Chapter 10—Discoveries
I don't own Code Lyoko.

Aelita sat silently on her bed. She'd stopped crying an hour ago, but her pain was still sharp. It had only been a little while ago that we discovered that Aelita was Franz Hopper's daughter. Not only was she his daughter, but he'd sacrificed himself to save her, after "stealing" several years of her life. All the people she'd known were at least 20 years old by now.

The others had gone off to start packing before we all left for break. At least that's what every one had said. I knew the others were worried about our beloved Princess and trusted me to help her.

I stood up and sat next to her. "Aelita?" She continued to stare at her feet. "Honey? Talk to me."

She looked at me. "You know what I'm feeling, right?"

I nodded my head; her feelings had been washing over me since the discovery. "Yes, I do."

"Why did he do that? Why would he sacrifice himself for me?" Tears were streaming down her face.

"Ae, any good parent would sacrifice themselves for their child. Aelita, we don't know the all of the circumstances behind what happened before you two were transferred over to Lyoko. Jeremie has some of the files, and may know a little more than we do, but we don't know everything. There must be a good reason for your father to do what he did."

"Do you think he loved me?" Aelita curled into my arms, tears streaming down her face.

"Yes, I'm sure he loved you, very much." I pulled her into a hug.

"They're not upset with me, are they?"

I sat her up and forced her to look at me. "Ae, no one is upset with you! Everyone understood that you were upset. Any one of us would've been!" I wiped a tear awake. "No more tears now. We'll be leaving in the morning. Go spend time with Jeremie! He's going to miss you over break."

Aelita nodded her head. "Right. Do I look alright?"

"You look fine. Now go spend some time with your boy!"

Aelita left the room quickly.

I sat in the silent room for a minute before calling Odd.

"Wren!" He exclaimed. "How's it going?"

"Much better. Aelita's feeling better now. Not great but better. She's with Jeremie."

"Cool. Wanna come over?"

"Is my brother there?" I asked.

"Yeah, he and Yumi are here."

"Gee, then I don't know. It might be more fun without them there, don't you think?" I replied playfully.

I could feel Odd's emotions rise.

"What did she say?" I could hear Ulrich demanding. "Why are you blushing?"

"Nothing!" Odd exclaimed. I heard some rustling that sounded like Ulrich trying to get the phone.

While they were fighting over the phone, I started walking to their room. I was standing outside of their door when Ulrich won the phone.

"What did you say to him?" Ulrich demanded.

"Rick, do you really want to know? I mean do you really want to hear about your twin sister's sex life with your best friend?" I asked smirking.

"Eww! NO!"

I heard the phone make a weird sound.

"Ow! Why did you throw the phone at me?" Odd demanded.

I opened the door. "Because I started telling him about our nonexistent sex life."

"Sis! Ew!" Ulrich exclaimed covering his ears.

I dropped down next to my blushing boyfriend.

Yumi was shaking her head. "Hey, Yumi! When's curfew tonight?" I asked.

"20 minutes after the dance ends," She told me.

"Shiny! We've got more than enough time to watch a movie!" I exclaimed.

"Sure, we might as well. It's too late to go to the dance," Yumi stated.

"Hey, Rick, call our resident geniuses and see if they want to come over," I said laying out on Odd's bed.

"When did you start calling me 'Rick' again, and why can't you do it?"

"I can start calling you 'Ricky' again. And it's your room!"

"Fine!" Ulrich exclaimed picking up his phone.

Odd curled next to me. "Hi."

"Hi."

He glanced over at Ulrich and Yumi, who was apparently now on the phone with Aelita. "Can I kiss you?"

"Yes, you don't need to ask."

He kissed me softly. "Mine," he muttered before kissing me again.

"Hey none of that!" Ulrich scolded. Yumi smacked him across the chest. "Or at least sit up!"

"Why? We're not going to do anything with you in the room."

"If you're going to start calling me 'Rick' again, I'm going to start acting like an older brother," Ulrich warned.

I giggled, kissed Odd and sat up again. "Sounds good to me, Rick."

"Who's Rick?" Aelita asked walking into the room with Jeremie.

"It's an old nickname I came up with for Ulrich. I'm bringing it back into circulation!"

"Cute, Wen, cute," Ulrich stated dryly. "What movie do you guys want to watch?" He asked picking up the remote.

The next morning I was trying to run a brush through my hair. I winced as I hit another knot in my hair.

Odd opened the door and peered in. "Hey."

"Hey, Odd." I felt some weird emotion radiating off of Odd. "What's wrong?"

He looked at me for a moment. "I-I-it's too bare in here."

I laughed. "I tried to keep it as cozy as long as I could." I winced again as I hit another knot.

Odd walked up behind me and took the brush from me and started to brush my hair, freeing me from my losing battle.

"Mmmh," I muttered. "We need to do this more often."

"Let me know if I'm pulling."

"You're not," I whispered.

Odd finished brushing my hair and leaned over and hugged me.

I wrapped my arms over his. "Odd, what's wrong?"

"I'm going to miss you," He whispered. I felt a wet drop land on my neck.

I closed my eyes, in an attempt to suppress some of my pain. "I'm going to miss you too."

"Will you write or call?"

I turned so that I could see him better. "Of course. Every day if possible."

He smiled slightly.

"Hey, Wen?" Ulrich asked stepping into the room. "Oh, hey, Odd. I was wondering where you went.'

I felt Odd's slight embarrassment from crying.

"What's up, Rick?" I asked trying to draw attention away from Odd.

"Jeremie's parents just called. They'll be here in about ten minutes to pick him up. Oh, and Wen, your mobile is off. Could you turn it back on so I don't have to keep running to find you?"

"Ok, Odd and I'll be down in a second," I replied turning on the phone.

Ulrich nodded his head. "Ok, see you in a bit," Ulrich said stepped back out of the room and shutting the door.

"Odd, honey?" He looked at me.

"You want me to help carry some stuff down?"

"Yes, but I want to thank you for not judging me."

"Welcome. Thank you for forgiving me."

I kissed him. "Welcome. Can you grab that box?" I asked dropping my hair brush into another box.

"Sure thing." He picked up the box and waiting at the door for me.

I picked up my box and looked around the room. "This has been a good year," I muttered to myself before following Odd down the hall.

The group was standing near the main drive with piles of our stuff nearby. Aelita had Jeremie's hand crushed in hers, tears shinning bright in her eyes. There were tears in Jeremie's eyes too, but that was more out of pain then out of sadness.

"What are we going to do if XANA attacks?" I heard her ask as we approached.

"He won't," I stated setting my box down. "He's going to use this time to collect himself and learn about Earth first hand."

Odd had set the other box down and had pulled me to his side and pulled one of my hands firmly into his own.

"Why does everyone have to leave?" She asked tears leaking down her face.

I had to fight tears as the group's sadness increased. No one wanted to tell Aelita that we had to go because our parents wanted to see us. Parents had become a touchy subject since we learned that Aelita was really Franz Hopper's daughter.

Jeremie squeezed her hand. "We'll be back soon. And you and Yumi will have fun."

"Yeah, I've got lots of fun things lined up for us to do this summer!" Yumi exclaimed trying to lift the mood. Jeremie and her exchanged smiles, silent appreciation flowing from Jeremie.

"My parent's are here," Jeremie announced sadly as a car pulled up.

"Jeremie!" A women exclaimed jumping out of the car. The only way to describe this women; was that she was Jeremie's mom. She was pretty, and blond, and I could see where Jeremie got his blue eyes from.

She hugged Jeremie, which was made slightly interesting by Aelita refusing to release Jeremie's hand.

"Who's this pretty thing?" She asked smiling down at Aelita.

"Mom, this is Aelita. Um…she's kind of my girlfriend."

I could feel the nervousness coming off of Jeremie and Aelita, and the surprise and happiness from Jeremie's mom.

"How wonderful!" She exclaimed after a moment. "I'm sorry to be pulling him away from you."

Ulrich stepped up and handed Jeremie's dad a box, containing some of Jeremie's computer games in it. "Here, you go, Sir," Ulrich said softly.

Hidden fact about Ulrich, he's extremely shy around people he doesn't know, especially adults.

"Thank you," Jeremie's dad replied taking the box away from Ulrich.

I pulled Odd over to Jeremie and Aelita. Odd wasn't willing to let go of my hand so I pulled Jeremie into a very awkward hug, since Aelita wouldn't let go either.

"You'd better call and email us," I told Jeremie. "Or I'll have to come and get you! I can too! I have nothing better to do than watch my brother's soccer games!"

Jeremie laughed. "I will." He replied.

Yumi walked up behind him and hugged him. "Good, 'cuz we'll miss you!"

"Yeah, really. We'll have to play chess online!" Ulrich exclaimed.

"I want to watch!" Odd exclaimed.

"Good, then maybe you'll learn how to play," Jeremie stated smiling.

Odd and Ulrich each gave Jeremie a hug.

I noted Jeremie's mom's happiness. She was so proud of her son, probably for having such close friends.

"Have a good break, Einstein!" Ulrich said smiling.

"You too, Romeo!" Jeremie replied trying to get into the car.

"Princess, you're going to have to let go," Jeremie whispered.

"No," she muttered burring her head into Jeremie's shirt.

"Princess," Jeremie whispered. "Vacation will go by quickly, and we'll be back together again soon."

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too. But we can call, write, and email. It'll help ok?"

"Ok."

Jeremie leaned in closer to her. "Good," he muttered kissing her, softly. They pulled away and looked at each other.

"Jeremie?" His dad asked, looking sympathetic.

"Jest a sec!" He called not taking his eyes off of Aelita. "I'll call you when I get home."

Aelita nodded her head. "Ok."

He smiled and kissed her again, before leaning in and whispering something into her ear.

She smiled and kissed him again, before letting him get into the car.

The car drove away with Jeremie staring out the window, waving at us.

Aelita sobbed into Yumi's shoulder. "He'll be back. Don't worry. You'll talk to him in a little while. I promise," She told Aelita.

"We won't be gone long," I told her hugging giving her a one armed hug around Yumi. "Not one of us is happy to go." I looked at Odd. "Some of us less so than others. But it's not like we can't be in contact."

Ulrich moved next to our group and placed his arm around Yumi's waist. "You and Yumi are going to have a lot of fun. Break will go by quickly, Princess."

Another car pulled up causing Odd to sigh. "Oh great, my parents," Odd muttered.

I smiled at him. I could feel Odd's unhappiness. I wrapped myself around Odd and hugged him.

Odd looked at me, tears in his eyes. "I'm going to miss you," He told me pulling me closer to him.

"I'm going to miss you too." I closed my eyes and leaned into his chest. I took a deep breath, trying to memorize his scent. "I should've traded pillows with you," I muttered.

Odd pulled away slightly. "We still can." I nodded my head. "Ulrich, could you hand me my pillow?" Odd asked.

This perked Ulrich's curiosity, but he handed him the pillow. Yumi caught on and handed me my pillow. I traded my red and black, lavender scented pillow for Odd's purple, slightly spicy scented pillow.

"Are you ready?" Odd's father demanded. Like many people with money I didn't even need to speak to him to realize that I wasn't a fan of his. His father was emitting a large amount of annoyance, most of it directed at Odd.

Odd nodded. "Just one second, Father."

Aelita broke away from Yumi and hugged Odd around me. "Call!" she demanded.

"Yes, Princess," Odd replied smiling a bit.

Yumi stepped forward and hugged Odd from the other side. "You heard her. I want to know that you're alive and well!"

Ulrich shook Odd's hand and pulled him into a weird half hug. "Take care of yourself."

"You too. And take care of my girlfriend," Odd ordered Ulrich, smiling. "Wren,"

I smiled and kissed him. "You'd better stay in touch. I'm leaving you with the same threat that I gave Jeremie!"

Odd laughed. "I will. I'll miss you my Wren." He kissed me again, and got into the car.

"I'll miss you too; call me when you get settled!" I called as he shut the door. The car pulled away with Odd staring out the window at us.

I fought the tears that threatened to fall down my face. I wrapped Aelita in my arms, in an attempt to keep myself under control and to comfort the still sobbing girl.

"You and Ulrich and next," She whispered to me.

"I know, but you'll have Yumi to watch over you," I whispered back as I felt another pair of arms wrap themselves around Aelita and myself.

"Hey you two. Cheer up!" Yumi exclaimed joining in on the group hug. "Well see each other again soon."

It didn't take long for to see our Father's van pull up. I nudged Ulrich, letting him know he should be spending time with Yumi, not trying to comfort Aelita and me.

Aelita and I walked up to the car and started loading it, letting Ulrich and Yumi have their moment.

Dad got out of the car and started to help us. "Dad, meet Aelita, my roommate."

Dad paused with a box half in the van. "Nice to meet you, Aelita," he said while finishing putting the box in. "Where's your brother?"

"Saying goodbye to Yumi," I replied.

Mom got out of the car and hugged me. "Morwen! It's good to see you again! Who's this?" She asked.

"Mom, this is my roommate, Aelita," I replied.

"Aelita, it's nice to meet you," Mom replied.

"It's nice to meet you too," Aelita replied.

"Where's your brother?" Mom asked suddenly.

"Saying goodbye to Yumi," I replied.

"Are they going out yet?"

"Yes, they are."

"For how long?" Mom asked excitedly.

"How long what?" Ulrich asked walking back hand-in-hand with Yumi.

"Mom wants to know how long you tow have been going out."

"About three months?" Ulrich asked looking at Yumi for confirmation.

"That's great!" Mom exclaimed, hugging both Ulrich and Yumi, and causing them both a good deal of embarrassment.

"Mom, um," I paused. "We're already to go. Um…"

"I'll just let you four say goodbye!" She jumped back into the car, followed shortly by Dad.

I hugged Yumi. "Take care of yourselves. Call, write, email, you know all the fun stuff," I said hugging Aelita.

Ulrich hugged Aelita and handed her off to Yumi.

We looked at each other for a second before pulling each other into a group hug.

"See ya guys!" I exclaimed opening my car door and getting in.

Ulrich climbed in a second later.

Dad pulled away leaving the two original female members of our group, and two of my best friends standing on the curb.

I dropped my head onto Ulrich's shoulder. He pulled me closer and hugged me the best that he could. "We'll see them soon."

I nodded. "I know, but I can't help feeling that with what's happened over the last couple of days, that things are going to change drastically. Not only is the last couple of days, but something else coming."

He nodded his head. "I know, but don't worry, things will work out, Sis, you'll see."