A/N: Sort of a tie in with another story I've been working on. But not really. It's also doubling as a very belated birthday present for Yules. Warning: angsty angst ahead. Probably too angsty, but I wanted to capture the fragile emotional states I'm sure all of the Lyoko Warriors are in.
Summary: They're all on the verge of madness.

Stone's Throw Away

"I died once," Odd said to Ulrich.

He picked up a flat rock and flung it into the water. It skipped four times.

Ulrich picked up his own rock and traced over the edges with his fingers. It was thin, but not too thin, and the edges were smooth, probably from erosion and by any means, it should have been a perfect skipping rock.

Odd could pick up any rock and skip it any fashion. Ulrich spent the last fifteen minutes finding this rock, and now that he has it, he doesn't want to toss it in, waste his one perfect shot. So he chose a subpar rock and tossed it into the water, the same way Odd always did.

It fell in with a splash. Not a single skip.

"What are you talking about, Odd?" he asked because he doesn't know what else to say in response to that.

"My death," Odd said. "I died once."

"You're still alive." And he's repeating himself…

Ulrich knew deep in the pit of his stomach that he doesn't want to know what Odd is about to say next. He knew he will wish he hadn't have heard this when it's all done. But he listened anyway. It's just a joke, he told himself, just a joke.

He knew exactly why the idea of Odd dying was such a touchy subject right then, and being reminded isn't doing him any favors. And he knew Odd is probably joking, but it still disturbed him.

"This isn't a joke," Odd said as if he could read Ulrich's mind. He found a rock on the ground without looking and threw it without looking. It reached three skips. "It was last summer."

And suddenly Ulrich knew that he wasn't joking. Ulrich knew Odd last school year. They had barely talked in the summer. He had just assumed that Odd had been perfectly fine.

So he didn't respond to Odd's statement.

"So I return home, and I expect everything to be the same," Odd continued. "But of course, it really isn't. So I try to make friends again. What else is there to do? And it's going well some times and not so much some other times and then I'm crossing the street, and…"

"You got hit by a car," Ulrich whispered. His perfect stone felt weird in his hand.

"They say I died on the operating table."

"You didn't tell any of us."

"By the time I was able to tell any of you, there was nothing to tell. I was better by then so I didn't really see the use of calling to tell you any almosts."

"We would have wanted to know."

"I know," Odd said, "which is why I didn't tell you. Imagine you and Yumi, and the princess and Einstein, all freaking out and worrying and coming to visit me, just to see me lounging around and watching TV."

"It's bigger than that," Ulrich said, "because you could have died forever."

"But it's smaller than that," Odd said, "because I didn't."

"You died once, and that means you almost died for forever."

Odd picked up another stone and looked at it curiously, or at least with more attention than he was giving to Ulrich. He tossed it twice in his hand and hurled it into the water. Ulrich watched with fascination as the rock sailed through the air. Odd had thrown with none of his usual precise tosses. And he gets distracted because maybe, for once, Odd's stone will land in with a splash just as big as Ulrich's splashes. He felt his perfect stone and watched.

It didn't splash. It skipped twice. Ulrich let go of his own stone.

"Almosts only count in horseshoes and hand grenades."

"I don't play horseshoes and I never plan on needing to throw a hand grenade." Ulrich struggled to say the words because he was just so angry at Odd and he doesn't know why.

"Then you don't really have to concern yourself with almosts, do you, good buddy?" The way Odd asked it is simple and innocent, like they're talking about the weather or martial arts or how to slip a sedative into Jim's food.

The sun was setting. Odd stood up, threw one more rock into the water without even looking at the water or the rock. He was facing Ulrich and smiling and all Ulrich could do was smile back because he's not going to take this conversation with him. There's something different about the lake, different then their room, or the woods, or the factory, or even Lyoko. And taking a conversation from the lake to another area is almost as wrong as learning your best friend died and you never ever knew about it.

Odd's rock skipped six times and Ulrich scowled. He didn't throw his perfect rock though, because he's afraid it will just fall and he'll have lost his one perfect chance for nothing.

When they got back to their room, Yumi was sitting against their door. Her head was between it and the wall, her feet were laid out in front of the door which meant that all passers had to jump, and she was asleep.

Odd leaned over her to unlock the door and Ulrich bent down to gently poke Yumi. He automatically took a step back as soon as he touched her, as did Odd. They were right to do so. She thrashed out with a kick and a punch and a shout. They all do when they're woken up.

As soon as she realized she was not in danger of dying anytime in the near future, Ulrich walked over to her and bent down again. "Yumi?" He asked, "what are you doing here?"

"I told my parents I was going to a friend's place. And I am."

"Why are you here though?"

Yumi shrugged and stood up. Odd opened the door and the three walked inside. Odd sat on his bed with Ulrich and Yumi sitting on Ulrich's.

"It's just one of those days, you know?" Yumi said.

"No," Ulrich and Odd said together.

"Like…" Yumi grabbed at the air. "It's just, I love my family and everything, I really do, you know that. But they don't get it!"

Ulrich and Odd could understand that so they nodded and that was enough for Yumi. "Hey, if you guys don't mind, I'm really tired. I think I'll just take a quick nap."

She laid down on Ulrich's bed before they could say whether or not they minded and was asleep almost as fast. Ulrich shrugged and moved over to Odd's bed where they played on their handheld games for a bit.

It wasn't long before the nightmares started. Yumi didn't cry out, and she didn't thrash, but it was in the set of her face, the movement of eyes beneath the eye lids. They could tell because they've all seen each other look the exact same way.

They let her be. She didn't need to come back into the confused state of consciousness. The dreams would get better soon.

Ulrich still had the rock in his pocket. He quietly walked over and set it next to Yumi's clenched hands. She didn't notice it: her hands remained clenched together, but Ulrich liked to think that they clenched a little less and her eyes stopped moving quite as fast.

Odd watched him curiously from the bed. In a breaking of character, he didn't say anything. He didn't ask a question or even raise his eyebrows in a question. He didn't shrug his shoulders either. He just continued to watch Ulrich with a strange expression.

Ulrich sat down next to him.

"You handled Yumi with the nightmares well," Odd said. "Like you've had lots of practice."

Ulrich knew what Odd was implying and Odd knew what Odd was implying. But Ulrich didn't want to answer it because he didn't like the implications of was being implied.

"It's almost dinner time and I'm sure you don't want to miss it, Odd."

Odd perked up at that news and smiled widely. "Yeah, and Rosa told me that even the menu says Brussels sprouts we're actually going to have some mashed potatoes!"

"Jeremy will be disappointed," Ulrich pointed out.

"Who cares what Jeremy thinks?" Odd said happily. "The rest of the students will be thrilled, I can guarantee that."

Ulrich gently nudged Yumi awake, again automatically taking a step back, but she didn't thrash out. She woke up peacefully, opening both eyes at once and keeping them that way.

"Odd and I are going for dinner now," Ulrich whispered. He knew that he didn't need to whisper, that technically Yumi was still awake

The two walked over to the cafeteria and ate a surprisingly lonely meal. "I wonder where Jeremy is," Ulrich said. "It's not that it's not like him to skip meals, but it's just sort of strange."

Odd shrugged and ate his mashed potatoes. "Maybe he ate before we got here, it's not like we're all that early."

Odd was right. The cafeteria wasn't as full as it usually was at the peak of dinner. Instead, there were more empty tables than full tables. Odd smiled and leaned back, and started talking about the pros and cons of putting more sedatives in Jim's food. "A little too risky, I think," is what he said, "we don't want to hurt the big guy. Plus, sedatives are pretty obvious."

He decided that he would slip laxatives in instead, after much back and forth arguing between himself and himself.

Ulrich did agree with the sentiment even if he didn't contribute to it's creation- people usually notice if they fall asleep right after dinner two nights in one week. He absentmindedly pointed out that Odd would be better off doing it during a night they were having something greasy, but he mostly just looked at the door, waiting for the Einstein or the princess to walk in.

Odd walked over to talk to Rosa, and was there for over five minutes. When he returned at their table, he was smiling. If there is one person in Kadic Odd loved just as much as the Lyoko Warriors, Ulrich was sure that it would be Rosa. Ulrich had never asked, but he knew that if he did he'd be right. He didn't understand their bond- the cafeteria lady and one person who makes her job harder, but Rosa went to all Odd's skateboarding competitions and Odd would make excuses to eat at the school whenever he could.

In that time, Ulrich's worry for Jeremy grew. When Odd got back, he asked casually, "did Rosa say anything about Jeremy eating?"

Odd shook his head. "We didn't really talk about that. But why? Do you have a bad feeling about Einstein?"

"I didn't see him eat, of course I have a bad feeling about him." The reply was natural to Ulrich after all this time.

Odd rolled his eyes but didn't say anything about it. "We'll go check on Einstein then when we finish. And just so you know, Wednesday would be the perfect opportunity."

Ulrich waited for Odd to finish his dinner and the two set off for Jeremy's room. When they reached the door, Ulrich held up his hand. "Listen," he whispered. The two pressed their ears to the door and could make out the telltale sound of typing.

After receiving a pointed look, Odd shrugged. "We don't know for sure that he didn't eat dinner."

Ulrich continued to stare at him. Odd rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the ceiling. "Though it is Jeremy, and we should go check on them."

Jeremy hardly ever locked his door, and even if it was locked, Ulrich had a spare key that all the Lyoko Warriors had secretly gotten made. When they entered the room, the first thing they noticed was the smell of coffee.

Cups were everywhere, Ulrich counted eight without even trying to. "Jeremy!" he said, "when was the last time you got out of here!"

Jeremy shrugged but kept typing, he didn't even bother to look at them. "I'm on to something, Ulrich. This could be it!"

"What Ulrich wants to know is whether or not you've eaten yet today," Odd pointed out.

Jeremy didn't turn from his computer screen, but he nodded. "Yeah, I keep some snacks in here, with my coffee machine Yumi got me for Christmas, I've been keeping well fed."

Ulrich walked over to the trashcan where there were assorted wrappers. "Jeremy!" he shouted, "these are all for energy bars and candy!"

"I needed the energy," Jeremy said, "at least I ate."

Neither Odd nor Ulrich knew what to do about that so they both shrugged and came in. Odd casually put his arms around Jeremy's shoulders and got the other boy onto his feet. Before any of them realized it, they were walking towards the cafeteria, where the last of the students were finishing their dinner.

Odd didn't stop at their table though, he hummed to himself and pushed Jeremy to the front of the nonexistent line. Rosa peeked up and smiled before walking into the kitchen. She returned thirty seconds later with a steaming plate of Brussels sprouts.

Ulrich caught the wink Rosa gave to Odd and the way Odd slightly mouthed 'thank you' and he felt like he was intruding on something private. But then the moment was over and they walked to the table where Jeremy seemed to realize how hungry he was and began to scarf down food.

"I think I got it narrowed down," he said in between bites and more than once choked a little. "Within the next two days, Xana should be out of our hair for good."

Jeremy smiled so Ulrich and Odd smiled back while they exchanged glances out of the corner of their eyes. They had heard those exact words out of Jeremy countless times and never before had they come to any real progress. But they didn't say anything.

They listened for the next fifteen minutes as Jeremy talked about Lyoko and Xana and the process of virtualization. The idea of vehicles came up but it seemed too farfetched to both of them. Vehicles on Lyoko?

Jeremy's mouth didn't once travel onto a topic fit for the rest of humanity. His mind was in a place he's only really been once.

He finished eating and went back to his room. There's nothing to do around campus and they don't have an excuse for distracting him any longer.

They walked back to their dorm room when they bumped into Aelita. She had her books about Canada out again and was reading them as she walked.

When those books came out it was never a good sign.

Ulrich reached down to pick up one of the book and handed it back to her, but not before opening it up to a page with a bookmark in it.

Aelita smiled sheepishly took it. "I'm sorry," she said sheepishly. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Bad day?" Ulrich asked.

Aelita sighed and for just a split second he could see her face split into something that could be indecision, as if she's weighing out two situations. Then her mind is made up and she smiled. "Not really bad, just long," she said. "I'm off to the cafeteria. I'll see you two later."

She walked away with a spring in her step that was a little too cheery for a 'just long and now I'm off to eat' type of day. Odd and Ulrich watched her go, and both considered going after her before they thought better of it.

Aelita was impossible to crack when she didn't want to be cracked and there was nothing else that they could do about it.

"Everyone is a mess today," Odd said in a sigh and they started back towards their dorm room again.

"Yeah, seems that way," Ulrich mumbled as he unlocked the door. Yumi was gone. Maybe she had trekked back to her house or maybe to one of her other friend's dorm. All Ulrich knew was that her absence meant his bed was free. He felt a little bad about it, but he was tired.

He laid down and hit his head against something hard. He slowly rolled over to look at the offending object. It was his rock. His perfect skipping rock that had made Yumi's sleep seem less intense.

He gently set it on the ground next to his bed and went to sleep quickly. Not a lot had happened in that day but what had happened was exhausting.

He didn't wake up right away, but eventually the shaking and the talking got to him. He slowly opened his eyes and all he saw was darkness.

When he got used to the dark, he looked and saw Odd standing a few feet away. His hair was messy as it always was this late at night and he had been holding Kiwi in his arms, absentmindedly stroking the pet.

"You were having a nightmare," Odd said in explanation. He then went back to his bed without saying anything else except for a mumbled sentence or two about mopeds and dragons.

Ulrich didn't even want to know what that was about.

He slowly closed his eyes and his hand curled around Kiwi when the dog went sniffing under his bed. He didn't know what his dream had been about, but he felt shaken to the core. Luckily Kiwi stayed in place for a little bit before he bent down and slowly lifted the dog up.

Kiwi didn't bark or make a noise. He just settled in by Ulrich as he kept petting the dog.

"And to think I wanted to get rid of you," Ulrich said softly. Kiwi made a small whimpering sound and Ulrich continued to pet.

"Don't take this as a sign that I'll like you when you start shedding," he said, and Kiwi seemed to relax at the sound of his threat.

"Dogs," he whispered to himself.

Kiwi barked quietly.

He didn't remember falling asleep, but he woke up. Odd was gone, having had detention early in the morning. And on an extended weekend too.

Ulrich sat on his bed and looked around at the sun filled room. He had a good feeling about today. And the rest of the days. Something just felt right. He didn't know what he wanted to do with his day of freedom until he spotted the rock on the floor.

Risks were meant to be taken.

He only got lost twice on the way to the lake and in turned discovered and even faster root than the one Odd had showed him the other day.

He slowly held out his rock, getting the perfect form that Odd had showed him. He was careful and steady, moved it into a comfortable position in his fingers, and then quickly- but not too quickly- let the rock fly.

It skipped seven times.