Hunter Moebius and I don't own Code Lyoko, Maximum Ride, or Kaitlyn Belpois. We do own our own OC's and the plot.

It was the next morning. After the interesting day of plotting, and finding out most of my friends had suddenly become telepaths, most of us slept soundly that night. Of course, I was getting used to sleeping topless, which was not something I normally did, but it was better than sleeping with a blanket tightly wrapped around my belly and chest. However, when I finally did get to sleep, I began to have a crazy dream, involving myself and the others being chased by whitecoats, but our wings were still growing, and thus couldn't carry us. Reilly, of all people, had just tackled me, and was seconds from stinging my neck, when...

"Cat Girl…" Odd moaned, pulling on my bare arm. "Wake up…"

Unfortunately, he just had to pull on that arm, which immediately aggravated the slit that Dr. Martinez made, when she pulled that microchip out of my neck. "Ow…! Odd Thomas Della Robbia! That hurt…"

"Sorry, Cassidy, you were having a bit of a nightmare," he admitted, before his eyes widened. "And how do you know my middle name? I never told it to you."

"Yumi once told me while Jeremie was making the program to weaken XANA. I wanted to know about how you almost sacrificed my Hippity," I growled, clenching a fist while wrapping my other hand protectively around the one Sam gave me.

Odd raised both of his hands up to chest level. "Hey, how was I supposed to know the monster wasn't some sort of mysterious entity that required sacrifices, in order to stop its plans for global conquest?!"

"You knew that my Hippity was super special to me, yet you wanted to do away with him! How would you have liked it if the roles were reversed and I tried to drop one of your favorite, special things into something I didn't know of?!"

His eyebrows slanted, slightly. "That's different! Since you're the psychic, you would know if a gigantic crazy monster is gonna swallow up the whole entire world, and you would also know whether or not you'd have to give it something to make it go away!"

"Still, Odd. I was shocked at your actions," I glared at him.

"It seemed to want you, so I thought that I could give it something that belonged to you, to make it leave you alone!" He attempted to explain, but I saw right through his flawed logic. "You should be happy it spit it back at me!"

"I am, but—you have to be the craziest boyfriend I ever had, and I only dated two guys!" I sighed.

His glare slowly morphed into a malevolent grin, as he folded his arms. "Maybe that's why you love me so much, huh?"

"Odd… don't you look at me that way…" I had a pretty good picture of what he was going to do next.

He slowly leaned closer to me, his grin going full-on Cheshire Cat. "Okay, then how about this?"

Before I could even react, his hands went straight to my bare sides, gently tickling me for a few seconds, his face unchanging, following this by leaning forward, and planting a kiss directly onto my lips.

"O-Odd…" I panted.

"What's wrong, Cat Girl?" He pulled away, his voice sounding like he could start chuckling at any moment. "Had enough?"

I nodded. "Y-yes…"

"Okay." Like nothing at all, he was soon back on his butt, sitting next to me on the bed. "Now, why don't you tell me about that nightmare you were having?"

"We—we were…chased…by whitecoats… A-and R-Reilly…" I clenched my teeth, not wanting to continue. Jeremie was right about my threshold of pain, even if I was too stubborn to believe it.

I could hear Odd working it out in his mind, taking a few moments to put the pieces together. His face soon softened into one of concern, as he slid himself over to another portion of my bed, and began softly running his hands across my wings, gently stroking the feathers in a soothing way.

"There, there, Cat Girl," he cooed as he did this. "It was only a dream. Now, what did Reilly try to do to you?"

"H-he—he… he looked like he wanted to m-murder me…" I whimpered. "H-he brought a s-syringe u-up…"

"Of course he'd use a syringe," mi novio continued, trying to make sure he could make sense of it all. "With how many times they stung you on the neck? But you stopped him, didn't you? You brought your arm up, grabbed his hand, twisted his arm backward, and—"

I shook my head. "I-I was t-tackled t-to the ground…"

"Oh." I could tell he didn't expect that. "Maybe someone was gonna come save you? Like me?"

"E-everyone was chased… I didn't kn-know…" I felt tears well up in my eyes as I continued, soon losing the strength to hold them back.

In response, Odd gave my wings an even more soothing, relaxing rub, hoping to calm me down further.

"It's okay, Cat Girl…" His voice lowered to a soothing level as he cooed to me. "Don't cry… big bad Reilly is long gone, now. We're gonna get far away from him and Mandy, you'll see. We'll be all the way on the East Coast, before they even know we passed Illinois!"

That definitely helped me calm down. I could feel myself relaxing, both from his words, and his gentle touch. "Thanks, Odd."

"Don't worry about it, Cat Girl!" he adopted a proud air. "I'm your knight in shining armor, after all! And I told you I'd make sure every single one of your dreams was sweet!"

"I guess it slipped through the cracks this time," I shrugged.

"Well… maybe I just had my back turned, and it snuck behind me! But it's not gonna happen a second time!"

"It's okay, Odd." I brought my lips to his forehead, kissing him. "You are so sweet to me…"

He chuckled, grinning as I did this. "They don't call me Odd the Sweet and Magnificent for nothing!"

"I'd take Odd the Great, the Brave, the Magnificent better. It may be too long to put on a cape or even on a chest emblem, but it feels nice," I smiled.

He wrapped his arms around me, and gave me a gentle kiss on the lips. "I like it, too. It's me, you know? It really fits."

"And it really does," I beamed, slightly buzzed from the kiss. He had that effect on me, and I believed I realized this when I did the same to him as he became too nervous to show his film to his parents. At first, I had other fish frying, so I had to push that sensation to the back burner.

"Now, why don't we try to go back to sleep?" he suggested next, slowly laying down on my bed next to me, the way he had been, before he woke me up.

I nodded, slowly reclining myself onto my back once more, before closing my eyes, and allowing myself to nod off.

"You had a nightmare last night?" Jeremie asked me the next morning.

"It was a very scary one, Einstein," I deadpanned, mental shield raised. "I'd rather not talk about it."

Aelita raised an eyebrow, seeming almost as if she was trying to make me laugh. "Did you dream about Jim?"

I chuckled. "That would slide things more into dream territory, Aelita… But no. Jimbo wasn't even in it."

Her eyebrow lowered. "If you don't feel comfortable talking about your nightmare, Cassidy, that's okay. I'm sure you and Odd dealt with it well, last night."

"You loved to divulge yours, Aelita, sweetheart," Sister interjected. "But you're right. It's not as if some soul-sucking monster would come back and try to put my dear sister in a coma again, right?"

"It's not even that level," I shook my head, pulling my knees to my chest. "It's not even connected to the vision I had last night."

"Well, whatever it is," Hunter jumped in, his face bearing a look of concern, "it sounds really terrible. Maybe it's better off that we don't know."

I nodded. "Thank you, Hunter."

"He's right," Aelita agreed. "Even though I did talk about most of my dreams, I don't think any of them came anywhere close to the one Cassidy had last night. Plus, she might not feel comfortable talking about them, as much as I do."

"Tienes razón, Aelita. I don't feel even close to being comfortable," I muttered.

Odd walked up to me, and put his arm around my bare shoulders. "Let's not worry about that now. How about we get some breakfast, first? I'm starving!"

Yumi nodded, chuckling. "That will help."

"A hot meal always helped me calm down," Patrick agreed.

All of us in agreement, we made our way to the kitchen, where Dr. Martinez was already hard at work, making something so chocolaty on the stove.

"Morning, everyone," she greeted. "Did you sleep well?"

"Most of us did, yes," Yumi commented with a smile, "but everything's cool."

Aelita nodded. "She's right."

"'Most of you?' Did something go wrong? Do I need to do a headcount?" she asked.

"No, Dr. Martinez," William reassured. "All twelve of us are here."

And sure enough, each one of us, even Kiwi, chimed in, in sequence, letting Max and Ella's mother know that William was right.

"That's good. But if it wasn't that, what happened?"

"Oh, one of us just had a nightmare, that's all," Odd explained, succinctly, with his arm around me, "but it's cool."

"Well, that's alright. Everything's almost ready," she grinned.

"Faaaan-tastic!" my wildcard exclaimed, as he walked up next to Dr. Martinez, looking at the pancake in the pan she was holding. "Ooh! Chocolate chips! Cat Girl will love it!"

"I loved Rosa's, so here may be no different," I giggled.

"Dr. Martinez is a good cook," Yumi complimented her. "Her breakfast from yesterday tasted good, too."

"No doubt about it!" Ulrich grinned, taking a seat beside his novia.

"After breakfast, I'm going to check the gauze on Cassidy's neck, then help her with a temporary shirt she can wear until she gets a new one," Dr. Martinez smiled. "I don't think she would love it if she had to wear the blanket all the way to Baltimore."

"We could just hit a clothing store, first," Sister suggested, "after we leave here, couldn't we?"

"That could work. We have a Walmart," Max noted. "Maybe we can find something there."

"Great!" Sister seemed a bit excited by that, as she walked over to me. "I'll help you shop for some new clothes, dear sister! That way, you'll look incredible, when we reach Baltimore!"

"Maybe something to match her hair colors," Kaitlyn smiled. "We can check out the options there."

"Nothing with uniform-like vertical, diagonal, or horizontal stripes, please," I grimaced. "I don't think I'll look good in those."

"Of course not!" Sister agreed, raising an eyebrow. "That'd be far too tacky, anyway. What you need is the perfect mix of brown and pink!"

"Are you kidding? A deep red might look better," Kaitlyn countered.

"Trust me, Kaitlyn sweetheart," Sister retorted, placing her hand on her chest, and closing her eyes with a proud smile on her face, "I have an eye for fashion, and brown would naturally complement pink in this situation. After all, look how wonderfully the extra strand of pink works with my dear sister's natural brown hair!"

"Uh…" I found myself at a slight loss for words; when was the last time Sister was this passionate about fashion, that she'd get into an argument with Kaitlyn? I wasn't expecting this at all.

That was when Yumi jumped in.

"Sissi, Kaitlyn, shouldn't we leave this up to Cassidy?" she walked in-between the two, glancing at Sister, then at Kaitlyn. "It is her we're buying this for, after all."

"Oh, that's right," Sister exclaimed.

"And maybe she's not ready for an entire wardrobe change just yet," my geisha friend continued. "I think you should talk to her first, before you start wanting to buy extra clothing."

"Plus, it's just a shirt," I muttered. "Not a fancy party dress."

Sister turned to look at me, an apologetic look gracing her features. "I thought you'd want something more than just a My Little Pony t-shirt," she explained.

"I understand, Sister. Really, I do, but I'm just wanting to replace my shirt that my wings destroyed," I blinked, suddenly getting an idea. "Maybe when we get back to Kadic, you can take me clothes shopping any day of the week."

That lifted her spirits. Her lips curved upward, and she clasped her hands together, interweaving her fingers. "Consider it a date! I'll make sure you turn the heads of all the boys at Kadic!"

"Yeah, sorry we got a bit carried away there, Cassidy," Kaitlyn apologized, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "We thought you wanted a second opinion."

"It's okay, and I wouldn't like all the attention, Sister. I mean, I have Odd…" I grimaced, the idea of having all of the boys after me making me feel queasy.

"Of course you do!" she grinned. "And imagine what he'd think, if he saw you in a wonderful new outfit!"

And that didn't help me either. The feelings welling up inside me, just from not only other boys' thoughts, but also Odd's, eventually came to a head, and I lost consciousness, falling out of the chair.

"Cassidy?" I heard Jeremie call my name, after what seemed like a long period of time.

My eyes slowly opened at the sound of his voice. "Uh…"

"You okay, Cat Girl?" Odd hovered over me, worry painting his face as he waved a magazine over me. "Sissi wasn't even complimenting you, and you went out faster than Nicholas' brain during a physics test!"

"I guess I was overwhelmed by the thought of getting boys' attention," I blushed.

Odd offered me his hand. "Well, don't worry about that. Because you've always got my attention, and that counts higher than the rest of them!"

Taking mi novio's hand, I heard Sister behind me, sounding worried. "Oh, I'm sorry, dear sister! I guess I really got caught up in the moment, and thought I was helping you feel better! I didn't know you were gonna faint like that!"

"It's okay. I appreciate the gesture, but I don't want to end up having some boy stealing me away from Odd because of my looks. Odd, he helped me back on my feet when William used my nickname against me. He even soothed the trauma of him kissing me in the elevator," I blinked. "He's special."

"Maybe you're right," Sister replied, slowly starting to cheer up, both from the look on her face, and the tone of her voice. "Odd is a very special boy, just like you said."

"Exactly. He made me laugh on his and my first day at Kadic," I giggled.

"I remember that day well!" Sister smiled, while in my mind, I could see her envisioning the hairstyle my wildcard had, before his first trip to Lyoko.

She then turned her gaze toward Samurai. "And I'm so glad you don't think of me as a braindead leech anymore, Ulrich, dear!"

"Y-yeah," Ulrich averted his gaze from my dear Sister, rubbing the back of his head out of embarrassment, with his cheeks heating up to match. "I guess I, uh… didn't… uh… know you as well as I… uh… do now."

"It's okay, Ulrich," I smiled. "Just like Sister, you are redeemed, as well."

Aelita found my grin contagious. "I don't think I could have said that any better, myself."

"I just hope to redeem myself one day," I muttered to myself.

As if she had borrowed Kiwi's hearing for a few seconds, one of Sister's eyes widened in surprise, as she turned to look at me. "Huh? 'Redeem yourself'? Whatever for, dear sister?"

"I attempted my life, tricked you, almost hurt you! The fun-loving side of myself hates that I tried to do that," I almost wailed.

Yumi folded her arms, giving me the sort of look a mother would give her child, when they did something they knew was wrong. "Cassidy, what have we told you about forgiving yourself? We shouldn't have to keep reminding you!"

"Besides, what are you even talking about?" Hunter folded his arms, but more out of confusion, rather than anger.

"I almost threw myself into the Digital Sea, Hunter," I confessed.

"Didn't we forgive you for that, already?" Yumi's voice calmed down, turning more soothing in an attempt to console me. "You really shouldn't let things like that bother you. You weren't thinking clearly when you nearly did that!"

Sister walked up to me, and gave my bare shoulders a soft, soothing, comforting rub. "You really shouldn't get all wound up over your mistakes, Sister dear. We've all truly forgiven you for every mistake you think you've made, and even though Hunter and Sam never saw what had happened, I'm sure they'd forgive you, too, if they had!"

Suddenly, it was as if a switch had been flipped within my brain, as my feelings of negativity disappeared in a flash, replaced with soothing, calming feelings, as if Sister was directly caressing my soul. My face slowly softened in reply, and a smile slowly began to bloom on the lower half of my face. "You're right, Sister. That was pretty stupid of me for thinking that way."

Yumi blinked, amazed at how quickly I had changed my tune. "That was fast. What made you change your mind all of a sudden?"

I tried not to shrug, still smiling. "I don't know! Sister just rubbed my shoulders, and all of a sudden, I felt better about that day."

Sister's eyes widened, as she pulled her hands away from me, and gazed at them, a look of pure disbelief overtaking her face. "Huh?! There's no way I could've—"

She immediately pressed her hands against her chest. "That couldn't have been me, could it?!"

"It might have, but I feel so much happier. My mind's been carrying that thing over myself for a month," I giggled.

Nearby, I could hear Jeremie's mind going into high gear, the blond genius placing his hand over his mouth, trying to figure out the best way to explain what had just happened. It was then that he got an idea.

"Sissi," he raised his right index finger into the air, as if he was hoping a teacher would call on him for an answer, while he glanced over at her. "Come over here for a second."

She curiously approached, as he continued. "I'm going to think about a terrible mistake I made, and let the guilt consume me. I want you to place your hand on any part of me—arms, shoulders, hands, even sides, just not… anywhere below there—and if I'm right, all the guilt within me will mysteriously disappear."

"Don't hurt yourself, Jeremie, dear," Sister warned him, getting concerned just by his plan alone. She soon interwove her fingers together, waiting patiently for him to be ready.

My eyes widened as I listened to the thought Jeremie immediately brought to the front of his mind's eye; it was the day he materialized Aelita for the first time, and how he had accidentally grabbed the wrong CD, launching Odd's homemade music video for his song, "Break Break Break Dance", instead of "Code: Earth". He closed his eyes as his curious look faded into one of guilt, allowing himself to wallow in the feelings he had that day, of the terrible mistake he made. It almost cultivated concern within me, when I noticed how it was making him feel.

"Okay, Sissi." His voice had lowered to match the feelings he gave himself. "You can touch me, now."

Sister wasted no time reaching out, gently placing the palm of her hand atop Einstein's shoulder, staring at him curiously to see if anything would happen.

Sure enough, it did; Jeremie felt a mysterious force well up within him, destroying his self-inflicted guilt like Ulrich slicing through a few Bloks on a mission to Lyoko. His own eyes widened at the feelings this gave him, his guilt-ridden frown slowly reversing, as happiness and excitement filled him.

"Sissi…!" He was excited, amazed, and dumbfounded, all at the same time. "You're the greatest!"

She pulled her hands away from the blond genius, giving them another flabbergasted once-over. "But how did—?! I'm… have I…?!"

"I've always told you, Sissi, that you'd make an excellent nurse," Ulrich smiled.

"Um—uh… well, uh… duh—duh…" She now found herself at a loss for words; if she had been me, she probably would have fainted on the spot. "Ummm… uh… t-thanks, I… guess…?"

Sensing the potential for my sister to have an overload, Jeb stepped in. "Okay, okay, let's calm down and give her some room. We don't want her to have too much excitement, just in case."

"I'm proud of her, Jeb," I giggled once more, moving out of the way.

"I think it's safe to say we all are," Jeb agreed. "Those scientists must have done quite a few things to the twelve of you, before your out-of-body experiences began. In any event, I think we've got a healer on our hands."

Sister stared, wide-eyed, at Max and Ari's father. "But… but… why me?! What else did they do to me?!"

"Telepathy, for one thing," Aelita pointed out. "I know that most of us have it, but you do, too…"

It was if she was seconds from becoming a broken record. "But… but… but… but…"

"I'm not ashamed of my gifts, Sister," I smiled, feeling on top of the world. "Neither should you."

Before another round of "buts" were let loose, Jeb approached Sister, giving her a soft, gentle back rub, caressing in-between her wings. "Don't worry, Sissi. It's not the end of the world if you find you've got powers. Look at Cassidy. Like she said, she's had powers like these for a long time, and she's certainly not ashamed of them."

"At first I was ashamed of mind-reading, but that faded with time," I blinked, still feeling a great flame within my heart that I hadn't felt in a long time.

"I'm sure they'll take some getting used to," Jeb continued, and I could tell he was using my earlier experience with mi novio as an example, "but with time, I'm sure they'll become like second nature to you, like you've had them all along. You can use them for good, or for bad. It's purely up to you."

Sister closed her eyes, taking a deep, cleansing breath before reopening them again. "M-maybe you're right, Jeb. I-I've helped my dear sister and Jeremie so far… maybe I can be helpful to others, as well…?"

"Yes, Sister," I smiled. "You got rid of the anvil over my own psyche. I swear, I was having a hard time getting rid of it on my own."

"At least we found one way that helped you," Yumi admitted, thinking about the pep talk she gave me, back in the School. "But if it was still bugging you, Aelita and I could have tried to help."

"I guess I was afraid of getting slapped again," I blushed.

Odd was slightly surprised by the memory of Yumi's tactic. "You've never used your hands to talk things out, Yumi!"

"You remember, Odd!" she interjected. "She was starting to get frantic, so I had to stop her, somehow! But I probably should have come up with a better way to do it."

Hunter shrugged, something I wished I could still do, as he extended his arms outward, perpendicular to his sides. "Well, I mean… it looked like it worked… even though I thought you were usually more diplomatic than that?"

"I was acting like a maniac," I lowered my head slightly, but kept my sun-shining smile.

"But it's all out of the way, now," Aelita soothed, smiling at Yumi, Sister, Hunter, Odd, and I. "And with Sissi having healing powers now, you don't have to worry about feeling terrible ever again, Cassidy. None of us do."

"I feel so much better. The weight on my psyche is gone, and I don't feel like I hurt anyone." I galloped laps around mi novio and Jeremie.

"That's great!" Jeremie grinned, trying to avoid watching me, so he didn't get dizzy. "I just hope you don't ever get into a position where you'll make yourself feel terrible like that, ever again."

"Oh, I hope not, either, Einstein! That was bad… I couldn't feel my Pinkie Pie side of my personality anymore because of that massive boulder in my way," I giggled.

Confusion overtook Aelita's face as she raised an eyebrow. "Who's Pinkie Pie?"

Stopping in my tracks, I smiled. "Hold that thought." I rushed over to my pony plush pile, and scooped up a pink pony with a darker pink mane and tail with three balloons on her flanks as a cutie mark. "This is Pinkie Pie!"

Aelita's eyes lit up like a little girl when she beheld the pony. "Wow! So that's who you were talking about, that day in gym class!"

"I watched the fourth episode the night before," I admitted. "I guess I ended up slightly out of it to the point where Applejack's line got into my brain." With another hand, I brought up an orange pony with a light blond mane and tail tied off at the ends with three apples on her flank wearing a Stetson.

Even Yumi grinned when she saw Applejack. "She's cute!"

"I still can't believe that I got you confused, Aelita."

"It's…" she hesitated a bit, almost as if she had to think of what she wanted to say, next. "It's no problem. It's been a while since you last showed it to me, and with everything else, I might have forgotten."

"It's okay, Aelita. I'm just glad that we are soon to be at Kadic," I grinned.

Jeremie nodded. "Once we reach Baltimore, Maryland, we shouldn't have to worry about anything else, as we sail back to France."

"That's good, Jeremie. I can't wait to see Hiroki again," Yumi grinned.

"And after this crazy adventure," Hunter added, slowly beginning to smile, "I can't wait to see my aunt and uncle again, so they can enroll me into Kadic. It's gonna be so cool, going to the same school as you guys!"

"Yeah, it will," I beamed. "We have to show you around."

"Yes, we certainly will!" Sister turned a proud grin on Hunter. "And we'll make sure that your first day at Kadic Academy will be one to remember! I'll personally see to that, especially if I can get my father to listen to me!"

"You have a persuasive voice," Patrick smiled.

She closed her eyes, not losing her grin. "Why thank you, Patrick dear! But even if I convince the principal, my father, that superheroes like us need a bit of on-demand spa time, there's someone in this room who I might have to pay some personal attention to, to make sure they take advantage of it!"

"Who would that be?" Aelita asked.

She extended her hand in Hunter's direction, causing the black-haired boy to grimace, and I could tell it confirmed his fears. "Why, Hunter dear, of course! My dear sister told me all about it! If we get a whirlpool bath added to Lyoko HQ, I can tell you for a fact that he will never use it! So I'm going to make sure he does, by sharing mine with him, every morning!"

Hunter's eyes widened, and it reminded me of a similar situation, back at the School; this made perfect sense, as this was where I told Sister about his aversion to baths. "Um… uh… I mean… if you want to… but uh…"

Sister's gaze turned mischievous. "What's the matter, Hunter dear? You're not afraid of seeing me naked, or me seeing you naked, are you?"

The black-haired boy's eyes returned to normal, his eyebrows lowering slightly as he folded his arms, seeming to have better control over his speech. "N-no, I don't have any problems being seen naked, or seeing anyone else naked, boy or girl, as long as they're okay with being seen that way. I was naked a lot when I was younger, sometimes for days on end, before and after a bath! No, I just don't want to take a bath, or share one with anyone!"

"But, Hunter dear!" Sister's expression didn't change at all. "You can't be afraid to take a bath! Everyone has to! Everyone else in this room takes a bath, if not a shower, at least once every day! We'll both get our full-body wipes, rubs, and massages together, and I might even help them wipe, rub, and massage you! Then, once we get into the whirlpool bath, I'll help them wash every inch of you, softly, slowly, soothingly, thoroughly, and invigoratingly, just like Georgina would! That's how I used to wash myself, and to show you that you shouldn't be afraid of bathing, especially not with friends, that's how I'll wash you, too. Every single morning!"

She then began to circle Hunter, speaking in a more relaxed, coaxing tone, as if adding the piece de resistance. "And you know how you think your skin feels slimy, after you've been washed, no matter how soothingly and thoroughly someone wipes your body after a bath? Well, I've got enough bottles of bath soap in my collection, so I'm sure we can find one of them that'll make your skin not feel like that, any more! Besides, my dear sister also told me how you feel, once you're in the water, and someone starts to wash you, and how you don't want to get out, after that! You should keep that in mind, even though I'll make sure we both get every inch of our bodies soothingly and thoroughly wiped after we get out, as well as soft, slow, towel rubs! You and I deserve to be pampered as much as the rest of us!"

I'd be lying if I told you he wasn't at least considering that. I could hear him running through a few possibilities in his mind, part of him thinking it was a great idea, while the other part was shutting it down almost instantly, on the grounds that "regardless, it's still a bath." I could tell Sister was reading his mind, too; apparently the truth that his thoughts were no longer private hadn't sank into his mind yet, and I didn't know if he had a mental shield like I did. Either way, Sister saw him playing right into her hands, and sought to convince the side of him that agreed with her, to overthrow the other side.

In the meantime, I could hear Aelita's mind abuzz over the thoughts of how many different bottles of bath soap Sister had, and wondering if one would suit her as well. She ended up stealing a glance at her blond-haired knight-in-glasses, and her thoughts soon turned to the possibility of treating him to a warm, soothing, thorough, and invigorating team bath with her, once they got back to Kadic.

My silent mind-reading didn't go unnoticed, though, as I soon heard a voice, tugging me out of my thoughts.

"You've been quiet, Cassidy," Patrick noted. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just trying not to get caught up in the tide of everyone's mind-conversations," I giggled.

"I know what you mean!" Kiwi barked, eliciting a gasp from me when I realized what he meant. "Everyone's minds are going around and around in circles! My poor little brain can't keep up!"

"Oh, Kiwi… You must be having telepathy, too!" I smiled at him.

I knew those words soon wafted into Odd's ears, as mi novio whirled around, his face first showing surprise, before it magically morphed into excitement. "That's fantastic! My little diggity-dog has become a psychic, just like you, Cat Girl! Wow…!"

The dog ran up to his master, stopping at his feet, and raising a paw, as if he wanted to shake hands—er, paws. "I don't know about being a psychic like Cassidy, but I know I can sure read minds! And I think it's a bit too much for me!"

"It's a 'getting used to' kinda thing. I swear it was weird to hear every animal's mind, too. All the squirrels wanted to find their nuts, birds—ugh…" Just the memory of the crows' thoughts sent a shiver up and down my spine.

"Don't think about it, Cat Girl," Odd reassured.

The sudden announcement of Kiwi becoming telepathic even froze Sister and Hunter in mid-proposition, the former snob standing behind the black-haired boy with her arms wrapped around him, as if she was pulling out the big guns, to convince him. The two adopted surprised looks, and I could hear Hunter mentally thanking me for the distraction, as they turned their attention toward Odd's diggity-dog.

"Surprise," Kiwi said meekly.

"K-Kiwi… too?!" Hunter stuttered out. "Wow… okiday, now I think I've seen and heard everything…"

"Even in that monster?" I asked.

He rubbed the back of his head, as Sister reached up to comb his hair with her fingers. "Well, when you put it that way… yeah, now I'm stumped."

"I still hope that my nightmare doesn't come true…" I commented suddenly, starting to tremble. Thinking of the monster only made me think of the whitecoats with my mental shield raised, and one in particular that probably had a personal vendetta against me.

Luckily, Jeb was there to come to my rescue, as he put an arm around me, and began to softly rub my back, between my wings. "Why don't we relax a bit? We probably shouldn't tell the others what's worrying you just yet, at least until you feel more comfortable telling them," he whispered to me.

I nodded, taking a deep, relaxing breath. "Thanks, Jeb."

Sister looked over at me, her look of surprise being replaced by one of worry, before she walked over to me. "What's wrong, dear sister? Is that nightmare still bothering you?"

"Don't worry, Sissi," Jeb tried to soothe her, calmly. "Everything's okay. Cassidy will tell you what's going on when she's ready to."

I nodded. "Besides, I'm not ready yet."

Soon it was time for breakfast. Dr. Martinez brought out three heaping plates of chocolate-chip pancakes, along with a couple jugs of maple syrup, and enough empty plates, knives and forks for the rest of us to dig in. As usual, Odd wasted no time drawing first from one pile, and I know he would have taken the entire stack, had we not been there to stop him. I managed to get at least six of my own, hoping that eating them would help calm me further. If the thought of my nightmare was bugging me this much, I could only imagine how much more pain it would put my friends through, should they find out before I was ready to tell them.

Soon, we had devoured the pile of pancakes, and the next order of business for me, was to let Dr. Martinez check her incision site. Squeezing my eyes closed as she worked, Max and Ella's mom had gently removed the surgical tape that held the gauze in place, and her eyes widened when she noticed the remains of the spot on my neck.

"Well, this is a nice surprise," she commented, confusion in her voice.

"Is it infected?!" I squeaked, scared of what I would see.

"Thankfully, no," Dr. Martinez replied, happiness slowly entering her tone. "It's actually healed up completely. In fact, it's healed up so much, that I can't even tell I made an incision."

There was a collective of gasps all around the room, mainly positive ones, while mi novio raised his arms into the air, triumphantly.

"I always knew you were special, Cat Girl!" he exclaimed.

"How could it have healed up that fast?" Jeremie was dumbfounded.

"I think I know why," Yumi pointed out. "Cassidy, do you remember the first and second books?"

"How could I not?" I blinked, remembering when Max got clipped by a bullet in The Angel Experiment. "The Flock's healing rate is faster than a…regular…human…being…"

Odd's eyes widened. "Huh?! You mean to tell us that we can heal faster than normal?!"

I lowered my head. "It seems that way, Novio…"

His features slowly rearranged themselves into a look of curiosity. "So that means, that if I wanna learn how to fly, and I run into a tree, it'll only hurt for a few seconds?"

"Not really. It might break a bone or two," Max shook her head. "We had experiences with accidentally running into a tree. It's not recommended."

"Besides, we have a new order of business," Fang nodded.

"We need to get you all home," Gazzy added.

"You're right, guys," I agreed. "Besides, we are a long, long way from home."

"But you'll be back there before you know it," Jeb added. "You guys have plotted out all the stops you wanted to make, aside from hotels, so unless there's anything you want to do beforehand to prepare, we can head out, whenever you're ready."

"We can stay an extra day," Kaitlyn brought up.

"If that's what everyone wants to do," Dr. Martinez offered, "then I don't see why not."

There was a mixture of spoken affirmatives, head nods and shrugs, but the general consensus was positive, and we all decided we would stay another day at Dr. Martinez's house.

"So, what'll we do for an extra day?" Ulrich was confused, as he stretched out his arms.

"We can always admire our new wings," Sister suggested.

I pursed my lips at that thought. "That could work, but may I have that shirt, Dr. Martinez?"

Max's and Ella's mother nodded, before heading for the hallway. "Certainly. Let me go get it for you."

"Thanks."

While I waited, Odd grinned at me, before randomly reciting something in a voice of mock-surprise. "My head! It's turned into a tomato!"

I was reminded of one of the non-sequiturs I spouted, not-so-positively, but it still made me laugh. "Oh, come off it, Odd…"

Even Ulrich picked up on this, the German-named boy adopting a mischievous grin. "Great! Now you can go play soccer west of Scotland!"

That one struck Odd's funny bone, as he started to chuckle. "Maybe I'll be the Most Valuable Player! Or we might have to play a… ketchup game!"

"Oh… I'll never live that down…" I moaned, feeling as though I had dug my own grave a bit sooner than I had wanted to.

Yumi quickly picked up on this, as she walked over to Ulrich and Odd.

"Okay, you two," she commented, folding her arms with a calm grin on her face. "I think that's enough tomato heads for one day."

Odd glanced over at me, surprised that I didn't find it funny. "Yeah… maybe you're right."

He then suddenly turned around and, in a flash, adopted a malevolent grin as he faced Ulrich. "But I think we know someone who looks pretty when their teeth sparkle, right, good buddy?"

Immediately, Ulrich's calm face morphed into a scowl. "Odd!"

Feeling at least slightly victorious for having gotten mi novio and Samurai onto another topic, Yumi slowly approached me, before placing her hands on my shoulders.

"Don't worry," she soothed, bringing her face near mine, a calming, reassuring look on hers. "You know they're only playing around. They'd never do or say anything that would push you over the edge."

"That's right, but still. I feel so danged stupid for saying such a thing," I muttered.

"You were half-awake, though." My geisha friend started to softly rub my bare shoulders. "You really need to start forgiving yourself for things that are out of your control. It's not like you could've suddenly snapped back to attention, in your right mind."

"That's true, I wasn't in control even when the whitecoats had ambushed us. As for what I said in the chopper, I think they won't let me live it down. I have forgiven myself for saying that, but someone brought it over my head—"

"Boys will be boys," she soothed.

"Hiding in estrogen and wearing Aubergine dreams…?" I giggled.

She raised an eyebrow. "Huh?" But it didn't take her long, and soon she was laughing along with me.

"Hey, you reminded me, Yumi. Plus that one day my plan worked hit me," I chuckled.

Another voice soon joined us.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" It was Aelita, who had overheard our conversation, and walked over to see what was going on.

"Oh, Odd is ragging on Ulrich, and I waxed lyrical to Yumi," I recapped.

Her grin was soon complimented with a few chuckles. "Sounds like everything's going just fine to me."

"Yes, Aelita," Jeremie smiled, amused by the routines.

As the six of us continued our conversations, William walked over toward Jeremie, Aelita, Yumi, and I.

"I bet Odd's gonna win," he exhumed with a grin. "He's always got the upper hand over Ulrich."

"How can you tell?" I asked.

"It's easy." He turned his glance on me. "Ulrich looks like he's looking down at the carpet, a sure sign he can't think of anything, while Odd looks confident. He's got a few tricks up his sleeves, even if Ulrich manages a comeback."

"Hey, at least he doesn't have to worry about Yumi in the conversation, right, Ex-y?"

"That's probably one of Odd's backup plans." He folded his arms, his grin increasing.

"Of course Odd's got it under control!" An excited-sounding, slightly deep, feminine voice soon joined us, belonging to Sam. "He's always got things like this under control!"

"Ooh, boy. This is gonna be good!" I giggled softly.

But of course, there had to be someone taking the other side, and today, Patrick happened to be that someone, as he walked up to us, next. "Nah, Ulrich's just biding his time. He'll let Odd think he's winning, and then come back with an uppercut. I've seen him in these situations. He's like Rocky Balboa."

"But Odd wins, Patrick," Aelita smirked. "My 'cousin's' got this all figured out."

He slowly gained a grin of his own, as he raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"

"Wanna take bets?" I countered, an equally mischievous beam of my own growing on my face. "Within reason wagers, of course."

Next, Sister approached, folding her arms in worry. "Oh, no! I remember last time you took wagers, sister dear! It never ends well!"

"Hey, the bet was that I had to speak Spanish for 24 hours, even if we returned back in time," I blinked. "That was the last time I took wagers."

She wasn't convinced. "But all that's going to do is keep Ulrich and Odd going!"

I sighed, feeling defeat within my grasp. "Way to burst a bubble, Sister."

"Oh, alright, fine!" she replied, folding her arms angrily. "It was for your own good, my dear sister! But if you think you've got a better idea…"

In no time at all, nearly everyone had made a bet, on who would outsmart the other. Of course, shortly after all of the bets were taken, to almost nobody's surprise, Odd won.

"I win!" I giggled. "I said that he would win within the time it took to make the bets."

William sighed, admitting defeat, even though I knew he sometimes didn't take it very gracefully. "Alright, you win… but I'll bet it was your psychic powers that told you exactly when to bet!"

That's when Sister came up to William, looking a bit upset. "Hey, if my sister won fair and square, there's no need to point fingers, William dear!"

"Actually, Ex-y, I kept my powers out of the betting. Gotta keep the playing field clean, after all. I just ran on good ole female intuition," I smiled, in a way that would make the clone of Jeremie in that simulation bubble cry.

"At least it was right this time," William added with a chuckle.

"Again, wasn't there when Odd—"

"Okay! Don't worry, Cassidy," Yumi smiled. "Just be glad that you won."

And that was when Odd overheard, as he walked over to us. "Won? What'd you win, Cat Girl?"

"Another bet, as usual," I giggled.

"This is her fifth bet won," Jeremie noted.

"Not consecutively."

"That's great!" Odd folded his arms, closed his eyes, and grinned widely. "And I'll bet I won it for you, too!"

I grinned. "Yep. Plus you were great. You had Ulrich on the run."

Ulrich walked over, his arms folded. "Only 'cause he caught me off-guard. I thought I had him, and then he comes back at me with Yumi, of all—I—I— mean… you'd think he'd… come up with a better tactic than that."

"I don't know… Secret weapons are hard to come by," Aelita smirked.

"He's lucky you're untouchable, Cassidy," he lamented. "I can't get him back with that."

"Yeah, if you drag me into another bet against my will, you know how I'll choose my revenge," I grinned.

Ulrich growled. He remembered how he had beaten me at a bet, but made such a royal screw-up afterward, that I decided to change the rules. Instead of me doing what he wanted, he had to do what I wanted, within reason. "Remember what I said about too much throttle?!"

"I might crash, but that was when Jeremie used that program, silly," I chuckled.

Nearby, we could hear Jeremie chuckling as he walked over to us. "Whatever! Let's just try to focus on something else now, okay?"

"That sounds like a good idea, Einstein," Odd agreed.

"Now that we've got all this extra time on our hands," Aelita added, coming up next to her blond-haired beloved, "I wonder how we can use it."

"I don't know." I raised my shoulders, feeling a slight twinge shoot from my neck. "Ow…"

Just as I felt the pain, Dr. Martinez returned with the t-shirt.

"I've got the t-shirt, if you want to—" She halted as she noticed my reaction. "Cassidy, are you alright?"

"Just my neck hurting from the procedure, but nothing major, unless it's a phantom pain."

Jeremie looked over at me, worry crossing his features. "But how can you still feel pain from your neck operation, if your body completely healed the wound?"

"I'm not sure…" Dr. Martinez approached me with the shirt in her hand. "It could be, as Cassidy suggested, merely a 'phantom pain', but it baffles me as well, Jeremie."

"Or, Valencia, since it's been a day, Cassidy could have a high physical pain threshold," Jeb theorized.

"You might be right, Jeb," Dr. Martinez agreed, as she took another look at the spot where she had made the incision. "You are quite a mysterious girl, Cassidy, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised by this."

"I have been a bit of an enigma since I moved to Kadic. Psychic powers, a monster I unleashed, a coma, deactivating a tower in a weird Replika, having it explode with me in it, being found alive, a new room, finding out the truth, an assembly, XANA being weakened, a celebration, being kidnapped afterward, smuggled here, tested, chipped, experimented on, new powers for all my friends—I'm not sure who I am sometimes," I grimaced.

"But you're not just any enigma," Odd jumped in as he walked over to me, putting his arm around my back, "you're our enigma! And we couldn't do without you, Cat Girl!"

"That's right!" Yumi agreed, giving me a thumbs-up.

"And you've got incredible friends, who have been with you through every second of it," Dr. Martinez pointed out, smiling warmly at me as she gently slid the shirt over my head and arms.

"Thanks, Dr. Martinez," I smiled. "And thank you, Odd and Yumi!"

"Personally," Jeremie felt it was necessary to add his two Euros, "I think you, Cassidy, are a very interesting person, and without you, I don't think I could've gotten very far on my own. Your psychic powers and abilities have, except for a few special occasions, always come in handy, and no matter what any of us think, we wouldn't want you any other way."

"A few special occasions?" I asked curiously, not getting mad.

"Well, uh…" Even if I hadn't gotten mad at him, he still hesitated, adopting a sheepish grin as he continued. "Remember that time when, uh… you guys went for that trial run in the Skid? How it, uh… took us a few tries… to get my CD-R that had the Skid's programs on it?"

"Yeah, I swear, my powers were weak then," I blushed.

Einstein changed to waving his hands in front of his chest, fearing that I was going to feel terrible about that. "But nobody blames you for that, don't worry."

"Hey, you got the program and saved us, Einstein, even if the only one who would believe your high-wire act is me," I giggled.

Odd started chuckling as well. "How did I know I was gonna get that right!"

"I didn't even ruin that moment," I cackled.

"Hey, I was surprised by that, too!" Jeremie reminded Odd and I. "It was almost like your Future Flash came back for a moment!"

"It almost seemed that way, didn't it," I smiled, before my face gradually drooped. "I ran through my vision notes, finding no other Future Flash moments after that… time with… the l-laughing gas…"

"But if he's got telepathy, like most of us have," William added, "he'll have something better than Future Flash, won't he?"

Yumi looked at him, lowering her eyebrows slightly. "It doesn't work like that, William. Telepathy is one power, but he's not a psychic, like Cassidy."

I shivered, whimpering as I lowered my mental shield. Uh… c-comfort, please?

Yumi's eyes widened as she whirled around, wondering why this had suddenly come about, before walking over and embracing me in a warm, comforting hug. "What's wrong, Cassidy?"

"She's probably still got chills over the laughing gas incident," Odd suggested, making an incredibly good guess as he walked closer to me, as well. "Poor Cat Girl, it left a really deep scar."

Yumi snuggled me closer, softly and slowly rubbing my back, between my wings. "XANA pulled a terrible one on her, that day."

I nodded, hugging her back. "I'm never getting my wisdom teeth taken out ever!"

"You shouldn't have to," Jeremie tried to reassure me. "And that incident was out of your control, as well."

"I don't blame m-myself for that one… It scared me, Einstein! Even Aelita c-couldn't reason with me because I was so far out of it!" I rambled.

"It scared me, too, Cassidy." Jeremie began to grimace. "It chased me throughout the sewers underneath the factory. I had to jump into the water, just to finally avoid it."

"I was amazed it interfered with yours and Odd's virtualization sequences," Aelita commented, looking concerned for me as well. "XANA thought he could stop us, by incapacitating the two of you, but Future Flash really came in handy that day."

"Yes, thank goodness for Odd," I whimpered, trembling hard.

Feeling my shaking increase, Yumi snuggled me closer to her body, slowed down her soft, gentle back rubs, and leaned closer to my ear, cooing softly. "There… you're okay, Cassidy. XANA's never going to use that same attack on us a second time. You won't have to worry about it ever again."

That slowly calmed me right down, as I let her soft, slow back rubs finish the job. Did I mention I love how warm, kind, and sisterly Yumi was? "Thanks, Yumi…"

"She's right, though," Kaitlyn agreed, remembering something she had seen via the monster. "XANA never uses the same attack twice. That was a few years ago. If he was gonna do a bigger-scale version of that, he would've done it already."

"Yeah, those wounds kinda run deep. I'm just glad I didn't have a false vision of you, Hunter, Sam, Kiwi, or Patrick," I giggled sheepishly.

"Well, if it was Kiwi or me," Sam jumped in, trying to calm me down, or keep the mood light-hearted, "at least you would have had something to go on, as you probably wouldn't have known about Hunter, Patrick or Kaitlyn."

"I only knew Patrick a short time before a strange circumstance occurred," I blinked. "Even he doesn't know what had happened. In one of my vision journals, he went away because his parents wanted him at a school closer to home."

"That's why I'm glad that was only in the first timeline," Patrick lamented, smiling. "In our timeline, I'm still at Kadic with my cousins. I don't think I would've ever had adventures like this at another school."

"And the one thing I don't understand," Hunter added, sounding and looking confused, "is why Mr. Delmas showed up to tell Patrick he wouldn't be staying, after the Return to the Past, rather than before it. If what I've seen about time rewinds is true, and when time is reversed, everything happens exactly the same way, unless someone such as us, who knows that time was reversed, or XANA, acts to change it… wouldn't it have meant that he wasn't going to be enrolled into Kadic, anyway?"

"It baffled me to no end, too, Hunter. When I saw Patrick staying longer than the foosball tournament, I was pleasantly shocked. I asked Jeremie about it, but all I got from him was that Patrick was at Kadic to stay. It blew my mind but brought a smile to my face."

"At the time," Jeremie tried to explain, "I had no idea that Patrick actually wasn't going to be enrolled. I just accepted the sequence of events as normal. It was when I saw the monster, that I started to understand. But you're right, Hunter and Cassidy. The original timeline makes absolutely no sense, whatsoever. If Patrick's parents were going to cancel his enrollment, it would have happened after everyone left my room, to head to the rec room, or while Aelita was trying to knock some sense into me."

"And you made peace with me quicker, the second time around," Patrick admitted, smiling at his male cousin, "than the first time. And that was thanks to Cassidy."

I grinned, a sheepish blush flooding my cheeks. "All I did was use some psychology lessons. I'm not very good, I have to admit, but it helped him."

"I think you're better than you say you are." Aelita gave me a knowing grin. "But I'm sure I would have felt terrible, if I had to yell at Jeremie."

"Well, you, uh…" The thought was even making Jeremie slightly uncomfortable, from the looks of things. "You probably had a… really good reason to?"

Sam folded her arms, a mischievous grin overtaking her features. "Nah, all she had to do was kiss you!"

"That could've worked," I giggled.

Jeremie turned his eyes toward a wall, his cheeks slowly gaining a pinkish tint in the process. "I… don't know if you would've had to go… that far…"

Aelita smiled with a slight hint of mischief. "Only if you wouldn't listen to reason. You were acting silly that day, anyway."

I blinked. "I'm just glad my speech ended up doing some good."

Einstein slowly nodded, using what I said as a diversion to try and get his head back on straight. "Y-you're right. It certainly came in handy that day."

"I don't know if I need more work on it."

He held his hand out partway, twitching it slightly. "Maybe a little bit… but you certainly got your point across, and we understood you, anyway."

"Anyways," Odd suddenly jumped in, "why don't we find something fun to do? Do you wanna go clothes shopping, Cat Girl? Or is there something else you wanna do?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "That would be lovely."

"We can go to that Walmart place," Sister suggested, a grin blossoming across the lower part of her face, "or whatever it's called, and I'll find you five or six shirts from My Little Pony, so you can have your own mini wardrobe!"

"You got it right on the nose," I giggled.

"Do we all need to go shopping?" Ulrich inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Just four of you can go as Cassidy's protection," Jeremie smiled.

"I volunteer!" Odd exclaimed, raising his hand.

"I'll go, too," Aelita offered, beaming warmly.

"You might as well count me in," Yumi added with a similar grin.

"I know I wouldn't pass up an opportunity to go clothes-shopping with you, dear sister!" Sister chimed in, making herself the fourth accomplice.

"Thanks, everyone," I giggled.

"And we could take care of a few things here," Patrick suggested, even though he looked as if he wasn't sure what those few things would be.

"Maybe we could pick up a laptop for Jeremie," Aelita suggested. "Just in case XANA decides to pull something, before we get back to France."

"It's not every day you get separated from your equipment," Jeremie nodded.

"That's a great idea," Jeb agreed. "We can all head over to Walmart, and the rest of you can browse the computer section. You're bound to find a good one there, but if not, there's a computer store in the same plaza."

"Jeremie, maybe you can come, too. You would want to find the perfect back-up, if you know what I mean," I grinned.

He nodded. "Of course. It would depend on the processing power. As long as I can find one with a processor as powerful as, or more powerful than, the one in my laptop, it should work perfectly. Piece of cake."

"Yeah, because I don't want to pick out a laptop and have you get all mad that we chose the wrong one. Ugh… the day that happens, it won't end well." I shuddered, putting a hand over my clothed chest.

"And I could help him, too," Hunter offered, raising his right index finger. "I'm not as good of a programmer as he is, but I love computers nearly as much, and I'd love to help him pick out one, even if it's just to see all the computers they have there. And then that computer store, next door…"

Ulrich turned to look at Hunter, a smile slowly growing on his face. "You're into computers, too? You and Einstein are bound to be best friends. You can probably even help him and Aelita with some of their projects."

Hunter turned to glance at Jeremie, his grin increasing. "I would love to help you write programs and things like that, Jeremie! When I saw the monster show me all the work you do, I was amazed, and even though I'm not as good of a programmer as you are, we both write in the same programming language, so hopefully I'll be of some help to you and Aelita."

"That'll depend on your skill," Jeremie replied, pushing his glasses up over the bridge of his nose. "When your aunt and uncle enroll you into Kadic, you'll have to show me some of the programs you've made, and we'll go from there."

"Einstein, Princess, Henri, and Hunter, working on programs day and night," Odd grinned. "They'll have to call you guys the 'Fantastic Four'!"

"Oh, no, if that happens, we'll have to figure out ways to get them to sleep," Ulrich chuckled.

Hunter chuckled a bit, as he shook his head. "Don't worry, I know my limits. I would love to do a few all-nighters, particularly on Saturday nights, but other than that, I'll be in bed at a reasonable hour. You won't have to trick me, or anything like that."

"You're like the opposite of my cousin," Kaitlyn giggled. "He pulls all-nighters all the time."

"That was before our abduction," Jeremie attempted to correct her, folding his arms. "Since we've been in the United States, I've gone to bed at a regular time, just like everyone else in this room."

"That's true, but you still talk in your sleep," Aelita pointed out, giggling. "You're very talkative. That must be what Cassidy meant when she threatened you with a pillow."

"Um…" Jeremie quickly turned his head away from his pink-haired girlfriend, the sides of his face sporting a rosy tint. "You're not gonna… make a big deal out of that… are you, Aelita?"

"Of course not," Aelita replied with a grin, before adding in her mind, despite the fact that almost everyone could hear it, at least not around everyone else. "You forget, Jeremie, that Cassidy talks in her sleep, as well."

He whirled back around, looking surprised. "So, why don't you threaten to hit her with a pillow, then?!"

Not to be outdone, Aelita folded her arms, adopting a mischievous, yet playful, grin. "Unlike yours, Jeremie, Cassidy's sound more amusing and harmless, than anything else."

"I still find the one with Kiwi trying to earn his saxophone license funny," Odd jumped in, chortling. "As well as the salamanders…"

The salamander reference caught me off-guard, as I turned a surprised gaze toward mi novio. "Huh?! What are you talking about?"

"The day Einstein tried to teach Ulrich, Yumi, and me how to run the Supercomputer. When I zapped Specter Gadget after he beat you and Yumi up, I laid you down next to Jeremie as you asked, after he got zapped, and you told me not to let the salamanders sing to me, but I can't remember why. Then, you brought it back up when you had a nightmare at the hospital."

"I guess he beat me senseless, and I tried to retain as much as I could before I blacked out," I blinked, feeling my cheeks heat up. "Along with Yumi, I was tossed around a lot."

"I've never seen XANA act that way before," Aelita admitted, worry crossing her features as we could hear her recall that day in her mind. "If Odd hadn't stepped in, I'm afraid of what more he would've done."

"Me, too. I still remember that I had to use an ice pack on my sore parts," I groaned.

"And I had burns on my chest," Jeremie lamented, the memory of that day not a particularly good one for him, either. "At least you came up with a believable lie for us to tell Yolanda."

"What else could I say without giving up the secret?" I blinked, before I suddenly remembered that I had already given away the secret, but long after that moment had come and gone.

"The only way I learned how to use the Supercomputer was through XANA," William jumped in with a neutral look on his face, hoping it would distract me from whatever guilt he thought I was feeling from my last statement. "I thought it'd be complicated at first, but after you guys saved me from his clutches, I kept that in my mind, and it feels like it's second nature, now."

"How hard is it to run the Supercomputer, Jeremie?" Patrick turned a skeptical gaze, complete with head-scratching, on his male cousin.

"To Einstein? It's not hard for him at all," Ulrich scoffed.

"You're right," Yumi added with a smile. "It is kinda complicated, and I've been able to figure it out a few times, but there's a lot stuff to remember."

"Even when I was able to, my powers were the ones that taught me a few things, but as time dragged on, I couldn't remember the 'Return to the Past' function to save my life," I blinked. "And I only ran the return trip once!"

"Me either!" Ulrich raised his hands up to shoulder level. "The only way I've ever been able to do it, is either with Jeremie's help over the phone, or from his notes. And finding something in his notes is like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"Anyway, we'll also get a few outfits for everyone else, too," Jeb smiled. "At least you won't have to use the same clothes every day."

Hunter shrugged. "I guess it's worth a try, so long as you don't surprise me with what you buy me."

"Yeah, we've been in the same outfits for a while," Sister agreed.

I nodded. "And even though I love Odd's pants, this fashion's getting old."

It only took Odd a few seconds to realize what I was referencing, and he started to chuckle. "Relax, Rarity. We'll get you a whole new wardrobe!"

I blushed at his reply. "Uh… um… y-you know I-I—"

Odd chuckled again, and soon his arms had surrounded me, giving me a warm, relaxing hug. "Don't worry, Cat Girl! I know you like Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle! I was just kidding, 'cause you were talking like Rarity!"

"Sorry. I got a bit nervous, I guess."

"Don't be! I'm just being silly!"

Jeb soon walked over, a smile on his face, as he started to softly rub my back, between my wings. "You don't have to worry, Cassidy. Everything is okay."

I smiled in reply, relaxing under Jeb's soft touch. "Thanks, guys."

"Don't sweat it, Cat Girl," Odd smiled.

Yumi added a warm smile of her own. "Besides, maybe a change of clothes will help us all relax, and feel better."

"Of course!" Sister grinned, closing her eyes before turning to look at Yumi, and reopening them. "And if I could give you some fashion advice, Yumi, darling, you could always stick with dark colors, but add something that gives you more of a warm, inviting appearance, rather than pushing people away. That way, you give off the right sort of image."

Yumi looked down at her shirt, before returning her gaze to Sister. "You know, Sissi, that's actually a good idea. Thank you."

"I do know that pink doesn't suit you at all, Yumi," I pointed out. "I am glad to have taken your place in the Kadic newspaper, but at the same time, that picture of you was just…just… your family probably had good intentions, I bet."

"It's okay, Cassidy," My geisha reassured me. "I didn't look good in that, either."

"That's why you'll never have to wear pink ever again, Yumi, darling," Sister reassured her with an equally convincing smile.

"Thank you, Sissi," she smiled.

"Why don't we all go?" Ulrich asked, shrugging.

"It's a good idea," Yumi agreed.

"Are you kidding?" Odd interjected, grinning. "I love the way I look! I don't need any new clothes!"

"I'm with Odd," William agreed. "We all look fine, the way we are. You just wanted to get a shirt for Cass? Well, just get a shirt for Cass. We don't have to go around changing everyone's wardrobe, just because somebody needs a new shirt."

"I would love to pick something up for Tutu," Kiwi woofed.

Jeremie's eyes widened, the blond genius gritting his teeth slightly, before allowing himself to relax. Odd's dog talking like a human shouldn't keep bothering me… why aren't I used to it by now?

"You've been used to me barking for a long time," he grinned.

Einstein's eyes widened, again, and I couldn't help but giggle a bit at his thoughts, now. Ugh...why can't I get used to him reading my thoughts, either?!

I gritted my teeth, hissing my laughter through them.

He whirled around, noticing the sound I was making, and sent a slight glare in my direction. "I know! Everyone in this room can read my thoughts, almost! You don't have to rub it in!"

But I wasn't rubbing it in; at least, I wasn't trying to. Jeremie didn't see that, though, and it made me feel terrible. I immediately stopped laughing, my head bowing forward in shame.

His eyes widened, my reaction sending the memory of Dr. Chantal's apology, from when we were in the hospital, in front of his mind's eye. He gently cupped my chin and lifted my head to his level. "Cassidy, hey!"

"I-I wasn't trying to—"

"I was being an idiot, okay?" He continued, cutting me off. "I'm still not used to Kiwi just talking to me like a human. Yes, it's more tolerable than his constant barking, but part of me hasn't adjusted fully. I didn't mean to yell at you."

"I just wasn't rubbing it in. I was just thinking it was humorous," I blinked, letting myself slowly calm down.

"I guess in some ways, it can be pretty funny," he admitted.

A grin overtook Odd's face, as he knelt down to rub Kiwi's belly. "That's my special diggity-dog!"

"That's right, Odd, Master," Kiwi smiled, kicking his hind leg.

So, despite a few objections, we decided to all go to Walmart anyway. It didn't take us long to hop into the van with Ari and Georgina, and we soon drove off. Once we arrived, no matter anyone's objections, Sister helped everyone pick out a new outfit, keeping in the spirit of their existing outfits' color schemes. We all figured we'd change into them the next day, before we started off on our journey. After everyone had chosen clothing, Jeremie, Aelita and Hunter immediately went over to the electronics section, where it took Einstein nearly a half-hour to find a good temporary laptop. After Odd, William, Sam, Patrick, Kaitlyn, and I looked through the music section, while the three computer techies were in the electronics section, we paid for our purchases and headed back to Dr. Martinez's house. After a day of fun and planning, Georgina gave all twelve of us slow, soothing, refreshing, and invigorating full-body wipes, rubs, and massages before we all turned in for the night. We made sure to get an early start, to save time.

Tomorrow would be the journey back to Kadic, and we all hoped that it would be smooth sailing from here on in.