Episode 13: the More Things Change…

7th of Ferventis

It had been seven days, and the Heroes had still not received word from the mayor. Worse still, Aelita said that there were constructs scouting the plains. "Just roaches, so far. I took care of them, but I don't think Xana will wait for very long before she sends crabs and hornets." She reported as she sat in the apartment, with the others, obviously nervous to be in the magistrate's home. She sipped on the tea Jeremie's aunt had made for her. "We have to talk to the mayor, or we'll see a second Capital Lyoko."

Patrick looked to Jeremie. "Perhaps you should speak with the Knight Templar first. He may be able to speed the process."

"I think that may be a good idea, though I was hoping that we could avoid meeting him." Jeremie answered while sending a warning glare at Laura. He would simply leave out Aelita when they spoke, so the Knight Templar wouldn't order an official investigation.

Yumi glanced between the Wise and Fair then stood. "Well, Aelita, you and I should go back to the aravel. Poor Rorkal must be lonely, and we'll want to be there if any more of Xana's monsters get too close to the city."

As the Colonist and the Outcast stood to leave, William caught Yumi's arm. "Yumi! I was wondering… maybe we could hang out this evening? Just you and me?" He suggested.

Yumi looked from William's red eyes to Ulrich's brown ones. "That's really sweet of you, William, but it isn't really a safe time for me to be dating anyone right now." She replied, trying to hide the sadness in her voice.

"It doesn't have to be a date. I just thought that we could hang out," William said, a weak smile on his face.

Yumi hesitated, but she smiled back. "I guess it wouldn't kill me," She shrugged, and she looked back to Aelita. "Are you going to be alright getting back to the aravel?"

"I'm sure I can." She smiled, though Jeremie seemed concerned. "Dareth shiral, lethallinen," She waved as she left. Yumi smiled at the others as she left, though she turned around and frowned when she saw the jealous look on Ulrich's face. William turned and smiled at the Mercenary.

Patrick shook his head. "I don't know if I trust that guy."

Laura glared at Patrick. "William is one of the most trustworthy elves I've ever met."

Ulrich pulled at his hair. "Ugh! How did Yumi fall for that? He's obviously using her!" He growled. He remembered both the heartbreak he suffered after Heartwood and the jealousy he'd hidden away so he could be happy for Kitten when he heard of the success of her and Jeremie's date. The pain gnawed at his heart.

Jeremie sat and began to flip through the pages of the book he'd left on the table. It was Patrick's manual on the magistrates, and he was studying the techniques in the book. "Yumi is a big girl, and I'm sure her paranoia about Dhaune will make her cautious." He noticed Laura summoning a small fire to warm her tea, and he used a Silencing technique on her, causing the flame to flicker out suddenly.

Laura glared up at him. "What was that for?" She demanded as she tried to summon the flame again. Silencing a magician was temporary, of course, but it took hours for the effects to wear off and for some magicians it was painful. Luckily, Laura didn't feel any pain.

Jeremie smiled and shrugged. "I was just seeing if I could do it." He looked at Patrick. "And without training! Pretty impressive, no?"

Patrick shook his head again and took the book away from his cousin. "Don't do that, Jeremie. Our abilities are supposed to be trade secrets."

"Obviously not," The Wise Man teased.

Ulrich waved his arms. "Hello? We're supposed to be worrying about Yumi here!"

Odd laughed. "No, you're supposed to be worrying about Yumi. The rest of us know she can handle herself."

Ulrich blew a brown hair from his face. "I know she can handle herself. It's just…" He remembered always fighting with William for Yumi's attention ever since they had reached their teenage years. Now, it felt like she had abandoned him. "What has he got that I don't have?" Ulrich demanded.

Odd offered his two coins worth. "Well, he's not a virgin, for one." He bit into the bread he held in his hand, and he laughed. "And let's face it Ulrich, you are."

The Mercenary glared at the Scout, who grinned. "How do you know that I'm a virgin, Odd? We've never spoken about it!" He growled.

Odd rolled his eyes. "Oh, please, Ulrich. I can smell a virgin a mile away."

Patrick laughed and smirked at Odd. "That sounds like a useful power to have!"

Odd laughed and smiled back. "Says you! I'd much rather be able to smell cheese!"

Jeremie looked back at Odd. "I… don't think that's the reason, Odd." He looked at Ulrich. "They're just going to hang out. Don't be paranoid."

Ulrich shook his head, and he looked at his feet. "I may be paranoid, you're right," He said before he looked up at Jeremie. "But a healthy dose of paranoia has saved my life before."

Xana knocked on the door to Dhaune's bedchamber. When there was no answer, the Matron rolled her eyes and forced the door open. "Dhaune? You weren't at the war meeting. Are you alright?" She sighed when she found Dhaune on her bed, a wet rag over her face. Hiroki walked in with a platter of tea and water.

"I'm fine, Matron Mother. I'm just hung over." She sat up, and she held her throbbing head in her hand as she tried to stand. "I spent way too much coin on dwarven ale at the tavern. That is strong stuff that they make. I don't know what they put in it but I don't think wheat is one of the ingredients."

"Dhaune, you know that I can't stand to be around drunk people." Xana said firmly.

Dhaune nodded. "Oh, I know! That's why I didn't tell you I was going drinking—so you wouldn't have to be around me." She rubbed her forehead and sat down on the bed. "Forgive me, Matron Mother. I… just have a lot on my mind, and I thought that I could drown those thoughts in drunken stupor. I was wrong. Like always."

Xana sighed, and she looked away. "Oh, sober up, Dhaune. We take over Heartwood tonight."

William and Yumi sat in a tavern, waiting for the food they'd ordered to arrive. Glancing around the room, she noticed it was filled with refugees from towns they'd warned over the past few months. Yumi sighed. "If this many people have come to Kadic seeking protection, then many of the towns and villages we warned have fallen."

"There wasn't any more that we could've done. We'd have ended up with our heads on pikes, if we were lucky." William said, leaning back in his chair. There was a long pause. Yumi looked to her toes, and William turned his attention to the rafters. He suddenly asked, "How are you holding up, Yumi?"

She looked up at him. "What? Oh, I'm fine. Just… fine." She sighed, and she swished her ale around in the tankard. "Why do you ask?"

"It seems to me that you got the worst of this situation. Dhaune turned on you, and then put Ulrich in danger. It must be very difficult." The Vanguard explained. He looked to her with those red eyes that had unnerved her when they had first met. "So, I ask again—how are you holding up?"

"Well…" Yumi took a breath. "Mybrotherwastakenbythedrowmyfirstloverturnsouttob eapawnofXana'snottomentionthatweallliveinconstantf earthatonedaytheMatronMotherwillfindusandmurderusa llinoursleepthenDhaunesendsconstructsafterUlrichin themiddleofourdateandgodsknowthatIdon'tneedthatonm yshouldersplusJeremiesaysthatLaurahasbeentryingtog etAelitabrandedabloodmagicianandquitefranklyyouhav en'tbeenanyhelpatallinthatfield!" She gasped for breath, and William leaned over and put a finger on her lips.

"Don't…" He started. "Don't add to that. You'll just hurt yourself."

Yumi laughed weakly between gasps. "I guess you're right." She admitted. "Although, it feels good to finally have my frustrations off my chest. I mean, everyone knew that I had them, but I haven't really spoken to them with anybody but Aelita, and she… doesn't understand." Yumi looked to the floor again, and then smiled at William. "I'm glad we're friends, William."

"I'm glad we're friends, too." He said with a hint of longing in his voice.

Ulrich approached Aelita, who had found several new friends—a bluebird, a ground robin, and a squirrel. The squirrel and the birds fled when they heard the Mercenary, and Aelita pouted with a sigh. Nevertheless, she smiled at her friend. "Aneth ara, Ulrich."

"Aneth ara, Kitten," He greeted, and she smiled wider. "Did you run into any signposts on your way back?" He asked with brotherly affection.

She laughed. "A few. But I think I'm getting better at finding out where they are!" She turned her head skyward and watched the clouds.

He turned to look up as well, hoping to enjoy the peace of being around Aelita and the quiet of the forest. Instead his mind went back to that disaster of a date and the ease with which Yumi had accepted William's proposal. He clenched his fists as Aelita continued gazing skyward seemingly oblivious to his plight. The silence was driving him crazy and when he could take no more he finally stood. "Fine, go ahead and say it! I lost my chance with Yumi! I never should have let her walk away from me that night! I should have stopped her; I should've been prepared for anything that night! But I wasn't and now she's gone for good!" He shouted, pacing around the smoking fire pit. Aelita said nothing, and simply stared at the sky.

Ulrich sighed, shook his head and sat down again, finally looking up at the clouds. "That one over there looks like a bunny rabbit."

She grinned. "I saw that, too!" After a moment, she looked back at Ulrich. "Maybe you should tell Yumi about your feelings. I'm sure she'll understand, lethallin."

"I don't think that's a good idea." Ulrich said.

"Why not? The worst thing she could say is 'no'!"

"A 'no' will feel worse than having a thousand bricks dumped on my head."

"If she doesn't know about your feelings, Ulrich, how can you expect her to respect them?"

Ulrich looked at the Outcast, and she shrugged. "When did you get so wise?" He teased, and she rolled her eyes.

"Call it a woman's intuition," She said.

He stood and stretched then removed the sling and threw it into the fire pit, giving Aelita specific instructions to burn it later. "Well, here goes," Ulrich said, "I'm off to ruin Yumi's date. Wish me luck!"

"May the Creation Father guide you!" Aelita waved, and then she thought about what he had said as he'd left. "Wait, did I really just condone that?"

Yumi and William walked towards the edge of the city. "Well, it was good to hang out with you and not worry that Dhaune will send constructs after you." Yumi said, "Maybe it helps that this wasn't romantic, but still, I didn't think I'd ever be able to hang out with my friends again."

"Maybe Dhaune has moved on," William suggested.

Oddly enough, she wasn't thrilled with this idea. "Hmm. Maybe she has." She looked down at her toes, and she muttered, "Maybe it is time for me to move on, too," William stopped walking, and Yumi turned to look at him. He'd closed his eyes, and she laughed nervously. "Uh, William? What are you doing?"

"You said you wanted to move on," He whispered as he walked closer to her. He pinned her to the wall, and she pushed herself against it as much as she could. "Doesn't that mean…?"

"No! Gods, no!" Yumi said. "I want to move on, but that doesn't mean that it's safe for anyone to get close to me! We don't know what Dhaune—I mean, what Xana is planning."

William looked her in the eyes. "It isn't about Dhaune or Xana, is it? This is about Ulrich."

Yumi shrugged, a confused expression obvious on her face. "Yes? No? I don't know. Ulrich and I… I'm afraid it may be too late."

"If he truly cared for you, would he have let you leave?" William asked, and he moved his face closer to hers.

"Yumi!" Ulrich's voice called, and the Mercenary rounded the corner. "Yumi, I have to tell you something!" He saw William and Yumi, and he panicked on the inside.

Panicking, Yumi shoved William away creating enough space to duck under the arm that had trapped her. "Yes, Ulrich?" She asked, her voice shaking.

Ulrich stood, paralyzed for a moment. "I… Aelita asked me to ask you when you would get back to the aravel. She said that she wanted to make tea, or something."

Yumi sighed. "I'm leaving now. Thank you, Ulrich." She waved good-bye to William, and bid him an awkward goodnight before turning in the direction of Aelita's camp. She walked slowly under the sun, which was beginning to fade into the night, and for the first time in a long time she felt like the awkward teenager she was supposed to be. She wondered why things couldn't be simple—why she had such a difficult time in relationships when it seemed to come so naturally to everyone else. She reached into her sleeve and held on to the koi stone, and she wanted to cry when she realized that the more things change, the more they stayed the same.

The sun was almost gone by the time she stumbled into the aravel. She must've looked like a mess, because when Aelita saw her, she gasped and ran over to her. "Blood of the Creation Father, Yumi! Are you alright? What happened?" She asked, helping her friend to sit. Yumi burst into tears, and Aelita held her while she cried.