Re: 100 Word Drabbles

[Snickie]

A Different Meeting

Only a handful of people know this about her, but before she was taken to Lyoko, Aelita was a babysitter.

She mostly kept within the town vicinity since she only had her bicycle for transportation, but she was great with young children. Her favorite had been the little Japanese girl in the nicer part of town.

Yumi was only two years old at the time and wasn't expected to remember. She never understood why she recognized Aelita as if from a dream, or why her parents were so delighted to have her in their home after she was first materialized.

-=-=-=-=-

Monster

Monsters only exist in fairy tales. And scary horror pictures that Odd likes and are scientifically inaccurate.

And on Lyoko.

This was her fairy tale. She was Princess and her knights in shining armor were off doing their own assignments.

This forest did look an awful lot like the one on Lyoko, just with more undergrowth that Kankrelats could hide under, and darker.

But there were no kankrelats because this was the real world and not Lyoko. Here she was safe.

She heard a howl in the distance, and instantly knew Jeremie was wrong.

There were monsters in these woods.

-=-=-=-=-

Miss Popularity

For as long as she could remember, she'd been taken advantage of.

It started with her childhood, but we'd rather not talk about that.

Then she came to Kadic, and drew attention to herself for the fact that her father was principal. Kids came to her left and right to get her to convince her father for many things from school dances to field trips to getting a friend out of trouble.

After awhile, she began to feel like it's all she was worth. She started charging favors for her services.

She charged too much, and she lost.

-=-=-=-=-

Future Jeremie

In the future, everyone will be dead.

It's a simple matter of biology and statistics. Nobody has ever managed to survive life beyond death.

Everybody thought that the science genius Jeremie Belpois would figure it out, though. Nothing was out of grasp for him, especially with his super genius wife and colleague Aelita. Together, they were unstoppable. They'd find the cure to aging and genetic ailments and stop car accidents and eradicate cancer.

Doing that was never in his interest, though. One is meant to die at the end of his life.

Rest in peace, Jeremie Belpois. 1992 to 2087

[Soul Jelly]

(When sleeplessness strikes, drabble!)

-

Last Call

-

“C'mon, pick up alread-”

“Hi Ulrich.”

“Yumi! How was college?”

“Great, thanks. Listen... we need to talk.”

Shit.

“...What's up?”

“Ulrich... this isn't working out.”

Oh no.

“You've met some cool college guy haven't you? Yumi, I know the long-distance thing is hard but we can make it work, we will, please-”

“Ulrich!”

“I... yeah?”

“I just meant the phone bill is getting ridiculous. I'm gonna start emailing you more instead, okay?”

“Oh. Yeah! Fine.”

“Had you worried there, huh? Love you, Ulrich.”

“Love you too Yumi.”

[Adventurer411]

Cover-up
----------------

Excuses, fighting, danger, flash.

No, not a flash—it’s more of a blink.

Excuses, fighting, danger, bubble.

Delicacy or possibility is not considered, only its speed.

Excuses, fighting, danger, white.

Destruction requires a cover: a quiet, deceiving, almost peaceful blanket of white. It benefits both
of us.

Excuses, fighting, danger, exposure.

It’s too late.

Exposure, confinement, questioning, lying.

The blanket is ripped.

Lying, hurting, worrying, punishment.

Killing Xana requires our experience, our skills—it requires us. We require a cover.

Defeat.

Punishment, desperation, race, white.

The fighting is important, but the cover is just as important.

Return to the past.

[Snickie]

Twelve

Twelve.

That's how many hours a week on average they'd spent on Lyoko just to counter XANA's attacks. That didn't even include all the time spent on Carthage trying to research the antivirus.

It was the grade on Odd's last science test that had led to the same number of hours in detention, during which he got some much needed sleep.

It was how many times Jim had nearly rediscovered Lyoko and had his memory wiped.

It's the minimum sentence they would have served if the police caught them.

It's the number of syllables in this sentence.

What a number.

-=-=-=-=-

Cover-Up

It started with trips to the infirmary. They rarely actually went, of course, but the teachers often forgot to compare their attendance with Yolande's. When the attendance policy was tightened and upgraded, those trips had to end.

Their next cover-up was trips to the bathroom on the basis that cafeteria food blocked them up. When healthier food was introduced, they were allowed to continue for a short while because "their bodies weren't used to it yet", but it was forced to stop after a month.

And Odd wondered why they caught him when he'd asked Aelita to lie for him.

[Soul Jelly]

Girl's Day Out

-

Yumi and Aelita returned just before dinner.

“Hey! How was your-” Odd looked up and blinked.

Aelita's hair was soaked, her backpack bulging; a medallion and smudged, intricate patterns adorned her neck; Yumi was plastering band-aids onto her cheek, examining one of many scratches on her green-paint-splattered jeans. They chatted animatedly, oblivious to their muddy footprints.

“What-” Ulrich began as they sat down beside him. His eyes widened; something suspiciously jewel-like glinted in Yumi's navel.

“Oh, you know.” Yumi shrugged. “Girl stuff.”

There was silence. Then:

“Aelita?”

“Yes, Odd?”

“Your skirt's on fire.”

[SeeMeInTheShadows]

Dear Odd

I’m sorry I couldn’t make it. I didn’t even hear about it until

I know we hadn’t seen much of each other these last few years, but I guess I want you to know that

I should have been there.

Hey Scrawny, so I hear you went off and died without me. You’re such an idiot I’m not even going to visit your grave.

Never mind, I’ll visit you. But I’m not bringing any mashed potatoes.

I’ll probably bring those too. Don’t worry.

I guess what I’m trying to say

Buddy,

I’m really going to miss you.
-Ulrich

[Snickie]

Kadic Academy added a new dance class to their master schedule, and our two resident geniuses were transferred into that class.

Jeremie was never any good at any of it; he was hopelessly uncoordinated.

Aelita, on the other hand, picked it up easily. After two hours, she wanted to learn more. So she went to YouTube.

"Jeremie, these are such wonderful dances. I'd love to learn them," she sighed as they watched a video from Budapest.

"One day, Aelita, after XANA's gone, I'll take you all over the world, and you can learn all the dances you want," smiled Jeremie.

[Snickie]

"What's up with you two? Are you together or not?'

Yumi and Ulrich's faces turned deep shades of red as their relationship went under verbal assault.

"One day everything's absolutely wonderful between you two, and the next day you're at each other's throats and with other people to make each other jealous. and then the next day you're okay with it all, and get back together the day after."

"Why do you care? How does our relationship matter to you?" Ulrich growled.

"Look, now you're defending yourselves. The whole school knows. You two are worse than a bad soap movie."

[Snickie]

Sick

"Check out this new movie that was just released!" exclaimed Ulrich, brandishing some DVD, still in its crinkly government plastic.

"Dude, that's awesome! I saw that; it was totally sick!" Odd agreed heartily.

"You mean...it had a physical or mental affliction?" Aelita's eyebrows furrowed. "That doesn't sound like a good movie."

"Uh, Aelita, that's not what Odd meant," Ulrich murmured, setting down the thin box. "He meant it was really cool."

"Oh." The pinkette nodded.

---

"Jeremie, I think you're totally sick." Aelita hugged the startled blond.

"Aelita, do you know what that means?"

"Well when Odd said it—"

"Nevermind."

[xiaozanghou]

Sick

"XANA's what?!" 5aaammm. 5M. 5 AM. The clock's red numbers jumped with each beat of Jeremy's heart. His hand scuttled over his nightstand for his glasses.

"I can feel it," Aelita coughed over the phone. "My mouth hurts, and I can't breath through my nose, and everything itches."

Jeremy's hand paused. "This again? It's not XANA. You have a cold."

"What if you're wrong?"

"Okay, okay." Jeremy conceded, only to be met with silence. "Aelita?"

"I'm crazy, aren't I?"

"You're you. We'll check it out."

Jeremy thought about adding "for the last time", but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

[Snickie]

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD DO THIS TO US."

"WELL WHY'D YOU HAVE TO BUY THAT TICKET?"

"IT WAS THE ONLY WAY TO GET HER OFF MY BACK. AND WHAT ABOUT YOU?"

"WHAT ABOUT ME?"

"THE WAY YOU'RE ALWAYS HANGING WITH HIM. WHY DON'T YOU JUST BREAK UP WITH ME AND GO OUT WITH HIM?"

"WELL FOR YOUR—"

Creeeeeaaaaakkkkkk

"You two fighting again?"

"No, uh, we're rehearsing for a local play! Yeah."

"Oh really? Well, rehearse more quietly, okay? I can hear you two shouting from my room."

"Yeah, sure, Jeremie."

Slam.

"...We should probably work on our excuse."

"Yeah."

[Soul Jelly]

Shout

“I'M TIRED OF THIS, YOU HEAR? I'M FIGHTING EVERY DAY AGAINST A PYSCHOPATHIC ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE THAT WANTS TO KILL ME, I DON'T KNOW IF YUMI EVEN LIKES ME AT ALL, I HAVEN'T STUDIED FOR THE TEST ON TUESDAY. AND I HAVE A HUGE SPOT ON MY FOREHEAD THAT ODD KEEPS TRYING TO POP IN MY SLEEP.”

Surrounded by the wreckage of XANA's latest attack and the gawping Kadic populace, he breathed deeply and held his phone to his ear.

“Jérémie.”

“Feel better, Ulrich?”

“I guess. Say... We are returning to the past on this one, right?”

[cya6]

Ice:

They hadn’t been the same since 8th grade.

She had always said his eyes were the sky, the ocean. Blue, sparkling, inquisitive.

Then he went away.

She didn’t see him for years.

Getting detention over breaks, staying over summer. Running away on the way home for Christmas.

He called infrequently, saying he was happy, had friends, but sounded exhausted.



Something must’ve have happened.

Because when Jeremie finally came home, his eyes weren’t the ocean or the sky.

They were hard, cold, eyes that had seen too much.

When Mrs. Belpois looked into her son’s eyes, all she saw was ice.

[Snickie]

Ice
Before her stretched a blue frozen wasteland.

It was calming in a way, and in less than a second, her mind flashed with images of pink and snow, but no image stayed long enough to see anything else. At the same time, her skin prickled with a pleasant chill. But even though she was surrounded by all this ice, she wasn't sure that the chill came from the environment.

For a moment, she dared to close her eyes and pretend she was in the real world. Jeremie's world.

The clicking of nearby monsters yanked her back to her virtual reality.

[xiaozanghou]

Before and After

Under the stairs, Yumi sat cross-legged with a book in her lap, her phone illuminating the pages. She meant to work through the problems, but she was so tired of solving problems.

Buzz. She was tired of texting, talking, smiling, laughing. She was tired of ignoring, shrugging, frowning, yelling. She was tired of the eggshells that were Ulrich's and William's feelings. She was tired of Aelita's tears. She was tired of Odd's everything.

In the darkness, the corner of Yumi's mouth twitched. She wondered how to respond to this message from the only person she could count on to solve his own problems.

[Soul Jelly]

Invigorate

Laura's head is spinning; supercomputers, warriors, virtual worlds... she's in love with the sheer incredibility of it. Already the secret revives her dull world.

William scrutinises her through eyes dark and serious. She clings stubbornly to the elation bubbling inside her, yet she fidgets as the elevator rises.

"You don't know what you're getting into," he says, head bent close to hers, voice no more than a whisper. Implicit in his tone is the warning.

Get out. While you still can.

"It's amazing. An adventure," she replies.

Fresh-faced and bright-eyed, Laura walks away.

He watches her go, silent.

[Snickie]

“Invigoraaaaate! Invigoraaaaaate! Na na na na na na na na invigoraaaaaate!”

The rather bad singing was performed by Laura, who was sitting on Odd’s bed, rubbing Kiwi’s belly quite vigorously. The small dog was going wild, his legs kicking and his paws flapping and his tongue hanging out in excited pants.

“I’ve never done that before,” Odd commented.

“I did it all the time to my cats before my parents sent me here,” said the blonde as she cooed over the small dog.

“You should come by more often. Kiwi loves company.”

“I’ll do that,” Laura grinned, her eyes glinting.

[xiaozanghou]

Symphony

"You are my vessel," said the glowing sphere. "Young princess, you will Sing."

Aelita trembled. All these years--reading holy codes, searching seas, excavating the core--had finally come to fruition. Creator chose one to Sing its Song of earth, of birth, of life. She had same power to create as Creator.

Creator's blessing signified the return of its eternal enemy, Xana. Xana had its own vessel and its own Song, but not of life.

Aelita now heard the faint, dark Notes striking the gilded cloister windows. Xana's chosen had already found her.

"It's time."

Her bodyguards flocked to her side, weapons drawn.

[cya6]

Puzzle

Aelita frowned in concentration, glancing from the fragmented pieces to the illustration.

“Need help?”

She glanced up and nodded. Jeremie began to help her piece the pieces together.

Soon Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi had joined.

The picture had been broken, scattered. Aelita thought it could never be fixed.

But with her friends’ help, the parts of the puzzle came together.

Once it was finished, lines could still be seen. It would never be a replica of the picture.

But looking at her smiling friends, helping her put it back together, she realized that things were good the way they were.



Ugh, my attempt at a lighter piece XP

[Snickie]

Spiral

"Look at it. It's so cute!"

"Uh, thanks, Aelita, but would you put it back in my pen please?"

"But I want to play with it!" Aelita wrinkled her nose cutely as she squeezed the tiny metal spiral in her nimble fingers. Suddenly one of her fingers went askew, and the spring flew across the room, entangling itself in Sissi's hair.

"MR. FUMET, AELITA STONES IS THROWING STUFF AT ME!"

Aelita's face turned pink as she muttered an apology. "Sorry, Sissi. It was an accident."

Odd craned his neck towards Sissi. "Can I have my spring back?"

Sissi glared. "No!"

[SeeMeInTheShadows]

Odd heard the door creek open and lightly shut, before the tell-tale footsteps of Ulrich walked in. Odd could feel the other boy’s eyes boring into his turned back. Odd could practically sense the way Ulrich’s would have opened before he thought better and turned back to his own bed.

The silence wasn’t unusual anymore, but it would probably never be comfortable.

Ulrich sighed from across the room. “I don’t know what you want me to say Odd. I’ve apologized, I’ve tried to make it better…what do you want?”

He thought they would stay close.

Odd didn’t answer.

Apparently not.

[Soul Jelly]

Prompt: Before And After

Sissi

/

She stares at the bottle for a long time.

This shouldn't be so significant she tells herself, but it is. She knew she'd do it eventually, when the time was right. Change is good.

Afterwards when her hair is dry she shakes it out from the towel like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis. She practises sweeping it over her shoulder; practises, too, the smile that will go with it. It's a good look, she concedes. New. Better.

He's always liked dark-haired girls.

The blonde girl, who stares back at her from the bathroom mirror, doesn't care. Not any more.

[xiaozanghou]

Blood

On impact, his hungry attacker's head exploded into a shower of black. It was the only way to be sure.

“Nice one, Daddy!”

His sword dissolved into a black mist, entering him once more through his pores, hissing into his self-healing wounds. 500 years ago, his black mist was just a line of code in a big machine that couldn't invade anybody.

He didn't know he had nanomachines in his blood, or that XANA's most devastating strike on humanity would come just five years after the birth of his daughter.

“Baby, come here.” He studied the body as the little girl kicked the head far away. “It's your turn to dress this one.”

[Snickie]

Hide and Seek

"Peek-a-boo!"

Circling words around her.

"Peek-a-boo!"

Surrounded by pink and happiness.

"Peek-a-boo!"

Let's play hide and seek!

"One two three four."

Imma go hide in the big tree in the garden!

Pitter pattering of small feet on the carpet.

"Here I come!"

Suspense. Laughs and giggles given away.

"Peek-a-boo!"

"Daddy! You found me!"

"Eh-oh!"

Giggles. Contented sighs.

"Daddy, can we maybe find Mommy too? Is Mommy playing too?"

"No, my angel, she's not playing. But we'll find her one day."

Years of love, laughter, growth.

"Come."

Anxious eyes.

"To a world where we will be safe."

Hm, what you say?

[Snickie]

Blood

He stared at the million droplets spilled on the carpet.

He didn't care about letters or whether or not they were plus or minus. Didn't care either that it made it seem too much like math, nor about the upcoming math test that he was sure to fail.

This was the math that he did care about: life and Lyoko minus Kiwi spelled disaster.

He didn't bother to wonder how they were going to conceal the canine's death and the bloodstains in the carpet.

He was silent as the spectre violently amalgamated their blood. The mercury knife dissipated with him.

[Sponsored content]