Well, I was completely done with this chapter, and when I went to upload it, I discovered that my grandmother had deleted my entire folder. Needless to say, I'm pretty pissed right now, so something evil is probably going to wind up happening by the end of this chapter (hinthint).

"Turn it up!" Tiffany yelled again.

"Shut up. The last time I turned it up Jim came in and yelled at me."

"Aww, poor little Tabetha," she closed her laptop and opened the drawer next to her, which was filled with hundreds of packages of- that's right- tic-tacs.

"My name is not Tabetha," Tabby hissed, cringing as Tiffany popped a lime-green colored one into her mouth. "That flavor is gross." She raised an eyebrow and glanced into the drawer. Tiffany had about twenty packages of every color. "You have a serious tic-tac dependency."

"At least I don't spend all my time talking to my teddy bear!"

"His name is Mr. Criddles and I've had him since I was like five!" They were referring to the white teddy bear that was currently on Tabby's pillow. Well, he used to be white. After she went all goth she dyed him black. "And you take pictures of people when they aren't looking!"

"What?! That's photography and I'm getting bonus credits for high school by doing that!"

"Of course you are!"

Tiffany tossed her pillow at Tabby, who caught it with one hand and threw it back. "Actually, I am."

"Yeah, I know."

"So did you get our forms filled out?"

"Yeah, they're all sent out. Did it in Spanish, which was incredibly boring, and mailed them right before I headed up here." She paused, looking amused. "Maybe I should tell Odd and Ulrich that they're going."

"How did you even get Mr. Delmas to let them come?"

"Because you promised to keep them out of trouble."

"Me?"

"He doesn't think I can because of- well, you know."

Tiffany laughed. She knew alright. When Tabby's phone went off a moment later, she picked it up and read the screen before she typed something back. "Is that Ulrich?"

"No."

"Then who?"

Tabby tossed her phone onto her bed, looking angry. "My mom. She just texted me to tell me I'm texting too much. Which makes her the biggest hypocrite that ever lived."

Tiffany laughed, picked up her phone, and texted Ulrich to tell him that they would all be camp counselors the second week of September. (It was a camp thing that got them out of school for a week. That's what the forms Tabby filled out were for.)

"I feel like messing with somebody," Tabby announced.

"Go torment Jim."

"Nah, I already did yesterday."

"Go torment Ulrich."

"Go get a life."

Tiffany laughed, then rested her head on her pillow. The faces of Hollywood Undead stared back at her from the poster she'd hung on the roof. "I have to go to their concert. End of story."

"So go."

"By myself?"

"Yeah, just don't drink anyone else's drink. My cousin once went to a concert and she swiped someone else's drink, and it was drugged. She couldn't walk by the time she got outside. Her boyfriend had to carry her."

"I'm off alcohol."

Tabby cracked up, then announced, "Perhaps we should get to dinner soon."

"Already?"

"Yeah. Time flies. Makes you picture a clock with wings, doesn't it?"

With XANA...

He walked down a corridor to the TV Room. He glanced over his shoulder and, seeing that she wasn't following him, called, "72! Get down here now!" She came running, her feet padding across the what-was-designed-to-look-like blue linoleum.

"I'm sorry, Master. I was just training like you said earlier."

"I'm not angry, 72."

She nodded, her medium-brown hair bouncing around her ears, and followed him down the hall. He could always tell she was afraid of him, but that was okay. He didn't want her love; he hadn't even meant to design her with feelings at all. But the more realistic she was, the better. He needed her to be convincingly real.

"Master, are we going to kill today?"

"No."

"When?"

"Soon."

"How soon?"

"72, must I design a 73 with more patience?"

"Of course not, Master. I'm only excited. I can't wait."

They reached the TV Room. It had a high roof and the wall opposite the door was nothing but a large TV screen. All XANA had to do was type in where he wanted to view, and he could see anywhere in the real world without activating a tower.

"We will be checking in on the subjects," XANA announced. "I have yet to learn these new children's names- the ones the Odd one and the Ulrich are with now. But my plan has gone by smoothly, and it will continue to."

"I know, Master, I know. I helped you. I can't wait, Master! The world's going to be our's!"

"Of course, 72." XANA typed in a few keys on a translucent keyboard. "But these new children- the new players in the game I will undoubtedly win- get to have a role. Specifically the girl." He zoomed in on a girl with black and red hair. "Her. She will be the next."

"I get to kill her? When?"

"Soon." He zoomed out and showed her the cafeteria. "You have an important task ahead of you. Do you see how the group is split in half now? How the Odd and the Ulrich have been exiled? We must use this to our advantage."

"What do you mean, Master?"

"You will go to Earth again."

"To kill?"

"Not quite yet. You will first attend this school. They have called it Kadic, and I have searched for it in the internet. You will be a late enrollment. According to a recent usage of that girl's cellular phone-" He zoomed in on the girl's face again. "-they will be coulselors of some sort at a camp. You will come the day after they get back. You will be a boarder at this Kadic Academy, and you will befriend both groups. You must somehow get that girl onto Lyoko, at whatever costs, force or otherwise." He paused, then she watched as he- as if by magic- whipped up a photo of a beautiful blond girl, thick, black lines around her eyes, and a pale face. "You did well on this one, child. Extremely well." Then he switched the screen to a picture of an elderly woman. "However, you're work on her was a bit sloppy, but I'll give you it because that was last minute."

"Thank you, Master. I will try and prove myself through this one."

"I have- faith- in you. In fact, that would be a good name to consider when I send you off to boarding school. Faith. Do you like it?"

"You're asking my opinion, Master?"

"You are the one that must be called by it."

"It is the perfect name."

The corner of his lip twitched, the closest the evil virus ever came to a smile. "Very well, 72."

Thanks for reading!! =] I know, this is starting to get really exciting for meeee!!! ohhh, and btw, if you're interested in reading some of my original works, visit fictionpress. com/ ~lillypaw. mkay?? but the only recent story I have up there is called The RainDancer. So yahhh. Anyway:

Who is the mysterious 72? What is XANA's evil plot? What is he planning to do to Tiffany? Who will be the next to die? All will be reviewed in the future- if you review!!