It was a few days later at Kadic as the boys in the younger school group were getting ready for gym class alongside Odd, Ulrich, and Jeremie as Simon, who had a bandage around his right arm to hide his tattoo saw Odd putting his shoes on without socks.
"You're not putting on socks?" Simon asked.
"Eh, I couldn't find them." Odd said. "No big deal." he said as Kiwi came in with the socks in his mouth. "Aw, such a smart dog. See that? He opened the door and found me on the other side of campus."
"Yeah, he followed the scent of your feet." Ryoma said.
"Hahaha. Your banter smells much worse than my feet." Odd said.
"Oh, I thought it was your hair gel." Simon joked with a smirk.
The scene cuts to Jim timing David and his group in their heat around the track.
"Hm? Oh, hi guys!" Mayumi greeted the others as they came by.
"Sup." Simon said.
"You all are getting ready for track practice, too?" Mayumi asked.
"Yeah, though I don't think the clone is getting the message." Simon said.
"And finish!" Jim said as he timed David, Sachiko, Leonora and Kokoro. "Nice job. You all are quick on your feet, ain't ya?"
"Among our best qualities, Jim." David said.
"Ishiyama, Kirishima, Dunbar. You guys are up next." Jim said.
"Yoohoo, Ulrich! How do I look?" Sissi asked as she was now in an orange outfit with her hair styled like a ponytail.
"I'm not sure you really want to know." Ulrich said.
"Ready and…go!" Jim said as Yumi and Mayumi took off with only William standing at the start. "What the? Dunbar! When I say go, you go! Two-letter words aren't that hard to understand, are they? Either his ears need washing or he's totally out of it."
"Are you lost, William?" Eijiro asked.
"We're not lost, we're at the track, aren't we?" William said.
"Looks like our clone has another broken code." Miu sighed.
"Indeed." Mari added.
"I think he needs a little trip to the infirmary." Sissi said.
"No, he doesn't. He's acting like this because… Because he's in love." Yumi said as she soon finished her run.
"Wait a second. Are you trying to say that you and William are…" Sissi trailed off.
"They say that love is like getting drunk." Yumi said.
Later at meal time…
"That was a close call with Sissi today." Yumi said.
"Can't you fix the clone?" Zexi asked.
"Like I said, his stupidity is an unexpected personality trait that emerged. I can't change that without taking out the whole thing." Jeremie said.
"Sissi is getting very suspicious, she'll tell her father about William." Shantae said.
"So Yumi has another assignment." David said.
"And what would that be?" Yumi asked.
"Keep your lie going." Mark said. "You have to convince everyone that you and William are a couple."
"You gotta keep our secret." Odd said.
"Anyway, I've improved the security program for the tower that runs his clone." Jeremie said. "Aelita, would you like to go to Lyoko to install it after class?"
"No problem." Aelita said. "Would anyone else like to tag along?"
"I'd be up for it." Michiru spoke up.
"Yeah, me too." Odd added. "And I have a fantastic idea. What if I brought Kiwi along to Lyoko?"
"You wanna bring your dog onto Lyoko?" Kazuma asked. "...Did you hit your head or something?"
"No, I'm serious!" Odd insisted. "He could sniff out monsters from miles away, or even find William on the network!"
"Odd, I've seen your dog. He's so cowardly he'd run the other way the moment he saw a Kankerlat." Jeremie said.
"Oh, like you did when you went on?" Odd asked as the group laughed.
"Odd, you are not bringing Kiwi to Lyoko." Mark said. "It's too dangerous, the little guy could get traumatized. Or worse."
"Fine. I won't." Odd said.
It was later that the small group arrived to find tire tracks on the factory floor.
"Whoa…what happened here?" Jeremie asked.
"Bikers. They've been using the area as a practice ground." Michiru said. "Doesn't look like they're here now."
They entered the scanners below as Odd snuck Kiwi into his as they were soon virtualized.
"Expecting company, Odd?" Aelita asked.
"Get ready for a surprise, ladies." Odd said as he scanned the sky… and nothing happened. "Uh… made you look! Now, let's get the stuff done."
"...Right…" Michiru said, sounding suspicious.
As Aelita worked on the tower, Michiru watched Odd as he scratched behind his ears.
"Odd, are you okay?" Michiru asked.
"Yeah. But I do hear some monsters coming." Odd said.
"That's right. A couple of Tarantulas. I'm sending you the Overboard." Jeremie said as Odd got on the board but was having trouble.
"What's up with this? I can't keep my balance. What's wrong with me?" Odd said before he wiped out.
"Oh boy…" Michiru said as she walked over to Odd and helped him up. However, she noticed that he had trouble staying on his two feet. "Odd, what's going on with you?"
"Beats me." Odd said. "Maybe I'm just hungry?"
Aelita soon emerged as they were all brought back to the real world. Even then, Odd still had trouble keeping his balance.
"Okay…maybe we should see about getting you back to your room." Michiru said as they headed out, making note of Odd's troubled expression.
Back at school, the group noticed Jim walking around the main area, seemingly looking for something.
"Hey Jim, something wrong?" Aelita asked.
"Oh, I lost my watch." Jim explained. "I think it fell off during my last class, but I can't find it anywhere and…Della Robbia, what are you doing?"
The others turned around to see Odd crawling on all fours, sniffing the ground. He came to a stop at a tree, before he shakily stood up, holding a watch.
"Is this it, Jim?" Odd asked.
"Uh…yeah, it is. Thanks, Della Robbia." Jim said before he turned to the others. "You better get him to bed…or a vet." he said walking off.
They took him to his and Ulrich's room as Odd started scampering about before trying to take off his pants.
"Ah, Odd! Please! There are girls here!" Kaminari said.
"It''s not that. I got this weird thing and…I think I'm growing a tail." Odd said.
It was at this moment that David pinged Zacian and Arceus at the Habitat.
"Yes, David?" Zacian asked.
"Uh, Zacian. We have…a slight problem." David said.
"Your friend has become part canine cause he brought his pet into the scanner with him." Arceus said.
"That's pretty much it in a nutshell. His human psyche is still more dominant, but if we don't act fast, Odd is gonna be a dog forever." David said. "We have to send Odd back to Lyoko and launch a program that can separate their molecular DNA. The thing is, though… Bikers have been hanging around the factory lately."
"And you want them taken care of, is that it?" Zacian asked.
"Pretty much. It would take a load off while we work on getting Odd back to being… Well, Odd." David said. "That did not sound good out loud."
"Even I found that it in bad taste." Kampan said.
"Very well. We shall keep these bikers at bay." Arceus said.
"Thank you, Arceus." Mari said.
On the bridge, three bikers stood there as both Zacian and Arceus stood on the bridge. It wasn't long before the two Legendary Pokémon got the biker's attention.
"...Larry, did you spike the soda again?" one of the bikers asked. "I told you not to do that, I'd rather be sober while riding."
"Hey, that was one time!"
"Gentlemen…I will only say this once. Please leave this bridge…and we can avoid any extra trouble." Arceus said.
"And…you are?" the thoroughly confused biker asked.
"I am the Alpha. The first Pokemon. I am Arceus!" Arceus said as energy gathered in his ring.
"Hey Rocky, I think this is real!" the third biker said. "Let's beat it!"
"No kidding." the biker named Rocky said as the three booked it out of there.
"Hmm…left before I could attack. A wise move on their part." Arceus said as the energy subsided.
"Alright, everyone. Lord Arceus managed to scare them off. Now's your chance." Zacian said.
The group quickly rushed into the factory as the two stood on guard before they heard revving as the bikers were back.
"I thought we scared them off." Zacian said.
"We did…however…it seems the riders…are not themselves." Arceus said as all three of them bore the eye of XANA.
"Oh, no… That is XANA." Zacian said.
"So this is the power this XANA wields. How interesting." Arceus said as his ring glowed once more. "I apologize in advance…but I am not one to hold back, even against the possessed."
The bikers charged as Arceus unleashed Judgment on them, knocking all three back with energy strikes from its ring.
On Lyoko, as Odd stayed in the mountains, the others were in the Ice Sector dealing with FreezeMan, William and a few Tarantulas.
"Bingo!" Simon said, stomping his foot as Madama Butterfly stomped and crushed a Tarantula.
"Seems they've begun their assault." FreezeMan said as ice started to travel across the plane.
"Let's go! For XANA!" William declared as he led the Tarantulas on a charge.
"Here we go!" Michiru said, growing her gorilla arm as she managed to slug and smash a Tarantula.
Meanwhile, William grinned as he saw Ulrich and Aelita approaching on an Overbike.
"C'mon, fish in a barrel, fish in a barrel…" William said before Aelita was knocked off the bike by a laser blast. "Bullseye!"
"Aelita!" Ulrich called out in concern, before he redoubled his efforts towards William and the final Tarantula, speeding up.
"Playing chicken now, Ulrich?" William taunted, holding his sword.
"Nope, more like bumper cars." Ulrich said before he jumped off the Overbike, the vehicle still running towards William.
"Daddy's sorry!" William said before he jumped off the Tarantula, the monster getting destroyed by the bike. The possessed human got up, glaring at Ulrich, who held both his swords in battle readiness.
"You and me now, William-" Ulrich started, before an icicle pierced his back, devirtualizing him.
"Foolish organic." FreezeMan said. "Your emotions ensured your downfall yet again."
"Just as much as your lack of such is starting to become your hubris." David said. "I guess you are right. Things really have changed since the Demon Lords were awakened."
"Indeed. Though they have fallen, I have risen with a new awareness." FreezeMan said as icicles erupted towards David.
"Nice try, but ice attacks aren't going to work on me." David said as he front flipped before he started firing bullets.
FreezeMan then froze the bullets as soon as they were close before he sent them flying back.
"I can do this all day, snowcone." David said.
"No you can't. That's the problem with organics…they all eventually tire unlike machines." FreezeMan said.
"So? Machines soon become obsolete and die off eventually, but then new models take their place, as a way of keeping their spirits going." David said. "I mean, yeah. Being a machine has its advantages, but there's one thing it can never have."
"Something foolish like emotions?" FreezeMan asked.
"Bingo. And yeah, foolish as they may seem, emotions proved that someone is truly alive." David said. "Besides, even machines are capable of emotions. Once they start developing a heart, of course."
"A heart? I threw away such things long ago." FreezeMan said. "Wait…you had multiple chances to end this…so why…" he said before seeing Aelita heading for the tower.
"Guess I was just a distraction." David smirked. "Too bad for you, FreezeMan, but it looks like we have won this round. And speaking of heart, I think a certain someone we know is gonna be happy to see his dog again." This got FreezeMan to toss an icicle at David. "Totally worth it." he said as he got devirtualized.
"When I see him in real life, I think I might actually enjoy crushing his head under my foot." FreezeMan said before he departed.
It didn't take long before the tower was deactivated and Odd and Kiwi were separated as the group returned.
"We did pretty well today." Michiru said.
"Definitely." Simon added. "And Odd got his dog back."
"Sure did. Speaking of dogs, I hope Zacian and Arceus made sure those bikers don't mess around here again." David said.
"Yeah…pretty sure they won't be coming back." Jexi said, looking at the destruction on the bridge. "Arceus did a very good job."
"I guess being a god of Pokémon isn't just for show." David said, laughing a bit.
"Speaking of which, you really got a rise out of FreezeMan there." Shuichi said.
"It is a bit strange, though. He said he threw his heart away, but… If that was really the case, he wouldn't say some of the stuff he does." David said. "I think… I think there may still be a heart somewhere in that cold exterior of his. It's gonna be hard to break through it, though."
"Don't worry, my lord. As long as there are towers in the Ice Sector, we can have as many playdates with him as he wants." Kabuki said.
"Speaking of playdates, how do you think Yumi and the William clone did?" Sachiko asked.
"Yumi will probably pretend to dump him and say he's messed up from that." Kaminari said.
"Hmm… Yeah, sounds like a pretty good cover." Petra said.
"Hopefully that cover lasts for a long time." Michiru said.