Chapter Text
If there was one thing commonly known about Juliette Dubois, it was the fact that she didn't care.
Don't get her wrong, it wasn't that she was disinterested in the world around her, because she certainly was ― she just had a different way of showing it. Juliette had a way of categorizing everything into two boxes: the things that mattered and the things that most certainly did not. She liked to think of herself as a girl of simple earthly pleasures: a strong cup of black coffee first thing in the morning, art, old cinema, classic literature, Charles Baudelaire, walks in the nature, grunge music from the nineties, browsing Parisian flea markets, learning new songs on her black acoustic guitar, stargazing, and an occasional cup of chamomile tea when late night studying seemed to stretch on forever. And of course, she cared about her friends ― deeply, wholeheartedly, more than anything else in the world. That small group of five misfits, each one unique in their own, eccentric way, had long ago weaseled its way into her heart.
So, in a sense, Juliette Dubois care about a lot of things, but only the things that mattered. Everything else that wasn't already on her small mental list did not hold much weight in her opinion. There was a lot of stuff that just wasn't her concern, and weirdly enough, it was mostly consisting of everything that majority of her peers did care about. Partying and drinking simply wasn't her forte, and she could care even less about getting a boyfriend who would only drive her insane and stick around just for the sake of impressing his mates. She had her fair share of getting in trouble, although not in a traditional teenage sense, but for the things she deemed much more important than sneaking into boys' dormitories or snogging someone's face off in a secluded hallway of Kadic Academy.
So, no, Juliette Dubois did not care. She did not even spare an ounce of her attention to other people's snarky comments, or flinch in the slightest when she heard her name mentioned in a whispered conversation she'd overheard in passing. She couldn't be bothered the smallest bit about such trivial things, empty stories and meaningless gossip muttered about her. Juliette knew that she wasn't invisible, she had made quite a name for herself at Kadic. Her best friend Yumi Ishiyama, the quiet Japanese girl with a straight black bob, liked to say that Juliette had an air about her, but Juliette knew that it was simply because she was on top of her every class.
However, more recently, Juliette wished that she could just be invisible. She wished that no one would spare her so much as a glance, which often was the case anyway, but now it seemed as if she was aware of those rare occasions more than ever. She longed for solitude, more than ever, even though the school year has just begun a month ago. She was tired, and pissed off at everyone and everything that dared cross her line of sight. She found solace in joking about burning the whole school to the ground with her equally moody friend Ulrich Stern, but behind every soft chuckle that went past her lips in those moments, she knew that there was more truth to her words than she cared to admit.
She was tired. Exhausted. It was not normal for somebody's hands to tremble or their pulse to quicken on the most unassuming occasions. It was not normal for someone to drink four cups of coffee before noon and then later have to run off all the excess energy that made them jumpy. It was not normal for one's eyes to close during first period after having woken up less than an hour ago. It was not normal for a person to twitch upon hearing certain sounds or imagine seeing some small glimpses while passing through school hallways between classes, but there was a certain unease that stuck to Juliette's skin like glue and no matter how much she tried, she just couldn't seem to shake it off.
But Juliette Dubois did not care about any of it. Not in the slightest.
˚.⁺ ✧ ⋆ ｡˚
It was a warm September morning outside, the weather still resembling summer even though autumn has technically started a week ago. The grounds of Kadic Academy were littered with students gathered in small circles around spare wooden benches, talking, laughing and enjoying the last days of breezy yet warm weather before their classes finally began that morning. As Juliette made her way towards her friends, her light brown hair still slightly damp from the shower she had just taken after her morning run, her combat boots softly clicking against the concrete courtyard, she couldn't help but pause for a moment upon hearing the words that just escaped her best friend's mouth.
"…But what'll happen when William's real parents wanna see their son?" the black-haired girl inquired, a slight tone of concern lacing her voice, but otherwise sitting comfortably on the left side of the wooden bench.
William Dunbar. The unspoken topic among the group. Still a sore spot in every single one of their conversations.
Ulrich Stern, an athletic, dark-haired boy who was standing in front of Yumi agreed with her previous statement. "I'm not so sure that voice synthesizer will do the trick, Jérémie", he said, addressing the blond boy sitting beside Yumi, his black rimmed glasses perched atop his head.
"Who knows", the blond shrugged. "Maybe by then we'll have localized William. Isn't that right, Julie?" he added, acknowledging the older girl's arrival.
As Juliette took her stand beside her dormmate Aelita Stones, a redhaired girl just a year younger than her, Odd Della Robbia's attention suddenly turned to her. "How are you gonna do that?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Thanks to the data we got from Aelita's father before he disappeared into the network, we've actually been able to recreate Lyoko", she shrugged, her voice as steady as ever. In reality, talking about virtual realities should have been nothing more than a plot of a really advanced science-fiction novel, but for Juliette and her friends, it appeared to be nothing more than an everyday topic.
Although they certainly didn't appear as such, Juliette and her friends weren't just ordinary teenagers with ordinary responsibilities, but rather a group of warriors, as they decided to call themselves upon Odd's proposal, battling against an artificial intelligence called X.A.N.A. that Aelita's father Franz Hopper accidentally created as a part of a military project he worked on back in the seventies. After Jérémie accidentally stumbled upon an abandoned factory in which the supercomputer had lain untouched for years and accidentally turned it back on, he unknowingly awakened X.A.N.A., the evil artificial intelligence whose purpose, after a series of mistakes in its programming, became taking over the world. Jérémie could have easily shut down the supercomputer and put a stop to X.A.N.A. for a little while longer, if it weren't for the fact that there was something else also hiding in the depths of the digital world they had all learned to call Lyoko ― and that something, or better said someone, was Aelita. The poor girl had been trapped in Lyoko for almost ten years, and if it weren't for Jérémie and his curiosity, who knows for how much longer she would have been. Upon learning that information, the blond boy, along with the four others who soon became best of his friends, made it his life's mission to free Aelita from Lyoko and put a stop to X.A.N.A. once and for all.
However, at the beginning of the school year there have been certain occurrences that have almost destroyed Lyoko. Their little group had always been coordinated and organized in their battles, and would have continued to fight X.A.N.A. to the best of their abilities, if it weren't for William Dunbar. William Dunbar, a tall, black-haired boy with piercing blue eyes who always smelled of Marlboro Reds and the worn-out leather of his jacket. A loud, rebellious metalhead who just had a way of making Juliette's blood boil at the mere mention of his name. Juliette had to remind herself that it wasn't his fault that he was so insufferable, but it was hard to believe that when William had decided to make it his life's mission to win Juliette over with his bravado and stupid Casanova act. Ever since he first came to Kadic, he did everything in his power to get close to her, and it would've been tolerable if it weren't for the fact that, soon enough, he started poking around her personal life and discovered Lyoko. He wanted to join their group, of course he did, and at first they were all reluctant about it, knowing his arrogance might get him in trouble, but eventually they gave in. William had promised that he would not disappoint them, and they had believed him, but when his first mission at the beginning of the school year rolled around, he managed to get separated from Aelita and get attacked by the Scyphozoa, one of X.A.N.A.'s digital monsters on Lyoko that resembled its namesake in the real world, through which X.A.N.A. possessed him. When the rest of the group arrived on Lyoko, it was already too late as X.A.N.A.'s monsters, along with William, had started attacking the heart of Lyoko in the hopes of destroying it and launching X.A.N.A. into the network, where he would be unstoppable. The warriors tried to devirtualize William in the hopes of saving him from the inevitable death, but they were all unsuccessful in their attempts. In the end, X.A.N.A. managed to destroy Lyoko, trapping William inside the supercomputer, and possibly killing him.
Over the following weeks, as Jérémie, Aelita and Juliette worked relentlessly on recreating Lyoko based on the information Aelita's father had transferred before disappearing into the Digital Sea, only one thought seemed to plague Juliette's mind. William had become a sore spot for every one of them, but especially Juliette, since she was the closest so him ― or as close as you can be to someone who takes every waking moment of their day to annoy the hell out of you. Still, they shared a few classes together and Juliette had helped him out on a few occasions during the past school year (when he wasn't as annoying as usual), so she still wanted to know what happened to him. She couldn't bear the possibility of losing him, even if he was nothing more than an egotistical excuse for a living in her eyes.
"You're recreating Lyoko?" Odd whisper-shouted, snapping Juliette out of her thoughts.
"We might even be ready by tonight", the red head said with a little shrug of her shoulders.
"That's right", Jérémie confirmed. "Aelita, Julie and I have been working on it for the entirety of last week".
"Ah… So that’s why you three look like zombies, huh?" said Odd, unable to resist the opportunity to crack a joke. "And I thought that you three looked like shit because you were partying all night. I was getting jealous".
"Oh, come on, Odd. Partying? Without you?" interjected Juliette, ruffling his blonde hair with a purple streak in it which was perfectly gelled up into a spike just mere seconds ago. "We wouldn't even dream of doing such an unspeakable thing".
The rest of the group broke into fits of laughter upon witnessing Odd's failed attempts of putting his hair back in place, but even he wasn't immune to eventually cracking up at Juliette's remark.
The group fell into their usual rhythm after that, talking about their school responsibilities and plans for the afternoon and the following days. Odd was just telling them about his new idea for a short horror movie when the school bell rang, signaling that the classes were about to start. As they made their way towards the classrooms, the group ran into Milly Solovieff and Tamiya Diop, the only members of Kadic Academy's journaling club, whose interview Jérémie had left a few weeks ago to get to the factory during their last mission in Lyoko. They were still mad at him for sneaking out through the toilet window, so it was no surprise when they just ignored the group after Yumi greeted them while passing by.
"They're still sulking?" Ulrich asked, trying to hide his amusement.
"What do you think?" Jérémie adverted, half-bothered by his friend's teasing.
"Well, you did sneak out that bathroom window in the middle of an interview. And for ace reporters like them, that is pretty insulting", added Odd while pointing an accusing finger at Jérémie.
"Being mad at me isn't as bad as them being really mad at each other".
Ulrich's curiosity just piqued even more. "But how come?" he asked.
"They had a massive argument over the newspaper, I think", answered Jérémie with a shrug.
"You mean The Kadic News is folded for good?" Yumi adverted, now clearly amused by the outcome. "That's the best news I've heard in a whi—"
"No, it's not", interjected Odd. "How am I gonna know who's going out with who now? I guess I'll have to console myself by watching Jim dancing to old disco music. He really nailed that moonwalk, don't ya think?"
"Yeah, Odd, or you could actually study for once", said Juliette, coming up behind him to ruffle his hair again but he swatted her hand away before she got the opportunity to do so.
"You really are insufferable, you know that?"
"My pleasure", winked Juliette before stopping by the door of her Italian classroom. "See you guys at lunch".
As they muttered their goodbyes, Juliette made her way towards her seat by the window in the far back of the classroom. A small part of her expected to hear a compliment about her ravishing beauty announced in a thick English accent, but she knew that it was just her mind playing tricks on her.
˚.⁺ ✧ ⋆ ｡˚
Juliette has always thought of herself as a very reliable person. Ever since she was merely a child, there wasn't a thing that Juliette couldn't provide, both to herself and to others. Juliette was the person to have around when you were sure that you would flunk a test. You could always ask Juliette to lend you something. It always seemed as if she had a solution to every possible problem you might've had.
Today, however, she wasn't so sure of that.
After the most boring discussion of The Trial both Juliette and Yumi have ever witnessed during their double French period, the girls decided to get some fresh air before heading to math class. The courtyard was lively again, as many other students have also scattered themselves around while basking in the warmth of late September sun. Juliette and Yumi decided to find solace in the shades of an old oak tree they often occupied. They would sometimes joke about how the old oak was just their spot, and nobody else's, as the younger students knew better than to mess with the older ones, and their classmates just couldn't be bothered to sit in the dirt when there were perfectly in-tact benches around ― even if it meant getting sunburnt.
Yumi was the first to reach the old oak, Juliette trailing after her only because she was almost hit by a football while passing through the courtyard. She was grumbling when she reached the tree, and the only thing Yumi did was silently offer her a cigarette.
"Thank you", the brunette grumbled, pulling her lighter out of her front pocket. Yumi just smiled in acknowledgment while lighting her own cigarette. Both of them were well aware of the effects smoking had on their health, but it was a habit they had picked up over the summer which turned into a stress relief after everything that happened at the beginning of the school year, and now, a few weeks later, they just couldn't be bothered to stop.
"Now this is life", Juliette mused with a contented sigh, stretching her legs in front of her.
"You're right, it is. If I had to spend even one more minute listening to Pereira's tirade about how we haven't read anything over the summer or how she feels guilty about being "inadequate" for her job, I would've probably jumped out of the window".
Juliette couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous. You know that she'll be retiring in a month or so anyway. And honestly, I don't mind her that much".
"Of course you don't, because you actually bother to read the required books for the class", Yumi adverted while taking a drag.
"Then there is your solution. Next time actually read the required book and she won't have the reason to bother you".
"You're impossible, you know that?" Yumi said while bumping her shoulder.
After laughing for a bit, the girls fell into a comfortable silence. This was how they usually spent their recesses ever since they started Kadic Academy ― laughing and chatting under the old oak tree ― it was a routine they had established long ago and there was certainly no point in changing anything about it. Although they both loved the rest of their little group, they still appreciated the moments shared just between the two of them. They were the oldest of friends, and they would argue closest (although Odd and Ulrich could easily give them a run for their money), so they appreciated these small moments when they could just pretend that there was no Lyoko and it was still just the two of them, like before they met Aelita and the boys.
As the break drew nearer to its end and the girls were almost finished with their cigarettes, Yumi decided to break the silence by turning to Juliette and asking: "When do you think we'll be able to locate William?"
Juliette froze for a moment, startled by Yumi's question. It wasn't that she wasn't expecting it ― she was… eventually… But now?
"Soon, I hope", she muttered, taking a drag of her almost finished cigarette. The taste of nicotine was bitter, and the filter burned her lips a bit, but she appreciated the feeling in that moment. The truth was, she herself didn't have an answer to Yumi's question. And she wished she did. Oh how she wished that she could just know where William was, if he was even alive, if there was even the slightest chance of saving him, of bringing him back. But she didn't. And it tore her apart.
It was obvious that Yumi wanted to press further but in the end decided against it. She offered a little shrug as they fell into silence once again. However, that was the first time when Juliette Dubois did not have an answer to something.
˚.⁺ ✧ ⋆ ｡˚
"I'm all set," Jérémie announced from his seat by the supercomputer. They were all gathered around him as he just entered the last of codes he, Aelita and Juliette had been working on for the past two weeks and was now ready to run the program in the hopes of restarting Lyoko.
"Here goes nothing," Juliette muttered beside him, which just earned her a scowl from the younger boy. Of course she was hoping that their relentless programming would work, for all of their sakes, for William's sake, but she would be lying if she said that she didn't have her doubts.
Just as Jérémie finally pressed Enter, they all went silent. The six teenagers all stared at the monitor in front of the blond boy, each one of them lost in their own thoughts concerning Lyoko, hoping that the program would work. The abandoned factory in the 17th Arrondissement felt hotter than usual, but not because it was actually warm, but because of the tensed nerves in each of them, because of the stress surrounding them, because the uncertainty was almost tangible. Almost.
"Uhh… I don't wanna be a party pooper", Odd started, turning towards Jérémie, "but there doesn't seem to be very much happening". The uncertainty in his voice was obvious, and Juliette had noticed the furrow of his eyebrows and the small crease forming between them. He was right, she thought.
"The data that my father transmitted wasn't enough", announced Aelita with a defeated sigh.
Jérémie was quiet for a moment. Then, he took off his glasses as a sign of his own defeat. "I guess we must've been really crazy to think that we could recreate Lyoko".
The group fell into a defeated silence.
But then…
"Hey, wait", Yumi started, pointing towards the screen. "Look at that!"
And in that moment, the small circle on one of the opened windows started expanding. It wasn't anything obvious, anything that could erase their disappointment… Until it started forming a web of geometric patterns, familiar patterns that represented the digital plan of Lyoko.
"That's incredible! It worked!" exclaimed Ulrich.
"Julie, Aelita, Jérémie, you guys are gods", added Odd. But the truth was, they weren't really gods. They still didn't know if their plan had actually worked. They followed Scaeffer's instructions, but they didn't bring back the original Lyoko, but rather created its mere replica. There was still a possibility that they wouldn't be able to fight X.A.N.A. when the time calls for it.
"Well almost, but not quite", adverted Jérémie. Juliette knew that he was thinking the same thing, they have discussed it quite a few times during their sleepless nights of endless research and programming. However, as he turned on the hologram of Lyoko beside them, he decided to settle on saying: "For the time being, all we've been able to recreate is Sector Five of Lyoko. We still gotta work to recreate the other sectors. But we should be able to do that soon". He was right, but as he turned to Juliette, she could tell that he wanted to say something more, something about the thought that's been plaguing both of their minds ever since she brought it up a week ago. However, he decided against it, and she understood why.
"Okay, but it can wait a night or two", adverted Yumi, trying to ease the last bit of tension that still lingered in the air around them. "You guys deserve a good night's sleep!"
"Yumi's right, Jérémie", agreed Aelita. "We're going to be needing every bit of our strength to look for William. We'll get started tomorrow". But as she said the last part, Juliette didn’t miss the quick glance her roommate cast her way.
Jérémie was about to object, but in the end settled on their proposition, turning down the supercomputer. Odd pulled him into a playful side hug, and as the group made their way toward the elevator, Juliette couldn't help the chill that ran down her spine. They were going to bring him back, even if it was the last thing they ever did.
˚.⁺ ✧ ⋆ ｡˚
The next morning, as Juliette made her way down to the cafeteria, she couldn't help but feel relieved by last night's turn of events. There were still some things that needed to be finessed, but recreating Lyoko was a start. She didn't let any of the doubts creep up on her, even though she still had good reasons for every single one of them. She did not want to think about William, or worry about their next trip to Lyoko, which she felt would come soon enough; she instead just wanted to be a normal teenager for one morning. She would undoubtedly worry about that stuff later, for now her only concern should be the cup of coffee she would be having with her breakfast in only a couple of minutes.
Her train of thought was, however, abruptly stopped when she noticed Odd Della Robbia emerge from the hallway of boys' dormitories. He would've most likely cracked some stupid joke upon seeing her if it weren't for the fact that he was visibly fuming while clutching a copy of The Kadic News to the point where his hands were slightly trembling and his knuckles starting to turn white.
"What's got your knickers in a twist?" Juliette asked, trying to ease the tension.
"Milly and Tamiya", he answered, sparing her a quick side glance and falling into step beside her. "And where did you pick that up?"
He was obviously referring to the phrase she used just a moment ago. He was right, she was French, there was no short explanation of her knowing any English phrases, especially with none of her friends being also English. Except one person…
She just shrugged her shoulders in response and turned her attention back to the scroll of papers in his hand. "I thought that they stopped printing the paper. How'd you get that anyway?"
Odd just muttered something along the lines of "Jim". Jim Morales, their P.E. teacher, although he was more of an overdramatic uncle type rather than a school authority. Although he did his job quite well, and there were a lot of extracurriculars and competitions that students could partake in, Jim also had a way of unintentionally entertaining them with the most random stories from his youth. Usually, he would start telling them all the exciting and somewhat unbelievable things he did before he became a physical educator, but when they asked him for more information, he would simply brush them off, leading them to believe that he just made everything up.
As Juliette stayed quiet, still in the dark about the whole situation, Odd decided to continue. "They somehow found out about Paco, the King of Disco and decided that it would be "the perfect scoop". Jim traced it back to me and cornered me in the bathroom about it".
Juliette just offered him an amused chuckle for his choice of words, to which Odd just scowled at and continued his way down the stairs. She was just about to tell him that he ought to be more careful with what he talks about in public or he would be the next King of Disco as a punishment when they ran exactly into two people Odd was looking for ― Milly and Tamiya.
"Do you know what Jim's gonna do to me for this?" he bellowed to the two girls whilst waving around the newspaper in his hand.
The girls just looked up at him, almost bored, but it was the person behind them that started talking. Elisabeth Delmas, principal's daughter. "No, but I can't wait to find out", she drawled. "And I'm sure that my readers are dying to know, too".
"Elisabeth", addressed Juliette, pronouncing her name in a way that never failed to infuriate the black-haired girl in front of her, "since when have you been involved with The Kadic News?" It was obvious that Juliette was trying to get a rise out of her, simply because she quite enjoyed seeing Sissi – a nickname she went by – upset, but the younger girl just offered her an arrogant smirk she used whenever she was plotting something.
"Since I made myself editor in chief. And since you're in no hurry to get to class, I'd like to ask you a few questions for the next issue". She then quickly averted her attention to Milly and Tamiya beside her. "What are you two waiting for? Come on! We're rolling! Well, Juliette, our readers would really like to know how you and William are getting along?"
"Is that so? I never would've guessed that Kadic's students were so invested in our personal lives. Well, Sissi, we're doing just perfect, thank you very much", Juliette said, offering her an ironic smile of her own. She was just about to leave when Sissi's next words stopped her dead in her tracks.
"That wasn't really the answer I was hoping for. Would you rather I ask the same question to William? He may not be as closed off as you are. As a matter of fact, where is he? The last time I saw him was two weeks ago".
Ulrich, who was standing not too far away with the rest of their friends, quickly turned the attention to himself. "He's gone abroad", he stuttered a bit. "His father called your father to tell him".
Beside him, Jérémie just rolled his eyes while Odd inaudibly groaned. What a great way to blow their cover, Juliette thought. Even if it weren't obvious that they were hiding something before, Juliette was now sure that Sissi would not stop asking questions until the bell finally rang.
Her assumption was only proven correct when Sissi turned to Ulrich and began: "How come you know that?"
The brunet was left stuttering until a familiar voice called from not too far away. "Are you talking about me?"
In that moment, they all turned their heads towards the tall figure leaning against a stone column just a few meters away from them. He was wearing his signature smirk, his inky hair messier than Juliette remembered, arms crossed over his chest, lazily gazing at the scene before him. It was obvious that he caught everyone by surprise, especially the Lyoko warriors, because they all knew something Sissi didn't. The shock was written all over their faces, each one of them gaping at the sight of the boy whose expression looked almost bored, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Just then, as Sissi was about to speak up again, Juliette quickly composed herself enough to step in. "Not now, princess. Go and play with your minions or something. Us lovebirds have a breakfast to get to", she said, quickly stepping beside William who looked like he just won the lottery.
It was obvious that Sissi wanted to object, but as the two younger girls scrambled off, she just turned her nose up and left with an audible huff.
Then, before any of them had time to process what was happening, Juliette turned her attention back to the black-haired boy in front of her and whisper-shouted: "What the hell, Dunbar?! How are you here?! How are you even alive?!"
"Pleasure seeing you too, Jules", he replied, using the nickname only he used when he wanted to flirt with her (or in other words, piss her off). While their friends were still left gaping at the scene in front of them, William took it as an opportunity to pull Juliette into a side hug. She wriggled out of his grasp and shot Odd a glare when she noticed him trying to suppress his laughter.
Aelita, being the first to come to her senses out of the rest of them, asked: "Julie's right. How are you here, William? What happened?"
"Uh… I don't know", he said, leaning back against the column. "All I can remember is being virtualized on Lyoko and being captured by the Scyphozoa. It's a blank after that. That is, till this morning when I woke up in the factory".
They were still gaping at him as if he had gone insane, and Jérémie had taken out his laptop to check if any of the Lyoko towers had been activated. Juliette still wasn't sure whether she was dreaming or seeing things, but she was certain that she wanted for this madness to come to a stop so that she could finally enjoy her cup of coffee before class.
In that moment, Odd quickly came up beside William and decided to pinch his upper arm. "Hey, what are you doing, Odd?" the older boy asked. "You're hurting me".
Now Juliette was sure that she needed that coffee… and to never hear William's voice again.
"Just checking to make sure you're not one of X.A.N.A.'s ghosts", Odd explained.
"No danger of that", Jérémie confirmed from his spot on the floor. "There isn't any activated tower on Lyoko. William couldn't have been sent by X.A.N.A."
"So you can stop pinching me, Odd", he said, ruffling Odd's blonde spike.
Just then, the bell rang, announcing that they had missed breakfast. Juliette let out a silent curse while Yumi spoke to William: "Anyhow, you're just in time for a quiz in math."
"Timing, huh? I haven't studied at all."
"Since when have you ever studied", grumbled Juliette as she started walking a few steps in front of William and Yumi.
"Wait up, Jules", called William, falling into step beside her. "You are gonna help me pass the test, right, darling?"
"In your dreams, Dunbar."
˚.⁺ ✧ ⋆ ｡˚
The library was livelier than usual, Juliette noticed as soon as she was embraced by the familiar smell of books. After the classes ended that day, and she successfully managed to ignore William's pestering during recesses, she finally got her hands on a warm double shot of espresso and made her way towards her safe haven until it was time for dinner. She had no interest in acting in Odd's new short horror, and Ulrich was off buying a new comic book that had just come out. Yumi had announced during lunch that she would be heading home right after school as her father's colleagues were coming over for dinner, so she had to help her mom around the house. Jérémie had retreated to his dorm to work on some new equipment and additions to their Lyoko costumes (something him and Juliette had come up with as a surprise for Aelita), and Aelita said that she needed a bit of rest after really tiring gym class. That left Juliette alone in the library to cram for next week's history exam, but also try to dig up anything that could serve as inspiration for any new additions to Lyoko. She relished in knowing that she would finally have a peaceful afternoon and could get lost among the dusty rows of shelving filled with literature without any disturbances for the rest of the day, so she finally managed to make herself a well-needed cup of coffee on the small machine in her and Aelita's dorm, and after finishing a cigarette, made her way towards the library.
Juliette loved Kadic Academy's library. It always smelled of old books and cups of coffee that other students brought along. Since Kadic Academy was a private school, they were all allowed to bring in drinks, their laptops, or headphones for the sake of concentrating better. The library itself was filled with various towering rows of books, organized by their genre and topic, name of the author or the titles itself. There were also old newspaper copies stored in the far corner of the library, waiting for a curious mind to stumble upon them. Apart from the rows upon rows of bookshelves, the library was also littered with small wooden tables between them, antique reading lamps, and a few paintings hanging from the walls whose authors happened to be Kadic’s old students.
Juliette's favorite place in the library was a small table in the far-left corner of the library, the one right by the window that overlooked the woods on school grounds. She liked sitting there because being surrounded by towering bookshelves could easily block out the noise around her. There wasn't any real noise, of course, but when library got busier, like today, and students began shuffling around, trying to find books they might need for their schoolwork, Juliette liked being able to sit in her isolated, quiet corner and tune out the shuffling of pages and tired sighs escaping other students. She enjoyed being secluded in her little corner where she could drone out the busy world around her, even if just for a few hours.
Juliette had spent quite some time in her corner going over her notes, sorting and revising them, but also made a few small breaks during which she drew, browsed the Russian classic literature section, or simply went outside for a quick cigarette break. She was quite happy with her work that day, and sometime between studying about the French Revolution and looking through Dostoyevsky's short stories, she decided to skip dinner. She had saved a croissant from lunch to eat in between studying, but seeing as she hasn't been hungry, the fluffy pastry remained neatly wrapped into a napkin inside her army green messenger bag. After a contented day of studying and having checked White Nights out of the library, Juliette made her way towards the dormitory, with a now cold croissant in hand.
As she reached her dorm, Juliette noticed that the door was left unlocked. As she started opening it, she couldn't help the sinking feeling that started settling inside her stomach. She knew that Aelita hated leaving the door unlocked, even when Jérémie came over. She didn't feel safe with letting anybody inside, and she prioritized her safety above anything. Juliette couldn't blame her though, Aelita had been abducted by X.A.N.A. on numerous occasions since they brought her back to Earth. It made no sense for Aelita to leave the door unlocked and simply let in anyone.
As she twisted the doorknob, Juliette was hoping with everything inside her that Jérémie had simply come over and that they just forgot to lock the door. However, the gnawing feeling was only proven right when she walked into an empty room with a deserted and unmade bed that had probably been occupied by her roommate not too long ago. Still, Juliette did not want to believe that X.A.N.A. would attack so soon, so she reached for the phone inside her bag all while hoping that Aelita had just gone over to Jérémie's to grab something.
Beep… Beep… Beep…
Then, she noticed the faint buzzing coming from inside the room. She made her way towards Aelita's rumpled sheets, and soon enough, she found it. Aelita's pink Nokia had been carelessly tucked beneath the pink covers on her bed, probably left untouched for who knows how long.
Juliette tossed it back on the bed and made her way towards the hallway, shutting the door behind her. However, as she was locking it, she had to compose herself enough to not fumble with the key in her hand. This cannot be happening. She sped down the hallway, making her way towards the staircase and then skipping the stairs two at a time in order to get to the boys' dormitories as soon as possible. She could feel the blood pumping in her ears, but tried to ignore it as best as she could while entering the long hallway. She wasted no time making her way down to Jérémie's dorm, but in the next moment, she bumped right into the blond boy himself.
"Where's Aelita?" she asked, her voice a little strained.
"Uh… I don't know", answered Jérémie. "I was just talking to Sissi, Milly and Tamiya. They told me that William came over to your dorm".
"Well, Aelita's not upstairs and there's no trace of― wait, what?! William?!" How could've she been so stupid?! Oh how did she not realize it before?!
"We need to get to the factory! Quickly", Jérémie declared, already speeding down the hallway, having obviously picked up on what Juliette was thinking.
"I'm gonna go get Ulrich and Odd, you call Yumi. We'll meet you in the scanner room", Juliette called after making a turn to the right.
In that moment, Juliette was thankful that Ulrich and Odd's dorm wasn't too far away from where her and Jérémie parted ways, and as she finally reached it, she didn't waste a second to open the door after knocking. Hopefully Odd wouldn't be naked… again.
"X.A.N.A.'s attacked", Juliette breathed out as soon as she closed the door. As she took a few moments to calm herself down, she took in her surroundings. Ulrich was sprawled across his bed, comic book in hand, looking like he'd just been caught red-handed. On the other side of the room, Odd's miniature bull terrier Kiwi slept soundly on his owner's bed as if nothing had happened.
"W― what? How? What happened?" Ulrich asked upon processing Juliette's words for a moment.
"Aelita wasn't in the dorm when I came in, and the door was left unlocked. I went over to Jérémie's to see if maybe she had gone there to grab something, but he told me that he also hadn't seen her whole afternoon, but that Sissi, Milly and Tamiya had cornered him to ask for his opinion on William coming over to Aelita and I's dorm. That's unusual, considering that he knew I would be in the library, and other than bothering me, he had no business going up to my dorm or speaking to Aelita alone. Also, isn't it weird how he managed to survive the destruction of Lyoko? He should've fallen into the Digital Sea, right? And now he's suddenly back and has been acting as if nothing's happened…" she trailed off, waiting for Ulrich to pick up her train of thought. It was quite obvious that X.A.N.A. had saved William, now that she took a moment to think about it. Still, it pained her how she hadn't connected everything before. Maybe she would've been able to prevent the whole situation before it even happened.
"So what you're saying is that X.A.N.A. had possessed William and is now using him for his dirty work?" Ulrich asked while standing up to put on a jacket. "You really should get your boyfriend in check, Julie".
"He's not my boyfriend", Juliette barked, slightly bothered by Ulrich's comment, which just made the younger boy even more amused. "And also, where is Odd? Shouldn't he be finished with his stupid film by now?"
"Honestly, I have no idea", said Ulrich while walking towards the door.
"Great", Juliette muttered while ringing the said boy's number. "He won't pick up. Classic".
"Jérémie's on his way to the factory, I suppose?"
"Yeah, he and Yumi'll meet us there. But we have to hurry. Who knows how long it'll take for Yumi to get there with the dinner and everything, and Jérémie doesn't go to Lyoko anyway. There's only so much he can do from up here".
"Alright then. Let's go", Ulrich said after locking the door behind him, and for the first time that day, Juliette did not complain.
˚.⁺ ✧ ⋆ ｡˚
The scanner room was, upon first look, simply nothing more a tall, brassy, circular room with three long columns in the middle of it. Eerily looking, of course – there was no denying that – some would even say that it felt straight out of a horror film, but simple in its form nonetheless. Yet, for Juliette and her friends, walking into this room carried a certain amount of weight every time. The room was dimly lit, just like the rest of the factory, but the brass always shone just enough to catch attention from the corner of one's eye. The room was also quite cold, even with the multitude of cables sprawled on its walls and floor, through which electricity endlessly circulated at any given moment. The scanner room always brought them a particular feeling of uncertainty, uncertainty of the current moment and the one to come.
Juliette and Ulrich had run into Jérémie on their way to the factory, and the three of them had discovered that William had virtualized himself and Aelita on Lyoko just moments before they arrived. The three then separated, each one taking their place for the upcoming battle, all whilst hoping that William had not gotten far from the atrium of Sector Five.
The feeling of dread Juliette had first felt had long ago subsided as they ran to the factory. At first, she could not quite comprehend what happened, how William managed to survive the destruction, when was the exact moment he started acting less like himself than usual. She had contributed the slightly unusual behavior to him being disoriented after spending two weeks in a digital realm unknown to any of them, without any sense of time, space and direction, or even a sense of self. She brushed it off that day, thinking that he was just upset with himself after everything that happened and simply not in the mood to bother her during the afternoon. However, she would be lying if she said that the thought of him surviving due to other circumstances had not crossed her mind a couple of times that day. Then, when she saw the state of her dormitory and the pieces slowly began falling into place, she finally let the simmering dread creep up on her. It was painful, agonizing, nipping at her skin and settling deep into her bones just as slowly as she had processed what had taken place. Juliette hated herself for not realizing it earlier. She hated herself for letting Aelita down once again. It wasn't the first time that something like this has happened, but each time X.A.N.A. managed to take Aelita away from them, a part of Juliette would blame herself.
But now, as she stood in front of a tall, brass scanner, Ulrich a few feet away from her, Juliette felt dread slowly dissipate in her and another emotion take its place. Rage. She was not afraid anymore, nor did she feel any regret. She just felt angry. Furious. She was angry at X.A.N.A., angry at Aelita's father for even inventing an artificial intelligence such as this, even if it had only been by accident, angry at William for being a show-off and landing himself into this mess, and then proceeding to give them hell without even knowing it. She was slightly angry with Aelita, too, for being naïve enough to let herself fall for X.A.N.A.'s tricks yet again. But mostly, Juliette was angry at herself. For not being there when they needed her. That was her biggest flaw. She was unreliable.
The tall scanner was narrow, filled with hot air that somehow always seemed to course through it even if the rest of the factory was freezing. Juliette had stepped inside it so many times before, yet still, every time she would be transferring to Lyoko, she felt like it was the first time. She could feel tingles on the back of her neck, and as the scanner's small doors began to close around her, she adjusted her attention Jérémie's voice that now seemed to be surrounding her.
"Transfer: Ulrich… Transfer: Julie".
"Scanner: Ulrich… Scanner: Julie".
"Virtualization".
And in that moment, the whole world came to a stop. The sensation was like nothing else. The world around her began to spin, her muscles tensing and relaxing all at once. Lights began flashing before her eyes, and then… after feeling like her body had been ripped to shreds… Juliette suddenly regained her balance. It felt like blood was coursing through her veins at an unstoppable rate, except it wasn't blood. It was energy. She did not feel tired, or hungry, or itchy anymore. She just felt energized. She was not made of flesh and blood and bones, everything human in her had been replaced by a weird, adrenaline inducing sensation, something she could only prescribe to one thing. She was finally on Lyoko.
As she opened her eyes, she took in a deep breath and put her hands on her hips. There was no air on Lyoko, nor were there any molecules, nor sensations known to humans, nor the changing weather. It was all just energy. A world made of binary codes, strings upon strings of numbers and calculations that made no sense to the uneducated. But to Juliette, it was beautiful.
As both her and Ulrich regained their composure, they heard Jérémie's voice inside their ears. "Alright, guys. You've gotta take the corridors right in front of you".
The brunet, now dressed in a traditional yellow samurai costume, asked: "Is there a key we've got to trip?"
"No", Juliette replied. She was wearing a navy-blue Onna-Musha costume of her own, embroidered with cherry blossoms and her brown messy hair full of small braids threaded with colorful strings and beads. "We got rid of that procedure when we recreated Sector Five".
"Cool", he gasped.
"Come on, Ulrich", called back Juliette, having already started running down the hallway. "Lead the way, Jérémie".
As she exited the circular atrium with Ulrich in tow, and passed down the narrow hallway, Juliette found herself in a large, leveled room made of blue cuboids. There, right on the platform in front of her, with his back turned to her, stood he. William.
"So, having fun without inviting us?" called Ulrich from Juliette's right after noticing Aelita run to the other side of the room. "You sure have changed, haven't you?"
In that moment, William slowly turned to look at them. It was still the same William Dunbar they had left behind two weeks ago, and yet at the same time, it wasn't him at all. Even in his virtual form, he now exuded a contrastingly different kind of energy. Juliette could not explain what it was, but there was something unfamiliar in his stance. When he first came to Lyoko, William was unsure of himself, he didn't know what to do, his movements were klutzy, he looked lost. But now, as they observed him even from a small distance, he stood tall, proud even. His stance was firm, and as he conjured his zweihänder, now covered in black vines adorning the Eye of X.A.N.A. near its handle, he offered them almost a lazy smirk, as if telling them that he was ready to fight. Not beside them, but against them.
"Be careful, guys", they heard Jérémie say. "X.A.N.A. sent some Creepers, just behind you".
As if on cue, the pathway behind them started to close, trapping them inside the room as a series of small laser bullets flew their way. Juliette heard William mutter something along the lines of supersmoke and then actually turn into a black cloud of smoke just a second later.
"Hold them off, Ulrich. I'll go after him", Juliette said, already going after William, determination clear in her voice.
She sped down the hallway, trailing after the black cloud of smoke, her legs carrying her as fast as they could. Juliette wasn't slow by any means, she was the second fastest out of five Lyoko warriors, Ulrich being the first with his supersprint ability. On the other hand, Aelita, who was currently at the head of their little wild goose chase, was the slowest runner out of all of them, so it didn't take long for Juliette to catch up to her and William. As she passed various blue chambers that made up Sector Five of Lyoko, each one intricate in its own way, Juliette started to wonder just how exactly to free William from X.A.N.A.'s clutches. There has to be a way, right? She was sure of it. She just had to figure out how.
They finally reached a dead end, and as Juliette slowed down, she noticed William backing Aelita into a hole in the wall. He was holding up his right hand, most likely about to attack her.
"Energy field", Aelita yelled as a small pink ball of light shot out of her palm. William dodged it effortlessly and continued cornering her.
"Why don't you attack someone your own age, lover boy?" Juliette called out behind them. "Or are you afraid of what a girl like me can do?"
Just then, William turned around, with Aelita still behind him, as if finally acknowledging Juliette's presence.
"Oh, and here I was, thinking you'd be happy to see me", she continued, inching closer, taunting him. Juliette did not know if he could still hear her or if X.A.N.A. had taken even the last bit of consciousness in him, but in that moment, she decided that she would rather take her anger out on him than let anybody else get hurt because of her mistakes.
But then, William chuckled. The sound of it sent a shiver down her spine. She had heard the sound before, on countless occasions, yet now it didn't sound amused or playful like before. It just sounded cold.
"Well if it isn't the ice queen herself", he greeted, conjuring his zweihänder once again. "I was wondering when I'd get the chance to see your pretty face again".
"Yet you don't look so pleased to see me", she adverted, inching closer.
"Is that so?" he asked. Then, in a blink of an eye, his smirk turned into something much more sinister and he attacked.
"Aelita, run", Juliette yelled out, dodging the massive blade that slashed just a hair away from her face. As the younger girl passed by, she was back on her feet, an ice dagger in both her hands.
"You really do know how to spoil everything, don't you, Juliette?" William said, running at her with his weapon raised above his head. However, before he could strike again, Juliette turned around on one foot, knocking him down with her other leg. As he fell flat and Juliette stood up, she took a moment to look down at him. It was still the same William they brought to Lyoko two weeks ago. The same tall and slightly toned frame, long limbs, unruly black hair. Although his bodysuit was now black with various small chains and studs all over, and his skin appeared paler than the last time, he was still the same William she remembered. But as she got closer, putting her dagger on his throat, she noticed something she hadn't seen before. There, right between his brows, slightly covered by his hair, as if he had been scarred, lay the Eye of X.A.N.A.
"Like what you see, Juliette?" William asked from beneath her, his head slightly tilted upward despite the dagger that pressed his throat. "This is what you made me".
She paused, gazing down at him. That was still the same William, the one that constantly trailed after her at school, called her cheesy nicknames, flirted with her to no end, made up love poems on the spot just to impress her. And yet, he was not. He wasn't the William whose homework she did just so he would stop bothering her for a few days, who had borrowed her copy of Les Fleurs du mal and returned it at the end of the week with some actual feedback. No, this wasn't him. What was now beneath her arm was not the William she knew, but something far worse from it. Something evil.
Before she could even process what was happening, William seized her waist, flipping her over so he was now on top of her. She would be lying if she denied she hadn’t felt proud after reluctantly teaching him that exact move two weeks ago after he begged her to show him even one fighting move, but now, with his full weight pressed onto her, she wished that she could forget ever knowing him.
"You know what your problem is, Juliette?" he asked, still holding her down. "You want to be in control. Everything, and I mean everything, has to be under your control, or else you feel like it's falling apart. But you cannot control me, Juliette. I am not some puppet for you to play with when you're bored and then toss back into a corner when you're finished. You get that, right?"
Juliette wanted to escape. To run away, as fast as she could, as far as her legs would carry her. She would've even jumped into the Digital Sea if she had to, just to get away from him. She now knew that this wasn't William, that this was X.A.N.A taunting her, using William’s body as a host and playing with his mind like a parasite he is, controlling him like a pawn with no humanity left. But as much as she wanted to believe that X.A.N.A. was merely playing tricks on her, she couldn't deny that some part of it was right. She was trapped. This was real.
William had leaned down even more, his lips almost brushing Juliette's ear. "I am not your puppet, Juliette", he whispered. "You don’t own me".
And before she had the time to realize what was happening, William straightened back up, still holding her down with his weight on top of her, hands now above his head, a cloud of black smoke already taking shape from inside his palms. Juliette felt a piercing pain right in the middle of her chest, and before she could get away, it dug deeper into her, the tingling sensation slowly returning to her body, as if a thousand bees had stung her skin.