Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners, particularly the characters taken from the animated series, Code Lyoko. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


The next few days brought new faces to the factory. Two of them were the new senior security staff for the club, Gennedy Checkov and Anitoly Tupelev. They were rough and tumble looking men, Russian in origin, and said they had quite a bit of experience running security in nightspots. Henri Bass didn't look all that happy they were here, but welcomed them anyway.

For all of their outward gruffness, the two Russians were polite towards Aelita, Sissi and Sophie, and casual with everyone else. It was hard to understand their French sometimes, due to the accents, but they were generally able to get their point across.

The third new face wasn't all that friendly, however. Henri introduced him only as Giuseppe, and said he was a representative of the company that was subletting the assembly room. Henri also said that under no circumstances was anyone from the club to go into that section of the factory without a specific invitation. Giuseppe's company was working on some very sensitive projects, and their privacy was guaranteed by the lease agreement.

One good thing that came along with the new faces was an infusion of cash. Bass instructed Sophie to make sure Aelita had a wardrobe ready for the club's opening, which was that Friday.

"You heard the boss," Sophie told her protégé, "let's get you a few more things."


Odd Della Robbia was walking towards the school's Rec Room, minding his own business, when a door swung open, and he was grabbed by the collar and pulled into an empty classroom.

"Hey! What's the big deal!" he hollered.

"Shut your mouth and I'll tell you," replied Sissi Delmas, "you're going to help me with a couple of problems I have."

"Now why on earth should I help you?" Odd asked.

"One: it will help Aelita," Sissi told him, "and two: you want to keep that mangy mutt in your dorm, right?"

"Kiwi is not mangy!" Odd retorted.

"Whatever. You are going to help me insure that Jeremie goes with Aelita when the club opens this weekend, and you are going to escort me to the opening."

"I don't have a problem with the first part; but I'll die before I let myself be seen with you again. I've got a reputation to uphold, you know."

"Yeah, a reputation as a first class loser. You've dated every girl in class except Aelita and me, and I seriously doubt you want to be dating your cousin. And another thing, we've already gone out together."

"Which I will never live down," Odd said.

"Well, you're going to do it again, and you're going to act like you're enjoying yourself or it's bye-bye rat-dog."

"Kiwi is not a rat-dog!"

"You know, I hear they give a dog a week in the pound before they gas 'em," Sissi said, "when the week's up, they put 'em in a box, and ssssssss, all gone!"

"Why you..." Odd was about to add something more, but the look in the principal's daughter's eyes would brook no defiance.

"Oh, all right!" he finally said, "just because it's for Aelita! And I'll meet you at the factory!"

"No, you will meet me at my dorm and we will walk over together," Sissi said, "and you will smile and show me a good time for all of the cameras."

"What cameras?"

"Oh, didn't I say," Sissi said, twisting the knife, "all of the newspapers will be there for the opening. There'll be photographers everywhere; along with a TV crew. As a matter of fact, it may be the same crew I interviewed with after London. My picture is going to be plastered all over the society pages; so you'd better not screw this up for me!"


Aelita and Sophie were walking down the aisle in the Misses section of the department store. They had already picked out several outfits for Aelita to wear in the coming weeks. The only thing left was what Sophie called "foundation garments."

"Underwear?" Aelita queried when they arrived in the lingerie aisle.

"Of course," Sophie said, "if my memory serves me correctly, you could use some more frilly things."

"But I have underwear," Aelita replied.

"Yes you do, and they look to be about a year old. Aren't they getting a little tight on you?"

"Well, yeah, but I thought it was because I was getting fat."

"Aelita dear, the last thing you are getting is fat. You are, however, a growing girl. Besides, here we are, out buying all of these cute things for you to wear; do you really want to wear Underoos beneath them?"

"N-n-no," the pink haired girl replied.

"Well then, let's pick something out. Not too outrageous, mind you; you're a bit young to be buying real hunting clothes, but you do need something that'll make you feel a lot better about yourself when you're scouting the territory."

Sophie then proceeded to embarrass the girl with a pair of gossamer thin panties, then another pair little more than thread holding a couple of spots of cloth. Aelita blushed fiercely when she did, causing the older woman to laugh. They settled on something a little more appropriate for her age, yet would still set hearts afire if someone were to see them.


"Any problems to report?" Giuseppe asked his two plants.

"Nyet," Gennedy replied, "only problem is no vodka."

"Remember, this is an establishment for underage teens," Giuseppe admonished, "drink on you own time in your own room."

"Da, da, we are understanding," Anitoly said, "give kiddies good time, make sure no one get hurt."

"And remember the other thing you're supposed to be doing."

"Watching out for troublemakers. Some bastard sell dope, we kill him good."

"Not in the factory," Giuseppe said, "not anywhere around the factory. Find them later and do the deed. Make sure it's messy enough to make our point."

"Da, da."

"One more thing. If anyone: police, reporter, anyone, starts getting interested in what's going on in our operation, I want to know about it."

"Even in club?"

"Especially in club."


Sissi's plan was relatively simple. First, convince Aelita to ask Jeremie out on Friday. Next, make sure the girl dresses to blow Jeremie's mind when she does it. Lastly, make sure nothing and nobody derails Aelita's attempt. So, on Thursday, the day before the club's opening, she set her plan in motion.

Part One -- Convince Aelita To Ask Jeremie:

"Aelita, you're going to have to make the first move in this case," Sissi told the girl, "even your father said so. What you need to do is go up to his room right now and ask him."

"But what if he says no?" Aelita replied.

"If you ask him the right way, he won't say no," Sissi replied.

"If you're expecting me to harass Jeremie like you do Ulrich, you can forget it," Aelita said.

"I know, I know," Sissi admitted, "and I'm not asking you to do that. All you need to do is go to him and ask."

"Alright, let's say that I do that," Aelita said, "what next?"

"First, wait until right before curfew..."

Part Two -- Make Sure She Dresses Up:

"I can't do that!" Aelita exclaimed.

"Why not? It's not like I'm telling you to walk naked into his room," Sissi retorted.

"B-but... I just can't!"

"Look, let's be honest here. While you may not match me in looks, you definitely got looks. We both know Einstein's got it bad for you; this will just put his mind into overload, where you'll be able to get him to agree to anything."

"That seems a little underhanded," Aelita said, not quite convinced.

"It is," Sissi replied, "and it's the best weapon we've got. Girls do it all the time in one way or another."

"You know, you're starting to sound like Sophie," Aelita said.

"That's because she already knows what I'm telling you. Now, you wear this, and you talk nice and gentle to him, and he'll be putty in your hands; you just wait and see."

"Well," the pink haired girl said, "I'll give it a try. But I'm NOT walking in the halls dressed like that. If Jim sees me, I'll be doing detention for a month, let alone what daddy might say."

"You leave Jim to me."

Part Three -- Making Sure The Coast Is Clear:

Fifteen minutes before curfew, Sissi got out her cell phone and dialed.

"Okay, Odd; show time," was all she said.

Two minutes later, there was a horrendous crash! on the Boy's Dorm level, followed by loud barking. Thirty seconds after that, Jim's voice boomed out.

"HEY! Get back here! Della Robbia, is that a dog? WAIT! STOP RIGHT THERE!"

Seconds after that, Jim's voice could be heard outside, huffing and puffing as he ranted.

Sissi quickly moved to Aelita's room.

"All clear," she said to the huntress, "now get out there and get your man!"

Finale -- Bag 'Em And Tag 'Em:

Aelita, dressed as Sissi recommended, shuffled nervously before she finally nodded and left, clutching the opening of her bathrobe tightly. As she left, her bare feet made soft padding sounds on the floor. Word about what was going on had gotten around to the other girls on the floor, and more than a few of them cracked open their dorm room doors to see if Aelita was actually going to go through with it. Milly and Tamiya had wanted to tag along and interview the couple for the newspaper, but Sissi told them in no uncertain words what would happen if word of this ever leaked out.

Aelita made her way to the Boy's dorm level and went to Jeremie's room, fully self-conscious of what she was doing. There were some boys in the hall, who eyed her quickly before going back to whatever they were doing. Each glance gave the girl the feeling that she had "Naked Underneath," tattooed on her forehead. She quickened her pace and went to Jeremie's door, softly knocking when she arrived.

"Who's there?" came his voice.

"It's Aelita," she croaked out.

"C'mon in," Jeremie said.

Aelita entered and shut the door behind her. Inside, Jeremie was sitting at his desk, dressed in his pajamas, working on his computer. He didn't even turn around when she entered and shut the door behind her.

"Hi, what's up?" he asked without turning around.

"I... ah, wanted to drop by for a minute before I went to bed," Aelita began.

"Sure; what's up?" Jeremie said, still not turning around.

Aelita took a deep breath, then took off her robe. If Jeremie heard anything, he didn't register it.

"I.. I was wondering if you would come to the club's opening with me Friday night," she finally got out.

"I really can't, Aelita," Jeremie replied, "I'm still trying to get some kind of line on XANA. As a matter of fact, we may have to take the Skid out and do a little recon tomorrow night if I don't find something."

"Couldn't it wait one night?" Aelita asked next.

"The last thing I want is to let my guard down too much," Jeremie replied, "as soon as I do, XANA's gonna pop up and do something really nasty."

The girl stood silent a moment, then walked over to the boy in the chair. She pressed herself against the back of the chair and his back, then gently laid her hands on his shoulders.

"Jeremie, it would mean a lot to me if you came," she said, "do you remember the first concert I did?"

Jeremie swallowed before replying, "yeah, I remember."

"Before the show, I was nervous, scared and sad," she said, "but when you showed up with Jim, everything turned around. You gave me the strength to go on that night. This Friday is a big thing for me, and I'm just as scared as I was back then. But I know if you're with me, I can do it."

"Aelita," Jeremie said in a softer tone, "of course you can do it. I may not be into what you do, but I know that you're good at it." Then he added in a softer voice, almost a whisper, "besides, you don't need a geek like me there holding you back."

There it was, just what Sissi had said. Jeremie didn't think he would fit in.

Aelita bent down until her mouth was next to Jeremie's ear. As she moved, she took her arms and wrapped them around Jeremie's chest, pulling him into a hug, causing the boy to stiffen up at the display of affection.

"Jeremie, you don't hold me back," she said softly in his ear, "you enable me to fly. You truly are the wind beneath my wings. When you're with me, I know I can do anything, accomplish anything."

She then straightened up and swiveled Jeremie around to face her, then took a couple of steps back. When he saw her, he squeaked in surprise. Aelita wasn't wearing the sleep shirt she normally wore. She was wearing a tee-shirt he had gotten her soon after she came to earth, a white tee with a picture of Einstein sticking his tongue out. The only problem was that the shirt was too small; it was tight everywhere, leaving almost nothing to the imagination, and short in the torso, so it would never tuck into pants or a skirt. Tonight, she wasn't wearing either.

Aelita had spent many an evening in Jeremie's room, wearing nothing more than her underwear, her sleep shirt and socks, and it never bothered Jeremie. Now, however, she was wearing a shirt tight enough to look painted on and barely reached the top of her panties. And said garment was something else Jeremie had never seen before. They looked to be made of nothing but white lace which gave him excellent hints of other things previously hidden.

Jeremie's mind vapor-locked.

"Jeremie," Aelita said as she stood before him, "come with me Friday night. Let me lift you up like you have lifted me up all this time."

Jeremie just stared at her, dumbfounded. Finally, he stammered out an, "okay."

Aelita went back to him, leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips. The blond genius flailed his arms a bit before deciding to wrap them around her. She responded by straddling the chair he was in, sitting on his lap. They stayed like this a moment, hugging each other close as they drew out the kiss.

"Thank you," she said, before rising back up, turning, and walking to the door. She stopped long enough to put her robe back on and add, "besides, if XANA does pick Friday night to attack, the whole gang will be right there at the factory, ready to go."

With that, she turned her head back to him, gave him a parting smile, and left.

It was ten minutes before Jeremie recovered from Aelita's visit. He started to turn back to his computer, then realized that there was no way he was going to be able to concentrate any more that evening. He logged his workstation off and settled down in his bed for the night.

Most nights, all of Jeremie's doubts and fears would replay in his mind, which was why he spent so many nights working on his computer. Tonight, however, Jeremie fell deeply asleep; his mind was filled with Aelita, the soft haze of white lace and pink, the warm feeling of her against him, and the moistness of her lips on his.


Odd had to do some quick running to dodge Jim. He then had to do some quick talking to stay out of detention when Jim confronted him in his room over the ruckus he had supposedly caused.

Jim never realized what actually transpired, and never figured out what the noise had been all about. After hearing Odd's story, he just shook his head and muttered something about crazy kids before going back to his apartment for the night.


Sissi heard the soft slap of bare feet on the floor, signaling that Aelita had returned. She stuck her head out the door, and saw Aelita opening her door to go in.

"How'd it go?" she called out.

Aelita turned to the girl, her face beaming. That was all Sissi needed to see.

After closing her door, Aelita took off her robe, flopped on her bed, buried her face in her pillow, then squealed in delight.

She had done it.