A nondescript but heavily fortified truck rumbled down A86 on its way from Fort Neuf de Vincennes, weaving and bobbing in between traffic. The driver, a husky woman with hard-won confidence and an unyielding expression, glared against the midday sun. Her passenger was a much skinnier young man with visible sweat stains in the pits of his collared shirt. He took out a handkerchief and dabbed at his forehead before glancing over at his newly acquainted coworker."Um… A-are you sure we should be going this fast?" he asked. He hesitated a moment, debating the pros and cons of different honorifics before deciding on, "...Sir?"

Nikita, the driver, let out an exaggerated laugh, turning her head to her passenger with a smirk. "We have level six clearance, Stanley. We're allowed to go fast."

"I understand that, Sir… But won't sudden movements, you know…set it off?"

"It ain't so sensitive as all that, boy. Mere bumps in the road are no match for the shocks in this thing. Hell, we wouldn't even be transporting it in this truck if it could set off the machine, now would we?"

Stanley wanted to be reassured by her words – it was his first time transporting sensitive materials post-training after all – but a sense of dread settled in the pit of his stomach. "It wouldn't hurt to be careful, is all I meant," he muttered. Stanley turned his head forward again and raised an eyebrow in confusion. In the short time he'd been watching Nikita, a mysterious haze had clouded the windshield.

Nikita cursed under her breath, quickly pulling the truck to the side of the freeway. She growled, slamming her hands on the wheel in frustration.

"What? What is it?!" Stanley squeaked.

"I can't see shit!" she seethed, wiping her face in annoyance. She glanced at Stanley sideways. "Why does your face always look like that?"

"Look like what?" he asked in horror, patting at his cheeks nervously.

"Like the world is comin' to an end. These trucks break down all the time."

It was then Stanley realized the haze was actually smoke rising from under the front of the truck. "Oh."

Nikita flicked on the hazards. "Wait here, boy. And keep an eye on the cameras on the off chance this was planned."

"R-right!" He nodded determinedly, watching as she exited the truck and unlatched the hood. Nikita yanked, bringing it all the way up in a matter of seconds.

She was so cool.

Nikita stepped up onto the tire so she could peer into the engine bay. She coughed, waving smoke away from her face. She reached into her shirt pocket and brought out her trusty penlight. Boy, did she love shirt pockets. They were so convenient. Staring into the depths of the truck engine, she searched high and low for the source of the damage. A small wisp of smoke began to climb out of the battery in a peculiar way, earning a look of confusion and a small "Huh?" from Nikita.

Stanley twiddled his thumbs in the cabin, whistling anxiously as he observed their surroundings. A sudden movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention. The speedometer was spinning wildly, and he leaned over to look at it in interest. As he watched, the rest of the dials began to spin. His heart skipped a beat when the radio emitted a sudden burst of static.

Trying to calm himself, he mumbled, "That's a bit weird."

From outside, Nikita screamed. Stanley, panicking, fumbled around with his seatbelt and grabbed the gun on his waist. If he was sweating bullets before, he was definitely sweating missiles now. "Nikita?!" he exclaimed, hand on the door handle.

The hood snapped shut and Nikita hopped back into the driver's seat. Stanley's hand dropped from the handle and a look of relief washed over his face. As he re-holstered his gun, he let out a huge sigh. "What happened out there, Sir? Why did you…?" Stanley trailed off. Nikita stared, unblinking, straight ahead. "Uh…Sir?"

He tentatively reached for his coworker's shoulder. Abruptly, Nikita turned and snatched his hand out of the air. She squeezed.

Hard.

He let out a small yelp as she crushed his fingers. Stanley figured she would be strong, but this strength was on another level. As he stared into her eyes in both fear and confusion, her pupils changed shape, glitching into a strange target symbol with four leads.

"What-?!"

A bizarre black cloud emerged from Nikita's back, letting out a piercing screech as arms began to form. Out of instinct, the man fumbled once again for his gun, but it was too late. It surged forward and entered Stanley, forcing its way into every orifice. He screamed in pain, grabbing at his face.

As soon as it began, it was finished. Stanley sat back up like a puppet's strings being pulled, turning his head to Nikita, the same glitching image within his eyes.

With a smirk of success, Nikita turned the engine over. They made an abrupt u-turn on the busy highway, driving against traffic and heading for the capital.

~ AELITA TITLE CARD

Jeremie picked at his breakfast with his fork, gazing impassively at the early Sunday morning sky. On the other side of the table, Ulrich and Odd were their usual boisterous selves; Odd stole Ulrich's butter packet, who in turn strained to retrieve it from his roommate.

Yumi and Aelita had yet to join them. After their argument a few days ago, Aelita had done nothing but ignore Jeremie. He wanted to apologize to her, but Aelita was avoiding him like it was her full-time job.

Relationships were hard.

Ulrich's voice broke through Jeremie's trance, and his eyes settled on the duo. "You already have way more than enough butter, Odd. Cut it out, will you?" he growled, wrestling Odd's hangry grip.

"If I want a heart attack on a bun, I will have a heart attack on a bun," he retaliated, holding the butter cup up and away from Ulrich, towards the window. Both of their chairs leaned precariously in their struggles.

"Will you just shut up and give me back my butter?"

"You weren't using it!"

Ulrich's eyes drifted over to Jeremie, and upon seeing his friend's somber expression, he pulled away from the mock fight with Odd. The release of the tension on Odd's chair caused him to tumble over with a shout of surprise, the butter cup falling open-side first onto the floor.

"Nooo!" Odd cried dramatically. Pushing himself onto his hands and knees, he crawled towards his fallen ally. He studied the cup longingly. "Why is the world so cruel?!"

Ignoring him, Ulrich asked, "What's going on, Jeremie? You've hardly touched your breakfast."

Odd quickly righted his chair and plopped back into it, the now-empty butter cup on the table.

Letting out a small sigh, Jeremie dropped his fork and rested a hand on his forehead. "I messed up," Jeremie mumbled. He took off his glasses and rubbed one eye. "Aelita won't talk to me."

"Why?" Ulrich asked. Jeremie just shook his head, putting his glasses back on.

"Is this about the supercomputer?" Odd questioned.

Jeremie fell silent for a moment, before asking, "If you knew something that could potentially hurt someone…would you tell them?"

Ulrich and Odd exchanged glances before Ulrich turned back to him. "Like?" he pressed, brow raised.

"...Forget I said anything," he mumbled, making to leave. Ulrich grabbed Jeremie by the arm and fixed him to the table.

"Now hold on a second, Einstein. You can't just tell us that and expect we're gonna let you leave," Ulrich scolded. Jeremie stared at Ulrich's hand, lost in his thoughts.

Ulrich let him go and Jeremie finally replied, "I…I think there's a problem. A bit of a big one. And I need you all here to discuss it, but…"

"You gotta apologize to the Princess first," Odd remarked.

"Yeah… I just don't know how…how I'm gonna explain my feelings or this," he added, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the factory.

Odd pushed his tray forward, his full attention now on Jeremie. "Looks like you need a little help from the 'Looove Doctor'." He wiggled his eyebrows.

Ulrich rolled his eyes. "Taking relationship advice from you is suicide."

"Hey, now," Odd defended, "I gave Jeremie great advice after we got rid of XANA, and our two Einsteins got together, didn't they?"

"I think you might be forgetting the part where Aelita made the first move, not Jeremie," Ulrich chuckled with a jab at Odd's chest.

"Well, what about the part where I told Aelita to ask Jeremie out because he couldn't?" Odd replied, turning away from the two and crossing his arms in defiance. "No offense," he added with a quick backward glance at Einstein before returning to his pout. Jeremie's only reply was a raised eyebrow.

Yumi joined the table, sitting next to Jeremie. "Hey guys, what'd I miss?" She glanced at Odd, then at Ulrich. "What's up with him?"

Ulrich made a motion to speak, but Odd interrupted him, turning back around. "They don't trust my relationship advice!"

"Well, coming from you is questionable, Odd. Given your history," Yumi mumbled while looking away, taking a nonchalant sip of her OJ.

"I can't believe this!" he gasped. "My friends; all turned against me."

After a thoughtful moment, Ulrich finally said, "Alright, Odd. Humor us. What are your words of wisdom for Jeremie, huh?" Jeremie glanced at Ulrich in fear.

A sly grin crept its way onto Odd's face, earning a look of concern from all gathered. He leaned forward, both hands pressed to the table. "Let's begin, shall we?"

~ ODD TITLE CARD

A truck parked haphazardly behind Kadic with one front tire up on the curb. Nikita and Stanley exited the vehicle and walked around the back. When they met, they stared at each other with an unnatural combination of emptiness and malice. Nikita's arm lashed out, pulling a hidden lever that opened the bay door. It lowered with a whir until the top edge met the ground, the door now acting as a ramp. Inside stood a Tesla mechanical oscillator; a scientific breakthrough known to few as an earthquake replicator. What once was only a small machine was now something ten times as large, and much more threatening.

They wheeled it down the ramp, placing it against the campus fence. Stanley pressed a button on the transporter, lowering the machine directly onto the ground with a soft whump.

The two stood back and surveyed their work. Satisfied, the smoke abandoned its hosts. Stanley and Nikita let out groans of pain as it parted, slumping lifelessly to the ground.

The twin clouds collided, morphing into one giant and intimidating spectre that let out a hellish scream. The spectre dove into the machine below, vanishing into the cracks between panels.

With a whir of life, the machine was operational.

~ YUMI TITLE CARD

Aelita was lying on her bed with her knees bent, her laptop resting against her thighs. She'd returned from her shower not too long ago and had been debating on heading down for breakfast before thinking better of it. Jeremie was most likely there. Her stomach grumbled in opposition and she let out a sigh, grabbing the granola bar she'd stashed in her nightstand for such an occasion.

Over the course of the past several days, she'd been adding her own personal touches to the Lyoko upgrades behind Jeremie's back. He'd been too busy working on the Skid to even notice. And, begrudgingly, Aelita had to admit it was for good reason.

Yesterday, Jeremie's program seeking out the remote assessor had worked…kind of. While the individual behind the strange happenings was still unknown, it had identified a background process called Automatic Compiler Extractor. In all likelihood, this had been deposited by the perpetrator. Jeremie had deleted the application and Aelita hoped that the problems would go away.

He'd also launched a tracing program that identified a strange signal on the network. Should deleting the background process not be the cure-all Aelita was hoping for, the Skid would be needed sooner rather than later.

Despite all of this, however, what was most baffling was the resurrection of the forest sector. Only the mountain sector remained unaccounted for, and she was unsure of what to make of it all.

As for her nightmares, they continued. The melatonin Sissi had given her kept her from screaming out into the night, but it didn't keep them from coming. Now her nightmares consisted of a strange labyrinth. Aelita would run through zagging paths until a large door blocked her way. Behind it, she could hear the screams of her friends, calling out to her for help.

Jeremie stood outside of Aelita's door, hand poised to knock. He hesitated, turning his head back to the three behind him. Odd gave him an obnoxiously enthusiastic thumbs-up, and Ulrich and Yumi just looked on in sympathy. Jeremie had to admit that while he was skeptical of Odd's advice, something was telling him that this would work. To the tune of "Shave and a Haircut" - the Lyoko Warriors' code - he knocked.

Aelita's body went rigid upon hearing the knocks. It had to be Jeremie. Why would it be anyone else? A frown fixed itself upon her face, but she continued working.

"...A-Aelita?" Jeremie's voice sounded from outside. "Can I come in? I…I'd like to apologize."

That was new. Aelita turned her head in curiosity to the door, watching as the singular shadow moved back and forth nervously underneath it. But she still didn't answer.

Jeremie sighed, turning his head back to his other friends. Odd clicked his tongue in distaste before rushing forward and opening the door, earning himself a sharp "Hey!" from both Jeremie and Aelita before he darted back out of sight.

Jeremie stood in the doorway, blinking awkwardly at Aelita, who in turn glared daggers.

"I didn't say yes," Aelita stated matter-of-factly, turning back to her laptop.

"Aelita," Jeremie tried again, "this is important. I need to apologize."

"Are you going to tell me what you're hiding?" Aelita asked sharply.

He glanced once more in the direction of the other three, their faces all smiling and nodding vigorously in hopes of moving this along. "Yes," he answered after a moment, hand to the back of his neck. "The truth is… I-I didn't tell you because…well. I figured-"

"-that it would be best for you not to burden anyone else with the knowledge that something terrible is going on so you could handle it yourself?" Aelita finished for him, earning a few blinks of surprise from Einstein.

"...Exactly. And well… You're probably already aware, but my program worked. And it's bad news, Aelita," he added.

Aelita sighed and set her laptop on the bed, swinging her legs over the side and patting the space next to her. With a smile of relief, Jeremie made his way in with one final glance over his shoulder before he shut the door.

Odd elbowed Ulrich in the ribs, earning a sharp "Ow!" of protest. "I told you my advice works!" he chastised.

"Yeah, but when are they going to let us in on this 'bad news'?" Yumi wondered, eyeing Aelita's door.

"Just let them talk it out for a little while. They'll call us in when they're ready," Odd affirmed with a nod, turning away.

Ulrich and Yumi exchanged looks before losing their respective battles against their laughter. "Since when did Odd become a therapist?" Yumi asked when she caught her breath. Ulrich shook his head, smiling infectiously.

Odd pretended to be offended, sitting in the hallway with his eyes closed. He huffed in defiance, but his mouth strained against an obvious grin at his friends' needling.

Yumi and Ulrich joined him on the floor, getting comfortable for the wait. The three passed the time with natural conversation stemming from years of friendship and trust. But they would have been equally comfortable in silence, just to be in each others' presence.

On the other side of several inches of plaster, a decidedly uncomfortable silence hung over the room.

Aelita fixed Jeremie with a pointed stare. "Well?" she prompted. "Get on with it."

"Right. So the program–"

"Not that," Aelita interrupted, already regretting inviting him into her room.

"Riiiiiiight." Jeremie drew out the word as he collected his thoughts. He understood most things intuitively, and what he didn't he could usually figure out through practice. He was not, unfortunately, well-practiced in the art of apologies.

He thought back to Odd's advice on their walk to Aelita's room.

"It's easy, Einstein," he'd said. "Just speak. What's most important will come out, eventually."

With a deep breath, Jeremie began again. "I really am sorry. I've thought – a lot, actually – about what you said the other day in the factory. And I swear to you my…secrets…?" Jeremie kicked himself internally. There really wasn't another way of phrasing what he'd done. "Well, my secrets weren't a matter of trust, or more accurately, a lack thereof on my end. Frankly, I never even considered that my actions could be perceived as distrustful. Which is on me, I know. Rather, I really did think what I was doing was protecting you, which is all I ever want to do."

Aelita cut in, irritated. "I'm not some damsel in distress, Jeremie. I don't need you to protect me. We're supposed to be working together as a team. And that means no secrets."

He turned to face her, tucking one leg up underneath him on the bed. "But what if it had turned out to be nothing? There's no need for both of us to worry–"

"No. Secrets. If it hadn't been anything, we could have figured that out faster, together. But it is something. And now we're playing catch-up on a game I didn't even know existed!" Aelita paused. More calmly, she added, "But all that aside, it isn't fair, Jeremie. Why do you have to be the one to suffer? We could carry the burden together, you know. Then it wouldn't seem quite as heavy."

Jeremie studied her face. She radiated sincerity, and Jeremie took a moment to appreciate just how beautiful she was; something he didn't do nearly enough. He reached out a hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and realized he was shaking.

"No secrets," Jeremie agreed. "From now on, I promise I will do better." He laughed to himself. "As I was recently reminded, there is no try; only do." Aelita's face softened with a smile of genuine relief. Jeremie felt his face twist into a mirror image of hers. He chuckled again. "Gosh, I must have been nervous. My hands won't stop shaking."

Aelita's calm morphed into alarm. "Uhhhh, Jeremie?"

"What the-?" he exclaimed. It wasn't his hands that were shaking – it was the whole room. He stood to get the others but nearly tumbled back onto the bed.

The door burst open and Ulrich stepped in. "Jeremie, what's happening?" he asked in alarm, Odd and Yumi behind him.

The shaking increased so that those standing had to brace themselves to keep their footing. A couple of books on Aelita's shelf fell down, and a framed photograph tumbled from the wall.

And then, everything stabilized. The room was unbearably quiet as the group exchanged looks of concern. A chorus of worried voices rang out around them from the students and faculty of Kadic.

"Was that an earthquake?" Yumi was the first to gather her thoughts and voice.

"It sure seemed like one, yeah," Jeremie agreed, standing from his hunched position near Aelita's bed.

Odd released his death grip on the doorframe. "So what are the chances that it occurred naturally?" he asked.

"Given our distance from the nearest faultline? Not high." Jeremie bit his lower lip in distress.

"Well, what else could it be?" Yumi's powers of denial were on full display.

"What're you thinking, Jeremie?" Ulrich asked, ignoring Yumi's question in search of a plan from their de facto leader. Yumi glared at Ulrich.

"There's something I…" He glanced at Aelita before restarting. "Something Aelita and I need to share with you all. But we should probably get outside, in case of aftershocks."

"Or in case a bigger quake is coming," Aelita murmured so only Jeremie could hear.

Yumi looked ready to protest, but the rest of the group pushed past her out of the room. She followed them begrudgingly.

The Lyoko Warriors dodged around several other students in the halls who were wondering what was going on. Odd and Ulrich stopped periodically to advise them to leave the building as soon as possible, and to urge anyone else they saw.

The group slowed in the open air outside the dorms, walking until they'd put some distance between themselves and the large, brick buildings. "Okay, Jeremie. Explain," Yumi demanded.

"Alright. So, I was spending all that time localizing the remote accessor on the network by building and running a program that would essentially trace them back to the origin, so we could hunt them down," Jeremie explained in a single, rushing breath. "Well, it worked and I found them - well, evidence of them - but that's not all." He eyed Aelita now. "I wanted to bring this up tactfully, but now that there's danger not only to us but to the whole campus, I think it's time to come clean."

"Well? Spit it out," Ulrich interjected.

"It's your father," Jeremie replied, still looking at Aelita. Shocked expressions met him from the rest of the group. "Or rather, who I can only assume is Franz Hopper. I received another message."

"My…father?" Aelita couldn't believe her ears.

"'My initial message was compromised. Take care of Aelita', was what it read," Jeremie recited.

Aelita was silent, her mind racing. Her father was alive? But how could that be possible? She saw his form devirtualize right in front of her. Unless…had it been a trick? If he'd been alive all this time, how could he leave her in the dark like this?

And why had he contacted Jeremie instead of Aelita herself?

"Compromised by what, though?" Yumi asked. "This doesn't make any sense."

"Yeah, you've lost me," Odd piped in.

"It's not the what that concerns me. It's the who," Jeremie corrected. "It was a professionally written virus labeled as Automatic Compiler Extractor. I assume the program is a sort of tracing algorithm to locate the supercomputer. Meaning someone out there wants Hopper's data, and I can only think of one group."

"Carthage!" Aelita gasped, the pieces starting to click into place.

Project Carthage was a government program predating the creation of both Lyoko and XANA, and both of Aelita's parents had been scientists on the project. The group didn't know much about it, but what they did know came solely from her father's brief references to it in his diaries.

Jeremie nodded, and the rest of the group looked perturbed. "They've finally reared their ugly heads, it seems."

"So is this earthquake caused by Carthage?" Ulrich asked.

"Now that, I'm not sure. Something still isn't quite adding up," Jeremie responded.

They all looked thoughtful until the silence was broken by a sharp trilling from Jeremie's bookbag. The color drained from each of their faces as Jeremie slowly reached for his laptop.

There was an activated tower on Lyoko.