Not Done Yet
Yumi looked at a pink shirt girl sitting on a far schoolyard bench. All the world seemed unimportant to her. Absorbed by her book, She didn't even wave to the kids passing by. The birds and bugs could do nothing to phase her emotionless face. Her cane, her sole comrade, stood leaning by her side. The sun's glaring rays reflected off her white pages, but she read with no problem. Yumi gave a hum. "Is something wrong, Yumi?" Jeremie asked, sitting on a different bench.
"Nothing. Looks like our Dragon Queen is brooding by herself."
"She's been quiet lately. Almost too quiet," Odd agreed.
"I think we should enjoy it. No more snooping and no more Sissi attacks," Ulrich said.
"Yeah," Yumi's reply was shaky in tone. She held the straps of her backpack loosely as she watched Sissi reading alone. Sissi would periodically look up, glimpse around, and then go back to reading. Joy and happiness seem to completely avoid the very air around her. Yumi shut her eyes and sighed. "Do you... do you guys think I was too hard on her?"
"Yes," they said in unison. Yumi peered down at them on the bench.
"Well excuse me. I didn't know it was a group decision," she grumbled.
"Come on, Yumi. You two never get along. You were the most against her even hanging around us," Odd explained.
"Well, she told me that she gave up hope of ever trying to figure out about our secret," Ulrich added. Yumi looked back at Sissi with shocked eyes.
"So... we don't have to worry about her?"
"Her exact words were, 'I just accepted the fact that was always in front of me.' I guess that means she doesn't care anymore." Ulrich said, but Yumi rehearsed Sissi's words in her head. SLANT! Because either way, I don't get what I want. Yumi turned to her friends, eying each one before going back to Sissi.
"It's a shame, really. She helped us with XANA's laughing gas attack, kept everyone calm in the cafeteria attack, and helped make noise-canceling earbuds when XANA played that killer music," Odd said, "She even helped Ulrich remember who he was when he got amnesia. The old Sissi would have used that to her advantage."
"I don't think she's gloomy because of us. She's entering the robotics tournament. It's going to be interesting going up against her," Jeremie said. Yumi watched as Sissi got up from her bench and walked away. She used her cane more like a walking stick now, lifting it and planting it to the ground to make a kind of queenly statement. She still greeted everyone that greeted her, smiled and waved, and talked with anyone that would talk to her. But if, as Yumi saw her, one found her alone, it didn't seem to visibly phase her.
Visibly.
As she walked out of sight, Yumi asked Jeremie, "So are you ready?"
"I think so. With Herb it was predictable, but Sissi is different. I have no idea what she's going to bring. So Kiwi 2.0 is going to have to be prepared."
"You named it Kiwi 2.0? Awesome! What does he look like?"
In the recesses of the factory, worn metal arms sat still and forgotten until a black electric ghost of evil started fiddling with them. Soon, metal sheets and pieces were hammered and drilled into place. Mechanical arms started constructing some unknown horror yet to be seen. Then red shining eyes glowed from a dark cave.
Meanwhile, Sissi steadily planted her foot on the ground while a 40-year-old bald man in white dojo attire smirked. Twice her height, Sissi calculated possible formulas to bring down her opponent. With a loud battle cry, Sissi swung her foot to his head, but the bald man caught it with both arms. He pushed her back with his hand. The girl stumbled backward but planted her feet to the ground, shaking her head awake. Come on, said the bald man's hand. Carefully walking around, her left foot first while her right poised to strike, Sissi waited until she got to his side. She ran towards him and punched near his stomach, but the man blocked it. Sissi swung her foot to the back of his legs, but the man jumped and kicked her back. She skidded across the ground to a stop. Her back ached with pebbles and dust embedded into her sweatshirt. "The sky is very blue, isn't it?"
"That's one way to cope with defeat," the man chuckled, offering his hand to help her. Sissi got up by herself and dusted herself. "You're doing better for someone who just started judo last week."
"You don't have to baby me, Uncle Jon," Sissi grumbled, "I know. I should've been better." She stuck her bottom lip out and looked at a useless patch of grass to her right. Anything to avoid his eyes. Uncle Jon, still smiling, gently lifted the girl's face.
"You don't have to be so hard on yourself, darling. You know, I remember the day you used to complain to get the newest phone. Now you're here for lessons? I'm surprised that you were interested in."
"Well, I just wanted to stay in shape," Sissi smiled. Her actor's smile could fool any adult.
"By the way, I heard you were entering in the robotics this year! You think you can do it?"
"I think so, but I'm not really worried about it. If I win, I win. If I lose, well…," Sissi looked at her squeezing fist. Uncle Jon's bushy eyebrow rose. "I'm not going to hurt anyone, Uncle Jon. I'm just a little nervous about this competition. I've never done one before." She felt his big hand on her shoulder, and his smile shone wide.
"Well, I know that you'll give them a run for their money." Sissi smiled back but was rudely interrupted by a swiping kick to her legs. She plummeted to the ground, bruising her back more. "But you're still going to need some training," Uncle Jon smirked. Sissi grumbled both in pain and hurt pride.
Moments later, the Lyoko warriors were in Jeremie's room, feasting their eyes at the robotic Kiwi lookalike. "Everyone, Kiwi 2."
"That's cool! Kiwi's got a playmate," Odd said.
"He's almost as cute as the original," Aelita said from the computer screen.
"Yeah, that's a good dog. You want a bolt or some treats?" Odd didn't expect the robot dog to start peeing on him.
"Uh…Sorry, I didn't have time to walk him," Jeremie apologized. "He needs an oil change every day." The others laughed when the school bell rang.
"Here we go, guys! We're bound for glory," Ulrich declared.
"See you later, Aelita. Call us if you hear or see anything suspicious on Lyoko."
"I promise, but I hope XANA will give you enough time to win the contest," Aelita answered Jeremie. The genius blonde smiled as they walked out of his room and to the gym. When they got there, Sissi was wheeling out something under a cloth. Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi, who sat on the bleachers, saw the lumpy object wheeled to the side of the stage.
"What is that thing?" Yumi asked
"I don't know, but I think we're in for a big surprise," replied Ulrich. Sissi finally removed the covering. It was a gray bulky monkey, standing a few inches taller than Kiwi 2.0. Its cable arms had little metal sheathing, and its eyes were dark black spheres. Its tail was long, and its legs were tucked to its metal chest plate. The hands and tail were bigger than a normal monkey. It had no teeth, just two metal choppers with smooth edges. It looked playful but ominous.
"Remember!" Jim announced, "Robots are prohibited from any physical force. Shake hands now." Jeremie was the first to offer his hand. Sissi looked at it for a moment and gave a sigh, sagging her shoulders as she shook his hand.
"She's more nervous than he is," Odd observed.
Then the games began. The monkey was slower than Kiwi 2 but more maneuverable. Both makers were fidgeting their controls to get the ball and score the next point. The final ball came, the two were tied, and both Sissi and Jeremie were working up a sweat. SLANT! 'Now I understand why Herb loses this game every year,' Sissi thought. As the ball bounced, the robotic monkey snatched it and bounced it to the other side, but Kiwi 2 snatched it back, darted for his goal, and swooshed the ball in the net, winning the point.
"YEAH! WHOOO ALRIGHT!" The others shouted from the bleachers. Sissi gritted her teeth, clenched her fist, and furrowed her eyebrows together. The raging inside her head made her sweat more. But then she looked at Jeremie, who was panting from the excitement and effort. Weirdly, the sight calmed her to the point of just being a bit disgruntled.
"Well done contestants for a good clean game. Shake hands, you two," Jim said. Jeremie's wide smile and happily closed eyes made Sissi huff a bit, but her lips turned up into a cheeky smile as she grabbed his forearm, pulled him forward, and laughed as she gave him a noogie.
"Ahh, Heyy! Cut it out!"
"Hehe, good work, Einstein," Sissi smiled, letting him go. "You really made me work for it." The others came up behind him. "Looks like I still have some changes to do with King Kong Odd here."
"You named it King Kong Odd? Why?"
"Well, it's built weird, it moves weird, and it is weird, like Odd," Sissi joked.
"Very funny," Odd muttered as the others laughed.
"Still," Sissi continued, crossing her arms, "I would love to learn more about robotics. Otherwise, who will give Jeremie a run for his money." Her mischievous smirk raised Jeremie's eyebrow, but he returned a smirk of his own. "I wish I could learn more about computer software. That way I can hardwire a brain in this brainless contraption.
Yumi laughed, "Brainless? Yeah, you're right, Sissi. It is just like Odd!"
"Hey! Enough with the jokes, okay!"
"Well, I could show you-" Suddenly, screams roared from outside the gym. Near the bleachers, a huge metal robot with monstrous teeth and long sharp claws stood before them. It had to be ten feet tall and built like a running killer: Sleek legs with sharp talons for feet, a wiry belly with a slim torso and pointed shoulders, and a small round dome on the top. "What on earth is that?" Jeremie exclaimed. The metal monster peered at the blonde and rushed over.
"I don't know, but I think it's after you!" Sissi shouted, pulling Jeremie out of the way of the robot's grasp. "Come on!" The five of them ran to the boy's locker room where both Yumi and Sissi blushed and looked away from the half-naked boys. "Oh! Uh."
"Hey! Whatcha doing here?!"
"No time to explain. You got to get out!" Ulrich ordered. The pounding of a heavy metal fist supported his command. As the boys scrambled out, the five pushed against the locker doors.
"Where the heck did that thing come from?" Sissi grunted, pushing the door back with all her strength.
"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" Odd asked.
"XANA?"
"Who?"
"No time to explain, Sissi. Just keep pushing," Yumi said.
"If that's true, then Aelita has been trying to contact me this entire time. I have to reach her." Sissi's eyes jumped out of their sockets. Her hand slapped the front of her head as her mouth spilled out a growl,
"This stupid blond-… Uh, I might not know anything about the situation, but if this XANA is responsible for the robot that wants to hurt Jeremie, isn't finding a way to shut this thing down better than getting a second opinion. I mean, who else can make something like this thing!" Odd and Yumi looked at each other, then at Jeremie and Ulrich.
"She's got a point. Let's get to the factory. You two are going to have to find a way to neutralize the robot." Jeremie said to Ulrich and Yumi.
"Right."
"Sissi, get going. It's after us," Ulrich said.
"I know, but I think I know how to shut it down. I need Mrs. Hertz's drill and something from my room."
"I'll get Hertz's drill," Yumi said. Sissi nodded as Odd and Jeremie ran out the other way. Suddenly, the monster robot burst into the locker room, finding it empty. It scanned the room but couldn't find anyone. Then tiny human footsteps echoed behind it as Sissi, Yumi, and Ulrich zoomed out the room.
"You guys go on, I'll distract him," Ulrich said.
"Be careful," Yumi shouted back as Ulrich ran the opposite way. Sissi ran to her room, and Yumi finally found Mrs. Hertz's drill. Soon, Sissi came into the science room with her cane. "What are you going to do?"
"Finally make my invention and hope that the robot isn't made out of titanium," Sissi replied, "But if I make it work, I'm going to need you to trust me… and forgive me in the future." Yumi rose her eyebrow at the wide smiling Dragon Queen.
Meanwhile, as Jeremie virtualized Odd onto Lyoko, Ulrich ran through the forest, looking behind him for the monster. He screeched to a stop and saw the metal monster right in front of him! With the back of its hand, it swatted Ulrich into a tree. He fell unconscious, and just before it was about to squash him, "Stop! Don't hurt him!" The monster turned its head as Yumi emerged from a tree. Sissi stood behind the tree, out of the line of the monster's vision. Onsight, the monster immediately marched towards Yumi. Just as it was about to swat her into the tree, Sissi knocked Yumi onto the ground, missing the robot's swing. Its claws stuck into the tree bark, and it whirred loudly to pull out.
"Gotcha." Sissi plunged the titanium drill strapped to the end of her cane into the robots' head. She pressed a button tied onto her cane, and a large voltage of power from the cane ran into the robot's circuitry. Sissi squinted as sparks flew out of the metal monster's brain. It finally coughed and died, falling with a great crash on the grass. Sissi helped Yumi up from the ground. The two panted for air. "Ha, it actually worked."
"You were doubtful?" Yumi gasped.
"There was a plan B."
"Which was?"
"You don't want to know," Sissi said gravely as Ulrich slowly came to consciousness. Yumi ran over to help him up.
"What happened?"
"Sissi just saved us." The boy's blurred eyes made out the hazy figure of Sissi. She waved her hand awkwardly, smiling like the new kid on the block.
"Wow, thanks Sissi. We owe you big time," Ulrich weakly smiled.
"You might owe me more," Sissi said, giving Yumi her cane. "Take this. I don't think that was the last of them. This thing has power for one more robot. Don't overuse it, okay?"
"Got it!" Yumi nodded, "Oh! And Sissi?" Yumi quickly swept the principal's daughter off her feet, and she tumbled to the ground. As Sissi shook her head and looked at Yumi, a wide smile graced the Japanese's face. "Now you're forgiven." Rolling her eyes, Sissi watched as they ran off to save the day. She hugged her knees to her chest, gazing at the two warriors running off. She felt like she was in a pit. There was nothing bad or dangerous about it, but it was nonetheless depressing. Walls all around, the light only coming from above, and the invading feeling of cold nothingness on her brain added to her shivering. They ran off, leaving her behind. Sissi shivered again at the thought. She looked at her hands to see if there was anything wrong. Still shaking, she waited patiently until the familiar ball of light exploded in the distance.
Continued...