Kadic Academy, France

Team Lyoko

Odd Della Robbia was sobbing in Jeremy's room while Ulrich Stern and Aelita Stones were busy hanging around. As Jeremy was continuing to type on his laptop, searching for another Replika of Lyoko created by XANA. So far, they managed to discover the Forest Replika, which took them forever to even get through. And destroying the super computer that held the Desert Replika was almost screwed over because of a bug, and had it not been for Yumi and Ulrich's efforts, they would've lost. He had theorized there were at least two, maybe three more Replikas under XANA's control based on the other sectors, but wasn't quite sure what purpose XANA was using them for.

Odd however was sulking, much so that it almost seemed out of character for him and his friends took notice.

"You think he's okay?"

"Well we've been through a lot lately."

"He did lose out on two dates."

"Then William took him out easily with no problem when XANA used that fighter jet to almost blow me up. Thanks for the save guys."

"And then the Brynja incident."

"And we almost had him get rid of Kiwi."

Jeremy, Ulrich, and Aelita all looked back and forth at each other, realizing they had just spoken about Odd out loud behind him and agreed on the next course of action.

"Odd," all three spoke in unison, "you okay?"

He sighed. "Yeah I guess. It's just," pausing as he took a breath. "I miss Sam."

Ulrich and Kiwi tried to console his roommate. "Cheer up, there's plenty of fish in the sea."

"Easy for you to say. Einstein and Ms. Einstein, you two are going to end up as super geniuses with babies Dr. Shrank wishes he could have. And Ulrich, when you and Yumi finally go out, you could turn your feelings into a long running soap opera." Ulrich sucked his teeth while Aelita giggled. But his tone sounded more depressing. "I just wanna find someone as amazing as Sam."

Aelita tried comforting them. "But you've met so many amazing girls at Kadic. How come it never works out with any of them?"

Ulrich snarked. "Maybe it wasn't a good idea to date Magali and Claireat the same time"

He sucked his teeth. "Fine, true. Magali was alright, but honestly, none of them had got me. Sam was so different. We had so much in common: music, skateboarding, we just vibed so well."

"Hey, everything happens for a reason. Besides, she used you before. Maybe that was a red flag."

"I guess you're right Ulrich, but still. I just want someone perfect for me"

Jeremy paid his usual energetic friend some positive motivation. "There's no such thing as human perfection Odd, but you'll find your match one day. Cheer up, alright? I almost miss you when you're bragging."

Odd's head moved up. "Einstein, you sure you know how to cheer a guy up."

Jeremy adjusted his glasses. "Sorry Odd, I didn't mean it like that."

"No, I meant it," smiling and shaking his head. "Thanks guys. Just give me a few minutes to think."

Not even a minute later, a loud barrage of knocks on Jeremy's door rang relentlessly. They could tell that their gym coach, dormitory supervisor, security guard, and detention deliverer Jim Morales was there. Not wanting to bother Odd, Jeremy got up and opened the door.

"Belpois, what did I say about locking doors when I'm doing rounds?"

"Keep the door closed and don't answer to anyone that seems like they're breaking in?"

"Why did you open the door? Back in my Secret Service agent days, I could've harmed you all in one go."

"Oh yeah, I thought you'd rather not talk about it. Do you want to help me train again?"

"I'd, well it's a long story." Jeremy then noticed a package in Jim's hands.

"Is that for me?"

"No! I was looking for Della Robbia!"

Odd glanced up. "Me?"

"This came for you." He handed it over to the purple and yellow haired teen,handing it to him, a large sized device wrapped in heavy packaging material. Still in his slump, Odd picked it up with the feeble power of his friend's optimism and unwrapped it after a few minutes, enough time that even Jim left, warning them to go to bed before 12pm. When he finally got the tape, cardboard, and packaging off, Odd was left with a shocked face.

"A Hinobi Console?"

Aelita was confused, Ulrich had to explain that video games there were rare and only sold on that exclusive console. Jeremy was less than amused.

"Hinobi Console? The games are cool but they have some really weird bugs. I'm surprised they decided to release them in Japan."

Yumi Ishiyama had walked in much to everyone's surprise. They weren't expecting her.

"I had a feeling Jeremy might find the Replika and I wanted to go for a walk. Any luck, Einstein?"

"The Superscan is looking over any facilities in the Western Hemisphere."

Then Yumi and Jeremy had to dodge and move as Odd had on the VR headset, jumping around, flipping, flailing on the bed, going around Aelita and Ulrich, who had to grab the princess and push her aside to avoid getting hit, and Yumi had to block Odd's leg from kicking Jeremy's laptop into smithereens.

"Odd, quit playing with the VR headset!"

He took it off. "Sorry, Hinobi Smash tournaments are so rare. If my parents had gotten this for me earlier, then I would've definitely participated."

"With all that movement you have to do to compete, you'd get more exercise than Jeremy does."

"I'm not that bad," Jeremy responded, not upset.

"Yeah, you're a great swimmer," Aelita chimed in. His quasi-girlfriend got him to smile.

"And my training with Jim's gotten better."
"Right, Jer. One day," Odd affectionately held him behind his neck, "you should come on Lyoko with us again."
Jer looked away. "It'll be just as ridiculous as before."

Ulrich came in around Jeremy and Aelita, sharing the same physical form of affection. "Cheer up. You could always update it like you did with our upgrades."

Yumi joined them. "Hey, I wouldn't mind drawing an outfit to help you program it."

Odd poses at both sides of the group. "We're the ultimate party. When we're on our A+ game, we're unstoppable. Sides Jer," performing martial arts moves that could rival Ulrich and Yumi's. "I can train you."

"Odd, why are you always so flashy?"

He thought about it for a second when his voice got somber. "It's hard to stand out when you have so many people in your family who're just as skilled."

"If all I did was think, then I'd never be able to act. That's your job."

"True, but I," and stopped once his computer began beeping. "The Superscan found it?"

He let himself go off the group and headed back to his sweat while they huddled around him.

"Almost got the location. Okay, got it. XANA has a Mountain Replika at the Hydraulic fracturing in Canada. Though it seems to be partially inactive with all the protests going on. Let's go tonight and see if we can destroy it."

Odd wasn't too sure. "Are you sure? It took us a while."

"Well let's see if it's active first. XANA hasn't activated a tower yet."

"So you're coming to Lyoko with us?"

"I don't want to risk climbing heights again. Getting from one side of the dormitory roof back to my room was already hard enough while you were dealing with your Maiden Voyage. I'd rather deal with that online."

All of them looked at Einstein. "Wait, you weren't joking?"

Jeremy groaned. "No. If it turns out to be a false alarm or if you get tired, we can go early in the morning and finish before class starts."

All of them agreed. With Jim on the other side of the dorm, they took advantage of the time to go. As they did, Yumi went over to talk to Odd.

"Something's up. You're usually excited about a Lyoko mission."

"I'm fine. I'd just rather play some Hinobi games right now."

"I'm not too sure about Hinobi, Odd. Rumor has it their games have some weird bugs and glitches in them. I'm surprised they're even allowing beta testers globally."

"Beta testers? That'd be fun to do in the future."

Jeremy interrupted them. "But with virtual reality, it's more difficult than being in a virtual world. If there are actual glitches, at least it's not something X.A.N.A. can be used as an attack. If the rumors are true, I'd be worried."

Odd slowed down. "You think I can't handle it?"

Jeremy shook his head. " Far from it. Odd, remember our little Ghost Channel incident?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"You managed to save Aelita with only 10 life points left. If that were me, I could never pull that off. We all have our roles to play, and I'm glad being on Lyoko's is yours."

"Right Einstein." Then he remembered Jeremy was the one who saved him and the others when he didn't even realize they were trapped within a Simulation Bubble by the Guardian. Since then, Jeremy's gotten more confident to the point he managed to save them all and climb off a room. Jeremy had clearly grown. Ulrich had gotten stronger and more sociable, Yumi was able to use the Supercomputer almost as well as Jeremy did back when they first started, and Aelita embraced her humanity to the point she could roast Sissi almost as hard as he was. All of them had grown. And as he took up the Hinobi Console to bring with him, a thought crossed his mind.

He was the only one that remained stagnant.

Ulrich called him to catch up, which only hit him harder as he tried. Relationships, consistency, Lyoko effectiveness, it all reminded him of why he chose to come to Kadic. He was the star, and as the others kept moving on, he felt his shine was flickering while theirs continued to grow.

He gripped the Hinobi console and the gear in his hands.

"I just want to play my role better."