Odd & Jeremy's Room: Night…
Odd was currently hard at work on a panting. The isle he used was sat on a bunch of newspaper beneath him. It took a couple of days to get something he was pleased with, so it was fortunate XANA seemed to have gone silent for the time being.
Jeremy came into the room having just come from dinner. "Hey Odd, everyone was asking where you…" He noticed his roommate was hard at work. "Wow, you're still working on that panting of Aelita?"
"Hm." Odd looked at him. "Of course, I am Einstein. It's taken a long time to finally get something I can give her." He stepped back from it and grabbed a granola bar from his wardrobe. "If that means I miss a dinner or two, I can live with it."
"They don't say it, but those two really are crazy for each other." Jeremy joined Odd and looked at the painting only to go wide eyed. "Whoa, that's an exact likeness of Aelita. Also, are those Sakura trees?"
"Yep." Odd ate the granola bar. "I wanted to give Aelita something personal, and I'm positive this is it. Not only is this her exact likeness, but the trees are there to remind her of the day we first met. Though, the trees were only mentioned. Think she'll like it?"
"She'll love it." Jeremy stated.
Dorm Hallways
That night, Aelita had been sleeping when someone knocked at her door waking her up. When she answered it, there was a present waiting for her with no indication who it was from. Inside there was a necklace with a purple, spherical crystal attached.
The one who delivered it, a boy with light brown hair and white skin, was walking out of the hallways. He wore blue jeans and a red jacket with black fingerless gloves. Naturally, he had the Xana symbols in his eyes denoting him as possessed.
Jim was surveying the halls and didn't immediately notice this little fact. "Hey, what are you…" The guy turned to look at him which allowed him to see the eyes. "Xana." He looked at the door. "Aelita! What did…"
Xana took advantage of the situation to kick Jim down the hall before approaching him. The gym teacher got out his phone and managed to hit Ulrich's number. At this point, the possessed man sprinted down the hall snatching Jim by his white tank top forcing him to drop the phone.
"Jim?" Ulrich replied sleepily. "Hello?"
Xana knocked the gym teacher out before using his powers to mess with Jim's head. It was harder than he'd have liked, considering the trips to Lyoko he made, but Xana felt he'd done a decent enough job to make this play off as some bad dream.
"Jim!" Ulrich shouted. "Hold on, I'm coming!"
Xana said nothing as he left the scene confident his adversaries wouldn't figure this out.
Computer Lab, Later…
With Jim's call, and subsequently finding him unconscious in the hallways, Ulrich had called up everyone else. Well, he did leave out Hiroki since Yumi was still very uncertain about including him despite the last mission. Now, they were all gathered in the supercomputer room.
It was at this time that Jim sat up and rubbed his head. "Kids." He looked around noticing they were in their sleepwear. "What are we doing at the lab?"
"You tell us Jim." Ulrich replied. "I ended up getting a call from you only to hear you crashing to the ground."
"I called you?" Jim was genuinely confused. "That kind of sounds like this dream I was having."
The others looked at one another.
"What was this dream about Jim?" Jeremy questioned.
"I can't remember who it was, but I saw someone coming out of the girl's hallways." Jim replied. "I questioned him, and he had Xana's symbol in his eyes. I then called someone before it all went dark."
"The answer is obvious to me." Yumi stated. "Seems we got a nightly visit from Xana."
"That can't be." Jeremy turned back to the computer. "I ran the super scan the moment Ulrich suspected this was Xana's doing, and none of the towers are coming back positive for Xana activity."
"Okay, but Xana has been a little craftier since he can possess humans." Odd stated. "If he came from the girl's hallways…" He looked to Aelita concerned. "Did anything happen tonight Aelita?"
Aelita produced the present. "Well, someone knocked at my door, and I opened it only to find this present left on the ground."
"I think I'm getting a clear picture on what happened." Odd stated. "Xana must have activated a tower to get this necklace to Aelita. His host was on the way out when Jim confronted him hence the call to Ulrich. He incapacitated our warrior and messed with his memories.
While that was going on, Aelita received this necklace. Since he can't possess us normally, this must be his way to get Aelita to Lyoko." He nodded. "I bet if Jeremy scans it, it'll only confirm the story." He looked to Aelita. "Would you let Jeremy scan it?"
"Of course." Aelita passed it to Jeremy. "If you think Xana left this, it's better safe than sorry."
"Alright, I'm going to put this through the same program I ran on Aelita." Jeremy declared.
Later…
After running a scan on the necklace, it was immediately smashed under Yumi's boots. Xana's signature was found all over it along with a microchip contained within.
"I'm going to see about getting any information I can from this." Jeremy took the chip. "Never know what he may have left behind in here."
"I think this is a good lesson about not taking any unknown presents from anyone." Ulrich stated.
"It's also a lesson on being more aware." Jim declared. "Next time, Xana won't get the drop on me like that."
"Hey, don't sweat it Jimbo." Odd smiled. "Because of you, we were able to put all the pieces together without it becoming a problem. Hopefully, foiling this little plan of Xana's buys us some much-needed time because most of us got finales coming up."
Odd was dreading them as much as Ulrich, but at least they had Jeremy to tutor them.
Outside
At this point, the group was walking out of the factory.
"If it helps Jeremy focus more on Ulrich, I wouldn't mind becoming your tutor/study partner Odd." Aelita stated sweetly.
Odd smiled. "I'd like that Princess."
"Just make sure you two actually study." Yumi smirked. "It wouldn't do for Odd to fail because he was distracted by his love."
Before Odd could speak up, Aelita jumped to his defense. "Yumi, I'm quite confident we won't get carried away in the slightest. After all, Odd is very dedicated to the fight against Xana."
"Not only that." Odd stated. "I'm dedicated to being the best I can be for Aelita. While she can be quite distracting, I'll keep my eyes on the prize."
"Aw, thanks Odd." Aelita kissed him on the cheek.
"Ah, young love." Jim commented. "Reminds me of when I toured with The Rocking Stones through Europe."
The kids were intrigued.
"You toured with a band?" Yumi questioned.
Jim realized what he said. "I'd rather not talk about it."
The kids shared a look before shrugging it off.
Kadic Academy: Next Day, Afternoon…
Odd had woken up an hour ago and knew from Aelita's text that he was okay to come get her for their study session. That was perfect since the painting he'd made her was completely dry. He knew they had a scare from Xana's present, but he was hoping this would go over fine.
Odd knocked on the door and Aelita answered. "Hey Odd, ready to study?" She raised an eyebrow at seeing a canvas in his arm. "What's with the canvas."
Odd looked around the hallway just to make sure Sissi wasn't listening in. He even got in close to whisper what he wanted to say just in case.
"Aelita, lately I've been thinking I should have had a gift ready for when you got here, but I wasn't thinking of it at the time. Now, I wracked my brain trying to come up with something perfect." He stepped back and spoke normally. "This is what I came up with."
He turned the canvas which shocked Aelita because it was an exact portrait of her with some Sakura trees. She was amazed with just how much like her it looked, and she knew the Sakura trees represented how they first met.
"Oh, Odd." Aelita smiled and accepted it. "This is beautiful." She looked at him. "You didn't have to make anything like this for me."
"I know." Odd rubbed the back of his head. "I made it because I wanted to." He nodded. "Aelita, the day we met, I was a transfer student who had no friends. I was more homeschooled as my family, and I moved around.
I was seen as an oddity which attracted girls other people liked or people simply grew to not like me. Then, you entered my life, and brought this group together. What I am saying is, thank you for everything Princess."
"Odd, those other girls didn't know what they were missing." Aelita smiled. "You've been patient with me and taught me what I needed to know about the world." She gently set the canvas down. "Thanks to you, I'm not clueless, and I can show my appreciation properly."
Aelita brought Odd in close and kissed him. It was their first kiss, beyond the kisses on the cheek, and both genuinely felt that spark between them. If their prior experience sharing minds told them they loved each other, this was the proof.
Kadic Track
Jim and Ulrich were training on the track and nearby field. The gym coach did still teach Pencak Silat which in modern times focuses on forging the body into a weapon. As such, them training together didn't raise many questions. Especially since Yumi was usually here for this.
Even Odd occasionally dropped by, but they guy did have his own style. His own way of training. Ulrich and Jim were coming to the end of their run, and unlike when they first started training together, the gym coach wasn't as winded. He was still behind Ulrich though.
As they stopped at the finish line, Ulrich nodded. "Well, I think you're starting to get lean Jimbo." He was more comfortable using the nickname than calling Jim by his last name like he did the others. "One of these days, I think we'll be running even."
"That's my current goal." Jim managed to catch his breath. "I can be a master of the art all I want, but it isn't going to do me much good against Xana if I'm too slow."
"While I'm all for training, I don't think it'll ever be enough to beat the things he's throwing our way." Ulrich sighed as he sat on the bleachers. "Especially since he's getting stronger."
Jim sat down next to him. "Yeah, the only real way to stop him is on Lyoko, right?"
"Yep, the best we can do is buy time unless we're the ones going to Lyoko." Ulrich leaned back and stared at the sky. "Then, it's all about getting the job done before something irreversible happens."
Jim could tell the weight of fighting Xana was a lot for these kids, but Ulrich seemed to feel it more than the others.
"Don't worry Ulrich." Jim stated. "I'm positive the fight with Xana will end one day. Until that day arrives, we should strive to be at our best. Even if we can't beat Xana out here, a few extra seconds could mean the difference between losing someone or keeping them alive."
"Yeah, I hear you." Ulrich sat up with a nod. "The fight with Xana is a long and hard one; however, we're the only ones who know what we're up against." He stood up. "Come on, let's work through our strength exercises next."
Park
Their parents ended up sending Yumi and Hiroki out of the house to bond, so she ended up taking them to the park where she bought them ice cream cones from a vendor. Honestly, Yumi wasn't as bothered by this as she normally would be.
They were still sister and brother even if they got on each other's nerves. Plus, there's been far less of that since Hiroki found out about Lyoko, and they started keeping him in the loop. Yumi would be lying if she said Hiroki wasn't a bit better overall from before.
Once they were alone, Hiroki looked at Yumi. "So, that last mission I went on went pretty well, don't you think?"
"I'll admit… you did alright." Yumi sighed. "Still, I don't think you're ready for anything more than reserve status."
"Oh, come on Yumi." Hiroki whined. "I'm already involved just like you, and the others. Yeah, I won't deny that I enjoy being a hero, but I'm not blind. Xana is bad news, and Aelita needs people to help her. Really, I want to help. Can't you see that?"
"Of course, I see it Hiroki." Yumi stated firmly. "If I didn't see that you were genuine, I wouldn't have relented to letting the others include you more than we planned. Still…"
"Still what?" Hiroki interrupted. "If this is about me being a kid…"
"It's not just that!" Yumi yelled causing them both to stop as she turned to face him. "Hiroki, you got on my nerves constantly and can be a real brat. No matter what, you are still my little brother"
She sighed. "It's not easy accepting you'll be in danger like what I've gone through. Honestly, I wish I never kept a diary to begin with. Then, you'd still be shielded from the dangers Xana presents, and I wouldn't have to worry about you like this."
"Yumi…" Hiroki nodded. "For the longest time, I thought you were just my lame older sister, but learning about what you've gone through completely shifted my view of you. I now know my older sister is an awesome hero.
You need to realize that I can't be shielded from what's going on anymore. Even before I knew, my life was in danger just as much as any other person that doesn't know. Now that I know, I'm in just as much danger as you and your friends."
He sighed. "I know I have things I need to work on, but I'm still great at taking down those monsters on Lyoko. For what I'm lacking, you can teach me as well as your friends. If you don't, I'm not going to be able to help when it matters."
"Alright…" Yumi stated after a good, long minute. "I'll try to be less protective of you, but that doesn't mean I'm going to okay you helping through every danger. There is much you need to learn, beyond just fighting the monsters, before you can be a true Lyoko Warrior."
"You're willing to teach me?" Hiroki asked hopefully.
"Yes, I'm willing to teach you." Yumi stated. "I swear, he thinks along the same lines as Odd with his arguments against my reluctance."
"Thank you, Yumi." Hiroki hugged his sister as this may not have been the progress he wanted, but it was progress all the same. "I promise, you won't regret this, and I will make you see me as worthy of being a Lyoko Warrior."
Yumi hugged him back. "I hope you will."
Kadic Academy: Courtyard, Days Later…
Ulrich and Odd were grabbing drinks with the former reciting facts for their upcoming science final.
"Come on Ulrich." Odd stated. "Don't get so worked up about these finals." He shrugged. "We've both studied our butts off, so I'm confident we won't end up being held back."
"Getting held back is the least of my problem." Ulrich finished his drink and threw the cup away. "If I don't do well enough, I can expect an earful from my father."
"What else is new?" Odd asked sarcastically. "Your father is only pleased through your more physical accomplishments."
Before they could continue their conversation, Sissi interrupted. "You'll never believe what just happened, but my father said it was okay to use the gymnasium."
"You got him to say yes?" Odd asked excitedly and clearly showed it when she nodded. "That's what I'm talking about." He walked off. "I got to find William."
Gymnasium
Jim had been put in charge of organizing the place for the dance party, and while he didn't like techno, he still took the job seriously in directing the students. William was carrying their mixing board only to end up losing his grip sending it crashing it to the ground.
"I don't believe this." William groaned as he began trying to put it back together.
"So, it's really true, huh?" Odd approached him. "The principal gave the techno party the green light?"
"Looks that way, but there won't be music with this mixing board totaled." William replied. "I don't know the first thing about fixing this."
"Is that all?" Odd smiled. "Don't worry about it. I got the hook up with Jeremy, and with his skills, he can fix this no problem."
"You think so?" William asked.
Odd & Jeremy's Room
"No!" Jeremy turned back to his computer. "I got better things to do with my time than fix a mixing board."
"Rats." Odd stated knowing he couldn't convince his roommate, but he did think of someone he could get help from. "In hindsight, maybe I should have gone to her first." He left the room. "Alright, later Jeremy."
Gymnasium
Aelita was more than willing to lend her aid in fixing the mixing board as Odd and William watched on. "So, this is a mixing board."
"Yep." Odd stated. "With this, you play the records on the turn tables, and the board mixes one song with the other. The trick to getting something good from any combination is mixing the songs through the board."
"Fascinating." Aelita declared.
"It doesn't sound like you know a lot about this." William stated. "Will it take much longer?"
"Actually, I'm done." Aelita informed.
"Alright, let me give it a try." William prepped the board and produced a nice song mixture. "Hey, it's working! Great job Aelita!"
"That's Aelita for you." Odd smiled. "She's one of many talents."
"Hm, here why don't we see if you got a talent for this then." William passed her the headphones. "What do you say?"
"Sure." She took them. "Why not?"
She moved some of the switches to come up with an even better song than William.
"Wow, never managed to get that kind of mix." William commented impressed.
Once the song ended, the three of them made their way out of the gym.
"Aelita, you mix like a pro." William commented. "Where did you learn?"
"Like I said, Aelita's one of many talents." Odd smiled as he looked at her. "That's just one of many things I adore about her."
Aelita blushed at that.
"Heh." William smiled. "Well, someone like her should be our DJ tomorrow night." He looked at Odd getting an idea. "Della Robbia, I hear you got an ear for music, so why don't we make it a bit of a duo. You select the records, and she can work her talents as the DJ. Sound good?"
Aelita and Odd looked at each other only to understand that this was something they'd be interested in doing. "Sounds good to us."
Odd & Jeremy's Room
Odd and Aelita had gone to tell Jeremy the good news, but he wasn't all that pleased. "Odd, you're more than welcome to go, but this is just a waste for Aelita."
"Living isn't a waste of time." Aelita defended. "That's what Odd first wanted for me, and it's become all I've ever wanted."
"The anti-virus should take priority." Jeremy argued.
"Oh yeah, you really have Aelita help you here Einstein." Odd stated sarcastically. "You seem to forget I sax here when you used to call her in, and all Aelita and I would do is talk while you work. You even stopped calling us in a month ago.
You realized we couldn't do anything. If you ask me, you're just being defensive because for all you've learned from me, you can't understand how big this all is for Aelita. That's simply because you don't get parties."
"What is there to get Odd?" Jeremy asked.
"That this is huge for Aelita." Odd stated. "She has a genuine talent in DJing, and I for one support her endeavors because this is something she discovered. Honestly, you should take a break because you're just getting grumpy on us."
Jeremy sighed and pushed away from the computer. "Okay, maybe I'm being a bit of a jerk about this." He stood and rubbed the back of his head. "Look, I'm sorry you two. I'm just frustrated by all the roadblocks I seem to encounter in purging this virus."
"Alright, I forgive you Jeremy." Aelita stated. "I can understand that you're pretty stressed."
"Yeah, agreed." Odd nodded relaxed. "Look, I know parties aren't you're thing, but you should still take a break tonight." He shook his head. "That's not me saying come on down to the party. Just step away for a bit and chill."
"That's probably for the best." Jeremy switched off his computer. "Look, I really don't get this, but I will wish you good luck Aelita."
"Thank you, Jeremy." Aelita stated.
Outside the Gymnasium: Night…
Yumi met up with Ulrich in line. "So, how did yours and Odd's exam go?"
"Well, we won't be held back in my opinion." Ulrich sighed. "Though, I don't think my father's going to like whatever grade I get."
"He probably won't be happy, but your grades are better than they've ever been." Yumi stated. "It might not be that bad. Anyways, where are Odd and Aelita?"
"They're already in the gym." Ulrich replied. "Odd's picking the music for Aelita to mix, so together they're the V.I.P's which means they get in early."
"What about Jeremy?" Yumi asked.
"Parties like this aren't his thing, but he did text me saying he was taking a break regardless." Ulrich replied.
"That's good." Yumi smiled. "If you ask me, he could use a night to himself."
Gymnasium
Odd handed Aelita the set he picked out. "Given what William and I heard yesterday, these songs should pair well with your style."
Before Aelita could speak, Milly and Tamia approached them on behalf of the school paper.
"That is a good question our readers would like to know." Milly stated. "What is Aelita's style?"
"Well, I've listened to many DJ's in my time, and I have to say that Aelita has her own, unique style." Odd replied truthfully.
"When I first DJed, someone else did pick my music." Aelita looked down at the records. "I think I'll do better tonight thanks to Odd picking my music this time. If anything, this next style will be better than mine alone."
At that moment, Sissi entered and joined her friends; however, she wasn't supposed to be here considering her father forbade it after she failed her finales. Once everyone was inside, Ulrich and Yumi included, it was Aelita's time to DJ. When she played, everyone loved her sound.
While Odd liked the records she was using, he had to admit that her ability to DJ them was something special. Even more so when this was just her second time doing it. Odd noticed Ulrich and Yumi dancing together, and he was happy for them.
Then, William approached him. "You got one incredible girl there Odd!" Odd looked at him. "She's no Yumi, but you definitely lucked out with her."
"You know it!" Odd shouted back.
All in all, it was a fun night for everyone with no Xana attack in sight. Perhaps he was angry his last attempt failed before it got started, maybe he was coming up with something real nasty for his next one, or maybe it was a bit of both.
Factory
Jeremy had decided to go for a walk rather than be on his computer in hopes of relaxing. As he passed by the factory, he noticed Hiroki standing before the entrance. He would have called him out for breaking their trust, but the kid did seem to be stationary.
This prompted him to approach rather than shout. "Hey Hiroki, what are you doing here?"
"Hm, oh hey Jeremy." Hiroki nodded. "My sister and I talked a few days ago, and she okayed me coming to the factory; however, I'm not allowed to enter unless it's an emergency, I'm accompanying one of you, or I got called in."
"Okay, but what are you doing here?" Jeremy asked. "Follow up question, do your parents know you're here?"
"Of course, they know I'm here." Hiroki replied. "After Odd stressed how important it is that I be on my best behavior, I've really been trying to be better in everything. As for why I'm here… I guess it's because it's all so surreal."
"Yeah, I get that." Jeremy nodded. "When Odd first showed me that supercomputer, it was like a dream come true. Until I saw it, something like this seemed out of the realm of possibility. If Franz Hopper did make this, then he was something else."
"What do you think happened to him?" Hiroki asked.
"That's just one of the mysteries we've been trying to find out." Jeremy replied. "At this point, there is a lot we don't know. While that tends to frustrate me, it's also rather exciting to unravel the mysteries of Lyoko, Xana, and all of it."
"I hear that." Hiroki smiled. "For the longest time, I've wanted some grand adventure." He scratched his face. "While it hasn't gone exactly how I thought it would, this is what I want to do. This has become the adventure I want."
Jeremy didn't expect to have common ground with Yumi's brother. Though, he has heard the kid was rather intelligent. Maybe some stimulating conversation was just the break he needed. That's just what they ended up doing for a good few hours before Hiroki needed to head on home.
Let me explain this one. So, in the canon four episodes you had five warriors and William. Now, you have more Lyoko Warriors being added into the mix, so I feel as though it's important to cements some bonds being formed outside of the main conflict with Xana. Additionally, no one really got much down time that we got to see. Every episode involved Xana to some extent. Yeah, this is just some down time which removes some of Xana's less interesting plans to me.