There he sat, elbow on his desk, chin in his palm, and forefinger tapping softly on his cheek, staring blankly at the blinking cursor on his screen. He gave a sigh, and gave a small shake of his mouse. He felt as if he wasn’t getting anywhere. He had told them that he’d be done by tomorrow, but he’d suddenly met a bump in Ulrich’s program, and couldn’t seem to get around it. Not knowing what else to do, he inserted some random programming and hit tested it. He watched as the test run began, and sighed again as he felt another failure come on. To his surprise, he jumped as the computer beeped, and showed a green plus sign, symbolizing a success. “Yes!” he whispered as he burned the program onto a CD. The CD popped out of the drive and quickly scribbled “Ulrich” onto it, and neatly set it on top of the other programs. Giving himself a small smile, he yawned, and pulled off his glasses. He plopped himself onto his bed, and before he knew it, was fast asleep.
Sunday morning, Odd and Ulrich were the only ones in the cafeteria, both of them silently eating their food. Two weeks had passed by fairly quickly, and both of them were slightly nervous for next week’s first round. The little blonde was practically lying on the table, stirring the extra milk from his cereal bowl while singing some unnamed song. Ulrich was slowly nibbling at some toast while staring out the window, caught in his own thoughts. They both jumped when they heard a foreign noise.
“Good morning, you two.” They both turned to see Aelita, a banana and some juice in hand. She sat down beside Odd and looked at the two. “You guys are awfully quiet this morning,” she stated, pointing out the obvious. “What’s up?”
“Tiiiiired,” Odd moaned, head-desking the table.
“Eh,” Ulrich just shrugged. “Just thinking.”
“Well, I do have something to say,” she said, a smile tugging at her lips. “On my way down here this morning, Jeremie stopped me. And guess what he had to say…?”
Odd shot up, excitement dancing in his eyes. “You mean…”
She nodded, taking a bite of her banana. “Yup! He went straight to the factory, and he wants all of us to meet us there as soon as possible.”
“That’s great,” Odd stood, picking up his bowl. “Come on Aelita, let’s go.”
“You two go on ahead,” Ulrich waved his hand. “I’ll go get Yumi, and we’ll meet you there in a bit.”
Ulrich and Yumi stepped out as the elevator doors slid open, and as they entered they found Jeremie, Aelita, and Odd already there, leaning over Jeremie’s shoulder as he explained something.
“Hey Einstein,” Ulrich said, standing behind Odd.
“You’re done with the program, huh,” Yumi leaned on his chair, intrigued.
“Yes, I am,” he nodded slowly. “See, I was just explaining to Odd and Aelita, that what I did to make this program was no easy task, but kind of like the antivirus I was developing for Aelita not too long ago. But see, the differences are, that instead of-“
“Please,” Odd held up his hand. “Don’t start speaking in C++, we can’t understand it.”
“But I don’t-“
Odd made something akin to a quacking noise as he shook his head. “I don’t want to hear it.” He turned on his heel towards the elevator door. “I just want to get this party started.” Jeremie gave a sigh and waved the other two on.
“You guys go on.” They nodded and followed after Odd. Aelita turned to Jeremie, her eyes asking if she could follow. He gave her the nod of approval and she also followed.
“Get ready guys,” Jeremie’s voice echoed throughout the scanner room. “Get in the scanners, the program will start in a minute!” The three gave each other nervous glances; they certainly didn’t want to end up like Aelita when she became invisible! Except maybe in Odd’s case. They each stepped in their respective scanners while their onlooker sat in the middle, giving them reassuring smiles. “The program’s starting…” They each tensed and shut their eyes as they waited for Jeremie’s conclusion. “…Now.”
The scanner doors shut suddenly on each of them, and even though it was surprising, Ulrich was the only one to jump. They heard the whir of the scanners working, and felt the strong wind which seemingly came from nowhere. It felt nearly as painful as being virtualized, but much, much stranger. It felt as though someone was poking them wherever necessary; Ulrich in the legs, Yumi in the back and thighs, and Odd felt this around his joints. They each began to feel looser, and more relaxed, as if the continuous poking had turned into a massage. The feeling was no longer strange, but relaxing. As they were growing used to the feeling, the whir of the scanners slowed to a stop and the wind disappeared, having them once again land on their feet as the doors opened. The first one to slump to the ground was Odd, since he wasn’t used to the sudden flexibility in his joints he was given.
“Woah,” he murmured, as he noted he could curl up into a ball like he couldn’t before. Just to experiment, he got on all fours and ran around as a cat like he did on Lyoko. He stopped short of the elevator and sat. “Jeremie, you’re right!” he exclaimed. “You really did make me like a cat…”
Yumi stepped out slowly, trying not to bend over, trying to get used to the gymnast-like qualities she had acquired in less than thirty seconds. She rubbed her back, as if trying to let the feeling sink in. “Yeah, you really did great,”
Feeling as though his legs had gotten much stronger and tenser, Ulrich also rubbed them. “This feels weird, Jeremie,” he said slowly. “Are you sure you didn’t mess up somewhere?”
“Oh come on, Ulrich,” Odd said lightly. “You’ve just been changed into the fastest person in the world in like one millisecond. How can you not feel weird?” Ulrich just grunted, and the four returned to the lab room.
“I’m glad this is all working out,” Aelita beamed. They stepped into the lab and she was the first one by Jeremie’s side. “Jeremie, you did a wonderful job! In two weeks especially, I’m very proud of you.”
Jeremie looked up at her with wide eyes and blushed a little. “Uh, th-thanks, Aelita! It was nothing really…”
“I hope this wasn’t for nothing,” Yumi said, crossing her arms. “If it turns out that we’re not going to be fighting in the real world, I’m going to be very disappointed.”
“Well, it could be useful for other things,” Odd pointed out. “Take Ulrich, for example. He could go join Kadic’s track team, and be our gold medalist. Right, Ulrich?”
“That’s silly,” Ulrich said. “I’m not going to use it for stuff like that. It’s for XANA, and XANA only. I’m not going to take advantage of it.”
“Well you should,” Jeremie said, taking off his headset and placing it on the keyboard. “Especially in a tight situation, don’t hesitate.”
Odd sat on his bed, reading comics, since there was nothing else to do. It was late afternoon, Yumi was at home, Ulrich was outside on the track, Jeremie was on his computer, and heavens knew where Aelita was. He gave a sigh as he flipped the page. That morning had definitely been a surprising one, and since he returned back to the dorm, Kiwi seemed slightly frightened of him.
The little blonde jumped as he heard a sudden knock at the door. Setting down his comic, he got up and opened it, to find Jim standing there. “Uh, hey Jim! What’s up?” He noted a long, white envelope in his hands.
“This came in the mail for you,” he said, handing it to him. “I hope it’s your parents so you can go home.” And with that he walked off. Odd raised his eyebrow at where he was just standing and slowly closed the door. He plopped himself on his bed as he opened it eagerly. The letter was not from his parents, sadly, but rather from the organization running the competition! He read it over quickly to see what was up.
The letter congratulated their group because their registration has been completed, and they have been accepted into the competition. It also described what kind of aspects they were looking for in this first round: musicality, technique, lyrics, style, and most important of all, communication. Finally, the letter specified the location, date, and time of the first judging. Nodding in understanding, Odd slipped the paper under his pillow, where he definitely wouldn’t forget it.
The group met the next day, and Odd was the last one to arrive, having slept in. He sat himself in a chair and waved around the letter he received. “The organization sent me a letter saying we’ve been accepted!”
“That’s great,” Yumi smiled. “All our hard work isn’t going to waste.”
“Yeah, but not only that, our first round is this Friday.”
“This Friday?” Ulrich exclaimed, whirling around on the piano bench. “That’s so soon! I mean, I don’t even have this part down yet!” He motioned to Odd’s crude score and Ulrich’s messy notes written all over it.
Odd shrugged. “Stay after and practice late. No big deal to that.” He turned his attention back to the letter. “And they say here that they’re gonna judge us on our musicality, technique, style, lyrics, and communication. I don’t know what they mean by communication, but okay…” he shrugged.
“I think what they’re trying to say is how well we make contact with each other while we’re playing,” Aelita suggested.
“Like they do in string quartets,” Nicholas added, nodding his head.
“I see,” Odd glanced at the paper. “And I think we definitely win in the lyrics category! I mean, how big of a chance do you have kids from France singing in Japanese, huh?” There was a silence. “I thought so…”
“Well, we shouldn’t waste any time,” Ulrich turned back to his music, and placed his hands lightly on the keys. “If this first round is on Friday, then we definitely have to get moving.”
Odd got himself up off the chair and proceeded to tune his guitar. “Yes sir, whatever you say…”
That last week in the home stretch, they practiced like crazy. They usually met around 10 in the morning, had lunch break for a bit at 12, and ended their rehearsal around 4. Ulrich stayed after every day to practice his own part, and one day didn’t return to his dorm until 9. Yumi would sing until she almost lost her voice; Odd practiced one run so many times that two of his fingers began to bleed; Nicholas received blisters; and Aelita gave herself a headache from her mixer. Despite it all though, by Thursday evening, their song sounded wonderful, and they broke early, rewarding themselves with a good night’s sleep.
Friday morning, they were all pumped and ready to go. They had received notice in the middle of the week that they would provide the instruments they needed. Jeremie was convinced to come to the first judging, but they couldn’t get a hold of Sissi, sadly. She was apparently out of town. The group sat out in the courtyard, trying to figure out how much time it would take to get there and how much it would cost. Odd was studying a bus route map.
“If we take this line, it’ll take less time, but cost more money,” he said. “But see, if we take this one then it’ll take more time, but less money… hmm…” He stroked his chin.
“You know, if we all pitch in, then we’d probably be able to make the faster one,” Yumi pointed out. “I brought lots of money from home, here,” she dug some out of her pocket and placed it on the bench.
“Not a bad idea,” Ulrich agreed as he placed his own money onto the bench.
Odd counted out the money. “Just a little more and we should have enough for a round trip.” Nicholas complied and put some down as well. Odd nodded. “Good!” he exclaimed. “Now let’s go catch that bus.”
The majority of the ride there was quiet, each of them becoming increasingly nervous as they got nearer. Except Jeremie, he was too busy on his laptop doing whatever Lyoko or XANA business he usually does. Aelita and Ulrich sat on either side of him, making sure that no one would be able to see what he was up to.
After a bit of a ride, the group finally arrived. The building was big, and seemed like a high school. They entered and were greeted by several staff.
“Um, we’re here for the uh… band competition?” Odd said nervously, shifting his weight from foot to foot.
A man with a clipboard nodded his head and scanned his list. “Band name?”
“Um… Pop-Rock Progressives…”
He checked something and pointed down a hallway. “That way, sir. And good luck.” They followed his finger and thanked him.
They followed the signs posted on the hallway walls until they reached a large classroom, where many other people of many ages sat silently, waiting for their turn. They took some empty seats in the back. Nicholas ran off to the bathroom as the Lyoko team huddled together.
“It’s almost been a month since XANA escaped,” Yumi said. “And there’s been no attack from him… what’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” Jeremie said. “But the more time the better. I need to figure out a way to detect XANA’s attacks. The superscan isn’t much use to us anymore, since he’s obviously not going to be using towers anymore…”
“You’re right,” Ulrich nodded in agreement. “This could be tough this time around. We won’t know if it’s a XANA attack or not, or if it’s just some strange happening.”
“But still,” Odd butted in. “That’s what makes it all the more fun! The less we know, the more exciting and suspenseful it makes it.” They spotted Nicholas re-entering the room and they broke their huddle, and sat silently like everyone else in the room.
A while had passed, and another man with a clipboard came into the room. He scanned it then called out, “Odd Della Robbia, Ulrich Stern, Yumi Ishiyama, Nicholas Poliokoff, and Aelita Stones?” The five got up, and Jeremie flashed them a thumbs up sign as they exited the room.
“Let me see, you need an electric guitar, piano, drumset, and a… mixing board? Is this correct?” the man asked them. They nodded in response, and he led them even further down the hallway until they reached some double doors. He pushed them open for the group, and they were surprised when they saw a small stage ready for them. Aelita fiddled a bit with the mixing board, Nicholas took his place at the drums, Ulrich played a quick scale, and Odd tuned his six-stringed instrument. Yumi turned on the mike and blew into it, and was pleased to hear it working nicely. They each glanced each other, then straightened up and faced the judges. There were three of them, an old lady, a young woman, and a middle-aged man. The young woman smiled at them and nodded.
“Ready whenever you are.”