It was almost midnight and Jeremy was sitting at his desk, searching for the code XANA had used.
"Where are you?" whispered Jeremy.
He yawned for the third time in two minutes. His eyes were burning from staring at the computer screen for so long. His computer beeped and Jeremy smiled.
"Gotcha," he muttered before slumping over his keyboard.
In the morning, Ulrich knocked on Jeremy's door.
"Jeremy, are you in there?" he called. "We're going to be late."
Ulrich tried the knob and found it unlocked. He opened the door and found Jeremy asleep at his computer. Ulrich smiled and walked over to him.
"Jeremy," he said softly into his friend's ear. "Aelita kissed Odd."
"What?" Jeremy jumped up. He saw Ulrich's smiling face and laughed. "Oh, it's just you, Ulrich."
"Late night? Did you find anything?" Ulrich asked.
"Yes, I found the code," said Jeremy.
"That's great," said Ulrich. "Aelita says that she and Eva have worked everything out. We can leave tonight if we want."
"Good. XANA has a big lead on us and we keep dropping farther behind." Jeremy got a clean sweater out of his closet. "XANA's going to be in for a nasty surprise."
At lunch, the seven of them huddled together at their table.
"Eva and I sent everything to the principal this morning," said Aelita. "We used the voice disguising program to call everyone's parents to tell them about the contest. We're good to go."
"There are a few problems we have not addressed," said Eva. "How are we going to get food and water once we reach Perim? Where will we sleep?"
"When I found the code last night, I also checked the scan of Perim," said Jeremy. "I found a tower there."
"What would a tower be doing there?" asked Yumi.
"It would make sense if XANA cannot use electronic devices to create specters and monsters," said Aelita.
"You know, I've been thinking about that," said Eva. "I don't think there are any electronic devices in Perim."
"What gives you that idea?" asked Jeremy.
"All the images I looked at, not one of them had a lightbulb, a computer, or anything," said Eva. "I saw some candles in the background, but I think they are completely dependent on the land for everything they need."
"That means XANA will have to find alternate means of creating its armies," said Odd. "That's good news for us."
"Especially since we have the specter bands," said Aelita. "We can communicate with everyone with just a twist of the interface."
"And just what are you whispering about?" Jim was standing over them like a large dog catching another dog with his bone.
"Hey, Jim," chirped Odd. "Just planning what we want to get our favorite teacher for Teachers' Day."
"Oh, really?" asked Jim.
"I was thinking about a personalized sweatshirt and a nice gift card," said Odd. "You know, to a lovely restaurant."
"That's very nice of you, Odd," said Jim, a little color coming to his cheeks. "Suzanne may like that very much."
Kayla's jaw went slack and Eva arched an eyebrow.
"I hear you are going on a trip of a British school for a few weeks," said Jim.
"It's part of an exchange program," said Jeremy.
"You stay out of trouble," said Jim.
"Don't worry," said Eva. "I'll make sure they do."
Jim walked away.
"Keep us out of trouble?" giggled Kayla, playfully slapping Eva. "More like you'll get us into trouble."
"We'll meet at the factory after class," said Jeremy. "Have your bags packed like you were going on the trip."
"You got it, Einstein," said Odd.
Tom was visiting the OverWorld arsenal. He needs a new scan of some battle gear and the only way he was going to get that was to work. Bodal had him counting cyclances and moving boxes that weighed more than him.
Exhausted, Tom sat down on the box he was moving to catch his breath.
"Najarin's worried?"
Tom listened carefully. It sounded like Tangeth Toborn.
"He is."
That was Maxxor's voice. Tom would know it anywhere.
"What should we do?" Tangeth Toborn asked.
"The only thing we can do for now is keep our eyes and ears open," said Maxxor. "These monsters, they have no remorse. They destroy whatever they come across. I heard that there is a human with them as well. He seems to be in charge."
Tom got up and moved around to the shelf where they were.
"These towers keep appearing all over the OverWorld," Maxxor was saying. "There is one in the River Lands and the Maelstrom Lands. I received a message from Prince Mudeenu saying that there are several in Mipedian."
This is interesting, thought Tom. I better check it out.
Tom 'ported to the River Lands, a usually peaceful location. Instead of finding peace, he felt a dark foreboding feeling. There was a strange tower about a quarter mile from where he was standing. It was brown at the bottom and became cream colored as it rose into the sky. There was a sinister red aura around it.
A shot fired over Tom's head! He turned and saw a large lanky being walking on four thin legs. It had a long snout and the symbol of an eye on its light tan head. It jumped up on two legs and its front legs shot two bolts of red light. One hit Tom in the arm. He yelped and 'ported back to Chaotic.
"What was that?" he asked, standing on the transport disk.
Whatever it was, he had to tell the others.
"I saw one of those towers, too," said Sarah after Tom found them and explained what happened to him. "Wamma and I were down at the Danian reservoir and there was one in the middle of the water on a tiny island. No one knows how it got there, but every time they try to reach it, something shoots them out of the water."
"H'earing told me that there's one at Iron Pillar," said Kaz. "I thought he was making it up."
"Were there monsters there, too?" asked Tom.
"He said something about a Creature who lurks in the shadows," said Kaz. "He didn't get a good look at him."
"So they're everywhere," said Tom thoughtfully. "We have to do something."
"Like what?" asked Kaz.
"I heard Maxxor saying that there's a human who may be calling the shots," said Tom.
"And what are you going to do when you find him?" asked Kaz. "Ask him to stop destroying Perim?"
"It crossed my mind," responded Tom.
"Let's figure out what they want first," said Peyton. "Then we can figure out a solution."
"Peyton's right," said Sarah. "We don't know what's going on, so let's not stick our noses into something that isn't our business."
"I can't sit by and do nothing," said Tom.
"I know," Kaz said, putting a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "But that's all we can do for now."
