.:AN:.
So, here is the second to last chapter of my story. Wait a minute- I've almost completed a story! OMG! Call the media! I'VE ALMOST COMPLETED A STORY! WHOOT! AND IT'S POPULAR! WHOOT! (BIG smile) I feel so sucessful! Anyways, here's some answers and comments to some... comments that I recieved from my last chapter:
Eva-Freak015: Yeah, I know... I updated... (all bashfull). And we'll see what Yumi's reaction will be in this chapter! Isn' that great? Okay, I'll shut up now!
Janika: Oh, you're crying! Here's a tissue (hands he/she a HUMUNGO box of tissues)... And I'm sorry that I didn't make it clear about the running part. See, Ulrich was running extremely fast, but he kept tripping, and he had msucles spasms where... your muscle... spasms... Anyways, he's not a pansy, he's just a clumsy, desperate fool!
Yuriko Nishidera: Hey, what a kawinkadink! I hate cliffys too! GO US! DOWN WITH CLIFFYS! UP WITH UPDATES! DOWN WITH CLIFFYS! UP WITH UPDATES! Anyways, I updated, so you can pay me now. Cash or check, it doesn't matter... JUST SHOW ME THE MONEY! Sorry, inside joke...
MoonScar X: Wow! I like the sound of you! You're crazy and hyper and very close-minded (in a good way, mind you)! Just like me! And of course Ulrich didn't die! I'm just not going to tell you right now! You have to read and find out! And of course Lance and Yumi aren't going to hook up! This is a UxY story, is it not? And Lance is evil. He dies... in a way...
crazyanimelover: ...Maybe. The answers to all of your questions lie in the print before you. Read... and BEWARE! BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Ah... I'm okay!
Singingstarqt: I have officially updated, which means that I deserve cookies and loads and loads of money. GIVE ME NOW!... or not.
oddkittycat: Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, I love you! So I am updating this story for you! Hee, hee, hee... just kidding, but I updated, so please don't cry!
Anyways... that's it, so just read! God! Flippin' idiot!
Chapter 21: Too Close For Comfort… Yeah, right!
Ulrich's POV:
"Man, am I hungry!" Odd exclaimed his mouth literally watering as he took in his overloaded cafeteria tray, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.
"Odd," I pointed out from my place across the table, trying not to roll my eyes. "You're always hungry."
"But I missed dinner!" he replied defensively, tearing his eyes away from his "delicious" cafeteria food. "You know how I get when I miss a meal." I almost wanted to strangle him, imitating Homer from the Simpsons, but then I would've had to remove my arm that was placed on a certain girl's shoulders.
"Which comes oh-so rarely," Yumi put in sarcastically from my side, feigning innocence. I always liked her like that, just out of the blue pretending to be a "girly girl". And I honestly wouldn't have her any other way…
We, excluding Odd, all laughed light-heartedly at that. After all, it was the truth. Sue us! Jeremie was nudging Odd with his elbow, goading him into lightening up, even though he kind of just pouted, momentarily forgetting about his starvation. But he couldn't help but join in as the amusement escalated. It had been a while since we had been this relaxed, so why spoil it? Y'know how people say "every party needs a pooper, so we invited you"? Well, no one says that to Odd.
"Ah," Odd sighed, wiping away an imaginary tear as he laid back against the back of his chair, placing his other hand on his strangely fit stomach (he eats so much, just HOW does he stay thin?) "It's nice to be able to laugh again, isn't it? Feels like forever since we've hung out, all of us, together, doesn't it?"
I sobered quickly, a small smile still on my face as my gaze drifted to the floor.
"Yes," I replied softly. "Yes, it does."
I couldn't remember the last time that I enjoyed being with all of my friends as I was then. I guess I took them for granted, thinking that they'd always be there for me when I needed them, even if it was for the tiniest thing. Mostly concerning Sissi, but we won't get into that… Anyways, I never thought I'd be treasuring moments like this. It just seems so surreal, me being a sentimental fool, dreaming of the days when I could pretend I was a normal teenager with a normal life hanging out with normal friends while trying to ignore the lies of normal homework that awaited my return back in my normal dorm room.
Wait a moment…
Dreaming…?
.:End Of Dream:.
Odd's POV:
"LASER ARROW!" I screamed, unable to hide the pain that was combined with my angered tone. A loud cry of anguish accompanied my yell, and I could feel the triumph flow through me, momentarily dulling my emotional ache. But, unfortunately, it left as soon as it came.
Lance had flown several feet back due to my arrow's multiple attack. He landed roughly on his back, skidding slightly as he came to a stop. With rage laced with every painful step I took, I slowly made my way to him. I guess I made a pretty impressive sight because his eyes widened in fear and he tried to scoot away from me. However, blinded by fury, I shot one of my arrows near his head, purposely missing it by an inch or two. No sooner had he yelped in surprise than I was standing over him, my arm aiming right at his face threateningly, as if daring him to test my give.
"So you're going to kill me?" he asked, and it surprised me how dull his voice still seemed to be compared to his emotional features on his face.
"I'm trying to decide if it will be worth it," I managed to growl out, my gritted teeth and the lump in my throat making it extremely difficult to speak. "After all, you killed Ulrich."
I was shocked, not only because I knew it was true, but also because I knew it couldn't be true. Who could, knowing that the person you've known all your life and believed could never die unless it was alongside you when you're old and crippled, with your sanity barely intact? It hurt, because Ulrich, my best friend ever since we'd met, was one of those people that gave the impression of being invincible. Ulrich was someone that people looked to for help, for safety. He emitted the feeling of security.
And I somehow decided that he couldn't ever be defeated.
A crazed laugh brought me out of my thoughts, causing unpleasant shivers to run down my spine that made me shake involuntarily.
"Yes, I did manage to take down one of you, didn't I?" Lance agreed, allowing another so-called laugh to escape his pale lips.
"That's not something I would brag about, Lancy-boy," I warned him, cocking my arm suggestively. "I'm holding your life in my hands. Unfortunately for you, I'm very clumsy."
"You don't have the heart," Lance told me dismissively, his previous fear disappearing rapidly.
Don't have the heart? DON'T HAVE THE HEART? Who doesn't "have the heart" to take away someone's life? Everyone can take away someone's life, they just don't want to take the risk, the responsibility. Well, guess what, buck-o? I'm trying to decide whether or not you're worth the trouble. Because I do have the heart.
I have the ability… and the opportunity to take away your life.
But should I do it?
Should I cross the line? Ironic, isn't it? To think that in a period of a couple weeks (was that really all it has been? Just a few weeks? It feels like a lifetime), I've gone from trying to get out of doing my homework, to gaining a new friend, loosing another close friend, and trying to decide if I want to kill someone…
Rage built up inside of me again. I wanted so much to go back to the way things use to be. With me pulling pranks and cracking jokes. With Jeremie trying to get us all to do our homework and figuring out Aelita's anti-virus. With Ulrich and Yumi insulting Sissi (all of us doing that, actually) and pretending that they don't like each other beyond being close friends while we poke fun at them and try to get them to hook up. With Jim always trying to catch us doing something "against the school rules". With Sissi nagging Ulrich, and us nagging her back—did I already say that? Well, it counts for two because that was fun. That was one of the normal things we did, while trying to deny the fact that we were different than the rest of the kids at our school and, at the same time, enjoying the fact that we were doing things that no one else was doing. No one else was risking his or her lives for the world. We didn't have to sit around, worrying about the world coming to an end, and being able to do nothing.
When the time came, we were able to do something. We were able to make a difference. And when we weren't, we were able to live our normal lives.
Thanks to lance, things would never be normal.
Nothing would be the same.
These last words echoed through my head (it's so empty! Echo, echo!). My blood was on fire, boiling as the heat rose to my face. It was turning red, and the anger and frustration started to build up, causing my arm to shake. Why must this be so hard? I have to kill him! I need to kill him. If not for the safety for the rest of us, then be it for revenge! For killing someone close to me! For killing my best friend! For killing my brother!
For killing Ulrich!
Sweat started to trickle its way down my face, my brows furrowed as my mental battle continued. My features were twisted in emotional agony, showing my irritation for the situation I had put myself in.
Just shoot him! End it all, just take it away!
You can't do it! A voice in my head screamed desperately. It's not fair! It's not right!
He killed Ulrich! That's not right either!
He didn't want to! The voice tried again.
What's wrong with you? I asked angrily. What do you mean, 'he didn't want to'?
He wasn't in control! X.A.N.A. was controlling him! He was in charge, not Lance! Lance is a good person!
A good person? Is that even possible? Lance was a twisted person from the beginning!
NO! X.A.N.A. had complete control over his mind and body as soon as he arrived at Kadic! He's been trying to fight it, but has gotten a mental beating every time! He's in pain trying to do the right thing!
If he's hurting so bad, then I'd be doing him a favor putting him and this god-for-saken machine to rest! It's all the more reason to kill him!
He wasn't fighting all this time just to let his chance at freedom slip away at the sound of the gun! He doesn't deserve that!
THEN WHAT SHOULD I DO?
My mind was screaming, my head was reeling, my body was shaking, and my concentration was slipping. What was I suppose to do?
Lance watched my battle of mentality with interest and an evil grin. Slowly, he pushed himself off of the ground, advancing oh-so carefully towards my frozen body, which was, at the time, too busy trying to decide what to do to actually pay attention. When he was standing right in front of me, he cockily waved his hands in front of my face as he pretended to check to see if I was awake.
Too bad he didn't know that I, the Almighty and Unpredictable Odd, could be a windmill when I wake up.
And holding a ready weapon at my disposal isn't any better.
With a surprised cry, several shots went off, most, if not all, coming in direct contact with Lance's body. My eyes widened, watching slowly as the ninja boy's collapsed slowly onto the ground, his own eyes wide with shock and fear.
A strangled plea escaped his even-more-so paled lips, his eyes fluttering open and closed repetitively. I could only stand stationary as Lance's seemingly lifeless body lay on the ground while trying to speak. I could picture the blood flowing steadily out of his mouth had this been in the real world, and shivered in disgust. However, my body as motionless, trying to make out Lance's speech.
"I… I d-didn't want… to die," he gasped out, his voice shaking horribly. Tears clouded his sheltered eyes, and he raised one trembling hand to pull his mouth covering down further, freeing more of his face. "I… w-wanted… to see… my m-m-mother again… ah!"
His eyes clenched in pain, then opened slowly as his data started to disappear in the air.
"W-what's happening?" he asked with a small smile. "A… am I dying?"
I couldn't stand it. He was acting just like a child. An innocent child who didn't deserve to have his life cut at the wick, snuffed out like a candle flame. He was too pure, to naïve for a death like that.
"I-I'm so sorry," I choked out, bringing my hand to my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose in an attempt to calm myself down. "You didn't deserve this!"
"It's okay, Odd," a familiar voice told me. A firm hand gripped my shoulder, comforting me in a way that only one person could…
I dropped my hand and whirled around, staring into the eyes of a person I never thought would open their eyes again.
"ULRICH?"
Yumi's POV:
"ULRICH?"
I was still frozen to the spot where Ulrich had been moments before he had completely de-virtualized. My eyes were glued to the empty space his head had been resting not two seconds ago on my lap. My hands wrung themselves over and over again, making them turn white then red, then white again. I was swallowing back tears, forcing them to stay at bay, to go away and never return.
I wanted to be strong, I wanted to show that death didn't hurt me.
But it did. It did hurt. It so bad that I thought I would die right along with him. Which was strange, because I never thought I'd be saying, indirectly since I can't exactly say those words out loud, that he was dead. Gone. No longer here with us, to mess around and hang out with us.
With me.
I miss him. He didn't talk much, but that was okay. Words aren't all that important. It was more the way that he made me feel. Like I was special, that I mattered to someone. Who would've thought that I felt like I didn't matter? I save people, I help people, and I have the best friends anyone could ask for. But I never thought that I'd be wishing someone would tell me that I was important.
But he would. If not with words, then with actions. Everything he did made me remember the friend that slowly developed into a crush.
And now that he was gone, completely… gone, it made me wish that I never knew him. The pain of knowing I would never see his smile, hear his voice, hell, watch him fight in Lyoko once more was killing me. Just thinking of him made my heart flip, hearing his name made me freeze. And those were things that I couldn't stand living with… or without.
But when I heard Odd yell that name that I swore I didn't want to hear again, I felt my heart leap into my throat, causing me to choke for a moment.
Did I hear correctly?
I rose gracefully from my spot on the ground, and turned a full one-eighty degrees…
…and almost fell back down again, much less gracefully.
There was Ulrich, standing tall and proud, one hand on Odd's shoulder, with the other hanging casually near his sword's hilt.
"Yeah," I heard Ulrich reply. "It's me."
"But… how…?"
"Wha…?" I tried to figure out while also trying to get over the fact that… ULRICH WAS ALIVE!
He turned to me, and smiled that smile. "It's okay, Yumi. I'm here and I don't plan on leaving you guys any time soon."
"Return to the past… NOW!"
Ulrich's POV:
"Class, we have a new student," Ms. Hertz announced. I sent Jeremie an odd look. Odd was back asleep next to me and I was still leaning back in my chair, staring out the window while others were doing the same.
"Lance, if you could kindly stand up and show yourself to the class…"
The new kid, Lance, stood up and smiled brightly, waving to the class enthusiastically. Everyone was just staring at him, some said hi or some kind of greeting. However, they were interested in him this time around, unlike last time when we were like zombies.
"Everyone, this is Lance Halsted," Ms. Hertz introduced. "He has transferred from another school and will be spending the rest of the school year with us."
He was into black. That's all I had thought of him at the time. But now that I was looking at the real Lance, that thought would have never crossed my mind.
He was into white. Yup, not black—white. He adorned a white long-sleeved shirt with one of those monkeys on the front saying, "Smile. It confuses people" (don't girls usually wear that? NOT ANYMORE!). He also wore white cargos that had all sorts of crazy mottos on the pockets and cuffs, like, "I'd say I'm sorry, but that would be lying… and lying is bad." (I MADE THAT ONE UP!)
"Hey, everyone! It's nice to be here!" he introduced joyfully.
"This doesn't make sense," Jeremie muttered to us… or, more specifically (Odd's asleep, remember?), me. "Wasn't he devirtualized?"
"Guess he wasn't completely gone when Aelita put in the code," I whispered back. "We'll talk about it when we have everyone's attention."
"Agreed," was his reply.
The lunch bell rang, and Odd jolted awake immediately. He shot our of his chair, running to the door, and the crowd of hungry students, screaming once more, "Get away, that's my food!"
"Some things never change," Jeremie told me with a knowing smile.
"Don't complain," I said sternly, but my friendly tone ruined it. "You never know when one of us may die… or… POOF!"
Jeremie laughed, but all the same, didn't comment again. Instead, he swung his arm around my shoulders, giving me a shake with the brightest smile I ever saw him wear.
"Yumi told me what you did while I was gone. Pretty clever… for you, at least."
"Hey, I find that comment very offensive," I replied, pretending to be hurt while sticking out my lower lip.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Baby Ulrich… How about if I get Nanny Yumi over here so that she can kiss it and make it better?"
I froze, halting my movements and glaring at him in a sinister way. But, he didn't even look back at me as he continued to walk, whistling innocently all the way.
"Jeremie…" I warned.
He still ignored me, waving briefly to students that passed him by.
I sighed with a slump of my shoulders, staring up at the ceiling. They just didn't get it… but, then again, wasn't it I that didn't get it? Even though I denied it, I knew deep down that I cared for Yumi. A lot more than I'm suppose to if we're still just close friends. She's the world to me, what she thinks of me is important to me. She was the only one that could make me cry in anguish when X.A.N.A.—possessed Lance started to take over my life. She was the only one that made my heart stop just by walking past me, even after weeks of not talking to each other. It scared me to know that she had so much control over me. Who wants to know that a girl has power over a guy, especially if he was the guy? Not me… but, then again, Yumi's no ordinary girl. And me? I guess I can live with the fact that she's the ONLY person that has power over me.
Sissi?
No way.
I just felt that I needed to say that…
I met up with Odd at the door, who was already loaded down with piles of food on his overflowing cafeteria tray. We found our usual table, and sat down, facing each other. I didn't bother getting g line. I simply mooched off of Odd's plate for some of the good stuff. After all, he wouldn't notice since his face was already buried in food.
"Man, am I hungry!" Odd exclaimed, his mouth spewing food bits as he shoveled more food into his gaping mouth.
"Odd," I pointed out, trying not to roll my eyes. "You're always hungry."
"But I missed dinner!" he replied defensively, tearing his eyes, hands, and mouth away from his "delicious" cafeteria food. "You know how I get when I miss a meal."
"Which comes oh-so rarely, really," Yumi put in sarcastically, coming up with her own tray of food alongside Jeremie, feigning innocence. She sat down next to me, and Jeremie took his place next to the pouting Odd.
"Then again," Jeremie added slyly, "We didn't really miss dinner, considering we haven't had dinner yet, right, Odd?" Everyone started to laugh, once more catching one of Jeremie's rare jokes.
Jeremie was nudging Odd with his elbow, goading him into lightening up, even though he kind of just continued to pout, momentarily forgetting about his starvation. But he couldn't help but join in as the amusement escalated. It had been a while since we had been this relaxed, so why spoil it? Y'know how people say "every party needs a pooper, so we invited you?" Well, no one says that to Odd.
"Ah," Odd sighed, wiping away an imaginary tear as he laid back against the back of his chair, placing his other hand on his strangely fit stomach (he eats so much, just HOW does he stay thin?). It's nice to be able to laugh again, isn't it? Feels like forever since we've hung out, all of us, together, doesn't it?"
I sobered quickly, a small smile still on my face as my gaze drifted to the floor.
"Yes," I replied softly. "Yes, it does."
I couldn't remember the last time that I enjoyed being with all of my friends as I was then. I guess I took them for granted, thinking that they'd always be there for me when I needed them, even if it was for the tiniest thing. Mostly concerning Sissi, but we won't get into that… Anyways, I never thought I'd be treasuring moments like this. It just seems so surreal, me being a sentimental fool, dreaming of the days when I could pretend I was a normal teenager with a normal life hanging out with normal friends while trying to ignore the piles of normal homework that awaited my return back in my normal dorm room.
I had this same dream when part of me was being devirtualized. But this time it wasn't a dream. This time, it was real. And I was happy. Because now I know that I'm not in danger anymore.
I can relax, and hang out freely with my friends, without having to look over my back, watching out for Lance-a… Lance.
"Hey, guys?" Yumi interrupted. "Look, I know I'm extremely smart and everything, but… exactly what happened on Lyoko?"
I started coughing at her first statement, pretending to be insulting while Jeremie and Odd rolled their eyes.
"Watch it, boys," Yumi warned us, her eyes gaining a dangerous glint.
"What are you talking about?" I asked innocently, looking away and acting hurt. "I've only complimented you, and tended to your every whim. I don't know where you got the idea that I was somehow insolent towards you…"
I could tell that Yumi was holding back some major laughs, so I added the extra touch—my oh-so innocent smile. Then, she let loose, laughing her head off so hard that tears were forming at the corner of her eyes. She leaned in to bury her head into my shoulders, stifling her laughing only slightly. I chuckled softly, listening to her giggling music, reminding me greatly of bells…
As soon as her laughter subsided, she lifted her head and asked again, "Seriously, guys, what happened on Lyoko?"
"Well, Einstein? You're up!" Odd informed him, giving him an audible slap on the back, making him lurch forward and forcing his glasses to slide down his nose considerably.
Straightening his glasses and posture, he folded his hands onto the table, preparing for his long explanation.
"Well… I guess I should start at the beginning."
"No duh, Einstein," Odd said sarcastically, nudging him this time.
"Very funny, Odd. Anyways, it all started when Lance came to Kadic. He was already possessed by X.A.N.A. when he got here. My guess is that X.A.N.A. was using him to break us apart while getting into our mists peacefully." He paused to take a look at me, and I could only sink in my seat, and look away.
"For example," he continued, taking his eyes off me once more, "he tried to seduce Yumi into falling for him… which kind of worked…"
I heard Yumi shuffling her feet underneath the table, and I stole a glance at her. She was looking extremely guilty…
"He also tried to get on Odd's good side by getting him that CD that he's obsessed over."
"And he never got me it…" Odd sulked, still stuffing his face with his food.
"He managed to get me to like him by just helping me and being nice." As soon as he said this, his eyes broadened and he slapped his hand across his forehead. "I am such a idiot…"
"No, you're just a pansy," Odd told him evenly, not even glancing at him as Jeremie gave him a harsh glare. "If you were an idiot, then I would be failing all my classes."
"Thanks, Odd… Anyways," Jeremie continued, finally looking away from the pig. "All of this added to pushing you, Ulrich, out of the picture entirely… which also kind of worked."
"No, it did work," I said firmly, still glaring heatedly at the tiled cafeteria floor. "I was an idiot—a selfish, egotistical idiot. He was always goading me into hitting him, into hurting him. But I never did, because I thought that you guys would hate me more if I tried to hurt him. It was obvious what he was trying to do, and I let it happen anyways." My fists were clenching tightly at my sides, and I closed my eyes out of my growing rage. "It was all my fault that this happened. I could've helped you guys, we would've beat him a lot easier, without the hate and anger. The reason for your pain was because of me."
A warm hand suddenly covered my right fist, comforting and soothing. My eyes snapped open and shot up to find the source of the warmth, and they met with dark, loving ones that belonged to the only person that sincerely looked at me like that.
Yumi.
"It's okay, Ulrich," she told me calmly, massaging my hand slowly. "It's not your fault at all. Don't blame yourself. The person… thing you should blame is X.A.N.A. He intended on you breaking away, it made it easier for him. That was his plan all along. And when he plans something, very rarely does it not go the way he wants it to. Please, it's not your fault."
My fist relaxed, and Yumi folded it with hers, intertwining our fingers. My whole body felt warm and relaxed, and I could do nothing to quell the blush that was rising to my cheeks. She smiled at me, and I could only manage a weak smile in return before staring at our hands that rested in-between our chairs. They molded together perfectly, and the feelings they created were so new to me. Yet, at the same time, I knew those feelings, and embraced them.
"Thanks, Yumi," I said truthfully, returning my gaze to her affectionate eyes. IN a way, I was telling her that I truly meant it, and that she was very important to me.
Which was true.
She smiled again, and turned back to Jeremie, motioning for him to continue.
"Oh, right!" he said quickly, jerking himself out of his staring. "Um… where was I…?"
We stared at him, blinking every once in a while, before Odd told him smartly, "You just got done telling us about how getting on everyone's good side pushed Ulrich out of the picture entirely."
More staring and blinking, directed to Odd this time.
"What?" he asked with a shrug.
"It's just… usually, you tune out when Jeremie's explaining things…" I told him warily.
"Hey! He caught my attention when he mentioned the CD, and… well, he wasn't speaking gibberish yet," he informed us sheepishly.
"…Right. Well, anyways…"
"Hold on, I've got a question," I interrupted quickly, raising my "unoccupied" hand. "If Lance was taken over by X.A.N.A. before he got here, then why didn't Aelita cotice an activated tower?"
"Well, in a way, she did," Jeremie said with a confused look. "We took a trip to Lyoko before he arrived, remember? X.A.N.A. must've tricked th whole tower business by creating another attack to distract us from Lance's possession. Kind of like walking out of a store with an un-purchased item the same as someone else. The employees are thinking that the second person is stealing something while the real thief gets away."
"And how do you know this?" Odd asked him suspiciously.
"Sam told us about her stealing habits, remember?"
"Oh, yeah."
"But wouldn't that mean that two towers were activated?" Yumi asked, bringing the conversation back to the original topic.
"Yes, unless the second person was associated with the thief," Jeremie answered offhandedly.
Yumi and I exchanged confused looks. "Huh?" we asked simultaneously.
"Sorry. What I meant was that it would activate two towers, unless the second activation had something to do with the first activation."
"So you mean…" I started to say, catching on.
"Yes. Lance's possession had something to do with the diversion attack. But, I haven't been able to figure it out just yet."
"What was the attack again?" Odd asked with perplexity.
"Gang members being momentarily possess—oh," Jeremie cut off, staring blankly at us.
"Oh, what?" Yumi asked, slightly irritated.
Shifting his body to lean in closer to the rest of us, he said quietly, "X.A.N.A. must've possessed Lance slightly before all of the loose gang members that were running around town. That was the diversion attack. He wanted us to go after the gang members while he got away with taking over Lance's body completely."
"But… the time in-between the attacks would've separated them," I said puzzled, one of my eyebrows raised in uncertainty.
"No, because the time that took place between the attacks was used to drain power from it's electrical storage tanks so that X.A.N.A. could take control of the gang member's bodies."
"See, this is where I would've tuned out," Odd said simply.
"Don't you see?" exclaimed Jeremie, ignoring Odd's comment completely. "They were all linked, but the time in the middle of each attack separated them so that when we de-activated the tower, Lance wouldn't be cleared from X.A.N.A. He was still in control."
Silence accompanied that speech. We looked at each other, the same question echoing throughout our heads.
"If he was able to do this and almost get away with it… then he could get away with it again," I said solemnly. "Just think about it—the only reason we were able to save Lance was because he came to us. Otherwise, we would've been clueless."
"For now, I don't think X.A.N.A. will be trying this again. As I said before, it took a considerable amount of energy for X.A.N.A. to possess so many people at once. The computer was in deep sleep when we returned from that trip, remember? And it takes a while for a computer of that size to regenerate with a limited supply of electricity. We should be safe for a while."
"Then how were we able to get into Lyoko, if that's true?" Odd challenged.
"X.A.N.A. must've used his back-up storage tanks to make it possible for us to get into Lyoko. The last attempt, the one we just got back from, was probably a must for him because it was his grand scheme. X.A.N.A. expected it to work. And it would've, if Ulrich didn't come at the last minute to help us."
Jeremie winked at me, Odd gave me one of his big smiles, and Yumi squeezed my hand appreciatively. I squeezed back and smiled at the all. An ego-boost in the afternoon makes everyone a happy camper, don't you think?
"So I don't think we'll be hearing from X.A.N.A. any time soon," Jeremie finished with a laugh.
"Which brings to mind another question, actually," Yumi said with a mysterious glint in her eye.
"What?" Jeremie asked with puzzlement.
She turned to me, putting one bent arm onto the back of her seat. "How come you were being devirtualized one moment, and standing behind Odd, all in one piece, the next, hm?"
"Oh that," I said with a light laugh, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly. "I… made copies of myself…"
"You duplicated yourself?" Odd exclaimed.
"Yeah, pretty much. You didn't see me when I was running towards you guys. Yumi was going to get hit by the poisoned knife, and Lance was charging for you, Odd. So I duplicated myself so that I could knock Yumi out of the way, and trip up Lance, too."
"You idiot, you made me think that you were dead!" Yumi exclaimed angrily. "I really thought you had died, Ulrich!"
"Me, too, y'know…" Odd put in, unusually serious and sad.
"Hey, can I join you?" a familiar, yet different voice interrupted hopefully.
We all looked up to see Lance towering over us, an Odd-like smile adorning his features. I froze, but quickly relaxed, remembering that X.A.N.A. was no longer in control of him. I offered a soft smile in return and said, "Sure, go ahead."
Instead of sitting down next to Yumi, like I thought he would, he sat down next to Jeremie.
"Who's this?" asked Jeremie innocently, playing the part while indicating to Lance.
"Uh, guys, this is Lance Halted," I introduced. "He's new here. Lance, this is Yumi and Jeremie. You remember Jeremie from class, don't you?" Lance smiled, shaking hands and exchanging nods with everyone.
"Nice to meet you," Yumi greeted kindly, seemingly forgetting her earlier anger.
"Yeah," agreed Jeremie. "So, you're new, huh?"
Lance nodded, saying with a smile, "Yup, I moved here from good old U.S.A. I like it here, though, but it looks so different from home…"
"Who do you want to show you around? Or did someone already give you the tour?" Yumi asked, and I stared at her in surprise.
"I'm not sure, but if you're offering…"
"Excuse me?" I asked, the same anger burning up in me again.
"I'd appreciate it if Yumi could show me around," he said shyly.
"How about we all show you around?" Jeremie suggested quickly, yet smoothly.
"That sounds great," I agreed swiftly, squeezing Yumi's hand again. "We'll all show you around."
"Great," Lance replied with a grin. "Thanks, guys."
"It's no problem," Odd told him firmly, looking at me with a smile. "We're all happy to do it."
"Yeah," I added softly. "We're all happy to do it."
"Thanks for letting me hang with you guys," Lance said over his shoulder as he jogged away to his next class, probably to talk to the teacher since we still have ten minutes… "You guys are awesome."
"Thanks, we're glad that you enjoyed it," I said with amusement in my voice.
Lance simply laughed and jogged away.
"He's so white," Odd commented.
"Yeah, I know…" I agreed with a shake of my head. "He's just so…"
"White," we all said at the same time, excluding a certain moody girl.
"Well, I'm glad you guys are able to be so happy after learning that your best friend almost died!" Yumi exclaimed, standing up from the table out of rage.
"Look, Yumi," I tried to apologize, but she didn't listen.
"Save it. I'm going for a walk. I'll see you in a bit…"
She stalked off, and I could see hints of tears in her eyes. She had been hiding them all throughout lunch, and that added to my sense of guilt. I sighed deeply, and watched her leave, tempted to go after her—to force her to listen to me.
"She's got it hard for you, man," Odd said, observing her leave as well.
"Shut up, Odd," I told him, not even taking a glance at him.
"Maybe you should go after her," Jeremie suggested.
"Maybe I should," I said, pushing my chair out and making my way towards the door she took.
Of course, you can always count on Sissi to try and stop me.
"Ulrich, dear, don't bother trying to get her to see what a great guy you are," she said sweetly, so sweet that it was sickening.
"Leave all compliments and pick-up lines at my secretaries desks," I said evenly, shoving my way past her and her two cronies. "They'll have fun making fun of you for a few hours."
"What?" she shrieked, her hands flying to her mouth as if she had something on her face.
"Have a nice day, Sissi!" I called to her in that same sickly sweet tone that she had used previously.
Forget about Sissi. What mattered right now was Yumi, and trying to get her to forgive me. Why was she so worked up about it?
I knew the answer, I just wanted to hear her say it herself.
.:AN:.
Okay, so that's the end of this chapter, which is probably the longest one yet. The next chapter will be fully loaded with UxY fluff, for those that read this story souly for the... fluff. I'm not all that good with the gushy-gushy, lovely dovely romance crud (I usually throw up when watching it, but...), so I apologize before hand if it's not as good as you thought it would be. Thanks for sticking with me for so long, and putting up with my procrastination and junk... so, yeah, thanks for reading...
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