Chapter 4 Never Give Up Hope

Odd and Aelita had been tied up and put into a room deep within the old factory, which was now EMPIRE's base of operations. It was hard to tell what time it was, since they both had been unconscious for God knows how long. Apparently, they didn't want to kill them… yet. Odd had gone sullen and was talking about irrelevant facts to pass the time.
"You know what I found out from Emilie yesterday?" Odd asked, staring up at the ceiling. Aelita sighed.
"No, Odd. What did you find out?"
"Sissi's real name is Elizabeth . How in the world do you get Sissi from Elizabeth?" He said, not moving his head from leaning back on the chair. They were both bound at the arms and legs, so it was impossible for them to untie themselves.
"You know, I really don't know. Maybe it's just a nickname. How long do you think it'll take Jeremie to come save us?"
"Aelita. I know you sort of have a thing for Jeremie, but let's face facts—he's not exactly Indiana Jones," Odd replied.
"I have faith in him," said Aelita.
"Of course you do!" Odd said in a teasing tone.
"If you don't shut up, I'll…"
"You'll what? Shoot a booger at my face? We're tied up, remember?"
"What's a…booger?"
"Never mind."
They both sat in silence for a while. Then Aelita spoke up.
"Odd… what if…we don't get out of this? Those strange men in suits seem to have taken over the factory, and they don't seem to like us very much. I think they know that we know about Lyoko… what if they want to get rid of us like XANA once did? Will they send in an executioner or… just let us… starve to death?"
"I don't know what's going to happen to us. I don't even know who those people are… but I do know that we should never give up hope. My grandmother always tells me that, and it kind of became my philosophy," The boy with the spiked hair said.
Wow, thought Aelita, I guess there's more to Odd than his silly exterior. (A/N: Don't worry! I am NOT going to turn this into an Aelita/Odd fic! NEVER! AELITA x JEREMIE 4EVERRRRRR) The two didn't say much else for a long time. Eventually, they each drifted off to sleep, probably due to the lack of sleep and their bodies' need for energy.

Odd was awakened by someone violently shaking him. He opened his eyes. It was another guard, but this time it was a female, just around his age.
"Hey! Stop shaking me! If you and those other guys are gonna kill me, you can just do it when I'm asleep!" he protested.
"Shut up!" She hissed. She looked over her shoulder. "Do you want them to hear you? I'm trying to save your life, here!" Odd studied the girl. Oh my God. What a tacky uniform. Well, actually… she's kind of cute… in a mysterious sort of way. I can barely see her in the dark, though. Those blue eyes…
"You're what?"
"You heard me!" The girl untied him, and the ropes fell to the ground. "Now help me untie Miss Pink-head."
"Her name is Aelita."
"Whatever! Ugh, I don't even know why I'm doing this… Just hurry up!"
They started to untie Aelita, and the girl covered her mouth when she tried to scream.
"It's okay, Aelita. She's… helping us." After they were both free, Odd, Aelita, and Blue Eyes crept up to the door, and looked through the crack. There were two guards outside the door, one was dozing off, and the other was leaning on the wall. They listened, and they could hear his snoring. Little by little, Odd pushed on the door. The small hallway was illuminated by a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling. They did not move faster than about one step per minute. Aelita made the mistake of stepping on a creaky floorboard, and everyone froze. The guards shuffled a little, but they were still asleep.
Once they reached the end of the hall, the three made a mad dash for cover. When they were out of earshot, Odd spoke up.
"Why are you helping us?" he asked. "And who are you?"
"I am helping you because I'm on your side. I think my f... Dr. Gibson… the head of EMPIRE, is insane," She scoffs. "Thinks he can rule the world with a little computer."
"You didn't answer his other question," Aelita said. Blue Eyes kind of flashed a glance out of the corner of her eye, as if she wanted to look around but was afraid to.
"I... I don't know if I should tell you." Odd frowned and was about to say something, when Blue Eyes interrupted.
"I can lead you to where your friends Yumi and Ulrich are being held," she said. "Come on."
Odd and Aelita left the cover of the machine they were hiding behind, and followed Blue Eyes. She walked swiftly and quiet as a mouse, amazingly sure-footed in the dark of the factory. The group walked for a time, then Blue Eyes held up her hand and they all stopped short.
"Shh!" she warned. They didn't move a muscle, breathe, or even blink. The girl dove behind another machine, and waved enthusiastically for them to follow. In an extreme stroke of luck, they made it behind the machine just as the older female guard walked by. The three leaned against the machine, not even thinking about doing anything but breathing very quietly and keeping their hears and brains functioning. Aelita was afraid that her heartbeat would be so loud that the guard would hear, but she waved it off as an impossibility; simply a fear brought on by intense stress. Then she was gone.
"It's not far from here. Let's hurry!" Blue Eyes said, and they ran as fast as they could without making any noise to a door in an off-hallway. "Those idiots were too stupid to put guards right by the door…"
Blue Eyes slowly turned the knob and opened the door. Yumi's head snapped up when she saw her, and Odd frantically put a finger up to his mouth to shush her so she wouldn't scream. Once Yumi and Ulrich were untied, Ulrich stared at the guard, not wanting to trust her. Aelita was reassuring him that she was definitely on their side, when Blue Eyes headed towards the door.
"Where do you think you're going?" Odd said in frightened disbelief.
"I'm sorry. I have to get back to my post now or they'll suspect something. I promise we'll meet again."
"Where is Jeremie?" asked Aelita, stepping forward urgently.
"I don't know. I'm very sorry, but you'll be on your own for a while. Keep on the watch for guards," Blue eyes made a start for the door again.
"Please," Odd pleaded. "Please tell me your name before you go."
The girl sensed the desperation in his voice, and she sighed.
"My name," she began, "is Hope."