"Where is Yumi? She should have been here by now. It’s not that far a walk from Mrs. Hertz’s class."
"Maybe William finally showed up."
"Shut up Odd."
"Shesh, ok Ulrich!"
"Calm down Ulrich. Yumi’s a big girl…she can manage on her own." Jeremie added. The minutes ticked by and still no sign of Yumi.
"Now I’m starting to get a little worried." Aelita commented, folding her arms. "It shouldn’t take fifteen minutes to get here."
"Try calling her." Jeremie suggested.
Ulrich nodded as he grabbed his mobile out and speedily dialed Yumi’s number.
"Konichiwa, you’ve reached Yumi’s mobile. Leave me a message."
Ulrich hung up. "She’s not answering. Something’s wrong." He stood and shoved the cell phone back in his pocket. "I’m going to go look for her."
"Alright." Jeremie replied, standing up off the bench, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. "Odd, Aelita, and I will head over to the factory. Call us if you need help."
Ulrich nodded before heading off in the opposite direction of the others, hoping that he was just overreacting. Perhaps Yumi just got lost.
Not likely. Ulrich thought to himself. She knows this school like the back of her hand. It’s not likely that she’d have gotten lost.
He walked by Mrs. Hertz’s classroom, hoping to find her talking with someone and set his mind at ease. To his dismay he saw no one.
Where is she?
He turned and scanned the school grounds, trying to see if he could catch a glimpse of her somewhere. As he was searching, Sissi slowly made her way toward him.
"Oh there you are!" she exclaimed as she stood beside him. "I was looking for you."
"Keep looking." Ulrich retorted, continuing to look for his friend.
"Looking for someone?"
"Not you."
"If you’re looking for Yumi, she and William just walked that way about 5 minutes ago."
Ulrich hastily turned toward her. "William? When did he get to school?!"
Sissi was slightly taken aback by the manner in which he asked the question and for a moment was unsure of how to answer. She finally regained her wits and brushed her hair flirtatiously. "Well how should I know? All I saw was the two of them walking hand in hand."
Ulrich took a step toward the girl. "Where did they go?"
"Uh…" Sissi faltered. "Well, they were uh, walking toward the gates…"
She never had time to finish her sentence. Ulrich turned and sprinted away from her, grabbing his phone out of his pocket as he did so.
"Jeremie!" he called.
"Ulrich?"
"I think I know where Yumi’s at!" he panted.
"Great! Where?"
"With XANA."
"Huh?! What are you talking about?""Sissi said she saw William and Yumi walking toward the gates of the school." Ulrich explained as he drew closer to the area of which he spoke of. "Yumi would never willingly leave in the middle of school unless it’s an emergency, and William wasn’t here earlier!"
"Sissi said she saw William and Yumi walking toward the gates of the school." Ulrich explained as he drew closer to the area of which he spoke of. "Yumi would never willingly leave in the middle of school unless it’s an emergency, and William wasn’t here earlier!""Ulrich, don’t jump to conclusions." Jeremie rebuked. "I know how you feel about William, but…"
"Jeremie, trust me!" Ulrich interrupted.
"But why would XANA go after Yumi?" Jeremie tried to reason with the boy. "He’s after Aelita and her memory, remember?""Unless he plans on using Yumi as a bargaining tool."
"Unless he plans on using Yumi as a bargaining tool." "He tried that once already. I doubt he would try it a second time.""Maybe he just wants to finish her off." Odd’s voice was heard. "I mean, what a great opportunity to do so when your enemy is helpless to fight against you." Ulrich felt his heart muscles wrench at the sheer thought. Perhaps William - or rather XANA - had already accomplished that goal. Perhaps she was already dead…
"Aelita’s right." Jeremie agreed. "But I still doubt that William’s under XANA’s control." "I don’t." Ulrich replied. "Jeremie, can you trace her mobile?"
"Ulrich…"
"Jeremie, just do it!" Ulrich said a bit angrily. "Even if you are right, we need to know where she’s at!"
"Jeremie, just do it!" Ulrich said a bit angrily. "Even if you are right, we need to know where she’s at!"He heard Jeremie sigh and knew that he had gotten his way. "Hold on. We’re almost at the factory."A few minutes later, Ulrich heard the sound of typing before Jeremie’s voice came over the line again.
A few minutes later, Ulrich heard the sound of typing before Jeremie’s voice came over the line again."It looks like she’s on her way to the factory!" Jeremie replied, sounding flabbergasted. "But we didn‘t tell her! How did she get there all alone?""I don’t think she’s there on her own free will."
"I don’t think she’s there on her own free will.""But why would XANA bring her to the factory?" Jeremie asked. "If he has her, wouldn’t he want to keep her as far away from us as possible?"Suddenly Odd’s words hit him like a ton of bricks. ‘Maybe he just wants to finish her off.’
Suddenly Odd’s words hit him like a ton of bricks.Again he felt his insides twist into large, painful knots. He couldn’t loose her…not again and not like this. He had lost her once to William, but to loose her to one of XANA’s evil plots was something that he would never be able to live with.
"Ulrich! Are you still there?"
"Yeah." Ulrich replied hoarsely.
"Hey, you okay?" Odd asked.
"Send Aelita to Lyoko." Ulrich instructed. "I’ve got to help Yumi!"
"Alright." Jeremie replied. Ulrich hung up his cell phone and pocketed the device. He thought for a moment. The quickest way to get to the factory from here is to go through town. Without another thought, he ran through the gates and away from the school, praying that Yumi was still alive.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Yumi groggily awoke to the sensation of being carried. She instantly remembered the events leading up to this and tried to free herself from the XANA-controlled William, but all she did was agitate the entity. She felt him stop walking and braced herself for another electric shock, but to her surprise received none.
Instead, he put her down. Yumi staggered uneasily, the effects of the first shock still with her, but she remained on her feet. Where am I? she wondered to herself. She listened, trying to get a idea of where she was at. As she listened, she heard the steady rhythm of small waves hitting concrete.
XANA had brought her to the factory! But, why?
Before she had time to react, the grip on her upper arms intensified. She cried out, trying to somehow free herself from him, but she could not. Yumi heard his eyes again twitch and imagined his expressionless face.
He spun her so that she was facing toward the river. She could feel the cooler breeze on her face as the slight wind blew against her skin. She knew immediately what XANA planned to do and again cried out, hoping that one of the others was nearby. She felt herself being pushed forward and could only take a deep breath before her head was plunged into the icy water.
*~*~*~*