A/N: I hope all of y'all liked the last chapter, and I hope you all had a wonderful New Years! I do apologize for disappearing so long. It's been an eventful and very busy first few weeks of 2020. I'm hoping, that as things start to fall into place, that I won't be as (creatively) exhausted as I have been.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Code Lyoko, that respectfully belongs to the creators!

Sittin' In A Tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G

Chapter 19: Drowning in Shadows

Dazed green eyes stared ahead, unseeing. Dahlia couldn't remember how long it had been when she came here, here to Lyoko, to the tower she was in. Her last vision only seemed to replay before her, making her heart ache. Somehow she could still see Odd, looking at her with such desperation that it shook her to the core.

"What about you…?" His voice had asked her that question with such heartache.

Then she'd seen his eyes. The fear in those golden orbs called out to her as the fan flew towards her like a spinning missile. She'd only been able to take a second glance at him before shutting the dark data hole she'd made. What had she hoped it would do? Protect her from the blow? Maybe she'd been hoping for it to sweep passed Odd like a harmless snowball and hit its target without causing any harm. Of course, she had known it would follow her. It wasn't a harmless ball of snow, especially since those didn't exist in Lyoko. She'd just taken a second too long to get away.

Just a second too long.

That sounded familiar. Hadn't she taken a second too long to get away from her father's office those many years ago? Or maybe it was that second she'd taken too long to tell him she wasn't going with him? Possibly it was that one second where she'd been a helpless child. That one where she should have run instead of covering her ears as the liquor bottle broke above her.

Why was it that she still felt the cold concrete floor through her t-shirt, her skin battered and bruised, and her head sore from where she had been dragged by the hair? Somehow she knew that she hadn't been as scared of Yumi's fan as she had been that night in her father's basement. In those days she had fallen into survival mode as a last resort. Dahlia could still recall obeying her father with a snap of his fingers. She'd become his obedient dog.

"D…hl…"

She'd been willing to jump when he said jump, as long as that meant he wouldn't lay a hand on her. She'd have swam across the English Channel twice the amount Sarah Thomas* had if it meant he'd be happy with her. Except, her father, Jonathan, was never happy with her. She was never obedient enough, which only meant her warm bed had become the cold concrete floor of the basement.

"Da…lia…"

The world around the dark haired girl slowly came into view. The vision of the tower's dim light made her blink before she noticed her translucent uncle. He was standing before her, a frown on his face as he called her name, "Dahlia? Dahlia… What happened?"

"Uncle…?" Her voice was soft yet made her head ache, "When did you get here?" Her vision blurred, seeing him as a grey blob before focusing once more.

"As long as you have," he replies softly. "Your life points were depleted. They were in the red… but you appeared and sat down. What happened out there? Did Odd do this to you?"

Dahlia's eyes squinted at him as she tried to keep her focus. "I need to focus…" she whispers to herself. "I can't keep drowning in the past…"

Hopper frowns. His hand reached out to her before pulling away slightly, knowing it wouldn't give his niece the comfort she needed. "Focus on me. Focus on my voice, Dahlia." His baritone voice echoed around her, allowing her to focus on a point. "All you need to do is focus on me. Everything will be okay."

Dull green eyes closed before reopening and looking clear. "Odd didn't hurt me. I showed him…what I promised you," she looks to him, now able to see his ghost like appearance better than before, "I promised you…"

He shook his head.

Confidence shone in her face as she seemed to nod, deciding on a question that had evaded her all this time. "The program won't win."

A/N: Sorry it's so short, but I hope y'all like it!

*Sarah Thomas is an American open water marathon swimmer. She was the first person to swim across the English Channel four times, nonstop. According to the BBC, the 37 year old began her epic feat early on Sunday morning, finishing 54 hours later on the shores of Dover.

Source: Google: Search: Swim across the English Channel

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