After Maya's last morning class ended, she took a stop at the vending machines before heading to lunch. Inserting another set of coins into the slot, she watched as the machine whirred and released her fourth cup of coffee for the day.

In her half-awake state, Maya wondered why, with everything going on, she still had to go to Kadic. There was an unknown enemy vying to control the most powerful piece of technology on the planet and here she was learning calculus at a snail's pace.

As she took a fresh sip of the bitter, disgusting brew, Maya retired the train of thought; she had more important matters to focus on. Ever since this morning, the group chat had continued to be filled with more questions and concerns from Michael and Eito over the new rotation system; lunch was going to be a headache.

Approaching the cafeteria building, Maya spotted her sister sitting with Michael and Eito on one of the outdoor, circular tables. As the three all laughed at a joke Eito made, Maya dropped her laptop bag with a loud thud onto the seat and slummed down next to Alysa.

"Oh, hey Maya," greeted Alysa, "Didn't see you there. How were classes?"

"Nothing new," replied Maya, cracking open her laptop and a homemade lunch, "Michael, you texted that you had concerns about defending positions with Alysa being benched for tower attacks, correct?"

"Uh… yeah," replied Michael, "But shouldn't Marco be here for this?"

"Oh right. Marco said that he had a meeting with your dad for lunch," said Alysa.

The timing of her words caused Maya to choke on her coffee, "What!?"

Just then, a sudden voice pikes up behind her, "Hey, Maya," the voice spoke in a peeved tone.

Turning around, Maya saw an angered Marco with a terrible scowl staring directly at her. As the two came face-to-face, Maya's worst-case scenario came true, "Counsellor Dunbar wants to speak with you, now."

Seeing as she had no choice, Maya complied and headed over to the administrative building, leaving everyone else with Marco. As an awkward atmosphere began to set in Marco turned his attention towards the group, "So, let's talk about my place in this group."

Sitting at his desk, William mulled between the recruit and Maya. Judging by Marco's reaction, it was obvious that Odd didn't tell his son anything about Lyoko. As for Maya, the fact that she did not tell William about Marco's recruitment was a major concern. As William jotted down what few notes he could make on his brief appointment, Maya, trying to hide her sheepish demeanor, entered his office.

"Ah, Maya, take a seat."

"I'm fine standing," responded Maya as she closed the door behind her and leaned on it, "Just what is it now?"

"I see you got a new recruit," the counselor sarcastically responded, "What was his name again?"

"Marco," muttered Maya.

"Marco Della Robbia, that's it," William coyly stated, "I just had a talk with him, and it seems you didn't tell him everything."

"Marco, we can explain," assured Alysa.

"Why didn't you tell me my dad was a Lyoko Warrior?" demanded Marco, "What else didn't you tell me?"

"We were going tell you everything," explained Alysa, "but then the push happened and by the time they were held back, it was getting late, and you went home before we could pick up where we left off. We were going to tell you more when we had the time."

"We have time now, so start from the beginning," he impatiently demanded.

For the next fifteen minutes, Alysa explained a brief summary of Lyoko's creation, the battle against X.A.N.A., and the month-long encounter with Wagner. Michael and Eito could only watch the conversation as Marco pondered on Alysa's words. While he had most of his general suspicions alleviated, he still had one motive he couldn't pin down.

"Am I really in this group because of me or because of who my dad is?"

"Well… I like to think it was for your own safety."

"What do you mean?"

"And your point?" asked William, becoming uneasy at the potential conclusion.

"Several of us were alone," Maya pointed out, "You, me, Michael- any of us would have been better targets. But from what I heard, it only focused on Marco. Why do you think it did that?"

Marco mulled the question over before he realized, "I was the only one who didn't know what was going on."

"Exactly. They knew that you had immunity to Returns to the Past. My sister guessed that it was only a matter of time before you would find out about Lyoko, one way or another. The tower attack yesterday proved that the people invading Lyoko see things the same way."

"And so you decided that the best way to protect him was to put him into the thick of the entire conflict?"

"He came to us first. We gave him an explanation and a choice to join us, and Marco chose to fight with us."

"And you did that all without my approval?" William coldly questioned.

"It wouldn't have to come to this if you helped out more," snapped Maya, "If you spent more time fighting, they wouldn't be able to use towers right now. Can't you see the problem here!?"

"They tried to take me out early," Marco said as his head sunk over the epiphany, "No wonder dad didn't want me here."

A wave of dread washed over the new recruit as the table grew silent. With the conversation ending on a sour note, everyone was content to just eat their lunch, all the while Marco was left to figure out what to do next.

In her computer-lit bedroom, Maya mulled over what had happened during her meeting with the school counselor. Despite all the scolding she received, William was a paper tiger whenever discussing Lyoko affairs; his words couldn't be followed up with any punishment, or any useful action in Maya's eyes. Yet despite knowing all that full well, she couldn't help but feel nervous whenever she was called to his office.

As she continued to stare at her desktop computer displaying the battlefields on Lyoko, searching for any openings she could exploit. Without making any leeway for another hour, Maya was becoming content with going to bed at 23:00, a first for the month, if not for one holdout. Her phone rang out a buzz, signaling a message. Just as she expected, the text was from Logan.

I see things are getting rough in the Supercomputer.

Maya drummed her fingers across the virtual keyboard on her phone:

Got anything to fix that? I'd prefer some air units, even if it's just Hornets.

Got the data files for Creepers.

CREEPERS! Our enemies don't even use them. They're pinning our forces with constant air raids and you're giving us more fish to put in the barrel.

They are the only monsters I can give. Just make do with them for now.

And as per usual, she was given a torrent link to the file and no further responses; a situation that had been playing out since the first week of the campaign. Maya didn't know who exactly this contact was but without his programs, Lyoko wouldn't have an army defending its Sectors. All Maya had to do was tell no one else about Logan for an unspecified reason involving secrecy.

While uploading the Creeper to their ranks, Maya reviewed the battlefield with the new unit into account. Based on what she's read about them in her father's notes, Creepers, in Maya's opinion, are one of the weakest monsters. Unlike most monsters, Creepers didn't need to be hit directly in their mark to be destroyed. What's worse is that their mobility is outpaced by Kankrelats. On the other hand, their anatomy and the location of their laser gave them a wider range of fire than any other unit available. With their damage being on par with Mantas and being able to climb vertical surfaces, they could be key with making leeway in the Mountain Sector. After a solid five minutes of strategic planning, Maya decided to relegate the Creepers as anti-air batteries for now. With a crack of her knuckles and another sip of her coffee, the eldest of the Belpois girls began another long night of work.