She furrowed her brow.

Expecting to see a familiar desert landscape, this time she found herself virtually transported to a completely different place that resembled mountain peaks. The sky was a bright blue, and in the distance, the shapes of more structures and platforms loomed, covered by a thick layer of mist. The surface of the rocks was smooth and had a beautiful shade of purple that reminded her of the colors of a certain blond boy's costume.

She walked towards the edge of the path and looked down. As far as her eyes could see, fluffy white clouds billowed beneath her, so she had no idea if there was anything below them. Although she wasn't afraid of heights, this awareness made her take a step back instantly. She looked up as the silhouettes of Aelita and Odd began to materialize a few meters away. The former smiled warmly at her as soon as her feet touched the surface. The latter, however, remained in place, his furrowed brows and clenched jaw suggesting he was quite irritated.

And indeed, he was. He spent last night staring at the ceiling again, his head and muscles aching all day. Before heading to the factory, Jim cornered him, complaining about his recent absences and questioning if he wanted to fail the year, as if it were his damn business. On top of that, he ended up in Lyoko with Alex, whom he couldn't even look at, too embarrassed. The fact that she looked incredibly good in that costume, emphasizing every curve of her body normally hidden from his eyes, didn't help. It made all of the boy's thoughts revolve around the events of Friday night and how nice it felt to feel the touch of her soft skin under his fingers.

He couldn't think clearly and really didn't want to go through all of this alone. However, the main instigator of this situation, Ulrich Stern, left him to fend for himself, using some stupid soccer training as an excuse, something he had completely forgotten and really couldn't let go. Pity he remembered it at the moment when Della Robbia was already halfway into the scanner.

Alex looked towards the blond conflicted, torn between wanting to comfort him and retaliating for all the unwanted attention he drew to her with his stunt. She couldn't count how many times Charlie asked if everything was okay, given Della Robbia's absence, who usually stuck to her like glue. Once, he even directly asked her if Odd had broken up with her, though he tried to pass it off as a joke to avoid hurting her feelings. But he did hurt - her pride, because if anyone were to break up with anyone, it would be her.

She felt anger and bitterness at the thought that after everything she said to him that evening, Odd had behaved this way. He was handsome, he was funny, and she genuinely liked him, but above all, as a friend. Back then, she was drunk and wanted to have fun, and he had avoided her as if she had just proposed to him by that damn river. She would have explained everything to him if he had given her a chance during that week when he actively avoided contact with her.

Now it didn't matter anymore, so she decided to wait and observe the situation's development. She was never the type of person to reach out first, and she didn't plan to bend over backward for Della Robbia, but she also didn't intend to seek revenge. Going on a mission with him and tormenting him with her presence while staying absolutely focused on the task seemed like a fair solution.

And no, she was not excited about the prospect of returning to Lyoko, not at all.

- Okay, you all can hear me, right? - Jeremy's voice echoed in her ears, coming from an indeterminate point above their heads.

- Yes.

- Okay, great. - he replied, satisfied. He had to be absolutely sure that what happened when he sent Alex to Lyoko for the first time wouldn't happen again (even if he still had no idea what the problem was). - After how well you did last time, we wanted to take you on a mission to the Cortex. Avatars like you guard access there, not monsters with limited intelligence, and we suspect there will be quite a few of them. We could use an extra pair of hands, but we need to be sure you can handle it.

- And what's the Cortex? - Alex asked.

- We named the world Tyron built. - Aelita explained.

- That evil old psycho. - Odd added, and that was the first time he had spoken to her since morning. She glanced at him, but he stubbornly stared at the ground.

Annoying.

- Yeah, exactly… What are you doing? - Jeremy spoke up, and the warriors looked at each other. They hadn't even noticed when Alex had disconnected from them, descending to a lower rock shelf nearby. Stones was about to speak, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her from expressing her concerns out loud.

- What you told me. - Meyer replied before aiming at one of the rocks and then sitting opposite, aware that the remaining two were nearby. - I'm practicing.

The spike buried itself almost halfway, flickering with a cold, violet glow. Just as she suspected the first time, the arrow's color brightened with each passing moment. After about a minute, when the projectile finally changed its color to white, it exploded into a cloud of pixels, and when she looked at her thumb, she noticed it was still black.

Later, she shot another, and when the dagger turned pink, she repeated the motion. Then she moved a bit closer to a rock that was significantly slimmer than the others around. As the first projectile changed to a color close to white, and the second approached the magenta hue, she struck for the last time, summoning them almost immediately. The leftmost one, released first, passed through the rock structure entirely; the second left a deep trace, and the third disintegrated into digital dust. She then looked at her hand, and although two arrows were destroyed, only her thumb had a strip of noticeably paler green.

So, the first arrow also returned, although it took much longer than if she had summoned it like the rest. Moreover, apparently, the power of her projectiles was greatest when fired and, above all, just before their disintegration. That's why she couldn't devirtualize the block the first time she did it; she restored them too quickly.

The blond observed her actions and couldn't help but let out a amused snort when she began unknowingly wagging her tail back and forth. Whatever she was checking, the results seemed satisfying, and she was excited about it.

Cute but frustrating.

He was glad she was pleased with herself, but deep down, he doubted she would manage. So far, she had only fought blocks, and he didn't want her to be disappointed, especially facing opponents like the ninjas. However, he didn't intend to say it out loud.

- Hey, didn't you mention once that you guys have powers in Lyoko? - she spoke first, turning on her heel and looking directly at him with barely concealed enthusiasm.

- Yes. - Aelita replied for him. - Each of us has some ability. - saying this, she raised her hand, creating a pink sphere that she released in a random direction. - I can also combine them into a shield and create various things, depending on the sector we're in.

- And she has wings. - the blond added, grabbing the girl's right wrist and raising it, tapping his claw on her watch.

Behind Stones, a pair of shiny, bright pink wings appeared, with a span twice the length of her arms. At first, the dark-haired girl felt that although they looked beautiful, they seemed incredibly stiff, like plastic. However, a slight movement of the digital feathers quickly dispelled all her doubts.

- They're nice. - she admitted. - And they must be very practical too.

- Yeah, and you know who got it for her? JEREMY. A pair of wings for his little angel. - teased Odd, and the subject of the conversation blushed behind the monitor screen, quickly telling the boy to shut up. The elf girl snickered and retracted her wings, nudging the blond in the side.

- Yeah, exactly. Besides, Odd has a shield, Yumi has telekinesis, William turns into smoke, and Ulrich can run super fast.

- I wonder if he'll run away just as quickly when I fucking catch him. - Della Robbia muttered under his breath, but even if Stones heard him, she decided to ignore that.

- It makes sense. - she muttered, glancing at her hands. - How did you discover them?

- It was more of an instinct, really.

- Although Jeremy usually has them written down in the supercomputer as well. - Stones interjected. - It's like our stats.

- So, can I assume that I have some too?

- Not impossible, though I have no idea what. - Belpois declared. - But your avatars in Lyoko are primarily matched to your personalities and abilities in the real world.

- Yeah, that's why I'm a big cat. - grumbled Della Robbia.

- Maybe it'll help you; what's your fighting style? In games, for example? - Jeremy continued.

- Uh… safe? - she raised an eyebrow, confused.

- Oh, yes! And definitely slow. - Odd interjected. - Whenever we play together, I start the action, and you come in when everything is settled, and…

- Because you have no idea how to position yourself! - she retorted in the same tone, narrowing her eyes. - And I go all-in when I know I can still withdraw or have nothing to lose, and-

- That's an anti-definition of going all-in. - he rolled his eyes.

- Ironic, isn't it? - she teased, smiling when she saw a glint of understanding in his eyes.

She didn't say that.

- Exactly, Jeremy! 0 the pink-haired girl chimed in, smiling widely, completely unaware of the strange atmosphere between the two. - Maybe you can send us vehicles?

- Oh yes, good idea. Alex, as our guest, you have the first choice. Motorcycle, board, or hover-

- Board.

- Are you kidding? The board is mine!

- Well, I can let it go, but it depends. - she declared. The blond glanced at her from under his lashes, and in his eyes, she saw a spark of interest when he asked:

- From what?

- From whether you like girls on motorcycles.

He blinked, as if he misheard, then burst into laughter and shook his head, not amused at all. So, this is how she wanted to play.

- Fine. I'll play along. And I'll win anyway.

- Win? You want to race?

- Of course. - he muttered. - I can even bet on it.

- Amazing. - she replied dismissively, ostentatiously staring at her own claws. - I thought you were more of a cowardly cat.

He knew she had a sharp sense of humor - he actually liked that about her - but the fact that she attacked him in an area where he clearly felt uncomfortable was something new. Deliberately embarrassing and teasing him, playing at his expense in front of his friends, as a punishment for all that childish behavior.

Just a few days ago, she probably would have stayed silent on the topic. Maybe she would have waited until they were alone, jumping around him and weighing every word just not to get a negative reaction from him, only at a moment when he managed to convince her to reveal the truth. Now she was looking him straight in the eyes, and he wondered if she was always like this or if maybe he had finally managed to break through her shell.

Regardless of the reason, he was pleased. Embarrassed, but damn pleased.

- Good luck landing on all fours after this defeat.

The corner of her mouth twitched as she tried to maintain seriousness.

- Watch out, Della Robbia. If I win against you, you'll only have seven lives left.

He chuckled openly with that silly, warm laughter of his that had won her sympathy that september friday.

- Sorry to disappoint you, but this race will have to end in a tie. - Jeremy suddenly spoke, his voice sounding gruff and, as always, serious, quickly spoiling Della Robbia's mood. - Yumi called. Xana possessed her boss, and the activated tower is in the polar sector, so you need to hurry.

- Right. Do you remember what happened last time when Xana possessed someone? - Aelita muttered.

The features of the dark-haired girl tensed as she clenched her teeth. Of course, she remembered; the sight of her half-dead friend still haunted her thoughts, even though a lot of time had passed since that event.

- Tough break. - the blond sighed, without a word, hopping onto the materializing motorcycle, thus giving up his vehicle to the girl. However, he didn't stay silent for too long, unable to refrain from making sarcastic remarks; - Just be careful with her, she doesn't have many hit points. Don't scratch her, stay on the track, and for fucking sake, don't fall off. - he almost hissed the last part, emphasizing the seriousness of his words. - Do you even know how to control this thing?

She didn't know, but that didn't stop her from trying to get on the board. The surface of the vehicle felt like it was drawing her body towards it. It wasn't significant; rather, it gave her a relative sense of security that she wouldn't fall off if she didn't want to.

Moreover, she had a feeling that no fall would be dangerous for her. She clenched her fists, and small purple marks sparkled as she moved her fingers. Although she didn't have evidence for it yet, she suspected what they could be and planned to investigate it later that day…

But not in this way.

The blond observed as the girl's eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she pondered something before getting off the vehicle, retreating to the path.

- Since we're in a hurry, I prefer to swap. - she declared, and he was more than happy to let her do it.

- Okay, let's go. - saying this, Aelita flapped her wings strongly, soaring into the air just above their heads. Odd was the first to look away from her, blinking towards Alex, who swung her leg over the seat.

- Admit it, you're scared.

- If anyone has to be scared here, it's you, Odd. - she replied before following the girl, leaving him far behind in the blink of an eye.

He really must like girls on motorcycles.

- Jeremy, remind me why you had to restore those stupid sectors? That's twice the work. - Della Robbia complained, halfway jumping between the passage towers.

They made it in about fifteen minutes, though for him, it might as well have been an eternity. Although he loved flying, he was getting fed up with listening to that constant discussion between the Einstein couple about Xana, which didn't interest him at all. He couldn't count how many times he glanced towards Meyer, who never once turned her head in his direction, too focused on the road.

Contrary to everything guiding him for the past week, suddenly, from the depths of his heart, he wished she'd pay attention to him and talk to him - he was so bored!

- Actually, I didn't intend to. - Belpois muttered, and Odd didn't expect him to seriously answer his question. - I was writing a program in case we ever needed them, but it triggered when someone turned on the supercomputer.

- Have you become that lazy, Odd? - Aelita snorted, her wings fluttering somewhere near his head.

He felt a twinge of irritation but didn't respond.

As they exited the tower to polar sector, the first thing Alex noticed was how dark and simply unpleasant the place looked. Unlike the two previous ones, the sky here was dark, and this time it seemed like the land itself was illuminating the space around. During the ride, she also noticed the absence of any floating platforms; only icy ridges along dark waters surrounded their path.

Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Della Robbia, who evidently abandoned the idea of racing her in favor of keeping relatively close to her side throughout the route. She had to admit that the way he maneuvered through the air was truly impressive. Sometimes he made loops and spins over her head. Sometimes he chose a circular route to smoothly bypass obstacles, always keeping pace with them and never slowing down. She was impressed by how free and relaxed he seemed, as if a fall was never a possibility.

- Jeremy? How's the situation with Yumi? - Stones' words pulled her out of her thoughts as they spotted the glow of the activated tower in the distance, with mantas circling around it. For someone severely weakened, Xana, for some reason, was spewing out more monsters with each attack, ramping up with each strike.

- Do you want good or bad news?

- Bad.

- The guy can't even catch up to her.

- And these are the bad ones? - Odd scoffed before lowering his flight almost to ground level not to alert the monsters guarding the tower.

- Yumi said he's been slow from the start, yet Xana won't let go. - he explained, and a growing sense of unease made his voice tremble. Something was wrong, damn wrong.

Why would Xana care about controlling a random guy, especially with Ishiyama's codes at hand?

- Do you think possession could-

- I don't know, Aelita, but I'd rather not find out, so you better hurry. - he cut her off. - No one has seen them tho, so perhaps we can skip returning to the past.

- We're almost there. - she announced, and she was right, but the monsters noticed that too.

Odd veered right just behind Stones, jumping out of the vehicle before being hit by the tarantula laser and taking cover behind one of the rocks. He grimaced as he noticed his board had been almost instantly disintegrated by the concentrated attack.

- What now?

He jumped at a sudden sound behind him and turned on his heel.

- What are you doing here?! - he frowned.

He could swear he saw Alex veering to the right.

She shrugged, a self-satisfied smile not leaving her face; then she shifted her gaze to the tower. She recognized the blocks, besides, there were two flying creatures and one whose laser seemed particularly powerful, shaking the foundations of their hideout.

- Damn, we have a problem, a big problem! - Belpois spoke up again, his eyes shifting between the data on the monsters in front of the tower and the ones in Carthage. - Xana is attacking our Skid!

- What?!

- Yeah! - he hissed, his brain now working at full speed. This absolutely couldn't be a coincidence, just like the devirtualization of Aelita and Ulrich when they stood in front of the core; the virus knew exactly what it was doing. - Xana knows about our mission in the Cortex and that only you guys are in Lyoko, so he possessed that guy there! If we don't do something, the guy will die, and he'll quietly take away our access to the digital sea.

- Did you call William? - Aelita asked, biting her lower lip, sounding as agitated as Einstein.

- He won't make it in time!

- Can't any of you go and protect that Skid? - Meyer interjected, hands on her hips and furrowed brows.

Aelita raised her head, her green eyes locking onto her; a shadow of irritation passed across her face. The sound of striking projectiles seemed to intensify twofold before she replied:

- Listen, we've had a hero in Lyoko who thought nothing could match him, and he quickly found out it's not a game at all. - she spoke, and her voice was cold and completely out of tune with her usually sugary personality. Apparently, she must have had very unpleasant memories with that someone. - First and foremost, we need to deactivate the tower.

- So send me. Maybe I can gain some time before William reaches the factory, and you can deal with the tower. If I fail, at least no one will die. - she said, not breaking eye contact with Stones. - But if I succeed, we'll kill two birds with one stone. Doesn't that sound like a good deal?

- This is not bargaining. - Belpois scolded her, and then sighed deeply before continuing; - But you're right, we need to do something. Aelita, I'll send you to Carthage. - both girls glanced at each other, surprised by the boy's words. - Get Skid out of the hangar and reinforce its shields. If Odd doesn't get into the tower, I'll send you back with William. Let's hope he can hold on until then. - he muttered, not specifying who he meant.

- Me?!

- You're the only one who can do it quickly.

- And you're willing to risk that guy's life? - she asked, disbelief in her voice.

Alex knew what she meant; she also thought that she should take on this less responsible mission. The point was that she didn't realize the seriousness of this situation, which was cutting the warriors off from the Cortex, but Jeremy did. If he allowed Xana to thwart the plan of writing the program for Odd, the virus would be able to take Yumi's and Aelita's codes, and then…

He was silent for a moment, his fingers hovering over the keyboard before he replied;

- Either him or one of us. - and then he pressed enter.

When the girl's avatar disappeared from their sight, she turned her gaze to Della Robbia. The blond crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow, making it clear that he was well aware that she hadn't told them everything.

- What are you planning? - he asked, narrowing his eyes. She wouldn't come up with the proposition if she didn't have an ace up her sleeve, he was sure of that.

- Do you trust me? - she whispered, leaning towards him. Without thinking twice, he nodded, but his posture was still a bit tense, and his gaze watchful and suspicious. - So wait here nicely.

- What? What do you mean? - he frowned when she took two steps back, about to run into the middle of the field, leaving their safe hideout. - Wait!

- Relax, I have a plan!

What was she doing?!

Why did she leave him, why was she making an easy target of herself, it didn't make sense!

Vaguely, he was aware that Jeremy was also yelling, probably expressing the warrior's thoughts out loud. He dug his claws deep into the rock, watching as one of the blocks turned towards the dark-haired girl and started shooting.

He almost jumped up to run and help her, but then he saw something extraordinary.

Before the shots could hit the girl, a monster appeared in her place, which then promptly got devirtualized by its own lasers.

Shaken, he turned towards the tower, where Meyer was now, taking advantage of the confusion among the monsters and immediately destroying another block. She scratched the tarantula in the process, and after a moment, she was in the air, summoning the shots back. The returning daggers pierced the manta so accurately that it was destroyed. When the dark-haired girl noticed that the second flying creature started shooting in her direction, she teleported above it, hitting Xana's eye directly.

Then she teleported back to the ground, almost jumping when she heard something like a crackling howl behind her. She turned only to see the exploding tarantula, destroyed by cloud of brightly blue arrows, aimed by the blond. He sent her a look full of disbelief over his shoulder before, at Jeremy's command, he ran into the tower.

He broke the speed record in entering the code on the interface, and then another one in leaving the tower, just to get to the girl as quickly as possible. She was waiting for him, sitting at the edge of the platform, staring at the virtual water a few centimeters below the ground level. Or at least that's what it seemed to him because when he got closer, he noticed that she was actually looking at the marks on her left hand.

- I'm missing two. - she raised her thumb and index finger to show the black that replaced the flickering violet. After a moment, she aimed her hand and plunged four daggers into the ground before summoning them back. - Resetting the shot gives me one teleportation. And since I teleported four times, apparently switching places doesn't count.

- How on earth did you figure that out?

- Thanks to you guys. - she said, giggling. She seemed completely unaware of the tension in his voice. - I concluded that if I have a power, it will be something that allows me to quickly move in and out, especially since I don't always hit the target. And what allows for good positioning better than teleportation?

- And you want to tell me that you tried it now, without any practice?

She looked at him with something like disapproval.

- Of course not. - she rolled her eyes. - I teleported to you when we got here, but I admit I wasn't entirely sure if switching places with a block would work. - she confessed, turning away as if embarrassed that she took such a risk without prior arrangements.

He looked at her and didn't know what to say. His mouth was open, and his eyes wide open, in a mixture of disbelief, admiration, and absolute worship. He didn't know how long he stood there, staring as if enchanted, but he snapped out of it as soon as she stood up and turned to face him.

- You know… About that, I… - he stopped, suddenly forgetting the tongue. He grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck with his paw, hoping to ease the horrible tension that was building up with each word. Shame and guilt returned with redoubled force when he realized that although he'd be better off leaving the past behind, it wasn't fair to the girl; he should explain it to her.

He should tell her why he panicked at the thought of losing their relationship in the form it had been so far. After all, they were stuck with each other; although he didn't know if she fully realized it. If she felt something for him; if he let her down, they would probably end up hating each other, and that was the last thing he wanted.

He didn't expect, however, that the girl would put her hand on his shoulder and give him a serious look, saying;

- You don't have to.

And he couldn't help but feel his eyes glistening, and a quiet sigh escaped his lips, as if a pair of wings had grown on her instead of ears and a tail. She didn't want to talk to him about that failure. She didn't expect an apology from him, and he sincerely hoped she didn't hold it against him.

- …But. - she continued; he quivered and looked at her speechless as she grabbed his jaw, smiling widely and mischievously. - If you can't measure strength with intentions, then next time, don't bring me alcohol.

He thought it was impossible to feel real shivers in Lyoko until now when a current ran down his spine. He could swear his heart stopped beating for a moment, only to double its pace afterward.

- Yes, ma'am. - he hummed, lazily lifting his eyelids as she pulled away. She rolled her eyes, thinking he was joking, although in reality, he was absolutely unaware of how he melted in her touch.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur for him, and he hardly remembered much of it.

William and Aelita managed to save Skid, just before the last shields of the ship fell, getting rid of the swarm of creepers from the virtual surface. Yumi's boss was still breathing and doing well, aside from a terrible headache that came with him back home, but he was safe and still alive. Jeremy spent a good twenty minutes on the way back from the factory babbling about Xana and throwing questions into the air that no one had answers to. However, he didn't forget to congratulate Alex, who blushed in response to his enthusiasm. Her eyes exchanged glances with Della Robbia, and she seemed genuinely happy.

Later, he returned to the dormitory and eventually forgot to curse Ulrich, who, just in case, hid in the bathroom when he entered the room. He didn't care about it, and, in fact, didn't even pay attention to Stern when he lay down in his bed, staring at the ceiling.

His ears were still buzzing, and his face seemed to burn from the moment he left the scanner until now. His heart was beating fast, his mouth was dry, and a specific and very familiar feeling tickled his stomach.

And as soon as he closed his eyes, his imagination conjured up the image of a girl with purple-green hair, and damn, deep down he already knew, knew that he had fallen head over heels.