It's Shadow again! Yes, I know I haven't updated in forever, and I truely am sorry, but to make up for it, here's a pretty long chapter! (It's long by my standards, ok?) Anyways, since I didn't do this in the last chapter, here's the disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko or any of its characters or anything else related to it although that would be extremely awesome. Here's chapter 5!

"Dunbar?" Odd Della Robbia inquired, stroking the little white dog, "Real funny, Yumi, real funny. Honestly, I haven't heard you joke about him in just about, well, never, now that I think about it. I thought you 'forbid the use of the name' around you or something? Sheesh, what a hypocrite."

Aelita Stones smacked him upside the head. "Speak for yourself, Odd. You're the most hypocritical of us all. Yumi was just kidding, weren't you, Yumi?"

I looked timidly at the four teens before me and said in a barely audible whisper, "I told you already, I'm not Yumi. I'm Rose. Rose Dunbar. Yumi Ishiyama ... was my mother."

They stared back at me, dumbfounded. Jeremy Belpois suddenly cleared his throat and stated, "You know, I think she's been brainwashed or something. Maybe Xana did put a virus in her after all."

"She definately doesn't look like herself. Are you feeling alright, Yumi?"

"No!" I cried, distressed, "I'm not feeling alright at all! And I don't look like Yumi because I'm not Yumi!"

The blonde genius and the pink haired maiden glanced momentarily at each other before declaring unanimously, "She's getting into a scanner. Odd, Ulrich, help us, will you?"

"No!" I shouted in the loudest voice I could muster, "I am not going in a scanner, because even if I do, the virtualization won't work on me because I'm not Yumi! Look at me," I demanded to the four of them, "Look at me and tell me that my mother never wore her hair braided down her back like me because that's exactly what my father wanted! Look at me and tell me that my mother never wore the slightest bit of green or pink or purple or blue or any of the other million colors because they reminded her too much of you! Look at me and tell me that the real Yumi Ishiyama wouldn't be standing in front of you, yelling at you, trying to tell you that she's not Yumi Ishiyama! Look at me and tell me ... anything."

Ulrich Stern, who had scarcely said a word since he met me, now stood up and observed me with his peircing glances, and stopped as his bright green eyes met mine.

"You're not Yumi." It was not a question; it was a statement, said like a fact.

I merely nodded. "You beleive me?"

"You didn't need to say all that to convince me. I knew you weren't Yumi from the very start."

"How?"

"Your eyes. They're green."

I smiled slightly. "My father never liked my eyes. He said it was strange how I could inherit green eyes from parents whose ancestry never showed a trace of it. My mom loved them though. I think it reminded her of you."

"Where is she now?"

"Gone," I whispered, voice choked slightly.

"Gone? To where?"

"On." The familiar prickling on the edges of my eyes began again.

"... What?"

"Ulrich," Aelita started, lips quivering, "I think ... I think she means -" A tear traced down her cheek, and the brown haired boy finally seemed to understand.

Dead. Yumi Ishiyama, the girl who loved you unconditionally, whom you loved beyond all else, dead.

It took them a while to beleive me, and even longer for them to accept it. Afterwords, I had to explain to them how much the world had changed in these breif thirty years (while sharing my just-brought bread and cheese amongst the six of us, Kiwi included) and how my father was the dictator of it all. I had to explain how the once glistening planet of Earth had been reduced to bleakness and coldness, with nothing but the daily rations to look forward to. The only season was winter, I told them, and during the day the sun only shined for three hours, which allowed some of the wheat crops in the neighboring fields to grow. Kadic had been transformed completely into a madatory military academy that brainwashed children of all ages into serving my father, who was to be referred to as variations of "Master" at all times. The shops on the streets sold only necessary items; old luxuries like television and microwaves were allowed only in families that faithfully served my father. Aside for a few exceptions, no ordinary person was allowed outside after 6:00pm and before 7:00am, which helped serve as a protective measure for me. Forbidden areas were everywhere, and one wrong turn could land you in prison for eternity or lead to death, usually involving a shot through the head or a specific poison. The latter was most commonly used, for prisons were filling up at exponential rates and head wounds usually bled too much and sometimes didn't kill.

"William, huh?" Odd sighed as he stuffed another block of cheddar in his mouth, "I didn't think he would turn out that bad. I mean, he was always kind of the troublemaker, but world domination? Seriously? That sounds like something Xana would do."

"He's very strange," I said timidly, slowly chewing on the crust of my bread, "Sometimes, he's calm and collected and usually pushes off all the reports of felonies and misdemeanors and lets most of them go. He even calmed down enough once to read me a bedtime story. But occationally he'll get in such a foul mood that he'll go around giving orders to kill everyone living on a certain street for no reason. Usually though, he's in between the two. It's very wierd, don't you think?"

Jeremy and Aelita glanced quickly at each other, his eyes wide and alert and her eyebrows raised in a high arc. They turned back just as quickly.

The slow sound of chewing filled the room once again as the five of us went silent.

It was Jeremy who broke the silence this time. "Rose, how do you seem to know about Lyoko? You didn't question us when we mentioned Xana and earlier you mentioned 'virtulization'. It seems as though you know about it."

I smiled breifly. "Mom talked about her adventures on Lyoko alot. Only to me, though, because she didn't want Dad going in a rage again. Before she died, that's almost all she talked about. Whenever she had time, and whenever Dad was out, she would tell me all about it. So ... I know."

"But Jeremy," Ulrich said suddenly, "How was it that we were stuck in Lyoko for thirty years and Yumi wasn't? It doesn't make sense, does it? You weren't on Lyoko either, so how come she was the only one who was able to progress with time?"

"I don't know," the blonde replied, "It might've been a complex virus or a barrier around the factory - I don't know yet, but that's what we've got to figure out if we want to go back."

We ate in silence for a few moments longer. Ulrich was the one to speak up this time.

"Rose, I want to ask you, and tell me only if you know for sure ... Who killed Yumi?"

I forced a smiled and an apology, because even though I knew, I wasn't about to tell them. They would run off and try to find him and kill him, and for thier own safety, they absolutely could not do that.

It was the ironic fact that they were sitting on precicely the spot where my father had killed my mother.

That took a while to write! I would really appriciate it if you lovely readers would click the nice little button down there and write a line or two. Even a word or two! (But I'd prefer a line or two :D.) Anywho, I'll try to update as soon as possible, because honestly I really like this story and we really have to get to the nice action-y parts of it.

Please read over any misspelled words, because it seems as though FanFiction has gotten rid of the Spell Check button and I would seriously die without it. If anyone has any idea on where it went, kindly notify me :).

Hope you guys are having a fabulous summer and make sure to wear sunscreen! :D

ShadowedTear