Note: I'm honestly surprised that no one has left a review on this story. Perhaps I should recommend the story to people. Does anyone think I should do that? Will anyone be willing to read it? To prevent me from rambling, I'm going to start this chapter.
Chapter 4: Hooked on Odd-ics
In the morning, Tina, Gene, and Louise ate breakfast and got ready for school. They had slept well throughout the night, even though they didn't want to after going to Lyoko/LyokoLand. Given what the tutors had told them, the Belcher siblings knew that the fate of the world was on their shoulders. Even if they had their tutors to guide them, they knew that fighting in a war against an evil AI would be stressful. They hoped that, by the end of the whole thing, they would be able to go on vacation. Fighting wasn't a job or schoolwork, but it was something the kids felt they would need a vacation from, especially Gene.
As they walked to school, the Belcher children spoke to each other, talking about what they would do at school.
"So, which tutors are you going to study under?" Louise asked.
"I'm going to be with Aelita," Gene said, "and maybe Yumi."
"I'll just be learning under the boys." Tina stated. "Can't have too much boys in your life."
"Odd is tutoring those in detention, Tina." Louise said. "And Gene, I don't think Aelita will like what you play for her."
"Who will be your tutor, Louise?" Gene asked.
"Ulrich, because I want to learn how to fight." The nine-year-old said. "I'll take Jeremy as well."
"Why do you want to learn to fight?" The eleven-year-old asked.
"Aren't slaps enough for you?" Tina asked.
"Guys," Louise said, "learning is important and all, but we need to be ready for when this X.A.N.A guy attacks again! When we were on Lyoko, are weapons barely did anything, and we couldn't fight any of the monsters there! Add that to the fact that we don't know how to use the supercomputer, then we'll get creamed every time X.A.N.A attacks! But, if we learn from our tutors, then we'll be able to beat back that cyber creep and save the day!"
"What if Mom and Dad get suspicious about what we've been doing?" Tina asked.
"Then I hope that Jeremy can come up with a convincing lie." The youngest Belcher child said.
Walking up to Wagstaff, Tina, Gene, and Louise knew that they had a big day ahead of them. It was the first day for the tutors to start teaching the students, and things were going to be much busier. Assuming that something wouldn't go wrong today, everyone would carry on with their day. If something DID go wrong, then the Belcher children would probably have to go to the factory with their tutors. While they normally wouldn't mind it if something went wrong, they knew that there would be a mission to Lyoko awaiting them. Gene and Louise hoped that there would be a mission, while Tina was dreading that it would happen.
Meanwhile, the Lyoko Warriors were inside Wagstaff's library, waiting for the students to arrive. From there, they would have the children sign up for tutoring. Jeremy, Aelita, and Yumi were eager to teach the students who needed help, while Ulrich, Odd, William, and Sissi were less-than-willing. It didn't help that X.A.N.A could attack at any minute, which would make their tutors jobs much more difficult. Sissi had never been to Lyoko before, but being involved with the strange happenings of the virtual world would not be good for her. Even if she was willing to go there, the brunette felt that she would be unable to help her friends.
"What time do the kids arrive, again?" Odd asked.
"They should already be in the building." Jeremy said. "I don't know why they wouldn't come here."
"Maybe because it's the library and not the playground?" Sissi asked sarcastically.
"They'll be here," Aelita said, "it's part of the tutor program."
"Hopefully, X.A.N.A doesn't take the opportunity to attack today." Jeremy said.
"If he does, then our jobs will become a bit more difficult." Ulrich said.
The entrance to the library came open, with a few kids coming into the room. The kids were an Indian-American boy with glasses, a female eighth grader with blonde hair, and a redhead who seemed to be suffering from asthma. He had an inhaler on hand, which proved that he was to the Lyoko Warriors. They wondered what the asthmatic boy would be willing to seek tutoring for, considering how he didn't seem to be physically capable for certain things. As the kids approached the table they were at, the tutors waited for them to sign up.
"Good morning, everyone!" Yumi greeted.
"Morning!" The kids spoke.
"The sign-up sheets are in front of you," Jeremy spoke, "so write down your names and who you want to be your tutors."
Seeing the pieces of paper in front of them, the kids began to write on them. The Lyoko Warriors patiently waited for them to finish, despite the fact that there would be other children willing to sign up for tutoring. Once the three students were done, the tutors looked at the sign-up sheets. The kid who wanted William to tutor him was Rudy Stieblitz. As for Jeremy, he would be tutoring a boy named Daryl. Sissi read the sign-up sheet next, finding that a girl named Jocelyn wanted her as a tutor.
"Which one of you is Rudy?" William asked.
"I am." The redhead spoke.
"Why do you want me to tutor you?" The brunette asked.
"Because, I have asthma, and I want to learn how to get rid of it as I get older." Rudy said. "Also, I'm interested in taking health class."
"I take it that you're Daryl?" Jeremy asked, looking at the second boy in the group.
"Yes," the seventh-grader said, "and I want you to tutor me in computer class."
"What would you like to learn?" The blonde asked.
"How to code." Daryl said. "Other than that, I would like to learn how to use anti-virus programs."
"And I'm Jocelyn!" The blonde girl introduced herself.
"Kind of figured that you were Jocelyn." Sissi said. "You must be the one who wants me to tutor them."
"Yeah," Jocelyn said, "I want to be, like, tutored, so that I can pass my classes or whatever. My teachers say that, like, I don't do well enough in class, so, like, I'm hoping that I can learn under you, Miss Delmas!"
"Well, I'm excited for it, too." The brunette said, rolling her eyes. "Now, if you'll please move on, we've got other kids to wait for."
Rudy, Daryl, and Jocelyn then walked away from the Lyoko Warriors and Sissi. Once the three were gone, the group spoke to each other.
"So far, we've got down a few kids who want us to tutor them." Yumi said.
"And only two of them are excited about it." Ulrich stated.
"I don't think the girl who wants me to be her tutor can read." Sissi said.
"Probably not, but it's a good idea to test her." Odd said.
"Test her?" The brunette giggled. "She couldn't even spell 'test'!"
"Keep it down, guys, we're in a library!" Aelita whispered.
The door to the library came open again, presumably being opened by other students in need of tutorship. As the Lyoko Warriors watched the door open, they hoped that the next child would make their visit quick. However, the first child to walk in was Gene, who held the door open for Tina and Louise. The Belcher children were rather quick, as they practically ran to the table. As they approached them, the Lyoko Warriors waited for them to sign the papers in front of them. Louise went first, with Tina and Gene signing immediately after. Once they were done, they handed the sign-up sheets back to the tutors.
"So, you want me as your tutor, Gene?" Aelita asked.
"Yeah, but that's mainly because I want to show you what I've been working on." Gene said.
"He wants Yumi to tutor him as well." Ulrich said, looking at the sign-up sheets.
"And it looks like Tina signed up for Ulrich, Odd, William, and me." Jeremy noted.
"Can't have too many boys in your life." Tina said.
"I tutor in detention, Tina." Odd said.
"And Mr. Frond told us that you aren't taking a health class." William added.
"Then I guess I'll stick with Ulrich and Jeremy." Tina stated, clearly wanting to be near them.
"Are there any classes you're having trouble in?" Aelita asked.
"I'm having trouble in science and math." The brunette said.
"Sign up for my lessons, Tina." Yumi said.
Letting out a sigh of defeat, Tina signed up for the biology class that Yumi would be tutoring for. As that happened, the Lyoko Warriors looked over their sign-up sheets. To their surprise, all three of the Belcher siblings had signed up for the lessons that Ulrich and Jeremy would be teaching. While it didn't seem far-fetched for Louise to want to learn to fight, the tutors didn't expect Tina and Gene to sign up for Ulrich's lessons. It was the same for Jeremy's lessons, as none of the Belchers seemed interested in computer science. Putting down the sign-up sheets, the Lyoko Warriors and Sissi looked at Tina, Gene, and Louise.
"Why did you sign up for computer lessons and fighting training?" Jeremy asked.
"In order to help you guys out." Louise said.
"Help us out?" Odd asked.
"You're kidding, right?" Sissi asked.
"Well, you guys can't just fight X.A.N.A by yourselves!" Louise said. "You need to train an army for this sort of thing!"
"And we don't know how to use the supercomputer, so maybe some tips could be helpful." Gene said.
"You have valid points there, but I'm not sure if our lessons will be enough for you." Jeremy said.
"Especially since Tina seems to have signed up for these classes to be near us." Ulrich stated.
"Actually, I want to know how to use the supercomputer." Tina said.
"Then I hope you guys are ready for our tutorship, because we're giving you all we got!" Odd said.
"Oh, we'll be ready." Tina said.
"No matter how hard the classes are, we won't give up!" Gene stated.
"And we'll be there for the next task!" Louise said.
As soon as the Belcher children left, the Lyoko Warriors and Sissi felt glad. It seemed that the three would become great students after seeking their mentorship. With the fact that more children were going to come and sign up, they sat at the table, deciding to wait. One by one, students came into the library, signing up to be tutored. When all the sign-up sheets were filled out, the tutors put them on the desk of Mr. Ambrose, the librarian. From there, the pages would be delivered to Mr. Frond, and the Lyoko Warriors would begin tutoring the students who had signed-up.
Ulrich stood in the gym, overlooking the students who had signed-up for fighting lessons. He had a book on martial arts with him, something that he had borrowed from Yumi. Knowing that he couldn't teach Pencak Silat, the brunette decided to stick to Karate. Mr. Frond approved this, only on the condition that the teen doesn't injure any of the students. With that in mind, Ulrich was intent on teaching the students, not taking them on in a fight. Chances are, even if he didn't wind up injuring them, they would probably have a few dirty tricks.
"Alright, everyone, all eyes on me!" Ulrich spoke.
The students looked at their tutor, listening to him as he gave a lecture.
"It's come to my attention that all of you have signed up for this class because you want to learn how to fight." The teen said. "For this program, we will start with basic Karate, then we'll move onto other stuff. I won't lie to any of you: some of you will fail this, while the rest passes. But, if all of you work hard enough, you'll be able to walk home with combat knowledge!"
Feeling pumped by the lecture, the students cheered on. Louise in-particular looked ready to get on with the lessons, her hands clenched into fists. Ulrich went to the gym teacher, Coach Blevins, to see if he had any training dummies. While he didn't, the coach got out several training mats, agreeing to let the students practice on them. As they worked as well as punching bags, Ulrich figured that they would be good enough. He and Coach Blevins carried the mats out to the gym, showing them to the children who signed up for the lessons.
Picking up one of the training mats, Ulrich had one of the students throw punches and kicks at it. Coach Blevins did the same, having another student approach him for practicing. As each of the children practiced, both Ulrich and the coach wrote down their progress. They analyzed the results, determining which student needed to improve, and which student was doing perfectly. Once they had written everything down, they saw each of the students exercising. Clearly, they were doing everything they could now that they felt inspired.
"Do you think that the students will be ready for the lessons you'll be teaching?" Coach Blevins asked.
"I hope so, because I'm going to push their limits!" Ulrich said.
In Wagstaff's music room, Aelita was surrounded by several students. One particular student was Gene, who had brought a keyboard with him. It was apparently the instrument he had been practicing on, saying that he was going to show the pink-haired teen what he had been working on. A few of the other students were some of the boy's acquaintances, having worked with him before. The teacher of the class was Ms. Merkin, who was okay with having Aelita help out. She handed the girl a book of lessons, telling her that she could use it for additional tutoring.
"I'm a little surprised," Aelita spoke, "I didn't expect to see a whole lot of you in here."
"We're just the ones who need some extra credit in this class." Gene said.
"And it's nice to have a tutor to help us." A spectacled boy with brown hair spoke.
"For that, I want to thank you." Aelita said. "Now, tell me your name."
"Alex, ma'am." The boy said.
"I'll have you all sign your names later." The pink-haired girl said. "For now, I'd like to hear you play the instruments you were assigned. If you need help, then I will give it to you."
Jeremy sat in the middle of the Wagstaff computer lab, surrounded by the students who had signed up to be tutored by him. The job seemed like a breeze to the spectacled blonde, especially since he could tell that a few of the students looked excited. Daryl in particular had a smile on his face. Henry was straight-faced, wanting to be professional when it came to being tutored. Jeremy didn't seem to mind, as he was willing to teach what he could. If he had to teach them how to operate older systems and computers, then he would.
"Seeing as you're all here, I can tell that you're ready for the first lesson." Jeremy said.
"You bet we are!" Daryl spoke.
"What's the first lesson, anyway?" Henry asked.
"Well," Jeremy said, "I was going to have each of you try out some codes on the computers in here. Go ahead and log-in, if you can."
Getting up from their seats, the students went to the computers. They logged onto them, taking them to the desktop. Once that was out of the way, Jeremy took out a folder. While no one could see what he had, the blonde could. Inside the folder was a few pieces of paper that had lines of code on them. This was data that he had managed to get off of the supercomputer last night, which he felt would work on the computers in Wagstaff. If they didn't, then the teen would have everyone in class carry on, doing something to fill out the rest of the period.
"Now that you've been logged-in, I want each of you to type the codes I have written down." Jeremy spoke. "If they work, then we're making progress. If they don't work, then I'll have each of you work on your typing speed."
As the papers were handed around the room, each student typed the codes into a command prompt. Jeremy walked around, seeing if anyone was having any luck. While a few students were, most of them were having trouble. As such, Jeremy lent them a hand, making sure that they were typing the codes correctly. Once he got to Henry, the blonde saw that he was making progress. However, the brunette was somewhat cautious about sharing the codes with his classmates.
"Jeremy, don't you think this is a little risky?" Henry asked.
"What do you mean?" Jeremy asked.
"I mean, you ARE sharing stuff from last night." The brunette stated.
"Don't worry, I didn't copy a whole lot from the supercomputer." The blonde said. "I only copied what I found to be safe for sharing."
"What are you guys talking about?" Daryl asked.
"We're just talking about the lesson." Henry lied.
"And how you need to check the codes twice, so that you can make sure you're typing them right." Jeremy stated.
Convinced, Daryl went back to work at his computer. Jeremy continued walking around the computer lab, offering to help anyone who was having trouble with the codes. As that happened, there wasn't another problem with any of the students. Class continued on, with everyone typing away at their computers. Jeremy sat down near the entrance, knowing that all was well. He hoped that his fellow tutors were doing well, given the students who signed up to be taught by them.
Both Yumi and William were brought to the science lab, as all the students they would be teaching were there. The students were practically crowding the class, to the point where some of them were forced to stand up. Despite that, they waited for the two tutors to speak. Yumi looked at the students for a moment, then gestured at William, signaling for him to speak to them. Knowing that he had the floor, the boy stepped forward.
"Good morning, everyone!" William spoke. "As you can see, Yumi and I are the tutors each of you will be studying under. I will be the health class tutor, while Yumi will be the biology tutor."
"If anyone has any questions," Yumi said, "feel free to ask us."
Tina stood up, deciding to ask a question.
"Yes, Tina?" Yumi spoke.
"Is there anyway that we can hang out as we study under you?" Tina asked.
"We'd prefer it if you took your studies seriously." The older brunette said.
Another girl stood up. This girl had blonde hair with a ponytail on one side of her head. She was a bit shorter than Tina, but had a bit more weight. Once Tina had sat down, she decided to speak up.
"William's the one teaching health," the girl spoke, "so is there anyway that I can learn how to help someone who is having a heart attack?"
"I'm sure that there's plenty of information for that." William stated.
"Great." The blonde said. "By the way, my name's Tammy."
"Nice to meet you." The teen said.
As the period passed, Yumi and William answered questions from each of the students they would be assisting. Once they were done, the two teenagers handed out pieces of paper that said what subjects they would be going over. With their jobs done for the day, they decided to head outside. Yumi wondered how the others were doing, given some of the students each of them had. William, on the other hand, had a hunch that they were doing alright. After all, it couldn't be all that bad for them.
Jeremy, Aelita, Ulrich, and Odd were overlooking Wagstaff's playground. They had gotten finished for the day, so they were free to do what they wanted. It was only a little while until lunch, which meant that they would be able to eat after getting to know who they would be tutoring. While waiting, the four teens spoke to each other.
"So, how has your first day been?" Odd asked.
"Well, I can't say it has been terrible." Ulrich spoke. "Most of the kids I was around seemed pretty ecstatic about it."
"Even Louise?" The blonde asked.
"Definitely Louise." The brunette said.
"Henry almost spilled the beans on the supercomputer, but we managed to move past the subject." Jeremy said. "I need to be more careful, though."
"Maybe you shouldn't share documents from the supercomputer in class." Odd suggested.
"It is rather risky, Jeremy." Aelita stated.
"Well, we have to test some of the students we're tutoring." Jeremy said. "Chances are, we could get a new member in the group."
"Assuming they won't get possessed by X.A.N.A on their first mission like how William did." Ulrich said.
"By the way, how has your day been going, Aelita?" Odd asked.
"I had the students play their instruments for me." Aelita stated. "They had so much passion, I didn't know what to say. All of them were great, except for Gene."
"Is there something wrong with Gene's music?" Ulrich asked.
"There's nothing wrong with him wanting to show me what he has." The pink-haired girl said. "But, his music is just ... unlistenable."
"Hopefully, with your tutoring, he can get better at it." Jeremy stated.
"Who can get better at it?" Yumi's voice called out.
Looking over at the exit, Jeremy, Ulrich, Odd, and Aelita saw Yumi and William approaching them. The two teens sat next to their friends, joining in on the conversation.
"Well, Aelita is tutoring Gene, and she found his music bad." Odd spoke.
"I guess I hoped that it would be better." Aelita said.
"What do you expect?" William spoke. "Gene's only eleven, and he probably hasn't been practicing like how the composers of the past did."
"Tina didn't seem terribly focused on her studies as well." Yumi said. "In fact, she seemed more focused on the idea of hanging out."
"At least Louise is the one who shows the most potential." Ulrich said.
"No matter how they're doing in their classes, the Belcher children are still our allies." Jeremy said. "We just need to push them to do better."
The exit came open again. This time, Sissi was the one to come out. She seemed rather frustrated, her eyes having an annoyed look. The brunette sat next to her friends, letting out a sigh.
"So, how was your day?" Aelita asked.
"Bad, as if you guys would care." Sissi spoke. "I mean, how can there be so many kids at this school who are bad at English class?"
"I'm sure that they try their best," Odd said, "they're just crushed by how stressful school can be."
"At least being a student is easier than being a tutor." The brunette said. "When you're a student, you aren't tasked with teaching smaller children stuff they're having trouble in."
"I can definitely imagine you winning a Teacher of the Year award." Yumi sarcastically stated.
"Or even an Emmy." William said.
"If X.A.N.A attacked right now, I would be glad." Sissi said.
"Well, he seems to only attack when he has a reason." Jeremy said. "More often than not, his reasoning is because he wants everyone on Earth to suffer."
"And we're there to crush his monsters and save the day." Odd said. "Of course, being a tutor isn't so bad."
"Odd, all you're doing as a tutor is just watching over delinquents and morons until they get out of detention!" Ulrich said.
"Yeah, that's not really exciting." Sissi stated.
"Well, I can always do stuff with the prisoners." Odd said. "If they have homework, I can help them with it. I can even read them books on subjects they don't usually go over. By the time each student gets out of detention, they're going to have been around the best tutor in the world: Odd Della Robbia!"
The alarm for the school rang, signaling that it was the end of the day for the students. With that in mind, Odd went inside Wagstaff, making his way to the detention room. The moment he got into the room, the blonde knew that he was in front of a tough crowd. While he could see that Louise was in the room, there were a few students that he noticed. Said students were being tutored by his friends, so he decided to go easy on them. However, the teen figured that he would have to be tough as well.
"Hello, everyone." Odd spoke. "I'm your tutor for this part of the day, Odd Della Robbia, and I'm going to make sure that all of you are well-behaved."
"Good luck with that." Louise said.
"Now," the blonde continued, "as a tutor, I can sense that a lot of you need help in your classes. As such, I'm going to get a book out, and we're going to go over its subject."
Going over to a bookshelf, Odd searched for a textbook that he knew that he could use. To his surprise, there were a few books that wouldn't have helped out during his time as a tutor. Some were horror novels, while others were fantasy novels. Undeterred, the blonde looked at the bottom part of the bookshelf. By doing so, he found a textbook that looked big enough to rival War and Peace in terms of longevity. Pulling it out, Odd took the textbook over to the desk.
"Students," Odd spoke, "I have found a book on phonics! It might seem a little less-advanced for kids your age, but I think that everyone should know phonics! Now, stick with me, and I'll go over the textbook with you. Who knows? You might become better at it!"
At the Belcher residence, the family was sitting around the table, having dinner. Both Bob and Linda wanted to talk to their children about what they were doing with their tutors. The kids, on the other hand, didn't know what to say. While Gene was happy with his tutors, he seemed to notice that Aelita didn't like what he had been working on. Tina was a bit dismayed that she would be unable to hang out with her tutors, primarily the boys. In fact, they seemed to notice that she was attracted to them. Louise was alright with the tutoring she was receiving under Ulrich, but Odd was a whole other story.
"So, do you kids like your tutors?" Linda asked.
"Yeah." Gene said.
"Yep." Tina said.
"Yes." Louise said.
"You don't sound like it." Linda stated.
"Well," Gene said, "I don't think that Aelita liked my music."
"And none of my tutors wanted to hang out with me." Tina stated.
"My tutors are alright," Louise said, "but Odd is trying to teach phonics to the students in detention."
"Kids," Bob spoke, "tutors aren't meant to be your friends, they're meant to be secondary teachers. Besides, Gene, you need to get better at playing an instrument before you can make it big. Tina, there's probably a reason they don't want to hang out with you. And Louise, detention is pretty much an empty space, so Odd could be trying to add more to it."
"Does detention really need a phonics lesson?" The nine-year-old said. "I mean, I know what phonics are."
"Just give your tutors a chance." Linda said. "Who knows? You might end up loving school by the end of their tenure!"
"Probably not." Gene said.
"I highly doubt it." Louise said.
"I'm not sure." Tina said.
"Just try, okay?" Bob asked.
The Belcher children nodded, agreeing to do so. Even if they didn't like the lessons they were getting, the least they could've done was give their tutors a chance. By tomorrow, they hoped to show more enthusiasm around the Lyoko Warriors and Sissi.
The next day, Jeremy was sitting in the library at Wagstaff, looking at his laptop. Ever since he had arrived in Seymour's Bay, the blonde was checking to see if there was any activity on Lyoko. Considering how there was a new portal for it in town, he knew that he had to make sure that his allies were ready for whatever X.A.N.A had planned. The teen wasn't alone in the library. Aside from Mr. Ambrose, Aelita and Ulrich were nearby. Odd, Yumi, William, and Sissi were at the cafeteria, being told to speak to some of the students they were tutoring.
As he continued to work on his laptop, Jeremy noticed a shadow approaching him. Turning around, he saw Ulrich standing next to him.
"Let me guess, no activity from X.A.N.A?" The brunette asked.
"From what I can tell," Jeremy spoke, "there's a Tower activated on Lyoko, but I can't tell what X.A.N.A has planned."
"Think that we should head to the factory and take care of the problem?" Ulrich asked.
"Aelita and I aren't tutoring today, so I'll head there with her." The blonde said.
"Oh my!" Aelita cried.
Looking over to where Aelita was standing, Jeremy and Ulrich saw that she was standing still, with an open book on the floor.
"Heavy book, Aelita?" Jeremy spoke.
"More like hungry book!" Aelita said. "It just jumped off the shelf and started moving like an alligator snapping its jaws!"
"So, X.A.N.A's using books to attack people?" Ulrich spoke. "The others are going to have a lot of trouble tutoring whoever was assigned to them."
"Then we need to get to Lyoko as fast as possible." Jeremy said. "Are you tutoring today, Ulrich?"
"Unfortunately so." The brunette said. "If I get a chance, I'll join in on the mission later."
"We hope so." Aelita said.
Meanwhile, Odd was sitting on the playground, having nothing to do for the time being. He was alone in the area, with recess having not started for the students at Wagstaff. Despite that, the blonde was free to do whatever he wanted, as long as it was accepted by the school board. Usually, he'd take any chance to cause mischief and rebel, but he decided not to do anything. Being a tutor, he was now supposed to be responsible around Wagstaff. This included the students who ended up in detention, as he was in charge of watching after them and preventing them from causing trouble.
When he was about to get up, Odd heard his phone vibrate. Knowing that this meant he got a notification, the blonde took it out and checked to see who messaged him. It wasn't by anyone he knew, at least not his friends. Rather, it was a message from someone who didn't have a name. Suspicious, Odd selected the message, wondering what the big deal was. The moment he entered his text messages, however, the teen was shocked when he saw a familiar image: the Eye of X.A.N.A.
"Oh boy, what does X.A.N.A want now?" Odd asked himself.
The message Odd received said the following:
Phonics? A nitwit like you teaching phonics to children in detention? That's hilarious, Odd. Since you want to be a Good Samaritan and educate, I shall make you regret that decision. Be prepared for when books bite.
Closing the message out, Odd wondered what X.A.N.A meant by the end of it. The AI told him to be prepared when books bite. However, what puzzled the blonde was what that part of the message was referring to. Was X.A.N.A going to bring book characters to life? Would books come to life and try to bite down on those unfortunate enough to read them? Were books going to give paper cuts to those who were near them?
As he had hours before detention began, Odd knew he had to make sure that none of the students there would get killed. Even if he was unable to join his friends on Lyoko, the blonde could still be in charge of protecting innocent lives. He kept the message from X.A.N.A in mind, knowing that he would be in the middle of the attack. By the time detention started, the teen hoped to protect the students he would be watching over. And considering how Louise was in detention, he hoped that she would be able to go to Lyoko in his place. If not her, then someone else.
By the end of the day, Odd walked down to the detention room, where the students awaited him. To his relief, no one was hurt, but he had a feeling that something bad was about to happen. It was clear that X.A.N.A was about to attack, but the blonde couldn't tell how the attack was going to go. Louise was in front of the room, looking around. It seemed like she knew when X.A.N.A was planning to strike. Odd hoped that she would be able to get out during the attack, seeing as she was able to go to Lyoko.
"Everyone," Odd spoke, "I have an important announcement to make: I am letting one of you out early! Can you guess who it is?"
The students looked at each other for a brief moment, trying to guess as to who would be getting an early dismissal from detention.
"It's Louise Belcher." Odd said.
Surprised to hear her name being called, Louise went up to Odd. Before she could ask why he called her up, the nine-year-old noticed how cautious the teen looked. Her curiosity became understanding, given the situation she and her siblings were now in. As she hadn't seen Jeremy and Aelita all day, the girl presumed that they were at the factory.
"Is X.A.N.A attacking?" Louise quietly asked.
"Yeah," Odd said, "and he said that books will bite during this time!"
"Books will bite?" The nine-year-old was puzzled.
"They definitely will." The teen said. "Head to the factory, and tell the others why I couldn't come!"
"On it!" The girl said, running out of the room.
As soon as Louise ran out of the detention room, Odd saw some of the books start to move. Realizing that they were about to strike, the blonde knew that he had to protect the kids who were being kept in the room. He stepped in front of the students, stretching his arms out in order to block the X.A.N.A-possessed books. One of them lunged at the teen, moving like how an alligator snaps its jaws. It bit Odd on the arm, but he threw it off. Everyone watched in awe, having not expected their tutor to get bitten by a book and shrug it off.
"Everyone, get ready to defend yourselves!" Odd spoke. "These books are alive, and they're hungry for human flesh! Don't destroy them, though, they're school property!"
The students stood up, feeling invigorated by Odd's words. As soon as they stood up, the books jumped off the shelf and crawled towards them. Each one let out a demonic growl, which meant that they were going to attack. However, everyone got in a defensive stance, unwilling to let a couple of books kill them.
Meanwhile, Jeremy, Aelita, Ulrich, Yumi, William, Sissi, Gene, Tina, and Henry were in the computer lab, overlooking where X.A.N.A had activated a Tower. Given how LyokoLand was made to look like a game from the MS-DOS era, it was much harder to search for anything unless there were already people virtualized onto it. If that had happened, then Jeremy would have found where the Tower was at in no time. Everyone watched in anticipation, hoping that the spectacled blonde would find it. Without knowing which Sector the Tower was in, they couldn't go to Lyoko/LyokoLand. And with X.A.N.A having it activated, this meant that he was free to attack.
After another minute of searching, Jeremy found the Sector that the activated Tower was in: the Ice Sector. He was right on time, as Louise had entered the lab. Tina and Gene saw their younger sister walk in, but they didn't say anything. They were just happy that she made it. Henry was indifferent, but he was glad to know that the nine-year-old managed to come. The Lyoko Warriors didn't notice that Louise came into the lab, but that was because they were waiting to go into Lyoko/LyokoLand.
"Alright, I'm here!" Louise said. "Let's kick some X.A.N.A ass!"
Hearing her voice, the Lyoko Warriors and Sissi turned around. They looked happy that she had arrived, but their expressions changed when they noticed that Odd was no where to be found.
"Louise." Yumi spoke.
"Where's Odd?" Ulrich asked.
"He's back at Wagstaff, protecting the students who are in detention." Louise said. "He said that books were gonna bite, or something like that!"
"And we're in luck, because I found where X.A.N.A activated a Tower." Jeremy said. "Someone go with Aelita, I'll monitor the mission out here!"
Aelita ran to one of the Scanners, intent on deactivating the Tower as soon as possible. Louise, Ulrich, and Yumi followed her, not wanting her to be alone on Lyoko/LyokoLand. Gene was about to join them, but Jeremy signaled for him to wait. Tina, on the other hand, didn't try to go with the others. William and Sissi watched as Jeremy got the supercomputer ready for the Virtualization process. Once it was ready, the blonde typed on the keyboard.
"Transfer: Aelita!" Jeremy spoke. "Scanner: Aelita! Transfer: Ulrich! Scanner: Ulrich! Transfer: Yumi! Scanner: Yumi! Transfer: Louise! Scanner: Louise!"
The Scanners activated as Jeremy typed into the computer. As that happened, Aelita, Ulrich, Yumi, and Louise felt themselves get uploaded to the supercomputer. While it was still a bit weird for Louise, it didn't feel as painful as it did the first time around. It was almost as if going to Lyoko/LyokoLand for the first time had made her stronger. If the Scanner didn't make the nine-year-old stronger, than it made her more resistant to certain things. But, there was no time to think about that stuff, because there was a world to save.
"Virtualization!" Jeremy said as he pressed the "enter" key.
Once the command was given, Aelita, Ulrich, Yumi, and Louise were sent to Lyoko/LyokoLand. They relaxed as the Scanners uploaded them, knowing that they were the gateway to the virtual world. Aelita was waiting to deactivate the Tower, but she figured that she would have to fight as well. Ulrich was ready to fight, deciding to take out whatever monster he came across. Yumi wanted to fight as well, but her other priority was keeping Louise out of harm's way. Louise hoped to do better than how she did on her last mission, especially since she had been training under Ulrich.
Aelita was the first to arrive in the Ice Sector, landing on her feet. Soon after, Ulrich and Yumi were brought to the area, with their avatars landing. Louise's Virtualization happened last, primarily due to her being the last one to be Scanned. Once they were all together, the four looked around, keeping an open eye for any monsters. After finding none, the four carried on, deciding to make their way to the Tower. If there were monsters nearby, then Jeremy would let them know.
Louise couldn't help but feel wowed by her surroundings. The Ice Sector was like Antarctica, but smaller. The location seemed to be set at night, given how the sky above was pitch black. Knowing that she didn't have time to enjoy the scenery, Louise followed Aelita, Ulrich, and Yumi. She hoped to use some of the skills that Ulrich had shown her during the mission, thinking that her knives would be rendered useless. If they were, then the nine-year-old hoped to go down swinging.
"Have we gotten to the Tower yet?" Louise asked.
"Not yet," Jeremy's voice rang out, "but you're getting closer! But, be careful, something's approaching you!"
As she continued to follow Ulrich, Yumi, and Aelita, Louise heard a noise. It sounded almost as if a bee was floating nearby. She looked around, wondering where it could've been coming from. That was when the nine-year-old saw it: a wasp-like creature with the Eye of X.A.N.A on its face. Unlike real wasps, it had ten wings instead of two. The creature wasn't the only one, however, as it was soon joined by three more.
The creatures began to fire at Louise, Ulrich, Yumi, and Aelita, intent on Devirtualizing them. In response, Yumi threw one of her fans, managing to destroy one of the creatures. Aelita charged up an Energy Field, using it to block the lasers before throwing it at another one of the wasp-like monsters. Ulrich couldn't attack them directly, but he dodged each laser that was blasted at him. Taking out her knives, Louise threw one at the wasp creature that was flying near her, killing it. However, another one fired at the group, having survived their attacks.
"Jeremy, what are these things?" Louise asked.
"Hornets." Jeremy said. "They're not the only creatures approaching you, there's a few Bloks coming near!"
"Bloks?" The nine-year-old was puzzled.
Without warning, there was the sound of something approaching the group. As he was the closest to the noise, Ulrich saw what the cause was: a walking cube that was being supported on six crustacean legs connected to a base. On each side of the creature was an Eye of X.A.N.A, with only one being its weak spot. It had a rock-like shell that was hard to penetrate, meaning that hitting the weak spot was the only way to destroy it. This monster was a Blok, and they were more dangerous than the Roachsters and Hornets. With that in mind, Ulrich knew he had to destroy it.
Using his Super Sprint, Ulrich ran at the Blok, having his saber ready. The Blok fired lasers at him, but they were deflected. Once he was near it, Ulrich waited for the monster to show its weak spot. When it did, he thrusted his sword forward, hitting the area.
"Impact!" Ulrich shouted.
After that happened, the Blok exploded. With it dead, Louise, Yumi, and Aelita continued on, keeping an eye out for any other monsters. Ulrich went after them, keeping his sword out in case they got attacked again. As they made their way to the Tower, the group hoped that Odd would be okay. Given how X.A.N.A was attacking the detention room at Wagstaff, the blonde would have to defend the students he was watching after. Chances are, they would've been scared to defend themselves, not knowing what was happening.
Back at Wagstaff, Odd was fighting with the books X.A.N.A had animated. He couldn't destroy any of them, considering how they were school property, so he was throwing them at the wall and holding them closed. The students watched in awe as the blonde fought. At first, they thought that detention would be the same as yesterday, but they were wrong. Now that their tutor was fighting bravely, they got up to help him. Some fought the books, while others defended Odd.
"It's about time you joined the fight, guys!" Odd spoke. "I couldn't do this by myself for much longer!"
While the students fought the living books, Odd heard his cellphone ring. Taking it out, he answered the call.
"Odd Della Robbia, detention tutor at your service!" Odd spoke into his phone.
"Odd, are you still at Wagstaff?" William's voice came out of the phone.
"Yeah, but don't worry!" The blonde said. "The students and I are taking care of business! How are the others doing?"
"Louise is on Lyoko with Ulrich, Yumi, and Aelita." The brunette said. "They're almost at the Tower."
"Hopefully they deactivate it soon, because I don't know how long everyone can last!" The teen said.
"You'll know when they do, Odd!" Jeremy joined the call. "In the meantime, keep the students safe!"
"On it!"
Hanging up his phone, Odd continued to fight the X.A.N.A-possessed books. With the students helping him, the battle was much easier. But, knowing X.A.N.A, it was about to become difficult. Odd dreaded that, knowing that he couldn't stop the books from hurting everyone in the room for much longer. The blonde hoped that Louise, Ulrich, Yumi, and Aelita would be at the Tower in no time. If it wasn't deactivated, then the attack would continue until X.A.N.A got what he wanted.
Meanwhile on Lyoko, Ulrich, Yumi, and Louise succeeded in getting Aelita to the Tower. They kept an eye out for any of X.A.N.A's monsters. Knowing that the AI would do anything to prevent them from defeating him, there were probably more of the creatures approaching them. In order to keep Aelita from being Devirtualized, Yumi gestured for her to get in the Tower. Aelita was about to do so, but then she heard legs moving on the ground. She recognized the sound as what the Bloks made as they moved.
Three Bloks started to approach the group, firing their lasers. In response, Aelita threw an Energy Field at one, instantly destroying it. Ulrich was next, as he ran towards another Blok. However, instead of a laser, the creature froze the brunette in ice. With him frozen, Louise threw a knife at the attacking Blok, hitting it in its weak spot. Yumi threw her fans forward, destroying the remaining Blok.
Before Aelita could enter the Tower, she heard Hornets flying in the air. The wasp-like monsters fired at the group, hitting Yumi and Louise a few times. Yumi went to unfreeze Ulrich, while Louise threw her knives at the Hornets. Aelita fired two more Energy Fields, only succeeding in destroying one of the creatures. However, two other Hornets fired at the frozen Ulrich, Devirtualizing him and knocking Yumi back. With him off of Lyoko, Louise, Yumi, and Aelita were forced to deal with the monsters by themselves.
Odd was still fighting the books at Wagstaff, with help from the students in detention. While they were doing well, the books started to attack again. This time, the X.A.N.A-possessed objects jumped into the air, moving as if they were birds moving in the sky. One of them flew down and bit Odd on his shoulder, making him cry out in pain. Shocked, the students ran to his aid.
"Everyone, get out of here!" Odd shouted. "I'll deal with these evil books, just head home!"
Refusing to argue with him, the students ran out of the detention room, leaving Odd by himself. Back in the room, the blonde continued to fight with the X.A.N.A-possessed books, not willing to go down. However, the books began to overpower the teen, attacking all at once. Thinking that this would be the last thing he would ever do, he threw the books off of him and rolled on some of them, hoping that it would be enough to stop them in their tracks. As he continued fighting for his life, Odd hoped that the others were about to deactivate the Tower.
Back at the lab, Ulrich walked away from the Scanners. He stood by, watching Jeremy work on the supercomputer. There were monsters still approaching Louise, Yumi, and Aelita on Lyoko/LyokoLand, with more behind them. With Odd still at Wagstaff, the Lyoko Warriors were running out of time. If Aelita didn't deactivate the Tower, then X.A.N.A's attack wouldn't stop. They couldn't risk having her get Devirtualized before she got a chance to do so.
"Yumi, get Aelita in the Tower!" Jeremy spoke into the headset. "Louise, fight off the monsters!"
"On it!" Louise's voice came out of the supercomputer.
Data filled the screen of the supercomputer. The data showed that Louise had thirty life points left. If she took a few more hits, then she would be Devirtualized. Yumi and Aelita had a few more life points than the nine-year-old, but they were making their way to the Tower. As they did so, Louise was destroying Bloks and Hornets, not letting a single one escape. She didn't just use her knives, as she punched and kicked whatever she could.
"Jeremy, I'm inside the Tower!" Aelita spoke.
"Well, deactivate it!" Jeremy said. "Odd's still in trouble, and we don't know if he's alive or not!"
On Lyoko, Aelita stood on the panel that would take her to the Tower's control system. With no time to waste, she went up to a screen and began to type into it. By inputting "Code: LYOKO" into the Tower, it deactivated the structure, stopping X.A.N.A for the time being. As that happened, Louise took a few hits from a Hornet. This Devirtualized her, sending her back to the lab. Yumi watched as the red light surrounding the Tower turned white, meaning that Aelita had succeeded.
"We're home free, Jeremy." Yumi spoke.
Back in the lab, the Lyoko Warriors, Sissi, the Belcher children, and Henry saw the Tower's data change, showing that it was deactivated.
"Alright!" Gene said.
"Hopefully, Odd's still alive." Ulrich said.
"If he doesn't call us, then he isn't." Sissi said.
Without warning, Jeremy's phone rang. Taking it out of his pocket, he answered the call. The spectacled blonde spoke to whoever was on the other line. He was a little suspicious at first, but his voice took a happy tone. Putting his phone down, the teen faced his friends and allies.
"That was Odd." Jeremy said. "He said that, aside from a few paper cuts, he'll be fine."
"Should we do a Return to the Past?" Ulrich asked.
"Not a bad idea." The spectacled blonde said.
"Before you do that, William and I want to do something." Sissi spoke.
"What is it?" Tina asked.
"Let us into the Scanners, Jeremy." William said. "Have them copy Sissi and I into the supercomputer, so that we don't forget what happened."
Realizing that the group would eventually have to send William back to Lyoko, Jeremy opened up a Scanner for him to enter. He did the same for Sissi, thinking that she would have to fight as well. Getting the Scanners ready, the spectacled blonde closed them as soon as the two brunettes got in. The Scanning process began, copying William and Sissi into the supercomputer. From there, the two were immune to the Returns to the Past. With avatars of them made, Jeremy had them get out of the Scanners, deciding to move on.
Typing into the keyboard, Jeremy entered the code that was needed for the Return to the Past process. Once it was all down, he hit enter.
"Return to the Past, now!" The spectacled blonde said.
From outside, a white light enveloped the factory. It slowly began to spread throughout Seymour's Bay, rewinding the town to the previous day. The Lyoko Warriors, Sissi, the Belcher children, and Henry braced themselves, despite the fact that time was going in reverse. The light from the Return to the Past eventually enveloped the entire planet, sending it back to a previous point in time.
Walking to the detention room, Louise realized that she had been sent back in time. There was no doubt that the Lyoko Warriors had been as well. She didn't know if it had worked on Tina and Gene, but she had a feeling it did. Once she stepped into the detention room, the nine-year-old saw Odd sitting behind the desk. He greeted her with a knowing smile, showing that he was aware of what happened. The paper cuts that Jeremy had mentioned didn't seem to be on him, so Louise knew that they were sent back before X.A.N.A's attack.
"So, Louise, how was your day?" Odd asked.
"You mean, how's my day again?" Louise spoke. "We were sent to a previous point in time, after all."
"It takes some time getting used to it." The blonde said.
Louise walked to her desk, deciding to carry on with detention. What she didn't expect was what happened next. Sissi came into the room, walking up to Odd. The brunette seemed happy to see him, beginning to speak to him as soon as she was close.
"So, Odd, no killer books today?" Sissi joked.
"No." Odd said. "Wait, how do you remember that?"
"Let's just say, you'll be seeing more of me from now on." The brunette said, winking her eye.
Note: That's right, everyone, Sissi's been saved to the supercomputer. Even if she didn't go to Lyoko/LyokoLand, she's now immune to the Return to the Past. What does her avatar look like? Will she go to Lyoko on the next mission? How about William? What evil scheme does X.A.N.A have next? Can the students and staff of Wagstaff defend against it?
Until next time, guys, this is Newcomer24, signing off. Peace!
