A/N: Thank you to my reviewers for the encouragement. This chapter's back with Jeremie and friends, almost a month after the last chapter with them. First person perspectives this time.

Chapter 7: New Thoughts Arise.

:Odd:

I woke up to the sound of an engine coming from the roof of the school. I roll out of bed and shake Yumi, waking her up, she wears earplugs to bed, I guess I must snore really loud or something. I quickly run up to the roof, half dragging Yumi behind me. Powers or not, the source of this sound can't be good. I knock the door to the roof open and step out to see a weird machine sitting on the roof. I can plainly see the XANA eye sitting in the center of what could be labeled as the humanoid machine's chest plate.

I quickly unleash my claws and dodge to the side, Yumi jumps backward as an energy bolt flies down and explodes where I was standing. Both of us run to opposite sides of the roof, Yumi summoning a pipe from a nearby wall with her telekinesis. I bend down and whip my cell phone out and send a text message to Jeremie.

"SOS XANA

CALL OT-

O-."

I hope he gets the meaning of that message. I dodge to the side as another blast of energy is sent my way, Yumi dashes forward and stabs one end of her pipe through the mechanized monster's chest, it sticks out of the XANA symbol and then a few seconds later a huge white light comes from the opposite direction of the KLC, I guess Otritzi already knew about it.

:Jeremie:

I wake up in the middle class during the previous day, I thought I just went to bed. XANA must have attacked one of the other facilities...he seems to want to drive us insane by never letting us sleep. Oh well, Otritzi's never too far from Lyoko, it's amazing how effective he is, I wonder how he's so powerful, I'll have to ask him sometime.

I open up my laptop and surf through a couple files from Lyoko that Aelita had allowed me to take with me, one of which allowed me to send messages to Otritzi. I reported that we were attacked...but he would have to get the details from Odd, she had sent me a text message to call him just before the light engulfed us. I suppose I should go to the factory to check it out after class.

The bell goes off and I walk out, followed by Odd and Yumi. We probably looked strange with how purposed our walking was, we headed straight into the park and we went down into the sewer. From there Odd unleashed her kitty side, growing her claws out and taking off through the sewer at speeds a normal human couldn't possibly keep up with, but who said we were normal? Yumi focuses a little bit then lifts into the air, flying down the tunnels at speeds nearly matching Odd's. I grab a nearby skate board and took off after them, I'd become quite adept at using one since I had my scooter stolen. Ulrich dashed through the tunnel on the water, running right past me.

After every RTP trip we go to the factory and report in to Aelita and Otritzi, it's a procedure that Otritzi instated so that we could keep track of XANA's attacks. Not to mention that after we RTP, we go in and allow Aelita to check us for problems, like our powers changing. We can only wonder how many trips Otritzi has been through...how many hours of battle he has endured...how many times he was 'killed' in Lyoko...the frustrations he must have lived through when he had to fight through armies of XANA's creatures. Despite how much we fear it...it is something that we will experience eventually.

Otritzi told us something a few days ago. He said he died the day he found Lyoko. He said he died and was reborn...we can't help but think the same thing is happening to us. It is getting harder and harder to keep going back to school. Odd's already declared that she is willing to spend the rest of her life as a Defender...Ulrich and Yumi aren't decided on that...but they continue to keep themselves active in the fight to contain XANA. Me? I'm just a kid who can turn invisible at the drop of a hat...I might be able to live in the real world...but I can't get Aelita out of my mind. I don't want to abandon her, ever. There's so much about Lyoko I don't know yet...I cannot think of what my life would be like without it.

I arrive at the KLC and climb up the ladder and enter the 'factory' entrance, swinging down a rope and entering the elevator, riding down to the Holo-projector Room. There stands AelitaR, the robotic counterpart of the girl I have sworn my life to. Reporting in to her I then go on down to the Scanner Room where she activates the bio-scan program to check for new developments. Odd's claws have become sharper, Ulrich's become faster, Yumi's mind is stronger, I can become invisible for longer periods now, All these subtle changes and we still only have one hundred life points in Lyoko, Otritzi told us at one point that he's got four hundred life points, we wondered how the heck that was possible, he just told us that time does wonders and left it at that.

I step out of the scanner and go back into the elevator. I go up and talk to AelitaR again.

"So, Milady, have any new developments arisen from this latest return trip?"

"No, nothing other than the usual strengthening of your powers. You should be able to stay invisible for almost half an hour now Jeremie."

"Odd went into Lyoko again, didn't she."

"Yes, she is in the Kadic Polar Region, and appears to be enjoying the Ice Caverns quite a bit."

"I think I've found a way to boost the distance you can go from the factory."

"Really?" AelitaR speaks into the headset. "Odd, I'm going to be away from the screens for a bit, be careful."

Odd's voice echoes back through the headset loud enough for me to hear.

"Yes, Ma'am!"

AelitaR gets up and walks over to me. I lead her over to the workshop section of the complex and she removes most of her clothing, still wearing underwear. I pop myself on the head, I'm getting perverted thoughts about a machine.

AelitaR rolls onto her stomach and I walk over, tapping a panel on her back that doesn't even appear to be there at first glance. The panel depresses slightly and then opens out, revealing a complex set of wires and circuit boards. I look for the wire that leads to her head and attach a small device to the wire, splicing it into the circuit completely.

"How do you feel, Aelita?"

"Different...let's test it, shall we?" She says it so hopefully. I certainly hope she can experience sunlight. A sudden thought pops into my head.

'You'll never be able to have the real Aelita.'

I unconsciously answer that thought.

'This is the real Aelita, she can touch, feel, taste, smell, see. She's as much a human as we are, Yumi.'

Yumi walks into the workshop and sits down backwards in the chair, looking at me. Another thought echoes inside of my head.

'She doesn't have a mind, she cannot feel emotion, she is made up of circuits, wires, hydraulics, and computer chips. She is not the real Aelita.'

'And the one in Lyoko is? You know as well as I do that AelitaV is only a computer program, she cannot be brought into the real world.'

I notice AelitaR looking at me strangely after she finished dressing. I simply smile and turn to Yumi.

"She's talking in my head, Aelita."

AelitaR nods and the two of us head out to the entrance. AelitaR begins to get nervous as we near the doorway that she had never been able to cross before. I pull another device like the one I implanted into her 'spinal chord' and placed it next to the entrance of the KLC. The two of us take one step outside of the door, AelitaR doesn't shut down...I had done it...AelitaR could come with us back to school, I was ecstatic.

:Ulrich:

I stood in the shadows, watching as Jeremie led AelitaR to the factory entrance and placed a strange box on the catwalk, just out of the way. I walked over to where Jeremie and Aelita were quietly, trying not to draw any attention to myself. Aelita takes one step out of the door and she doesn't shut down. I can see Jeremie beaming from back here.

I don't normally show my emotions...but that's only because my family is evil. Any time I'm at home I have to put up with being beat up by my older brother, my father, my mother...all of them like to torment me. I have been trying to find a way to get them to let me have a dorm at school, maybe I could get Jeremie to be my roommate. I would even put up with being roomed with Maximilian, the school nut job, it would be a massive improvement over where I currently reside.

I haven't told them about my home life, I would never tell them about my home life, they don't need to know. I think Lyoko's the only thing keeping me from killing myself right now. Lyoko and Yumi. My powers have allowed me to keep my mother and father happy, most of the time. My brother never seems to like that though, while my parents are out getting drunk, my brother torments me by tying me up and beating me with a rod. I wear baggy clothes for a reason, it is to keep them from knowing about my injuries. I wonder how much more of the hell I go through at home I can take before I pull a XANA and lock myself away in Lyoko forever.

Look at me, contemplating suicide...I guess what Otritzi said about Lyoko was true, you die the day you find it and are reborn as a new being, a savior...but what kind of savior cannot save himself? A martyr, that's what kind of savior cannot save himself. A thought echoes into my mind.

'I never knew your family treated you like that. I wouldn't blame you for "pulling a XANA."'

'Yumi, I thought I told you to warn me before you go poking around my skull.'

'I wasn't poking, you were broadcasting.'

I turn to Yumi, who is floating among the rafters, in a flash I dash up the wall and land next to Yumi and sit down beside her.

'I'm thinking about going into Lyoko and never coming out. I am beginning to think I know why Odd spends so much time in there.'

'She spends so much time in there so that she can attain the knowledge and perhaps become like Otritzi. You know she worships the guy.'

'True, but who wouldn't? He is insanely powerful, and has four hundred life points...I'm jealous of his skill.'

Yumi leans against my shoulder, wrapping an arm around me, using her Biofeedback power to heal the bruises, welts, and cuts on my back.

"I'm glad that Lyoko gave me Psionics. So many powers at my disposal...too bad it makes me so tired to use them so much."

I just smile slightly, wrapping my arms around her and holding her close to my chest. I realize just how important she is to me, I would march through hell to be with Yumi. Whatever her decision, I will follow her.

She obviously heard my thoughts, she smirks in her sleep and snuggles into my chest, causing me to blush furiously.

:Yumi:

I was resting against Ulrich's chest when AelitaR and Jeremie returned with their arms loaded with grocery sacks, looks like AelitaR's range has really been extended, I'll have to ask Jeremie how he did it sometime. I hate not being able to really sleep. Ever since I first entered Lyoko, I've been unable to sleep...just too many voices inside my head at all hours of the day. The closest to sleep I could ever get was a trance-like state that mimicked sleep that was broken whenever somebody touched me.

For some reason however, Ulrich holding me lulled me into that trance state so quickly. With a tired voice I asked Ulrich a question that had been bothering me for some time.

"Why do you think Sissi wants to break our group apart? What have we ever done to her?"

Ulrich looks thoughtful for a while before hoisting me up into his lap and sliding back to the wall, leaning against it before answering.

"She doesn't know what we do every day. I'm sure if we showed her this, she would flip out and demand that this place be destroyed."

"You know, there's a director on his way here to shoot a monster movie at our home away from home. I caught wind of it while I was out for a walk through the halls last night. Jim, Sissi, and Mr. Delmas were all thinking about it, I think Sissi was dreaming about staring in it with you."

"Figures, I wish she'd just leave me alone."

Ulrich sighs and closes his eyes then rests his head against my shoulder after adjusting my position on his lap so that I'm laying on top of him.

"One or all of us will have to keep him away from the sensitive areas of this place. We cannot have all those people inside of our home without keeping an eye on them."

I look through the grating beside us to see AelitaR, Odd, and Jeremie looking for us.

"Looks like it's time to get back, wanna spend the night with Jeremie tonight?"

"I think I'd rather stay here, with you."

I blush at that comment, then I turn a darker shade when I realize what position we are in. I check our friends Psi signatures, too bad I can't get one on AelitaR. Odd and Jeremie walk out of the front door. The two of them thinking that we had already gone back. We decide to beat them back to the dorms so they don't worry about us.

Ulrich picks me up and uses his supersprint power to carry me back into mine and Odd's dorm before they arrive back. He lays me on my bed and then sits down beside me, I drift off into my mind scape within minutes while in his embrace. I reach out to Ulrich's mind and pull him in as well, the two of us lay there in each others arms, fully clothed. Inside of my mind scape however was a different story.

A/N: I'm not writing a lemon in this story, implied lemon, yes...lemon...no.