"I have good news and bad news," Jeremie told the rest of the gang. It had been about a week since Olivie tampered with the Supercomputer, and Jeremie had spent all his free time trying to figure out how to fix it. Now, at last, he was pretty sure he'd found the solution.
"I know what the problem is." Everyone else gave an applause and cheered for his success, saying that they knew he could do it. "Don't get excited so quickly," he interrupted them. "Olivie created a disconnect between Sector 5 and the supercomputer. I need some data from Sector 5 itself in order to fix it." He paused for a moment and fixed his glasses. "So, I need you to go there if I want to get rid of the problem. But I can't say it's risk-free, and I'm a little worried about sending you there."
"Is there more risk in us going there, or in letting it be?" Aelita asked him. Jeremie had thought about it a lot himself, so he answered almost immediately.
"Letting it be. XANA must have a reason for blocking Sector 5 off from our sight, and whatever it is, it can't be good. We've already let it be for too long."
"To the factory it is, then!" Odd exclaimed carefreely. His cheerfulness caught unto Aelita, Yumi and Ulrich as well, and each of them quickly forgot about, or rather ignored, the possible risks with going to Sector 5. Sometimes, risks had to be taken.
Immediately after school the Lyoko Warriors hurried to the factory. Like routine, Jeremie virtualized them along with their vehicles. In no time, they made it to the edge of the Ice sector and Jeremie typed the Scipio code, summoning the Transport Orb. Please, let there be no risks… Jeremie hoped. At the same time on Lyoko, the others saw the orb and braced themselves in case there was something dangerous involved. The orb took them inside it in a flash of light. There would be no going back now.
After a moment of silence Jeremie asked carefully, "Are you there, guys?"
"We're here, Jeremie," Aelita answered. "Everything seems to be the same as before." Jeremie let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Exactly the same. Including my poor little tummy," Odd said, holding his stomach.
"The most important thing is that you're safe and in one piece. Get the key and go to the Celestial Dome. Unfortunately, I'm completely blind as of now so I can't tell you where the key is, but you'll find it," Jeremie instructed them. Hopefully, he added in his mind.
The key ended up being on the wall on the other side of the hall, easily locatable. Unlike usually, when creepers would be there to bother them, now there were none of them in sight. They pushed the key with over a minute to spare. Even when they got to the elevator and the dome, no monsters showed up. They looked around preparing themselves for mantas, but it was completely silent.
Aelita went to the interface and started gathering data for Jeremie. The silence continued, as no one dared to speak a word while Aelita worked. After a while she took a step back and closed the interface.
"Is that all the data you need, Jeremie?" she asked.
"I think so," he answered. "But stay there for just a few more minutes in case I need something else." He began re-establishing the connection to Sector 5, which didn't prove too difficult. His earlier investigating was worth it.
"Isn't it kinda suspicious that XANA sent no problems our way and just let us gather all the data we need?" Yumi asked the others, who immediately nodded.
"It's super suspicious, if you ask me, but XANA seems to do that a lot lately," Odd said.
"And last time it did that, we got a brand new super tough enemy, who is unlike anything we've seen before from XANA," Ulrich pointed out.
Aelita agreed, "Ulrich's right. XANA's not sending any monsters, so it must be focused on something else. And that worries me." She crossed her arms and held them tightly close to her, clearly anxious and worried. Yumi walked next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Odd and Ulrich followed her example and did the same.
"Whatever it is, we'll stop it," Yumi smiled and encouraged her, getting Aelita to smile a little as well.
"That's it," they heard Jeremie's voice. "I can see Sector 5 again, and there's no more traces of the disconnect or any other bugs. I'll bring you back now."
"I'm growing more anxious by the second!" Odd exclaimed while entering Mrs. Hertz's classroom the next morning. "Why can't XANA just be the same predictable dummy it used to be!
"Calm down, Odd," Jeremie said. "We're all nervous because we don't know what XANA's up to. But complaining about it won't help us one tiny bit."
"Not to go against your statement, but I don't think XANA's ever been a predictable dummy," Ulrich said. "And before you complain more, I get what you mean. I'm worried, too."
"But hey, let's just focus on our classes and think about XANA later. We can't exactly do anything about it at the moment," Aelita said as they sat down on their seats. She was just about to switch their topic when someone rushed over to them and put his hands on the desk in front of Odd.
"What's up, Theo?" Odd asked. "You look like you have some great news."
Theo nodded. "Have you seen her yet?" he asked.
"Seen who yet?" Odd asked.
"The new girl!" Theo exclaimed. "I just saw a glimpse of her. Someone asked who she is, and I heard her answer that she is transferring to our class from another school. She is so pretty! That long smooth blue hair is a sight to behold… Well, you'll see her soon enough." He then walked off without waiting for anyone's response.
Aelita, Jeremie, Odd and Ulrich switched concerned glances.
"…you don't think?" Ulrich started.
"Impossible," Jeremie said and shook his head slightly. "We would know if there was an active tower."
"But what if the super scanner is bugged? What if the Sector 5 disconnect messed something up?" Aelita asked carefully.
"Um, well…" Jeremie mumbled. "Let's not jump into conclusions. Anyone could have blue hair." He said that to calm himself, in truth not believing what he had said. And the looks on the others' faces revealed that they didn't believe Jeremie's words either.
Other students were beginning to come into the classroom. Word about a new student had apparently found its way to everyone and she was the hot topic of the morning. People were speculating where she was from and why she was transferring to Kadic in the middle of the semester. One theory suggested that she had been expelled from her previous school. Others thought that she didn't look like a troublemaker who would get herself expelled.
When Mrs. Hertz entered the classroom, the discussion was still going on as loud as ever.
"Good morning, everyone. As many of you have –" she said, but no one was listening to her. She then coughed once to get the students' attention. After everyone seemed to notice her and quieted down, she continued. "As many of you have heard, you'll be getting a new classmate today. Now, would you please come in and introduce yourself to everyone. Don't worry. They're quite restless but I'm sure you'll fit in soon enough."
Then the new student walked in, her long blue hair waving elegantly with each step. She was dressed in a black hoodie and blue jeans. She stopped in front of the blackboard and turned towards everyone.
"Hello everyone," she greeted with a smile. "I am Olivie Courant. I transferred here from Elliv Academy, about 500 km from here. I do not know anyone here yet, but I am looking forward to getting to know you all."
"She's here now?!" Yumi asked the others in Jeremie's room. The others had called her immediately after the class.
"She's here now," Jeremie stated.
"Are there any chances that it's not her?" Yumi asked. "I mean, do you remember Taelia? Jeremie was convinced she was Aelita even though she wasn't." Jeremie blushed slightly in embarrassment remembering what decisions he did back then, while Odd and Ulrich merely shook their heads.
"No way," Odd said. "Looks identical and has the same name. It has to be her."
"Also, the timing's way too perfect," Jeremie said.
Silence followed, as everyone just stared at the floor deep in thought. An unsaid question, that none of them knew the answer to, hung in the air. What would they do now? Would Olivie come after them somehow? Were they now in constant danger even more so than before? What was the best move to perform here?
It was Jeremie who finally broke the silence, "I will do some research. I'll go through the student records of this Elliv Academy she claims to have studied in. And I'll try to find as much information as I can. We've got her last name. That should be of help. I don't know how thoroughly XANA has prepared for this, but I'm determined to find out."
"And how should we act towards our blue-haired grim reaper?" Odd asked.
Jeremie looked each of his friends in the eyes and sighed deeply. "I don't know," he answered, defeated. "It's probably best to keep a low profile. We have no idea what XANA's plans are for her. Don't act suspiciously, but at the same time we should try to keep a close eye on her."
In between classes, Olivie spent her time answering the endless questions of her curious classmates. During classes, she was almost completely quiet, only answering two questions the teachers threw at her. The first question was in math class, and she got it correct in the blink of an eye. The second was a history question to which she shook her head and said, "I do not know." It wasn't a hard question by any means, so Jeremie immediately concluded that XANA didn't give her much information about Earth. Her head was quick as a calculator though, as she solved the math problem quicker than Jeremie would have.
After school she sat down on one of the many benches in the courtyard and started to read her newly acquired history book. The Lyoko gang followed her and went to their usual spot by the vending machine, close enough to see and hear her but far enough to hopefully not seem suspicious.
Olivie was clearly gathering a crowd and some people just passed by and said a few words to her. The most common comments had something to do with her hair and whether blue was her natural hair color, which it apparently was. People also asked about why she transferred schools, but she didn't want to answer. Then Theo stepped in.
"Are you available right now?" he asked.
"Available for what?" Olivie asked, confused.
"Like, you know, are you seeing anyone?"
"I see all of you right now."
Everyone except Theo and Olivie burst into laughter and complimented Olivie on her joke.
Ulrich narrowed his eyes and said, "I don't think that was a joke." The others nodded.
"Um, well-," Theo stuttered, but someone next to him interrupted him.
The interrupter placed a hand on Theo's shoulder and said, "Drop it, man. She's clearly not interested." Theo looked disappointed, but Olivie seemed truly clueless about what was going on.
"What's your family like?" Milly asked, her notebook ready on hand to write down anything remotely interesting – or not interesting. Tamiya stood next to Milly; her camera pointed at Olivie.
"Father is a doctor and always busy. I do not have a mother," Olivie replied, causing confusion and a hint of grief in the surrounding people. It resulted in an awkward silence, so Tania tried to change the subject by complementing Olivie's math skills.
"That was so fast! Too bad about that history question, though. Not your best subject, I assume?"
"I was not prepared. I will get it next time," Olivie answered, a tiny hint of competitiveness in her voice. Shen then closed the book in her hands and stood up. "But if you will excuse me, I will take my leave now. I am quite tired. See you all tomorrow."
The Lyoko warriors left the vending machine and headed to Jeremie's room.
"You were right. It's definitely her," Yumi said after closing the door behind her. "Same monotonous, emotionless voice I heard in Lyoko."
"Yeah, she talks like a robot," Odd stated bluntly. "No spirit whatsoever. Or appreciation for humor."
"A bit proud, I'd say. Didn't seem to like that history question," Ulrich pointed out.
"I find it a little weird how she doesn't seem to have a personality," Jeremie said. "I mean, Aelita is also technically not a real person, but she's had a distinct personality since the very first day I met her. But Olivie is just a blank canvas."
Aelita felt a tiny sting in her heart, when Jeremie mentioned her not being a real person. She tried to ignore it, pondered for a few seconds, and then voiced her thoughts, "I was created by a human, but she was created by an AI. Could that have something to do with it?"
"Maybe," Jeremie admitted. "XANA doesn't have a deeper understanding of our emotions or personalities, only behavior patterns at best. So, it's highly unlikely XANA would be able to create a fully human-like personality for Olivie. It will be interesting to see how things develop."
"You know how I want things to develop?" Odd asked. "I want them to develop in our favor so that we don't have enough time to see how they develop."
"I kind of agree. I don't want Olivie to cause more problems for us," Yumi said. "We all saw the security footage of her sabotaging the supercomputer. Who knows what else XANA has told her to do?"
"But there's nothing we can do about her right now. At least I don't think there is," Aelita countered.
"Did you check Elliv Academy by the way, Jeremie?" Ulrich asked.
"Oh right, I did," Jeremie started. "She is in the student records. But after I did some digging, I noticed that her name was added only a few days ago, which tells me that she did not actually study there. I could, of course, call and ask the principal about her, but I don't think that's necessary. And I would rather not answer the principal's questions on who Olivie is and why I'm asking."
"Do we really have to wait for XANA to make a move?" Yumi asked with furrowed brows.
Jeremie let out a defeated sigh. "For now, as much as I hate to say this, yes."
"…also called absolute monarchy, is one form of monarchy in which the monarch holds supreme autocratic authority, not being restricted by written laws, legislature or customs. Very often, these are hereditary monarchies. The popularity of absolute monarchy declined significantly after the French Revolution," Olivie explained. Everyone else in the class was silent, keenly listening to Olivie. Some even stared in awe.
"Correct, Olivie!" Mr. Fumet commented on Olivie's answer to his previous question. "I've got to admit, it's very rare I see this much improvement in a student after just one day."
"Yesterday I came into class unprepared, but today I was well-prepared."
"Let's hope you continue like this, then."
Fumet then continued the lesson, eventually asking questions, some of which Olivie answered – once again perfectly. Aelita, Jeremie, Ulrich and Odd switched glances but were otherwise silent.
After history class Sissi approached Olivie, who was yet again surrounded by a decent-sized crowd.
"How does someone go from not knowing the answer to that obvious question yesterday and acing all questions today," Sissi questioned her. "I'm sensing some cheating."
Olivie blankly looked back at Sissi. "I have a good memory," she answered to the accusation.
"No way someone can get that much info into their brains in one evening. Not just history but science earlier, too."
"Just because you do not have the memory capacity for it, does not mean that my capacity is as insufficient as yours."
Sissi fumed but Odd couldn't help but laugh.
"What are you laughing at?!" Sissi snapped at him.
"Your insufficient memory capacity," Odd replied, trying to hold back his laughter, internally cursing at himself for laughing at the "grim reaper's" joke. Sissi stormed off. Aelita could have sworn she saw Olivie smile ever so slightly.
Meanwhile Yumi joined the others.
"Seems like someone's popular," she said and eyed Odd judgingly.
"First off, I didn't want to laugh. Second, enemy or not, that was funny!" Odd defended himself.
"Still think we should keep our distance from her? Or confront her?" Yumi asked Jeremie.
"I don't know," Jeremie admitted. "It seems like XANA is trying to make her blend in, so I doubt she would attack us in front of everyone. But then again, it's XANA we're talking about, so nothing's certain."
"So, talk to her or not, it would probably be best if we're not alone much?" Ulrich asked. To which Jeremie nodded.
Aelita was quietly observing the situation. In her head attaching information from both their encounter in Lyoko and seeing Olivie on Earth the past couple days. She saw curiosity, confusion, and a will to learn. But no malice. Even if Olivie attacked them on Lyoko, Aelita couldn't help but to think that maybe she could become an ally.
