Secret's Out

Her room was piled with trash bags. From afternoon late into the night, she was throwing out metallic stuff into her bags, but it wasn't for room inspection. She decided that since Aelita was here, the fight between them and XANA must be done. Sissi sat on her bed after looking at the clock. Yawning, she resolved to go to bed and continue to clean up later.

The next day, Sissi walked with her cane to class and sat down in her seat. To her surprise, Ulrich sat next to her. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"Just taking a seat. Is this one taken?" He smiled. While having a lost look on her face, Sissi shrugged and scooted over. As the brown-head sat down, she noticed something. She didn't feel anything. No giddy feelings, no jumpiness, nothing. Pure nothingness. As if a stranger had just sat by her. Had all her feelings just vanished?

The teacher got up and asked, "Who can give us the definition of a pair of prime numbers? Sissi?"

The Dragon Queen smirked when an idea flew into her brain, "I don't know, sir. Could Aelita help me?"

"Very well. Aelita, can you tell us?"

"A pair of prime numbers occurs when their highest common denominator is one," Aelita answered.

"Very good. Although-"

"In a principle ring, it's equivalent to the fact that their direct sum is equal to 1, but of course with a nonprincipled factorial ring that is not the case," Aelita added. The teacher's chalk slid down the board as he turned back around with his jaw far to the ground. Save for Odd, Jeremie, Ulrich, and Sissi, everyone stared at Aelita with dropped jaws. The others couldn't help but snigger. "That is according to the theory of Bezus."

Suddenly, a loud high-pitched scream barreled through the school hallway. The teacher and the rest of the students looked outside the door. As a student ran down the hall, they looked and saw a brown spider-like thing creeping towards them with a red glassy lens in front.

Kankerlots!

Odd and Ulrich quickly shoved everyone back inside. "GET BACK! TAKE COVER!" They shouted. As the students hid behind the desks, the gang and Sissi stood near the door.

"XANA's changed tactics. He's sent one of his monsters to Earth for the first time. How did he manage that?" Jeremie muttered.

"Who cares! The problem is how do you suggest getting rid of him?" Odd asked.

"Like we always do, we fight them!" Ulrich said.

"I think I can help," Sissi said, holding her cane in both hands. "And with a bit of aluminum foil, we might have some armor."

"What do you mean?" Jeremie asked. The black-haired girl slowly opened the door with her cane held much like a rifle. Shutting her left eye, she looked down the length of her cane. The Kankerlot whirled its head around as Sissi took aim. She pressed a small button on the handle, and an electric blue light shot out of the tip and scrambled the Kankerlot's system. It burst into pieces and left Odd, Ulrich, and Jeremie staring with wide eyes.

Odd stuttered, "H-How did you do that?"

"The electromagnetic disruptor! You put it in your cane," Jeremie exclaimed.

"Guys, let's hurry it up! Sissi, can we use your cane?" Ulrich asked.

"You'll have to take me with you. I'm the only one who can work this thing."

"Right now, we don't have any choice," Ulrich muttered.

"Jeremie, find some aluminum foil. Ulrich and I will find Yumi," Sissi instructed. Jeremie scrambled for aluminum foil and tape and gave it to Sissi. "Do you think these things follow the basics of physics, space, and time?" She asked as she taped long sheets to Ulrich's back and front.

"Theoretically, yes. If your cane can do damage to them, then this foil will give us some protection, but not much."

"It's a risk I'm willing to take," said Sissi, taping the foil to her back, front, and shoulders. She tossed the rest to Odd. "Keep it with you, okay?"

"Got it! Thanks, Sissi," Odd smirked. The two blondes and Aelita rushed out the other end of the hall while Sissi and Ulrich found more Kankerlots heading their way.

"How much power does that thing hold?" Ulrich asked.

"About as much as your cellphone divided by half," Sissi answered.

"So… two hours roughly."

"Give or take. Which means it's like… 25 shots." Ulrich's eyes jumped out. "It's like a gun, okay! Of course, I'm gonna run out of ammo! We just need to be careful. Now come on!" Charging forward, the two jumped past the Kankerlots and lept down the stairs.

"DAH!"

"Ulrich! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. They just shot me in the back. But the tin definitely helped," Ulrich grumbled. "Come on, keep going." Turning down the stairs, they saw bullet-sized holes dotting the halls. Torn posters and broken lockers groaned under the blasts of spiderlike creatures. Cracks in the concrete walls and shattered glass from the windows added to the horrid scene. Gasping for air, Ulrich and Sissi raced down the hall.

"Why do they have to look like bugs?!" Sissi whined as one Kankerlot charged at them from behind. "Duck!" A javelin sung through the air, whizzed past their heads, and pierced the demonic creature right through its eye. Sissi panted and briefly looked up at their Japanese savior. Ulrich breathed heavily with a smile as did Sissi."Nice shot!"

"What would you do without me?" Yumi smirked.

"Die by the hand of an ugly spider," Sissi wheezed.

"Come on! We better hurry!" Urged Yumi. The three ran out into the schoolyard where several of the nasty bugs clanked and whirred around. One got a little too close to Yumi's right, and Sissi shot it clean through the eye. "Good aim."

"Practiced at a shooting range with my uncle," Sissi explained.

"We need weapons. Sissi, can you cover us?" Ulrich asked. After a nod, they sprinted full speed to the groundskeeper's shed. Scrambling inside, Ulrich shut the door and panted, "It looks like they have their eyes set on us." Sissi, who was sitting on the floor and gasping for air, slowly rose to her feet only to suddenly crash down. She inhaled sharply as she rubbed her thigh.

"Are you ok?" Yumi said.

"It's just my leg again. I'll be fine," Sissi griped. The look of concern on the Japanese's face didn't go away until Ulrich picked up a chain saw. "Either way, we can protect ourselves better if we all have weapons." Yumi nodded and picked up an ax.

"Get ready for the fun," Ulrich smirked as the saw roared to life.

Just as one Kankerlot marched past the shed, it registered a sound behind it. "Hey, over here!" It spun around only to see the two Lyoko warriors charging towards it and everything going static. "Come on, we have to go to the factory," Ulrich said.

"What about Sissi?" Yumi asked.

"Just get to the factory, okay?! If it can stop this attack, fine by me! I'll keep them off of you," Sissi shouted urgently. Yumi stared at her for a while and then nodded. Blasting and scrapping the Kankerlots in their way, they stormed towards the factory where they saw Sissi's expert marksmanship firsthand. Regularly, she would kneel on one leg and shoot the target twenty feet away straight through their eye.

"Wow, Sissi! You're amazing!" Yumi praised.

"Thank me when we get out of this!" She replied. Then she heard a beeping on her cane. "Oh No!"

"What's the matter?"

"The batteries are dying. I maybe have one last shot!" Sissi groaned, "Change of plans." She clinked another hidden button under the cane's handle and a short little blade poked out the end. Suddenly, Sissi threw her spear-cane at an incoming Kankerlot, sinking its pointed tip into its circuits. Sprinting towards it, she quickly retrieved it and ran for the factory. "Come on!" They were getting closer and closer to the factory when three Kankerlots suddenly surrounded them. Backs against a tree, Yumi, Ulrich, and Sissi were cornered.

"AH! We're not going to make it!" shouted Yumi.

But then

"YAAAHHHHH! HAHA! Take that you little cockroach."

"Jim?" Sissi shook her head awake, trying to process what was happening. With a nail gun in hand, Jim the coach shot down each and every Kankerlot.

"Wow, Jim. This is the one time I' glad you caught us," Ulrich sighed.

"My friends call me Jim-bo, got it?"

"Wait, so Jim knows you guys' secret, but I don't. Okay, that's not fair!" Sissi muttered. Her voice was low enough not to alarm anyone, but she was nonetheless annoyed.

"Sissi, we don't have time for fighting. I'll call Jeremie," Ulrich said.

"And what about our secret," Yumi said, glaring at Sissi. "I thought you didn't care about it."

"I don't," She answered quickly, "But why does Jim know and I have to scratch for pieces in the dark like a blind mole rat?!"

"He found out by accident."

"So what?"

"It just happened. Besides, you already know about Lyoko."

"Yeah, but I could have helped you guys more if you told me!" Sissi shouted. Slowly, the wall of her disguise came crashing down on her. She smacked her forehead, grumbling at her stupidity. Yumi crossed her arms, ax in hand, and frowned at the Dragon Queen.

"So, you know."

"Yes, long story short… actually I don't think I can make that story short. I don't know everything about Lyoko. What I do know is that you guys need to get to Lyoko to stop XANA. NOW! Jim and I will take care of these guys," Sissi said.

Ulrich's hand gently rested on Yumi's shoulder. "Yumi, we have to go," He said. Yumi sighed, giving a long silent look that Sissi couldn't decipher. Whether it was disappointment or betrayal, Sissi couldn't figure it out. She didn't have time to when a sudden laser interrupted her thoughts. Quick as a flash, Yumi and Ulrich darted for the factory. Soon, more whirring metal machines came towards Sissi and Jim who stood side by side.

"So, you know about Lyoko, Aelita, the activated tower-"

"All I know," Sissi interrupted Jim, "is that they can stop XANA and save the world." She stopped for a moment, threw her cane's blade at a Kankerlot, and quickly rolled out of the blast of another. She ran to it and snatched it up before rolling back to Jim. "All I do is try and make gadgets."

"Wow, and you make those things for them?"

"Yeah," Sissi said, grumbling as she dodged another laser. "But they didn't know that I knew."

"Wow, you must stick your neck out for them a lot."

"Yeah, but they don't trust me. So, after this," Sissi dropped her head, "I don't know what's going to happen. Maybe they'll just trash me just like I-" Suddenly, Jim pushed her out of the way of a laser that shot Jim in the shoulder. "Jim!"

"Don't worry about me! YAH!" He shot back and vanquished the creature. "Listen to me, kid. It doesn't matter if they talk to you or not. You're trying to do your best, right?"

"Yeah, but-"

"You're trying your best, that's all anyone can ask for. It doesn't matter if you're the only soldier doing the right thing. You got to keep marching on," Jim said. Sissi nodded and flung her cane at another Kankerlot. She ran towards the laser fire as Jim covered her. When she grabbed her cane, she heard a sickening, "AHH!"

"Jim!" Sissi spun around and saw Jim on the ground, holding his shoulder. A Kankerlot crept towards him and took aim. "Okay, this counts as a last-ditch effort!" Sissi quickly switched the cane back into a blaster and shot the Kankerlot into pieces. She ran to Jim's side and helped him up. Other creatures crawled up to them. "Jim, I don't know if we'll make it."

"Then we go down with a fight," Jim weakly smiled. The boldness in his eyes slowly faded, but they held in for the last minute. She looked at the coach and smiled with tears pouring down her cheeks. Then all of a sudden, the gears and whirring stopped. The Kankerlots froze in place. Then she looked to her left and saw the bright ball of light.

"We made it," Sissi panted, dropping to the ground as the bright sphere covered them.

Continued...