Next Chapter of Release ready for reading, with a nice shocking end waiting. Enjoy!

Release pt.2

Taken from audio file #200123 at Bellereef Institute:
"Personal Entry, Doctor Bennet. After weeks of frustrating sessions with the patient named Taliea I've decided to try a different approach: hypnosis.
At the moment I've managed to put her under, and will now proceed to question her, and maybe finally get some answers"
"Taelia, are you relaxed?"
"Yes..."
"Right, now I'm going to ask you a series of questions. You will answer truthfully, right?"
"Yes..."
Crackle... Hiss..."
(Audio section missing)
"Taelia, when I say three and snap my fingers and wake up, remembering nothing.
Three"
"Oh, hey Doc, are we done for the day"
"Yes. Jeffrey will take you back to your room now. See you again tomorrow"

Aelita stretched and yawned, lying on her back and staring up at the ceiling with a smile on her face. The movie last night had been great, but today, Saturday, was going to be better.
Today she was going to go home, twice.
She got up and showered, got dressed just as someone came knocking at her door. "Hey guys, ready to go?" she smiled at Odd, Ulrich and Jeremie standing their, heavy looking bags next them.
"If I said no, do I still have to go?" Odd asked.

A few minutes later they arrived at the Hermitage, the boys huffing and puffing.
Yumi was already there, leaning against the gate.
"Well Aelita, I'm impressed. You actually managed to get Odd to get up early" she said. "Ha ha!" Odd huffed, sweating.
"Home sweet home" Aelita muttered, opening the door and staring at the debris covered interior.
"Don't worry Aelita. A bit of paint, and it'll look like new" Ulrich said, kneeling down and unpacking supplies from one of the bags.
"Paint and wallpaper and screws and nails and varnish..." Odd grumbled.

And so they spent the morning, clearing out the debris and junk, dusting off the dust, repairing the shelfs and stairs and doors.
By the afternoon the Hermitage already seemed more hospitable, more homey.
"Whew" Odd sighed, wiping sweat off his dirt streaked face.
"Please, tell me we're done for the day because I don't think my back can take much more"
"Not even for me" a female voice asked from the open front door.
"Elizabeth! What are you doing here?" Odd asked, leaping up from the ground (and wincing slightly).
"Oh, not much. Yumi told me about you're little DIY, and knowing you, thought you might like a reward for all your hard work" she smiled, pulling a basket filled with food from behind her back.
"See? Do I have a great girlfriend or what?" Odd smiled at the gang as he reached out for the basket.
"Uh uh!" Elizabeth said, pulling the basket away, "When I said 'you', I meant all of you". "Rats..." Odd moaned.

Evening time, and at the Factory Aelita, Jeremie, Odd, Elizabeth, Yumi and Ulrich were getting ready to go to Lyoko.
They did so at least once a week, 1. To try and get more information on Lyoko and Aelita's past, and 2. To keep an eye on the trapped and caged Xana.
"Ok, Odd, Yumi and Ulrich, you'll go first. Aelita, Elizabeth and I'll be right behind you"
"Got it. See you guys there" Ulrich said before stepping into the scanner.
"Virtualise!"
A white blast of light, a short fall down a tunnel ringed with energy, and they found themselves in the air over the Forest Region.
They fell to the ground and waited for the others to arrive before heading towards the transport area.
"Oh wow!" Elizabeth gasped, staring out the large open space in front of them, the digital void glittering below while the cables that ran through the region twisted out and disappeared into thin air.
"Carthage, here we come" Odd said as Aelita materialised the transport orb.
It floated down, enveloped them, and flew off.
Behind them, a shadow figure watched before walking towards the edge, a second orb already starting to form.

"I hate travelling like that" Odd moaned, bend over slightly from motion sickness.
"Hey, look on the bright side" Ulrich said, patting him on the back.
"At least now we don't have to worry about traps"
With a whoosh the entrance appeared before them, and they were off, disappearing around the corner just as the second orb descended.
Minutes later, and they arrived at the prison of Xana, the tower shaped cell glowing bright with power and strength.
Aelita stared at in silence, anger and joy filling her head.
One the one hand she was glad that Xana's threat was over.
But on the other hand, after all he had done to her and her friends...
"Well, everything looks ok" Odd said, snapping her back to the present.
"Can we please finish up and go home? My stomach's killing me!"
"Yeah, it's starting to get late" Jeremie said, "And if Jim catches us it's detention for sure"
"Jim I can handle" Odd said as they walked away, "Starvation's another..."
"What a wuss!" Taliea muttered, watching them walk away.
The moment they had left she walked out from her hiding place and walked to the tower.
Tentively she reached out a hand to the tower, only to hiss in pain as a bolt of energy burned her hand.
"Ok, looks like we're going to have to do this the rough way"
She grinned wickedly. "And that suits me just fine..."

Monday at Kadic High, and in the Science Room Mrs. Hertz was walking up and down past the tables, checking on everyone's class experiments.
"A bit more flame, that's it.."
"No Sissi, you need to add a bit more of the second chemical"
"Odd, don't add it like that or else-!"
Boom!
Aelita and Jeremie laughed with the rest of the class as Mrs. Hertz ordered Odd and Ulrich to leave and wash off the smell from Odd's failed experiment.
"Ok Aelita, you start up the bunsen burner and I'll get the formula ready"
"Right away Jeremie" Aelita said. She reached for the dial on the burner and turned it on. The gas flowed, but there was no flame.
Frowning, she turned it off and tried again, turning the dial almost fully open.
A small flame formed and spluttered.
"Jeremie, something's wrong with this-"
Suddenly the burner's top exploded with flame, literally sending a stream of fire up all the way to the roof.
The classroom erupted in screams and shouts, and again as the sprinkler system activated, chilling everyone to the bone as it drenched the room with water.
"Quickly children!" Mrs Hertz shouted, holding open the door.
"Aelita, hurry!" Jeremie shouted, struggling against the tide of kids rushing out.
Before Aelita could make a move the lights above her shattered, and Jeremie watched in horror as a flash of electricity flashed down and struck her.
With shocking suddenness the sprinklers stopped, water dripping from everything, a black scorched patch on the roof.
"Aelita!" Jeremie shouted, running to her unconscious body.
"Aelita! Aelita, wake up!" he cried, holding her tight against him.

Half an hour later, at the hospital, Jeremie was walking to and fro in the hallway, waiting for the doctor to finish. The door to Aelita's room opened, and Jeremie rushed forward at the tall man in the white coat.
"How is she? Will she be alright?"
"She seems alright, taking into account that she took quite a blast of electricity.
Let her sleep for while and I'm sure she'll be fine"
"Can I see her?" Jeremie asked, staring at the door.
"Maybe later. Right now, let's leave her to rest"

In the room, on a white bed, Aelita lay and slept, dead to the world.
From behind a screen separating her bed from the next there came a slight shuffling noise. And then Taliea stepped out.
"Hello sister. Time to get reacquainted" she smiled.