The Return to Lyoko
AN: I know, I was being mean with that cliffhanger! By the way, I'm changing a lot of things about the Hermitage. In this fic, it's much larger and won't completely correspond with cannon Hermitage. Deal with it? Here ya go!
Disclaimer: Not mine at all.
-Chapter 5: A School Divided and a House United-
Kadic Academy was in ruins. Whatever attack XANA had used obviously worked quickly. They saw Jim and raced towards him.
"Jim, what happened?" Ulrich asked.
"Some piece of wiring went crazy and burned half the school. The only parts safe are the dorms and the cafeteria." Jim looked distraught.
"What are we going to do?" Jeremy asked Jim.
"I was talking to the headmaster and we're just going to be doing all lessons online. The kids can just stay in their dorms all day or go somewhere else. Breakfast, lunch and dinner is still provided." Jim informed them then walked away.
"So we gonna live in the factory?" Ulrich was the first to ask. They were all thinking about it.
"All in favor?" Jeremy asked. All raised their hands. They were slightly surprised.
"Should we get our stuff?" Alana asked.
The rest of them nodded.
"Is there a way to get to the factory above ground?" Alana inquired.
"Yeah." Jeremy replied. "But it's a bit long..."
"Oh well." Alana waved it off. "Pack your bags and I'll transport them, somehow. First, let's run down to the factory and see what we can do."
The teens reluctantly headed back to the factory, Odd complaining of hunger.
Once they got there, they started talking about what they were going to do.
"Do you really think that there are rooms that we can live in? I doubt that there are any beds here." Yumi pointed out.
Aelita zoned out for a second then her face lit up with a marvelous idea. "The Hermitage!" She said.
"That's a perfect idea, angel!" Jeremy said.
"That seems like it will be a shorter trip." Alana pointed out. The others agreed.
"Odd, let's look around and see if we find anything that could help us transport the luggage faster." Alana invited.
"Ulrich, we could go down to the Hermitage and start cleaning it up." Yumi said.
"And Aelita and William can help me with the computers right here." Jeremy finished.
The friends parted ways.
"So Alana, what do you think we can find?" Odd asked as they walked through a dusty section of the factory filled with machines.
"Who knows? We could use a bunch of stuff like -there!" She shouted. Alana pointed to a small golf-cart type thing. There was room in the back for plenty of luggage. They would only need one trip!
"Perfect!" Odd yelled as they both jumped in it. Alana turned the ignition and was shocked to find that it started. They backed up and drove through the factory.
"Yumi, Ulrich, need a ride?" Odd laughed as they found their friends starting down the sewer.
Ulrich shook his head in laughter. "You already found something like that?" He and Yumi climbed into the back and were quickly taken to the Hermitage. In another small amount of time, Odd and Alana were parked near the forest entrance.
From that point, Alana went to get all the girls' stuff and Odd did the same with the boys'. Twenty minutes and several, very heavy bags later, all was packed into the cart.
"Hey Odd, let's get everyone some dinner first." Alana suggested. Together, they walked hand in hand to the cafeteria and procured multiple Styrofoam boxes of food.
"Ulrich, have you found the power box?" Yumi called loudly.
"Yeah. One second."
Light filled the old house.
"Ulrich: 1, electricity: 0," Ulrich laughed as he entered the kitchen with Yumi.
"Thanks." She said softly as Ulrich walked closer to her. And there, in the middle of the kitchen of an old, abandoned house, Yumi and Ulrich finally kissed.
They broke away, both blushing and smiling face-splitting grins.
The coughed and turned away for a second. Yumi began to sweep up the kitchen and Ulrich picked up broken pieces of furniture. Tossing them into the fireplace, he started on the living room.
"Hey William, I might be able to hook up a few more scanners in another room." Jeremy stated as they toured the factory.
William nodded. Aelita was currently cleaning the main rooms they used while the boys went on a scavenger hunt for parts.
Twenty minutes later, there were 6 fully functional scanners and a very cozy computer room -William moved in a couch he found in an office- with three very exhausted friends.
"Productive day." William laughed. "When are we going to start my training?"
"I'm not sure. Tonight, I'm going to talk with everyone about strategy while we all get adjusted." Jeremy replied.
Aelita's phone rang.
"Hello?" She answered.
"Okay. Okay, we'll be at the front of the factory then. Bye."
Odd and Alana found a golf cart and they'll pick us up to go to the Hermitage in a few minutes."
"Great." Jeremy said and they started to the bridge. Sure enough, Alana and Odd were racing towards them in a beaten-up cart.
They drove through the forest and right up to the Hermitage. Aelita smiled, she felt as if she was coming home.
Lights were on in the house. The five entered to see a nice, clean house. Yumi and Ulrich did good.
Ulrich immediately pulled Odd outside.
"You are to treat this house as if it is a palace or so help you, we will all be at Yumi's mercy." Ulrich pleaded. Everyone laughed.
They headed to the dining room and saw dinner sitting there for them.
They each took a seat.
"Sorry we couldn't get your stuff, William. We didn't have a room key." Alana apologized.
He shrugged it off. "I'll get it after dinner."
They all dug into their plates of a sandwich, chips, a cookie and an apple.
After dinner, they each organized their own room -the Hermitage had enough room for each person to have their own bedroom and there were still a spare or two. There were also three bathrooms.
While everyone was fixing up their room, William got his stuff and was back in time to get the basics done in his room before Jeremy asked for everyone in the living room.
Odd, Alana, Ulrich and Yumi took the large couch and Aelita and William each took a recliner while Jeremy stood at the front with his laptop on the mantle.
"We need to talk some stuff out before the night is over." Jeremy began. He took a deep breath, pushed his glasses farther up his nose and continued. "We have to have a strategy for when XANA attacks. We all need to make certain we have phone numbers exchanged in case of any emergency. Everyone needs to have a cell phone or pager in case of emergency.
"We also need to discuss what to do when we get to the factory. We can't have 6 warriors going out at all times. I also need each of you to have a basic understanding of how to work the supercomputer in case something happens to me.
"We also need to go over a few ground rules in this house." Jeremy walked over to the corner and pulled out a moving chalkboard he had found. Pulling it in front of everyone, he wrote out: Rules on the top of the board.
After a good while of discussion, the board looked as such:
If you go out, someone needs to go with you and someone in the house needs to know where you are.
People not involved in Lyoko can only enter if approved by every Lyoko member.
Odd cleans every mess he makes.
Odd is not allowed in the house's computer room -for obvious reasons.
At least once a week, there will be meetings about strategies.
Odd is not allowed to skateboard or do anything dangerous in the house.
Jeremy is not allowed in the computer room at all times. He has a limit because we care about him.
We will have training. For new members, old members and Jeremy. Jeremy is not an exception just because he is smart.
Every member will have to do chores: no one is an exception. Anyone who doesn't do their chores and doesn't have an excuse (Lyoko, sickness, etc) will have to do everyone else's chores.
If you have a problem with someone, you will be forced to talk it out. This is named the Ulrich clause because he is a stubborn butthead.
We will continue to do lessons on our computers. Odd is only allowed in the computer room to do so with supervision.
Any new members can be added with full agreement from all current members. If one person disagrees, it is a no go.
If Odd even touches these rules, he will be slapped.
Odd is not allowed in anyone's room without permission. This goes for everyone but especially Odd.
We make a lot of rules about Odd because we care about him and if he disobeys one, he will get slapped because we love him.
Needless to say, it was a long, entertaining discussion.
The group then flipped the chalkboard and began to discuss what to do in case of a XANA attack.
Aelita is the only one going on all missions.
Jeremy is the only one staying in the factory on all missions.
Members going on missions are determined by health, willingness, preparedness, and the situation.
All members not in Lyoko should be in the factory ready to be virtualized if need be or to take over for Jeremy or help in any other way.
There will be a strict protocol on what to do if one of us is possessed by XANA.
If the factory is damaged by a XANA attack, all of us will help clean unless injured.
By the end of everything, all of them were ready for bed.
AN2: Hope that it turned out all right.