The Revelation

Yumi and Sissi ran through the forest at top speed. Dirt kicked up underfoot. Sissi's cane was strapped to her back from a black belt she made. The two girls vaulted over a bush and ducked under a branch. Sissi's eyes glared forward, never wavering. "Are you sure he's there?" Yumi breathed hard.

"Where else would XANA trap him?" Sissi panted. "Ulrich and Aelita said he went into the woods, right? The only place XANA could trap him quietly is at the Hermitage. Come on!" The girls' lungs were hurting, but Sissi's speed didn't slow until Yumi begged her. "Ugh, fine." She paced around.

"We'll find him, Sissi. Whew, don't worry," Yumi breathed.

"This is just great!" Sissi shouted. "First, Jeremie finally gets that decoder for Hopper's diary, but now XANA's trying to take over the tower to access all the data. Second, Odd's empty head gets trapped by XANA, and a polymorphing specter is on Lyoko. And only Ulrich is there to protect the tower! Geez, I knew something would happen to that idiot. For all we know, XANA could be done with him!"

Sissi's clenched hands pressed against her temples as she ground her teeth. Suddenly, she felt arms wrapped around her. "It's alright, Sissi. XANA de-virtualized both of us. We couldn't have seen it coming," Yumi sighed, hugging her. "Okay, I'm read-"

"Good!" Sissi bolted off. They quickly got to the Hermitage grounds. "ODD!"

They waited.

"Mghmh!"

"Wait, do you hear water running?" Yumi said.

"There must be a hose at the back of the house. Come on!" When they ran the corner, they saw the outside hose was indeed on. Shutting it off, they looked around. "Now where is-"

"HELP!" shouted a familiar voice. On the ground was an outside drain. The girls looked down the grating and saw Odd swimming in the water. They had just stopped the water in time. A few minutes more and there would be no air for him. "Wow, am I glad to see you girls."

"You'll have to thank Sissi. If it weren't for her, we wouldn't know where to find you," Yumi said. "Hold on, we'll get you out." The girls squatted down and grabbed the grating. "Ready? One, two, three!" They groaned as they pulled.

"Come on! Pull!"

"I'm trying!" Suddenly, the grating flew off. The girls tumbled to their butts, but Sissi quickly crawled back, reached down, and pulled Odd up out of the hole.

"That's the longest a girl has kept me waiting," Odd laughed.

Sissi rolled her eyes but smiled as she and Yumi pulled him out completely. "We thought you were dead," Sissi said.

"Aw, I didn't know you cared so much for me, your Majesty," Odd smirked.

Glaring deep into his eyes, Sissi's voice became low, "Of course, I care about all of you, Odd. Don't ever forget that."

"Never," Odd smiled. Sissi gladly smiled back.

Yumi looked at the two."Uh, I hate to break... whatever this is up, but shouldn't we get back to Jeremie and decoding Franz Hopper's diaries?"

"Right... right!" Sissi's head shook. She grabbed her phone. "Jeremie, we got Odd. How is everything on your end?"

"Everything's alright. We got a little help from Franz Hopper. We're decoding his diary now."

"Great," Sissi sighed, hanging up. She rolled her head back, gazing at the bright blue sky that stretched overhead. The birds happily singing finally reached her ears. She closed her eyes. The cool breeze pulled the tension from her shoulders. The earth felt so firm and steady. Finally steady. A light warm presence drifted to her shoulder, and she could feel Odd smiling behind her. She sighed again as she looked back at him. "Come on. Let's go."

"Right behind you, your Majesty," Odd grinned with all his teeth. Yumi stood with no way of deciphering what just happened.

Sissi was the last to enter Jeremie's room. The blonde genius solemnly sat in his chair. The air felt heavy about him. "So?" Sissi asked.

"Franz Hopper was the creator of Lyoko. He recorded its creation and XANA in his journal. Everything," Jeremie said.

"And? Were you able to find something for Aelita's Anti-virus?" Ulrich asked.

"Yes, I did," The weight from his words didn't leave as his chair spun to them, "But there's another thing. Hopper lived here on earth before virtualizing himself on Lyoko and shutting down the supercomputer to prevent XANA from escaping."

"We already knew that," Yumi said.

"Yes, but what we didn't know... was that he had a child... a little girl," Jeremie almost whispered.

Aelita's eyebrows lifted, but when she looked at Sissi, she could see the night-haired girl's mouth drop. Her words came loosely from her mouth. "What happened to her, Jeremie?"

"He virtualized her with him onto Lyoko," Jeremie said.

"And?" Yumi pressed on obliviously, "Was she captured by XANA too?"

"No...she stayed on Lyoko," Jeremie heavily said.

Aelita's heart suddenly thumped, "But that's impossible! If Franz Hopper's daughter was on Lyoko, I would have known! I-" Aelita scanned the room. Odd looked at Yumi and Ulrich with the same shock. Sissi leaned on her cane as her eyes gazed deeply into the floor, grasping for some kind of solid foundation. "I'm... not..." Aelita gasped loudly. She reversed into Sissi who gently placed a hand on her back. Aelita bearly felt her rubbing hand. She looked everywhere, blinking, struggling. She struggled to get a glimpse of some way to process it all.

But there was no way. Her heart beat faster and faster, and her noodle legs couldn't hold her any longer. The shock was too great.

Sissi quickly snatched Aelita and glided her to the bed. Aelita's head spilled into a short ray and her eyes stared at the ceiling. "I... I...can... I don't know... I can't-"

"It's okay," Yumi said, sitting by her side. "You don't have to say anything."

Suddenly, everyone heard her sniffle. Sissi and Yumi instinctively lifted Aelita upright and hugged while the guys stood around silently. Aelita's cry filled the room.

"Well, that's something I never want to experience again," Sissi muttered. Yumi, Odd, and she walked down the hall to her room.

"Did you know about this?" Yumi asked.

"I... I had my suspicion. It was kind of weird when I saw her Lyoko form. She has pointed ears."

"So?"

"If she was computer-generated, she would have kept the ears and the form. That would mean that she had come onto Lyoko, not from it," Sissi sighed. "I was just hoping it wouldn't bring Aelita to tears."

"She'll be okay, Sissi," Odd smiled. Sissi grimly nodded as her glare ripped the floor. "How about you make a new invention? Didn't you say the XR-Sleeves needed a change?"

"Yeah," Sissi said, rubbing her eyes with her fingertips. "I forgot about that."

"Why don't you rest first," Yumi said.

"I don't think that will work. The Dragon Queen's a little like Einstein when she's upset. She likes work. She doesn't go to sleep easily. She stays up late when she's upset," Odd smiled.

"He's right. The last time I was this upset I... well, you know," Sissi sighed. Suddenly she perked up, staring straight ahead and stopping in her tracks. Sissi shifted her gaze towards Odd, who looked everywhere but her. "How do you know that I stayed up late, Odd? I don't remember telling you that."

"Well... I guess... uh... Well, when you were upset... your light was on. I guessed... that you were... you know," Odd stuttered. A slow grin spread across Sissi's face. "Oh! Look at the time, It's time for dinner. Well, I better get going! See ya girls!" Odd bolted down the hall through the double doors. A shake of her smile caused her to chuckle, but she glanced at Yumi. The Japanese girl had her arms crossed and her eyebrow up.

"What?" Sissi asked.

"What's going on between you two?" Yumi questioned.

"What are you talking about?"

"You two seem... more okay with each other," Yumi said evenly.

Sissi tilted her head. "I am his friend, Yumi. I don't know what you're trying to suggest."

"Nothing. Nothing. I was just wondering."

"About?"

"Nothing," Yumi waved her hand and walked down the hall. "Have a nice night."

Sissi squinted her eyes, "You're not telling me something."

Yumi stopped. An unusually long silence passed. "It doesn't matter," she said, looking over her shoulder with a smirk, "You already know what it is." Sissi's eyes bugged out, but before she could say anything, Yumi ran down the hall and escaped any rage the Dragon Queen could muster up. Sissi opened and slammed her door, gritting her teeth as she tossed her cane onto the bed. She looked at a small picture of the whole gang on her desk. Picking it up, her fingers lingered on the frame, gazing at a cocky weird spiked-haired blonde that held a big enough grin to reflect the sun's rays.

Sissi set the picture down and grumbled noisily while she sat down on her chair. She snatched the goggles, getting to work on her project. "I hate it when she's right," She groused.

Continued...