It's an Odd world after all
Ch. 1: New Girl
She leant against a tree with a bored look on her face, watching the other kids hanging around. Her black hair was just over shoulder length, and her crimson eyes flickered from one person to the next, as if searching. She slid down the tree, and hugged her knees, as though cold. "I don't know how much more of this I can stand." She sighed to herself. She was broken from her thoughts by a group of kids walking up to her.
"You're the new kid, aren't you?" One boy said. His blondish hair stuck up as if it had been struck by lightning.
"No, I've been here for several years, now." She replied sarcastically.
"Tough break, Odd!" The boy with brown hair laughed.
'Odd? That name suits him perfectly.' She thought to herself.
"I'm sorry!" Odd laughed sheepishly. "I'm Odd, by the way." He added.
"I gathered." She nodded.
"This is Ulrich," He pointed at the brown-haired boy, "Yumi," the girl with short black hair, "And Jeremie," the blonde boy with glasses.
"I see." She acknowledged each. "I'm Kia."
"Pretty name." Odd smiled.
"Err, thank you." Kia blushed.
"Wow, I can't believe it worked!" Ulrich whispered to Yumi.
The five of them chatted and bonded over the next few weeks, and soon they became great friends, but it wasn't to last for long, Xana would see to that.
It was during a science lesson, when Xana struck again. It started off so small, no-one even noticed. Dark storm-clouds gathered over head, and by noon, it was pouring. This seemed natural, of course, but then the lightning and thunder came.
Thunder rolled through the sky, shaking the entire building. "Odd, was that your stomach?" Ulrich asked.
"No!" Odd answered, as another clap of thunder sounded.
"Odd?"
"I told you before! No!" Odd snapped.
"Guys, do you think it could be Xana? There's no way real thunder is that loud." Yumi voiced.
"I don't know. Could be." Jeremie mused.
"Xana?" Kia asked.
"You know, Xana!" Jeremie repeated, too lost in thoughts to realise it was Kia who had spoken.
"What is Xana?" Kia repeated.
"Oh! She doesn't know, Jeremie!" Yumi said to him.
"Well I would if you'd tell me!" Kia said.
"I don't know, do you think we should tell her? Remember what happened with Talia." Ulrich said.
"If it's a secret, I won't tell anyone! Who would I tell?" Kia said, pushing for more information.
"Come on, you guys, Kia is alright! We can tell her!" Odd said, defending her.
"I suppose, but it's better to show you than to tell you. We'll go to the lab as soon as this is over." Jeremie decided.
The five of them struggled to reach the factory because of the rain; it was so heavy it felt as if it was raining rocks. "This is definitely Xana's doing." Odd mumbled, struggling to keep his hair as dry as possible. After what seemed like an age, they finally reached the factory.
"Aelita, are you there?" Jeremie asked immediately.
Kia turned to Odd. "Who is Aelita?"
"She's err, how to explain, she lives in Lyoko."
"And what is Lyoko?"
"This world, imagine a video game you can enter, that's what Lyoko is."
"And Aelita is like a character?" Kia asked.
"Sort of." Odd nodded.
"So what is Xana?"
"The bad guy."
"We were right, guys, its Xana's doing. You have to go to Lyoko and help Aelita; she's in the Forest Area." Jeremie said.
Ulrich, Yumi and Odd walked towards their 'transfer towers.'
"Where are they going?" Kia asked Jeremie.
"Into Lyoko." He smiled.
Kia looked at the screens, and was fascinated by the red-haired girl on it. "That's Aelita, right?" She asked.
"Yup." Jeremie nodded. "You see, Xana attacks the real world every now and then, often by disrupting objects or elements. But lately, Xana's attacks have become more frequent and violent. The only way to stop these attacks is by Aelita entering towers in Lyoko, and deactivating them." Jeremie explained quickly.
"So what are the others doing there?" She asked, struggling to take on board all she was hearing.
"They help her." Jeremie replied simply, as he commenced to transfer the 3 of them into Lyoko.
Kia watched in stunned silence. "Wow, I never thought you guys could do all this!" She whispered. "Hey, Jeremie, could I go into Lyoko?"
"Hmm . . . I don't see why not . . ." Jeremie thought, scratching his head. "Okay, I'll send you in."
"How come Ulrich is a samurai, and Odd is-" Kia began.
"They have to be able to defend themselves, and Aelita. It's dangerous in there." Jeremie told her.
"Oh, do you think you could make me . . ." Kia whispered in his ear.
"Well . . . that shouldn't be too difficult." Jeremie began typing. "Alright, go and stand in one of those small towers and wait. I'll tell the others you're coming. . ."