Disclaimer: Have you fallen and hit your head? I think you have I seem to be noticing a bump. That must be why you think I own everything because I don't! Except for the plot.

violett witch: Thanks! And here it is, dedicated to you for being the very first reviewer. Be proud!

MystDragon2k: Thanks. Yeah, I know, I have changed it now. Yes, I wished I owned, but I don't. Crap.

DarkSayain17: Thank you! And more is here.

Anonymous: Thanks. The new chappie has arrived.

CodeLyoko: It was meant to be sad. I guess a bit of tragedy is in order. It will lighten up though.

Wow, I can't believe that all you people reviewed! For a random thought of the author, that is great!

Chapter 2: Thoughts

Ulrich sat alone in the factory before the elevator, silent and unbelieving. The girl he loved was back, but she hated all of them. 'Why is the world against me?' he wondered in his jumbled thoughts as he stared at a picture of the four of them, smiling happily without a care in the world. Jeremie, Yumi, Odd, and he had asked Milly and Tamiya to take a photo of the four of them. Later, when Aelita had been materializated, they had asked the same favor. As he turned it over, he saw the picture of Jeremie, Aelita, Odd and him. Jeremie was grinning with his arm around Aelita, who was smiling happily as well, but Ulrich thought he detected a hint of sadness behind it as well. Odd was beaming, yet he was changed. Perhaps it was the solemnity of his eyes that gave it away. Ulrich himself was smiling, but it didn't reach his eyes. They were cold, hard, and uncaring, much like his soul after the incident. No one could get very close to him spiritually except Odd, whose carefree, happy-go-lucky attitude cheered Ulrich up any day. Everyone had been shocked by Yumi's death which they accounted for as being run over by a car. They didn't want everyone to know about Lyoko, since they would probably be thrown into an insane asylum. Yumi's death had left all of Kadic stunned and sorrowful. Even Sissy had decided to leave Ulrich alone, seeing that his heart was broken and could never be fixed. However, he didn't notice or care. All that mattered was the pain Yumi had left behind when she fell into the digital void.

Now, however, was her hatred, hurt, and anger at them. It hurt more than the pain at her death. Yumi never held a grudge against anyone, but now that she was, Ulrich felt as if he had been stabbed in the gut with his sword. 'But is it her? It could be that X.A.N.A. is controlling her or something. But that's impossible! X.A.N.A. can't attack humans directly... but what if it wasn't an attack. Yumi said X.A.N.A.'s kind side. X.A.N.A. has a kind side. That is impossible. Isn't it?'

Jeremie sat in his dorm, staring blankly ahead at the computer in front of him. 'She's back. Oh god, she hates all of us. But she doesn't know. Does she?' Jeremie looked at a photo of Aelita and him, Aelita smiling happily with a tinge of guilt and Jeremie grinning stupidly, being so close to Aelita. Jeremie's eyes misted, remembering that moment.

Flashback

They were walking back to Kadic Junior High after a walk around the neighborhood a month after they shut down Lyoko. Aelita had spotted a photo booth.

"What is that, Jeremie, a scanner?"

"Not exactly. Come on, I'll show you."

The two ran, hand in hand, to the booth where they had their pictures taken. One was when Jeremie gave Aelita his glasses, and they were laughing. Another was one of them, making strange faces at the camera. The last one was the one in his picture frame.

They walked slowly to the girls' dorm. "Your suite, milady." Jeremie bowed her inside.

"Thank you, good sir." Aelita pecked him on the lips before fleeing into his room. Before slamming the door shut, she called, "Goodnight, Jeremie!"

Jeremie was flushing like the setting sun. "Aelita is... well..." he trailed before whistling back to his dorm.

End flashback

Jeremie blushed furiously, just thinking about it. They had begun to date two weeks later. He had almost no doubts about his decision: he had Aelita and his friends had forgiven him. But now... Yumi and X.A.N.A. had returned, and he was beginning to realize that he was in big doo-doo.

'Eh, so sleepy, I'll think about Yumi's problem later.' Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Odd was obviously asleep in his dorm.

Aelita was sitting on a park bench, gazing at nothing in particular, feeling extremely guilty and sad. 'I should have said something. I shouldn't have let myself get materialized! Why did I? I was so selfish, letting one of my best friends die! I can't believe I did that! Why???? I really shouldn't have.' Aelita sighed and wandered into the park and ended up at the manhole. She clambered down the ladder into the sewers and took Yumi's old skateboard to ride on. She made good time and reached the factory in less than 5 minutes. She raced into the factory and flew down the rope, arching her back, flipping backwards with a twist, and landing in a crouch, facing the elevator.

"I'd give that an 8 for creativity and daring and a 9 for the landing," a voice remarked from the shadows. Aelita tensed, only to realize...

"Oh hi, Ulrich. Only an 8 and 9? I'm offended." Aelita mock-pouted, causing Ulrich to smile wryly.

"Hey, it's my opinion," he played along, looking haughty and spoiled.

"Hmph," Aelita huffed and stormed into the elevator. "You coming?"

"Sure, I guess." Ulrich followed her inside, sticking his hands in his pockets. Aelita stood there, her left hand on her hip and the other just dangling at her side in Odd's trademark pose. They rode down to the super-computer.

The door opened to reveal the holo-map and computer. Aelita watched the screen anxiously, wondering.

"What are you looking at, Aelita?"

"Remember Yumi's... uh... warning? Or whatever it was? Um... I'm just waiting."

"Wha... Oh."

"Exactly. Hey look! Three Blocks, two Crabs, and a Mega-tank, along with some weird signal, next to a deactivated tower."

"That'd be Yumi, I'm guessing."

"You're right. Call Odd. I'll get Jeremie."

"Aww, crap, he turned off his cell phone."

"Jeremie?" Aelita asked.

"Yes, Aelita?" Jeremie never tired of hearing his princess' voice.

"There's a deactivated tower with monsters nearby. Get Odd, and come to the factory quickly. Ulrich's here with me. We suspect that Yumi is with them," Aelita rattled off quickly.

"Alright, coming. Where's Odd?" Jeremie inquired, perplexed.

"I'll ask Ulrich. Hey Ulrich, where do you think Odd is?" Aelita asked.

"Uh, probably in our dorm, asleep or the cafeteria, eating," Ulrich replied, grinning slightly.

"Check their dorm or the cafeteria," Aelita directed.

"Alright, I'm on my way. Bye!" Jeremie said.

"Bye, Jeremie!" Aelita called.

Aelita hung up and waited. 10 minutes later, Jeremie arrived, with Odd hitting him over the head with a pillow.

"Odd! Stop that immediately!" Aelita shouted while running to the elevator. "We have to be transferred now!" Ulrich followed. Jeremie walked out, but Odd stayed inside. They rode down to the scanners and stepped into them.

"You guys will be going to the mountain region. Good luck. Transfer Aelita. Transfer Odd. Transfer Ulrich. Scanner Aelita. Scanner Odd. Scanner Ulrich. Virtualization!" Jeremie spoke the familiar phrase.

Aelita felt her body reform in Lyoko and dropped to the ground. As she stood up, Ulrich landed in a crouch, his hand on his sword, ready to fight when he realized...

"Where is everybody? Hello?!?" Odd cried out, his voice echoing back from the mountains.

"Perhaps the welcoming committee has left for a reason," a voice replied, amused.

"Well no duh, Einstein," Odd remarked, turning around. He gulped and got ready to brace for impact.

"Yumi, it's nice to see you again,' Ulrich said a bit sarcastically.

Yay! Done again. Heh, it's a bit angsty than my other stories. Please review!