10-3: Hindsight is 20/20
In honor of failing my Political Science course, I am submitting this chapter early. Everyone enjoy. And don't forget that suggestions for any new twists are always acceptable!
(((-3-)))
Odd checked the cafeteria and snatched a couple rolls before realizing that none of the gang was there. Well, they had to be somewhere. He was just about to take a bite out of the second roll when his vision went white and time seemed to stand still.
In slow motion an image played before his eyes.
—Yumi threw her hand out, a snarl distorting her face as she faced Sissy. The other girl braced herself as she was forced back by nothing at all, but managed to keep her feet. Sissy grinned wickedly, red light appearing in her eye sockets as she formed a fireball between her hands. People screamed as they began to run and a dark-haired girl in the background tried to force her way forward to help. Yumi's eyes widened as she saw the flaming orb and—
Odd doubled over, weakened by the vision. He yanked out his cell and punched in Jeremy's number as he took off at a dead run. The computer whiz picked up on the first ring.
"It's Sissy!" he yelled. "Sissy's the Pawn! She controls fire or something, and Yumi has her Telekinesis. I saw her fighting the Pawn."
"What, already? Geez! This new one isn't wasting any time, is she?"
"My Anticipation gave me a little foresight. They were in a place like a diner or a restaurant or something surrounded by a bunch of screaming people, and I think Janika was there too."
"Thanks for the head's up, Odd, but the others still don't know about this. Apparently Yumi's going to protect home base and so is Janika, but what about Ulrich? He'd better not be piddling around. We're going to need him and you on Lyoko to protect Aelita while she deactivates the Tower. Who knows what Sissy could be doing there right now?"
(V)
Ulrich swallowed forcefully. If he made her angry here, he might as well dig his own grave. How could he get out of there and warn the others, especially without his cell? And what about the real Sissy on Lyoko?
He had to be very gentle with Mekri. If she suspected he was being untruthful or trying to two-time her, she could tear him to pieces in an instant.
"Mekri, what do you want from me?"
"Everything," she breathed.
He gulped, his mind working furiously. "Do you want to go somewhere more romantic? We're in the middle of the garden shed, for pete's sake! There must be a much nicer place to get to know one another outside school, don't you think?"
Her discolored eyes lit up at the suggestion. "Anything for my beloved Ulrich."
She gestured toward the door and steam rose from the knob until it melted completely and fell off. The black-haired girl took his hand and led him outside.
At least he knew for sure that her element was fire. But how could he get away from her without getting burned to a toast? Maybe if he went to the men's room—wait, she was from Lyoko. She didn't know about bathrooms and would probably follow him inside. If he tried to explain, she might get angry and think he was trying to ditch her. What was he going to do?
"Sissy!"
Ulrich whipped his head around and groaned inwardly. It was Sissy's father. Just more trouble.
"Young lady, what are you doing wearing those clothes? Where did you even get them?" Principal Delmas demanded.
Mekri stared curiously at him as though wondering why he had the gall to speak to her and whether he was worth her time.
"If you don't get back to your room and change this instant, I will consider permanently expelling you from the dorms," he threatened.
Instead of answering, the Pawn in Sissy's body glanced over at a nearby pile of bracken beside the garden shed. It burst into flames and sent the principal into a panic, which appeared to be exactly what she wanted.
"Ulrich, go get Jim! I'll get the water hose." He ran over to the side of the building and turned the faucet, but as he lifted up the hose, it liquidated in his hands, melting into a snaky rope of gooey mess.
Sissy's father was still busy trying to get the melted plastic off his skin when he looked up and realized that neither his daughter nor Ulrich were anywhere to be seen.
(V)
Janika stared into the mirror, her nose barely a centimeter from it. Vertical pupils stared back at her. They faded slowly and the teenager leaned back with a choked sob. "I can't let her see me like this!"
She meandered back to her room slowly, taking time to kick a can lying in the hall for a few steps. Finally she reached her door and went in, stopping as soon as she entered. Something was different. Someone had been shuffling through her papers and her laptop was open. The boxes filled with most of her junk remained undisturbed, though.
Who would want to go through her things? A whiff of strawberry-scented perfume answered her question: Aelita.
She growled with aggravation. Who were they to go snooping around in her room? If they wanted to know something they could wait for her to tell them. Why did they always have to be so nosy?
Beginning to put everything back in its rightful place, Janika suddenly caught sight of the digital clock and gasped. She was late!
(V)
Yumi sat on a bench in the wooded park where no one could bother her. She didn't know what to tell the others. She was still stewing in her own misery when there came a yell from across the campus.
The Japanese girl was on her feet in a flash, racing to reach the scene. On the way, she caught sight of Sissy and Ulrich walking off the campus. His arm was wrapped protectively around her shoulders as she leaned dependently on him.
Fury enveloped her as she forgot everything except them. Someone laid a hand on her shoulder and she nearly bit it off. "Don't touch me!"
"Hey! Cut it out, you crocodile!" Herb yelled at her. "What's Ulrich doing with my girl? That's all I want to know."
"Well I want to know what Sissy's doing with my boyfriend, okay? This morning he blew her off like always and now all of a sudden he's got her wrapped around him like a second jacket."
Herb shuddered at her imagery. "Coming?" he asked, shaking off the willies.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Are you going to help me break them up or not?"
"Don't think I won't!" she promised.
Luckily her head wasn't hurting. As long as she could keep from getting a headache she'd be fine. Maybe…
(V)
Odd didn't see any of them, but he did catch sight of Janika as she hurried out of the dorms, slipping a jacket on over her orange T-shirt. She seemed preoccupied and didn't notice him until he was jogging along beside her.
"Going somewhere?"
"I have things to do, yeah."
"X.A.N.A.'s attacking. It's a Pawn in Sissy's body. She has fire-powers or something."
"What? No way! Not today of all days!" she stopped dead in her tracks, shaking her head back and forth vigorously. "Forget it. I can't help. You guys worked fine with just the three of you on Lyoko before I got here."
Odd stared at her, stunned. "What are you saying? Look Janika, that was before X.A.N.A. started using Pawns. You're a great fighter and you can help us beat him. You've got to come!"
She shook her head again. "No Odd, I'm out of control. I don't have power over my Bloodlust and I can't help you guys without seeing everyone as enemies. I want to help, I really do! But not today. I have to find my—do something. You guys can do this one without me."
"Jeremy found the Pawn-Tower," he informed her. "All Aelita needs to do is deactivate it and everything will go back to normal. You won't have your Special Ability on Earth anymore and neither will the rest of us! You won't have to worry about getting emotional anymore."
She stared down at her feet, clearly considering his words with eagerness, but unwilling to dream of freedom lest she accidentally trigger her Ability.
He tipped Janika's head upward and looked evenly into her eyes. "But we have to win first."
"Odd…" she began, almost choking. "…I'm leaving this evening."
He stared at the dark-haired girl, shocked. "But…why didn't you say anything?"
"I don't know! I thought if I ignored it, it wouldn't come so quickly…but my sister is coming to help me. I can't let her get in the Pawn's way. I have to protect her until you guys can fix the Tower. I'd help, but I can't while she's here. I'm sorry."
Who'd have thought she was deceitful? Hey cool! I had no idea that the name of my story was the same as one of the two new episodes that comes on tomorrow. Am I good or what?
Now the poll: how crazy of an excuse could you give an adult if they caught you wandering around a Hermitage looking for "clues"?