(I just realized hilariously that both of the outfits that I have drawn T for her normal school outfits, the sweater vest and the original collared sweater both look so much like Herb's outfits, his first and second ones, I still really like them though so I'm not gonna change them, she and Herb just have a really good fashion sense that's all.)
Aelita Stones Kadic Academy Ninth-grade student
I sat up straight as a board in bed, it was two in the morning, and something had woken me up from my finally peaceful slumber, a cry out for help. I slid out of my bed and went over to Tovah's bed shaking her awake. "Wake up!" I pleaded.
"It's okay," I assured a sleeping Tovah, once I pulled my hands away she sat up looking at me.
"Is it morning?" she asked.
"Did I oversleep?" she sat up rubbing her eyes a confused look on her face. "No, it's still nighttime, you were yelling something in your sleep." I patted her back pulling my knees up to my chin I sat at the end of her bed, "What was it?" I asked softly, "It was just a nightmare, I can't remember," she replied unconvincingly, "Really?" I questioned, "You know that you can tell me what's wrong, I'm your best friend," I coaxed, "Really it's nothing, I'm fine," she pushed me away and I got up, a little confused about what could be happening in her head. "Alright," I shook my head frustrated by the fact I couldn't help my roommate and best friend, and went and got back into bed. I thought about what it could be that was bothering her, was I supposed to already know what was wrong, or was she not going to tell me?
THE CAFETERIA
When I woke up Tovah was gone already, typically she would wake me up in the morning, so I almost overslept. I got up and went about my day, as usual, getting dressed and heading to breakfast, but I was exhausted when I got there, so I laid my head on the table, tired from the night before, "what's wrong?" Odd asked sitting down with his tray, "Just tired, I didn't get much sleep last night," I sighed, "why not?" He interrogated. "Just couldn't sleep," I avoided the truth so as to not air out Tovah's troubles, "maybe you should try talking to someone," he suggested. "Maybe," I looked up as Tovah walked in with Jeremy, they both seemed in a pleasant mood even on this early morning. "You two seem in a good mood," Odd smiled leaning back in his chair, "Oh yeah, I slept great last night," Tovah shrugged, I squinted at her and thought for a moment how she could have possibly slept great after that, "Really?" I questioned sitting up straight in my chair, "Where did you go so early this morning?" I inquired, "I just went for a walk," she gave a slight motion for me to leave it. I finished my breakfast and headed to french, I sat next to Ulrich as usual who tried to scan my paper for answers to which I replied that he probably shouldn't cheat off of me as I didn't know what I was doing. He sighed and went back to his paper, I looked up at where Tovah usually sat right at the front next to Odd, but she was nowhere to be seen. What could be the reason she was missing class? When class ended Odd came up to me holding a folded piece of paper, he smiled and handed it to me, "I didn't know that your birthday was coming up, or that you were having a party," I took the paper and opened it abruptly, "What party?" I asked, "Who gave this to you?" I tilted my head looking up at Odd, "Oh Tovah did, was I not supposed to tell you?" He asked quietly, "Oh, I don't know, why wasn't she in class?" I questioned, "I have no idea, we haven't spoken much today." He shrugged his shoulders confirming he had no clue. I went down the hall and bumped into Jeremy who had left class early to go to the library, "Hey, have you heard about this?" I held up the invitation for my birthday party and he took it smiling, "Yeah, I helped make the invitations," He waved it in front of my face. "I mean you did say that we needed to make more effort in our relationship, well friendship..." he explained flustered. "I suppose, but where is she, you saw her this morning-" He cut me off and put his hand on my shoulder, I pulled away and looked at the invitation, "Well, I need to go find T and get more details, this all a bit of a surprise." I started up the path and pulled my phone out dialing Tovah, it rang and rang and finally she answered, "Hey, I have been trying to find you, where are you?" I inquired, "Oh I was at the factory," she answered. "Oh well, I saw that the invitation said that the party for my birthday is tonight," I cross-examined, "Yes, it'll be tonight. I'll see you after dinner."
AFTER DINNER
Odd Della Robbia Kadic academy ninth-grade student
I went to find Tovah, she had been on my mind so much lately after what had happened at the cabin, I wanted to make things between us right. We weren't on bad terms but we were on awkward terms, that morning I had seen her at breakfast and that was it. I walked down the path to Tovah's room and knocked on the door soon it slid open, no one was there, although it was before dinner and it was typically the time she and Aelita were in their room. Ulrich snuck up behind me and tapped my shoulder, "Looking for something?" he asked, "No-" I quickly replied, "Well, actually yes, have you seen Tov today?" he looked in the room and then back at me, "Maybe she's already in the lunchroom, or maybe she's getting ready for Aelita's party," he patted my shoulder and we head down to the lunchroom. We sat down to eat and I had an eery feeling in my stomach that something was wrong. "Where's Aelita?" Yumi asked twirling her fork into her pasta, "No, I saw her in class and that was it, maybe she's helping Tovah set the party up, it starts after dinner," Jeremy explained, we sat quietly and finished our dinners, and then made it over to the wreck-room, we walked in to see a highly decorated room, everyone was having cake and enjoying themselves. Tovah came up to me and gave me a big smile, "Hey Odd, wanna come outside with me?" I sensed something weird with her, she seemed different than usual, and she wasn't being her bubbly and sarcastic self. We walked outside, I rubbed my arm and looked up at the dark sky, "Where is Aelita? Is this supposed to be a surprise party?" I questioned, "I don't know, I mean she saw the invitation." she smiled twirling her hair around her finger, "Are you feeling okay?" I asked, "Why?" she questioned, "Cause you're not acting like you," She stood in front of me and took my hands, "Will you come with me to the factory? It would be so romantic don't you think?" I pulled my hands away and tucked them into my pockets, "Romantic?" I asked raising my eyebrows, I was curious why she wanted to be romantic with me all of a sudden, but I also thought maybe this wasn't the time. "Not tonight," I replied.
Aelita Stones Kadic Academy Ninth grade Student
I walked behind Tovah as she leads me out of the wreck room, "Where are we going?" I asked curiously, "Don't you trust me?" she questions, "Yes," I nod and follow closely behind her, we march up a hill, and I see that we are going to the factory. "Are we going to the factory?" I ask, "Yes, but don't worry it will all be over soon." I stop in my tracks and put my hands on my hips, "You've been being so weird, ever since last night, tell me what's wrong with you," She looks at me with a wicked grin and pushes me over harshly my head meeting with the concrete, and soon after it all went dark. Next thing I know I wake up on Lyoko being lifted by the Scyphozoa. I concluded that I had been tricked.
Tovah Pressman Kadic Academy Ninth Grade Student
Warmth. I am wrapped in a soft blanket and under soft sheets, my feet trace the folds beneath them as my eyes open like I am getting my footing. I look at my surrounding, wondering where I am, the mushroom wallpaper, the smell of pancakes in the air, the sound of records scratching below, my childhood home...I sit up in bed and lean my feet off the side, is this a dream? I wander downstairs and see my father sipping his coffee while leafing through his paper, he looks at me while I stop at the bottom stair, "Good morning. Thought you might sleep the day away," he gives me a sweet and genuine smile, one like I haven't seen from him in years, but what twists my gut is what happens after, my mother stands up from behind the island holding pieces of a broken mug, she wipes flour from her brow and sets the pieces on the counter, "Put me in an operating room all day but don't ever ask me to cook," she laughed heartily, my heart skipped a beat when I saw my mother in front of me a woman I hadn't seen in years, "Mom?" I asked stepping into the kitchen, "You look as if you'd never seen me before," she replied with a crooked smile, she walked forward to me and brushed my hair out of my face.
"When did that happen? You're starting to look more like me every day, which I guess is good," she gave me a wink and looked back at my father, "Do you want pancakes, we have turkey bacon too," she walked over to the oven opening it, I went to sit by my father and felt confused, my mother and I had always been a vegetarian my father was not, that's why I was. I rested my hands on the marble and looked up at her as she glided across the kitchen, much like a ghost, which is what perhaps she was, or maybe I was. "Turkey bacon?" I finally asked when she added it to my plate. "We don't eat meat?" she put her head in her hands and shook her head, "'Mom' brain!" she put the turkey bacon on my father's plate who proceeded to pick at his pancakes, it made sense. "Tovah, my darling girl," my mother started as she stabbed her fork into a pancake, "Have I ever told you..." she put the piece in her mouth and shook her head, "You know what my love, your father and I should be going soon, much work to be done, but you can watch yourself I trust?" I nodded, I always was a good girl when my mother and father were gone, but ultimately I was confused about what was going on there, my parents never left me alone at home when they'd go to work, I walked them to the door and watched as they got to their car. I wondered why they were leaving me here and they hadn't dropped me off with family or a babysitter. I went upstairs to my bedroom and pulled my dresser open and looked at the clothing in it, it all fit me even though the last time I was in this house was when I was nine and I was fourteen now. I think. I pulled out a sweater, skirt, tights, and boots and quickly dressed, I then hurried down the stairs, I found a phone, and dialed the home phone Jeremy's cell phone. "Hello?" I spoke into the receiver, "Excuse me? Who is this?" An old woman spoke into the phone, I put the phone back on the counter. I walked about my childhood home wondering if perhaps this was all just a weird dream, I came upon one of my family photos, one that had happened when I was seven, I had been standing between my parents in it, but in that one, I was the only one in it. "What is..." I pulled the photo off the wall and examined it in my hand, but soon it slipped out of my hands as the door swung open. "We're home for lunch." my father sang, I dropped the photo, and it shattered at my feet, "Oh...I'm sorry father I didn't mean to do that," I quivered at the sound of glass shattering against the wood beneath my feet. "It's okay my darling girl, what were you doing lingering in the hallway though?" My mother asked running her nimble fingers through my long hair, "Just thought I heard something..." I started, "But it was just you guys, but wait you never come home for lunch, you guys are always far too busy at the hospital right now, it's 'rush hour' right?" I backed up away from the pair with my palms up in a kind of 'don't hurt me! Please,' kind of way, "Tovah, calm down, we're your parents." they assured me, but for some reason, it doesn't assure me. "We wanted to talk to you about something," my mother took me by the arm and pulled me into the living room where we sat on the couch, "What is it?" I asked softly, "The others, they're using you. They don't know what's good for you like we do, have you ever heard of a sacrificial lamb?" I nodded listening carefully to what they were telling me, "What do you mean, how am I the sacrificial lamb of the group? I mean they tried to kick me out," My father wrapped his arm around me and gave a soft sigh. "That was just a ploy to make you do the dirty work, you think your cousin would want you around? I mean he's always disliked you." he smiled patting my back, "Well, I know we've never..." I started to speak but looked down into my lap, my mother took my hand."You know how much this time has meant to me, getting to see you again has made me so happy." she smiled happily, "But darling, we need you to do something for us, for your family who needs it." I looked up at my parents and then down at the childish outfit I was in, was I willing to regress into my childhood to be with my mother again, to be with my family, but was it worth it? I looked up at my parents, "What should I do?" I questioned naively, "He needs you," my father replied, "he needs you to go to the real world, and well, he needs you to complete the mission," I tilted my head in confusion, "What mission?" I questioned.
"The one XANA has planned, your so-called friends keep him from doing the best thing possible he wants to end all hurt and end all the suffering it would be a truly magical world. But you have to be the savior for Lyoko." I crossed my arms, thinking hard, "how can he be trying to do anything well, when he's only done bad things on earth? Like the earthquakes and the rats and the-," they cut me off and stood up.
"Honey those things only happened because of Jeremy and now I realize even though we never wanted a child it's like you were meant to come to us, you know to be the protector of the world. The others have it all wrong once XANA has taken over your body he will be able to end all the wars and famine and your subconscious will be able to stay in this world with us forever and you will be able to grow up in this world here and no one will ever get older or ever leave you alone ever again. Doesn't that sound good? Isn't that what you want?"
Yumi Ishyama Kadic Academy Ninth Grade student
"The party has been going on for an hour! Where are the guest of honor and the host?" Ulrich asked putting his phone back in his pocket.
"I'm right here, Aelita said she wasn't feeling well, I walked her up to our room, and she said to just continue without her for now and she would come back later." Tovah walked back into the depths of the party to converse with the other guests, but something about that didn't sit right with me.
"Hey Jeremy, could you do me a favor?" I asked sitting down on the couch, "Yeah sure," he nodded, "What is it?" he questioned, "Can you check the activity on the supercomputer?" I asked quietly, he put his laptop on his knees and pulled it open, "It looks as if...wow, that's bizarre, it seems as though someone has been, not just someone two someone have been virtualized," he closed the laptop and pointed to the door, "We should get to the factory, get the others, I'll meet you there with the scanners nice and toasty," he ran out and I grabbed Ulrich and Odd, "Party is over, We have to go to the factory." we ran out of the building trailed by Tovah, "Where are you guys heading?" she questioned sternly, "Nowhere," Odd replied. "We all have a...dance class in the morning and we need to get some sleep if we want to make it," I lied. "Oh really?" She asked, "Where is this dance class then?" we all looked at each other, "The soccer field," "The gym," "The cafeteria," We all answered individually. "Soccer field?" I hissed at Ulrich, but Tovah just gave a weak smile and shrugged, "You guys have fun at your dance class, drink lots of water," she turned on her heel and went back inside. We all let out a sigh of relief and ran to the factory, "Did something seem off to you guys about her?" Odd asked, "You're the one who is in love with her, you tell me." I laughed softly, "I am not!" He defended, "This is beside the point, she seemed weird," Ulrich nodded as we made it up to the supercomputer, "Who is it?" I asked, "Well, it's Aelita and Tovah, but how could Tovah be on Lyoko if we've seen her tonight? Maybe someone else is XANAfied? Maybe Sissi or Herb or..." he thought out loud, I shook my head at his head, "I think we might be seeing double, we need to get in there and check it out," I decided. "I think one of you should stay here and go find the said evil twin and find out what they're up to, any volunteers?" Jeremy asked, "Alright if we have no volunteers how about...Ulrich?" Ulrich nodded, "Why don't we keep any weapons handy around the factory? That would come in handy, don't you think?" He suggested, "Oh, I hide a bat over here, do you want it?" Jeremy asked as he stood up from his chair pulling a bat as if from thin air, "It's in case XANA comes to play," he shrugged, "Well happy hunting, I don't know what you're looking for, XANA doesn't play by the rules." Ulrich frowned, not thrilled about an inevitable beatdown.
We went up to the scanners and I braced myself for the plunge. "Is this where Aelita had been located?" I asked Jeremy, "she should be nearby, I'll give you your vehicles," just like that we were on our way, "there!" Odd pointed to the end of the path. He hopped off his board to where Aelita was lying in a little ball, "are you okay?" He asked shaking her, "I don't know." She sat up rubbing her head, "One minute I was at the party...the next I was...well it's a bit foggy really." She sighed. "We have no time to lose," I pointed onward, "Tovah is somewhere and we don't know where Jeremy is she on your screen?" Odd asked. "No, she isn't on my screen, go look and see if you can find her! Quickly!" He demanded. Aelita was devirtualized by Jeremy, her health points were lowered by the Scyphozoa and she needed to rest, so Odd and I shared the responsibility of finding Tovah.
Aelita Stones Kadic Academy Ninth-grade student
I climbed the ladder up to the supercomputer room to see Jeremy looking stressed.
"Where is Ulrich? Don't tell me he's on Lyoko too?" I asked. "No, he's fighting Tovah's evil twin at school," he shook his head. "Well, it's me it wants, I should go help him, he probably needs help," I walked to the corner and pulled out a golf club I kept hidden for these types of emergencies. "Golf club, nice, usually I would argue and say no, but this isn't usually is it?" Jeremy sighed. "Just be careful, okay?" I nodded reassuringly and took off like a rocket into the night.
Where could the real Tovah be?
I heard what sounded like a body being thrown against a tree and figured that was the place.
"Hey! It's me! I'm the one you want!" I yelled boldly. "Come get me!" I taunted.
The evil twin ran towards me and I gripped the golf club in my hand keeping my ground, I swung back and hit the fake Tovah square in the stomach and it disappeared, "hm, maybe I should try for the golf team?" I smiled before going to help a beaten-up, Ulrich. "Come on, she'll come back,"
Tovah Pressman Kadic Academy Ninth-grade student
"Have you made a decision?" My mother asked softly running her slim fingers through my hair, I nodded proceeding to look at my parent's faces.
"I have," I stood up from my seat, "but I wanted to know something first," I walked over to the fireplace where all the pictures were hung, "since you're my parents, I need you to tell me something only you two would know, something I wouldn't know about, like perhaps how you died, mother. No one ever did tell me," I ran my fingers against the rock above the mantle and looked at them over my shoulder. "You don't want to hear about that, not now that XANA has brought us back together," my mother walked to me and put her hand on my shoulder.
"What's the matter? Don't you like it here?" My father asked.
"Everything is just how I remember, why isn't it how we remember it, we never kept meat in the house, father would sneak sandwiches at work, you've called me far too many different pet names you only called me darling, you said "mom brain", all of the pictures in the house have no one but me in them, you may be good at imitation but you have been dead since I was seven you think I don't remember every detail about my mother? If you were going to make copies of my parents at least make good ones don't you think?"
The room fell silent, I felt as though this place was no longer the sweet dream I had woken up in, but a nightmare. My parent's skin shed and they became ghosts of themselves that hung over me, the house began to cave around me, and I crawled out on skinned knees and bloody palms, yet they loomed over me, "what's your answer now?" They hissed. "No!" I screamed back in retaliation, "I will never be your puppet!"
"Then I guess we'll have to persuade you!" My mother's voice boomed. I looked to where the world seemed to stop and got to my feet and began to run, but just like that my feet came out from under me. I had an idea, I focused and soon I was launched forward and I stumbled back into Lyoko. I looked up and it seemed like a tornado was forming above me, I held my hands out to shield myself from it and it was pushed back a little. Curious as I was I ran as fast as I could. I had to get away and out of danger.
End of part 1