And Then There Were Five
Dimitri and Anna step up into the dorms, having just gotten through the sewers to back home. He takes Anna to her room, they're just outside it when there's a shout.
"Dimitri!" He startles at the sudden voice of his father. He turns around, but doesn't get a chance to see him, being pulled into a tight hug. "You scared me! I couldn't find you anywhere!" He pulls away, checking him over. "Are you hurt? Were you kidnapped? Where were you?!"
"I-I um… I just went on a walk. Ms. Jenny said I should conquer my fears, right?"
"Never do that again, please… at least ask me first…" Jeremie starts tearing up. Dimitri cries himself, looking down to the floor.
"I'm sorry for worrying you…" He mumbles just loud enough for Jeremie to hear.
"It's ok…" Jeremie pulls him into another hug, petting him head. "It's ok, everything's ok now." Jeremie looks at little Anna, smiling softly. She smiles shyly. He looks back to his son. "At least you weren't alone, right?"
"No… I asked Anna to come with me for a few reasons. I didn't want to go alone, and I wanted to get to know her better. After all, she's new, she needs friends and I know I can be a good one. Akira's been rather mean to her though. I don't know why… Anna's so sweet!"
"Who even knows why Akira acts the way she does. Your uncle Ulrich was a very moody, angry person in his youth too, and so was Yumi now that I think of it... So I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. At least she gets better grades than Ulrich did." Dimitri giggles. Jeremie looks back at Anna, letting Dimitri go. He steps up to her, it makes her shrink back a bit, somehow becoming smaller. "I wanted to ask you something, if you don't know the answer, that's ok. Do you know why your dad stopped talking to his old friends." Anna shakes her head.
"I'm sorry… I don't know…" As she spoke, her voice grows quieter and quieter. Jeremie sighs, closing his eyes a moment.
"That's ok. Both of you should get to bed, you do have school tomorrow. Oh and Dimitri? I'm going over to Ulrich's to help them with an outlet problem. If you need me, my phone will be turned up." Dimitri nods, "Ok. I'll see you in the morning." He turns and starts for his room. Jeremie walks off out the building, and Anna goes into her room. Jeremie calls Ulrich back.
"Did you find him?!" Ulrich shouts into the phone.
"Yes, I did. I guess he did go on a walk to conquer his fears I guess. He went with Anastasia." There's a very audible sigh of relief.
"He's alright then?"
"Yes, though I was about to have a heart attack myself. Anyway, I'm on my way over, if that's ok."
"Probably should. It's not smoking anymore, but the cause for the shortage is still unknown."
"Ok. I'll be right there."
"See you soon, Einstein." There's a click and the line goes dead. Jeremie gets to his car, starting it up and driving all the way to Ulrich's house. It's not too far from the school, but far enough that Yumi is nervous about her family walking to and from. Jeremie climbs out of his car, grabbing his bag and steps up to the door before stepping in. "Hey. I'll show you where it happened." Ulrich says, leading Jeremie up to the hallway before the twins' bathroom. "I guess it happened earlier too, Akira said it happened in her room, next to her roommate's closet."
"Do you think it could be…?" Jeremie trails off.
"How could it? Your multiagent thing destroyed him, didn't it?" Ulrich questions.
"Yea, I mean, I think so." Jeremie admits.
"You think so…?" Ulrich's tone sounds less than pleased for sure.
"Well, we haven't had any problems in twenty years." Jeremie reasons, his speech becoming a bit faster. "I'll go back to the factory and check it out, ok?"
"Don't forget, you have class tomorrow too, and missing as a teacher is a lot different from missing as a student." Ulrich points out.
"You're right… But it shouldn't take me long, I've learned how to drive since then."
"I hope you know what you're going…" Ulrich says in that one tone we can't quite describe, but we all know how it sounds.
"When don't I?" Jeremie asks, completely with a straight face.
"Do you really want me to answer that?" Ulrich asks a question to answer his question. Jeremie shakes his head a little. Jeremie takes out a special device and places it to the plug.
"This outlet is completely dead. No water was splashed at it? Nothing was plugged in?" Jeremie asks.
"I don't think so. It was also smoking earlier. Honestly I was afraid it was going to catch fire."
"The smoke is common, but it's always best to be cautious because there could be a fire. Right now, the outlet is completely dead, so I'd say there's nothing to worry about for tonight. I can buy what's necessary to fix it tomorrow after school if you'd like." Jeremie offers.
"You don't have to buy it, it's my house problems." Ulrich says.
"That may be, but I'm doing you a favor, that's what friends do."
"Most people expect something in return for favors… You never let me pay you back."
"That's because I'm not a greedy person. Unconditional bond, you know?"
"You always pay me back…" Ulrich reminds him.
"I'm just gonna head out." Jeremie puts his device back in his bag, obviously trying to get out of the conversation.
"Yea, ok." Ulrich states rather plainly. Jeremie gives a small smile before standing and leaving. After he's gone, Ulrich locks the door and goes to his room he shares with Yumi.
"Is everything ok?" She asks.
"I'm a little paranoid. What if that thing Jeremie made to destroy XANA didn't fully work…?" He asks, sharing his worries, obviously.
"Because of what Akira said?" Yumi asks.
"Yea. I mean, that only ever happened when XANA was still around."
"I think you're just being paranoid. It's been-" Yumi's cut off, which she doesn't like at all.
"Twenty years? I know… I'm still just scared… If anything happens to us, I don't know what will happen to the kids… I don't want them going to my parents, and neither of your parents can handle them both." Yumi sighs. Ulrich knows that tone of her sigh means she's done with this conversation, so he drops it. He turns to the closet and steps in, finding his pajamas and getting dressed. He steps out of the room again to check on his twins. Akira had switched beds over so she's sleeping at Shiro's side. Ulrich smiles a little and goes back to his room, laying down beside Yumi. Yumi sets her book down, turning off her lamp and lays down herself.
"Alright! We have a new student today. Care to introduce yourself?" Ulrich asks his students. They're all sitting on the gymnasium floor, waiting for today's activity to be announced. Anna nervously stands him. Akira blows air out of her mouth in such a way to make her bangs bounce up a bit, resting her head on her arm.
"U-Um… M-My name is Anastasia… I-I go by Anna…" She stutters.
"Welcome to Kadic." Dimitri says. She smiles shyly at him, sitting back down.
"Yes, welcome to Kadic. Now, today we're going to do our warm-up run. Two laps around the track. Let's go!" He blows his whistle. The teens scramble to their feet and to the track. They all start running around on the track. A couple of students start slowing down. More and more slow as they go. By the next lap, only a few students have stayed at an even pace, much to Ulric's surprise, Anna is along with them. The other two being Shiro and Akira. The twins are going faster than Anna, but she's kept up with them. He watches as the twins nod to each other and start running faster. It's obvious that they're trying to race each other in the final stretch. Anna watches them as they go, she giggles and shakes her head a little. Ulrich catches out of the corner of his eye that a couple of students just walking. He runs over to them. "Come on, run! I know you can do it." They start running. He runs along with them. "There you go! You've got this!" Dimitri catches up to Anna.
"Those two often compete with each other." He states, referring to the twins. "Uncle tends to encourage it to help them keep each other on their toes and get better at what they can do."
"Well, I suppose that's one way to do it." She says quietly. Dimitri nods in agreement, then watches the Stern twins make it all the way to the end of the track. Akira celebrates as she reaches the end first.
"Streak continues! YEA!"
"I'll break that streak someday!" Shiro shouts.
"I'd like to see you try, big brother." She taunts.
"Ooooh, you know better than to taunt me, little sister." He taunts back.
"What do you think? Should we race to the end?" Dimitri asks.
"Sure." Anna replies. They both stop right before the last stretch, looking back at each other and then start running.
"Cheese!" Dimitri randomly shouts. Anna giggles. Her giggling causes Dimitri to laugh. "It's to die for."
"Isn't it though?!" Anna says happily, coming out of her shell a little. "Just not Casu marzu! Wanna eat some maggots?"
"No, I'd rather not." Dimitri admits. They both reach the end, Dimitri pulling ahead a little further than Anna. "Yea!" He celebrates. "Good job." He holds his hand out to her. She takes it, her smile is bright. Shiro glances at them, he has a strange sensation in his heart. The four step aside as others finish up their laps and they're all gathered in the center again.
"Today we'll be playing a game. Who's up for mat ball!?" Ulrich asks. Quite a few students become excited, most of those excited make it known. "Anna, do you know what mat ball is?" She shakes her head nervously. "It's like kickball, except you have to go around twice and you can stay at the base for a bit until you're ready to run, you can run any time too, just be mindful, if you're hit and not on a base, that's an out. The moment you step off, you have to keep going. Three outs and we switch. Multiple people can be on one base at a time. If you have any questions, either ask them now or ask a classmate later. Shiro, Akira, help me set up the mats." The twins stand and walk over to the storage room, dragging mats out onto the gym floor. "Line up!" Everyone lines up single file. Ulrich counts them all, giving everyone a blue or yellow mesh overshirt. "Yellow in field. Blue to kick." Ulrich announces. Everyone gets to their places. First to 'bat' is Shiro. Akira is on the opposing team, she stands at the ready, waiting for him to kick. The pitcher rolls the ball at him. He kicks it with the side of his foot so it goes to the left and takes off running before anyone can grab it. Another student grabs the ball and throws it. Shiro rolls forward onto the mat.
"Oh come on!" Akira shouts. Another player is up for bat, the pitcher acts like he's about to roll it, but stops, turning to look at Shiro, he's still on the first base.
"Well come on, we don't have all day, do we?" He taunts. The pitcher rolls the ball forward. Shiro immediately runs off. The batter hits the ball forward so fast it doesn't roll yet. She runs over to the next base, but they're focused on Shiro rather than the girl. Dimitri is up next for bat. The ball is rolled, Shiro runs, now on third base, the girl stays on first. Dimitri kicks the ball high, Anna, who is on Akira's team, manages to catch it. Shiro isn't on base, he took a chance to run for the fourth base. Anna throws it and just narrowly misses him. He managed to stop just in time, otherwise she would have gotten him. He reaches the base. A few students look at her in shock, not expecting such a throw from the other side of the gym, at one of their fastest runners, from one of the smallest of class.
"Sorry, Dimitri. That's one out." Ulrich announces. Another student is ready for bat. The ball is about to be rolled when the fire alarms suddenly go off. Most students startle from the sudden noise. "Alright! Keep calm! Everyone file out, one by one!"
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Akira and Shiro both shout. Everyone lines up at the door and starts to leave. As they go, other students start filing out of the main school building. Once in a safe area, teachers do a head count. Firemen arrive and run into the building to make sure there's no one else within the building and to find the source of the fire. After spending thirty minutes standing in the cold, December morning air, a fireman steps up to Principal Delmas, telling her there's no sign of fire or gas leak or anything.
"Everyone, line up! We need to check hands." The Principal orders. Everyone does as told, everyone is checked. Nothing. Jeremie glances at Ulrich, both of them nod, understanding one another. A firewoman steps out and speaks to their chief in hushed tones. The chief then speaks to Sissi. She nods. "Everyone, return to class as normal." Everyone does as told, except Dimitri and Anna. They look at the woods in confusion.
"Are you two coming, or what?" Akira asks. Ulrich looks to the two.
"Is something wrong?" He asks. Dimitri looks back at him.
"Um, no, sorry." He starts walking back. Anna looks a little longer, but follows. "You felt that too." He whispers. She nods softly. Dimitri catches up to Shiro and whispers to him now, "you may not believe me, but last night, Anna and I went back to the factory to work on the avatars, and a weird monster came up out of nowhere and attacked us. Anna said it had the same symbol as the monsters on Lyoko, so we turned off the computer, but we swore we just felt its presence before we started coming in."
"Wait, what…?" He's beyond confused.
"You know me, Shiro… Does it seem like I'm kidding you…?" Dimitri points out. Shiro looks at him carefully.
"No… but how is that possible?" Shiro mumbles in response.
"I don't know… We need to keep an eye on things." Shiro nods and agrees with Dimitri's suggestion. They go on to play their game. Then onto their next classes, study-hall, in the library for a big portion of them.
"Do whatever you want, so long as it's quiet, just no phones." The librarian says, then sits at his desk. Everything is going well. Shiro and Akira are passing notes between each other, then passing a note to Dimitri from time to time. Dimitri is reading the rest of the time, and Anna is drawing. The lights start flickering above them. "Who is doing that?" The librarian stands up and tries to investigate. Anna and Dimitri look at each other, asking silent questions. Shiro looks at the two in confusion. The lights go out fully, though there's still the roar of the vents that heat the school. A few students scream and freak out. "Everyone, stay calm and in your places." Dimitri pulls out his cell from his pocket to turn on a flashlight when he notices the symbol they say on his screen.
"Anna, look!" He whispers, shows her his screen, she goes a little pale. "I think… this isn't going to stop unless we get to that red tower and deactivate it. Who knows how bad this is going to get if we don't…"
"I think you're right…" Anna whispers back.
"What are you guys saying…?" Akira asks, confused and scared.
"About going back to Lyoko. This is happening because of something with the game." Dimitri explains to her.
"Ok, you need to take a step or two back. What?"
"We'll explain on the way. Come on." Dimitri steps back from the table, going behind a book case. Shiro isn't too far behind him. Anna does the same from the other side of the table. Akira is absolutely confused, but stays by Shiro. Suddenly the fire alarm goes off for the second time today.
"Alright, everyone, single file, go." The librarian orders. The students start to file out, one by one, except the other four, they look to each other, surprised by their luck. They each head for the second library door and down the halls filled with other students not in their class.
"Anna!" A voice shouts nearby. She turns, seeing her brother. She's surprised to see him, but figures they stepped out with those in the 9th grade. She can't let him follow her though, she tears up a bit, not wanting to just leave him wondering, but she has to get to the factory quickly. She turns around and follows the others, catching up. "Anna?!" The four move faster through the halls than other students and sneak down the corridor that leads to the gymnasium. They hide behind one of the closed double doors, the other door being wide open. There's a hint of smoke in the air.
"I think the school is really on fire this time." Akira theorizes, a hint of fear in her voice, which wasn't common of course.
"Then we have no time to lose. Let's get back to the factory. There's an entrance to the sewers in the gym." Dimitri explains. "The sewers lead to the factory." Dimitri turns and starts to lead the way.
"An!" Gio shouts, she immediately turns. "Where are you going? The exit is this way!"
"I know… I-I have to go somewhere else. All that's happening, we can stop it." She tries to tell him.
"What are you talking about?!" Gio becomes flustered, which isn't normal for such a stoic person.
"There's no time to explain, just… trust me, ok? Get out of here." She orders, sort of. Though she knows her brother all to well.
"Like hell I am!" He walks to her, reaching for her. Shiro and Akira step in front of him to protect her from him. "Let me through!"
"As much as I don't like to admit it, we need her." Akira says. "Escape with the others, the building is actually on fire. I can smell the smoke!"
"What do you need her for!?" He is nearly to a breaking point. Anna looks him deep in his eyes.
"Brother. Trust us, please. We have to go now, but we'll be back." Giovanni's fists clench, not wanting to leave her behind, especially if what Akira says is true.
"I'm coming with you. Let's go." Gio finally says. Shiro and Akira look back at Dimitri and Anna. Anna looks to Dimitri, seeing him as the leader.
"Ok, you can come with us. Just don't get in the way, ok? This is very delicate. Lives could be at risk for all we know."
"Then why are you letting my little sister be a part of it!?" Gio asks, now more angry than anything.
"We'll explain on the way! Now move your ass!" Akira shouts. She steps to Anna, grabs her hand and starts leading her down the hall. Dimitri immediately starts moving, keeping the lead. Shiro turns and follows. Gio stands a little bewildered, he shakes his head to snap out of it and follows after them all.
"Why would you lie to me?" Giovanni asks Anna, having been told everything that happened yesterday. They're in the middle of the sewers. "More importantly, why would you agree to go to some place like a factory, especially with strangers!"
"Chill out! Fuck… Do you ever stop shouting?! Or treating her like she's some helpless child?!" Akira shouts.
"You're shouting right now, bitch!" Gio shouts back.
"Don't call me a bitch!" She shoves him back, almost into the water. Shiro stands between the two before Gio can retaliate.
"Enough!" He extends both his arms out to keep them at a five foot, two inches distance from each other, his arm span being as long as he is tall. "If you can't calm down, then sit down." Akira and Gio glare death at each other, but they both cross their arms. Anna had shrunken back with all the yelling, shoulders scrunched up, arms up, crossing over each other, her hands are clasped together, just under her chin. "Anna, answer your brother's question, ok?" She nods a little.
"I knew you'd freak out if you found out I was actually at a factory, so that's why I said I was at a friend's house… As to why I came here, Shiro and Akira invited me… I wanted to belong. You know how hard it is at a new school even, but being so shy… I'm just glad they invited me to come along…"
"That was very reckless Anna… They could have done any number of things to you." Gio lectures her.
"I know… I just wanted to belong…" She says softly. Gio sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"I get it… Shall we continue on to this factory?" The four younger ones nod and continue on. Gio wraps an arm tight around Anna. "Please no more lies, ok?"
"I promise." Anna says, snuggling into his hold. They walk in silence the rest of the way to the factory entrance.
Heads were counted, five students are missing. Principal Delmas is told by the librarian and the Maths teacher the specific students and they already checked with other teachers. Her heart skips when she's told, then it sinks. She pulls the chief aside.
"Five students are missing. Four were last seen in the main library on the first floor. The other was in room 126. Names, Dimitri Belpois, Shiro and Akira Stern, Anastasia and Giovanni Della Robbia." The chief nods and speaks into his radio.
"Five students may be in the building, keep an eye out, three boys, two girls. Last seen in the library and class room 126."
"Understood, Sir!" A voice replies. Jeremie overheard their conversation. His heart sink and he starts to grow pale.
"Mr. Belpois?" A student tries to get his attention, noticing how sick he's looking. He doesn't respond, growing paler, he stares at the ground, eyes wide. "Principal Delmas!" She looks over, noticing Jeremie's condition. She steps over, he starts to sway a bit.
"Jeremie? Jeremie, look at me." She says, placing her hands to his shoulder. "Jeremie? It's going to be ok. He's going to be found, you're not going to lose him." Her words do little to nothing. His eyes roll back before closing, falling down. She barely can keep him up. "Someone help! He passed out!" She calls out. The chief steps up, taking him from her and easing him to the ground, checking his vitals. His heart is speeding, his breathing a little erratic.
"Do you know if he has any health conditions?" The chief asks.
"Not that I know. This is the first that's happened that I'm aware." Her eyes widen a moment, going blank for a few seconds.
"Ma'am!" The Chief shakes her a bit. She blinks a couple of seconds.
"What…?" She mumbles.
"Are you alright?" The Chief asks.
"Y-Yes, I'm fine." She shakes her head, as if trying to shake off the rest of her stupor. The students have no idea what to make of any of this.
Once at the factory, Akira has to coax Shiro down the ropes again, but all five enter the lift. Anna clings to her brother even more as the door shuts and they start to go down. They go down to the power source, Dimitri steps up to it, it starts to lift from the ground.
"Well… Here we go again. Whatever is causing this, we're going to stop you." He says to no one in particular, and flips the switch again. It glows to life, a whoosh of air blasting at him once more. He turns and returns to the elevator. It starts going up to the computer area. "I hope you guys are ok with your avatars as they are." Dimitri says. They all walk out into the main computer area. Dimitri taps some buttons and pulls things around on the screen, searching for something. "Ok. I found a program for delayed virtualization. I'll send you three in first and then I'll set a delayed for myself."
"This is kind of scarier now." Shiro admits.
"We'll get through this. We can do this. We have to…" Akira tries to motivate them.
"I'm going with." Gio announces.
"It's dangerous, you don't know what you're getting into." Akira replies, not in a nice tone either.
"Well, neither do you by the looks of it. You're still new to this, I might as well go along with since you're all still practically at the start." Gio points out.
"Let's take a vote. Anyone who thinks Gio should join us on Lyoko, raise your hand." Dimitri states. Anna, Shiro and Dimitri all raise their hands. Akira crosses her arms and huffs.
"Fine, whatever. Let's just go already." She turns and heads for the lift. Shiro walks after her. Dimitri adjusts himself on the computer seat. Anna and Gio walk into the elevator and it starts to go down.
"I'm starting up the procedure. Three go ahead and enter." Dimitri says over the speaker.
"I'll go in first, ok?" Gio says to Anna and steps into one of the scanners. Shiro and Akira step into their own scanners. "We're ready!" The doors shut.
"Transfer Shiro, Transfer Akira, Transfer Gio. Scanner Shiro, scanner Akira, scanner Gio. Virtualization." Everything is silent for a moment, then Dimitri steps out of the elevator. Both Dimitri and Anna step into the scanners, the doors close. Anna closes her eyes tight, trying to pretend she's not inside this, that she's outside, in a forest, with lots of trees and birds singing. It helps keep her calm this time. Soon, they appear within the "Game". Akira and Shiro are on the ground laughing, Gio too is a big, purple cat. He would be blushing from embarrassment if he was in the real world, and would have a red, irritation/anger mark if he was in an anime.
"We're both big cats! Except I got mine changed up last night." Anna says, showing herself off, still having a tail that's a deep blue, ears and whiskers now on her head. The rest of her, her top is a deep blue like the rest, but looks more like a blouse. She has a deep red colored battle skirt with the dark blue as swirls throughout. She has a bow on her back, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. They look at Akira once she and her brother are back on their feet. They didn't really get a chance to see before, but she looks like a black, yellow and orange colored geisha with an oni on her back. Meanwhile Gio looks like Anna did before she changed up her look. Dimitri however…
"As if I need another reason to be called a girl." He says in slight defeat.
"I think it's cute!" Akira says. He wears a pink tunic and white leggings, having pink boots that look like some sort of wrapping. "You're like Link! Except in pink."
"If the Princess Zelda was the chosen hero." Gio says a little playfully, gesturing to Dimitri. He glares playfully at him.
"No more time to be gagging lollies, we need to get to that tower." Shiro tries to keep them in line for once, normally he's the joking one. He turns and starts running. The others follow. There's a sound in front of them, they look up and see, more bees.
"You should have a shield when your arms are up, brother." Anna says to him. She puts her arms up to demonstrate, shielding herself as the bees attack them. Gio puts his arms up, a shield appears. Akira pulls out her fan and throws it at the bees. "We need to keep Dimitri safe, if he's devirtualized, we can't deactivate the tower." Shiro nods and moves over to Dimitri, using his sword to deflect the sting lasers. He deflects in such a way, the laser rickochets off his sword and into the bee that shot at him.
"Awesome!" Shiro shouts, celebrating a bit. Dimitri is hit in the back, yelping. The sound sending a jolt-like feeling through Shiro and Akira's hearts. They turn to see other creatures behind them, not just the bees. "Whathe fuck are those?!" Shiro shouts, looking at these small little robot-like creatures. Anna turns and aims her bow, shooting at one of them with an energy arrow. It hits right in the center of the eye.
"The eyes are the weakness! Of course it is…" Gio rolls his eyes. "Not very original!" He turns in time to block another attack. Shiro runs forward and attacks the little creatures, a red trail following behind him for some reason. He moves and slashes at them both, coming to a stop after, skidding a bit, falling forward and rolling a bit.
"Are you ok?!" Akira shouts to him, starting to run to him. Another stinger hits her leg. She staggers and falls. Gio stands in front of her, shielding her. More bees are flying at them. Anna tries her best to take them down, just barely missing some, but managing to kill a few. Dimitri then recalls what stats he saw on his character. He raises his hand, a ball of energy forms in his hands. He lets it loose and it hits its target. Shiro had since gotten to his feet and runs to the others. Akira running to meet him. They continue on, unsure of what's to come ahead.
