Contact

Tonight was the big night. Sissi was just finishing up cleaning when Mr. Delmas came into her dorm. "DAD! Please, knock first," Sissi exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, dear. Are you ready for tonight?" He asked. Sissi stood up and smiled charmingly, grabbing her cane. "What did the doctor say about your leg?"

"Oh! They want to give it a little more time. Stubborn breaks that won't heal for some reason," Sissi explained. Nodding his head, the principal escorted her down the hall where they ran into Odd. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing, I just wanted your help with my movie since you're in it. You are my star actress," Odd smiled too widely.

Sissi rolled her eyes. "As long as there aren't shots of my 'projects' then I think we're alright."

"Of course not! Come on, the show's about to start," Odd ran off.

"I'll see you at the movies, okay papa," Sissi kissed the side of Mr. Delmas's cheek and ran after Odd. The fatherly principal couldn't help the smile under his mustache.

Sissi fell back into the seat next to Aelita. Jeremie sat on the other side of the pink-haired girl with Yumi and Ulrich on the other side of Sissi. "You look exhausted," Aelita said.

"Odd wanted some last-minute help with the movie," Sissi sighed.

"He let you see it," Yumi smirked and raised her eyebrow.

The Dragon Queen glanced at her out of her tired eyelids and huffed from her stomach."I don't know why you think it's a big deal."

"Odd never lets anyone see his videos," Jeremie said.

"I never said I saw it," Sissi replied. The art teacher came up to the stage. The speech wasn't memorable, but then Odd came up. While the group clapped and cheered, Sissi only smiled slightly. Before he sat down next to Ulrich, Sissi gave him a thumbs up. "Now let's see if this movie of yours is worth slapping you over."

"Oh ho! I think you'll like it, your Majesty," Odd smirked. The movie played on. The main character, Odd, got escorted outside by a short scrawny student version of Jim, with a pillow underneath the shirt. As the two went outside, the sound of heavy feet rang out. Odd and short Jim looked up, and there before their eyes stood an eighty-foot Sissi, speaking in a slurred speech. Yumi, Ulrich, Jeremie, and Aelita looked at each other before they looked at Sissi. Uncomfortably clenched jawed frowns sat on their faces as they looked at one another. Of course, Odd couldn't stop laughing.

Suddenly, though no one knows how she got there so quickly, Sissi pulled out the plug for the projector. "Odd, I think you should start running," Ulrich whispered.

"Oh come on, she can't be that mad," Odd said. Sissi spun around towards him. Her teeth clenched hard, and her cane was held tightly in her hand as she aimed her vulture eyes at Odd's scrawny frame. "Uh oh," he said in a small voice.

"I'll write your obituary," Yumi murmured as Sissi marched over to him.

Odd gulped one last time. Sissi's lifted cane was just a fraction above the ground. Images of her judo practice flashed into Odd's mind. Would she feed Kiwi after she killed him? Odd hoped so. She wouldn't kill him here, would she? No. The Dragon Queen had other ways. That's when the XR-sleeves and her cane came to his head. She would make it look like an accident. The flip back of her hair caught his attention again. Right, he was going to die by this girl. "ODD! You little bonehead! I oughta... you're nothing but a... but a..." Her speech slowed down, and then she buzzed for a moment. "Bah whaaa offhh beep!" Her eyes widened; Her shoulders lowered. She looked completely devoid of human emotion. She walked to Jeremie and spoke. But no one could understand it. "Whathspat. sathesklts ashed ahgtlkd point e v;set ajhsg?"

"Sissi," called the principal, "are you okay?" Sissi couldn't, or wouldn't, answer. She just blankly stared at him. The principal scanned the room of peeping students. "Why don't we take a trip to the infirmary, dear?" Sissi silently walked with him. Aelita and Jeremie gave a silent look and a nod before getting up from their seats.

"The Superscan isn't picking up any towers. Whatever did this isn't from XANA," Jeremie said. Just then, Yumi walked into his room.

"The nurse said that Sissi received an electric shock. She's shaken up, but she'll be fine."

"Then I don't think we have to worry about anything," Jeremie said. He scanned the room for a sight of another yellow hair. "Where's Odd?"

"He's at the infirmary making sure the Dragon Queen is okay. Hehe, if you ask me, he's feeling a little guilty," Ulrich smiled.

"Or something else," Yumi smirked. Aelita and Jeremie chuckled lightly. Meanwhile, Sissi's eyes opened up. She smelled latex and the weird scent of medicine. She knew where she was. She rubbed her head, grumbled at the nagging dull pain, and tried to do an active recall when she heard movement on her left. Jolting her head, her shoulders and back relaxed when she saw Odd.

Sissi's brittle tiny voice came out, "Odd, what are you doing here?"

"I had to make sure you were okay, your Majesty. You gave us quite the scare," Odd smirked.

"More like you were scared."

"Tomato strawberries." Sissi rolled her eyes. "So what happened back there?"

"I don't know. I just remember... something and then I just saw... white. Is XANA attacking me? Did I hurt anyone?!"

"You didn't hurt anyone," Odd said. The girl rested back into the bed. "You just started speaking a lot of jibberish to Jeremie. I thought you were going to propose to him or something."

Sissi's teeth clenched, "Why on earth would I do that, Odd? Gosh, you really say the dumbest things sometimes."

"I was just saying," Odd shrugged. "It looked like something important."

"Maybe it was." The room was silent for a moment. Odd rubbed the back of his neck and looked to the side. Sissi gave a long sigh. "Odd, could you pass me my cane? No way I'm going to stay in this bed for the night."

"Of course." Odd quickly gave it to her.

Sissi smiled, "Thanks." Then she whacked him on the head with it.

"OWWW what was that for?"

"I don't know, maybe for making me look like a grotesque giant in front of the entire school!" Sissi crossed her arms. "Honestly, Odd, I don't know why you persist on doing stupid stuff like that."

"Everyone's a critic," Odd mumbled. Out of the blue, Sissi gripped her head. The room spun and her arms didn't respond to her for a moment. "Sissi? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just... I think I'm going to stay here for the night," Sissi smiled. Odd stared at her emotionlessly. "I'll be fine." The blonde slowly nodded before leaving the room, looking at her one last time before turning off the lights. Sissi smiled wider as her eyes drifted close.

Hours later, the sun was shining brightly into Odd and Ulrich's bedroom. The brown-head had his eyes covered by the sheets to blackout the waking power of the sun. Quite pleased the light wasn't waking him, he snuggled further into his cozy bed when,

BRRRRRRRRRING!

Ulrich groaned. He reached for his phone on the foreign enemy floor. Being on it meant getting out of bed. He hoisted the phone to his ear and heard his Einstein friend babbling on about something. All he heard was "come to the factory."

"Jeremie, it's Sunday," Ulrich moaned almost like a little kid. Einstein reiterated its importance. "Okay, we'll be there," Ulrich grumbled. After a grouchy skip out of his bed, his feet landed on the floor. Then he saw Odd's lumpy bed with Kiwi quietly resting on his owner's stomach. "Come on, Odd. We have to get going."

"Hmmm," came the reply.

"Come on, Einstein said something about Sissi-"

Odd bolted out of bed, forcing Kiwi off, and jumped to his feet. "I'm up! I'm up! Come on, let's go!"

"Odd, pants!" Ulrich shouted.

"A coded message from Sissi?" Ulrich asked.

"Yeah. She came into my room, muttered some gibberish, and then wrote on a piece of paper. I ran the supercomputer all night to decode it. Listen to this," Jeremie clicked the computer key. The voice sounded like Sissi's at first, but then it changed to a deeper distorted voice.

"I can help?" Yumi asked.

"It must be XANA. He must have figured out how to possess Sissi without activating a tower."

"That doesn't make any sense, Ulrich. One, Sissi already fought on Lyoko. She's immune. Second, if she was under XANA's control, she would have come after me so the Scyphozoa could steal my memory," Aelita said.

"She's right," Jeremie added. "If you ask me, I think someone, or something, is trying to get in contact with us."

"Who?" Yumi asked.

"The only one who would know is Sissi."

"I'll get her from the infirmary," Yumi said.

"I'll come with you. I feel a little responsible for this," Odd said. Yumi's raised eyebrow caused him to chuckle and rub his neck. "Well, you know. If it weren't for me getting her upset, maybe the person wouldn't have picked her."

"Uh-huh," Yumi smirked.

"I still want to check out Lyoko. I still want to see if this isn't XANA's trick," Ulrich said to Jeremie.

"I'll go too," Aelita said.

"With that Scyphozoa around? No way," Jeremie argued.

"Stop being so worried, Jeremie," Aelita smiled. The genius blonde grumbled under his breath. Odd and Yumi ran to the school. They were just getting there when they saw the ambulance shuffling Sissi into the vehicle. Odd instinctively darted for the truck.

"Odd wait!" Before she could grab him, the blonde jumped in, nearly knocking the principal over as they closed the door, and the ambulance drove away. Yumi opened her phone. "Jeremie, we have a problem. They're taking Sissi to the hospital."

"You're going to have to get her back. We're going to need her," Jeremie replied.

"I think Odd already has a jump start on that."

"What do you mean?"

"He just jumped into the ambulance as it sped off."

"He WHAT?! What is wrong with him?"

"Desire is the ruin of the heart. I'll call you back," Yumi smiled. She ran down to the hospital, pulling some leg muscles when she finally got to the small narrow-hall hospital lobby. Odd was sitting with his hands between his legs. "Well?"

"They wouldn't let me in the room. Go figure," Odd shrugged.

"I'm surprised they let you ride in the ambulance. What did Delmas say?"

"He let me off with a warning. He's more worried about Sissi right now."

"Something you two have in common," Yumi said with a raised eyebrow. She spotted Delmas coming out of the room. "Come on, we better get her now."

Odd and Yumi walked down the hall, pressing past nurse scrubs and labcoats. "Odd, what on earth possessed you to do that stunt with the ambulance?"

"I told you I-"

"No, seriously."

Odd stopped in his tracks. "What, you don't think I would do the same for you?"

Yumi sighed, smiling. "I know you would. But I-" She pulled out her ringing phone. "Jeremie?"

"Be careful, XANA has just gone on the offensive," Jeremie said.

"WHAAAAAAA!"

"Call you back, Jeremie," Yumi said after hearing Sissi's scream. They quickly ran to Sissi's bed. A dark-haired nurse with XANA printed murder in her eyes strained against Sissi's hands. "Stop!" Odd slapped his hand on his forearm and charged toward the nurse. The nurse swung her electrified fist at him, but Odd ducked and rammed his fist into her stomach. The nurse screeched in a digital buzz and tumbled to the ground. "What was that?" Odd pulled down his sleeve. Sissi's XR-sleeve was wrapped around his forearm. "How long have you had that on?" Yumi asked.

"A while. It's pretty sneaky. Come on, let's get Sissi out of here," Odd said. They slung her into a wheelchair and managed to sneak past the watchful nurses. After a panting run, they rolled Sissi across the bridge of the factory.

Then, screeching tires suddenly penetrated the air. They looked back and saw an out of control ambulance barreling down on them. Odd picked up the pace, "Come on!" The nurse closed in on them. Odd snatched Sissi out of the wheelchair and jumped out of the ambulance way. The truck zoomed off the catwalk and crashed to the ground floor; its siren slowly dying to a whimpering bloop. "Poor girl, I hope she had on her seat belt," Odd said. They noticed Sissi quietly standing up and riding the rope down. Yumi and Odd's shock didn't last for long when a digital growl rang out from the steaming heap of medical help.

Yumi and Odd jumped down the wire and pulled Sissi into the elevator. The nurse grabbed a tire hubcap and flung it at them. "Duck!" Yumi shouted, pulling Sissi inside. Yumi slammed the down button. The door began closing, but the nurse rammed her fist right through the metal as the door finally closed shut. The elevator slowly hummed down to the computer room. It was quiet, but not for long. A loud clank sounded from the top of the elevator. The nurse popped the hatch open just as the door opened to the computer room. Odd pulled Sissi off the elevator, but he looked back.

"What are you doing?" He asked as Yumi pressed the up button.

"I'm buying time." Odd pulled off his XR-sleeve and tossed it to Yumi. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Just don't let the batteries die out," Odd winked. The door closed shut. Sissi walked mindlessly past Jeremie.

"Ah, Sissi, I... Hey!" Jeremie said.

"Now what are you doing, Sissi?" Odd sighed. Sissi calmly settled down in the chair and began typing. "Where are Ulrich and Aelita?" Odd asked.

"They're on Lyoko. Ulrich's protecting the white tower in the forest sector and-"

"White tower?"

"I'll explain later. Right now, Aelita's going to the Ice sector to take care of the activated tower."

"Alone?!"

"I couldn't stop her!"

"Wow, our princess is really a stubborn one. I wonder where she gets it from," Odd smirked at a frowning genius. Suddenly, beeping sounds rang out from the computer.

"Aelita, watch out! You have monsters around!" Jeremie shouted. Odd ran to the ladder. "Odd, where are you going?"

"We have to get to Lyoko. Aelita's not going to survive there alone. You said Ulrich's protecting the white tower controlling Sissi, right?" Jeremie nodded. "The moment Sissi stops, send me to Lyoko. I'll be in the scanners."

"Got it," Jeremie replied. Odd raced down the ladder. Meanwhile, Ulrich's saber stood against a fan-like blast from a mega-tank. Ulrich pushed hard, but his feet slid back. Groaning, the ninja pressed hard, but the saber felt like it was breaking.

"Jeremie! I can't hold on much longer!" He grunted. With one more great slip, the blast de-virtualized Ulrich into lines and then into nothing. The blast also ran right through the tower. Its white glowing aura suddenly disappeared.

"Ahhh."

"Sissi!" Jeremie cried out as she fainted. He placed his fingers on her neck. She was okay, but he had to send Odd to Lyoko. He gently wrapped his arms around Sissi and lightly placed her on the cool ground. Jeremie then hopped onto his chair and started typing away. "Get in, Odd!"

"Is Sissi okay?" Odd asked.

"Yeah, she's fine," Jeremie hurried, "Transfer Odd. Scanner Odd. Virtualization!" Odd soon dropped onto his overboard.

"Nice timing, Einstein."

"Hurry! Full speed ahead!"

"Here we go!" Odd shouted, blasting down the way. With the ice zooming underneath him, Odd flew towards the squid-like monster and three krabs just in time to launch laser arrows at its head. "Banzai!" Aelita smiled. Odd swerved back and aimed his hand at the flat of the krab. His arrows punctured right through the center eye, blowing the monster to pieces. "Run Aelita! Run!" The pink elf did. Odd flew high overhead as the krabs shot at his back. "AH!"

"Watch it Odd! You just lost 20 life points!" Jeremie exclaimed.

"Relax, Einstein. It's all part of the plan," Odd laughed. Jeremie shook his head as Ulrich came up the ladder.

"Hey, what's wrong with the elevator?" he asked.

"I'll explain later! Right now, get upstairs and help Yumi!" Jeremie urged. Meanwhile, Odd swung low to the ice. He carefully rode low enough to match Aelita's running speed.

"Come on, Aelita. Hop on!" Odd shouted. Panting, Aelita lept on. The feline warrior revved up his board under the heavy fire from the krabs. Dodging another blast, Odd closed in on the tower. "Almost there. Ha! Got it. Here's your stop, Princess," Odd winked. Aelita jumped off his board and darted into the tower. When Odd turned back around to face the krabs, one of their blasts shot him right in the chest, de-virtualizing him on the spot. But it was too late for the monsters.

The nurse dodged the Japanese girl's punch and jumped back. Yumi ran down the factory with the nurse on her tail. She was fast, but the nurse was faster. Yumi suddenly fell. She turned her head back: the nurse caught her legs. Crawling up to her, the nurse hissed and growled. Nearby, a long metal pipe was near Yumi's head. She grabbed it with the XR-sleeve hand. As Yumi went to strike the nurse with it, the possessed nurse reached to catch it.

But something happened.

The nurse's electrified hands would have shocked Yumi, but somehow that didn't happen. The pipe actually electrified the nurse. She buzzed unnaturally and fell to the side. Yumi gasped for breath and rolled to her back. Her chest rose and fell as she stared at the ceiling for a moment. Immediately though, she heard, "Grrrr!"

"Oh no," Yumi yelped. She launched up to her feet, pipe in hand, and slowly backed away from the nurse as the nurse bounced up to her feet. Behind the possessed nurse, Yumi could see someone. "Ulrich!"

"Yumi!" The nurse's hands sparkled with electric energy.

Then all of a sudden, she stopped. XANA's sign vanished from her eyes, and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Yumi sighed in relief. She turned off the XR-Sleeve. "I have to say, Sissi really knows how to make a good gadget," Yumi said. Ulrich smiled and nodded.

Later on, Sissi sat on Jeremie's bed rubbing her head. "Okay, let me get this straight. I was possessed by someone and you guys had to face off a possessed nurse?"

"That's about it," Odd answered, "And I have to say that you actually gave me a lot of ideas to work with Sissi. Just think about it! A girl suddenly possessed by an unknown entity from another world trying to make contact with our heroes that all takes place on a virtual universe."

Sissi laughed hard, "Well, I don't think anyone would believe such a ridiculous story, even if it came from me!" They all laughed; Jeremie wasn't with them just yet. As the laughter died down, her eyes turned to Yumi. "So you fought off the nurse? How did that go?"

"Okay, your XR-Sleeves really level the playing field. I didn't think I would make it, but after I grabbed that metal pipe, I-"

"Wait, you used a metal pipe?"

"I couldn't reach her without getting zapped. I had to hit her from far away," Yumi explained. Sissi stroked her chin.

"That shouldn't have worked. Unless... It didn't have an effect on you?" Yumi shook her head. "Hmm, the energy from the sleeves must have gone through the metal. The electromagnetic field that the XR-Sleeves cause that disruption from their AC current but... ugh," Sissi rubbed her head and slumped her back onto the bed. "Thinking not good. Need rest." Everyone laughed. "But I'm glad you liked it. Although, now I have more work to do on them."

"Why?"

"It just occurred to me that all of you except Ulrich have long-sleeves," Sissi answered Aelita.

"So?"

"So, I can hide a much bigger battery if I can use your whole arm," Sissi popped off the bed, "Oh! Oh! And if I can put some insulation material in your clothes, I could-" She stopped again, rubbing her head and plopping back on the bed. "Head need stop thinking," She muttered. Just then, Jeremie came in.

"Hey guys, what did I miss?"

"The others were just telling me what was going on while I was spellbound," Sissi smiled. "What do you got there?" Jeremie held a small CD case. The overbounding smile gave Sissi an idea of what kinda news it was. That and the fact Jeremie couldn't stop bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"I managed to decode all of the things Sissi wrote while she was spellbound," Jeremie smiled widely.

"What does it say? Let's hear it!" Odd said.

"Tons of stuff. Plus some elements that will help me figure out Aelita's Anti-virus," Jeremie grinned.

"So did you figure out who the mysterious entity that was trying to get in touch with us?" Ulrich asked.

Jeremie smirked and walked to the computer, "Well, you have to listen to this. This is crazy!" He placed the CD into the computer and ran the program. A garble but clearer voice started coming through.

"I...I want to... I want to help you... I want to come in contact with you. Ahh I-I-I-I-I-I Am Franz Hopper! I am Franz Hopper!"

"I am Franz Hopper?" Aelita gasped. She stepped backward when her back hit Sissi. "I-I-I can't believe it." Sissi rested her hands on Aelita's shoulders.

"Well, now we know who it is. If that's the case, we're going to need to crack Hopper's diaries asap," Sissi said to Jeremie. He nodded. "What's the plan?"

"We'll have to get some data from Sector 5 for a decoding program. That's the first step. After that, we'll have to figure out something," Jeremie replied, rolling his shoulders back. "I'll play around with some ideas."

"You're getting more relaxed about this, Einstein. I'm proud of you," Odd said.

"It's not that. I'm just tired," Jeremie yawned.

"Well, I for one agree with Jeremie. Why don't we get some rest?" Ulrich suggested. Everyone filed out of Jeremie's room, save Aelita.

"Of course, now we're going to fail Mrs. Hertz's quiz since we didn't get time to study."

"Relax, Odd. I'll give you some tips and you should be okay. Why don't you come to my room and I'll tutor you?" Sissi offered.

"Really? You'd do that?!" Odd happily smiled.

"Of course, in return, you'll help me with some of my inventions as my personal test dummy," Sissi slyly grinned.

"I knew there was a catch," Odd gulped.

"What about you Ulrich? You want some help too?"

"I think I'll be fine," Ulrich said. Odd and Sissi looked at him through raised eyebrows. "What?"

"I know I've been helping you guys get better grades, but I don't think you've mastered math and science just yet, especially dog for brains over here."

"Don't worry, I'll try and help him, Sissi," Yumi said, resting her hand on Ulrich's shoulder. Sissi smirked as Odd snickered behind her.

"Of course you will," Sissi said, walking away from the blushing teens. She sighed as she and Odd made it to her door. Sissi pressed her fingers to her temple. "Those two are really confusing."

"It's like I say. If you get caught up in things you don't understand, you'll never figure them out," Odd shrugged as he strolled into Sissi's room.

"You really say that?" Sissi asked.

"Not really, but it is a saying." Sissi rolled her eyes.

"Okay, then let me try it. Odd, why do you constantly trying to get me on my bad side?"

"Aaahhaha," Odd scratched the side of his face, "What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean," Sissi flatly said as she approached him. "You tease me constantly about stuff you know I'll beat you up for, you made a mockery of me on the film, and you purposely say stupid things that you know I'll clobber you for. Why do you love the danger?" Odd could only make weird nervous noises. Sissi shook her head. "Whatever, come on, let's get your lesson started, dog brain."

"A-a-are you sure?" Odd stuttered. Sissi cooly chuckled and looked back at him over her shoulder.

"I'm not sure of anything really." She snickered as she heard Odd gulp again.

Continued...