Warning: Rated for language, violence and references to adult behavior.

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

Jeremie sighed as Aelita kissed his neck, under and behind his ear. The scent of her enveloped him and threatened to drown him.

He wasn't just sitting idle. His hands caressed her wherever he could, her arms, her sides, her chest, her thighs. Each stroke just urged her on in her ministrations.

He then felt his inner demon stir. It was time to cool down.

Ever since his nightmare at the beginning of the summer, Jeremie had a demon inside him. Well, that wasn't actually true, the demon had been defeated and cast out. But it left Jeremie a little parting gift, an echo of itself that would awake whenever his passions arose. And when it did, Jeremie would remember his nightmares again, of raping and ripping Aelita to shreds, then eating her alive. That echo would chuckle in anticipation of its revenge.

He gently pushed Aelita away from him, kissing her deeply on the lips before parting. She moaned a whining little moan of disappointment, and tried to renew their kiss, but he just hugged her close, then released her.

As their breathing returned to normal, she laid her head on his shoulder. They had been sitting on a park bench, near the school but tucked away out of sight. They sat and looked out on the evening.

"Jeremie, you never gave me an answer," she finally said.

"I really don't think so, 'Lita," he replied, "with the Master Guns working our behinds off, I don't think I'd really be up for the Dance."

The Dance he was referring to was the Autumn Harvest Dance, that Saturday night.

"You know that we won't be training on Saturday," Aelita chided him, "I think you're secretly seeing someone else, and that you'll be meeting her while I'm DJ'ing the dance."

Jeremie smiled, "you know that you're the only one for me. No one can take your place."

"My place will be at the Dance this Saturday," she said, stroking his thigh, "please, be there with me."

"Okay," he said at last, and got as his reward a very passionate kiss from her.

"Hi, Jeremie! Ulrich!"

Yumi Ishiyama ran up to the two boys as they were coming from the dorms to the gym for the dance. Jeremie was amazed that she could even run in those heels, and that dress she was wearing was just on the proper side of too short. She was out to impress tonight, and she succeeded.

"Wow, Yumi, you look great!" Ulrich exclaimed. Yumi blushed as she smiled.

"So, Jeremie, where's Aelita?" she asked.

"She's already inside. She had to get in early to make sure everything was set up for the dance. I was helping her out up to an hour ago. I was walking back after showering and changing when I ran into Ulrich on his way."

"What about Odd?" she asked.

"Odd's still waiting on Sissi," Ulrich said, "she's been getting ready for about three hours now. She could have built a new body in the time she's taking!"

"I guess old habits die hard," Jeremie observed.

"I don't know about that," Yumi said, "I spent about three hours getting ready for tonight. Do you think the time was well spent?"

"Yes, Ma'am!" both of the boys said.

Once in the gym, Ulrich and Yumi went out on the dance floor and started dancing. Jeremie made his way over to the punch bowl, his usual location at a dance. Getting himself a drink, he stepped out of the way of the other guests and looked up at the stage.

Aelita was lost in her music. Jeremie had to admit that she had a gift for mixing. She almost seemed to merge with the crowd, sensing its mood, building the excitement to a pitch, then mellowing it out, then bringing it back again. He had seen her do this several times now, and it was fascinating. He enjoyed the feeling of his body wanting to dance to the rhythm she was putting out.

His only problem was he couldn't dance to save his soul.

That was the reason why he hardly went to these things. Their first real fight was because he wouldn't go to a dance with her. He told her that DJ'ing was stupid, but he was lying to her. What was stupid was how he felt whenever he tried to dance. The dances kids did these days were dumb to begin with, seemingly aimless jumping on the dance floor. And with the older dance steps, he just felt so uncoordinated. So he would go to the dances when she asked him to, and he would stand or sit with the other social wallflowers, and watch Aelita work her magic.

About a half hour into the dance, Jeremie was distracted by a familiar face in the crowd. He looked around and locked on to the distraction.

It was Jeanie Wilkerson, the U.S. Ambassador's daughter. She was standing not six feet away from him, talking with Herve Pichon, of all people! They spoke a few seconds more, then she took his hand and led him out on the dance floor and started dancing.

Jeremie was extremely tempted to run out and find a thermometer, because surely Hell had just frozen over.

He watched Herve and Jeanie dancing. She was having a wonderful time, and Herve was going through a life-changing experience. When she first pulled him out onto the floor, he had this look on his face of, "what's the catch." For about a minute and a half he was waiting for the other shoe to drop, because surely this was some kind of sick joke at his expense. When that moment never came, his face changed. He actually loosened up and smiled. And even better, when he smiled, Jeanie smiled back at him!

Jeremie thought to himself, I guess it is true, every dog does have his day. He then mentally smacked himself for that thought, remembering that it wasn't all that long ago when he was in Herve's position.

Jeremie started scanning the room again, taking in the scene. Odd and Sissi had finally arrived, and from what he could see, Sissi's prep time had been worth it. It was still strange, even after all these months, that Sissi Delmas could still look the same as she always had in the past, but yet look so different. It was almost like when she found Odd, she found the other part of herself, one she never knew was missing.

Jeremie glanced back at Herve and Jeanie to see what, if any, reaction Herve would have seeing Sissi. Herve never even looked her way. Jeremie just smiled and went back to people watching.

The next thing that caught his eye was the four adults that walked into the gym. One of them went over and spoke with Principal Delmas for a moment, while the other three fanned out around the perimeter of the dance floor.

It was MGySgt. Thompson, GySgt. Grace, Cpl. Coffy, and Cpl. Pyle. Jeremie could easily solve this equation; Jeanie Wilkerson had slipped out again.

He worked his way onto the dance floor to Jeanie and Herve. He found them just as the song finished, and everybody applauded. He tapped Jeanie on the shoulder.

"Jeanie, fancy meeting you here tonight," he started.

She turned to him, "oh, hi, Jeremie..."

"Wait a minute, Belpois! What's going on here?" Herve asked, anger and fear rising in his voice.

"Don't worry, Herve. I'm not here to horn in, it's just I wanted to say hi to Jeanie and let her know that her 'guardian angels' are here. You two have a good time together." With that Jeremie left.

Jeanie's eyes got wide when he said 'guardian angels,' and looked around the room, quickly spotting Grace and the others. After a moment, she decided that she wasn't quite dead yet, so she went back to dancing with Herve, much to his delight.

Jeremie retreated back to the punch bowl, only to be joined by Master Gunnery Sargent Thompson.

"She does know how to have a good time," MGySgt. Thompson said to Jeremie, "You'd think we were in the Ballroom back at the Embassy."

"You're not going to drag her out now, are you?" Jeremie asked him.

"No, we've got good coverage here, and I doubt there's a terrorist in the bunch," he replied, "still, that girl gives her old man the fits every time she pulls a stunt like this. I've heard that she was just as bad back at her boarding school in the States."

He then asked, "why aren't you out there cutting a little rug?"

"Aelita's the DJ tonight. I've got no date until she's done."

"She's not going to be spinning those records all night, is she? She's got to take a break sometime."

"Yeah, and we'll probably just sit and talk."

"Why not dance and talk?"

"Because I can't."

"Can't what? You're not so uncoordinated that you can't dance and talk at the same time, I've seen you move."

"Yeah, but I can't dance."

"Jeremie, everybody can dance, if they can walk. At least you can shuffle your feet and grab her butt until you learn how."

Jeremie blushed at Thompson's comment. The Master Guns smiled then looked up and signaled to someone off in the crowd. Seconds later, GySgt. Grace walked over.

"Amazing, would you take this young man out into the hall and teach him to dance?"

"No offense, Master Guns, but what these kids are doing isn't dancing," she told him, "if it wasn't for the fact we're in a friendly nation, I'd swear that the Geneva Conventions prohibiting torture were being violated."

"Ann, just take him out in the hall and help him. I'll see what I can do about the music."

"Okay. C'mon, Jeremie," she said, leading him out of the room.

Out in the hall, they found a fairly clear spot. She then turned to face him, took his left hand in her right, and placed his right hand on her waist with her left, before placing it on his shoulder.

"Okay, this is how you generally start out. Like martial arts, you could spend years learning different dance steps, but what we're going to do is teach you how not to step on your partner's toes."

She then started guiding him. He stumbled a lot at first, and so did she when he got his foot tangled in hers. But finally, he got enough down so he wouldn't trip himself or trap her.

"Well, it ain't Fred Astaire, but it's a start. Let's see what the Master Guns has done."

They walked back in just as the Principal was making an announcement.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this will be the last dance of the evening. Afterwards, I want everyone to file out quickly, so the Cleanup Committee can clean up. I hope everyone had a good time, and thank you for coming."

Aelita then did something on her mixing board, and music started playing. Satisfied that everything was okay, she walked away from the set, down the steps and onto the dance floor, joining MGySgt. Thompson.

The two couples met at the center of the floor. The MGySgt. Thompson looked and said, "a part of me likes the sense of proportion this arrangement has, but I think we'll just switch thing around a little bit."

With that, he guided Aelita into Jeremie's arms, then taking GySgt. Grace into his. Both couples then started dancing.

The music wasn't the techno-pop that was playing for almost all of the evening. Instead of synthesizers playing, a piano was playing a slow melody. After a moment, a voice started singing:

"As time goes by, I realize, just what you mean, to me..."(1)

Jeremie found the beat of the music easy to sway to, GySgt. Grace's quick lesson seemed to perfectly prepare him. He pulled Aelita closer and danced.

On the other side of the room, Corporals Coffy and Pyle were alternately watching the crowd and Jeanie Wilkerson. If she somehow skipped out on them now, the General was going to have all their guts for garters!

"Sanka, Eyes Right!" Cpl. Pyle suddenly called out.

Coffy glanced in the direction Gomer had just turned from and saw why he did.

Amazing Grace and TNT were dancing together. Coffy quickly turned away.

It was probably one of the lesser known secrets going around the Detail, but some people knew that Master Gunnery Sargent Thompson had a, well, special place in his heart for Gunnery Sargent Grace. They were always professional in their conduct, both on duty and off, most of the time. But there were times, like tonight, evidently, that they slipped up and skated dangerously close to the Fraternization Regs.

If it got out that those two were together, it would probably cost MGySgt. Thompson his career. With a charge of Improper Fraternization, the senior noncom or officer in a relationship was held to the higher standard and therefore responsible.

So, most of the men turned away whenever Thompson and Grace forgot who and what they were, so there wouldn't be any potential witnesses for a Court Marshal to question. Of course, the two probably wouldn't have even considered this if anyone other than Coffy and Pyle were with them.

So, two couples swayed to the music, for a time forgetting their problems or fears. One couple was drinking in the wine of Young Love in all of its glory. The other was sipping the bitter draft of What Can Never Be.

After the dance concluded, MGySgt. Thompson and crew rounded up the wayward Ambassador's daughter and left, but not before she kissed Herve and told him to call her. He asked how could he do that, and she said to ask Aelita, that she had her number.

Herve thought that this was where the joke would come in, but he still asked Aelita for Jeanie's phone number. He was surprised, but still a little wary, when Aelita immediately wrote Jeanie's number down on a slip of paper and gave it to him. He looked at her and Jeremie strangely, as if he were seeing them for the first time, thanked Aelita and left. As he walked away, he pulled out his cell phone and started dialing.

They also saw Odd and Sissi, who just waived at them as they rushed out. Yumi and Ulrich were no where to be found, so Jeremie and Aelita decided to take a stroll around the campus.

The autumn evening was cool, cool enough for a jacket or sweater, which neither one had. So they held each other close and let the other's body heat keep them warm as they walked.

The cool night air finally drove the couple indoors. Jeremie escorted Aelita back to her dorm room. When they got there, Aelita was about to open the door when she stopped. Both of them could hear muffled noises coming from inside the room.

Sissi was inside, softly moaning.

Aelita almost tried unlocking the door and barging in, thinking Sissi was ill, but Jeremie stopped her.

He whispered, "I don't think Odd would appreciate it if we barged in."

Aelita's eyes went wide, and her mouth formed a silent oh!

The two quietly walked away from Aelita's room.

"What are we going to do now?" she asked him once they were well away from the door.

"Well, we could go down and hang with Ulrich, but I'm willing to bet that he is similarly occupied with Yumi," Jeremie replied.

"We could go back to your room and occupy ourselves," she suggested coyly.

"I'm not quite ready to be that adventurous, 'Lita. But I do have an idea, though."

"What?"

He told her, and she smiled and nodded yes. They left the dorm building and went to the old factory, where the supercomputer was hidden.

Jeanie Wilkerson did indeed get into trouble when she got back to the Embassy. After sending her to bed, Ambassador Wilkerson told MGySgt. Thompson to find out how she was getting out and fix it. He was already working on that, he replied. Sanka and Gomer had just about figured out how she did it.

Ulrich and Yumi did spent the night together. Yumi had told her parents that she would be spending the night with Sissi and Aelita after the dance was over. Her mother gave her a yeah right look, but let her go. Yumi managed to wake up early enough in the morning to sneak out of Ulrich's room and back to Sissi's. There, she met Odd sneaking out of Sissi's room just as she was trying to figure out how she was going to get in. They both got embarrassed smiles on their faces as they passed one another.

Jeremie and Aelita passed their night dancing on air, literally. They made their way to the factory, and started working on the computer there.

The first thing they did was to disable the three minute timer in the Carthage sector of Lyoko. They programed the space to their needs, then Jeremie transferred Aelita in.

Aelita went first, so she could get to the interface panel just outside of the Carthage arena. There, she virtualized Jeremie directly into Carthage.

Jeremie had never been there before. He had only been to Lyoko three times total, and none of them were pleasant memories.

But this time was different. XANA was gone, and there were none of his monsters here to trouble them. The only thing here was each other.

By the time Jeremie got to the arena, Aelita had completed the configuration. Walking over, he had told her about a scene in a movie he saw once. A man and woman were dancing together in space, weightless. That was what he wanted to do with Aelita tonight.

When he entered the Carthage arena, she was waiting for him on the other side. The music started, and they leapt. They met in the middle and twirled around in space, free of the constraints of gravity. Aelita had configured the arena for zero gravity in the center, with a steadily increasing pull beyond the middle, so they wouldn't get stuck. She also programmed an automatic devirtualization sequence to begin in several hours.

They danced the night away.

Somewhere in Paris, a phone rang. A man answered it.

"Yes," he said .

"The little whore got out again tonight," said the voice on the other end.

"Do you know how?"

"No, but I will. The Ambassador was very upset with his whelp when she returned home. I heard that Thompson is supposed to find out how she's doing this."

"Will that impede your search?"

"No, but it may be useless to try. If the Americans find out how she's getting out, they will close that way up. Maybe we should think of something else."

The man holding the phone considered a moment. "You continue looking. Perhaps you will find it before Thompson does. If so, we may still be able to use our original plan. I will begin to make other arrangements, just in case."

Author's Note:

(1) "Color My World" By Chicago; 1970; composer Jimmy Pankow.