What happened?

The bright lights buzzed above her. Sissi blinked a dozen times before she turned her lead head. She rested on something soft and plush. A bed? Her warped vision slowly made out a brown felt jacket and gray hair by her side. "D... daddy?" Whispering weakly, she stretched her hand to the misty figure sitting in the nearby chair. Mr. Delmas jumped up and grabbed her hand.

"Sissi! Oh, my goodness! You gave me such a scare," He said, petting her hand with warm clammy fingers. The dulled touch caused Sissi to look at her hand. "The doctors gave you some painkillers. Nurse!" Delmas rushed out of the room. Shifting her eyes, Sissi scanned her surroundings. Ugly brown walls in a square room, a radio stereo set opposite of the door, and a beeping machine beside her made the room very simple. From her bed, a small calendar hung on the opposite wall. October 3, 2004.

She groaned and plopped her head back. Confusion and fear pounded her aching brain, but she clasped her hands to her head and silence them. Clawing for stability, her brain slowed down. "Okay. Just breathe, breathe." The world spun around again, but it slowly stopped as her racing thoughts orderly marched in line. A couple of breaths more and the cloudy mist in her head cleared as the nurse and Mr. Delmas came in.

"Ah, Elisabeth Delmas, it's good to see you up. You're quite fortunate," Smiled the raven-haired nurse, "We did some tests while you were unconscious. All your bones are fine and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with your head."

"I don't have a concussion?" Sissi asked.

"No, which is admittedly weird, but I guess you had a good guardian angel." Sissi tried to move her noodle legs. The long traitors rejected her command to shift properly. "You will need some time to rest and may need a cane for a week or so. For some reason, some of your leg muscles were torn. That doesn't normally happen with a car accident, much less a bus accident."

"Sissi, what possessed you to do a stunt like that?" Delmas exclaimed. Sissi looked at him, mixed with all kinds of emotions, and made a blank face. Before sighing long, she rubbed the top of her head, saying,

"I'm sorry, daddy. I was just… I just didn't know what to do I was… it's complicated."

"Well, I'll have to keep a closer eye on you. 24-hour surveillance and-"

"Dad, I know you're upset, but even if you had the navy look after me, it wouldn't guarantee my life." She paused for a while and looked deep into the headmaster's eyes. "You can't keep me forever, Papa." Mr. Delmas sighed and looked away. A defeated headmaster lowered his stiff shoulders and nodded at Sissi's truth.

"Well," the nurse sighed, "I'll leave you two for a while." Mr. Delmas nodded as the nurse walked out. He sat down, smoothed the wrinkles out of his dress pants, and drummed his fingers on his lap. He looked about the room as if a fly flew around and rapidly tapped his hard-sole shoes.

Sissi touched his nearby arm and smiled, "Daddy, it's okay. I didn't mean to worry you. I was just… really out of it."

"But I just wish you would tell me what happened."

"Trust me, I don't think you would understand," Sissi sighed as she looked out of the window. Birds fluttered in climbing swings, and butterflies floated cheerily through her sight. "Daddy, do you know an Aelita Stone or William Dumbar?"

"Why no, sweetie. Who are they?"

"Students that should be coming soon, I hope," Sissi groaned, shifting herself up in the bed. The ache in her shoulders lessened as she rolled them back. The pops and snaps told her she was still alive, but for some reason, she still didn't believe them. Then a weird and curious idea popped into her head. "Daddy, could I get my-"

"You are not getting anything until you're fully rested, Sissi," Delmas answered.

"Get… my books… so I don't fall behind?"

"Oh." Delmas shook himself into an erect stature and stood up. "Well, I think I can arrange that. Uh… sweetie, are you sure that you're okay?" He pressed his hand against her head.

Sissi chuckled lightly, "I'm fine, daddy. Two weeks here is gonna be boring. I might as well get some schoolwork done." Giving a long stare, Delmas shook his head twice before nodding and walking out the door. Sissi fell back to the pillow and draped her arm over her eyes. "Okay, so, how did this happen?" Her mind suddenly popped up the exploding supercomputer, the rusty factory, and everything that sparked like crazy.

But to be honest, could she really blame anyone else? "If I had simply asked them…" she paused. Her skyscraper pride wouldn't have been allowed into their group… as an actual member. Why did she care so much? She burrowed deeper into herself until she shook her head vigorously. She couldn't think about that. Not now. For now, she just needed rest.

Meanwhile, Jeremie leaned against the outside brick wall with his friends. "So why don't you just get all of the wrong answers. After that, you're home free. Nobody will ever know," Odd suggested.

"Sure I thought of that, but there's a problem because tests like that are full of all kinds of trick questions and if you really want to mess up and make mistakes, you got to be clever."

"But that should be fine since you're the most clever kid around," Yumi said.

"Okay, I'll do my best to flunk, but I won't make any guarantees," Jeremie mumbled, walking into the school library.

As time went on, rats infested and tore down everything in town under the control of XANA. Sissi saw the whole thing from the hospital TV.

"That's right, thousands of rats have been terrorizing the town. Police have ordered people to stay inside and barricade their doors." As the reporter continued, a wave of rats crawled up to him "Wha! Get them off me, get them off me!" He ran for his life, and there, a rat jumped onto the camera. Sissi squinted her eyes. A familiar insignia in the rat's eyes glowered back at her in red. The same insignia she saw at the factory.

"Oh no, what's happening?!" Sissi threw her hands to her head. "Nooo!" The red emergency lights flashed as nurses hurried to the doors. Chairs, beds, and drawers were hauled over to the entrance. "It's over! It's my fault! I should have never-" Before she could say anything, she saw a blinding dome of light spread over the entire town. She shut her eyes, screaming at the top of her lungs.

The next thing she knew, she was staring at the hospital ceiling. "Wahh RATS!" Sissi sprung up in bed.

"Sissi! Oh, my goodness! You gave me such a scare," Delmas said, holding her hand.

"Daddy? What… What happened?"

"You were hit by a bus, honey. The nurses gave you some painkillers. Nurse!" Delmas rushed out the door. The teenager spun her head to the calendar: October 3, 2004. Sissi threw her head back and growled, rubbing her cranium.

"What on Earth is going on? I remember everything." She thought aloud. "Okay, obviously I am going back in time and I don't know why or how I'm doing it. That part's 'simple'. Grrr! What am I going to do about it?" She thought longer but grumbled and clenched her fingers into fists. She tapped her fingers against her cranium before spotting some notepad and pen, and she began scribbling some notes down before the nurse came in.

"Ah, Elisabeth Delmas, it's good to see you up. You're quite fortunate," the nurse smiled.

"No concussions, contusions, or cracked bones? Just weak leg muscles, right?" Sissi curtly said.

"Uh… yes." She gave a short nod before scribbling back on the note. "You'll need to-"

"Be at bed rest for two weeks and I'll need to walk with a cane too?"

"Uhh, yes…"

"Thank you," Sissi graced a short smile before giving her dad the piece of paper, "Daddy, could you give me these books so that I don't fall behind in school."

"I… that's great, Sissi, but you have to rest."

"I will, but I'll also be bored here, might as well," She smiled charmingly.

"Oh… I see," Mr. Delmas looked at the shrugging nurse, "Well, I'm just glad that you're safe."

"I'm sorry for worrying you, daddy. I promise to be safer from now on." Sissi gave a small child-like pout before she grabbed another piece of paper and scribbled on it. The nurse and Delmas simply shrugged and left her in peace. "Oh daddy, could you tell Yumi, Ulrich, Odd, and Jeremie that I said hi? Oh, and when they have the time, could they come over and see me?"

"Of course, dear. I'll be sure to do that," Delmas replied as his phone buzzed in his pocket. "Hello? Yes, this is me." As he and the nurse stepped out, Sissi looked around the hospital room. An IV in her arm, air tubes in her nasal cavity, and a bulky stereo next to her bed gave her interesting ideas as she scratched ink on the paper.

"Hmm, I have to figure out what those guys were up to. They would know where Aelita actually came from… Ugh, but they wouldn't tell me right off the bat," Sissi grumbled, facepalming herself. Then her eyes shot open as a wide smile curled her lips. "Maybe they don't have to tell me."

Continued...