Hunter Moebius and I don't own Code Lyoko, Maximum Ride, or Kaitlyn Belpois. We do, however, own our own OC's and the plot.
We had spent the night at Dr. Martinez's, after the wonderful belated birthday party my friends had thrown for me. While some of us were able to get something close to a good night's sleep, I had a bit of a hard time doing that. Even with Aelita's, Yumi's, Sister's, and Georgina's help, I still found it hard to nod off. So when I finally did wake up, after getting something at least within the ballpark of six hours of sleep, my body wasn't too happy about it.
"Max?" I groaned, a more natural grogginess in my voice. "What time is it?"
She smiled gently. "Ten-thirty in the morning, Cassidy. You're a real heavy sleeper."
"Kinda hard to sleep peacefully after being kidnapped for a week and two to three days…" I yawned, stretching my arms a little. "I think it's somewhat justified."
"I understand the feeling, especially when Angel got kidnapped by the School so long ago. I still regret sleeping in that abandoned cabin for too long, delaying our rescue efforts…"
"You, Nudge, and Fang were hungry, then exhaustion hit you. It's hard to fault you for what happened," I nodded.
"Yeah. You're right," she smiled. "Everyone's in the living room, eating breakfast. Hungry?"
I grinned. "Like you wouldn't believe."
With that, the two of us left our beds behind, as Max led me out into the kitchen. As I walked in, Dr. Martinez caught my eye, a smile gracing her features as she watched me walk in. She had just finished making an omelet, passing the plate to Hunter, as I entered.
"Good morning, Cassidy," she greeted. "Did you sleep well?"
"A little bit. Still a little out-of-place where I'm at." I scratched the back of my head sheepishly.
She giggled a bit. "That's understandable. After what I've heard about the beds in the School, you're probably still getting used to sleeping on something better."
"Probably, but I think being kidnapped from where I was normally, then smuggled to a semi-familiar climate, is still throwing me for a loop," I blinked.
"I can see how that might make things a bit complicated," she nodded understandingly. "I'd give it a few days. You'll probably be back in France before you know it."
"I'd love that very much. I mean, sure, I could see my parents again, but—I don't know…"
"That's up to you. They're halfway across the country, aren't they?"
"In Illinois, with my little sister," I admitted. "I'm still feeling a bit lopsided right now."
She nodded. "Why don't you have something for breakfast, first? That'll help recharge your brain. Your friends are all waiting for you at the table. What can I make you?"
"Maybe a ham-and-cheese omelet with bacon bits in it, and with bacon on the side, please? It's been quite a while since I had one," I smiled a bit.
At that, Hunter whirled around in his chair to face me, a grin, one that I hadn't seen on him, on his face. "These are really good, Cassidy! Dr. Martinez makes one of the best omelets I've ever tasted!"
The doctor giggled, modestly. "It's a family recipe. It's only the way I've done it for several years. Isn't that right, Max?"
Max nodded, a smile appearing on her face.
"Now, come on, Cat Girl!" Odd's voice wafted through my ears. "Get some breakfast."
It only took Dr. Martinez about seven or eight minutes to make up another omelet, just the way I wanted, and I was soon sitting at the table, next to mi novio, who had saved me a seat.
"So what's the plan today?" I asked after taking a few bites, smiling at how good my omelet tasted.
"Well," Max, who had also taken a seat shortly after I had, placed her fork down onto her plate, "I was thinking we should check the twelve of you over, to make sure the whitecoats didn't do anything more than just inject bird DNA into your bodies. Especially you, Cassidy, since they seemed to pay special attention to you."
"That's true," Yumi agreed. "They kept comparing her to Angel, and saying her abilities were similar, but what if they did something to all of us before we had our out-of-body experiences? Like how they gave Cassidy a sample of Aelita's DNA."
"I guess it has something to do with my powers, and I'm sitting right next to you, Yumi," I protested, feeling as useless as a dirty sock.
She gave me an apologetic look. "Gomenasai, Cassidy. Continue."
"It's okay," I sighed, trying my hardest not to sound agitated. "I think they are interested in my powers and my bonds with everyone else."
"The monster must have shown them everything they know about you," Jeremie hypothesized. "Your psychic powers, clairvoyance, and how highly we all think of you. They must have singled you out, out of our entire group, because of everything you're capable of and have done in the past."
"I really wish that I wasn't the weird-one-out," I muttered.
"Think of it this way, Cat Girl," Odd tried to reassure me, "they think you're special. The rest of us, we've got zilch compared to you. We just stand there and look cool, while you're the ringleader."
I lowered my head to my breakfast. "That wasn't what I even meant, Odd, sweetheart. I'm not the ringleader. I sometimes don't know how to lead anything. I just wish I wasn't so unique at times. Keep the powers, but downgrade the popularity."
That made everyone at the table gasp, and send surprised looks in my direction. This was followed by Odd putting his arm around me, softly running his fingers up and down the center of my back, between my wings.
"But why, Cat Girl?" he interjected. "You've gotten us out of so many jams with your powers. You're Cassidy the Magnificent! Why would you want to lose that?!"
"I know that, but before I came to Kadic, back in the States, I wasn't singled out. I was more of a Jane Doe than anything. Sure, I had friends, but I wasn't popular by any means. When I found out I had psychic powers, when I moved to France, without knowing it, I felt special for a little while, but the monster was lurking—"
"Forget about the monster, okay?" Ulrich jumped in. "Just think of how many times you've saved us with them. Stop thinking about the negative stuff."
"I just feel overwhelmed with all the 'You're special this, you're special that' stuff," I blinked. "That's what I was going to say next."
"We have kinda been pouring that on a bit too thick, haven't we?" Aelita inquired, smiling calmly at me.
I nodded, closing my eyes. "Like an escape artist's drowning tank filled with nothing but syrup."
Hunter held his arms out at an angle. "Well, at least it's better than telling you that your powers are terrible, and how bad things are, because of them."
"HUNTER!" The majority of the table yelled.
He froze in place, covering his head with his hands while gritting his teeth. "Okay, okay! I'm sorry! B-Bad choice of words!"
As I felt his words sting, Yumi gently wrapped her arm around me, while Aelita wrapped hers around Hunter, calmly and soothingly telling him that while his heart was in the right place, that wasn't exactly the best choice of words, but that she was sure I knew he meant well.
"Don't worry, Cassidy," Yumi soothed, hoping to help me relax. "Hunter didn't mean anything bad by that. He just didn't say the right thing, that's all."
"I know, but it still harkens me back to when Ulrich—"
"But Hunter doesn't think that, and neither does Ulrich," Yumi calmly interjected, as she started to softly rub my back, again. "He just wanted to make you feel better."
"I understand. Plus I can't blame him for trying. We've only known him for almost a week and a half," I nodded, relaxing as I returned to my omelet.
"I'm sorry, Cassidy," Hunter apologized again, looking somewhat worried, as I noticed Aelita was softly rubbing his back, between his wings, as well. "I really didn't mean to say that like that. What I meant was that we didn't want you to think negatively of your powers. I've seen what they can do, and I personally think they're incredible. I almost wish I could do something nearly as cool."
"It's okay, Hunter. I know you meant well," I smiled a bit, still enjoying the meal.
"See?" I heard Aelita soothingly reassure him, "she's not angry at you."
"Yeah, you're right," he replied. "Sometimes I'm terrible with words. That, and I just wasn't thinking."
"Sometimes I wonder if I say the right words," I giggled.
"Don't worry, Cassidy," Aelita gave me a warm, closed-eye smile, threatening to laugh as well. "We always understand what you mean, no matter what."
"True," I smiled. "But please promise me, everyone, that when I am in the room, present, that you don't—um…"
"You're right," Yumi immediately picked up on where I was going, concern painting her face. "We can't keep talking about you like you're not in the room when you really are. It's not very nice of us."
"Yeah, since it happened twice so far. I feel as unimportant as a five-year-old in an adult conversation when you do that."
"I guess, sometimes we get so caught up in the moment, that we tend to forget," Ulrich suggested.
"I'm not XANA, Ulrich. Y'all don't need to treat me as though I am him," I nodded.
"We weren't trying to," he replied, raising an eyebrow as if he was surprised I was comparing myself to the A.I.
"You kept referring to me as 'she/her,' the same way we all referred to XANA as 'he/him.' Sure, there are differences, but still." I finished the omelet and picked up one of the slices of bacon.
"But we would never treat you like you were XANA," Jeremie corrected me. "You're much better than that."
But that gave him an idea. "Speaking of XANA, things have been getting a bit too quiet, lately. I know we severely weakened him, but doesn't it seem the least bit strange that he hasn't tried anything since we were back in France?"
"Wait. We just got our cell phones back," Aelita interjected, eyes widening. "I could call Daddy and see about the shop back home." She reached into her pocket, retrieving the device, and typing a number.
"Aelita," I grinned at my former first roommate, "I know I've said it before, but you're a genius."
"Maybe I should call my father, too. Hmph! I forgot all about doing so when I got my mobile back," Sister jumped in, her eyes widening.
"We should all check in with our parents," Ulrich pointed out, using his fork.
"That's a great idea!" A grin overtook Jeremie's face. "That way we can tell them where we are, and maybe they can help us get back to France."
"My father could try to afford to get us back to Kadic!" Sister smiled.
Sure, that sounded like a great idea, but the thought of how Mr. Delmas would get all of us back to Kadic was what worried me the most. I was sure he was going to want to fly us back, and Sister probably didn't tell him how I was with planes. I don't even want to fly using my new wings; why would I want to fly on an airplane, or any kind of plane, at all?
And she must've realized it, too, because the next thing I knew, she stopped dialing her father's number on her cell phone, and turned a concerned look to me. "Sorry, dear sister. Maybe I can get him to pay for a cruise ship?"
"That might be the better option because I went to France by boat," I nodded.
"Then that's how we'll all get back," Yumi grinned at me. "It'll be just like the day you first came to Kadic."
"Thanks, girls," I smiled.
"Of course!" Sister wrapped her arm around me. "You didn't like your flight over here, so why should your return trip be just as bad?"
"That's why I would like either a cruise ship or a boat," I blinked.
"Why not a luxury cruise?" Odd jumped in. "The return of the conquering heroes should be done with style! Maybe we all should get pampered, on our way back! Yeah!"
"And maybe Georgina would like to come with us," Yumi said.
"I would love to!" Georgina replied, happily. "France is a beautiful country, and I would love to join you all."
"Thank you, Georgina," I smiled, happy.
"Let's see what my father has to say," Sister returned her attention to her cell phone, finished dialing Mr. Delmas' number, and placed the phone against her ear.
Just as she did that, Aelita smiled and clicked hers off. "Daddy and Mommy are so relieved to hear that we all are okay."
"That's always good news, but did you tell them what happened to me," I asked, worry skipping into my heart.
"Don't worry, Cassidy," she soothed. "I didn't tell them. I thought it might be best if you told them when you were ready. It'd probably sound better coming from you, anyway."
"Gracias, Aelita. It's not going to be easy at first." I smiled appreciatively, even though I knew Aelita could see the fear it tried in vain to cover. I wasn't ready to tell them just yet, and I really wasn't sure how long it would be before I was.
"It's not going to be easy for all of us," Kaitlyn agreed. "First we get smuggled, experimented on, and how are we going to explain this to our parents?"
"They'll probably be glad to see us safe and sound," William suggested, holding his cell phone in his right hand, "but when we tell them how we got our wings, they'll think we're something out of a horror movie."
My teeth clenched as a distressed sound wafted through my nose. "I don't even wanna think about what my parents are gonna say, let alone Dad!"
"And he's probably not even gonna let me enroll!" Hunter added. "He'll take one look at me, and probably have Jim take me away, or worse, have me deported!"
I let out a squeal of distress. The thought of Hunter getting possibly sent back to America bothered me greatly. I didn't want to lose a new friend.
"But won't they be more excited to see that we're safe and sound?" Jeremie held out his hands. "They know we were abducted. Up until now, they didn't know where we were taken; they probably assumed we were taken to a remote part of Paris. Our new wings and Kiwi's ability to talk might take some getting used to for them, as it will for us, but we're still the same people, even without them. Once they hear the entire story, I'm sure they'll be more than happy that we're safe and sound. They might even take care of the whitecoats."
I tried to calm down after that. I kept trying to think that they would be more happy to see us, than shun us for suddenly showing up with wings on our backs. I really wanted to be wrong about how they'd take our new wings, but… the fear that I would be right was just too great.
Sister seemed to talk on the phone a long time. I could tell her father sounded overjoyed to hear her voice again, and after telling him that not only she but I was alright as well, she started to ask if he could help them get back to France, keeping my preference in mind. At first, it sounded as though he didn't give her many options, but she was quite the sweet-talker, even if she didn't sound angry, or snobby.
Soon, she passed her phone to me. "Here, Daddy wants to talk to you, too."
Gingerly, I placed the device on my ear. "H-hi, uh—Dad."
"Cassidy, dear," I heard Mr. Delmas reply at the other end, sounding relieved. "Sissi told me that you were safe and sound as well, but I just had to hear your voice to make sure. I'm very relieved to know you all are safe. Did they mistreat you at all?"
Knowing he would see through my weak defenses as well as Yumi could, I took a deep breath. "Well… kinda… they did work us… they gave us tests… but two of them saved us… Jeb Batchhelder and Georgina Markson. They had eight other people help them, too, Max and her flock, and Ari."
"That's wonderful!" Mr. Delmas sounded even more relieved, at least at first. "Tell Mr. Batchhelder and Ms. Markson that they have my utmost gratitude."
Then he paused for a few seconds. "And did you say you were also saved by someone named Max, 'and her flock?'"
"Remember when I would read that book series?" I tittered nervously.
"Yes, I believe it was called Maximum Ride?" he sounded confused.
"Well, um… the leader is named Max, and her flock members are Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman 'Gazzy,' Angel, and Total, their part-bird part-dog," I answered.
There was another short pause, intensifying my nerves slightly, before Mr. Delmas came back on, sounding slightly surprised. "What a very interesting group of people. Especially their, um… bird-dog hybrid. Very well. Give them my utmost gratitude, as well."
"Mr. Delmas, Mr. Klotz wants to talk to you about something," a new voice said faintly.
"Dad, was that J-Jim?" I asked.
"Yes," Mr. Delmas replied. "It appears Mr. Klotz wishes to speak with me, regarding an unknown matter."
"Wait, Dad, do you think I could um… talk to Jim? I'm sure that he would love to hear one of his cadets' voices," I smiled.
"Why yes, yes, of course," he answered. "I will certainly do that. Is there anything else you wish to discuss before I hand you over to Mr. Morales?"
"Only that our trip back don't include air travel…considering um…"
"Oh yes," he spoke up, sensing what he thought was the end of my sentence. "Elisabeth has told me of your preference. She hasn't gone into very many details, but I will say that I do understand, and I would rather not worry you on your trip back to Paris any more than your trip to the United States had, even if the circumstances are entirely different. So rest assured, Cassidy, if I am able to pay your way back to Kadic Academy, you can be absolutely sure it will not involve air travel."
"Thanks, Daddy," I smiled.
"It is my pleasure, my dear. Now, if you will excuse me, I must attend to Mr. Klotz. I will hand you over to Mr. Morales, now. I am very relieved to hear that you, Sissi, and everyone else with you is safe and sound, and will arrange for your safe return if it is within my control. Please give Sissi my best, as well."
Soon, a gruff voice entered my ears. "'Yello? McGuire, is that you?"
"Yes! It is, Captain Jim. It's so good to hear your voice again," I smiled excitedly.
He instantly cheered up. "Cadet! It's great to hear yours, as well. They weren't treating you too badly, were they? I'm itchin' to give them a piece of my mind, after what they did to your Captain Jimbo!"
"Not too badly, but one of them ripped open some emotional wounds," I blinked. "I almost had the upper hand when he snapped, but thanks to my friends and some of the other w—scientists…—he was dealt with."
"It sounds like I've taught you and your friends well," I could almost see him smiling smugly at the other end. "And it's good that you stayed strong, McGuire. You give 'em an inch, and they'll knock you right off your feet!"
"That's true. He really was mean. Ripping open emotional wounds was one thing, but he did knock me to the ground when he snapped. However, we're away from that place, and I'd rather not talk about it for the moment," I grinned.
"That's fine; I understand," he replied, reassuringly. "It's better that they got you away from there, anyway. It's far better to fall back, regroup, and decide on your next course of action. You know what they say about the one who fights and… and, uh… fights… uhh…"
"Okay…?" I giggled.
"Yes! Anyway, you and the other eleven ought to stay in a safe place, until we're able to come get you. Don't want those bozos findin' you out before we can get them all taken care of. No one messes with Captain Jimbo and gets away with it!"
"You're right, Captain Jim, I am so relieved to hear that you're alive. For a while, I got so worried about you."
"There there, Cadet. It takes more than a sneak-attack, and a little sedative, to take me out. They're lucky they got me from behind. Otherwise, they would've been the ones to find out what the carpet tasted like!"
Even though I'm sure Jim probably said that to try and make me feel better, all I could think about was the sound of him hitting the floor, after the Erasers sedated him, the first time. And that just made me a bit nervous.
"H-hey! I think I might pass you to Jeremie! He would love to talk to you," I tittered.
That caught Jeremie off-guard, as his head immediately snapped in my direction, his eyes widened, and he started waving his palms in front of his chest, trying to tell me that was a horrible idea.
"He's my camp-mate after all. Maybe you would love to talk some advice to him, too, Jim," I blinked, hiding my laughter with silent hisses.
"You okay there, cadet?" Jim sounded as though he was trying to sense something in my voice. "Those bozos didn't just show up at your front door, did they?"
Now I was caught off-guard. "No, they haven't. We're well-guarded. I just remembered the sound of you hitting the floor. It wasn't pleasant to me."
"Oh." Just the tone of his voice told me everything I needed to know. "Well… that's all in the past now, cadet. Don't you worry about that. They might've caught me with my pants down that time, but you can't fool your old pal Jimbo twice, and brag to your friends about it!"
"True. I did trick ya one time," I giggled. "Those Hornets really taught me a lesson."
"Oh yeah. You can't let them get the upper hand. Their wings are so loud, you can hear 'em from a mile away. You gotta surprise 'em the same way they surprise you. Fight flying with flying."
"That's very good advice, Jim. And I can't wait to see you again," I smiled.
"Agreed. The sooner you and the other cadets get back here, the better. Everyone will be glad to know the twelve of you are safe and sound."
"Yep," I nodded. "Would you like to talk to anyone else before we hang up?"
"Nah, that'll about do it, unless someone else wants to talk to me."
I covered the mouthpiece. "Anyone else wanna talk to him?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"Are you all sure?" I asked, feeling bad that only I got to talk to Jim.
That was when Yumi leaned forward. "I'll talk to him."
I smiled and handed her Sister's phone. "It's Jim."
She smiled warmly as she took the phone from me, before placing it against her own ear. "Hello, Jim! It's Yumi. I'm glad to hear you're doing well, too."
Jeremie glared at me. "Why did you recommend that I should talk to him?!" he hissed.
"I panicked, okay? He talked about tasting carpet, and it triggered my—"
Jeremie's eyebrows raised. "Oh. T-that's okay. I had no idea what you and Jim were even talking about."
"It's okay, but I was having trouble about what to do," I panted.
"Well, at least you told him what was going on," Ulrich reassured me. "Maybe a little signal next time?"
"Like 'I need to use the green toilet' during that drug PSA?" I asked helpfully.
He raised his right index finger. "That could work, but it might surprise whoever you're talking to."
"Or maybe I could say something different. Like 'CHiPs is on, and Ponch just said the wrong thing in ASL?'"
Jeremie looked down at the table, scratching his chin. "That might work. It's a bit of an obscure reference, but you can always pretend to explain it later on if whoever you're talking to gets curious."
"Plus I could always shake it up slightly," I pointed out.
Nearby, Odd lowered his own phone to chest level, having finished the call to his parents and sisters that he had started not long after Aelita had made the suggestion. "Mom and Dad were glad that both of us were doing okay, Cat Girl. My sisters wanted to give the both of us a big hug!"
"That would be nice," I smiled, happy to hear it.
Ulrich smiled as he pulled his own cell phone out of his pants pocket. "Now I'm gonna call my mom and dad."
"I hope he doesn't act as angry as a wet cat on washing day," I fretted slightly.
Ulrich started dialing, as he looked at me. "You saw how he was, back in the hospital, and how he sounded in that news report. He'll probably be really happy when he hears I'm safe."
His face then fell, a bit. "At least, I hope he will…"
That's what I hoped, too, but hearing Ulrich doubt himself didn't help my worries.
Aelita looked over in my direction, giving me one of her calming, disarming smiles. "I'm sure it's no big deal, Cassidy."
I took a deep breath. "You're right. I worry too much."
Jeremie grinned at me, once he realized the conversation I just had with Aelita sounded quite similar to one he had with her, several months back. "Don't worry. I do the same."
And Aelita couldn't help but giggle behind her hand, once she realized the reference, as well.
"Yeah. At least we don't have a contest to go to, this time," I chuckled, my nerves melting.
Shortly after, Yumi pulled Sister's cell phone away from her ear, before ending the call. "Jim was glad that we're all doing well, and he hopes we have a great trip back to France."
"FANTASTIC!" Odd and Kiwi chorused, giggling in glee.
And then William finished his phone call. He looked somewhat happy, as he hung up his cell phone. "My mom and dad are glad that we're all doing great, too. They're hoping they can see all of us, if not me when we get back to Kadic."
"That's awesome, William," I smiled. "I would love to meet your parents properly. I didn't get a good chance to when we got you home, and in the assembly, they only talked to you, not even including a desire to see me."
"They're really cool." William nodded. "I bet they'll really like you, Cass. They'll probably get along with all of us."
"I'd love that so much," I agreed.
Hunter was next, hanging up his cell phone a few seconds after I answered William's question. He looked quite relieved.
"Aunt Jeanette and Uncle Marcel were overjoyed to know I was safe, glad to know everyone's alright but surprised when I told them I had been taken back to the States. And just as I thought, they told my parents I was missing, and soon they'll call them and give them the good news, too. I didn't tell them about the wings, though; I didn't think about it. I got caught up in all the excitement after I told them we were all safe and sound."
"It's okay, Hunter. Meanwhile, I don't know if I'm ready to reveal my wings yet," I reassured, my nerves flaring.
Hunter's mouth curved up into a grin. "Well, you could always tell Aunt Jeanette and Uncle Marcel, first, if you want to. They're pretty relaxed, slightly laid-back, more so than my parents, but very caring people, too. I figure if I tell them, they'll be curious about how I got mine, but they wouldn't kick me to the curb, or send me back to Maryland. So they'd probably be okay with you showing off yours, as well."
"Yeah, that's good, but I'm talking about my parents," I whimpered nervously. "My mother was scared in that news report. I don't know what will happen when I reveal that I've become a mutant against my will and that my strand of hair is natural rather than dyed."
"Maybe they won't take it as badly as you might think?" Aelita tried to reassure me. "I'm a bit afraid to tell my mother and father about my wings and your DNA, too, but given that Daddy has dealt with these sorts of things before, I don't think it'll be that bad. Mommy might be more concerned that we're all okay, and not worry about our wings so much, but I'm not sure how she'll take them giving you a sample of my DNA, and the strand of pink hair it gave you."
"But either way," Yumi jumped in, "those wings, and your hair, they're both a part of you, now. They know we were abducted, but really all they can get angry at are the whitecoats. They won't get mad at us for something we didn't have any control over."
I rubbed my neck, on the side of being stung three times. "I guess you're right."
"Your mom probably won't kick you out of your house for that," Yumi gave me a calm, reassuring smile. "I've met your mother. She seems like a wonderful person, who cares deeply about you, and I can guess your sister, as well. I don't think she's going to shun you for something you couldn't stop from happening."
"I don't think she would either, but I guess I'm a bit paranoid." I didn't smile, but I scratched the back of my head sheepishly.
"What if we show them our wings, all at once?" Odd suggested. "That way, we'll reveal that they did it to all of us at the same time."
"No, Odd. I'll reveal my wings solo, and then we can each unveil our own, carefully. My house is a bit smaller than Yumi's in scale. One bathroom, three bedrooms, one basement, and a bar table separating the living room and kitchen. We don't have much, but to us, it's home," I said.
"And that's exactly what matters," Jeremie grinned.
"I do warn you, Odd, that my dog is a bit dog unfriendly. One time my grandparents took my other dog to Illinois for my birthday, and we ended up putting BJ in the basement because Braxton barked at her. So maybe keeping Kiwi outside somewhere might be the best idea?" I squeaked, bracing for impact.
"What if I keep him with me, at all times?" Odd inquired, seeming a bit surprised. "I could just carry him around the whole time!"
"Maybe," I shrugged. "I just don't want Kiwi to be hurt. Braxton is a bigger dog compared to him."
Odd's face fell a bit, but he soon picked it back up, making me think he understood where I was coming from. "Yeah… maybe you're right. I'll just let someone else keep my diggity-dog company, while we're visiting your parents."
"If my grandpa still owns the farm, he could romp around with the stray kitties all day there until it's time to leave Illinois," I suggested. "My aunt would bring her dog over all the time."
"Cool!" Odd's face rose a bit more, at that thought. He soon looked down at the dog in question, who was perched on his lap, getting a gentle petting. "Wouldn't you like that, Kiwi?"
"Yeah, plus I haven't seen any other animals in a while. But I hope that's the last trip to California for a long time. That earthquake almost made me want to throw up," Kiwi nodded gratefully.
"Oh, you won't have to worry about that, Kiwi," Jeremie tried to reassure him. "Once we're all safely back in France, I don't think we'll ever come back out to the western United States again for a long time."
"Yeah, I don't wanna go back to the School at all." I shook my head.
"I think it's safe to say we all agree on that one," Patrick nodded.
"Yeah," Kaitlyn agreed.
"But then again," Hunter added, "if we hadn't—and I'm not saying the entire experience was good, because, heck no, it wasn't—we probably wouldn't have met people like Jeb, or Georgina… or Max, Fang, Gasman, and the others."
Dr. Martinez smiled. "We're all glad we could help. After what they did to my daughter and her flock, she sure wasn't going to let you all go through that, too."
"And we thank you for that," I smiled at her.
"You're welcome." She giggled. "Now how about we see if the whitecoats put anything else into you, besides DNA?"
Hunter raised an eyebrow, as he looked up at Dr. Martinez. "But how would we find out if they did inject us with anything else?"
"Not all of us have superhuman powers," Max's mom teased. "But some of us have access to X-ray machines."
Jeremie glanced in my direction and cocked a brow, to which I sighed. "She's a veterinarian, and she found a chip in Max's arm. A couple books later, she removed it, temporarily making her hand numb. Soon, she got the use of her arm back."
"Then we'd better let her examine all of us, too," Jeremie's features sported slight determination. "There's no telling what else they could have done to us, before we all became spiritual entities, during our sedation."
"That's true," Yumi agreed. "They could have done that to one or all of us."
I glanced over at Sister, who seemed to be scratching herself, as though she had recently encountered poison ivy. "If they put anything more into us, wouldn't we feel it somewhere on our bodies?"
"It could feel like a grain of rice under the skin," Dr. Martinez nodded. "But we could have you all X-rayed to be sure."
"That's probably our best option," Jeremie suggested. "Better to be on the safe side. Who knows how they could use whatever they might have put into us."
"Yeah. I don't want this place attacked by Erasers," I groaned, the idea giving me the willies.
So, once Ulrich finished his phone call, and everyone finished the remains of their breakfast, we all compiled into the van we had ridden over in, and Dr. Martinez drove us over to her veterinary practice, Max taking the passenger seat. It was about what you'd expect, with a relatively big-sized building, and plenty of adorable animals waiting in the waiting room with their owners. Once we got there, Dr. Martinez took us straight behind the reception desk, into the back.
This place still gives me the creeps, Max thought, making me glance sympathetically in her general direction.
We walked into an exam room. A typical setup, it sported a few different machines for checking the health of dogs, cats, and other animals, along with a metal table on one side of the room, near a series of cabinets, with a sink, and various different chemicals. Once we were all inside, Dr. Martinez closed the door behind us, and walked over to a machine in another corner of the room, by some empty countertops and cabinets.
"Who would like to go first?" Jeremie asked.
Kaitlyn raised her hand. "I'll go first."
Dr. Martinez nodded. "Sure. We can go in no particular order, just as long as everyone gets examined."
Kaitlyn nodded, as Max's mom wheeled the X-ray machine away from the corner it was sitting in, and over toward the metal table.
"Get up onto the metal table," she directed Jeremie's female cousin. "I'll just run this over you a few times, and we'll see what else the whitecoats might have done to you."
She did as she was told, taking off her shoes, before lying on her back. The X-ray machine, which had a metal arm that hovered over the examination table, was turned on, Dr. Martinez slowly moving the arm back and forth, carefully watching what appeared on its monitor.
"Hm… it doesn't say anything here," Max's mom noted.
"That's good," she smiled.
A few more passes showed that Kaitlyn thankfully didn't have any microchips injected into her body. Dr. Martinez then swung the X-ray machine's arm out of the way, allowing Jeremie's female cousin to hop off the table, and put her shoes back on.
Yumi decided to go next. Her combat boots were off in a few seconds, and she climbed onto the metal table, laying on her back as well. Dr. Martinez then swung the X-ray machine's arm over Yumi's body, starting with a few slow back-and-forth motions, checking her for any strange things.
After a few more passes, it turned out that Yumi wasn't chipped, either, which surprised me. Her and I both knew the book series, so I thought that the whitecoats would single both her and I out, because of this.
Once Yumi had climbed off the table and put her combat boots back on, Odd gently placed Kiwi upon the metal table. Dr. Martinez scanned him and found nothing, so Ulrich went next. He was also clean, as was Jeremie, who volunteered after Samurai.
Hunter took off his shoes and was scanned next, a bit more comfortable with the whole thing after seeing the others before him, and he was chip free, as well.
His shoes replaced, Patrick was next on the table. Dr. Martinez found nothing in him either. Jeremie was relieved to find his darling pink-haired girlfriend chip free, and both Sam and Odd were grateful the other had nothing of the sort, as well. Then William went, followed by Sister, and they, too, were chip-less. It seemed as though we were going to come up completely chip free.
Then it was my turn. Taking a deep breath, I removed my shoes and laid myself on the metal table, trying to settle my nerves.
Dr. Martinez must have noticed this, as she smiled calmly at me while swinging the X-ray machine's metal arm over my body. "Don't worry, Cassidy. Your friends all came back clean, so there's no reason to believe you'll have any chips inside you, either."
"R-right," I smiled. "Maybe I will come up free, too."
She nodded with a similar smile, as she began slowly sliding the metal bar back and forth, getting a good look at the monitor's readout. As it passed over my head, shoulders, and chest, everything seemed fine.
Of course, we all know how that sort of thing ends, don't we…
While Dr. Martinez was passing the scanner bar over my arms, I saw her eyes widen slightly, sending my nerves into overdrive. Stopping momentarily, she began slowly moving the X-ray machine's metal arm back and forth over each of my arms, as if she didn't believe what the device's monitor was showing her.
"I think I figured out the cause of that neck pain in the van that Jeb reported to me," she blinked.
My butterflies immediately called for backup. "Oh, God."
Yumi quickly adopted a look of concern, as she glanced back and forth between me, and the X-ray machine's readout. "Don't worry, Cassidy. Now that we know it's there, we're gonna get it out of you."
"Okay…" I whispered, my heart revving to a hundred miles per hour.
"She's right," Dr. Martinez agreed, trying to speak in a calm, soothing voice to help me relax. "And it won't be any trouble, either. Max's removal proved difficult because the chip had been in her arm for years. But yours never had the chance for your nerves and muscles to grow around it, so it should be easy to remove."
I nodded, slightly reassured. She was right. Max's had grown with her. Mine was at least a day old.
Sister walked to the side of the table, looking more worried than Yumi was. "Ooh, I was afraid of this! But I'm sure Dr. Martinez is a very skilled surgeon and can get that nasty chip out of you quickly and easily, sister dear."
"Thanks, Sister," I blinked.
"That's exactly right, Sissi," Dr. Martinez confirmed, as she turned off the X-ray machine, and swung its arm away from my body. "And we should get it removed as soon as possible, that way it doesn't have any chance to form any nerve connections."
"Or cause any trouble with Erasers," I heard Jeremie agree.
Odd walked over to the table, as well. "You're gonna be okay, Cat Girl. Don't worry! The sooner we get it out of you, the better!"
A smile found its way to my face. "That's true, Odd. Thanks, Ninja-Cat-Winged Boy."
He laughed at that. "You said it, Winged Cat Girl!"
"I'll have to move us into an operating room," Dr. Martinez added, moving the X-ray machine back into the corner we had found it in. "It'll be set up for pets, but since we're doing a simple neck operation, it shouldn't be too hard."
She then looked at me, after she had taken care of the machine. "Is there anything we can do to make you comfortable beforehand, Cassidy?"
"Maybe have Aelita, Yumi, Sister, and Odd with me? That way, I'll have them for moral support," I nodded.
She nodded with a smile. "Of course. Why don't the five of you follow me? I'll lead you into the operating room. Max, could you show the others to my office? I don't want the customers wondering what's going on."
Max nodded. "Yes, Mom."
The others quickly offered well-wishes of good luck, and reassurances that I would easily pull through, before following Max out the door, William turned to me, before leaving.
"Cass? Don't be worried, okay?" he spoke with a grin. "Just because something looks terrible, doesn't mean it can't be taken care of if you give it time. Dr. Martinez has got plenty of firepower, so she's gonna blast that chip right out of your neck, and you won't even feel it."
Hunter stopped momentarily, turning to me as well. "You're gonna be okay, Cassidy. It's just a little tiny chip. It probably hasn't even had time to activate, or do anything, yet. We're all with you, anyway."
Soon, it was just Aelita, Yumi, Sister, Odd, Dr. Martinez, and me. I got off the table, putting on my shoes, and looked at Max's mother. "I'm ready."
Dr. Martinez smiled reassuringly, as she looked at me, before gesturing toward the door. "Great. Let's take you to the operating room."
Opening the door once more, Dr. Martinez led Aelita, Yumi, Odd, Sister, and I down to the other end of the hallway, and into another room. Inside, there were different machines, each placed near another metal table; however, Max's mom walked over to a cabinet, after closing the door behind us, and pulled out a blanket, which she draped over the metal table.
"We'll take the chip out of your neck in here," she explained. "Now, how would you like me to do it? Would you like to lay down, or would you be okay sitting up?"
"Maybe laying down would be best," I suggested, hopping up onto the table.
"Good idea." The doctor walked over to another cabinet, from which she pulled a folded-up towel. "You can lay your head against this. It's probably not the softest thing, but this is a veterinary practice, after all."
I put it near the spot where I planned to lay my head, then placed it atop the towel, finding a comfortable laying position.
Once the towel was in a comfortable place, Dr. Martinez pulled a few utensils, along with a syringe, out of a drawer. "Are you comfortable, Cassidy?"
"Yes, Dr. Martinez," I told her, my eyes having a nice view of where my friends were.
"Great!" she smiled, reassuringly, as she moved the utensils, and the syringe, along with a small glass jar, over onto a rolling cart, which she rolled over by me. "Now, I know you're probably sick to death of syringes, but I'm going to numb your neck a bit, okay? I'm gonna numb the spot before I insert the syringe, so all you'll feel is just a little bit of pressure, all right?"
"I think most of us are, but you do what you need to, okay?" I blinked, taking a deep breath.
"Don't worry, everything will be fine," Dr. Martinez soothed, as I watched Aelita, Yumi, Sister, and Odd approach the table. My former first roommate and my geisha friend soon began softly rubbing each of my arms, while the nice principal's daughter and mi novio each held one of my hands.
"I trust you, Dr. Martinez."
She nodded, as she began to dip a cotton ball into a sort of alcohol-based substance, which I could see out of the corner of my eye, between her and Aelita. A few seconds later, she slowly brought it over to the side of my neck where the chip was located and began to softly swab it all around one spot in particular, below the sore spot where that whitecoat had injected me with the microchip in the first place before I blacked out.
"You're doing great so far, Cassidy," Yumi smiled encouragingly.
In reply, the corners of my mouth curved upward, feeling pins and needles where Dr. Martinez was rubbing. "Thank you, Yumi."
After Max's mom had rubbed a decent amount of the substance onto the side of my neck, she gently placed the cotton ball onto the tray, next to the bowl that held the liquid, before reaching for the syringe, next.
"You've got it, dear sister!" Sister was next, looking excited as she encouraged me. "You're doing just fine!"
I forced myself to be calm, reminding myself that she didn't know how much of a trigger those four words turned out to be, in my case. "Thanks, Sister… Even though I found you turning over a new leaf to be a shock at first, I grew to love it."
She nodded, the excited look not moving from her face. "I'm glad! Sorry I scared you at first. But this is the new me, and it's not going anywhere!"
"All water under the bridge, now," I grinned. "I am a bit curious about where it came from. I understand the monster had something to do with it, but I don't know…"
"It was the monster," she confirmed. "It showed me everything you and your friends had done that saved the world, but it also showed me every nice thing I had done for you, how grateful it made everyone, and how many stupid things I did, as well. The whole thing just really freaked me out, and I didn't know what to do, at first. But when I went to the hospital with you and the others, I started to see how wonderful you all really were, just like the monster had shown me, and I felt terrible for all the things I had done to all of you in the past. That's what made me change."
"I still remember how you called me Psychic Wonder. That was new for you to use on me," I noted.
"Mm-hmm!" She nodded. "I thought it was better than 'Danger Psychic.'"
"Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi came up with it," I breathed, keeping myself from scoffing.
Before Sister could reply, Dr. Martinez brought a syringe over by my neck. "Okay, Cassidy, time to numb your neck a bit. Just hold still; you're doing wonderfully."
I stiffened my neck, moments before I felt the gentle push of the syringe going into my neck, without any pain whatsoever. In a few seconds, Dr. Martinez pulled it back out again, as I felt the feeling in my neck slowly slip away.
"You're doing great, Cassidy," Aelita smiled brightly at me.
"Thanks, Aelita," I blinked.
"My pleasure," she replied. "She'll have the chip out of your neck in no time."
"At least it's there and not somewhere in my teeth. Now that would be disturbing."
"But then we'd need a dentist!" Odd quipped, trying to keep me in good spirits. "And animal teeth aren't the same as human teeth!"
"I would rather not undergo laughing gas, Odd." I tried not to get angry, but if I wanted to get the chip out of my neck, I had to stay still. Where have all his good jokes gone?
"We'll all need laughing gas," Yumi jumped in, a grin on her face, "if his jokes continue to be this bad."
"Don't you remember what I told you on the limo ride to the spa?" I gritted my teeth, worried that my friends had forgotten.
Concern washed over my geisha friend, as she looked down at me. "We didn't forget. We were just trying to cheer you up. Don't worry, Cassidy. Nobody's giving anyone laughing gas."
"Yeah, because I don't want anything to do with that, right now," I blinked, taking a relaxing breath.
"Let's think about something else," Sister tried to change the subject, as she knew how much I hated that thought. "What about… what'll we do, after Dr. Martinez takes that chip out of your neck?"
"Maybe we could go to Starbucks or something, I guess." I would have shrugged, but Max's mom needed me to hold still. That device could be stuck forever if I jolted suddenly.
"Yeah, Odd on a cup of coffee. That'll be the day," Yumi scoffed, a chuckle rising within her.
"Caffeine wouldn't do that to me," Odd replied. "My metabolism's too high for that!"
"Plus, they do sell hot chocolate. I just love their Frappuccinos," I smiled. "Especially the double chocolaty chip ones. It's thanks to my mom. Once, we took a trip to Kentucky, best trip of my life, and we saw the horses. So to not bore me in a different time zone, Mom took a walk with me across the parking lot to a Starbucks and introduced me. I got so caffeinated from a frappuccino, I chattered her ears off."
Aelita grinned, nearly giggling. "After this is all over, maybe we should all have one."
"They have different flavors, so everyone can have their own. They even sign the cups with the owner's name," I beamed.
"Great!" Aelita chuckled. "I can't wait to see what other flavors they have, too."
"Maybe Jeremie would like something, too."
"How about this," Dr. Martinez jumped in, having just taken a scalpel to my neck, and was now bringing a pair of tweezers over, "after we get the chip out of you, I'll treat everyone to Starbucks. Sound good?"
"That sounds good," I smiled.
"Wonderful!" She was now trying to keep her hands as steady as she could, slowly inserting the tweezers into the incision she had created, aiming for the chip. "I'll let the others know, once we're finished here."
"How am I doing?"
"Wonderfully," Max's mom was filled with praise, as the tweezers slowly neared the offender. "I've almost got the microchip."
"That's good," Yumi smiled. "I would hate for Erasers to attack us because of it."
She nodded. "That's why I'm thrilled that we were able to detect it when we did. Any longer, and it might have started to make connections with Cassidy's nerves."
"And I would hate for difficulties to arise. Good thing it's a day old," I blinked. Here we go again with the "Ignore Cassidy even if she's present" game.
"Exactly. And it's also a good thing Max suggested this. Otherwise, we might not have even found it at all."
"Yeah. I'm glad that she did," I smiled.
"So am I," she added, before stopping, in order to concentrate better, as the tweezers came within inches of the chip. "Almost got it…"
I held as still as possible, keeping quiet, not wanting to risk shoving the thing in further.
Slowly but surely, Dr. Martinez inched the tweezers closer, and closer, and closer… until she slowly pinched them, catching the microchip between each metal arm. An excited grin overtook her face, as she slowly slid the tweezers back out of my neck, with the microchip between them.
"Got it!"
"Oh, thank God…" I sighed in relief.
Yumi and Sister cheered, while Odd thrust his fist up into the air in excitement, and Aelita gave my arm a reassuring, soft and gentle rub, beaming at me.
"That's great news…" I smiled.
Max's mom then tossed the chip, and the tweezers, into a biohazard container, before going to another cabinet to retrieve some gauze and medical tape. "Now I'll just bandage up that hole, and you'll be all set. The anesthetic I used on your neck will wear off in a couple of hours, so you'll be fine."
I blinked. "That sounds good."
While Dr. Martinez grabbed the required supplies, Aelita happened to cast her gaze toward the closed door. "I wonder how the others are doing? I hope they haven't been bored, this whole time."
"Knowing them, I'm sure they found something to do," I giggled slightly.
"You're probably right," Aelita added her own laugh, closing her eyes as she did.
"Besides, what would a couple of computer geniuses, a samurai, a dog, a leader of a flock, two cousins to one of the said computer geniuses, and an ex-boyfriend of mine do in one room?" I asked. "What's the worst that could happen?"
"Maybe they'd try to change the lightbulbs?" Odd suggested.
Yumi got a good laugh out of that one. "I could see that. Jeremie telling the others what's in the lightbulb, while my anata tries to destroy the one that's already in the socket, and William and Patrick try to hold him back!"
"What about Hunter, Max, Kaitlyn, and Kiwi," I threatened to burst out laughing.
"Hunter would try to reason with Ulrich," Yumi started guessing, "but he'd probably back off pretty quickly. Max would probably try to keep the whole situation under control, with Kaitlyn getting into an argument with my anata. Kiwi would probably ask one of them to hold him up to the light so he can unscrew it with his teeth."
I gritted my teeth, my laughter filtering through them. "That would be so funny."
"My daughter would probably be as much of a hothead as your boyfriend, Yumi," Dr. Martinez admitted, as she gently pressed a wad of gauze against the incision she had made, before softly placing a slight bit of medical tape around it, to hold it in place. "Hunter might end up ducking into a corner, I fear."
"Yeah, almost about to go into a meltdown," I realized. "Ugh… I still feel sorry for him."
Yumi's face fell, slightly, when I mentioned this. "Yeah… poor guy. All they told me was that there were a lot of random, loud noises in the test that overloaded him. I didn't get the rest."
"I am glad Jeb helped me. I felt like my body was going to kill me."
"Probably the only time that shunt actually came in handy," Odd admitted.
"Yeah, and they did a glucose assay on me while I was fading out. I caught their thoughts," I blinked. "No wonder William handed me a Dr. Pepper."
Dr. Martinez had firmly patched up the incision, moments after I finished my sentence. "And you're all set, Cassidy. Just be careful for a little while, okay? Just in case."
"Okay, Dr. Martinez, and thank you." I lifted my head from the towel I had been laying on.
"It's no problem at all," she replied with a smile. "I'll just place these towels in the laundry, and I'll lead you into my office, where the others should still be waiting for us."
"That sounds good," Yumi smiled, wrapping her arms around me carefully.
Sister then started to look me over, with a look of concern on her face. "How do you feel, dear sister?"
"Doing good," I grinned, "now that I won't have to worry about the Erasers tracking us down because one of us has a chip."
"That's fantastic!" mi novio exclaimed, also glad to see that I was doing well. "I wonder if those whitecoats had anything else up their sleeves."
"I don't know, Odd, but I'm glad that we can figure things out," I giggled.
"So am I," Dr. Martinez agreed, as she placed the towels I had rested my head upon into a laundry hamper. "Let's go check on the others. Hopefully, they haven't made a mess of my office."
"I'm sure they haven't. It's not like Ulrich and Jeremie would butt heads over how long I'd be in here," I giggled.
Max's mom led us back out of the operating room, and down the hallway once more. Once she reached her office and opened the door, we happened to catch Ulrich right in the middle of a joke. Needless to say, he was still slightly off when it came to humor.
"...and then I see this Blok come trotting over on the ice. So I bring up my katana, look it in the eye, and yell, 'I'm gonna knock your block off, you dumb blockhead!' Then Yumi backflips over by me, hand between her obi and back, and says—"
"'Sounds like you miss Odd! Your jokes are worse than his,'" Yumi chuckled.
As she began her sentence, Ulrich came to a screeching halt, his eyes widening as he whirled around to face his girlfriend. "Yumi! Dah—uh… ah… uh—duh… you're… dah—uh… back?"
William, Patrick, Kaitlyn, Jeremie, Sam, and Hunter immediately burst out laughing at Samurai's expense, while he fought to form some kind of coherent sentence.
"Yes, we are, Ulrich," she smiled.
I could tell Ulrich was fighting to regain his ability to talk coherently, as he looked at me, trying to figure out what to say, next. "Duh—uh… Cassidy… uh… you, uh… feeling better now?"
"Yeah. No more chip means no worries about an Eraser ambush," I smiled.
Jeremie grinned at me. "That's fantastic! It sounds like the entire procedure was quick and easy."
"It was, Jeremie, sweetheart!" Sister happily confirmed. "We kept my dear sister entertained, and she didn't feel a thing! Next thing she knew, Dr. Martinez had pulled the nasty chip out of her neck, and bandaged her up!"
"And if you all feel up to it, Dr. Martinez is treating us to Starbucks," I smiled.
The general consensus was that this was a magnificent idea.
"That would be great!" Patrick replied with a grin.
"That's a fantastic idea!" Jeremie cheered.
"Just make sure Odd doesn't get any caffeine," Ulrich quipped, folding his arms, "if the rest of us wanna sleep tonight, that is."
"Hey, they have hot chocolate." I looked him in his brown eyes, a smirk on my lips.
The mischievous grin on Samurai's face slowly faded. "And how do you know that?"
"Been to one before." I kept my gaze locked on his, my own devious smile not disappearing from my features.
"Oh, you have, have you?" Of course, he wasn't backing down, either. "And how do you know Odd's not just gonna go for an iced coffee?"
"Because Dr. Martinez'll order the beverage for him." My game did not falter.
He slowly regained his own mischievous grin, as he knew where things were headed. "What if he finds a few sugar packets, huh?"
"We'll go through the drive-thru. Zip the chances just like that." Sister did teach me a few things, after all.
That got Ulrich on his toes. He started to grit his teeth, as if he was running out of options, but afraid of "losing the game," as it were. "Well, uh…"
An idea struck him, as his right index finger shot out, coming within a foot of my body. "How do we know he's not gonna try and take a sip of someone else's?!"
"Hm?" I smiled. "You're not afraid of losing, are you, Ulrich, dear?"
Sister and Yumi burst out laughing.
His eyebrows lowering, he folded his arms, looking down at Dr. Martinez's office blue carpet, as he began to get quite flustered. "Uh… um—duh… uh… no! Uh—who said anything about me, uh… losing?!"
Jeremie then threw his hat into the proverbial ring, folding his own arms, and adopting a mischievous smile of his own, as he turned to look at Samurai. "Why are you getting all hot under the collar, then, huh, Ulrich? I'm sure anyone who isn't afraid of losing wouldn't adopt that expression."
That made him blush, as he glared at Jeremie. "Stay out of this Einstein, huh! This is between me and Cassidy!"
And then Dr. Martinez started clicking her tongue, shaking her head disapprovingly. "No, this is not good at all. C'mon, everyone. We'd better get Ulrich to Starbucks before he gets too hot."
"That sounds like a fantastic idea," I nodded, turning to follow her.
"I agree," Max added, stopping by Ulrich as the others started filing out of her mother's office. "C'mon, Ulrich. A double chocolaty chip frappuccino will cool you right down."
"Yeah," Sister smiled. "I could go for a vanilla bean one myself."
"I'm debating on either a double chocolaty chip," Hunter mused, as he followed Sister out the door, "or a java chip. Guess it depends on how awake I am, right now."
"You can make the decision in the van," I smiled, feeling my wings want to flicker.
After everyone else had left except Yumi and Ulrich, my geisha friend walked over to her boyfriend, and wrapped her arms around him, before resting her chin on his right shoulder.
"C'mon," she soothed, trying to help him relax. "Everyone else is waiting for us. Let's go get something good, huh?"
He nodded, wordlessly, following her. In no time at all, they had caught up with the rest of us, and we all piled back into Dr. Martinez's van, bound for Starbucks.
Needless to say, once we got there, and each of us ordered our drinks, Odd got his hot chocolate and didn't sample anything from anyone else, shooting Ulrich's questions away. I couldn't help but giggle at his expense. Each of us enjoyed the drinks we did get, as we headed back to Dr. Martinez's house, once more.
Hunter held a double chocolaty chip frappuccino in his hands, having made up his mind as Dr. Martinez pulled into Starbucks' drive-thru, sipping away happily every so often. "Oh, man… I forgot how good this was…"
"Me, too…" I said, coming up for air after ordering my own.
"Me, three…" Yumi agreed, having made a similar choice as Hunter and me.
Sister took a sip of her own, a different flavor than what Yumi, Hunter, and I had chosen. "Mmmmm! And the vanilla tastes fantastic! I wish the closest Starbucks to Kadic Academy wasn't in downtown Paris!"
"Sister, this is one of the things I missed most about being here," I giggled.
"And this hot chocolate is fantastic! I didn't know they gave whipped cream to dogs," Odd smiled, still holding two cups.
"Puppuccino," Kiwi sang, chuckling.
That one made everyone giggle.
In what seemed like twenty minutes, we were soon back at Dr. Martinez's house. As we got out of the van and headed for the front door, Jeb opened the door as we reached the front walk.
"Welcome back, my friends!" he greeted us. "How did it go?"
"Wonderfully, Jeb," Jeremie explained. "Dr. Martinez was able to extract a microchip from Cassidy's neck, and from what I heard, it was quick, easy, and painless. To celebrate, she then drove us all over to Starbucks. Now, we can be absolutely sure we'll be Eraser free."
"Excellent," Jeb smiled. "I'm glad you're doing well, Cassidy."
I smiled. "Most definitely. We should be smooth sailing from here on in, thanks to Max."
"I'm glad I could help!" she beamed, turning to me.
"I can't wait to hear what we will do for traveling," Kaitlyn said.
"Don't worry," Dr. Martinez smiled. "Right now, we're doing some regrouping. So you can rest up and then get back on the road in a couple days."
"That sounds great," Aelita commented with a smile, before glancing over at Sister. "I wonder how your father plans to get us back to France?"
"He's going to get us tickets for a luxury cruise liner!" Sister beamed. "And if we're lucky, we might even be the only ones on it!"
"R-really?" I asked, my eyes widening in surprise. "You asked your father to do that?!"
She nodded, the picture of pride. "Mm-hmm! After our awesome adventures here, I thought we could all use a bit of relaxation, as we head back to Kadic! Besides, the ten of us loved the spa I took us to, so why not have an extra long spa day, for all of us!"
"Sissi, you think of everything," Jeremie grinned.
"We just have to be at the East Coast in a month. That way, we have plenty of time, and less met lag," Sister beamed.
"Jet lag," I giggled, gently correcting her.
"That's great!" Ulrich grinned, as well. "I could really go for another massage."
"Why not with Georgina for now, Ulrich?" My game still dealt the cards.
His eyes widened, almost as if he hadn't thought of that. "Well, uh… sure, why not? If she keeps you and Hunter nice and relaxed, then I bet she'll do the same to me."
"Exactly! Now let's just sit down and relax. It's been a long, long morning," I yawned slightly, sitting on the couch.
Ulrich found my yawning contagious. "You're totally right. I thought I got enough sleep last night, but with Odd's snoring, I'm surprised anyone got some shut-eye."
"Oh, c'mon, Ulrich," Yumi gently chided him. "He wasn't that loud."
Then she turned to look at me. "What song did that come from?"
"'School is Out' by The Subdigitals," I blinked, confused. "I thought you had a copy of their CD."
She grinned with closed eyes, almost as if it were at her own expense. "You're right. I guess I'm more tired than I thought I was, too."
"Well, you had to stand through a chip removal," I noted. "There's nothing wrong with that."
She nodded. "I'm guessing you're pretty tired out, too, huh?"
"You guessed it, Yumi. It was good to have you, Aelita, Odd, and Sister around to keep me calm," I smiled, trying to stifle a yawn.
"But at least you feel better, now," Jeremie reminded me, "and that's the most important part of all."
"Yeah, no chip. We're away from the School. Things are looking up at least. Even though I am exhausted, I still feel a bit excited that Jeb, Georgina, Max, and her flock saved us." I felt my cheeks heat up.
A smile slowly curved Jeb's lips upward. "Well, we certainly couldn't bear to let you go through all that alone. We were just in the right place, at the right time."
"And that helps a lot. I just hope that you don't find some of my fangirling annoying if it explodes out of me," I curled up on the cushion.
Jeb raised a hand up to chest level, reassuringly. "Oh, no, don't worry about that. I'm sure it won't be nearly as crazy as all that."
"Did you say that we exist as storybook characters in your world, Cassidy?" Dr. Martinez jumped in.
"I think worlds had collided when Cassidy unleashed the monster, woke up from her coma, then a lot of crazy stuff happened—both good and bad—, and the Erasers came to Kadic. She and I read the books as far as the one named after Max herself. How would we know about the CSM mission to Africa all of a sudden, or Total talking?" Yumi asked.
Jeb and Dr. Martinez, along with Max and her flock, all suddenly adopted looks of surprise, some even emitting gasps, when Yumi admitted this. To say they were shocked would be the understatement of the beginning of the century.
But it didn't take long for them to calm down again, with Jeb being the first to break the stunned silence.
"That explains why you freaked out when I first introduced you to Ari, Cassidy," he noted, surprise still slightly noticeable in his voice.
"In the third book, Ari died, Max found about his mom and hers, then as soon as she and the rest of the flock reunited, some meeting Dr. Martinez for the first time, flew back to give him a proper burial, and Max cried at his funeral," I explained. "To see him alive left me in knots."
"I see," Jeb brought his hand up to his chin. "He did indeed intend to make it look like he had died, with the others putting on a very convincing show, but in the end, it all worked out to our benefit."
"None of them ever saw it coming," Ari admitted, slowly gaining his own grin. "They thought they killed me, but I came back, and killed them!"
"Yumi, I think I owe you some euros," I said sheepishly.
She shook her head. "Absolutely none of that. It was one of my theories, and I didn't know if that would be right."
"Ahh…" Odd jumped in, "isn't it great when the movie doesn't follow the book the whole way?"
"That's true, Odd. Harry Potter doesn't have all the points from the novels to the movies, but that doesn't make it any less entertaining. I liked how they changed the Witch Burning essay scene to a practicing magic at night one in Prisoner of Azkaban," I smiled, still drained. "I especially like how, in the theaters, you could see Hedwig looking smug."
"I never noticed that," Dr. Martinez admitted, before abruptly changing topics. "But it sounds to me like you could use a nap, Cassidy."
"Yeah. It sounds like a good time for one," I agreed, yawning.
That was when Georgina walked up to Ulrich and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Then let's go into the bathroom, Ulrich. I'll give you your massage in there."
"Okay," Ulrich replied, with a nod.
"That sounds great!" Odd chimed in. "I think I'll go for one, too. Maybe even a full-body rub, too!"
Georgina smiled at Odd. "Why don't you come with us? I'll rub and massage you after I take care of Ulrich."
"Fantastic!" Odd replied as he followed Ulrich and Georgina toward the bathroom.
Hunter smiled as he watched the three walk down the hallway, and I could hear him thinking something similar. I wonder what it would feel like to be body-rubbed, or massaged, to sleep? As long as Georgina doesn't try to bathe me, too...
It was a wonderful thought, but before I could stop Georgina, even if it were just to see how Hunter would react, I felt my consciousness slowly slip away, as I fell into a deep, restful nap.
What a pleasant pause to a fascinating day. But it didn't stop there; the rest of the day was going to get even more engaging.