(Chapter Five-Full Disclosure)

Supercomputer Control Room
The Factory
1235 hours

As Tom fell from the rafters, his pistol clattered by Ulrich's feet. Tom hit the ground hard, his left shoulder absorbing most of the impact. His neck snapped downward, slapping his head against the cold metal floor, stunning Tom for several seconds.

Ulrich wasted no time. He reached down and grabbed the pistol, pointing it at the fallen spy in front of him as Tom slowly rose to his feet. Tom's head still swam as he saw stars. He pulled himself up, using the wall for support when suddenly a harsh voice boomed in a foreign tongue.

"Sie dachten, daß Sie uns täuschen ließen? Hände oben! Jetzt!" Ulrich shouted in his native German. They had indeed been deceived. He waited to see if Tom would put his hands up. He did, very slowly.

"Nicht schießen!" came the reply. "Ich bin nicht ein Feind!" Tom reached tenderly for the side of his head.

"Bullshit you aren't an enemy! And keep your fucking hands up!" Ulrich shouted, in English this time. Somehow the words in his native tongue seemed to hurt his head more than the shouted German. Tom cracked his eyes open wide enough to see the form of Ulrich pointing his Sig Sauer at him. Jeremy, Odd and Yumi stood arrayed behind and to the side of him, letting Ulrich handle Tom.

A surge of pain enveloped his head and Tom collapsed to his knees, pitching forward and retching violently, emptying the contents of his stomach on the floor in front of him.

"Aww, what the HELL!" Jeremy grimaced. "He puked all over the fucking floor!"

"It's ok." Ulrich replied. "The return trip'll clean it up, but I want some answers first." Ulrich walked over to Tom and pointed the pistol at Tom's head. "Start talking."

"Lovely weather, isn't it?" Tom said sarcastically, coughing. Ulrich raised the pistol to strike Tom with the butt of it, but a feminine voice stopped him

"Ulrich, no!" Yumi called. Both males turned to look at her. "He fell two stories! He probably has a concussion, you could kill him!"

"And he was here to kill us! We need to take care of this!"

"Wait, wait, STOP!" Tom yelled, extending his hand, palm out. "You've got it wrong, I'm not here to kill you at all!"

"Then start talking!" Odd yelled. "Tell us who you are and what the hell you're doing here!"

Tom grimaced. This was a huge step. He was pretty sure from what he'd seen around the factory that these kids were the cause of the anomalies, but they were fighting a greater evil. If he told them, he might be able to win their trust. If he held out, Ulrich would probably shoot him. Fuck it Tom decided. I'm dead either way.

"Alright." Tom decided. "You guys already know who I am, but that's not the whole story. My name is Captain Thomas James Walker, serial number 043-1120-0203-TW. I'm a member of the United Nations Security Council's Special Forces division. I was sent here to investigate and monitor a series of temporal anomalies, secure the source, and infiltrate the group behind it."

Suddenly, Tom saw their expression change slightly. He'd seen it before, epiphany; when all the pieces to a puzzle suddenly fell in place.

So that explains the login page, the UNESCO funding, everything. Yumi thought. Wow.

Ulrich, however, wanted to know more. "Define 'infiltrate'." Ulrich ordered. "Is that just a euphemism for execute?"

"I told you, I'm not here to kill you! If I wanted to do that, you would've been dead two days ago, and you would've never known I was here. No one would. My mission was to further ascertain your intentions, and aid you if friendly." Tom explained.

"And if not?" Jeremy demanded.

Shit. "Then you were to be detained and questioned," Tom replied. "And the technology here would be brought under UN control." Tom didn't really feel comfortable going into much further detail on UN protocol. He knew the fate that could've awaited them, and it was an act of good faith that he had told them this much. That, and the fact that Ulrich still pointed a loaded Sig Sauer in his general direction.

"However," Tom continued, "that's not what I believe. I've heard you guys talking for the past half hour, and I believe your intentions are good. Look, I don't know what Lyoko is, who XANA is, or what this place does, but if it all combines to have the power to alter the weather and jeopardize the safety and security of mankind, I am obligated to help." Tom rose shakily once more to his feet. The nausea wasn't nearly as bad this time. He kept his left hand against the wall and slowly extended his right. "So I ask, as a gesture of good faith, put the gun down and at least let me talk to you straight. Let me help you."

The pistol in Ulrich's hand faltered for a bit, then pointed back at Tom. "No! How can we possibly trust you, after how you deceived us? No, we're going to return to the past, wipe this little incident from your mind, go back and get you expelled for having a gun on campus. We know where you keep it." Ulrich lied.

He's lying. Tom thought, but he decided to play along. "No, wait! Look, it doesn't matter if you get me kicked out. I will be replaced, or other methods will be used to figure out what exactly is 

happening here, but none of them will be as good for both of us."

"What exactly do you mean?" Odd asked.

"I mean as part of my mandate I am authorized to approach you to become temporary agents of the UNSCSF. By cooperating in agency with me you can have access, within limits, to the resources of the United Nations." Tom mentally crossed his fingers. That line was originally used to sway Somali warlords into helping the UN in exchange for aid. While it was true that Tom could offer agency as part of his mission parameters, it was never explicitly encouraged or even directed. It was just an option Tom was allowed to take in an emergency. Tom figured this qualified.

"Why should we believe you?" Yumi asked.

"I can prove this all to you right now, but talk it over first and consider your options. Think this through logically! If you reject my offer, fine, no sweat off my back, just reverse time and kick me out of Kadic, but if you let me help you, you have no idea what I can bring to the table. Besides, one way or another I'll end up helping you, and it'll be a lot better if I do it directly, and at least I won't suspect you outright."

Ulrich turned his head to the group. "We need to talk this over alone, but I don't want to turn my back on him."

"Oh, c'mon Ulrich!" Yumi said. "Look at him, he can barely stand! He's not going anywhere!"

"Look," Jeremy said "Let's put him in the elevator. I can lock it between floors from here."

"Good call. You," Ulrich gestured toward the elevator with the pistol "in there. And sit down before you pass out."

Tom smiled weakly and made his way very slowly to the elevator. He sat down on the floor and watched as Jeremy made his way to the computer. The elevator's massive blast doors sealed shut and the elevator rose, then abruptly stopped as its internal lights shut off and Tom was plunged into pitch darkness.

Supercomputer Control Room
The Factory
1242 hours.

"Okay," Ulrich said, turning from the elevator doors and placing Tom's pistol next to the computer terminal. "So what do we do now?"

Jeremy, still sitting in his chair, raised his hand to stroke his chin. "Well, he makes a very compelling case. I certainly don't think we should kill him, especially if what he said about his mission is true. If we kill him, the UN will consider us hostile immediately. If they already know who we are, it won't take them long to get to us."

"Well that's comforting." Odd replied. "But, honestly, do we really need his help? I mean, we've been doing alright without any professional soldiers hanging around. Besides, have you seen the way the ladies look at him? The last thing I need is more competition."

"Jesus Odd, be serious!" Yumi glared at him "You all don't think he can help us, or that he can be trusted? C'mon! I mean, he just put his neck on the line for us! Do you think he was seriously supposed to reveal the fact that he's essentially a secret agent? You don't lay out something like that unless you really want somebody to trust you. I think he sincerely wants to help."

"Yumi, come on!" Ulrich turned to face her. "Who knows if that story he told us was true? He could still be here to kill us."

"Oh, I highly doubt that." Jeremy said from his chair. Ulrich turned to face him.

"Yeah," said Aelita, who Jeremy had just pulled up onto the screen. "You're forgetting one major thing. He saved your life, and fought XANA's monster. He's here to help."

This stopped Ulrich cold. With all the mystery surrounding Tom's appearance, he had failed to remember that Tom was the one who distracted the bear and allowed him to escape last night. The memory flashed back to him:

The wall had disintegrated with a ferocious crash. There was an almost imperceptible moment of silence as the stunned minds of Kadic realized what was happening, then, chaos. Kids panicked, Jim screamed and ran with the rest of the children, and the gym emptied as people fled the colossal monster facing them. But not Ulrich. He still stood in the same shocked position on the DJ booth, microphone dangling uselessly from his hand. The bear crashed through the remainder of the wall and turned to look straight at him. He caught some vague motion out of his right eye, but it wasn't until he heard the voice that his head turned.

"Ulrich!" The voice yelled. "Down! Now!" Ulrich had dove and the DJ booth was impaled by a giant furry fist. As he rose again to his feet, another vision paralyzed him. There was Tom, the interesting kid he had just met that day, who seemed to fit in so well, who everyone including himself had begun to like, holding a pistol.

Why does he have a gun? He had thought, while the blinding flash and deafening noise of the firing pistol distracted him, snapped him out of it. He glanced up at the bear, and could almost see it switch priorities to the greater threat. Ulrich used this distraction to make his way over to the locker rooms on the opposite side of the gym, crossing behind Tom, who just fired a three shot burst at the bear, cracking its left eye. The bear swung its paw down to crush Tom, but he was faster, rolling out of the way. Tom began to back up, firing again at the bear and cracking its other eye. The bear followed Tom, covering most of the gym floor in a single step. Ulrich saw the door on the far side of the gym open, just as the bear took another massive swing at Tom, who rolled again, got up and fired wide of the bear on both sides. The bear had just gotten ready to take another punch at Tom when an array of lights fell from the ceiling on top of it. Funny, Ulrich had thought, a light from one of those arrays had almost fallen on them earlier that day. 

It was Tom who had saved them from that too.

Ulrich didn't have time to ruminate fully, as the bear's flailing arm smacked him, sending him sailing through the air and into a wall.

"Ulrich!" He heard another voice call through the haze of pain and fear. Yumi! She ran towards him, distracting Tom. The bear raised his fist again, and brought it down right on top of him. Yumi, who had just reached Ulrich turned around and gasped. Tom had caught the blow, and had slowly sank to the floor, lying on his back with his arms and legs pushing against the bear with all his might. His pistol had clattered uselessly ten feet away. Tom let go and rolled out of the way just as the arm crashed down. He rose slowly to his feet, looking to be in incredible pain. The arm rose up again. Tom had nowhere to run. The arm came down…

…and froze less than a foot from Tom's now crouching form. Yumi helped Ulrich up, and Tom unclenched his eyes. He slowly stood up again, and uttered four words.

"I don't get it."

Ulrich had ignored him at the time, but he didn't realize what the words meant. Tom had no idea that this was a XANA attack, that he and Yumi and the others were all fighting him. And yet, Tom had risked exposing himself to the whole school perhaps just to save their lives. Not because it was the mission, but because it was what he had to do.

Maybe that did make him worthy of trust.

Ulrich looked into Aelita's eyes. "You may be right. Maybe I have been too hard on him." Yumi gave him an Oh, really? Kind of look. Ulrich continued "Well, think about it. Out of context his behavior and actions seem really strange, but knowing all the facts things kind of make sense."

"Just think about the way you all behave in your world." Aelita began. "I'm sure you all do things that seem abnormal to others, but to you make perfect sense. Tom, being an outsider to your life, will see things about your life differently than you will, and being an outsider to Tom's life means you may take his normal actions to be suspicious. Once you begin to understand a little more about them, things start to make more sense. Simple analytical logic."

"Not bad for a computer program." Odd said.

"AI." Aelita corrected.

Yumi smiled. "Okay then, can we all agree to give Tom a chance?" She looked around the room. "Jeremy?" He nodded. "Aelita?" She gave a thumbs up. "Odd?"

Odd shrugged and nodded. "I guess the extra help can't hurt. If he's a secret agent, he could be really effective against XANA attacks. Besides, he's said he's already got a girlfriend. I guess he can't really be that much a threat to my social life." He grinned "I'm all for it."

"Ulrich?"

Ulrich was still thinking. He massaged his chin and looked up at Yumi. "He saved my life. I suppose the least I owe him is a chance. Jer, bring him down." Jeremy hit a few keys at the terminal, and Ulrich took Tom's weapon from the desk next to him.

Factory Elevator
1247 Hours

Tom was sitting in the pitch dark, tapping his foot. Each tap was exactly one second apart.

237…238…239…

It was probably unintentional, but Jeremy's plan to lock him in the elevator was actually a rather effective form of SDT, or Sensory Deprivation Torture. If they could've blocked his hearing, it would've been perfect. His foot tapped some more.

299…300…301…

Sense of time was the first thing to go when the human body's senses are disoriented. He didn't know how long they planned to keep him in locked in the elevator, but he at least knew how long he had been there. Five minutes.

323…324…325…

He wasn't expecting this to be a quick decision, but he was fairly confident that it would turn out his way. Jeremy was smart, logical, and pragmatic. He'd reason things out and explain it to the others.

347…348…349…

Even Yumi could get her head around it, he thought. Odd would just go along with the consensus. It was Ulrich he was worried about. Ulrich. Something had changed between him and Ulrich, perceptibly so. What had happened?

403…404…405…

It was in the gym, after he'd asked Tamilla out. It was weird, he seemed at the same time appreciative but cautious. Tom couldn't figure it out, and even though he'd seemed openly hostile a few minutes ago, there was a definite sense of hesitation.

Suddenly, the elevator started to move downward again. Tom stood up. The nausea had completely diminished, but the pain in his head still lingered as a kind of dull throb. Either way, he could stand, which was a step in the right direction. He crossed his arms and leaned against the back of the elevator. It reached the bottom, and the doors slid open.

When Tom's eyes adjusted to the light, he saw Ulrich pointing his pistol at him again. A brief flash of fear shook Tom. They don't believe me. He briefly thought. I'm fucked.

"Last chance, Walker. Are you telling the truth?" he said menacingly.

"You know I am."

"Don't fuck around Tom, just yes or no! Are you here to help us?"

Tom sighed. "Yes!" Ulrich walked towards him and entered the elevator. He raised his arm up, and Tom covered his head to protect himself from the blow that never came. Tom unclenched his eyes and saw Ulrich holding the pistol butt out, offering it to Tom.

"You know, you've gotta trust people a little more, man." Ulrich said as Tom took the pistol, ejecting the magazine and the chambered round.

"Sneaky fuck." Tom replied, grinning.

"Watch it." He extended his hand. "Welcome to the team."

As promised, I deliver. Thanks to all who reviewed! Keep it up, as I'm expecting nothing less for the next installment.