Seeing the World Again

A/N: My cold is still here. Tormenting me. Dx I had to get up early-ish today and then I was half-asleep on the couch for an hour before the medicine I had to take finally kicked in. D: And now I swear it's melting my brain. XD Hopefully my mom will get me to the doctor tomorrow. X3

Anyway, to the next chapter!

Ulrich choked back a sob as his mother bandaged his torso.

"It's over… It's alright, baby…" she whispered soothingly.

A few minutes ago had been when it all had went down… They'd been in the kitchen and his dad had been beating his mom again. Ulrich had come in and hidden himself and when his dad had spotted him it hadn't been pretty… He'd snatched the thing that was closest to him, a cheese grater, and began walking toward Ulrich. Ulrich had attempted to run, but had his shirt ripped off and the cheese grater used on his bare skin. He'd thrown up moments ago just thinking about it…

His mother ran her fingers through his hair and continued talking to him soothingly… "One day I'll get you out of here… I'll save you from this…"

"I won't go if you're not with me…" he'd whispered back as he sobbed.

"You're younger than I am… You still have a full life to live… As long as you make it out alive I'll be happy…" she whispered as he leaned his head against her shoulder and they hugged.

"It doesn't matter… I love you and I won't let you suffer alone…" he told her sternly as tears continued to cascade down his cheeks.

"I love you and that's why you'll go…" she told him, kissing his forehead. "Your father is gone for a few days on a trip so you've got some time to recuperate…"

Ulrich sobbed into Aelita's shoulders as the painful memories kept washing over him… He wished that he could tell her… Sometimes he felt like his dad was keeping tabs on him. If it weren't for that feeling then he'd tell Aelita everything… He'd show her all of the bruises and scars and burn marks covering his torso, arms, and legs.

"You'll be alright, Ulrich… Everything is going to be fine…" Aelita whispered to him as she held him as his mother had that day. "You can talk to us, you know… If something is bothering you then just tell us…"

"C-C-Can't…" he choked out. He father's threats hung in his mind… You tell anyone and I'll kill you're mother… Don't you dare, for one second, think I won't… He shuddered and punched the ground. He couldn't take this anymore…

-Xylia-

She panted and turned back to watch the action take place where she had been moments ago… Odd was twirling, jumping, and dodging every laser the monsters threw at him and when all was said and done he defeated them all… "Odd!"

He looked over at her and smiled. It was a pretty re-assuring smile, too. He ran toward her and gave her a huge hug. "I've convinced one of them!"

"You convinced one of your friends?" she asked excitedly, hugging him back.

He nodded and then said, "She was supposed to meet me at the factory, but hasn't shown up yet. When I got there I decided to check the screen on the supercomputer and I saw you and all those monsters so I came to help. Aelita's got a great plan, too."

Aelita… Why did that name sound familiar to her… She knew her uncle… Not his name, but she knew him as the floating orb that sometimes came on to Lyoko… "What's her plan?"

"Well, have you ever been off Lyoko since you were trapped here?"

She shook her head. "I can't leave Carthage much… See, my body needs to kind of charge… I guess you could call it that… Anyway, if I don't in a certain amount of time my body shuts down and I can't do anything, though I'm aware of what's happening, until I'm back in Carthage and have charged for a bit… I think the maximum time that I could be gone from Carthage now would be…" she thought about the answer and then did some Math in her head. "It would probably be about five hours…"

"That should be enough time for Aelita's plan to work!" he shouted, pumping his fist into the air. "See, Aelita was thinking that if Jeremie and Yumi could talk to you face-to-face, with her and me there of course, that they might be able to trust you."

This was a bit much for her. She'd already wondered out of her comfort zone in talking to William… Maybe it would be better with Odd there to support her. She nodded hesitantly. "I'll do it…"

"I'll go back and call Aelita and see where she is and then I'll find the program on the computer," he told her excited. "Now… Will you devirtualize me?"

She nodded and did as he asked, praying that he could make this all work out.

(*)(*)(*)(*) In the Morning (*)(*)(*)(*)

-Odd-

"It's done, Odd," Aelita stated drowsily from the supercomputer chair, spinning around to face the eccentric blonde.

He took the headset and yelled into the microphone, "Are you ready, Xylia?"

She waited a moment and then said, "I'm ready to go…"

"Alright, you're in a tower, right?" he asked her as he got adjusted so Aelita could initiate the program when she was ready.

"Yes," she replied curly.

Odd grinned at Aelita as she began entering the codes.

-Aelita-

She'd hated leaving Ulrich in the state he was in. He'd been sobbing so hard that she'd had to drag him back to the dorm room and when she finally got him there he cried into the pillow. She was definitely going to check up on the brunette when they got done here. Odd could show Xylia around…

"I'll go wait for her down at the scanners," Odd said quickly before dashing across the floor and into the elevator.

"The program is going so she should be down there soon!" she yelled as she dialed Ulrich phone.

He picked up as soon as Odd replied. "Hmm?"

"I'm going to be headed back to the school soon… I'll be stopping by your room so you should try to be out of bed, okay?" she asked the program completed and she heard the scanner open.

"Yeah… Bye," he replied and then hung up.

-Xylia-

She slowly opened her eyes as they adjusted to the lights… The first face she saw was Odd's. She took his hand when he offered it and shakily stood up… "So, this old factory hasn't changed much since I was last in it…"

"Doesn't seem like it. I've seen video diary entries of Franz Hopper's where he's sitting at the supercomputer and they look identical, though I guess it's to be expected…"

Another name that sounded familiar… Franz… Franz and Aelita… How was it all connected?
-Rhys-

The day that they were taken captive in this virtual world he knew that when they'd seen their cousin it wasn't really her… It was some clone or something because she hadn't known anything about the supercomputer… His dad had and warned them not to go near Uncle
Franz. Did they listen? No. They went to where they knew the supercomputer was and when they realized no one was there they looked around and ended up in the scanners. In the scanners that him and his sister had stepped into something was sitting at the bottom. It was something for the AI, Xana, to be formed from. Now, because of their uncle, they were one with this AI Xana and the virus he'd accidentally created while making Xana could get them…

A/N: So now you know a bit more. XD The next two chapters will lead up to the part I've been the most excited for. X3 Odd does something and he ends up not being able to get himself out before something bad happens… :D

Read and review!

~MoonlitxAngel