Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko.

Heya! Sorry it's been so long to update! I've been busy lately. So... Here's the next chappie, and thanks for waiting!

All this sudden activity does a number to one's head, especially after having vomited twice and remembering things that should never have happened.

But I didn't let it affect me. I was tough. I knew I was. I couldn't let everyone save the world and exclude myself because my head hurt! Sure, I was scared. Scared so good I couldn't stop quivering. But it was slight, and no one took notice. They all acted quickly and expertly, having done this so many times they had gotten the routine down cold. But me, I didn't know what XANA could do. And I was scared.

The imagination is the worst and best part of any person. It can create situations with so much detail you'd think it could happen. Many evil creatures would definitely use the imagination against you, one of the best weapons they could harness. My mind, it had created an entire scene, one with Remie on the floor, looking on the verge of being dead. And Yumi was on the floor, too. But her chest was still heaving. Ulrich was on the left of me, vomit at his side and unconscious. And Odd, he laid on the floor, a pool of blood beside him, a monstrous creature taking a bite out of his stomach, pulling intestines and the liver out with it, enjoying it's meal.

I shook my head violently to rid of the image, even though it still lingered in the back of my mind, hazing all thoughts with the faint imprint of the image.

Remie looked at me. "Are you alright, Cali? You should lay down. We can handle this-"

"No way! I'm fine!" I protested, stepping one foot gingerly on the ground and heaving myself onto the floor and walking around. "See? I can walk! Let's go!" With each step the dizziness lingered, a mighty headache pounding in my skull. I put all the pain into the back of my mind to rest with the image. Save the world now, pain later.

I ran with the rest of them, my mind creating worse scenarios as we went. But I pushed that into the back of my mind too. All I allowed myself to think about was the job ahead of me.

We reached the factory, swinging on the ropes and sliding into the elevator. Jeremie took his place on the super computer as we descended onto the floor beneath him.

"Get into the scanners now guys!" said an impatient Jeremie. We did as we were told. I caught Odd's panicked face before I entered into my own scanner. The one I had built myself, just yesterday. I walked in, feeling the same way I did yesterday, wanting to get out after the door closed, even though now I knew where I was going. The bar took it's scan of me, rising to the top of the cylinder, and back down. The scanner began to make it's familiar rushing sound.

I counted to five, steadying myself for the air to rush around me, trying to pull me up with it. But it didn't come. I counted to five again, but the air still wasn't there. At this time, I began to curse myself for not building a vent into the scanner. Oxygen was becoming scarce. I banged on the door with as much force as I had. That wasn't going to help. I could barely make a dent in this metal, especially in the state I was in. I rested myself against the back of the scanner and allowed myself to think. I meditated in such a way where I barely breathed, a tactic I learned at a new age nut's house. I smiled half-consciously, glad that I had lived with her for a while. Now, to think.

I had made a total of three plans. Plan Number One: I could scream and bang until someone heard me. But what were the odds of that? The others were probably in Lyoko. And Jeremie was one floor above me.

Plan Number Two: Wait until someone noticed I wasn't there. But what good what that do? They wouldn't know why I wasn't there, much less where.

Plan Number Three: Savor the last bouts of Oxygen left and be happy with the fact that I died in battle. But first, I wasn't even in battle, and I didn't want to die.

I had nothing around me. So much for being a genius. Maybe if I had something around me, I could definitely make do with what I had around me if I was somewhere else. But I was in a scanner, with barely enough room to sit in, losing all oxygen. I was losing hope. I will not deny that. The situation I was in was hopeless. I had just met a brother I though I never had, three great friends, and a life of adventure. And it was all out the window now that I was trapped in this stupid contraption! I slammed my fists against the sides of the scanner in frustration. Life always had their hopeless moments, but I always had a backdoor out. The oxygen was gone. I was breathing in Carbon Monoxide and I knew it. My thoughts fogged over, the cylinder enshrouding in darkness. Air rushed around me, but I was already knocked out by then.

.:Regular POV:.

"Watch it, Ulrich, you've got 15 life-points left," said Jeremie.

"That's a first, Odd has more life points than Ulrich!" said Yumi as she threw her fan at an unsuspecting block to her left. The fan returned to her like a boomerang, and Yumi caught it with a gracefulness only achieved by dedicated practice.

Aelita stood in a little cave she had ducked into, creating a block of ice onto the opening to keep herself safe. Ulrich stabbed his sword into a hornet, falling back down faster than he thought and slipping on the ice under him. Another hornet came to Ulrich, firing a shot at him. It hit Ulrich, and he approached the hornet, thrusting his sword into the XANA eye. He staggered back, holding his stomach where the monster had hit him. But he wasn't fast enough, because the monster exploded in front of him, taking the last five life points Ulrich had with it.

"Welcome back to Earth, Ulrich," said Jeremie as Ulrich stumbled into the room.

Ulrich merely smiled and looked over Jeremie's shoulder and onto the computer screen. "What's XANA up to?"

Jeremie sighed. "XANA's taken over a few hundred soccer balls and chucking them at people."

"Man, he's running out of ideas," commented Ulrich as he watched Yumi dodge a hornet.

"What I don't understand is why he's not poisoning the school or something. This is not like him. He's only doing this as a distraction. But I need you to go back to the school anyways. The only safe place is in the sewers. There are no skateboards or scooters there, so you can bring them down."

"Okay. Fill me in when you figure out what he's really up to," said Ulrich as he left the room.

Yumi was next to devirtualize after killing a Mega-tank that exploded as she ran away. She met Jeremie, who told her to join Ulrich.

"Hey! Am I the only one to realize that Cali's not here?" asked Odd as he dodged yet another monster and shooting off a laser arrow at it. "And these monsters won't stop coming!"

"You're right, odd. I haven't noticed Cali at all. Do you think..." his voice trailed off as he launched a scan around the ice region to see if he could locate Cali.

"Just get her here! I can't hold off these things for much longer, you know!" cried Odd as he jumped away from two blocks that aimed at themselves in the middle of trying to get Odd. He shot another arrow and landed on the ground, putting his hands on his knees and panting.

"Great! Now I see what XANA was doing! He had wanted them all herded into the sewer so he could bury them all alive!" cried Jeremie.

Odd looked around. He saw a glint of orange atop a cliff. Thinking he saw the tower, he ran towards it, with Aelita in tow, firing arrows behind him at the monsters. But there was so many of them.

Odd knew it was too dangerous for Aelita to follow him. She ducked into a nearby cave and waited. Odd grabbed a piece of jagged ice and began climbing. A hornet hit him square in the shoulder. One of his hands slipped off the ice and on his shoulder. He shot an arrow at the monster, almost slipping, but grabbing the ice just before his feet gave way under him. He climbed higher, putting a knee on the surface at the top and hoisting himself up.

Yumi's cell phone rang, and she put it to her ear. "Jeremie?" she asked in a panicked voice.

"Yumi! XANA's collapsing the tunnels! Get everyone out now!"

"I can't. Both ways are blocked!"

Without saying another word, Jeremie hung up. "Sorry to disturb you, but it's REALLY urgent that Aelita get to that tower!"

"I'm working on it, Jeremie!" yelled Odd as he shot another arrow at an unsuspecting hornet. He looked in front of him, and realized that the orange he saw wasn't the tower, but a bubble, and Cali was trapped in it. The tower was just a few feet away from the bubble, but it was heavily guarded by more than twenty monsters, adding to the already high number of monsters around him.

"Cali!" yelled Odd, running to the bubble and pounding on it as hard as he could.

Yumi backed into Ulrich, falling into him. Ulrich made no movements for her to move off him, nor did Yumi stir. The two blushed to the color of crimson, but in the darkness no one could tell.

Aelita appeared at the surface of the cliff, running from the monsters. Odd dove in front of her to catch a monster's laser, and it hit him in the stomach. He staggered for a moment, but regained himself, joining Aelita at the bubble after killing the monster. She fell to the ground in a kneel, as did Odd.

Aelita sung her chord and the bubble burst. Cali fell to the ground, caught by Odd. Hey eyes fluttered open, and realizing where she was, she blushed. Odd just smiled.

.:Cali's POV:.

I was in Odd's arms. That was a surprise. I thought I was dead. Seriously, I thought I was. Then I find myself in Lyoko, in Odd's arms none-the-less, and out of the scanner. Good, I hated that thing. But I knew I'd have to go back in. To get out of here. And then again to save the world once more. But that didn't mean I had to like it.

"What's going on here?" I asked. Odd put me down.

"XANA's giving us quite the welcoming committee," said Odd, keeping a steady hand on me.

I shrugged off his hand, and pulled out my guitar.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" asked Odd. "That drains out more than half of your life points!"

"It's the most efficient way," I said, strumming a sole note on the guitar. The waves hit every monster around us. They exploded in unison, and Aelita began running towards the tower.

The dizziness and lack of oxygen, the memories and the pain along with it flooded from the back of my mind like a dam was suddenly open. I fell back, back into Odd's arms.

.:Regular POV:.

Ulrich saw the boulder falling towards Yumi. Without thinking, Ulrich jumped in front of Yumi, pushing her away from the rock, taking her place as the boulder's victim.

Yumi cried out in shock, falling to Ulrich's side, moving the boulder off him with the help of two other boys who had witnessed the scene. She grabbed Ulrich's wrist in haste and felt no pulse. "No," she sobbed, her voice quavering in shock and fear.

Yumi laced her hands together and pushed hard on Ulrich's chest. She only knew CPR from a safety TV show. She hoped that would be enough.

A crowd had gathered around Ulrich and Yumi, all holding their breaths to see if Ulrich would make it out all right. Sissi stood with the rest of them, open mouthed trying to scream, but silence took over the cabin. No one moved except to dodge the falling rocks.

Aelita entered the tower. She stepped to the middle of the platform, letting herself float up to uppermost one. Aelita pressed her hand on the screen.

AELITA

Cali looked at Odd. She got to her feet gingerly. Odd kept his arms on her, afraid to let her go. If he hadn't Cali would've fallen. Odd smiled, inching his face towards hers.

CODE:

Ulrich's eyes fluttered open. Yumi let out a breath in unison with the rest of the students. Yumi helped him up. She stood, her body pressed against Ulrich's. He inched his face toward her, Yumi responding the same way.

LYOKO

The bright screens around Aelita began falling, leaving the tower in a resounding darkness.

Jeremie wasted no time in entering the time mechanism. "Return to the past now!" he breathed. The white light took everything in it's path, Yumi and Ulrich's second attempt at a kiss, and Odd and Cali at their first.

I finally scored a goal! And won the whole game for the team. I was doing the victory dance, dancing around with the soccer ball at my feet.

Odd came over to me. "Great shot Cali! Good think you knew the knowledge to fake left beforehand."

I spun around, slipping over the ball. Odd's hand caught my arms and he pulled me back up. "Whoa, we wouldn't want another injury," he said. I had enough bruises and scars to last anyone a lifetime. I smiled.

I picked up the soccer ball. "That was a great game, Cali! What do you say about joining the soccer team?"

I looked up. It was Jim, no doubt. But he had such a strong resemblance to Gary that I flinched.

Odd put a hand on my shoulder. "It's all right," he whispered.

I looked up at Jim. "Sure, why not?" I answered.

"Great!" said Jim. "Practice is every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon at four to five-thirty."

Odd walked me to my dorm room. "You can come in, Odd." I told him. Odd nodded and walked in.

"Wow, ever heard of decorations?" asked Odd. The room was gray and bare.

"I don't really have anything. All I had with me here was two suitcases and my guitar." I had never been one to decorate. I deemed it worthless and had always never stayed too long to decorate. I was proud of what I had. I had a nice wardrobe and a guitar. I thought I was the luckiest girl in the world for having these things. And now even luckier for having a permanent roof over my head and a great group of friends.

Odd realized how sensitive I was about my possessions. "We'll have to change that," said Odd.

I sat on my bed. Crisp white sheets crumbling under me. Comfort was also another thing that was precious to me. I lived so long without it that now I thought it was a luxury.

Odd sat down next to me. "We have to talk about the Jim situation. I can't stand seeing you cowering in front of him every time he comes near you."

I nodded.

"Jim's a really good guy. Once Jeremie had developed a materialization program for Aelita, but Jim chased down Jeremie and he got a sprung ankle. Jim lost his job, but jeremie told him he'd straighten everything out if he'd help him get to the factory. But XANA put a virus on Aelita and materialized monsters into Earth. Jim almost died trying to help us save the world."

That seemed probable. "I just can't help it. I see him, but I think of Gary. And that was a horrible part of my life..." I told Odd of all my previous caretakers. I told him of Gary and Pex and Max who had abused me. The welder, the new age nut, crazy scientists, and even an artist. But I couldn't shake the images out of my head

Odd just nodded his head and held his hand on my shoulder the entire time.

"It will take a long time for the bruises to heal," said Odd, looking straight at the wall in front of us and not at me.

"What? But a lot of them have.." I said pulling my sleeve to show him.

Odd shook his head. "No, the bruises inside." I looked at him. I'd never seen this side before. Odd had always been a joker to me. This was different. This was a good side. "You will never forget what happened to you. But in time, the bruises they all made on you will heal, and you'll be ready to face life and not be able to dwell fearfully on the past."

"I push them to the back of my mind. That always worked for me."

"Yes, now. But you'll soon come to realize that it's not the way. That to talk about it is easier than hiding it." He looked at me with serious eyes. "It took me three years to realize that." He pulled his shirt up for me to see the scar. "They stabbed me too..." He put his hand under my own shirt and traced the scar on my stomach. "And we both made it through,"

"What? Who's They?" I asked. Odd was being too serious. Only someone who has been through it could understand. But wait! He's been through it! He understands! He knows!

Odd took my hand and looked right into my eyes. "I'm always here to talk, Cali. Always."

And he walked out of the room, leaving me in a resounding silence.

.:Next Morning:.

I met the others for breakfast. We had the delicious menu of rubbery oatmeal. After shoving my tray into the trash, I looked at odd. Even he wouldn't eat the breakfast. He had the playful look on his face again. You'd never known what he'd been through. Never. I decided to keep it between us.

After all, who would believe that odd derived from a past like mine? But maybe... there all different kids who spent some of their lives being abused handle it differently. I won't let it ruin my life. It's over. It's the past. And all of the others have realized that.

I pursed my lips tightly together. I was winning the raging battle in my mind. It was a revelation. I sent a silent message to all the kids out there, being abused or recovering from it. I told them that life goes on, and it's your choice to fight and keep on living, or let the bitch kill you.

And after, you have to make sure that you don't let the memories take you over.

I looked at odd, who looked at me, in the same eyes he had last evening. Ones filled with spite, hate, pain, sadness, and happiness altogether. At least he had gotten the message.

Not really much of a cliffie, but puts a whole new twist on things. Don't worry, things will get better in the chappies to come. Here's a sneak peek to next chapter.

"That math exam's gonna be a piece of cake," I told Odd as we were walking to lunch. We had been spending a lot more time lately. We could relate to each other so much.

"You have to help me study Cali, maybe you can devise a method of explaining it to me so I can actually understand it," Odd pleaded.

I smiled. "Well aren't we daring today? Does your brain hurt from using all those big words?"

Odd responded by smacking me in the back of the head. I began to chase him around the courtyard, papers flying out of kid's hands and curses muttered as our feet got a little too close to their work.

A man, tall and lean but very muscular came into view. He was wearing a suit. I stopped dead. Odd came over to me. "What's wrong?" he asked with the same eyes I had seen that evening he told me he understood. I had come to call those eyes, the Serious Eye.

"P-P-P-P-Pex," I stuttered. Odd looked at the man I was pointing to, and put his hands on my shoulders to stop my shuddering.

And that's just a teaser, my friends! Scooby Snacks for reviewing!

Aelitagurl out