The Mechanist

The Death of All

"It was twice the size of the wade tower and had flaming fire coming from its feet! Jer, I think we need to hurry up with our plan!" Sissi exclaimed from the blonde's bed. Odd sat near Sissi's feet, petting Kiwi while the whole gang crammed into Jeremie's room.

"Not only that, now we know for sure that there are more replicas out there," Yumi said, "And with this...this-"

"Kolossus, with a K, remember," Odd smiled.

"It's gonna be hard to do anything on the replicas," William said.

"Which is why Sissi, Aelita, and I have been working on a program to get Franz Hopper back AND defeat XANA," Jeremie explained, "With it, we should be able to finally put an end to this."

"Right, and we've worked out all the kinks except one, right?" Sissi asked. Jeremie sighed, gritting his teeth slightly. He nodded. "Good." She stood up, stretched, and cracked her stiff neck. "I think we should get some rest and let Jeremie calculate the last part of the program."

"Oh, now you want me to work overtime," Jeremie huffed. Sissi giggled, ruffling the blonde's head. "You know, one day, I'm gonna grow up so tall that you can't even reach my head."

"HA! That'll be the day," Sissi laughed as they left the room. The team walked their separate ways while Sissi went to her room. She wasn't alone for long.

"You got a moment?" Odd asked.

"Of course," Sissi almost smirked. Whenever they were alone, a sudden giddy tingle would run up her spine. They wouldn't do anything, but it still happened nonetheless. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just... we haven't really talked about the... school attack," Odd blushed with a nervous grin.

"Oh."

"So. What do you think?"

"I told you what I think and feel," Sissi crossed her arms.

"Yeah, but I... don't really know what a steady relationship is. Plus my street cred as a ladies man is out the window," Odd huffed.

"You mean the likelihood of you getting slapped by another girl?" Sissi smirked, "Trust me, it's high."

"How are you okay with this?"

"I know you're loyal. Once you've made your mind about someone, you don't seem to let go," Sissi shrugged.

"How could you know that?"

"In the previous timeline, you kinda had a thing going on with my penpal in Norway."

"Really, Norwegian? Why didn't you let her come?"

"Because she caused you guys to break up faster than I ever could. Plus," Sissi grumbled under her breath, "She's pretty shallow, and this is coming from the queen of shallowness."

"Former queen," Odd smiled. Sissi smiled back. "So... why didn't you tell me earlier about your feelings?" It was silent for a while.

"I... I didn't want you to leave. I was scared," Sissi trembled to say the words, "that I would push you away like I did with Ulrich."

"Sissi, you're nothing like that anymore."

"Still," She wiped her eye, staring at the floor, "I was afraid." Odd suddenly gave her a peck on the lips. Sissi jerked her head back and covered her mouth. She liked it, but it was still their first kiss. She wasn't expecting this bubble of joy to cough up like a laughing hiccup.

"Well, you don't have to be afraid now," Odd charmingly grinned.

Sissi blushed brightly and scoffed, "Smooth, Romeo. Really smooth."