Chapter One: Aftermath
"You swear not to give away the secret?"
"I swear it."
It all felt so strange back then. Having William Dunbar within the group of Lyoko Warriors was once an unheard of idea. However, as the threat of XANA grew, they realized that their current number of people simply wouldn't be enough. William certainly had the determination for the job, but there was still uncertainty there. Could he be trusted with the information that was thrust upon him? As time went one, more of the gang began to see why William would be a great deal of assistance. They took a leap of faith with him.
However, there was one that grew more opposed to William joining the group. Solana, who had joined the Lyoko gang prior to William, wasn't previously in that mindset. If anything, she would have been completely open to the suggestion. When William first transferred to Kadic Academy, she was one of the first friends he made. Solana became smitten with the older boy, but there were two factors getting in the way of the possibility of them being together. The first one being the threat of XANA, and the second being his infatuation with her ally, Yumi. Whenever Yumi was around the two of them or when she was brought up, Solana automatically felt inferior. Yumi was practically everything that Solana was not. Now that he was in the group, who's to say that he won't try to get even closer to Yumi?
"Welcome to the club, William!" "Well tell us, how do you feel now?" "Ready to take on XANA and his monsters!"
While everyone else was celebrating the event, Solana quietly followed the others to Kadic. As the group continued on, Solana went on her own way. Noticing her absence, William stopped in his tracks to confront this issue.
"You guys go ahead. I'm gonna stay here for a bit." William stretched his arms.
"Are you sure?" Yumi asked. "Jim's going to bust you big time if you're caught outside your dorm."
"Eh, that guy's nowhere near as threatening as XANA. I can live with a few hours of detention." William responded nonchalantly.
The group let him go on his way, and Jeremy said he would keep in touch in case of an activated tower. Now that he was away from the group, it was time to get down to the bottom of Solana's strange behavior. He saw her headed towards a different path to the school, and ran towards her to catch up.
"Hey, Solana." William called out to her. Solana turned around briefly. When she saw his face, she immediately turned her face forward and continued walking.
"Solana, what's up?" William walked by her side. "Did I do something wrong? Do you hate me or something?"
Solana tried her best to ignore him. She only lightly shook her head and brought her hands closer to her upper arms.
"Then what's with the silent treatment? Is this about me being a Lyoko Warrior now?" William's tone was more confrontational.
Solana stopped walking. She bit her lower lip and was looking towards the ground. In a defeatist mood, she replied "So what if it is?"
"Is that what this is about?" William assumed. Much to her annoyance, he was correct. "Solana, you know that the others need my help. I don't know why you're being so unreasonable about this right now."
"I don't know, maybe it's because you could end up being potentially killed by a sentient computer virus bent on destroying the world, or worse I might add." Solana snapped back. "Or maybe it's because you'll end up growing more of a hero complex than you already do. Or maybe said hero complex will lure you into illusions of grandeur with people who are untouchable."
"Wait..." William gave an annoyed scoff. "Is this about Yumi too? Why the hell do you care so much that I want to be with Yumi? Can't it be possible to have both?"
"No, William! You can't!" Solana exclaimed, her voice cracking. "Because she doesn't love you! And don't even try to make excuses for her, either. If anything, you're the one that cares way too much!"
"I don't know what's gotten into you, but you're acting like a five year old." William's intensity began to match hers.
"Oh, I'm the five year old now?" Solana got louder. "Well, excuse me for not thinking that your little plan with Yumi is going to go anywhere! She's already interested in someone else, William! Why can't you see that already and move on?!"
"Well, I'm sorry that jealousy has made you into a bitter bitch, but that's no reason to take it out on me!"
Offended, Solana's rage only grew. "The only reason that I'm so bitter in the first place is because I love you goddammit!"
William's scowl lessened. He was examining what Solana had just said. When William's figure changed, it was then that she realized what she said. Her feelings were finally out in the open to him. Solana's heart was beating at the speed of sound. Her cheeks grew crimson red. Her eyes welled up. William's demeanor was now softer than it had been previously. She couldn't move. She couldn't speak. She could only look at him in horror. Solana was always trying to build up the courage to say those exact words, but she never would have imagined that it would have been under these circumstances.
"Solana, you..." William was trying to confirm what he said. "You love me?"
Solana's flight instinct kicked in. She knew what his response was going to be. She simply couldn't stay here any longer. She turned the other direction and ran straight for the dorms.
"Solana, wait! Solana!"
"This isn't a video game, William. Let me remind you that we have an important mission to accomplish."
"Killer! This is ten thousand times better than Galactic Battle!"
On the day of skateboard championship at Kadic, XANA was once again plotting to destroy the Core of Lyoko. Fate had different paths for the other Lyoko Warriors, so William and Solana were the only other two that were immediately available for the mission. Throughout the arrival to the factory and even William's first steps on Lyoko, Solana refused to talk to him. She wouldn't even dare to look him in the eye, feeling the sting of the night prior. When the floors inside of Sector 5 began to change, Solana stuck with Aelita the whole way through instead of William. He had proven himself to be a competent fighter already, so it was expected that he would handle himself just fine with a few monsters.
"Hey, Jeremy? There's this really weird-looking creature that just showed up. Like some kind of uh…giant jellyfish?"
"William! Get out of there! Hurry up! William, do you hear me?!"She was wrong. She was very, very wrong. Solana and Aelita didn't realize the Schypozoa would be there. Thus, the race against the clock began. Solana was regretting the night before and for deserting him. However, now was not the time to dwell on those moments. Aelita and Solana had to get to William as soon as possible. However, the girls arrived too late. William was now a pawn of XANA. Aelita was the first to go down, and Solana followed soon after. Even with the help of the others, it wasn't enough in the end. With XANA's new henchman, the Core was destroyed. Thus, the entirety of Lyoko was gone as well.
"If the second layer goes… Lyoko will disappear forever…"
"I knew it was a bad idea to bring you into the group..."
"We lost everything..."
"William as well..."
"I just received a coded message. A message directly from the Internet, and it's signed… Franz Hopper."
"You think William's gone forever?"
"No... I think he just went back to his new master... XANA..."
Lunch period was in full swing with Kadic students flooding into the cafeteria. Some time had passed since the fateful destruction of Lyoko. Jeremy managed to get all the sectors created again, along with some new programs to hopefully bring XANA down once and for all. The group wasn't aware of what XANA would have in store for everyone now, but the Lyoko Warriors were determined to stop the virus before it could even try any new plans out.
Currently, the buzz at Kadic Academy was centering around Sissi Delmas being involved with the school newspaper. Accusations were flying around that she was trying to turn the paper into her own personal autobiography. Considering this was Sissi Delmas, people had little reason to believe that this wasn't true.
"Hey, Ulrich!" Sissi called out to Ulrich with Nicholas and Herve in tow. "Any chance you could give me an interview? I'm writing an article about the hottest guys on campus."
"You figure you're a journalist?" Ulrich asked, with half sarcasm and half mild amusement.
"Editor-in-chief to be exact." Sissi proudly declared. "From now on, I'm going to be the face of Kadic News!"
"Look Sissi, as much as I would love to take part in an interview with you, I don't think I'm really the best person you should be talking to." Ulrich pointed his fork towards the purple clad boy. "Why not ask Odd? He's always got scoops about the menu here."
"Yeah, at least Rosa's rabbit isn't in the kitchen for once." Odd nodded.
"Haha, very funny." Sissi replied in a monotone voice. Sissi left with Nicholas and Herve.
"Ulrich being in the school paper? Wouldn't be the first time." Jeremy commented.
"Knowing Sissi, she would end up turning the article into an 'Ulrich Stern Love Fest." Aelita laughed, and soon almost everyone was joining in on the joke.
"That would require writing about someone that isn't her for a change." Odd stated, causing more laughter among the group.
Ulrich slowly stopped laughing when he looked over to Solana. She looked tired and was staring off into the void through the mashed potatoes on her plate. She had been completely silent the whole time, and it was beginning to worry him. Either she wasn't paying attention or something was occupying her mind.
"Solana? Are you okay?" He put a hand on her shoulder. The sound of Ulrich's voice took the girl out of her thoughts. She looked around at the table and tried to smile their worries away.
"Hm? Oh, yeah, everything's fine." Solana said.
"Are you sure? You barely touched your lunch." Odd pointed out.
"I'm not that hungry." Solana tried to reassure everyone. "You can have my portion if you want, Odd."
"But..." Odd was about to argue with the girl, but stopped himself before things could potentially escalate. "Are you sure?"
"100% positive." Solana slid her tray towards the svelte boy. Normally, Odd was grateful for free food, but today it just didn't feel right. Solana stood up from the table and slung her bag over her shoulder. She laid out a smile on her face, though she wasn't fooling anyone. "I'm going to the library to study. I'll see you guys later."
The others watched her leave, eyes downward and briskly walking into the sunshine outside. When she was finally out of earshot, the group began to air their concerns about their friend.
"What's up with her?" Odd asked Ulrich before taking another scoop of food from his own plate into his mouth.
"I don't know. I've never seen her like that before." Ulrich let his cheek rest on his hand.
"And when was the last time you guys saw Solana smile? And I'm not talking about any forced smiles either. I mean one that's genuine." Odd let his observations be known.
The group fell silent. They all looked at each other for an answer, but none came up with one. At least, none with positive implications.
"She's been like that ever since our last trip to Lyoko." Yumi finally spoke. Aelita looked down pensively.
"That's not the only thing that's different about her now." Jeremy chimed in. "No offense to her or anything, but Solana's not exactly the 'study all day and night' type. Or the 'hide away at any possible chance' type."
"Could any of this have anything to do with... you know...?" Aelita tried to delicately approach the subject. The boys curiosity was peaked.
"William?" Yumi asked.
The more the group thought on it, the more it began to make sense to them. Solana had admired him the longest, and was usually the first person to stand up for him. It would tear anyone apart to see a loved one turn evil. In Solana's case, it was more concerning, since the force that caused this change was XANA. Even after everything was said and done, Solana was quiet on most (if not all) of the details. For now, this was only affecting her in the real world. But what if this started affecting her on Lyoko? Something had to be done, but how would the group be able to approach the matter without Solana getting defensive?
Yumi got up. She figured some girl talk could get them any leads. "I'm gonna try talking to her."
"Good luck." Ulrich encouraged her.
Yumi wasn't sure how she was going to do it, or if Solana would accept the offer to vent, but she knew that something was bothering her friend. And she couldn't sit by and let it all fester.
-
When Yumi entered the silent library, she had expected Solana to be at a table. Instead, she found her skimming through books along the shelves. Solana seemed to be wandering aimlessly, most likely not even planning on studying at all. Yumi walked up to her and followed the underclassman's lead.
"Hard at work, huh?" Yumi asked while calmly opening up the nearest book by her.
Solana jumped up a little, causing her to lose the page that she was on. When she looked up to see who it was, it was a mix of relief and shame. She put the book away and started to look for a new one. "Oh, hey Yumi."
"I think I may know why you're upset." Yumi decided to cut to the chase. Solana stopped reading momentarily when she uttered those words.
Solana only shook her head as she walked to a new shelf. "I already told you guys, it's nothing."
"It's about William, isn't it?" Yumi went in for the kill. Solana paused. She was able to see right through her. The guilt inside Solana grew worse. From her silence alone, Yumi knew that she was right. "Solana, I know that something's up. What's wrong?"
"William got accepted into the group. He got brainwashed by XANA and destroyed Lyoko. There's nothing more to talk about." Solana said dryly as she tried to walk away from the older girl.
"Solana, I'm only trying to help you. Everyone else is just as concerned as I am right now." Yumi replied.
The vibration of a cell phone finally distracted the two girls, at least for the moment. Solana took out her phone and made sure that no one else was around to listen in or rat her out for having her cell phone in the library.
"Yes, Jeremy?" Solana paused briefly. Yumi looked at her curiously, wondering what could possibly be up.
"Okay, we'll be right over." Solana ended the call and put her cell phone back in her pocket. She grabbed her bag and started heading for the door. "Activated tower in the Desert sector."
"But, Solana..." Yumi's voice trailed off when Solana was no longer in eyesight. She gave out a sigh and began to follow her to the factory.