AN: After some consideration, this story is a continuation of my initial first fic, Evolutions, and Revolutions. The structural format is the same, twenty-two chapters per season. The story continues directly after the events of the first story and will follow the Lyoko warriors over their genuine high-school years through college. As a result, there will be six seasons dedicated to the story overall.

I hope you all enjoy the story, and I will see you next chapter.

Pagliacci-11.

Chapter 1

The Lyoko warriors woke in the morning, and the first thing all of them did was once again clear their stomachs. They had lost count of how many times they had vomited overnight; however, it was far more relieving each time. That said, the taste of the vomit was far from appetizing. With morning, the hell that had been the past month-and-a-half faded from their existence, like the outside fog burnt away by the morning sun. In more ways than one, all the warriors were grateful for it.

They headed to breakfast. To the team's agony, the return to the past had not nullified their final exams. But at the same time, it was a chance for everyone to knock their prior performances out of the park. Under the reset, they had a whole week to bone up once again for the finals, but this time, all went forward with the dedication to do their very best.

As they sat with each other at breakfast, they gladly ate their freshly made breakfast, albeit the tiniest touch woozy. However, the food gradually restored them, and as they were reset, they grew more and more coherent. Jeremy looked around and saw Sissi with her gang. Whatever deal Aelita had made with Natasha had worked. Herve was back amongst them as self-confident as ever. Jeremy gave a light sigh. In a weird way, he was glad to see his former rival again. Jeremy more than knew what Herve desired; it was the same as him at the end of the day, to be valued by his own. Even if Jeremy had to admit, Sissi didn't care for him.

Odd, Ulrich, and Aelita watched the three and saw they were carrying on in much their traditional way. It brought the three their own joy, but it wasn't something they would get teary-eyed over. They knew the people that were underneath the masks for good and ill, and they accepted them for it.

"Mmm," Odd moaned with pleasure, "This new yogurt is amazing!"

Ulrich looked at him with a grin, "What's so great about it?" He asked, dipping his spoon into the blue bowl, "It's just ordinary raspbe—" His eyes went wide, and he swallowed, "Wow! Guys, try this!"

Aelita and Jeremy had a taste, and they, too, were astounded. While not as thick, the yogurt was so creamy and rich it was like a lesser form of ice cream.

"Oh, this is good." Aelita said with a smile, and she checked the label, "Ah, Greek."

Odd smiled, "I don't care where it comes from, princess, this stuff is awesome!"

Ulrich chuckled, "It could come from across the glass."

The three looked at him, and Aelita replied, "Ulrich, I love you—but shut up."

"I agree, for once." Odd replied, "It is delicious, but we're not going down that rabbit hole again anytime soon." Odd replied.

"Hey, gotta' have some levity, you know?" Ulrich replied.

Odd looked at Ulrich, "Levity? Since when did you swallow an Oxford? Jeremy, check him. Is he the real deal?"

Jeremy chuckled, "Hey, to be fair, you guys, we did deal with a living compendium of grandiose speeches and even more grandiose visions so, a few grand nuances are allowed." His tone shifted, "However, Ulrich, if you start talking about gatekeepers, we're going to have issues."

Aelita smiled slightly, "It's amazing, huh? To consider that we were almost overtaken by all of that. Not to mention Yolanda was a major player in all of their work."

The three nodded, "That was amazing," Odd said on a more solemn note, "that she was a mirror of our Heidi. That that place even existed—wow."

Ulrich mused, "You know, the mirror-verse is something that was often described in a lot of sci-fi. The concept sadly had to come from somewhere, you know?"

Jeremy looked at him, "What are you proposing? That, someone, came across and popularized it?"

"I wouldn't say that. More like, what do we all hate to see? Our opposite selves, be it a shadow person or opposite in the mirror. We'd hate to see them actually in front of us if they are the opposite to us, wouldn't we?"

Aelita nodded, "I know I sure did."

Jeremy asked, "Aelita, what to you was the difference between Natasha and Sylvia if there ever was one?"

Aelita hesitated a moment and had another spoonful of yogurt.

Jeremy said, "I'm sorry, I know it's a lot to—"

"No, it's alright. I'd have to face the question sometime." Aelita put her spoon down, "The difference is that Natasha—was more cunning. She outplayed her sister, and in her explanation of what all happened in that world, she set Sylvia up for her fall long before we knew what was going on. Is she any better than Sylvia? I don't think so. Sylvia simply grafted in Natasha's old empire with her view of vision. So, in that regard, I can say that Sylvia wasn't as smart as she let on; she was. She simply stood on the shoulders of a genius and took the next step. But with what Natasha told me, she'd still be watching us in her way. I'm frankly not at all in the mood to talk about that."

Ulrich nodded, "I'm sorry. I know it can't be easy to face down your reflection."

Aelita looked at him, her eyes slightly watering, "You have no idea, Ulrich."

Meanwhile, in a small home down the street, a young woman practiced her cooking as she made an omelet. Gently the vocalization of a Pergolesi piece played over the speakers. The young woman smiled as she freshly chopped the peppers into fine chunks with elegance and speed, befitting a sous chef. The smell of the eggs filled the air, along with the sauteing peppers and onions.

As she cooked, a young man had been watching her from far back and stepped forward. He said, "I'm surprised to see you up so early."

The young woman looked back at him, "But of course. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

The man nodded and said, "I see your musical tastes haven't changed. First Pergolesi and now Johan-Sebastian, very nice."

The young woman smiled as she cooked, "It was the music of the council. Soothing, meditative, beautiful. Why should I not love it?" She pointed to the young man with her spatula, "Care for some?"

He shook his head, "No, I'll just go for a coffee and muffin, thanks."

"That's not much of a breakfast, you know?"

The young man chuckled, "You realize you'll have to blend in more than you have?"

"Not as much as you think, Professor. I already established who I am in the long-term memory of the girl. Half my work is done. That said, think of my natural self as being a few—tasteful touches to the veneer I utilize, no more." She placed the finished omelet on a plate and turned off the stove's burner.

"I mean, you'll have to embrace teenage music tastes in the road to 'self-discovery,' as they call it."

"Pfft, the drivel they listen to isn't music anyway. But I take your point. Pray tell, what's hip these days?"

"I've left a few albums in your room."

The girl laughed a bit and replied, "Ah, albums. Been forever and a year since we've had those, huh?"

"Don't remind me. Under your sister, I wanted to choke her out half the time. I mean, my goodness, I missed the old-school clink of coins, the clink of coins!"

"Hey, the brave new world had a lot of benefits and a lot of downsides. That said, I get it. Crypto, as much as it was loved, no one knew what it would lead to. Even I was surprised to where I'm like, 'what seriously?"

The man laughed a bit, "Anyway, yeah, that's who's popular in your room. But of course, you'll have to listen to the radio to be the most current. You know kids. Minds love this one day, and it's gone in a week."

"I hate this part of the job," she sighed, "but it's not as necessary as you'd think. The kids are largely outcasts themselves; it saves a lot of pain. The only one I'd have to worry about is the prima-donna. Besides, they are interested in some mildly bemusing T.V., so that'll be a rest to me."

The man sat down at the kitchen table, "Been meaning to ask, how are you going to handle those who wish to court you?"

"Simple. I know the more you forbid a meat-headed boy something, the more he'll persist in his affections. So, you close off the market. I'm debating either going lesbian or becoming a sister. Either way, it'll be interesting. Anyway, Kadic abides by the divided floor policy, you know? Not that it will matter much. Mercier still exists due to our rewind, and because master control was active, much of it stayed the same."

"And you know the dorms in that place are like Knox. It's one way of getting Aelita on her lonesome."

"I have work to do, Andrew. I must have the utmost peace to devote to my precision. Given my dear sister, my work is already cut out for me."

The man nodded, and he checked his watch, "It's time for me to report in. By the way, how did you phase out Heidi from the history of everyone involved?"

"I had the master-control. I could tailor to my heart's content both in and outside the memory matrix. I mean, if the computer is supposedly defunct, why not make a final go of it? Heidi, or as she is known, Yolanda, is no longer present in the minds of Kadic. Instead, a retired nurse served them up until last night when you were hired through Vanguard Healthcare as her replacement."

"And if the warriors inquire of her?"

The woman thought and replied, "Why lie? They'll be thought of as complete nut jobs. If they persist, it'll get worse. End of story. Best report in and here." She handed him an auburn envelope, and she said, "My changes to the official dossier. Head office sent them in last night while you slept."

The man read them over and said, "A minimal change in allowance of the wipe and extenuating circumstances. Alright, so your new name is Constance de Winter? Not bad. A bit better than Amelia if you ask me."

"I only used that one because that was the name the body knew in life. Because my soul has taken over firmly, I can acclimate it how I wish."

The man nodded, "I'll be off then. Try not to burn the place down, okay?"

Constance nodded with a cheeky smile, "Yes, papa."

The man rolled his eyes, "You're old enough to be my fucking sister." Turning to the door, he looked back," Your income reports from Kafka are supposed to be here this afternoon. I suggest you go over them and give them approval or veto. Also, last time I tell you, get some sleep, okay?"

"As soon as I crash from the lack of caffeine, I will."

"Hey, I'm telling you now, if you get a dependency on the shit and I have to ween you off, you will not like me."

"And that right there is why you're still a G-14."

"Oh no, you get hooked, and it looks bad on my report back to your investors, and I lose my merited paygrade. Come on, Constance, I wasn't born yesterday."

"More's the pity I could have started your personality from scratch."

The man scoffed, "I'll be late. See you later."

Constance, now alone in the house, chuckled to herself and sat down to enjoy her omelet. As she ate in the cool mausoleum silence of the house, Constance knew she now had the chance that Sylvia had arrogantly blown. As she ate breakfast, she planned out her presentation to Aelita. How she would look, dress, speak. After all, her 'father' wasn't wrong. She had to acclimate to the jungle she was going to enter. It helped she had a few on the inside to help her, but she knew she couldn't wholly lean on them if she was to weave the narrative she wished to.

Regrettably, the reset had literally reset a few more things than she would have cared to. Constance indeed had power over the realm of memory, but the fact North-Gate had been shut down just prior, she knew salvage teams would be along momentarily. That was not so much an issue, but it was enough of one not to make any unnecessary waves. Constance knew that Sylvia's body would be recovered from the scanners in due time; she and Heidi had designed it that way leading up to the false positive on Jeremy's death. That said, the repurposing of Sylvia's mess would take time, about two months. During which time Constance knew she had to be patient. Kafka was her replacement for all that had been deconstructed, and she had to build from the ground up.

As daunting as the task seemed, it was not nearly as daunting to Constance's mind as many would have supposed. It was indeed something she relished and anticipated with the same vigor as the boxer yearned for his match to reclaim his title. The setbacks, the administration's changing, the routing of the remaining dissidents all were part of the process. Just hold her pattern, bob and weave, stay in the pocket and the rest was letting the old regime tire itself in the kernels of resistance that were sure to persist. It was also made easier by just how many were mere observers of Sylvia's actions and made a backlog as long as her arm of reasons to route her power sources.

Finishing her omelet, Constance got up and washed her dishes thoroughly before drying them and putting them back into the cabinets. It was still early, a quarter before eight, enough time for her free time in the morning to get some entertainment in before getting ready to study some textbooks that her regime had given her both to blend in and to be aware of in the coming years. Settling down in front of the television, she turned on device. After scrolling the cable package, she found nothing of interest being broadcast, so she decided to pursue her studies early.

Back at Kadic, the warriors were hanging out in the rec room, and as Ulrich and Odd played foosball, Jeremy sat with Aelita in nearby bean bag chairs, gently talking about what was to come.

"It's an interesting state of affairs," Aelita replied, "Natasha nuked the supercomputer, so its power is entirely beyond us now. But if she hadn't, we'd not have all this back. So, I feel—I guess the best way to say is conflicted. I loved our adventures, but now it's the genuine last nail in our saga."

"You said Natasha would watch us that she would return in due time. What do you think she's waiting to see?"

"She told me. She wants to see if we can change this world for the better and if we fail—" she looked at him, "She'll exterminate us all. It's not much better than where we were before. However, the sad truth is we don't know what level of power she genuinely has. Never mind that she was able to string her sister along as a puppet for her whole ruling existence." Aelita sighed, "Am I afraid of her? I'd be a fool not to be. However, I bizarrely trust her. I trust her not to destroy us without a notebook of reasons. She just strikes me as that kind of person. And to have those reasons, she has to have sufficient time to observe." She looked surprised, "Wow, she's rubbed off on me."

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Aelita." Jeremy said, placing his arm around her, "It's natural to have something of her in your mind. You tried to get into her headspace, and it didn't comfort you. It's understandable."

"It's not that I tried to get in, Jeremy. She let me in, and inside was some—something that was barely human. I'm not saying that she wasn't human, but she was greatly detached from us as if she were merely tolerating us. It wasn't maliciousness of malevolence she filled me with but with a feeling as if I was before an ethereal prosecutor simply waiting to hear my defense. She and Sylvia were sisters; there's no denying it. But Natasha was just so much more mature than Sylvia. Not prone to grandiose speeches or arrogant prose. She was just a presenter of her views and her world, and she wasn't ashamed. But—she—she was me. What I could become."

Jeremy listened and, after a moment, replied, "She's not who you are. She is what you could become, yes. But what went into making the creature you saw? From what you told me last night, qualities that couldn't be you and shouldn't be you."

Aelita quickly looked at him, "How can you be sure? How can you be entirely sure? You can't." She turned and looked up at the sky through the upper window and thought, "And that's what the worst part is."

A knock was heard on Delmas's office door, and Delmas pressed the button, which automatically unlocked and opened his door. He looked at the young man before him, and standing up; he nodded for the man to enter.

The man came in and, with a gentle bow, said, "Jean-Pierre."

Jean-Pierre nodded, "Master Beck. So, she sent you."

"Under the circumstances, headmaster, who would you have preferred?"

Jean-Pierre gestured to the right-handed chair in front of his desk, "Come, sit. We have much to discuss."