This Chapter is dedicated to my one solid reviewer and my beta.

Thanks for all your help, Lady Kyra 13 and Angels n' Dreams.

P.S. Lady K writes very good stories...you should check it out...

Chapter 2

On the flight to Puerto Rico . . .

Viv sat in her seat and stared out the window. All she could see was endless cerulean water. It had been this way for the past two hours. She turned to look at the others. Ulrich and Yumi were talking about something in hushed tones. Jeremy and Aelita were doing something with the laptop. Jordan was watching the in-flight movie, while Odd snored away next to him. Checking her watch, she decided that she had enough time for a little snooze. Stretching out across the empty seat beside her, she dozed off.

Far Far Away (Still don't know where it is, but it's far away from anywhere I know)

The light had subsided and a shadow stood there. The man, bowed down and brought the being a controller. "My lord, welcome back. Here is a review of all your accomplishments. Also, included are the plans for your most ingenious idea yet. If you require anything, just ring the bell." Then he backed out of the room, still bowing, leaving the being to its own devices. It walked over to the computer and began typing. "It is time to awaken, my minions."

Back on the flight . . .

Viv sat up quickly. She looked around and sighed. - - It was just a dream then. But it seemed so real. - - She shivered as she remembered the figure in her dream. It had looked familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen it. "I better tell the others, they might remember." She mumbled to herself.

Glancing at her watch she pulled out a sketch pad. She began to sketch all of her new friends in their Lyoko dress. When she finished that, she hesitated. Then she started to draw Verdana as she imagined her to look. By the time she was done, the plane was approaching her homeland. Soon after, the fasten seatbelt sign came on and the pilot asked everyone to return their tray tables to their upright positions. As Viv looked out the window, she saw El Yunque forest. She shifted in her seat as the plane descended over San Juan. The plane landed and the gang left the plane.

Once outside though, they had no idea what to do. "So, what are we supposed to do first?" Aelita asked.

Jeremy searched his backpack for the schedule given them by the principal. "It says that we should look for a bus to take us to El Yunque forest."

They all looked at Viv, who smiled and pulled out her cell phone. She began to call someone, while the others had a look around. Viv started to talk in Spanish over the phone.

A few minutes later, Viv walked over to them. "Forget the bus, amigos. My uncle is coming to pick us up."

She laughed as Odd was trying to get this woman to stop following him. "No Thank-o you-o. I-o do-o not-o speak-o Spanish-o." Viv rolled her eyes and walked over to him. After a quick burst of Spanish, the woman smiled and walked away.

"What was she asking anyway?" asked Odd uncertainly.

"She wanted to know it that little rat was for sale. I told her that it was a dog." Viv was referring to Kiwi who was sniffing a bush.

"Wow. I thought she was trying to sell me something."

"Odd, you have lots to learn about people here." Then they walked over to the others and proceeded to a nearby restaurant. They settled down for a bit of homemade ice-cream from a little shop when Viv told them her dream.

"I don't know Viv, it sounds like you were just imagining things. However, I don't think that we should discount it so readily. The man you described sounded just like the Shadow. I admit that we are not sure if he could be brought back." Jeremy mused aloud.

Aelita frowned for a second then smiled at them. "From what I know, it wouldn't be too hard to bring him back, although it would require certain objects that are quite rare."

"Hey guys, my uncle is here." A large truck with an open back pulled up. "Hola Tio Juan. Como esta usted?" The man in the truck smiled and responded.

"Bien, y tu? Bien siempre, chica. Qienes tu amigos?"

"Te presenta Jeremy, Aelita, Odd, Ulrich, Yumi, y Jordan. This is my Uncle Juan." As she intoduced each person she pointed at them. The man behind Viv smiled and ushered them into the truck.

"It will take us some time to reach our destination, so sit back and relax." The gang settled themselves down and waited for the truck to start up. Glancing at the others, Viv pulled a paper out of her bag and handed to it to Odd.

"This might not be what she looked like, but I hope you like it." she whispered. Odd unfolded it and saw the picture of Verdana that Viv had drawn. It looked quite like her. The smile was the same and she had that look of fun that she always had when she teased Odd. She was in a lunging stance, but she looked just right. He sat back and thought of Verdana for the whole trip to the forest. He was jerked out of his memories when the truck came to a screeching halt in front of a house.

"We're here!" Viv called out in a sing song voice. "Tia Gigi! Como esta usted?" A rather young woman stood near the door and opened her arms for Viv.

"Vivian, chica, tu es alta. Que comer?" she said jokingly.

"No contestar mi pregunta, Tia." She looked up at Juan before turning to Viv again. "We are being evicted to make way for more forest protection people. They do not see that we do not hurt the forest, coming from it ourselves."

The rest of the gang had not understood a word that had passed between Viv and her aunt except for what she had shared in English. Viv looked depressed and close to tears.

"Prima Vivian!" A little girl of six shot out form the door way.

"Viv, yo alegre ver tu."

"Hola, Juanita. Te presento mi amigos, Jeremy, Aelita, Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, and Jordan." The little girl ran over to Odd and stared at him amazed.

"El es morado." she said in an awed voice. Then snapping out of it ran back to Viv and began speaking very fast in Spanish.

"Viv, Viv, ver mi nuevo bola. Es roja y grande. Tu amigos juegan con nostros." Viv turned to the others and translated.

"She has a new ball that is big and red. She also wants you to play with her." Juanita pulled Viv'shead down and whispered something in her ear. Viv laughed and translated again. "She says especially the purple chico. That would be you, Odd."

They nodded and Juanita skipped off to her room to get the ball. They played for a couple hours until dinner. After a delicious meal, Juanita went to bed and Viv suggested a walk in the forest.

"It's beautiful at this time. You can also hear the coqui frog better." She led them into the forest. They did not question where they were going, trusting that Viv knew her way. They reached a hut sitting in the middle of a sparse patch of woods. "Abuela! Abuela!" Viv called out at the hut. "Es Vivian y mi amigos!" A voice came from behind them.

"Vivian, what brings you to my house."

"These are my friends, abuela. They only speak English and French." The old woman looked them over. Viv leaned close to the gang and whispered "She knows everything that goes on in the forest. If anyone knows about Verdana, it would be her."

"Excuse me, uhm...Abuela?" Jeremy asked using the term that Viv had called her. "We were wondering if you knew anything about a person called Verdana." The old woman frowned for a second and thought very hard.

"Si, I know the little green spirit."