My Body Is A Cage

He wasn't expecting Yumi to storm up to him, honestly - he was expecting a victory shout from the team when she took him by surprise. He pulled his screens in with a spark, looking at her, but shrinking under her gaze for the briefest of moments.

"Y-yeah?" Jeremie's tail stiffened and curled around his ankle as he crossed his arms behind his back. "Is something wrong?"

(This summer program is going to be the death of me, only two more weeks though!)

William stepped back, you don't ever mess with a girl when she's mad. Especially a girl that kick someone twice your strength's butt in several different ways. He felt bad for Jeremy.

Ulrich followed patiently behind Yumi, ready to rein her in. He understood her concerns, and indeed shared them to an extent, but after a fight like that, the Team was likely exhausted; maybe not the best time to vent hostilities or grievances too harshly. Still, at least he was starting to feel oriented again. "Doubt that's going to be the last of those New Monsters we encounter, though...." he thought guardedly.

Odd crouched in a resting position. He looked up at Yumi and winced slightly at her expression towards Jeremie..He knew she was upset but he was beginning to worry that there could possibly be more monsters lurking about.."H-Hey guys.."He looked down at the ground, hoping that Yumi wouldn't change her route, "Shouldn't we find a safer area..other than out in the open like this?" If they were going to rest, Odd was betting that standing here wasn't the smartest idea.

"Something is wrong, alright," Yumi strode until she was a hairsbreadth away, glaring Jeremie, catching her breath. "Do you see how much trouble we just had? With one monster?" She narrowed her eyes, honestly ready to smack the blonde for the danger they were all in. "We need to regroup - I understand your body is important, that this whole thing is important, but if one of those things get through us, you're going to die and this entire thing is pointless, alright?" She was angry but had spent her years channeling that into a logical argument, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"You were cowering over here while we had our necks out. I know you're scared, but we're scared too." Her glare softened - she closed her eyes for a moment. "You need to take charge, just like you used to on Earth. The only difference here is now you can see the danger we're in on a different level."

She then looked to Odd and nodded at his suggestion, glancing at Aelita afterward. "What're the odds you can make us a makeshift shelter, Aelita?" Figuring it was better she call a shot, she tapped at one of the telekinetic bulbs on her temples. "I'll give you a hand."

"You don't need to be so hard on him, Yumi," Aelita said defensively, "His powers aren't working the same as ours, he can't be counted on to defend himself."

It was not anger at Yumi, but protectiveness toward Jeremie that fueled her. He was at least trying, right? "Look, I think...I think I can give the Shelter a try, at any rate," she said, reining in her emotions before they got to be too much.

She stepped away from the group, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She then let all four of her orbs fly out, each one landing in a circle around the full group and embedding themselves in the ground. And then, like a maw closing around them, a dome of stone slipped over them all, a single, person-sized opening embedded inside it.

Surprised at how exhausting it was, Aelita stumbled back, the breath knocked out of her.

Pyrrus settled into his throne, fingers arched beneath his chin. The Mandrills swarmed uneasily around him, but a single glare sent them all into still silence. "We wait," the Xakin growled, "The next move is theirs. Let us see what they choose to make of it."

((From here on, Pyrrus' turn will be skipped until I mention otherwise.))

Jeremie was stunned for a few moments, but as Aelita put up the shelter he narrowed his eyes a bit at the comments; he lifted a hand, adjusting his glasses.

"I understand, okay?" He muttered after a moment, frowning, fighting just to keep his eyes on her, but he had to show he wasn't the coward she was making him to be. "This is new for me - I'm not exactly used to this and the two or three times I have been to Lyoko it wasn't like the world here! It was either a mirror of our world or I got stuck between, remember? I'm kind of cautious; unlike the rest of you, this is the only body I have, alright? If I get devirtualized, that's game over, just like you said; I'm not a coward, I'm trying not to die."

He went to turn his back on her but paused, looking to the group after a short hesitation.

"She's right, though - we need to regroup. You guys were sloppy out there."

A smile. A shrug. He receded into the shelter, his tail curled up.

"That was the first time we've seen that monster" William said defensively, this could not be the first time the group had trouble with a monster. "I don't see how sitting around will help us with that" The sooner they found Jeremie's body the sooner they didn't have to protect him anymore, right? It also wasn't certain how long Aelita's shelter would last under attack and this Pyrrus guy obviously wasn't planning on resolving this peacefully. It seemed that getting the first strike in would be the best option, to William anyway.

((Sorry for late reply; busy and distracted, once again. @w@; ))

Ulrich could not help but feel a twinge of "are you SERIOUS?" at Jeremie's quick little criticism, but ultimately kept it to himself. Things were tense enough right now, he had no intention of worsening them. Besides, he understood Jeremie's anxiety; he was in a particularly vulnerable spot right now. Limited grasp of his new abilities, no fall-back if he got hurt...Ulrich doubted any one of them could be asked to handle that pressure any better.

"It'll give us all a chance to catch our breaths, at the very least," Ulrich said to William, settling down against a nearby wall. "Not to mention think over that new monster a bit more. It was a nasty piece of work, but we saw it's not invincible by any stretch of the imagination."

Already he was trying to think of new strategies to fight one of them if they encountered another, which seemed all but inevitable at the moment.

Odd perched himself on top of a rock bear by. He hummed softly to himself, "it's been a while Einstine!" he laughed a bit, to make it his comment un-serious. Although, he wasn't being completely serious, he knew part of him was taken back at his comment. It had been a long time since any of them were in lyoko, and now that they had new powers and monsters to figure out, he was worried they were going to be "sloppy" for some time.

With a sigh he looked around to his friends, then at the ground wondering if there was anything they missed about the monster, or what other monsters were out there waiting for them. He looked back up a nervous expression on his face, part of him was worried about Kiwi, he had no idea how long they had been in lyoko, or if his friend ever made it to the apartment. He bit at his nails anxiously, there was so much going on, so much to think about.

"h-how long do you think we've been here?" his anxiety got the better of him as he blurted out the question. He was so worried about his dog, he really did want to know how Kiwi was doing..if anyone showed up..or even if his beloved dog was still alive. He tapped his foot, hoping someone could give him a guess.

Once Yumi had helped Aelita into the shelter and into a safe place due to her fatigue, she sat down herself on one of the rounded rocks the rock-shields had captured inside, sighing as she looked to each and every member. She gauged their expressions, their words - however it seemed she was the only one who wasn't slightly irritated by Jeremie's remark; in fact, as he made it, a smirk had formed on her face.

"No, Jeremie is right," picking up on their expressions more-so than their words, she crossed her arms and reclined comfortably. "William, you weren't following Ulrich's orders. Ulrich, you were being too foolhardy. Odd, you're too distracted." Offering no critique on herself or Aelita seemed to speak for itself, despite her claiming the 'leader' was correct. "We all need to remember we're a team. When someone says jump, we jump. There's a reason they're asking. Never forget that."

She left Odd's question for someone else to answer, rubbing her forehead - she pulled out a fan and swept it quietly, giving Aelita a breeze.

"...th-thank you...Yumi...." Aelita said graciously but faintly as her friend helped her into the stone shelter.

Still feeling tired from her earlier effort, she found a good resting spot along the wall, closing her eyes for a moment and taking the time to breathe in, and out...in, and out...to regain her balance. "We were able to work as a Team together once," she said optimistically after she'd finished recovering (though she was still a bit tuckered out from the exertion), "I know, with time, we'll learn to do it again."

She looked to Odd with a gentle smile. "Don't worry," she said, "Kiwi's a smart dog, he knows how to take care of himself. And besides, you'll be back with him before you know it."

Somehow...being here, with all her friends, calm and safe for once...it did wonders for Aelita's confidence.

"Jeremie is right."

Those were words he missed hearing, little did he know until they were told - he glanced about, though, the survey of faces making him feel overwhelmed. However, Odd blurting got his attention, forcing his mind off of his musing.

"Yeah, it has." Simply put. Obviously his mood had been soured; he was realizing he was more of a hindrance than a help.

He pulled up a monitor, watching as it sparked, beginning to update the data on the Mandrill.

"You guys need to train," he said without looking up. "Don't care how you do it, but you're all rusty." Sounding distracted, his tail curled - the sooner he got out of here, the better.

There was silence after Jeremy spoke so William figured he'd get the idea ball rolling "How about some sparring? We can learn each other's strengths and practice at the same time"

"I'd be down for that," Ulrich replied, cracking his neck and knuckles (as much for show as anything actually necessary). "Better keep it to one-on-one's though, we only have so much room in Aelita's shelter and we don't want to attract unwanted attention."
He stood up, again stretching a bit here and there, before looking around the room with a wry grin. "Any one want to start us off?"

Odd smiled at Aelita's answer, he couldn't help but be worried about him. He got down off his perch and offered it to Aleita.

"Hey, I'm not distracted!" He jokingly yelled over at Yumi before he turned his attention to the boys, he made a face as they talked about sparring, 'Well, how about you two go first, seeing as you two get along Oh so well." Odd laughed to himself, he honestly thought it would make a good show, not to mention he was trying to avoid it as long as possible.

He was trying to bide some time for Aelita to completely recover, and Jeremie was out of the question. He also knew that if Yumi was going to spar, she'd just step right in and start. He stretched a bit, then put his hands behind his head in his usual stance.

"I agree," Yumi added with a smirk. "William and Ulrich can spar while Jeremie figures out where we need to strike and Aelita recovers."

She pulled out a fan, then, flinging it at Odd and burying it into the rock wall next to his head, grinning. "You and I will go after the drama kings finish, sound fair?"

"Does that mean that you and I get to spar, Jeremie?" Aelita asked teasingly, scooching a little closer to the busy young man.

She was still tired, but recovering quickly. At this point, she just wanted to have another bit of time to simply be with her friends, no need for worry or planning. Of course, she knew time waited for no one, but for now she was happy to take what she could get.

Jeremie's typing stopped on a dime, fingers flexing and tail going pin-straight, eyes wide as Aelita scooted next to him. He was caught off guard - he cleared his throat to relax himself, cheeks a bright red. "I can't fight, you know that," he scratched at his cheek bashfully as the files on his monitor scrolled - he pulled up his own Lyoko card, giving it a once-over.

"According to this I have no offensive-" His mouth had gotten ahead of his brain - he looked at her and broke into a grin, letting out that awkward chuckle of his, tail curling itself into a knot; then he surprised himself.

"Sure, we can spar." He tilted his head with a little smile - he was on Lyoko. What did he have to lose against Aelita?

William grinned at this "Sounds good to me". It wasn't why he suggested sparring but he wasn't going to pass Ulrich. Both because he could use a challenge and because of their old rivalry. William turned to Ulrich "ready?" he asked before sliding into a battle stance and taking the first swing.

Ulrich regarded his opponent with a mixture of eagerness and hesitation. On the one hand, a chance to vent his frustrations about William in a safe setting was a chance too good to ignore. On the other, a chance to vent his frustrations about William was an open invitation for going too far and causing trouble, a temptation Ulrich knew he might not be able to resist. Still, no backing down now. "I've been ready since before you volunteered," he answered William with steely calm, charging his opponent before the sentence was even finished.

Odd jumped as the fan flew by his head. He let out a small squeal and then turned towards Yumi, "Uhh. I'd rather not!" He laughed nervously but knew he had no choice but to agree to the spar.

He sat down on the ground waiting for Ulrich and Williams battle to really begin. He smirked out of excitement, putting his hands behind his head once again.

A smile broke on Yumi's features at Odd's rather quick movement; seeing Jeremie agree to Aelita's challenge lit a little spark in her heart. Maybe there was hope for him after all - he was taking some initiative. She crossed her arms and nodded in approval at Odd's acceptance, just in time to catch William's rather artful swing at Ulrich which was equally gracefully dodged. This was something that had been under the surface for a long time for the both of them - and this time? William was conscious to fight back.

"The goal isn't to win, it's to get back into the swing of things, got it, boys?" She hollered at them coolly, knowing if she didn't the situation could get rather heated rather quickly.

Yumi giggled, first at Jeremie, then at Odd, then at Yumi. This was fantastic! Fun! Honest-to-goodness fun! For a while there, she'd feared she'd never experience it again, yet here they all were, enjoying themselves. "Oh Jeremie!" she laughed happily, "You mean it?"
In her mind, she was already devising tactics....