Oneshot #2: Neurotoxin
I'm not sure how I feel about this oneshot... To be honest, I got the idea from another Oneshot writer, although I can't remember who... Anyway, the idea hadn't really been explored, so I thought I wanted to write this. Actually, this already happened once in the show, but Odd wasn't a part of it, and that poison didn't work as fast as this one does. Enough of my rambling, just read the story ;)

He couldn't breathe. He had never thought he could crave air so badly, but by now his lungs were aching for it. But he couldn't. If he did, the poison would fill him so quickly he'd be dead in less than five minutes. Xana had really done it this time.

Odd only hoped the others had escaped and gotten to Lyoko so they could stop him. Xana just wanted to kill the five of them, for now, and as far as Odd knew, he was the only one in the building. Maybe Xana had only targeted him. The others were outside... Weren't they?

By now, his vision was starting to fade for lack of air, but he kept crawling towards the door. If he could just get to it, drag himself outside, then he might be okay, but he couldn't hold his breath any longer. His lungs screamed, and finally, he stopped trying to fight it.

He sucked the sweet air in, gasping, and he knew the poison was coming in with it. He had to get to the door, fast. Even seconds later the gas was affecting him. He could already feel it attacking his nerves. The poison was shutting his body down, but he had to. Had to. Had to make it to the door.

Odd noticed the feeling slipping away in his toes, and before long, his legs had stopped working as well. He kept pulling himself, trying to ignore the way he couldn't feel his fingertips anymore either. One word rang in his mind. Door. Door. Door. Get to the door.

Finally, he did. But the battle was only half over. He couldn't reach the handle. In fact, he wasn't sure what he was reaching for even was the handle in the first place. There were two handles... If you counted the handles of the second door, there were four of them. But which one was the right one? Odd felt around with what remained of the feeling in his palm, wishing his arm was just a little bit longer, but after what seemed like forever, he found it.

Relief washed through him, but it was fleeting. The door was locked. No matter how much he strained to yank the handle down, the stupid thing wouldn't budge. Odd sunk back to the ground, knowing he didn't have a fraction of the energy needed to make it to the other set of double doors. They were only a few feet away, but right now, that distance might as well have been miles. He couldn't even move anymore.

Maybe this time they wouldn't be fast enough. Maybe Team Lyoko would actually have a death on their hands...

What would his family say? His parents had been devastated after having to put down a stray they had taken in a few years ago. How would they cope with losing their only son? Would his friends be able to fight Xana alone? They would have to find somebody to replace him. He knew it sounded selfish, but he didn't want to think of them moving on in their lives without him. He didn't want to be replaced. He didn't want to be forgotten.

Odd squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to stop the tears, but opened them again just in case this was his last glimpse of the world he might have to leave behind.

Somehow, he forced himself to imagine that the sunlight coming from the windows was the light of the return to the past coming back to claim him for the land of the living. There was still time. More importantly, there was still hope. What was that quote about hope again? Something about feathers... He couldn't think of the rest of the words though...

Gritting his teeth, Odd pushed himself up onto his elbows, maybe to try one more time to crawl to the other door. But there was no way. His arms were twitching with the effort to hold him up, much less drag him those last few feet to the other door.

Maybe this door hadn't really been locked, and he had just made a mistake... He reached his hand up to grab at the handle again, but he couldn't lift it more than a few inches above his head. He let his hand fall back to the floor. Feathers, he reminded himself, something about feathers... It was at that moment that the world went black.