Sorry about the delay- I let writer's block get the best of me. Hopefully, that won't last.

I'm running out of ways to say thank you for the reviews- and it's only chapter six. (shakes head) This chapter's purpose is to kill time and get you anxious for the ending. I personally don't like it all that much. But it does have some interesting bits, and after this is where things get juicy. Trust me.

Either way, here's something to feast your eyes on.

Disclaimer: If I owned Code: Lyoko...you would be watching this episode instead of reading this fanfic. YAY!!

Chapter 6
Day Two: Role Reversal

Deja vu.

When Jeremie's brain snapped into gear, that was the first thing he thought. He was sitting in a small patch of grass, beside a road and a wall. He knew he'd been here before, just when-

Then he remembered. The factory. The RTTP. Jeremie slapped his forehead. Why wasn't his brain working?

He'd read over Franz Hopper's diary several times, if skipping a few entries here and there. Each entry was dated on the same day- June 6, 1994- but the count of how many days he had worked kept climbing regardless. The only way that could've happened is if Franz had reversed time to the beginning of the day over and over- which was exactly what he'd done.

Jeremie stood up slowly. He wondered how anyone could stand repeating the day over that many times. Looking around, he spotted the same newspaper he had found the day- revision?- before. He picked it up- yep, he was right, June 6. Dammit. He threw it down again, and looked up at the wall.

"Guess I've got nothing better to do," he mused out loud. He'd attend Kadic as a shadow again. It was something to do, and he wouldn't be picked up off the street by truant officers. (Ulrich had told him about them. They sounded really scary.) He started down the grass towards the gate- it was actually open, contrary to what the big man from the last revision had said.

A bit slower than he had before, he walked over to the same tree where he had hacked himself in before. He sat down, and took out his laptop. It was easier to hack into the system now, mainly because he knew where he was going. He remembered his mental note to save his hack onto a CD, and did so. Now, he'd be able to do it even faster next time. Next time. Crap.

He saw the crowds gathering as they had done yesterday. Exact same spots, even. Jeremie wondered if he should run into Chris again. Hey, once you find friends, you stick with them. He stood up. Scanning the crowd, he didn't find Chris, but he did find another familiar face.

Aelita was standing very close by, her back to him. Her expression was blank. It seemed like she was just standing and waiting for the world to happen. He stood up, transfixed. He should go to Chris again, but...he did some quick math in his head. Aelita minus Chris equals WIN.

He sped off towards Aelita. He didn't mean to run into her on purpose, but with the help of blind love and a cross breeze, he did, knocking her over in the process, and landing on her. Squeaking, he moved off her immediately. She stood up quicker than he did. Contrary to Chris's warm understanding, she looked absolutely furious.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, willya? Geez..." She intended to turn around, walk away, and forget about it, but Jeremie wasn't done. He tried to stand up, but fell over.

"W-wait! I'm sorry...I'm shadowing here...I just need to know where first period English is...I'm sorry..." He attempted the most pitiful face he could. (When you haven't hit puberty, you have a repotire of pitiful faces.) Aelita looked back at him, groaned, and pointed toward the same building he had seen the other day, without another word.

"Okay, thank you...I'm sorry..."

"Stop apologizing, it's kind of pathetic." Jeremie didn't know how to respond to that. Apologize? He was still wondering when he heard a comfortingly familiar voice. "Hey, Aelita! What's up?"

Chris came running over, from the same spot Jeremie had found him in yesterday. He stopped by Aelita, and looked down at Jeremie. "This guy bothering you? I could kick his-"

"Nah, he's just some shadow. Needed to know where class was. Ignore him." Jeremie groaned miserably. Chris took a quick look at him.

"Hello." He turned back to Aelita immediately. "So, uh..." He scratched his head. A bead of sweat formed on his temple. "Nice weather, isn't it?"

"Yes. Very nice." She stared at the sky for a second. "But it's going to get cloudier later. What are you still doing here?" Her eyes locked on his.

"Uh...I don't know...so-I mean-"

"Hey, Aelita, don't be so mean. He's just a harmless kid." His mouth said that, but his eyes were looking him up and down. He wondered if he'd been doing that in the last revision as well.

"Well..." The bell rang. Jeremie stood up frantically and scampered to the English class. Thank god for school bells, however nasally and annoying.

The English class seemed, at first, to be much the same as it had been on the last revision. The kids sat at the exact same tables as they had, and the chatter sounded much the same. Jeremie sat alone at the back of the class, trying to attract as little notice as he could. He did, however, wave at Aelita as she came in, flanked by Chris. She didn't notice, or at the very least pretended not to.

Just minutes after the final bell rang, a woman stepped in. It was clear who she was- Medea Delmas, that woman from the last revision. Her entry was exactly the same as it had been yesterday- down to the people shouting her name at the exact intrevals. It was kind of creepy.

The sameness only ended when Medea stopped her introductions, scanned the class for empty seats, and noticed the blond boy with glasses that really shouldn't have been there. Her eyes turned to him. Jeremie was reminded of Franz Hopper, though her gaze wasn't nearly as intense or antagonistic.

"Hm...who's that kid in the back?" Her eyes narrowed.

"Uh...Jeremie Belpois, ma'am." Jeremie stood up, hoping he wasn't making a fool of himself. "I'm a shadow, ma'am."

"None of this 'ma'am' business, it stuffs up the room. Well, Jeremie, welcome to Kadic! I never got any notice about you, but I'm sure it's in the system somewhere..." She giggled. The rest of the class laughed with her. "Ah, sorry. School computer systems. Big joke." Jeremie was sure he'd heard that before.

"In any case, I'm Medea Delmas, and I'm the English teacher. Call me Medea, everyone does for some reason. Yep." She nodded. The class stared at her. She suddenly became very interested in the chalkboard.

Nobody talked to Jeremie. It was as though Chris's presence in the previous revision invited them in, but now, himself alone pushed them away. He set his head in his hands, staring at the board, thinking of back-end coding fluxes to keep himself lightly amused. (The author would like to note that she has no idea what she just wrote.) Chris and Aelita sat in front of them, taking notes on whatever was going on. Jeremie wondered where she had been on the past revision.

About three-fourths way through the class, the air in the classroom seemed to get slightly less relaxing as Medea began explaining the exceptions to plurals. (Pretty hard subject matter.) Jeremie's mind began to wander. Then, suddenly, as thoughts are apt to do, an important one came to him. He'd forgotten something.

"Ma-Medea? Can I be excused? I forgot something." He spoke before his hand was in the air.

"Sure, uh-whatever your name is. Just come back." She laughed a little. Jeremie stared at her a heartbeat, and then ran off.

On the past revision, Jean-Pierre had told him that he should have come to the front office and introduced himself. Well, he thought, wouldn't it make more sense to do that this time around? Maybe, maybe not. After all, things had gone perfectly well before. And even if they didn't now, the RTTP at the end would save him. Hopefully.

He ran into the administrative building, passing lots of hallways, and coming to one he knew as the way to the principal's office. He ran into the secretarial area, where, of course, the secretary sat. That's what secretaries do. He sat in a chair, and looked up at the woman sitting at the rather dated-looking computer. It wasn't Nicole Weber, as it was in the present- she would have been too young at this point. Instead, it couldn't have been anyone else but Suzanne Hertz, the current science teacher. The puff of grey hair- still grey- and the round glasses could belong to no other.

Jeremie stared bewildered at her- it wasn't that odd, actually, Ms. Hertz seemed the deskwork type- then spoke. "Uhm, uh...I'm supposed to see the principal, should I..."

"The principal? Oh, he just left to get some coffee. He'll be back in about thirty seconds." She didn't even look at him.

"Okay, thank you. May I go in?"

"Sure, he won't mind, I think I hear him coming now." Still not looking at him. Looking at her computer screen as he walked into the office, Jeremie could have sworn he'd seen her playing some sort of game.

The office was almost exactly the same as it was in the present day. Same desk. Same chair. Same large area for interrogating the guilty. The items on the desk varied slightly- the computer looked older, for one thing, and there were a few more picture frames. Mr. Delmas's chair's back was turned to him at the moment.

He stood and looked at the desk, having nothing else to do, when the chair suddenly swivelled around. There appeared to be nothing in it at first- then he looked down. Seated low in it, almost invisible, was a very young girl, perhaps two years old. Her short black hair was worn up in pigtails, and she wore a denim jumper over a bright green t-shirt. Her feet were probably dangling in midair. She was the second most insanely cute little girl Jeremie had ever seen.

The second she saw him, her face hardened into a pout. Comically, she stood up on the chair, pointed right at him, and said, in the most adorable toddler's lisp, "YOU BEEN BAAAAAAAD!"

He had to fight down laughs as she went on. "Bad boy! Bad bad bad! Daddy does bad things to bad boys! Bad bad-"

"Elizabeth, calm down, it's okay." Jeremie didn't have to look to know that Jean-Pierre had just stepped in. "He's done nothing wrong, in fact I don't even know why he's here." He walked up to the desk, looking quizzically at Jeremie. The girl- whom he now recognized as a much younger Sissi- slumped in the chair, looking defeated at the prospect of no guilty masses to interrogate. "I'm sorry about my daughter. Kind of overzealous. So who are you?"

"I'm a shadow...Jeremie Belpois. I was told to come here and introduce myself."

"Hm...I heard nothing about you." He slid past Sissi and typed something in his computer. "Ah- there you are. This should have alerted me much earlier." He sighed. "But, that's technology for you. "So, it says here you go to Mouscadet Junior High...you live up north..."

"Yes, sir."

"And you have been placed in homeroom 8-B. I really should have been told about this. Well, thank you...I imagine you want to get back to class." A bell sounded across the complex. "I imagine you really want to get back to class."

"Yes, it was nice to meet you and all. You have a very cute daughter." He wondered how long he could keep up this politeness.

"I've heard that too many times. Good luck." Jeremie ran out. That took less time than he'd thought. Now, he just had to get to second period- what was it again-

SQUELCH.

His way was hindered suddenly by a mass of flesh, which he bounced off of- ew- and fell to the ground. Looking up, he saw the large man from the last revision, the one who had thrown him into Kadic. Unlike then, however, he recognized him instantly.

It was Jim. Jeremie had no clue how he had not recognized him before. He looked exactly the same- twelve years had made little to no difference. He was as large as ever, still wearing the same old track suit, the same old headband, and hopefully not the same old bandaid. The look of having caught a misbehaving child was also the same- one of triumph.

"Hey! Uh...whatsyername! You know you're not supposed to be in that building!" He was still as imposing as ever. "In fact, you should be in class! Skipping out, huh? Well, if you want to be in that building so much, I could cart you right back in to have a chat with the principal about where you've been!"

How ironic. "No, no, you see, I was-"

"No buts about it! I don't remember who you are, but you've been here long enough to know who's boss and who's not!" So, this Jim thought he was a student he had forgotten the name of. How odd.

"But- let me explain-" Out of the corner of his eye, Jeremie saw two very familiar faces walk by- Aelita, walking slowly, and Chris, skipping behind her. Looking round, he saw Jim, and ran towards him. Aelita paused for a moment, and then walked slowly in his direction. As if anything else could go wrong.

"'Ey, Uncle Jimbo, why are you beating on the shadows?" Chris skidded to a halt in front of Jim. "Or did you give him a chance to explain?"

"Explain wha-?" Jim looked thoroughly confused for a moment. "Oh, yeah, you're a-"

"A shadow...I was supposed to be in there...to introduce myself..."

Jim thought for a moment. A long, long moment. "Well, I guess if you're supposed to, I can't punish it...and that explains why I didn't know you..." He paused. "But that does NOT mean that while you are on the premises, you are exempt from any other school rules! Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, then that's good. See you later, Chris!" His tone of voice lightened considerably on the last sentence. He step-walked away from the children, leaving them alone. Aelita fingered a loose thread in her jacket, having successfully ignored the whole ordeal.

"Uncle Jimbo?" Jeremie stared at Chris, thoroughly confused.

"Yeah, he's my uncle. Aelita over here has a relative in the school too. Weird, huh?" He seemed to be confused about the fact that he was shooting his mouth off.

"Yes, very odd. Chris, we're going to be late for class." Aelita placed a hand on his shoulder, in an attempt to get him to move. It really did nothing except make him blush purple. "Do we have any other occasions where we're going to have to save you?" Aelita looked at him, her eyes blank. Jeremie was taken back by the cold remark.

"Uh, no, no...but thank you." He tried to look as friendly as possible.

"Sure." She dragged Chris away. Chris waved a bit before he was pulled around a corner.

Jeremie watched as they departed. Chris...Uncle Jimbo...it all sat jumbled in Jeremie's head for a while. Then some scattered thoughts surfaced...oh yeah, that time when Aelita went and auditioned for that music thing. There was that guy, Chris, who was in the Subsonics, who came to Kadic to look for new talent and visit his uncle. Wasn't it...oh, crap.

He wondered why he hadn't noticed it before. Maybe because Chris had bleached his hair white in the present. Or maybe it was the lack of famousness...

Then he realized he had class to get to. So much for thought processes.

The rest of the morning was as uneventful as the last. Perhaps it was even moreso, since it was nearly exactly the same- the teachers, the lessons, even the conversations the children had in between. But, like the good little model student he was, Jeremie listened. Or at least pretended to. The only thing different about the morning was the fact that Chris was not talking to him. He was attached to Aelita's side, finding every chance he could to talk to her. Not that Jeremie was stalking them or anything- or at least, that's what he tried to convince himself.

Lunch was slightly less eventful. This time, however, Jeremie found himself with no place to sit- all tables were occupied. So, he had no choice but to sit on the opposite end of- who else's- Chris and Aelita's table. He tried his best to pretend to ignore them. Still, jealousy flowed through him anxiously. He wanted Chris away from Aelita, different or not. He stared over at them every once in a while. Chris had just waved at him once, then ignored him, but Aelita kept throwing curious looks at him. It kinda freaked him out. That, and the fact that everyone else in the lunchroom stared at him as well. New faces weren't that common this time of year.

Time seemed to be passing more slowly than ever when Jeremie entered the Science classroom on instinct. Chris and Aelita had gotten there before him, and had taken seats near the middle of the room. He looked around. The seat next to Aelita at the next table over was empty. An idea came to him. He walked over to the seat, slowly, deliberately, and sat down. Aelita gave no notice, but Chris did. Boy, did he. His daggers-stare just made Jeremie more curious, though. So I sat near her. Big whoop.

Things were too familiar at this point. When all the kids were seated, and the casual chatter had begun, Jeremie expected Franz Hopper to come bursting in as he had before...but, no. He was late. There was only a minute to be bewildered, though, when he walked in- not hurriedly, as before, but slowly, calmly. He approached the desk, and looked out over the class. A vein twitched in his temple.

His eyes had only scanned for a second when he spotted Jeremie. From eyebrow movements, one could tell that his eyes had gone wide. He hadn't been expecting this. "Hm..."

Jeremie buried his head in the desk. He could hear a chair scraping. "That's Jeremie Belpois, Mr. Hopper, he-"

"I know." Franz's voice cut the room like a knife. More chair scraping- and then footsteps coming closer. Then, the voice again. "Jeremie."

His head snapped up, sweat beading on his forehead. He wished he could hide it- or hide himself again. Franz Hopper kind of gave you that feeling when he stared at you.

"How...interesting."

Silence. Aelita's head was on the table again, shaking. Chris looked at her, concern in his brown eyes.

Finally, Franz sighed, walking away. As he did, one could've sworn a whisper had escaped from him. "Still interesting..."

Jeremie sat there, wide-eyed, just as he had spent the last lesson doing. Unlike the other teachers, who had the exact same lesson plans, Franz's was drastically different. For one thing, he glared at Jeremie during class, once or twice. Two, it wasn't about the table of elements.

He wrote something hurriedly on the chalkboard, and then turned around, with speed and precision that shook the whole class awake.

"Though they are a wholly new piece of technology, only debuting in a full-fledged form sometime in the 80s, computers have already become an important aspect of our lives. Am I right?"

There were some scattered nods. One boy raised his hand.

"Yes, Connor?"

"Aren't we studying the elements?"

Franz looked slightly bewildered for a second, but snapped out of it. "I have decided it more important to your own futures to teach this today. Now-" Connor raised his hand again. "Yes, Connor?"

"Is it going to be on the test?"

"No."

"Then why are we learning it?" The Connor boy (whom Jeremie recognized as the boy who had sat next to Aelita during the last revision) had a look of challenge in his eyes. "Isn't learning stuff in school supposed to just be for the test? I mean, I have NO clue where I'm going to fit the table of elements in my life." Some other kids nodded in agreement. Others looked at him with wide eyes, impressed at his daring.

Something like fury crossed Franz's face, but he kept calm, with a lot of effort. "Ah...that's what I don't like about the educational system. You come to learn, but they're really just teaching you how to pass tests. That always seemed very odd to me..." His voice trailed. He obviously was not comfortable sharing what he had just shared.

"In any case- as I was saying, there are many things these machines can do for us, such as word processing, spreadsheets, and games, which I'm sure you will all understand more than anything else I've said." He gave a short, weak laugh. Nobody else did. "But, I predict that soon enough, they may increase in importance...even become central to our very existence."

He paused for dramatic effect. "A new process is in the works, a plan to create a vast information network linking most computers together as one. The World Wide Web. Internet. Online. I assume most of you have heard of it."

"The Internet? Isn't that what nerds do?" Everyone burst out laughing. Connor seemed to be the class heckler.

"It is true that the World Wide Web has not attracted the attention of many people," he continued over the clamor, "But its growth potential is amazing. We may be sending you into a world where its presence is taken for granted. Does anyone else think so?" It was a clear challenge. Out of the corner of his eye, Jeremie saw Aelita raise her hand.

"Yes, Aelita?"

"Dad-" She rethought her statement. "Mr. Hopper, isn't the Internet a bit too costly and slow to be used by everyone in the world? You told me that yourself. The only way to get on is by a dial-up connection...and they're frustrating." Jeremie couldn't help but agree with her silently. The supercomputer had run on dial-up when he discovered it, and it took him a month to reconfigure it to broadband. Franz looked visibly unnerved. "Ah..."

"But that might change!" Before he could stop himself, he was standing, and that had come out of his mouth. Everyone turned to stare at him. Franz shot him another death glare.

"Yes. Go on?"

"Ahm, well..." Jeremie tried to make a point without giving himself away- he himself coming from the future Franz had described. "Progress is happening every day, right? Maybe they might find new ways of accessing the Internet, faster ones without dial-up! Maybe it might be a tool like he said. Progress is organic, after all, you never know which way it's going to go. Am I right?" His voice cracked.

More staring.

Franz cleared his throat. "That could happen...but at this point it's impossible to know. Nice speech, though."

There was laughter- lots from the back where Connor sat. Jeremie flushed red and sat down. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He peeked over at Aelita- she was smiling. Chris was covering his mouth and giggling.

The rest of the class seemed to pass with a deaf ear. The next thing Jeremie heard was the bell, cutting through the quiet of a Monday afternoon. Franz dismissed them all with a wave of his hand, reminding them that they were back to the elements the next day. Like Jeremie would ever get there. Shuffling out of the classroom, he looked back at Franz. He wasn't looking at him; rather, he was preparing for his next class. He noticed, suddenly, how haggard and tired Franz appeared- even moreso than his voice let on. If he could see his eyes, they must have looked absolutely miserable.

The afternoon was yet still more uneventful. School was starting to get even more boring than usual. By the time the final bell rolled around, it could have been three weeks on non-school timing. The afterschool rush to the dorms and gate was the same as yesterday, except that now, Jeremie walked alone.

But somehow, again, he ended up next to Chris and Aelita again. He wondered if fate actually existed. Nah, it was a psychological impossibility. Still, it was odd. Chris seemed very nervous, absentmindedly wringing his hands as he conversed with Aelita about the weather. She stared oddly at him, commenting now and then.

He wondered why they were walking that way, and then remembered- of course. Aelita was a day student, he had been told on the last revision. She was going home- to the Hermitage. He tried not to look at them.

Chris, desperate to find another topic of conversation, snapped over to Jeremie. "Uh...hey!" They stopped and stared at each other.

More uncomfortable silence.

"Uh...hey." Jeremie was uninterested. "'Bye." He gave a casual wave.

"Okay, bye!" Chris's wave was wide and enthusiastic. Aelita cast a sideways glance at him, then gave a lifeless wave. When that was done with, Jeremie broke into a run- out the gate, around the corner- and once again found himself with absolutely nothing to do. Stuck. Alone. And bored as hell.

Not only could he not go back, not go home, and not go to the present, he couldn't go to the factory. Not only was Franz there every afternoon, he was never, ever getting into that shaft again. He took off down the street. Maybe he could take to the streets...just for one revision. Just one...he could survive, even if someone like Odd or Ulrich was better suited to it than he was. No...he couldn't think about Odd and Ulrich right now. If he did, he'd probably give up. Or Yumi. Or Aeli...

He slumped by a building just outside Kadic grounds. I guess I can stay here until they kick me off for loitering, he thought, laughing silently. Having nothing else to do, he fished his laptop out of his backpack, and began some work. As long as he had spare hours, he could use them. Now, that went there, and that went there, and oh, backspace, forgot to end that tag...

"...think he's been acting pretty strangely, don't you think, Daddy?"

"Well, I don't know much about this 'Chris', but I know that boys do act that way sometimes."

A shiver ran down Jeremie's back. Voices! He stowed away his laptop, which would have been a bit hard to explain, and edged down an alley. Peeking out, he saw two people pass- Aelita, with Franz Hopper. It was the first time he had seen them side-by-side. She looked tiny next to him. Oddly, they looked almost nothing alike. Both of them seemed slightly perkier.

"They do? When?" Aelita skidded to a halt. Franz stopped as well. He looked a bit surprised.

"When...oh, you'll see, Aelita." He laughed, that short one again. "Say...Aelita. Once we get home, I have some...errands to do. I may not be back until late. Keep safe in the house, and watch for the men in black."

"Okay, Daddy, I know." They began walking again. Jeremie watched them until they left his vision. Men in black, what the...?

He fished his computer out again, and started typing. He was home.

Two hours later, he looked down at what he'd done. He'd finished one program and was ready to start another. At this rate he'd- sigh. Every keystroke had felt heavy and unusual. Maybe it was the carpal tunnel he was sure would creep up on him any day. Or maybe it was guilt. Either way, he shut the PC, and stood up.

He started down the street, looking in random shop windows. One place sold shoes. Another, palm readings. Then a 7-11. How freaking interesting. Jeremie wondered if this was how he was going to spend the rest of his life- going back though revisions forever, trapped in a time loop. Of course, XANA would rebel eventually...but who knew how long that would take. It was almost like he was hoping for it. Maybe then he could get in and reverse-engineer the RTTP somehow, make it send him into the future...only he'd never done that before. He didn't even know if it was possible.

But he didn't want to give up. Giving up wasn't Jeremie. If he gave up, his friends were doomed. That was why he always worked so hard, anyway. To keep them alive. So he'd keep going. Maybe endure another day of school or two. Or five. Or forever.

He bought a box dinner from a local deli, and ate it in a corner. It was disgusting.

He wondered when the RTTP would happen. Soon, hopefully. When had Franz ended before...? He didn't know. There were no clocks in empty shafts.

He snapped up, his eyes opening suddenly. He realized that he had been asleep. He checked his watch- 7:58. Maybe he should try and find shelter. Maybe near the factory...or maybe he should just go back to sleep. Did it really matter?

A light in the corner of his eye caught his attention. A big, white bubble was descending over the town. An RTTP bubble. So Franz was done for the evening. Here we go again.

Jeremie let a small smile cross his lips as the bubble enveloped him, taking the world with it.

FINALLY (pant pant). That was hard.

Thank you for sticking with this. Again, I apologize for the delay. (I'm a chronic apologizer-person-thingy. YES.)

Love an' all dat,

-Carth