Isolation
Her eyes dug and scooped into the computer screen as her fingers danced like a spider at a rodeo. The speed of her fingers tapping at the keyboard was hard to follow for Yumi, Odd, and Jeremie. "Wow, Sissi, I'm surprised you picked up the supercomputer so quickly," Jeremie commented.
"It's not easy. I'm definitely sticking with machines," Sissi muttered, still typing away. She pulled away from the screen and rolled her wrist around. Grimacing, Sissi balled her hand into a fist before slowly relaxing. She did this several times over. "My poor hands are gonna be crippled by the time I master it."
"But on the bright side, we have someone else who can operate the supercomputer," Yumi said.
"Actually, now that you mention it, there's something I've been meaning to ask. How is Sissi so smart?" Odd asked.
"Well, I'm not you, so that's one reason," Sissi grinned slyly.
"Ha, ha, ha," Odd muttered.
"When I was in the scanner, I remember feeling something like electricity coursing through me. Maybe the supercomputer altered my thinking capacity. I don't know everything, but it seems like I can learn anything. At the most, I can make machines, but complex programming is not my specialty," Sissi shrugged.
"Jeremie, is that possible?" Yumi asked.
"Yeah, sure, why not?"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'Yeah, sure?!'" Odd and Yumi yelled.
"After Sissi explained how she got here, I'm willing to believe anything about the supercomputer's capabilities." Sissi stood up and stretched her back. She grabbed her cane and rolled her wrists around, hearing the pops of stiff bones.
"For now, I just know how to virtualize/devirtualize you guys, locate towers and monsters, and launch a return to the past. I don't know how to get your vehicles up and running yet," Sissi said.
"Don't worry. For now, you know the basics," Jeremie replied. Cracking the tension in her back, Sissi blinked her yawning tears away. "I think that's enough for one day. Why don't we get to bed?" Jeremie yawned.
"Yeah, but I think you might need a shower, Sissi," Yumi commented.
"What do you-" She sniffed herself and coughed at the smell. "Okay, noted." As they laughed their way out of the factory, Jeremie quietly walked behind them. It was a weirdly heavy silence, not unlike a first awkward date. "Hey, what's wrong? Missing Aelita already?" Sissi smirked. "Don't worry, you'll see her tomorrow."
"No, it's not that. I'm worried about her virus... and something else," Jeremie replied.
"What is it?" Odd asked.
Jeremie stopped just after the factory bridge. "How is Aelita going to fit in here? I mean, Kadic Academy isn't the friendliest place for new people."
"Don't worry, buddy. She's got us for company," Odd smiled. Jeremie smiled back, but then he saw Sissi's frown. She said nothing for a while. It was only until they got to the school that Jeremie finally spoke up.
"Sissi, are you okay?"
"I'm just thinking," she sighed; her weight closer to the ground. "When I was in the previous timeline, I was a big bully to you guys, especially to Aelita when she first came."
"So? You're not that way anymore, right?" Odd asked.
"No, but whenever a villain leaves, another fills his or her place. I'm just wondering if Aelita will still be bullied by someone else," Sissi sighed sadly.
"Well, the only way to make sure that doesn't happen is to stay close to her and never leave her side," Odd smiled.
"Even if she's in the bathroom?" Sissi smirked. Odd chuckled nervously while the others laughed.
The next day, Sissi was getting up for her shower when she heard a scream coming from Aelita's room. "Aelita, Aelita! Are you alright?! Scream again if you're in trouble! Wait, what am I saying?"
"I-I-I-I'm fine. It was just a nightmare," the reply came. The pink-haired teen slowly opened the door and peeked out the small crack. "Did I wake anyone?"
"No, just the dead. You scared me for a moment."
"S-s-s-s-sorry," the girl's hand still trembled on the doorframe.
"Come on, let's go take a shower," Sissi smiled. The girls got to the showers, seeing no particularly long line, "Huh."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, it's just... there's usually a long line for the showers. Where is everyone?" Sissi asked.
"Simple," Said Milly as she and Tamiya walked down the hall, "You don't take long showers anymore, so everyone has enough hot water now."
"Oh, right," Sissi chuckled sheepishly. Then the two little girls ran up to Aelita.
"Hey, Aelita, we were wondering about you. We need to make a scoop about transfer students for the Kadic Academy school newspaper, and we wanted to ask you some questions. How is Canada? Is it cold all the time?" Milly asked.
"And is it true that you and Jeremie are a thing?" Tamiya giggled. Aelita blushed brightly.
"Let me answer that. Great, sometimes, and stay tuned. Now get going you two. Don't bother Aelita right now. She's still new."
"But we were just asking questions, Sissi," said Tamiya.
"And she'll get to your questions later when she's settled in. Now get going." As the two pouting imps ran along, Sissi rested her hand on Aelita's shoulder. She could see her eyes absentmindedly staring into the nearby wall. "Aelita, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I was just... thinking about my dream," Aelita replied. "I'll go take a shower." She sniffed and then held her nose. "and you should too."
"Alright, alright, I get it! Geez, is everyone a scent critic today!" Sissi stormed off back to her room. Aelita giggled shortly and walked into the showers.
Afterward, Aelita met up with the rest of the gang in the schoolyard. Though the sun was shining bright, Aelita couldn't help but feel as if it was mocking her tired eyes. "Did you sleep well?" Yumi asked.
"Not really. I had another nightmare. The same one," She paused.
"Hey, look who's here," Odd said. There, coming out of the school building, was Sissi with her hair still wrapped in a towel. Odd snickered, "Wow, Sissi, I didn't know that you were taking up Indian culture." Sissi grumbled and, with both hands, grabbed Odd by the collar.
"Listen to me, dog for brains, if you keep making these jokes about me, I'm going to make your dog dig your own grave."
"Okay! Okay! Geez!" Sissi released him, letting him scramble away from the furious she-dragon. She took the towel out of her hair and flipped her hair back. It was still moist and it seemed to irritate her even more. "What's got you so miffed? My jokes aren't all bad."
"So you admit that they are bad, huh?" Ulrich smirked. "What's wrong, Sissi?"
"Nothing. The showers just cut off when I went in. I had to wash the soap and shampoo out in the sink. It was just a pain."
"Anyways, I did some research about the person who owns the Hermitage, and I found out it was owned by a guy named Franz Hopper," Jeremie said. "And from the online records, I discovered he was a teacher here at Kadic Academy."
"Are you sure?" Yumi asked.
"Think about it. It's pretty hard to find two different people with a name like Franz Hopper in a five-mile radius," Ulrich said.
"Only way to be sure is to go into the school's records. Today, during study period," Jeremie said.
"Wait, if he was a teacher here, then I could just ask my daddy for information about him," Sissi said.
Yumi rose an eyebrow. "Wouldn't he be suspicious?" She asked.
"Not really, all I could say is that Milly and Tamiya are doing some article about old teachers and ran across that name. He could also give me a picture of the guy." Yumi and Ulrich looked at each other. "It's much safer than sneaking through the records."
"She's got a point," Jeremie said. "Okay, during study period, Sissi and I will go to Delmas."
"We'll wait outside for you," Ulrich said as Odd nodded.
"I'll come with you," Aelita added.
"That's not a good idea. Jim is used to seeing Ulrich and Odd out of class, but if he sees you, you'll probably get into more trouble," Sissi explained, "That and the fewer people involved the better."
"The Dragon Queen's got a point."
"Odd, I oughta'-"
"Okay, we'll meet up at lunch," Jeremie said. With that, Sissi and the boys ran to Delmas's office. It wasn't long until Jeremie noticed Sissi's frown. "What's the matter?"
"I'm just thinking about what we said last night about Aelita. I'm starting to wonder if we're right to worry."
"Aw come on, with friends like us around, she has no need to feel lonely," Odd smiled. Sissi grumbled, still unsatisfied.
While they were busy with Mr. Delmas, Aelita struggled to the lunchroom. The different combinations of food and treats were overwhelming, and it took a while for her to figure out what to eat. "Hey, come on. We're hungry!" shouted the students behind her.
"Oh, sorry," Aelita shrunk back. She moved her tray along, eyeing the boiled eggs, steaming black beans, and freshly cooked bread. Rosetta, the cook, smiled widely,
"What will it be, honey?"
"Well, I-"
"Come on, we're starving over here!" murmured some hungry kids. Rosetta gave a scowl to shut them up, but when she looked back to Aelita, she was gone. Aelita stood at the end of the line with an empty tray. Sighing, she hung her head. Then she spotted Yumi and was about to go sit next to her when she saw the Japanese girl sit next to William Dumbar.
"I shouldn't bother her," Aelita sighed again and walked out of the cafeteria. A strange pain pulled her heart down, making her loneliness all the worse. Some girls were outside, whispering together.
She's such a weird girl. I can't believe Odd and Ulrich hang out with her, they whispered.
Then they said aloud, "Hey, why don't you go back to where you came from?"
The spear of alienation struck her heart hard. She shouted, "You know what, maybe I will go back! At least I'm welcomed there!" Then she ran off into the forest. Her eyes were blinded by stinging tears. Her feet ran by memory to the factory.
As this was going on, Sissi and the guys, after getting the information from her dad, decided to go to the Hermitage to get more information on Franz Hopper. "This place is still creepy," Ulrich said.
"And disgusting. Ugh! Why didn't I realize this when I was first here?" Sissi mentioned.
"Because you were too focused on the thought that you had lost your chance to make true friends," Jeremie said casually. Sissi stared at him with wide, shocked eyes and a gaping mouth. Ulrich and Odd had similar faces. "Am I wrong?"
"N-No, but... let's just get this over with. Aelita is waiting for us," She huffed. They searched everywhere in the grey dusty house. Graffiti decorated the walls and the furniture was still in disarray. Ulrich, Odd, and Sissi looked around the living room for any sign while Jeremie looked upstairs in the study.
"Euh," Sissi muttered, shivering.
"Are you alright?" Ulrich asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Are you cold?"
Sissi gently brushed his hand off her shoulder. "I'm fine. Let's go see what Jeremie found." She walked upstairs, but Ulrich stayed for a moment with a confused face.
"What's wrong?" Odd asked him.
"Nothing." After shaking his head, Ulrich and Odd went upstairs to find Jeremie. "Find anything?" Ulrich asked.
"Just textbooks: Freud, Physics, and... HEY! What's this doing here?" He pulled out a brown book with a bronze-colored depiction of warriors on elephants.
"The Tunic wars. What's that?"
"Punic, not tunic. The war between the Romans and the Carthaginians. We studied it last year. Don't you remember?" Jeremie asked Ulrich.
"No."
"Wow, you were are bad at history," Odd jabbed. Jeremie opened the book. Markings in red pen beautified the book all over.
"These notes, I'm sure Hopper wrote them," He said. Sissi looked at her watch. It had a big round face and digital numbers blinking in dull green light.
"Hey, we better get back to school before anyone notices," She mentioned. As they exited the house, Sissi couldn't remove the frown on her face. Her stare was fixed out into nothingness, and the steady thump of her cane was concerned in its very nature. When the others asked what's wrong, she simply replied, "I just have a weird feeling that something's... off."
"Wow, you're starting to be paranoid like Yumi," Odd commented.
"I hope it's just paranoia," She muttered.
In the classroom, Jeremie, Odd, Ulrich, and Sissi all sat down. Mrs. Hertz struggled to get the class quiet. "Alright settle down everyone. Where is Aelita Stones? Jeremie, do you know where Aelita is?"
Jeremie's eyes popped out of their sockets and scanned the room. "Uh... no, ma'am I don't." Ulrich and Odd looked at Sissi, who only shrugged her shoulders. The girls that had whispered mean things about Aelita at the mess hall spoke up.
"Well, she said something about going back to where she came from." Sissi, who was right behind the girls, widened her eyes.
"How do you girls know this?" Mrs. Hertz asked.
"We were talking about how weird she was and-"
Sissi shot up from her desk, slammed her palms to her desk, and glared fiercely at the girls, slowly growling, "You idiots did WHAT?!" Shaking in their seats, they slowly turned around and met her snarling face. The girls had forgotten that Aelita was a friend of the Dragon Queen herself.
Suddenly, "AAARGH!" Sissi nearly collapsed, catching herself on the desk. "Mrs. Hertz, could I be excused? My leg hurts."
"Of course, Sissi."
"Could we help her?" Odd, Jeremie, and Ulrich asked.
"Well, uh... I guess," Mrs. Hertz said. Sissi, with the help of Jeremie, limped out of the classroom, but not before she glowered a black look at the mean girls shivering in their seats.
"That was a nice stunt, Sissi," Ulrich said as they got out of class.
"It wasn't a stunt," Sissi grumbled, rubbing her leg. "I'll be fine. It just surprised me for a moment. Right now, we have to find Aelita."
"Where would she be?" Ulrich asked.
"The place she came from: Lyoko," Jeremie said, running down the hall. "Call Yumi!"
"Come on, let's go. Can you make it, Sissi?" Odd asked.
"I'll be fine. Let's go!"
Continued...