「Odd x Reader」Edge of Reality

13

"Heeeeey, Jeremie! Are the others having any luck?"

"Not much. Aelita isn't even able to find any signs of Xana in Sector Five."

I sigh as I throw a rugged-edge rock off the ledge and into the Digital Sea. Lately, Xana has been activating Towers left and right the past few days. The only catch, the Towers happen to deactivate the second we're virtualized onto Lyoko. Like, thanks for wasting our time! It's not as if we have a life to live or anything!

For this trip, it was William, Yumi, Ulrich, and myself to go. Aelita is a given in case there was an active Tower, but no. Odd only got to stay behind cause he was the quickest in the game we played.

Ah, Nose-Goes, the game where you either bruise or break your finger and nose.

But it's not like he would've made a difference in coming here—just an extra person to materialize then shortly after re-materialize.

"If you're done with your reconnaissance, then I'd like to bring you back in, (Y/n)."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm ready when you are, Einstien."

I stand up and stretch my virtual body. It doesn't feel as nice as the real thing. The Mountain Sector is pretty cool and all, but I kind of wish it was a different color. Like, it's nice and all that it's not the standard brown, but why purple? We already have a purple cat following us all the time.

Just as I was being materialized back into reality, my eye caught something moving in the distance. A person, maybe? Nah, I might be tired. It's probably just one of the numerous floating rocks passing by.

"You alright?" The steam clears as the Scanners open. William and Yumi are waiting for me while I notice Aelita and Ulrich are already in the elevator.

I nod and shuffle to the elevator. Honestly, I appreciate the concern, but I'm beyond exhausted. The second we get back to our dorms, I'm passing out with no regrets.

Heading up to the Lab, we catch Jeremie absentmindedly spinning in his chair, waiting for us. Odd is on the floor, holding up Kiwi in the air.

The Bull Terrier barks happily at our return. Odd looks up at the elevator, and our eyes briefly connect. Not long enough for him to single me out in the crowd of the five of us emerging from the elevator but enough for my cheeks to become flushed with anxiety.

"I'm beginning to think Xana likes to send us on wild goose chases at this point."

"Us?" Ulrich scoffs. "You get to sit in your cozy little chair while we're doing all the running around."

Jeremie nudges the frames of his glasses up, a bit offended. "Really? Spend a few days in my shoes, and then you'll see what it truly means to be exhausted."

"Alright, alright. Enough of that." Aelita shushes the two boys, a yawn following shortly after. "We need to try to figure out what Xana's goal is. It's plotting something, and it's a bit unsettling with how fast it's moving with the activations of the Towers."

"Not saying that we shouldn't or anything," I yawn, tears blurring my sight. "but can't we do this later? Running on five hours of sleep between two days with tons of Lyoko visits isn't ideal."