Code Lyoko: Afterwards Chapter 7: The rough night, a code lyoko fanfic

Author's note: This is the longest chapter to date and it isn't even everything I had planned to cram in. So here's Friday night and Saturday will be posted as chapter 8, when it gets finished. Hope everyone finds this worth the wait and sorry it took so long to update.

I'm still accepting suggestions for names for Ulrich's parents. Current front runners: Henrich and Anna stern from Sexylyokofan.

Factory, Computer lab, Saturday 7:35 AM: Ulrich stood at the computer console and readied himself for the trip. He had set everything up, rehearsed his phone call to Yumi and was ready to go. The only thing stopping him from pressing the enter key was a concern over where everyone else was. He knew that Jeremy and Aelita were asleep on each other's shoulder in Jeremy's room. He didn't know where William was and frankly he didn't care. Odd was probably scouring the usual hiding spots on campus looking for him, so it was no big deal where he came out of the return trip. That left Yumi. He didn't know for sure what time their fight had occurred and was hoping that the time he picked would allow her to be safely at home. Of course his target time would give everyone an extra night's sleep, hopefully that would make up for any inconvenience. He looked at the clock on the supercomputer, 7:38 AM. Hoping that Sissy hadn't had time to go and brag about their night to any of his friends he hit the enter key. The familiar white dome washed over him. The next thing he knew he was in his body, standing still yet walking at the same time.

Kadic Academy, William's room, Friday 9:15 PM: William found himself sitting at his desk in front of a half-finished homework problem that he already knew the answer to. His mind and body were totally out of sync and he involuntarily clenched his fists around nothing. His legs felt weird, he knew they were taught, supporting his weight and braced against the movements of Sissy, and yet they weren't and further there was no Sissy. This was the first time he had not been prepared for a return to the past and the total disconnect between what his body was doing now and what he thought it was doing was painful. He tried to stand up and clumsily swept everything off of his desk while falling out of his chair. Rather than take a chance at hurting himself he just sat there allowing his mind and body to catch up to each other. The disorientation soon passed and he cursed himself. He knew better than to try and do anything during the first few seconds after a return to the past.

William collected himself and began picking up the things he had spilled on the floor. As he did he considered his situation. Given that he had just taken a trip through time it was probably reasonable to assume that Sissy had not been lying. Unfortunately, any evidence of that was now gone. Aelita knew about the backpack but he didn't know if she would take this as evidence of Ulrich being unfaithful. Sissy did want Ulrich and was willing to do just about anything to get him. It wasn't beyond her to steal Ulrich's backpack to use as evidence. The question was: Could he get Ulrich to admit to cheating in front of someone Yumi would trust? He considered leaving his mess and heading for Jeremy's room. Unfortunately, he was denied the option by Jim who was standing in the doorway demanding that William clean up the mess he had made.

Kadic Academy, Jeremy's room, Friday 9:15 PM: Both Jeremy and Aelita snapped awake after being dropped back into their bodies, the disconnect between where they were and where they are still jarring even after all times they had been through it. They both gave themselves a few seconds to recover then noticed that the light was off and the door was shut. "Looks like we didn't go back far enough to catch our intruder," Jeremy said with a bit of regret as he lifted his head off of Aelita's.

Aelita got up and flipped the light on allowing to Jeremy to see the expression of anger and the last traces of the fatigue she felt yesterday on her face as she turned back to him. "So what happened Saturday," he asked.

Aelita looked over at Jeremy, seeing a cross between happy and tired on his face. She remembered that he would have been looking forward to walking with her to the cafeteria when the wave hit. She let the thought calm her for a few seconds then answered Jeremy's question. "Sissy had Ulrich's backpack and was claiming that he had spent the night with her. I accused her of stealing it and she bolted. I chased her down to the boy's floor and she ran into William who held on to her until I could catch up. We both told William our stories about the backpack and then the wave hit."

"Well let's check the supercomputer logs, if Ulrich launched the time program." Jeremy stopped, unwilling to complete the sentence. Aelita gave him an understanding look, whatever the truth was, if Ulrich had launched the program without warning anyone it was damning evidence against him.

Aelita stood behind Jeremy and put a hand on his shoulder while he booted the desktop and connected to the supercomputer. The command log held exactly what he didn't want to find, that Ulrich had logged in and launched the return trip. Jeremy looked up at Aelita who looked back at him. "This is not good." Aelita nodded her head in agreement and took a seat on the vacant computer chair next to him while they waited for someone to call and ask what was going on, or for Ulrich to call and explain himself.

"Do you really think Ulrich would cheat on Yumi with Sissy?" Aelita asked in a slightly pained voice.

Jeremy reached over and took her hands in his then answered, "I really hope not, but Sissy got Ulrich's backpack somehow and it's hard to imagine her stealing it and getting away with it."

Aelita looked down at her hands in Jeremy's as she said "William and I know about the backpack, Yumi doesn't. If William tells her about what happened on Saturday morning she'll ask me for conformation. Jeremy, I don't want to lie to Yumi but I don't want to be the one to destroy her relationship with Ulrich either." Her eyes held the unasked question.

Jeremy squeezed her hands supportively and spoke gently but confidently. "You'll tell her the truth but you already knew that. And you won't be the one to destroy it if you have to tell her, Ulrich will have already done that. All you would be doing is sparing her the pain of finding out for herself through Sissy or the tumor mill." Aelita looked heartened and Jeremy added "And if you want we can tell her together." He got a slight, sad smile in response.

Kadic City, Friday 9:15 PM: Yumi looked herself over, muttering a curse directed at whoever chose the target time for the return to the past. She had been standing at a corner waiting for traffic to clear on her way to school when the wave hit. It brought her back to the frantic run home after walking off the fights with Ulrich and Odd. The momentary disorientation of time travel combined with being running while her mind thought she was standing still had resulted in a horribly embarrassing fall. Since her mind and body were so far out of sync she couldn't even protect herself and now she was going to have to explain the cuts and scrapes on her arms, legs and face to her parents. Whoever had done this was going to get an earful from her.

Of course, whoever had done this was at school maybe she could go there, get some attention for her wounds and confront the person responsible for the return trip. Once that was done she could spend the night with Aelita. All it would take was a quick phone call and maybe a little luck with her parents. She made the call.

"Hi Aelita, I have a favor to ask."

Aelita heard the pained sound of Yumi's voice and her hard, ragged breathing and put the phone on speaker. "Yumi, I've put this on speaker and Jeremy's with me. You sound terrible what happened?"

"I was at a dead stand still when the wave hit, I was running at full speed when I arrived." Aelita let out a gasp, knowing exactly what that meant. "So I fell and scraped myself up pretty good. Nothing we can't handle but do you think you could maybe call my parents and tell them I'm spending the night with you? I don't really want to try and explain the cuts and bruises to my parents right now."

"Yeah sure, I'll tell them you need help with an assignment and that I wanted to have a girl-girl talk afterwards."

"Thanks Aelita, I'll see you in a few minutes."

"No problem. Come to Jeremy's room, that's where I'll be."

"And we'll have the first aid kit ready for you," Jeremy added.

"Thanks guys. After you get me patched up I'll ask about why we needed a return to the past."

"Sounds like a plan," Jeremy replied.

Yumi hung up the phone and began walking to school. Both Jeremy and Aelita sounded upset, maybe more so than the relatively minor injuries she had would have been worth. She put it out of her mind, if it had anything to do with the return they would tell her so there was no sense in worrying about it right now.

Kadic Academy, Dorm Building, Friday 9:15 PM: Ulrich transitioned into walking fairly easily but still stumbled as a result of the return trip. He entered the boy's dorm and headed to his room, preparing to call Yumi and deliver the speech he had spent so much time perfecting at the factory. His last minute review of the phone call he was going to make was interrupted by Sissy who once again demanded that he talk to her with the threat of an indecent picture of Jeremy and Aelita. This time Ulrich replied with: "All you've got is Jeremy and Aelita asleep on each other's shoulder. Go ahead and give it to Milly and Tamiya, I'll look forward to seeing their reactions tomorrow morning."

"What happens when I report them after curfew and they're found in that position?"

"Jeremy's too shy to have her spend the night so Aelita will be back in her room before curfew. Now if you'll excuse me I have work to do." Ulrich turned his back to her and unlocked the door to his room. Sissy stayed behind him and pushed her way into his room.

"Look Ulrich, something is going on here. You and your group have been walking around like zombies, you've had 'detention' every day this week and you've been studying every single minute of your free time. Tell me what's going on."

Sissy's demanding tone was almost painful to hear and yet it tugged at Ulrich, her words evoking memories that he wanted, needed, to forget. He wanted to spit out a vicious reply telling her to get out of his business but he couldn't. Not while remembering the concern on her face as he broke down and cried on her shoulder. Speaking in a pleasant tone he answered "It's not something you can help with. Now please leave so I can concentrate on my work. Ok?"

"Not until you tell me what's happening," Sissy replied in a demanding tone.

"It's none of your business, now leave so I can work." Ulrich answered, finally beginning to lose his temper, yet still maintaining a tone much more civil than usual.

"Ulrich, none of your friends are here, there's no need to push me away. All I want to do is help." Concern was starting to push back the selfishness and it was showing in her voice.

"At what cost? Am I going to have to sit with you and your group in the cafeteria. Will I have to go out on a date with you? Are you going to expect me to call you my girlfriend? No thanks, I'll study on my own."

Sissy looked slightly confused. Ulrich's words were supposed to hurt her yet they weren't delivered with the usual amount of venom. In fact Ulrich didn't even look as angry as he usually was at this point in their previous conversations. Maybe it was only her imagination, but maybe it was real. In the hope that it was real she said: "I would like you to do all of those things, but I won't demand it so early in our relationship. Look at Jeremy and Aelita, they seem perfectly happy and you know how long it took them to get to that point. If you do need my help, I'll be in my room." With that she patted Ulrich on the shoulder and left.

Ulrich shook his head, that did not go as it should have and he hoped it wouldn't be a problem tomorrow.

Odd watched Sissy leave and entered the room he shared with Ulrich. "So three questions. Why was Sissy looking like she won the lottery when she left? Where were you on the erased night? And finally, does it have anything to do with the return trip?" There was a definite accusation in those questions.

Ulrich glanced down at the phone. This evening was not going as he planned, and that was making him feel worse about what he was going to do. He didn't want to lie to any of his friends, especially not Yumi, but he had to. The alternative was unacceptable. He noticed Odd looking expectant and decided to answer Odd's first question and see if the answer would make him forget the other two questions. "Well, Sissy has a picture of our two geniuses sound asleep on each other's shoulder. I imagine that will be in the Kadic news tomorrow, she's quite proud of herself."

Odd smiled as he considered that. If he got up early, he might be able to surprise them with that edition. And he did love making the pair blush. After basking in the possibilities for another minute, Odd brought out his accusing voice and repeated his second and third questions.

"Well if you must know, I spent the night at the factory sulking after the fight with Yumi. I got caught on the way in and I couldn't take the chance that my father would find out and pull me from school. Now, if you don't mind I need to call Yumi and explain the return trip." Ulrich turned towards the desk, hoping that Odd hadn't caught the lie and would leave him to his tasks. "I also need to work on the report I didn't do. Hopefully that will satisfy Yumi."

"Oh, hey Ulrich why don't you ask her on a date while you're at it, maybe that will take her mind off your missing report."

Ulrich glared at Odd, "Advice on handling women from you," he snorted. "No thanks."

Odd simply shook his head and plopped unto his bed, taking out one of his handheld games.

Ulrich took another look at his phone and dialed Yumi. When she answered she sounded a little pained and Ulrich groaned slightly though it was not loud enough to be heard over the phone. He was having a hard enough time with what he was about to do, if she suffered injuries due to the return to the past he had triggered he might never forgive himself. "Hi Yumi," he said more cheerfully than he felt, "I wanted to tell you why the return trip."

Yumi cut him off, "you ran the program!?"

"Yes I."

Again, Yumi cut him off. "Great timing Ulrich. We can discuss why you ran the trip after I get fixed up. I just made it to campus and I'm headed up to Jeremy's room for some first aid. You can come and you'd better have a good explanation ready for me."

Ulrich tried to force the guilt out of his voice as he answered: "Yeah, I've got a good reason."

Yumi's voice softened considerably, "ok good. I'll see you soon." With that she hung up. Was it just me or did Ulrich sound like he was hiding something, she thought to herself as she walked towards the dorm building.

Kadic Academy, Jeremy's room, Friday 9:20 PM: Aelita hung up with Yumi and immediately dialed Yumi's home phone. After securing permission for Yumi to spent the night at school she turned to Jeremy, "do you think Ulrich will tell her what happened?"

"I hope so. If she has to hear this from us..."

Jeremy didn't get to finish his reply as Ulrich, Yumi and Odd had walked in and closed the door. Aelita's eyes went wide as she looked over Yumi and quickly guided her to Jeremy's bed and the waiting first aid kit. After a quick evaluation Aelita took Yumi upstairs and helped her clean herself up and apply bandages to the various cuts and scrapes. Once that was done Yumi put on some clothes that she kept at school for just such emergencies. When they got back they found that William had joined the boys in Jeremy's room.

Upon seeing Yumi he guessed what had happened and said "If it makes you feel any better I swiped everything on my desk unto the floor before throwing myself out of my chair. It took forever to clean up the mess." William mentally patted himself on the back as Yumi laughed and flashed him a smile. It was a good sign that he hadn't expected. Now he needed a way to ask about the return trip and hopefully catch Ulrich in a lie.

Yumi chuckled and looked him over then flashed a smile "looks like the desk got the worst of that. Since you're here, I wanted to thank you for your help. I know you've been helping Jeremy and Aelita on Lyoko, sparing them several transfers as well as carrying their bags to and from the factory and various study sessions." Ulrich flashed a disapproving glare which William returned with a smug smile. Yumi didn't notice the exchange, as Jeremy's computer screen caught her attention. She noticed that it was some type of supercomputer interface and assumed that it was the command log though she didn't get to look closer because William answered her compliment. "It's no problem, after rescuing me and then giving me another chance, it was the least I could do."

Yumi was impressed with William's newfound humbleness and it showed as a smile on Yumi's lips. That put a frown on Ulrich's. This time she did notice but decided to ignore Ulrich's reaction for the moment and instead asked "so, did you come to check on why we went back in time?"

William looked back at her "yeah, it was a little unannounced and I wanted to see what the emergency was. Course I did have to wait until after I had cleaned up my mess to Jim's satisfaction, he heard me fall off my chair and demanded I clean up my room."

Aelita giggled a bit and Jeremy gave a sympathetic look to William as he said "I know what you mean, I've been under Jim's," Jeremy paused slightly and continued in a mock Jim voice, "get that mess cleaned up now." Everyone laughed and it made Ulrich feel that much worse about what he was about to do.

Yumi turned her attention back to Ulrich and said "now, you had an explanation for running an unannounced return trip?" It came out much lighter than she had originally intended but she did nothing to harden the question since she no longer felt mad about what had happened. Funny how being in the company of friends did that.

Ulrich looked around the room and answered, not quite meeting anyone's eye. "I was upset after our fight Yumi, I never intended... Anyway I wandered around for a bit and just kinda, well found myself at the factory. I'm, um, not really sure why, but that's where I went. I fell asleep in the computer lab and then had to scramble back to school. I, well this is kind of embarrassing but, I got caught... on the way in and I couldn't let my dad find out so I ran back to the lab and ran the return to the past program." He was stammering badly and it had none of the self confidant air that he had intended to deliver his story with. Another quick look around the room suggested that his explanation did not go well.

Jeremy and Aelita were staring at him, their eyes practically boring holes right through him. Yumi had lost the good natured look that the previous banter had brought on. She must not have believed the whole thing but was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. Odd was confused, probably wondering why everyone but William was upset. William was trying to keep from breaking out into a smile.

No one said a word and for the next few minutes there was silence until William broke it by asking: "Ulrich, what did you do with your backpack on... Uh?... The erased night?"

Ulrich felt his stomach and heart drop. He hadn't even considered and ,in fact, had forgotten all about his backpack. He figured it was a trap but he didn't know how to answer, there was simply no way of knowing what William, Jeremy, Aelita or Odd knew about the night he had erased. He did know the consequences of being caught in a lie. He wondered if his silence was already convincing everyone of his guilt. That didn't help him and he forced himself to concentrate on an answer. Finally he said "I don't remember if I left it somewhere on campus or what. I didn't have it at the factory."

Aelita spoke up, "Sissy was claiming that you slept in her room, she had your backpack as proof." She sounded angry, as if she believed Sissy over him.

William looked at Ulrich, his voice smug as he said "A pity we can't just ask her."

Odd answered in a defensive tone "she would lie just to break them up, it wouldn't prove anything."

"Look at Ulrich," William said, a bit more harshly than he had intended. "He hasn't been able to look us in the eyes, he's stammering, he's sweating, he just looks guilty."

Again all eyes were on Ulrich and even Odd was starting to look doubtful. Yumi spoke up, "Jeremy, is there any way of proving this one way of the other?"

Jeremy looked thoughtful then turned and started whispering to Aelita. Shortly afterwards Jeremy answered, "well he said he went to the factory so we should have him on the surveillance cameras." Aelita was already up and at the computer, "So Ulrich, how did you enter the factory and what time?" Jeremy sat down on the other chair and scooted close to Aelita.

"I... um... don't remember. I was tired" Ulrich answered.

Aelita started typing on the keyboard and Jeremy watched. Meanwhile William turned back to Ulrich "Well what time do you think you got there? You must have some idea as to when you arrived."

"Don't worry about it," Jeremy started off to preempt the fight he knew would come. "Aelita's coding a search right now. The computer can go through the video and watch for human shaped movement. It'll probably return a few false positives if we scan all of the camera feeds but it's better than us trying to watch the whole recording."

"So anyone want to bet on what time Ulrich arrived at the factory?" Odd asked while everyone was waiting for Aelita to finish the program. After a few minutes of silence Odd said "Oh come on guys, it's Ulrich we're talking about here. Why are we even bothering to check his story, it's not like he would lie."

William had to force himself not to laugh while Yumi scowled. Ulrich had a sick feeling in his stomach. He knew this was the end of his lie. He wouldn't be on the security cameras until morning and once everybody found out he was done, his friends would abandon him to his father. He waited, nervous and frightened until Aelita announced that she was running the program. Ulrich fought down another wave of nausea as Jeremy leaned in and quickly kissed Aelita on the lips to celebrate her success. Yumi smiled slightly at the display and Odd snickered. William finally let himself smile.

After ten minutes the program returned the first result that was Ulrich. The timestamp told Yumi everything she needed to know. The pain of her heart breaking pushed tears to her eyes even as the anger over his betrayal was making her want to shout. Anger won, or maybe her pride just wouldn't let her cry here and now. Either way she shouted: "You used a return to the past to cover up cheating on me! You caused these injuries and lied to my face to cover up cheating on me! Damn it Ulrich what is wrong with you? You know what, don't answer that, I don't want to know. You want Sissy? Fine, go upstairs and join her little group cause I'm done with you." With that she got up and stormed out the door.

Aelita sat in her chair stunned. Ulrich hadn't just betrayed Yumi, he had betrayed her. He had used her hardware, the one thing she had left of her old family, to hurt her de-factor sister. Her fury over Ulrich's betrayal and sympathy for Yumi were at war for control of her body. Jeremy whispered in her ear "Yumi shouldn't be alone right now" and she knew what had to be done. She got up and ran after Yumi. William left next, hoping to catch up to Yumi and try to help console her. This was the moment he had been waiting for and he wasn't going to waste it.

Ulrich ran out of the room with Odd following quickly on his heels. Jeremy saved Aelita's program on the chance that it could come in handy later, closed out the connection to the supercomputer and logged off the secure volume that all Lyoko related things were stored on. Then he went into the hallway and headed towards Ulrich's room. He found it locked and was told in no uncertain terms to go away after knocking.

Kadic Academy, Friday 9:40 PM: Aelita ran after Yumi who was now headed out of campus and towards her own house. "Yumi, Aelita STOP!" William called out in his most authoritative yell. Yumi looked up and stopped hard, nearly falling out into the street. Luckily for her Aelita was close enough to grab the back of her shirt and steady her. William caught up with the duo and looked over Yumi, "that was a little close," he said through his panting. Aelita watched a red van speeding away from the intersection, its driver obviously not caring about the stop sign or speed limit when in a school zone.

"Nice catch William, thanks" Aelita said as he took a position on the other side of Yumi.

"No problem," William replied.

Aelita looked worriedly at Yumi, "are you ok?"

Silence. Aelita sighed as they began to cross the street. "Come on Yumi, please answer me." She got more silence in return. "Yumi you know you can talk to me, right?"

"Why?" She asked in a despondent tone. "Why did he do it and why lie to me about it?"

Aelita thought for a minute but she was in no mood to try and defend Ulrich. He had hurt both of them and simply didn't deserve it. In the silence William tried to answer her: "I don't know what Ulrich was thinking. I just don't see how he could possibly want someone over you, you're beautiful, smart and way more mature than Sissy. As for why he lied to you, they probably got themselves caught and rather than face the consequences like a man he took the easy way out."

Aelita saw the obvious flaw in that line of reasoning, they would all do that if caught in a similar situation. She decided not to bring it up but she wondered if the more likely answer was that he wanted to have both girls. The thought almost made her sick to her stomach. It definitely increased the anger she felt toward Ulrich.

Yumi looked over to William and said "Thank you" in an almost broken voice.

"You know Yumi, if you need anything I'll be here for you. Unlike Ulrich I'll be faithful and you'll never have to doubt that I love you."

"Thanks William but I'm not in the mood to be hit on right now," Yumi said sadly. "Can I just walk home in silence?" Both her companions nodded yes.

Yumi made it to her house without breaking down and crying then told both William and Aelita to go back to school. Aelita protested, not wanting to leave her alone but Yumi insisted and her parents intervened, letting Yumi run upstairs alone. She tried again with Yumi's mother but failed to secure permission to stay the night. Hoping that Yumi would know that she could call anytime, Aelita walked back down the driveway to where William was waiting for her.

"I wasn't sure if Yumi would want the company right now and I didn't think you should make the trip back alone so I waited. Now come on, if we want to make it back before curfew we're going to have to hurry."

As Aelita quick-walked back to school a thought crossed her mind. All Ulrich had to do was execute the return trip ten minutes earlier. Ten minutes and neither she nor William would have known about the backpack. He could have continued his affair and if he really could do that then maybe he didn't deserve Yumi. Considering the way he had abused her hardware she considered changing the mainframe password and lab access code to lock Ulrich out. As painful as it would be to throw him out of the group like that, what he had just done was so much worse.

William noticed the smoldering anger and the uncertainty on Aelita's face as they waited out a traffic light and took a guess at what was upsetting the pink haired girl. "I'm not sure if you know this but I've loved Yumi since the day I came here and I'm not going to let this chance slip away. But I know I've been an obnoxious jerk at times and I won't repeat that mistake. I know how to treat a girl right and I promise I'll never hurt Yumi like Ulrich has."

Aelita nodded absently, she didn't really know William well enough to know if he was sincere and genuinely in love with Yumi, or just putting on an act because he wanted her. She added worry to the anger she was carrying. She knew that if William was playing a game it was ultimately Yumi who would be hurt by it. But she no longer believed that Yumi and Ulrich would form the couple she had always thought they would. They had always seemed so in love, and both Odd and Jeremy were quite insistent that they were. She and William jogged the rest of the way to Kadic in silence. Another worry popped into her head, would this be her and Jeremy at some point?

Kadic Academy, Odd and Ulrich's room, Friday 9:40 PM: Ulrich was drowning in self pity. He was every bit the failure that his father said he was. But it wasn't the fault of his friends, it was his. He was the one who wasn't man enough to keep up with all the work he had been avoiding while fighting XANA. He was the one who wasn't man enough to tell Yumi his feelings so long ago. He wasn't even man enough to hold in his emotions. He looked over to Odd, wondering if everyone would be better off without him.

Odd stared back, bitter disappointment mixed with compassion in his gaze. Even though Ulrich had screwed up big, he still deserved to have a friend. He doubted Jeremy and Aelita were going to be very sympathetic right now so it fell to him. "Ulrich, you know she'll forgive you eventually. Just give her some time and tell her what really happened." At the very least I hope so, Odd thought to himself. But if you really did cheat on her? Then I wouldn't count on that.

"Did you hear her, Odd," Ulrich spat back. "She said it was over. That she was done with me."

"She was upset, girls say lots of things they don't mean when they're upset, trust me, she'll come back."

"Trust you!? You've got a different girl every week! Why don't you just leave, go stay with Jeremy so I can be alone tonight."

"Not happening."

"Fine." Ulrich growled as he got up.

"Hey, where are you going?" Odd asked loudly. As he followed Ulrich down the hall he said "Ulrich, you can't be going to Sissy, if you do that it WILL be the end of you and Yumi."

That was it, the last nerve he had. Ulrich spun and decked Odd, sending him to the ground with a bloody nose. Jim noticed and yelled "Stern! What the hell did you do that for? You'll get to enjoy four hours of detention for that tomorrow now get back to your room." He turned to Odd and, speaking less harshly, said "why don't you go to the infirmary and have that looked at."

"Yes sir," they both replied. Jim watched as Ulrich returned to his room while Odd went to the infirmary.

Ulrich went to his desk and looked around, eyes coming to rest on the only drawer with a lock on it. He took out a key and opened a locked drawer, moving his diary out of the way he looked over his most cherished items. A picture of Yumi brought tears that he fought back, his tears had caused enough trouble. Below that there was a small gift from his father, from a time when he was proud to have had a baby son. "Guess you were right dad, I'm nothing but a failure," He said to the empty room.

To his utter amazement the empty room replied, "you're not a failure."

Ulrich jerked his head up and turned around quickly, finding Sissy standing in the open doorway. "Nicholas texted me that you punched Odd, I came down to see if you were ok."

Memory of all the relief he found in her arms came flooding back. Yumi's gone, he thought to himself, Sissy's willing to take you in. She let you cry, wasn't upset about it and didn't think less of you for it. He put back his things and locked the drawer then walked slowly to Sissy. He knew it was wrong, especially if he wanted any chance of getting Yumi back, but walked into Sissy's open arms anyway. He wondered if it was a survival instinct, a way of his body protecting itself from the darker corners of his mind. The ones that made him wonder if life was worth living without Yumi.

Jim came in and broke up their hug a minute after it started, roaring orders for Sissy to get back to her room and Ulrich to get ready for bed. He found himself in a familiar position once everyone was gone, he could try again to make it up to Yumi or go to Sissy. Sissy, though still a shadow of Yumi, was starting to look like the better option this time around.

Yumi's house, Yumi's room, Friday 10:00 PM: Yumi lay in her bed wondering how things had gotten this bad. She was headed to school ready to forgive him, to forget about the fight they'd had and try again. Then the lie. Something had happened between Ulrich and Sissy the last time this night played out and he was hiding it from her. How were they supposed to develop a real relationship if he couldn't open up to her and couldn't be truthful with her. Did he not see how sharing her troubles had brought them closer? Did he not understand that as a couple they were supposed to be there for one another, sharing the burdens of life?

A darker thought crossed her mind, what if he did understand and didn't want to do that with her? Was she not pretty enough for him? Was there something wrong with her. William's words rose up in her mind, "you're beautiful, smart and way more mature than Sissy" he had said. Ulrich had said some of those same things to her, did he mean them? Did William? She turned over the pillow, both sides damp with the tears she had cried and frowned. A wet pillow was all she needed. Then again, with all the questions she had, she probably wasn't going to get much sleep anyway. So many questions, so few answers.

She needed time to work all this out, maybe more than a single night. She began to wonder if Jeremy's initial assessment was correct, that she needed to be away Ulrich and all their baggage. She definitely needed that right now, he evoked a mixture of conflicting emotions that were threatening to tear her apart. Maybe he needed that time too. Whatever the case, she knew that tomorrow was not going to be an easy day.

Kadic Academy, Jeremy's room, Friday 10:40 PM: Aelita entered the room and shut door as silently as she could manage. She had made it back to campus just in time to make curfew but still wanted to discuss a few things with Jeremy so she had called him and he invited her to spend the night again. He also warned her to be extra cautious since Jim might be on alert after the fight between Odd and Ulrich. Luckily Jim was asleep in his room so sneaking in was no problem. Aelita was wearing her pink nightshirt, sweatpants and socks which she found much more comfortable than her day cloths. She tossed a small bag containing her keys and phone on the desk then slid into bed beside Jeremy. He pulled her tight against himself then pulled the covers over the both of them, leaving one off to compensate for the extra body heat. "Comfortable?"

"Very" she breathed out. "So did Ulrich tell you or Odd what really happened the last time we lived this night?"

"No. All I know is that he's not taking this well but he's refusing my help. Odd was with him though." Jeremy replied in a whisper. "How's Yumi holding up?"

Aelita read the concern in his voice and hated to add to his worries but told him about the walk to Yumi's anyway. "William came with me to walk Yumi home. She asked why he did this and why he would lie to her. I didn't have an answer. William did, he said he didn't understand why Ulrich would cheat since Yumi's beautiful, smart and mature. Thee he told her that Ulrich probably got caught and ran the return trip to avoid the consequences. Finally he took a pass at her, can you believe that?"

Jeremy thought for a moment then answered with some disgust, "Yeah I can. If you recall, William was just about stalking Yumi for a while before he joined our fight and got caught."

"Well Yumi didn't accept but she didn't send him down in flames either. She asked him not to hit on her and asked both of us for silence. When we got to her house she refused to let me stay with her. I didn't have any better luck with her parents."

"Yumi's a strong woman, proud too. Maybe after she's sulked for a night she'll be more willing to talk with you. Tomorrow we'll have to see if there's anything we can do for the two of them. This fight might well be the end of them as a couple and neither of them will recover quickly."

"No" Aelita said with a surprising amount of force, "I'm not sure Ulrich deserves our help. In fact I'm not even sure I want Ulrich to have access to the supercomputer."

Jeremy was startled by the force she had spoken with. But as he took a moment to review their prior conversation he realized that he shouldn't have been surprised, her voice had been hiding quite a bit of anger. "Your upset that he used the computer to do this to Yumi, aren't you?"

"No Jeremy, I'm furious. He betrayed Yumi's trust then betrayed mine to hide it. And if he'd been just a little faster he would have gotten away with it."

Jeremy began rubbing Aelita's side, hoping to calm her down. The bitter anger and intensity of her rant was starting to worry him. Speaking softly Jeremy said "I understand, if you want to lock out Ulrich out of the lab we can do that. I don't think Yumi would object. Odd might but Yumi wouldn't let that objection stand."

Even though he was dreading the reaction he might get from what he was about to say next, Jeremy continued: "But we can't just ignore Ulrich, we owe him our lives many times over. And you should consider how many times we used Ulrich to romantically distract Sissy as a cover for our fight. We are at least partially responsible for the trouble they're in now."

Jeremy's gentle touch was managing to calm her and as the anger faded she was able to give consideration to what Jeremy said. With a sharp, cleansing release of breath she said "You might be right. But what can we do?" In a harsher tone she added "I'm not going to try and set Ulrich back up with Yumi after this."

"I agree that we shouldn't try to force Yumi and Ulrich back together. But we can still be there for them, a sympathetic ear or a shoulder to cry on."

"I can probably manage that, just, maybe you had better be the one to be supportive of Ulrich. I'm not sure I'm ready to forgive him yet."

"I can't blame you for that, considering what he did. But you did say yet," Jeremy said with a sly smile. "Whatever else he is, he's family and I know you'll eventually forgive him. That's one of the many traits I love about you."

Aelita smiled back but it faltered as she considered her next question. She wanted to know, partly because she hoped it would help her help Yumi and partly because she was hoping to avoid her and Jeremy ending up in the same boat as Yumi and Ulrich. With a level of anxiety that was not worthy of the question, Aelita asked: "Jeremy, why would Ulrich cheat on Yumi."

Jeremy caught the emotion in her voice and tried to answer as best he could. He also tried to determine where the fear was coming from so that he could address that as well. "Only Ulrich can answer that correctly, all I can do is guess. I suppose if the relationship was missing something he wanted or needed then he would seek that out in someone else."

Aelita searched her mind, trying to decide what Yumi didn't have that Ulrich would want but couldn't come up with anything. In fact Ulrich had once confided in her that Yumi was everything he could ever want in a girl. The failure didn't help her mood and in a trembling voice she asked "Ulrich once told me that Yumi was everything he wanted in a girl. If that was true then what changed? Why isn't she now?"

"It's possible that Ulrich changed. Now that his life isn't under constant threat from XANA maybe he reevaluated what he wants in a girl or from a relationship. It's also possible that Yumi changed in some way." Aelita briefly wondered if Jeremy could hear her heart falling through the floor as he said that, after all if it was true for Ulrich and Yumi than could the same be true of her and Jeremy? He obviously didn't because he continued without missing a beat. "It may also be possible that Ulrich heard or saw something that triggered his jealous side. He could have went to Sissy out of habit, for the sake of spiting Yumi."

Aelita seized at the second possibility and barley managed to not shout William's name loud enough to wake up the entire floor. "William arranged this to drive a wedge between Ulrich and Yumi and give himself the perfect opportunity to steal her."

Jeremy was, for the second time that night, taken aback at the show of verbal force. He recovered and said "easy princess, you'll wake up the entire floor if you keep this up. I guess he could have set this up but."

"No buts, William did this to break up Ulrich and get Yumi."

Again, another very forceful tone. Putting together the earlier fear in her voice with the death grip she had on the possibility that the situation was engineered by William, Jeremy decided that she was worried that she was seeing the future of her own relationship with him. In his gentlest voice Jeremy simply asked her: "Aelita, are you concerned about Yumi and Ulrich or about us? Are you worried that this is how our relationship will end?"

The voice she used to answer yes was small and almost despondent, a complete one eighty from earlier.

"Aelita, please understand that we'll both undergo changes as we continue to grow and mature, that's inevitable and nothing to fear. It doesn't have to be the end of us as a couple. We need to continue to respect each other, to communicate with each other, and to remain open and honest with each other. We've already laid those foundations and if we continue building that way I think we can stay together forever."

"Forever? I like the sound of that."

"So do I my love, so do I."

Aelita snuggled into Jeremy and let his words echo in her mind. The joy that hearing him say he thought they could stay together forever banished all her other fears, worries and concerns. Totally comfortable in Jeremy's arms and bed she slipped into a deep sleep. Jeremy watched her, his own eyelids starting to feel heavy. He kissed her forehead and whispered "goodnight" before settling his head on the pillow and drifting off to sleep.

Kadic Academy, Infirmary, Friday 11:04 PM: Odd lie awake in the infirmary, wondering how to fix this. He knew Ulrich was struggling with all the work he needed to do to get his grades up. He knew how upset Ulrich was over the loss of Yumi. He didn't know what had happened on the erased night. He did know that Ulrich used a return to the past to cover it up. He assumed that it had something to do with Sissy, but only because Aelita's story suggested it. None of this helped him formulate a plan.

Yumi and Ulrich had to be put back together as a couple. In the good old days, a XANA attack would eventually do that. There were no more XANA attacks, though that didn't mean he couldn't fake one given enough time and preparation. If he got them to Lyoko and stranded them there, maybe they would eventually make up. On the other hand, their parents might have search parties out looking for them long before that happened.

An easier way to use Lyoko came to mind. Jeremy and Aelita had fought once before she was materialized. Jeremy went to Lyoko to apologize but Yumi made a mistake in the transfer procedure, trapping Jeremy in what he called the digital void. Aelita rescued him but in the process they had shared a piece of each other's mind. Maybe the two geniuses could make that happen for Yumi and Ulrich. He might need to charm Sissy into giving him the pictures he had of his blond and pink haired friends for use as motivation. But whatever he would have to pay Sissy it would be a small price to pay for Ulrich and Yumi.

Of course the old fashioned way might work just as well. If he could prevent them from forming other relationships they would eventually come back together. But keeping William away from Yumi and Sissy away from Ulrich would be like keeping him away from Rosa's mashed potatoes. Maybe he could just annoy the new couples until they broke up. Or maybe they would beat him into a pulp first. Maybe he could convince Yumi and Ulrich that this was a Sissy and William plot and they were manipulated into breaking up.