"I guess you're right. Go on then, but promise me you'll be careful."
"You know me..."
She didn't even knock on his door, and he almost jumped out of his chair.
Damn it, he was talking to Aelita! Couldn't she at least have some respect for his privacy? He closed the window in a hurry.
"Oh, it's you."
"We have to go to the factory now."
Yumi had been acting really weird that day. First, she had passed out after being devirtualized on Lyoko. Jérémie and his friends had to carry her all the way to the infirmary - not an easy job, considering she was the oldest of them. Well, not that the kid who always missed PE class had done any actual work, anyway. At the cafeteria, she had even suggested Ulrich go out with Sissi after class - and given how much Jérémie knew about Yumi and Ulrich, those were some certain early signs of madness.
Yumi didn't have many friends at school. She kind of just appeared there one day. She was 11 at the time and her father had just got a promotion, which meant they could send her to a better school. And one that was actually near their house, too - Kadic was a boarding school, but Yumi could just walk to school everyday. But she didn't manage to fit in. Even though her family moved to France when she was just 2, Yumi noticed that what she saw at home was different from what she learned in school, and the other kids knew she was different. She was always wearing black, and that also made her stand out.
She didn't wear black because of some alignment with goth movements or things like that - it was just how she liked to dress. It went well with her shyness. And the problems she faced at home - having to take care of her brother because her parents were always arguing...
Well, in these three years, she hadn't made a single friend. She didn't like going to school because it always felt like everyone was talking behind her back, judging her. But that changed when she met Ulrich.
It was kind of a chance encounter, really. Back when she started studying at Kadic, Ulrich was the only one of their group who was already there. His parents worked a lot and didn't have much time for him, the reason why they sent him to a boarding school at an early age. In some ways, he was a lot like Yumi: a kid with his feelings and insecurity bottled up inside. But, somehow, he managed to turn that into popularity - probably because he spent a lot of time practicing sports. He figured he wouldn't benefit much from studying, anyway.
He liked soccer, but he loved martial arts even more. Just like Yumi. Both considered it an excellent way to unwind, with all the troubles they faced. One day, they both went to a martial arts class with Jim, the PE teacher, and they hit it off almost instantly. Almost literally, too.
Later, because of Lyoko, not only Ulrich, but also Jérémie and Odd had become her friends. All of them one grade below, and all of them boys. But it didn't matter - it was good to know she had friends.
Odd was the son of some rich Italian artists who were always traveling and needed to dump their son somewhere, but at a place where he could also develop his creative skills. Jérémie came from a humble, small town and only went to Kadic because he got a scholarship there - in fact, he had also skipped one grade. Jérémie had also found Lyoko, a virtual world inside a supercomputer, and was madly in love with Aelita, an AI, trying everyday to find a way to materialize her. Weird, but those were Yumi's friends. Maybe she felt they were weird like her.
She spent more time with Ulrich than with the other three. Maybe because they were always training together, but they genuinely enjoyed each other's company. It was like there was something special. Both of them had this special feeling when they were together, and they knew the other one felt the same way. It was some weird, tacit commitment.
But they didn't dream of breaking the silence. It was kind of weird, actually: Yumi didn't have anyone to share these thoughts with. Her mother, maybe, but she had lived in an entirely different situation. None of her friends were girls. With whom would she talk about boys? So she confided to Jérémie. He was the most responsible of the trio, and even though he couldn't make eye contact with someone of the opposite sex, he was the most used to talking to girls because of Aelita. Granted, she wasn't really 'real' - but why bother with such details? Jérémie was a good listener, and it's not like they didn't have anything in common. He didn't have any friends before Lyoko, too. And he used the opportunities to confide to her about Aelita.
That's how he knew something was definitely off about Yumi - never would she have said something like that to Ulrich. Knowing her, she wouldn't have said anything to Ulrich at all. He was talking to Aelita to see if there was anything off in Lyoko, and, if necessary, he would send Ulrich and Odd right away.
He was used to having Yumi come over to his room, but, sheesh, she could've at least knocked! It wasn't exactly pleasant being interrupted in the middle of a conversation with Aelita. She could've caught him in the middle of an embarassing conversation...
"Oh no. Forget it. First of all, there's no reason to go. And second, you have to rest."
"I have to go to the scanner room."
"No. Nobody's going back to Lyoko until I give the order. It's too dangerous."
Maybe he'd been too rude with this last answer. But it didn't matter. With Yumi acting the way she was, he needed to get the message across. No way he was going to let his guard down.
She put a hand on his shoulder and turned his chair around.
"Hey... it's important, you hear? I have to go back to the scanner room." She laid a hand on his chest and her tone of voice had changed. This was not what Jérémie was used to.
"Uh, Yumi...? What are you trying to...?"
"Shh..." She took off his glasses. His mind sounded an alarm, and the red lights were his blushing cheeks. What on Earth was she doing? At least he had closed his chat window with Aelita. Or maybe this wouldn't be happening if Aelita were there to interfere, even though she'd just be a face on his monitor.
"I... I'm not sure if this is a good idea. You should go home and get some rest..."
"Come on... take me to the scanner room..."
Her last sentence was almost a whisper. She pouted her lips, which were approaching Jérémie's face at terminal velocity.
"B-b-b-but, uh, y-you should go home and take a b-bath! No, a cold shower! Very cold! Very, very, very cold! To calm you down!"
Her hands were on his knees. What could he do? He never expected Yumi to do something like this! Maybe this was the reason why she'd said that to Ulrich earlier...?
He wished for someone to open that door and put an end to this madness. But nobody came, and soon his lips met hers.
...it was weird. They felt cold. Is this how kisses are? It certainly wasn't what he expected - but he didn't have time to think about that. He closed his eyes, almost losing his breath. He felt a tongue other than his. Jérémie's head was swirling too fast to understand anything, and he nearly passed out.
And then he literally passed out, being clocked on the head with his mouse. So much for his first kiss...
A welcoming slap from Odd made him come to. "Jérémie, what are you doing sleeping on the floor?"
"And have you seen Yumi?" Ulrich continued
"Yumi? ...Aelita!"
Odd and Ulrich looked at each other, not understanding what was happening. Jérémie quickly opened his chat window with Aelita.
"Aelita! Are you OK?"
"Oh, Jérémie, finally! I found out what XANA's been up to. But you have to hurry to the factory, before Y-"
The connection was cut.
"Before what? Aelita! Oh no, this can't be! Guys, we have to go to the factory right now!"
"Well, but what about Yumi? Shouldn't we go look for her first?" Ulrich asked.
"Uh... Ulrich... I think it's better if we go without her for now... Besides... I have a bad feeling about all this..."
"You mean you think we should just leave her? In the state she's in?"
"Trust me, Ulrich... I... can't explain to you right now, but we have to get to the factory ASAP."
They arrived at the factory, only to find several cables disconnected.
"How did XANA manage to do this?" Ulrich gasped.
"I think I might have a clue..." Odd answered. Jérémie sighed.
"Odd, you don't mean...!"
Jérémie reconnected a cable. "Aelita! Aelita! Can you hear me?"
"Jérémie! I found out what was going on! It's a Guardian! The real Yumi's trapped here on Lyoko! The one you guys are seeing must be some kind of clone!"
Jérémie sighed with regret. Ulrich sighed with relief.
"Seeing? But we're not seeing her anywhere!" said Odd.
"...Odd, can you find and link the RCR389 cable for me? It's that one over there..."
"Got it!" A camera screen showing the scanner room popped among the warnings in the supercomputer. In it, they saw Yumi - or something that looked like her - trying to disconnect the scanner cables. Jérémie quickly got up and linked some other loose wires.
"Oh no, she's already going to disconnect one scanner! Odd, Ulrich, quick, get to the other two scanners! If we can take XANA by surprise, I can have enough time to virtualize you two. I'll deal with Yumi later!"
"Are you sure you're up to the job?" Odd asked.
"Would you rather see me on Lyoko?"
"Point taken. Let's go, Ulrich!"
The two opened the hatch to the scanner room and slipped into the two cabins. Jérémie closed the scanner doors, notifying XANA of their presence.
"Virtualization!"
Well, now those two were on Lyoko. But still, he couldn't sit and do nothing - if XANA disconnected the other scanners, there would be no way for them to come back. Yumi looked directly at the camera. He took a deep breath and went in the elevator.
The elevator doors opened and he found Yumi facing him.
"Missed me?" A cold finger ran through his face.
"I didn't know you had a sense of humor."
She let out a weird, somewhat evil laugh and tried to punch Jérémie, but he dodged. The second one, however, sent him to the floor.
"...I thought this was going to be easier..."
Meanwhile, in Lyoko, Aelita, Odd and Ulrich stood before the Guardian. "It's a sort of digital jail", Aelita explained.
"I can't destroy it with my weapons", Ulrich said.
"I can create a clone, a false image of Yumi to try to convince the Guardian that he's mistaken." Aelita sang, using her Creativity to create another Yumi. The Guardian, tricked by the image, released the real one.
"Yumi..." Ulrich whispered.
"...what? What happened?"
"Sorry, no time to explain. We have to deactivate the tower," Odd answered.
"Jérémie's not responding... I don't understand. I have the feeling that something's wrong..."
"He's all alone with the other one. If she destroys the scanner, it's all over."
"What other one? Who wants to wreck the scanners?" Yumi asked. Odd explained the situation to her.
One of the scanners was already out of commission.
"What if something happens to Jérémie and we don't manage to deactivate the tower in time? This is serious! One of us has to go back to reality right away, we don't have much time!"
It was actual concern for Jérémie. She and Ulrich agreed that she would be the one to help him.
She arrived just when the second scanner was being unplugged.
Jérémie and Yumi were taking quite a beating from her clone. Just when Yumi was having some success in holding her other self off, XANA decided to change strategy and target Jérémie. It was a smarter plan - he was the weakest of the two, after all.
Yumi's clone had picked him up and was about to throw him off the shaft that led to the supercomputer. Yumi, however, managed to push her into the shaft, holding Jérémie in her arms.
She fell to the floor, sitting, still holding him. He opened his eyes, breathing heavily.
"Thanks... Yumi. There's... something I have to tell you..." he said, in a low voice. "Your clone... in my dorm... she... flirted with me, and... she kissed me..."
Yumi, still tired, opened her eyes wide. "But... why? Didn't you try to avoid her?"
"It all happened so fast... there was nothing I could do."
"Well... we all make mistakes, Jérémie."
There was a brief silence. "But... I kind of wanted it to happen, too."
"What?" She made a shocked expression.
"It's just that... it's so nice talking to you. And Aelita... she's, well, she's not real, and... maybe I won't be able to materialize her, so... at the moment, I didn't fight it very much..."
Yumi thought if she and Ulrich would also ever confess to each other. Jérémie was a nice guy... but she probably would never kiss him if something like that happened to her.
"I'm sorry, Yumi. It... was my first kiss, and I ruined it with a clone..." He wondered if he should say anything to Aelita later. And if Aelita would be too different from a clone in real life...
She actually felt sorry for him. She couldn't help but feel compassion towards that cute face with the glasses. She was sure Ulrich would never be this honest with her.
"It's OK, Jérémie. I understand you." She kissed him on the forehead.
They were engulfed with the light from the supercomputer's return to the past.
"Well, this proves one thing: that materialization is really possible!" Aelita exclaimed from the screen.
"Yes! I'll start programming again right now!"
"Why bother? If I were you, I'd ask XANA. He's got the answers." Odd added.
"I wouldn't trust him. Look at the Yumi he sent us!" Ulrich replied.
"Oh, she wasn't that different from the original." said Odd.
"Well, as soon as she started to flirt with me..."
Oops. Jérémie realized what he had just said.
"Wait, what? She flirted with you? Did that really happen?" Ulrich said, confused.
"Ulrich, are you jealous of a clone of me?" Yumi sighed. There was another one of Ulrich's problems.
"It doesn't matter. Even if that really had happened, how can you be sure I'd never flirt with you?"
She took his glasses off, and he blushed, while Ulrich frowned. He was so cute. Thinking about it, maybe Jérémie was right. He didn't know what was going to happen with Aelita, and she didn't know what was going to happen with Ulrich. And they did enjoy their time together. It wasn't such a bad idea being close to him.
Maybe the Yumi XANA had sent them really wasn't that different from her. She winked at Jérémie.
"Don't tell anyone what happened", she whispered. "Maybe you weren't wrong after all."