This chapter came as a gift from God because I couldn't stay away from writing this story until it has finished. It is, in my eyes, the beginning of the end of my story. I thank you all who have continually come and read the story. This will be the last season, and I hope you all enjoy the ride before you.

Love,

Pagliacci-11.

Chapter 89

"So, that is your response?"

Odd nodded, "Yes, I'm sorry. I just can't do this. I'm sorry."

"You just told me that you couldn't go home and that you liked that everyone had a chance here. And now, you can't abide with this." Brynja nodded, "It's fair, I suppose. You can't abide the cost of human life, even though it's for the better."

"But Brynja, please understand. You can't just murder people to usher in some golden age of peace; you just can't."

Brynja looked at him, "I thought you, of all people, were different. That you would see sense in this, it's not pleasant to undergo; I don't deny that. But the future that we can give you, you—don't want it."

Odd nodded reluctantly, "I'm sorry, you cannot negate humanity's will. You said so yourself—"

"Who's negating human will? We're simply embracing the mindset the human wheel never stops turning. We more than know you can't hardwire control the world. That's an impossible thing. Rather we are curbing your appetites for your desires through work and reward; it is that simple. Why are you so hesitant to embrace this?"

"What is going to save your glorious revolution from the next one?"

"We've crossed those bridges many times, and we usually win because sadly, despite your objections, this system works. We remove all the agonizing red-tape, the double-speak, the double-standards. Therefore, everyone from the moment of birth has as much a chance to change their destiny as anyone else. That's it, that's all. That's the best we can hope to maintain. Equally, I thought this is what you, of all people, would want. What are you so afraid of?"

"I-I can't live with the cost, Brynja. I can't live with the cost of your brave new world. I'm sorry, I just-I just can't."

"Odd, please understand. Cost: The destruction of the old world in its corruption; it's the only way to advance in terms of what we genuinely aspire for you all. It is not wrong what we do; our methods are no different than the conquerors of history; why, therefore, are you so afraid of this cost? Your tyrannical masters have no issue killing you, starving you, robbing you of your purpose. Why, please tell me, why do you not have the strength to give to your friends and the world a chance everyone from birth deserves?

Until you answer me, I will not let you go home. Because your answer will help determine an essential portion of what is to unfold. Either you will or will not, but I prefer you think about it before giving me a final answer. I ask you; I beg you. Please, just think a bit longer. I will give you whatever research, whatever you request to make your decision, but I need to know a concrete reason apart from cost why it is so hard for you."

Odd looked, "Why is my decision so important? Answer me that honestly without distrust, and I'll stay a bit longer."

"Because your answer is the answer of the youth of the world. You are from a position of influence of middle-class. You and several others are being vetted because it is your world and your future that matters to North-Gate. Your answer is one of five people who will be weighed in the balance, and from that, I need you to be as precise but logical as you can be. That is all."

Odd nodded, "On one condition, you tell Sylvia to hold her fire until we conclude."

"That's the decree and secondary parameter of North-Gate; she can't attack without a consensus of the future generations."

He nodded, "Alright, I'll trust you for now."

"However, you have a time-limit. You have one week. After one week, the consensus will be taken as is, and from that, the majority will rule, and we will proceed accordingly. Is that understood?"

"May I go home?" Odd asked.

"Not until your decision is reached."

Odd was shaken, "Will my opinion make that much of a difference?"

"In the grand scheme, absolutely. However, if you simply wish to leave and you insist on it, your vote will be accounted for as you have said, "You cannot stand the cost of such a venture." If you wish to leave, is your answer satisfactory to you?"

Odd knew this was a perilous game. The group was of five people. Should he leave now, his dissenting voice could still be overruled. He knew on some level his participation; if he wanted it to count, he'd have to ride this out to the end. But he didn't have the time, and he knew that this version of Brynja knew this fact. Even if he rode it out, there were no guarantees of it shutting down North-Gate. North-Gate had to be shut down from outside. But an idea occurred to him.

"Brynja, a question. Our votes, are they simply yes/no votes, or are they detail-oriented?"

Brynja smiled at him and began to laugh a bit, "Oh, I love you!" she screamed; she laughed a bit more and, after recovering, replied, "Smart man, Odd, brilliant man. The votes are detail-oriented."

Odd nodded, "I would like to compose my detailed vote in full as to my objections. Once that is done, I wish to leave."

Brynja smiled, "Of course, ástvinur." She took a holopad from her pocket and gave it to him, "Type to your content. Once finished, you may edit it, and it will be submitted."

Odd took the pad and began typing his defense for his home. As he looked at Brynja through the hologram, he saw her demeanor. It wasn't angry, or disappointed, or anything of the sort. There was that gentleness, that kindness that he had seen in his own version of her back home. The one he yearned for in his heart and his loins.

As he typed, he asked, "Brynja, could you come with me? I mean, Louis is in my place right now; why can't you take the part of my homeland's Brynja?"

"I can think of countless reasons. Namely, she wouldn't be able to make it here because it's just so regimented. I'd considered coming over to your side before; that was one of Sylvia's initial plans. But, your Brynja is such a—fuck it, she's such a whore that being in her shoes after enough observation was less than appetizing."

Odd nodded, albeit slightly upset.

Brynja seeing this replied, "Besides, Odd, it wouldn't be fair to her. Would you be content with Louis living your life the rest of time? Would you?"

"No, but—"

"Then why should I become your Brynja? Why should I replace her if you wouldn't do it for yourself with Louis?"

Odd stopped typing, and he looked at her, "You're everything that I wanted that I couldn't have with Brynja! You're so different from her and yet so—"

"Odd, enough." Brynja replied as she walked over to him and sat beside him, "The simple fact is, you can have the Brynja that your friends denied you. You can, but as with anything to better yourself, you'll have to sacrifice something. But a greater question does come to mind. Why kill yourself for some trollop who frankly did not even say goodbye to you, hm? What you wish for yourself is not even your own want if you boil it down. You love with your cock regarding Brynja; you don't love with your mind."

Odd looked at her, "With you, I do."

"I know this, but you have to decide. Even if you love me as you say you do, are you willing to change your world to be with me?"

"Is there no convincing you otherwise?" Odd asked.

"My loyalty is too North-Gate. I asked Sylvia to talk to you to bring you to me to see where you stand for your home and people. You cannot stand the price; you have said so yourself. But you desire me; I can see it in your eyes. But is my love and mind that you profess to love sufficient a price to sacrifice your own world permanently? A simple yes or no will suffice for this question."

Odd sighed, "Can we just have a roll around?"

"Why? We roll around; you get your rocks off—you get all the pleasures without the sacrifice. That's hardly a winning deal for me, now is it? Put it this way, why do you want your own Brynja? Sylvia was able to arrange this because your feelings for her were so strong. Why were they so strong? You were forced to repress your feelings because of your own friend's misgivings and jealousy. But, between us, why did you want Brynja? What did she bring to the picture that was so earth-shatteringly new? From our friend, you were magnetized to her at first glance, but what truly drew you to her?"

Odd was silent, hesitant to answer. He knew the answer, but he hesitated to speak the answer. He hesitated due to because of what he hated to bring up. But even then, the woman next to him raised an equally valid point, why did he continue to agonize himself? Agonize over someone who is so flippant that she could forget him as quickly as he would forget Magali or Claire.

"Huh, you know, bizarrely, you made me think of something. A more beautiful rendition of me gave me my own treatment."

Brynja chuckled, "Okay, go ahead; I want to hear this."

"Well, I didn't exactly feel a loss for the girls who came before or even after Brynja. So, I guess the wheel turned, and it came for me?"

"That's a healthy way to look at it. It is probably true. I mean, think about it. All you showed her was the computer, she didn't see Lyoko. Otherwise, Jeremy would have had to take a more bit of extreme action. So, yeah, a minimal thing, a trivial thing at best which can describe both the mess you got into and the girl proper. I'll say this about your girl, though. At least, albeit, indirectly, she's an honest flake of a girl."

It was Odd's turn to chuckle a bit, "Yeah, in the grand scheme, I think you're right."

At this time, the sun had begun to set, and Odd saw the light of the sun hit a crucial point in a small town below. The spot was so bright, so golden, that if he focused it, the sight would hurt his eyes.

He looked at Brynja, "Hey, what's that place in the distance? I can see it from here."

"That is the Citadel of one of North-Gate's heroes under Natasha. We didn't destroy it because the people under her had worked far too long to destroy such a place. It's a beautiful place that was once a grand fortress that now serves as a form of mission for the destitute's inevitable occurrence. It's a temporary place for food and sleep for the gamblers who have gambled away their savings, prostitutes who are too turned out to turn a good trick; that kind of thing.

The mission is used to help those kinds of people get back on their feet and ween them off their dependencies."

Odd nodded, and he thought back to the gladiatorial fight he'd seen a couple of days prior, "So, the Coliseum is no more than a willing option for debt relief?"

"That's correct but see, the overviews as you get from our people is a disservice. If you want to clear your debt, you can go to a baker or another concession stand provider and work off your debt that way; you don't have to fight."

"But Sylvia gladly sends those on death row to the pits. Is it just because of what they did? Is that the only real difference?

"They are mass murderers or the truly competent psychopaths, serial rapists, pedophiles; the list goes on. Those who have no regard for the sanctity of innocence and free choice will be purged, for we have no use of such monsters."

Odd nodded, and he looked at his entry before him for his vote. He said, "Many would call it ironic. Some would call Sylvia and by extension what you, by what your society offers as a violation of free will and justice in that regard."

"There will be objectors and detractors just as there are corpse-flies. They are constants, and we are ready for such people. That said, they have a right to their view, but they are largely blind to a much grander picture. The number of people we've had as objectors in our own people, oh, we still haven't seen the end of them."

Odd continued typing, but then a question occurred to him, "Let me ask you, how does the mirror-universe exactly work? Does everyone have their reflection here?"

"Think of it as best akin to but not being the many-worlds or multiverse as many call it. You all have your opposites here; that's true. However, the crucial difference is that relations are different here, upbringing is different, but you all definitely exist, but we are not united in existence. We don't rely on you for our existence. However, there's a danger to our world. Should a soul look too long upon one's self, the other side takes notice. However, it would help if you took note that many of our opposite qualities, as you see, are either wonderful or they are horrid. It's got a little bit of everyone, honestly."

"No need to remind me. Ulrich is such a dick here or Lawrence as he calls himself."

"Hey, his name is Lawrence. Just like you and Louis, you are different from him and him from you. You understand?"

"But your name is Brynja, same as the one back home." Odd said with a touch of confusion, "How does that work."

"Because they changed their names. Ulrich, as you know him here, hated the name he was born with. He despised it, and so became Lawrence Hazelwood. Odd, although named as you are, changed his name to Louis after becoming thoroughly disgusted with you when you guys caused the hiccup with the bodily discrepancy when you switched bodies with Yumi. You know, when you dated Magali and Claire?"

Odd had a thought occur to him, "When do you become aware of us? On the other side, I mean."

"After you stare into a mirror for twenty seconds. Until such time, we are largely oblivious to you as we all check our mirrors at the same time. However, for one who constantly preens, like your Brynja or Sissi, well—suffice to say we become aware much faster. Like I first noticed your Brynja when she was age ten. Our Elisabeth, or as she calls herself Abigail, noticed when your Sissi was six, trying to win the attentions of Ulrich."

"So, let me ask, you guys change your names based on your disgust for us?"

"More or less. That's how Natasha came to be; she was Aelita Schaeffer before she became disgusted with Aelita after her mother disappeared. To quote her, 'She's weak as baby shit. I refuse, I outright refuse to be weak as that pissant across the glass.'"

"Are you guys autonomous from us?" Odd asked.

"In a way, but that autonomy is only attained after becoming self-aware."

Odd was slightly disturbed by this revelation, but a greater question occurred to him, "So, after autonomy or even before, is your life-force tied to us?"

"Before, yes. Autonomy is just as it sounds; once we awaken to our independence, we can say, 'Fuck you, I'll do my own thing.' And proceed to down our own thing."

"Wait, since when did Aelita preen too much?"

"Aelita has a habit, a secret habit of screaming at her mirror when frustrated. This was very evident as a child and is still evident today when she's alone. The thing is, even when you look away, when we awaken, we can watch you all over your house. Because your house and ours are still linked in that intrinsic way."

"So, what was this Natasha like, Brynja?" Odd asked.

"She was a cold, ruthless, jealous, vicious scheming bitch! We all hated her, and when Sylvia came to power under the late Mr. Barrow, she grew in strength, and she slaughtered her and her army, Odd. I know you guys will have your differences with Sylvia; we all do. But she's got a good heart in her, even if she is a bit misguided. They murdered her father, Odd. She was betrayed by the one she loved. She's cold, that's not to be disputed, but she's not unreachable. Have patience with her."

Brynja checked her watch, and she said, "Complete the vote report with pencil and paper at home. Louis will collect it once you've finished."

Brynja snapped her fingers, and a small dark blue portal opened in front of Odd, "Go ahead." She said.

Odd looked at her, "Let me ask before I go. How are you so fervently going to support North-Gate? How can you?"

Brynja shrugged, "We just know the opposite of what your world is. Call it a perk." She pushed him through, and Odd fell through his mirror onto his bed. He looked back, and the mirror was sealed. Odd saw Louis looking at him in his reflection, a cocked eyebrow and a small gesture to keep writing. Odd nodded in response, and he took out his notebook and began to write. He looked back at the mirror and saw Louis sitting at the desk, gesturing as if saying, "What are you waiting for?"

Sighing, Odd continued writing. He felt he could trust Brynja to be honest enough to tell him the actual weight of his vote. Because of that, he had no choice except to write.

Back at North-Gate, Sylvia was reviewing the armaments for her more immediate attack units, and as she examined them, she received a message from her implant to report to communications. Sylvia reported to the signals room, and once there, she ordered products brought to the room by the individual purveyors whose goods were being shown.

Once she was securely inside the signals room, Sylvia initiated the secure backline back to the Ministry. Brynja was opposite her and transcribed the following, "Commander, Odd has returned home and is writing his vote for his voice in the panel."

Sylvia inspected a shotgun from one of the purveyors for her forces, and she replied, "Excellent." She handed it back to the purveyor and gestured for the second purveyor to come forward.

"Commander, you're certain Odd can be trusted?"

Sylvia responded, "Absolutely otherwise, I would have let him die with the rest and be part of the battle tally. I trust him to be as fair as he is capable of. It's one of the most refreshing things about him regarding his team. That we know through him, we have a voice of both humor and pragmatism that is equal parts engaging and charming. Speaking of the Casanova, how is he?"

"To say he is conflicted would not do it justice. He deeply wishes to have what you offer, but he cannot live with the cost of the world we would be ushering in. Does that concern you?"

"No, it's fine." Sylvia replied as she examined a specific bullet from one of the purveyors, "We'll have dissenters and detractors; we always had them. Their objections, as always, are noted. However, if they offer no constructive critique with their own solution, they are no more than a lot of hot air, sad to say." She looked at the purveyor and gestured to a nearby weapon on a test rack, and he nodded, heading to the weapon.

"Even so, Odd will have his objections; it's nothing new. But it doesn't quite matter. Even if Odd objects, we have two votes for us already. But, let him give his critique as best he can. In the meantime, our plans progress as always. Our recent probe from England proved very fruitful and sadly so as well. They attempted to kill our testing plant. So, it shows their avarice is guiding them, not philanthropy. They're digging themselves a more profound and deeper grave.

Our cell in Germany has destroyed their secondary pharmaceutical aspiration by contaminating several batches of their new insulin. This will help with the phantom state enforcement in our way as we gain aid from Canada and help them turn a profit as many investors wish.

Brynja, I need you to prep the ladies and gentlemen. More importantly, I need you to bring in Old Mull. We're going to do some old-fashioned street justice to cloak our larger movement. We have what we need, but we'll need the crew for a true bust-up to take what we can get. Also, send Bo across with a case of Premium. It'll lift the spirits of the crew to have a taste of the old country."

"Yes, High-Commander. As you request. How are we going with street justice? Loud or soft?"

"I'm going to knock at the industrial heart of the Stern Family here, and I'm going to hit hard. I've done enough probes to know the true power that family holds, especially in Austria. But we're only going to affect one-quarter of the tree. My reason for doing this is to evoke a reaction from Ulrich's old man. Once that's done, and our boys have it gauged, we'll proceed. By then, we'll have cornered the distribution market of key drugs in Canada and market Penrose House as a new alternative to the overpriced shit that they peddle that costs them nickels to produce.

In the meantime, our counterstrikes to key distributors of food will come next. Our war will be far more of the shadows than of truly on the field. These snakes of children like to play in the shadows and fuck over people, great. They never anticipate their methods being used against them."

Brynja was silent a moment, "You're going to murder these people, aren't you?"

"No, no. Their scheming may benefit our friends down below, and for that, they will be made to see the light and made unified under our standard. Should they refuse, they shall still serve us. Stripped of the freedom, they strip so many others of theirs. With the merciful, I show myself merciful, with the merciless, I show myself merciless."

"Ah, old Screwtape's brain trust. Honestly, I would be afraid of you if you were given raw power to do as you wish."

"So would I. That's why the old man and his chums never will let me have it. They don't trust me with my birthright not to go through checks and balances. It's smart, in all reality. I don't resent them for it, fuck no. It's actually nice when you have to go through a system to justify more extreme things. The thing is, the old folks don't much care about this kind of thing because I do it all the time. But they more than shoot me down with other things. You know the Final Incarnation?"

Brynja chuckled to herself and responded, "That is your most powerful form, teacher. Even I would be like the old crow back with Rasputin fucking people over, 'Aaah! Lenin and the masses are out! It's the end of the world!' I mean, Sylvie, your final form, even I am terrified of. When the daughter and the mother are aligned, we shall all quake in absolute fear as the old stories in the past go. Remember, little love; I was raised on your sister's legends and then yours once you rose. You knew my mother, and my empire is from her; that you allowed happening. Why do you trust me with that power?"

Sylvia was looking over a specialized pen, and she shook her head and gave it back to the purveyor and gestured for a camera. The man nodded, and he gestured small, medium, or large. She gestured in return, two. One small, one large. He nodded and left Sylvia's presence.

Sylvia said, "I trust you because I raised you. I instructed you, formed you when you gained your autonomy. You are one of my most loyal council, second only to Nicolette, and I know I scare her at times, but that's only because she is to be my second when the time comes. Frankly, I terrify her at times because that's what the majority of my job is like; it's terrifying, and she has to be tough if she's to be my successor.

I have the heir for the long-run from the treasury thanks to our own ally here, and now she's back home. But, my heir is not to be for some time. Unless I am taken down in battle, the heir will pass to the child born as the merger of the two worlds. If I am taken down, Nicolette is my chosen for my secondary commander until the child is of age. Even then, the child has a choice to be my successor or not."

"Understood, High-Commander. Question: When is our major hammer-stroke going to genuinely kick-off? I've gotten reports from back home that so many of our overall troop movements. Are we ready to smash their balls?"

"Absolutely. The attack mechanism has finished being calibrated to the isolation pockets so that the public will not suffer adverse effects. We had a successful test run yesterday. Now, sadly, almost regrettably, I've had to sacrifice the more theatrical elements of the past. This is due to how we had to have precision over spectacle for this. But the precision is necessary if we are to strike and stay concealed.

We have got people all over the grid. We have Purples, Numbers, and Colors worldwide to act according to the playbook. We're set to strike right where we need to; once we give the signal, a lot of bodies will hit the floor. Kill time is ten seconds, but the best part is we can piggy-back the relay signal. We can have an almost city-wide range to get one person if we so choose. We're working on autonomous control of the dishes, but unfortunately, not everybody is as with it as I'd hoped, you know."

"So, are we ready for the initiation, then?"

"Oh, most certainly. I want to give the kids a rest before we fire off, in addition to our team. Let them savor the last few days of peace. Besides, there's a concert I'm going to at Kadic in a couple of weeks, and when their concert hits, it'll be a desperate gasp for air considering how we'll make a splash, as old McGuire used to say."

"Ah, Old-Man Mick. Whatever happened to our dapper painter of death?"

"Heidi made her bones with him. She did a fantastic job, too. It's in the recruitment files if you wish to see it. I'll caution you; it was when she was in her Lecter Phase, so be ready for that if you view it."

"Well, can't blame her. He was a vehicle for a lot of her mannerisms. That said, it'll be—interesting. Well, I am getting out of here. Gotta' report to see what's going on Brewery Six. See ya, Sylvie."

Meanwhile, Yolanda had just gotten through a hellish day. The students were still distraught over Ms. Hertz's apparent suicide, and Yolanda had been able to take a sample from the blood still pooled in Hertz's smashed mouth. The body was a heinous sight with denuded bone protruded, and what was worse, Hertz had clung to life for all of two minutes before expiring. It was for Yolanda, one of the most agonizing two minutes of her life. She saw Suzanne's eyes, filled with agony and above all fear. After they had taken her body to the city morgue, Yolanda handed off the blood at a dead drop to be analyzed, and the result had just come in.

There were extreme doses of dopamine that had flooded the hippocampus and the frontal cortex. It was such a massive dose that it had triggered what Yolanda could only describe from the witness of the children as a lunatic fit. Sylvia had rubbed the genie's lamp of repressed long-term memory, and all that had transpired in Suzanne Hertz was the event of all the Lyoko endeavors, including returns to the past, the actual events leading up to those returns, the connections to relived aspects of life on a constant loop, it was the true nitrogen bomb of the mind, and Sylvia knew this. Her secret weapon was her weapon that could be used equally to make an example or to decimate entire peoples. Yolanda and all other soldiers were exempt from this feedback due to the implant and modifications of their own blood.

However, what concerned Yolanda most was that none of the children had suffered the adverse effect as Hertz had. The beam, as it was traditionally understood the attack took the form of, was pin-pointed directly at Suzanne. But the thing was, even if the sonic resonance was heard by non-implanted people or those exempt through Lyoko's encoding as the warriors were, all it would take would be a specific sonic resonance to set someone off. That activation would probably happen worse than what had transpired with Suzanne, but there was no telling without knowing the keynote. But what would that note be?

Yolanda hadn't the time to think about it. She knew that the war was just on the doorstep, and she'd just received a red and gold passport from North-Gate just two hours ago. It was a passport for "Intercommunal Travel" as it was termed, and Yolanda knew that the division operation from that term alone was already begun in earnest. Hertz wasn't just a random target; she was a direct experiment to localize and streamline Sylvia's weapon. She'd been targeted because she fit all the criteria of North-Gate favoritism and nepotistic elements over a long enough time. Suzanne was forty-five or thereabouts, and for North-Gate, all that was needed was ten consecutive years of linked behaviors to be slated for termination.

Additionally, the past few years alone at Kadic, Yolanda knew, didn't do Hertz any favors in the slightest. Especially, as Yolanda feared, if Sylvia were still around among the children. She could still be watching, but Yolanda should know about that, given her position as a chief medical officer. But nothing had shown since Jacqueline had been 'retired.'

Yolanda switched over to listen to North-Gate's communication scanner, she listened as the operations continued in key sectors, but something piqued her interest. She listened and heard the following,

"Salvage Six to Dispatch: We have completed the disassembly and salvage of Talon. The parts are in transit to Processor 4 for repurposing."

"Copy that, Salvage Six. ETA?"

"Forty Purple."

"Excellent."

Yolanda knew the code, and in hearing this, she more than understood. They had disassembled the orbital weapons platform and were sending its components to Processor Four. She knew exactly what this meant, and she knew that Sylvia had learned from her defeats, but not in the way she'd hoped.

Aelita was with Jeremy in the park, and as they had some quality hot-chocolate that Jeremy had ordered from Switzerland, Aelita asked, "How goes your analysis of Sylvia's forces?"

Jeremy sighed and replied, "She's on the ball, Aelita. I don't know what she's preparing for, I don't know what she has in terms of raw power, but I can see the implications. I'm glad we made the cloning protocol and substitution of her forces; I can tell you that much. I'm seeing all kinds of things, and they're a kind of bizarre countermeasure when her units get attacked and when they defend. But there is good news. If we can take one of her towers and hack the tower, we can cripple her operations for a time. However, the closer we get to the tower, the security does increase. There are gated and high-walls with sniper's towers.

She has some of her beefiest soldiers there, Aelita, and you'd have to get in unnoticed. But the trade-off is that as soon as you are in, you can't be negated. Lyoko still answers to you as your biometrics cannot be refuted as I think it was your father's design."

Aelita nodded, "Okay, so I get in, and what would my interface do to the tower, to the sector even?"

"Well, that's the thing. As far as I can figure, we will access the files concerning that sector as the system reboots. It's a reset period and a window. It's another reason why I'm glad we could make the devitalization capability for us. Sylvia is the only one apart from you that can reset it, and I think it would take her time to get into Lyoko proper. The reset should take ten minutes from the bot data, which means I have ten minutes to root around using one of our maintenance bots to figure out what's genuinely going on behind the scenes.

One place that I want to start in particular is the forest sector. Something just doesn't feel right about the sector. The production, the food that I've seen in cursory glances, there's something up, and if we can figure out what it is, we can shut down critical potions, and I can reset the operation or doctrine protocols so that Sylvia is set back."

"Okay, Jeremy, but what's the point of that?" Aelita asked.

"From what I can tell, Sylvia herself is on a meritocracy system. Her work is linked to her social policy. Give her credit; she walks the walk and talks the talk. However, even so, if we can hamstring her progress, there is a program that I saw that is called Salvage. This means that she can only perform so many missteps before the system, as far as I can tell, boot her out of decision making and does a hardline internal reset. Which if we get in on the ground floor of that reset, we can potentially end North-Gate quicker than even they anticipate."

"So, your goal is to term her production mantra against her. Okay, that's smart." Aelita said, and then she took a drink of the coco, "But what would replace her during the reset?"

"That's just it. It's a gamble. If I can use the internal reset, I can call the shots on what to change and have control handed over to me. But, there's a window of impossibility, and I'd have to be at the lab the second the restart fires off, and if I can get your mother to help us, if we can get in contact with her, we can secure the lab and neutralize North-Gate and Sylvia in one blow. See, she needs the Supercomputer, that's crucial, but what if she couldn't utilize it remotely as she has been doing and is forced to come in to manually operate?"

Aelita groaned slightly, "It's a huge risk, Jeremy. And Sylvia would notice more than one sector needing a reboot considering the solid run she's had so far. So, how do you think we should handle this?"

"That's where the clones we're generating come into play. They will function as semi-autonomous units while we occupy the lab. Still, even if we can't hold the lab, I have software calibrated to Lyoko's core programming that will isolate Lyoko from Sylvia but also from us. Either way, she can't get it back without going in, and in going in, that's where the real trap awaits."

Aelita looked at him, "You mean?"

Jeremy nodded, "Bingo."

"Oh, Jeremy! It's beautiful; it's hellishly risky—it's perfectly French, do it!"

"That's the deal. We can do this, theoretically, very simply. However, that's not always the case. I'll get Ulrich and Yumi to be your additional support but equally—I don't know how Yumi's taking things given our recent time."

"I know, Jeremy. Should we just come out and say it?"

"I think Ulrich has already done that due to how far we took it. I would not put it past him. But we would have to talk to him to be sure. By the way, considering the recent events, h-how is Amelia?"

Aelita looked at him and then looked at her coco, "She's strong, but this has really messed her up. She's not said a word all day or all-night last night. She just shut down in a way. But, you know, she's not wrong per se, but you can't blame her for kinda' feeling that way. Oh, did you hear? Jean-Pierre is coming back. Apparently, he just couldn't stay at home; he had nothing to do, so he'll be back in a couple of days."

Jeremy nodded, "He's always been good with crisis, but of course, you know what that means? Sissi will be back, and that won't be exactly pleasant, but it's not a threat at all."

"I'd rather deal with Sissi than see what happened yesterday happen again. What happened to Ms. Hertz, Jeremy?"

"I don't know," Jeremy replied, a touch of fear in his voice, "for the first time, I just—don't know."

That evening Yolanda was back at her flat, and as she was reading The Prince by Machiavelli, she heard a knock at her door. Taking her pistol, she attached the suppressor, and she checked the door. She could barely see the top of someone's head, so she decided to open it. She opened the door, and she saw Nicolette.

Letting her inside, Yolanda placed her pistol in her coat on the nearby rack and followed her into the main room after shutting the door.

Nicolette sat down in a chair and handed Yolanda a piece of paper. She read it, and she sat across from her. Nicolette performed a countdown, and on one, they both deactivated their implants.

"Heidi, I'm concerned. I've looked over everything that Sylvie has been doing lately, and I'm going to stop it when I head back for my debrief in a few days. I've reviewed North-Gate's tenets of operation, and she's in violation of three of them, but that's not enough for the removal of office. Suffice to say, I love my friend, and I won't let her become so twisted and distorted by this place that she ends up destroying people who don't want to be helped anyway."

Yolanda nodded, "You've come to that conclusion already, have you?"

"With respect, I've been here a little less time than you, but I've been here long enough. The people will not follow her, and she's at that point she'll destroy them all because she's overwhelmed by this place's corruption. The sad truth is that she can't stop this fucked up wheel from turning, and it'll destroy her in the long-run."

Yolanda nodded and motioned three. Nicolette continued, "I read about their religions, their credos, their people. They all preach unity, but in their savagery, they have lesser professions out of purity; they have this office or that office that they will never see anyone as an equal in.

So, as much as these creatures preach unity and equality, they never genuinely wish for it. Someone must die to keep their peace, ideally their dissenters. And so, from all this information compiled of my observations of the everyday life here, I'm reporting to the old man in two days, and I will let him make the final decision as he is Sylvia's commanding officer as far as this shit is concerned."

She motioned, and both turned their implants back on, and Nicolette motioned fifteen, and Yolanda nodded in affirmation. "Would you like something to eat?" she asked.

"Please. What's to eat."

"Well, let's raid the pantry and find out."

Yolanda found the fixings to make a blend of beans, rice, and so, putting a small steak in the skillet, she began to cook an early dinner. Nicolette kept an eye on the time as she cooked, and in fifteen minutes, the meal was near ready.

Nicolette struck her heel against the floor three times, and Yolanda deactivated, and Yolanda asked, "I've heard her anger at you and this place. It's so full of dichotomies that it's no small wonder this place would get to her, you know?"

"Heidi, she's stuck me," Nicolette replied.

Yolanda looked at her, "What?"

"Never in her life has she been so angry, be it passive or active, that she ever struck out at me. She ordinarily would be this way. She wouldn't use the phantom body protocol, she wouldn't strike me, she wouldn't—this place is the cause! And we must stop her before she's deemed unsalvageable for her original position."

Yolanda nodded, "She's been consumed by the data that she's able to see; she's been overwhelmed by it. But the sad truth is, she's one of the best when dealing with this kind of corruption. However, she started out with noble intent; you know that, as do I. However, the problem is that as the testimonies facts began to break this hellhole down, her apathy and anger grew. You're right; we have to stop this and do it fast before she dooms herself, never mind us. But it reminds me of what I heard from an old friend, 'When exposed to the darkest realities, sadly, what you see cannot be unseen.' I hope it's not too late."

Nicolette nodded, "We'll stop her, Heidi. But when we tell the old man how this place is, I wonder what his response will be, honestly. If she's sent back as a designated purifier—"

Yolanda put Nicolette's plate before her, "Don't even say that. Please don't."

Nicolette and Yolanda had a brief blessing over the food and began to eat; Nicolette was surprised, "It's good."

Yolanda nodded, "Never thought it'd be like this, in all reality. All this going on."

"I knew it was an issue when Terry was being questioned for loyalty—another thing that had yet to happen ever in operational history." She gestured, and both turned their implants back on.