The Key
A few days passed like a bad winter. Sissi worked hard and late improving her tech; the "surprises" from the XR-Sleeves needed to be resolved. Odd helped and provided a listening ear for her. The mechanist tolerated his company; she even began to like Kiwi more over time. Surprisingly, Kiwi was the least of a handful with Sissi, but she still didn't want the dog around her room. "I have chemicals around," She said. Though it was never clear WHAT kind of chemicals she had, the weapons she created made the others not pry. Jeremie worked overtime to understand Franz Hopper's diaries. The boy genius was either in his stuffy cell room or in the cold dismal factory. Frequently, Sissi and Aelita checked on him to make sure he wasn't a corpse. "We can't have you dying of malnutrition," Sissi pointed out.
Sissi couldn't tell what Ulrich and Yumi were up to sometimes. It worried her that Yumi seemed a bit distant to Ulrich. Sissi didn't see them together as much, they didn't spend that much time together, and Yumi always looked like she was pondering a great curse or something. Sissi would have brushed the worry away, but it never left her.
Aelita and Sissi had drawn closer. If Odd wasn't around doing the dangerous work of Sissi's assistant, Aelita was nearby. Jeremie cared for Aelita but worked harder and longer to get the girl's Anti-virus together. Sissi had more free shoulders to cry on, too.
A few days afterward, Jeremie finally cracked Franz's diaries and showed the others. Sissi caught onto a few things: One, XANA was supposed to counteract a military thing called Carthage. Two, Franz Hopper used the Return to the Past about 2000 times for the same day. It made sense why his mental health was slipping. Third, the reason why XANA wanted Aelita's memories. "He wants the keys to Lyoko," Jeremie said, moving away from the screen.
"But what does he want to do with that?" Yumi asked. Aelita stared at the computer lab's glossy screen.
"Escape from the Supercomputer... and take over the world." Aelita's words shuttled out like a frightened puppy on its way to the big scary vet. She took a step back and then walked for the elevator. The others began watching the other journal entries. Sissi, shaking her head, strapped her cane to her back and followed Aelita up the shaft, over the bridge, and to the schoolyard gates.
"Aelita."
"I don't want to talk, Sissi," Aelita tearfully mumbled. The streets were dry today. No noise could penetrate the cloud of sadness over Aelita's head. Unstrapping the cane, Sissi walked to Aelita's side.
"It's okay. You don't have to talk. I just want to make sure that-" Aelita suddenly hugged the Dragon Queen, making Sissi drop the cane. The little girl trembled violently. With a shake of her head, Sissi sighed and gently petted Aelita's hair. "It's okay, Princess. It's okay." Aelita shivered less and less over time. Sissi could still feel wetness spilling onto her shirt. Soon, the pink-haired girl pulled away, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"I'm... I don't want anyone to get hurt-"
"Aelita, you can't worry about that. We'll get hurt sometimes. That's what heroes do," Sissi smiled with a weight on her shoulders.
"You... you've gotten hurt?"
"Well," Sissi laughed, picking up the cane, "I don't use this just for fighting." Aelita showed a small smile. "You can't save everyone, but the good thing is that XANA can't hurt everyone," Sissi smiled widely.
"Why are you so sure?"
"Well, you did it before, you can do it again. Don't you think we should finish your father's work?"
"My father was a second-rate magician that wanted to play a scientist. He's a mad man!" Aelita screeched. Sissi twirled the cane in her hand with a long smirk.
"Well, it's good we're not second-rate heroes."
"I think Odd's optimism is rubbing off on you."
"Hmm, more like his dog's fur has rubbed off on me," Sissi grumbled, brushing strings of fur off. Aelita giggled before the dark-haired girl rested a hand on her shoulder. "We'll get through this."
"And if we don't?"
"Then we'll get through that." Aelita gave her a long stare. Her eyes were filled with a watery shine while her frail lips formed a straight line; Sissi couldn't figure out what emotion she had. Aelita suddenly hugged her again. "Hehe, you're getting better at not crying."
"Your punches will do that," Aelita laughed.
Sissi smiled, "Come on, let's go to the mess hall."
Jeremie and the others came to the mess hall a little afterward, and Jeremie found the solution to Aelita's memory problem. "XANA took something from her. That's why she's bound to him. We get that fragment, Aelita goes free and we can finally shut down the supercomputer. I've located the fragment in Sector Five," Jeremie finished.
"Then let's go," Sissi said. They were leaving the mess hall when a peculiar chill ran up Sissi's spine. Ulrich, standing next to her, asked what happened. "Nothing, weird feeling. Not XANA but... something... annoying?" She mumbled.
"Hey, Yumi!" Shouted William.
"Ah! There it is," Sissi groaned. William ran up to the Japanese girl, nervously rubbing his neck.
"Hey, could I talk to you for a second?"
"Uh... sure," Yumi replied. A furrow formed on Ulrich's eyebrow as she walked away. The ninja warrior turned to leave, but Sissi pressed a hand to his chest. His glaring eyes darted to her, but she ignored them.
"Wait, watch, and learn." She pointed her cane and the two talking. Ulrich watched William's smile turn to a frown, even though he held Yumi's hands. An "I understand" barely caught Ulrich's ear, and after that, William walked away. Sighing and crossing her arms, Yumi trekked back to Ulrich and Sissi. "How did it go?" Sissi asked her.
"What?"
"He asked you to the End of the School year dance, right? What did you say?"
"What do you think?" Yumi grumbled. Sissi's cane stopped her.
"I actually don't know."
The Japanese girl sighed, "I said no."
"Why?"
"We have a mission, don't we?"
Sissi gradually smiled. "Yes, we do." Yumi nodded and caught up with the rest. Ulrich sagged his shoulders, glanced away, and felt the ends of his stomach turn.
"OW!" Sissi slapped his head with her hand. "What was that for?" He grunted.
"For being so hot-headed that you could have lost your chance," She replied, leaning closer to his face. "Remember what I said about Yumi. Stop being so insecure of yourself or else you'll push her away further than you think." The noisy wind whistled around them. The Dragon Queen backed away, glaring at a still Ulrich. "Come on, we have a mission to do." She turned importantly away, and Ulrich followed...at a distance.
"Virtualization!" Ulrich, Odd, and Sissi fell down on the blocky Ice Sector.
"Sissi, why were there old mattresses on the floor in front of the scanners?" Odd asked.
"You'll thank me later," Was her only reply. Then Yumi and Aelita came down. Their vehicles were ready.
"Get to the edge of the sector," Jeremie instructed. When they did, he typed in the code and the big orb came over them. They softly landed into the arena.
Then Sissi saw Odd shiver. "What's the matter?" She asked.
"That XANA feeling you have-"
"XANA feeling?"
"You know, the weird feeling you have whenever XANA's up to something. Does it feel like a weird tiny nail down the back of your spine?"
"Actually... yeah, why?"
"Because I'm getting the same feeling," Odd replied. Sissi looked at him for a while before the team darted down the hallway. After deactivating the timer, they ran down the steps and entered a dark underground room with a small light coming from a faraway orb, floating like a pedestal.
"So... obviously this is a trap, right?" Sissi said.
"I've got to agree with Sissi on this one," Yumi said, "And I don't even have a six sense."
"I don't see any monsters for now," Jeremie replied.
"It's not monsters I'm worried about," Sissi murmured, darting her eyes left and right. "Whatever you do, keep close to Aelita."
"Right!" They charged down the walkway. It wasn't long until some Creepers came in on floating platforms, barring the way.
"Don't worry about the Creepers! They're only trying to slow us down!" Odd shouted.
"Or trying to make the trap convincing," Sissi grumbled, throwing a Punch Ring clear through a Creeper. The team huddled around Aelita like a tight suit of armor. Sissi threw a Punch Ring under the slightest noise or feeling that a creature was behind them. "Come on, we have to move!" They slowly trudged towards the shining orb, but the heavy fire became too much for them. The Creepers focused behind them where Odd and Sissi held their shields. "Darn it! These things won't let up!"
"You guys keep going. I'll stall them!" Odd said
"Think before you attack!" Sissi shouted. The feline warrior zoomed towards the onslaught of Creepers. "Come on, let's go!" The others fell into a full sprint toward the orb. Suddenly, the ground gave out in front. "Ready?!" She shouted from behind Yumi and Ulrich.
"On it!" Yumi and Ulrich jumped, threw Aelita over, and reached for the edge. Ulrich barely grasped it in time, and Yumi held onto Ulrich's hand as they dangled above the abyss. Running up, Sissi jumped and used her Punch Rings in her feet to get to the other side. She crashed onto the ground and slid to a stop.
"Okay, I'm getting better," She panted. Then she looked back. Odd still held the Creepers at bay, carefully taking aim before firing and dodging. "He actually listened." The Viking quickly got up and pulled Yumi and Ulrich up.
It wasn't long before Odd got de-virtualized by the last Creeper. As the scanner door opened up, he fell onto the mattress. "Wow, thanks, Sissi," Odd mumbled groggily. "What do you know? She was right." Meanwhile, Yumi, Sissi, Ulrich, and Aelita raced towards the orb.
"DAh!" A Creeper shot Sissi in the back.
"Careful, Sissi. You only have 60-"
"I know!" She snapped and threw a Punch Ring at the Creeper. "Get Aelita to the Orb, hurry!" Sissi stood her ground as the Creeper soon had company. "Come and get it."
Ulrich, Yumi, and Aelita ran over to the orb, but just as they got there, the ground around them completely gave way. There was no way to throw Aelita across. "What do we do now?" Without warning, two Manta monsters came soaring in, but these were glowing bright white, swimming down to them. "Jeremie, what's going on?" Ulrich asked.
"I-I-It's Franz Hopper. He's helping us. Guys, take the Mantas." Aelita and Yumi jumped on one while Ulrich jumped on the other. They looked back at Sissi only to catch a glimpse of her de-virtualization. Sissi fell out of the scanner into something warm.
The beds weren't supposed to be this warm. She opened her eyes and saw Odd's face. "You didn't have to catch me, you know?" She weakly smirked.
"I had to make sure you didn't hit your head too hard," Odd smiled. Sissi slowly got up with his help. "Here." He presented her cane.
"Thank you," She smiled. Just then, two scanners opened up, and Yumi and Ulrich fell out. "That's not good," Sissi said hoarsely like the entire world's weight was on her voice. She and Odd helped them up. "What happened?"
"I-I-It's a trap. There was nothing I could do. I'm sorry," Ulrich muttered.
"It's okay. Come on, we better get up to Jeremie," Sissi helped him up while Odd tended to Yumi. They rode the elevator and saw Jeremie freaking out as Aelita's head popped up on the screen. "This is bad. Really really bad!" The numbers went down further and further. "Can't-"
"There's nothing I can do!" Jeremie wailed.
Finally, the number rested on zero.
Jeremie's body shivered. He clutched his hair and gritted his teeth. Air was sharply sucked into his lungs as tears brimmed down his face. "Aelita... no... It.. It's all over."
"What's happening?" Ulrich asked.
"XANA finally got what he wanted," Jeremie gulped and cried, "He can get out of the Supercomputer now. Aelita. I... I'm sorry." Tears streamed down Jeremie's face. Ulrich placed his hand on his shoulder. The blonde's body shook as he wept. Sissi lifted his head up and tightly hugged Jeremie in the chair. Her tears wetted his shoulders. His cries grew louder as the others did the same. A thick black cloud spewing out from the top of the factory growled as lighting crashed and thunder roared.
XANA was free.
But out of the darkness came a light. BEEP BEEP! Jeremie snapped to the computer. "What's happening now?" Sissi asked.
"It's... It's Franz Hopper. He's restoring Lyoko to life!" Jeremie said.
"Jeremie look!" Yumi pointed to the green light for the scanners. Jeremie threw himself out of the chair and used the ladder to run down. The others came close by. The scanner opened up and Aelita fainted onto the bed.
"Aelita!" Jeremie gasped, crouching down to hold her up. Her eyes fluttered open, and she began crying into Jeremie's shirt. Sissi closed her eyes. Tears streamed down her as Aelita's cries filled the scanner room.
Then she felt a hand on her back. She turned and saw Odd, not smiling, but simply looking at her. They both nodded and shared an unspoken promise. Aelita would never cry again. Not like this.
Sorrow isn't meant to be this thick. Aelita sadly sat on Jeremie's bed, petting a sulking Kiwi. Yumi sat nuzzled in the corner where the walls met, frowning at the Einstein poster. Ulrich sat on Jeremie's desk while Jerereie sat on his computer chair. Sissi sat next to Aelita's side, leaning on the bed while Odd's body on the bed was propped up on his elbows. "Will someone make a joke so I don't have a heart attack?" Odd asked.
"My father sacrificed himself to protect us, and we don't know even if he's still alive on Lyoko," Aelita blurted out.
Odd fell back, sighing at the ceiling. "Okay, excuse me while I have my heart attack."
"All those memories. That was the missing piece that XANA took from you," Jeremie said.
"You're free, Aelita. But unfortunately, so is XANA," Ulrich muttered.
"How in the world are we going to do this?" Sissi sighed, rubbing her itchy red eyes.
"We fight," Jeremie stood up. "I don't care if XANA is stronger. We've defeated him hundreds of times and this won't be different. We'll make sure that the world is safe from XANA's evil reign of terror."
"And we'll do everything it takes to bring your father back," Yumi said to Aelita.
"You're right," Aelita sighed, letting Kiwi get off. "After all, fighting XANA is my job."
"No, Aelita. It's our job," Jeremie said as they joined hands. Aelita's eyes gleamed as she grabbed everyone's hand in that silent dark bedroom.
Continued...