Note: Halloween has ended, but there are more holidays coming. As such, we'll all be busy as the year comes to an end. Despite that, there is still time to check out stories on here. There will either be a new story, a new chapter of a story, or even a new writer on here. Either way, whenever you have the time, you will see an update on the site. After all, doesn't show signs of fading away anytime soon.

To keep myself from ranting, I will start the next chapter.

Chapter 23: Feathered Fiends

One night, Louise was sleeping in her bed. She had school tomorrow, so she had to get some sleep in order to take on the day. While the nine-year-old would be happy with the idea of not going to school, she had no means of faking being sick. As such, the brunette knew that going to school was unavoidable. If every child in the world had to go to school, barring the less-than-fortunate and those who were homeschooled, then she did. Knowing that she couldn't spend the entire night dwelling on it, Louise went back to sleep, resting her body.

While the Belcher home was quiet, a pigeon was on the roof of the store seated next to the family restaurant. It had spent all day flying and getting food, so it was time for the bird to get some sleep. Before it could enter its nest, however, it heard an odd noise coming from behind. The avian turned its head, checking for where the sound could have been coming from. Such an odd noise wasn't coming from a predator or another bird, as it sounded like something that wasn't from Earth. One could say that it was an unnatural sound.

Before the pigeon could get away, a black fog surrounded the winged creature. It entered the bird's beak, as it was the only orifice the fog could access. Not only that, but it ensnared its victim, trapping the avian so it couldn't escape. Once the fog was done, it completely entered the pigeon's body, causing the flying animal to become completely still. Soon after, its eyes began to static, with a particular symbol appearing in place of the pupils. It was now possessed by X.A.N.A, and it was going to serve the evil AI for the time being.

Meanwhile, Jeremy was inside the computer lab at Wagstaff, working on the codes for the vehicles the Lyoko Warriors used on Lyoko. So far, he had worked on the Overbike's code, making sure that it wasn't riddled with bugs. The other vehicles were still having problems, glitching up as soon as their codes were entered. Jeremy had not considered entering the code for the Skid, but that was because the team hadn't encountered a problem that involved it. For now, the spectacled blonde focused on the main Lyoko vehicles, wanting to help speed up progress on a mission. If X.A.N.A was becoming more powerful than before, then the Lyoko Warriors needed to improve in the same way.

Once he decided to leave the computer lab, Jeremy was intent on heading to the factory for a little while. All he needed to do was test out the codes again, so that the vehicles were properly materialized on Lyoko. The spectacled blonde wanted to be quick, considering that Wagstaff would open its door in under seven hours. No one noticed him walking through the hallway, so he figured that he would be free. However, once the teen stepped outside, a pigeon was looking down at him from the power lines. It was the pigeon that X.A.N.A had taken control of, being ordered to spy on his enemies and will other birds to his influence.

In the morning, Wagstaff opened its doors, allowing the students to enter. As the kids entered the building to resume learning, the Lyoko Warriors were in the library, waiting for a kid to come up to their table. While they were waiting, Jeremy was working on his laptop, still trying to test the codes. He kept the screen hidden from view, so that no one outside of the group got suspicious. It worked most days, largely due to the spectacled blonde being the tutor who was most likely to do work even before class began. Of course, any kid who visited thought that he was too busy grading stuff to do something else. That was true, but only partially.

"How are the vehicles coming up, Jeremy?" Yumi asked.

"They're just about finished." Jeremy said. "I just need to work out a few things."

"Like what?" Ulrich asked.

"I was thinking of improving the speed on the Overbike, so that riding it into battle is more efficient." The spectacled blonde said. "As for the Overboard and the Ship meant for the new Sector, I'll improve the handling so that anyone can pilot them."

"You haven't tried out the Skid?" Odd asked.

"We haven't had a mission where we needed it." Aelita spoke. "If X.A.N.A creates Replikas again, however, I'm sure Jeremy will bring it back."

"Hopefully so, because we need to speed up our missions on Lyoko." Yumi said.

Tina, Gene and Louise entered the library, intent on speaking to their teammates.

"What is up, everybody?!" Gene spoke.

"Nothing much," Ulrich said, "but Jeremy is working on something."

"Really?" Tina asked. "Like what?"

"I'm working on the codes for the vehicles." Jeremy spoke. "However, I've got a few other things in mind, but I can't tell you what it is yet."

"Why not?" Louise asked. "Aren't we your teammates?"

"It's a surprise." The spectacled blonde said.

"Ooh, I LOVE surprises!" Gene said.

"In the meantime, we're entrusting you to keep an eye out for something X.A.N.A could be influencing." Aelita said. "If you see something, tell Jeremy and he'll launch a mission."

The Belcher children nodded, knowing that they couldn't ignore a X.A.N.A attack. Once the bell rang, the kids went to class while the Lyoko Warriors went to the rooms they tutored in. If something bad happened, then they agreed to meet up and head to the factory. While it depended on what happened, the team still had to go to Lyoko and save the world. Jeremy was actually waiting for one to happen, considering that he had been working on the vehicle codes ever since the DOOM II incident. He hoped that things went much better, as he didn't want to send his teammates somewhere else or into oblivion.

While the Lyoko Warriors and their away team were inside Wagstaff, the X.A.N.A-possessed pigeon was flying through the sky, looking for other birds to put under the AI's control. It flew towards a power line, where a bunch of Mourning Doves were sitting. Once it sat on the line, quietly enough to not disturb the others, the pigeon turned its head, with a spectre flying out of it. This spectre was created by the one possessing the pigeon and it was more than enough to possess the doves. As they became possessed, they found themselves with one goal in mind: killing the Lyoko Warriors and anyone else they came across.

As he entered his science class, Gene saw that the objective for the day was to watch certain birds and observe how fast they flew. The middle Belcher child thought that it was a weird thing to do, but he figured that it would be fun. Watching how fast a bird flies was a way to teach velocity and momentum. Even if one disagreed, seeing it as math instead of science, the class had to do something for the day. If he wasn't able to make the right observations, Gene knew that someone would help him out. Of course, that depended on if it was a subject where the students would work together or not.

When the class walked outside, they were in charge of looking for the birds on the list and watch how fast they could fly. The students were put into groups, required to work together on the subject. Each group was given a device that could help them measure the speed of the birds, so that it was easier. Gene was not the one who held the device in the group he was put in, but he was fine with that. All he wanted to do was write down everything that was measured, but he was in charge of adding the different speed measurements together. It was an odd thing to do, but it was on the worksheet.

During their time outside, the class noticed a few birds flying dangerously close to them. This was strange, but they figured that the birds were old and losing their ability to determine how high they were flying. Gene was too busy writing the measurements, so he didn't see anything. That was until he noticed a bird flying down towards the teacher, as if it was going to attack her. Luckily, she was able to dodge it, though it caused her to tell the class to head indoors. It was right on time for the next period, though everyone thought that it was because she was nearly pecked.

During their lunch period, the Belcher children sat together at a table. Needless to say, Gene was ready to tell his sisters about what he saw.

"Hey, did either of you happen to go outside for your science class?" Gene spoke.

"No, my science class is after this period." Tina said.

"Yeah, my class went outside to look for certain birds." Louise stated. "It was pretty boring."

"Did any of the birds fly right at you, Louise?" Gene asked.

"No." The nine-year-old said. "Why?"

"Because a few flew close to us while we were measuring their flight speed." The eleven-year-old said. "One even tried to attack the teacher!"

"Don't birds attack people when they get close to their young?" Tina asked.

"We weren't near their nests, Tina, we were watching them fly!" The middle Belcher child said.

"Do you think it could be a X.A.N.A attack?" Louise asked.

"Maybe." He said.

"In that case, I'm gonna go look for Jeremy." The youngest Belcher child said. "A mission might be on the horizon!"

As Louise went to find Jeremy, Tina and Gene finished their lunch and left the cafeteria. While walking down the hallway, they agreed to find each other if something were to happen. If Tina's science class was about birds, then she would keep an eye out to see if X.A.N.A was possessing them or not. Odds are, the AI was planning on using the birds to attack those who came near them. The Lyoko Warriors couldn't let anyone die while a mission was going on, so they needed to be fast. Even if birds prevented them from heading to the factory, Tina and Gene would have to protect everyone from the X.A.N.A-possessed animals.

From outside the school, the X.A.N.A-possessed pigeon was on a power line with the other birds it had encountered. Not only were Mourning Doves with it, but a few swallows and several finches were on the wire. They were all under X.A.N.A's control, waiting for a chance to attack the students that were let out. It wouldn't be long before the day ended, so the birds were ready for their mission. Once a child stepped out, a bird would swoop down at peck at him/her. The rest would join in, though their priorities would change as more people stepped out of Wagstaff.

Unbeknownst to the birds, however, Louise was sneaking out through the back of the building. She had managed to tell the Lyoko Warriors about the birds, so they had already gone to the factory. As such, the nine-year-old figured that she would head there while Gene and Tina watches after everyone else, keeping them out of harm's way. It wouldn't last long, considering how the students and the staff would get suspicious and try to leave regardless of what was going on, but Louise figured she could trust her siblings. Sometimes, they showed a determination that rivaled characters in a horror movie who made it to the end. They had their moments, but the occasional determination and brilliance would shine through.

Once the day had ended, Louise ran in the direction of the factory, hoping that she wouldn't end up being made into mincemeat by the birds X.A.N.A had possessed. A bird was up in the sky, but it was hard to tell whether or not it was possessed. It looked like it was about to swoop down, so Louise had to hide from it every so often. She was able to outrun it, but she had a feeling that it would be back. Not wanting to wait for the bird to catch up, the nine-year-old continued on her way. The moment she got to the factory, she would head for the Scanners and be Virtualized into Lyoko.

While Louise was on her way to the factory, Tina and Gene were keeping watch from Wagstaff's entrance. They saw multiple birds on power lines, perched in a position that made them look like a lion that was ready to pounce. As such, the oldest and middle Belcher children knew they had to protect everyone from the X.A.N.A-possessed birds. If not, then there would be numerous casulaties, which a Return To The Past could not fix.

"Gene and Tina Belcher, what are you doing?" Mr. Frond approached them.

"Oh, we're just getting ready for the bell to ring." Gene lied.

"And it's because we want to do our homework and not because the birds on those electrical wires will fly down and attack everyone." Tina said.

"That's a ... rather suspicious answer to my question." Mr. Frond said.

Once the bell rang, Gene carefully pulled the door open, only to be met with a pigeon flying down at him. Before it could strike the eleven-year-old, Tina shut the door, which made the pigeon slam into the window. Not a single scratch was on either of them, so they were alright. While the two Belcher siblings were safe, they only made Mr. Frond suspicious.

"What the Hell was that?!" The guidance counselor spoke.

"You shouldn't go out there, Mr. Frond!" Tina said.

"If you do, those birds will peck your pickled peppers!" Gene shouted.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Mr. Frond said. "They're birds, not a lion or grizzly bear!"

Pushing through Tina and Gene, Mr. Frond pulled the door open. As such, the birds flew off the power lines, diving down at him. They pecked at the guidance counselor, acting with anger and vitriol, emotions one would not expect from birds. He screamed in agony and terror, hoping that it would keep the winged animals from killing him. Luckily, Tina and Gene were able to pull Mr. Frond back into the school, saving his life. However, he then ran down the hallway, ignoring the pain he was feeling.

"I'm going to go call Animal Control!" He cried.

Letting out a gasp, Tina and Gene looked at each other. By calling Animal Control, Mr. Frond was going to get the workers hurt or killed when they arrived to deal with the birds. With that in mind, the siblings knew that they would have to protect everyone inside of Wagstaff and everyone outside of the building. Louise was likely at the factory by now, so it was up to her and the others to save the day. As the students came down the hallway, ignorant of what X.A.N.A had in store, Gene stood guard while Tina watched the possessed birds. No matter what happened, they would protect those around them and stall X.A.N.A's attack.

In the lab, Jeremy was watching over the mission, seeing how far the Lyoko Warriors were coming. The Tower was in the Forest Sector, so it would be an easy mission. He had sent Aelita there with Ulrich and Yumi, while the others kept an eye out for the Belcher children. As far as the team knew, they hadn't arrived yet. That was until Odd saw Louise running towards the factory. Once she entered the building, the nine-year-old went to the lab, intent on getting to Lyoko and kicking some monster ass.

"Boy howdy, I was LUCKY to avoid those birds!" Louise spoke. "Don't worry about Gene and Tina, though. They're in charge of protecting everyone else, like I said."

"Okay, Louise, head to the Scanners!" Jeremy said. "The others are almost at the Tower, but they're under attack!"

Nodding her head, Louise went to an open Scanner. Once she was inside, the compartment closed up, ready for the Virtualization process. Jeremy made sure that nothing else was with the nine-year-old, so that nothing bad happened inside the Scanner. He remembered what happened when Odd was inside one with his dog, Kiwi, and he didn't want a repeat of that moment.

"Transfer: Louise!" Jeremy said as he typed on the keyboard. "Scanner: Louise! Virtualization!"

In the Forest Sector, Ulrich, Yumi and Aelita were surrounded by Tarantulas and Bloks, doing their hardest to defeat the monsters. Aelita in particular was more careful around them, considering how she was the only one who could deactivate the Tower. She was about to enter the Tower when a Blok fired at her. The pink-haired teen returned the favor by firing an Energy Field at the cube-shaped creature, which destroyed it instantly. However, this caused two more to approach her and the Tower. Because of this, Aelita needed to destroy them before they could Devirtualize her.

Far from the others, Louise had arrived in the Sector. Knowing that she wasn't even close to her teammates, the nine-year-old had an idea.

"Jeremy, mind if you send me one of those vehicle thingies?" She asked.

"Right away!" Jeremy's voice rang out.

In front of Louise, one of the vehicles the Lyoko Warriors used in the Sectors materialized. The vehicle itself resembled a skateboard or surfboard, but it was floating in the air. Louise had no time to guess what it was called, knowing that the others needed help. Hopping on it, she leaned forward, causing the floating vehicle to go in that direction. In the process, the nine-year-old found herself flying towards a Blok. By jumping off of the board, she was able to destroy it while destroying another with one of her throwing knives.

"Double kill for the ages!" Louise proudly spoke.

"Nice to see you, Louise." Aelita greeted.

"And nice attack!" Ulrich said.

"Hopefully, you're ready to fight." Yumi said.

"Oh, I'm ALWAYS ready for a fight!" Louise said. "Let's kick some X.A.N.A ass!"

With Louise by their side, Ulrich, Yumi and Aelita continued to fight the monsters X.A.N.A had sent. Ulrich used his saber to slice through each monster that came his way, not letting a single one stand. Yumi sliced a Blok in half with one of her fans, then threw one to the side, hoping that it would take down another monster. Louise stabbed a Tarantula, then wound up having to face a Blok. Luckily, the fan that Yumi threw managed to destroy it before it could fire. As for Aelita, she had destroyed the Bloks that were surrounding her, though one managed to shoot at her.

"Aelita, don't waste time!" Louise said. "Get to the Tower and deactivate it before X.A.N.A makes those birds kill everyone!"

"Just be careful, everyone!" Aelita said, running to the Tower.

Meanwhile, Gene and Tina were still guarding the entry door for Wagstaff, hoping to protect everyone they knew from the X.A.N.A-possessed birds. When animal control arrived, however, the siblings gasped. They knew that X.A.N.A would have the birds attack anyone who was outside, so the workers would be in trouble. However, the birds were also focusing on the school, intent on attacking it at all costs. With that in mind, Tina hoped that Aelita had made it to the Tower on Lyoko. If she hadn't, then she needed to get there as quickly as possible.

Once an animal control worker stepped out, a pigeon flew down at him, pecking with vitriol. As such, the worker went back in his van, then signaled for his coworkers to stay in their vehicles. That didn't stop the birds from attacking. In fact, the pigeon flew towards the window of the door, managing to break into the school. Other birds followed it, intent on pecking everyone inside to death. Gene and Tina were unable to get away, but told everyone to run for it.

Inside the Tower, Aelita stepped on the first panel, walking to the middle of it. After that, she felt herself be lifted up to the panel above her. Once the pink-haired teen was on that one, she was faced with a holographic screen. Placing her hand on it, she entered Code: LYOKO, which managed to deactivate the Tower. With that out of the way, X.A.N.A's attack had been stopped for the time being. All that was left to do was run a Return To The Past, if it was necessary.

Thinking that people would get suspicious of the events that took place, even after the birds had been restored to normal, Jeremy decided to run a Return To The Past. Once he did so, the familiar white light soon engulfed the factory, slowly spreading all across the globe. It reversed time, sending Earth back to earlier in the day. When the light was gone, only those who were added to the supercomputer would remember what happened, while the rest of the world would not. If anyone died during the mission, then they would not be able to be brought back. Damages to the environment could be reversed, but the death of an individual could not.

Once the Return To The Past was over, the Lyoko Warriors found themselves back before the birds began to attack people. In the process, Gene found himself doing that assignment where he and his classmates were required to measure how fast certain birds could fly again. Everything was alright until he heard someone let out a pained groan. It turned out to be Courtney, who was being pecked at by a swallow. Gene's eyes widened, thinking that the Return To The Past somehow failed.

"Courtney, are you alright?!" Gene asked.

"Yeah, a bird's kinda going nuts." Courtney said. "It's my fault, though. I have a pouch full of birdseed!"

With that in mind, Gene let out a sigh of relief, knowing that the Return To The Past had worked. Courtney had been pecked at, but that was because it wanted the seed she had with her and not because it was possessed. Other than that, everything was back to normal until another Tower was activated on Lyoko. Hopefully, for the next mission, the entire team could be at the lab, including the away team.

Note: Seeing as Thanksgiving is tomorrow, it makes sense to do a chapter centered around birds, even though there are no turkeys in this chapter. What is next for the Lyoko Warriors to deal with on Lyoko? Which vehicle will be utilized next? Who will get to ride it? Will one of the other members of the away team be Virtualized? Can they fight against X.A.N.A's monsters when the moment presents itself?

Until next time, guys, this is ElectricWizard99, signing off. Peace! And in case you celebrate it, have a Happy Thanksgiving!