(Macas P.O.V.)

It's 5:45, I guess I had better go and meet Yumi. I'll bet anything Ulrich will be there as well. Those two are going to be inseparable pretty soon.

I walk out of my dorm and lock the door. There's no telling what Sissi might be planning next. I make it down to the park, it's five 'till. I lean against a tree.

Nothing left to do but wait, I guess…

I sit there for about thirty seconds when I hear someone walking. I turn around, Ulrich and Yumi are walking down the path, hand in hand.

Ha! I was right!

"Hey guys." I say to them.

"Hey Macas…" Yumi says quietly.

"I guess you decided to take up my offer then?"

"Yah…" She says. "I just want to help you in any way possible."

"And I thank you for that. Before I begin, I just want you to promise me that you won't tell anyone. Like I said to Ulrich, this is my secret to tell to whom I chose."

"Don't worry, I promise." She says.

"You don't mind me staying?" Ulrich asks.

"Not at all." I say and Yumi nods.

"Then let's go to my favorite place. It's secluded, no one will overhear us." Ulrich says.

"Okay, lead the way." I follow Ulrich, and he leads us off the path into a group of trees.

"Wow, it's nice here…" I say. "Let me begin now, before I lose my nerve…"

"Go ahead."

"I'm going to warn you, some of the things you are going to hear are horrible. I have had some awful things happen to me and-"

"Just tell me. I can handle it." Yumi interrupts.

"Okay. I told Ulrich the whole version, but I think I'll shorten this one."

"Okay." Yumi says, and waits patiently.

"Let's see… I was born in the United States, five months after my parents were married. I moved around a lot. I was never in the same place for more than six months. I ended up moving to England, and eventually all over the world. I ended up in New York City when I was nine. My parents were fighting a lot, and never seemed to agree. My father would storm off and come back drunk a lot of times. I also had two younger twin sisters, Kailynn and… Karyssa. They were eight at the time."

I pause for a second, remembering. I can feel the tears start to come forth, but I hold them back again.

"One day, I came home from school to find an ambulance in front of my house. My father had shot Kailynn and my mother for protecting her. He called it an accident, but no one believed it." Yumi gave an audible gasp.

"My mother was dead before the ambulance even got there, and Kailynn died later in the hospital. My father was sentenced for six years of prison. During that time, Karyssa and I were sent into foster care, usually being put together. Karyssa was showing signs of high intelligence, and was passing every single test at school with 100 percent. My father was released early for good behavior, and we were put back in his care. I was taken out of school, and put to work. Sometimes I was even a drug smuggler." Yumi gasped again, realizing what that must have meant.

"Were you ever caught?" She asked quietly.

"No cop would ever check a kid on the street for drugs, so I was never caught. If something were to happen, I would be beaten. Around that time, I was beat a lot by my father. Any lack of efficiency, and I would be severely punished.
I just realized, you haven't seen my wounds, have you?"

"No…" She says quietly.

"Would you like to?"

"If you don't mind…" I remove my jacket. She just stares.

"How could he do such a thing to you?" She asks, tears in her eyes.

"I stay awake at night, wondering that same thing. All these bruises and cuts you see are fairly new, he beat me before taking me to the airport last Friday. That's why I have all these. Karyssa has it worse. My father hated his twin girls, and he proved it. One day a couple of months ago, after school, Karyssa came home in tears. She had ruined her perfect record at school by scoring a 98 percent. My father was drunk and he got mad. He went into the kitchen and grabbed a large knife. He used it to… to stab her in the head."

Yumi stops moving. She even seems to stop breathing. She just stares, the tears flowing freely. Ulrich seems affected too, but he's already heard this. He just lets one simple tear run down his cheek. I look back a Yumi, and she is crying. It's hard to tell, because I realize I am crying as well. Ulrich puts an arm around Yumi, and motions for me to continue.

"Yumi, what can you think of that is worse than death?" I ask her.

"Being without those you love." She answers after a second.

"Is that the absolute worst possible thing you can think of?"

"Yes."

"Well, how about being with those you love, but not being able to remember them? To not know who they are, or why there are there?"

"That would be absolutely horrible…"

"That's what happened to Karyssa. She got to the hospital soon enough that she survived. My father stabbed her in the only place where anyone can be and still survive. She is alive and well today, but she does not remember my mother, my father, her twin, her friends, no one. She remembers me, but only my name. She also knows her name. That took months of work to accomplish. She never remembers anything else for more than twenty-four hours. My father decided to send me here so he wouldn't have to take care of me anymore. Now Karyssa is alone with no one she remembers, and a father that beats her daily." After I finished, Yumi began crying again. I let Ulrich comfort her.

"I'm sorry Yumi."

"Don't be sorry dammit! You have the worst childhood I have ever heard, and you're apologizing because I can't handle myself? My secret is so pathetic compared to yours! I feel do damn stupid! I didn't want to tell you my puny little secret because you wouldn't tell me yours!"

"You are not stupid Yumi. You had every right to not trust me. I am the damn fool for not trusting you in the first place."

"It probably wouldn't help to call you both damn fools anyway, would it?" Ulrich says smiling.

"Well, we just both called ourselves that, so I guess you can." Yumi says.

"Hell no. You're both really smart, and you're my girlfriend. And don't you have a story you would like to tell Macas, now that he has divulged his entire past to you?"

"Oh, but it's so insignificant now."

"Nothing is insignificant. Not in this world." I say.

"Okay. Ulrich took me home and we kissed in front of my house. My father saw. He never liked Ulrich, and was furious. After a big fight, he stormed out of the house. He won't come back… This is something that hit him too deep. He will never forgive me or my mother." Yumi says trying to keep her voice steady.

"Don't worry Yumi. Your secret may seem small to you, and mine huge, but I think the other way around. I managed to get away from a father who has beat me all my life. You lost a father you loved because you did something as trivial as kissing your boyfriend."

"Still its-"

"Nope, I don't want to hear it. I just want you to tell me if there is anything I can do for you. I would do absolutely anything to help a friend." I interrupt.

"Thank you."

"Now, I have to be going. Dinner is soon, and I'm starving. I'll see you guys later, okay?"

"Okay."

"Hey Macas, I won't be at dinner, and most likely I won't be back until late. I'm going to have dinner at Yumi's house. Can you tell Odd?"

"Sure." I say. I put on my jacket, and walk back towards the school. I look back to see Yumi snuggle up against Ulrich and they walk off slowly towards the city.

(Odd P.O.V.)

I walk up to our normal table at dinner, but Ulrich isn't there.

"Hey guys, where's Ulrich?" I ask.

"He's at Yumi's house." Macas replies. "He said he wouldn't be back until late."

"Is he going to miss dinner?"

"No, he's eating at Yumi's."

"Ooh, his first formal dinner? Why hasn't he ever gone over there before?" Aelita asks.

"Yumi's father doesn't- oh wait. Has everyone here heard about Yumi's dad? I don't want to tell her secrets." We all nod.

"When did she tell you? I thought she didn't trust you." Aelita says. Jeremie and I cringe.

Aelita may be nice, but she needs to learn when to speak her mind, and when to just shut up.

"She told me… just after I told her my secret…" Jeremie and Aelita look at him strangely, I just look back down at my food.

"You told her?" I ask quietly.

"Yah. You guys really want to know too, don't you?" I find myself nodding in agreement, along with Jeremie and Aelita.

"Then let's go. I need to tell you if I expect for you to trust me. Are you finished with dinner?"

"Yah." We all say simultaneously. I'm not really done, and I'm still hungry. But there is no way I can miss this. I need to know. It's been eating me up inside ever since that first day. That first day during soccer when he showed me his arm.

"Then let's go. I want to do this now." We all stand up, and walk out the door with him. He takes us over to the field, and as us sit. Aelita is shivering, but neither Jeremie nor I have a coat.

"Here Aelita, take my jacket. You must be freezing." Macas takes off his jacket, and Aelita gives a gasp. We see all of his bruises, up and down his arms. Some are beginning to fade. He has so many injuries.

"I'm going to have you guys make the same promise that I had Ulrich and Yumi make. I want you to promise not to tell anyone. This is my burden, and I will tell someone when I feel like it."

"I promise." I say.

"Promise." Aelita says.

"I promise." Jeremie says.

"Okay…"

We listen intently as Macas relates his sad tale. I can't believe that he has gone through so much already! He has suffered more pain that all of us put together. I wonder how someone could possibly stab their own daughter with a knife, or how he could take his son out of school so that he could make drug deliveries! How anyone could shoot their wife and daughter is beyond me. Through it all, Macas' voice stayed completely calm. He shed a tear when he told us of what happened to Karyssa, but he never stopped.

(Normal P.O.V.)

Unknown to them, someone waits in the shadow. She hasn't moved since Macas started, and hasn't said a word. Even during the part where his father killed his mother, she never did anything. She just stood there. When he finished, she left without being noticed.

Sissi walked away slowly, thinking about what she had heard.

This time I have it. Information that no matter what, they can't take back. I will blackmail Ulrich into becoming my boyfriend no matter what he and that bitch Yumi are doing. If he doesn't, I'll tell the entire school that Macas was abused by his father. There's no way I can lose this time!

Okay, here's another pretty sad chappy. I had to tell it again so you could see Yumi's reaction to it. Thanx to whoever the reviewer was who gave me the idea for having Sissi find out. This will come in play later. I have over 1,000 hits, but still only like 60 reviews, i want some more people. Please? This story is only going to get better, but I won't continue if no one reviews!

I just thought of a trivia question. What was XANA most likely named after? See if you can figure it out and put it in a review. I'll didicate the next chappy to anyone who gets it right.