A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long to update. After finishing The Boy in the Computer, I took a break, and then I had issues with my keyboard that have been resolved.
For this chapter, you really just need to keep in mind William's emotional journey so far.
Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko or CL: Evolution in any way, shape, or form.
Beta read by FP7ETDP43
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~E~V~O~L~U~T~I~O~N~~~!
"Aelita and Laura get into a fight, and only Jérémie knows why. Meanwhile, XANA tries a dirty, underhanded tactic to protect its tower."
A World Without Danger
Code Lyoko: Evolution Rewrite
Season 5, Episode 13: Haunted
Moonlight peeked through the manhole cover the moment Jérémie removed it. He climbed out of the passage first, emerging in the park next to the school. As the others climbed out after him, one by one, the young genius was going over the results of their most recent mission to the Cortex (the one they just returned from).
"Nice job, everybody!" he said, as William followed up the rear. "I'm running the data through my virus detection program now. We'll know if it's legitimate tomorrow morning."
"Sounds good," Odd replied. "But in the meantime, the grumbling in my stomach tells me to get some dinner while Rosa's still serving it."
Food sounded good to William too. Something about successfully completing a mission to the Cortex really worked up an appetite. So he joined his friends in heading back to Kadic, their destination being the cafeteria.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow then," Yumi cut in, heading in the direction of her house. "Good night."
"You want me to walk you home?" Ulrich asked, pausing in his tracks to address her.
She waved him off, "No, it's alright. It's not that far of a walk."
"XANA could attack you," William hesitantly cut in, well aware that he may be seen as out of line. Ulrich and Yumi were together, after all, and it was he who had asked her first. The last thing William wanted was to be seen as the annoying third wheel.
Fortunately, Ulrich seemed to run with it. "He's got a point, you know. What if XANA attacks you by surprise?"
"We have transwatches now for that exact purpose, remember?" Yumi gently shot back. "I'll know as soon as a tower is activated. Besides, you guys need to get your dinner before Rosa starts cleaning up. Go on, I'll be fine."
William stayed quiet, knowing it was up to Ulrich to relent.
And the brunette did, starting with a sigh, "Okay. Just text me when you get home, okay?"
Yumi smiled with a certain fondness reserved for the behavior from a loved one that could easily get annoying but was always appreciated regardless. "I will."
Ulrich watched his girlfriend leave, before joining the others. They reached the school grounds in record time, mostly thanks to Odd.
The cafeteria was still open, fortunately. But while the other four made their way to the front steps of said building, Jérémie instead turned towards the dorm building, "I want to get my science textbook first, but I'll join you soon."
"Why? It's dinner time!" Odd asked. "Are you really that much of a nerd, Einstein?"
"Haha," Jérémie dryly replied, as he walked towards the dorms. "We have a test tomorrow, you idiot, and I know you put it in the back of your mind until just now."
Ulrich and Aelita just laughed as Odd pouted, clearly annoyed about the unwanted reminder.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
When Jérémie locked his door behind him, his science textbook underneath his arm, he was sure that he was alone up here. So when he turned and found Laura waiting for him a couple meters away, he nearly jumped out of his skin.
"Oh, hey, Laura," he greeted, "it's just you." He hoped she didn't ask why he got so scared. He couldn't tell her that it was because a rogue artificial intelligence was keen on the administrative controls he held for a virtual world inside of a supercomputer. "What's up? Do you need something?"
"I'm sorry," she softly replied, an apologetic smile on her face. "For scaring you, I mean. That was not my intention." At least she was getting better with social cues and which ones were appropriate. Sissi had taught her well so far. "Yes, I need to talk to you about something. Do you mind?"
"Not at all."
Jérémie motioned down the hall, towards the exit. Laura nodded, understanding, and joined him. As the two walked back to the cafeteria side-by-side, she was quiet for a moment. He didn't say anything, knowing that she was gathering her thoughts and deciding last-minute whether or not she should actually say anything.
She evidently decided to go through with it. "I like you, Jérémie Belpois. I know that I do; I just don't know how I like you, if that makes sense."
It did—it meant that she wasn't sure what her feelings towards him actually meant. Were they platonic or romantic? He nodded to show her that he understood.
She breathed a small sigh of relief. "Oh, good. Anyway, William brought up the possibility that I may actually be confusing my feelings for you as romantic when they could just be my excitement over finally having a friend. The fact that you and I are so much alike doesn't really help matters much. So I asked Sissi what a good way to tell the difference is, and she mentioned 'sparks'. Whatever that means."
He stepped in, "I'm no expert, and it's kind of difficult to explain, but when you really like someone and whenever you touch or kiss them, it feels like butterflies in your stomach, or like fireworks going off in your chest." He felt them all the time with Aelita. Their very first kiss, those 'fireworks' had caught him off-guard, but he wanted more.
Laura gawked at the description he gave, probably stuck on the butterflies.
So Jérémie quickly jumped in, "It's not literal, don't worry. And to the contrary, it's a wonderful feeling." Her face turned into relief, as he realized where she was going with all of this. "You wish to see if there are any sparks between us, don't you?"
It was actually a statement, not a question, but Laura still shyly nodded to confirm.
The two had reached the ground floor now, and were now standing at the base of the stairs. "I understand if you're uncomfortable with such a request, but I was waiting to catch you alone, so others would not see us and...get the wrong idea." He understood. Especially Aelita. "It's alright if you decline."
Jérémie chose not to open the door, but he did look around to make sure they were sincerely alone. "I'll make sure to tell Aelita immediately so that she doesn't hear it from anyone else."
Laura suddenly clammed up, "Do you really have to tell her?"
The air between them got cold. "She and I have no secrets between us. And it will be much better for everybody if she hears it from me instead of a third party rumor."
Laura squirmed as she digested that. Though scared of Aelita's wrath, she couldn't deny that Jérémie had a point. Besides, Jérémie was her friend, and he knew exactly what her intentions were. She had not lied to him—she had vowed to never do so—so he would not lie to Aelita. Right?
"Okay," she relented.
She took a deep breath and planted a short peck to his lips. When she did, he leaned back on instinct, his eyes wide with mild surprise (because she wasn't Aelita). It only lasted for a second, before she quickly pulled away.
There was another pause—this one longer than the one before—and Jérémie remained silent for a moment, before asking, "Well?"
Laura shook her head, "Nothing," and part of him became hopeful. "Thank you for your help, Jérémie. I know for sure now that I do not have a crush on you; it is indeed merely excitement at having a friend who understands me." She smiled up at him, and he smiled back. "Again, thank you. You didn't have to give me your permission."
"You were confused," he reminded her. "I know what it's like to not understand what you're actually feeling." Even now, he still didn't understand why his last run-in with Alain was the final straw. "Besides, you're my friend, Laura, and friends help each other out. All you have to do is ask."
"I'm still grateful," she replied, before heading back inside.
"Aren't you going to dinner?" he asked, confused as to why they were going separate ways. Checking the time on his transwatch, dinner hour was only one-quarter over. They both still had plenty of time before Rosa started cleaning up.
She stopped in her tracks and turned around, revealing a sheepish smile on her face, "I'll eat later. I'd better lay low for a while."
Translation: It would be best if I stayed away from Aelita until after you've told her what happened.
So he relented, "Okay. Don't worry, I'll tell her the moment I find her."
Laura just nodded before disappearing upstairs.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
Jérémie found his friends at a table in the far corner by the window, on the opposite side of where the main door was. After speed-running through the dinner line, he claimed the empty seat at the table next to Aelita, placing his tray down first before his textbook.
"Guys, I need to talk to you about something," he said, using his no nonsense voice to let them know he meant business. "And it's best if you hear it from me before it possibly ends up in The Kadic News or something."
Sure enough, it captured their attention perfectly, still working like a charm. "Yeah, what's up?" was Ulrich's response.
"In order to prevent any of you from freaking out and doing something you'll regret," he stressed a stern glance in Aelita's direction, to her surprise, "I'm going to tell you the ending first." A quick pause. "Laura only likes me as a friend."
Aelita blinked, "She does?" Jérémie nodded.
"Please, do tell us, Einstein," Odd cut in, "how you came to that conclusion. We need details. Inquiring minds want to know."
"Yes, but only one of those minds needs to know," the genius replied, obviously referring to Aelita.
"So what happened?" William asked. All four of his friends mentally noted how much closer he had leaned forward since Jérémie said Laura's name. Honestly, he could not make his interest in that girl any more obvious.
Jérémie took a deep breath, well aware that what he was about to say could anger at least two people sitting at this table. "After leaving my room, I ran into Laura. She asked me to help her understand what her feelings for me actually were. Apparently, Sissi told her about the 'sparks' you feel when you kiss someone."
Aelita, slightly tense, finished for him, "She asked you to kiss her so she could find out."
"To kiss me, actually," Jérémie swiftly corrected. "But yes."
"Which leads directly us to the ending, right?" Odd asked. Jérémie nodded.
"So Laura only likes you as a friend." Ulrich turned to Aelita, "Is that relieving for you at all, Princess?"
"A bit," the pink-ette looked unsure of what to think. It was like Laura's earlier confusion had transferred over to her.
"Are you okay?" Jérémie asked her. "I promise, whatever questions you have about this, I will be completely honest when answering them."
She sent her boyfriend a gentle smile, "I know, Jer. I trust you. To be honest, it's not you I'm worried about."
"Is it Laura?" William asked, peering into her eyes and seeing the truth behind that forest green gaze.
"Yes." The pink-haired princess took a deep, shaky breath before explaining, "I know you guys probably won't believe me, but I didn't vote 'no' on our proposal to have her join the group just because of jealousy. Yes, it was there, and yes, it had an influence on me, but I couldn't ignore this gut feeling I had that she couldn't be trusted. Don't ask me to elaborate; I don't know why nor do I know where it's coming from."
"That doesn't mean that we can't help you figure things out," Ulrich gently replied. "I know this is rich coming from me, but I think you'll need to talk to Laura herself to pinpoint why."
Aelita still looked uncertain, but she stood up, "I think you're right. Excuse me, I'll be right back."
On her way to the door, Jérémie called after her, "She's in her room. Be careful, she's avoiding you for obvious reasons."
"Don't worry," she gave him a wink, "I'll be gentle."
And then she was gone. Jérémie could only stare at the exit she used with a worried glance.
Ulrich used his foot to gently nudge the other's knee, successfully getting his attention. "Are you afraid they're going to get into a fight or something?"
"Is it that obvious?"
Before Ulrich could respond, Odd cut in, "Yeah, but there's nothing to be afraid of! I mean, it would be two girls fighting over you! What's more of a dream than that?"
All three of his friends at the table with him were giving him identical dry looks.
"Yeah, a dream for you maybe," Ulrich muttered.
"What? You and William used to fight over Yumi!"
"And she hated it," the brunette shot back. "Ever think about that?"
"Yeah," William added, solemnly. "It told her that we saw her as a prize to be won, and not a human being who had the right to make her own choices."
Odd went quiet, unable to deny that. Ulrich was also silent, thinking back to that part of himself that he despised. Back then, it was just yet another way he was hurting other people, especially Yumi and William.
"Besides," Jérémie cut in, "it's not me Aelita wants to talk to Laura about." At least, he hoped not. He wanted the two girls to find a common ground—surely, there was something they could bond over—but he didn't really want it to be him.
Odd leaned back, deep in thought. "So fighting with another suitor for your love's affections is actually a problematic trope?"
"Usually," was Ulrich's answer.
A sigh. "I miss the old days when I didn't know that."
William hid his snort, "You mean not two minutes ago?"
"Yeah."
Ulrich just shook his head in amusement, before turning back to Jérémie, "Don't worry. Aelita would never start a fight with somebody. She's not afraid to end one, but we all know she prefers to use her words."
It was Jérémie's turn to sigh, "You're right. I trust her. I was just caught off-guard by how cold she was to Laura. I had never seen that side of her before."
"Trust us, Jer, she's been jealous before," Odd told him. "The Icelandic Wonder was a prime example. But I agree with Ulrich. She's not going to get into a fight."
The feeling was nice while it lasted.
The conversation was halted when Matthias Burel suddenly rushed into the cafeteria, practically slamming the door open and successfully scaring a few people out of their wits. "You guys gotta come see this! A fight is breaking out in the dorms!"
Jérémie suddenly tensed up, wishing over and over that the two people involved were not the two girls he was just thinking of, the two girls that he was sincerely hoping would not fight. He joined his three friends and the other students inside the cafeteria in rushing to the windows. Rosa and Gaston also followed suit, their interest piqued.
The four Lyokowarriors arrived at the windows just in time to see Jim exiting the dorm building holding Laura and Aelita both by their wrists, and Jérémie's stomach sank in disappointment and guilt.
Jim was keeping them separated, and while there weren't any bruises visible, Laura's nose was bleeding and Aelita was seething with rage.
Jérémie could only watch in stunned silence as the physical education teacher hurled the two off to the headmaster's office.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
The next morning was rather tumultuous, almost literally.
"Six hours of detention?!" Odd yelled in surprise, repeating what Yumi just told them.
The Lyokowarriors were all in the cafeteria, but Aelita was sitting with Jim and Laura instead of with her friends. Jim had forced them, on orders from Mr. Delmas.
Yumi nodded, "Yep. Six, for both of them. Aelita told me her side of the story last night afterward." Which was lucky. "She seemed pretty upset." She glanced worriedly at Jérémie, who was resting his head on the table, ignoring his breakfast tray full of food, and very visibly upset himself. "They weren't fighting over you, Jer."
He glanced up, though didn't move from his current position, "Then why were they fighting?"
The Japanese girl began the story.
Aelita found Laura in the dormitory building, just as Jérémie had told her. However, the blonde girl was sitting on the steps near the bottom, looking as though she was deep in thought. The pink-ette chose to be gentle, knowing that while she knew the kiss was innocent and had led to the revelation that Laura only thought of Jérémie as a friend, Laura was afraid of his girlfriend's reaction to the favor she had asked of him—hence why she was hiding.
"Laura?" she softly asked.
Scaring the blonde was not the pink-ette's intention, but the former jumped anyway, "A-Aelita?", and promptly got to her feet. "U-Um, hi!"
"Jérémie told me what happened," Aelita said with a gentle smile. "Want to tell me your side of the story?" This was a test; Aelita wanted to see if Laura would be honest with her.
Laura had her eyes averted to the ground, and she was squirming, nervous and probably feeling like Aelita had just put her in trial, "I wanted to see if I liked Jérémie romantically or platonically. Sissi said the only way to tell for sure was to kiss him to see if she felt any sparks, so I asked Jérémie, and he gave me his consent."
"And did you feel any sparks?"
Laura shook her head, "No. It felt...disappointing. Um, no offense."
"None taken," Aelita let slip an amused smile. "Remember who you're talking to."
Translation: I'm Jérémie's girlfriend. The only sparks he should be feeling are the ones with me.
A tiny, relieved smile from Laura. "Right."
"Don't worry, you're safe from my wrath." And with that, Laura eased up completely. "Truth be told, now that we're no longer competing for the same boy, I'm hoping we'll become friends." Aelita held up a finger, "I just have one more question for you."
Laura nodded.
"When you spoke to Sissi about 'sparks'," the pink-ette spoke slowly, "what exactly did she say? Did she tell you about consent?"
"Yes. She told me that it would be best if I asked for Jérémie's permission first, as well as yours. Don't worry, I made sure to ask him first."
"I know you did," Aelita replied, her smile gone and replaced with a troubled frown. "Again, Jérémie already told me what happened. I'm more worried about...why you didn't ask me..."
"I didn't see the need to."
The answer was so blunt that a vein in Aelita's head popped. "You 'didn't see the need to'," she repeated. "Again, remember who you're talking to." It was a real struggle keeping her anger in check over this.
"Hey, you don't own Jérémie, the last I checked!" Laura retorted. "He belongs to his parents because they're his legal guardians, but that's it! Relationship statuses are just social constructs!"
"No, they're not! The statuses tell you if someone is available to pursue as a love interest or not!" Calm down, Aelita. Deep breaths. Laura here sucks at understanding social cues; she's worse than Jérémie in that regard, remember? "Sissi was right! As Jérémie's romantic partner, my consent is also needed for the type of favor you had asked of him!"
"Jealous much?" Laura's response was cold. "Better keep that in check or you're going to lose him."
Something in Aelita's mind snapped and within the next split second, her right fist met Laura's face.
Before she knew it, she was standing over the blonde, horrified, with horror as she couldn't take her eyes off of Laura's bloody nose. What had she just done...?
Yumi finished the story with the following, "Jim just happened to walk by to see the punch and he immediately stepped in and took them to the principal's office, after taking Laura to the infirmary first."
Odd's shoulders sank in mild disappointment, "So Burel was exaggerating? Damn, I was kinda hoping for a fight, but I am glad it was just that punch...even if she legitimately broke Laura's nose."
The bandage on said girl's face was very eye-catching, even to the day students who didn't know the reason behind it.
"Anyway," Yumi cut in, "Aelita took all the blame for what happened, and seeing how guilty she looked, Delmas chose to not place this incident on her permanent record. Afterward, the two were sent to their rooms, where Aelita called me to vent. She told me the whole story." She turned back to Jérémie, "So, again, it wasn't you they were fighting about, Einstein."
"Maybe not," he muttered, still sulking, "but I still feel responsible." He still had a part in it, after all.
Odd's eyes darted down to his friend's still untouched breakfast. "Um, are you...going to eat that?"
Jérémie sighed, "Go ahead."
As Odd slid the tray to his side of the table, Yumi leaned in closer to her blue-clad friend, "Jérémie, it's not your fault. Unless you were brainwashing or mind-controlling them, you had no control over either of their thoughts or actions."
"She's right," William agreed, still as quiet as he was yesterday. "From what Aelita conveyed to Yumi, the fight was more about Laura's lack of understanding regarding social cues than anything. The rage came from the fact that Sissi had advised Laura to ask for Aelita's permission too, and Laura didn't take that to heart."
Jérémie perked up a bit, raising himself up so that he was leaning on his elbows now. "I guess, but everything about this whole mess still sucks. Thanks, guys." He could always count on his friends to cheer him up. He then checked the time and promptly got to his feet, grabbing his bag as he did, "It's time for class now. Let's go."
Ulrich and Odd both groaned, neither keen on learning anything, but they got up as well, quickly followed by William and Yumi.
On the way out, Jérémie and Aelita met eyes. He offered her a subdued smile and a small wave, which she half-heartedly returned, before watching him leave with their friends in tow.
Meanwhile, Laura kept her eyes glued to her own untouched breakfast, barely listening to Jim ramble on about a crazy-sounding story from his past.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
Deep within Lyoko's vast Desert Sector, pulsations raced toward a tower surrounded by a trench with a spiraling platform leading down into the pit and an identical one on the other side.
In no time, the tower's halo turned to a bright red as a familiar face looked on with a villainous smirk...
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
On the roof of the science building, Kadic's antenna sparked with electricity as XANA gained control of it. The AI then used it to send a jolt of lightning straight into the clouds above. On cue, those clouds began to darken before multiplying in the sky above the entire city, before they all released the same amount of heavy rain.
Students and staff alike all immediately noticed the sudden and stark change in the weather.
In Mr. Fumet's history classroom, said teacher attempted to keep his twelfth grade students in line, as many of them stood up to get a better glimpse of what was going on outside of the windows. "Everyone, calm down. Back to your seats. We still have class."
Right as the two shared a knowing glance at the strange shift, William and Yumi's transwatches, in this moment, both sounded the same alarm. They checked it out and saw their shared suspicions confirmed: activated tower.
They glanced back up and nodded. They got their chance to escape unseen when lightning suddenly struck right outside the window, scaring everybody in the room. A few screams sounded (and most of them came from the guys).
"Look! Lightning just split that tree in half!" Emmanuel Maillard exclaimed. Everybody else, including Mr. Fumet, rushed back over to the windows to see if he was right (he was).
But Yumi and William instead snuck out, intent on reaching the factory and grateful for the unscripted distraction.
Meanwhile, Ms. Hertz simply resumed her lecture, addressing her eleventh grade class, "Sit back down, everyone. A sudden thunderstorm is no reason to skip class."
However, the transwatches had gone off, signaling that this storm was the doing of their good friend XANA. Ulrich, Jérémie, and Odd all shared knowing glances themselves, knowing they had to go.
Jérémie stood up, "Ma'am, may I please go to the infirmary? I have a headache." He held his head and pretended to be in pain to help sell the lie.
"Of course, Belpois," she replied. "Go on."
Ulrich and Odd raised their hands as the latter asked, "Can we go with him?"
"I'd normally say 'yes'," Ms. Hertz replied, "but unfortunately due to the sudden lightning storm, I have to decline for your safety."
It was more important that Jérémie, at least, make it to the factory—especially considering Aelita was in detention and thus wouldn't be able to leave without a good distraction—so the genius made an execution decision.
He gently cut in before either of his friends could protest, "It's okay, guys. I can go by myself." He offered Ulrich and Odd both a reassuring smile.
They relaxed, though not by much, unable to do anything but watch him leave the room.
On the other end of campus, Jim was watching Laura and Aelita both between articles in his magazine. In response to the sudden storm, he said, "Didn't say it was going to rain today, but," a shrug, "Oh, well."
"Um," Aelita's eyes were constantly darting between the window showing the storm outside and the alert on her transwatch, "are you sure we shouldn't be finding a safer place?" She had to leave. There was a tower to deactivate. "The storm is generating lightning with...rather concerning arcs."
That was the truth. Lightning usually didn't strike that wide, or with such pinpoint accuracy.
"We should be safe here, Miss Stones," Jim replied, only worsening Aelita's already deep anxiety. "If there's one thing I learned from my time as a forest ranger in Quebec, it's that you should always lay low during a lightning storm. So everybody, on the floor, just to be safe."
Well, there went her chance to escape.
Aelita had no choice but to obey. She took a spot away from Laura, resting her back against a bookshelf before diving back into her math homework. Her avoidance of Laura was mostly out of guilt, but she'd be lying if her anger from last night was completely gone.
But it was okay. Laura was refusing to look or talk to Aelita too. The pink-ette could only theorize what the blonde was thinking about...
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
Jérémie had snuck into the gym and used the boiler room passage, while Yumi and William were less smart and went for the usual sewer passage. Jérémie arrived at the factory a couple minutes before the elder two did, just long enough for it to be obvious that the lift was currently in use. So they took the long way around via the boilers.
The young genius was sitting at the monitor when they arrived in the lab, typing in rapid-fire commands.
"Jérémie!" Yumi called out, as she went down first, and William quickly followed.
Said blonde briefly glanced back before back to his screens, "Hey. Right in time. I just got here," as Yumi ran to his side.
William touched down and stayed at the ladder, "Anybody else make it?"
"Nope. Just me," Jérémie replied, as he brought up a window showing the news broadcast. "Neither of you saw Aelita?"
Yumi shook her head, "No, sorry. To be safe, we should act as though Jim refused to let her go."
"I know," the blonde replied before turning up the volume on the news window, as William finally joined them.
"The storm has grown to severe danger levels," the reporter informed the public. "Two buildings made entirely of wood have caught on fire due to being struck by lightning. Firefighters have been dispatched, and while there are no casualties as of yet, officials have issued a warning for everyone to stay inside of buildings made of brick or concrete."
The window closed, and William immediately said, "Even if Aelita does manage to get out of detention, we can't wait. We have to go now."
"Agreed," Jérémie didn't argue against that, not even in his head, "Both of you, get down to the scanners." He brought up the scanners' status program. "I'll join you."
William followed Yumi down the side ladder down to the scanner room, and claimed one of the cabins, while she claimed a second. A few seconds later, Jérémie joined them and claimed the third. There was a brief pause before the doors all closed and the scanners warmed up.
One gust of wind upward and William felt his body de-pixelize.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
The trio's avatars all formed in the Desert Sector's sky, before they all dropped to the ground—Yumi in the middle and both boys on either side of her. The activated tower was nowhere in sight, and the Overwing was waiting for them. The area around them was pretty empty, save for a few rocks and an area of dunes on their left.
"Oh, valet parking!" Yumi joked, as she hopped on. "Nice!" She turned to her teammates. "Who wants to join me? Or do both of you prefer to be by yourselves?"
Jérémie, in response, waved his hand over his bracelet, activating his wings. William paused for a moment, before getting on the Overwing behind Yumi.
"Alright," was Yumi's reaction.
"The tower is due west, beyond those sand dunes," Jérémie said, having virtualized them far enough away due to it being the safer method.
"Can you see what's waiting for us?" the geisha asked.
"Not yet. So far, it's clear." The elf sighed. "I already don't like this. I'm getting a bad feeling about what's waiting for us."
William finally spoke, "We'll keep our eyes peeled. We need to get moving; buildings are on fire, remember."
Neither could refute that fact, so Jérémie agreed, "Right. Let's go."
The trio reached the dunes in no time. There were still no monsters anywhere in sight, not even a warning on Jérémie's visor. It felt too easy, and that put them all on edge.
And William's current mood was the cherry on top. He'd been rather quiet, save for a couple of exceptions, ever since Jérémie told the group last night about the favor Laura had asked of him. Was he thinking about Laura? Or something else? The question was there, and surely there was an answer to it.
But the answer was unknown to the rest of him. Why?
"Hey, William, is everything okay?" Yumi asked, and they continued moving through the dunes, now approaching a canyon.
No response.
"You can tell us, you know," the geisha continued. "We'll try our best to understand." It wasn't easy at times, though. Like them, William could also become hard to read.
His mental response to that statement was, 'I doubt that. Sometimes, it feels like nobody could understand me.' His verbal response to that was different, "I'm fine."
Jérémie was just worriedly glancing at them every couple of seconds between watching where he was flying, waiting to see if he had to step in. He had seen William sulk like this before, always when something was bothering him, and usually after he had a nightmare the night before about his time under XANA's control. But of course, knowing what had happened last night—and that William had an infatuation with Laura (to say the least)—it probably had something to do with that.
But before he could say anything, an alert appeared on his visor. "Three Krabes are now guarding the entrance to the canyon!"
Up ahead, three red outlines of Krabes appeared, before filling in. The monsters then dropped to the ground.
"Go on, Jérémie!" Yumi exclaimed, unsheathing a fan. "Focus on the tower! We'll handle them!"
Jérémie didn't question her choice, just ascending high into the sky. The Krabes immediately started shooting at him, obviously trying to shoot him down, but he managed to dodge all of the shots.
Him drawing the Krabes' fire was unintentional, but it was welcome, because it allowed William and Yumi the necessary time to approach their enemies undisturbed.
William jumped off the Overwing and activated his Super Smoke. He snaked up the leg of one Krabe before reverting back to human form. Forming his Zweihänder, he stabbed its eye before jumping off to avoid the resulting explosion.
Yumi also jumped off her vehicle and landed on a rock perched in front of a second Krabe. It fired at her, but she blocked the shot with her fan with a twirl before throwing, striking the Krabe's eye and destroying it.
"Yumi!" William suddenly called out.
She turned to him, only to find his Zweihänder flying past her head. The blade was an inch away from her head, and her instincts flared in that moment, telling her to fight for her life. But it went away the moment she heard the third Krabe screech behind her as William's weapon hit it directly in the eye, before it exploded to signal its defeat.
It was just about to attack her from behind. William had just saved her.
Glancing back at him, as he summoned his Zweihänder back to him before dismissing it, she offered him a grateful smile, "Thanks."
"Don't mention it," was his quiet reply. Her concern boiled back to the surface with those three simple words.
"Are you sure you're okay?" she couldn't help but ask.
Once again, his only response to that question was, "I'm fine, Yumi." No, he wasn't.
Before she could dive deeper, Jérémie's voice sounded over the comm (via him speaking through his bracelet), "William, you're still with Yumi, right?"
He sounded like he was becoming increasingly panicked by the second. This made William and Yumi's respective instincts flare: he was in some kind of trouble.
Hence why William immediately replied, "Of course I am. What's wrong?", doing so the same way they always did to whoever was at the controls in the lab.
"Something strange was waiting for me at the tower," was the elf's response. "You'll see when you get here, both of you."
The two shared a concerned look, before Yumi rushed over to and boarded her Overwing. She took off as William activated his Super Smoke again. They raced through the canyon, and emerged on the other sight to quite a sight, one neither wanted to see again.
Jérémie was nowhere to be found.
The geisha was scared, "Jérémie?!"
Said elf was the one who responded, "I'm down in the ditch! He's cornering me!" His voice didn't sound over the comm this time, but rather reverberating throughout the area. He was here; he was close by.
But who was 'he'?
Jérémie suddenly cried out, before there was a hard smack. He then went flying out of the mini canyon surrounding the tower, landing in front of William and Yumi. The two both rushed up to him, with Yumi kneeling at his side, frantic.
"You okay?" she asked her friend. "Who did that?!"
The young genius merely looked up, "Him."
William and Yumi both looked where his eye was, just in time to see a cloud of black smoke emerge from the canyon and gain a human form. Both promptly tensed up, as it was a very familiar face.
William's. More specifically, his face back when he was still under XANA's control.
The real William was frozen beside her, and Yumi could only guess why. Right now, he was likely, and quite literally, facing his demons.
The clone merely smiled that all-too-familiar smirk that it always wore, "Welcome home, William."
Said Lyokowarrior's heart immediately sank to the bottom of his stomach. This clone was the embodiment of his regrets as well as his mistakes, the person he despised being, and his worst nightmare—all wrapped into one being.
But the clone did not attack. "Well done for bringing Jérémie." Quite the contrary, actually. It seemed more interested in talking. "And I see you've brought a spare. That's good. I was getting bored just sitting around and waiting here."
Said 'spare'—Yumi—was helping Jérémie back to his feet. She said nothing as she did so, only giving the clone-William a sharp glare.
But XANA-William wasn't done. "Tell me, William. Why aren't you defending your friends from me?" Yet it made a good point. Why was William just standing there? "That's very interesting. After all, they were the reason you fought so hard against my grasp the first time. It was Yumi's voice that made you temporarily regain control that one time."
She knew it! She knew it was the real William that had come back then!
The clone hummed thoughtfully, an unnerving smile on its face. "You still have some lingering feelings for her, even after she chose Ulrich over you." It worded and said that in a way that made it sound like a negative thing. "And what about Jérémie there? You know exactly why I'm after him," confirming that this was XANA talking to them here, "yet you do nothing. Why not? Is it because, perhaps, that the new object of your affections was willing to kiss him but not you?"
That caught Jérémie's attention. Was that the reason for William's silence? The timing would add up.
Once again, William said nothing.
The clone continued, being far from done, "He reassured you that there was nothing to worry about, but you have no way of proving his story, of what she supposedly decided is true."
"It is true!" Jérémie promptly defended. "I'd never lie about that!" And he didn't lie about this. He knew he didn't.
"But there's always the possibility that he did."
So that was XANA's game—Yumi and Jérémie both realized then—brainwashing William into rejoining the AI.
"You feel betrayed. Deceived. Manipulated. And you know I'm right." The clone was slowly circling the real William, its smirk indicating that it knew exactly what it was saying, what its intention was. "You're the one that's left behind. The nice guy, useful for fights, but who gets rejected or ignored when he's no longer needed."
Yumi and Jérémie both took a good look at William's face, only to see that, horrifyingly, he was actually thinking about XANA's words. Did he really feel that way?
Well...they wouldn't blame him if he did. They weren't exactly the nicest teammates when he was freed. But they have been trying hard to change that lately.
"William, don't listen to him!" Yumi cried, as she pushed Jérémie behind her. "He's trying to trick you. You need to resist! You're stronger than him!"
She then charged at the clone, summoning both of her fans on the way. She threw them both, before jumping up. However, the clone blocked both fans with its Zweihänder before sticking its sword in the ground. It then caught her kick mid-air, before throwing to the ground. She landed in a pained heap in front of Jérémie, whose visor gained an update in that moment.
"Yumi, you just lost half of your life points!" he exclaimed, tense.
"I'm fine," she grunted out, as she slowly got to her feet. "It's you who needs to be careful." Only Jérémie could deactivate the tower, after all.
The clone turned back to William, who was still standing there, deep in thought. "Here, you're a king," it finished. "Nothing can hurt you, especially not the people who once shunned you for one simple, understandable misstep."
Its words were poisonous. Sweet poison that was very addicting. The clone was saying aloud everything William was thinking, was feeling, but could never find the courage to say aloud himself.
"William, come on," Yumi was trying again. She did it once; she could do it again. "We need to deactivate the tower. At least let Jérémie through. Innocent people could get hurt if we wait any longer."
But she blinked, before finding herself with William's Zweihänder in her face. The real one. "Shut up." He was angry. He was actually taking his clone's words to heart.
"William, don't..." she muttered, beginning to back up while making sure Jérémie remained behind her.
"It's fine, William, go ahead," the clone said the contrary. "Once she's devirtualized, she won't be able to hurt you anymore." But without Yumi—Jérémie's only shield right now—then XANA would likely win.
"William, listen to me," Jérémie cut in, using his stern 'listen good, because I'm only going to say this once' voice. "If you don't let me through to the tower, XANA wins. And if XANA wins, we lose everything. Do you hear me?"
"Exactly!" Yumi swiftly added. "Your clone's only interested in Jérémie's half of the Keys! He doesn't care about you at all!"
"See?" XANA struck again, twisting their words to its advantages. "They're abandoning you once again. They only let you join the fight this time because they feel sorry for you."
"No! It's because I promised you I would!" Jérémie vehemently, and immediately, retorted.
"I can't stand being abandoned..." William, the real one, muttered, before raising his Zweihänder.
But Jérémie was quicker. Concentrating as hard as he could, he created a sand wall to block his and Yumi's escape. Once it was formed, he grabbed Yumi's hand and pulled her back towards the large canyon behind them. She didn't protest or fight back.
With one swift strike of his Zweihänder, the real William sliced the sand wall in half. The fragmented clattered to the ground before fading away. The real deal and the fake both stared at the now empty spot, before XANA spoke again.
"It's time to finish this, my friend."
"Right."
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
Aelita was way too antsy and anxious to concentrate. First of all, there was a thunderstorm right outside. Second, the storm had been caused and was being controlled by XANA. And third, Jim was still refusing to let her and Laura go, and it was only one hour into their six hour punishment. Her math homework had long been abandoned, and now all she could do was keep a cautious watch on the storm outside, just waiting for it to get worse.
She had brought this on herself. Why did she let her rage take over? Did losing Jérémie really bother her that much? Was Laura right after all? Was she really still jealous, despite knowing that Laura only saw Jérémie as a platonic friend? Why did she hit Laura hard enough to break her nose?
Jim suddenly got to his feet. "You two, stay here. I'm going to get us all some drinks from the teacher's lounge." It had gained its own vending machine over summer break.
Aelita didn't acknowledge him, while Laura only nodded. Once Jim left, the resulting silence was ten times more awkward and tense than before. Both girls were deep in their own thoughts, but despite Laura's broken nose, nothing hurt worse for either of them than Aelita's guilt.
"I'm sorry."
It was so quiet that Laura wasn't sure she heard it right. "What?"
"I'm sorry," the pink-ette repeated just a bit louder. "For hitting you. I didn't mean to hurt you."
To her surprise, Laura's response was a solemn denial, "No, I'm the one who's sorry." Aelita glanced up at her, bewildered. "I shouldn't have egged you on like that. I didn't expect you to be that upset. You and Sissi are right: I should have asked you first as well."
The pink-ette let loose a subdued smile, "Apology accepted."
The blonde had an identical smile on her own face before it faded, "Though I feel the need to warn you...just because I understand that I only admire Jérémie as a friend, that doesn't mean I will necessarily stay away from him. I will always be fond of him; he is my very first friend, after all."
Aelita's smile, this time, was more genuine. "He was my first friend too." He sincerely was. At the Swiss Alps chalet, she never really met other kids her age, and at the Hermitage, she was homeschooled. "Have you never really had any friends before him?"
"My father has always kept me isolated," Laura replied, solemnly. It was clear that this topic bothered her. "And now that I do have friends, he has isolated himself from me, only calling to tell me to focus on my homework. Sometimes, it feels like I have no father at all."
Aelita knew how that felt. While living at the Hermitage, she felt lonely because her father was always working on Lyoko. And while she knew that now, she didn't know back then, so she had felt oddly abandoned at the time.
"What about your mother?" the pink-ette's voice was soft.
"She died in childbirth," was the blonde's quiet, almost depressed, response. "Or so my father says."
"I'm sorry," Aelita muttered, sympathetic. "My father died a little over a year ago, and my mother is missing, and I'm trying to find her." A soft sigh. "So we both have a deceased parent and are isolated from the other in some way. I guess...I guess we have more in common than I thought."
At last, a common ground. Exactly what Aelita had been looking for, and what she had initially approached Laura to find out.
And Laura seemed to be aware of that as well, "Than either of us thought."
The two girls just let the new level of understanding create a warmth that began to radiate between them. They let it stew and build up, both just enjoying this moment of peace while it lasted. It was the first time either of them felt completely comfortable around the other.
Even when lightning struck right outside the window they were sitting under, scarring Laura out of her wits, the moment didn't stop.
Instead of freaking out, Aelita reassured her, "Don't worry. The storm won't last long."
Well, she could only hope.
But it worked in what was intended to do: keep Laura calm.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
Yumi and Jérémie had taken refuge deep in the large canyon. Now hiding in a divot within one of the walls, similar to a cave, the two were safe to discuss their move. For now, at least.
"What now?" the elf asked, his anxiety nearly boiling over at this point. "I still need to deactivate the tower, but William–..." He cut himself off, knowing that she understood what he was feeling.
"Leave William to me," the geisha solemnly replied. "I have experience fighting him." She sighed, "Even if I wish it was just the clone I needed to face..." She then shook her head, "Whatever we do, your safety is our top priority."
Right. Not only was XANA after him for a reason, but only Jérémie could deactivate the tower at the moment. There was no guarantee that Jim would let Aelita go, or that she would find a way to escape from detention. So it had to be him.
But Jérémie promptly added, "And getting William back is our immediate second."
Yumi nodded, without hesitation. But she didn't get a chance to verbally respond.
Two identical black smoke clouds appeared in the area just outside their hiding place before reverting to their human forms—also identical. The Williams were back, and they had found their victims. But while the XANA clone had the classic evil smirk, the real one just had what appeared to be a stony gaze, almost as if he was still deep in thought.
The geisha guarded the elf as they both slowly and cautiously stepped out of the cave.
XANA summoned its version of the Zweihänder, keeping its unsettling eyes on Jérémie, "Say, William, I wonder if you remember how to summon the Scyphozoa."
That did it. Yumi grabbed Jérémie's wrist, waved her hand over his bracelet to summon his wings, before throwing him up into the air. Fortunately, his wings did appear, and now high above the danger, he hovered and waited to see what Yumi was going to do.
Without missing a beat, she yelled out to him, "Go! Focus on the tower!" Right. He had to stop the storm.
Though with a bit of reluctance, he obeyed, setting off for the activated tower, mentally praying that the Scyphozoa wasn't waiting for him.
Now, it was just Yumi against her friend and a clone of said friend. She summoned her fans as she faced her opponents down with much more reluctance than Jérémie had...
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
In response to what was happening on Lyoko, XANA amped up the power for the storm it was controlling in the real world.
The arcs of the lightning became wider and broader, the wind blew ever so stronger, and the rain poured down even harder.
In order to keep people safe, the city officials made the choice to turn off the power grid. They launched one last news report before doing so, because it meant turning off the televisions and radios as well. In that same report, they also gave advice to stay as low to the ground as possible and that when the storm was over, they would turn the power back on.
The factory, and the supercomputer by extension, was unaffected, but Kadic was. And the Lyokowarriors trapped there—Ulrich, Odd, and Aelita—could only hope with all their might that the tower would be deactivated soon.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
As he faced down Yumi, William's entire being was swarming with mixed emotions. He didn't know what to think, who to believe, what was the truth anymore. His demons had successfully dug their claws into him and were now drowning him in uncertainty.
But then a light shone through the darkness, "You're part of our team, William."
It was Jérémie, speaking over the comm through his bracelet again. Even though he was focused on the tower, he hadn't forgotten the problem he had left behind.
"What happened to you was vastly unfair, an unforgiving punishment for a misstep that any of us could have made on our first day. It was us who made the bigger mistake by shunning you in the first place—we understand that now, and we're sorry."
William glanced at Yumi's face. Despite having both fans in hand, she looked very reluctant to fight him. She didn't want to...
"You're part of the team, William. Whether you want it or not, we're inseparable. No matter how rough it's been, you have never let us down. Please, think about that. You're our friend. My friend."
He felt like crying, even if he couldn't as a virtual avatar. It felt like Jérémie's words, combined with Yumi's current expression, had cut through all the uncertainty. His mind was clear again.
His clone came up beside him, and XANA was still wearing that ever-present villainous smirk. "It's time to make your choice, William. Set the real you free."
William summoned his Zweihänder, and he saw Yumi instinctively tense up out of the corner of his eye. But he understood why, and he would make it better.
"You're right," he replied. "I have to make a choice. And I've already made it." He turned to his clone with a glare, "It's time to take care of you!"
With that, he lunged at his clone with extreme prejudice and without hesitation. But XANA was ready, blocking his strike with its own Zweihänder. The two clashed, before the clone managed to overpower him and send him flying back into the wall behind him.
"William!" Yumi cried out in a panic.
The clone didn't attack him while he was down, though. Instead, it just took one last look at him, "Very well," before reverting to its smoke form and moving in the direction of the tower.
Once it was gone, Yumi rushed to William's side as he was getting back to his feet, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, really," and he was being honest this time.
And judging by her proud smile, she knew that too. "I'm glad you're back."
"Glad to be back," he returned her smile. "Let's go. We still have a job to do."
The clone was now after Jérémie. Knowing this, Yumi whistled and on cue, the Overwing flew down from the sky. The two hopped on and chased after the clone, hoping they wouldn't be too late.
Meanwhile, Jérémie landed at the base of the tower, deactivating his wings before running the rest of the way. He was feeling so much anxiety at the moment but it was giving him the adrenaline he needed. He wanted to stay and help with the William situation, but Yumi was right: he was the only one who could deactivate the tower, and XANA's storm was only getting worse.
But he had to halt in his tracks when he saw the Syphozoa emerge from the ditch surrounding the tower. He quickly began backing up the more of itself it showed. Just his luck...
His visor alerted him to an enemy behind him. He glanced back just in time to see two identical streams of smoke collide. They reverted back to human forms—both Williams—as they both were forced backward from the impact.
"Jérémie, behind you!" Yumi suddenly called out, and Jérémie turned back to the monster he shouldn't have turned his back on.
The Scyphozoa shot out its tentacles at him, ready to capture him, only for Yumi's Overwing to have something to say about that. She rammed said vehicle into the monster's bulbous head, causing an explosion that scared XANA enough to back off.
Yumi landed beside Jérémie just as he turned back to William, and she immediately joined him in his concern.
The clone had their foot planted firmly on the downed William's back. It had its Zweihänder raised and ready to strike, to devirtualize him. It said nothing as it swung down, and William closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable finishing strike.
But it never came.
Instead, the clone suddenly got five blue energy daggers embedded in its back. It turned to who had thrown them, only for a tessen fan to hit its wrist and make its Zweihänder go flying. It clattered to the ground with a clang. The clone moved to retrieve it, only to come face to face with the real William, who was back on his feet and had charged up an energy slash.
He fired, and it was a solid hit. The clone lost its pixels, leaving just a red wireframe, before that wireframe exploded the same way XANA's monsters did—proving that it was indeed just a XANA creation.
It was over, and William finally breathed a sigh of relief. He felt as though a great weight was lifted from his shoulders now.
He turned to his two friends, "Thank you for the help. And I'm sorry, I don't know what got into me..."
"We do," Yumi softly told him. "XANA was taking advantage of your fears and insecurities."
And that's why she and Jérémie were urging him not to listen to his clone. So Jérémie, with his words, and Yumi, with her emotions, were both honest. Yes, he has reasons for his demons—and they admitted that some were no thanks to them—but that didn't mean that they still thought of him as 'untrustworthy' or saw him as the group outcast. They didn't; things had changed.
And they had changed for the better.
William smiled, "Thank you, again, both of you. Now, Jer, go take care of that tower."
This time, Jérémie didn't feel quite as reluctant to leave his friends behind. He jumped over the ditch and entered the tower at a sprint.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
Laura was huddled close to Aelita as they and Jim continued to wait out the storm. The blonde had discovered that she was afraid of lightning, and the power being out didn't help. Jim, though, was doing a pretty good job in distracting both of them by telling them yet another one of his crazy-sounding stories.
Lightning struck again right outside the window of the science room, and a few students scream. Ulrich and Odd shared a concerned glance with each other—what was taking so long?
JEREMIE_
CODE_
LYOKO_
The lightning stopped first, then the thunder, before the rain eased up before stopping altogether. The clouds turned back to white, before clearing up, leaving just a clear, blue sky in its place.
The storm let up a little too quickly, but no one really noticed or cared if they did, because the lightning had gotten so bad that everybody was just glad that it was finally over.
It took a few minutes for the power to turn back on, though.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~~!
After watching the news broadcast announcing that the storm was over, Jérémie had decided not to launch a Return to the Past. According to the broadcast, only those two wooden buildings had caught on fire and there were no casualties or injuries to report. Since the general public was viewing it as a normal thunderstorm, he didn't want to risk giving XANA a power boost for nothing.
When Aelita heard about this, she found herself grateful. After all, she and Laura had finally found a common ground. Now, there was a solid foundation for a good friendship. Going back in time probably would've erased all that progress.
Detention let out just in time for the last half of lunch hour. Aelita and Laura walked to the cafeteria together.
"Laura? Would you like to join my friends and me for lunch?"
The blonde froze in her tracks, "R-Really? Are you sure your friends wouldn't mind?"
"Of course they don't mind," Aelita's smile was real and bright. She never thought she'd get to this point with Laura, but it was relieving. "And you know, in order to learn about social cues, you should place yourself in real social situations."
"You make a valid point," Laura averted her gaze, but it wasn't out of guilt or shame. Instead, a blush was on her face, and it wasn't lost on Aelita.
"Are you, perhaps, thinking about William?" the pink-ette teased.
Laura's blush deepened. "N-No..."
Aelita just laughed, before taking the blonde's hand and leading her to the cafeteria.
Meanwhile, Laura thought about Aelita's reaction to what the former had said the night before: "Jealous much? Better keep that in check or you're going to lose him."
The moment she said that, she had met the other girl's fist and her nose was broken. It would heal; it didn't need any fixing at the hospital. But the fact that saying such a thing had angered Aelita to that extent...
She was afraid of losing Jérémie. That punch had said it all.
And that was something else the two had in common—Laura realized then. After all, she and William had just met, but Laura would be upset if she lost him.
Even if they couldn't stop stealing glances at each other all during lunch, and the other five relentlessly teased them for it.
!~~~C~O~D~E~~L~Y~O~K~O~~E~V~O~L~U~T~I~O~N~~~!
Inspiration: CLE's "Spartan"/"The Codeless" & OG's "A Bad Turn"
Up next: Episode 14, False Pretenses - "Today is Aelita's birthday, but XANA ruins the celebration and protects its tower with a very convincing tactic."
A/N: Chapter Meaning: Describes how William is still tormented by his time under XANA's control
-For context on the run-in with Alain that Jérémie mentions and what he's referring to, re-read 98: Contingency Plan.
-Fun Fact: The original intent with this episode was to have Laura kissing Jérémie actually happen outside where everybody could see, which then leads to it being misconstrued thus leading to Aelita and Laura fighting, but it also led to the formation of trust issues between Jérémie and Aelita, and I didn't want that. So I changed it to instead once again place emphasis on Aelita's fear of losing Jérémie.
-The activated tower is a copy of Season 1's Desert Sector way tower, the one commonly used as stock footage.
-Another Fun Fact: I was going to have a Return to the Past be launched, but due to the above changes, it would have been counterintuitive and bad for Laura's development, so I chose not to.
~Evolution concepts~
In the original EVO episode (The Codeless), the back-and-forth with William wasn't set up properly. However, there is a deleted scene found on the .fr site that sets it up rather nicely. The Codeless comes right after Intrusion, aka: the episode where Ulrich and Yumi share that moment in the forest, so the deleted scene shows William noticing that Yumi is becoming more open about her feelings for Ulrich, a decision that William isn't happy with, hence why he's sour with her throughout the episode (and doesn't really paint him in a good light, if you remember his motivation in "The Secret"). I wanted to keep William's inner struggle in this story, but since I have already made William back off from pursuing Yumi, I had to change the circumstances and events that lead up to it. Having Laura, the girl William's becoming interested in, kiss Jérémie seemed like the best way to do it. Being rejected twice in a row would have some sort of impact of William the Optimist.
I took out Odd losing his source codes, because remember, the source codes aren't a thing in this story, despite the EVO episode being a good Odd piece and commentary on "being useful". However, the previous chapter (107: Friday the 13th) was an Odd-focus as well. So instead, I substituted the Odd plot for Laura ensuring that her feelings for Jérémie are indeed friends-only, and her and Aelita finally finding some common ground.
