Chapter 2 – Mind Games
"Mmm Mmm!" Odd hummed to himself as sniffed the food on his tray. With his breakfast in hand, he approached his friends at their usual table in the lunch room and sat down. He quickly ripped open his banana and shoved half of it into his mouth. Sitting across from him was Jeremy who wasn't concentrating on his food at all. He was just mindlessly stirring with his fork while watching the group a couple tables down. Odd took a quick peek back and saw what he was looking at; Sissi, Herb, Nicholas and Xana eating lunch at the same table. "You now, never in a million years did I think I would ever see Xana eating food in our cafeteria."
"He may be an A.I. but he also has a human body now…" Aelita spoke, sitting next to Jeremy. "You know, like we all thought I was."
"Being in a human body means he has to maintain it just like us, no matter how much he doesn't want to." Jeremy added.
"Knowing our greatest enemy is sleeping just a few rooms down from us won't make it easy for the rest of us…" Ulrich commented.
"Speaking of which, I spent some time thinking things over and I realized something…"
"What exactly is that, Jeremy?" Aelita asked.
"Being here, with us, on Earth, severely cripples his ability to attack us even if he has the ability to activate towers. I mean just think about it for a moment, I doubt he would risk doing something as extreme as destroying a power plant or causing a natural disaster."
"So, what does that mean exactly…?" Ulrich questioned. "His attacks are going to be a lot more subtle and personally aimed at us directly?"
"More than likely."
As the group continued eating, a familiar face approached them. "Hey guys, you seem awfully tense lately." Standing at the end of the table was William Dunbar. "I heard you guys got into a fight with Sissi and the new kid."
"Back off William…" Ulrich groaned.
"Seriously guys, what is your problem? I thought at least with Xana gone I would at least get a chance to make things up with you."
As Ulrich was about to open his mouth, Aelita stopped him. "Wait!" Everyone turned to her. "I think we should tell William what's going on."
"But Aelita…" Ulrich questioned.
"This affects him too whether we want it to or not." Everyone at the table just kind of looked at each other to gauge their reactions.
After a few seconds, Jeremy sighed. "You're right; this isn't something we can keep from him for long." William looked between the teens with a look of question of his face before Jeremy responded. "William, the new kid is not what you think he is…"
"Huh…?" William was confused. "What do you mean by that?"
"What he means, William, is that the new kid is Xana as a human…" Ulrich said, dropping the bomb.
"What…?" William looked at the group, glanced at the new kid then glanced back. "Are you guys pulling my leg? You destroyed Xana already, plus he isn't even a real person."
"William, we confirmed it ourselves." Jeremy replied. "Something came out of the scanners and never went back in."
"You turned the Supercomputer back on!?"
"It was the only way to confirm our suspicions…"
"But…" William was stuttering trying to figure things out. "Why would he be a human now, he hates humans!"
"Survival, what else? My multi-agent program was obviously too much for him so he saved one last trump card to ensure his survival."
"What does that mean for us then?"
"We wait…"
"Wait!? We are just going to sit around and do nothing while that… Thing… Does what he wants?"
"William, calm down." Aelita spoke up. "We only just found out yesterday and we haven't had enough time to think of anything."
"So please, don't do anything stupid to get yourself expelled." Ulrich added.
Next period for the Lyoko Warriors was Physical Education with Jim. "Everyone, today we will each be doing the 100 meters. Just do your best and don't worry as long as you put your best effort into it..." He stopped his pacing right in front of Jeremy. "Belpois, I expect nothing less than your best effort. You got that?" Jeremy just nodded. "Wonderful!" Next, he paced over to Xana. "Schaeffer, that goes for you too. I can't afford to let my geniuses fail because you can't run." Xana simply nodded once and nothing more. "Once I call your name, come up to any lane of your choice…" Being only the second person alphabetically, it wasn't long for Jeremy was called. "Belpois!"
Jeremy ran up to Jim. "I'm ready!"
"Good. Once you're on the line, I will count to three. One… Two… Three!" One three, Jeremy sprinted the best he could. While he wasn't as good as the other students, the private training camp was doing wonders. Once Jeremy crossed the line, he stopped and took a moment to catch his breath. "Not bad, you're improving Belpois." Jeremy just gave a smile and watch back to the benches.
"Good to see Jeremy is doing a better job at taking care of himself." Aelita commented.
"Don't expect it to last for long…" Ulrich added while looking at Xana across the bench.
Once Jeremy had returned to his seat, Jim called up the next the next student. "Alright guys, here is the plan…" Jeremy whispered to the others. "Once classes are over for the day, I am going to begin rebuilding the Skid."
"But Jeremy, I thought you said the Replikas were gone?" Odd asked.
"That may be, but that doesn't mean he won't try something else. If he really did bug the Supercomputer as I predicted, it might be possible to backtrack the signal to him through the Digital Sea. Plus, with him here so close to us, having the option to Teleport your other selves here might prove to be a great boon in the future."
"So, I might be able to go to school in my Lyoko costume? Neato!"
"Della Robbia! You're up next!" Jim called.
Once Odd was gone, they continued. "So, what exactly do you expect us to do once we get to him through the Digital Sea?" Ulrich asked.
"I…" Jeremy hesitated. "I'm not really sure… I never anticipated he would pull a move like this…"
"It's ok Jeremy; none of us could have predicted this." Aelita spoke calmly.
"Delmas!" Jim called. Sissi cheerfully stood up from her position next to Xana and went to the starting line.
"What do we do about Sissi then?" Ulrich asked. "As much as I hate how clingy she is, she was useful to us."
"Yeah, now we have to worry about her probably trying to kill us." Odd joked as he sat back down.
"No… As bad as Sissi is, she would never do that."
"Ulrich is right." Jeremy added. "Sissi may do a lot of bad things but I have faith she will know to stop before people get hurt. It's only a matter of time before she sees Xana for what he really is."
After a few more minutes of calling students one by one, he had reached the S's. "Schaeffer, you're up!" Everyone in classed was focused on the new student, curious to how he would perform. "On three. One… two… three!" Xana bolted off instantly with little effort. The first thing the Lyoko crew noticed was that he ran in the same upright stiff position they had seen William in many times in the past. It didn't last long though before he crossed over the finish line. "Woh… Not bad Schaeffer… Looks like brains aren't the only thing you've got there."
Ulrich just groaned. "Great, of course he would be incredibly fit too…"
"Stern!" With that, Ulrich stepped up next.
"Doesn't really surprise me…" Jeremy added. "Xana is a logical being that only sees things as a numbers game and he would do everything in his power to ensure his survival. He probably spent the last several weeks optimizing every aspect of his human life even down to his diet and exercise."
"But being logical doesn't mean he understands the human mind." Aelita added. "That has always been his biggest weakness before and nothing can ever change that."
"Stones!" Finally, it was Aelita's turn as the last of the group to go.
"Yeah, but what if being human changes that…?" Ulrich questioned. That stopped the others in their tracks instantly.
"You really think there is a chance of him becoming more human just from being in a human body?" Odd asked.
Jeremy had to think for a moment. "The truth is… We don't know… There as so many factors at work here and none of it's been proven. We can't even use our experience with Aelita as ground work since all that was thrown out the window when we discovered she was human."
Once class was over, the students were back into the locker getting changed. "I hope he doesn't leave us waiting for too long…" Ulrich spoke. "The sooner he makes a move, the sooner we can get rid of him."
"I wouldn't worry about that; he is probably planning an attack just as we speak." Odd replied. As Odd was pulling his bag out of his locket, he wasn't paying attention and his bag suddenly spilled over dropping everything on the ground. "Oh man, I thought I closed that thing."
"Seriously Odd? You've made a mess of the locker room."
"Della Robbia!" Jim shouted. "Pick up your junk and watch what you're doing next time!"
"Sorry Jim…" He replied sheepishly.
As Jim was about to leave, he suddenly stopped. Among the various junk on the ground, his eyes happen to come across a strange unmarked black plastic bag. His curiosity peaked, Jim picked up the bag and examined it. "Della Robbia, what is this?"
Odd was puzzled. "Huh? That's not mine…"
"It came from your bag Della Robbia!" Opening the bag, he took a whiff of it. "What the…?" Finally, he put his finger in and revealed a white powder. He licked it. "DELLA ROBBIA! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WITH COCAINE!?"
Everyone in the locker room stopped and looked at Odd. "What!? I don't know how that got there!"
"Likely story, you're coming with me Della Robbia!" He roughly grabbed his arm and started dragging him out of the locker room.
"Hey, hey, hey, can't we talk about this!?"
Once they were gone, everyone started to talk amongst each other. "No way, Odd is a druggie?"
"That would explain a lot if you asked me…"
"Wonder if Ulrich also does it, they share the same dorm after all."
Ulrich leaned in close to Jeremy. "This is bad, we need to call Yumi and Aelita right away!"
"Cocaine!?" Yumi screamed. "Jim seriously caught Odd with Cocaine!?"
"Crazy right?" Ulrich admitted. "We were all completely caught off guard and now the whole school is talking about it."
"Getting caught with drugs in school will get you expelled at the very least. If they have reason to believe he is giving them out, he could end up in juvie."
"And we cannot allow that to happen!" Jeremy called. "We'll just have to launch a Return to the Past and make sure he doesn't get caught next time."
"Well, well, well…" They heard an annoying voice. Walking up to them was none other than Sissi herself. "The whole school has heard about what happened in the boy's locker room."
"Back off Sissi…"
"You know what else I heard…? Apparently, they searched his room and found several more bags underneath his mattress!"
"WHAT!?" They all screamed.
"Yep, the police are starting to suspect he might have been dealing drugs all around school. With all the dirt they found on him, he will be going away for a long time."
Ulrich angerly walked up to her. "I don't know what kind of stunt you pulled but I have lived in the same dorm as him for two years and I KNOW he doesn't use any kind of drugs!"
"Maybe not use but he sure as heck deals them with how much they found." She then moved closer to him and put her hands on his chest. "Of course, the police will probably be questioning you to. If you are… Willing to go on a date with me… I may put in a good word for you. Can't have my future husband be a drug dealer."
"You… Truly are sick you know that…?"
"Only for you Ulrich dear." She gave a sickly smile. Ulrich just resigned to his fate and walked off with her, but not before looking back and nodding to the others.
"Let's go…" Jeremy finally spoke up.
"Odd, I cannot express just how disappointed I am in you…" Principle Delmas scolded. "We have put up with your delinquency for long enough. Skipping class, failing assignments, not listening to teachers and harassing the female students but possession of drugs is the last straw!"
"Sir… I…"
"Enough! It's obvious your parents have been far too lenient with you; I should have known once I met them."
"Hey, my parents are great people!"
"That may be but it's obvious with six children they have become lazy in leaving you all to your own devices."
"Screw you!"
Delmas just sighed. "Very well, I guess there is not getting through to you. I'll just have to leave you in the law's hands then…" Before anything else could happen, a massive white wave engulfed the office and the principle knew no more.
Odd grunted as he dumped another box over spilling its contents over the room. "Drat."
Meanwhile Ulrich was flipping Odd's mattress over revealing nothing but a couple magazines. "Nothing here either…"
Odd leaned back onto their desk wiping sweat of his head. "I don't get it, where did all those drugs come from? I'm completely clean!"
"If you ask me, it was Sissi. She tried to blackmail me into dating her in exchange for protection against the cops."
"Sissi may be dirty enough to get us in trouble but I know there is no way she could get her hands on all those drugs. It must have been…"
Ulrich and Odd looked at each other. "Xana…"
"You think Xana planted all those drugs on you to get you in trouble?" Jeremy asked. The group, with the exception of Yumi, were all meeting in Jeremy's room before the day starts.
"Even if Sissi was involved, there is no way she had the connections or money to get the number of drugs they found in our room." Ulrich replied.
"But why? Why would he try to get me in trouble with the law knowing how easily we can reverse that?" Odd asked.
"That is exactly why he did it." Everyone turned to Aelita. "Xana becomes more powerful each time we launch a Return to the Past. By forcing us into a situation that would irreversibly destroy our futures, we have no choice but to launch a return."
"And if we don't, that is just another one of us off his checklist…" Jeremy added.
"Forget everything I said about Sissi…" Ulrich commented with a scowl.
Meanwhile in Xana's room just down the hall, he was connecting his headset to his laptop and opening up a few programs. "Testing, Testing, One, Two, Three…" The laptop played the synthesized voice back and everything seemed to be working well. With a few more keystrokes, a phone app opened up similar to what Jeremy had on the Supercomputer.
"Now that we know Xana's strategy, we know what to look out for." Jeremy explained to the others. It was late in the afternoon and everyone had gathered up outside the dorms.
"It's hard enough watching out for Xana doing his usual thing but now we practically have to walk on eggshells 24/7?" Yumi asked.
Jeremy nodded. "There is no telling what kind of twisted things Xana will do to ruin our lives. With him being so weak now, he likely wants us to use the return in time as much as possible so he can regain his strength."
"But how does that work? He's human now and not connected to the Supercomputer so the Return to the Past shouldn't increase his power anymore, right?"
"Like I told the others before, we don't know how Xana functions in a human body."
Yumi's phone suddenly started to ring. "Hello?" Everyone immediately heard a young boy's voice screaming on the other end crying. "Hiroki!? What has gotten into you!?" They continued to hear him scream through the phone and could only watch as the color in Yumi's face drain. "I… I'll call you back…" She quickly hung up and leaned forward taking deep breaths.
"What happened Yumi?" Ulrich asked.
"My… My parents have been arrested!" The others all screamed various questions. "Someone sent an anonymous tip to the authorities that my parents were government spies and they swarmed my house. Now they are looking for me!"
"Boy Xana works fast." Odd joked.
"We need to get to the factory now!" Jeremy yelled. "If we get involved with government espionage, it really will be over for all of us!"
"You guys go ahead; I will turn myself in so you can launch another Return to the Past." Yumi spoke solemnly.
Aelita just put a hand on Yumi's shoulder. "Be careful ok…?" Yumi just nodded sadly. Just as the group sans-Yumi had vanished into the forest, a swarm of men in heavy gear carrying guns flooded the place and surrounded Yumi.
"Miss Ishiyama, put your hands in the air now!" She quietly complied and held her hands up. The various students around the yard watched with curiosity as the girl was led away with a rifle to her back. She could Sissi snickering out of the corner of her eye.
"Listen, I don't know what you're talking about!" Mr. Ishiyama yelled to the men in suits. He was a dark room with his armed cuffed behind him. One of the men smacked him across the face.
"Don't lie to us, we had some pretty strong evidence mailed to us earlier today." One of the men spoke. "Then we did a little bit of digging and found your daughter has a rather interesting history to her."
"My… Daughter…?"
Opening up a folder he pulled from his suit. "Let's see, Yumi Ishiyama… Infamous for cutting class and coming up with every excuse under the sun to leave school early. Is known to just randomly disappear from school when she does. Has been caught multiple times beyond curfew…" He flipped through a few pages. "She is also an expert in Pencak Silat, that's quite interesting…"
"While I don't care about her training in martial arts, it's her choice."
"Is that so? Well, why don't we ask her?"
"What?" At that moment, the door busted open and Yumi was thrown to the floor with her arms also cuffed behind her back. "Yumi!"
"Don't move! We have authority to shoot you if you become too much of an issue." Walking up to the girl, he lifted her and looked into her bruised face. "Now, you are going to tell me everything. We know all about Lyoko."
Yumi gasped. "Wait, how do you know about-"
"YUMI!" Her father yelled.
"So, the intel was right. This Lyoko organization we've heard about really does exist." He threw her to the side causing her to slam into the concrete. It was only then that Yumi realized she had been duped. He wasn't talking about Lyoko, he thought Lyoko was some Japanese organization. The man approached the battered girl that was on the ground and put his shoe on the side of her face. "Now, you are going to tell us everything about Lyoko…"
"Leave her alone!"
"You had your chance, but it's obvious she is not as disciplined as you." He pushed his foot down causing Yumi to scream in pain. "Tell us where your base of operations is!" He pushed down again. "Are there any more of you!?" He leaned in close to her face not letting up the pressure. "Start talking… Now!" Yumi had never been so terrified in her life, even compared to fighting Xana. As she mentally begged for this to end, a white wave enveloped the whole room.
Yumi was sitting at the kitchen table with the rest of her family. While her family was eating and talking with no care in the world, Yumi was shaking with nothing but a coffee mug in her hand.
"Yumi? Are you ok?" Her father asked with concern.
She just took a drink from her mug. "I just… Had a really bad nightmare…"
"Well maybe if you didn't always come home and go to bed so late, that kind of thing wouldn't happen…"
Yumi just continued to shake and looked down at her mug. "Yeah… I know…"
"Two times!" Ulrich yelled. "Two times in the same day he almost screwed us!"
"Calm down, Ulrich!" Jeremy spoke up. "We are doing the best we can!"
"You saw what he did to Yumi!"
"Any one of us could be next." Aelita added. "We need to remain vigilant and have someone on standby to launch a Return to the Past."
Ulrich just turned away from the group and walked out the door. "I'm getting a drink…" Heading out in the yard, he approached the coffee machine. Once he put the coin in, a hand landed on his shoulder.
"Hello Ulrich dear."
"WHAT SISSI!?" He roared at her.
She flinched back, not expecting that kind of reaction from Ulrich. "What is your problem, Ulrich!? Where is that sweet boy I used to love?"
"He died a long time ago…"
"Well, I want him back! I don't like what you have become!"
"Too bad, I burned that bridge already." He turned back to the coffee machine and picked up his drink. "So, what do you want? Did you plant a gun in Jeremy's bag and now you're here to blackmail me into dating you?" He spoke with little emotion while stirring his drink.
She gasped in offense. "How dare you think so little of me! Just a few weeks ago you guys offered to be my friends and the moment I start talking with Xana you guys turn on me!"
Ulrich quickly turned back to her. "I told you Sissi, Xana is bad news and you're only going to get yourself in trouble if you keep hanging around with him!"
"You're the one who's going to get yourself in trouble if you keep bullying him!" Sissi thrust her arms forward and shoved him.
"Don't…" Ulrich scowled. "PUSH ME!" He shoved his arms forward hard, shoving Sissi back with much more force. She stumbled before crashing into a large trash can, causing all its contents to spill over on her. The various students hanging around the yard crowded around to see the noise and saw Sissi covered head to toe in garbage. She could hear a few students snicker about how 'The look suits her'. Then, the dam broke. She sobbed and screamed like never before, sprinting off to the one person she felt she could talk to.
Xana was busy working on his computer, planning his next course of action when a loud banging came from his door. "Xa… Xa… Xana!" It was Sissi voice and she was clearly crying. He opened up his door and saw her covered in trash and sobbing. She learned forward and wrapped her arms around him while still sobbing.
He just put his own arms around her. "Tell me what happened…"
Sometime later, there was a loud banging coming from outside of Jeremy's room "ULRICH STERN! OPEN THIS DOOR NOW!"
"That sounds like Delmas." Jeremy commented.
"And he sounds maaaaaaad…" Odd added.
As soon as Ulrich unlocked the door it slammed open to reveal a furious Principal Delmas with Jim standing behind him. "Mr. Stern! My office! NOW!"
Ulrich started slowly marching out the door. "Move it, move it, move it!" Jim chanted. Everyone in the room just looked at each other and followed along. Once outside, they saw practically the entire student body watching them march to the principal's office. However, what caught their eye was Sissi with her arms around Xana and her head in his chest. She was wearing different clothes then she had the previous day cycle and her hair was wet like she had just gotten out of the shower.
Jeremy approached Nicolas and Herb. "What happened?"
"Ulrich assaulted Sissi in front of several students." Herb answered. "Always told her he was no good for her."
Jeremy just rubbed his forehead. "Oh Ulrich… What have you done…?"
Aelita sighed. "I'll get to the factory…" Then she walked off.
"Ulrich, I this is unacceptable!" He yelled. "My daughter is in tears because of you and now I hear you have also been bullying the brilliant new student!" He slammed his fast on his desk. "I am at my wits end with you Ulrich! You're expelled!"
"Principle Delmas!"
"No nothing! I am calling your parents now." Reaching for the phone, he dialed the number he had already called far too many times at this point. "Mr. Stern, this is principle Delmas from Kadic Academy… I am sorry to inform you that your son assaulted my daughter in front of the student body earlier and I have no choice but to expel him… Yes, I am sure you are quite upset… I will be waiting for you Mr. Stern…" Hanging up the phone, he sighed. "You used to be such a good boy and my daughter loved you…" Ulrich just said nothing and stared at him. "I don't know what happened between you two but this ends today. My daughter is terrified of you because of what you did and I never want to see you near her ever again! You got that…?"
"Whatever…"
"I am serious Ulrich; she doesn't even want to look at you anymore! I am just glad young Xana was there was comfort her in her time of need."
Ulrich bolt up. "Don't listen to him, Xana is evil and he will kill you all when he gets the chance!"
"Enough!" He exploded, sitting up from his chair. "I have heard nothing but wonderful things about Mr. Schaeffer and the only ones causing problems here are you and your friends."
"You'll see! You'll see just how wrong you are!"
"I'm getting too old for this…" Delmas just gave up and put his hands on his face before a large white wave wiped through the building and today's events will be nothing but a nightmare.
"ULRICH, YOU IDIOT!" Jeremy screamed at him.
"I'm sorry ok, I just lost my cool…" Ulrich couldn't even look at his friends with how angry they were with him.
"At least Xana had to frame Yumi and I to get rid of us. You did it for him." Odd spoke in an unusually calm manner.
"Everyone, please!" Aelita begged. "I know this is stressful for all of us but we need to focus and not let Xana's tricks get to us."
Jeremy just put his hand to his head so he could think. "We have underestimated him one too many times…" Standing up, Jeremy approached the door to leave the room. "I'm going to the factory to mull over a few things. For now, just keep your heads down and call me if you get expelled or arrested again…" Once Jeremy had left, Aelita looked around the room at the others before running out after him.
Ulrich and Odd just sat there in Jeremy's room alone. Neither said anything for about a minute until Odd spoke up. "I miss when things were a lot simpler…"
As Jeremy was leaving the building, he heard Aelita calling out from behind. "Jeremy!" He didn't respond, he just kept his head down. "Jeremy please talk to me!"
"It's just so hard Aelita…"
"We beat Xana once and we will do it again."
"I'm supposed to be the one with all the answers and the one everyone expects to save them… As we are now, I just feel so powerless…"
"You're going about this wrong Jeremy." She placed her hand on his shoulder. "Don't think about what you'll do to defeat Xana, think about what you'll do to protect the ones we care about. The chance to get rid of Xana will present itself sooner or later and when that time comes, we'll take it."
"I…"
"Jeremy, Aelita!" They turned to see William approaching them. "What the heck is going on!? This is the fourth day in a row I've woken up on the same day and I keep hearing all these rumors about you guys getting arrested and expelled!"
Jeremy and Aelita looked at each other. "It's… A long story William…"
Later that day, Xana Schaeffer was in the school restroom. Just as he was finished washing his hands, he looked up to see another student standing behind him the mirror. Before he could react, a hand grabbed him by the throat and he was slammed against the bathroom door. Xana just gave him an impassive look. "William Dunbar, one might think you enjoy bullying younger students…"
"Cut the crap Xana, you're nothing but a coward! First you force me to fight in your place and now you're using Sissi to ruin my friend's lives!"
"Cowardice would be implying I fear you Dunbar. I simply follow the course of action that will give me the highest chance of success." William couldn't take the taunting anymore and just threw him to the side.
"Even as a human…" The older boy finally had enough and turned to leave the restroom. "Someday Xana… You're going to make a mistake and even you won't come back from it…"
Once William was out of the room, Xana pushed himself to his feet and dusted his pants off. "My biggest mistake was letting you slip from my grasp, Dunbar…"
Now for anybody who read the first chapter when it was the only one uploaded, you might have noticed the change in tags. When I uploaded the first chapter I only had a rough idea for the main plot and a short synopsis for every chapter/"episode" so I wouldn't write myself into a corner. However, as I wrote ahead I feel I started to get a clearer picture of how I wanted this story this go. Now I can say with confidence I know exactly what I want this story to become.