Arno's pencil tapped against his desk over and over again. His thoughts ate away at the back of his mind, keeping him from focusing.

"We're in way over our heads." The same words he'd repeated over and over in his head came back to him again. They were the words he'd tried to get Jonah and Max to understand, but for some reason they couldn't grasp his caution.

Over the next couple of weeks, the feeling of a mace in his hand had become more familiar than that of a pencil, and the old factory had become a second home for him.

"This could be one of the greatest discoveries of a lifetime! Why would you want to pass it up?" Jonah's positivity was in constant conflict with Arno's pessimism, but there was a truth to his response. This computer was the discovery of a lifetime. For as many risks as it brought up, was it worth it to keep going back to play with it? They were treating it like a game, but what else could a world like that be for? It had to haver some form of connection to the military, but the layers of dust in the computer room told them that the hardware hadn't been used in half an eternity.

"This computer talk is winter, this book is gold!" Neither Arno or Jonah knew exactly what Max had meant when he said this, and they struggled to figure it out. Nonetheless, day after day was spent in the strange laboratory as the three children messed with the machine they'd found. The days that weren't spent in the factory were days that each of them were lost in thought. This was one of those days.

Arno was never particularly invested in classes like science or math. He had no specialization, but these classes especially seemed to drag on. At the very least, it gave him some time to think, if the professor would even allow it.

This professor in particular seemed to be invested in her students grades. Whether or not it was a selfish or selfless reasons was unknown, but a normal day involved a great deal of student participation. Before the discovery of the super computer, Arno might have brought himself to join in, but now that his thoughts were occupied, it became significantly more difficult.

"Arno, are you paying attention?" She asked. He looked up from his desk. Like him, she looked very tired, as there were bags beneath her normally lively eyes. Unlike him, she was tall, slender, and very fair skinned. They were about as opposite as opposites could be, and her attire was without blemish; a neat pink shirt paired with blue jeans, a labcoat, and a neatly brushed head of bright pink hair.

"Trying to, Mrs Belpios." He replied, turning his head to the board.

"Do you need me to go over the material again?" Arno shook his head.

"No, I'll manage." She stared him down for a few moments before turning his attention back to the board. She then moved her hand about, etching the lesson into the green of the chalkboard with quick and fluid motions. What exactly it was, Arno couldn't tell; his mind was already gone again, and it remained like that for the remainder of class.

The ringing bell seemed to be the only thing that could shake Arno out of his thoughts. He quickly shuffled his papers together and shoved them into his binder, which he then shoved into his backpack. Just as he was rising from his desk, he was stopped.

"Arno." His named was called from the front of the class, and as he looked up, he was the general science teacher waving him to approach. He did so, reluctantly, grumbling to himself. He did as instructed, and she began to talk in a hushed tone as the other students filled out of the classroom.

"Are you ok Arno?" She asked. He was slightly thrown off by the question.

"Just tired. I haven't been sleeping well." This was technically true. Mrs. Belpios didn't seem too convinced, and her expression of curiosity and suspicion was almost enough to shake him. However, she quickly resigned her suspicion in favor of a softer expression.

"You know we have councilors here if you ever need to talk to someone, alright Arno?"

"Yeah." He shrugged off her concern, which only served to increase it.

"Well, try to get some good sleep tonight, alright?" He nodded without a verbal response. "Alright. To your next class then." Without another word, Arno took off with his backpack slung around one shoulder.

As soon as he'd left the room, Aelita gave off a sigh. It was frustrating for her to see students struggling, but she could only do so much. Despite being asked by Elisabeth to keep an eye on him, she hadn't been able to ascertain much about him, or his position. She would simply continue to keep her eye on him, as that was all she could do.

Aelita's heels clicked against the tiles of the hallway as she walked, papers in hand, on her way to the teachers lounge. It was lunch time for the students, so she would have a bit of free time to get things done before her next class started.

"Good afternoon Aelita!" The croaking voice of Jim Morales called out to her as she walked. She turned, and the old man was stepping in his direction, leaning his weight onto his sturdy cane to help him walk.

"Good afternoon Jim!" She called back. She halted her steps, waiting for him to catch up. "How have the students been treating you?"

"Oh they're alright so far. Been behaving, probably only when they know they're being watched. I've been waiting for some of them to step out of line, so I can show them who's boss, like I did back when I was in the special ops military division back in Canada."

"That sounds pretty exciting." Aelita prompted, knowing exactly what he would say next.

"Oh it was, although, I'd rather not talk about it." Jim croaked with laughter, and Aelita smiled. Some things never change, no matter how old they become.

The teachers lounge was nearly empty, and perfectly quiet. Only a couple of teachers were there, and they kept to themselves for the most part, looking over lesson plans and working on their own things. Jeremy wasn't there yet, but Aelita was certain he wouldn't be too far behind her.

After parting ways with Jim, she took a seat in the back corner of the room, spreading out her papers and giving them a look-over. Not five minutes had passed before the door to the lounge opened again, and in walked not only Jeremy, but Ulrich as well. She flashed them a smile, and they did the same before making their way over to the table.

"We're already a month into the school year." Said Ulrich, pulling out seats for himself, and for Jeremy. "Time really does fly."

"No kidding." Aelita replied. "How have your classes been so far? Have the students been giving you any trouble?"

"Not as much as I would've given myself back when I was their age. Good kids for the most part. Although I feel kinda sorry for that one kid, Arno. That little kid, Jonah, I bet he talks his ear off. Reminds me of Odd a little bit, just less annoying." They all shared a laugh as the three of them settled into their seats. They carried on casual conversation, although Aelita was oddly silent. As Jeremy and Ulrich talked about their students, and the direction they wanted the year to go, thoughts of her nightmare began to surface in her mind.

"Daddy, no!" She winced as the words resurfaced.

"Are you ok Aelita?" Jeremy softly brushed his hand against his wife's arm, causing her to bolt upright in her seat. She gave off a few confused exclamations and glanced quickly between the two others. "Hey, are you alright?" Jeremy prompted again. She nodded, feining a smile, but neither of them were convinced.

"Is something wrong?" She fell silent, but only for a few moments.

"I'm just thinking," she said, "about these nightmares I've been having recently."

"Is it the-"

"Same one? Yes, yes it is." Aelita cut Jeremy off, already knowing exactly what he would say.

Both Jeremy and Ulrich were silent, exchanging worried glances. Neither of them were the best at consoling Aelita, but how could they? Ulrich was never close with his family, and Jeremy's were still very much alive and active. Neither of them had ever seen what she had. Even having spent years with Aelita, Jeremy was still speechless in times like these, but it wasn't anything that Aelita held against him.

"You'd think that 20 years might take a the edge off a bit." She muttered to herself. Jeremy reached across the table, and softly took her hand into his.

"You went through something that no kid should have ever gone through." He said. "Something like that won't just wear off, but no matter how much more time it takes, we're right here with you." Aelita looked up at Jeremy with a soft smile, but it was short lived.

"The main thing I'm worried about is the timing of it all. I haven't had these dreams in years, and now I'm having them every other night, just out of the blue?" She paused. "You don't think that-"

"Not a chance." Ulrich interjected, dismissing her concern with a wave of his hand. "It's done." His confidence would've inspired anyone else to believe him, but there were still thoughts that nagged at the back of Aelita's mind, pushing her to believe otherwise. Jeremy, taking note of her expression, rubbed his thumb over the top of her hand, gently gathering her attention.

"What if we went and took a look after school today? Do you think that would help?"

Aelita considered this for quite some time. Returning to the old site could very well reassure her that it was indeed all over, but it could also allow nearly forgotten strife and turmoil to resurface. She shook her head.

"No. I don't think going back would help at all. If anything that might make it worse."

"How about a distraction then?" Jeremy offered. Aelita shot him an inquisitive look. "Why don't we go to the cinema tonight, and see what's playing?" Thinking on this for a moment, she broke into a smile.

"That does sound like fun. Any it could help me get my mind off of things for a while. Plus, it has been a while since we've been on a date."

"Then it's settled." Said Jeremy. He gave the hand of his wife a few more reassuring carresses before turning his attention to his food, and to Ulrich, although he never let go of Aelita's hand. The two of them talked for a little bit about the cinema down the road, and about finding films that might even make Odd's old short films seem good by comparison. Aelita, however, couldn't stomach simple conversation. Try as she might, she still couldn't distract herself from the nightmares.

"That's just what they are; nightmares." She said to herself in her head. "Just nightmares, nothing more."

Jonah's focus was, as it normally was, elsewhere. While Arno and Max held a quiet discussion at the lunch table, Jonah's eyes were scanning every corner of the room. He sat backwards on the bench, giving casual greetings to everybody that passed him, not even touching his lunch.

"Incredible." Max spoke both to Arno, and to himself as he flipped through the pages of the notebook. "I wish to read French, too. The computer talk is code, no french, just numbers, cracked words. There's so much read!"

"I swear, one of these days I'm going to buy a french textbook for you so I can understand what you're trying to say." Arno muttered. His mood was never sunny, but today it was especially foul, through no fault of Max or Jonah's. Ever since they had discovered the computer, he felt as though he had to watch his back, and sleep hadn't been very easy, either.

They'd only returned to Lyoko a few times since their first visit, and every time it was to the same ice bridge and deep blue horizon, but today was different. Today, after lunch, they were going to try again, and explore. Arno wasn't the least bit happy about this desicion. He had constantly tried to disuade Jonah and Max from exploring further, and he juggled the idea of simply forgetting about the computer himself, and leaving them to their own devices. Then he remembered that Jonah had no sense of self preservation, and would be left in the hands of someone who could barely piece together half-coherent sentences. Every time he remembered that, he was reminded why he couldn't leave them by themselves.

Max went on about the book, and slowly but surely Arno was able to put the pieces together; he couldn't read French, or write it, or speak it, but he was able to put together the scripts that were comprised completely of either binary code, or universal terms. Of course, most of the Journal was comprised of this code, with only small fragments of written word scattered throughout. Arno had taken a few peeks at the pages, but the written words only explained the functions of it all, not the story behind it.

"I still can't understand how the two of you are so easygoing about all of this." Said Arno. "This is insane." He half expected Jonah to pipe up about how he was free to leave at any time, but the boy said nothing. Almost surprised, Arno turned to see if he were still alive, and found that something (or rather, someone) had caught his attention.

Across the way was a girl, on whom Jonah's eyes were glued. She was tall, dainty, and fair, with freckles up and down her face. Her blond hair was long, and heavy enough to weigh itself down on her back without being held together by a hair tie. She wore a beige, almost cream colored sweater, and sat with only one other individual. He looked as though he were an opposite of her; dark skin, dark clothes, dark eyes, he didn't look too dissimilar from Arno, except his face was without blemish, his skin was a few shades darker, and his hair was nothing more than a layer of fuz on his head. He wore jeans and a red t-shirt, and Arno took note of the fact that both of them wore an identical golden band on their wrists.

"Jonah." Arno nudged the boy's back, but failed to shake him.

"That is the prettiest girl I have ever seen." The boy breathed, staring intently at her.

"Oh boy." Arno shook Jonah's shoulder, snagging his focus. "Jonah, don't stare." The boy, after some hesitation, did as he was told, and he turned his attention back to the others.

"She was so pretty! Did you see her?"

"Yes, I did, and I didn't have to stare at her to do so." He put his arm on Jonah's shoulder in an attempt to get him to focus, but almost as soon as he'd done so, he felt his shoulder slip away. He turned, and Jonah was gone.

"Jonah?" He looked around, and somehow the boy who stood out like a sore thumb had slipped into the small crowd of students. Then he managed to spot him pop up at another table; the same table with the blond girl and the boy. "Oh my god." Arno grumbled. "We need to get that kid a leash."

"Little monkey." Said Max. Arno wasn't going to bother trying to translate that. He watched Jonah climb onto the bench just opposite the girl. He spoke, and she seemed receptive enough, at least she didn't shove him away as soon as he opened his mouth. The two of them seemed to hold a conversation, but before long, the sound of a bell rang out above their heads. Lunch was over.

"Do you wanna go get him, or should I?" Asked Arno, turning back to Max, who shot him a half-eyed stare. "Alright, I'll go." He rose from his seat and took a few steps over to where Jonah now sat.

"Time to go buddy." He said, without stopping for more than a moment before he started to walk away. He heard Jonah give off a groan.

"But I only just started talking!"

"Yes, and now it's time to leave, you can talk again next time."

"But she's super friendly!" He tried to resist as Arno pulled him along, but they both stopped when the girl spoke up.

"It's alright! I'll just come with!" She said, quickly packing her things, just as the boy beside her did the same. Unlike her, he was silent, his lips not even parting to breathe.

"No, it's ok, you don't have to, I would hate to be a bother." Arno tried to hurry Jonah along, but the girl and the boy were up and out of their seats shockingly fast.

"Oh please," she said, "you're not a bother at all!"

"Yeah, well, we have to get to class anyways."

"Which class?"

"French." Said Max.

"Defense against the Dark Arts!" Cried Jonah.

"English." Said Arno, stepping infront of the both of them.

"That's perfect!" The girl slung a bag over her shoulder, and her silent companion stepped forward to stay by her side. "I have that class too, we can walk together." Arno and Max stole a glance at each other, each one giving the other a quick and soft shake of the head. Then Arno spoke again.

"I'm sorry, I meant to say that we have math next." The girl gestured with her shoulder over to the boy by her side.

"That's alright. He has math class next, I want to walk him to class anyways." Again, Max and Arno stole a look. Max was confused, but Arno was silently fuming.

"No, we have to go the long way anyways, Jonah has a few things to grab from his room.

"I do?" Before Jonah could utter a single other incriminating word, Arno shoved him along.

"Good to meet you, by the way." Said Arno, before he pushed Jonah out of the cafeteria, followed by Max. They walked for a few minutes across the campus, and Arno was constantly looking over his shoulder to make sure they weren't followed. "Kid, I swear that I'm gonna start to keep you on a leash, got it?"

"But the skin on my neck chafes!"

"Then I'll get one of those little backpack leashes!"

"Really?" Jonah looked up with sparkling eyes. "I love those things! My mom used to have a bunch of them!" Arno's hand raised up to his face.

"Not another word, kid." At this point, Arno's steps were so wide that both Jonah and Max were practically jogging to keep up with him.

"Back to the beep beep machine?" Asked Max. They both assumed he meant the old car factory, but then again 'beep beep machine' could be anything.

"You mean the factory?" Arno's low tone was somethign akin to a growl. "Yes, I suppose so."

"Field trip!" Jonah exclaimed. Both of the others simultaniously shushed him.

"We don't want a conga!" Max said, in a hushed tone. Despite his more carefree attitude with all of this, even he was a bit uptight after that conversation. He and Arno both knew that being followed wouldn't be good for anyone.

Walking across the courtyard, they took constant glances over their shoulders to make sure they weren't followed.

Only after passing through the campus gates, walking the sidewalk that lined it, and crossing the road that led into the gaping maw of the old car factory, did the two boys allow their guard to fall. The din of the outside world was enough to cover whatever volume they made now.

"Jonah, I swear I'm gonna duck tape your mouth shut." Arno snapped. Jonah's eyes lowered to the ground.

"Sorry." He muttered. His apology was certainly sincere, but even so Arno wouldn't let him off the hook so easily.

"Come on." A swift pat on the back was enough to get the boy moving again. "Let's just get down there, you can pick up a conversation later." Jonah, followed by the other two, made his way down to the main chamber of the factory. The three of them walked almost in single file, silent, constantly watching over their shoulders, until they boarded the elevator tram, and slid the doors shut.

The car shook, then hummed, then it slowly began to descend into the heart of the factory. The second it disappeared below the concrete floor, the coast was clear, and Trisha peered over the edge. She stared at where it had been as though it would come right back up.

"Shoot. Lost them." She said, brushing a few strands of her blond hair back behind her ear. She knew that wherever that elevator was, there had to be another way to get to it. "Come on Oliver." She said, before shoving herself back onto her feet, and walking the narrow concrete path that led down to the vast coridor. Behind her walked her brother, Oliver. Unlike her, he was barely vocal at all. If he were invisible, most people would've even realize he was there. He followed her closely, nervously looking in all directions with his hands knit together, and his brow furrowed.

"Don't worry Oliver, we'll be fine!" She assured him. Even without any vocal cues she could feel his discomfort as he stepped behind her. She walked in front for this very reason; if she had allowed him to lead the way, they might not have ever gotten anywhere. He followed her closely until they reached the space where the elevator would have been. Trisha peered down the shaft, scanning the dark walls until her eyes finally came to rest on a ladder built into the concrete. Not wanting to waste any time, she drew back the sleeves of her cream colored sweater, and stuffed her hair into the its neck.

"Come on, let's go!" Even as she twisted around to take a few steps down the ladder, her companion waved his hands furiously, as if shouting 'no', without even opening his mouth. She paid him no mind, and despite his reservations, he cautiously descended behind her.

The vertical tunnel was lengthy, and Trisha was certain that she could see cobwebs in the dim light. She and Oliver climbed down the shaft as quietly as they could. Whatever those two kids were doing with Jonah, it seemed suspicious. They seemed to be in a hurry to drag the boy away, which caught their attention. They'd managed to track the small group across campus, and then out the doors.

"What in the world are they doing in an abandoned factory?" She wondered to herself. They slowly made their way down, causing the elevator to draw closer and closer to them, until they touched their feet to the roof of the tram. They settled quietly, and removed a pannel from the ceiling of the elevator. That's when the voices poured through the opening.

The three of them were still in front of the tram, standing in a room lit with a strange green light. The one that was talking, the boy with messy black hair, spoke in very broken words, so much so that Trisha couldn't tell what he was trying to get at, and apparently neither could the other two.

"Why the hell did you come to France if you can't speak French?" Asked the dark skinned boy. Trisha saw the other one reply with a shrug, and then the three of them delved deeper into the room, past Trisha's line of sight. She waited for a few moments, listening to the sound of their footsteps as they trailed off. Then, she dipped her head into the opening, and looked into the room.

Fortunately for her, they all had their backs turned to her. She was able to get an unobstructed view of the massive room, and everything within. She was stunned.

The entire room looked like something out of a sci-fi book. At the center of the room was a strange glowing platform, and in front of that, there were a set of computer monitors and a chair in which the black haired boy was now sitting. There was a strange green glow that permeated the room, and the three spoke in voices that were only just barely audible from where she was.

"So what now?" Asked the dark skinned boy.

"We explore!" Jonah quipped. The tone of his voice was pure excitement, and he was almost jumping as he spoke. "We've been to Lyoko like three times already, and all we do is hop in, then hop out! You've seen the map, it looks like there are lots of other places to explore!"

"We barely even know anything about the one place we've seen! We should explore the ice before we move onto anything else."

"But we've seen the ice! What about the other places?"

"The other places can wait until we know exactly what it is that we're getting involved in."

"But we won't know what we're getting involved in if we don't actually dive into things!"

Trisha listened to the conversation devolve into a shouting match between Jonah and the other boy. They shot back and forth trying to convince the other of their position, but in the end, both of them appeared stuck. That's about when Trisha started to lose her footing.

"This isn't something we can be reckless about!" Arno's arms were crossed over his puffed out chest. "We don't even know what this place is about, and you're just diving in headfirst because it looks like a fun game? This could be dangerous! This could be restricted! And what's more, we don't want to attract the wrong kind of attention!"

"But we haven't drawn in any attention so far!" Jonah responded, as Max once again turned his head towards the speaker. "Don't you think someone would have already found out if this was something bad?" Arno bit his tongue. For once, Jonah had brought up a decent point; the group would have already been caught, if this were truly a military machine. Of course, that wouldn't stop him from worrying, but it was something to consider. Fortunately for Arno, he wouldn't have to find a rebuttal to Jonah's point.

The three of them heard a sharp grunt from the elevator, and Jonah immediately shuffled behind Arno, hiding from the intruder. He hid for only a moment before his face lit up.

"It's you!" He called out.

"You?!" Arno growled. The same girl that they'd seen in the cafeteria was now rubbing her back with a low, pained groan. Arno examined her; blond hair, cream sweater, the golden band on her wrist, it was the same girl alright, although she was missing her companion. "What the hell are you doing here?!" He stomped over to her, loud and aggressive enough for her to take on a defensive stance. He stopped just short of the elevator floor, hands balled up by his sides.

"What are you doing here?!" She shot back. "What is this place?"

"That's not important." Arno snapped.

"Oh isn't it? Then it wouldn't be a problem if every student at Kadic knew about it then?" Arno's face went as white as it could get, then it flushed red. He remained silent.

"Oh, I wanna explain!" Jonah took a few quick steps to join Arno and the girl. "This is a-" Arno's hand clamped over the boy's mouth, turning his words into a surprised muffled shout.

"How do we know we can trust you?" He asked.

"Trust me? How do I know I can trust you!"

"Because I'm not the one who followed people around!"

"You seemed like you were up to something! I had to make sure that Jonah here was gonna be safe!"

"Believe me, I'm the only thing keeping this kid safe, he has no sense of self preservation!"

"So then this is something dangerous!"

"Yes! I mean, no! I'm still trying to figure it out!"

Maxwell watched as the shouting match grew, and he pulled a small snack food container out of his back before starting to eat. Finally, it was Jonah who broke up the commotion.

"Please be quiet!" He said. His face was visibly agitated, and his volume was enough to silence the other two. "Please, no shouting." He muttered. Everyone remained quiet for a moment, until Arno huffed through his nose, turning to the girl again.

"So long as you promise not to tell a soul, I'll tell you everything I know." She nodded.

"Deal. But, first." She turned to the elevator. "Oliver! You can come down now!" Her voice was soft as she called out to the unseen figure, and after a few moments, a the boy from the cafeteria dropped down, landing on the floor, and walking out of the car. He was, as he was before, silent. He stayed a few steps behind her, cautiously scanning the environment with wide eyes. As he did so, the girl reached out her hand. "Trisha. Trisha Yeeno. And this is my adopted brother, Oliver." After a moment's hesitation, Arno reached out in turn, shaking her hand.

"Arno Luma. This is Jonah, and Maxwell." He pointed back to the boy at the computer, who waved to Trisha. She smiled.

"Good. So, now that we all know each other, you have quite a bit of explaining to do."

Authors notes-

I actually felt pretty good about this chapter, or at least everything past the midpoint. Tell me if you enjoy it; I'm trying out a new writing style after having listened to a few of the Halo novels.

I'm still busy with school, and I'm still worldbuilding for my novel all the while, so I'll try to have these chapters out as frequently as I can get them.

I know it's been a slow start, but trust me, things will start to pick up here pretty soon.