'specter'. From what you're describing to me, it sounds like you might be dealing with one. A specter, as I know you're wondering, is the result of one of XANA's monsters possessing a human being. When this happens, the person becomes an invulnerable mix between a human and a hologram. They can't be saved, nor can the specter be defeated until the tower is deactivated. Even using Return to the Past would bring the specter with you. Your only hope is to deactivate the tower. You must also find the specter though. If XANA needed to make one, you can be sure that he wants to do something very important. If you don't find it soon, I can assure you that someone will die, and that person must be important if he's using a specter. I'll be busy for the next few minutes sadly, but I'll contact you when I'm done. I wish I could be of more use, really I do, but XANA's timing is horrible for me as well. Good luck until I get to you. Your friend, Eos “A specter?” Twilight asked as the elevator opened up behind them. “I've never heard of one of those before,” Fluttershy asked, “I didn't know XANA could send his monsters into the real world like that?” “Like what?” Applejack asked as she and Rarity walked in. “According to Eos, we might be dealing with one of XANA's minions in the real world possessing a human being. She called this a specter,” Twilight explained. “What do we do?” Rarity asked. “The three of you need to go into Lyoko,” Twilight said switching places with Fluttershy, “I'll send you as close to the tower as I can. While you make your way to the tower, I'll search for the specter and get Dash and Pinkie Pie to go after it.” “Roger,” Applejack said, “Let's get goin team.” The three of them ran to the elevator while Twilight got the transfer system started up. Once she got a text from Applejack, she got to work. “Transfer Applejack!” Twilight said, closing her scanner once she walked inside. “Transfer Rarity!” Twilight said, closing her scanner once she was inside. “Transfer Fluttershy!” Twilight said as Fluttershy stepped into her scanner, closing it immediately afterwards. “Scanner Applejack!” Twilight continued, matching Applejack with her avatar. “Scanner Rarity!” Twilight said, matching Rarity to her avatar. “Scanner Fluttershy!” Twilight said, now matching Fluttershy with the information of her previous form, “Virtualization!” Twilight pressed the enter key, and all three of them vanished from the real world, being sent into Lyoko. In the Desert Sector, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy took form and then fell to the ground. They saw the activated tower ahead of them, three krabs pacing around defending it. The only way to it was a narrow pathway suspended over the Digital Sea. “Twilight, we see tower,” Rarity said. “Good. I'm not seeing the scyphozoa anywhere at the moment, but try to hurry this up before it comes,” Twilight said. They had run into the scyphozoa a few times in their previous missions on Lyoko, both inside Sector 5 and in the outer sectors. Each time, it always went after Rarity, uploading that strange data into her that no one could identify. “We'll end this quickly,” Applejack said, “Jus' find that specter before someone dies.” “Leave it to me,” Twilight said. Applejack nodded to Rarity and Fluttershy, and the three of them ran toward the tower. As they ran, three hornets flew up from under the path and flew in front of them. They fired right in front of their feet stopping them. Applejack pulled out her shotgun and fired at the hornet in the center, but it flew out of the way. The other two targeted Fluttershy and fired at her, but Rarity stood in her way and blocked with her sword. She then charged up her sword and launched her sword beam at the two hornets killing them. Applejack finally got a clean shot at the remaining hornet killing it. “Come on y'all! We gotta keep movin!” Applejack ordered. They ran a little bit more on the somewhat narrow pathway before them, but saw two of the krabs walking up to meet them. The krabs fired right at Fluttershy, but Applejack jumped in the way taking the shot for Fluttershy. Applejack: 60 HP “Applejack!” Fluttershy cried out. Rarity ran forward slashing as the legs of one of the krabs knocking it down. Once its head was lowered, Applejack shot at the symbol with her shotgun killing it. The second krab fired whacked Rarity back with its leg and fired at Fluttershy again, who this time managed to run out of the way. Rarity: 80 HP Applejack whacked the krab in the legs knocking it down and rolled out of the way as Rarity fired her sword beam at the krab slicing through it. “AJ, are you okay?” Rarity asked. “Yeah Rares, Ah'm fine,” Applejack said, “But this feels weird, don't it?” “It does,” Fluttershy said, “Those krabs were all the way down there, but they came over here.” Rarity turned back to the tower and saw four kankrelats walking up to them. “More coming!” Rarity called out. Applejack ran forward, got on one knee, and began firing at the kankrelats. “Rares, protect Fluttershy!” Applejack said, “XANA's targetin her more for some reason!” “Dah!” Rarity said standing in front of Fluttershy defending her while Applejack continued to fire at the kankrelats. On Twilight's screen, she saw another wave of monsters forming behind the four kankrelats that Applejack was firing at. This entire attack was weird. XANA had tried multiple tactics over the months, but this one was really odd. Still, she had a job to do, so she pulled up the program Eos gave her and got to work searching for the specter. At the same time she pulled up the phone app and called Pinkie Pie again. “Hi hi! This is Pinkie Pie. So sorry I missed your call. If you leave your name and number with a quick message I'll get back to you soon, you sexy devil. Laters!” “Goddamn it Pinkie Pie!” Twilight shouted, “This is not the time to disappear on us!” The water was now about up to Pinkie Pie's chest now. She had been struggling so much that by now she had just given up. She pulled at her bindings again, this time in frustration and fear. It wouldn't be long now until the water was higher up, and since she was stuck she wouldn't be able to rise up with the water. Dashie… Help me Dashie… “That's… a difficult request sir,” Celestia said to Blitz. He and Dash were sitting right in front of her, neither one looking happy, but Dash looked anxious, and impatient about something. “What do you mean?” Blitz asked, “You're the principal, aren't you?” “Well yes, I am,” Celestia said, “But its late into the school year now. Changing rooms at this stage is-” Blitz slammed his hands on Celestia's desk, “Rainbow Dash doesn't need a roommate! All that Pinkie Pie is doing is distracting her!” Celestia took a deep breath before speaking, “Blitz, please sit down. There isn't a need for so much energy,” once he sat back down, Celestia turned to Dash, “Are you okay, sweetie?” “Can we just hurry this up?!” Dash asked, “My friends need me, and I still can't reach Pinkie Pie.” “We'll take as long as we need to,” Blitz said harshly, “Please excuse my daughter's tone. She's like this even at home. I had hoped her coming here would improve that attitude of hers, but-” “Actually, sir, that's one reason why moving her would be difficult,” Celestia cut him off, “Dash has actually been a great influence on Pinkie Pie. You see, when Pinkie Pie first came to this school a few years ago, she was really timid and depressed. Rainbow Dash here helped her come out of her shell, and now-” “Yes yes, that's all well and good, but what about her?” Blitz said, “Her grades are still suffering horribly.” “With all due respect, her grades have seen a massive improvement since-” “Well why am I not seeing As yet?” Blitz asked, “Every child in my family has been absolutely perfect. I got perfect As, so did my father, and his father, and so on. If she didn't have that leech of a roommate-” “Call Pinkie Pie a name one more time and see what happens,” Dash said darkly. “Dash, tone,” Blitz ordered. “Fuck you and your order,” Dash sat up and glared at her father, “Call Pinkie Pie anything except her name and I swear, I will-” “Dash, that's enough,” Celestia said, softly yet sternly, “Please calm down. Losing your temper isn't going to do any good.” Dash sat back in her seat folding her arms. “As for you Blitz,” Celestia glared at him, “I must agree with Dash here. Pinkie Pie is a joy to have in my school, and one of my favorite students to work with, so I must also insist that you watch what you say about my students in my presence. Am I clear, Rainbow Blitz?” “Yes, Principal Celestia,” Blitz said sitting down in his seat, looking a lot like Dash at the moment, “I apologize.” Twilight picked up on the signal of the specter, and homed in on it. Using a military satellite she was able to get an actual image of the location. It was an old abandoned mansion that had as many rumors about it as the factory. It was known as the Everfree Mansion. Next to it near a barred drain was Maud. She was pacing around, and it looked like the faucet nearby was on, as water was flooding the drain. “Okay, that's not suspicious at all,” Twilight said sarcastically. Using the satellite she zoomed in to see what was in that drain. When she saw who was tied up, now floating in water that came up to her chest and chained to the floor, Twilight almost had a heart attack. “Oh no...” Twilight said, “No no no no no no no!” she panicked and pulled up the phone app, “I have to warn Dash!” Dash's cellphone chimed as she received a text message. She pulled it out secretly to read it. Pinkie Pie is in trouble! Whatever you are doing, stop it now and get to the Everfree Mansion FAST! Twilight Sparkle Dash didn't need to think about it. She got up and made her way to the door. “Where are you going young lady?!” Blitz asked harshly. “Remember those friends that I said needed me?” Dash asked, “One of them is in serious danger right now.” “Then call the police or something. We're having an important conversation right now-” “No! You're having an important conversation right now! All I'm doing is sitting here wasting my time while you badmouth my best friend! I'm going now, whether you want me to or not!” With that, Dash stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut. “Damn that girl,” Blitz said with a sigh, “This is the exact reason what I was talking about. She's valuing her friends over her future in this school.” “Actually sir, I'm rather proud of her right now,” Celestia said, surprising Blitz. “Excuse me?! Proud?!” “And I think we're done here,” Celestia said, “I'm actually rather busy myself, so I'd appreciate it if you stopped wasting my time and left my office immediately.” Blitz's face turned beet red in rage, but he stormed out of the office. Celestia sighed in relief and pulled out her laptop and earphone, opening the app on her computer. Welcome Eos… Twilight's phone app came up, showing random characters where the number would be. She knew exactly who that was. “Eos!” Twilight cried out happily. “Sorry I'm so late, Twilight. What did I miss?” Eos asked. “Pinkie Pie was captured by the specter!” Twilight said, “XANA turned her sister Maud into a specter!” “What about the others?” Eos asked. “Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy are all in Lyoko right now, but their progress is slow,” Twilight explained, “There's only one path to the tower, and XANA keeps sending monsters in their way!” “He's stalling,” Eos said, “Remember Twilight, if someone dies, they can't be brought back using Return to the Past.” “Rainbow Dash should be on her way,” Twilight said, her eyes watering, “Eos, I'm...” “Don't worry Twilight,” Eos said comfortingly, “Pinkie Pie will be saved, I promise.” “Thanks Eos,” Twilight said, trying her hardest to not break down. XANA targeting her was bad enough, but now he was going after her friends. There would be time to cry about it later. Right now she had to help her friends. She called Rainbow Dash, deciding to focus on the mission. “Twilight, is that you?” Rainbow Dash asked as she ran. “Yeah, how close are you to the Everfree Mansion?” Twilight asked. “Pretty close. What am I looking for?” “At the left side you'll see a drain being flooded with water. XANA turned Maud into something called a specter and is using it to try and drown Pinkie Pie.” “Say no more!” Dash said, “I'm on my way!” she hung up and continued her journey to the mansion. Unknown to her, someone on a motorcycle saw her running. It looked to this person like Dash was in a hurry. Last time they saw something like this they ignored it. Something told them that they shouldn't ignore this one. Back in Lyoko, progress to the tower was slow. They were only about halfway there, as everytime they cleared a wave of monsters, another wave came up to them. It was only made harder with the fact that the monsters kept targeting Fluttershy, forcing either Applejack to have to take hits for her to keep her alive, or keeping Rarity on the defense preventing her from helping with offense. With the news that Pinkie Pie was in serious danger too, XANA's plan made absolute sense. “Alright, krab defeated,” Applejack said once the monster exploded. “Move!” Rarity called out, grabbing Fluttershy's arm and moving on ahead. Applejack ran after them already pointing forward. Almost immediately though, they saw two tarantulas appear in front of them. One of them fired a single shot at Rarity knocking her far back. Rarity: 50 HP “Rarity!” Fluttershy cried out seeing her friend fly back. She gasped though when she saw the scyphozoa float up from below the platform, “Applejack! T-the scyphozoa is here!” “What?!” Applejack cried out turning. She then saw the tarantulas hit target Fluttershy. She pulled her aside just in time, “Shoot! Twilight, the scyphozoa appeared!” “I see!” Twilight said from the reap world, “You have to stop it!” “Ah can't!” Applejack said pushing Fluttershy behind her, “If Ah do that, Fluttershy will-” she was cut off by Rarity's screams, “RARITY!!!” Rarity squirmed and struggled as the scyphozoa wrapped its tentacles around her legs, arms, and body capturing her. Two more tentacles hovered right at her head, putting her in another odd trance as data continued being transferred into her. Installation: 10% Installation: 22% Installation: 28% “It's downloading that weird data into Rarity again!” Twilight said. “Damn!” Applejack shouted. She was about to fire at the scyphozoa, but the tarantulas attacks caught her attention again, “Twilight! Ah can't hit the scyphozoa! If Ah do, Fluttershy's a sittin duck!” “This is terrible!” Twilight said, holding her head in frustration, “XANA planned this too well! I… I don't know what to do!” The data never took long to catch up to where it was before, so before long Twilight saw the progress back up to 50% and still growing. She looked back on the camera feed and saw that the water was now up to Pinkie Pie's neck, and she was struggling to keep her head up. It was beginning to really seem like XANA was going to win this one. Even if by some chance they got Fluttershy to the tower, if Pinkie Pie died or the scyphozoa finished whatever it was attempting to do to Rarity… Rainbow Dash arrived at the Everfree Mansion, where she immediately went to the side of the house. She saw the water filling up the drain and ran over to it, seeing Pinkie Pie inside. “Pinkie Pie!” Dash called out. Pinkie Pie looked up and said something through the gag, probably “Dashie”. “Don't worry, I'll get you out of there!” Dash said looking around at the bars, not seeing a way to loosen them, “Damn it! How the hell do I open this thing?!” The motorcyclist ran up to the scene, still wearing their orange and black helmet. When they saw what Dash was doing, they immediately ran over to the side of the house picking up a nearby crowbar and began trying to help Dash. Dash looked up at the person, confused by their sudden action, but not questioning it. “Come on! Open damn it!” Dash shouted frantically. The cyclist looked behind Dash, and quickly pushed her out of the way as an electric strike almost hit her. They both looked to see Maud standing there with her arm out. “I don't have time for this!” Dash said. She saw the cyclist stand up and crack their knuckles getting in a fighting stance, “Hey! Are you saying you'll keep her busy?” the cyclist nodded and ran over to Maud, throwing punches and kicks at the possessed woman, who matched the cyclist blow for blow. Dash thought the cyclist was being reckless, but she shook it off and put her attention to Pinkie Pie, who's head was almost completely submerged in the water. “Pinkie Pie, hang on!” Dash said picking up the crowbar, “I'm going to save you, I promise!” The water rose higher than Pinkie Pie could float thanks to the chain, now completely submerging her. The panicked look on Pinkie's face matched the panic hitting Dash. “No, no, NO!!!” Dash screamed, “This won't happen! I won't let you die! Pinkie Pie, please hang on!” Installation: 54% Installation: 61% “Twilight, you need to pull yourself together,” Eos' voice said from her phone app. “I don't know what I can do!” Twilight cried, “Even if we get Fluttershy to the tower… that won't...” “Listen to me,” Eos said, “You haven't lost yet. First you need to do something about the scyphozoa. It would take too long to get rid of it, so there's only one other option.” Twilight knew what Eos was talking about. She had thought about that, but it was a big risk. Still, they needed to save Rarity and fast. “Applejack, can you hear me?” Twilight asked. “Got a plan?” Applejack asked. “You need… to devirtualize Rarity.” “Twilight, ya sure?” Applejack asked. “It's the only way. After she's been devirtualized, I'll send your Tera-Bike down,” Twilight said. “Got it,” Applejack said pointing her shotgun at Rarity quickly firing at her and reloading. The shots hit Rarity point blank. Rarity: 0 HP As Rarity devirtualized, the scyphozoa flew away, realizing that its target was lost. Applejack breathed out in relief, but quickly had to put her attention back to the fight in front of her. As the scanner opened up, Rarity was lying on the floor of her scanner barely conscious. She stirred a bit, realizing that she was in the real world and slammed her fist in frustration. Now Applejack had to defend Fluttershy alone. All because she was helpless against the scyphozoa. Twilight began working on preparing the Tera-Bike as Rarity came up to the computer room. “Sorry, Twilight...” Rarity said ashamed, “Scyphozoa caught me off guard, and...” “It's okay Rarity,” Twilight said, “There wasn't anything we could do. XANA's strategy is too good. For now though, head to the Everfree Mansion and help Dash. Pinkie Pie is running out of time.” Rarity nodded and went back up the elevator. Once outside, Rarity's phone chimed with a text message. Through the sewers, take a left turn from the passage leading to the factory. There's a short cut that will lead you right to the mansion. Eos Rarity was a little unnerved with Eos knowing her number apparently, but she silently thanked Eos and followed her guidance. If she couldn't be useful on Lyoko, she could at least be useful in rescuing Pinkie Pie. The cyclist managed to knock Maud down, but they were kicked back and hit with a blast of electricity, knocking them into the back wall. Dash saw that, and then took another look at Pinkie Pie, who's eyes were beginning to roll to the back of her head. “Pinkie Pie, don't give up yet!” Dash urged, “I promised I was going to save you! PINKIE PIE!!!” Before she could get the crowbar into position, a blast of electricity shot her far away from where Pinkie Pie was. She sat up to see Maud pick up the crowbar and throw it away, and then walked over to Dash charging up her hands with electricity. “XANA!” Dash seethed. If she didn't hate XANA before, she definitely hated him now. She got to her feet and charged at Maud, but she thrust her hand into Dash's stomach and shot a blast of electricity through her throwing her into the back wall. Rarity came out through a hidden door and gasped at the scene. She looked down ans saw the crowbar that landed near her, and picked it up holding it like her sword on Lyoko. “Alright XANA, let's go for round two!” Rarity said charging at Maud, slashing wildly with the crowbar. Maud dodged out of the way of all the attacks smirking the entire time. Dash and the cyclist both ran over to the bars imprisoning Pinkie Pie. Thankfully the crowbar seemed to loosen the cage, but it was still on really tight. I can't lose her!” Dash shouted pulling at the bars, “I promised I'd protect her no matter what!” Now on her Tera-Bike, Applejack wasted no time plowing through anything that got in her way. When it was all three of them, the Tera-Bikes would have been too cumbersome to ride on such a narrow passageway, but now alone Applejack could ride confidently. “Alright, we're almost at the tower!” Applejack said, “Jus' a little more!” “Twilight, how are the others doing? Have they rescued Pinkie Pie yet?” Fluttershy asked. “Not yet,” Twilight said, “And it looks like she's running out of time fast!” “Well, Ah say once Ah get Fluttershy inta the tower, jus- launch a Return ta the-” she was cut off by a large red beam that shot at her Tera-Bike destroying it instantly and knocking Fluttershy and Applejack back. Applejack looked up and saw the last thing she needed to see blocking her pathway. A freaking megatank… “You have got ta be kiddin me!” Applejack said getting up, “How the hell am Ah supposed ta-” The megatank fired, of course targeting Fluttershy, which forced Applejack to have to quickly push her out of the way. The sudden movement plus the large attack cause Fluttershy to lose her footing and slip. “FLUTTERSHY!!!” Applejack screamed, watching Fluttershy almost fall into the Digital Sea. She managed to grab her arm just in time. “Fluttershy, Ah'm sorry!” Applejack said, “Ah pushed too hard, an' now-” “Applejack, it's fine!” Fluttershy said, “But you have to hurry and pull me up before the megatank-” she saw the megatank open up and charge up, “Applejack, look out!” Applejack saw megatank about to fire, but a white beam shot at it knocking it back. Applejack looked and saw Twilight running up to the megatank charging up her energy blasts. “Applejack, I'm here to help!” Twilight said. She stopped right in front of the megatank and got in a fighting stance. Twilight VS Megatank The megatank opened up and fired at her, but she elegantly flipped to the side and fired a white dart at its eye, making it role back. She sauntered up to the megatank, held her right hand out to her side charging it up, and then her left hand doing the same. She then held them both above her head firing a large white beam at the megatank pushing it back. At the same time, Applejack managed to pulled Fluttershy up. “Fluttershy, go now, hurry!” Twilight commanded. Fluttershy nodded and ran past the megatank through the small window Twilight managed to open. Applejack fired at the megatank to get its attention while Twilight ran after Fluttershy just in case the tank tried anything. The megatank tried once again to hit Fluttershy, but Twilight stood in its way taking the attack. Applejack wasn't able to put up her defense in time and took the attack as well. Applejack: 0 HP Twilight: 0 HP Thankfully, Fluttershy managed to faze into the tower right as her friends devirtualized. Fluttershy ran right to the center of the tower, and allowed herself to be lifted to the upper platform. She elegantly landed and calmly walked over to the control panel. Rainbow Dash and the cyclist managed to open the bars, and Dash wasted no time jumping into the water to set Pinkie Pie free. She hit another snag though when she saw the chain connecting her to the floor was locked in place. Instead she began pulling at the black straps. The cyclist threw off their helmet and jumped in after Dash helping. Dash didn't get a good look at the cyclist, but she did notice that they had really long red and yellow hair. Fluttershy frantically typed on the holographic keyboard, breaking through the tower's security. After a few tense seconds, the holographic touch screen appeared. Maud shot Rarity back into a wall knocking her out, and the walked over to the pool, charging up her hands with electricity. She pointed them at the water and prepared to- Fluttershy placed her hand on the touch screen. FLUTTERSHY CODE LYOKO “Tower deactivated,” Fluttershy said in relief looking down into the abyss as the coding on the walls vanished into the darkness. Mission accomplished. At least, she hoped. Maud's face went blank, and she fazed in and out like static for a split second. Black mist came out of her and she fell down unconscious. The cyclist came out of the water, picked up the crowbar, and jumped back in, immediately using it to break the chain. Dash swam out, bringing Pinkie Pie with her. She wanted to untie her, but she needed to at least make sure she was still alive. Dash put Pinkie Pie on the ground, removed the gag, and began pumping her chest and doing mouth to mouth. It took a second, but eventually Pinkie Pie coughed up the water. “Pinkie Pie!” Dash cried out in relief. Rarity managed to get up and ran over to them to undo the bindings. “Dashie…?” Pinkie Pie asked softly. “I was so worried!” Dash said embracing her best friend, “For a second, I didn't think we'd make it in time!” “I knew you'd save me Dashie,” Pinkie Pie said slowly wrapping her arms around Dash, “I called out to you the whole time, so I knew you'd reach me.” “Well, I couldn't have done it without that person in the black,” Dash said looking up to see the person walking off holding their helmet, “Hey!” The cyclist stopped, not turning to them. Dash let go of Pinkie Pie and walked over to the cyclist. “Um, thanks for your help, uh...” “Don't worry about it,” the cyclist said, not turning around but Dash could now tell they were a girl, “I was just in the neighborhood and figured I'd lend a hand.” “Listen, about what you might have seen,” Dash said awkwardly. “What are you talking about?” she said, “I didn't see anything.” The cyclist walked off waving to them. Rarity helped Pinkie Pie up and walked over to Dash. “Is it safe to let her go?” Rarity asked. “Somehow, I think it'll be fine,” Dash said, “Something about her seemed like us a bit.” “Ugh...” everyone turned to see Maud slowly sitting up, “How did I get out here…? “MAUD!!!” Pinkie Pie embraced her older sister, who looked really surprised when she saw the state she was in. “Pinkie Pie, are you okay?” Maud asked, oddly now sounding really concerned, “Why are you soaked? Did something happen?” “I'm fine,” Pinkie Pie said, smiling through her tears, “Everything is fine now.” After coming up with an excuse to appease Maud, the gang saw her off and returned to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie's room. Pinkie Pie wasted no time getting out of those wet clothes and was now in her pink robe drying her hair. “I'm really glad that's over with,” Fluttershy said. “Seriously, that was too close!” Pinkie Pie said, already back to her usual self, “I didn't know XANA could possess people like that!” “Was that XANA?” Applejack asked, “Ya know, like really XANA?” “I don't think so,” Twilight said, “I've had the most contact with XANA directly, so I know his mannerisms. He's more of a megalomaniac than what you described. Based on what Eos shared with me, I think we were dealing with one of his monsters brought over from Lyoko.” “Yeah, I'd recognize XANA too if I saw him,” Dash said, “I didn't see any of that smugness of his.” “Still, we can't let our guards down,” Rarity said, “XANA has new way of getting to us now. He'll do that again, I'm sure.” “Well, next time I'll be ready,” Pinkie Pie said, “He won't get the drop on me like that again.” “Are you sure you're okay?” Applejack asked, “That had ta be really traumatic, ya know.” “Well, the almost dying part was really scary,” Pinkie Pie admitted, “But I didn't really mind being tied up.” Everyone turned to Pinkie Pie with their trademark “WTF” expressions. “You… didn't?” Rarity asked. “Nope. In fact, I wouldn't mind it if XANA did that again, you know, this time without the whole drowning part.” With that Pinkie Pie walked out of the room to the showers, leaving her friends absolutely perplexed. It was Twilight who eventually broke the silence. “Even after almost dying… she's still Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said. “In other news, how did things go with your Dad?” Applejack asked Dash. “Yes, I heard that he was giving you trouble,” Fluttershy said, “Is everything okay?” “I'm still here, right?” Dash asked, “I talked to Principal Celestia before we came here, and she told me that she isn't changing my room or letting my Dad take me out of the school.” “Would he really try that?” Twilight asked, a little worried. “If he thought it was “best for me” then yeah, but I doubt it'll ever come to that. This is the best school in Canterlot. As long as I don't start failing, I'll be fine,” Dash gave them a smirk and thumbs up, “You're not getting rid of me that easily.” “Good,” Twilight said, everyone breathing out in relief, “You're seriously important to our team.” “Damn right,” Dash said looking out her window, “Besides, XANA just messed up. As of today, he's officially on my shit list,” she said slamming her fist into her palm and gritting her teeth. Even though Pinkie Pie was okay now, Dash was still going to make XANA pay for hurting her. She didn't have to feel bad about beating up a computer virus. Dear Eos, Thanks to you, we were able to save Pinkie Pie. I'm really happy you were there to keep me calm. I don't know what I'd do without your support. This attack scared me even more than the other ones. It's bad enough that XANA wants me dead, but to go to such great lengths to try and kill my friends? Eos, even typing this email I'm trembling, and I feel like I'm going to break down any second. I wish we could meet in person, so you could comfort me directly. I know that this is the best we can do, and I appreciate it, but sometimes I do find myself wondering who you really are. How did you handle it, fighting XANA? Was this why you shut down the computer like you did. Honestly, I can understand you so much better now. We'll defeat XANA, right? Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle Ending Theme: Can't Fight The Moonlight