Chapter 7
"The best is yet to be" -Robert Browning
This was it, Aubrey was going to die.
Sweat rolled down her face, her cheeks were red and puffy from exhaustion and every single breath hurt more than the last. She just wanted it to stop.
"Johnson, get those knee's up! Next time I look over I expect to see you've completed another lap!" Jim yelled at his student. Okay, so maybe she wasn't dying, but physical labor wasn't exactly her forte. If Jim had actually been conscious when he was chasing her through the woods then he would have given her an A in the class for sure. Aelita slowed down next to run next to her.
"Aubrey, are you alright? You look like you're going to pass out."
"Next. Time. I'm skipping. With Jeremy." She huffed back. Aelita snorted.
"This is only the first half of class. We still have to do stretching and then he's adding in the hurdles."
"The what?"
"Hurdles. You know, the-"
"I know. What. They are! It's just. That. At my old. School. Only the. Track team. Had to. Use them. Ugh."
"Come on Rabbit, time to get hopping! We have another lap to go! Well, you do anyway." Odd yelled from the sidelines. He and Ulrich had just finished their laps and were moving on to stretching while Aelita and Aubrey had another lap to go, not to mention the only reason Aelita had another one was because she'd slowed down to match Aubrey's pace. Aubrey huffed.
"Scr-screw you Odd! I'm going. To kill you!"
"LESS TALK MORE RUNNING JOHNSON! YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES TO GET BACK OVER HERE BEFORE I ADD ANOTHER LAP!" Jim screamed. Aelita quickly latched onto Aubrey's arm and began to all but drag her along the clay track. By the time they made it back with the rest of the group the small brunette felt like throwing up, it was that bad.
"Alrighty then, now that Miss Johnson has finally graced us all with her presence-" Students began to laugh "-we can begin the next exercise. Partner up and let's get moving."
Odd winked at Ulrich as he ran over to partner with Aelita. The teen smiled slightly as he glanced at Aubrey who had sprawled herself down in the grass and was staring at the sky while breathing heavily. He shook his head as he made his way over.
"You know that only makes it worse, right?" Ulrich asked. Jim had begun the demonstration for the exercise with Herb even though they'd all seen it about twenty times and most people had already gotten into position. Aubrey glared up at him through her bangs.
"I don't care, I'm tired."
"Right, we'll up you go, we have another exercise to do and Gym is the only class I'm actually getting an A in." He gave her about three seconds to get up which she didn't use before grabbing her wrists and hauling her up himself. She groaned in protest and tried to lean backwards to prevent him from moving her, but the girl was so scrawny that Ulrich easily overpowered her and forced her into a standing position. He even had to place his hands on her shoulders to make sure she wouldn't just plop down again.
"Now that you've all seen it get to it! I want a full straight minute when I say go. Get into positions."
"What positions?" Aubrey whispered to Ulrich quietly. He smirked.
"First you need to stand about three feet away from me." Ulrich order. Aubrey shuffled backwards. "Good, now spread your feet apart like so-"
Now both Aubrey and Ulrich had their feet spread about an equal distance. The smirk on Ulrich's face grew wider when he suddenly produced a 15lbs kettle bell out of no where (to Aubrey anyway) and held it in his left hand.
"Okay, So I'm going to swing the kettle bell back between my legs while in a squatting position. As I move back up I'll swing the bell forward to you and then you need to take it, squat, and pass it back. We'll continue to do this back and forth for a full minute and continually switch hands. Got it?"
"It sounds painful."
"It is."
"GO!"
At Jim's command Ulrich swung the weight between his knee's and then out again. Once it reached it's highest point Aubrey reached out and grabbed it. As soon as Ulrich let go the bell went straight to the ground taking Aubrey's arm with it and only stopped when it was suspended about an inch above the ground with the bottom just kissing the tips of the grass blades. Aubrey's arm was completely straight and her eyes widened.
"Holy crap! What the hell is this?!"
"Kettle bell. Now you swing it back." Ulrich instructed. Gulping, Aubrey squatted as she brought the bell back and then ended up using all of her strength to swing it foreword. If it hadn't been for Ulrich's long arms he probably wouldn't have reached it.
"Nice, now we have another minute." Ulrich explained as the bell was brought back.
Aubrey was pretty sure she just caught a glimpse of hell.
"Never again." Aubrey declared as she sat down for lunch. Her hair was still damp from the shower she'd taken after gym class just like the rest of the girls except Sissy who was still blowdrying hers. Odd patted her on the back for comfort while Ulrich rolled his eyes.
"It's okay Rabbit, you're fine! Besides, we have another class on Thursday anyway."
Aubrey turned to the resident genius at the table with wide, pleading eyes. "Jeremy, can I skip with you?"
The blonde shrugged. "I don't see why not. I actually have to work on your vehicle anyway."
"I get a vehicle?!"
"Of course."
"Holy crap yes!" Aubrey cheered. "I won't ever have to ride with Odd again!"
"What's wrong with 'riding with me?" Odd asked in confusion as he stopped eating. Aubrey gulped.
"W-well, it's just that-"
"You're a reckless driver which is why I always beat you when we race." Ulrich cut in. Aubrey shot him a grateful look.
"Pft, my driving is the best and you know it, right Aelita?"
"Erm, well, you have gotten us out of some tough situations..."
"Exactly!"
"But Yumi's the best driver."
"WHAT?!" Ulrich and Odd shouted as they shot out of their chairs. Yumi had a smug look on her face as she plopped another bite of rice into her mouth and Jeremy was rolling his eyes. Aubrey, who was still seated between the two angry boys, shrunk down in her seat mentally taking back the grateful look.
"I'm sorry, but it's true! You've both got this bad habit of crashing your vehicles into monsters and telling me to jump off! At least Yumi usually keeps hers until the end."
"W-well- I'm still a better driver then Ulrich!"
"No you aren't."
"Yes I am!"
"Then prove it!"
"I demand a race!" The two teens yelled at the same time. Aelita and Aubrey exchanged a glance while Jeremy scoffed.
"Guys, Lyoko isn't a game."
"We know that, but my skills are being questioned here!" Odd defended.
"What skills?" Ulrich scoffed back. The two glared at each other over Aubrey's head.
Just then Jeremy's laptop beeped with the warning of a X.A.N.A attack.
"What is it Jeremy?" Yumi asked. It seemed like neither Ulrich or Odd had heard it in their glaring contest and Aubrey was discreetly trying to slide under the table to get away. It was working.
"X.A.N.A's attacking the core and he's activated a tower!" Jeremy whisper yelled. "We need to get to the factory now."
"Fine!"
"Let's go!" Both Odd and Ulrich yelled. They shot up out of the chairs, pushing and shoving as they ran towards the door. Aubrey popped back up from under the table.
"Is it safe now?"
"Yeah, they're gone." Yumi chuckled. "Come on, let's go."
"Ladies first." Jeremy called through the room. Ulrich and Odd were (still) glaring at each other near the elevator as each of the girls stepped into a scanner.
"Okay, I'm probably going to regret this later, but Yumi and Aubrey will take Aelita to the tower in the mountain sector while Ulrich and Odd go to the core. Is that clear?"
"Crystal!" Aubrey called back as her scanner doors closed muffling the boys protest. Stepping into the pod wasn't any less scary then last time, but at least now she somewhat knew what to expect.
"Here we go. Transfer Yumi; Transfer Aelita; Transfer Aubrey."
Energy slowly began to build in the scanner.
"Scanner Yumi; Scanner Aelita; Scanner Aubrey."
A soft wind brushed Aubrey's bangs against her face. She gasped and squeezed her eyes shut as it began to pick up speed and the lights in the scanner grew more intense.
"Virtualization!"
Once more, Aubrey landed on her tail.
"Oww."
This time they were in a sector that looked like like a forest suspended over a yellow sea. Tree's that were so tall the tops were hidden scattered across the greenery that was separated into many different paths. It was cool yet weird.
"Need a hand?" Yumi asked, holding out a hand to the young girl. Aubrey smiled and accepted it.
"Geez, and I thought Odd was joking when he said you were a rabbit."
"Don't remind me." Aubrey groaned. "And how come you guys land on your feet?"
"Practice. Come on, the tower is this way." Aelita said as she took off running. Jeremy had informed them that the tower wasn't too far away so they would be legging it and then getting on the vehicles once the tower had been deactivated.
Even if Lyoko was extremely dangerous Aubrey couldn't help smiling. It was amazing and something that a week ago she would have never thought possible, plus she could actually run without getting tired. Her strides were noticeably longer and she felt like she was floating on air.
"Monster's up ahead. Looks like he's starting out with Kankrelots again."
"Those are the little bug things right? The ones that crawl?"
"Yeah, they're pretty easy to take down but don't get hit."
"Roger that."
As soon as Aubrey said it lasers were firing at them from somewhere in front of them. Aelita dodged behind a rock, Yumi began to twirl around them and Aubrey...
She panicked.
She ran over by where Aelita was to hide but when one of the Kankrelots started following she changed courses towards it. She tried weaving around them like Yumi had which didn't work at all. The brunette took a hit to the knee.
"Ow!"
"That's 20 life points down Aubrey. Next time a laser heads towards you jump."
"Er, Okay Jeremy. I'll try."
Aubrey braced herself waiting for the Kankrelot to fire again. The little metal beam on it's body glowed brighter and brighter until a red beam shot out of it.
Jump.
Aubrey pushed down on her knee's and jumped up about 30ft off the ground. Her eyes widened.
"Oh my god! I'm so high up!" She exclaimed. As she headed down she grabbed one of the sai off her back and threw it down. The blade dug deep into the Kankrelot causing it to explode and then flew right back into Aubrey's hand as she landed on the ground. Her eyes were still huge.
"That's called Bounce, it's your special power on Lyoko. I don't see any others and unfortunetly you don't have a shield so you're going to have to jump over attacks to dodge."
"It's so cool!" She yelled happily. There were two little monsters left and Yumi was currently destroying one so Aubrey took her sai and threw it at the other. It landed right on the bulls eye killing the monster and then returning to her hand.
"Nice job Aubrey. Aelita, the coast is clear! Let's get moving." Yumi yelled.
"Right! The pulsations have picked up in this direction."
Aelita and Yumi took off running again with Aubrey hopping beside them. It almost felt like flying and each time she came down she couldn't wait to spring right back up again. Being a rabbit might suck but the perks that came with it were awesome.
"Hey Aubrey, can you see the tower from up there?" Aelita called as Aubrey sprung up.
"Hold on, let me look!"
They were running up a steep pathway at the moment but when Aubrey jumped she was able to see over it. Surprisingly, the tower was only about 20 yards away but was also being guarded by a pack of blocks.
"It's a twenty yard run once we're over the hills and guarded by three blocks!" She reported as she landed. One more jump would take her right into the middle of a battle. Yumi signaled them into a huddle.
"Here's the plan. Aubrey go left, I'll go right. If you can take down the first one go after the seconds and if you can't leave it to me. Aelita, when two are gone start running, we'll get the third our of the way before you reach the tower.. Ready ladies?"
"Ready."
"Alright, break!"
Yumi charged over the hill and Aubrey leapt forward. Only the block on the right was firing at her but she was able to slip past the lasers and land on a tree branch. Taking the two sai out of their back sheaths she launched up again. This time the block fired a blue beam that froze the branch behind her. She let out a cry as she stabbed the two blades foreword into the center of the X.A.N.A symbol. After a moment she jumped back again avoiding the shockwave of the exploding monster. She smiled when Aelita ran past her into the tower.
"Hey Jeremy? If Odd and Ulrich both get their vehicles and I get mine, how are Aelita, Aubrey and I all going to get to sector five with just the Overwing?" Yumi asked as they waited. In a mater of moments the red aura surrounding the tower became blue.
"Don't worry Yumi, I've got this under control."
(Sector Five)
"Jeremy, we made it out. Just send us the vehicles and we'll be on our way." Ulrich called, cracking his knuckles. He shot Odd a challenging look. This was going to be fun.
"Coming right up."
Next to Odd the Overboard appeared and next to Ulrich appeared... nothing.
"Jeremy, where's the Overbike?" He asked in confusion. Back in the lab Jeremy was smirking.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you that since Aubrey doesn't have a vehicle yet she'll be taking the Overbike while Aelita and Yumi ride the Overwing."
"WHAT?!"
"DUDE, THAT'S MY BIKE!"
"ME AND ULRICH ARE SUPPOSED TO BE RACING!"
"Sorry guys, this is for humanity. You're just going to have to postpone your race for a while. Besides, if Aelita and Aubrey are any indication then the Overboard holds two. Hurry up before the shields start coming down!"
"Jeremy, I swear to god that when we get back I'm going to kill you." Ulrich growled as he awkwardly stepped on the Overboard and wrapped his arms around Odd's waist. Odd stiffened.
"And I'll help."
"Somehow I'm not that scared."
"Here you go ladies, your rides are here." Jeremy called as the Overwing and Overbike appeared. Aelita and Yumi automatically went to the Overwing leaving Aubrey the Overbike.
"Seriously, I get to drive?!" Aubrey squealed as she ran over.
"Just don't crash, we kind of need you in one piece."
"Don't worry, I have my permit." She answered as she revved up the engine. All three girls smiled at each other and took off down a pathway leading NW.
"You should be reaching the edge of the sector in a minute or so. Odd and Ulrich are already in the core fighting."
"Got it Jeremy. We're going." Yumi answered, Up ahead she could see the edge of the sector.
Everything was smooth sailing for Aubrey. She was driving the Overbike and absolutely loving it, she'd taken down two Blocks and most importantly she was fighting side by side with her friends. Besides gym class the day wasn't that bad.
Until she saw a blade aiming for her head out of the corner of her eye.
Reacting on instinct Aubrey slammed down the break. A giant sword whizzed right in front of her face impaling a tree next to her.
"Oh no, William!"
Purple smoke moved swiftly across the forest floor to the sword. Once it reached it it sprang up into the air taking the form of a dark teen who grabbed it and squared off at Aubrey.
"Umm, Williams the X.A.N.A possessed guy that tries to kill us and knock us into the digital sea, right?" Aubrey asked nervously. William charged towards her raising the sword. Aubrey quickly stood up on the bike and jumped just in time to avoid the blade but leave the bike at its mercy. It disappeared in a swarm of blue pixels.
"That's the one. Aubrey, you need to get out of there!"
"No! It's okay, I'll stall him, just get Yumi and Aelita to sector five!"
"O-okay, just be careful. I'll let them know."
William turned back to face her, the X.A.N.A symbol pulsing black his eyes. Aubrey nervously pulled out the two sai and rounded into a defensive position. She gulped.
This is going to suck.
William let out a war cry as he charged forward with his sword raised. Aubrey waited until the last possible moment to jump over it and twist in mid air throwing one of her own weapons. William whipped around and smacked it away with his sword but the sai instantly went back to Aubrey's hand. At least he couldn't leave her weaponless.
As Aubrey went down William turned to smoke and moved so he was positioned right under where Aubrey would land. She yelped as she switched her position into a head first dive with the sai crossed. When William changed back to impale her his blade came into contact with her crossed ones. Angered, he swung upwards tossing Aubrey to the side.
"Aubrey, that's another 30 life points, you've got 50 left."
"That's just great." She groaned as she got back up. This time she ran at William who was waiting for her with a smirk on his face. As she trust out the sai he ducked and twirled behind her. She jumped up again.
The battle went on for another couple of minutes. William would slash at Aubrey and she would jump, then Aubrey would try to counter and either get blocked by the sword or William would turn to smoke.
It ended when William popped up behind Aubrey as she landed and stabbed her through the back. She gasped as her legs became pixilated. The last thing she saw was the tip of Williams sword sticking through her gut before her vision went white.
(Sector 5)
Ulrich was relieved when he was finally able to jump off the damn Overboard and take out his frustration on a creeper. The poor monster didn't stand a chance. Once second it was preparing its first laser and the next it was gone.
Odd was also relieved if his crazy driving and rapid arrow-firing was any indication. Creepers were going down left and right but there were still so many. The first shield broke.
"Jeremy, some back-up would be great right about now!" Ulrich yelled as he slashed another creeper. To his right another exploded due to Odds laser arrows.
"I know, Yumi and Aelita are on their way. Aubrey's fighting William, so she isn't going to make it. Let's just hope she can stall for time."
Ulrich's katana swiftly took down another two creepers at the same time. Odd raised an eyebrow.
"Why is Aubrey fighting tall, dark and evil? Shouldn't Yumi be doing that?"
"He attacked her first. And don't worry, Yumi and Aelita should be there in a moment."
"Good. We need them." Odd grunted. Above them another shield was threatening to explode.
"And unfortunetly it looks like William will be too. Aubrey just got devirtualized."
"Of course he is." Ulrich growled.
Aubrey lightly banged her head against the back of the scanner. She was still curled up in a ball inside and breathing heavily. Wow, getting devirtualized really takes a lot out of a girl.
"Hey Aubrey, you okay?" Jeremy asked. She groaned as she forced herself up.
"Yeah, I'm good. I'll be there in a moment Jeremy."
Summoning her very small amount of strength Aubrey forced herself up and stumbled over to the elevator. She punched in the code and waited for the elevator to open again.
If she was honest she was a bit disappointed in herself. Any of the other warriors would have lasted much longer in a fight with William. She'd probably fought about three minutes tops.
When the doors opened again Jeremy spared her a glance and a small smile. She smiled back at him, walking over to lean against his chair as he continued to type away at the super computer doing god knows what.
"Yeah guys, Aubrey's here with me. We're all good."
Jeremy leaned back in his chair and sighed with relief.
"Is it over?" Aubrey asked. Her eyes moved rapidly from side to side as she tried to find something on the screen she could understand. So far nothing.
"For the most part. Ulrich's fighting William while the other three get rid of the last Creepers and Mantas. You did pretty well out there today you know."
"Really, 'cause I thought I did kind of... sucky."
"Give it some time Aubrey, you're just starting out. These guys have been fighting X.A.N.A for over a year now, they're experienced. You'll catch up soon, you'll see."
"Thanks Jeremy." Aubrey smiled at him. She still felt a bit upset with herself for not lasting longer but he was right. This was just the beginning.
"So we'll meet back here thursday to work on my vehicle, right?"
"Definitely."
A/N: Hello! I updated quickly this time, huh? I kind of felt like I owed it to you guys for not updating in so long and also to prove that I'll try and be committed to this story. Anyway, this is more of a reminder to you I guess that I'm not really following the canon at all. Core pieces will remain such as the Skid, the Outfit change, going to the real world and so on, but all (or most) adventures will be things that I come up with on my own and I'd really appreciate it if you'd let me know how they go whether it's good or bad. Also, if any of YOU have episode ideas that you want to see then either review or PM me them and I'll try to put them into the story (giving you credit of course.) That's about it. Review and I'll see you next time!
