Hunter Moebius and I do not own Code Lyoko, Maximum Ride, or Kaitlyn Belpois. We do own our OCs and the plot.

After our meal, the rest of the day was relatively quiet, and we were able to fall asleep in peace. Thankfully the hospital beds we were given were soft enough, even though I felt like mine was a bit too firm. The jet lag was mostly taken care of that night, and even though a few of us woke up a few times in the middle of the night, we mostly got a good night's sleep.

The next day was when things really started to get crazy.

After we had woken up, we were barely given very much of a breakfast, before we were all led out of the big room, and down the hallway, just as we had the day before. Only this time, they weren't splitting us up, and I hoped they wouldn't at all, even though I had a sinking feeling they probably would. They had plans for us; they gave us a rough idea of what we would be doing, but they only left us with more questions than answers. Naturally, we were all curious, with a few of us quite tense, especially Sister, Aelita, and Hunter.

Of course, no matter how ready we thought we were, and even though Yumi and I already had a bit of an idea of what was to come, it still snuck up on us, and surprised us quite a bit.

From our examinations the day before, they easily figured out most of our strengths and weaknesses, as well as our unique skills. The only one that spent the longest time in the examination room was Hunter; he hadn't been a part of our group until recently, so the monster never told anyone anything about him. But since he told us how calm and reassuring the whitecoat who examined him was, she probably got quite a bit of information out of him. This was what helped them all figure out exactly what tests to run on each of us, next.

The first few tests were relatively simple and had included all of us, some of which tested our ability to work together as a team. The first couple of tests didn't go so well, but once Hunter figured things out, and Sister worked out her rough edges, we all got better.

And then do you wanna know what happened? The tests didn't stop. They kept going and going. Then, to make matters even worse, they split us up and made us all go through tests at the same time, in different rooms, away from each other. The test they had me go through forced me to rely on my psychic abilities. A walk in the park, right? Maybe after the first four or five tests, yeah. But they kept going.

Soon, I was on the verge of passing out. This was the twelfth test they ran on me today.

A bell jarringly rang throughout the gym-like structure as rough hands pushed me into the beginnings of the maze. Angel went through this before, but she was younger than I. Why couldn't they be satisfied?

Maybe they were trying to exhaust me. Maybe they wanted to push me to my absolute limits, just to see what would happen. After all, even though the books told me they had a bit more respect for their "patients," I couldn't help but wonder if I had secretly become their human guinea pig. Run through this maze, run through that maze… every single one of the walls kept changing, in-between. It was like they were deliberately trying to confuse me. And if I hadn't been able to get myself out with my psychic abilities, they probably would have. But once again, it didn't work in their favor.

Concentrating my powers, I figured out the exit in no time, but not before my feet felt as though someone turned on a grill. To not disappoint, I raced through the labyrinth, making false errors along the way. Why make them think that I was super smart? Plus, I loved to do those puzzle-book mazes in reverse (where you start at the finish and go on to the beginning). My breath came out in heavy gasps as I dropped near the finish.

Thoughts floated into my brain. It had to be from those whitecoats that were studying me as though I was some sort of mouse. Cognitive ability, interpretive skills, creative problem-solving… It has all the abilities of Subject 11. Finish the glucose assay, and we can move on to the EEGs.

The shunt on the side of my right wrist hurt a lot, and yet they expected me to keep up with these tests? When would I see mi novio again? I couldn't go on like this.

Before I knew it, my vision blurred and stirred, as though they had sedated me again. But they hadn't approached me, nor had they hit me with anything. The room just randomly and mysteriously slipped away.

"Cassidy?"

The next thing I knew, I was back in the big room, laying on my hospital bed. Every single one of my friends was standing around it, some looked concerned, others looked relieved. But to me, everything was just one big, confusing mess.

"Are you okay, dear sister?" Sister asked me, putting my glasses over my eyes.

I swallowed, even though my throat felt dry. "You already know the answer to that one—no, Sister. I'm not okay."

Yumi wrapped her arms around me, stroking my hair. "What kinds of tests did they make you go through?"

"Yumi, they had me run mazes… I used my own secret weapon but had to cheat it a couple times, so I didn't have a perfect score twice," I whispered. "They think I'm like Angel."

"Wait," Hunter inquired, curiously, "does Angel even have… psychic abilities like you?"

"Mind reading, gills—she can breathe underwater, same as Max—, capacity to control minds, shape-shifting—but that was only one time, so it's not really confirmed—and I think visions of the future, but I don't know," I blinked.

"But you and she aren't at all alike, Cat Girl. She's what, seven?" Odd smiled.

I nodded. "She's blond with blue eyes, but not me: my curtains match the window, except when my powers rushed online. But at least Jeb is talking to the Director of the School to get Reilly off my back."

Ulrich copied my motion. "Yeah. The last thing you need is him bugging you again."

William put a bottle of soda in my hand. "It's Dr. Pepper. You need some sugar in you."

That bottle was open in no time, and soon I had drunk half of it in one shot.

"Wow, and you say I pig out all the time," Odd noted at Aelita.

Aelita couldn't help but giggle. "She'll do anything when she's thirsty."

Jeremie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, one time, she came in from gym class with a full bottle of water, and then she had downed the whole thing by the time I explained what the problem with my materialization research was."

"It's not my fault Jim had us do ten laps," I defended, then frowned. "I really hope he's okay..."

"I know," he nodded solemnly.

"Even Jeb didn't know what happened to him!" I half-shouted, my throat still feeling like sandpaper.

"Well, maybe by now," Kaitlyn suggested, "he and the others have woken up, and are starting a search for us?"

I nodded, heart clenching. I really hoped she was right. That would be really helpful right about now, even though they probably don't even know we left the country just yet.

"You know, if Delmas, Jim, and the others don't find us," Ulrich tried to raise the mood, "then I'm sure Jeb, as well as Max and her flock, are bound to save us, first. Either way, we win."

"Yes, but right now, we don't know what's gonna happen to us," Sister brought us all back to reality.

"I know. And not even the excitement that I'm back in my home country is helping me any." I rubbed at a strand of my hair, trying to keep myself from having a panic attack, or beating myself up because I couldn't stop this.

"Well, maybe this will?" she commented, as she began to softly rub my right arm.

Slowly, the claws around my heart released their grip, helping me to grasp a deep breath. "Thanks, Sister. If we ever get back to France, maybe we all could have another one of those spa days?" I smiled slightly. "It might help ease the trauma."

"I'll make sure you get the longest, most relaxing massage they have, dear sister!" she replied, a grin forming on her face.

"Just as long as you get rid of the wrap and the sauna, this time," I beamed.

"Of course, Cassidy, dear," she sang. "Anything for my friends."

With that out of the way, my thoughts soon turned to another topic. "What tests did they give you, by the way?"

Sister's expression turned sour. "First, they made me run five laps on an oval-shaped track, like the one back at Kadic! Then they splashed cold water on my face, and sprayed some into my mouth before they made me practice Pencak Silat in a room full of dummies and targets!"

"That doesn't sound too bad," Yumi remarked. "They had me run laps, and practice Pencak Silat, too."

"I started with Pencak Silat," Ulrich added, "and then they put me into sword fighting. They gave me a katana, just like what I used on Lyoko, and I had a room similar to the one Yumi and Sissi were in."

"What about you, Jeremie?" I asked.

"They gave me logic puzzles," Einstein answered. "Problems such as 'Who owned which detailed item through a series of variables' or programming a robot to run around a series of obstacles, before retrieving an object, and bringing it back."

"That sounds like what they had me do, as well," Hunter remarked.

"Aelita?" I tilted my head.

"Mine was a combination of Jeremie's and Hunter's," Aelita responded, "but they also tested my evasion skills, by firing harmless lasers at me from different directions. It was scary at first."

"I wish I had your test of evasion, too," I giggled. "Odd?"

"Running and fighting, just like Sissi and the lovebirds," mi novio quipped.

"Makes me wonder what Kiwi's were."

Kiwi yipped. Mostly puppy things. Locate the object, fetch this, dig at that…

"Well, that is fortunate for you. Patrick?"

"Mostly the same as Ulrich, Yumi, and Sissi," Patrick replied, "except they had me practice Aikido in a similar room to where you guys practiced Pencak Silat."

"Mine started out that way," Kaitlyn explained, "with me practicing my fighting moves in a room full of dummies and targets, but then they brought me into this room with a long swimming pool, and made me swim three laps around it."

"You all had the fun tests," I sighed, trying not to get jealous. "William?"

"Fight training," William began, "but then I had an obstacle course, with rings, monkey bars, and even a rock wall at the end."

"Bet that was great."

Yumi could tell I was getting jealous. "Believe us, Cassidy, if we could have traded your training for one of ours, we would've jumped at the chance."

"But we have no choosing at all. I get it. Your tests sound so simple. Like a game, but I get stuck with something one of the flock had gone through in the very first book. It's a bit hard to sound happy," I admitted. "I wouldn't be surprised if I have to run on a treadmill next round of tests. I just wish I had a little semblance of my other abilities, like gun shooting, or even pattern making."

That was when the door opened, and Jeb came walking in. He then approached my bed with a concerned look on his face; on my right, Odd and Aelita parted like the Red Sea, making room for him. "Are you okay, Cassidy?"

"Not really. Jealous that everyone had variety in their tests, and I just ended up running mazes without any."

"I saw your tests," he remarked, a slight tinge of disgust in his voice. "I'm sorry they overworked you like that. It's like they thought you were a lab mouse or something."

"Funny… I was thinking the exact same thing," I shook my head.

"I'll have to talk to them about that. The next set of tests should be different for everyone, anyway, but they're all tailored to everyone's individual strengths and weaknesses. So you should get something else, too."

"They ran me through twelve freaking mazes in a row. No breaks, no water. I passed out after that last one," I growled. "Now, I'm not mad at you, Jeb."

He gritted his teeth. "I understand. But I still can't believe they did that to you. They must be comparing you to Angel, since she had similar psychic abilities to your own, albeit hers were more advanced in different ways."

"Only mine were somewhat of an enigma that I sometimes didn't know where they wanted me to take the next adventure. After the monster was unleashed, my visions have all but faded. I can only read minds, both animal and human, but it's like a radar. Plus I wasn't born with them. They came to me. It's weird."

"I understand," he nodded. "Probably the reason why they've mostly disappeared is because unleashing the… 'monster,' as you call it, took an enormous amount of your psychic energy just to sustain. If anything, it might be similar to a sensory overload, and they're merely weakened until the overload has died down."

"That could explain her new meltdowns," Jeremie spoke up. "Before, her emotions were all in check unless someone crossed her badly. Now, she has to have breathing times. Her mind had frozen her into a catatonic state at one point after she woke from her coma."

Jeb placed his fist underneath his chin. "That would explain that. Her body must still be recovering from the release of energy."

"But why would it take her voice away before the release?" Ulrich asked.

"It might have been her body's way of fighting to regain control," Jeb suggested. "It wasn't ready for the release of energy, and so it fought to keep it contained for as long as it could."

"Losing my voice was so scary and unreal," I admitted, trembling.

"Even though I have no firsthand experience, I can guess what that might feel like. But what the other whitecoats might try to do, is find a way to accelerate the healing process, and this I fear. They will probably try to take advantage of what psychic abilities you possess while trying to cultivate new ones, possibly even ones you've never been able to use before."

The sound of that was quite frightening to me, too. "I don't want to be a garden for them. I'm just a teenage girl!"

"Don't worry, my dear." Jeb's voice turned warm and calming, and a matching smile sprouted upon his face. "I will do everything in my power to make sure they don't force you into any tests such as those. You may be psychic like Angel, but I won't let them treat you the way they treated her, any more than they already have."

"Plus, she has us," Odd smiled.

"I don't doubt that!" I nodded, relaxing somewhat.

"And I hope they keep you in good hands," Jeb nodded affirmingly. "While I can only do so much, the tests they might force you all to endure may be similar to XANA's attacks, and some may be unlike anything he has ever launched against you."

He turned his attention to Jeremie and Hunter. "Along with Miss McGuire, they can see the potential in your mental abilities, that extends far beyond simple logic and recognition puzzles. I would be wary of what they might have you undergo next."

A slight bit of fear distorted Hunter's face. "What do you think they'll… do with us? They're not gonna… make us telekinetic… will they?"

"They wouldn't do that," Jeb reassured, "but I'm unsure of what other plans they may have."

"What about the rest of us?" Yumi inquired, a bit of concern leaking onto her face, as well. "Do they see anything special in us?"

"That I can't say," the man replied. "However, they may try to hone certain skills you all have, in ways that they can exploit, later on."

I gulped. "I'd much rather be back at Kadic, in Lyoko HQ."

He nodded, reassuringly. "I'd love to bring you back there, myself. And it's wonderful to hear that Principal Delmas had that extra room built; it was well-deserved. But for the time being, I'll do everything I can to make sure the other scientists don't torture you. You're human beings, not bipedal guinea pigs."

"I know, but I'm still scared. What happened to our beloved teachers? One of them—" my breath caught in my throat.

Jeb quickly waved his hands in front of his chest. "Nothing fatal, I assure you. They only allow the Erasers to use sedatives. I'm sure every single person who resisted, or tried to defend you, is waking up right now like they just woke up from a terrible nightmare."

Oh, was that a relief! I could barely contain myself! "You don't—You don't know how…strengthened this makes me… We—we almost thought that Jim…"

I could tell everyone else was relieved as well.

"See, Cat Girl?! What did I tell you? Jim's tough as nails. And you spent all day worrying," Odd grinned.

"I couldn't help it, Novio! I mean, you heard that thud, too!" I shot back, still in the euphoria that Jim's still alive.

"But he's made thuds like that plenty of times before, and we never thought he was dead, then!" Odd countered.

"That's because we knew he'd get back up. But—"

"He got back up, just fine, this time, too," Jeb added, smiling warmly. "I've seen how strong and resilient of a gym teacher he is. I believe he had a saying: 'It'll take more than that to take down your ol' pal Jim!'"

"Jimbo," mi novio corrected, cackling.

I couldn't help but break down laughing, either. That Odd… he always knew how to get just about anyone to laugh, especially me.

"At least he's still alive," Jeremie commented, beaming from ear to ear.

Sister had a similar grin on her face. "Ooh, that makes me so glad! I can't wait to see him again!"

"I would love to hug him," I admitted. "I think that the emotional distress when Jim went down also broke my mood. I didn't mean to sound murderous, guys."

There was a collective head-shaking, and calls of "no," "nah," and "what are you talking about?" all throughout the room.

"You did nothing wrong, Sweetie," Jeb reassured. "I can understand your feeling as though you lost a teacher you were quite fond of. It happens."

"Plus, I don't think I could even afford a black mamba." I shook my own head. "Let alone set one loose."

"And besides," Ulrich jumped in, "you saw what those Erasers did to us, when they were trying to get us in and out of that sedan. A black mamba wouldn't have been much better."

"I don't know what its venom would do to an Eraser in the first place. It's a stupid plan," I sighed, looking at my former first roommate. "I'm sorry that I scared you all over the place."

"You were just trying to protect me," she replied, giving me one of her calming, disarming smiles. "You don't need to apologize for that."

"I still hate Reilly." Raising my right wrist, I frowned. "Look at this thing. And he thinks I would bite him?! Even when things got hairy, I never bit anyone."

"You're also not a seven-year-old," Odd quipped. "You know what is food, and what isn't."

"You're right, but even when I was angry, I still didn't sink my teeth into XANA's attack of the week," I shook my head again.

"You didn't need to," Ulrich added. "You could hold your own with me, Yumi, Odd, or anyone else."

Jeb tried to calm me down, again. "Don't worry, Cassidy. Just relax. When I get another scientist assigned to you, I'll have them remove that shunt. I can't possibly see why Reilly would need that, aside from the problem you mentioned, which you clearly aren't having, regardless of what he thinks."

"Thanks, Jeb. I really hate having it in. It kept me awake anytime I rolled to my right side and pressed on it," I told him. "If he thinks that that would break my spirits, he won somewhere."

"But you don't have to let him win completely," Sister tried to comfort me. "Just show him that you don't care about what he did to your arm. That'll show him!"

"True."

"And if one of us gets him after you get another whitecoat," Yumi added, "we'll be sure to show him exactly how that made you feel."

Even though Hunter bore a look of concern, I could hear one of his thoughts, that told me exactly what he was feeling. I sure hope it isn't me.

"Trust me, Hunter. I wouldn't wish him on XANA," I shook.

He exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck, almost as if he nearly forgot I could do that. "That's a relief. I'd probably feel the… same way you did…"

"I'd rather sic XANA on him, but I know that he doesn't like to be controlled by anyone," I whimpered. "I just wanna go back."

"They'll be back, don't worry," Jeb nodded, winking at me. He then looked at the watch on his arm. "And it looks like it might soon be time for your second set of tests. I'll go push harder to make sure they change the scientists around and keep an eye on things."

Whatever happy thoughts I had were soon completely trampled, under the upcoming threat of more tests. Just what we didn't need, me especially. I was sure Jeb meant well, but I couldn't help but see that as a terrible way to segue from something good, into something bad. And if these tests were anything like the ones I had before, there might not be very much of me left to take back to our room. And what about the others? Their tests seemed easier than mine, but were they, really? Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, William, Patrick, and even Kaitlyn had better stamina than I did. They could stand up to things like obstacle course training, swimming laps, and even target practice. They'd probably tackle something like a constantly-changing maze like it was nothing. So why did the whitecoats feel the need to push me even farther? For crying out loud, I'm not Angel! I don't even have nearly as many psychic powers as she does!

To my surprise, I wasn't subjected to an ever-rotating maze. Instead, I was led into a room similar to a police gun test. A revolver sat in the stall before me. I smirked slightly. Finally, something that suits my style. I put on the noise-cancelling cordless headphones, the world growing deaf around me, and the safety goggles provided.

A light above me spun around, bathing the room in orange at intervals. Picking up the gun, I aimed, firing at a target in front of me, slightly wincing at the recoil from the shunt in my arm. The target exploded with a direct hit to the center. The whitecoats seemed unfazed, but I could tell they were quite amazed.

Soon, I shot through three magazines of bullets, and several multi-shaped targets. To keep myself level, I straightened my spine. Lyoko had trained me well, but I knew how to fire guns outside the realm of the virtual.

Eventually, my right hand started to shake, my eyes glazing slightly over. Even though it was fun to get rid of round after round of targets, I felt my body getting more and more exhausted.

It was then that the whitecoats took the gun away from me and undid my protective gear. "Looks like you're a real Annie Oakley," one whistled, impressed.

"One hundred five targets destroyed out of one hundred seven. She's got natural aiming skills when it comes to guns," the woman who assigned me to the psycho grinned.

"Take her to her room. Let her rest for the remainder of the evening," Jeb's voice entered my ears. "I'd say she's earned it."

"Yes, I suppose you're right, Jeb," the female whitecoat admitted. "I'll take her back, myself."

It wasn't long before I was back in the big room, resting on my bed. That was the best test ever. However, the others had yet to return, forcing me to withhold my excitement until they did. To occupy myself, I kept myself upbeat by singing a song. "Another night in any town, you can hear the thunder of their cry! Ahead of their time, they wonder why... In the shadows of a golden age, a generation waits for dawn. Brave carry on, bold and the strong…"

I found this song quite fitting for the situation my friends and I were in. We were stuck in a laboratory, being treated somewhat better than guinea pigs, yet we all had hope. We had hope that this wasn't where we were going to stay. We knew that, someday, we were going to be set free. Whether by Max and her flock, Jeb or by some stroke of luck, someone from Kadic Academy, we were going to get out of here. Sometimes I felt like it was a shot in the dark. I would have moments where I would forget the voice in my head, that kept telling me it would never happen, and that I would be stuck here for the rest of my life, was wrong. But my friends were always there to reassure me. To cheer me up. To show me that no matter what crazy things happened, they were right behind me. They all had my back. I was so blessed to have such amazing friends as them, and I even hoped Hunter would turn out to be the same way, as well. This was for them. We would all pull through. And this was the proof.

"You sing beautifully…" A new voice entered my ears. I opened my eyes and whirled around.

An Eraser, not the same as the one who tried to carry me in a fireman's hold, had entered the room. My heart raced in panic, and I couldn't stop myself from gulping.

Jeb soon walked in, and as his eyes landed on the Eraser, he quickly realized who he was; his son. "Ari?"

I couldn't believe my ears! Did he just say…?! "B-b-b-b-b-but… H-he—he…! T-the battle in G-Germany! T-the expiration date…!" I could feel my lungs tensing up incredibly quickly. What is he doing here?! He's supposed to be dead! "Wh-what?!" Yumi… This is crazy… But Ari's here…

As I tried to form a coherent sentence, completely flabbergasted by who was standing in front of me, Jeb quickly rushed to my side and began to give me a soothing back rub.

"Just lay back, and close your eyes," he soothed. "Just relax. We'll take care of this after you've calmed down."

I obeyed the first two orders, being close to hyperventilating, but his words reminded me of Yolanda's soothing coos when this happened during the assembly. In my haze, I almost mistook him for Franz Schaeffer, feeling his fatherly essence emanating toward me.

"There, there…" Jeb continued, his back rub slowly helping me to relax. "Everything's just fine. You're going to be okay."

The second to last sentence threatened to undo everything he was trying to do. Just those three words were like a trigger. Hearing them echo in my mind before everything went blank, and getting placed on that chopper… why didn't he know that?! And besides, everything was not fine! I knew he was trying to get me to calm down, but how could everything be okay, when his dead son was standing in the room with us, and not as a ghost, either?!

"B-but that battle in Germany—his expiration date kicked in… There was a burial for him…" This was insane, even if my eyes were closed. "How d-do I know he's not an M-Geek… or-or… A Flyboy…?! Is this all a dream?"

Jeb wasn't answering any of my questions, yet. Instead, he kept softly and soothingly rubbing, while cooing to me. "I'll tell you everything, once you've calmed down. If you keep going like this, you're going to have a meltdown. I just want you to relax. Don't think about those things, right now. Just push them out of your mind."

Slowly his words started to work within me. On the side of my right wrist, I felt my pulse begin to slow down, bit by bit, and a feeling of calmness slowly began to overtake me.

"There… Sh… You're okay," Max's and Ari's father soothed. "You don't have to worry. Just relax."

All I could feel was his soothing back rub as if it was lowering the tension within my body step by step until I almost felt like I was going to fall asleep.

Jeb smiled. "Do you feel better?"

I nodded, trying not to resist relaxing. He had the hands of a masseuse. I couldn't help but wonder how many other cases needed such gentle, loving care, besides his two children.

"That's good," Jeb continued, still speaking in a calm voice as he continued rubbing, probably to stop me from freaking out when he did explain everything. "Now, let me explain, but I don't want to push you into a meltdown."

"Okay…" For the best, I kept my eyes closed.

"Ari did not actually die in battle, in Germany," he began. "It was a deliberate plot. The expiration date was staged, in order to fool Omega into believing he had dropped dead; it allowed him to become involved in a sneak attack, a short time later, which ended with the German Director's murder."

Huh, Yumi's conspiracy theory "what-if" had been true after all. "So, he's your flesh and blood son, whose mom… your former wife… died?"

"Exactly, Cassidy, exactly…" he soothed.

I opened my eyes, still in a small state, but quite relaxed. "It's great to um… meet you, Ari… A-Are you a part of Jeb's efforts to rescue us?"

He nodded. "He told me all about it last night, Cassidy. If we can't get your scientist changed fast enough, I will be your bodyguard. Reilly won't touch you because he can't touch me."

"That would save me a lot, Ari. I feel so angry around him, and I just want to…"

"I hear you." He nodded. "It's like my father said, if you get alone in a room with him, bite him on both of his wrists."

"He hit someone the last time it happened. I don't want to get bruised." I looked into his eyes.

"Yeah... maybe that wouldn't work," he lamented.

Suddenly, at that moment, Hunter staggered back into the room. He looked quite frazzled, and nearly every inch of his body twitched as he slowly made his way toward his bed. This certainly didn't help my emotions any; what had they done to him?! Whatever it was, I could tell he was probably moments from having a meltdown, too. My heart began to beat more frequently, as I found breathing slightly harder and harder, once more.

"Markson!" Jeb yelled, moments before he slowed down his soft, soothing rub of my back.

Moments later, a female whitecoat walked into the room. "Yes, Jeb."

"Hunter Moebius is having an overload. Could you help him calm down?" He pointed to the boy in question, who had dropped to his knees by his hospital bed, still twitching.

"I'll get right on it," Markson replied, running over to Hunter. She immediately helped him up onto his hospital bed and began softly and slowly rubbing his back, as well.

My body started twitching. It was as if I could feel Hunter's feelings of overloading coursing throughout my entire being. If this was what his second set of tests were like, how much worse could Yumi's, Ulrich's, Odd's, or even Aelita's be?

"Relax, my dear," Jeb went back to soothing me, softly and slowly rubbing from my neck, to just above my waist. "Just close your eyes and calm down."

I slowly closed my eyes, whimpering. "W-What's h-happening t-to me?"

"It seems you're feeling what Hunter's feeling," Jeb replied, his voice unchanging. "Perhaps this is another ability of yours that the monster might have awakened?"

"I d-don't know! W-wh-why i-is it a-affecting me s-so m-much?!" I squealed, trying to relax.

The next thing I knew, I felt Jeb gently lift me up, and wrap his arms around me, embracing me in a warm hug, while his hands continued to softly and slowly caress my back. "Your body might not be used to it, just yet. We're trying to calm Hunter down, as well. If he calms down, it might calm you, as well."

"I d-don't know h-how th-this is happening…" I shivered.

"You might be discovering many new abilities, or they may have already been inside you, but dormant, up until you got here."

"H-help… me… I c-can't control it…" I felt tears welling in my eyes.

"Shhh… we will don't worry." His voice became very gentle and soothing, as he continued his soft, gentle caress of my back.

I really tried to relax, but I couldn't. No matter how soft, soothing and gentle Jeb's back rub was, it wasn't working. And then, to make matters worse, I heard Hunter suddenly burst into tears, nearby. Whatever they did to him, it really screwed him up in a bad way. There was no way I could hold my own tears back, now.

I sobbed into Jeb's chest, my own body shaking. Why couldn't I be in control of my own emotions?! I used to have it so perfectly. My moods were my own, even if I never experienced a bad day.

Jeb continued to slowly and softly caress my back, from the back of my neck, down to just above my waist, while cooing softly into my ear, shushing me gently as if I were a small child. "Just stay calm… it's okay…"

I tried, but my body disobeyed. My breathing turned ragged, as though they made me run seventy laps instead of gun practice. What was with me?! I met Hunter yesterday. How am I feeling his emotions?!

This was when Jeb decided on a better plan for helping me relax, even though I knew I wasn't going to like it. He reached into the pocket on his lab coat and pulled out a syringe. His eyes moved to the shunt in my right arm, as he began to figure out the best way to give it to me.

"Hey, Cassidy?" he cooed, still softly rubbing my back with his other hand.

I nodded, my being still against me.

"Why don't I help you fall asleep? That'll help you relax until Hunter stops crying, and we can figure out why you keep feeling his emotions."

I didn't like it, but what choice did I have? I felt like my emotions were going to kill me, and I didn't want them to do that to my friends. I gritted my teeth and tried to speak. "G-go a-ahead…"

"Okay. This won't hurt you at all, trust me." He brought the syringe over to the shunt, and slowly emptied its contents into it. "Now I just want you to relax, okay? It'll all be over, soon."

Slowly, I began to relax, feeling the fire in my veins slowly take out my consciousness, until I calmed down completely, my eyes closing. At once, my entire being became steady, once more.

A couple hours later, I slowly opened my eyes, feeling a complete sense of calmness surrounding me. As my vision slowly began to focus, I could make out what looked like nearly all of my friends, gathered around my bed, with looks of concern on their faces. As I started to move, I could barely make out a few of their faces slowly growing smiles.

"H-hi, guys…" I muttered, still feeling woozy from the meltdown.

"They told us what happened, about you and Hunter," Yumi commented. "Are you okay?"

"A bit dizzy from the meltdown… It was so fierce… I never felt so much… not since my sister had been crying so long and I broke afterward, unable to control it. Mom helped us get calmed down… I don't know what—"

"Easy…" William cautioned. "You ought to relax, Cass. Don't do anything too crazy right away."

"Right…" I took a deep breath, relaxing into the bed.

"You need to get your strength back, Cat Girl," Odd added.

"I know we're not at Kadic, but I think that's enough adventure for one day," I whispered.

"After that one," Aelita agreed, "you might be good for the whole week. Hunter, too."

"Is he okay?" I asked.

"He was asleep, too, when we came in," Yumi replied, turning so I could see him lying face-down on his bed. "They didn't tell me if they knocked him out, or if he knocked himself out."

"It's so strange. I barely know him…"

"Maybe it's like you and Princess," Odd suggested. "You didn't know her, but you were vision-sharing with her, and things like that."

"After a while with her, I guess this could be a subset that I never knew was going on with me," I lamented. "I felt like my body was losing control. I didn't know what to do."

"Do you think, maybe he has some sort of power over you? That maybe he can control you, in some way?" Ulrich inquired.

"Hunter? No… He—" I shook my head. "It's just a coincidence. Besides, I think I need to rest."

"Good idea," Yumi agreed. "I think we all should just get a good night's sleep. The both of you will probably feel a lot better in the morning."

"True. Odd? Would you like to stay with me?" I felt miserable and alone without my stuffed animals, and it was a wonder that I slept well two nights in a row that way. At least with Odd, I could be sure I'd get a good night's sleep, even if I would have managed for a third night without him. There wasn't any need to take that chance.

"Say no more, Cat Girl!" he grinned, climbing up onto my bed. "I'd love to!"

I smiled, letting him wrap his arms around me and lay his head on my chest. He was soon joined by Kiwi, who jumped up onto the bed next to him.

"Thanks, Kiwi," we chorused.

With Odd and I safely tucked in, Yumi and Ulrich climbed up onto their beds, which they had placed next to each other, before laying down. They even slowly stretched out their arms, gently touching their fingers together, like they had when we were in the hospital.

Aelita and Jeremie made their way over to their respective beds, which were also placed conveniently, and climbed in, facing each other.

William, Patrick, and Kaitlyn were next, climbing into each of their beds, one by one.

And before she got into her bed, I felt Sister gently pull the covers over Odd and I, before I heard her footsteps move over toward Hunter's bed, assuming she did the same for him, as well. With the three of us tucked in, she crawled into her own bed, settling down for the night.