A|N: Welcome to my newest brain-child. Well, actually it's not so new. But it hasn't been published in any form yet, so it's new to you guys. ¬¬ -shifty eyes- This is a magic-verse AU, a bit like Harry Potter but not really. I should probably just make it a crossover. But other than professors and classes maybe it wouldn't work. No matter.
I do plan to release this story in Spanish also, as soon as I can secure a good Spanish beta reader, and updates there will most certainly be slower than here.
Starting in July I plan to do massive writing and uploading to this story with a goal of at least 25 000 words in the month for XaJuWriMo, a writing challenge at XANA's Lair. In the meantime, while you people read (or don't read, that's fine too) and I write, reviews are especially encouraging. Even flames. Because they fuel my furnace where I took rice and toast marshmallows.
Titles in this Establishment:
Headmaster - Principal
Professor - teacher
Monsieur / Madame - a faculty member who does not teach, for example, a nurse
maestro (lowercase m) - a multi-dimensional being of magic
sorceri - the plural form of sorceror/sorceress
magi - the plural form of mage
mage ≠ sorceror ≠ hedge wizard ≠ telekine; further definition of each will be explained as the story progresses.
Disclaimers: I am in no way affiliated with the makers of Code Lyoko, MoonScoop, or Antefilms. The universe is an alternate one constructed by my own twisted mind. Any similarity or resemblance of original characters and places to other people or places either in real life or in other published works are entirely coincidental.
Rating: T. There will be plenty of torture and adult themes and possibly even some language in this story, and I will probably change the rating to M at some point, depending on what my brain pours out into Microsoft Word. You have been warned.
One last note: If you look up the title of this fic, "Licentious," on Dictionary dot com, there will be three definitions. In the current context and foreseeable future of this fic, the first definition will not apply.
Without further ado, I give you the Prologue.
He was the only person in the Academy blessed with the ability to see the future without training to do so.
Even though it was considered the top level school in the world for magi, there were no instructors for training that ability in the field and very few people in the entire Academy with any aptitude for recognizing that type and level of ability.
Emilie LeDuc had noticed it first in her dream studies class when reading his theta waves revealed the answers to a metaphysics test that Professor Hertz hadn't written yet, and two days later the exact same questions and answers appeared on a pop test in that very class. He acted surprised when she confronted him before the test and utterly confused afterwards. He must've known it was coming because when she distorted reality to enter his dreams he had shown her images of kittens.
Aelita Schaeffer was the second to notice. She had helped Emilie in the distortion clause project and was nearly as intimate with it as Emilie was herself. But she had a distinct advantage in that she was able to alter mindsets the way one might replace the battery in a broken wall clock, and in that way she had convinced him to spill everything to her and Emilie.
As it turned out, not only did Odd Della Robbia have the ability to see the future; it was the only thing that was keeping him out of academic probation and what had gotten him into the Academy in the first place.
He knew all the answers to the tests before they were written, and since he heard the lectures before they were written he often doodled or slept in class instead of actually paying attention. His grades were abysmal, however; although he aced his tests, he struggled in his homework and had very poor writing skills. He only saw himself with grades no better than Cs and so he never put in the effort to make it better. And so, despite repeated offers to assist (and a bit of mind tampering to persuade him to accept) from Aelita and Laura Gauthier, his grades never improved.
The distortion project was the only thing he considered himself and his abilities good for. Apart from seeing the future and being resistant to some of Emilie's magic, he was relatively powerless. And so he dedicated his spare time to the distortion project: under Emilie's practicality and Aelita's creativity, he was a test subject and helped integrate future seeing into the new branch of magic. What's more, he was able to pass on his immunity to what was known as Hyde sorcery, or illusions (as what had originally been Emilie's strength), and some Jekyll magic, mind games (Aelita's strength), into the branch.
As the end of their third year approached, however, things began to change. Odd began having strange, sinister nightmares. They were so strange that Madame Drular, the headmistress of the dream department of Hyde sorcery, had reported them to the vice principal itself of the Academy. The vice principal was a strange being, a shapeshifter and maestro that called itself Xana, and its most common physical manifestation was that of a pale woman with short white hair and red-and-black clothing that belonged in a lingerie or theater costume store. Bringing any matter to Xana's attention was a big deal, and Odd spent many hours in questioning with... her. Him. Whatever Xana was.
"I can't tell her any of what I've seen," Odd told them one day in their treehouse quarters. Emilie was working on an application of detaching a soul and nerve impulses from a body with one of the test subjects, small bull terriers all codenamed Kiwi, while Aelita was reading into a neurology textbook she had smuggled from the restricted section of the Jekyll magic library.
"You haven't even told us what you've seen. And ever since the dream about the bridge nobody had been allowed to see your dreams except for Madame Drular and Xana," said Aelita.
"That's right," Emilie continued, failing again to detach Kiwi III's mental conscience from his body. "And nobody can use magic to force you to divulge because you're just too immune."
"That's why I can't tell anybody, not even on my own free will," Odd whispered. "I'm sure these visions are all caused by the distortion project."
"Well we can't figure out how to alter them if we don't know what we're doing to make it happen," Emilie pointed out as blue sparks announced another failed attempts. "Awgh, no, not again!" She threw her hands up before using them to pick up Kiwi III and return the whimpering dog to his crate. "I'll never get this! There's something missing to the right side of the equation... a soul won't be forced leave without a sure chance it can and will return to the body."
"Try again tomorrow, Emilie," Aelita reassured her.
"See, though?" Odd pointed out. "This is what I'm talking about. This project. Xana knows about it. I'm not sure how much, but she knows, and I'm sure she wants to use it to her advantage somehow. She knows I'm a part of it, and she wants what I know, and she'll do anything to get her hands on it."
"Well why should that be such a bad thing?" Aelita inquired, shutting the textbook. "We're making history here as the inventors of a new branch of magic, and still students ourselves!"
"You sounded like Laura just now," Emilie commented. Aelita glared at that.
"But... you guys. You don't understand. In my visions,... it was Xana, all her. Er, uh, him. Whatever. Xana was the source of all our misery. I can't tell anybody because nobody is as immune to divulgence as I am, not even you two." Odd sighed. "This is why she's locked me up in her office so much lately. She wants to know what makes me tick and why she's been in such a bad light in my dreams lately." He sighed again. "The worst part is Headmaster Schaeffer doesn't even know."
"What?" Aelita exclaimed, only to be shushed by Odd and Emilie. "How is that in the rulebook?" she continued, whispering now.
"Well you may have noticed that Xana doesn't always play by the rules," Odd responded grimly.
"Fortunately for us, neither does the distortion clause," Emilie stated confidently.
"That's just it, though," said Odd. "This distortion clause does follow rules. You just haven't made or discovered them yet. It doesn't matter how complicated you make it; it will be cracked someday, and Xana will be the one to crack it, and she'll do it through you," –he pointed directly at Emilie, "—and all hell will break loose."
Tension levels abruptly rised. Emilie looked suddenly mildly frightened.
"You're absolutely sure of this?" Aelita questioned slowly.
"You've known me long enough, Aelita," Odd whispered. "Have my visions ever been wrong?"
"Is the future really that set in stone?" Aelita cried out. Emilie shushed her again.
"If you can use the distortion clause to change the future, then please do. I can only do so much to limit what appears in my dreams, but they still come," the blond replied. "Beyond the bridge is fogged; I haven't seen anything that can tell me what'll happen after. So the bridge is a big event, and there's some element of chance. I know that future isn't set in stone, but what comes before it seems to be."
"Odd, we can't work on fixing or changing any of this when you're being so cryptic," Emilie sighed in frustration.
"I know." He nodded.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, broken only by the heavy breaths of the sleeping Kiwi III, before Odd spoke again.
"Maybe one day I'll find a way to relay what I've seen to you two without Xana being able to read it from you."
"We'd like that," Aelita nodded.
"Until then I can only leave you with this," he murmured, taking a piece of paper out from his pocket and unfolding it and handing it to Emilie.
From trouble's way the soldiers came,
The trumpets strongly blare,
Their stride so confident as fame,
Their leader unaware.
Intentions plain and plans to mould
He dared not hesitate.
To find the card to make them fold
He'd much appreciate.
His target in plain sight ahead
He sent a faithful scout
To occupy her mind and head
And find her secret out.
Denial, hurt, the challenge met.
Refused she to succumb.
Away he took her, sorry pet,
To force her to tell some.
But strong was she who stood her ground
Refused to divulge things
Tortured, then escaped the pound
To fly away on wings.
Emilie and Aelita read it over several times in silence as he watched. At a loss for anything else to say, Emilie commented:
"Odd... since when did you write poetry?"
The purple-clad blond blushed and smiled a little, before his serious demeanor returned.
"There's more, this doesn't cover the entire timeline as is. But I don't believe Xana will ever understand its true connotation, which is why I can let you read it."
"Odd..." Aelita whispered. "Is this the future?"
"A glimpse," he whispered back. "Early on is easier to see, but the further away from now we get the blurrier it gets. The bridge... was clear, but I don't know why."
"Because it's set in stone," Emilie whispered. "We may not know what exactly will happen, but these events and other unforeseen happenings will most definitely lead us to the bridge, and who knows how that will turn out."
"Apparently not even the psychic."
xXxXx
Heidi Klinger got wind of the distortion project when continued frustration on body and soul separation forced the original team of three to seek help. Laura Gauthier, the leading Hopper sorceress, was the first to volunteer her services, but Aelita and Odd both opted for Heidi Klinger, a Schaeffer mage, much to Laura's disdain and Emilie's skepticism.
However, it soon became clear that Heidi was the right choice. While they still weren't able to complete the body and soul separation formula, they were able to expand the distortion clause to include matter, which was a huge leap. With Heidi's understanding of electrical impulses and neurology, they were even able to develop a form of thought transfer through physical contact between two willing subjects.
By three-quarters through their fourth and final year at the Academy, there was so much of the distortion clause refined and ready for practical use that it could have stood as its own, small branch of magic were it not for the fact that it had to be kept a secret and the Confederation would have never approved of such new, officially untested, and potentially dangerous processes.
Odd's poem had increased in length and now talked about prisons and electricity and beaches of all things, and to go along with it was a stack of drawings of places. Unfortunately, he had been detained in the dream studies laboratory under Xana's orders, and after a dream involving high-rises and somehow dramatically reduced gravity, he wasn't even allowed to leave the lab except to use the restroom and to receive food and homework from his professors.
By this time, Emilie had acquired the ability to randomly see short segments of what was to come, but it was unreliable, and there was no way for her to control what was seen, or when it was seen, or when the event would happen. And as Odd disappeared completely from the distortion project team (and the rest of the Academy's student body)'s lives, there was no way to improve it. Emilie had the privilege one day to visit him, the two kept separated through an electric force field. And all he could tell her through mouth were of the horribleness of the nightmares. The way his voice sounded doubled and distorted, however, indicated clearly that he was definitely suffering some magical damage.
Emilie had the "honor" of carrying him, bridal style, to his final place of rest in the Academy's morgue, to be sealed away for eternity. It was announced by Madame Peraudin that Odd's nightmares had become so severe that they had literally made him braindead for all the stress it caused. They knew differently, of course, but all kept silent about the matter while the entire class mourned his death.
xXxXx
A week before graduation the final grade point averages were calculated. As predicted, Emilie was the salutatorian and Aelita the valedictorian. This meant she got to sit in the first row behind all of the Academy's faculty, and she had to give a speech. In consulting for her speech, Headmaster Schaeffer himself, a graying man, nearly blind and a direct descendant from the creator of Schaeffer Magic, had offered tips.
"You were good friends with Odd Della Robbia, were you not?" he inquired of her. "Perhaps you could give a short tribute to him on... hmm, perhaps how funny he was in class, or his artistic talent. Something that people will remember fondly about him."
"It's a good idea," Emilie replied quietly, but her pencil never met the paper with those thoughts on the formal outline.
"Is there something troubling you, Miss LeDuc?"
Yes, yes there is. You're going to be brutally murdered.
"No, sir. I just... I guess I'm a little sleep deprived." Not a total lie.
"No worries. Take your time, Miss LeDuc. I'm sure it will be spectacular."
"Thanks, Headmaster," Emilie nodded. Headmaster Schaeffer nodded, stood up, and left the room, leaving Emilie to herself.
After a few minutes of her staring blankly at her equally blank paper, Aelita and Heidi entered the room. They took seats on either side of Emilie, Aelita to her right and Heidi to her left.
"I'm worried," Aelita spoke up.
"What about?" Emilie inquired.
"Our speeches for commencement. You know that the two of us are expected to present the results of our senior projects."
"Yes, and?"
"That means we have to communicate the results of the distortion project. And Xana will be there to hear all about it."
Emilie's head hit the desk. "Shit, no!"
"There there, Emilie," Heidi soothed.
"You don't get it, Heidi," Emilie replied. "Xana is a shapeshifting maestro. If she finds out just how deep we've gotten ourselves into with this and just how much information we're withholding from her she'll take it out on anyone who could get us to talk. Like your sister."
Heidi shut up at that.
"So what we need to figure out is how much information to reveal at the ceremony." Aelita's next words were a bit less businesslike. "Since you were the head of the project and the one who figured out the equation I've chosen not to make any mention of it in my speech."
"How nice," Emilie grunted, half gratefully and half sarcastically.
"So what then should be revealed?" Heidi wondered aloud.
"We'll talk later about it this week," Aelita answered. "I think we'll have to act like politicians on it, though."
"I really should make you in charge of the public relations committee here, Aelita," Emilie said, grinning.
"Why, so you don't have to do it yourself?" Aelita contested.
"Of course," Emilie smirked.
Eventually she did write her speech and submitted it to Madame Frateaux, the head of Hyde College of Sorcery, and to Headmaster Schaeffer for approval. It passed, to nobody's surprise. Emilie wrote almost as eloquently as Odd could draw.
xXxXx
Graduation day came, and it didn't seem like any time at all had passed between being returned her approved speech and when she was sat down in her chair in the row directly behind the Academy faculty. The auditorium was packed; attendance to graduation was mandatory for all students and if you were absent then you had better be dead or dying in Madame Peraudin's clinic. Since Madame Peraudin was seated two rows directly in front of Emilie, nobody could be sick tonight.
The auditorium itself was rather plain; the walls were a warm beige color, and so was the carpet. In front of the center wall was a long table where sat Headmaster Schaeffer, Xana (who had manifested itself today as the white-haired woman wearing a black robe with scarlet accessories; it was the most modest outfit she ever wore when taking on that body, and it was only worn at graduation), and the head of each College within the Academy. On the center wall was the logo for the Academy: three concentric circles (the second on a wreath) with four spokes sticking out from the outermost ring. Potted flowers and peace lilies tastefully decorated various corners of the stage. Finally, on the left side near the stage was a wood podium with the logo emblazoned on the front.
Emilie could see Professor Marlantes shifting in front of her as Xana began her speech. The man was the newest faculty member at the Academy, a practical instructor in intermediate restraint courses in the Hyde Sorcery College, and it seemed clear that he was not yet used to Xana's eloquent speeches.
Her eyes trailed over to the podium to where the white-haired woman herself was speaking. And to Emilie's wonder, her red eyes were directly on her. They were... mesmerizing. Emilie became confused: why was Xana using that stare? Even more worrying was the unknown reason behind it. Perhaps she had never gotten what she wanted from Odd, and knowing Emilie's close companionship with him, she was her next target. Odd's words from eighteen months ago echoed in her head.
Xana will crack it one day, and she'll do it through you. And then all hell will break loose.
And were suddenly gone, snatched away by the sudden silence that marked the end of Xana's speech.
The next noise to permeate the air was that of Headmaster Schaeffer, thanking Xana for her speech. Emilie swallowed as Aelita was called up to give her speech; the pinkette literally skipped down the aisle and up the stairs to join her father at the podium. Her speech was mercifully short, but somehow her natural bubbliness and enthusiasm couldn't shake Emilie's nervousness. Next to her as the number three graduate of the Academy, Laura sniffed bitterly.
Emilie swallowed again as she was called up to the stage to read her speech. Aelita passed her in the aisle and smiled reassuringly. Emilie grimaced before recomposing herself as she climbed up the steps and stepped behind the podium, nodding once to Xana, who was there to greet her. She set her paper down and stared out at the auditorium full of innocent faces. Some (mostly underclassmen) were blank as their minds wandered elsewhere until it was time for them or their friends to walk across the stage, others eagerly awaiting her speech for they knew of her academic prowess, and then there were her friends whose were encouraging and yet tainted with anticipation and worry. She cleared her throat and redirected her gaze to the paper in front of her.
"As some of you know, some students and I were involved in extensive research and development of what we hope will one day be its own branch of magic under the principle rule of what we call the distortion clause, an equation which allows access to cross-dimensional powers in the same types of magic. A good example of this would be between the mind and the body, and would allow for powers such as telekinesis without hand motions and perhaps one day even teleportation. And for all the help in development of this, I would like to thank my good friend Heidi Klinger, our valedictorian Aelita Schaeffer, and our late friend Odd Della Robbia. I also want to thank Headmaster Schaeffer for allocating resources and recommending Aelita to the project when I brought the idea to him nearly four years ago, and to my parents for helping us fund this project. Let's hear a round of applause for these wonderful people."
The auditorium slowly erupted into applause, first by the people who were actually listening and then by the students who had dozed off and had only started applauding because everyone else had. Emilie offered a smile towards the audience, and caught Aelita's eye. The pinkette was also smiling, but there was a trace of anxiety in her face. She looked back down at her paper, skimming the outline and bullet points, and realized there was no way this speech was going to do justice. The applause died down. She took a deep breath, and began to improvise.
"But enough about my project. I want to offer a special tribute to our late friend Odd Della Robbia." She paused for a moment to think about exactly what she wanted to say; while she was an excellent writer on paper her speech improvising skills were just less than average. "Odd wasn't very powerful using sorcery in and of itself, and he knew it and so did many of his professors. He was, however, very insightful, a psychic in fact and probably the only one in this Academy at the time, and on occasion had visions of what the future looked like, and I had the honor to know what he saw."
There was silence now as every ear in the auditorium pricked up to listen better. Odd was popular among the student populace, renowned for his jokes and pranks, and when he'd been taken away by Xana for "observation and treatment for his nightmares" there had been many students that had tried to help somehow, and there weren't many absent from his funeral.
"Odd had a vision for the future, one he, unfortunately for him, didn't foresee himself not being a part of. Most of his visions came to him in dreams, and it was through these dreams that Aelita and I found out he was a psychic. He foresaw great things, some of the people in this very room becoming very powerful. But he also saw dark things, of trouble." Emilie was silent for a few seconds, and decided to end it quickly. "But I do believe that whatever comes our way we will be able to overcome it with strength and dignity and friendship, and I have faith in all of you out there. You were a great class of students to know and work with, and now you'll be a great class of adults in the world."
She thanked the audience, bowed, and took her paper and left the stage to the sound of applause. Heidi noticed that Xana, on the contrary, looked less than pleased.
"That wasn't what you actually wrote, was it?" Aelita whispered as the next speech began.
"Of course not! What was on the paper was much less cheesy and more informative than what I actually said onstage," Emilie whispered back.
"What you said was less informative? I thought it was more! Xana didn't know Odd was a psychic, only that he had weird dreams involving future applications of the distortion clause."
"Are you two normally this contradictory of each other?" Laura whispered next to them. That got them to shut up.
They listened to speeches, they walked across the stage. They exchanged contact information and promised to relay results of their continued work at the project, and they went their separate ways into new lives.