Disclaimer: Code Lyoko is copyrighted by Moonscoop.
I only own Lila and Mia. Mary is owned by AeroJester203.
This chapter was written by me. It was edited by AwesomeFanFictionAuthor.
Enjoy!
I'd Rather Not Talk About It
In the woods
POV Lila's
We're in the woods, running while Jeremy watches. The others are all heavily panting, their faces red. William is right behind me, he didn't seem too tired. They are surprised that I'm leading the way, and that I'm not panting as heavily as the others. Kiwi is running with us too, and he's ahead of me. Mary isn't here at all since she doesn't need to physically train her body.
It's a good thing I've exercised my body in the past, I think. Although I will admit Jeremy is kind of pushing our limits, I am getting a bit tired.
Yumi and Ulrich's panting becomes worse, and Sissi is starting to stagger a bit, too.
Jeremy is ahead of us on the trail, waving his hand and holding a stopwatch with the other.
"Come on, come on. Move it a little faster, faster!" he orders.
I start picking up the pace and so do the others.
"I don't believe it, he's trying to kill us!" Aelita exclaims.
We reach Jeremy and Kiwi. Odd is the first one to collapse. The others do too, William and I fall to our knees, trying to catch our breath. Jeremy clicks the stopwatch.
"You guys are ridiculous. You are way too slow, what a bunch of snails," Jeremy says. We look at him, a bit annoyed. Jeremy bends down, looking at Odd.
"Except you, Odd, even a snail runs faster than you."
Odd gets up immediately and points to Jeremy. "Since when does the least athletic person in the world think he's better than I am?" he asks, pointing to himself.
Sissi gets up.
"He does have a point, Einstein."
William gets up, too.
"Yeah, that's for sure."
Ulrich gets up.
"I agree with the others. Getting a little carried away, are we?" he asks.
Jeremy looks at us and I stand up straight.
"I do think it was a bit of an overkill, Jeremy," I say. He looks over to Yumi, who has her arms crossed, and then Aelita, who isn't saying anything. Kiwi starts growling and Jeremy looks down at him. Jeremy puts his hands up and then points to the stopwatch.
"Don't blame me. The stopwatch doesn't lie, you guys."
Afterwards
Back at Kadic
Benches area
William, Odd, and Ulrich are sitting on one bench. Yumi, Sissi, Aelita, and I are sitting on the other. Jeremy is standing with his arms crossed and Mary is standing next to him.
"That was even worse than the last time. How do you expect to beat Xana if you don't speed it up?" Jeremy asks. Odd shrugs.
"You're a real comedian Einstein. All you ever do is time us, anybody can do that."
Jeremy looks up and to the side, he puts his hands on his hips. "One thing is for sure, if you guys don't get into shape then you're never going to get any stronger and Xana is going to beat you hands down."
He then puts it hand up. "But if you think you'd want another trainer, be my guest."
"Maybe… maybe there's a better way of getting in shape?" Yumi asks.
Jeremy looks at Yumi, his hands on his hips now. "I get it. You're just badly trained and if you guys can't keep up, it's my fault," he turns his back behind us but it looks like he's crossing his arms.
"Well yeah," It seems we're all in agreement.
"Okay, fine. I may not be the best trainer in the world, but you have to admit you don't exactly listen to me," Jeremy says, looking at us.
"That's true, too. What if there's someone else we could find? Like a specialist or something?" I ask.
"A specialist? You mind telling me where'd you expect to find one?" Jeremy asks.
"There's Jim," Mary says, speaking up.
"Jim? Of course, that makes sense," Aelita says, smiling.
"You might want to sit this one out though, 'Mia'," I say, just in case some students overhear us.
"Of course. I'll meet up with Emily then," Mary says. She waves goodbye to us and we wave back, except for Jeremy.
Boy's dorm floor
Outside Jim's room
Jeremy knocks on his door and it opens. I can hear workout music being played in Jim's room and Jim puts his hand on his hip.
"Now just what do you think you're doing here? Can't a man have even a little peace and quiet on a Saturday?" Jim asks, then closes his door.
"Well it's simple. Although, well, you might think it's a little crazy," Jeremy replies.
"Nothing can surprise me ever since I orbited the Earth," Jim mentions. "Spit it out Belpois."
Jeremy has his hands together. "Well, we've heard that you were once a special forces trainer."
Jim starts walking with his hands behind him. "That's right. Special Forces, yes I am. The Secret Division force," he mentions and then chuckles. "Ah, those were the good old days. But that being said, I'd rather not talk about it."
Jeremy walks a bit towards him, his hands still pressed together. "Would you be willing to train students? Like us, Jim?"
Jim turns around and looks back at us. "Train students?" he asks.
"Yeah," Jeremy says.
Jim starts walking towards us.
"Deal, meet me at the red cross trail crossroads at 1500 hours sharp." He goes to the front of his door. "Dressed for sports."
"You mean like, today?" William asks.
"That's right, Dunbar. It touches me students recognize and want to benefit from my experience and skill," Jim says. He puts his hand on Jeremy's shoulder.
"Especially you, Belpois. I never imagined anyone could turn you into a man. A real one."
Jim takes his hand off of Jeremy's shoulders, he opens the door and Jeremy puts his hands up.
"No, you don't understand, I was talking about training the others." He points over to us using both fingers. "Not for me."
"This training course is for everybody. 1500 hours, and I want you on time," Jim says. He walks into the room and looks at us. "Ya hear?" he asks, then closes the door on us.
Odd chuckles slightly. Sissi and Yumi can't help but laugh. I feel sort of satisfied, myself, if I'm being honest. Odd puts his hand on Jeremy's shoulder.
"This will do wonders for you, Jeremy. Now you'll be able to put your stopwatch away for a little while," he says. He shows off his muscles and then exclaims: "Alright!"
Afterwards
Under the arches
We're walking under the arches, Jeremy's leading the way.
"This is stupid," Jeremy says, and stops walking.
"I can't do a commando camp. I've got things on my plate."
"I think you're just afraid of sweating a little," Yumi says.
"Sounds like it," Sissi agrees.
"What if Xana attacks while we're training?" Jeremy asks.
"Bring your computer with you, that's all," Ulrich suggests. Aelita walks over to Jeremy and puts her hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, Jeremy. Jim's commando camp can't possibly do us any harm. Huh?" Aelita asks.
"With Jim, you never can tell," Jeremy replies.
"That's true. I guess we'll see," I say.
Later
Crossroads
We're running a little late, meeting up with Jim at the crossroads, seems Odd's watch is running a bit behind. We're in our usual gym attire. Mine is nothing special, just my old black sweatshirt and some black shorts that go down to my knees. My time machine necklace is kept under the sweatshirt, and I still have my running shoes. I've had this outfit for a while now, since day one. Sissi is lined up next to Odd and William on the other side of me.
"I have never seen a weaker pack of legless slugs in my life! 1500 hours sharp does not mean 1502 or 1503," Jim says, lifting his finger in the air.
"Um, we're not going to split hairs over a few seconds, huh? My watch –" Odd starts but Jim walks over to Odd and gets in his face.
"Your watch doesn't answer to me, Della Robbia. I give the orders around here so straighten up!" Jim orders, at which Odd winces. Jim starts hopping on one foot, then gets into a jogging position.
"Okay, let's go, we'll make our way to the combat clearing where we'll start you with some basic training. Like push-ups," Jim says. The others start moving along, William going ahead of me and Sissi, too[. I meet up with her. Jeremy and Aelita are behind us.
"This is not going to be fun," Sissi whispers to me as we jog side by side.
"Seems like it won't be, that's for sure," I nod, agreeing with her.
We make it to the spot Jim had mentioned earlier, and start doing push-ups.
"Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen," Jim counts. Some of us start to struggle, Jim walks in front of us but it seems William isn't having an issue with push ups. However, I am definitely struggling.
I should have kept up with my exercise routine more! I think.
We're struggling with our fifteenth push-up, Sissi and Jeremy seem like they're going to give up any second now.
"Hold that fifteen, hold it," Jim orders. Jeremy and Sissi collapses on the ground, and I try holding it as much as possible.
This can't possibly go on much longer! I think, then collapse on the ground, giving in.
"Hold it, I said," Jim says, and makes a time out sign.
"Alright, alright," he says, and the others stop doing their push-ups. I look at William and can't help but wonder how he's not out of breath. He seems to be doing a lot better than when we were with Jeremy. Sissi, Jeremy, and I get up Jim starts doing some other exercise.
"One, two, three, four. On your feet, breath in, breath out," Jim says, and we try to follow whatever he's doing. I look over at Jeremy, he seems completely wiped out, and he hasn't even started the exercise yet.
"Eyes front, Smith," Jim says.
"Yes sir," I reply.
"Easy does it, easy does it. One, two, three, four, five," Jim counts.
I think we should have stuck with Jeremy. He wasn't as harsh as Jim! Good thing I told Mary to stay out of it today! I think.
Jim bends down in front of Jeremy.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing, Belpois? This is only the beginning, by the time I'm through with you, you're going to be a man. So get up, now!" Jim exclaims. We stop doing the exercise and Jeremy gets up, his hands on his knees. He's panting.
"Jim, don't you think you're overdoing it? We want training, not torture," Yumi clarifies.
"Wrong again, young lady. You guys are all participating in Jim's boot camp, and that means two things. You sweat, and you don't complain, unless you want ten extra push ups. From this moment on, we live and die together as a group. Got it?" Jim asks.
"You're getting a bit carried away, Jim," Sissi mentions.
"You got it, Sissi?!" Jim exclaims, his hands on his hips.
The rest of us put our hands down, almost as if we're soldiers and shout:
"Sir, yes sir!"
"Okay, let's move! Three mile run," Jim says, and starts running. He runs past us and we all take a collective sigh. We start running with Jim as he counts.
"One, two, one, two. One, two." William is leading the way and the rest of us slowly trail behind him and Jim... We're tired.
"Come on!" Jim exclaims.
Jim decides to head back as Odd and Jeremy are way behind us.
"Come on, you guys. We can do it!" William exclaims, trying to motivate us.
We get to a spot and stop running. Odd and Jeremy walk over to us. They pant heavily and rest their hands on their knees.
"At this rate, we'll need at least a week to recover from Jim's camp. Kind of useless," Aelita says.
"I think you're right," I say.
Odd and Jeremy continue panting, sweating even, and Jim walks up to them.
"Dunbar, I'm the only one who calls the shots, got it?" Jim asks.
"Got it," William replies.
Jim walks over to us, it seems he overheard us. "Young ladies, it's diversity that creates strength and courage," he says. He makes a fist and puts it on his chest. Odd and Jeremy are still recovering.
"That's the shortest path to fame and glory," Jim says. He starts running past Sissi, Yumi, and Ulrich.
"Hup, hup, hup," he says. Odd and Jeremy look at him, slightly frustrated.
Afterwards
We're in an area we haven't seen before and Odd is pulling himself up against what appears to be a pole of what should hold a swing set. He's struggling, however, and falls. Dust comes off the ground from the impact.
"Cut the clowning around, Della Robbia, this is not a circus," Jim says, his hands on his hips.
After we all take our turns we move to a rather large net hanging over a tree arm. Jim points to Ulrich and me, since he knows my one weakness is rock climbing.
I should be fine, but this will be tough, I think.
Ulrich and I start climbing on the net. I get pretty high up and Ulrich makes it to the top. However, we start struggling.
"Stern, Smith, don't be wimps. You've got nothing to be afraid of except a sore bottom."
Shortly after that we moved to what Jim calls a "cat walk." Jeremy and Sissi are high up, holding themselves onto a rope. William hasn't been struggling at all with these challenges.
He must have done something like this before, I think.
Shortly after that we moved onto our next challenge. There are logs and barbed wire, so Jim is having us crawl under them. It's a bit of a tight fit, honestly. Yumi got caught on one of the logs.
"Move it! Faster, you hear!" Jim exclaims.
After that, we went to another set of logs. This time, however, we're balancing on them. Sissi is having some difficulty and so is Aelita, but Yumi and Ulrich finished this one first. Aelita and Sissi both fall to the ground.
"Stones, Sissi! I said on top of it!" Jim exclaims.
Finally, we run. Everyone's finished besides Sissi and Aelita.
"Not bad for the first time," Jim compliments. Aelita and Sissi walk over to us, their hands on their backs.
"Let's take a little break here and we'll start a little workout," Jim says.
Afterwards
We're relaxing on the ground, Jim looks up at William and asks:
"Dunbar my boy, tell me how come you aren't tired from all of this like your friends?"
"Well Jim, I've done something like this before. It's like riding a bike," William says.
"Oh, is it? Well maybe I should stop going easy on you," Jim says.
"No, don't!" All of us exclaim in unison, besides William.
"Just teasing," Jim says. We take a collective sigh and look at William who whistles nonchalantly.
Has Jim really been going easy on us, though? I think.
"You know what, Jim? We'd love to hear about your past life," Yumi says.
"We know you usually don't want to talk about it," she looks at Ulrich who is laying on the ground with his hand under his chin, then looks back at Jim. "But since it's between us members of the same commando group."
Jim puts his arm over his knee, then clears his throat. "Right. Well then, exceptionally for you, I'll give you a quick run down. Sissi, don't tell your father any of this."
"I won't Jim," Sissi says. "Promise."
"Well, it all began when I completed my training to become a physical education instructor. I was also a licensed scuba diver," Jim says.
I can't help but picture Jim as a scuba diver, I think the others are picturing it too.
"And that's why the marines recruited me for their special forces," Jim adds.
Another picture comes to my mind on Jim working for the marines, but not actually being a marine himself.
"Nasa heard of me and they had me test out their space suits underwater," Jim recalls.
While Jim might possibly have been in a space suit, I can't help but picture him actually cleaning a pool underwater.
"So, after receiving a medal from the president, I was appointed to the secret service," Jim chuckles.
Another image comes to my mind, of Jim working in the secret service department but as a custodian. I can't help but smile at that and I think the others are thinking it too.
"And believe me, Rosita Benet didn't just play the accordion. She was also a heck of a pilot. When I arrived in Buenos Aires, with my cameras, her biplane pulled me over," Jim continues.
I'm sitting next to Jeremy, and we both hear his laptop going off. Jim clicks the stopwatch, the noise stops, so we look back at him.
"Right, break time is over now," Jim says, getting up. "A quick jog to shake off the rust," he says.
We sigh. "Hup, hup, hup," Jim chants, while jogging.
We get up reluctantly, and start jogging with Jeremy behind us.
"Let's go, people! Move it out!" Jim says.
Afterwards
We're all panting, Odd is behind me with the others ahead of us. We continue jogging when Jim suddenly stops. We see a creature, some kind of big pig with tusks. It snorts and turns to us.
"What kind of beast is that?" Ulrich asks.
"How about that, a wild pig," Jim replies. We start backing up.
"But it's huge," Yumi says.
"We should probably go another way, Jim," William suggests, backing up. Jim turns back at us and looks at us. He points to the wild animal.
"Oh relax, it's nothing. I had it much worse when I was in Burma," Jim recounts.
The wild pig snorts and charges at us. We scream, and Jim tries kicking the wild animal but it skids right across the ground, kicking up dust. The wild pig charges at Jim and Sissi shouts:
"Look out!"
Jim jumps out of the way in time and rolls to the ground then gets to his knees. The wild pig snorts loudly and we see it closing its eyes. It opens them again and we see the Xana symbol in the creature's eyes.
"Did you see that?" Ulrich asks.
"Xana," Yumi replies. We rush over to Jim.
"Jim you have to listen, that is not a normal animal," I say, pointing to it.
"It's not a wild boar!" Aelita exclaims.
Jim gets into a position to grab the animal. "Right, like I said, it's just an overgrown pig, that's all. Come to Jim, little pigelette. Here little piggy," he taunts.
The possessed wild boar brushes it hoove against the ground, getting ready to charge.
"I'm telling you Jim, we'd be much better off getting out of here," Yumi says.
Jeremy finally arrives with his messenger bag on his shoulder. He stops in his tracks.
The possessed animal turns slightly and charges Jeremy. It snorts at him.
"Look out, Belpois!" Jim exclaims, running over to him.
Jim is able to reach Jeremy in time and is hit, getting lifted off of his feet. He's sent into a nearby bush.
"Jim?!" Jeremy exclaims. He runs over to him and bends down at him. The possessed wild animal starts charging at them again.
"Are you okay?" Jeremy asks.
"Yeah sure - how's the other guy?" Jim asks, before passing out on us. Ulrich and William pick up some rocks and throw them at the possessed wild animal before it stops in its tracks.
"Wow, nice shots," Odd compliments.
"You two have great aim," I say.
The possessed wild pig's eyes pulse with the Xana symbol. Ulrich and William start backing up.
"We'll create a diversion," Ulrich says.
"Good thing you both have fast legs, go!" Yumi exclaims. Ulrich and William take off running, with the possessed animal chasing after them. We look at them with concern.
"Xana's sent this thing after us. There's no time to lose, get to the computer lab. Aelita can manage the virtualization process, hurry up," Jeremy says.
"What about you?" Aelita asks. I can't help but be concerned for him and Jim's safety, too.
"I'd better stay here with Jim," Jeremy replies. "If Ulrich and William can't join you guys then all five of you will be needed on Lyoko."
The others start running, but I wait for Aelita.
"Good luck," she says and waves at him. We take off together.
Afterwards
Inside the lab
The freight elevator's doors open and we rush into the lab. We go over to the computer screen and Aelita sits in Jeremy's chair.
"Come on," Yumi says. "Every second counts."
Aelita starts typing on the keyboard at a fast pace.
"I'm on it, but I'm not as fast as Jeremy," Aelita says. She brings up the hangar room to the Skidbladnir and there's an alarm. She gasps.
"Xana has sent Mia and some monsters into the core chamber," Aelita says. Another window pops up with the Sphere, an alarm sets off again.
"You three get to the scanners, you'll have to protect the core of Lyoko," Aelita says. She looks at Odd, Sissi, and Yumi then back at the main screen.
"Got it," Sissi says.
"What about the tower?" Yumi asks.
"I guess Lila and I will have to manage that alone," Aelita replies.
The freight elevator's doors open.
"No not alone," William says, walking in.
"Your reliable friends are back," Ulrich says, walking in too. Yumi stands in front of them and crosses her arms.
"Glad you two are okay. I was worried."
"We shook off the wild boar, but it went back into the forest," William relays.
"Oh no," I say.
"Yeah. I'm afraid it'll find Jim and Jeremy," Ulrich says. Odd gasps.
"We'd better not waste any time," Aelita suggests.
"Right," I nod. Aelita looks at me.
"After I virtualize myself, Ulrich, and William, you'll need to launch your own delayed virtualization."
"No worries, I've done it before," I say.
"Sissi - give Mia a good run for her money," William says.
"I will," Sissi nods.
Afterwards
Lyoko's Forest Sector
My vision returns and I see myself fall. I land next to Aelita, Ulrich, and William. Our vehicles are just ahead of us.
"Wow, valet parking. That's classy," Ulrich compliments. Ulrich runs to his Overbike and hops on it. Aelita gets on with him. I run to my broomstick and get onto its saddle. William runs onto his Overdrive and steps onto it.
"Come on Ulrich, rev it up," Aelita urges.
Ulrich looks at Aelita and then revs up the Overbike. I get ready to kick my broomstick into the air, so we can drive along the path ahead of us. Ulrich takes off and I kick my broomstick into the air, urging it to go along the path. William tilts his Overdrive with his weight and takes off.
We continue driving along the path for a few minutes, reaching the end of it where the tower should be. Ulrich brings his Overbike to halt. William and I do the same with our vehicles. For some reason the tower isn't here.
"That's strange," William says.
"Yeah, it is," I agree.
"Where'd the tower go?" Ulrich asks.
"I don't get it. There must have been a calibration error. Without Jeremy to guide us, this won't be easy," Aelita replies.
A Krab comes out from behind a tree.
"Watch, you guys!" I exclaim. It starts firing at Aelita and Ulrich, but Ulrich takes off.
"Handle it!" Ulrich exclaims.
"We're on it," William says. The Krab turns its focus on us and I urge my broomstick to go towards it. I get onto my saddle and it starts charging its laser again. I jump into the Krab shoots my broomstick mid-air. I breath in and out, then channel my ice powers to my hand. My hands start getting cold and I unleash a large ice blast at the monster. It starts freezing and I soon land onto the ground.
"William now!" I exclaim. William hops off his Overdrive and gets his double edged sword out of its sheath. Gripping it in both hands, he runs at the monster. He starts cutting its legs, one by one. The Krab falls and my ice disperses. Since the Krab is unable to move, I take an arrow out of my quiver.
I nock the arrow onto my bow, pull the drawstring back, and release the arrow then let it fly at the Krab's target eye. It hits the target eye and the Krab explodes into pieces.
"Energy field!" Aelita exclaims. We look to see her launching an energy field at a Krab. It shocks the Krab and the monster explodes.
Ulrich comes around and regroups with us. William and I put our weapons back in their respective places.
"Nice work, you two," Aelita compliments.
"Thanks, you too," I say.
"Well, anyway, with all of these troops around, the tower can't be that far," Ulrich says.
"I was thinking the same thing," William agrees.
I look over to my broomstick and William's Overdrive, they're still intact.
"Let's see if we can't roam around a bit to find the tower," Aelita suggests.
"Okay," I nod.
William and I head over to our vehicles. I get onto my broomstick's saddle. William gets onto his Overdrive and presses the controls. We take off. Ulrich follows us with Aelita still on his Overbike.
We've been driving along the path for a few minutes, but from what we can tell, there doesn't seem to be any tower in sight.
"Still nothing," Ulrich says.
"Alright, we have to go back to where we started. The tower has to be there," Aelita says.
"Okay, here we go," Ulrich says.
Ulrich makes a u-turn back to the way we came. He revs up the Overbike. I follow him and urge my broomstick to speed up, tilting my weight. William's following behind me.
We keep driving along the path and soon we reach the area where the tower should have been. We keep driving, but then suddenly three lasers come out of nowhere. Ulrich is hit and thrown off his Overbike. I'm hit and thrown off my broomstick.
William reacts in time by jumping into the air, but loses control of his Overdrive. He lands on the ground, but two of our vehicles head straight toward the edge of the platform. Aelita tries to maintain the Overbike, but she's thrown off and tumbles across the ground. The Overbike skids across the ground and smashes into a tree. Our vehicles smash into a tree, too. They all explode.
Three Krabs walk towards us. Aelita is the first to recover. She gets up and summons her attack.
"Energy field!" Aelita exclaims, and throws it at the Krab. The Krab dodges it and growls at her. I get up and start running to her but a third Krab fires at me. I look at it and huff.
"You guys are being real pests today," I say. I get my hunter's knife out of its holster. The Krab fires a laser at me and I reflect it back, but it dodges. It fires another laser at me and I'm hit. I devirtualize in a cloud of pixels.
Back inside the scanner room
Inside the scanner
The scanners' doors open. I see Ulrich and William have also been devirtualized. I sigh.
Please be okay, Aelita, I think.
Chamber of the core of Lyoko
POV Sissi's
I finish throwing my boomerang at one of the last remaining Xana Bot. Yumi, Odd, and I are high up on one of the stairs. The Boomerang hits the Xana Bot and it explodes. My weapon returns to me. I catch it and Yumi throws her Tessen Fan at one of the three Mantas that's attacking the Sphere. Her weapon misses and it returns to her, she catches it.
"The first shield layer is about to give, we have to do something," Yumi says.
A Manta flies down and Odd cocks his paw, firing at it with Laser Arrows, but he misses.
"I know, and I got an idea," Odd says.
"Oh? What's that, Odd dear?" I ask.
"Skydiving!" Odd exclaims, pumping a fist into the air. He backs up and runs off the edge, jumping down.
"Yahoo!" he yells.
I look down to see him dragging his claws into the Manta's target eye. He flies it all the way up.
He is so cool, I think.
He flies it all the way up to where Mia is. She is controlling her own, darker Manta.
"Attack!" Mia exclaims, pointing one of her kunai at Odd.
The Manta screeches.
"Go get him, guys," Odd says, to the two other flying Mantas.
They start firing at him, but their lasers miss as he uses the damaged Manta to fly around. Odd manages to bring his flying Manta to the highest step before it explodes from the damage he caused.
"Yeah!" Odd exclaims, landing on the step.
Yumi and I continue leaping onto the steps. We pant and Odd looks at us. This gives the Manta next to him the opportunity to fire a laser. Odd looks back and summons his shield.
"Shield!" Odd exclaims. The Manta continues firing at him, one of them hits and then he devirtualizes.
"Odd!" I exclaim.
Yumi takes out her Tessen Fans, she opens them and throws them upwards. One of her Tessen Fans slashes through the Manta that attacked Odd, it explodes. The other Tessen Fan flies to where Mia is on her Manta, causing her to jump off. That Manta explodes. Yumi cartwheels up the steps and I follow her just by leaping on them. Her weapons return to her, she catches and closes them.
"Yeah!" Yumi exclaims.
"Nice work," I compliment.
"Thanks," Yumi says.
We look across from us and see that Mia has reappeared on the same step we're on. She is gripping her kunai in her hands. She walks slowly towards us. I get my boomerang out of its holder.
Inside the lab
POV Lila's
William and I are looking at the main screen of the computer. Ulrich is sitting on Jeremy's chair. We look at the monsters that are on the screen and the activated tower that's at the coordinates we were, even though it wasn't there.
"Aelita, how are you doing?" Ulrich asks.
"Ulrich, tell me where the tower is. Hurry!"
"You should be next to it, according to this," Ulrich replies.
"He's right, Aelita," I confirm.
"If he's right then why can't I see it?" Aelita asks.
William seems to be thinking about it and we hear Aelita yelp.
"Energy field!" There's a noise and then Aelita says, "Got it! Xana's pulled this one on us before."
"So we were at the right location after all?" William asks.
"Yup, we were," I reply.
Chamber of the core of Lyoko
POV Sissi's
I run at Mia, who, in turn, runs at me. She swings her kunai at me and I swing my weapon at her, they clash. I push her away. She loses her balance and ends up getting her kunai stuck in the wall. She backs away, more than a few feet, and reaches out to the trapped kunai. It starts glowing yellow, wiggling out, and flies back at Mia. She catches her kunai.
Yumi opens one of her fans and throws it at Mia, who easily uses her Kunai to redirect the incoming attack.
"Those were lousy shots, you two. Now it's all over!" Mia exclaims, she starts running for us. Yumi throws her other Tessen Fan at Mia and she jumps over it. We start running towards her and Yumi slides down on the floor. She kicks Mia into the air and the first Tessen Fan Yumi threw at Mia comes back up, devirtualizing her in a glowing red and black smoke. Yumi and I get up. We walk over to the edge of the step and one of Yumi's Tessen Fans returns her.
"And that's checkmate," Yumi says.
Yumi and I high five each other. This is the first time we've successfully devirtualized Mia.
Inside the lab
POV Lila's
Aelita enters the tower. The three of us watch the computer screen eagerly.
Hurry, Aelita, I think.
"Tower deactivated," Aelita informs.
Later
Back at the benches area
All of us are back at the benches, sitting on them. We're in our regular clothes now, too. Jeremy is leaning against the wall, his arms crossed. Mary is back with us. Ulrich, William, and Odd are sitting against one bench. Sissi, Aelita, Yumi, and I are sitting on the other. We watch Jim walking with a cane. He chuckles and walks over to us. Yumi looks at Jeremy.
"Hey, you didn't do a return to the past. You sure Jim has forgotten everything?" Yumi asks.
"Just the opposite, he remembers everything. And that's the best assurance that there is. To him, our wild boar was just a crazy and dangerous animal, but a completely normal one," Jeremy explains.
We all smile at that, since that's a perfect rational explanation. Jim finally reaches us. Aelita looks at him.
"Well hello there, Jim," Aelita greets. "We're glad to see you back on two feet again."
Jim lifts his cane. "More like three, huh?" he asks. "But it's not too serious, just a bad sprain and a nasty bruise. I'll be as good as new in two weeks time."
"For us, it's really a shame, just one day of boot camp. For you two weeks of recovery," Yumi says.
"Oh, don't worry, that one day was very enlightening for me. You may not be up to the commando level, but you showed great spirit. You really did. As soon as I'm back in shape, I'll have lots of training sessions, and I hope to see you all there," Jim says, lifting his cane and then putting it back on the ground.
"Um…" Aelita and I trail off.
"Not me, I'm booked till the end of the year. I've got a sleep session," Odd says.
"I have to practice my skateboarding, too," William says.
"And I have a lot of, uh, studying to do," Sissi adds.
"Honestly Jim, it's too much of a uh-" Yumi starts to say but Ulrich interrupts her.
"Horror -" he catches himself. "Honor. Too much of an honor."
"I'll be there," Jeremy says, causing all of us, even Mary, to be surprised. Jeremy is no longer standing against the wall and has his hands on his hips.
"I owe you one, Jim," Jeremy says.
"Excellent Belpois," Jim says, lifting his cane once more and putting it back on the ground. "I knew I could count on you, kid," he says. He smiles and waves goodbye. Jim walks away from us.
"You must be dreaming. I'll be there? Wow, you could have come up with a better answer than that. No, for instance, or never. Nein or nyet," Odd says.
"You must really like Jim's torture," Ulrich says.
"It is surprising Jeremy," Mary says.
I look at Jeremy, and he seems to have his head in the clouds, his hands still on his hips. He seems proud, almost. I smile at him. Whatever happened between him and Jim - seems to have left Jeremy with some good memories.
Author's Note: Unfortunately Jim's training sessions are never mentioned again after this episode. This episode was always a good one because Jim saw a different side of Jeremy.
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LyokoWarrior1994