Chapter 7: A Mistake

Jeremie looked carefully at the monitor of the supercomputer and noticed that an error sign was rapidly flashing on Ulrich's profile.

"What's going on?" whispered Jeremie.

"Jeremie! Where's Ulrich? We've got Megatanks heading our way!" shouted Odd on the intercom.

"I…I don't know. He should be standing right next to you!"

"Oh…okay. Hi, Ulrich! I didn't know that you were INVISIBLE!" shouted Odd mockingly.

"Jeremie, what's going on?" Aelita asked calmly.

"I…"

"Jeremie! Sorry that we're late! I had trouble sneaking out of my house." panted Yumi as she and William exited the elevator.

"Something wrong?" asked William.

"Head to the scanners. Hurry!" ordered Jeremie.

Once Yumi and William entered the scanners, they were virtualized to the ice sector of Lyoko, where Odd and Aelita were fighting the Megatanks. They destroyed the Megatanks and waited for their next objective.

"Where's Ulrich?" asked Yumi.

"Jeremie said that he has already been virtualized into Lyoko with the installed program." replied Aelita.

"Then, where is he now?"

"Guys, check the forest sector. I've got a signature reading on Ulrich there." said Jeremie.

Everyone headed towards the way tower and began to search for any sign of Ulrich, but the only thing they found was his shattered katana.

"I'm bringing all of you home!" said Jeremie as he typed in the codes for the devirtualization process. When everyone has returned to the scanner room, they assembled in the control room with Jeremie.

"What happened this time? He…he can't just be gone forever!" Yumi yelled, almost at the point of tears.

"I…I don't know! He just disappeared from the scanners. I…" Jeremie tried to explain to Yumi but was at lost for words.

"This is like what happened last time! Except now, we can't find any trace of him!" Yumi continued.

"I was so sure this time. I thought…" Jeremie said, dropping his head into his trembling hands.

"So…this is it. He's really gone now…Damn it!" Odd solemnly whispered.

Everyone grew silent except for Aelita, who was trying to hold back from crying (though failed).

"It was a trap…this is what XANA would've done. Give us the information we've searched for so long…and then, taking one of us down…" William softly murmured.

"I don't care how long it takes. We have to find Ulrich…" Yumi said as she stormed out of the room and into the elevator.

"Yumi…I'll take you…" William offered.

"No…I…I want to be alone." she interrupted him before the elevator closed.

The gang went back to their dorms and tried to catch some sleep before the morning rises, but it was futile. Odd was petting Kiwi (his dog) in order to calm his nerves while William lay on his back, pondering upon the events of the night. Aelita had a hard time sleeping because she was trying to stop herself from crying. As for Jeremie, he continued to work on improvements on the program in order to find their lost friend. On the other hand, Yumi stared up into the bright, starry sky as she lay on her rooftop. At this time, she was crying to herself regarding the lost of her good friend.

'Why…why couldn't it have been me? I wish he had never been chosen…I …wish he would come back…please…come back.' she thought as each tear streamed down her face.


The man watched the brunette boy thrashing on the operating table that he had set up. He saw the boy's seal and thought that it was time that the boy had learned to control 'the beast' within him. So with great precision, the man broke the seal on the boy, causing a power surge. The boy began to thrash about as a massive electrical shock surged through his body.

"You must fight. You must win, Ulrich. Otherwise, you wouldn't just lose your life…you'll lose everything…"

The electrical surge amplified and the sound of cracking bones could be heard along with the muffled screams.

"Fight…" said the man.

"Aaahhh!" Ulrich yelled in agony.