DISCLAIMER: I don't own Code: Lyoko! Moonscoop still does…sadly…

A/N: Wow. I didn't realize how long it had been since I spent some dedicated time writing this story. Time flies…and I apologize that it's been so long since I've sat down and written for this audience.

I doubt that any of the original readers of this story are left, but if any of you happen to see this, thank you for coming back. If any of you are first-time readers, feel free to catch up by reading the earlier chapters of this fic and its predecessor, Code Lyoko: Reloaded.

Happy reading, everyone! It's good to be back again…

Episode 136: Seeing Gold (1)

"Hey kid!" Jacob called as he saw a familiar brown head of hair walking down the main pathway through Kadic Commons. The purple-clad brunette laughed as Joey stopped suddenly, his head flying around as he attempted to locate the sound of his name.

"Behind you, you dork," he said softly into his younger friend's ear, causing Joey to jump as he whipped around – careful not to run smack into Jacob as he did so.

"Dude, you know I hate when you do that," Joey grumbled softly, but with a smile on his face as Jacob put an arm around his shoulders for a moment. "How are you, buddy? I'm surprised you're not with the rest of your usual crew," he added, referencing the remainder of the Warriors as Jacob nodded softly.

"They're all in town, but I'm hanging here because of midterms tomorrow," the elder brunette said, scowling after the word 'midterms'. "I really need to get some library time in…"

"Ha! You, study?" Joey shot back with a glimmer in his eye. "Since when do you need to study? You're the most brilliant one out of all of us here," he laughed.

"I've been a bit distracted lately…" Jacob trailed off. It was true. With all the time he had put in lately, between trying to finish the CHIMERA program and help Jeremy with the necessary coding to break the encryptions surrounding Franz Hopper and the Restricted Access portion of the Supercomputer, he hadn't had a lot of time to focus on school, though his grades certainly weren't reflecting that… yet.

"I can understand that, man. If you'd like a break, we can always go grab something to eat, and study together later if you'd like?"

"That'd be great, man," Jacob replied as he broke into a real smile, albeit a tired one, for the first time that week. All of a sudden, he was distracted by his phone buzzing in his back pocket, and he pulled out the device to see a phone call from Jeremy. He flipped up the phone (because #oldschool) and shook his head as he laughed. "Hey Einstein, we were just talking about you!"

"Oh, that's just scary," the genius replied. "I'm assuming you're with Joey?"

"I am. We were going to get some studying done because quite frankly, I need it," the brunette admitted.

"Well … if you get a chance later, meet us at the Factory," Jeremy said cryptically. "We've found a few things you might want to see…"

"Okay man, I will," Jacob replied as he disconnected the call, turning back to his longtime friend. "Shall we?" he said with a laugh as Joey put his arm around Jacob's shoulder and the two headed off towards the cafeteria.

From across the Commons, however, the elder brunette didn't notice a pair of electric blue eyes studying him softly as he walked away. The owner of said eyes nodded once before ducking back into the shadows next to the building, his blonde hair visible for just a moment longer before he vanished out of sight…

At the Hermitage…

"Jeremy, we're sure this strategy is eventually going to work, right?" Yumi asked as Jeremy and Hunter laid out their plan for a second time.

"It will," Hunter responded simply as Jeremy nodded. "Like I've said before, we just simply don't have enough power to get through all the encryption layers as it is, though Jacob's been feverishly trying…" the black-haired boy trailed off.

"I know he has," Ulrich finished. "We all know," the samurai added as the assembled group – consisting of Jeremy, Aelita, Yumi, Ulrich and Hunter – sat in a circle in Aelita's room and went over their plan of attack, after Jeremy had recently found another of XANA's Replikas.

"So, what do we know?" Yumi asked, turning to Aelita as the pinkette smiled.

"Right now, not as much as I'd like, to be fair," she replied. "But we have enough that we can at least take another shot at XANA's defenses. Jeremy?" she said, yielding the floor as the blonde spread out a schematic of Lyoko and a map of the Digital Sea, both with specific markings on them as he straightened his glasses and began to speak.

"Okay, so after I tapped into some of the extra resources at our disposal from the Supercomputer we recently acquired, I was able to decode some of XANA's cloaking mechanisms and discover the location of two more Replikas that we will be able to go after and use in our mission to unlock the Core and bring Franz home," Jeremy explained. "Replika number one," he pointed to a dot on the Digital Sea schematic, "is right here, not too far from the Forest Replika we recently captured. It's got a couple layers of coding that are preventing me from analyzing it, so I can't tell you exactly what's inside right now. We're going to leave that one alone for the moment."

"Just the fact that XANA's hiding something makes me a little nervous," Yumi admitted.

"You're not the only one," Hunter agreed. "But, we digress. This Replika," Hunter said as he pointed to a point circled red on the map, "is the one we're going to attack. It's a Mountain Replika, though it's not the one connected to the Mountain Cabin that we visited before the summer began. That Replika and the Siberian Replika have mysteriously vanished from the Network and we're really not sure why…"

"Is that cause for concern?" Aelita asked.

"Well…we're not exactly certain that it is, but it's something Hunter and I are keeping an eye on," Jeremy said in reply. "We're obviously hoping it's nothing, but you never know."

"So what's our plan of attack?" asked Ulrich, who was visibly fired up at the thought of going back into battle.

"Well, I say we wait one more night," Hunter answered. "The whole reason Jacob isn't here is because, like it or not, we do all have midterms tomorrow. My vote is that we head back before it gets too much later," he added, seeing that the sun was quickly setting, "and be ready to go tomorrow night. After tomorrow we don't have class for a couple of days, after all."

"I agree," Ulrich nodded. "I'm doing better but I could use a good grade on these tests to keep my parents happy."

"Then it's settled," Aelita said as the group got up and dusted themselves off, several beginning to grab their backpacks. "Tomorrow we go back on the attack."

Back at Kadic…

"Thanks for all the help today, man," Jacob said with a smile as he and Joey walked out of the library. "I needed that, for sure."

"Hey, no problem man," the younger brunette responded. "It makes it easier when you have two sets of eyes looking at the material."

"I'll catch you tomorrow?" Jacob asked as Joey nodded.

"Yeah, I think my midterms run later than yours do, but I'll come find you after I'm done!"

"That sounds good. Get some rest, man," Jacob added as Joey turned for the dormitory building and left him standing alone against the rapidly fading sunset. The brunette shivered softly as a gust of wind rustled through the Commons, pulling his coat a little tighter around his shoulders as a noise suddenly caught his attention from a distance.

"Is someone there?" Jacob called out, his head snapping around quickly as he attempted to locate the source of the sound. It was as if someone was breathing heavily or crying…

"No! Please don't hurt me!" he heard clearly from off to his right. It sounded like it was coming from…

"Behind the gym!" Jacob realized as he took off in a dead run, his ankle screaming in protest as the sobs began to grow louder. When the brunette rounded the corner, he saw a sight that caused him to gasp in shock.

A trio of Kadic soccer players was circling a shuddering heap on the ground, barely recognizable as a student until Jacob got close enough to distinguish the head and shoulders from the shadows surrounding the back of the school. He saw one of the soccer players deliver a well-placed shot to the center of the trembling student, with his two cronies laughing loudly before the brunette was close enough to intervene.

"I would suggest you three pick on someone who isn't defenseless," Jacob hissed in a low, venom-laced voice as his hand shot out suddenly from beside him, powering two fingers deep beneath the rib cage of one of the three bullies' left side.

"Agh…" the now-silent soccer player spluttered as he dropped to his knees, curling into a ball on the ground in pain as his two friends turned from what Jacob could now make out as a blonde-haired boy and loomed over him quickly.

"You'll pay for that…" the lead bully growled in malice as the pair backed Jacob into a corner. The two upperclassmen laughed as they raised their fists to drop the brunette in his tracks before…

"I don't think so!" William said softly as he put a hand on each of the duo's heads before crashing their foreheads into one another, with the lead bully gurgling softly before they both sank to the dirt, out cold as Jacob let out a huge sigh of relief.

"I thought I was toast…" he breathed softly as William looked down at the pair of bullies in disgust.

"It's a good thing I was around. You okay, man?" the raven asked, concern evident in his voice.

"Yeah, I am. The only reason they came after me is because… oh, no!" Jacob gasped as he suddenly remembered why he was there in the first place and dashed past William towards the frail, unmoving blonde-haired bundle sprawled on the ground…

Meanwhile, deep within a black stone castle on the Network, a pair of red, glowing eyes lit suddenly from the shadows of a murky throne room…

…and on the Mountain Replika, a Tower to the far west of the sector – hidden in the alcove of a cut-out stone pillar – began to glow blood red…

Back behind the Kadic gymnasium…

Jacob knelt down slowly, almost afraid of what he might see as he laid a finger on the boy's neck, praying to feel a pulse.

"He's still breathing," William observed as he saw the slow, shuddering rise and fall of the boy's shoulders when he bent down next to Jacob. "We need to get him inside before it gets any colder."

"Here," Jacob said as he took off his jacket and wrapped it around the blonde boy. The boy whimpered slightly as the cloth touched his back, and Jacob leaned down to murmur in his ear. "This may hurt a bit, but we're going to get you out of here, okay?"

"O…kay…" Jacob had to strain to hear the response, but the broken word was the first he had heard from the battered boy since they had found him. The brunette turned to William as he circled around to the boy's opposite side.

"I'll help you lift him, Will, okay?" Jacob said as he gingerly slipped a hand underneath the blonde's waist and tucked the other hand between his shoulder blades, while William slid his arms underneath the boy's knees. "One, two, three!" he said as they lifted amid a piercing shriek.

"Shh… shh…" the brunette soothed, humming gently into the blonde's ear as tears streamed down the younger boy's face from behind his swollen, clenched eyes. "It's going to be okay. I promise…"

Upstairs, 20 minutes later…

"You got him, Will?" Jacob asked as William shifted his second hand to support the blonde boy's weight.

"I got him," the raven responded as Jacob fumbled with his keys to open the door to his room. The lock clicked and swung open gently, with William carrying the blonde boy inside and straight to Jacob's bed, sitting him down gently as the small figure nearly collapsed onto his side amid the stress of his own weight.

As Jacob reached a hand over the blonde's shoulders, William's phone rang softly. The raven answered it quickly as he saw the blonde flinch at the noise.

"What's up, Jeremy?"

"Change of plans. XANA has activated a Tower on the Mountain Replika! We're going on the attack now!"

"Alright, Einstein, I'll be there soon," he said, casting a questioning eye at Jacob, who shook his head softly as the shivering blonde clutched his savior's arm. "There's been a problem at Kadic, though. Jacob needs to stay in the dorm building…"

"Is he okay?!" Jeremy said in sudden fear, his stomach dropping as William replied quickly.

"Yes, yes, he's okay. But he rescued someone who isn't. We don't think he's fit to be left alone right now."

"Oh, okay…" Einstein replied in understanding. "Tell him to keep his laptop nearby, just in case…"

"I will," William affirmed. "I'll meet you at the Factory," he added as he hung up. "Will you be okay with him?" he asked Jacob as the brunette looked down at the blonde in his lap, the young boy's frame looking smaller than ever.

"I'll be fine. It's him I'm worried about…" Jacob said softly as William nodded grimly and walked out of the room, quickly bolting down the hall as he headed for the Boiler Room.

Once all was quiet, Jacob looked down and was truly able to scan the boy's features for the first time.

He had a narrow face that appeared gaunt and sunken, as if he had not eaten well in days, and his blonde hair was dirty and unkempt despite being cropped shorter. His frame was thin and lanky, and when they carried him back to the dormitory building earlier, Jacob could feel his ribs protruding from his sides.

His face was swollen and bruising purple on one side, but just as the brunette shifted to move his left arm out from underneath the boy's side, the blonde stirred gently and blinked open his right eye – the one that was not swollen shut from the punches and kicks he had received – and looked up in confusion at the purple-clad boy holding him.

It was at that moment that Jacob was stopped cold as he was met with the most clear blue gaze he had ever seen – even brighter than his own. It was a color that the brunette found himself quickly lost in, and he could see an ocean of emotion amid the obvious physical pain present in them, with the blonde wincing in pain as he tried to move his swollen jaw enough to speak.

"Thank you…for saving me…" he said, so softly that Jacob had to strain to hear the words.

"No one deserves to go through that. I've been bullied before, so I know what it's like," the brunette replied honestly as he scanned the blonde's features. "How are you feeling?"

"Terrible…" was the grated reply, with hints of both mirth and appreciation in the single word. The blonde groaned as he tried to move, and Jacob steadied him with an arm around his slim waist almost instantly, laying the smaller boy down on his side as he gently moved out from underneath him.

"Don't try to move, yet… please. Let me help you."

"Do you have some water…? And maybe an ice pack…?" the blonde said in a raspy voice.

"I'll be right back," Jacob said as he got up and pulled a glass down from the cupboard on the wall. But before he walked out, he stopped and turned back to meet the crystal blue gaze that he was already transfixed by…

"I apologize for not asking sooner, but under the circumstances, I suppose it's understandable. What's your name…?"

Meanwhile…

"You're just in time, William," Jeremy said as the raven-haired boy dashed out of the Lift and into the Laboratory. "Head down to the Scanner Room. The others are getting ready to go right now."

Transfer Ulrich, Transfer Yumi, Transfer Aelita!

Scanner Ulrich, Scanner Yumi, Scanner Aelita!

Jeremy typed a final command code in to reroute the Warriors directly to the Skid chamber before pressing the last key in the sequence.

Virtualization!

Moments later, William ducked into the Scanner Room, where Hunter was about to climb in his Scanner tube.

"You made it," the black-and-blue haired boy said as William panted to catch his breath.

"Barely. I'll explain when we're done with this crisis…" the elder raven said as the Scanner doors closed in front of both boys.

Transfer William, Transfer Hunter!

Scanner William, Scanner Hunter!

Virtualization!

The familiar zipping noise accompanied William and Hunter's arrivals, and the two black-haired Warriors dropped down right next to Yumi and Ulrich as all five members of the gang quickly centered themselves on their Teleport Pads.

"Are you guys ready?" Jeremy asked as Hunter nodded.

"Let's do this, Einstein!" he said with a steely undertone as Jeremy typed in another command code.

"Roger that! Energize!" he replied as the Warriors vanished instantly and reappeared a moment later in their NavSkids amid a flash of sparks. Aelita quickly took the controls and started the castoff procedures as soon as everyone was safely inside.

"Power, online. Shields, online. Thrusters, online. Cast off! Full steam ahead!" she said over the com-link as she moved the throttle to full speed, activating the thrusters and powering the Skid up out of the North Pole of Sector Five.

Just as quickly as she had left the main sphere of Lyoko, the pinkette maneuvered the Skid until it was vertical over the Digital Sea and dove just as quickly into the abyss below…

Back in the Dormitories…

"Here you go, buddy," Jacob said, sitting down on his bed as he handed the blonde a glass of ice water, which the smaller boy quickly guzzled down before bursting into a fit of coughs. "Careful, careful…" he murmured as he rubbed the boy's back – now wrapped in bandages and with an ice pack centered below his shoulder blades – slowly and soothingly. "I wanted to ask you earlier, what happened that those soccer guys would have come after you?"

Once his breathing had steadied again, his smaller counterpart closed his eyes for a long moment before sighing deeply.

"Because I'm different… Because I'm an easy target…" the blonde whispered. "Because…" he stopped, shaking violently as Jacob laid a steadying hand on his shoulder.

"Shh… shh… it's okay. You don't have to say any more right now," the Warrior soothed as he looked over his counterpart's injuries. "Are you sure you're okay…?" he asked as he lifted the throw blanket that hung loosely over the blonde's shoulders, seeing dark purple and blue bruises forming around the edges of the bandages he had put into place.

"Everything hurts right now…but not as bad as before," drawing a small smile at the corner of Jacob's mouth.

The brunette remarked, "You know, you never did answer my question," chuckling softly as the blonde's eyes twinkled gently against the dusty gold of his hair.

"True, I didn't," he replied as he closed his eyes for a moment before reopening them. "Jack. My name is Jack," he said, a faint smile on his face as Jacob, too, began to smile before the lights flickered above the duo's heads.

"What the…?" Jacob muttered before the power went out completely, leaving the pair in total darkness as Jack shuddered next to him. The brunette sprung up quickly and opened his laptop, checking the scans before realizing what was happening. Nodding but not saying a word, he returned to the other side of the room and sat down next to the blonde, who was visibly shaking after everything he had been through.

"What's happening, Jacob?" Jack asked as the brunette put an arm around him, drawing him closer amid the blackness in hopes of quelling his fear of the situation.

"I don't know," he lied as he gazed out the window, seeing the moon become obscured by clouds in moments. "Jeremy, whatever's going on…hurry and solve it…before XANA finds a way to terrorize us here…"

A/N 2: And so Stage Two of the mission begins… I apologize for the lack of Lyoko action in this chapter, but this is a turning point that needed some extra backstory and explanations for later on…

Next time…

Episode 137: Gaining Ground (2)

As the team invades the Mountain Replika, Jacob begins to learn Jack's story and comes to a heartbreaking realization…next time…on Code Lyoko: Unleashed…