Sang didn't know how much time had passed and she really didn't care at this point. After being cooped up in that tower for so long it felt refreshing and freeing to wander about. The mountain sector was expansive but she was pretty confident in her ability to navigate it now. In all the time she wandered she had yet to encounter any monster either.

She headed back to the tower ready to move on to another sector. Maybe the forest sector. She was getting slightly tired of staring at the same beige color all the time. Entering the tower, she jumped off the platform following her gut. She landed back onto another platform before exiting the tower. Green trees spread out in every direction towering over the various paths.

She headed out following a path to her right. It was windy and thing traveling around many of the tall trees. It took a while before she came out at another small clearing but this one didn't have a tower. There were many different paths to choose from branching off of the clearing but that wasn't what stopped her in her tracks.

Slight pulses trailed through the ground under her feet, very faint but all too apparent. She studied them as they trailed off leading her towards one of the various paths. She took a step forward determined to follow it but stopped herself.

The boys would want her to alert them. They got so worried when she got hurt before. Fear gripped her at the reality of what an activated tower meant. VOLTO was up to something and her boys were in trouble. Without a second thought she raced back to the tower.

She made it there as quick as she could. Running into the tower she dropped to her knees in the middle of the platform pulling up the screen immediately. She sent an alert to all of the boys just how Victor had showed her how to do it. Sitting back, she waited for a response. The minutes ticked by and she began to get worried. Why weren't they responding? Victor had told her that they would respond to her alert immediately. What if she was too late? What if VOLTO had already gotten to them?

Her thoughts raced at this. If that was the case then it was up to her. She needed to get to the tower and deactivate it before the boys were hurt. For a moment the thought of the monsters that were sure to be guarding the tower made her freeze but she shook her head pushing the fear to the background.

Looking back to the still unresponsive panel, determination filled her veins. She had to do this. There was no other way.

She exited the tower without a backward glance knowing exactly which way to head. The pulsations grew stronger the farther she went. She passed through the same clearing as before focused on her goal.

Paranoid she glanced around her as she went down the next path. There were bound to be monsters somewhere. It would be a mistake on VOLTO's part to leave an activated tower unguarded.

She rounded a corner just in time for a red flash to move right before her eyes. Instinctively she pitched backward landing on her butt. She looked up immediately to find three Kankrelats heading her way. Behind them, she was dismayed to see three blocks and one huge black ball of some sort surrounding a red tower in the distance.

Immediately, she got to her feet retreating as fast as possible. This was stupid idea. How was she supposed to do anything when she didn't even have a weapon? She raced back along the path she had come from. Unfortunately she could hear the tale tell signs of the Kankrelats following her.

She didn't dare look back, it would only slow her down. In the distance, she saw the tower that meant safety. She was just rounding a corner in the windy path when a sudden pain in her ankle made her fall to the ground. She cried out in pain as she tumbled forward onto the path.

One of the Kankrelats came up close to her preparing to fire again. She instinctively swung her leg out making contact. The monster tumbled over the edge of the path disappearing into the white below it. She glanced over the edge. The monster fell for a while before disappearing in what almost appeared to be a pale yellow sea of some sort. Hearing the other monsters closing in on her, she realized now really wasn't the time to think about it.

Quickly she scrambled to her feet and ran into the clearing that led to the tower the other Kankrelats close behind. She heard them getting ready to fire again and braced herself. But before they could finish the assault three forms dropped from the sky right between Sang and the creatures stopping them both in their tracks

"Has anyone heard anything besides this being a huge pest problem?" Owen asked the boys who had gathered in his and Sean's office. His was answered with seven heads shaking in the negative. It confused Owen how a school could go from relatively pest free to infested with rodents in the matter of a weekend, but he had to admit that it was possible. Highly unlikely but still possible.

"Almost all of the students have left campus due to all the rat sightings," Kota stated.

"Mr. Morgan, can we compile a map of the various reported sightings? Maybe a reason for them will appear." Victor nodded pulling out his computer.

"I told you fuckers. It's a fucking demon rat army," Gabriel muttered. Owen wanted to roll his eyes at the younger man's dramatics.

"It's not a demon rat army for the last fucking time," North snapped at him his patience wearing thin.

"We'll have to leave the building soon to get out of the pest exterminator's way," Kota reminded everyone.

"We can continue this meeting at the apartment," Owen stated. Everyone began packing up their stuff except Victor who stared at his computer screen waiting for it to pull up. He just wanted to check something just in case.

"What are you doing, Vic?" Luke asked him noticing his computer still out. He figured that Victor would want to wait till the apartment to start the map.

"I just want to check something," Victor told him.

"What?" asked Nathan curious as well. "Are you checking on Sang?" Victor felt his cheeks heat slightly and nodded.

"No one has talked to her today and I just want to make sure everything is okay in Lyoko."

"What? You think VOLTO is behind the demon rat army?" Silas asked laughing as he said it. It just sounded ridiculous. Others joined in but Gabriel paused.

"Do you think the fucker could be?" he asked the group serious. The others just laughed harder. Victor wasn't laughing though. His screen pulled up and front and center was an alert that made his stomach drop.

"Mr. Morgan, report," Owen commanded upon seeing Victor's face. Victor immediately began typing quickly his fingers flying over the keyboard.

"What is it, Vic?" Luke asked once he had his laughing under control.

"Well," Victor started not believing his own eyes. "It appears VOLTO may actually be behind this."

"No way! Stop pulling our chain!" Nathan exclaimed not believing it.

"I'm being serious," Victor told them finally looking up to meet their eyes. "Sang sent an alert almost an hour ago." Everyone in the room sobered quickly. Kota's mind was racing. How was a supercomputer able to influence a single living thing let alone an entire pack of rats? Worry surged through North at the thought of Sang in Lyoko. She's in the tower he told himself but it didn't help much. It took them over an hour to respond. There was not telling if she was okay.

Owen saw the state of his team rapidly falling into their heads and acted quickly. "Head to the factory, immediately. Kota work on compiling the map of rat sightings while Victor is preoccupied with Lyoko." Everyone moved at once toward the door their stuff forgotten.

Victor grabbed his computer still looking through stuff as they went. He tried to make contact with Sang but she didn't answer. His gut dropped. There were only a couple reasons she wouldn't answer and only a couple were good options. She could have just spaced out and missed the call or she could be mad at them for not responding. Those would both mean she was still safe in her tower. The other option was that she was not in a tower anymore. The only reason for that would be that she went hunting for the activated tower where there are sure to be monsters. Victor felt panic surge at the thought. He didn't have her code done, it was still badly corrupted.

It didn't take them long to make it to the tower but on the way there they only saw more signs that led them to believe that Gabriel's theory on a rat army might be closer to the truth than they realized. Stores everywhere they passed were closed awaiting exterminators.

Once they arrived at the factory, they immediately headed to the elevator and down to the computer room. Victor took the seat at the computer just in time for a notification to pop up on his screen. Sang had lost life points.

"Sang's lost life points. We need to go now," he told the others panicked.

"Silas, Kota, and Luke go," Owen commanded. The three nodded and ran for the elevator. They traveled down to the scanner room and stepped into the tubes as fast as possible.

"Scanning Silas, transfer Silas. Scanning Kota, transfer Kota. Scanning Luke, transfer Luke," Victor stated as he went through the steps. "Virtualization." He hit the last key sending the three into Lyoko as close to Sang's position as he could. He just hoped they would make it in time.

Sang stopped in her tracks as she watched Silas, Kota, and Luke fall from the sky. They each landed in a powerful crouch. The Kankrelats let off two more shots. Silas, who landed almost directly in front of her, whipped his blade off his back just in time to deflect the lasers back at the senders.

"Hey Sugar," Luke greeted her. "You miss us?" She laughed while also feeling like she wanted to punch him.

"Sorry it took us a while to get here, aggele mou," Silas told her. She smiled at him and just shook her head.

"It's okay. You're here now." Kota send an arrow into center of each cockroach feeling accomplished as they exploded into nothing.

"Do you know where the tower is?" Kota asked her prepping another arrow just in case. She nodded and pointed to the path she had come from. The pulsations were getting stronger the longer the tower stayed activated.

"You can't feel that?" she asked motioning to the ground. All three looked down and shrugged their shoulders not feeling whatever it was she was talking about. She scrunched her eyebrows in confusion but put it to the back of her mind. There were more important things that they needed to accomplish. "This way." She started down the now familiar path again. She had only made it a couple of steps before a strong hand pulled her to a stop. She turned back around meeting Silas's eyes.

"Let us lead, in case there is any trouble," he suggested pulling her behind him. She shrugged. It didn't really matter to her. What mattered was getting to the tower.

They stopped behind some rocks making sure to stay low and quiet as to not alert the monsters. From their position they could all spot the red tower a short distance away. Kota tracked the various monsters. It looked like there were just three cubes. He noted what looked to be a black metal ball but dismissed it. It wasn't moving and didn't look like anything more than a smooth dark boulder.

Making eye contact with Silas and Luke he conveyed the plan. They both nodded their understanding. Sang looked between the boys in confusion. No words had been spoken. Kota counted down with his fingers. They all jumped into action when he reached zero, each one facing off against their own block.

Sang made sure to stay hidden behind the rock but watched the fight avidly silently cheering the boys on. Silas was efficient taking his block down before it even knew he was coming. Pulling the long sword out of the symbol, Silas only had a few moments to get back before it exploded. He moved to help Luke with his block when the black boulder moved. It rolled with frightening speed across the clearing. The boys all took note of it surprised that it had moved.

"What is that?" Luke asked. Victor typed away noting the difference between the monsters they had previously faced.

"It says it's a megatank but just like the others I don't have any specifics," he warned them. He was focused on the computer but a distant noise caught his attention. He looked around at the others. Sean had taken over mapping the right sightings since Kota was needed inside Lyoko. He watched the doctor type away on his laptop before pausing. Doc's eyes widen as he just stared at the screen. Victor wasn't the only one to notice.

"What is it, Dr.Green?" Mr. B asked him sharply. Doc glanced up quickly before looking back at the screen.

"It appears that the rats are heading here to the factory." The noise Victor had heard got louder and now he could make it out. It was the sound of high-pitched squeaks and sharp small nails on metal. The rats had entered the building.