Author's Note: Hello everyone! I hope that this is coming at a good time for you guys. I have a new beta reader now! His name is Theboblinator. He is now helping with future chapters. I hope that he continues to support my work and helps me with the writting of this story. This chapter is by far the longest so hope you enjoy!
Chapter 7: Odd's Trial and Sector Five
Two days later...
After the whole incident with Michael's and Aelita's visions, the gang was doing alright. Classes were boring as always, lunch tasted like lunch, and fighting XANA… Well, was like fighting XANA. Aelita though went to Michael's room and knocked on the door.
"It's open!" Michael yelled out from the room. Aelita opened the door to see that Michael had done a little decorating with the room. His walls were covered with some boxing stars, cool bands, and a boxing tournament flyer. He also had a pair of boxing gloves on a chair. Further, in the room, he had a drawing he was making and typing on his new computer. His Shogi board had a King in checkmate and a ton of pieces removed.
"Wow, you worked fast," Aelita said, amazed at how quickly his room transformed.
"It's all thanks to Jim really. Apparently, he had some boxing gloves he never used and gave them to me. The posters were from him as well. The band posters were from Odd and Ulrich, and Jeremie just came by to give me his old computer. He figured I could help him with some programming." Michael explained to Aelita. He was sitting at his desk, now facing his chair towards Aelita.
"Oh! What's this?" Aelita began to reach for a drawing on the table that Michael was making when Michael reached over and snatched it.
"It's a secret! You can't see it until I finish it!" Michael said like a child with a toy. Aelita and Michael both laughed at the voice that he made.
"Michael… Are you okay?" Aelita asked in a sad tone. Michael's mood quickly changed as well. He knew what she was asking about.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. I know that you figured it out." Aelita smiled a little because she knew it was a compliment in a way. "These visions… They feel so real. It confuses me as well. I can't explain it. Have you had any since then?" Michael looked to Aelita.
"No, I haven't. How many have you had since that Guardian?" Aelita asked him, now curious.
"A few times. I didn't tell anyone because I knew if I did, they would think I was crazy." Michael said, remembering that his potential parents could have been killed.
"Well, I wouldn't have." Aelita smiled and sat on Michael's bed.
"Of course you wouldn't have. After all, you were on Lyoko with me. You know me in almost every sense." Michael laughed a little. "Let's just keep this between you and me, for now, okay? I wouldn't want the others to worry about another issue. With XANA we have enough on our plate already."
"Yeah, I think that would be best." Aelita began to walk out of the room when Michael's voice stopped her.
"You know if you need to talk, I am here for you. Just like always." Michael made sure to tell her. He saw the small smile on her face as she closed the door behind her.
"Crap! I need to go!" Michael looked at the clock to see that it was that time again. He began running out of his room and down the hall. He saw a figure appear out of the room he was about to pass, and he had to skid to a halt to avoid colliding with said person.
"Sorry! I'm in a rush... Odd?" Michael's tunnel vision vanished as he saw the person he almost ran into was Odd.
"Yeah Michael. It's Odd. What are you doing running in the hall like that? Did XANA attack or something?" Odd asked.
"No, it's not that, ha-ha." Michael laughed a little. "Good seeing you Odd, I need to go!" Before Odd could even ask his question, Michael ran off.
'Now where could he be going in such a rush? He couldn't have a girlfriend could he?!' Odd now pictured Michael with a girlfriend and to be frank, it wasn't actually unusual to see. Michael had that physique and the looks to do it. Not wanting to be outdone, Odd begins to follow Michael.
When Odd discovers that Michael is heading to the forest he wonders what exactly he's doing. He's even more curious when Michael goes into the sewer that leads to the factory.
'Did Michael break the Golden Rule and tell his girlfriend about our factory? About XANA?!' Odd began to freak out before shaking his head and making his way down to the sewers. Keeping a safe distance he made it to the front entrance of the factory undetected.
Odd went through the alternative entrance and made his way above the computer lab. He saw that Michael was sitting in the computer chair communicating with someone.
"Alright then, you ready to go? Okay, I'm starting the virtualization process." Michael began typing on the computer.
"Transfer, Scanner, Virtualization!" Michael read out. "Good. Looks like it worked. How do you feel?"
"Ah HA!" Odd cried out and pointed towards Michael in his chair. Michael jumped in surprise at the sudden shout.
"Odd? What are you doing here?" Michael looked so surprised it looked like he had seen a ghost.
"Oh, nothing! Just catching you and your girlfriend! I bet you transferred her to Lyoko just now huh?!" Odd now accusing Michael.
"What?! No way!" Michael blushed with embarrassment. "Odd! It's not what you think!"
"Uh-huh! Wait till Jeremie and the others here about this!" Odd pulled out his phone and began typing Jeremie's number.
"Hey, Odd! Knock it off!" Michael got out of his seat and knocked the phone out of Odd's hands.
"Oh?! So that's how it's going to be! Fine then! I can duke it out!" Odd began getting in his fighting stance. He threw a punch a Michael who avoided it.
"Odd! Stop it! Someone could really get hurt!" Michael continued to block Odd's punches.
"No way! You are endangering the group! The only one that's going to get hurt is you! Michael girlfriend stealer!" Odd hit Michael in the stomach, but due to his physique he still stood up.
"How many times do I have to tell you it's not like that?!" Michael tripped Odd so he fell to the ground, and then went over to the computer and brought it around for Odd to see. "Look for yourself Odd!" Odd went over to the computer to see that indeed, it was no stranger on Lyoko.
"ULRICH!?" Odd was taken back by the whole thing. He had no idea that it was indeed Ulrich that was on Lyoko. It completely threw everything he thought out the window.
"Yeah. Come on, let's go the scanner room. I already set up a delayed virtualization." Michael opened the latch for the ladder leading to the scanner room. Odd still shocked took a few seconds before following him.
Lyoko Desert Sector
Michael and Odd landed in the desert sector and made their way to the heavy rock formation.
"Yo! Looks like you were half right Ulrich!" Michael called out to his partner in crime. Ulrich stopped sprinting and saw that the purple cat figure was standing next to him. He jumped off the rocks and headed towards them.
"Ulrich? What exactly are you doing here buddy?" Odd wondered.
"Well, I'm trying to develop a new technique. Michael here is helping me do just that." Ulrich pointed to Michael.
"He was so adamant about getting one I couldn't help but feel bad for the guy." Michael laughing a little because he really didn't want it at first. "I can't believe that you knew Odd would find out. Granted, he thought that it was something else, but he did follow me hereafter figuring out something was up." He told Ulrich.
"Hey, with a roommate like him, nothing is impossible. Although I guess you owe me dessert from Monday to Wednesday if he didn't guess the real reason you were coming out here." Ulrich admits with a shrug, though he's still smirking smugly. Michael grumbled away and said something about being more sneaky next time.
"So you've been training then?" Odd said, now understanding why sometimes Ulrich seemed quieter and exhausted in the recent days.
"It's only been for a few days and he said that I'm kicking his butt. But, to be fair I spent almost all the time on Lyoko developing my new technique and developing the program for materialization. It's going to take you a long time Ulrich. So just be patient with it." Michael explained to him. Ulrich nodded while Odd seemed angry for some reason.
"That's not fair!" Odd exclaimed as he pointed a finger towards Michael.
"EH? What's not fair?" Michael asks in surprise and confusion.
"You're here with Ulrich and he's going to get ahead of the rest of us! That's not fair! I want a new technique too! That way I don't fall behind Ulrich!" Odd shouting like a child. Michael laughed a little.
"Odd, I only taught this to Ulrich because he came to me. Of course, if everyone wanted a new technique then I could offer some advice. But, it's only the advice I'm giving. Ulrich has to figure out the rest on his own. I'm not making these techniques for you guys and I will not be the ones using it. That's why I'm simply observing Ulrich." Michael explained. "You guys have lives to live out and I am not going to stop that. I'm having Ulrich only do this a few times a week and then helping him study for whatever exams he needs help with. After that, we go back to training and then he gets some rest. That's why these last few days he's been like that."
"Honestly, it's a good system. I actually feel ready for that Biology test tomorrow. I just have to relate some things back to Lyoko and I'll remember the solutions better." Ulrich explained. He was really grateful for Michael's workout plan. He thought at first it would only be working on his new technique. But when Michael brought the idea of studying, Ulrich couldn't be happier.
"Ew! Studying! I don't want to do that!" Odd stuck out his tongue in disgust.
"Here, how about we make a deal: I'll give you a new technique if you promise to study for at least one hour. After that, you can train all you want. Deal?" Michael held his hand out. Odd looked skeptical at first, but the idea that he only needed to study for one hour wasn't too bad. Besides, Ulrich made it sound at least better than the way that Mrs. Hertz would teach a science class.
"Oh, okay." Odd shook Michael's hand. Ulrich was actually happy that his friend accepted. Now maybe, just maybe, his friend wouldn't bother him during the time he studies.
"Great. Ulrich, you are going to continue training here for another half an hour. Now that Odd is here, we can have a little sparring match between you two for a change." Michael explained. Whenever Ulrich would finish his training, he would usually spar against Michael. The difference in skills, however, was very apparent. Michael had almost too many different ways that he could fight. From anything like out speeding Ulrich and fighting with just his Katana, to using only his fists. As he got ready to walk away with Odd, he threw his sword at Ulrich, who deflected it in the air. However, Michael sent a wind blast to redirect the sword and make it hit Ulrich. The brunet teen grumbled as he tossed the sword back at Michael, before taking off in another burst of speed to continue his training.
As he did that, Odd and Michael made their way into the tower and dove to another sector. When they came out of the tower, they were in the forest sector. They traveled to a place where a lot of trees were surrounding a lake.
"This will be your training spot. I will give you the coordinates and how to transfer yourself to Lyoko later. Let's see..." Michael held his hand on his head. "For you, I think that it would be good for you learned how to make a shield."
"A shield?" Odd asked in curiosity.
"Yeah. Both Ulrich and Yumi have a way off deflecting lasers, but you don't. You have to rely on your speed and aerobatics to always get you out of pinches. You use your speed for the wrong reasons. That's why I think it would be good if you could develop a shield." Michael explained. Even to Odd, it made a lot of sense.
"Okay... So what do I do?" Odd now wondering why they were in the forest sector.
"In order to obtain this shield, you are going to concentrate your energy as an outward force. You need to force it to make a little shield around your body. But, you need to be sure that you don't use too much energy either. It's about finding that balance. That's why I brought you here. You are going to try and focus over there on the lake." Odd looked questioningly at Michael, but he complied.
CONCENTRATION (Again this will be important later).
The will to always keep focused on the task at hand. Michael knew that Odd lacked it. But not on purpose. Odd was a unique case. In truth, when it came to Lyoko matters, Odd was one of the best. Almost nothing fazed him and he could do a lot of things. But he didn't put his effort into anything else. He knew that Odd had hidden potential. He just needed to concentrate and focus only on moving forward.
"You are going to try your best to concentrate all the energy into your body. It's going to look something like this." Michael concentrated and before long his fist had the aura in it. "If you break your concentration, then the aura will go away." The aura around Michael's fist suddenly disappeared. "If it's not concentrated enough then it will fade away and the shield will be broken." Michael concentrated his aura and made a windblast, Odd watching the pressurized wind shoot across the clearing, only to find that it didn't even reach the tree his friend had been aiming for. "But... When concentrated enough, and you put the right amount of energy into it..." Michael grunted with a full powered windblast and fired at the tree, leaving a big hole in it, but not big enough to make the tree actually fall over. "It will look something like that."
Odd was impressed by it all. He couldn't believe the explanation and he couldn't imagine the amount of work that went into it. He was now determined to get his shield to work.
"Okay! Here I go!" Odd cried out.
A few days later...
Aelita's dream space...
Aelita was running through the woods as Mister Puck. She quickly saw that several wolves were chasing her and began to run away. She made her way to where a wolf was waiting for her on a rock formation. She began to turn around but saw that the pack of wolfs were standing there, blocking her way. The only option was to make an alternative turn. She ran into a tree hole to where she thought she would be safe.
As she hid in the tree hole, she saw the other wolves beginning a search for her. When one wolf appeared in the tree hole Aelita began to get very scared. But, before the wolf could do anything it was attacked. There was a rustle outside before it quickly calmed down. It was quiet... And then a silver wolf appeared in the tree hole.
However, unlike the other wolfs this one didn't have those piercing eyes. Instead, they were quite warm, and it gave Aelita some hope. Aelita walked up to the silver wolf and began to pet it on its head. The wolf responded warmly, before offering her a ride on its back. Aelita agreed and they rode off away from the other wolves.
Dream over...
Aelita woke up from that particular dream happy. Recently, she had been getting a lot of those dreams lately, but a common thing she saw was the silver wolf. She had no idea why or what significance it had at all. Never the less, she got her shower gear and began to head for the girl's showers.
The line for the girl's showers was extremely long for some reason. When Sissi came out of the showers, she saw a helpless Miss Einstein and decided to play around with her.
"Poor thing! You'll be waiting here for hours! Why not go upstairs!? There isn't a girl in sight!" Sissi exclaimed and technically, she wasn't wrong… Aelita was thankful for Sissi's advice and decided to go upstairs. She entered the showers before seeing Odd and Ulrich showering. They quickly pushed her out of the room so all three were in the hallways.
"The girl's showers are downstairs Aelita!" Odd exclaimed.
"Aelita Stones!" Jim coming down the hallway with his hands to his hips. "What do you think that you are doing here?"
"Please go easy on her Jim. She's new here." Ulrich tried to reason with his Gym teacher.
"Right well... New or not a young lady has no business in the boy's showers." Jim exclaimed, now shouting.
"But I thought that-" Aelita didn't finish her thought, though.
"Now, now. Please, Jim, calm down." Michael said, now coming out of the showers with his towel just above his six pack. The scar was also very apparent and Aelita looked shocked at the scar.
"Michael!" Odd, Ulrich, and Aelita yelled. They didn't even see him in the showers.
"Michael! What do you mean by this?!" Jim now very confused as Michael put his hand through his silver hair.
"Please try and understand Jim. With the girl's line, Aelita thought that she would be clever and find different showers. I am not surprised since Sissi has been rumored to take around an hour with her showers. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to explain the circumstances of the boys and girls showers. It's, in fact, all my fault." Michael bowed to Jim in a respectful manner. He noticed that Sissi, Herb, and Nicholas all standing off to the side.
"Michael-" Odd and Ulrich tried to get him out of this jam. Aelita was too shocked to say anything. Michael simply shook his head.
"I take all responsibilities for Aelita's actions today. I believe Mr. Delmas will want to see me yes?" Michael sighing heavily. "I will go get changed Jim, so that way I can go in a fashionable manner."
Jim looked shell shocked and coughed to get himself out of the trance. "No, that will not be necessary. But next time, tell your friend about the proper rules!" Jim looked so flustered that his face was red. He stormed off the other way either confused or angry. Michael smiled and fist bumped both Ulrich and Odd. But couldn't talk because of a certain snake.
"Well, well! It looks like your little boyfriend comes to save the day!" Sissi shouted. In response to her statement, the two shared a glance, before both gave Sissi a flat look.
"Actually, I'd say we're more like brother and sister. Right, Strawberry Head?" Michael asked, getting a nod from Aelita.
"Of course Wolf." She replied with a smile. Their response made Sissi frown since her statement didn't have the effect she'd hoped it would.
"Sissi, we're so sick of your jokes so just stop it okay? Can't you give Aelita a break? You knew that she would believe you." Ulrich said, trying to reason with her.
"What can I say Ulrich dear? She's going to have to adapt. It's a jungle out there." Sissi replied with a smug smile, which dropped off her face at Michael's next words.
"I'll say! I'm looking at a few monkeys right about now!" Michael shouted out. The gang laughed while Sissi and her crew stormed away from them.
"That was a nice one, Michael!" Odd gave Michael a high five, before him and Ulrich went back into the showers. Aelita suddenly felt stupid. A few seconds later, she felt a hand on her shoulder, making her jump a bit.
"Hey princess, calm down. Are you okay?" Michael asked her with a frown.
"Thank you, Michael." Aelita went in for a hug, but Michael held a hand up. "I don't want to get you wet when you haven't showered yet. Why don't you come to my room after your shower? I've got something for you anyways."
After having a good shower, Aelita put on her usual attire and went upstairs to Michael's room. She knocked on it and he called that it was open. Aelita walked in to see that Michael was at his computer.
"So what is it that you got for me?" Aelita asked curiously.
"I have this thing I'm working on. I want you to check it out. Oh and don't tell anyone else." Aelita went over to Michael's screen and saw that it had something to do with Lyoko.
"This is-!" Aelita couldn't believe that Michael was working on something like this.
"Yeah, a new area. Very small and complex, but it's something that I think that can work. I am surprised that no one has touched it yet."
"It looks great! The amount of detail and the area all looks good!" Michael was proud as could be and leaned back in his chair. Aelita noticed that there were some black circles around his eyes.
"Michael?" Aelita asked and Michael simply nodded. "How long have you been working on this?"
"Oh? On this? Since maybe last Friday." Michael replied. Aelita began to realize something.
"And how long?" Aelita asked, placing her hands on her hips. 'He couldn't have...' Michael began to seem nervous.
"Well... what is today?" Michael looked to see that it was Friday on his calendar. He knew what was about to happen but nervously said it anyways. "Since... Then?" Michael got a head start and ran out the room before Aelita went chasing after him.
"YOU! MICHAEL GET BACK HERE!" Aelita couldn't believe him!
"NO WAY STRAWBERRY HEAD!" Michael knew that this would happen. But he enjoyed it all the same.
Classes were pretty boring and Aelita noticed Michael sleeping through them all. However, he seemed to have that magical ability to answer the teacher's question whenever he was called on. It made the class laugh and the teacher stare at him in a mixture of disappointment and confusion. For French class, the Madame (Teacher) kept on asking Michael for all the different verbs and even geography questions. Without even lifting his head, Michael pulled out a laser pointer and pointed to all the different areas and wrote out the verbs. She even expanded it to around the world and Michael pointed them all out with ease.
"You are beyond ridiculous!" Aelita came out of French class laughing.
"Oh come on! She should have stopped after I told her that Chicago was the capital of Illinois or when I told her that Arkansas' capital was Little Rock! She's a teacher!" Michael tried to justify his actions.
"Hey, at least we don't have a ton of homework thanks to your little stunt," Ulrich said, coming out of the class still laughing.
The group got together in the main courtyard and were bantering about some topics. Odd was being quite for some reason and a certain silver haired person knew exactly why.
"Wow, guys look at this!" Odd said, now looking at their last reading quiz. The group looked and all but two people were shocked.
"A 90?! That's amazing!" Yumi proclaimed.
"Odd, are you a clone right now?" Jeremie asked, shocked that Odd of all people would get a good grade. French wasn't a strong point for Odd. In fact a few weeks ago, he was barely passing.
"No? Why would you say that?" Odd now having his cocky grin. After the training session the other day, Michael and Ulrich were on the factory floor studying. Odd was hesitant at first, but he knew a deal was a deal. Michael brought his French textbook out and gave it to Odd. At first, he wasn't interested so Michael asked what Odd liked. He said that he liked Italian and he could speak it fluently. That shocked Ulrich and Michael, but it gave Michael an idea.
Hours later Odd had found French very interesting. Michael knew that the languages were similar, so Odd, able to speak Italian fluently, would have no problem with the language at all.
Jeremie brought up a point about Franz Hopper. He was, according to Jeremie, the one who owned the Hermitage. It got Aelita interested since that's where her nightmares had obviously started.
"After History class, why don't we go to the Kadic Academy archives?" Jeremie suggested.
"I'll go with you," Aelita said, now interested in finding the answers she was seeking.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Jeremie said, shocking Aelita at the fact that he was telling her she couldn't go.
"You already got trouble in the showers," Jeremie said, which made Aelita feel guilty about that one. "If Jim catches you again who knows what would happen." The blond continued. A few seconds later, Michael pulled Jeremie out of Aelita's hearing distance.
"Hey." Michael now putting a hand on Jeremie's shoulder. "That wasn't cool man. I took care of the issue and I got the blame. Look at Aelita, can't you see how miserable you just made her?" Jeremie looked at Aelita and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Yumi, Odd and Ulrich, on the other hand, realized just how sad she was. Jeremie shook Michael's hand off his shoulder.
"I don't see a problem. We'll meet you guys in the cafeteria." Jeremie took off with Odd and Ulrich.
Aelita felt so depressed that she felt like she could curl up in a ball and cry. She knew that Jeremie was right, and to make matters worse, Michael had to cover for her mistakes. "Hey don't worry about this morning okay?" Michael came up to Yumi and Aelita.
"'I'll say. How'd you manage to convince Jim of all people to let you off the hook?" Yumi asked still shocked after what Ulrich and Odd told her.
"I just used a bit of Psychology and just plain respect. I think he was taken by surprise. Plus, he isn't so bad." Michael had caught Jim a few times on the track when he would go for his morning run. Usually, you weren't allowed on the track that early, but it wasn't against the rules if a staff member was there. They wouldn't say much, but they both trained and helped with stretches from time to time.
"I can't get used to living here," Aelita said, and Michael and Yumi were taken aback by the statement. "I had another nightmare." She confessed. Michael's eyes narrowed at that.
"Hey don't worry about it," Michael said. "Everything is going to be fine. After all, I've made it here, right?" Aelita smiled a little at Michael's reassurance.
"I'll see you, ladies, later, I actually need to take care of something." Michael took off running.
Aelita's afternoon was terrible, to say the least. She hadn't seen any of the gang and the only one she saw was Yumi with William. She thought that Jeremie and the others may show up, but they ended up not coming. Michael was nowhere to be seen, so Aelita felt all alone. Sissi's words didn't help her as she began running towards the factory.
Jeremie and the others were checking out the Heritage to find more information about a Mister Franz Hopper. They ended up finding a few books, but other than that not a lot of information on the matter. The only good part was a book on the Romans Vs The Carthaginians.
Meanwhile, Michael was at the factory working on installing his new idea in the supercomputer. He had spent almost an entire week working on the new area. He hoped that it would work, otherwise his effort would have been for naught.
"Crap! Is it already that time? Shoot! I completely missed Lunch!" Michael said, looking at the screen. He was so close to finishing it, but he decided to leave the program on the computer for now. He saved his project and was heading for the elevator when the door slid open.
"Michael?" Aelita shocked that he was here of all places. "What are you doing here?"
"Didn't I tell you? I said that I was off to do something. I would have told you, but Yumi was there and I didn't want to let her know... Hey, you okay?" Michael asked, noticing Aelita's slightly red eyes. Aelita, having her stubbornness, didn't say anything in response to his question.
Michael came face to face with Aelita and decided to hug her. Aelita, not being able to control her emotions anymore, cried into Michael's shoulder. It had been so painful for her to not have anyone around her. And Michael understood that. He knew that his friends meant no harm, but they had to understand Aelita felt a certain way towards Earth. Granted, Michael wasn't perfect either, but he was just confident that everything would work out.
"There you go, are you feeling better now?" He asked, and Aelita nodded in response. "What's going on? Why were you crying?" Michael calmly asked her.
"I... Things here aren't the same as they were on Lyoko." Aelita said, calming down from before. "Everything seems so scary and I don't like it one bit."
"Yeah, it is pretty scary out there. But, you have to admit, being here is pretty awesome. Don't you remember our promise? You promised me that you would live your life out for the both of us." Michael said, giving her a smile.
"How could I forget? Stupid." Aelita said, giggling to herself. Michael was thankful that she was back to her normal self. "Hey, Michael? Can we go to Lyoko?" Now, Michael had a very difficult choice to make. On the one hand, it would make Aelita very happy if they went to Lyoko. On the other hand, it would be bad mainly because of the gang. But, at this point, Michael knew that Aelita's sanity and clarity came first.
"Alright, let's go. Only for a little bit, though." Michael went over the supercomputer and set a timer for one hour. He figured that she would need a while before she could come to terms with earth. He set up the virtualization process and the two went to the scanner room.
At the school, Jeremie and the others realized that Aelita and Michael were missing. After Sissi made a comment about Aelita going back home to Canada, they quickly bolted out of class and made their way to the factory. At the pool, Yumi saw the message and quickly made her way out of the pool.
"We always used to run around all the sectors huh?" Michael asked, reminiscing to Aelita about the times they spent here.
"You would always beat me. Except, for that one time-"
"Hey! That wasn't fair! You cheated big time! You used your creativity and made a giant rock wall! Granted I got through it thanks to these guns!" Michael jokingly pointed to his arms. "But still! That doesn't count."
"Then let the record forever show that Aelita beat Michael once out of the twenty other times!" Aelita cried out as Michael simply sighed.
THUMP!
"Aelita get behind me." Aelita didn't argue as she went behind Michael. Four Krabs appeared on the walkway.
"Okay... This might be tough." Michael muttered, weighing his options and trying to do something. "It's strategy time." The area around Michael once again froze. Except for this time, it was a little different. Michael simply couldn't see a way out of it.
"Right now, I can't deal with all of these Krabs. For all, I know the Scyphozoa could sneak up as I'm fighting these guys. It's too risky. Right now, we should cut our losses and try to make our way to a tower. Let's hope that XANA's aim is off today. And let's hope that Aelita's creativity is strong." The time around him unfroze and he began his strategy.
"Aelita run!" Aelita didn't argue with him as she began running in the opposite direction of the Krabs.
"Windblast!" Michael fired a fist of wind down the center and one of the Krabs was caught and knocked into the digital sea. The other three began firing at them. Michael switched from offensive to defensive with his Katana now out. He began deflecting blasts to protect them.
"Aelita! Michael! Can you hear me? Answer me will you?!" Jeremie yelled into the mic. "The others are on the way."
Michael and Aelita ran a good distance before three more Krabs showed up. Now totaling at six Krabs, the two were surrounded on both sides.
"This day just keeps getting worse and worse," Michael said as he looked around, before seeing a ledge. He picked Aelita up and held her bridal style. "Hold on!" Michael's silver aura trailed behind them as they attempted the jump. They made it over and slid across the ground.
"Aelita! Wall!" Aelita nodded immediately and used her creativity song to make a wall out of the terrain on the ledge they jumped over. A Krab attempted to jump to their side, but met the wall and fell into the digital sea. It was like a fly trying to fly into a window.
"Go! That won't hold for long!" Aelita said as they began to run again.
With Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi they were dealing with their own issues. They also ran into two Krabs, one front and one behind them. They also didn't have Michael for strategies. But, Michael knew that this could happen. So he prepared beforehand a strategy for the team to use.
Flashback...
"Our own strategies?" Ulrich asked Michael on Lyoko.
"Yeah. I'm not always going to be there for you guys. And sometimes, my strategies will fail. Although they haven't yet, you guys need to have enough free will to make your own strategies on the fly. If plan A fails, then always have plan B, C, have the whole alphabet for all I care. It's just always good to have a plan. Formations are something that I want you guys to learn as well. It would be way of attacking the monsters and a little different from the plans." Michael explained to the three warriors.
"I see... What kind of strategies and formations do they have to be?" Yumi asked, wondering what to do.
"As long as it is adaptable to any situation, then it's fine. Just make sure that you discuss it beforehand and everyone knows what to do." Michael explained.
"But, I'm not good at this kind of stuff. Memorizing and all of that." Odd said, pouting.
"Come on Odd. Just try it out." Michael encouraging Odd.
"Alright, alright."
Flashback over...
"Let's go with formation 4!" Ulrich said. "Odd you're up."
"Hey, I actually remembered that one!" Odd said as he dodged a Krab and made his way up the trees. Yumi did some flips and was right next to Odd's Krab. She threw her fans at the opposing Krab, and Ulrich went ahead and knocked out its legs. This caused the Krab to fall and then get destroyed by Yumi's fans. Odd was continuing to jump on the tree and dodge the lasers being shot at him. He saw that he was being shot at by the only one that was left and jumped off the tree.
"Laser Arrows!" Odd exclaimed as he fired three shot, all of which were bullseyes. The Krab was destroyed and the group came back together.
"Not bad for the first time," Ulrich said, sheathing his sword.
"Michael would probably say something about the formation, though," Yumi said, knowing how Michael was.
"Good job guys, but hurry up! Michael and Aelita have five Krabs chasing them!" Jeremie exclaimed.
"Or something about the time. Speaking of which, Jeremie could you call our taxis?"
Meanwhile, Michael and Aelita were at the edge of the sector. All five Krabs took fire at Aelita and Michael.
"Dragon Dance!" Michael exclaimed as he unsheathed his Katana and the dragon roared as Michael did a 360-degree spin to deflect all the lasers coming towards them. The lasers bounced all over the place and two ended up getting reflected back towards the Krabs that shot them, and they were both destroyed. Michael was panting hard after the move had ended. But, he noticed something strange.
"Why aren't they firing? What are they..."
"AH!" Aelita and Michael both screamed.
"Aelita! Michael!" Jeremie cried out.
As the group approached the platform where Aelita and Michael were supposed to be, Odd jumped off to see that they were nowhere to be seen.
"Wow, they're gone already? They must be really mad at us." Odd expressed. Although he wasn't serious and was instead worried about why they were suddenly gone.
"This is no time for jokes Odd! I lost both Michael and Aelita from my screens!"
"You mean-"
"No, it can't be! I doubt it!" Jeremie exclaimed as he began typing on his computer before finding that Michael and Aelita were in a fifth sector.
"Welcome to Carthage?" Jeremie read out loud.
Aelita and Michael began to stir after being dropped into the spherical dome shaped area.
"Alright... This is new..." Michael said as he began to gain his vision back after so much spinning.
The dome began to stop spinning and the XANA symbol lined up with the passage. Michael began to walk towards it on his own when he felt a hand grab his own.
"I'm not letting you go alone." Aelita gripped his hand tightly. Michael knew that Aelita wouldn't let go, even if he threatened to de-virtualize her.
"Come on Strawberry Head. Stay behind me." Michael said before he led the charge as they began their journey into sector five.
The gang tried their best to find Michael and Aelita, they were met with some company from XANA.
"Okay Odd, your turn," Ulrich said as he got onto his Overbike.
"Hmm... Let's go with formation 2!" Odd cried out before he let out a battle cry on his Overboard.
"Really? Gosh Odd, Michael wasn't kidding. You really aren't the greatest tactician." Yumi said as she got onto her Overwing and began the formation.
The Hornets that XANA had sent after them tried to attack all at once but were meet with separate attacks from all the group. Whether it was Yumi destroying three with one fan, Ulrich using his speed for range, or Odd just being Odd, the group did their best to hold off the monsters.
Jeremie wasn't having the best of luck trying to find the password. He kept typing but it was no use. He just couldn't seem to get it correct.
Sector five was an interesting place for Aelita and Michael. They walked to a doorway that seemed locked until it busted open.
THUMP!
"Behind you!" Michael cried out as he destroyed the Creeper with a stab to the head. Aelita however, got spooked and began running into the dome. "Aelita! Dang, it! She freaked out!" Michael yelled to himself as he began running after her.
The rest of the group on Lyoko did all they could. But, things weren't looking good. Their vehicles were destroyed, and they were completely surrounded.
"Okay... Anybody got any good ideas?" Yumi said preparing for doom.
"Well, I have one. It's a plan that Michael taught me." Ulrich said to the group.
"And that is?" Odd questioned as he readied his arrows.
"Plan F." Ulrich simply said.
"What's plan F, Ulrich?" Yumi and Odd asked.
"We are so F-"
"I did it! I got the password!" Jeremie cried out. And the white ball or transporter took them to sector five.
Michael was panicking now. He saw that in the middle of the dome area, 8 of those creatures were standing there ready to fire. And to top it off, XANA had the good old Scyphozoa beginning to steal Aelita's memory. Anytime Michael would begin a move, though, he got shot at by three Creepers. He was completely stuck! Either he risked his life to save Aelita's or just let Aelita's memory get stolen! Even if he did cut XANA, the creepers would still shoot him!
"Welp. It looks like I can finally use Plan F. We are so F- Whoa!" Michael and Aelita got re-materialized in that one moment. In the scanners, both were thoroughly exhausted. 'Thank goodness for timers!' Michael said before he passed out.
A few hours later...
Michael was resting on Jeremie's bed as the group began to talk about sector five. They discussed the memory stealer, the Creepers, and the exploration of the new found sector. His head stirred when he came to.
"What's going on?" Michael asked in a groggy voice.
"Oh, sleeping beauty is finally awake!" Everyone laughed except for Aelita and Michael.
"What happened?" Michael asked as he continued to grip his head.
"Well, that's what I was going to ask you. You were in sector five, when all of a sudden, you and Aelita were re-materialized. How did you manage that?" Jeremie remembering it all clearly. He saw that one moment, Aelita's memory was being taken, and in the next, they were back on Earth. The gang quickly got out under Jeremie's instructions.
"Oh. That timer? Yeah, I decided to try it out. Turns out it works like a charm. If you delay the virtualization program with time, you can materialize yourself onto Lyoko on your own. However, the reverse is possible as well if you set a timer again for it. Therefore, you set up a timed materialization." Michael explaining.
"I see. In theory, you can force the scanner to bring someone back. Obviously with re-materialization, but to think that you can perfectly time it." Jeremie now thinking about all the possibilities.
"We were lucky this time around. What bothers me is a number of monsters around in the sector. I have never seen so many creatures in Lyoko before." Michael worrying said. "He might still be evolving."
"Um..." Aelita said getting the attention of the group. "You aren't mad at me for going to Lyoko on my own are you?" Everyone else in the room all stared at Jeremie. They all knew that he was partly to blame for the incident, but Michael especially knew. He even gave Jeremie the hint that he messed up big time. Jeremie still seemed to not get the message but did apologize somewhat.
"You don't have to explain Aelita. We understand what happened. And we aren't angry at all." Jeremie said. "I promise to spend more time with you." Michael huffed at that part silently.
"Yeah! And if you want, I can teach you plenty of ways to get Sissi to go to-" Odd didn't finish his statement.
"Odd! Do you know what your filthy mutt did in the shower? Oh?" Sissi was at the front of the door staring in. "Well look at that, you find Mr. and Miss. Einstein!" Kiwi began to growl. Clearly not impressed.
"Yeah, while you were taking your third shower of the day!" Ulrich cried out.
"Oh well, Ulrich dear You know a pretty flower like me, needs to be watered often!" Sissi proclaimed.
"Yes, you never know, you might just sprout a brain!" Aelita said. That got everyone laughing while Sissi simply left the room. The gang eventually all split up and went to their respective rooms.
Michael stared at his computer screen before heading off to bed. He stared at the poster in his room and the boxing gloves on his chair.
Featherweight Tournament!
'Not yet... Once the program is finished, it will be the time.'
Author's Note: Hope you guys enjoyed! Please leave a review and any suggestions are always welcome!