Disclaimer: Don't own.

A/N: I hope this one is more satisfying… -_-

I'm just having a problem because it's been forever since I seen this show.

Chapter 15: Bounce Back

It was bothersome to know that he was making his friends worry. He was made of tougher stuff than this and should be able to shrug it off- or at least pretend to. All he needed to do was erase what happened from his mind and then he wouldn't have to worry about people treading around him as if he was currently as fragile as glass. He simply need to forget.

Odd toweled down his hair before plucking at the wet clump with his fingertips as he turned to face the mirror. He lifted the strands up from his face and examined the dark circles that had formed under his eyes. Why was he such a mess? He drew a smile onto his face but it wavered and broke and as such he tried again. A grin tugged at his lips and he found it almost looked right.

Why was he so upset anyhow? It was just Sissi and she was the spawn of all things irritating.

It wasn't like he actually liked her, he'd just been messing with her head all this time.

"I'll show you what you want Sissi dear." He informed his reflection with a small laugh and a slight smirk.

"Did you really believe that… how could I possible know what she wanted?…" Suddenly he was feeling vaguely insane- all alone in the bathroom talking to himself. Not that knowing that stopped him. "You must have seen the foolishness of my claim." But then she had just been using him too, right? She'd been trying to get closer to Ulrich through him.

A sigh lifted from his lips.

No doubt she'd be fine when she woke. Would probably be thrilled at the amount of beauty sleep she got.

"What are you doing Odd?"

Odd hardly missed a beat despite not having heard his roommate approach. "Just admiring my reflection." He replied with a grin and leaned closer to the mirror, pulling at his bottom lip. "I think there's somethin' stuck between my teeth."

For whatever reason Ulrich moved closer probably secretly curious about just what that might be. It was at that point Odd turned though, opening his mouth wide. "What do you think?"

Ulrich sucked down a breath and pinched his own nose. "I think you need some mouth wash." He commented stuffily. With a shrug of his shoulders Odd faced the sink once more and began brushing his teeth. "I guess you must be feeling better today?"

Odd spat in the sink looking at his reflection in the mirror once more. "Oh yeah tons, and I'll tell you… I'm ready to fill my reserves back up." He poked his tongue out of the corner of his mouth in thought. "What are they having today, meatball subs?"

"How should I know… Odd, you're the one that keeps track of that kind of stuff."

With a small nod he rinsed out his mouth.

"Odd…"

He didn't like that tone and so cut across Ulrich. "So what were you doing this morning?" He questioned suggestively, lifting his brows. "Visiting Yumi?" Judging by the way Ulrich's cheeks flushed that had to be a yes. Odd laughed and made his way out of the bathroom.

This wasn't so hard.

"So how is he?" Jeremie questioned, looking up from his computer screen.

"Fine." Ulrich said uncertainly, "oddly enough." He leaned against the back of the bench. "It's almost as if he'd never been upset about it in the first place." There was so many things he still didn't understand about his roommate- he always bounced back like a rubber ball.

"That's Odd for you." Aelita said with a smile.

Yumi nodded and straightened up, she said something to Ulrich and the two of them headed off in silence. It seemed so strange with no one attempting to call Ulrich's attention away from her.

It wasn't long before Odd arrived, plopping down between the two geniuses. "Any news of Xana?" He asked Jeremie, taking a brief look at the laptop's screen. It looked as if he was simply working on some sort of report though. "So Jeremie… I was thinking about that time Yumi got trapped in Lyoko and that maybe this could be similar. What if Sissi only got partially stuck?"

Jeremie pushed his glasses up on the brim of his nose. "You think her consciousness just failed to get out with her body?" Though he said it he didn't seem very convinced that it was possible.

He might have shot him down too if not for Aelita's comment. "I think he might be on to something Jeremie. It couldn't hurt to at least look into it, right?"

"Even if it was possible we'd never…" His words trailed off as he noticed the smile falling from Odd's face. He let out a heavy sigh. "Sure we have time, let's take a look." He closed his laptop and stood to his feet, starting down the path they walked a thousand times before.

"Thanks Jeremie."

Xxx

Even though Ulrich and Yumi had walked off not long before- a single phone call had them at the factory as well. The need for them to be there was unspoken though. Everyone knew it was for Odd since the girl was probably already lost. They'd been given a quick briefing and then got into the scanners, even though they didn't expect to find anything.

They dropped like stones in the forest sector, each of them landing smoothly on their feet.

"Is this where you lost her?" Ulrich questioned, glancing about expectantly despite the region being clear of enemies or anything suspicious. "Nothing seems off."

"Last time I was here…" Odd started, bringing one 'paw' to his forehead. "I went through one of the roaches… " Maybe it had just been his imagination, everything was still so fuzzy. His nightmares were slurring together with reality and he could hardly tell them apart anymore when it came to Sissi.

"I doubt that." Ulrich stated and Yumi nodded in agreement, it looked like she was going to say something but Jeremie cut them all off.

Xana's activating a tower.

That was something none of them wanted to hear right now.

I'm going to send Aelita in.

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