Jeremie lays in his bed, half-awake. The room is dark and quiet, and the soft silvery glow of the full moon casts a gentle illumination across his room. As he drifts deeper into slumber, a sudden chime breaks the silence. His eyes snap open, and his heart races as the familiar warning sound fills the room. An activated tower—somewhere in the virtual realm, XANA is making a move.
Before he can get to his computer, the warning chime abruptly stops. Jeremie's heart quickens for a moment as he strains to discern if it had been a dream or reality. Worry gnaws at the edges of his mind, and he can't help but wonder if the computer really sounded an alert or if his subconscious had played tricks on him.
The room returns to its quiet rhythm, and in the solitude of the night, Jeremie's thoughts dance between the world of dreams and the reality of Lyoko.
Jeremie sits at the familiar table, surrounded by his good friends. They laugh and joke, enjoying each other's company. Jeremie only loosely pays attention to the cacophony they are causing. Every so often, his gaze flits to Aelita, and he watches how she interacts with the others. He notices how her eyes light up when she laughs, and how her nose scrunches up when she smiles. He admires the way her hair falls in soft waves around her shoulders, and the way her clothes hug her curves. He sees the way she's resting her head on William's shoulder, and a pang of jealousy courses through him.
Jeremie sighs and shakes his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He knows he has no right to feel jealous, especially since he's basically responsible for the end of their relationship. But he can't help the way he feels.
Suddenly, the laughter and chatter around the table dies down, and everyone's attention is focused on him.
"What's wrong, Einstein?" Odd asks.
"Nothing," Jeremie replies, forcing a smile. "I'm just tired. Didn't get much sleep last night."
"Stayed up late studying again?" Odd teases, nudging him playfully.
"Something like that," Jeremie replies, his expression unreadable. "But something weird happened last night, too."
"Weird how?" Yumi asks as she dabs the corner of her mouth with a napkin.
"I kept hearing an activated tower alert, but everytime I checked the computer, nothing was happening," Jeremie explains, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"Maybe it was a glitch," Ulrich suggests, taking a sip of his water.
"Maybe," Jeremie replies.
"Well, whatever it was, it's over now," Aelita says.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Jeremie says.
"Of course I'm right," Aelita replies.
"You are always right, Princess," William says, pressing a kiss to her temple. He wraps his arm around her shoulder and pulls her close.
Sissi snickers but says nothing.
Jeremie's smile falters, and he looks away, unable to bear the sight of them together. Just then, his laptop chimes in his bag, once again signaling an activated tower. "Not again," he mutters, his brow furrowing in frustration.
Aelita gets up and goes to look over his shoulder as he pulls his laptop out of his bag to investigate the veracity of the alert.
"It's another false alarm," Jeremie says, irritated. "At this rate, I'm going to have to run a diagnostic just to be sure of things the next time it happens."
"Do you think XANA could be behind this?" Sissi asks, her eyes narrowing.
Jeremie pushes his glasses up his nose. "I don't know. But I'm going to find out."
"Let me know if you need any help," Aelita offers, placing a hand on Jeremie's shoulder as she speaks.
"I will," Jeremie replies, his eyes never leaving the screen.
"I'm serious, Jeremie. Don't hesitate to ask for help," Aelita repeats, her voice firm. "I'd be happy to go to Lyoko and see and if I can sense any pulsations in any of the sectors."
"Thanks, Aelita. I'll let you know," Jeremie replies.
"Okay," Aelita says, squeezing his shoulder gently. "I'll leave you to it."
William watches silently but with great interest as his girlfriend interacts casually with her ex-boyfriend. He can't help but notice the way Jeremie's eyes linger on her, or the way his voice softens when he speaks to her.
"Hey, Lita," William calls out. The hint of possessiveness in his voice causes Jeremie to briefly snap his gaze to William's.
"Yes, Will?" Aelita asks, turning her attention back to him.
He motions to the clock on the other side of the room. "I have to start heading to class. Care to walk with me? I know you're headed in the same direction."
"Sure," Aelita replies, smiling.
William stands and slings his backpack over his shoulder. "See you guys later," he says, waving goodbye.
"Bye," the group replies in unison.
Aelita grabs her own backpack and follows William out the door.
Jeremie watches them go, his heart heavy. He can't help but wonder if he made a mistake breaking things off with Aelita. With a sigh, he returns his attention back to his laptop, readying to start a diagnostic scan.
Jeremie types away at the keyboard of the supercomputer, his brow furrowed in concentration. Herve sits beside him, watching him work.
"So, what's the plan, Belpois?" Herve asks curiously.
"Something's not right. I know it," Jeremie replies, his eyes never leaving the screen.
Herve crosses his arms. "Care to elaborate?"
"XANA's been activating and deactivating towers for no apparent reason. And now, the news is saying that the water supply in Paris has been contaminated with an unknown pathogen. Something's not adding up."
"Maybe XANA's just messing with us," Herve suggests, his own brow now furrowed. "Though I can't think of a reason he'd waste time with something as silly as that."
"Neither can I," Jeremie admits.
"Well, whatever's going on, we'll figure it out," Herve says with determination. "In the meantime, we should all be careful," he muses. "If the water supply is contaminated, we should avoid drinking or using tap water until we know more."
"Agreed," Jeremie says, nodding.
"I'll keep an eye on the news and let you know if anything else comes up," Herve offers.
"Thanks, Pichon," Jeremie replies, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I'll call around the rest of the team and let them know."
"No problem," Herve says, returning the smile.
William restlessly jiggles his leg as he listens to his professor prattle on about the importance of punctuation. His mind is elsewhere, and his thoughts are consumed by all things soccer.
"Psst," a female voice whispers from behind him.
William turns his head slightly and sees Yumi sitting a few rows behind him.
"Pay attention," she mouths, her eyes twinkling with amusement.
William rolls his eyes and turns his attention back to the lecture.
"Mr. Dunbar," the professor calls out, his voice stern.
"Yes, sir?" William responds, his posture straightening.
"Would you care to share your thoughts on the proper use of commas?"
"Uh, sure," William replies, his mind racing as he tries to recall the information from the textbook.
"Well, Mr. Dunbar?" the professor prompts, his voice dripping with impatience.
"The Oxford comma is used to prevent ambiguity," William recites, his voice confident. "For example, 'These are the books, the movies and the video games' could mean a different thing without the Oxford comma. However, the sentence would be more clearly understood as, 'these are the books, the movies, and the video games.'"
"Very well, Mr. Dunbar," the professor replies, a hint of surprise in his voice. He clears his throat and continues on with the lecture.
William breathes a sigh of relief as the professor moves on to the next topic.
"Nice save," Yumi whispers, a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips.
"Thanks," William whispers back, giving her a thumbs up.
The rest of class is uneventful, and soon, the students are dismissed.
William and Yumi pack their bags and stand up from their seats. As they start walking toward the door, William looks over his shoulder and asks Yumi, "So what's the deal with these SuperScan glitches? I've never seen that."
"Who knows," Yumi shrugs. "It's happened a couple times before, but not like Jeremie's described."
"Weird," William says as they exit the classroom. "Hang on. I don't know what is about that room in particular, but my mouth is so dry." He jogs over to a water fountain a few meters away and takes a few big gulps. He looks up and wipes his mouth and sees Yumi waiting for him.
"I'm pretty thirsty, too, now that you mention it," she says leaning down to take a drink herself. She takes a couple sips and grimaces a little. "Eugh. Why does the water taste so... funky?"
"You, too? I thought I was just imagining it," William ponders as he scratches his head.
As the two exit the building, William says, "I've got a decent break until my next class, so I'm gonna run back to my dorm. I'll see you later, Yumi."
"Lucky you. See you."
He waves as he turns on his heel and heads to the residential buildings behind him. He makes it to the front door of his dorm building when he notices his stomach has started hurting.
That's weird, he thinks. I guess it could have been breakfast.
Every new step upstairs is a new, sharp, pointed pain in his abdomen. He enters his room gripping his stomach. He throws his bag onto his bed and gets his phone out of its designated pocket.
"One missed call and a voicemail? From Belpois? That's weird," he grumbles. He starts the voicemail and brings his phone up to his ear.
"William. It's Jeremie. Herve and I have learned something. It may or may not be related to the scan glitching out, but the Parisian water supply has been contaminated with some unknown pathogen. Don't drink any tap water until further notice."
"Well. Fuck."
Aelita bolts out of the convenience store near campus with bags full of medicine and basics to help keep someone who is excessively vomiting healthy. She surprised herself with how fast she sprinted out of the Hermitage after she saw William's last text: "help. cant stop puking. need meds."
She moves through the streets as swiftly as she can with an extra three kilos hanging off her arms. Her fingers start to cramp and burn with the extra weight, but she is determined to get William the help he needs. She bursts into his dorm room and drops the bags of medicine and ginger-flavored items on the floor, then runs over to him. She tries to hug him but he stops her.
"Don't, Lita," he breathes, dry heaving every few seconds. "Whatever this is, we don't know if it's contagious. And we can't have you out of commission on the off-chance XANA attacks."
"But, Will—"
"No, Aelita. I'll be fine. I've already called the nurse's office and they're sending someone over. You need to go."
"I'm not leaving you like this," she says, her voice thick with emotion.
"Fine," he relents.
"Thank you," she says softly. "Do you want me to make you some ginger tea?"
"I don't think I can keep anything down," he says, his voice strained. "Trust me. I've tried. Even bottled water is a crap shoot."
Aelita inches close enough to rub his back. "I'm sorry, Will. I wish there was more I could do."
"You're doing plenty," he says. "Thank you for coming."
"Of course," she replies. "I'm always here for you."
William manages a weak smile. "I appreciate it, Princess."
Suddenly, Aelita's phone rings. She answers it and hears Jeremie on the other end.
"Aelita, we have a problem. XANA's activated a tower, but... but somehow I can't tell which one. We need you and the others here ASAP."
"Huh? What do you mean 'you can't tell which one?'"
"I mean that there are several towers that appear to have been activated but I can't tell which one is the real activated tower. It's like XANA's playing a game of cat and mouse with us."
"Okay. Round up the others and I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Hurry, Aelita. We don't have much time. The hospitals are starting to fill up with sick people."
Her face blanches when she hears this, and she glances at her boyfriend, curled up on the bed and sweating profusely. "I'll be there soon." She hangs up the phone and turns back to William, her heart pounding in her chest. "Will, I have to go. XANA's activated a tower and we need to stop him."
"Go," he rasps. "I'll be fine."
"I love you," she whispers.
"I love you, too." he replies, his voice hoarse.
Aelita leans down and presses a gentle kiss to his forehead, then hurries out the door, her heart heavy with worry.
Jeremie, in an effort to locate the activated tower, had decided to virtualize the four remaining warriors each in their own sectors. Aelita is sent to the Desert, Ulrich to the Mountains, Sissi to the Ice, and finally, Odd to the Forest.
"Alright, team. You're all on your own for now, so be careful. I'm sending you vehicles. Patrol your sectors and be on the lookout for an activated tower. If you see one, call it out," Jeremie orders.
"Roger!" the four teammates shout in unison before moving out around their respective sectors.
"Uh... Einstein? A little bit of a problem here in the forest," Odd complains from his Overboard as he looks below him. "I've got two Megatanks tailing me. Hard."
"Do what you can to get away from them. Only engage if they attack," Jeremie says. "Sissi, what's going on with the Ice Sector?"
"I'd love to tell you, but an entire platoon of Krabs has me cornered and I've already overused my invisibility!" She yells as she takes out the legs of a Krab before jumping on its head and slashing it across its Eye.
"Odd and Sissi aren't doing too good, Ulrich. Please tell me you've got good news."
"And bad news, too," Ulrich quips as he leaps off of a cliff face towards the squadron of Hornets chasing him. "I've got almost a dozen Hornets coming after me, but I saw an activated tower a couple minutes ago!"
"Why didn't you call it out?!"
"I don't know, man! I was kinda focused on not getting devirtualized!"
"Aelita, do you copy?" Jeremie calls. "Ulrich saw the activated tower in the Mountains, get to a way tower STAT."
"Easier said than done, Jeremie. I've got four Bloks on me and they're unusually relentless. I can't shake them!"
Back on the Ice Sector, Sissi struggles with the enemies in front of her. She's out of breath and out of energy and it's all she can do to even swing her whip. Even at a severe disadvantage, she manages to take out four of six of the Krabs, but she is summarily devirtualized.
In the Forest, Odd is having just as much trouble. He manages to get one of the Megatanks, but the other destroyed his Overboard and grounded him. He takes pot shots from behind a tree until the last Megatank gets a lucky shot as he peeks out.
"Aelita, status! Sissi and Odd are out and Ulrich's down to forty Life Points!"
"Way tower in sight!"
She bursts through the tower's outer wall and flies down into the data stream. As she comes up and out of it, she lands on the tower's lower platform to catch her breath.
She sprints out of the way tower and sees Ulrich struggling against six Hornets.
"Energy Field!" she yells as she hurls a blast of energy into the air, catching a Hornet off guard and destroying it.
"Thanks. I owe ya," Ulrich says as Aelita runs up.
"No problem. Where's the tower? Will's sick and getting worse by the minute."
"The tower is in the canyon. I saw it as I was jumping around!" Ulrich shouts as he hurls a katana at a Hornet. "Dammit. This is worse than I thought. I called Yumi earlier, but she sounded like she was on her death bed. Threw up twice while I was on the phone with her."
"Looks like we've got our work cut out for us," Aelita groans as she swipes her star-shaped watch and sprouts her wings again. "We need to go. Now."
"You got it, Princess!" he affirms. "Super Sprint!"
The two take off toward the canyon doing everything they can to avoid the fire of multiple Hornets on their tails.
Ulrich takes another hit, throwing him out of his sprint and into the canyon wall. "Shit, that hurt." He shakes his head, trying to regain a little balance. "Go Aelita! I'll try to hold them off!" He takes a battle stance and takes out two more enemies, but is quickly disposed of by the remaining handful which fly off to follow Aelita.
Aelita's wings have run out and she's now on foot. The unsettling buzz of Hornet wings gets louder behind her. Suddenly, a volley of lasers hits the ground at her feet, causing her to stumble and fall about ten meters from the tower.
"Ow, shit!" she curses.
"Aelita! Get up! You can't risk another hit!" Jeremie shouts through the comms.
"Working on it!"
Another volley whizzes past her head as she gets up and makes one last sprint into the tower. The platform below her lights up as she runs into the middle. She floats up to the upper level and the interface opens up.
She places her hand on it and the words CODE: LYOKO type in.
"Tower deactivated."
"Return to the past, now!" Jeremie shouts as he slams the enter key.
The familiar, white light shoots up through the lab, enveloping everything in its wake.