Unexpected
"Jeremie! Tell Ulrich and Yumi to get here now!" Sissi shouted.
"Sissi, this isn't the time to-"
"Don't argue Einstein! Just do it! The tower is a decoy!" Odd, Sissi, and Aelita raced to the outer dome where the overboard and the overbike were waiting. Odd and Aelita took the overboard. Her X-sense grew stronger.
"I don't understand this," Jeremie grumbled to himself and typed, "Why is she so-" Then he saw something going on in the middle of the screen. "Oh no." Odd, Sissi, and Aelita could see swarms of mantas flying around the southern tip of the dome. "Hey, Sissi?"
"Who was right?" She boasted.
Jeremie sulked, groaning, "You were right."
"Alright. We'll clean up shop here." Sissi flew into the horde of manta, drawing their attention. She launched Punch Rings and blasted one of the mantas to pieces. The other two followed Odd and shot his tail.
"DAh! These things won't let up," He panted.
"Maybe you can throw one of your shoes at them," Aelita suggested.
"Very funny. Watch, I'll prove that Odd can Dahhhhh!"
"ODD!" Sissi and Aelita shouted. The cat fell and de-virtualized into nothingness. Sissi rode next to the mantas and fired her shot into one of them. The other veered up.
"Aelita, get into the tunnel. I'll take care of this one," Sissi shouted. The Viking climbed up with the manta, tire to belly. They flew up and peaked. The Manta glided back down underneath her tire. Sissi gritted her teeth and cocked her arm back "Punch Ring!" The manta exploded underneath her. "Hm, that's for Odd."
"You can take vengeance later. Aelita needs your help," Jeremie said.
"Oh, right!" She zoomed to the southern tip and flew right up through the tunnel. Creepers and mantas littered the room, blasting their lasers at the shielded core. Sissi revved the bike and soared up to the core; Aelita hopped up the side blocks. Two mantas swooped down and blasted the overbike. She jumped over to Aelita and tumbled to the ground. A Creeper shot Sissi, but Aelita blocked it. The Viking slowly stood up, panting. "How do you do this, Princess?"
"Better than you have," Aelita lightly chuckled.
Sissi turned around and launched a Punch Ring at a Creeper. "Jeremie?"
"The others are coming!" Jeremie replied. Sissi glanced down and saw Yumi and Ulrich racing up the sides.
"Dah!" A laser shot Sissi's arm.
"Sissi, careful! One more shot and you'll be de-virtualized!"
"I know, Jeremie!"
"Then dodge the lasers!"
"Grrr! Punching Fury!" She hurled hundreds of rings at the Creepers on the walls, destroying two mantas and three Creepers. Sissi panted and growled as Ulrich and Yumi finally reached them.
"You look tired," Yumi quipped.
"General Jeremie is annoying," Sissi grumbled back.
BOOM!
They saw the core's first shield exploded. "Let's go!" Sissi shouted.
Yumi, Sissi, Ulrich, and Aelita raced up the steps and redirected the on-coming lasers. Yumi threw her fans, slicing Creepers to bits. Aelita and Sissi stood back-to-back as two Creepers cornered them. Aelita and Sissi blasted the two together. Sprinting ahead, Ulrich slashed through a line of Creepers. The room was finally free of the monsters.
"Nice one everyone. You know, Aelita," Jeremie stammered, "You still have a tower to de-activate. But if you want to stop at a terminal to collect some data on Franz Hopper. Uh... I mean-n-n-n if you want to."
Aelita smiled, "Sure why not."
Sissi scribbled some notes when Jeremie came into her room. "Hey, what's up?" Sissi asked from her desk.
"We found some data on Franz Hopper," Jeremie said.
"So he's still alive?"
"Yeah."
"That's great," Sissi smiled briefly. There was a long pause before she turned around. "So why are you here?" The boy's hands were tangled in his blond hair. He avoided looking at her eyes.
"I'm sorry for being a jerk," He sighed, "I already apologized to Aelita and-"
"Oh! Jeremie, it's okay. If anything I should be apologizing to you. I didn't mean to bark at you like that," Sissi smiled. "But I guess the adrenaline went straight through me."
"I guess, but... thanks for setting me straight."
Sissi got out of her chair and ruffled the blonde's hair with a warm smile. "Any time, but try to think before you say stuff, Einstein."
"Will do." Just then, a strong odorous smell assaulted their noses. Jeremie instinctively caught his nose. "Do you smell that?"
"The dead could smell that," Sissi grunted in nasal pain. They looked out the door and saw Odd walking toward them.
"Great news, guys!" Odd smiled.
"It doesn't smell like it. Urgh! Odd! What the heck did you do, jump in a dumpster?" Jeremie exclaimed.
"What's wrong? It's supposed to cure my foot problem."
"The cream only made it worse! Geez!" Sissi dove into her room and locked the door. Jeremie pounded on the door. "You're on your own, Jeremie! Find cover!"
"Traitor! Don't let me die out here, Sissi!" The four-eyed blonde wailed.
"What's going on here!" Boomed Jim. His face twisted in disgust. "Aw, Odd! What is that horrible smell?"
"You like it? Yolanda gave it to me for my feet."
"Odd, I'll pay you to never use that cream again. Now go take a shower, a long shower, and get that smell out of your feet."
"Hmph, no one appreciates the lengths I go through to please people," Odd huffed as he marched to the showers.
Sissi jumped up. A lump of air caught in her throat. Time slowed. Focus sharpened. Teeth gritted. The middle of her board struck the metal railing, and she slid down with ease. She stuck the landing and rolled out onto the pavement, breathing easier. The dark girl clapped. "Alright! That was amazing! You're a natural now. I don't think Odd could do better."
"You're just trying to get on my good side," Sissi smirked, stopping the board.
"You have one?" Sam asked. The two giggled. "Anyway, you're finally skateboarding like a pro."
"I wouldn't say that, but it's much better than when I started," Sissi sighed. Sitting down on the concrete, she took off the knee and elbow pads as Sam sat next to her. Sissi glanced at her friend's far-off look. The Mechanist half-smiled, "You're thinking about Odd?"
"H-How could you tell?" Sam asked.
"You're looking in the school's direction." Sissi smiled a heavy smile, like the corners of her lips could barely lift up. She refocused on her pads. "What's the problem?"
"You would laugh," Sam frowned.
"Well, it better be a better joke than Odd's, or you're not gonna replace him as court jester."
"What?"
"Never mind, inside joke," Sissi waved it off. Sam stared at her for a brief moment before gazing in the school's direction again.
"You promise to answer honestly?"
Sissi stopped what she was doing and looked at her dark friend. "Only if you do," She said with a raised eyebrow.
Silence stood like a brick wall between them.
"Do you... do you like Odd?" Sam asked.
"Do you?"
"You're not answering the question."
"Neither are you." The two girls glared at each other. The cool wind blew against Sissi's arm, almost as if it were trying to hold her back.
"I'm... I'm going to enter the skateboard tournament at the school."
"Sam, what does that-"
"After that... I'm going to the coast. So, I won't ever see Odd again."
Sissi scoffed as she pulled herself up with the aid of her cane. "And I thought I was the drama queen. There is such a thing as a cell phone, you know."
"I don't do well with long-distance."
"But this has to do with Odd because?" Sam rose from the ground and looked Sissi squarely in the eye. The dark girl shivered for a second before she took a deep breath and said,
"I... I don't want you to be around Odd."
Sissi rose her eyebrow. Her lips never quivered. She cooly looked at Sam's dark eyes. "And if I refuse?"
"Then I'll fight you for him."
"Physically?"
"I wouldn't need to," Sam flashed a smug but trembling smile. "I'm sure that Odd wouldn't like you harming me."
"Nice tactic. You've been learning from me," The Dragon Queen smiled with all her pearly white teeth shining. Probably the most beautiful fangs one could find.
"Well?" Sam asked. She started tapping her foot. Sissi gave no smile or frown. Just a steady gaze at the girl's eyes. Racing thoughts screamed through Sam's mind. She clenched her fist until the veins popped out. The wind relentlessly wound about their black hairs, tossing them about.
Finally, Sissi sighed, "It doesn't matter, Sam. He likes you, you like him. But... I don't know if he likes me."
"He spends so much time with you, though."
"And? I don't even know if he likes me."
"He could like you."
Sissi's eyebrows furrowed. "Why are you scared of me?" Sam's teeth gritted together while she gazed at the dirt ground with tight fists. She shut her eyes before forcefully saying,
"Because you're better than me! You're smart, pretty, confident! You're the perfect girl for him! I'm just a...I'm just a girl that gets in trouble a lot."
"You're wrong." Sam looked up. "I was just a whiny brat that Odd never even looked at. You, on the other hand, are everything that I want to be. Independent, brave, cool. You're not scared of risks. Me?" Sissi looked at the ground. "I can't even figure out if Odd likes me. And you're afraid that he'll go after me because I'm 'better'? No, once Odd's loyal, he'll never leave your side. You know that." It was quiet for too long, and Sissi grumbled at the silence. "Look, you're perfect for Odd, and I'm not going to get in the way of that."
"But... what about you?"
"I'll find someone else. I'll cry about it, but it's better to move on."
"Sissi, you're not like this," Sam said, "Why are you doing this? Why aren't upset or angry or clawing out my hair?"
Sissi awkwardly cleared her throat, "Well, to be perfectly honest, I don't know if that's your real hair and-"
"SISSI!"
"What? I'm serious! I know I'm not supposed to touch other people's hair."
Sam rolled her eyes. "Yes, my hair just so happens to be real and straight. Genes, I guess."
"The real reason is that... I see you as a friend, a good one. I don't want to lose that. More than anything, I just want people that I can be myself around. Yes, Odd is someone I think I'm interested in, but... if it comes between you being my friend, I think I can get past my feelings."
"Whew!" Sam breathed. Sissi tilted her head. "I want the same thing." The Mechanist beamed bright and hugged Sam tightly. But Sam frowned as she pulled away. "But what about Odd?"
"I think we should let him decide. A little pressure will help him, don't you think?" Sissi grinned from ear to ear. Sam nodded with the same look. As the girls walked to the school grounds, a frown crept onto Sam's face.
"I think he's going to pick you though. You're closer, and I'm going to be leaving."
"Don't worry about what might happen. Just enjoy your time with him now."
"Hehe, you even sound like him."
Sissi happily shrugged. "Who knows, maybe you'll find someone out of the blue that you like even better." Just then, someone tapped her shoulder. Sissi spun around and saw a person she didn't expect to meet today. "William?"
"Hey," William waved, with a slight clench in his jaw. "I know I'm going to hate asking this, but-"
"I actually don't know where Yumi is this time. I mean, you could try her-"
"Actually, I needed some help with the set up for the End of School Year party. Since the skateboard tournament is coming in a few weeks, I don't know how or where I'm going to put everything."
"Oh," Sissi said. She knew that it wasn't a good idea to ask Jeremie and Aelita because they would be working on Lyoko. "Don't worry. I'll help."
William's eyes squinted, "Why are you helping?"
"Well, Ulrich and Yumi-" She stopped short, "I'm just in a helpful mood. Don't look too into it, bad boy," Sissi smirked slyly yet bemusedly.
"Yeah, yeah whatever." Then William noticed Sam. "Oh, who are you?"
"This is Samantha. We call her Sam. She's been teaching me how to skateboard," Sissi said.
"With your-" Will paused, "I mean."
"It's okay, William. I know I'm crippled," Sissi smirked.
"So you skateboard," William spoke to Sam. Sam nodded. "That's great. I could show you some moves if you want."
Sam's eyebrow rose. "What makes you think you could teach me anything?" Sissi slipped out of the way of their 'conversation'.
"I was just saying. I'm pretty good at skateboarding," William continued.
"Better than Odd?"
"He's good, but I could beat him at the tournament if I wanted to."
"Why aren't you entering then?"
William shrugged, "I have other things to worry about other than beating him."
Sam pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. "You know the La Seine Skate route?"
"Like the back of my hand."
"Good," Sam said with a sly smile. "Get my number from Sissi. I have time to beat your butt before the tournament."
"Can't wait," William returned the smirk. Sam, evaporating her glare, smiled wholesomely at Sissi.
"See you later, Sissi."
"Yeah... See you," The Mechanist said slowly. Sam glanced at William and walked away. Sissi turned to William. He stared Sam down; his smirk was still plastered on his face. "So... that equipment?"
"Oh!" William blinked awake. "Right, right. Why don't you come later on?"
"I'll try to put it in my schedule."
"Okay, see you then." With that, he ran off. Sissi blinked a couple of times before walking over to the dormitory. A few feet from her were Jeremie and Aelita standing with glancing eyes and furrowed eyebrows.
"What was that about?" Jeremie asked.
"I don't know," Sissi answered.
"And why were Sam and William talking to each other?" Aelita asked.
"I don't know."
"So... what happened?" Jeremie and Aelita asked.
"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know," Sissi wailed like a lost soul. "I'm going to bed." With that declaration, she walked her confused mind to her pillow. Jeremie and Aelita stood there without anything to say.
Continued...