Odd was so done.
And it wasn't because of Xana, as he didn't even have a chance to attack for the second time, but rather Jeremy, who, as Odd had predicted, stuck to him like glue. Not to mention how, on the first day, both Aelita and Jeremy threw furtive glances at him, questioning whether he had some strange signs in his eyes instead of his usual brown irises. Their speculations were starting to irritate him because they didn't bring anything except a reason to bother him.
Even Yumi was mad at him without any specific reason. Her sarcastic remarks and meaningful glances were the reason he left today's meeting at the cafe. Even William, who was usually malicious, couldn't match Einstein or Ishiyama in getting on his nerves. Only Ulrich behaved normally, but that wasn't enough to improve Odd's mood.
The truth was that the boy liked being in the spotlight, but not like this. One stupid mistake, and suddenly he became a child in their eyes, incapable of taking care of himself, constantly needing their worry. And what he particularly despised was being controlled.
- Can you pass me that specimen? - a feminine voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
He glanced at the folder to his right and furrowed his brows at the sight of several vials arranged next to each other. Before she could clarify which specimen she meant, the blonde slid the whole thing under her nose, returning to drawing undefined shapes in the margin of his notebook and contemplating his own misfortune. The dark-haired girl raised an eyebrow, noticing a sheet on the edge of the desk that both of them were supposed to fill out by the end of the class. After a moment, she began to solve the individual tasks herself, seeing that the stranger wasn't particularly interested.
Actually, such an arrangement suited her quite well; she hated group work. It always annoyed her how much emphasis teachers put on collaboration in those damn classes, as if she couldn't just come, take notes, and leave. Moreover, her partner was none other than Odd Della Robbia. The boy had stuck in her memory from the first day when the teacher spent half the time complaining about how he knocked over the stand with test tubes. Objectively, the blonde was quite handsome, but not exactly her type. Certainly, what caught her attention was the fact that he had purple-dyed strands of hair, although they were much lighter than hers. Generally, if she had to describe him in one word, it would be trouble. She sat next to him entirely by accident, but on that day, the professor assigned them some stupid projects for credit that required more time and effort than anyone would want to dedicate to it. In any case, Alex had a feeling that working with him wouldn't be very... efficient.
In the meantime, Odd finally noticed that everyone around was busy with some tasks from Hertz, and he sighed, turning to the girl he was sitting with. I recognize her, was his first thought when he noticed her dark purple hair, tied in a short ponytail, transitioning to a bright green just at the nape. He had to admit that the girl was quite pretty, or at least nicely made up. He appreciated the matching shades of green and black on her eyes, matching the color of her oversized sweatshirt and shorts, which were about three sizes too big. He looked at her for a moment before their gazes met, and the stranger raised her eyebrows questioningly.
- You know, for someone wearing so many colors, you look quite gloomy. - he blurted out at the sight of her tired expression, although he probably looked very similar.
- Let's say I like contrasts. - she snorted, returning to work.
She still felt his gaze on her notes, which threw her off her rhythm. Watching her hands was another thing she hated, but she decided to keep the comment to herself.
- Are you new here?
- Does it matter?
- Not really. - he shrugged. - But I want to know.
- Is it that obvious? - she replied before a loud crash interrupted their short conversation, and one of the microscopes landed right under their desk.
Odd winced and quickly pulled back the leg responsible for pulling the cable connected to the device. The girl looked at him, then at the microscope, which somehow became two separate parts, and started laughing loudly.
Well, Alex certainly didn't expect that in the first week at the new school, she would end up in the principal's office, and with the school equipment destroyer, Della Robbia himself.
- I'm washing my hands of this. - she declared as they approached the destination of their short journey. After a moment of thought, she added. - Actually, I might just leave you here.
- Fair. - he replied, completely crushed by his ability to attract misfortune. - By the way, I'm Odd. - He murmured and extended his hand, with the door to Delmas's office behind his back. - I'm not usually like this...
- Fucked up? - she suggested, squeezing his hand and lifting the corners of her mouth as he laughed. At least it was amusing.
- Exactly.
The fact that he didn't ask for her name was intriguing, considering he had tried to initiate a conversation earlier. She didn't know if it was one of those silly techniques people without much to offer use, or maybe this boy was just peculiar. However, she felt curious enough to follow him. He looked at her with surprise as she slipped her foot between the closing door, and she entered. She gave him a meaningful look, then smiled and politely greeted the principal.
She had no idea about the boy's relationship with Delmas, but if it was anything like with Professor Hertz, she preferred to take the initiative. She explained that during the class, they accidentally knocked over one of the microscopes, adding that he didn't want to participate earlier. Of course, they intended to report it, but after submitting the task to avoid disturbing the teacher's work. Della Robbia only added that it was one of those old devices, but for the most part, he remained silent, apparently understanding her implication. Meanwhile, the dark-haired girl interwove the information that she was new to the school, and ultimately, their conversation took a completely different direction. They faced no consequences, except for a reprimand to be more careful next time.
- Wow. - he muttered as they finally left the office and the door closed behind them. - Didn't you have to take any responsibility for it?
- Well, I'm having a good day. - she shrugged.
- Thanks. I owe you one.
- Great, then let me handle our project alone.
He raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting such a favor. However, as a gentleman should, he immediately declined, instead suggesting a meeting at the cafe to work out the details of their project.
- You know, maybe I can drive Hertz crazy just by existing, but I'm pretty good at biology. Especially botany. - he added, though it wasn't entirely true, but it wasn't entirely false either. Mainly, he knew about photosynthesis, since once in middle school, they got stuck in a time loop, and he had the opportunity to grasp the entire material several times. And only for that reason, the professor allowed him to attend her classes.
The girl looked at him for a moment, assessing how truthful he was. Then she began to remember how much material they actually had to prepare, and finally sighed, surrendering.
- You're lucky that A, I hate weeds, and B, I love coffee. - she muttered, and her brown eyes sparkled with excitement as she mentioned coffee. - But it has to be good. And interesting."
- Sure. - he confirmed, wondering what the word 'interesting' meant in the girl's mouth. - It's a pleasure doing business with you.
- Likewise. - she snorted, turning on her heel and walking away, putting on headphones in the meantime.
He involuntarily lifted the corners of his mouth. Actually, today wasn't that bad. Friends managed to annoy him only about three times, he completely overslept today's classes, and destroyed equipment for the second time in Hertz's class this week, but he won't even have to pay for it. All thanks to the stranger, who also didn't seem that bad. And even if in the end, he won't have anything to talk to her about, he'll always have something to look at. It's just a shame he forgot to ask her name.
- Oh, sorry, sir... - he murmured, his gaze fixed on the phone, accidentally bumping into the principal.
He noticed his hands, covered in black, and was about to ask if he spilled ink, when he raised his gaze to his face, and the words stuck in his throat. He had never seen anything like this before. His skin was grayish, and his eyes completely black and empty, staring lifelessly at the blonde. He stood there, staring at him, while the boy was so shocked that he couldn't move. It lasted literally a fraction of a second before the figure dissipated in the air, and it took Della Robbia another moment to dial Jeremy's number.
However, when they gathered at the factory, no tower was active, and according to Einstein, the superscan was working flawlessly.
- What exactly did you see there?
- Probably a polymorphic spectrum, but it was weird. It stared at me for a moment, and then it disappeared. - he explained in a colorless voice, still perhaps too absorbed by that memory. The clone's face was like something out of a horror movie, a bit as if the director had died, and his ghost returned to haunt him from beyond the grave. The boy didn't think he would sleep easily that night. - Why can't Xana ever transform into something cute and nice?
- Hmm? Like a teddy bear? - Stern muttered before the attention of the warriors was drawn to the activated tower on the holomap, which exceptionally didn't disappear after a few seconds, as it did the last time. - You think that's it?
- Just in case... - Belpois murmured, then began entering data for virtualization. - I'll let Yumi know to be cautious. - he added, although he knew that Ulrich would run to cover her, and sooner or later, William would follow.
He sent the remaining two to the mountain sector, and so far, the tower still shone brightly and clearly, both on the holomap and before the warriors' eyes. Odd stretched like a cat, and weapons appeared in his hands, his gaze focused on two tarantulas and several cockroaches materializing nearby. Finally, he could have some fun and occupy his thoughts.
- And what, you're not so brave now that I have my powers back? - he taunted one of the smaller monsters before devirtualizing it, laughing loudly at his minor victory, to which Aelita only rolled her eyes.
He let her deal with the last monster, watching for a moment as it glided towards her. He was about to say something... and then he felt it. For the second time that day, he was stunned. Instantly, he fell to his knees, claws digging into the virtual ground, as that familiar, burning pain passed through his muscles, while the skin tingled as if he were being electrocuted. But as suddenly as it appeared, the warmth disappeared. What remained was a terrible buzzing in his ears and on his skin, as if his atoms were trying to disintegrate and reassemble. And only then did he hear Jeremy calling him.
- I'm alive. - he hissed, attempting to stand, but after a moment, he fell back on all fours. - Or not. - he groaned languidly, deciding not to try again.
Instead, he lay on his back, trying to focus on breathing, but even his lungs seemed to burn and sting, as if back in that moment.
- How do you feel? - Ulrich asked, and Della Robbia heard this question for the tenth time before he could even muster a voice.
Normally, he would just ignore it, but since this whole circus started, Stern had been on his side, so he wanted to be somewhat fair to him. So he thought for a moment before finally saying:
- Remember the barbecue with your cousin and his homemade wine last summer? - he croaked, and every spoken word seemed to irritate his already weak stomach; it was a miracle he hadn't thrown up yet.
- Oh, shit. - Ulrich muttered, and his head immediately turned towards Einstein. - Jeremy, this is serious.
- I know, and I see. - Belpois sighed in frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose and furrowing his brows. - I just don't know why he feels this way when we deactivated the tower.
- What if Xana sent him the codes again this time? - the pink-haired girl suggested, looking at her exhausted friend with sympathy. - He felt like this last time because of that.
- Without any scyphozoa or anything? - William retorted, while Jeremy started handing cables to Yumi and Odd.
- Actually, we can easily check that. - he announced, observing the results appearing on the holomap. He breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that the dark-haired girl still possessed the codes, but this relief turned into concern when he saw that Xana still had the same amount of them. - You were right, Aelita. No wonder these effects don't go away for Odd.
- Yeah, but I don't remember feeling like shit when we first shut down the computer, and Xana implanted us those damn codes. - the blond snarled.
- This is different. You have a lot more of them now. - Jeremy noticed. - And I can't shake the feeling that you're some... temporary solution for him.
- What do you mean by that?
- Think about it. Xana deliberately pulls you into Lyoko, giving you all the codes collected so far, and leaves himself with the minimum amount to survive. Spectres can send them to you from Yumi and Aelita without any contact. - he explained, seeing by the expression on the blond's face that he was slowly starting to understand.
- So, I'm some kind of a carrier? - he furrowed his brows, and the boy nodded.
- I have every reason to suspect that.
- But why? - Yumi spoke up. - We're talking about Xana, living in a guy's supercomputer who doesn't even believe in his existence. It's perfect conditions. Why does he want to escape from there?
- I don't know. It seems illogical. - he admitted. - But without the codes, he's weak. And maybe that's why these spectres look like that. - at the mention of polymorphism, both Odd and Ishiyama shuddered unanimously.
- But we still don't know why he sent the codes to you this time. - Dunbar added, addressing Della Robbia, who preferred to jump off a bridge than discuss it.
- We've established that it was an accident. - Ulrich defended him, for which he was truly grateful.
- I don't believe in accidents. - the brunet rolled his eyes. Jeremy didn't either, but he decided not to say it out loud. - I'm just saying that it might be important.
- Yeah, but our buddy Xana unfortunately only shares codes with me, not his plan. - the blond snorted, then looked up at the blue-eyed one. - Anyway, I think we should figure out what and how in the Cortex. Since Xana wants to escape from there and all...
- That makes sense. - Jeremy muttered. - Maybe then we'll understand his goal and take advantage of the fact that he's currently weak. - he mumbled, before focusing his gaze on Odd again, who still seemed as pale as a wall, although an hour had passed since deactivating the tower. - We have to be twice as careful now. If you lose the codes, we won't be able to deactivate the towers, maybe except for Aelita, but I'm not even sure about that. Not to mention the side effects for Odd. - he pointed to the boy, who grinned foolishly and waved to everyone, although fatigue was visible on his face.
Well, Della Robbia definitely shouldn't have praised the day before sunset.
Since it was Friday, and his well-being had somewhat improved, Odd made an unusually mature and responsible decision, which was to go to a party in the evening. It was one of those parties where anyone could come, even if they didn't know anyone, including the owner of the place. Fortunately, there weren't as many people here as he expected, but almost immediately someone recognized him, inviting him to join in drinking. He declined, as his stomach was still not in the best shape, and then headed to the kitchen, where there were significantly fewer people - and certainly fewer of his acquaintances. He noticed only one person, a brunette he had met a few days ago in the music room, where he and Ulrich went in their free time to play the guitar. And it was actually he who told him about this party.
- So, you did come after all. - the guy noticed, extending his hand to him first.
- Nice hoodie. - Odd greeted the guy, paying attention to what he was doing at the kitchen counter.
- Thanks, stolen. - the guy smiled and reached for, as it turned out, the last bottle before starting to mix everything in a disposable cup.
- Vodka, orangeade, syrup, and energy drink? - Della Robbia raised an eyebrow. - Is that your recipe for vomiting?
- I don't know, man. Alex told me to do it. - he shrugged, preparing a second plastic cup. He was about to ask who the mentioned girl was when he heard a female voice behind him, very familiar indeed.
- Because it's great? - the voice's owner approached Charlie, who smiled broadly at the sight of her.
So, Alex, that was the name of his biology project partner, and only when he saw the two of them together did he remember where he knew her from. He had seen her play with the guy a few times, and even then she caught his attention, but she always disappeared so quickly that he didn't have a chance to talk to her - until today.
- You guys look like a pair of highlighters. - Odd snorted, inspecting the neon green hoodie of the guy and the dark-haired girl's orange one.
Both of them laughed in response, and the blond couldn't help but notice that they had a similar sense of style in their clothing. Judging by the shade of the clothing, he also guessed who Charlie stole them from.
- Meeting again, huh?
- Not the best first impression, I suppose?
- Are you kidding? - her eyes lit up when she grinned at him, but the blond assumed that her excitement was due to alcohol. - Honestly, I wanted to change classes, but after today, I decided it amuses me too much.
She confessed, and before he could respond, she began to look around for the brunette, who in the meantime had managed to go somewhere.
- Is he your boyfriend? - he tried to make it not sound too pushy. If he didn't succeed, the girl was polite enough not to point it out.
- It depends.
- On what?
- Whether you'll hit on him. - she replied dead seriously.
- No, I don't really have that in my plans. - he laughed, then reached for the pizza lying next to him when hunger related to skipping dinner slowly began to bother him. - I just noticed that you both are dressed similarly, so I guessed either a couple or siblings.
- I've known him since childhood. - she replied simply, then lifted the cup, rolling her eyes at the fact that Charlie 'forgot' to take his. - Do you want one too?
- Thanks, but A, I hate strawberry orangeade, and B, I prefer pizza. - he muttered, and the girl struggled to hold back a smile.
Honestly, he hadn't met someone with such direct humor in a long time. She seized almost every opportunity to turn his words into a joke, and considering the amount of alcohol she had consumed, they were definitely less picky than when she talked to him sober. In the meantime, they also realized that they had much more in common than just a love for purple. They revolved around similar music or games, always finding something in the middle. For example, while he was a fan of Street Fighter, she loved Mortal Kombat, but both agreed that Tekken was trash. They also had similar tastes in cartoons or TV shows. He even learned that she liked to draw, although he had given up that hobby a long time ago.
He also noticed that she smiled a lot at him. At first, he took it as flirting, but the longer they talked, the more he convinced himself that the girl treated him as some kind of old friend. There were no allusions or hidden intentions, she simply enjoyed his company. And it was funny, she was funny. She talked a lot about Charlie, and he mentioned his friends a few times, although he didn't quite believe that in this state, anything he said would be remembered (not that it bothered him).
Later, the mentioned guy joined them, and the blond somehow forgot about his indigestion when he offered him alcohol. Together, they went to play pool, which stood in one of the rooms, and later ended up at karaoke in the living room, singing some song in three voices. Probably the next day, he would regret all the alcohol he had poured into himself, but to be honest, he didn't care because, for the first time in a few days, he was finally having a good time.