A/N: To Naruto Sakura Uzumaki: That's a really cool idea! Mind if I tweak it and use it later on?
To .lisss: Here you go :)
As always I hope you guys all enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think!
Jeremie and Aelita were, as always, working in the Control Room. "It worked with the Skid, I think we need to try it without the Skid." He typed a line and closed a window. "If William volunteers again, it would be best, since we have his data from the last Translation and it will give him experience on Earth."
"We'll ask them when they come." Aelita yawned. "Jeremie, it's already past midnight. We should go to bed."
"Um, okay. Just a couple more things." Jeremie murmured. She approached him and hugged him from behind.
"Like this?" She snuggled against him, hugging him tightly.
"No." Jeremie said flatly. "I need to enter this-" Aelita pulled away from him. "I'm sorry," He closed the screen he was typing in. "I didn't mean-" She quickly got on the elevator and pounded the button. "Wait!" Jeremie tried to chase after her, but the elevator door closed before he could get on. "No, Aelita, I'm sorry." He pulled his cell phone out and quickly tapped the keys to call her. A few rings later, he heard a mere click and looked at the screen of his phone to find that the call had ended within less than a second.
-( ( • ) ) -
The next morning, Aelita's phone rang again, waking her up. "Hello?"
"Am I waking you up, Pink Star?" The voice of Chris, of the Subdigitals, came through.
"Um, yeah." Aelita yawned and looked at the time; 5:42. "It's almost six in the morning on a Saturday."
"Oh, yeah. I wasn't sure what the time difference was and thought you might be up already." Chris laughed awkwardly. "Sorry. But we have an opportunity for you."
"Huh?" Aelita yawned again. "A what?"
"An opportunity for you, Aelita."
"Um, okay, what is it?" She sat up in her bed.
"We want to record a CD. We have it set up, and we'll have at least nine minutes left. I suggested to our manager that we let you add a few of your amazing songs at the end as bonus tracks. You'll be given about seven percent of what the CD makes and have your name and song tracks promoted on our eTunes page as well."
"Um, what do I have to do?"
"Well, we have the recording studio set up in Paris. We'll be there in a few days after we finish a couple concerts here in America."
"Um, how long does it take? If I have school and stuff, I won't be able to do it, Chris." Aelita started to shake. Here she had a chance to actually make it on a CD, but it wasn't school she was worried about.
"We can do it on a weekend, or after school, or get Mr. Delmas to let you out for a day. I will personally make it possible."
"Um, I, my parents-" Aelita began, fumbling to stall Chris while she tried to think of a way she could go while still fighting Xana.
"Won't have to worry. You won't be going anywhere out of France, and you'll only be a small ways away from Boulogne-Billancourt. And the money made can be put into a trust fund or other bank account. This is a huge chance, Aelita, and I had to fight with our manager for hours to convince him to let you have the last nine minutes." Chris explained. His tone became serious. "If you turn this down, I don't know if I can keep fighting for you. You've got talent but if your parents or whoever is keeping you from using it, we have to place our resources elsewhere. You understand, right? We just don't want to waste your time or ours."
"I, I understand. I'll do it." Aelita bit on her lower lip. "Thank you, Chris. I, I hope I won't let you down."
"I know you won't, Pink Star. I'll let you get more sleep, okay?" Aelita smiled as he chuckled.
"Um, okay, thank you again, Chris, I don't know how to repay you."
"You have no idea how great your talent is. And if that talent helps sell an extra million records, the pay off will be more than enough to pay me back. This is for you as much as it is me."
"Um, okay, uh, bye." Aelita sat in her bed, completely stunned as she closed her phone and sat it on her desk. "I can't believe it. I'll be on a CD. People everywhere will hear my music." She set her jaw. "If Xana doesn't attack."
-( ( • ) ) -
Yumi and William were in his room, doing homework. "What war was the 1812 Overture written for?" William asked, holding a sheet of paper in front of him while watching Yumi intently.
"Uh, War of 1812?" Yumi guessed.
"Nope, good try though. Hint; the guy who wrote it was Russian."
"Oh, uh, Napoleonic Wars!" William smiled at this, causing her eyes to light up.
"Good job. Now ask me one." He handed her the sheet.
"Why did you really want to be a Lyoko Warrior?" Yumi asked, leaning forward, figuratively shocking William.
"I...to fight Xana."
"Really?" Yumi stared at him, unmoving. Not even a quirk of the eyebrow, a blink, or a frown. Just a blank look with a stare. "You've been reckless. The last time we were on Lyoko, you nearly got yourself killed doing something that was stupid."
"He was going after you." William bit his tongue, mentally cursing himself. "Sorry, I didn't mean that. Xana was going after you. Xana is controlling him, anything he does is what Xana wants him to do."
"So you thought you'd tackle him over the edge of the Forest Sector and almost die in the Digital Sea? If Alex and Odd hadn't been fast enough to shoot you, we would have lost you again, William." Now something other than Yumi's mouth moved; she blinked as she said William's name.
"I, I wasn't thinking about that. I just wanted to keep him from you." William reached to hold Yumi's hand. "I know how hard it is for you. You don't want to fight hi-Ulrich."
"I can fight him." Yumi pulled her hand away. "It isn't Ulrich, just like you said. It's Xana."
"Yes, Yumi, Xana. But he's using your, um, really good friend."
"You still haven't answered my question. Why did you want to be a Lyoko Warrior?" Yumi stared at William, jaw set.
"Well, I, to be part of what you were. So I could be closer to you. So we could share something." William sighed. "It was a stupid reason. You guys fight to keep Earth safe and I just wanted to be closer to you. I didn't understand how dangerous it was. I didn't care how dangerous it was. I messed up things for you and the others because I was being selfish."
"That...William..." Yumi grabbed her history book and set the paper on William's bed. "I have to go."
"I'm sorry." William watched Yumi leave. "Now she'll have no one to talk to, you idiot." He closed his history book, continuing to grumble to himself.
-( ( • ) ) -
Jeremie sat in the Control Room alone, having skipped breakfast. I could have waited to do this. He enters more lines of code. She wanted to hug me and have me hug her back and I messed up again. He wiped his brow. At least I know I messed up this time.
-( ( • ) ) -
Aelita listened to Jeremie's voicemails, frowning all the while. "He says he's sorry but I bet he's back at the Factory working on that dumb program." She put her phone away when two hands covered her eyes.
"Guess who."
"Odd?" The hands left her view and Aelita turned around, noticing that her guess was right. "What's up?"
"I was wondering something."
"What?"
"Well, I know I'm supposed to be going after Sissi, distract her, but I don't think I can give it my all."
"Um, why?" Aelita's cheeks took a red hue as Odd smiled.
"Because there is someone distracting me." He placed a hand on Aelita's shoulder. "So I figured I had to break up with that person before I went after Sissi." Odd pulled his hand away.
"I am seriously confused." Aelita frowned, her cheeks returning to a normal color.
"I'm sorry, Princess, but I have to break up with you." Odd hugged Aelita quickly, then let go. "I'm sure you'll be able to find someone else. Someone with glasses who's absolutely in love with you even if he is a bit of a klutz when it comes to a relationship." He patted Aelita on the shoulder. "Are you going to be okay?"
"Um, sure?" Odd laughed.
"Thanks for working with me, Princess." Odd walked away.
"A klutz when it comes to relationships..." Aelita pulled her phone out and stared at Jeremie's contact in her address book.
-( ( • ) ) -
Aelita and Jeremie were together in the Control Room again. "It's ready. We just need a volunteer." Jeremie stated, saving the program.
"Let's call them."
-( ( • ) ) -
Odd hung up. "Okay. Ulrich," He turned to the clone, who was sitting on his bed, "guess what?"
"What?"
"We're playing a game. The rules say to sit and stay here as long as possible. If I come back and you're still sitting here, you win. Okay?"
"I like this game." The clone stayed sitting. "When do we start?"
"Now." Odd said cheerfully as he left the room.
-( ( • ) ) -
Yumi closed her phone and began to think. "I'll do it. I'll be the guinea pig. If I'm not on Lyoko I won't have to be around him or Ulrich." Yumi left the front door of her house, determined to arrive first.
-( ( • ) ) -
William answered his phone. "Hey, Jeremie. Is Xana attacking?"
"No, we're going to do another Translation, except this time without the Skid. Will you do it?"
"Of course. I'll be there as soon as I can." They hung up and William left the Rec Room, running for the Factory.
-( ( • ) ) -
Alex was the next to answer. "Hey. Yeah, I'll be there." He crammed his phone back into his pocket, turning to Mathieu, Sissi, and Skye.
"I gotta go, my mom called. She needs me to go get her prescription from the pharmacy and to run by the grocery store. She'll give me an extra ten Euros to buy myself something at the store if I do it, so I may as well." he lied, making a wave with three fingers to tip Sissi off before leaving the group and going around a corner near the Administration Building. Sissi came around the corner a mere moment later, and the two began sprinting for the woods.
-( ( • ) ) -
Yumi made it to the Factory before William did; when she took the elevator down to the Control Room, she approached Aelita and Jeremie. "Hey, um, I volunteer to do the Translation."
"What? Yumi, William said he would." Jeremie said dismissively.
"Well, I'm saying I will. Last time he went to Earth, Ulrich went after him. If I go, and Ulrich goes to Earth again, I can be a bit more subtle since I don't have to swing around a huge sword to fight. I can throw my fans and I can use my telekinesis on him. I won't have to destroy the Factory, and we won't have to do a return."
"Well, that's a good point, Yumi." Jeremie glanced back at her, then back at the screen. "If you really want to risk it, you can. This will be very dangerous. We've never tried this before and anything could go wrong."
"William's taken all the chances lately. I'll take a chance this time." Yumi said flatly, going to the ladder and climbing down as the elevator lifted itself to the top floor.
-( ( • ) ) -
When the elevator came back down, Odd stepped off of it. "Hey, I'm the first one here." He smiled at Aelita. "I hope you're okay, Princess." He patted his chest where his heart was. "I'm still taking it hard."
"What?" Jeremie frowned, wrinkling his nose.
"Odd did something stupid." Aelita put a hand on Jeremie's shoulder. "But I'm sure he'll get over it." She smiled with a small giggle. "And Yumi beat you here. She's already in the Scanner Room waiting."
"Oh, well, I better go keep her company." Odd got back on the elevator and took it down to the Scanner Room.
-( ( • ) ) -
Alex and Sissi arrived next, and took the elevator straight to the Scanner Room. "Hey Yumi, hi Odd." he said brusquely as he stepped into the leftmost Scanner. "William already been translated?"
Yumi shook her head. "Nope, I'm going to do it. He isn't even here yet."
"Probably for the best." Alex nodded.
"You'll be more subtle, I think." Sissi agreed.
"That's what I said." Yumi laughed.
-( ( • ) ) -
When William arrived, he too went straight to the Scanner Room. "Hey Yumi, Odd, Sissi, Alex." William went to the rightmost Scanner, stepping past Odd. "This should be interesting."
"Even more interesting since I'm going." Yumi stepped into the center Scanner.
"What? But, I said...you don't have to do this."
"Ulrich went after you when you went. You destroyed the entire Factory. I'll be a little more subtle if he comes to Earth."
"Okay, Yumi," William stepped into the Scanner. "But I hope he doesn't go after you."
"I miss him." Odd paced a bit. "Want to see what happens when we fight fairly on Lyoko."
"It's not fair as long as Xana's fueling him." Alex murmured.
"You may find out either way." Jeremie started the process. "Transfer Yumi, Transfer William, Transfer Alex. Scanner Yumi, Scanner William, Scanner Alex. Virtualization." They landed on Lyoko in the Mountain Sector near the Way Tower. "Yumi, go into the Way Tower."
"Got it." Yumi ran in promptly.
"Here goes nothing." Jeremie loaded the program, a red wireframe of Yumi's Lyoko form appearing on his screen, and started the process.
"Jeremie, something is going on." Around Yumi, ones and zeroes from the panels along the Tower walls floated out and passed through her. Six tentacles formed from the wall, cyan at the base but transitioning to transparent pink at the tip, and waved angrily at her body. "I don't feel good. It's burning, should it be burning?"
"I don't know, we never did this before."
"Well, make it stop!" Yumi screamed in pain as the tentacles made contact with her body, waving around and leaving bright blue trails along her skin and the cloth of her Lyoko outfit, but never breaking contact.
"Yumi!" Alex could hear her screaming, as could William, and the two tried to enter the Tower.
"Jeremie, what are you doing to her?! Answer me!" William roared as he summoned his Zweihander in a flash of silvery smoke and slashed at the Tower.
"Without the protection of the Skid, something seems..." Jeremie murmured as the red wireframe of Yumi slowly faded into a fully colored 3D model. A blip flared on Jeremie's screen, then Yumi's screams stopped. "Yumi?"
"Jeremie, where am I?" Yumi looked around the night landscape, seeing tall, brightly lit buildings around her. She looked up at a street sign to see intricate symbols upon it. "Jeremie, where did you send me!?" She couldn't read it; it somewhat resembled Japanese kanji, but she could tell it wasn't.
"Um, on the bridge? Hold on a second, I'm virtualizing Odd and Sissi."
"I'm nowhere near the bridge." Yumi watched a couple walk out of a building. "I need to hide." She darted into an alley and crouched behind a dumpster. "Jeremie, it's night here and I can't read the signs. They use symbols in their writing."
"What? But, you should be on the bridge."
"I'm not! And I told you, I don't know the language so I know I'm way off from the bridge. What do we do?"
"I don't know." Jeremie read the data carefully. "Um, you might be in China." Yumi didn't respond. "Yumi?"
"China? How did I end up in China?" Yumi's eyes widened.
"I put an extra zero in the destination data which changes the longitude of the coordinates. I'm pretty sure you're in the north parts of China. I don't know what to tell you." Jeremie tried to bring Yumi back, but a red exclamation point flared across her 3D model. "And I can't bring you back."
"You messed up big-time, Einstein." Odd looked around. "Einstein, I know some Chinese. Maybe if you brought me back I could help translate for her so she could get some help."
Jeremie continued looking over the program. "Help? If I'm reading this right she'll have to be put in a Scanner and sent to Lyoko again to fix this. Unless you can help her find an airplane and fly here I don't think you can help."
"What!?" Yumi was clearly distressed. She was in China and needed to get back to France. "Jeremie you really, really, messed up. I can't get to France from here...What if I was sent back like when destroyed by one of Xana's monsters?"
"How? Xana doesn't have any monsters there."
"If I stood in front of a car or something and got hit? I don't know! I'm not the genius who sent me to China!"
"Um, that might actually work. But I wouldn't risk it. I'll try to again to bring you back." Jeremie began typing on the control panel.
"Um, Einstein, we have company." Odd watched two Dark Mantas flying through the air. "And our buddy is with them."
"He's not our buddy." William tightly held the Zweihander. "Ulrich is our friend. This is Xana."
"I'm sending the vehicles." Jeremie said as he did so. "And Aelita will be there shortly." He waited for Aelita to get on the elevator and take it down to the Scanner Room. "Transfer Aelita, Scanner Aelita, and virtualization." She landed softly near the others. "Yumi. can you still hear me?"
"Yes. What are you doing?"
"Not sure. I can't think of a way to bring you back. It's too risky to have you hit by a car or something. If it doesn't work you'll be hurt and the person's car will be damaged. The only way is for you to come here and be scanned."
"And how long will that take? I can't really walk all the way there, now can I? Didn't you say the Translation doesn't last forever? We could just wait for that to end, couldn't we?"
"Um, I didn't want that limit. I fixed it so you could take as long as you wanted to get the parts for another Super Computer, or, um, save Antea."
"Great. I guess I should start hitchhiking now."
"Um, no. The outfit you're wearing will raise questions and you have weapons on you."
"Just my fans. Nobody will think anything of them. I could pretend I'm a cosplayer."
"Still. I'll try and fix it." Jeremie began typing.
-( ( • ) ) -
On Lyoko, Ulrich landed in front of the others. "Hello, losers. Is Yumi having fun in...China, was it?"
"Why do you care?" Alex stepped forward as he pulled his pistols out and his hands sparked with green bolts of electricity.
"I don't, but I figured I'd talk to you before I destroyed you." Ulrich pulled his swords out. "I'll start with the falsely upgraded ones."
"We were upgraded by the good guys." Odd took on a fighting pose. "You were taken by Xana."
"We know you're not Ulrich." William pointed his Zweihander at Ulrich as Sissi inched behind him. "I know what it means to be his puppet."
"You know nothing, William. But I know. I have my free will intact." Ulrich smiled wickedly. "This power is more than what you could ever imagine. He had me for six days. He built me to be stronger, faster, and more clever." Ulrich quickly Triplicated. "I'll destroy all five of you at once."
"You'll need a bigger army than that, Ulrich." Aelita waved her hand over her watch and her wings appeared, sending her airborne.
"I could bring forth an army that would not only destroy you, but allow Xana to take over the world."
"Fat chance." Odd aimed at Ulrich. "Laser Arrow!" Ulrich blocked it easily. "Come on."
"Very well." Ulrich and his clones lunged at the four grounded Lyoko Warriors.
"Ha!" William swung his Zweihander at a clone as it soared through the air toward him and Sissi. It pulled up its swords and blocked the blade, but was still knocked away.
"Electrokinesis!" Alex released the green energy that had been crackling between his hands in the form of a bubble made of electric discharge, blasting the Ulrich clone away as it crumpled to the ground, stunned.
"Energy Field!" Aelita threw an energy orb at the paralyzed clone, who blocked it with a saber slash. "Be careful, guys, it's just us five. We don't have back up." Aelita soared ever higher into the air throwing energy orbs at the clone below as Alex recovered and began to shoot.
Ulrich swung at Odd who dodged and kicked out. "Come on, you used to be better than this, Ulrich." Odd fired a Laser Arrow and Ulrich blocked it. "But that was when you were fighting and not taking orders from Xana."
"I can beat you and the others any time I like." Ulrich moved a little faster but Odd was still able to dodge his attacks.
"Me, maybe but all five of us?" Odd sprung away. "Six when Yumi is here, and seven with Jeremie? I doubt that."
"It is three on four now. Sissi is paralyzed with fear. We we will win." Ulrich lunged at Odd.
"Shield!" Odd bashed Ulrich away with the purple shield.
"Rosetta!" William swung his Zweihander and an energy blade radiated out. The clone blocked it, but fell backwards. Surprisingly, Sissi lunged forward and came down upon the clone, twisting its head violently, snapping its neck and destroying it.
"That was for what happened in the forest." Sissi growled.
"Odd, want help?" William called.
"Help the Princess and the musclehead first. I can handle this second rate Ulrich." Odd answered, dodging a swing.
"I am not second rate!" Ulrich swung again. "My clones are not I." He backed away. "But I don't need them!" He Super Sprinted forward, swords out and ready to impale Odd.
"Shield!" Odd pulled it up just in time to block Ulrich's attack.
-( ( • ) ) -
Yumi sat against the dumpster, scared. She knew she was stuck in China if Jeremie couldn't bring her back. "Maybe I can go back. I have my powers. I can use my telekinesis to steal someone's keys and drive back, in about three days. Faster if I speed."
"Can you drive a car?"
"Not really."
"Then it wouldn't do you much good. Especially when you needed to fill up the gas tank and have no money."
"And stealing a car wouldn't be the right thing to do anyway." Yumi sighed resignedly as Jeremie tried to fix the program.
-( ( • ) ) -
Aelita, Alex and William were busy with the last clone. "Energy Field!" Aelita threw an energy orb at the clone. It blocked the plasma ball, lept into the air and flung a sword at Aelita, who dodged successfully.
"Rosetta!" William swung his Zweihander and the energy blade exploded out. The clone narrowly ducked under it.
"Energy Field!" Aelita threw the energy orb at the clone, which sprung backwards onto its hands and was about to do a springboard when the green blur that was a Lightspeeding Alex seemed to spontaneously appear next to it, and kick it with great force over the edge of the Sector and into the Digital Sea.
"So, Second Rate, what do you think?" Odd leapt away from Ulrich. "Three on five, and we won."
"I'm playing with you." Ulrich took a fighting stance. "But I am done." He snapped his fingers and three Dark Tarantulas virtualized behind him.
"Note to self, shut up when winning." Odd slowly backed away.
"You are never winning. You are always losing." Ulrich backed away as well as the Dark Tarantulas began to attack the Lyoko Warriors, two walking on their back legs and firing with their arms as one stayed back and shot lasers from its Eye.
"Energy Field!" Aelita threw an energy orb at a Dark Tarantula and missed. Alex began to back away, standing near Sissi as his fists began to charge up with green electricity. She put a hand on his shoulder, transferring the energy from the clone whose neck she snapped into Alex's attack.
"Jeremie, how many Life Points do I have left?" William asked, blocking lasers with his Zweihander.
"40, be careful."
"If I get hit by a laser I'll be devirtualized so I might as well use one last attack." William strafed around the Dark Tarantula, charging his Zweihander.
"Laser Arrow!" Odd fired at a Dark Tarantula and hit it on the chest but missed the Eye. "Shield!" He cried, blocking lasers. "Einstein, any closer to bringing Yumi back!?" Odd lowered his shield and fired another Laser Arrow at the Dark Tarantula.
"Not yet."
"Rosetta!" William swung his Zweihander at a Dark Tarantula. It dodged the blade and he missed the Eye, but hit a leg.
"Energy Field!" Aelita threw an energy orb at the Dark Tarantula, and, being injured, it was unable to dodge it.
"William! Watch out!" Odd's warning came too late and Ulrich devirtualized him. "Good job, Second Rate, you had to attack him from behind."
"He destroyed one so I destroyed one." Ulrich put his swords away. "You have two more to go."
"We'll deal with them just like we always do." Odd growled as he aimed at a Dark Tarantula.
-( ( • ) ) -
William was up in the Control Room with Jeremie. "Yumi? Is there any way you could, um, get on a plane without anyone noticing?"
"How?" Yumi asked, arms crossed.
"Um, sneak on where they put the luggage?"
"And hope the plane comes to France? William, I need a better way. I can't walk or drive or fly. This isn't Lyoko."
"Yeah, if it were Lyoko you could just use the Overbike." William frowned, then brightened. "Jeremie, why don't you just Translate the Overbike?"
"Well, that's, I don't know if that would work." Jeremie looked over the program. "I don't think it would work."
"Well, we can't leave Yumi in China alone. Send me or something."
"William, I don't want you here. It's bad enough I'm here. I don't need you or any one else here." Yumi interjected.
"I still want to be there for you."
"I don't think it would be a good idea for you to be Translated. If I can't bring Yumi back we might need to make a clone of her." Jeremie warned.
"And the Ulrich clone?"
"Um, he could go 'home' with his parents, like we did with your clone."
-( ( • ) ) -
On Lyoko, Odd sprung over a Dark Tarantula and landed on its back. "Laser Arrow!" He hit it in the Eye, destroying it.
"Super Sprint!" Odd turned and saw Ulrich coming for him.
"Shield!" Odd blocked the attack. "Not so easy when you don't get them from behind, is it, Second Rate?"
"I'll still destroy you, scrawny."
"I'm svelte!" Odd fired Laser Arrows at Ulrich, who blocked them effortlessly with his swords.
Aelita dodged laser after laser from the Dark Tarantula. "Energy Field!" She used it to block a laser, then threw it, missing.
-( ( • ) ) -
Jeremie looked over the Translation program again. "I can't just send the Overbike to Yumi. I'll need someone to go with it."
"I'll do it." William volunteered immediately.
"Well we'll have to wait for the four on Lyoko to fight Ulrich and the Dark Tarantula off. We can't let Xana interrupt the Translation program."
"Then send me."
"I can't, not yet. You got devirtualized by an attack, not by the Super Computer's materialization program. We have to wait twelve hours for your avatar to recompile, technically...unless...hold on." Jeremie worked on a way to send the Overbike to Yumi as well as reducing William's cooldown time.
-( ( • ) ) -
On Lyoko, Odd lunged at Ulrich and tackled him. "Second Rate, we will stop you and Xana. One day you'll be First Rate again."
"You will lose to Xana. You will lose to me!" Ulrich knocked Odd off. He rolled back onto his shoulders and used his hands to launch himself to his feet. "And it will start now." He pulled his swords out.
"Electrokinesis!" From the foggy sky of the Mountain Sector, a dark spot formed in the artificial Lyoko clouds and a brilliant green bolt of electricity angrily split through the air and onto Ulrich.
"No!" Ulrich exploded into a red wireframe, which dissipated into black mist and floated through the foggy sky to Sector 5.
"Thanks, Musclehead." Odd said gratefully as he crawled to his feet.
"No problem, Scrawny." Alex returned.
"I'm not scrawny..." Odd turned around to glare at Alex, but out of the corner of his eye he saw the last Dark Tarantula aiming at Aelita. "Watch out!" She turned and saw the Dark Tarantula, and dodged the lasers from its Eye.
"Energy Field!" Aelita threw the ball of pink plasma but missed.
"Laser Arrow!" Odd fired, hitting the Dark Tarantula in the leg as it shot at Aelita.
"Ow!" Aelita was hit in the stomach and fell from the sky as her wings dissolved.
"Princess!" Odd sprinted on all fours to catch Aelita. "You have to be more careful." He set her down and smiled.
"Um, thanks." A laser passed by the two as Aelita thanked him. She acted quickly and managed to make an Energy Field bubble around them both.
"Got it!" Alex announced after firing into its Eye and destroying it.
"Good job, you four." Jeremie congratulated as he materialized them.
-( ( • ) ) -
Jeremie and Aelita, after nearly an hour, were ready to send William and the Overbike to Yumi. "Go down to the Scanner Room." Jeremie ordered. William nodded and took the ladder down to the Scanner Room, and stepped into the middle Scanner. "Transfer William, Scanner William, and virtualization." William landed on Lyoko as the Overbike formed. He slowly drove it into the Way Tower.
"I'm ready, Jeremie." William announced solemnly as Jeremie pulled up two wireframes; one gray frame of William and one black of the Overbike.
"Is it working?" Yumi asked nervously. If it didn't work, she would have a long walk, or drive, home. If it worked, she'd be on the Overbike for hours, alone, with William.
"Gah!" William screamed as the tentacles waved at him and attached to his skin.
"It's working. I'll have to find a way to make it not hurt." Jeremie took the headset off so he wouldn't have to hear William's screams.
-( ( • ) ) -
Yumi could hear the sound of energy crackling. When she exited her hiding place, she saw an energy orb sparking over the street. There was a loud bang as William and the Overbike appeared. "William!"
"Yumi!" William greeted as he drove the Overbike to her. "Your taxi awaits." He patted the back of the Overbike.
"Um, thanks." Yumi climbed onto on the back and wrapped her arms around William's waist. "Did it hurt?"
"Yes, a lot." William sighed. "But it was worth it." He revved the engine and turned towards Europe. "Flight controls should do the trick." He activated them and took off into the air with Yumi.
-( ( • ) ) -
Nearly twelve hours later William and Yumi set down on the bridge. "Finally." William sighed. He and Yumi climbed off of the Overbike, and William quickly cut it down with the Zweihander.
"Awww," Yumi cooed. She and William had just found Jeremie and Aelita on the floor sleeping next to each other.
"We shouldn't wake them."
"Yeah, I'll send us. Let those two sleep." Yumi decided as she stepped over to the control panel and started the auto transfer program. They took the ladder down to the Scanner Room and stepped in the Scanners.
-( ( • ) ) -
When they landed on Lyoko, Yumi and William both pulled their weapons out. "Send me back, William."
"If you'll send me back, Yumi." William charged his Zweihander.
"Rosetta!"
"Hiya!"
-( ( • ) ) -
When they stepped off the elevator and onto the Factory floor, it was well past dark. "My parents are going to kill me."
"Well, maybe we could think of something?" William offered.
"Oh, yeah, tell them I was out this late with a boy."
"No, tell them, um, you were consoling me?"
"About what?" Yumi rolled her eyes.
"Um, someone died in my family? And you went with me to the funeral? It was last minute and, um, didn't tell them?"
"I'll be grounded for weeks anyways so we might as well try it." Yumi agreed as she and William began to walk to her house.
-( ( • ) ) -
Mrs. Ishiyama watched through the window and saw Yumi coming up to the house with a boy. "Yumi!" she shrieked as she flung the door open.
"Mom, um, I'm sorry." Yumi had her arm around William's shoulders. "It's okay, William. She's in a better place now."
"What are you doing out this late? And with a boy!"
"Um, Mom, I'm sorry." Yumi pulled away from him. "William, um, thanks for inviting me to the, uh, funeral but, um, I'm going to be in a lot of trouble."
"I, I'm sorry." William wiped away a tear. "Mrs. Ishiyama, I'm so sorry. I, my grandmother died and I, I wanted someone to be with me."
"I'm sorry. Um, Yumi, why didn't you call us?" Mrs. Ishiyama asked, her expression softened and her voice less frantic.
"I'm sorry, mom. I turned my cell off at the funeral, then lost it and since it was off I couldn't call it and find it."
"His cell phone? His parents' phones?" Mrs. Ishiyama crossed her arms.
"I have no phone, ma'am." William interjected.
"And I was too embarrassed to ask his parents. I thought I could just find my phone." Yumi said, bowing her head.
"If you don't take things seriously, Yumi, how can you think your father and I can treat you as an adult? You're almost seventeen years old now, you need to start acting older. Embarrassed is no excuse." Mrs. Ishiyama waved a finger before crossing her arms again.
"It's my fault, I, I was really close to my grandmother. I needed a friend and Yumi was the only one who was nice enough to come with me. Please don't be too mad with her." William said, his voice cracking.
"I'm sorry about your loss, really I am, but she was out really late. She should have called us or something."
"I'm sorry, please, don't punish her for being a good friend." William wiped away another tear.
"Well, Yumi, it's late. You need to take a bath and go to bed." Mrs. Ishiyama put a hand on her daughter's shoulder and led her into the house as William walked away.
-( ( • ) ) -
When William got away, he pulled his shirt up and pulled the hair clip off of his nipple. "Ow, that stings." He looked at the hair clip. "I should give this back to Yumi, eventually." He pocketed the clip and started to walk back to Kadic Academy.