Okay, I'm back yet again. I know it's been tooooooooo long since I've updated this story. I'm very sorry for that. I've been very busy, and I devoted time to only one story—the one everyone seemed to like whenever I updated all of my stories at the time. Also, (I'm bit ashamed to say) I didn't really know where to take this story exactly. The plot to a story like this is hard to me because it could easily go wrong. I've got a better idea as to where I want this story to go, but like three of my other stories, I'm really just winging it. Well enough prattling let's get on to the story.
Chapter 3: A Little Help from Xana
Ulrich yawned as he sat up in his bed. He looked over to Odd's bed to see that he was already out of the room. Ulrich looked out of the window. The sun was blaring through the window, hurting his eyes. "Dang. It must be very late." Ulrich mumbled. He had the weirdest dream—or at least he thought it was a dream—about Xana being a human that was dwelling inside his mind. That would make for a great conversation piece with the others. Ulrich thought.
"It wasn't a dream, imbicile. Don't downgrade into one of your petty fantasies."
"Whoa!" Ulrich yelped as he jumped from shock and fell out of the bed. "What the heck!"
"Yes, what the heck. That what I thought, when you were thinking of actually denying me my existence." Xana said.
"So it wasn't a dream?"
" . . . Yes, it was a dream. You're just hallucinating right now. No, I'm joking. You're still dreaming."
"Okay, I get it. Just realize that your story is still hard to swallow right now."
"I understand. But just a word of caution; stop talking out loud. Someone's really going to think you're insane. Just think it. I can "hear" all of your thoughts."
"Okay." Ulrich thought.
"Um, shouldn't be getting ready for school. It's already past eight. You don't really have a lot of time to be standing there."
"Oh! Right!" Ulrich exclaimed as he zipped around the room, throwing his clothes on, and dashing out the door.
Ulrich ran all the way to his science class, and barely made it through the door before the bell rang.
"Wow, nice super-sprint." Xana commented. "I always liked that ability."
"Thanks." Ulrich replied in his mind.
Ulrich took his seat next to Odd. "Hey, buddy. Nice of you to wake up." Odd whispered as Mrs. Hertz started her lecture.
"Why didn't you wake me?" Ulrich asked.
"I tried, but you just kept swatting my hand away and turning over. Guess you needed that sleep, huh?"
"Yeah, I did. I had the craziest dream though."
"Oh really? Was it about Yumi?" Odd gave Ulrich a mischievous smirk.
"No." Ulrich said trying to hide his blush.
"Oh, seeing as I couldn't wake you. I thought I'd take a picture of you and send it to Yumi." Ulrich looked at Odd with an expression of shock on his face.
"You did what?" Ulrich said, barely keeping his voice at a whisper. Odd was trying his hardest to keep from laughing out loud.
"Shh, Ulrich, I'm trying to listen to Mrs. Hertz talk about molecules or whatever." Ulrich rolled his eyes and turned to listen to Mrs. Hertz.
Lunchtime came, and Ulrich was on his way to the cafeteria when he saw Principal Delmas standing at the entrance as if he were waiting for someone.
"Whoa! Is that Mr. Delmas!" Xana exclaimed.
"You know him?" Ulrich asked.
"Uh-huh. He was a teacher when I was still a student here. He hasn't changed a bit."
"Mr. Stern. I've been looking for you." Mr. Delmas said as Ulrich approached him.
"What is it sir?"
"You have an important phone call from your father. You may use the phone in my office to answer him."
Ulrich felt his heart skip a grade. It had to be about the failing report card that was just sent out last week.
"That icy feeling in gut tells me that this is bad. I suspect your father will be livid about your grades, huh?"
Ulrich silently made his way to the principal's office. When he got there he stared at the phone. He took a deep breath, picked it up, and said, "Hello."
"Three F's, 2 D's, a C, and only one A." the deep, baritone voice of Mr. Stern boomed from the other end of the phone.
"Dad," Ulrich started.
"I don't want to hear it! It's the same excuses with you. Why are doing this to yourself?"
"You think I want to fail? I'm trying my hardest!" Ulrich yelled.
"You're not trying at all! Just what in the world are you doing that's making you constantly fail? You were never this bad when you went to school here in Germany. Do you need to come back home?"
"No!" Ulrich shouted desperately. He couldn't bear the thought of leaving his friends. Especially now that the fight with Xana was over, and he'd now have ample time to study.
"Well something has to change. Maybe you need to leave Kadic. I should've never sent you there in the first place. You've been doing terrible ever since you enrolled."
"But I like it here. It's taken time, but I have improved my grades."
"Going from five F's to three is hardly improvement. I have a hard time believing that you're trying your hardest as well. It's those friends of yours isn't it? You need to stop hanging around them. They're a bad influence on you."
"My friends have nothing to do with this! It's my problem. It's my fault! And I'll fix it! Taking me out of Kadic isn't going to solve anything! I need to fix my problem, but you have to let me figure it out for myself!" Ulrich argued. Silence followed. Ulrich blinked. Where in the world did that come from? It felt as if someone else was talking for him.
"So it's you, huh? I don't believe it. You're better than that. It's Kadic's fault! They've failed you. Now I'm going to send for you after the end of the quarter—"
"No, Dad. The school didn't fail me. I failed the school. I failed you. But most importantly I've failed myself. I've been . . . finding myself I guess you could say. And I let my priorities slip away from me. But I probably would've realized it sooner if had a better support system." Ulrich said with an implied insult towards his father. Ulrich could picture the look of shock on his father's face. Ulrich never came at his father like this before, and definitely not with this argument.
Ulrich was shocked himself. It was like someone else was talking for—oh crap, the power-hungry maniac's running wild at the mouth! Xana was actually talking for Ulrich.
"What in the world do you think you're doing?" Ulrich yelled in his mind.
"I'm saving you from the chance of being taken out of Kadic. Now let me talk to your father. I've had years of pondering over what I'd say to my own father. And I've seen other children have the same talks with their own parents. I know what works."
"Dad. I will bring up my grades. There will be no F's—not even a single D on my next report card. In fact, I'll have more than one A on that report card. I'm not promising you all A's. That'll take time. We have to be realistic." Ulrich paused. "I'll make you, mother, and myself proud. But I want you to know that I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for myself. I understand that you want what's best for me, and that you have a hard time getting your feelings across. I get that from you, Dad. I guess it comes from the military, huh? If you still want to take me out of Kadic, well that's your choice. I'm your son, and I have to obey your rules. But if you take me out when I'm just beginning to realize my potential—when I'm just starting to realize what I need to focus on—you'll be doing me more harm than good. You'll stunt my growth of confidence in myself, and you'll make me think that you've given up on me and there's no hope. Don't do that to me, Dad." There was a long pause. "Dad?" You still there?"
"I am." Mr. Stern said. He sounded different. For one, he wasn't yelling. Two, he actually sounded kind of happy. And three, he was still a bit taken aback from Ulrich's speech. "I'm giving you one more chance. You better . . . I'm trusting you to make the most of it."
"Thank you, Father. That's all I want." Ulrich said. This time, he was speaking for himself. Ulrich hung up the phone and let out a chuckle. "You're crazy." He said out loud.
"Well it worked. You should be thanking me."
"Thank you." Ulrich said. "Thanks a lot. Thank you very much!"
"Okay, once was fine. You're entering looneyville again. Stop before someone comes in."
"Sorry. I'm just surprised that that actually worked. He didn't even curse!"
Xana laughed. "That's good. Now go eat some food. I can feel your stomach growling."
Ulrich strutted towards the cafeteria and got his lunch. As he approached the table, Yumi saw him and smiled. "Hey, sleepy head. Taking a nap before meeting us." She joked.
"Odd showed you that dumb picture, didn't he?" Yumi nodded.
"I guess you were taking a well-deserved sleep from Xana." Aelita chimed in.
"I suppose so. I felt energized when I woke up."
"You weren't the only one, sleeping like a log. Jeremie was surgically attached to his bed." Aelita giggled at the thought.
Jeremie frowned as a slight blush creeped across his face. "I just forgot how comfortable my bed was."
"Much more comfortable than a keyboard and a computer chair, eh?" Ulrich joked. The others laughed.
"That, my friend, is the understatement of the year."
"Hey! You know what we should do?" Odd said after swallowing the last of his mashed potatoes. "We should throw a victory party tomorrow!"
"That's a great idea." Aelita agreed.
"I could come. Patrick's sleeping over tomorrow, and I don't want to be bothered with him AND Hiroki." Yumi said.
"Then it's agreed. We shall all celebrate the end of Xana." Jeremie said. "May we never return to that past again." The others laugh.
"That wasn't that bad of a joke, Einstein." Odd said, impressed. "I'm rubbing off on you, aren't I?"
"Oh God. I hope not." Jeremie said as he shivered at the thought of being more like Odd. They all laughed.
"I'm so glad you all can celebrate my demise. May it bring you all true happiness!" Xana said in mock enjoyment.
"Well for me, it's the celebration of the AI's end. If that makes up for it at all." Ulrich responded.
"So why were you late, Ulrich?" Yumi asked.
"My father called." The other's grew grim.
"What did he want?" Aelita asked.
"Well you all know what he wants." Ulrich mumbled.
"A's." Odd said absentmindedly. Ulrich glared.
"Yeah, A's. But he said he was going to take me out of Kadic and move me back to Germany." Everyone at the table gasped and let out cries of disagreement. "But I actually managed to get him to give me one more try. But I had to really sell it. I can't make a single failing grade, and I have to have more than one A on that report card.
"Well at least you PE down. That's one A you don't have to worry about." Odd said. The others glared.
"Odd this is serious." Yumi said sternly. "Ulrich could leave us for good."
"I know. I don't like it either." Odd said glumly.
"We'll tutor you." Jeremie offered. "Well Aelita, Yumi, and I could tutor you. Odd might make you fail even worse if he tutored you."
"I'm no disagreeing." Odd said as he took Jeremie's roll and bit into it.
"Yeah, we can work some kind of study plan, and help you." Aelita said.
"That's exactly what I need." Ulrich said.
"You will help me too, right?" Ulrich asked.
"Of course. I didn't just give the most dazzling speech for you to just get kicked out. But absolutely no cheating. I'm not just going to tell you what the answers are or how to get them during a test."
"Fair enough."
"So it's agreed. Ulrich and Odd will be under our careful tutelage." Jeremie declared.
"You're just making all kinds of delcarations." Ulrich smirked.
"Wait. You said Ulrich AND Odd. My parents aren't threatening to take me out of Kadic."
"Please, you'll get expelled for your grades alone." Yumi said. "We can't have that. Besides, if you can't help Ulrich with tutoring, you can at least be there for moral support."
Odd mumbled something about annoying friends that cared too much and took a bite out of Yumi's mashed potatoes.
After lunch, they went their separate ways, and eventually met back up at their bench at the end of the school day. After more talking and joking, Yumi stood up and said her goodbyes to the gang.
"Yumi, I'll walk you home." Ulrich said abruptly as he practically jumped off of the bench. Ulrich looked rather annoyed which puzzled Yumi. He quickly put a smile on his face. Xana was "speaking up" again.
"There is no way you're doing this to keep me in Kadic."
"No, but it's still fun. I wanna see some drama."
"Glad, I can entertain."
The walk to Yumi's started with a nice, awkward silence. That always gets the mood going!
Xana sighed. "This is boring. Say something."
"Well I didn't even want to be in this position!"
"Yeah right. You love this girl. Now flirt with her."
"I'm not just going to start putting moves on her."
"Well at least say something. This is ridiculous."
"What's ridiculous is me letting you roam around in my head."
"Ulrich." Yumi said.
"What?" Ulrich snapped. "Oh, sorry! I-I was just very deep in thought, and you kind of startled me."
"Oh." Yumi said, rather disappointed.
"Idiot! You just made it look like you don't really care about her!"
"How?"
"You were pondering while walking with her. Like you have other things on your mind besides her."
"Well it's not my fault! It's you—,"
"So, uh, what were you thinking about?"
Ulrich looked at her, and didn't know what to say. They then felt his lips move without his wanting to. "You—and the others." He quickly added. Xana was still possessing people, the scoundrel.
Yumi was blushing. "What about us?"
Ulrich looked around as if the answer was somewhere around Yumi's neighborhood. Ulrich felt himself stop walking. Xana was now making him stop moving.
"No! Don't get to Yumi's just yet. Talk."
Ulrich sighed. "Just about how things were going to be now that Xana's gone." Ulrich said Xana's name with venom in his voice.
"Oh, I love you too." Xana chirped.
"Well we'll be able to have a lot more fun for once." Yumi said smiling at him. Ulrich could melt under that smile. It made him smile.
"Yeah, but in a weird twist of fate, we met and became friends because of Xana."
"I guess we owe him that much. But that's about it."
"For you maybe, but I'm about to get Ulrich a girlfriend." Xana joked.
"Shut up, she can't hear you."
"I could just use your voice, you know."
"You're right. Things are going to feel a lot different though. But I'm ready for it. It's what we've all wanted."
"You're right." Yumi agreed. "We can keep our friendship strong without Lyoko and Xana. I'm sure of it."
"Yeah, our friendship."
"So, about the tutoring thing. If ever need to, you can always come over if you really need help."
"Oh baby! She wants you in the house!"
"It is not like that."
"Well it's good enough for me!"
"I'll be sure to take you up on that. I need you, you know. Because, uh, I'm not going to pass by myself." Ulrich quickly added the last part. He and Yumi were blushing this time.
"Okay. I'll be there for you." Yumi said looking him in the eyes. It was as if there was double meaning in those words. And there was. But Ulrich didn't dwell on that too long. He walked her the rest of the way back, and gave her hug (Xana's doing) which caught her by surprise. He blushed and waved goodbye as he walked off without saying a word.
"I'm going to kill you." Ulrich said to Xana.
"Okay. Just realized that in order to kill me, you'll have to kill yourself so good luck with that."
"You're really enjoying this aren't you?"
"I told you that I wanted to observe life through your eyes. And I gotta say, this better than The Sims. This better than TV! I picked the right mind to invade."
"Exactly. Invade. You're possessing me! I thought you were supposed to be good."
"Well when you've been trapped in a computer for years on end, the last thing on your mind (well technically your mind seeing as I'm in it) is being nice and mannerable. No you want action! You want romance! You want suspense! Now I can't have that, so I'll have to settle with you having it for me."
"So . . . if I did go on a date with you and stuff. Could you . . ."
"Could I be able to feel her kiss you and stuff?"
" . . . Yeah." Ulrich said weakly.
"I could. But I won't invade your privacy that much. I'll just shut myself out."
"You can do that?"
"Yes. I have access to your brain. That's how I can make you say or do things." Ulrich felt violated.
"So what, you just move into the deep recesses of my mind?"
"Wow, I didn't know you knew that word. You're smarter than I thought you were. Well I've only been in the brain for a day, so I guess I wouldn't be able to guage your intelligence right off the bat." Ulrich was annoyed. "But yes. I go into the part of brain that's not being used, that way, I can give you privacy. Just let me know when to come out, that way I won't be coming out when this are . . . coming off."
"You're a pervert." Ulrich said angrily.
"Sorry! I only peeked in the girl bathroom once!" Odd said. Ulrich was startled. He didn't realize that he had already made his way back to his dorm.
"Well don't ever do it again." Ulrich said.
"How'd you find out? You psychic or something?"
"No. My other mind told me." Ulrich said, making an inside joke.
"Whatever." Odd said as he got into his bed and turned over to face the wall. He was out in a second.
"This was a great day today, Ulrich. Thank you. I think this is the start of a beautiful—and possibly mentally confusing—friendship." Xana said.
"Same to you. You're not the evil, maniacal, monster I thought you to be. Just don't make me flirt with Yumi again. I can handle that myself."
"Really? Well we'll see won't we?"
"We have a lot to see. That's the least of it, if you ask me." With that, Ulrich turned in for the night.
I'm done. I'm sleepy, and I think I'm a bit disoriented. I've been staring at the screen for an hour straight now. I'm proud of myself. I really like this chapter. I like where it's headed too. So here's insight on the next chapter. Ulrich begins his tutoring, and Xana proves his smarts to the former samurai. And when Ulrich and the others go out in the town for some fun, Xana reveals some more of his tricks that will be greatly needed.
Chapter 4: Smarts that Smart