Jeremie and Herve toil in silence amongst the soft glow of monitors illuminating the lab. Jeremie sits on the floor, concentrating hard on deciphering the elusive Recalcitrance Code. In the chair, Herve sits with an equally intense expression, his own computer displaying a network map of potential Replikas. The almost cacophonous clicking of keyboards echoes through the room as they pursue their separate tasks, both equally important in their fight against the evil multi-agent system. The two share a comfortable silence that speaks to their months of collaboration together.
Jeremie breaks the silence between them. "I want to ask you something, Herve."
Herve speaks over his shoulder, not looking away from his monitors. "Ask away."
"Did you really mean what you said after the last mission? That you enjoy being part of this team?"
"Absolutely, Jeremie." Herve's response is immediate and emphatic. "I truly value the opportunity to apply my skills and talents to the pursuit of such noble goals, even if it is rather unconventional and perhaps even ill-advised." He looks away from the supercomputer's screen to look at Jeremie. "Doesn't mean we're friends."
Jeremie sighs. "I second that."
The two silently and simultaneously look back at their screens. Several more minutes of silence only broken by keyboards is undercut by the supercomputer emitting a notification chime. Herve leans forward and examines the new data that has appeared on the monitor.
"What was that, Pichon?" Jeremie inquires.
"I can't say for sure... I think I've discovered something." Herve leans forward even more. "I think a way to link Replikas might have just fallen into my lap."
"I doubt it. Linking Replikas is impossible." Jeremie frowns. "Trust me. I've tried."
"That's what I thought, too, Belpois, until I chanced upon these data sets." Herve gestures to the supercomputer screen. "I may be able to design a recursive subroutine that tags the Replikas of the same sector with a unique identifier. In theory, deleting one will trigger a chain reaction, eradicating all identical sector Replikas simultaneously."
"How will you manage that? It sounds almost too good to be true."
"It's all in the metadata. I'll have to incorporate the sector coordinates and encrypt them into each Replika's code. When one gets targeted and deleted, the algorithm should supposedly identify and propagate a deletion signal to all others with matching coordinates. It'll be like a digital domino effect."
Jeremie stands up and approaches the supercomputer to take a look. "So, the key lies in this coordinate-based tagging, allowing for synchronous deletion? This is incredible, Herve! This could save us precious time during missions! With proper planning and prep, we could be rid of XANA by this time next year!"
Herve smiles. "Exactly, and it minimizes the risk of XANA multiplying his forces across identical Replikas and getting stronger. The more we destroy, the weaker he gets."
"Herve, your breakthrough will revolutionize our approach." Jeremie is filled with excitement now. "We can't afford to let any Replikas slip through the cracks. Let's integrate this into our anti-XANA arsenal right away so we can utilize it during tomorrow night's mission. Cracking the Recalcitrance Code can wait a little longer."
"Ready to moor," Aelita calls from the cockpit of the Skid as she lines it up with an inactive tower on a Mountain Sector Replika. Purple energy pulses out from the tower and connects to the ship. "Skid secured."
"Activating the tower on our behalf," Herve replies as he types furiously on the keyboard. "William, Odd, and Yumi—prepare for translation."
"Roger," the three reply in unison.
"Where are we headed this time, DaVinci?" Odd asks?
"A laboratory near Yellowstone National Park, in the U.S.," Herve replies.
"I hope you packed your hiking boots, party people!" Odd quips, eliciting an annoyed groan from Yumi.
"Translation." Herve hits the execution key, sending the three warriors to the American locale.
The three appear outside of the lab and proceed towards the entrance. As they approach, Odd notices something.
"Hold up. Something's wrong." He instinctively aims his wrist at the doors in front of them.
"What is it, Odd?" William asks, pulling his sword off his back.
"The doors are open." Odd points at the slightly ajar sliding glass doors.
"So?" Yumi raises an eyebrow.
"This is a secret, possibly abandoned lab, right? Shouldn't the doors be closed? Locked, even?"
"He's got a point, Yumi," William says, his eyes scanning the area. "Something doesn't feel right."
"Stay alert, guys. There are unknown variables now," Herve cautions. "We don't know what to expect."
The trio slowly enters the building, their weapons drawn. The interior is dark and empty, illuminated only by the faint glow of the setting sun through the windows.
"I don't like this," Odd whispers. "It's like a horror movie."
"Shut up, Odd. You're freaking me out," Yumi hisses.
William and Yumi lead the way, their footsteps echoing in the eerie silence. Suddenly, a low growl is heard, followed by a faint snarl.
"What was that?" Yumi freezes, her eyes wide. "What the fuck was that?"
William tightens his grip on his sword. "I don't know, but I don't like it."
"Maybe it's Bigfoot!" Odd says with a little too much enthusiasm.
"Those things are a myth, you idiot," Yumi says, unconvinced. "Y'know. Like the Loch Ness Monster or the Gargouille."
"Focus, you two. This isn't the time to talk cryptids," William scolds his teammates.
The three continue down the corridor, their senses on high alert. As they round a corner, they come face-to-face with a pack of vicious-looking wolves crowding around something on the floor.
Yumi notices the floor where they stand is wet and sticky and, upon closer inspection, red. "Guys. Please tell me we're not standing in blood."
The wolves look up from their prey and bare their fangs, growling at the warriors.
"Shit," William yells, raising his sword. "They heard us. Here they come!"
The wolves charge, their eyes focused on the prey in front of them. William and Yumi engage the beasts, slashing and striking at them with their weapons. Odd provides cover fire from the back.
As the battle rages, Odd notices something strange. Every so often, the wolves flicker and glitch in the darkness. "Guys, these aren't normal wolves," he shouts.
"What do you mean?" William asks, slashing at a wolf's muzzle.
"They're not attacking like normal animals. They're acting almost intelligent. XANA has to be controlling them."
Yumi grits her teeth, kicking a wolf away. "Great. Just what we need."
William redirects a wolf's attack with the blade of his sword, knocking the beast to the ground. "Some suggestions would be great, DaVinci."
"Keep fighting. I don't think there's a solution on my end, besides deactivating the tower," Herve responds.
Suddenly, back on the Replika, a hoard of Tarantulas is materialized, and they begin to fire at the Skid.
"Energize!" Herve yells as he sends Sissi, Ulrich, and Aelita onto the Replika's surface.
The three warriors break into a run, each heading in a different direction.
"Aelita, find the tower and deactivate it," Herve instructs. "Ulrich and Sissi, keep those Tarantulas at bay."
"Coordinates?" Aelita asks through her pants of exertion.
"You're headed in the right direction. North-Northeast from your current location."
Aelita continues running, and her lungs start to burn. As she approaches the tower, she sees a group of four Bloks guarding it.
"Damn," she mutters under her breath. She charges up an energy field and hurls it at a Blok. "Energy Field!"
One of the middle Bloks takes the full force of the blast and explodes. Aelita quickly charges up another, bigger energy field and hurls it at two of them. "Energy Field!"
It envelops them both, making them both explode on impact. She lurches back behind her cover, panting heavily. She's not used to exerting this much energy this quickly.
"Aelita, everything alright?" Herve asks.
"I'm fine, Herve," she replies, catching her breath. "I just used too much power at once. Give me a second."
"Copy that. Be advised, there's one Blok left and it's making its way towards you."
She peeks out to see the last Blok charging up a laser. She just barely dodges it in the nick of time, but not completely. She yelps as the laser grazes her left shoulder.
"Watch it. That's twenty more life points down," Herve warns. "Focus, Aelita."
"I'm trying, Herve," Aelita retorts, wincing in pain. "This is a lot harder than you'd think, you know." The truth is, Aelita is having trouble focusing entirely on what's going on in front of her. The frustration and anger regarding William and his parents nags at the back of her mind. The thought alone causes her to loose a slight growl. It still blows her mind that William would just tell them everything, especially without her knowledge. She gets that he's close to his parents, but she would have liked to have had a say in how they found out.
She peeks out again, attempting to locate her target. The Blok's laser hits her squarely in the chest, sending her flying backward.
"Aelita, what's the matter with you today?" Herve yells. "Focus!"
"Sorry," she wheezes, picking herself up off the ground. "I'm just gonna make a break for it."
"Be careful then, because both Ulrich and Sissi have been devirtualized. They took out all the Tarantulas though, so the Skid is good for now, but you need to regenerate your life points in case XANA sends another group of monsters to attack it."
Aelita leaves her cover and takes off at full tilt towards the tower. She sprints past the Blok, knocking it off balance. As she nears the tower, she hears a sound behind her. She looks over her shoulder in time for a laser to blast past her head. The Blok is back on its feet and cruising towards her faster than she's ever seen a Blok move.
"Crap," she mutters under her breath. She picks up the pace, her feet pounding against the Replika's rocky surface. As she approaches the tower, she can feel her muscles burning, but she keeps pushing. She leaps into the tower just as a laser blasts the tower where she entered.
"Whew!" Herve wipes the sweat off his brow. "Now, quick, deactivate the tower," Herve says. "Goddammit, Yumi!"
A lone wolf managed to sneak up on Yumi and viciously attack her. She disappears from the facility and is re-energized into the Skid, unconscious. Odd and William are left dealing with the rest.
"Fuck!" Odd shouts as one of the last two remaining wolves leaps at him and gets a hold of his firing arm. "Argh!"
William springs into action, stabbing the attacking wolf in the neck with his Zweihänder, but not before Odd's life points run out and he, too, is teleported back into the Skid, also unconscious.
"Dammit," William growls. He turns to face the last wolf, which is already charging at him full speed. He holds his sword out in front of him.
In the tower, Aelita presses her palm firmly against the interface screen. "Tower deactivated," she tells Herve.
"Just in time, Aelita," Herve breathes.
William thrusts his sword through the air at the wolf's chest, but the wolf freezes in mid-air before he can make contact and it falls to the ground unconscious. He lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Phew."
"Lucky break huh, Dunbar?" Herve cracks his knuckles as he speaks. He looks over to Jeremie, who nods at him, signaling for him to continue. "Now comes the hard part. Originally, Yumi was going to do this part of the mission, but now that she's back in the Skid, you're up, William."
"Yikes. Alright..." He grimaces at the news. "What do you need me to do, Herve?"
"Well, I need both of you to listen clearly and follow along with what I'm dictating for you. But first things, first: Aelita, you need to get back to the tower the Skid is docked to. And William, you need to get to the supercomputer. It's in the next room."
"Copy." William runs into the adjoining room, quickly finding the supercomputer. He takes a seat and waits for Herve to instruct him further.
"Alright, so, the purpose of this program is to link all the Mountain Sector Replikas together, such that the destruction of this one will lead to the destruction of all of them. It's highly important that all four of us enter everything I say exactly the same way, or this will not work."
"All four of us?" William asks.
"Yes. You and Aelita on your respective ends, me at the helm here, and Jeremie on his laptop."
"Ah. Sure, makes sense," William responds tentatively. Inwardly, he tries to hype himself up. No pressure, Dunbar. No pressure.
"Here we go, everyone." Herve takes a deep breath. "Open a terminal window and type 'mountainlink-init.' Make sure there are no spaces or typos."
He waits a few seconds.
"Type 'yes' when prompted for the admin password."
More waiting.
"Type 'cd/mntsec/replikas' and press Enter. That should display the list of Replikas in the sector."
William is more than a little overwhelmed. He mutters to himself, "'See dee, slash mount sec, slash replikas.' Got it. Enter." He watches the terminal window populate with the results.
"Next, type 'sync-all.'"
"Okay," William says to himself. "Easy enough. Sink dash all."
"Penultimate step. Type in '0x1E7F2C' for the sector identifier, then—"
William whispers to himself, trying to remember the sequence. "Okay, 0x1E...7F...2C... got it." He types it into the console with a sense of accomplishment.
"Finally, type 'mountainlink-exec-destroy' and hit Enter."
The terminal window closes on all four screens simultaneously.
"Alright. That should do it. Now, William, did the screen close?" Herve asks.
"Yeah, I think it did. I don't have control over it anymore if that's what you're asking."
"Okay. That means the program has executed. Go ahead and destroy the supercomputer." Herve takes a deep breath. "Let's hope this works, guys..."
William grabs his sword from where he left it leaning against the wall and swiftly destroys the supercomputer.
"Energize!" Herve shouts as he types away to bring William and Aelita, who has stepped out of the tower, back into the Skid.
The Replika starts collapsing on itself, and the Skid escapes the Mountain Sector right before the entire Replika implodes. The warriors are back in the Digital Sea when Herve pipes up again. "Wait... something's not right."
Jeremie lifts his eyes to him. "What is it, Herve?" he asks.
"We should have seen a cascade effect from the executable. Where's the cascade?"
Jeremie's eyes shoot back to his screen. "You're right. What happened? What went wrong?"
Both Herve and Jeremie type furiously on their keyboards.
"No..." Herve breathes. "William! You didn't type the command correctly! The executable failed! You typed in sink as in a kitchen sink! Not to sync up!"
"What do you mean? I typed it as you said to! We're trying to sink the Replikas right?" William frantically asks.
"Yes, but sync as in link together. We're not icebergs floating towards the Titanic!" Herve chides William.
Aelita chimes in, frustrated at her boyfriend. "How could you make such a simple mistake, William?"
"Lay off him, guys!" Odd, now conscious, defends his friend. "It was a simple mistake and it's not like this will be the last chance we'll ever get."
"Yeah, I didn't realize a fixable mistake could lead to being ganged up on. Why are you on their side, Aelita? You know I'm not as good as you are with computers," William angrily states through the comms.
"What're you attacking me for, William?" she spits. "I'm not the one who typed a simple command wrong!"
"Hey, guys—" Yumi tries to interject, to no avail.
William tries to defend himself. "I was overwhelmed! Herve was spitting out instructions faster than I could process."
"Oh, yeah? You have a hard time processing information, Mr. Fast Break?"
The comms go silent with that comment.
William is seething. He grips the joysticks in his NavSkid as tight as he can so as not to explode.
Aelita continues laying into him. "Just put this on the list of things you've done that have disappointed me. Damn, that's twice in just as many days."
"Oof..." Odd cringes.
Jeremie and Herve just look at each other, trying to figure out what the couple is doing. "Belpois." Herve covers his headset. "What is happening?"
"No idea. You've got as much info as I do."
The entire team can't help but silently listen as Aelita continues her verbal onslaught aimed at her boyfriend. William is silently taking it, not out of avoidance, but out of necessity. He knows if he opens his mouth even for a second, he's going to lose it and make things worse.
The Skid docks and Herve rematerializes the four remaining on Lyoko. Odd and Yumi come out first, followed by William and Aelita, who is still just smacking him with insult after insult, snide comment after snide comment, angry remark after angry remark.
William calls the elevator, but before it reaches them, he just shouts, "You know what, Aelita? I made a simple fucking mistake. I'm not just gonna sit here and take all this just because you're still angry at me about the other night. I'm out of here." He decides to climb up the ladder and leave on foot rather than be near her for more than a few more seconds.
"Fine! You want to run away? Then run away!" she yells up at him.
He pauses, letting the comment wash over him, then continues his climb. He can't fight the lone tear forming on the corner of his eye.
As he disappears through the hatch above her, Aelita grumbles and enters the elevator. She doesn't even stop for the mission debriefing and also decides on just going home.
Upstairs, the team in the lab watches as the hatch opens and a sullen William peaks out through it. He looks around at everyone's faces and their varying emotions. As he climbs out, he just hangs his head and continues on his way out of the factory. "I'm sorry, guys," he mutters as he walks past them towards the boiler room passage.
They all just silently watch him as the hatch above them shuts with a hard, metallic bang. Suddenly, the opening elevator snaps the rest of the team out of their stupors.
"Dammit. Of course it didn't go all the way this time," Aelita grumbles as she presses the button to go all the way upstairs. The doors start to close.
"Uh, no. Hang on, there, missy," Sissi barks as she narrowly shoots her body through the closing gap in the doors. "What the hell was that? Speak."
"I'm not a trained seal. Leave me alone." Aelita crosses her arms and turns away from her friend.
Sissi runs around her to look her in the eyes. "I'm walking with you back to the Hermitage, and you're going to tell me what is actually going on between you and 'Mr. Fast Break.'"
Aelita frowns, suddenly regretting calling her boyfriend that. Her expression softens slightly and she sighs as the door opens, revealing the factory floor. "I don't know what came over me, Sissi. I'm just so angry. So hurt," she says, tears filling her eyes as they begin their trek out of the factory and back towards home. "He betrayed my trust, Sissi."
"Go on. I'm listening."
"His parents took us to see the symphony a couple nights ago. I don't know why or how—though I have my suspicions as to when—William told his dad about... well... everything."
Sissi grimaces. "Without you there?"
"Without me there," Aelita confirms. "His dad then told his mom. Then at the end of the night, as William was walking me back to your room, he got a text from his mom offering to pay for therapy for the two of us. But William didn't tell me he told them. He just happened to let it slip. It made me so angry, Sissi."
"Okay. So that's why you didn't come back that night," Sissi thinks out loud. "Tell you what. You go home and sleep this off. Meet me for lunch tomorrow at noon at the café just off campus, and we are going to work through this. Let him stew a bit about earlier, but let's not have this be a huge thing."
"Okay," Aelita says softly.
They part ways once they arrive on campus. Sissi hugs Aelita and says goodbye before jogging off towards the dorms. Aelita turns towards the Hermitage and heads home.
Aelita strolls up to the café. Seeing where Sissi is sitting down, she heads over and sits across from her.
"Oh, there you are," Sissi greets her friend. She checks the time on her phone. "Mm. You're late."
"You told me noon. It's 12:03," Aelita balks. "Wait, since when does Elisabeth Delmas arrive on time to anything?"
"Hey! Just because I tend to be fashionably late, doesn't mean I can't ever be on time," Sissi says, half congratulating herself.
"Uh huh. Suuuuure," Aelita says mockingly. "Anyway, I was thinking about what happened and... I'm still so angry about it."
"You should be. He went behind your back and told his parents about your trauma without you present. He betrayed your trust. No ifs, ands, or buts about it."
"Exactly. I trusted him, and he threw it right back in my face."
"But you've forgiven him and moved on from it, right?"
"No. Honestly, last night was the first time I talked to him since the symphony."
"Ah. And what a conversation it was. Aelita, you need to think of this in a different light." She thinks of something that might help Aelita. "Oh, this'll work!"
Aelita looks at her friend curiously. "What will?"
"Allow me to regale you," Sissi says with a dramatic air. She giggles when Aelita rolls her eyes, then continues. "When Odd and I first got together, he wouldn't keep his flirtatiousness in check. And over time, it really started making me angry. Finally, after a month or two of him still hitting on other girls, I'd just had it. I didn't talk to Odd for days. He finally got the idea, and came and asked me why I was avoiding him.
"I cannot stress how badly I blew up at him. I was cursing at him, yelling at him, showing my jealousy. It was bad. That was not the answer to his mistake, Aelita. After avoiding him and then blowing up at him, he then avoided me, which didn't help anything."
"Wait... I remember that. That was the week where Odd literally didn't eat anything. It was so... bizarre."
"Yup. Our favorite human garbage disposal barely ate anything because we just couldn't figure ourselves out. The point I'm trying to get at here is: while I understand your anger and why you let it out, sometimes letting yourself explode makes things worse. He'd already realized his mistake, I'm sure, but he was probably afraid to say anything else that would further anger you. And that's where last night comes in. You exploded over something minor and fixable, now turning the hurt onto him. You need to go apologize to him and talk things out."
Aelita opens her mouth to fight back, but the words just don't come out. She finally stammers out, "Alright. I see your point. Thanks Sissi, you saved me... again."
Sissi laughs. "It's what I'm here for, girl."
They enjoy their lunches and chat about everything and nothing. Aelita finishes and stands up, ready to head off.
"Thanks again, Sissi. It really means a lot to have someone else so invested in my relationship."
"Of course, and actually, on that note... I have one last thing to mention," Sissi says.
"What?"
"William gave you that ring, right? That promise ring. Knowing how he normally is with you, he understands what that means and holds it very close to his heart. If he wasn't serious about its meaning, he wouldn't have given it to you, nor would he purposely try to hurt you."
"I... I never thought of it like that, Sissi. I'll keep that in mind."
"Great. Now, go be a happy couple again. I can't stand to see you two like this." Sissi shoos Aelita away.
"See you later!" Aelita yells over her shoulder as she walks away. "I'll let you know how it goes!"
With a newfound happiness and resolve, Aelita heads toward the dorms. "Please be there, Will," she prays. "I will fix this, so please be there." She runs across campus, clutching her bag to her side so it doesn't get in the way of her stride. She reaches his room and knocks on the door, trying to slow down her labored breathing.
"Coming!" William's muffled voice calls out.
The door opens, and William's surprised face peers out.
"Aelita? What are you doing here?"
"William, can we talk?"
William hesitates, then nods. "Come on in." He steps aside to let her in.
She walks past him and makes eye contact with Bastien who's just sitting at his desk, now quizzically looking back and forth between the couple.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" William asks, closing the door behind him.
"About both after the symphony and last night."
"Oh. I see." William's tone is cold. He turns toward his roommate. "Yo, Roux, do you mind giving us the room for second?"
"Sure thing. Don't have to tell me twice," he says, already packing his backpack as he stands up from his desk. "I'll be in the library if either of you need me." He slips past the couple and shuts the door on his way out.
Once the door latches, Aelita turns back to her boyfriend. "William, I'm sorry. I was upset, and I lashed out at you. It wasn't fair."
"No. It wasn't. Neither time was, honestly," he says coldly, crossing his arms.
"I know. I'm sorry," she pleads.
William's expression softens a bit. "I know you are. I wanted to apologize, too, but after your comments last night, I'm finding it a little difficult, frankly. 'Mr. Fast Break,' huh?"
"I'm sorryyy!" she whines. "I was angry and it was the first thing that came to my head!"
"It's fine. Yeah, it really pissed me off at the time, but thinking back, it's actually kinda funny," he muses. "Anyway, I want to apologize for telling my parents about...things... without you present. I should have asked you if you wanted to talk about it with them, or at least waited until you were back at the table."
"I understand why you told them. You tell your parents everything. And, it doesn't help they're apparently super observant." Aelita sighs. "Please, just next time, ask me first before you tell anyone that doesn't already know."
"Alright." William nods in agreement. He then chuckles and gestures to her. "Your turn now."
"I'm getting there. This is hard. Okay?" Aelita pouts.
William snickers. "Sorry."
"I'm sorry too, William. I shouldn't have let my anger get the best of me. I know you were just trying to help me, and I had no excuse to blow up at you like that."
"Apology accepted. And next time, if I've messed up or done something you don't like, please just tell me."
"Okay. I'll try." Aelita smiles softly.
William pulls her into a hug, holding her to his chest and stroking her hair. "Thank you for coming. I appreciate it."
She freezes for a second, but then lets herself relax into his embrace. "Of course, my love." She looks up at him and wraps her arms around his neck. Without warning, she pulls his face towards hers and kisses him deeply for the first time in a month.
He is shocked by her actions for a second, but returns the kiss, pulling her even closer. As they break apart, he connects their foreheads. "I almost forgot what that feels like. Wow," he breathes.
"I've missed kissing you. I've missed being this close and comfortable with you. I'm sorry for making you wait so long."
"For you, I would wait forever if that's how long it would take for you to be ready again."
She gives him a peck on the cheek. "You're the greatest boyfriend ever, Will. You know that?"
"You could stand to say it more," he says through a smirk.
She playfully smacks his chest. "Oh, shut up."
Internally, William is jumping up and down and thanking the heavens. He's looking at his Aelita again. She's finally coming back to him. He knows it won't be an immediate change and that it will take a lot more work from both of them, but this is a start.
"William... I, uh..." She falters, not sure how to word the next sentence.
"Yeah, Princess?"
She takes a deep breath before looking William in the eye. "I want to take your parents up on their offer. I think I'm ready."
"Alright. I'll let them know." He smiles and kisses the top of her head. "I'm proud of you."
"I wish there was something I could do to really show my gratitude for everything you do for me."
"Seeing you taking a step in the right direction is enough, Princess." He pauses for a second. "Hey, let's go for a walk and get out of here for a little. It's stuffy and smells like Roux's ass in here."
Aelita giggles, nodding and over-acting waving a hand in front of her nose. "You're right. Let's get out of here!"