Marabounta II
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"Yes yes Mr. Ount, we would love to have your daughter here," said Mr. Delmas into his telephone is his office. It was early morning and the sun was shining bright. "Mara is her name?"
"Yes, yes," said a man, Mr. Ount. "Mara Ount. Her mother named her."
"When will she be coming?"
"Tomorrow," said Mr. Ount. "Seven thirty okay with you?"
"Yes," said Mr. Delmas. "Eighth grade?"
"That would be correct."
"We will be expecting her."
"Thank you for letting her attend. You did get my faxes?"
"I'm looking at them as we speak. She seem's to be quite intelligent."
"Her younger brother has better grades."
"Oh," said Mr. Delmas, shocked at the sudden change in tone of the father who had seemed so caring.
"But, my little Mara, she's got more commen sense."
"Yes," said Mr. Delmas. "I see. So see you tomorrow?"
"I can't come. Buisness appointment. You understand? She'll be coming on the bus as a border as I faxed to her and you."
"I have already made a room assignment for her. Aelita Stones, a smart girl. It's a small room, but I'm sure they'll manage."
"Mara will. Mara will," said Mr. Ount, distractedly. "I really must be going now. Good bye."
The phone clicked as Mr. Ount hung up. Mr. Delmas sighed. Another new student. Three in about a year. Wasn't that a new record? He shuffled through his papers. Mr. Ount was a strange man, he decided suddenly. Oh well, he was paying good money. They needed new science equipment...
"Welcome to Kadic Academy," said Mr. Delmas warmly as a girl of about twelve or thirteen stepped off a local bus. She had white hair in two pigtails that came about half way down her back. She also wore glasses which made her red eyes look like lamps. She stared at Mr. Delmas. "I am the headmaster here. Jim will show you to your room."
Jim was just walking by and jumped at hearing his name. "Right away Mr. Delmas," said Jim, saluting. "Did you know I was once a bell boy at a hotel."
"No, I was not aware..." said Mr. Delmas.
"That's okay then, because I'd rather not talk about it," said Jim.
"Okay, just lead Mara to her room."
Jim started to walk and Mara followed, wheeling her one and only suitcase. Jim didn't say anything and Mara did not attempt to start a conversation. They walked up into the girl's dorms and down the hall. Jim stopped at a door and knocked. "You know that you will be sharing?"
Mara didn't respond. She didn't even shake or nod her head.
"Ms. Ount, you are aware that you are sharing?"
"Please don't call me that," said Mara in a mellow voice. "I prefer my first name, Mara. If you please. And yes, I am aware that I am sharing. An Aelita Stones if I recall?"
"Yes?" asked Aelita as she opened her door, dressed for the day. Aelita saw Mara. "Well this was why they put a bunkbed in."
"Yes," said Jim. "And I trust you will help Mara through the day?"
"Of course Jim. Come inside," said Aelita, the second sentence having been directed at Mara.
Mara stepped inside as Aelita closed the door and Jim walked away. "Top bunk's yours," said Aelita.
Mara nodded and through her bag on top. "Have a missed breakfast?"
"I'm afraid so," said Aelita. "Come on, I'll lead you to class. We have Science first."
Aelita led Mara to the science room, Mara carrying her books and Aelita her book bag. They reached the room and Aelita sat down next to Jeremie. Ulrich looked up and smiled slightly at Mara. New kids always had rough, especialy when they looked frail, which this girl did.
Ulrich got up and walked over to Mara who was still standing at the front of the room, like an idiot. "Sit next to Odd," Ulrich whispered to her. "The guy in purple."
Mara nodded and walked over to where Odd was sitting and sat down.
"Ulrich's sitting there," said Odd, point blank.
"He said I should sit next to you," said Mara.
"Oh," said Odd. "Ms. Hertz is strict, don't get caught sleeping." Odd said leaning back in his chair.
"Pray tell, why?"
"I got detention once," said Odd.
"Dentention," said Mara huffily. "It isn't the end of the world."
"It can lead to you being suspended," said Odd sitting forward, shocked. Sure, detention didn't bother him but to here it from a girl, and one like Mara was unconceivable to him. "Or expelled."
"Worse things can happen," said Mara as the bell ran. She then turned away from Odd, her glass covered eyes facing the front and Ms. Hertz began the lesson on electricity.
At lunch, Mara sat at a table alone. Odd turned around from looking at her and said to Jeremie, "She's weird alright. Answers every question correctly and doesn't care if she get's expelled. Sounds like a real wacko."
Jeremie looked up from his lap top and stopped typing, shook his head, looked down and continued to type. Aelita put her fork down and said, "She's quiet and told Jim to not call her by her last name. Mara Ount, I believe is her name."
"It is," said Ulrich. "And I feel bad for her. She's and albino. Having white hair and red eyes and in the same class as Sissi is not going to be exactly easy."
"Well I have pink hair and am doing just fine," said Aelita.
"It's different," said Ulrich.
"How exactly do you know about albino's?" asked Jeremie, suprised. Albino's wern't exactly a common lunch time subject.
"I was bored one day and did research on them," said Ulrich.
"Anyway, speaking of Mara," said Jeremie. "Do you guys remember Marabounta?"
There was grim nodding and murmerings. "You havn't tried to recreate it?" asked Odd. "Have you Einstein?"
"Well actually, I have," said Jeremie, a bit in shock at Odd guessing. Well that shouldn't really be new. Odd was Odd. "A complete reconfiguration. I've just finished and I think we should test it tonight."
"Tonight sounds good," said Yumi. "I don't have to babysit Hiroki tonight so I'm free. I'm still not sure about this though."
"Don't worry Yumi, I'll have the program to Materialize you up and I'll also be ready to destroy the Marabounta at any time," said Jeremie. "So, tonight at four?"
They all murmered and agreement.
Mara sighed and pushed the meatball on her tray around with her fork. So much for making friends. Oh well, she'd live. She always had. A girl was walking towrds her. Long black hair and a belly shirt. "Hey," said the girl sitting down at the table. Wasn't her name Sissi?
"What?" asked Mara almost rudly.
"I was wondering about your hair and eyes. You definatly arn't wearing color contacts and nor is your hair dyed. Trust me, I should know. I have every fashion magazine in the country back in my room, at least one issue. How did you do it?"
"I'm an albino," said Mara.
"A what?" asked Sissi, confused.
"An albino," said Mara, deliberatly speaking loud and slow. "Got a problem with it? If you do, too bad." Mara stood up with her tray and walked away. Sissi was definatly an imbosile. Remembering the boy that had given his seat up to her, she decided she would have to thank him. Sarcasticaly of course. Odd had been of no help.
Lunch ended the rest of the day passed with no signifigance. At about 4:00, the Lyoko Gang were sitting on their usual bench talking when Jeremie said, "Ready?"
"Yep," responded Odd. Little did they know, Mara was spying on them, waiting for the right chance to talk to Ulrich. She watched as they got up and left, heading towrds the forest. Mara followed, being sure to keep her distance. 'Why are they going into the forest?' Mara wondered to herself as she followed.
Once they reached the man hole cover, Odd looked around before pulling it up. He motioned for the others to go first before heading down himself, before covering the hole again.
Mara slowly counted to thirty before heading over and prying the cover off herself. She slipped through the whole, being sure to put the cover back into place. She climbed down the ladder and heard the clatter of skateboards and scooters. She watched the direction they went and soon followed, walking. She lost sight of them and was forced to use her ears as they continued to move through the sewers, Mara always keeping out of sight.
They reached the ladder leading up to the door to the factory. The Lyoko Gang climbed up and Mara once again counted to thirty before following them. She followed them to the elevator and she hid as they got on it and went. She waited for the elevator to return before hoping on it. She pushed the button and it went down to the Scanner Room.
The door opened and Mara saw the three scanners open and steam poor out of them. She gasped. Where had everyone gone? She walked into one of the scanners and heard a voice. Wasn't that Jeremie's?
"This program is based on the design on what ever is virtualized. Since I'm virtualizing nothing, the Marabounta will have no shape," Jeremie explained to Aelita, Odd, Ulrich and Yumi who were in the mountain sector as he typed in some information to get the program going.
Mara stepped into one of the scanner's, her hand sliding on the smooth surface of the inside of the scanner.
"Go," said Jeremie, starting the program.
The door of the scanner closed and Mara jumped. What was going on? Instinctively she closed her eyes as the Scanner started, pulling her into the air. She spun and her hair was thrust upwards by wind. Then...nothing.
A loading bar popped up on the Super Computer screen and started to move up, quickly. "Do you see anything yet?"
"No," said Ulrich who was on Lyoko along with Odd, Aelita and Yumi. "Nothing yet."
The bar finished loading and disappeared. "Look around. The program has finished loading."
"Jeremie," said Yumi. "I hope you know what your doing. Remember what happened the last time you made Marabounta?"
"Yes," said Jeremie. "I remember. I promise you, nothing is going to happen. I have the program to bring you in ready to go and the program to destroy the Marabounta as well. I also completly refigured the design of the program."
"Still no floating blobs," said Odd hopping up on a tall rock, for they were in the Mountain Sector and put his cat hand up over his eyes and peered out. "Hey! I see something over there!" He stood up and pointed before jumping down.
"Vehicles, Jeremie?" asked Ulrich.
"Coming right up," said Jeremie who was typing vigorously. "Here they come."
The purple Overboard, the grey and black Overbike and the black and silver Overwing appeared and each Lyoko Warrior hopped on the corresponding vehicle, Aelita with Yumi. They zoomed off towrds the object Odd had seen.
As they neared the object, Ulrich said, "Jeremie, are you sure we are the only ones virtualized on Lyoko?"
"Yeah," said Jeremie. "Why? No way anyone else could be."
Aelita who had hopped off the Overwing was now standing over the object Odd had seen. "Jeremie, I think I've found the Marabounta."
"What do you mean it's human?" asked Jeremie.
"It looks like a human at least. Maybe it's a trick by X.A.N.A," said Odd walking around the figure lying on the ground.
The figure appeared female. She had long white hair in two pigtails, down to her waist. Her eyes were closed and her wore a dark purple spaghetti strap dress that went to her knees and the same colored gloves that came almost to her elbows. On her shoes were open toed sandles that covered her ankle and the upper part of her foot.
"There's no activated tower though," Jeremie protested. "This is impossible. I did not program a human shaped Marabounta, just a blob that was supposed to help you fight the mosters and attack any of you!"
"Jeremie, yelling is not going to help the situation," said Ulrich calmly. "Maybe we should take her to a tower. Maybe she'll wake up. It always helped Aelita."
"It's not a 'she!' Jeremie explained, his fists balled. "It's a computer program! Besides It and Aelita are, were and forever will be completly different!"
"I think it's a good idea," said Odd, picking up the girl, one arm under her neck so her head was in the crook of his arm, his other under her knees.
"I vote for it," said Yumi and Aelita.
Jeremie groaned. They started walking towrds the nearest Way Tower.
Once in the tower, on the main platform, Odd layed the girl in the middle. The rest sat in a circle around her.
"I'm going to delete the program," Jeremie stated.
"Wait Jeremie," said Aelita.
"She's stirring," said Odd.
The girl open her eyes and laid there weakly. She pushed herself up wither her arms and looked around. Odd, Aelita, Ulrich and Yumi stared.
"Send me a visual, Aelita," Jeremie asked. Aelita complied. "Well what do you know, it is a she," he muttered to himself typing.
"Who are you?" asked Aelita. "Do you remember?"
"I-," she said weakly.
"What are you?" asked Ulrich.
"I-," she stuttered. "I am Marabounta. I am designed by Jeremie Belpois to aid the Lyoko Warrior's in battle when they need it."
"That's it?" asked Yumi. "Nothing else?"
"Well here's you first chance," said Jeremie who was typing. "X.A.N.A had just sent some monsters. They are right outside the tower."
"Laser Arrow!" shouted Odd hitting a Kankrelet square on the eye on it's head.
"Hyaa!" shouted Yumi throwing her fan at another.
"Energy Field," said Aelita, hitting another.
Ulrich hit one that was farther away from the tower, after using his Super Sprint.
Marabounta stood there. "So, are you going to fight or not?" Yumi asked, back flipping to where Marabounta stood.
"You don't seem to need it," said Marabounta as she scanned around.
Yumi flipped forward as she threw her fan, destroying another Kankrelet.
Odd was close to the edge. "Laser Arrow!" he yelled and was flung back by the force of the releasing arrow. He started to fall but Marabounta grabbed his hand. She pulled him up and then turned away.
A kankrelet shot Ulrich in the arm, he didn't have time to defend himself, seeing as a different Kankrelet had been shooting him from the other side. He was devirtualized.
Marabounta sighed and said, "Panpipes." A set of eight pipes, differing in size, appeared in her hand. She blew into the third one. A soft note sounded and the Kankrelets fell over the edge.
"So now it fights," said Jeremie to Ulrich back in the computer room.
"Isn't her fault," said Ulrich. "You programed her that way."
"No I didn't!"
Marabounta blew into the fourth and fifth pipe at the same time. All of the Kankrelet's disappeared, along with Marabounta.
Later that day, In Odd and Ulrich's room, Odd said, "I'll always wonder who she was."
"Why?" Yumi asked. "Because you didn't get a chance to ask her on a date?"
"No," said Odd, who was laying on his bed. "I never did thank her."
They all laughed except Jeremie who was typing intently on his keyboard. "Marabounta wasn't just my program. She had human DNA mixed with in her. Maybe she accidently virtualized herself, maybe there is another place like Lyoko out there. I don't know. But she's gone now and we should never see her again."
"Well Odd," said Aelita. "Looks like you'll never get to thank her."
"That's really too bad," said Odd. "I might of asked her on a date.
And they all burst out laughing.
Mara sat in the scanner as the smoke cleared. What happened? Who were those people? Why had she said those words? Where had Aelita, Jeremie, Ulrich, Yumi and Odd disappeared too? Why had Jeremie said those words? Mara shook her head slightly to clear those thoughts as the scanner door opened. She stood up and weakly walked out. She swung her bag over her shoulder. She started to walk around the room, trying to sort her thoughts. She was leaning against the back of a scanner when she slid down, her head lolling to one side, having fainted.
It was early morning the next day, around 6:00 am when Mara stirred.
"Hey," said a male's voice. "Are you okay?"
"Hmm?" said Mara as her eyes opened. "I'm okay. Where I am?"
"A place," said the boy. It turned out to be Odd. "Hey Ulrich," said Odd turning his head. "She's alive. Go tell Jeremie to start up the program."
"Program?" questioned Mara sitting up straight, suddenly alert, staring into Odd's eyes as her turned around and Ulrich left, apparently off to tell Jeremie to start the program.
"Yeah," said Odd. "Since you won't remember this..." He leaned forward, his lips brushing Mara's cheek as a light surrounded them, the Return to the Past program having been started by Jeremie, returning to the previous morning.
"Ms. Ount, you aware that you are sharing?" asked Jim.
"I thought I already told you that I wanted to be called 'Mara,'" exclaimed the girl who had suddenly found herself standing outside of her dorm again, talking to Jim.
"But, this is your first day here," said Jim.
"It is, isn't it," said Mara a bit dreamily, wondering what on Terra had happened.
Aelita opened the door and saw Mara. Careful to not show that Aelita already knew who she was, she said, "Hello. I suppose you are my room mate?"
"Yes," said Mara stepping and closing the door. Aelita. That was one of the people she had followed the other day, er, today, um, in the future! Whatever, someone she had followed.
"Why was I fighting?" asked Mara suddenly.
"What?" asked Aelita as she turned from picking up her school thing. She was honestly confused.
"What are you are your friends doing in that factory?"
Aelita gasped, a hand slowly going to her mouth. She walked forward, grabbed Mara's wrist and dragged through the halls before bursting into Jeremie's room, just as he picked up his lap top.
"Aelita," asked Jeremie. "Who is that?" He was playing that he didn't know who she was.
"Jeremie," said Aelita. "There is no need to pretend. She is the Marabounta. No other way she could possibly remember why she had been in the factory."
Jeremie gasped and immeidiatly sat down, typing furiously on his laptop. "I need a DNA scan to confirm it, but it probably is her," he said after awhile, leaning back. "We'd better get to class."
In class, Jeremie and Aelita got the message across to Odd and Ulrich and after class Ulrich to Yumi. At lunch, the six sat together. "It'll be nice to have another girl," remarked Aelita.
"What?" asked Mara. "I can't be part of your group. I don't even know how long I'll be here. I can't fight and the only reason I followed you was so I could thank Ulrich and...and...and..." she had ran out of logical reasons. "Odd." She stared at Odd.
"What's odd?" he asked.
"You," she said.
"Well we all know that," said Ulrich. "Odd is Odd and he is odd."
"Why did you...why did you try to kiss me?" Mara asked.
Odd turned beat red and stammered, "B-because...b-because... take it as thank you for saving my life on Lyoko. If I had fallen into the Digital Sea I would of diappeared forever."
"Oh," said Mara. From the looks of Aelita and the others, she could tell he was lieing. Well, let him for all she cared. She could be just as stubborn as him! Mara then turned to Ulrich and said, "Thank you."
Jeremie, Aelita and Yumi burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" asked Sissi who turned around in her seat.
Seeing her face, the rest of them started laughing hysterically as well.
A/N: I edited the three chapters into one and fixed some spelling errors.