It was a quiet Sunday afternoon and the Lyoko warriors were all at the factory. ready to head into Lyoko. Jeremie had proposed, the day before, they make a visit to Lyoko to do the check in's he had originally planned on Friday, but half the group had plans for Saturday. So Jeremie had to move the Lyoko dive to Sunday, when they were all free to go to the factory.
"Everything should be ready to materialise all of you one by one to the separate regions" the boy re-checked the systems again "With the Forest and Ice sectors back we should have everyone in each sector. Any picks?"
This evidently surprised the group (with the exception of Aelita) waiting in the scanner room below.
"Wait what! Einstein! Why didn't you tell us all the sectors were back before?!" Odd exclaimed looking up at the high ceiling. The others gave sounds of agreement as Aelita stifled a laugh.
"Oh, well... I did tell Aelita" he answered, rubbing the back of his head, feeling awkward "I thought she might've told you about it while I was focusing on Lyoko yesterday"
An awkward silence followed Jeremie. He wasn't sure how to speak after that.
"Maybe we can send Aelita or William to Sector 5" Yumi offered, wanting to move this forward "As they'll be able to move though the sector better than anyone else here"
"I can see that" Jeremie mused "Do either of you want to head there?"
"I'll go" Aelita volunteered stepping into the scanner "Let's get started Jeremie"
"Of course, I'll materialise you"
As the pink haired girl went through the scanning process into Lyoko the remaining members stood around waiting. Ulrich took this chance to tease William.
"Hey, William" he smiles nudging him "What's going on between you and the new girl?"
Odd and Yumi notices what's happening, but stay silent. William was irked by the other boy's attempts to annoy him but tried to not show it "Nothing" he simply states leaning back against an empty scanner "We haven't even spoken to each other yet"
"You should get to know her more then"
"Anyone want to head in next?" Jeremie's voice interrupts them; William immediately volunteered to go next.
"Okay, head in. Where do you wanna go?"
Anywhere where Ulrich isn't..." he mutters under his breath as he stepped into the scanner.
"Sorry?"
"Nothing" William shook it off with a sigh "Just send me to the Ice sector"
"Hmm okay... Aelita and I didn't get the chance to make a quick visit the the two sectors yesterday, but... it should still all be the same inputs as be...fore" Jeremie pursed him lips as he input the same commands then began the transfer program again. The others watched him go with Ulrich giving him one last smirk before the scanner doors close.
William closes his eyes. This is his first time going back to Lyoko after their whole fight with Tyron and XANA. He remembers all that he was fighting for and why he joined the group in the first place as he felt a gust of wind from beneath.
oOoOo
William once virtualised into the ice sector, almost clumsily lands on one knee; one hand on the ice to break his fall and the other holding his blade over his shoulder.
"Ughh, forgot how it feels to get virtualised" he groans getting up rubbing his forehead.
He then looks over himself noticing that his outfit wasn't what it was like before months ago.
"Wait..." he raises his arms in awe "Jeremie...? Did you do this?"
"Oh, your outfit? No, there wasn't really time to adjust your outfit. I don't feel like it matters what you look like, as long as you continue to fight alongside us. Okay Odd, you're next..."
William continues to examine himself, leaving his blade stabbed on the ice. Most of his outfit looks just like what it once was when he first joined, except for a few key differences.
He notices that he has a purple see-through shawl over his shoulders. He twists his upper body around hoping to get a good look behind him. It seem to go over his arms and round his back.
Many black tendrils emerge from his wrists, from under the sleeves of his skin-tight suit and creep up over his gloved hands as well as up his forearms.
"They look similar to the tendrils that were on my..." he pauses with a sigh.
What he doesn't notice is a black and white choker collar around his neck. As touch isn't much of a sense on Lyoko he passes it while noting his shoulder area were both fully black.
"I guess I don't feel truly free from XANA..." he murmurs picking up his weapon once more.
"Seems like we're all up and running" Jeremie says alerting everyone "Aelita, it's best you maybe check the interface later on as well"
"Sure, I was just thinking about that myself"
"The rest of you can scout the area around you. Also, maybe try to enter a tower to see if you can still access the interfaces from there"
"Of course, We're on it Einstein!" Odd salutes to no one in particular as he leans against a tree "What about-"
Before he could finish speaking the overboard materialised beside him. "Wow! You always know what I'm thinking!" He hops onto his vehicle and immediately begins flying around joyfully.
"Okay everyone, lets get going!"
Everyone immediately heads out; Jeremie observes from the supercomputer expecting everything to go calmly, but was a little worried XANA would rear his head.
"This'll only take half an hour. Lets just hope..." Jeremie thought to himself as he continues to observe with only a slight worry lingering over him.
oOoOoOoOoOo
The next day the gang head to their morning classes. Once the younger members stepped inside their classroom, Odd went to sit behind Ulrich while Aelita and Jeremie sat next to each other at the front.
Most of their first class ended up being quiet with their teacher doing the talking and demonstrating; at one point Odd noticed Farrah (who was two seats to his left) looking at the board with a downcast expression. Odd, at first thought about asking her about what was troubling her, but a better idea came to mind.
As lunch arrived William went over to the side of the cafeteria near the forest where Odd apparently wanted to meet up with him. He didn't know exactly what for but agreed to come anyway.
After a minute of waiting, he saw Odd heading towards him; Farrah was with him. He groaned with realisation. At arrival Odd rubs the back of his head nervously; Farrah was confused.
"I was umm... just hoping, you know... you can talk with her about uhh... stuff like... whyshewasypsetinclasstoday" he blurted out quickly before speeding off into the distance.
"Odd! he yells after him "Hey! Come b- ughh nevermind..."
He groans in annoyance rubbing his forehead then turned round where Farrah continued to stand silently, staring at the ground, feeling just as awkward as he was at the moment.
"Yeah, about what he said..." he looked at her rubbing the back of his neck feeling nervous. "You were upset about something ... in class? Notthatyouhavetosayitifyoudon'twantto!" he blurts, waving his hands nervously.
"No, it's fine" she sighs "I know what he's doing"
William looked at her; nothing came out of his mouth respond to that. He was partly thankful she was understanding.
She clutched her handbag tightly, preparing to speak to him "Well, back there, in class, I... was thinking about my birth parents" she looks up at William
"You've only known me for barely a week so I don't expect any of you to have known this, but... I was adopted. My current parents lived in Iraq but moved to France six months ago, they adopted me around that time from an orphanage. I kind of wished that I had some recollection of my real parents... but..." her eyes look downcast as her eyebrows crease.
"Oh, I-"
"Don't worry, you don't have to apologise..." she whispered "But imagine... how it feels, not knowing who or where your real parents are..."
Both stay silent. William stared in the girl's direction his mind whirling, a bout of a strange sad feeling he didn't realise he had building up in his chest. Farrah soon breaks that silence.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to bring for bringing all this on you" she laughs smiling nervously; waving her hands slightly flustered.
He didn't say anything. Farrah averted her eyes feeling awkward before walking off. William continued to stand silently for a minute until he left as well. Odd and Ulrich who were watching from behind one of the arches saw William leave to the direction of the dorms. Odd walked out from his hiding spot feeling disappointed.
"Nice one genius" Ulrich remarked sarcastically "Got any other great ideas?"
Odd was unable to retort back.
"Well... well I... I " he stutters "I'm just gonna go back to my room!" the boy storms off, clearly annoyed.
Ulrich raises an brow watching the boy storm off "What's his problem?"
He turns round only to see Yumi "A-Ahh Y-Yumi, hi-"
"Jeremie called us" she tells him " He said to meet up at the Hermitage"
"Oh, r-really?" he responds confused.
"Yeah, both him and Aelita are going together; I called William too. You better call Odd"
"Okay, I'll call him" he took out his phone and dialled his number "Hey Odd"
"What do you want" he said with an almost annoyed tone as if he was still holding his grudge from a minute ago.
"Jeremie wants us at the Hermitage, right now" Ulrich informs him, ignoring the earlier tone of Odd's voice before cutting off, not bothering to wait for a reply.
"So you ready?" Yumi turns to leave.
He nods before taking Yumi's hand and heading off towards their destination
oOoOoOoOoOo
The journey through the forest was quiet. The two didn't hear much expect for the sounds of the forest around them. It was peaceful. To Ulrich, it almost felt like a- no... he couldn't think that right now. He had to focus. They had something important to do, he could only assume, so he couldn't daydream and linger for too long.
"Are you okay?" Yumi asked out of the blue "Your face looks kinda red..."
"Eh?! What! Really?" he touches his face with his free hand and realised it felt warm.
"J-just... ignore me. W-we- We should get going"
She gave him a look of concern but decided to not question him.
After several long minutes later, the two were able to see the building they've have come to know.
"It seems Aelita, Jeremie and William are already here" she states noticing the three waiting at the front of the entrance to the decrepit house.
"Ah, it seems you've finally made it, great!" said Jeremie clapping his hands together "We just need Odd"
"It looks like you came at the same time as me" William states impassively with his hands casually in his jacket pockets.
"Where did you come from then?"
"What are we here for Jeremie?"
Both Ulrich and Yumi looked at each other and blinked. Aelita and Jeremie raise eyebrows; William looked unfazed as if uninterested.
"Well, if you want to know... Just around half a minute ago fro..." he froze, realising what he was about to say then stops, not wanting to mention he talked to Farrah earlier then unknowingly went into the forest after their talk "You two would've made it here before me if you walked faster" he coolly shrugs, changing the subject.
"Oh... really?" Ulrich replied, blushing nervously.
"What's wrong" asked Aelita, tilting her head confused.
"N-nothing, nothing, it's really nothing" he waved his right hand as if he wanted to quickly drop this topic.
"So, ummm... how long are you two going to hold hands for?" scoffed William folding his arms with a smirk.
Both immediately let go of each other. Yumi laughs nervously "Haha... I don't know what you mean, but it's not what you think"
William felt the urge to roll his eyes but buries that notion. Instead, he asks another question.
"Where's Odd?"
Ulrich was about to speak up when they all hear a voice in the woods behind them.
"Hey, guys! I'm... here"
The young boy sounded like he was out of breath and by the time he makes it to the rest of the group waiting, he bends over to catch his breath.
"You okay dude" asks William as everyone stares at Odd with mixed expressions.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just... had to get some things done. Then... ran all way here" he stood up stretching now feeling better "Sooo what're we doing?"
"Well-"
"We're all here now" interrupted Jeremie "Now we can begin"
Jeremie begins his explanation. Apparently, he was able to learn about a CD containing something important that would be a big assist against XANA. Odd asks how he found about something like that.
He turns around to face the house "Well, let's just say that..." smiling, he looks back at the group "I had a bit of help from someone"
Everyone except Aelita each gave confused looks. Aelita, on the other hand, gave him a suspicious one as he turns to face the house again "So, shall we go in?"
oOoOoOoOo
It was eerily silent as the group enter the house. Aelita stares long and hard at the hallway before them, tightening her fists harder, her face twists into an expression of remembrance.
"Are you okay Aelita?" Yumi asks holding onto her hand "Do you-"
"No. I'm fine" she insists "It's just... it feels weird to be in this place again after so long since..."
Yumi, Odd, William and Ulrich stay silent unsure of what words to give her. Jeremie on the other hand, took a few steps forward, hands on his hips.
"Okay" he says catching the attention of the others "It's best we split up. We can cover more ground"
"I guess he's right" William says walking up beside him, putting a hand on the younger boy's shoulder "Let's split up into pairs"
A minute later, the pairs were decided: William and Aelita, Odd and Yumi, Ulrich and Jeremie.
"William and I will stay down here" Aelita says first.
"Then the rest of us will search upstairs" Yumi adds "Also made sure to search the lower rooms too"
Aelita affirms a hand over her chest "Sure; lets get going then"
The group then separate.
Ulrich and Jeremie head upstairs alongside Yumi and Odd; the latter duo then separate to go up to the attic while they stay to search the rooms on the first floor.
A few minutes in Ulrich asks Jeremie a question.
"Jeremie...?"
"Yes?" he responds almost bored as they walk into Aelita's old room.
"How come you know this thing we need will weaken XANA? he inquires "Who did you even talk to to find this information?"
Jeremie halts slowly turning to face him, a XANA symbol now visible on his forehead.
"A polym- mmph!" the clone quickly covers his mouth with its incorporeal body and pushes him against a wall before dragging him to an empty room. Ulrich struggles to free himself as the polymorphic clone tosses him in and locks the door using its powers. It then changes into Ulrich before walking away.
oOoOoOoOo
Aelita and William were searching around the the ground floor. At one point they heard glass breaking, but don't go to investigate assuming Odd broke something. William sits on the couch in the living room giving a sigh, his mind wandering back to what Farrah had told him earlier this morning.
"Something wrong William?" Aelita asks seeing her friend's troubled face.
"I wonder..." he looks distantly down at his hand "How it's like to have parents you'll never get to see..." he mumbles to himself.
Aelita was clearly confused by this behaviour. At first she wanted to ask what he meant, but shrugs it off and resumes searching. Just then, Ulrich walks into the room.
"Ulrich!" Aelita exclaims running over "Did you manage to find it?"
Ulrich silently nods and motions the two to follow him. Puzzled, Aelita leaves the room, William silently follows behind.
The young brunette boy lead the two to the lower ground floor. They can see the boiler room not too far. Ulrich goes towards it.
"Ulrich?" Aelita speaks up as she follows behind "How come you managed to find it here?" I don't think either of us saw you leave from the floor above"
Ulrich immediately turns intending to grab her but William swiftly intervenes "I had a feeling you were created by XANA the moment you took us down here" while still holding off the clone he talks to his friend "Aelita. You've got to find the others and head for the factory"
The spectre phases through Williams grasp and heads for Aelita who stumbles back. William once again grabs it in a chokehold "You were trying to trap us in the boiler room, weren't you?"
The Ulrich-spectre chuckles as it grips the boy's arm "Yes. My intention was to trap Aelita in that room"
"Just... me?" Aelita questions taking a few steps back ready to run.
"Of course not. My plan was to take you, Odd, Yumi, Ulrich and Jeremie down while you're all separated from each other"
William narrows his eyes, realising his name was not mentioned.
The spectre's mouth raises into a sinister smirk, then instantly phases again.
"Aelita, go!"
She doesn't hesitate. Without looking back once, she sprints up the stairs to find her friends. Once making it to the first floor Aelita finds the real Ulrich, still trapped in a room. She tried to open the door to free him but even with both their efforts it doesn't budge.
"This won't do anything. Just leave me and find the others! Deactivate the tower"
Aelita ran off towards the attic knowing they would be there. As she burst into the room she spots a broken window. Fearing the worst, she hurriedly runs over. Yumi was barely hanging on; Odd was holding onto the girl's ankles with both hands tight that Yumi feared he was going to drag them down. It also didn't help when there were multiple broken glass shards down below.
Aelita took action breaking the rest of the glass window and leaning over to help Yumi up, Odd follows behind. Once safe (with a few small cuts) Aelita informs the two that they need to head to the factory to help the others since they were all in separate predicaments.
"Other than William, who apparently it doesn't want to hurt, I'm worried about Jeremie. I really hope he's okay" Aelita mused.
They all head down to the ground floor where they spot the clone blocking the front door and their escape.
"I'll handle this. You make sure you deactivate your tower" Odd tells them, threatening with his fists, to which the spectre raises an eyebrow with a condescending look as if Odd wasn't anything for him to fear.
The girls run back round to the basement and to the back of the house, opening the doors that would lead to the sewers.
oOoOoOo
Once they finally arrive, they head down into the elevator. Aelita leaves heading to the supercomputer as Yumi stays heading down another floor.
She starts up the procedure for a delayed virtualisation, then heads down the ladder to the scanner room. After informing Yumi of the coordinates of their destination she had memorised from the screen she steps into a scanner as well.
Once the two are virtualised into Lyoko. Aelita immediately summons her wings and allows Yumi to grasp her hands allowing her to fly to their destination. As Aelita isn't able to summon vehicles without anyone on Lyoko.
Soon they see the tower not too far ahead. It was being guarded by three tarantulas and two megatanks.
"How original can XANA get?" Yumi sighs rolling her eyes.
"I'll try to distract the megatanks. I'm sure you can deal with the tarantulas"
"Of course" Yumi responds immediately letting go on Aelita's hands. She does a small roll as she lands then throws her fans. One is taken down.
Aelita continues to be the air support by attacking from afar above everything.
Nothing serious occurs during the fight apart from Yumi getting hit twice leaving her with dangerously low health points as she took care of the last tarantula. Aelita soon follows also defeating the enemies on her side just as she hears Jeremie's voice.
"You guys doing fine?"
"Jeremie, you're okay!" Aelita, still flying, exclaims in joy after hearing his voice "Yeah, we're doing great"
"Wanna go in?" he smiles.
"My pleasure" she responds flying over to the tower and walking in.
She steps over to the centre floating up to the above platform. Aelita then places her hand on the screen.
Outside Yumi waits, her hand clasping her forearm. Soon she sees the tower's aura turn blue again.
"Looks like we're done now. Jeremie, rematerialise us"
A minute later, the girls arrive back to the computer room.
"Looks like another job well done" Aelita says stepping forth to observe the computer screen "I wonder how far you've gotten XANA..."
Just then, the elevator opens behind them. Jeremie and the girls looks back and are surprised to see, not only just their friends but Farrah as well.
Ulrich sighs ready to explain "She... found us and helped us escape. So we just uhh... told her to follow us, because she kept asking me and William what we were doing there and why Odd was fighting a clone of me"
Aelita without saying anything faces Jeremie. He understands and initiates a command.
"Return to the past, now"
oOoOoOoOoOo
"...and so the respiratory system can help with making sure the body is getting the energy it needs" explains Mrs Hertz "The alveoli play a big role is allowing oxygen to be passed onto the bloodstream..."
Odd looks over at Farrah again to see her with the same glum look. He decides to not do his plan after all, knowing this might be something she rather not talk about right now. He continues to stare back to the front of the class.
What he didn't expect was for William to approach her himself during lunch after they exit their class. Odd looks on as they two walk off somewhere else, possibly to talk in private. Jeremie and the others standing nearby look at the scenario in bewilderment, not knowing what was going on. Yumi approaches the group having just seen her friend leave with the new girl.
"Where's he going with her?" she asks.
"We don't know either" Jeremie answers.
"Could it be?!" Odd gasps "That he's finally confessing to her!"
"Cut it out Odd" Jeremie retorts.
I mean, you may never know, he may secretly like her back"
They walk under the arches while they wait for him. A few minutes later, they see Farrah leaving the forest the two were just in with a content looking smile on her face while clutching her handbag, making them even more confused. After William rejoins their group they bombard him with questions.
"Hey, guys calm down, one at a time" he raises his hands to hold them back.
"What did you do... and say for that matter?" Ulrich inquires first.
"Well, I improved upon Odd's original idea from before, by talking with her more" He informs his friends"I told her some words of comfort, by telling... her... that...umm" he trails off.
"What did you tell her then?" Odd inquired, a grin showing his insatiable curiousity.
"I umm told her that I uh...-we will always be there for her!"
This was met with questioning looks from his friends "Our next class is starting, we better be going" with that he left, not about to tell them about the hug he gave to the girl to comfort her. A feeling of embarrassment washed over him hoping the others would forget about it by the end of the day.
The others look at his retreating back with confusion wondering why he was acting so off about it. Jeremie looks at the time on his phone.
"It's not even thirty minutes into lunch yet" he says out-loud to the already silent gang.
Odd grins "That was definitely unexpected"
S and M
