Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko or Vanessa Della Robbia. I simply potty trained William's clone.
Ok, I'm back! So, it may seem that I'm just copying 'Code Lyoko: Destinies Realized', but I'm really not. I promised myself that I wouldn't make Vanessa out of character, therefore I must introduce her past (which was created by PurpleSatinRose) before the story takes place! :D
Vanessa's day was boring, to say the least. Considering classes didn't start until Tuesday, there wasn't much for the borders to do besides read or hang out with what friends had arrived. She had planned to ask Odd about the sudden awkward behavior at the lunch table earlier, but she couldn't find him anywhere.
All day, however, she tried her best to steer away from depression. Ulrich had promised to teach her Pencak Silat soon in the gymnasium, so she had every reason in the world to be ecstatic, but she wasn't. She hadn't exactly been happy since summer break.
She could remember the horrific events that occurred that night. The scar she now hid under her magenta colored bangs, the sever discoloration of her once white clothes, how drunk the boy she once loved was…it all seemed so fictitious. That night was meant to be perfect; her parents were out of town, and she had promised him that she would go to a college party with him. He seemed fond of them lately, and they appeared to make him happy, and that was all Vanessa ever really wanted.
"Ok, Steven, I'll go with you." She paused to contemplate her decision, "You're sure these parties don't get too rough, right?"
"I'm sure, babe. Some of the guys there get rowdy, but I don't like to hang out with them."
Not a night went past that she didn't dream of telling her past self to not give into his selfish ways. She knew he was lying about his friends; she knew that Steven had begun smoking and drinking, but she just wanted him to be happy. She would do anything to have the old Steven back. If only she would have known that the Steven she once knew had died a long time ago.
They arrived at a run-down looking building at about 9:00 that night. Vanessa observed her surroundings, noticing that the neon lights were dull, and only a few of the letters were still lit. The brick walls were aged, making them seem almost black. She shoved her thoughts aside, being a firm believer in the proverb 'never judge a book by its cover'.
Upon entering, she was forced to scrunch her nose slightly and do a double take. The air was filled with the fowl stenches of booze, sweat, and another smell she hadn't experienced before, but had definitely heard about. She thought about walking out the door right then and there, but the sudden tug of Steven's hand forced that thought out.
"Come on, V, lighten up! It's fun, you'll see!" Steven smiled a smile that she hadn't seen in a while. It was a remnant of his old self. Back when they would surf together behind her house every weekend and play around with her little sisters until dark.
She wearily smiled back, "If you say so." And with that, she was pulled towards the dance floor and slung around. If it hadn't been for the uncomfortable vibe of being around a bunch of older guys, she would have enjoyed it. Soon, Steven stopped dancing and perched himself on a stool, gesturing for Vanessa to follow with his hand. She did, and soon found herself watching him guzzle down alcohol like wildfire. He'd obviously done it many times before.
"Steven, I think you need to calm down a little. You're going to end up drunk, and you're the only one who can drive us home."
Steven's voice slurred slightly, "Wha? Oh, hhheey Vannesha! Cmon, les dance!" he grasped her hand and began to lead her to the dance floor.
"No, Steven, I'm taking you home. We'll walk, I'm not letting you drive." She kept a stern face.
"Ah c'mon, shweethart! I was jus shtartin' to have fffun!"He teetered a little as he stood. He was obviously more drunk than she had thought.
"No. Come on, we'll go to my place." She grasped his hand and led him out the door.
It was during that walk home, Vanessa realized, that she had lost her passion for Steven. The boy who cared for her unconditionally, yet still loved to play 1v1 soccer with her didn't exist any longer. Steven had morphed into a drunkard whom she barely even recognized. However, she hadn't expected Steven to lash out at her when she confessed her feelings. The old Steven wouldn't hurt a fly, but the boy she now knew had been ready to murder her. If Odd hadn't been at the house, she was positive that he wouldn't have stopped.
She jumped slightly when she heard a knock at her door. Upon opening it, she noticed a strong brunette boy happily looking down at her. He was wearing a sparring uniform that consisted of a black tang-top and black sweatpants along with a black pair of shoes that he only used when sparring.
"Ready to practice?" Ulrich asked, his eyebrows rising when he smiled at her.
"Oh, yeah sure!" she fumbled with her hair for a second, trying to think of something to say, "You go ahead, I'll catch up." Ulrich nodded and turned away from her dorm room.
Upon Jeremy and Aelita's request, the gang had assembled in his room to discuss the new program they had written for the Super Computer.
"Hey, where's Ulrich?" Jeremy asked as he turned in his chair to face them. Odd plopped down on Jeremy's bed next to Aelita and answered.
"He promised Vanessa that he'd start teaching her 'Pen Check Sit Back' tonight." He couldn't help but notice Yumi's face contort slightly. Discarding her menacing look, he retrieved a candy bar from his jacket pocket and began to consume it.
Aelita laughed, "I think someone's a little jealous."
"I am not!" Yumi blushed, but kept her firm stance, "Why would I be jealous? We're just good friends."
Odd rolled his eyes, "Right."
Jeremy pinched the bridge of his nose in angst, "Guys, now really isn't the time. If it makes you feel any better, I've got good news!"
Yumi sat next to Odd, giving him a hard hit to his side with her elbow before gingerly crossing her legs as if she were completely innocent, "Enlighten us."
"Aelita and I have finally found a way to explore the internet."
Odd choked the bar of chocolate, "What?"
Yumi scoffed at him, "Don't talk with your mouth full, Odd. It's unbecoming."
"Whatever, mom." Odd obediently swallowed his food before speaking again, "What you're saying is that we can go into the Digital Sea without ending up like Dr. Shrank's experiments?"
"Well, if you put it that way, than yes."
Aelita stood and propped herself next to Jeremy, "It's, more or less, like a submarine. There's one big ship, along with four smaller ships that can be released from it. We've left the naming up to you, Odd. Considering you name everything else."
Odd perked, "Sweet! How about 'Melanie'?"
Yumi turned towards him, "Melanie? You mean that red-head with the pig-tails?"
Odd's face formed a dreamy look, "Yeah, that's the one."
"No, Odd, we aren't naming the submarine 'Melanie'." Jeremy's rolled his eyes, "Besides, Aelita and I still have some finishing touches to perform on it. And no doubt, Xana will try his best to keep us from doing so. That being said, I want all of you guys to go to Lyoko tomorrow while we finish up the program."
Odd gawked, "What, you mean all day?"
Aelita couldn't help but laugh, "No, Oddball. The setup shouldn't last more than a few minutes. It's just that it has be executed directly after the program that is running now is completed, which should be at about four o'clock tomorrow."
Odd warily turned to Jeremy, "Seriously, how does she know all of this?"
Aelita scratched her nose intelligently, "Being in Lyoko for eleven years has its perks, you know."
Yumi laughed, "So, how about you do my homework for now on, huh?"
"No can do. I have enough on my plate when I do Odd's! Seriously, Odd, I'm debating on how literate you actually are." She raised one eyebrow.
Odd got a rather mischievous look on his face, "Cosa pensi che sono, un nano da giardino?"
Aelita gawked, "Number one; no I don't think you're a garden gnome. Number two; where did you learn to speak Italian?"
"My sister, Adele, taught me." He puffed his chest out proudly, only to have Yumi smack his sternum roughly. With a rather loud 'OOF', Odd sprawled out on Jeremy's bed, putting his feet in Yumi's lap.
"Odd, get your stinking paws off of me! Literally!"
"Come on, Yumes! Haven't you hurt me enough already?" Odd put on a rather convincing puppy dog face. Alas, Yumi saw through it.
"Um…" she put her finger to her chin, putting on a fake impression of thinking, "Nope." And with that, she shoved the blonde off of the bed.
"Ugh…how many times must we go through this?"
Jeremy put his glasses on and faced his desktop, "Alright, alright, that's enough. Aelita and I have work to do, so will you please dismiss yourselves?"
Odd stood from his face planted position, "…pushy." He closed the door just before Jeremy hollered at him.
"I heard that!" Odd chuckled as he shut the door entirely. He waved goodbye to Yumi, as she explained that she must return home. Odd, realizing he had nothing better to do, strode to the gymnasium in hopes of watching Vanessa learn from a master.
Ulrich stood in a guiding stance, helping Vanessa along with the various moves and exercises he had learned over the years. She caught on quickly, and her balance was excellent. Ulrich stood behind her, his fingers grasping her wrists.
"You've got to feel the flow of energy throughout your body. It may seem farfetched, but as you perform the maneuvers, you can feel your own blood following a path that you have created. It's not anything supernatural, but the flow of blood does increase your brain capability." He continued to move her arms throughout various cycles. At first, it was a simple back and forth motion, but soon he moved her up to a more advanced level.
"Ok, I think you'll be able to handle what I have in store for you." He smirked. Vanessa gulped violently as she witnessed Ulrich unsheathe a wooden katana.
"Aren't you afraid to hurt me?" she asked, hoping for her preferred answer.
"If I'm correct, you won't be injured. If I'm badly mistaken, however, you may end up in the hospital." He raised the blade, "I'm going to swing at you, and I want you to dodge it as much as possible."
"Oh I get it! This will help with coordination, ri-," she was cut off as Ulrich swung his sword at her side. She yelped, expecting immense pain to occur, but it never came. She glanced down, noticing the wooden blade mere inches from her body.
He removed the blade, returning it to his side, "Pencak Silat is an ancient form of self-defense; similar to Ba Gua. Meaning, if you hesitate, it could mean the difference in life or death. Pencak Silat isn't about offensive maneuvers, either. The object is to stay in motion, circling around your opponent until you either see an opening, or they are too weak to fight any longer. " he smiled at her, "Let's try that again."
Vanessa prepared herself. She put her hair in a bun and bent her knees slightly, reading herself for Ulrich's blows. Ulrich swung at her feet, expecting to easily hit her again. However, she witnessed the swing just in time and gracefully hopped over the blade.
"Nice. Use you're superior agility against a non-flexible opponent. Very resourceful."
As Ulrich complemented her, she noticed an opening in his abdomen. With a swift kick, Ulrich was launched backwards, landing on his butt.
He looked at her with wide eyes, but smiled nonetheless, "We'll see if I ever complement you again." She giggled before plopping down beside him.
"So, how do you think I did?" she asked.
"At this rate, I suspect you'll get through the beginner levels by next semester." He answered, retrieving a plastic bottle, "Here, you've earned it."
She gladly received the bottle, "Thanks, I owe you one." She opened the bottle, guzzling down half of the contents.
"Free of charge. You're one of us now." He smiled his signature smile.
"My, my, you sure know how to make a lady feel special." She said, rather sarcastically.
Ulrich laughed slightly, "In that case, I want my water back!" He made an effort to grab it from her, only to have her turn her body away from him.
"No!" she hurriedly gulped the rest of the water down before turning back to the brunette, "Never mind, here you go"
"Pff, well now it's useless." Ulrich let out an exasperated sigh as he plopped his body down on the wrestling mats that they had used for practice. Vanessa let her hair down before doing so, as well.
"I like your hair like that." Ulrich said, a nervous blush upon his face.
"You mean, down? Its fine when I straighten it, but when it's wavy it just looks terrible." She paused, "Thank you though."
"No problem, Dorka Robbia." Vanessa propelled her arm towards Ulrich, hearing a satisfying thump as it hit his chest.
"Jeez, someone's been lifting weights."
Ulrich laughed, "Well, martial arts will do that to you." She laughed, turning her gaze to meet his. The two didn't speak for a while; they simply stared into each other. They had only known each other for a day, but their emotions seemed to meet as if they were old friends.
Little did they know, a certain blonde haired boy was standing at the door, watching the two with a mischievous look in his eyes.
I've rewrote this chapter four times, but I just can't seem to get it right D: So, you don't have to tell me this chapter is awful, because I already know that xD
Anyway, school started today, so I won't be updating nearly as often as I do now. Sorry for the inconvenience :3