Introduction
For those of you out there scratching your heads about this piece, let me explain. On deviantART and there's a talented young writer by the name of lyokolady who is the creator of the "Stronger After All" series. Recently she has re-written her work from scratch and had approached me with the idea that she wanted to use Jin Ishiyama from Retelling. I gladly gave her permission and set to work writing this short story. As a fan of her work, I decided to try my hand at the crossover as well and this is the result.
Enjoy.
Chelsea gritted her teeth as her feet made contact with the virtual surface on Lyoko. The sand that covered the desert region did little in dampening the impact that resulted from a fifty-foot freefall for the girl could literally feel her jaw rattle against the top of her skull. Then again this was an improvement over the last time she was virtulaized as she could recall in vivid detail on how she landed on her rear end and all her friends were around to watch that moment in all its embarrassing glory.
A wave of dizziness washed over Chelsea and she pressed her hands against her head as to regain her sense of balance. The immense amount of adrenaline that flowed through her veins that came from being in the scanner and falling to the earth was now wearing off and her body was winding down a bit. It was apparent that landings were going to be the least of her worries.
Letting her instincts take control, the teenager took a quick look around her for any signs of danger. Unless the various rocks that surrounded her posed a threat, then it was safe to assume that she was safe. Her heart sank when she didn't see any of her friends by her side but then again that's how it was supposed to be tonight. Jeremie called her cell phone and told her to meet him at the factory and when she finally arrived the only explanation she got from the tech head was "Just step inside the scanner."
Looking down, Chelsea felt compelled to brush off the stray grains of sand that had accumulated on her blue dress. Even though she didn't technically own the piece of apparel she couldn't help but have a sense of attachment towards it. This was the uniform she wore whenever she helped save the world. You couldn't find an occasion more important than that.
Save the world, now that's a thought. Such a responsibility made growing accustom to the ins and outs of Lyoko that much more difficult. Adjusting to a new school and making new friends was one thing but this was something different altogether.
"Now Chelsea, I'm sure you're wondering why you're here correct?" Jeremie said as this was the first time they spoke since the virtualization process.
"That I do."
Over on his end Jeremie let out a small sigh that went by unnoticed.
"As you know Chelsea, XANA has been going all when it comes to attacking us. They're becoming more frequent and a lot more dangerous by each passing day."
"Tell me about it."
Images of the cafeteria being surrounded by ravenous birds flashed through her mind. She shook her head violently as to free herself from such a frightful memory.
"After your first fight, the others and I decided that it would be good for you to get a few practice sessions in Lyoko so you can become a more effective fighter in the future. It's obvious that we need all the help we can get."
Chelsea nodded her head slowly as to agree with Jeremie's words. She could hardly recall the first time she was on Lyoko. Everything happened so fast. It was only because of the fact that Ulrich kept reminding her of what happened that she was convinced that the fight did occur in the real world rather then in her subconscious.
"What do you have planed?"
"Don't worry, I'm not going to change the landscape and have guys in black suits swarm you. Just get used to your weapon and what you can do. Get a feel for your own limitations and what you can and can't do."
Jeremie offered some sound advice. He was going to ease Chelsea into Lyoko as opposed to her just jumping in head first after the last attack. The warrior raised her bow and readied an arrow against the string while she began to eye a set of imaginary targets. Soon she quickened her pace once she was more comfortable with her surroundings. Chelsea dove through the air and landed on a roll as if to pretend she was being targeted by one of XANA's blocks before rasing her weapon once more and fired an arrow at the rock closet to her. She surprised herself for being able to complete such a complex combination of moves.
"I think I'm starting to get the hang of this Jeremie."
The boy smiled at her accomplishment. She was ready for the next phase.
"Excellent," he said with a smile. "I think you're ready for your partner."
"Partner?" Chelsea repeated.
"You'll see."
Just when things were making sense for her, Jeremie had thrown another curve ball in her direction. Who was going to be meeting her? At first she thought it would be Odd as they both used long-rang weapons. Then again it could be Yumi or Ulrich. She remembered on her first day at Kadic that Ulrich invited her to one of their practice sessions so that they can teach her a few new moves.
Her train of thought was cut off by a gigantic thud nearby and the resulting sand cloud that kicked up because of it. There walking toward her was a boy roughly around her age, wearing a white dress shirt and black formal pants and a pair of sunglasses. This immediately caught her attention, as he was definitely someone she hadn't seen before. Not to mention his style of clothing contrasted sharply with the ones the rest of her friends wore. He looked more like he was going to a dance rather than to fight monsters on Lyoko.
"Hiya, you must be Chelsea," the stranger greeted her. "Jeremie told me about you."
The girl in question took a few seconds to look at her new companion. He didn't have the usual athletic build that Ulrich had for he was more slender. His voice was upbeat and cheery, a welcome addition to her grim surroundings.
"Who exactly are you?" Chelsea asked wanting to know of his identity.
"I'll tell you later, but first Jeremie asked me to check up on your reflexes."
"How exactly do you plan to do that?"
"Like this."
Chelsea moved her head back just in time to see the boy's foot come within inches of her face as his roundhouse kick came to an end. It was then Jeremie's planning became clear. Moving around in Lyoko wasn't good enough training for the real deal, she actually had to practice some combat as well. Quickly she hopped backwards as to create some much needed breathing room between her and her new opponent and got into her fighting stance.
"Nice kick," Chelsea complimented as she was amazed by how fast the boy could move his legs.
"Yumi told me you were a pretty good fighter so I didn't expect any less.," he replied back kindly.
"So I take it Jeremie wants me to spar against you?"
"Of course, remember that over here you're a bit more agile and stronger then you are in the real world. Really use that to your advantage."
"Let's see then."
Chelsea dashed in to get a drop in on her attacker and thrust her elbow at him as to hit the boy in his stomach. Instead, her arm collided with his arm as the strike was blocked leaving her wide open for a counter attack. The sound of feet shuffling reached her ears as she watched her opponent shift his weight to his opposite leg only to deliver a leaping roundhouse kick but it was dodged. Such a intricate move would prove to be costly for now Chelsea was ready with a powerful hit over her own. At the very instant the boy landed, she trust her foot out and booted him in the chest. With few options at his disposal, the teenager at the receiving end of the attack crossed his arms across his chest to absorb the blow and skidded backwards before getting back to his ready stance.
Having the advantage, Chelsea pressed her luck and ran headlong toward her target as if to finish the fight. The only thing that threw her off was that the person she was intending to hit held his hand up as if to command her to stop.
"Good."
That stopped her dead in her tracks. She gave him a blank stare expecting some sort of explanation of what was going on. Much to her appreciation, she got one from Jeremie.
"Chelsea, meet Jin. At first he was the newest recruit on the team until you came."
Jin held out his hand as a gesture of goodwill.
"Jeremie asked me to come as he thought that maybe I can help you make sense of Lyoko as I was in your position not too long ago not to mention it's been a while since I practiced against someone you must have had an excellent teacher."
"When I told him that you took a self defense class he was more than willing to help."
A smile spread on Chelsea's lips while she took Jin's hand. it was good to meet another person who went through a similar predicament as her.
"So Jeremie, why is this the first time the two of us are meeting?"
Jin raised his hand as to take that question. "Well I live with my relatives in the United States for two years before coming back to Kadic where I got involved in the group's fight with XANA. A few weeks ago I found out that my relatives needed me to sort out some family issues so I went back. I guess during my absence the others must have met you."
A pang of guilt shot through Chelsea's conscious for she felt as if she was replacing one of the members on the team.
"Sorry."
Such a change in demeanor didn't sit well with Jin and he tried his best to bring the girl's sprit back up.
"Hey don't feel so down. It's like what Jeremie said, we need all the help we can get. The more people we have on our side, the faster we can end this thing and live normal lives just like everyone else."
"Thanks for the pick-me-up."
"Anytime." It was then Jin caught a glimpse of Chelsea's weapon, which hung over her shoulder. It was amused by her selection. "Ah, I take it we have an archer in our presence."
"Of course," she answered back with a strong sense of pride.
Jeremie patted himself on the back while he listened to the conversation between the two teens. He was glad that he was able to help Chelsea like this and judging by the intense match she and Jin had, that they had a formidable ally on their side. This air of accomplishment was shattered once a few red circles came into his view on the screen.
"Oh no! Looks like you two have caught XANA's attention and he's surround you with three blocks!"
Chelsea blinked her eyes a few times as to confirm her sighting. "We can see that. The only question is why he's doing this."
"I'm wondering that myself," Jin said equally as concerned. "Normally he's after Aelita. What business does he have with us?"
Jeremie placed his hands on the keyboard and began to type in the sequence of codes that would help the two warriors escape.
"I'm about to devirtualized you two from Lyoko so just hang on and I'll get you out."
"Not yet!" Chelsea commended. Such an abrupt order caused Jeremie to lean back out of shock.
"Are you crazy!"
As if to mock the odds that were stacked against her, Chelsea stood her ground and showed no signs of faltering.
"Jeremie, I want to prove to not only you guys but also myself that I can handle the responsibility of having to fight on Lyoko. You said yourself that you wanted me to feel comfortable here and I think I've progressed well. Consider this as a final test for me."
"But.." Jeremie's lips were about to formulate the words that would express his objections but Jin beat him to the punch.
"No use telling her otherwise, she's made up her mind. Take it from someone who has a sister. When a girl makes a decision its either her way or the highway. Besides, I'll make sure things don't get too crazy down here."
Jeremie sighed a second time at the stubbornness of his two friends. Next time he'd ask Yumi to watch over these practice sessions. Maybe then would they listen to reason.
Chelsea rested one of her arrows against the bow's string slowly as not to attract any unneeded attention. The tension that hung in the air was stressful, so far neither side was willing to make the first move nor show any signs of attacking. She tilted her head toward her partner as they were now back to back looking at the tiny army of monsters.
"Do you have any ideas?"
The more experienced of the two looked back wearing a rather calm expression.
"Attack on my signal."
This worried her. When see Odd, Ulrich or Yumi on Lyoko they always appeared to be armed and ready for action. Through these observations she learned how to always keep her bow by her side incase she too was needed in a battle. However, Jin was a different story, it was as if he choose to keep his hands empty. Did he even have a weapon to begin with? Still though, she was in no position to be pondering this. Lack of weaponry or not, she was going to follow his command.
"What will it be?"
"You'll know when you see it."
Chelsea took a tentative step back as to get a better look at Jin and was in for quite a shock. She could see two metallic gleams that flashed from his dress shirt when he reached for them and brought them into the light. It then dawned on her that he was armed, very well armed.
"BULLET BARRAGE!"
The several loud bangs filled the air as Jin's arms move liked super sonic blurs illuminated by the flash from the muzzle of his gun. The blocks were caught completely off guard by such an attack and flinched as each tiny piece of lead smashed themselves into their mechanical hides. Jin moved at a dizzying speed and struck with deadly accuracy. Watching his graceful movements made Chelsea doubt her standing with her new group of friends. If Jin was the former rookie of the team and was this skillful in combat, how useful would she be when the time calls her to step up to the plate. Her brow creased when she realized she was thinking such pointless thoughts. Now wasn't the time to be having any regrets. She came to Lyoko to fight, and that's exactly what she was going to do. Jin made his signal a long time ago, now it was her turn to pull her own weight.
Without thinking Chelsea shot her first arrow straight through Jin's hailstorm of bullets and punctured the unlucky block who was standing at the other end. While running would always be her number one stress reliever, it did not yield the same sense of gratification that destroying one of XANA's minions could provide.
"Nice!" Jin congratulated. He now had stopped shooting and was in the process of reloading his firearms. "Keep those guys off me!"
The archer was confused. Why after so many direct hits were those two blocks still alive? Did XANA modify them so that they were invincible?
"Jeremie, what's going on!"
She didn't have to wait long for a response.
"Jin's weapons were modified so that he's able to physically hinder a monster's movements no matter where he hits them. Unfortunately this also means that he's unable to destroy them with a single critical blow like the rest of you guys."
The block choose to shoot its laser at the end of Jeremie's speech which Chelsea managed to dive away from. Jin ran back to her side and had a determined look on his face.
"He's right. I can keep these guys busy all day if I have to but it's up to you to finish them off."
Instead of adding to her anxiety, such news fired Chelsea up. The adrenaline was pumping through her veins once more for the thrill of battle was an emotional high that was not easily replicated.
"Let's take them down!"
The two remaining monsters did not stand a ghost of a chance against the teenage firing squad.
Twenty seconds later Jin and Chelsea were standing alone in the desert region as if nothing had happened. The marksman twirled his pistol around his index finger as a quick method of celebration.
"Well that was easy. You did a good job..."
Jin's words of gratitude were squashed as a gigantic red laser collided into his side. Chelsea looked to the her side and saw the its origin. There standing not too far off in the distance, was a red crab ready for battle. She turned to Jin for some more advice but saw that he was in no condition to give her any for he was sprawled on the ground clutching his mid-section in pain.
"JIN!"
She rushed to his side for it was obvious that he was suffering but another laser stopped her advanced.
Before the crab could prepare itself to unload another projectile, the sound of gunfire filled the air once again.
Two solitary bullets ripped through the crabs steel covered legs causing it to stumble and fall to the ground. This was Chelsea's chance to end this fight once and for all. Not wanting to take anymore chances she ran at the fallen enemy as fast as she could and jumped on top of its flat surface so that she was staring face-to-face with its weak point but fate would not make her victory so easy. As if on cue, the monster sprang back to life and bucked like a wild bull jostling the girl on top. Out of reflex she grabbed onto the crab's sides to hold onto for support not noticing her huge mistake until it was too late.
There, falling straight to the ground was her trusty bow and the last of her arrows that fell out of her quiver after the crab violently shook her. All she was now to the monster was a hood ornament made of flesh and blood. How could she be so foolish? Never let go of your weapon, that was the first rule of combat on Lyoko.
Wait a second, who was she kidding? She wasn't the type to just give up and cry her little eyes out. This fight wasn't over until it was over. Chelsea's desperation lead her to a flash of brilliance. It was still possible to take this crab down, and she knew exactly how to do it.
"Toss me an arrow!"
Jin spun into action at Chelsea's word and dove for the arrow nearest him and proptly passed it to the girl and was satisfied when he saw her catch it with one hand.
"It's over," the female warrior muttered under her breath. In one fluid motion she raised the sharp object above her head and savagely plunged it into the XANA eye below her.
The last thing she saw before things went black was a bright light emitting from the monster's wound.
The scanner door hissed open and revealed the smiling face of Jeremie at the other side.
"You really had me at the edge of my seat back there. I'm sure if the others saw your performance back there, they would have been just as impressed."
Chelsea smiled weakly. Between having to fight Jin, the army of blocks and the crab, she had very little energy left over to stand upright. The blonde boy saw her weakened state and gently helped her out of the scanner so that she could sit on the floor to rest.
"You really are something you know that," a second voice chimed in.
Chelsea recognized the voice and looked at it's direction where she saw Jin in his casual attire.
"Well, I wouldn't have done so well if you hadn't helped me back there."
"Hey we're friends, that's what we're supposed to do."
Jin sat down beside her and gave off a weak smile of his own. Looking into his tired brown eyes that were formally obscured by a pair of sunglasses, Chelsea finally noticed the single aspect of him that went by undetected while they were on Lyoko.
"Jin, when you said you had a sister you didn't mean..."
The Japanese chuckled at her findings and rose to his feet on shaky legs.
"Jin Ishiyama, at your service."
To say that Chelsea was shocked would have been an understatement.
"Yumi has a brother!"
"Yep"
"But you look so young. How..."
Jin was used to this line of questioning and could already see what piece of information that was going to be asked from him next.
"I'm her twin brother. I'm the older one by three minutes and twenty-two seconds."
Seeing how his current conversation was over, Jin made his way to the boy wearing a blue turtleneck and patted him on the shoulder.
"Well I gotta get going now so I'll see you tomorrow." He then turned to face Chelsea and raised his hand to give her the thumbs up sign. "Nice meeting you. I'm sure we'll get along just fine."
On weak legs, Jin dragged himself to the elevator and road it to the surface leaving the two non day students behind.
"Never a dull moment with us huh?" Jeremie said with a grin.
All Chelsea could do now was nod. Just when things were beginning to feel normal for her, in comes a new person she hadn't seen before to shake things up a bit. Then again, when she was one of the seven humans on the face of the Earth responsible for the security of the world, the word normal did not come into her life easily.
Things just got a whole lot more interesting.
Author's Notes
When I first wrote this chapter, I only had the first three chapters of "Stronger After All" at my disposal so I really had to struggle with keeping Chelsea in character when I had so little to work with. When I thought of the concept, I really saw that these two individuals had a unique dynamic between them on account of being the latest entries of Team Lyoko. I really expanded on that idea of Jin being a mentor to the newer recruit though I do regret that he came off a bit cooler than he usually is. I really tried my best to balance the two characters and show that one was note better than the other and to express the value of teamwork.
Now, with that said, go read "Stronger After All," lyokolady is really something. Also for those of you who don't know yet, I've created a fourm on the Retelling Series. Just click the link in my profile. I noticed that many people had different thoughts and interpritations of the story who were more than willing to share their feelings with me. Now you guys can now interact with others readers. Hopefully this will be a memorable experience for all of us! Also, on my deviantART account I'm running a Retelling art contest where the prize is you get to either have you or an original character be written in the next chapter of my story! Find all the details on my website.
Thanks for reading!