Jeremy was currently sleeping while Odd was talking with Aelita. It was by no means an uncommon occurrence by this point as the two often talked about whatever was on their minds. That was mostly everything about earth.
Usually, these talks were the highlight of Odd's day, but recently he's been longing to get Aelita to earth already. It has been months upon months with nothing new pertaining to her materialization. Odd was just frustrated.
"Odd, would you mind describing Japan to me again?" Aelita asked.
Odd's parents, before he was enrolled into Kadic, took a more home-schooled approach with his studies. That often involved travel to all sorts of different places which Aelita just loved to hear him describe.
"I don't know Princess." Odd sighed. "I've described it to you so many times now."
It wasn't even that he was tired of that. The complete opposite. It was just his desire for her to be able to see the world rather than hear about it or be restricted like she was.
"Odd, are you sure you're okay?" Aelita asked concerned.
She had asked him that ever since they started talking that night, and this wasn't even the first night she'd asked. While Odd would like to tell her about his frustrations, Aelita had her own, larger problems to deal with. She didn't need to be burdened with his problems to.
Odd sighed frustrated. "I've already told you, I'm fine Aelita."
"Are you sure Odd?" Aelita asked not really buying it by this point.
"What part of I'm fine do you not understand!" Odd shouted before standing up. "When I say I'm fine, then I am fine. End of story."
"I'm sorry." Aelita stated genuinely.
Odd realized he'd let his anger at the situation get out of hand, and that only hit him harder when he turned to see Aelita looking rather down.
"Aelita." Odd sat back in the chair. "I'm the one who's sorry. I shouldn't have let my anger get the better of me."
"It's alright Odd." Aelita stated. "I think we should stop for tonight. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Aelita, I…" Odd tried.
She closed their window ending the conversation.
Odd buried his face in his hands. "What did I just do?"
Academy Courtyard: Next Day…
Yumi was walking with Ulrich as they tried to find Odd. "So, you two are saying he's been acting odder than usual?"
"That's right." Ulrich stated. "Robbia has been rather sullen all day."
"Not to mention, he wasn't talking to Aelita this morning like he normally does." Jeremy stated. "In fact, he was out of the room when I woke up."
"Every time we've tried to talk to him, he's already off to the next class." Ulrich finish.
"He has been trying to be a better student as not to get in trouble." Yumi stated. "Even so, what you guys said is extreme even for Odd." She spotted their friend sitting a bench looking rather melancholy. "There he is."
The boys noticed before the group walked over to him.
"Hey Robbia, what's the deal with you today?" Ulrich asked getting his attention. "Why are you avoiding us?"
"Avoiding you?" Odd questioned confused before getting it. "Oh, sorry about that. Truth is, I haven't exactly noticed any of you." He sighed. "I've been lost in thought all day."
"Is it the usual worries about my work on materializing Aelita?" Jeremy asked. "I promise, I've been working night and day on that. I'm almost certain it'll be ready any day now. I just…"
"It's not that… not in the way you think." Odd shook his head. "I was talking to Aelita last night and let my frustration get the better of me. I really shouldn't have, and I fear that I may have hurt Aelita."
The rest of the group looked at one another before Yumi took a seat next to him. "Well, are you genuinely sorry for what you did?"
"Of course, I am." Odd clenched his fist. "I regretted doing it the moment I heard how hurt she sounded. I even tried contacting her, but she wasn't picking up on her end."
"Look, I'm not going to pretend I understand you two, but you talk a lot." Ulrich stated. "I'm sure you two know each other. Perhaps she just needs time."
"I guess." Odd shook his head. "I just want her to know that I'm sorry before I leave her alone."
"Well, if she's not answering you, why not go to Lyoko?" Jeremy stated. "It might be harder for her to ignore you when you're right in front of her."
"Go to Lyoko to see her." Odd stood up suddenly feeling energized. "That's a brilliant idea Einstein! Can we go now?"
"It is the start of lunch, so I don't see why not." Jeremy nodded. "I'll send you in and the others can be with me just in case XANA sees this as a chance to attack."
Factory: Computer Room
Jeremy was working to send Odd, who was already in a scanner, to Lyoko while Ulrich and Yumi waited below. "Transfer Odd. Scanner Odd. Virtualization…" Jeremy's eyes went wide as a screen showcased Odd with an error. "Oh no! Stop1"
It was too late.
Later…
"Jeremy, he's not on Lyoko and he wasn't sent back to you… so…" Aelita was saddened. "He's somewhere between the two worlds."
"This is all my fault." Jeremy put his hands on his head. "I've been so wrapped up in the materialization program that I haven't been doing the most basic thing to keep our equipment functioning. Running checks. Now, my roommate is in trouble."
"Jeremy, it's alright." Aelita stated. "Odd's okay."
White Space
Odd was in a white space as he floated along and communicated with Aelita telepathically. "You made a mistake Einstein, and it's one I can't blame you for."
Lab
"He doesn't blame you for this Jeremy." Aelita stated.
Hearing that shocked the three Lyoko Warriors.
"Are you in contact with him?" Ulrich asked.
"Yes…" Aelita stated. "Well, let's say I think what he thinks. It's as though he's part of my mind."
"Can we get him back?" Yumi questioned worriedly.
"There is a way." Jeremy stated. "We need to recover memory from the four passage towers and connect it to the three scanners to complete the transfer. It's going to take a full afternoon, at best, to pull this off."
"That means there's no time to lose." Ulrich stated.
Aelita nodded. "Right, I'm off."
She vanished on the screen.
Jeremy clenched his fist. "I got to make this right." He began fiercely working at the computer putting it through the proper checks so he could flush any nasty viruses. "I got to bring him back."
Ulrich put a hand on his shoulder. "Whoa Belpois, you heard Odd. He doesn't blame you."
Jeremy continued to work on his end. "Just because he doesn't blame, it doesn't mean I don't blame myself. I'm supposed to keep our equipment safely operational, and I failed. Now, we could potentially lose him just like with the digital sea."
"It's okay Jeremy." Yumi stated. "Between you and Aelita, I'm certain we'll have Odd back."
Jeremy sighed. "Ulrich, go to class and come up with an excuse for why Odd and I aren't there. Yumi, it wouldn't do for three of us to be absent, so you should go as well. I'll work here to see if I can get a scanner to accept a person during this process just in case XANA tries something."
Yumi and Ulrich shared a concerned look, but they decided not to push the issue.
Later…
Jeremy had worked to clear every bug from the system, no matter how small, while managing to divert enough memory from unnecessary functions to feed into the Odd retrieval and scanners. They had one scanner, with one trip only, if XANA tried anything.
As for Aelita, she easily handled the first tower and had moved onto the next sector. "Jeremy, I'm entering the second tower now."
"Good work Aelita." Jeremy praised as he was rechecking everything he did. "We should have Odd back in no time." Soon, the bar tracking recovered memory was half full. "That's another one down Aelita. Nice work."
"Hey Belpois." Ulrich had to climb down the ladder to the room. "Why isn't the elevator working?"
"I diverted all power we don't need to the supercomputer to give it a boost." Jeremy stated.
"I see." Ulrich walked over. "Well, you may have a bit of explaining to do tomorrow, but I managed to convince Delmas that you'd taken Odd into town for a study session. If you didn't have the status you do as a good student, I can tell we would have been in serious trouble."
"I do appreciate it Ulrich." Jeremy stated. "Rest assured, I'll deal with the aftermath."
Ulrich walked on over. "Anyway, how's it going?"
"Aelita just finished with the second tower and is already in the forest heading for the third." Jeremy explained.
Forest Sector
Aelita was running along the path to the third tower when Jeremy spoke to her. "Aelita, is Odd okay?"
"He's okay." Aelita stated. "A little worried for me and you guys, but okay." A Kankrelat stepped into her path. "Uh oh, trouble."
Aelita flipped to the right avoiding a shot and dove behind a tree before more shots came at her.
Computer Lab
Jeremy and Ulrich could both see the enemy near Aelita as well as more on their way.
"Belpois, you said we have a scanner, right?" Ulrich asked.
"I hear what you're saying Ulrich, but we only got one virtualization. That's it." Jeremy was scanning the area ahead.
"Aelita, you need to start running now because I'm catching a full pack of five Kankrelats closing in on you." Jeremy informed. "Keep your eyes peeled for a platform to the left and be ready to jump. If you move quick, you shouldn't be boxed in and be closer to the tower."
"Got it Jeremy." Aelita stated.
Forest Sector
Aelita ran for it leaving one Kankrelat as the closest while two others played catch up behind it. She then booked down the path before spotting the platform to the left as two more Kankrelats came down from above. She made the jump and scurried along heading straight for the tower.
Lab
"Good job Aelita." Jeremy turned to Ulrich. "Get to the scanner room and I'll send you in to meet up with Aelita. Escort her to the last tower, and we can get Odd back."
"I'm on it." Ulrich stated before running to the ladder.
Once he was in the scanner, Jeremy began the procedure. "Transfer Ulrich. Scanner Ulrich." He held his finger over the button and closed his eyes. "Please work right." He pushed the button. "Virtualization!"
Mountain Sector
Ulrich appeared on Lyoko and landed just outside the tower as Aelita came out of it. "There you are Aelita." He nodded. "I've been sent in to escort you on the last leg."
"That's good because it's becoming harder and harder to contact Odd." Aelita stated worriedly. "I think he may be starting to delete himself."
"Really?" Ulrich questioned.
"I can confirm. The computer is confusing him for an outdated file." Jeremy stated. "You two need to get moving before we lose him.
"Understood Jeremy." Ulrich looked to Aelita. "Let's go." The pair eventually stopped behind a rock as ahead there were two Blox guarding the tower. "Looks like XANA's caught onto us."
"What's the plan Ulrich?" Aelita questioned.
"The plan is that I deal with them, and you make a break for the tower the moment I take the second one out." Ulrich drew his blade. "Be ready."
Aelita nodded. "I got it."
"Super Sprint!" Ulrich ran out heading straight for the Blox. "Triangulate!"
Two more Ulrichs appeared and they mixed around their positions as the Blox fired. The copies were nailed giving Ulrich ample time to jump atop one with his blade at the ready.
"Impact!" Ulrich thrust the blade into the Blox's XANA symbol and destroyed it before throwing the blade into the other destroying it as well. "Aelita, now!" Aelita had already been running and went into the tower. "It's all up to you now."
After a couple of minutes, all the memory was retrieved.
"That's it, we have all the memory." Jeremy stated relieved.
White Space
Odd had just been floating along the entire time slowly growing quieter and quieter as time wore on. "Odd can you hear me?" Then, he heard her. "Odd." It was Aelita. "Wake up." Odd's eyes snapped open as he began to look around. "Odd, over here."
Odd saw her. "Aelita!"
They moved closer and Odd managed to grab her hand before being blinding by white light.
Odd & Jeremy's Room, Night…
After coming out unconscious in the scanner, Ulrich and Jeremy had helped Odd to the room where he was put on the bed. Once Yumi was out of class, she heard the news and came over to wait with the guys for Odd to wake up. Odd now opened his eyes and looked at his friends.
"How you are feeling?" Ulrich asked concerned.
"I feel good." Odd sat up and smiled. "Knew you all had it under control."
Everyone cheered together happily.
Jeremy and Yumi each sat on one of Odd's sides while Ulrich stood across from them.
"You gave us a real scare there Odd." Yumi stated relieved.
"Yeah, I'm really sorry about this Odd." Jeremy shook his head. "I should have…"
"Will you just relax Einstein?" Odd put a hand on his shoulder with a smile. "Things could have gone wrong or you can continue to blame yourself; however, I'm here now. I'm back meaning you corrected the mistake. No need to feel bad anymore, got it?"
Jeremy smiled. "Yeah, I think I do."
Later…
Odd was sitting before Jeremy's computer talking to Aelita about what happened.
"I was afraid you were mad at me." Aelita stated.
"I thought you were mad at me." Odd stated. "I understand now how you really feel about me."
Odd rubbed the back of his head because he couldn't deny that he felt the same way.
"Odd, when you're in love with someone, does it mean you fight all the time?" Aelita questioned.
"Not all the time, but a little fighting is healthy for any relationship." Odd nodded. "Just ask my parents. There are times when they fight, but they still love each other. My sisters and I can attest to that."
"Then, I'm glad its normal." Aelita stated. "Hey Odd, would it be alright if you told me about England this time?"
It may be normal to fight, but Odd knew he couldn't let his frustration at the situation affect Aelita like it had been. He had to be more in control for her sake. Aelita was a curious girl, and he honestly loved that about her.
"Sure Aelita." Odd stated.