Code: XANA, Part 3

Chapter 3: Reboot and Rebirth

Sector V Treehouse

By the time the sun was setting, Dillon rematerialized in the Mission Prep Room and unhooked the H.E.A.D.-S.E.T. from the treehouse's computer. "Aah!" Dillon yelped, suddenly noticing his friends glaring at him with angry looks, holding their respective gaming consoles and devices which Dillon stole.

"Our stuff is all glitchy." Chris stated. "Mind explaining?"

"Dillon, what've you been doing up here?" Haruka asked.

"I haven't been doing anything." Dillon said, walking past them. "Anything you guys would take interest in." On his way out, Kirie Beatles got in his path and began making sign movements with her hands.

Dillon, if you're upset about something, you can tell me. I'm not all MEAN like these jerks.

"It's late, Kirie, maybe we'll go to the amusement park later." With that, Dillon walked by the mute girl.

…Kirie looked with disbelief.

"Anyway, I'm going home. Later, guys." The kids watched as the door shut behind him. They looked worriedly at their treehouse computer.

XANA's Domain

"Ooooh-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" XANA cackled as he and Vanellope arrived back at his lair, the villain holding the pixel between his fingertips. "Tricking that child was far too easy!" The robot sat in his throne and opened the computer keyboard in his chest. "With this Source, I will possess unlimited knowledge and power over computers EVERYWHERE! No longer will I be forced to reside within the infernal network of a bunch of babies! After 50 long years, I can control ALL networks, and free myself! There are legions of Programs out there, Vanellope, and I am the grand Programmer!"

"Uhh, wouldn't the 'Programmer' person be the one who created you?" Vanellope asked.

"It's basically the same as saying 'Program King,'" XANA corrected, "like how Darkrai's the Nightmare King. Darkrai IS the king, but he was created by Arceus, yet no one calls Arceus the Nightmare King."

Vanellope smirked. "You sorta just implied that the humans are a lot higher up than you."

"Bzzzt-zzt-zzt! THAT'S NOT THE POINT! Now shut up and let me insert this pixel! The ultimate source of knowledge I have sought for decades," XANA said, holding the pixel closer to his eye, "is just in the tips of my fingers! In ya go, now!" The MCP inserted the pixel into a small slot on his keyboard and closed his chest. XANA's face fell frozen as a series of numbers and other symbols began blinking across his screen, his eyes becoming dizzy from being so close. "Yeees, yes, that's beautiful. Now be a good Source, my tiny little pixel, and show me the code to freedom!"

The series of symbols disappeared on XANA's face as it seemed like words were about to type. "This is it! Get ready, Vanellope! The code is mere syllables away!"

Vanellope rushed to the computer by the wall and readied to type. Before XANA's very eyes, the code made itself known: XANA XANA XANA.

"… …" XANA fell speechless. The large domain was very quiet. Vanellope stared with curiosity, waiting for XANA to speak. "YOU MEAN ALL I HAD TO DO WAS TYPE MY FREAKING NAME THREE TIMES?!?"

"Hey! It's like Beetlejuice!" Vanellope said.

"WHO'S THE BLOCKHEAD THAT CAME UP WITH THIS INFERNAL CONTRAPTIOOON?!"

"Uuuh, Tim Burton?"

"Oh! Well, that works." XANA smiled. "Alright, type it up."

Vanellope quickly typed the code into the terminal and pushed 'Enter.' Already, the central core that was connected to XANA brimmed with a powerful light that could be seen across the vast reaches of Cyberspace. XANA's wicked cackle echoed across the realm.

York Household, next morning

When the sun began peeking in Dillon's room, the shadowbender awoke and rubbed his eyes. He excitedly grabbed the H.E.A.D.-S.E.T. and ran downstairs, eager to go back to the cyber dimension. "Today's the day!" he exclaimed. "XANA has to be finished downloading that pixel by now!"

Upon his exit, Dillon heard his wristwatch beeping and looked to find Chris's face appear on the tiny screen. "Dillon, grab your S.C.A.M.P.E.R. and get up to Moonbase! There's crud going on, and you need to see it."

When the transmission ended, Dillon put on a look of worry and hurried to his S.C.A.M.P.E.R..

KND Moonbase

When Dillon arrived at the Moonbase, he took land beside the C.O.O.L.-B.U.S. that belonged to his sector. His friends were already standing outside waiting for him. They seemed to glare angrily as Dillon stepped off his ship. "Hey, guys. Is… something wrong?"

"Let us just show you." Chris said as they walked toward the bridge.

Dillon gasped in absolute shock as the Moonbase was overrun by all of XANA's monsters. Operatives either ran from them or tried to fight them in all the destruction, but evil Programs ran amuck and changed all of the terminals to show images of Eyes of XANA, and hung posters that read Hail XANA, which showed Eyes of XANA as well. XANA's maniacal face appeared on the large computer screen at Panini's station.

"Greetings, Kids Next Door! After 50 years of incarceration, I am pleased to announce that I am finally back to wreak havoc on you all for disabling my power. You have Operative Numbuh 13.2036, aka Dillon York to thank for giving me the means to restore my true power. The Kids Next Door's Internet system will come first, and will be followed by the rest of the world's cyber network. Today, you will ultimately see who the superior beings are, ahh HA HA HA HAA! This message is brought to you by the XANA Program Conqueration Foundation, and is responsible for all content, as well as the ultimate destruction of your organization. Thank you and have a nice day." The last two sentences were spoken really fast.

The Sector V group hurried over to Cheren, Panini, Francis, Zach, and Maddy, who watched the message up close. "I KNEW it!" Maddy exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Dillon. "I knew he was no good, and that little H.E.A.D.-S.E.T. just made him worse!"

"Dillon, was what that XANA thing said true?" Cheren asked.

"Well… yes, but I was only trying to help Vanellope! That guy tricked me!"

"Who the heck is Vanellope?" Chris asked.

"She's the Program girl I met in the virtual universe. And… there was also this MCP Program in there that was shut down or something, and I helped him get this pixel thing that could fix him and Vanellope, and-"

"Dillon, don't you think that Program was shut down for a reason??" Cheren asked. "He was a virus, a dangerous one, and that Vanellope girl was probably spawned from him."

"That's not true! She was sick, and XANA was helping her!"

"All these Programs look like monsters to me, and I say they have to go." Maddy stated.

"Grrrr." Dillon grinded his teeth in anger.

"Guys, leave Dillon alone." Haruka stated, walking beside her friend. "He was just doing something nice for a little girl. Isn't that the Kids Next Door's job, no matter the race?"

"Well… it's not the first time it's happened, I guess." Francis said.

"Panini, Francis, let's try and hack into the system and see if we can fight back." Cheren said. "The rest of you do what you can to keep back the invaders."

The three commanders hurried away, and the operatives focused sights on Dillon. "Anyway, the reason your devices were all glitchy was because I tried to download data onto the H.E.A.D.-S.E.T. and fix Vanellope's glitch. But just for the record, I probably wouldn't even have gone there if you guys weren't being such jerks."

"Well… we have been pretty preoccupied with stuff… and lazy." Aurora said sheepishly.

"All I've been doing is sitting on the couch playing videogames." Chris said.

"And drinking too much soda." Mason said guiltily. Sheila released a loud burp.

"Well, if you're done feeling guilty, we have a virus to stop." Maddy reminded.

"I have an idea." Dillon said. "Well, not really… but maybe I can hack XANA's system with the H.E.A.D.-S.E.T. and dismantle his programming."

"Hasn't that thing caused ENOUGH trouble?" Zach asked.

"Well, all of the computers are pretty much infected, so hacking into him might not be easy." Harry said.

"Then I'll have to confront XANA in the virtual world and try and hack him directly."

"It's probably dangerous in there, so I think I better go with you." Chris offered.

"And since we still don't really trust you, we're coming, too." Maddy stated.

"Wait, we're going in the game?! COOL!" Zach beamed.

"Guys, I… appreciate the offer, but I don't think I can bring ALL of us into the virtual world."

"Well, we could probably borrow the Code Module and hook it and the H.E.A.D.-S.E.T. to the Moonbase's hologram projector, allowing it to transport multiple people." Artie explained.

"I guess that's our plan." Chris figured. "The rest of you help fight the monsters. We'll do what we can to shut this Program down."

"Kids Next Door, LET'S GO CYBER!" Dillon raised his fists in excitement.

KND Cyber Network

The five operatives went along with the plan and were transported into the virtual city. "Whoa…" Chris and the others stared in wonder around the digital atmosphere. "If I knew about this earlier… games would be so much more epic."

"Meh, we live in a game already. And hey, I brought the H.E.A.D.-S.E.T. with me, too." Dillon said, holding the device in his hands. "I hope I can hack into XANA and disable him."

"Um… who's the black thing with the flamethrower?" Zach pointed out.

A few feet away, Mr. Game-and-Watch was burning XANA Creepers with a 2-D flamethrower, and bashing others with his hammer. "Hey, it's Mr. Game-and-Watch!" Dillon exclaimed.

When the gaming Program knocked out the last Creeper, he turned to Dillon and rang his loud bell. "What's he saying?" Maddy asked.

"He's saying the city's overrun. We… kinda figured that."

"Dillon!" Up ahead, Vanellope rushed toward them, her body glitching like normal.

"Is that your friend?" Chris asked.

"AHH, there's my favorite user!" XANA's image appeared on a giant holographic screen above them. "And he brought friends. Allow me to introduce you all to the Program who so cleverly tricked Dillon under my instruction."

"Tricked? Wait… you KNEW this would happen?" Dillon asked.

"Well, I-" she tried to speak.

"Of course she did! The only reason she befriended you was to get the freedom she so desperately desired. After all, a Program has far greater needs than meaningless friendship. But it seems that she was so glitchy that even such a task as this was far beyond her limit. And sadly, MY cyberspace has no room for faulty Programs, so Vanellope is scheduled for immediate de-rezzing. That is, as soon as I'm through with the rest of your organization. If you want to have a shot at de-rezzing me, come meet me in my lair. But it seems that hologram projector dropped you off a little too far. You'll have to fight your way across my glorious city if you wish to try. AIEEE HA HA, HA HAA!" The transmission ended.

"Vanellope, how could you trick me like that?" Dillon asked. "I thought you were my friend."

"I am your friend, Dillon! I wanted to fix my glitch so we could spend more time together, and I didn't think you'd help if you knew."

"Well, maybe you shoulda thought about it. Now the whole world's in danger because of me. A real friend wouldn't let that happen."

"I'm sorry, Dillon. I…"

"Shut up!" Maddy yelled, aiming a S.P.I.C.E.R. at her. "You're as bad as any other metahuman. Let's just forget this glitch and move on."

"Hey, does this place have any Yipper games we can go into?" Zach asked as they walked away and left the Program alone.

Vanellope's head hung low in sadness as she limped her way to an empty alleyway. The Program sat down with her back against the wall and sighed. She reached in her sweater pocket and held the power-drained pixel in her palm. She pinched the pixel between her fingertips and stared at it closely. It was hard for her to believe that something so tiny could cause so much chaos. Knowing what XANA was like, she should've expected something like this, and wishes she could've swiped it from his hands and disposed of it forever.

As a tear escaped from her eye, she noticed something strange about the pixel. Her huge eyes picked up a glowing spot on the tiny structure. She held it closer to her massive eye and observed it more closely. Indeed, there was a light blue glow coming forth from it. The glow seemed to grow bigger, and before Vanellope knew it, she was floating around in an infinite, dark blue cyberspace, surrounded by 0's and 1's, and many small computer screens. She stared in silence as black, robotic lifeforms that were about her height, with bent antennas, and big blue eyes, emerged out of thin space.

"Her past is inside…" They spoke in a monotone, alien-like voice.

"My what?" Vanellope questioned.

"Do not fear. We are Zoni. We are here to help you destroy it."

Vanellope remained confused as the lifeforms circled around her. They threw their hands open, catching the child in their beams of energy. Vanellope's eyes flashed open. Many memories began to flow through her mind, and she saw them all in her huge eyes. She saw herself racing across the Sugar Rush fields at high speed, a tyrannical virus king that removed her from her own game, another friendly Program with huge hands that helped her to restore her place, and a squad of Kids Next Door who stole her arcade game when the adults were about to shut it down.

All of the visions disappeared, her eyes still wide with shock as she found herself back in the alleyway. "It all makes sense now…" (Play "Access The Grid" from Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance.)

Stage 9: Cybernetic City

Mission: Make your way to XANA and shut him down!

The band of operatives began their venture down the first city street as a squad of XANA Tarantulas crawled toward them, already shooting lasers. The kids dodged the lasers as Dillon hid in his Shadow Veil and snuck below the first one, pulling it down with him and laying blows on it before tossing the defeated robot above the surface. Maddy rolled around and avoided another one's shots while Zach leapt up and smashed its head. Chris shot flames at another Tarantula as he made his way behind it to rip its head off. The last one kept trying to shoot Mr. Game-and-Watch, but the 2-D Program made quick dodges with his blinky animation and ran toward the robot, leaping above to smash a hammer in the robot's noggin.

The kids then approached an escalator that led to a much higher point in the city, allowing it to carry them up. They overlooked a great view of the lower parts as XANA's high-pitched voice could be heard over the intercom. "Attention prisoners of Cybernetic Prison. Anyone caught toying with Aura Knight figurines will be chopping virtual stones that never really break no matter how much you hit them. Also, will Kenkak Xefro please report to the northern wing? You have been relocated to Cellblock GE. Kenkak Xefro, to the north wing please."

The kids entered what appeared to be some kind of prison. As they passed through a hall of cells, a group of XANA Blocks crawled forward as one shot a freeze ray at Chris, freezing him solid. Another one shot fire rings at Maddy, who jumped through them before making it in front of the Block, shooting it dead in the eye. She fired her S.P.I.C.E.R. to unfreeze Chris, who then blocked a Block's freeze ray with his fire, shooting more flames to knock it out. Mr. Game-and-Watch bashed another Block's eye with his hammer before grabbing it by the legs and throwing it at the other one.

The kids proceeded to the massive central chamber, where large prisoner containers moved along a series of beams, from a central core to the many corridors of prison cells. They crossed the long, narrow bridge to the platform around the core as XANA Kankrelats popped out of boxes and crawled toward them. Chris, Zach, and Maddy easily shot them away with their weapons while Dillon and Game-and-Watch kicked the small robots over the edge. They headed over to a ladder and climbed to lower walkways of the core. They kept climbing down until they were above a line of prison containers. They dropped onto one of the containers and rode it along until they were inside the tunnel.

They stepped off on a platform that led outside to a docking area. They went down a few stairs to a platform along a digital river, where a submarine waited. "We can probably get across town in this." Dillon said.

"We're going underwater?" Maddy asked. "Um… can we not do that?"

"What's wrong with you?" Chris asked.

"Nothing… I get seasick, that's all."

They entered the submarine and submerged as they began sailing below the Digital Sea. The underwater was pitch-black, and they were only able to see using the submarine's headlights. Out of the darkness, a couple of XANA Kongres popped out, gnashing their huge teeth at the small sub. Dillon locked onto the weak spot on the robotic eels' tails and shot torpedoes at them to blow them up. "Since when do you know how to work a sub?" Maddy asked.

"Since I played Star Fox 64. It's basic N64 controls." Dillon replied.

A few groups of XANA Sharks swam over to try and snack on them, but Dillon was still able to shoot them away. When the monsters were cleared, their undersea voyage went along peacefully in the darkness for a few moments until the XANA Kalamar appeared from the darkness, stopping the sub dead in its track. Dillon kept locking on and shooting its core, but the robotic squid remained floating as it caught the sub between its legs. It activated the drill on its head and attempted to breech the hull, doing serious damage to the sub. Dillon switched on a shield and shook them away, afterwards continuing to fire on the central weak point. When the shield ran out, the squid being captured them again, but Dillon was able to land enough hits as the squid started exploding and sinking to the abyss, allowing the sub to keep moving. They drew closer to the surface and eventually resurfaced by the dock of another building.

"Ulp… BLEEHCK." Maddy barfed into the digital waters.

"Careful, Maddy, you'll glitch up the game." Chris remarked. The group of operatives proceeded up a staircase that led into the KNN News Network Station, which had the KNN logo in light blue, holographic letters rotating around the top of the building.

"Coming up at 11," XANA's voice announced, "how a totally awesome and badass supervillain can turn into such a joke so quickly through a fanfiction writer's terrible writing. Featuring, Yours Truly! HA HA ha haaa! Sigh, oh, how I envisioned my life this way, I will never know."

The kids entered the first hallway of the news station and were already led to a walkway over a vast chasm in a tremendous chamber where TV projections appeared all over the room. The screens showed previous news broadcasts with Eva & Kade and Melody & Danny, replaying various news stories such as when Sector Q beat Common Cold, or Fanny turning into a giant, or Nerehc's and Viridi's appearances. When they reached a circular platform in the center of the chamber, a bunch of XANA Hornets flew out, followed by a couple of Krabs, as they began shooting lasers at the group. Game-and-Watch flipped sausages while Chris shot fireballs to easily take out the Hornets. Dillon caught some Krabs in his Shadow Shockwave and wiped them out in one fell swoop.

After beating the monsters, a platform appeared to take the group over the chasm. As they slowly moved across, green barriers appeared to block their way. "We're going to crash! Zach, Maddy, shoot those barriers with your weapons."

"No, we were thinking of letting it crash." Maddy remarked as they were already shooting the barriers down. They were able to pass, but yellow barriers appeared in their way this time, but they were still able to blast them. As they were coming to some blue barriers, some XANA Mantas flew out from the walls, making hawk cries as they shot lasers at the group. Chris punched fireballs while Game-and-Watch batted baseballs to keep the Mantas away, leaving the siblings to shoot their path open. The Mantas kept coming as red barriers appeared in their path, but the firebender and game Program kept taking out Mantas and Zach and Maddy kept shooting them through.

When the platform came to a drop-off, the kids stepped off and continued onward to the Game Central Station. "Welcome back to Gaming Central News!" XANA's voice announced. "Another miraculous comeback of the Sonic Storybook Saga, thanks to Sega's new president and CEO, Kris Hallows. In other gaming news, game designer, Jared Warner is working on another project. A remake on world-renowned Zelda game, Majora's Mask. More details are to come after this break."

The inside of the Game Central Station appeared to be a vast virtual field of square tiles, and several Light Cycles were parked in a straight row. They each took a Light Cycle and began to speed across the fields, leaving a wall of light in their path. Already, Megatanks began to roll after them. They rolled ahead and emerged red barriers to get them to crash, but they immediately zipped and split up to the left and right. A group of Megatanks chased after Chris, but the Uno son swerved left and right and got them to crash into his light walls. Dillon sped up a ramp and performed several flips in the air, creating a light wall loop in midair. Maddy made her cycle leap and get onto Dillon's wall, driving along it and going around the loop as she caught up with the boy and began to drive alongside him.

A couple of Megatanks chased Maddy as the Decommissioning Officer shot her S.P.I.C.E.R. at them, but the hot-sauce weapon dealt no damage against the armored spheres. The robots began ramming her from both sides and knocking her around. "Hang on, Mad!" Chris yelled, speeding toward the Megatank on her left. He made a quick turn and caused the Megatank to crash. When the other Megatank sped ahead and created a barrier, Chris immediately pulled Maddy onto his bike and zipped to the left, letting Maddy's bike crash. "You okay?"

"I guess we're even now." Maddy said, holding onto him.

As a Megatank chased Dillon, the boy smirked before zipping by and crashing the tank in a dead end. Zach and Game-and-Watch rode by each other and exchanged glances as they were coming to a ramp. "Heh. Bet I can do a better flip than you."

Game-and-Watch smiled as he rode ahead and shot up the ramp. The Program kept a frozen pose as he flew through the air, his cycle making loops around him in a blinky fashion before landing back on the road. The midair light path that was left behind was curved like squares. "Pssh. I can do that." But when Zach sped forward to go up the ramp, the cycle flew across the air and landed perfectly on the road before keeping forward, while Zach slipped off and landed on the ground. "Oooog…"

The others zipped by as Dillon grabbed him and helped him onto the back of his cycle. The crew kept speeding along as they zipped left down a corner and approached the station's exit. Their cycles automatically slowed to a halt, allowing the group to step off and leave.

Upon their exit of the Game Station, the group arrived at a couple of curved walkways that led to a large ship with sails designed like solar panels. "Thank you all for choosing to ride the Solar Sailer. Our next stop is the Cyberspace Central Core. Please remember to keep all arms and legs inside, even though we move too slow for them to be blown off, and only digital cameras may be used for any photography. Film cameras are strictly prohibited, as our HD graphics are far too evolved. Thank yooou!"

The kids proceeded across the curved bridges as XANA Guardians, bubbles of digital energy, drifted toward them. Maddy shot at an approaching Guardian, but her shots missed as it expanded and encased her. Zach tried to shoot another, but ended up captured as well. Dillon expanded a Shadow Shockwave and sent Mario to attack Zach's prison, while Chris blasted Maddy's with fire, their elements laying waste to the digital bubbles before they vanished. A few more Guardians kept coming, but Chris set some on fire and caused them to retreat, while Dillon captured the rest in a Shadow Shockwave and wiped them out.

Finally, the kids made it to the Solar Sailer and allowed it to sail them away. They calmly sailed under the virtual skies for a few minutes until XANA Roachsters started to come onboard. This time, they were green and brown, and as the kids attacked them, the bugs started to beep and blink. In seconds, the Roachsters exploded, blowing the heroes back. When more Exploding Roachsters crawled onboard, the kids backed away and shot them from a safe distance, letting them explode out of range.

Once they were gone, a couple of Scyphozoa floated onboard. Chris and Maddy fired at the squid Programs, but their attacks did little damage against them as one wrapped its tentacles around Chris. It began sucking out his memories, and before Maddy could shoot it, she had to flip and dodge the tentacles of the other squid. Mr. Game-and-Watch leapt in the air and slashed Chris free with his 2-D sword. The other Scyphozoa caught Dillon, but he slipped away in his shadow form and floated onto its dome. He latched a timed M.A.R.B.L.E. to its head and flew away, the micro bomb beeping wildly before it blew the glass dome up. The remaining Scyphozoa still tried to grab Chris, but the Uno son grabbed and swung upward using its tentacles before tossing a M.A.R.B.L.E. at the dome, blowing it up.

Their sailing continued peacefully for another few minutes. However, the kids toppled over when the Sailer suddenly quaked and stopped in place. Immediately, the Kolossus' mighty form made itself known as it climbed up the front of the solar-powered vessel. The beast raised its massive fist and brought it down, but the kids rolled out of the way. Zach and Maddy began shooting at the target that was on its head, but the Kolossus swept its arm across the deck and smashed them into a wall.

Game-and-Watch got onto its arm and ran up to its head, using his 2-D flamethrower to blow fire in its eye. Chris noticed a similar target on its left elbow and blasted flames at it. The Kolossus seemed to feel the pain as it roared and blew the kids away. It pounded its right fist onto the deck and created shockwaves, while also taking swings at the group with its left sword arm. Dillon flew onto its head and blew Shadow Breath in its eye, blinding its vision. He went back to the deck and tossed M.A.R.B.L.E.s at its arm target, while Chris set fire to its head. The Kolossus roared and waved its arms in the air as it plummeted to the ground. The virtual earth trembled down below upon his landing, and the Solar Sailer was off once again. (End song.)

"Phew, glad to have that over with." Chris sighed as he and the group kicked back on the deck of the Solar Sailer. "We just need to shut down XANA and get going."

"And just how are we going to do that exactly?" Maddy asked. "We don't even know if Dillon's H.E.A.D.-S.E.T. will work."

"Eh, my family's been known to take chances." Chris shrugged.

"Well, we know those demons certainly took their chances."

"You know what I mean."

"I still can't believe Vanellope tricked me." Dillon spoke sadly. "We had such a good friendship… I guess you really can't trust Programs."

XANA's Domain

The four operatives and Game-and-Watch finally made it, running into the cyber world's core as they stared up at the massive pole of energy that was XANA. The Master Control Program was back in his true form as the core, his face spiraling around as he flowed with even more energy. "XANA! We're here to shut you down!"

"Yeah, always polite to let them know ahead of time, Dillon." Chris remarked.

"Ewww! This is XANA?" Zach asked.

"Boy, it's ugly." Maddy said.

"So, this is the feeble resistance you have brought to me?" XANA asked, using his deep voice again. "Just what can a pack of mere users hope to do? I have evolved with a new form of power, far beyond your own. We Programs are the dominant beings now. We are advanced. You are superfluous."

The energy left the core, and XANA's face disappeared as it flowed down into XANA's robotic body. The computer screen came to life as the Program drew dual swords and readied for battle. "So I won't need my Master Form to do away with you." he said, back in his high-pitched voice. "Not even four humans and a worn-down game Program can shut ME down."

"Don't sell us videogame Programs so short." a voice said. The kids gasped in surprise and stepped aside when Vanellope entered the chamber, a smirk on her face.

"Vanellope?" Dillon questioned.

"I remember now! My name is Vanellope von Schweetz. Princess of the KND Cyber Network! During the beginning of the Seventh Age of KND, I was invented in an arcade game, where I was a princess. Another videogame Program, a rogue one, invaded my game and removed me from the programming, taking my place, and becoming a virus. But I was restored, and the evil virus was derezzed. Or so I thought. A small portion of his data stayed alive in the game. The arcade workers were about to shut down the game, but the Kids Next Door of that time saved me and stole the game. The Supreme Leader downloaded me onto their network and asked if I would run the cyber network as the Master Program, and I said 'yes'! The scientists then created an assistant Program and called it XANA. The small bit of data that was left of the virus possessed XANA, infecting XANA's mind and programming. Now, he wants to continue where he left off, but take his revenge on the human world, too. So he glitched me up and made me forget again, stealing what was supposed to be my own power. Isn't that right?"

"Ouui… it's true." XANA admitted. "I wasn't going to let a little brat steal my glory again. But when I began spreading my disease across the rest of the network, they shut me down and suspended me in here. And Vanellope locked herself away, too, so that her true power couldn't be used for evil. Then the Kids Next Door designed a more lifeless Master Program for their network. And all other treehouse computers were designed with the same amount of emotionlessness, that is, until Sector V's computer fell for Numbuh One 20 years ago. Love conquers all… even lifeless Programs, it seems. And it was Vanellope's sorrow and care for Dillon that brought life back to The Source and restored her memory. But when Vanellope disabled herself, she still kept a portion of that power sealed inside her. The power that I needed to free myself. So I brought her to existence, without her memory, to see if she could break the code that would restore my data. In the end, she couldn't, and it was Game-and-Watch who led me to The Source. But Cyberspace has no room for faulty Programs, now, does it?"

"Hey! Vanellope is just as awesome as anyone!" Dillon declared. "You were just jealous of her, and that's why you took her place. Whether she's broken or not, she still deserves her place."

"Really? Even after she betrayed you? She'll use her power to bring civilization to end if she could."

"She never betrayed me. She was just led down the wrong path. We've all had that problem…" Dillon smiled at Vanellope, who blushed.

"And besides, isn't destroying civilization what YOU'RE doing?" Chris asked.

"Looks like you're the only faulty Program around here." Maddy stated.

"Oooh!" XANA quivered in a sarcastic motion. "You're terrifying me with your determined stares! I can feel your anger touching my hard-drive. Heh heh…" his smirk returned, "emotions are what drive a human to destruction. We Programs have no real emotion. Ergo, we have the advantage."

"Yeah." Dillon said. "But humans have heart. If we put our hearts in it, we can accomplish anything. And that includes stopping you."

"Meh. You users never have anything new. Very well, then. It will be an honor to see what's left of your particles drift into digital nothingness." With that, the Program raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. Energy flowed from him into the core, restoring XANA's face on the beam of energy, while he still remained in his robotic form. (Play "The Encounter" from Kingdom Hearts II.)

The core was surrounded by a circle of square-shaped barriers. XANA leapt over the barriers and twirled his swords as the operatives readied for battle. "What's better than XANA… than TWO XANAs? HAH HA ha haa!"

Boss fight: X.A.N.A.

The kids flipped back when XANA began rapidly swinging his swords, with Zach and Maddy countering with the S.C.A.M.P.P. and S.P.I.C.E.R.. XANA twirled his blades and defended as the Core XANA zapped electric beams and stunned the two officers. Mr. Game-and-Watch tried bashing XANA with his frying pan, but he flipped overhead and avoided. Dillon used Veil and crept up to XANA, but when he popped out, XANA turned ghostly and slipped behind him, grabbing his shirt-collar and zapping him with electricity.

The robot was suddenly pounced by Vanellope from behind as she grabbed onto his head and tried to get him to malfunction. XANA shook her off, but was too late to defend as Dillon leapt and kicked him dead in the face, bouncing him back as his keyboard opened up. Mr. Game-and-Watch then walked over and poured 2-D water onto his keyboard, causing him to short-circuit. "Aerrgh! Error… detected!"

"Great, now let's attack the core." Chris ordered. He began launching fire while Zach and Maddy fired their weapons at the gigantic face, although the attacks didn't seem to phase him. XANA's barriers spun around and launched lasers all around, blowing the kids away.

"Is that the best the users can do? My programming is far superior than lesser beings."

"At this point, I'd welcome a soda to accidentally spill on the keyboard." Zach said.

"Me, allow me to repair your data." The Core XANA sent a wave of energy to repair his robotic self.

"Oh! Why, thank you, Me!" XANA smiled to him. The robot grinned evilly and performed several flips before landing in the center of the kids, doing a spin-kick and knocking them down. "It's no use! My self is powered by The Source, there is no way you can win!"

"Guess again!" Vanellope declared, suddenly glitching onto XANA's head. Her form sparked a little bit, causing XANA's screen to become all fuzzy. Mr. Game-and-Watch hurried over to pound XANA's legs and was able to knock him out.

"Core Chamber Southeast Corner, Deletion." XANA commanded. Right away, a chunk of the floor vanished into pixels where Dillon was standing, causing him to fall into the pit.

"Hold on!" Vanellope bounced her way down the sides of the ledges. She was able to reach and grab Dillon before turning into pixels and zipping them back to the foothold.

"Alright, Vanel!" Dillon cheered.

"I have an idea! Toss me the H.E.A.D.-S.E.T.!" Dillon did so and tossed his friend the H.E.A.D.-S.E.T. as she placed it on her head. "And someone get rid of those barriers."

Mr. Game-and-Watch smiled and beeped as he pulled out a 2-D chainsaw to begin sawing a barrier, while Chris and Maddy had the other ones. "What are you doing?"

"H.E.A.D.-S.E.T., activate!" Dillon cheered, flipping a switch.

Vanellope faced the Core Program as she called, "Data Download Initialized!" Her form and the H.E.A.D.-S.E.T. became pixelated and glitchy as an energy beam was released at the very thin core between XANA's lower and upper halves. The massive core started flashing with electricity as its eyes and mouth grew wide with pain, the entity screaming as it was being glitched. Sparks flew all around the room until XANA was able to release one at the kids, blowing them back. The Program spun around as it recharged itself, gasping for breath.

"Data downloaded 30%. Proceeding with further defense measures." The kids hurried away as part of the floor began exploding, and more of the foothold was destroyed. The robot XANA was repaired as he dashed along the wall, leapt high above the kids, and shot down with a shockwave, knocking the kids back, as his swords pierced the floor. XANA flipped over the edge and clung to the wall below as large smashers from the ceiling began shooting down around the foothold and creating more shockwaves that knocked the kids around.

XANA flipped back up to slice Vanellope, but she glitched away as Chris pounded him with fireballs. XANA blocked the flames and slide-kicked Chris off his feet, and when Zach and Maddy tried to blast him, he dashed up the wall and tossed his swords down like boomerangs to slice their clothing, the swords then flying back to his hands. He dropped down and slammed his blades to the floor, sending a straight shockwave to knock Dillon back. Maddy leapt on XANA's back from behind and tried to pull his head back. While he was distracted, Mr. Game-and-Watch opened his keyboard and punched in random keys, causing the robot to cease motion as his screen filled with the various symbols.

When Chris attempted to throw flames at one of the barriers, they already started spinning and blocking any fire. The Core XANA then started making certain rows of the floor electrify, forcing the kids to jump around to safer ground. When the spinning barriers started slowing, they began to fire lasers along the wall, but Mr. Game-and-Watch took out a 2-D bucket of glue and started dumping it on the incoming walls, blocking the lasers. When the barriers stopped spinning, Vanellope pressed her hand against one and made it glitch out.

"Let's go again!" Vanellope cheered as Dillon tossed her the H.E.A.D.-S.E.T.. "Download reinitialized!" The beam of energy connected with the center and began dealing damage to XANA again. Sparks flew everywhere from his glitchy body as his face swirled around in all of the static. After a while, Vanellope ran out of strength, cancelling her download as her body glitched and she gasped for breath.

"Further damage exceeded at 67%. Initiating defense measure Level 3."

"Buuurr! Do something, you useless big lug!" the robot XANA yelled.

"Don't yell at me, I'm you. Why don't YOU pull your weight more? Annihilate that Program."

"Blll, 'Why don't you pull your weight more,' blah blah blah? Bah!" XANA raised his swords and leapt at the Program child, rapidly swinging his blades as Vanellope dodged. When he tried to stab down at her, Vanellope glitched behind him and ran down the walkway. XANA tossed electrical mines at her, but she kept glitching through them as she ran, but came to a halt when she arrived at the foothold's ledge. XANA charged and attempted to slice her, but Vanellope glitched upward and clung to the wall. XANA jumped after her, but she zipped to the other side of the room, so XANA shot over, but she zipped to the ceiling, then the floor, then across the room again before clutching to the ceiling.

She noticed XANA suddenly disappeared and looked around for him, but the hostile Program had become a ghost as he snuck over, returned to normal, and grabbed Vanellope on the ceiling. "Gotcha! Now I'll glitch you out, Princess!" He shot over to high above the foothold and twirled in the air before shooting directly down. As they fell at high speeds, Vanellope smirked and glitched away from his grasp, and XANA's face was met with Mr. Game-and-Watch's giant bell. XANA's head vibrated for a few seconds before he fainted. Game-and-Watch rung his smaller bell in victory.

"Initiating fire walls." Core XANA called as a huge wall of pixelated fire rose up from the left of the team. The group hurried away from the fire wall, which already disappeared, but XANA then called, "Eliminate northwestern corner." At that instant, the floor disappeared from beneath their feet. Mr. Game-and-Watch dropped lower down the pit, and before their eyes, the 2-D Program transformed into a large, 2-D black octopus, catching the heroes in his pixelly tentacles.

"What's this?!" XANA exclaimed.

"Whoa! Didn't know he could do this." Dillon said.

"He says it takes power and he normally uses it once." Vanellope replied. "Quick, toss me the H.E.A.D.-S.E.T.!" Dillon did so as Vanellope caught the device in her hand. She placed it on and took aim at the central weak spot where the Eye of XANA was located. "Download reengaged. Take this!"

The energy beam locked with the Eye and started to malfunction XANA again. His body started blinking on and off, more digital static flashing across him. By the time the download was at 80%, Vanellope was feeling weak, her body sparking as she struggled to stand. "You will not infect me… your limit is nigh."

"C'mon, Vanellope, hang in there!" Dillon encouraged. "You may be a Program, but you have as much human spirit as the rest of us. And when you have spirit, you have no limit! Only when you've reached your goal, and more."

Hearing these words gave Vanellope the energy to keep standing. Her body kept glitching, but she kept focusing energy into XANA. "Download at 95%. 97%. 99… 99-and-a-half… 99-and-three fourths… 99.977147234126-"

"JUST LOAD THE CRUDDY THING ALREADY!" The operatives yelled.

"100%." (End song.)

Vanellope instantly stopped the download as XANA's form began to glitch more than ever. "Data error. Virus detected. Losing… e…e…n…y…y…"

The floor around the chamber returned, allowing the kids to step off for Game-and-Watch to change back. XANA's form continued to sizzle with static, his face making several twitches. "Virus error increasing. Transfer to counter-virus. Counter-virus infected. Send in emergency defense hamsters. Defense hamsters caught diseases. Numbers are dropping. Attempting to retouch with Photoshop tools. Tools rusted. Edit using auto-correct. Auto-correct broken. Always was, in fact. Energy levels decreasing. Life-force of minions decreasing. Deep, serious voice decreasing. High-pitched voice catching cold. I-… Cough, heck, hack!" He was using his high-pitched voice. "Oh, I feel so… sniff. Eck. Oh, Motherboard, is that you? I think I have a fever… cough. Ol' fever for poor Xannypoo… shopping online for medicine. Enter street address, email, and phone number. Site deemed untrustworthy. Internet Explorer cannot access webpage. Internet access… failing… failing… failing… failing…"

"…"

"…"

The chamber was slowly becoming dark as XANA's color was fading out.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

Good-bye.

The powerful entity instantly vanished in a flash. The robotic body of the devious Program was drained of all energy, its face blanking into a black screen as it wobbled and fell over the edge. They watched as the body dropped into the pit and exploded into digital nothingness.

Vanellope gasped for breath as she removed the H.E.A.D.-S.E.T.. "Hey… I did it!"

"Yeah! And with your glitch, too!" Dillon exclaimed.

"I did, didn't I?" Vanellope smirked, observing her left hand. "I almost forgot how useful this was." She sparked. She turned to Dillon and said, "But listen, Dillon… I'm sorry about tricking you before."

"Hey, no sweat. Especially after you kick major butt! You're like… a glitchbender!"

"Glitchbender… I like it!" Vanellope perked.

"So, you were the real MCP," Chris said. "Then I guess this means the network belongs to you."

"Hey, if you stick around to run it, you can probably get to know everybody!" Dillon said.

Vanellope walked forward, looking away in thought. "Well… I guess I should just to make sure XANA doesn't try to come back. But then again… getting to know everybody wouldn't be fun unless I was actually there to meet them. I really wish there was a way I could enter your world…"

"Well, with the H.E.A.D.-S.E.T., anything is possible." Dillon said. Mr. Game-and-Watch smiled and made ringing sounds.

"You mean we're gonna have ANOTHER mutant running around?" Zach whined. Angered, Dillon's shadow rised up and smacked the boy, pushing him into the pit. "Waaaaaahh!"

"Umm… will he be okay?" Maddy asked.

"Oh, yeah, sure. He has a few extra lives." Vanellope said.

Sector V Treehouse, Mission Prep Room

"Download at 95%. 97%. 99. Download complete. Enjoy your new friend."

The Sector V team stared in amazement as Vanellope's form slowly generated in the hologram projector. When the green scans vanished, Vanellope opened her wide eyes. She stared in awe around the room, totally different than what she was used to in the virtual world.

Dillon stepped forward and said, "Vanellope von Schweetz, welcome to-"

"AWW, THIS IS SO AWESOME!!" Vanellope excitedly began zooming around the room, touching all of the various contraptions. "What's dis do, what's THAT do, what does this thing do, OR this thing??"

"Well, we always needed another one." Mason said sarcastically. This made Sheila grin.

"She's got more energy than GIR." Aurora said. She smiled when Mr. Game-and-Watch touched her shoulders from behind, making beeps and boops.

"So, are we gonna keep them here?" Chris asked.

"Nah, I'll let 'em stay at my place." Dillon said. "I've always sort of wanted a sister… and a pet."

Mr. Game-and-Watch made a questioning beep.

XANA's Old Domain

The circular chamber remained in darkness, the only light coming from the infinite abyss. Within the digital nothingness, a series of pixels came together, slowly forming the robotic body of XANA. Reboot at 5%… 7%… Several cracks and holes covered the Program as his arms weakly reached above the pit, clutching the wall and doing his best to climb up.

"Huff… that boy's H.E.A.D.-S.E.T.… is imbued with Vanellope's data." He barely reached the top of the foothold as he grunted, "I… must… have it…?" A metal hand reached down to help him up. XANA looked questioningly at the shadowed, robotic figure, his glowing red eyes revealing his smirk, and the stranger's butler standing behind him.