12: Intermission – Triple Triangle

WP: Kelly's house, 4:56 PM local, 12/27

After the wild ride with the Yumi clone and the subsequent time spent chilling at the Teen Center, the gang had returned back to Matt and Kelly's houses for a needed break. But something was troubling Ulrich…

I know that Sissi still likes me… and I know Yumi does, too. I'm not too concerned about Yumi, but what do I do if Sissi comes to me? What's more, what do I do if that happens while Yumi is right near me? That would be bad…

At that exact moment, Jeremie walked up to him. "Ulrich… there's something up."

"Lead the way…" Jeremie led him out to the MSC. He sat in the chair. Ulrich looked at the screen, but saw nothing out of the ordinary, though he realized what was open: his own card. "What's going on?"

"I found an anomaly in your Abilities section…"

"Engligh, Einstein."

"Right. Something is in the Abilities part of your computer code that shouldn't be. I don't know if it's XANA or not, but I'm going to look into it. I just wanted to warn you that, during that time, one of two things will happen: one, you lose Triplicate while on Lyoko; or two, you suddenly Triplicate here on Earth without a Digizone. Possibly both at once. Is that OK, or should I leave it alone?"

Ulrich thought about it. Wait… this is perfect! If there are three of me, I can have the clones check out what Yumi and Sissi think of me! "It's fine with me, Jer," he said, trying to keep a straight face.

"OK, thanks. That's all for now."

"Well, see you later, then." He went back to his "bed"… repeating the day didn't help the status of his accommodations at all, though they'd been upgraded to makeshift cots in four different rooms. Well… I think I'm going to go to bed now before XANA can force us to make it four times we've lived this day…


WP: Kelly's house, 7:30 AM local, 12/28

For the first time in a long time, Ulrich found that he'd opened his eyes to a new day. Ah, finally… What is it now, Wednesday?

Tuesday.

Duh. We all knew that…

Oh, right… hey, wait a second! Ulrich sat upright… and found two copies of himself, dressed in his normal clothes, near him. He was right! It did happen! This is perfect…


Yumi had woken up only a few minutes ago. She looked out the window. Ah, what a nice day… She then heard someone approaching. She turned to find… "Ulrich?"

"Hi, Yumi." He moved over to the bed where she'd been sleeping. "Can we talk about something?"

"Uh… sure." From others, Yumi was learning that when your friend wanted to "talk," it was either something good, or something bad. They never wanted just to "talk."

"Um…" He appeared to be struggling to get it out. "Do you like me, Yumi?"

They both blushed. "Well… yes. I do, Ulrich."

"Really? I feel the same way…"

And the moment felt right… Ulrich kissed her. When it was over, they blushed like mad. "I'll see you later, OK?"

"OK. Bye, Ulrich…" She couldn't keep him here, obviously. But… something seemed off about him…


In another room nearby, Sissi had been on her bed, writing in her diary.

Dear Diary,

I love Ulrich so much… I wish he'd just accept that he has feelings for me, but he's still with Yumi… although they do seem right for each other. But I still wish he was mine… Oh, well. I can come back to that topic when we return to Kadic.

She returned the book to its hiding place just before Ulrich came in to greet her… wait, Ulrich?

"Hi, Sissi. How are you today?"

"I'm good. How are you, Ulrich?" She knew something was up here… Ulrich didn't just come up to her for no reason.

"Pretty good. But I have a question I want to ask you." He sat down on the bed next to her.

All of a sudden, Sissi detected that this might just be something in her favor. She blushed a little. "Yes, Ulrich?" He was right next to her, invading her space… but she liked it.

"Sissi… do you like me?"

"Uh…" She wasn't ready for THAT question. But still… "Oh, yes, Ulrich!" She kissed him, stopping any impending answer on his part. When they broke off, Ulrich excused himself, leaving Sissi alone on cloud 9.


Hmm… it appears we could have a problem here. The two clones came back in. Good job, guys. Thanks! Now, then… "Fusion!" he said quietly. The clones disappeared. Now that I know where I stand… what now?

Neo's Notes

OK, all, this one was a short chapter to address the problem of Ulrich's two loves. Kudos to Janika on this one for the idea of Ulrich's Triplicate in the real world.

Review response:

Janika – You know, I think that's one of the best things I've heard all day. Go figure. Thanks for trying to keep up with me.

Siberian-Tigress – Don't worry, it's coming.

And fear not, everyone: The next chapter will be longer, I promise. Later!