beta read by Wanderingsage7
"Well...Sissi remembers everything. And that's because I brought her to Lyoko while you guys were away."
"YOU WHAT?!"
To say that Yumi "flipped out" when she discovered that Sissi was now an unofficial Lyoko Warrior was an understatement. She would have gone off like a volcano had the class bell not sounded right then. Taking control of the situation, Jeremie ordered everyone to go about their day as usual and promised a group meeting after classes to decide what to do about Sissi.
Yumi had wanted the issue settled now, but her education could not be compromised, especially as there was no XANA attack anyways. While Yumi respected her friends' wishes, Sissi did anything but. She was practically shrieking about how they needed to go the Factory immediately and shut down that "horrible machine" before a fed-up Yumi whispered in Sissi's ear:
"Tell anyone about this before the meeting, and Ulrich will never speak to you again."
Ulrich and the others weren't able to hear what Yumi said, but the effect on Sissi was immediate. The school brat shut up and went to class without another word. Yumi and Aelita walked side by side as they traveled to their respective classes.
"What did you whisper to her?" Aelita inquired.
"I'll tell you, after you explain why on Earth you thought it was a good idea to bring in Sissi out of all people."
Aelita had seen a reaction like this coming from Yumi, but she had little time to prepare for it. For all her time in the real world, Aelita still knew less of emotions than everyone else did. It made her vulnerable, and her friends would sometimes poke her vulnerabilities when they had not meant too.
"Recruiting her into the group wasn't what I intended." Aelita insisted, "I just wanted an escort and wasn't even thinking about how making Sissi an Avatar and then virtualizing her would make her immune to the Returns in Time."
"But why Sissi?" Yumi pressed on. "Jeremie was there too."
"We all know Jeremie vowed never to go on Lyoko again after what happened last time. And even if I tried to convince him, it would have taken too long."
"Then you should have waited at the lab for us to arrive!" Yumi sharply retorted.
Aelita stopped walking and turned to face Yumi. She folded her arms and looked her friend sternly in the eyes.
"I refuse to apologize for not wanting to just stand there in the lab and do nothing while XANA kidnapped two of my closest friends!"
Yumi's expression remained stony for a second, then she sighed, and it softened, her irritation melting away. How could she stay mad when every action Aelita ever took was to protect the friends she loved so completely?
"You're right." Yumi conceded. "I'm sorry."
Aelita's stern expression also softened, and the pair resumed walking towards class. That didn't mean Aelita would stop defending herself, however.
"Look, you might be mad at me. But try to understand. You and Odd were kidnapped. Ulrich was preoccupied trying to find you both. I couldn't even contact you because that EMP blew out your cell phones. Do you realize how scared I was?"
The question forced Yumi to think. Aelita wasn't a human like the rest of them, and her time together with Aelita made Yumi realize how emotionally vulnerable she was. It was no wonder she would resort to using Sissi when Yumi's life was in danger.
"I'm not mad at you." Yumi sought to affirm. "But it's Sissi we're talking about here. I know she's done good things for us, but we aren't friends. Remember when she essentially bullied you back to Lyoko during your first day here at Kadic?"
"So, going back to the great white north?"
"Why not? At least I feel at home there!"
Aelita stopped walking and lowered her head to the floor. She had indeed remembered running off back to Lyoko after Sissi's bullying, resulting in her first ever encounter and capture by the Scyphozoa. It hadn't been on her mind at all when she was pleading for Sissi to come to Lyoko, however.
"I wish you didn't bring that up..."
"I had to." Yumi insisted. "You're a kind girl, Aelita. We're friends, but sometimes you're too trusting. And you need to know why we might not let her in. Not only because she blabbed about the Supercomputer, but..."
"You don't trust Sissi. I know." Aelita interrupted, lifting her head back up to meet Yumi's gaze. "But the fact she actually entered Lyoko has to count for something. Please don't automatically say 'no' because of Ulrich and me. Just think it over before you make a choice."
"I will. I can promise you that." Yumi responded, before the two girls entered their seperate classes.
Sissi. Sissi freaking Delmas a Lyoko Warrior? Well, nothing in my life has ever gone as planned. Why should it start today?
When Ulrich's history teacher was babbling about World War I, he was not paying attention in the slightest. His mind was entirely consumed by the fact that his sacred group, the Lyoko Warriors, could have a new member this evening. And not just any member.
The girl who had been after his heart since primary school, who lusted after his heart with repulsive methods, now knew their secret once more. And this time, there could be no going back. But if he were being honest with himself, the biggest problem wasn't Sissi herself.
Yumi. She's probably going to murder me if I vote to let Sissi in.
It was an open secret that he and Yumi loved each other; both would easily get jealous if they saw the other hanging around with someone who wasn't in their group. That jealousy had never been higher than the day the two almost kissed on Lyoko and had been foiled just in time by a Return to the Past. The wheels of Ulrich's mind had brought him to a relatively recent memory.
"Let me give you a friendly piece: go and talk to Yumi, from the heart, or else, one day, I will. Then, I really will be your problem!"
He absolutely despised it whenever William Dunbar proved right about something, but he was. It was going to be so much harder to finally say "I Love You" to Yumi with Sissi around. Ulrich could see Sissi ratting out the group once more out of sheer spite at a final rejection. After all, it was Yumi that his heart had been pointed to for so long.
Then why, why do I care so much about this?!
There were so many reasons. The fear of Sissi ratting out the group once more, Ulrich's inability to stand her constant flirting, the tension between Yumi and Sissi escalating to a point where something bad might happen, but most of all, ruining his chance to finally admit his feelings to Yumi.
But if Ulrich were being honest with himself...
What if it isn't Sissi? And it's really just me that's the problem...
Ever since that day they kissed on Lyoko, their progress had come to a total halt. There was the flirting, the occasional comments, but never again had they gotten as close as that day when XANA sabotaged the Supercomputer. If Sissi was let into the group, Ulrich would face a reckoning, far sooner than he would have liked.
And said reckoning might involve a broken heart, or two.
"I want to be alone today. I don't want you two to be anywhere near me for the rest of the day. You got that?"
It took everything that Nicholas and Herb could muster to catch up to Sissi after she had abruptly ran off on them earlier in the day, muttering "Daddy" and "Ulrich" repeatedly. The two expressed their confusion to their boss, but it led nowhere as Sissi stormed off once more and ordered them out of her sight.
Even though Nicholas and Herb were very much loyal to Sissi, she had no feelings for them. She only saw them as useful pawns that she ordered around.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm with my friends."
The thought made Sissi think back to where Ulrich had officially stood up against her for the first time, leading her to begin her vendetta against his group. But it led her to realize that she had no real friends. Nicholas and Herb were nothing more than pawns, practical strangers to her despite their time together.
Whenever Sissi saw Ulrich with Jeremie, Aelita, Odd and especially Yumi, she could tell that they were close. Much closer than she ever was with Nicholas or Herb. It practically drove her mad.
I should just march up to Daddy right now and make him go to the Factory so we can end this horror...
That was the most logical course of action. The pure agony that the fight on the bridge against her demonic father gave her was unprecedented, physically or emotionally. To imagine that her own father would unwittingly murder his daughter and her lover brought chills that she would remember forever.
Yumi's very explicit threat, however, was also weighing heavily on her mind. If she were being honest with herself, Yumi wasn't all bad. Scary at times, yes, but they had gotten along well sometimes. She remembered the time when she took Yumi's place in the class picture after Ulrich pleaded with her to cover up Yumi's absence.
But if I rat them out...I'll lose what that day gave me.
When Ulrich whispered that he wished things could be different, Sissi was given pause. To know that Ulrich still cared about her in some capacity, even if it wasn't romantic, gave her hope. Even despite the utterly baffled and horrified look that she saw Ulrich gave when he found out she remembered everything.
Sissi knew that Ulrich cared, but the others did not nearly as much. Sissi very clearly saw that Yumi and Ulrich were attracted, but she still had time to make herself presentable. If she could get in the group and stay close to Ulrich long enough, maybe she could persuade him to stop this madness.
"If you want to get in the group..."
Sissi turned to her right to hear a whisper from none other than Odd Della Robbia, by far the most annoying of Ulrich's friends.
"How about instead of projecting everything on us, think about yourself?"
"What?" Sissi whispered back.
"Every step you've taken towards him, he's taken two away from you. Ask yourself why."
"What do you mean projecting?"
"You say you're smart, right?" Odd flashed her a tiny smirk. "Figure it out."
Odd turned away without another word, leaving Sissi to her thoughts.
"But what if she doesn't come? She could be blabbing to her father about us as we speak."
"She'll come. I think she will."
As Aelita worked to calm Yumi's concerns, the girls noticed Ulrich pacing. Odd was leaning against a tree and Jeremie was deep in thought. Ulrich looked agitated and clearly uncomfortable.
The Lyoko Warriors had given Sissi instructions to come to the forest after class and meet up near the sewer manhole. Sissi had been repulsed at the thought of entering the sewers, before Jeremie bluntly told her that she had to accept this method of transportation she wanted answers.
"Ulrich?" Odd asked, seeing his roommate's behavior.
"Don't." Ulrich said. "I already know what you're going to say: 'are you alright there, good buddy', isn't that right?"
"Got a mind reader on you? Could've used it on Sissi." Odd quipped, but that just made Ulrich groan.
"Stop with the jokes, Odd. They just make me feel even worse."
"I'm not going to make a decision you're uncomfortable with, Ulrich." Jeremie said. "Everyone is going to have their say in this. We didn't ever intend to recruit anyone else, but depending on how today goes, this could be a major change to all our lives."
"Yeah, that's what worries me." Ulrich said, shifting his gaze towards Yumi.
"I'm here!"
Before Yumi could offer comforting words, none other than Sissi Delmas sprinted towards the group and placed her hands on her knees, panting.
"So, you haven't sold us out to your father. That's a good start." Jeremie said.
"Don't get your hopes up..." a panting Sissi retorted, "You better have one very good reason for not shutting down this Monstercomputer or whatever it's called! We could all die any moment! You're lucky I haven't gone to my father!"
"Ah, yes, just as expected. What can I say?" Odd quipped, "Sissi never loses that charming personality of hers, does she?"
Sissi growled and pointed a finger at Odd.
"You try getting electrocuted nearly to death by your own father!"
"Okay, that's enough!" Jeremie shouted as he took command. "Here's how this is going to work: there are skateboards and scooters in the sewer below us. We're all going to take those to get to the factory. We're one vehicle short, so someone needs to go on foot."
"I'll go! Nothing like some good old exercise huh?" Odd playfully suggested.
"Alright, Sissi, come with us. Once we're all in the lab room, we'll explain everything. Nobody will start an argument until we're there. We got that?"
The silence that Jeremie received affirmed his command, and the team climbed down into the sewers, Sissi taking a scooter. She saw Yumi performing a skateboard stunt along the railings as they rode through the sewers.
Oh, how Ulrich would swoon over me if I did that...
Sissi knew she was more likely to break her leg than replicate a stunt like that successfully, so she kept on going until they reached the sewer manhole on the other side, emerging to find themselves on the bridge in front of the abandoned factory. Sissi knew nothing about the place except that it was an old car factory that shut down after the company downsized.
Taking the rope down to the main level, Sissi entered the elevator with the others, saying nothing as it descended. It was hard for the principal's daughter to bite her tongue for once, but she was so desperate for answers that she was willing to hold it in until everyone was ready. Besides, her mind was occupied by the never-ending questions she would ask.
"Alright." Jeremie began as he walked over to the computer and sat down. "I'm turning the monitor on so I can show Sissi everything. I'm going to explain everything to her, and once we're done with that, we'll all begin debating whether we should let Sissi in. She needs to know exactly what we've been through before we can start judging her. Sounds like a plan?"
Odd gave him a thumbs up, Aelita and Yumi nodded, and Ulrich leaned against a wall, his gaze locked on the metal floor. Yumi leaned alongside him, putting a hand on his shoulder for comfort.
Suddenly, Sissi's full attention was turned to a sort of holographic globe. She remembered seeing it on her first visit, prompting her to say "You can start off by explaining this virtual world, Freak-Oko or whatever it's called, is!"
"Lyoko." Jeremie corrected. "It's a virtual world created by a man named Franz Hopper. This is a map of the virtual world where XANA, the A.I. that possessed your father and kidnapped Yumi and Odd, can do anything from."
Sissi advanced towards the map to get a closer look. "Hold on, it looks like there are different regions. Aelita sent me into the Ice sector to find some kind of Tower, but there's others here too! Forest...Desert...Mountain..."
"They're the regions that make up Lyoko. In each Region are towers that are used to monitor communications in the real world. By activating them XANA can invade the real world however he likes. There's really no limit to what you can do with a Supercomputer, and XANA can do even more than write up a few programs. He can change the world or conquer it if they aren't shut down. Aelita is able to shut them down by transferring herself into Lyoko, reducing herself into digital code so she can take a form and then manually shut down these towers. Just like you two did together in the Ice sector."
"What's the deal with this XANA freak?" Sissi questioned. "Why does it want to murder everyone?"
"We don't know XANA's exact motives," Jeremie explained. "XANA seems to have a disdain for humanity as a whole, but I've never found anything concrete on him or Franz Hopper. All we know for sure is that XANA is an artificial intelligence just as complex as Aelita is, probably even more actually. It's a super dangerous program, like a virus that can control electricity, and it activates towers on Lyoko to gain access to our world."
And they want this computer to say on?! When we can just get rid of this thing right now?! Sissi thought to herself.
"How long have you been doing this for?"
"A year and a half." Jeremie replied.
"WHAT?!" Sissi screamed. "That's impossible. You'd have to-"
Then she paused, remembering a detail. "Ulrich said that I wouldn't remember any of it, yet I did. But when I started talking to others, nobody else did. Did you order some kind invasion of mind snatchers or something?"
"This is where the conversation gets...unbelievable." Jeremie warned.
"Uh, now it gets unbelievable?" Sissi questioned.
Odd started to chuckle before Ulrich lightly tapped him with his elbow in a silent "Be quiet."
The young genius came out with it, saying "Yes, we have a feature called Return to the Past. Usually after we stop X.A.N.A.'s attacks, we use it to reverse time to 24 hours earlier so nobody can remember what happened."
"YOU CAN REVERSE TIME?!" Sissi shrieked.
Jeremie just nodded as Sissi's eyes became as wide as dinner plates. She paced around the computer, trying to process this information.
How...how in the...
"You were able to remember XANA's latest attack because the program is set to spare those who have been to Lyoko. I was even a victim of it the first time it happened because I hadn't made myself immune yet. But because Aelita brought you to Lyoko, you remember everything."
"So if this machine is so dangerous, why haven't you shut it down?!" Sissi demanded, "And you better not say it's 'for science' or some stupid excuse. Or I will sprint out of this room right now and tell my father everything!"
Jeremie decided to just get right to it. "Because Aelita will die if we shut down the Supercomputer now."
Sissi was sure she misheard him, "Excuse me? How would shutting down a computer kill a human?"
"Because I'm not human."
All eyes were on Aelita as she spoke up and stepped forwards towards Sissi as she remembered another detail.
"B-But...Wait, Jeremie compared XANA directly to you. What did he mean by that?"
And she mentioned something about how being devirtualized would kill her on Lyoko, even though she came from the real world too...
"I was not born a human. I'm an artificial intelligence that Jeremie found on the Supercomputer and spent over a year trying to bring into the real world."
Sissi's jaw practically dropped to the floor.
What kind of sick twisted TV show is this?!
"Jeremie was out in the Factory looking for parts for a science project one day, when he stumbled upon the Supercomputer and I. One by one, his friends became entangled in his discovery, including you."
"W-What?" Sissi stammered, before she remembered another detail. "Wait, you said something about me being here before! Right before we went into Freak Yoko, or whatever it is!"
Jeremie resisted the urge to correct Sissi and instead dropped the next bombshell by saying, "Yes, the people that discovered the Supercomputer included you."
"S-So hold on, y-you're saying that I was part of the group once?"
"Do you remember when I said that we were allies once?" Ulrich spoke up next, "That I wanted to return to what we were before?"
"That's what I was referring to. You were part of the group once, until you decided to give up our secret and your father tried to shut down the Supercomputer. The only thing that stopped him was when Jeremie launched his Return to the Past program for the first time."
Sissi paced around the room, trying hard to take everything in. But the forefront of her thoughts was the revelation that her father had come close to ending this madness.
If they had just let my father shut this damn thing off, this would never have happened!
"So…So wait. Y-You're saying that Aelita is just some kind of program? This entire time, this new girl I worked with to save my father isn't even human? Just some kind of A.I. freak like this demon that possessed my father?!"
"Careful, Sissi." Yumi's eyes narrowed into slits at Sissi's name for Aelita. "Aelita might not be human in the sense of how she was born, but she's still our friend. And she's here in the real world. She's human now, despite the circumstances behind it."
"So, if she's human now, why would shutting off the Supercomputer kill her?!" Sissi inquired.
The other Lyoko Warriors could see Sissi's increasingly erratic behavior. Yumi opted to step between Sissi and the elevator in case she made a run for it.
"Because the moment we succeeded in materializing Aelita to Earth, XANA inserted some kind of virus within Aelita." Jeremie recounted. "The essential function of the virus is that it retains Aelita's ties to the Supercomputer despite her being able to come to Earth. If we shut it down without curing Aelita's virus, she dies. Essentially, he's holding her hostage and is using her to attack us, over and over again. It's a back and forth."
"To sum up: XANA keeps launching attacks to kill us, Aelita stops them by deactivating the Towers, and rinse and repeat until we find a cure for Aelita, at which point we'll shut down the Supercomputer, which will kill XANA."
Sissi's eye twitched and her breathing became heavy.
How many times have they been electrocuted like me? Nearly killed? Almost murdered by people they know and love?
"How close has XANA come to killing you all?"
"Sissi, we shouldn't get into-"
"Just tell me." Sissi said in the tone she used whenever she demanded answers, but this time there was no room to refuse her.
"We've had many near-death experiences." Jeremie spoke honestly. "Aelita usually only manages to deactivate the Towers just in time."
There were further details that he could go into, but Jeremie did not dare mention them, especially the time that Yumi had actually died after she fell into the Digital Sea.
"And you're still doing this?!" Sissi pointed incredulously at the computer. "You're telling me that this XANA thing could do anything it wants in the real world! If it can possess people like my father, it could kill us all! Maybe even go to that local nuclear power plant and blow us all sky high!"
Jeremie found himself very thankful that he didn't go into detail about XANA's attack methods and mention the nuclear plant attack, otherwise Sissi might have stormed off right there.
"You have to calm down-" Jeremie started, but Sissi gave him no openings.
"CALM DOWN?!" She screeched. "You're telling me that you've been risking your lives for a year and half-actually no, you've been risking ALL our lives for so long just because Jeremie wanted to get a virtual girlfriend to Earth?! You're the ones who are insane here!"
"Sissi-" Ulrich tried to say.
"And you!" Sissi turned towards Ulrich and pointed accusingly at him. "I may not remember what drove me to tell my father about the Supercomputer, but I can guess it well enough! You kicked me out of your group just because I was trying to save your lives!"
"And you would have killed Aelita in doing so!" Yumi shouted, taking a step towards her romantic rival. "The literal second that your father entered the lab, he tried to shut everything down and didn't even give Jeremie a chance to explain things about Aelita! Is that worth it, huh?"
"And he was right to do that!" Sissi shouted as she pointed at the monitor, her hand trembling. "And how do I even know this virus thing is true?! You could be making it up just to keep this Monstercomputer on!"
"It's not-" Jeremie tried to clarify, but Yumi cut him off.
"Oh, the virus is real. But let's be honest, of course you wouldn't even bat an eyelash if Aelita died, being the selfish witch that you are."
Sissi reared back as if Yumi had struck her, all the blood draining from her face.
How...dare...you...
Jeremie, Odd and Aelita found themselves in stunned silence. Ulrich turned away, unable to bear the heated route that this discussion was going. Sissi's cheeks were turning red and she stomped towards Yumi as if wanting to punch her for that last remark.
"You-!"
"Oh, I know what you're going to say." Yumi interrupted, venom dripping from her words, "Something like 'Aelita's not worth it, she's just some A.I. freak. Who cares about her? Just throw her to the wolves, why don't you?' Do I have that right?"
Aelita, shocked by her friend's venomous tone, stepped towards Yumi and tried to put a hand on her shoulder, "Yumi, you don't need to-"
Yumi just shrugged her off as an outraged Sissi stepped even closer until she was right in front of the Japanese girl.
"So because I'm trying to save you all, I'M being the bad person?!" Sissi asked incredulously.
"Even with the Return to the Pasts, the world and everything in it continued evolving. Except you." Yumi crossed her arms and Sissi gritted her teeth.
"Yumi, please don't-" Jeremie again tried interrupting, only for Sissi to go off like a cannon on Yumi.
"For the longest time, I've had to wonder why the love of my life won't stop ignoring me! And now I learn it was all because I was trying to look out for Ulrich's safety?! Just because I was trying to stop him from risking his life in those saprophagous things or whatever!?"
Odd had seen his share of temper tantrums from the principal's daughter, but this was on another level. Sissi's entire face was red as if she was just crawling out of hell.
"For the past year and a half, you all shunned me for something I didn't even remember doing! How is that fair?!"
"Well, let me see..." Yumi rubbed her chin, as if deep in thought. Then she gave Sissi a sickeningly sweet smile. "You want to talk about things that you do remember doing? Let me think."
Barely a second passed before Yumi snapped her fingers and declared, "Oh, yeah!"
Yumi's smile vanished instantly and her face twisted into a look of rage, leaning closer until she was but an arm's length away from Sissi. "How about the fact that you bullied Aelita for no reason on the first day she came here?! It was so bad that you made her run off to Lyoko and nearly get herself killed by the Scyphozoa!"
The anger and incredulity on Sissi's face disappeared, as if it were never there.
"She..." Sissi stammered but couldn't finish her sentence. "She did what?"
"You heard me!" Yumi shouted, her voice shimmering with anger. Odd didn't think he'd ever seen Yumi venting as much as she did now, even worrying that the Japanese girl might want to come to blows with Sissi. He stepped closer, ready to restrain Yumi in such an event.
"It's bad enough that you kept lusting after Ulrich when he didn't want you, but Aelita? She did nothing to you!" Yumi clenched her fists "She did nothing to anyone! All she wants is to live like the human she always wanted to be! To smell and taste like the rest of us can!"
"I-I didn't mean...I couldn't have known-" Sissi started to stammer an excuse.
Something in Yumi snapped.
One moment to another, Sissi was sent falling to the metal floor, courtesy of Yumi's hands roughly shoving her.
"Yumi! STOP!" Odd shouted as he and Jeremie lunged and grabbed the Japanese girl before she could lay her hands on Sissi any further.
"And there you go again! Making excuses!" While Yumi was physically restrained, her tongue was not, "Whether you knew Aelita would put herself in danger on Lyoko or not isn't the point! If you didn't even like Aelita, you could have just ignored her. But no, mere apathy wasn't enough for you! You took the opportunity to hurt her, just because she was a girl who dared to be friends with your beloved Ulrich!"
"I..." For once, the snobby brat was at a loss for words. "I..."
"And that's not even to mention trying to steal Ulrich's diary and constantly harassing him too!" Yumi added. "So, you want to know why we've been ignoring you? You want to know why Ulrich prefers me so much over you? How about you stop projecting with Aelita and do some self-reflection for once?! You're calling Aelita a danger to us? How about you start thinking of what you've been doing wrong and not us for a change?!"
Finally, Yumi backed off and watched Sissi contemplate, her breathing heavy. Aelita took Yumi's hand to aid in calming her dawn, and the rage of the Japanese girl began to shimmer. For a minute, silence reigned. The Lyoko Warriors just stared at Sissi as she sat there on the floor, wondering what she would say next.
"Why not go upstairs? There's some showers free up there, and not a girl in sight."
Sissi had thought nothing of it at the time, but now she was beginning to understand. Not only had she told Aelita to go back to where she came from, but she went so far as to trick her into going upstairs into the men's bathroom. The more she thought about it, the more she realized how vile her actions were.
But what was even worse for Sissi wasn't just the sheer emotion behind Yumi's rant, but because it was true. The only reason she bullied Aelita that day was because she was a girl who hung out with her beloved Ulrich, and that she was much more vulnerable than Yumi ever was.
No, that's not it. It's time to be honest.
"I was jealous..." Sissi admitted. "Not because of Ulrich, but because of how easily I thought she got with you!"
She picked herself up from the ground as she continued. The Lyoko Warriors noticed her voice cracking the longer she talked. "Here I was trying for over a year and a half to finally be with Ulrich again, and then from nowhere, this pink-haired girl just shows up and has no trouble being with you. I have been pouring my heart and soul to be with Ulrich again. I tried so hard! And then seeing that a complete stranger, someone who I've never even met, was able to just waltz up and earn your trust just like that? I couldn't accept it. What did she have that I didn't?"
"Or in other words." Odd interjected, "Why does she get to be happy with us while you don't?"
I hate it when he, out of all people, is right... Sissi thought.
"Yes. But now I know the truth." Sissi sniffled. "She's no stranger. I'm sorry that I called you an 'AI freak', Aelita. That couldn't have been farther from the truth. And I'm sorry to all of you. Not just for bullying her..."
She turned towards Ulrich and said, "But also for going too far in trying to take you."
Aelita stepped forward and put a hand on Sissi's shoulder. Tears pricked from Sissi's eyes as she looked up at the pink-haired princess, who smiled at her.
"How can you forgive me so easily?" Sissi asked. "You trusted me when you had no reason to."
"Because we all make these kinds of mistakes, Sissi. I believe you're a nice person deep down, despite everything, Sissi. Emotions make everyone act illogically. If I was being logical, I wouldn't have gone back to Lyoko because of what you said. Again, we all make mistakes, Sissi, but that's not all you do. You've helped us before in XANA attacks, you just don't remember any of it. We can't keep dwelling on all the bad things you've done; we have to acknowledge the good as well."
"I-I suppose we can't." Sissi conceded.
"That's right." Jeremie said, "If we're going to make a balanced judgement on whether Sissi should join us, we need to consider how she's helped us, not just how she's hindered us. I'll go first."
"Like Aelita said," Jeremie continued. "We wouldn't have gotten here without you giving the police that fake bomb story after they caught me and Aelita. Yes, it was you who tipped them off against us to begin with, but you did that out of concern for your father. I don't blame you for that. The fact that you listened to us proves to me that we should consider giving you a chance."
"So, you're voting for her to join us?" Ulrich inquired.
"No voting until we've all said our piece." The young genius stated. "Aelita, you're up next."
"Sissi, it's true that we haven't been on the best of terms." Aelita said. "But I meant what I said. The fact that you were brave enough to actually go to Lyoko, attack your father to save Ulrich. Do you remember when I 'hopefully' suggested that one day you sprout a brain? What I should have said was, 'I hope one day you sprout a heart.'"
I thought I had a heart for Ulrich...but that wasn't a heart, was it?
Keeping those thoughts to herself, Sissi asks "And you think it's sprouted?"
"Yeah, I think it has. Yumi said it might be naive to give you a second chance, but I think it's hopeful. You can have one if you choose, or you can let it pass you by. But this life is hard and cruel enough that you know second chances don't come by often. I know that firsthand. Just know this: I suspected for a while that deep down, you really are a very nice person. Now's your chance to show it."
While Sissi didn't know the full story of Aelita's life, Sissi concluded that "hard" and "cruel" likely described Aelita's experiences well. Sissi gave her a nod, at which point Jeremie turned over to Odd. "You're up next."
"Well, then." Odd stepped forward. "Sissi, I'm not going to lie. Roasting you every now and then has proven pretty fun. I'd be more than happy to keep doing it until we've beaten XANA."
Sissi would normally scoff at him or throw a petty insult at Odd, but this time she just stared and watched him, silent. Yumi cocked an eyebrow, as if catching on to this.
"This is a bit hard for me to say, but I'm just gonna say it. I would be happy to have you as a friend and not as an enemy."
Sissi's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Really! Imagine us in Lyoko! The Great Odd the Magnificent, teaching the flower known as Sissi to battle virtual monsters! I can see it now! Lady Sissi of House Delmas, trainee to Knight Odd of House Della Robbia!"
Me on Lyoko again, and with him...wouldn't that be a joy?
"Do I have to come with you to Lyoko if I agree to join you?" Sissi inquired.
"It's not a matter of us wanting you to go to Lyoko, but rather a necessity." Jeremie explained, "Now that XANA has seen you on Lyoko, he already thinks that you're our newest member and a huge threat to him. I can't erase your memories with a Return to the Past either, but even if I did, XANA doesn't let interference like that go. You've always been an indirect target as XANA tried to kill us, but now that you've been on Lyoko, you've gone up XANA's hit list."
So, now I'm a target, and there's no going back...
Sissi gulped in fear before Odd put a hand on her shoulder. "Never fear, Sissi. Friends protect and help each other, and that's exactly what the greatest Lyoko Warrior shall do!" He pumped up a fist, trying to hype Sissi up.
"You would really defend me?" She asked.
"Hell, yes!" Odd enthusiastically replied. "Anyone who throws themselves in harm's way for my roommate here is A-Okay in my book!"
"Speaking of whom..." Jeremie turned his head to the brunette. "Ulrich, it's your turn to speak."
Oh, boy...
Sissi and Ulrich looked into each other's eyes.
"Where do I even begin..." Ulrich mumbled, shaking his head. "Half of me doesn't want to be here, having this conversation. Half of me just wants to go back to the way things were, where you don't know about Lyoko and I just resume ignoring you like I've always done. Half of me just wants to call everyone here crazy for even considering having you join us. Stealing my diary, touching me when I didn't want you to, bullying Aelita. Ugh, I could go on and on..."
Sissi's face contorted into an expression of shame. She opened her mouth to speak an apology, but Ulrich held a hand up.
"But the other half? I'm sick of it. I'm sick of having to avoid you and being repulsed by your advances all the time. I'm sick of having to treat you like a stalker when you could be different. I'm sick of being enemies and I want us to be friends again. I'm just going to say it. You're in love with me and I get it. We've known each other since we were children. I should have told you to stop a long time ago. You know why?"
And now he's rejecting me. I deserve it...
"Because I don't know what I want. I know that you love me, but I don't know if I do too. And now that you're potentially joining us, it's going to be tearing me apart from the inside and I don't know how to handle it. Having both you and Yumi here by my side every day. So, for now, I can't make a choice. I just can't. Stop trying to mess us up and we can be friends, but for now that's all you are."
For now? So that means...he's leaving it open...
Yumi stared at him, having clearly expected a more definitive decision from Ulrich than that.
Ulrich could really still be mine after everything...
Sissi's eyes bloomed with hope as she stared at Ulrich, but just out of her eyesight, Yumi leveled a glare at her.
"That's all I can say." Ulrich bowed out as Jeremie said "Well, Yumi, you're up."
Sissi turned to see Yumi and felt a tinge of fear build up inside of her.
"Everyone except Sissi, out." Yumi calmly said.
"What?" Jeremie asked.
"I want to speak to Sissi alone."
Sissi's blood went cold as she turned to the young genius, hoping desperately that he wouldn't agree to Yumi's request.
"Yumi, you never mentioned-"
"Go." The voice of her voice was cold and left no room for argument. Jeremie, Odd and Aelita turned towards Ulrich, looking for his opinion on if they should obey this morally dubious request. Sissi saw him contemplating and knew his conclusion before he said it.
"Call us as soon as you're done." Ulrich requested, to which Yumi nodded.
Oh god...
Sissi swallowed as everyone except Yumi went into the elevator and left the room.
I'm all alone...with her...
It was just Sissi and Yumi now, the two girls that coveted Ulrich Stern above all. Yumi stared at her in silence.
At this rate I'm going to have a heart attack before she even starts talking...
"What happened between you and Ulrich on the bridge?"
Oh...that...
"I noticed he was acting strange since the Return to the Past. The fact that he's not just saying 'no' to you isn't the Ulrich I know. What did you do to him?"
Sissi bit her lips, clearly not wanting to tell her. That just made Yumi even more inquisitive.
"Sissi, we can stand here all night. Cut the delay and just tell me."
Screw it. Just say it and go for it, Elizabeth.
"I asked him if I could kiss him on the bridge right before the Return to the Past. He said yes, and I kissed him."
Her face was borderline expressionless, seemingly barely upset at this revelation.
"He...gave you...permission?" Yumi slowly asked.
"He did. And no, I'm not lying. You can ask him yourself if you like."
Yumi's face was completely unreadable to Sissi.
"Why did you ask him for it and not just do it?" The question was uncomfortably devoid of emotion.
"I didn't feel comfortable with it. When he told me that I wouldn't remember any of it, I wanted to at least feel something before that time trip or whatever. Wanted to let him know what I felt about him. I won't lie, the kiss this time. It felt better."
Yumi blinked, her face still void of emotion.
"What do you mean, 'better'?"
"Just knowing that he willingly allowed me to kiss him. It felt better than when he did it because he needed a favor from me. It really did."
Yumi mumbled something in the Japanese language under her breath, probably a curse.
"Even though I thought I was going to lose my memories right then, I wanted to feel something. It gave me hope, hope that maybe, just maybe, he might actually return my feelings for him after all."
It's going to be a miracle if she doesn't punch me after that... Sissi thought.
When Yumi spoke up again, she asked, "Do you really love him?"
"Yes." After a pause, she added "I've known how i've felt about him for a long time. Longer than you've ever had. And despite that, I think you know too. We're opposites in a lot of ways, but one difference is that i'm not afraid to say it aloud."
I overstepped there. Sissi realized, as Yumi's body twitched in response to her words. The air was rife with tension so thick one could cut it with a knife.
Yumi stepped away from Sissi, running a frustrated hand through her hair.
"I want to say you aren't welcome. Maybe even worse." Yumi admitted. "I kept thinking about all the reasons not to let you in, not just bullying Aelita. Now, I'm going to tell the worst thing you've ever done. There was a time when XANA launched an attack that gave Ulrich and some others amnesia. You didn't waste any time in taking advantage of him, corrupting his memories and trying to make him devoted to you. You told him that you were his girlfriend, that Odd, Jeremie and me were his worst enemies."
"I would never go that far! You really think I would do something that absurd?!"
At least, that was what Sissi wanted to say. Sissi would have certainly said it too, had it not been for the realization that was indeed something she would have done. Yumi wasn't a liar unless there was a good reason for it, but Sissi wasn't above such tactics. She would have done anything to gain her beloved Ulrich.
It's no wonder Ulrich wants nothing to do with me…
With that realization, all Sissi could do was say, "I'm sorry."
Yumi studied her. "And this is where I have to admit that I don't hate you, and I shouldn't."
"I wanted to deny it when everyone said that we could be friends." She admitted. "That you, out of all people, could become part of our group. Not just because of my own reservations, but because of how hard this is going to be for Ulrich. But i'm looking at this objectively, as hard as it is. I remember the time you covered up my absence for the ninth-grade class photo. You had no reason to do that, and you didn't even blackmail Ulrich to do anything for you in exchange."
"It was a personal favor." Sissi explained. "I didn't really think about it. I just...did it."
Truth be told, even though she was punished with eight hours of detention by her father, it felt good to be able to stick up for Yumi like that. To see Ulrich grateful to her that she did this favor for him.
But what warmed her heart most of all was Yumi willingly giving her a ticket to go see the Subsonics with Ulrich. Yumi had decided to trust her that day, and she found that particular date with Ulrich to have been far better than any other.
"Why did you do that for me? Giving me that Subsonics ticket, I mean." Sissi asked.
"Call it Japanese honor if you want." Yumi quickly added. "And yes, i'm Japanese. Not Chinese."
"Did I call you Chinese before?" Sissi questioned.
"Yeah, you did. Don't ever make that mistake again."
Sissi nodded, before asking "What did happen to you that day, anyways? Something to do with Lyoko I guess?"
"The Scyphozoa went after me and took away my devirtualization codes." Yumi explained, "I couldn't return to the real world, meaning if a monster killed me, I would have been dead for good, like Aelita would be. You covered my absence long enough for us to get them back."
Sissi shivered at the thought of being stranded on that virtual world forever.
"But I've decided that I can't hate you now. Not only is it getting petty at this point, but I also can't deny you would do far more harm than good if we just kicked you out again, especially now that you know everything and XANA probably won't leave you alone even if you never stepped on Lyoko again."
"Why did you agree to this?" Sissi asked. "This insanity?"
"I'm not going to lie. There were points when I considered urging Jeremie to shut the Supercomputer shut down. XANA is much more dangerous than you can imagine. And I've had to ask myself the hard questions."
A pause. "Sissi, there's a question that I've had to force an answer to. If I tell you this, it stays between us. Got it?"
"Got it."
"I love Ulrich, too."
"Duh." Sissi deadpanned, putting her hands on her hips. "Both you and Ulrich were never exactly subtle. But is that it? Is it that simple to keep risking your live by diving into all of insanity just for Ulrich?"
"No. It's all of us and not just Ulrich. You can never understand the bond I have with them, unless you experience it for yourself. I just want you to promise me one thing."
"What is it?" She asked.
"Do not touch Ulrich." Yumi stepped closer. "He's struggling. Right now, he's not mine and he's also not yours. Don't touch him without his permission again. If I ever hear you doing something like kissing him without him approving first..."
"Well, that shove I gave you earlier? That's going to look tame compared to what i'm going to do after."
Sissi looked up at Yumi and was reminded of a warrior queen from a certain TV show, a female fighter ready to protect her husband from all the monsters that attacked them. She quite liked that role reversal whenever she saw or read about it.
But imagining Yumi in that role just confirmed something that Sissi already knew.
No matter who he picks in the end, Ulrich really is in good hands.
"You have my word." Sissi held out her hand for a handshake, and Yumi firmly grasped her hand.
"I'm asking you this as a friend. Not a jealous girl, but as a friend: Please don't make me regret this."
Sissi firmly nodded. "I won't. I know this chance came entirely by accident, but I'm going to make the most of it."
But even as Yumi smiled, Sissi couldn't help but add "And as for Ulrich? I'm never going to touch him again, but that doesn't mean I won't stop loving him."
Yumi let go of Sissi's hand, her smile faltering only slightly.
"I've had this crush on Ulrich since elementary school. I want to go out with him. That's all there is to it. What about you?"
"Me?"
"Yes, you." Sissi clarified, "How did you two meet and how'd you end up joining the group? Girl-to-girl, I just confessed. Now it's your turn."
Yumi stepped away as her smile disappeared. She paced around the lab, thinking.
Well, Elizabeth, this is probably as close as "tempting fate" as you can get.
"As silly as this might sound," Yumi came out with it. "It was when I was practicing martial arts with him. We met when I literally kicked him in the face during martial arts class. Then we had a rematch and it ended in a stalemate. That was when XANA first showed up. I wouldn't let Ulrich leave until he showed me what was up. That's when I discovered the Supercomputer."
"So you fell in love with Ulrich because you beat each other up?" Sissi summarized. "Huh. Weird."
Yumi shrugged. "But like I said, you won't be able to understand until you spend more time with us. Our friendship, we're way closer than any regular group of friends could be. And Ulrich..."
Yumi sighed and shook her head, muttering "What are we going to do about him?"
"May the best girl win?" She playfully offered.
"May the best girl win." Yumi replied after a few moments' silence.
Sissi had to go to the chair and sit down on it, heaving in relief that the encounter had ended peacefully.
Yumi took out her cell phone and typed in Ulrich's number, calling the others back up. Jeremie and Aelita looked quite relieved to see that Sissi was physically unharmed, though Sissi heard Odd mumbling about how Sissi had become a "professional survivor" for surviving a private meeting with Yumi.
She also noticed Ulrich glaring at Yumi, who looked unapologetic.
If they called me a drama queen before, then I must be a drama empress to them after this. Sissi mused.
Jeremie wasted no time in taking command once more, bringing out a piece of paper from his notebook and splitting it into five pieces.
"We will now partake in a vote of confidence for Sissi. If everyone votes 'yes', then that means everyone here trusts Sissi and she will become an official member of the group. But the vote has to be unanimous. If there's even one 'no', then I will have to work on a special Return to the Past to erase Sissi's memories. She's immune now, but I think I can tweak the program enough to erase her memories again."
Sissi leaned against the wall, knowing she couldn't do anything but wait for her fate to be decided. Everyone was handed a piece of paper, on which all of their votes were written down on and then handed over to Jeremie.
Well, this is it. Either everything changes, or nothing changes.
One-by-one, Jeremie read the votes aloud, starting with his own.
"I voted 'Yes'"
No surprise there.
Next, Jeremie took Aelita's vote and read it aloud.
"Aelita voted 'Yes'"
Also not a surprise, but a very welcome one.
Jeremie next took Odd's vote and read it aloud.
"Odd voted 'Yes'. Just two more votes and Sissi remains here."
Alright, the majority voted for me. Now comes the harder votes...
Sissi held her breath as Jeremie took Ulrich's vote and read it aloud.
"Ulrich voted 'Yes'. All that's left is Yumi's vote."
Please, just give me this chance. That's all I want. Everything in Sissi wanted to say this thought aloud, but by some miracle, she restrained herself.
Sissi continued holding her breath as Jeremie took Yumi's vote and read it aloud.
'Yumi voted 'Yes'. That makes it unanimous."
Sissi breathed the biggest sigh of relief she ever had.
They did it. They actually accepted me...
Jeremie got up from his chair and extended a handshake to Sissi, who gripped his hand in hers.
"Welcome to the Lyoko Warriors, Sissi."
Sissi looked upon the reactions of the group. Aelita gave her a bright smile, Odd pumped his fist in the air, Yumi gave her a thumbs up, and Ulrich just nodded at her.
Alright then, Sissi. You've gotten your friends back. Now all you have to do is earn them.
And maybe one day, I can earn Ulrich too.
A/N: And with that, Sissi is a Lyoko Warrior! It was really fun to explore everyone's thoughts, good and bad, for Sissi. And yeah, after allowing that kiss, Ulrich is a mess emotionally. He loves Yumi, but he's struggling to reconcile that with what he's starting to feel about Sissi too. And he's also not happy about her forcing alone time with Sissi. Everyone may have said their pieces here, but there's still more crucial discussions to come.
Next up: The Lyoko Warriors discuss their choice. Sissi struggles with the gravity of her newfound secret.