Chapter 5: The Plan
"Hey, Ulrich." Parker's flashlight flicked on and shone in Ulrich's face. The pair had gone in for lunch after a morning on the slopes, and were in their room when the power had gone out. So, they had decided to stay in.
"Yeah?" Ulrich asked, turning around to look at him.
"Want to play cards? It should serve to pass the time."
"Sure." Ulrich agreed without thought; it would be boring stuck in the room all afternoon with nothing to do.
As Parker started dealing the cards, though, there was the sound of thudding footsteps in the corridor. Ulrich didn't worry about it at first, until he heard someone banging on his door and shouting: "ULRICH! YOU BETTER BE IN THERE! COME OUT NOW! WE NEED TO TALK!"
"Jeremie?" Ulrich said as he stood up from the table where Parker was dealing the cards.
"Ulrich! Wait! Sit down, I can deal the cards and we can play!" Parker said when he noticed Ulrich standing up.
"Hold on a minute, Parker, it's my friend Jeremie out there, and it sounds like it's something urgent; Jeremie never yells like that, except when..." Ulrich trailed off, but finished the statement as he thought to himself: except when Aelita's in danger, which would mean a X.A.N.A. attack...oh no....
But just as Ulrich had one hand on the doorknob to open it, Parker grabbed his other arm and pulled him back a little.
"Ulrich! Don't you think Jeremie can wait two minutes while I deal the cards? It'll be really fun to play Speed again, don't you think? Come on, Ulrich..." He started forcibly pulling Ulrich back towards the table. Ulrich gave him a weird look and shook him off.
"Parker, the cards will be fine while I talk to Jeremie. Just hold on a minute, okay?"
But, evidently, Parker could not wait. He lunged back at Ulrich and shouted, "NO! You must play cards!"
"Get off me, Parker! I need to talk to Jeremie first! Cool it!" Ulrich shook him off again, but this time with more difficulty as it became apparent Parker did not want Ulrich to talk to Jeremie at any cost, at least before he played cards with Ulrich.
Ulrich started to sense that something was amiss, and his belief was confirmed when suddenly, Parker's eyes flashed red.
"PARKER! What the heck are you? Get away from me!" Ulrich backed away toward the door and got out as quick as he could, slamming it behind him so that Parker could not follow him out.
"ULRICH!" Jeremie exclaimed when Ulrich appeared, visibly shaken. "What took you so long?"
"Jeremie, I think my roommate's gone crazy! I don't know what happened, but he wouldn't let me come out here to talk to you before we played cards and then he grabbed my arm and then I could just barely shake him off but then his eyes flashed red and I only just got away..."
"Ulrich, calm down! Take a breath. Actually, even though that may have seemed scary, it proves the theory I've been formulating. Only, if your roommate is trying to get out, then I'll explain it to you later... In the meantime, we have to hurry. Listen. I believe X.A.N.A. is attacking again. We have to get back to Lyoko to protect Aelita. You should go get transportation. I think your best bet is to steal Jim's car. You know what it looks like; it's in the parking garage. But you'll need keys, so go find Jim's room- you should find it in the hotel's log book at the front desk- he should be out on the slopes doing patrol or something. No more time to waste- just meet me in the lobby as soon as you can."
Ulrich took a couple of deep breaths, agreed, and darted back to get the number of Jim's room. Jeremie, meanwhile, needed to get Yumi on board as well, and headed toward room 224.
Upon his arrival, he began banging on the door in the same fashion he had used to get Ulrich's attention. "YUMI! IT'S JEREMIE! YOU NEED TO COME OUT NOW! IT'S IMPORTANT! COME ON, YUMI!"
He continued on for about a minute, when Yumi suddenly burst out and shut the door quickly behind her. She looked like she had just seen a ghost. But when she started to speak, Jeremie interrupted.
"It's okay! I know your roommate just attacked you! She was trying to get you to play cards, wasn't she? Anyway, I already have a plan, but we need to hurry! We're going back to the lab and into Lyoko! X.A.N.A.'s attacking, and I don't have contact with Aelita because of the power outage. Let's go!"
Yumi was about to ask how he knew what had just happened inside her room, but thought better of it- Jeremie seemed to have things under control, and when Jeremie thought something was happening and thought he knew how to solve it, he was probably right.
The two scurried down to the lobby and had to wait five tension-filled minutes until Yumi decided to ask some of her burning questions.
"Okay, Jeremie. You seem like you have this under control. But can I ask how we are planning to get back to Lyoko? What are we waiting for here?"
But before Jeremie had a chance to answer, Ulrich, snow-covered and panting, burst through the front doors. "Okay, Jeremie, I got the car... let's go kick some X.A.N.A...." But he never finished his sentence, because he had spotted Yumi. He cut off and asked instead, "What's she doing here?" He looked accusingly at Jeremie.
Yumi also shot a withering glance at Ulrich before also turning to Jeremie.
"Guys! What is this? Haven't you heard me? Aelita's in danger! I don't care what the heck you two got going on between you now, but now's not the time! Settle it in the car if you must, but we need to get going!" Jeremie dashed out the front doors so Ulrich and Yumi had no chance but to follow him. But as he got into the driver's seat of the car and turned the keys that were in the ignition, Yumi realized two very important things that Jeremie had seemed to overlook.
"Wait, Jeremie! You don't have a driver's license! What do you think you're doing?"
"Do you really care if I have a license or not? Listen, All I know is that Aelita's in danger and if we don't get to Lyoko in time, X.A.N.A.'s going to finally take over! We have to hurry! Any other questions?" he asked as he started to drive the car slowly, then faster and faster along the slippery road.
"Yeah." Yumi said, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Where's Odd?"
"So basically Paige and Parker are working for X.A.N.A.? And the cards were his plan to discreetly have them paralyze us so that X.A.N.A. could have an easier time of taking over?"
"That's what I think. That's why they went all crazy when you guys said you wouldn't play cards with them. I think they must have guessed why I was there. When we were on separate seats on the bus, they deliberately tried to separate our group so we couldn't keep in touch. I think X.A.N.A. also initiated the power outage, so that I couldn't have contact with Aelita. The only thing is, Aelita told me she was experiencing pulsations and I found an activated tower in the desert region just before the power outage. If it wasn't for that, you both would be paralyzed right now, along with Odd!" With that thought, Jeremie pressed down harder on the gas pedal in an attempt to reach the lab sooner.
Now Yumi and Ulrich were up to date on the plan. There was just one thing left for Jeremie to discover... "So what's up with you two? Did you have a fight or something?"
"Fight? No. It's just I found out that Ulrich's been talking behind my back."
"Me? It was you talking behind my back!"
"How dare you say something like that! I would never-"
"Okay! OKAY! Sorry I asked! Let's just wait until we've sorted this whole thing out first, agreed?"
Both Yumi and Ulrich folded their arms, looked out their windows, and replied with a humph.
"Hey, Ulrich." Parker's flashlight flicked on and shone in Ulrich's face. The pair had gone in for lunch after a morning on the slopes, and were in their room when the power had gone out. So, they had decided to stay in.
"Yeah?" Ulrich asked, turning around to look at him.
"Want to play cards? It should serve to pass the time."
"Sure." Ulrich agreed without thought; it would be boring stuck in the room all afternoon with nothing to do.
As Parker started dealing the cards, though, there was the sound of thudding footsteps in the corridor. Ulrich didn't worry about it at first, until he heard someone banging on his door and shouting: "ULRICH! YOU BETTER BE IN THERE! COME OUT NOW! WE NEED TO TALK!"
"Jeremie?" Ulrich said as he stood up from the table where Parker was dealing the cards.
"Ulrich! Wait! Sit down, I can deal the cards and we can play!" Parker said when he noticed Ulrich standing up.
"Hold on a minute, Parker, it's my friend Jeremie out there, and it sounds like it's something urgent; Jeremie never yells like that, except when..." Ulrich trailed off, but finished the statement as he thought to himself: except when Aelita's in danger, which would mean a X.A.N.A. attack...oh no....
But just as Ulrich had one hand on the doorknob to open it, Parker grabbed his other arm and pulled him back a little.
"Ulrich! Don't you think Jeremie can wait two minutes while I deal the cards? It'll be really fun to play Speed again, don't you think? Come on, Ulrich..." He started forcibly pulling Ulrich back towards the table. Ulrich gave him a weird look and shook him off.
"Parker, the cards will be fine while I talk to Jeremie. Just hold on a minute, okay?"
But, evidently, Parker could not wait. He lunged back at Ulrich and shouted, "NO! You must play cards!"
"Get off me, Parker! I need to talk to Jeremie first! Cool it!" Ulrich shook him off again, but this time with more difficulty as it became apparent Parker did not want Ulrich to talk to Jeremie at any cost, at least before he played cards with Ulrich.
Ulrich started to sense that something was amiss, and his belief was confirmed when suddenly, Parker's eyes flashed red.
"PARKER! What the heck are you? Get away from me!" Ulrich backed away toward the door and got out as quick as he could, slamming it behind him so that Parker could not follow him out.
"ULRICH!" Jeremie exclaimed when Ulrich appeared, visibly shaken. "What took you so long?"
"Jeremie, I think my roommate's gone crazy! I don't know what happened, but he wouldn't let me come out here to talk to you before we played cards and then he grabbed my arm and then I could just barely shake him off but then his eyes flashed red and I only just got away..."
"Ulrich, calm down! Take a breath. Actually, even though that may have seemed scary, it proves the theory I've been formulating. Only, if your roommate is trying to get out, then I'll explain it to you later... In the meantime, we have to hurry. Listen. I believe X.A.N.A. is attacking again. We have to get back to Lyoko to protect Aelita. You should go get transportation. I think your best bet is to steal Jim's car. You know what it looks like; it's in the parking garage. But you'll need keys, so go find Jim's room- you should find it in the hotel's log book at the front desk- he should be out on the slopes doing patrol or something. No more time to waste- just meet me in the lobby as soon as you can."
Ulrich took a couple of deep breaths, agreed, and darted back to get the number of Jim's room. Jeremie, meanwhile, needed to get Yumi on board as well, and headed toward room 224.
Upon his arrival, he began banging on the door in the same fashion he had used to get Ulrich's attention. "YUMI! IT'S JEREMIE! YOU NEED TO COME OUT NOW! IT'S IMPORTANT! COME ON, YUMI!"
He continued on for about a minute, when Yumi suddenly burst out and shut the door quickly behind her. She looked like she had just seen a ghost. But when she started to speak, Jeremie interrupted.
"It's okay! I know your roommate just attacked you! She was trying to get you to play cards, wasn't she? Anyway, I already have a plan, but we need to hurry! We're going back to the lab and into Lyoko! X.A.N.A.'s attacking, and I don't have contact with Aelita because of the power outage. Let's go!"
Yumi was about to ask how he knew what had just happened inside her room, but thought better of it- Jeremie seemed to have things under control, and when Jeremie thought something was happening and thought he knew how to solve it, he was probably right.
The two scurried down to the lobby and had to wait five tension-filled minutes until Yumi decided to ask some of her burning questions.
"Okay, Jeremie. You seem like you have this under control. But can I ask how we are planning to get back to Lyoko? What are we waiting for here?"
But before Jeremie had a chance to answer, Ulrich, snow-covered and panting, burst through the front doors. "Okay, Jeremie, I got the car... let's go kick some X.A.N.A...." But he never finished his sentence, because he had spotted Yumi. He cut off and asked instead, "What's she doing here?" He looked accusingly at Jeremie.
Yumi also shot a withering glance at Ulrich before also turning to Jeremie.
"Guys! What is this? Haven't you heard me? Aelita's in danger! I don't care what the heck you two got going on between you now, but now's not the time! Settle it in the car if you must, but we need to get going!" Jeremie dashed out the front doors so Ulrich and Yumi had no chance but to follow him. But as he got into the driver's seat of the car and turned the keys that were in the ignition, Yumi realized two very important things that Jeremie had seemed to overlook.
"Wait, Jeremie! You don't have a driver's license! What do you think you're doing?"
"Do you really care if I have a license or not? Listen, All I know is that Aelita's in danger and if we don't get to Lyoko in time, X.A.N.A.'s going to finally take over! We have to hurry! Any other questions?" he asked as he started to drive the car slowly, then faster and faster along the slippery road.
"Yeah." Yumi said, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Where's Odd?"
"So basically Paige and Parker are working for X.A.N.A.? And the cards were his plan to discreetly have them paralyze us so that X.A.N.A. could have an easier time of taking over?"
"That's what I think. That's why they went all crazy when you guys said you wouldn't play cards with them. I think they must have guessed why I was there. When we were on separate seats on the bus, they deliberately tried to separate our group so we couldn't keep in touch. I think X.A.N.A. also initiated the power outage, so that I couldn't have contact with Aelita. The only thing is, Aelita told me she was experiencing pulsations and I found an activated tower in the desert region just before the power outage. If it wasn't for that, you both would be paralyzed right now, along with Odd!" With that thought, Jeremie pressed down harder on the gas pedal in an attempt to reach the lab sooner.
Now Yumi and Ulrich were up to date on the plan. There was just one thing left for Jeremie to discover... "So what's up with you two? Did you have a fight or something?"
"Fight? No. It's just I found out that Ulrich's been talking behind my back."
"Me? It was you talking behind my back!"
"How dare you say something like that! I would never-"
"Okay! OKAY! Sorry I asked! Let's just wait until we've sorted this whole thing out first, agreed?"
Both Yumi and Ulrich folded their arms, looked out their windows, and replied with a humph.