Tamiya Diop adjusted a clunky hand camera in her hand. "Okay, we rolling?" Tamiya was a fifth grader, training to be a cameraman- er, camerawoman- for the Kadic News Crew. She wore a yellow, long-sleeved, belly shirt with green khakis and white shoes. A black undershirt covered her midriff.
Clementine Glenn chuckled, an older ginger with curly hair swept up in a messy ponytail and a star shaped clip holding up her bangs. She had a red vest over an orange polo with puffy short sleeves and white collar. White capri pants and black flats complimented her look. "You've got the camera upside down, silly. Here, let me just-" She took the camera and flipped it. "Okay, you ace reporters are ready to go!" She said and gave her two underclassmen a thumbs up.
Amelia "Milly" Solovieff giggled. Milly was also a fifth grader trainee for the Kadic News Crew as the news anchor. She wore a pink cardigan over a maroon dress with brown leggings and boots. "Thanks, Clem! You're the best mentor ever!" She cleared her throat and launched into her report.
"Hello, fellow students of Kadic Junior High. Your ace reporters, Milly and Tamiya-" Clementine gave her a wink and another thumbs up "-are here to bring you an exclusive for today's school news and it's really big, since as I'm pretty sure you already know, tonight is the big night: the night of our annual school prom!" Clementine motioned for the girls to come over to where her friends-Odd, Ulrich, Yumi, and Jeremie-were inside the auditorium where the party was going to be held. When she motioned her hand, Tamiya continued filming.
"Unfortunately, our cameras weren't authorized to film the site where the festivities will take place," Milly lamented to the camera. Clementine just shook her head and playfully rolled her eyes, a knowing smile playing on her lips. She remembered when they were denied to film the auditorium by Ulrich, causing Milly to blush bright red. The poor girl had a crush on the sporty boy ever since she and Tamiya had joined Journalism. She had wanted to talk to him, at least, but even the thought of saying hi to him would only cause the little redhead to start sputtering.
"But I can make out, from where I'm speaking, the girl who might be crowned our beauty queen tonight just as she was last year. I mean, of course, our principal's daughter Sissi." At this Clementine had to hold back a snarl, but she had to set a role model to her underclassmen. A reporter had to be unbiased, no matter what they were talking about. "Let's see whether she'll answer a few questions." Milly turned to face the one and only queen bee of Kadic Junior High: Elisabeth "Sissi" Delmas. "Well, Sissi, how about a few words for our TV audience before the big night?"
Sissi gave an annoyed look at the trio before answering. "Sorry, munchkins. I only talk to real pro reporters. I have no time to waste on a couple of nerds." Herve was about to tamper with the camera Tamiya was holding when Clementine snarled at the weaselly nerd, a fist raised, challenging him to make another move. He squeaked before running back to Sissi's side.
Milly began to protest. "But it's for the school news program! What about freedom of the press-"
"Milly, little dipsticks your age don't have freedom, understand? Anyway, who needs your dumb recording, what do you know?" Sissi smirked.
Clementine quickly stepped in front of Milly, who was already looking ready to cry. "Hey, quit talking to my reporters like that, you jerk, they're only doing their job. Be nice to them or else you'll be meeting my fist." She raised her right fist to prove her point.
Sissi wrinkled her nose, unimpressed. "Don't you even dare, you freak. This has nothing to do with you." She turned to Milly. "Besides, you've got a problem. Don't forget you have to have a date to go and I don't know who'd want to go with a shrimp like you."
"You're really asking for it, aren't ya, Sissi," Clementine growled, clenching her fists in an attempt to control herself. She was about to step forward but stopped when her heard her fellow reporter's trembling voice, "So what? I can get a date, you'll see!"
"Oh, yeah, then what are you waiting for? Try and find someone!" She taunted the poor girl and laughed. Clementine turned and motioned for the girls to follow her. "Tch, don't listen to her, she's just sayin' that to get under your skin, let's go-" She stopped when she heard Milly's meek voice. "Uh, um, Ulrich? Would you be my date tonight?" She quickly asked, her voice rushed and tears brimming in her eyes.
Everyone was surprised, especially the boy in question. Clementine glanced at her friend group inside the auditorium, uneasy as everyone awaited for the answer.
"Uh... I'm sorry, Milly. It wouldn't be a very good idea. I'm too old for you," Ulrich awkwardly stuttered, a bright blush growing on his face. "And, uh, well, you see, I promised to go with Yumi." The aforementioned girl, a girl with short black hair and black clothes, made eye contact with Ulrich and they both blushed. Oh no, this is gonna kill Milly, knowing that her crush is going with someone else... Clementine thought, biting her thumb nail.
A nasty laugh brought everyone's attention back to hallway. "You see? What did I tell you? Oh, but don't worry, Milly. I'm sure you'll find a boy for the sandbox dance," Sissi continued to taunt. Tamiya narrowed her eyes and frowned at the queen bee, placing her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Meanwhile why don't you play with your dolls?"
That was the last straw for Milly; she ran out of the building in tears, loud sobs fading away. Tamiya soon chased after her, calling her name.
Clementine pushed against Sissi's shoulder and got close to her face. "I bet your real proud of yourself. You made an underclassman cry." She turned her head to find Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd standing in the hall. "I'll go find her, don't worry," Clementine promised as she turned and ran outside to find her friend, maroon backpack in tow.
After several minutes of searching, Tamiya and Clementine finally found Milly holed up in her dorm room, hugging a worn out teddy bear. "Oh, Milly, don't cry. We'll go to the prom, you'll see," Tamiya reassured her friend, entering the room. She nudged at the stuffed bear into her arms. "Yeah, and for the news, Jim said it was okay. We have till 9 o'clock to work on it," added Clementine, trying to lighten the mood.
"It's a waste of time!" Milly cried, her voice cracking. She hugged her bear even tighter. "Better face the facts, Clem, thanks to me they don't care about us or the newscast. I hate them, all of them! I hate every single one of them! I hate everyone in the world!"
Clementine frowned and extended her hand to her friend's shoulder. "Hey, don't say that, you know that's not true-" Milly suddenly dashed out the door with her teddy bear in hand and tears fresh in her eyes. "Oh stop it, you two, I'm sick of you guys too, so just leave me alone!" Tamiya and Clementine stood at the doorway, watching their poor friend go. The smaller girl sighed. "It's true, Ulrich could've been nicer." Clementine could only nod in agreement.
Not too far away, though, a computer beeped alive, a red insignia on the monitor.
Clementine and Tamiya looked for Milly once again, through the courtyard and in classrooms.
"Milly! Milly! Where are you?" Clementine hollered, hands around her mouth to project her voice. "She couldn't have gone too far, could she?" Tamiya shrugged.
They had expanded their search to the woods outside of the school, calling her name. Tamiya finally found her inside a shabby warehouse. They tapped on the glass and shouted Milly's name. Inside, Clementine could see that Milly was saying something to her bear.
"Are you finished sulking? We gotta hurry, we have work to do!" Tamiya shouted. Milly shouted back at her, "Okay, okay, I'm coming." The door to the warehouse opened with a creak. "Ya feelin' better?" Clementine asked, giving her a light pat on the back. The pigtailed girl nodded simply. "Now, we have a report on the prom to finish. Let's hop to it!" Clementine continued, clapping her hands. "Okay, Clem," the two girls mumbled in agreement.
When the trio reached school grounds, there was a crowd of kids surrounding something. "Huh? What all the commotion about?" pondered Clementine aloud. "Let's go check it out!" Milly exclaimed, clearly in a better mood than before. The three rushed up to find a crying Sissi wrapped up in a robe and being hugged by her father, the principal.
"Move along, back to your dorms. Everything is just fine," he reassured the students. Milly dug around in Clementine's bag until she found a notepad and a camera. She tossed the camera to Tamiya as she commented, "Looks as if we've got ourselves a super scoop, Clem!" She began to scribble away on her notepad.
"Yeah, I wonder what's gotten her so shaken up," Tamiya said out loud as she clicked away on her camera.
"Yeah, I wonder..." Clementine's attention drifted to Ulrich, Yumi, Odd and Jeremie, who stood together away from the crowd. She wondered what they had to say about the situation.
"What do you say that we take a look to make sure that our old friend XANA isn't behind this?" she could hear Jeremie muse as she approached them.
"Well, as an ace reporter," Clementine spoke, finally coming to a stop in front of them. "I think I have every right to investigate the crime scene." A mischievous grin grew on her face. "Shall we?"
When the group peered into Sissi's room, it was a total wreck. Hair products were scattered across the floor along with clothes, shoes, and bed sheets. The computer on her desk was fried along with other electric appliances.
Clementine turned to Jeremie. "What do you think happened here?"
"A simple short circuit." He pointed towards an electrical outlet where several appliances were fried black. "Too many appliances plugged in at the same time."
"Yeah, the highlights, lady shaver, the curling iron," Yumi added. "All plugged in at once, what do you expect?" She turned and walked away from the disaster site.
Everyone else followed suit, except for Jeremie and Clementine, who continued to look on at the scene. "I dunno, Mister J, do you really think that a short circuit really caused all of this?" She waved her hand at Sissi's room.
"Well, if it isn't that, then maybe it could be... an attack, but I don't want to jump to any conclusions yet," he replied. With that the blonde genius turned and left while Clementine continued to look on. Suddenly she felt a nudge on her shoulder.
"Oh, sorry, Clem!" Milly and Tamiya had suddenly materialized right next to her.
Clementine stepped aside to let the girls have a full view of the disaster in Sissi's room. "Oh, that's okay," Clementine absentmindedly murmured. She continued to ponder about the situation as Tamiya snapped away photos and Milly scribbled on the notepad.
"Are we all done here, you two?" Clementine finally stood from the spot she was sitting in and stretched her arms to the sky. Her two under classmates nodded eagerly, clearly in a better mood than before.
"Okay, then, let's go! Off to the presses!" Clementine headed to door when Milly gasped. "Oh, no! My teddy bear! I left it in the storage room!"
"Let's go get it before we publish the story, then!" Tamiya agreed. "Can we, Clem, please?"
Clem scratched her head. "I dunno, girls. We gotta get this published before tonight and-"
The two girls clasped their hands together and made puppy dog eyes. "Pleeease?"
The older ginger sighed in defeat. These girls were going to be the death of her.
The trio trekked through the forest as they chatted. "This scoop is gonna be the best! Not only do we have a report for tonight, but Sissi is also gonna totally humiliated!" Milly clapped her hands glee. She skipped a few paces ahead of Tamiya and Clementine.
"After what she did to you, she deserves it," Tamiya agreed. She nodded her head solemnly.
Clementine sighed once again. "Well, if we wanna publish the story, then we should hurry up."
"If you ask me, she had it coming," Milly continued.
The older girl furrowed her eyebrows together. "I couldn't agree with you more," she mumbled darkly.
Finally, the warehouse came into view. Milly rushed up to it and pushed the door open. The door swiveled open to find...
"My teddy bear, it's gone!" cried Milly. Suddenly a large shadow loomed over the trio, obscuring the light. "Aha! Caught you!" All three girls froze in their tracks at once, knowing who's voice that belonged to: Jim, their gym teacher and groundskeeper.
He stepped closer to them. "It's forbidden to play in the garden shed," he chastised.
Milly protested. "W-wait a minute, Jim, I-"
"I don't wanna know why. I've told you a hundred times that this place is much too dangerous for children," Jim continued. He gestured with his arm around the shed. "Look at all these rusty tools! Whaddaya think this is, a kid's playground?" Jim shoved the girls out of the shed and locked the door, trapping Milly's teddy bear inside.
"I hope I've made myself real clear. Entry forbidden, access reserved for adults only. And you-" Jim jabbed a finger at the older girl, making her recoil, "You should have known better than to bring in these kids." Clementine opened her mouth to protest, but Milly beat her to it.
"With you, everything is off-limits," her voice wavered in anger. Jim caught what she said and began to chastise her again. "Now you listen here, eh? I would change the way I talk if I were you, little girl."
"Little girl?!" Milly shrieked. "Okay, I mean, so what? It's only big kids that can say what they think, huh?!" Tears threatened to dribble down her red face. Clementine tried to grab her underclassman but she just swatted her hand away, not wanting to back down.
"So you think you're a big kids, huh?" Jim continued to taunt. "Okay, that's fine. news report or not, the three of you are grounded for tonight in your rooms!" The mood dropped. That meant no prom!
Tamiya side-eyed her friend. "Oh great, really really great," she grumbled. "Thanks to you, it's goodbye prom for all of us."
Jim appeared to be satisfied with chewing the girls out. "Now beat it!"
Clementine found herself consoling Milly again with Tamiya but this time at the courtyard where they found Sissi before.
"Oh, don't cry, look at the pictures we took!" Tamiya comforted her friend. "They really fantastic!" She pushed the printed photos toward Milly. Clementine smiled gently. "Maybe we could even have a sleepover in my dorm! It'll be better than the prom!" Tamiya smiled at her mentor. "Yeah, it'll be okay!"
"Something wrong, Milly?" Clementine turned around to see her friend, Odd, towering over the crouched trio. Tamiya filled him in first. "Somebody stole her teddy bear-"
"And I'm sure one of the big kids who did it out of spite!" Milly finished in a bitter voice, looking up. Her tears still hadn't ceased to stop. Clementine gently took the photos out of Tamiya's hand and began to flip through them, but then one photo specifically caught her eye. "Hey, Milly, I think you're right! Look at this!" This perked everyone's attention and they crowded around Clementine.
"A picture of Sissi's room?" Tamiya asked, confused.
Milly gasped loudly when she found what Clementine was talking about. She pointed at the picture. "There's my teddy bear, hidden under a pillow!"
"Incredible eye, Clem," Tamiya breathed. Clementine simply grinned with pride. "Glad to be of service!"
"Ha! Who would've believed it?" Odd laughed. "Soon, she'll be playing with dolls!"
"C'mon, we gotta find her!" Milly stood up, fists raised to her chest.
"If Jim catches us in the dorm, we're in big trouble, Milly," warned Tamiya to her emotional friend.
"Hey, you guys go back to your room, I'll handle this," Odd said. He grabbed the photo from their hands. "I'll go too," Clementine added, standing up. She put her right fist inside her left hand, cracking her hands. "Nothing that hurts my ace reporters will get past me," she declared. "Even if it means getting in trouble." The redhead gave Tamiya and Milly a thumbs up and the two girls smiled at their mentor. Perhaps there would be justice after all!
As Odd and Clementine walked away, he elbowed her aide. "You really care for those girls, don't you?" At this a light blush bloomed across the redhead's face. She turned her head away. "I-I couldn't let Sissi get away with that! That's too low, even for her! Stealing a teddy bear, jeez!" she sputtered. Odd just shook his head knowingly, a smirk playing on his lips.
When they arrived at Sissi's room, it was just as much of a wreck as when Clementine and her friends came over to inspect it. She marched over to the bed and crouched down on her knees.
"Hm, I got nothing. Weird," Clementine reported, standing up. She put her hands on her hips. "Let's keep looking around." But even after a few minutes of searching, it was clear that the bear was nowhere in sight.
"Let's go back. We'll have to tell them that we didn't find it," Odd concluded. Clementine sighed and nodded, defeated. There wasn't anything else to do. Together they both walked out of the room. They didn't walk that far, though, when they began to hear whispers in the halls by the students.
"Did ya hear? Jim got real hurt!"
"No way! By who?"
"Beats me, but apparently, they hurt Jim so bad that he's in the infirmary!"
"Yikes, that guy's gotta be tough if he's in the infirmary!"
This perked their interest. They glanced at each other, seeming to share the same thought. Could it be...? They quickly rushed down to the infirmary.
Odd and Clementine had made it to the infirmary at the exact same time that the principal was exiting it. His eyes widened in surprise, not expecting the two students. "Odd? Clementine? Are you two looking for something?" he asked.
Odd quickly answered. "Oh no, uh, you see, we just heard about what happened to Jim-"
"Do they know who attacked him?" Clementine interjected.
"No, uh, I think our gym teacher could use some rest." The principal crumpled up something in his hand and discarded it in the waste bin next to him and walked off. The duo glanced at each other once again and walked towards the bin. Odd picked up the crumpled ball and unfolded it, revealing a drawing of a teddy bear! Albeit, it was crudely drawn, but it was a major clue nonetheless.
"XANA? A teddy bear?" Jeremie asked.
"Yeah, we're sure," Odd confirmed. Clementine nodded in agreement.
Odd, Clementine, Ulrich, and Jeremie were standing alongside a pillar in the courtyard in the late afternoon, discussing Odd and Clementine's findings. Sissi's disaster of a room, the photos, the missing bear, everything. No detail was left out.
"He's always there when you least expect him," Jeremie mused to himself, a hand raised to his face. Odd interrupted the silence. "Okay guys, who goes and who stays here?"
"We can't have a solo mission, it's too dangerous without Yumi if you go alone. You never know what you are gonna find over there," Jeremie argued.
"I volunteer!" Odd cried, hand raised in the air. "What did I just say?" Jeremie sternly reminded, causing Odd to frown. "There have been two accidents already, we can't leave the school unguarded! And even going back in time if there's an accident, it's all over."
"Then I'll go with him," Clementine said, jabbing her thumb towards Odd. "He'll need all the help he can get."
"And I'll stay here," Ulrich finished. "If I find any clues I'll pass them on to you, Jeremie. Go on and see how it'll all be okay." He placed a hand on Jeremie's shoulder. They all smiled, determined to save the school.
Odd, Jeremie, and Clementine walked down to a hidden corridor, careful to be seen by nobody, and opened a door. It revealed an underground passage, dark, earthy, and cramped. The three of them ran down and found themselves in the school's sewer system. It was surprisingly spacious, the ceiling high and the tunnel wide, and the murky water was quiet but flowing gently. They leaped over a stray pipe and turned the corner to find their stash of four skateboards and one scooter. Odd and Clementine each grabbed a skateboard and Jeremie grabbed the lone scooter. Together they made their way down the dim tunnel and reached a ladder. The trio leapt off of their rides and climbed up the ladder.
When they reached the top, the sky was dark and cloudy, but they had made it to the front of an abandoned factory building. They ran inside and swung off of the ropes and down in front of an elevator. Jeremie pushed the button and they silently rode the elevator down, anxious and full of adrenaline.
They reached to the supercomputer, but Jeremie was the only one that got off the elevator. Odd and Clementine stayed on and the elevator went down another level. There, they found tall, metallic pillars that loomed over, their light inviting and bright.
"You ready, Clem?" Odd challenged as he stepped into one of the pillars that they dubbed a scanner.
"Pfft, don't even ask, I was born ready," Clementine boasted, stepping inside a scanner as well.
Despite her bluff, Clementine could not help but feel butterflies in her stomach. The process, no matter how many times she did it, still surprised her. Her body felt light but heavy. She could feel the adrenaline rushing through her body, but she shook her head and faced forward.
"Transfer Clementine." The doors of the scanner slowly but smoothly slid shut in front of her.
"Scanning Clementine." Air began to flow inside the scanner, making her ponytail fly upwards. She shut her eyes and had to remember to relax and breathe as her body began to slowly levitating and rotating.
"Virtualization."
Clementine's form slowly materialized onto Lyoko. Her red hair was now wrapped in a bun, held together thanks to a red ribbon. A matching red bandana covered her mouth. She wore an orange tunic outlined with a gold yellow. White long-sleeves peeked under the tunic. A golden yellow skirt flared from her hips and a red sash rested on her waist and brown knee-high combat boots covered her red leggings. In her hands were brown fingerless gloves that held two long golden whips.
She fell down from the sky and landed on her feet. To her right was Odd in his purple cat gear. She couldn't deny that he looked a bit silly but cute in his Lyoko outfit.
"Looks like we're in the desert region," Clementine murmured to herself, putting the whips on the clips that were on her hips.
As the looked around the barren desert, they saw a human figure waving at them in the distance. Aelita.
They rushed towards the pink girl and looked to where she was staring: a large, gladiator-like pit that had a spiraling sidewalk around the circumference of the pit.
Aelita pointed ahead. "You see that? The tower that XANA activated can't be too far ahead." Odd looked down at the hole that led to the digital sea. "Well, not down there, anyway," commented Clementine, hands on her hips.
Aelita gestured to the land behind her and asked, "Maybe on the neighboring plateaus?" As the three turned to look, however-
"Kankrelats! We got company, guys!" exclaimed Clementine. She produced the two whips from her side and stood on guard in front of Aelita. Odd did the same and readied himself with his arrows.
"Aelita, go!" commanded Clementine, waving her away. As soon as the pink girl was out of sight, she began to slash the monsters. At the same time, the monsters began to fire away. Clementine twirled and leaped out of the way in order to not be shot. With a good "Hi-ya!" she finally eliminated one of the wretched monsters with her whip.
Suddenly she heard an explosion to her left. Odd had also managed to destroy a kankrelat but not without being shot in the torso by another. They both took shelter inside the pit.
"Odd! Clementine! I'm afraid we don't have much of a choice," Aelita said. Clementine nodded and began to go after her, but Odd stayed put, a faraway look in his eyes.
Clementine called for him. "Odd!" The purple catboy focused back to reality as debris of an explosion littered his head. He finally followed after the two girls.
With the remaining kankrelats in pursuit, Odd and Clementine fended off the laser shots as they ran. Bam! Crack! Two more monsters defeated!
One monster, however, fell over the ledge due to the force of the explosion and debris. This would've been fine, if it didn't knock over Aelita into the middle of the pit...
"AELITA!" screeched Clementine and Odd as she fell. Without thinking, Odd leaped after her. He caught her hand and clawed the wall in order to stop the fall. Once they stopped, a rope wrapped around Odd's waist and began to hoist them upwards.
"Figured y'all needed a lift?" Clementine grinned. She continued to pull until the two were on the same ledge as her.
"We can't leave you for one second, huh, Aelita?" joked Odd as he patted her back.
Aelita, though, looked past him. "Hey, I think I found something," she said. Clementine, confused, turned around and saw a thin crevice on the wall. Red light pulsated through the exposed cables.
"Odd, Clem, hurry up. Teddy's getting real angry," Jeremie's voice rang out at them.
"Yeah, yeah, we got it," answered Clementine as she walked through the crevice with Odd and Aelita. "The tower can't be too far away," Aelita reassured. As they traveled through, though, the rocky floor began to shake and dust fell from the narrow ceiling. The trio turned around and found...
"A Megatank!" Clementine realized. The Megatank was large and ball-like, she remembered, and its laser was a guaranteed K.O. "Houston, we have a problem," Odd announced. Clementine pushed Aelita forward and began to run, the Megatank in hot pursuit.
Clementine breathed hard, pushing her body to continue running until they came to an opening. The three of them dived out of the Megatank's way as it continued to roll... and right in front of the activated tower. The tall structure that seemed to reach the sky had a red aura, meaning that XANA had activated it.
Aelita raised her head up and saw the same thing that Clementine was seeing. "We found the tower, Jeremie," she reported.
Jeremie's eager voice came through over head. "Great, well done! All you have to do is deactivate it!" He replied.
"Okay, just give me a minute to say hello to an old buddy of mine," Odd said as he rose to his feet.
"You better not do what I think you're gonna do, Odd," Clementine groaned as she readied her whips. Jeremie was thinking the same thing as her. "Cut the courtesy, Odd, you only have 50 life points left. You can't let him hit you!" The genius chastised him.
Odd paid no mind to either one of them; he carefully steadied his arm at the Megatank. The bullet-like monster opened its shell and after charging up it fired a laser at Odd. It missed, though, and instead hit the wall. Odd and Clementine dove out of the way, debris splattering around them.
Clementine mentally groaned as she stood in front of Aelita. He's not gonna make it.
"Jeremie, Odd's not gonna make it on his own," the pink-haired girl cried, echoing her thoughts. Odd has just narrowly avoided another laser.
"Yes, he will," Jeremie replied. "Odd, come on, you have to hit the target!"
Aelita turned to Clementine. "Clem, what do we do?" She desperately asked. The girl looked around in desperation. Then an idea struck her. "We'll run." Aelita nodded hesitantly and the two girls rushed towards the tower. They had almost made it to the front when-
"Ghk-!" Another laser shot from the Megatank and Clementine was devirtualized in an instant. She could've sworn that she heard Aelita cry out her name just before she was gone.
As soon as the doors of the scanner opened, Clementine, her hair plastered to her face due to sweat, gasped for air. Her body felt like nothing but also heavy at the same time. She staggered out of the scanner and climbed up the ladder rail against the wall, not wanting to wait for the elevator.
When she made it up to where the supercomputer was, she walked up next to Jeremie. "H-how'd it go?" Clementine panted.
The genius smiled. "Good news, Aelita's safe inside the tower, thanks to you, Clem. I don't know what would've happened if she was the one that got hit," he replied. She weakly smiled back and gave him a thumbs up.
"Tower deactivated," said Aelita. This was Jeremie's cue. "Return to the past now." He tapped a key and a white orb of light enveloped the factory and expanded to the outside world. Clementine instinctively covered her eyes, but with a small smile on her face, she knew that everyone was saved.
Clementine found herself back at the auditorium, where Sissi was insulting Milly again, with the same remarks as before. This was the one thing that Clementine liked about the trips to the past; she could outfox whatever was thrown at her.
"Uh, um, Ulrich? Would you be my date tonight?" Milly quickly asked again, her voice rushed and tears brimming in her eyes.
Instead of turning the girl down, Ulrich walked up to her, kneeled in front of her, and put his hands on her shoulders. "Sure, I'd be glad to, Milly. I'll see you here at eight," he said.
Milly's eyes widened in surprise. "R-really?" She stammered. The pigtailed girl was not expecting this.
"Why sure," Ulrich continued as he rose to his feet. "You're not too mad at me, are you, Yumi?" He turned at the girl in question for a response.
"Not at all," Yumi smiled. "Anyway, my secret admirer will take me tonight, right Odd?" Odd gave her a thumbs up.
Clementine could not stop her loud cackling as Sissi and her posse gawked in surprise. "Bwahahaha! What a turn of events!" She howled.
Sissi, on the other hand, was furious. "What?! Ulrich, you're gonna- go with that- that silly baby?" Sissi screeched angrily.
"That's right, I am," he answered coolly. "But don't worry, when your brain gets another neuron or two, maybe I'll go out with you." This retort made Sissi gnash her teeth and turn red in the face with anger.
"Please tell me you got that on tape, Tamiya," wheezed Clementine as she wiped a tear from her eye. Her camerawoman gave her a thumbs up and replied happily. "Yep, you bet I did. This is a scoop!"
"A super scoop!" added Milly, positively beaming.
A/N: Whew! Finally got this done! This chapter has been in my WIPs for months, and I'm so glad that this is finally done! Creating Clementine was the most challenging part of this entire thing, but I'm glad of the way that she turned out. I can't promise a schedule for updates, but I already have the next chapter halfway written. Thanks for reading! Please favorite and comment!