Code Lyoko: Revolutions and Evolutions

Chapter 9

The morning was far more refreshing than the mugginess of the night before. A late fresh and heavy rain had cleansed the repugnant feeling of grime and sweat that seemed to encase the city in a foul coat of muck. Yumi woke up and headed downstairs. Her father and Hiroki were already downstairs. Hiroki playing his games as usual and her father reading his morning paper. Yumi noted that her mother was absent, and so, proceeding to go about her typical morning, Yumi cracked a few eggs into the skillet.

The events of last night seemed to be like breath on the mirror, lasting only for a moment. That is what she wanted to tell herself, but the cash that was in her windbreaker affirmed to her that it was no dream; it was no trick of her mind. What happened last night was real, and Yumi instinctively knew that something was just outright wrong. Her mother had bribed her into silence; she couldn't rightly go back on her promise without getting into even worse water with her father. All she knew was that it all had something to do with the bracelet that Hiroki had, and one Yumi was sure she'd be getting herself soon enough with all that had happened lately.

While she minded the cooking of her eggs, Yumi reflected more on the call she had with William. He seemed in a whole different place than he was when he successfully was restored. He seemed sure of himself, confident. But more than that, that detail stuck out to her. A bombing in the city involved a Kadic teacher, and seemingly only one outlet of the news covered it. It was the epitome of bizarre. Scraping the eggs onto her plate, she sat down next to her father and began to eat silently.

"How'd you sleep?" Takeho asked as he closed his paper.

Yumi looked up, "Oh, fine. I feel much better now after the rain and all."

"Yeah. The rain certainly helped. It doesn't feel so much like being inside a broiler."

Yumi chuckled lightly, "How did you sleep?"

"Ah, okay, I guess. I don't know I think I kept cutting in and out of sleep. I would drift off, and I felt like my feet were against the wall, and then I woke up, and I was sleeping just as I normally do. Strange, I thing."

"Maybe you were only half-asleep. It happens from time to time."

"Perhaps your right. Oh, just to let you know, your school called and they are going to be linking you all up to the security system they are using at Kadic. You will be receiving your bracelets and your ID cards as soon as you arrive on campus today."

Yumi nodded, "Oh, well, that sounds fun. I have both seen and heard that the range of ability the system allows is extensive, to say the least."

Internally, however, she thought, "Mom was right. Whatever this system is, she has right to be afraid of it. Jeremy said they found a weak spot, but I truly wonder for how long it will remain weak."

At that moment, Yumi's phone vibrated, and she saw it was a text from Akiko, "I'll be a bit late coming home today. Around four o'clock. Your father will get this same text. Carry on as usual and please keep studying for your accelerated classes."-Mom.

As if on perfect timing, Takeho's phone vibrated, and he checked his phone. After a moment of silence, he said, "Your mother will be home later than usual so until then, well it'll just be us."

At the sound of this news, Hiroki was privately overjoyed with Yumi processing this information. She remembered how her mother looked this morning, rough around the edges, beaten, but she seemed alright otherwise. Maybe this was just a tactic to stall her dad from catching on to what happened. However, utilizing this time, Yumi hatched a new idea. If it was going to be the new way of things it was better if she could exploit that system as readily as she could. Yumi personally wanted to see the ability to collaborate with the rest of the team, regardless of their distance. It would be a good idea to test Jeremy's theory on the weakness of this system, but this would take she knew, a bit more planning than usual, to pull off.