#96 Heroes of Old and New
Chapter 2
Rated T for swearing, violence, and gore.
I do not own any character, element, or organization in this fic. It was made purely for the enjoyment of the fanbase.
William received no light punishment for accidentally breaking the window in the rec room. He was suspended from the rec room for three weeks and had ten hours of detention with Jim in the library. Just what William needed.
His first four hours went by slowly and involved studying for a test he had the next day and reshelving checked-in books. Then the day passed and he returned for another four hours of detention. This time two kids named Jeremy Belpois and Ulrich Stern were there to keep him company, although they didn't speak. He overheard bits and pieces of their conversation, though.
"...Awesome what he did... Pong Monster strikes again... helping Aelita study for tomorrow's test..." Ulrich snickered.
"Something's going... factory... know what's wrong... find out... and soon," Jeremy kept his voice so low that William had an especially hard time hearing.
He knew he wasn't supposed to talk to them anymore, but he tried anyway. Especially with Yumi. Ever since the incident at the factory, Odd, Jeremy, Aelita, Yumi, and Ulrich had been avoiding him as much as possible. I mean, yeah, he was used by Xana, but he couldn't exactly help that. It was like William Dunbar had never been enrolled at Kadic the way they were acting!
William tuned out and began doodling on his notes... again. Pictures of Yumi, him shoving that huge blade into the core of Lyoko, a pineapple for good measure... and the shattered window, also for good measure.
"Alright, you two, stop your chattering. What's so important?" Jim bellowed. Geez, calm down! You're in a library!
"Sorry, sir," Jeremy adjusted his glasses. Then he stood. As he passed William, Jeremy glanced over at the drawings. Jeremy stopped dead in his tracks. William knew he was good, but not this good. "What's that?"
He was pointing straight at the picture of the core. "Nothing, why?"
"Ulrich, come look at this!" Jeremy waved him over.
"What is so special about this drawing! I just saw it in a dream! Calm yourselves!" William sighed in frustration.
"No, William, that actually happened. And you say you saw it in a dream?" Ulrich moved his apathetic gaze to the boy.
"Yeah, but I don't see what that has to do with it being real."
"Belpois! Stern! Dunbar! Keep it down! Some of us are trying to read!" Jim snapped. Obviously, not hard enough.
"Sorry, sir." Jeremy and Ulrich returned to their seats, not paying anymore attention to William or his drawings. Although he caught them glancing over at his notebook multiple times. This time they kept their voices so low that William couldn't even read their lips.
(linebreak)
"Oh my gosh, I missed you so much!" William threw his arms around the ping pong table. I don't think he's ever been that deprived of something he loved in his life. "I swear I won't do it again! Don't ever leave me!"
"Hey, how about instead of molesting the table, we play a round?" came a shrill, high-pitched voice. It belonged to none other than Sissi Delmas, the principal's daughter and rec room monitor. She grabbed a paddle and casually flipped her hair behind her shoulder as she was passing Ulrich.
William shrugged and popped a stick of gum in his mouth. Taking the side of the net that was not facing the new window, William shifted around the brand new red paddle he got, made custom by the art students when William's punishment was lifted. One one side was the Kadic logo and the words "Kadic Pong Monster" and on the other was "William Dunbar". The old paddle William used was getting too worn to use anyway.
The paddle was light enough for quick and easy movement, but durable enough for even the strongest person to use. As long as it wasn't flung out of any windows, it was useable. William tightened his grip and popped his neck. He let a dangerous smile creep across his lips as Sissi served.
"I hate to tell you this, Sissi, but you'll never beat the Kadic Pong Monster! It's never been done before!"
"Simple beginner's luck, William!" Sissi was already out of breath from all the hopping around and reaching out she had to do.
"I've been doing this for a long time. I am no beginner, in case you hadn't noticed!"
"So? Doesn't mean... you'll never get... beaten!" Sissi huffed. Her dark hair had fallen in her face, but she had no time to tuck it behind her ears, as William had already served. She barely touched the ball, but sent it flying across the table, giving her her second point. "You should be on the ping pong team!"
"I would, but I don't want to make this a living. I just play because it's fun to pass the time."
"Well, that's dumb. Anyone as good as you would join!"
"Match point!" William called as he served. He and Sissi were tied, and whoever won the point won the game. The little ball passed over the net and hit Sissi's blue paddle before flying over the little net and hitting the table on William's side. The ball bounced off the table and made William reach for it. He dropped down and landed flat on his stomach, inches away from the plastic white ball.
Everyone leaned in, eager to see if William would win or not. The lights flickered off right as his paddle approached the ball, and startled the raven-haired boy so much so that the paddle missed and won Sissi the match.
"WHAT!" he shouted, looking at the dead lights in frustration and confusion. "What happened?"
Sissi should have been celebrating that she was the first person to actually beat the Kadic Pong Monster, but she was also confused.
Cell phones began ringing all over the place, William's as well. After glancing at the caller ID, he began speaking into the phone. "Hello? ...Wait, what? Are you sure? ...There's no such things as zombies, Dad... Okay, okay! Geez!"
After hanging up, William calmly walked to his dorm room, only to stop as some teachers whizzed by, some heading to the rec room, some to the cafeteria. William looked in the direction in which they had come, and gasped.
In front of him was Nicholas, one of Sissi's orbits, but he wasn't Nicholas. Well, of course he was Nicholas, but he was more brain dead than usual... and bloody, mangled, and left-legless. His usually dusty blonde hair was matted where he wasn't bald and caked in blood where he was. His face was ashen and eyes rolled into the back of his head. Blood dribbled down his chin from his lower lip. His torso was skinless, exposing his ribcage and lungs. His shirt was torn and anyone could clearly see his heart beating. His waist was nearly cut off, only attached to his body by his spine and a few entrails that were hanging out. His left leg had been severed, leftover skin hanging onto it, blood dripping from the stub that was left. Nicholas was travelling in a slow, mummy-like pace towards William.
William, feeling sick, pelted back to the rec room, but the door was locked. He started banging on it and shouting, "LET ME IN! LET ME IN! HELP ME!"
I hope this gives you nightmares...
BYEZ GUYZ!