Code Lyoko: Digital Destiny [[Started // Not Accepting]]

[Saiba Aisu]

Everything was happening so quickly that Cerce barely had time to register that the creatures had opened fire upon them. A moment later, once the barrage of lasers had passed by, his fellow warriors seemed to have launched their own offensive, while Aelita had managed to create a temporary barrier composed of tree roots. Cerce watched with amazement as each of the students adapted to the situation quickly, as if they had been fighting XANA's monsters for a few months rather than a few seconds.

There was a sudden omniscient clarity in his eyes, as if he were seeing the battlefield from high above—the lasers from Estelle's unique weapon had claimed three of the Kankrelats already; similarly, of the round that Basil had fired, two purple energy bullets had found their marks. Alistair held his modified weapon steady as the blade flew forward on a chain, sinking into the dusky shell of a Kankrelat, which promptly exploded. Most bizarre of all the combatants was Devine, whose figure had warped as she attacked and destroyed one the of insect-like monsters through the shadow it was casting.

[i]Only three of them left[/i], Cerce noted, determined to make a contribution to their team effort, even if it was a small one. He felt briefly for the Beam Ribbon but discarded it before his fingers closed around it—although the Kankrelats were advancing, they were still out of that weapon's range; he would be cut down by their lasers before he managed to get close enough to launch an attack. His hands moved towards the golden-white discs at his waist, more like frisbees with holes in them or halos than anything else. [i]Here goes nothing![/i] Cerce thought, rolling sideways past the protective area of Aelita's barrier.

He raised his hands, clutching each disc around its outer edge between two fingers, uncertain of exactly how to throw them. This was ridiculous—he hadn't even decided on a name for them yet, how was he supposed to use them? One of the Kankrelats opened fire and Cerce reacted instinctively; he brought his arms up in front of his body with a protective motion. With a sharp [i]ping[/i]ing sound, the monster's laser struck the polished golden surface of one of the discs and rebounded, striking its owner squarely and causing it to explode. In an extension of the same movement, Cerce hurled the discs towards the remaining creatures, crying aloud the first words that came to his mind.

"Shining Megacoil!!" With a distinctive whistling sound the discs spun through the air, a golden blur of centrifugal force, before striking both of the Kankrelats' shells. With a double boom, the two monsters exploded. Like a double boomerang, the two discs arched back towards Cerce, who caught them shakily.

[Vector Nightmare]

"Th - thanks." Basil muttered, disoriented. Then he realized just what had happened, and angrily pushed himself to his feet. To his surprise, his barrage seemed to have downed two of their attackers, as instead of their bodies all that was left was wisps of purple smoke and sparks. He was up just in time to see Cerce shoot down another pair with his peculiar weapon, and Alistair and Devine already seemed to have taken down one each. Miraculously, Estelle had annihilated three all by herself. That left a single one. He might as well catch up.

Now that there was no immediate danger of being fried by the incoming lasers, he lowered himself on one knee, carefully steadying the rifle between his shoulder and leg. Taking careful aim at the remaining Kankrelat, he pulled the trigger, unleashing two bolts of the same purple composition, both headed directly towards their lone enemy. Thankfully, his grounding was good enough to absorb most of the impact, and the recoil was minimized - now it remained to be seen, whether that shot had been a hit or miss.

[Yang Xiao-Long]

A few seconds passed, but it felt like hours to Alistair, his eyes closed in anticipation for lasers from any remaining Kankrelots. He waited.
Nothing happened. He opened his eyes and looked at where his sword was. The blade was lodged in the ground; it had apparently struck the target true to its mark.
[i]Yes![/i] he thought, a slight smirk appearing on his face. He actually felt a bit overjoyed; he was doing battle against evil beings while amongst a group of peers. He glanced down towards his hilt, and saw the same notch on the proximal end of his sword's hilt. He rubbed his thumb on it; the blade immediately retracted and the distal end of the hilt snapped back into place, firm and true.

He looked up at his wings. He frowned a little. "Aww...my wing got singed," he said with a bit of disappointment as he held the burnt wing feathers between his fingers. His attention returned to the front when he heard what appeared to be Cerce yelling. "Shining Megacoil!" he heard. The next thing Alistair knew, two golden blurs spun through the air, disposing of two Kankrelots. "Now THAT is cool, Cerce!" he said with genuine awe and slight amusement.

Alistair figured the situation was under control and that the Kankrelots were now disposed of, so he augmented his weapon back into its default form. He sheathed his blade and called out to Dominic. "So, Dominic, what's next?"

[Saiba Aisu]

With the last of the Kankrelat swarm finally destroyed, Aelita peered cautiously around the edge of the tree-barrier she had created. Her green eyes opened in surprise as she straightened and got to her feet gracefully, dusting herself off and giving the five warriors an appreciative look. "You handled that situation very well," she breathed, obviously impressed by how quickly they had adapted to the situation. "I can't thank you enough for protecting me from XANA's monsters—I don't even want to think about what would have happened if you hadn't been around."

Back in the Laboratory of the Abandoned Factory, Dominic leaned against his swivel chair and sighed in relief, his heart-rate still slightly elevated from the brief but intense encounter. The abrupt surprise attack by the Kankrelats was not the way he would have preferred to introduce the group to combat on Lyoko, but they had risen to the challenge and proven themselves competent—now he could rest more easily knowing that Aelita wasn't wandering the virtual world on her own. "Nice one, guys," he commented after a moment, his voice resonating through the air around them with perfect clarity. "None of you have lost any Life Points, so you're looking in pretty good shape to me. The Tower is only a little further ahead on this same platform; once you've escorted Aelita inside, I'll rematerialize you back onto earth."

Cerce and the others nodded and followed after Aelita as she led the way forward at a much slower pace than before, obviously keeping a lookout for another possible ambush. He held up a Shining Megacoil to the green forest light in each hand as he walked, tapping its glowing golden surface idly. He still wasn't entirely certain what had happened during the battle with the Kankrelats, but he no longer doubted that he was meant to wield these unique discus-like weapons. After a brief pause, Cerce stored them back in place at either side of his waist. He turned to regard the others and focused his attention on Devine, curious as to the bizarre shadow powers she had displayed throughout the fight. "That was some ability you used back there," he remarked to her, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Just what exactly was that?"

[encapturer]

After firing off her shots, she was so focused of evading the enemy that she did not know whether or not they actually [I]hit[/I], and when she prepared to fire again, all of the Kankrelats were gone. Dominic then chimed in, confirming that all of the enemies were defeated. Relieved, Estelle sighed, and made her way to join the rest of the group. The only thing she regretted was that she was not able to see if her actions actually did any good, and she really did not want to ask.

She did not have to dwell on that for long, however, as Cerce began to speak to Devine about her strange power. On top of that, from the way Cerce handled those circular things he used, Estelle figured that each of the five had some quirk in their fighting styles. She just wished there was some sort of tutorial or manual they could use, instead of having to go into battle blind.

[Hydra of Ages]

Devine had to think about the question.

"You know, I'm not entirely sure," she said after while. "I just went into a bit of a trance, and suddenly there wasn't a third dimension anymore. So I just started hitting them with the sword. Felt a bit weird, but it came pretty naturally."

She lifted up her sunglasses for a moment and winced a little at the light. "Is it just me, or did it get brighter in here? Geez, goes to figure these, of all things, weren't just for decoration," she muttered, pushing back some of the hair from her face as she adjusted her glasses. It still felt a bit weird, but she was at least glad she didn't need to worry about tripping over her hair in the middle of a battle.

[Saiba Aisu]

[center][IMG]http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/GXCyber_Ice/XanaSymbolPosts.png[/IMG] [b]GM Post: Forest Sector, Lyoko[/b] [IMG]http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/GXCyber_Ice/XanaSymbolPosts.png[/IMG][/center]

[spoiler=GM Post: Forest Sector, Lyoko]"There it is!" Aelita breathed, coming to a halt in front of the group, looking up at the tall, graceful form of the glowing ivory Tower. The pink-haired girl turned back to face them, a warm smile appearing on her gentle features as she regarded the five Lyoko Warriors with her bright green eyes. "Thank you so much for protecting me," she told them, spreading one hand against her chest in a sincere, slow gesture. "I don't know how I would have made it here without your help, especially against that swarm of Kankrelats. You're all wonderful warriors and I'm sure we'll be seeing each other much sooner than you think."

Having said so she gave them a small wave before turning back in the direction of the Tower. "Okay Dominic," she said, addressing him, "I'm going to enter the Tower now and access Lyoko's Informational Network. I'll send you a notification if I find anything useful, okay?" Aelita strode forward and spread her arms with a graceful movement, passing through the wall of the Tower as if it were a curtain of water with the same thrumming sound as before. "Alright guys," Dominic said after a movement, "Aelita is now safely inside the Tower and starting up the research process. I'm going to rematerialize you!"

Back in the Laboratory of the Abandoned Factory, Dominic entered a quick series of complex keystrokes into the computer—with a beeping sound, the five character profile windows opened up once more; at a steady pace, the green began to drain out of the character's silhouettes. Back on Lyoko, the five warriors looked with surprise at their bodies as they began to dissolve into a burst of silver pixels. "Materialization: Basil, Estelle, Devine, Alistair, and Cerce!" Dominic cried. A loud humming noise filled the Scanner Room as three of the scanners opened up; Basil, Estelle, and Devine stumbled out. As soon as they had, the doors of two more of the scanners closed briefly before opening once more to reveal the forms of Alistair and Cerce.

"Welcome back to earth," Dominic said cheerfully over the speakers. "Head for the Laboratory, I'll be waiting for you."[/spoiler]

===

[spoiler=OoC.]Sorry for taking so long to make this post, things have been seriously crazy. Let's get things moving again![/spoiler]

[Yang Xiao-Long]

Alistair merely blinked when he saw his form begin to disappear from Lyoko. He managed a final wave and smile to Aelita before his devirtualization was completed, and then the world went blank.

A flash from black to white, and Alistair stumbled out onto the floor he was a bit familiar with; the smooth, polished floor of the Scanner Room. "Whoa," he muttered under his breath. He heard Dominic's voice over the speakers. Without a sound, and quite shakily as well, he made his way to the elevator, only to find himself about to enter at the same time as Estelle, who was only a few steps away from the elevator's door. Remembering back to when they arrived at the Laboratory Alistair realized that Estelle was the last person to step out of the elevator. In an attempt to be kind, he stepped aside, gesturing to her that she could go in first. "Ladies first," he said with the gentlest of smiles, and he patiently waited a few seconds for her to step in before he did.

[encapturer]

Estelle fell to the ground on her knees as she left the scanner, it was still a little disorienting jumping between worlds for her. At least they were able to escort Aelita safely, although she was sure things were only going to get tougher for here on out. As she picked herself up from the ground, the worries of her normal life came flooding back to her, including a visit sometime in the coming week from Thomas Rays, and his son Kyle, whom she never met. Yet at Thomas' behest, she's practically engaged to Kyle.

[I]Ugh.[/I]

She quickly removed those thoughts from her head as she absentmindedly moved with the group, which now included everybody as Alistair and Cerce were rematerialized after she came out - there were only three scanners, after all. She found herself about to enter the elevator when she almost crashed into the tall Alistair.

"Ladies' first," he said, smiling. It was at this time that Estelle truly got a feel of how [I]tall[/I] he really was. She wasn't really short, and yet the young man was more than a foot taller than her. It was enough to distract her for a moment

"Th-Thank you," Estelle replied, regaining her composure. She didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable, even though he does always describe himself as a giant. She quickly entered the elevator and leaned on the wall, deep in thought. So much happened today, after all.

[Vector Nightmare]

Well, at least that bizarre experience was done and over with. Basil was glad, for one thing, to be back in his regular clothing. As soon as he came out of the scanning machine, he straightened himself and followed the others, silently processing everything that had happened.

This virtual reality, Lyoko, held unfathomable secrets. It seemed as if Dominic - no, even Aelita - had barely began scratching the surface. That, or they were hiding things from the rest of them. It was enough to make him wary, but also curious.

Basil walked into the elevator, openly regarding the others more carefully than before. He kept twisting around in his head what Dominic and Aelita had said. They would need to return to Lyoko. They would need to fight again. This was far from over.

This had only just begun.

[Saiba Aisu]

Cerce ran his hands through his hair and then tossed his head back with a sigh, still trying to internalize what exactly had just happened. [i]I was just virtualized onto a digital world[/i], he said to himself, repeating the words until they became a mantra. He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the texture of each word as it coursed slowly through his mind. Of course, the words themselves were simple—rather, it was what they symbolized that was so difficult to believe.

He opened his eyes and gazed at the others, noting that for the most part, they seemed more excited than worried regarding the mysteries and dangers that awaited them on Lyoko. Cerce strode forward and into the elevator, leaning against the wall with crossed arms, wondering idly if he was the only one who had taken serious notice of Dominic and Aelita's repeated warnings—no matter how much Lyoko might resemble or function like a video game, there was nothing remotely playful about their purpose there. Cerce suppressed a shudder as he thought of XANA, the faceless artifical intellect that Aelita and Dominic seemed to fear so much. How much longer before XANA launched an attack upon reality in retaliation? He thought again of their battle against the Kankrelat swarm and the way that he and the other four had protected Aelita while a knot of concern tied itself firmly around his chest.

[i]What we did there—our interference—won't go unpunished[/i], he thought to himself. [i]XANA is going to want revenge[/i]... [i]I just hope we can handle whatever's coming next[/i].

[Yang Xiao-Long]

In the elevator, Alistair leaned his back against the inside wall, crossing his arms in the process. He began thinking to himself, and he soon zoned out into space.
[i]Okay...so I was just in a virtual world. I had wings. I had a sword that could transform.[/i] The same thoughts cycled repeatedly in his head. After a few seconds, he snapped out of it and returned back to reality. He placed his right hand into his pant pocket, his thumb hooked on the outer edge as he watched the elevator go up.

As he watched the light flicker back and forth through the doors of the elevator, he realized that those Kankrelats must have been sent by XANA. [i]This was just the beginning. If it took us that long for just those small creatures, I'd shudder to think what more XANA has in store for us.[/i] He shuddered just at the thought. [i]BUT! I will do whatever it takes to stop XANA at all costs. And THAT is a promise I will keep to everyone.[/i] The elevator stopped and the door opened.

And as he stepped out, under his breath he added, "That is the least I can do until the day I die."

[Saiba Aisu]

[center][IMG]http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/GXCyber_Ice/XanaSymbolPosts.png[/IMG] [b]GM Post: Laboratory, Abandoned Factory[/b] [IMG]http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/GXCyber_Ice/XanaSymbolPosts.png[/IMG][/center]

[spoiler=GM Post: Laboratory, Abandoned Factory]The elevator doors slid apart, revealing the gleaming, futuristic green walls of the Laboratory, lit by the many different lights and holographic displays that were part of its interface with Lyoko's informational network. In the center of the room, Dominic leaned to the right of the computer and waved the group over with a hurried gesture; as one, they moved obediently over and stood where he sat, regarding the monitor with a satisfied grin. "Great job, guys," he said, crossing his arms and tilting his head toward the screen, where many new complicated-looking text documents had appeared. "These are just some of the documents Aelita's been able to access from her new vantage point; they should be crucial in gaining more information on XANA and how he operates. Congratulations on a mission well done!"

As most of the group could not make heads or tails of the complex array of documents they were seeing, they decided not to comment upon them. Cerce, however, noticed the current time displayed at the bottom right of the screen. "Are you kidding me?" he asked in disbelieving tone, frowning at the displayed time of five-past six. "I can't believe it's been two hours already, I'm beyond late for gymnastics practice!" He put a hand over his eyes in frustration and sighed. "Coach Valentine is going to [i]kill[/i] me!" he muttered. Dominic swiveled in his chair and smiled at Cerce. "Don't worry about lost time," he said, "I wouldn't have asked you to take time out of your schedules without being sure I could replace it!"

The five students looked at Dominic with confusion, unable to understand this latest development; the computer wizard raised his arms and stretched before lowering his hands back to the keyboard. "I'll just run a Return to the Past," he said cheerfully in a self-assured tone.[/spoiler]

===

[spoiler=OoC.]I'm still committed to making this RP work, I'm not gonna let this happen again. As always, thanks for your continued support and patience, guys![/spoiler]

[Hydra of Ages]

Devine's sense of common logic had already been beaten with thick, wooden clubs, brutally assaulted with a knife and tossed out to die in a rainy gutter, but it still managed to eek out a tiny protest at that last thing.

"I just crossed into what appears to be a different dimension based off of Video Game Logic, and I'm STILL going to call bs on that. You can't just lay freaking [i]time travel[/i] on us with nothing more than a shrug, I mean it's..."

he hesitated a little, trying to think of something to compare it to. No, time travel really seemed to be the only thing that would be more unbelievable than what she just did. She did have time, however, to note how heavy her hair felt now that it had returned to it's full length, and for the first time in a while, considered cutting it.

"It's [i]time travel...[/i] oh never mind." she said, shaking her head as logic was dealt the fatal blow. At this point, someone could have told her she was an immortal princess capable of reproducing via budding, and she would have seriously considered it.

She gave an odd look to Cerce, "Putting Time Travel away for a second, you just personally the existence of alternate dimensions, and you're worried about missing [i]gymnastics [b]practice[/b][/i]?" she asked, putting tiered stresses on the words to make it clear exactly how nonsensical it sounded.

[Saiba Aisu]

Cerce crossed his arms and sighed, shifting his weight and giving Devine a pitying look; obviously, she had no idea what she was talking about. "There's nothing funny about this situation," he muttered darkly to her in reply in a low tone, "you obviously haven't met Coach Valentine. If I know her, she's already designed some foul punishment for me—I'm [i]so[/i] dead."

Dominic waved at the two students to get their attention; surprised, they turned back to him. "Hello?" he interrupted energetically, indicating the screen in front of him once more. "If you guys don't have any objections, I think I'll go ahead and launch the Return to the Past now." His fingers began to flash across the keyboard in a swift, complicated pattern, opening several windows with multiple complex strokes.

"Basically," Dominic explained, "now that you've been scanned by the supercomputer, your memories won't be affected by time travel—the only difference is that we'll all be back where we were two hours ago." With a final stroke, he opened a new window displaying a horizontal bar that began to fill sideways with a blue-white color. "Here we go," Dominic declared, striking the enter key. "Return to the past.. now!"

At his words, a dazzling sphere of brilliant white light burst from the computer, expanding outwards at a dizzying pace; the group barely had time to flinch before it had enveloped them. There was a disconcerting sensation of vertigo, a chorus of slurred, sped-up voices, and then.. silence. When Cerce dared open his eyes again, he gazed disbelieving at the Student Commons Area—above them, the sun was in the same position as it had been just after classes had ended. They had truly gone back two hours in time, to the moment just before they had embarked for the Abandoned Factory.

[Yang Xiao-Long]

Alistair barely had any time to register what was going on with the current situation; after all, Cerce and Devine were bickering a bit and Dominic mentioned time travel.
[i]Wait? Time travel?[/i]

The light enveloped him by the time he knew what was going on.
He opened his eyes...and found himself sitting next to Cerce.
"Woah!" he said, a bit startled.
"Where are- actually, WHEN are we?" he said looking around.
"Wait a minute, are we back at the Student Commons?" Alistair looked down at his watch. [i]5th period would've been over by now[/i], he thought to himself with a bit of worry.

"Well I guess that means I have the rest of the day off with no homework then," he said, finally relaxing and getting used to the situation. "And that means I have nothing to do..." he said, groaning a bit.

He looked a few feet in front of him and saw...
"Estelle? I see you've been returned back the past as well."

[encapturer]

Estelle couldn't believe it. Well, she thinks that she should believe what Dominic was saying, but the concept of time travel was tough to visualize without confusing her. She was going to speak up and ask more about the method he was going to use, but he activated the program before she even opened her mouth.

The next few moments went by in a blur - probably an effect of the 'Return to Past' Dominic used. It was hard to focus on anything, she could see, but it was a jumbled mess of color. She could hear, but the sounds and voices blended together into indistinguishable noise. Estelle shut her eyes reflexively; this time travel threatened to overload her senses.

Once the noise subsided, she opened her eyes. She was back at the student commons. Estelle sighed; there was no evidence that the group had actually went anywhere at all. [I]Could that adventure had been... an illusion?[/I] she thought to herself... until Alistair spoke.

What he said proved that he experienced the things she did, at least. Even if their adventure into Lyoko was a collective hallucination, it's better than having the entire trip being Estelle's delusion. She was so relieved that she almost didn't recognize when Alistair addressed her.

"Yeah..." she replied, still not quite focused. Then it hit her. The entire excursion at the factory effectively too no time at all. One of the perks of helping Aelita was that Estelle could spend some time away from her mundane life, after all. "I wonder what we will do now?" she asked, hoping there will be more forays into the fantastic today.

[---------------]

(OoC: Reverse a little. And yes, I'm still in this.)

Ceodore lost track of time simply staring at the roof of the warehouse or factory or just whatever the heck it was. It wasn't until the elevator shocked him awake that he realized the time. Class was going to start again soon, and Ceodore REALLY didn't feel like going. Then again, if Alistair and co. came up and found him, he'd look like a stalker. Class, or stalkerism... We--OSHIBRIGHTLIGHT
[hr]
This is where temptation bites back. Ceodore, in the midst of his addiction (and his homework), crashed. The [s]sugar[/s]caffeine rush had ended, and now he was two seconds away from throwing up. Must. Resist. Looks like it's time to head for the infirmary. Ceodore headed through Student Commons, trying his best to hide how sick he-- hey, look, Alistair and co. are still there, with a new friend. Looks like they're just hanging out. Well, at least fancy-pants doesn't look like he's insulting anybody. That's when Alistair seemed to be excited about something. Saying something like "When are we?". Then he started talking to that cute girl. Maybe playing a game or something? Whateva. Oh.. yep. Now it's time to see the nurse. With that, Ceodore rushed away.

[Saiba Aisu]

Cerce ignored the others for a moment as he stood up from the bench somewhat shakily, trying to catch his balance after experiencing the disconcerting sensation of traveling backwards through time. Despite his confusion and intense disbelief, he was relieved to see that everything else seemed to be functioning normally. "Well there you have it," Dominic said to the five students with satisfaction, lounging easily upon the flat wooden surface of the bench with one leg at a jaunty angle over the other. The change that their brief adventure had worked upon him was incredible: he was full of confidence and assertiveness. "I hope that today's events have been enough to convince you that I was telling the truth about Lyoko and the supercomputer?"

He then dropped his cheerful demeanor and straightened, regarding the group solemnly with a brown-eyed gaze. "Seriously though," he continued, "Aelita and I owe you our thanks. I know it's a lot to take in right now, but things will get easier—for now, I think the best thing to do would be to continue with your regular routines. Let's exchange cellphone numbers; I'll let you know the next time we need your help on Lyoko. After all, XANA is bound to launch a counterattack sooner or later."

"I'm all for that," Cerce said with a detached air, jotting his phone number down upon a scrap sheet of notebook paper and handing it to Dominic. Since he did not own a watch, he glanced down at Alistair's instead and frowned—as if to make up for their return to the past, time seemed to be passing by more quickly than it should. "Now if you'll excuse me, I really have to get to practice!" Cerce turned and moved purposefully in the direction of the gymnasium at a speedy pace—within moments, he had disappeared.

[Yang Xiao-Long]

"Well, Estelle, I have nothing to do for the rest of the day. You see, I was able to get priority class selection because of my high grades. I'm ranked #2, second only to Dominic. As such, I got to pick my class schedule. I figured I should get all my classes over with in the morning and early afternoon and spend the rest of the day doing whatever, whether it be studying or just plain goofing around," he said a bit cheerfully and laid back.

"So yeah, I pretty much have nothing to do at the moment. I have no homework to do today and I don't need to study. I would go to my dorm, but all I have there is a simple computer, my backpack, and some clothes. Not really a whole lot to do." Alistair got up and stretched; his legs were aching from that time travel. Strangely enough, his legs weren't in pain. [i]Not yet anyway...[/i] he thought to himself as he rubbed his legs casually.

And then it hit him. As if making up for lost time, his legs went mad with pain. He instantly fell onto the bench, almost doubling over. "Gah...these growing pains...they have to stop..." he said, tears welling up in his eyes. In a few minutes his pain went away, but he didn't want to move. Instead, he just sat on the bench, trying to be the normal student he knew he could never be. "Hey Estelle, is blue your natural hair color? Mine is as well."

[Vector Nightmare]

OoC: Sorry, I guess I just... kept postponing this, waiting for others to post... and stuff. Meh.

If one did not know, they'd never have guessed that Basil Clives had just gone through an adventure in a virtual reality, fought a bunch of giant insects, and jumped back in time. Perfectly composed, he stood up, blinking a few seconds to adjust his senses after the time jump.

"Very well." He addressed Dominic. He pulled out a card from the bag he held, which contained his name and number. "I will see this through to the end." He gave a slightly respectful nod to Devine and Estelle, and a slightly less so to Cerce and Alistair. Even before Cerce rushed out, Basil was already moving to his dorm. Today had been an... interesting day, in more than one aspects. However, one extraordinary day did not mean he could afford to deviate from his routine. In the meantime, there was a lot of thinking to do.

[Saiba Aisu]

[spoiler=OoC. Please read.]Alright everyone, I'm going to go ahead and move the plot ahead to the weekend, where events should once again pick up in relation to the plot. Feel free to narrate in your posts how your characters behaved throughout this period; however, this is not required. All I'm asking is for one other character apart from Cerce to go to the party, it's first come, first serve. Just be ready to go![/spoiler]

For the five students, the remainder of the week passed more or less uneventfully, as if life were trying to lure them into a false sense of security. Although they saw each other a few times throughout the day, no one seemed very willing to make contact past a few awkward greetings. After all, their adventures on Lyoko was the only link they had in common—now that they appeared to have drawn to a close, there no longer seemed any point in their interacting. Cerce, for his part, seemed slightly relieved at the turn of events; as if to make up for his brief deviation from his normal schedule, he worked harder at class and gymnastics practice than he would have otherwise. He also found himself looking forward to the weekend and the party that Jae had mentioned to him on Monday, in spite of the fact that he wasn't normally someone who enjoyed the high school party scene very much. While he wasn't very comfortable with the idea, drowning his concerns and discomfort with a night of endless dancing and alcohol seemed like the best way to deal with the situation.

So when the purple-black mantle of Saturday evening blossomed across the sky, Cerce stood in front of the full-length mirror in his room, excitement at the prospect of the night ahead rising inside him steadily as he gazed upon his reflection. He had exchanged his regular outfit for a black v-neck and dark jeans that hugged his frame more tightly than usual; in addition, a black leather band was wound around his wrist and a studded belt glinted at his waist. [i]Let's do this[/i], he thought, slipping his cellphone into his pocket and grabbing his keys with a metallic clink. A few moments later he had locked the apartment door behind him and hopped into his car; it purred as he turned the ignition and drove away in the direction of the warehouse near La Condamine street.

[Yang Xiao-Long]

Alistair's week was quite uneventful as the time went by, and he felt a bit uncomfortable anywhere other than inside his dorm and classrooms. He mainly just focused on his work while in his dorm and when he had no work he would just go on his computer.

He missed the day when he and the group went to Lyoko; it wasn't everyday that you could BE in a computer. He actually liked the concept of weapon augmentation; so when he got back to his dorm and wasn't in the mood to web-surf when done with all his work, he'd begin to draw, albeit terribly, but after a few practice sessions his weapon drawings improved, and the concepts ingrained into his head. He even ran a few scenes of Lyoko fights in his head to see if they were effective or not; ineffective designs were immediately editted. He went as far as naming his weapons, calling his default Lyoko blade "Siegmund" and the swift dagger "Crimson Gleam".

Despite these "distractions", Alistair managed to maintain his excelling grades, and even finish a major research project for his AP Biology class.

On Saturday night, he grew excessively bored, and so he decided to surf the web on his computer. Playing some games, he came across one particularly interesting weapon. Taking out a piece of paper and a pencil, he began to draw it. Quitting the game immediately afterward, he came across a stroke of genius; this weapon could be a new augmented weapon in Lyoko.

Erasing the blade and lengthening its hilt, Alistair began to draw a scythe-like blade. He then decided that the weapon would be attached to his wrist, allowing the full force of his arm to be transferred into the swing, and the curvature of the blade could be changed at will, making it able to catch an opponent with an upper-hand or lower-hand swing depending on the current blade's direction of curvature and angle of swing.
Laboring for a good hour, he finally managed to finish his latest breakthrough design, and he called it "Piercing Armorius".

He sighed in relief, and after putting his sheet of paper away, he took out and began reading a book directly afterward.

[Hydra of Ages]

"This is stupid," Divine told herself for the umpteenth time that night, staring at her reflection in an old hand mirror, rusted but still useful. She sighed and put it facing downward on her dresser before crossing her arms.

After leaving Lyoko, Divine had tried her very hardest to forget what happened- and even succeeded in trying to make herself think it was some sort of psychotic episode. But ever night, in her dreams, she'd see the same thing- that memory playing itself over again, impossible yet unmistakably alluring. What would it be like if you really could turn back time? Leap into a different dimension where all your fancies became reality, and you could fade into a shadow on the wall at a whim?

She wasn't entirely certain why she agreed to go to a party- it was stupid, like all parties were. Yet, she found herself actually grooming her hair for the first time in a year -combing it back, taming the unruly mess, though not without casualty in the ensuing battle, as her strained scalp could attest- and tying it back with far more care than she would have usually done, letting a couple bangs remain to frame her face.

Hell, she was even wearing a skirt, which though not exactly fancy, seemed distinctly out of character for her. Her shirt was a bit fancier than normal, and she eschewed the jacket- she wasn't sure why, but she didn't want to look normal where she was going. After a moment, mostly out of habit, she found a set of green sunglasses and stuck them in her pocket- after her adventure in the digital realm, she'd gotten quite fond of hiding her eyes in public situations, and kept a pair with her when possible.

[Vector Nightmare]

The days flowed onwards in relative tranquility. Basil resumed his normal lifestyle, carefully attending to his daily routine. However, that eventful evening never left his mind. Try as he might, he never managed to find any information concerning Lyoko or the entity known as XANA. It seemed as if, like Dominic had claimed, everything was kept under wraps. He resisted the temptation to go to the seemingly abandoned factory once more - there would be no point, and he was quite certain Dominic had installed at least some measures against unexpected intruders. So he waited, preparing himself for the eventuality that Dominic might contact him. Occasionally, he crossed paths with one of the members of the little group that had tagged along during the expedition. Alistair and Cerce he regarded with mostly indifference, but at the very least Devine had earned some of his respect for her combat performance.

And so the weekend came. Basil remained oblivious to the commotion concerning the party that was going to occur on Saturday, and made his own plans.