Real Friends

"Of course I'm not mad. What's more, is that I looked at your bio-files during your rematerialization. No anomalies what so ever. And I checked Sissi as well. Nothing wrong either," Jeremie smiled.

"Oh, that's a relief. He really had me, that poser," Yumi grumbled on Jeremie's bed.

"Well, the real Franz Hopper is still on Lyoko."

"But how did you and Sissi figure it out?" Ulrich asked.

"Well, Sissi knew the entire time. The headache was to throw off XANA's scent. She had the 'XANA feeling' the whole time every time she was around the fake Franz Hopper. Once she looked on my computer and found an activated tower, she knew it had to be Franz Hopper, but she wasn't sure until XANA messed up."

"Wow, Sissi really saved us this time," Odd said. "Where is she by the way?" Just then, there was a knock on the door. In walked Sissi with the most plastic smile ever.

"Hello, Jeremie," She said 'sweetly', "Guess who's here?" Behind her was-

"Dad?" Jeremie exclaimed.

"Are you ready son?" He asked. "This kind young lady told me where to find you."

"Uh! Wait, things have... changed. I'll tell you outside." Jeremie pushed him out for a moment. After a brief talk, Jeremie's father spoke up,

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm sorry you had to come all the way here for nothing," Jeremie said.

"It's alright. And don't forget to give us a call from time to time," His dad smiled.

Jeremie smiled back, "I promise." His father left and Jeremie went back inside.

"What was all that about? Where were you going?" Odd asked.

"Nowhere," Jeremie and Sissi said. The Dragon Queen winked at Einstein, and she stretched her arms and yawned.

"Well, I have to get some beauty sleep. I'll see you guys later," Sissi waved them goodbye and walked to her room. She ended up working late into the night, fine-tuning the arm brace and another device. She carefully moved things in place on her desk. Just then, a knock came at the door. "Odd?"

"No, it's Jeremie."

"Oh, come in." The genius blonde walked in, immediately scanning the room. The bland walls had some metal sprockets and loose pieces used as pictures. A gray metal cabinet sat locked in the corner next to the door. Next to it was her shelf of miscellaneous books, gears, and tools. "What did you want to talk about, Jeremie?" She asked, never lifting her eyes from her work.

"I wanted to say... thank you... for not telling the others about why my dad came," Jeremie sighed.

"It's alright. But when did you call him?"

"Last night. I was-"

"It's alright."

"And thank you... for helping me and standing by me. How did you know it was him though, besides your feelings?" Jeremie asked.

Lifting the goggles off her face, Sissi spun her chair around and warmly smiled at him. "Simple, I knew the scanners weren't an issue. If they were, we would've known much earlier. The fake Hopper also said that he was a prisoner of XANA. It wouldn't make sense for him to be a prisoner on Earth; XANA needs to access the towers to do anything. Most importantly, he blamed you. I know for a fact that wherever the real Franz Hopper is, he would've been proud of your work to keep XANA in check and the world safe. He wouldn't have tried to break up the group, and trust me, I know how to break up a group."

"Still, thanks," Jeremie smiled. Sissi briefly smiled and went back to work. "But you don't seem too forgiving of the others."

"You should know why."

"Sissi, it's not their fault."

"The evidence says otherwise."

"What would you do in Yumi's case?"

Sissi spun back around. "Trust my friend more than some random stranger. And trust that you could find a way. Sure, Franz Hopper might be a genius, but you're our genius friend who would risk his neck to save us." She gritted her teeth. "And I can't believe the others forgot that so quickly."

"You can't blame them for being afraid."

"Actually I can."

"Sissi."

She shot up from her chair. "What do you want me to say, Jeremie? I understand why you're forgiving them, but I can't let what they did slide so easily."

"Why?"

"Because... it's not right. Besides, if they're your friends," She paused, turning to the table, "then it wouldn't take much for them to isolate me if I do something wrong. They'd probably kick me out and never see me again." Her still hands stayed on the table as her eyes stared through it. Sissi sighed heavily.

Jeremie placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry, Sissi. We're not going to do that. I won't let that happen to you."

"Really? Even if I mess up something with Aelita?"

Jeremie grumbled and blushed, "Why do you always go back to her?"

"Oh, Einstein. It's obvious to everyone that you like her. Even she knows," Sissi smiled, grabbing her cane from the desk side.

"Still, I'll try not to blame you or isolate you. I promise."

"I promise too," Said a voice behind them. Sissi and Jeremie spun to the door to see Odd. He leaned against the doorpost with his arms crossed and his lips in a smirk. "I was just wondering what the brainiacs were doing. And I can't believe you were going to leave us, Einstein. Then again, Ulrich was pretty nasty to you."

"Just Ulrich?!" Sissi stomped her cane on the ground, glaring into Odd's shrinking soul. Jeremie stood in between the two and defiantly gazed back at her. The Dragon Queen held her fiery tongue and calmly walked over to Odd. "I'm sorry. Of all the others, you tried a little... I guess."

"I'm the one who should be sorry. You're right, Sissi. I should have trusted Jeremie more. I promise not to doubt my friends, ma'am," Odd dutifully saluted her. Sissi smiled and wrapped her arms around him. The hug surprised both blondes.

"That's all I ask," Sissi released him. She turned to Jeremie and smirked with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Now, let's get to dinner. We still haven't given Jeremie a cake."

"What?"

Odd got behind him and started pushing Jeremie out the door. "Come on, Einstein. It's the least we could do for our behavior."

"Alright, alright already," Jeremie griped. Sissi smiled as she closed the door behind her.

A few days later, Sissi strolled through the school grounds when an unexpected, and unwelcomed, visitor rushed up to her. "Hey, Sissi. Do you know where Yumi is?" William said.

"Sure, she's over there, right near the trash. I think she's expecting you in it," Sissi smirked.

"Ha, ha, very funny."

"I'm laughing."

"Anyway, where is Yumi?"

"Why do you care, William?"

"What's it to you?"

Rolling her eyes, Sissi leaned on her cane with a loud huff, "One, I'm her friend. Two, Ulrich and Yumi's jealousy has to be kept to a minimum. Trust me, you do not want those two upset at you, at each other, or themselves. Three," She smiled kindly, patting his shoulder, "I think it would be better if you just stayed friends with her for a while. You might learn a thing or two about yourself that you didn't know."

"What's that supposed to mean?" William asked. "What do you know about them that I don't?"

"That you do NOT want to get involved with their drama, and that's coming from the drama queen herself." She looked down at her watch. "Anyway, I have to go. If you're really dead set on finding Yumi, she's over near the benches on the other side."

"Thanks." And William left after that. Sissi went to the factory's large empty interior at the top floor. Aelita and Odd were there waiting for her. Aelita had a pink sweat top with blue shorts, and she was stretching her legs.

"What took you so long?" Odd asked.

"Oh, don't get upset, dog for brains. William just caught me off guard. Alright, let's get on with your first Judo lesson," Sissi smiled.

"Thanks, Sissi," Aelita smiled back.

"Remind me again, why we're doing this?" Odd asked.

"Because, if you haven't noticed, Aelita is XANA's target. While being a princess is good, you shouldn't always be the damsel in distress." Aelita nodded. Odd shrugged and sat against a metal beam with his arms used as a headrest. "Now get in a wide fighting stance. Keep your elbow loose. A little lower. Not too far apart. Extend your leg a bit. There we go. Come on, keep it up." Sissi ran through the training while Aelita bounced on her feet, glaring at her mentor. "There you go, keep your eyes on me. Don't let the adrenaline get to you. Come on, steady breaths. Don't be scared to-" Aelita's fist connected with the side of her face. Sissi stumbled back.

"OH! I'm so so sorry!" Aelita slightly panicked.

"No! No, no," Sissi laughed, rubbing her cheek. "That's good. Any harder and you definitely would have knocked me out. That's better than what Odd could manage.

"Hey!" The blonde remarked. The girls laughed as they continued their sparring. After they finished, the small group walked back to the school. "Huh, pretty soon, Aelita will be able to take on XANA's goons without us. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself."

"I'll have to upgrade my XR-sleeves before she can do that," Sissi said.

"XR-sleeves?" Aelita asked.

"XANA repulsor. XR for short."

"Wow, Sissi! You come up with the best names for your gear. What are you gonna do with it?" Odd asked.

"Make more of them," Sissi said. They began passing the wooded greenery. The birds were chatty, but their melodious tones made sweet music in the air. Sissi frowned when her phone broke the still air. "Hello?"

"Sissi? I've just looked at some of your grades," Mr. Delmas said.

Sissi's body winced. "And?"

"They're amazing! I don't know how but they're one of the highest marks in the academy. I'm so proud of you Sissi."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Also, your doctor called. He said that your legs should be fine now. You shouldn't need that cane. He actually says he wants to get rid of it. Something about causing a mental limp," Mr. Delmas said.

Sissi's eyes widened, "Awww, daddy. Can't I keep it, please? It's been so helpful and sometimes my legs are a little weak."

Mr. Delmas exhaled, and Sissi's shoulders tensed."Sweetie, if you're still experiencing problems, then we would need the doctors to look at you again."

"I understand," Sissi sighed, "Okay, I'll be ready for the appointment. Goodbye, Papa." She hung up the phone.

"Well, that doesn't sound good," Odd said.

"Because it isn't," Sissi muttered. She grumbled out the conversation to them. "I really don't want to fake a broken leg."

"Why don't you just use the XR-sleeves?" Aelita asked.

"The cane is...it's hard to explain," Sissi said, looking away for a moment. Aelita and Odd looked at each other and shrugged. As they approached the school, the purple-shirt teen yawned and stretched his lanky limbs.

"Well, I better get Kiwi's walk out of the way and get back to bed."

"It's the middle of the afternoon," Sissi said.

"That's the best time to take a little nap," Odd smirked.

Sissi chuckled and playfully swung her cane near his head. "Get out of here you." Laughing, the blonde ran away. Sissi smiled, although she didn't realize she was until Aelita pulled her out of whatever daydream she was in.

"Are you okay?" The pink-haired girl asked.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just thinking about what would happen if someone wore two XR-sleeves. Maybe something I can test for," Sissi said.

"I'll help you."

"And Jeremie?"

"He won't mind."

"He won't mind, or you're too curious?"

"Can't it be both?" Aelita winked. Sissi smiled and rolled her eyes as they walked to her room. Opening and closing the door, Sissi took out a big box from underneath her bed. The black stretchy sleeves were nicely placed in their container; there were about six of them. Sissi carefully took out two and rolled them onto her forearms. "Are you sure we should do that here?" Aelita asked.

"It shouldn't be a problem. These are just magnets for the most part. Just make sure that your phone isn't near it." Sissi patted the switch on, and the quiet hum of energy ran through her cables. "Okay, let's see what happens." She brought her hands together, expecting them to bounce away.

Suddenly electricity sparked from her hands in beautiful blue lines. An electrified net formed. "WHOA!" Sissi immediately removed her hands. The electricity left. "Oooookay. That wasn't... expected."

"How did that happen?!" Aelita asked incredulously.

"I... I... I don't know. It shouldn't do that, but I think I know why."

"You didn't... you know...?"

"Maaaaaaybe?"

"Sissi! No wonder it's doing that!"

"It was the easiest thing to do! Besides, now we know," Sissi smiled wide with shining teeth. Aelita rubbed her temples as the Mech-head carefully turned the armbraces off and placed them aside. Sissi sighed and stretched her back with a long yawn. "Okay, I think that's enough excitement for now. I'm going to do an 'Odd' and go to bed."

"Oh! Uh... well I should get going then," Aelita said, standing up from Sissi's bed. The princess awkwardly clasped her hands in front of her sweatpants while Sissi stretched her shoulders.

"Is something wrong, Aelita?"

"I... Sissi, do you think I'm...real enough?" Sissi stopped and looked at her. Sagging her shoulders, the pink-haired girl sat back down on the bed. "I know I'm not really a human being, but sometimes I think I feel like there's a little thing inside of me that," Aelita trailed off.

"Well," Sissi said after a long pause, "You're real to us, and I'm sure you're real to Jeremie."

"I just wonder... what if the fake Franz Hopper was wrong. What if I wasn't just created to be the guardian of Lyoko?" Aelita asked.

"Of course, he's wrong," Sissi smiled, sitting next to her. "You're much more than that. I think you're just like us. It doesn't matter where you come from, we still care about you." Aelita looked into her eyes and abruptly hugged Sissi. Though surprised at first, the mechanist smiled and combed her fingers through her pink hair. "I have to say, you seem more affectionate with me than with Yumi."

"What do you mean?" Aelita asked, releasing her.

"From the previous timeline, you and Yumi were always around each other. Why am I different?"

Aelita thought for a moment, looking at the ceiling and tapping her chin before a small smile came to her lips. "I guess you and Yumi are kind of the moms in our gang."

"WHAT! I am not a mother to Odd!"

"I'm just saying," Aelita tittered as she quickly ran out the door, laughing.

"Get back here you sneaky elf!" Sissi shouted down the hall.

Continued...