A Spirit Named Sprite

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Chapter 2 – Wake Up Call

'We'd better get to the factory right away.' Yumi decided. Odd and Ulrich nodded firmly. So did Jeremie.

'She was in the forest region last. We'll start there: come on!' he cried, getting up and running towards the park.

'Transfer: Odd, transfer: Ulrich, transfer: Yumi. Scanner: Ulrich, Scanner: Yumi, Scanner: Odd. Virtualisation!'

Yumi landed softly on a rock in the forest region, watching Odd and Ulrich land on either side of her.

They got up, running at once towards the tower, where Jeremie thought Aelita had been taken to.

'Yumi! Odd! Ulrich! Let your instinct guide you to me! Follow your hearts!' Aelita called to them. They all looked around but couldn't see their friend.

Aelita chuckled softly. 'I am not here. Follow your hearts!'

Yumi shrugged, and ran on, following her every instinct on where to go. Odd and Ulrich split up from her, until they were each running their own path, each towards Faeries Light.

Yumi fell through a faintly visible barrier, landing on all fours on the ground. It was much harder than going into and out of a tower.

She stood up and looked around. She saw Odd and Ulrich pass through the barrier the same way, falling to their hands and knees as well.

'Odd! Ulrich!' she called, 'are you okay?' she asked them. Both boys nodded, and Yumi sighed in relief.

'Good!'

'Aelita!' yelled Odd suddenly. Ulrich and Yumi both turned to see what Odd saw. Aelita was stood there, watching them all. She was leant against a tree, smiling happily, like she was holding in laughter almost.

'Aelita?' Ulrich asked, gazing around at the new, denser patch of forest. 'What is this place?' he asked her, looking back to the elf. She chuckled again.

'I call it Faeries Light. It is my safe-haeven. You can only reach it by instinct, and I decided to show it to you.' She explained calmly.

'Why didn't you tell us before?' asked Yumi. Aelita frowned.

'I'm not sure. Something was always advising me not to, and today that just…disappeared.' She told them, whilst still frowning at the ground. Odd gulped.

'Urr, Aelita? What's that?' he asked, pointing to a faint, soft-yellow light. Aelita smiled in joy, and raced towards it, just as it dodged round a corner.

'Follow me!' she called back to her friends. They glanced at each other, before doing as she said.

They slowed to a stunned stop as they ran into the clearing after Aelita. Sprite was dancing again, completely unaware of the newcomers with Aelita.

She gasped and stopped dancing at once when she saw them. She looked at them for a few seconds, before running to hide behind a nearby tree opposite the group.

Yumi, Odd and Ulrich looked to Aelita uncertainly. She smiled to Sprite, who was peeking out from round the tree.

'Its okay, Sprite,' She told her gently, 'these are my friends, they help me fight XANA.' She explained. Sprite nodded shyly, and stepped out from behind her tree.

'Aelita-friends help Aelita, now Sprite let Aelita help Aelita-friends.' She said suddenly. Aelita frowned.

'You were the thing in my head telling me not to bring them here?' she asked the faerie. Sprite frowned, and then shrugged.

'Sprite no know.' She told her happily. Aelita sighed, and watched as Sprite's eyes grew to twice their size as she looked at Yumi, Odd and Ulrich.

'Ohh…Aelita-friend pretty.' She said. Aelita glanced back at her friends.

'I think she means you, Yumi.' She told her with a smile. Yumi smiled warmly at the little spirit.

'So who is she, Aelita? What is she? Does she help XANA?' she asked.

Sprite heard this and stamped her foot. 'Sprite no work for Zan…Zanah…! NO work for Zanah! Zanah mean to Aelita and Aelita-friends! No work for him!' she argued. Aelita walked towards the sprite and wrapped her arms around her soothingly.

'This is Sprite. I don't know her real, name but that's even what she calls herself. I don't think she knows much English, though, as you just heard.' She chuckled softly. 'I don't now what she is exactly, but she definitely doesn't work for XANA. I think she might be a faerie, I'm not sure.' She added

'Sprite think she faerie…Sprite no know that either…' he ears drooped sadly again, but she soon perked up, breaking free from Aelita's embrace to dance around her joyfully.

'Sprite dance!' she cried happily, springing around the clearing. Yumi giggled at her actions, and Odd and Ulrich couldn't help but smile. Sprite stopped and sat down cross-legged on the grass in front of them. She pointed to herself.

'Sprite…Aelita…' she continued, pointing to Aelita. She frowned and cocked her head cutely. 'Who Aelita-friends names?' she wondered. It sounded as if she had forgotten they were there.

Aelita smiled wider. 'This is Yumi, Ulrich and Odd.' She told her, gesturing to each one as she went. Sprite smiled back and nodded, her ears flopping slightly, her ringlets bouncing.

'Hi Sprite!' Odd greeted, sitting next to the girl. He looked round at the clearing. Branches were woven together almost, making a sort-of roof over them. Unseen birds flew and sang above them.

'Nice to meet you, Sprite.' Yumi told the young faerie, sitting on her other side. Ulrich smiled down at her, and sat next to Yumi. Aelita sat next to Odd.

'Yeah, it's good to met you, Sprite.' Ulrich agreed with Yumi. Aelita smiled at her friend.

Sprite blinked. 'Aelita-friends Yumi…Odd…and Ulrich Sprite-friends too?' she wondered. All four nodded. Sprite beamed and started to dance again.

Ulrich smiled. 'She really likes to dance, huh?' she asked. Aelita nodded.

'It's what she does most, actually. She's almost like a little sister.' Aelita giggled, and watched the faerie dancing.

'I'm glad you showed Faeries Light to us, Aelita.' Yumi told her. 'Sprite is great.' Odd and Ulrich nodded.

'Yeah, she's really sweet.' Odd agreed. Ulrich grinned.

'I have to admit it, I really like her: she's cute.' He added hurriedly, glancing at Yumi, who grinned: she knew what he meant.

Aelita smiled back. 'I'm glad you like her - !'

Aelita sat up in her bed, panting heavily. In the bed on the opposite wall to her's, a figure stirred.

'Urgh…Aelita? Are you okay? Did you have another bad dream about the Hermitage?' Yumi asked groggily. Her parents had moved back to Japan after deciding Yumi should experience life on her own for a bit. She shared a dorm with Aelita.

Aelita shook her head, her eyes still wide from the reality of it all.

'…N-No. Not about the Hermitage…about an old friend. Yumi, get Odd and Ulrich: I'll get Jeremie.' She said, suddenly moving into action.

'What? Aelita, why?' asked Yumi, angry to be pulled form her bed so late. Aelita sighed.

'Because I just remembered someone I forgot…Yumi, I have to go back to Lyoko.' Yumi blinked through the dark.

'Bloody hell,' she muttered, 'that must have been some bloody nightmare for all of this.'

Aelita turned back to her, knowing she hadn't meant to have heard Yumi's words.

'Trust me, Yumi, if I don't go, things will get worse than a late night and a nightmare.' She told her.

Yumi's eyes widened, and she leapt from her bed. She pulled on a nightgown, and the two girls started for the two dorms.

Well, whadda ya think? Basically, the first chapter and up to the big bit in italics, it was all Aelita's dream, okay? Okay.

Anywho, please review, naioka1992 - xoxo