Chapter 5
"Why do you think XANA went after her in the first place?" Yumi asked softly as she and the others stood around during the repeat of their morning, hoping to see some sign of Layla soon.
Everyone shrugged, although Jeremy said, "I think he might know that we want her to be on our side, so he's trying to get to her first."
"That makes sense," Aelita stated, nodding. She, Yumi, and Jeremy were the only ones involved in the conversation despite the fact that Ulrich and Odd were both standing right there.
"I'm sure she'll be fine," Ulrich told Odd quietly.
Odd shook his head, still staring out into space like he had been since he'd joined the others earlier. "You weren't there, Ulrich. You didn't see her."
"Come on, Odd. She's Layla. I haven't even known her for a full week, and I can already tell you that she's too stubborn to actually..." Yumi trailed off, afraid to utter the word.
"Die?" Odd finished for her flatly. He glanced over at Yumi, all of his usual happiness gone from his expression. "You never know, Yumi." He then began staring straight ahead once more, just waiting and hoping.
Due to the fact that no one could think of anything else to say, they all just stood there, watching Odd silently. The moment his face lit up, they followed his gaze and found a familiar redhead walking toward them.
"Layla!" Odd cried as he threw his arms around the slender girl.
She stared at him for a few seconds, then she said simply, "You're in my bubble."
"Sorry," the boy said, releasing Layla and taking a step back.
"It's fine. But...why did you invade my bubble?"
"Because I...uh...I...like bubbles...?" Odd half asked.
Layla cocked an eyebrow. "Uh huh." She then looked around at the rest of the people and asked, "Have you guys ever thought about offering him to a circus? He'd fit in very well there."
"Yeah," Ulrich said, laughing. "We tried once, but they wouldn't take him."
"Huh...Rejected by the circus...You must be so proud," Layla stated, actually smiling the slightest bit. Before Odd could say anything, the bell rang, forcing everyone to make their way to their classes.
When lunch time rolled around, Layla found herself being dragged out of the cafeteria almost as soon as she had walked into the damned place. Yumi and Aelita were walking to either side of her, each holding on to one of her arms, and the guys were trailing behind them.
"Um...Where are we going?" Layla asked, allowing herself to be led toward the park.
"Somewhere," was Aelita's vague reply, said with a smile and a little giggle.
"Is there food at this somewhere? 'Cause I'm kinda hungry."
"You can eat later. This is more important," Yumi stated, smiling.
The group soon reached a manhole, and Ulrich calmly walked up to the thing and removed the cover. He then stood up and looked over at Layla. Gesturing to the sewer entrance, he said, "Ladies first."
Layla arched an eyebrow. "You want me to go down there...?"
"Of course," Aelita answered. She smiled and released Layla's arm, Yumi doing the same on the redhead's other side. "Just follow us." The two girls then calmly maneuvered themselves into the hole and climbed down.
Layla stared at the hole for a moment, then she sighed. "Ah, what the hell." And down she went. As she looked around, the boys came down after her, and she just had to ask, "So, why are we here?"
"You'll see," Yumi said. "Just keep following us." She and the others walked past the skateboards and scooters leaning against the tunnel wall, heading deeper into the sewer. Layla followed them with another little sigh.
Eventually, they climbed out of the sewer and onto a bridge leading to what looked like an old factory. Without a word, everyone kept walking, most of them seeming oddly giddy. Once they were inside the big building, they all took turns leaping out onto a few ropes and sliding down to the floor below. Layla followed without hesitation, being the last one to reach the ground.
It wasn't until they were inside some weird elevator that her head started hurting, feeling like it was liable to explode at any minute. She staggered slightly and leaned against the person closest to her, which happened to be Odd.
"Hey, Layla...Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.
"Yeah. Just a really bad headache," Layla said with a grimace. Everyone accepted that answer without a word.
A few seconds passed before the doors opened, revealing a computer sitting in a large, dimly lit room. Jeremy, Ulrich, and Aelita went into the room, but Odd and Yumi kept Layla in the elevator with them.
"Um..." was all Layla said as she cocked her head.
"Just come with us," Yumi told the girl, still smiling.
The elevator doors closed, soon to open once again. This time, Layla was allowed to exit the damned thing, though she found herself even more confused.
"What is this place?" she asked, looking at the three weird metal tubes situated around the room.
Ignoring her question, Odd said, "Get in one of those things."
"Why?"
"You'll see."
Hesitantly, Layla did so, and Odd and Yumi each got into their own strange tubes. The doors slid shut, and Layla found herself thankful for her lack of claustrophobia.
"Just relax, Layla," Jeremy's voice said, echoing around the tube. As she tried to obey, some weird thing moved, as if it were scanning her body, and Jeremy said, "Scanner, Layla. Scanner, Odd. Scanner, Yumi...Virtualization." A weird wind blew, forcing Layla to close her eyes as her hair whipped around wildly. When she opened her eyes, however, she found herself hurtling toward the ground. She just barely managed to land on her feet, wide-eyed.
"What the hell?!" she pretty much yelled as she stood from her crouched position, looking around. The place she was in now almost seemed like something one would see in a video game, not in real life. She soon found Odd and Yumi landing to either side of her, looking calm, as if they did this everyday.
With a laugh, Jeremy's voice said, "Welcome to Lyoko, Layla."
"Lyoko?" Layla asked, confused. What she received was a lengthy explanation in which the name XANA was mentioned a few times, as were the words tower and monsters. Once Jeremy stopped talking, Layla arched an eyebrow and said, "Okay, then...So, basically, you fight this guy and his monsters, both here and...in the real world?"
"Pretty much," Yumi answered while Odd just nodded.
"And I've...fought him in the real world before?"
"You've saved us from some of the things he's sent after us, yes," Jeremy replied. "Actually, last time, you almost..."
"Died," Odd finished for him flatly.
"Is that why you invaded my bubble earlier, Circus Boy? Because you thought I was dead?" Layla questioned, cocking an eyebrow once more.
Odd looked away and nodded. "Yeah. Pretty much."
"Oh...Well...thank you for being worried, I guess," Layla said. She then fell silent, taking a moment to study herself. She looked down to find that she was wearing a pair of black boots similar to the ones she wore in the real world, a pair of tight-fitting black pants, and an equally tight-fitting black tank top. Her favorite part were the two thick black belts she saw creating an X around her hips. Both of the belts held sheaths for several shiny, black-handled and -bladed daggers. She pulled one of the weapons out of its sheath and whistled. "Me likey." She slid the knife back into its place and glared at the long strand of red that had fallen into her face. "I do not, however, like having my hair down." The layered red mess, as she called it, was out of its usual pigtails and falling straight to her waist.
"Why? It looks good down," Yumi stated, watching the redhead.
"No, it doesn't, and besides that, it gets in my way when its down." Layla sighed. "Ah, well. Can we, like...go back now? I really would like some food."
"Don't you want to look around some more or something?" Odd asked.
"Of course I do, but I'd rather do that when I'm not about to die of starvation." The girl glanced around and added, "I can come back some other time, right?"
"Mhm," Yumi answered, smiling and nodding.
"All right. I'll bring you guys back," Jeremy stated.
A few seconds later, the trio emerged from their scanners and headed for the elevator.
"You don't seem too shocked or anything," Yumi commented.
With a tired sigh, Layla let her head fall back so she could look up at the ceiling. "Not much can shock someone like me," was all she said, leaving Odd and Yumi slightly confused. Before they had the chance to ask what she meant, though, the doors opened and Ulrich, Aelita, and Jeremy entered the elevator.
"How'd you like Lyoko?" Ulrich asked.
Layla shrugged. "I liked the sharp objects I was given, if that answers your question."
No one else spoke, and eventually, they were back at the park. The silence continued as they walked toward the school, though Layla stopped walking suddenly.
"What is it?" Aelita asked, watching the girl.
The redhead calmly pointed at a small, dirty white ball of fur in the bushes. "Cat." She stared at the sleeping animal for a moment longer, then she started walking again, muttering, "I'll have to bring it some food once I'm done eating."
About ten minutes later, she did as she said she would, eventually naming the starving animal Gorgeous. Again...And this time, with the help of the Lyoko warriors.