The Champion of Lyoko

Well, well, well. We meet again. This is the fourth installment of Kenue's tale. In the following writing, the others are informed about Aelita's interview. But, how do they find out, you say? Read on, says I.

Rurouni Sano

I do NOT own Code: Lyoko

But it would be kick-ass if I did.

After School the next day, in Jeremy's room

"Well, X.A.N.A. hasn't showed up in a while…" Odd remarked, lying on the floor.

"Maybe Aelita was right about Kenue," murmured Ulrich. "Nah, I still can't trust him," he continued.

"I don't know what you guys are complaining about; I'm still a little sore from the last mission," Yumi said.

Jeremy just sat at the computer, working on some discreet project that the others probably wouldn't understand. Aelita and Yumi just sat on the bed, the latter yawing quite frequently.

"So, how was your night, Aelita?" Jeremy suddenly asked, breaking the silence. He turned in his chair, and faced the rest of the team.

"It was ok. Nothing really happened," she said quietly, looking down at the floor.

"Really? Then how come I saw you on Lyoko last night? Talking with that man!" Jeremy accused.

The other guys just stared at Aelita, mouths open.

"You were spying on me?" Aelita asked angrily. Odd and Ulrich tried to get out, but somehow their legs wouldn't respond; they knew that when Aelita got mad, things went pretty nasty.

"Well… Yeah!" replied the genius, shame apparent on his face. "I thought I told you to not go near him!"

"I'm not a child, Jeremy! I can't believe that you won't trust me!" She rushed out of the room, and slammed the door.

"Smooth, Romeo…" Odd said.

"Shut it, Odd," Jeremy mumbled.

"She's right, you know," Yumi said from the door. "You seem to forget that she is part of the team, and she knows what she's doing, considering that she's been on Lyoko most of her life." She then turned to follow Aelita.

"I couldn't agree more; I protected her there," a voice interjected, coming from the computer.

Jeremy turned angrily to the computer. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"So touchy…" Kenue said nonchalantly. "I just want to know why Aelita needs to be under constant watch," he continued.

"Just go away!" he shouted, and closed the window on the computer. He turned to the others, but found that they had all left. He growled in frustration, and then turned back to the computer only to find that Kenue had returned.

"You know, you really shouldn't lose your temper so easily…" Kenue said, mocking the boy.

"Why are you here?" Jeremy demanded again.

"I thought I told you; I want to know why you don't trust Aelita to take care of herself. She knows how to survive in Lyoko, unlike you four."

"Do I have to remind you that you claim that you protected her all along?"

"I did; I'm not denying that. But, she did indeed survive. Even I can't protect her from everything," Kenue said, disappointment filling the last words.

"What's that supposed to-" But Jeremy didn't get to finish his question, for the screen went black. He tried to turn it on again, but nothing worked, not even his laptop when he tried to access Lyoko.

"X.A.N.A…" Jeremy said. He stood up, went to the door, and then realized that he didn't know where his friends were.

Aelita's room

Aelita was sobbing into her pillow as Yumi knocked on the door and walked in. "You ok, Aelita?" she asked.

"Not really," she replied. "I just want to be alone."

"Aelita, he just cares about you," Yumi continued.

"And he cares about you and the others, but he wouldn't have said anything about it if any of you have gone," Aelita said, burying her face in the pillow.

"Look, he just-" Yumi began, but was cut off as the door opened again. This time, it was Jeremy.

"X.A.N.A. has struck out again. Let's go," he said, and they heard him run down the hall.

"Come on, Aelita, maybe beating X.A.N.A. again might cheer you up," Yumi said. She then stood up and headed for the door.

"Thanks, Yumi, for caring," Aelita said as she dried her tears.

"No problem, it's what friends are for," the black haired girl said, and led Aelita out of the building.

"Dammit," Ulrich mumbled, as he looked outside.

"What's wrong?" Aelita asked, as the two girls approached.

"It's a hail storm; X.A.N.A. somehow got control of the weather," the boy replied.

"Well, let's just go the other way, then," Odd suggested, as the group ran for the underground passage. But as they got to the sewers, they saw that it was flooding.

"We're wasting too much time, let's just go!" Ulrich said, and he started running down the flooded path.

The others followed him, and with little injury they made it to the factory. They saw smoke coming from the building, but Odd and Ulrich charged in and led the way.

"We don't have a lot of time, just get in and go," Jeremy said, as he left the others in the elevator.

As the rest of the group got to the third floor, they heard Jeremy say, "Send in Yumi, Odd, and Ulrich in first; there are a lot of monsters out, and some I don't recognize."

As he said this, Ulrich thought to himself, Maybe Kenue was right. Maybe, there are tougher creatures out there. Then, Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi entered the pods, leaving Aelita by herself. When they found themselves in Lyoko, they were surprised by what they saw.

Well, it seems that X.A.N.A. has indeed gotten stronger. What type of creatures are they going to face now? And why is Kenue disappointed in himself. More importantly, will Jeremy and the other guys ever trust him? Find out in Chapter 5.

Rurouni Sano

Will also try to bring up the word count on this; should be on at least 4000 words by now!