All I can say is sorry for the delay. Several months is quite some time... So here's a big chapter! I hope to get back to a more sensible updates. Sorry again!

/

"Proper land!" Cried Kai leaping off of his horse onto the earth.

Aelita watched bemused as Ulrich's son jokingly kissed the ground. Marie and Chip giggled in response. She understood how he felt, nobody was upset at leaving the Glass Lands and returning to grass and forests. It had taken almost a week but at last they were out. Departing from the never ending dunes left them with a feeling of hope and release which seemed a little strange to them. There was the feeling that they might just make it after all…

The only one without a smile on his face it would seem was Ulrich but that was hardly unusual. He looked out to the hills in the distance gravely. She knew what he was thinking about, the same as always: Yumi…

"Not far now…" He muttered looking off into the distance.

Not far meant another three days ride. Fortunately, the return of forests and water allowed Kai to demonstrate his hunting skills and for them to fill their gourdes with water again. They stopped early on the first day to allow the horses time to graze and regain some of their energy. It was pleasant to be able to walk along and breathe the air without being forced to wear a gas mask. Aelita wondered how many people had struggled across the dessert; how many had tried and failed?

They reached where Ulrich had buried Yumi all those years ago late in the evening. It wasn't quite what she had been expecting although just what she had been expecting she didn't know… The group found themselves riding into the ruins of an old castle, deserted for many years… It sat atop a hill overlooking a valley and in the distance the Mediterranean sea could be seen. It truly was a beautiful location.

Kai became notably more subdued as they entered the courtyard. He was only five when he had last set foot here. Still, the place in his mind was synonymous with the death of his mother or rather the moment when they had said goodbye for the last time… His eyes fell upon his father, why come here of all places? It brought them nothing but sorrow and painful memories; memories which they had tried to bury and keep hidden for many years now.

"I remember this place…" He whispered under his breath as a chill ran down his spine.

It was probably no bad thing that they had reached the castle, darkness would be upon them in a little while. They needed somewhere to set up camp and this place seemed as good as any. The walls had long ago crumbled and now, only piles of stone stood in their place. Nature had long ago overrun the building; vines climbed over the walls, the grass was long and untidy, Aelita even spotted a doe which made a quick escape upon seeing them. The group stopped, dismounting from their exhausted mounts.

Ulrich continued walking however, he was heading over to an ancient olive tree which lay in the center of the courtyard. Kai's gaze followed his father yet he remained firmly planted where he stood. He had turned a rather pale color and looked more than a little unsettled by being here. Aelita was about to head over to him and try and say something to comfort the young teen when he seemed to shake off his stupor and return to tending the horses. Aelita turned to her young son and handed him her horse, he'd understood and Marie was already trying to take Kai's mind off of the situation by telling him some funny anecdote about the life cycle of the common fly.

Aelita trusted her children to be able to occupy the teen for some time, if his mood degenerated any further she would intervene, it was wishful thinking to think that the boy's father would do anything, she doubted he was aware of his son's distress.

Still, Ulrich was her primary concern. His moods were a little more unpredictable than his son's. His melancholy either provoked depression or it had been known to make him nasty and that was something she wanted to avoid at all cost. Never before had he raised a hand against any of them in anger but he could get snappy bordering on sulky, much like had as a teenager.

She slowly approached taking care to give the young man some space. He was kneeling down just in front of the olive tree. It took Aelita second to see what he was looking at with such sorry eyes. Just in front of him, was a small wooden cross which looked like it had braved the elements, yet it was still standing.

"I didn't think it would still be here." Ulrich confessed without turning around to see her. "There's grass here now..."
"You picked a beautiful spot." Aelita told him looking around. "Yumi would have liked it."
"Yes... Yes, she would have." Ulrich placed a hand on the ground before him. "Aelita, can you leave me some time to myself? I need to think."
"Of course..." She turned around and began to head back over to the children before pausing. "Don't forget Ulrich, your son has feelings to."

He didn't respond. Although she was certain he had heard her and if she was honest with herself, she knew her words hurt him. Yet she didn't regret them, Ulrich was one of those people who occasionally needed a verbal slap. She tried to avoid hurting him as much as was physically possible but he had to realize that his behavior had consequences on them all; least of all poor Kai. Leaving Ulrich to his own thoughts. She headed back over to the children.

She was rather impressed to see that they had already began to get the fire ready. Tonight would be rabbit and pigeon with some mushrooms that Marie assured them were edible. Once Aelita might have complained, now she was simply grateful that they had anything to eat at all. She sometimes forgot just how capable the kids were, circumstances had caused them to mature faster than most. Although they maintained a jovial innocence, she didn't doubt for one minute they all three would be capable of surviving in the wilderness.

Kai's head hung low as he sat down on a small rock watching the other kids work. Aelita placed a hand on his shoulder, he looked up to see her and she could instantly tell that he was only just managing to hold back tears. It surprised her somewhat but then she remembered that he was only 15 and this was the place where he had buried his mother all those years ago.

"It's okay." She told him in a soft voice.
"I'm fine!" He assured her almost a tone of anger in his voice.
"No you're not Kai." Aelita replied looking the boy in the eyes.
"I am!" He replied shaking his head. "It's just, why'd we have to come back here?"
"You know as well as I do that your father needs to get rid of all of his pent up pain caused by Yumi's death." She told the teen in a soft voice. "And so do you."
"At least I don't take it out on you guys."

The pink haired woman let out a sigh. She decided that she had better leave Ulrich's son to his own devices for a while. Instead she chose to help her children, she aided her son in skinning the rabbit, it's fur could be used to make cloves, a hat or even a small scarf in order to keep them warm. Long ago, they had learned not to waste anything. Marie had already finished plucking the bird's feathers and had placed on a small spit over the fire, cooking it slowly.

Both children were markedly more quiet, doubtlessly they had sensed that this was neither the time nor the place to be mucking around. Aelita cast a glance back over to where Ulrich was, he was still there, kneeling down before his love's grave. He could be there for a while... This was promising to be a fun night...

"Hey mom?" Chip's voice drew her attention.
"Yes, Chip?" She asked in a warm voice.
"Where exactly are we going?" The boy questioned in a low, almost scared voice.
"West." His mother replied adding the rabbit to the spit. "We've got to find somewhere safe. Somewhere where there's no X.A.N.A"
"Is there anywhere like that?" Marie asked coming over and looking up into her mother's eyes.
"Not even X.A.N.A can be everywhere, we'll find a place and we'll be safe." She assured her children. "And you know what the first rule of survival out here is?"
"Never give up." They both chimed in unison.
"That's right."

That night's diner was rather more quiet than usual, Kai said nothing, he contended himself with eating a couple of mushrooms and one of the rabbit's legs. Slim pickings as always but better than starving. Aelita allowed her children to snuggle up to her one on either side. She got a single large blanket and placed it over all their shoulders. Within, a few moments, both were once more fast asleep.

Aelita watched them warmly but with a heavy heart. In no small way did both her children remind her of their father and therefor of his loss. She was beginning to come to terms with the fact that she would never see him again. He could be dead or simply in hiding at the other end of France, in any case, it was unlikely that she would ever lay eyes on the man that she loved once more... Still, she had to live, she had to watch out for her children so that they might grow up.

"The last time my father ever held me like that was here about ten years ago." Kai declared in a shaky voice.
"Yumi..." Aelita's voice trailed off as she noticed tears in the boy's eyes.
"We buried her here." She decided to let the boy talk. "I remember crying all night, dad cried to... Then when morning came, it's like he didn't want anything to do with me anymore."
"That's not true..." She told him, her voice firm in it's resolution. "Your father loves you Kai but Yumi was everything to him, he's never learned to live without her."

The teen looked away from a moment. Aelita said nothing thinking back to the day he was born, the entire Lyoko squad had been there, even William. It had been a major turning point in all their lives. Back then, they had seen it as the definite end to their days as the Lyoko warriors and the beginning of their new adult lives. Of course, they had been catastrophically wrong and the first of their children had been dragged into a terrible war, a war which had cost him the life of his mother and the heart of his father...

She could tell that the teen was crying now, uncharacteristic of him. His breaths had become rapid and shaky. She remained at a distance, judging it best to leave the boy some space. She had never seen Kai in such a state, unlike his father he hid his pain with good humor and a warm smile, as such, she was a little more unsure about how to comfort him.

"All I can remember of my mom..." Kai sobbed his head hanging low before looking up to see her. "Is her smiling at me as she bleed out!"

Aelita paused unsure how to react. Neither Ulrich nor his son had ever told her just how Yumi had met her end. The most she had ever gotten out of her old friend was that it was X.A.N.A had been responsible. She knew that the young Japanese woman had been killed in the escape from Paris and evidently her remaining family had managed to bring her body here and bury her. Other than that, she had no idea that Kai had personally witnessed his mother's death...

"You can't go on remembering your mother like that. Think back, I know you can remember the good as well."
"How would you know?" Kai asked clenching his teeth as he turned to look at his father behind him.
"I know that keeping it inside just burns, burns until you can't take it anymore."

The old Lyoko Warrior sat down next to his son. The teenager looked at his father with wide eyes, red from crying. Aelita watched surprised, she hadn't noticed Ulrich come over and she certainly hadn't expected it to be so soon after initially stopping by his love's grave. She hadn't seen the two really interact in a very long time, perhaps the last time she had seen the two behave really like father and son had been when Kai was still a boy, before all this catastrophe.

Since that day, the two of them had always remained distant. Physically and emotionally, they would often avoid each other and never once had either confined in the other. When they did interact, it was only when strictly necessary and usually in as few a words as humanly possible. She had given up long ago trying to reunite the two of them, yet tonight it looked as if finally they might be about to do so themselves.

"I miss her dad." Kai confessed tearfully.
"So do I..." The boy's father replied in a low voice. "But your mother wouldn't want you to remember her as she was when she was dying. She'd want you to remember the good things."
"I can't..." Kai informed him weakly. "All I see is..."
"Don't you remember the time we took you to the park? You chased a swan so far into the water, your mother had to jump in and save you?"

The teen nodded slowly. Aelita listened with interest. She could vaguely remembering Yumi telling her the anecdote a few days after it had taken place, as a result of the swim both mother and son had caught a terrible cold. Ulrich continued with his stories from the past, each of them were only a minute long yet they seemed invested with some special power which conjured up for a few moments the image of a smiling or laughing Yumi Ishiyama.

What happened next truly shocked the young woman watching. A still sobbing Kai, rested his head against his father shoulder and even more amazingly, the man hesitatingly placed an arm around his son's shoulders pulling him a little closer. The boy closed his eyes, accepting the gesture of affection and the comfort which it offered. Silence settled in between them, if the teenager was still crying, he was doing so without making any sound. Ulrich's tired eyes met hers, she nodded discretely to him; letting him know she was happy at his decision.

"You once asked me how Yumi died." Ulrich spoke to her later once his son was asleep. "I never told you because I didn't want to remember but if you want, I'll tell you."
"Do you want to?" She asked speaking in a quiet and hushed voice.
"I think I need to get this out of me, same as Kai did."

Aelita didn't respond, instead she slowly got up from where she had been sitting. Her children were both lying on a small blanket which shielded them partly from the damp of the ground. She gave each of them a peck on the cheek before going to rejoin her friend. They stopped by one of the walls looking out over the valley. In the very distance, they could make out the Mediterranean sea. It was actually quite beautiful on a calm night such as this, with the silver moon rays down on the water and the stillness of the air; she could happily have forgotten about their troubles for a few moments.

"It's nice here isn't it?" Ulrich asked her his voice unusually soft.
"Tonight it sure is." She replied looking out over the view. "It must be nice in summer..."
"It was..." The man's voice trailed off for a couple of moments as he starred out into space.

She didn't complain about his sudden silence. Choosing instead to sit down next to her friend and look out over the water. She was willing to give him all the time that he needed to gather his thoughts together. Despite the chill in the winter's air, the night's beauty calmed her slightly. As she looked up at the stars, she found herself wondering if somewhere out there, in the vast world there were others looking up at them and wondering if they were the last humans. Maybe Jeremy was out there somewhere, wondering about his wife and children...

The tranquility of the night was disturbed by Ulrich who let out a deep sigh which sounded as if it carried the sorrows of the world.

"The day we lost Yumi. We'd already run into a shed load of monsters. I hurt my leg pretty bad..." He pulled up his left trouser leg to reveal a grizzly scar which made her wonder how he still had all his limbs. "I could hardly walk, we had Kai with us and we were being chased..."

Aelita couldn't help but think back to the incident which had separated her from her husband. She knew how struggling with young children made it virtually impossible to outrun any of X.A. monsters. She also knew that the day of the invasion, kankrelats, krabs, megatanks and bloks had poured through the streets like a never ending flood. Thousands had rampaged through Paris, that and the collapse of the city infrastructure had lead to the single bloodiest day in the war; if it could even be called such a thing.

In all her years of wondering in an attempt to escape the seemingly omnipresent A.I, she had only ever met a handful of survivors of the Paris massacre. Ulrich and his son were without a doubt the two who had been closest to the initial attack and ironically both had come out relatively unscathed, at least physically, as she knew only too well, it was the wounds under the skin which truly caused the damage.

"We came to this shed. There was a gap between in and the ground, I dunno probably something some animal had dug out." He attempted to illustrate the size with his hands, it couldn't have been more than a couple of feet. "We were going to hide, Kai slipped under first then I followed but when it came to Yumi, X.A.N.A caught up. Yumi told us to stay hidden."

Aelita painfully pictured the scene in her head, although she wasn't sure whether she would still want to by the time Ulrich had finished his story.

She remembered that frightful day very vividly, as if it had been scarred into her memory, it had been into most people. Jeremy, who had never completely let go of Lyoko still kept track of any potential X.A.N.A activity, it went without saying that until that summer's night there had been none. Then, the computer had gone off; beeping an eerily familiar alarm. It had awoken the super-genius from his sleep. What had especially marked Aelita had been the fear in his voice, the sear terror as he had realized what was going to happen and worst of all, that they couldn't stop it.

"They came out of nowhere, dozens of monsters and this guy- a kid, probably about Kai's age but he was wearing Lyoko gear." Ulrich continued on with his story.
"What?!" Aelita asked, this was the first time she had ever heard mention this stranger. "Another Lyoko warrior?!"
"You want to know what I think happened?" Aelita blinked at him a couple of times, still a little taken back by this revelation. "I think some kids found the supercomputer, just like we did. I think they turned it on and I think that somehow, they brought X.A.N.A back and I think he defeated them. You'd know if that were possible."

Aelita looked down at her feet for a moment, she scratched her chin thinking. It was possible, she'd never really actually spent much time wondering how X.A.N.A had come back, trying to think of a way to defeat him seemed rather more important. If Ulrich's story was correct and she really had no reason to doubt what he said, then it certainly would explain a lot. It brought the terrifying realization of just how easily they could have ended up being the ones to unleash the apocalypse.

"It's possible, they could have awakened a small part of X.A.N.A which we didn't destroy, some hidden back-up program. Without me, they wouldn't have been able to deactivate any towers. X.A.N.A could have been growing in power for months!"
"Figures..." Ulrich muttered bitterly. "This guy was Xanafied that's for sure."
"Do you want to go on?" She asked him, looking into his eyes and reading all their pain.
"I have to." He replied through clenched teeth as if telling the story was causing him physical pain. "Whoever he was caught Yumi, she couldn't escape but put up one hell of a fight. I guess, X.A.N.A must have guessed we were in the area cause that kid- No... Monster, he kept on calling out for me to show myself."
"Did you?"
"No..."

Ulrich's voice suddenly broke and so did he. All his coldness, the distance and barriers he had tried to put between himself and those around him simply collapsed and the young Ulrich Stern whom she had known and cared for as a teenager returned. With him, came the tears. At first, it was a single drop of water which escaped his eyes, followed up by another and another, before Aelita could properly understand what was happening, her old friend was crying rivers.

"Oh Ulrich..." She spoke softly but unsure what she could say to ease his pain.
"I couldn't do anything, if I broke my cover. X.A.N.A would have found Kai. She was in pain- And I couldn't help her-" He managed to sob out. "He counted to ten, I didn't come out. So, he slit her throat."

The Lyoko Warrior fell down to his knees, tears streaming down his cheeks. Aelita hesitated for a few moments, the true horror of what he had just said settling in. Shaking slightly from the shock, she knelt down in front of him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He returned the gesture holding her close. She didn't say anything and soon found herself joining him in tears. She couldn't have said how long they stayed there, sobbing quietly. Thinking of their friends but also for some strange reason the joy that they had shared with them all those years ago.

The pink haired woman was surprised but grateful that the children hadn't been woken up by all of the sudden commotion, their exhaustion at the end of each day did have that one very real benefit, they would almost always sleep through the night fully. She closed her eyes for a couple of moments, she took some comfort from the sound of the strong, steady beats originating from his heart. Just as he did from feeling her against him.

"I never said it..." Ulrich spoke softly into her ear. "But thank you, having you here, it means a lot to me. I don't feel so alone."
"You're never alone." She promised him still remaining close. "We're going to make it out of this. All of us, you, me and the children."
"When you talk like that, it reminds me of the good old days." He declared warmly looking up at the stars above him. "Aelita- Do you believe in Heaven?"

Aelita paused for a moment, she found herself having to ask herself the question as she truly didn't know the answer : did she believe in the afterlife? She hadn't really spent much time pondering the question, perhaps because she couldn't see an immediate way to prove it one way or another. There was only one way that she knew of that would allow them to know for certain and unfortunately there was no coming back from there. Jeremy didn't believe in that sort of stuff, he was a man of pure science, she was somewhat more open-minded however...

"I hope so." Was the most honest answer she could come up with.
"I hope so too..." Ulrich replied quietly.

They didn't say anything else.

The next morning, the small group was getting up and ready. They all took advantage of the situation to say a last few goodbyes to Yumi. Aelita put her arm around both of her childrens' shoulders as they did so, neither of them could really remember Kai's mother although they had met her, they had been too young to recall her. No words were spoken, accept from maybe "goodbye". The lack of an exchange made it somewhat easier to bare.

After that, the group saddled their horses ready to set course for well- They didn't know where they were headed, away from X.A.N.A was all they could hope.

"Please tell me that's not rain..." Aelita muttered looking up at the dirty great rain clouds overhead.
"Actually, I think it's brightening up." Ulrich declared.

The pink haired woman starred at her friend for a moment, blinking a couple of times unsure if she had heard him correctly. He starred back at her before asking his horse to walk on. She contemplated him for a moment before smiling to herself and looking back sadly at the grave. Thanks Yumi, I think he needed that... She thought to herself before following their little group.