Ah, young love... So peaceful, so innocent, so... um, where did everyone go?
Ah, young love... if only it weren't just a dream...

Sorry about that, just being a little depressing... ready for this chapter?

Odd:

It was a new day, a few days after the factory incident. We had all decided to take Sissi and Professor Giis's suggestion and get on with life. We wouldn't try to fight a war that we were being excluded from. This would of course open options in playing video games, school, and of course our love lives... and that was one area that I fully intended to focus on.

For the past few days I had been unable to see Sam because of various reasons. I wanted to get together with her again. We could go on a date or just hang out together. Either way it would be great to see her again.

I looked up her phone number on my cell phone and selected the speed dial number. The phone rang twice and she picked up, "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Odd. Would you like to go out somewhere together?"

"Hey Odd. Sure, where did you have in mind?" she asked.

"I don't know, how about a movie?" I said.

"Sounds fun, when should I meet you?" she asked.

I though about it for a second. There were a couple of good movies that I knew of that were playing recently. I wasn't sure of which one she would prefer, but then it occurred to me. "Twelve thirty, noon." I said.

"Ok, and..."

"At the Opal Cineplex." I replied.

"Ok, I will see you then."

I knew the perfect movie that she would love. I recalled hearing her say that she had wanted to see it, but she had been unable to. Now was a great time and we could see it together. I began thinking about what else we could do, but I was unable to think of anything immediately.

Twelve thirty was only an hour away and I wanted to pick up a few things. I headed into town as quickly as I could. When Yumi had been in a bad mood Ulrich had gotten her a rose; it had improved her mood greatly. If that could work that well for someone in a terrible mood then I wondered what it could do for someone who was already in a good mood.

I only knew of a few flower shops in town, I didn't really go to them that often. I also had a limited budget so I wouldn't be able to get very many. The flouriest that I went to also had chocolates, which was perfect for me. They even had Sam's favorite kind. I bought a small bouquet and a box of the chocolates.

I now had half an hour left until we were to meet and the theater was about twenty minutes away. I quickly glanced at the sky. It seemed clear, not a cloud in the sky, but I began walking quickly anyway. I didn't want to be late, and the earlier I was there the better it would look.

I got there in fifteen minutes; I must have really been running... As I slowed to a walk and caught my breath I suddenly felt cold. I looked up at the sky again and nearly dropped the flowers; there were dark clouds looming overhead. It seemed that a thunderstorm had quickly rolled in. As I stared up at the sky I suddenly felt a raindrop land on my face. This was bad; I had hoped that it wouldn't rain because it would ruin our date.

I looked down at the curb and saw Sam standing looking up at the storm as well. I smiled and walked over to her. "Hey Sam," I said with a grin. She looked down at me and smiled, then she saw the flowers and candy and her smile grew. I handed them to her and snuck a quick kiss. As I pulled back I saw that she was blushing and I knew that I was as well.

"Shall we get our seats?" Sam asked still blushing.

"Yes," I said and got our tickets.

We found our seats in the room it was playing in and sat down with five minutes to spare. Sam opened her chocolates and began eating them. I had also gotten us drinks and a small thing of popcorn. I placed my hand on the hand rest and found Sam's hand there; we jumped slightly but she moved her hand palm up and I placed mine in it.

The lights dimmed and the movie began. There were only a few previews and the opening credits before the movie started. The beginning of the movie came and went. We continued to hold hands, only breaking to pass the popcorn. At one point Sam even rested her head on my shoulder; just before the middle of the movie. That was when things began to get interesting; not because of the affection that she was showing me but instead because we heard a crack of lightening and the power went out. The movie stopped and the screen went pitch black.

I heard a few screams as people initially panicked and Sam squeezed my hand for a second. Suddenly there was another crack of lightening and an electrical surge hit the movie projector. A beam of light hit the movie screen and I saw a black cloud coming out of it. As the light faded and I was unable to see it any more I heard more screams and people running, but Sam and I were frozen to our seats.

There was another crack of thunder and the projector lit up again. A beam of light hit the screen again and we saw the cloud. Behind the cloud was a hole that was being formed. I could see the darkness in the room spiraling into the center of the hole as it widened. The cloud began moving towards us as the light dimmed, and I began to really panic.

There was darkness for a few seconds and almost total silence. I could hear a feint sound of rushing air coming from somewhere in front of us. Sam was still holding onto my hand but it wasn't out of fear. I felt strength and bravery coming from her grip; it was as though she knew what was going on. Suddenly I realized... we couldn't escape the war that was raging on around us. We couldn't escape it because, for us, it was inescapable. The war wasn't just around us, it was about us.

There was another crack of lightening and the projector flashed again. I saw that the cloud was directly in front of us now. I could barely breathe, as though the oxygen was being sucked out of me. Suddenly the light faded and I felt myself being lifted up. My throat was being tightly squeezed and I felt sharp pains in the rest of my body. I began moving very quickly forward. There was one last crack of lightening and this time the bulb in the projector exploded. There was just enough light for me to see the black gaping hole suck me in before everything went completely black...

Sam:

When I woke up I found myself in a small dark cave, at least it felt like a cave. The walls and roof were very close to me and were very hard. I could barely move my body, except in one direction. I extended an arm to see what was in that direction and I felt something soft and slightly warm. I quickly moved my arm away from what ever it was but when I wasn't attacked I moved it back and felt it a little. I quickly realized, to both my shock and embarrassment that it was a human boy.

I moved my arm away again and focused on my hand. A small light formed in it and I focused a little harder. The light grew enough to cast light around me; as soon as I could see I looked over at the boy. I gasped as I realized that it was Odd. His face was white and he didn't look like he was breathing. I quickly placed my pointer and middle fingers against his neck to feel for a pulse. I found one but it was feint.

I moved my hand over his chest and began focusing on it again. Lights began forming all around my hand and began flowing into Odd's chest. I watched as the lights, my energy, moved through his body creating a soft glow. I saw the color return to his face and his eyes opened. Slowly he sat up and I quickly moved to hug him, squeezing him tightly.

"Whoa, what happened?" he asked surprised.

"You were unconscious, nearly dead." I told him. "But I revived you."

"Oh, uh, where are we?" he asked.

"I don't know." I replied. "But as far as I can tell there is no way out."

I lifted the small light higher and he gaped at it. I looked around, ignoring his reaction for a moment, to see what I could. The walls and roof were less than five feet in a circle around us. There was barely enough room for us to even move slightly. I began wondering what this place was.

"How can you do that?" he asked.

"I learned." I replied.

"From who?"

"The traveler... He offered to teach me." I said and took a breath. "About three months ago he came and found me. Quickly he made me an offer. He said that he would help my parents with their financial problems, and get me out of legal trouble if I made a promise."

"What was the promise?"

"I had to be happy..." I said quickly. "For some reason he seems to have a thing for people's happiness, and people's relationships... The offer to teach me magic came about two months ago."

"Ok, but who is the traveler?" Odd asked.

I turned and looked him in the eyes gawking. I couldn't believe he had just asked that. The traveler had, after all, started this entire thing... how could he not know who...

"You have been left out of the loop haven't you?" I asked. "You were made to forget everything about the past year and a half, about Lyoko and everything... To live out a normal life... damn, he really does care about other people. No wonder I was taught magic."

"But... who is this 'traveler'?" Odd asked again.

"Ok, you know the new teacher at your school? Professor Giis, I believe is what he is going by... Well his real name is Gwyosis, he is the traveler's other self." I said and realized that Odd would have no idea what that meant. "In other words many years ago Gwydion, the traveler, split himself into two beings."

"Himself and Professor Giis?" Odd asked.

"Actually no, he was split into himself and another person named Ginda. Then a few years after that he was split again into himself and Gwyosis." I said. "There are four of them now. Gwydion, also called Gwinesis sometimes, Gwydion's first double Ginda, also called Ginois at times, Gwydion's third double Gwydion or Gwyosis, and finally the most recent one-"

"Me, Gwydevis." Said a voice nearby. "I was created from our most hated enemy, Antavok, when we defeated him. Or so was thought until recently..."

I looked over next to me and saw the man sitting comfortably. He was grinning wildly in an almost insane way. He was after all everything evil from the original. When he was created his soul was supposedly diffused from the soul of Antavok separating power from evil. Even though he was 'bad' he still wasn't evil... or so I was told.

"Ok..." Odd said. "So, do you know where we are?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"Dead, basically."

"What?" Odd and I yelled at once.

"When you and he were sucked into that portal you initially died. You are no longer part of your physical bodies, nor are you part of your physical universe. I am sure that most people would agree that that would qualify as dead."

My mouth dropped. Dead? How could I be dead? I was too young to die... besides...

"Can't you get us out of here?" I asked.

"Nope. I only am able to move myself through universes, no one else." He said. "My abilities are limited, you wouldn't want much more... or so says Gwydion anyway."

I sighed and looked over at Odd. He looked grim, as if he were going to be sick. "Oh, ignore him. He isn't like the rest of them; more like a child if you ask me."

"Hey, if you were trapped inside pure evil for a couple billion years you would act like me as well." He said defensively. "Besides, compared to the others I really am a child."

He suddenly disappeared leaving us alone again. I was glad he was gone; there was something about him that just angered me. I don't know what it was but it just made me want to do something bad... I sighed and turned back to Odd.

Odd and Sam are missing, somehow everyone knows the instant they are gone. Now they have to get them back, but it is more complicated than that... Without any knowledge of the natural abilities they posses they have no way of getting their friends back, not alone anyway. Luckily for them there are people who are willing to help... So much for the 'normal' life in Too Many People.