Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

If there had been a heart in his chest, Odd would have sworn it'd be pounding as he flew through the chamber containing Lyoko's core. His eyes darted around keeping watch for any hidden monsters. He wasn't going to be taken out by a hidden Creeper or Blok. Not now, not when Ulrich was counting on him.

"You need to hurry Odd, there's only one shield layer left!" Jeremie shouted into Odd's ear. "Only one more hit and the Core will be exposed!"

Odd grit his teeth. "Tell me something I don't know, Einstein!" he snapped. He shifted his feet forward, boosting the Overboard. Light brown eyes scanned the spiraling blocks that hugged the sides of the chamber. He looked for the familiar mix of yellows and browns that made up Ulrich's avatar. It's not going to be Ulrich, he reminded himself, It's Xana in charge, not Ulrich. Not much longer at least.

His eyes spotted his best friend's body. Ulrich's katana was drawn and pointed at the core, firing pulsating turquoise energy.

Bingo. Odd adjusted his footing, shifting the Overboard's direction, making a beeline towards Ulrich's body. He jumped, landing on all fours on the staircase and letting the Overboard continue to fly. It nearly hit Ulrich's body (of course they weren't that lucky, the universe hated making things easy for them), continuing to fly until it crashed into the side of the chamber. He(it?) snapped Ulrich's head right at Odd. There was malice in Ulrich's eyes, a malice Odd had never seen before. It made Odd's non-existent stomach churn.

Ulrich- Xana, he corrected, Not Ulrich, Xana, - moved at a lightning pace, raising the katana. Odd's straightened out of instinct. His arm shook, his non-heart raced, and he felt a horrible weight crawl into his chest. This isn't Ulrich, he scolded himself, It's Xana and not Ulrich. You aren't fighting your best friend. You're fighting just another one of Xana's monsters. Just another monster. He squeezed his eyes shut, and fired.

Xana swung the blade with the same control Ulrich did, not to hit Odd but ready it to hit him. Xana swung the blade again, this time aiming for Odd. Odd ducked, the sword coming far too close for the cat-boy's comfort. He stumbled, desperate to regain his footing. He fired another laser arrow. Xana quickly blocked. Odd fired again. Xana blocked again. Odd grit his teeth, unleashing three arrows toward Ulrich's body. As good as Xana was, he still wasn't Ulrich. Xana blocked the first arrow with ease. He wasn't as lucky with the other two. Both arrows embedded themselves into Ulrich's shoulder. Xana gripped the virtual wound. He swung, aiming right for Odd's throat. Odd ducked, once again nearly avoiding the blade.

"You almost got it Odd! All we need is one more hit!" Jeremie said.

"Got it, one more hit." Odd readied another arrow, grabbing his wrist to steady it. "One hit." He fired. Xana deflected. Odd narrowed his eyes and fired again. Xana deflected, taking a step forward. Odd fired again, taking a step back. Every arrow fired was met with the swing of the katana. Every step forward by Xana was a step backward by Odd. He had to keep fighting. Odd took a deep breath and kept firing. He couldn't lose. Not now. Not with Ulrich counting so heavily on him.

Xana rushed at him, raising Ulrich's katana above Ulrich's head. He moved fast. Too fast. Odd couldn't brace himself in time for the hilt of the sword to smash into his stomach and send him sprawling to the ground. He screamed as the blade sliced his thigh. He feebly fired, making Xana dodge. Odd took the opening scrambling to his feet.

"Be careful Odd! He's pushing you towards the edge!"

Odd had to bite his tongue from snapping at Jeremie. He aimed with an unsteady hand and stood on uneasy feet. Xana moved before Odd could, sending a fist into Odd's jaw. Then a knee into his stomach. Odd stumbled back. Panic rose as he saw just how close the edge was. He fired. Xana dodged. Xana swung his sword. Odd stepped back on instinct. He felt his foot slip.

Odd plunged his claws into the side of the staircase, halting his fall. His non-existent heart would have pounded even harder as his legs dangled in the air. He tried to summon the strength to pull himself up. He froze as Ulrich's body appeared over him. Either Xana didn't notice him hanging or just didn't care, Odd didn't know, and he didn't care. Xana had given Odd the perfect opening. He unlatched a hand and aimed. He took a breath to calm his nerves and readied the trigger. Odd's vision focused on Xana.

He fired.

All Odd could hear was his own breath as he felt the pull of the trigger in the back of his brain. The arrow slid out the paw-like gloves on his hands. Time slowed as the small arrow soared.

His avatar became ice-cold as he missed.

Xana stopped and looked down with Ulrich's eyes. He slowly raised Ulrich's sword over Ulrich's head. He plunged the blade into Odd's skull.

The hum of the scanner was the first thing Odd's brain registered. The second thing was that it felt like it was cleaved in two. The doors slid open, and he stumbled out. Both of the girls grabbed hold of him, and gently lowered him to the ground.

"Careful, Odd," Aelita said softly

"Did you do it?" she asked, eyes wide and hopeful.

His mouth was dry as sand. His head ached and he couldn't think. Any words he tried to force out kept getting stuck behind the lump in his throat. "Well- I- Yumi-"

"AELITA!" Jeremie's shriek pierced the air. "XANA JUST DESTROYED THE LAST SHIELD LAYER!"

Ice replaced the ache that consumed Odd's body. Aelita glanced back at Odd for a brief moment before running towards the elevator.

Yumi looked at Odd, excitement melting into confusion. "Odd?"

He forced himself to speak. "I missed…"

"What?" Her words were as thin as tissue paper.

Something warm dripped down Odd's cheeks. "I- I- missed." The air felt thin as the weight of his words finally hit him.

"You missed?" Her words were as cold as his veins. "How?"

Odd's chest tightened. "I-I don't know! I guess my aim off-"

"Your aim was off?!" She shouted. "You've taken millions of shots before, how could this have been any different?!"

"You try hitting something when you're hanging off the side of Sector five!" he screamed. "Try hitting something when your best friend is trying to kill you!"

Yumi's jaw tightened, as she fired daggers at him. If it hadn't been for the elevator coming down, Odd had no doubt in his mind that Yumi would have continued yelling at him. Jeremie and Aelita stepped out, looking like a mix between fatigued, frantic, and confused.

"We managed to reprogram the shields. Lyoko is safe for now," Aelita explained, "but one hit and the core would have been destroyed."

"Odd what happened?! " Jeremie asks, trying and failing at masking the exasperation in his voice.

The lump in Odd's throat swelled. "Ulrich- Xana I mean, w-we fought for a while. He knocked me off the edge. I managed to catch myself, and when I tried to hit him… I missed." He felt his body shake. "Oh god."

"What- What happened to Ulrich's body?" Yumi asked, looking at Jeremie.

A deathly silence overtook the room. Aelita took a deep breath. "We lost sight of Xana," she explained slowly, "Both of us were so focused on getting the shields back up we didn't notice when he slipped away."

Yumi's eyes darkened. "So you lost Ulrich's body?" she asked coldly.

"We just lost sight of it for now. I can try running a scan an-and see if I can locate him-" He cut himself off at the sounds of thumping metal.

The group held their breath as Jim (who had been previously unconscious the entire time) got to his feet. There was a defeated look on the man's face.

"Ulrich?" Yumi asked, her voice soft.

Jim-Ulrich re-possessing him -turned to look at her. "I need to get Jim back to Kadic. We don't need him waking up and discovering the supercomputer… again ." He forced a smile and piloted Jim's body towards the door. The rest of the group watched as the elevator doors slid close.

Yumi's head snapped towards Jeremie. "This was supposed to fix this!" She shouted.

"It should have!" Jeremie fought back, "A-and it will! If Ulrich's body had been virtualized-"

"-If I hadn't fucked it up," Odd snapped. "Admit you're all thinking it!" He shouted, waving an arm. "Because I missed, Xana still has control of Ulrich's body, and my best friend-" His chest heaved, struggling to get air to his lungs.

Aelita sat down beside Odd and began to rub his back. "We can still get Ulrich's body back right, Jeremie?" She looked at the boy.

Jeremie readjusted her glasses, all eyes focused on him. He cleared his throat. "Yes, we still can. All we need is Ulrich to be in the scanner when his body is devirtualized. Then I'll be able to refuse his mind and body." He took off his glasses, wiping the lens on his sweater. "We can't do that until everyone has recovered and Xana makes an appearance."

"And what if he doesn't show up with Ulrich's body?" Odd asked, hugging his knees.

"Oh, Xana will show up," Aelita said confidently, "He has control over Ulrich's body, there's no way he wouldn't gloat about it."

Yumi leaned against the scanner. "Can't we just… launch a return to the past? It's always fixed everything before." Her anger had fizzled, leaving frustration in its place.

"We can't take the risk of losing Ulrich forever," Jeremie said, putting his glasses back on. "For all, we know launching a return to the past might erase Ulrich's mind, leaving Xana to have control over his body forever."

Yumi frowned. "So now we have to sit and wait," she said, the words tasting bitter in her mouth. "I'm going home," She said, pushing away from the scanner. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her pants and walked to the elevator. "If there is anything else I need to know, just text it to me." The elevator doors slid closed around her.

Jeremie, Odd, and Aelita stood alone. Jeremie took a deep breath. "During the next Xana attack, Yumi and Odd will split up. One will accompany Aelita with getting her to the tower, and the other will focus on Xana and devirualizing Ulrich's body," Jeremie explained, "Odd, you have to make sure that Ulrich is in the scanner when I launch the program. If he isn't and his body is devirtualized without his mind-" Jeremie hesitated. "Most studies have found that the human brain can last up to 4 minutes before it begins to suffer from brain damage. After 8 minutes, the body will go into complete organ failure. It takes 12 hours for your bodies to be well enough to return to Lyoko after devirtulization."

Odd swallowed hard. "Got it." He got to his feet, brushing any dirt off of his pants. "We better get back to Kadic before the teachers start wondering where we are," he said, shoving his shaking hands into his pocket. He started walking towards the elevator, Jeremie and Aelita following after. They made their way back to Kadic in complete silence.

Odd slammed the door harder than he probably should have. Jim (actual Jim) will no doubt give him an earful about breaking the door's hinges or disturbing the peace, or anything else. Odd could barely muster the energy to care. His mind kept replaying the events in his head. Being attacked, hanging over the edge, Ulrich's body appearing, having the perfect shot.

And he fucking missed.

He missed. He missed. They had been fighting Xana for close to two years and he missed one of the easiest shots like a goddamn amateur. Now they had to wait for the next attack to set everything right. To fix his mistake.

Kiwi's sharp yip shook Odd from his thoughts. The mutt sat on Ulrich's bed, tail thumping the sheets.

Odd pushed away from the door and sat on his own bed. "Kiwi, come here boy," he whistled, patting his leg.

Kiwi looked at him. He turned to a spot on the bed, sniffing at it.

"Kiwi, come here," Odd called, a little more sternly this time.

Kiwi ignored him, circling the spot before laying down next to it.

"What has gotten into you-" It clicked. Kiwi was on Ulrich's bed. Kiwi was the only one who- The lump returned. "Ulrich? Y-you there good buddy?" Silence. Of course. He couldn't see Ulrich, why did he expect to hear him? "I-if you are there… Einstein came up with a plan to fix you. When Xana attacks, we're going to split up. One person gets Aelita to the tower and the other focuses on Xana. All you have to do is wait in the scanner while the rest of us do the hard stuff." He gave a weak laugh. His smile faded. "We're going to fix this… I promise." Odd kicked off his shoes and curled up on top of the covers. 

He spared one last look towards Ulrich’s side of the room before he futilely closed his eyes. "Goodnight."

Ulrich watched as Odd drifted to sleep, weak snoring filling the silence. He fell back on his bed, closing his eyes and letting his non-existent limbs splay out. "Goodnight Odd," he muttered. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting to wake up from this nightmare soon.

Jeremie gripped the railing for the dormitory stairs, every step he took heavier than the last. Aelita walked beside him, their hands brushing several times in aborted attempts of hand-holding.

"Jeremie? Do you think that it'll really work?" Aelita asked, stopping on the stairs.

Jeremie blinked. "What do you mean?"

Aelita fiddled with the sleeve of her hoodie. "The plan. What's stopping Xana from trying to do something to Ulrich's body while he has the chance?" She explained. "What if he gives Ulrich an actual virus, or turns Ulrich into a sleeper agent of sorts…"

Jeremie remained quiet for a few heartbeats. He pressed his lips into a tight, thin line. "We don't," he admitted, "But… We can't leave Ulrich's mind without a body and we absolutely can't have Xana continue to control Ulrich's body. We have to give it everything we've got. Ulrich's counting on us after all." He continued to push forward up the stairs to the boy's floor. "Goodnight Aelita."

Aelita watched him vanish from her sight. "Goodnight Jeremie," she mumbled to the empty air. She headed towards the girl's floor.

Chapter Text

“Ulrich?” Mrs. Hertz called. “Ulrich Stern?”

When silence met her, she immediately turned to Odd. 

“Mister Della Robbia, where is your partner in crime?”

Odd’s face pinched. “He’s sick.”

“Still?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “It’s gotta be the flu. It’s not pretty, trust me.” There was a pitiful laugh to his words. 

Unlike the previous two days, in which she simply would have waved off the remark, she let out a low hum, displeased, but said nothing else on the matter. Though she was growing tired of the excuse, she didn’t push the subject. It was a Friday morning, after all, it was too early to be making a fuss with Odd of all people. 

“Alright, then,” Ms. Hertz said, turning her back to Odd and the rest of the class, “But it’s been three days Mr. Della Robbia. I highly suggest you bring him to Ms. Perraudin’s office for a proper diagnosis.”

Despite the clean getaway, Odd still felt sick to his stomach. With the way Jeremie and Aelita were both staring him down, they were beginning to feel the pressure, too. Though Odd cracked a nervous smile, he had to sit on his hands to keep himself from fidgeting. 

Every errant glance from a classmate had Odd second-guessing himself—maybe he hadn’t sold it well enough? Maybe they were becoming suspicious? When Mrs. Hertz’s eyes lingered just a moment too long, when the boy behind him coughed (three times, no less!), Odd felt like he was choking. As the moments ticked by, his paranoia only grew. When Samantha scooted her chair forward and it squealed across the tile, it almost sounded like a scream. It took all of Odd’s self-control not to whip around and stare. The anxiety simply ate him up.

It pulled at his lungs and crawled up his spine to the point where the sound of the lunch bell—a usually exciting moment—frightened him. He flinched where he sat, but was on his feet in a moment. (A bead of sweat rolled down the back of his skull, and Odd felt grateful for once for having long hair.)

If his classmates weren’t suspecting him yet, they surely would if he wasn’t tripping over his own feet to get to lunch. 

As he fled the classroom, faster than his typical getaway, he whispered to Jeremie and Aelita as he passed. “We need to fix this.” 

Odd was gone before either could respond, but there wasn’t really anything to say. The duo merely shared a sigh as they packed their bags, Jeremie’s was tinged with an air of frustration. The walk to lunch felt like a funeral march, but they made it nonetheless. If for the first time lunch felt like it was going to be the worst part of their day, they’d blame it all on Xana. (And pointedly ignoring the guilt hanging over their heads.)

Ulrich stared as the last student filed out of class, Mrs. Hertz not even sparing him a glance as she turned off the lights and locked the door. He closed his eyes, taking a moment to himself as he came to terms with his situation.

He could almost pretend it wasn’t happening last night—when Odd snored and Kiwi slept on every surface in their room when things didn’t seem so different. 

For the first time in years, he was truly alone.

“It’s only temporary,” he said, hushed, as if he’d get in trouble for being somewhere he shouldn’t have been. “You can do this.” He sucked in a breath, once, twice, and by the third, he was ready. 

He stood toe to toe with the locked door, eyes dead ahead, and fists clenched. He waited not a second before stepping forward, body passing through the wood as if it were nothing. 

“I can do this,” he whispered as he set off towards the cafeteria. 

What remained of the warriors crowded around a lunch table, tucked away in the corner to avoid prying ears. Odd was playing with his food more than eating it, though he managed to force down his dessert. Much more and Odd thought he’d be sick—after all, food was the best when you wanted it. Having to stuff it down your throat was no fun, even if it was to keep up appearances. Smiling was considerably easier, as was cracking a joke.

He turned to Yumi, whose meal was untouched and had her arms crossed over her chest. 

From where Ulrich stood, he could see a storm brewing. It didn’t take a genius to tell that Yumi was upset, and Odd was starting to find buttons to push. Ulrich could admit to himself that he’d been blind to how other people—like Yumi—were feeling, but now it all felt so clear. 

Ulrich stood between the two of them, knowing that it wouldn’t do anything to dissuade them from fighting. It made him feel better, though. It felt like a promise—that if he were actually there, he’d be doing the same thing. He’d at least try to keep them from fighting, that he’d see it. 

“Not eating the meatballs?” Odd lilted. “Eh, I don’t blame you. They seem a little extra—how do you say?—mystery meat-y today.”

Yumi was unimpressed, barely even sparing a glance in his direction. Her eyes were locked on their resident Einsteins. 

To his credit, Jeremie didn’t shy away from her gaze. 

“I know that this is probably the worst thing that’s happened in our fight against Xana,” he said, readjusting his glasses, “but, it’s not like it’s unfixable.”

Yumi choked out something of a laugh. “You sure you’re not underselling it a bit?”

“Look—” Jeremie placed a hand on the table challengingly, “—I’ve been reworking the unification program. All we have to do is wait for Xana to launch an attack. When Ulrich’s body is devirtualized, the program will activate and switch control back to Ulrich, so long as he’s in the scanner,” He explained. “Of all the shit we’ve faced, this is one of the easier fixes. The hard part is having to wait.”

Ulrich, from his perch beside the table, added, “And it’s not so bad, guys. Xana will attack again. It’s just a matter of time.”

No one responded.

Yumi continued to stare down Jeremie, neither willing to budge.

“C’mon, Yumi. He’s doing his best to fix this, and there’s nothing we can do, so there’s no point in fighting about it now,” Aelita said gently.

Yumi held out for a few moments more before deflating, all of the fight leaving her in a single breath as she slumped back into her chair. The tension seemed to fade, but the underlying feeling of helplessness couldn’t seem to go away. 

“I’m sorry. I just… hate this. So much.” There was a fragility to Yumi’s voice, like one flick and everything would come tumbling down. 

A round of agreements accompanied her. It fixed nothing, but the acidic feeling in her chest abated slightly. Anger was a great motivator, a source of energy—but this was a reminder not to get too lost in it. Flying off the handle was the last thing that any of them needed, least of all Ulrich. 

(They couldn’t lose sight of who had this the worst, that Ulrich was the one suffering here.)

Aelita nudged her foot from under the table to get Yumi’s attention. “I get it,” she said softly, “but we will fix it. Nothing is impossible for us. We haven’t lost yet, and we don’t plan on starting now.”

“You’re right.” Yumi flashed a smile. “This time just… feels different.”

The resounding hum showed the group’s agreement. Though he was unheard, Ulrich’s response was the loudest of them all. 

“We just have to make it through all our dumb classes until then,” Odd added. “If we play it cool, it’ll all be fine. Xana has never given us a week’s break, and after a win like this, he wouldn’t want to wait in order to rub it in our faces. He’ll strike before Monday. And we’ll kick his ass! And then everything will go back to normal.”

At his optimism, Yumi couldn’t help but feel hopeful. If Odd could keep going like nothing was wrong, then maybe Yumi could do it too. Saving face was the same thing as lying by omission, and the warriors had been doing that and then some for months now. This wasn’t going to be any different (even though it was), and everything was going to be fine after (even though it wouldn’t be). 

The table lapsed into silence afterward, everyone picking slowly at their food. When Yumi blinked, it seemed like lunch was suddenly over, despite the rest of her friends having finished their food. Odd’s tray was always a disaster, but Aelita and Jeremie’s were also pretty well picked over. Only Yumi’s sat pristine. 

“I don’t know how you can eat at a time like this,” Yumi said as she and Odd walked to throw out their lunches. 

Odd gave her a smile that felt just a little strained. “I’ve got to keep up my strength! After all, Jim promised he’d be tough on me in PE today after the stunt I pulled last class so… I can’t be lacking calories even if I wanted to.” 

Yumi just laughed. “Yeah, and that’s the only reason why, huh?”

“Oh, of course! Why ever would I lie?” He gave her the worst excuse for puppy-dog eyes she’d ever seen, and Yumi thought for only a moment that he’d succeeded in making her feel better. 

“Do not ever make that face again. God, I’m gonna see that in my nightmares!”

“Don’t be that way! I’ll have you know that face works on all the ladies.” 

They crossed the cafeteria as they spoke, their conversation hitting a lull as they exited the cafeteria into the hallway. They had to part ways, but neither seemed particularly inclined to do so. 

“Don’t be a stranger,” Odd spoke. “And text me after class.”

With that, he was gone—weaving between students and getting lost within the crowd. Yumi shrugged, resigned to the fact that she’d never quite understand Odd. For as outlandish as he tended to be, he had a serious side. Yumi could never figure out what was too far in terms of jokes, or when he decided things became serious. But she’d seen him act this way before, and she just couldn’t wrap her head around it. Understanding Odd’s moods and antics was Ulrich’s job, not Yumi’s, but with him gone it seemed like Yumi now had to fill his role.

She tsked before stalking off to science class. She had school to ignore. 

When the three younger warriors met up again in the gym, their PE clothes now changed into, they stood silently beside one another while the class chattered on. It felt like a million things could be said, but no one wanted to speak first. 

Jim had shot Odd a glare when he saw the boy ready for class, but did nothing else, intending to make the boy do all the demonstrations for class. He was scrawny and overconfident, a mixture that would make throwing shot-put a little humbling (and embarrassing). It was the perfect mix of punishment-meets-life-lesson that Jim was half-proud of himself for lining up. 

Odd, on the other hand, didn’t care enough to figure out what Jim had planned. He watched Jim demonstrate the throwing form with all the concentration of a glassy-eyed middle schooler only a few seconds from falling asleep. He even threw a yawn in there for good measure. (Why he felt it was necessary to try and antagonize Jim more was beyond him, but old habits died hard, right?)

As Jim was about to toss the discus, Jeremie’s hand grabbed Odd’s bicep and squeezed. Before he could whine about how much it hurt, the blonde followed Jeremie’s gaze to the heatwave that shimmered at Jim’s back. Odd had the right mind to pry Jeremie’s hand off of him and give him a stern talking to about personal space  when Jim suddenly stopped making noise. 

He was an old man, always groaning and cracking, but for once, he fell silent. The man turned to stone, right before Odd’s eyes.. Jeremie squeezed Odd’s arm so hard, he’d swear up and down he’ll have finger-shaped bruises for weeks. Instead, as his first classmate screamed, Odd was pulled away from the cloud, and immediately booked it back into the school. As the trio ran through the halls, later followed by a few of their quicker classmates, Odd’s brain finally caught up with his body. 

“Did either of you text Yumi?” 

Both replied no , Aelita’s far more stressed. , and Odd wondered why he had to do everything himself. 

He started to slow down as they approached an exit door, ready to call Yumi and get to the factory, Aelita practically howled at him to keep running. 

Yeah, no shit they had to run! Ulrich was waiting for them!

Odd’s fingers merely brushed the handle to the door when Aelita tackled him to the tile. 

“What the hell are you—?”

“—Are you trying to kill us?” she screamed. 

Hands that belonged to Jeremie were suddenly pulling him and Aelita to their feet, and soon began pushing them away from the double doors. When Odd looked back at them, he could see the cloudy mist gathering at the window and wondered just how close he came to becoming another casualty. 

“We’re going underground,” Jeremie hissed. 

And Odd could do nothing but agree. “A little warning would have been nice!” he hissed instead. 

Aelita huffed. “That was your warning.”

"Can we save this for another time? We need to get to the factory before that gas starts to spread to the rest of the school!" Jeremie said, grabbing both of their sleeves and pulling them away from the door. "We'll have to move quickly, with how fast that gas is spreading. The entrance in the gym is out of the question, so we'll need to make one straight shot for the entrance in the park," he explained, "and one of you two text or call Yumi before it's too late! We're already down one member. We'll need all hands on deck in order to get Ulrich's body back!" The three took off down the hall, hearts, and legs racing.

Watching gym class wasn’t as fun as actually being able to participate Ulrich found out. It was halfway through warm-ups when Ulrich had just upped and left. As he was about to walk off the field, he half expected to hear Jim snap his name and yell at him to get his ass back over with the rest of the group and run an extra mile as punishment for trying to skip class. But it didn't happen. Jim (nor anyone else for that matter) didn’t even notice him slip away. 

He simply made his way back to his room, spending far longer than he cared to admit trying to open the door before remembering that he couldn't, and just walked through. Kiwi perked up immediately the second Ulrich had stepped through, yapping and barking at Ulrich’s feet. A smile spread on Ulrich's lips. 

"Hey, boy," he said kneeling down and rubbing the dog’s head. 

His hand just phased right through Kiwi, but the mutt seemed to enjoy the gesture on its own. Despite the fact that Kiwi didn’t mind, the happiness that had struck the boy seemed to disappear as quickly as it appeared. Ulrich slid to the floor bonelessly, squeezing his eyes shut. "It’s just a matter of time. Just a matter of time.”

He repeated it back to himself because speaking it would make it true. 

It would. Because he believed it. He believed in his friends.

He leaned back, laying spread out on the floor, trying to get lost in the darkness, only hoping to lose track of time. Unabashedly, he let himself revel in it. His friends didn’t need him, he didn’t need to be doing anything besides passing the time—being patient. 

It was the almost ignorable sound of screaming that shook him back to reality. 

Ulrich jolted upright, scrambling to his feet to get to the window. He looked out to the courtyard, watching as sickly green gas spread over the campus. Some students tried to flee, while those caught in it froze. 

Xana!

Ulrich dug into his pockets, cursing under his breath as he searched for his phone. The icy chill of realization washed over him: his phone was in the pockets of his body . The body he did not have. The body that was in the possession of Xana . 

"Damn it!" 

In a frenzy, he kicked Odd’s chair. Instead of knocking it over like he intended, his foot merely phased right through it. That just made his frustration worse. He rushed out of the room, praying that his friends had been lucky enough to avoid Xana's latest attack.

Yumi drummed her fingers on her desk as Ms. Hertz droned on with the day's science lesson. She could barely pay attention, her mind drifting elsewhere. Embers of anger still burned in her chest. It was almost impossible to comprehend that Jeremie had messed up so badly. 

(Then again, she didn’t really have much of a leg to stand on. Considering that one of the two times she had ever touched the supercomputer she nearly killed Jeremie, some slack was in order.)

Accidents happened , a small part of herself whispered. But not to Jeremie.  

He knew that godforsaken computer inside and out. They entrusted their lives to him day in and day out—and he could still get this close to letting one of them die? Who was he to ever—

Her phone buzzed, breaking her train of thought. She slipped it out and placed it in her lap. Eyes widening, but only slightly, her hand shot up. “Ms. Hertz, may I go to the infirmary?

“Where is she?” Odd peered down the hall, legs bouncing in anticipation. “Any longer and we leave her behind.”

“We can’t, Odd,” Jeremie said. “Someone has to protect Aelita while the other goes after Ulrich’s body.”

Odd sucked his teeth, looking away from the two.

“Jeremie, I hate to say it, but I’m not sure how much longer we can wait for Yumi,” Aelita said, pointing out the windows. “The gas is spreading quickly.”

Jeremie pressed his lips together. “Just a little longer-”

“I’m here!” Yumi called out, her shoes squeaking on the tile as she ran.

“It’s about time!” Odd groaned, though his lips pulled into a grin.

“Ms. Hertz didn’t let me leave so easily this time,” Yumi said, sounding a little winded.

“Well, at least you’re here now,” Jeremie said, grasping the door handle. “We’ve got only one shot for the sewer. We need everyone on Lyoko, so no one gets left behind.”

“How will we know if Ulrich is in the scanner?” Yumi asked.

There was a moment of silence. “We’ll just need to hope,” Jeremie said.

A hard lump settled in Odd’s throat. “Just hope? There has to be something better we can do!”

“Well, seeing as we can’t see or hear Ulrich, what do you suggest we do, Odd?” Jeremie snapped.

Odd shut his mouth, looking away. 

“Alright… We go on three.” Jeremie tightened his grip on the door handle. “One… Two…” He threw open the door. “Three!”

They ran like bulls. Yumi took the lead, with Jeremie and Aelita falling slightly behind Odd. Yumi instantly grabbed the manhole cover, prying the metal disk from the earth. “Hurry!” She shouted.

They moved faster, pushing their aching legs and burning lungs to the back of their minds. Each slid to the ground, ducking into the hole. Yumi resealed the manhole once everyone was safely underground. There was a moment of silence as they all caught their breaths.

“Alright, let’s get going,” Jeremie said, pulling out his and Aelita’s scooters with hands that shook from a mixture of anxiety and exertion.

Yumi grabbed her skateboard, tearing down the tunnel without a word, Jeremie and Aelita following behind. Odd stood at the ladder, just staring at his own skateboard. His and Ulrich’s. He let out a deep breath. 

He grabbed his skateboard and followed his friends.

Ulrich found one upside to his lack of body. Having no body meant there was nothing Xana could turn to stone, leaving him free to roam Kadic’s campus. Of course, there were twenty million downsides. 

No body, no voice. 

He couldn’t warn his classmates. No way to help them as they froze in terror and stone, clawing at grass to get away. He could have possessed someone, as he had done with Jim, and warned everyone—sure—to try to keep them inside. 

But how long would that last? 

How long until the gas made it into the ventilation system of the school? 

Then he and everyone else would be trapped—and it would have been his fault. 

Even then, if he was stuck at Kadic trying to save everyone, then there’d be no way for him to get to the scanner when his body was devitalized. Ulrich gazed across the courtyard, stare lingering on some of the more tortured looking statues (and especially on those who were hauntingly serene). Ulrich could do nothing except avert his eyes from the front gate as gas seeped out into the streets. 

“I’m sorry,” Ulrich whispered, to each and every statue that lined his way. “I’m sorry.” His journey to the factory that day was a funeral march. 

Chapter Text

The elevator jerked to a stop. Jeremie didn’t even wait for the doors to fully open before leaping into position in front of the monitor. “The tower is in the Mountain Sector. I’ll have the Overwing and Overboard waiting for when you land.” He got to coding, fingers flying faster than ever. “The three of you can decide among yourself on who’s getting Aelita to the tower and who is going after—” He hesitated. “—After Ulrich’s body.”

“Got it,” Odd said, hitting the down button. 

The doors slid closed around them. “Who’s going to do it?” Yumi asked, looking over to Odd.

Odd stared ahead at the doors, nearly choking on the tension in the air. “I should.” His body was still and shoulders squared. “This is all my fault anyway.”

“Odd, none of this was your fault,” Aelita said, grabbing his arm. “We’ve never had to face one of our own before.”

“It’s not just that!” Odd ripped his arm from Aelita’s grasp. “It was my idea to draw straws! If I wasn’t such a coward and just volunteered then Ulrich would still be here!”

“And then it would be Ulrich here trying to figure out how to save you instead,” Aelita snapped.

Odd won’t look at her as the elevator doors opened. “At least he would be here.” He pushed his way out of the elevator, marching right for one of the scanners.

Aelita let out a sigh. “I suppose it’ll be you and me then,” she said looking up at Yumi. The girl said nothing, walking past Aelita and stepping into her own scanner. Aelita’s body deflated, stepping into the remaining scanner. “We’re all ready Jeremie!” she called out.

“Alright, get ready to take the plunge everyone—”

“Wait!” Yumi shouted, gripping the edge of the scanner. “How are we going to know if Ulrich is here?” She looked between Aelita and Odd. “We can’t see or hear him right?”

Odd and Aelita exchanged a nervous glance. “She has a point Jeremie,” Odd spoke up.

“You said he’ll die if his body doesn’t have his mind right?!” Odd’s voice was tight, as his body trembled.

“He would still have 8 minutes... But, yes he will.” The room went cold. “That doesn’t mean he won’t find a way to tell us!” Jeremie continued, “We know that Ulrich can possess people and animals, so it’s likely that Ulrich will find some way to communicate with us. This is our chance. We can’t let it slip through our fingers.”

“And there is still a tower to deactivate, don’t forget that,” Aelita stressed.

Yumi tightened her grip, her knuckles turning a ghost white. “Fine.” She let go, keeping her eyes on the floor. “Let’s go.”

“Scanner Aelita. Scanner Odd—”

Ulrich stared up at the open maw that made up the entrance of the factory. The cable that hung in front of him had probably once been a part of a pulley system of sorts, now it served as part of their route to the supercomputer. On any other trip to the factory, he would have already been halfway down. Not hesitating. “Get a grip, Ulrich,” he muttered to himself, “It’s just another trip to the factory.”

It wasn’t just another trip. On any other trip, he would have a body with hands that didn’t phase through everything. It had taken him an hour to find his way out when this mess had all started, and he wasn’t keen on retracing his steps from that day. He looked at the ground far below him. The others had likely made it to Lyoko by now and Xana would be showing up shortly. Jeremie’s words rang through his ears. This was his only chance. He swallowed back his nerves, stepping back a few feet. There was only one option left.

He jumped.

Ulrich screamed as he fell. He crashed into the ground, bracing himself for waves of pain. Nothing. He picked himself up, waiting for the hot, throbbing pain or a broken bone or two, instead, there was nothing. It felt wrong. He shook his head, trying to bury that feeling deep down with all of the other things he had to push away to keep moving forward. He took off running towards the second entrance to the computer lab, not even bothering to attempt to try the elevator. You needed functioning hands to push buttons after all.

Yumi landed on Lyoko, with Odd and Aelita following after. The Mountain Sector stood before her, with all of its soft purple hues and floating islands. A sharp contrast to the memories of the many battles. The Overboard and Overwing floated a few feet in front of them. The Overbike wasn’t with them. A deep, cold ache rose in her chest. It felt wrong—like staring at an unfinished painting hanging in a museum. A puzzle missing its final piece. She squeezed her eyes shut, pushing the feeling deep down. It wasn’t uncommon for two warriors to head to Lyoko, with the remaining member staying behind to protect their classmates. 

That’s what Ulrich was doing. He was evacuating Kadic, being the hero like always. That was all Yumi needed to tell herself. Ulrich was not split in two, wandering on earth, a ghost to all, counting on them to free his body from Xana’s claws. It was a lie, but a lie she needed to get through this mission. She opened her eyes. “We’re all here, Jeremie,” She said, stepping aboard the Overwing with Aelita.

“The tower is northeast of your current location,” Jeremie reported, the comforting sounds of keyboards clicking could be heard, “Xana knows we’re here. There’s already a welcoming party coming your way.”

“And what are we looking at?” Yumi asked, hands already itching to dig out her tessen fans.

“Three Hornets, two Bloks.”

“What about Ulrich’s body?” Odd asked.

All sounds from Jeremie’s end stopped. “The supercomputer hasn’t picked anything up yet.”

Odd’s tail lashed and his shoulders sagged.

“That doesn’t mean Xana still won’t appear,” Aelita pitched in, “We only just arrived, remember that.”

“Aelita has a point. For now, just stick with the girls. If the supercomputer picks anything up, you’ll be the first to know,” Jeremie continued, “It might even encourage Xana if the three of you stick together.”

Odd’s mouth pressed into a tight thin line. “ Fine.” His voice was tight and stiff as he hopped aboard the Overboard. “Whatever you say, Jeremie…”

Yumi felt pity, as she watched Odd take off. The sour mix of helplessness and hopelessness surged in her mouth. She took a deep breath forcing it all down as she followed after.

They traveled in silence, each minute stretched to an hour. Their eyes peeled, attention darting to every rock, every boulder, every crevice they passed. Muscles itching in preparation for hidden monsters.

Or rather, waiting to be jumped by Ulrich’s body.

“How far away are we currently, Jeremie?” Aelita asked, looking up towards the sky.

“3 miles.” 

“We’re making good pace,” Aelita said, looking over to Odd. She couldn’t help but hope to hear a joke or catch a smile. 

He didn’t acknowledge her. “Anything on Ulrich?” he asked.

“Still nothing—Wait… hang on.”

Odd pulled to a sharp stop, Yumi guiding the Overwing beside him. Both had their attention on the sky.

“I’ve got eyes on Ulrich’s body right now!”

“Where?!” Odd snapped.

“A little west from where you currently—” Odd didn’t wait for him to finish. The Overboard flared to life and he tore off.

“Odd, wait!” Aelita called out as he faded from sight.

Yumi placed a hand on Aelita’s shoulder. “Let him go,” she said sternly, “He has a job to do, remember? Let’s do ours.” She pushed the Overwing back to its original course.

Odd weaved through the Mountain Sector. “Am I there yet, Jeremie?” Odd asked. 

“Just about,” Jeremie said. “Odd… When you see him, just remember that it's not Ulrich you're fighting. It’s going to be Xana.”

Odd fought the urge to curl his fingers into a fist. “I’m more than aware of that.” The words came out harsher than he intended.

“Just… Play it safe for now. Please.”

Odd scoffed. “I can ‘play it safe’ when Ulrich’s back,” he muttered under his breath.

A bright yellow streak flashed out in front of him. Odd lost control, careening into a boulder. He fell to the ground as the Overboard burst into pixels. He gritted his teeth as he picked himself up, trying to locate whatever threw him off course. White-hot pain rocketed up his leg. An ugly, red gash etched up his calf. Injuries only lasted a few seconds, but each one lasted for an agonizing eternity in his memory.

“That was 15 life points!” Jeremie warned.

“No fucking shit!” Odd screamed. He yelped as something came uncomfortably close to his face. A blade came uncomfortably close to his face. Odd ducked, the sword embedding itself into the boulder, right where his head had been just seconds prior. Odd looked at his attacker, meeting Ulrich’s eyes. Eyes filled with pure malice. Odd’s stomach filled with dread.

“He’s here.”

Ulrich— Xana (it might have been Ulrich’s body but it was Xana in control, Odd scolded himself) pulled the blade free.

“It’s now or never Odd.”

Time froze as Odd raised his fist and fired.

Xana twisted Ulrich’s body, letting the arrow fly past. He swung Ulrich’s katana, right towards Odd. “Shield!”  

Odd could feel the impact of the blade rattle his virtual bones. Xana swung again, hairline cracks spider webbing on his shield. Xana raised the blade again. Odd never had Ulrich’s raw strength, opting to use wit to escape from any scuffles. This would be no different. Odd threw out his leg, swiping Ulrich’s feet out from under Xana, sending him crashing to the floor. Ulrich’s katana slipped from Xana’s grasp, and was sent clattering to the ground and just out of reach. Odd dropped his shield, sprinting for Ulrich’s sword. He grabbed it, holding it out in front of him in the way he had always seen Ulrich do a million times before. Xana looked up, eyes— Ulrich’s eyes —glaring at him with a burning hatred . Something Odd had never seen Ulrich have before. It made Odd sick. “Now what?” he snapped, circling Xana.

Xana stood up, eyes narrow. “Triplicate.”

A sharp chill spread down Odd’s spine. The world was consumed by streaks of orange and yellow. Odd’s focus flickered, eyes darting side-to-side, feebly trying to catch sight of Ulrich’s body as his clones raced around him. Odd’s head snapped to the side against his will, a horrible ache spreading from his cheek. He swung the sword in his hands blindly. Something hit his stomach hard forcing him to fold over and lose grip on the sword.

Xana broke formation as the two clones disintegrated, and made a mad dash for Ulrich’s blade. Odd’s mind was fuzzy, thoughts scattered among the pain, but he forced his body to move. He raised his arm with a shout. 

“Laser arrow!”

He hit Xana square in Ulrich’s back, sending him stumbling. Odd bolted, scooping up Ulrich’s katana into his arms. He watched Xana steady himself, gaze locked onto Odd. No . Not Odd. The sword is in Odd’s arms.

The katana was Xana’s only weapon. If Odd could keep it away, he could turn the tide of the fight. Of course, the only issue was that he wasn’t Ulrich . He was shit at using swords of any kind and was likelier to devirtualize himself with it than Xana. Playing keep away with Xana wasn’t working either. Ulrich’s katana was far heavier than he made it look, and it was only weighing Odd down. He looked out to the Digital Sea. He looked at the blade in his hand's throat swelling shut, and heart aching. Odd knew what he had to do.

Odd ran towards the Digital Sea.

Xana watched as Odd sprinted toward the edge of the platform. “Super Sprint!”

If Odd had true hair, it would have stood on end. He didn’t have to look to know that he wouldn’t make it. Ulrich was always faster, he was the star on the soccer team for a reason, and there was no outrunning his Super Sprint. But Odd still had to try. He pumped his legs faster.

One moment he was running, feet meeting dirt, fake lungs aching with every breath, the next he was falling. Xana had slammed into him from behind. Odd grabbed a hold of Ulrich’s sleeve, pulling Xana down with him. Both hit the ground in a tangled pile. The katana fell to the ground once again, skidding close to the edge. 

Odd scrambled to pick himself up, yelping as a heavy weight knocked him flat onto the ground. Xana pressed down on Odd’s shoulders, keeping him pinned. He gritted his teeth, trying to push back. He threw his elbow back, hitting Ulrich’s jaw. The weight lifted from his shoulders slightly, giving Odd a chance to scramble to his feet. Odd sprinted towards the katana once again and kicked it over the edge. Xana recovered, scowling as Odd stood over the edge. He ran after Odd, reaching out and grabbing a fist full of hair, snapping Odd’s head backward. Pain erupted across his skull, as bright spots danced through his vision. The pain spread as his body was forced to the ground. Like a collar, Ulrich’s hands wrapped around his neck and pressed him into the ground. Odd batted against Ulrich’s face and chest as fingers tightened around his throat. Xana might have been the one in control, but it was Ulrich’s twisted face that Odd stared into.

Odd writhed, trying to squirm from Ulrich’s—Xana’s— whoever’s grasp. Jeremie’s voice was screaming at him—literally and figuratively. Screaming at him about life points, to fight better, about time running out. Nothing but a dull hum. Odd feebly kicked at Xana. Another sharp pull of his hair, another hard slam into the ground. He could have used a laser arrow, or even summoned his shield, he looked at the body above him. Even with Jeremie and his own gut screaming at him to do something , he could do nothing but look.

Ulrich’s face was smiling as he clutched Odd’s neck. 

No, that wasn’t right. Xana was the one smiling. Xana was smiling with his best friend’s face.

“What is wrong with you?” he hissed through gritted teeth.

Odd felt the grip around his neck loosen. Xana’s smile faltered. “Oh… I’m fine. But you’re not looking too hot, good buddy.”

At that moment, something came over Odd. He could blame it on Jeremie screaming from inside his skull, maybe on the agonizing all-too-real-but-fake-pain, but he’d be lying. He could tell himself whatever he wanted—tell everyone else if they asked—but nothing would change the fact that Odd wanted to hurt Xana. He wanted to do so much worse. 

He fired. Arrow after arrow, until all he could hear, was the soft clicking sound of an empty clip as the rest went into Ulrich’s chest. Even when Ulrich’s body began to disintegrate, leaving nothing but empty air, he kept firing. Odd finally stopped, a painful mix of sadness and disgust washing over him (because maybe it was better that way. If Ulrich couldn’t have his body, then Xana sure as hell didn’t either).

Xana looked almost surprised as Ulrich’s body broke into pixels. Almost. Xana flashed Odd a lopsided grin. Just like how Ulrich always did. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”

The words hit like a speeding train as pixels rained on him like snow. The words made him sick and filled him with the same dread that bubbles up whenever Ulrich’s body would shatter beneath his fingers on past missions. The situation was different, but still eerily the same. Odd didn’t think he had it in him either, but he wasn’t going to let Xana know that. A horrible chill shot threw his spine when he realized Jeremie had grown quiet.

8 minutes. 8 minutes until brain death.

“Run the program, Jeremie!” Odd screamed.

Jeremie snapped to attention as Odd blew out his eardrum. “On it!” he said, fingers flying across the keyboard.

The program flared to life. He could hear the scanner doors slamming shut in the room down below. The scanners registered something in them. Not human, but not empty air either. Ulrich . Jeremie’s chest loosened a little. The scanner check was successful, allowing the program to continue with the reunification process. Jeremie’s eyes were glued to the screen as the bar slowly filled. His fingers twitched, and he found it hard to sit still in his seat. Once the bar had filled, he would manually activate the scanners, launching the final phase and fusing Ulrich’s mind and body. It would all be fixed and everything would go back to normal.

His blood turned to ice as an error message popped up.

“Odd, we have a problem!”

His chest tightened. Fuck . “What’s wrong?”

“I believe that Xana reworked the framework of Ulrich’s digital signature—”

“In English Jeremie!” Odd snapped, and it had never sounded so pained.

“Sorry,” Jeremie apologized. A pang of guilt stabbed through Odd’s chest. “I think Xana found a way to keep Ulrich’s body from coming through the scanners.”

Lyoko stood still.

“I’ll keep on working at it, but right now go meet up with the girls,” Jeremie ordered.

“But—”

“Odd, the girls haven’t gotten to the tower yet. Xana’s monsters jumped them and they haven’t been able to make any progress, and the gas has already started to spread to the city.” Jeremie sighed. “Ulrich’s body is still on Lyoko. It’s safe—well… Safer, for now.”

Odd’s shoulders dropped. “You’ll have to reprogram the Overboard. I won’t be able to catch them on foot.” Even he could hear the defeat in his voice.

“On it.”

Yumi threw out one of her fans, slicing into the front of one of the Hornets. It exploded, life points finally hitting zero. Pain spread across her shoulder. One of the Bloks trained its fire on her. She ducked down into the Overwing to avoid being hit further.

“How are you girls holding up?” Jeremie asked.

“We could be doing better,” Aelita said, a ball of pink energy forming in her hand. “ Energy Field! ” She fired, taking out one of the two Bloks.

“We ended up getting jumped by the patrol!” Yumi snapped, “A little warning would have been nice!” 

“Sorry. Odd is heading your way now, just hang tight!”

Yumi’s body eased. “We got Ulrich’s body back?” she asked, voice full of hope.

Jeremie’s end grew silent for a few heartbeats. “Yumi… There was a complication with the unification program-”

She stopped listening. “An issue ?! What do you mean by an ‘issue’?!” she snapped.

“I have to dig deeper once the tower is deactivated. Right now focus on getting Aelita to the tower. The gas has left Kadic’s grounds and is running rampant through the city. It’s only a matter of time before it reaches the factory.”

Yumi clutched her fans. In one swift move, she snapped them both open. She screamed as she threw them, slicing into the remaining two Hornets, and cleaving them in half. Both returned to her, and she snapped them back shut.

Aelita looked over at Yumi concerned. “Yumi?”

Yumi’s head snapped towards Aelita. “Not now,” she said with a low growl.

Aelita winced. She fired another Energy Field, killing the remaining Blok. “We just finished off the last of the monsters, Jeremie. How far away is Odd from our current location?”

“Less than a mile, but he’s moving fast. Continue making your way to the tower he’ll catch up,” Jeremie commanded.

Aelita nodded, hopping back aboard the Overwing. Yumi took hold of the handlebars, moving the Overwing forward.

The girls rode in silence, eyes peeled for any sign of movement. Aelita placed a hand on Yumi’s shoulder. “Are you alright?”

“Aelita, please, I don’t—” She squeezed her eyes shut, taking a deep breath. “I don’t want to talk about it right now.” She could look at her.

“We’ll figure all of this out—”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it!” Yumi snapped. Her voice was strained and her body shook.

Aelita’s mouth snapped shut. She muttered a quick ‘sorry’, focusing her attention on locating the tower. Her eyes landed on the familiar ivory cylinder, bathed in a deep red glow, hidden behind a cluster of boulders.

Yumi steered the Overwing in response. “We have sight on the tower!”

“I see it too. And Xana’s watchdogs,” Jeremie reported, “Two Tarantulas and two Krabes to be exact.”

“Wonderful,” Yumi groaned.

“Odd should be here any second. I think we can handle them on our own in the meantime,” Aelita said.

Yumi pulled the Overwing to a stop. “Let’s get this over with,” she said, hopping off of the Overwing. She flicked her wrists, opening both of her fans as Aelita climbed down. Both broke into a sprint. Yumi threw out both of her fans, cutting deep gashes into the front legs of one of the Krabes. She caught them with ease as they flew back to her.

The monsters began to fire. The girls split, scrambling to hide. Aelita fired an Energy Field, barely missing one of the Tarantulas. Yumi eyes the monsters guarding the tower. She threw out one of her fans, using the other to block the monsters’ fire. Her tessen fan managed to scratch the Krabe she had already injured. While it no doubt helped chip away at the monster’s life points, it still stood.

“Their fire is too heavy! I won’t be able to reach the tower like this!” Aelita shouted.

“And I can’t get close enough to do any real damage!” Yumi said, “Jeremie, what are we supposed to do?”

“Odd is just about there—”

“Laser Arrow!”

The Krabe that Yumi had been attacking exploded, loosening the worry in Aelita and Yumi’s chests. Odd flew down on the Overboard, sending a barrage of Laser Arrows at the remaining monsters. He killed one of the Tarantulas. “Go!” he snapped at Aelita.

Aelita ran from her hiding place, dancing between shots. She entered the tower, going through the motions she knew by heart. She floated to the second layer and entered the code. “The tower is deactivated, Jeremie!”

Jeremie’s voice filled all of their heads, his words a warning to brace themselves. “Return to the past now!”

The team waited in Jeremie’s dorm as he worked away at his desktop. Ulrich, invisible to all, leaned against the door. Jeremie removed his glasses, wiping the lenses clean on his sweater. “So?” Odd asked.

Jeremie let out a long, exhausted sigh. “Between now and yesterday, Xana managed to reroute the output for Ulrich’s body.”

Hair stood on the back of Ulrich’s neck. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?!” he yelled, punching away from the door.

“What are you talking about?” Odd snapped.

Jeremie winced. “Normally, when you lose your life points, your bodies are sent to the scanners for reconstruction, and to allow your avatars to heal. Xana managed to reroute Ulrich’s body to no longer be sent to the scanners. Instead, it’s being sent to an unknown location on Lyoko. That’s why the unification program failed. Without Ulrich’s body going to the scanners, it can’t work properly.”

Ulrich felt time stop.

“The good news is—” Jeremie continued, “--the scanner was able to detect his—for a lack of a better term, his ghost. All we need is to find out how to reroute Ulrich’s body back to the scanners.

“And how are we going to do that exactly?” Yumi asked.

Jeremie’s mouth pressed into a tight, thin line. “I’m… not exactly sure how, yet… ”

Anger filled Ulrich’s body. He stormed over to Jeremie, trying to grab onto the back of Jeremie’s chair. “Not sure! Not sure ?” he screamed, “What the FUCK do you mean you’re not sure?”

“It might take a few trips to Sector 5 in order to find the necessary files—”

“You’re supposed to be the smart one out of us! You’re supposed to be the genius who knows everything!”

“—to locate exactly where Xana has rerouted Ulrich’s body to go to.” Jeremie adjusted his glasses. “Of course, that will require cracking Xana’s security to break its grip on Ulrich’s body.”

Ulrich’s anger continued to build. He tried to slam his fist into the backrest of Jeremie’s chair. It only phased through. He clenched his fist and screamed. He swung his fist, and aimed right into the door of Jeremie’s closet, but just like the chair, his fist merely phased right through. He screamed again, trying to slam his fist into Jeremie’s door, wall, desk, or anything that could leave a dent or mark to show that he was there . That he existed . He collapsed to his knees, trying to rub away where tears should have been. He stormed out of Jeremie’s room in frustration.

“—Afterwards, we’ll have to run the unification program,” Jeremie concluded.

An uneasy silence settled over the group. “So more waiting,” Odd summed up, the words bitter on his tongue.

“I’m afraid so.”

Odd’s body deflated. “You know he’s not going to be happy when he finds out.”

“Unless you have an idea, I’m afraid there isn’t much we can do,” Jeremie said.

Aelita stood up. “We’ll be able to fix all of this. It might not be easy , but we’ve faced worse,” She said, “Remember how long it took for Jeremie to finish my materialization program?”

“That’s different,” Yumi snapped, “You didn’t even exist to other people. Ulrich still does . What is going to tell the police when his parents come looking for him? He’s been missing for three days now. The teachers aren’t going to buy Odd’s excuses for much longer.”

Silence fell over everyone.

“I’ll… Figure something out,” Jeremie said, turning back to his computer. “You all get some sleep. I’ll work on a solution to all of this in the meantime.”

Odd and Yumi headed straight for the door.  Aelita looked back at Jeremie, already typing away. She left his dorm room, leaving the boy alone with his work.

Odd swore someone (maybe even Xana to spite him further) filled his shoes with concrete as he stepped into his dorm room. Kiwi yipped and barked, focusing on a spot in front of his and Ulrich’s wardrobe. There was no doubt in Odd’s mind on who Kiwi was focusing on. “Hey…” He knew Ulrich couldn’t respond, but it felt wrong to not say anything. “So… Things didn’t go how we planned.” Odd forced a smile. “It might take a bit longer to get your body back then expected.” A dull ache spread through his chest, yearning to hear Ulrich say something back. He collapsed onto his bed, kicking his shoes off. He pulled the covers over his body, not bothering to muster the energy to change into his pajamas. “I hope Einstein can fix this soon,” he muttered to himself.

Ulrich watched as Odd drifted to sleep, his snoring filling the room. “Me too Odd.” He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to will himself to sleep. “Me too.”

Chapter Text

Odd found himself in a position that he was all too familiar with: the headmaster’s office, sitting directly across from Mr. Delmas. This time, they were not alone. A police officer sat next to Mr. Delmas, a notebook and pen in hand. As hard as he tried to mask his fear, Odd still trembled like a leaf.

“Now, Mr. Della Robbia, I want to begin by reaffirming that you are not in trouble. We just need to ask a few questions so we can find Ulrich,” the officer said, leaning forward slightly.

“Ulrich’s parents are getting worried,” Mr. Delmas piped up.

Odd fought the urge to snicker. Ulrich’s father was probably worried. Worried about how a missing child would look to outsiders, a voice hissed in the back of his mind. A voice that sounded too much like his own. Ulrich wasn’t really missing was he?

“Let’s begin by going over the last time you saw Ulrich,” the officer said, giving his pen a click.

Odd took a deep breath to steady his nerves, internally rehearsing the excuse that he and the others came up with last night. “The last time I saw Ulrich was last Tuesday night, sometime after curfew,” he recited, “We planned to have a gaming tournament that night, but I forgot to get some snacks. Ulrich offered to sneak out to get some, and that was the last time I saw him.”

The officer looked up at him in surprise. “Last Tuesday? That was close to a week ago. Why didn’t you say anything?”

A chill went through Odd’s body. “Well uh- Y-you see-”

“Both Della Robbia and Stern have garnered a reputation for repeatedly breaking curfew,” Mr. Delmas spoke up.

Some of the tension eased from Odd’s shoulder. “I didn’t want to get Ulrich in trouble in case he came back in the morning. But when I woke up and saw he wasn’t there-” The empty scanner flashed in his mind. His tremors returned as something nasty bubbled in his chest. “I- I panicked.”

The Officer reached forward, patting Odd on the knee. “It’s alright. Why don’t we focus on that night. You said that you two were having a gaming tournament? Is that something you two do often?”

The bubbling eased, if only slightly. This guy was probably trying to be nice—maybe do his job?—but every second Odd spent in that room was making his skin crawl. 

“Kind of.” He forced himself to shrug. “We did it every once and a while, but it was my idea that night.”

The officer jotted down Odd’s answer. “Did you notice anything particularly off about Ulrich leading up to Tuesday?” he asked. “Was he a bit quieter than normal, or not showing any interest in some of his normal activities? Or maybe he was talking about someone he met online, a girl perhaps—”

Odd did snicker this time. “The only girl Ulrich has ever shown an interest in is our friend Yumi.”

The officer turned to a clean page. (It felt like something that Odd didn’t quite understand.)

“So you and Ulrich had a habit of sneaking off campus? Could you tell me where you two would normally go?”

Odd’s chest twisted. “Mostly just out into town. You know, like the movie theater, the arcade, the mall… We just would go wherever we felt like that day,” he answered.

“Any specific place?” the officer pressed, “One you frequent more often then the others?”

The feeling in Odd’s chest soured. “N-no.”

“There isn’t one place you can think of?”

Odd shook his head, trying to shake the image of the Factory—of Lyoko—from his head, and to give the officer an answer. He was never a great liar to begin with, but sleepless, worried, and getting interviewed by the police because his friend was metaphysically exploded by a computer couldn’t have improved his skills. He kept his face pointed towards his lap. 

The officer sighed. He wrote something down, tearing the page free and handing it to Odd. “Well, if you remember anything, no matter how insignificant it might seem, feel free to give me a call,” he explained as Odd took the slip of paper.

“You’re free to return to your dorm Della Robbia,” Mr. Delmas spoke.

Odd nodded, standing up from his seat. He stepped out of the headmaster’s office, wordlessly walking past his friends, all waiting for their turn. Odd forced himself to keep walking, even as Aelita called out his name even as he moved past her, slogging his way back to his dorm room. He hadn’t even realized he arrived at his room until he was closing the room behind him. His eyes drifted to the left side of the room. The bed was still unmade, with varying posters tacked up on the wall. Kiwi yipped, excitedly rushing up to his owner, but Odd didn’t react as he took a seat on his bed. He looked at the empty bed across from him. At Ulrich’s empty bed. Odd’s body shook, the events of the past few days finally sinking in.

Tomorrow he would wake up. He would wake up and that bed would be empty. It would be empty tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that. Ulrich would no longer be there to tease him about his poor school performance, or strike up a banter with him on Lyoko, or get into fights over the most stupid shit. 

Ulrich’s bed would be unmade forever now. 

The nauseating ache that had been boiling in his chest spread throughout his body, a full body shiver from his crown to his ankles. He may never hear Ulrich’s voice again, hear his laugh, or see that dumb lopsided grin. 

The real Ulrich , not Xana’s twisted version. And that was important—Xana could never replace Ulrich, even if they looked the same. 

All Odd wanted was to hear Ulrich groan over one of Odd’s dumb jokes, or get slugged in the arm after being teased, even to just be physically in the same room as him would be enough. 

His chest heaved.

This was all his fault.

The chest creaking pain wasn’t for just having missed the shot, the entire situation had been his fault. It had been his idea to draw straws to be Jeremie’s guinea pig. All because he had been a gutless coward and didn’t want to volunteer. 

Odd had wanted to leave it up to chance—to sacrifice someone else rather than put his own neck on the line again. When he looked at it like this, so much of this could have been avoided if he’d just gone with it. They wouldn’t have needed that stupid program if he wasn’t such a raging dumbass and was able to prevent Aelita from destroying both the Forest and Desert Sectors! 

His eyes stung as tears dripped down his cheeks and an ugly wail leaked through his teeth.

Something crawled up his body, trying to grab a hold of one of his arms. “Get off of me!” he shrieked, shoving the intruder away. 

A sharp yip forced Odd to open his eyes. Kiwi was looking up at him from the floor, ears pinned back and tail tucked between his legs. A new form of grief swelled in his chest, and he was on knees. “Oh Kiwi, I’m so sorry, come here boy.” He reached out, scooping up Kiwi the moment he got close enough. 

“I’m so sorry boy,” he sobbed, clutching Kiwi as a wave of fresh tears spilled down his cheeks. He sat on his floor (because it wasn’t their floor without Ulrich), sobbing into Kiwi’s fur. 

Aelita’s gentle knocking at dinner time told him that the day had gone by, but Odd honestly hadn’t noticed. The room had been bright when he’d stumbled in it, and in the low light of the evening, Odd couldn’t find it within himself to be hungry. 

Yumi kept her eyes glued to the floor.

“Ms. Ishiyama, I understand you are going through a lot at the moment, but please understand that your cooperation is important for locating Ulrich,” the officer stressed.

“For the last time, I don’t know where he is.” She tried to growl, only for her words to come out as a whisper.

“Any information will be helpful,” Mr. Delmas pitched in, “We want to find Ulrich just as much as you do.”

She sneered. The cops wouldn’t be able to do anything. No one would be able to do anything because Ulrich wasn’t missing. 

No—actually—Jeremie had just fucked up so hard that they were now in such a bad place that none of them knew how to fix it. Instead of being able to plan, or god forbid punch something, they just had to sit around twiddling their thumbs, hoping that Jeremie and Aelita would stumble across a magical fix-it that would make it all go away. It wasn’t worth putting on a show. All of this interview bullshit was just a waste of time that they didn’t have.

The officer sighed. “Do you remember the last time you saw Ulrich?” he asked.

“Shouldn’t my parents be here?” Yumi snapped, “It's some law right? Kids can’t be interviewed without a parent?”

“Please, Yumi,” Mr. Delmas scolded.

Yumi rolled her eyes. “Fine. It was Tuesday.”

“Can you give me a specific time?” The officer pressed.

“I don’t know, sometime before me and my brother walked home?” she forced herself to shrug.

“Did he message you anytime that night? A text message or phone call perhaps?” The officer asked.

“No. I didn’t hear anything from him for the rest of the night.”

The officer scribbled something down, before flipping to a new page. “I heard from your friend Odd that the two of you were close.” The officer asked it in that awful way where it felt like a question, but really wasn’t. 

Yumi felt her chest tighten. God damn it Odd. “Close how?”

“It sounds like Ulrich was interested in you romantically.”

Her throat swelled a bit. She wasn’t blind, but hearing about your maybe-crush’s feelings from the police officer investigating his disappearance wasn’t the easiest. “I mean… Yeah we both liked each other, but we weren’t dating or anything.” 

She fiddled with her fingers, scraping at the edge of a nail that was flaking with thinness. 

“Still, perhaps he felt comfortable confiding in you rather than the rest of your friend group?” the officer shrugged.

Yumi tensed. “Maybe? I don’t know.”

“I heard from your friend Odd that Ulrich was having trouble at home, specifically with his father. Could you give me a bit of insight?” the officer asked, his voice growing more gentle.

“He didn’t run away if that’s what you're thinking,” she growled, “He hates his dad but not that much. Soccer tryouts are starting soon, he’d never do anything to miss them.”

“Then, can you tell me about that day?” The officer asked, flipping to a clean page, “How did he seem that day?”

Yumi shrugged. “I don’t know… the same as always, I guess.”

“He didn’t seem more withdrawn than normal?” the officer pressed, “more quiet, maybe a bit depres—”

“I really don’t know, okay?” she snapped, “He was just his normal self! He complained about his classes, we had a good time at lunch, and then he and Odd got into some stupid argument!” She was shouting now. “Right now you are all wasting your time! Why can’t you see that?” Yumi stomped to the door, the cool of the metal contrasting the heat of her skin.

“Ms Ishiyama!”

The slamming door cut off Mr. Delmas’s words. Yumi didn’t stop moving, she couldn’t stop moving. Not when Aelita called out her name, or when she managed to leave the building that seemed to suffocate her, or when she left school grounds. She was a trapped rat in a burning cage that needed to escape at all costs. Her lungs burned as concrete became dirt under her feet. 

The dull ache in her chest forced her to stop and take a look at her surroundings. Trees engulfed her on all sides. The burn of the anger and rage she had to force herself to swallow over the past few days flared to the surface as a raw, primal sound escaped her body. 

It felt awful and revealing at the same time. Her fist swung out without her command, sensitive skin scraping against bark, punching a hiss from her chest. 

Yumi stared at the ugly red mark on her knuckles, tears pricking in the corners of her eyes. Her hand throbbed, cuts swelling with blood and flesh turning red. There was something mesmerizing about it—a clarity so sudden she couldn’t think about anything else. As she ordered her thoughts, a sob croaked out of her throat, her legs no longer able to support her weight. Bonelessly, she collapsed onto the forest floor. 

Another ugly scream bubbled up, as Yumi was no longer able to find the energy to hold herself together. Her body curled in on itself as she continued to sob. The prying eyes of students, the pity of her parents, and the clear suspicion of the officer were nowhere to be seen. Yumi was blissfully alone, and finally someplace where she could fall apart. 

A phantom of touch brushed past her cheek, startling her. Her eyes flickered side to side, desperately trying to find what had touched her. Yumi’s fingers ghosted against the skin where she would’ve sworn she’d felt heat. 

“Ulrich?” Her words came out as a whisper, hope pulling her to her feet. “Ulrich?”

Yumi squeezed her eyes shut, rubbing away the tears from her eyes when silence greeted her

A bird chirped. 

The echo of a car alarm. 

Her phone buzzed. 

Yumi winced seeing the line of missed calls, varying from Aelita to both of her parents. She let out a sigh, quickly dialing her mother. “Hi mom… I’m okay I just-” She looked around at the trees. “-needed to take a walk… The interview?” A lump formed in her throat. “It went fine I guess, I’ll tell you more when I get home… I love you too.” She slipped her phone into her pocket, beginning the slow trek back home.

Jeremie tried to swallow the rock that was lodged in his throat. A part of him deep down always knew he would end up sitting across from a police officer, either from his constant game of chicken with the French government’s security system, or the varying offshore bank accounts he had been siphoning funds from. (Aelita’s tuition needed to come from somewhere—better it be from someone who wouldn’t even notice it was gone.)

Instead, he was here because Ulrich wasn’t.

“So, Jeremie Belpois, why don’t we start by going over you and Ulrich’s relationship,” the officer said, with a click of his pen.

Jeremie squirmed in his seat. “We’re friends, we’re in the same grade...” he counted off his fingers. 

“Can you tell me how you two met?” the officer cut in. 

“Ulrich needed help with one of his classes, so I offered to tutor him and we just… kind of became friends,” he said, picking at one of the loose threads of his sweater.

“Is that all?”

Jeremie nodded. “We just kind of clicked. There isn’t much more to say.”

“Alright then, let’s go over last Tuesday. Could you go over the last time you saw Ulrich?” the officer asked.

“It was just another school day,” Jeremie recited, “I saw him in class, we got dinner, then I went back to my dorm room to finish my school work while Odd and Ulrich went to theirs. That was the last time I saw Ulrich—in the hall.”

“Did he send you a message anytime after you last saw him physically? Perhaps a text message or a phone call?” the officer asked.

Jeremie began to fidget with his hands. “No. I didn’t hear anything from Ulrich after we went our separate ways,” he lied. Despite hardly reacting besides a nod, he had a feeling that the officer could tell. 

“Your friend Odd mentioned that he and Ulrich had a habit of sneaking out at night, is that true?”

Jeremie faked a shrug, his stomach twisting. “I guess. It sounds like something they would do.”

“Had Ulrich ever come to you about running away before?” the officer asked, “Either as a joke or seriously?”

Jeremie shook his head. His shoes had never looked so interesting. “Not that I can remember.”

The officer sighed, “Did he mention meeting anyone new recently?”

“No.”

“Alright then-” The police officer handed him a slip of paper, “-If you can remember anything else that might be helpful, feel free to call that number.”

Jeremie stuffed the slip of paper into his pocket, pushing out of his seat and out the door. He gave a brief nod to Aelita as he walked past her and back to his dorm room. It was the same path he had taken every day. The same doors passed by him, containing the same people as always.

Room 221. Christopher M’bala and Nolan Baptiste. Some genre of music could always be heard blaring, no matter time of the day.

Jeremie’s gaze was locked to the floor.

Room 226. Alexander Pipen. A solo dormer like Jeremie. He was quiet and normally kept to his small group of friends, just like Jeremie. They could’ve been friends. 

He no longer had to even read the numbers on the doors passing by him. Muscle memory alone was good enough.

Room 231. He stopped. Room 231. Ulrich and Odd’s room. They could always be heard either bickering or laughing over something. Now… Now it was quiet now, all except for the muffled sobbing he was barely able to make out. A heavy weight settled in his stomach, but he forced himself to keep moving. There was nothing he could do for Odd besides make him more upset—some people were good at comforting others but Jeremie wasn’t one of those people. 

Room 234. His room. Jeremie pushed open the door, staring at his computer setup. The CPU was shut down to prevent prying eyes, but something told him he was still being watched. He closed the door, letting his feet carry him to wherever they pleased. His body went through the motions he had followed so many times before. He booted up his computer, set up the remote connection to the supercomputer, and opened the command console. Passwords on top of encryption keys and a couple trivia questions marked the way, but he knew all the answers. He grabbed his headphones—the over the ear kind, the ones that meant he’d be going at it for hours at full throttle—slipping them over his head, and turning up the volume of whatever music had previously been loaded. 

Jeremie couldn’t afford any distractions at the moment. Not now, not when everyone was waiting on him to fix this. Not when Ulrich was counting on him.

Aelita made herself comfortable in the hard plastic chair, nerves sparking up after having seen her friends practically run out of the room. “Now, Ms. Stones, if you could begin by describing your relationship with Ulrich?” the officer seated across from her asked. 

The officer was tall, she noted. Sitting straight, near shoulder-to-shoulder with Principal Delmas, he was nearly a head taller. Tanned, sturdy, and unbothered (but maybe a bit dismayed), Officer Hendricks met her gaze clinically. 

“We’re friends. We met because he’s friends and roommates with my cousin Odd,” she answered with a slight smile.

“Were the two of you close?”

“About as close as friends can be,” Aelita said. For as upset as her friends had looked when they left, she was expecting this to be harder. 

The officer nodded. “Could you go over the last time you saw Ulrich?”

She nodded. “It was last Tuesday, right after dinner. He and Odd had been arguing about who was better at a new game that they’d gotten hooked on, so they decided to have a competition to settle it,” she recited with precision.

Hendricks wrote her answer down. “I heard from your friends that Ulrich had a rough relationship with his father. Do you think you could shed some light on that?” he asked.

“Ulrich’s father is very strict with him. He has trouble with a lot of his classes so his grades aren’t the best, and Ulrich’s father isn’t exactly approving of us,” Aelita said, “He thinks we’re bad influences on Ulrich and likes to remind him of it every chance he gets.”

“Did Ulrich ever mention running away before? Either as a joke, or in a more serious manner?” the officer asked, flipping to a clean page.

Aelita shook her head. “No, not that I can remember.”

“What about meeting someone new? Perhaps online, or outside of school?”

Aelita messed with one of the buckles of her jumper, understanding what the officer was implying. “Honestly, I don't think Ulrich has any friends outside of our friend group,” she said. “I mean—he plays on the soccer team, but I don’t really think he was close with anyone besides us.”

The officer frowned. “Is there anything else you remember about that day? Anytime you might have thought that Ulrich was a little bit more… off then normal? Even the little things can be helpful.”

Aelita faked thinking in deep thought. “No, I’m afraid not,” she said sympathetically.

“Well then-” The officer handed her a slip of paper. “-feel free to call this number if you do remember anything.”

Aelita took it, slipping it into the pocket of her jumper, and pushed herself out of her seat. “I will. Thank you,” she said, stepping out of the headmaster’s office.

Aelita made her way up the winding stairs of the dormitory building. She paused, staring at the door that led to the boy’s dormitories, fingers itching to grab a hold of the doorknob. Her hand pulled back though, as she bit back the urge and forced her feet to move on, Aelita marched her way to her dorm room. She closed her door, dug through her backpack, and began to focus all of her attention on her schoolwork.

Ulrich had a feeling that something was wrong when Mr. Delmas had pulled all of his friends from class. It worsened when he spotted the police officer awaiting them. Each one of his friends walked into Mr. Delmas’s office, only to walk out worse for wear and replaced by someone else (because Odd had never looked so wrecked, not even when his third girlfriend of the week had dumped him. Yumi had a temper, but he’d never actually been scared of it). 

A part of him deep down ached to take control of one of them—just long enough to help get the heat off of them—but he couldn’t justify doing that. Not to one of his friends at least. All he could do was watch. And wasn’t that awful too? That all he could do was watch, but secretly wait for the moment it all became just enough of a risk to warrant taking a body back for himself again? He felt like he was preying on his friends. (If he thought about it too long, he’d make himself sick.)

But all he did was watch. 

Watch as Odd staggered back to their room, breaking down sobbing behind his closed door. Watch as Yumi shoved everyone out of her way, running off to the woods to scream with a fury he had never seen. Watch as Jeremie blocked out the world, working with a determination he had not seen since they had brought Aelita back to earth. 

There was nothing he could do, so he drifted back to his dorm room, waiting to stay by Odd’s side. Odd sat on his bed now, Kiwi still dutifully clutched in his arms, and his face buried in the dog’s fur. Kiwi noticed Ulrich, letting out an excited yip.

“Ulrich?” Odd called out, his voice as fragile as shattered glass, “You there, good buddy?”

Ulrich swallowed. “Yeah.” He knew Odd couldn’t hear him. “Yeah, I’m here good buddy. I’m here.”

Odd held on too Kiwi tighter. “I hope Einstein finds out how to fix all of this soon.”

Ulrich sighed, trying to run nonexistent fingers through nonexistent hair. “Me too.”

Too busy watching over Odd, Ulrich missed the hushed conversation between the cop and Delmas. The exchange was short, a few directives given, and after a long day of interviews the officer left. Einstein was a problem solving genius, but he could only solve problems he could see coming. 

Chapter Text

The Hermitage hadn’t changed since the day they had found it. It reeked of a musty odor coming from the layers of dust that build up over the years. Furniture was tipped over, books still scattered over the grounds, and wallpaper was faded and peeling. Even with it’s disheveled state, it made the perfect place to discuss Lyoko matters far away from prying ears. Jeremie had taken a spot on the loveseat, laptop nestled in his lap, the rest of the group seated around him. Ulrich included.

“Any progress?” Odd asked, seated on the floor, body slumped over his knees. 

Jeremie readjusted his glasses. “Not yet I’m afraid, but I came up with an idea to get the police off of our back for a while.” He paused. “And it would give Ulrich a body to use.”

Ulrich perked up.

“You said that Xana had Ulrich’s body under lock and key,” Yumi said, narrowing her eyes.

“Well… Yes, Ulrich’s body is still under Xana’s control, but, remember how last year Xana sent us that clone of Yumi?” Jeremie said, “That means the supercomputer can make a genetic copy of a being within it’s database. It’s likely that’s how Xana was able to materialize the Kankerlats, and Krabes in the past. If I can find a way to mimic what Xana did with the Yumi clone, I may be able to make a clone of Ulrich’s body for him to possess.”

Ulrich stared at Jeremie. A clone. A clone he could possess . Granted it wouldn’t be his body, he still wanted that back, but at least he would be able to touch things again, to be heard, to be seen . It would all be over. It would all be over.

“I’ve already begun digging around last night,” Jeremie continued.

“Anything we can do to speed this all up?” Yumi asked, waving her hand around.

“I’m afraid not,” he said, shaking his head. “I promise though I’ll be working as hard as I can.”

“And don’t forget I’ll be lending a helping hand. I might not be as good as Jeremie, but I still know the ins and outs of the supercomputer. Literally and figuratively,” Aelita added.

“Hey Jeremie, do you think you could find some way to let Ulrich talk with us  while your at it?” Odd spoke up. “It’s not exactly fair to be discussing all of this without him,”

“And I’m getting a little tired of talking to myself all the time,” Ulrich snickered.

“Why don’t you try an Ouija board!” Aelita joked, “He’s practically a ghost anyway, who knows it might work!”

Ulrich rolled his eyes. “It hasn’t been more than a week and you guys are already acting like I died or something.”

“You know… That’s not all that bad idea…”

 “Come on Odd, You can’t be seriously considering it!” Ulrich sneered.

“Anything else you need to go over or are we free to go?” Yumi asked, crossing her arms.

“Actually… There has been one thing still on my mind,” Jeremie said, rubbing the back of his neck, “We… might need to consider bringing someone else into the group.”

“We already went over this. William isn’t joining-” Yumi fought.

“It doesn’t have to be William,” Jeremie argued back, “just someone that can fill in Ulrich’s shoes.” Jeremie got to his feet. “Don’t bother lying. I know we’ve all felt Ulrich’s loss on Lyoko. The three of you aren’t built for the close combat that Ulrich specializes in. Sure you guys are great against Creepers, Hornets, or Mantas, but what about Krabes or Bloks? And now with Xana having Ulrich’s body—we need to face the facts. We need another member.”

“And who exactly do you have in mind? Sissi?” Yumi sneered.

“Oh god , do not make Sissi a Lyoko warrior,” Ulrich groaned, “I get pestered by her enough in the real world, I don’t want to deal with it in Lyoko too!”

“We don’t have to decide right now, it’s just something to really start thinking about,” Jeremie said.

“Anything else you want to say and waste more time?” Yumi asked.

“No, that's it.” Jeremie raises his hands in mock surrender.

“Good. My free-period is almost up, and Delmas is cracking down on me about my tardiness,” Yumi said, rolling her eyes, “He’s making me help out the photography club after school for a week as a punishment.”

“That sounds like it could be a little fun,” Aelita said, with a smile.

“Not when a certain Casanova is in the club,” Yumi groaned, “The last thing I need is him making goo-goo eyes at me the entire time.”

“Yeah, now that Ulrich is gone William is going to have to be working over time,” Odd quipped.

“Odd! ” Ulrich snapped, flushing scarlet.

Yumi snatched the threadbare throw pillow from under her, hitting Odd over the head as hard as she could.

“Hey! Aelita, Jeremie, she hit me!” Odd protested.

“Children, can we please behave?” Aelita asked, her voice flat.

“Yumi started it,” Odd mumbled under his breath as Yumi sank into her seat, arms crossed and rolling her eyes.

“Come on everyone-” Jeremie said, standing up from his seat, “-we need to get back to Kadic.”

The others pushed themselves up from where they were seated, and started their trek back to Kadic. “Hey Aelita, do you really think Ulrich might be able to talk with an Ouija board?” Odd asked, walking up beside her.

"I'm not exactly sure. He's not a ‘real ghost,’ so we have no idea on exactly what he can and cannot affect," she explained. "Besides, I was only joking." 

She flashed him a wry smile before moving to catch up with Jeremie. Odd watched her walk beside Jeremie, talking in low voices with a slightly sour expression. Pressing his lips together, he opened Google on his phone and started typing away. There was something he needed to look into. 

Ulrich followed along silently, watching his friends as they trekked to their classes. He followed. 

One by one they began peeling off until he watched Aelita wave goodbye to Jeremie, leaving him standing alone in the middle of the busy hallway. As people stepped through him and he lost sight of his friends, he wondered why he was even following them to class in the first place. He didn't have to go to class. 

Ulrich Stern was a missing person after all, and there wasn't a greater excuse in the world to miss class! 

(But, what else was there to do?)

 Sure, he could go see a movie—no one could see him, meaning there was no one to stop him from entering whatever theater he wanted—hell, he could go wherever he wanted in the city! 

(But after seeing the same movie three times, walking through the staff only entrances, and catching a few late night bands in town, it got boring. When you couldn’t sleep, it didn’t matter how busy you tried to keep yourself, you eventually ran out of things to do. No amount of standing watch over his sleeping friends would change that.)

Those things had gotten dull. Ulrich turned on his heel and started walking towards Odd’s classroom, defeated and ready to suffer through another ungraded English lesson, when he felt something like a shock. 

It had him frozen in place, incorporeal hands trying to find the place on his chest that had just felt something— oh my god—but couldn’t find anything that seemed amiss. Without anyone to talk to, or literally anything to physically interact with, was he going crazy? 

Gasping for air, alone, Ulrich wondered how many sleepless nights and ignored conversations it took before someone went off the deep end. 

Instead of walking towards any of his friends’ classes, Ulrich let his feet take him wherever they pleased as he weighed the merits of possessing someone to try and tell the gang that something—something hesitantly good was happening. 

He pressed his fist against his chest, trying to chase the echo of that sensation. 

Odd slammed down an unopened package on the cafeteria table, a wide smile on his face. "Someone is in a chipper mood this morning!" Aelita chuckled, "What did you get?"

"Well, I was thinking about your idea of using a Ouji board so Ulrich could talk to us!" Odd started, sliding into his seat, "So I did some research last night and I found this-" He opened up the package, pulling out a box-looking device.

Jeremie paused from typing on his computer. "What is that?"

Odd's smile grew wider. "This, my friend, is a Spirit Box. It's what the pros use on ghost hunting shows!"

"Odd, you know those shows are fake right?" Jeremie asked, raising an eyebrow.

Odd scoffed. "Only the ones that have been going on for like, 10 seasons or so. But anyway, all of the ghost hunting message boards I found vouched that this was the best model to get!"

"How does it work?" Aelita asked.

"It cycles through radio stations at a really fast pace so it pauses on a station whenever a ghost says a word or phrase! You press this button to turn it on-" A loud blaring noise erupted from the speaker of the box, forcing Jeremie and Aelita to cover their ears. Odd hurried to shut it off, earning glares from Jeremie and Aelita, along with other students sitting around them.

"Jesus fucking Christ Odd, I don't think she wanted a demonstration!" Jeremie scolded.

"Sorry, I didn't realize the people who made it decided to set the volume to max," Odd winced, rolling his eyes.

"Maybe you and Ulrich should mess around with that somewhere deep, deep in the woods to spare our eardrums," Aelita suggested with a pitiful laugh.

Odd slipped the spirit box back into his bag. He dug into his breakfast, trying to force down dry toast and tasteless oatmeal all while avoiding the gazes of Jeremie and Aelita.

“What was that?” Yumi asked as she walked over to the trio.

“Odd’s newest toy,” Aelita answered. She looked at Yumi puzzled. “What are you doing here? Classes don’t start for another half hour, and you’re never here this early.”

Yumi leaned back in her seat with a huff. “Hiroki told my parents about… him , and now they won’t leave me alone, no matter how many fucking times I tell them I’m fine!” She crossed her arms, glaring out the window. “I’d rather be here than deal with all of that bull.”

“Well… How about we share some more uplifting news!” Aelita suggested, the tension in the air staring to suffocate her, “Jeremie and I got started with on the basic framework for our ‘project’.” She nudged Jeremie.

Jeremie looked up from his laptop, adjusting his glasses. “Well, like Aelita mentioned, it's only the basic framework. When it’s complete, we only really plan on it being able to perform basic bodily functions, and respond to basic commands. Y’know, just in case Ulrich needs to leave it for any reason, then we won’t have the clone just standing there in the middle of a Xana attack,” he explained, “It’ll be awhile before I can get it up running, maybe in around four or five days.”

“Can’t you get it working any sooner?” Odd asked.

“Maybe?” Jeremie shrugged. “If I pulled an all nighter, skipped a few classes and meals-”

“So why don’t you?” Yumi snapped, not caring for the shock on Aelita’s face. “You didn’t seem to have any problem doing that when it was to bring your precious Aelita to earth.” She spat out the words with poison, making Jeremie shrink in his seat.

“Well-”

“And it was hardly effective!” Aelita butted in. “Most of the errors we had with my materialization program were ones that Jeremie had made because he was too tired to double check his work!” The red faded from her vision allowing her to see she was practically standing on the table, looming over Yumi. People were staring at them. She sunk back into her seat, avoiding the gazes of her friends. “If you want it done quickly, then it’s best for you to back off and let him do it right .”

Withdrawn from the argument happening only inches away, Odd sat slumped back in his seat. “I hope Ulrich is having a better morning than us…” Odd muttered, lifelessly poking at the unfinished breakfast on his plate. “What do you think he does all day?” he asked, looking at the group.

Jeremie had paused. “I’m not too sure… Without a physical body, Ulrich isn’t exactly able to interact well with anything really.” Shrugging, he added “I’m sure he found something to keep him occupied-”

Odd’s ringtone cut Jeremie off, as Odd fumbled to fish his phone from his pants pocket. When he pressed it to his ear, all of the color drained from Odd’s face. “It’s Ulrich.”

Yumi’s head whipped around. “What?!”

Odd set his phone on the table. “I-It’s on speaker phone, good buddy! Everyone can hear you.” There was a smile on his face that hadn’t been seen since ‘the incident’.

The group crowded around with bated breath. “Ya’ know I wasn’t expecting a party or anything, but the least you guys could’ve done was be there to greet me,” Ulrich said in a playful tone. Ulrich said. 

Ulrich said.

The group ignored the shouts of their classmates as they barreled out of the cafeteria.

Odd pounded the ‘down’ button for the elevator. “Come on, come on!” he said through gritted teeth.

“It’s not going to go any faster the more times you hit it,” Aelita chided.

Odd looked away from the control panel. “I just—do you really think it’s him in there?” His voice was soft.

“What do you mean?” Yumi asked, narrowing her eyes.

“We have never had good luck with these things! We finish Aelita’s materialization program, but she’s still tied to the supercomputer. Turns out she was human all along, and Xana escapes the computer. We finally get a bit ahead of Xana with the new program and Ulrich—” Odd stopped, “I just-” 

He squeezed his eyes shut as he collected himself. “I’m tired of the rug being pulled out on us. I just want us to get one good thing that stays good.” 

Before anyone could really weigh Odd’s words, the elevator jerked to a stop with an unholy clanking of gears. Jeremie’s lips thinned as the doors opened, hesitance now coloring his features. Odd—despite himself—was right. Xana always found a way to get a leg up on them every time something good came around, and getting thwarted at every turn made Jeremie a bit more paranoid than the average person. 

Of course he had his doubts about the whole situation: despite that the superscanner had yet to go off, he was half-expecting the factory to be empty. Computer generating a voice Xana had heard a half dozen times? Light work. 

The one thing Xana couldn’t replicate was Ulrich though, and if he was truly standing on the other side of the doors Jeremie wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. (It wouldn’t eliminate the fact that Xana would have done them a favor, and that didn’t bode well. If he gave Ulrich back, it meant he had something even bigger up his sleeve.)

Ulrich leaned against the farthest scanner, flashing a lopsided smile. “It’s about time! I was wondering if you guys had forgotten about me!”

Odd took a cautious step forward. “Is it really you?” 

Ulrich cocked his head, confusion seeping into his easy grin. “Yeah? Who else.”

In half the time it took for Jeremie to sigh in relief Odd had lunged, wrapping his arms around Ulrich’s neck with enough force to nearly send them to the floor. It wasn’t long until he was choking down tears, trying (and failing) to keep it together.

Though his mind was struggling to reconcile the fact that Ulrich was gone and now suddenly he was back, the smell of the detergent that Ulrich always used, the scar he had gotten from a previous Xana attack, and the hole where he cut his tag from his shirt were all too real. It was him. Ulrich was home. Odd stepped back ruddy cheeked and sniffling, but smiling all the same. 

Ulrich had opened his arms when Odd came barreling towards him, but was regarding the group with a look of confusion still. “Uh, not that I’m not glad to see you guys too, but I get the sense that I’m missing something?”

Aelita was the first to snap out of her trance. 

“There was a problem with the virtualization program and you—well. Xana exploited that problem to separate you from your physical body.”

Ulrich stiffened. “What are you talking about?”

“Xana rerouted your physical body, we couldn’t get you back,” Jeremie added. “How are you here?”

“No clue. One second I’m in the scanner, it goes dark for a bit, and then the scanner’s opening,” Ulrich shrugged. “I didn’t even know anything went wrong.”

Yumi took the moment to crush Ulrich into a quick hug, taking Odd’s place. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Cheeks dusted in pink from the sudden hug, Ulrich said, “I mean…I feel fine. I thought it was a normal scan.”

Jeremie shook his head. “But that doesn’t fully make sense. Why would Xana just… give you back? He’s probably planning to do something else, but I don’t know—”

“—Maybe you were just wrong,” Yumi cut in. “It wouldn’t be the first time. You were wrong about Aelita having a virus.”

“We didn’t know better!” Aelita said, putting herself between Jeremie and Yumi.

Ulrich put a hand on Yumi’s shoulder. “Come on guys, let’s just be thankful that whatever you guys did worked, and I’m back,” he said sheepishly. “We might actually want to get back to Kadic. I’m sure the heat on you guys has been pretty bad today.”

“No kidding. The sooner you’re back in class, the sooner the teachers can get off our backs,” Odd said with a laugh, patting Ulrich on the back.

Ulrich let out a mock groan. “I’m not looking forward to making up my english quiz.”

“Dude, you have no clue. It’s been almost a week. We need to stage like, a recovery mission for the cops or something.”

“What?”

Ulrich noted how silent the dorms got once classes started. He probably always knew that, before he had to spend long stretches of time with nothing to do. At least Kiwi was mildly interesting. He was a break in the routine of silence and boredom. Ulrich sat on the floor in front of his bed watching the mutt take a rubber bone, toss it off of his bed (something Ulrich had stopped protesting a while ago, since it was pointless trying to stop a dog without hands), and leap down to bring it back to his previous spot. Ulrich figured it was a game Kiwi often played with himself when they were gone. 

“Guess we both do things to keep the boredom away huh boy?” he asked. Kiwi looked up at him, giving a sharp yip in response. Ulrich chuckled to himself.

The door swung open, drawing both Ulrich and Kiwi’s attention. Odd stepped into the room, looking leagues better than the past few days. It made Ulrich feel relieved, but also a part of him deep down felt bitter. Of course he was happy that Odd was doing better, but the thought that it only took—what?—less than a week to move on was sickening.

“Me and the Einsteins will try and get a cover story straight, so you’ll be keeping Kiwi company in the meantime,” Odd said, guiding someone into the room. A chill went over Ulrich’s nonexistent body as he watched himself step through the door.

“What the hell…” Ulrich asked, feeling lightheaded. Jeremie had thrown out the idea of making a clone body for him yesterday—that had to be it. It was weird and unexpected, but he and Aelita must have managed to crack the code faster than they expected. That was it. That had to be it. 

For a glorified puppet, Ulrich thought, It moved realistically.

Suddenly Kiwi let out a low growl, his hackles standing on end. 

“Kiwi! What are you doing!” Odd scolded, “I know it’s been a few days but you still remember Ulrich!”

The other him flashed a lop-sided smile. His smile. 

“He’s probably upset about having to give up my bed,” the imposter laughed, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“He doesn’t normally act this way,” Odd said, leaning down and scratching behind Kiwi’s ears despite the dog’s huffing.

“He’ll come around soon enough,” Not-Ulrich said, plopping down on his bed with a yawn. “Man, I missed my bed. I think those five days are catching up to me.”

Ulrich swore he felt the chest he didn’t have tighten. What the hell was going on?

Odd grabbed his backpack, shoving his half-completed schoolwork into the larger compartment. “I’ve got to go. Hopefully we can come up with something quick, and you’ll be back in class by the end of the day!”

“If that’s the case then go ahead and take your sweet time!” Not-Ulrich laughed, as Odd closed the door. The cheer melted from Not-Ulrich’s face like oil the moment the door clicked. Face blank, he stared at the ceiling before nestling himself into the bed a bit more. 

Ulrich shakily got to his feet, his eyes never leaving the copy, as he tentatively approached the bedside. When he was looming over the imposter, scanning every inch of its face for imperfections, for tells—something—its eyes flickered to a symbol he was all too familiar with. 

(One he’d only ever seen reflected in other people’s eyes.)

Xana sat on his bed, in his body, and no one had noticed.