- Hey, look! I think he's waking up. - he heard a familiar voice that only intensified the painful pounding in his skull.
He grimaced and rolled onto his side, trying to ignore the background noise and return to the realm of dreams, albeit with little success. He sighed irritably when, in addition to that annoying calling, someone nudged his arm.
- Ulrich, for fuck's sake... - he muttered, trying to escape from the unpleasant pressure, but with each passing moment, the situation became increasingly strange. His bed was never the most comfortable in the world, but it certainly wasn't this hard, and since when was it so cold in his room?
He sat up when his face was suddenly doused with water. He blinked several times before his eyes adjusted to the surroundings, then sent a murderous look towards the brunette holding a bottle.
- Well, welcome, Sleeping Beauty. - William said, smiling broadly, while the blond wiped his face with his sleeve. - Sorry, I didn't feel like waiting until you graciously woke up.
Before he could unleash a torrent of curses, he noticed the rest of the people in the lab. Wait a minute, why were they at the factory? His attention was also drawn to the fact that everyone except William kept their distance from him, as if expecting him to jump at their throats.
- Are you okay? - Stern asked, breaking this strange distance after a while and helping him to get up.
- Uh, no? Probably not. - he raised an eyebrow, ignoring the pulsating headache that still plagued him. - But what's going on? You all act weird.
- It was weird to learn from Jeremy that someone turned on the supercomputer, and then find you unconscious in Lyoko. - Yumi stated, looking at the blond with a mix of concern and annoyance.
- Oh, Yumi! Since you're here, does it mean you finished work? - he asked, frowning. How long must he have been sleeping?
- Odd, focus! Why did you come here without us? - she continued, and judging by her bad mood, he must have encountered an exceptionally nasty client.
- Hey, calm down, drama queen. I didn't start our machine! - he snorted, rolling his eyes. - Everyone, just shut up for a moment, and I'll tell you. - he added, seeing that William and Aelita wanted to interject.
He covered his face with his hands, trying to concentrate on articulating his thoughts rather than the irritated looks of his friends. The problem was that he remembered everything perfectly up to the moment he entered the factory, but later events were a chaotic mess.
- Jeremy called me. - he finally blurted out when he remembered that strange phone call in the afternoon. - He said there was an attack, and you were all already in Lyoko. Then he virtualized me, took away weapon, and Scyphozoa came. I mean, not that Jeremy, chill. - he added, wanting to divert attention from the fact that he just admitted to his failure.
- So Tyron fixed the toys. - Ulrich deduced, and everyone's attention returned to Jeremy.
The boy, on the other hand, furrowed his brows and for a moment looked as tired as Della Robbia.
- Not that worries me. Well, that too, but I kind of expected it. - he confessed, and after a moment, he looked back at Odd, like everyone else. - Why would Xana attack you?
The boy expected such a question. The problem was that he couldn't answer it, just like Jeremy, and that meant Einstein would keep bothering him until he found out why. Just thinking about it made him frustrated.
- I don't know, Jeremy, why? - he replied and winced as Ulrich kicked him in the ankle. He understood the hint immediately, looking towards Aelita. That girl could be terrifying when it came to Einstein. - But seriously, I don't know. Maybe I was just there, or something.
- That doesn't explain why he left you and practically deactivated the tower right away. He caught you and didn't use it in any way? It doesn't make sense. - remarked Belpois, who, in the meantime, tried to review the entire battle history of the boy, but the supercomputer couldn't save the data.
- So, is that why such a chilly welcome? - he crossed his arms. - You thought I was possessed or something?
- It was just a precaution, Odd. - Stern tried to reassure him, but with little success. When Della Robbia started fixating, it was hard to divert him from it.
- It just all seems completely random. - Einstein continued, ignoring Ulrich's silent warning to let it go. - And Xana doesn't act randomly.
- Are you saying I'm lying? - understanding what he meant hurt more than his headache.
- Odd... - Aelita began, but he interrupted her with a wave of his hand.
- Great joke, where's the funny part? - he hissed in disbelief. - This doesn't make sense. What motive do I have, according to you, Jeremy?
- Honestly? None. - Jeremy admitted, not reacting to his outburst of anger. - But I hoped you'd say yes, because no means that Xana has really returned.
- So, another year down the drain, great. - Yumi sighed. - Do you think he's still hunting for codes?
- If so, why did he attack Odd? - Stones continued. - After all...
- Alright, fine, so Xana's back again, it sucks. - Ulrich intervened before Della Robbia could say something very unpleasant. - Clear.
- If I remember correctly, only Aelita and Yumi had codes before we sent him on vacation. - William rightly pointed out, complicating the situation even more and giving Odd an even greater headache. - Maybe he wanted to make some deal with us? Codes for Odd?
- Better not assume anything for now. We can meet tomorrow and check if Xana still has the same power. Maybe our virus weakened him a bit. - Jeremy stated, rubbing his chin in thought, but no idea explaining Xana's motives for today's attack came to his mind. - At least I continued to implement those improvements to Lyoko.
- So, you rebuilt the sectors? - William asked, and the blond confirmed it with a nod. - Great, I always liked...
- Since there's no active tower and such, can we go back now? - Della Robbia interrupted him, as the headache and back pain were starting to get to him. Sleeping on the floor definitely didn't do him any good, and being a jerk to his friends wouldn't compensate for it in the future, so he wanted to shorten this meeting as quickly as possible. - Then maybe we'll make it for dinner. - he added, trying to turn the situation into a joke, but even for him, it sounded forced.
When they finally returned to school after saying goodbye to Yumi, the boy separated from the rest and went back to his room, not bothering with dinner. Actually, the only thing he could think about was getting rid of that disgusting tingling sensation on his skin, not to mention the migraine.
- So, did the great and mighty Odd not go to eat? - Ulrich greeted him, entering the room with a croissant and a bottle of water in his hands. - No problem, because the greater and mightier Ulrich brought you...
- Thanks, but I think I'd rather go to sleep. - he muttered, collapsing onto the pillows. - Besides, you probably took the one without filling.
- These are the best ones?
- Not without reason they're always left last. - he retorted, to which the brunette shrugged, placing his things on the desk.
- By the way, don't be mad at Jeremy. I think he still wanted to believe that the virus worked.
- I know. And I'm not. - he replied shortly, hoping that Ulrich wouldn't press the topic.
In fact, the blond was telling the truth, understanding Jeremy's motives, but he just didn't have the strength for a conversation about it when he felt so weak.
- By the way, are you sure you're okay? - Stern asked, glancing at him over his shoulder. Speaking of...
- Fine, except for this damn headache. - he grumbled.
He remained silent about his sudden nausea since they returned or that unpleasant feeling of crawling on his skin, which suspiciously resembled the effects of specter attacks. He hissed after a while when, running his fingers through his hair, he encountered a lump at the back of his head
- And where did that come from? - he didn't remember Jeremy 2.0 knocking him out.
- Ah, sorry for that. I dropped you on the way to the elevator. - Ulrich announced, barely avoiding a notebook flying towards him. - Hey! It's not my fault you're not as SVELTE as you used to be. - he added, but the blond didn't bother to reply, covering himself with a blanket over his head. He just wanted to go to sleep and end this hopeless day.
Maybe it was thanks to the sleep, perhaps the four painkillers, or maybe a combination of both, but in the morning, he felt way better. This made him wonder if Ulrich gave him a mini-brain concussion. Otherwise, he couldn't explain the consequences of this little accident, as Stern described it.
At least until Jeremy called them into his room.
- Oh, hey Yumi. You here? - he greeted, but she seemed not to hear him, too engrossed in what was happening on the screen. Either he was imagining it, or this girl had some issue with him. - What's going on?
- Just see for yourself. - William muttered, pointing to Xana's code levels. The blond frowned, not really knowing how to interpret what he saw.
- It doesn't make sense. - he stated, then turned his attention to the girls' columns, showing the same result as before shutting down the supercomputer.
- Exactly. - Jeremy confirmed, who hadn't taken his eyes off the large one on the screen since Odd entered the room.
- Are you sure it's not some error? - Aelita suggested, but Jeremy shook his head.
- No, why would yours match, and his wouldn't? - he muttered and fell silent.
In the background, his friends were chatting, while Einstein was trying hard to come up with a solution, but with viruses, it never came easy for him.
Why did Xana get rid of his source codes, which chased them for almost a year? Was that why the tower deactivated itself yesterday, because Xana was too weak to maintain it? So, where did the 94% go, since Aelita and Yumi still had the same amount?
- Odd, Ulrich, could you also come here? I'll check you just in case.
- Why? We don't have codes anyway. - the blond muttered, but did as he was told, feeling the scolding looks of the others. Einstein started clicking something on the keyboard, but Odd wasn't particularly interested.
- Huh? - he furrowed his brows, not understanding what he saw in front of him. - Odd, look. - the blond blinked several times, and a second later, he saw a full purple bar next to his name. Even William stood up to check what everyone was so excited about. - Your codes are on a completely different scale. - he added, switching the window, where it was clearly visible that the bar was much higher than the rest. - As if...
- As if Xana sent them to me? - Della Robbia finished for him, raising an eyebrow. - So, that's why I felt like shit?
- And you felt bad? - Yumi said, sending him a look of disbelief. - Why didn't you say anything?
- I don't know. I thought it was because of Ulrich. If I knew earlier, I wouldn't have deleted his save in that stupid game out of revenge.
- YOU DELETED...
- I did you a favor! - he interrupted, just in case hiding behind Yumi before the brunette could catch him. - You should've been playing the new part with me a long time ago!
- Hey! Quiet! This is serious. - Aelita scolded them. - We don't know why Xana implanted these codes, and that's what we should be dealing with right now!
- What would Xana gain from that? - Einstein wondered, and it was another question he had no answers to.
- I think sitting here and thinking won't get us anywhere. - Odd snorted, unplugging the cable from his transwatch. Until recently, he was convinced he would never have to wear it again. - Since I have codes again, I'll be able to deactivate the towers. If Xana sends any specters, it'll be just like before. Simple.
- Not at all, because we don't know...
- We won't find out anything until Xana shows us himself. Besides, as long as nothing is happening to anyone, that's probably the most important, right? - he asked, and when no one disagreed, he smiled broadly. - Great, because now I'm going to get my croissants with chocolate, and nothing will stop me!