Wow only two reviews? You guys must really hate me. Jk. Enjoi

Ulrich sighed and closed his eyes for what must have been the fiftieth time. Around him everyone slept peacefully on their cots. They had been snoozing for two hours, in their own little world were their troubles didn't exist. But not him. Ulrich was too anxious to sleep and now that they had found Aelita they had to come up with an escape plan. He, however, had nothing come to mind as he racked his brain for a way to save them all. Aelita was no doubt under XANA's everlasting spell and would just attack them before they could even have a chance to do anything for themselves.

XANA was becoming more and more of a formidable force, Ulrich could feel it. They death toll was ascending as XANA's power now ruled the entire continent. Ulrich postulated XANA would spread his control to North Africa and Western Asia. Soon the entire Eastern hemisphere would be brought to their knees and then the world. He wished someone would debunk this thought but alas, that is just wishful thinking. XANA wouldn't abate his power and most likely wouldn't stop until the entire world was his and the Lyoko warriors dead. That despotic bastard. But Ulrich was getting too ahead if himself. He should be thinking about a way to escape.

A muted groan brought him out if his thoughts and he peeked to the corner where the sound originated. Odd heaved himself upward into a sitting position. He leaned against the cold stonewall for support. Ulrich scooted over to assist his friend.

"What happened?" the confused man asked. His eyes scanned the room in a daze and his head rolled around on his neck as if a frail thread connected the two.

"Aelita got you with one if her energy fields," Ulrich explained. He glanced at Aelita who had remained still in the corner if the cell, unmoving.

"I guess that explains this," said Odd as he rubbed the sore patch of slightly burned skin revealed by the hole in his outfit. The two remained in silence waiting for everyone else to rise.

"Hey Ulrich?"

"Yeah?"

"Do...do you think we'll win? I mean we always did but what if XANA has his day?" Odd asked.

"I don't know Odd," the brunette answered truthfully.

Another moment of silence fitted it self in between the two men as they continued to wait patiently for their friends to awake. Yumi and William woke up a few minutes later and they all stared at Aelita as they now, impatiently waited for her to wake as a somber feeling joined the silence in the cell. They poked and shook her but she remained unconscious and still.

"I think you may have killed her with that kick," William told his sword-wielding counterpart. A sigh rang throughout the cell. The all turned to see the sleeping beauty rise from her slumber. They immediately readied their weapons as she got up and rubbed her dreary eyes. Wait...her eyes. They were no longer the cold angry eyes if XANA but the soft captivating green they always were, which were now widened in shock as she saw all her friends pointing their weapons at her. They finally had their old Aelita back.

"It's awful," Aelita muttered bitterly. "I'm like his marionette. His slave. He forced me...to go out and kill...so many innocent people...". Aelita sobbed as she recalled to her friends the things she had been forced to do. Yumi rubbed her shoulder comfortingly as Aelita told them how XANA had injected her with a black liquid and she blacked out, too the other side of her Odd casually had his arm around her waist protectively and pulled her against him. "Afterwards I woke up in a room while monitors retold the heinous things I had done."

"It's alright, we're going to bust outta here," said William pounding his fist onto the ground. "You won't have to take orders from him anymore." William knew what it was like to be under XANA's control, recalling a few vague memories of the darkest period of hid life.

"Yeah, but how do we do that?" asked Yumi. Everyone paused for a moment. If they charged out of here everyone would have been blown away, save Aelita, by some of the numerous goons patrolling about.

"What we need is a distraction," said William jumping into commando mode. He drew his sword and drew a random bunch of lines in the thin layer of dirt, coating the floor of the cell. When everyone stood back it was a complex, intricate, drawing of XANA's HQ, where they had been anyway.

"Right here," he said pointing to a small square he drew in the ground labeled 'C' for cell, "is where we are." For the next five minutes William devised an ingenious plan for their escape.

"Yeah but how are we going to get past all the goons?" asked Odd.

"Leave that to me" said Aelita. XANA has a power source running the building. If I can tamper with it, it most definitely will cause alarm and confusion." Everyone on the group nodded their heads in agreement at her plan. All except one, that is. She stood up and went to exit the cell but two hands drew her back.

"Please…don't leave again," Odd pleaded. "We just found you…what if XANA recaptured you?" Aelita shrugged herself out of his grasp and high tailed to the exit before Odd could stop her again.

"Then I guess I'll have to be more careful," She left the room. Odd started after her but Yumi pulled him back.

"She'll be fine Odd. Aelita can manage a few goons and they all think she's still under XANA's control," Yumi assured him.

"Yeah Odd, you can't babying her, she a grown woman not and innocent little child," added in William. Ever since William had been found by Odd and Aelita he noticed how Odd fussed over the little things she did. It was almost as if he…nah! He couldn't. Or could he?

(Can anyone guess what William is thinking?)

The group prepared for their mad dash out of the prison as they waited for Aelita to return after the diversion. William and Ulrich pulled out their sword and sliced them through the air. Yumi drew and reclosed her fans and Odd checked his minigun making sure it was fully operational.

"So when are we going to get this plan into action?" asked Yumi impatiently. A few seconds later the warriors were thrown to their feet by some anonymous force that resembled an earthquake and they were epicenter.

"What the hell?" cursed Ulrich as he brushed himself off. Suddenly Aelita rushed in and flew into the cell.

"Urm..we have to leave…like now," she urged. Everyone followed as she dashed out the room as the whole building shuddered and shook.

"What did you do?" asked Yumi who dodged a flying chunk of glass. The whole building was shattering around them.

"I…kinda…mighta…sorta…have destroyed the thing that keeps this building together…" Aelita confessed shyly.

"WHAT!"

"It was an accident! Jeez!"

The group continued to rush through the hallways. Faces and objects zoomed passed as blurry and indescribable flashes. The tremors of the building grew more powerful and they still were too far from the exit.

"Uh guys, I think its going to-" Odd was cut off by a monstrosity of an explosion. The building imploded on itself sucking the warriors into the heart of the building as the floor and walls crumbled beneath them. Odd saw his friends free-falling beside him and saw random flashed of red before it all went black.

He woke up in the scanners with a rampaging headache and a heavy weight on top of him. It took his distorted brain a while to realize the weight was Aelita who had stumbled out after him tripped and fell on top of him. Odd quickly rolled them over so he was on top as he frantically tried to bring her out of her slumber.

"Aelita! Aelita!" he cried shaking her shoulders. "C'mon wake up goddamn it! Say something!"

Aelita's eyes fluttered open slowly. Her face looked pained and confused before she broke out into a huge wide smile. Odd wanted to laugh and cry when she opened her mouth and uttered a single word.

"Something,"

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