Title: It Begins
Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko.
Warnings: Nothing really, except for the creepy thoughts in the middle of the chapter.
Rating: PG-13.
A/N: Should you be angry? Yes. Why? Because I took this story down and lost interest in Code Lyoko. Should you be happy? Yes! Why? Because it's BACK, BABY! A few things have changed, and I've added some little tidbits here and there, so I think this story is now more solid. If you can't see the difference, well then that's you XD
Oh, and by the way, since I don't have school anymore, this will be a continued story. I don't think I'll lose interest again. But this story won't be updated as much, since I have like four other stories I'm working on. All of which are Astro Boy. And two are crossovers with popular titles. Such as A:TLA (Avatar: The Last Airbender) and RotG (Rise of the Guardians). The last two won't be up for a while, but me and my friend ARE starting on the first one soon. (A:TLA). So anyway, I'm done with my rambling now. Enjoy!
BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!
I groaned, digging my face farther into my pillow. I didn't want to get up today, and I didn't even feel like turning off the alarm. I was just so tired from the workout Jim gave me the other day during gym, I could barely move; knowing Odd, he just skipped. I decided that I was just going to simply ignore the alarm. About two minutes into the loud beeps and as I was slowly drifting back off into dreamland, a pair of hands gripped onto my right shoulder, shaking me rapidly. I jumped, startled.
"What?" I groaned angrily, opening my left eye a crack to see Odd's smiling face peering down at me.
"Time to wake up!" he said, a smile plastered onto his face. "I'm usually the one to oversleep, but now you're just plain lazy!"
I slapped him away sleepily and buried my head back into my pillow. "Go away…" I mumbled through the pillow sheet.
"Nuh-uh! You need to get up!" Odd repeated, shaking me once more.
"Ugh!" I growled. "Fine!" I opened my eyes, whipped off the covers, and sat up on the edge of my bed with my hand in my face. "Are you happy now, Odd?"
"Yes! Come on, hurry up! I don't want to miss breakfast!" Odd began towards the door, and with his hand on the handle, he turned back to me. A concerned look flew on his face as I looked up through my fingers. "Are you feeling okay?"
A bunch of weird, buzzing thoughts began mulling around in my mind, the thoughts disappearing as soon as they came. It seemed like mumble-jumble to me, and it was giving me a headache. "I'm fine," I muttered, keeping my head level.
Odd hesitated a moment, before I heard him shut the door and hurry down the hallway. Finally looking up at the door, I sighed. The weird thoughts in my head vanished as soon as Odd had run down the hall, which made me more curious, but still giving me a headache in the process. I decided to let it go and not ponder it any further; my headache would worsen. I turned my attention to the window, looking outside as the leaves on the tree swayed in the gentle breeze. The sun was shining, and I could hear the birds as they sang their morning tune.
I turned towards my alarm, finally realizing that someone had turned it off. Did I fall back asleep? I wondered. Did Odd turn it off? Sighing once more, I looked around the room. A mysterious quiet was settling in the room, and I suddenly wondered where Kiwi was. He was always barking at something.
Instead of asking about it any further, I shrugged it off and stood up, heading over towards the wardrobe that kept all of my clothes in it. As soon as I grabbed a pair of clothes and a towel, I stretched tall, slightly cracking my back in the process. I smiled as the pain in my back subsided. I have to tell Delmas about my bed, I reminded myself as I turned towards the door. It feels like bricks compared to my bed at home. I shrugged again and turned the door handle. Eh, I'm used to it.
Entering the boy's restroom a few moments later, I stopped to look at myself in the mirror. Odd can eat breakfast without me, I thought as I smiled at myself. When I turned away from the mirror, out of the corner of my eye, I could've sworn I saw my reflection still in the same spot. I whipped back around, but my reflection was normal. I rose an eyebrow, hesitantly staring at the mirror, but slowly turned away.
I entered the shower room and dropped my bundle on a bench beside the shower that I always used. Strangely, no one else used it besides me. Once undressed, I stepped inside the shower and closed the curtain behind me. The warm water caressed my face as I turned it on. Luckily, at this time of day, the water was warm, which was when I usually took my showers. Everyone else regularly took theirs after breakfast, because they couldn't deceive their crying stomachs.
Once my shower was finished, I draped a towel around my waist, and stepped out of the shower. I got dressed in my normal clothes, which consisted of a green corduroy jacket, an olive green t-shirt, dark blue jeans, and my green sneakers that my mother had bought me a while ago. I quickly dried my hair with the towel, leaving it all tussled up in random areas. Smiling, I made my way back to my dorm, supplies in hand
Turning the corner that led to my room, I was suddenly interrupted by a really random, sharp pain in my temple. My mind flashed in seething pain as I dropped what I was carrying and fell to the ground on my knees. I grabbed at my head in pain; my eyes squinted shut. I groaned in pain as my head throbbed, feeling like it was going to explode.
You won't be immune forever, Ulrich Stern.
The pain suddenly subsided, and I gasped, opening my eyes. Panting for breath, I laid my hands in front of me on the ground, steadying myself as the hall around me swayed. Who's voice was that? I asked myself, slowly getting back on my feet and picking up my dirty clothes. It…wasn't mine…was it? I looked left and right, making sure I was alone in the hallway, before hurrying into my dorm and slamming the door shut behind me.
Still breathing heavily from my past ordeal, I pondered this thought some more. What does the voice mean 'you won't be immune forever'? Frowning, I threw my dirty clothes on my bed and quickly ran some gel through my hair to make it the way I wanted–it's sort of a secret, because no one else knows I use gel. Checking myself in the window's reflection, I nodded to myself in satisfaction and hurried back out the door towards the cafeteria.
As I entered the lunchroom, I noticed that there weren't very many people left. They were all probably done and getting ready to get to their first class of the day. I turned my attention towards my usual table that I always sat at. Odd was zoning in and out, barely touching his food, Jeremy and Aelita were discussing something having to do with numbers–which I could never understand, Yumi was sitting at the table smiling out the window, and William… I seethed inwardly as William smiled at Yumi tenderly. I'm so sick of him! All he wants to do is have Yumi and get rid of me in the process!
As I drew near with my tray in my hands, I opened my mouth to snap a retort directed towards William, but I thought better of it and closed my mouth. I shouldn't even say anything. I don't want to cause a war.
I sat down at the table next to Odd and set my tray down in front of me. I seemed to somewhat snap Odd out of his trance, because he looked up at me blankly. His blank stare turned into surprise as soon as he realized that it was me. "Ulrich!" he exclaimed. "There you are, buddy. I thought you weren't coming!"
I shrugged and picked up my croissant. "Well, you know, I thought that it would be nice to eat today." As I took a bite of my croissant, I grimaced a little. Even if the food does taste horrible… "You know…fuel my body?"
"As if you need fuel! You barely do anything!" Odd laughed, causing the group to stir and laugh along at Odd's stupid joke.
"Says Odd!" Aelita chimed in.
Odd's laughter died almost immediately, causing the group to laugh harder. I laughed as Odd's face changed emotions quickly. Man, he sure is one to get defensive easily.
As the laughter at the table died down, I took another bite of the gross croissant and chugged a little milk to melt it down. "So, Jeremy," I began, turning my head towards the brainiac, "how does it feel not being you know where anymore?"
Jeremy shrugged. "I don't mind it. In fact, I guess I sort of miss it a little, you know? It's what brought us all together in the first place."
I nodded in understanding as Yumi piped up from her seat. "But it's also good, because we won't have to deal with XANA anymore."
"That's true," I said, swallowing another mouthful of breakfast. "It sure was a handful having to both save the world and deal with school at the same time."
"It's a shame no one could ever know about it…" Odd sighed.
I blinked at him. "Why would you want anyone to know about Lyoko?"
"Well, since XANA is gone, why not? No one would understand..." His eyes lit up. "We could make it a theme park! 'Welcome to Lyoko World, where all your hopes and dreams come true'!"
Jeremy coughed a little, turning all our attention back to him. "Absolutely not, Odd. We're not doing something just for you, so you can get girls."
"Hey, how do you know I'm asking to get girls?" Odd huffed, crossing his arms and looking away stubbornly.
"Einstein? Make a joke?" I laughed, causing the group to laugh with me. "That's so unnatural!"
When the laughter died down once more, Odd turned towards me. "Hey, Ul—" He broke off as his eyes grew wide. "U-uh…"
I frowned. "Is something wrong?" While I said this, my head began to spin, and the weird, buzzing thoughts from before came creeping back into my head. I could only catch a few before forgetting them.
Kill them…
You know you want to…
Do it before they kill you…
I grabbed at my temples as the sharp pain began once more. I breathed in sharply and squinted my eyes shut. "Ow, ow, ow…"
"Ulrich, are you okay?" Yumi asked, concerned.
I didn't answer; not because I didn't want to, I just couldn't. My mouth felt like it was closed by an unseen force, and I couldn't open it. I ran my fingers through my hair in the front, my palms resting on my forehead. My eyes opened as I stared at the table in front of me. Something felt very off.
"His eyes!" Odd exclaimed. "His eyes! They weren't...!"
"Odd, calm down!" Jeremy said. "What's going on?"
"His…his eyes! They weren't his. They just weren't!" he breathed quietly.
"Ulrich?" Yumi called.
All of my friends' voices felt like they were far away; muddled, like I was underwater. Instead of hearing them, the buzzing thoughts in my mind escalated.
It's time to play a game…
Do you like games…?
I know you do…
Come on…
You know you want to…
I slammed my fists hard onto the table, making everyone around me jump with surprise. A sound finally escaped from my mouth, but it wasn't a word; it was a short, deep growl.
I brought my hands back to my head, and gripped my temples hard, digging my nails into the side of my head. The thoughts began to pester me again.
Ulrich…
Let's play a game…
Come on…
We're so lonely…
Won't you play a game with us…?
Your friends are going to hurt you…
You don't want that, right…?
You hate being hurt…
"Leave me alone…" I growled, squeezing my eyes shut once more and gripping my head harder.
"Ulrich!" someone shouted, but I barely heard them.
The voices in my head were getting louder and louder as the pain sharpened. I gripped my head harder and breathed in sharply once more.
Your friends don't like you…
They never did…
Why are you still friends…?
You need to kill them…
They're going to kill you…
So why be their friends…?
"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" I shouted, jumping up from my seat, my eyes still closed.
"Ulrich, what's wrong?" someone shouted.
My fists balled up at my sides as I gritted my teeth in pain. I could tell there were people around me, but I couldn't feel them. I just couldn't feel anything except my own pain and emotions. Something was terribly wrong; I just knew there was. I just couldn't figure it out. I decided to talk back to the strange voices.
What do you want from me? I asked them in my head.
We want you to understand…
Your friends aren't your friends…
They've been using you…
They're going to kill you…
If you don't get to them first…
"They won't kill me!" I shouted angrily, blindly knocking something to the ground.
"Ulrich, stop!" someone shouted.
I could also hear some screaming and people's feet running away from where I stood, but that didn't matter. I needed to get to the bottom of the voices and what they wanted.
Stop telling me my friends are gonna kill me! It's not true! Stop it! I shouted at the voices.
But, Ulrich…
They seem concerned now…
But later when it's all said and done…
You'll be dead…
And there's nothing you could ever have done about it…
So why not listen to us…?
We know your friends are going to kill you…
Please, Ulrich…
Please listen to us…
"STOP IT!" I roared, thrusting something really heavy far away. I heard the crash in the distance of my mind, but it sounded really, really far away to me.
Someone slapped me hard, snapping me out of my trance. I twisted around from the force of the blow and fell to the ground on my back. The pain subsided as I opened my eyes and blinked up at my friends. I grabbed my head with one of my hands and used the other one to prop me up. "Wha…what happened?"
"We could ask you the same thing!" William shouted angrily. "Look what you did to the cafeteria!"
I looked around the room and noticed that at least three tables were overturned and far away from their normal positions. Three really huge tables, that only four people could lift. So how did I lift them by myself? "Uh…"
"What is going on here?!" an angry voice shouted.
All six of us turned towards the voice. Mr. Delmas and Jim hurried into the cafeteria, along with Sissi, who probably was the one to report the incident. "What in the world…?" Jim breathed, scratching the back of his head and looking around.
"Ulrich was getting really mad, and he flipped a bunch of tables over, and threw them, and he was screaming about killing things, and—"
"That's enough, Sissi," Mr. Delmas interrupted her. Turning towards me, he frowned. "Get up off of the floor, young man. Explain yourself."
I slowly got up from the ground, brushed myself off, and turned back to Mr. Delmas. "Uh…" I rubbed the back of my head nervously, realizing that I had no clue what happened. "I, uh… I really don't remember."
Mr. Delmas looked worriedly at Jim, and then turned back to me. "Mr. Stern, could you please come into my office for a moment?"
I looked back to my friends, but they were all bunched together five feet away from me, like they were afraid. Seriously, what is going on?
"Come along," Mr. Delmas repeated, motioning for me to follow as he turned towards the door, whispering something in Jim's ear before he left. Sissi looked worriedly at me, and then Jim, and then left after her father.
I turned towards my friends. "Guys?"
William bravely stepped in front of all of them in a protective order. "Go with Mr. Delmas, Ulrich," he ordered in a gruff tone. "We'll chat with you later."
I narrowed my eyes and frowned at him. Why is he being so…so… I couldn't think of the right word to say. Grumbling to myself, I turned to follow Mr. Delmas out the door, Jim trailing close behind me.
~CODE LYOKO CODE LYOKO CODE LYOKO CODE LYOKO~
Sitting in one of the chairs in front of Mr. Delmas' desk, I stared at the ground in front of me. I didn't know what was happening, or why everyone was acting so grumpy. All I could remember was looking at the cafeteria and feeling no emotions but confusion.
"Mr. Stern," Mr. Delmas began, "it has come to our attention that there has been a little…mishap in the cafeteria today."
I continued to stare at the ground as he went on. "Do you have anything to say about that?" When I didn't answer or look up, he replied more bluntly, "Look at me."
I brought my eyes up just a little, but that didn't seem to satisfy him. "More," he commanded. I rolled my eyes and sat my head in the palm of my hand while it leaned on the arm of the chair. "That's better. Now as I was saying… Please tell us what happened in the cafeteria."
I sat up straight and looked him in the eyes. "I don't know what happened."
"Were there any…strange voices telling you to kill people?"
I blinked at the principal. What could he mean? "Uh…what?"
Mr. Delmas leaned down to grab something off of the floor, or in a file cabinet in his desk. He returned with a small folder with barely any papers in it. He opened it and set the picture inside in front of me. "Do you know who this is?"
I stared at the picture. The man in the photo was strikingly familiar. It was on the tip of my tongue… "I think it's…one of my uncles?" I looked back up at the principal. "Why are you showing me a picture of him?"
Mr. Delmas sighed and returned the photo to the folder, taking out another paper from it. He looked over the paper for a short moment before replying to me. "It says here in the records that this man went to our school at one time. He suffered from both A.D.H.D. and M.P.D."
"M.P.D?" I echoed curiously.
"Multiple Personality Disorder," Mr. Delmas replied, setting the paper in front of him. "He had voices in his head always telling him to hurt other people and do things that he normally wouldn't do. He died because of it later in his life. I believe he was your mother's brother."
My eyes flashed in pain as he mentioned that, and I looked away sharply. I barely remember him, but what he says is true. He ended up killing himself because of his disease… But…what does this have to do with me? "Um…okay? What has this got to do with me?" I repeated my thoughts.
Mr. Delmas looked to Jim for a quick second, and then returned his gaze back to me. "We believe that you may have the disease. It might have started in the past when you dealt with a traumatic experience, but rest assured, we can help you deal with it."
The whole time he was talking, my mouth was wide open in both surprise and disgust. How dare he suggest such a thing? Nothing like that happened! "I'm sorry, but I think you got it all wrong."
"We aren't saying it to make you upset. We're trying to tell you, Ulrich," Mr. Delmas said gently. My eyes flashed with confusion. That was the first time he had ever used my first name in a conversation. "We'll need you to go to the hospital and get checked over for the disease, but in the meantime, you'll stay here."
"But if...if it's true, that I have the disease... Is it dangerous?" I asked, starting to believe it myself.
"Sometimes, but not necessarily. It can be, and it can't. Do you understand?" When I nodded, he went on. "But the way you behaved in the cafeteria–from what I heard of Sissi's tale–you might be the dangerous kind."
My mouth hung open and my eyebrows clashed together. "So what? Am I supposed to stay in my room 24/7, or something?"
"Well, yes. Until further notice, and until you get admitted to the hospital for a check over," Mr. Delmas replied stiffly.
I sighed and looked back down to the floor. "So that's it then? I might have Multiple Personality Disorder?"
"It would appear so," Mr. Delmas said, sighing a little. "But don't worry. Jim will be by your side at all times, in every class, in the cafeteria, and you'll have a camera installed in your room soon."
"What!" I exclaimed. "Now that is just dumb. What if I have to change or something?"
"Use the bathroom."
I face-palmed and exhaled sharply. Why does this have to happen to me? Why not someone else?
"You're free to go, Ulrich."
I got up from my chair and without another word, exited the principal's office. When I rounded the corner, I heard someone behind me. Turning, I spotted Jim racing to catch up with my fast pace, and I rolled my eyes. Great, I forgot the blubbering idiot is gonna have to watch me every day and every night. I blinked, wondering where that rude thought came from, but I pushed it away.
I slowed down enough for him to catch up to me, and once he did, he began blathering. "Hey, Stern!"
"Hey…" I mumbled.
"Did I ever tell you the time that I was scuba diving in the Pacific? Man, those were good times…" Jim said, changing the subject from earlier.
"I understand that you like to chat and all, but didn't Delmas tell you to just watch my actions and what I say around other people?" I asked him, continuing my way towards the dorm building.
"Uh…yeah! Sorry," he apologized.
I gave him a slight nod and continued on. Today is gonna be a long day, and I have the feeling something is gonna happen that I'm gonna regret.
A/N: Alright, so if you noticed the changes, good for you! If you didn't, well... XD Go back and READ IT AGAIN XD Jk, jk. But seriously, this version will be more put together and fixed up in the little places where it somewhat doesn't feel like it makes any sense. I might put up all eight chapters from before as soon as I read them over and fix the little mistakes, replace words, etc., etc. I'm kinda a little perfectionist when it comes to my stories. Like if there's a few mistakes, I'll get mad at myself and go and change it.
Okay, now I'm rambling.
Anyway, please leave a review. I would love some people to tell me what I'm doing right, wrong, etc. Before I deleted this before, I saw that it had like nearly 30 followers and favorites, and I thank all of you guys for that. I hope I can get a lot more with this one, because well... I love getting favorites and follows. I also love reviews, 'cause they make me feel special, and they also give me motivation to write. If you look on my profile, you'll see that the ones with little reviews were left on hiatus, or are now completed. It's because I didn't have any motivation.
I'm rambling again DX
Anyway! Thanks for readin'! :D