Yumi's shaking fingers were barely able to put in the numbers on the elevator, causing her to curse and growl whenever she hit the wrong button. The anticipation of finding if her friends were alive or dead ate her from the inside as she finally managed the code and allowed herself a moment. Her deep breaths that she forced herself to take were becoming erratic again, her sprint here taking what energy she had out of her. The usually ten second trip down to the computer room felt like hours as she leaned against one wall.
The cool metal of the great machine cooled her body, and the ride shook and shuddered in beat to her heart, which Yumi believed might jump right out of her throat. Either that, or vomit. Just as she was about ready to smash the emergency stop button and just climb the ladder the rest of the way down, the girl was relieved that the elevator stopped itself, and the bulking door slid open slowly.
The oriental girl hadn't even realized she was carrying hope until the room was revealed to be empty- well, except for Jérémie. In a panic, she quickly brought her watch up and read the time. It had been nearly ten minutes since Yumi had heard Tyron declare that the supercomputer was turned off to her horror. It had never taken that long to be divirtualized, return to the scanners, and come back up to the computer room.
Instead she was met with a glowing holomap, indicating there was no life wandering about- and what she assumed was the Cortex was now empty. Instead, numbers slid in the aired space lazily.
Yumi desperately looked around the room, as if to find her friends hiding on her like it was a game that she wasn't enjoying. Then she rounded on Jérémie.
"Tyron- the necklace. S-Said- turn off… supercomputer," she panted hoarsely, panic seeping into her words. Her fists clenched as she stood several feet behind him, still near the lift and eyes locked on the pixelated map.
Jérémie, who sat at the computer chair, only halted his typing for a moment when Yumi first arrived. As she spoke, he didn't bother to turn his head, already knowing his friends didn't reappear in the scanners and it wouldn't be worth the wasted effort to physically turn and confirm his nightmare. All his genius' mind could do was type. Concentrate, and type. Look for his friends, and type.
It took a few minutes of horrified, deafening silence besides the girls harsh gasps for Yumi to even realize the blonde hadn't answered her inquiry. His typing fingers grated her nerves, spiking her temper out of nowhere.
"Jérémie!" she demanded sharply, her breath finally caught and ready for a verbal smashing. "Where are they?"
He didn't answer.
"Jérémie," Yumi growled, coming up to stand next to the genius in his chair. "Where are they?" she repeated sternly.
The oriental girl's eyes were wild; they blazed in fear of this suddenly very large room not getting any more crowded. An outsider would have thought she had gone mental- finally snapped and should be locked in the nuthouse- just from the raw emotions in her eyes.
Yumi's body language suggested the same. Both hands clutched Jérémie's arm rest until the tough, old material groaned ever so slightly. The boy didn't even see her, though.
His fingers felt the familiar keys; Jérémie not even knowing what he was typing. Familiar codes flew past his glasses and right over his head. He searched the Cortex, Lyoko, and the digital sea- everywhere the large supercomputer could take him. Red exclamation points and negative data flowed right back at him; the machine not even being able to connect to the Cortex anymore.
"Jérémie!" she called again, but instead desperation sunk deeply into her words, replacing anger. "You brought them back, right?" It wasn't a question.
Jérémie's once dutiful hands were slowing as all his examinations only brought the reality to the forefront of his mind. The spectacled boy's eyes blinked, snapping to Yumi for a split second before hoping to lose himself in the numbers again.
"Answer me!" the girl nearly cried- finally grabbing his arm to gain his full attention. Was the factory always this cold?
He flinched away from her grip- frustrated, as if she was slowing his progress, a glare sweeping in her direction before the genius' expression melted into a poker face. Still, he remained silent.
Yumi's mouth hung, halfway open to argue again for answers that she wasn't positive she wanted. Instead, she read Jérémie's expression. He was obviously attempting to hold a neutral expression; anyone else would've assumed he was completely calm. But Yumi was Jérémie's best friend, and not 'anyone else'.
The boy's jaw was locked tightly, the strain and maybe fear coursing through him made Jérémie's fingers and body shake just slightly, almost unnoticeable to the human eye. Yumi noticed how he flared his nostrils a little as he breathed when Jérémie was stressed, as he was doing now. The last thing that gave the genius away was the water that was building in his eyes behind the glare of his glasses.
Jérémie was giving Yumi her answers.
Yumi's grip slackened to the point of just resting her fingers on his plaid shirt, feeling the vibrations of Jérémie's shaking arm. Her anger melted along with her desperation as Yumi watched the boy that was more than a year younger than her, who was more in love with someone than she thought she was, and held the weight of the world on his shoulders, attempt to not breakdown in front of the oriental girl.
Her heart clenched so hard Yumi thought she may kneel over from the sudden blow. Tears were swimming in her eyes as well as she unconsciously muttered, 'you brought them back?' over and over like a broken record, despite knowing the answer. She couldn't control herself anymore; she was disconnected- a ghost of herself.
The factory was its normal, humming self; just warmer than the lovely weather outside. But the atmosphere dropped the degree to where both wide-eyed teens had goose bumps covering their arms. The place felt eerie and dead. The once easily ignored pipe leaking sounded like a drum in the mainframe room and both Jérémie and Yumi's hearts sounded loudly in their ears as they received the same violent thought at the same time.
They're friends were dead.
Yumi choked back a scream in realization when it hit her; one hand coming up to hold her mouth, only to feel the tears that begun to flow down her pretty face. She was seeing Tyron again, his twisted smile and curved eyebrows, looking like a cartoon villain whose plans were going just the way they wanted. It couldn't be closer to the truth.
Her feet stumbled back at the blind rage of Tyron's face in her memories. Yumi quickly turned and snapped a fist forward, hitting the metal wall with all her adrenaline induced strength. The girl's fist most likely broken in the impact, but Yumi felt nothing except the dull thrill when she imagined the wall as the monsters face.
Jérémie's hands went slack on the keyboard, random codes being put in from the weight of his fingers on the sensitive keys. He heard his friend's knuckles crack on the hard wall, and he tilted his head to watch her panicked pants as her tears were most likely overwhelming her. Jérémie wasn't doing much better, though.
The genius' throat was clogged and his tired eyes held defeat and tears that he hadn't shed since the first time he believed Aelita to be dead.
Aelita.
Dead.
He took his hands off the keyboard to slip them under his glasses and press fists into his eyes from the oncoming tears he couldn't stop. Aelita wasn't going to remind him to eat lunch anymore. Aelita wasn't going to tell him to go to bed at three in the morning anymore. Aelita wasn't going to defend him from Sissi's torments anymore. Aelita wasn't going to hug him when the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Aelita wouldn't kiss his lips when he felt unwanted. Aelita wasn't here anymore to make anything better; to make life worth living.
Jérémie knew at that moment what Yumi was feeling when she punched the wall. Simultaneously, he wanted to continue to search the supercomputer for his friends, but at the same time he wanted to destroy with his bare hands the device that took his love from him.
On the other hand, Yumi's despair was causing her to choke down sobs threatening to break her in half. Through her tears, she could see the smeared blood stain on the metal wall as she removed her fist from it, but it brought her little satisfaction. Red mixed with blue was purple. Purple was Odd's favorite color. Odd's best friend was Ulrich. Ulrich hated William. Aelita was the only one to fully accept William into the group. And they were all dead.
Her hand continued to drag the line of blood down the wall as she slid to her knees, her heart feeling to heavy to hold herself up anymore. Ulrich. Ulrich.
Ulrich was gone.
Ulrich.
The name felt like a lead balloon in her head; expanding to fill her very soul with just the one word. His occasional crooked smiles, his naturally messy chocolate hair, his blush that looked so appealing on his tanned cheeks; the coloring from all his hard work with outdoor sports to forever make his father happy.
Not that it mattered now.
Yumi regretted never telling him her feelings. Sure, every night when she was lying in bed she regretted not confessing, but this feeling was so much worse. The girl was muttering curse words to herself for being so weak. So many times either Yumi or Ulrich nearly died, yet she had been such a coward; unable to express wanting to be with him. If she had wanted to be with the sensitive, good looking boy so bad, why had she been so scared he would've pushed her away? Yumi knew he wasn't like that.
It was too late anyway. None of it mattered now. None of it.
The question truly was would you rather of loved and lost, or never have loved at all.
Jérémie and Yumi's loves were dead. William and Odd, as well.
Both heard the other's broken sobs that echoed in the deathly empty room of the factory, but neither could comfort the other through their own despair. No hug was offered. No comforting words. There weren't any to make either feel the slightest better.
Tyron's supercomputer had been turned off, as well as their friends lives.