Aw man! One review short! Oh well, I couldn't wait any longer to post this chapter. I have no patience whatsoever.
I put in a disclaimer in the first chapter, but I forgot to put in a claimer: Annabella Rednamalas and Naeva are mine! ALL mine! Muahaha! Other than that, I own squat.
Chapter IV: The Dream
With Yumi, Aelita, Ulrich, Odd, and Jeremie
The group of teens watched the new student leave the building. "I don't trust her," declared Jeremie and folded his arms across his chest. "Why not?" demanded Aelita. "Well," responded Odd through mouthfuls of food, "she's too quiet, and she never smiles."
"Hey, have you guys noticed how hot it is out there?" Yumi asked while fanning herself with her hand. "Yeah," Ulrich answered, "Now that I think about it, it really was. This is some pretty strange weather for March." "Maybe it's a XANA attack," Jeremie said with a worried expression on his face. "Geez, Einstein, you're starting to go paranoid," teased Odd. Aelita gave Odd a stern look and said, "Maybe Jeremie's right. But for now, I think we should just wait to see if it passes. It might just be one of those funny weather patterns."
Yumi gazed thoughtfully out the window. "You know, Jeremie, I think we should give Annabella a chance. I mean, she's new, and she has no friends. Maybe she's just shy." The rest of the teens sat in silence, pondering over the matter, while Odd wolfed down the remainder of his dinner and belched so loud that it rattled the windows.
Yumi stood up. "I'd better go before my parents call the police or something. See you guys later!" Ulrich also got to his feet. "I'll walk you home."
The two walked to Yumi's house in silence, just merely enjoying each other's presence. Yumi broke out into a sweat. Why is it so hot out here? she wondered. They arrived at Yumi's house. "Well, see you tomorrow, Ulrich!" Ulrich opened his mouth as if to say something, but he closed it and shook his head. "Yeah, see you tomorrow." He turned quickly and sprinted back to Kadic.
Ulrich, you moron, why can't you just tell her? Ulrich stopped and took in his surroundings. He was at the gates of Kadic Academy. He ran towards the nearest tree and kicked it. Hard. Ulrich took out his cell phone and glanced at its luminous screen. It was 7:58. He looked up at the dorms and sighed. All of the sudden, it felt like the air was getting steadily warmer. Uh-oh, this isn't good. I'd better tell Jeremie. After all, it could be a XANA attack. Ulrich raced across the courtyard and into the cool air of the dorms.
With Yumi
Yumi watched Ulrich head back to Kadic through her front window. I hope he'll be okay… I wonder what the temperature is.
Yumi walked casually into the kitchen and was greeted by her parents. Her little brother Hiroki was too busy playing his video games to notice. She poured herself a glass of water and took a huge gulp.
She checked the thermometer that was clinging to the outside of the window and almost dropped her glass. 31 degrees? At night in the middle of March? Something's up. Maybe it has to do with XANA. Nah, I doubt it. He just launched an attack not too long ago. I'll talk to Jeremie about it tomorrow.
(By the way, all of the temperature measures in this chapter are in Celsius. So, 31 degrees is approximately 88 degrees Fahrenheit.)
Back at Kadic
Odd, Jeremie, and Aelita headed back to their dorms while discussing Aelita's antivirus. "I think I've got it," said Jeremie for what seemed like the billionth time. "Are you sure?" asked Aelita. "I'm 100 positive. Besides, it's safe from XANA's reach," Jeremie reassured her. "But XANA has hacked into a lot of stuff before," Odd reminded him. Jeremie shoved his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "Trust me, it will work this time."
Aelita waved goodbye as she headed toward her dorm, and the two boys walked up the stairs toward theirs. Shortly, they were joined by a thudding of footsteps and panting as Ulrich rushed up to meet them. "So, how was it?" Odd asked with a sly grin on his face. Ulrich just shrugged and said, "Ok, I guess." Odd rolled his eyes so far that they disappeared behind his eyelids, "You gotta tell her sometime, Ulrich. Otherwise, William will." Ulrich pretended he hadn't heard.
"Hey Jeremie, have you scanned the computer for active towers lately?" Ulrich asked. Jeremie gave Ulrich a funny look. "No. Why?" "Haven't you noticed how hot it is outside?" "Well, yes," the computer genius answered as he unlocked to door to his dorm, "It does seem to be a little warm for this time of year. I'll run a superscan."
The three adolescents clustered around the computer as Jeremie started it up. Odd immediately got bored.
"Man, that thing takes forever to load," he complained as he started jumping up and down on Jeremie's bed. Jeremie gave him a stern look over the rim of his glasses, and Odd plopped down on the bed in mid-bounce.
Just then, the computer screen turned red and started beeping. "Ah, just as I thought," muttered Jeremie, "XANA strikes again!" Odd groaned and slid off the bed. "We'd better call Yumi and Aelita and get to the factory."
With Aelita
Annabella stirred in her sleep as Aelita slipped into the room. Aelita quickly changed into her pajamas and slid into her bed with a rather lumpy mattress, hoping not to wake her roommate. Aelita was drifting off into dreamland, when her mind was jolted by a scream.
Annabella's Flashback Dream
Annabella was sitting on a pink, which was her favorite color at the time, fuzzy bean bag in her room in her old mansion. She was strumming on her acoustic guitar. Her black cat Naeva was curled up on Annabella's pink and orange silk bedspread. It was 9:00 at night. Annabella was tired, but she felt as if she had finally found her place in the world. It was a good feeling. Annabella had everything that she could ever want: A mansion for a house, her very own butler, the best friends she could ask for, her own car (although she couldn't drive yet), the latest technology, and the list went on and on. She was class president, one of the smartest people in school, the captain of the swim team, and she was basically the most popular girl in school. That day, however, had been the best day of her life. Annabella's swim team had just won the championship trophy, and her best friends had thrown a surprise birthday party for her. SLAM! "I'm home!" called her mother. "Hi, mom!" Annabella called from her room. She put down her guitar and shuffled out of the room, with Naeva in tow. Annabella walked down the richly carpeted hallway, until she got to the elevator. She pressed the down button, and the doors immediately slid open, revealing a large marble interior with mirrors on the walls. "Naeva!" she called, and the cat padded silently into the elevator. The doors slid closed, and the elevator glided smoothly to the main floor. When the doors finally opened, Annabella rushed out to meet her mother and gave her a bear hug. She looked up into her mother's face. There were lines of stress on her forehead, and there were dark circles under her eyes. Annabella wondered exactly how strenuous her job was, being a computer scientist and all. All of the sudden the phone rang. "I'll get it," said Annabella's mother, with a smile on her face. She rushed to the phone and picked it up. "Hello?" Any trace of a smile that had been on her face was completely wiped out as she listened to the person speaking on the phone. Her expression grew more and more serious as the person on the other end continued. The person finished speaking, and her mother hung up. "Annabella," she said, trying to keep her voice steady, "XANA is plotting something dangerous. Go pack your bags, and meet me down here. We have to go into hiding. Please be quick about it." Annabella's insides went cold. She didn't have a clue who or what XANA was, but she had heard her mother discussing it over the phone or with her father. Annabella had heard enough about it to know it was dangerous. Her mind was fuzzy with shock. A million questions were racing through her mind. She barely noticed where she was going as she headed back to her room and got out her duffle bag. Annabella rushed around and made sure all of the necessary things were packed up before she packed anything else. She drifted over to the shelf with all of her books. Annabella longed to take them all with her but knew that they would only take up valuable space. She smiled as she picked up the picture frame with a picture of her and her closest friends. That picture had been taken earlier that day. Annabella sighed and stuffed it into her bag. "Annabella, we need to go!" her mother called over the intercom. Her stomach lurched, and she had this annoying feeling at the pit of her stomach like she had forgotten something. Of course! She picked up her guitar and gently put it back into its case. Annabella picked up the case, shouldered the duffle bag and dashed out of the room. She took the stairs this time. The lights flickered, and Annabella ran harder. She skidded to a halt at bottom of the stairs. "Mom!" she bellowed. No answer. Annabella was beginning to become frantic. "Mom!" she shouted again. Thankfully her mother came into the room. "Annabella, I have something to give you," she thrust a small plastic key-shaped thing and a note into her hand. "Keep this safe, and don't tell anyone about it, do you understand me?" Annabella nodded and put the key along with the note in her pocket. She knew she shouldn't ask questions. The lights flickered again, and they heard a small explosion coming from the basement. "We're under attack! Hurry!" her mother shouted as she ushered Annabella out the door while trying to carry three suitcases, two being full of important papers from her work. Zzzzzt! The lights went out. They were submerged into utter darkness. Annabella and her mother groped for the door in the darkness. "Got it!" Annabella's mom shouted. She shoved Annabella out the door and said in a rushed voice, "I have to go back for something. Stand back, the house is very unstable, and I don't want you to get hurt." Annabella rushed out to the street. Her mother turned and went back into the house. Then complete silence. All of the sudden, Annabella was deafened by a sonic boom and was submerged into total darkness. She screamed into the darkness.
Regular P.O.V.
Annabella sat up in bed to find that she was drenched in sweat. The only thing she could remember of the dream was the infinite darkness at the end of it. Aelita came rushing from the other side of the room. "Are you okay?" she asked with a frightened expression. Annabella nodded, "It was only a bad dream." She had said that not only to reassure Aelita, but to reassure herself.
"What was your nightmare about?" questioned Aelita. Annabella sat in silence for a moment before she answered "Uhhh, I was being chased by monsters," she lied. Aelita cocked her head to the side, "Those must have been some pretty scary monsters. It sounded like you were screaming bloody murder." For some reason Annabella felt like Aelita knew she was lying. "Is there anything you want to talk about?" Aelita questioned further. Annabella shook her head and buried her head in her arms. "No, thanks. I'm tired and I think I would like to go back to sleep. Goodnight." Aelita didn't look convinced, but she smiled and said, "Ok. Goodnight."
Annabella was having a dream about eating a giant marshmallow when she was jolted awake. Awww maaan, that was such a good dream. What the heck woke me up? She sat up and thought she saw the door to her room click shut. She shook her head. Probably just my imagination. She stumbled sleepily out of bed and walked over to Aelita's.
"Aelita," she called. No answer. She tried again. Still no answer. Annabella pulled back the covers to reveal a bunch of pillows and blankets stuffed under it. She sighed and shuffled over to the door. Annabella poked her head out of it, and she thought she saw a flash of pink rounding the corner at the end of the hallway.
Annabella decided to follow it. She ran down the hallway and sped around the corner. Her heart was beating in her throat. She felt anxious, but she didn't know why.
There it was again! The flash of pink disappeared up the stairwell. Annabella followed in hot pursuit and swept gracefully up the stairs, trying to make the least amount of noise. The flash of pink disappeared behind a door to one of the dorm rooms. Annabella slowed to a walk and tried to catch her breath. She crept up to the door and pressed her ear against it. She heard voices. They were talking softly, but Annabella could still make out parts of the conversation.
"What should we do? If we try to go to the factory, we'll get scorched by XANA. What's the temperature, anyway?"
"38 degrees.(102° F) Besides, we can always go through the door in the janitor's closet."
Annabella's heart started beating faster. How do they know about XANA? Agh, I've heard that name before, but I just can't place it. The sound of that name sent up a little red flag.
There was a hint of panic in the next voice, "How are we going to get to the factory?"
Silence reigned.
"I guess we'll just have to make a run for it. Hey, Jer, what time is it?"
"11:47 P.M."
"We'd better go now. If we wait for sunrise, the sun will only make it warmer."
"Well, what are we waiting for?"
"Yumi."
"Oh yeah."
Complete silence.
Annabella continued to think. I know I've heard the name XANA before… I just can't place it. Then a wave of realization crashed upon her. XANA is the one who killed my mother! He was the one who ruined my life. She had dedicated her life to shutting him down, but it all turned out my mother's attempts were fruitless. A flame of burning anger swept over her. Annabella vowed to get revenge if it was the last thing she did.
All of the sudden, the dorm door swung inward, and Annabella fell flat on her face. The Lyoko gang started in shocked silence. She had been caught.
I hope everyone enjoyed that chapter… I had tons of fun writing it! Please, please, Please, PLEASE review!