William closes his laptop quietly and looks over at Aelita, bathed in the moonlight spilling through the curtains as she sleeps. He gently brushes a lock of her pink hair away from her face.

A week has passed since that harrowing night Aelita faced at the hands of Brandon Pelletier. From the moment she was discharged from the hospital, William refused to leave his girlfriend's side. He'd temporarily moved out of his dorm room and into the Hermitage to keep an eye on her and make sure that—at the very bare minimum—she was eating at least one meal a day and hydrating enough. He'd taken it upon himself to email both of their professors that Aelita was going through a crisis and he needed to be there to help her through it for the next two weeks. All the professors were understanding and didn't put up a fight—it pays to be the captain of Kadic's soccer team sometimes, after all.

When they'd first gotten back from the hospital, Aelita could barely function outside of incessantly crying and constantly sleeping. As the days wore on, she turned to obsessively cleaning herself all the time, especially brushing her teeth. One morning in particular, William had awoken to Aelita scrubbing her teeth so hard that her gums were bleeding profusely. He'd carefully talked her down from the ledge and gotten her to rinse her mouth out with cold water a few times followed by hydrogen peroxide, then cradled her until she began to cry again.

Every tear he'd watched Aelita shed in the past week had broken his heart over and over again. Even now, he can't stop blaming himself for what happened to her. If only he hadn't been on the pitch that night. If only he'd been there to protect her. If only he'd been a better boyfriend.

If only, if only, if only.

William sighs heavily, leaning back in the chair he's sitting in on Aelita's side of the bed. He's been half doing his homework, half watching her sleep for the past hour, his mind racing all over the place.

He truly feels helpless. He's never seen Aelita like this before. She's always been so strong and independent, but now she's a shell of her former self, worse than she'd been after her breakup with Jeremie. Back then, William barely talked to Aelita; even so, though he could tell she was down and out, he could see that she was still somewhat her normal self. Right now, Aelita is the rawest version of herself he's ever seen, and William is immensely worried about her. He knows she's going through a lot, but he wishes she would talk to him.

Aelita stirs in her sleep, her brow furrowed. She lets out a soft whimper, her eyes still shut tightly.

William reaches out and gently strokes her hair, trying to soothe her. "Shhh, it's okay, Princess. I'm here," he whispers. Aelita's eyes flutter open, her gaze meeting William's. "Hey, beautiful. How are you feeling?" Aelita doesn't respond. She sits up in bed and rubs her eyes, her movements slow and sluggish. "Do you need anything? Water? Food? A bath?"

Aelita shakes her head, her eyes downcast.

"Okay. Well, I'm here if you need anything, okay? I'm not going anywhere."

She nods, still staring at the bedsheets.

William gets out of the chair and walks around to the other side of the bed. He climbs in wordlessly. He wraps his arms around Aelita and pulls her close, her back flush against his chest. She tenses up at his touch. He notices her discomfort and loosens his grip. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just want to be close to you. I want you to know that I'm here for you."

Though still tense, Aelita relaxes in his embrace.

"I love you, Aelita. I really do. More than anything. And I'm going to protect you, no matter what. I'm not going to let Pelletier get away with what he did. I'm going to make him pay. I want him to know that he can't get away with hurting you. I want him to know that I'm going to make him regret what he did."

Aelita stiffens again, her body going rigid once more.

William sighs. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I just... I'm so unbelievably angry. I don't think I'll ever have the words to explain just how angry I am."

Aelita begins to tremble and almost hyperventilate.

"It's not you I'm angry at, Princess. I could never be angry at you for this." He kisses the top of her head. "I could never hate you for this. I love you more than ever."

Aelita buries her face in her hands, her body wracked with sobs. William holds her tighter, his heart breaking. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Aelita." He rubs her back, trying to soothe her. "It's okay. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." As William continues to hold her, he continues to soothe her and help her regain control of her breath. "I love you, Lita. I will always love you. I'm not going anywhere."

Aelita shifts in his arms, sniffling as she settles. William looks into her eyes, his heart skipping a beat. Aelita reaches up and cups his cheek, her touch gentle. He leans into her touch, letting his eyes close.

"I love you too, William," she whispers.

William opens his eyes, his gaze meeting hers. He leans in and kisses her forehead softly. She sighs, finally relaxing in his arms.

"What do you say we drink some water and get to sleep, Princess?"

Aelita nods, her eyes suddenly heavy.

William reluctantly releases his grip on her and gets out of bed. He heads downstairs and grabs two bottles of water from the fridge, then returns to the bedroom. Aelita sits up, scooting backwards to rest against the headboard. William hands her a bottle and sits on the edge of the bed beside her. He watches her as they both gulp down their water.

"Thank you, Will. For everything you do for me."

"Of course, Princess. I'd do anything for you," he responds, garnering a weak smile from Aelita. He leans in and kisses her cheek softly. "I love you, Aelita."

"I love you too, Will."


Ulrich pants heavily, his muscles burning from working out hard for the past hour. He's determined to push himself to his limits, get stronger, and overall be a better fighter. He finishes his set and takes a break, grabbing his water bottle and taking a long swig. As he pulls the bottle away from his mouth, he notices a group of loud and obnoxious meatheads entering the gym.

"Yo, check out the ass on that chick," one of the men, named Philippe Duval, says while gesturing to a girl on the treadmill who's oblivious to what's being said about her.

Ulrich recognizes another of the men as a fellow Pencak Silat club member, Alain Laurent. Ulrich growls under his breath as he watches his fellow practitioner follow Duval's line of sight towards the treadmills.

"Daaaamn, she's fine," Laurent replies.

Ulrich scoffs and rolls his eyes. He's used to hearing guys talk like that, but it still pisses him off, especially seeing someone he spends a lot of time around be so publicly crass and misogynistic.

"I'd definitely tap that," Duval says proudly.

Laurent nods and licks his lips sleazily. "Hell yeah, me too."

The third man, a wrestler named Luca Badeaux, snorts. "Yeah, right. Like you'd have a chance with a girl like that, Duval. Don't be a dick."

Duval sucks his teeth. "Man! Shut up, Badeaux!" he snaps. "I could get any girl I wanted. Including that one."

Badeaux rolls his eyes. "You're full of shit. You know that?" he replies.

The hell do these assholes think they are? And to think I respected Laurent until now, Ulrich thinks as he clenches his jaw. I can't stand guys like these. They're arrogant and disrespectful, and they don't deserve to be in the same room as women. He's yanked out of his thoughts by his club mate making another comment.

"Dude, did you see that picture going around on Snap?" Laurent asks suddenly.

"Yeah, man. Everyone has! It's crazy hot," Duval replies with a grin. "Shit's better than porn."

Ulrich's curiosity is suddenly piqued. "What picture?" he mumbles to himself. "Must be big. Wonder what it is."

"If there's something going around, I haven't seen it," Badeaux says almost forlornly.

Laurent pulls out his phone and sends the picture to Badeaux who pulls his phone out of his pocket as well. Once the message pops up on Badeaux's screen, his eyes widen as he sees the picture. "Holy shit," he says, his voice filled with shock.

Ulrich's heart pounds in his chest. I suddenly have a bad feeling about this.

"Right?" Duval replies, a smug smile on his face.

"Wait. Is that Aelita Stones?" Badeaux asks, his eyes glued to his screen.

"Yup. Dunbar's girlfriend," Duval says gleefully. "But get this—that's not Dunbar's username in the corner."

"Hang on. What?" Badeaux asks, his confusion evident.

"Yeah, bro. Get this," Duval pauses as he points to the username in the corner of the screen. "It's Brandon Pelletier's."

Ulrich's breathing stops. No. It can't be.

"Wait, what?" Badeaux almost shouts.

"Yeah, man. Looks like Dunbar's girlfriend is cheating on him," Duval replies with a chortle.

"Holy shit, this can't be real," Badeaux says, his voice filled with awe.

"I know, right?" Duval replies, amused.

"Damn, that's fucked up," Laurent says.

"Yeah, well, serves him right," Duval snaps, his voice dripping with disdain. "He thinks he's hot shit just because he's Kadic's golden boy."

Ulrich's fists clench, his anger rising. He can't believe what he's hearing. There's no way that picture is actually of Aelita, whatever it is. Even I know she would never cheat on William.

"I don't believe Dunbar's girlfriend would cheat on him," Badeaux says, his voice filled with disbelief. "I had a class with her last semester. History 301. I sat behind her. She's too... wholesome."

"Wholesome?" Duval guffaws. "Please. Girls like her are all the same. Underneath that 'wholesome' exterior is almost always a gold digger slut after a dick with money."

Ulrich's anger reaches a boiling point. He can't take it anymore. He strides over to the group of guys and gets right in their faces. "Hey, Laurent. I didn't realize you were this much of an asshole," he spits. "You guys should shut the fuck up about people you know nothing about."

Duval scoffs. "And who are you to tell us that, dipshit?" he asks angrily.

"You heard me," Ulrich replies. "You don't know shit about Aelita. So, why don't you shut the fuck up and stop spreading rumors about her?"

"It ain't a rumor, buddy. See for yourself." Duval snatches Badeaux's phone out of his hands and pushes it into Ulrich's face.

Ulrich's blood runs cold. He can't believe what he's seeing. "That... that can't be real. How did you get that?" His voice is trembling.

"Oh, it's real, all right," Duval replies, his voice filled with amusement. "This is straight from Brandon Pelletier himself and it's all over campus already. Hate to break it to you, pal. Dunbar's girlfriend is a cheating whore."

Ulrich's anger returns full force. "I can't believe that. Pelletier sent that picture out personally? Bullshit!"

"Hey, man, chill out," Duval says to Ulrich. "It's not our fault Dunbar's girlfriend is a slut that wants more than just one dick."

"Shut the fuck up," Ulrich growls, his voice filled with anger. "You don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

"Whoa, man, relax," Laurent says. "We're just telling the truth."

"The truth? The truth is, you're a bunch of depraved assholes running your mouths about someone you know nothing about," Ulrich spits out. "I ought to report you for this."

"Report us? For what, Stern?" Laurent asks, indignant. "We're not doing anything wrong."

"You're spreading lies and rumors about a girl who's been through enough already," Ulrich replies.

"Through enough? Please. She's probably enjoying the attention," Duval replies. He smacks his buddies' chests. "Maybe I should give her a call myself."

"Don't you dare," Ulrich growls.

"Damn, bro. You got a crush or something?" Duval asks sarcastically. "You're really going hard in the paint defending her like this."

"Someone has to," Ulrich snaps.

"Whatever, man," Duval replies, rolling his eyes. "You're just as delusional as Dunbar anyway."

The three guys walk away from Ulrich, laughing and joking amongst themselves. Ulrich just stands there, fuming, unable to comprehend how anyone could be that much of a piece of shit, let alone three people. Does Yumi know about this? he thinks as he pulls his own phone out of his pocket and dials her number.

"Ulrich? What a surprise. You literally never call me. Everything alright?"

"This is too important to say by text. Everything is not alright," Ulrich says through gritted teeth.

"Okay. Then what's going on that would force you to call your own girlfriend?"

"Cut that out, Yumi," Ulrich snarls through his phone. "Have you heard anything about a picture circulating around school through Snap?"

"No. You know I don't use Snap," she states. "Ulrich, what is this about?"

"Some especially dickish meatheads came into the gym spouting off about some picture on Snap."

"Okay, and? Why does this warrant calling, Ulrich?"

"It's a life-ruining picture."

"Ulrich, what are you talking about?" she asks, getting impatient with her boyfriend's usual antics of skirting around the topic. "A picture of who, Ulrich?"

He stammers. "Aelita. It was of Aelita. She was... she was, um..."

"She was what, Ulrich?" Yumi asks, pressing.

"She was covered in, uh, cum," Ulrich whispers, looking around like a paranoid schizophrenic, hoping no one is listening to his conversation.

"What?!" Yumi exclaims. "How did those guys get a picture of her like that?"

"I don't know. Pelletier, from Monod, apparently. I don't know what's going on, but they were talking about her like she's a piece of meat," Ulrich says, anger wavering his voice. "I wanted to beat the shit out of them, but I knew that wouldn't solve anything."

Yumi is astonished. She's always known Ulrich as the act first, ask questions later guy. "How's that for character development," she says. "I'm glad you didn't. That wouldn't solve anything right now."

"Yumi, this is serious. I can't just stand by and let them talk about her like that."

"Yes, Ulrich. I know. But we need to figure out what's going on before we do anything." Yumi sighs. "Listen, I have one class with William in a couple days. If he shows up, let me talk to him and see if I can figure out what's going on here."

"Okay."

"I'll let you know what I find out."

"Alright. Talk to you later."

"Talk to you later. Bye."

Ulrich hangs up the phone and sighs heavily. He can't believe this is happening. He just hopes that Yumi will be able to get to the bottom of it.


Two days later, Yumi wakes up bright and early to head to her eight A.M. class. She's anxious to see if William shows up. She knows that he's been absent a lot lately, and she needs to talk to him. As she enters the lecture hall, she scans the room and spots him in the back row. She makes her way over to him and sits down next to him.

"Hey, William," she greets him quietly. "How are you?"

"Hey, Yumi. Been better," he replies, his voice barely above a whisper. "You?"

"I'm fine. Listen, I'm glad you're here today. I really need to talk to you."

William raises an eyebrow. "About what?"

"About Aelita," she says sternly.

William stiffens. "What about her?"

"You haven't been in class for weeks. The only reasons that would happen is if you got picked up by a UEFA team or something is going on between you and Aelita," she states. "Please, William. I want to help, but in order to do that I need to know what's going on."

William groans and covers his face with his hands. "I'm sorry, Yumi. I can't tell you."

"What do you mean? Why not?"

"Because she doesn't want anyone else to know."

"William, whatever is happening, it's all over school already. People are talking about her. They're saying horrible things."

William drops his hands from his face. "What do you mean, 'it's all over school?'"

"Ulrich called me a couple nights ago."

"And?"

"He overheard some guys talking about Aelita. Apparently, Pelletier posted a picture of her online."

William freezes, his eyes wide. "What?"

"Yeah. Ulrich said he saw it with his own eyes. He said it was... bad."

William sighs heavily, anxiously running his hands through his hair. "Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck."

She places a hand on his shoulder to try and comfort him. "William? Are you alright? What is going on?" Her voice has a hint of alarm.

"I'm sorry... I can't tell you, Yumi."

"Whatever it is, I can help."

"No, you can't. No one can."

"William, please. I'm worried about you. I haven't seen you in God knows how long and you come back like this."

William sighs again and slams his fists down on the table causing Yumi to flinch. "If he's leaked it already, then I've got nothing to lose anyway," he mutters under his breath. "Fine. I'll tell you." He pauses and gathers his thoughts while Yumi stares at him expectantly. "Pelletier sexually assaulted Aelita."

Yumi's eyes widen. "What?!" she exclaims, a little too loudly. Some of the other students turn in their direction.

William slinks down in his seat. "Yeah. He recorded the aftermath and sent me the video." He buries his face in his hands again to fight the tears forming in his eyes. "Yumi. This bastard did unspeakable things to her and then sent me a video bragging about it."

"Oh my God." Yumi covers her mouth with her hand. "When did this happen?"

"Two weeks ago."

"What?! Why didn't you tell anyone?" she whispers harshly.

"Aelita made me promise not to."

"William, this is serious. People need to know. Pelletier needs to be held accountable."

"I know. I'm handling it."

"How? Have you even gone to the police?"

"Yes. There's an open investigation. Otherwise, I'm taking care of her. That's why I've been absent recently."

Yumi sighs. "All right. Just... please keep me updated. I'm here if you need me. Okay?"

"Thanks."

The professor enters the classroom then, and the discussion is over. Yumi pulls out her phone and uses her textbook to hide it out of the professor's view. She types out a quick message to Ulrich: "william was here today. meet me in the quad after i get out of class."

She hits send and puts her phone away.


Herve types away furiously at the supercomputer's keyboard as Jeremie silently looms over his shoulder. "Holoweb system online."

The Skid travels through the Digital Sea, its sonar scanning for enemies.

"Sending coordinates for the Replika. Get ready for broadband acceleration."

"Coordinates received," Aelita says.

"Good. Proceed to the hub." Herve continues to type inhumanly fast.

"Proceeding." Aelita quietly pilots the Skid, drowning out the banter of her friends.

Jeremie stands behind Herve, his arms crossed over his chest. Though he doesn't want to admit it, he's actually pretty impressed with how quickly Herve has caught onto things.

"Broadband acceleration in three seconds," Aelita says flatly.

"Ready," Herve replies. "Two. One."

The Skid warps through the hub, its engines roaring when it emerges on the other side uneventfully.

"Good. Now, proceed to the Replika."

"Roger." Aelita navigates the Skid towards the Replika without incident. She places her hand on the touch pad. "I'm sending you the signal, Herve."

"Digital key activated." Herve types some more. "It should open for you now."

The Replika unlocks, emitting an unholy creaking sound.

"Entering Replika," Aelita says, her voice monotone.

"Copy. Proceed to the tower."

"Roger." Aelita navigates the Skid towards the tower. "Skid secured," she says as the Skid docks.

"Excellent. Ulrich, William, and Aelita, you'll stay on the Replika while Yumi, Odd, and Sissi take care of the supercomputer."

"Where are we headed this time, DaVinci?" Odd chirps from his Nav Skid.

"To a laboratory in Mongolia. Hope you packed a winter coat," Herve answers with a chuckle at his own joke. He hits the execution key. "Translation."

Yumi, Odd, and Sissi leave their Nav Skids and appear inside the Mongolian laboratory.

"Man, it's freezing in here," Odd complains, shivering.

"Let's get this over with," Yumi says, her breath visible in the cold air.

"Right. This mission should be relatively easier than the others. As you can see, we've refined the Translation sequence in order to insert you directly into the target location rather than outside of it. The supercomputer should be in the next room," Herve instructs. "Be careful."

"Roger that," Odd says, rubbing his hands together.

The three Lyoko warriors make their way into the next room, their footsteps echoing in the empty space.

"Well, there's the supercomputer," Sissi says, pointing.

"Let's get to work," Yumi says, her voice determined.

The three of them approach the supercomputer, their hearts pounding.

Odd furrows his brow. "This is too easy."

"Don't jinx us," Yumi says in annoyance.

"Just saying. We haven't had a mission go this smoothly yet."

"Odd's right," Sissi says. "Something doesn't feel right."

On the flip side, Ulrich, William, and Aelita have just been energized onto the surface of the Ice Replika. Before they can even get their bearings, a laser shoots towards them, headed straight for Ulrich. At the last second, he ducks out of the way.

All three warriors whirl in the direction the laser came from. A swarm of Hornets barrels in their direction, now all shooting their lasers at them.

"Take cover!" Ulrich shouts.

The three warriors run to dive behind a large ice formation nearby.

"This is bad," Ulrich says.

"No kidding," William mutters sarcastically. "There's no way we can take on that many Hornets."

"Do you have a better idea?" Ulrich challenges him.

"We could retreat to the tower," William suggests.

Ulrich scoffs. "And leave the Skid unguarded? No way."

Without warning, Aelita jumps out from behind the ice formation, hurling energy field after energy field at the monsters.

"Aelita!" both Ulrich and William exclaim in unison.

Three Hornets go down, but not without Aelita taking damage herself.

"Aelita, get back here! You're too exposed!" William shouts.

Aelita doesn't respond. She continues throwing energy fields, her eyes wild and her movements erratic. The only sounds she makes are sounds of exertion as she continues flinging her energy fields without abandon.

"Aelita! Stop!" Ulrich yells, his voice desperate.

William leaps out from behind the ice formation as well now, placing himself directly in the Hornets' line of fire. He raises his sword in front of him, using it and himself as shields to protect Aelita.

"William, what are you doing?!" Ulrich shouts.

"Protecting Aelita!" William yells back.

The Hornets continue firing their lasers, and William does his best to block them, but he too is taking significant amounts of damage.

"William, you've already lost too many life points!" Jeremie yells loudly over Herve's shoulder. "Stop trying to play the hero and get your head on straight!"

"I'm not leaving Aelita unprotected!" William yells back.

"Oh yeah?" Ulrich sneers as he starts taking Hornets out while dodging numerous lasers. "You had no problem doing that a couple weeks ago!"

William turns his head sharply in Ulrich's direction. "What the fuck did you just say to me?!"

"You heard me loud and clear, Dunbar!"

William turns to face him, drawing his sword back to charge an energy slash at Ulrich, but several hits from the Hornets devirtualize him before he gets the chance to fire.

At once, Ulrich super sprints in front of Aelita and uses his sabers to deflect the lasers back at the Hornets. One by one, the Hornets start to explode left, right, and center. When the Hornets are all defeated, Ulrich pants with exhaustion from the effort. He turns to face Aelita. "Are you okay?"

Aelita just shrugs.

Back in Mongolia, Yumi, Odd, and Sissi have just destroyed the supercomputer after a brief bout of combat themselves.

"DaVinci, get us out of here stat!" Odd yells as sparks start to engulf the mainframe in front of them.

"You got it. Energize." Herve energizes the three warriors as well as the two on the Replika at the same time.

Once in the cockpit, Aelita wordlessly undocks the Skid from the tower and pilots it into the Digital Sea and away from the Replika as it starts to explode.

Herve rematerializes the five warriors once the Skid is parked in the hangar.

When everyone is gathered in the lab, before Herve or Jeremie can begin the debrief, all hell breaks loose.

"What the fuck were you thinking, Aelita?!" Ulrich shouts. "You could have gotten yourself devirtualized!"

"Hey! Watch it, Stern," William growls angrily stepping between Ulrich and Aelita. "Don't yell at her."

"Or what, Dunbar? You gonna lose your temper like a little kid?"

William scoffs. "You're one to talk."

"Oh, that's rich," Ulrich spits out venomously. He advances on William, getting right in his face. "At least I can take care of my girlfriend and protect her from getting assaulted."

Immediately, Aelita covers her ears and shuts her eyes tightly. Ulrich's tone and inflection is scarily similar to Pelletier's that night and she needs to do anything and everything to block it all out.

William's eyes flash with anger. "You don't know what the fuck you're talking about, Stern."

Ulrich glares back at him. "Don't I? Because after what I learned earlier this week, it seems pretty clear to me."

"What the fuck is your problem, Stern?" William clenches his jaw, his hands balling into fists. "I did not let Aelita get assaulted."

"Really? I find that hard to believe. Where were you when it happened?"

"I don't need to defend myself to you."

"Why weren't you there with her?" Ulrich asks, his voice getting louder.

William does not answer.

"WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU LETTING PELLETIER RUIN HER NAME?"

William clenches his fists tightly but doesn't speak.

"ANSWER ME!" Ulrich shouts, grabbing the collar of William's shirt.

"Why?" William looks him straight in the eye. "So you can act all high and mighty and pretend like you'd handle any of this better?"

Ulrich snaps, letting out a guttural yell as his free hand connects with William's cheek.

The rest of the team watches in horror as William is thrown off balance, his back connecting with the wall of the lab. Ulrich leaps at him, pinning him against it.

"Ulrich, stop!" Yumi screams.

Ulrich ignores her as he unleashes his pent-up rage on his teammate.

Aelita stumbles and falls to her knees, hyperventilating.

"YOU USELESS PIECE OF SHIT! HOW COULD YOU LET THAT HAPPEN TO HER?!" Ulrich is screaming at the top of his lungs, his punches flying wildly at William's face. But William just takes it, hoping Ulrich will tire himself out. "I TRUSTED YOU TO PROTECT HER! WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE YOU?! YOU DON'T DESERVE HER! IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE JEREM-"

William catches a wayward hook, clamping down hard around Ulrich's wrist and staring at him through his hair with bloodshot, black eyes. "Don't your DARE finish that sentence, Stern."

Ulrich feels the sudden intensity of William's bloodlust and backs off enough for William to collect himself. But as William rears back to launch his own barrage, Aelita screams a scream no one on the team could have ever expected from her - a sound so bloodcurdling, the entire group falls silent with fear.

The shock brings William back, light returning to his eyes as he rushes over to his girlfriend. As he collects her off the ground, William speaks clearly. "Congratulations, dumbass. If you would have ever watched me for even a second, you'd know I have been protecting her. Being a protector doesn't mean throwing your weight around like a child."

The team watches William as he expertly comforts Aelita. He calms her down enough to where she can sit up with her own strength.

"Ulrich, what you don't seem to understand about me is that I am willing to do whatever it takes to make her life comfortable, even if that means I, myself, am not."

He stands up and looks around the room, surveying all his teammates' faces. Yumi and Odd are fighting back tears. Yumi covers her mouth with her hand, Odd wipes his eyes with his sleeve. Sissi is shaking as she stares at the floor, silently weeping. Herve looks away and Jeremie expertly hides his emotions behind his glasses. Ulrich is dumbfounded and distraught as he realizes just how much he misunderstood the situation.

"You all call her Princess because of her presence on Lyoko. I call her Princess because of her presence in my life. I have shown her a love she didn't realize she could ever have." He stares directly at Jeremie, who just averts his gaze. "Where do you all get off? Huh? What is it going to take for you accept that she's with me and I am good enough for her?"

"That's enough, William!" Jeremie barks, a lone tear escaping underneath his glasses. "Team, I want you to understand what he's trying to say. As much as I hate to admit it, he's right. I have seen firsthand how good he is to her... how much he wants for her."

William's confused look doesn't escape Jeremie as he walks over and stands between William and Ulrich. "Ulrich, you need to calm down. Whatever grudge you have against him, drop it." Jeremie turns back to William. "Get her home safely. And get yourself cleaned up."

William gives a curt nod and helps Aelita up. "Come on, Princess. Let's go home. Can you walk?" She nods and takes his hand as they slowly walk toward the elevator.

As the elevator shuts, Yumi strides over to her still dumbfounded boyfriend. She shakes him out of his trance enough to get him to look her straight in the eyes. "I thought you were over this bullshit! Why are you still so childish and petty?"

"What the fuck are you-" He's cut off by a heavy slap across his left cheek.

"You deserve that one, buddy," Odd pipes up.

"Honestly, Ulrich. What the fuck is your problem? William doesn't deserve any of the shit you give him. And yet, here you are, wailing on him like he's your damn punching bag!" Yumi yells.

"He's my problem! He pisses me off! Alright?!" He rubs his reddened face. "Goddammit, Yumi, that hurt!"

"Give it a rest already! Jesus Christ!" Herve calls out from the background. "As much as I enjoy seeing you fools hate on each other like this, I hate seeing this team I've only been a part of for a few months being torn apart from the inside out. I joined in because I thought I could contribute to something bigger than myself. Maybe even be labelled as a hero, who knows? But Lord knows that's not gonna happen when you assholes are fighting each other like this. Please, just stop."

"Well said, Herve. Thank you," Jeremie commends his new partner. "Everyone, go home and get some rest. All of you."


"Fuck. He really did a number on me," William laments after looking at his battered and bruised face in the bathroom mirror. He closes the toilet's lid and sits down with a heavy sigh. When Aelita starts to gently clean his wounds, he winces. "Ow."

"Why'd you let him do that to you, Will?" Aelita asks softly, turning his cheek to look him straight in the eye.

"Because I still had enough sense to know if I fought back, he'd be dead," he answers flatly. "Anyway, enough about me. Are you alright? I've never heard you scream like that before. It was terrifying." He reaches up and brushes her cheek with his thumb.

She leans into his touch for the first time in days. "I'm not. But I'm grateful to you for standing up for our relationship. Thank you, Will."

He looks at her intently, still worried. "Of course, Princess. Anything for you."

"I'm all done," she says, closing the first aid kit. "Come on, honey. Let's get to bed. It's late and you need the rest." She leads him out of the bathroom.

"Tell me something I don't know," he says as he stands up to follow her.

The two get under the covers as William turns out the light.

The sound of heavy knocking echoes through the air, startling Aelita awake. She sits straight up and listens again, wondering if it was part of a dream. Sure enough, the knocking sounds again. "Will, wake up." She shakes his shoulder.

He mumbles something unintelligible and turns over on his side.

Aelita shakes his shoulder even harder. "William, someone's at the door."

"Huh?" He sits up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What's going on?"

"Someone's at the door. They've been knocking for a few minutes now."

"Alright, I'll go check it out." William gets out of bed and puts on a shirt.

"Be careful," Aelita warns.

"Yup." He heads out the bedroom door. Aelita follows him but stops at the top of the stairs, anxiously watching as he trudges down to the front door and peers through the peephole. "Pfft."

"Who is it?" Aelita asks.

"It's your best friend and her boyfriend."

"Oh, thank God." She breathes a sigh of relief.

William opens the door. "What do you two want?"

"Well, good morning to you too, sunshine," Odd says as he pushes his way in through the door.

William looks annoyed. "Um. I missed the part where I invited you in."

"And I missed the part where this became your house, but hey, what do I know?"

"Tch." William can't say anything back because he knows Odd is right. He does his best to hold back a smile.

"Anyway, we're here to hang out." Odd saunters into the living room and plops down on the couch, picking up a game controller.

"Yeah, well, we're busy."

"Doing what?"

"Uh. Sleeping."

"Well, wake up, sleeping beauties. It's already past eleven."

William sighs. "What do you really want?"

"To make sure you're alive after Ulrich rearranged your face. By the way, you look surprisingly good considering you got the shit kicked out of you yesterday."

"Della Robbia. If you don't shut up, you just might end up with a face like mine."

"Oh, so the dark and brooding anti-hero does have a sense of humor after all! Neat."

William again struggles to keep a smile from forming on his lips.

Odd pats the seat beside him. "Sit."

"I'm not your dumb dog."

"That's diggity-dog to you, first of all. Second, if you don't sit then I'm gonna have to play Super Smash on my own, and that's lame. So, sit."

William rubs his face and sits down beside him, grumbling to himself.

"Hey, Will," Sissi starts, "where's Aelita?"

"Upstairs. Avoiding you idiots."

"Fair," Odd quips.

"I'm gonna go upstairs, then. I've... got some things I need to talk to her about." Sissi turns on her heel and leaves the room.

As she walks up the stairs, Odd looks back at William. "Sooooooo... Smash?"

"Fine, fine," William says with a chuckle. "Ready to get destroyed?"

"In your dreams!" Odd barks confidently.

Sissi chuckles at the guys' antics as she walks up the stairs. She walks through the upstairs hall towards Aelita's room, mentally preparing herself for the conversation about to happen. Ulrich's outburst last night solidified something she'd been wondering about since the night of the party: Aelita had been assaulted, and she didn't tell her. She walks up to the door and knocks. "Aelita? I'm coming in."

Aelita looks up from her book, scrunching her face at her uninvited guest. "Why are you up here, Sissi? I'd rather be left alone, if you don't mind."

"And I'd rather we talk. This is important." Sissi brings out an almost maternal authority Aelita hasn't seen before. "Why, Aelita? Why didn't you tell me what happened? Why did I have to find out because Ulrich yelled it while going berserk?"

Aelita had been afraid of this. With fresh tears welling up in her eyes, she flatly tells Sissi, "Because I didn't want you to know." She pauses to center herself, to try to keep the tears from spilling over. "Do you understand what I've had to go through in the past couple weeks? The humiliation I've had to endure?" Aelita layers her next words with thick contempt. "All because you just had to go to that party."

Sissi winces, Aelita's words cutting her deep. She knows her friend is right, but still tries to defend herself. "It was a super important party! Basically only VIPs got invites, Aelita! We couldn't have passed that up!"

"We could have and we should have. And you know it." Aelita is now working her way out of the bed, her legs hanging over the side. "Sissi, I told you multiple times we shouldn't have gone. I told you before we left. I told you when we got there. I told you while we were dancing. I'm so angry at you for not listening. And do you know why?"

"No." Sissi shakes her head. "Why?"

"Because the party was hosted by Brandon Pelletier. It was his house. He purposely made it so an invite found its way into your hands, knowing you would go and would probably bring me with."

"You... you don't know that..." Sissi tries to back pedal.

"Oh, but I do. He told me personally as he locked me in the bathroom with him and held a knife to my neck." Aelita's eyes sting from her tears as they finally stream down her face, but not once does she take her eyes away from Sissi's. "Any normal person in my position would blame you. But I won't because there are... other factors that led to Pelletier ramming his dick down my throat repeatedly."

"Aelita, I—"

"No, I'm not done yet." Aelita stands up and stares Sissi down as she begins to raise her voice. "I don't know who I am anymore, Sissi! William hasn't looked at me the same way since that night. I know he's trying not to, but I've noticed it. Pity, Sissi. My own boyfriend is looking at me with pity! Like I'm a lost fucking puppy!" Aelita is yelling at this point. "I need his love so badly right now, but anytime he tries to touch me, I get scared, terrified even! I freeze! And I can't keep my emotions in check either! Most of my days are spent in bed because I physically cannot make myself do anything else! Do you understand what that's like?!"

Sissi can't handle her friend yelling at her like this. She's never seen Aelita make these faces or be this loud. She's never seen her act this way. She can't help but break down herself. "Aelita, I'm so sorry..." she gasps out between sobs. "I'm so so sorry..."

"Yeah, you better be honestly." Aelita's anger is now coloring her language. "You know what? I'm jealous of you. Fucking green with envy. How is it that while my relationship was nearly torn apart because of your selfish need to always be partying, you got a fucking promise ring the next day? Why do you get to be so sure of yourself and your sexuality when I have to rebuild mine from scratch and deal with half of the student body looking at me like I'm a whore?! It's not fucking fair!"

Sissi's head snaps up. "No, hang on. You don't get to do that. You don't know the half of what I've gone through." Sissi glares at Aelita, her own tears streaming down her cheeks. "You say you're jealous of me? I'm jealous of you, too. Before Odd, I never had a stable, healthy relationship like you get to have with William. When I finally got sick of Ulrich constantly rejecting me, I bounced from guy to guy to guy, hoping, praying that any one of them would think me worth more than just a hit-and-quit. I felt like the school prostitute, and the looks I got were just as scathing. So don't try and tell me I don't know how that feels!"

Before Aelita can respond, they hear Odd's shrill voice cut through the air. "NO! WHAT! THAT FUCKING EDGE GUARD WAS BULLSHIT AND YOU KNOW IT!"

The girls, both still angry, stare one another down, their breathing heavy and labored. They can hear William cackling almost maniacally downstairs.

After a minute or so of silence, Aelita speaks up. "Sissi, I'm sorry," she says, her voice shaky. "I... I didn't mean to imply that your experiences are any less valid than mine. You never told me any of that. I'm just... I'm so lost right now. I feel like I'm drowning and no one really cares."

"I'm trying, Aelita. I'm really trying. But you haven't made it easy." Sissi wipes the tears from her eyes. "You're pushing me away. You're pushing everyone away. You're not letting anyone in. You have to let us help you, Lita. You can't do this alone. But we can't help you if we don't even know what's going on."

Aelita sighs, her shoulders slumping. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm just... I'm scared. I'm scared of what people will think of me. I'm scared of what it will do to William's reputation. I'm scared of losing him in all this."

"Lita, he loves you. So much. A person would have to be both blind and deaf to not realize that about him." Sissi smiles a small smile. "I've never seen a man love with his entire being the way William does. He's going to stand by you, no matter what." Sissi crosses the room and places a hand on Aelita's shoulder. "He's not going anywhere. You're not going to lose him. I promise."

"I hope you're right." Aelita sniffles, her eyes welling up with tears again. "I'm just so confused. I feel so broken. I don't know who I am anymore."

"You're Aelita Stones. You're the strongest, bravest, kindest, smartest, most beautiful woman I know. Nothing Pelletier did can change that. You're still the same person you've always been. You just have some extra baggage now. But that's okay. We'll help you carry it. You're not alone, Lita. Trust me." Sissi wraps her arms around her friend, pulling her into a tight embrace.

Aelita returns the hug, her tears falling freely. "Thank you, Sissi. Thank you."

Aelita and Sissi continue to hold each other, they can hear their boyfriends shouting at each other downstairs.

"What in fuck?! How are you this good?!" William yells.

"It's called skill, Will! Skill!"

"Oh, fuck you, Della Robbia!"

The girls break apart and giggle.

"Those two are something else," Sissi says, smiling.

"Yeah, they are," Aelita replies, her smile fading. "I'm glad Will has someone like Odd to lean on right now. He's been so strong for me, but I know it's taking a toll on him."

"He's a good man, Lita. He'll be okay. He has you."

"Shall we go check on them?" Aelita asks, changing the subject.

"Yeah, let's go."

The girls make their way downstairs, their hearts full.


"Hey, Will," Sissi starts, "where's Aelita?"

"Upstairs. Avoiding you idiots."

"Fair," Odd quips.

"I'm gonna go upstairs, then. I've... got some things I need to talk to her about." Sissi turns on her heel and leaves the room.

As she walks up the stairs, Odd looks back at William. "Sooooooo... Smash?"

"Fine, fine," William says with a chuckle. "Ready to get destroyed?"

"In your dreams!" Odd barks confidently.

William grabs a controller and rolls his eyes, and they boot up the game console.

"How's Aelita been?" Odd asks quietly after a few minutes pass, once he's sure Sissi is out of earshot.

"Not great. She's been really depressed and withdrawn. She's barely eating and she's not sleeping well. She's having nightmares and waking up in a panic." William sighs heavily. "I'm really worried about her."

Almost as if on cue, they hear Aelita yelling, but are unable to tell exactly what she's saying through the walls.

"Damn. They might kill each other up there."

"Yeah. Case in point. I'm doing everything I can to support her, but I'm not sure it's enough."

"It is enough. She'll get through this, William. She's strong."

"I know. But it's hard to see her hurting like this. Really, really hard."

Odd picks Kirby as his character while he speaks. "I get it. But you're there for her, and that's what matters."

"Yeah." William raises an eyebrow. "Kirby, huh?"

"Hey, don't knock Kirby. He's a badass."

William snorts. "Whatever you say, man." After a bit of deliberation, he picks Cloud as his character.

The boys start the match, and Odd quickly gains the upper hand.

"So, how are you and Sissi doing?" asks William, politely making small talk.

"Pretty good, actually. We're both really busy with school and work, but we're managing."

"That's good."

"Yeah."

They sit quietly for a while, the only sounds in the room being the rapid pressing of buttons and the occasional grunt of effort.

William clears his throat. "You wanna know something?"

"What?"

"Before all this Pelletier shit, I was laying in bed one night over the holiday break and I realized something."

"What?" Odd asks again, only half listening to William.

"After seeing how effortlessly Aelita fit in with my family, I realized that... I want to marry her."

Odd drops his controller in shock.

William pauses the game and turns to look at his friend. "I realized that I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I've never been so sure of anything in my life. I'm more sure about her than I am about going pro."

Odd's jaw is on the floor. "Holy shit, dude."

William chuckles. "Yeah. I know."

"When are you gonna ask her?"

"Not any time soon, especially with everything going on right now. I know that much."

"Understandable."

"But it has to be before I graduate next year."

"Makes sense."

"Thing is, though," William says as he unpauses the game, "I want her to know I'm committed to her. I want her to know that I'm in this for the long haul."

"I get it." Odd is back to only half listening.

"I just don't know how to do that without freaking her out."

"Well, you could always get her a promise ring."

"A promise ring?"

"Yeah." It's Odd's turn to pause the game. "You know, a ring that symbolizes your promise to her. Shows her you wanna be tied down without actually tying either of you down yet."

"Huh. I hadn't thought of that."

"Yeah, man. I actually gave Sissi one a couple weeks ago."

"Really?" William's eyebrows shoot up. "How'd she react?"

"She loved it."

"That's awesome, dude. Congrats."

"Thanks." Odd resumes the game.

William's mind is racing. A promise ring. That could work.

"So, when are you gonna give it to her?" Odd asks.

"I don't know. I'll have to think about it. Soon though... Valentine's Day is coming up, so there's an option right there."

"Fair enough." Suddenly, Kirby falls off the platform during their combat, and in an effort to recover, Odd is very rapidly hitting the up button and the B key. "Fuck fuck fuck!"

William snickers and maneuvers Cloud to hit Kirby, preventing a full recovery and causing Kirby to lose a life.

"NO! WHAT! THAT FUCKING EDGE GUARD WAS BULLSHIT AND YOU KNOW IT!" Odd shouts, his voice shrill.

William throws back his head and cackles, laughing harder than he has in a while. He has to wipe away the tears that come to his eyes. "That's what you fucking get, you braggart!"

They continue playing, the mood lightening considerably.

After a few minutes, William speaks up. "Hey, thanks for the advice, man. I really appreciate it."

"No problem. I'm always here for you, dude."

"I know. Same goes for you."

"Thanks, man." Odd takes advantage of William's distraction and completely obliterates him with a series of combo moves, and it's game over. He's won.

"What in fuck?! How are you this good?!" William yells.

"It's called skill, Will! Skill!"

"Oh, fuck you, Della Robbia!"

They are so engrossed in their back and forth arguing that they don't hear their ladies approaching.

"Hey, boys," Sissi says, interrupting their banter.

Odd and William look up, surprised to see the girls.

"Hey, ladies," Odd says. "You good?"

"Yeah, we're good," Aelita replies.

William stands up to give Aelita a forehead kiss. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," Aelita says softly.

"I'm glad to hear that."

Sissi asks, "So, what craziness are you guys up to?"

"Just playing some Smash," Odd replies.

"Mind if we join?"

"Not at all. Grab a controller."

The girls grab controllers and join in on the fun, and soon, the four are immersed in the game, everyone is yelling at each other, and laughter fills the room. When William looks at Aelita, he can't help but smile. He's so glad that she's feeling even a little better, and he's determined to do whatever it takes to make sure Pelletier pays for what he did.