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Chapter 6x - The Toymaker
Jeremy smacked his head on his keyboard with a groan. He was in his room, working on the restructure. Why did it have to be so damn complex? There was no practial application of the way the wings were structured. Every major blood vein and vessel ran through the wings at some point. Normally, they body would simply have a few extra vessels and veins that he could just clip off the main line, along with the wings, and complete the restructure in moments. However, as it stood now, he had to go through and recreate Aelita's circulatory system, vein by vein, vessel by vessel, by hand. An open book lay on his desk. The book was a medical school level textbook on the circulatory system, he was using it as a primary reference to make sure he recreated the system properly.

Zaber lay on the bed behind him, reading a comic. He put the book down for a moment as he heard Jeremy groan.
"Look... I gotta offer one more time. Can I help you with that?" He asked.
"No..." Jeremy muttered. "It's not something more than one person can do at once. Plus it's precise and teidous, as well as..."
"A "no thanks" would have been great." Zaber stopped him. "Alright..." Zaber said as he picked the book back up. The cover showed an older boy, holding a book in one hand and a large, black scythe in the other. Behind him stood an omnious figure, a purple skinned, hunch backed being, dressed in all black with bulging white eyes. Zaber kept reading for a minute or two, and then whistled, impressed. "Dang... Jeremy, the guy in this book is so smart, he makes you look like Odd." Jeremy spun around.
"What's your point? It's a book. The writer can make a character as smart as he wants." Jeremy argued.
"I know that..." Zaber replied. "Still... if we had someone like L around here, Xana would be toast by now." Zaber dove back into his book as Jeremy's cell phone rang.
"Hello?" Jeremy asked.
"Jeremy, it's me." A voice came over from the other line.
"Oh, dad! What's wrong?" Jeremy replied, recognizing the voice.
"Well... I just got a notice from the school... it seems they're doing a career day. Did you know about it?"
"Uh... no." Jeremy lied.
"Well, anyways, I'll be there tomorrow. I'm gonna show off the new toyline I'm making..."
"Oh... uh... that's great Dad. I'll see you there." Jeremy hung up, then groaned as he leaned back in his chair.
"What was that about?" Zaber asked without glancing up from the book.
"My dad's coming for the career day tomorrow." Jeremy muttered with disdain.
"What's wrong with that?" Zaber asked him.
"My dad's... embarassing." Jeremy replied, struggling for a good adjective to use. "He makes... toys. And not cool one's either... little kid toys. I'm going to get heckled now, on top of everything else that's going on." He explained.
"You're making a big deal about nothing." Zaber shut his book.
"Maybe you don't understand what I meant when I said "little kid toys". You see..."
"No matter how embarassing your dad is, at least you have a decent one. My real father is scum, and my adoptive parents aren't that supportive either." Zaber replied to Jeremy's complaint, and Jeremy looked down, feeling sort of ashamed. He supposed Zaber was right. But still... he wasn't looking forward to it.
"I'm going to the factory. If I'm gonna pull an all-nighter, I'll get more done there." Jeremy hit a button and a disc slid out of his computer, which he put in a case as he headed for the door. "Cover for me, OK?"
"Whatever." Zaber replied inattentively as he turned another page with anticipation, almost at the end of the book. Jeremy silently closed the door and set out for the factory. Zaber finished the page he was on and turned it again. The last page was jet black, and displayed only, "To be continued..." In the center of the page. "Damn you L!!!" Zaber shouted with frustration as he threw the book against the wall. He moaned as he set his alarm clock and yawned. "I hate cliffhangers..."

Zaber woke up the next morning, finding, not suprisingly, that Jeremy was not there. Zaber quickly dressed and headed for breakfast, trying to call Jeremy's cell phone.
"This is Jeremy. I can't answer my phone right now, so leave a message." The machine rang.
"Wake up Einstein." Zaber said into the phone. "You're already gonna miss breakfast. I can only stop Odd from stealing your portion so many times. Wake up..." Zaber joked at the phone. "Alright, fine. Just get here. You're dad's gonna know somethings up if you're gone." He hung up as he stepped into the cafeteria and got in line. The others, with the exception of Yumi, were already at the table.
"Morning." Aelita greeted him.
"Where's Einstein?" Asked Odd.
"He left last night to go do some work at the factory. He probably just fell asleep again. I tried to call him, but I just got his voice mail." Zaber answered.
"I know he's working hard to get rid of my "problem", but he always pushes himself too hard." Aelita sighed.
"It's a small wonder he hasn't had a hernia yet." Ulrich said as he took a bite of his omlette.
"All I know, is that if he skips school, he isn't gonna miss much." Odd said happily. "It's career day, which means I get to sit back and sleep. Check it out." Odd pulled out a pair of very dark sunglasses. "Nobody'll ever know..."
"Until you start snoring." Ulrich argued. "So... how many people are gonna show up? This is a boarding school after all, I doubt very many parents will make the trip."
"Actualy, Jeremy's dad was supposed to be coming." Zaber informed them. "He seemed upset about it though." Zaber explained, as Aelita pulled out her phone and tried to call Jeremy, but once again got his machine.
"Well if Jeremy isn't coming, I'm gonna..." Odd stood up.
"Oh no you don't." Zaber stood up and shoved Odd back into his seat. "His portion's mine this time." Zaber headed for the line as Odd crossed his arms.
"This sucks." Odd whined. "I'm the one who needs it!" Ulrich groaned as he pushed his plate, with some leftover potatoes on it.

The first part of the day was consisting of the career day, during what would have been their math class. Nothing was of real interest, and Odd dozed off right away. Zaber slyly re-read his book from beneath his desk. Aelita paid attention, albeit nervously. She was worried about what had happened to Jeremy. However, when Jeremy's father came up, he eagerly eyed the crowd for his son, but he wasn't there. Still, he went through the speech he had prepared, and then stepped out for the next parent, disheveled. When it ended, they all headed to their rooms to change for their gym class. They met back in the courtyard at their usual spot by the vending machines. Aelita dialed Jeremy again, but was met with yet another, futile machine. Zaber sat there, flipping through his comic again. It would be another month before the next issue was released. He groaned as he re-read the last few pages.
"So what's that book about anyway? You've been like, obsessed with it." Odd asked him.
"It's a psychological thriller."
"what's that?"
"You wouldn't like it. It requires that you think." Zaber responded. Jeremy's father, heading from the office towards them, looked exceedingly nervous. He approached them nervously.
"Uh... are you Zaber Ocrist?" He asked.
"Yeah." Zaber replied.
"Alright... you're my son's roommate... do you know where he is?" He asked.
"No." Zaber lied. "He was studying last night when I fell asleep. He was gone when I woke up." He invented.
"Oh..." He said, dissaspointedly. "I just talked to the principle... he doesn't know where he is either." He was carrying a breif case. "Are you all his friends?"
"Yeah." Aelita responded. "We can help you look for him if you want..." She offered.
"I would accept, but I can't pull you all out of class." He said as he opened up the briefcase. "Actually... I... didn't come here just for career day. You see... I'm starting a new toy line..." He pulled from the breifcase a marionette. It was apparently based off Jeremy... it had his trademark blue turtleneck, as well as his thick glasses. The puppet had an emotionless expression on it's face, and had a movable jaw. It was small, only about 10 inches tall. All the puppet's joints could be operated from a simple, plastic control with thin, nearly invisible wires. "I also came to find some ideas for the rest of the toys. I thought I might find some of his friends that might be interested..." He demonstrated the toy for them, making it dance and having's it's jaw move.
"That's a little creepy... basing a toy off your son." Zaber openly critized him.
"I think it's cute..." Aelita said as she reached for the puppet.
"Of course you do. You think the real one is too." Yumi teased her and she blushed.
"Hm?" Jeremy's father said with surprise.
"This may come as some shock to you..." Odd started. "But your son's got a girlfriend." Odd explained.
"I... uh... I'm not..." Aelita futily started to defend herself.
"Cmon. Stop denying it." Ulrich joined in. Jeremy's father glanced at Zaber. Zaber, who was now lying down on the ground, simply closed his eyes.
"I'm not gonna deny it either Aelita. Give it up." Zaber said. Aelita gave up, rather flustered. She had no problem admiting it in public, but there must have been a reason why Jeremy had never told his father in the first place.
"Well... uh... in that case... You can have it. I've made plenty." Jeremy's father replied as he handed her the control. She tried to manipulate it as he had, but had some difficulty making it move the way she wanted. "It just takes practice..." He said. "Well... if any of you see or hear from Jeremy, please have him call me. Once we find him, let me know if any of you want to be part of my toy line." He said politely as he walked off again. Aelita smiled at the puppet, fogetting for an instant about Jeremy's dissapearence as well as her embarassment, but Zaber reminded her of the situation.

"Alright... this has been going on for a while now. I smell Xana." Zaber said. "It's the only real explanation for Jeremy dissapearing like this. I'm going to go to the factory and see if I can find anything. Can you cover for me?" He asked Ulrich.
"Sure." He replied.
"Alright... I'll be back as soon as I can. Keep your scanners on you just in case." Zaber said, brandishing his own which he had just pulled from his jacket pocket. He snuck around the cafeteria and headed for the forest tunnel.
"You four! Get over here, you're late!" Jim shouted at them from the field as they hurried over. "Where'd Ocrist go? Wasn't he just with you?" He demanded.
"He got called to the office... his dad showed up wanting to see him." Ulrich lied.
"Ah... I see... if his dad's here, I wonder why I didn't see him at the career day assembly. And I see there's no Belpois either..." Jim noticed.
"Einstein's not here, but does the creepy puppet count?" Odd snatched the puppet from Aelita and held it up for Jim to see.
"Well... he's scrawnier than you Della Robia." Jim joked.
"I'm not scrawny! I'm svelte!" Odd argued as Aelita snatched the puppet back from him.
"Whaterver. Stones, get rid of that thing! Gym class is no place for toys!" Jim ordered. Aelita sighed, and then tucked the toy away down her shirt. The four of them melded into the crowd as the class began.

Zaber stepped into the elevator at the factory, and headed down to the lab. He wore the head set as he flipped the monitor on and the chair swiveled on the floor, carrying him to the terminal. He immediately noticed Jeremy's cell phone lying next to the keyboard, with the "new messages" window displayed and flashing. He hit the button as the messages began to play.

"Wake up Einstein. You're already gonna miss breakfast. I can only stop Odd from stealing your portion so many times. Wake up... Alright, fine. Just get here. You're dad's gonna know somethings up if you're gone." Played Zaber's voice on the first message. The second message started to play.
"Jeremy? Are you there?" Aelita asked the machine. "Alright... hopefully you'll get here before your dad starts his career day presentation. See you in a little bit." There were two more similar messages from Aelita after that, each one becoming progressively more worried. The window displayed nothing. However, Zaber checked to make sure all the "critical processes" were running properly. He found that the super-scan had been shut off. He flipped it back on, and almost immediately got an activated tower alert. Zaber picked up Jeremy's cell phone, rather than spend the time to dig out his own. He dialed Aelita.
"Jeremy?" Aelita exclaimed when she picked up, having seen Jeremy's name on the caller ID.
"No... it's Zaber. I found his cell here at the factory." Zaber explained. "SOS Xana. And you can bet Jeremy's dissapearence is involved."
"You don't think Xana..." Aelita gasped. "How long ago did this tower become activated?"
"It's been active for hours... since about 3 AM last night. Whatever happened, the superscan was shut off."
"I'll get the others." Aelita said as she hung up. Zaber sat in the chair. He couldn't do anything until the others got there. Going to Lyoko alone by himself would be pointless. Since Aelita was needed on Lyoko, and Jeremy was missing, he was the only one qualifited to operate the supercomputer during the mission. So, with nothing else to do, he closed his eyes and concentrated.
"Think..." He muttered to himself. "What's been going on that's been suspicious since the tower activated? How is Xana attacking?"

Aelita alerted the others about the activated tower, and they all attempted to break away from the class and head for the factory. But just as they tried to sneak away, Jim called out to them.
"Stern! Della Robia! The principal wants to talk to you!" He ordered them.
"We'll deal with it. Get to the factory." Ulrich urged Aeltia and Yumi as he and Odd headed towards Jim.
"We're coming Jim. Relax." Odd told him.
"Sir, we're going to the restroom!" Yumi shouted, indicating herself and Aelita.
"OK, just make it quick!" Jim shouted to them, thinking nothing of it. Yumi and Aelita made a break for the factory as Jim followed Ulrich and Odd to the principal's office.

Ulrich and Odd sat down in Delmas' office. Jeremy's father was talking nervously to Delmas when they arrived. Jim stood behind them, blocking the exit.
"Ah. You two. Listen... I know you're very close to Jeremy Belpois... I'm sure you've noticed he's gone missing. None of us know where he is, and we're all very worried. Do you have any clue as to where he might be?" Delmas asked them.
"No sir. We haven't seen him since yesterday." Ulrich replied.
"Why don't you ask Zaber? He's his roommate."
"Funny you should mention that Odd... you told me he was called to the principal's office before gym class started..." Jim stood behind him menacingly. "So where is he really?" Delmas raised a speculative eyebrow.
"Um... well... you see..." Odd tried to come up with something.

"Go ahead right into the scanner room." Zaber told Aelita and Yumi as they stepped into the elevator.
"It's just me and Aelita." Yumi said into the intercom.
"What hapepned to Odd and Ulrich? Are they fending off the attack?" Zaber asked her.
"No... the principal called for them." Aelita said as they desended. "But they should be coming when they're done."
"Alright..." Zaber said as he opened up two of the scanners, and Yumi and Aelita stepped into them. "Transfer... Yumi. Transfer... Aelita. Scanner... Yumi. Scanner... Aelita." Zaber ran through the procedure. "virtuali..." Zaber tapped the key, but halted his speech when an alert window appeared over Aelita's scanner window. "What the hell?" Zaber tried to recall the virtualization, but it was too late. He leaned back in his chair and waited for the materialization to finish. "It says there were two people in Aelita's scanner... but how is that possible?"

Yumi and Aelita materialized on Lyoko as normal. And then, a moment after they touched down, a third person began to materialize above them.
"Who is..." Yumi started to say, but immediately realized who it was as his outline began to fill in.
"Jeremy!" Aelita exclaimed as he finished virtualizing and fell to the forest floor with a thud. Aelita rushed over to him. He lie on his back, fully concious, but his heart was racing and he was gasping for breath. "Jeremy! What happened?" She asked him.
"Xana... he's possessed my dad..." Jeremy replied as he tried to steady himself. "But instead of just being superstrong and shooting lightning like the others... he somehow gave my father the power to turn people... into the toys."
"Huh?" Yumi asked curiously.
"My father just showed up at the factory last night... I got zapped and I was turned into that puppet. I could see and hear everything going on around me... but I couldn't speak or move."
"That's it! Aelita, you got virtualized when you had the puppet on you! Being virtualized must have turned him back into a human." Zaber exclaimed. "But your father wasn't acting possessed all day today."
"Of course not. Don't forget, Xana's a convincing actor." Yumi replied. "What are gonna do?"
"You three handle the tower. Meanwhile, I'll call Ulrich and Odd and warn them about our little "toymaker" friend. If they were called to the office for the reason I think, they could be in real trouble..."

"YOU EXPECT US TO BELIEVE THAT?!?!" Jim exclaimed in response to Odd's ludicrous excuse.
"I don't know what you're trying to pull Della Robia, but if you don' tell us the truth right now, then you will be expelled!!!" Delmas pounded his fist on the table. Ulrich's cell phone rang, and he quickly answered it.
"What?" He asked as quietly as possible.
"Listen closely." Zaber instructed. "The tower is being used to possess Jeremy's father. The specter in control of him has the ability to turn people into toys. That puppet he gave Aelita is the real Jeremy."
"What?!?!" Ulrich exclaimed. "But we're in the office with him right now!"
"Then get the hell out of there!" Zaber urged him. "Jeremy's human again, thanks to the scanners, but if he turns you into toy's he'll be able to kill you in seconds! Use your scanners, your Lyoko forms should be protected from the transformation."
"Stern! Get off the phone! We're talking to you!" Jim snatched the phone away. "Hello, who is this?!" Jim demanded. Zaber flipped the synthisizer on.
"This is Mr. Stern." Zaber said, with the computer creating the flawless impersenation of Ulrich's father. "You see... an emergency situation has come up, and he needs to meet me right now. I've come to pick him up."
"What kind of emergency situation?" Jim asked.
"I'd rather not talk about it." The fake father said.
"Hey! Who are you?! I know you aren't the real Mr. Stern!" Jim exclaimed.
"Damn it!" Zaber said as he cut off the line. "You always take it too far Zaber!" He muttered to himself. Jim held the phone as the dial tone played.
"I don't know what the two of you are trying to pull, but I always knew you were up to something!!!" Jim yelled at them. "Now talk!"
"Odd..." Ulrich tried to whisper. "Xana's possessed Jeremy's dad. Get ready to fight." Ulrich reached into his pocket to dig out his scanner. Odd already had his in his hand. "Transfer..." They both said as they pressed the import button.
"Alright. This is going to be shocking, but just relax." Odd stood up. "You won't remember any of this later anyways, so why not make a show of it?" Odd waved his hands in the air, distracting them until their character data arrived from the factory. Ulrich turned nervously at Jeremy's father, who simply looked bewildered.
"Does this have something to do with my son? Is he OK?" He asked.
"You should know... Xana." Ulrich tackled the Jeremy's father.
"What in hell do you think you're doing Stern!?!?" Jim shouted as he pulled Ulrich off of Jeremy's father.
"He's not who you think he is! Let me go!" Ulrich shouted. Jeremy's father remained on the ground, looking bewildered.
"Start making sense you two!" Delmas rose from his desk with anger. It was then the door behind Jim was kicked down. Jeremy's father stood there, fist extended, the mark of xana in his eyes. It was now clear... it was a clone that had turned Jeremy into the puppet. That puppet wound up in the possession of his real father, who had unwittingly given it to Aelita.
"Alright! Who are you?" Jim steped towards the imposter menacingly. He grabbed the clones shoulder, but the clone wrapped the palm of his hand around Jim's face, shocking him. Smoke began to rise about the room, obscuring their view. When their vision cleared, the specter was holding another puppet... this one a stunning re-creation of Jim. He threw it casually against the wall, and stepped towards them again. An orange and purple bolt of light shot in through the window and into the scanners in their hands.
"Scanner!" They both activated their devices and assumed their Lyoko forms. "Both of you get out of here!!!" Ulrich shouted to Delmas and Jeremy's father. "We'll hold him off!" He urged them. The specter stepped towards them menacingly as Ulrich drew his sword.



"Return to the past now." Jeremy pressed the key as the wave of light swept through the city, sweeping up all the victims at the school. After the return, Jeremy and Zaber sat in their room again, but Odd arrived a few minutes later.
"Hey Zaber! Can I see that comic?" Odd asked.
"Alright... but I don't think you'll like it." Zaber handed him the book as he grabbed his laptop. Odd sat down on Jeremy's bed and started to read it. After a few minutes, Odd put the book down.
"This is boring! Where's the action? Where's the comedy?" Odd muttered.
"I told you... it's a psychological thriller. You have to think. And there is no real "action"." Zaber stated. "Give it up." Zaber took the book back from him.
"Do you have anything better? I'm bored." Odd asked him. It was then there was a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" Asked Zaber.
"It's me." Said Aelita as she opened the door.
"Oh, hi Aelita. What's up?" Odd asked her.
"Can I talk to Jeremy alone for a minute?" She asked them.
"No problem." Zaber carried his laptop and walked past her towards the door. Odd looked at her curiously.
"What's this about?" Odd asked her, making no motion to leave.
"Come on." Zaber grabbed Odd's shirt collar and dragged him out into the hall, shutting the door behind him. Jeremy turned away from the computer.
"Is something wrong?" He asked her.
"Well... I wanted to ask you... you said you could see and hear everything while you were a puppet, right?"
"Yeah." Jeremy responded truthfully.
"Well then..." Aelita began to blush profusely. "When I hid the puppet in my shirt... did you... see..." Jeremy instantly turned a brighter red than ever before.
"Well... um... you see... I couldn't close my eyes... because I didn't have eyelids... and, I couldn't turn my head either... so..." He tried to find a workable excuse. "If I could have closed my eyes or something I would have." He offered.
"Oh... so you didn't enjoy it then!?" Aelita assumed, the embarrasment red turning more to anger.
"No! That's not what I meant! I just... you know..." Jeremy tried to defend himself. He had meant it to make her feel better.
"Agh! You're the last person I'd expect to be perverted." She slapped him lightly before storming out. When she pushed the door open, she failed to notice Odd with his ear pressed to the door. Jeremy just stood there, not sure exactly what had just happened. Odd stepped back in, with Zaber closely following him.
"Wow... Einstein in the dog house... never thought I'd see the day..." Odd exclaimed with surprise. The red mark on Jeremy's face was barely visible from all his blushing.
"I... I..." Jeremy tried to explain.
"Come on... you can't say you didn't enjoy it." Zaber elbowed him in the ribs as he sat down on the bed next to Jeremy. Jeremy said nothing... and just sat there clutching his head. This situation was more of a nightmare than the Xana attack. There was dead silence for a few minutes, as Zaber dug out another, new book and started to read. After a few minutes, Odd finally broke the silence.
"So... how was it?" Odd asked.

Episode 6x - Toymaker... END

Yep... that would be Deathnote. And Odd's head immediately spins. You know... you're all VERY LUCKY I didn't write that Deathnote/CL crossover because if I did, some of you would probably die of cliffhanger overdose.

Anyways... I have another announcment, you should see it in the forum.