Hi, all. Here's the next chapter!

I've been noticing that people have been using...rather ugly...words in reviews. I am a 100 percent believer in the First Amendment, and feel that people should speak freely-but, with the right level of civility. I'm not telling you to stop-First Amendment says you can-just, be careful of what you're saying.

That nonwithstanding, THANKIES FOR TEH REVIEWS! At the forum are responses. You all know where the forums are, right?

Finally, if you're interested, I did some fanart for this over at DeviantArt, with more to come. My username there is Starfigirl.

Hm...and, it also seems, to me, I'm leaving Odd and Ulrich in the dust of this story. Don't worry. They'll have HUGE parts. Oh yes they will.

Chapter Two: The New 'Kid'

Date: A few seconds later
Time: 8:31 AM
Place: Science Room

Jeremie's mouth dropped open in shock. For once, his amazingly advanced brain stopped, just becoming a soft, pink mass in his head. Of course, that was the state of most brains at 8 am, but for Jer, it was unusual. The shock of what the new student had just said hit him way too hard. He couldn't even begin to try and figure it out. For the first time in...a month, he had no clue what to do.

There was a rather loud thud, and a muffled "Oof!". Jeremie never heard it.

He felt a hand grab his, squeezing very hard, at the threat of immobilization. Only daring to tear his eyes away for a second, he looked over at Aelita. She was in an even worse state than he was-frozen solid, eyes locked in wide, unbridled terror. Even when he tapped her on the shoulder, she made no response. He understood fully. Or maybe not. Who knew.

He turned his head to look at Odd and Ulrich. They fared no better. Ulrich's head was on the table, his body still. He didn't seem asleep, but he was nowhere near awake. Odd was rocking back and forth on his chair, in danger of falling off, babbling under his breath. "I...I..."

The rest of the class was, more or less, uninterested.

Either that,or they were whispering to each other, saying, "What kind of name is that?"

Jeremie had to admit that, in retrospect, it was a strange name. But that was no prime concern. He snapped himself back to careful monitor of the terror himself, who had turned around completely.

Surprisingly, the form the AI had chosen was the last one you would expect for XANA. He had chin-length, unkempt blonde hair, with some brown highlights mixed in. He was wearing a dark red hoodie sweater, with a black hood and pocket, very baggy pants that looked eerily like Ulrich's-except that the pockets were black- and black boots, eerily like Yumi's, almost hidden under the pants. He was kinda on the short side-maybe an inch shorter than Jer. His face was calm and collected, yet oddly psychotic.The only real evidence of his true identity was his oddly iridescent eyes, and a black necklace, with an oversized pendant of his own symbol-the Eye, which, for the past two years, had bored into the young genius and his friends' souls, reminding them that they were never alone, never truly able to hide, just so long as XANA stirred.

Mrs. Hertz, oblivious to the fact that an incarination of a sentient intelligence was standing right in front of her, just smiled. "Oh...I see. Well, welcome to Kadic Acaedamy, XANA...Hopper. I'm Mrs. Hertz, the Science teacher. Now, take a seat anywhere you want...I'm sure one of our students will explain things to you."

"Thank you. I'm sure this will be...enjoyable." His voice was like any kid's, yet calm and layered with just enough emotion to get his point across.

Man, he was good and well-rehearsed.

Slowly, he walked down an aisle, looking for an empty seat. Jeremie, Aelita, Odd, and Ulrich didn't even dare to look at anyone else. Now, some feeling came back to their heads, but it brought a slew of questions with it.What was XANA planning? Why had he chosen this method of attack? Why would he brodcast himself, when subtelty would be better means of attack? And why, oh why did he smell like sushi?

He sat down in the only empty seat in the room, next to Sissi. He folded his hands on the table, a smirk creeping across his face.

Um...the POV's just been switched. Nothing has changed.

Phase one was done. XANA was in.

The humans suspected nothing, except those who where supposed to. Four of the five, probably the ugliest humans in the room (and, he had gathered, humans were not very good looking beings), who were staring at him, wide-eyed in fear. The fifth, Yumi, was missing. But he didn't care. He drank it in. Fear. Panic. Silent pandaemonium. Manna from heaven.

The teacher-person...Mrs...Hurts?...launched into some sort of lecture on...something. He wasn't listening, and he doubted anyone else was either. He knew about Earth science. Stuff explodes. What else was there to know? Oh sure, he knew tons more than that, but, that was the main idea of science. Any science he cared about, anyway.

Casually, he glanced at the floor. He saw something he hadn't expected-a human, in a green sweater, glaring angrily. "What are you looking at?" he spat.

"You," he said cooly. "Shouldn't you be in a seat?"

"I was," the boy growled. "I got pushed out when your smart mouth walked in."

"Mmm." He forgot the boy on the floor, and looked back up. He saw Jeremie-probably the most meddling kid of them all-across the aisle, looking straight at him. He didn't look happy at all-he was trying to look threatening, but he couldn't hide the fear XANA knew was there. Their eyes locked. Neither dared to blink. XANA tried to imagine how he would kill the boy. Perhaps he would suffocate him. Or tie him up and starve him. Or...if he could ever find those cannons...yes. That would be fufilling. His smile grew wider and wider as images filled his mind.

Perhaps ten minutes later, a voice cut into his absorbed train of thought.

"You needed a seat."

XANA jerked away from his and Jeremie's vigorous staring contest and his own blood-filled thoughts, and to the human next to him. A strong wave of nauseous perfume hit his face. Of course. She was the 'Sissi' human, the very first person he had posessed. She had been a good test-run. Very light headed, yet her will was unusually strong. "Eh?"

The girl was looking at him, a small smile on her face. "There weren't any empty seats in the class, so I pushed him out. And good thing too, he's a bit of a nerd anyway. Very annoying, y'know what I mean?" She spoke, not whispering as XANA was seeing many other children do, but in a normal voice, with no regard for any trouble it could cause.

"Yes..."

"Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Sissi Delmas, the prettiest girl in school, and you're very lucky to meet me...XANA. I like your name. Just rolls off the tongue." She ran her hand through her hair, as if to emphasise her 'prettyness'. "So...where are you from?"

XANA was reluctant to talk to the human-no real reason getting to know them, they were all doomed anyway-but he had to blend in. "Um...uh...that place."

"What place?"

"Y'know, that place. With the..." He said the first word that came to his mind. "Sushi."

"Japan?"

"Guess so."

"Strange. You don't look Japanese." XANA could swear he heard some giggling. He took a quick glance across the aisle. The Odd boy was covering his mouth, trying to hide his snicker. Yes. He could laugh now. But, soon, he'd be trading that laugh for a harp.

"I...wasn't born there," he retaliated.

"Obviously," the girl said, not skipping a beat. "I don't think I've ever seen a blonde...Japanesian, yeah, that's it. Anyway, wanna hang out a little after class? I could show you what the 'It' crowd has to offer."

"Not today," he said, having no desire to go whatsoever. "I'm getting my dorm assigned during lunch." While that was true, it was also code for, 'Time to confirm some fears.' That was going to be fun. He loved human fear.

The conversation ended. XANA plopped his head onto the table and remained completely inert until a loud bell cut sharply through all the grounds.

"Oh, well, it looks like it's the end of class," the Hurts woman said, ending her drone. "Have a nice day."

The room began to clear. Knowing that this meant it was time for the next class, XANA packed up his books. The boy on the floor got up, grabbed his own books, snarled at XANA, and left. Sissi, showing no desire to join the boy, leaned against their table. "So...want me to walk you to your next class? Maybe you could tell me a bit more about yourself."

"Nah. I can find my way." He did not voice his annoyance. This girl was very strange.

"Kay. See you later, XANA." She walked away from the table. Phew. Hopefully, relative to the school's size, he'd never see that girl again. Of course, this was his first thought when those four kids had stumbled into his factory, just a few more punks here to grafitti the walls. How wrong he was.

Speaking of those four...rats...he, nonchalantly, calmly...walked to the tables where the rats themselves sat. He gave their stunned faces a sly smile. "Well...fancy meeting you here."

The Jeremie boylooked like he was about to lunge, if it weren't for the Aelita's fingernails digging into his shoulder, a silent attempt to control him. The Ulrich's fingers trembled, he was clearly fighting his own desires.

The Odd actually took action. "You-"

"Yes, me." He looked around the room. "Where is the other one?"

"None of your business," Jeremie said through clenched teeth. The reason he had been so silent was because he had no clue how to react. Except to stare. XANA liked this. It was almost...too good.

"Pfeh. I will find her later." His smile did not falter. "Say...that woman was pretty boring, wasn't she?"

"HOW DARE YOU CHANGE THE SUBJECT!" Jeremie broke free from Aelita's grip-she was still frozen in that spot-and grabbed XANA's shirt. "Why...are...you...here?"

"Reasons. Now, I believe I am late to class." With a last smile, he left the room, chuckling to himself.

Aelita went back to gripping Jeremie for dear life. "Jeremie..."

Odd kept staring at the door. "We can't just..."

Ulrich was still shaking."It's..."

"I know." Jeremie's voice was layered in hate. "I don't know why he's here. But, I swear, I will get him back into the computer, even if it takes me to my dying breath."

Ooo, seriousish. The next chapter is where funny starts.

-SP