Well here's the next chapter. I think I'm going to end this story in another chapter or two. Thanks to all of you who have been faithfully reviewing. I love to hear what you say. Well I won't keep you any longer, enjoy and please review.
Odd and Ulrich were tired, they had been searching the city for hours trying to find Sam. Sam wasn't answering her phone and Odd was starting to get nervous.
"Odd you got to settle down, being so fidgety isn't going to help us find Sam any faster."
Odd looked over at Ulrich, "I know, I can't help it, she and I have been friends for a while and well, I'm worried about her."
"We all are" Ulrich added sadly
The two had just passed an alley when Odd's phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Odd it's Sam."
Odd's face released a small smile, "Hey where are you?"
"Go back to the alley you just passed, I'll be waiting for you there."
Ulrich and Odd turned around and jogged into the alley. At the far end was Sam, standing by herself. She waved them over.
"Hey Sam, what's going on." Ulrich asked.
"I can't say much guys but I wanted to tell you that the people I work with have figured a way to upgrade your powers in lyoko."
"Really!" the two boys exclaimed.
"Yeah, and we wanted you to have this." Sam pulled out a disk and handed it to Ulrich. Ulrich took the disk and looked at Sam.
"Sam are you in trouble?"
Sam was startled by Ulrich's question, "Umm…No why?"
Odd chimed in, "You look nervous and sad, not your usual self."
"I just haven't gotten much sleep lately, that's all." It was true, ever since running into Xana, Sam hadn't been able to sleep but a few hours a night.
"Odd we got to go meet Jeremy, he needs to analyze these upgrades."
"Yeah I'll be there in a minute, let me talk to Sam for a minute."
Ulrich nodded and walked off. Odd stepped closer to Sam.
"Sam you've always been a good friend, and I just wanted to tell you that if you ever need help, I'll be there for you and I know my friends will have your back too."
"You're a good friend Odd, I…I just need to get back."
"Sam?"
Sam turned around.
"Why can't you tell us who you're working with?"
"They aren't exactly the best of people, not everything they do is…legal so they don't want many people knowing about them."
Odd nodded, "Remember, I'm serious, if you need us we will be there whenever."
Sam thanked him and Odd ran off to catch up with Ulrich. Sam watched Odd leave and than walked out onto the street. 'Oh Odd, I've already betrayed you once to Xana, how can you still trust me.' She kept walking. 'Of course you trust me, you never questioned how Xana got your cell phone number.' She couldn't hold back the tears of guilt any longer and she let them flow down her cheeks. She walked into her house and went to her room and sat down. She opened her laptop and there the Xana symbol stood, like a brand on her life. Proclaiming to the world that he owned her. The symbol blipped off and Sam collapsed on her bed.
"If only I could tell them…no Xana would kill me if I didn't obey him, he'd probably torture me like before." Sam muttered.
With her mind in a shattered mess she finally drifted into a restless sleep full of nightmares of Odd being chased by Xana as she watched not doing a thing to help her young friend.
Odd and Ulrich met the others at the factory. Ulrich gave the disk to Jeremy who spent the rest of the afternoon with Aelita analyzing the contents. They all planned to meet at the cafeteria in a few hours. Yumi and Ulrich headed out and this left Odd by himself.
"What can I do to help," Odd questioned aloud.
As he walked he couldn't stop thinking of Sam. 'She used to be happy and always talking about the latest music. She hasn't even mentioned music in the last week.' Odd continued walking through the park as sun began to set. He sat down on a bench and sighed, "I just thought my loneliness had been resolved when Sam showed up. Oh well I'm sure this is just another part of life, this continuous battle we call life." Odd looked at his watch. It was time to meet the others and he headed towards the cafeteria, spirits lifting at the smell of food wafting his way.