Code: Glitch

Chapter 4: Looming Thunder, Prideful Lightning

William slowly approached the group as the sound of thunder above them. Ulrich and Yumi took fighting stances, telling Jeremy and Aelita to get behind them. Then Odd noticed something, telling everyone to calm down.

"William clone, what's up?"

"The sky of course. Odd, you might be the smart one next to Jeremy, but you ask a lot of dumb questions.

They all quickly lowered their guard, more confused than anyone else.

"What are you doing out here? You're supposed to be back at the dorm."

"You say you didn't want me to expose my home after the Goodwill incident with Milly and Tamiya, right? So I wanted to learn about keeping secrets. So I went to see this movie with some friends!"

Ulrich wasn't buying it. "What's the name of the movie?"

"The Dentristial Massacre."

Yumi followed up. "Who'd you see it with?"

"People from our class. Christophe, Anais, and Mathias. That was the guy who kissed a Polymorphic Spectre disguised in front of Ulrich and the real William to make you jealous, right?"

Odd laughed as Ulrich looked away and Yumi facepalmed to hide her cheeks.

"That can't be the clone William," she tried protesting and keeping her sanity from that event. "How can he even know about that? He wasn't even around!"

Jeremy reluctantly put his hand up to explain.

"What did you do?"

"I programmed him with some of the information of our adventures. His artificial intelligence has grown since the incident so he has to understand the weight of the situation now. XANA might not be affected by anymore of the Return to the Pasts, but as long as his tower is intact, it'll help us keep him around until we can free the real one."

"Did you have to include all the XANA's Kiss moments," Odd asked, concerned. Then Odd grinned. "Did he include your moment at the end?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Your first time with Ms. Einstein, brainiac."

Jeremy started slowly freezing up when Aelita offered to warm him, giggling. However, Odd asked for help carrying the Hinobi Console.

Aelita took control of the situation "William, you, Ulrich and Yumi help Odd out and take the stairs and the other entry, I'll set some things up with Jeremy before we head out to the mountain sector."

As C-William helped lift Odd's load, Yumi asked how he found his way back to the factory.

"Oh, the others said I should find my way back home, and I told them that I was born here, so they laughed and said to go there. I was confused but then they started to rain so they left before I could ask anymore questions. I don't think I'd survive an electric shock out there either."

Ulrich shrugged. "Well it was at least smart of you to come here."

"Wanna play Co-Op while we wait," Odd asked.

C-William said yes, while Yumi was a bit more apprehensive, looking at the sky of looming thunder.

"Call it a hunch, but William, I have a strange feeling we might be needing you."

Meanwhile, Jeremy and Aelita were in the elevator but as the door opened, Aelita pulled Jeremy close to her.

"Why'd you freeze up earlier? I thought you were getting more comfortable with us being, you know, what we are."