To remiond you all... this fic was written back before I had much writing talent :) and I just wanted to post it up to see if it was any good. With the proper motivation, I'll be able to rewrite it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko, never have, never will.
CHAPTER 3
Jeremie told me that as soon as they had materialized Aelita, they shut off the super computer for fifteen years until this group of scientists found it and turned it on again. "That Xana! I'm sure he used you as a replacement for losing Aelita. He wanted a prisoner, so he took the least expecting person."
I looked at him. I remember the days twenty-five years ago when I was taller than he was, and now he towered over me. "So, you and Aelita are finally together?" I grinned.
He glanced at me and started blushing, " Well, yeah… and two kids."
I whistled. "You and Aelita must have had a nice marriage."
"Even now, she and I are doing really well. Also—"
"Wait!" I interrupted. Sorry Jeremie. "That means that you found the anti-virus."
"Actually no. When Xana took you into Lyoko, I guess he must have lost interest in Aelita. There was no virus to delete."
"…What about my parents… and the school?"
"What do you mean?"
"Didn't they wonder where I had gone?"
"No, remember, when Xana wiped our memories, he made sure that not even your parents remembered you existed. As far as they are concerned, they don't have a son."
What? "So-So I don't a family, or a life?"
"On Earth, you don't even exist."
I ran out of the factory, making my way up the rusted elevator. I was shocked that it still worked. I ran across the grass, through the forest, into the school and into my dorm. Or, it was my dorm twenty-five years ago. When I closed the door, I heard a yell. Someone was sleeping in Odd's old bed, and my carelessness woke him up.
"What are you doing in here? I'm going to call Nick if you don't leave now."
"Nick… Nicholas?"
"He'd rather be called Nick. He's the gym teacher, and he's real strict."
"Sorry, but I..."
The kid turned on the lights. He wore a long red PJ shirt. His hair was black and spiked up, not like Odd's, but more like a porcupine's quills. He took a long look at me. I could tell my vision was blurring, but I didn't think it was that bad until he handed me a tissue. "You okay, man?"
"I'm just fine." I used my shirtsleeve to wipe my face clean.
"No you're not. My mom cries a lot, so I can tell when someone's tearing up."
"I'm not crying! Why does she cry? Do your parents get in fights?"
"Nah, she just says that she misses her friend. He disappeared one day. He was like a brother to my dad, and he and my mom went out a couple times. I don't want to offend him, but I'm kind of glad he went missing. I don't think my parents would have gotten married then. What's your story?"
"Let's just say my best friends left me behind, and nobody knows I exist."
"Are you new?"
"Yeah, actually. I've been here before, but not for a long time."
"You can room with me tonight, then we can talk to Mrs. Dunbar about getting you a room."
"Mrs. Dunbar? Who's she?"
"She's the principal. Hey, you sure you used to come here?"
"It was a long time ago." Try twenty-five years. "Anyway, thanks a lot." So, I slept in his room that night. The next morning, he led me to the principal's office. Inside, a professional-looking woman sat at the desk. She had black hair and her hair was pulled back in a headband.
I sat down in one of the two chairs set up. "Hello, what can I do for you?" Her voice was a bit snobbish.
Before I could answer, a knock interrupted me. "Hold on, please," she asked me, then turned her attention to the visitor, "What!"
The door opened and in walked the secretary, a man probably in his late thirties. His hair was blond, but I could pick up traces of purple in it. Odd? He walked in, without turning in my direction, and whispered to Sissy. That's right! Mrs. Dunbar is Sissy!
"I don't care, Della Robbia! I want those packages in here by tomorrow afternoon, you here that?"
Odd shrank back, and replied, "Yes, I do." He strutted out the room.
"And pick up your feet!" Sissy turned back to me. "Okay, now where were we?"
I explained my need of a new dorm, and she gladly gave me the necessary information. I looked at the sheet she passed me. I was supposed to room with a 'Keith D.' whoever that was. My schedule told me that Math was my first class, so I headed that way. I still remembered where classes were and things like that, but I felt more and more like a lost puppy. Everybody I knew in this school was old and had a job. I had no friends my age... Not anymore.
Instead of Mrs. Mayer, I had Mr. Pichon, or Herve. In History, instead of Mr. Lemur, I had a new teacher named Mr. Plath. My day wore away like that, until Chemistry came around. Instead of Ms. Hertz, I had Mrs. Belpois, or Aelita! She asked me to introduce myself to the entire class. "I'm Ulrich Stern."
At the sound of my name, she glanced back at me as she tried her best to remember the forgotten. "Thank you, you can sit down now," she said with a frown. During the rest of the class hour, she sat there, with scrunched eyebrows.
To my left, the boy that helped me this morning and last night sat hunched over his work. I leaned closer to him. "Hey, so you know a Keith D.?"
"I'm Keith, why?"
"Looks like I'm your new roommate."
"Cool." He acted a lot cooler than I had when I first figured out that Odd was rooming with me. I had immediately set ground rules when we first met, and then I tried to avoid him until night came around. Odd didn't seem to mind, anyhow. He probably thought I was just a tough nut to crack, which I am, and that he'd get to me eventually, which he did. I'm glad he did, because we had the best friendship afterward. He was my best friend; without him I—
"Ulrich Stern!" I glanced at Mrs. Belpois. She stood from her desk and walked to me, but she wasn't angry. She looked me hard in the eye. I could see her eyes watering up. She remembered!
"Is something wrong, ma'am?" I asked, noticing everyone else's confused stares.
"Huh? Oh, no. I'm sorry, please continue your assignment. That goes for everyone," she ordered. When she walked back to her desk, she stole one last glance at me.
I stayed behind when class was dismissed. "Hi, Aelita."
"I can't believe it, Ulrich, what happened?"
"I can't understand much of anything Jeremie says, so ask him."
"Jeremie knows?" I nodded. She ran up to me and hugged me, and I returned it. Though she was one of my best friends, it felt more like hugging my teacher. How ironic that she actually turned out to be my teacher.
Two down, two to go. "So, you're attending Kadic… again?" she laughed.
"Yeah, Jeremie helped me escape Xana's clutches, so now I've got to finish school. See you, Aelita… I mean, Mrs. Belpois. Say hi to Jeremie for me." I ran out, feeling a little better that Aelita now remembered me, but I still needed to find Yumi and somehow get to Odd. He looked busy last time I saw him. I felt sorry that he ended up working for Sissy.
Outside, Keith called me over, "Ulrich, over here!" I saw a whole group of kids standing behind him. I approached them. "Ulrich, I want you to meet my friends. This is Skye, my older sister."
She waved at me. Skye had long blond hair cut into layers. She wore a pink crop top under a purple mini vest. She wore a short purple skirt and a lighter shaded pair of bellbottoms. She looked too familiar to be a coincidence.
"This is her friend, John." I looked at John. He had blond hair and he wore a blue T-shirt. Also, he wore khaki pants.
"This is his younger brother, Micah." Micah had thick reddish hair; actually, it looked almost pink. He had wire-framed glasses and wore a long-sleeved shirt and pants that matched his unique hair color perfectly.
"And this is my twin sister, Naomi." Naomi looked exactly like Keith, except her raven-colored hair was much longer. She wore a black shirt and black pants.
"Guys, this is Ulrich Stern, my new roommate," he introduced me to his friends. They accepted me into their group right away.
"When did Sissy Delmas become principal?" I asked.
"Who?"
"Oh, I mean Elizabeth Dunbar. When did she become the principal?"
"Right after she married Mr. Dunbar, I think. He's a construction worker," Skye answered.
"Mr. Dunbar," I repeated in thought. "You mean, William?"
"I don't know his first name. Why did you suddenly become so interested?" Keith asked.
"Never mind," I mumbled. I just wanted to know. So shoot me! My entire life passed without me, and now I have to live with the sons or daughters of everyone I knew. I wouldn't be surprised if I met one of Jeremie and Aelita's kids.
"What's your next class after lunch, Ulrich?"
"Uh, Physics," I answered, looking at my schedule.
"Us too," Micah and Naomi replied at once. They smiled at each other.
"Anyway, it's lunch time now. Let's go eat!" We all began strolling toward the lunchroom.
"Hold on, Naomi. Remember that diet we talked about?" Skye mentioned.
"What diet? There is no such thing as a diet for the always-hungry-Naomi." I laughed; it's been a long time since I had any reason to do that.
"Naomi's only enemy is anyone who stands in between her and her food," John explained.
"Better believe it. Anyway, Keith and his feet have got it worse."
"What's wrong with my feet?"
"Don't tell me that you haven't noticed how badly your feet smell. Every time you take off your shoes, Skye and I have to run for cover."
"That's why Mom makes you take off your shoes in your room with the doors locked," Skye laughed.
"Man, my role as a super stud is at stake. No girl is going to want to go out with… with a—"
"—A walking pool of toxic waste," John finished. I couldn't help but hysterically laugh at the remark.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"It's hard to talk when you're holding your nose, good buddy," Micah answered, chuckling.
"I thought you were joking…" Keith held his head.
Skye put an arm around her brother, "Don't worry, I'm sure modern medicine has found some kind of cure."
"Well, there's amputation." I laughed with everyone else at John's joke. I remembered the feeling of having friends… of being part of a group, where everyone accepts you. Keith grumbled the rest of the way to the lunchroom. When I grabbed my tray of mashed potatoes and gravy, I sat in between Keith and Micah. Skye sat in front of me, in between John and Naomi.
"So, Ulrich, where are you from?" Skye asked.
"Uh… America." Why did they want to know about me? "I moved here last week."
"Oh, where in America? It's a big country, you know."
"New York…"
"Wow, have you seen the Liberty Statue?" Naomi asked.
"Yeah, I mean no… You know what? Enough about me; how about you, John?"
"What about me?"
"Who are your parents?"
"My dad works with a bunch of scientists, and my mom's the Chemistry teacher, Mrs. Belpois."
"Mrs. Belpois? Aelita Belpois? She's your mom?"
He was shaken by my sudden outburst. "…Yeah…"
I had just befriended my friends' sons John and Micah. I looked closer at the two, noticing the resemblances to both Aelita and Jeremie. John was almost a striking image of Jeremie except he didn't have glasses. Micah had Jeremie's eyes, but the rest took after Aelita.
I sat back, forgetting my mashed potatoes. I slid my tray to Naomi who gobbled it down hungrily. "Is everything okay, Ulrich?"
I glanced at Skye. "Yeah, don't worry about it."
Keith broke the five-second silence; "I'm having a little party at my house, Sunday. It's just for my closest friends, you guys."
"Ooh, is Mom making those fudge brownies, again?" Naomi asked. After Keith nodded, she held her stomach; "Yum!"
"You have to admit, your mom makes the best brownies I've ever tasted. You can count me in," John said.
"I think everyone wants to come," Micah agreed. "What about you, Ulrich? Are you coming to the party?"
"A party, huh? Where is this party?" a voice asked behind me. I turned to see a striking image of Sissy.
"Lovely, mind your own business."
"Why should I? Are you going to tell your daddy?" she mocked. "Remember, Skye, my mom's in charge."
"Just because you're a Dunbar doesn't mean you can do whatever you want."
"No, but I'm real close."
"What, are you lonely, Lovely? You have to pry into other people's business just to find friends? I feel so sorry for you," I replied sarcastically.
"Oh, and who are you?" her voice softened. "You know, if you give me the information I need about the party, then maybe I'll let you be my date."
Like mother, like daughter. "No, I'd rather go with your mom than go with you."
Everyone began laughing except for her. "Well, don't we have a smart mouth."
"You and who else?" I shot back. That only made everyone laugh harder.
She grunted. "That smart remark just lost you the chance to go out with me."
I exaggerated a sigh. "I've been saved!"
She stomped off. Once Skye calmed down she asked, "You seem to have a lot of experience with people like her. Did you know someone like her back home?"
"Yeah. Her name was Sissy. Almost every guy flipped over her."
"Same with Lovely. It's like no guy can resist her charm," Keith added.
"Speak for yourself," John said.
Naomi asked, still stuffing her mouth, "Did you like this Sissy?"
"Are you kidding? She's the one flipped over me. She once stole my diary, and blackmailed me into dating her. If anything, I should be angry with her."
"But you're not. Do you miss her?" Skye asked.
"…That can happen when you're this far from home," I defended.
"Don't worry. Maybe you'll be able to visit your friends in New York someday." I don't think time is something you can travel back to.
"Wait; she stole your diary? I would have been furious," Micah said.
"I was."
"How did you get it back?"
"One of my friends… she blackmailed Sissy into giving me my diary back."
"She must have been a real good friend… the one who helped you get your diary back."
"Yeah…"
John asked, "Did you forgive Sissy?"
I thought about all the questions I had just answered without caution. I'm lucky I haven't given myself up yet. "…You know, I think I'll be at that party. Is my invitation still open?"
"Yeah," Micah answered.
"Just meet us at the soda machine Sunday morning."
For those readers that recognized it, I took one scene from a Code Lyoko episode and added it into this story. Just some info there before I say "Please R&R."
Smiles!!
