"Ulrich!" Yumi said, smiling,
her heart beating rapidly.The screen filled with static for a
minute, then came back.
"Please, hurry!" Ulrich shouted
before vanishing into static again.
"What's wrong?" Yumi
asked Jeremy, her voice full of concern.
"Don't know. Just
give me a sec OK?". He opened up the control systems window,
clicked through a few files and found the problem.
"Power.
The computer is running out of power. It's been on battery for a long
time, and now the battery is going dead."
"Fix it!"
She said, gripped the headrest of his chair. Jeremy got up and went
behind the computer, looking for the power cord. 'That's not it,
that's not it...'
"Hey Einstein, is this what your looking
for?" Odd said, walking up with a thick cable in his hand. "Yes!
Where'd you find it?" Jeremy asked as he plugged it in.
"All
the way at the other wall. Weird, huh?"
Jeremy opened his
mouth to answer when Yumi's head suddenly appeared.
"Cut the
chit-chat and get him back! Now!" she growled at them.
Odd &
Jeremie gulped. "Y-yes ma'am!"
"All right, that should
do it" Jeremy said, sitting down in front of the computer.
the
computer beeped, clicked, whirred and became more alive.
A deep
hum seemed to fill the building. The gang looked around nervously,
except for Yumi who had eyes for only one person.
"Ulrich,
you're back! We did it!" she said, grinning at the figure on the
screen.
"Thanks" he said, "But how did you recharge
the battery"
"Duh!" Odd said, "We just plugged
it into the wall again."
"You mean the factory's fulled
powered?" Ulrich asked, staring at them in shock.
"Yeah,
why-
Suddenly a huge electronic roar ripped through the air,
sending dust floating down from the ceiling.
"Jeremy, what is
it!" Aelita cried, clutching him tightly.
"I, I don't
know" He said, looked at her wide eyed.
"It's X.A.N.A!
You've reawakened X.A.N.A!" Ulrich said, his face filled with
concern.
"Uh-uh, not me!" Odd said, shaking his head,
"He did it" he said pointing at Jeremy.
"No, it's
Yumi's fault!" Jeremy said, pointing at Yumi.
"You
plugged it in!" Odd said.
"You gave me the power
cord!"
"Enough!" Yumi growled.
She turned to the
screen and said "Alright Ulrich, we did something bad, but we
can fix it. Just tell us how."
"Unplug the computer!"
Odd said, and got a punch from Yumi.
"Unfortunately it's too
late for that. You'll need to come and help me here"
"And
where is that?" Yumi ask excitedly, anxious to see him in
person.
"Lyoko"
"OK, see that pillar over there?"
Ulrich said, pointing behind them.
"There's a door just
behind it. Go down the stairs from it and climb into the scanners
there. They'll transport you to Lyoko."
"We're there.
Come on Odd!"
"Who? Me?" Odd asked, "No way!
Ouch!"
Sulking, he walked to the pillar, rubbing his sore
arm.
"I'm going to stay here" Jeremy said, "Maybe
there's something in the files that can help us."
"OK"
Yumi said, and started for the pillar. She opened the door, stopped
and looked back at the screen. "Aelita?" she asked, arching
one eyebrow.
"Umm.." She said, blushing slightly, "I,
I think I'll stay here and keep Jeremy company, if you don't
mind."
Yumi sighed, said "Whatever", and ran to
catch up with Odd. She took the stairs 2 at a time, the way lit by a
soft golden light. She caught up with him in the next room, almost
running into him. "Hey, thanks for waiting..." her
sentence trailed off as she took in the scene in front of her.
"Wow"
she gasped.
"Uh-hu" Odd said in agreement.
In front
of them stood three tall metal tubes with wires connected in bunches
at the top of each one. The gold light emanated from their openings,
illuminating everything inside.
"Hey guys!" Jeremy said,
making them jump. "Check it out, I've found the intercom system!
Oh yes, and also a transfer program."
"Yeah yeah, just
tell us what to do Jeremy" Odd said.
"Just climb into
the scanners and let me do the rest."
"After you"
Odd said, bowing slightly. Yumi eyed the machine with suspicion, then
climbed in. Odd climbed into the one next to her. Silently the doors
closed, locking them inside the capsule like devices.
"Here
we go" Jeremy said, he and Aelita crossing their
fingers.
"Transfer Yumi!"
"Transfer
Odd!"
"Scanner Yumi!"
"Scanner
Odd!"
"Virtualisation!"
The air turned white around her, then
she was falling down a tunnel with red lightning traveling down it.
Blue energy surrounded her, and when it cleared she found herself
standing on air. "Ah!" she cried, falling down to
earth.
"Ow!" she said, rubbing her sore behind. "Oh,
that Jeremy. Just wait till I get back."
"Ooof!"
she heard behind her. She look around and saw Odd lying flat on his
back.
"You OK?" she asked. "Oh my aching back"
Odd replied.
He started to get up when something caught his
eye.
"Uh, Yumi?"
"What Odd!" she asked
angrily, scanning the area for Ulrich.
"Why do I have paws
and a tail?"
"What are you talk-" she stopped mid
sentence, mouth open wide.
"Odd, you're a cat!"
"No
duh!" he said. (Smack) "Ow!"
"What's happened
to us?" she wondered out loud, looking at their outfits.
While
Odd looked like a big purple cat, she was dressed in some sort of
short japanese type outfit, complete with a fan.
"Not too
worry guys, all will be explained" Jeremy's voice said, scaring
them both.
"Jer? Is that you?" Odd asked, looking
around. "Yeah. I'm talking to you guys through the computer.
That's where Lyoko is: inside cyberspace"
"You mean,
like the Matrix? Cool!"
"Never mind that, where's
Ulrich? And what did you do to us?" Yumi asked.
"It was
part of the transfer program. I had to choose outfits and weapons for
you guys. There was very little to choose from, so the decision
wasn't easy."
"Why weapons?" Odd asked. A laser
bolt answered his question, hitting him right in the chest and
knocking him off his feet. "Oh, I see" he said,
stunned.
Yumi grabbed him and pulled him behind a boulder as more
bolts flew through the air towards them. She peeked around the stone
and saw three small bug like things charging towards them. "Uh,
Jeremy, a little help please?" she asked.
Suddenly a shadow
flew over her. She looked up and saw Ulrich flying through the air.
Her heart skipped a beat as she watched him move. He dashed left and
right through the roaches, his sword destroying them with ease. When
they were all defeated he calmly sheathed his blade and walked
towards her.
Yumi blushed furiously as he offered her his hand. He
helped her up and they stood there, face to face, still holding
hands. "Are you hurt?" he asked, his voice and closeness of
body making her knees weak. "Uh, N-no" she said,
blushing.
He looked her deep in the eyes and said "And your
friend?" Yumi: "Huh?"
"Hello!" Odd said.
Ulrich helped Odd up from the ground.
"Gee, thanks for the help Yumi" Odd said.
Yumi glared at him before turning her
attention back on Ulrich."So Ulrich" she said, sidling
up to him, "How are we suppose to help you?" she asked,
blushing slightly."We need to deactivate XANA" Ulrich
said. He pointed towards the a distant streak in the sky. "That's
were we'll find the tower he's in."
"Uh dude, in case
you didn't notice earlier, we aren't exactly prepared for anything
like this" Odd said. He slumped down and moaned "We don't
even have weapons" (smack) "Ouch! Hey stop that"
"Then
stop being such a downer" she said angrily, still waving the
fan.
"Uh Jeremy, are you there?" she asked the
sky.
"Right here Yumi, what's up?"
"You said
earlier we have weapons. Can you tell us what they are?"
"Sure.
If you throw your fan it'll become like a saw, cutting thru anything.
Plus, it'll come back to you, like a boomerang. Oh, and it doubles as
a shield."
"Cool" Yumi said, opening the fan. She
curled back her arm and threw it. Buzzing it curved up into the air,
cutting through the tip of Odd's hair and a tree branch.
"Hey!"
Odd growled.
"Sorry" Yumi said, smiling
innocently.
"Yeah right" Odd grumbled. "Well
Einstein, what about me?" he asked.
"You can shoot
arrows out from your arms, but be careful you only have ten between
each arm." "Sweet" Odd said, looking at Yumi with a
wicked glint in his eye.
"Think fast!" he said, shooting
at her. Yumi yawned and held up her fan, richoching the shot straight
back at him. "Yikes!" Odd yelped, quickly jumping out of the
way.
"Uh shield, remember?" Yumi said. "D'oh!"
Odd smacked his head.
"Is this normal behavior for them?"
Ulrich asked Jeremy.
Jeremy sighed and said "'Fraid so"