Aelita's Here!

Pacing around him slowly, Sissi leaped and kicked at Uncle Jon. The bald man ducked back. Sissi circled him again, patiently waiting for an entry. He threw a flurry of punches that she roughly blocked. Each quick punch made Sissi gulp for breath. Keep it steady. Look for an opening. Uncle Jon cocked his fist back far. Too far. The girl grabbed his other arm and struck his armpit.

"ACK!" Jon cried, flinching at the tingles rushing down his arm. Sissi brought her fists together and struck him with a double-handed punch. Uncle Jon tumbled flat on his butt. "Ah, nice one, Sissi. You've gotten much stronger. A little too strong."

"Sorry, Uncle Jon," Sissi said as she helped him up. "But I appreciate you helping me."

"It's been my pleasure," Uncle Jon smiled and bowed. Sissi smirked excitedly. She was ready for the next lesson; Uncle Jon could see that. He sagged his shoulders and faced away with a frown. He folded his hands behind his back, much like how her father would. "Of course, there is one little problem."

"What's that?" Sissi asked.

"I... I don't know what to teach you next. I've taught you everything I know." Sissi's eyes lept out of their sockets. She shook her head and gawked at her uncle.

"But... but that can't be right. I've only been practicing for at least three months!"

"And in three months you've been able to learn and train your body. It takes a year for people to learn what you learned. I'm sorry, Sissi. There's nothing else I can teach you, Judo-wise."

"Are there other moves you can teach me?" Sissi asked. Uncle Jon shook his head as he turned back towards Sissi's face of disbelief.

"I'm sorry," he replied. Sissi dropped her head and gazed at the floor. Then she felt Uncle Jon catch her chin and lift it, bending his lips into a smile. "Cheer up, darling. You should be excited that you managed to do this so quickly."

"I know, but... I'm gonna miss learning from you, Uncle Jon," She said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Aww, you're making this old veteran's heart cry, darling," Uncle Jon smiled as she released him. "But I know you'll learn more things as you go along. Maybe you can learn some other fighting forms. But for now, I've taught you everything I know." Sissi stepped back and bowed like Uncle Jon.

"Thank you, Sensei," She smiled. Uncle Jon laughed and hugged her again.

Later on, Sissi sketched another design in her room. "The circuitry is going to be a pain. I need some recharging batteries and... then there would be some... okay, I think I got it." She picked up her cane, looking at its whole length, and tapped it on the ground. Then she stood up and leaned on it.

She waited.

After a minute passed, she picked it up, twirled it, and caught it. Her glaring eyes bore into the cane as Sissi set it back on the ground. "Okay, so it won't kill me," She sighed shakily. Then she stepped out of the room. As she was on the way to her dad's office, Jim stopped her along the pillars outside the school. At the small walkway, the coach rushed over to Sissi.

"Hey, Sissi, have you seen Ulrich and his gang today?" He asked.

"Um... no, but you could check in Jeremie's room. They usually hang out there," she replied innocently.

"Yeah, thanks for the tip." With that, Jim charged away. Sissi looked on as he went into the building.

"I hope I didn't cause any trouble for them," she mumbled to herself. The 'disabled' girl kept walking to her father's office. The receptionist was right outside, and Sissi, after a 'please and thank you', walked into Mr. Delmas's office.

"Sissi, is everything alright?"

"Yes, daddy Um... I was just wondering... do you have any of the old phones that I used to have? I need them in one of my projects."

"Why no, Sissi, I don't. Most of them I returned or threw them away," Delmas said. The teen grumbled under her teeth. "However, if the phone you have isn't working for you-"

"I don't want to use my phone. I just need some rechargeable batteries."

"Oh, well, I can see if the groundskeeper can give you some spares. Ask some of the teachers. I'm sure they have some spare batteries somewhere," Delmas replied as he stood up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to look for Jim."

"Oh, he's probably in the dormitory. He was looking for Jeremie and his friends."

"Thank you, Sissi," Mr. Delmas said as he left his office with his daughter. As the principal walked down the hall, Sissi felt an unexplained tightness in her chest. She roamed to the schoolyard, but the feeling didn't subside. Everything just felt on edge. The birds were silent; the air was still and windless; even her body felt like it would explode anytime if the next event didn't take place soon.

But what was the next event? Sissi didn't know. The next thing she knew, she saw Jeremie, Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd racing out into the woods. She looked around, listening carefully. No screams, no electrical noises, no alarms. Nothing seemed wrong. The only thing she could do was keep out of their way for this one. Nothing was more dangerous than a friend that was hurting their friends instead of helping. She kept on her mission of collecting batteries from the teachers.

When she walked back to her room with batteries in tow, she couldn't help but feel jumpy. The softest creak of the floors spun her head to attention before she quietly eased back. Just slightly eased back, though. "Just nerves," Sissi muttered.

No. Something was up, but she couldn't figure out what. The next day, Sissi practically jumped out of bed and threw her clothes on. She couldn't explain the need for speed, only that she knew it was needed. Wrestling with her pink shirt, she finally ran out the door, cane in hand, and started to the first class.

Then she saw her. Jeremie and the others were just about to enter history class. The blonde genius seemed so much brighter and happier as he chatted with them. But it was someone in particular that he was talking to. Sissi froze in her tracks, her mouth dropped, and she dropped her cane. The clatter made the Lyoko Warriors stop and look. "Sissi, are you okay?" Jeremie asked.

"Yoo-hoo, Sissi? Are you there?" Odd called out, waving his hand in front of her. She slowly walked towards the person that Jeremie was talking to. The pink-haired girl was the most welcoming sight to see. Sissi felt like a slave finally being freed into the light. Her calm, innocent smile eased the nerves in her head. "Oh, that's why. Sissi this is-"

"Aelita." Sissi sighed, throwing her arms around the computer girl. Odd and Ulrich looked at Jeremie, who only shrugged with his face of confusion. Sniffling, Sissi released Aelita and wiped her tears away. "I'm sorry uh… pollen allergies, you know."

"Oh, um… it's nice to meet you, Sissi. I've heard a lot about you," Aelita smiled sweetly.

"All bad, I suppose." The raven-haired girl dropped her shoulders. She knew the tales about her weren't good, even with her new lifestyle. To others, she was still the principal's right-hand brat. Sissi glimpsed behind her for a small second. Did the other Lyoko warriors believe that as well? She couldn't tell.

But she didn't care. "It's good to see Jeremie's girl… I mean, pen pal finally here," Sissi smiled.

"Yeeeeaaahh. Hey, Sissi, how did you know this was Aelita?" Ulrich asked, crossing his arms. Sissi breathed out a chuckle and turned to him.

"It was simple. I know that Yumi, Odd, Jeremie, and you all know Aelita. And since I know everyone at the school, anyone that's new I have to know about," She smiled, "Besides, with how close she seemed to Jeremie, it only made sense that this was Aelita. Einstein's not as chummy with the rest of you, especially when it's a girl." She looked at Jeremie behind her. The blonde profusely blushed while scratching the back of his hair.

"Anyways, we better get to class," Jeremie said. They all strolled into the classroom and took their hard-wooden seats.

"Alright, class settle down. We have a new student in our class. I'll let her introduce herself," said the teacher.

Sissi grimaced. Why do teachers do that? It's not like public speaking is taught at grade-school. Just as Aelita shyly bumbled her words out, Odd bravely stood up. "Aelita, Aelita's her name. She's my cousin, and she is very shy."

"Wow, she's as talkative as paper," whispered two girls.

"Is that a problem, girls?" grunted Sissi from behind. Looking back, the girls witnessed Sissi's raging, hungry eyes that ate into the girls' souls, causing them to shiver into submission. "Hmph." Sissi smiled at Odd, giving him a thumbs up. Odd returned with a cheesy grin.

For the rest of the day, Sissi stayed fairly close to the gang, closer than Ulrich or Odd were comfortable with. As Sissi sat with Aelita and Jeremie on the bench, Ulrich and Odd took a moment in private. "Is it me, or is Sissi being extra kind to Aelita more than she is to us?"

"Are you feeling left out?" Ulrich smirked.

"Seriously, when was the last time you saw Sissi defend someone like that, especially someone she doesn't know?"

"You got a point. But Sissi has been different lately. Besides, aren't you the one that said she needed a chance."

"I know, but I'm saying that she may be on our side for a completely different reason," Odd replied.

"What do you mean?"

"Knowing Aelita, being kind to the rest of us, selflessly caring for Kiwi. It's obvious! She's trying to date me!" Odd exclaimed.

Ulrich's face screwed up so tightly that he rubbed his eyes to relieve the strain on his brain. "I'm sorry I'm not following."

"Obviously, she's trying to get closer to me. Oh dear, I didn't want to break her heart like this, but that's how love is."

"You can't be serious."

"Hey, guys, what's up?" greeted Yumi.

"Nothing, we were just talking about impossibilities," Ulrich laughed. The three walked over to the three geniuses. They saw Sissi wearing her normal cheeky smirk while Jeremie glared at her through half-lidded eyes. Poor Aelita was sitting right between them. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, but these two are just having a little disagreement about Quantum physics. I think Sissi has a good point, Jeremie."

"What?! How!"

"Because you have to think of it as a wave, not a line," Sissi smirked. The blonde genius fumed silently.

"Wow, our Dragon Queen has won over Einstein! That's a scoop Milly and Tamiya will want to hear," Odd laughed.

"By the way Odd," Sissi glanced at him, "Why did you nickname me Dragon Queen?"

"Oh, isn't it obvious? You have a mean temper."

"Hmph," She huffed.

"And you puff out smoke."

"Don't mind this clown," Yumi said, "We can stop calling you Dragon Queen if you like."

"Nah, I don't think so. Dragon Queen sounds much cooler. It's better than what the nurses called me."

"What was that?" Ulrich asked.

"The Mechanist," Sissi smiled. After a joyful laugh, the Queen saw Jeremie take Aelita's hand. "Well, I guess I should be off. There are a couple of things I have to get rid of."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't worry. It's just some construction junk that I don't need anymore. I'll see you guys later." With that, Sissi happily strolled away.

"Is it just me or is anyone liking this new Sissi more than ever?" Yumi smiled.

"You have your opinion, Yumi. For me, the truth is still obvious."

"Wha?"

"Ignore dog for brains. We'll explain later," Ulrich replied. "Right now, I think it's time we shut down a certain supercomputer."

Continued...