8-4: New Ally

The poll answers: Sissy got 1 vote each for Krab and Megatank, then 2 for Roachster, and the winner was…a Hornet at 4 ballots! Okay, now beware b/c this chapter is a little freaky. I will allow flamers just this once b/c I think I might deserve it.

(((-4-)))

Ulrich rubbed his stomach as he watched Yumi dash away. He was still shaky from passing out earlier and then she had to go and nearly make him puke up his breakfast. Talk about girls being an enigma! At least Aelita wasn't this bad. Hopefully. Maybe he should start worrying about Jeremy.

He stood up and went inside, hoping Sissy wouldn't be there. No. Such. Luck.

She waltzed up to him with snaky grace, batting her eyes at him with a sigh. "I'm glad you're being so amiable this morning, Ulrich." She glanced at his empty hands. "Where's my soda? You said you'd go get one."

The brown-haired boy stared at her like she was crazy. And then someone approached them. Ulrich turned and stared dumbly at an exact duplicate of himself. Then he understood what had happened and smiled.

Sissy, on the other hand, was not taking it so well. "You…he…I…" she stuttered, her eyes darting between the Ulrich at her side and the one holding a soda. She looked like she might be sick.

"What's the matter, Sissy? Haven't you ever seen a clone before?" he smirked.

She staggered back a few steps, her face pale.

Ulrich was definitely one to take advantage of a good situation. He widened his eyes and grimaced. "Boo."

She freaked, throwing her arms up and fleeing in the opposite direction. Ulrich watched with satisfaction as his enemy tore away, screaming her head off. He had just turned to his double when he saw the plywood walls full of student artwork suddenly begin toppling to the ground!

He caught sight of the gang on the other side of the gym and was about to join them, but then he remembered the clone standing behind him waiting patiently for his orders.

"Fusion," he whispered, concentrating on becoming one person.

Another girl screamed as she saw what appeared to be a pair of identical twins blend together into one person. And then a wind picked up.

It blew everything about and people started running for the exit, yelling, "It's safer outside!" Ulrich caught sight of what looked like Samantha as she rose out from the heap of fallen walls supported by nothing at all! Her eyes glowed with a pinkish radiance and she was laughing hysterically.

"What the—? Oh no, not another one!"

The place was emptying quickly. There were almost no people left.

Horthe gestured wildly and the wind streaked toward his friends! It was so strong that they were blown off their feet and tossed like rag dolls into the gym wall. Aelita was held there by cushions of air, unable to move and hardly able to breathe. Her eyes bulged as she gaped for a lungful of air.

"Triplicate!" His two clones appeared on either side of him. "Protect Aelita!" he panted, pointing at the girl held against the wall. He didn't black out this time, but it sure felt like Yumi punched him in the stomach again.

Perhaps his copies weren't very good at thinking, but they were definitely good at reacting to what was happening around them. They both ran at Horthe as she floated close to Aelita, tackling her from behind.

Wind rushed past and the pink-haired girl fell to the ground, coughing for breath. Jeremy grabbed her hand and hauled her to her feet. Odd was standing over Janika where she laid by the wall. He seemed to be talking to her, not too close, though.

Horthe seemed to panicking. The clones weren't going easy on her and she didn't appear to have any idea how to handle them. Ulrich himself joined them and managed to get his arm across her throat. He felt himself lifted off the ground, still hanging onto the Pawn with all his might, which wasn't much considering he felt like barfing.

One of the clones lost its hold and plummeted to the ground, vanishing in a puff of vapor. Ulrich felt a little of his strength return and tightened his grip on Horthe's neck while trying very hard not to look down. They were at a dizzying height.

Her eyes bugged out and she clawed at his hands, trying to catch a breath. He felt it was right to do the same thing to her that she did to Aelita. The other clone lost his grip too and Ulrich winced as he saw his own expression before it hit the floor and disappeared.

Well, at least he felt better. Slightly. Watching yourself "die" wasn't exactly a pleasant experience.

Horthe reached back and grabbed his shirt, trying to dislodge him, but he scooted one hand up and covered her eyes. She went wild, spinning and flying erratically in the air while screaming, "This isn't the way to play! Stop it!"

He saw the steel rafter coming up and only had enough time to let out a half-formed cry when he and the Pawn slammed into it!

(V)

X.A.N.A. gasped in shock. The connection with his underling had been showing him her tirade through the Pawn's eyes. It wasn't so bad, if performed in a playful manner. After all, she had been so close to deleting the AI!

But now the connection was completely gone. There was not even a glimmer of their former link. It was as if Horthe had… Was the term "died"?

Then he needed to work quickly. The Warriors were onto him, doubtless. They would proceed to the factory and then to Lyoko. He had to conceive a new plan and execute it before they arrived.

Hmmm… Perhaps this would distract them until he could come up with a way to defend his tower effectively.

(V)

Odd tried to calm Janika down, but with a broken arm, that was impossible. She had triggered her Bloodlust except that she was in pain and scared, which meant she struck at him with her good hand, yowling and screeching in a fearful, protective, feline way.

He heard Ulrich start to yell from above as the idiot was hanging onto Horthe. The blonde kid looked up just in time to see his best buddy and his former girlfriend (or whatever) collide with a steel beam!

He was on his feet beside Aelita and Jeremy as they ran forward in panic. "Ulrich!" the pink-haired girl screamed.

A wind blew in through the windows and caught both children as they fell, cushioning their fall onto the debris of what remained of the art show. The three teenagers looked at each other in confusion, then scrambled to reach their heroic or maybe stupid comrade. He was alive and not too badly hurt, being mostly winded (weird enough for crashing into a beam).

Aelita was the one to notice that Horthe was staring at them in bewilderment. The Pawn stood up unsteadily and they tensed, but she brought a hand up to touch her head. It came away wet with blood. She stared at it, seemingly unable to grasp what she was looking at.

"It…hurts…" None of them were quite sure what to think when she looked up and said suddenly, "So, how are we going to defeat X.A.N.A.?"

Odd opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly his eyes glazed over. Aelita had taken refuge behind Jeremy, but when she saw the look in her other friend's face, she knew he was experiencing his Anticipation. Slowly he came back to himself.

Walking casually up to Horthe, he held out his hand. "Welcome to the gang. We might really need your help when we get to the factory." The others stared at him as if he had grown horns. "It's okay, you two. She's an ally. I saw it. Will one of you help me out with Janika? I think maybe she needs a tranquilizer or something."

Horthe gave them all a warm, friendly smile.

(V)

X.A.N.A. cackled evilly. He knew they would never be able to bypass something like this. It was foolproof! With the Auto-Self-Destruct code he could rid himself of the AI forever! No matter that his Pawn had been defeated through carelessness. He would be victorious this day.

Did you guys expect that? Huh huh huh? Okay: what would be a fitting fate for someone like Samantha? (the real one, not the Pawn)
PS: Summer begins for me today, so I might not update for a while, but I look forward to finishing this story before school starts up again. Bye and lovies to all (especially Dan)!