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G-Force 4
Author of 6 Stories |
Disclaimer:
I don't own Code Lyoko so I can't charge money for this and even if I could, nobody would ever read this fic. So yeah please don't sue me oh great creators.
Special Thanks:
Thank you for taking a massive amount of free time to read my first chapter despite its length. I appreciate that fact and I would also like to thank all the people who left reviews for me letting me know that my work is well received. Those little words of encouragement go a long way.
I'd like to go out of my way to thank these reviewers.
Trillinka: I'm flattered that I'm one of your favorite authors. Now I know that I got someone watching over my back to make sure I don't write a bunch of crap.
Mornstar: For showing me that the Wizard of Odd line was indeed funny and pointing out some misspellings of the character's names
Dr. Thinker: Because of his review, I've revamped Dirk & Clayton's characterization so they don't just feel like carbon copy bullies like Bulk & Skull
Now on with the story...
Yumi tossed and turned in her sleep and woke in a cold sweat. She looked at her alarm clock and read its digital display.
6:30 A.M.
"Just great," she said to herself. "The one day I get to sleep in. I can't. Oh well might as well start my day right now."
Yumi walked over to the bathroom to freshen up. She could still hear the loud music in her mind as she struggled to shake the after effects of prom from her subconscious. She was glad that today was Saturday for she knew she was going to need the entire day to recover. She made her way down stairs and saw an unfamiliar shadow in the kitchen. Thinking of the worst, she leapt into the room and faced the hostile stranger.
The figure in the shadows made no effort to defend himself or even retaliate. Instead, the stranger just pressed the stop button on his CD player and lowered the cup of tea he was currently drinking.
"You know, most people just greet each other with a simple good morning," Jin said slightly amused with his sister's actions.
"Jin?"
"The one and only. Who do you think I was, some sort of robber?"
"Well...ummm," Yumi stammered embarrassed at the fact that she almost attacked her twin brother. It was an honest mistake, it was his first day home and Yumi wasn't used to seeing anyone awake at such an early hour.
"Least your skills are still sharp. How's master Fong?" Jin asked, curious of the well being of his former martial arts teacher during his two-year absence.
"Sifu is all right."
"That's good to hear."
"So Jin, what time did you wake up?"
"Five-thirty."
Yumi was speechless, her brother had less sleep than her and yet he sounded bright and alert. "Don't you ever sleep?" The confused Japanese girl asked.
"I'm a light sleeper, and I kinda had a rough night." Jin gestured to the teapot that he prepared for the morning. "Tea, Yumi, You look drained, some green tea will help calm you down."
"Thanks Aniki."
Yumi poured the tea into the tiny ceramic cup and began to drink it slowly. She felt the warm liquid flow down her throat and into her body leaving behind a feeling of tranquility on her face. Yumi looked up at her brother and saw that he was not as bright and cheery as she initially thought. A ray of sunlight brushed across his face and she saw that he was both wearing his school clothes and a haggard look in his eyes but he was trying his best to hide it from her. It was a common pattern of behavior for him, holding in his own suffering so that others could prosper before him. He was always had everyone's back even while knowing full well that no one was looking out for him.
Yumi tried to start another conversation with her brother, "So Jin, how was your first day back home?"
"I...Ah forget it sis. It's kinda stupid for me to tell you."
"Oh come on Jin, I'm your sister. You can tell me anything."
Jin relented to his sister's request and began to speak. "Ever since I came here, I had this weird feeling of Deja Vu. However, this feeling did not go away in a moment, but it lasted for almost then entire day. It was like...It was like I lived this entire day before. Like I traveled back in time or something like that. I mean I already knew the names of your friends without meeting them before and I had a feeling that those two punks were going to attack me."
"What about the prom?"
"That's the funny thing. When we arrived at prom, the feeling stopped as if the day truly began at that moment."
"You had fun there didn't you. Those kids were really impressed with your dancing especially Odd after he battled you. Breakdancing verses...um what was your dance style anyway Jin?"
"Michael Jackson"
Yumi was only vaguely familiar with the famous American singer from the 80s and her questions illustrated that aspect of her. "That was really cool when you did that move where it looked like you were walking forwards but you moved backwards. What is it called?"
"It's called the Moonwalk and yeah I did have fun."
"So I take it that everything after prom went by as usual?"
"Nope."
"What happened?"
"It was while I was sleeping..."
"Let me guess, you had a bad dream."
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"You're drinking green tea"
"And..."
"When you were living in America, Mother used to tell me stories about you when you were seven. She said you were a very fearful child and got nightmares all the time. Then one day she got this idea and had you drink green tea saying that it was a magic potion that would make all the bad dreams go away. You slept like a baby that night."
"Humph, that was supposed to be our little secret."
"Well it's like what I said yesterday. Mom isn't too keen on keeping secrets."
"Yeah, even when I did find out that it was all a clever trick, for some reason I didn't care. I still kept drinking green tea when I felt bad. Even when I was living in America, I made sure to pack plenty of tea with me. Every time I drank it I feel like mom was with me, inside me, still protecting me, still near my heart."
"That's sweet Aniki. So what was your dream about?"
"If you thought my day was weird then you're in for a shock when I tell you about my dream."
"Go on"
"I dreamt that you, me and Ulrich were being chased by a giant teddy bear out to destroy us and the students at prom."
Yumi was shocked when she heard about Jin's dream. The process that Jeremie was talking about really did work. "Looks like Jeremie came through after all," she muttered underneath her breath.
"Huh? What about Jeremie?"
"Nothing."
"Whatever. The thing about that dream was that it felt so real. I remember in my dream I saved both Sissi and Ulrich's life but I took a tremendous pounding from the bear."
"That's my Aniki, always making himself the hero."
"I'm serious sis. I swear I could feel the pain when I fell off the stage to save Sissi's life every thud, every bone that was about to crack, every minute of suffering that I experienced, I can still remember in vivid detail."
"How did it end?"
"Well you and Ulrich were hugging and..." Jin stopped his statement when he saw a slight blush spread across her sister's face. "Not again."
"It's nothing Aniki, continue," a slightly embarrassed Yumi replied.
"Well the bear just froze in its tracks and I saw a bright light then I woke up." Jin analyzed the conversation and looked at the expression on his sister's face before giving off a sigh of despair. "You think I'm crazy don't you?" Jin said as he lowered his head onto the table. Even he himself couldn't believe what he was saying, giant teddy bears, long periods of Deja Vu, he had to be going crazy. That or there was something deeper going on that he was not aware of.
"Actually no."
Jin was surprised. Was this his assumptions being proved true, or was this his sister just being supportive. His only reply was a bewildered look on his face as he continued to listen to Yumi's explanation.
"Look Jin. All of this must be in your head. I've told you about my friends before so that's why you know their names."
Yumi knew this was a flat out lie since the only friend she really told Jin about was Ulrich though she had to keep the charade going to but the boy's worries at ease." And the reason why you knew that Clayton was going to punch you was because you've been training in the martial arts for as long as I have and that was just your battle instincts kicking in."
"And my dream?"
"Just a simple nightmare."
"I don't know sis, the answer you gave me makes sense, but for some reason it just doesn't feel right. Look I'm going out for a walk to clear my head. If Mom and Dad ask where I am, tell them I went to the school to look around the campus." Jin grabbed his book bag and walked out of the door, "Bye sis. Oh and if you need me, I have the cell phone you gave me. Thanks again."
Yumi watched Jin leave the Ishiyama household and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Little did Jin know how close he came to uncovering the actual truth. She sat in the kitchen in complete silence still drinking the tea that Jin made and began to think about her plan.
"Well, it looks like I'll have to move on to phase three sooner than I expected. I just hope the others will forgive me for what I've done yesterday." She looked at the clock and read the time.
7:30 A.M.
She couldn't believe that she was in the kitchen for an entire hour and the fact that her parents were still sleeping.
"Hmmm, they must have had a rough night like us," she deduced. "Well" she said cracking her knuckles like how her brother always does. "No use sitting here, I have a plan to execute."
Yumi returned to her room and got dressed. After changing into her black sweater, boots and pants she returned to the kitchen for a quick bite to eat. Buttered toast was the meal of the morning and she wasted no time in finishing her simple breakfast. Before she left the house she grabbed a nearby notepad and scribbled a quick note for her parents.
I've decided to show Jin around town so he doesn't get lost. Two years can really mess with someone's sense of direction. If you need us, just call our cell phones. Don't worry about breakfast, we already ate before we left and we didn't want to disturb you.
Your Loving Daughter,
Yumi
Yumi attached the note to the refrigerator with the aid of a magnet and proceeded with her plan. She pulled out her cell phone and hoped that her friends weren't too attached to their dreams, for they were about to receive a rude awakening.
"Hello Ulrich," came a female voice from the other line which Odd instantly recognized as Yumi's.
"This isn't him, but guess who it is. I'll give you a hint. He has the letters O, D and D in his name." Even though most of his mental senses were dulled due to his premature awakening, Odd sill had enough sense to make a wise crack at this hour.
"Real funny Odd," Yumi chuckled on the other line. "Can you put Ulrich on now?"
"Sure thing."
Odd walked over to Ulrich's sleeping form and thought of a way he could wake him up. He instantly ruled out loud noises since that would wake up the entire floor. He had to be creative with this situation.
"Of course...duh" Odd said to himself as he thought of his idea. The boy walked over to his dresser, cell phone still in hand, and crouched low to gain access to the bottom drawer. Grabbing the curved metal handles, he slid the drawer open and revealed an equally tired Kiwi resting on top of his old clothes which were now being used as a makeshift mattress for the small dog. Kiwi was roused from his gentle slumber by Odd who was currently petting him to try to wake him. Kiwi gave Odd his usual greeting, which was mainly a licking his face and a demand to be fed. Odd then used Kiwi's hunger to his advantage. Placing one of Kiwi's favorite treats on Ulrich's forehead, Odd sat backs and waited for the fruits of his labor. Kiwi wasted no time ingesting the doggie treat and was licking Ulrich's forehead dry in an effort to claim any flavor that was lost during the time that his owner placed the treat and him running toward his target in anticipation.
There are a lot of things a human being would have a hard time sleeping through: loud noises, physical blows and of course, having a small dog licking your face. Ulrich awoke and rubbed his eyes so he could better focus on his surroundings. Kiwi ran into Odd's arms and was rewarded with a satisfying belly rub for a job well done. Ulrich removed his precious ear plugs while Odd turned his back on him thus leaving Odd ignorant of his "sleeping aid." Ulrich saw no rhyme or reason for his sudden awakening by Kiwi's hands and wanted an answer.
"Odd," Ulrich asked. "It's Saturday and I'm trying to sleep. What's the big idea of having your dog wake me up?"
"Yumi," Odd answered nonchalantly.
"Yumi?"
"Yep, she's on the other line and wants to speak to you so if you wanna blame someone, blame her." Odd handed Ulrich's cell phone back to him and prepared himself for an "interesting" conversation.
"Hi Ulrich," Yumi's cheery voice provided a heavy contrast to Ulrich's lethargic state of mind.
"Yumi, do you know what time it is?"
"Yeah, it's seven thirty-five."
"It's Saturday Yumi. What are you doing up this early?"
"I couldn't sleep."
"Just drink a warm glass of milk or something like that because I know that I'm having no trouble what so ever in performing that task."
"I don't that's possible Ulrich."
"What do you mean?"
"I can't find a glass of milk from where I'm standing. Look out your window."
Confused by her request, Ulrich looked out his window and was surprised to see Yumi standing outside.
"Well I can see why."
"Ulrich, I need to talk to all three of you RIGHT now. It's REALLY important."
"We'll be there in five minutes, just be patient."
"Thanks Ulrich."
Ulrich turned off his cell phone and proceeded to drag this tired body out outside.
"Just where do you think you're going" Odd asked, halting his friend's advance.
"Outside to meet Yumi," he answered back frankly.
"Dressed like that!"
"Huh?"
"You must be sleepier than I thought. Look at yourself. If you go outside dressed like that you're gonna freeze your shorts off, literally. Though I do think Yumi wouldn't mind. In fact, she might approve of it," Odd said snickering at his own joke.
Ulrich looked down at his attire and saw the truth in Odd's words. He was still dressed in his sleep attire, which, of course, was not a very modest outfit, only consisting of a sleeveless white shirt and green shorts. Silently thanking Odd for his prevention of a social disaster, Ulrich got dressed.
"So Odd," Ulrich spoke while tying his shoelaces. "How was your solo mission in Lyoko? It must have gone well seeing how we're all in one piece."
"It was crazy Ulrich," Odd said with a bewildered look in his eyes. "I had to fight XANA's monsters, look out for Aelita, search for a hidden activated tower AND make sure that I didn't lose too many life points. So many responsibilities and no one to share them with."
"Maybe that would teach you not to be so gung ho about volunteering yourself for another one. On a lighter note Odd, thanks."
"Thanks?"
"If it wasn't for you, I think Yumi and I would have been pancakes and part of the gym's floor."
"Wow. The bear got that big?"
Ulrich answered Odd's question with a simple nod.
"So..,"Odd quickly changed the subject. "Who's gonna get Jeremie?"
"I'll take care of him" Ulrich said as he walked toward the door, fully dressed this time.
"Do you wanna take Kiwi with you to wake him up?"
"Naw, it there's anyone awake at this moment, it's most definitely him."
"To tell you the truth, I really don't know. Ulrich and Yumi were too tired to give me all the details after we returned to the past."
"What about you? Do you think we should tell him about Lyoko and XANA?"
"In my honest opinion, I'm really worried about the whole subject matter."
"Really?"
"Yes, it's a major step to induct another member into our group so soon. Don't get me wrong, Jin is a great guy. Anyone who could both put Sissi in her place AND rough up Clayton and Dirk like that is a OK in my book."
"Then why?"
"It's like what I told Yumi yesterday. We have a hard enough time keeping it a secret among the four of us. Do you know how many times Odd has almost blown our cover with his loud mouth? If we take in another person, it would only make our situation more difficult."
"But what about the last XANA attack? Maybe if we had another person, Odd wouldn't have been fighting by himself."
"You raise a good point Aelita but this is not a decision for me to make alone. I need to talk with everyone before we can press the issue any further."
As if on cue, Jeremie heard three quick rasps on his door followed by a voice on the other end.
"Jeremie, you awake in there?" Ulrich asked unsure of his friend's current state of conscience.
"The door's open, come in," Jeremie answered back.
Ulrich stepped into Jeremie's dorm and closed the door behind him.
"Morning Jeremie. Morning Aelita."
"Morning," the two of them said in unison.
"Yumi just called, she said she wanted to talk to all of us outside ASAP"
"ASAP?" Aelita asked confused by the foreign word.
Jeremie swiveled his chair to face his virtual friend. "As soon as possible, it's an anagram. Humans sometimes like to just take the first letter of longer phrases and put them together to make shorter ones."
"I understand Jeremie."
Jeremie turned away from his computer screen to face Ulrich once more. "Any particular reason why?"
"She wasn't too specific but she did say it was REALLY important for all of us to meet together."
Jeremie was now wearing a worried look on his face. "Looks like the cat is out of the bag," he mumbled to himself.
"What was that Jeremie?"
Jeremie quickly thought of an answer for the strange behavior he was showing. "Just going over a few codes for my materialization program in my head. Guess it kind of slipped out."
Ulrich was really not in the mood to talk about computer programs and left the issue alone. Suddenly Odd entered the room drawing the attention of all its occupants.
"So" Odd spoke realizing that he had full command of the room's focus. "Are we going outside to meet Yumi or not?"
His words got the desired effect as he saw Jeremie and Ulrich walk toward his direction and out the door.
"So any idea what this meeting is all about?" Asked Ulrich still a little upset that his sleep was interrupted.
"Oh goodie a meeting," Odd said throwing his sarcasm into the mix. "I hope there's plenty of doughnuts. I'm starving."
"Good old Odd," Jeremie commented. "Always thinking about food. I swear, sometimes I think that your brain is in your stomach instead of your head."
"Hey!" Odd exclaimed slightly offended by Jeremie's pot shot to his ego. "It's not my fault that I'm always hungry. I'm a growing boy."
"He's right Jeremie," Ulrich joined in. "If Odd keeps eating like that, he'd start growing...sideways. Hope you could still fit in the scanners Odd. We do still need your help in Lyoko."
The three boys all shared in the laughter at Ulrich's joke and continued on their way outside.
"Ok Yumi" she said to herself in an attempt to psyche herself up. "It's now or never." She took a seat on a nearby bench and awaited their arrival.
Ulrich was still sleepy as he walked over to the bench that Yumi was currently sitting on.
"Hey Yumi," he said with his eyes half-opened.
"Umm...hello Ulrich," she returned his greeting with downcast eyes.
"What's wrong Yumi? You look like you got a lot on your mind," Odd asked now concerned about the well being of his friend.
"That's the thing Odd, I do."
Odd turned around and saw the Jeremie was also wearing the same uneasy look that Yumi had but was unable to make the connection between them. "Do you mind telling us then?"
Yumi took in a deep breath and prepared for the worst, "Ok guys listen up." The three boys leaned a little closer to her after her statement. "I was wondering," she struggled to get her request out. "I was wondering...if..."
Odd tried his best to be as supportive as he could. "It's ok Yumi, go on, tell us."
Mustering all the courage she could, Yumi finally blurted her answer in one breath. "I was wondering if Jin could be a part of our group!"
Ulrich was no longer sleepy as those words hit him like a cold glass of water. His eyes instantly opened as the question began to sink in.
"What do you mean Yumi?" He asked, still dumbfounded by her request.
"Well you see...I was thinking...," Yumi still stammered through her statement. All of the replies, all of the answers she originally thought of instantly dissolved from her memory leaving her with a gaping void where her explanations used to be. Ulrich placed his hand on her shoulder to help calm her down.
"Its ok Yumi," he said in a reassuring voice. "Just take a deep breath and relax." Yumi looked into his eyes and felt a sense of inner peace begin to form inside of her. Her shoulders lost all their tension as she took in another deep breath.
"Yumi," Ulrich said calmly. "Let's start from the beginning. What did you want to ask us?"
Yumi used her breath to collect herself and to formulate her answer. "I was thinking about letting Jin in on our fight against XANA."
"Now wait a minute Yumi," Ulrich said, still maintaining his collected composer. "This is a pretty tall order that your asking us to fill out." Ulrich turned around as saw Jeremie's worried expression. "How about you Jer. Is there something you need to tell us?"
Jeremie buckled underneath Ulrich's icy stare. "Ok Ulrich, I'll tell. Yesterday, Yumi approached me with that same request. At first I declined saying that there was too much of a risk, until she told me of her safety plan."
"Safety plan?"
"Yumi asked me if there was a way for her brother to remember a XANA attack after a return to the past trip but vaguely enough to think that it never happened."
"Is that even possible?"
"Yes Ulrich it is. All you have to do is enter some of the individual's basic information into the factory's computer. The only way you could remember the attacks in their entirety is if you actually have a character for Lyoko already programed into the mainframe."
"So what does that have do with Jin joining our team?" Yumi looked up and decided to take the question seeing that it was her plan.
"We wanted to give Jin a test run. If Jin handled himself well during the next XANA attack, we'd offer to let him join, if we agree that is."
"And if he failed?" Ulrich asked wanting to know the flip side of her offer.
"Then he would just dismiss the whole ordeal as a bad dream."
Ulrich suddenly remembered the moment he saw Jin when they were about to return to the past. "So that's why Jin wasn't frozen!" Ulrich exclaimed, he was finally able to answer the single question that was plaguing him for all this time. "He was already programed into the computer."
"Yes," Yumi replied still nervous about the whole meeting.
"But here's the main question Yumi. Why, why didn't you just tell us your plan? It would have saved you a lot of trouble." He said the next part audible enough so that only he could hear himself, "and me a lot of sleep."
"Think of it guys," Jeremie interjected in Yumi's defense. "If both of you knew what was going on, then you would have treated that XANA attack more like a job interview rather than an actual emergency."
"Now how would we grade that?" Odd questioned. "That would be funny." Odd then straightened himself out and spoke in a professional, gruff voice. "Now Mr. Ishiyama that was a good performance. You saved all the civilians and managed to halt the enemy's attack. However, we're looking for someone with a little more spunk, but we'll call you when there's a job opening. Here's our card."
"ODD!" The other three teenagers yelled simultaneously who were not in the mood for any witty jokes at the moment.
"So Yumi," Odd asked, trying to be serious. "Why do you want your brother to be a part of this so badly?"
"Well, I saw how much trouble we were having and I instantly thought that Jin could help us. I mean, the more fighters we have in Lyoko, the better the chances we have in winning this war. Ok guys, let's get this thing out of the way and vote. All who want Jin in our group raise their hands."
"I didn't see Jin," Odd said. "I was in Lyoko, saving the world, remember? I'm gonna sit this one out."
"The same can be said for me. Except that I was in the factory making sure Odd was doing his job" Jeremie replied in a similar fashion.
"Well Ulrich, the ball is in you court. You already know my answer so it's up to you to decide. Do you want Jin to join or do you not?
Ulrich creased his brow when confronted with the question. This was the second difficult choice he had to make in two days. However, unlike his first predicament, he could not just return to the past in case he did make the wrong decision. There were SO many factors to consider. Jin was a nice guy and all, but could he keep his mouth shut? Would he be able to fight in Lyoko and not just get in their way? Could he handle the stress of having a "double life?" The questions Ulrich had were endless as they swirled around in his head like a hurricane while he stood in the safety of the eye of the storm.
"First off, before I cast my vote, are there any people here who do not want Jin to join us?"
Jeremie raised his hand. "I still don't know Ulrich. We're having a hard time keeping the factory and XANA a secret amongst the four of us. Think of the problems we'll have with a fifth. Look, I'm not playing favorites here. I'm just looking at the risks."
"Jeremie," Yumi asked trying to convince her friend that Jin was capable of such a responsibility. "Did anybody bother telling you about the XANA attack last night?"
"No Yumi, no one did."
"Let's just say if there was anyone taking unnecessary risks that night, it was Jin. Jeremie, he could have died! He suffered major injuries to his back and head, yet he still decided to stay and help make sure that Milly's teddy bear didn't take any innocent lives!" Yumi exclaimed as she played out the scene she saw last night. She could still see her brother spinning in the air after the chair shot he took, compliments of XANA.
Ulrich stood admits the chaos in his mind until Yumi pointed out the previous XANA attack. It was because of Jin that both he and Sissi were still safe, and on that night, Jin was rewarded with a free fall and a steel chair. Yet despite his injuries, he didn't care, he wanted to make sure if everyone was ok. Jin even refused offers of medical attention from Sissi and instead opted to put himself in danger once again for his sake. With that realization, Ulrich's storm soon dispersed and his answer came to him clear as day. He closed his eyes and spoke.
"Sorry to disappoint you Jeremie, but my vote is with Yumi. Jin is joining us. Last night, Jin really came through for us and risked his life, no questions asked. If he was never there, I don't even want to think of the consequences. Anybody who can risk their life twice in one night is definitely capable of fighting XANA's forces in Lyoko."
Jeremie was shocked, he was never informed of Jin's valor last night and never really stopped to think about it. "I suppose you're right Ulrich. Maybe this won't be such a bad choice for us."
Yumi on the other hand could barely contain her excitement. Her plan actually came through and Jin was now going to aid them in their fight in Lyoko. She jumped out of her bench and gave Ulrich a passionate hug. "Oh thank you, thank you Ulrich! You don't know how much this means to me!" She said in delight. It took a few moments for them to realize their current position before the blushes kicked in again causing them to let go of each other. Yumi looked around the campus while she tried to think of a defense for her actions. "I was excited, that's all. It was a hug of celebration."
Odd raised one eyebrow, "Suuuuuuure, celebration, so that's what they call it these days," he said slyly while watching his two good friends shift uneasily underneath his gaze.
Jeremie really didn't like the awkward silence Odd created. "So who's going tell Jin?" He said trying to bring the conversation back on topic.
Yumi and Ulrich both snapped out of their dream states and tried act as if their hug never happened.
"I think we all should," Yumi said, returning to her old confident self. "I'll call him and we'll break the news to him together."
"Just like how you left it, nothing's changed. Nothing except..." Jin shook the thought out of his head. He did not want to think about his "incident" two years ago which caused him to flee from his hometown. However, one name did manage to escape from his lips
"Ghai"
Jin then stood up and removed his headphones and began to do the one activity that always helped clear his head, he began to practice.
Jin first got into a comfortable stance and began to move his arms in slow circular motions. His mom always suggested him to learn Tai Chi to help calm him down. She was always interested in Chinese philosophy despite her Japanese heritage and Jin even saw her perform a few of the moves in their living room a few years ago. Jin's knowledge of Tai Chi was quite limited even though he read a few books on the subject. He concentrated on his motions, and making sure that he kept a sense of peace while performing them. He got a few curious stares from passers by but he didn't mind. Jin then switched stances and began to perfect his own personal fighting style.
When he lived in America, Jin was worried that his fighting skills would diminish without Master Fong's guidance. To prevent this, he started reading books and watching videos of various martial arts styles. At school, the groups of kids that he befriended were all martial arts students and all proved to be excellent sparing partners.
Jin warmed up with a few hand strikes before moving one with his specialty, long range kicks. This was his morning routine in America. Whenever he had a free moment at his Uncle's house, Jin would go to the local park to practice. He performed a series of lighting-fast kicks with his left leg before throwing a heavy roundhouse with his right. As he jumped in the air to deliver an outside crescent kick, he heard his cell phone ring which caused him to lose his concentration making him lose his balance in midair and falling face first into the grass.
"So this is how grass taste like," Jin said to himself. His speech was muffled from him speaking into the ground. He slowly picked himself up and began to spit the fowl taste of soil from his mouth before answering his phone. He read the name Yumi on the phone's screen before pressing the answer button.
"Talk to me," Jin spoke into the phone in a calm voice.
"Hey Jin," his sister replied from the other end. "Was I interrupting anything?"
"Not really, but now least I know what a cow's diet taste like. It's not very pleasant."
Yumi did not want to think of the obesity of her brother's statement and continued the conversation. "Aniki, can you meet me at school? There's something I want to tell you."
"Sure thing," and with that Jin collected his items, placed his headphones over his ears and went on his way.
"So Yumi," Odd spoke without even turning his head to face her. "What did Jin say?"
Yumi ignored the cow remark that her brother said and gave him a very straight-laced answer. "He said he's coming but I don't know how long it would take for him to get here. He never told me where he was."
"Well in that case he could be anywhere. In the mall, at the library, out in some random field or..."
"Right next to you," came Jin's voice. Odd turned his head toward the direction of the speaker and saw that indeed Jin was "right next to him."
"What the!" Odd exclaimed, startled by Jin's sudden emergence into the conversation.
"Look I just like to tell you..."
"We know, you show up out of nowhere, like a ghost."
Jin recalled the familiarity of Odd's answer yet could not place an exact date or time on the statement.
"Did I tell you guys that yesterday?" Jin said while scratching his head. "I vaguely remember saying those words somewhere."
"Umm no...uhh..your sister told us that."
"Speaking of my sister," Jin really was curious on what Yumi had to say to him. "What do you want to tell me?"
"Well it's not just me Jin" Yumi said still sitting on the bench. "It's all of us."
"What is it?"
Jeremie was the first to speak. "First Jin, I have to ask, can you keep a secret?"
"Sure, usually when my friends tell me their secrets I forget about them. So yeah, secrets are quite safe with me."
"I don't think this is a secret that you'll be forgetting anytime soon.
Jin was confused. "What do you mean?"
"Jin," Jeremie continued his questioning. "Have you had any weird dreams about teddy bears recently?"
Jin's eye's went wide with shock and just stood there stunned with Jeremie's question.
"Now what if I told you, that the bear you saw in your dream was not a figment of your imagination but more of a lost memory that your subconscience was trying to cling onto?"
"Then I'd say you're crazy. It was just a bad dream and nothing more."
"I wouldn't say that," Ulrich said while stepping toward him. "In your dream you and I had to evacuate the auditorium because the bear was going to attack it and you accomplished that task by pulling the fire alarm."
"No, it couldn't be!" Jin was getting more and more confused. Ulrich recalled a specific moment of his dream with great accuracy, as if he saw the dream himself. Jin was still trying to analyze the situation that was presented before him, "the dream CAN'T be real," he thought to himself. "I mean come on, GIANT TEDDY BEARS! This must be Yumi just messing with his head. "Real funny sis," Jin spoke, trying to make sense of what was going on. "You must have told them about my dream too."
"That would be a very plausible explanation Aniki, but there's one slight problem, you never told me that you had to evacuate the area," Yumi refuted.
Jin recalled the conversation he had with Yumi this morning and was startled when he remembered that he never did mention anything about evacuating the school auditorium.
"If what you're saying is true...then the only way Ulrich could know about what happened is if..." Jin finally managed to put the pieces of the convoluted jigsaw puzzle together but did not like the overall picture he was seeing. "Then that means...Oh God no! I'm going crazy. I just know it." He covered his head with his hands in an effort to contain what little sanity he had left inside of him.
"What do you mean Aniki?"
"The only way for Ulrich to know about my dream was if he was there himself! Then that mean it wasn't a dream that stuff really happened last night! You're telling me that I was almost killed by a giant teddy bear!"
"Look Jin, you need to calm down," Ulrich said once again. "We know this is a little overwhelming for you so we're gonna take this nice and slow. It was no easier for us once we found out about it so you're not alone."
If anyone else were to hear that statement, they would have immediately thought that Ulrich had indeed lost his marbles. However, deep down inside, Jin WANTED to believe what he was saying. For some reason, this seamed like the answer that he was looking for. Jin took in a breath of fresh air before speaking again, "Ok Ulrich, I'm listening."
"Why don't you handle this Jeremie?" And with that Ulrich stepped to the side, allowing Jeremie to face the potential recruit.
"Ok, Jin it's like this...," and Jeremie began the long process of telling Jin about Lyoko.
Four hours...
Four hours, that's how long it took for him to rid himself of that infernal blue paint. Four hours of scrubbing every square inch of his body to purify his flesh of the acrylic byproduct. Dirk sat at the desk in his dorm with his head bowed down, brooding over the events yesterday. In one day, his best friend was injured, his reputation was soiled and an expensive outfit was ruined all by the hands of one person.
"Jin Ishiyama," Dirk spat out the name as if he had a fowl taste in his mouth. "And all his friends, do they have ANY idea with whom they're messing with!"
Dirk's lament was interrupted by Clayton's entrance. The two of them shared the same dorm and frequently used their room as a "think tank" to come up with new schemes for the day.
"Hey Dirk," said his larger companion. "I can see that you're still upset from yesterday." Clayton placed his right hand on the desk which was now heavily bandaged as the result of him punching a sheet of metal.
"Let's just say that what happened yesterday was not a highlight in my life and we'll just leave it at that," Dirk said. His icy cold demeanor sent chills down Clayton's spine.
"That means your angry right?" Clayton asked still unsure of his friend's answer. All of a sudden he saw Dirk struggled to contain his anger, but it came out regardless.
"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT I'M ANGRY! IN FACT I AM PISSED OFF! YOU HEAR ME CLAYTON? I'M FREKIN PISSED OFF FOR WHAT THOSE KIDS DID TO US!"
The sheer rage in Dirk's voice scared Clayton to his wit's end. The emotion that Dirk just vented was unprecedented. He could see the anger burning in his eyes as he looked like he was going to lose control of himself. Dirk took a couple of deep breaths and straitened out his collar before returning to his brooding self.
"What about you Clayton, obviously you have some sort of feeling of resentment from yesterday. That hand didn't injure itself don't you know."
Clayton squeezed his right fist repeatedly, feeling every single reception of pain that his hand generated. "I'd love to get them back for what they did."
Dirk leaned back in his chair and turned his head toward his friend. "So do I my large friend. So do I."
Clayton walked over to the dorm's window and couldn't believe his eyes. Outside at that given moment, was everyone they swore revenge against: Yumi, Ulrich, Jeremie, Odd and of course Jin.
"Hey Dirk, check this out! The "Weirdo Bunch" is outside!" Clayton exclaimed, using Sissi's terminology to define their special group.
Dirk quickly stood up as a wicked smile began to spread on his face. "You know Clayton, we still owe Jin his little welcoming gift. Why don't we go down there and show us some of our "hospitality". Shall we?" Dirk silently chuckled to himself as he stepped out of the room followed closely by Clayton, still rubbing his fist hoping that it would heal soon.
"No Jin," corrected Yumi. "Aelita is the one we're trying to save, XANA is the enemy and the world is called Lyoko."
"Alright I think I understand that. So what exactly does this "XANA Guy" do? I mean, he's only a computer."
"I wouldn't be underestimating XANA if I were you," Yumi continued her corrections. "He almost killed you last night"
"Oh yeah."
"Basically, XANA can control anything he wishes and he would then turn these items against us. When he does that, it's our job to go into Lyoko and deactivate his tower so that the attacks cease then we go to the past and act like everything is normal."
"So is there anything he can't do?"
Jeremie answered Jin's question for Yumi's sake. "XANA can't attack humans directly. He always has to use other means to wreak havoc."
"Well least I know that XANA just can't creep into my head and make my brain explode. Now I could sleep peacefully at night. By the way, who was in Lyoko last night? I need to thank him." Jin pointed to Jeremie, "Was it you?"
"Nope. I'm just the guy who handles the computers. Odd over there is your hero."
Jin slowly walked up to Odd and shook his hand. "Thanks Odd for saving my sister, she means a lot to me."
"I appreciate your gratitude Jin but I should be thanking you also. I mean you did take a chair to the back for my best friend."
"It's nothing, just doing my part in stopping the bad guy."
Odd looked over Jin's shoulder and was not too pleased to see the extra company walking toward them. "Speaking of bad guys, here comes a couple of them now."
"Please don't tell me that XANA has a human form. It's already complicated enough already." Jin said in despair.
"Well you're half right. It's not XANA, but the enemies that are walking toward us are very human."
"Huh?"
Jin and Ulrich looked at Odd's expression and turned their heads to see what has made him so riled up. Odd had every reason to be a little on edge, coming their way was a not too happy looking Dirk and Clayton. The two boys exchanged glances while Ulrich mouthed a secret message to Jin.
"Protect Yumi," he said. Jin silently acknowledged his words by walking in front of her and standing on her left while Ulrich guarded her right.
Jeremie then leaned over to Odd and whispered something in his ear. "Looks like we should show Jin the factory. Maybe then he'll understand everything."
"Sounds like a plan, but let's shake these two bozo's off first," Odd whispered back. "Don't worry. Those three can handle themselves." Odd looked back at the bench and hoped that this conflict would end shortly.
"Well if isn't Papa and Baby Smurf. I'm glad to see you guys got all the blue paint off," Jin snickered still finding some amusement in their misfortune from yesterday. Upon hearing his remark, Dirk marched right up to Jin and looked him square in the eye.
"No thanks to you Ishiyama!" Dirk spat back still bitter from their previous confrontation.
"Let it go man," Ulrich said, trying to keep the peace. "It's over, what's done is done, no use dwelling in the past."
"Shut it kid!" Dirk snapped. "Don't try to act all innocent yourself. If I don't mistaken, you handed Jin the sheet of metal yesterday."
"So?"
"That makes you an accomplice to my friend's injury."
"You've been watching too many court shows Dirk."
"I demand compensation for yesterday!"
Jin really did not want the conversation to escalate and tried his best to come to an agreement. "What do you want from us?"
"I don't need anything from YOU, Jin."
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
"YOU don't need to do anything but your sister here can. It's her services that I'm interested in."
Jin and Ulrich watched both Dirk and Clayton place one arm on each of Yumi's shoulders effectively pinning her against the bench. Both of the boys were immediately angered by the sheer sight of it. Jin tried his best to contain his emotions and try to come to a peaceful solution.
"What do you want with my sister?"
"Nothing much nothing much at all. A little song, a little dance..."
Yumi looked up and her brother's face with a frightened look in her eyes. Jin gave her a reassuring nod and then turned to Ulrich who responded with a nod of his own. With their singles exchanged, Jin calmly resumed his discussion with Dirk.
"Now, now, now Dirk. Let's not be rash here. We can all find an agreement amongst the three of us."
"Like how?"
"Well, first off we should discuss all your complaints and find out who's really at fault here then we could..." Jin's angry look returned as he cut himself off in mid sentence to trigger his plan. "NOW!"
Dirk and Clayton were both caught off guard with Jin's command. In one swift motion, both Ulrich and Jin swatted away the arm's of the perpetrators off of Yumi's shoulder's before handing out their own retribution. Still holding his CD player in his left hand, Jin stepped forward toward Dirk and threw his elbow into his chest. Ulrich on his part ducked low and shot out a powerful hook to Clayton's temple. Both individuals were blown back by Jin and Ulrich's powerful coordinated attack and landed on the floor in a dusty heap. Not satisfied with the damaged he caused Jin walked up to Dirk, who was still dazed by the elbow received, and picked him up the collar.
"Ok punk listen to me now!" Jin had a look of deep hatred in his eyes and he lifted Dirk with no trouble. "I'm only going to say this once so pay attention. Nobody and I mean NOBODY messes with my sister. If you ever do ANYTHING like that to her or any one of my friends, I will make sure to give you a beating ten times worse!" With that said, he threw Dirk over his shoulder and walked toward to his sister.
"Yumi are you all right?" Ulrich asked now concern with her safety.
"I am now, thanks."
"Ok, we're going" Jeremie said, instantly capturing everyone's attention.
"Where are we going exactly?" Jin asked.
"Field trip," those were the only words he was given as he watched his newfound group of friends walk into the direction of the forest.
"What do we do now Dirk?" Clayton asked, still angry from that punch Ulrich threw at him.
"We get even, that's what." With that Dirk pulled out his cell phone and began to dial a number that was unfamiliar to Clayton.
"Who are you calling?" Clayton asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.
"A few of my friends" Dirk chuckled to himself as he heard someone on the other line pick up. "Now." That was the only word that Dirk said as he turned off his cell phone.
"What was that?"
"Our means of success my dear friend." Dirk silently laughed to himself knowing the fruits of his labor will soon pay off.
"Well I try to. When I'm listening to someone or if I'm playing sports or something like that I usually take them off. It's a fashion accessory really."
"And your jacket sleeve?" Ulrich butted in, also curious about Jin's sense of fashion.
"That's more of a personal preference."
"Would you mind telling us?"
Jin paused for a second before answering, "Maybe later."
Jeremie lead the group toward their hidden manhole cover while Odd provided running commentary to amuse himself.
"OK campers remember, if you get lost, just run to this tree right here and we'll come and get you."
Jin decided to play along with Odd's charade. "Counselor Odd, can we make smores tonight?"
"Of course we can Jin. We'll make smores, sing campfire songs, tell ghost stories and do all sorts of cool stuff."
Jeremie halted his walk and stopped by the all-too-familiar manhole cover in the middle of the forest. "We're here," he announced to the rest of the group.
"That's our field trip? A manhole cover? Or maybe you guys wanted to show me what a forest looks like in this time of day? I mean what's so special about this place?" Jin questioned, not very impressed with their current location.
"Don't worry Jin, our trip hasn't ended yet," Ulrich said as he lifted the cover and began to climb down the stairs followed closely by Yumi, Odd and Jeremie.
"Just where the HELL do you guys think you're going!"
"Down" Odd said dryly.
"Come on Aniki," Yumi said playfully. "You want your answers right? We'll you're going to get them real soon, you just gotta walk through this sewer to get to them."
"Oh alright, I'm going." Jin caved into his curiosity as he was the last to climb the ladder, but not before closing the cover. Whatever they were hiding, it was worth keeping it a secret from the general public.
"And just where you do think you're going" Ulrich said mimicking the question Odd asked him that morning.
"To the factory duh?"
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Not really. I don't think so."
"Jin doesn't have a skateboard to take him there. If we all ride ours, we're gonna leave that guy in the dust and he's going to get lost in the sewers."
"Touché."
Jin and the others caught up to Odd and Ulrich's current location a few moments later. Jin noticed the neat row of skateboards and the single scooter that was resting against the sewer's wall.
"So this is your big secret. Aside from fighting XANA, you guys like to use the sewers as your own personal skate park. Man am I so smart," Jin said wearing a triumphant smile on his face.
"Far from it Aniki. We use these to transport ourselves to our special location and after today, you'll have place one vehicle of your choice here too. Do you skateboard Jin?
Jin rolled up his sleeves revealing his arms with two identical scars on each appendage, "See these Yumi? Two separate accidents, same vehicle, guess which one."
Yumi looked a little worried after seeing Jin's injuries. He was going to need some sort of transportation.
"But then again, after receiving these injuries, I got better, I mean I'm no Tony Hawk but at least I won't fall flat on my face while riding."
Yumi was relieved upon hearing this, "Well since you don't have your skateboard now, well just walk there. It's not too far away."
For the entire walk through the sewer, Jin was very quiet. He had alot to think about. Evil computers, virtual worlds and almost being killed yesterday. Jin was so busy pondering, he did not realize that the others had stopped walking in front of him.
"Oof," Jin grunted as he bumped into Ulrich by mistake.
"Hey, no cuts people," Odd said in front of them. Don't worry children, you will all get a turn."
"Jin my friend," Jeremie said gesturing toward the building. "The answers that you are looking for lie within this building."
"Then what are we waiting for, let's go!" Jin's voice held a childlike sense of wonder and anticipation. Much like the look a kid has when opening a gift on Christmas Morning.
Yumi glanced around the bridge and decided to make this trip a little more fun. "Hey since we're all here," she called out. "Let's have a little race."
"You're on," Ulrich said not wanting to back down from the challenge.
"A race? Sure!" Odd's excitement was renewed for the day.
"Count me in!" Jin answered cracking his knuckles in his usual fashion. He then placed his CD player in his backpack.
"Ok...I'll go" Jeremie said reluctantly knowing full well that running was not exactly his "cup of tea."
"On my count," Yumi held her hand up and began to countdown. "Three, two, one GO!"
Odd and Yumi took the early lead as they bolted ahead with Odd slightly in front. Already sensing victory, Odd began to taunt the other four who were unfortunate enough to be behind him.
"Oh come on guys! If you keep running at that pace, XANA's monsters are going to have you for lunch!" Odd's arrogance ceased when he saw both Ulrich and Jin sprint right past him. "Aww man can't you guys take a joke?" Odd yelled at the two distant figures.
The two boys were neck and neck with each other as they approached the factory. That was until Jin stepped on his shoelace and began to take a tumble. He rolled on the floor a few times before skidding to a halt, face down on the concrete. The race immediately stopped as everyone began to check to see if Jin was hurt.
"You ok Jin?" Ulrich asked worryingly.
"I wish I could say that this was the first time this has happened to me...today." Jin rolled over and stood up without any problems.
Odd was amazed, "Woah! You took a fall like that and yet you can walk away from it!"
"If your as accident prone as I am you generally know how to take a beating like without seriously injuring yourself."
"Well in that case Jin," Odd said with a hint of worry in his voice. "I wonder how you're gonna handle the next step?"
"Huh?"
"You see, for us to gain quick access to the factory's elevator, we attached ropes to the ceiling so we can swing down them. See?" Odd pointed to the ropes that were dangling nearby.
"Just great, I might just eat pavement a third time...if I'm lucky. Why don't you guys us a magical invention called the front door?"
"Cause it's not as heroic if we enter the factory through the front door." Odd then dashed toward the ropes and grabbed onto one of them "WAHOO!" he yelled out, enjoying the trill of having the wind blow against his face and the sheer speed that his body was moving.
Odd swung on the rope until his body was low enough for him to jump off. He planted both his feet on the floor when he landed and turned around to the others and gave his friends standing on the ledge above him the thumbs up. Ulrich, Yumi and Jeremie all followed suit and began their decent into the depths of the factory. Jin ran up the ropes and grabbed one, holding on to it for dear life. He swung forward and he released the rope then landed on the floor crouching low to better absorb the impact and placed his right arm onto the floor in front of him and held his left arm back for balance. Jin stood up and removed the sliver street-style headphones from his back and placed them over his ears.
"That was fun," Jin said as he adjusted the plastic contraption so that it would fit comfortably on his head.
"Ok Jin our trip ends here," Jeremie stated. "Everything will be answered once we step into this elevator."
The five of them walked inside and each stood in their trademark positions. Jeremie punched in the access code and clasped his hands behind his back, Odd rested his against his hips, Ulrich placed his hands in his pockets while Yumi stood in front of everyone else arms akimbo. Jin just walked to the back of the elevator and leaned back against the wall with his head bowed down.
"What is this place!" Jin asked in excitement.
"Welcome to Club Lyoko!" Odd said excitedly. "We have many benefits for all of our members. Now if you would please show us your card."
Ulrich had enough with Odd's antics, "Give it a rest will you." He then turned toward Jin. "This is our headquarters and where we go in order to stop XANA from attacking us," Ulrich said introducing him to the sights of the room.
"Now there's someone here we would like for you to meet," Odd said anticipating the overall shock Jin was about to receive.
"Who? Everyone in this room I've already met yesterday."
"Not everyone, look at the computer screen."
Jin obeyed Odd's command and peered at the screen and saw a pink-haired girl stare right back at him.
"You must be Yumi's brother. I've heard a lot about you it's good to see you in person."
"Holy cow it talks!" Jin said surprised at the fact that he was having an actual conversation with a being in a computer screen. His jaw was hanging open until he remembered the lecture Jeremie gave him just moments before. "Wait a minute, you must be Aelita."
"You are correct."
"When Jeremie told me about you I was expecting a mere program not something this,...this human"
"Thank you. Jeremie usually says stuff like that to me all the time but I'm still flattered."
Jin turned around at the person in question and saw a blush spread across his cheeks. "Here we go again," Jin said to himself.
"May I please have your name? I don't want to be calling you Yumi's brother all the time."
"Where are my manners? Jin Ishiyama, at your service." Jin once again performed his patented gentlemen's bow "I would like to shake your hand, but I see that's impossible right now."
"Jin, that's a nice name."
"My mother gave it to me. It's Chinese."
"I've noticed that you and your sister look very similar to one another."
Jeremie recollected himself and spoke to Aelita. "When I told you that Yumi and Jin are both twins."
"Twins? You mean Yumi and Jin are almost identical?"
"In a way, yes Aelita. Jin and Yumi share more of their genetic code since they have the same parents so their appearances are also similar. Well Aelita, I would like to talk with you some more, but we have to show Jin the scanners."
"See you later Aelita, nice meeting you."
"You too Jin" Aelita saw the group of five make their way to the elevator once more. The elevator's doors closed once more as the occupants listened to the low hum the elevator made as it lowered them down to the next floor.
"Yep."
"But you're Japanese."
"And the question is..."
"I'm just wondering why you have a Chinese name instead of a Japanese one."
"Actually Ulrich there's a funny story behind that and when I say funny story, I don't mean haha funny more like a slightly amused funny."
"Ok," Ulrich answered back slightly taken back by Jin's strange definition for the common word.
"Why don't you take this one sis? I can't think straight right now, you know with all this talk about evil computers and a virtual program that acts like a human."
Yumi nodded and took the conversation over for Jin.
"You see Ulrich, when our mother found out that she had twins, the first words that she said were "such beautiful treasures." At first it was an off hand remark but soon that comment became her own special way of talking about us. We were known as the "Beautiful Treasures" in our family, so when it came to naming us, it was only natural for her to use those same names.
"But your names are not Beautiful and Treasure."
"Of course not Ulrich that would just sound silly but our names do mean that. My name Yumi does mean beautiful, so Mother had an easy time naming me. Her son was a little more difficult."
"Difficult?"
"Well, there were a few Japanese names that could be substituted for "treasure". Those names meant golden and emerald boy, but our mother thought those names sounded too greedy. She wanted a name that would convey the same message but at the same time, hold some substance. You see, ever since she took that Easter Philosophy class in collage, our mother has always been fascinated with Chinese Philosophy."
"Chinese philosophy?"
"It mainly consists of balance. The most universal sign is the Yin-Yang, symbolizing the balance between the good and evil in all of us."
"Go on."
"Well a major part in Chinese philosophy is Taoism. One of the subjects she learned from it was the five Chinese elements: water, fire, wood, metal and earth. Each element has a different personality and all humans contain all five elements in them. With people, the more you had of a particular element, the more of that element's personality is expressed. Our mother used this to think of her son's name. She named him Jin, meaning gold in Chinese."
"Why a Chinese name?"
"Well you see, the Chinese value gold for more than its dollar value. Gold in its purest form is very rare and could change at a moment's notice. Our mom wanted Jin to be "like gold" always true to himself in a society of impurities and his fiery personality helps there."
"What do you mean Yumi?"
"Well, the only way one could remove impurities from gold was by burning it. Jin's personality helps him stay the same and not bend to the wills of society. That's what my mother wanted when she named him Jin, a son who would always think for himself and will do what's right in his eyes despite pressures from the outside world."
The elevator ride stopped once more as they pass through the door and into the scanner room.
"So how are these elements determined?"
"Well according to Taoism, it's based off the year you were born in, but I think one could be born in one year yet possess the personality trait of an element of another." Yumi halted her speech and was worried if Ulrich was truly indeed listening to her. "You know Ulrich, you could just tell me to stop if you don't want to hear this anymore. I can understand that this may sound really boring to you."
"Actually, coming from you, it's rather interesting."
"Just remember, I'm not that good at this. If you really want to get the whole picture, you should ask Jin. He's really into this stuff, just like our mom."
"I'd rather hear it from you. Go on Yumi, share more with me."
A slight blush appeared on her cheeks before she continued. "Well for one, since we're twins, I should have the same personality as Jin's but I don't. I consider my element to be earth, I can hold my ground during stressful situations and I'm pretty stable."
"What about me?" Ulrich asked curiously.
"You seem to posses the wood element."
"Wood?"
"Yes Ulrich. You like to make the best of yourself and are pretty competitive while at the same time you have strong roots and make sure that you're still close with your friends. Plus your favorite color is green and that's the color the wood element is known for."
"How about Odd and Jeremie?" Ulrich asked eager to hear Yumi give a rundown on his other two friends.
"Jeremie is most defiantly metal. That guy is really disciplined and organized to the extremes, and when has his sights set on a particular task, he won't stop until it's completed."
"Yeah like Aelita's materialization," Ulrich said jokingly.
"Now Odd is a little difficult, "Yumi said looking up toward the ceiling. "Most likely his element is water since his personality is always changing and it fails to fit into one category much like how water lacks a definite shape. Except that a primary attribute of someone with the water element is that they're very introspective and that is not a good word to describe Odd with. But like I said Ulrich, this stuff isn't an exact science."
Ulrich thought about Yumi's analysis of his personality and found it to be relatively correct. He decided to try his hand at this whole Taoism game. "Well your brother's element is really obvious. Heck I don't know anything about Taoism yet I can guess his element easily."
"Yep despite his name, Jin's element is fire. He's always charging headlong into things and is extremely reckless and courageous. Sometimes, he doesn't know his own physical limitations and will sacrifice his own physical health to achieve his goal. It's like he doesn't allow his body to get tired or feel pain if the cause he's fighting for is a good one."
"Just like last night," Ulrich said feeling slightly guilty for the fact that Jin almost died because he was unable to look out for himself.
"Don't worry Ulrich, you can't save the world by yourself Jin just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's not your fault. He intentionally threw himself into the fray but thanks for caring."
"Are you even listening to me Jin?" Jeremie asked a little upset on how easily he was being overlooked.
Jin watched Yumi place her hand on Ulrich's shoulder in an effort to comfort him. "They're pretty close, aren't they?"
Jeremie didn't know exactly what Jin was talking about and raised his eyebrow in confusion, "What?"
Jin let out a small sigh before elaborating on his previous question. "My sister and Ulrich."
"Yeah they are."
The sudden change of the topic of the conversation caught Odd's attention. "So Jin, how do you feel about this? Are you gonna start keeping tabs on Yumi?"
"Not really. Ulrich is a good person for my sister to be with as with you guys too. This seams like something she needs to handle on her own and my involvement would only make things worse."
"Then what are you going to do then?"
"It's pretty much hands off with me. God forbid me for controlling almost every aspect of my sister's life. She knows what's best for her and I respect that. Oh and Jeremie, don't worry I did hear your little ditty on the scanners."
Jin looked down and saw a giant cover with a valve over it.
"Hey now what's down there?"
"XANA," both Odd and Jeremie said at the same time.
"WHAT! Did I hear you guys right! You're saying XANA as in THE XANA. The evil computer that's out to destroy mankind is right here underneath our feet!"
"That pretty much sums it up," Odd said ignoring Jin's slight panic attack.
"This is crazy. You see, I thought that XANA would be in some sort of evil laboratory out in the mountains, but no, it's right here, oh God this is scary!"
"Actually Jin, having XANA right here ensures our safety," Jeremie said trying his best to calm Jin down.
Jin stopped his miniature rant to scratch his head as now he was the one that was confused right now, "I'm not following you."
"Think Jin. If XANA is here, then he won't attack the factory out of fear of destroying himself."
"Now that makes a whole lot of sense. But here's my question. If XANA is indeed right below us, what's stopping me from going downstairs myself with a baseball bat and ending the madness myself?"
"It's Aelita. If we destroy XANA, we destroy Lyoko and since Aelita lives in Lyoko she would be destroyed too. This is why I'm working on a program to bring Aelita into our world so we can end our fight."
"So how goes it?"
"I haven't been making much progress lately."
"Eww, bad times. So your basic battle consists of this. Wait for XANA to attack, run to the factory, go into Lyoko, deactivate the towers with Aelita's help then reset the past so nobody outside of us remembers what happened. All while buying you time to materialize Aelita so we can put XANA away for good."
"And I thought you didn't understand this stuff?"
"I'm a fast learner."
Yumi and Ulrich rejoined the original group and listened to the other's conversation.
"Ok Jin," Jeremie said while pushing up his glasses. "It's time to ask you the big question."
"That being..."
"Do you wanna help us in our fight against XANA?"
"When you say fight, you mean go into Lyoko and all that other good stuff right?"
"That's correct."
"When you guys brought me here I just thought you were telling all of this so that way I would know where my sister is in case she did have to go into Lyoko. Now you're asking me if I want to fight too?"
"It's your choice Jin. There is one way for you to be able to remember a XANA attack and that's by having a character for Lyoko. The only reason why you remember anything from last night was because your sister had me program your basic specs into the factory's computer. If you want, I could delete this information and you could live the rest of your life as if this never happened."
"Aniki please!" Yumi pleaded. "This is why I called you back! This is the serious trouble that going on here except that not only am I in danger, but so is the whole world as well. We're doing alright right now, but we can still use more help. You proved that to us last night when you saved Ulrich's life."
Jin closed his eyes to give himself a moment of peace. This was indeed a huge responsibility for him to take, but then again, people were going to die if he refused. He didn't want another death on his hands. It was hard washing the blood of the innocent from you soul when it you were the sole cause of their death.
Jin looked up to the group and spoke with a renewed confidence. Placing his right hand into his left he began to crack his knuckles once more. "That XANA is not going to know what's hit him. Count me in."
The original fighters all let out a jubilant cheer of celebration. Jin was now a welcomed member of their group and they had a feeling that he would prove to be very useful to them in both worlds, real and virtual.
"That's great to hear Jin," Jeremie resumed the process. "Now let's head to the computer room so we can make up a character for you."
They road the elevator once more to the computer room. Jin watched Jeremie sit on his swivel chair while he stood at his side.
"Umm, guys," Jeremie spoke to the remaining three. "You could leave now. This process could take quite some time."
"That's ok Jeremie," Ulrich replied back. "We'll just wait on the first floor with you guys so we can all head back together."
Yumi, Odd and Ulrich then left the confines of the computer room to ride the elevator one last time.
"Ok Jin, let's get you a character, first off, what would your primary weapon be?"
Jin rubbed his chin as he thought of an answer, "I got it! Ok Jeremie listen up..."
"So, what were you two talking about in the scanner room?" Odd asked curiously. "It must have been PRETTY interesting."
"Philosophy Odd. Philosophy and nothing more." Ulrich answered back calmly.
"Philosophy? So that's what they call it now."
"No Odd we were really. Yumi's mother is really into Chinese philosophy, especially Taoism, and we were talking about the different elements and balance."
"Sure you were."
"No really Odd we were" Yumi said as she entered the conversation. "Ulrich was wondering why Jin had a Chinese name despite his Japanese roots and all of a sudden, the conversation turned toward Taoism."
Odd wasn't able to ask anymore questions as the elevator door cut off all his attempts. Jeremie and Jin stepped outside.
"So Jin," Odd found a new topic to pursue. "What's your character like?" He asked eager to see Jin's taste in Lyoko.
"Let's leave that as a surprise. Why don't you wait for the next XANA attack and then we'll show you."
"It really is quite a unique character," Jeremie said, admiring his own work. "It would do pretty well in Lyoko, considering if Jin is able to handle the pressure."
"So is that a no?" Odd said with a disappointed look on his face.
"Yes it is. Now come on guys, lets head home. I had enough excitement for one day."
"Man I hope the cafeteria is still open right now," Odd said, eagerly licking his lips. "What time is it?"
Jin checked his watch, "Hmm nine fifteen, we weren't gone for that long."
"Aw man I can wait to get some chow, I'm starving."
"Well you better savor that meal because when I'm through with you. You're gonna have to start eating your food through a straw for the rest of you life."
"Huh? Who said that!" Odd turned to his right toward the direction of the voice. He wasn't too surprised to see who was speaking this time. "Oh it's just you two."
Jin saw the figures himself and stepped forward to challenge them. Yumi and Ulrich stood by his side. "Tsk, Clayton and Dirk, not you two again! Man you guys are just like Team Rocket don't you ever give up!"
"Not when I've set my sights on a particular goal."
"Seesh Dirk, when will you get the picture?" Ulrich spoke. "We beat you guys once, and we can probably beat you again. Just leave now, even without Odd and Jeremie, we got you out numbered, three to two."
"Isn't that a shame Ulrich. I guess you haven't heard the phrase "History never repeats itself "and right now that saying is going to hold true." Dirk raised his fingers in the air and let out a crisp snap. "Boys"
Another boy equally as large as Clayton stepped by Dirk's side.
"Meet Bruno, he's a friend of mine and he is willing to knock your skulls in just to make a couple of bucks."
"You know what Dirk, you're a real sick puppy!"
"It's not my fault I put my money into good use. I don't consider this as a fight, but more of an emotionally profitable investment."
Jin set down his book bag and tried once again to stop another fight from happening. He extended his arm for a handshake toward Dirk and looked him in the eye.
"Look Dirk, this has gone far enough. If you don't stop, somebody will get hurt. I'll lay off of you if you lay off of us."
Dirk looked at Jin's hand for a moment before giving him his answer. "You're right Ishiyama. Someone will get hurt today...YOU!"
Dirk grabbed Jin's arm and twisted it behind his back. Jin let out a cry of pain from his arm being wretched in such an awkward angle. Dirk then threw a side kick to Jin's chest before letting go of his arm causing him to fall into the dirt.
"Ulrich gave Dirk a death glare. "You wanna get you faced kicked in you..." Jin held up his arm to cut him off and stood up with the aid of his sister.
"You're pretty good. I underestimated you." Jin began to dust himself off as Ulrich and Yumi each picked an opponent to take. Ulrich faced off against Clayton again while Yumi was staring at Bruno eye to eye. "I noticed when you called out your "friend" Bruno you said boys. That could only mean one of two things. A, you're still disoriented from the last butt kicking I gave you, or B you got another ace up your sleeve."
"Here let this answer your question for you."
Dirk raised his hand once more and released another crisp snap which cut through the cool air. Suddenly a person roughly around Dirk's size grabbed Jeremie from behind.
"You fools, now you see what happens when you toy with me. In the end I always get my way."
"Never mind the court shows," Ulrich said still facing Clayton. "You read too many comic books too."
Jin was too busy watching Jeremie struggle underneath his assailant's grip.
"Dirk, what's your problem with Jeremie!"
"Nothing, except that he's your friend which makes him a prime target for me."
Jin looked at his friends and saw that nobody was making an effort to free Jeremie and he made that fact very clear.
"What are you guys doing! Jeremie needs our help!"
"Don't worry Aniki" Yumi smiled, "Jeremie can take care of himself."
The six fighters stood there motionless for what seemed like an eternity waiting for the other side to make the first move.
"Come on Ulrich! Give me your best shot!" He taunted.
Ulrich stepped forward and launched out another left hook into Clayton's temple. Unfortunately for Ulrich, Clayton was now prepared for the attack and was unfazed by the blow.
"That's it! I heard you were a tough guy Ulrich, Prove it! I'm waiting."
Ulrich then threw out his right hand and fired a vicious body blow to Clayton's gut, but this too was absorbed and caused little damage. Clayton then grabbed Ulrich by the neck and lifted him into the air with one arm.
"You just can't beat me with your reputation. COME ON PUNK LAY ONE ON ME!"
"Too strong," Ulrich thought to himself as he felt his body being hoisted off the ground.
"This is what happens when you mess with my friends and family!" Yumi said as she prepared to deliver the knock out blow.
"This can end now and no one will get hurt."
"Never!" And with that, Dirk kicked up a giant cloud of dust which concealed his movements.
"That was easy," Yumi said as she wiped the sweat from her brow. She looked over towards the boys to see how they were doing. She was horrified to see Clayton pick up Ulrich with one arm as if he was a rag doll.
"ULRICH!" she cried out, hoping that the boy was still conscious.
"So Ulrich" Clayton said, drawing him closer to his face. "Got any last words?"
"..eve...le...oc..er...play...use...gs...n...a...ight," Ulrich whispered.
"What?" Clayton asked with a raised eyebrow and subconsciously loosened his hold on Ulrich's neck.
"I said, never let a soccer player use his legs in a fight!"
"What does that mean?"
"THIS!"
Using Clayton's arm for leverage. Ulrich lifted his right leg and swung it sideways at Clayton's face. The kick knocked Clayton senseless as his head recoiled sideways. He released Ulrich from his choke hold before crumbling to the floor in a dazed heap.
"How's THAT for a hit big guy," Ulrich said, still recovering his breath.
Yumi ran over to Ulrich's side to see if he was ok and was relieved to see that he only suffered minor injuries. The two then turned towards Jin's fight and hoped that he would emerge victorious also.
"Ok Jin," he thought to himself. "Just remember what Master Sun wrote."
Dirk quietly crept up from Jin's back hoping to get the first strike. His hopes were dashed when he stepped on a branch that was concealed from his view.
CRACK!
"Throw sand from the east and attack from the west!" Jin yelled out, quoting a passage from his favorite book Sun Tzu's The Art of War.
Jin heard the noise behind him and shot out a high kick behind him striking Dirk in the face. Dirk was not expecting an attack at that moment as was caught completely by surprised by Jin's counter as he felt his foot strike his face. The dust settled and revealed a beaten Dirk on the floor. Jin walked over to him and picked him up by his collar once more and drew his fist back.
"Now it's your turn Dirk!" Jin yelled his voice filled with rage as he looked like he was going to kill someone. Dirk, fearing for his life, closed his eyes and prepared for his inevitable mauling. Jin threw out his fist but stopped just centimeters away from its destined target. Dirk looked on still fearful of what Jin was capable of. All of a sudden, he saw a finger extend from Jin's fist flicking him on the forehead causing him to pass out from fright.
Jin surveyed the scene and called out to his friends, "Anyone injured back there?"
"Don't worry Aniki, no one is seriously hurt." Yumi yelled back.
Odd looked around at all the carnage that was caused. "Seesh, if I'm ever in trouble, remind me to call you guys. Heck, even Jeremie did some damage."
Yumi wiped her hands clean from any dust and spoke, "I really hated doing that. I wish there was another way we could have solved that."
"Me too," Ulrich said who was dusting his hands off. "Fighting XANA's monsters is easy. These guys are the real challenge."
"Who knew that Dirk had it in him?" Jin stated checking to see if he experienced as serious injuries. "That guy must have been reading The Art of War also if he was able to execute a plan like that."
"I just hope," Yumi bowed her head down, "That they learn from this experience and not try this again."
"Me too sis. Looks like we're making more enemies by the day, both computer and human."
"YO GUYS!" Odd yelled catching the attention of everyone within earshot.
"You said we were gonna get some chow and still hungry!"
Ulrich then placed his hand on his stomach, "Odd has a point, I'm starving also."
Yumi and Jin exchanged smiles as they both began to form a similar plan in their heads.
"Race you guys!" They both said in union as the sprinted past the other three.
"Oh you're on now!" Odd yelled back as he Jeremie and Ulrich followed closely behind them.
END
Now some of you are wonder why I wrote and chapter 1.5 instead of going straight into chapter two. I did that for two reasons. First, episode one left many conflicts that needed to be resolved plus I wanted to dedicate a FULL chapter to Jin induction into the group. Now on the whole Michael Jackson thing. For my Junior prom last year, I dressed in the outfit that Jin wore in my last chapter and I learned how to dance like Michael Jackson. I thought it would be a cool thing to stick in the fic just for a chuckle.
Ok now the fight scene at the middle and end might generate a few negative comments from the crowd and that's understandable but just hear me out ok. When I wrote that scene I felt like I was taking a risk cause I heard from Code Lyoko fans that they wanted for scenes of the heroes kick butt out side of Lyoko. If you didn't like it don't worry, this isn't going to happen very often I' know for sure that I'm going to write another one for Image Problem but that's a long way from here.
Thanks to Dr. Thinker, I decided to revamp Dirk's character and leave Clayton more like the quiet strong-armed enforcer. I really tried to show through the scenes that he was in Dirk's anger management issues along with his arrogant personality. Personally I enjoyed writing those scenes because I think that if you make a bad guy worth hating then you're one step closer to becoming a good writer.
I have other original episodes that I have in mind are they're pretty original as well. So yeah thanks for taking the time to read my work and please leave a review. It lets me you that you guys are actually reading it.
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