SUMMARY: In this magical chapter of XANA's war, strange things begin to happen. Aelita dyes her hair scarlet, Odd get's a new look out on life, and you see why he's having so many flash backs, and you get to see what Yumi's up too. Enjoy! (and review!)
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Aelita licked her dry lips and swallowed hard. General Em, as she called herself, was walking around the long line of girls eyeing everyone of them and makeing rude remarks. As far as Aelita could tell, Em wasn't a good person to hand around with. She was big, had a tattoo on her arm, and was screaming insults in everyone's face. Aelita dreaded hers.
"What's your name, girl?" she asked, scowling at Aelita.
"Aelita Stones Hopper," Aelita replied.
"I didn't ask for you full name, you twit. I asked for your name," Em replied harshly.
"Aelita," Aelita replied coolly.
"You have some spirit," Em said. "And some balls."
The girl raised her eye brows.
"You," Em said. "Aelita Hopper Jones or whatever walk into this war that could wipe out the human race with fierce green eyes and pink hair." The woman laughed. "Pink hair."
"It's natural."
"Natural my ass. It won't scare away your enemies at all."
Aelita narrowed her eyes. "What do you think I should do, ma'am."
Em shrugged. "Dye it a different color, I suppose. Anyone have hair dye?"
It took the small group of girls a few minutes to respond. A girl with red hair raised her hand.
"I do, ma'am," she said.
"You brought hair dye to war? What a bunch of sissies."
The girl looked at the ground.
"Give it here, girl," Em said. The girl walked over to her bag of things and rummaged through, desperately searching. She finally pulled out a box of brown hair dye.
"Use this," Em said, tossing the box to Aelita.
"Where?" she asked.
"Anywhere. Just get out of my site."
An hour later, Aelita was finished drying her hair and studied her new look. As a result of the light brown hair dye, he hair was now scarlet.
When Aelita showed back up at dinner, Em scowled. "A micro centimeter better, Stones," she said.
"It's Hopper," Aelita corrected. "Aelita Stones Hopper."
"I can call you whatever I want, Stones," Em hissed.
Aelita looked at the ground. The old Aelita Stones was 100 gone. Long live Aelita Hopper.
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"XANA, what training do you want me to do today?" Yumi asked. She was kneeling in front of her master, almost bouncing from the exited ness she held. XANA's black eyes flickered on her, and his face softened from the hard mood before. Not that Yumi could see, for XANA's face was covered in his deep black hood. But even she could sense his calmness.
"Why don't you run along?" XANA said. "You've been practicing a lot lately. You need some rest."
"But what else can I do?"
She hasn't realized that there is more to life then war, XANA thought. He studied the girl. "I think I have a new mission for you, child. But you will not start it until I tell you too."
"But master!" Yumi protested. "I want to start it now."
"No."
"Can I at least know what it is?"
XANA sighed. Why would it matter if Yumi knew, anyway? "I want Aelita to come back," he said.
"Why?" Yumi asked.
XANA looked up. Yumi didn't know, she didn't remember.
"Because," XANA replied. "She is my daughter."
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Odd was breathing hard. Sweat dripped down his forehead, and his throat was parched. He swallowed hard and squeezed his eyes shut.
"Odd," a voice said from beside him. "Odd!"
Odd opened his eyes. Ulrich was shaking him.
"Odd, pull yourself together," Ulrich said. "We need you."
Guns, explosions, and screams hissed through the dust of the desert. Lasers where fired everywhere, slicing through the camp tents and even people. Tanks were useless. Guns were like toys. The men in general were pointless.
There was no hope.
"If we lose this battle, we would probably die," Ulrich said. "Because if they destroyed camp, we would be thrown into the desert if we lived. Or else we would die from the monsters."
"Thanks, Ulrich, you're really helping."
"I know."
The two looked at each other and Odd felt himself smile. He didn't know why, but what Ulrich said seemed funny now.
As of this moment, there was no point in living in Odd's view. His family was gone, Yumi probably dead, Aelita and Jeremie scattered, and the world left in ruins. There was nothing in this place that could give off light and make the darkness go away. As of now, it would be covering the world forever.
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Yumi shrugged off the feeling building up in her heart. She kicked the ground with her black boot, staring off into nowhere.
Was Aelita really XANA's daughter?
Yumi couldn't help but feel as if she would be neglected if XANA ever found Aelita. She sometimes heard him drone on about a sector that was neither virtual or reality, but both. A place between the two, an island. He said that one day, him and Aelita would go there and be together. Forever.
When Yumi had asked where she would go during this, XANA had replied by frowning.
"Perhaps you could come," he had said.
But Yumi felt as if she deserved to be XANA's child. She was his servant, after all. His number one body guard. And he had materialized her and brought her into this world called 'Earth'. He had showed her the way. She had stood by him.
And Aelita was running away from him, hiding. She was not worthy to be his daughter.
The factory, as it had once been, was now turned into a dark large castle. XANA had called it Castle of Darkness. At the stone gates, the word "Virtual Darkness" was scribbled and carved into a piece of stone marble. Yumi had often wanted to climb the gates and run her fingers overt he letters. She would let her mind wander off, trying to know what these words meant.
Today, she stood inside of the black gates. She gazed upon the sign. She had never been outside of these gates. They caged her in, keeping her from knowing.
But for some reason, Yumi felt like she had been in this place before.
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Smoke clouded the streets. Odd made his way through the screaming people and debrea that covered the road, searching for his father.
WAM! Someone slammed into him, sending him flying back.
"Shit!" he shouted. An older man who was on the ground next to him, was breathing hard.
"Run, kid," he said. "You're going the wrong way!"
"But—"
The man stood up and grabbed Odd's shirt, pulling him up.
"My father is somewhere over there," Odd protested. "I have to find him."
The man studied his face. "Does he look like you?"
"Yes."
The man dropped Odd on the ground and grabbed his wrist. He began to pull him the other way.
"What are you doing?" Odd cried.
"You shouldn't go that way."
"Why?"
"They—just don't."
Odd ripped his hand away from the old man and began running as fast as he could to the opposite direction.
Odd ended up into a small cul-de-sac. One of XANA's crabs stood before him with a man in some robotic arms.
"That's new," Odd said. He grabbed a bar of some sort that was laying in a pile of junk and aimed it at the krab.
"Hey you!" Odd shouted. "Look over here, you piece of crap!"
The robot turned, and Odd could see the man in it's arms.
It was his father.
"DAD!" Odd shouted.
"Odd, get out of here now!" Odd's father shouted.
"NO!" Odd screamed. He darted towards the monster, slashing the beast's legs with his scrap of metal.
It happened too fast.
The monster swung one leg around and kicked Odd in the stomach, sending him flying back. Then it pointed it's laser at Odd's father and fired.
"NOOO!"
Odd opened his eyes. He swung up in bed, breathing hard. He glanced around the tent full of sleeping boys.
Standing up, he made his way to the outhouses with his flashlight. It was colder for a desert night, and once again, there were no stars.
Odd pushed open the outhouse door and glanced at himself in the mirror. But then he turned and stared.
He noticed how different he looked.
His hair didn't go up in one big spike any more, but was spiked in the front and down by his neck. He had purple tips.
His eyes, the twinkling blue eyes, were gone. His eyes looked darker and no light twinkled in them.
His arms were bigger and stronger, and his shoulders didn't slump.
I'm changing, he thought.
He was. In more ways then one.
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I need your opinion—should I add a new character in this? Because I had a cool idea, but I need opinions first!
SO REVIEW!