Ok guys, for the sake of my story, let's all pretend that Odd has never done any major team sports. I'm not really sure if he has at all, anyway, but I'm just telling you in case. Oh, and as far as Odd's illness goes… I have no idea if anything like it can really happen. As far as I know, it is completely made up.

Ulrich looked at the principal pleadingly. "Please, sir," he said. "I have a right to know."

"You're right," Mr. Delmas said with a nod. He sighed sadly. "Odd was born with a serious condition that causes the muscles in his heart to swell dangerously under intense strain. It was discovered when he was five years old. Doctors expected that when he got much older the swelling might cause this much damage to his heart, but no one expected this so soon. Since his arrival at Kadic, I have had to keep an eye on him, just in case, and he's been ineligible to be part of any serious sport teams. I guess we were right to be concerned with his involvement in such activities."

Ulrich's mind immediately wandered to Lyoko and to the many times Odd had put his body under the kind of strain Mr. Delmas was talking about. How many times had Odd ran all the way to the factory? How many times had Odd drained himself in Lyoko? And Ulrich couldn't forget, of course, the handful of times Odd had almost been killed. Sure, that was the case with all of the members of the Lyoko gang, but the rest of them were in good health. Anger rose inside of Ulrich, because Odd had knowingly put himself in more danger than the others just by doing the same things as them. "So Odd knew he would need a transplant if he got worse?" Ulrich said heatedly.

"Yes," Mr. Delmas replied. "No doctor knew what else to do for him. His illness has never really been seen before, so all of the treatments he has forgone have been strictly experimental. The poor boy. I don't think he was too happy with any of that. When his parents first brought him here, he seemed much happier to be at a boarding school than at home. Still, he is a very spirited boy."

Ulrich nodded. "He is." He looked at his feet miserably. 'I just wish he weren't dumb enough to put himself in so much danger.'

Jeremie looked at Aelita and Yumi sadly as they came out of the elevator. "I don't understand," Yumi said. "No towers… anywhere…"

"That means Xana has nothing to do with this," Jeremie said.

Aelita bit her lip. "What about Odd? Is he going to-"

"Maybe it was just a false alarm," Yumi cut in. "Maybe Xana activated the tower and then deactivated it. Odd and Ulrich are probably back in their dorm already."

"Let's go to the hospital," Jeremie suggested, skeptical of her theory. "Maybe he is doing better."

"I hope so," Aelita said.

Jeremie nodded. "Me too. I just… I have a bad feeling…"

The three of them found Ulrich with his head in his hands, alone in the waiting room. Mr. Delmas had gone to take Sissi home not too long before. "Ulrich?" Yumi asked nervously as they approached him.

Ulrich looked up numbly. "There wasn't a tower was there?" he said in a soft voice.

Jeremie shook his head and Aelita gasped as Ulrich's eyes filled with tears. "Damn it!" he cried as he covered his eyes with his hand. "No…"

Yumi knelt in front of him and grabbed one of his hands. "Ulrich what happened?" she asked.

"He didn't tell us Yumi…" Ulrich looked at her. "And…" He couldn't finish the sentence.

Yumi threw her arms around the crying boy and held him tightly. "Shh… It's ok…" She looked at the other two for support.

Aelita looked on the verge of tears, so Jeremie stepped forward. "Ulrich I realize you're upset," he said. "Please tell us what is wrong with Odd."

Ulrich nodded and wiped his eyes. "Sorry…" He looked at his feet shamefully.

"You're allowed to be upset," Aelita said as she sat beside him.

"I'm not upset!" Ulrich snapped, suddenly feeling more angry than sad. "I'm pissed off! Odd lied to us! To me… his best friend…"

"About what Ulrich?" Yumi asked. "Why would he lie to us?"

"Because we'd have stopped him from going to Lyoko if we'd known the truth," Ulrich replied. "He's a stupid liar!"

"I'm confused," Aelita said. "Why is Odd a liar? I thought you were upset because he was sick. Does lying make people sick?" (A/N: This takes place before Aelita knows she is Franz Hooper's daughter, so she still is naïve, since she lacks the memories of her life.)

"No Aelita," Jeremie said. "Lying is bad, but it doesn't make you-"

"In Odd's case it does," Ulrich said harshly as tears found their way to his eyes again. "And he knew it too…"

"Ulrich what are you talking about?" Jeremie asked.

"Odd was born with a really bad heart condition," Ulrich said sadly. "And if he doesn't get a heart transplant in a couple of months, he could die."

Yumi squeezed Ulrich's hand nervously. "What kind of heart condition?"

"I don't really know," Ulrich said, finally calmed down a bit. "Mr. Delmas said that no one has ever had it before Odd. It makes his heart swell or something. That's why he never did any sports. But it wasn't supposed to get this bad already."

"Is he ok right now?" Aelita asked fearfully.

Ulrich shook his head slightly. "I haven't really heard much, except that he is stabilized for now. I just… I can't believe this is happening to Odd…"

"I can't believe he kept this from us," Jeremie said. "All of those trips to Lyoko and all the running around probably made him sicker. And he knew how dangerous it was."

Minutes later, Jim arrived at the hospital on the principal's orders to check on Odd and Ulrich. He wasn't at all surprised to find the other three teenagers there as well, seeing as collectively, the five were nearly inseparable. "Any news?" he asked in his gruff voice.

"No." Ulrich looked up to see that Jim was holding a small bad that he would bet contained a few of his things in it.

Sure enough, Jim handed him the bag. "I noticed another roommate of yours while I grabbed your stuff," he said slyly. "But we're going to let it slide. Principal Delmas is letting his daughter watch the dog."

Ulrich nodded and remained silent, not at all concerned about Kiwi. Odd's doctor, Dr. Greene, came back again to report on Odd's condition. "Are you all here to see Odd Della Robia?"

"Yes," Jim answered. "I'm the dormitory supervisor at Kadic Academy. Mr. Delmas had to get back to the school, so he sent me to bring a few of Ulrich's things back here."

"Oh yes," Dr. Greene said. "I nearly forgot that Ulrich was going to stay with Odd tonight. Really, visiting hours would be ending very shortly, but I will make an exception for the night."

"How is Odd?" Ulrich asked.

"He is still unconscious, but his vitals are improving. He should be out of here in a few days if he recovers as quickly as I expect."

"But I thought he was really sick," Aelita said. "He'll be able to leave?"

"You're friend is very sick," Dr. Greene explained. "But he'll be ok for a little while as long as he follows the restrictions made on the things he can do. Would you all like to see him for a few minutes?"

Ulrich quickly stood up and said yes determinedly while the others nodded.

"Ok. Everyone follow me, but be quiet. Odd needs to sleep." Dr. Greene led Jim and the four teens to Odd's private hospital room and opened the door for them. Once they were all there though, few were brave enough to enter.

Yumi took Ulrich by the hand and dragged him into the room, followed by the others. At hearing the slow, steady beeping of the heart monitor, Ulrich held his breath in preparation of the sight of his best friend. He stood over the bed and looked down. Odd was horribly pale and his lips were slightly tinted a shade of blue. "You jerk, you knew this would happen," Ulrich whispered to him.

Yumi took her hand from Ulrich's and grabbed Odd's. Jim sighed. "I know you all want to stay here, but Mr. Delmas only approved of Ulrich being out of the dormitory tonight. And Yumi, you'd better head home too. You're parents are probably worried about you."

Everyone but Ulrich sighed. Aelita kissed Odd on the forehead and whispered an inaudible get well to him. Jeremie left, hand-in-hand with her, following Jim. Yumi squeezed Ulrich's shoulder comfortingly. "Do you want me to stay with you tonight?"

Ulrich nodded silently and Yumi ruffled his hair. "I'll be right back. I just have to call my parents."

"Ok," Ulrich replied. Yumi left and he pulled up a chair beside Odd. "Damn it, you idiot, I wont ever forgive you for this." Odd remained still and silent, and Ulrich felt tears in his eyes again. "Please just get better…"

So how was it guys? Review if you want more!