The Mechanist

Deep-Sea Dive

"Well?" Sissi simply said on her bed. William stood in her room while Aelita sat in Sissi's desk chair. "What is going on with you and Sam?"

"Nothing! We're just talking," Will said.

Sissi paused, "Then what did you mean by 'you thought I wouldn't mind'."

"Well... Sam's your friend and she liked Odd. I didn't want to... make things worse." Sissi narrowed her eyes at him.

"Why are you so nervous?" She asked.

"Because... I... I know that you and Odd talk a lot to each other. I don't want Odd knowing just yet. I-"

"What are you two doing?"

"I... I'm just talking with her, alright! Sheesh! Isn't it enough that I don't want Odd to be upset with me over this?!" William blurted out. Sissi stared at him before looking at Aelita. The pink-haired girl shrugged. Sissi sighed and stood up from the bed.

"I won't tell Odd. You're right that it isn't the right time for him to know." Sissi paused impressively, "But... just be careful where and when she calls you."

"Okay," William said as Aelita picked up her phone. "So... what's going to happen with Odd and Sam?"

"Don't worry about that. Just focus on defeating XANA and schoolwork," Sissi sighed.

"Right, okay," William said "Um... I was just wondering. How is it that you are stronger than Ulrich? I mean, he's been practicing for a while." Sissi blinked several times and shrugged her shoulders.

"People grow at different rates. Plus, I practice a different form of martial arts than he does."

Then Aelita got off the phone, "That was Jeremie. He wanted me to come to his room."

"Okay, I'll talk with you two later," Sissi said. William nodded as he and Aelita walked out of the room.

William couldn't figure out why Aelita was walking so close to him until they managed to get to the end of the hall. She stopped him and looked him straight in the eye. "What?"

"You lied. I know you did," Aelita said. "What did you really mean?"

William was silent for a moment before he spoke, "I didn't think she would mind because I thought it was something she wanted. I mean, at least that's what I would want with Yumi, but..."

"I get it," Aelita replied. "She would've caught on if you said anything. You did the right thing."

"How did you know I was lying? I mean, I tried to keep a straight face when-"

"It wasn't your face. It was just a hunch," Aelita smirked and winked.

The days went by fast, for Jeremie anyway. At that time, a drummer in a popular band called the Sub-Digitals came to find a young DJ with special talents. William immediately signed Aelita up, who got the gig. The school got a new wreck room that William was in charge of, and Sissi managed to improve the battery life of the XR-Sleeves. "Finally," Odd would say, "Those things give up at the worst times." Jeremie and Aelita were busy working on a way to enter the digital sea and the Web. Sissi chose not to get involved.

"If I mess up, I wouldn't forgive myself," she said.

"Oh, but it's okay if I mess up?" Jeremie asked.

"I trust you," Sissi answered. Jeremie and Aelita worked endlessly on the project until they finally managed to get a submarine-like ship programmed. They named it the Skidblanir after a ship that never lost its way at sea, Skid for short. Aelita got the idea from a story that her father used to tell.