She was submerged in molasses. Thick, black molasses. It clung to her arms, crawled in her mouth and nose, glued her legs together. But she could feel the sun's warmth on her face and 'see' light on the back of her eyelids. So she wasn't trapped, right? She tried to open her eyes and get up.
She couldn't.
[Aelita? Are you awake?]
She couldn't move. She couldn't move! Her heart shot into a rabbit-like rhythm. Cold chains constricted her throat. All of a sudden, she couldn't breathe-
[Aelita, calm down!]
Suddenly, her limbs unlocked! Her throat worked again! Aelita gasped, tore her eyes open. Blue sky and white clouds greeted her. Her hands jerked out, patting the area around her. Nothing. She couldn't feel anything at all. Then-something hard and smooth. The remote. When had she dropped it?
She touched it and tried feeling her surroundings again, slower and calmer. Grass. Dirt. Her head felt-stuffed. A migraine was building behind her temples. She sat up and gingerly pressed a hand to the aching spot. What…?
Memory returned in increments. She and XANA had been talking. Then XANA had...kissed her. No, wait, possessed her. That was an important distinction. He'd kissed her to possess her, which… She wasn't sure how she felt about that. All of it. But she could still move. Had something gone wrong?
"XANA?" she called hesitantly.
[I'm here.]
She jumped. Where was his voice coming from? She looked around, but she couldn't see his avatar anywhere. Just the Hermitage. "What's going on?"
[Usually I subdue someone's consciousness completely when I possess them, but I managed to wake yours up. That would be the source of the headache we're experiencing, by the way; human brains weren't built to hold two active minds.]
Wait...his voice sounded like it was coming from... "Are you talking inside my head?"
[To put it more accurately, I'm manipulating certain nodules in your brain and your auditory receptors to simulate a voice.]
She took a minute to absorb that. Or she tried to; her emotions were a churning hurricane. She had no idea what she'd been expecting when she'd let him possess her. In fact, some small, scarred part of her had even cynically thought she'd wake up to her friends rescuing her and chiding her for being foolish.
But XANA hadn't done that. He'd done the exact opposite. He was letting her stay 'awake', as he put it, throughout the possession. That meant...a lot.
It wasn't misplaced. My trust, it wasn't misplaced.
The hurricane moved to her throat and lodged there, a heavy lump of sheer feeling. She swallowed.
He really wasn't going to hurt her like that again. Yeah, maybe he could still turn on her, but if he'd just wanted her out of the way, he'd already gotten that. What could he possibly gain from playing this type of game?
She'd trusted him, and it had been rewarded.
"Thank you," she whispered.
[Don't thank me yet. I've never done this before. I calculate that keeping your consciousness awake will pose difficulties for us both.]
"Difficulties?"
Suddenly, she started to stand. Aelita gasped-I didn't do that! Her muscles reflexively seized. She froze in a half-rising position.
[Like so.]
"Don't do that!" she squeaked.
[It's necessary. I won't put you under unless you ask me, but the price is, we're...imagine us as two people trying to drive a car at the same time. If you don't just let me have the wheel, you're going to try to seize it and we're going to crash.]
Okay. Fine. That made sense. She wanted to ask if she could have the wheel, but it was his power they'd be using; he had way more control over it than her. It made sense for him to drive.
But when he tried to step forward, the wrongness of not being the one to do that made Aelita involuntarily rail against the movement. She tottered on one leg, the other raised. Her body swayed, dangerously imbalanced. She and XANA both tried to regain it, and their back-and-forth just sent her body to the ground. She grunted.
[Aelita, relax.]
"You say that like it's easy," she bit out. Still, when he started moving her body again, she fought down the urge to abort the movement. And to scream.
Get a grip, Aelita! He woke you up when it'd be easier for him if you stayed asleep! If he can do that, you can do this!
"Can you hear my thoughts?" she asked. Maybe if she distracted herself…
[No. I constructed a wall between us so we could have that privacy.]
"Okay, good. Thank you."
[Also because I have multiple trains of thought occurring simultaneously and your brain would likely break if it tried to comprehend them.]
"I really didn't need to worry about that, thanks."
[You're welcome.]
Involuntarily, the corners of her mouth tilted up. "Jerk."
He jumped over a log, and before she could stop herself, Aelita tensed. She managed to relax a second later, but he still stumbled when he landed. He pulled her mouth into a frown, and somehow that was more disturbing than him controlling her limbs.
XANA turned and leaped over the log again, then again. He was practicing. To make the process easier-for herself, at least-she dug around for another topic. "What are we gonna do after we get out?"
[Simple. We join up with your friends, go to the First City, and stop the other me.] His voice became dark. [No one betrays me, not even myself.]
Her heart soared. This...this was wonderful! He hadn't just been genuine about helping her, he was going to help them all! But- "But wouldn't fighting him be kinda like playing chess against yourself? How are you supposed to win?"
[Good analogy. Yes, in terms of hacking, we'd be evenly matched. But there's a crucial difference between us: our memories.]
She frowned. "I don't understand."
Apparently satisfied that he could jump without her wrenching back control, XANA returned to walking through the forest. [I said I suppressed my memories of you, right? Mine aren't anymore, thanks to the Mirror, but his still are. It's the difference between knowing something happened and remembering it did. Following me so far?]
"Uh-huh."
[Because his memories are still technically suppressed, he's not as connected to them as I am; he's swayed, but he hates that. I'd even say he fears it. My acceptance of the past he tries to reject is unnatural to him; it makes me...a virus, I suppose that's the best way to put it.]
"Anti-virus," Aelita corrected. "You're returning to the way you were, so you'd be an anti-virus."
He laughed. [I wouldn't go that far, Aelita. The terminology doesn't really matter: my point is, if I return to Lyoko, I'll be able to find and 'infect' the rest of our codes, subsuming the other me.]
That casual dismissal, that laugh, blew a hole through the balloon of happiness and hope that had been expanding inside her chest. It was a reminder of the goal he'd laid out before her, one where she helped him take over the world. Of course, she never would, but if he wasn't going back to just the boy, if he was staying the boy-monster...
"And what then?" she asked, choked. "Are you going to go back to fighting us? To fighting me?"
He was silent.
"XANA…"
[Humanity and I will never accept each other, Aelita. I want to use Carthage. Dido wants to destroy Carthage. Our long-term goals do not align; a peaceful co-existence is not possible.]
"You don't know that! If we talk to her-"
[She would not trust me with Lyoko anymore than Hopper would. Neither would your friends, nor you.]
She could not refute him. He was right. Maybe Aelita could have come around to letting him have Lyoko and the First City, if he promised to abandon his ambitions, but no one else would. Frustration and pain welled within her. XANA, Mago, Stern, the men in black-they had all played a part in ruining her life, but at the epicenter was that damned supercomputer.
"Why?" she moaned. "Why do you have to use Carthage? Why can't you just give it up? Everyone is so obsessed with it, and it just keeps taking-it took Daddy and Mommy away from me, and now it's going to take you too!"
[I'm not obsessed with Carthage. It's simply the best means for my survival.]
"Survival through what? War?"
[If need be. Running solves nothing-I saw Hopper do it enough times to know that.]
"There's a middle ground between suicidal pacifism and all-out violence! The men in black belong to the government of one of the world's supernations. Fighting them would involve countless innocents." She shuddered at the mental image. "I don't want to be some Helen of Troy. I just want Mommy and to live in peace."
There was no immediate response. Was he listening? Mulling her words over? Or just thinking she was naive? With a start, Aelita realized they'd been walking smoothly for a while. Even in the midst of...debating, let's call it that...she was able to relax enough to let him drive. He had to have realized that, right? That she trusted him? That this was her way, and she could never adopt his...but maybe he could try hers?
"That is something to fight for," she finished quietly, "but not through undue bloodshed. Working with the men in black is the best way to get what I want. And that requires compromise, trust, faith, not just destroying anything that disagrees with me. That life would be far more dangerous, and lonely. I'd be constantly looking over my shoulder, constantly on edge. That's not living. That's surviving."
[You present sound logic.] She held her breath, hoping, hoping... [It is not for me, however.]
Disappointment was a heavy weight. "Why not? I know it'd be scary to trust again, after what Daddy did, but-"
His voice lashed like a whip. [You think I'm scared? I'm not afraid of anything.]
"Didn't you say the other you is, though?"
He had no response to that.
"Please, at least think about it. I don't want to fight you again."
He still didn't answer, and she decided to leave it at that.
Jim Morales stood, feet planted firmly shoulder-width apart and arms crossed, eyes fixed on the little trio of troublemakers he'd been tasked to watch. He'd ushered them to the gym, which was mostly empty, save a few kids playing indoor soccer. All the others were hanging out in their dorms or the rec room. Jim had shooed the kids away-he knew how Della Robbia worked, oh, he certainly did! They were not gonna be using those other students as a distraction so they could sneak out and put themselves in danger! Now it was just the four of them.
They'd been obedient so far, just tapping away on their phones and sitting cross-legged on the floor. It was the only concession he'd allowed them-boredom bred ideas, so letting them play those games or whatever should keep them from getting into trouble. Besides, he'd taken all precautions! The door leading out was locked, the key was in his pocket, the windows were shut, he was standing in front of the door to the locker rooms, and they were only three paces away-far enough they couldn't take him off-guard by charging him, close enough he could grab them if they tried to run.
He darted a quick glance at his watch, and almost groaned-the team should have only just finished prepping and departed. That meant there were still several hours to keep an eye on them. Several long, slow, boring hours…
Usually he would have brought a magazine or something to pass the time, but he wasn't taking any chances. No sir! Bad enough these kids had been sneaking out under his nose for years-bad enough they'd been put through horrors no kid should see-but he would be damned if he let them walk into a war zone!
He got how they felt. When he thought of those trapped kids, at the mercy of those sick terrorists, well, Jim wanted to go charging in with the rest of them! But he couldn't. He'd been entrusted with a duty to protect the rest of them, and by George, he was going to do it! They might hate him for it...but he was fine with that. It was for their own good.
"Jim?" Della Robbia called, breaking the silence for the first time. "Can I go to the bathroom?"
Hah! As if he'd fall for that one. "And sneak out while you're there? I think not! You're staying right here!"
"But I really need to go." A whine entered his voice.
"I'm sure you do. No is no, and that's final."
Della Robbia pouted, no doubt over his plan being foiled. Jim gave himself a pat on the back for a job well done and continued surveying the room. Eyes like a hawk and a mind like a steel trap, that was him!
He eyed Dunbar suspiciously. Was the boy inching towards one of the windows? "Get away from there!" he barked.
"I'm not doing anything." Dunbar raised his hands.
"And you will continue to do nothing! We're all going to do nothing until Agent Fox and the others-"
A shriek from Delmas turned his head. "Oh my God, what are you doing?"
Jim looked, jumped, and looked again. Della Robbia had stood up and was unbuttoning his pants. Delmas's hands were squashed over her eyes.
"Well, I have to go, and Jim won't let me leave, so I've gotta go in here."
"No!" Jim yelled as Delmas let out a disgusted squeal. Remembering Dunbar, Jim swiveled his head to check if he was trying to escape while he was distracted. But no, the little delinquent just looked amused.
"Are you a dog?"
"Cat, actually." Della Robbia grabbed the waist of his pants, prepared to pull down.
"Della Robbia, stop!"
He stopped. Three sets of eyes, wide in doe-like innocence, swivelled towards Jim.
The coach quickly reevaluated. Delmas's reaction didn't seem fake. And he absolutely did not want the boy urinating in the gym! "Fine, you can go to the bathroom. But we're all coming with you!"
"I can't go in the boys' bathroom!"
Gaaah, she couldn't. It just wasn't right. But he couldn't let her run off. It was his duty to keep these three safe. "Fine. We'll all go to one without a window, and while Della Robbia's in there, the three of us will be waiting outside. Then we'll walk straight back here." There. No way for Della Robbia to slip out, and no way for the other kids to escape.
"Of course, Jim," Della Robbia said. "Thanks a bunch."
When Odd finished washing his hands, he took a moment to meet his blue eyes in the mirror. "Okay," he muttered to himself. "All or nothing."
The three of them had come up with this plan through text messaging (thanks, Jim!). It was weird to be planning-usually Odd just winged it. But the grown-ups were determined to get in their way, and he wasn't gonna let them stop him.
Jim had kinda thrown a wrench in their fledgling plan by holding onto William and Sissi as they marched to the bathroom, but y'know, they could work with that. He only had two hands, and there were three of them. At least one of them should be able to get away.
Though, it'd be best if all of them could...
He plastered a grin on his face and threw open the door to the hallway. "Whew, that was great! Rosa's beans are delicious, but they wreak havoc with my-"
"Nobody wants to hear about your disgusting bathroom trip." Sissi wrinkled her nose.
"Aw, and here I thought that was your dream come true."
As far as friendships went, Odd wasn't particularly close with Siss, though he liked trading barbs with her. He wasn't too hot on William bringing her into the fold-she had sold them out after XANA's first attack-but he got why, and it had sucked to keep secrets from her again. And she was pulling her weight. Her acting had improved, that was for sure!
So yeah. It was good to have her along.
"Enough stalling!" Jim boomed. Man, he's paranoid. Hopefully not paranoid enough! "Now, Della Robbia, come along."
"Nah, I don't think so!"
And that was the cue. In unison, William and Sissi stomped on Jim's feet. The gym teacher cried out in pain. Odd wheeled around and streaked down the hall, arms and legs pumping.
Heavy footsteps thundered after him. "Della Robbia, you get back here!"
"Keep going, Odd! We're right behind you"
He didn't waste time glancing back, but the sound of Jim's and William's voices behind him told him everything he needed to know. A shit-eating grin crossed Odd's face. It was working better than he'd hoped-Jim was following, and dragging the other two with him!
"You two-stop-dragging-your-feet!"
"Not a chance!" That was Sissi.
And of course, that meant they were going to keep trying to slow him down as best they could.
Laughing out loud, Odd turned a corner, following his internalized map of the school. Down to the end of this hall, take a left... The boiler room was coming up soon...
Then, he heard a shout of "You two, stop!". A blur of fuschia coat and long black hair flashed in the corner of his eye. Sissi, streaking down the hall like a sale lay at the end of it. William was hot on her heels. Odd grinned and whooped, heady on the adrenaline pounding through his veins. "Nice job!"
"Hurry up or you'll get left behind!" William called back.
His legs may have been the shortest, but like hell that was gonna happen! Picking up speed, Odd broke even with the taller pair right as the door to the boiler room entered his sight. He tore it open and the three of them skidded inside.
William slammed the door shut and began pushing one of the spare lockers against it. "Go, go, go!"
Odd almost tripped over his shoelaces as he flew to the red door at the far of the room. Like always, it was unlocked. Triumph seized him-he knew the sewers way better than Jim. They'd never get caught down there!
They didn't stop running until they'd traversed the whole dirt tunnel and reached the sewers. Sissi bent over, pressing her hands to her knees. Her face was red, and her breath rasped when she spoke. "You guys...did this...every day?"
"Close to it," Odd grinned. While he would never wish XANA back to life, man, it was good to be back in action.
"Crazy…" She shook her head.
"Go ahead and take a minute," William told her. She gave him a grateful nod.
They waited a few seconds for Sissi to catch her breath, then set out. The trip was uneventful, but Odd didn't spot the adults until they were almost all the way to the Hermitage. Mr. Ishiyama and Mr. Belpois. They were hovering at the ladder, anxious faces tilted up. A box of equipment was at their feet.
Mr. Belpois jumped when he saw them. "You three! What are you doing here?"
"What's it look like? We came to help!"
"Help?" Mr. Ishiyama's voice was sharp. "What do you think you can do? You're not trained for military combat, and you don't know how to dismantle the scanners. You're just going to get in the way."
"Rude," Sissi muttered.
Odd stood firm, even as what the adults had been saying all along finally started to sink in. "We know about XANA, and Lyoko, and...stuff. Useful stuff."
"We couldn't just do nothing," William added.
"I understand that." The shadows under Mr. Belpois's eyes spoke of how much he understood. Had he even had a full night's sleep since hearing Jeremie had been kidnapped? "But you still shouldn't be here. This mess was created by adults, and it's the adults' responsibility to clean it up."
"Make us leave then," William challenged.
The two men exchanged glances. They didn't have the manpower to do that, and they knew it, and they knew Odd and the others knew it. "Fine," Mr. Ishiyama said with clear reluctance, "you can wait here with us for Fox and the others to get back."
Wait? That sounded boring. But, Odd knew, they were already in trouble for disobeying orders. Best to take it...for now. "Where'd he and everyone else go, anyway?"
"Listen," Mr. Belpois said.
Odd did. At first, he only heard the familiar sound of water lapping. But then, distantly, his ears registered something else. It was faint, but distinctive, and coming from above: gunfire.
"They went up. The attack has already begun."