Chapter 3

Secrets are things we give to others to keep for us. -Elbert Hubbard

It took them about an hour to explain everything to her. Jeremy and Yumi ended up doing most of the explaining with Aelita adding little details when she could and Odd making jokes every other sentence. Ulrich just stayed quiet and whether he knew it or not, continued to stroke Aubrey's hair with her head on his lap throughout the entire thing.

"That's- That's incredible." Aubrey gapped when they finished. They all smiled at her, not completely sure how she would react. Yumi cringed slightly when she remembered wanting to call the police.

"Yeah, we're real live super heroes that no one knows about!" Odd exclaimed.

"Except for you now." Aelita added.

Aubrey grinned at them. "I guess that you guys can be my heroes then!"

Odd nodded enthusiastically, placing a hand over his heart. "From this day forward, I solemnly swear to be Aubrey's hero."

Aubrey laughed, jumping up abruptly from her spot on Ulrich's lap. She walked around the room, clapping her hands like a nanny.

"Come along now kids, I'd say it's time for bed. We've got about. . ." She pulled out her smart phone, checking the time. "Four more hours to sleep and everyone should be okay!"

That was all there was to it. Everyone agreed, and Yumi gave a wave as she separated

from the group to head back to her house. On the way back, Jeremy explained to Aubrey that he hadn't launched a return to the past this time (and what it was) and hopefully the next time they had to relaunch it they wouldn't go back far enough that she would forget.

Nobody mentioned anything about sending her to Lyoko.

The next day, besides the fact that all the lyoko warriors and Aubrey were extremely tired, everything was normal, just as it was in the few days following. Surprisingly, no X.A.N.A attacks occurred during that time.

After class one day, Aubrey excused herself from the group to be alone.

"How come?" Ulrich asked, furrowing his eyes in confusion. They had all planned to hang out in Jeremy's room after school, and he was actually looking forward to Aubrey being there for the first time without them having to hold back Lyoko conversation.

"Sorry." She apologized. "Just something I have to do."

"Okay." Aelita answered for everyone. "We'll see you at dinner then."

Aubrey thanked them and they watched as she ran off into the woods. Yumi and Jeremy exchanged worried glances.

"You don't think she's trying to go to the factory, do you?" Yumi asked quietly as they walked up to the boys dorm.

"Aubrey wouldn't do that." Ulrich stated firmly. Yumi's eyes narrowed.

"I'm just saying-"

"She isn't like William!" He snapped, and instantly regretted it when he saw the crest fallen and hurt look on Yumi's face.

"Yumi, I'm sorry I-"

"Just don't." She answered in a small voice. "Just leave me alone for now." She closed the door to Jeremy's room knowing that everyone had heard what Ulrich had said and left him outside. He groaned and banged his head against the wall. Why was he so stupid? He could never say anything right, could he?

Maybe it wasn't to late to find Aubrey. With that thought it mind, he left the school and headed off to find her.

"This should do it!" Aubrey exclaimed, standing at the base of a tree. It was one of the tallest she'd seen so far and perfect for climbing. She smiled to herself as she grabbed a knife she kept hidden on her hip between her skin and the elastic band of her skirt and slashed a cross on the tree, then put it away and began to climb up.

It took her about five minutes to get as high as she could possible go, and when she looked up she could see just a few branches blocking her view of the clear blue sky.

"Hi bro." She whispered smiling. "It's me again. I hope I'm not annoying you with how much I keep talking to you. I know I wouldn't be annoyed, so I hope you feel the same. Its been about ten years since you left, and I'm sorry. Mom says you wouldn't want me to take the blame, but I still feel like its my fault. If I hadn't been so stupid you might still be here."

Tears began to stream down her face as she continued to talk. "I started going to Kadic academy yesterday, and I already made some really great friends. I like to think that you're watching out for me, but in case you... anyway, I'll just tell you about them."

And so Aubrey launched her tale to the sky, telling about how she'd met Ulrich in the hallway and how nice he was to her and how they'd just seemed to click. She talked about how nice his friends were to her too and how she felt like they were her friends now, laughing when she talked mentioned how Aelita didn't know what dodgeball was and smiling at Odd's promise to be her hero.

She only stopped when a voice interrupted her. "AUBREY, IS THAT YOU?" A familiar voice called. She looked down and spotted someone looking up at her.

"THAT DEPENDS, IS THAT YOU ULRICH?"

"YEAH. WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP THERE? IT'S DANGEROUS!"

"I'M COMING DOWN! I'LL EXPLAIN EVERYTHING THEN!"

With that Aubrey began her decent.

As soon as her feet hit the ground, Ulrich rushed over to her. "What were you doing up there?" He asked again. "Hold on, and were you crying?" She smiled sadly and gestured that they should go sit down on a large rock just a few yards away. He silently followed her and they sat down. Aubrey looked up at the sky with tears in her eyes.

"I was trying to talk to my older brother." She whispered, her voice cracking in the process. "He died ten years ago, and mama said that there was no way a boy like him didn't make it to heaven. That's why when I talk to him I try to get as close to the sky as I can, because then I'll be closer to where he is." She paused, taking in a deep breath.

"It's all my fault though, that he's gone." Tears fell from Aubrey's eyes but she still wouldn't look at Ulrich, only the sky. He felt like wrapping his arms around her and telling her that he was there for her, but he wanted to let her finish talking first.

"We were playing frisbee out in the yard. I threw it to him and it missed, landing on our roof instead of where I wanted it to go. I cried because I thought the game was over, and I still wanted to play with him. He was three years older then me, my big brother, and it was like he could do anything. I begged him to get a ladder and climb up to get the frisbee like I'd seen my papa do before. He told me it was dangerous, but I begged and begged until he gave in. He got the ladder from the garage and set it against the roof, told me to hold it for him so he wouldn't fall and began to climb. I wanted to see him though, so when he was at the top I let go of the ladder and ran back to watch him get the frisbee, but instead I watched him fall to his death. He landed on the ground and his neck snapped because I wasn't stabilizing the ladder when he tried to get down. He died instantly. I tried to wake him up though, I tried so hard, and then I called my mom. I told her he fell off the ladder and it made him tired so he was sleeping and was being stubborn so he wouldn't wake up. Looking back, I think a part of me knew he was gone and I was just making excuses. Mama found him dead in the front yard on top of her newly planted roses."

"Aubrey." Ulrich whispered sadly, but she continued.

"Mama never blamed me. She said I didn't know better, that I was just a little girl. But it had to be someones fault, and we both knew it was mine. Brother told me to hold the ladder and I didn't do it. Brother told me it was dangerous and I made him go up to get the frisbee. Brother asked me to play frisbee and I threw it on the roof."

Aubrey began to sob and she finally looked at Ulrich, letting out a watery laugh. "Sorry, I've only known you for a few days and I'm already throwing my baggage on you. And I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable because I'm crying and I'm sorry that-"

She was interrupted when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug. "Do you remember what I told you the first time we talked?"

"Need a hand?"

He chuckled. "A little after that."

"No need to apologize so much." She whispered, burying her head into his chest. He let her sob as he rubbed small circles on her back, letting her sort out her own demons in her head.

"I'm here." He whispered. "I'm here and I'm not going to leave."

Ulrich took a deep breath. What could he say besides that he was there for her? Tell her it wasn't her fault? He couldn't because based on what she told him, it was. Of course it wasn't intentional, nobody who loved their sibling that much would intentionally try to kill them, but it still was, and that was something she was going to have to accept. Unfortunetly, that was a part of who she was, and he forgave her instantly for it, but now she needed to forgive herself and only she could do that. Instead he said what he did based on what he would want to hear, that someone was there for him and no matter what they would stay by his side.

That was all he could do. Stay by her side. It was crazy, promising to stay by the side of a girl he'd only known for a few days, but those days felt like years and he wouldn't want it any other way.

"Thank you." Aubrey said, pulling away from him. She looked up at him and smiled, then hugged him once more. "Thank you so much. You don't know what this means to me, but I'll give you a hint. It means a lot."

They laughed quietly and sat together on the rock for a few more minutes before deciding to head back to the academy, their bond now stronger than ever. Ulrich walked her back to her dorm room and informed her that he hoped to see her feeling better at dinner, which she promised she would. Once her door was closed he headed back up to Jeremy's room and knocked on the door.

Yumi opened it.

"I was just on my way out." She told him coldly, swinging her backpack on her shoulder prepared to leave. He stopped her by grabbing her shoulder.

"Yumi, I'm sorry. What I said was wrong, and I never should have said it. It slipped. I guess I just feel like we're growing apart and I'm blaming it on William when its really my own fault. I don't want to lose you."

She smiled and hugged him. "I don't want to lose you either, and thank you for apologizing. I have to go, so I'll see you tomorrow."

They smiled at each other one last time and then she left.

Ulrich tapped his fingers nervously against his tray. Aubrey wasn't there yet, and dinner had started ten minutes ago. Was she okay? Was she coming down for dinner or was she crying alone in her room? the though made his stomach churn and he almost shot of his chair to run to her and make sure she was okay. Luckily, it was that moment that she plopped down into the chair next to him with a tray full of food.

"Hi guys, mind if I sit here?" She asked in her normal chipper voice. Ulrich sighed in relief. She was okay.

Odd patted her shoulder and chuckled. "Aubrey, you've sat here since you arrived. It's fine, you pretty much have a chair here now, you don't have to ask."

Her eyes widened. "Oh! Oh wow, thank you!"

Aelita smiled. "We're friends Aubrey, its alright."

They talked and joked amongst themselves throughout dinner until Jim came in yelling and saying that everyone had to return to the dorms and the lights had to be off at ten and a bunch of other stuff that nobody cared about. Aubrey and Aelita said goodbye to the boys, then headed up to their own rooms to get ready for bed. To Aubrey's great relief, her room was pretty much just across the hall from Aelita's.

"Goodnight. Tomorrow's sunday so we get to sleep in. See you tomorrow!" The pinkette chirped. Aubrey waved and then ducked into her room after getting ready clad in black boy shorts and a red flowy tank top over a white one. She crawled over to her bed and plugged her iPod into a speaker, quietly playing music to help herself fall asleep.

However, just as she found the previous night, sleep would not come. She was still scared that she would wake up in the middle of the night and be surrounded by that purple haze, and just as had happened the previous night knew that she wouldn't be getting any sleep until the sun began to rise. Like Aelita said though, at least it was sunday so she could sleep in.

That didn't stop her from trying though. Aubrey closed her eyes and counted, reaching 435 before she lost track. After that she tried reading, but ended up finishing her book that she had been half way through in the first place. She even tried just simply closing her eyes, but even that showed visions of purple that forced her to open them once more.

After what seemed like days, light began to streak in her dorm room through her window. She sighed in relief. Now she could finally get some sleep.

It felt like only minutes before there was knocking on her door. "Aubrey? It's me, Aelita. Are you awake?"

"Go away." She mumbled, burying her head into her pillow. She glanced at her clock out of the corner of her eye and noticed unhappily that she'd only been asleep for about 5 hours.

"Do you feel okay? Do you need anything? Can I please come in?"

The brunette sighed. She knew Aelita wouldn't leave now until she came in, so she forced herself to get up and open the door.

"Hi Aelita." She croaked.

"Oh my gosh Aubrey! I don't mean to be rude but you look terrible! Have you been getting enough sleep?"

Aubrey checked that there was no one in the hallway before she pulled Aelita into her room and sat back down on her bed, letting Aelita sit in her spinny chair.

"I think I've gotten about 7 hours of sleep in the past 2 days."

"How come?" Her friend asked, her face full of concern.

"Nightmares. I'm afraid that if I go to sleep, I'll open my eyes and be trapped in X.A.N.A's purple haze again, choking to death."

"Oh Aubrey, I'm so sorry." She whispered, pulling the girl into a hug. Aubrey accepted the comfort, and maybe a little to much so because soon she found herself falling asleep again.

"I'll tell the others that your resting and we'll come back and get you in a few hours okay?"

At that point, Aubrey could hardly hear her as she was focused on the warmth of her blankets, but agreed to whatever Aelita was saying.

"Okay, good afternoon Aelita."

She vaguely heard her friend laugh. "Good afternoon Aubrey."

"Aubrey? Come on, time to wake up!" An obnoxious voice yelled.

Odd.

Aubrey rolled over and groaned, wrapping her blanket cocoon tighter around her. "No it's not!" Her muffled voice yelled back. Her door opened and she heard footsteps.

"Hey Ulrich, what a comfortable looking chair, don't you think?" Odd asked.

"Very." Ulrich agreed.

"We should sit on it."

"We should."

'Are they talking about my spinny chair?' Aubrey wondered.

No, no they weren't. They were talking about her apparently because she suddenly felt weights crushing her tightly blanket-wrapped body.

"Oww! Hey!" She exclaimed, trying to roll over and get them off. They laughed as they got off her and Odd yanked the blanket away.

"Give it back!" She cried desperately.

"Aubrey, it's 3:00pm. Come hang out with us for a little while before dinner!" Odd begged.

"Fine. Get out so I can change."

"We'll be back in five." Ulrich promised, chuckling as he was pushed out the door.

A few minutes later, Aubrey walked back out as she finished putting on the elastic that would support her bun. Aelita and Yumi had joined the boys waiting at the door, and all five walked down to the courtyard together.

"Where's Jeremy?" Aubrey asked.

"Probably working on some Lyoko stuff. I think he's allergic to fun." Odd replied cheekily. Aubrey smiled.

"I still think it's really amazing how he can do that you know, and that Lyoko really exists. If I ever end back up in the factory with you guys again, is there a way Jeremy can show me a visual on the super computer? I'd really love to see what it looks like."

She didn't notice the others letting out a sigh of relief as Aelita spoke. "Sure! I can send him visuals of what I'm seeing straight to the computer monitor, so I'm sure if the situation called for you being there he wouldn't mind showing you rather then making having you sit in his chair again." Honestly, every one of them had thought she was going to ask to go to Lyoko and now that they'd heard her say that she had only wanted a peak from the monitor they felt quite guilty for doubting her. However, they were all glad she had asked because it helped clear up a few things for them, and they now knew they wouldn't have to worry about her pestering to go to Lyoko. It was their fight, not hers, and she didn't need to be apart of it lest she get hurt in the process.

For a while, they all simply sat on a bench and talked with Aubrey adding her two cents in once in a while but mostly just listening. After a few minutes, she excused herself to go to the bathroom.

As she walked down the hall she mulled over everything that had been happening lately.

I wonder if there have been any X.A.N.A attacks lately... Nah, they would tell me, right?

A shadow of doubt crossed her mind. A part of her felt as though maybe... maybe they wouldn't tell her. Maybe they would continue to hold her at an arms distance, like letting her peak into the doorway of their world and talking through the cracks but never letting her in.

But they trusted her, didn't they? She racked her mind for a reason that they wouldn't trust her and couldn't find any. Then again, there could be plenty of reasons that they knew and she didn't because they had returned to the past.

Instead of using the bathroom, Aubrey slunk down against the door and looked up at the small window letting in streams of light. She tried to clear her mind, tell herself that she was just over thinking things but she couldn't. How embarrassing was it to think that everything she said could have been something she said already and the others were just playing along? Had they done that already? Had she already sat on this bathroom floor before and thought all the exact same things while they were on Lyoko?

"No. No, they would tell me. They would tell me, wouldn't they?"

No, they wouldn't. They wouldn't trust you, they wouldn't want to help them. You're just another person that can't remember. You're on the outside.

"I-I'm not. They've all been so nice to me, they accept me."

Accepting you would be letting you help them fight and keeping you in the loop with everything going on. They don't accept you. They tolerate you.

"No."

Yes.

The small window she had been looking at suddenly cracked. Aubrey's attention snapped towards it and she panicked. She scrambled up to grab the metal handle and open the door, but as soon as it touched her she was shocked by electricity. With a yelp, she let it go and examined the small burns on her hand.

The window burst open causing glass to shatter everywhere. All the little brunette could do was raise her arms to cover her face as small pieces of glass sliced through the air. Bits of it cut her sweater and even nicked her cheek creating a small scrape.

Ever so slowly, long vines that looked as though they were charged with electricity began to grown into the room. Though they seemed to grow only bits at a time, Aubrey estimated about 20 minutes until they reached her if she pressed herself into the far corner of the small room.

Could this be X.A.N.A?

Trembling, she reached into her sweater pocket and pulled out her phone. She pulled up her contacts and scrolled through them until she found Jeremy.

Aubrey hit the dial button.

'Ring, Ring, Ri- Hello?"

"J-Jeremy, is that you?"

"Yeah, its me. What's going on Aubrey?"

Her mouth felt dry. "What ah, what does a X.A.N.A attack look like?"

There was silence at the other end of the phone. Then, "Why?"

"Umm... does-" She paused as the plants grew longer, now almost half way down the wall. "Does umm, do long vines packed with electricity bursting through the small window of the girls bathroom I'm in and when trying to escape getting electrocuted by the door handle count?"

"...Are you alright?"

"Uh, my hand is burned and I think there's a cut on my face but yeah, I'm good." There was a loud spark and crackle from one of the plants. "...For now." She added

"There's an activated tower on Lyoko and the others are on their way to the factory now. Are you going to be okay on your own?"

"Do I have a choice? No one else can get in with the door all zappy and I can't get out because the plants are blocking the window." She winced. "Their half way to the floor now."

"Okay. I have to hang up now so I can transfer the others, they just got in the elevator. Do you want me to tell them what's going on?"

"NO! Don't distract them. Just let them know I know you called them and its okay that they ditched me."

"They didn't mean to-"

"I-I know. Just umm, if you launch a return to the past, will you tell me what happened?"

"Yeah, I promise we will. I'll let you know if anything changes and if someone gets devirtualized I'll send them over. They're here now, I have to go."

"O-okay. Good luck Jeremy."

"You too." With a small click the line went dead.

She was terrified. Absolutely terrified. There was no way for her to defend herself in the small room. All that filled the tiny space was a toilet in the far corner, a sink, a mirror and some paper towels. She took a deep shaky breathe and felt a sting on the side of her face. Letting out a yelp, she raised her hand to touch the spot and hissed at the stinging pain when she did. Lowing her hand, it was covered in blood.

Maybe it was more then just a 'scrape.'

The vines were 3/4 of the way to the floor now, but Aubrey refused to think about that. Instead, she decided to try and clean up her face. She grabbed a few paper towels from the dispenser and wet them with warm water, then gently placed them on her face. She dabbed at the cut flinching as she did, but ignored it in order to make sure the cut wouldn't get infected in the case there was no return to the past.

After cleaning her face, she checked herself for other injuries. Besides a few minor cuts she was fine, so she decided to make her way back over to the corner and plopped down in a ball, trying to make herself as small as possible. The vines were now only inches from touching the floor. She gulped with the knowledge that as soon as they reached the ground, their next destination was her.

'Someone help me.'