OMG sorry for the long wait! I had midterms and still have some more, and then microsoftt word wasn't working on my computer, and bla bla bla. And then I found out some new author took my OC's and used them in her/his story without my permission, and I had to deal with that… whatever. I'm waiting for him/her to reply before I totally blast him/her. Here's chapter 52! Yay!
Jeremie sighed, pushing his glasses up on his forehead to rub the sleep from his eyes, before he let his glasses drop back down, making the world clear again.
The glow from his computer screen illuminated the dark room; he had turned the lights out long ago. It was 11 o'clock, Saturday night, only hours after they had discovered Aelita's encrypted antivirus.
Spinning slowly in his chair, he let his eyes adjust as he gazed at each of his friends.
Now that they had the code for the antivirus, all they needed to do was crack the encrypted data. He had tried his best to teach them how to, but the only person that really understood was Aelita, and Candy kind of understood how to, but Vanessa, Odd, Yumi and Ulrich were just lost. So the four retorted to just guessing; trial and error, which wasn't as effective as the actually process, but was still helpful all the same.
He let his eyes scan each of their sleeping figures. Vanessa was lying on her stomach on his bed; her head resting on the keyboard of her purple laptop. Yumi and Ulrich were sitting in the middle of the floor, back to back, leaning back on each other for support as they slept. Laptops sat in their laps to. Odd was sitting in the beanbag, Aelita in his lap and her laptop in her lap. Aelita's hand rested on the keyboard, and Odd's rested on top of hers.
Jeremie spun back around in his chair and looked at Candy, sitting cross legged on the corner of his desk with her laptop sitting on her folded legs.
The soft glow from her laptop screen shimmered off Candy's green eyes. The black gems in the center of the forests of green flicked up, looking at Jeremie.
"Que?" She asked, softly smiling.
He shrugged and averted his eyes. The weird thing was… he was blushing.
"You find anything yet?"
Candy shook her head, blue strips of hair falling in her face.
Pushing the aqua ribbons of hair from her eyes, she frowned. "Nada. Can you show me how to do the decoding process again? I think I'm doing it wrong."
Jeremie nodded and took the computer from her, setting it down next to his own computer as she slipped down to the floor, sitting on her knees beside him.
"Basically, the program deciphers the code into all the possible outcomes. There are over a billion possible outcomes. There's no quick way to do it except to look at all the possible outcomes and compare them to the structure of what the antivirus should look like. The comparing program takes ten minutes to do, so before you start it you should use the formula I showed you, this one," Jeremie wrote the formula on a sticky note "to break down the first thirty digits and see if they are equivalent to that of the antivirus's structure… and you probably didn't follow any of that, did you?"
Candy nodded her head, surprising Jeremie. "I understand what you're saying. And after you compare them you can rule it out if it's not a match or go ahead with the comparing program if they do match. I don't know why, but it's just not working on my computer."
Jeremie frowned, examining her computer. "Your data processor is fine. You might just work at a quicker pace."
Jeremie pulled up another possible outcome on Candy's laptop screen. "Here. Use the formula and break down the first thirty-"
"Done." Candy said. "They don't match. You can toss that one."
Jeremie looked at her, stricken. "How'd you solve it that fast? You solved it faster than Aelita could of."
Candy twisted a strand of hair around her finger. "I don't know. I just saw the answer to the equation in my head. I can do that sometimes. Other times, it will take me a minute or two. Even if it's simple addition."
Jeremie scratched his head. "Huh. Well, the super computer can run the program really quickly. Want to sneak down so you can try it on there?"
Candy stood. "Sure."
…
The elevator doors opened and the two teens slipped into the computer room. Dropping their winter wear onto the ground, they made their way over to the computer.
Jeremie gestured to the computer chair, and Candy sat down as Jeremie sat on the arm rest.
What started as a simple lecture on the decoding program turned into a complete lesson on the super computer. Jeremie soon discovered that Candy's father was a forensic scientist, and that she learned how to work the equipment on her own. To his surprise, she learned quickly and was working the super computer at a pace somewhere between Yumi's and Aelita's. She liked to learn, but only if she was taught the correct way.
Jeremie then brought up all of their ID cards, pointing out how he tracked their life points, re-loaded their weapons, and such. He clicked on Odd's ID card, using it as an example.
"And by clicking this, you can see Odd's DNA coding. You can even see the different bits that make up his personality. This one makes him artistic, this one makes him a quick responder, this one makes him a good climber, this one makes him easy going, and this one makes him lazy."
Candy let out a soft laugh as she curled deeper into the chair, eyes drooping from sleepiness.
"The computer analyzes your DNA, and then from that takes personal preferences to create your avatar. See right here? You can even see disorders and bad genes. Like, this gene here is the ADD gene."
"Odd has ADD?" Candy said softly, her eyes closed now. "That explains a lot. How about my DNA?"
Jeremie brought up Candy's ID card and then further brought up her DNA visual. "These genes are what make you look like what you are now. You have your mothers red hair and green eyes, but you have your fathers tan skin and tall body structure."
Jeremie then became nervous as he came to the section of DNA that had worried him before. He had made a promise to himself to not snoop through his friends 'bad genes' section. The only reason he looked through Odd's 'bad gene section' was because Odd had already openly told them about his ADD, and wasn't bothered by it.
Yes, by looking at the overall structure of the DNA he could get a sort of idea of what problems they had. He could tell that Yumi had some sort of anxiety problems by the shape of one of her genes, and he could tell that Ulrich had some sort of very minor nervous system problems by the shape of one of his genes.
But that was small stuff. It wasn't anything to be concerned about.
But when he first saw Candy's DNA structure, he knew something was wrong.
Actually, several things were wrong. She had several genes that sent up red flags. And as curious as he was to see what was wrong, he didn't look. He made a vow to Yumi to allow Candy her medical privacy. He was certain that Candy was aware of these medical problems, eliminating the excuse of peeking at the genes for her own safety. If he wanted to know what was wrong with her, he would have to wait until she told him.
Jeremie turned to Candy, about to ask if she wanted to see the digital pixilation structure of Lyoko, when he stopped mid breath, seeing that she was asleep.
Jeremie let out a yawn and rubbed his eyes, realizing how tired he was. Resting his head on the top of the chair, he almost instantly fell asleep.
…
Light poured in through the blinds, hitting the pink haired girls eye lids. She frowned as she reached above her, in search of her pillow with intentions of using it as a shield from the blinding rays, when her hand hit something that defiantly was not a pillow. It let out a soft grunt and shifted.
It was then she realized that she was still in Jeremie's room. Turning her head, she realized that she was still in Odd's lap, his arms securely wrapped around, and that she had hit his head.
His eyes opened, filled first with annoyance at being awoken, then with confusion as he took in his surroundings, then with realization as he recalled the night before, and then with love as his eyes met with Aelita's.
"Hey, princess. Did ya sleep well?"
Aelita smiled as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "I dreamt about decoding the antivirus and finally being free from Xana."
Odd smiled. "That's what I dreamt about to."
They smiled at each other for a moment longer before turning their heads at the sound of shifting.
Yumi had woken up and moved, and since Ulrich had been leaning on her back, he fell back and hit the floor.
"Owwwwww…" He whined, sitting up.
Ignoring Ulrich, Yumi ran a hand through her mangled hair. "Wow. We fell asleep looking for the antivirus last night. Good thing we told my parents I was spending the night with you, V."
Their eyes shifted to Vanessa, who was still passed out on Jeremie's bed.
"Vanessa?"
"You'll need a tornado to wake her up; earthquakes don't work; she slept through plenty of those back in California." Odd said, chuckling.
Ulrich frowned. "You don't have much room to talk Odd. I have to knock you off the top bunk in the morning to wake you up, and even after hitting the ground you're still snoring."
Odd smiled. "Well, you know what they say about hereditary heavy sleepers."
The three looked at him blankly.
"What do they say?" Aelita finally asked.
Odd shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not the smart one in our group. Jeremie's got that covered."
Yumi looked around. "Speaking of Jeremie, where is he?"
Ulrich glanced around. "And where's Candy?"
As the three talked, Aelita had made her way over to Jeremie's computer where an obvious pink sticky note was stuck to the screen.
Plucking it from the screen, Aelita brought the sticky note up to her eyes.
She smiled.
Hey Lita. I'm assuming the other four, oh wait, Vanessa's probably still sleeping. I assume the other three are wondering where Candy and I are, and you're the only one smart enough to look for a note. We're fine, we just went down to the factory so I could show Candy the decoding program on a faster computer. We're pulling an all nighter, so don't be surprised if we don't show up until noon.
-Jeremie
Aelita finished the note. She tucked it in her pocket, a knowing smile playing out on her lips.
…
December flowed rather quickly. Xana attacked more often than usual now that the Lyoko warriors had the cryptic antivirus in their hands.
A cryptic antivirus, that was still unsolved.
Jeremie predicted that decoding the antivirus would take longer than he expected, and that they wouldn't get it done before Christmas break, but if they were lucky, it could be decoded by the start of January.
Yumi's birthday rolled around, and the gang had all gone out to a fancy restaurant to celebrate. Jeremie had made her a ring with a digital clock in it. Odd, with some help from Sam, had gotten her a box of Swedish ribbon candy, and Vanessa had gotten her a pair of designer boots. Aelita had made her a CD with all Yumi's favorite songs, which Aelita had remixed using her DJing skills. Candy had gotten Yumi a special pair of gymnastic slippers, handmade in Candy's hometown back in Mexico. Last but not least, Ulrich had gotten her a silver necklace with a topaz dangling from center. Aelita had flashed Ulrich a knowing smile when Yumi wasn't looking, and Ulrich had responded with a thumbs up.
Christmas break was coming up, and the gang had been busy shopping for gifts for one another. They had planned to exchange gifts the day before break, but that didn't stop Vanessa and Odd from telling Aelita what hers was a little early.
…
Aelita bit her lip as she tapped the pencil against her chin. She shifted in her desk chair, and smiled when the answer hit her, scratching down "43" as the answer to number five on her math homework.
She heard a 'click' behind her before the door swung open.
"Yo yo yo!" Vanessa said, marching into the room and flopping on Aelita's bed.
"What up, princess?" Odd said, sitting down next to his older sister.
Aelita smiled, spinning around in the desk chair to face them. "Math homework. You know, the assignment I assume you haven't done yet, Odd."
Odd smiled. "Vanessa made me do all my homework right away so we could talk to you about something."
Aelita looked at Vanessa. "How'd you get him to do his homework?"
Vanessa smiled. "With persistence, patience, and a promise of my dessert for the next three days of school."
Odd looked at her, frowning. "Wait, you said five days."
Vanessa smiled. "I tricked you. There's only three more days of school before break, idiot."
Odd growled at her, and Vanessa growled back, before laughing and punching him in the arm, bringing a half smile to her brothers face.
Aelita giggled at the siblings. "Alright. What was it you wanted to tell me?"
"Now wait a minute, shouldn't we make Aelita finish her homework like I had to before we tell her?"
Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Let's be honest here, Aelita could do her homework in her sleep. Aelita could do my homework in her sleep."
Odd shrugged. "Fair enough."
"So what is it?" Aelita whined, now becoming impatient with anticipation. She had moved from her desk chair, now sitting on her bed, with the three of them forming a close circle.
Odd and Vanessa glanced at each other, sly smiles playing on their lips.
Odd faced her. "I want to give you one of your Christmas presents early." Odd slung an arm over Vanessa's shoulder. "Actually, we want to give you one of your Christmas presents early."
Aelita smiled. "Ok. What is it?"
Vanessa took the younger girls hand. "And if you don't want it, we totally understand."
Aelita's smile grew a bit. "Ok! Just tell me what it is!"
Vanessa and Odd glanced at each other, knowing smiles lighting up their faces.
They came to a silent agreement, and the two turned to her, Odd having been the one chosen to tell her.
"How would you like to celebrate Christmas at our cabin in Maine with us and the rest of our family?"
Aelita's eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open. "Are you surious?"
The two nodded.
"And your family? They're cool with this?"
Vanessa nodded. "They said they'd love to have you."
Aelita began to stutter, worries beginning to flood her mind. "But what about Xana? What if he attacks and I'm not here to deactivate a tower?"
Vanessa held out her hand. "It's all under control. As you know, our dad works with the military. So if Xana attacks, we'll use his ID to steal a military jet and get back here quickly. We'll just have to do a return to the past so our dad isn't, you know, fired for letting three kids steal a military jet. I don't think they'd let it slide, twice." Vanessa laughed, as if what she had said was the most normal thing in the world.
But none the less, Aelita couldn't think of any more serious problems. Any other ones were wiped away when Odd's eyes met hers.
"So what do you say princess?" Odd asked, feeling he already knew the answer.
Tears of joy collected at the corners of Aelita's eyes.
"Yes!"
