Chapter 9

A/N: They'll be another at the bottom, but I just wanted to let you know that for some reason in the last chapter every time I wrote it got deleted, so when it seems as though a person was missing it was her. Now I haven't updated in a while because I'm a jerk, but now it's summer and I have time. I had something kind of planned, but it wasn't going anywhere. So instead, here comes a plot idea by Ultima-Owner. Thanks for the reviews! P.S. If you haven't noticed, the cover photo is Aubrey and Ulrich. The girl looks almost exactly like Aubrey.

What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us. -Emerson

Aubrey shivered. History was her favorite subject, but with the AC on so high she couldn't find it in herself to pay attention. All she wanted to do was get a blankets and curl up in a ball on her bed. Was that too much to ask?

Gritting her teeth to keep them from chattering, she pulled her sleeves over her hands and tucked them under her thighs. Sure it was only the end of september and it was a bit of a hot day, but was the AC really necessary?

Maybe if she distracted herself, she wouldn't feel so cold.

Would enjoy a characterture?

Didn't mater, because he was getting one.

Yup. He was totally going to be a red coat.

Aubrey bit her lip as she focused on the details. During the summer she had worked at a carnival for two weeks drawing charactertures, so she knew that this one would turn out fine. Maybe she would even give it to him. Mr. Perry was a pretty laid back teacher after all, and it just so happened that Aubrey was getting an A in the subject.

" , which Egyptian pharaoh ruled in the 18th dynasty?"

"Tutankhamun, or King Tut. Whichever you prefer." She answered without looking up. The teacher smiled.

"Very good . And during what Egyptian period?"

"The New Kingdom."

"Another correct answer. And what are you drawing."

"You as a red coat, see?" As she held up the picture to show him, Ulrich sucked in a breath next to her. He couldn't believe it. What kind of student voluntarily shows the teacher a drawing they made of them during class?

put on his glasses, studying the picture closely. When he put them down again, he smiled.

"What an excellent picture! You've captured the details perfectly. Would you mind if I kept it?"

"I was going to give it to you anyway."

"Thank you, that's very kind. Class dismissed."

Aubrey was smiling as she grabbed her stuff and headed out of the room. The next class was right across the hall, but she planned on running up to her room and grabbing a sweatshirt before the class began.

"Okay, how did you not get in trouble for that?" Ulrich asked in the hallway. Usually, they stood in the hallway talking to Jeremy, Odd and Aelita until the next class started.

"What can I say? loves me. Oh hey Aelita! I was just going to run up to my room to grab a sweatshirt. Wanna come?"

"Sure." The pinkette answered. "I'm kind of cold myself, and I'm already wearing a sweatshirt! We'll meet up with you guys in a few minutes." Aelita said to the rest of the group. She linked arms with Aubrey and together the two of them walked out of the school and up to their rooms. Aubrey noticed that every time she exhaled, she could see her breath. Stepping outside was literally a breath of fresh air.

"I wonder why they have the AC up so high." She mused. Aelita shrugged.

"It is a bit weird. Maybe it's broken or something."

"Yeah maybe." Aubrey agreed as they entered the dormitory building. Funny. This one wasn't cold at all. "Let's just grab our stuff and go. If I'm late again I'll get a detention!"

"I'm surprised you haven't gotten one already." Aelita laughed. At the top of the stairs the two split into their separate rooms

Aubrey quickly snagged a red sweatshirt with the word LIFEGUARD scrawled across the chest in white. She slipped it over her head, then exited the room.

"Ready?" She asked Aelita. Aelita had put on a pink sweater and added tights to keep her legs warm. The two hurried outside and rushed across the campus to the math/history building. When they tried to open the door, it wouldn't budge.

"Why won't it open?" Aubrey asked, yanking on it with all her might. She'd even tried pushing, but nothing happened.

"Maybe the door is locked." Aelita suggested. "Let's try another one."

The two girls rushed to the side of the building and tried to open another door, but that one was stuck as well.

"I'll check the windows and see if there is anyone who can let us in." Aubrey decided. She jogged over to one of the windows and was shocked at what she saw.

"A-Aelita, can you come here for a second?"

"What is it?" Aelita asked, walking over to her. Aubrey pointed to the window.

"I-is that frost?"

Aelita squinted, studying the glass. Shocked as well, she nodded.

"I think it is! I'll call Jeremy, you call Ulrich. We'll see if we can reach one of them."

"Okay." Aubrey agreed, pulling out her cellphone. getting to class was now the last thing on her mind.

The phone rang twice before Ulrich picked up.

"H-h-hello?"

"Ulrich! Are you okay?"

"X-X.A.N.A attack. H-he's f-f-freezing the e-entire school. Wh-where are you?"

"I'm outside with Aelita. We left to get sweatshirts. Is there anyway you can get out?"

"N-no. Th-the doors are f-frozen sh-shut. G-get to the f-factory and d-deactivate the t-tower."

"Okay. We will." Aubrey answered, internally panicking. She'd never been to Lyoko by herself before, what was she supposed to do?

"B-be careful."

"Okay. We'll get you guys out of there, I promise."

She didn't wait to hear what else Ulrich was going to say before hanging up. Looking over at Aelita, it was easy to tell that she had just gotten the same news from Jeremy.

Both girls were a little more then unsettled.

"S-so it's just you and me?" Aubrey asked Aelita timidly. The pink haired girl nodded, a look of determination glazing over her brown eyes.

"Yeah. And we're gonna save them. Let's go."

Aelita took off running into the woods with Aubrey doing her best to keep up. She found herself weakened from panic. There was no way she could do this.

'You have to. Everyone is relying on you.'

"I can't." Aubrey mumbled to herself, grabbing a skateboard as Aelita got on her scooter. She followed as close as she could to the pink haired girl who was flying through the sewers.

'How many times have they saved you? It's time to repay the favor.'

Aubrey's inner voice was right. The others had already saved her so many times, the least she could do was save them. As she began to climb the ladder out of the sewers, a new found power rushed through her.

She could do this! She and Aelita could save everyone!

"Head down to the scanner room. I'll set a timed virtualization for us." Aelita ordered. Aubrey nodded, stepping into the scanner room and heading straight into the scanner across the way. It was kind of her scanner now and had been ever since she regained her memories there.

"We're going to the ice sector." Aelita's voice echoed through the room. She quickly made her way down the ladder, into the scanner room and entered a scanner.

"You ready?"

"I was born ready." Aubrey answered with a cheeky grin. Aelita smiled at her and then the scanners closed.

It was weird being virtualized without the sound of Jeremy's voice ringing through the scanners.

'Did I even get virtualized?' Aubrey wondered. She could feel herself in her avatar form, but she couldn't see anything. A white haze filled her vision so thick she could barely see her own hand if she lifted it.

"Aelita?" She called. "Are you there?"

"I'm here, where are you?" Aelita yelled back, only a few feet away. Aubrey walked towards the voice and reached out until her hand came into contact with the elf girl's shoulder. Aelita gasped and jerked away.

"Aelita, it's me!"

"Oh god! Sorry Aubrey, I didn't see you."

"Is this what the ice sector is supposed to look like?" Aubrey asked while grabbing Aelita's hand so the two wouldn't be separated. Aelita shook her head, not that Aubrey could see it.

"No. This is completely different. It seems that X.A.N.A has covered the whole thing in fog."

"I'll try jumping above it." Aubrey suggested, letting go of Aelita. She sprung up into the air, but found that even at her peak she still couldn't see anything. She landed gently on the ground next to Aelita and grabbed her hand again.

"Nothing. How are we supposed to find the tower?"

"I can feel pulsations." Aelita explained. "They lead to the towers. Right now they're very faint, but I can feel them, and as long as I can feel them I'll know we're going in the right direction."

"B-but what if we fall off the sector?" Aubrey asked, hesitant. Aelita squeezed her hand.

"We won't. I promise. I won't let us."

"O-okay. Lead the way."

Aubrey let Aelita run ahead of her, mentally shaking. As she had told Ulrich, Aubrey was afraid of the ocean. The LIFEGUARD sweatshirt she had worn earlier came from a cousin of hers who was a lifeguard. It definetly wasn't hers. The only reason she was okay on Lyoko with the ocean in sight was because she could see the ground. She knew she could prevent herself from falling. But now, she could barely make out Aelita guiding her as they ran to who knows where.

'Be brave.'

Suddenly, Aelita stopped. Aubrey paused next to her, taking a deep breath.

"What's going on? What's wrong?"

"The path ahead is narrow. I can feel the change. Only one of us can go across at a time."

"Wh-what?" Aubrey stuttered. Uh-uh. No way. Nope. This was where she drew the line.

"I'll go first, and then you go after, okay?"

"No!" Aubrey hissed. "Aelita, I can't do this! There's no way I can get across!"

"Aubrey." Aelita said, her voice hard. "You need to. Do it for our friends. They're stuck in the school right now freezing and we're the only ones who can save them. I can't do this without you. Please!"

Aubrey took a deep breath. "O-okay. You'll call out as soon as I can go?"

"Yes." Aelita sighed in relief. "Just keep one foot in front of the other and you'll be fine."

"Alright. Good luck." Aubrey said as Aelita let go of her hand.

"You too."

After about ten seconds with no idea as to whether or not Aelita was okay, Aubrey decided that she hated waiting. She was anxious, and a sick feeling bubbled in the pit of her stomach. This was insane.

A minute, and nothing.

Then, finally-

"Aubrey, I made it across. It's your turn now! The path is like an arc. Remember what I said, one foot in front of the other!"

"Alright! Here I come!" Aubrey called as she took a careful step forward. Right away she could feel that the path sloped up and was barely wider then her foot. She gulped.

'One foot in front of the other. One foot in front of the other.'

Suddenly, the path began to descend. Aubrey figured she must have been half way there. She took another step, and shrieked when part of the path suddenly broke off.

"Aubrey! Are you okay?!" Aelita yelled in a panicked voice. The girl in question took a deep breath.

"I'm okay! A part of the path just fell off, I'll be fine!"

'You'll be fine.' She repeated to herself.

And she was.

Aubrey broke out into a grin and sighed with relief when she bumped into Aelita. The pinkette instantly wrapped her in a tight hug.

"Don't ever scare me like that again!"

Aubrey laughed while returning the embrace. "I'll try. Now come on, we've got people to save." She let go of Aelita and quickly linked their hands together. Once more, Aelita took the lead.

"We're getting close. The pulsations are picking up!" Aelita called behind her. Out of no where, a laser shot the ground in front of her foot. The girl skidded to a stop.

"Somethings attacking." She told Aubrey, keeping an eye out.

Another beam fired to their left. Aubrey instantly jumped into the air, startled as she came face to face with a hornet. She let out a cry as she grabbed a sai and stabbed through it, only hearing the explosion as she fell back down. She grabbed Aelita's hand, nudging her forward.

"Run! They can see us just as well as we can see them. Just get to the tower!"

"Okay!"

The two girls took off again, doing their best to dodge lasers left and right. When another laser landed in front of them, Aubrey jumped up, stabbing another hornet before landing and taking Aelita's hand again. At one point Aelita was hit in the knee, but after a quick second recovery she took off again with Aubrey in tow.

Both girls felt like crying when they reached the tower.

"Go, go, go!" Aubrey shouted, giving Aelita a gently push inside, She held her sai's out in front of her in a defensive position should anything try to attack her. It didn't matter though, it was over.

She just hoped to god that her friends were okay.

A white light enveloped the ice sector.

"AELITA!" Aubrey yelled, bursting out of her room. She remembered that that morning, Aelita had been running late and she had decided to wait for the girl so they could head down to break fast together.

Aelita burst out of her room at the same time, her cloths on but her hair still a mess. The two girls made eye contact before bursting towards the stairs and all but jumping them as they hurried to the cafeteria where their friends should be.

After all, if they weren't there then it meant that they didn't make it...

As soon as they burst through the doors of the cafeteria, their eyes snapped over to their table. Jeremy was there, typing away at his computer and Odd and Ulrich were lightly shoving each other and messing around.

"JEREMY, ODD, ULRICH!" Aubrey yelled, not caring if people stared as she rushed over. She wrapped Ulrich and Odd into a hug while Aelita practically tackled Jeremy out of his chair. She laughed in relief, though it almost came out as a sob.

"You guys are okay."

"We sure are." Ulrich answered, patting her on the head. "You did good guys. You did really good."

"So sit down and tell us what happened!" Odd exclaimed, pulling out Aubrey's chair and forcing her to sit down. "It was your first solo mission on Lyoko! I wanna hear all about it."

"I'm interested as well." Jeremy put in, shutting his lap top and folding his hands over it. Aelita sat down next to him seeming relieved. She gestured to Aubrey to tell the story.

"Okay, so as you know, Aelita and I left to go get our sweaters since the building was freezing! Well, after making a mad dash up to the dorms, we came back only to find that none of the doors would open. Then, I noticed frost on the windows. That's when we called you guys and found out it was a X.A.N.A attack. We rushed to the factory and Aelita found out that the tower was in the ice sector. She virtualized us, but we couldn't see a thing! X.A.N.A covered the entire sector in a fog that we couldn't see through. Luckily, Aelita was able to tell where the tower was because of the pulsations. After a while, we came to this ice bridge thing and only one of us could go at a time. When I was crossing after Aelita a part of it broke and I thought I was going to fall! But as you can see I'm okay, and then after we crossed we took off again. A few hornets tried to attack us, but because of the fog they couldn't see where we were. I was able to kill two of them and then we got to the tower and deactivated it, and here we are!"

"Wow, I'm impressed." Odd said, nodding. "So here's what happened with us. We waited in the hallway until the bell rang, and it kept getting colder. After the bell you guys still weren't back so we just went to class, but you still didn't show. It was getting colder and colder by the second. Everyone was chattering to the point where the teacher left to get Jim to turn down the AC. Ulrich, being the worry wort he is-" Ulrich smacked Odd's arm in warning, but the teen ignored him. "-went to go and look for you guys. But when he got out in the hallway and tried to open the door, he found that it was frozen shut! He tried with all of his strength to open the door and get to his damsel, but alas, it was no use!" Odd placed a hand on his forehead and pretended to swoon. Ulrich slightly blushed and slapped a hand over his friends mouth, only succeeding in covering his laugh. He cleared his throat.

"I'll take it from here. The doors and windows were frozen, so there was no way to get out. I went back to the classroom and Jeremy had everyone huddle up to keep warm."

Odd yanked Ulrich's hand away just enough to yell "And you had to cuddle with Sissy!" before it was slapped back over his mouth harder then before, but the damage had been done. Aubrey felt as though she had been hit with a truck, and her stomach felt like it was being eaten by angry moths.

"A-anyway. Jeremy was able to track your progress on Lyoko. The temperatures dropped below zero, but you were able to deactivate the tower before anything serious happened. That's about it."

Aubrey looked between her two friends and Jeremy, flashing a fake smile. "I'm glad that everyone's okay. I was really worried. It seems that it was all over nothing though. I think I'm gonna go take a walk, just to clear my head."

Not waiting for a response, Aubrey got up and headed out the door. She wondered around the school for a few minutes before ending up back at the patch of grass her and Ulrich had sat at when they really started opening up to each other with a game of twenty questions. She set her backpack down, leaning against it as she looked up at the clouds.

Was it possible that...that Ulrich liked Sissy?

During the two and a half weeks that Aubrey had been at Kadic, she had had few encounters with Sissy. Usually the girl came onto Ulrich and then someone insulted her so she would go away, (never herself) but so far it had never been Ulrich.

Did that mean that maybe...he liked it?

"Hey Aubrey!" Ulrich exclaimed, waving his hand in front of her face. She jumped, startled by his arrival.

"Huh, what?"

Ulrich chuckled, sitting down next to her. He held out an apple to her which she took hesitantly.

"You didn't eat yet, so I brought you an apple."

"O-oh, thanks." Aubrey answered timidly, taking a large bit out of it to hide her blush. Ulrich nudged her.

"So what's bothering you?"

"Why does something have to be bothering me?" Aubrey asked with her mouth full of apple. She covered her mouth when Ulrich laughed at her and swallowed.

"You never leave the group unless something is bothering you."

"Oh."

"So..." Ulrich prompted, nudging Aubrey with his shoulder. "Come on, what is it?"

"Do you like Sissy?" The girl suddenly blurted out. She gasped and covered her mouth. Ulrich was staring at her, wide eyed.

"I'm sorry! You don't have to answer that, I just-"

She was interrupted by Ulrich's laughter. He was doubled over, laughing his heart out. Aubrey glared at him, smacking his shoulder.

"Hey, I was being serious!"

"Sorry, sorry." The brown haired teen got out the rest of his laughs before looking at the girl next to him. "No, I don't like Sissy, but she's been throwing herself at me for years! It's really annoying actually. I thought you noticed."

"I-I just didn't want to assume anything." She excused, turning her head away from him. Ulrich laughed again and scooted closer, wrapping an around her shoulders and pulling her back towards him. Aubrey squeaked, her face completely red.

"If I had a serious crush on someone, I would tell you, okay?"

"Girl or boy?" Aubrey asked, trying to joke around to distract herself from Ulrich's closeness. He slapper her lightly on the shoulder and laughed.

"Yes, girl or boy."

"Even if it was Odd?"

"It wouldn't be Odd!"

"You don't know that for sure."

Laughing and joking with Ulrich now, Aubrey's previous thoughts felt stupid. Of course Ulrich didn't like Sissy! She was just being paranoid!

There was just one thing still bothering her.

Why was she affected so much?

A/N: And there we go! Another chapter up and running. I'm not completely satisfied with this, but it's getting late and I have to get up early for work tomorrow. To Ultima-Owner, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! To everyone else, please feel free to review with your ideas! I'm hoping to get another chapter up within a week or so. Until then, happy reading!