"Who are you talking about?" Ulrich looked at Odd.
Odd looked at the brown haired boy before looking at the others and then back at Ulrich. "Ulrich, you should know who we're talking about. He's…"
"… As smart as Jeremie," Kasey interrupted her boyfriend, looking at Ulrich. "Is as strong as you, and is as fast, if not faster, than Odd."
"You mean that new kid?" This came from Yumi, who had tilted her head to the side and her eyes focused on both Odd and Kasey.
"Yeah," Odd answered her quickly. "He's the only person that we can trust not to tell anyone our secret."
"Okay, not to be a nuisance," Aelita started. "But who are you talking about? Who is he?"
Jeremie looked at his girlfriend. "Everybody knows him as 'Ghost'. But his real name is Alan Pierce. They call him that because of the way he acts; it's as if he was never there. You could be facing him one moment, turn to someone else, and he'd be gone the moment you look back at him. He also rarely speaks to anyone but the teachers."
"So," Aelita said. "Do any of you actually know him?"
"Only by reputation," Yumi said. The others nodded.
"Well," Odd said quietly. "Kasey and I did meet him."
"Meet, him," Kasey asked, scoffing at her boyfriend's words. "We spent the whole day with him. I know he scares people, and it's because he can disappear so quickly and has such a stern disposition; but he's misunderstood. He moved here from America in August and he didn't get a warm reception from any of the students."
"He really is smart," Odd added. "When we walked up on him, he was reading John Locke."
"Well," Jeremie said. "Let's go meet Mr. Pierce."
Alan Pierce sped around the track, his blade wheels almost invisible. He finished his final lap and rolled over to his gear on the grass. Alan stopped and picked up a large, black duffle bag, a dismantled hockey net already in it. Taking off his skate, Alan shoved his two hockey sticks into the bag, followed by three balls and finally his skates. It wasn't until he was tying his shoes did he look up to find six students walking his way.
He recognized the two in front; the blonde boy and his girlfriend. The others he vaguely knew. He decided to ignore the friends, but as he stood up to leave, he heard the blonde boy talking about him. He cringed as the notion that they were here to ask him to do something for them: Edit a paper, read a chapter and summarize it for them, help them study for a test. He'd only actually agreed to the later, once, but all had been asked of him.
As he turned to walk away, he heard a familiar voice. "What's up, Alan?"
"I thought everyone here called me Ghost," Alan said miserably, glaring at the friends.
"Not everyone is a prick," Odd answered.
"Well, that's debatable." Alan stared at each one of the six friends, reading their reaction. Odd and Kasey stayed relaxed; he had done this to them the first time they met. The other blonde haired boy, the one with glasses, flinched and stood feebly in front of the pink haired girl, who had fear racing down her face. It wasn't until he reached the brown haired boy and the Japanese girl did he find an equal; two, in fact. The brown hair boy looked straight into Alan's eyes, challenging Alan just as much as Alan was challenging him. And the girl just stood her ground, not making a move, but that was a challenge in itself.
Yumi stood her ground, but she couldn't help thinking how dangerous this kid could be. He wasn't overly tall, about 5'10", he wasn't even physically imposing, probably weighing 150. No, it was the way he held himself; like he could take on the world alone and win. She wanted to move, but she felt this boy would actually attack if she did.
"Alan," Odd said quickly, before things became dangerous. "We don't want trouble."
"Then what? Help?" Alan sneered at them, tired of everyone asking him for help. "Why don't you ask the genius to help you with your homework?"
"It's not about homework," the brown haired boy retorted. "But yes, we do need help."
"But first," the Japanese girl started. "We need your word."
"That's asking a lot, considering that I can't be 100% that you are telling me the truth."
"Maybe," Jeremie spoke for the first time, Aelita still behind him. "But you'd this isn't a one sided deal. You'd be gaining as much as we would."
"Fine," Alan relented. "But if you're lying, I am out."
"It looks like we don't have anything to worry about, then." Odd smiled, releasing the tension in the air.
Alan dropped the glare, but his demeanor stayed the same. "What is it you want?"
"It would be easier to show you than to explain," Jeremie said. "My name's Jeremie, by the way. And the girl behind me is Aelita."
"And you two," Alan looked at the brown haired boy and the girl behind him. "Are Ulrich and Yumi.
"Well," Alan looked back at Jeremie. "Aren't you going to show me what you need help with?"
Yumi walked behind Alan, unable to keep her eyes, and her mind, off him. His short cut hair seemed to reflect the sun, teasing her sight with different colors: Some blonde, some brown, and even some red. Muscles rippled through his close fitting shirt, hid only by his long short, and reappearing as his calves. She also noticed how pale his inner arms were, hidden from the sun as they were. She wondered if the rest of his body was as pale as his inner arms. It was only when she heard her boyfriend speak did her mind come back to reality.
"You said you were from America," Ulrich said to the boy. "But your accent, it's not just American."
"I lived in England for three years." The answer came out automatically, as if Alan had answered the question too many times before.
Ulrich tried to ask more about Alan's past, but to no avail. It seemed to Yumi that Alan was paying attention more to what lay in front of him than anything else. When she looked where he looked, he found out the 'what' was a 'who'; Kasey. She was about to say something when they reached the manhole.
"I'm assuming this isn't what you want to show me," Alan spoke hostilely. "So why are we here?"
Odd thrust the man hole to the side. "A short cut," he said simply, jumping in.
Alan watched as the others climb down before jumping in him self. He watched the others pick up their skate boards and scooters. Laying down his duffle bag, he made a mental note to get himself a skateboard. For now, though, he'd run. And he did, keeping up with the others, but making sure they were all in front of him. He felt trapped and vulnerable, but as long as they were in front of him, he had a chance.
A few minutes later, the others stopped and waited to climb up to the surface. Alan waited, searching for escape routes or ambush points, in case he did need them or they used them fist. Climbing up, he thought that all they had to do was kick him as soon as his head popped up and no one would know the difference. When that didn't happen, when he saw Odd and Jeremie smiling, he couldn't help but trust them. Sliding the manhole cover back over the sewer he saw the factory in front of them for the first time.
"This is what you need help with?" Alan looked at the other six. Maybe they really are fooling me, he thought, But I've come this far. I might as well see it through.
"Just follow us and you'll see." Yumi smiled at him. It was genuine, and he knew it. It was just hard to believe.
"Fine," he said softly, walking in the middle of the group, confident that he wouldn't be trapped out in the open. He watched as Jeremie pushed the sliding doors open and as Jeremie, Aelita, Odd, and Kasey all slid down the rope. He looked down the edge and calculated that the fall was only twelve feet; not that close, but enough. He shrugged to himself and stepped off the ledge. Landing, he bent his knees and put his hands down, almost catlike.
"Alan," he heard Ulrich say from the top. "What the hell?"
"It's all in the landing," Alan let out, but no more. He walked towards the elevator the other four were standing in. As soon as Yumi, the last to slide down the rope, walked into the elevator, the doors shut and it moved down the levels.
When the doors opened, Alan was looking directly at the super computer. Everyone stepped out, but Odd, the last one out, told Alan to stay in the elevator. "You're going one more level down."
Alan just looked at him and stood in the elevator. The doors closed and the elevator descending again. It stopped with a jolt and the doors opened, reveling three structures in a half circle, all opening to the center of the room.
"Alan," Jeremie's voice reverberated through the room. "Are you there?"
"Yeah. What am I looking at?"
"They're scanners," Jeremie said. "Walk into the center one and wait."
Alan did so. "In." He waited in the middle of the scanner. He heard Jeremie say something, but the next moment he felt the air get warm, his body get light, and the next thing he knew he was in a forest. He looked around then to himself.
"Okay," Alan said. "Where am I? And how?"
"You're in Lyoko; the scanners take your measurements and virtualized you there." Alan could hear Jeremie's voice, but he didn't pay attention to him. Instead, he looked around and jumped.
The six friends watched as Alan's dot disappeared and reappeared a minute later thirty meters north. They all shook their heads and looked again. His stats showed normal and even hinted at him having arrows. His head picture looked the same as it did in life; plain with dirty blonde hair. The dot disappeared again and reappeared this time twenty meters west.
"Alan," Ulrich said into the speaker. "What are you doing?"
"Getting used to the area," the answer came, as simple as ever.
"What are you wearing and what are your weapons," this from Yumi, who added the last part to keep it innocent.
"A black tunic, black pants, a bow and twenty arrows, a xithos on my right arm, and a small dagger on my left hip."
"Where are you disappearing of to?" This question came from Aelita.
"I'm jumping into and from tree to tree."
Watching the new member was a shadow within a shadow. It watched closely, analyzing each movement, determining the best monster to use against this new development. When it saw the kid's face, an idea came to it. I could use this to my advantage, it though to itself. But for now, I wait.
*I know half of you want to kill me and the other half wishes I would die, but I'm here to settle this thing. I finally have time to type the complete story, and that's what I'm doing.