Seventh Lyoko Warrior
Part LV: Blue Eyes
After Thursday classes were over the gang left for the factory. Agatha stayed behind at Yumi's house, tomorrow she was gonna be a full blown student of Kadic. Conner was playing soccer and Ana was off studying. Yue had left the school yard to walk around the woods and the good doctor himself stayed at the school with the nurse.
Jeremy told Michael on the way that while he was working on Agatha's records, he made Michael a little surprise. He told the gang that they'd be heading to the Desert Sector to test out Michael's new upgrade. Little did they know Xana was just about to wake up.
The Desert Sector was calm and quiet as usual, not a single monster was around for miles. Odd and Ulrich were hanging by the Oasis while Yumi and Aelita were scouting around. Odd was on his knees, flicking small rocks around while Ulrich was practicing with his swords.
"I wonder where Michael is," a bored Odd asked.
"I don't know, you still won't tell us will you Einstein?" Ulrich asked, starting to get impatient. Jeremy, typing away at the computer smiled.
"Sorry guys, I won't spoil the surprise," Jeremy chuckled.
Jeremy was watching the monitor carefully. He could see Odd and Ulrich both on the screen. Aelita and Yumi were on the other end of the sector. Suddenly another icon appeared behind Odd and Ulrich. It was approaching slowly and quietly while the boys were distracted.
Behind a small rock pile, a pair of red eyes caught Odd and Ulrich in its gaze. Odd and Ulrich were discussing their plans now that Sam and Agatha are students. Odd was excited to have Sam in school yet Ulrich was quick to voice his worries about Agatha.
A large black wolf stepped out of its cover and quietly made its way over to them. As it got closer, it lowered its body closer to the ground and slowed its movement. Carefully approaching, the wolf got a few feet away and lowered its body, ready to pounce. Ulrich caught a glimpse of the wolf's black fur when it jumped.
The wolf tackled an unsuspecting Odd, knocking the boy down. When he came to his senses he felt a heavy weight pressing down on his back. Startled and confused, Odd tried to get up but the wolf's weight made it hard. Ulrich watched the whole thing as he couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Gotcha!" Michael's voice echoed.
"That's pretty cool Jeremy!" Ulrich said with a grin on his face.
"Thanks Ulrich," Jeremy said back. "While I was trying to design a vehicle for him I came up with the idea of giving him an upgrade."
"Yep, now I can change here too," Michael said telepathically.
Ulrich knelt down and laughed at Odd.
"Well whaddya know, wolf beats cat," Ulrich joked much to Odd's annoyance. Odd looked up at Ulrich
"Easy for you to say, you don't have a large wolf crushing your back," Odd growled.
Michael stepped back, allowing Odd the chance to stand up. He stood up and bent his upper body back. Ulrich walked over to Michael but stopped a few feet away when he started feeling dizzy. His legs gave out and he fell on his fear. Odd ran over to his friend and helped him out.
"What's going on?" Jeremy asked, sounding worried.
"I don't know, he just collapsed," Michael said. He turned his body sideways for Ulrich to grab onto.
"I'm fine guys," Ulrich groaned as Odd helped him up. He grabbed Michael's thick fur and pulled himself up. He managed to stand up but still felt a little sick.
Aelita and Yumi arrived just in time to see Michael in wolf form. Aelita reached her hand out to pet Michael. Her small hands gently brushed along his fur, it was thick yet soft. She squealed with delight and started scratching under his chin. Michael's mind was telling him to pull away but he tilted his head towards her.
Yumi noticed that Ulrich wasn't looking to well.
"You okay Ulrich?" She asked.
"Yeah," Ulrich told her. "I'm fine." He smiled and patted her on the shoulder.
Black smoke emanated from Michael's body. Aelita pulled her hands away in shock. In a few seconds Michael's body was completely covered. They all watched as the smoke covered figure stood up on two legs. When the smoke cleared, Michael's human form stood before them.
"What do ya think, cool huh," said Michael.
"That's awesome," Ulrich smiled.
"Really cool Michael," Yumi agreed.
"Can you change back?" Aelita asked, eager to scratch under his chin again.
"Can you program me a transformation too?" a jealous Odd asked Jeremy.
"Sorry Odd," Jeremy chuckled.
"What, you wanna be an even bigger purple cat?" joked Ulrich. Odd was about to say something but quickly stopped himself when he thought about.
"Never mind Jeremy, I'm good," Odd said. Everyone started laughing.
The gang made their way towards one of the towers when Michael stopped. The group looked back at him wondering what was up. Michael perked his nose up and took a few sniffs. Catching the scent of something, Michael turned around and looked towards a group of platforms.
"What's wrong?" Yumi asked him.
"I smell Tarantulas, four of them," Michael told them." He got down on all fours while Odd got into his stance and Ulrich and Yumi drew their weapons.
Aelita stood there ready when she remembered the first time Odd, Ulrich and Yumi faced one for the first time. Neither one of them stood a chance, she was fortunate enough to get to the tower when she did. Now they were all accustomed to fighting Tarantulas. And now Michael was too, she was happy to have him in the group.
Michael's hands dug into the ground, he could hear them coming closer now. When they came into view, Ulrich readied his sabers and Yumi opened her fans. As they were getting closer Michael paused. This new upgrade Jeremy programmed for him gave him an idea. It was crazy but this was a good chance to test his new ability.
"Hang on guys," Michael interrupted. The gang looked at him.
"What's wrong?" Aelita asked.
"I want to take them on, by myself," Michael told them.
"WHAT?!" They all gasped.
"There's no need for heroics," Yumi stated, uncomfortable in Michael's sudden change.
"Yeah Michael," Jeremy said over the mic. "Need I remind you that this upgrade is new, testing it out like this could be dangerous. If you were to get devirtualized in wolf form who knows what that'll do to you. Your virtual avatar's data could break down and scatter your consciousness across the digital void."
"It's okay Michael, Jeremy will run some simulations for you later," Aelita spoke softly with her usual reassuring smile.
Michael crossed his arms, he hated the idea of waiting. Telling a wolf not to do something felt like being tamed. Having this new power felt like a load was being lifted off him. He finally had the freedom of changing on Earth and Lyoko. Having to be human all the time felt like a prison. He hated it, he just wanted to be free.
In an act of defiance, Michael shifted into wolf form and held his ground. He knew Jeremy would chew him out later for this but he was willing to deal with it. He felt confident enough but he also felt a sense of ease. It was still dangerous but he knew he could win. All it was was a leap of faith.
"Michael, transform back right now!" Jeremy ordered. Everyone just stared at him.
"No Jeremy!" Michael replied telepathically.
"If you get devirtualized you could be lost to us forever," Jeremy warned, hoping to be the voice of reason. But Michael shrugged him off. "I'm sorry, I have to bring you back." Jeremy started typing the devirtualization program.
Aelita looked down, she didn't like how this was going. She wanted to see Michael fight, so did everybody else. Jeremy wanted to too but it was too great a risk to let him fight. He was just about finished when Michael spoke up.
"All my life I was afraid of people finding out about me," Michael interrupted. Jeremy stopped. "For me, being a werewolf always made me feel like the black sheep, everybody either feared or hated me. I had my grandpa but I was still alone. When I met you guys everything changed. You didn't judge me, you called me your friend. You let me help save the world. I don't ask for much but please, let me do this. I can do this."
Michael's words struck at Jeremy's heartstrings. His hand shook as he was about to press the enter key. He tried to reason with himself to do it but hearing his friend ask him not to made him pause. He looked up at the screen, seeing Michael's avatar and the code already typed in made him stop. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Putting his trust in his friend, Jeremy closed the program and adjusted his mic.
"Okay, but please be careful," Jeremy said, defeated.
Everyone sighed with relief, Odd jumped with joy and Yumi felt proud of Michael. She could tell that he had come a long way since they first met.
"We're right here if you need us," Yumi assured, taking a few steps back. Michael turned his head and nodded to thank her. Odd, Ulrich and Aelita all followed suit as Michael was left to deal with the monsters.
As they were just about to stop and aim. Michael charged towards them, fast like the wind. Odd and the others watched Michael's speed, he was even faster than Ulrich. Ulrich watched, jealous at Michael's speed, he was used to being the fastest.
The Tarantulas got into a firing squad formation. But just as they were getting into position to aim, Michael jumped onto the center right monster. The creature fell backwards as Michael dug his fangs into its head on the way down. Much to both groups surprise, Michael twisted his head, breaking to monsters neck joints. Michael opened his mouth, revealing multiple teeth marks in the monster's head.
The three remaining Tarantulas turned to face Michael. Michael quickly got off the dead Tarantula and ran off. The dead Tarantula exploded, causing the center left monster to flinch while the two outer Tarantulas followed Michael.
Michael lead the three Tarantulas around for a while with each monster standing up to take the occasional shot at him. But Michael's speed and reflexes proved superior as he easily dodged or outran their shots. Jeremy watched in disbelief, he couldn't believe how easily Michael was avoiding them. Aelita summoned her wings and flew up, carefully keeping her distance to avoid getting hit. What seemed like a short time, Michael was so far away it would take Ulrich a few minutes to reach him.
Michael led them around for a bit until he found a section filled with tall sharp rocks jutting out of the ground. Seeing an opportunity, he b-lined it towards the section of the map. Aelita flew higher up just as Michael made it inside with the Tarantulas following still. The others soon joined up with her on their vehicles to see what was about to happen.
The three Tarantulas navigated their way around the maze of rocks. Meanwhile, Michael was completely hidden from their view. He would catch small glimpses of them hunting him down. Feeling excited, Michael lowered his body to the ground when he noticed one of them getting separated from the other two. Now it was time for the hunt.
The lone Tarantula stopped in a small clearing. It got on one knee and raised its guns. It turned around to get a better look but it couldn't find any trace of him. Little did it know, Michael made his way around and was staring at its back. Seeing his moment, Michael dug the claws of his front paws into the ground and charged.
Michael tackled the Tarantula, knocking into onto its belly while Michael quickly dispatched it like he did the first one. It let out a few labored ground before dying. Michael got off and quickly hid as the monster exploded. The other two monsters heard the explosion and quickly made their way towards it.
The other two managed to make their way over to where they heard the explosion and readied their arm cannons. Michael crept around, careful not to get spotted as he was looking for a good spot to ambush them. He decided to get in behind them and attack them both at once in human form.
Michael lowered his body closer to the ground and adjusted himself for a fast strike. As their backs turned towards him and their attention was elsewhere, Michael went in for the kill. He charged them at full speed, ready to finish this. He was about a few feet away when he let out a loud howl. Hearing him, they turned to face him.
Putting all his might in his hind legs, Michael leapt eight feet above their heads. He transformed above their heads and landed on his feet on the other side. Michael smiled as they were turning back around.
Summoning both of his swords, Michael thrusted the blades into both of their heads, hitting them at the same time. Aelita hovered above speechless. Michael yanked his swords out and dematerialized them. Satisfied, he looked up at her and gave her a thumbs up.
Aelita touched down in front of front while Odd, Ulrich and Yumi appeared above them.
"How was that?" Michael grinned.
"Wonderful," Aelita said in awe.
"Show off!" Ulrich smirked.
"You're just jealous cause I make it look cool," Michael joked. Yumi chuckled and Odd smiled as Ulrich just shook his head.
"Good work guys," Jeremy said. "I'll rematerialize you guys back here and we'll go ...wait a second." Red exclamation marks appeared on his screens. "Oh no, Xana's attacking."
Back in the woods, Yue was walking around barefoot across some large exposed tree roots. A white cd player attached to her hip with baby blue earbuds in her ears. The cool afternoon air relaxed her as she strolled through the woods playing music to drown out the world. A ritual she kept to everyday to help with her stress.
As she walked around oblivious to the world, her mind kept going back to Michael. Ever since the sword rejected her after he touched it she couldn't stop thinking about it. Her mom chewed her out for taking the sword but when she mentioned Michael everything changed. She didn't say much to her about it but somehow she felt like it was all connected. Even after meeting Michael she felt like there was some strong connection between them. She couldn't put her finger on it but somehow being around Michael felt safe, like nothing bad could happen to her.
She reached a large oak tree only to be surprised by Jim standing on the other side. She jumped a little as the large man casually approached her. She pulled out her earbuds and turned the song off. She looked down, hoping that Jim wouldn't scold her too much.
"Sorry Jim, I was just taking a walk," she spoke, her voice a little shaky from the scare. Jim stood a few inches away from her, easily towering over the small frail girl. Feeling a little uneasy by Jim's weird silence, she looked up and saw it, Xana's symbol in his eyes. "Jim?" Her voice grew more shaky with fear.
"Yue.." he spoke in a slightly demonic voice.
Yue started backing up, she felsomething was very wrong with him.
"Are you okay?" She asked, eyes widened.
"Die!" Jim screamed, his voice shook the ground and trees around her. He reached out to grab her but she quickly dodged and ran off. Jim followed closely behind her.
Jeremy was typing away, searching for the tower coordinates when he noticed something odd. He found the tower in the forest sector, but somehow it was unguarded.
"I found the tower, it's in the forest sector," Jeremy relayed to them.
"Let me guess, William's there too," Ulrich said.
"No, there's nothing there," Jeremy said to everyone's surprise.
"Care to explain Jeremy," said Yumi.
"That's just it, I can see the tower and everything just fine, but there's no monsters there," Jeremy explained.
"A tower on its own, what is Xana getting lazy?" Odd asked, hoping it was true.
"Maybe Xana figured out how to hide his monsters from our scans," Aelita suggested.
"I don't know, but whatever it is, you guys need to be careful," Jeremy warned. He kept scanning the area hoping it wasn't true but every still came up the same.
Michael smiled and stepped forward. "Don't worry, with my new powers, sniffing monsters out shouldn't be a…" Michael started to say but suddenly paused.
Michael's body stiffened up as a new sensation hit him. His body felt cold, like his core temperature dropped eighty degrees. He tried to talk but his throat felt frozen. He could still breathe but this new feeling paralyzed him. He couldn't explain it but somehow he felt like something was wrong.
His eyes began to glow, not red like usual but a light blue color, just like in the bathroom the other day. The gang watched him, frightened by the sudden change. Ulrich's eyes turned golden yellow for a split second in response to Michael's.
Odd reached his hand out to touch his shoulder when Michael suddenly grabbed his hand and knocked Odd down on his back. Yumi and Aelita were shocked to see Michael's sudden change while Ulrich just watched. As if caught in some kind of trance, Ulrich watched them without saying a peep. Odd was dumbstruck and shocked from Michael's change as he looked up at his friend with concern. Michael's expression grew meaner as his heavy breathing turned into fierce growls.
Michael's eyes stopped glowing when he snapped out of it and found his friend on the ground. Michael's eyes widened, he knew what he had done to Odd. Fearing what to say next, Michael helped Odd back onto his feet and brushed him off.
"Are you okay?" a worried Odd asked.
"I don't know," Michael replied, breathing steadily to help calm himself down.
"What happened?" a concerned Yumi asked.
"I don't know," Michael told her. "I was fine a minute ago and then suddenly I felt cold and scared and I thought I heard someone screaming."
Yumi looked at everyone. Odd and Aelita both shrugged their shoulders while Ulrich just shook his head.
"Michael?" Aelita asked, calmly approaching him. She reached her hand out, cupping his cheek to help keep him calm.
"There's no one on Lyoko beside you guys," Jeremy assured.
"Maybe Xana's playing some kind of trick on you," Ulrich suggested. "Back then he made a tower invisible and made of copy of another, maybe this is some new trick." Michael looked at Ulrich.
He wanted to agree with Ulrich but something made him doubt his friend's suggestion. Thinking back to that feeling from earlier, it still felt off somehow. He felt scared and cold but it was only for a brief few seconds. Not only that but it just happening randomly without a reason was pretty weird. It gave him an ominous feeling.
"Guys, I'm getting a bad feeling something's not right," said Michael.
"I'm keeping a lookout but so far there's nothing," said Jeremy. "I'll run another scan for any news reports and see...if...hold on." Everyone stopped and looked at each other.
"Jeremy, what's wrong?" Aelita asked.
"Michael's phone's ringing," said Jeremy, looking over at Michael's messenger bag leaning against a large cluster of wires.
He sat his headset on the keyboard and walked over to Michael's bag. He didn't want to go poking through his friend's things but he felt curious as to who was calling him. He rummaged through his bag, finding only the usual stuff, a few notebooks, a couple folders, a small grey plastic container for pencils, erasers and stuff like that.
A few seconds later the phone stopped ringing just as Jeremy found some receipts from a diner in the city. Nothing too surprising, he and Ana have gone into the city a few times on a date. He put the receipts back into the bag and looked around until he was certain it wasn't there.
He closed to the flap just as Michael's phone started ringing again. Curious, Jeremy turned the bag over to the back and found a small pocket. He opened the pocket, finding Michael's phone. He took the phone out and looked at it, the caller id said Yue. Just as he was about to answer it, a pale hand reached over him, taking the phone before he could even react. Jeremy nearly jumped out of his skin as he managed to turn around to see Michael answering the phone.
"What's up?" Michael answered, sounding out of breath. Jeremy stared at Michael, befuddled as to how he got back. Jeremy was just about to say something when he heard Yue scream in terror on the other end before the call suddenly ended. Jeremy's eyes widened, this was Xana's attack.
Michael dropped his phone and without a beat took off into the elevator. Before Jeremy could get a word in, Michael jumped up, opened the emergency hatch and climbed up the shaft. Speechless, Jeremy stood there frozen with shock. He couldn't believe how wrong he was to ignore Michael's feeling like that. It ate him up, doubting his friend like that.
Yumi's voice from Jeremy earpiece quickly snapped him out of it. He still had a job to do, Aelita and the others needed to deactivate the tower. Knowing that time was running out, he jumped back onto the monitor and talked to his team. He hoped that Michael would reach her in time.
Yue was running frantically through the woods with Jim following ten feet behind her. She managed to call Michael but the gardener jumped her and made her drop her phone into a puddle. Fearing for the worst, she ran as fast as she could. Sharp rocks cut into her feet but she kept going.
She reached the waterfall where Michael's cave was. She stopped for a second to catch her breath and look around, Jim and the gardener were nowhere in sight. Praying that she lost them, she took another step but fell over from the sharp burning pain in her feet. She screamed with tears running down her cheeks, she couldn't take another step. Her feet were raw and covered in bloody cuts, dirt and grass. She swore at herself for not wearing her shoes but she was thankful to get away from them.
A small yet loud enough snap of a stick quickly took that feeling of relief away when Rosa appeared carrying a large ladle. Jim and the gardener appearing around her, cutting her off from escaping. Afraid, she tried to get up but the pain in her feet crippled her, she couldn't run anymore. She quickly looked around but even of she crawled she wouldn't get far.
Step after step Xana's minions drew closer to her. Yue's body was frozen in fear, her heart beating rapidly. Tears ran down her feet as she tried to plead with them. But the more she tried the closer they got. Soon they were only an arms reach away. Jim reached out to grab her, Xana's symbol burning fiercely in his eyes. Fearing death, she mustered up her strength, closed her eyes and let out a loud scream.
"MICHAEL!" She screamed as loud as she could.
"Rrooooooaaaaaarrrrr!"
A loud, almost deafening wolf roar shook the earth, the trees and even the air itself.
Jim stopped as his fingers were inches from Yue's face. A quick fist sent Jim flying twenty feet away into a tree as he was looking over to see who that was. Rosa and the gardener managed to see Michael twist around Yue and kick the gardener, knocking him down. Rosa raised her ladle but Michael was too fast. He grabbed the handle of the ladle with his left hand. With his right he grabbed her apron and hurled her at Jim.
Yue looked up with delight and relief to see Michael standing there. She looked at his hands, noticing Michael ivory whiite claws. She could hear him growling, warning them to stay away. He turned his head to look at her, his fangs ready to tear anything apart. But then she saw it, his eyes were glowing blue again.
"Are you okay?" He asked, his voice sounding a little gravelly. She nodded her head, still in shock from seeing his eyes. She recalled before seeing his eyes glowing red but this was new. "Can you stand?"
"No," she answered, looking down at her feet. Angered by the sight of her wounded, his eyes changed back to their usual red glow.
"The dog came," Rosa said in a demonic tone.
Michael turned his head and faced her, his eyes burned red with rage.
"I'm a wolf!" Michael shouted before letting out another roar.
The gardener gripped the wooden shaft of the shovel tightly. Jim growled and charged towards him faster than humanly possible. The gardener followed behind while Rosa hung back. Yue looked up and saw what was happening and quickly reached out and grabbed his leg.
Jim charged headfirst with his arms outstretched to grab Michael. Michael closed his eyes and braced for impact. The air echoed with a loud boom as Jim slammed into Michael. But as he made contact his body practically bounced back as if Michael's body was some kind of thick wall. Startled, Jim fell backwards while the gardener stopped dead in his tracks. Shocked by the sight, neither of them could believe what had just happened.
"What the?" Rosa asked herself, in shock by this sudden change.
Michael stood there unfazed while Jim laid there on the ground. Michael opened his eyes, this time glowing blue again as a white aura began emanating from his body. Rosa was left speechless and Jim and the gardener both froze. Neither one of them expected this.
The gardener raised the spade of his shovel, ready to swing. Michael locked eyes with the gardener, ready to take him on. But suddenly the gardener stopped and lowered his weapon. For a moment Michael thought that Aelita deactivated the tower but he could still see that Xana was possessing him.
The gardener dropped his shovel and backed away. Rosa dropped her ladle and backed away as well. Jim stood up and followed suit, something was off about this. Michael watched them disappear into the woods, confused by what had just happened. Somehow all three of them stopped and fled. He wasn't feeling too eager to run after them with Yue injured.
"What's going on?" Yue said, still shaking from what just happened.
"Don't worry, I think they're gone," he said, turning his head to look at her.
Just as they locked eyes his started to glow blue again. He started to help her up when she suddenly stopped. She noticed the change in his eye color and was quickly confused. She remembered before seeing them glowing red but not blue. Curious, she squinted her eyes and stared at him.
"Are you okay?" He asked, feeling awkward towards her staring.
"Your eyes, they're blue!" Michael looked at her.
"What?" He asked.
"They're glowing blue, like an Omega's eyes," she said as she was trying to stand up. Her feet hurt so bad that she winced and squealed in pain as her legs buckled.
Michael caught her, picked her up and walked her over to a nearby tree stump. He sat her down and she quickly got comfortable. She looked up at him, wincing from the air stinging her feet but it was bearable enough. She saw the confused look on his face, realizing then that he had no idea what she was talking about.
She reached inside her pocket and found her compact mirror. She opened it up and pointed the mirror at him. He didn't understand it at first until he noticed his eyes glowing blue. Michael leaned in closer, baffled by the discovery. It was weird enough that they were glowing red but blue, this was new.
"What's wrong with my eyes?" He asked, feeling the urge to worry.
"It's the eyes of an Omega," she spoke. He looked at her.
"Omega?" He asked. She nodded her head.
"I don't know much about it but my mom told me about another name they call them: Fractured Wolves," she explained.
"I've never heard of that before," said Michael. Truth was he didn't really understand any of it. Growing up with a human family with no packs around to teach him these things left him in the dark.
"It happens when a Beta Werewolf suffers from a terrible ordeal, at least that's what mom says," she told him.
"What kind of ordeal?" He asked, thinking about Liana. She shrugged her shoulders.
"Mom says that it's something that breaks a Beta's very spirit. It's not like getting beaten up in a fight, it has to be something really bad." Yue paused when she thought about what she said. Then she looked at Michael. "What happened to you?"
Michael froze and looked away, her question ripped the wound in his heart open again. He didn't like thinking about it. Remembering him and Liana being gunned down made him feel cold. Even the thought of her name made tears well up in his eyes. He tried to conceal them with his hand but Yue noticed that.
Yue grew concerned when he refused to speak. She could sense his pain tearing him down, it looked awful. Taking a deep breath, she planted her feet on the ground. She winced and squinted her eyes, her feet felt like they were on fire. Each step felt like stepping on shards of glasses as she walked up to him. She wanted to cry out from the pain but she willed herself not to.
She managed to reach his backside when she heard him crying. Feeling heartbroken for him, she reached her arms around his chest and pulled him in for a hug. Michael stopped crying as soon as her arms touched him. As she hugged him he could feel his grief melting away. It felt weird but somehow he felt calmer around her.
"Thank you," he whispered. She smiled, she was happy to help him.
As she pulled away, Michael grabbed his wallet, found Liana's picture and showed it to her. Yue smiled when she saw the picture, she thought that Liana was really pretty. Michael even smiled seeing her face in the picture, he was the one who took it. Yue noticed his smile, she liked his smile, it was warm and welcoming. But that happy feeling quickly turned sour when her mind came back to her earlier question.
"I'm sorry," she said, handing him the picture.
"It's okay," he said, sounding down as he put the picture back into his wallet. "She was the best thing that ever happened to me."
He turned around and noticed a tear running down her right cheek. With his right hand he brushed it gently off her hand, smiling to comfort her. Without a word he picked her up and sat her back on the stump. She smiled, appreciating his kindness because a few seconds later her legs would've given out from the pain. She tried not letting it bother her but the wounds were still fresh and she didn't want to admit that she had a fear of pain.
"Thank you," she said. He knelt down to get a closer look at her feet. Much to her uncomfort, he gently lifted her left foot up by the heel. She didn't like people touching her feet but for some reason she didn't mind that it was him. He found some deep cuts, most of them were shallow but he found a deep split across the back of her heel. He checked out her other foot and saw the same things except for any deep cuts which relieved him.
"How does it look?"
"Well, most of it looks okay but I'll take you to a doctor to check out this cut on your heel," he told her while giving her feet back.
"Okay," she said, pretty submissive.
He picked her up and led her out of the woods and back to the school. Along the way he kept an eye out for Xana's minions, he didn't want to be caught by surprise. He didn't mind fighting them but getting Yue to Carlisle was his top priority. Her long silver hair practically glittered when the sun started to set and it light shined through the openings in the trees. Yue smiled and wrapped her left arm around him.
They arrived at school just in time as Michael's phone dinged. He got inside and took her to the infirmary. He grabbed his phone and saw the message from Yumi. It said:
"Tower deactivated. Everything okay on your end?"
He texted back, telling her that everything was okay and that they didn't need to run the Return Trip. Truth was he didn't want it run or else Yue wouldn't remember their conversation in the woods. It would be better because she saw Xana's handiwork but at the same time she knew more about Michael than he knew himself. He hasn't known her for very long but in his heart he felt like he could tell her anything.
Michael started to dial Carlisle's number but Yue's hand stopped him. She smiled and calmly shook her head no, she didn't want to trouble the good doctor. Instead she held her hands over her feet. A bright light shined down from her palms and engulfed her feet. After a few seconds the light faded and her feet were fine. Michael's jaw dropped he couldn't believe what had just happened.
"How did you.." he babbled completely baffled by her miraculous recovery. Yue chuckled and stood up.
"I'll tell you about it someday, but can you promise me something?" She asked.
"Sure!" He responded.
"I know we haven't known each other long," she started. She grabbed a lock of her hair and twirled it around in her fingers. "What happened back there, I promise I won't say anything. When Jim was about to grab me I was so scared, I thought I was gonna die. But then there you were, my pale wolf. I'm happy it was you who came to my rescue. You're actually the first real friend I've ever had." She paused and sighed. "I can feel that you've got a lot weighing you down. I won't ask about what turned your eyes blue, you'll tell me when you want to. But I'm here whenever you need me." She wrapped her arms around him and nestled her cheek into his chest, feeling his warmth. "Promise me that you'll stay my hero and keep fighting to protect everyone you care about." Michael smiled.
"I promise," he said, hugging her tightly.
After they were done Michael escorted Yue back to her room. On the way they talked about Omega wolves being weaker than they were when they were Beta's. Michael however told her that he didn't keep any different, in fact just the opposite, he felt stronger. Yue didn't know what to think of that but it helped convince her of how amazing he is.
He told her a few fun memories he had with his grandfather. Yue giggled about the toy he sat on once story. Michael laughed telling it while Yue listened intently. Hearing him laugh made her happy, she loved seeing this side of him. Off the bat she could tell that he was carrying a lot of pain. Despite all the pain she could tell deep down how incredible he is.
They arrived at her room just in time as nobody was around. Yue turned to face him, her body was relaxed and a smile lit up her face. Despite what happened earlier she really enjoyed talking with him.
"I had a nice time talking to you," she spoke, staring into his ruby red eyes.
"I had fun too," he said, staring into her silver eyes.
They hugged each other goodnight before Yue turned in for the night. On the way back to his room he started feeling awkward about facing the others. Commiting suicide with his own sword on Lyoko because of a hunch didn't really scream the best idea. He could only imagine what they were thinking when it happened. He was just glad that he was right, if not then it's gonna be weird the next time they talk.
He arrived at his room half asleep and eagerly awaiting to hit the sac. He reached out to grab the handle when he noticed that the door cracked open a bit. His mind woke up, he remembered closing the door before he left for classes this morning. Odd or the others would've told him if they needed something in his room, he didn't mind them coming in. Agatha was studying plus she wouldn't know where his room is and Ana wouldn't come in without him.
He listened for anything on the other side but everything was quiet. He knelt down by the doorknob and found what looked to be scratch marks circling the knob, they were jagged and rough. He extended his claws in his right hand and touched the scratch marks, they matched.
He sniffed the knob, catching a strong scent. Not only that but he could also pick up that whoever opened the door was doing it in a panic, someone with werewolf claws. It didn't make sense until he recalled the other werewolf during the night of the red moon. He remembered how feral it was, like the person inside had no control of itself at all.
He opened the door and walked inside. He kept his claws out and his guard up in case it was still around. His bed looked like it was sat just recently. The same scent wafted in his nose only he picked up another emotion, desperation. It got to the window and noticed claw marks on the windowsill and smudge on the glass. Whoever was here was looking over the window.
"What were you looking for?" He mumbled.
A shadowy figure appeared behind him with claws protruding from its fingernails. Michael heard it's heartbeat racing and saw its reflection in the glass. The figure reached its hand out to touch Michael's shoulder. Reacting quickly, Michael spun around, grabbed its wrist and knocked it down. Michael raised his hand, ready to cut its throat when something else happened. Instead of fighting back, the figure covered its face with its hands in fear of Michael.
"Please don't hurt me Michael!" A familiar voice cried out.
Michael grabbed it's hands and moved them aside, revealing who it was. Michael was overtaken with shock, he couldn't believe who it was. The boy looked at him with golden yellow eyes.
"Conner!?" Michael gasped.
Find out what happens next in Part LVI: Cursed Wolf