Well, here's the next chapter! I was going to post it earlier, but I haven't had the time. I'm already busy with school, even though we just started a new semester. But I'm sure you don't really care as much about my personal life as you do about this story! So, without further adeu, here's chapter four!
Wait, almost forgot (again). I don't own Code Lyoko. I don't know how many times I've said this, but the stupid rules say I have to keep saying it, so whatever. Go read the chapter now!
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Chapter 4 – A Change of Feelings
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Jeremie slapped his forehead as he sat at his computer in his dorm. How could he have been so stupid? He had forgotten something really important!
In order for Kirsten to have been virtualized, her profile had been created on the supercomputer. Because she had a profile, the return to the past didn't affect her! And Jeremie had completely forgotten until now!
"And I call myself a genius," he muttered. "How did I miss that?"
There was a furious knock on his door. He would have recognized that knock anywhere. It was definitely Aelita. He stood up and walked towards the door, refusing to believe that the fact that he knew it was Aelita was a little creepy. He had called Odd a creepy genius once, and now he was beginning to deserve the nickname too! How many people recognize a visitor by their knock?
He opened the door and sure enough, Aelita was leaning against the frame, wheezing. It seemed as if she had run all the way from her dorm, which, in fact, she had. Jeremie grabbed her sleeve and tugged her gently into the room, shutting the door. It was still dark, and Jim was probably going to do rounds soon. Aelita sat on his bed and caught her breath.
"She remembers," Aelita said as her breathing slowed to a normal rate. "Kirsten remembers everything."
Jeremie nodded. "I thought so. I realized after the return to the past that she would probably remember," he explained. "After all, she was virtualized into Lyoko, so it's only logical that she would no longer be affected by the time reversion. I just wish I had figured it out earlier."
"What will we do?" Aelita asked. "We can remove her profile from the supercomputer, right? Then we'll just tell her that it was a dream, and she won't remember any of the future trips."
Jeremie grinned. "Exactly," he said. "I have to do it on the supercomputer itself though, and it's too late to go to the factory tonight. We don't have time to get there and back before Jim does his lights-out check. We probably won't be able to get away tomorrow either, because Jim is always extra-vigilant on Mondays."
"Tuesday then," she said. "We'll delete her profile on Tuesday after school. It'll be Kirsten's first full day, right? She can meet you and Yumi properly at lunch."
"Of course," he said.
Aelita smiled as she hugged him. She moved back slightly and planted a short kiss on his lips. She pulled back and whispered "I love you," into his ear. By the time Jeremie could say anything besides "uh...um...uh," she was gone.
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"This is Jeremie. He's my...good friend," Aelita explained to Kirsten as they sat at the lunch table. "He's in our science class, but he was too busy working on our assignment to notice you on Saturday."
They shook hands. "It's a bit late," Jeremie said, "since you've already been here for two days, but welcome to Kadic!"
"Thanks," Kirsten said. "I'm...happy...to be here...I guess." She fiddled with the locket hanging around her neck. Not for the first time, Aelita wondered what the locket was all about. It was obviously something her roommate treasured a lot, and possibly had something to do with her moving. It had been the first thing she pulled out from her boxes the day she arrived. Still, Aelita knew that it was a sensitive subject.
She was pulled out of her thoughts when Yumi arrived. She smiled and walked over to them. Her smile widened when she saw Ulrich, but slipped slightly when she saw Kirsten.
"Um...hi," she muttered. Kirsten, having dealt with slightly antisocial people like Yumi back in California, was unfazed.
"Hi. I'm Kirsten Anderson," she said. "You're Yumi, right? Aelita told me a lot about you."
Yumi just nodded. "Yeah. Aelita told me a bit about you too. You're from the United States, right?"
Kirsten nodded. "Yes. I lived on the West Coast, in California."
"Your French is good," Yumi commented. "You even have a Parisian accent."
"Thanks!" Kirsten said. "I had a...friend...who used to live in Paris, and he taught me French."
Had? Aelita wondered. Is he not her friend any more?
Once again, she knew it was better not to ask.
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"Is she always that cold?" Kirsten asked Aelita in Science class. "I think she only talked to me because you guys forced her to."
"Once you get to know her, she's a great friend," Aelita explained. "She's a little shy, so she isn't very nice to people she doesn't know well. Don't worry, she'll warm up to you soon."
"You know, Aelita," Kirsten said. "I had the strangest dream last night. I dreamed that I was somehow possessed, and I kidnapped you or something...that part's a bit hazy though. All I remember is being outside of this weird blue sphere, and everything looked like it was from a videogame or something. You and the others were wearing weird costumes and stuff."
Aelita wouldn't have succeeded in holding back a gasp if Kirsten hadn't already explained part of her dream to her last night when she came through the window after the return to the past.
"You looked like an elf, Ulrich was dressed as a samurai, and even though I didn't know her yet, Yumi was there too. She looked like a geisha or something," Kirsten explained, not knowing that Aelita knew exactly what she was talking about. She laughed. "Odd had paws and a tail! All he needed were the pointed ears, and he would have been a neko!"
"Neko?" Aelita asked. "What's that?"
"A cat-person," Kirsten explained. "Basically, a person with catlike features, like a tail, paws, ears, that sort of thing."
Aelita nodded, and their attention turned to the two boys in front of them. Ulrich was staring out the window, and Odd was waving his hand in front of his friend's face, but to no avail. Ulrich continued to space out. Kirsten and Aelita started snickering quietly. Mrs. Hertz, the science teacher, was starting to lose her hearing, but she could still hear the two youngsters interrupting her lecture in the back of the room.
"Miss Stones! Miss Anderson!" she exclaimed, drawing the attention of both girls back to her. "Would you care to tell the class just what is so funny?"
"No ma'am, I'd rather not," Kirsten explained. She put on her "innocent student" face. "Rest assured that our amusement is not at your expense."
Mrs. Hertz rolled her eyes. "Of course. I would send you to the Principal's Office, but since this is really only your second day of class at this school, I'll let you off with a warning," she said as Kirsten sighed with relief. "Aelita, since you're such a model student, the same goes for you. If either of you see fit to disrupt my class again, I will send you both to the principal's office."
The two girls nodded and sat back down. They nearly started laughing again when they noticed that Ulrich's position hadn't changed. Odd had started jabbing him in the side, but he was getting no response.
Finally, Ulrich's eye twitched with annoyance. The next time he was jabbed, he grabbed the offending hand, holding tightly. The owner of the hand let out a small "eep!"
"Daydreaming again, Romeo?" Aelita asked, in an unusually sarcastic tone. "You'll see your Juliet after school, don't worry."
Odd grinned. "O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?" he shouted in a high falsetto. "Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet."
Mrs. Hertz and the whispering students were stunned into silence, so he took it as a compliment and continued. "'Tis but thy name that is my enemy; thou art thyself, though not a Montague," he announced, still in that high voice. The rest of the class was torn between not believing that he was actually doing that, and not believing that he actually knew the lines. Ulrich snapped out of his daydream and immediately knew that Odd was mocking him.
"What's Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet; so Romeo would, were he not Romeo called, retain that dear perfection which he owes without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, and for that name which is no part of thee take all myself."
He bowed and the entire class broke out laughing and clapping, even Ulrich. Odd stood up and walked down the aisle towards the front of the room as everybody fell silent. He tipped an imaginary hat to Mrs. Hertz. "Don't bother sending me to the Principal's Office, I think I'll just go on my own," he said as he walked out the door. The moment he was gone, everybody started laughing again.
Ulrich, however, fell silent, once again daydreaming about Yumi.
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"You dope!" Kirsten half-shouted at Odd the next day after school while trying not to break out laughing again. "What was that outburst anyway?"
Odd shrugged. "I dunno," he said. "Aelita mentioned Romeo and Juliet, and I decided that it was the perfect time to be sent to the Principal's office again. I memorized the lines when I tried out for the play a month ago. I didn't make the part though."
The two of them were walking down the hall towards the cafeteria for dinner. The school was abuzz, the rumor of Odd's outburst already running rampant, even though it had only happened yesterday.
"No," Kirsten said. "I'd imagine that they would have preferred a female for the part of Juliet."
Odd jabbed her forehead with a finger. "I didn't try out for Juliet," he tried to explain. "I just memorized her lines so I knew when to speak! I tried out for Romeo!"
Kirsten nodded. "Sure...I believe you," she said, her voice clearly implying that she didn't. She laughed at the wounded look on her friend's face. "I've only known you for a couple days, yet I feel like I've been friends with you guys for years!" she exclaimed suddenly.
Odd grinned. "Yeah, we really hit it off," he said. His bluish-purple eyes met her hazel ones for a long moment. The moment seemed to stretch into eternity before they both blushed and turned away.
"So, um, where are you from, Odd?" Kirsten asked, ducking slightly to keep him from seeing her beet-red face. "I mean, I told you all about me, but I know nothing about you!"
"Well, I was born in Norway," he said. "I lived in the United States for a while, in California, actually, just like you. I lived near San Diego. You were closer to San Francisco, right?"
She nodded. "Yeah," she answered. "I was actually born in Pennsylvania, but we moved to California when I was five. Then I lived there until a few days ago, when I was sent here. My mom is living in another town nearby, but she decided to just have me board here instead of driving every day."
"What about your dad?" Odd asked. Kirsten's face fell and he cursed himself. He had obviously brought up a delicate topic. She stayed silent long enough for him to speak up again. "If you don't want to talk about it," he started to say.
"No, it's okay," she replied. She took a deep breath. "He...he died in a car accident last year," she said, so quiet it was almost a whisper. Odd barely heard her. "He died in the same accident that killed...him."
"Who?" Odd asked.
"My...my boyfriend," she said. "We had a fight just hours before, and I was going to go apologize to him. I was walking to his house when I saw the accident." She stopped to sniff, tears already threatening to fall. "My dad had been driving him home, because he lived far away and he was headed that direction anyway, and a drunk driver hit them. Dad was dead instantly. My boyfriend..." she trailed off again and took another breath, continuing in a shaky voice. "He was stuck in the hospital for a week. There was no hope for him anyway, but it took him a whole week to die."
A tear fell from the corner of her eye. Odd put an arm around her shoulder and drew her close. She collapsed into his chest and began to cry in earnest. As she did, she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Odd just shifted her to the side and led her a short way into the forest for some privacy.
They sat down on a fallen log, Kirsten still crying into Odd's shirt. She undid a chain that held a locket around her neck and opened it. It revealed a picture of a boy with spiked brown hair and brown eyes. He was smiling, and holding a slightly younger Kirsten close.
Her crying got worse, and Odd took the locket so her hands were free to wrap around his torso again. He looked at the picture. The happy couple looked a bit younger, probably thirteen. Odd and Ulrich were both fourteen now, as was Kirsten. Yumi was, of course, a year older, and Jeremie and Aelita were still thirteen, though both of their birthdays were coming up.
His cell phone rang and he cursed in English as he picked it up from his pocket.
"I didn't know you spoke English!" Kirsten exclaimed, also in English. She had stopped crying for now. "Unless you just know curse words..." she added in French.
"I lived in California," Odd replied, again in English, before putting the phone to his ear. "It's hard to get around there without knowing English."
Kirsten slapped her forehead. Of course! Of course he would know the language, having lived in California for so long!
"Jeremie? Why are you calling?" he answered, switching back to French. "Are you...Oh no...Really? Damn it...Well, I'm kind of in the middle of something...Fine! I'm on my way!" His voice had grown louder throughout the conversation, until he had nearly yelled the last part.
He slipped the phone into his pocket and turned to the girl in front of him. "Sorry, Kirsten. Jeremie called an important meeting and we all have to be there," he told her gently. "I'll be seeing you, I suppose."
He leaned towards her until their faces were inches apart, then appeared to change his mind as he turned around. He ran off, sparing one last glance at Kirsten, who was glaring at him.
I'm gonna regret this in the near future, he thought.
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Kirsten sighed as she watched Odd run off. He was always leaving her behind to do stuff with his friends. She wasn't exactly really part of the group yet, and she felt that the blond kid with the glasses and that Japanese girl still disliked her.
"Jeremie and Yumi," she muttered aloud. "Their names are Jeremie and Yumi."
Suddenly, she realized something. It was something she should have known a long time ago. Her friends were still wary of letting her in, and she had to fix that.
"I have to do this myself," she told herself. "I have to worm my way in to the group, or I'll be excluded forever."
With that, she stood and ran after Odd.
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"So, I called this meeting to ask you something," Jeremie said. "What are we going to do?"
Odd rolled his eyes. "Well, I was thinking I could go back and make sure Kirsten's alright," he replied, sarcasm dripping from every word. "I did kind of leave her in a fit of crying..."
"Why did you do that?" Jeremie asked, surprised. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"You said, and I quote: 'I don't care what's going on! Don't explain, just come!' So, I did what you said and just came," Odd explained.
"Never mind that," Ulrich interrupted before a serious argument could break out. "Jeremie, exactly why are we going to do something?"
"Kirsten is remembering the XANA attacks," Jeremie elaborated. "I tried to delete her profile yesterday, but it's protected somehow. I can't get rid of it. So, she'll keep remembering. What should we do?"
Before anybody could answer, his computer started beeping. Everybody groaned, as that was the unmistakable sign of yet another XANA attack.
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Kirsten listened at the door, suspicious when she heard them talking about her remembering attacks by some guy called XANA.
"You know what that means," she heard Jeremie grumble. "We're off to the factory."
Kirsten swore under her breath and ran around the corner to her dorm. She closed the door just as the group came down the hall. She waited in her room, staring out the window, until she was sure they were gone. She was about to leave again when she noticed Ulrich run into the forest, everybody else soon following. Curious, she went outside and followed them.
She was about to enter the forest when there was a sound of crackling electricity behind her. She turned and saw some kid standing behind her. His name was...William, she believed. There were sparks traveling around his left hand, which was held up in her direction.
She ducked just as a bolt of electricity traveled through the space her head had occupied moments before. "What the hell are you doing?" she shouted. Her answer was another bolt of electricity.
Instead of asking him again, she decided to just run. She sprinted into the forest, looking for a place to hide. She happened upon a manhole cover.
"Perfect," she said as she lifted the cover and climbed down the ladder. She reached the bottom and ran down the sewer.
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"Virtualization!"
Aelita appeared in the forest sector of Lyoko and dropped to the ground next to Yumi. Ulrich and Odd were standing a few feet away.
"Your vehicles are ready," Jeremie said. As he said that, their vehicles appeared in front of them. They hopped on.
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Kirsten heard a thud behind her and continued to run, randomly taking turns at various intersections, and probably unintentionally doubling back every once in a while. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized that she wouldn't be able to find her way back if she ever escaped.
But that was definitely not the first thing on her mind, especially not when William appeared in front of her and pressed his hand to her forehead, holding her down on the floor with his other hand. Black smoke traveled from his hand to her forehead, and she screamed as pain exploded in her head.
She took out her cell phone and gasped as she hit a random speed-dial key.
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"Just two crabs left!" Jeremie said. "I'm surprised, we haven't seen XANA's attack yet."
Then he heard a ringing noise nearby. He looked around and discovered Odd's phone on the console. He had dropped it by accident when they had reached the factory. He picked it up and answered it.
"Hello?"
There was a scream from the other end of the line, then Kirsten's voice came through, sounding very weak. "Jeremie? I thought this was Odd's phone!" She screamed again. "Never mind! I need help! That William kid is trying to kill me!"
There was another scream, then the phone went dead.
Jeremie swore and put his headset back on.
"I've officially just eaten my words," he said. "William's been possessed and he's attacking Kirsten." He glanced at another monitor and groaned. "And apparently we have to return to the past. William caused a lot of havoc before he went after her."
He was watching a news report that showed a burning building near Kadic. Then it showed a video clip of William chasing Kirsten into the forest. The reporter said it had been taken by a student in Video Production class out of a second-story window.
"Hurry up!" he said.
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"We're going as fast as we can!" Ulrich shouted as he dodged a laser. "Triplicate!"
He split into three, and all three of him went after one of the crabs. It managed to get two of them, but he still destroyed it. All three of the vehicles had been devirtualized a while ago.
Aelita was slowly sneaking from tree to tree as Yumi and Odd distracted the other crab. Ulrich joined them. Aelita managed to make her way to the tower. The crab noticed her, but was only able to hit her once before she went inside. Then it was devirtualized by a well-placed laser-arrow courtesy of Odd.
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Kirsten felt something force its way into her mind. She screamed and kicked, trying to force it out, but to no avail. A XANA symbol slowly faded into view on her forehead, and her pupils stretched and contorted into the same shape. Just before she would have lost consciousness, she noticed a white light heading her way.
"What the..." was all she was able to say before the light swept her up into the past.
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Well, there's another chapter finished! I hope to start working on chapter five soon. You know, I can hardly call this a rewrite any more. I've deviated so far from the original plot that it's basically its own story! Still, I plan to have all the major plot points from the original in this one, so it'll seem more like a rewrite in the coming chapters. I added more backstory to deepen Kirsten's character a bit. I hope you liked it!
Anyway, read and review! Why I'm saying "read," I don't know, because you probably already read it, but whatever...
Wow, with this chapter, Code:Changes Reloaded is officially longer than the original! And I have only written four chapters!