Dependence
Note: Code Lyoko, AU. All the Warriors are gathered together, save little Pascal (Jeramie and Aelita's little boy who is only one year old. He has been left in the care of a maid.) in the woods for a camping trip. While they are there, an unexpected storm appears, causing Odd and Tamiya to revert to a childlike state thanks to their astraphobia.
"If the sky that we look upon should tumble and fall or the mountains should crumble to the sea. I won't cry, I won't cry, no I won't shed a tear, just as long as you stand by me."—some lyrics from "Stand by Me"
Chapter 1—Together Again
It was typical for all the Warriors to gather together when the weather was more favorable and considering that summer had only begun, Suzanne thought it would be a terrific time and an opportunity to teach their newest member, Diana about the flora, fauna and natural occurrences on the planet Earth.
All gathered as one happy family in the Morales' "wagon", which Jim jokingly called the "Endeavor". It was a rather large van, but ran on part electricity and fuel cells that Suzanne had built in her spare time when she wasn't teaching her science classes, exercising, gardening or meditating in nature.
"Is that the last piece of luggage ?", he questioned. Everyone agreed eager to hop into the Endeavor and set off on a new adventure.
"Alright. Then, we're all set. Everyone come on in, and make sure you buckle up.", Jim said, while tousling his daughter's brunette locks as she walked by. She chuckled and blushed a little bit. She still found it embarrassing to have her dad show public displays of affection to her when she was around her friends, but he couldn't help himself. After all, Emily was his darling princess and he could be quite protective of her.
All of the friends had snapped their belts in place and had begun talking rather animatedly to one another. Suzanne began breaking out in song once the van had started rolling out of the Morales' driveway, and everyone began to join in. Diana didn't know the song at first but she caught on immediately.
"Seems like she's got a knack for picking up earth songs as well.", Oleander said, in between verses.
"So it would seem.", XANA agreed as his little girl continued singing with the others and mom and dad joined in where they had left off.
Chapter 2—Setting Up Camp
The van was unloaded and each friend had already divided into groups. One would pitch tents, while others would go and look for firewood. Odd's stomach, like clockwork, was grumbling angrily and he moaned.
"Why can't this go any faster ? I'm dying for a hotdog.", he complained.
"Don't worry about it, dear. With all of us working as a team, they've probably gathered enough firewood by now.", Sissi replied, patting her boyfriend's back to encourage him. He smiled gently at her but frowned as soon as his stomach started complaining again.
"Oh, hush, you.", he said, chastising his uncontrollable hunger. It was a wonder he never gained an ounce from his voracious appetite.
After about four or five hours, the entire campground had been laid out as close to perfection as it was going to be. Evening was closing in and Jim had started the fire using a piece of flint, quartz and some dry moss. Fairly soon, his little flame had become a roaring bonfire and the lot of them could start roasting hotdogs, burgers and the like.
As soon as dinner was over, the friends took a hike through the woods to the top of a hillside to watch the sunset, but before it did, they made a quick hike back to camp just to make sure no animals had made off with their desserts. There were marshmallows, graham crackers and Hershey's chocolate bits to use for making s'mores and once the team had begun making them, they disappeared almost instantly.
No sooner as dinner and dessert had ended that the perennial favorite of the evening, ghost stories, began. Diana wasn't familiar with this "tradition", so she wanted to tell her friends a story she knew well from Lyoko. Legend had it that there had been sirens in the digital sea that lured Lyokoians to their doomed existence to be deleted from the stream of memory forever. There was one such girl that heard the siren's song one fateful night and she couldn't turn herself away. She actually saw the sirens gorgeous faces before she was lured to her doom. To this day, you can hear her wailing for someone who might join her in limbo forever. Upon hearing the story, everyone was so frozen they could hardly move.
"Q-Quite and expertly told tale.", Michael admitted, holding onto his girlfriend Emily for dear life.
"Yes, now hopefully we can get to sleep. I'm sleeping under the stars tonight, and maybe I'll catch the meteor shower I read up on.", Herve said as he settled down next to the dying fire and laid on his back to watch the stars rotate in the heavens.
Chapter 3—Sudden Storm
It had only been an hour as the Warriors and their friends were fast asleep. Patric, who had been sleeping under the stars with Herve, Nicholas, Erika and Naomi had started feeling raindrops hitting their faces.
"It's raining.", Erika whispered to Nicholas who was fast asleep. There was a loud boom of thunder, and suddenly the rest of them awakened. They hurried to their respective tents and stayed together with friends for more protection.
"Just let it be a passing, gentle rain…", Odd whimpered as he inhaled and exhaled slowly. The rain wasn't torrential yet, nor was the thunder too terribly loud so he had no need to fear. Tamiya was close by to him, her knees starting to shake.
"I'm sure it's just a simple summer storm.", Emily said, settling back to sleep after being awakened by Tamiya's sudden yelp after the big thunderous boom. But, it wasn't a 'simple summer storm' as she had said. It was a nightmare.
The thunder and lightning continued in rapid succession. Each boom of thunder grew louder and louder until it was deafening. Both Tamiya and Odd were hugging each other, crying bitterly. The wind blew harshly, whipping the tents' flaps violently in the wind. Those who had been sleeping soundly were wide awake, a bit unnerved by the tumult that was happening around them.
Suzanne, ever prepared, had brought along a weather radio with her. She tuned in and found a station, though riddled with static that gave them information of what was going on.
"Notifications…tornado…in…tri-county area…", the meteorologist reported. From where they were, Suzanne knew they would be safe until the storm passed but that wouldn't mean the weather would show them any mercy.
"Everyone, stay calm. We need to stay low to the ground. Where we are, we should be safe but stay put.", she said, gently. Another boom was heard, which sent Odd and Tamiya into a wailing frenzy. Millie, concerned for her friend's wellbeing, gently caressed her friend's hair to calm her. It wasn't much help because the tents were beginning to shutter and flap even more in the brash winds until they were picked up and tossed aside like sheets.
"We're gonna DIE !", Odd screamed at the top of his lungs as he began to weep pitifully. He hid underneath his sleeping bag while Tamiya cowered behind her bigger, stronger female companion. As the wind picked up, the friends' fears began to culminate and linked their arms together in hopes this was the worst part of the gale-force winds and pelting rain.
Chapter 4—Quick Thinking
The tents were still holding on but the lightning was proving to be rather frightening. The lightning nearly struck the tents but Jim redirected the flow of the electricity back into the sky. Jim transformed into his Warrior form and created a shield with his staff to draw off the lightning.
"The lightning's really fierce. I've never seen anything like this before…", Jim said, redirecting the flow of electricity whenever it struck. It helped, but a thunderbolt almost blew out the bark of a tree in the distance. The storm continued to intensify and Suzanne then had to transform to protect everyone behind a force field.
"We…advise…stay…in a low-lying area…Will keep you informed…as storm passes.", the meteorologist reported as the signal was lost to static. The howl of the wind was so loud that the static couldn't be heard.
"I can't hold it back…I need more help !", Jim said as the lightning struck again and he diverted it. Diana entered crisis mode, transforming into her Prism Warrior form. She fortified Suzanne's shield with a rainbow shield of her own. But it still wasn't enough.
"We need fire power, literally.", Suzanne stated as Aelita and Oleander joined in to reinforce the shield. Tamiya looked at Millie, who was just as frightened as everyone else had been, was afraid to help, but she had to if she was going to divert the storm's path. Girding herself, she got up to her feet and transformed, creating an actual firewall, which diverted the storm's path from them. In a matter of seconds, the storm dissipated and the air was calm. The rain had died down to a mist and the sun was coming up over the horizon.
"We did it…Thank goodness.", Millie said, wiping her forehead of sweat. Each of the friends embraced one another, grateful that the malicious tornado had stopped and no one had been harmed. Not even the tents hadn't been harmed despite the fact they had been pummeled constantly by wind and rain. But the campers knew that their little weekend had to be cancelled and they had to head back to the Morales residence for the rest of the week. The Morales' home was large enough to hold all of the friends under one roof and the weather proved to be much better in the day that lay ahead before them.
Chapter 5—Camping Elsewhere for the Extended Trip
Now that their nerves were calm, the friends could settle into their sleeping bags and rest in the comfort of the Morales' living room floor. The carpet was soft, supple and warm to sleep on, so going back to sleep wasn't a problem whatsoever. They all slept until midday and later enjoyed the rest of their time playing games and teaching Diane about their lives on Earth.
Diane adored learning about all the cultures that Earth held and some of them that had disappeared because of evolution. It was sad that many older cultures had simply died out of existence, but at least the written record would always keep such knowledge alive for future generations. She was sad, however, about leaving her friends and returning to Lyoko, but she knew deep in her heart, it wouldn't be the last time she saw them. Their time and hers was different. It seemed time on earth progressed more rapidly than Lyoko, hence Lyokians never aged, if rarely. The only beings that never aged were the Keepers and anyone, whether royalty or not could aspire to be one if they wished.
Before Diane said her goodbyes, she thanked her friends for teaching her about "typical" life on Earth. As she could see, for each individual life wasn't typical at all. She liked being part of both worlds and considered herself fortunate to have the ability to move freely between them. Not all people, Terran or Lyokian could say that. She also thanked Millie for being the one power that gave the team their edge to calm the storm's fury.
"Remember, sometimes a single heart can cause others around it to beat in unison.", Diane said, in her typically cryptic way.
"What she means is a single grain of rice can sometimes tip the scale.", Yumi translated, which was ancient Asian wisdom she had passed on to anyone who would hear. Millie laughed, understanding and reciprocated her graciousness by kissing the young princess on the cheek. All soon followed suit with a hug and kiss of their own and the royal family returned to their kingdom in the Cloud Sector.
Epilogue
Pascal was old enough to be walking and talking and often asked his mom and dad about the photographs coming in from the computer.
"Who is that ?", he said, curiously.
"That's Diane, the Princess of Lyoko. We went on a camping trip with her.", Jeramie said, pleasantly.
"When can I go on a camping trip with you two ?", the little boy questioned, jumping up and down energetically. Aelita ruffled her son's hair and chuckled.
"You will when you're older. I'm sure she'd be overjoyed to meet you.", Aelita said. And yes, one day she would meet little Pascal.
In the days that followed, the friends resumed their "typical" lives and went about their jobs and their hobbies. Even if storms came, Tamiya, Millie and Odd felt less afraid by them since they knew they were passing through and that they could protect themselves if they had to. There was no need to fear any longer and they thanked their lucky stars for having such incredible friends to make them see their own strength from within.
The End