"Hey, everyone, great work today," Jeremie smiled at his friends as they walked through the courtyard of Kadic. Aelita ducked her head modestly while Yumi and Ulrich shrugged in sync with each other.
"I knew I was fabulous. You didn't have to tell me," Odd bragged. "I mean, did you see me take out those Tarantulas back there? I even surprised myself, I was so amazing."
"And that does take a lot," Aelita teased, causing Jeremie, Ulrich, and Yumi to laugh.
"Anyway, I'm really looking forward to lunch today. Meatballs again, hooray!" Odd threw his arms up in celebration.
"Personally, I get tired of lunch when we have to eat it twice in one day," Yumi spoke up.
"But the return to past is really quite necessary, you know," Jeremie informed them. "Without it-"
"Yes, Jeremie, we know," Ulrich interrupted him. "We've done this thousands of times; you'd think we'd know about return to the pasts by now."
"Get ready, Ulrich. Sissi will be around any minute now," Odd broke in. Ulrich groaned and rolled his eyes. Sure enough, a high, annoying voice reached their ears.
"Oh, Ulrich, dear! Guess what!" Sissi Delmas came skipping into view, flanked as always by Herve and Nicolas. Herve shot Ulrich a glare of utter loathing, which Ulrich ignored.
"You have tickets to the romance movie playing in town? Oh, gee, that's too bad. I'm booked tonight. Later, Sissi," Ulrich brushed her off and walked away with his friends, laughing once they were out of earshot. Sissi looked shocked.
"But-But how did he know?" she whined. A look of hope shot across Herve's face.
"I'm free tonight, Sissi," he said tentatively. Sissi ignored him and stomped off in the other direction, leaving Nicolas laughing at Herve.
"What a nuisance." Ulrich shook his head as they stopped at a bench at the edge of the courtyard. "I can't believe I have to deal with her again when we return to the past. It's ridiculous!"
"But it's needed," Jeremie pointed out again as he and Aelita sat down on the bench. Odd joined them, while Yumi stood with Ulrich behind them.
"Yeah, but at least you already know what she's going to say, so you can dodge it easier," Odd pointed out. Ulrich was about to reply when Yumi suddenly put her hand to her head and closed her eyes.
"Yumi, what…?" Ulrich started, but Yumi swayed as if she was going to fall, and he leaped forward to steady her.
"Are you okay?" he demanded. Yumi blinked open her eyes and, seeming to realize that she was in Ulrich's arms, blushed, pulling away.
"I-I'm fine. Just a little light-headed, that's all," she replied, avoiding his gaze. Ulrich felt blood rush up to color his cheeks too. By this time the other three had realized something was going on and were looking back at them.
"Is everything fine back there?" Aelita asked. Both Ulrich and Yumi nodded, still blushing. Odd rolled his eyes at Jeremie, who smiled slightly.
Yumi's cell phone buzzed, interrupting the awkward moment. Answering the call, she turned away from the others so she could hear.
"Mom? What do you need?" they heard her ask. She paused. "Okay, I'll be over soon. No, I don't have any more classes today. Okay. Bye." Ending the call, she turned back to her friends.
"Hiroki just came home from school sick. Mom and Dad are both working and they need me to come watch him. I guess I'll see you guys later?"
They all nodded in sync. "See you tomorrow, Yumi!" Aelita called as Yumi began to leave the courtyard. She turned and waved before running off towards Kadic's exit.
"It's too bad she had to leave," Jeremie said regretfully. "I was hoping we could take another dive with the Skid tonight. I thought it would be good to explore some more of the digital sea."
"Yes, I wonder what's wrong," Aelita mused. Ulrich shrugged.
"Well, I've got a date with someone tonight, so I'd better go get cleaned up," Odd told his friends.
"A date? With whom?" Aelita asked.
"I thought you would have gone through every girl in the school by now," Ulrich teased, to laughter from Aelita and Jeremie. Odd ignored the taunt.
"I've already asked her out before, but she decided I deserve a chance this time. It's with Mariah, actually."
"You're going out with Mariah? But she knocked you out cold the last time you tried to ask her out!"
"Ah, she said there were no hard feelings, so I'm taking her at her word. See you all later!" Odd called as he headed off towards his dorm. Jeremie turned to Ulrich.
"Well, Ulrich, what are you doing tonight?" he asked. "Do you want to study for tomorrow's physics test with Aelita and me?"
"No, thanks. I have an English paper to finish up, and I think I'll study for physics alone," Ulrich replied. Jeremie nodded.
"Okay then. See you tomorrow."
"All right," Ulrich answered, turning to go to his dorm also.
The next morning, Ulrich leaned against the wall outside the French classroom, watching the other students file out of the room. Not seeing who he was looking for, he pulled aside a girl near the end of the line.
"Is Yumi still in there?" he asked her. She shook her head.
"No. She wasn't here today. I have to go…bye, Ulrich!" she left him standing alone in the deserted hallway, wondering at her words.
Deep in the ice sector of Lyoko, pulsations began to flow through the ground. In the center of a large icy plain, the edges of the tower perched upon it began to glow red…
"Have any of you seen Yumi?" Ulrich asked, coming over to the corner of the courtyard where Aelita, Jeremie, and Odd were waiting for him. Jeremie and Aelita looked up from Jeremie's laptop at the noise, but Odd didn't take his eyes off the game device that was occupying his full attention.
"Sorry?" Jeremie asked.
"He wants to know if we've seen Yumi. Is she not here today?" Aelita asked. Ulrich shook his head.
"She didn't show up for her French class. I'll call her right now." He took out his cell phone and dialed the familiar number, holding it up to his ear as it started to ring. It rang three times before there was an answer.
"Ulrich?" It was Yumi's voice, but it was weaker than usual.
"Yumi? Why aren't you at school? Is Hiroki still sick?"
"No-" she broke off, coughing. "No, Hiroki's at school."
"Then why aren't you here? Are you okay?" Jeremie and Aelita saw Ulrich's eyes tighten.
"I'm home sick today," Yumi answered a little reluctantly.
"Is there anything we can do?" Ulrich rapped out the question sharply.
"I'm fine, don't worry about it."
"Seriously, Yumi, are you okay?" Ulrich's eyes narrowed. "You don't sound so hot."
"I'm fine, Ulrich, really. Don't worry about me," Yumi snapped, though the effect was dulled slightly as she began coughing once more.
"Yumi-" Ulrich started, but Aelita interrupted, "Let me speak with her." He wordlessly handed her the phone.
"Yumi? It's Aelita. What's going on?" she paused. "Oh, I'm sorry. But you were feeling fine yesterday, weren't you?" Another pause. "I see. Okay, Yumi. Feel better soon." She pressed a button to end the call and handed Ulrich his phone back.
"Is something wrong?" Jeremie asked Ulrich. Ulrich didn't answer, so Aelita spoke for him.
"Yumi's at home sick today," she answered Jeremie.
"Was she sick yesterday? She fought as well as she always does on Lyoko."
"She said she had been kind of out of it the whole day and started feeling worse once she got home to help with Hiroki," Aelita said, shooting a sideways glance at Ulrich, who was staring at the ground, silent.
"Ulrich, Yumi says she'll be fine. Don't worry about her," she reassured him with a smile. Ulrich continued scowling at the dirt.
"I'm not. Come on, let's go to lunch." He started off towards the cafeteria, hands in his pockets as he glared at the ground in front of him.
"Lunch? All right! Let's go!" Odd leaped up and followed Ulrich, totally unaware of the conversation that had just taken place. Jeremie exchanged a glance with Aelita.
"Will they be okay?" he asked. Aelita knew that he wasn't referring to any potential dangers that Ulrich and Odd might face on the way to the cafeteria.
"She sounded pretty bad, but she'll get better. And you know how Ulrich is. He'll sulk until he sees her in person to make sure she's okay." A half-smile touched Aelita's face and Jeremie nodded.
"You're right, as usual. Now let's make sure Odd doesn't eat the lunch table."
"As usual," Aelita laughed as she and Jeremie followed after the two boys.
Down in the factory, one of the scanners opened up in a cloud of smoke. A long leg and a head poked out, beady eyes looking around the room…
"Hey, Ulrich, are you gonna eat your pasta? Ulrich? Ulllllllllriiiiich…" Odd waved his hand in front of Ulrich's face. Ulrich slid his gaze over to Odd.
"What do you want?"
Odd wasn't at all deterred by the shortness of the response. "Are you gonna eat your pasta?" he pointed to the uneaten food the Ulrich was picking at. Ulrich shoved his plate towards Odd, who promptly dug in with gusto.
"Ulrich-" Aelita was interrupted by a beeping sound from Jeremie's laptop. Jeremie immediately flipped it open and began typing.
"X.A.N.A's activated a tower on Lyoko!" he exclaimed. Aelita sat up quickly.
"Has anything happened on Earth?" she asked. Jeremie quickly pulled up a news station's website and began surfing around.
"No, nothing out of the ordinary," he replied after a few moments.
"Do you think that maybe Yumi being sick was caused by X.A.N.A?" Aelita wondered.
"Anything's possible, I suppose," Jeremie said grimly, shutting his laptop and putting it back in its case. There was a scraping noise as Ulrich shoved his chair back and stood up from the table quickly.
"Let's go, then," he said, looking around at his friends. Odd was still devouring food at an alarmingly fast rate, but Aelita and Jeremie were looking at him.
"Okay," Jeremie agreed, slinging his laptop over his shoulder. He and Aelita left their side of the table and went over to where Ulrich was, beginning to leave the cafeteria.
"Odd, come on!" Aelita called over to him. Odd moaned and shoved away the mostly empty plate with a look of longing, but he got up and followed them anyway.
Ulrich raced across the bridge to the factory, the others a few paces behind him. Swinging down to the lower level, he sprinted to the elevator and slammed the button, nearly cutting the others off.
"Cool it, will you?" Odd protested. "What's with you, anyway?"
"Nothing, leave me alone," Ulrich snapped, fixing his gaze on the floor again. Odd looked over at Aelita and rolled her eyes. Aelita stifled a giggle by biting her lip. Unaware of his friends' exchange, Jeremie turned to Ulrich.
"Calm down, Ulrich. Just because Yumi's sick and there's a X.A.N.A attack at the same time doesn't mean they have anything to do with each other."
"Wait, Yumi's sick? Is she okay?" Odd asked, perplexed.
"She says she will be," Aelita answered after Ulrich was silent. The elevator doors slid open and Jeremie got out, heading over to the supercomputer. Flipping a few switches and typing for a while, Jeremie gasped.
"Oh no! Come look at this!" The others rushed over to see the computer screen. On it was a live news report of downtown, and wreckage was everywhere.
"Scientists do not know what exactly this monster is, but some believe it may date back to prehistoric times." The reporter's apathetic voice filled the room and the camera panned over to where they could see the cause of all the wreckage. It was…
"A Tarantula, and on Earth too!" Aelita gasped.
"So that's what X.A.N.A's plan is," Jeremie muttered. "Odd, I'll need you to go see what you can do with the Tarantula. Keep it busy, whatever. Ulrich, you and Aelita head to the scanner room. We've got a tower to deactivate, and fast!"
"Too bad Yumi's not here. That would make things much easier," Odd mumbled as he went the elevator and hit the button, closing the doors with a thud. Aelita and Ulrich hurried over to the hatch leading to the scanner room, leaving Jeremie monitoring progress on Lyoko.
Ulrich and Aelita rushed into two of the three scanners, waiting for the doors to close. When they did, they shut their eyes as the streams of hot air began to wash over them.
"Transfer…Aelita."
"Transfer…Ulrich."
"Scanner…Aelita."
"Scanner…Ulrich."
"Virtualization."
Odd raced across the suspension bridge into the forest, already breathing hard. There was no way he could make it to town in time. His phone vibrated and he snatched it out of his pocket, flipping it open and putting it to his ear.
"Hello?" he panted.
"Odd, what's going on?" It was Yumi's voice. Odd skidded to a halt.
"Yumi? I thought you were sick!"
"I am. Why isn't Ulrich answering his phone? Aelita isn't either," she broke off, coughing.
"There's a X.A.N.A attack and they're on Lyoko. I'm supposed to go distract the Tarantula that's downtown."
"There's a Tarantula downtown?!"
"Look, no time to explain. Feel better soon and all that junk; I really need to get a move on. See ya." He hung up and shoved his phone in his pocket, sprinting towards town again.
Aelita and Ulrich virtualized about ten feet above the icy surface of Lyoko, falling to the ground with a thud. When they got up, Jeremie was already talking.
"Okay, the activated tower is a good ways to your northwest. I'm programming the Overbike to get you there faster." The vehicle materialized a few feet to their left. Ulrich raced over and vaulted into the driver's seat, waiting for Aelita to get on behind him.
"Hang on, Aelita," he warned her. Feeling her grasp around his waist tighten, he kicked the bike into full gear and zoomed off towards the tower.
Jeremie was so intent on watching the news and keeping his eye on Ulrich and Aelita he didn't notice the doors to the elevator open. Hearing footsteps behind him he addressed the person without looking up from the screen.
"Odd, I thought I told you to go downtown. Is there a problem?" he asked.
"Odd's on his way," Yumi's voice reassured him. Jeremie spun his chair around, confused.
"Yumi? What are you doing here?"
"I thought I'd come in handy. From what Odd said it sounds like you guys are in a pretty tight fix." She tried her hardest to make it look like nothing was wrong, but Jeremie wasn't fooled.
"Yumi, you don't need to be here if you're sick. We've got it all under control. Ulrich is escorting Aelita to the activated tower, and Odd is going to distract the Tarantula downtown."
"Jeremie, please, let me help. I feel fine," she protested, but started coughing again. Jeremie sighed in exasperation.
"I don't have time for this, Yumi. You're obviously still sick and you won't be much help on Lyoko."
"Okay, fine then. But I'm not leaving." She leaned up against the wall and crossed her arms as if to prove her point.
"If you insist," Jeremie turned back to his computer and began scanning the radar again.
"Look out you two, X.A.N.A's sent three Krabes and a Megatank to greet you," he warned Ulrich and Aelita, looking worriedly at four red arrows coming onto the screen.
"Roger that."
"Three Krabes and a Megatank? Wow, X.A.N.A means business," Ulrich said grimly. "If only Odd was here to help us." Aelita heard the unsaid part of the statement and remained silent.
"Do you see them yet?" Jeremie asked. Aelita tapped Ulrich and pointed up ahead where three red shapes were coming quickly towards them.
"Yep. All three of 'em. But we're ready," Ulrich said determinedly.
"You'd better be." The two sides moved towards each other quickly until about fifty feet separated them.
"Are you ready for this, Aelita?" Ulrich asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Aelita responded.
"Okay. When we get a little closer I'll go after the Megatank and one of the Krabes. Think you can handle the other two?"
"Relax, Ulrich. I can take care of myself," Aelita teased.
"All right. GO!" Ulrich leaped off the Overbike and soared high in the air, landing on the back of the nearest Krabe. He stabbed down with his sword but missed the target sign and rolled with the impact, nearly falling off onto the ground. The Megatank was targeting Aelita and shot out a laser, narrowly missing her. At the same time two of the Krabes shot at the Overbike, devirtualizing it immediately. Aelita cried out as she was thrown from the divirtualizing bike and skidded across the ground, at the mercy of the Krabes and Megatank.
"I'm coming, Aelita!" Ulrich yelled, stabbing the Krabe with a yell of "Impact!" It exploded, catapulting him towards Aelita with the energy blast. Ulrich landed on the second Krabe and destroyed it, landing on the ground in front of Aelita now.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yes. Let me take this last Krabe; you can get the Megatank." Ulrich nodded and faced the Megatank.
"Triplicate!" he cried, immediately forming a triangle around the monster. It spun, confused, and shot at the doubles, causing them to disappear. But by that time, the real Ulrich had launched himself at its target sign and had stabbed it right through the center.
"Yes!" he exclaimed as it rolled away and exploded. But Aelita's Krabe shot a laser at him, hitting him in the back. Ulrich cried out and fell to the ground, feeling his life points slip away. A second laser blast nearly caught him, but Aelita unearthed her wings and was soaring above the Krabe, sending an energy blast that engulfed the monster, blowing it up.
"Way to go!" Jeremie congratulated him. "But you're not out of the woods yet. There are a couple of Bloks and a swarm of Hornets coming in from the east."
"Oh, no," Ulrich groaned. "I guess we'll have to outrun them on foot." Aelita landed next to him and they sprinted to the northwest, directed occasionally by Jeremie.
Odd had finally reached downtown and he was bent over double with the strain on his lungs. As soon as he could breathe again, he stood up and went looking for the Tarantula. The new story was from the north part of town and he was in the west…oh well. Walking a few more blocks wasn't so bad.
As he began heading towards his destination, he wondered absently how Ulrich and Aelita were doing and if Yumi had gone to join them.
"Hornets at three o'clock!" Jeremie warned them. Ulrich glanced up into the air when he heard the buzzing sound approaching. There were five of them, and they were heading in quickly.
"And there are the Bloks!" Aelita pointed. Two Bloks stood guard in front of the tower, watching Ulrich and Aelita warily.
"Only two of them? Huh. Looks like X.A.N.A. might be slacking a little," Ulrich commented, his eyes never leaving the Hornets. They zoomed over them, forming a circle in the air directly above the two warriors.
"I'll try to hit a few of them with my energy fields," Aelita whispered, raising her hand to aim. Ulrich nodded.
"I can't really hit them unless I use one of my sabers as a boomerang, but there's no guarantee it'll return. That can be our Plan B."
"Okay, let's go," Aelita swallowed nervously, then sprang into action. "Energy field!" she cried, shooting a pink blast at one of the Hornets. It nimbly dodged, shooting a laser at them and missing.
"Ulrich, quit joking around and get Aelita to that tower!"
"I'm trying, Einstein," Ulrich muttered. The Hornets suddenly dove towards him, shooting lasers in earnest. He drew his sabers and began quickly blocking the lasers, missing one that went over to hit Aelita. She gasped and grabbed her arm, wincing.
"Ulrich!"
"I know, Jeremie, I know!" He threw his saber and allowed it to boomerang through the air, taking out two of the four Hornets and catching it easily.
"Way to go, Ulrich!" Aelita congratulated him. "Let's go!" She began running towards the tower, Ulrich running behind her, his saber drawn and ready for action.
The Bloks trained their lasers on Aelita and Ulrich, shooting blasts from their target signs. Aelita weaved away from them but another laser hit Ulrich in the arm. He grimaced as more life points slipped away, but he kept running with Aelita. He had to do this, for Yumi. If X.A.N.A was really causing her illness, then he was going to make him pay.
"Jeremie, let me go help!" Yumi was pleading now, abandoning her stubborn attitude. "Ulrich can't handle it alone!" Jeremie looked at Ulrich's life points and sighed, accepting defeat.
"Okay, but we have to finish this up quickly. There's no telling what kind of trouble Odd is in."
"Thank you, Jeremie!" Yumi flashed him a smile and ran to the elevator, pressing the down button quickly. The doors closed with a smash and Jeremie was left alone once more.
"Oh, so there's where you're hiding!" Odd watched the Tarantula from a distance. It was going through the streets, shooting lasers as people ran around screaming. "Well let's see how you like a taste of della Robbia." He ran towards the Tarantula, waving his arms.
"Hey, big and ugly! How's it going?" he yelled. The Tarantula slowly turned its head and came towards Odd, rearing up onto its back legs and shooting a barrage of lasers at him. Odd dodged them as they left craters in the street, but they were close calls.
"Come on, Jeremie, hurry it up…"
"Transfer…Yumi."
"Scanner…Yumi."
"Virtualization."
"I'm sending a bit of help, guys," Jeremie informed Ulrich and Aelita with a grin on his face.
"Thanks, because we need it!" Ulrich replied.
Yumi virtualized a few feet to their left, falling to the ground and sliding a little on the ice. "Hey, everyone. Did you miss me?" she grinned, drawing her fans and sprinting alongside of Ulrich.
"It's about time you got here," Aelita replied with a smile, dodging another Blok laser.
"Watch out!" Ulrich yelled to Yumi, throwing her out of the way as a Hornet laser came rocketing towards her. It hit the ground, leaving a scorch mark. Yumi paused, eyes on Ulrich. Then she seemed to realize where they were and came back to reality.
"Thanks, Ulrich," she replied, then gasped as she began coughing again. Ulrich froze beside her, eyes worried as he watched her.
"Yumi, you shouldn't have come," he hissed, but he allowed himself a smile as he sprinted forwards towards Aelita, where she was waiting for them.
Yumi drew her fans and ran after them, throwing one of them at a Hornet with a battle cry. It slammed into the monster, the explosion even throwing the other one off balance. The remaining Hornet retreated a little, allowing Yumi to catch up with her companions. A few yards from the tower, Aelita and Ulrich had stopped to watch the two Bloks. Yumi caught up with them, face pale and drawn. Aelita glanced over at her in concern.
"I agree with Ulrich. Maybe you shouldn't have come," she added as Yumi began coughing again. "This isn't helping your health any."
"No, I'm fine!" Yumi protested.
"Come on, you guys, I didn't send Yumi over so you all could be social! Hurry up!" Jeremie prodded anxiously. Ulrich was already facing the Bloks, saber drawn. Aelita stood behind him, out of the range of fire, and Yumi drew her fans, holding them in a cross at shoulder level.
"Ready?" she breathed. Ulrich nodded without looking at her.
"Let's do this," he replied, then yelled, "Supersprint!" Dashing to the first Blok he slashed at it with his saber, but missed. The Blok shot a laser at him and he fell back, hit.
"Ulrich, you only have ten life points left! Be careful!" Jeremie yelled. Ulrich gritted his teeth as he felt his life points drain, clutching his arm. The two Bloks focused their lasers on Ulrich, moving in for the final blow, but Yumi leaped in front of him and deflected the blows with her fans, sending one back to hit its owner. The second Blok staggered, then exploded, knocking the other one down. With a front handspring, Yumi tossed one of her fans, using it as a boomerang. It destroyed the second Blok but sliced her hand as it soared past. Wincing, Yumi shook off the pain and folded up her other fan.
"Way to go, Yumi!" Aelita congratulated her. Yumi grinned. Aelita ran towards the tower, Ulrich running beside her, when a laser from the final Hornet sliced through the air and hit Ulrich, who devirtualized with a cry. Another laser shot towards Yumi, who yelped as it hit her straight in the back, knocking her over.
The doors to the middle scanner opened with Ulrich leaning up against the side of it, wincing...
"It's a poison-bearing Hornet!" Jeremie exclaimed, watching Yumi's life points go slowly down and continue decreasing.
"Aelita, go!" Yumi gasped. Aelita glanced back towards Yumi, lying limp on the ground, and ran forward, a few feet away from the tower just as a third laser hit Yumi and devirtualized her.
Yumi lay crumpled at the bottom of the scanner next to Ulrich's, coughing and gasping for breath.
Aelita finally reached the tower and walked straight ahead, allowing its walls to absorb her.
The Tarantula had Odd in its sight and was chasing him down the street. Odd looked back to gloat and tripped on a pile of rubble, skidding across the pavement. The Tarantula halted and leaned over him, seeming to grin mockingly…
Ulrich left his scanner, shaking off the soreness in his arm, when he heard Yumi's doors open. Seeing her collapsed in the bottom, he knelt down next to her. She seemed to be aware of his presence and straightened up as best as she could, attempting to smile at him. Ulrich placed her arm over his shoulders, slowly standing up so as to help her. Yumi gratefully leaned against him, breathing harshly.
"Are you okay?" Ulrich asked softly once they were both standing.
"Lyoko was…difficult," Yumi gasped before coughing again. Ulrich allowed her to lean her full weight on him, feeling her slight frame shaking, and helped her out of the scanner. And as she looked up at him and their eyes met, he knew at once how hard fighting had been for her, and he also knew that she had done it for him.
Aelita walked to the center of the first target, smiling in contentment as the rings lit up with a musical sound. She allowed herself to be lifted up to the second target, tilting her head back to feel the rush of wind.
Odd cringed as the Tarantula aimed one of its long arms at him, preparing to fire…
Aelita walked forward and pressed her hand to the identification panel.
User: Aelita
Code: Lyoko
"Tower deactivated," she breathed.
Ulrich knew that the return would come soon and leaned his head on Yumi, feeling her relax against him.
Jeremie pressed the return key and waited as the white dome grew and grew, engulfing all of the factory, Kadic, and downtown where Odd and the Tarantula were…
Ulrich, Odd, Jeremie, and Aelita stood around a bench at the edge of the courtyard, watching Yumi cross the square towards them.
"So you're feeling better?" Aelita asked, cocking her head. Yumi shook her head.
"Not really. I probably shouldn't have gone to Lyoko; it didn't help matters," Yumi replied, voice still weak and hoarse.
"But without you Aelita wouldn't have made it to the tower," Jeremie pointed out.
"Yeah, and I'd be nothing but a scorch mark on the pavement of downtown," Odd added.
"Then I guess sometimes you have to make sacrifices," Yumi answered before coughing again. Ulrich subtly moved so he was close enough to touch her, reaching out and gently touching her arm. Immediately he felt her relax and her coughs subsided. She shot a glance of gratitude towards him before looking back towards Aelita, who winked at her knowingly.
"I guess you do," she replied, smiling.