Plus One (Code Lyoko: Ulrich)

Chapter 5: Cruel Dilemma

(A/N: I skipped over Big Bug because I didn't really know how to fit Mel into the episode without it feeling a little forced)

Everyone was gathered on the school's sports field as Principal Delmas was talking to them about the renovations being done to better improve their sporting experience.

"Wow, can he talk." Odd spoke quietly. "Do we really have to listen to all this?" 

"Not really. You could've stayed with Jeremy if you wanted to." Ulrich replied.

"What's Einstein up to anyway?" Yumi asked.

"The usual." Odd replied.

"He's glued to his computer screen talking to Aelita." Mel explained.

****

Yumi, Mel, Ulrich and Odd were all gathered in Jeremy's room as he told them he'd managed to complete the materialisation program for Aelita and was planning on materialising her.

Yumi shook her head in denial at the idea.

"Yumi, it's now or never. We may not get a second chance." Jeremy explained as he stood up and began pacing. "What if there's some sort of bug? I'll never be able to set up the program again."

"Listen, you can't just materialise Aelita like that without making a lot of preparations." Yumi said.

"I've boosted the scans. I've got the program going, everything's ready." Jeremy explained.

"Yeah, in your head." Ulrich said. "Hey, come back to Earth, Jeremy. Try to be practical for once. Aelita has no parents and she hasn't got a birth certificate. What's more, she's not enrolled in any school- okay, that's no biggie- but-"

"All that together means she doesn't exist in our world." Mel finished for him.

"Imagine 'hello, I'm Aelita. I just got here from a virtual reality'. That's a one way ticket to the nut-house." Odd said.

"You know, Jeremy. It doesn't have to be today." Aelita spoke up. "I can wait."

"Well, what do we do now?" Jeremy asked.

"I can put her up at my house. My folks wouldn't mind." Yumi said. 

"And you can plug into the city hall computers and create a fake identity for her." Ulrich said. "Find her a new name. All the stuff she needs."

"Then you just have to enroll her at our school." Mel said.

"Yeah, and try to put her in our class." Odd said. "That'd be really cool, huh?"

Jeremy was quiet for a moment as he thought about it all.

"Okay. We'll get started first thing tomorrow." He finally agreed.

****

Yumi had invited Mel over to her house for a sleepover since they hadn't hung out together, just the two of them, for a while and Mel got permission from Principal Delmas to leave campus for the night.

Both girls were asleep when the sound of Yumi's phone ringing woke them up.

"What's going on?" Mel yawned.

"I don't know. It's Jeremy." Yumi spoke sleepily as she answered her phone. "Do you realise what time it is?... Bulldozers? What bulldozers."

Yumi suddenly sat upright in a panic, which caused Mel to wake up completely as she realised this was important.

"We're on our way." Yumi said before quickly jumping out of bed.

"What's happening?" Mel asked as she too got up and started getting dressed.