Welcome back everyone! When we last left off...well...a lot of stuff went down! All sorts of things! When we last left off, we saw Odd Della Robbia getting to enjoy main protagonist status...AND THE PAIN THAT IS MEANT TO COME WITH IT! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Seriously, he might be the main protagonist here, but oh LORD is Odd annoying in canon. Really isn't helped by the creators calling him (THE COMIC RELIEF) their "favorite character" and thus letting him get away with all kinds of annoying filler subplots in Season 4. So now, as cosmic punishment from the demented mind of one whose morality better aligns with the humble tarantula (I mean, come on, it's in my user name), he shall suffer all kinds of torments! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Ahh...

But enough about that, let's get back to the story! It's official that Files will start getting split up if they start getting too long, so enjoy File 5.1!

Code Lyoko does not belong to me, all rights belong to Mediatoon and the original creators.


Garage Kids

File 5.1: The Roads Leading Ahead

If you were to ask Odd Della Robbia how his week had been, you would've had to face some rather suspicious dodging of certain topics, such as: Why he'd suddenly gone on a crazed drunken run in the hallways on Monday, Why he had suddenly landed like a cat in gym class, and What The Hell Was The Weird Drawing on his desk?

Of course, if you were going to ask Odd Della Robbia about those topics, you would've likely been Hugo Abel, and if you were Hugo Abel trying to broach the subject, you would have found that Odd would: A) Have a convenient excuse to get away from you, B) Be somewhere else already, or C) Be with Ulrich and/or Yumi thus meaning you would run the risk of getting your face punched in.

And if, by per chance, you were not Hugo Abel, but instead Odd Della Robbia himself, and were just given a general question of how your week had been, like so:

"So, Della Robbia…" Sebastian asked Odd as they packed away their binders as art class ended, "How's your week here been so far?"

"Eh…a mixed bag. Still a big step up from back home!" Odd replied.

Then technically speaking, you wouldn't be lying.

The remainder of the week had been a much calmer adjustment period for Odd. The trip to Xanadu had seemed to be just the antidote to his powers getting out of control, and he was able to actually enjoy himself without being hit with rampant visions. While they were still random, they weren't as frequent, and the ability had actually been useful in dodging potential inquiries from Milly and Tamiya, as well as Hugo. Wait, scratch that, especially Hugo. Classes were classes, immediately resuming Wednesday after Jeremie's impromptu 'distraction' and it was soon clear that in topics that interested Odd, particularly art, he put a great deal of effort into learning about them. Classes like Math and Science…not so much.

Of course, that was hardly any different from his academic performance back home.

On the social side of things, Odd still found himself as the week's laughing stock thanks to his prior mad run, and he was not happy to learn that it had become viral, as a few students had whipped out their phones to take pictures and videos of what was now known as 'The Dog Run'. Titles that he'd heard about were: 'Gotta Go Fast Into a Wall', 'Blind Leading Blind', and 'Crazy Person Runs Around Mumbling About Kiwis'. And as the final nail in the coffin, while Odd didn't have to answer any of Milly and Tamiya's questions…he unfortunately learned that the Kadic News was published every Wednesday, and so the two junior reporters had had ample time for a last-minute article that Milly had thoughtfully named: 'Mysterious Hysteria in the Halls'.

Watching Yumi bop the two over the head with their own newspaper and scold Milly about respecting the privacy of others thus gave Odd some sense of retribution.

And then there was the nagging fact that, well…he was still having the same dream every night. It had happened enough times that Odd was now able to remember some details. What seemed to be himself, Ulrich, Yumi, and Jeremie; fighting the Grim Reaper figure that Odd had drawn. Unfortunately, said Grim Reaper, quite simply put, was kicking their asses. The scenes would be slightly different every time, but the basic premise remained the same. No matter what scene Odd saw, it was always, always, always showing this strange and enigmatic monster as having the upper hand over the virtual fighters. Odd had tried to ignore the implications of these dreams for now, but the fact that he was starting to clearly recall what they were truly about was…well…

Unsettling, to say the least.

But as for right now though, Odd's focus was to walk up to Mr. Chardin's desk, and turn in the day's work, as well as his project submission. He'd immediately thought of what he was going to do, which, while he wasn't proud of it, was helped somewhat when he turned to the drawing of the…thing, for inspiration. And so…

"Excellent work, Mr. Della Robbia!" Chardin enthused. "Far better than when you started this week!"

Odd sheepishly put a hand behind his head. "Well…I got…distracted."

"Ah, understandable. But do know that while people expect great art, sometimes, we must manage with our deadlines and constraints." The art teacher replied. "Why, I remember last semester's theatrical performance. I had to make do with Cyrano de Bergerac since our funding was cut. I even had to reuse the Romeo and Juliet set from the year before that because I needed another play that had a balcony in it."

"It was awful…" Sebastian shuddered as he left the classroom.

"Thankfully, the Principal actually managed to allocate more funding for the Spring Theatrical performance. This time, I intend to do Alice in Wonderland!"

Odd immediately remembered his Xanadu form and suppressed a shudder.

"Now then, do you have your Project proposal?" Chardin asked, oblivious to his pupil's discomfort.

Odd nodded. "I'm planning an animation."

"Very well, here are the guidelines." Chardin said, whipping out a folder with many sheets of paper, and handing one of those sheets to Odd.

"They're not digital?" Odd asked, slipping the paper into his sketchpad.

Chardin let out a short laugh. "No, I'll admit I'm still a bit old-fashioned when it comes to curriculum. Anyways, it helps me keep a closer eye on what my students are doing, as I'd rather personally see what you are making rather than view it on a screen!"

Odd read over the paper, nodded, and left for his next class.

Italian was uneventful like before, and Odd had little difficulty with it. He could still hear the occasional snicker in his direction when class ended though. At least it was just snickering. Not to mention that since it was Friday, that pretty much meant that people would be more focused on planning out the weekend. And of course, Odd was among them. He was already thinking about exploring the town, when Jeremie put a hand on Odd's shoulder.

"Meeting time." He said.

Odd couldn't help but startle. How the hell did Jeremie appear out of nowhere? "Could you just tap me on the shoulder next time, Einstein?"

"You didn't see me coming?" Jeremie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No…" Odd replied, wondering if Jeremie was planning anything…which he likely was, all things considered.

"Hmm…well, nothing to it. Come on, we've got to make plans for the weekend!"

And Odd's heart sank. A week into his career as an impromptu superhero and already it was eating into his schedule (Even if it wasn't thought of yet). At least there hadn't been any Specter attacks for the rest of the week. No anomalies, no detections, the rest of the week had been calm…aside from the social fallout of Odd's Future Flash-induced outburst killing all attempts for him to get a date.

Ulrich and Yumi were already there at the vending machines, though this time, Odd had to get his own soda.

"So, what are we going to do?" Yumi asked after everyone had taken at least two sips of Ramune.

"Head over to the factory once we're done with our drinks for starters." Jeremie replied, taking another swig of lemonade.

"Let me guess, 'Xanadu Training Session II: Ghostly Boogaloo'?" Odd groaned.

Jeremie nodded.

"And then?" Yumi asked.

Jeremie took a pensive glance into his soda can. "Saturday…I'm still thinking about it. There's really only one thing critical to Xanadu-business, and that's for something I'm planning on Sunday."

"What's happening on Sunday?" Odd asked, dreading the answer.

"I still need to do a bit more research and compile everything…but we'll spending a day out in town on Sunday…with the help of a guide." Jeremie answered.

"A guide?" Odd asked. "Why do we need a guide?"

"Because we're going to that part of town Sebastian always talks about, what he calls, The Alleyways. I have my suspicions that there may be something of interest there. None of us have ever been in that area of the city anyways, so we'll need him to help navigate through that place."

Yumi raised an eyebrow. "So, we're going to start seeing if he's…"

"He and Hugo are getting too suspicious of us to be safe. It's high time we start seeing if it's possible to let one or two of them in on the secret." Jeremie replied. "But…that's ultimately a problem for Sunday."

Odd briefly mulled over the possibility of what it would be like if more people were involved. But he decided to follow Jeremie's advice and save that for later, as he had more immediate concerns.

"So…Saturday's free?"

Jeremie looked at Odd. "Pretty much. Just wanted to give you guys a few days' notice for Sunday. And the day isn't totally free. After all, we still have classes in the morning on Saturdays."

"And there goes 1/4th of the joy of the weekend." Odd groaned.

"Welcome to Boarding School life." Ulrich deadpanned, rolling his eyes as he crumpled the empty can of soda.

Odd sighed, then downed the rest of his drink. "Let's get it on then." He groaned.


The trip to the factory was uneventful as the sun began to go down, and as such, it wasn't long until the three warriors were loaded into the scanners and immersed themselves into Xanadu. Just like the real-world, the sky had begun to show signs of late afternoon. For a moment, Odd wondered if there was some kind of virtual sun in Xanadu, but then Ulrich let out a battle cry and so Odd had to focus on visions of Ulrich beating him up instead…and hopefully dodge them.

The three had been virtualized on Xanadu's highest point. Right above them, looming, was the virtual world's tallest tower…the one that Odd slowly recognized as always being present somewhere in his visions…

"Keep your eyes open!" Yumi ordered. "Be light on your feet! Predict what'll happen and how to avoid it!"

Ulrich nodded. "What Yumi said."

But Odd's thoughts on that had to wait. First, he had to survive the latest tortu-uh, Training session conceived to test his powers.

"AHHH!" Odd cried as Yumi threw her oh-so wonderful replacement for prayer beads at him via Telekinesis.

The replacement in question?

Large rocks that were scattered here and there. Because Xanadu was evil like that.

Odd yelped as visions of stones being thrown about came to his mind, telling him where Yumi would launch one or where one would end up, and he dodged as best as he could. Then he found himself getting on all-fours and jumped around like a tiger dodging arrows. Or, in this case, a small kitten running away from boulders being launched from catapults.

"Could. You. Be. More. CareFULLL!" Odd cried as each projectile seemed to get bigger and faster.

Yumi, sadly, had the same stoic expression as Ulrich currently did, and so Odd received no reply. Still in a bestial stance, he continued to dodge each of the rocks, finding himself edge closer and closer to the high tower. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath, before seeing a previously thrown boulder telekinetically rise into the air. Odd pounced onto one of the tower's cables, preparing to use it to jump off to the side and dodge the attack, when…

The three virtual warriors looked up atop the High Tower, which the specters did as well, regarding the new arrival with a sense of awe, love, and reverence. The light was blinding to Odd, forcing him to keep his eyes shut. Then, the dark figure who acted as the source of the light above leaped from atop the tower, causing the radiance to approach them like a shooting star…

Odd tripped and fell to the ground, in shock from the vision he'd just received. Another one just like the dreams…but…clearer? Odd shook his head, and tried to get up, only to bump his head on something hard above him.

"Ow!" he cried, rubbing his forehead…only to see that it was the boulder that Yumi had launched, stopped in its tracks.

"Get…Out…Of…There…" Yumi hissed, concentrating on the projectile.

Odd nodded and quickly got out of the way, the bounder landing onto the ground with a dull thud.

The samurai narrowed his eyes at the Chesire Cat. "What was that? You had the right position, the right angle, right movement, and then you just dropped onto the ground like a dead slug."

That was perhaps the longest sentence Ulrich had ever spoken to Odd, but the boy ignored it, as he rubbed his head again, looking at the High Tower, spooked. Things were starting to fall into place…the figure, his dreams…this tower…and his latest vision. Odd Della Robbia was proud to claim that he was not superstitious, despite attempts from the twins and Marie to prove otherwise (One of the few times he'd come out on top, bonus!) ...but he was getting a lot of knots in his stomach at the horrible realization that was building inside of him.

He had the power to look into the future…even if it was in short bursts…

He kept on dreaming about him and his newfound allies facing off a dark being from Xanadu, in events that, while not fully remembered, still felt a bit too real to just be a surreal dream. He'd drawn a picture of that dark being…and right now, seemed to have had another vision of it…

He was having dreams of things yet to come…and had just had a proper vision of it…

Which could ultimately mean...

"Odd!"

No reply.

Yumi snapped her fingers. "Odd!"

Yet again, no reply.

BAM!

"AGH!" Odd cried, rubbing his head, turning around to see Ulrich holding the empty hilt of his katana.

"The hell was that for?!" Odd griped, "I've been hit in the head once today, I don't need to be hit again!"

Yumi glared at Odd, causing the cat-boy to feel weak in the knees from fear.

"What was that all about?" she asked. "You just blanked out!"

Odd wet his lips. "Well…uh…"

Yumi put her hands to her hips. "Explain. Now. Is this another side-effect of your powers?"

"H-how'd you guess?" Odd asked, sheepish.

"It's pretty obvious." Jeremie said, in a matter-of-fact tone, but not saying anything more.

"What was it?" Yumi asked, eyes boring a hole into Odd, who gulped nervously. "You're not doing a very good job of hiding it." She accentuated the point by cracking her knuckles, causing even Ulrich to back away. "Explain. Now."

Odd took a deep breath. "Okay, remember when I drew that weird cable monster-phantom thing?"

"Very intricate and detailed, I have to say…" Jeremie said, pulling up the scan he'd requested of the sketch and looking at it intently.

"Not the point!" Odd barked, before forcing himself back to calm. He took a deep breath and continued. "I-I've been having dreams about it for the whole week, never enough, to, you know, remember 'everything' about it, but enough for the gist. Us going up against a giant shadowy grim-reaper/sorceress thing…and losing."

Ulrich and Yumi looked at each other, while Jeremie typed out the conversation, taking notes, drinking in the details being shared.

"And your recent vision was…?" Yumi ventured.

Odd sighed. "I just touched a cable back there", he pointed to the high tower, "and then, boom, another vision. This one was clearer though. There was this huge glowing light, all the way at the top of the tower right there, with specters everywhere…then the light just dived towards us like a meteor and…that's it."

"You didn't get anything else?" Yumi asked, concern seeping into her voice as she looked at Xanadu's tallest structure.

"Nope. Kinda had a boulder hanging above my head."

"Touch it again." Jeremie ordered.

Odd blinked and looked up. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Touch the tower again." Jeremie ordered. "See if you can get another vision."

"…And why would I want another of these?" Odd asked in shock. "They're seriously messed up!"

Ulrich rolled his eyes, "Just do it."

Odd glared at Ulrich for a few seconds, but the samurai's deadpan stare won out as Odd's eyes faltered. The Chesire Cat gulped, turned, and walked to the tower. A knot of fear and dread came over him as he looked at the mammoth monument. "If this ends badly, can you guys promise to look after Kiwi?"

"I don't think it'll come down to that." Yumi reassured.

"And anyways, if this ends badly, I don't think there'll be anyone to look after Kiwi." Jeremie cheerfully put in.

Odd glared at the sky, hoping that Jeremie would take a hint for once. Finally, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, touched the tower and…

Nothing. No vision, no anything.

He blinked and removed his paw from the tower. Odd sighed in relief. "Nothing…phew…"

"Nothing as in a vision filled with nothing, or no vision at all?" Jeremie probed.

"No vision at all!" Odd cheered in relief.

"Well…that's disappointing, I was hoping it could answer a nagging question I've had about that particular tower."

And there went the relief. First ¼ of a Saturday, and now this? Odd groaned in dread.

"What kind of question?" Yumi ventured.

A sigh could be heard from the monitor as Jeremie reviewed the notes that the Professor had left behind, as well as his own observations. "Alright, you guys know that Xanadu has ten towers, right?"

"Kind of hard not to see them." Ulrich deadpanned.

"Well, I've noticed that while the Specters swarm around the nine that have the same height…they never go near the tenth one. The High Tower. They just…ignore it for some reason."

Yumi raised an eyebrow. "I've never noticed that."

"I'm still new to the whole thing." Odd grumbled. "Don't think I saw anything, because I didn't."

Jeremie pulled up Odd's picture, starting at it for a few seconds, before returning to his notes. "I've been mapping out Xanadu for the past month, and I've been taking careful notes as to which tower was infected by specters. Mainly because there's no log of the attacks since…well…" His voice drifted off as he reviewed more notes.

Yumi snapped her fingers to get Jeremie to focus. "Well what? What's going on?"

"Okay, to make a long story short, if we're going to make progress in disabling Xanadu, we need more data than what the Professor initially gave us, and I've decided that to do so, we need to find a way to access the towers ourselves. I'm completely locked out, but if they're data tunnels that the Specters use…then there might be a way for us to enter them too. That's the main reason we're going to have an outing on Sunday. I want to see if I can locate a method we can use to enter the towers."

"What good does entering the towers do us?" Odd asked.

"From the Professor's notes," Jeremie explained, "the towers are the main link between our world and the virtual world. The specters use these towers to gain access to ours. Thanks to my programming of the super-scan, I've determined that there may be a way to enter the towers, an access code of some kind. If I can discover that, then that means I'll have access to Xanadu's systems like never before! I'll be able to program a firewall to keep the specters out of the towers…"

"And out of the real world?" Yumi guessed.

"Exactly!" Jeremie replied.

"So…you mean we could be done with this by the end of next week?!" Odd exclaimed. "That's awesome! Now I'm actually looking forward to Sunday!"

Ulrich stared upwards. "Why do you think the town alleyways have the answer? Have you been on another conspiracy site?"

Jeremie rubbed his head sheepishly but was quite sure of himself.

"Admittedly, yes. Remember, those sites are what helped direct us over to the factory to begin with. So, I figured that we might get a bit more information, and what stuck out to me was the underground technology business…and a certain rumor that leaked from there."

"You honestly think a rumor is going to help us?" Ulrich asked.

"They helped us discover the factory. No reason not to investigate ourselves. I'll send you guys a reading of what we'll be covering later tomorrow. I need to make sure I've got everything."

"So how does this relate to the Empire State Building?" Odd asked, pointing to the High Tower.

"…Now that…I don't know for sure…but the big giveaway that it works differently from the other towers is how I couldn't implement the super-scan onto it. The Professor's notes don't give any data, so I figured that first we study the nine 'normal' towers, as it were, before we try our hand at solving the mystery of the High one. It has to have some importance to Xanadu, but what it is I don't know for sure…Odd's visions are giving me a potential hypothesis to study…but I'd rather keep that on standby after Sunday before reaching a full conclusion."

The samurai, Chesire Cat, and geisha were silent as they mulled it over. If Jeremie had nothing, then there wasn't much they could offer…not to mention that they would likely completely lose track of what he was saying after five more minutes. So, they thought back to a topic easier to discuss, and a thought came to Yumi's mind.

"Wait…you said that that thing was part Grim Reaper and part-sorceress?"

Odd turned from the sky to Yumi. "Um…yeah. Don't really see what's so complicated about it."

Yumi looked puzzled, "How do you know that it's a girl?"

Odd blinked, and scratched his head, deep in thought. Wait…why DID he know it was a girl? The picture he'd drawn didn't show anything that Odd could consider 'feminine' or 'girly'. Just a massive monster made of cables and metallic threads. He tried to recall the latest vision…but couldn't make anything out beyond the shining comet-light. All he knew was that the shadowy figure was a girl. He didn't know why, he just knew, as if by instinct.

"Um…" he tried, "I was able to make out some bumps on the chest? I mean, a little bit bigger than your-"

Yumi's reply was pulling out a fan frame, ready to use it as a club. Odd also swore that he could hear Ulrich's knuckles cracking.

"Heh, well, you know…instinct? Maybe?"

"So…you don't know." Yumi said at last.

"No." Odd answered sheepishly.

Yumi sighed in exasperation and put the fan frame back. "We're not going to get anywhere with this are we?"

"Again, we don't know too much. No point in trying to figure something we don't know anything about."

"You're recording all of this right now!" Odd complained.

"Yes, yes, I am." Jeremie confirmed, continuing his notes.

"Well…at this point…let's get back to training for now." Yumi commanded. "Let's get back to what we were doing before."

"Yup, you and Ulrich sparring!" Odd chuckled.

"You're not done with your current exercise yet." Yumi replied calmly.

"Whyyyyyy." Odd groaned.

The rest of the late afternoon passed by without further incident concerning creepy visions of doom and destruction. Odd managed to survive the second round of boulder dodging even though he noticed that Yumi was throwing them a tad faster than before. He still couldn't beat Ulrich in a sparring match though. According to Jeremie, who had timed it, Odd had managed to endure Ulrich's attacks for a second longer. Odd didn't know what was worse, how Jeremie seemed to earnestly believe that that was a record worth bragging about, or just trying to fight Ulrich in general. He was infinitely grateful for when the sparring shifted to Ulrich and Yumi, and when he was told to train in target practice. Neither of these required Odd to dodge projectiles or fists. Of course, he was still glad when it was all over and they could head back, with the exception of one, tiny problem…

"I. Am. Beat." Odd groaned, dragging his feet across the factory bridge as he smacked his lips. "Also, why isn't there any more water left in the fridge?"

Ulrich rolled his eyes. "We'll restock this weekend…if there's any money left."

Despite the exhaustion, Odd was defiant, "CURSE YOU SMALL-BOARDING SCHOOL ALLOWANCES! CURSE YOU!"

"Get over it." Ulrich deadpanned.

"If you scream, it'll just make things worse." Yumi supplied.

So, instead of screaming, Odd just groaned in response and kept it up the whole way back. Of the three virtual warriors, only Ulrich was displaying minor signs of annoyance via eye twitch. Yumi was used to people being brats, and Jeremie was too deep in thought about what to do about Saturday and Sunday that Odd's groaning had become background noise to him. Odd, for his part, did not stop groaning until he reached a vending machine, and downed a can of lemonade in a single go.

He smacked his lips. "Ah, much better."

"Never do that again or I will hurt you." Ulrich said, face remaining neutral.

"Oh, come on, I was thirsty!" Odd defended.

"Not an excuse. Don't do it again." Ulrich ordered.

"Sheesh, how much of a sense of humor do you not have?" Odd asked.

"None, by last count." A voice called, causing the four to turn around and see Hugo coming up towards them. "Something wrong?"

"Odd groaned all the way from the park to here. It was annoying." Ulrich replied, eyes narrowing.

"Really, now?" Hugo asked, pulling a few coins from his jacket pocket, looking at the group suspiciously. "I never took someone that scrawny for being physically active."

Odd crushed his empty can in annoyance. "I am SVELTE!"

"Sure, whatever." Hugo snorted. "Just let me get my drink."

A tense silence came across the quadrangle as Hugo slipped his payment into the vending machine, waited as he seemed to think about what he wanted to drink for 30 seconds, and hovered a finger above a button, before reconsidering and aiming for another. He seemed to be deliberately waiting for something.

Odd opened his mouth to speak, but…

"Are you going to order or what?" Ulrich asked.

"Depends, where were you guys?" Hugo growled.

"At the park, where else?" Yumi countered.

The tense silence remained, but not for long. Hugo turned to face the four, eyes narrowed into angry slits.

"…You're hiding something. And you better tell me what it is. I don't care what Sebastian told me to do, you tell me right now. If this kills my little brother, there won't be anything left for you, so…"

"Oh, hey, look!" Odd burst out, causing everyone to look at him. "Um, uh…" His eyes darted around the schoolyard, until he saw Milly and Tamiya trying to get interviews from a girl Yumi's age who had long brown hair, glasses, and a red shirt. Apparently the two had not been successful, and the girl rubbed her eyes in annoyance before leaving, leaving Milly's head to droop and Tamiya patting her on the back. "Oh, hey, LOOK AT THAT!"

"Do you honestly expect that trick to work Odd?" Hugo growled. "Pointing over to Milly and Tamiya won't get you out of this."

"Why are you pointing at us? What is it?" Milly asked, dashing over to the five like a hungry dog.

Speaking of dogs, Odd noted to get Kiwi his dinner. But, for now, he had to distract Hugo. "Oh, you know, news!"

Milly looked around. "There isn't any news. Wait, do you have something to say for the Kadic News about all of the videos concerning your-"

"Milly, we talked about this." Yumi replied sternly.

"No, no, I-I've got something!" Odd fibbed.

"Somehow I doubt that." Hugo scoffed, finally pressing a button for a can of Ramune, except nothing came out. "Oh, come on!" Hugo growled, kicking the machine, but to no avail.

At last, Jeremie spoke up, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Um, I think the machine is out of lemonade Hugo. Odd drank the last can."

"And that's the story!" Odd exclaimed. "'Vending Machine Runs Out of Lemonade!'"

Everyone fell silent at that. Odd's eyes dashed around, with everyone giving him incredulous looks…at least…until Milly pulled out her phone, and eyes widened as if she had remembered something. She immediately flicked around the touchscreen, before pulling out another notebook and flipped through the pages until she stopped at one. Then she looked at Odd, and then the vending machine.

"YES! YES! WE FOUND A SCOOP TAMIYA!" Milly cheered, hugging her friend tightly.

"W-wait, we did?" Tamiya choked, trying to get out of Milly's grip.

"Shortages of lemonade, remember?" Milly pointed out, revealing the notes she had taken on it. "Everyone's complaining about it! There's even talk about people paying 'under the table' to get some!"

"…Since when did lemonade get the Prohibition treatment?" Odd asked.

"Lots!" Milly said excitedly. "Ever since the Panic, stuff like Ramune lemonade has become really popular, especially since they figured out how to put it in a can!"

"That is the exact opposite of noteworthy." Yumi said, but this just made Milly turn around to look at her with stars in her eyes.

Milly clasped Yumi's hands. "Yumi, can you help me and Tamiya with this scoop?! Please? I promise we won't ask Odd about his psychosis anymore!"

"I DO NOT HAVE PSYCHOSIS!" Odd shrieked.

"And you're doing a great job of proving otherwise." Ulrich snarked, a small hint of a smile coming across his face.

"Well, I mean…You are from Japan, right?" Milly asked, "So, you know all about this!"

Yumi looked a bit awkward at that, surprising Odd. He knew Yumi was from Japan, so why was she so hesitant about revealing it?

"Yes…" Yumi answered cautiously. "What? Do you want an interview?"

But this just seemed to make Milly giddier. Odd thought for a moment she was going to explode in a shower of rainbows…and immediately regretted the decision as the idea of a Xanadu specter came to mind and resulted in Milly exploding into a parade of rainbow-colored threads and needles as if she was a stitched-up ragdoll. ...Which, was...what? He shoved the idea out of his mind, he did NOT want that to become a thing after the demon teddy bear Jeremie told him about. Because it could become a thing, and Odd did not like things from Xanadu.

"Yes and no…" Milly breathed deeply, "but I want us to talk to Sebastian first! Come on!"

And she began to drag Yumi away, causing her to look at everyone else in confusion. Jeremie then snapped his fingers and began following them.

"Mind if I come with you? I need a request from Sebastian too for Sunday."

The Sunday trip into the so-called Alleyways of Boulogne Billancourt. Odd was already dreading it. But at least he had an excuse to get out of dodge.

"And I need to go feed Kiwi before dinner! See you all later!" Odd said, running off as fast as his legs could carry him.

That just left Ulrich and Hugo…but Ulrich quickly slipped away in the chaos before Hugo knew what had happened. The blue-capped boy blinked. That could've gone better. He grumbled to himself, randomly pressed another button and got himself a can of Coke-Cola.

"Better than nothing." He muttered to himself.


"You want me to do what?" Sebastian asked.

He had been leaving the group's underpass with a film reel that he had needed, before running into a strange group of people. Mainly because the idea of Jeremie being near Milly and Tamiya when they were snooping around for news was so bizarre, Sebastian had to wonder if he had stumbled into a parallel universe where stuff like that was a thing.

"Well, can you tell us where we can find one of those 'lemonade dealers'?" Milly asked. "We need them for a scoop! Oh, and if so, where we can find a way to get our hands on it! Oh, and maybe a crowbar!"

"…I'm just here to ask about a favor for Sunday." Jeremie said.

"Alright, alright people, one thing at a time! Belpois, you first." Sebastian grumbled.

"Those 'Alleyways' you keep on talking about. I'd like you to guide me through them. If I'm going to win the upcoming competition with Asimov, I'd like to know where I can get the best parts." Jeremie answered.

Sebastian nodded. "I get the horrible feeling that that's going to be the easy request…"

He turned to Milly, dreading the inevitable. "And Solovieff…"

"Okay, well, I tried to learn about 'Lemonade Dealers' last week, but I didn't figure anything out. Then I learned that the vending machines were running out of lemonade, and I thought we could make it a scoop, but I didn't know if we could, then Odd told us, and-" Milly ranted until Tamiya spoke up.

"Can you at least prove that they're a thing and how to deal with and/or find one?"

Sebastian rubbed his head. "Yes, they're a thing. But to be perfectly honest, they're harmless. Granted, demand for that stuff is…well…intense, but still, it's not that bad. What's so newsworthy about that?"

"Because we've never reported it before!" Milly cheered. "But it's really something! We're fulfilling our obligations as journalists! Revealing the truth to the world!"

Sebastian blinked, and looked at Jeremie and Yumi, before looking down at Milly and Tamiya again. "Uh, sure you are, Solovieff."

"Was that sarcasm?" Tamiya asked.

"Figure it out Diop. Figure it out." Sebastian breathed before looking at Yumi. "So what role do you play in all this?"

"Milly wants me for an interview, and…something else…" Yumi answered.

"Oh! Basically, could you, uh…well…fight them off in case we…uh…you know…" Milly mumbled, now looking at the ground and failing to suppress a tremor.

"Ah, protection." Sebastian nodded. "Well, are you planning on doing that Ishiyama?"

Yumi sighed. "Of course."

"Thank you, Yumi!" Milly cheered, hugging her tightly.

"…Nope, 'Teddy' was still more nauseating than this." Sebastian muttered to himself.

"Well, that seems to solve everyone's schedules!" Jeremie chirped, "I'm going to hit the lab for a few minutes!"

"Don't lose track of time." Yumi admonished.

"I won't!" Jeremie called as he walked down the sidewalk.

"He's going to lose track of time." Sebastian deadpanned.

"Yup"

"Probably"

"I'll tell Odd he can have Jeremie's portion."

"Della Robbia still has to buy his own snacks. Funds are getting tight." Sebastian reminded.


"Ugh…" Odd moaned, looking at his wallet and the kibbles he'd brought from home. "Funds are getting tight."

Being a dog, Kiwi paid this no mind as he (no pun intended) wolfed down his dinner. Odd watched with a light-hearted smile, then got back to his desk to do a few practice sketches. What to do about a subject for his art project…He could try revising an older project, or perhaps use a new one. He had plenty of inspiration from back home, and his new hometown could provide quite a bit of it. Then Odd's eyes wandered to the drawing of the dark figure.

Yeah…he was not making a movie about that. Too conspicuous, and honestly, too terrifying.

He drew a few starting sketches for twenty minutes, but nothing was really coming to mind, so they came out as more scribbles than anything…though upon closer inspection, Odd knew what they actually were starting to look like: Him and the others fighting in Xanadu. Odd couldn't help but suppress another groan. Just one week, and he'd been thrown into something almost out of his league. Granted, he was kicking ass and taking names (When his new superpower wasn't on the fritz or showing him visions of the apocalypse), but it seemed that everywhere he went in the real world, the conflict in Xanadu seemed to spring up, even if there weren't any specters.

"I need something to clear my head faster…" he muttered.

He stole a glimpse around the room and sighed when he remembered that he'd have to leave his skateboard in the sewers, so…wait…Back up…Skateboard. A lightbulb went on in Odd's head and an excited grin came onto his face.

"Yes! That's just what I need! A day of skating! Need to find a skatepark though…wonder where I could find one?"

"You could just look it up on the internet." Ulrich said, lying down on the bed with a comic book.

Odd jumped and let loose a high-pitched shriek, causing Kiwi to growl in pain. "When did you get here?"

"Just now." Ulrich replied.

Odd panted, willing for his heart to beat again, while Kiwi looked at his owner with annoyance before resuming his meal.

"Okay, please don't do that again!" Odd demanded.

"Don't groan for ten minutes nonstop and we have a deal." Ulrich shot back.

"Deal!" Odd answered quickly, offering a hand to Ulrich, who raised an eyebrow.

"And that is…"

Odd blinked. Okay, Minor Anomaly #2; Ulrich not knowing what a handshake was. "A handshake. You know, to seal an agreement? I don't do any big groaning and you don't sneak up on me, that one?"

Ulrich's face was unchanged, but he responded with his hand and the two sealed the pact.

"Now then, back to before…I need to find a good skatepark." Odd said.

"Is that what you're doing tomorrow?" Ulrich asked.

Odd stretched his knees. "What? I consider myself a natural-born pro-skater! You know any of them?"

"No." Ulrich answered. "Just do it in the park or something."

"…Do you go out much?" Odd asked.

No reply. Odd sighed and looked at the time on his phone. Just as he did, his stomach grumbled. That only meant one thing.

"Welp, dinnertime!"

Ulrich grunted and followed. When the two reached the cafeteria, there was an absence of a certain blond boy with glasses. Odd wondered where he was, until Yumi explained that Jeremie was probably holed up in his urban lab in the underpass and that he got dibs on Jeremie's portion. The news made Odd drool as he obtained a double helping. He was extra-hungry after that practice-run in Xanadu, and made short work of his meal, leaning in his chair in comfort.

"…A minute fifty-five." Amare said, looking at his phone timer. "That's a new record."

"You've been timing him all week?" Yumi asked.

"He actually likes Rosa's cooking. Eating it that fast is a record." Amare replied.

"Hey, only the soup tastes like dishwater!" Odd protested. "Everything else is pretty great! Well, except for Wednesday when we had to eat plain boiled fish…and those steamed vegetables…"

"You've only been here for a week Della Robbia, give it some time." Sebastian deadpanned as he ate Beef Stew.

"Mmm." Hugo muttered, chewing in silence, while Charlie looked at the record in awe, much to Amare's amusement.

Unfortunately, Sebastian's response only made Odd snap his fingers as he realized something. "Hey, Sebastian, you're basically the 'Street Kid' here right?"

Sebastian glared. "I never agreed to that nickname."

"But it fits." Amare pointed out.

"Shut up, Arendse." Sebastian grumbled before re-focusing on Odd. "Let me guess, you want me to do something for you, Della Robbia? I had my hands full with Solovieff, Diop, and the absent-Belpois."

"I just want to know, are there any skateparks around here? I'm thinking of trying one out tomorrow after class." Odd asked.

"…Stick to the ones you get on first results Della Robbia." Sebastian warned. "I know of plenty others…but trust me, you don't want to go there."

Now Odd was curious. "Oh, come on, how bad could they be?"

"If you want to deal with the Black Knight of Asimov, go to them. Can't promise you'll come back alive though." Sebastian replied.

"…Black Knight of Asimov?" Odd asked. "Who the heck's that?"

"They say the knight hides in the cover of shadows…" Milly murmured. "Waiting to skewer reckless skaters and devour all of their hope…"

Everyone stared.

"…I'm just warning Della Robbia to look out for Knight. That chick's a demon on her board." Sebastian said slowly.

Odd's ears perked up. "Did you say, Knight? Also, chick?"

"Samantha Knight's her full name." Sebastian replied. "And like I said, she's a demon on her skateboard. She's a challenge seeker and has beaten a lot of skaters. Granted, about half of them are arrogant assholes, and on the plus side, she's one of the few girls at Asimov who hasn't been brainwashed by Dunbar's so-called 'charm'."

"So…she's single…" Odd muttered.

Sebastian repressed a laugh. "If you want to find Knight, I won't stop you. She tends to hang out in what they call 'Blue Screen Skate Park'. It's a treacherous place through and through though. If you value your body, do not go there."

"Could you give me directions?" Odd asked, seemingly ignoring the part about his body being broken. Ulrich and Yumi chalked it up to Odd planning to take advantage of the stamina boosts of Xanadu.

"I'll message them to you." Sebastian sighed. "But be careful Della Robbia, that place is near where Belpois wants me to take him, in the deeper parts of town not fit for the faint of heart."

"My heart is plenty resilient, I'll have you know!" Odd replied smugly.

No one bothered to dignify that with a response, and so they resumed eating. Odd settled into bed that night with a minor note of excitement. Finally, something he was truly looking forward to. Some time to himself, and an opportunity to explore a place that wasn't trying to kill him at every turn. Unless Xanadu started up or he ran into a hoodlum. He immediately shook that out of his head, after all, what was the worst that could happen?


"Isn't this what you want though?" she asked, holding onto Odd's arm tighter.

"Yeah but…there's something I have to do, something really important!" Odd replied.

"More important than being with me?"

Odd swallowed. He really didn't want to leave this place. He wanted to be with her…but he knew that if they remained here…it wouldn't truly matter. He had to break out of it, break out of the temptation. Because if he didn't…she wouldn't have a real future. HE wouldn't have a real future. None of them would. It was hard…it was really hard. It would only be for a moment, if he was lucky of course. Failure would either mean death…or becoming one with…no. That wouldn't happen. Odd took a deep breath, and grabbed her shoulders as resolutely as he could…despite the fact that she was a whole deal taller than him.

"Unfortunately, yes. I have to go now. But I'll be back, I promise."

And, suppressing the tears that threatened to form, Odd Della Robbia ran. He hoped he wouldn't turn back, like in the movies…but he couldn't help himself. One small look couldn't hurt, right? And it might reassure her too! But when he did, Odd's heart sank, and his mind froze in horror as his eyes caught the other presence that came down to her, embracing her with her wings as if to soothe her, lips brushed against her cheeks. She then looked at Odd with disapproval.

"You left her alone like this? How cruel." She said with disdain, her unnatural eyes narrowing into deathly slits. "You're only digging yourself deeper…"

And then the world went black, and a terrifying scream filled Odd's ears…


Honestly, I should've tried this system earlier. Far less stressful than before! So yeah, you'll notice that this makes three chapters where there is no Xanadu attack! What wicked sorcery is this?! Well, it's a funny thing I like to call 'Variety'. Just having an attack happen every chapter is boring, and not doing proper world-building was a major flaw the series had in Season 1. Behold, the power of foresight!

(Even though finer details have to be created as I go along. I have an enormous outline of a Word Document, and still I have to improvise. *sobs* Fun fact, this chapter was in fact, given some minor edits on 1/16/2021)

But either case, please, critique, and leave your thoughts in a review!

-Epsilon Tarantula-