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G-Force 4
Author of 6 Stories |
Words from the Author
Man I'm treading on some dangerous ground here. Today I'm retelling Dr. Thinker's and a lot of Code Lyoko fan's favorite episode, let's not screw this up.
Disclaimer
You guys know the drill. Don't sue me cause I'm not making any cash off of this thing. (Wish Antefilms picked this stuff up) More wishful thinking
It was common protocol for students using the dorms provided by the staff of Kadic Junior high to keep their rooms in a neat and orderly fashion. Unfortunately for these people, there was one student who decided to violate this code of conduct. He rummaged through his drawers and spilled its contents to the floor. He opened up his closet and left the clothes inside of it in disarray. When the madness ended the boy succeeded in leaving a gigantic mess in his wake but he was not satisfied.
Odd soon walked into the room whistling an unfamiliar tune and not only discovered the chaos but the person who caused it as well.
"Hello there...WHAT THE?" He exclaimed at the top of his lungs.
The person responsible for all of this was Ulrich.
"What's the meaning of this?"
You see Ulrich's intension was not to create a giant mess like he did now but to prevent an even bigger mess from leaking out if he didn't find the precious item he was looking for.
"Sorry Odd, I'm just looking for something that's really important."
"And you had to turn the room upside down to find it?"
"I didn't mean to. Look, I'll clean up everything don't worry."
"You wanna go to the cafeteria and snag a bite to eat before class?"
"I'll pass on your offer. I really need to find this."
"It's your funeral. Happy hunting."
After searching through every nook and cranny in this room, Ulrich came up with one conclusion. The item that he sought was not here. As he began to tidy up his living space, he began to think of possible locations of where it could be. He knew he left it in its usual place, it's not the sort of thing he would like parading around but if that was the case, where could it be? The only thing he could do was to continue on with his day and pray for a memory that would reveal the location of what he was looking for. Seeing that there was no use for him standing in an dorm room by himself, Ulrich stepped outside and encountered yet another unexpected guest.
"Hello Sissy" Ulrich said flatly while looking at the girl who was leaning against a nearby wall.
"Looking for something Ulrich dear? I think I have a few answers for you...and demands."
Ulrich went wide eyed after hearing Sissy's offer. Whatever she had in store for him, it wasn't going to be good.
"Ah yes five pieces of toast and a good portion of fruit can fill you right up."
Jeremie decided to eat lite that morning and used his time in the cafeteria to get in some much deserved reading.
"I wonder Odd, do you have a regular stomach like the rest of us, or do you have a small black hole down there that just swallows everything that get's close to it.
"Hey I'm hungry, give me a break Einstein."
Odd leaned back into his chair and began going over his schedule for the day to see if there was anything interesting plans that the school had in store for him and sure enough there was. Today was the day the school arranged a field trip for his P.E. class to the local swimming pool. Sure Odd wasn't a big fan of the activity, but a field trip was still a field trip.
"So Jeremie, you coming with us to the pool or are you going to skip out again as usual"
"The later. I want to get as much time as possible so I can finish Aelita's materialization before XANA creates any more chaos."
The mentioning of XANA triggered several memories that Odd had about Lyoko. Most of them involved himself saving Aelita, and the world, from impending doom. However, as much as he cherished these thoughts, there was something, more like someone, missing from them, Jin. Odd had sit through two full XANA attacks and on both occasions, Jin opted to stay behind. Although Jin was not too willing to reveal any details about his character in Lyoko, maybe Jeremie would, he help create him after all.
"Hey Jeremie, can I ask you a question?"
"You already did Odd, but shoot."
"What can you tell me about Jin's character? I'm DYING to see it!"
"Jin warned me about this. Look you just have to wait for another XANA attack to see it."
"But he's attacked twice already!"
Jeremie closed his book and gave into his friend's constant begging.
"Ok Odd I'm not going to tell you much but listen up."
Odd immediately sat up and was ready to absorb all the information that Jeremie was going to give him like a sponge.
"Before we began the process, I told Jin about the different classes your character's fall under."
"Classes?"
"You see, each of your characters serves a different role in Lyoko. Ulrich is primarily an offensive class while Yumi is defensive and you Odd serve as the speed class. You're character allows you to run circles around your enemies and attack quickly before they know what's going on."
"I think I could have figured that out Einstein."
"The point is, although all three of your characters serve different roles in Lyoko, all of your strategies are the same."
"Which is..."
"To put it bluntly. It's walk up to the monsters and hope they go boom."
"That is pretty simple."
"Well, I told Jin about your character roles and he said he wanted to do something a little different."
"Different?"
"Yes, the character Jin and I created will prove to be very useful in Lyoko as it plays off of all your unique strengths. However, because of these new features I placed in his character, Jin has to use a completely different fighting style than you three."
"Sounds really cool Jeremie, but why not give use those special tweaks you gave him?"
"You're characters are pretty much frozen in the database and can't be changed that easily. Plus, Jin's character is not as powerful as you think. With all these new implements I gave him, we had to make certain sacrifices."
"Sacrifices? Like what?"
Jeremie scanned the caffeteria and saw that it was beginning to fill up with people.
"You're going to have to wait for an answer for that question Odd. With all these people in here, our cover will be blown for sure and besides it's almost eight and Yumi and Jin will be arriving shortly. Let's go meet them at the gate."
The two boys packed their things and awaited the arrival of the two day students.
"So Aniki, you enjoying yourself back at home?" Yumi asked just curious on how her brother felt after being up rooted from America. It's been at least a month since he had returned and he seemed to be enjoying himself.
"Well aside from almost being killed by a teddy bear and falling down the staircase of your school, it's been pretty cool here. I'm just a little anxious when I have to finally take the plunge in Lyoko."
"Don't worry Jin' I'm sure you'll do fine."
"Thanks sis, I needed that."
Yumi looked up and saw that Odd and Jeremie were already waiting for them.
"Looks like the welcoming comity is here." Yumi said as she waved to her two friends.
"Some comity." Jin huffed in sarcasm. "Where's the complementary gift basket?"
Odd was the first to approach the two siblings.
"Hey guys" He said with a huge smile on his face.
Jin noticed that someone was missing from this welcome wagon.
"Where's Ulrich?" Jin asked wondering about the boy's presence.
"He was in his room looking for something."
Yumi spotted the boy in question and the new "company" he was keeping. Seeing the sight made her blood boil. Her breathing became more labored while she squeezed her hands into fists.
"Why is Ulrich with Sissy?" She said as her temper began to flare.
"HE'S DOING WHAT?" The three boys cried out in unison just as shocked as Yumi was.
"Look for yourself guys."
The rest of the boys turned their heads towards then entrance to the cafeteria and saw Ulrich and Sissy resting on the steps. They were having a conversation and Sissy seamed bright and cheery, as she was talking his head off.
"It's official, Hell has frozen over." Odd said with a wide eyed stare.
"I think the very laws of nature have been compromised to allow this anomaly to occur!" Jeremie said equally frightened.
"I can't believe Ulrich would..." Before Yumi could lose her temper, Jin held up his arm to silence the group.
"Hold it guys, let's not jump the gun here."
"What do you mean Aniki? Let's not jump the gun? Ulrich is with Sissy! Can't you see that?" Yumi growled.
"Of course I can see that but you guys are missing one important detail."
"What?" They all asked.
"For someone who's with their "significant other", doesn't Ulrich look a little too grim for such a romantic scene?"
The rest of the group took a good look at Ulrich's face and saw no trace of happiness or warmth in his expression. He appeared to be apatetic and uncaring of Sissy and was just staring off into space.
Yumi's anger soon left her body as she saw Ulrich's gloomy expression.
"He looks like he's on death row or something." Yumi said in her normal tone of voice.
"Well that's how being with Sissy feels like." Odd joked.
"I wonder what those two are talking about?" Jeremie asked, thinking of the endless conversation topics that the two could be discussing.
"Don't worry Ulrich dear, your secrets are still safe in your little notebook. I've only glanced through a few pages but I saw nothing serious."
"How do I know you're serious?" Ulrich asked wondering if the girl was bluffing.
"One word...Lyoko."
Ulrich's eyes went wide. Sissy was defiantly not lying. Hey had to do whatever it takes to get his diary back or else she will reveal everything about the factory and Lyoko.
"This is really low Sissy. What do you want with me?"
"You're going to start being with me just like a real couple." Sissy said dreamy eyed as she thought of the possibilities of her and Ulrich being together.
Ulrich was right, Sissy's plan did not play out in his favor, he had to find a way to get his diary back from Sissy's clutches.
"And what are you going to do if I refuse your little offer Sissy?" Ulrich asked not knowing of the consequences.
"Then your precious diary goes public for all the school to see."
"WHAT?" Apparently, Sissy had been doing her homework as this was a well thought out scheme she had going on here.
"Of course I won't be doing it alone. I have a few "special friends" that would be more than willing to see you suffer."
Ulrich tried his best to keep his cool. "Does this "special friend" know of your plan yet?"
"Of course, I always keep my associates well informed of all the details and he's one of my biggest aids. The resources he possess are virtually endless. If you were smart Ulrich, I'd take the smart way out and start treating me like your girlfriend."
Ulrich bowed his head in shame. Today was going to be a long day for him. He just hopped that Yumi wouldn't take this the wrong way. He held up his hand for Sissy to take as they both walked to their first period class hand in hand.
"Uh..Yumi" Odd said, holding up his index finger. "We're all here right now."
"Don't start with me right now Odd. I am SO not in the mood."
"Ok Yumi what is it?" Jeremie said filling in his usual role as the voice of reason.
"Sissy has something on Ulrich and its gotta be pretty bad for him to just comply with her demands like that."
"Point taken" Jin said trying not to interfere with his sister's thought process.
"Here's the plan guys. Odd and Jeremie, you two go find out what's going on with Sissy and Ulrich then report the information to Aniki and me so we can rectify it."
RING!
The school bell rang prompting the students to go to their respected class or faced being marked tardy by their teachers. The group of four friends quickly parted an went to class with each member ready to carry out their assigned duty.
His first suspicions were Herb and Nicholas who were siting in the back of the room. The two lackey's were always interested in the little "games" Sissy played on their group but this time, they looked completely clueless. In fact, if Jeremie didn't know any better, he could have sworn that Herb looked jealous right now. Watching the two "act" like a real couple.
"Ok scratch Herb and Nicholas from my list of suspects" Jeremie thought as he continued his search.
Mike?
Naw, the only plan that guy could think of was how to make himself a better air drummer so that puts him out of the running.
Naomi?
Ok, now that was a stupid guess.
Clayton?
What was he thinking? If Jeremie thought that Naomi was a stupid assumption then Clayton was the head jester of idiotic guesses. Trying to get an idea out of Clayton's head that DIDN'T involve pommeling someone to a bloody pulp was like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. It was not going to happen.
"Hold it!" Jeremie thought as he was just hit by a stroke of genius. "Clayton can't think of an idea, but his close friend can...Dirk!" Dirk was an obvious candidate to be aiding Sissy since he was always at odds with his group. But then again, Dirk wasn't the type of person to work under others. He was the opposite, controlling people behind the scenes and having people work for him. However, the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. Jeremie decided to try to get the answer straight from the horse's mouth by asking Ulrich directly, but that required him to be separated from Sissy, which was no easy task.
"Looks like I'm going to need your help Odd...Odd?" Jeremie wondered why his friend wasn't answering until he heard an all too familiar snore nearby.
"You sure pick the best people to work with Jeremie" he sighed to himself.
He didn't think of it and therefore was not in control of it.
Dirk REALLY hated playing with an incomplete deck of cards and he knew that the woman he was working for had a few aces in her sleeves. He loved being judge, jury and executioner in all his schemes, overseeing every single step of the process. Combing through each move with surgical-like precision making sure that no action was wasted.
But he couldn't do that here. No, no, no, he just couldn't do that, not with this plan. He just didn't like taking orders from ANYONE. He could still recall that conversation that got him into this mess in vivid detail.
"I'd say you better stop this right now or else Jin and Ulrich will come over here and put you guys in your place!"
Dirk took a step back as if he was stabbed in the chest. After he and his "friends" were defeated by Jin, Ulrich, Jeremie and his former target, Yumi, he never wanted to hear those names ever again. It's only been two days since kids stopped calling Jin the "Dirk and Clayton Slayer" and now here he was, being insulted by some punk kid.
"Say that again." Dirk said leaning closer to the boy to intimidate him.
"You heard me! Ulrich and Jin will wipe the floor with you anytime of the week!"
Dirk withdrew his face from the boys proximity and began to straighten out his shirt's collar and spoke again.
"Such a shame that you think of those two so highly. Your hero worship will yield you to nothing but pain and misfortune."
Dirk released a crisp snap in the air. Clayton knew the signal all too well as he grabbed the poor boy by his collar and pulled his closer to where he was standing.
"I guess you will serve as an example for those individuals out there who just can't hold their tongues. Will you do the honors Clayton?"
"With pleasure"
The boy closed his eyes and braced himself for a quick beating but it never came as a voice rang across the campus.
"STOP!" A female voice called out.
Sissy was looking for the two boys all day and was happy to find them here. She quickly noted the compromising position that they were in and decided to use it for her advantage.
"And just what do you think you're doing?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"None of your business drama queen!" Dirk lashed out.
"Well it looks like your large friend was about to assault another student with you being the instigator of the fight."
"What's the deal here lady? Do you carry around the school rule book in that handbag of yours?"
"Well my father is the principle of this school. You kind of pick up on these sort of things real fast."
"What do you want from us?" Clayton asked still holding the boy in his clutches.
"I have an offer that you two gentlemen would be interested in."
"What on Earth can you possibly have that would make you think so?"
"It concerns Ulrich"
Dirk's calm demeanor was broken with a look of shock in his eyes.
"Clayton, let go of the kid. We have business to discus."
Clayton complied with Dirk's request before turning to face Sissy.
"Ok I'm listening Sissy. Spill."
"Well I have something that he deeply cherishes and if Ulrich doesn't do what I say, I'm going to have to get you two involved."
"And what's that?" Dirk still not knowing Sissy's true intent.
"That's all I'm gonna tell you,"
"Some plan you got there. Count us out."
Sissy expected to have a rough time with the two boys and already had a counter measure incase they didn't want to help her.
"I wouldn't leave if I were you."
"Why not, you're plan has more holes in it than a piece of Swiss cheese."
"Spare me the similes Dirk and listen up. If you help me, I'll be more than happy to turn a blind eye and not inform my father of the little "incident" that I just saw."
Dirk had spent the last mouth carefully crafting the allusion that he was now a well-behaved student along with his friend Clayton. This image has allowed him to continue his activities outside the classroom without too much interference from the faculty. He did NOT want to lose this "reputation".
"If I were to get involved" Dirk said in his usual professional tone of voice. "What would happen to Ulrich."
"Well if you were to get a hold of this item, then Ulrich would be devastated."
If Sissy's plan worked, Ulrich would be reduced to a shadow of his former self and become an easy target for Dirk to finish off.
"I have to admit Sissy" Dirk said with a sly smile. "You have sparked my interest. But remember, I'm not doing this because I like you. I'm doing this to get back at that bastard and all his friends."
"I not too fond of you either Dirk but for now we're partners. My silence in exchange for your resources. Deal?"
Sissy extended her arm for a handshake which Dirk returned.
"I really don't have a choice here but anyway, deal."
"Mr. Kap Hwan!" Mrs. Hertz;s voice boomed from across the room causing Dirk's to focus on his teacher. "Would you mind answering the problem for us?"
"I think I'll pass on this one teach."
"Well then, how about you Clayton?"
Clayton answered by shrugging his shoulders.
"If you two keep this up, your going to have to retake this class for a third year!" She looked around the room to see if she could find anyone who could answer her question.
"Odd!"
Mrs. Hertz saw Odd's sleeping form resting on his desk and still snoring. Jeremie rammed his elbow into Odd's rib cage causing him to wake up.
"Is it lunch time already?" He asked, still groggy from being roused from his sleep so early.
Mrs. Hertz was too frustrated by the whole ordeal and resumed her lecture. Thus giving Dirk more time to ponder his role in Sissy's scheme. He turned his head towards the couple and saw the bright smile on her face and the glum expression that Ulrich wore.
"Whatever she has on the guy it must obviously be pretty big. She's got him wrapped around her pinkie like a twenty-four karat ring. Well if she not going to tell me what the hell is going on here then I'll just have to make some plans of my own."
Dirk pulled out two small sheets of paper and scribbled a note on each of them He then removed a green object from his pocket and attached it to the first note. After tapping Clayton on his shoulder to catch his attention, he slide the two pieces of paper to Clayton which he placed in his pocket.
"Give those to our friend Sleeping Beauty over there after class."
Clayton gave Dirk a silent nod and was unsure where his friend was going with this.
"Not yet."
"Well you better find out soon, after lunch they'll be picking us up to go to the pool."
"Fine, we'll use the direct approach then." Jeremie said, playing his trump card.
"Direct approach?"
"You distract Sissy and I'll ask Ulrich what's going on."
"Now that's a plan."
RING!
Odd rose from his seat and prepared himself for his favorite period, lunch. He turned around and walked to the door only to have his path blocked by a very large student.
"What do you want now Clayton?"
Clayton didn't say a single word but instead shoved his meaty palm into Odd's chest knocking him back slightly.
"For you" Clayton said as he retreated his hand from Odd's body allowing the two notes to float harmlessly on his desk.
Odd picked up the notes and noticed that one note was slightly heavier than the other and decided to read that one give the second note to your friend Ulrich.
— Dirk
"Hey Sissy I need your help!"
"Why should I help you?" Sissy asked disgusted by his presence.
"Because you're the only one with enough intelligence and sincerity that could handle a problem like this. Odd lied through clenched teeth.
Sissy couldn't resist being flattered like that and agreed to help. Leaving Ulrich alone with Jeremie.
"Ok let's cut to the chase Ulrich. Why have you been with Sissy all this time?" Jeremie asked skipping all the small talk knowing that time was of the essence.
Ulrich was slightly embarrassed of what was he going to tell Jeremie but he knew he couldn't leave him in the dark. "I've been keeping a dairy."
Jeremie couldn't believe what he was hearing. Ulrich keeping a DIARY? He had to ask again just to make sure.
"A what now Ulrich?"
"A diary! There there are you happy now?"
Jeremie decided not to hold that fact against him and continued his game of twenty questions.
"Ok so what's the deal with it?"
"Well Sissy stole it from our dorm when I was out."
Jeremie could see where this was going a mile away.
"Oh please don't tell me that you talk about Lyoko and XANA in it!"
"Ok then, I won't tell you."
Jeremie let out a sigh of despair. Once again their secret was in jeopardy of being exposed.
"Listen Jeremie, if I start treating Sissy poorly she's going to read my diary in front of the entire school!"
Now Jeremie's alarm bells started ringing. He had to do something about this problem right this instant.
"Ok Ulrich, I have a plan. You're going to go back to Sissy and act like everything is normal while I'll let Yumi and Jin know what's going on."
"Thanks"
Soon Odd came into their view and was holding a piece of paper.
"This is for you Urich." Odd said seriously, I don't like the looks of this.
Ulrich took the note from Odd's hands and began to read it silently.
— Dirk
P.S. Come alone
"What does it say Ulrich?" Odd asked, curious of its message.
"Dirk wants to meet me on the balcony right now and we wants me to go alone."
"So what are you going to do?"
"I'm gonna meet him, that's what!"
Jeremie did not like where this was going. "Ulrich, if Dirk is involved, then that meeting has bad news written all over it."
"I think so too" Odd said balling up his fist. "You might want me to come with you. Although I don't really like to fight outside of Lyoko, I think I'll make an exception with Dirk by punching his face in."
"Sorry Odd, but I'm going at it alone. This is my problem to begin with and I don't want you to get hurt in the process all because of my carelessness."
Sissy soon joined in on the conversation and saw the sour look Ulrich wore.
"Ulrich, what's wrong dear?"
"I'm feeling a little light headed right now. I'm going to my room to rest before we leave to the pool."
"Do you need me to walk you there?" Sissy asked worried about his health.
"I can manage." And with that Ulrich walked away to the designated meeting place.
"I'm glad that you made it Ulrich. We have much to discuss." Dirk said grinning at the fact that his plan actually worked.
"Cut the formalities Dirk. What do you want with me?"
"Easy there. No use getting violent...yet. Before we begin, I have to see if you still handle something."
"What?"
"THIS!"
Dirk spun counterclockwise and threw a vicious backhand at Ulrich. Ulrich countered by catching Dirk's arm and twisting it behind his back. Dirk struggled for a few seconds before he saw Clayton rush to his aid.
"CLAYTON STAY OUT OF THIS!" Dirk barked wanting to handle this situation by himself. He then fired an elbow with his free arm causing Ulrich to duck the hit and release his arm. Ulrich soon went on the offensive and threw a left hook at Dirk's head in which he responded kindly by grabbing the arm and wrenching it upside down. Dirk followed up his attack by thrusting out his right hand grabbing Ulrich by the throat.
Ulrich knew that if he didn't act fast then he would not walk away from this fight in good shape. Thinking quickly, he launched a swift side kick at Dirk's left shoulder loosening his grip on his arm allowing him to pull it free. Ulrich then retaliated by grabbing Dirk's throat putting to two combatants at a standstill. They just stood their waiting for the other to make the first squeeze as they gripped each other's necks. Ulrich was surprised to see Dirk release his hold and back off slightly.
"Good" he said with a satisfied grin.
"Why the hell did you do that for?" Ulrich yelled wondering why Dirk attacked him so suddenly.
"I was worried that all that time you spent with Sissy had made you soft. Looks like it didn't. It's not worth having an enemy that's weaker than you."
"Glad to see that you care." Ulrich spat back sarcastically. "So what were you going to tell me?"
"Ulrich, have you lost anything recently?"
Ulrich saw the connection and mentally kicked himself in the head for not figuring out sooner.
"You! You're Sissy's accomplice!"
"Let's make one thing clear here Ulrich. Dirk Kap Hwan is an accomplice to no one! I call my own shots! I'm doing this out of my free will."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"This is just my way of controlling Sissy's plan. Plus if I do get a hold of this "precious item" that you lost. I want you to know that I was the sole cause of your misery!"
"Thanks" Ulrich replied flatly.
"You know, for such a prep, Sissy can be quiet the evil genius. Maybe she's not all bad."
"Whatever." Ulrich had enough answers for one day and made his way to the balcony's door."
"Hey Ulrich!" Dirk called out.
"What is it now?"
"If I were you, I start watching my back right now on. You've got a lot of people who would love to stick a knife in it."
"Thanks for the advice...or is that a threat?"
Ulrich closed the door behind him and allowed the hallow sound it made to hang in the air.
"How are you feeling now?" Sissy asked.
"I'm better, my head cleared up while I was walking so it wasn't too serious. Shall we go to the bus now?"
Ulrich was trying his best to act like a gentlemen in front of Sissy even though deep down inside he loath every minute he spent in her company. To further develop the charade he created, Ulrich wrapped his arm around Sissy's waist and lead her to the school's parking lot. Jeremie was standing near Sissy while this was happening and had front row seats to this extravaganza. Odd soon began his trip to the school parking lot but stopped to talk to Jeremie one more time.
"There are some things that other humans should not see and this is one of them."
"Glad you feel the same way Odd."
"So what's up with Ulrich?"
"Sissy's blackmailing him. Currently she has his diary and has all the information about Lyoko in her possession. If Ulrich does not do what she wants, she'll read his diary in front of the whole school!"
"Blackmail indeed."
"Let's not forget about Dirk and Clayton involvement as well. If there are two students out right now who want to get back at us, it's them.
"Well we're going now, you along with the Ishiyama's better find that diary while we're gone then. Good luck."
"Hey James!" Jim called out from the outside of the bus. "How are things looking in there?"
James was checking the bus's heads up display and was running a systems check to make sure things were operating smoothly.
"Ok Jim, everything here is in tip-top shape. Nothing to worry about. Looks like today is going to be an easy ride."
"Don't worry I am. Just let me adjust the..."
James saw a black shadow creep across the bus's windshield leaving behind a strange eye on his computer screen. Never in his thirty years of driving had he encountered something like this. Pretty soon the eye disappere and everything returned to normal.
"I'd better retire soon, I'm getting too old for this." He grumbled to himself.
"Ain't she a beauty Odd. Not only does thing bus go really fast, but it's computer operated and doesn't release a lot of pollution."
"Wow, electric and powerful. I bet this crate goes as fast as a snail." Odd climbed the steps inside the bus and gave James a quick "hello nod".
Ulrich and Sissy arrived shortly after and took their seats next to each other without saying a word to anyone else. The other students arrived in droves and boarded the bus while engaged in conversations covering various topics. Jim saw the last two students make their way to the parking lot taking their sweet time.
"DIRK! CLAYTON! COME ON! WE'RE GONNA BE LATE!" Jin hollered at the two stragglers.
Dirk was still rubbing his left shoulder as he made his way to the bus. It was slightly damaged by Ulrich's kick and he tried to minimize its movement to prevent any further injury.
"Is everyone here?" James asked from the driver's seat.
"Yep" Jim said and flashed the thumbs up sign. "Now lets get this trip started."
Certainly not the kind of person that you would like to punch in the face.
All the rage and anger that was building inside of Yumi that day was finally released in one, single, savage strike. She had to hit something and poor Albert was the closet thing she could get her hands on.
Jin was slightly frighted by his sister's actions. He never saw her this angry. But then again, he never saw giant teddy bears, electrical builds ups and pink clouds of smoke before, so there was a first time for everything he concluded.
"SISSY'S DOING WHAT TO ULRICH?"
Jeremie wondered if Yumi had managed to put a very large hole in his wall underneath his cherished poster.
"You heard me Yumi. Sissy has Ulrich's diary and is using it to blackmail him."
"Well isn't that fine and dandy?" Jin said off handily. "Umm..sis you might want to apologize to Mr. Einstein here, he his a well-respected figure in the field of science."
Jin's remark brought a slight smile to Yumi's lips and was able to curve her anger back down to a controllable level.
"So what do we do then Jeremie?" Yumi asked.
"Isn't obvious? Our fist step is to get Ulrich's diary back, then Sissy won't anything on him anymore."
Jin added onto Jeremie's plan. "Well if we're going to get it back, we might as well start now. Sissy is out of here due to her little field trip giving us a window of opportunity to search her room."
"Great idea Aniki!" Yumi exclaimed. "We'll head over to Sissy's room and see what we can find." The two twins soon left Jeremie's room in search for Ulrich's diary."Brace yourself sis, you don't know what horrible sights we might see in Sissy's room.
We are about to enter the belly of the beast, so stay on your toes." Jin said faking being scared for his own amusement.
Yumi grasped the door handle that lead into Sissy's room and turned it. Revealing the contents of the room for all to see.
"I'm going inside Jin. You stay out here and be lookout just incase somebody shows up."
"Roger that sis."
Yumi disappeared inside the room and began rummaging through Sissy's belongings. Taking special care not to place everything back in their original position so Sissy wouldn't be tipped off by her intrusion.
"How goes the search Yumi?" Jin asked from the hallway.
"Not too good, Wherever that diary is, Sissy has done an excellent job in hiding it.
Yumi then sat on Sissy's bed and laid down in hopes of clearing her head. She saw a heart-shaped "I Love You" pillow and rested it against her head to make herself comfortable.
"You know, this thing is pretty stiff for a pillow." Yumi said to herself. "It's like Sissy stuffed this thing with a cardboard sheet or something...THAT IT!"
Yumi opened the pillow and sure enough she found a pink notebook inside of it.
"Jin come here! I think I found what we're looking for."
Jin stepped into Sissy's room and was taken back by all the beauty products and appliances that the room contained.
"Sheesh, for a girl that stays in a modest dorm, Sissy sure is living it up here."
"Aniki check this out."
Jin spot the notebook and pumped his fist straight into the air.
"Alright! Mission accomplished."
Yumi finally had Ulrich's diary in her hands. Although she knew it was wrong for her to do it, she began to thumb through some of the pages to see what he was writing in it. However, the more she read, the more uneasy she became. Ulrich sounded so "ditzy" here and the pages kept calling her group of friends as the "Weirdo Bunch". There only one conclusion she could draw from this...
This diary did not belong to Ulrich.
"Jin. I think we picked up the wrong notebook."
"I think I could have figured that out. Pink isn't really Ulrich's color."
"You're right, but it sure is Sissy's!" Yumi said realizing the potentially potent resource she now held.
"Check the latest entry to be sure."Jin said wanting to remove any doubt on the true owner.
"Ok"
Dear Diary,
You wouldn't have guessed what I found today, my dear sweet Ulrich's diary.
Yumi always hated the fact that she called him her "dear sweet Ulrich".
You see, while he was out eating lunch with the "Weirdo Bunch" I snuck into his room to get a personal possession of his. As I searched through his shelves I expected to pull out a photograph of him or something of that sorts. Imagine my surprise when I saw his diary. I could find out all of his deepest desires and his darkest fears and I knew that I could use this to get him into my company once I tell him that I have his little notebook.
"That little sneak!" Yumi said out loud.
I know what I'm doing is wrong but it's the only way him and I can be together. And besides, I know that eventually he'll wake up and realize how stupid his friends really are and will finally leave Yumi and the "Weirdo Bunch" once and for all but I can't do this alone. There are only two people I know who would be so willing to help with such a crazy plan. Well I'm off to enlist the aid of certain "troublesome duo".
"Dirk and Clayton!" Yumi said as she figured out the two people Sissy was referring to.
Wish me luck with this plan.
— Sissy
Yumi closed the diary as her anger began to rise again.
"Of all the dirty, underhanded, manipulative things a girl can do!"
"So what are we going to do now?"
Yumi eyed Sissy's diary suspiciously and gave Jin an evil smile as she began to think of the possibilities.
"You don't need to be Sun Tzu to guess what I'm going to do now."
"Are you thinking what I'm thing?" Jin asked giving Yumi an evil grin of his own.
"That's right Aniki, turnabout is fair play. Let's just see how Sissy will like it once she gets a taste of her own medicine."
Jim looked at his watch impatiently. The bus was moving too slowly for his taste and he didn't want to bring these kids to the pool late after going through the process of nabbing the most high-tech bus out there, and one of the best drivers in the business.
"Hey James, you mind speeding things up a little bit? At the pace we're going, I won't be surprised if I see a snail pass us up."
"I can't do anything Jim" James replied from the drivers seat.
"Huh?"
"Here, see for yourself."
Jim walked over to the driver's seat and saw that James was indeed flooring the gas peddle but the bus was still going at a slow speed.
"What the heck?" Jim asked.
"See, I'm putting the peddle to the metal and I'm getting nothing."
"Well what do the computers say?"
"That's the strange thing, according to the systems check, everything should be running perfectly."
Jim walked away from James's company and was worried.
"Even the best laid plans go astray." Jim quoted a well know passage from a poem as he hoped that his grief would not continue.
Too bad, XANA was not the kind of individual to let things go like that.
James felt a mild electrical shock in his hands as he suddenly lost control of the steering wheel. The bus was no under the command of some sort of unforeseen force as it now overwrote the original drive route and began making its own plans.
"YEOW!" James screamed as he felt another electrical current shoot through his body. This caught the attention of Jim as he ran back to the front of the bus.
"James what's wrong?"
"I've lost control of the bus!"
"Oh no! Why now? Why me!" Jim kept repeating to himself. He stopped his rambling and soon saw Odd and Ulrich standing near him.
"What are you two kids doing here, you should be in your seats when the bus is in motion."
"What's the problem mister?" Odd asked the aging bus driver.
"I don't know, first I see this weird shadow then a few minutes later this bus goes haywire. If I make it out of this alive, I'm telling my boss at work that I quit. I'm too old to be facing stuff like this!"
"You two, back to your seats now!" Jim yelled, trying his best to maintain order.
Not wanting to push the already shaky P.E. teacher anymore, Odd and Ulrich returned to their seats.
"I'll call Jeremie" Ulrich said as he picked up his cell phone and began to dial the all too familiar number.
Jeremie's cell phone rang three times before he got a chance to pick it up.
"Ulrich what's wrong?" Jeremie asked, already assuming the worst.
"The driver lost control of the bus he was driving and we think it's XANA's doing."
"Where are you right now?"
Ulrich was well knowledge about the streets of his hometown.
"We just passed by Regalson Street."
"Ok Ulrich, I'll head to the factory and use its computer to try to track down you guys."
"Ok Jeremie and hurry!""
Aw man sis, I wish I could see the look on Sissy's face after you make your call. She's going to be PRETTY ticked off." Jin said as he rubbed his hands together.
"Oh she will be Aniki. She deserves every minute of it for all the torture she put Ulrich and me through. Now, where can I call her to keep this conversation private?" Yumi pondered the question for a couple of minutes before an idea popped into her head.
"Sorry Aniki, you're going to have to stay behind for this one."
"What do you mean?"
"Let's just say that the future discussion is for women only."
Jin watched Yumi run into the girls bathroom and decided to lean against a near by pillar for support.
"Oh boy, this is going to take a while."
Yumi choose a random stall in the bathroom and opened up Sissy's diary so she could flip to a random page. She then dialed Sissy's number on her cell phone and eagerly waited for her to pick up her phone.
"Hello."
"Sissy, so good to hear from you." Yumi said in fake excitement. "How's the field trip?"
"Yumi" Sissy growled underneath her breath.
"Why are you calling me? Is it to tell me that you gave up on Ulrich after you saw how happy he is with me?"
"Sorry, but I'm here to give you a little reality check."
"Huh?"
Yumi picked up the book so that it was at a comfortable reading level and began to impersonate Sissy as she read one of the passages.
"I don't like that Jim. He's so large and wears that stupid bandage and headband all the time."
"You have my diary!" Sissy hissed into the phone.
"Of course, and I think my friends Milly and Tamiya would just LOVE to get their hands on it for it to be printed in the school paper."
Sissy was in a now in a no win situation. She had to surrender to Yumi in order for her to keep her secrets safe.
"Ok Yumi, you win. What do you want?"
"Tell me where Ulrich's diary is!" Yumi commanded.
"Ok, ok, you don't have to get all hostile on me."
"Believe me Sissy, I have every right to. So start spilling!"
"Third stall in the women's bathroom" she said weakly.
Yumi checked her surrounding and was surprised to see that she was indeed in the third stall. Looking above her on top of the wash bin, sat Ulrich's diary which she quickly snatched into her arms.
"You made the right choice Sissy" and Yumi hung up her phone.
Yumi exited the bathroom stalls and ran outside only to see an impatient looking Jin.
"What's wrong Aniki?"
"Jeremie just called me. XANA has just taken control of the bus that Ulrich and Odd are in!"
Yumi noticed some inconsistencies in Jin's statement. If XANA did take control of the bus, why did Sissy act like everything was normal?
"Wait a second Jin. I just spoke to Sissy and she seemed perfectly fine."
"That's because XANA hasn't done anything to the bus other than make it go at a snail's pace. But that could change at any moment!"
"Where's Jeremie?"
"He went to the factory to see what XANA has in store for the bus. In the mean time we're going to have to go into Lyoko and stop this!"
Yumi stopped herself to think over what Jin just said. He said a key word that instantly caught her attention.
"Jin you said we. Does that mean.."
"Yep, I'm going into Lyoko this time. Did you find the diary?"
"That's an affirmative. I told you before Aniki, I can be quiet a persuasive person myself."
"So now the only question is this. Park or boiler room?"
"Let's go through the park since it's closer."
"You're call."
Sissy turned off her cell phone and hung her head in shame. All that careful planning was reduced to ashes in the matter of seconds. Ulrich saw Sissy's change in mood and realized that his friends back at the school came through for him and bested Sissy at her own game.
"You see Sissy" Ulrich said while he was getting up to sit with Odd. "This is what real friends do to each other. They help one another when their in need. They don't shut each other out in the cold and ignore their problems."
Herb was relieved to see Ulrich move away from Sissy and soon occupied the seat that he vacated.
"Thank goodness that pest is gone huh Sissy? I thought he would never leave." Herb said no longer jealous of the individual.
"Herb, if you want to keep my friendship, the you'd stay quiet for this entire trip." Sissy said still feeling melancholy for being beaten by Yumi.
Herb just sat next to Sissy and was enjoying the simple pleasure of being by her side until he heard the bus's engine rev up causing the whole vehicle to increase its speed.
This violent shift in momentum caused the students inside the bus to be tossed and turned and in the case of one unfortunate young boy. Be slammed against the floor.
Mike was minding his own business when he suddenly found himself being thrown forward from his seat. His head collided onto the floor causing it to bounce skyward before settling back down. He was immediately knocked unconscious.
Naomi saw the whole thing happened and called out to the front of the bus.
"Jim come quick! Mike has been hurt!"
Jim ran to the back of the bus to attend to Mike's injuries. Ulrich and Odd knew that they had to act fast.
"I'll head over to Lyoko" Odd said wasting no time.
"And I'll stay here and keep in touch with Jeremie. Odd, be careful."
Odd ran to the front of the bus and tired opening the door. However, some mysterious force was pushing against him, trying to prevent him from escaping. Odd knew that the door could be forced open, it's just that he lacked the upper body strength to do so.
"Looks like I'm gonna need some serious muscle here if I hope I can get to the factory."
But then again, who could he call? Jim was in the back taking care of Mike's concussion and Ulrich, no offense to his best friend and all, but Ulrich wouldn't be able to make this thing budge either. There was only one person Odd knew who could help him get this thing open, and he really hated asking him for help.
"Hey Clayton! Help me get this door open!" Odd called out to his arch nemesis.
Clayton looked up at Odd and gave him an icy glare.
"Why should I help you?"
"It's because, if I don't get out of this bus now, then we're all gonna die!"
The urgency in Odd's voice proved to been enough to make the large man move to the front of the bus. Clayton and Odd both grabbed the edge of the door and began to pull for all they were worth. Slowly but surely, the door was forced open. Clayton held the door in place while Odd got in position to take his leap of faith.
"Wish me luck"
Odd jumped off the bus and hit the road at a high speed. His body rolled on the asphalt for a couple of feet before coming to a skidding halt. He stood up and cradled his arm which took the full force of the impact and watched the bus speed of into the distance.
Clayton soon let go of the door and watched it closed shut in front of him as he allowed his body to relax after straining it so much.
Ulrich witnessed Odd's demonstration of insanity and called Jeremie once more.
"Jeremie, are you in the factory yet?"
"Yes Ulrich I am, I sill can't pin point your location. Where are you now?"
Ulrich looked out his window and saw many familiar shops pass by.
"We just drove by the downtown shopping district."
That bit of information was all that Jeremie need to locate the bus on the city map.
"Ok I found you guys. Just give me a second to see where this bus is going."
The factory's computer began to process the information from the bus's computer system to see where it was going. A solid blue line traced the bus' path as Jeremie began to follow it with his eyes to its final destination. The line stopped at a very large building in the city and Jeremie knew all two well what that building was.
"Ulrich, XANA is taking the bus to the chemical plant!"
"WHAT?"
"I was able to hack into the bus's computer and that's where XANA is sending you guys. Ulrich try to keep things under control over there. I'm going to send Yumi and Jin into Lyoko so we can deactivate the tower."
"Speaking of that Jeremie, Odd is on his way to the factory."
"I thought he was in the bus with you?"
"Was is the key word here Jeremie. Odd jumped off just a few minutes ago."
"What is he crazy?" Jeremie asked completely shocked that Odd was so willing to do something..so..so..so stupid.
"Well he had to be. Any sane person would just chicken out and take shelter in the bus."
"And I thought Jin was the crazy risk taker."
"They both are Jeremie."
Suddenly both Ulrich and Jeremie heard the engine rev up again causing the bus to go even faster than before.
"Look Jeremie, I have to go, things are going to get real ugly here."
Ulrich hung up his cell phone and stood in the middle of the isle to command the occupant's attention.
"Listen everyone! We're going to be in for a bumpy ride. Hold on to your backpacks and use them as air bags. We're not out of the woods yet!""
Aelita are you there!" Jeremie called out to his virtual friend.
"Jeremie, XANA has just activated a tower in the desert region."
"I know, he's taken control over a bus and he's going to crash it into the chemical plant and Ulrich is still inside."
"Well then we just have to deactivate the tower then."
"Aelita, don't do anything until I send over help."
"Ok I will."
Jeremie began tapping his finger against his computer and waited for Yumi and Jin's arrival.
"Now where could they be?""
KIYA!" Yumi screamed as she threw her skateboard to the floor so she could mount it. Time was of the essence here and they couldn't waste a single second. Yumi approached the gap in the sewer in which she easily hopped over on her skate board and turned around to see how Jin would handle such a jump.
Jin wasn't as skillful at riding his skateboard as his sister was, but he did have his ways on overcoming certain obstecles like this jump in front of him. Jin hopped off his skateboard and held it tight with his right arm. He soon ran towards the gap and leaped into the air and placed the board at his feet at the last possible moment before impact. They reached the ladder and ran towards of the factory not missing a single beat, and grabbed onto the ropes and swung as far as they could towards the elevator. Yumi landed on her feet and slid to a stop while Jin was a little more flashy. Using the momentum he picked up while swinging, Jin threw all his weight backwards as he jumped from the rope. Jin's body arched in the air as he performed a graceful backflip, landing on the factory floor without a scratch on him.
"Show off" Yumi said joking as she boarded the elevator and folded her arms across her chest.
"To tell you the truth, that was the first time I ever tried something like that. Guess I got lucky." Jin answered back as he took his usual spot in the back of the elevator and leaned against the wall.
Jeremie stopped tapping his finger once he heard the elevator doors open revealing the two people he wanted to see the most.
"Lucy I'm home!" Jin yelled out in a phony Cuban accent. "You've got some splaining to do!"
Jeremie was well aware of the T.V. show that Jin was quoting.
"Real funny there Ricky Ricardo but your precious wife is down at the club looking for little Ricky. Now once you get your head out of T.V. land you might want to take a look at this."
Yumi saw a series of streets, buildings and a large, blue, holographic rectangle moving through the "streets" at a fast speed.
"Ok Jeremie, what's going on here?" Yumi asked perplexed by the sight before her.
Jeremie pointed at the moving rectangle. "That's the bus Ulrich and the other students are on." He then pointed at an even larger rectangle "And that's where XANA is taking them."
"A giant blue box?" Jin said confused unaware of the true location that the bus was going. "Big whoop and here I was worrying that..."
Jeremie had enough of Jin's sarcasm. "That big blue box is the town's chemical plant!" He yelled out hoping to put Jin in a more serious mood.
"Well that changes everything."
"Ok you two" Jeremie commanded. "Get to the scanners pronto."
Jin and Yumi both rode the elevator to the scanner room. Yumi mentally prepared herself for the upcoming battle and began to focus her thoughts so that when she entered Lyoko, she would be prepared for anything. It was weird for her, no matter how many times she went into that place, she was always a little bit nervous. However, her nervous couldn't compare to what Jin was feeling as she looked at the back of the elevator. Jin shut his eyes tightly and his breathing was at a rapid pace. If he was going to take the plunge in Lyoko, this was not the proper mind set that he should be in. Yumi walked over to her brother for a MUCH needed pep talk.
"Aniki, what's wrong?" Yumi asked, placing her hand on his shoulder.
"I'm just a little bit scared sis, I don't even know what Lyoko looks like or the challenges that I'm about to face their."
"Don't worry Aniki, you won't be alone. Aelita will be there waiting for us and of course, I'm be going with you. Once we team up there won't be enough monsters in Lyoko that could take us down! Right Aniki?"
Jin's confidence began to rebuild as he sister's words made him less and less fearful of his upcoming experience. Jin looked up at Yumi and started cracking his knuckles.
"Right Yumi!"
"That's good to hear." Yumi then leaned over and gave Jin a good luck hug which he kindly returned. The elevator door opened and revealed the three scanners in which Jin and Yumi soon approached.
"Let's knock them dead Aniki" Yumi said as she stepped out of the elevator.
Jeremie's voice was soon heard over the factory's speakers.
"Jin, under normal circumstances I would have Yumi give you a quick tutorial on how things work in Lyoko but seeing how we don't have enough time you'll just have to figure it out as you go along."
Jin flashed the thumbs up at the camera in the room. "Don't worry Jeremie, I'm a fast learner. Remember?"
Both Yumi and Jin stepped into their respected scanners so that Jeremie could begin the process.
"Transfer Yumi. Transfer Jin."
Jin felt a weird sensation in his body as the scanner that he was enclosed in started to hum loudly and a bright light shown underneath his feet.
"Scanner Yumi. Scanner Jin."
If Jin thought things were getting strange now then he was in for a BIG surprise. Slowly, he felt his entire body being lifted in the air as was spinning in circles. When he looked at his feet once more he noticed that his shoelaces were untied and stooped low to fix them not wanting to trip over them once he was in Lyoko.
Jeremie saw Jin do this through his computer and was worried about it.
"Jin wait! Don't..." But it was too late. The process was already complete and the characters were already uploaded. Looks like Jin will learn the hard way on what happens if you moved while being scanned.
"Virtualization!"
Yumi's body appeared first in Lyoko and she arrived without incident. She landed in the desert region and looked to the sky and awaited for the arrival of her brother.
Because Jin was bent over when he was virtualized, his body maintained that position when he was transferred to Lyoko. Instead of falling from a standing position, he was now plummeting to the earth in a belly flop.
"Wow that ground is coming up real quick." Was the last thought Jin had right before he landed on the surface of Lyoko face first.
Still lying on the ground, Jin began to speak to his sister.
"You were right sis, this is already becoming familiar to me. Though I do have to admit that Lyoko dirt taste different than dirt back home."
Aelita reached the area that Jin and Yumi were occupying and walked over to say hello.
"Good to see you Yumi."
"Good to see you too Aelita."
"Hey Aelita how have you been?" Jin asked, still face down in the sand.
"Yumi, your brother is indeed a strange individual." Aelita said quietly after observing his behavior.
"He is indeed"
It was at that moment that Jin finally stood up and began to take in the sights of Lyoko.
"Woah, look at this place! This is wild!"
"You'll get used to it Aniki. You'll be coming her a lot more often than you think."
Jin promptly turned his head towards Yumi and noticed the strange clothing she was wearing.
"Glad to see that you're still in touch with you're Japanese heritage" Jin commented.
Yumi used that time to inspect Jin's outfit also and taken back by his choice in clothing.
"Nice threads, Jin."
Unlike the previous characters before him, Jin's outfit was a very simple but elegant one. He wore a pair of black dress shoes and slacks. A black shirt worn underneath a long-sleeves, white dress shirt decorated his torso. But the most unusual feature of the entire outfit was that Jin was wearing a pair of sunglasses to go along with the whole look.
"So Aniki, what made you chose that outfit for Lyoko."
"Don't underestimate it sis. These clothes allow to move as freely as I like and plus they look pretty cool."
"But why are you wearing sunglasses? Just to make you look cool?"
"Actually that was Jeremie's idea."
"What?"
"It's true Yumi" Jeremie said over the intercom. "You see, although the holomap that I have in the factory only gives me a rough idea on what's going on in Lyoko. Jin's shades give me a first-person view of all the action so I can better see what's going on."
"Oh you mean as if there was a camera attached to them." Yumi said as she began to understand their function.
"That's exactly it. I'd love to tell you more about Jin's character but we have a tower to deactivate, so get going guys."
"So where are we going Aelita?" Jin asked trying to make sense of everything around him.
"We're going to deactivate that tower on the other side of the desert."
Aelita pointed at a tall glowing tower in the distance that was across a giant sea of sand.
"We should get going now."
Aelita was the first one to depart from the platform that they were standing on and left through the use of a slanted rock. Jin and Yumi followed by sliding on the granite slab and made their way to the tower. The team walked a few more feet until Yumi noticed something strange about Jin...his hands were empty.
"Jin, are you unarmed?" Yumi asked worried thinking that Jin's weapon was lost in the transfer. "Or do you relay on your fist and feet to take out XANA's monsters?"
"As much as I love martial arts, fighting a group of monsters with my bare hands would not be a wise move. So yes Yumi, I am packing some serious weaponry."
"Then why are your hands empty."
"It would be a hassle for me to carry it around." It was now Jin's turn to notice something strange.
"Hey guys. Did any of you realize that we're getting pretty close to the tower and I have yet to see a single monster?"
"You're right Aniki!" Yumi said as she saw the truth. "It's like he's waiting to ambush us or something.
No sooner did Yumi finish her statement did a giant sandstorm begin to form behind them.
"Let's jet people!" Jin yelled reminiscent of the time when he was being chased by a giant teddy bear.
The group tried to run away from the storm but were soon blinded by its fury. Aelita, Yumi and Jin could barely see what was in front of them. Preparing for the worse, Yumi drew out her fan and was itching for a fight. Jin looked over at his sister's weapon of choice and decided to make a comment.
"Great Yumi, you brought a fan in the middle of the desert. Maybe you could blow all this sand back in the OTHER direction."
"Don't knock the fan just yet. In my hands, this thing is a deadly weapon.
Jeremie watched the holomap and tracked the positions of all the occupants in Lyoko and saw that they were dangerously close to the edge.
"Guys watch your step, if you fall into the abyss then you will be virutalized forever!"
Jin was instantly alarmed by Jeremie's warning.
"Wait did he just say if we fall then we'll be a permanent part of the real estate?"
"Yes he did Aniki."
"This place gets more dangerous by the minute."
The sandstorm cleared just as quickly as it appeared allowing an eerie calm to beset Lyoko. This was only ploy that XANA used to launch his second attack on the team. Giant fault lines began forming on the desert's surface breaking up the solid land into several individual islands.
"XANA has just laid a trap for us!" Yumi yelled seeing how her group was now on a little piece of land separated from the tower.
"Ok, so how are we gonna get out of this one? Sprout wings and fly?" Jin said not liking the situation one bit.
"We can't do anything, but Aelita can."
"What?"
"Show him."
Aelita got on both of her knees and began to sing a distorted, angelic sounding song. Jin looked behind him and saw land bridge begin to form right before his eyes.
"Wow, that's a REAL useful power!"
"Yep, Aelita her can alter the landscape to whatever she want's but she's loses fifty life points when she does it."
Jin remembered the small lecture Jeremie gave him about the importance of life points in Lyoko.
"Well since she used it, that means we gotta start treating this girl with kid gloves."
Yumi took the lead as the group crossed the land bridge and made their way to the tower once more. She heard a loud rumbling behind her and saw that XANA had unleashed yet another sandstorm behind them but stopped in their tracks once they heard a low rumbling noise that was getting louder by the second.
"Jeremie! Is XANA, releasing another seismic attack the he did before?" Yumi asked while pondering the origin of the noise.
"No Yumi, that's a Mega Tank coming straight for you!"
In no time flat the sandstorm cleared revealing the sliver spherical tank that was chasing them. The three of them stopped near a large rock formation and waited for the tank to make the first move. Sure enough, the tank stopped rolling and revealed its weak point, only to begin charging up for its powerful laser blast.
"This has bad news written all over it." Jin said as he watched the tank power up. "JUMP!"
Jin and Aelita dove to the right while Yumi jumped in the opposite direction. The tank was expecting the group to take evasive action first and at the last possible moment before it fired, it spun on its axis and launched its killer wave that was aimed directly at Yumi.
"YUMI!" Aelita cried out worried about her friend's safety as she struggled to get up. The tank then charged up for another attack and Jin used this time to try to rescue her. Jin got up and began running for all that he was worth to get her out of harms way but saw his path cut off by another horrific orange wave.
"SIS!" Jin cried out as he watched Yumi's body slowly fade away from Lyoko. Upset with his failure to protect his family, Jin pounded his fist into the floor out of anger and stared down the Mega Tank.
"YOU METALLIC ASSHOLE!" Jin screamed, blinded by his rage after just losing his sister to the monster that was standing before him. 'YOU KILLED YUMI YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS!"
Jeremie could only phantom what Jin had in store for the tank. He had to bring him back to his senses, if Jin was eliminated now, then Aelita would be all alone, a prime target.
"Jin cool it!"Jeremie said with authority.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN COOL IT! I'M GONNA SEND THIS BASTARD BACK TO THE HOLE HE CAME CRAWLING OUT OF!"
Jin kept telling himself that this was only a virtual program but deep down inside, he was burning with rage. He reached into his left shoulder with his right hand and the right side of his waist with his left hand. His over shirt concealed the objects that he was holding onto. He stared at the Mega Tank with a murderous intent and thus began a stand off between the two enemies.
"Jin, don't be rash here. You're sister is still alive. She's in the factory with me."
Jermie succeed in calming down Jin as he heard him let out a sigh of relief.
"You shouldn't fight the Mega Tank head on, you're too green. Even Ulrich, Odd and Yumi have a hard time taking that thing out. It's one of XANA's strongest monsters. You have to keep your head level here Jin. You're first priority is to take care of Aelita."
Jeremie looked through the video provided by Jin's sunglasses and saw the tanks preparing for its third attack.
"Jin, get Aelita to safety now!"
Jin pulled his arms out of his shirt and narrowly spun out of beam's wave as he grabbed Aelita and took cover behind the rock formation nearby. The wave passed harmlessly by and struck nothing but air
"Welcome to Lyoko." Jin said to himself as he continued to take shelter behind the rock.
Sissy felt sick ever since Yumi called her. She never realized how much grief she caused Ulrich when her intentions were just the opposite. All she wanted was to have a positive relationship with him and stole his diary just to get his attention. But now she made things worse between the two of them. She wouldn't be surprised if Ulrich would never look her way again after today. She needed to make amends with him.
"Ulrich" She called out trying to get the boy's attention. "Listen, I know what I did was wrong but I just wanted to spend more time with you without being made fun of or insulted. I would just like to say that I'm sorry for what I did and if you never wish to speak to me again...that's ok" At least Sissy thought that if her contact with Ulrich was going to be severed, the she would end in on a semi-positive note.
Ulrich looked at the girl's pleading eyes. Sissy was not faking it this time, she was indeed sorry for her actions.
"I forgive you Sissy." Ulrich said not wanting to be too harsh on the girl.
"Thank you" it only came out as a whisper but it was loud enough for Ulrich to hear as he nodded his head before walking away.
Odd entered the elevator and lowered himself into the computer room.
"You know Jeremie." Odd said, not bothering to introduce himself. "I've always wanted to jump off of a speeding bus like they do in the movies, but now that I've tried it, I'm gonna let the professionals handle it for now on. That stuff really hurts."
"Odd!" Yumi said more relieved by his entrance than annoyed. "You showed up at just at the right time."
"How are things looking in Lyoko?"
"Bad, real bad. Jin is with Aelita and is pinned down behind a rock by a Mega Tank"
"Well I gotta get going them."
It took Odd no time to locate the scanner room and prepared himself for his departure to Lyoko.
"Transfer Odd"
Odd closed his eyes as Jeremie began the all too delicate process to send him into the virtual world.
"Scanner Odd"
Jeremie uploaded Odd's character into Lyoko and pressed the return key.
"Virtualization!"
Various cables were exposed on the floor as Jim and James were tying to cut the bus's power off. Armed with a pair of wire cutters, Jim wasted no time in cutting a long gray cord.
"HA! Man beats machine!" Jim said striking a heroic pose. However, James knew better.
"You fool, that wasn't the power cord! That was the wire for the door! Now we're stuck in here."
Ulrich thought that now was the best time to tell the two adults on the bus about their current situation.
"Look you two, we have find a way out of here or else this bus is going to crash into the chemical plant!"
"How do you know all of this?" Jim asked, now curious of how Ulrich acquired his information.
"Jeremie told me"
"Well then how does Jeremie know?"
Not in the mood for a Q&A session, Ulrich shifted the conversation to a more pressing matter.
"That doesn't matter right now Jim. We have to find a way to get off this bus!"
Ulrich dialed Jeremie's cell phone to get an update on what's been happening in Lyoko.
"Jeremie, how much time do we have till the bus reaches the plant?"
"Ten minutes!"
"And how are things looking in Lyoko."
"I've just sent Odd down there to help Jin and Aelita out. Both of them have one-hundred life points."
"And Yumi?"
"She was the first to be devertulize after meeting the business of a Mega Tank."
"Ulrich!" He heard a female voice called out his name and saw that it was Sissy.
"Is there anyway I can help you guys out?"
Ulrich tossed Sissy his cell phone which she caught easily.
"I'm going to help Jim and the bus driver get this thing to stop. In the meantime your going to serve as the relay between us and Jeremie."
"Ok I will"
Sissy held up the cell phone to her ear and walked to the middle of the bus to get the student's attention.
"Ok listen up everyone!" She yelled in order to take charge. "I'm in contact with Jeremie. He knows where this bus is going right now. So everybody stay calm and listen to my directions and maybe we'll see this thing trough in one piece!"
Ulrich watched Sissy effortlessly command the student's as she exhibited her leadership skills.
"Now that's more like it Sissy."
Odd hit the virtual ground running and began making his way to the rock that Jeremie indicated that Jin and Yumi were behind. Odd leapt from island to island making sure that every jump he made was percise and would not send him tumbling into the virtual abyss below. He ran across the land bridge that Aelita made and spotted the rock nearby.
"Hey Jeremie, I thought you said that they were being pinned down by a Mega Tank?"
"I did." Jeremie looked at his holomap to confirm his statement but saw that the area was void of enemies. "Hmm...looks like it must have ran off somewhere. No matter, just meet up with Jin and Aelita so you guys can deactivate the stood behind the rock along with Aelita not knowing if the Mega Tank was still out there. Suddenly Jin heard some footsteps nearby.
"Great, XANA has just sent some more reenforcements! Stay back Aelita, I'll take care of this!"
Aelita heard the footsteps too but noticed something different about them. They didn't produce the same mechanical hum like a normal crab and block would. These footsteps sound almost...HUMAN! Aelita knew that the person approaching was not an enemy but just the opposite, an ally, an ally that Jin was about to attack mistakenly.
"Jin wait!" But it was too late, Jin had already turned around from his hiding spot to attack the purple enemy running towards him."KIYA!"
Odd saw a medium sized foot shoot straight at his face but fortunately for him, his cat-like reflexes took over and allowed him to step back and dodge the kick. Jin stood in the middle of the desert in mid side kick with his leg still extended not knowing how close he was in striking his friend.
"Yo watch it Bruce Lee! I'm on your side!"
Jin recognized the voice when he first heard it.
"Odd?"
"The one and only. You know Jin, most people just say hello when they see each other. Kicking someone in the head is not an appropriate greeting."
"Sorry about that Odd, ever since my sister got devirtualized, I've been on edge lately."
"I can see that, you almost took my head off with that kick."
Odd took a quick glace at Jin's character.
"So this is what I've been waiting for huh? You've taking some fashion tips from Dirk I can see that."
"Hey, don't even put me in the same category as that low-life."
"Ok geez, it's just that I was expecting a little more from you." Odd said slightly disappointed.
"Don't worry you'll get to see my REAL combat abilities once we start fighting. Speaking of real combat Odd." Jin asked confused by his surroundings. "By any chance have you seen a Mega Tank around here? I could have sworn that there was one shooting at us."
Odd spotted a giant fault line forming behind Jin as he was asking his question.
"No but I see that something really bad is going to happen to Aelita if we don't move it!"
Jin quickly made a one-hundred and eighty degree and saw Aelita lose her balance and the Earth beneath her began to split apart. Both Odd and Jin reacted in time as they each grabbed one of her arms and pulled her to safety.
"Good work Odd!" Jeremie congratulated him for saving Aelita's life.
"Don't worry Jeremie, your princess is unharmed. We'll keep her safe for you."
Before Jeremie could defend himself from Odd's cheep shot, he picked up another sandstorm forming in Lyoko.
"Guys you better watch out..."
"We know, we know Einstein a sandstorm is coming. We can see that." Odd said watching the sand begin to kick up again in the desert.
"Man is XANA a one-trick pony ? He's already did this bit twice already!" Jin cried out is disbelief.
"Ok talk to me Jeremie" Sissy said, speaking into Ulrich's cell phone.
"The bus is about to make a left turn."
"Ulrich! Jeremie said that the bus will make a left turn!"
Ulrich rememberd a lecture about centrifical force that Mrs. Hertz gave him a few days ago. Knowing that the bus's weight will actually shift to the right, he hopped over a few students that were huddled over in fear and pressed his body against the bus's right window.
"Ok everyone get to the right side of the bus NOW!" Ulrich commanded the occupants.
The students wasted no time in following Ulrich's directions to avoid any further injury. Jim ran to the back of the bus and picked up Mike's still unconscious body and slung it over his shoulder before bracing himself for the upcoming turn. Just as Jeremie predicated, the bus veered left pressing it's occupants to the side of the wall. It soon ended its turn and allowed the people inside to re-group.
Ulrich grabbed his cell phone from Sissy so he could speak to Jeremie.
"Ok Jer. how much time do we have left now?"
"Two minutes but don't panic Ulrich. Jin and Odd are almost at the tower."
Ulrich handed the phone back to Sissy before patting her on the shoulder.
"You're doing a great job here. Keep it up."
Sissy gave Ulrich a confident look and placed the receiver to her ear.
"Ok Jeremie, what do I do now?"
Odd and Jin had abandoned all plans that involved them fighting the Mega Tank and instead decided to make a tactical retreat. Jin saw a large gray cylinder nearby that had a red aura around it.
"Hey Odd, is that the tower?" Jin asked as he watched him drag Aelita behind him so she would be able to keep up.
"Why yes it is but do you see a problem here Jin?"
Jin looked at the area between the tower and the island that they were running on and saw a giant ravine.
"Yep, nothing but air over there. Looks like we're going to have to jump!"
Aelita was horrified by Jin's suggestion.
"Odd, I don't think I can leap that far."
"Don't worry princess, I'll help you get across but you're gonna have to hold on to me tightly until I tell you to let go" he said in a reassuring tone of voice.
Jin could see what Odd had in store for Aelita and was a little concerned.
"Odd, you're not going to..."
"Do I have a choice?"
Seeing no other solution, Jin had no choice but to follow.
"Ok then, I'll go ahead. How good is your aim Odd?"
"Better than you think."
"Well then show me."
Jin sprinted ahead and jumped as far as he could. He flipped forward in the air twice before sticking his landing on the other side.
"Ok Odd, do your stuff!" He yelled from across the ravine.
Odd grabbed both of Aelita's hands and began to spin in circles like an Olympian performing the hammer toss. Odd's momentum began to build as he turned faster and faster watching Aelita rise into the air.
"NOW!" Odd yelled after his final spin telling Aelita to let go. With one last heave, Odd sent Aelita soaring over the gap and watched Jin catch her and set her on the ground gently before jumping over to the other side himself. The Mega Tank, unable to control its rolling in the sandstorm simply rolled off the cliff.
"BAM! How you like them apples?" Jin taunted the defeated tank from the top of the cliff. He watched Aelita run past him and disappear into the tower and sat down of the floor for a well deserved rest.
"So Odd, what do we do now?"
"We wait and hope for the best."
Ulrich could see the chemical plant just outside his window. It would only be a matter of time before the bus would arrive there.
"EVERYONE TO THE LEFT!" Sissy yelled causing all the passengers to move to the left side once again. The turn quickly ended and that's when Jim took action.
"That's it! The only way we're getting out of here is if we jump out the window!" He said to James who was standing beside him.
"Jim if you jump out of the bus at this speed you might die!"
"Well jumping off the bus where I MIGHT die sounds a whole lot better than staying on the bus where I WILL die. We have to get these kids out of here! This maybe our last chance."
Jim struggled to get the window to the bus open but it just wouldn't budge.
"Great, when I cut the cord that operated the door, it must have been the same cord that controls the windows! We'll never get this thing open now."
"Then we'll just have to find our own way in opening it then" said a mysterious voice that was behind Jim.
Jim turned around to see which student said that and was surprised to see who it was.
"DIRK?"
"Yes, it's me, control yourselves." Despite being faced with certain death, Dirk was still just as calm and cold as he always was.
"Why are you here?" Jim asked confused by the boy's sudden entrance.
"I'm here to get that window open so you and the rest of the students can get off this death machine. I'm no hero but then again I don't want this bus to be the cause of my early demise."
"I'm speechless." Jim said not knowing what to say at Dirk's "kind" gesture.
"Save it Jim and give me room." Dirk waited for all the students surrounding him to back away so he wouldn't hit anybody.
"KEEP CLEAR!"
Dirk spun clockwise and threw and spinning roundhouse kick at the window striking it with his right heel. He left a gigantic crack in it but the window pane did not break.
"The window is still there Dirk." Jim said stating the obvious.
"That was just the warm up shot." Dirk assumed his fighting stance once more and prepared the deliver the coup de grace to the sheet of thick glass.
"EVERYONE, KEEP YOUR HEADS DOWN. THIS MAY GET UGLY!"
Dirk took a few steps back and ran at the widow to pick up speed. He then jumped in the air and grabbed onto the ledge provided by the overhead compartment and suspended himself in the air. Using the speed he generated, Dirk swung forward and dropkicked the window with both of his feet right in the center of the crack he created before. The piece of glass then shattered into a million pieces allowing free access to the outside.
"Maybe this bus wasn't as good as I thought it was" Jim said to himself as he saw how easily Dirk destroyed the window.
Jim looked out the gapping hole that Dirk created and saw how fast the street really was moving and lost all his nerve to jump.
"Never mind children we're gonna have to stay inside the bus!" Jim was still frighted and leaned a little too far forward causing his upper body to slip over the banister.
"JIM" The students inside screamed. James, Sissy and Dirk were the first to grab onto Jim's dangling legs to try to pull him back into the bus but they were losing the tug of war and were in danger of falling outside too.
Dirk rested his feet against the wall and looked at the back of the bus.
"CLAYTON, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? GET OVER HERE NOW OR ELSE THE FOUR OF US ARE GONNA DIE!"
Clayton rushed to his friend's aid and grabbed Jim's left leg. The four individuals then pulled Jim back inside the bus. James walked over to Jim and had a slight smile on his face.
"I'd hate to say that I told you so but I told you so."
Sissy pointed to the front of the bus and screamed.
"This is it guys, we're in the chemical plant!"
Aelita entered the tower and brought up a familiar looking computer screen.
AELITA
"This is it!" Ulrich screamed.
"Why did I become a bus driver in the first place. My mother always said I should be a lawyer but NOOOOO I just HAD to be a bus driver and look where its landed me now!" James yelled to himself.
The other students inside said their last words and professed any secrets they would wish to get off all their chest to before they pass on but only one student in the entire bus remained perfectly still and almost looked like he didn't care that he was going to die.
"Dirk, you don't care about dying?" Clayton asked his stone-faced friend.
"Do you think that this is my punishment for the way I lived my life?"
"It could be?"
"Well then...this is fate that I shall justly receieve."
Clayton just stood there silently and watch the bus draw ever closer to crashing.
"Besides, it's like what they say. It's better to burn out than to fade away."
LYOKO
"Return to the past now!" Jeremie yelled as he hit the return key on his keyboard.
"Yumi?" Ulrich was pleasantly surprised by the girl's presence.
Yumi was still a little uneasy about what she was doing. She had rehearsed the scene several times in her head and vowed that she would treat this in a clam, collected manner.
Her vow was broken in 4.5 seconds flat.
She just decided to just get it over with to prevent any future embarrassment.
"Here you go" she said quickly not looking Ulrich in the eye.
"My diary! Thanks Yumi!"
"Don't worry, I didn't read it incase you were wondering."
"Maybe I'll share them with you sometime in the near future."
Yumi blushed after hearing Ulrich's suggestion and couldn't think straight. "That..that would be nice."
"Look I gotta go."
Ulrich left to go to his room but stopped to turn around to face Yumi one more time. As he stared deeply into her eyes he was about to say something to her. He opened his lips to tell her something but ran back to his room.
Maybe he wasn't quite read to share ALL of his secrets with her. Not yet.
Yumi was still thinking about the moment when their eyes met and was too preoccupied to notice that Jin had snuck up behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"That was a good thing you did sis."
"ANIKI? Were you watching?"
"I saw enough of it."
"Well it's not what you think" Yumi stammered in an effort to defend herself but only succeeded in making herself more guilty.
"Listen Yumi, this is not my battlefield. This is your choice and your choice alone because in the end, you'll be living with the consequences, good or bad but I will tell you this."
"What?"
"He is a good person for you. Just try not to rush things until you absolutely know that your ready for a long term relationship."
Jin walked away leaving his sister alone to think about the advice he just gave her.
Sissy leaned against the wall near Ulrich's door with a smug look on her face. Today was going to be the happiest day in her life for she will share it with the person that she desire's the most and there was no way her plan could fail. She took special care to make sure no one saw where she hid his diary.
"Sissy, good to see you here." Ulrich greeted her with a smile.
Sissy looked down and saw the green notebook that he held in his arms. The sight totally disgusted her and she stomped to her room in defeat. Ulrich watched Sissy leave before entering his room proudly showing his diary to Odd and Jeremie.
"ALRIGHT!" The two boys celebrated. Another crisis averted.
END
Well if there was an artist reading this fic, there are a few scenes in my series that I would like for them to draw since they all are, in my opinon very memorable. If you have your own ideas, feel free to share them with me. Yeah I know most of the do involve Jin, Dirk and Clayton. That's because these are all original scenes. You guys already know the episodes to death. Note: I do have an official "description" of Dirk and Clayton that I have failed to mention in my fic. If you want to know what they look like "officially" then ask. If not, just use your imaginations I'm intrested on how you guys picture the two bullies of Kadic Junior High.
Code Lyoko: A Retelling (The Pictures)
Visit my website in my profile for the complete list of scenes that I wish to be drawn.
Outtaks
"Dirk, why did you call me up here?" Ulrich asked wondering why Dirk summoned him to come to the balcony
"No use getting violent...yet. Let me ask you something."
The suspense shared between the two of them was unbearable and Dirk was the first to crack.
"Do these shoes make me look fat?"
Ulrich and Clayton fainted at the stupidity of Dirk's question.
Rejected Lyoko Personas for Jin (in no particular order)
1. Darkwing Duck
2. Michael Jackson (he would be able to make all the monsters on Lyoko dance)
3. Mr. Rogers
4. Batman
5. Bicycle Repair Man
6. A Mime
7. Robin Hood
8. Freakazoid
9. The Green Ranger (With Dragonzord and all)
10. Barney the Dinosaur
"Ok Sissy it's going to make a left turn so everyone should move to the right."
Sissy nodded on the other side of the line and raised her hand to command all the passengers.
"EVERYONE, TO THE LEFT!"
The students got on the right side of the bus and were slammed on the opposite wall when the bus veered to the left.
"Sissy I said right!"
"Oops, sorry Jeremie. I always get my left confused with my right."
Ulrich hung his head in shame.
"Why did I choose that girl? WHY?"
"DIRK?" Jim said surprised by the boys sudden entrance.
"Yes, it's me, control yourselves." Despite being faced with certain death, Dirk was still just as calm and cold as he always was.
"Why are you here?" Jim asked confused by the boy's sudden entrance.
"I'm here to get that window open so you and the rest of the students can get off this bus. I'm no hero but then again I don't want this bus to be the cause of my early demise. Now back away everyone!"
Dirk rubbed his hands together and assumed his fighting stance.
"Open now, please!"
The window did not budge.
"Well I'm out of ideas."
Jim slapped his forehead.
"We're all gonna die"
"Don't worry Ulrich. I didn't read your diary."
"Really?"
"Psyche! Ah man I got so much dirt on you!"
"Why do I get all the psycho chicks?" Ulrich thought to himself.
Words on the Chapter
Well first off, if there are any readers who are still wondering about Jin's appearance, just remember I have his picture on my computer ready to share. I'm just a little surprised to see that no one has asked me for it yet. You guys must have healthy imaginations or something. In case you were wondering, I don't own ANY episdoes of Code Lyoko and I am writing all of these chapters by memory. So if I get somethings wrong, that's my memory going haywire.
Ok please don't flame me if your going to talk about how Jin looks like Serpah from the Matrix because I did not base that design off of him. The two outfits just came out looking similar. Believe me when I say this, I did not intentionally set out to copy that look. Now one of the real reasons why I chose that to be Jin's outfit was because it was easy to describe and picture in your minds. The outfits used in Lyoko are very hard to describe in a fanfic and if I were to give Jin a "real" Lyoko outfit, then I would have to spend an entire paragraph describing it and I know you guys don't want that. Finally concerning Jin's character. I know I'm pulling at your heart strings so you could see Jin kick some XANA behind but Logbook was not a good episode for Jin to make his debut but I couldn't find a good way for Jin to skip out on this trip to Lyoko so you'll have to wait for the next chapter.
Ok I just got a review from Trake that I would like to respond to and he raises an important issue. He was a little disappointed that I didn't give Odd a good action scene like the others in my series but he was especially referring to Episode 1.5 "Deja Vu's Recruit and I would like to explain myself for this decesion.
Many of Odd's best action scenes take place in Lyoko. I swear that guy gets virtualized so many times, so its really hard for me to give him scenes outside of it when he's in Lyoko when all the trouble is happening. Plus in the series, Odd is not the target of that many XANA attacks, nor is he that gung ho in rushing off to a battle in the real world. Next, I only wanted Dirk to be able to hire two students to attack the heroes because if I gave him more, then he would look like the Godfather of Kadic Junior high. He has connections, but they don't run THAT deep. Now the reason why Odd didn't get to fight in that episode was that first, Dirk knew Odd could fight so he wouldn't waste his surprise attack on him. If you were Dirk and you wanted to do some REAL damage, you would attack the weakest member of the group which would be Jeremie. Now the reason why Odd didn't contribute to the fight was because his friends finished off their opponents in maybe one or two moves so that the fight was over before it began. Now to all you Odd fans out there who are disappointed with his portrayal here I would like to apologize and I would like to say that I don't hate Odd's character. I am trying to look for ways to give Odd his moment to shine so don't worry.
See people I actually do read your reviews, you're input matters to me.
Finally, like the outtakes? I've notice that you people loved them so now I'll include them at the end of every chapter. Ask and you shall receive, that is if I can provide it for you. Once again thanks for reading and I'll be working hard on the next chapter.
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