((A/N: Holy Goodness! I am so SO sorry for the tremendously long wait. I have my reasons, of course (including writer's block and time constraints), but you've all been waiting a long time for this chapter, so I won't bore you with details. Suffice it to say that I've finally finished this chapter and hopefully won't take such a long hiatus next time. Or any time. Anyways, enjoy the chapter, and sorry again for the horrible wait!))

((Disclaimer: I still don't own Code Lyoko, and I presumably never will.))

Chapter 6: Rabid

"Ever noticed that 'What the hell' is always the right decision?"—Marilyn Monroe

"Today, Mali has nearly ten million people living there, so you couldn't call it obscure, even if it's not one of those very well known countries like the U.S., Italy, China, etc."

"About eighty percent of them farm, and ten percent are nomads. Only about thirty percent of them can read and write. Also, there's a huge ethnic diversity."

"And that's the history of Mali!" Odd finished enthusiastically. The class just continued to stare at us with dulled eyes.

"Excellent job," Ms. Agestone said with a nod, writing something down on her clipboard. "Let's see, Sissi, Aelita, you two are next."

I sighed as I sat down in the seat next to Odd, where I'd been forced to sit for the past week. Last day, I told myself, and then I can go back to my normal seat. It was so hard, trying not to fall asleep. It wasn't that I was bored. Aelita and Sissi's report on the history of Brazil was interesting, if only because Sissi's face boasted an eternally sour expression and Aelita was trying hard not to smirk. I wondered vaguely what Aelita'd done to Sissi, but decided I was much too tired to bother to find out. I'd had a really crappy night of sleep the night before, due to the pain in my arm. Honestly, the whole injury thing was getting old. And I still hadn't figured out why the same thing didn't happen to Odd, Ulrich, Yumi, or Aelita.

And I had a feeling my dad was angry with me again. After all, I'd lost, again. And I was pretty sure that Odd knew that I'd been there, even if Aelita and the others hadn't figured it out. Every time something weird happened, Odd looked at me suspiciously, like he thought I was responsible. Maybe he expected me to faint again. To be honest, I'd almost started expecting it myself. Last time, my father had caught me off guard by sucking me into Lyoko without warning, and while I was completely awake. I had no idea if he would do it again, or maybe the word was when? Ever since he'd reappeared to me, he'd seemed like a completely different man. It was unnerving, how much he'd changed. I had the sneaking suspicion that he was lying to me about still being stuck in Lyoko. Of course, I had nothing to hint at that, but... well, it was just a gut feeling. And if he was lying to me about that, what else could he be lying about? And why would he lie in the first place?

"Hey, Stupid," Odd muttered, poking my arm gently, as if he knew it was still tender where he'd hit me with his Laser Arrow. "Class is over. You just gonna sit here and stare into space?"

I blinked and looked around; indeed, people were in motion, packing their bags and heading for the door. I shook my head, figuring I probably did look pretty stupid, sitting here while everyone else was leaving. "Uh, must have zoned out..."

"Why?"

I glared at him. "Why do you ask such stupid questions? Why do people normally zone out?"

"My presentation was that boring, was it?" Aelita asked with a smile as she joined us. She laughed when I quickly shook my head.

"Nah, I was just distracted. Thinking about my dad." Aelita immediately stopped smiling, exchanging the look for worry. "Good things!" I added hurriedly, smiling through the lie. "Good things about my dad. Treasuring the memories." She looked uncertain, but Odd just shrugged.

"Well, while you two waste your time around here being all sentimental, I'll be going to Physics, the last class of the day on a sunny Friday. Just don't expect me to loan you my notes because you decided to skip."

I snorted. "As if your notes would do us any good anyways."

"That's true," Odd admitted, " but at least I'll actually have some!" And he put on his backpack and walked out; Aelita and I rolled our eyes at his back and followed slowly. When Odd was out of earshot, Aelita grinned.

"You and Odd probably had the best presentation, you know. I guess you guys work pretty well together, huh?"

I glared at her. "Yeah, right. Well, once he had that change of heart and cleaned his pig-sty of a room, and I could actually breathe, it seemed like we focused more. I still can't figure why he just up and cleaned his room."

"He said he did it for you, didn't he?" Aelita pointed out with an innocent smile.

"He said he did it because he was tired of my complaining. But if that were true, you'd think he would have done it the first time-" I cut myself off before I said, "we lived that day," instead saying, "I came in and almost passed out. I mean, it was that horrible, Aelita." Must not show that I know time is flashing back. Either she'll think I'm crazy or she'll figure out that I... well, that I know.

"Well... maybe it was just that, a change of heart? Maybe he just got tired of living like a wild animal," she pointed out smartly, sticking out her tongue. "What I don't get is why Ulrich ever put up with it."

I frowned, getting the feeling she was holding something back. But I wasn't about to interrogate her. So I just said, "I guess," and we continued on to Physics.

Physics was awful. What I'd said about Odd's notes was true: the fact was that I knew Odd well enough by now to know that he didn't care for this class, nor math or history or any other theoretical class requiring the use of a brain bigger than a peanut; therefore, his notes would probably not be much use at all.

The sad fact was that my notes probably wouldn't be much use either. Regardless of the fact that I had managed to catch up to the lesson that the Kadic class was at, I had absolutely no clue what was going on. Sad, since Physics was one of my favorite classes. Oh well. As long as I passed, I supposed I'd have to find something else to base my future career around. Like...

The Circus?

Suddenly, Sissi, who I had the misfortune of sitting next to this period, went completely stiff. I probably wouldn't normally have noticed, except that she was normally rather fidgety, and her lack of movement was odd. Well, that, and the soft gasp that accompanied it, which I seemed to be the only one to hear. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, trying to focus on Ms. Hertz and her lecture about lever arms, but wanting to be sure she wasn't about to throw up on me. She didn't seem green or nauseous, so I started to turn back to Ms. Hertz; then I did a double take.

She was staring at me. Her eyes were wide, her pupils shrunk from normal size, her hands were clenched tightly in her lap, and her mouth... was that foam at the corners of her mouth? She looked... crazy...

Without my thinking about it, my hand was in the air. I heard Ms. Hertz pause in her lecture, but I didn't turn away from Sissi. There was something in her eyes, something wrong and different. A symbol perhaps? There, in the center of her pupils? It looked so... familiar.

"Yes, Gabby?" her voice called from the front of the room; clearly she needed new glasses, because it was quite clear that something was wrong with Sissi. So I clarified.

"I think something's wrong with Sissi," I said loudly, just in case she was partially deaf too. Obviously not, as she scowled at me but started towards us.

As soon as Ms. Hertz moved, Sissi did to. She let out a terrifying primal scream and lunged-

At Ulrich, one chair over from me on my other side, knocking me aside in the process. My entire chair and I hit the ground with a loud thud, and I could swear I felt my skull shatter as I hit my head against the table behind us. Fighting the blackness of what was more likely to be a concussion than a fractured skull, I pulled myself to my feet amid the screams and panicking of the rest of the class. Ulrich was struggling to keep Sissi, who was trying to bite him, away. Ms. Hertz was trying, and failing, to regain control.

My vision swam hazily, and I winced as the back of my head flashed momentarily with pain.

There was a yell from Sissi, and my vision cleared in time to see Ulrich sprint from the room, followed quickly by the rabid Sissi. Sudden silence followed this, and I noticed that Jeremie, Aelita, and Odd, in all the commotion, had slipped away.

My head throbbed again, and this time, the darkness engulfed me.

~$*ODD*$~

"It's X.A.N.A. I know it is," Jeremie cried as he lead the way to the manhole in the park. "This time, he's after Ulrich. We have to help him!"

"Yumi's going to meet us there," Aelita added, hanging up her cell as the guys lifted the cover from the manhole. "Hurry!"

But Odd was hesitant. He'd seen Gabby hit her head on the table as Sissi leaped over her, and her confused look afterwards told him that she'd hit a little harder than she would ever let on. Aelita looked at Odd as if she could read his mind.

"You can go back if you want, Odd," she said softly as Jeremie climbed down the ladder. "I'm sure that Yumi and I can handle it."

Slowly, Odd shook his head. "No... The rest of the class is there... and I'm sure Ms. Hertz will take care of her." Aelita nodded, smiling. Odd scowled. "What are you waiting for? We haven't got all day, Princess."

The factory, as always, was deserted. The three students slid down the rope and pressed the button to call the old elevator. Odd took a deep breath as they all got in. Once the door was shut, he turned to Jeremie and Aelita.

"If Gabby's there already, then I think I might have grounds for a theory about how," he said quickly, continuing before the other two could interrupt him. "It'll probably sound crazy, but... well, seeing how we've got no ideas, at least it's something, right?"

The other two looked at each other cautiously.

"So why don't you just tell us now? We all know she'll already be there, seeing how we actually do have an idea of how: X.A.N.A. created her, remember?" Jeremie said, looking around as the elevator doors opened up. Odd scowled, but Jeremie ignored him, saying, "get to the scanners, hurry!" and rushing out.

The doors closed and Odd was left with Aelita, who looked about as disbelieving as Jeremie.

"Aelita..." Odd pleaded. "You've got to believe me: I know it's Gabby. I can't explain how, but... I just have this feeling, and I know it's her."

Aelita seemed to relax a little bit. "Odd... there's no way to get to Lyoko but the scanners. That's it; and she's not using them."

"Hmph," Odd replied, pouting and turning to the door, which was again opening, this time to reveal Yumi. "Fine, don't believe me. We'll just see who's right." And he stubbornly strode to his usual scanner. Yumi looked at Aelita in confusion, and Aelita shrugged, and both girls went to their own scanners. Within minutes, they were on Lyoko.

"The tower is in the ice region this time. And Ulrich says to please hurry up; he's getting tired of staving off Sissi," Jeremie told them.

"Right," the three replied, jumping onto their vehicles as they appeared. With no further conversation, they were off. It seemed that in no time at all, Gabby (whether she was real or not) was standing in front of them, wielding her gun with a slight scowl on her face. If Odd hadn't known any better, he would have said she'd just been yelled at for something she'd done wrong. The way her expression flickered from irritated to anxious to embarrassed seemed so... human. Odd knew for sure that she was the real Gabby; so why couldn't the others tell?

Yumi, seeing imminent attack from the fiery haired girl, let out a yell and threw her fans at Gabby. Neither of them made contact, however, as Gabby performed an almost Matrix move in order to avoid them. In retaliation, she aimed her gun at the trio and pulled the trigger. But what she fired wasn't a bullet; it was a bomb.

Realizing this last minute, Odd dodged out of the way; Yumi and Aelita were not so lucky, and both were blown backwards off the hover-scooter, which promptly disappeared. However, both girls were relatively unharmed.

"Aelita, Yumi, get to the tower! I'll hold her off," Odd yelled, back on track and aiming a Laser Arrow. Yumi and Aelita nodded, sprinting around the fray while Odd provided a distraction by firing his weapon at Gabby.

But a sense of deja vu hit Odd as Gabby quickly shook the shot off; a vision of Gabby in clothes that were getting stained by blood last time came into mind. She'd appeared to be bleeding exactly where Odd had hit her with his Laser Arrow as she'd blown him up with her bomb. Were they're attacks on this Gabby actually physically harming the real Gabby? There was only one way to find out; but hitting Gabby with more Laser Arrows seemed unthinkable if they actually were hurting her. Sure, in Lyoko she shook the attack off like it was nothing, but in the real world?

But then, how could Odd defeat her without attacking her? His best bet, he supposed, would be to keep her occupied. Odd smiled; he'd like nothing more.

Odd circled closer and closer around Gabby, now watching him closely with her full attention, her weapon trained on him. After a few cycles, he was at her back, and he leapt off his board at her; she was too fast, however. Whipping around, she fired her gun-

And, miraclously, missed. In fact, she missed by such a wide margin that Odd had the sneaking suspicion that she'd done it on purpose.

They collided, and Odd managed to knock her gun away, though again he had the feeling that she wasn't trying as hard as normal. Without really knowing how he did it, he wound around Gabby to her back, catching her in a choke hold and holding her right arm tight behind her. She struggled, but it seemed half-hearted. Odd was confused; why wasn't she trying?

But he had no time to ponder this. "Are you the real you?" he asked. Unsurprisingly, a confused look blossomed on her face.

"The real... what the hell are you on about, Odd?" she snapped, renewing her struggles.

"Everyone else thinks you're just a copy of you, created by X.A.N.A., but I know the truth: you are the real you," Odd clarified; he could see her eyes now, and he could tell that he was right.

But perhaps he should have been paying more attention to the hand that he'd left free, which was now aiming an awkward backwards punch at his groin. It didn't have much force behind it, but he was shocked enough to loosen his grip on her. She spun out of his grasp and kneed him, unfortunately in the same area. While Odd bent double, whimpering slightly, Gabby jumped at her gun. She was within reach of it-

But she never got to it because Yumi's fans cut across her outstretched arm, and she knew she had lost as she depixelated.

Odd stared at where Gabby'd been in shock, then turned to Yumi.

Well, at least he'd be able to figure out if the attacks were hurting her...

~$*GABBY*$~

When I awoke, I was only mildly surprised to see that I was no longer in the physics room. I was also only mildly surprised to see that I was now in a bed in the infirmary. I was, however, quite surprised to see Sissi in the only other bed in the room, sitting straight up and bawling her eyes out; and to see Ulrich sitting at the foot of my bed with a half smile on his face. He was looking at Sissi as though trying hard not to laugh. The nurse appeared to be treating Sissi at the moment, so I attempted to sit up.

My small movement (which went uncompleted regardless due to a throb across my skull and pain in my arm) attracted the attention of the nurse, however, and she whirled on me faster than I could blink.

"Now, don't you do that!" she scolded. "You have a concussion, and that arm needs rest. I don't know what you cut it on, but either way, you will NOT sit up until I give you permission, Miss Bursley!"

Of course, by then, I'd already eased myself back into my bed, but I appeased her by nodding slowly and she turned back to Sissi, who was saying something about squirrels. I noticed now that Principal Delmas was sitting on her other side, desperately trying to calm his daughter.

"Now, Elizabeth, calm down and tell us what happened at once. There's no need for all these tears. You're safe now," he said, holding her hand in his.

"Sq-sq-squr-" Sissi shuddered, continuing to cry. I kicked Ulrich, who seemed about to burst out laughing.

"Sorry," he muttered so that just I could hear.

"What happened?" I asked, ignoring the pounding in my head.

"That's what they're trying to find out. Sissi keeps talking about squirrels..."

He looked like he was going to laugh again, but I glared at him as the nurse returned her attention to me.

"Well, we seem to be making no progress with Sissi. But rabies doesn't just come from nowhere. Oh, well, let's just have a look at you, Gabby. And Ulrich, I think you should go now." Ulrich sighed and bid me farewell, exiting and presumably heading to tell his friends what had happened.

"Hm," the nurse said thoughtfully, pulling out her light and shining it into my eyes. "You had quite a hard knock to the head, you know."

"Sissi has rabies?" I asked, just to clarify.

"Had. I've given her the medicine for it, and you and Ulrich the vaccine, just in case; you two were the closest in contact with her. But you shouldn't worry about it. You'll be just fine in no time."

"How'd she get it?"

"Squirrels!" Sissi screamed, diving under her bed linens, to the dismay of her father.

"Squirrels," the nurse said wisely.

~$*ODD*$~

"So X.A.N.A. gave Sissi rabies?" Yumi asked with a smirk. Ulrich nodded, now free to laugh at Sissi to his heart's content.

"And Sissi gave it to me," Ulrich continued, "by way of making the nurse paranoid enough to give me and Gabby vaccines for it."

"So technically, X.A.N.A. gave you rabies?" Yumi replied logically, sniggering.

"Yup!" Ulrich laughed. Jeremie, Odd, and Aelita didn't seem to find this funny.

"Rabies can be serious, you know," Aelita said factually. But neither of the couple seemed to care much. Jeremie just shrugged at her.

"I think the more important issue here is Gabby," Odd interrupted.

"Uh, no. I think rabies is a bigger deal than a concussion," Ulrich argued. Odd scowled at him.

"I'm talking about those cuts that she got, the ones no one knows where they came from. They had to have been from us, right?"

"Odd, that's impossible. How could we be the ones who gave her the cuts if she's not the one in Lyoko?" Jeremie asked.

"What if somehow Gabby gets into Lyoko by being asleep?" Odd asked. He was onto something, he knew it; but now the others obviously thought he was nuts.

"Odd, you can't get into Lyoko just by falling asleep," Jeremie said matter-of-factly. "You'd have to be in the scanner. It's impossible otherwise."

"Well, yeah, but every time we see her there, or whatever that thing is that looks like her, the her that's still here on earth is asleep. And I know it's her!"

"How could you possibly know that?" Yumi asked skeptically, speaking for all of Odd's friends.

"I just do! Wait, the cuts! I bet I can tell you exactly where they are." He pointed at the spot on his upper right arm, where he'd hit Gabby with his Laser Arrow. "One here." Then he pointed to his forearm, where Yumi's fan had slashed across. "And one here."

"Odd, this is rid-"

"Actually," Ulrich interrupted, "that's exactly where they are."

It was awkwardly silent. Odd felt victorious; he'd proven himself right. They had to believe him now!

"Purely coincidence," Jeremie said finally. Odd nearly punched him in the face. "It has to be. There's no way!"

And as much as the other's hated to admit it, they had to agree with Jeremie. They had no solid proof. Odd ground his teeth together in annoyance.

"Fine," he snapped, marching to the elevator and smashing the button with a scowl. The last thing he saw as the elevator closed was his friends pitying faces. But Odd didn't care. He knew he was right. He just needed some way to prove it.