Jeremie was sitting at his computer desk, writing a new code for a program he wanted to try. He heard a knock on the door. He minimized the window he was on and pulled up a math website, in case it was a teacher, or anyone smarter than Jim.

"Come in."

The door opened to reveal Jim, two bags, and Jason Krilel.

"Jeremie," Jim began, "I know that you haven't had a roommate in a while, but it's two people per room, and you're the only one without a second person. So, I'd like you to meet Jason, he just moved here from America with his twin sister."

Jeremie was speechless, he had had this room all to himself for so long. Now he was going to have to share. He wasn't too happy about that.

"Okay..." Jeremie said, depressed that his privacy was being given away.

"Alright," Jim said, "Jason, we should have another bed in here by tomorrow. But for now, here's a bedroll," He handed a large roll of plush foam over to the 13 year old.

After Jim left, Jason entered the room.

"Well this is a pretty lucky turn of events," He said smiling, "At least I get to bunk with someone I know."

"I haven't shared a room with anyone before..." Jeremie said, still not believing what just happened, "Plus, I've only known you for a few hours."

There was a silence between the two. When it started to become awkward, Jason broke the silence. "Do you know where I can put my stuff?"

Aelita was laying on her bed, thinking about - things, life, life in a computer, computer viruses, boys, friends...Jeremie. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. She opened it to see Lilly standing there with two bags and a rolled up bedroll.

"I don't suppose you know where I can sleep, do you?" She asked.

"Uh..." Aelita hadn't thought that she was the only girl without a roommate, and she had forgotten that Lilly and Jason said that they would be getting rooms tonight. But she shook her self out of the minor stupor and answered the question.

"I guess," She began, kind of surprised, "just, anywhere really."

"Okay." Lilly entered the room and placed her things in an unoccupied corner. She opened her smaller bag and pulled out her laptop. She opened up a program that looked similar to Jeremie's code writing program.

"Are you making a program?" Aelita asked, truly curious about the computer.

"No, I'm editing my brother's avatar, he wanted me to add a laser edge to his machete."

"You can do that?" Aelita had just thought that Lyoko made the avatar based on the person's DNA.

"Yeah, my dad used to use it. It just helped him control the virus."

"You mean XANA?"

"That thing has a name? Weird, but it makes sense if it's A.I."

"Do you have an avatar?" Aelita asked.

"Yeah, I might never use it, but I have one," She looked at Aelita with a devious smile, "It's a secret though."

"Oh, okay," Aelita felt a yawn coming on, "Do you need help getting set up?"

"No, I'm fine. I have a bedroll and an alarm clock..." She went over a mental checklist, then she laughed, "Do you have an extra set of sheets?"

Jason woke up to see that Jeremie had already left. Great, how am I supposed to find the cafeteria? He got up, put a shirt on (Jason sleeps in jeans), and walked out of the room. He just followed the crowd down the hall, and almost walked into a very hastened Odd.

"Hey! Watch where you're going," Odd looked at him and recognized him almost instantly, "Oh, you're that new guy, Jason right? I don't think we were ever introduced, I'm Odd."

"That's an interesting name, but likewise, I'm Jason, glad to have saved you back in Lyoko." He smiled, which made Odd feel uneasy. He didn't know what it was, but that smile was just creepy.

"Odd, let's go!" Ulrich said as he left the room. "Do you want to miss breakfast?" Then he saw who was standing next to Odd. "Oh, hey Jason. You going to breakfast?"

Jason nodded and the three of them started walking down the hall.

When they got there, Jason saw Lilly sitting with Aelita, so he went and sat with them. Eventually, Odd, Ulrich, and Jeremie sat down at the table. Odd immediately started eating as if he hadn't in years.

"Your food isn't going anywhere Odd." Ulrich said, laughing. Just then, Sissi walked up and smiled at Ulrich, then saw the two new kids.

"It's amazing, not even here a day and already hanging out with the losers," Then she paused and looked at Ulrich, "Except for you, Ulrich darling."

"What do you want Sissi?" Ulrich asked.

"Could you come see me by the park after breakfast?"

"Why?"

"I just want to talk to you alone."

Ulrich thought for a second, "Sure."

"Great! It's a date!" She shouted and ran off. Ulrich considered shouting back at her, but thought it best not too.

"Is it just me," Ulrich said, "Or is she acting weird today?"

"Sissi? Weird? That's never happened before!" Odd said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry, but who was that?" Jason asked.

"Sissi Delmas," Odd answered through a mouth full of food, "She's the principal's daughter and the most spoiled girl in this school."

"Not to mention," Ulrich added, "She has a crush on me."

"So she doesn't normally act like that?" Lilly asked.

"Well, normally she doesn't prance off after I tell her yes, but I normally do that."

They all finished their food and left to go stand outside, Ulrich went over to the park to see Sissi. Just as Jeremie sat on the bench, his laptop started beeping.

"XANA?" Odd asked, frowning. Jeremie nodded. Odd threw his hands in the air, "Can't he just give us one day of peace?"

"If he's attacking, we've got to stop him Odd."

Just then a spectre appeared right behind Jason. It went into him, his eyes flickered for a second, but then, the spectre exited through his chest. Jason started tapping the back of his head (Where the spectre had entered), he had never had that feeling before. He saw the spectre go off into a set of wires and disappear.

"So that's XANA..." He said absentmindedly.

He looked around at the group. Their mouths were open in shock, even Lilly looked scared. "What's wrong?"

"That's not possible..." Aelita mumbled.

"You just rejected a spectre." Jeremie stated, disbelievingly.

"What, other people can't do that?"

"Wow! That was so cool!" Odd shouted, coming out of his mental haze.

"You're lucky it didn't possess you," Jeremie said, "I don't think you rejected it, I think XANA is looking for something."

"Like what?"

"Maybe..." Jeremie started, "No, that wouldn't make sense."

"Out with it Einstein!" Odd shouted.

"Never mind that!" Aelita said, obviously irritated, "Let's just get to Lyoko and deactivate that tower."

Jeremie and Odd nodded, Jason and Lilly just looked at each other. They followed the three to the entrance in the woods, where they found Yumi, who was waiting for them. The twins had to pick up their pace when the four others got on their skateboards and scooters. They entered the factory and headed to the elevator, which was a little better with six. Jeremie and Lilly got off at the Lab, while the remaining four went to the scanners.

"I'm going to virtualize you guys in the mountain sector." Jeremie said on the PA.

"Oh great," Odd joked, "And I forgot to pack my hiking gear."

Aelita entered the left scanner, Odd entered the center, and Yumi entered the one on the right.

"Transfer Aelita, transfer Odd, transfer Yumi." Jeremie said, "Scanner Aelita, scanner Odd, scanner Yumi."

Jason saw a bright light in the large machines.

"Virtualization." Jeremie said.

All three scanners opened, empty. Jason entered, just thinking it would go like last time.

"Transfer Jason, scanner Jason." Jason closed his eyes, felt a powerful gust of air, and then saw a bright light. "Virtualization."

He opened his eyes right before he fell. He landed in a position he had seen in an action movie: right leg bent, left leg straight out to the left, both hands on the ground.

"Hey," Odd greeted him happily, "Now I get to have a better look at you."

Jason looked himself over, he had a green camo jumpsuit without sleeves on the arms. He had a sheath on his right leg with a machete in it, and two holsters on the back of his belt, which was black.

"Guys, be careful, there's a krab coming your way, 1 o'clock," Jeremie said, "I think my scanners may be glitching, but if they aren't, then there four tarantulas guarding the tower."

"Wow, XANA's rolling out all the fire power." Odd commented. Then he turned to Jason, "Well, go crazy like before, we'll be done here in no time!"

"Uh," Jason rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, that was a one time thing."

"What do you mean?" Yumi asked

"Well, frenzy is a one time thing, and I used it when I needed to."

"Do you have any other abilities?" Odd questioned.

"I have two, Stealth Step and Hunter."

"What do they do?" Odd asked, forgetting about the approaching krab.

"Hunter is automatic, this is Stealth Step." Jason took one step and disappeared.

"Where'd he go?"

"He's not on the map either," Jeremie said, "He's just... gone."

Odd just turned to the krab and took aim. Yumi was about to throw her fan, when a red beam appeared right above its head. It dropped and pierced the eye of XANA mark on the krab. Jason reappeared and jumped off the monster just as it exploded.

"And that is Stealth Step." He turned and started walking in the direction of the tower.

In the real world, Jeremie was still trying to get a hold of Ulrich, but to no avail. He wasn't paying attention to the camera feed from the scanner room, until Lilly asked, "What's that?"

"Huh?" Jeremie looked at the screen and saw the spectre come out of one of the lights and enter the center scanner. Within moments, it was sparking and turned off.

"XANA just killed the scanner!" Jeremie was scared, he never though XANA would go as far as to do this. But then the scanner came back on. Jeremie ran a check and it was fine, almost like it was never touched.

"Maybe the spectre wanted to get onto Lyoko?" Lilly said with a smile.

"It's no laughing matter, XANA could have reprogrammed the scanner in several ways."

"Well, the check isn't showing any differences between now and before, maybe it's fine"

Jeremie turned to the Lyoko screens, "Odd, are you guys okay?"

"Yeah Einstein, we're-"

"Odd?" Jeremie waited for a response, but then heard a scream.

"OH GOD MY HEAD!"

"Odd! Are you OKAY!" After a minute, the screaming stopped.

"I'm okay Jeremie. That was weird, though. One second, I was fine, but then my head felt like it could explode. It just stopped after that, though. It happened to Jason too."

In Lyoko, Jason was standing back up. It was the worst migraine he had ever experienced. Aelita was looking at him and Odd. She had a very concerned look on her face. Yumi had the same look, but it wasn't directed at him or Odd, it was directed at the tarantula running towards them.

"Shit..." Jason hadn't seen this kind of monster before, it was big, heavily armed, and looked pretty pissed off. It actually looked like a mantis, not a spider, but the way it ran, it had that spider feel.

Jason drew his pistols and opened fire, trying to hit the small emblem on the creature's forehead. He missed every shot, hitting the shoulders and legs. This thing was fast!

Yumi was the first to go, she threw her fan at it, missing completely at first, but when the monster stood in its shooting position, The fan's rebound hit its right leg. The tarantula caught itself with it's blaster, but now only had one to use. Yumi tried to get it, but another tarantula fired a shot, hitting her square in the chest. Odd watched his friend devirtualize, then ran into action.

Yumi caught herself when the scanner door opened. She walked to the elevator and rode up to the Lab.

"Jeremie, how's Odd doing?"

"Fine, Yumi, why?"

"I got taken down just trying to kill one. I think that XANA's made them stronger this time. He really doesn't want us to deactivate that tower."

"Don't worry," Lilly said, smiling, "If Odd can't handle it, Jason can."

In Lyoko, Odd obviously did not have control of the situation. He had been grazed by a laser and lost half of his life points. These tarantulas were stronger than others. He decided it was time to strike, he saw Jason point at the stronger tarantula and disappear. Once the floating laser edge pierced the tarantula's emblem, Odd started running to the injured one. He planned to dodge the laser blasts and shoot the monster's emblem at point blank range, but right when he got in front of it, the creature moved it's left foreleg and stepped on him. To Odd, this was just too embarrassing. He never thought it could devirtualize him if it stepped on him.

Odd stepped out of the scanner, then doubled over. The pain just hit him like a bus. He felt like he could die.

"Odd, are you okay?" Jeremie asked over the PA.

"I really don't feel good," Odd managed to mumble, "I don't know why."

"Odd, just come up to the Lab"

As Odd got into the elevator, a notification popped up on the screen. It was a call from Ulrich.

"Jeremie, I managed to get away from Sissi, she wanted help with her homework, but she was hitting on me the entire time." Ulrich sighed, "I'm just glad I got away, she's freaking crazy today."

"That's great Ulrich, but XANA's attacking and Odd and Yumi are out. Jason's in there, but he's never faced a tarantula before."

"Alright, I'll be there shortly."

The line went dead. Odd came into the Lab and walked slowly over to a corner. He curled up in a fetal position and leaned against the wall. He felt horrible, it was like he'd been stabbed with a knife and then burned with a flame thrower.

Jeremie had never seen Odd in such a bad condition. It must have been when the spectre entered the scanner. Odd looked like he should go to a hospital, but that wasn't an option. XANA could be making him like this.

The elevator started to go up, Ulrich had arrived. Jeremie told him to go directly to the scanner room.

The door opened, and Ulrich went to the scanner in the middle.

"Transfer Ulrich, scanner Ulrich," the scanner came to life. "Virtualization."

Ulrich virtualized in the middle of a war zone. He landed as he always did, and examined the situation. There were three tarantulas, all firing. Jason had his pistols out and was shooting their heads, trying to hit their emblems. One fell over and exploded, its life points gone.

Ulrich drew both his sabers.

"Triplicate!" He shouted as he developed two clones of himself. They ran to the first tarantula, and jumped onto it, trying to confuse it. It worked, the two clones held down the blasters while the real Ulrich stabbed it in the emblem. The monster fell down and exploded.

"Guys," Jeremie said, "I think XANA's making Odd sick, and he's getting worse."

"How do you know it's not just his breakfast?" Ulrich asked, "He eats like he has three stomachs, maybe he filled them all." Ulrich chuckled at that.

"This is serious Ulrich!" Jeremie shouted

"Hey, how's Lilly doing?" Jason asked as he paused to reload (If you need to know, his pistols load just like a standard 9mm).

"Shouldn't you be trying to take out that last tarantula?" Lilly said in an annoyed tone. She must have had the laptop hooked up to the supercomputer.

"Don't worry sis, I've got it." In Lyoko, Jason thought it best to put Hunter into good use. He put one pistol away, and aimed the other at the monster. All of a sudden, the world around him just slowed down, he could hear his virtual heart beating. He waited until the target was in his sights, then fired. The world returned to normal speed as the laser hit the emblem on the tarantula's head. It fell and exploded.

"Alright Jeremie," Ulrich said, "They're all gone. Give us an overbike and overwing so we can get to the tower."

"You could at least say please." Jeremie said as the vehicles virtualized.

Ulrich got on the overbike and Aelita on the overwing. Aelita offered Jason a ride.

"Sure," He said smiling, "It's better than walking."

They rode to the tower, and were stopped by another krab.

"I've got this one." Ulrich said as he drew a saber. He drove towards it, but then the krab destroyed the bike, making Ulrich roll into its leg. The monster just stepped back, and shot him in the head.

"That's not fair!" Jason exclaimed,

He leaped off the overwing, drew his machete, and slammed on the krab, stabbing and missing the mark. But, he was also taking chunks of its life points. During this short frenzy, Aelita had entered the tower. The krab fell over and exploded with Jason still on it, devirtualizing him.

The scanner door opened and Jason fell out, onto Ulrich.

"What the -" He started

"She made it in," Jason said, "She's safe."

"The tower's been deactivated, guys," Jeremie said over the PA, "Good work."

The left scanner opened up, revealing a tired looking Aelita. She didn't say anything, just walked over to the elevator and motioned for the other two to come along.

"Jeremie," She said just as the elevator door opened, "I ran a check in the tower to see what happened with the scanner. XANA didn't do anything to them, he just took a DNA sample. I don't know why though."

"I think that Odd is just sick," Lilly said, she had been looking at him, trying to see what was wrong, "Is it possible that the scanner amplified the sickness?"

They heard an awful noise. Odd was retching. He was really sick, but he could walk... barely.

"I promise I'll clean that tomorrow Jeremie..." Odd said slowly.

"It's okay Odd," Jeremie said, looking at his watch, "Let's just get back, XANA kept us out all day. It's almost curfew."

Odd woke up, his whole body ached. It felt like he had been trampled by a krab... no, more like a tarantula. He got up, and left the room, trying not to disturb Kiwi. He went to the bathroom to splash some water on his face. The issue with the zombies had still haunted him, so he had nightmares almost every night. He walked up to the sink and turned the faucet on. The water felt good on his face. Then he looked in the mirror.

Ulrich woke up to a scream. It was definitely Odd, but it didn't come from the room. Ulrich ran to the bathroom to see Odd curled up in the corner. Ulrich could only see his eyes, which were wide open in fear.