And here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

"That could have gone better," Ulrich grumbled.

"It also could have gone a lot worse," Jeremy said, subtly reminding everyone of the reason they had been on Lyoko in the first place.

"Even if we didn't get what we were looking for, William got to prove how good he was on Lyoko," Yumi said. "He almost destroyed that monster of Xana's."

"Really?" Aelita asked.

"Not bad for your first trip," Ulrich admitted. "But even with your help, it still doesn't seem like enough. Not now that Xana has two of those Wulves running around." Yumi nodded.

"But who else can we ask to help? Asking William was understandable, he was almost sent to Lyoko," Yumi said. "Who else can we say that about?"

"I can't think of anyone," Aelita admitted.

"Uh, I can," Ulrich said, looking as if he'd rather not bring it up as everyone turned expectant gazes on him.

"Well?" William asked. "Who is it?"

--

"Hey, Sissi! Wait up!"

Sissi came to a halt at the familiar voice, spinning around with a smile on her lips. "Ulrich dear!" she cried, "Finally come to ask me out on a date?"

"In your dreams," Ulrich said. "But I do need to talk to you."

"About what?" she asked, her voice losing its loving tones. "Because I don't really have the time to stand here and listen to you tell me about what an over clingy twit I am."

"Whoa, no, nothing like that," Ulrich said, startled by Sissi's sudden defensiveness. "We…Uh, I need your help with something. It's really important."

"It doesn't have anything to do with something called Lyoko, does it?" Sissi asked. Ulrich stared at her, mouth hanging slightly open.

"Wh- Where did you hear that name?" he asked, his mind jumping to William.

"Nowhere. Actually, I dreamed it. You were in the dream too…and so was Odd" Ulrich felt his jaw drop a little lower.

"Right," he said, grabbing Sissi's arm and pulling her towards the woods. "Well, that is what I have to talk to you about. Then we need to go see Jeremy. I think he might want to run a little check on the return program."

--

"She dreamed it?" Jeremy asked, looking up from his computer. Ulrich nodded.

"Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction too. Are you sure the return trips are working?"

"Of course I am, but back to Sissi. What did she say?"

"She said she'd think about it. She knows that none of us really like her, and I think she's worried that we won't trust her."

"Will we?" Yumi asked. Ulrich shrugged.

"I don't think we have much of a choice," Aelita said, her voice calm and reasoning.

"I agree with Aelita," Jeremy said. "We really don't have a choice. Not if we want to beat Xana." Everyone had to agree with that.

"So, when does she come to Lyoko?" William asked. "What?" he added when everyone turned to look at him. "I don't like being the only new guy."

"You won't be for long," Jeremy said. "And to answer your question, I figure the next time you should all go to Lyoko should be tomorrow, after class. You'll have more time then."

"How do you figure that?" Ulrich asked.

"Ever since Xana took that extra time on Lyoko, I've watching him closely, and I've noticed a pattern forming with how long he spends in each tower. Each rotation Xana makes around the four sectors takes twice as long as the last one and he's started taking breaks between towers. Tomorrow you'll have ten minutes to get to the tower and find out what Xana is up too. That should be enough time if one of you takes Aelita to the tower while the other three stay back and fight off the Wulves."

"What do we do until then?" Ulrich asked.

"Get some sleep, go to class, and try to act like everything is normal," Jeremy said. "Don't forget, we still need to deal with the fact that Odd is gone. I'm sure the school will notice something's wrong when Odd doesn't show up for his classes."

"Should we say anything to the teachers?" Aelita asked, looking up from Jeremy's bed.

"Ulrich probably should," William offered. "He and Odd share a room, so it would seem strange for him to not notice that he's missing." Ulrich nodded, seeing the wisdom in William's words.

"Alright. I'll go to the principal during lunch. I'll make up some story about him going for a walk and not coming back or something."

"Sounds good," Yumi said, standing up and stretching. "But for now I think we should take Jeremy's advice and go to bed." There was general murmur of agreement at Yumi's words and, one by one, the gang left Jeremy's room, each wishing the others a good night.

Ulrich was the last to leave, hovering for a moment in Jeremy's doorway before finally heading for his own room down the hall. He wasn't looking forwards to returning to it. It had only been that morning when he had realized Odd was gone, and even with the knowledge that they may yet find Odd, it still seemed strange and unsettling to return to the small room alone.

Ulrich walked slowly, trying to put off his return for as long as possible. Which really wasn't very long, considering how close Jeremy's room was to his, and within two minutes he was standing outside the familiar door. Ulrich paused for a moment, seriously considering sleeping out in the hall, before unlocking the door and heading inside.

He was immediately greeted by Kiwi, who jumped up happily at his legs, then looked around them expectantly, waiting for the room's other occupant to arrive.

"Sorry Kiwi," Ulrich whispered, lifting the little dog up. "Odd's not coming back tonight. But he will soon, don't you worry." He then kicked off his shoes and climbed into his bed. Kiwi gave a little wine in the direction of Odd's bed, then curled up against Ulrich's chest to sleep.

--

Ulrich sat up with a gasp, eyes darting around the room as his sleep addled mind tried to figure out what it was that had woken him. After a moment it registered the rather loud pounding on his door.

"I'm up, I'm up," he mumbled, scrambling out of his bed and glancing at the time on his clock. 6:56Am. With a growl, Ulrich wrenched the door open. "Whatever this is," he hissed, "It had better be important."

"It is."

Ulrich looked up in shock, noticing for the first time that it was Sissi standing outside his door. "Can I come in?" she asked. Ulrich nodded, still a little shocked at Sissi's sudden and early appearance.

"Uh, can I do something for you?" Ulrich asked, watching Sissi as she looked around the room.

"Yes, you can," she said, seating herself on Ulrich's bed. "You…you could accept my agreement to join your group."

"Really?" Ulrich asked, standing in front of his early morning visitor.

"Yes, really," she answered stiffly. "That is, if you still want me," she added softly. Ulrich sat down beside Sissi with a sigh.

"Of course we still want you," he said. "We wouldn't ask you for your help if we didn't." Sissi didn't respond, although Ulrich saw a smile ghost across her lips.

"So, about this Lyoko place," she said, regaining her usual air, "when do we go?"

"Jeremy has your first trip scheduled for tomorrow, right after school." Sissi nodded, looking down at the floor between her feet. After a few minutes Ulrich spoke up again. "Does that answer your question?" Sissi nodded. "So, are you ready to go back to your room now?" At this Sissi shook her head.

"Not really. Couldn't I stay here? Classes start in an hour. You could tell me more about Lyoko." Ulrich opened his mouth to respond, then shut it again, nodding his head.

"Sure."

--

"Ulrich, please pay attention!" Ulrich jumped, looking up from his paper and at is teacher. She was standing at the front of the class, arms crossed and foot tapping. "Nice of you to join us," she said, turning back to the board. "Now, as I was saying, when a cell absorbs water, it's known as…" And once again, Ulrich stopped listening.

He returned his stare to his blank sheet of paper. After a moment, a neatly folded note appeared under his face. With a quick glance at the teacher's turned back, Ulrich picked up the note and opened it. The bright pink handwriting told him it was from Sissi.

What's wrong? You seem distracted.

Ulrich looked over at Sissi, but she gave no hint that the note was from her, instead focusing on her notes. Ulrich shrugged and quickly scribbled a quick nothing. He then folded the note up again and flicked it back at Sissi. When, after a few seconds, the note didn't return, Ulrich returned his attention to his paper. A few minutes later and the note reappeared, a little less neatly folded then before. Unfolding it, Ulrich found a little conversation had taken place on the paper.

Nothing? I don't believe that. Sissi wrote. Underneath that was a dark blue scribble, written in Aelita's loopy handwriting.

He's probably nervous about going to see your father after class. He has to go tell him that Odd's missing.

Oh, Sissi had responded, what is he going to tell him?

The response was written in black ink, using Jeremy's neat lettering. That Odd went on a walk last night and didn't come back.

And what will he say when they ask why Odd was out after curfew? Sissi asked. Ulrich figured Jeremy and Aelita had seen this question, then tossed the note to him.

I'll tell them I fell asleep before curfew and when I woke up Odd wasn't back.

He refolded the letter and tossed it back. A few seconds later and it had returned to his desk.

And they will ask why you didn't report it then. Sissi said.

I'll tell them I assumed he was in the shower. I didn't take one this morning (as you know) so I wasn't able to check if he was there.

Again Ulrich tossed it away, and again the note returned.

You're good Sissi said. This was followed by Aelita's quickly scribbled comment.

Ulrich, how does she know you didn't take a shower?

Well, I hope you liked it. Now go eat your Turkey!