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G-Force 4
Author of 6 Stories |
Special Thanks:
To all my voice actors and actresses. We're so gonna rock the radio plays!
Disclaimer:
I don't own Code Lyoko. (Insert joke on how it would be cool etc.)
However, for one teenager residing in the Ishiyama household, such protection was not granted. The child tossed and turned in the tangled covers that were draped across the bed. Incoherent sentences escaped into the air. Carrying little meaning to anyone else other than the suffering resident. The teenager's mind was invaded with a multitude of horrific images bombarding the subconscious until it reached it's breaking point.
Quickly the child came back to the world of the living free from the tormenting that sleep brought. A hand was placed on top the chest to feel the racing heartbeat underneath demanding rest. The images were no longer as concrete as they were before. Instead only vague concepts and outlines could be traced and deduced on what the experience had to tell. It felt so...so familiar. Something from the past. Something from the past that should have been laid to rest. Now with that sudden revelation in mind the small sweat beads that accumulated on the occupant's head accompanied by sorrowful tears fell harmless onto the bed sheets that were being clenched by tightly wound fist.
"Why now?" The younger Ishiyama spoke in disbelief. With her thoughts now straightened to the best of her abilities Yumi gently rest her head back onto her pillow to go back to sleep.
"I guess Aniki isn't the only one who needs help."
One of the single most important words in a reporter's vocabulary. Having the right scoop separated the seasoned reporters from the part-time hobbyist and allowed one to showcase their top story as if it were a badge of honor.
Unfortunately for two struggling school new specialist the requirements of a scoop-worthy story was that it had to be interesting enough for the general public to want to read and there was nothing going own at Kadic Junior High that fit such a requirement.
Milly and Tamiya found themselves in a familiar setting that morning. Resting their backs against one of the many trees that populated the campus, the two girls struggled to find a story exciting enough to report.
"Why do things start to slow down on the day of our broadcast?" The pink-clad girl wined. She then proceeded to throw her hands up in the air as to share her despair with the rest of the world.
Tamiya only responded with a quick hum of agreement as she was too busy cleaning her camera seeing how its immediate use was not required at this moment. Her partner did have an overwhelming tendency to become a bit of a drama queen in her own right but it wasn't something to really bicker about.
Already on a roll, Milly continued her miniature rant as to vent some of her frustrations so that they wouldn't drive her bonkers during her classes.
"We got an update to shoot and nothing is special is going on. What the heck am I gonna say? Our top story today is that there is no top story!"
"Just give it a rest." Tamiya answered back calmly still looking at her camera. "Aside from being reporters we're also kids too you know. Think of this slow news day as a well-deserved vacation for us. We could always talk about boys like we always do."
Tamiya giggled at her own suggestion which only caused Milly to react with a twitch of her eye.
"How can you be so calm around a time like this!"
"Just relax will you. I'm sure something will come up. You gotta be patient we these sort of things. We only report the news, not make it ourselves."
Suddenly the sound of a human screaming was heard. It flew across the courtyard and let every student within earshot know that it's creator was in a great amount of pain.
Tamiya already knew what was going to happen next and turned on her camera as she anticipated the set of orders Milly was going to give her.
"Never a dull moment."
The young genius pressed the enter key on his keyboard and unleashed his latest masterpiece of coding into his computer. Letters and numbers traveled across the monitor's glass service at lightening-quick speeds as they set forth to transforming what was now virtual to that of a being of flesh and blood. Unfortunately, bending the very laws of reality was a difficult task and soon those very same symbols faded away only to be replaced by a giant exclamation point surrounded by a red circle.
Jeremie was livid. Certainly now his materialization attempts have totaled somewhere in the triple digits. Where did he go wrong? He had spent countless hours and many sleepless nights going over this program picking out all of its errors underneath his magnifying glass of scrutiny so that by the time it was going to be used it would be perfect.
Well almost perfect. The thing did fail in a a second later, leaving him at square one Jeremie knew that the task of bring virtual being into the real world was not impossible. It was just that with each brand new failure that showed up brought feelings of inferiority and despair closer to his doorstep.
"Darn it!"
Jeremie vented his anger by slamming his fist against his desk which cause the computer resting on top of it to rattle slightly.
"I'm so...so...useless."
That last word came out as a whisper but it was the final nail in the coffin that buried his self-confidence. Jeremie sank lower into his chair and rested his forehead against the very same area he struck just seconds ago.
"There is no way I can do this," he said; still in his slumped position.
This was not the first bout with melancholy that Aelita had seen ever since she met the young prodigy, In the past all that Jeremie would do was take a deep breath and went back to the drawing board. Never before did he call himself useless. Almost by reflex Aelita established a connection channel with the troubled boy and tried her best to console him.
"Jeremie, do we get along well in the real world?"
That was a question so off topic, so random, so like Aelita to ask. The amount of confusion that was generated was large enough to pull Jeremie out of his self-loathing slump as he tried to grasp the girl's unique sense of curiosity.
"What sort of question was that? You know full well we do."
"Well in the real world, I wouldn't wish to have a best friend that's useless."
Jeremie felt his ego deflate once he realized that the virtual girl just pulled the old bait and switch on him. It was at this moment that Odd opened Jeremie's door and stood impatiently outside.
"Hey Einstein, we need to get to class now. You want to be late like you always are?"
Jeremie released a small sigh. It was hard to keep track of time when you were busy looking for the one code that could save the world. Though today's coding session was a failure, it did serve some means of productivity. Maybe just one last shot and he can go.
The computer user twiddled in fingers in the air to limber them up for their next exercise.
"Hold on," Jeremie said to his guest. "I'm going to try just one more time to get this thing right; useless or not."
Odd was shaking his head and wondered why he bothered to even try prying the guy away from his computer. It was almost futile.
"Whatever, man. I gotta go."
A few minutes later, Jeremie pressed the return key which launched his latest program into the depths of the Lyoko data stream and grabbed his laptop so that he could leave. Each night he worked on this we could feel that he was getting closer and closer to his goal. He was already there once by chance now he just had to do it again to prove to himself that his intellect and not a bag of candy can save Aelita.
Minutes passed by before a disruption was sensed. She could feel it, another presence nearby. Only coded with the knowledge to instill fear and destroy. Aelita jumped to her feet to see the menace but only found a giant ball of fire coming at her. With one last scream for
Ulrich and Yumi halted their movements completely perplexed with what was going on.
"You ok Aniki?" His sister asked.
Jin pointed an accusing finger at the cart that currently he and Ulrich were pushing in a similar manner as a lawyer drawing attention to a suspect in a highly televised court case.
"This stupid thing ran over my foot that's what!"
Jin then shifted his focus to his sister, giving her an exaggerated angry glare.
"You just haaaaaad to bring this to class huh?"
Ulrich was a bit befuddled on why the two siblings were arguing with one another as he had yet to find out the actual context of the conversation they were having. Since he was helping the two with this endeavor, he was entitled to at least know this aspect of information.
"So Yumi, what exactly are we pushing? This whatever of yours weighs a ton."
Ulrich saw the Japanese girl smile hinting that whatever happened last nice was indeed a humorous experience.
"First off, that thing is not a "whatever." It's a priceless heirloom that's been in our family for hundreds of years."
"Consequently it weighs hundreds of pounds also," Jin exaggerated.
Yumi ignored Jin's rambling and continued on with her explanation.
"It's for a report in our class. Each student needs to select a country and do a brief report on it so naturally I choose Japan as that's where I was born."
Jin cleared his throat loudly as to inform his sister of her slight oversight.
The Japanese girl looked a little flustered by her mistake. She must have gotten carried away with the moment.
"I mean, where we were born."
Ulrich could already see the conflict that surfaced when such stipulations were arranged.
"So how did you two decide who got to use Japan in their report?
"Well, Aniki and had resorted to a very fair, unbiased and decisive method of setting this dispute."
Jin rapidly shook his head in shock as he remembered what means of "persuasion" his sister used on him.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU BEAT ME IN ROCK PAPER SCISSORS!"
"Figures," Ulrich said with a small smile on his face. Watching the strange way the two twins interacted with one another was truly a sight to behold just for the entertainment value alone.
With that tangent finally out of the way, Yumi ushered Ulrich's attention back to her for she was about to arrive on the home stretch of her story.
"Of course since I planned to use such a large item we then had to agree on who pushed it. Jin saw this as a chance to reclaim his "lost honor" and challenged me to another game, which I easily won again I might add."
"Thanks sis," Jin said through clenched teeth as to hide the embarrassment he was feeling.
"I love you too Aniki," Yumi replied as she playfully waved at his direction.
"You know Yumi, if this is a family heirloom then maybe the entire FAMILY should help push it," Jin hissed.
Yumi folded her arms across her chest and laughed at the predicament Jin was in and his attempts of being intimidating.
"Well Aniki, a deal is a deal. Just be grateful that Ulrich was nice enough to help you push the cart. I can always ask him to stop."
Such a treat took the wind out of Jin's emotional sails. His facial expressions did a one-eighty as he gulped in fear and waved his hands in a defensive manner.
"Let's not be brash here!" He said in a nervous tone of voice before he pressed up against the cart and began moving it toward the classroom with Ulrich's aid.
"So why go through all this trouble just for one report?" Ulrich asked again as to strike up another conversation.
"Our teacher is weird like that. At the end we're supposed to have a big finish that should dazzle the class in some way and this is mine."
Jin made his presence known by making another surprise entry into the discussion which slightly startled the others.
"Of course, Yumi will never be able to beat what I got up my sleeve for my report on Korea," he said with false bravado and arrogance. Jin rubbed his hands together as if they were coated in invisible soap to get his point across.
Ulrich knew that the boy was lost in his own little world and went back to talking with the gothic girl.
"So when are you going to reveal your thingamabob?"
Yumi grinned already envisioning the astonished look on her classmates' faces. "At the end of my report. It's going to be a real show stopper! Worth an A I hope."
Since Jin had the pleasure of joking around all day Ulrich decided to try his hand at being the comic relief for once.
"Well you never find something like that in my house. First off you're whatchamacallit doesn't go with the drapes in the livingroom."
Well Ulrich succeeded in getting at least one person to laugh, that person being Yumi. She gestured toward the door as to signal that their business inside the classroom was done and they made their exit, but not before taking a few shots at Ulrich's ego.
"Whatchamacallit? Thingamabob? The thing I like about you Ulrich is your rich vocabulary."
Jin rushed to Ulrich's side as he saw that they were leaving and joined in with is sister's laughter much to Ulrich's expense.
"Come on guys," the brown haired boy groaned. "Was it really that funny?"
The two twins gave each other a mischievous grin proceeded to playfully rub Ulrich on the head at the same time succeeding in getting him to laugh along with them.
Tamiya's steady head did not falter and she was able to capture Milly's image dead center of her camera giving her the thumbs up so that the report could start.
"Hello fellow middle school students!" It was a classic line Milly used to being all of her broadcasts. "This is seventh grade reporters Milly and Tamiya here bring you the school news."
The camerawoman slowly backed away from the energetic reporter so that she could get a full body shot of her along with the rest of the scenery. The move was executed as if it were done a million times in the past although the shoot had a more freestyle feel to it.
Milly made a dramatic gesture to the blanketed object with her dominant hand without missing a beat in her speech.
"Now you may not know this but something strange is hatching. In our request to bring you the latest news, we present to you this expose on what's hidden underneath this drape."
A small tug and the gray blanket fluttered to the floor by the mercy of gravity revealing a rather frightful piece of Japanese samurai armor underneath. The large towering item of warfare was painted blood red, giving it a savage, primal look at it. The sight sent chills down Tamiya's spine. Looking into the helmet's empty void, she could have sworn that there was another presence shooting glares as if she was the subject of Milly's story. Subconsciously she tilted the camera to the floor, unable to concentrate on the news anymore.
Such actions quickly caught Milly's attention.
"Tamiya, is there a specific reason why you're filming your feet?"
Tamiya could feel her vocal cords juggling an answer between them forcing the girl to stutter in the process. Once their little game of catch had finished, she was able to compose herself in a small degree and tried her best to hide her fear.
"Not really...but I just had a thought. Maybe this isn't the big story we're looking for today. "A special expose on what's hidden underneath this drape?" Sounds a little lame to me."
Milly was ready for a verbal counterattack but stopped short when she began to see the underlying truth of her friend's answer.
"I guess you're right but this was the only thing that was going for us. What are we going to do now?"
Before any further strategizing could commence, the school bell rang loud and clear, letting all the students strewn around campus that their first class of the day was going to begin according to schedule.
"No time now," commented Tamiya.
"School started already!" A slightly shocked Milly asked. She quickly pressed against the cabinet, not noticing that they were still open by the time she turned her back to them and bolted out the door.
No, correction.
Change would become a necessity. Failure was not a result that should be tolerated. If direct means of attack have proved to be insufficient and only wasted time for achieving his goal. No more will he rely on electronic charter buses, little girl's teddybears and of course military satellites. It was time he settled things himself. A direct approach was in order today.
Still, how can he do such a simple task. He was far too weak now to use a human. However, a weapon used by humans was a different story. This piece of combat armor is the perfect host to carry out this agenda. How ironic. Using a piece of human history to obliderate the existence of mankind. Ironic indeed.
Now if only humans can grasp such irony.
And then it came.
It was clockwork really. If he'll see a boring lecture then...hey...wait a minute! That yawn did not belong to him. It sounded like it came from behind him.
Ulrich had the perfect view in spotting the sleepy culprit which was indeed the sweater wearing tech head.
"You know Jeremie, most people use their nighttime hours for sleep," he whispered to his neighbor.
"I was up trying out a new program that would materialize Aelita. I was really close this time. I could feel it!"
Odd wasn't sleepy anymore after hearing that golden opportunity to interject his trademark humor into the discussion and make things a bit more lively around him as they were looking quite dead right now.
"And what are you going to do when she finally comes here? You were never really good with talking to girls Einstein."
Jeremie could sense another battle of wits that Odd was brewing with that statement. When it came to his intelligence verses Odd's smart alack remarks, for some reason intelligence would always lose.
"You know better than that Odd. With Aelita it's completely different."
"You're right Jeremie it is. With Aelita you would freeze up five seconds into the conversation instead of just the normal three second mark."
Once again, intelligence lost this debate and the principal's entrance into the class halted anymore possible rematches.
"Hello there students," Mr. Delmas greeted. He spoke with a sense of friendly authority that left no question behind as why a person like him was in charge of all aspects of Kadic Junior High. "Before you begin your first lesson, I would like to introduce a new student to you."
The principal's eyes focused on a being that stood in the hallway and ushered the student inside.
"Come on Taelia, everyone here is just anxious to meet you."
Odd went for double or nothing when it came to his battle of wits with Jeremie. Looking forward to piling on even more damage he set up his next hypothetical situation.
"Ok Jeremie, let's run a test. Pretend the new student is really Aelita in flesh and blood. What are you going to say to her?"
Just to humor Odd and get things over with between them Jeremie looked to the front of the room and was instantly floored.
"Oh...wow!...I...uhhhh," he stammered just as Odd predicted. He laugh at Jeremie's current facial expression as he just sat there without a care in the world
"Beep, times up. Sorry bout that but it goes to show you Jeremie. You can use a few lessons in flirting."
Jeremie was about to go off on a tangent on how pointless the activity really was but Odd interrupted that though.
"Now watch and learn Einstein. Maybe next time you won't turn into a human popsicle whenever a girl braves the elements and talks to you."
For Odd, wooing girls came just as naturally as eating breakfast or blowing blocks up in Lyoko. Of course he would remain faithful to Samantha but she wouldn't mind if he brushed up on his lady killer ways for her sake. Putting on the most suave face he could think of, Odd turned the charm up to maximum level.
"Taelia is going to think that she's the luckiest girl in the world after meeting me," he thought to himself. Of course this example was immediately halted by the first glimpse of the new girl. There was no need to pretend that she was Aelita. The facial structure, the stance, even her taste in colors all brought back vivid memories of the pink hair girl on Lyoko.
"Now way, I don't believe this."
It was apparent that today was going to be a really long day.
"Ok sis check this out. If you had the chance to beat the daylights out of XANA, what would you do?"
Yumi turned her head to the side and shot Jin a quasi-serious glance.
"Aniki, you shouldn't be talking about stuff like this in public," she warned.
"Give me a break here. You know the thought as crossed your mind at least once. I would personally go Jackie Chan and Jet Li on him. I'd be like HIYA! And he be like AHHH! And I'd go WA-TA and he'd be all NOOOO! Then I'm all like WHOA-WA-SHA-SHA-SHA! And he'd be STOP, IT HURTS!"
By now Jin was pretending that the rouge computer program was right in front of him and he was beating the living daylights out of his imaginary partner with every martial arts move he had in his repertoire. Of course due to human nature and people's desire to blatently stare at whatever interesting they come across; he was drawing quite a crowd who were all scratching their heads trying to figure out heads and tails of the scene. The ringing of her cell phone came as a welcomed distraction to the Jin-induced randomness.
"Yumi, it's Jeremie."
"You couldn't have called at a better time," the girl answered; greatly embarrassed by her older brother's antics.
"I need you to meet as at the usual place and bring Jin as well. This is something you gotta see!"
Only traces of Jeremie's message made their way into the girl's ear as Jin was currently yelling out battle cries as if he was the living incarnation of Bruce Lee.
"I can't hear you! Aniki thinks he's in a martial arts movie right now and he's making it really hard for me to catch what you're saying. You have no idea how I'm feeling right now."
Jeremie looked out of the corner of his eye and felt a wave of humiliation creep over him.
"Believe me, I think I can emphasize."
Odd too was practicing with an imaginary sparing buddy as he swung at the space around him making exaggerated karate yells. For some reason he was preparing himself for a fight in the real world just incase XANA ever worked up the guts to face him in a fight. Of course this was done under the slightly confused gaze of his best friend.
Yumi had no idea of what sort of chaos Odd was causing over at the meeting place and headed over there making sure that Jin came along for the ride.
Saving her brother the trouble of falling on his face like he always does whenever he participated in a physical activity such as martial arts; Yumi dragged Jin out of the giant circle of people he created and walked to the benches much to his disappointment.
"Aw c'on sis. I was going to do a backflip for my big finish."
"Aniki, we both know you can't do that move. Remember, James Finson."
Jin's eyes lit up in realization of that fact, "Oh yeah. You're right."
Jeremie and others were in sight and Yumi was hoping that the sport of air sparing without reason would be short lived. Of course such wishes were unanswered once she caught a glimpse of Odd.
"Ok Jeremie, we're here," the gothic girl said loudly as to instill some means of productivity to this peculiar meeting. "Why did you call us here?"
The person the question was addressed to pushed his glasses back and spoke in a collected manner.
"Something strange happened in our first period class today. A new student by the name of Taelia was introduced to us and she looks just like Aelita! I was surprised by the resemblance."
Jin rested his chin in the crook between his thumb and index finger, contemplating the girl's name.
"Taelia..." he said to himself.
Odd brushed off the small specs of dust that had accumulated on his prized pair of purple pants and invited himself into the discussion seeing a prime outlet for one of his jokes.
"You should have see Einstein when he saw the new girl. He froze up and looked ridiculous. Kinda like this."
Two seconds later, the group was looking at an exaggerated recollecting of what happened a few class periods ago with a goofy grin performed by the self-proclaimed practical joker of the Weirdo Bunch.
"I like to call it the Jeremie Look," Odd said with pride as if he was giving the title to a cruise ship
"Is Taelia nearby by any chance?" Yumi asked trying her best to keep a level head with this latest finding.
Jeremie pointed a finger at the lone girl sitting on a adjacent bench reading a textbook. It was now Jin's turn to be wearing the "Jeremie Look" as he stood still with his mouth gapped open in surprise. Fortunately for everyone else, Yumi was a lot more practical in dealing with such a debacle.
"She certainly looks like Aelita, that I can't deny." Yumi sounded more focused an analytical with her observations. "But if it really is her don't you find it the least bit strange that she has yet to recognize us?"
An index finger was soon raised as to dismiss the claim for Jeremie already anticipated a question like that.
"Not really, she could have gotten amnesia from the materialization process and not remember us."
"For some reason I'm not entirely connived by the point you're trying to make but then again neither of us can be sure until we talk to her first."
An exchange of nods between Odd and Ulrich went by undetected and the two roommates hoisted their girl-shy friend over to the bench Taelia was sitting at. Odd knew that Jeremie would be too shy to talk to the strange female and loosened himself up for another go with his overwhelming sense of charm.
"Hey there Aeli...I mean Taelia," three words into the introduction and already a slip up. He had to be careful with such a sensitive issue. "My friends and I were wondering if we've seen you around. You look pretty familiar and we thought maybe we saw each other before."
The sound of a textbook being closed was the next audible sound that followed the question. Taelia did not looked to pleased. Certainly there were better reasons why one would disturb her reading and such a question did not warrant this.
"Oh please spare me," the mysterious girl said in a huff. "Everyone knows that's the oldest pick up line in the world. Next time you want to hit on me, leave your two friends behind so we can talk one on one."
Ulrich and Jeremie were happy that the witnessed this rejection. It was worth the walk.
The young Romeo was flustered. Never had he encountered such hostility from a member of the opposite sex. Such an occasion left a bad taste in his mouth.
"Hey, who said I was trying to pick you up!" He said in an attempt to save face. "I was trying to make conversation with you as you looked pretty lonely right now."
"Not really," Taelia said casually.
Who did this person think she is? It looked like getting the answer he wanted out of her was going to be a tough gig which was perfectly fine with him. Odd always liked a good challenge.
"By any chance do virtual worlds, crabs and buzzing monsters mean anything to you?"
Taelia rose to her feet, book bag in hand and began to make her exit.
"Yeah it means I should be moving along now."
The gloves were coming off. Odd had lost too much of his pride to let this meeting go to waste. He had to dig up some bit of useful information for his sake alone.
"Wait a minute! Would it be alright if you told us where you came from or if you have a family?"
Now that question hit a tender spot in Taelia's psyche. She needed to go...now.
"Sorry but I have to leave," came her almost sheepish reply leaving behind a slightly ticked off Odd in her wake.
By now the effects of the "Jeremie Look" had worn off on Jin and he was able to accompany his sister as she made her way through the throng to meet the younger trio.
"So Odd, what did she say?"
"It's not her," he said quickly as to save himself any further humiliation.
Ulrich wasn't going to let such a golden moment slip by unnoticed. He just had to tell Yumi what had happened.
"He's just mad that he got the brush off. Good thing you don't charge money for your lessons as I would ask for a full refund with results like that. Man, Taelia got you good."
Again Jin heard the name and began pondering once more.
"Taelia," he repeated quietly as to reclaim his derailed train of thought.
"Well Jeremie, do you still think those two are the same person?" Yumi asked as to see if his theory was still standing.
The computer genius was almost offended by such allegations for he was, without a doubt, the most knowledgeable person in the group when it came to all things Lyoko.
"We must assume that all possibilities have the same probability of occurring until further evidence suggests otherwise. In the history of mankind there has never been a case of a virtual program being brought into the real world. With such a radical event that has graced us we can only adopt this doctrine of thinking for now."
When it came to arguments about codes and computers Yumi was completely defenseless from the vast volumes of knowledge Jeremie had accumulated over time. There was nothing she could say to sway his opinion to her side of the debate and until she acquire enough experience with the super computer herself, the matter was closed. Still, she could not silence the voice in the back of her head saying that this was all wrong. It just didn't feel right.
"It's so like the steel element," Yumi muttered underneath her breath remembering the time she discussed the principles of Taoism with Ulrich.
By now, Jin's pondering paid off for he had discovered the underlying reason why he was so intrigued by the name.
"Hey guys, I just thought of something!" He said cheerfully.
The rest of his friends listened in anticipation. Maybe the newest member of the group had discovered some sort of hidden clue that was overlooked. They were yearning for answers.
"If just figured out, if you rearrange the letters in Taelia's name you get...Leatia!"
Then again maybe not.
"Aniki, what does that have to do with anything!" An exasperated younger sister asked.
Jin bowed his head in shame. "I just wanted to say something."
Again, the responsibility of being the voice of reason rested upon Yumi's shoulders. "Hey guys maybe we're going about this the wrong way. If Taelia really is Aelita then that means she wouldn't be on Lyoko anymore."
For a split second Jeremie felt his body pulsate with energy egging him on to do something.
"Great idea Yumi! I'll start a scan on Lyoko right away!"
Much to the disagreement of everyone, the school bell system sprang into acting and cut through the campus making it's presence well known.
"Well you'll have to wait till after class to do that," Ulrich said glumly as he wasn't too thrilled of listening to lectures today.
Yumi placed her hands on her hips and struck a slightly cheesy pose. "Wish me luck on my report guys!"
Too preoccupied with the mysterious origins of Taelia to notice, the younger generation failed to acknowledge her request.
"Thanks guys," came her disappointed reply.
The truth of the matter was that she needed something else to think about. The Taelia/Aelita connection proved to be the perfect connection of keeping her thoughts from converging on her nightmares. No one else was the wiser. Not even her older brother could tell what was really going on. The same older brother who was walking toward her direction; smiling without a care in the world.
"Let's get to class now. We don't want to be late for our reports."
Yumi wasn't in the mood to think about her scholastics just yet. There was something else on her mind right now.
"Actually, can you do me a quick favor?"
Asking was just a formality. Jin's overprotective nature would never allow him to turn down her request. Today was no exception.
"What is it?"
"Tell our teacher that I would like to practice my speech outside first before I come to class. I'm sure she'll let me."
Jin nodded in agreement and walked toward the school to deliver the message and left Yumi alone with her thoughts. Which was exactly what she needed right now.
"That's it Odd, I can't take it any longer," he whispered. "I'm going to run that scan now!"
Before a single word of objection could be voiced, Jeremie shot his hand straight up into the air to call his teacher's attention. Mrs. Mayor's keen eye caught the extended appendage in no time flat.
"Yes Jeremie?"
"Can I go to the infirmary now...uhh...I feel a little sick."
The standing student titled his head forward and let his glasses slide to the base of his nose giving a puppy dog quality to his plea. He struck pay dirt once he saw the worried look on Mrs. Mayor's face.
"Sure thing Jeremie. I hope it's nothing serious."
Wanting to see the results of the scan for himself, Odd too raised his hand as to request his dismissal from class.
"I'll make sure he gets there! You never can tell...right?"
"This school is pretty strange Einstein."
Such words of worriment were so out of Odd's character that it immediately Jeremie off.
"Now that's interesting. The last time you thought about this place was when the lunch lady refused to give you a fifth helping of breakfast a few weeks ago."
"I just find it funny how easy it was for us to get out of class. All you gotta do is say that you're sick and you get a free pass to the infirmary no questions asked. You would think some students would abuse such things."
"And this worries you how?"
"Who said I was worried?" Odd laughed, returning to his old self. "I just wish it was easier. I could afford to miss a few lectures here and there."
"Yeah like how you can afford to have a few more Fs lying here and there on your report card."
Odd looked up at and gave Jeremie a small applause. Then pretending that he was holding a microphone with one hand, Odd spoke in a phoney announcer voice that sounded ridiculous all together.
"Congratulations, you just cracked your first worthy comeback. Got anything else to say to your loyal fans."
Jeremie was not in the mood in humoring anymore of Odd's jokes with this situation. He saw the stairway exist to the boy's floor as the most practical way of backing out of the question and seized his chance. Already at the entrance to his room, Jeremie made a beeline to his computer to establish a connect with Aelita fumbling with his prized headset as a result of his haste.
"Aelita, are you there? It's Jeremie."
Nothing. Again he spoke.
"Are you there Aelita? I would really like to talk to you now."
Odd played the role of the sensible one now since Yumi was not currently with them.
"Maybe she's stuck in one of XANA's traps like a giant snowstorm or something and can't hear us."
He had done it. He had done the impossible. Jeremie had just broken every rule of science, natural order and common sense known to man with this latest achievement. He had defied the odds, beat the clock, laughed in the face of disappointment. It was over. Their long conflict with XANA was now coming closer and closer to it's inevitable conclusion. However, more importantly she Aelita was now on Earth. Once her memory came back to her the two of them along with the others can finally enjoy the normal life that kids their age were entitled to.
"Super nuclear!" Jeremie yelled out in excitement.
"Whoa, settle down there we don't want to be caught by anyone snopping around the place."
Odd felt strange with his newfound responsibility of keeping a level head. It just felt...different. He had to crack a joke now just for the sake of normality.
"And besides Einstein, what did we say about you using that awful exclamation?"
"It doesn't matter Odd, I did it!"
"You mean you found Aelita on Lyoko?"
"No! Aelita isn't there since she's materialized now. Taelia is Aelita Odd!"
The spiky-haired artist was the second person Jeremie had failed to convince today. Something was amiss today but he couldn't put his finger on it. Somehow, things were falling into place a little too easily for his liking. This minor detail was something that Jeremie was more than happy to overlook.
The piercing question was why. Why after only two years of slumber did they come back to her. Then the answer came barreling at her like speeding train.
"Ulrich," she whispered sorrowfully.
These thoughts were not the only thing she was hiding from the rest of the world. The time they spent together at school, sitting on the bench alone was indeed pleasant. In that one peaceful night they shared everything with each other. Their secrets, hopes, fears, triumphs and tragedies, all laid out in that one intimate meeting under the starlight. It was then she knew that she lov...understood the boy for what he really was. A good friend.
Of course such blissfulness did not come at a price. When these dormant emotions were allowed to surface so did this resting nightmare but it didn't make sense! She was beyond this, stronger than it, yet she was still suffering. There was only one way to handle the situation, just like how it was taken care of two years ago. Yumi choose to swallow her tears. Shallow them, painfully and alone putting these troubled emotions behind her just like always.
Well that was enough sulking for one day. Yumi wiped the watery droplets from her eyes and slowly walked to her classroom. This had to wait...she had a report to give.
"Note to self, never challenge your sister to rock, paper scissors ever again," the Japanese boy grumbled underneath his breath.
The classroom's door swung open and granted Yumi entry into the area, all the students took noticed.
"Sorry I kept you waiting. I needed to practice," came her heartfelt appology.
She made her way to the front of the room and started. Now it was clear as day that Yumi needed anything but extra training as she appeared to be a natural speaker. Every object that Jin laid out was meticulously explained using a combination of eloquent speech and graceful hand gestures. Such style left the class at a loss for words.
"Now I would like to remind you that this is all but just a glimpse of the rich culture of my homeland."
Again Jin cleared his throat loudly with that oversight.
"I mean our homeland sorry," Yumi swiftly got over that speed bump and proceeded with her report. "Well in order to fully explain the history of Japan that would take me hours and I'm sure you guys wouldn't want to put up with me that long."
The students roared in laughter with that clever joke. Yumi smiled to herself. She had them eating out of the palm of her hand. Now all that there was left to do was unleash the big finish and leave them gasping in surprise.
"To end my report I'd like to show you something that has been passed on for generations. It's a living symbol of Japan!"
Radiating in confidence, Yumi threw open the cabinet's doors and prepared for the amazed awes that were to soon come her way. When met with nothing but stillness and apathy she immediately became worried. Looking into the closet Yumi saw her first major surprise today.
"A drape!"
There was only one force on Earth that could pull off a caper such as this. It only took one glance at the burnt out electrical socket to confirm her suspicions.
"XANA!" She whispered.
By act of mercy the bell for lunch rang and she ran as fast as they could out of the classroom ,with her brother in tow, to meet the rest of their friends. XANA had just made the first move and now it was a race against the clock to control the damage he was going to cause.
How Milly worked up enough energy to turn on the gray PC and open all the necessary programs so that she could read the upcoming articles would never be known. She would never understand why some writers were allowed on the news team, sure they could form a grammatically correct sentence but their submissions lacked that punch that drew a reader in. It was going to be another day in the editor's chair for her.
A message window popped in front of her workspace shortly after which was totally unexpected.
Paradox38: Hey, isn't it a little bit too early to be relaxing on your computer?
Milly's body snapped into attention with that encounter. She was a bit hessitant to answer but her drive to know the identity of the person on the other line was too strong and pulled her tiny fingers on top of her keyboard.
AceReporter: Excuse me?
Paradox38: Oh come on. You know they said.
Not wanting to debate the contents of the school's rule book anymore, Milly changed the subject.
AceReporter: Can we get off this topic?
Paradox38: Touchy, aren't we?
AceReporter: It's not my fault. I could be talking to a complete stranger here. How on Earth did you get my screen name.
Paradox38: Sorry if I scared you Milly but I do not think introductions are needed as we both know each other very well.
This was scary. This person had just called her by her first name. Such information wasn't acquired so easily as she made absolutely sure that only a select few were aware of her internet identity.
AceReporter: This is just too creepy
Paradox38: You shouldn't be so frightened. Isn't it customary for all the students who work in the news program to submit their screen names to a central database so that it came be accessed by all the members?
AceReporter: Hold it! I don't remember seeing your name in the database.
Paradox38: That is true. I was a last minute entry. Seems your supervisor took a liking to all of the guest articles I've written and made me a honorary participant. Course I still get to do my own thing and write whatever I wish to write about. Life is good
The gears in Milly's head completed their slow rotation and proverbial lightbulb turned on brightly.
AceReporter: VAFER!
Paradox38: (chuckles) That's more like it. I'm glad you recognized me
Paradox38: Anything special on your side of the fence?
AceReporter: Hold it! Why are you accusing me of being in my room when you breaking that same guideline yourself.
Paradox38: I apologize. That wasn't an accusation. It was more of an obvious statement of my observations. So how goes the news hunt?
AceReporter: Terrible. Tamiya and I have been searching all day and we're dead tired and still empty handed. Now I'm stuck editing these lackluster articles from the other writers.
Paradox38: Hmmm...mind if I get a quick look?
AceReporter: Sure, why not
A few mouse sweeps and keyboard clicks later the file was ready to transfer.
AceReporter wants to send file
Paradox38 has received file
One a couple of minutes pass by before Milly found herself reading Vafer's opinions on her computer screen.
Paradox38: I think I just found the cure to insomnia. lol
AceReporter: LOL!
Paradox38: Good thing I have a simple solution that will shape up your friend's writing styles so that you don't have to bother me with such things again.
AceReporter: Really? What is it?
Several moments passed by and no response. Milly was beginning to wonder what was going on.
Paradox38: !
AceReporter: What's wrong?
Paradox38: I think Jim is on this floor.
AceReporter: Are you sure about that?
Paradox38: I'm sure of it. I can hear the guy singing loudly from the other side of the hallway. Good thing I left my door slightly open for this occasion. Great if I try to make a break for it he's gonna spot me for sure.
AceReporter: Then are you going to just stay there?
Paradox38: Like I have a choice. Shouldn't you be more concenred about yourself than me?
Milly glanced at Tamiya's sleeping figure behind her. Waking that girl up from a nap was like trying to reanimate the dead. It was simply not going to happen anytime soon.
AceReporter: I'm stuck too.
Paradox38: I'm going to peek out and see what I can see. I'll keep you posted of my findings.
AceReporter: Good luck
Paradox38: Thanks...I'll need it
There's nothing like the enjoyment one got by belting out a good Frank Sinatra tune now and then. Contrary to popular belief, he did enjoy his job to a great extent. To put it bluntly, he liked working with kids. Being a PE teacher to him was fun, well it had to be or else he would go crazy. Sure Odd, and the others gave him his fair share of headaches but it was all in good spirit. Especially that graffiti painting of him looking like a king. Jim really did regret not taking a picture of it before they washed it off the wall. It was worth preserving.
Do what you love and love what you do. That was the motto he carried around along with his prized headband and signature bandage he always had on his face. He wore that phrase with a badge of honor which could be the rational why he upheld so many other extra responsibilities at the school that no other teacher would be willing to accept under normal conditions. Which reminds him, he still had to clean up all the pipes and tools he left near the boiler room, surely someone would trip on them if he didn't. Oh well, some time later. Right now, he had to finish his scan and turned the corner as to complete his duties.
There, at the other side of the hallway stood another person staring a hole straight through him wearing...samurai armor? Ok, this was going to be filed under the "Weird things I normally don't see" section of his brain. However, peculiar or not, he had an obligation to enforce the rules.
"Hey you!" Jim bellowed as to get the stranger to notice him. "You know the policy around here. Nobody is allowed in this building until class is over and what's with that ridiculous costume?"
No response. Was thing guy making fun of him or something of that sort.
"What's this person's problem," Jim whispered feeling an eerie feeling crawl over his body as to warn him of some unforseen danger. Judging by the intruder's large size, he was not a student of Kadic Junior High nor one of the employees. Now was not the time to be taking any unneeded chances. He was going to handle this situation by the book.
Jim reached into the pocket of his red jacket and withdrew the walkie talkie that was issued to aid him in such situations.
"Mr. Delmas, this is Jim. Listen sir, I'm on the boy's floor in the dormitory building and I have spotted a suspicious person directly in front of me. I'm requesting further help in this manner as I am unsure of what to do right now."
Such urgency was uncommon for the normally level-headed writer.
AceReporter: Huh?
Paradox38: When I say get out now, I mean it! LEAVE ALREADY!
AceReporter: At least tell me what's going on
Paradox38: There's no time! You and Tamiya need to get as far away from this building as you can
AceReporter: But she's still asleep
Paradox38: I don't care if she's on her death bed! You two need to scram.
AceReporter: But what about you?
Paradox38: I'm going to try to figure out what the heck is going on here. I have a few leads to investigate and I need to know the truth. I just need to take care of one thing before I leave. All that you two need to do is get out. Understand?
AceReporter: Ok, just be careful
Paradox38: I will
Paraodx38 has signed off on 12:32 PM
The faint sound of footsteps could be heard now. Probably it was the intruder coming back to finish the deed off.. As he prepared himself for the worst, Jim could feel the muscles in his left arm getting tighter cutting off as if they were being wrapped with something; cutting off the feeling in that appendage. The same process was repeated with the other arm in no time flat and Jim was able to piece together what was happening.
"A tourniquet to stop the bleeding," Jim's mind said.
The footsteps grew louder and were accompanied by the sound of clothes rustling as to suggest that this unknown benefactor was stooping low.
"You won't die," the rescuer said dryly.
What threw Jim off the most was the tone the individual used. The male voice showed no effort in trying to be soothing or reassuring. It sounded more forceful; like a command as to motivate Jim to press on. Nevertheless, Jim found just enough willpower to do just that. Just in time to see the principal with several police men and Nurse Dorothy behind him.
Given such dire findings, Ulrich wasn't the least bit worried with what had just happened.
"Maybe on of the other students took it," he casually suggested.
"Don't forget about the burnt out electrical outlets. This could be the work of XANA," Yumi butted in.
Odd stired the food in his tray out of boredom before he spoke.
"Well if it is XANA then we can't rely on Aelita to help us as we couldn't get in contact with her in Lyoko."
Jeremie slammed his fork down, impatient with his friend's refusal to accept what was now proven fact.
"Odd, we couldn't connect with Aelita in Lyoko because she's not on Lyoko!"
"Chill out Einstein! You don't have to be so loud, this isn't the sort of thing we want to spread around here as you said."
Jin slid out from his sitting position and adjusted his trusty headphones so that they rested comfortably against his ears. Staying in the cafeteria arguing with one another wasn't going to get anything accomplish. It was about time something useful got done.
"Well then, looks like we got something to look into," Jin spoke with a smile. "For sure news of whatever is happening has circulated the campus like wildfire. I'll check into these rumors to see if we got ourselves a prankster or a deadly computer virus pestering us."
Yumi nodded as she too was troubled by the bickering.
"You do that Aniki. Keep us posted if you find anything."
Jin walked out of the building to play detective around the same time the principal arrived with an armed escort of policemen.
How can one man hurt so many people!
Nurse Dorothy had just finished signing the release forms for all her patients who needed to be transferred to the local hospital which were the most serious cases she saw all day. Reviewing her paper work, the nurse couldn't help but be moved to tears by the seriousness of the injuries these people sustained.
For crying out loud, they're just children! No human could exert such cruelty on the innocent. This was beast. A beast incapable of remorse or sympathy that should be struck down by the hand of karma.
There was only one case that brightened her day and reassured Dorothy's faith in people. When Jim was found she couldn't help but notice the two bed sheets tightly wrapped around the man's arms to prevent anymore blood loss. Two other bodies found near in dormitory building were found in a similar condition. Bandages were applied to bleeding areas in a similar fashion. Whoever was doing this possessed was knowledgeable in the realms of first aid well beyond the capabilities of your average person. Dorothy let her mind wandered to think about the identity of this kind soul briefly before she went back to her paperwork.
The students inside immediately took noticed of the group's presence and quieted down as to listen to what the man was going to say.
"Attention everyone. I would like to call to your attention to a string of attacks that have been occurring on our campus. Several students and our very own Jim who I know you all respect and admired have fell victim to these malicious assaults."
Odd couldn't help but snicker at the false image the principal had of Jim as it indeed was self-delusional.
"Let's not go overboard with the compliments Mr. Delmas."
The quip was not heard by the principal who proceeded with the announcement.
"The attacker was wearing armor. The armor of a samurai. If anyone here as information that could help the police with their investigation please come forward."
Now this simple case of lost and found turned into something a lot more sinister.
"We can't waste anymore time. XANA is on the move!" Yumi exclaimed.
"We have to get to Lyoko, find Aelita and have her deactivate the tower," Ulrich added on.
Jeremie was almost disgusted with his friend's lack of faith in his findings. If only they would listen to what he had to say then they could save him the massive headache he was feeling right now.
"When are you guys going to get it into your thick heads!" Came his aggravated accusation. "If XANA has possessed the samurai then he's going to go after Taelia. It makes sense doesn't it? Because Taelia is Aelita!"
The rant could have been longer but an exchange of gestures between the principal and the lead detective of the case caught his eye. A few moments later the two men walked over to Yumi's end of the table catching the girl by surprise.
"Excuse me Ms. Ishiyama," came the principal's gentle greeting. "This is Donald Brass of the police department who's leading the investigation of the case and he would like to have a word with you."
Officer Brass gave a small wave to confirm his identity and went ahead with his request. "Listen, we are aware that the armor sighted in these attacks does indeed belong to you and your brother. Would it be alright we you answered a few questions for us?"
Yumi had no other choice but to cooperate. "Well Aniki just stepped out so I don't know where he is right now but I'll be willing to go with you."
Yumi joined the ranks of the police escort and was lead out of the cafeteria leaving the boys behind to think of their next plan of attack before the danger that surrounded escalated.
"Where the heck were you man? I didn't even see you in the cafeteria getting a bite to eat."
Dirk brushed the question aside, "I had things to do that lack the requirement of you hovering over my shoulder."
"Is that you Dirk?" Came the elderly voice of the library attendant not too far off.
"It's been a long time Mrs. Winters. I see that you've recovered from your recent operation."
The older women waved her hand through the air as to dismiss the topic. "Bah, I tell you two things Mr. Kap Hwan. First off, don't call me Mrs. Winters, it makes me feel old. Just call me Barbra."
Dirk chuckled at the request. "Duly noted, and the second thing?"
"I'd rather be working here than just lying around in the hospital. It's completely boring there, a woman at my age needs some excitement in her life. At least I finally got to reading those books you suggested for me to read."
"Oh really? So which psychologist did you like reading the most about: Freud, Erickson or Jung?"
"Well the truth is..."
It was at this part of the conversation when Clayton would usually stop paying attention to what's going on. One of the most closely guarded secrets of Kadic Junior High was that Dirk was a serious bookworm. He shared such a passion for the literary world and with psychological studies with Mrs. Winters who worked the front desk of the library as the two became fast friends.
At first Clayton dismissed this other side as a means of Dirk keeping up with his "good image" but this conclusion changed once how much his best friend was enjoying himself..Clayton saw Dirk smile. Not the devious smirk he would wear whenever he was about to execute a well thought out plan, but a honest-to-goodness smile from the heart. Not knowing how long the two were going to keep on talking, Clayton took a seat at the table farthest from the entrance and picked up a book that detailed the history of film making which he had been reading so far. The chair he sat was a little bit wobbly on account of some of the screws being loose but that didn't matter.
At the other side of the library Mrs. Winters retreated to her office in the back to take care of her other duties and dismissed herself from the boy's presence allowing him to join Clayton at his table.
"What kind of dribble are you rotting your brain with now?" Dirk questioned.
"Hey man, you got your taste, I got mine. You don't hear me making fun of the story you're reading." He paused to think of the title as it was at the tip of his tongue. "Affair of the Three Castles?"
Dirk corrected the mistake, "It's Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It tells the tale of the warring states in ancient China and is considered to be a classic."
A few minutes pass by before Clayton disturbed the quiet mood that surrounded him to ask Dirk a question.
"Hey man, did you hear the rumor that's be going around?"
Dirk didn't even bother to lower his book down and stop reading.
"What did I tell you about getting yourself involved with such school yard dribble. These things do not serve a use for me."
"Hey don't be so uptight. I just wanted to talk to you."
"Then voice your true intentions rather then hiding them behind this gossip rubbish. However, if you think this is so important then just let it out as so we can bury this issue early."
"Well, apparently Yumi brought an entire suit of Japanese armor to school today for her report only for it to get lifted later. Isn't that funny?"
Clayton patiently waited for a response but saw that Dirk reacted by just turning the page in his book.
"Is that all?" The Korean boy asked with his face still buried in his story completely unfazed by the story as if he heard it before.
"Well yeah."
"Hardly worth something for me to put my book down for. Though I will ask you this for the sake of conversation. Who do you suppose took that thing? Certainly it wasn't us."
Clayton scratched his chin and looked around the paretically empty library as he searched for an answer. There was only on other student in this school who held a grudge against the Weirdo Bunch which instantly made him the prime suspect.
"Bruno," Clayton said with a serious expression.
"Now if only the police force had more people like you. I was thinking the same thing."
As if on cue, Bruno's rude gruff voice made itself known without an invite.
"You two talking about me?"
Dirk still had yet to turn his focus away from the gripping story of Romance of the Three Kingdoms despite the apparent danger he was in. Clayton was not so easy going.
"Of course we are as we think you're the only kid around campus big enough to carry that thing out of the classroom. Now for the sake of a good laugh why don't you tell us how you did it?"
Bruno was overcome with anger with that request, "You got some serious nerve to ask me for another favor! Last time I helped you, I ended up sucking grass blades in the forest. Tell your "boss" that he can't plan for his life and he's just a small fry who'll never amount to anything in his life!"
That did it. Dirk calmly closed the covers on his book and slowly set it down on the table so that he could stand up and confront his taunter.
"I believe you got my attention with that remark. Care to retract that statement before someone gets hurt?"
"Fat chance loser. Why don't you..."
Dirk had enough with the boy's insults and kindly asked him to stop...by shoving the palm of his hand deep into his solarplex. Bruno doubled over in agony. In one swift motion, Dirk seized Bruno by the back of his head and shoved it dangerously close to the table's corner where he held it in place.
"Isn't it amazing how one strike can take down a person twice your size. Now I was going to let you go but since you wasted my precious reading time I think I'll press into this manner. If you wish to avoid having a concussion at the ripe old age of fourteen then you're going to tell all that you know or else you and Mr. Table here are going to have a very forceful meeting!"
To his credit, Bruno was a lot smarter than he looked as he saw no benefit of having his head cracked open like a grapefruit.
"Ok, ok you win! First off I didn't swipe that thing. Heck I didn't even know Yumi had that kind of hardware."
Clayton wasn't buying Bruno's story one bit. "How do we know this guy is telling the truth?"
"I don't think he has the guts to lie under these circumstances." To prove his point Dirk inched the other boy's face even closer to the corner. "Am I right?"
Bruno was in a state of panic, "It's the truth! Honest!"
"Now go on."
"Well I was walking to class and I overheard two cops saying that there was some guy wearing Yumi's samurai gear attacking a bunch of people around school."
Dirk and Clayton were mildly repulsed with what Bruno had to say. Not even the likes of them condoned such senseless acts of violence. The student being interrogated kept talking.
"That all I know man. It sounds pretty stupid I'll admit but it's the truth!"
Dirk released his grip on Bruno's skull and watched him leave in a huff. He wasn't going to do anything about this as he was too afraid to admit his defeat. Now free from any further distractions, Dirk picked up his book and began to finish the exciting chapter he was reading before.
"Armature."
The "personal touch" as reduced the enemy of mankind to nothing more than an a stray dog aimless wandering the school's hallways in search of five students. Such a lowly existence indeed.
Library back entrance.
Hmmm, this could prove to be promising.
"Will you stop making so much noise. I can't hear myself think."
Clayton shrugged his shoulders and a gave a quick, "Humph," to show his annoyance.
More noised invaded the air. Rhythmic clanks and scraps echoed across docile book shelves and seeking shelter in the Troublesome Duo's eardrums driving Dirk mad.
"You're acting like a complete child Clayton! I told you to be quiet."
The larger boy gave off a confused reply, "What are you talking about? I'm not doing anything."
"Then what's that noise then?"
"It's not coming from me, that's for sure. Look, I'm not moving at all."
Dirk scanned the image in front of him and saw that not a single muscle on his enforcer's body was in motion yet the sounds in the library were becoming louder and louder. Something was amiss and the collective experience that the pair had all pointed to one source. Trouble.
The Korean tactician spoke first. "Someone else..."
"...is here," Clayton finished.
A split second later, the pair jumped out of their seats and hit the floor in a rolling motion, dodging the Japanese blade that intended to cut their heads off. Dirk quickly stood up and faced the giant attacker only to be taken back by the un-Earthly sight.
"Is this thing even human?" He had to ask his voice wavering in-between being amazed and fearful.
The wobbly chair that was being tormented moments before was now being used as a makeshift weapon.
"Human or not, let's see if it can take one of these!"
Right on the samurai's breast plate, the heavy steel chair made its impact knocking the receiver back a step. The blow from the hit was so massive that the loose screws holding the piece of furniture together fell off causing the rest of the chair to do the same. With only the back frame left to hold onto for protection, Clayton was powerless to stop the samurai's next attack.
Straight down the middle, that's where the next cut was directed. Slicing the thin metal bars in the middle of the metal object the student was holding along with his torso all at the same time. Dirk averted his eyes from the sight. He covered his ears to avoid listening to his best friend's scream for help and seeing his mangled body hit the floor like an unwanted rag doll.
This red bastard had just crossed the line. Running was not an option anymore nor should it even be considered an option. He was going to take this monstrosity down and he was going to enjoy ripping this aging hunk of whale bone apart piece by piece. The anger inside flowed through his veins like liquid fire but it did not cloud his judgement. If he wished to combat this foe then he was going to need a weapon. Sure he was a formidable fighter with his bare hands but against a sword, his martial arts skills would not matter.
Even up until now Clayton had his back. The two halves of the chair's back looked surprisingly familiar.
"Just like a tonfa!"
Quickly Dirk grabbed the two iron rods by their "handles" and was now armed with a set of makeshift weaponry worthy of doing battle with. The adrenaline now coursed through his body putting him in a state of heightened alert. The sword came at him again but it appeared to be at a slower speed. Already anticipating where it would go next, he gracefully spun out on its path and closed the gap between him and his opponent which allowed him to retaliate.
"THIS ONE'S FOR CLAYTON!"
Dirk raised both of his tonfas in the air and rammed them viciously into the samurai's chest as if to pierce his imaginary heart. He drew his arms back a split second later only to ram them into the same area again, again. Blow, after blow, he rained his hits down as if his arms were like an engine's piston. With each successful strike, the samurai faltered a step back until it was pressed against wall at the human's mercy. Dirk drew his arm back one last time, gathering all the energy and rage in he had stored for one last finishing strike.
"AND THIS ONE IS FOR ME!"
Of course a human being outside of Lyoko couldn't defeat the likes of XANA so easily. Heart and determination could only get you so far before the dire odds you were fighting against finally catch up to you. Dirk never got to land this final blow. For the time it took him to draw his arm away and yell out his statement of intent, the samurai's gigantic gauntlet collided with his jawbone shattering it into a multitude of piece like a broken china plate. The last thing he could remember before the world around him grew dark was flying in the opposite direction.
Suddenly the sound of broken glass coming from the library caught everyone's attention nearby as it brought the entire campus to a standstill. At first the students thought it was the work of some prankster who worked up enough courage to throw a rock through the pane but noticed that the black projectile flying out of the window frame was too big. It looked almost...human.
Flying through the air at this moment was not a rock...it was a body! Dirk's body he would realize later as he was the closest one there. The being's accent soon halted and dropped hard onto the unforgiving bed of glass shards that formed underneath him. Jin quickly rushed to his enemy's side only to cower away in fear after seeing the bloody mess, his hemophilia kicking into high gear.
No one deserved to be mangled like that. Not even his friend's worst enemy.
As fate would have it, the police squad that surrounded Yumi and Donald Brass saw the grisly sight and began to seal off the area and call for an ambulance.
Both twins screamed and were completely frozen. It was only a brief moment so no one else noticed but that small pause felt like an eternity for them. In a blink of an eye the moment was over and the visions ceased to be for the time being.
The lead detective spotted Jin and figured out his identity rather quickly thanks to his close resemblance to his sister and gave him the same speech he gave Yumi back at the cafeteria. Too shaken to say no, Jim joined the police's ranks and was lead to the principal's office for further questioning.
"Why us?" Yumi begged to the powers that be as if they would silently answer her call for help.
Still, something had to be done. If Taelia and the samurai ever met then the end result could only end in tragedy. Sure he could defend himself in a fight in the real world, his recent run ins with the Troublesome Duo supported this, but he was no warrior. Protecting an innocent girl from the likes of XANA would usually rest on those three same people who were being accused of having a faulty sense of logic. This wasn't his role to fulfill nor his expertise to take advantage of but it was his responsibility now. Taelia was Aelita, and Aelita needed his help right now!
In the end, that's all that really mattered. Aelita had to remain unharmed. Plain and simple. She said that in the real world she would not like to have a best friend that was worthless. Well, the first half of that statement came true, now all that was left was to make sure the second part did the same.
But who could blame here for being a little anxious right now. If first days gave off any indication of what the rest of the year may hold then she should seriously start looking into the local mental correction institutions as this sort of stuff would make her lose her mind. Just think of it. In her first day she gets hit on by a wanna-be Romeo wearing all purple accompanied by a silent guy dressed in green and another guy wearing glasses. Thinking about the second boy made Taelia smile.
"Well he did look kind of cute...in a nerdy way," she admitted before going back to her original thoughts.
That she could deal with but this samurai attack sounded like something pulled straight from a horror movie. She certainly didn't remember reading about that in the catalog for the school.
She had to crack a joke, "When the said they had a cutting edge program here."
This moment of light-heartedness was short lived when a blonde boy with glasses dashed into her room without warning. This was wrong on so many levels. Cute or not, he had no right in barging into her private quarters. This was uncalled for! She was about to chew him out but the intruder spoke first.
"Aelita! XANA has just launched an attack. He's controlling a piece of samurai armor and has been hunting for you!"
Who the heck is Aelita in the first place? The last time she checked her memory bank her mind still registered the word "Taelia" as the proper means of identification. As much as she wanted to slap some sense into the guy as it would do him a world of good, this all seemed so, so funny. Maybe it was worth listening to him just for the humor factor alone. Hey, she needed a good laugh anyway so why not now?
"Now that's a more original story then your friend came up with earlier."
Already she was feeling better, there was nothing like telling a guy off who deserved it though it appeared to be that the words she choose were a lot more potent than she anticipated. Something inside the stranger snapped causing him to lunge forward and grab her by the shoulders.
"You need to come with me! We gotta get out of here now!"
If she only knew how to fight then she could break this poor sap's arms in five different locations but alas that was not possible. The school's infirmary most likely would be busy due to recent influx of possible patients thanks to the attacks so adding another tally to the body count wouldn't do anyone good. Instead of a broken arm, he would get a hostile shove. If only he knew how much he lucked out then maybe he wouldn't be so daring in the future.
"I'm not going with anyone who's stark raving mad!"
The boy with glasses took a second to recollect himself and spoke calmly, "I know you have no clue with what's going on Aelita as you have amnesia right now but you have to trust me for the time being."
As if to answer the unspoken request of "Why should I believe you?" the said samurai invited himself to the think tank.
"This...is...unreal!" Taelia said with quivering lips.
Much to her surprise, the same could not be said for the boy wearing the blue sweater. Holding his arm back as if to protect her, the boy stared down the vicious beast with an equally determined gaze creating a deadly standoff.
"No matter how hard you try XANA, I will not let you lay a finger on her!"
Again with that name but there was no time to contemplate its significance as two seconds later she was face to face with the business end of a katana blade. If she wasn't pulled onto her bed shortly after, who knows what would have happened.
Looks like first impressions weren't always the best indicator for judging a person's character.
If she was going to come out of this alive, she would have to trust the boy wearing glasses. Already he was leading her out onto campus to escape from the enemy's wrath pulling at her delicate wrist as if to say "Move faster!"
Now outside, things began to settle down. Taelia needed answers, now, and her rescuer was the only one who could provide such things. There was one thing she needed to take care of first.
"Thanks for saving me."
Sure he was a jerk when they first met but then again she wasn't an ingrate either and knew how to be gracious for such a heroic deed.
He kept his focus on the door but had enough manners to acknowledge the person he was talking to. "It's the least I can do. You said you didn't want a worthless best friend after all."
Taelia bowed her head and spoke, "If you don't mind, can you introduce yourself? I can't just call you "You With the Glasses" now can I?"
He laughed at the joke and smiled but it soon gave way to fear as he spotted a giant red blotch not too far away. Again Taelia's wrist was seized by the other boy's hands. She didn't know what to make heads or tails of the situation except that death was an inevitable consequence if she stopped moving. It was so surreal to her. The scenery flashed before her eyes, ever changing, ever so terrifying. Boiler rooms, sewage systems and steel ladders, all moved in one gigantic blur. Her legs were not so permissive in moving such a great deal of a distance as they begged their user to stop with every single fearful step she took.
Her newfound friend was fairing a whole lot better. One would easily expect a person of his physical build to keel over at this time but that was not the case. This guy could run a small marathon with stamina like that.
Much to Taelia's relief their panicked-stricken sprint came to a full stop in front of an abandoned factory. This was just getting weirder and weirder by the minute.
"My name is Jeremie."
Taelia looked up completely taken back by the sudden introduction.
"I would have said so earlier but we had more "pressing" matters to attend to."
Finally she had a name. Now she could attach a word to his face.
"Jeremie, what it going on here?"
He pointed at the set of ropes dangling at the other side.
"I'll explain once we get inside. It would be best if you had a visual aid with this."
He reached up as to brush his bangs away from his eyes and felt a soft cloth around his head. During the time he was blacked out, the doctors must have bandaged his jaw on account of it was broken and it needed to be held in place. Most likely they must have given him a few painkillers on the side as to prevent him from going mad. Now if only Clayton was just as fine. Dirk feared the worst. Never again would he find another human being on the face of this Earth who was just as loyal as Clayton was.
He was so lost in his guilt that he was taken by surprised by Nurse Dorothy's entrance into his room.
"Hey Dirk," the older woman greeted. Showcasing her genuine nurturing personality. "Mr. Delmas gave me the rest of the day off."
Even if he mouth wasn't bound tightly Dirk would have never even dreamed of telling the woman off. He just listened patiently, communicating his thoughts and feelings with his eyes.
"If you're looking for Clayton he's in the intensive care unit as his wounds were almost fatal. However his doctors said he'll live but it would take a long time before he will fully heal."
Dirk nodded in agreement. This was indeed good news.
"Would you mind if we talked a bit?"
Such change in tone caught Dirk off guard. Clearly she didn't come to his room for official business. This was indeed a personal matter.
"As you're fully aware, your reasons for being enrolled in Kadic Junior High are completely different from that of your peers."
Dorothy's guilt ridden voice threw the hospital patient in a loop. This was something he didn't casually talk about.
"I apologize for not keeping a closer eye on you as I was supposed to. Maybe then you wouldn't have repeated the seventh grade nor been injured. I should have taken better care of you."
Dirk shifted underneath his blanket as this was an comfortable issue that was being touched upon. He was a special case in the school system, a unique position he wasn't too proud of.
"If you ever need my help don't hesitate to ask. I'm a nurse after all, it's my job to. I just hope you can still accomplish your goal with us as it indeed is something worthwhile to obtain."
The hospital patient exhaled through his nose as he was reminded of his "status" in Kadic Junior High. It was something he wished could just be forgotten.
"Given what info we have gathered it can be concluded that either one or both of you are responsible for the attacks in the school."
Yumi was flabbergasted. "That isn't true!"
"This is only a theory so we could be wrong but hear us out anyway. The armor originally belonged to you two and Jin was the first person we found at the crime scene when your classmate Dirk was found."
The girl's shock was replaced with a feeling of anger. "Those two things do not justify such a conclusion!"
The investigator closed his eyes to think. Deep down inside he knew he the link he was trying to make was completely preposterous. This savage beast was indeed not human and whatever he was doing to cover his tracks was working in his favor. Certainly he was laughing at the entire police force for being so off the mark.
Odd, on the other hand, had a more practical method of spending their time.
"Ulrich, Yumi's been in there for hours."
His best friend only gave him a humorless reply, "And your point is?"
"As much as I love to stare at a door till it's useless for us to be staying here. We should just call up Jeremie and meet us at the factory."
Ulrich did just that but was not able to get a hold of the tech head on the other side of the line.
"His voice mail is on. That's not normal."
Odd too was slightly worried about this sign. "Maybe he's at the factory then, we should go over there and just check things out."
Although Ulrich was reluctant to leave Yumi alone with the police, Odd made a good point. Nothing good was going to come from Lounging around in the principal's office.
"Let's go to the factory!"
Jeremie leapt into his computer chair and brought up the world map of Lyoko in an attempt to jog the amnesiac girl's memory.
"This virtual world is Lyoko, does it ring any bells?"
She shook her head, "The only thing I remember about virtual worlds is that your purple buddy asked me the same thing when he tried to put the moves on me."
Jeremie slammed his fist against the computer's dashboard. "If only you knew."
That was the thing that was bothering her, she didn't know not because this was a hidden thought that was tucked away in the back of her. She knew right from the start that this was a case of mistaken identity but stuck along for the ride looking for an opportunity to help. This XANA must have a weakness that could be exploited.
"If XANA is responsible for all of this and is just a computer program why don't you just shut him off and end this fight once and for all?"
Why didn't anyone think of this? Shutting down Lyoko was the best and only solution to their problem. Common sense was anything but common nowadays.
Jeremie gulped nervously and gave his answer, "Well that's because doing so will destroy you as well but...you're here now."
That's when it dawned on him. What was holding him back? He was unable to connect with Aelita on Lyoko and his equipment was in working order. Then Taelia shows up at his school looking just like his virtual counterpart. Still, when it came to situations that were not grounded by the rules of traditional science, all things were possible. Could it be that he was just talking to a complete stranger?
The elevator doors opened, giving off the familiar mechanical grind that the Lyoko group grew accustomed to. This was then followed by Ulrich's footsteps as he stepped into the computer room.
He only needed to see Taelia inside to know what Jeremie was up to.
"Hold it Jeremie!" Ulrich commanded.
Odd too saw the signs and followed his friend's example. "Hey Einstein, have you gone crazy? You're not serious about doing this are you? What if Aelita is still on Lyoko?"
Jeremie balled his hands into fist as he had no other means of venting his frustrations. "For the last time, Aelita, is not on Lyoko!" He pointed at Taelia to stress his point. "She's right over there guys, can you see for yourselves!"
"Correction Einstein, Aelita isn't here. That's just Taelia. They're not the same person."
Ulrich gave it his best shot as to talk some sense into the headstrong boy. "Jeremie, we know that you've been dreaming of seeing Aelita in the real world but you need to think this through."
"Are you willing to risk destroying Aelita and Lyoko all because of some guesswork?" Odd inquired. "Just let us roam around the place for a bit."
Maybe a patrol on Lyoko was in order just for the benefit of the doubt. Jeremie waved his hand as to dismiss the two roommates into the scanner room where he initiated the process of sending them to Lyoko.
"Transfer Ulrich. Transfer Odd."
Taelia's eyes were glued on Jeremie's computer monitor. Letters, numbers and symbols traveled across the screen at increasing velocities. This served as the backdrop for two digital playing cards carrying the likeness of the two boys who Jeremie was just talking to.
"This is crazy."
Jeremie paid no attention to her and kept typing on his keyboard.
"Scanner Ulrich. Scanner Odd."
The last key was hit to complete the program and everything was good to go. All that was left was for Jeremie to say his catchphrase and they would be on their way.
"Virtualization!"
Jeremie was ready to give his first set of instructions, "I last spoke with Aelita on the mountain region. You should begin your search here."
Now the two warriors could see why Jeremie wasn't too willing to go ahead with a physical search to locate Aelita. Apparently they have forgotten how huge Lyoko was. Densely fogged patches of land, steep cliffs and dark passages populated the mountain range in countless numbers. It would take days just to search this sector alone.
"Finding Aelita here is going to be like finding an idea in Jim's head."
Jeremie knew his friends were more than capable of taking care of themselves and now turned to Taelia to further clarify what was going on. This would have been ok except that there was no Taelia to explain things too.
"This could be a big problem Jeremie," he said in the third person.
"Super Mario, eat your heart out," he jested. "I can jump just as high as you and look good wearing purple. Not too many guys can say that!"
"If you want to be the next video game idol wait some other time," Jeremie barked. "Right now focus on seeing if Aelita is here or not."
"Cool your jets Jeremie. I'll get to..."
Flash Visions have the most peculiar sense of timing. Just when Odd was hitting his peak goof off hours, an sight of Aelita being obscured by a fiery orange wall came to him. It didn't tell him she was but the ambiguous hint was better than nothing.
Still dazed Odd communicated his reaction, "Whoa."
Ulrich climbed his way to the ledge his roommate was standing to partake in the slightly festive atmosphere that was created.
"Uh oh, is it just me or does Odd look like he has a constructive idea in his head?"
"More like a flash vision." Looking the most serious that he was all day Odd psyched himself up to drop his bombshell. "I saw Aelita on Lyoko."
Jeremie had to blink a few times in order to process what Odd said.
"Can you repeat that again? For a minute there I thought you said Aelita was on Lyoko."
"Next time you shop for glasses you might want to get your hearing checked as well. I just saw Aelita, but she was trapped in something really weird. I can't explain it."
There was no time to lament on his misinterpretation on the evidence that was given to him. Taelia was not Aelita, that was a fact he had to accept. The real Aelita was in trouble and rescuing her was top priority.
XANA didn't fair to well at hiding things as Ulrich soon found out. In the middle of the narrow, twisting pathway at the base of the cliff stood a glowing sphere which cared very little about being spotted or not.
"An orb of fire eh? Kinda like that thing over there?"
There was no more time left to spare for useless banter. The two heros had no second thoughts about their safety when it came to diving off the cliff's edge since it was the fastest way down. Running at their top speeds, the duo made it to the orb's platform in no time.
"There she is!" Odd said excitedly. "Aelita is trapped in that weird fire ball."
"It's called a Guardian," Ulrich added. "The same monster that imprisoned Yumi before."
Odd thought back to that eventful battle in the ice region for any hints on how to unravel this enigma.
"The last time we met this thing Aelita created a clone of Yumi and made the Guardian think it had the wrong prisoner."
"Yeah but this time Aelita, is the one held captive this time so there goes that option. Now what?"
Hands down the Guardian was the number one monster that Jeremie despised. Holding Aelita hostage wasn't going to score any brownie points in his book and that the thing was impervious to physical attack only piled on the woes for him.
Ulrich played a less passive role when it came to expressing his hatred toward the Guardians.
"Until you can figure out what to do next I'm going to rely on brute force to crack this thing open and get her out!"
Jeremie wished that all of his problems could be solved as easily as swinging a sword through the air. For if that was the case, then Aelita would have truly been materialized and XANA would have bitten the dust long ago.
Fighting XANA in a computer game was not a good enough solution for Taelia. He had to be put down like the fowl being that he was. His end would be swift and just with no time in-between to mourn his passing which was why she returned to Kadic Junior High; to speak with an adult who she prayed had more common sense than anyone else she encountered today.
She came just in time, two students were already existing his office which meant that the man was free right now. Her stroll to the entrance caused her to cross paths with these two individuals giving her ample to analyze their facial features and manner of dress out curiosity.
They were twins, no doubt about that. The similarities in their looks and the overall presence they emitted were clear indicators of this. The most striking thing about them was the way they moved. It was something to see with one's eyes to believe. Each and every step, every twist of the torso was synchronized as if their movements were timed to the beat of a silent orchestra playing in their heads.
Her eyes only came into contact with the sister of the pair. The look that Taelia saw in the other girl's eyes made her blood run cold. The gothic girl looked so fierce and angry but concealed it underneath a clam exterior. The next person that would have the misfortune to set her over the edge would be reeling from the consequences. That was all Taelia cared for to see. She didn't come here for the meet and greet. She had a virus to dispose of and a virtual world to shut down.
"See Ulrich, where brute force fails, intelligence prevails."
Odd slapped himself in the forehead after hearing that quote. "Man, that was just as bad as "super nuclear!" Do yourself a favor and stay out of the one-liner business and get with opening this digital pinata."
Jeremie's head throbbed under the immense pressure he was putting on himself. This Guardian program has to have a weakness that should be exploited. Wait...
Guardian program.
Guardian...program
Guardian...program
"This thing is a program! If that's the case then I should be able to hack it!"
Jeremie's fingers trembled in anticipation. There was nothing quite like the rush he got whenever he used his vast computer know how to stick it to XANA where it hurts. A few key strokes here and there and right on Lyoko he had managed to replicate a flawless Aelita duplicate.
"An Aelita clone Einstein? So this is how you prepare yourself for the real thing." Odd's sly voice mentioned. "Mind telling us your record for speaking to her without freezing up?"
Ulrich too had to express his doubts on the idea. "Here's to wishing the Guardian is as stupid as you think it would be."
"Just wait and see. I can't be wrong all the time right?"
The Guardian was in full agreement with that statement. Seeing the Aelita clone, it stretched it gelatinous body and ensnared the other being holding the two captives inside. However, it was commanded to hold Aelita prisoner and now the question was who was he really suppose to have. Skills such as logic and reasoning were not programed into its original program and overloaded with information. The end result was a nice shower of sparks and one released virtual girl on Lyoko.
Odd placed his hand over the delicate body's head to check for sings of external harm but Jeremie was far more capable of giving an accurate diagnosis.
"Get Aelita to a tower pronto. She needs to regenerate her life points! After that head over to the forest region as that's where XANA activated to tower!"
"Jeremie, I just saw Taelia and it looked like she was going to speak to the principal."
If on Yumi was able to see the frenzied mannerisms Jeremie was expressing over at the factory.
"Oh no, this is bad! This is really bad! I took her to the factory."
"You can't be serious. She's going to tell the cops everything!"
"I know. Just head over to the factory as fast as you can."
"Sure thing."
Yumi's warning call was able to put her back into her normal mind set and kept the demons at bay for just a bit longer. Such a shift in moods went by unnoticed with Jin for he unable to see her face.
"Something tells me that Jeremie did something reeeeaaaaaallllly stupid."
"He did Aniki, right now Taelia is letting the principal and the police everything Jeremie told her about XANA and Lyoko."
Jin sprinted in the direction of the boiler room as fast as his legs could carry him and saw his sister swiftly gaining ground on him. Jeremie had just created a ticking time bomb in this pressure cooker situation. Dealing with a rogue samurai was already a handful now throw the cops into the mix and the potential for Lyoko to be shut down and you got yourself treading on thin ice.
Inside the cramped confines of the corridor that lead to their secret passage, the Ishiyama siblings could sense something was amiss. Countless run ins with XANA-induced paranormal such as giant teddy bears and purple clouds of poisonous fumes had conditioned their bodies to adapt a "sixth sense" when it came to detecting danger.
Sure enough a few flickers from the florescent lights overhead confirmed these warnings. This was the final nail in the coffin for Yumi. She was not going to allow herself to be pushed around any further.
"I know your there XANA! Show yourself."
Jin could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. As much as he would love to have a chance in extracting some much needed retribution on the specter that stole his eyesight, now was not the most ideal time to do so.
Before Yumi could figure out what was going on, she found her mouth being covered by the palm of her brother's hand as he reached from behind.
"Uh, never mind us!" Jin's sheepish remark rang loud and clear. He then cleared his throat and deepened his voice to as low as it could go to mask his identity. "We're...the cleaning crew, that's right! And we just came here to...clean stuff. Now why don't you just move along and forget that we even met."
Wanting some feedback on his performance, the Japanese boy rolled his eyes in his sister's direction and whispered into her ear.
"You think I fooled him?"
This was a consequence that he had not foreseen. After all his searching, all his mistakes and all that time wasted he was finally face to face with two of the oldest adversaries that have be a bane in his existence. The last time the crossed paths like this was during the incident with the Yumi clone. Even with such a pathetic puppet at its control victory was still seized. It didn't matter that they had superior numbers, they were only human.
What made this all the more sweeter was that they owned the instrument of destruction that he was using. This was poetic justice in the making. A relic of the Ishiyama generation would be use to cut down it's bloodline.
History annihilates future. Such a classic conflict.
He would surely enjoy remembering their frightful expressions as they would come to their final moments on Earth. This he will make sure of.
The teenager that was being forcibly silenced was not going to take this anguish anymore. She had reached her threshold of psychological abuse and she would not back down from this stand off.
As always XANA made the first move. Running at top speed at Yumi for she was the closest target. She had to find something to defend herself fast for she would be sliced to ribbons if she didn't. Subconsciously her foot brushed up against a series of pipes ranging in sizes that Jim had yet to clean up and instantly saw her means of combat.
The two metal objects met halfway in the air and began their struggle for dominance with Yumi on the losing end right from the start. Where was her brother now?
"Anytime Aniki!" She hollered. There was no time for formalities, only action.
"Jeremie, I think she's coming to."
How long was she out? Minutes? Hours? Days? She had to know.
"What happened?"
Odd got on one knee to lower himself so that he and Aelita saw eye to eye.
"You got captured by a Guardian but don't worry, he won't be bothering you anymore."
It was great to hear her from her again and to know that she was safe. The others wouldn't mind if he took a second or two to recover before he gave the mission brief.
"Aelita, while you were out XANA launched an attack. He's controlling a piece of samurai armor on Earth. Right now you have to get to the forest region to deactivate the tower."
Unactivated towers were the veins of Lyoko, connected to one another through an intricate system of programs filled with a sea of data. Ulrich and Odd did not know the exact mechanics on how they were transferred from region to region. All they cared about was getting there.
The three party members leaned over the platform's edge, their toes curling over the sides for extra grip. They didn't bother to make a flashy dive into the abyss and instead fell forward, head-first into the unknown. Ulrich and Odd closed their eyes, completely engrossed in the sensation that diving off a large cliff provided. Oblivious to the swarms of binary coding and strange symbols that dispersed in a flicker of time. The margin for error was now slim. Too much time had been wasted on useless questions, premature guesses and faulty evidence. XANA unchecked on Earth was not something that should be taken lightly. The tower had to be taken care of fast.
The long metal pipe Jin was holding bounced off the red surface as if was made of rubber. If there was a human inside, his teeth would have been rattling right now.
The samurai guarded the entrance to the boiler room as if he was glued to the door frame and prevented anyone from getting near it. Yumi and Jin would have to find another way to the factory and hold off XANA every inch of the way. They didn't have a chance fighting XANA up front for they were outclassed by its equipment and protection. Running away was the only option left at their disposal but and a head start was needed. Yumi glanced at Jin's weapon and saw it was significantly longer than hers. The gears in her hair began to turn. Maybe there was a way she could use this to their advantage.
"Aniki, I have a plan but it's pretty risky."
The metal staff was raised a few inches higher so that it assumed its battle position and its user smiled smugly.
"Just tell me what you need to do and it's done."
"When you see an opening, I want you to get that pipe pressed against XANA's ankle. I'll handle the rest."
That plan sounded crazy if not suicidal. "Hold it! Who do you think I am; Robin from Teen Titans! My level of training doesn't come close to the swordsmanship lessons Sifu put you through. I mean I'm pretty good with this thing but not that good!"
Such a confession was something that she did not want to hear.
"WHAT! This is the last thing we need! How about all those weapons you have in your room?"
"That's just a collection sis," he admitted openly. "I'm only fourteen, there is no possible way I could use all of those things effectively yet."
"Just trust me Jin,"
He nodded. Yumi had an ace up her sleeve and XANA was too ignorant to see the huge amount of trouble he would soon be in. Jin rushed the armed giant with the usual amount of reckless abandon he was accustomed to. When XANA tried to slice his head off with a horizontal slash, Jin saw an opening. He trusted his legs out and jetted the forward so that he went into a baseball slide holding his staff over his head so that it functioned as a giant piece of trip wrie.
Now why would Jin be so stupid.. That peculiar maneuver was harmless by itself and left the teenager valuable for a fatale blow. XANA twirled the samurai's katana so that its point hovered over his chest which would become a bloody pincushion if no one was going to save him.
It was Yumi's turn to act fast. XANA payed no heed to her which was exactly what she wanted. Her strategy in Lyoko last time backfired. History was not going to be making a repeat performance. Yumi dashed past the samurai's right side made a swift turnaround. Jin could see from his point of view his sister leap high into the air, stretching her legs out to cover extra ground. Yumi aimed her body to the wall adjacent to her and pushed off of it in a downward motion to get even more height. With her increased momentum, the girl focused her sight onto the giant target before her which was the samurai's back.
Poor XANA did not know what him. Yumi rammed her pipe into the ancestral armor. The final piece of her strategy fell into place. Such a hit forced the lumbering beast to step forward in order to regain his balance. However, with Jin's staff lodged against his legs that was not going to happen. The samurai toppled forward like a house of cards and smashed into floor.
"Let's get out of here!" Yumi said as she grabbed Jin by his wrist, dragging to the entrance of one of the locker rooms.
Jin twisted his body so that he faced the proper direction and smiled. It was amazing how much Yumi had grown during his absence and yet, it felt like this had happened before.
"Just like old times," he chuckled quietly.
"What is exactly is down there?" Mr. Delmas asked not knowing the full details of why he was brought to this particular location.
The new student recalled her own encounter with the factory's secrets and rationalized that if the two men were to take her seriously the only explanation she could give was to show them the strange room herself and let them draw up their own conclusions.
"Mr. Brass, inside this factory is the biggest lead you'll find in your investigation. You have to trust me on this!"
Did he really have a choice. Eye witnessers couldn't ID the sucker and forensic evidence was turning up nil. Any potential lead, no matter how fabricated it might appear to be was a welcomed one.
"We'll go, even if it is for the benefit of the doubt."
The time it took for Ulrich, Odd and Aelita to travel to the forest region, Jeremie finally saw XANA's true target.
"He wasn't after Taelia because she was Aelita. He was after us!"
Role call showed that two of the five students were absent from the factory. He didn't know if they were either on their way to save the day or not. He had to find out. Jeremie dialed Jin's cell phone number not caring which of the pair he contacted as they were usually together. He was happy to hear Jin's voice on the other line for he assumed that he was ok.
"Hey, this is Jin. My sister and I can't talk right now because...WE'RE FIGHTING FOR OUR LIVES RIGHT NOW!"
Jeremie jumped back in his seat, frightened by the outburst. A blaring orchestra of violence and disorder occupied the other line. Screams, scrapes, grunts and groans filled the white noise and feed into his ear painting a vivid picture of what was happening at Kadic.
Jin found enough time to keep talking in order to fill his friend in on their status. "Fighting with only one hand is pretty tough so I'm only going to say this once. GET THAT TOWER DEACTIVATED!"
"We made it to the forest region," came Ulrich's voice from Lyoko.
Finally, some good news! They were making some serious headway in their mission and most ideally it would stay that way.
"Excellent job guys but hurry up. Yumi is having problems with the samurai."
Jin had to butt in, "We're having problems with the samurai! There's two of us remember?"
Odd was able to eavesdrop on the conversation since the super calculator was used as the medium for the two boys to communicate.
"My, my, such an impatient fellow," he quipped.
"Just make it snappy guys as our family is allergic to swords? You see, when they get in us we die...CRUD!"
The cell phone icon on Jeremie's monitor shrank to a single pixle signaling that the line was dead. This was also when he choose to check the camera feedback inside the factory's elevator. It appeared to be that life was just a series of misfortunate events laid out one after another.
"How about another update for us Einstein. You got any news for us?"
"Plenty, Taelia saw me punch in the access code for the elevator and is coming down and the principal and the police are with her as well. To think I blown our cover to a complete stranger."
"Hey easy there Jer." Odd said warmly. "You did something stupid just to impress a girl. I was afraid you weren't like the rest of us. Guess I was wrong."
"Can the insults Odd, as you and Ulrich have a few monsters waiting for you, two blocks to be exact. Watch our for their ice blasts or else its game over."
The blocks in question revealed themselves by aimless firing their most feared weapons at the trio. Such powerful cannons were difficult to aim and the only things that were hurt in that attack were two trees that off to the sides.
Odd flipped forward as to take the lead and rubbed his wrists so that they were warmed up before they would be used.
"Nice job in saving us from those menacing tress but next time actually try to hit us. Let me show you how to shoot like a pro."
The marksmanship lesson would have to wait some other time. Ulrich was more comfortable seeing himself tacking on the two menaces by himself, rather than his best friend. He was going to XANA how to really use a katana.
"Odd, get Aelita to the tower, I'll handle these two alone...well almost alone."
The purple warrior did not stay to see the impressive display of speed that Ulrich exhibited for it ranked pretty low on his list of priorities but he knew those two poor saps were in for it a serious butt kicking...if those things even had butts to kick.
"Triangulate!"
It had been a long while since Ulrich had performed this move but this was the most appropriate time to use it. His last encounter with the blocks involved him meeting the business end of an ice blast due to his lack of awareness. If he couldn't fight these things up front, then he'd have to confuse them instead. They couldn't hit what the couldn't see.
The block's targeting system went into overtime commutating the coordinates and the environmental conditions that needed to be factored in to hit the speeding enemy. Round and round he went, building a transparent wall of yellow light with each passing. Now it was time that he left something tangible behind...himself. Well, two extra clones of himself which the block fired at out of reflex; making the Lyoko population two holographic copies smaller. It's optic functions were able to detect a sword being jammed in its direction but was too slow in doing anything about it.
"Impact!" Ulrich screamed.
The block learned right before it's destruction was that the sword was real. Very, very real. Of course the beam of concentrated icy fury that smacked Ulrich in the back was also very, very real.
"There he is!" Taelia accused. "There was this weird computer and XANA thing who's trying to destroy the world!"
Mr. Delmas never dreamed that his school's most academically accomplished student would be involved with such a dastardly conspiracy.
"Jeremie, I believe you owe us an explanation for all this."
Jin and Yumi were in a real life sword fight with a shogun from the past and Aelita faced the threat of permanent deletion if he didn't keep his eye on her well being. Telling his principal to back off was a reasonable decision given these problems.
"I'm sorry sir," Jeremie said with a keen sense of respect. "I can not say so, my friends are in danger and I can not abandon them."
Donald was impatient. Diplomacy was dead in this day and age. He glanced at his fellow officers and nodded in their direction. They would drag this kid all the way back to the police station if they have to. There were too many lives at risk for them to mess this up.
Jin's shot his right foot against the door to the gymnasium as he was in a hurry but then again who wouldn't be? They were too far away from the forest or the boiler room now. XANA successfully lured them away from those areas. They couldn't fight their way to Lyoko now. All they could do was fight for their survival. XANA had no trouble playing catch up and flew in between the family members isolating Jin from Yumi brandishing his sword so that it pointed in-between his eyes.
"ANIKI!" Yumi called out. A massive wall of red reared forward and jutted against her body knocking her to the floor and the wind out of her. She clawed at the gym floor, digging her nails into the wooden planks underneath, feeling that quiet sense of rage brewing underneath.
Death was right at Jin's fingertips. How could net not gulp in fear when it was inches away from his face. Despite his nervousness, he was able to make out one last command his instincts were blarring at him. ...
Move your head!
Jin jerked his head to the side just in time for he was about to wear a gigantic steel sword on his forehead in he didn't. The blade's pointed end rebounded off the think gymnasium walls which was not its intended target.
The black haired boy resumed his upright stance and gripped his staff with both of his hands. He was going to enjoy this.
"Let's rock!"
Using his left hand as a guide, Jin propelled the pole with his right in an upward motion with enough strength and force to give the samurai's breast plate another good rattle. XANA might have had the more superior fighter on in his ranks but Jin had physics on his side. With the imbalanced induced while hitting the wall and now the staff hit to his chest, the samurai could not keep a firm grip on his sword and dropped it so that I laid harmlessly on the ground.
"Better luck next..."
The samurai did not wait for Jin to finish his sentence. Human values of honor and dignity were worthless when you could crush your opponent in a single hit. He had his samurai lock both of his gloves together in an unbreakable lock then sent the miniature wrecking ball into Jin's rib cage. His garbled and incoherent gasps and croaks were substations of his screams. Unlike his previous victims before, Jin would bleed on the inside with god knows how many damaged organs and broken bones.
"There you go Princess, one activated tower for you. Too bad you didn't get to see my graceful combat moves."
Aelita giggled at his playful personality and made a beeline to the white and black spire ignoring the scuttling sound of mechanical legs meeting grassy soil.
"You're getting sloppy Ulrich," Odd said with a smile. "Try not to interrupt a genius when he's at work."
A laser was fired in his direction that he could have easily avoided in his sleep. Odd pushed off the ground with both of his legs propelling himself backwards as he kept his body straight and rigid as possible. He was at the mercy of gravity which was exactly what he wanted to happen. Now face to XANA eye with the block upside down, Odd gave the monster his usual greeting for these creatures.
"Laser Arrow!"
Aelita breath a sigh of relief after hearing the familiar explosion that occurred whenever a monster was destroyed.
"Nice job," Aelita whispered just before she disappeared into the tower."
The anger was still there, showing no signs of subsiding. There was no time to get a psychologist and fix this problem so she turned to her own brand of her therapy. XANA had just crossed the line with his ill treatment of her brother. At that moment every problem she had, every feeling of mental anguish, all her emotional problems were blamed on XANA. He was the reason why she was having nightmares. He was the reason why her life wasn't peaceful and he was the cause of what happened two years ago. Yumi knew it wasn't true, but she didn't care. That computerized bastard was going to pay. Yumi wasn't on Lyoko, that she had to deal with but here, she can deal some pain, some real physical pain that she hoped XANA would feel in every single gaseous particle that made up his body.
Then it came to her. Her sudden epiphony came rushing at her light a loaded frieght train carenaning down the tracks at top speed. The quiet rage, the reemergence of memories supposably forgotten a long time ago, the unrelenting desire to save someone while facing certain death at the smallest attempt; this was exactly what Jin was going through. At that single blood-shed moment, Yumi finally felt her brother's pain. Not symphatived with it or understand it to be analyzed but to truly feel as if, it were her own. She called Jin back home to solve his problem, have him redeam himself and sqaush these lingering thoughts for good, but now the game has changed, the rules have been altered and the score board wipped clean.
The phrase, "Jin's problem" did not exist anymore. No longer could Yumi detache herself with what happened. Jin was her brother, this was her bloodline and this was now her, termoil as well.
The samurai was unarmed, and Yumi was. She didn't need Jeremie's knowledge of mathematics to sort this equation out. She gripped her pipe so tightly that her knuckles turned white under the stress and then, she swung. Forget about technique, Yumi shifted all of her body weight into the end of her weapon in a gigantic baseball swing. Her fears, emotions and rage all collected at the end of the iron rod and were about to be unleashed with an unpresidented amount fury.
"WHY DON'T YOU JUST LEAVE US ALONE!"
This wasn't a plea but more of a command. An ultimatum for the beast to start an early hibernation. The pipe impacted against the chest section with a loud smack letting the sound hang in the air as if it came from a gong. That was when XANA showed signs of faltering. It started out as a single fault running through the armor no thinker then a hair but it grew. The tiny crack expanded into a fault line splintering off in a multitude of directions like a spider web. Hundreds of years of decay and erosion had left the armor in a weakened state from the start and Jin and Dirk did their fair share of softening the samurai up for Yumi to take over.
The coup de grace was executed putting the war zone in a deafly only lasted a heartbeat but it felt like hours as if they were in a vaccum where time draged on so that the viewer could scrutanized every single miniscule detail that was happening. After that chest plusation the crimson beast fell over for a second time, like a giant redwood tree falling down cut at its base. The shock feedback Yumi's pipe was giving her acted like a coded message to tell the Japanese girl of her victory. The monster had been vanquished, but not without its cost.
"ANIKI!"
The conscious Ishiyama ran over to her brother's unresponsive body. What frighted her the most was that he had no external damages. No cuts, gashes or abrasions adorned his body that would allow her to perform some sort of primitive diagnosis on his condition. All she had at her disposal was guesswork, and guesswork was not good enough.
Jin weakly opened his eyes exposing the bottom of his pupils and his dark brown eyes. "Sis?" He said in a quiet whisper. The movement of his jaw caused a tricle of red liquid to run down his lips onto the sleeve of Yumi's shirt.
"You can't die!" Yumi pleaded. "Even if we return to the past, you won't comeback!" Thoughts of a life without her brother entered her head and caused her speech to weaken. "I'm so sorry I dragged you into this Aniki! This is all my fault. All I wanted to do was make things better for you, for both of us."
She waited three longs seconds for her brother to tell her that everything was all right and to lie about him being ok. No such words of comfort were given.
"SAY SOMETHING ANIKI!" Yumi begged while shaking his weak form.
"Anything?" Jin asked with a weak, bloodtrailed smile.
"Yes!"
"Just...let me sleep."
Yumi could only watch as Jin's eyelids closed on themselves, still wearing a smile even if he was living his last moments on Earth.
Who knew those children put up such a reistance? A grave underestimation of his enemy had been revealed. Countermeasures must be drawn up, this will not be a common occurrence. These limitations were indeed becoming quiet a nusicance. Once he was able to possess humans,the playing field would be altered again in his favor. For now he would buy his time, slowly and surely.
The samurai may not have vanquished his enemies like he orignally set it out to but it this provided a worthwile test of his own stratigems. Still, it would be such a waste to admit defeat now. Slowly, he willed the armor to its feet, taking hold of the sword it dropped for it yearned to be used.
"It's all on you Aelita."
Ulrich sacrificed himself in Lyoko to clear a path for her.
Odd was outside battling XANA's minions so that they would not do her any harm.
Jeremie was facing down an irrate principal and two members of the police force to keep Lyoko active and her alive.
She was the last piece needed for victory. The stage was set and the responsibility of saving the world was the prelude and her motivation to perform. Aelita approached the tower's monitor and began to recite her lines through the computer screen.
AELITA
She didn't know how, but the samurai had managed to disarm Yumi with a small flick of his sword. Now with both Ishiyamas unarmed he walked over to Jin's body and lifted the blade high into the air. He was going to make Yumi suffer for being so "uncooperative." Killing her right now would be too good of a punishment. He was going to break her mind first before he did anything else.
All that Yumi could do was to hold her hands up as to shield herself from looking at the piece of sharpened steel. It hammered downward, slicing the air it passed through making a loud whoosh noise while it traveled. Two words lumped in her throat just fighting to be released in
As fate would have it Jin managed to find the pondering girl and inquired her reason for being in such a detached state.
"You know Yumi Mom and Dad would be worried if we keep them waiting like this."
"Aniki..." Yumi said, her words trailed off and were carried away by the afternoon breeze. "How do you live like this?"
"Eating three meals a day and getting plenty of rest and exercise," Jin replied with his usual array of witty banter.
Yumi narrowed her eyebrows. She was not looking for quick laugh. "Please, I'm serious here."
Jin smiled and took a seat next to the raven haired girl. "To tell you the truth Yumi, I don't know. I just take things one day at a time. The future isn't something I really pay a lot of attention to."
"But...doesn't it drive you crazy? How can you just act so casually when you're constantly thinking about these things?"
"That's not true at all sis."
"Ever since what happened to you...I mean us, two years ago, things have really changed haven't they?"
"They have."
The twins got up shortly after to head back to their house as not to worry their parents anymore. Crossing the large campus and seeing the students in their blissful happiness was enough proof that the wrath of the samurai had finally been extinguished and that they could get on with their lives.
A pair of headphones were made visible to the world along with a CD player which were both produced from Jin's backpack.
"Who knows Yumi," he said while placing the contraption on his head so that it rested comfortably on the back of his ears. "If we keep this up maybe things will change for the better."
Ulrich and Odd happened to walk in front of them without knowing of their presence. Yumi's eyes gave the boy in green a once over and grinned.
"I hope so Aniki."
END
Same old, same old with me. Visit my website, sorry for the adds as I got bandwith issues right now. Don't forget to leave a review for this chapter. Your feedback really means a lot to me.
Tamiya could feel her vocal cords juggling an answer between them forcing the girl to stutter in the process. Once their little game of catch had finished, she was able to compose herself in a small degree and tried her best to hide her fear.
"Not really...but I just had a thought. Maybe this isn't the big story we're looking for today. "A special expose on what's hidden underneath this drape?" Sounds a little lame to me."
Milly nodded in agreement. "You're right! I got a way better idea. How about we do a story on Mr. Delmas' suit collection or Jim's band-aid?"
"On second thought, maybe the drape expose wasn't so bad afterall.
"What kind of dribble are you rotting your brain with now?" Dirk questioned.
"Hey man, you got your taste, I got mine. You don't hear me making fun of the story you're reading." He paused to think of the title as it was at the tip of his tongue. "Affair of the Three Castles?"
Dirk shook his head and pulled out a slender book from his backpack with a colorful cover; a book Clayton had read a long time ago.
Ten years ago to be exact.
The Korean boy slammed the book against the table and began to laugh controllably. "Soon, I will force Kadic Junior High to eat Green Eggs and Ham! IN YOUR FACE SAM I AM!"
"Maybe he wasn't as smart as I thought he would be."
Just then the wall adjacent to the battle burst open in a dark cloud of smoke. As the dust cleared, upbeat techno music began to play much to the puzzlement of Yumi, Jin and XANA. A girl wearing a purple skit and matching top flew above the wreakage and pointed at the staff weilding fighter.
"There he is! That is the French person who has been Robining without your permission oh real Robin."
The collar of Jin's shit was seized so that he could be pulled closer to the super hero.
"You are aware that we used this joke on our show first right? Me, Beast Boy and Star are here to make sure that you remember not to infringe on our copyright."
"You tell him!" Beast Boy yelled eagerly.
There was only one way out for Jin. It was going to take all his intelligence and cunning to come out of this confrentation unharmed.
"Hey look over there! It's Slade riding a moped."
"WHERE!" The two young heros asked excitedly turning their heads away giving the older Ishiyama ample time to escape.
Yumi and Starfire both buried their faces into the palms of their hands.
"Men."
I am so deeply sorry that I haven't updated my story in the longest time. My life has gotten busier than normal with college and work so having free time to write is getting more difficult. Not to mention I'm not in the same "shape" I was in before. No longer can I sit at the computer and type hours on end producing a chapter every two days. For some reason I'm slowing down and I can't detect why. Another reason why this chapter was delayed was because I had to write it twice. At the forty-six page mark, my file got deleted and I had to start from scratch. I was not too happy with that but overall I think I re-wrote the segments better then I did before so the blunder did serve some good.
As for the chapter itself I can tell that this is a new style of writing that I've used. It just fells different. Also I think this chapter changed drastically away from the original. There are way more sub stories and questions that have been proposed here that serve as an underlying tone to the events of the original.
Can you say plot twist? I found it fitting for this chapter to have as much character development as it did. There was a reason why I focused as much attention on Jin as I did as to set up for this new development. Not to mention, he's played a pretty small part in this chapter as Yumi, Jeremie and Dirk all had the spotlight here, Yumi more so. This was her chapter to shine as I made it that she exhibited her stronger qualities of leadership and other feats that outclass her brother. Once again we have more mysteries of the Retelling Series that have yet to be answered on top of the usual ones you've grown accustomed to. Man I'm evil.
I really hope you liked this chapter as I really gave it my all. This is a special episode of the Retelling Series as the rules of the game are now drastically different. Also to answer your overwhelming questions...yes I WILL do season two as well. I have many ideas in my head planned for that not to mention Jin is going to have a field day when he meets William as those two look very similar to one another.
Once again, thanks for reading and sticking through this massive series. I'm not out of the game yet. If you want to talk to me feel free to IM or e-mail me. I can no longer reply to reviews in my chapters thanks to this stupid rule the site imposed on us and I'm not too willing to re-write my series from the beginning.
Looking forward to your reviews. Thanks for your support! Before I end this you guys need to give a big round of applause for your fellow reader Kwon Pa who took the time to proofread all 500 pages of the Retelling Series. That is true dedication my friend.
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