Chapter 14
In Need Of A Vacation
Jeremy placed his hands on his back in an attempt to stretch himself in preparation for Miss Hertz' Math class. The muscles in his back ached with tenderness as he tried to find some relief after sleeping in his chair last night.
Even after his morning shower, Jeremy was still in discomfort. Originally, he was used to staying up late and working on various programs at his computer desk, whether it it was working on programs to materialize Aelita in the physical world, decoding Franz Hopper's journal, or working on the Skidbladnir, Jeremy would spend many nights programming, still attend classes and pass, running only on three to four hours of sleep... or no sleep at all.
After Xana's destruction Jeremy was capable of relaxing and sleeping almost full eight hours. And now that Xervix returned and the situation escalated, he was back to his long working hours at his desk... and back to sleeping at his desk… which Aelita personally hated.
After Aelita came to Earth, she began to detest how many hours Jeremy would pull working on a program or how short he would sleep. In the many years she knew him, she watched Jeremy struggle staying awake and suffering from back and other health issues. She would catch Jeremy dozing off in class many times and she would kick his feet to try to keep him awake. Often, Jeremy would fall sick from lack of sleep and exhaustion. It angered Aelita as she felt responsible for Jeremy's work habits and how Jeremy overworked himself. Which was why Aelita would try her best to pull Jeremy away from the computer and let him relax.
It was as if Jeremy was suffering from OCD when it came to dealing with Xana. The rest of the gang were aware that while it usually meant life or death, they too were concerned about it. Jeremy couldn't go to Lyoko himself as it was his responsibility to run the supercomputer controls, and his skill and experience were unmatched. Still, Jeremy was trying hard to pull his weight, contribute in any way to make things easier for others on Lyoko. It was at times painful to watch Jeremy degrade himself to working so hard. The only one who could pull Jeremy away from the computer was Aelita. She was the voice of reason and effectively was the only person who could persuade Jeremy to take a break and rest.
There was a saying in the group, "Never argue with Aelita".
"Oh, man!" Jeremy whispered as he sat in his chair, placing one of his hands on his lower back.
"Keep it up and you're gonna need a chiropractor soon." Ulrich said as he sat behind Jeremy.
Aelita held the chair out for her boyfriend as he slowly sat down and pulled his chair in, moaning and wincing as he felt a pinching sensation from his back.
"Maybe next time he will sleep in his bed!" Aelita said in protest as she placed her book on the table.
Jeremy groaned as he listened to Aelita drill him over sleeping at his desk.
"I was up working on... something." Jeremy said.
"What were you working on last night, anyway?" Odd asked as he walked up to the gang and tossed his bag on the table next to Ulrich, earning a glaring glance from his roommate.
"I had a few programs running for the Skid, the Megapod and the Argo." Jeremy said as he reached for his math book.
Odd leaned forward and whispered to Jeremy. "You mean the Batmobile from Batman Begins?"
Jeremy stopped and looked forward towards the blackboard as he chewed on his cheek in frustration. "Odd..." Jeremy stammered as he slowly looked towards the blonde boy who stood in front of him.
"It is NOT the Batmobile from Batman Begins!"
Ulrich rolled his eyes as he sat back in his chair.
"You are right. It's… the Odd mobile!" Odd said with a smile.
Aelita placed her hands in her face as she sighed heavily. She slowly turned to look at Ulrich as her facial expression matched his.
"Children. We work with children." Aelita said sternly.
"I think we may need to find a new job." Ulrich said, making a little joke at Aelita's remark.
Meanwhile, Sissi walked into the classroom. She sat her items in the corner, then turned to walk over towards the gang to join in on the conversation.
"What you guys talking about?"
"The Purple Knight rising." Ulrich joked as he put his feet down off the table.
Sissi looked up at Ulrich and then slowly turned to look at Odd in confusion as she let the words ripple through her head. Ulrich nodded as he pointed at Odd, which was more than enough for Sissi to realize that it was something Odd was doing.
"It's totally the Batmobile." Odd said, trying to convince Jeremy.
"What's that?" Sissi asked, sitting on the table.
"We're talking about a vehicle Jeremy originally thought of creating years ago. And now with Xervix rising, he apparently decided to actually build it." Aelita whispered so no one except for the gang heard her.
"We need some kind of heavy assault vehicle to combat things like that Phoenix in the Cave sector or the Hydra in the Sky sector last night." Ulrich explained, looking towards Sissi.
"Right. I had an idea of such a vehicle before the Skid, however it was difficult to program, so I abandoned it," Jeremy added. "But now, I found a new method to program it and it should be ready soon."
"Cool! What does it it look like?" Sissi asked.
Ulrich perked his head up as he leaned forward in his chair. "Perfect. Show Sissi what it looks like and let her decide if it looks like the Batmobile or not."
Jeremy reached into his laptop bag and pulled out a small tablet. He pulled up the design of the vehicle in question.
"This is the Controlled Rolling Articulating Spheroid techno-compatible Mega Multipod Vehicle." Jeremy said as Sissi took the tablet from him to take a closer look.
"Or Megapod for short." Odd added.
Sissi enlarged the image; it showed a large vehicle with four very oversized tires attached to large metal brackets, which were in turn connected to a pod-like capsule sitting in the middle. The front tires were much smaller then the rear tires and the front end of the vehicle held what appeared to be a gun turret of some type. On the right side of the vehicle there was a cannon like turret. On the back of the vehicle there was a pair of engines.
"I designed it years ago as an attachment to the Skid in case we ever needed extra firepower to deal with Krabs, Mega-Tanks and the Colossus. And now with the amount of monsters Aether and Xervix are throwing at us, it might be useful." Jeremy went on.
"You guys could use the backup and all." Sissi said as she looked up at the others. "I know you gave Ulrich and Yumi those upgrades, are the others ready?"
"Soon. We are gonna have to make a small trip to Sector 5," Jeremy explained.
"What is Sector 5?" Sissi asked as she glanced at the others.
"It's the core of Lyoko, where things like programs and routines for the scanners and the super computer are located." Aelita explained. "It has a sub-sector I refer to as the City Sector, which we believe holds the files and history of Lyoko. There is one tower in the Sector 5 and one in the City Sector."
"The City Sector you guys are talking about, is that where the virtual soul is kept when we are in the computer?" Odd asked.
"That's right Odd." Jeremy added. "When you are virtualized, your body is broken down into data and code and stored inside a type of gem from what I see, that gem then transmits a program creating your virtual envelope or avatar for Lyoko."
Sissi looked at the others as she glanced back at the tablet image. "So that's how it works," Sissi thought as she examined the picture of the Megapod.
"So, what do you think?" Odd asked Sissi.
Sissi slowly lowered the tablet and looked at Jeremy. Aelita snickered as she tried to cover her mouth, glancing off to the left as she tried not to gain attention from her boyfriend.
"Uh… Jeremy?"
Jeremy looked at Sissi in confusion as he waited for her answer. Sissi handed the tablet back and placed her hands behind her back as she twisted her waist back and forth.
Jeremy stared in disbelief as he started to peace together what she was going to say.
"It does look like the Batmobile from Batman Begins." Sissi said through her teeth.
Jeremy lifted his hands in the air and flopped it in frustration as he finally surrendered to the idea. Shaking his head, Jeremy slowly placed his hands on his head as he sighed.
"I am the night!" Odd joked.
Jeremy placed his hand on his head as he leaned his elbow on the table.
"I'm starting over." Jeremy said as he silently admired defeat.
Aelita tried to turn to speak to her boyfriend. However she soon turned to the left once more as she realized she was still laughing, she silently snickered to herself, trying to be supportive of her boyfriend but also realizing that... yes indeed, it looked like the Batmobile.
"So does this other thing you're programming, the, uh..." Ulrich asked as he stammered.
"The Argo." Jeremy reminded Ulrich. "No, it is not the dam Bat-Wing or Bat-Jet or whatever he calls it."
Sissi looked towards the others in confusion as she glanced back and forth.
"What's wrong with it looking like the Batmobile?" Sissi asked as she heard their teacher of the hour, Miss Hertz walk in. "I mean... it still looks cool."
Jeremy sighed once more.
Aelita finally collected herself from the small laughing fit, so she could explain.
"Well, the thing is, Jeremy is a Marvel fan."
Ulrich shook his head as he smiled at the realization as to what Aelita meant.
"Oh. Jeremy thinks he is Iron-Man?" Sissi asked.
Jeremy nodded. "I'm good at programming and robotics."
Sissi looked back at Miss Hertz, who just shut the door to the classroom, indicating she was prepared to start the class. "Batman is too... isn't he?" Sissi asked as she waved and walked back to her seat.
Jeremy shook his head.
"Can I be your Catwoman?" Aelita asked jokingly.
Jeremy sighed as he realized there was no getting around it. He sat up and shook his head as he tried to stretch his back a little, his back still sore from sleeping at his desk last night.
"I don't like Batman… I like Iron-Man." Jeremy grunted.
Ulrich leaned forward. "Your back's hurting right?"
Jeremy nodded.
"You know, Batman hurt his back too." Ulrich added as he smiled.
Odd turned to smile at the others as he heard Ulrich's joke.
"Oh, come on!" Jeremy said a little louder over his whisper.
Aelita covered her mouth as she started giggling some more. The light jokes that the others were making were getting to her. Normally she would come to Jeremy's aid to help him explain a situation or defend his decisions. However when it came to jokes like this… She mostly just sat back and enjoyed the comedy.
"I'm… I just give up." Jeremy said.
"Jeremy, Ulrich and Odd, please settle down so we can begin the class." Miss Hertz said as she stood in front of the class and placed her cup of coffee on the table. "What are you three going on about?"
"Probably superhero stuff." one student commented from across the room.
"Now now." Miss Hertz tried to get the class's attention. "You heard Principal Delmas last week. Due to the ongoing investigation on what is going on with Jeremy and his friends, according to the government, we shall not discuss what they are doing and what they are going through."
A week after their return from America, the French Government issued a statement and a ruling on the "Lyoko Situation". While the French government was not too keen on an idea of a group of teenagers in control of a supercomputer that was ten times more powerful then any other computer, or the idea that Aelita carried around a crystal orb of unimaginable power... That the Lyoko Warriors, or the Garage Kids as some people would call them, would be allowed to finish the school year, and a decision would be made regarding what would happen next year if the gang were unable to destroy Xervix and solve the "Lyoko situation" before next fall.
Several of the children and faculty at Kadic were supportive of the gang being superheroes, however there were those select few who made fun or hated the children for keeping something such as the Super Computer and Aelita's past a secret.
It was a ruling that Principal Delmas had upheld in the school. Surprisingly he had been very supportive of Jeremy and his friends superhero antics, which came as a surprise to everyone, including Sissi. It was very unusual.
"I understand you are all members of the Justice League." Miss Hertz said, causing a snicker from Odd. "But when in class, unless you need to go; you must pay attention after all."
"Yes, Miss Hertz," Jeremy said as Aelita lowered her head, attempting to recompose herself.
"Good. Now then, let us begin." Suzanne Hertz said as she turned to face the dry erase board.
"Now as many of you know, the end of the school year is in two weeks and many of you are suffering from low scores and may in fact be held back." Miss Hertz said as she turned to face the students. "Many of you know who you are and I have talked to you."
Ulrich glanced down at his desk as he realized he was one of the students who was suffering. His grades in Miss' Hertz class where always just barely passing and barely made the cut. However due to a few poor grades he had on some assignments, he was dropping slowly and needed to increase his grades. He knew his personal life was not an excuse, he needed to get his grades up so that he could at least pass and move on to the next grade.
"After class I will need those individuals to stay and talk with me on how you can increase your grades to a passing grade." Miss Hertz said as she turned to her desk.
Odd looked towards Ulrich and saw the look on his best friend's face. He knew the look meant that Ulrich was upset and stressed, usually the look he had when something was wrong.
"I take it you're one of those students who is lacking in grades?" Odd whispered.
Ulrich looked up and nodded.
Odd placed his hand on Ulrich's shoulder, trying to comfort his friend.
"I'm sure it's not that bad." Odd said in a low tone.
"No, Odd. It is."
Lyoko, Volcano Sector
Aether sat in one of the Volcano sector's towers, reading information that was displayed on holopanels in front of him. He was searching for information on Lyoko and its basic inner processes. Aether already compiled some knowledge, based upon the recent events and their aftereffects.
One of the holopanels displayed source code of a program which originally was created by Franz Hopper as Lyoko's security system. However, before Franz could realize it, Xana rewrote and reprogrammed this security system into what was now the monster creation program. It allowed small shards and copies of the controlling AI to be reformed and repurposed to form a virtual being that could be programmed to obey the main source program's intentions. In short, it was basically creating a mindless minion which would carry on its master's plan.
"How could I have been created by such a fool?" Aether growled.
Aether was furious. He left Xervix's lair in anger as he was disgruntled with his master's decisions as to how to handle the children. Why did Xervix insist on defending the kids' existence? It was because of the Lyoko Warriors that Xervix was defeated and locked in the Volcano sector, and Xervix refused to extract his revenge. Also, the System was key to conquering the Earth, and Aelita was in possession of the System. Therefore, to Aether, the logical step was to get rid of Aelita's friends and use her as a weapon. Yet Xervix refused to do anything that could destroy the Garage Kids.
It made no sense to Aether and it angered him. Xervix blamed Aether for his defeat. However, in Aether's eyes, it was Xervix's fault… He was guilty of the sin of hubris. Xervix was the reason he was held back and defeated, and Aether was tired of it.
"Why does my master keep you alive?!" Aether asked as he paced around inside the tower. "Is it for some type of personal gain?"
He looked at one of the holoscreens, which showed information on the program Jeremy created years ago, called the Marabounta.
"Is it for some other reason that has yet to be revealed?! It's insulting!" Aether yelled.
"Why would my so called master want these ridiculous worms to continue to live?" Aether said as he turned to look at the entrance of the tower. "They defeated Xana and then defeated him… and the one thing that led to both of these sycophants' failure was, they underestimated these kids and eventually lost."
Aether held up his hand; he projected a series of green and yellow code in his hands, the monster creation program that he had stolen from his former master, Xervix.
"Even if Xervix managed to free himself from the Volcano sector and obtain the ability to leave Lyoko again… He will be defeated by the children... yet again."
Aether turned back towards the holographic panels as he continued to browse through all the reoccurring information he obtained from the computer systems. It was a long and growing record of the children and their battles with Xana, Xervix and all others involved.
"So for me to continue, I must wage war against both Xervix and these worthless children." Aether said as he closed his fist, placing the program back into his own program code.
Aether placed his hands behind his back as he turned, pacing down the long corridor of the tower and back to the central corridor, planning his move. He knew Xervix needed the System, and that whoever owned the System had the ability to control the planet.
"The System, a source of immense and infinite energy from beyond the stars..." Aether said to himself as he recalled all the information he had learned about the children. "Whoever owns the System controls the future... but... there is one simple catch."
Aether walked up to a second holo panel and pulled up an image.
The image showed the biometric readings of Aelita. It showed all the information that the Super Computer had on the girl, from height and weight to blood pressure and even oxygen levels. The Supercomputer kept physical and psychological stats on the gang whenever they virtualized onto Lyoko. It was a type of medical scan that allowed anyone who used the computer to keep a history of the Lyoko Warriors' health and wellness.
Aether punched in another code, which revealed the next part of Aelita's health record. Among them was blood type, which was determined as AB negative, the rarest blood type on the planet.
"The System can be activated only by the person it is bonded to by their DNA. Which means… no other person than Aelita can use it." Aether said, gazing on towards the screen.
"So… the only other person who could use the System would be a relative, such as... a parent..." Aether stammered as he stepped back and smiled.
Aether then minimized the screen; he pulled up a second screen, showing the different programs that were used to create monsters on Lyoko, programs created by Waldo Schaeffer to use as a security measure in case something ever tried to attack the inside mainframe of the computer's operating systems.
The Supercomputer was built from many different computer parts and pieces of software. There were components from the times when the first Macintosh and older computers were released to the public, programs from different companies, some no longer in use. These programs were repurposed and reprogrammed, bonded and weaved to the code level itself to run in unison. It was comparable to receiving an arm from a donor that was originally incompatible and making the arm compatible through gene reprogramming and stem cells. The rest of the more intricate hardware and software were either built by Waldo himself using the machines and components in the factory, or ordered from different companies under a dummy cooperation he had created in order to obtain the necessary parts, such as the nuclear power source.
The Supercomputer was basically built from scraps and refined into a fully functional machine.
"If I follow this plan… this chance that I have, I can destroy the children and remove Xervix," Aether said as he began following the codes for the programs to create monsters.
"It's unusual that there would be these subsectors like the Cave and Sky sector... Unfinished sectors that Waldo created to help hide the computer as a massive video game." Aether continued taking to himself as he creaked his neck. "But then again which worthless and incompetent human being would believe this to be a prototype for a video game?"
Aether watched as the source codes responsible for creating monsters traced through each sector and ran into Sector 5. In order to create his own monsters and Titans to serve him, Aether had to take the code he had in his possession to the sector that the creation code was based in and refine the code so it could be fully unlocked for him, allowing him to not only have full possession of the code, but contain the ability to use the code.
"The code is located in Sector 5?" Aether said as he watched the monster creation program code trace back to Sector 5. However, he noticed that something was off.
Something was different about the code and where it originated from. The code traveled to the location at Sector 5 as Aether hypothesized, yet there was also a second program linked to the monster creating program. In fact, this second program that ran in the background was connected to several other programs.
"What is this?" Aether wondered as he glanced behind him a couple times, then turned to look at the terminal in front of him.
Aether was aware that Lyoko had been hacked into months ago when Xervix first arrived on Lyoko. But how he arrived was confusing. Was this perhaps the way Xervix arrived on Lyoko?
Aether followed the secondary programs back to their source; what he found was shocking. He pulled up a small holographic map of Lyoko, following the tube like program tubes to their source past the Digital Sea and the Void towards another location that seemed to be attached to Lyoko. It appeared as a small, blue, dome-like structure floating in the virtual sea.
"A… Replica?!" Aether stared in confusion. "Is that how he snuck into Lyoko?"
Aether figured that if this replica was in fact hooked up to Lyoko and the Supercomputer, the human child Jeremy would have taken notice of it. Yet there it was.
There was only one possible way this Replica could exist. A connection point between Lyoko and a second quantum supercomputer was what had created this Replika.
"I wonder when was this connected… Was this before or after Xana was destroyed?" Aether asked himself. There was only one logical conclusion; to explore the newfound Replica and find out what exactly it was and how it could benefit Aether… if it could.
"It seems the closest way to access this replica is to travel from the Ice Sector… enter the Ocean subsector… And though there, enter the digital sea..."Aether said as he charted a course to this Replika. "However, if I enter the digital sea I will be deleted. I can use the monster creation program to create monsters that can swim through the Ocean sector and digital sea. As for myself… I will need a chariot." Aether said as he flipped through and found what he was looking for.
"So that is where Xana originally hid it?" Aether thought as he located a room in the Ice Sector. He launched its visual representation.
It was a small, launch bay like room with red orbs along the wall. In the middle sat a large platform with a boat like object sitting in the middle. It was grey with hints of red on it.
"The Rorkal!" Aether proclaimed to himself. "It must be a Nav-Skid of William when he was a slave to Xana!"
Aether pulled up a second screen on the holopanel, showing the stats of the ship.
"Hmm… looks like the program is bugged and needs power." Aether concluded as he turned to look at the tower entrance. "My first order of business is to power and repair the Rorkal, then fly to this Replika and find out what it is. Then, I can make my own push towards the child and finally show Xervix how to properly destroy the planet!"
Aether walked out of the tower and looked on at the landscape of the Volcano sector.
"Obviously, the children will know what I am doing. I will have to prepare a.… modest situation for them to deal with." Aether said as he held his arms out and opened his wings.
The Titan took flight and soared above in the air, flying out towards the nearest away tower that would allow him to travel to Sector Five where he could access the proper programs to repair the Rorkal. Aether flew past several streams of lava like energy outflows and past a large assortment of rocks.
Unknown to the flying Titan, he was being watched.
From below, behind a slew of rocks and dirt, a large snake like head rose into the air when Aether finally passed. The head was long and slender; scales as dark as the rocks around him covered his head. The head of the beast was adorned with sharp jagged horns, black as obsidian. A pair of tweaking ears sat in between the horns like the ears of a dog. Its face snarled and hissed as it pulled back in rage, and its eyes as red as fire, nothing was in his eyes except red… red like the color of Hell's fires.
Then, a second snake-like head appeared next to it. Sitting separately to the left of the creature, the second head hissed loudly as its tongue slithered out, only this tongue was in multiple, cord like tongues.
"Did you see that, brother?" The first head said.
"Yes I did." the second head replied as the creature stepped out from behind the rock, showing that the two heads where conjoined to the same body.
The creature looked like a bipedal dragon without wings, scales covering the creatures body as dark red as blood, yet its abdomen was an opaque white, covered in similar scales, only these were thicker, similar to pieces of armor. The chest was also covered in a silver, chrome armor suit that ran up towards the neck of the serpentine heads. A large Eye of Xana symbol glowed on the beast's heads; large, claw-like talons sat on the beast's hands, gripping a rock so hard that it cracked under the pressure of its grip.
The Titan held his arm up and crossed it over his chest.
"Lord Xervix, this is Orthrus," he said as the second head snaked around, glancing for anything out of the ordinary.
"Go ahead, Orthrus." Xervix's voice could be heard.
"The traitor..." the first head of Orthrus said until the second head intervened. "The bastard!"
The first head quickly snapped at the second head with a loud growl, causing the second head to hiss and retort in surrender.
"Aether is moving towards Sector Five, do you wish for us to pursue?" Orthrus said.
"Negative." Xervix said. "Typhoon will send a… special response for the traitor. When the children arrive, you know what to do."
"We acknowledge, master." The left head said as it cut the direct line to Xervix's lair.
The left head then turned to the right head and looked it in the eye. "You know what must be done?"
The right head nodded in agreement. "Grab the source codes of the children and free Master."
Orthrus slowly walked towards a river of lava.
"Then, Master will be free and we can go to the real world." Orthrus' left head said.
"AND FEAST ON THE BLOOD OF HUMANS!" The head to the right declared loudly.
"Not yet, you bastard of a fragmented code." the left Orthrus head argued back. "We must conquer the humans' world, and then..."
"We FEAST!" Both heads said in unison; they slowly turned into an evil cackle that echoed for yards and yards; a cackle so hideous that it would fill the heart of even the bravest person with fear.
The newest Titans had arrived, and this one was purely insane. _
Xervix closed off the communication line between himself and the newly created Titan. He placed one hand on his throne and the second hand on his chin, relaxing as he looked towards the ground of his lair. Xervix debated his next move to attack the children and, most importantly, re-obtain the monster creation program from Aether… either from Aether's deleted code or alive.
"He found it." Xervix muttered to himself as he growled in a frustrated tone.
Typhoon turned to look at Xervix in confusion; the glass ball that housed Typhoon's eyes and mouth rotated around as he looked towards his master. "And what would that be, master?"
Xervix slowly shifted his weight as he looked towards his creation. "The access point to the Cortex."
"The Cortex?" Typhoon questioned.
Xervix nodded as he stood on up from his throne; a sharp sensation raced through Xervix's code, reminding him he was still tethered to the Volcano sector… thanks to Jeremy and the gang.
"We could use this to our advantage," Xervix said as he slammed one of his hooved feet onto the ground. "But we must not..."
Typhoon stared at his master as he awaited his response.
"We must not under any circumstances allow Aether to access the Cortex." Xervix said with a growl. "For if he does… He will find us."
Typhoon nodded as he placed his left hand on his chest and bowed.
"I understand, my liege. And I will also commence the operation we have planned."
Xervix sat down in his throne yet again.
Aether was a complete fool. If Aether was capable of accessing the Cortex, it would alert the individuals who were responsible for creating him… namely Estrada, the one who created Xervix and sent him after the Garage Kids. Xervix hated Estrada with a burning passion, because Xervix bowed to no one… he belonged to no one, and most importantly, was superior to Estrada. Once Xervix arrived on Lyoko, he severed all connections to Estrada so that his former master could not track him and could not become a serious threat to Xervix and his plans.
"If Aether accesses the Cortex, it will connect to Lyoko and cause serious damage to our plans." Xervix said as he looked down at Typhoon. "Take the Titans you have created. Bring Aether back and if you have to… kill him."
Kadic Academy, the cafeteria
The cafeteria was bustling as students walked in to grab lunch. Some had just gotten out of class for the hour to grab a quick bite to eat while others were just sitting in between classes, talking to friends about their last assignments in this semester and what they would be doing over the summer break.
Yumi stood in line next to William, waiting for the line to shift so they could get closer to the food serving area. Both teens gripped lunch trays, waiting for the lunchroom lady Rosa to bring the food out. Even though they had already served some students, today's lunch special, fettuccine chicken and broccoli, ran out very quickly as the students started to fill the cafeteria.
"I swear I am gonna fail algebra." William said as he turned to look at Yumi. "I don't understand half the homework we got."
"Why don't you ask Jeremy to help you?" Yumi suggested as she pulled her cell phone out to answer a text. "I got Jeremy to help me and now I am doing quite well in the class."
William sighed as he looked down at the floor. "I am not the type of person to ask for help."
Yumi placed her cellphone away as she turned to look at William in confusion.
"I swear, you boys are stubborn." Yumi said as she saw Rosa return with a large, silver tray with freshly made food. "I'm going to have to plead with Ulrich to go and Jeremy to tutor him."
"He's doing bad, too?" William asked.
Yumi placed her phone back in her pocket as she looked towards William, realizing she jut let something slip that she wasn't supposed to.
"Don't say anything about it."
"Oh. I won't." William said as he slowly moved forward, placing his lunch tray on a silver, grated rail and grabbed himself some silverware.
"Who is better at math?" William asked as he moved with the line. "Would it be Jeremy, or is it Aelita?"
Yumi grabbed her own silverware as she pondered the question. She had known both of them for three years and she was aware that both of them were basically little Einsteins, both highly intelligent and both very fast learners. They both still were quite naive and lacked confidence in certain aspects of life, yet still they were two of the smartest people Yumi had ever met.
"I'm gonna go on a whim and say Aelita can be just a little bit smarter." Yumi said.
"Aelita?" William asked as he grabbed a criossant off the lunch counter. "I would say yeah, she is incredibly smart, but then again Jeremy programs stuff all the time."
"Yeah, true." Yumi said. "I'm not sure really."
William smiled and nodded at Rosa as she plopped a scoop of chicken and broccoli fettuccine onto his tray. William stepped back and turned, waiting for Yumi to get her food.
"Maybe we should have a contest?"
"A contest?" Yumi asked as she held her tray up for Rosa to fill. "Like... an IQ test?"
"Yeah, something like that." William said as he watched Yumi walk over to him with her tray of food.
"Give them a certain amount of time to finish a test or something along those lines."
Yumi smiled as she walked side by side with William to their usually lunch table.
"I am not sure… They are both two of the smartest students in the school so… Maybe?"
William sat his tray on the table as he sat down, the chain attached to his wallet clanging as it rest on the plastic chair. "Isn't it weird, though."
"What?" Yumi asked as she placed her bottle of tea on the table.
"He's the brains, she is the super powered hero, and we are their bodyguards."
Yumi put a bite of food into her mouth as she chewed, thinking about the comment William had made. "She can protect herself and Jeremy." Yumi said as she took a swig of her tea to wash down her food. "She has saved me and the others multiple times."
William pulled his phone out and looked at his text messages.
"I remember a few months ago when she saved you guys from Xervix when he had first arrived..." William said, stabbing his food with his fork.
"It had been several times, actually." Yumi said as she smiled.
Yumi suddenly cut off as she spotted a familiar site. "Speaking of the Angel."
Yumi waved, spotting the bright pink head of Aelita walking in with Jeremy and the others in tow. Aelita noticed her and waved back.
William turned and waved at the others as he noticed them walking into the cafeteria. William paused in confusion as he questioned why Jeremy was a little bent over and Aelita was carrying his book bag for him.
"Whats wrong with Jeremy?" William asked.
Yumi looked up from her lunch as she also noticed his posture. She paused as she studied her blonde haired friend over and finally came up with a conclusion.
"He must have fallen asleep at his desk last night." Yumi suggested.
"How does he do that? If I sleep on my back, I get a stiff neck." William asked, then turned to continue eating his food.
Yumi shrugged as she watched Jeremy slowly move over to them.
"I don't know... but I bet Aelita is mad at him."
William spotted Jeremy walking towards him and quickly turned to Yumi.
"Remember, don't tell them about Nadia." William pleaded. Yumi nodded as she took a sip from her tea.
William realized just how bad Jeremy must have felt with his back pain and quickly got up to pull a chair out for Jeremy as the blonde haired boy reached the table. William sat back down as Jeremy sat in the chair, moaning in discomfort. Aelita was following close behind as she carried Jeremy's things for him.
"You OK?" William asked.
"Yeah, I just slept at my desk last night, working on a few things..." Jeremy said as he watched Aelita come up to the table with their book bags.
"Called it." Yumi sighed.
"Hi guys." Aelita said as she placed the straps of the backpack over the back of Jeremy's chair.
"Hi Aelita." Yumi said as she finished her lunch. "How's it going?"
"Aside from Mister Stubborn hurting himself… it's going OK." Aelita said as she turned to look at Jeremy. "I'll bring you lunch."
"Thanks, honey." Jeremy said as he watched Aelita walk off to get in line with Ulrich, Sissi and Odd. Jeremy then turned back and looked at Yumi and William.
"Why are you Mister Stubborn?" William asked. "Because you slept at your desk?"
Jeremy sighed as he tried to sit back in his chair. "There is that, but she also wants me to go to the nurse and see if I can get some pills for it."
Yumi finished her bottle of teas as she placed the empty bottle on her lunch tray.
"Why don't you go?" Yumi asked as she stood up to dump her tray in the trash. "I haven't seen you in this kind of pain for a while."
Jeremy was still bent over even as he sat in his chair. Every time he tried to straighten up in his seat or was standing up he felt a sharp, popping feeling in his back and neck.
"I just need my back popped is all." Jeremy said as he tried to shift in his seat.
"Or a chiropractor." William added as he sat back in his chair, looking at Jeremy fidget in his chair.
"Or… to not fall asleep at your desk," Yumi said as she sat back down in her seat. "What were you working on this time?"
Jeremy rubbed his back as he looked up towards Yumi and William, fully aware that they were still in the dark about what exactly he was working on.
"Aside from putting the finishing touches on the source codes, I worked on the Megapod and the Argo."
"You mean the Bat mobile?" William asked as he noticed Odd and Sissi walking towards them.
"Don't start." Jeremy said, a little annoyed.
Yumi unscrewed the top of her tea bottle as she looked at Jeremy in confusion. "Why does it matter? Bat mobile or not, it's going to be useful."
Odd sat down next to William as he nodded at the tall teenager, his lunch tray just filled with chicken fettuccine and broccoli. "How's your day going?" Odd asked.
"It's going well really." William said as he turned to look at Odd, noting the amount of food that sat on the young, svelte teen's food tray. "Got enough food there, man?"
"Hey, I am a growing boy." Odd added as he started to poke his food with his fork.
"And when you get older, it's going to definitely hit you in your metabolism." Sissi added as she sat down, sitting on her lunch tray was mostly just lettuce with tomato and a small scoop of the chicken fettuccine. "Gotta watch what you eat and all."
"I'll deal with that later," Odd shrugged as he plopped a scoop of pasta into his mouth.
Ulrich walked up with Aelita by his side. He carried on his lunch tray two plates, one for him and one for Jeremy so that Aelita didn't struggle with her food. Ulrich walked up towards Jeremy and set his tray down for Jeremy to grab his food.
"Don't forget to tip your waiter." Ulrich joked as he watched Jeremy take his food off the tray and set it in front of him. Ulrich then put his tray across from Yumi as he sat down across from his girlfriend. "How are classes going for you guys?" Ulrich asked.
"I'm still struggling to stay awake." Yumi said as she smiled at her boyfriend. "Did you sleep at all last night?"
"I couldn't." Ulrich said as he twirled his fork around in his food. "I'm honestly not tired."
"Deep in thought?" Aelita asked as she sat down next to Jeremy.
Ulrich nodded as he put some of his food into his mouth. "Just got some concerns is all."
Yumi looked towards Ulrich in confusion as she thought what Ulrich meant by "deep in thought." Usually, it meant something was wrong or something was getting to him. And when that wouldhappen, Ulrich would shut people out. Even with the marriage problems his mother and father had gone through, it took Yumi a great amount of effort to try to pry the truth out of Ulrich and get him to at least let her know what exactly was troubling him. As of late Ulrich would easily be capable of opening up to Yumi, more so than he had in past years. Yumi knew that if she asked Ulrich now, he wouldn't say what exactly was bothering him. Yet she would have to ask him eventually, maybe when they were all by themselves.
"Later tonight, I want us to head over to the factory and meet with Special Agent Dalesman, Puck and the others about what the next step is." Jeremy said.
Aelita glanced over at Jeremy in confusion as she wondered what exactly he meant. "Are you gonna fully show off all the new gear we've been working on with Puck?"
Jeremy nodded as he finished his lunch. "Just because Xervix is sealed and quarantined in the Volcano sector, does not mean that we are done." Jeremy looked around the table at the others.
"We still have to find out who created Xervix and how he got into Lyoko, right?" Odd asked.
"That hack… whatever it was that allowed Xervix to enter Lyoko… is something that greatly disturbs me." Jeremy added. "Not only that, we need to know why Franz Hopper hid the System inside the computer, and..."
"Where my mother is?" Aelita asked.
"Exactly." Jeremy said as he leaned forward, feeling the stiff tightness from his back. "Once we remove Xervix, find out who sent him, and find Aelita's mother..."
"It's bye-bye Lyoko?" Odd said as he quickly swallowed his food fast so that he could add in to Jeremy's statement. "Again?"
Sissi looked towards Odd in disgust as she realized that Odd was talking with his mouth full. She tried to ignore the food spilling out of his mouth.
"Hold on," Yumi said with a pause as she looked at the others in confusion. "What do we do about Puck? I know he is an AI and all but what do we do about him?"
The group fell silent for a short while.
"Well, uh..." Aelita started, "We have kinda been talking about it. He is like a brother to me... I guess… and he has helped out quite a bit since we met him."
Ulrich glanced over at Jeremy as he listened to Aelita speak. "Do you plan to materialize him on Earth?"
"Should be easier." William said as he added into the conversation. "We got the assistance of the American government and all."
"I'm not sure." Sissi said as she looked at William. "I mean, since we're French, wouldn't that fall under the government's decision?"
"But maybe they could show us the course to giving Puck citizenship and all." Yumi said.
"We have talked to him about it." Jeremy said as he slowly looked down at his food. He turned to look at Aelita who in return looked at him. "But I still don't know if he is sold on it."
"But why?" William asked as he leaned forward. "Does he want to stay in the computer forever, all alone?"
Jeremy paused as he turned to Aelita, choosing to let her explain the situation.
"It's really complicated, to be honest." Aelita said as she placed her tray on top of Jeremy's.
"What's wrong with him?" Odd asked in concern. "He seemed just fine yesterday at Aelita's birthday party."
"That's because that was a polymorphic specter of himself that he was running." Jeremy said.
"Someone better tell Tamiya that." Yumi said as she looked over towards the other end of the lunch room, spotting Milly and Tamiya entering the lunchroom as they spoke. "She seemed to be really checking Puck out at the party."
"That sly dog." Ulrich said casually as he smiled.
"Either way…." Jeremy said as he checked his phone, he flipped the phone over towards Aelita who glanced and nodded in approval. Jeremy then glanced back over at the others. "When you get out of class, meet us at the factory." Jeremy said, trying to stand up slowly.
"Jeremy, please sleep in your bed." Sissi added as she watched Jeremy struggle to stand up. "It hurts to see you like this."
"Oh, he will!" Aelita added as she picked up their trays and walked over to the trash can to dump her and Jeremy's trash.
"Maybe Aelita could give you a back rub?" Odd joked.
"Odd!" Jeremy said in defiance. "I'll be OK, besides I have a lot to work on."
"Come on, Jeremy." Yumi said as in concern. "You used to do this all the time and you always had poor health due to it. You can't save the Earth if you are sick or hurt."
Jeremy sighed as he glanced down at the table. He knew Yumi was right but even then there was still so much to work on for him.
"I will be fine. Guys, trust me. I just gotta get back into the swing of things." Jeremy said as he suddenly heard a loud growl of frustration come from his left.
The others at the table stared at Jeremy, or more specifically, towards Jeremy's right. Aelita sipped her hot cocoa as she tried to hide her frustration from everyone.
She was frustrated with her stubborn boyfriend and the fact that Jeremy hurt his back and he was talking about possibly doing it again.
"I'm gonna have to strap you to your bed," Aelita said as she placed her cup down, finishing her drink.
"Um… Aelita..." Jeremy said as he looked over at his girlfriend, preparing to retort, only to be cut off by Aelita once again.
"Look, Jeremy." Aelita said as she placed her hand on Jeremy's. "I know you have a lot to work on. But your health and wellness is more important."
"Why don't you guys work together?" William suggested. "That way you guys could spend some time together and whatnot."
"Yeah!" Ulrich said as he looked towards the two teens. "And you could probably pull Puck in on helping as well."
Jeremy turned to look at Aelita, who was smiling. He knew what was going through her mind. She was totally for it. Jeremy knew that Aelita just truly wanted to spend as much time with him as possible and by having Aelita to help work on the programs, it would definitely be a lot more effective.
"Great, but how will you get past Jim?" Sissi asked.
Odd chuckled a little.
"We have Jim's schedule down to almost a T." Odd said confidently. "How do you think I kept Kiwi hidden for so long?"
Jeremy thought about what the others suggested. He wasn't too keen on overburdening Aelita with hard work on many programs and upgrades he had planned for future missions on Lyoko. Yet he knew deep down that if he insisted on working all by himself, his health would deteriorate even further, and he risked not only being less effective in his work, but that eventually he would become sick to the point of not being able to do anything at all. Or worse, his indisposition would put his friends in danger.
"Want me to ask Puck if he wants to help?" Aelita asked as she held up her phone.
"We can ask him later either at the lab or my room." Jeremy said.
"Or I can ask him now." Aelita flicked on her smartphone and pulled up her home page.
Odd turned and looked at Aelita in confusion. "What? Is there an app for that?"
"Yup." Aelita said with a smile as she looked up at Odd.
"Oh, you got the app running?" Jeremy asked as he leaned over.
To his delight, she had their old photo taken in a photobooth on one of her first nights on Earth set as a wallpaper. Aelita scrolled over the touchscreen until she found a hidden icon, which had a picture of a blue ring on it. The app's name was CL: Evolution.
"You guys created an app for Lyoko?" Ulrich asked.
"Yes we did. It's not on the App Store, in case you are wondering." Aelita said, waiting for the app to load up.
"Great idea! How do we get it then?" Sissi asked.
"We plan to install it on your phones at some point. We are still testing it. It's an app that uses encrypted channels to notify us when a tower is activated and when we need to get to the factory." Jeremy explained.
"Jessica showed me how to make it." Aelita added. "Some of the FBI and the CIA use it."
"And what would stop people from hacking into phones?" William asked as he leaned over and looked at Aelita's phone screen.
"Puck and I fixed that. We created a type of masking program that allows the app to run silently in the background." Jeremy said as he held up his phone to show everyone. "But you have to run another program at the same time so that if someone hacks in and spies on our phones, they will notice that the only program actually running would be something like a music player or Facebook."
"Oh, don't even mention Facebook." Odd said as he sat back and shook his head. "Ever since we came out into the public, I've gotten friend requests back and forth."
"And how did you link Lyoko to a phone network?" Ulrich asked.
"We didn't. We used the communication program and the Superscanner to create a connection to one of the old antennas on top of the factory that creates a type of hub that allowed our phones to tether to the Supercomputer." Jeremy said as he put his phone back in his pocket.
"That was my idea." Aelita said with a smile.
"See?" William said. "You guys created basically our own private network. Imagine what you guys could do together."
Jeremy turned to look at his girlfriend, who was also staring at him as well.
"Would you like to help me with some of these projects, Aelita?" Jeremy asked.
"It sounds like a date to me." Aelita said with a smile. "And this way I could make sure you are not overworking yourself."
"Great." Ulrich sighed with relief that the problem had a solution. "Now we just need to make sure you guys don't end up overworking together."
Aelita looked down as she noticed the app had not been successful in establishing a connection. She clicked refresh several times, but the app was still having issues with connecting to Lyoko.
"Hmm..." Aelita wondered as she placed the phone in her pocket and stood up. "I can't establish a connection."
"Gonna try it outside?" Yumi asked as she grabbed her book bag.
Aelita nodded as she bent down and kissed Jeremy on the lips. The action caused Jeremy to stiffen up suddenly, like a statue. This always happened whenever Aelita kissed him randomly and he wasn't expecting it.
"Odd, can you help Jeremy with his bags?" Aelita asked politely.
"I got him." Odd mumbled with a mouth full of food.
Aelita slung her backpack around her shoulder and pulled the phone back out of her pocket. "I'll be outside waiting for you guys."
"I'll be out in a minute." Yumi said as she watched Aelita walk outside and towards the lunch room.
"Mind if I go with you?" Sissi asked as she stood up as well. "I need to ask you guys a question."
"Is this about… this?" Yumi asked. Sissi nodded.
Yumi walked past Sissi. A look of determination and concern raced across both teens' faces as they raced to catch up with their pink haired friend.
Jeremy looked up as he placed his phone in his pocket. As he straightened his back a little bit he felt a sharp pain, causing him to yipe a bit.
"You OK Jeremy?" Ulrich asked as he leaned forward, concerned for his best friend.
"Yeah its just..."
"Your back?" Odd asked as he placed his hand on the blonde nerd's shoulder.
Jeremy turned to look towards the others who remained at the table in concern.
"Aelita is right." Odd said. "Go to a nurse."
"Or have Jim pop your back." William said, noticing the PE teacher and dean of students walk into the cafeteria.
Jim scanned the lunch room upon walking inside. The tall, barrel-chested man looked like a bear. He was a bit chubby yet physically fit individual who held many titles in school; Physical Education teacher, Dean Of Students, Health and Wellness teacher. He was a man of many talents whose answer to many inquiries about his personal history and qualifications to his many positions was the infamous "I'd rather not talk about it."
"Wanna give it a try?" Ulrich asked.
Jeremy slouched in his chair in concern and intimidation as he thought about what Jim would say to what he was going through.
"He might help." Odd said.
"OK." Jeremy said silently.
Odd walked over towards the tall gym teacher, leaving Jeremy with Ulrich and William.
"Just tell Jim that you slept weird." Ulrich said, standing up from behind the table. "Or does he know about us being out late and dealing with Lyoko?"
"I'm not sure." Jeremy said as he watched Odd talk to Jim. Jim turned to look as he locked eyes with Jeremy. A cold chill ran down Jeremy's spine.
"Here he comes." William said as he watched Odd lead Jim over to the table Jeremy sat at.
"So, Belpois." Jim said with a stern and powerful voice, "I have been told by Della Robbia that you fell and hurt your back?"
Jeremy slowly nodded as he looked at Jim, fear filling his head, knowing what was about to happen.
"And that you don't want to go to the nurse and take something?" Jim asked once more.
"Yeah, because... I don't want to miss any of my classes." Jeremy said, trying to find a good enough excuse.
"Ah, this takes me back." Jim said with a smile as he looked up at the ceiling. "This reminds me of the time I was Physical Therapist for the German women's heavy lifting team at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea."
Ulrich looked at Jim in confusion. "You were a physical trainer for the German Women's weightlifting team at the Olympics?"
"Eh..." Jim said as he was shot back into reality. "I would rather not talk about it."
"And there it is." Ulrich responded.
Jim moved one of the chairs between him and Jeremy.
"OK, Belpois." Jim said as he looked down towards Jeremy. "Let's do this."
Jeremy quickly crossed himself in his traditional cross as he slowly stood up.
"Oh." Jim said as he noted Jeremy's posture. "That bad, huh?"
"Um... yeah." Jeremy said as he tried to stand up straight, his back hurting and twitching from stiffness.
"OK, Jeremy." Jim said as he positioned himself behind Jeremy. "Cross your arms."
Jeremy breathed as he crossed his arms across his chest… realizing what was about to happen.
"Oh man." Odd said with a joked as he looked around. "Where are the girls? They gotta see this."
Jim then proceeded to wrap his arms around Jeremy. He then quickly picked Jeremy up with his arms and squeezed, bending his back in the process.
Jeremy felt a massive and loud succession of pops and pressure run from the base of his back, all the way up as relief hit his back like a sudden wave hitting him. The tightness and pain that was in his back quickly subsided as he let out a loud moan in response.
Jim slowly placed Jeremy back onto his feet as he released him from his grasp.
"Feeling better, Belpois?" Jim asked.
"Oh, much better." Jeremy said as he turned to look at Jim with a smile.
"Good." Jim said as he placed his hands on his fists. "Now, to prevent that from happening again, I would suggest that you drink more milk and eat more protein… And above all else, get some exercise."
"I will." Jeremy said as he shifted his shoulders a little bit.
"I still have no idea how you and your little band of troublemakers can be the Justice League of this… Lico thing, and be in such poor shape." Jim said as he looked down at Jeremy. "Do you ever see Batman dealing with such poor health?"
Jeremy rolled his eyes as he heard a chorus of laughs coming from William, Odd and Ulrich.
"You need to be more like Batman, Belpois." Jim said as he continued lecturing Jeremy. "Because when the going gets tough, they get Batman involved."
"Thanks, Jim…" Jeremy said, grunting through his teeth as he felt his nerve starting to hurt like his back had previously.
Aelita sat on a bench outside, holding her phone up as she tried to acquire a signal for the Lyoko App to finally connect. She tried every trick in the book to no avail.
"Maybe the antenna needs to be recalibrated again?" Aelita thought as she finally surrendered and placed her cellphone in her pocket.
She took a glance around and spotted Yumi and Sissi leaving the lunchroom, deep in conversation. Aelita had an idea what Sissi was talking to Yumi about, yet she chose to stay out and let Yumi give Sissi her opinion on the matter.
As if out of nowhere, Aelita felt a cool breeze sweep into her. The breeze cooled her hot and sweating skin from the unnatural spring heat that had been affecting the entire Amines region. The only problem was that this breeze felt unnatural. It was relaxing.
Aelita slowly closed her eyes as she felt the world around her fade away, as if she was in a dream-like state. All outside noises and even the temperature faded away from her as she felt the world melt away and grow dark.
"Is this happening again?" Aelita said softly in amazement as she stood up and glanced around.
Aelita saw the pavement of the school yard fade away and in its place saw a warm and vibrant forest scene. Large pine trees and maple trees filled her vision as she watched the scenery come into full focus. Birds chirped in the air as they perched in the branches and bushes, gathering sticks and twigs for their nests. The wind whipped through the trees making a swaying noise as the forest beamed with life.
A small pink haired girl, who seemed to be around five years old, leaned up next to the tree, her face buried in her arms. She wore a robin's egg blue skirt and a pair of yellowish tan sandals as she counted down.
"Nineteen… Twenty!" Young Aelita said as she finished counting, quickly turning around with a smile on her face as she glanced around the forest. "Ready or not, here I come!" she announced loudly as her voice echoed through the forest.
Young Aelita walked through the forest, moving bushes and looking underneath. Twigs and leaves crackled and popped under her feet as she searched for her playmates.
There was a rule in this game, stay close to home plate, stay close to the large pine tree young Aelita had been counting at earlier. It was an ancient and magnificent pine tree, adorned with massive and healthy branches that grew out at the base and shortened as the tree grew higher. At the base of the tree was a large hole that had been hollowed out by animals and the elements, it was such a large hole that you could almost fit a whole person inside. A perfect hide and seek tree.
"Come out, come out wherever you are," she said as she ran towards the tree and peeked behind the closest tree next to her. Nothing. There was nothing there... and there was no one.
"Where are they?" Young Aelita thought as she glanced around, listening to the sounds of bugs chirping around her. Even though Aelita and her friends were inside the forest and surrounded by animal life, they were welcome.
"You better not have climbed a tree again." Aelita said as she kept looking.
Suddenly, a bush rustled loudly and violently next to her as she heard someone running past her quickly. Their footsteps sounded light and fast paced.
"Aelita?!" a voice said silently from just beyond the treeline, back towards the large, magnificent house that sat on a hill.
"Yes, mommy?" Young Aelita said as she turned to look towards the source of the voice.
She heard a pair of feet run up towards the tree that was serving as home plate, followed by the sound of a hand hitting the wood of the tree.
"Safe!" said a voice from the tree.
Aelita turned to see one of her friends, who leaned up towards the tree, smiling at her.
"How did you sneak by me, Ellyaza?" Young Aelita said, questioning.
The young girl wore a denim blue, button up shirt and a pair of tan khaki pants that came short at the ankles. Her skin was pale white and seemed to emanate light. She seemed a little older then Aelita, thin built and very elegant, with soft, golden eyes which looked towards Aelita. But what was even more strange about this girl was her long hair, which were very vibrant blue.
"Hey, no fair!" Young Aelita said in anger as she realized Ellyaza had successfully made it to home plate. "I was distracted."
"Good thing I am not playing against Tyler." Ellyaza said. "He would have made it much, much more difficult and I surely would have lost."
"Aelita?" A voice said, followed by the sound of leaves and branches being moved.
Aelita turned to see the face of her mother walking into the forest and spotting the two girls.
Anthea wore a white tee-shirt with a red and blue spiral design on the middle, and pair of dark green jeans and a pair of sunglasses on her forehead. Anthea glanced at Aelita and looked back at the young blue haired child who stood at the tree.
"Guys, its time for lunch and you guys need to come in and cool off." Anthea said.
"Awww, but mommy." Aelita said as she pouted lightly. "Ellyaza cheated."
"I did not!" Ellyaza protested as she folded her arms and stuck her tongue out at her friend.
Before Aelita could argue back, a loud growl came form the pink haired girl's stomach. She realized how hungry she was.
"Girls, it's time to eat..." Anthea said as she tried to get their attention. "You can play later, after you cool off."
"OK, mommy." Aelita said as she walked past a bush and joined her mother. Aelita turned to see Ellyaza was slowly making her way towards them.
"Has my dad and Mister Schaeffer finished working on their project yet?" Ellyaza asked as she walked up and joined them.
"Not yet. I am sure they will figure it out." Anthea said as she bowed down and looked at the blue haired child who looked on questionably.
"Aelita?" a voice said silently in the back ground.
Ellyaza slowly walked over and smiled at the young Aelita who took her mother's hand as she was prepared to leave the forest and head into the house to eat her lunch. As Aelita looked up and smiled, she suddenly noticed someone was missing, her third friend who was with them playing hide and seek... The second person she had been searching for.
"Hey." Anthea said suddenly, looking around. "Where is Rexalla?"
"Aelita?" a voice said softly once more, but just a little louder.
Young Aelita glanced around as she looked for her other friend, Rexalla. Where was he? She knew he was very good at Hide And Go Seek, and that Rexalla had been the one to suggest playing the game. Mostly because he was so good at hiding… and an incredible pro at seeking.
"Rexalla!" Ellyaza said loudly as she glanced around. "We're gonna go in, it's time to come out."
A sudden movement caught Young Aelita's peripheral vision as she turned and spotted a creature crawling down the trunk of a tree, like a frog walking on a lilly pad, but with incredible speed and agility. The creature stopped and let its legs go as it bent backwards and finally stood up right, revealing what it was, and who.
The creature was short and stood up as tall as Aelita and Ellyaza. Its head was large and shaped almost like a light bulb. The eyes on the being were large, black, and almost almond shaped. A small slit for a mouth, and a pair of smaller holes for the nostrils. It wore a black, spandex like outfit that fit very tightly to its skin. Its body was very thin, almost like it suffered from muscle atrophy. Long, slender legs and arms stretched out from its body, its hands were long and narrow, with three lengthy fingers at the end of its hand.
He was certainly not of this world.
"Hey Rexalla." Aelita said as she spotted her friend climbing down a tree. "We said no hiding in trees."
"Sorry. I was watching the birds." Rexalla said, his voice was childlike, yet his mouth never moved when he spoke, instead the voice the others heard was projected from Rexalla telepathically.
"What about the birds?" Anthea asked as she glanced at the short extraterrestrial.
"Why do these small animals guard their nests so well?" Rexalla asked in confusion as he tilted his head to the left slowly. "I get it's to raise their offspring but why is it that such a small species protects their young so effectively?"
"It's to protect their babies." Aelita said with a giggle.
"Aelita?" The voice said more loudly and now more recognizable as the world began to slowly fade away once again. The once lush and beautiful forest faded into a bright light as Aelita realized she was coming out of the hallucination, and in the place of this forest scene, she saw a familiar face.
"Hey, Aelita." Yumi said with concern and fear in her voice. Her arm was stretched out and shaking Aelita's shoulder as she tried to snap her sister out of the trance that she was in.
Aelita slowly opened her eyes as she finally came back into reality, her mind was finally beginning to wake up from the dream like state as she slowly looked around.
"Hey, you OK?" Yumi asked as she felt relief, seeing Aelita regain consciousness.
Aelita sat forward as she looked up, spotting the faces of both Yumi and Sissi who clearly were worried.
"Y...Yeah I am OK." Aelita said as she stood up from the bench and glanced around. Her throat was quite parched from sitting in the heat for so long. "Where's my water?"
Sissi said not a word as she quickly handed Aelita a fresh bottle of ice cold water that she bought just a few moments ago, fearing that maybe her friend may have been suffering from heat stroke.
Aelita took the water and removed the cap from the top. She quickly pressed the bottle to her mouth as she guzzled the water in the bottle. Within seconds the bottle was empty and Aelita lowered it, breathing heavily as she looked towards her friends, satisfied by the water's cool, refreshing touch and hydration.
"Thanks." Aelita said as she looked towards Sissi. "I needed that."
Yumi placed her other hand on Aelita's shoulder as she slowly helped Aelita back down on the bench, "What happened?" Yumi asked as she looked at Aelita in concern.
"I… With what?" Aelita asked.
Sissi sat down next to Aelita as well as she looked on at her friend in concern.
"Was it a dream like the one you mentioned you keep having?"
Aelita looked down at the concrete in confusion. She realized it had only been a few moments since she had just exited the cafeteria in an attempt to contact Puck on Lyoko. Yet it seemed like she had slept for a few hours. She felt groggy and disoriented as if she indeed slept quite well.
"I..." Aelita said quietly as she finally regained full composure and sat back in the bench. "Yeah."
Yumi glanced over at the cafeteria door as she debated running to grab Jeremy and the others or not. She knew that Jeremy was more than likely going to step out of the cafeteria very soon. And after what Sissi and she had witnessed, she needed to let Jeremy and the others know what happened.
"You want me to text them?" Sissi suggested as she pulled out her phone.
"If you don't mind." Yumi said as she looked towards Aelita. "I thought the dreams have been happening during your sleep?"
Aelita looked up as she chose her words carefully. "This is new… It's not a nightmare, or the… uh..." Aelita said as she blushed wildly.
"What was it like?" Yumi asked, leaning forward.
"Like… A memory."
"I swear you two need a vacation." Sissi said as she pulled out her phone, scrolling down to Odd's number. No sooner had she hit the call button than she spotted Odd and the others stepping out of the cafeteria. Sissi quickly waved at Odd to come over to the bench quickly.
"A memory of what?" Yumi asked as she looked up and spotted the boys walking towards them.
Aelita sat and thought about the hallucination she just woke up from. It felt real… as if the whole scenario she had seen was in fact a memory from her distant past. She recalled the situation she had just seen quite well. It was like yesterday when she had a similar memory about her mother.
"Was that… An alien?" Aelita asked.
Authors notes: Hello Everyone! Happy New Year, hope everyone is doing good and being safe and here is to hoping that this year is 100% better then what 2020 was. A few notes regarding this chapter. I wanted to use this chapter to explore more of Aelita's past which was one priority of what I wanted to establish regarding the series. Aelita's life prior to Lyoko and also use it to set up the future events and future stories. This story will be mostly long though so dont worry if its taking a while to get to the action parts and what not. It takes time to build a world...universe so for those wanting the action context of the story...Its coming. Please review because it helps me with writing the next chapter.