A/N: Only a few more chapters to go. I can't wait to tell you guys the surprise I have at the end. Anyway, just to let you know, I'm on my vacation this week so I'm trying to type the story and juggle a bunch of other things at the same time. Be patient with the updating. It might be a week or so before you get another installment.
Neo Aguni: I'm glad you like it. I'll try to update but like I said, I'm on vacation.
thesuperdot: Jeremie should be up to that task sometime in the future. Thanks for reviewing.
Renayumi: Thanks for reviewing. Here's another great chapter.
D Wolf Falls: You bet I'm going to talk about the carnival! Although I'm not going to dedicate the entire chapter to it. I think everybody's in agreement with Sissy getting hit.
Yuriko Nishidera: Something close. Sissy will continue to be tormented as long as I'm around!
Janika: It wasn't a punch to the jaw, it was between the eyes! I purposely made it so that you'd see the "L" on her forehead. It just tells you what kind of person she really is. Ulrich is always having girl problems. He always has and always will.
Chineschic: I'll think about your suggestion but I don't think that there's anything I can do. Read the chapter twice, I suppose is a good idea. Yeah, J&A can be very fun to write about.
The younger Ulrich and Yumi along with their older selves, Odd and Tristan walked to the dormitories of the college that their future beings attended. They didn't go in silence, though. Odd kept stirring up conversations with is older roommate about the times he and "Ulrich" remember.
He reminded the group that he was the one who figured out the key to Aelita's materialization by dropping some candy on Jeremie's keyboard some time ago. Nobody knew how it affected the code (except Jeremie) but that seemed to get it working.
"Ulrich" said, "Jeremie didn't tell us that side of the story."
"No, he didn't," Yumi agreed.
Both were under the impression that Jeremie figured it out after cleaning up Odd's "candy type". They had no idea that he actually contributed to her materialization. It was a revelation that made everyone laugh.
Soon enough the group of friends made it to "Ulrich" and Tristan's dorm room. Tristan opened the door and let everyone in. As they entered, a little light-brown dog began to bark at the new comers.
"Kiwi!" Odd shouted. He could hardly believe that his dog would live this long.
The menacing mutt jumped on him and almost licked him to death. It seemed as if he still remembered his former master, after all, it was impossible for one to forget such a person. Odd calmed the dog down and held him in his lap on the floor. "Ulrich" sat next to him.
"I…I couldn't give him up," "Ulrich" started, choking back reminiscent memories of the past.
He needed something tangible of Odd over the years to keep his mind from getting depressed. Every time the older Ulrich saw the dog that belonged to his former roommate, he would remember the good times with his friend. The way the dog was so careless and loyal encouraged him to live because the pet was a constant reminder that his friend still lived on in his memory.
Originally, Odd's parents had asked for the dog but after "Yumi" explained "Ulrich's" ordeal to them, they decided that it would be best if he kept it.
Dogs and any animals except for small fish were illegal to house inside the dorms. The times may have changed but the rules certainly hadn't. Like before the accident, "Ulrich" still would have to keep him hidden throughout the day.
"So what do you guys want to do?" the older Yumi asked, taking a seat next to Tristan on his bed.
Tristan, being the business person that he was, wanted to get the problem of the younger gang going back to their time resolved. He scooted over to his computer desk then reached over the gray top and grabbed a green safe. Ulrich's future roommate unlocked and opened the case and took out two DVDs and a note.
"Here is what we're going to give you guys to take back to your time," he announced. Tristan gave them to Ulrich who was the only one who had pockets and was also reliable. The first DVD was Aelita's antivirus. The second was the incomplete firewall program. The note was to go to Tristan's younger self once the younger group befriends him. He warned them not to read it.
"Yumi" had a good idea about what the note said. To be honest, she didn't believe that what was written on that piece of paper should be kept for only him. She insisted, "Tristan, I think you should tell our younger selves a few things about yourself." Her arm was wrapped around his neck and rested on his right shoulder.
Tristan was stunned that "Yumi" would bring up such a topic especially when he told her not to beforehand. The mysterious man questioned whether or not his trust had been misplaced.
He reminded, "Yumi, we talked out this before."
She replied, "Yes but I think it would be better if you would tell them now."
Tristan stood up and announced, "I don't think so. Guys, there are certain things that would be better explained if you learned about them first-hand. So…don't ask." He went to his small closest behind his bed and picked up a soccer ball. He added, "Come on, let's go play some soccer." Then he exited the room. "Yumi" sighed.
The younger Yumi asked, "Is there something that we need to know?"
"Yumi" replied, "I suppose but he's very sensitive about it." She felt guilty for bringing up the subject but after seeing the note she thought that maybe he had a change of heart about it.
"Ulrich" added, "His younger self will tell you when he feels he can trust you. Trust and respect are two things that he cherishes very deeply so try not to get on his bad side if you're curious."
"Ulrich" led the way out the door and the rest followed. They caught up with Tristan who went to "Jeremie's" room for the third DVD that contained the program that the older group was handed down from the Aelita that they visited in their future in the hallway. He handed it to the younger Ulrich and everyone went outside for a very special game of soccer: younger VS older.
The young computer scientist sat next to the pink-haired girl fifty feet above the ground. They were in the front of a rollercoaster and both were screaming their heads off. However, you could easily mistake Jeremie's voice for a girls' as he was genuinely scared to death. He had never before done something as crazy as ride a rollercoaster. As a matter of fact, the only reason why he was even on this mechanical monster was because Aelita wanted to see what it was.
After a tumbling spiral to the ground, the ride came to a stop and let its occupants stumbled out of their seats. However, Jeremie did so a little too dazed and tripped over the stairs that led to solid ground.
"Jeremie!" Aelita called, worried. She bent down and helped him up. His glasses were off balance and she straightened them out. "Are you okay?" she asked.
The spinning in his eyes and mind was still churning. "Ohhhhh…I think so," he said while struggling to make his way to a table with Aelita's help. Once they reached the plastic table and chairs, she set him down placed herself next to him.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Too much spinning…" was his only reply. He ran out of her kind touch to behind a shack that was being used as a merchant's selling post and expelled his last meal.
Aelita heard the sounds of pain come from him and became worried. She had a fun time on the rollercoaster that she didn't think it could affect Jeremie like this. The girl had never seen or heard of somebody doing what Jeremie was doing. She went over to him and called his name.
"So much spinning," he replied and emptied the rest of his stomachs' contents on the ground.
"Are you hurt?" she asked.
"No, its motion sickness…I think," he answered. Jeremie wasn't sure what it was because like is stomach it seemed like his brain was also being spun around inside his head.
The spinning had stopped for the most part and they headed back to the table. Aelita inquired about his sudden illness and Jeremie explained to her what it meant to be motion sick.
Jimbo, the big fat clown came over to the couple and introduced himself. He was in a bright and big red costume with multi-colored high-lighted hair and the classic red squeezable nose. He had Aelita smell his flower on his jump suit and squirted water on her. She was appalled at such an act. Jimbo and Jeremie laughed at how easily she fell into the joke.
Jimbo then offered his handkerchief to clean her face and she took it. As it was pulled a second clothe came out, tied to the end of the first one. Aelita pulled that one and out came a third, then a fourth, then a fifth, etc.
"Well, are you going to take one or what?" the clown asked. It wasn't until the eleventh one that Aelita realized that this string of clothes wouldn't end. She took one at random and used it to dry her face off. The look on her face was priceless to Jeremie when she figured the puzzle out.
He began his sale pitch, "So, how about a balloon for the lady? They're only fifty cents." The girl was still mad at the clown at wanted him to leave but Jeremie decided to buy one anyway. He then tied a three-dimensional floating figure of the Eiffel Tower onto her wrist and smiled.
The clown extended his arm in appreciation of the sale and Aelita took it, reluctantly. Jimbo gripped her hand tightly and the buzzer in his palm shocked Aelita so much that she screamed like Jeremie on the roller coaster.
Jeremie doubled over, laughing at such innocents. She had no idea what it was or that it was one of the oldest pranks ever done. It was something that he expected Odd to pull on April fool's day. He would remember to tell him to do something like this when they returned.
Jimbo left the scene in a hurry for hell had no fury like a scorned woman. Aelita was angry but Jeremie convinced her stay put and not leave.
"Aelita, he was trying to be obnoxious," he told her.
"He most certainly was!" she proclaimed, still confused at the recent event. "I don't like clowns," she muttered, angrily, crossing her arms. He rubbed her shoulders in an attempt to ease her frustration.
As the clown disappeared into the sea of people Aelita noticed a house in the middle of the carnival. She couldn't understand why anybody would live in the middle of a fair. Maybe the clown lived there. The girl asked Jeremie who lived in the dwelling place and he told her that it was a haunted house.
A house being haunted could only mean one thing the girl: X.A.N.A. After all, who could possess a house other than X.A.N.A.?
At first she was nervous but once she was in line with Jeremie and couldn't feel X.A.N.A.'s presences she relaxed. The boy slid Tristan's card in the swipe, confirmed his purchase with the salt on his hand and the two entered.
They entered into a pitch black room and the Aelita squeezed Jeremie's arm tightly. Suddenly, lights began to flash and the floor started to move. It was rotating in a circular motion. Five exits were high-lighted with neon lights. A voice came out of a stuffed boar's head on the wall in front of them and told them to choose a door. Jeremie lead Aelita into the blue high-lighted door. As they entered a laugh came from head and called them fools.
The door slammed shut the next hallway was dimly illuminated. Cobwebs were everywhere. They hung from the ceiling and were wrapped around wall props. A gentle breeze blew through the room and the webs began to move as the two crept forward.
Two small red dots were brought on-line in the distance and moved forward. It was attached to the roof and moved along a track that was kept hidden. As it neared them Jeremie began to question what making the wind.
A demonic roar bellowed from the mechanical beast and two stage hands acted to be the monsters' arms as it came within arms reach of the kids. They grabbed and pulled at the two. Aelita screamed and Jeremie ran, dragging her with him down the hall. The two caught their breaths in a corner that lead to the next room.
This carnival would be an experience that Aelita and Jeremie would not forget.
"Ulrich", "Yumi" and Tristan were supposed to be on the same team but to make things even Tristan and Odd switched teams. Even though Tristan was a replacement on the soccer team he was better than Ulrich defensively so it was always an interesting match between the two.
The game had been going on for almost an hour. "Ulrich" scored one goal and Yumi made one as well so the score was tied at one per team.
Odd had gained possession of the ball from a now tired Yumi and dribbled it towards the goal. Ulrich attempted to steal it but he didn't count on Odd faking him out. Tristan prepared for the encounter as goalie.
As Odd's foot made contact with the ball, he measured its path and stepped to the left. The ball was kicked and flew towards him. He caught it with ease. Scanning the field, he caught sight of "Ulrich" talking with his younger self. Tristan took advantage of this distraction and threw the fully-inflated ball at his head.
"Ulrich" was panting by his younger self and didn't even notice the fast-ball. It hit him in the back of the head and he fell to the ground.
Tristan smiled and shouted at him, "That's what you get for taking my math notes last week without asking!"
The young Ulrich made a mental note to not take thing from Tristan without his knowing.
That hit was the unofficial end of the game. Everyone came over to "Ulrich" who was still dealing with the rotating figures around him.
"Did Tristan hit you THAT hard?" Ulrich asked.
"Ohhhh," was his only reply.
"Yumi" answered for him, "A few years before we meet Tristan he was involved with an accident that made it so that he couldn't feel things in his right arm. That means he can't judge his strength either, although I'm sure he meant to hit him pretty hard." She then glared at the kicker of the ball. He gave her an unconcerned look and turned his attention to "Ulrich's" pocket that was vibrating.
"Yumi" reached in and pulled out his cell phone. She answered it. The older Jeremie was on the other line and sounded concerned. Aelita had gone into the second stage of the virus and they needed to get her back inside Lyoko immediately. He feared that the virus was progressing quicker than he had calculated. "Yumi" calmed him down and told him that they'd meet him there in a few minutes.
"It looks like Aelita needs to get back to Lyoko," she summarized the phone conversation. "Ulrich" managed to stand up and walk and they all left for the hospital.
The older gang and their respective younger selves (minus Jeremie and Aelita) met with "Jeremie" in front of "Aelita's" door. He explained that she was beginning to loose her vision.
Tristan made his way over to the service desk and asked to pay for the bills that "Aelita" had accumulated so that she may be released. As Jenee, the attendant, gave him the papers he realized that he had given his U.I.D. card to the younger Jeremie so he had no way of paying for her visit.
He called "Yumi" over and she filled out the files. However, when she gave Jenee her card she discovered that she was overdrawn. Her immediate thought was of Sissy and her blackmail. Although, having Ulrich punch the daylights out of her was defiantly worth it, the group needed funds.
"Ulrich" and "Jeremie" tried there cards only to come up short with their combined efforts. The older group wasn't surprised at the two not having much cash but Tristan was a little suspicious.
He whispered to him, "Hey, just how expensive was you date with Yumi last Friday?"
"Lobster dinner and desert," he told him. Tristan nodded in understanding.
"We need to find some creative financing," Tristan announced. He then led everyone out of the hearing range of Jenee and discussed the situation.
"Any ideas?" "Ulrich" asked.
"I don't want to disturb Jeremie and Aelita on their date," Tristan admitted, "We should leave them alone."
Nobody said anything for about a minute. They all thought of different ways to free Aelita from her Earthly prison. To be trapped like this was kind of ironic. It had always been Lyoko that she was trying to break free from and now she needed to get back to it to survive.
A spark flickered in Odd's mind. He had gotten an idea. The troublesome teen suggested, "Well, if we can't pay her bills then why don't we just steal her?"
"You're insane, Odd," Tristan scolded.
A/N: just to let you know it's one of my goals to get 10 reviews per chapter so I'd appreciate it if you did leave a little something on your way out. Right now, I'm only 3 reviews behind from meeting my quota for the last chapter. I'll try to review peoples' stories as well but it's going to be hard to find the time. Have a great weekend all!