Herve pushes his glasses up his nose. "I'm splitting you by gender this time, so you all had better leave your drama in the scanner room," he says with a pointed look at Ulrich and William.
"Tch," Ulrich scoffs, crossing his arms, and William simply shrugs.
"Ladies, as usual, the primary objective on Lyoko is to protect the Skid and get Aelita to the way tower to run the program from her end."
"Copy that," Yumi answers.
"Gentlemen, your objective is to get to the supercomputer so that Ulrich can run the program as we practiced earlier."
"Understood," William says with a nod.
"That being said, everyone get down to the scanners and prepare for virtualization." Herve swivels in the chair, facing the screen once more.
The warriors all get in the elevator and descend to the scanner room. The men step in the scanners first.
Herve types furiously as he speaks. "Transfer Odd. Transfer Ulrich. Transfer William. Scanner Odd. Scanner Ulrich. Scanner William. Virtualization."
The three of them land in the Arena and wait for their counterparts to be virtualized.
"Transfer Sissi. Transfer Yumi. Transfer Aelita. Scanner Sissi. Scanner Yumi. Scanner Aelita. Virtualization."
When all six warriors are in the Arena, they make their way to the Skid elevator and all get on. Once in the hangar, everyone steps onto their transporter spots.
"We're ready, Herve," Aelita announces.
Herve hits the execution key. "Energize!"
The team is functioning smoothly and "with minimal bullshit," as Herve had put it earlier on during their pre-mission briefing.
"Supports away," Aelita calls out. "We have liftoff." She expertly pilots the ship out towards the Digital Sea. "Ready to dive, everyone?"
"Ready," they all answer in unison, and the ship plunges towards the Sea.
"Holoweb system online," Herve states.
"Rotation and lights," Aelita says.
"The hub is forty degrees to port," Herve informs.
"Got it," Aelita confirms.
"All systems are operational on my end," Herve says.
Aelita responds, "Same here."
Suddenly, as she's making her left turn to steer the ship towards the hub, the Sea turns an ominous shade of red.
"Who's ready to rumbllllllllllle?" Odd shouts in excitement.
"Della Robbia, you better have your head on straight for this mission," Herve states flatly.
"What? Am I not allowed to be excited to kick some monster ass?" Odd retorts.
"Odd, focus," Aelita chides.
"Yes, ma'am," Odd says, saluting.
Sissi snorts but says nothing.
"I'm sending out Odd, Ulrich, and Sissi. Release!" Aelita calls out as she depresses three levers in front of her.
"Yahoo!" Odd shouts as he zips his Nav Skid forward, heading straight for the group of Sharks swimming ominously towards the Skid.
"Be careful, Odd!" Aelita warns.
"Always am, Princess," Odd replies cheekily.
"That's bullshit," Ulrich mutters.
"What was that, Ulrich?"
"Nothing," Ulrich replies, zooming his Nav Skid forward.
"Let's do this, boys" Sissi says, determination evident in her voice.
"Shark to starboard," Herve says.
"I'm on it," Ulrich fires his lasers at the Shark, which explodes on impact.
"Nice shot, Stern," Herve praises.
"Thanks," Ulrich replies.
"Aelita, let them handle this; keep going towards the hub. If need be, release Yumi and William for extra support."
"Roger," Aelita responds as she steers the ship to the left.
"Gah!" Sissi exclaims as she dodges a Shark's laser. "Take that, you overgrown fish!" She fires her lasers, destroying the Shark.
"Nice one, Sissi!" Ulrich compliments.
"Thanks,"she replies.
"Aelita, you're almost there. Keep going," Herve instructs.
"Copy," Aelita responds."I see the hub in the distance."
"Hai-yah!" Odd cries out, taking out the last two Sharks all at once.
"Good job, team. Return to the Skid," Herve says.
"Recovery." Aelita depresses three levers and waits for all three Nav Skids to reattach themselves before rotating the Skid again. "Broadband acceleration in 3... 2... 1!"
The Skid warps through to the other side of the connection.
"The Replika is straight ahead," Herve says. "Awaiting signal."
Aelita brings the Skid directly in front of the Replika and places her palm on the touchpad in front of her. "Signal sent."
The Replika opens and Aelita quickly docks the Skid to the tower upon resurfacing out of the Digital Sea.
Aside from some tarantulas—both real and digital—the rest of the mission goes swimmingly and all the Forest Sector Replikas are swiftly destroyed in one fell swoop.
Odd wolfs his lunch down at the speed of light, and William looks on in both awe and disgust.
"Jesus Christ, Odd. Slow down or you're going to choke," William says, shaking his head.
Odd swallows his mouthful of food and grins. "Nah, I'm good.I need to get back to my room as soon as possible. The new ESO DLC dropped twenty-three minutes ago. I'm late."
Herve looks up from his book. "What's ESO?"
"Don't ask him that," Ulrich warns, but it's too late.
"DaVinci," Odd starts, speaking a kilometer a minute, "you have no idea how incredible Elder Scrolls Online is! It's like stepping into a living, breathing, whole other world. The world of Tamriel is vast, and you can go anywhere, do anything. I've been on epic quests, joined massive battles, and explored hidden dungeons. And the lore, it's so rich and detailed. I've lost count of how many hours I've sunk into this game. It's like being a hero in a fantasy novel, and I can't get enough of it! The landscapes are breathtaking—from the snowy peaks of Skyrim to the sun-soaked deserts of Elsweyr. There's always something new to discover, secret places to find, and treasures to unearth. Riftscourge is the new DLC, and it's about stopping a mysterious evil from tearing the fabric of reality apart. I can't wait to play it. I've been waiting for this expansion since it was announced last year. It's—"
Ulrich clamps a hand over Odd's mouth."Okay, Odd. We get it. You love ESO. Now, shut up."
Odd licks Ulrich's hand, causing him to recoil.
"What the fuck, dude," Ulrich says, wiping his hand on his pants."Are you twelve?"
"You're the one who put your hand on my mouth," Odd retorts.
"You were rambling."
"You were being rude."
Sissi and Yumi make eye contact with one another and burst out laughing.
"Anyway! Gotta go! Bye!" Odd leaps from his seat and bolts out of the cafeteria, making a beeline for his dorm room. When he gets there, he starts up his laptop, starts up the game, and watches impatiently as it updates. Once the update is complete, he logs in and loads up the new content. He's greeted with a cinematic, and he sits back, watching with rapt attention. "This is gonna be awesome," he says to himself, cracking his knuckles. He puts on his headset and starts playing, immersing himself in the new storyline. He's so engrossed in the game that he doesn't notice what's being typed in the local chat.
_Local Chat:
Embrace the shadows.
The real world is a dream.
Seek the power beyond your screen.
Embrace the shadows.
The real world is a dream. _
Odd frowns. "What the fuck?" He minimizes the game and checks his Discord server, but nobody is online. "What the hell is going on?" He maximizes the game and continues playing, ignoring the local chat.
But the messages keep coming.
And coming.
And coming.
Until the entire chat is filled with the same message.
Embrace the shadows. The real world is a dream. Seek the power beyond your screen.
Embrace the shadows. The real world is a dream.
Embrace the shadows.
Soon enough, Odd is staring at the screen, his expression blank, his eyes glazed over. He's completely entranced. He doesn't even flinch when his phone rings.
Sissi huffs in annoyance as she hangs up the phone. "I hate when he gets like this," she says to Aelita. "He gets into these phases where this fucking game is his life and nothing else matters."
Aelita nods in sympathy. "Yeah. I know. He's been doing it since before you two were even together. He's always been like this."
"Well, I'm sick of it. I'm going to his room to drag him to dinner Come with me?"
"Of course."
The two girls walk across campus to Odd and Ulrich's dorm room. Sissi knocks.
No response.
She knocks again.
Still no response.
"Odd, open the fucking door," she demands.
Silence.
"Fine. Have it your way."
Sissi opens the door anyway, and she and Aelita step inside.
After hours of reading the subliminal messaging in the local chat, Odd finally snaps out of it when his girlfriend storms into his room and slams the laptop shut.
Or, at least, he seems to snap out of it.
"What the hell, Sissi?"
"You're coming to dinner, and you're not bringing that stupid game with you."
"Dinner?" Odd blinks, confused. He turns to Aelita. "Call Jeremie. We need to go to Lyoko."
"What?" Aelita asks.
"Call Jeremie. We need to go to Lyoko."
"No. Why?"
"Because... because this DLC has given me an epiphany! I need to try something out and I need to be on Lyoko to do it."
"Odd, you're acting weirder than normal about this game..." Sissi says worriedly.
"What are you talking about, I'm as normal as can be," Odd says, strangely flat-affect. "Aelita, call Jeremie. I need to do this now."
Sissi turns and whispers to Aelita, "He never calls you by your full name. What is going on with him?"
"I don't know, but something's not right. I'm calling Jeremie." She leaves the room, taking out her phone and dialing his number as she goes.
"Aelita? Is everything alright?" He questions. "Why are you calling me? Don't you have a fiancé to talk about your problems with?" He continues with added venom.
"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that," she snaps back. "But in case you were actually wondering, no, everything is not alright. Odd's acting really weird. Constantly asking to go to Lyoko and such. Is there a tower activated somewhere?"
Jeremie types rapidly on his laptop. "Nothing on the scan. Are you sure this is XANA-related?"
Aelita grimaces. "No. I'm not. But this is extra strange, even for Odd. I'll tell Sissi to keep an eye on him. Bye." She hangs up before Jeremie can say anything else. "Asshole," she mutters to herself as she turns back to the door to Odd and Ulrich's shared room. She enters the room again and sees Odd sitting defeated in his chair and Sissi standing over him with her arms crossed. "No towers picked up on the scan. This isn't XANA-related, that's for sure."
"Well, that's a relief, I guess. I'll look after him," Sissi says reassuringly. "You head home. I've got this."
"Alright. See you later," she says as she leaves the room again.
Aelita makes her way to the Hermitage muttering to herself about what she just witnessed, not noticing William sitting on the stairs waiting for her once she gets inside.
"Finally, you're home. Where have you been?" He asks, his calm tone betraying his serious face.
"Shit!" Aelita yells, startled by her fiancé. "Jesus Christ, Will. How do you always seem to sneak up on me like that?"
"Princess, you've been standing there muttering to yourself about Odd since you walked in the door..." he looks at his watch, "about five minutes ago. You don't do that unless something's really wrong."
"Something is really wrong, Will." She says, worry evident in her tone. "Odd's been acting really weird since he started playing that game."
"Okay? Dude's a big gamer… how weird are we talking?"
"As in spouting about going to Lyoko because he's had an epiphany and wants to try something. I had to call Jeremie—"
"Woah, woah, woah. You had to call Jeremie?" He interrupts, his tone a little more severe.
"William. Don't do that."
"Do what? My fiancée just told me that she called her ex. How am I expected to react?"
"Because Odd's acting weird and Jeremie is our leader. I had to make sure it wasn't XANA-related. So I repeat, don't do the whole jealousy thing."
"Alright, alright." William sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "Look, you don't usually stay out this late without at least letting me know in passing. I was really worried."
"I'm sorry, Will. I didn't mean to worry you. I was just trying to help Sissi with Odd."
"It's okay. I'm not mad, Lita. Just worried."
"I'm glad. I'm going to take a shower and then we can order a pizza and cuddle, sound good?"
"Sounds perfect."
Both William and Aelita wake up with a start. The sound of an urgent knock at the door rings through the air, and the couple glances at one another nervously.
"I'll go see who it is," William says as he climbs out of bed.
"Be careful," Aelita warns.
"Always."
William pads downstairs and looks through the peephole. "What the hell?" he asks himself, unlocking the door.
"William," Odd says almost mechanically. "What are you doing here?"
"I was going to ask you the very same thing, Odd," William responds with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm here to see Aelita."
"At," William looks at the clock in the living room, "five thirty in the morning?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I need to speak with her."
"About what?"
"I can't tell you."
William narrows his eyes. "Odd, what's going on with you?"
"Nothing."
"Will, what's going on?" Aelita asks, descending the stairs, pulling a robe on to keep herself warm.
It's at that moment that William sees the quickest flash of the eye of XANA in Odd's pupils. "Aelita. Run."
The moment the words leave William's mouth, Odd lurches forward with an inhuman growl and pounces on William. William manages to dodge Odd's attack, and the two of them begin to stands at the landing, frozen in confusion.
"Aelita, run!" William repeats.
"Not without you," she says, her voice wavering.
"Go, Lita! Get the others together. I'll hold him off."
"But—"
"AELITA, GO!"
Without another word, Aelita sprints out the front door and down the street, her bare feet hitting the pavement hard. She takes out her phone and dials Jeremie's number. "Hello?"
"What's wrong, Aelita?" Jeremie asks immediately. "Why do you sound like you're running?"
"I am," she replies, panting.
"What's going on?"
"Odd's possessed. William's fighting him off. I'm heading to the factory. Get everyone together before one of them kills the other."
"I'll see you there."
Aelita hangs up and continues running. When she arrives at the factory, she's relieved to see that Jeremie is already there.
"Where are the others?" she asks, out of breath.
"On their way," he replies.
"Thank God."
"So, what happened?"
"Odd showed up at the house. William answered the door. Odd said he needed to talk to me, then his eyes flashed XANA. William told me to run. I did. They're fighting." Aelita hunches over, still out of breath.
"Geez."
"Yeah."
"You're bleeding."
"Huh?"
"Your feet."
Aelita looks down. "Oh."
"Sit down. I'll bandage them."
"Thanks."
Jeremie fetches the first aid kit, kneels in front of Aelita, and begins to clean and dress her wounds."You're lucky you didn't step on any glass," he says.
"Yeah," she agrees, avoiding eye contact with him.
"What the hell is going on?" Ulrich asks as he, Sissi, and Yumi enter the lab.
Sissi raises an eyebrow at the sight before them, but says nothing.
"Odd's possessed," Aelita explains."I ran here and left William to deal with him."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Sissi asks, almost hysterically. "We have to save him!"
"Sissi, calm down," Yumi says.
"Calm down? Calm down?! My boyfriend is possessed by a psychotic AI and you want me to calm down?!"
"Yes," Yumi says calmly. "Panicking won't help."
Jeremie stands up. "Yumi's right. Panicking won't help. Now, let's get to Lyoko."
"Right," the warriors say in unison.
"Transfer, Ulrich. Transfer, Sissi. Transfer, Yumi. Scanner, Ulrich. Scanner, Sissi. Scanner, Yumi. Virtualization."
The three warriors land in theDesert Sector.
"All clear to send Aelita in," Ulrich says.
"Transfer, Aelita. Scanner, Aelita. Virtualization."
As soon as Aelita lands on her feet, lasers are fired at the group from afar.
"Fuck!" Ulrich shouts as he leaps forward to block a laser from hitting Aelita.
"Nice save, Ulrich," Sissi says.
"Thanks," he replies."No time to celebrate, though. Too many of these fuckers to kill," he says with a bit of a disgusted look on his face. "God, I hate Hornets."
"Me, too," Aelita agrees.
"Less talking, more killing," Yumi says, throwing her fans.
"Right," the other warriors say in unison again.
"Yumi, behind you!" Aelita warns.
"Got it," Yumi says, turning around and blocking the Hornet's laser.
"Energy Field!"Aelita shouts as she hurls a large blast towards the swarm of enemies.
When all the hornets are taken care of, Aelita sprints to the activated tower as fast as she can, knowing in the back of her mind that Williamis still fighting Odd.
"Tower deactivated," she says.
"Return to the past, now," Jeremie says, typing furiously.