The desert was hot. Even with thick black smoke covering the sun, it seemed to find it's self through the cracks and bake the ground until it was hard and dry. Aelita pushed a mob of her pink hair out of her face and felt her head. It was mushy and covered in sweat.

"Yuck," she said, wiping her hand on her pink tank-top. Along with that, she wore tan shorts and dusty old boots. "Jeremie, are we almost there?"

"Hang on, Aelita," Jeremie said. He turned to her. His glasses were covered in dust. "We're almost to the camp."

Aelita scowled. She hadn't showered in weeks, and her pink hair was greesey with filth and dirt was smeared all over her body. Not to mention some cuts and bruises on her arms and legs. How was she supposed to stay beautiful?

And let's not forget Jeremie. He wasn't being so helpful. He wasn't really ready to walk sixteen miles through the dusty smoke-filled desert, meaning short stops every ten minutes.

Aelita looked out and saw a figure on the horizon. "Jeremie, what's that?"

Jeremie froze.

"Jeremie is it a—"

"Shhh," he hissed.

Aelita scowled and tried to concentrate on the figure. It was getting closer to them by the second. It looked too human to be a XANA creature. Even with the dust, she could make out two legs and a body. She thought she could see a hand, but it was holding something.

"Looks like a human," she whispered.

Jeremie pulled out a pistol from his pocket. He crouched low, like he was hunting a deer. Aelita smiled to herself. He looked really funny.

Then she saw something through the blowing dust. She noticed color…something with color. Everything else was the eerie tan color like the sand, but there was a purple spot sitting right up their in the air. Or was it attached to something? Aelita squinted her eyes. Then she noticed that the figure wasn't a monster—it was a human.

"Jeremie, it's a human," she said.

"On witch side?" Jeremie asked suspiciously.

Aelita rolled her eyes. "Ours, I'm sure."

Jeremie shrugged. "You can never be so sure."

The Aelita saw the purple spot again and a thought occurred to her. "Is that…is that Odd!"

"Odd!" Jeremie asked. "I haven't seen him since summer started."

Aelita stared at the boy. He was in an army uniform with a gun, combat boots, and a helmet in one hand. He didn't look like the scrawny boy she had seen just three months ago. He looked somewhat bigger, and more mature.

"Odd!" Jeremie shouted.

The boy shoved his helmet back on and aimed his gun at Jeremie.

"Odd, it's us!" Aelita said. "It's Aelita and Jeremie!"

The gun lowered.

"Odd!" Aelita hollered and began running towards the young solder.

"Aelita? Is that you?" Odd asked, lowering the gun more.

Aelita barreled towards Odd, knocking him to the ground.

"I thought you were dead!" she shouted. She hugged him.

"Slow down, princess," Odd said, smiling. "We're did you come from?"

"Fort Banks, sixteen miles away. And trust me, sixteen miles takes a long time with Jeremie!"

"Jeremie? He's with you?" Odd asked, peering behind her. Jeremie was staggering towards them, out of breath.

"Yeah," Aelita said. "Where's Ulrich and Yumi?"

Odd stood up, brushing some sand off him. He helped Aelita up.

"Ulrich's defending the south side of our camp, and Yumi…"

Tears sprung to Aelita's face. "She's not dead, is she? Oh please, say she isn't."

"To tell you the truth, Aelita, we don't know. She was captured by XANA a few months ago. We have no idea if XANA's kept her alive."

Aelita wiped her eyes. "I hate this," she said. "And it's all my fault."

"Why?"

"If I had put up a fight to that scyphozoa, then they wouldn't have got the keys."

"Don't worry, it's not your fault. We can do it. We can win."

Aelita nodded. "I wanted to stay with you, but Jeremie said we had to go."

"Where?"

"We had to go to be safe. XANA would want us, so we ran. I begged to go back for you guys, but he said we had to save ourselves and that we would get help."

Odd glanced at Jeremie, who was coming closer. "He never really did care, did he?"

Aelita frowned. "Of course he did, Odd."

"Odd," Jeremie said when he was near. "What are you—"

"What do you care," Odd said.

Jeremie blinked. "What? Of course I care!"

"You never know with you."

Jeremie scowled. "We tried to find you, and Yumi. But we lost contact and assumed you were at home or somewhere with Ulrich and—"

"Whatever."

"Is camp near?" Aelita asked.

"Yeah. Come on." Odd said and began walking through some more dust, Aelita and Jeremie fallowing behind them.

"We're almost there, Aelita," Jeremie said. He quietly took her hand.

Aelita didn't want to be seen holding hands with a nerdy boy walking through an army camp full of some hot soldier boys, who were mostly a little older then her. But she couldn't just shrug Jeremie's hand off, because that would be just plain rude. So she just held on weakly.

"Aelita!" someone shouted from behind. Aelita turned to see Ulrich, dressed almost identically like Odd. His brown hair had grown a bit and stuck to his dirt-covered head. He was smiling.

"Ulrich!" Aelita said and threw her arms around him. "I'm so glad you're all ok!"

Ulrich smiled. Then he turned to Jeremie.

"Didn't expect you here," he said coldly.

Jeremie stiffened. "Why are you all so mad?" he demanded.

"We're not," Ulrich said. "We're furious!" leavening it at that, he stalked off.

A black-headed girl was sprawled on the ground of a moldy smelly dungeon. Her bare feet were shackled in chains. Her ankles were raw from the clamps of the chains rubbing against her. Her skin was covered in so many scratches and marks form being beaten so many times.

A word tore from her dry lips. "Ulrich."

Tears sprung to her eyes and she curled in a tight ball. A dim light form the moon outside cast eerie shadows across the prison floor. Sounds of approaching guard's foot steps echoed through the halls.

The girl, named Yumi, opened her eyes and stared at the guards. They stopped at her cell and fiddled with some keys before sliding the bars open.

"Come on, girl," said one of the guards. Yumi couldn't see his face because it was covered in a deep black hood.

"Please," she begged. "Don't let him kill me."

"He won't, you stupid whore. Now come on."

Yumi wanted to fight them off, but knew more would come. Many more.

The two guards unlocked her chains and dragged her across the prison and up some flights of stares. They were soon in a dark room with pictures of XANA's symbol all over the walls.

"Like it?" a voice asked. A figure was on the far side of the room, looking out a window.

"No," said Yumi.

"Some of my slaves did it this morning. Just before they were executed. I told them if they did, I would let them go. Isn't that funny?"

The figure turned so Yumi could see his face.

There was no face, per say. Instead the face-figure was a dark black hole, pushed into a grimy hood.

"You're horrible," Yumi said.

"I know, I know," XANA replied. "But I must ask you one thing." XANA leaned closer. "Were are they?"

"I don't know!" Yumi said truthfully. "I really don't!"

"She's lying!" the guard said.

"Shut up," XANA hissed. "I'm tired of waiting! It's been three months and my plan hasn't worked. All because this stupid child won't tell me where they are!"

The window XANA had looked out before burst, and the walls shook.

"Take her to be de-humanized," XANA said. "NOW!"

"Wait!" Yumi screamed. "Please, XANA! I don't know where they are! I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY ARE!"

Her screams echoed down the hall as the fought and struggled to get free, but it was no use.

She was helpless.