Author's note: I forgot to say this last time: They were out of character in my Magicians story. From now on, I'll announce if it's normal characters or alternate characters. Maybe visualizing when you read this story is a good idea. I don't know. Or do readers do that automatically? Okay, dumb remark, I guess the majority does, including me... I hope these first two stories were worth reviews:). Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko! Only my imagination:)!

Their lives

… Aelita …

"We're sorry Aelita, but we agree that it is better if we don't remain friends with each other."One of the two girls had said. "What do you mean? You'll just ditch me and then leave me here, just because I am too sensitive? What is wrong with you?"Aelita had responded. "You do see how we're always being laughed at because of your abnormal behaviour, don't you? We're fed up with that. We just don't want to be around you anymore, so take your childish, dumbness somewhere else."The other one had replied. Their tone hadn't sounded apologetic or empathic at all. They had been acting like two of the world's greatest bitches.

"If you think you'll get away with this, you are wrong. You will pay! If you think you know me, think again, I am certainly not who you think I am."Aelita had shouted back at them. She had walked away at that moment, leaving the girls perplexed.

That's what she could remember. She had scolded them some more, but she decided not to think about that. Aelita was outraged. Her friends or actually her so-called friends had ditched her. Two girls who she used to hang out with all the time and now they tell her she is utterly sensitive, and gutless. They shut her out because of that. Little did they know it was all an act. Aelita was quite the opposite of what her friends thought. Ever since the death of her parents, she became more rude and tough. Aelita had two reasons for acting sensitive.

She wanted to make some friends and fit in as a normal person. It was rather awkward at first. But when people started liking her, she slowly began to live life – without her parents. She also wanted to test the world or the people around her. Aelita had always wondered if she wouldn't be accepted if she was different. Her past was sure complicated, involving warnings from the police. She got beaten up once for declining to be part of a gang that was well-known for stealing and robbing. Aelita got her answer and she decided to remain the way she was, even if that meant the world would hate her.

Aelita strode to the old abandoned factory. The first floor underground was her favourite place to go, when she needed alone-time. That gang once tracked her down and ended up in the factory. But, she knew the factory's floor plan by hard. She was hiding in a safe place until all was clear. She recalled some conversations with the gang. "Where is she? I want to hit her so badly, she won't be able to refuse. She knows too much about our business. I want to have her in front of me NOW!"The gang's leader had spoken. Aelita had been really terrified then. There was no one there to comfort her. No parents and no friends. She had been lonely.

… Odd …

Odd was walking on the sidewalk and he was on his way to the school's dorms. He was certain that he would be caught, because it was thirty minutes past curfew. "I am sure the principle will understand why I will be arriving late."Odd said to himself. He was a brilliant student and a simple guy. So he avoided any kind of trouble whenever he could. Odd had just been to the hospital to visit one of his sisters, but due to an accident on the road he had to take the detour. He spotted some weird strangers. Recognizing them as two persons from his class, he wondered what they were doing here. Since it was very late, he decided to walk passed them and ignore them, but that's when fate struck him.

"Hé you!" One of them called out to him. Odd walked on. The guy ran up to him and tackled him. Before he could react, he was lying on the ground. "What is wrong with you?!"Odd asked furious. When someone made a grave mistake, Odd would become very serious. The guy grabbed his shirt,"oh, nothing pal, I just thought you wouldn't want to disregard me when I call out to you. I can get...well how do I put this tactfully...rather rough."The guy said. Odd stood on both feet again, when the other guy came up from behind. "I wouldn't start shouting or try to escape. We just want some help from you." The guy standing behind Odd said. "I don't want any trouble. Now let me go, I need to be somewhere." Odd said, becoming aware of where this was going.

Suddenly, sirens could be heard and the sound seemed to be heading in their direction. The guys' faces hardened and Odd was afraid of what was going to come next. Three policemen ran towards them pointing their guns at them. "Dump the bag in the boy's hand and move it!"The guy, who tackled him, said. "Which bag?"Odd thought. But the guys were already gone, no sight of anyone besides the running policemen and him. Odd looked down at the bag in his hands. "What is inside?"Odd asked. "Hold it right there!"A policeman shouted. The other two pointed there guns at him like he was the biggest criminal of the world. "Hand over the bag! We got a message alerting us about two boys who were spotted with a drug dealer. Now where is your henchman?"The policeman spoke. Odd was shocked.

"Sir, I'm not a member of a gang. I was just on my way from the hospital to school. I'm late because of an accident, due to which I had to take the longer route. Please, I have no drugs or illegal goods with me. Those two boys just dumped the bag in my hands and took off like rockets."Odd explained, as he gave him the bag. He was freaking out because he knew he would be blamed instead. "Well, listen kid, don't you think that's contradicting. You say you have no drugs, yet you just gave me a bag full with the illegal substances. On top of that, you have no proof of those two gangsters. I'm afraid you will have to come with me."The policeman replied. "Just give me a few moments, I can get you proof now, those guys are in my class at school. I'm sure the principle can arrange something."Odd sounded desperate. All he worried about was being late, but now he had much more to worry about. "Sorry kid, you'll have to wait until you get to the police station."He said as he turned to the two men behind him. "Guys, get the handcuffs, the kid is coming with us."

When the police officer wasn't paying attention, Odd carefully moved away, step by step. Then he ran away as fast as he could. "Wait! Come back, now!"He heard them exclaim. "Not until I prove my innocence!" Odd answered. One policeman fired at Odd, but he missed by inches. "Oh, man, these guys are crazy idiots. What the heck is wrong with them?"Odd asked, realizing he would have been better off if he hadn't scolded them. The chase began and Odd kept running until he found an old abandoned factory. It was a dead-end.

Odd had read that the police declared the building was off-limits because it was expected to collapse soon. It was an unstable building, but Odd had no choice, they would never follow him inside. He saw an elevator and figured that it would take too long for it to come up, so he went to search for a staircase before the police spotted him standing there. He found a computer room. He crouched down to the floor, breathing heavily. "How come trouble is always around the corner, dragging me along?" Odd thought.

… Yumi …

"You're going down, Yumi! Nobody messes with me or my friends and gets away with it."William had told her. "I wouldn't have to interfere, if you just stopped bullying my brother! You're enemies with me, William. But no, you need to threaten me with harming my brother. What are you, a psychopath?"Yumi had said. "You will pay for your stubbornness."William had clearly been provoking her to fight. Normally, Yumi would have been patient enough to reason with someone, because she was a patient girl. But her tough side was likely to take over when William came into view. And with that provocation it had begun.

Yumi had bent down and swung her leg at his feet. He was down immediately. William had gotten back up and they fought harshly and neither was showing mercy. Then she got pinned against a tree. He was pushing really hard, and at the same time he was pinching her arms with great effort. She had felt every hit and kick, but that had felt as if someone was trying to make her blood stop flowing through her body. Yumi had then kicked him in his...she'd rather not recall that. William fell on the ground and swore she would pay, if not by harming her brother.

That last thought was bothering her all the time. She got called at midnight. Her friend had seen William, taking her brother tied up, going in northern direction. She also explained to Yumi that she followed William, to see if she could help Hiroki, but she had lost track of him. Yumi thanked her for helping, to which her friend had replied that Yumi herself was kind-hearted and that she hadn't forgotten how she saved her at school.

Yumi was furious. Now, she was searching for clues. "Where could William have taken him?"She thought. She remembered an old abandoned factory in that direction. But he could easily have taken a detour to confuse me and have taken him to the road instead. Yumi had looked near the well-known hiding places of William and his friends. She had been very cautious of her surroundings, like she always was. But she failed in finding Hiroki there. "I'll just quickly search the factory and go back to the road later."Yumi sensed that something bad would happen soon, but she couldn't figure out what.

Suddenly, she saw her pendant on the ground. "So, of all places in the world, William took my brother here? "Hiroki is the most important person in my life. I'm not just going to let William hurt him. Hiroki and I have spent so many moments together." Yesterday, Yumi had given Hiroki her pendant containing family pictures. "It was supposed to provide him with the necessary strength and luck to avoid William." Her brother had always stood up for himself, showing how courageous he was. "But William...William is a sore loser, a complete paranoia, a jerk, he screwed up my life."Yumi said angrily. She was not planning on having Hiroki experience the same.

… Ulrich …

Ulrich seated himself against a tree in the forest in the middle of the night. He was lost in his thoughts, as he almost always was. He liked thinking to himself a lot, because he could probe or think about all sorts of issues without people interfering. He always imagined situations, strategies, conversations and so on. He hardly ever spoke up, unless he felt the need to do so. This time he felt betrayed and left alone forever, that too because of his own parents. He couldn't care less about being alone, simply because he's very well capable of being alone or surviving on his own. "Survival trip? Yeah sure.."Ulrich sighed.

"Come on, guys, this is not my idea of fun". Ulrich had told his friends, while he was hanging from a cliff during the survival trip he and the rest of his class were on. "It is a perfect way to get rid of him. I mean his father did pay us a large amount to kill his son."They had replied. "What are you talking about? Are you out of your minds?"He had shouted, demanding an explanation. His friends had said that his father was fed up with having a son, who couldn't work hard enough to get decent grades, who raised his voice against his father's wishes and who behaved like he didn't have a tongue when there were normal conversations going on. After they went away, he eventually had climbed back to solid ground. Ulrich hadn't believed all of it, but when he returned home he was shocked. No, he was overwhelmed with horror.

"How could you?! You got our only son killed! What is wrong with you?!"Were the last words he had heard his mother say, before the tears streamed down her face and her depression started. His father had just stood there, his face had been showing no emotions. Not just someone, but his own father had stabbed him in the back. When Ulrich was done overhearing the conversation he had immediately packed a few clothes, some important stuff, including his diary, his notebook, his solar-powered watch, and one old family picture. He had written a note for his mother to find in his favourite book, which was hidden in his closet. The note said: Your son is alive, but he will never return to a house where he was disowned before ever being understood. I am truly sorry and I'll miss you - Ulrich. Then he had left, in silence.

Ulrich looked up at the sky through the branches of the tree. He carefully observed the stars, but he failed to find any pattern. "Looks like I didn't succeed...My father has always disliked me, but I never expected this much. It's almost like someone messed with his brains. How could a father literally destroy his own son?"Ulrich asked himself in disbelief. "My father could easily have taken a gun and have killed me with it. Why did he confront my 'friends'? Was it to make it hurt even more? And why did my friends actually agree to this? Why would they first tell me that I can be trusted, like a friend, and afterwards try to get my father's job done for him?"Ulrich thought. "That's not even all. I left my mum a note, but the question is: will she ever find it?"Ulrich asked. He had so many questions that would all remain unanswered for a long time. In his mind he 'played' flashbacks:

"You know, son. Today, I'm very proud of you. My soccer star, my Ulrich. You even raised your grades. I hope one day, when you're all grown up and have matured more, I'll be able to say the same. You won't lose that spirit will you?"His father had said. Ulrich's eyes had been twinkling. His father had admitted to be impressed by his development in education and sports.

"Ulrich dear, your father has had a bad day. I'm sure his intentions were not those you understood. You are our son, and we are delighted because of that. Don't worry, your father would never discard you for his work or life. I would not either."His mother had told him.

No worries? His mind was filled with worries, about the people he loved, as well as the friends he recently met and even all the strangers around him. He gazed at the stars, lying down on the grass. Then tears streamed down his face, as he fell asleep.