Simon Seville roused slowly, feeling like he'd just come out of an extremely deep sleep. He shot straight awake, however, when he realized just where he had awoken. Standing up, he glanced around the factory's secret terminal room before looking down at himself.

"Whoa... this can't be right…" he murmured, "Perhaps…" He concentrated on his clothing, and suddenly it returned to normal. "Better. I'll keep this to myself for now…" The bespectacled genius then entered the lift and headed home.


Back at the Seville residence, it was now morning on the day of the teens' crazy, virtual adventure. Noah, Theodore and Charlene gathered at the kitchen table with their parents, just in time for their brother to walk in with two boxes of doughnuts. Simon wasn't normally this generous, but the pastries were the perfect excuse for his being out of the house so early. Naturally, they were devoured within minutes of their arrival.

Soon, Dave had left to start the day's work, and Vinny had gone to get groceries. With no one around to hear their conversation, the four teens assembled in the living room to talk about the recent events.

"So… does everyone remember what happened yesterday?" Charlene asked. Simon cut in before anyone could answer.

"You mean today," he corrected, "We returned to the past, remember?" Charlene face-palmed.

"Whatever," she continued, "Does everyone remember?" A round of nods.

"So, what are we going to do about this?" Noah questioned. Simon hesitated before answering.

"We could shut down the supercomputer, but… I want to get Austin out first," he responded.

"Well, we know how to stop X.A.N.A's attacks now, so we can hold him off until then," Theodore suggested. Simon breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay; I'll get to work on the materialization program ASAP!" he promised. Simon immediately headed off to the factory, while the others went about their day normally. He was able to use some of Jeremie's notes for the program, and made good progress before heading home for the concert.


"Guys, I've got some news," Dave announced as the family of 6 left the house, "A top music critic is coming to the show tonight, so bring your 'A' game." Despite trying their hardest, the teens were extremely nervous. It was almost as bad as starting their careers over again; even Simon slipped up, and that was unheard of.

Sleep did not come easily that night; the teens' thoughts focused around the critic's impending review. Theodore had a nightmare in which he was kicked out of the band, and wound up sleeping with Noah the rest of the night. The review aired on the Today show the next morning, and the whole family gathered to watch.

"Overall, I was impressed by the musicians' talent, although one stuck out. Their bass player was very rigid, and his playing seemed a bit rusty. That, on top of the bass' already mediocre sound, resulted in a cacophony," the critic commented, "My final rating is five out of ten stars; needs improvement."

Needless to say the Seville's were shocked by the man's words, and Noah was hurt deeply. Having already felt inferior to his siblings, what little confidence he had was now dashed. As he fled to his bedroom, Charlene followed worriedly after him. By the time she caught up, he was buried within his bedsheets, crying.

"Noah... it's okay," Charlene spoke softly. She took a seat on her brother's bed and coaxed him out of the sheets. "You're a great bass player, no matter what that guy says." It was then, with the siblings vulnerable, that X.A.N.A. struck. Theodore, who was on his way to aide Charlene's efforts, was suddenly ensnared by cords from within the walls. Hearing his screams, Noah ran into the hall to confront the menace.

Charlene entered the hall moments later, just in time to see Noah draw his pocket knife. It was a sharp blade that easily sliced through the possessed cords. Theodore fell harmlessly to the ground before wrapping Noah in a tight hug. The elder sibling rubbed his brother's back, and helped the teen calm down. Once everyone had calmed down, the teens hurried to the factory to stop another one of X.A.N.A's attacks.

Arriving at the factory, Simon slid into the computer chair as the others headed down to the scanners. A few keystrokes later, the bespectacled genius was the only one left in the real world. Austin met the others outside a tower while Simon tracked down the one that had been activated. Within moments he had located it, sending his friend and siblings the coordinates.

"The tower is in the ice sector," Simon remarked, "You'll have to use another tower to change sectors." Charlene raised an eyebrow.

"How, exactly?" she questioned. Simon was silent for a moment.

"You have to jump off the platform and fall into the abyss," he explained, "You'll end up in another tower within a different sector." Although hesitant to do so, the teens jumped off the tower's main platform one at a time. They were quickly transported to another tower that, luckily, was in the ice sector of Lyoko. Exiting the tower, the group headed towards the one X.A.N.A had activated to start his attack.

"This is a heck of a walk!" Austin complained after a while. Simon sighed, looking into some of Jeremies notes.

"I think I can spawn you some vehicles; hold on," he offered. Within a few seconds, he spawned a hoverbike and hoverboard. Noah and Theodore continued to fly, while Austin, and Charlene rode the bike and board respectively. With their increased speed, the teens- or Lyoko warriors, as it were- made quick headway towards the tower. They met no resistance until their vehicles came within 30 seconds of the active tower.

Then, however, they were intercepted by a horde of kankrelats and two krabs. Theodore and Noah dispatched the krabs while Austin and Charlene defeated kankrelats in rapid succession. Soon their enemies had fallen, so they were able to get closer to the tower. However, the warriors were intercepted by new monsters as they drew near. The horde of small, flying bugs were hornets, Simon explained, and the large, gray one a tarantula.

"These hornets are easy enough, but that tarantula…" Austin remarked, shooting down a trio of hornets, "He's really tough!" The statement rang true, as the four-legged monster's dual arm lasers were deadly. Charlene was devirtualized trying to get closer, and Theodore was caught from behind. With only himself and Austin left, Noah suddenly found himself in a position of extreme importance.

"Noah, you've got to beat this guy, or I'll have to come in," Simon implored him, "You've got a better shot than I do; it's all on you!" Noah took a deep breath and focused. Back on Earth he may have been called a poor bassist, but here… he was a warrior. Working with Austin, he used his ring to shield them until the other teen was close enough to take a clear shot at the tarantula's head. Just as they came within range, a strange creature appeared.

It was a white, four-legged animal with several teal markings on its body. There were some at the base of its tail, alternating between light and dark, and a few more light stripes at its end. Its right front and left rear legs had markings as well, light teal with darker stripes, while its other two feet were completely dark. Its ears were tipped with dark teal with two lighter stripes below, and a light teal streak ran up from its green nose.

The creature's belly was light teal too, along with its left eye. The right was a darker color, but matched in appearance. Its last defining feature was a line of fluffy, green fur that ran down its spine to the tip of its long tail. Strangely, it appeared to be made of metal. A locket colored in green and both light and dark teal hung around its neck. The most shocking thing, however, was that it calmly distracted the tarantula using the mirror in the locket.

The monster became entranced by its own reflection, allowing Austin to line up his shot perfectly. A controlled, precise burst of three laser arrows hit dead on target, piercing the eye of X.A.N.A on its head. The monster was instantly destroyed and the strange, second creature closed it's locket before looking up at the two warriors with a smile. It quite resembled a dog.

"Hey, that's a Mirlaket!" Charlene remarked, walking up. She and Theodore had just returned from the scanners.

"Mira-what?" Simon questioned, raising an eyebrow. Charlene face-palmed.

"Mirlaket," she repeated, "I saw them on a mythical creature show. They're mainly predatory, but can bond to some people." Simon did not like the use of 'predatory' to describe the creature, immediately becoming wary.

"Careful you guys, that thing might not be friendly," he warned. Noah wasn't convinced.

"I heard what Charlene said," Noah countered, "The locket is closed now, so I don't think we have to worry." Simon sighed.

"Just go to the tower, please," he begged. Nodding, Noah led the way to the tall, tan structure. Austin stepped inside first, followed by his two accomplices. Noah and the Mirlaket watched as Austin stepped into the center of the platform, the rings lighting up as he passed. Soon he was lifted onto the upper platform, and again placed his hand on the terminal.

"Austin; Code: LYOKO," the screen read. The tower reacted the same as before, being successfully deactivated. Austin returned to the lower platform, meeting up with Noah again.

"Alright, attack stopped. You did great, Noah," he remarked. The would-be Green Lantern smiled.

"Thanks, I kinda needed that," he admitted, "Simon, let's turn back the clock." The bespectacled genius nodded.

"Got it," he replied, "Return to the past now!"


It was now early on the morning of the review, and Noah was ready to sit through the critic's hurtful words again. Now, however, his self-esteem had been boosted and he cared not what the man said. He was surprised, however, to see the show receive a caller when the remarks were spoken again. He had not seen this the first time around. As it turned out, the man on the line was none other than Geddy Lee, bassist for the band Rush.

"I don't know who gave you approval to say stuff like that, but if you can't respect the bass, then I can't respect your reviews." The words were heard across the nation; the critic's reputation ruined while the band's was saved. The rest of the day was fairly normal: Charlene helped Noah improve his skills on the bass, while Simon worked on Austin's materialization program. For the time being the latter remained incomplete, but Simon hoped that soon it would be done.