Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko. Code Lyoko is the property of Moonscoop/Antefilms. Please do not sue me.
"INTO THE EYE OF THE STORM"
Chapter 2: Old Friends
Point of View: Ulrich
Just as I kneel there in that dark Munich alley, time seems to freeze.
The steam of my breath in the frigid temperature of the night is cut off as everything inside of me stops moving. My mind races, as I can't seem to pin a name on the voice. As the still unseen person moves forward and out of the shadows, my eyes widen, and I gasp in surprise.
"Aelita!" I can say nothing else.
"Ulrich, good heavens, it is you!" she leaps forward and traps me with a suffocating embrace.
But suddenly, she detaches herself and looks over in the direction of her hitherto silent companion.
"Jeremie, are you okay!" she rushes over to him. "Say something!"
"Ugh...something..." mutters an incoherent Jeremie.
"Hey Jeremie, everything's gonna be okay." I make an effort to console him, though I'm still reeling from surprise at having met two of my old friends in a Munich alleyway.
"See Jeremie, Ulrich's here with...um...a friend of his. They chased away the robbers!" Aelita jabbers on excitedly.
"Thanks a bunch Ulrich. I was afraid I was going to lose my life a second ago. Those guys were vicious..." Jeremie mutters, having finally come to his senses.
He gets up with Aelita's help, and we make our way out of the alley and down the street. At this point, I decide it might be a good idea to introduce Helmuth.
"Jeremie, Aelita, this is my boss, Helmuth." I interject awkwardly.
Silence follows, as Jeremie and Helmuth stare at each for a few seconds. Helmuth is the first to speak.
"Belpois? How coincidental to meet you in Munich at this time of year! I assume you are on vacation. I hope all is well, and I am mightily sorry about that incident back there..." Helmuth exclaims.
Now I am the confused one. Helmuth and Jeremie know each other? How did this happen?
"Mr. Klausberger! It was certainly very fortuitous that you came around that corner just now! I'm no expert at hand-to-hand combat, and you could probably tell that I'm still working at my desk job with Information Security. I never have time to even make it to the gym! You must have gathered that Ulrich and I were old friends! I would never have expected that he is now working for you! We live in a small world indeed!" Jeremie speaks as if he is addressing a long-lost buddy.
Noticing my apparent confusion, Helmuth turns to me to explain. "You see, Ulrich, your friend Jeremie and I worked together on an assignment not so long ago. He's with the Information Systems Security Service of France."
I raise my eyebrows in astonishment. So that's why they know each other! I must admit, though, it's pretty weird how both Jeremie and I ended up in intelligence work...
"So, Mrs. Belpois, how is life in Paris?" Helmuth inquires.
Whoa! Jeremie and Aelita are married? I really haven't kept up with the times.
"Everything's going well. Jeremie just took a permanent position with the service, and we decided to come on vacation to Munich. Looks like we ended up in the wrong neighborhood, though, seeing as what happened before..." Aelita explains.
"Ah yes, unfortunately, crime has been on the rise in southern Germany. Unemployment has risen to well over twenty-five percent recently." Helmuth hastily explains.
"Well, it looks like we just had some pretty bad luck just now. Helmuth, would you happen to know the best way to get back to the Hilton in the city? That's where we're staying." Ah, trusty old Jeremie. Always thinking about the task at hand.
"Actually, my car is just a few blocks away. I know where the Hilton is, so Ulrich and I can drive you." Helmuth offers.
"Oh dear, we don't want to interrupt your busy schedule, Helmuth. I'm sure we can make our way back on the subway..." Aelita, being the thoughtful one, interjects.
"Don't worry about it. We aren't doing anything now anyway. And besides, it's not safe at night in Munich anymore. Just follow me."
Aelita suddenly turns to me and whispers, "Oh, by the way, Ulrich, we're here on vacation with Yumi and Hiroki. If you don't mind my asking, what's happened between you and Yumi?"
I take a deep breath, as my mind replays what had happened earlier. "Honestly, Aelita, I have no idea. We had tried to stay together, even though I was here in Germany and she was over in France, but I stopped hearing from her, and I guess she just didn't want to be with me anymore..."
Aelita abruptly interrupts me, and I almost jump in surprise. "Ulrich! Didn't you know that you mean more to Yumi than anyone else in her life? I thought you always knew that! She would never leave you for the world! She kept telling me that you left her! She's been very depressed lately..."
Remembering the letter, I try to continue my explanation. "I know, Aelita. I just got a letter today from her. She said that she and I will have to be 'just friends', and that she was coming to Munich for Christmas. I was going to call her up. You have to understand, Aelita! I never left Yumi! I kept trying to stay in touch with her, but I never got any responses in the mail! I don't know what happened..." I grit my teeth, as my emotional defenses near the brink of collapse. Jeremie and Helmuth have walked on ahead of us, thank goodness. I would really hate for them to see me on the verge of tears.
"So you still really want to be with Yumi?" Aelita probes.
I nod my head.
"Oh...in that case, we'll just have to explain to her when we get back." Aelita states in a matter-of-fact tone. "It's very strange, though, how you just lost contact like that. It's like someone or something out there doesn't want you two to be together..."
Wow, Aelita has become very good at consoling people. Maybe things will turn out all right after all. My mind starts to wander, as I try to think how I could patch up things with Yumi.
"Ah, here we are...Ulrich, don't make Mrs. Belpois slow down just for you!" Helmuth calls out ahead. He is standing with Jeremie next to his car, a short distance down the road. I notice that he seems to be a lot less nervous than he was in the bar; I guess he just doesn't see old friends every day.
We reach Helmuth's car, a blue BMW M5. With Jeremie apparently absorbed with admiration for it, we all get in. Looking in the rearview mirror, I see Jeremie examining the upholstery.
"Nice car you have here, Helmuth. How much did it cost you?" Jeremie inquires.
"Nothing at all, thanks to our benevolent agency..."
"Sheesh, you're lucky." Jeremie muses. "How about you, Ulrich? They must treat you well, too."
Being absorbed in my own thoughts, I choose not to answer his question. With the silence becoming a little awkward, Helmuth answers for me.
"Ulrich's got a pretty nice Audi. He's not such a careful driver, though, are you Ulrich?" Helmuth is really testing my patience.
I just stare resolutely out the window, and this time, nobody bothers to break the silence.
---half an hour later---
We pull up in front of the Hilton. Jeremie whispers something to Aelita, prompting her to get out a slip of paper and a pen. She scrawls something on it, and hands it to me.
"The number on top is our room number, the number on the bottom is Yumi and Hiroki's. Be sure to call later. They're at some sort of show right now, but they'll be back soon." Aelita whispers in my ear.
I nod, without anything else to say. I glance in Jeremie's direction, and he just smirks at me.
After thanking Helmuth for the ride, they get out and disappear into the hotel. Helmuth looks at me and raises his eyebrows.
"Girlfriend problems, huh?"
Why do I get the feeling that everybody's in on my relationship with Yumi?
I hope everybody liked this chapter. I felt that certain aspects of the plot had to be resolved/clarified, and I thought it was nice to bring in some more of the original CL characters.
I had originally intended to do this chapter in a completely different way, but I changed my mind at the last minute, and I'm satisfied with results.
Again, please leave a review and let me know what you think of the story! Any comments whatsoever would be encouraging!
The next chapter will be more dramatic, I promise, and things might really start to get hairy in the fourth chapter. So, both romance and action fans will be satisfied, hopefully! Everything is still in the works, though, and I wouldn't rule out the possibility of me changing my mind…