The adults had warned them the day before that their next training session would be a major test on running the supercomputer. Michael strongly suspected that this was going to be virtualization, and had spent all evening trying to cram that section of the manual Mr. Belpois had given him and Ivy. (This was made slightly more difficult by the presence of Lucas. The very last thing that Michael needed with his roommate catching a glimpse of what he was studying.) Michael had actually wanted to study with her, but both of them had fallen slightly behind as a result of their relentless training. Ivy had been very apologetic and had promised to quiz him on the way to the factory. Michael had assured her it was fine, but without her there was no one to keep him from getting inside of his head. When he finally did get to bed around three that morning, his head was spinning with half-remembered formulas. It took a long time for sleep to find him.

The next day dragged by in a sleep-deprived haze. Michael barely ate at dinner. His stomach was in a knot. On the way Ivy gave tips on the various supercomputer procedures. Well-meaning as she was, this was just making the knot in his stomach threaten to turn inside-out. After a few a few terse, unfocused answers, Ivy got the hint and fell silent until they arrived at the factory.

When the doors to the elevator opened to the lab, Michael saw Aelita sitting at the computer chair typing. She turned and greeted the two with one of her frequent smiles. "Evening. You two ready to run the virtualization aspect of the supercomputer?"

'I knew it," Michael thought. "As ready as I'll ever be," he muttered aloud, and stifled a yawn.

"Alright then. We'll draw straws to see who will go first." Aelita told them holding out two straws in her hand. Michael gestured for Ivy to take the first choice. Ivy bit her lip and closed her eyes while she pulled a long straw from Aelita's hand.

Michael groaned, knowing which one remained in Aelita's hand and pulled and held the short straw in his hand. Typical. "All right, now what?" he asked Aelita irritably, his nerves coming out as annoyance.

"Yumi's down at the scanners. Your task is to virtualize her to the mountain sector. Okay?" Aelita said getting up out of the computer chair.

"What, she lose your straw draw?" Michael groused. Aelita opened her mouth, but could think of nothing to say. "Okay, okay," Michael said, waving a hand to let her off the hook. He sat down heavily at the computer and stared at the keyboard. All of the information he had spent time carefully studying had leaked out of his brain. The boy was at a complete loss. "Uh... Alright, um..." He wished that there was some subtle way to wipe his sweating palms on his pants without them all seeing him. A quick glance at Ivy standing off to one side earned him a reassuring thumbs up, which did make him feel slightly better. "All right, er... Transfer…" The numbers seemed to waver in front of his eyes. He shook his head and tried to focus. "Scanner…" The more he tried to focus, the worse it seemed to get. Michael was sweating now, and fighting to keep the pressure he was feeling off of his expression. "... Virtualization?" He didn't mean for it to come out as a question, but it did.

"Wait!" Aelita cried, but it was too late. The boy had press enter, and the program had executed.

"What?" Michael asked. "What did I do?" There was a moment of terrible silence, save for the machines humming to life beneath their feet. Then a large, rotating exclamation point appeared. "That… doesn't seem right…"

"No, it isn't. Get up please Michael," Aelita said urgently as she looked at the computer screen, worry etched into her face. She quickly sat down, almost pushing Michael to the side and started to typing frantically.

Michael staggered slightly at Aelita's rough treatment. He didn't meet Ivy's eyes even though he could feel them on him. Michael crossed his arms, doing his best to keep his face from betraying his fear that he'd done something seriously wrong.

After a few tense moments of silence and the clicking away at a keyboard, Aelita broke it with a sigh of frustration "We have a problem. The transfer protocol was entered incorrectly. Yumi's stuck in limbo." She cast Michael and Ivy a grave look.

"Limbo?" Michael repeated blankly.

"She is stuck between our world and Lyoko. The only way we can do to get her back is to go to :yoko and retrieve her data from all of the sectors," Aelita explained.

"Oh, you can not be serious," complained Michael.

"Well, you should have thought about that before you messed up." Aelita said. Michael closed his mouth, his face burning with shame and hurt. He would have expected this sort of comment from Jeremie, but from Aelita… His lack of preparation for it made it cut deeper. "Ivy, do you think you can operate the supercomputer while Michael and I go to Lyoko? You should have reinforcements soon."

"I, uh.. I guess so…" Ivy replied nervously.

Michael felt anger bubbling up inside of him again. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Hold on a sec here. I just messed up, so you're putting the other person who has had little practice in charge of running this incredibly complex machine? Meaning that if something happens when she runs it, both of us will end up - where was it again? Oh whatever. My point is you're the only one here who knows what to do, and the only one that can deactivate towers, plus we'd be leaving Ivy all by herself. That seems like a really bad idea to me." Michael shrugged. "But then again, maybe you shouldn't listen to me. I am an idiot, after all."

"I never said that Michael. And maybe you have a point. But I'm the only one that can retrieve the data. If you do want to stay and try again you can… using the manual this time, of course." She gave Michael what seemed to be a genuinely apologetic look, though it was clear she was still quite worried about Yumi. "I'm sorry If I made you seem stupid. You're not. But we have to go. Come on," she said to Ivy, walking toward the elevator.

Anger cooled at once, drenched with sudden, icy fear. "W-wait! Wait a second! That's not what I meant! I meant... Shouldn't we go get one of the others? I mean, they know how to do this stuff for sure..."

Aelita stopped and paused for a moment, thinking "We could do that, but I don't think Ulrich would enjoy hearing Yumi is stuck in limbo though..." Michael went, if possible, even colder at the idea of losing the respect of his new mentor.

"What about Jeremie, then?" Michael asked quickly.

"He is at home resting. He has been pushing himself too much and is now sick in bed," Aelita explained.

"Well, then what about Odd? He probably isn't doing anything right now." Michael argued half-heartedly, starting to feel a little sick himself.

Aelita thought about it for a moment and smiled at herself. "True, he probably is just out walking Kiwi."

Michael breathed a sigh of relief and went over to stand next to Ivy. He felt a lot more comfortable if one of the adults ran the supercomputer rather than him or Ivy - even if they were using their manuals.

Ivy smiled as she looked at Michael. "You okay?" she muttered to him quietly.

"Well, I've been better," Michael said, shrugging again. "The days that I trap people between worlds are never the best."

"True they aren't." Ivy smiled a little more, then looking around as Aelita hung up her phone.

"Well, he's on his way," she informed them ."He'll be here in about thirty minutes. just sit tight and get ready."

"Good," Michael muttered, then fell silent, relaxing against the wall.


Time took on that strange aspect when you are caught between fear of staying put and dread of what is to come. It seemed to slow to a snail's pace, and yet it seemed in no time at all that Odd came into the computer room "So, what's the emergency? I had to cancel my plans with Liz. We were going to go see James Finson's new movie."

"Sorry Odd, but Yumi got stuck in limbo and we need someone to run the supercomputer while we go get her data," Aelita explained heading to the elevator and motioned for Michael and Ivy to follow.

"Oh gotcha. Well say no more, Odd is here to help!" he replied, understanding immediately, and headed to the supercomputer to get the correct programs started.

Next thing Michael knew, he was falling down to the mountain sector. He landed on his feet and looked around, waiting for the other two to land. By now, Ivy had practiced enough that she stuck the landing, and Aelita appeared smoothly beside them. "So, where are we going?" he asked of her.

"We're going to one of the towers that holds Yumi's data in it." Aelita explained pointing west of where they were presently and then waved her hand over her wrist. Spreading her wings, she took to the air and led the way.

"Okay, sure, that makes sense," Michael muttered, running after her with Ivy in back. It was only a few minutes before they reached the first tower. Michael and Ivy had seen the towers from a distance, white pillars with a glow almost like a colored heat haze around it, and had even used this particular one because it was a Way Tower, but they had never seen Aelita deactivate one before. In fact, Michael could not recall watching anyone else go into a tower, and wondered what it must look like to an outsider. "It's in the Way Tower?" he asked.

"Yes it is," Aelita confirmed as she landed and started to jog towards it. "Stay out here and guard the tower in case anything comes towards us. XANA has been quiet, but I still do not want him playing any tricks." With this final instruction, she disappeared into the tower, appearing to merge with it before vanishing completely. Michael mumbled something in which the word "freaky" was audible, then faced away from the tower, gazing out instead onto the empty platform in case any monsters came along.

Silence fell. He felt like he should say something. Michael shifted uncomfortably and gave a small cough. "So..."

Ivy glanced at Michael, turning to look at him "Sorry about not helping you study last night, Ms. Hertz's project took a little bit longer than it should have," she apologized, filling in the gap of silence.

"It's fine...Probably was for the best, there are enough rumors flying around about us that I bet you'd rather not have another if people saw us studying together," Michael responded with a shrug.

"You know, at this point people are going to talk regardless of what actually happens. Just as long as they don't say anything to me that's fine by me," Ivy said with a sigh shaking her head.

Michael opened his mouth about to say something more, but stopped when he saw Aelita walk out of the tower ."Alright, I retrieved the data from this sector. We need to get to the next sector," she reported, looking at the two. "Follow me," she added, turning around and walking back into the tower.

Michael took a deep breath as he took a step into the tower. He still wasn't quite used to entering these things despite going through them a few times already. Once they were on the platform, Aelita looked at the two "Stay close. We're heading to the forest sector next." She spread her arms and fell into the data stream down below them.

Michael bit his lip, his face draining of color watched Aelita float across the data stream and hesitantly took a step back away from the edge of the platform. "Y-You know what? You go ahead, Ivy. I'll catch up in a sec…"

"Alright fine. See you in a bit," Ivy said. The momentary relief was erased as she grabbed his hand and dragged him over the platform, following Aelita. Michael gasped and shut his eyes as they fell. All of a sudden, gravity seemed to reverse itself, and they were floating. He and Ivy touched down lightly onto the platform.

He tore his hand away from Ivy. "What the hell was that?" he demanded, his face still devoid of all color.

"I was just making sure you were coming," Ivy said smiling at him "Sorry, I'll give you warning next time." she added, looking around for Aelita.

"Like hell you will!" Michael glared at her. "You don't do that to people. What is wrong with you?"

"Sorry. I didn't think you would react that badly," Ivy said putting her hands up in surrender.

"Well, maybe you should ask next time," Michael snarled. "Don't make decisions for me. I can think for myself, all right?"

"I just thought I would help you with your fear of falling," Ivy said defensively.

"I don't have a fear of falling," Michael shot back at her. "Don't assume that you know me!"

"I don't know you, Michael. I just guessed that because whenever you've had to jump off of something you always hesitate." Ivy had crossed her arms now.

"Well, don't assume things about me, then," Michael snapped. He was furious, and this time he felt that he had reason to be. After all, what he did was his own business. "Because if you assume wrong - like you just did - people tend to think that you're unintelligent and pushy."

"Well fine by me!" Ivy snapped, matching his anger as she glared at him.

Michael decided not to wait to see where Aelita had gone to. He turned around and stormed across the platform to leave the tower, seething. Upon exiting the tower, he saw Aelita standing outside waiting for the two of them

"Sorry, I probably should have told you I was going to wait outside," she started apologetically, then stopped short as she noticed the anger on Michael's face. "Um, is something wrong?"

"Nothing," Michael snarled. "Just leave me alone. Are we going to find the other tower or not?"

"Yes. I was waiting for you and Ivy to come out, but I guess I'll just go by myself and leave you two alone." Aelita said turning and walked off towards the tower.

"So, You two had another fight?" Odds voice came out from above the digital forest around Michael after a few minutes of alone time.

Michael jumped. He'd forgotten that they were not alone. "How is that your business?" he growled, looking up at the sky even though he knew Odd could not see him.

"Aelita was worried about you two so instead of her barging into the tower I decided to eavesdrop into the tower instead. Why do you two fight so much when you make such a good couple?" Odd's voice was amused.

Michael's face flushed scarlet, and for a moment he so was angry at being teased that he was lost for words, his mouth working soundlessly. "Fuck you," he finally managed to get out. "You… You don't know what you're talking about. Who on earth would want to go out with her? Certainly not me! She's boring and annoying and thinks that she's God's gift to the world of intelligence!"

The next thing Michael knew, vines ripped apart the ground under him. He had only a second of warning from the sound of crumbling earth, and stumbled a few paces back, just barely missing the vines. He looked from them, twisting in the place that they had been only moments before, to the girl who had sent them. "So that's what you think about me Michael? Boring and annoying?" Ivy growled at him, glaring dangerously as she took a step towards him.

Michael's face had gone nearly as white as it had done in the tower. "You…" He was torn between anger and remorse. "You weren't supposed to hear that."

"Oh so you were just yelling it to the skies about me?"Ivy asked, red-faced with anger and still brandishing her staff.

"I was talking to Odd," he said, surprised into an answer. It was strange, really. Usually, he was the one who lost control. Now that she was furious, he seemed more level-headed. "If you'd just calm down, I can expla-."

"Oh sure," Ivy snapped, interrupting him "I try to calm you down when you get mad at me and you expect me to do the same? Forget it!" She shouted taking another step towards him.

Michael raised his hands defensively. "I know that I can be crazy sometimes, yeah. But you've got to trust me. I didn't mean that, I swear." Michael did not even care that Odd might still be listening. He knew that he'd said something horrible and couldn't imagine what that must have felt like to hear it.

"Yeah, right. When was the last time you said something that you didn't mean?" she growled at him, continuing to advance towards him.

Without thinking, Michael took a few steps back. "All the time," he said with complete honesty. "I just blow up and I can't think straight. You know that."

"Yes. But that still doesn't give you the excuse to say those things about me." His words seemed to only make her angrier, she continued to move toward him even as Michael continued to back away.

"Yes, I know, I don't mean them. I was just saying it to shut him up." Michael gestured at the sky, but even as he said the words, he knew that it was hopeless. Some part of him, however small, had meant it, and it was this part of him that had supplied the venom with which he spat the words, which made them seem cruel and true. But the rest, the part that had gotten to know Ivy over the past two weeks… "I would never have said that to you."

"So you decided to say that when I wasn't there. I get it Michael. You hate me. I'm sorry I ever tried to be nice to you," she said.

Michael blinked. "What?" She thought that he hated him? Well, he supposed that it was only logical, but it wasn't true. He wanted to come forward and tell her this, but such rage was emanating from her that he took just one more step back... and slipped.

Michael felt himself slide from the platform. He reached out his arms, desperately scrabbling for any handhold but found nothing but air. He saw the anger drain from Ivy's face, saw her reach out her hand to try to catch him. Her fingertips brushed against his palm, almost closing her hand around his...but it was too late. His hand slipped away, and he was tumbling down to the surface of the virtual sea. The last thing he heard was Ivy screaming his name, before quite suddenly, everything went silent. But he continued to fall down, and down, and down, and...