Hey guys, back with a new chapter!

Last time, Ingrid and Lyoko Warriors were able to defeat the vicious Teddygodzilla, despite X.A.N.A experiencing a sharp increase in power. Though Ingrid had finally pieced together the mystery of the presence of Altered Items in Kadic, the friends pulled their Return to the Past to ensure that Ingrid would forget everything, and that their secret would be safe.

But...

As Odd had said, the day had indeed rewound to earlier that morning. The students were putting up the decorations for prom like they had been earlier. Odd, Yumi and Ulrich were busy hanging some streamers, the boys holding Yumi's ladder still.

"U-Ulrich?"

Ulrich turned to the voice that called his name. His eyes met a crying Milly. "W-Will you b-be my date tonight…?"

Turning to Odd and Yumi, who both gave him a thumbs-up, Ulrich smiled at Milly. "Sure, I'd be glad to."

Milly's countenance brightened with surprise. "R-Really?"

"I'll pick you up at 8. How does that sound?"

"A-Are you sure it's all right with you?"

Ulrich turned to Yumi, who had climbed down from the ladder to witness this. "You okay with this, Yumi?"

"Totally. Besides, I have my own secret admirer to take me. Isn't that right, Odd?"

Odd performed an overdramatic bow. "At your service, my dear Ishiyama.~"

"I guess that answers your question, Milly," Ulrich smiled at the young girl.

Sissi, who had just been teasing Milly earlier, spluttered in disbelief. "WHAT? U-Ulrich, you can't be serious! You're… you're really going with that baby?!"

"I didn't stutter, huh?" Ulrich side-eyed Sissi. "Hey, maybe when your brain gets another neuron or two, I may consider taking you out, too."

"And since neurons cannot replenish themselves, Sissi…I suggest you find someone else," Jeremy had returned from his dorm and joined the conversation at the perfect time.

"You're recording this, aren't you, Tamiya?" Milly whispered to her friend, who was already prepared with her camcorder.

"When am I not recording? I'm not missing out on this! Milly, going out with Ulrich, what a scoop that would be!"

The former's face turns red. "W-What? N-No, we don't have to make that a headline, s-silly!"

Tamiya laughed at her friend's bashfulness. "I was only kidding, Milly! Come on, let's go and get you ready for tonight!" Grabbing Milly's hand, the two run off, Milly sporting a dreamy face all the way through campus. She was still in utter disbelief at Ulrich's answer.

Sissi's face was red for other reasons. "You know what, fine! Go to prom with a baby, Ulrich! See if I care!"

"I dunno, I think you care a bit too much…what? Are you JEALOUS of Milly? That's low, which for you, isn't low enough!" Odd cackled.

Sissi gripped her fists before stomping out in a huff. Her lackeys tailed behind her, too embarrassed to make faces at the group this time.

The friends laughed as they relieved themselves of the stress of the previous hours. Finally, things seemed to be back to normal, but…something was missing, and Yumi was the first to notice.

"…Wait…" Yumi spoke. "…What happened to Ingrid?"

Jeremy rose an eyebrow. "Huh? What about her?"

"She was right here when Sissi was teasing Milly before the attack…but now she isn't!"

Surely enough, Ingrid was nowhere to be seen.

"Do you think she went a bit too far back in time?" Ulrich proposed.

"No, that's impossible. The Return to the Past rewinds everything back to the moment, and the amount of time that regresses is the same for everyone affected by it," Jeremy shook his head. "Maybe she comes in a little later-"

A scream was heard inside the auditorium. In the center of the floor, a heavily inured Ingrid lay within a perfect circle of rubble from the attack.

Odd's eyes widened in shock. "…What…? Wait…!"

Ulrich stepped forward. "That's exactly how we left Ingrid before the Return to the Past…!"

"Could it mean she wasn't affected by the return trip?!" Yumi followed up.

"We have to get her to the infirmary. If memory serves, she took a beating last night…-"Jeremy quickly dashes over to her. "Whatever Ingrid is, she's proven to have the ability to avoid the Return to the Past."

"Which means she's not going to get off of our backs," Odd helped Ingrid up, with him lifting her arms and Jeremy taking her legs. Ulrich and Yumi stood at either side, supporting her as well as they could. "Ya sure that there's no way of, like, erasing her memory or anything?"

"…Blunt force trauma?" Odd suggested.

"…That could work! Okay, who's getting the bat?" Jeremy agreed with Odd's notion with a layer of thick sarcasm. "We're not going to beat her over the head and hope she forgets. What kind of idea is that?"

"We're running out of options here, Jeremy. You know what happens if she wakes up and remembers the teddy bear attack. She's gonna go and tell her 'Director' people or something-" Yumi said.

Jeremy shook his head in uncertainty. "There has to be a better way to do this…and though I hate to admit it, it's one of the few options we have. The only shot we have is by letting her in on everything."

"Jeremy! You can't be serious. You heard her!" Ulrich shot back. "She's gonna blow up our entire cover!"

"If she tells her super-secret science uncle, we could kiss the factory goodbye! Not to mention Aelita and X.A.N.A.!" Odd protested.

The group had brought Ingrid to the infirmary, knocking on the door to call Nurse Yolanda to the door. Seeing a student so battered and bruised sent the nurse rushing to the phone to call an ambulance. The group could only worry more. Being admitted into the ambulance would only draw more attention to her.

Dropping her off, Ulrich sulked with his hands in his pockets. "Well, there goes the factory. She's gonna be questioned, and she's GOING to tell all."

"But the Return to the Past, what if no one believes her because they have no idea it happened?" Yumi said.

"That doesn't seem to be very likely. But, on the other hand, if my suspicions are correct, then Ingrid's uncle is part of an organization that would take a report like this very seriously." Jeremy and company walked through campus as he continued. "…If we can actually get some information on the organization themselves, we could know what we're dealing with a little better."

"You think you can hack into their databases, Einstein?" Odd asked with excitement. "That sounds cool as heck!"

"And also, dangerous. The Supercomputer is powerful enough to bypass any encryptions, but it could also reveal its location to unwelcome eyes. We can't afford to have that kind of attention on us," Jeremy scratched his chin as he considered his options. "…But it's the only way we can fully understand why Ingrid is so adamant on discovering our secret."

"Something tells me this is going to become one of those things that require us to hand our secret over," Ulrich sighed. "If she can't trust us enough to spill her secret, why should we give her ours?"

Yumi mulled over this for a moment before speaking. "…You know, I'm gonna play devil's advocate here."

Jeremy adjusted his glasses. "Alright, go ahead Yumi, maybe having some insight will help us come to a better decision."

"We know that Ingrid is the 'Director' of some super-secret research place that could become interested in the Supercomputer, right? Well, come to think of it, the organization already knows that some odd things are going on here, else they wouldn't have sent Ingrid here in the first place," Yumi pointed out.

"And if we're quick to forget, Ingrid was the only reason we were able to survive that night-" Jeremy recollected.

"Hey, I helped out on Lyoko, too!" Odd interrupted.

Ignoring Odd, Yumi continued. "She obviously has dealt with things like this before. Maybe she wasn't so lucky this time around, but she pulled it off; she saved us and the Supercomputer, no doubt. And never once has she said that she would explicitly tell her organization anything. All she wanted to do was know what was going on, so she could help."

Putting her hands on her hips, Yumi shook her head. "I know this is crazy, but what if X.A.N.A pulls something like a double tower again? And we're not able to deactivate them before someone gets hurt? Ingrid could be our trump card."

Ulrich huffs, seeing Yumi's point. "We did get lucky that night. And Ingrid showed that she was the only one that could fight against X.A.N.A in the real world and win…she deactivated a Tower outside of Lyoko. That's crazy."

"It looks like 'forcing X.A.N.A out' worked," Odd said. "Do you think she could expel him from the Supercomputer itself?"

"I don't know, and I don't want to know that that might do to Lyoko either," Jeremy said. "Though, if we take all your points into account, Yumi, we still don't fully know what we're dealing with. X.A.N.A may be stronger than we thought…and this organization may know about ways to stop it, but what if we lose Lyoko in the process? What about Aelita…?"

The group couldn't come up with an idea. Aelita was their friend…they couldn't just abandon her. Not now.

Jeremy had decided. "… Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to try and find Ingrid and her uncle on the network. If I can link them to the organization, I could use their I.D.s to hack into the database and see what it's about. Once we know what we're dealing with, then we can decide if we can trust her."

Odd shrugs. "I'm not really against Ingrid joining. I just don't want her blabbing our secret to the world."

Ulrich concurs. "If she could deactivate Towers outside of Lyoko, then recruiting her would give us a huge advantage in the fight against X.A.N.A."

"I feel a little bad, though. Ingrid got off lucky with the bear, but she still got severely hurt. At least when we fight X.A.N.A on Lyoko, we don't have to worry about serious injuries," Yumi said.

"I'm sure Ingrid is just as determined to risk her life to protect what matters…just as much as we are," Jeremy nodded. "We risk our lives every day fighting against X.A.N.A., and she does the same with her…uh…paranatural undertakings."

The ambulance's siren screamed onto campus as Ingrid was soon removed from the infirmary and laid out onto a stretcher. But this wasn't any normal-looking ambulance. The vehicle was almost wholly cube-shaped, and an eerie symbol of an upside-down pyramid could be seen on the side of it. As mysteriously as it came, it left the campus, its siren still screaming as it quickly left from view.

"I've never seen an ambulance that looked like that before…." Jeremy pondered to himself. "…That black pyramid…."

"…It looks familiar, doesn't it?" Odd said. "I feel like I've seen it somewhere, too."

"Did you get a picture, Tamiya?" The group heard the all too familiar duo not too far away from them. Tamiya watched the paper image develop from the camera roll and held it in her hand. A clear picture of the vehicle could be seen, with the pyramid in focus.

"Of course, I did…this could be the scoop of the century!" Tamiya waved the photo excitedly. "We should write about this as soon as possible!"

Yumi nodded silently to Jeremy, who responded in kind. Approaching the girls, Yumi waved happily over to them. "Hey girls! What'cha got there?~"

Tamiya showed off the photo they just took. "We caught an exclusive close-up on that bizarre-looking car that just came and picked Ingrid up!"

"Could it be an alien space car? Or a secret organization covering up their tracks? Oh, I can't even begin to think how many readers we're going to get with a scoop this good!" Milly followed up with equal verve.

Yumi thought for a moment. "Hey? Why don't we help you write this scoop, too?"

"Huh? Why?"

"Well, you can say that my friends and I have some resources that can properly tell what the vehicle in that image really is! If we could borrow that photo, we could get you some really cool information to put in the school paper!"

The pair of reporters looked at each other, both considering the validity of Yumi's proposal. If the big kids say that they can dig some extra dirt, who were they to try and stop them? Everyone wins in this situation.

"Okay, we'll give it to you! But make sure you bring it back!" Milly warned. "We still want to keep the photo!"

Tamiya handed it over to Yumi, who took it and smiled as she examined it. "Thanks, Milly. We'll get this back to you two as soon as we can, okay?"

"Okay!' Tamiya called after her.

Back with the group, Yumi handed the photo to Jeremy. "You might have to come up with something wild to stave them off."

"Leave that to me, guys," Odd volunteered. "You're looking at a master writer in the strange and horrifying! I'll whip up something spicy to give our junior reporters."

Jeremy grinned. "I'll head over to the factory and run this image through the Supercomputer and see if I can find any matches to the symbol on it with Ingrid and her uncle. Let's meet up before prom starts!"

The group agreed with the plan of action as Jeremy ran off to the factory. The remaining three hoped that this would all make sense soon enough and that Ingrid was okay.

Ingrid's body felt cold. She couldn't really make out the muffled noises she was hearing, but it seemed that she was finally coming out of her unconscious state. She could remember the bear, the decapitation, the light washing over her…and then nothing but pain.

Her thoughts became overrun with splotches of red. She began to sweat as an invasive voice rang loud in her head, repeating those same lines repeatedly…but before she thought she would go insane, the red was replaced by the visage of a blue kaleidoscope. The sensation was calming, and she could suddenly feel her pain leave her.

"Wake up…" she heard. "…Wake up…"

Her eyes fluttered open. There were dim fluorescent lights that hung over her, illuminating the room softly as she rose from her bed.

"The…Hiss…?" She whispered to herself as she rubbed her eyes, her blurred vision finally clearing up. She was in one of the containment cells within the Panopticon, with her Uncle Max sitting at her side. Seeing her rise from the mattress sent him over to pull her into a loving embrace.

"Ingrid! Oh, thank god you're okay!" Her uncle Max had been worried sick about her. "You almost got yourself killed out there! What happened?"

Ingrid smiled weakly. "I had a run-in with a hostile A.W.E. However, I made it out just fine…right?"

"You're lucky that Polaris was able to heal you…you were pretty beaten up, Ingrid."

"Yes…This A.W.E. was particularly difficult to contain, where I decided that it was too dangerous to move on with the containment procedure. Termination was the only way to handle the situation…although, I didn't do it on my own."

That caught Max's attention. "What do you mean?"

"The Object of Power we're looking for… it's there. I know it is. But it seems that if my suspicions are correct… we're not the only ones that know of it."

"Do you think one of the other organizations could have found it before us? The S.C.P. Foundation? N.E.N.E.V.E.H.?"

"No, no. We're most likely the only ones… I'm talking about a bunch of kids my age."

Max looked confused. "…What…?"

"When I fought against the A.W.E…those kids were there, fighting alongside me as if they were familiar with threats like this. I suspected that they know more about this than they are willing to let me know about."

"Then we can order a city-wide investigation until we find the O.O.P…this isn't a problem at all, munchkin."

"No, it's a little more complicated than that…you see, it seems that they're interacting with it for some ulterior reason. I haven't figured it out yet…and I don't want the rest of the Bureau trying to sully my investigation until I am completely knowledgeable of the situation."

She looked towards her uncle. "I can't stress how much of a lead this is…this Object of Power could turn back time. It's the whole reason why we could never truly find it. We'd forget it before we were able to realize that something was up. Though…I managed to finally bypass the temporal shift…and I can finally remember everything."

"So, what do we do, then…? We can't just leave it out there, much less letting youngsters play around it. We don't need another Slidescape-36 or the Ordinary A.W.E. happening again."

"I know…but for me to have a moniker of a chance in discovering the power of this O.o.P, I need to get the group to trust me. They're kind of a tough crowd to please; they feel that this is their secret to keep." Ingrid rubbed her arm. "That…and I kind of like them."

Max smiled. Ingrid wanted to make friends. Albeit in her own weird way.

"They just don't know that I can help them. I can't tell the Bureau because they'll ruin everything with their protocols. I think this is far more delicate of a situation than we give it credit for. I want to make sure that no one gets hurt and that we know everything we can about this before making any moves. I'll relay all information back to you once I get it."

"Hey, you're the Director, kid…you call the shots. Whatever you think is best." Max nodded.

"Thank you, Uncle… I'm glad that you're on my side with this."

"Of course, munchkin. I've always been on your side," he hugged Ingrid again. "Now get some rest. If you continue to heal like this, you'll be able to return to Kadic by nightfall. We've got Hedron-2 up and running, so Polaris' resonance should be stronger than ever."

"…Hey Uncle?" Ingrid called out as she laid back down.

"What's up, munchkin?"

"…You think Polaris and I will ever grow as close as she and Jesse were?"

Max chuckled. "You always looked up to Ms. Faden. But, don't worry, though she was the most powerful paraultilitarian the FBC had ever had the agency to make Director…you don't have to be her. Polaris - though we know more about her now - whether she comes around to you is up to her. Though, with the way you're healing like this, I think she's more than fine with you."

Ingrid nodded. "I guess she is, isn't she…?

Planting a kiss on her niece's forehead, Max rose to leave. "I'll be back in a few hours to take you back to campus. If you need anything, there's a button on the wall next to you."

"Okay…thank you, Uncle."

"No problem, Director. Now get some rest. You deserve it."

Max left the room, leaving Ingrid to her own thoughts, which were filled with slight dread.

"…The Hiss…I heard it…I…I felt it. I thought Jesse got rid of it all…." Ingrid said to herself. "…M-Maybe it was just a false vision…."

The uncertain Director wanted to put herself at ease…so she shut her eyes and returned to her slumber. Polaris watched over Ingrid from her cosmic realm, keeping her thoughts safe from any unwanted resonances.

"Let's see what this is really about," Jeremy squinted his eyes as he fed the Supercomputer a scanned image of the photo he burned onto a disc. "Scan for similarities…."

The Supercomputer scanned the entire web for anything, but it couldn't match the symbol to anything else meaningful.

Jeremy bit his lip, accessing the school's database. "…Ingrid…Layton…?" Cross-referencing that with other similar names, Jeremy found out that Ingrid's parents were…

"…Deceased…" Jeremy read aloud. He was grazed with a bit of guilt. "She's an orphan…but… she's in the custody of her uncle…Max Layton."

Then, using the image and corroborating the names he was able to find, Jeremy happened on with a single search result that seemed was purposefully hidden away from the rest of the world…located on the Dark Web.

"…The Federal Bureau of Control…?" Jeremy read as he clicked the link. As he expected, he needed special clearance to see anything on the site. "Pssht…the Supercomputer should be able to crack this easily."

Looking through the notes he wrote about the Supercomputer, she was able to launch the

Cryptosmasher program as he slowly but surely gained access to the organization's database.

"All right! We're in!" Jeremy pumped his fist in the air, leaning closer to the screen to see what he could find. "… Let's see who you really are, Ingrid…."

"…The Director of the Bureau…well, now we know what she was the Director of."

Jeremy continued to read. "…A United States organization that exists to contain, study, and control paranatural phenomena…but why would they be interested in the Supercomputer…? This isn't a work of fiction; this is actual real-world technology! Someone built this with their bare hands…."

Looking deeper, he was able to find one of Max's reports on the A.W.E. in France. Opening it, Jeremy read:

This is concerning the ongoing investigation of the paranatural activity believed to have been occurring in France. The Director was severely injured, but thanks to Polaris, she is projected to be back to full strength by sundown tonight. Thanks to the Director's actions, we may have finally come to a hypothesis referring to the difficulty of the location of the Object of Power hidden within. The Director claims that another group of young individuals may have encountered and/or come into contact with the Object of Power before the Bureau could pinpoint its location. The Director has seemed to take a liking to these individuals and wishes to help them understand and contain the Object of Power, though she seems to have a hard time getting them to trust her. Therefore, I have entrusted the investigation entirely to the Director. She is more inclined to gain the favor of the group of individuals and maintain their trust with her by being confidential with the progress of the investigation for the time being. When we will receive an in-depth report concerning the Object of Power is currently unknown. Still, as soon as any information arises, the Bureau will contain and control this Object of Power before anything that can pose a threat to humanity arises from it.

Jeremy finished reading the report as he sunk into his seat. "…So Ingrid wasn't kidding at all…."

He skimmed through more reports of Altered World Events, Objects and Places of Power, and the past Directors. Ingrid is the most recent and youngest one and is said to be the most powerful yet, only to be matched by Jesse Faden, the Director Ingrid succeeded. Jeremy exhaled through his nose as he decided the next course of action.

Connecting to Lyoko, he called out for Aelita. "Aelita? Aelita, are you there…?"

"Jeremy!" Aelita was elated to hear from him as always. "I'm so glad you're okay…! Did anything happen?"

"We're fine, really…but Ingrid didn't Return to the Past with us," Jeremy confessed.

"How? I thought evading the Return to the Past was impossible."

"It's supposed to be, but Ingrid isn't like you or me… she's…on a whole other level."

Aelita hesitated as if she was trying to choose her words carefully. "…What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I did some digging…and I found out that she's the Director of this top-secret U.S. organization called the Federal Bureau of Control," Jeremy said. "Have you heard of it…?"

"…No, I'm afraid not. I guess that's why it's a secret."

"I had to adjust the Supercomputer's search parameters to comb through the Dark Web to find any information concerning it. They were pretty well hidden."

"What makes Ingrid so special?"

"Well, being the Director of that organization means that you're…well…you have very powerful abilities. The Director is in charge of protecting the Bureau and the world from paranatural phenomena. From what I'm reading here in their secret reports…it looks like they've suspected that the Supercomputer is some 'Object of Power' that can destroy the world."

Aelita rose an eyebrow. "You say that as if you're in disbelief."

"Well, I was until now! It's like everything I thought I knew about the Universe was just proven wrong. I don't even know what to think is the truth anymore," Jeremy held his head in his hands.

"Jeremy, I could only guess what you're feeling. Being overrun with knowledge that you never knew existed. It's like when you teach me things about the real world. It shocks me how different things are over there…every time. Maybe the real world is even bigger than we once thought."

"It definitely seems to be the case…but I just can't for the life of me figure out what to do. Ingrid told the truth, and she wants to help…and she's shown that she can help…! So why am I so hesitant to let her in on everything?"

"Maybe you're not completely sure that you can trust her yet, Jeremy," Aelita suggested. "She's a new variable you didn't account for…like in a math equation."

Jeremy let those words ring in his head. "Yeah…she is. I've never seen anything like her before. Extraordinary. But I have a feeling that her being here may bring more than just her…other variables…some extraneous. Maybe some that we're not prepared to handle."

"You know, Jeremy… X.A.N.A has grown a lot stronger in a short period of time… I've never seen anything like it before. And I know X.A.N.A. If this stuff about Objects of Power and paranatural occurrences are true…we shouldn't count X.A.N.A out of that. It may have been affected by something we don't understand. It was able to activate two Towers in the span of a few seconds, Jeremy… that's scary."

"Who knows what would have happened if Ingrid wasn't there to deal the finishing blow on the teddy bear…." Jeremy interlaced his fingers as he leaned on his hands.

Aelita nodded. "I think you should go and find her. Try and get her to understand. I think she's more than willing to…and I'm sure she'll be able to keep a secret, right? Granted, she's done so all her life."

Jeremy looked away from the screen. "…I-I guess. It's worth a shot. She'll be back on campus later tonight when she gets better…the dance will probably start by the time she returns. I can ask her then."

"To the dance?"

Jeremy's face went beet red. "No, no, no, no, not to the dance…I-I-I mean about joining the group!"

Aelita giggled. "I was only teasing, Jeremy. You taught me that a few months ago, remember?"

"… You're really sneaky, you know that-"

Aelita laughed at her friend. "Oh, Jeremy…"

Jeremy couldn't stay upset at Aelita forever; her laughter was contagious. "Okay, Aelita… I'm gonna go tell the others what I know. Maybe we can come to an agreement by the time Ingrid returns."

"Good luck, Jeremy. I hope to meet Ingrid soon enough."

"Take care, Aelita. We'll talk soon."

"Goodbye, Jeremy."

With that, they disconnected, and Jeremy packed his things and left the factory. Aelita, however, still lingered on the screen, having inklings of conflicted emotions…though she couldn't fully understand what they were.

"And I said that he could beat him!" Odd argued back and forth with Ulrich about a fictional scenario between two powerful characters. "You got to give Gojin credit. He's just way stronger!"

"And I say that's a bunch of malarkey," Ulrich retorted. "Anyone can just be strong for strength's sake. It's the technique that matters. Saitomo would just dance circles around him."

"All I have to do is hit you once, and suddenly you're on the ground, Ulrich. What's your technique gonna do for you then, huh?"

"Can it help out with the rest of these decorations?" Yumi rolled her eyes, still blowing up balloons.

"Tell him, Yumi! You can be the tiebreaker in this! Who's stronger, Gojin or Saitomo?!" Odd questioned.

Yumi looked unamused. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You don't watch anime in your spare time?"

"…What?"

"You're kidding-" Odd bent forward in disbelief.

Ulrich turned to notice Jeremy approaching them from behind. "Oh, Einstein, you're just in time to fix the soundboard again."

"Yo, Jeremy! You're back! So? What did you find about Ingrid? Is she an alien sent here to take over the world?!"

"No," Jeremy answered. "What Ingrid is, well…can only really be explained within the realms of science fiction. Which I guess is just science now."

"Were you able to get anything on her? What this 'Director' thing all about? Or that big ol' scythe thing of hers that turns into a pen?" Yumi said.

"Ingrid is the Director of the Federal Bureau of Control. It's an organization that tries to contain and understand supernatural phenomena. They think that the Supercomputer is something more than just a high-tech piece of equipment, and Ingrid is here to ensure that no one gets hurt."

"Well, that explains why she's adamant on knowing about what we're doing," Ulrich said. "But that still doesn't explain all the things she was able to do. She was moving things with her mind, Jeremy."

"The Director is said to be a super-powerful 'paraultilitarian,' or someone with really crazy powers. Ingrid uses these powers to fight against malevolent entities, like the teddy bear from last night…or…."

"X.A.N.A.," Odd snapped his fingers. "But, wait, I thought X.A.N.A was just an evil computer virus."

"That's what I thought, too. But if the FBC is looking into locating the Supercomputer, then he must be more than we think he is," Jeremy said.

"Do we just let the FBC handle it, then?" Ulrich asked.

"No, we can't, not with Aelita still on Lyoko. We have to materialize her first before we can let them get more involved."

"Who's to say they won't just come and take the factory by force?" Yumi proposed. "They're a government agency, are they not?"

"Because Ingrid isn't letting that happen. There was a report that her uncle had written up about the Supercomputer. Ingrid isn't going to tell anyone about it for now, and since she's the Director, everyone will listen to her. Plus, I'm not sure it would go over well with France if the U.S. held raids for supernatural entities in its staple city. So they would want to be discreet about this," Jeremy said.

Odd ran his hands through his hair. "Sooooo, you're saying Ingrid is gonna be part of the group now?"

"Well, that's not just up to me. Though, Aelita did tell me that X.A.N.A.'s power is sporadically growing for a reason that she doesn't know. X.A.N.A was able to activate two Towers back-to-back. I don't know, but if Ingrid can deactivate Towers outside of Lyoko…then we can afford to spread ourselves a little thinner. Alongside her abilities and efficacy for combat… I'd say she'd make a decent Lyoko Warrior. I know I was fully against giving her a chance, but this could be far more dangerous than we initially thought. If we're gonna materialize Aelita and finally be rid of X.A.N.A for good…we need Ingrid and the FBC behind us," Jeremy put his fist into his hand as if finalizing his speech.

The other three friends looked towards each other and then back at Jeremy.

"Well… let's put it up to a vote, then," Jeremy suggested. "All for Ingrid to join the group say 'aye.'"

"Aye," Ulrich nodded.

"Aye!" Odd pumped his fist.

"…Aye," Yumi seemed a little hesitant to accept but held her concerns to herself for now.

"Then it's unanimous," Jeremy grinned. "Ingrid's part of the group now."

"Do you know when she'll be back?" Odd asked.

"The report said that she should have healed enough to come back to Kadic before sundown. Which shouldn't be too long from now. We should keep an eye out for her. When she comes, we'll all go to the factory and catch her up."

Ulrich shook his head. "No, hold on, I got a date with Milly, remember?"

Yumi glanced at Odd. "And Odd's taking me to the dance. It'd be suspicious if we weren't there, especially since we said so in front of Sissi. We could be attracting some unwanted attention if we're don't show up."

"Looks like you're on your own with Ingrid, Einstein!" Odd teased. "Hope you're not intimidated by older girls.~"

"Ha-hah, very funny, Odd," Jeremy crossed his arms and looked away, trying to hide the redness on his face.

"Well, with that settled, I'm gonna go home and get ready," Yumi stretched her arms, turning to leave as she waved to her friends. "Last time, Jim was surprised I didn't come to prom looking all spiffy. I didn't think he cared so much."

Waving back, Odd turned his attention to Ulrich. "You should do the same, Ulrich. Milly's gonna be looking her best for you; you should do the same."

"It's just a dance," Ulrich rolled his eyes. "Plus, I hate wearing suits. I'm just gonna go casual. I don't think Milly will care, anyway. Something tells me she's completely flipped for me. She'll probably swoon no matter what I show up in."

Jeremy began to configure the soundboard. "Seeming awfully confident in your ability to swoon Milly over there, Ulrich."

"Don't even. Milly's a good kid. I'm just trying to be a nice person. Besides, crushes like this pass. In a few months, she'll be talking about some other boy."

"How long do you think it'll take for Yumi to get over you?"

"ODD!"

"Hey, hey, I'm just saying, you should have made your move a LONG time ago."

It was getting late, and the sun was setting the day of the dance. In the same black vehicle she left in, Ingrid was now being driven back to Kadic. She felt for the pen that hung from her neck within her shirt. Knowing that it was still there gave her some comfort.

Pulling up to the front of the school's entrance, Ingrid exited the vehicle, watched as the car sped off, and suddenly disappeared. Ingrid would wonder how it could take her from New York to France in a little less than 30 minutes, but she wasn't complaining by any means. She began to walk back to the school, not in any hurry. Around this time, she and Ulrich were being chased through the campus grounds in the previous timeline. But now, the campus was still as the creatures of the night began to rouse themselves.

"The dance is tonight, isn't it…?" Ingrid said. "Maybe it wouldn't hurt to stop by. I did promise I would go before the timeline reset, anyway."

Not bothering to spruce herself up, she walked into the auditorium and was met with colorful lights and dancing students. Ingrid looked around the room, spotting Yumi and Odd dancing together and having a good time. Walking a little further, she could see Milly and Ulrich doing the same. Ingrid smiled; Ulrich had a change of heart after all.

"How sweet of him," she said.

Despite being in much better shape than she was this morning, the lights and noise began to wear Ingrid down, and she decided that it would be better if she went back to her dorm room instead. Turning to leave, she came face to face with Jeremy, who seemed to have been waiting for her.

The two stared at each other for a moment before Ingrid decided to break the silence. "…Good evening, Jeremy."

"Ingrid. It's nice to see you back on your feet again."

"… I'm glad to be back," Ingrid replied to his greeting. "…Listen, Jeremy. I-"

"It's fine. We knew you were able to evade the Return to The Past," Jeremy cut her off. "That's supposed to be impossible, you know."

"I believe I've shown to subvert the 'impossible' a few times."

Jeremy continued. "Before, when the teddy bear attacked…you were able to stop the attack with your abilities. We were in a tight spot, and you saved the day. I can't say that I'm not grateful."

"Anytime, Jeremy. I appreciate the thanks. It's odd… I'm not supposed to really be doing things like this out in the open…so I don't get this kind of thanks from people."

Jeremy cleared his throat, trying to find words. "The group and I talked…and, with all of these new revelations, and the fact that you seem to know things that we do not… it's more advantageous for all of us that you join the group."

Ingrid rose her eyebrows in slight surprise. "…You…You really mean that?"

"Don't get so excited. You might be part of our group now, but trust goes a long way. If I'm gonna show you anything about what we really do, you have to PROMISE that no one else hears a word about this. And I mean no one."

Ingrid nodded. She already assumed that these were the terms by which she could see this Supercomputer and confirm if it was the Object of Power the Bureau was looking for. "My lips are sealed."

Jeremy took a sigh of relief before turning around and waving at her to follow him. Ingrid grinned as she and Jeremy ran through the school and into the boiler room's secret exit. The excited Director couldn't wait to finally get a massive lead in the investigation.

Jeremy hopped onto a scooter and rode deeper into the sewers. Ingrid floated alongside him, the whispering sound of wind filling the quietness of the tunnels. The two soon reached a ladder that led back above ground. Jeremy climbed while Ingrid flew up and through the pothole.

"You know, I don't think I'm ever going to get used to that," Jeremy remarked.

"I would say you'd have to…but I fear that's a bit too much to ask."

Entering the factory, Jeremy swung down to the elevator. Ingrid descended slowly next to him as the elevator door rose. The elevator took them down into the sublevels of the factory, the doors sliding open and revealing the massive piece of tech.

"Here's what you were looking for," Jeremy calls her attention, sitting down on the chair that swung around the center of the lab. Ingrid followed him to the terminal, observing as his fingers flew across the keyboard. "This is the Supercomputer."

"This is the big bad thing that you're up against? Is this where that X.A.N.A lives?"

"Yeah, that we can confirm. Ever since I turned the Supercomputer on, strange things have been happening around the campus. It wasn't long before the others into this. And we've been fighting against X.A.N.A for a few months now," Jeremy explained.

"So how have you been managing this?"

"I transport my friends into a virtual world, called Lyoko. We don't know why it exists or who made it, but we know it's where X.A.N.A lives and launches attacks on the real world by activating these powerful structures on Lyoko; we call them towers. When X.A.N.A activates a tower, we must do everything we can to deactivate it, but until now…we can only do it on Lyoko."

Ingrid ran her hands across the device's wires. "Not even the Bureau has anything this powerful…you must be fortunate to happen upon something like this…being virtualized into a digital reality…to fight against a virus…."

Her eyes begin to widen again as the Supercomputer's screen suddenly shows red splotches of blood-like imagery. Jeremy almost jumps out of his seat in fright before rising into the air as he begins to recite some eerie poem. One that Ingrid has heard one too many times. The Hiss.

Ingrid quickly acted as the lab's green hue began to shift to a crimson, the structure starting to warp as the room's architecture became blockier, with sections rising out from the walls and floor. Holding her hands around the sides of the brainiac's head, using her power to force the Hiss' invasive resonance out from Jeremy, and sure enough, she pulls it off. The red in the room quickly reverts to the peaceful green, and as Jeremy regains his consciousness, the lab seems to rearrange itself.

Jeremy shivered in fear, never having experienced something like that before. "W-Wh-What was that?!"

"That is what I've been trying to avoid this whole time," Ingrid said. "…What you were being possessed by was the Hiss. A malevolent entity that wishes to wreak havoc on all mankind…we had an outbreak back at the Oldest House a few years back…our previous Director was able to clear out the worst of it, but some of it still lingered afterward. I'm the one in charge of getting rid of the rest."

Looking towards the Supercomputer, Ingrid continues. "I'm the only one on the planet with the power to repel it."

Jeremy stands up, his head still spinning from the possession attempt. "…I…This is crazy… I'm never gonna look at the color red the same way again…."

"As long as you and your friends are near me, the Hiss won't be able to get you. My resonance can protect others from its influence," Ingrid assured.

"Jeremy, I fear that the Hiss and your X.A.N.A may have teamed up…or one has empowered the other…."

"… You're not serious…if X.A.N.A can wield that kind of…esoteric power… we'd never stand a chance!"

"That's why I'm here. If X.A.N.A and the Hiss are working together or have fused to create some other being. I'll help stop it. You said that I was able to deactivate one of those tower things outside of the virtual world, right? So that must mean the Hiss is already starting to have some influence over your malicious virus if I was able to drive it out."

"We got lucky. Depending on how X.A.N.A attacks you may not be able to always dispel him. That's where we come in," Jeremy said. "No matter what, we have to go to Lyoko."

"…Does that mean I can go, too?" Ingrid suggested.

Jeremy shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see why not. Having a fifth member will help immensely…especially if it's someone of your ability. Though I should still run you through the scanner, so you can also become immune to the Return to the Past."

Ingrid nodded. "Good idea. Where do I…?"

Jeremy pointed to some rungs on the far side of the computer lab. "Slide the hatch to the left and climb down. You'll see three cabins, walk into one of them and then follow my instructions."

Doing as she was told, Ingrid climbed down to the lower floor, and she was astonished. Three tall cylindrical cabins stood, wires pouring from every orifice and snaking their way upwards to the Supercomputer above. "Just pick one and walk inside, right…?"

Stepping into one of the scanners, Ingrid turned around, looking upwards and around as the cabin closed her in. A loud whirring could be heard as the scanner powered up.

Above, Jeremy began the scanning procedure. "Scanner, Ingrid."

A sudden rush of wind whooshed from below, a ring of light moving up and down as it scanned Ingrid's figure. "Ooooh, boy…even for me…this is freaky."

The procedure didn't take long. Soon, the scanner powered down, and Ingrid was let out. Shaking off a tingly feeling, she climbed back up the rungs of the ladder, back up to Jeremy. "…Is that it…?"

Jeremy turned to her in his seat. "Yep… you're now officially part of the group."

Ingrid sighed in relief. "You can't fathom how much easier this has become with your compliance…I really appreciate it."

"Uh-uh…before I completely agree to anything, I need you to make sure that you promise me something," Jeremy interjected.

"Oh, okay. What are your terms?" Ingrid asked.

"Your organization cannot get their hands on this until we do something very important first."

"And that important thing is…?" Ingrid watched as Jeremy returned to the Supercomputer, though being a little careful not to look directly at it this time. After pressing a few buttons, Ingrid saw the image of a young girl on the screen. "…Who is she?"

Aelita spoke. "Hello again, Jeremy. Is everything alright?"

Jeremy waved. "Everything is fine over here, Aelita. There's someone I'd like you to meet. Ingrid, this is Aelita. The girl I want to materialize onto Earth."

Ingrid held her hand up. "Good evening, Aelita."

Aelita greeted in reply. "Hello, Ingrid. Jeremy's told me a lot about you. I hear you're rather extraordinary."

"That's putting it simply, yes," it felt nice that talks concerning her were positive. Making a good first impression was always favorable.

"I'm glad you're here…if Jeremy hasn't told you already, X.A.N.A is getting stronger. His last attack was only an inkling of his growing power. Jeremy said that you were the reason the second tower had deactivated itself before I could make plans on getting to it. That's never been done before."

"I had no idea that would be able to affect your virtual world…but if that's the case, then my fears have been assured. The Hiss and X.A.N.A have fused or are linked in some way. They're strengthening each other. With time, not even I will be able to purge the Hiss."

Jeremy held his chin. "Has your organization dealt with threats like this in the past?"

"Our previous Director would link with Objects of Power to expunge the Hiss that had corrupted it. She was very good at that. I have the same ability, but it's not as impressive yet."

"Could you remove the Hiss from the Supercomputer?"

"Not without destroying it. I could feel its presence even within the scanners below. It's deeply rooted within the Supercomputer. If I try and force it out now, I risk destroying it."

"Well, once we materialize Aelita, the Supercomputer doesn't need to be left fully intact. When it was shut down, X.A.N.A couldn't do anything," Jeremy pointed out.

"The Bureau will still want to examine it thoroughly. I'd prefer it to be in the best shape for that extraction," Ingrid said. "Though if what it takes to shut this down is to materialize Aelita, I'm willing to wait until you manage to do it, Jeremy. I'll help you and your friends for as long as I can."

Jeremy exhaled, nodding. "Thank you, Ingrid. I-I've made great strides in my research…I should have something testable soon… I'll keep working. I won't stop until I get you out of there, Aelita."

Aelita beamed at Jeremy's determination. "…Thank you, Jeremy. I have no doubt that you can do it."

Leaning back in his seat, Jeremy turned back to Ingrid. "You've seen everything you need to know for now. Let's go back to school. I'm sure the others will want to be caught up, as well. Hopefully, the festivities will come to an end soon."

"Right, I've seen all I can. Frankly… it's been a long day…or two, I guess," Ingrid yawned. "I think I'd like to lay down."

"All right. We'll head back," turning back to Aelita, Jeremy smiled. "Aelita, I'll talk to you again later. Is that okay?"

"Of course, Jeremy. I'll be right here waiting."

With that, Jeremy had turned to leave, still holding his head. "…It still kind of hurts…."

"It'll do that. The mind wasn't built to be controlled by someone – or something – else. The pain will fade in a little bit. The Hiss didn't get deep into your psyche, so you'll be fine."

"What if you couldn't get it out fast enough? What would happen to me?"

"…To make a long story short…you might as well have been dead," Ingrid said.

"Oh. Isn't that comforting," Jeremy sighed as the elevator doors closed on them.

The dance had just ended; Ulrich dropped Milly off at her dorm, with Odd and Yumi following behind. The little girl went on about how this was the best night of her life and other exciting thoughts. Tamiya was glad to see Milly so happy. Finally reaching their dorm room, Ulrich held his hand up to say goodbye.

"I'm glad you had fun, Milly. Take it easy now, okay?" Ulrich said.

"W-Wait!" Milly exclaimed, tugging at Ulrich's shirt. "Wait, I want to give you something, Ulrich!"

Ulrich knelt down to see what Milly had for him while Odd barely tried to stifle a chuckle. "What is it, Milly?"

With some hesitation, Milly leaned over and kissed Ulrich's cheek. Her face turning red as she quickly ran into her room. Tamiya shook her head, watching her friend scream into her pillow.

"She's been dreaming about doing that for I don't know how long," she said, entering the room. "Thanks again, Ulrich. You all have a good night."

As the door gently closed, the three could hear the excited screams coming from inside. Ulrich held the side of his face.

"Well, look at that, Ulrich. You are a hit with the ladies!" Odd joked.

Ulrich rolled his eyes. "Can it, Odd."

As they walked into the boys' dorms, they met up with Jeremy and Ingrid, who had just returned from the factory. Ingrid looked away, not sure how they felt about her.

"…So, did you tell her everything?" Yumi asked.

"Yes. I even scanned Ingrid and everything, also," Jeremy said. "…She was right; we don't have just X.A.N.A to deal with… he's teamed up with something Ingrid calls the 'Hiss.' It's very powerful, and she thinks that X.A.N.A.'s increase in power is because of its influence. It even almost got ahold of me…."

"The Hiss is nothing to scoff at, either. It can and will do what it must to spread. I'm the only one that can resist the Hiss and keep it within the Supercomputer…at least until we shut it down after Aelita's materialization."

"Wow, I guess this really means you're part of the team, Ingrid!" Odd was very welcoming. "Now, you'll get to witness my greatness 24/7! You should feel honored."

Ingrid chuckled awkwardly.

"It's good to have you, Ingrid. If this Hiss thing is that powerful, it's not completely hopeless if you're here to deal with it," Ulrich said.

Yumi was a bit short on words, though. "Welcome to the team, Ingrid."

"I'm glad you all have been so accepting of me. I'm… I'm really sorry about anything I may have done in the past to worry you. But, I promise, I'll do everything I can to help you destroy X.A.N.A., the Hiss, and bring Aelita to Earth," Ingrid said.

"Well, if that's settled then…." Ulrich began to walk to his dorm. "I'm going to get some sleep. I'm done for the night," he waved to Yumi and the others. "I'll be seeing you guys tomorrow."

Odd followed after him. "Looks like my roommate's heading out. Naturally, that means I gotta go, too. Make yourself at home, Ingrid, don't be a stranger, alright?"

Ingrid returned Odd's hospitality with a smile. "Thank you, Odd. I'll be sure to get used to this."

Yumi was the next to leave. "My parents should be home in a couple minutes. I should start heading home. Good night, you two."

Jeremy waved his friends off as they left, turning to Ingrid. "So, I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow, huh?"

"Mhm. I'll definitely be around. You have a good night, Jeremy," Ingrid smiled as she turned to leave, with Jeremy entering his dorm room.

Reaching her own room, Ingrid had slipped into her pajamas finally. Technically, it had been two entire days before she had been in them. Nevertheless, they felt more comfortable than usual, which always made Ingrid happy.

Sliding under her covers, Ingrid exhaled gently through her mouth. She had worked hard…and things worked out, as she always hoped that they would. But as sleep carried her away into her dreams…the foreboding semblance of tougher times ahead could be felt not only by her but by the others, too. As if something…was watching them.

And that's another chapter done! Again, leave your reviews and let me know what you guys thought about this chapter so I know people still want to see more! Until Chapter 3, I'll see you soon!