Okay! After this short little filler there will be about two to three huge chapters dealing with the main part of the story and then it's end. I'm proud of how smooth this is going! Anyways, read and review!
Chapter 7: Low
If someone were sending out applications for being low all day, the Lyoko gang would surely get the job. All five of them had gone to Ulrich and Odd's room after talking with Chelsea and they stayed there and moped. Of course they'd have to explain why all of them had missed classes but for now they moped. Well, Jeremy and Yumi seemed actually a bit brighter but otherwise, they were pretty low.
"Do we really have to kick her out permanently, Jeremy?" Aelita questioned softly, from her spot next to Odd on the bed. She had her arms wrapped around her knees and was miserably blowing wisps of her pink air out of her face.
Jeremy sighed. He had been busy working on Aelita's anti virus. He hadn't worked on it since Chelsea's first time remembering the return to the past. He was also working on a new lead, which would make for a trip to Sector 5 and bringing him out of it was a little disturbing. Though, it was Aelita so he made an exception.
"Of course not," Jeremy replied.
"What? Why? She hit Aelita and Odd on Lyoko," Yumi countered. "How can you say that?"
"As much as we hate to believe it Yumi we do need the help. I'm planning some trips to Sector 5 in the next few days and I don't know how dangerous it might be," Jeremy said.
"Sector 5?" Ulrich almost brightened. He was excited about a new mission and he'd take anything he could get to forget Chelsea's temporary problem. "So, you're actually going to let us check it out, now?"
Jeremy nodded. "I have a lead for Aelita's antivirus and maybe another one on how Chelsea's remembering the return-to-the-past trips."
"Well, what is it?" Odd asked. "I want to know so we can start kicking some Xana butt!"
"Okay," Jeremy nodded. "My idea for the antivirus needs some more information that Xana is holding in the new sector. There's a computer thing in the back that will give Aelita a linkup to Xana's entire system."
"Are you saying that all we have to do is go to that Sector and we have every piece of information on Xana that we need?" Ulrich questioned.
"Yep…but it's not that easy," Jeremy said.
"It never is," Yumi muttered.
"You have to go through an entire sector without letting Aelita get hit. And remember Xana has new monsters, some we probably haven't seen before. Plus the countdown in the beginning," Jeremy said, listing off the number of obstacles.
"Okay, so it's mission impossible," Odd said. He grinned. "Let's go."
"Wait," Yumi said. "What about the lead on Chelsea?"
Jeremy sighed and pushed his glasses up farther on the bridge of his nose. "I don't know how to explain this but you know we have the computer database where we can add a character's genetic code in and they can remember the return to the past?"
The group nodded.
"Well, Xana might have a database just like mine," Jeremy said.
Ulrich's eyebrows furrowed together. "And that would mean what? Xana can enter a human into his database so they remember the return to the past?"
"Exactly," Jeremy said, looking a bit excited. "What I think is, Xana entered Chelsea into his database and now she's remembering!"
The gang was silent for a moment as they all thought about this new information. Aelita looked up. "Jeremy, how can we get to Xana's database to help Chelsea stop remembering. Then we can use a return trip to when she came and she won't remember any of this."
Jeremy nodded. "Which is more of a reason we need to get to Sector 5."
Chelsea sank to the ground after three hours of straight running around the track. Her muscles shook in pain and sweat dripped from all pores. Her eyes were the wettest source of water though. Miserably she had run. Jim, the Gym teacher, had called and tried to stop her but she explained to him of her "illness" and he let her run, telling the principal.
Chelsea sat and mourned. She had begun to believe Jeremy was right. That her problem was uncontrollable.
Before, in Africa, the people had accepted her. There were many illnesses in Africa so naturally the people couldn't discriminate her. Africa was like the beacon that had protected her.
Before Africa she had lived in the United States, California actually. Her parents had been taking beach pictures of the waves, sunsets, sunrises and people. There hadn't been so good. The children were rude to her when they found out about her anger problems which got her even more angry. It even got to the point where she struck a girl her age multiple times. Being so young and having the disorder, she was excused from juvenile hall but was expelled immediately and her parents were forced to work elsewhere.
In Africa was when Chelsea had discovered running. It, like Africa itself helped her out of her slump and she became more confident in everything and more controlling over her anger. And anytime it sparked she ran.
Now here she was again, and it was like the States all over again. Only this time it was worse. She could've killed Aelita. That was more unforgivable than hitting.
She sighed and rested back on her elbows. She shut her eyes and for a moment, forgot about her crime-fighting friends.
"Hey there," a voice called. She flinched. The last thing she wanted to do right now was talk to someone. She sighed and grudgingly opened her eyes to stare up at a boy with messy black hair, jeans and boots.
She nodded her head at him and leaned back again, giving him a crystal clear signal that she wanted nothing to do with him. He persisted. "I'm William Dunbar. Are you new?"
"I've been here a good three days," Chelsea replied flatly.
"Oh. Well I haven't noticed you," William said.
He stepped into the sunlight and Chelsea looked up, glaring at him. "You're in my sun."
"Well, you're on the field. Do you want to play soccer with me and my friends?" William asked.
Chelsea frowned. "Not really."
William didn't seem at all offended. "Okay, then. Just watch out for the ball."
"Don't kick it my way and we won't have a problem," Chelsea growled as the boy turned easily and raced to the middle of the field.
She frowned deeper as they began to play and decided that they'd probably be smart enough to leave her alone. She leaned back again and closed her eyes. Her mind wandered to Ulrich. How furious she was at him for telling them! She would've told them if it had really meant that she was uncontrollable but she didn't. He should've at least asked her.
Chelsea felt more betrayed by him than anyone else. She had trusted him. He had welcomed her in. She had even begun to like him. But now that possibility was crushed. He probably hated her and Yumi was taking in all her glory. Chelsea could bet they'd be going out within a week of today. But still…it would've been nice…it would've been-
"Oof-Ow!" Chelsea howled being hurled forward onto her knees, as a ball slammed hard into her back.
She stood abruptly and twirled around, looking wildly for the culprit. And she saw instead William, staring calmly at her with a challenging look on his face.
This guy's got some nerve… Chelsea thought. With her novice abilities at soccer, Chelsea dribbled the ball into the game. She would play and beat this idiot even if she didn't know the first thing about soccer.
"…Virtualization!" Yumi, the last to be virtualized dropped down onto her feet and viewed the terrain. The group was starting this time in the mountain region and then they'd make their way to the end of it to get to Sector 5.
Ulrich twirled his blade around, relaxed for once since Chelsea had got here. "Alright, which way do we go?"
"Turn northeast to that path and head down a ways until the end of the sector. You should have a pretty clear road," Jeremy said. "I don't think Xana is expecting us."
"Well, we'll be on the look out anyway," Yumi replied.
Jeremy smiled at the screen. "I'll count on it."
Jeremy was right. The way to the end of the sector was uneventful. It almost seemed peaceful. The whole way there everyone's hearts lightened a bit as Odd cracked jokes sent them into fits of laughter. It was rare but even Jeremy said they should take it easy so they walked the rest of the way without problem. They should be feeling suspicious and they know it but they were too happy to mind and were still alert as well.
Yumi strode next to Ulrich as they reached the end of the sector. "So…things are finally back to normal now aren't they?"
Ulrich chuckled slightly. "What is normal, Yumi?"
"I don't know, really," she replied. She smiled. "Being on Lyoko, having fun like we did in the beginning…no weird girls trying to ruin it."
Ulrich stiffened for a moment. It wasn't that he had anything for Chelsea…he had just come to like her. Enough to stick up for her at least. After all, he felt almost like he had to after he spilled her secret.
"It wasn't her fault…really, Yumi," Ulrich said slowly.
Yumi nodded in a dismissive manner. "But still. She was so stubborn. It would've been a pain to have her permanently on the team. And she was certainly no help at all on Lyoko or earth-"
"I thought you said she got Aelita to the factory…and knocked out a Krabe," Ulrich said, still keeping his voice light and calm. He'd rather not get Yumi mad at him. His insides were still fluttering at the idea that they might actually start going steady! It was a dream come true. And he figured he would find a way to stick up for a friend in need and get his girl without trouble.
"Yes," Yumi mused. "But she didn't help when she rode the darn thing and shot Odd and Aelita. Totally unhelpful. And when she refused to let Odd take you to the infirmary…are you okay?"
Ulrich looked up at her fast and then down at his hand. It was clenching the pommel of his reverse blade tight enough to make the fingers go red. He quickly loosened his hand up and stretched it out.
"Fine…I'm fine…" Ulrich said.
Yumi nodded and then leaned and whispered in his ear. "It's okay…she makes me mad too."
In the forest sector unannounced to Jeremy as he began to type in the code to take his team to sector five, the glow of an activated tower appeared.
"That was actually…kind of fun," Chelsea said, a half and hour later, looking up at William.
He grinned down at her. "You know with some practice and some more knowledge of the rules, you could actually become a decent soccer player."
She smiled and sighed, letting herself drop to the grass. Soccer was an exhilarating sport. No thrill close to the kind she got when in a track race or from the first time she went to Lyoko but a thrill nonetheless. She suddenly felt grateful for William. He had persisted on befriending her even to the point where he made her mad until she joined them. It really was nice.
His other friends were kind to her as well but not as open as he was. He openly expressed his feelings and inside, that's how Chelsea wanted to be herself. To feel confident enough just not to care. Really the chance of her ever feeling confident enough to say her inner feelings was about as close to happening as was the chance of Pluto becoming inhabited by little Chihuahuas.
Mostly she felt grateful to him because she needed him. After being harshly dumped by the others she needed someone she could cling to…and though she hated to admit it, only until she could win the other's trust again. She wanted to thrill of Lyoko again, even though she couldn't explain what had happened there. She wanted to hang out with Odd and the others again because they made her feel welcome. She even wanted to rejoin the battle with Yumi for Ulrich's heart, as she couldn't escape that thrill either.
But until that time comes, she was with William.
As she thought these thoughts over she didn't notice the lamps in the school flicker. She didn't notice the strange black cloud as it began to float towards an unsuspecting William. She did notice William cry out in struggle. And she did notice his fist in her face.
