As the morning sun rose above the horizon, its blinding rays of sunshine slowly crept through the window upon Aelita's face. The bright light awoke her from her peaceful slumber. Aelita opened her tired eyes, squinting at first due to the sunlight. An intense feeling of comfort and contentment filled her body. Aelita let out a soft moan, raised her arms above her head and stretched her body as much as she could; sluggishly letting her limbs drop and relax afterwards. As her arm fell to the bed, it knocked against something hard.

"Huh?" Aelita became confused. She turned over to see what she had hit… Jeremie! Jeremie's head! What was Jeremie doing in her dorm? Then Aelita looked around and paid more attention to her surroundings. This wasn't Aelita's dorm, this was Jeremie's! So the question then, was what was she doing in Jeremie's room? Aelita was so confused that she became frightened, because she couldn't remember anything from the night prior or why she was in Jeremie's bed. Jeremie was soon awoken by the sounds of Aelita scurrying around.

"Good morning, Aelita." Jeremie said with a warm smile on his face.

"Good morning? I think? Jeremie, what happened last night?"

"Haha, don't worry Aelita. Nothing crazy. After our long discussion about what it meant to love someone, well, for some reason I got really nervous. So we just sat there staring at each other because neither of us knew what to say. Eventually, I had to get up and use the bathroom. When I came back, you were knocked out on my bed. You just looked so peaceful, and I didn't want to disturb you… I also didn't want to get caught walking around the dorm halls with a girl lying limp in my arms. So, I thought I would just let you be.

"So…you just helped yourself into bed next to me, then?" Aelita raised an eyebrow. Jeremie blushed and flashed a nervous smile.

"Uh, well, I lied down on my floor for a little bit… but uh… I just couldn't resist curling up next to you. And once I was lying next to you, I also couldn't resist putting my arm around you. I'm sorry Aelita, I crossed the line, and I shouldn't have done that." Jeremie's face was completely flushed and bright red. He was so embarrassed and worried that Aelita would be angry.

"I think that's sweet of you, Jeremie. You don't need to apologize. In fact, that was the best sleep I've had in a very long time. I don't think I want to get out of bed today, do you?" Aelita smiled at Jeremie, hoping he would catch the hint. Jeremie responded with a nervous laugh.

In Ulrich and Odd's dorm…

"UNO!" Odd shouted, throwing his pile of cards down.

"WHAT?" Ulrich pulled at his hair, completely enraged.

"Haha, sucker! You lose, AGAIN!"

"You cheated! You had to!"

"I cheated? How does one cheat in Uno, Ulrich?"

"I don't know, but you found a way! And these dumb cards are probably rigged, too."

"Aw don't be such a sore loser Ulrich!" Odd laughed and winked. Ulrich glared at Odd and threw his cards across the room, watching them float about and land in various places. "Hey!" Odd shouted. "I'm not cleaning that up!"

"Hey what do you know, we have something in common then." Ulrich smirked.

"Oh whatever, I'm going to walk down the hall to get a soda out of the vending machine, you want something? My treat for the sore loser!"

"I oughta…. Ugh I guess I can't hurt you if you're gonna buy me something. A coke would be fine." Odd nodded and walked out into the hallway, closing the door behind him. Ulrich fell back onto his bed and relaxed.

Odd wandered down the dormitory hallway of Kadic Academy, venturing toward the vending machine. For some reason, the hallway was completely empty. It was cold, the lighting seemed dimmer than usual, and with each step Odd grew more cautious. Something ominous was about, he could feel it. Odd finally reached the vending machine. He inserted three dollars and pressed the button for a Grape flavored Sunkist. Nothing happened.

"Huh?" Odd pressed the button again. This time, an electrical impulse ran from the tip of his finger through his entire body. "OUCH!" He yelled. Suddenly, the price of drinks labeled on the machine's digital screen was replaced with the target symbol that everyone in the gang was all too familiar with. Odd's eyes widened, he gasped and backed away. Suddenly, bottles of soda flung out of the machine continuously, knocking Odd against the wall. He screamed. Out of the machine's vending slot, numerous amounts of wiring came creeping and slowly wrapped around Odd. "HELP!" he shouted, hoping Ulrich would be able to hear him down the hall. "ULRICH!" The wiring began to electrocute Odd, causing him to wince in pain and scream some more.

Back in the dorm, Ulrich was lying in bed listening to loud German Rock music on his iPod. His eyes were closed, his earphones were in, and the entire world was tuned out.

Hmmm… Ulrich thought to himself. Odd has been gone for a while. It doesn't take that long to get a couple of sodas… then again, it is Odd. I'm pretty sure he was dropped as a baby. Ulrich could hear a very faint noise under the music, but unaware that it was his friend's cries for help, he simply turned up his music.

The machine tightened its grip on Odd. He was starting to become dizzy and confused, not getting a large enough oxygen supply to his brain from the attack. Electricity pulsed through the machine, the wires, and through Odd's own body. All of the power in one small area short circuited the machine, and the entire electricity supply for the dorms was knocked out.

Ulrich sat up in bed as he saw his lights go out. He pulled out his earphones, music still playing, and looked around confused. Luckily, it was only two in the afternoon, so the sunlight through his window was enough to help him see.

"Something weird is going on," Ulrich suggested. Then, he heard the desperate screams of Odd from down the hallway. Ulrich's eyes widened. "XANA!"

"ALL I WANTED WAS A SODA," Odd cried, pounding at the wires wrapped around his body. "HELP! LET ME GO YOU STUPID MACHINE!" Ulrich showed up, barely in the nick of time. He could hear Odd's cries, but he couldn't exactly see him. The brief sparks of electricity didn't give Ulrich a vivid enough image of what was happening.

"ODD!" He screamed.

"ULRICH! HELP ME! XANA'S GONE CRAZY!"

"Don't worry Odd!" Ulrich grabbed the mini flashlight off of his keys, but it was barely enough to let him see anything. "I don't know what to do!" Ulrich was clueless. He watched the XANA possessed soda machine practically suck the life out of his friend. Ulrich searched the machine, using his hands to guide him, but every button he pressed seemed to do nothing. Ulrich crawled down on the ground, searching for the power outlet. "ODD, I'M GOING TO UNPLUG THE MACHINE!" he informed.

"Hu….hurry…!" Odd panted. The wiring had become so tight that Odd was losing his consciousness. Ulrich yanked out the power cord of the machine. Nothing happened. Ulrich was in shock.

"IT DIDN'T WORK! AHH!" Ulrich became frantic.

"Ul…rich…"

"HANG ON ODD! I'M GOING TO GO GET JEREMIE AND THE REST OF THE GANG!" This time, there was no answer. Odd had been knocked unconscious. Ulrich was terrified, worried that they wouldn't be able to get to the tower in time before Odd lost the chance of ever waking up. He sprinted down the hall.

Back in Jeremie's dorm…

Aelita and Jeremie snuggled in bed together. They were both looking into each other's eyes and smiling. Aelita couldn't have been any happier at that moment.

I think someone named Aelita is in love with someone named Jeremie… Yumi's voice echoed in her head. Is what Aelita was feeling really love? She wanted to be in love, but then she'd just be one of those girls in love with being in love. She felt like she loved Jeremie, but how could she really know if she hadn't even been on Earth long enough to know about it? Did Jeremie love Aelita too? It sounded like it from the way that he talked last night, how else could he know so much? But at the same time, he's so intelligent… it wouldn't be surprising if he just researched it himself. Aelita began to think so much that she became frustrated. Jeremie noticed Aelita's facial change.

"Aelita, what's wrong?" he asked. Aelita looked at Jeremie and smiled.

"Jeremie…" she started. "Last night, you sure sounded like you knew what you were talking about. Have you been in love before, Jeremie? Is that how you know so much?" Jeremie gulped and just stared at Aelita. He started to think of an answer, but was interrupted by a powerful banging on his door.

"JEREMIE!" Ulrich bellowed, incessantly pounding away. "JEREMIE! XANA HAS LAUNCHED AN ATTACK, AND ODD IS IN DANGER!" Aelita and Jeremie both sprang up out of bed.

"Oh, NO!" They both cried in unison. Not even bothering to change out of their pajamas, Aelita and Jeremie met with Ulrich outside the door.

"Woah, Aelita? Have you been in there since last ni-" Ulrich questioned, but Jeremie quickly interrupted him.

"I'll explain later, but right now there's not enough time! Hurry to the factory, and somebody get ahold of Yumi!" Ulrich pulled out his phone and dialed Yumi's number. She didn't answer.

Out the door, into the sewer, through the tunnel, across the bridge, and down the rope. Jeremie hurried to the supercomputer room, while Ulrich and Aelita dashed into the elevator.

"Odd's under attack, and we can't get ahold of Yumi. It looks like you guys are on your own, can you handle that?" Jeremie radioed.

"No problem, Jeremie. We got this." Ulrich confidently replied.

"Alright, here we go….. Virtualization!"

Back at Kadic…

Yumi casually walked down the hallway with her hands in her pockets. She hadn't heard from any of her friends today, and wanted to know what they were up to. So far, she had checked Aelita, Odd, and Jeremie's dorms. None of them were there, and the fact that the power had gone out made her uneasy. She pulled out her cell phone to use as a flashlight.

"Well, I may not be able to get it to make a phone call, but at least it's still useful for something. I wish I knew why this dumb thing wasn't working though. I sure hope Jeremie hasn't tried to call me today about an attack." Suddenly, Yumi heard the snapping and crackling of electrical charges. "That doesn't sound good; I bet that has something to do with the power outage." Yumi ran towards the noise, where she stumbled upon the horrific sight of Odd's unconscious body entangled in a bunch of electrical wires. Yumi could see the electricity pulsing into Odd's body. "Odd!" she gasped, running towards him. Yumi went to shake him, but was immediately electrocuted and fell backwards. She lay on the ground, grunting and slipping in and out of consciousness.

In Lyoko…

"The tower is right there!" Aelita screamed.

"Well hurry up then, I don't have all day you know!" Ulrich was quickly becoming cornered by a herd of Krabs. He pulled out his sword and positioned himself for attack, as Aelita quickly merged into the tower and began her routine. She closed her eyes and let herself float up onto the platform, placing her hand on the screen where the tower recognized her as Aelita. She entered the code: Lyoko.

"Tower, deactivated."

"Return to the past, now!"

The gang is all together again outside of Kadic academy, hanging at their usual spot by the vending machines outside.

"Hey Odd, you know I never did get my cola." Ulrich chuckled.

"Yeah yeah, hey you know I risked my life for you trying to get that drink so I think you're the one that owes me!" Odd snapped. Ulrich simply looked at him and smiled.

"So Yumi, where were you earlier?" Ulrich asked.

"Well, my phone wasn't working for some reason, so I didn't get your calls. I went looking for you, and instead I found Odd. XANA managed to knock me out too while I was there, so you guys deactivated that tower just in time." Yumi replied. The Lyoko warriors were all happily standing around and chatting with each other. While Odd, Yumi and Ulrich engaged in playful conversation, Aelita turned to Jeremie and smiled at him.

"You know Jeremie," she said. "I never got the answer to my question earlier." Jeremie turned to face Aelita and smiled in return.

"The answer is yes, Aelita." Aelita displayed a small amount of shock on her face.

"When? With who?" she eagerly inquired. Jeremie took both of Aelita's hands and looked into her eyes.

"Right now. She's standing right in front of me."